Vivatera (Vivatera Series Book 1)

by Candace J Thomas

  Ferra’s eyes grew large. “Do you know where any of my sisters are?”

  “Yes.” Naomi felt her excitement coursing through her body at finally being able to confide in someone. “I saw one of your sisters at a festival in Sharlot, with the scar on her neck in the same place.”

  “Was it Silexa? Please tell me it was Silexa,” Ferra pleaded.

  “Yes, I think so,” Naomi returned. “I’ve seen her and another with silver hair together in Southwick palace.”

  Ferra looked astonished. “I thought they were both dead. The winds and rain have lost their control.” She hugged Naomi spontaneously, and Naomi hugged back. It felt odd but good.

  Ferra took the scarf and placed it again around Naomi’s neck. “Let’s try to keep that a secret for now—until we find out who you are.”

  A lump formed in Naomi’s throat. “I fear the only one who would really know is dead.”

  “Who do you mean?”

  “Reynolds Fairborne.” Her heart skipped a beat. “Do you know him?”

  “No,” Ferra returned. “I am sorry. How do you know he’s dead?”

  “I saw a man who looked like him today. He said that he was a Louving and that he had killed Reynolds.”

  “Well, let’s hope he didn’t.” Ferra contemplated the matter. “Can I tell you something? The stone I care for is for the living: creatures and such that feed upon the earth, plants and life within the soil. I can sense things like animals do—with smells and hearing—and one thing I know for sure: there is an imposter among the Louving. Don’t lose hope.”

  Naomi sniffled. “Thanks.”

  Clapping her hands together, Ferra rose to her feet. “I’ve got a great idea. Tomorrow, we’ll ask my father. He might have an idea if we’re related.”

  Naomi blinked at her in confusion. “But I thought you said your father was dead?”

  Mischief was printed all over Ferra’s face. “Remember, not all is what it seems.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  UnderElm

  Zander sat in a quiet corner, watching the prince sit up. Silexa had attended him for the past few days with some success, but without a healer, her guesswork often came with a price.

  “Ow!” Bryant yelped in pain. “Would you please stop doing that?”

  “Sorry.” Silexa moved away from Bryant’s chest again.“They’re definitely broken,” he complained, rubbing his chest. His breath came in ragged gasps as he tried to find a comfortable way to sit up. “I don’t think your magic can do anything to help fix this.”

  “I still want to help.” Silexa sank next to him.

  Bryant smiled. “You did. You saved my life. So, please,” he reached out to her through the pain, “please, don’t try to save me again.” He looked at her face. “And thank you.”

  The curse infecting Bryant’s body acted like a poison and had worked its way very close to his heart. But Silexa managed to stop its progression with the little knowledge of healing minerals she had. Bryant had vomited a good many times in order to get it out of his system, which both pleased and disgusted everyone in the small confinement.

  Silexa smiled before turning to Ymber, who also needed a medic. At the moment, she looked peaceful, lying on a wooden plank, but violent seizures often beset her without warning.

  “I’m fine, Silexa,” she said in a calm, even tone. “Just resting.”

  “Okay.” Silexa faltered ever so slightly, but left her alone.

  Loving and affectionate, Ymber always stayed close to her sister. She did not talk very much, but watched the relationship between Silexa and Bryant, scrutinizing the effortless care and affection between the two. She seemed to both love and hate it. One could almost have mistaken it for jealousy. Zander understood. He, too, was an extra wheel.

  The shed sat on a vacant property on the outskirts of the city, near the wall, dirty and smelling of musty, rotting wood and filth. Guards invaded the wine storage where they had first hidden. Zander and the others escaped without detection. Silexa found the shelter, but they needed to get out of the city. Where they would go, Zander hadn’t a clue.

  On occasion, Kubla—Silexa’s wolf companion, whom she ordered to stay close outside the city wall—would find them at night after foraging for food. Zander enjoyed having the beast come to visit. It reminded him of the animals he cared for on the farm.

  Days passed as the small crew huddled in the shelter. Only Zander ventured outside to meet Kubla when she brought them food. It didn’t take long before the new space felt crowded.

  Zander decided to stretch his legs in the fresh air and give the others some peace. He sat outside the shed near a high stone wall and looked over the torchlight of the city. The huge wolf curled up beside him as he stroked its fur for comfort.

  In the last few weeks, Zander’s world had flipped upside-down. He found himself once again lost in his thoughts, wondering about Naomi, his angel who had rescued them.

  The winds changed constantly. Rain would come and go, but the clouds never lifted.

  The air felt good on his face. He enjoyed the breeze whipping through his hair and on his neck as the wolf’s head rested on his lap. Kubla, though a wild creature, had grown tender toward him. Zander basked in the unconditional love of such a marvelous animal.

  The city of Southwick sparkled in the distance, surrounded by a high wall that acted as a barrier of protection. The palace, built high above the city, towered over the rest. Zander remembered the dizzy feeling in his stomach when he’d first looked over the enclave with Bryant. He appreciated its height now. The streets went around and around, winding eventually to the palace walls.

  He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Ymber approaching. His insides flipped.

  “May I sit by you, Zander?” she asked, her voice and manner soft and gentle.

  He nodded. She sat on the other side of Kubla, who stretched out her legs and snuggled in next to her.

  “Thank you.” Several moments of awkward silence passed, during which both of them looked out to the city. Zander followed her gaze but remained silent.

  “I hope I’ll remember it forever like this. It may not always be so peaceful.”

  Zander nodded again to himself. From a distance, everything looked perfect. Only after entering the walls did one discover the reality of city life.

  Ymber stretched out her hand and touched Zander’s knee. The sensation made him jump, but he liked the warmth from her fingers. “I’m sorry we haven’t talked. I need to ask you some questions, if you don’t mind. I know you’re not the best at communicating, but Silexa assures me you can speak very well, so I hope you can try tonight.”

  Zander looked up into her face. “O-okay.”

  “We have been talking, Silexa and I, and have questions about the girl that came to our rescue. Can you tell me about her?”

  Zander gulped. “She is . . .” He cleared his throat again. “She was my g-g-guardian.”

  “What do you mean ‘guardian’?”

  “She . . . took care of me before . . .” Zander tried again to clear his throat, holding back the emotion that wanted desperately to escape.

  “Before you came here?” Ymber finished.

  Zander nodded.

  “Do you know how she came to us that night?”

  Zander just shook his head.

  Ymber bit her lip in thought. “Why don’t I tell you what I know and then maybe you can help fill in the gaps as we go? Sound all right?”

  Zander nodded in agreement.

  Ymber suddenly reached for her chest and gasped. The moment seemed frozen in time. She recovered but looked somewhat paler than before.

  Zander watched, helpless. Her spells had become more frequent. He only hoped that it wouldn’t overtake her.

  “I’m dying, Zander.”

  Zander felt uncomfortable that she could talk about it so casually.

  “I won’t survive long without my stone,” she continued. “We are one. The magic needs to live and br
eathe. It needs life. I’m dependent on it. It’s only fair I should tell you.” Ymber became lost in her memories. “My father knew, you see . . .”

  Zander leaned forward. “Knew?”

  Still catching her breath, she continued in a whisper. “He knew he would be killed. He knew it wasn’t his throne they sought. He understood the danger. They wanted the stones.”

  “Like Silexa’s?”

  “Yes.” Ymber’s expression turned grave. “My father thought it a great discovery. He gave each one of his daughters a stone. The bonds were too strong for our youth. Little Ferra was only two.” A tear ran down the length of her cheek. “He provided a protector for each one of us, like Silexa’s wolf.” She scratched the wolf’s ear, which twitched wildly. “My protector, Jaxon, is dead.” She stopped, composing herself before she continued. “He sacrificed himself to save me from a troll sent to hunt me.”

  She became very quiet. “Sharrod sent it. He wanted the power, but because I’m not dead, he doesn’t have full control.” She choked, barely whispering. It took a few seconds to recover.

  “I tell you this because that is what I know. That is all I know. I do not know anything of the outside world. Like my sisters, I have been isolated. I have been roaming the western ridge with Jaxon, my only company. I know nothing of friendship or love.”

  Zander stared in confusion.

  “I thought I was dead that day you came and rescued me,” Ymber continued. “I was prepared to die. Living a life without love is not worth living. And then I saw a small boy trying to save me. I didn’t understand. I still don’t. Why you would want to save me?” Tears streamed down her reddened cheeks.

  “Then I saw something even more incredible. I saw my mother welcoming me into her heavenly arms. But she went to you. It took a moment for me to realize it wasn’t her, but someone else. I didn’t understand then, and I still don’t. I’ve never experienced magic that powerful.”

  “But she’s . . .” He gulped. “She’s dead.”

  “Dead?” she shook her head. “No. I’ve never felt anything so alive. She created a vortex that night and pulled us through it to safety.”

  Zander’s heart began beating very fast. Naomi wasn’t dead after all. Relief rushed through every vein.

  “What is her name?”

  “Naomi,” he whispered, almost afraid to speak the word aloud.

  “It’s time.” Silexa approached, accompanied by Bryant. “It is nightfall and we need to move.”

  Kubla, the lounging wolf, stood as her master spoke.

  “Sorry, girl.” Silexa ruffled her ears. “It’s not safe. I’ll call soon.”

  The wolf shook her fur and turned to run, disappearing with long strides into the shadows.

  Silexa turned to Ymber and Zander. “I’ve spoken with someone who can get us out of the city.”

  “Who?” Zander asked, suspicious.

  “A girl by the name of Giselle.”

  “But she could be . . .?” Zander wanted to say Audra, but couldn’t manage.

  Silexa bent over to look into his face. “Everything will be all right, I promise.”

  Zander nodded, though he didn’t like it.

  Ymber stopped and sank to the ground, another spell taking her.

  Silexa moved to her sister’s side to aid her. “Zander, help Bryant.”

  “Yes, sweet princess,” Bryant said as he let Zander move beneath him, using him as a walking stick.

  “Giselle will be waiting at the Cat’s Tail,” Silexa encouraged. “It’s not far.”

  ~*~

  The Cat’s Tail shop sat on a lonely street with nothing but a sleepy inn as company. In a shady corner stood a figure not much older than Zander. It must be Giselle.

  “Hello,” she greeted in a whisper. “I can’t be gone too long. Mama will worry.” She skipped down a dark path behind the shop. Silexa led the way after her.

  The city of Southwick felt like a giant maze in the dark, designed to hinder invasions during the years of war. The walls deteriorated and new structures were built in their place, increasing the confusion.

  Giselle moved like a cat, slinking from area to area in a way that seemed natural for her frame. “Not much further, ma’am,” she said to Silexa.

  Helping Bryant along, Zander felt uneasy about the little girl who led them through the city, although he did not quite know why.

  They turned down a narrow winding alley of cobblestone and broken rock steps that wound downward in an endless spiral. Carefully, the others worked their way down the dizzying slope. Halfway down, a crooked door hung on broken hinges. Giselle tinkered with the knob until it opened. She went in first and the others followed. The door slammed shut behind them.

  Complete darkness surrounded them. Zander stood at the back of the room, petrified to move any further without light.

  He heard scuffling and then a gasp. Zander grabbed his little dagger, terror filling his veins.

  “Giselle, where are you?” Silexa’s voice rang out in an echo, empty and hollow and deep.

  “It’s no use, friend,” a gruff voice answered, hard and unfamiliar. A small match lit a lantern in front of the stranger, his face distorted and twisted, yet vaguely familiar. Half the size a man should be, but with the bulk of a normal adult, he stood in the corner with a pipe in his mouth.

  The girl had disappeared.

  ~*~

  “Hello, your highness.”

  Bryant squinted in the light cast by a dim lantern. “Matlock?”

  “I am not Matlock,” the short, scarred man replied through his thick beard. “But I am glad to see that my good relation has brought recognition. My name is Thornock Mullgilly. Matlock was my brother.”

  He lifted the light, showing two others. Neither of the others bore the scars that Thornock or Matlock displayed like badges of honor, but both wore the stern look of a Mullgilly brother. The one on the right had mousy brown hair and a thick beard. The other was much younger, with lighter brown hair and a baby-face. All three had very prominent noses, the same as Matlock. “These are Hix and Brandell, also my brothers.” The two bowed low in respect.

  “Where are we?” Bryant asked. “Where has the girl taken us?”

  “To a trap,” Thornock returned.

  Zander felt the sting of the deception.

  “Don’t worry, my lord. We’ve taken care of her.” Thornock moved the light to show Giselle laying at his feet, out cold, with her hands and feet bound with wire. “If you had continued on, she would have led you through the tunnels and back into the palace. Unfortunately, she is not the girl that she pretended to be.”

  Zander knew who Thornock meant. “Audra,” the word escaped his lips. “Audra found . . .” He couldn’t finish, too horrified.

  Silexa turned to him. “Zander, tell me what you know.”

  Zander felt strengthened by Silexa’s kindness. “She is a . . . shape-shifter.”

  Thornock watched, impressed. “Good lad you have, princess.”

  Silexa turned back to face the dwarf. “Where is Matlock?”

  “My lady,” he started. “I wish I had time to tell you, but by and by. Right now, we have to get you out of danger. There is a plot to murder you all——that is, all but the boy. I am here to take you to safety.”

  “Are you taking us to UnderElm?” Bryant asked.

  Thornock bowed again. “We dwarves like the life underground. It will be safe for now, but we are in more danger underground then on the surface. I will explain when we reach the tree.”

  “The tree?” Silexa asked.

  “The Elm under the surface that keeps our civilization alive.”

  Silexa leaned in close to Bryant. “Can we trust them?”

  Bryant grabbed her hand. “Trust me,” he said tenderly. “I trusted Matlock with my most precious treasure, and I will trust them as well.”

  Thornock waved them on. “Come, Majesties. We have very little time.”

  “What of her?” Zander asked, pointing to
the heap on the ground.

  “When she wakes, she will be rather angry. Best we don’t find out. Hix!” Thornock shouted, turning to the others.

  “Yes.” Hix stepped to the forefront.

  “Take the girl to the harbor.”

  Hix stooped and swung the girl over his shoulder. Zander looked closer at the figure and thought how horrible Audra had used her body.

  Hix took up the rear, behind Zander, and Brandell placed himself near the middle.

  The brothers ushered the group back through the door to the street and down the stairs. Hix veered right, toward the direction of the sea and out of sight. The others moved with swiftness, ready at any moment to defend and protect. Fortunately, they encountered no such need. They soon located a tunnel beneath an outside alleyway which led to a small, secret door. Thornock moved his fingers over the hidden keyhole and it unlocked.

  They entered into complete darkness.

  “Follow closely,” Thornock said as he lit a small lantern. “The entrance is rather tricky.”

  The group followed without question, guided only by the lamplight.

  The building had a very peculiar odor: the smell of musty dirt and old leatherwork. Although they couldn’t see much beyond the light, the travelers felt they were no longer in a room—more like a large rabbit burrow.

  ~*~

  As they traveled, the burrow got smaller and smaller, with more tunnels splitting off in different directions. Slowly, they moved downward into the earth until they came to a wall made of beautiful, smooth granite, chiseled with great time and effort. It felt out of place there, surrounded as it was by earthen-works.

  The outline of a concealed door became visible in the thick rock wall. Thornock placed his hands on it and pushed. It opened easily and he waved the others through, following up in the rear with Brandell, who sealed the door closed behind them.

  “Welcome to our home.” Thornock gestured broadly before him.

  Zander blinked. His eyes had to be fooling him. He had envisioned UnderElm to be dirty underground dwellings with small burrowed homes made of mismatched brick. This place was not at all like that.