by Blythe Baker
You heard my thoughts? I asked.
She blinked up at me. Your stress must be heightening your ability, she said. Just be as honest as you were with Zara. Everything you said to her was the truth.
Right, I thought. Okay. I can do this. Why am I so nervous?
Because you’re about to enter a room with the eleven most powerful spell weavers in Faerywood Falls? Athena offered.
I swallowed hard.
The silver bells on either side of the purple-hued doors rang, their clear, sweet sound echoing off the walls of the long hall we stood in.
“Time for us to go in,” Zara said. “Come along.”
Bliss waved at us, a big encouraging smile on her face.
The doors swung inward with no human assistance.
Zara headed inside, and I followed.
I wished I’d had more time to ask questions about what to expect. When Bliss had talked about me meeting the council, I assumed it would have been at a later date. She hadn’t even told me that I’d be meeting with her mentor. She obviously had kept just as much from Zara.
But as I stepped into the room, all my thoughts were pushed aside.
The room itself was enormous, and perfectly round. It had to be three stories tall, with windows all around. If I’d been able to think more clearly, I would have realized there were eleven, each with a different image etched into the glass. There was a balcony circling the first story, and upon it were eleven chairs made of crystal, each in a different color.
Some of the chairs were empty, but in some there sat a person; five women, and one man, all staring down into the floor below…where Zara and I were.
The floor was made of polished wood that spanned out from a giant marble crescent moon inlaid into the boards, and looked like beams of light. But aside from the intricate adornment, it was completely empty. No chairs, no tables. Nothing apart from us standing there.
My heart was in my throat, and my chest was tight with anxiety as I stared up into the faces of the council members. For months now, these people had lived as nothing more than shadows in my mind, shadows that were unreachable, unknowable, with such great power that I would cower before it.
Well, cower was a good word, for sure. I felt like an ant under a microscope, even if they weren’t all there to stare down at me.
“Zara Whitewater,” said one of the council members.
I looked around the room and realized it was a woman off to my right, seated on a throne of pale orange crystal.
Zara folded her hands in front of herself and bowed deeply, keeping her back perfectly straight.
I tried to copy her, knowing that this was the first bow I’d ever done seriously in my whole life.
“My Ladies, My Lord,” she said, laying a hand over her heart. “I bring myself before you today to ask for your evaluation of a novice spell weaver, and your agreement to allow Marianne into the ancient fold of our kind.”
Wow…she sounds so formal, I said in my mind to Athena.
These practices likely go back centuries, Athena said. I imagine there are very traditional ways of handling newcomers.
I stared up into the balcony…and saw one of the council members get up off her minty green seat and walk around behind it.
Surprised, I looked around at the others. None of the others seemed to be moving, but one more appeared around the yellow seat, a book in her hands.
I blinked. What was going on?
Are they…not taking this seriously? Or is it just me? I asked Athena.
I’m not sure…Athena said. They certainly don’t seem as invested as Zara is.
“You may proceed with your assessment,” said the woman sitting on the orange seat.
My eyes drifted to the throne beside the orange one, which was a lilac purple…and my heart skipped.
A piercing gaze met my own. It belonged to a very pretty woman with hair that was so blonde it almost looked like spun gold. Her long legs were crossed, and her nose was wrinkled as she stared down at me.
Clearly she recognized me just as much as I recognized her.
Delilah Griffin…the whole reason why I wanted to come here in the first place.
“May I present a Miss Marianne Huffler to the council,” Zara said, her voice echoing around the huge, vaulted room.
The heads of those seated turned toward me, all except the woman with the book in her hands.
“I have evaluated her, tested her strengths, and found that she is, indeed, Gifted,” Zara said. “Quite talented, as well. She has the knack for nature magic.”
Another pair of women in pale blue robes appeared between two of the seats, speaking animatedly to one another. They didn’t move to take their places, and it didn’t look like they even realized we were here.
Wow, Lady Yurl was pretty dismissive upstairs, I thought, but I had no idea she meant that so few people actually cared about inducting a new apprentice.
It’s likely that it happens frequently, and so it’s probably a rather boring task, especially if the novice is seen by a mentor first, Athena said.
I sighed. She was probably right.
Even still…
Couldn’t they show even a little respect and pretend like they cared I was here?
I heard a cough from Delilah in response, her eyes still boring down on me.
“So, in your estimation, would you classify her as a spell weaver alone?” the male council member asked. “Or has she exhibited other talents?”
Zara looked over at me, her golden eyes searching.
My face flooded with color. She wasn’t reading my mind, was she?
She turned her gaze back up to the council members present. “She has a familiar, so I believe there is some beast speaking there as well, though how strong that gift is, I am uncertain.”
“What of her family?” asked another council woman. An older, more frail looking woman than Lady Yurl, she had short, blue hair the same color as the robes she wore. “What is her surname again?”
“Huffler,” Zara said. “She was adopted as an infant.”
“Ah,” the council woman said. “Miss Marianne, do you know anything about your biological family?”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. I licked my dry lips. “Um…no, my Lady,” I said. “I don’t know anything about them.”
The council woman sat back in her chair, apparently unsatisfied with my response.
I breathed a sigh of relief, though. It seemed the spells in the room didn’t detect my words as a lie, so at least I had that going for me.
And it wasn’t even a lie in the first place. I didn’t know who my parents were. One of them had obviously been a faery, but I couldn’t be sure. Not completely.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Delilah tossing her hair in annoyance.
“Have you informed her of our values? Our expectations?” said Lady Yurl from her place in a pale blue seat. She looked almost camouflaged in her robes.
“We have been discussing them, and I intend to set up a time to instruct her properly in the near future,” Zara said.
“Very good,” Lady Yurl said with a nod. She turned her face toward the other members of the council. “Well, as I believe we have enough to make quorum, let us take a vote. Those who agree to accept Miss Marianne Huffler as an apprentice spell weaver, say ‘Aye’.”
“Aye,” came from every mouth in the room. Even Delilah, though her sour look hadn’t disappeared.
“Thank you very much, Zara. And congratulations, Miss Huffler. I know I speak for all of us when I say that we are looking forward to all the things you – yes?” Lady Yurl said, glancing behind her seat. “Oh, yes. My apologies, but we must begin our next meeting. If you ladies would be so kind as to leave the hall.”
Zara bowed once again, which I tried to imitate as best I could, and started back toward the purple double doors.
“That wasn’t as awful as I thought it might be,” I said to Zara as I leaned in closer to her.
“I’
m glad to hear it,” she said. “But they do have a lot of things that are more important to be dealing with aside from inducting new weavers.”
“Right…” I said, surprised that I was actually a little hurt by her statement.
“Congratulations, all the same,” Zara said with a hint of a smile as we stepped into the hall.
The doors slowly, and silently, closed behind us.
“So?” Bliss asked, hurrying over to us, her dark hair quivering with excitement.
“I’m in,” I said, with a smile.
“Yay!” she exclaimed, and she hugged me so tight that I thought my head might explode. “I’m so happy! Now we can be spell weavers together!”
“Yes, alright,” Zara said. “Now, I must be returning to my office. Bliss, you will bring Marianne back here next week for her first instruction. If we must, I shall find her another mentor, depending on who is available.”
“Oh, you couldn’t take her?” Bliss asked.
“If Vero is available, I think he would be better to help her with her nature magic, but we shall see,” Zara said. She inclined her head to me. “Good day, Miss Huffler. Welcome to the guild.”
Bliss cheered again, clapping her hands together as Zara turned and walked away from us. “Wow, this is amazing! I never would have believed this day would come! Congratulations, Marianne!”
“Thanks,” I said. Somewhat breathlessly, I looked down at Athena. “Well, we did it, girl. We’re moving up in the world.”
“I’ll say,” said a voice behind me.
Bliss, Athena and I all whirled around, and were face to face with Delilah Griffin.
5
Delilah’s violet eyes were hard as stone as she glared down at me, her arms folded in front of herself. She was wearing the same pale blue robe that Lady Yurl was wearing, but it seemed strange on her, like it didn’t belong.
When I thought of her, all I could see was the ends of her blonde hair dyed vibrant pink, and her wearing trendy, modern clothing. The robe made her look like a child in adult’s clothing.
“So…Marianne. Why am I not exactly surprised to see you darkening the doorway of our beautiful hall?” she asked in a scathing tone, her eyes flashing.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m sort of surprised that you didn’t jump up and start yelling at me from the balcony.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits, and her fingers dug into the sleeves of her robe. “Don’t patronize me,” she hissed. Then she seemed to relax, rolling her shoulders as she regarded me down the length of her nose. “So…a spell weaver, huh? I had you pegged for nothing more than a beast talker.” She glanced down at Athena, who was sitting beside my feet.
“Yeah, well, it seems that all my latent talent is coming to the surface,” I said.
She huffed, rolling her eyes.
“You know, it’s good that you came over here, because I was hoping to talk to you, actually,” I said.
“Oh?” Delilah asked, a look of curiosity passing briefly over her features. It faded in a moment, though. “What makes you think that I’d want to give you any of my time?”
Bliss frowned. “Well, you’re standing here talking to her, aren’t you?”
“Who invited you into this conversation?” Delilah asked, her head snapping in Bliss’s direction.
“I need your help with something,” I asked, drawing Delilah’s attention back to myself.
She smirked smugly. “Of course you do. I have great power, and what do you have? A fox that couldn’t protect you if it tried.”
There was a low growl from Athena in response.
I swallowed my retort, knowing the only way I was going to get her to help me was if I could flatter her and soothe her ego a bit. “You are, as far as we know, the only one who can help with this.” I said. “And I’d be willing to discuss compensation.”
Bliss shot me a concerned look, and Athena turned her head up to me as well.
What do you mean by that? She asked.
Delilah’s smirk widened. “What sort of compensation are we talking about?” she asked. “Because I can’t think of anything that you’d be able to give me that I couldn’t get for myself.”
I was starting to regret saying anything in the first place. She was right, after all. She was a member of the council of eleven. How in the world could I offer her anything that she couldn’t get on her own? I couldn’t boast about the friends I had; she probably knew shape shifters and vampires just like I did. She had access to the Hollow, which seemed to have everything that a spell weaver would ever need, including things for potions, spells, and places to practice them all freely.
There had to be something I had that she didn’t…
I cleared my throat. “What about an afternoon to come into the antique shop and find one magical item to take, free of charge?”
“Marianne!” Bliss said.
That’s crazy, Athena said. What if she takes something even more valuable than the book her sister stole?
There was a glint of greed in Delilah’s eye. “Interesting proposition…” she said. “Since my filthy sister stole from that wretched old man, I’ve been banned. You would overrule him if I agreed to help you?”
“I’d give you one hour to look through everything,” I said. “There’s bound to be something in there that you’d find useful.”
Bliss was staring at me, her mouth clamped shut, and her eyes wide with frustration. I could feel the heat of her gaze boring into the side of my face, but I ignored her.
Do we really need her help this much? Athena asked. That doesn’t seem like a fair trade off.
I hoped Athena could sense my desire for answers. I need to know, Athena. When I know who my mother is, I’ll be able to start moving toward learning what it means to be a faery. There’s so much I don’t understand. And if I could just know who she was –
“Enough chatting with your familiar,” Delilah said, rolling her eyes.
My stomach clenched; had she somehow heard my thought exchange with Athena? Had I said it out loud? “Did you – ”
“No, but the way you’re looking at the fox pretty much gave it away,” she said. “Now, what exactly did you need my help with? I need to know that before I will even consider helping you.”
I took a deep breath. “Well…I’ve heard that you have some experience with necromancy, and – ”
I’d never seen a person move so fast. Delilah’s whole face contorted, and she grabbed fistfuls of my tunic. Hoisting me into the air, she dragged me around a corner where she pinned me against the wall.
She stood just a few inches away from my face, her nose nearly pressed up against mine. Fire burned in her eyes, and for a second, I almost believed it was real.
“Where did you hear that?” she hissed, her voice low.
I heard frantic footsteps as Bliss and Athena hurried toward us.
“What are you – ” Bliss exclaimed.
Delilah’s hand shot out, preventing Bliss from coming any closer to us, but she never took her eyes off me.
“I asked you a question,” she said to me in a low, dangerous tone.
I swallowed hard. “I’ve…heard it around,” I said.
She shook me, and my head bounced off the wall behind me. Not hard, but enough for some stars to flicker in my vision. “No, I’m asking who, specifically, you heard it from.”
I hesitated. Bliss had been the one to tell me, and she’d only told me an hour or so ago. I couldn’t tell Delilah that, though. Not when Bliss’s entire existence could be on the line for spreading rumors about one of the council of eleven.
But I also didn’t want to throw any of the other people I knew under the bus.
So I decided to lie. Outright. It was the only way that I could protect Bliss.
“Do you remember Evan Foster?” I asked.
The dilation of her pupils told me that she did indeed remember him. “What about him?”
“He was a ghost waker. And since the two of you knew each ot
her so well…” I said, my eyes narrowing. “Evan’s wife may have cheated on him, but I’m not entirely sure she was the only one who sabotaged their relationship. I only heard his side of the story, after all…had a nice chat with him right before he died.”
Her nostrils flared as she stared at me. I could see her mind working behind her eyes, feel her frantic breath on my face.
Apparently, I’d hit the nail on the head…and caused her to panic.
Finally, she loosened her grip on my tunic, and shoved me back into the wall again.
“Listen, little girl, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go spreading that sort of information around,” she whispered, prodding me just below the throat with one of her long, green fingernails. “The council wouldn’t exactly take kindly to the fact that I may or may not be associated with that kind of magic still. I’ve been working really hard to change that.”
I smirked.
She gave me a hard look in return. “Never took you as the kind to blackmail, Huffler.” She sighed. “So, what do you need? Help talking to a ghost? Knowledge about what happens after death?”
I shook my head. “No. I need your help bringing a ghost back after it’s already been put to rest.”
Suddenly, she burst out laughing. Full, belly laughing.
I turned and looked at Bliss, who shrugged, appearing to be just as confused as I was.
Delilah wiped at her eyes, still chuckling as she looked at me. “You’re joking, right? You want me to perform high level magic for you? And for what?”
“I can’t tell you that,” I said.
“Then forget it,” Delilah said, putting her hands on her hips. “I’d only ever do something like that for you if the world depended on it. Is it that severe?”
“Well, no – ” I started to say.
“Then count me out,” Delilah said with a wave, turning away. “I am not going to jeopardize myself just because you have some questions for a ghost. Sorry, not worth it.”
“What if I told you that I’d let you look around Abe’s store for two hours instead of one?” I asked. I didn’t like feeling desperate, but I didn’t have much choice, did I?
“No,” Delilah said, stopping a few feet away, shaking her head. “Sorry, kid, you’re on your own.”