Dark Magic (71 page)

“Such impudence!” she said.

Trev touched his cheek, finding three bleeding lines there. Her nails were amazingly sharp. “I take it you reject my offer? A pity. I was looking forward to the first part.”

She looked him up and down hotly. Finally, she sighed and nodded her head. “You intrigue me more than I do you. I find the situation disturbing. Knowing you are at least part Faerie, I hope you take your vows seriously.”

“I do.”

“Very well, let us consummate this deal now. The blood-color is already gone. The purple has faded to umber as well. Let’s make love in the heart of the green, where the light still shines the brightest.”

And so Trev took her into the green light. He laid with her there upon the moldering leaves with the brilliance of the rainbow shining down on his bare back. Morgana left many bleeding lines on his skin, but he didn’t feel the razor-like cuts until later when he put his tunic back on and they chafed and burned at the touch of cloth.

Trev found the entire experience exhilarating, and no longer regretted that he had chased down the rainbow to its termination.

“Now,” he said as they lay entwined. “Tell me how you summoned the rainbow. Do you possess Lavatis?”

“No,” she said. “That Jewel calls upon an elemental form of the rainbow—a mindless living creature. My power over it is not so great. I can only call the light and place it where I will.”

“But how?”

“With this,” she said, tapping the Jewel on her breast.

Trev looked at it, and nodded. “Is it a Jewel of Power then? If so, which one?”

She laughed and pushed him away from her. “That was not part of our bargain. Now, you must go and seek for me, until Midsummer’s Eve.”

He pressed himself close to her and kissed her again. She resisted at first, but then allowed the contact.

When he had parted company with Morgana, he was stricken by a single thought: Had he found the good face of the rainbow—or the evil hind end of it?

He could not be certain if the witch he’d met qualified as a blessing, or a curse.

* * *

Mari, hearing his tale, was quite certain that her innocent son had found a terror rather than a treasure. She was horrified that he’d lost his virginity to some unknown beastly woman of power. She raged in turns at the temptress Morgana and then at silly Trev. She lectured him on a dozen points at great length, until Trev found his attention wandering again.

“How could you get yourself into something like this, Trev?” she demanded.

“Pardon me, Mother,” Trev said, leaning his cheek upon his fist. “But didn’t you fall for Dad in a similar fashion?”

Mari’s eyes narrowed. Trev knew this sort of talk was certain to annoy her, but he’d become annoyed himself.

“When I fell prey to your father, the Faerie were new to the Haven. At that point, never in my entire life did I really expect to meet them. They seemed exciting and different. But the situation was entirely different in your case. You’ve met the Faerie many times—you’ve lived with them. You knew what you were getting into. You knew the dangers of chasing a rainbow, but you did it anyway.”

Trev heaved a sigh. “I suppose. But we both know
why
I did it. You have to understand the urge I feel to play with them, to seek them out. You did the same with Father, even after the first time you met a strange elf in wood. You went back for him. You did your best to find him again.”

Mari’s face became purple. Trev thought it was interesting when she did that. In this case, he marked it up to a volatile mixture of rage and embarrassment.

She cuffed him then, and he didn’t bother to duck. She’d only rarely struck him, but fortunately, it no longer hurt when she did it. He was too big now to care much.

“Do you feel better now?” he asked her gently.

Her sides heaved and tears ran down her face.

“No,” she said. “I feel terrible. I feel like I’m not getting through to you. I don’t want you to go off adventuring in the woods like your father did. He’s dead because of it.”

“Nonsense,” Trev replied. “He rambled for centuries without being killed. He died defending the Haven and all of us, not doing something foolhardy. He fought the Dead, and lost his battle. Could have happened to anyone.”

Mari calmed down. She nodded. “You’re right about that. I’m sorry to imply otherwise. But I just don’t want to lose you. You understand that, don’t you?”

“To a point. You see, this world we live in is much bigger than the Haven. When the Dead came, I learned that staying quiet as mice in Riverton doesn’t guarantee anything. It’s strength that wins the day when events take a bad turn.”

Mari gave him an entirely different appraising look. “What are you on about?”

“Just as I said: I seek strength.”

“By bounding around in the woods like a Wee One? By fornicating with random women met in strange places?”

Trev smiled slightly. “By having experiences. By interacting with beings of power and besting them.”

“To defeat the powerful when they become aggressive, you must have power of your own. Quick feet and quick wits won’t save you then.”

“Exactly. That’s where we agree.”

Mari’s eyes narrowed. “So you seek power of your own?”

“Like Brand’s, yes.”

“There’s only one Axe.”

“But there are nine Jewels. I mean to have one. Preferably one that doesn’t have a defending owner at the moment.”

“You can’t mean—oh, Trev—you can’t intend to take the Black!”

Trev’s eyes widened in surprise. He shook his head seriously. “No mother. I’m not mad! I touched the Black once, and that was enough for a lifetime. I don’t want a Jewel of such evil power.”

“They’re all evil,” Mari said. “I touched the Red, and I recall it well. I know what I’m talking about. Trev, tell me you’ll drop this folly. I know you promised that witch, but you don’t have to do it. Seek and fail. Search for months in all the wrong places, that’s all you have to do. Then you will be released from your bargain.”

He shook his head. “No, that isn’t my plan. I’m leaving tonight, in fact. I’ll reach the Deepwood by nightfall and I’ll leave the Haven behind.”

“Trev,” said Mari, sounding a trifle desperate, “I know I can’t talk you out of this. I know you too well—you’re just like your father. But I want you to speak to someone before you leave.”

“Who?”

“Brand. He’s the only man I know who has mastered his Jewel and not the other way around. Talk to him before you go. And listen to what he says. Will you do that for me?”

Trev thought about it.

“Yes,” he said at last. “And now I must leave to seek my fortune, dear mother.”

They embraced, and Trev left soon after. Mari gazed after him, and he could feel her eyes on his back and he knew that hot tears ran down her face.

Before he’d gone a hundred steps, he felt like going back to her. He felt homesick already. This was different from wandering alone in the woods and on the mounds at twilight. This was so much more serious.

But he kept his resolve firm. He waved once over his shoulder as he reached a copse of rowan trees before vanishing beneath them. Then his childhood home was lost to view, and he began to run lightly down the trail toward the Berrywine River.

Feeling happy, he whistled a lively tune. Birds squawked down at him, voicing their irritation.

END
Excerpt

Be sure to read the rest of the Haven Series by B. V. Larson!

THE HAVEN SERIES

Volume I:
Haven Magic

(First three books:
Amber Magic, Sky Magic, Shadow Magic)

Volume II:
Dark Magic

(Books 4 thru 6: Dragon
Magic, Blood Magic, Death Magic)

Volume III:
Dream Magic
(Series finish)

UNSPEAKABLE THINGS SERIES

Technomancer

The Bone Triangle

Visit BVLarson.com for more information.