Forsaken (Fated Saga Fantasy Series Book 8) (6 page)

After reading through the letter, she set in. She’d been asked to drop her luggage off as soon as possible. Otherwise she’d get stuck carrying it all herself. Not a fun thought.

It hadn’t been made entirely clear what exactly her job would entail, but she imagined it would have to do with
seeing
on behalf the expedition leader.

She hoped she didn’t let them down.

It was the biggest job she’d been asked to do to date, and her nerves were in high gear. And if she was perfectly honest, she was excited.

Excited to explore. To travel. Not that she’d ever have let Amelia hear her say that. And this expedition was for a good cause. A worthy cause. To scout potential locations for a new home for the Svoda.

It meant a huge undertaking though. It had to be the perfect location. Secret. Remote. Powerful energy to cover all their magical needs. A place where they could keep their secrets and practice magic freely, without concern of being discovered.

She couldn’t wait to meet the rest of the members chosen to do this with her. Chances are she already knew all or some of them. She was certain they’d been forbidden to speak of it as well.

Although they’d all had months to prepare. She had just days.

Juliska spun around in circles with no idea where to start packing.

The list of recommended clothes and items was long. It looked like they needed to be prepared for a journey across various climates and conditions… around the world even. And perhaps it was. She had no idea.

A flutter of nerves rolled through her belly. She assured herself she was ready for the job and started packing.

CHAPTER FOUR

The entire island was in attendance as the Banon, Benson Havelock, made his surprise announcement. Rumors had been rampant, but Juliska did not think anyone had actually guessed correctly. They had gathered in an open pavilion at the center of the island. It was another warm summer day with lots of sun.

Once he had finished explaining the quest, the Svoda were abuzz with anticipation and excitement. Tomorrow morning they’d see off an expedition, the first of its kind; a group chosen to search out a possible new place for them to call home. Or a second home…

Juliska was paraded out on a stage along with the other members of the quest as Banon Havelock officially introduced them to the Svoda… a few of the members she knew and had worked with before, some she recognized by name or reputation, a couple she did not.

Seeing them all together on the stage got her nerves worked up.

It was happening. It was really happening.

The first man the Banon introduced was Milo Jendaya, the man responsible for the quest in the first place. He had petitioned the Viancourt and the Banon to consider it, repeatedly. Until at last, they’d agreed. He had set in to organizing it straight away.

He and Juliska had attended school together, and he’d recently married another schoolmate and they’d just found out days ago they were going to have a baby. He debated taking himself out of the quest but his wife, Kay, wouldn’t hear of it. They’d only be gone a month and she refused to the let expedition planner not tag along.

When the Banon called out her name next, she raised her chin and stepped forward. Her family, minus Amelia, was in the crowd and clapped hard for her. Her younger sister, Anna, was pointing to one of the men near her, and giggling. Juliska cast a side-glance to see whom she were gawking at.

C. Edward Gillivray. She rolled her eyes and tossed Anna a stern glare. Juliska only knew him by reputation… it was a mile long, and his ego, two. He wasn’t a bad looking fellow… had thick lashes any woman would die for, and dark blue eyes behind them; though he could use a shave, Juliska thought. She shook her head in disgust. This was a prestigious event that would potentially go down in history, and he hadn’t even shaved.

He’d been in a class maybe two or three years ahead of her, if she remembered right. And she’d been pulled out of school a few years early to become PanSofia’s full time apprentice. Her mentor had taken over her studies at that point.

The Banon continued introducing the other members.

After her, was another ex-schoolmate, now a member of the local law enforcement, Balaton, Arnon Jacoby. A kind man who took his job very seriously, but was known for being fair. Juliska had always liked him. Mostly because they both thought a lot alike and took their jobs seriously. She respected that and always found him pleasant to work with. On this quest, his job was to provide protection, and rate security concerns of their potential new home.

Next was Cornell Tibbit. A middle-aged, beloved man that operated the Svoda’s magical tracking system. It helped that he was gifted with sensing magic himself; there had never been another tracker better. Where others relied on magical equipment, he relied on his senses. Woman, in particular, adored him, being that he could sometimes sense the magic of their unborn children. Mostly, if their child was gifted. Everyone hoped for a gifted child. Juliska didn’t understand the excitement, other than bragging rights of the parents. For the child, it meant they’d be like her. Shoved into an apprenticeship and their life planned out for them. Not that it was all bad. At least not today… and overall, Juliska liked her job.

But Cornell also happened to be the tracker that found Juliska when she was eleven and brought her home to the Svoda. She had much to be thankful for and adored the man just for this. But he didn’t just track for magical blips out in the non-magical world… he also investigated magical traces at crime scenes, and tracked the magic of their enemies. If there were any sudden shifts in magic, Cornell would know. Another reason he was vital to this quest.

Joining as well were two members of the Tunkapog, longtime allies of the Svoda. They had worked closely with Milo and Cornell to map out and scout potential habitable locations that were still hidden and remote from the non-magical world.

The first was a young woman named Kanda Macawi. She’d been appointed as a liaison between her people and the Svoda just over a year ago. The Tunkapog preferred to remain in their own hidden part of the world, but there was always a liaison between them and the other magical clans. There was something calming about the woman. She had a natural grace that seemed to rub off on all those around her.

Except her brother, Nashua, the second Tunkapog member of the quest. Juliska had only met him once but thought him pompous and prickly. He was also recently chosen as successor to the current leader, who had decided to relinquish his position at some point in the near future.

Lastly was Balloch Flummer, local historian, storyteller and record keeper. She thought he was a friendly fellow, and she was certain they’d get along easy enough. To her surprise though, he was tagging along his apprentice… C. Edward Gillivray.

Or as he introduced himself to Juliska a moment later,
Colin.
Edward.
Gillivray
. He even took off his hat and bowed, like some kind of gentleman. He looked nothing of the sort. The Banon had finished the introductions and she’d slipped to the back of the stage where the man had cornered her. C. Edward Gillivray was disheveled and unshaven, with an arrogant smile and eyes that danced in some silent amusement. He was even more unkempt than she’d first thought.

She just stared with an unimpressed raised eyebrow.

He grinned.

There was a challenge hidden in it…

She cleared her throat. They were still on stage; she played nice and forced a smile in greeting.

“Ah, there it is,” he whispered too intimately.

She frowned but did not ask him to clarify. He did anyway.

“I’ve heard you have the most beautiful smile of any woman on the island. And now up this close, I see it’s true.”

Colin Edward Gillivray was everything his reputation claimed.

Full of himself. Confident he was magic’s gift to womankind. How he’d come to be a historian and record keeper’s apprentice, she could not imagine. A quick glance didn’t shout out someone who loved history. Or cared about keeping records. And yet with all his disheveledness, there was something quite put together about him. It was his confidence she supposed. And she hated to admit it, but his eyes dazzled and his smile forced a real one out of her.

“What’s your name again?” he asked, as if he’d not just heard the Banon say it minutes before. And obviously, he knew who she was already.

She smiled wider and leaned in. “I’m
not interested
…”

His lips turned into a defiant grin.

She frowned.

This was all she needed. Some idiot of a man pining after her. She was on this quest to do her job as a seer, and nothing more. Especially with the likes of C. Edward Gillivray.

He left her alone as the Banon finished making his speech. The crowd cheered and the explorers took one last wave at the crowd before being whisked away to prepare for departure. 

She was captured later by PanSofia, her mentor.

“There you are,” she smiled. “I was hoping to catch you before you left in the morning. Nervous?”

Juliska let out a breath. “You’d know I was lying if I said no.”

Her mentor chuckled. “You’ll do just fine. I have no doubts that you’re ready.”

“I feel ready. I do. But this is an important quest. I don’t want to mess it up.”

“Just remember your training. Stay focused. Stay away from
things
that might steal your focus.” Her words seem to insinuate something…

“Things?”

PanSofia lifted an eyebrow. “When I say
things,
I really mean C. Edward Gillivray. I saw him corner you.”

Juliska laughed. “You have
nothing
to worry about. The man is… I can’t even believe they allowed him on this quest. He’s a mess!”

PanSofia nodded knowingly. “I expected nothing different. I’m not worried.” She looked proudly at her student. Soon to be ex-student.

As soon as they returned from the quest, she would officially announce her retirement. She thought of speaking to Juliska on it now, but changed her mind and decided to wait until her return.

“I won’t let anyone down,” promised Juliska, simultaneously hoping this was true.

Her mentor smiled. “Good luck. Be safe.” She left her to finish preparing for travel.

CHAPTER FIVE

Juliska stepped onto the ground. The dry, dusty ground. She turned in circles, in awe of where she was and what she was seeing. They’d just been on the island. Lush, green and full of life.

Kanda and Nashua Macawi had opened a magical portal and they’d stepped through.

She understood why they were on this quest now. Their skill at creating portals to other places on earth was invaluable.

And this place… it was unlike anything she’d ever seen.

“Kind of breathtaking… isn’t it?” someone asked her. She looked up to see C. Edward Gillivray standing beside her.

“Yes it is,” she agreed, unable to deny it.

“Just call me Eddy,” he blurted out.

“What?” She was only half paying attention.

“Just call me Eddy. Everyone does. Colin was my grandfather’s name. I was named after him, but it got a little confusing having two Colin’s around so my family called me Edward, eventually Eddy.”

“Your ancestry does not interest me.” She turned and followed the others. He needed to get the point, fast. She saw no reason to placate him.

He just chuckled and followed her.

Eddy
wasn’t going to be so easy to get rid of. She even disliked the name. If she had to speak to him, it would be Edward.

The sand didn’t go on forever. Within sight behind them was a thick forest. It was a little further to see anything to either the right or left, but this desert wasn’t all encompassing of their view. It seemed an odd place for a desert, being it began and ended within sight, and was surrounded by pine and maple trees, lush greenness and life.

Juliska wondered where they were. The quest’s destinations had been kept secret. Part of their security she’d been told. The fewer the people who knew, the less chance of the wrong people finding out.

Like the Grosvenor. A confrontation they’d be lucky to survive.

Or the Stripers… treasure hunters willing to do just about anything for the right price.

And humans. Good old regular non-magical humans. They had to make sure they didn’t accidentally reveal any secrets to the non-magical world.

“This way,” Milo hollered to them all. He took them down the ridge to the center of the sandy desert, where oddly, there was a protrusion of rocks pushing out of the ground and a wall of water flowing freely over its side. The water fell right back down in between more rocks, the surrounding desert not taking in a bit of the moisture.

“Where are we?” It was Arnon Jacoby who asked.

“Would you believe we’re still in Maine?” challenged Kanda.

“No,” many in the group said at once.

The woman grinned widely. “It’s true. We are. In fact…” her brother cut her off.

“If you listen, we’re not all that far from the island. The ocean is close.”

They did. Intently. Somewhere in the far distance, over the waterfall, was the unmistakable sounds of the ocean. Seagulls. Boats. A lighthouse horn. The smallest hint of sea air in their nostrils.

“Unbelievable,” whispered Arnon. The rest agreed. “So where exactly are we then?”

“The Oasis of Loramoore,” announced Milo.

There was a waterfall, around twenty feet high, but it didn’t look like much of an oasis.

“We’re not actually there yet,” stated Nashua. “Come.” He led the party toward the waterfall. Once there, they stopped. “We have to go through the falls,” he told them.

Juliska let out a disheartened grunt. She didn’t enjoy the idea of getting soaking wet just minutes into their journey.

“Don’t worry,” said Kanda. Juliska wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to get wet. “If you have magical blood in you, the water won’t actually touch you.”

“Oh, is this another portal?” Juliska asked curiously.

“Of sorts, yes,” Kanda started to reply.

Her brother interrupted again. “Magical blood will let you into the oasis. If you did not have magical blood, it’s just a waterfall and goes nowhere.”

“Brilliant,” muttered Milo.

Arnon Jacoby took a glance at Kanda. “Anything we need to know before heading in?” There was a protective flare in his tone, but security was his job. Before she could reply, her brother stepped up beside her.

“There’s nothing dangerous here.”

Arnon raised an eyebrow at the man.

Kanda shot her brother a stern gaze.

“Am I a grown woman able to speak for myself?”

Nashua frowned, but conceded.

“It’s perfectly safe,” she answered Arnon. “Even from overprotective brothers,” she jested with a humored sneer.

Everyone got a good chuckle in, except Nashua.

Arnon accepted what they said, for now. But he’d still be on his guard. It was his job after all.

They stepped through the falls, and as promised, the water fell right over them and they stayed dry. What awaited on the other side… if what they’d seen so far was breathtaking, this gave the word instantaneous new meaning.

“The Oasis of Loramoore.” Milo let them take a moment to soak it all in.

It was lush and green, warm and moist. Filled with tropical life like they’d never seen before, and not native to the area.

“My people have hidden this oasis for hundreds of years,” revealed Nashua.

His sister nudged his arm with a look that ordered him to rephrase his statement.

He cleared his throat. “Our people. The Tunkapog people.”

Pompous and prickly,
Juliska thought to herself. She wondered how he’d been chosen as the Tunkapog’s next leader.

Kanda continued. “We considered calling this our home once.”

“I can see why,” said Cornell with a whistle slipping off his tongue. “The magical energy in this place is buzzing.” He looked like a kid in a toy store, eager to try out everything.

Eddy had just pulled out a notepad and was writing down a few notes on behalf of his mentor, Balloch.

An air of excitement enveloped them all.

“When we heard the Svoda might need to expand a little, this was the first place we thought of,” said Kanda.

“I had no idea… no idea something like this was just miles away from us.” Balloch shook his head in wonder.

“The Oasis of Loramoore is approximately the same size as your island,” explained Nashua. “So it has good expansion potential. And it would not be too much an effort to set up a portal that would bring Svoda right into the oasis, rather than landing just outside it.”

“We felt you should see what surrounded the oasis though,” added Kanda. “One thing you may want to note is that this place is a bit of an oddity, so it attracts non-magical outsiders.”

“Not that they should ever be a bother,” assumed Eddy. “They don’t know this exists, right?”

“No. And even if they enter the waterfall, which they do all the time, unless they had magical blood…”

“No entry…” finished Eddy, writing it down at the same time.

“We’d have to deal with the potential of magical folk being seen going through the waterfall,” noted Cornell. Eddy jotted that down as well. “Even if there’s a portal set up inside here somewhere, it’s bound to happen that someone will use the waterfall.”

Arnon agreed and made a mental note of this as well. “We also need to consider the off chance that someone steps through the waterfall, who does have magical blood, and does not know it,” said Arnon. “It’s rare these days, but it can happen.” He took a glance at Juliska and sent her a friendly wink. She smiled back. She’d been the last magical child found, so it had been a while.

“Something you’ll have to give some thought to,” Nashua said decidedly.

Arnon nodded, already thinking up ways to take precautions.

“How did all the sand get here? Or out there…” corrected Cornell. “I felt no life, no energy from the sand.”

“It happened a long time ago,” said Kanda. “The people that owned and worked this land overworked it. Ruined it. Drained the life out of the ground and basically, killed it.”

“That’s kind of a scary thought,” replied Balloch. “Will it never come back to life?”

“It’s been almost a hundred years with no sign of recovery. Only time will tell I suppose.”

“So if the desert and sand are dead, how does this oasis thrive?” asked Cornell.

“A series of underwater caves,” explained Nashua. “Some from the ocean, some from fresh water sources. But the water pops up out of the ground inside the oasis and provides life. The energy renews constantly.”

“So there are sources of both salt water and fresh water here?” confirmed Balloch.

“Yes,” answered Nashua.

Eddy noted the information.

“It’s the constant movement of the water that renews the energy and life here. The fresh water flows from underground and pops up in springs. The ocean currents do the same. The constant and ebb and flow of the tides creates a constant energy source. Endless supplies for all your magical needs…” Kanda smiled. She could tell they were falling in love with this place.

“Just like the island,” noted Cornell smartly. “The ocean provides us all we need there as well. Being self-sustainable is vital.”

Everyone agreed.

“Well, how about enough gawking and note taking, for now,” suggested Milo. “Shall we?” He let Kanda and Nashua lead the way. Not too long in they came to a meadow. Filled with flowers and tall grass. In the middle was one of the fresh water springs the Macawi’s had spoken of.

They decided the meadow was the perfect place to set up camp. Arnon and Cornell had carried a heavy looking trunk between them. They insisted it was not heavy at all; they had used magic to make it so. And somehow, all their supplies and personal belongings for this quest had been stored inside.

Arnon opened the trunk and reached down into the depths. He pulled out a thick stack of canvas.

The tent. There was just one. It didn’t look that big folded in his arms, but Juliska watched as he and Cornell spread it out on the ground and it took up much more space than she expected. They made a few swift and simultaneous movements with their hands, and the tent popped upward, forming into a substantial looking canvas abode. They opened the front flaps and hooked them so everyone could go in.

Juliska stepped through and froze, she’d had never seen anything like it. Day one and she was already overwhelmed.

“Wow.” Apparently, neither had Eddy. He stopped right alongside her.

She could not hold back a grin seeing the look of awe on his face.

“Impressive. You cannot argue with that,” he aimed at her.

“No. I suppose I can’t.”
But it can be a quick argument
. She left him and went further in.

There was a large room in the center of the tent. In the middle was a long wooden table and chairs. Off to the backside was a galley and fireplace, stocked with food and other provisions.

Lining the walls on the right and left hand sides were doors, marked with the name of the person staying in the room behind it. The belongings they had packed and delivered before the quest had already been put in each of their rooms.

Juliska headed for hers, but stopped short when she saw the name on the door next to hers. Eddy stepped up to his room and tossed her a wink as he stepped inside. She wondered if anyone would switch with her.

The room was simple. A bed, a small table and a dresser for her belongings. It didn’t take them long to get settled, and soon, they were seated around the table aligning plans for the next few days that they’d explore the Loramoore Oasis.

For Juliska’s part, this meant attempting to have visions as often as possible and hoping nothing ominous showed itself. Or if it did, that it gave them enough warning to prepare. No one expected anything though, seeing as the oasis was peaceful, and Kanda and Nashua had told them it was safe.

Their time at the oasis was spent tracing the levels of magic. Scouting out potential locations for a town and residences. Testing the security of the place. Mapping the terrain and making notes of anything of interest.

Eddy refused to stop attempting to engage Juliska in conversation; she avoided him whenever possible, claiming she needed to keep her head clear. His incessant attempts were going to drive her mad by the time this trip was all over. Unless he finally got the hint and gave up.

As their time at the oasis came to an end, one fact they each agreed all Svoda would enjoy was that the magical energies in the oasis kept it much warmer than the island, or the state of Maine, even during the harshest of winters. Something many Svoda would be happy to know as winters could be long and brutal. Something many often wanted to escape, but could not.

It almost seemed too perfect. Why even keep exploring?

But they had a plan and would stick to it.