Legend of the Ravenstone (21 page)

William immediately brightened. “That was many years ago, lad, but I appreciate the compliment.”

Conversation remained light, and Kariayla took to listening, as was her custom. Before long, Jinx sat back in his chair and groaned, and Ruby looked as though she would fall asleep at the table. Arcturus’s last meaningful bites were coupled with a final glass of wine and a few slurred words. Hawkwing stood and excused himself, and Kariayla watched him leave, wondering at his silence. It was then she noticed William’s full attention was upon her.

“And so ends the feast,” he said, rising and pushing in his chair.

“It was delicious,” Kariayla returned politely. “Thank you.”

“I have my doubts in the condition of our fellow diners, but you, Miss Kariayla, seem reluctant to deem this evening concluded.” He had rounded the table to stand beside her and held out his hand.

She blinked.

“I would be honored if you would join me for a bit of entertainment.”

“I....”

“By all means, my dear,” Arcturus said, his eyes half-closed. “William is a master of diversions.”

“Thank you,” William said. He turned back to her, his eyes sparkling. “Well, what say you, milady?”

Her face afire, Kariayla took his hand. She had no idea what to expect, spending an evening alone with a strange man—a wizard, no less—whom she had just met. But if Arcturus trusted him, then so would she.

As if he had read her thoughts, William said, “Do not fret. I will have you back to your room before midnight.” And he escorted her from the table, leaving the others with their empty plates.

~*~

K
ariayla did return just moments before the clock tolled the midnight hour. For as tired as she was, she truly had enjoyed herself, and she could honestly say that she had never ventured anywhere with the intent of being entertained. She crossed the threshold of her room and immediately fell upon the bed, too weary to change into the nightgown she had discovered in the wardrobe.

She had not been there a few minutes before a voice reached her through a crack in the door. “Hey—you awake, Kariayla?”

She debated whether or not she should answer the thief, but then her conscience nagged at her. “Yes, I’m awake,” she said. She heard the door creak open, and she forced herself to sit upright. Jinx plopped down across from her on the floor. Ruby was nowhere in sight.

Kariayla indicated a chair. “You do not have to sit on the floor.”

“Eh, it’s alright,” he said, fidgeting with the knife in his hands.

“Is Ruby—”

“Sleepin.’ Jedinom’s Golden Sword, I never ate so much.” He patted his belly. “I like this Bill guy. Hard to believe he’s friends with Arcturus.”

Kariayla stifled a yawn. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Nah. It’s strange, but it’s kinda hard to sleep in a fancy place like this. I’m afraid I’ll open my eyes, and none of it’ll be real.”

She could admit that the same thought had crossed her mind as well. Before she could say a word, however, he continued.

“So I was just wondering what you guys did. Just wanted to make sure you had a good time and all....”

Kariayla watched him toy with the knife, struck by the fact he was concerned about her. No longer quite as tired, she eased herself off the bed and sat across from him on the floor. “William took me to a garden.”

“A garden? It’s a little cold don’tcha—”

“An
indoor
garden. It was amazing. We went to a building made of glass, and inside the air was as warm as in the spring. It was like a forest, but the plants were so different from any I’ve seen. There were leaves bigger than you, flowers that smelled like rotten meat, and fountains and pools with little fish of every color. If you stood still long enough, birds would zip by your face, and butterflies would land on your shoulder.”

“Maybe Bill will show the rest of us,” Jinx said, impressed. “I don’t usually care about plants, but that sounds like something I gotta see. And Ruby would love it.”

“This is a very strange and mysterious place,” Kariayla said. “And I have the feeling that there is more to our visit than a good meal and new clothes.”

He nodded. “I was thinking that too. Why’d we come all this way just to visit? There’s gotta be a reason.”

Kariayla wondered if he remembered that they had never actually been invited. “The answer might just be between William and Arcturus. They are old friends.”

“Maybe.” He did not seem convinced. “Hawkwing was kinda quiet at dinner. I bet he knows something. He ain’t said much since Arcturus yelled at him.”

“Will you try and talk to him?”

Jinx shrugged. “I did. I couldn’t find him, and this place gets me all turned around. It’s gotta be magic.”

“I think that all we can do is wait and see what happens,” Kariayla said. “I’d like to think Arcturus will tell us if there is anything we should know.”

His face twisted in a funny expression. “Well, we’ll be waiting a bit. He was pretty drunk when me and Ruby left the table. He might still be there now.”

Kariayla sighed. “At least he was in good spirits.”

Jinx laughed. “He sure was! ‘Good spirits.’ I get it.”

She did not withhold her yawn this time. “Maybe you should try to get some rest.”

“Yeah, I guess. If breakfast is as good as dinner, maybe I can dream about it.”

She watched him head for the door and bid him goodnight. While she was relieved to know Jinx shared her observations, both of them were still without any insight. But seeing as the future was as uncertain as it was for her, she did not mind narrowing her sight to the present.

~*~

“E
ruane is angry.” The words were whispered everywhere in the temple. Whether the spirit of the storm had spoken to any of the temple oracles, there had been no rain in weeks. It was the height of the growing season, and the crops were failing.

Kariayla walked through the torch-lit passage to the congregation hall. Perhaps if no one else, Eruane would speak to her. The temple seemed unusually empty, though she suspected at this hour of the morning, everyone had just set to their daily duties. The hall opened up into a vast space, where firelight from the great hearth and the torches flickered off the columns and across the stone floor. Just before the hearth was the effigy of the spirit of the storm, standing as tall as five men. Her wings were spread wide, her eyes staring, impassive. The light behind her silhouetted her features in an almost sinister mien. Kariayla knew that, like any spirit, Eruane was capable of great benevolence or great wrath. If the spirit was angry, some transgression had been committed to make her so.

Kariayla bowed low before the statue and knelt in prayer. She cleared her thoughts so that the spirit could reach her.
Please speak with me
, she thought, believing she had a special connection to Eruane. It was the spirit of the storm, after all, who had gifted her with her magic. But the longer she sat, the more she became aware of the pressing silence. The silence was not the only encroaching feeling. There was something more—a sense that nagged at her instincts, an anxiety she could not explain. Then she heard his voice. He uttered her name, and she shivered at the softness of his tone....

~*~

S
he awoke with a start, her subconscious delivering her from the dream and the truth of it she could not face. The memory had been lost to her, buried, where it should have remained, but sleep was a gateway to the past and all truth and fiction woven therein. There would be no more rest for her this night, but Kariayla was not sure just how early it was.

Rather than lie awake, she decided on a whim to see if Arcturus was still at the dinner table. She slid her feet into her slippers and quit her room for the hall. She could hear the Markanturian before she could see him, his deep snoring filling the dining hall like ceaseless thunder. His thick form was slumped back in the chair, his hands resting upon his belly, his head having fallen forward. She wondered how anyone could sleep in such a way. Then she spied the half-empty wine glass at his side.

The sound of cheerful whistling reached her ears, and she froze, uncertain if she should stay or hide. Not that she had cause to hide... She decided to wait, fairly certain it was William who was headed her way. Sure enough, the wizard strolled into the dining hall, a glowing orb floating ahead of him. He paused to bow to her. “Miss Kariayla, I would’ve thought you asleep by now. I see you’ve come to check on our Markanturian.” He patted her on the shoulder and winked. “I wouldn’t fret over Arcturus. His habits are ingrained deeper than the roots of an ancient oak. He will arise as soon as he catches the scent of breakfast.”

Kariayla nodded. “Do you—do you ever sleep?”

William laughed. “When confronted with the option of sleep or discovery, which would
you
prefer?” He continued his stroll down the hall without another word.

She watched him disappear through a door, perplexed. Had he been speaking of himself, or was the question intended for her? And was it a rhetorical question or an invitation? The longer she stood there, the more she wondered if she was to take advantage of an opportunity. It was not like her to be nosy, but William had told them to make themselves comfortable in his home.

Hesitantly she started in the direction William had taken. The door had been left open just a crack, and this gave her a sliver of assurance. She opened it enough to slip through and found she was standing on a balcony—a balcony that encircled a round room with a crystalline dome that exposed the entire night sky like a great, wide, open eye. Her mouth fell open as she gazed skyward—not because she had never looked at the stars, but because she had never done so from behind glass, inside a tower.

Soft voices from below stole her attention. The room itself was sparsely furnished aside from a vast, decorated carpet and a strange tubular device propped on a tripod and angled toward the zenith. She glimpsed motion—saw William and Hawkwing step into view and take a seat upon the carpet. Kariayla moved back against the wall, suddenly feeling like an intruder.
I shouldn’t be here.

But she was there, and to use the door or make a sound by moving might lead to her discovery.
I will wait until William starts to leave, and then I’ll slip out.
It seemed like a good plan, but how long did the wizard intend to stay?

Their voices drifted up to her like smoke—soft and hazy but undeniable. Instead of burning her eyes, it was her conscience that burned with guilt. The curse of being a good listener could often be confused with eavesdropping.

~*~

“T
his was your final run, lad,” William said. “No more trekking through the Plains, no more reports, no more urgent matters. How does it feel to retire?”

The tall man did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked up at the sky as if he would find his words amongst the constellations. “Vast. Like an indeterminable stretch of time without a point of fixation.”

“Is that desirable or dreadful?”

Hawkwing’s gaze drifted downward to meet the wizard’s. “I look forward to it.”

William smiled knowingly. “Meaning you do have plans.”

“I do.”

“Only you would attempt to be as mysterious as I am,” the wizard said. “So be it. But know that your company will be sorely missed. There are not many with whom I’ve forged a true and lasting friendship, but two such people share my home this night.” He reached and pulled closer a tray with a teapot and two cups that had not been there a moment ago.

“Entirely of your doing,” Hawkwing said.

William poured them each a cup. “Of course, though even I could not foresee the additional guests. And you say you did not find Arcturus in Mystland?”

Hawkwing took a sip. “Ah. That is what he said, not me.”

“Yes, yes.” William waved his hand impatiently. “He was doing research in Belorn. I will extract the truth of that from him later. How came to be this party of travelers?”

“Kariayla was with him when we first met. Jinx and Ruby joined us in the Freelands.”

“For a man who tells great tales, you are awfully lackluster tonight,” William said, disappointed. He set down his cup and tapped the rim anxiously. Each time he did, the beverage slowly refilled itself. “What bothers you?”

Hawkwing shrugged. “I need to unlearn all I have practiced these past years. I need to learn not to see.”

William chuckled. “You were this way before you joined the Watchers. How do you teach a Falquirian not to see? Do not be ridiculous.” Then his expression grew serious. “What was it you witnessed? Was it with our charismatic bunch?”

“No. I parted company with Arcturus and Kariayla along the Link...after the attack on the Prophet’s thieves.”

William stared. “You were attacked by the thieves?”

“Initially, but I am quite certain this was an ambush for them. Duke Dinorthon was already dead when our caravan set out. The thieves were allowed to attack, and the blame was placed upon them. Some were left alive for the Crown to trace back to their hideout and deliver justice. One particular thief was taken elsewhere—not by the Crown, but by a group of Jornoans.”

“Let me guess,” William said, rubbing his chin. “The White Demon.”

“You heard of its capture,” Hawkwing inferred.

“From time to time, word travels.” The wizard took another sip of his tea, but Hawkwing merely held onto his cup in trembling hands, his gaze distant. “You followed the Jornoans, didn’t you? You could not resist.”

“I thought it was a curious situation. Something was amiss.”

“In that you are correct,” William said.

Hawkwing looked at him.

“What do you know of the Priagent?”

“Priagent Rashir Diemh,” the tracker murmured. “Not much.”

“He is here in Northern Secramore. He is an outcast from his people, having stirred conflict amongst them.”

Hawkwing shrugged again. “The Jornoans are a conflicted race.”

“True, but only the Priagent has the grand ambition of gaining a foothold in Northern Secramore. He has been carefully making alliances. And now he has a demon in his possession. What are the odds that he has obtained the Prophet himself?”