Storm Holt (The Prophecies of Zanufey Book 3) (38 page)

‘All right Issa,’ Freydel chuckled. His voice seemed to come from far away. ‘You can let the Flow go now. Gently.’

With utter reluctance she let go of the Flow until she held nothing. She felt empty and normal without it. With a forlorn sigh she stepped out of the Flow and stood there feeling sluggish and dizzy, glad to steady herself on Freydel’s chair. Everything in the physical world seemed so solid, heavy and boring when one left the energy of the Flow.

‘Thank you, Issa. As you can see, Issa has enormous potential,’ Freydel smiled at the others.

Issa caught Domenon’s gaze. He was not smiling now - actually he was frowning. Whether he was angry or not she could not decipher. He stared at her deep in thought. She looked away.

‘Yes,’ Navarr agreed. ‘Issa, do you mind telling us how you overcame Keteth?’

‘All right,’ Issa sighed. She hated talking about her battle with the monster Keteth had become. She wanted only to remember the good man he had once been. Nevertheless, she began a succinct recount of the events that occurred when the Wykiry came, and the struggle she had nearly lost against Keteth.

‘In the end it was the dagger Karshur that delivered the killing blow, I simply held it.’ She pursed her lips, watching their reactions, but only the elf man showed an element of surprise.

‘So, the infamous dagger finally fulfils its destiny,’ Averen said, and then in her mind. ‘
When there is time you must tell me how you came to find that dagger.’

Issa nodded at him, but said nothing. Would he believe her if she told him a fairy found it for her?

‘And what about Celene? Coronos told us about it. How did you defeat the harpies?’ Haelgon asked.

Issa nodded, wondering how best to explain. ‘When Keteth was… freed, he imparted to me his… gift. I don’t fully understand it but he gifted to me the ability to reach the land of the dead and return, alive. After that I could see how he got there, I could feel it. Maybe it was possible because I had been to the Shadowlands and survived, I don’t know. But to enter the land of the dead… It’s not a gift I wanted or would ever use. I never want to meet the Forsaken again.

‘Karshur, his spirit, witnessed this gift. When the dagger was returned, Karshur added to Keteth’s gift with his own. Perhaps he knew I would never use it, I don’t know, but he gave to me a spell that would take me to the realm of the dead easily and in an instant. Still, I never thought I’d use it, but then I found the raven talisman he mentioned. Somehow he knew I would find this talisman, and when I found it I could use the spell.’
 

The wizards were frowning. Issa carried on awkwardly, finding it difficult to articulate everything that had happened. It sounded so silly, so crazy, when she tried to put everything into normal words.
 

‘It’s a raven made of some sort of glittering black stone, and it’s about this big.’ She made a circle with her hands. ‘Have you seen or heard of it?’ The men shook their heads. If the most powerful and learned wizards of Maioria didn’t know of the raven talisman, then what in the world was it?

Issa sighed. ‘I know nothing about it, only that it’s powerful, like an orb but different. It’s possible its power is linked to Zanufey’s moon, but until it rises again I cannot know. With this talisman and the gifts given to me by Keteth and Karshur, I had greater power. I went into the realm of the dead and called the ravens to me. I could not have defeated the harpies without the ravens or the talisman or the gifts,’ she ended in a quiet voice.

‘Where is this talisman?’ Freydel asked, completely intrigued.

‘I didn’t bring it. I decided coming with the orb would be enough, and I didn’t yet know who I would be speaking with,’ she answered honestly.

‘Can you call the ravens to you now?’ Luren asked. His furtive features were excited, he clearly wanted her to perform a magic trick.

‘I guess I could, but I won’t. I will only call them when they are needed,’ she said. He looked disappointed. She had a thought. ‘But I might be able to call one, the one that came to me in the beginning.’
 

Luren nodded and grinned, and even Freydel seemed intrigued. She closed her eyes and focused on the Flow again. The faint energy of the dark moon still moved around her.
Ehka, I know you are linked to the dark moon too.
Could she reach him and call him to her this way? It seemed like an easy and simple thing to do, though she had no idea how to do it. She stepped into the Flow and gathered up the indigo energy.

‘Ehka,’
she said with her mind.
‘Come to me, follow the power of Zanufey’s moon.’
She willed the indigo magic from her and imagined it searching for Ehka. She thought she heard a caw come from far away but couldn’t be sure. She stepped out of the Flow, half expecting Ehka to be there beside her, but he wasn’t. She felt her cheeks going red, suddenly feeling silly as the bemused faces of the wizards looked on. Luren’s excitement faded into disappointment.

She shrugged and gave a sheepish grin. ‘I guess it didn’t work, or he didn’t want to come. He’s not a dog that comes when I call, he has his own strong-willed mind.’
 

‘I think we have interrogated Issa for long enough,’ Freydel said, clapping his hands together with finality. She gave him a grateful smile, she felt worn out.

‘One more thing,’ Domenon said. Freydel gave him a withering look but Domenon was staring only at her. She shifted uncomfortably under his heavy gaze. ‘It’s written in the Book of Ages that the Queen of Ravens will bear a mark, not a mark from birth or from battle, but one that comes of a sudden when she comes into her power. “The mark of the goddess, the mark of the messenger, the mark of the alter self.” Do you have a mark, Issa?’

She swallowed. She didn’t want to reveal her personal mark to these men. But rather than honour her dignity the wizards only looked on with more intrigue. Freydel gave her an apologetic look. She could lie, but they would most definitely sense it.

‘I do have a mark,’ she said after a long pause. This caused murmurs of surprise amongst the wizards. Perhaps that is what they needed to see to believe she was their fabled Raven Queen. A mark like a clear and unquestionable label detailing a product in a market stall. Maybe she needed that too, to believe in herself…
‘It was Karshur’s gift to me for fulfilling his purpose.’

‘I think we need to see it,’ Domenon said.

She felt herself colour and frowned her disapproval at him. It felt like a battle of wills, his against hers, and he’d won. He had exerted dominance over her and she hated it. She could not
not
show the expectant wizards the raven mark. It proved to them without question that she was the one spoken of in the prophecies. She was beginning to hate those prophecies.
I am Issalena Kammy too, dammit! I have a life of my own, not just to fulfil the stupid old prophecies.

Trying to make nothing of it she reached up to the cords on her tunic dress and untied them. The wizards shifted uncomfortably, except Domenon. She pulled the neck of her tunic down just enough to reveal the shimmering blue mark on the centre of her chest.
 

Domenon seemed taken aback at that, and she suddenly realised he had not believed her the entire time. She smiled, the final victory was hers. In an instant and quicker than a bird the tall man jumped off his seat, strode over and gripped her shoulders. He stared closely at the mark. She was too stunned to move and his iron grip was painful and unyielding.

‘Domenon.’ Several shocked voices commanded the wizard at once. At the same time she felt the Flow suddenly jerk or snap. There was a flash of indigo light and through it Ehka burst into the circle. The big bird tumbled left then right, struggling to keep airborne as he fought to overcome his disorientation.

‘It’s a raven, it’s the mark of the raven,’ Domenon said in shock, not even noticing the squawking bird or the protesting wizards. He lifted his eyes and stared into hers with a penetrating gaze. Though it was he who was scrutinising her, for the briefest moment she saw something move within his eyes. Her eyes went wide in surprise and she strained to see further.
 

He released her suddenly and snapped his head away. Whether he was trying to prevent her from seeing anymore, or realised the error of his actions, she couldn’t be sure. Freydel steadied her as Domenon strode back to his seat without an apology, and sat there staring at the floor deep in thought.

‘I must apologise for our
Master
Wizard,’ Freydel said in a raised voice, glaring at Domenon. ‘He’s renowned for having strong emotions and acting on impulse, it’s both his power and his weakness. He will apologise at some point no doubt.’

Domenon ignored him and continued his deep reverie.

‘Are you all right?’ Freydel asked.

Issa retied the cord of her tunic, shaken by Domenon’s actions, and whatever he seemed to be hiding. One thing was for sure, he was not entirely human, and that was not just because of his supposed elven heritage. He didn’t feel elven at all to her.

‘I’m all right.’ She tried to compose herself. ‘Ehka,’ she called to the bird circling wildly above her. He landed quite unsteadily at her feet.
 

‘This is Ehka,’ she said and bent to stroke his neck.
 

‘It worked,’ Luren laughed aloud.
 

She smiled, surprised herself. Stroking his soft feathers and having him here immediately comforted and calmed her. Ehka looked at each of the wizards, stared hard at Domenon, then lost interest and began preening himself.
 

‘I think Issa has suffered us more than enough,’ Freydel said, and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The other wizards agreed and began to stand. ‘I’ll help you return, but don’t forget to take the orb. It’s always better to return to the place you physically transported from with the stuff you left with. It creates calm and balance in the energies.’

She took note of his piece of advice and stooped to retrieve the Orb of Water. ‘Sorry, Ehka, looks like we’re going straight back.’ She scooped the bemused bird up into her other arm and said goodbye to the other wizards. She was very glad to be leaving.

RETURNING only took a moment. Freydel was part of the way through the spell he was weaving when the world turned hazy and a rush of air blasted through her. In a blink she was back in her room in Castle Carvon, swaying and utterly disorientated as Ehka squawked in her arm. Thank the goddess she was home and away from all those wizards. She plopped Ehka and the orb onto the bed, and sat down herself to stop the room spinning. But, after a moment, she conceded Freydel was right, this time she recovered much quicker. There came a knock at the door.

‘Who is it,’ she called out after a moment. She wanted to pretend she wasn’t here. She hoped it wasn’t Freydel returned from the Circle to ask her more questions. She wanted to be alone.

Asaph poked his head around the door and grinned. ‘I sensed you were back, or perhaps it was that noisy raven.’

She smiled at him, she hadn’t expected him at all. ‘Oh, it’s you. You can come in. I thought it might be someone else I’m too tired to talk to.’

‘You can tell me everything, and I promise not to get cross. I brought you some lunch,’ he said, coming fully into the room. He carried a tray filled with fruit, freshly baked rolls and ceramic pots filled with something.

‘Wow, I’m famished.’ She eyed the rolls, she hadn’t realised how hungry she was. Using magic always made her hungry. She patted the bed for him to sit beside her. ‘You seem better today,’ she said.

‘I’m sorry for my behaviour, I don’t know what came over me. Some strange sickness or just fatigue, I’m not sure,’ he said with a guilty look. ‘But I feel much better now.’

As they ate Issa told him what had happened at the Wizard’s Circle.

‘If I meet Domenon I’ll make him apologise,’ Asaph growled.

She giggled. ‘Hopefully he’ll feel guilty enough after today. He’s a strange one. I think I’ll keep away from him. Now the elf man Averen, he was nice…’

‘I don’t want to hear about the elf man,’ Asaph scowled. He caught her grinning at him, and then laughed. ‘I guess I fell for that one. When you’ve rested, why don’t we explore the castle and grounds? Coronos said to try to keep you in the castle until he’s back. So I thought this way you would satisfy your curiosity and I get to be with you alone. The river really does run right through the castle’s centre and their are these beautiful bridges going all over it.’