She struggled to concentrate. All she could see was the terrible resolve on her mother’s face. The sadness and fear in here eyes and those words, they eluded her mind when she tried to recall them.
“First you have to learn how to use the Stone’s power.” He said. “It will be easier since you have the magic in your blood. Are you ready or do you need more time?”
“I’m ready.”
Cerynus stepped behind her and put his hand lightly on her head. His touch was the barest whisper on her hair. Then he murmured a word. The Heartstone flared white for a moment; an electric shock sizzled through her. She arched back, her mouth open gasping for air. She was naked. Every sordid petty thought, every illusion was exposed to the hot white glare of the Heartstone. She struggled against the tide for a moment, resisting, but Cerynus held her in the chair. The power blasted through her mind searching for the proper channel.
There was a tug as Cerynus guided the flow. She knew when he found the right conduit. The pain stopped. A shiver ran down her spine and she felt like she was underwater. With a final burst of energy Cerynus flooded her mind with images, words and all his hard earned knowledge of magic. Cerynus took his hand away. He was panting and trembling from the effort. Dully she looked up at Cerynus. The Heartstone lay on her breast like a coal.
Shattered thoughts swirled through her head. “What did you do to me?”
“I’m sorry my dear. But we have so little time that I judged it best to take drastic action. Drink this.” He handed her a cup filled with bitter tea. “This will help the headache. Go rest. Forgive me, my dear.”
Ariana ignored him. Rising like an old woman she tottered out the door, stumbled to her bed and passed out. When she woke, the headache was gone and she felt rejuvenated. She had accepted the truth of her origins.
Her dreaming mind had taken the flood of impressions and organized them. She understood the concepts Cerynus had given her, but doubted she could apply them. There was a great difference between theory and practice, as she had discovered after college.
She went back to the study; Cerynus had laid out the table, a candle, a ewer of water, a copper bowl of earth and a small brazier trickling smoke rested on the shiny black surface. He stood behind the table. Ariana looked at him warily.
“Now what? It better not hurt or I’m out of here. Don’t try anything like that again. What was that all about anyway?”
“I’m sorry. But I had no choice. We have limited time. It was necessary to undertake drastic measures. It is the only way you’ll survive.”
“Alright, I understand. But I still don’t like it.”
“I’m sorry. But we needed to open your potential up to the Heartstone and give you my knowledge to use your power. Are you ready to begin?
“As ready as I’ll ever be. I guess.”
“We should be able to go through these exercises easily. First, concentrate on the candle flame. Concentrate and focus.”
Ariana stared hard at the candle. The yellow flame danced in front of her. For a moment she didn’t know what to do. Then something clicked in her mind; the Heartstone glowed red giving her a small burst of power. She saw the flame in a different way. She felt the heat and light and she pushed it with her mind. There was a sense of pressure in her head like a sinus headache, and then it was gone. The flame flared up three inches.
“Oh my God! Did I do that?”
“Yes, The Stone helped to intuit the magic and channel the energy properly.” Cerynus smiled. “You had the latent talent already. The Stone tapped into and strengthened it. Now return to the candle. Look at the flame, become one with it…”
For an hour Ariana worked with the candle. Lighting and dousing it, making it flare and dim. Finally Cerynus was satisfied and let her move on to the water bowl. Ariana looked into the bowl. This time the Stone gleamed blue and icy on her breast. The water surrounded her, pattering down in droplets, running in rivulets then torrents into rivers to the sea. The water overflowed the brim, spilling out across the table.
“Good. Now dry it,” said Cerynus.
She visualized hot summers, dry cracked earth in the August sun and the desert. The water stopped, the level shrank. When Cerynus was satisfied they moved on to the smoking brazier.
She concentrated on the small wisp of smoke. The stone gleamed argent; there was a whisper of pain behind her eyes. The vapor coalesced before her. It created a small whirlwind that eddied around the study. It rifled through the parchments on the table and whipped Ariana’s hair into her eyes. Ariana laughed. She’d always loved wind: going out on the beach before a storm, feeling the salt spray lash her face. She twirled within the breeze.
“You seem to have an affinity for air. So we will move on.” Cerynus smiled looking ruefully at his disheveled study.
“Sorry about the mess.” She said.
Cerynus gestured to the copper pot filled with black earth. Ariana concentrated on the bowl. Nothing happened. Puzzled she glanced at Cerynus. He smiled. Putting her face down close to the pot, closing her eyes, she smelled the rich scent of fresh turned earth. Felt the warmth of a bee buzzing summer day. She thrust her hands into the moist soil. Heat filled her shoulders and crept down her fingers. The crystal shimmered green.
The pot overflowed with green tendrils, which spread onto the table below, entwining with the table legs. She took her hands out. But the plants kept growing, coming in from the walls, tendrils climbing out from between books searching for light. They encircled her, binding her legs with green tendrils, stronger than rope. She looked at Cerynus for help. He sat arms folded, watching. Vines reached her chest and the leaves began to cut off her vision. She struggled. They tied her like a mummy in a green straitjacket. She peered at Cerynus through the tendrils.
“Make it stop.” He waved his good arm. The growth paused for a moment then continued.
“Only you can free yourself. “ He left.
She felt the ivy waiting to continue its relentless growth and bring her unconscious to the earth whose power she had called up. She thought of ice, snow and threshing machines, cold fire flashed through her. The ivy quivered and slowed. She thought of scythes, dried and harvested crops and the sweet smoke of wood fires. The vines dropped to the floor. She thought of flames licking at dried tinder. When she opened her eyes, only a tiny shoot crept from the soil. She fell back into the chair. Cerynus came in. He smiled at her disheveled state.
“What happened? Why didn’t you help me?” she asked.
“Magic is a strong force. You must respect it. When it gets chaotic, you must be able to control it. I won’t always be there to help you.” Silver eyes locked with grey.
Ariana looked down first. “OK you’re right.”
“When you do magic, Ariana, nothing else can exist. Concentrate totally on what you’re doing. You can’t be distracted by fear or events around you.”
She sat back stretching. “I’m exhausted.”
“Magic draws on your life force. The more you do the more it drains you. Some people draw too much and it kills them. With the stone augmenting your own innate power that is a real danger. Never overextend, conserve your energy.” Ariana nodded.
“Now I’ll show you how to shield the Stone. Just think of a blanket covering light.” Obediently Ariana visualized the blanket covering the brilliance of the Heartstone, muffling the power, dousing the light. She still felt the Heartstone it seemed muffled but accessible.
“Very good. That’s what you need to do when we leave Shady Vale. Soon it will be as natural as breathing. That’s all for today. You need to replenish your reserve. As you develop more discipline, you’ll use less energy on small things. Until then we’ll go as slowly as possible.”
Ariana looked outside. It was dusk. She’d been here all day. No wonder she was so tired. She went downstairs to devour everything in sight and sit in an exhausted stupor in front of the fire. She wondered who did the cooking she hadn’t seen anyone but there was always food on the stove. Sh
e didn’t feel like solving the mystery, she was too tired. The memory of how the magic had felt when she touched it tingled through her like whisky. She could get used to the feeling; she hoped she didn’t become addicted to it.
A few days later, when Ariana walked into the study, it was empty. She found a note on the table. “Find Me.” Closing her eyes, she focused on the Stone, clear, no colors tinted the surface. She pictured Cerynus, clear gray eyes, thin face, terse renaissance lips smiling at her. His image shifted in her mind, blurred greens and blues, a strong sense of outdoors. The colors coalesced into a clearing circled by oaks. Opening her eyes, she went outside and followed a trail tucked in the undergrowth behind the herb garden. She knew she was going the right way. The trail ended at the grove she had visualized. Cerynus sat looking at her in the center. “Good. You are learning quickly. Come.” He rose.
A huge sheet of green light barred her way. She stopped energy jolting through her from the force field. A sharp pain lanced between her eyes. She groaned, putting her hand to her head. “A safeguard,” Cerynus gestured. The light dimmed. Ariana walked over to him.
“Wild magic is present in the sacred grove. Here you can work with the Stone unshielded, full power undetected.” Ariana took the Stone out from under her shirt; bright green light emanated from it, shot through with greenish black streaks in the center of the stone.
“First lesson, lie down in the center of the grove and touch the Wild Magic.” Ariana lay on her back, hands touching the ground. Closing her eyes she tried to feel the magic… nothing.
“Listen, Ariana...Empty your mind. Feel the Music.” Cerynus whispered.
Ariana felt the sun’s warmth, smelled the fragrant grass, and listened to the rustling oaks. The Stone branded her with heat. She felt a deep hum rising from the depths of the land. It pulsed through her. She couldn’t decide if it was pain or pleasure. Energy rose from the earth vibrating through the delicate filigree of roots into solid trunks. It streamed out from the branches into the sky above, eddied through the winds, and then rained back into the ground seeping deep into the world’s foundation. For a heartbeat, she held the rabbit’s frozen terror and wolf’s snapping jaws within her. She was the forest. The power of life arced through her. She shuddered and gave in to rapture.
Something shook her, breaking the cocoon of bliss. She opened her eyes. Cerynus slapped her lightly. He held her by the shoulders, concerned. Drenched in sweat she sat up. Her head spiked with pain. She felt hung over.
“What happened?” She groaned. He gave her a water skin. She drank greedily. “The wild magic almost got you. It can be seductive and some have been lost forever. “
“Ow.” Gently she massaged her throbbing temples.
“You’ll be alright. Never lose yourself in any magic. When you use the Heartstone you must draw on your own inner strength and identity.”
“What?” Ariana looked blankly at him. She almost laughed through the pounding in her head. How was she supposed to draw on her identity when she didn’t know who she was anymore? She could hardly hear him through the pounding in her head.
“Come, we’ll go back to Shady Vale. You can go to the bathing pool. It will soothe your head.” Cerynus said.
Numbly Ariana nodded. Her head felt like it was going to explode. Cerynus spoke a word and the pain subsided to a dull ache. She made a mental note to learn that trick. She went to the pool and washed away the last of the pain under the waterfall. She also washed her clothes then set them on the rocks to dry in the sun. For this moment at least she was content. Floating on her back after washing her hair with the herb soap Cerynus had given her she sighed. The sky was blue and the sun was warm on her face. Her headache wasn’t even a memory. Eventually she paddled to the edge of the pool and dressed in her now dry clothes. She hoped some of the honey cakes were left in the kitchen.
That night she sat in front of the fire with Cerynus. They had finished a simple but hearty meal. Ariana looked at him. “Who does the cooking?”
“I do.”
“When?” She laughed, “I never see you in the kitchen.”
“I enhance my cooking with magic. It’s simple to keep a pot of stew or porridge boiling. I trade for the milk and butter. I make the bannocks and bread once a week.”
Cerynus glanced at her. “While you were bathing I did some research. In the vision, your mother was dressed as a guardian of Galancarrig. Only people with the most powerful magical talent were considered to be guardians. It was a post handed down through families along the female line. It was a great honor. The Guardians vowed to protect the Heartstone. When Galancarrig was destroyed it was believed all died in the carnage and that the Stone was lost forever.”
“If she was a priestess or something how could she have a baby?”
“The Guardians were not celibate and to be taken as a partner by a guardian was a high honor. When a child was born to the pair that child could choose to remain as a guardian or was free to choose another path. There was a whole community at Galancarrig. They say there are still some remnants in the Serenvale Mountains.”
“So there may be people there who knew my mother?”
Cerynus looked at her. “It was a long time ago.”
“How long?”
“Thirty years.”
“That’s crazy. I’m only twenty five.”
“I don’t have an answer for you.”
Ariana didn’t want to believe him. “Is there any way to prove any of this?”
“I was reading about a certain mark. Do you have any birthmarks my dear?”
Slowly Ariana lifted the hair behind her left ear. Nestled behind her ear was a small mark. Cerynus handed her a parchment with a sketch on it. It was a star, the same as the mark behind her ear. She could still remember when she’d realized it was there. The hairdresser had asked her why she hid such a cool tattoo. She’d looked in the mirror appalled. Ever since then she wore her hair low over her ears to stop the questions. This was it, more proof. It was all too much. It seemed she had no choice.
There was something else...” he hesitated. “Do you know who the youth was at the end of the vision?”
Ariana shivered, that face scared her. “No, I was hoping you would.”
For the rest of the week Ariana worked with wild magic. Cerynus taught her to clear her mind and concentrate on the task at hand. She became comfortable with the four elements, able to control them easily. They settled into a pattern. In the mornings were lessons. After lunch Ariana practiced and at night Cerynus would tell her about his research on the Stone, or they’d sit relaxing before the fire. Ariana looked forward to the evenings together in the firelight. She could relax and feel safe here with the only sounds turning pages and crackling flames.
By the middle of the second week, Ariana grew restless. Worries about Jarod and questions about her parents intruded on her concentration. Cerynus noticed. Suddenly she was unable to access the magic.
“You can’t get lazy. You are a newborn babe. You have potential. Yes, more than I’ve ever seen. But Rhysin could stop you before you even drew breath. There is no second chance.” Chastened, she continued practicing. But still her mind wandered to Jarod, she hoped he was all right. The water eddied and she saw Dun Caer.
Chapter Five
A pall of smoke hung over the town. Dun Caer was rubble. Deserted, except for bodies tumbled haphazard in the streets. Small fires smoldered in the thatch and charred timbers littered the streets. Periodic screams sounded as the invaders found hidden victims. A battering ram impaled the gate surrounded by splintered wood, mangled iron and twisted corpses of defenders and invaders. The courtyard was filled with Rhysin’s forces, dressed in black and crimson emblazoned with a stylized cat. Smoke poured out of the windows as Dun Caer burned.
Prisoners sat stunned in one corner, Ariana couldn’t hear but she saw the anguish on their faces. Soldiers and two leashed creatures guarded them. They mimicked panthers, but these cats had never lived. They gleamed met
allic in the smoky light. Their blazing eyes unblinking, lusting to rend and tear the prey before them. Their tails lashed with excitement and great claws unsheathed from silver paws as a prisoner moaned. Looking straight at Ariana they leapt up screeching.
Ariana reeled away from the bowl, shaken from her vision. Where was Jarod? Was he alive? Tears streamed down her cheeks, Cerynus came over and supported her. He led her to a chair. He knelt holding her cold hands, “What did you see?”
“Dun Caer, destroyed, Rhysin’s forces have taken over. It was horrible, death everywhere. I couldn’t find Jarod or Kievran”
Cerynus stood. “We have to move more quickly than I had planned. Tonight we go to the Grove.”
“But what about Jarod?”
“There is nothing we can do for him. If he is alive he’ll come back to Shady Vale.”
“But what about the people?”
“The only way you can avenge them is to learn as much as I can teach you and defeat Rhysin. We don’t have time to waste. Tonight you must be initiated.”
Moonlight washed the trees; warm green metamorphosed to cold silver throwing shadows into stark relief. Darkness pressed against Ariana following Cerynus on the now familiar path toward the grove. She felt numb, trying to understand her vision. She shivered in her white shift. What was she supposed to do? Cerynus had been mysterious. She was to stay in the grove until dawn no matter what. What was going to happen?
In the center of the clearing Cerynus gestured for. He’d warned her earlier not to speak. Chanting softly he took jars of white, red and black pigment from his bundle. He painted symbols on her hands, forehead and the soles of her feet. Briefly his hand touched her breasts and belly. His touch was cool and impersonal. His face was remote in the silver light. He looked over her head as he circled her.
Putting the jars away, he spread sweet oil under her nose and on her eyelids. Then he gave her a flask covered in symbols, gesturing for her to drink. It was bitter. She forced herself not to gag as she swallowed. Things grew fuzzy. Cerynus helped her down to the woven mat he’d provided. She sat abruptly. Cerynus looked deep in her eyes placed his hand on her head in a final benediction and left.
The Heartstone Page 6
