Oathtaker

by Patricia Reding

  “A shrine! An oracle!”

  “An oracle? Yes, that must be what it is. But why here?”

  “Sometimes the Good One communicates through an oracle. Oh, Mara, it could contain a divine revelation!”

  The Oathtaker’s eyes narrowed. “I think the message is for the girls—for me.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Well, its words seem directed to us. It says it’s for ‘the seventh seventh waited upon, and the other, she who is but is not.’ I think I’ve heard those words before.”

  “They do sound vaguely familiar . . .”

  Mara paced. Suddenly, she stopped. “Rowena said something very like that about Eden when she was born. She said something about her being a seventh, but . . . not.”

  “I don’t understand,” Therese said.

  “How would you describe the child of a seventh pregnancy who is not seventh born?” the Oathtaker asked.

  Understanding dawned on Therese’s face.

  “And,” Mara said, “the book says it’s for the seventh seventh and ‘she who is but is not’ and their Oathtaker. What other Oathtaker do we know who has more than a single charge?”

  “I think you’re right.”

  “It’s decided, then. I’m going to go get it.”

  “But that doesn’t explain why the grut was up there,” Jules said.

  “Grut!” Therese exclaimed as her eyes flickered toward him, then rested back on Mara. “You didn’t say anything about a grut,” she scowled.

  Mara told of the beast chained to the wall and how she’d killed it.

  “And what of all those bones? The skeletons?” Jules asked.

  “Bones?” Therese grimaced. “What’s this about bones?”

  “Seems we weren’t the first ones to come upon the shrine,” he said. “The floor is covered with the bones of others who came before.”

  “Grut? And bones? I don’t know, Mara,” Therese said.

  “You think the grut killed them?” Samuel asked.

  “Maybe,” Mara said, frowning. “Look, I know this is the right thing to do. I have to see what’s there. I believe it’s for me—for the girls and me.”

  “Therese?” Jules asked, turning to her.

  She sighed. “I suppose Mara’s right. Someone left the message for some purpose. If it’s for her, it could be important.”

  “I’m going back up,” the Oathtaker said.

  “All right, we’ll do things your way,” Jules agreed.

  “Jules,” she swallowed hard, “if I’m wrong, please take good care of the girls until Ehyeh sends their new Oathtaker. Help Therese to get them safely to Lucy’s.”

  He nodded.

  “And take good care of Nina too. She’s had a very difficult time.”

  He looked hard at her. His expression held a question, as though he tried to read whether she meant anything in particular by her comment.

  “For me,” she added, hoping she hadn’t spoken out of turn.

  “Sure.”

  “Very well then,” she said as she breathed in deeply and turned toward the altar, “the leap of faith.”

  She reached forward, jittering, then grasped the book. A surge of power raced through her. Her being tingled, vibrated. She gasped with the glory of it, felt an energy course through her center, as the lights seemed to slip into her. She looked down at her hand. It glowed.

  “Mara!” Jules called.

  His voice seemed far off. She put her hand out, cautioning him not to come nearer. Then slowly, the colors and lights died away.

  It was several moments before she caught her breath. She looked at her companion. “Well! It seems I’m not to die today.”

  He grinned. “You had me worried for a minute there.”

  Something startled her. She jumped. “Did you see that?”

  “What?”

  “Something just flitted by me.” She brushed the top of her head and ducked. “What was that?”

  “I didn’t see anything.” He looked about. “A bat maybe?”

  “Ewwww, no, it wasn’t a bat.”

  “What did it look like?”

  “I didn’t get a good look. It was just a flash of light. A shimmer. It was like it flitted out of the book and over my head.”

  He hesitated, then laughed, the tension finally released. “Don’t tell me you believe in fairies now.”

  “Actually, I’m not sure anything is beyond belief anymore. Did you see what just happened?”

  They laughed softly, as comrades who together had come through a difficult time, a battle, then watched as the altar shimmered and melted away. They looked down. The bones beneath their feet turned to dust.

  “Whoa!” Mara exclaimed. “All right then, let’s join the others. I think they’ve held off remarkably well.”

  When they reached the ground floor, Therese was waiting for them. “What happened?”

  “Is everything under control?” Samuel asked, his eyes on Jules.

  “All is well,” Mara said. “We’ve just had a little—”

  “Adventure,” Jules interrupted.

  Mara laughed. “Yes, an adventure.”

  “Well?” Therese asked.

  “You go ahead,” Jules waved at Mara, “I’m going to find scraps for a fire. We all need to dry off and warm up.”

  Mara and the others sat shivering, on stumps and old pails that Samuel and Therese had collected and placed in a semi-circle before the hearth. The cold wind had found its way inside through nooks and crannies in the exterior walls.

  The Oathtaker filled her friends in on what had happened in the cavern.

  Jules dropped off a load of wood and put some in the hearth, then walked away.

  Mara reached out and flicked her fingers. Flames licked at the wood scraps. As if only then realizing what she’d done, she grinned. “I feel like those flames have been dying to get out!”

  “Attendant magic?” Nina asked.

  “I guess so.” Mara chuckled, amazed at how quickly and easily she’d used those powers.

  Turning back to their former conversation, Nina said, “Well anyway, I’m glad you’re safe. We need you.”

  The Oathtaker looked at her, Therese, then Samuel, one at a time. “Look, we all need to get something straight here.” The flames sparkled in her eyes. “My job is to protect the girls. I know that, and I can’t begin to tell you all how much I appreciate your help, but,” she hesitated, “I can’t be handicapped with fear, and neither can you.

  “I’ll do what I think the Good One has called me to do, but if I’m wrong . . . Well, then I trust Ehyeh to come up with another plan for their protection. You’ll all need to abide by your oaths to see to that. But my safety is not anyone’s first concern. Is that understood?”

  They sat quietly as Jules rejoined the group. Finally, Therese broke the silence. “You’re right, Mara. Understood, everybody? We follow her lead here. Agreed?”

  They all voiced their agreement. Only Nina was hesitant, but when Mara’s eyes didn’t leave the young woman, she finally relented.

  “So what’s in the book?” Therese asked.

  “Let’s take a look.” Mara held it up. Its cover, made of old, soft brown leather, sported a design in gold of intricate swirls. On closer examination, she made out a crown, a sword, and a scepter. The design looked vaguely familiar. She opened the cover. As her companions all leaned in for a closer look, she turned the page.

  There, was the single word, “Go.”

  “Go!” she exclaimed. “Go where?” She turned the page. Again in intricate script, was the single word, “Go.” Again she turned the page. Again the same word appeared. Again and again, she turned pages. Each read identical to each of the others.

  “Is that all it says?” Nina asked.

  The Oathtaker finished flipping through the book. “They’re all the same! But . . . go where? To . . . Dixon?”

  “Maybe it just means you should go from here,” Therese suggested.

 
“No, that doesn’t feel right.”

  “Well, maybe it does mean you should go to Dixon. But we talked about this earlier. He’s under Lilith’s thumb. Your going back would—”

  “I know. It would put me in danger. But there has to be some reason for this message. I think I need to go back.”

  “You mustn’t!” Nina exclaimed.

  “I must—and as quickly as possible.”

  “Then I’ll go with you,” Therese said. “Do you think I could?”

  “No!” Samuel and Jules cried in unison.

  “But she can keep me safe.”

  Jules shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

  “Nor I,” Samuel said.

  “Mara?” Therese turned to her.

  “Honestly, I don’t know if I could take you along. What’s more, I’d like to try to bring Dixon back here. What if I can’t travel with you both? No, I have to do this on my own.”

  Samuel turned to Jules, worry in his eyes.

  “Don’t look at me,” Jules said with an upraised hand. “I’ve learned not to try to stop her when she’s made up her mind.”

  Smirking, Mara said, “Look, let’s all eat now. Then I’m going to give it another try.”

  “But what if Lilith is there? With Dixon, I mean,” Therese said. “What if she catches you there?”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to return quickly.”

  “Can you do that?” Nina asked.

  “I think so.”

  “And if you’re wrong?”

  Mara grinned. “Jules, what if I’m wrong?”

  “Well in that case,” he frowned, “today might be your day to die.”

  “Jules,” Nina jumped to her feet, “you take that back!”

  Mara grabbed the young woman’s arm and pulled her back into her seat. “He’s just repeating what I told him up there,” she pointed to the loft.

  “Still.” Nina frowned at him.

  He looked as though her scolding pained him.

  “Stop it, Nina. He’s right. Don’t you blame him for being truthful.”

  Their discussion over, they ate as they got warm and dry. Once done, they determined that, except for Nina, they’d take turns keeping watch. Then they all settled in for the night.

  It had been a long day. Mara was grateful to close her eyes. As she reclined against her saddle, she listened to her companions. Samuel coughed. Nina cooed softly to one of the girls as she nursed her. Gravel crunched under Jules’s feet as he walked the length of the door to the barn, back and forth, back and forth. Therese huffed, then bundled herself into her blanket. The horses whickered, whispering amongst themselves. Gradually the sounds dimmed and then, in an instant, her surrounds changed.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Her confidence having increased with each of her journeys, Mara was more comfortable with the sense of traveling than previously. She felt the movement to, the change in, her surroundings. She concentrated on the colors before her. They were glorious, quieting. They filled her senses, empowering her to deal with whatever was ahead.

  She came to a stop and opened her eyes.

  Basha stared at her. “It’s you again.”

  “Yes. How is it that you also are here again?”

  “Fortunately, I got away earlier before Lilith arrived. I’ve only just returned now to see to Dixon.” Basha’s eyes never left Mara, as though she measured her every move. “How do you know who I am? And what’s your connection to Dixon?”

  “That doesn’t matter now. I came to help him.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I told you before. My name is Mara.”

  “How do I know I can trust you?”

  “Look, I’m not here to harm Dixon, I’m here to try to help. Maybe even get him out of here.”

  Although wary, Basha allowed Mara to approach.

  “Oh, gracious Ehyeh, look at him.”

  “I know, and I’m afraid what Lilith might do next—that she might be driven to even greater destruction.” Basha’s eyes welled with tears. “He’s near death already.”

  “No!”

  “Well, look at him! And I can’t wake him or I could try taking him through the tunnel, but—”

  “Tunnel?”

  Basha gestured toward the door. “There’s a back way out of here, but I can’t carry him.”

  “He’s blessed to have a friend like you.”

  “Blessed! Look at him!” Basha wiped a tear away, roughly. “And Lilith’s not likely to stop until she gets what she wants.”

  “What is that?

  “I don’t know. She refuses to speak to any of us.”

  “Perhaps I can heal him.”

  “You’re a healer?”

  “Yes,” Mara said, thinking back to when she’d healed Therese’s wound. “I’m an Oathtaker and a healer.”

  “Is that how you’re able to appear out of nowhere?”

  “Attendant magic.”

  “Uh-huh. So your charge must be rather important.”

  Mara bit her lip as she met the woman’s gaze. “You could say that.”

  “Who?”

  “Not now. I’ll do my best to fill you in, I promise. But for now, I need to concentrate on Dixon.”

  “Very well.” Basha did not look pleased.

  “I think he has some broken ribs.”

  “I believe so.”

  Mara put her hands on him. She concentrated on encouraging his body to heal. After a couple minutes, she sat back on her heels and sighed.

  “I’m trying to get some power to him, but it just stops dead. Basha, I’m going to try to take him from here. I want to see if I can travel with him. Maybe it’s this place.”

  “How do you plan to do that?”

  “I’m not sure I can. But before he was in this . . . prison . . . I traveled to see him. Did he tell you about that?”

  “No.”

  “When did you last speak with him?”

  “I haven’t spoken to him since the night after he arrived here. I tried the next evening, but the guards refused me entrance to—”

  “At the falls you mean,” Mara interrupted.

  Basha stared. Her eyes narrowed. “What do you know about the falls?”

  “Like I said, it’s a long story. But since you haven’t spoken to him since that night, you couldn’t know about my earlier visit to him—before he was brought here. When I saw him, I was able to take something that belonged to him back with me.”

  “And you think that maybe you can take him with you this time?”

  “I’m hoping so. By the way, where is ‘here?’”

  “We’re in the bowels of the palace. Lilith turned it into a dungeon of sorts. Where did you come from?”

  “No time now, Basha. I’ve got to try to take him away.”

  “I guess wherever you’d go couldn’t be worse than this.”

  Sounds came from outside the door. The same voice Mara had heard the last time she’d found Dixon, called out.

  “Who is that?” she asked.

  “Adele. She’s a maid to Lilith.”

  “She’s got lousy timing.”

  “She hates Lilith. She’s probably coming to warn me that she’s on her way back here.”

  “Can you keep her from coming in?”

  Basha went to the door and opened it a crack. “Adele,” she said, “what is it?”

  “Lilith is coming back.”

  “How long have I got?”

  “Not very.”

  “All right. I’ll leave as quickly as possible. And Adele, thank you.”

  “My pleasure, believe me.”

  “Run along then.”

  “I’ll wait for you.”

  “Adele—”

  “No, Basha, I know my way around here better than anyone. I’m staying here to wait for you in case you need help. I’ll hide you if need be.”

  “Suit yourself.” Basha closed the door and turned back. “You don’t have long.”

  Mara nearly wept with
frustration over not being able to heal Dixon. She wrapped her arms around him to travel, then tried to find her way. She felt the current she was to grasp, but couldn’t move. Frustrated, she looked up. “It’s not working.”

  “Hurry!”

  “I don’t understand. Nothing works. I can’t heal him. I can’t travel with him.” Then Mara had an idea. Her eyes opened wide. “Basha, let me try to take you.”

  “Me!”

  “Yes, you.”

  “But I need to be here for him if you’re unable to take him away.”

  “I’m just trying to figure out if I can do this at all.” Mara smiled, faintly. “Trust me. You’ll be glad you did.”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed and her head tilted. “Why would that be?”

  “Hurry, Basha, decide. Will you travel with me?”

  “Very well.”

  Mara stood. She put her hands out, palms up, inviting Basha to place hers on top. Once done, Mara wrapped her fingers around her hands. Almost instantly, she felt the current. She stepped into it in her mind and—

  Her feet landed. She opened her eyes. “I did it! Basha, I did it!”

  “Basha? Basha!” Therese cried, Mara’s voice having awakened her. “Is that you?” She rustled up to a seated position, then jumped to her feet.

  “Therese? Oh, dear Good One!” Basha turned to Mara. “You didn’t tell me!” she exclaimed before rushing to her charge and embracing her.

  “Surprise,” Mara said with a grin. “Listen, I know you two have a homecoming to get to, but I need to go back. I just can’t figure it out though. Why could I take you, Basha, and not Dixon? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Therese turned her gaze from her Oathtaker to Mara. “You tried to travel with him and couldn’t?”

  “No. I mean yes!” Mara was frustrated, angry. “I was able to travel with Basha, why not with Dixon? And I couldn’t heal him either. Now Lilith is on her way back to him, I’m running out of time—and I don’t think I’ll get another chance. She might kill him this time!”

  “Your magic just wouldn’t work for him,” Basha said, tearing her eyes from Therese.

  “Exactly!” Mara exclaimed. She growled with frustration.

  “Waaaaait a miiiiiinute,” Basha cried, as understanding came to her. “I know why. Lilith banded him.”