Silver's Redemption (Soul Merge Saga Book 3)

by M. P. A. Hanson

  “Mistress,” Acis came running back into the room as Lena ran out. “They are in the tunnels. I have made up the room behind the false wall in the kitchen for your use.”

  Silver ran for it. If they had stepped into the tunnels and were presumably using elvenspeed, she had very little time.

  She sprinted down the hall, through the kitchen, noticing the way that as she passed things covered themselves in cobwebs due to the brownie magic she presumed Lena must be working. She reached the raised wall just in time to roll underneath as it slid down behind her.

  There was a soft click as the door sealed and the enchantment upon it activated, rendering the room soundproof and invisible.

  She walked to the table in the middle, noticing that somehow Lena had managed to lay out her armour on in the short time she’d had. Brownies were miracle workers when it came to housework, as proved by the plate of fruits and nuts that accompanied the suit.

  She changed, relieved to find more weapons and her mask arranged underneath which she strapped on, the weight reassuring. She hopped onto the table and watched one of the many enchantments she had had placed upon the safe rooms kicked into action and suddenly images of every single one of the rooms appeared across the walls.

  They entered through the fireplace in the main room, with swords drawn. Oh please, if they ever found her she wouldn’t be able to run, let alone fight.

  They spread quickly and efficiently throughout the caves, checking every nook and cranny that she could have hidden in. When they regrouped in the main room, her brothers were shaking their heads in disappointment.

  “It was worth a shot.” Romana said. “I would have thought the brownies would still be here though.”

  “Clearly they’re not, where to next?” Marten replied.

  “I don’t really know.” Romana admitted. “The wytches are searching everywhere on the isle, Morendor is being searched as well. I honestly thought she’d have come here.”

  “There is a chance.” Endis finally spoke, “That because of her mortality, using the wings was exhausting for her, so much so that she was not able to fly as far away as we originally thought she would.”

  “Are you talking about searching the forests around Elvardis?” Roan asked. “That could take us decades.”

  “I still feel that Romana’s plan of waiting for her to show herself to us is the most viable,” Felix added. “I too doubt that Talia,” Romana gave him a withering glare, “Sorry, I feel that Silver will not wait too long to show herself. As soon as her maturity comes to her we will probably have more encounters with her.”

  “But that maturity may come with powers that would make it impossible for her to be contained.”

  “Difficult but not impossible,” Romana corrected.

  “Do you remember how hard it is to defeat a half-ancient?” Wynn asked. “She died the last time, even with your powers. Containing her will be close to impossible.”

  They all left through the passageways, arguing about where to check next.

  She slid the door open and left, smiling as all of the dust and cobwebs that had been covering the place a moment ago vanished.

  “Mistress,” The brownies appeared before her. “Please explain how you are still alive. Leigh saw you die; she told us exactly how it happened. There was no way you could have survived.”

  Silver sighed, sat down at the kitchen table and told them, explaining her problems as they were; her lineage, her mortality, the bond with Romana, even the new powers she was supposed to gain.

  When she finished, they were silent. The first person to break the silence was Acis.

  “Leigh and Miria have been contacted, mistress. However after Leigh’s second stage of maturity and Miria’s first they left to do mercenary work, so we have no idea how long it will take them to reach us.”

  “Inform me the moment they do. Did you tell them of my rebirth?”

  “No, we thought the information would be too valuable to chance losing it along the way.” He replied.

  “Good.” She replied. “In the meantime, update me on everything that’s been going on in my absence. My stupid brothers barely gave me a shred of news.”

  Lena thought for a moment, running her fingers through her grey hair for a moment.

  “Well, the most major change was when King Marten swapped the capital of the human realms to Morendor. His mother and sister remain in Grenov however, and he refuses to allow the royal court to move either. Romana, as you’ve probably realised, is his partner but they have never married for two reasons; one, the nobility are nervous of Romana having so much power and two, Romana is nervous of having too much power.”

  Interesting, Silver thought; she’d bet the kingling was still trying to persuade Romana into a marriage, no matter what the nobility thought.

  “What about the Coven?” She asked. “What news of the wytches?”

  “The Coven remains much the same, with the exception of some of the human members dying and being replaced. One of Romana’s own mentee’s, Averna, is now the wytch queen of death. Casey, and Hannah who she rescued from Morendor, are on the Coven but as I understand it there are two or three open spots, which is odd because usually the thirty most powerful wytches on the isle take the roles automatically. I don’t think anyone knows why the spots haven’t been filled, but there must be a reason.” Lena replied.

  Again, interesting, but not particularly useful, Silver thought.

  “There are other things.” Acis added, “Related to the activities within the Guild of Death and the Guild of Thieves, but Leigh and Miria would be best to describe them to you.”

  “Mistress, if you are indeed a half-ancient, surely it would be logical to contact the wytches so that they could teach you to wield your power.”

  “If I am unable to control it then I will not use it.” Silver replied, knowing the folly of that statement and yet determined not to go near Romana and her lackeys asking for help.

  “Then perhaps we could contact Kate?” Lena suggested, “She would teach you, I’m sure.”

  “Or your father?” Acis tacked on. “He would surely also know.”

  “I am not asking any of them for help.” She insisted. “I have used magic before, I will be fine.”

  “You have never wielded your own magic.” Lena continued. “You may not find it as easy when you don’t already have the knowledge of what power you have acquired and how to use it wired into you.”

  “How different can it be?”

  “Well we’ll soon find out, won’t we?” Acis mumbled. “Would you like for me to procure you a horse and some copies of the histories written about the last few years?”

  Silver nodded, and turned on her heel without another word, this new, irritatingly weak body of hers required rest again after the long hurry through the tunnels.

  Chapter Five

  USELESS WEAPONS

  When she woke the next morning, Kate was standing at the foot of her bed.

  “Good morning.” She said. “We have something to discuss.”

  Silver cursed her mortal senses for not alerting her to the fact Kate had been in the room with her.

  “More decrees from your silly little Council?” Silver guessed. “Not interested.”

  “There is something the Council wished for me to tell you, but it is not a decree, rather a proposition.”

  Silver had jumped out of bed at the start and now folded her arms across her chest.

  “My mother got propositioned by one of you didn’t she? Look how that turned out.”

  “It was a regrettable accident.”

  Silver gave a cold hearted laugh. “One of the great almighty Ancients made a mistake? Quick, someone call the minstrels, this calls for a ballad!”

  “Silence.” Kate commanded, layering her voice with that damned compulsion. “I know it is difficult for you to show a modicum of respect but you will listen to me now.” She took a deep breath. “Though your escape from your brothers’ care was u
nwise it was not unforeseen. The Council is aware you will require someone to teach you to control your new powers and has consented to ordering the wytches to provide you with sanctuary on the Isle of the Gifted. In exchange for this, you will seek out Alda, another half ancient, and you will kill her.”

  “A fair offer, but not very fun,” She complained. “The last time I went up against a half-ancient I was slain and after the last fifteen years, I’m definitely not asking for a replay.”

  “Your brothers would be unable to reach you. The wytches would be sworn to secrecy and you would be able to train your powers without anyone knowing what they were.”

  “I suppose you’d also want me to swear loyalty to Romana? Not a chance.” Silver strode out the room, having heard more than enough and entered the kitchen, where she was pleased to find breakfast awaiting her.

  “You would have to, she is the queen of all wytchdom and you are a wytch.” Kate sat down opposite her.

  “Not a chance.” Silver said “I would rather blow up from out of control magic.”

  “Tell me then how did you plan to learn to use your own gifts all by yourself?” Kate demanded. “It’s folly and you know it.”

  “Oh forgive me for not remembering soon enough; Ancients are the only ones who could ever possibly manage to train themselves. Who am I in comparison to your ageless wisdom?”

  Kate was about to reply but her face suddenly went blank.

  Great, now there was a spaced out Ancient in her kitchen.

  She finished off her breakfast and roamed around her caves, irritated at the lack of entertainment. She couldn’t even go out. How did mortal children stand this cursed delicateness?

  Silver ended up in her study, looking at the maps for heists long forgotten. All of this would serve no use to her now. She picked a scroll at random and held it over the flame of one of the lamps. When it caught light she allowed the flame to grow larger by tilting the burning edges downwards; soon the fire was singeing her fingers.

  She didn’t let go until it was burned completely to ashes.

  Next she removed the candle from the lamp and held it over a pile of papers, all she would have to do to destroy all of this would be to release her grip.

  She did.

  Watching the fire spread around her was beautiful, but short-lived. A tidal wave of water cashed past her, dousing the flames that had begun to consume not just the papers but also the desk and the shelves.

  “You spoilsport,” Silver complained, pouting. “I was enjoying that.” She turned back to see Kate glaring at her.

  “You want to burn alive? Tough. For some reason Marta has decided you’re the only hope left for the twenty-one worlds and you do not get to mess that up!”

  Kate’s reasoning for wanting her alive suddenly became very clear. Though the Ancients could undoubtedly survive the destruction of the mortal worlds, Romana would not. Kate was protecting her daughter with everything in her, as she had always done. “Someone got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.” She said smoothly.

  Kate looked ready to detonate. But at the miniscule moment between looking like she wanted to and her actually exploding, the man who had been there on the day of the failed soul swap ritual appeared between them in the charred and drenched room.

  He spared her nothing more than a quick glance and then turned to Kate. “I was informed by the Council that my presence may be required.” He informed her.

  Kate’s expression changed several times, within a few seconds she went from glaring to blushing and then quickly to a look of extreme discomfort.

  “She’s refused the Council’s proposition and has determined that she will teach herself.” Kate replied.

  The other man settled his golden gaze upon her yet continued to speak to Kate. “Has she been informed of the arrangements with the sorceresses?”

  “Yeah, that whole swearing allegiance to Romana detail is why those arrangements are not happening.” Silver interrupted with a smirk.

  “Yet you must be taught.” Kate insisted.

  “You teach me then!” Silver dared, knowing Kate would never do it.

  The man shook his head, exasperated.

  “I will teach her Kate.” He informed her.

  “Gaillean,” Kate began, “She will make every moment of her training as difficult as possible.”

  Silver didn’t pay attention to his reply; she was too interested by the fact that this stranger was in fact her father. There certainly wasn’t much of a resemblance, she thought, looking at his copper brown hair which was exactly the same shade as Romana’s. She had, of course, retained her original looks because it was the soul that determined how you looked and the Council had basically just zapped her soul into a new body when they reincarnated her. But Romana carried both of her parents’ characteristics; from Kate’s pale skin and delicate bone structure to Gaillean’s hair and height.

  “The Council authorised it.” He confirmed, “They want her to be able to use her magic as soon as possible.” Finally something she and their damned Council agreed on. “I will easily have enough magic to trigger her maturity and then I will take her back to my world to train her.”

  “You cannot take other beings between worlds.” Kate objected. “What if her powers are directly linked to the creatures of this world? You could end up killing her.”

  “Then grant me permission to remain here and train her.” Gaillean brushed off the matter as if it didn’t matter to him.

  Kate looked defeated. “She’s a murderer and the Council wants to give her more power than she’s ever come close to having before. Are we insane?”

  “Better the evil you know,” Gaillean replied.

  Ouch, her father had such faith in her inner goodness.

  “Stay if you wish.” Kate sighed. “Good luck, you’ll need it.”

  With that the platinum haired Ancient teleported away, leaving her completely alone with her father.

  “Remain still.” He ordered.

  Just to see what he’d do, she tapped her foot and folded her arms. His eyes zoomed in on the motion and then narrowed.

  In a movement quicker than she could blink his hand was pressed against her forehead and she felt the strangest and most disquieting sensation imaginable. It was as if tiny roots were roaming around under her skin, searching and rearranging things.

  Before she knew it, she had passed out.

  Upon reawakening, still lying on the burnt out floorboards of her study, she noticed Gaillean had left her.

  But, she thought as she used her new half-ancient version of elvenspeed to stand, that creepy skin crawling feeling had definitely been worth it. She was fully matured, finally able to use her advanced physiology and magic to her advantage.

  Now that she was finally mature it was time to prove that she could easily train herself to use her new magic.

  She checked to make sure every single sense was enhanced before leaving the room, twirling her blades lightning fast just to check that she still could.

  She went out of the caves, adoring the ability she had to hear further than she ever had before. No one would be sneaking up on her any time soon. Silver had been standing in the doorway for a full five minutes before she moved forwards past the paddock and through the trees till she reached the dirt ring where Leigh had always chosen to spar.

  The ring was created from a large dirt mound that ran around the outside and formed the circle around the barren land within. It was perfect for figuring out what potentially destructive powers she had.

  Steeling herself she climbed the edge and slid down into the ring where she sat down cross-legged in the centre. Though she was reluctant to close her eyes, she knew it was necessary as she delved into her mind looking for the power she knew was there.

  The first thing she found were her basic wytch powers, the ability to communicate mentally and construct shields. But after that she couldn’t find anything. It was as if she could almost see the power but for some reason she co
uldn’t touch it. She spent almost an hour chasing the elusive stuff in her mind before she growled in frustration and stood up. This wasn’t working. She knew the power was there, she just couldn’t tap into it.

  “Giving up so soon?” Gaillean asked.

  Silver whirled and threw a dagger at him, irritated that she hadn’t heard him behind her.

  Green vines enveloped the dirt platform before she could even climb the mound to leave. In the back of her mind she realised that the barrier was enchanted in much the same way as the mist shield around the isle of the gifted was to protect wytches with no control over their powers from subconsciously releasing them.

  “You cannot hope to learn how to wield your powers if you do not even know what powers you possess.” He criticised.

  Growling Silver unsheathed her swords and stalked towards him. “Let me out of here, old man.” She ordered, but Gaillean simply smiled and conjured one huge great sword seemingly from thin air.

  He was practically asking for it.

  With a lunge she attached going for his side with a brutal thrust, but before she even got halfway towards him vines shot out from the earth and the barrier above her and bound her arms to her side.

  “Not fair.” She complained. “Fight me properly.”

  Gaillean ignored her as he staked the great sword into the ground and walked to where her swords had fallen. He picked them up and examined them in the green light cast by the vines covering the sun.

  “Such inferior quality blades,” He scoffed. “How have you actually managed to kill anything with these?”

  “Give them here, untie me and I’ll demonstrate.” She retorted, struggling against the unnaturally strong vines.

  “I think not.” He opened his hands and her swords turned to ash in his grasp.

  Silver had forged those with her own two hands, it had taken her days. She pouted. “Didn’t you like them daddy dearest?” She asked.

  “I have no time for useless weapons, and neither should you.” He disapproved. “Now, are you going to focus on learning about your magic or are we going to have to remain like this a little longer?”