by Jess Bowen
“Yes.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve lost so much to Petrozan, so much to this war. That was when I cared, when I was trying to help. Sometimes it’s easier to not feel anything than to remember.” He released her wrist and lifted the sleeve of his right arm again. He rubbed the faded mark lightly. “Mari was my companion. She was magnificent, a Fire dragon. As I am sure you know now, a connection between a companion and its Master is a very strong bond.”
Phoebe nodded; the moment Sapphire had been born inside her, she had known that she loved her. Dorian continued.
“I was caught once, separated from her. I always told her not to find me if that happened, but she came after me anyway. She had the power to Shift, to move people or things from place to place instantaneously, but she couldn’t Shift herself. She burst into where I was being kept and sacrificed herself to save me. Petrozan’s army overcame her. He had so many at his command that even with her powers she was no match for him. I was safe while I felt her dying.”
For the first time, he truly let his emotions show—unbearable sadness, pain, regret. Phoebe could tell there was another but, just as last night, it was one he kept locked away. She didn’t know what it was, but it was one he wasn’t going to let her see.
“And your scar?” she asked quietly. She reached up to touch it but stopped halfway, not sure if he would permit it.
He reached and took her hand, placed it against his neck and let her feel the jagged scar. “From my capture. Petrozan nearly succeeded in killing me.”
It was gone, the walls blocking her, save for one: the hardness of his expression and voice. But besides that, all of it disappeared as he spoke with her. She was desperately hoping to keep it that way. She could feel tears stinging at her eyes as she felt his pain.
“Mari saved you for a reason,” Phoebe said, and Dorian shook his head. “No, listen to me,” she continued, trying to get him to see what he had failed to notice all these years. “Mari knew that with her or without her you had a destiny to fulfill, just as the rest of us do, and you needed to be alive to complete it. If you had died, you would have both been dead, and no good could come from that, but with you still alive there is hope that one day people will not have to suffer as you did, as others do every day, as those who are too afraid to stand up to Petrozan and Esmeralda do.”
“There is hope enough with the two of you,” Dorian retorted.
“Only a fool’s hope. What are we against the likes of them? We need a leader, and you have to be it.”
“I was trying. Perhaps I was going about it the wrong way?” he asked.
“People usually respond better to someone they can relate to. Statues are kind of hard to like,” she replied.
For the first time, he smiled. Then he frowned. “I have to get you to Cassius; you’re going to be late!”
He held onto her hand and started dragging her quickly the rest of the way to Cassius’s office. He stopped a few feet from the door and turned back to her. He looked anxious.
“Don’t tell anyone about my companion. Cassius is the only other one who knows she is dead.”
“I won’t say anything, but you should tell them. It’s not weakness to admit that you’re not perfect.”
Phoebe watched as the effects of her statement passed over his face. He looked slightly ashamed of himself. “I know that you are a Truth Seeker, and I know that because of it you are able to see what others cannot, what others struggle to keep to themselves. I know you see things in me and in my past that the rest do not know, but it is best if the information comes from me. They will know when the time is right.”
Phoebe nodded. She knew that he couldn’t keep it a secret forever, but he needed to face it in order to deal with the loss. He had avoided the inevitable for too long.
Dorian waved her to the door. “I will wait out here until you’re done to take you back to your room.” With that he walked over to the nearest window and looked out of it to watch the people of the village below.
She took a deep breath but then hesitated. “Dorian?”
“Yes?” He turned to look at her.
“You’re not going to turn back into an emotionless statue when I come back out, are you?”
He smiled again. “I’ll do my best to remain…human.”
Phoebe grinned and felt her heart leap a little as he returned the smile, and then she turned to Cassius’s door. She took another breath, opened the door in front of her, and stepped inside. The room was the same as the last time she was there, although with the light fading, it was now lit by candles in sconces hanging above the bookshelves. Cassius was once again sitting on the dais in the middle of the room and appeared to be meditating. Maya was in the corner on her bed, dozing, and the doors leading off to the balcony were shut. Phoebe closed the door quietly behind her.
“You are late,” Cassius said matter-of-factly. He didn’t sound angry, more curious as to the reason why she was late.
“Um, right, sorry about that. Dorian and I were talking,” Phoebe said apologetically.
Cassius opened his eyes and looked at her, unblinking. It was unnerving when he did that. It felt like he could see right through her, as if all the insecurities she had been feeling were as public as if they were being broadcast on the evening news. He finally blinked, showing that he was capable of doing so.
“No matter. Friends are sorely lacking these days. One cannot be held at fault for making a new one.” He looked happy, maybe even exuberant, at that thought.
Cassius stepped down from the dais and walked toward her, once more gazing at her, looking like he was either trying to decide how much information he should give her or decode her inner thoughts.
“We are here so you can learn how to efficiently use your talent and how to keep it from consuming you with others’ unimportant thoughts.” Cassius paused and considered her for a moment. “Your particular Truth Seeking ability seems to be of the most powerful sort. Many with this talent can only read another person when touching them or being in the same room.
“Yours is much more powerful; you could undoubtedly hear the thoughts of someone five miles away if you tried. The downfall comes when trying to decipher who you’re looking for. Within five miles, there could be hundreds of different people or creatures, so how do you find who you’re looking for? That is what we’ll be doing here. I’m going to help you use your talent to its fullest ability, to reach as far with your mind as you can and to find the thoughts you are searching for.”
He stopped there to let Phoebe consider all that he had said. It sounded like he was going to help her use her talent to read the thoughts of one particular person within a range as far as her mind would reach. There was something else on her mind, though, something that she wanted to discuss first.
“How do you know that we’re the ones who are supposed to bring down Petrozan and Esmeralda?”
“The prophecy. There has yet to be a prophecy made that has not been fulfilled,” Cassius said calmly, not at all irritated by her change of subject.
“What prophecy, though? What did it say?” Phoebe asked, wanting to make sure that they had not placed their hope in the wrong people.
Cassius considered for a moment before relenting. “Two hundred years ago, when I had just come of age to begin my training, there was a woman who had a powerful talent of Prophecy. She could see past, present, and future. Her name was Irena. When I was at the training academy with her, she found me one night alone in the garden and proceeded to give me this message.” He had walked over to a bookcase and pulled out a book. He opened it and pulled out a piece of parchment. He walked back across the room and handed it to Phoebe.
She looked down and saw elaborate writing.
On our most honored of days, one that none have ever called their own, five will be born. Four will be the Masters of the Elements, fierce warriors, and with talents of immeasurable greatness. The fifth will steal a substance by greed, jealous of the others’ talents, master it and bend i
t to his will, but the effort will consume him with evil, and he will make himself king and plunge this world into darkness, taking another with him to be his queen. Three will be left to protect those who are still free and to search—
…and to search for what? The rest of the page was torn off. Where was the rest of it?
“There’s some missing,” Phoebe said, looking up at Cassius.
“Yes, I know. When she handed it to me she was engulfed by shadow spirits and taken away, tearing the rest of the page as she was captured.”
Phoebe was confused. “She was trying to warn you? Why was she captured? And why hasn’t anyone ever gone after her? Or is she dead?”
“No, I expect she is very much alive, but you see, before Petrozan came into power, the shadow spirits, along with porkups, walarks, and grilocks, among others, were banished to the Vanishing Mountains and The Void. They wanted evil to take over so they could be released and allowed to roam freely among people, terrorizing and killing at will. They somehow became aware of the prophecy and therefore captured Irena before she was able to give her full warning to anyone. I am quite sure she is being held in the Vanishing Mountains, but no one who has ever gone in there has made it back out alive. Petrozan will not kill her without first getting the rest of the prophecy himself, and from all that we know, she has not spoken a word since she was taken.”
Phoebe was horrorstruck. “So these things, these shadow spirits…”
“They are called Shamarian. They feed off of souls. The more desperate the souls are, the better the enjoyment,” Cassius interrupted.
“Right, but these things are roaming around killing people right now?” she asked in disbelief. She had thought that people were being treated unfairly with high taxes and lots of physical labor or something and that those who opposed the king and queen were being killed. Although that wasn’t good, it wasn’t nearly as bad as these spirits killing for fun.
“I am afraid so. We offer safe places to those who are willing to join us, but people are scared. Petrozan has huge numbers at his command. It’s not easy for people to go against him.” Cassius watched her cautiously.
“But why isn’t anyone doing anything? Why aren’t you forming an army or something to challenge him?” Why were they sitting here so calmly when people were being terrorized and dying outside these walls?
“We have been, for nineteen years now, ever since he made himself king. You and Ethan are the last pieces of the puzzle, but we have to know first what the rest of the prophecy said. Even at the height of your powers, you will be no match for Petrozan and Esmeralda. They have been in power too long, and we don’t have enough numbers to overcome them by force.”
“Then what are we doing here? Shouldn’t we be out trying to find the rest of the prophecy?” Phoebe turned as if she was about to walk out the door and start looking straightaway, but Cassius grabbed her arm.
“You cannot go yet. You have to learn to use your powers; otherwise Petrozan will capture you and you will die. You have to wait a bit longer,” Cassius said with a hint of pleading in his voice.
Phoebe was angry with him, angry with them all. How they could sit here while men, women, and children were dying or living in fear? “Haven’t you waited long enough?” She hadn’t meant to, but she had yelled at him and turned and stomped out of the room. Dorian was dashing to the door, having heard her, and he looked scared.
“What’s going on?” he asked desperately, grabbing Phoebe’s arm.
She wrenched her arm out of his grasp. “Don’t touch me!”
Then she ran, finding her way somehow to the main stairs, and descended quickly. She blindly made her way to the garden where she plopped herself down on the bench beside the fountain. She numbly realized that it was storming fiercely. She was already drenched, but she didn’t care. How they could all just sit around and let this happen was a complete mystery to her.
People were dying for no reason at all, just because some being felt like having a bit of fun. Tears slid down her cheeks, mixing with the rain that was now flowing down her face. As much as she hated to admit it, Cassius had been right. If she wasn’t able to control her powers, how was she going to be able to do anything? How was she going to be able to help? That’s beside the point, she told herself fiercely. They should still try to do something!
Over the downpour of the rain, she heard footsteps walking toward her. She could tell it was Dorian by the rhythm of his steps as he walked along the wet path. He came around the side of the fountain, which was now overflowing from the rain, and sat down on the other side of the bench. She felt his concern and his complete lack of care that he was now soaking wet.
“It’s just as hard for the rest of us,” Dorian said, staring out at the flowers in front of him. “Why do you think I pretend not to care? It’s easier.”
“Oh yes, let’s just not care about people dying. I feel better already,” she snapped back at him.
“You have to understand, we can only offer to help people; we cannot make them accept it. We cannot take down Petrozan and Esmeralda without you, and we cannot help people who won’t let us.”
As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she knew he was right.
“No one likes what’s going on. That’s why everyone is here, training to be a part of the army to bring them down. Your talent makes you more susceptible to feeling strong emotions, but you have to know that the rest of us feel the same way, and we are doing all we can to stop the reign of Petrozan and Esmeralda.”
The rain was starting to let up. The downpour had stopped, and the rain was falling more lightly now. Dorian was right: She had to learn to use her power, they had to go find the prophecy, and they had to do all this before they had a chance of stopping Petrozan and Esmeralda.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. If it didn’t make you angry, then I would be worried.” He paused for a second. “You’re doing that, you know.”
Phoebe was confused. “Doing what?”
“Making it rain,” he said simply. He reached his hand out to catch a few drops of falling water and smiled at the look of shock on her face.
“What? No I’m not!”
“Before anyone is trained to control their powers, their powers are controlled by their emotions. It didn’t start raining until you started getting angry. Because you are a Master, the effects of your emotions are a little more…” He paused again, searching for the right word. “Noticeable.”
He smiled, and as Phoebe smiled in return, the rain lightened even more so it was just a fine drizzle. She felt rather foolish sitting there in the middle of the garden, sopping wet from head to toe. Now was not the time for rash actions that would only result in her death and benefit no one.
“I have a feeling it’s going to be raining a lot for a while,” he said warmly.
All this smiling was making Phoebe lightheaded. She had known his expression of cold indifference wasn’t something she liked, but the way his face lit up when he smiled…
“I’ll try to keep it to an inch a day.” Phoebe smiled again in return.
“You know, I’m surprised,” he commented.
“What?”
“You ask me if I’m going to be a normal human being when you come out, and then you go and yell at me.” He laughed. “I don’t think that’s really fair.”
He got up and walked over to her and offered her his hand to help her up. She took it and came to a stand. As she did, warm air surrounded her, drying her clothes and hair thoroughly.
“Life isn’t fair,” Phoebe replied hollowly.
He surveyed her carefully and his eyes darkened slightly. “Tell me about it,” he replied quietly.
The emotion he fought so hard to keep back almost broke through before he managed to suppress it again. Phoebe was tempted to listen to his thoughts, and it took every ounce of determination she had not to do it.
Dorian then accompanied her back to her room where she went to bed straightaway, not yet
ready to recount her evening to the others.
11. Orientation
Phoebe woke up early and dressed silently. She hadn’t slept well. There were so many pictures in her head she couldn’t get out, so many things plaguing her thoughts that she didn’t want to think about. She made sure to not wake Lucy and Cynthia as she made her way into the hallway. She slid down against the wall and sat on the floor to wait for breakfast and whatever else was supposed to happen today.
She could feel Sapphire getting restless and released her. The foal was a good distraction as it pranced along the length of the hallway and examined its reflection in every shiny surface it could find. Phoebe was even more exhausted today than she had been the day before. Thankfully, Sapphire didn’t appear to be affected by Phoebe’s sleep patterns. Phoebe was going to need a major amount of caffeine if anyone expected her to make it through the day.
The thought of caffeine couldn’t have come at a better time as Phoebe noticed the gnomes moving at speeds unheard of for the huge trays that they carried. Clothes had been delivered by the dwarves the first couple days, but the night before, the little workers had come up to stock all the students’ wardrobes with a week’s worth of clothing and a laundry basket for dirty clothing. The dwarves would empty and restock wardrobes again in a week. They also left instructions on how to find them should the students need more clothes before it was time for them to restock. The gnomes, however, still hand-delivered every meal.
The smallest, apparently carrying Phoebe’s tray, skidded to a halt in front of her.
“Miss will eat here?” he asked as the other gnomes silently let themselves into the rooms to deliver their trays and left just as quickly. This gnome was cute, really, in his confusion.
Phoebe gave a small smile but felt her stomach turn at the thought of food. “I’m actually not very hungry,” she said, trying to look apologetic.
“Miss is not hungry?” he asked, looking a little let down.
Phoebe shook her head slowly. “Not really, no. Thank you, though.”
