Thekila's hand tightened on his shoulder. “What's wrong, Vatar?”
His eyes slid away from hers. “I heard a . . . voice, in my mind, right before I did . . . whatever it was I did.”
Thekila's grip tightened further. “What did it say?”
Vatar swallowed. “It warned me to stop. It said I wasn't ready.”
Quetza snorted a laugh. “Considering the consequences, there may have been something to that.”
Vatar scowled. This was not a subject for humor.
Quetza sighed. “All right, what did this voice sound like?”
Vatar started to shake his head, but stopped, wincing at the shooting pain that caused. “I don't know. It wasn't like Far Speech. It felt almost like my own thoughts. But it wasn't. It can't be.”
“Why can't it?” Quetza asked.
“Because it said things I don't know!” Vatar winced again. “Like it knew what I was about to do. I didn't even know that. I still don't know what I did.”
Quetza put a hand on his shoulder. “All right. Calm down. Getting excited about it is only going to make the pain worse. I'm sure it was nothing.”
Vatar wished he felt reassured. That voice had been unnatural. He hadn't had time to think about it when it happened. Now that he did, it terrified him. The specter of exorcism of an Evil Spirit rose in his mind. He was supposed to have saved himself from that with the Ordeal, but now . . . . That, or he was losing his mind. In either case, the outlook was grim. He needed answers.
“It may have said something else, too,” Vatar said.
“What?”
“When I rushed out to drive the bear off with my spear, I heard or thought, I'm not sure which, that that was foolish, I should use my magic.”
Orleus chuckled. “Well, that was only common sense. Charging a bear alone with nothing but a spear! I'm amazed you're even here for us to worry over.”
“But—”
Orleus interrupted. “Really, Vatar. It probably is nothing. I've had some pretty odd experiences in battle. It does something to your mind. Don't attach too much importance to it.”
Vatar tried to hold on to that thought. He'd been in crises before without hearing any voices, but he'd never actually tried to fight a bear all by himself before. Maybe there was something to what Orleus said. Orleus would have a lot more experience with that kind of thing than he did. It helped, but not quite enough. Deep down, he knew there was something really strange going on. The kernel of fear refused to dissolve that easily.
About the Author
Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed The Shaman's Curse, please consider leaving a review at Amazon or Goodreads, even if it's only a line or two; it would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated.
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Professionally, I've been a financial analyst and a visual basic programmer. I also have a paralegal certificate, although I've never worked in that field. It's anybody's guess what I'll be when I grow up.
Imagining stories and writing have always been an important part of my life. It's one I finally got to spend a significant amount of time on while I cared for my mother who had Alzheimer's disease.
Discover other my other titles at Smashwords:
Short stories or novellas:
Heart of Oak
Becoming Lioness--free!
The Music Box
Wyreth’s Flame
Novels:
Blood Will Tell
Blood Is Thicker
Chimeria Omnibus (Blood Will Tell and Blood Is Thicker)
Fire and Earth
The Bard’s Gift
Connect with me online at http://MeredithMansfield.WordPress.com
The Shaman's Curse (Dual Magics Book 1) Page 37
