‘Your friend,’ Cosia snickered, ‘roasted him far too well. We do not make soup of bones nor gnaw at marrow. Yet, we would have, had he not gone up like a torch. You will learn not to spit on rare dishes in this Fanged Spire, our tower, boy. Silence, or join him.’
Ulrich growled, trembled, and Anja placed a hand on his mighty arm. He looked at the hand and shook his head, indicating he was trying and remained silent.
Dmitri climbed to his feet, shaking and cursing, approaching Alexei. Cosia flicked her hand in approval, and so he and Ulrich dragged Alexei to the side. His face was swollen and raw, filled with bite-marks, and he was whispering weakly. ‘I tell you, there was love in that kiss, fiery love,’ he told them bravely as they reluctantly left him there. Cosia pointed a whip down the stairs, and we abandoned our empty bowls, all still starving.
‘Go!’ Bilac spat.
They guided us down the long, dusty stairs. It was gloomy and dark in the cold chamber. Cosia grasped at the Shades, plucking at the roaring inferno and the familiar balls of light flew around us, burning over our end of the vast hall, hovering in place, a few of them twirling around each other. Parts of the floor had fallen down to the abyss, and the wind was howling through the holes. It was an old hall, the ceiling high as the hills, so tall, in fact, I found it hard to understand how it fitted in the tower. The depth of the hall was also strange, for while the fiery balls lit it well, casting shadows far and deep into the unknown depths, surely there had to be and end to it. It was like a stadium. It was, in fact, the remains of a feast hall.
And a feast.
The floor was full of broken, rotting furniture and burnt pieces of wood. There was a massive, still standing table stretching to the far shadows. Scattered on the table were broken vases, plates of curious sizes and shapes filled with bones and mold. And there were skeletons, parts of them, some holding broken weaponry; others still dressed in tattered finery. Some had heads, others not. One enormous skeleton was sitting on a rotten chair, holding its own head on its lap. Many others were lying strewn about the room. ‘The old War Hall of the Timmerion family,’ said Cosia reverently, then laughed. ‘He made it less grand on his final hours. Sit.’
We sat, they kicked us into a line, facing the room, and we waited.
Bilac eyed us spitefully. ‘You will be taught to respect the Shades. You will learn to harness spells of Fury, to bring forth destructive forces with precision and savagery both. That is your function. Fire, and only fire, since you are limited so, and cannot grasp at the ice.’ I stared at them briefly. I had grasped at the ice. I had. I barely felt the fire. Is that the reason I had failed? But I remained silent.
Cosia picked up the speech, her boots making echoes in the huge room. ‘Casting such spells requires the right way of combining strands and streaks of the old fires, of finding just the right paths of braiding and weaving them all together. You saw this yesterday, vermin, when you were taught the simple business of calling forth a wall of fire. Some did badly, others did what they wanted, and yet others still did nothing.’ Her eyes sneaked for me. ‘Fire is a fitting tool for war, and we shall not teach you many of the lessons for the Gift, the beneficial spells, the ones for amusement and happiness. You shall not create fire dancers, flames of many colors, and the visions of the future and such. No. We shall not risk your lives to teach you such spells. I told you this yesterday. No. Only spells of Fury interest us and these you will learn next year, enough of them to make you proficient killers and, of course, you will have a spell of defense. You will meet maa’dark in combat, perhaps, who spend and waste their days wondering at the Shades, trying to learn many useless spells for such sport. It is a profession of many of the students in the Spell Hold, louts, to learn spells by fragile and slow experimentation. Gods only know how many and what kinds of spells there are available, and indeed the maa’dark of the worlds have only touched the surface. But you will be focused on a few and will know what to do with them. Do not stray.’
‘I’d love to study the power,’ Albine whispered softly. ‘And not learn of the Fury. Only of the Gift.’
‘Indeed,’ Cosia said, ‘but none of the Dark Levy are given the choice. None. You are the least of the races, the youngest, rash and the most foolish. You will be weapons and not scholars. That is all, and that is what you are suited for.’
‘And elves are maa’dark, mistress?’ Dana asked.
Cosia pointed at her with her whip. ‘Yes, many of the nobles of the elven houses have the honor, though not all. And some commoner elves find the Shades and are then made nobles for the house they served. Also, there are many creatures across the Nine who are maa’dark, but no humans. You are freaks, thanks to house Timmerion’s strange experiments in the Tenth.’
‘So, if this is so, mistress,’ Dana asked, eyeing the dangerous women bravely, ‘then what use are weak humans to eleven nobles, who, no doubt, are far older, more skilled in deadly application of the Fury and the Art of the Gift? Won’t we just fall like leaves, should we ever be used in war? No matter if they waste their time with useless spells. They do have more time to spend in study, no?’
Bilac grinned. ‘Yes, if you were used in an open battle. They fight wars. There are a hundred houses of the nobles, and everyone vies to climb the ladder. Maa’dark are needed for their unique skills. You will know yours very well. And you have an advantage.’
‘They don’t know we are dangerous,’ Ulrich grunted.
‘Yes,’ Bilac nodded appreciatively. ‘They don’t expect danger from a human. Imagine a house your lord will attack, for whatever reason. You will be scruffy and carrying bales of hay, looking innocent enough, smelling of dung, and perhaps you’ll drive a wagon. Then, when unloading such a load, you hide yourself amidst guards and slaves, and perhaps you will slay a critical enemy in the dark of the night, or clear a gate for an invasion. And still, after doing this, they might not know there is an enemy amidst them. Take this spell your rat-faced friend invented,’ she pointed at Cherry. ‘The stealth? That will be very useful.’
‘We are to be murderers,’ I stated flatly.
Cosia shrugged. ‘Yes. Such as you are precision weapons, meant to perform tasks, useful in so many ways. You will have uses. When you meet spears and swords of your master’s enemies …’
‘Spears and swords?’ Albine laughed, for apparently she was a slow learner or had a death wish. Perhaps her wound was making her delirious. Or, she was just a kid. Likely all of that. I grabbed her hand, and she shook mine off, twisting her lustrous, dark hair into an angry bun. ‘A proper battery of Napoleon’s cannons would blast your bones to the sea in an eyeblink. In seconds. A volley of musket fire would make you far less arrogant.’
Bilac stepped forward and slapped her so hard Albine fell on her back, holding her already ravaged face with shuddering pain. Able spat on the ground but was spared a slap. I stirred instinctively, but Cosia pointed a finger my way, and the message was clear, even if her eyes never left Albine. ‘You invented such weapons when you lost the Shades. Your science took the place of the most sensible, rational part of your lives, your gods, and their magic. Scientists, politicians, and priests. Those witless, untalented wastrels mimic the power of the maa’dark, and they elevated science and false religion over magic to suit their own needs. Yes, we have heard of your technology and your fabulous arms, but take a thousand maa’dark and they could enslave the lot of you again. There are spells that would leave you blind, your weapons useless, and you the unhappy victims of simple swords. We live simple lives here, but the many wondrous spells of the Fury you could not handle, should you fight Aldheim. Consider yourself lucky, girl, to learn what we will teach you.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ Albine said stubbornly, sobbing. ‘Our lives are shit, and you call us lucky?’ She was feverish, I decided, the wound on her face raw.
Bilac pulled her up. ‘Life is shit, girl. Best make sure yours is blessed with the occasional bliss of touching the Shades. So learn, human, for you are o
ne of the lucky ones indeed,’ Cosia said, ‘Now, one more thing.’ She eyed us strangely.
Bilac waved a hand lazily at us. ‘As it happens, humans have another advantage over the elves. Some of you do, perhaps all, though not all find their specialty.’
‘We taste better?’ Dmitri mumbled. ‘In mint sauce.’
Cosia ignored him. ‘Some of you will have skills. Not the spells some of you nearly discovered yesterday, but … different.’
‘We have never had any skills,’ Lex snickered. ‘Mistress,’ he added.
‘We are wastrels,’ Anja said. ‘Never been of any use, mistress.’
‘That is true in the Tenth,’ Cosia said, staring at us. ‘Here, some, if not all of you have a special skill or even more. And these skills are strange and wondrous as if pulled from the Shades itself. The last batch of humans had a boy who could run through walls. We are no scholars of the White Halls or the Spell Hold, but the Dark Levy is often granted something useful when they arrive. And this is not something the Bone Fetters will block. It’s ingrained in you. Perhaps this is something Cerunnos Timmerion did with your families, long past.’
‘Could it be anything, mistress?’ Anja asked, a small smile on her face.
‘The Shades is the limit,’ Cosia said. ‘Who knows. Often they are little things, like this one girl who could create and control smoke. Another could withstand flames fairly well. Few are skills that are even more powerful and most are humbler. There are uses for any of them. Some will not find theirs, ever. Few have none, perhaps. So we will be keeping an eye on you. And if you discover such skills, tell us. It might make your time here more pleasant.’
‘If I learn how to create vodka?’ Dmitri muttered. ‘Sure I will tell you.’
‘Did the boy who knew how to run through walls survive, mistress?’ Ulrich asked darkly.
‘Of course not,’ Bilac spat. ‘He fell through the floor, and we only recovered his head. This is why we are training you. To grow you.’ Bilac nodded at our thoughtful faces. ‘So cheer up. It will be a painful road for you, yet, the maa’dark of this world do not have these skills. And so, perhaps, some of you are worth a ton of gold indeed and will find a place for yourself, eventually.’
‘I wonder if Ron had a valuable skill,’ Ulrich growled. ‘Worth fortunes, perhaps?’
The females giggled. ‘In truth, we don’t care if he did,’ Bilac said. ‘His death was profitable as well, and we do not worry about losses and failures. We celebrate successes. So, we shall see. Not all of you will make it, and your skills and powers will die with you. Now, pay attention. Your lives will depend on it. One of you is gone. More will follow. The fewer of you survive, the higher the prize that will be paid, for they will be hardened and strong saa’dark. And so, you will learn to breathe.’
We stared at her.
Cosia waved her hand, and the globes twirled around us. ‘You will train in weapons, dear friends, for even a maa’dark will sometimes be hurt and too tired to see the Shades and harness the spell’s Fury. You will need to survive when it is so. This year, you will learn endurance. Stamina. You will learn to hold and gather power, so much more as to make a difference. For the maa’dark who can fight the longest is truly worth many of those who weave the mightiest spells only once.’
Cosia grinned. ‘And so we will teach you.’ Her ring glowed. Our Bone Fetters burned, and our heads filled with the power of creation. We witnessed the spectacular roar of the original fires and the grind and crunch of the ice and water, all cascading to the Void, where life was born. We touched the strings that made up the mysterious power; our hands and minds ran across the elusive force. It was a supreme effort to pluck at the power, the millions of strands and apparent chaos, for we barely knew what to do, and so we all just sat there, not doing anything but admiring it, drinking it, our eyes closed. I remembered all the spells I had heard and seen to the day and imagined how to pull them. The tomte’s water spell flickered in my mind, the spell they used to push and pull us about as well, but this was when Bilac slapped her whip behind us. ‘Harness the spell of Fury, grasp the fire as we taught you!’
I felt the others fill with the power, the firewall spell we had learned the day before, and I tried to grasp at it, as well. I knew the path, basically, pulling at the flame that was fiercely hot, only taking so much of it and tried to add heat and vapors, the roar and smoke to it. I pulled at all these elements, so far from me, felt sweat drip from my brow, but it was like pulling a dead horse, a bus with punctured tires, a weight so heavy I felt physical pain to my chest. I was dimly aware the Bone Fetters on the arms of the others were burning fiercely. Mine was silvery and still.
Finally, I let go and slumped forward.
Cosia crouched next to me, her snakes twisting around my hair and neck. ‘No?’ She raised my arm and looked spitefully at the silvery things. ‘Inspire her.’
A whip danced on my back, and my eyes shot open with the pain. I screamed but power latched onto my hands and knees, and I stayed put. ‘Grasp it, you useless bitch!’ Cosia yelled. ‘Can’t you see it? Take it! We taught you this! The others can! They make mistakes, no doubt, but they can! Once taught, you can never unlearn it, and I guided you, Shannon, and I know you know the path!’
‘I can’t,’ I screamed in pain again as the whip lashed across my shoulders, ripping at my robe and flesh. The others stared at me expressionlessly; sweat glistening on their faces. Most were displeased, I noticed, save for Ulrich, who was staring at me with a small grin, hating me for Dana. The whip flashed across my back and buttock, the end of the whip curling around my belly. ‘Stop!’ I yelled, but that only urged them on. And so it went on. It went on until I felt blood trickling across my back, and I slumped, half losing my grip on consciousness. The pain was terrible, pushing me to murky depths of agony.
Then I remembered the ice I had grasped at.
I heard the rumble and grind, so loud, saw the bright frozen rivers and pulled on the cascading ice. It was so close and joyously easy to take and pluck at, and I did what I had done twice before. It was a complicated weave. I was pulling at icy elements from the very edges of the Shades, then from the brilliant middle, deep inside the cascading ice and combining them efficiently and into a beautiful weave. The freezing ice filled me. It filled me with seemingly boundless power, and I released it with a shuddering breath. I felt cold shivers, like a fresh wind cleansing everything around me, and the pain ebbed away. Albine gasped and held her cheek.
Flames danced across the room crazily as the students released their power and gaped at me. Cosia waved her hand, the ring glowed, and the flames went away as they were all shut away from Shades, and one of the burning globes hovered near me.
‘She healed herself,’ Cosia breathed. ‘I told you so. She healed that one yesterday.’ She nodded at Cherry.
‘She healed Cherry yesterday?’ Dana asked curiously and with a hint of challenge, though there was a tremor of fear in the undercurrents of her voice. I did not know it, but the whipping had been so harsh my back had been shredded. Pieces of sliced skin had been hanging down my back amidst the ruined robe. Cosia was pulling at the ragged, still bloody robe, her fingers running across my back.
‘Smooth. Like baby’s backside. What do you see when you grab the power?’ Cosia crouched before me, her yellow eyes slanted with curiosity, the snakes playing and some entwining around my hair, keeping my head in place. ‘Speak, or they will make you wither. They carry poison, girl, the sort you will regret for long hours before your acidic demise.’
‘Mounds of ice, whirls of snow, glaciers falling, the tear of bitter winds,’ I said, still held by the snakes. ‘The fire is there, but far, far away.’
‘Ice?’ Bilac asked in a hushed tone, crouching and touching my shackle. ‘Humans should not be anywhere close to the ice. None can sense it. It was devised so by the mad Cerunnos. So that’s why she cannot do this.’
‘What does that mean?’ Dana asked with worry and suspicion. I gazed at her,
terrified as I was bent on the ground by the air spells. I tried to calm her down, but she was frowning at me. Was she jealous?
‘It means we cannot teach you. And that you are dangerous. And precious. She is the one,’ Bilac said reverently.
‘Yes, it is her,’ said a soft voice from the top of the stairs. It had the same singing quality as did Cosia’s and Bilac’s, but it also had a power, a commanding presence that left you subdued. ‘Let her be. She will attend me. Send her out.’ We all turned to stare up the stairs, but there was only the door.
‘Yes, mistress,’ said Bilac strangely, softly. ‘Well, I’m sorry, girl, but you will go up there.’
Cosia pointed at me while staring up at the door as well. ‘Go and prosper, the awaited, special one.’
‘What?’ I asked as the female gave me a small bow.
‘Special and the one indeed,’ said the strange voice softly. ‘And you shall not hurt her again. Unless she tries to escape.’ A power rushed over me, and I was shut off from the Shades, left in the dark like the others. ‘Come,’ the voice coaxed me, and I turned to look up the stairs. I walked up slowly, my legs trembling, acutely aware of the many eyes on me. I passed Alexis, who was on his elbows, staring at me feverishly. He grinned at me with encouragement, and I returned it, for he moved his hands and head freely, smugly placing his arms behind his head, relaxing, apparently faking his helpless state. I had healed him as well. Cosia and Bilac were herding the others into a solid line.
Then, the door opened.
There, swathed head to toe in a dark red voluminous robe was a female creature. The cowl was alive; the thick, dark snakes alive under it, and some of them were slithering down her arms, across her chest, twirling and entwining her body, and around her waist. I tried to move my feet, but it seemed like terror was emanating from the creature before me, My heart was beating wildly. I was covered in cold sweat and fought an urge to kneel. She chuckled, her voice hollow and rasping. ‘It is right, human girl, to bow before me. You are not the first mortal to do so, nor shall you be the last.’ I did, and she stared down at me, measuring me. She was not as tall as the other snake women, the gorgons of the Dark Clans, but far more dangerous, it was clear. She seemed larger than life, wiser and ancient as the stone beneath my feet. She seemed inhuman, and I had a feeling she was a creature of both cunning and primal urges, and she was undeniably, without any doubt, what we would call evil. She was careless of morals and callous, I thought and I knew it before she had really said anything. She sighed and walked up to me, walking around me, a sulfur-like stench filling my nostrils. I was afraid, so terribly afraid for reasons I could not understand. ‘I am called Euryale. It is just one of my names, but there are others you will learn of. And you are Shannon of the Tenth. And the Hand of Life. The first human I have heard of to hold that title. Surely the only one in the long history of the Nine and of Aldheim, especially.’
The Dark Levy: Stories of the Nine Worlds (Ten Tears Chronicles - a dark fantasy action adventure Book 1) Page 14
