“Navarre was also obsessed with prolonging his life. He traveled to the northlands to study goblin potions, leaving me alone for several months. When he didn’t return, I assumed he was dead. But then, one evening, he returned. He was horribly disfigured, but he’d found what he was looking for. He returned with two potions, one of which he gave to me, and the other he kept for himself. He instructed me in its use, an elaborate ritual that involved drinking it under the new moon.
“We each took our turns drinking from the vials, but only one worked. Mine.”
Silence filled the room.
“So how old are you?” I asked.
“Five hundred years, give or take. For an elf, my age wouldn’t be so unusual.”
“Yes, but for a human, it’s unheard of,” Kull said.
“Perhaps, but the potion did more than prolong my life. It also gave me perfect health, including making it impossible for my memories to fade. I do not consider this to be a gift. As I’ve had many loved ones die during my lifetime, this, to me, is a curse.”
“Heidel, did you know this?” Kull asked.
“He told me in Earth Kingdom, but I’d forgotten until Olive did the spellcasting. Even after that, some of the memories are vague.” She narrowed her eyes at Maveryck. “What does that crystal do?”
“It’s an heirloom of my elven royal house, and at one time it was used as a memory charm.”
“How did you get it? Did you steal it?” I asked.
“No. As I said, it was a gift from my elven grandmother, the former queen of the elves.”
We stared at Maveryck without speaking. At least now I knew why the man acted like elven royalty.
Maveryck tucked the crystal under his shirt. “Now you know my secrets,” he said. “Will you still insist on accusing me of stealing the staff?”
“How could I possibly reconsider? You have only made yourself look guiltier,” Kull said. “You’ve admitted to being kin to elven royalty, and as they are the ones who have taken the staff, and as you are also a professional thief, I can only conclude that you must have been involved in some way. I have no other choice but to ask that you leave our lands.”
“And that is your final decision?”
“Yes, unless you can tell us who took the staff or where it is now, you must leave for the safety of our kingdom.”
His face fell. “I cannot.”
“Very well. As you have helped us in the past, I will do this as quietly as possible. I shall personally escort you out the gates and into the forest, and then you are to leave our lands and never return, at least, not until the staff has been recovered and I am satisfied that you are not the one who took it. Do you understand?”
“Brother,” Heidel said, “this is unjust. You cannot force him—”
“Heidel,” Maveryck interjected, “it’s all right. I will leave.”
“But it’s unjust!”
“No, he has every right to protect his kingdom. I will go.”
“Good. Follow me.”
Heidel and I followed the two men out of the room and into the hallway. As we made our way to the main floor, I pondered Maveryck’s words. To be honest, I wasn’t sure he had taken the staff, but if he hadn’t taken it, then who had?
Heaviness weighed on me at the prospect of losing the staff. The elves were even closer to being able to perform the ritual, and we were no closer to stopping them. Worse, if the elves were successful, what would happen to the piece of Theht existing within me?
As we exited the castle, Kull found a torch and carried it aloft through the courtyard and down a narrow trail leading into the forest.
The bobbing lights of nobbinflies and maywelters lit our path in bursts of purple and blue. Leaves crunched beneath our feet, accompanied by the sounds of chirping night insects. The brisk fall air made my skin bristle from the chill and turned my exhalations to white cloud puffs.
We reached a clearing where we found a wide path leading toward the rails. As we stopped in the clearing, moonlight shone overhead, casting its glow over the leaves and sticks strewn across the ground.
Kull spoke up. “The rails will take you wherever you need to be, preferably away from our lands.”
Maveryck nodded and moved toward the road leading to the rails, but Heidel stepped in front of him.
“Brother, this is unjust. There is no proof he has done anything wrong. He has been falsely accused. Keeping secrets is not a crime.”
“It is when it leads to the staff getting stolen by the elves.”
“You are only sending him away because he shows interest in me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true. At least you’ve fulfilled one of your life’s missions as you are like Father in at least one respect. He wouldn’t let you have Olive, and you will not let me be with whom I choose.”
“That’s uncalled for.”
“Heidel,” Maveryck said quietly, “I will go. There is no need to argue.”
He took her hand, kissed it gently, and then turned away from us. The sound of his footfalls treading quietly over the leaf-strewn ground was the only noise to break up the silence. As he walked, a form appeared in his path. In the darkness, I could only make out that it was some sort of creature with fur and liquid silver eyes.
Maveryck knelt as the creature approached him. Kull had his sword out in an instant, but as we approached, the gray coat of Maveryck’s wolf stood out under the moonlight.
“Grace,” Maveryck said softly, “you’ve returned.”
“Where has she been?” Heidel asked.
“I sent her on a journey, and it seems she has been successful.”
“How do you know that?”
He ran his hand over her head. “Because she brings us news from Lauressa.”
He removed a small scroll from a cylindrical pouch attached to her collar. He stood, then moved to stand under the light of Kull’s torch. After reading the message, he looked at each of us.
“It seems the missing staff has been found.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Where is the staff?” Kull demanded as he, Heidel, Maveryck, and I stood in the forest and surrounded Maveryck’s wolf, Grace. A fragile stillness clung to the frigid air, yet tension lay beneath Kull’s words.
“The staff was stolen by the elves and taken to the capitol in Lauressa.”
“How do you know that?”
Maveryck patted Grace’s head. “I tasked Grace with keeping watch on the staff while we were in the desert. She saw the infiltrator aid the elves in taking the staff, and then she followed them back to the elven capitol where she met up with a contact I have there. He is someone I trust, and he was able to write this note and send it back to us. If we hurry, we may be able to meet up with him.”
I eyed the wolf. “Did the message say who the infiltrator was?”
“It shouldn’t come as a shock. It was Euric.”
“Euric?” Kull said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Quite sure. Euric wants nothing more than to see you disgraced. He thought that by aiding the elves to remove the staff from your supposedly impenetrable keep, he would make you look like a fool.”
Kull balled his fists. “I will deal with him.”
“You may not have to,” Maveryck said. “It seems Euric has been detained by the elves.”
Beyond the forest, a carriage arrived, a brilliant bauble of golden light that looked like a marble from our perspective.
“Well,” Maveryck said, “it seems I have found the staff for you, which should put me back in your good graces and ensure that I am no longer banished from your lands. Am I correct?”
“Not so fast, thief,” Kull said. “How can we trust that what you say is true? How do we know you didn’t invent this story just to save your own skin from banishment?”
“I will prove it if I must. Journey with me to Lauressa, and we shall find the missing staff.”
Kull glanced at Heidel. “Convenient, isn’t it? Moments before his banishment and suddenly the staff is found.”
Heidel shrugged. “Perhaps.”
Maveryck turned to me. “Olive, you will join me, won’t you? Magistrate Pozin is your father, is he not?”
“Yes, but what’s that got to do with anything?”
“Because he is the contact I spoke of earlier. If anyone can help us find where the elves have taken it, it will be him.”
I shook my head. “No, you’re wrong. My father left Lauressa months ago so he could be with my mom. They were in Africa in Earth Kingdom the last time I checked. He couldn’t be in Lauressa.”
“I assure you, he is there. He returned several weeks ago. He spoke of a secret quest, though he didn’t say more. He has been there ever since.”
A breeze stirred the boughs overhead as I pondered Maveryck’s words. Why would my father have returned to Lauressa? If he were traveling with my mom, the elven capitol was the last place they would have gone. The elves had a standing order to execute witches within their borders, and since my mom was a witch, she would be putting herself in unnecessary danger by entering the heart of elf country. What was so important that would make my parents travel back to the capitol?
“Are you sure?” I asked Maveryck. “You actually saw my father in the capitol?”
“Of course I’m sure. I realize he has been gone for some time, which is not characteristic of him, but he returned several weeks ago.”
“Was there anyone who returned with him? A woman, maybe?”
“No one that I know of.”
My heart sank. Where was Mom? “He was alone? Are you sure of that?”
“Quite sure.”
My shoulders sagged. Had they split up again? Or had something happened to her? I’d been out of contact with them, but I’d assumed they had wanted it that way. The only way to know for sure if my mom was okay would be to travel to Lauressa and find out. It looked like I had more than one reason to go to the elf kingdom.
“We’ll go the capitol and discover the location of the staff,” Kull said. “And I expect complete honesty from you, Maveryck. We’ve had enough secrets.”
Maveryck gave a curt nod. “Very well. We shall journey to meet with the head magistrate. But be prepared—Lauressa is not the place it once was. The queen has spies everywhere. You must all be wary and follow my lead. I know how to get inside the city, but we must do it quietly.” He turned and led us toward the carriage. Grace followed at his heels. We traded forest for open field as we approached the carriage, leaving the glow of nobbinflies and the safety of the forest behind.
As the light from our waiting carriage spilled over the open field, a chill crept down my spine. We were traveling to Lauressa, to the heart of the queen’s territory. I didn’t want to contemplate what the queen would do to us if she found us, but we had to stop the summoning and find the egg. The consequences were too dire if we failed.
Maveryck spoke a few words to his wolf, and she turned and trotted back into the woods. He and Heidel entered the carriage, but Kull and I hesitated. With a quick glance behind us, I found the towers of the Wult keep stretching above the treetops and toward the moonlit sky. I had a nagging feeling that I would never see them again, that maybe the keep would never be my home, and that maybe the life I wanted—the one where Kull and I lived happily ever after—would never exist.
The story of Kull’s prophecy surfaced. In my mind, I saw him stab me and kill me so Theht would die with me. The image scared me so badly that I had to force it away.
I felt Kull’s hand on my shoulder. As I turned to look at him, I found the same fear I felt mirrored in his eyes.
“We’ll get through this,” he said.
I nodded. “Yes, I’m sure we will.” But as I entered the carriage, the fear stayed with me.
Kull climbed inside behind me. After he sat next to me, the door slid shut with a mechanical hiss, then locked us inside.
The carriage sped forward. Inside, soft hues of blue and yellow lit the plush, ivory-colored cushions. The air smelled faintly of sweet flowers and perfume, and the cushions felt velvety-soft beneath my fingertips. The carriage interior was the epitome of calmness, yet it did nothing to soothe my unease. The closer we sped toward the capitol, the more my mind rehashed my worries.
My thoughts turned to my stepfather. Guilt gnawed at me. If I’d played by the witch’s rules and used the box to free Kull, I would have not only released Kull, but kept my stepfather from being captured as well. But as far I knew, the only way to open that box was with black magic.
I glanced at my hands resting in my lap. My fidgeting fingers were evidence of my unease. Opening and closing my hands, I wondered at the magic inside me. I’d only ever known of my Earth and Faythander magics, but was there more? The idea baffled me, but if I didn’t possess black magic, why had the witch been so sure that I did? Was it because a piece of Theht now resided within me? Was Silvestra trying to get me to harness the power of the dark goddess? Or was there something else she’d wanted me to learn?
Kull took one of my hands in his, bringing me out of my thoughts, and I met his eyes. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he worried about me. He was the one person who kept me going through all this. Without him, I was sure I would have succumbed to insanity by now.
Outside the carriage, we saw only darkness. It would be several hours before we reached Lauressa, and going all night without sleep wasn’t the way I wanted to start the journey, so I laid my head on Kull’s shoulder, and despite my worries, sleep took me.
#
I woke as morning approached, though it was still too dark to see much outside the carriage. Thick clouds stirred overhead, highlighted by occasional bursts of lightning. Fog snaked along the tracks, and as the carriage zipped through it, the mist swirled in eddies.
Maveryck cleared his throat. I turned and found him staring at me. His eyes turned silver in the glow from the carriage windows, and I perceived a faint hum of magic, making me think that perhaps there was more to him than what he’d already told us. Did the man ever sleep?
“You’re awake early,” he said.
“I’ve never slept well in these carriages. Plus, it’s hard to rest with the balance of the world in danger.”
“I agree, but perhaps no one knows that more than you.”
I eyed him. He was right. I’d battled the forces of evil for so long and had saved the world so many times, I should have at least earned a medal by now. But I didn’t need it. Knowing that my loved ones were safe was enough. I’d religiously kept in touch with my godson Jeremiah since the Dreamthief had nearly killed him. He was living in Kansas now, having the sort of childhood most kids dreamed of. He was happy, but most importantly, he was alive. Knowing that he was safe was better than any reward.
Jeremiah wasn’t the only one I’d saved. I’d restored magic in Faythander, too; I’d saved the fairies’ stone. The list kept growing. But even after all my accomplishments, I couldn’t help but feel that all I had to do was slip up once, and the balance would crumble. There were forces out there far greater than me, and with Theht’s powers festering inside me, I knew my time was short. If I didn’t find some way to remove that part of the goddess’s consciousness soon, the vision Kull had seen would come true.
I refused to let it happen.
“When we reach the city,” Maveryck said, “I shall take you through an entrance no longer in use and linked through the city sewers. The elves have not guarded the entrance since the disappearance of the Gravidorum.”
“You know of the Gravidorum?” I asked, shocked. The secret society wasn’t common knowledge to elves or to anyone, for that matter. Maveryck shouldn’t have known about them either. Yet he did.
“Yes, I know of the Gravidorum.”
“How?”
He shifted. “Most elven nobles were inducted into the society in their youth, before they had a chance to make t
heir own decisions, but that was the way things were half a millennia ago. However, I haven’t been a part of that organization for nearly a hundred years. Now, with the extinction of the goblins, they’ve all disbanded. Well, that is, all but a few.”
“A few? The Gravidorum still exists?”
“Yes. Their numbers are few, but those who remain are not to be taken lightly.”
“I’m confused. With the goblin race eradicated, what purpose do they have left?”
Maveryck didn’t answer immediately. “Once we arrive at the city, perhaps you shall see.”
I stared at him, uncertain of his meaning. The Gravidorum had existed for hundreds of years for the express purpose of rewriting history. They’d kept the truth of the goblins’ origins a secret, but after the queen had used a spell to destroy the entire goblin race, I’d assumed the Gravidorum would have no longer been needed. What purpose did they have in remaining?
The implications frightened me. I recalled seeing the elves gathered around the vachonette egg during the spellcasting. Could the elves I’d seen be the last remaining members of the Gravidorum?
“Maveryck,” I said, “is it possible that the Gravidorum still exists for the purpose of harnessing Theht’s power?”
“Yes, that is one aspect of their purpose. But you must ask yourself, what is their ultimate goal?”
“That’s easy. To take control of Faythander.”
“True, from the outside looking in, that may seem to be their purpose, but there are other powers at play in Faythander. Not every elf wishes for power. There are some who want something else altogether.” His eyes darkened, from silver to black, sending a shiver down my spine.
“What else do they want?”
He shook his head. “Once we reach the capitol, you will see.”
I hadn’t been to the elven capitol since Euralysia had destroyed the goblins, but had it really changed so much? With the queen in power, perhaps it had.
The sun crested the horizon, driving away the fog, yet the storm-shrouded sky remained. Ahead, the glittering towers of Lauressa appeared. The castle sat in the city’s central square, and its parapets rose above the rest of the buildings.
Silverwitch Page 27
