Alaire coughed and finished with, “When I die I want you to know that the sound of your voice will be the last memory to leave my thoughts. If I could take away the tears, the pain, the hatred, and the cruelty in this world I would. All I have to offer is to become a better man should my life be spared. A man who wants to win over a lady’s heart knows he must first win her over with his actions, proving time and time again he will stand beside her when everything else falls. That is what I will do for you.”
I was grateful I had not turned to look at him. Only Emeria saw the teardrop leave my eye and fall down my cheek. I noticed Muta sitting in the hallway, waiting patiently. Emeria knelt down and petted him, but she tilted her head towards me as if to question what was wrong. I shook my head and wiped the tear away.
“Celestria, I love—”
I interrupted him and said, “This is goodbye, Alaire. I’ll return for you once I’m finished in Belsgar.”
Sliding the scarf off my shoulders, I threw it over to Daciana. She caught it, and then I stepped out and slammed the door behind me. It echoed into the hall, as did Alaire’s words. Grefin’s voice was hushed as he spoke to Alaire, but I barely paid any attention to them. All I could think of were the unspoken feelings I should have confessed to him. I wanted to express how much I cared, but if I did that meant I could never look back. If I loved him, I had to lose him.
Celestria, I love you. I tried to hear him say it in my head, but even if I could have, it would not have left me any better off. I should have kissed him like he kissed me that day in the marketplace; I should have turned around and opened the door. The part I did not know if I could say was that I loved him too. We lived in a world where those three words could be ripped from our hearts faster than we could say them.
Searching for a reason to push away those thoughts, I looked down at the black cat. He meowed toward me, and then he started walking in a circle around Emeria and I. As we waited, Grefin opened the door to Alaire’s room, and I caught a glimpse of Alaire’s sad face. I started to say his name, thinking this might be my last chance, but I was already too late.
Total blackness surrounded me. Abruptly a wave of heat slapped my body. The pain soaked into my skin, and the sound around me disappeared. I could not hear or see anything, and I felt as if I would lose oxygen. There was a blue flash of light, a pink flash, and then I was lying on the grass. I looked up at the perfectly blue sky above me, full with clouds and stars. It was bright, yet the starlit sky shone down on us.
In seconds we had arrived to this magical place. With Emeria’s help, I could do what no other Dark magician had done before.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Push Away Fear
Belsgar may have been a place for White magicians to stay, but I was impressed by everything around me. As I stood up, I saw Emeria and Muta had landed beside me. Emeria held onto a wooden cask filled with a strong elixir, something I hadn’t noticed before. She explained that Grefin advised her to bring it along, since we would be telling the guards that we were here to help an injured magician.
Though I was at first convinced it would work, my confidence soon dropped when I noticed the guards on duty. We were a safe distance away from them so they could only see but not hear us. There were twelve who stood on the ground, and more on two hills. The hills stood side by side with a thin opening in between, which I assumed was the entrance to Belsgar.
Muta had to come with us, whether he wanted to or not. The cat was our only way of leaving. Once Grefin sent a letter about the diamond, Muta would take Emeria home. Then, he would have to return so I could leave. If a letter never came, I would have to ask Emeria to return home, regardless. It would be too dangerous for her to be involved in a fight with Aldemund.
“Come on, Celestria, this will be fun,” Emeria said with a grin on her face. How could she be smiling about anything? Did she not realize the danger we were involving ourselves in? She had seemed mature at Grefin's manor, but now that he was gone she acted more childish than before.
“Emeria!” I shouted. I was already too late; she walked to the two guards who blocked the entrance and greeted them with enthusiasm.
“Good afternoon,” one guard said to her. “Speak your names and your business here.”
I picked up the black cat and moved quickly to join Emeria. Keeping my head down, I hoped the guards wouldn’t see my face. I feared everything was written in my expression; I would reveal who I was and my true purpose. Seeing as Belsgar was a magical realm, I assumed the guards were well-trained White magicians.
“I am Emeria, and...” she turned her head and then moved to the side. “Celestria, why are you hiding? These gentlemen want to see your beautiful face!”
The guard snorted. “And your purpose for being here?”
“Oh, I almost had forgotten!” she held the wooden cask in her hand up to his face. “Grefin DeVilly has sent us to assist one of his magicians.”
“The Grefin DeVilly?” The guard’s eyes glimmered.
“Of course, there is no other,” Emeria said, sounding as excited as him.
I dropped my focus onto the grass again, and I attempted to hide the smirk on my face. Grefin was a great magician, but the enthusiasm surrounding his mention was ridiculous.
“Belsgar is a bit hectic around this time of the month. Alas, we will have to confirm who you are and that you will not cause harm,” he whistled and an elderly woman approached from his left. I blinked at the short woman, noticing the unique embroideries on her dress.
“Hmm...” she murmured as she began observing me.
I swallowed the spit caught in my throat. My hands twitched, my nose itched, and I was ready to sneeze. Could I have looked more suspicious? She squinted her eyes, as if she could not properly see me. I did not know what kind of powers she had, but the fear in Emeria’s eyes was no reassurance.
“Is there a problem?” The guard asked.
She circled around me and then came inches away from my face. “You do not belong here,” she said in a whisper.
Returning to stand by the guard, the woman announced, “There is nothing wrong. She may carry on.”
I let out a sigh of relief, but then thought it over. She told me I did not belong, yet she was telling the guard otherwise. The purpose for her lying and saying I could enter had answers I dared not ask about.
“What about the other one?” The guard requested.
She did not go toward Emeria. “Oh, don’t worry about that one. I saw her entering before she arrived, but never fear, she will become a great magician.”
The guards moved aside and let us walk past him. The others around him stared at us as we walked into Belsgar. Getting there had only been an idea; getting inside meant there was a chance.
Leaning over to me as we walked through the narrow entrance, Emeria whispered, “That woman was a foreseer. She must have known your true purpose behind being here. Don’t worry; the foreseers no longer choose sides in our world.”
Emeria and I walked at a slow pace, and eventually the hills no longer blocked our view. At last there was a clearing, and we had made it inside. While Emeria said she had been there before, she gazed around as if she was as shocked as me.
There were magicians everywhere; men and women of every color and culture. They stood in their own groups, as if they were close friends, and there were a variety of languages spoken from their mouths. One group we passed was full of men, and the only Romanian words spoken loudly were curse words. Another was full of women who were speaking a language I did not know and could not comprehend.
It was a bit overwhelming to know that I was now surrounded by more White magicians than I had ever known in my lifetime. Even so, most of them seemed too involved in conversations to notice or care about our presence.
The true beauty of it all was the environment. Both the sun and the moon appeared in the sky with the clouds, side by side. Some places where we stepped were darker than others, but Emeria assured me this was n
ormal. Birds chirped from large, wide trees and a family of deer walked past us without a second glance. An owl flew from one tree to the next, and nearby was a squirrel digging a hole for a nut. There were campfires giving off heat, yet there was also a fresh and refreshing breeze that brushed through the trees.
Emeria suggested that we first find a place to sleep, since we did not know how long we would be there. My stomach grumbled, but I ignored it and agreed with her. There were people everywhere we went, and with the way they huddled together it did not appear they would let us stay with them. Then, after all, we could not depend on making friends. While Emeria was among people she could trust, I was surrounded by enemies.
There was an empty spot by a small creek, gushing out clean water. I walked to it, but before I got close a man in yellow shouted at me and gestured I move away. Though I could not understand what he was saying, I knew an angry man when I saw one.
Continuing on, Emeria showed me a spot by two willow trees. A fat woman with thick brown curls smiled at us.
“You are DeVilly's daughter, are you not?” she asked Emeria.
I turned and noticed her cheeks were shaded pink.
“Yes,” Emeria whispered.
“When you have the time, you must come and speak with the women I know. They would love to meet you. We knew your darling mother.” The smile did not disappear from her face once Emeria continued on without another word.
I ran to catch up with her, though she had not gone far.
Cautiously, I said, “You are Grefin's daughter? I was told that you were a student of his, and Grefin did not act...”
“Like a father?” She finished.
Baffled, I kept at her. “Why did no one tell me? And how does that woman know you?”
Emeria stopped walking and looked directly at me. “I told you I have been here before. He used to take me here every night with my mother, but we stopped coming after she died. I don’t mind that he shows little emotion; I prefer learning from him instead of hearing lectures anyway.”
“A father should...”
“No, do not speak of what a father should do. I am glad to be here again, and what happened in the past I have moved on from.”
I said nothing more to her, and we carried on as if nothing had happened.
At last we found a spot by a forest to claim as ours. There was a large group of men and women nearby with a campfire and a massive tent. They seemed indulged in themselves, and therefore we did not worry they would be a bother. As I determined what needed to be done first, the sky blackened and suddenly it was as dark as night.
“Emeria, what happened?” I asked.
In a monotone voice she said, “Days are different here. Since there is a moon and sun, it can be dark in one part of Belsgar and light in another.”
I blinked at her, amazed by how she acted as if that was normal. Emeria lay down on the grass and closed her eyes, but I was not ready to sleep. Aldemund was somewhere, but it might take some time to find him considering how much land I would have to cover.
Eager to begin my search, I told Emeria that I was going for a walk. She grunted in return, but I knew she was too smart to believe me. Fortunately, she did not beg to come along with me, and I was left on my own.
“’Ello there!” A man called out to me as I passed by him and the others nearby our campsite.
I forced a smile and continued on my way. There were such a great amount of faces to look at, and none of them I recognized to be Aldemund. Some of the magicians were gathered around bonfires, but as I traveled further the darkness switched over to daylight again.
In the new light, I was able to see a large group of people gathered around a table. There was food set out for lunch: cheese, bread, ham, chicken, berries, wine… Every kind of food imaginable was on the table, and magicians huddled nearby chomping away happily on the food.
My mouth watered when a young woman handed me a plate. “Eat as much as you like.”
I would have liked if I hadn’t found the food, remembering my splurge from earlier. All the same, I began searching for something to eat, seeing as it couldn’t cause any harm. As I looked, I happened to overhear a woman and man speaking with one another.
“Aldemund could have killed her, but of course one of her allies interfered,” the man said.
My head nearly snapped with how quickly I turned to look at them. Instantly, I returned my glance to the food in front of me, though I no longer cared to eat. The man’s hair was long and white and his cape matched his brown eyes. Next to him was the woman, who wore a loose black tunic and white pants. She was the only woman wearing masculine attire, but her thin face and light colored lips made it impossible to mistake her for a man. They stood to my right and carried on with their conversation, having not noticed me.
The woman chuckled. “There are always interferences. One would think Aldemund would have learned that by now.”
“You shouldn’t say such things. Remember, he saved you from your fate,” he hissed.
I heard them place their plates down on the table, and then they headed toward a shady path. With curiosity consuming my mind, I left my plate behind and followed after them. If the man and woman knew Aldemund, perhaps they could lead me to him. Even if I wasn’t that lucky, they might reveal where he was. It would be easier if I could attack him in a tent rather than in front of a large crowd.
Hidden behind trees was a dull tent lit only by a candle from inside. The man pushed back the flaps and entered, but the woman remained standing. She held her hands in front of her body like she was suited to guard the area. There appeared to be two figures inside the tent, though I couldn’t see clearly who the second one was.
I crouched down and hid behind a bush, determining what my next move would be. As I continued thinking, I placed my hand on the ground and winced. When I looked down, I saw a rock and instantly came to the conclusion of what to do.
The woman turned her head, and then I chucked the rock as far away from me as possible. Her head followed the sound, though she hesitated at first to investigate. Eventually she gave in and moved away from the tent. At long last I had my chance. No matter who was inside the tent, these were Aldemund’s allies. The sooner he thought I wasn’t afraid, the quicker he might reveal himself to me.
I stood up and advanced toward the tent. As I did, two unexpected events occurred. A thin hand grabbed hold of me, forcing me to fall back behind the bush. A woman with a black dress looked down on me. With her thin, delicate hands she helped me sit up.
“My name is Floarea; I’m a foreseer,” she said.
Immediately afterward I heard Aldemund shouting from inside the tent, “Jacquette!”
The middle-aged woman caressed the ring on my finger.
“Who gave you this beautiful ring?”
I glanced down at the ring Alaire had given me for safekeeping. I should have returned it to him, but after all the time I had worn it, I had forgotten. Keeping my glance on the ring, I felt like it would literally tear my heart in half. If only I had told him the truth…
Floarea then said, “You love him.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
How He Sees Me
Love: a word that cannot be defined in all of its fullness. I was speechless and struck senselessly. Me… in love with Alaire?
I recalled the reflections I had seen in the mirror, and I wondered who Alaire was to me. He was a friend; the only real friend I had. Could I love him? Briefly, I imagined saying, “I love you,” and hear him admit his love to me. Perhaps I was a fool to believe in love, but I’d be more of a fool to believe in nothing at all. Alaire had told me that we needed “something to hold onto,” but I knew all along I had been holding onto him. The tingling sensation in my body warned me that once I fell in love with him I would sacrifice anything to save him, keep him alive, and express my undying love. That’s what people do in love; they sacrifice everything for that one person they cannot live without.
If I live throug
h this, I’ll tell him, I thought, though in all honestly I had no idea what I would tell him. My true feelings were something I could not address until after the battle.
In the background I could hear the woman returning, and Floarea begged me not to go inside of the tent.
“Follow me; there is a place you must see,” Floarea said, gesturing me to move.
“No, there is something important I need to do,” I whispered.
“He will be there,” she said, standing up and running to the tress.
Without thinking twice, I ran after her in pursuit. He could be anyone, but I recalled Grefin’s advice. Floarea was a foreseer, and she would not waste her time on me unless she thought it was important.
Running past several trees, I saw the woman waiting for me. She pointed straight ahead at a river. The river looked like any other might with an arc wooden bridge and fresh, moving water. Looking around, I noticed we were the only ones present.
“This is the River of Souls, where those we have lost sometimes roam. Your face tells much about the individuals you have lost,” she said.
I stared at her, blankly. “My face?”
“Yes,” she nodded, “there are some truths that hide deep underneath the skin. I see them in you, and before there is an end you should be here.”
It sounded as if Floarea was predicting a near future, and there was not a word she spoke that was reassuring. How could people who were dead roam in a river of all places? I was unable to ask Floarea, for I was too consumed in watching her as she lowered her feet into the water. The birds, the men's obnoxious jokes, and the women’s laughter disappeared entirely. The water turned gray and everything became silent. I knelt down to watch her, but she was gone. When I stood up I saw a mystical sight.
On the other side of the bridge everything had changed. There had been a forest, full of life, color and noise, but it had become quiet and my surroundings were white. Oddly enough, there were five people standing in a half circle nearby the bridge. They appeared as only mere figures, without any clear shape, color, or distinguishing features from one another. With the way they stood motionless, speechless, and lifeless, I was tempted to run away from them.
Cursed With Power (the Magicians Book 1) Page 19
