“Something Ishalla taught me. Do you want to watch?”
“May I?”
“Of course. You will want to be able to see the water.”
Lucy motioned with her arm, trying to ignore the sleeve, and a picture formed. Joss was standing at the head of a long table filled with ministers. Maya and Taran were seated to his left. Lucy studied the picture for a minute and nodded.
“Can you see it?” she asked Justin.
“I don’t know. What am I looking for?” he asked.
“Use your senses. Look at this man,” Lucy pointed to a middle aged man with a goatee. “Look at his head and his heart. Do you see the black and red strings attached to him?”
She could feel Justin struggling beside her. She had never seen him work so hard to do something.
“No, I can’t see what you see,” he finally said, sounding defeated.
“Perhaps you see things differently. Can you look at him the way you do when you study someone to heal them? Does anything seem odd to you? Unusual?”
“I’ve never tried to do something through water before,” he said.
“As I’ve been finding out a lot lately, there is a first time for everything,” Lucy smiled.
Justin tried again. Finally he smiled, “He does feel odd. It could be because it is through water, but I don’t think so because I studied Joss quickly and he feels normal. I can’t tell you what’s wrong, but something is.”
“Good, keep watching him. I’m going to do something.”
Lucy concentrated and deftly but very carefully, untied the strings. Undoing knots with the mind is time consuming, difficult, and requires a lot of patience. As she untied them, they slid away. Lucy watched as the man looked confused and blinked for a few seconds. He frowned, touched his head, shrugged, and turned his attention back to whatever Joss was saying.
“What did you do?” asked Justin. “He feels normal again now.”
“Remember those strings I told you about that you couldn’t see?” Lucy asked and Justin nodded. “They are evidence he was being influenced by the plots, whims, plans, or intentions of the Shadow Weavers or someone in league with them. I untied them. That’s what I call it. Ishalla showed me how. She said whoever is on the other end will feel a twinge if I cut them, and it could hurt the person they are attached to. Gently untying the strings should free the victim immediately, and usually without pain, but it will take the influencer much longer to realize they are no longer attached.”
“Have you ever tried to follow the strings back?” asked Justin.
“No. Before, I’ve always been alone and untying people here to help Maya and Joss. I didn’t want to trace the stings back to their source by myself. It’s risky and could alert whoever is in charge of them. I’m not sure I’m ready for them to know who or how powerful I am. It might be prudent to see who else is linked in. Maybe we could find out whether it is one long string leading back to the Shadow Weaver, or to multiple minions.”
“I agree. We should probably make time to try it soon. It could prove helpful in the long run.”
“Also, I don’t know the extent of the corruption. Some of the stings are larger with more complicated knots. Some are barely discernable.”
“Have you ever tried tying the ends together?”
“Another thing I’m not sure I should do without advice. Is it like tying someone’s shoes together? Will it cause them to trip? Will it tie together two powerful individuals or malevolent thoughts? I’d hate to unknowingly make things harder for us later by doing something potentially stupid now,” explained Lucy.
“I appreciate that. We can talk about it another time. Right now Joss is waiting and I’m sure there are more ministers here who need realigning. Who’s next?”
“The fat, blustering man with the monocle,” said Lucy.
Lucy carried on around the table while Justin watched. About two thirds of the ministers had dark strings of some kind. Lucy untied them all. She hoped it would make them more receptive to what she would be showing them soon. Justin watched, impressed. Finally, Lucy motioned with her arm and the image disappeared. She sighed and sat down.
“I think I’ll rest for a minute and let the untying take effect. Then, it’s on to the next step.”
Justin kissed her and sat down next to her.
“If you can see and do that, it’s no wonder the Ravs want you,” Justin said seriously.
“We have more important things to do than worry about the Ravs,” responded Lucy, who didn’t want to deal with those thoughts right now. “For instance, now I get to go show those ministers nightmares they’d rather be in denial of.”
“Good luck,” said Justin as he kissed her again.
Chapter 31
Lucy stood outside the door where Joss and his ministers waited. She took a deep breath. She felt comfortable being the center of attention of a small group of people, preferably friends, but she was not good at dealing with people who thought they were important. She reminded herself to be patient and polite. Maya was much better at this. Then, she waited another minute wondering if she should knock or walk in. Neville saved her from having to make that decision.
“Are you ready to be announced?”
“Yes please, Neville,” Lucy answered trying to sound confident.
Neville motioned to one of the guards to open the door. He stepped inside and announced, “The Mage, Lucy, your Majesty.”
Lucy entered, bowed to Joss, and inclined her head to the ministers. She could already sense their skepticism. Maya had dressed her respectably, but she couldn’t make her taller or give her more confidence. Lucy almost laughed at herself. She was powerful. If she had walked into a room full of mages, they would have felt it. She could make the ministers sense it, too. She projected an aura of power in their direction. She saw a few eyes widen. Maya gave her a tiny nod of approval and Taran’s eyes crinkled as though he were trying very hard to keep a straight face. She knew she had done the right thing.
“Honored ministers,” Lucy began respectfully, “I’m sure the king has informed you of a deadly army heading your way. I am here at his request to offer some more information as to the make-up and size of that army as well as proof.”
One of the ministers scoffed.
“Some people believe power when they feel it. Others need a demonstration. I will not think less of any of you for needing some verification before I show you what you need to see. Then, I hope you will give me the courtesy of hearing me out.” She saw some of the ministers nod.
“For those who appreciate subtlety,” Lucy took a kaliberry from the plate of fruit in the center of the room. She waved in the air and made a small pot appear. She motioned again and it filled with dirt. She did not need to use movements; they were for the benefit of those watching. If she was going to do this, she might as well put on a show. Hopefully, Maya would appreciate it, if no one else. She bit the kaliberry in half, took out the seed, ate the rest, and planted the seed in the pot. She waved her hand over it and stepped back. Slowly, a kaliberry bush began to grow and flower. One of the ministers was smiling in appreciation. She gestured and the bush traveled down the table to rest in front of him.
“Please take this bush home with you and care for it as a reminder to keep an open mind.”
“Thank you. I will be honored to do so,” the minister replied with a smile.
The fat, blustery man with the monocle still looked unimpressed.
“For those of you who understand nothing less than a show of strength,” Lucy motioned to the fat man. “Would you please standup?”
He did, sneering at her. Apparently untying Shadow influences from him did not make him a better person. She smiled back at him. She motioned once, putting an invisible shield up in front of him. Then, she motioned again sending a fireball in his direction. The fireball splashed off his shield and disintegrated, hurting no one, but she made sure he felt the heat from it. She threw two more to make her point. She motioned again, rem
oved her shield, froze the man, and waited a minute to let them digest everything before thawing him.
“Now, if there are no objections, I’d like to proceed,” said Lucy. The man next to the fat man swallowed. He had been close enough to feel the heat of those fireballs, too. Lucy had Neville bring in her cauldron. “There are many of you here, and it is important you see clearly.” Lucy magically stretched out the cauldron, elongating it so it covered a majority of the table. The water adjusted to the new size of the cauldron. “I will start in this room and travel out so you can view what is going on. If you have any doubts, questions, or tests about the skill I’m going to use, we can address that after I show you what you need to see.”
Lucy looked at the ministers. They nodded. She concentrated, motioning with her arm, and the room they were in appeared. There were murmurs of surprise, amazement, and disbelief, but Lucy ignored them and continued. She moved out the door and through the castle, out the gates and to the mountains. Some of the ministers had traveled, but it was limited and never past the mountains. She moved steadily through the mountains, through the mists, and towards the Shadow Weaver’s abode. Once there, she surveyed the army. She heard cries of dismay, worry, and disbelief from the ministers, but she kept going. She snuck into the throne room and gave them a glance at the Shadow Weaver before dropping the image. Then, she sat back as the discussions and arguments flowed around her.
“Did you see some of those things?” asked one minister in a voice of appalled awe.
“We don’t even have names for most of those!” said another with disgust and terror.
“How can we possibly fight that?” asked the finance minister. “How can we be sure we’re their target? Should we evacuate the city?”
“I think anything that is in front of it will be the target. Sooner than we’d like, that will be us. Evacuation will not benefit us, only prolong the inevitable,” argued a tall man with long mustaches and a dower expression.
“How do we kill some of those things?” asked the general. “I don’t mind sending men into battle, but I like them to be well-equipped, adequately armed, and aware of how to kill their foes. You don’t send sling shots against cavalry. How do I arm my men to fight Ghouls? How do you defeat something that feeds on fear with a terrified army?”
“We are hoping people like Lucy and Justin will have ideas about battling Ghouls. Your men need to be able to face Dwarrolings and some of the mythical beasts, like Harpies and Manticores. Train them to fight the things they can fight,” suggested Joss. “Also, I’m having Gavin prepare a task force to focus on group fighting some of the bigger beasts. You can prepare your own tactics, model your training after his, or simply work on the basics depending on your goals and the skill level of the recruits you are working with.”
“They aren’t moving yet, but they will soon,” said the general. “How much time to we have?”
“The going theory is about a month,” replied Joss.
“Going theory?” asked one of the ministers, setting off another round of arguments.
Taran rose, walked around the table, and sat down beside Lucy.
“You okay?” he asked in a whisper.
“Yes. Did you notice the difference?” she asked him.
“There were two this time.”
Lucy nodded.
“You don’t seem surprised,” Taran said.
“I’m not; Ishalla said there were probably three involved. It means I have to be even more cautious. I don’t want them sensing me; avoiding two, possibly three, makes it more hazardous.”
Taran nodded. “Do you have a plan?”
“In general or right now for the ministers?”
“Either.”
“Yes, I’m going to give them a minute to argue things out. I don’t want to rush them, but I do have a point to make. They haven’t asked me anything. They are arguing amongst themselves, and my time is valuable,” said Lucy.
Taran nodded in agreement. They sat next to each other and watched the arguments continue. Joss was trying to convince his ministers they needed to discuss what actions to take, rather than if they needed to take action at all. The ministers had supported Joss mobilizing the army when they thought they were facing a normal army. Some of them didn’t believe Lucy’s water images. The ones that did believe weren’t too keen about mobilizing the army against nightmares. What good would their army be against nightmares? Was it even possible to win? Lucy let them carry on for another couple of minutes. Then, she stood up. The ministers fell silent and looked at her.
“Going to show us more illusions?” sneered the one with the goatee derisively.
“No. It’s not my duty to convince you of anything. Nor is it in my power to make any decisions on how Lerramorre should proceed. I, however, do believe in the peril of what is coming, and I have better things to do with my time than sit around waiting to find out if you believe me. Apparently, I need to figure out how to kill Ghouls. If you need me, send someone to find me,” Lucy smiled and walked out of the room.
Lucy found walking out the door quite satisfying. At least a third of the ministers had their mouths hanging open. She did her best to stifle a laugh, just in case she was still within hearing range. She really did have better thing to do with her time. She went to find Justin. Hopefully, she could help him with Dulcie. If not, she was sure she could find the armorer and cast spells on something to help the cause. Lucy continued along the corridors until she located Justin.
“Oh good, you’re here,” said Justin. “How did it go with the ministers?”
“I’m not certain. I didn’t wait to find out. I told them I had better things to do with my time and walked out,” replied Lucy, suppressing another giggle.
“I’m sure they didn’t like that,” said Dulcie.
“I’m sure they didn’t,” agreed Lucy. “You should have seen their faces.”
They both broke down laughing. When they were done, Dulcie added, “I’m sure Maya loved it as well. She’s one for making grand entrances and exits.”
Lucy nodded in agreement. Briefly, she wondered if she should have turned into a kestrel and flown out, but thought that might have been over-doing it.
“What’s the plan here?” Lucy asked Justin.
“Shields, I think,” he replied. “Maya wants her to learn everything we can teach her, but we need to help train Dulcie how to stay alive first.”
“Have you started?” asked Lucy.
“It’s hard,” complained Dulcie. “I don’t see how they can help as much as he claims.”
“Maya wants you to be a court mage, correct?” Lucy asked. “She wants you to help and protect Joss?”
Dulcie nodded in agreement.
“Let me guess,” she said wryly to Justin, “You have some plan to show her the importance of shields? Does it involve throwing knives at me?”
“It wouldn’t hurt for you to practice your shields,” defended Justin with a grin.
“Go ahead then,” said Lucy, strengthening the shields she used at all times.
Dulcie stared at her wide-eyed. A knife appeared in Justin’s hand. He flipped it up and down dexterously. He took careful aim and threw it right at Lucy’s heart. Dulcie’s eyes grew even bigger, if that were possible, as she looked at the knife lying at Lucy’s feet. Justin smiled, fanned five more knives, and threw them one after another at Lucy. Dulcie screamed as the fifth knife flew at her own head. Dulcie gasped as it hit the shields Lucy had extended to cover her as well and landed at her feet.
“If you practice, you can shield yourself, and expand your shields to protect others,” explained Lucy.
“Such as Joss?” asked Dulcie finding her voice.
“He has enough power to block simple spells and objects, but well-thrown knives might break through. If not the first, the second or third attack might,” added Justin.
“I surround myself with basic shields all the time. I strengthened and expanded them for this exercise, but I never let them dow
n completely anymore. It’s too dangerous,” said Lucy.
Dulcie looked impressed and nodded. She took a deep breath and braced herself to try again. Justin looked at her. She was so tense. Lucy almost felt bad for her. Justin winked at Lucy, then, sent a pillow flying towards Dulcie. It hit her in the stomach. She looked both surprised and disappointed.
“You’re trying too hard,” said Lucy. “I can tell you are powerful. I can feel it. See if you can feel my shields.”
Dulcie looked at Lucy. She squinted and stared harder. “I can almost see something.”
“Can you duplicate it?” asked Justin.
“I can try,” said Dulcie.
Dulcie studied Lucy intently. Slowly, faint at first and then stronger, she could feel Dulcie forming shields. Justin walked around behind Dulcie. He picked a bun off the tea tray and threw it at Dulcie’s back. She was studying Lucy so hard, she didn’t notice the bun, or that it bounced off the shields she was creating and rolled away. Justin tossed a spoon. It fell to the ground as well. He threw a fork with more force. It clanged on the floor. Dulcie turned towards him.
“I think I’m doing it,” she said proudly, sweat running down her face, “Throw something at me, I’m ready.”
Justin motioned towards the pile at her feet. She looked down and smiled. She looked back up at Justin and gasped as a pillow hit her in the stomach again. She sighed.
“That was much better,” said Justin. “We will practice more. If you can learn by sensing what Lucy does, we can work on other things, too.”
Dulcie looked relieved and ready to learn more. While Justin talked Dulcie through the basic idea of a sleep spell, Lucy stepped out on the balcony for some fresh air. She felt a tingle in the air and looked at the sky. She could see dark clouds rolling in the distance.
“It’s going to rain,” she called inside.
“You can sense that with magic?” asked Dulcie amazed, joining her on the balcony.
“I don’t know; I’ve never tried,” said Lucy with a shrug. “I can smell it on the air. I can feel the tingle in the air that means lightning. Most of all, I can see those dark clouds coming,” ended Lucy turning Dulcie so she could see the clouds, too.
Ravs Are Rarely Wrong: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol III Page 22
