White Devil

by Janina Franck

  The raven’s gaze fixed on her. “You… Did you just reply to me?”

  “Why yes, of course I did,” Lilith replied, a little surprised. “There is no reason why I should not, is there?”

  “That depends on how you look at it,” the raven mumbled.

  Lilith turned to her friend who was observing the scene with big eyes. “Do you think you can heal his wing, Milly?” she asked.

  Dumbfounded, Milly just stared at her for a moment. Then her face lit up in excitement.

  “You can understand it, can’t you? You can talk to animals! I knew you had magic! We have to tell Master Colm! This is great! Now we can take lessons together and see which caste you belong to, maybe you’re an Elemental or, or even Celestial! This is so exciting! Can you do anything else? Oh, I bet you’re a wind mage, because of your wings, and-”

  The girl would likely have rambled on for another couple of days, had Lilith not interrupted and pointed to the raven still on her lap.

  “Milly. His wing?”

  “Oh, of course yes. We should bring him back to the cottage first, so I can do something with the herbs we’ve got there. It looks broken. I don’t think he’ll be able to fly for a while,” she said, assessing the situation critically.

  “No flying? What are you saying? I’m a bird, I have to fly,” the raven cut in with a panicked tone. “I’ll die if I can’t fly! How am I supposed to find food, or escape from predators, what do you expect me to do?”

  Lilith stroked his head lightly. “Do not worry, I will make sure you are safe until you are fully healed. As she stood up, carrying the raven on her arm toward Violet Cottage.

  “But tell me, is it really so strange that I can understand both of you without issue? It seems perfectly ordinary to me,” she asked.

  “Kinda,” Milly said, “I mean, I don’t know of anyone who can understand animals unless they’re an animal or part animal themselves. I know some dragons don’t have problems with it, and shapeshifters don’t either if they’re in the same shape. But usually humans don’t understand animals. But you’re not really a normal human,” she added with a sideways glance at Lilith.

  Lilith sighed. Milly was utterly convinced that Lilith was some kind of magical creature. She refused to believe that the glowing white wings she had supposedly seen had probably just been an illusion or an overactive imagination. Then there was the fact that Lilith not only lacked any form of magical ability, she repelled it entirely. Magic simply didn’t work on her. They had realized this when Lilith had cut herself trying to help Colm cook, and Colm had asked Milly to heal the cut as practice for her healing magic. It hadn’t worked. Not even when Colm himself had tried had the cut healed in any shape or form. Only time and a bandage had done the trick. After that, Colm had decided to do some small experiments and found that no magic of any kind had any effect on Lilith.

  The raven craned his head around to look at Lilith.

  “If you’re not actually human, I take back calling you a big stupid giant,” he declared.

  “Also, I don’t like the thought of humans understanding us, so I’d prefer it if you weren’t, okay?”

  Lilith just smiled in response.

  When they got back to the cottage, Colm was already there and helped to take care of the situation. The raven, who went by the self-chosen name of Amethyst, was given a basket with pillows to nest in in Lilith’s room, as well as several perches around the house and outside. Colm also wove a spell to allow Amethyst to speak in human speech whenever he wanted, so it would be easier for him to ask for things, or to complain, as was more likely to be the case.

  *****

  “I’m hungry, where’s the food?”

  These shouted words, accompanied by aggressive pecking of wood, had become Lilith’s normal wake up call. She didn’t mind it. It proved that the bird felt comfortable around her, after all.

  When she came downstairs to feed Amethyst, Colm was sitting at the wooden table, reading a letter. He looked up for a moment as she entered and smiled, putting the letter aside. She went to rummage around the small kitchen area while they exchanged morning pleasantries.

  “Lilith,” Colm began awkwardly after a pause.

  “Hm?”

  “I think you might need some lessons in Geography, Politics and History. They are essential knowledge, but knowledge you probably don’t have,” Colm said, almost casually.

  Lilith stopped what she was doing for a moment to turn to him.

  “I know some things!” she argued half-heartedly.

  Colm grinned.

  “Really? How many countries are there on the continent? Go on, please name them,” he asked. Lilith reflected for a moment before replying.

  “Pbecrah… Quintz… Vel…Vi...salia?”

  Colm raised one eyebrow in amusement.

  “…alright, I do not know very much at all,” she admitted with a sigh.

  “Then that’s settled. Oh, there’s also something else. You see, I–”

  Colm was cut off by Amethyst hopping into the room shouting, “What’s taking you so long, do you want me to starve? A raven’s gotta eat, you know!” He turned away, grumbling, “Big stupid giants… No respect for others… Just wait till I can fly again…”

  “I am sorry,” Lilith said smiling. “Here is your breakfast.”

  She put a bowl with dried fruit and seeds into the rack attached to one of Amethyst’s perches before helping the raven to get up there quicker.

  “Milly is not coming today, is she?” she asked Colm.

  He shook his head. “No, one of Mildred’s elder brothers has come back for a visit from Stelry, so she’ll be spending the week with him. She’s learned how to control her abilities, so it should be fine.”

  Colm had told Lilith that every person with magical abilities of an elemental caste or higher needed to receive proper basic training in order to keep their powers in check. Otherwise it was very likely that a spell would break free without the caster meaning to, causing havoc and chaos, even death. That had been the main reason why he had started to teach Milly, despite originally not wanting to take an apprentice.

  “Actually, you and Amethyst should probably leave for today as well,” Colm continued.

  The raven’s head shot up from his bowl.

  “You’re kicking us out! You’re leaving us to fend for ourselves, out in the wild! We’ll starve, no, we’ll be eaten by wild animals! Oh yes, what if we come across a hungry wyvern, or a bear, or a mountain lion? Or worse, get lost and die of hunger! And freeze to death! How could you do this to us, you cold, heartless human – I just can’t believe you would do this,” he wailed.

  “Only for a few hours. I’m expecting a visitor today.”

  Colm pointed to the letter sitting on the table. “And I think it would be best if she didn’t meet the two of you just yet.”

  “Who is it?” Lilith inquired curiously. She had already met a lot of people from the Highlands and Colm had never asked her to stay out of sight. It followed that this was someone special.

  Before Colm even had an opportunity to answer, the door to the cottage flung open, mist wafting close to the ground as someone very decisively strode inside. It was a tall woman whose posture looked as if she had spent her life tied to a straight pole. Her hair was black with a strong green sheen to it, styled to resemble a chestnut leaf in the back of her head, the spikes extending out slightly further than Lilith felt comfortable with. She wore long, tight, black trousers and black boots that covered her calves, as well as an equally black blouse with long bell sleeves. The woman’s imposing outfit was completed by a dark emerald cape attached at her shoulders. But it was her complexion that induced the most respect in Lilith: red, heart-shaped lips, high cheekbones, a straight, slender nose and grass-green eyes, with skin resembling the reddish-brown color of sandstone. Her step was certain, defined. She walked like someone who knew the world lay at her feet.

  “Colm, s
weetheart,” she chirped. “How have you been? Oh, it’s been such a long time! My, have you lost weight, you look a little skinny, my dearest!”

  Already, she was squishing Colm’s cheeks. He managed a crooked smile.

  “It’s always nice to see you, Phyenor,” he said.

  “Yes, yes, but Colm, sweetie, why do you still live in this shack? You could do so much better, you know. You could be at the top, just like me; how do you put up with all of this?” the woman went on, gesturing at her surroundings in general.

  “I am perfectly happy here with everything just the way it is.”

  “I am sure you are, but only because you don’t know how it is where I am. But sweetheart, I am so sorry I haven’t visited in a while, it has just been so busy and stressful, you know, with the current situation in Tsoaluo. You do know about all that, don’t you, my dearest?”

  “Yes, I am aware. You really are under no obligation to pay me visits when you have more important matters to attend to. People are depending on you, Phee. I am fine up here, so you should concentrate on Pbecrah’s future,” Colm replied calmly.

  Lilith watched the scene with astonishment. This woman’s presence was simply overwhelming. As they watched Phyenor and Colm chatter some more, Amethyst hopped from his perch onto Lilith’s arm.

  “That woman scares me,” he muttered.

  The strange woman stopped midsentence, blinked, and appeared to notice Lilith and Amethyst for the first time.

  “I see you have visitors, my dear,” she said slowly.

  Colm moved next to Lilith and put his arm around her.

  “Not so much visitors as companions,” he corrected her. “May I introduce you: Lady Phyenor Xelma, these are Lilith and Amethyst.”

  Lady Xelma’s glare was intense enough for Lilith to feel like she ought to be bursting into flames.

  “I see,” the woman said. She released Lilith from her gaze and turned back to Colm, though a lot less flighty. “I see you have chosen to take on an apprentice after all.”

  “Oh no, she isn’t-,” Colm hurried to reassure her, but was cut off.

  “I don’t see you for just a few months and this is what you get up to? You know, I should take on an apprentice as well and we’ll see who is the more talented student. Goodbye, my dearest. I shall see myself out.”

  With those words Lady Xelma turned and briskly left the house.

  Baffled silence reigned in the house until Amethyst finally broke it.

  “What just happened? Did the crazy lady just ask for Lilith and her hypothetical apprentice to have a magical duel?”

  Colm nodded slowly.

  “You shouldn’t call her crazy,” he said. “But yes, I think that’s what she did.”

  He sat down and rubbed his eyes with the thumb and index finger of his right hand. Lilith decided what he needed was some nice, hot tea. She put Amethyst down and boiled some water. Once the steaming cup stood on the table in front of Colm, she asked “So who exactly is Lady Xelma? She sounded like someone important.”

  Colm nodded. “She was the royal advisor until the last queen died. Officially, she’s also the most powerful mage in the country. Because of the current situation in Pbecrah people don’t know what to do, so they keep turning to her because she’s the only certain thing. It’s not easy though. There are too many options for rulers, but none come from the direct royal line. It gets worse because their ideas also differ vastly, and so many people are unhappy, no matter the choice. There’s a lot of tension and things aren’t looking too well. The country, especially Tsoaluo, is constantly on the verge of a civil war. She must be having quite a tough time,” he explained, staring into his tea. Finally, he took a sip.

  “If she’s so important, why’d she come to you? You sounded awfully familiar with each other,” Amethyst noted. Colm chuckled.

  “We both had the same master, the old royal advisor. We spent most of our childhood together, so I guess you could see us as sort of siblings. Since we’ve gone our separate ways, she’s made a point of visiting me on a regular basis, often just to chat, sometimes to ask for advice. She doesn’t really understand why I chose this life over one like hers,” he continued. Then he sighed. “Why has she got to be so impulsive all the time? Next time I’ll make her drink some nice, calming tea,” he grumbled.

  His gaze wandered over to the figure of the bear on the shelf and he sighed. His eyes glazed over for just a moment, as if he was lost in reminiscence.

  Lilith watched him thoughtfully. Many questions raced through her head, but she felt it wasn’t her place to ask all of them. Instead, she carefully selected a few that seemed the most important for the time being.

  “How come you did not tell her about Milly?” she asked.

  “Oh, a while back both of us said we didn’t want to take on apprentices. I was afraid she might overreact if she learned that I was teaching a young girl to control her abilities. Phyenor is a very… particular kind of person. There are many things that she would react to in a different way than most other people. She’s also awfully competitive, and always has been. Well, my suspicions proved to be correct. At least now we know for sure that you’re not a member of the royal family. Phee would have recognized you if you were,” he declared with the air of someone who had had chaos bestowed upon them out of nowhere, but was still clinging onto that one faint trace of positivity.

  “I did not realize you thought I might be,” Lilith muttered, more to herself than to anyone else.

  Colm stretched.

  “It was a possibility I kept in mind. Historically speaking, the royal family of Pbecrah matched your looks. It’s a rare sight.”

  “Hunger, crazy lady, duel and no princess? That’s too much excitement in one day. I’m going back to sleep,” announced Amethyst as he leapt to the ground and hopped away. Colm watched after the raven, concern darkening his features.

  “He still can’t fly again,” he mumbled barely audibly. “By now…”

  “Oh, he can fly.” Lilith smiled. “I saw him a few days ago when he thought he was alone. I think he likes it here and does not want to be cast out.”

  Colm’s expression of surprise quickly turned to laughter.

  “Well who could blame him?” he chuckled. “Did you see the face he makes whenever you brush his feathers?”

  They told Amethyst about knowing his secret that evening, and upon his panicked blabbering and excuses, Colm assured the raven quickly that he, too, was a part of their odd, little family. Amethyst used that opportunity to impress them with a nifty flying maneuver he had been working on secretly. Now that he didn’t have to fly to live, it had become something of a passion and an art form to him.

  *****

  A few days later, Milly came by to present her brother James, and then to drag Lilith with them to the largest of the villages nearby, named Borg, but under Amethyst’s supervision as Colm had instructed. By now a lot of people knew her as Colm’s newest protégée, so he expected all to be well, but better safe than sorry.

  Although Colm had taken her to Trenil, the small village closest to Violet Cottage, a handful of times, this was the first time Lilith had been to Borg. Colm rarely had any need to go there, as he was mostly self-sufficient with his goats and small garden. Whatever else he needed were things Milly or other visitors brought in exchange for lessons or advice.

  Milly’s elder brother was friendly, lanky and the proud owner of a mountain horse, which was able to carry him, his sister, and Lilith to their destination within just a few hours. This horse listened to the name of Merryweather but let Lilith know right away that she preferred to be called Chantal. She ended up bickering with Amethyst the entire way; a discourse that Lilith relayed to Milly who kept asking about it.

  It was an exciting day. As it was Lilith’s first time in the village, she was overwhelmed by the multitude of people, the many smells and voices. She had been used to only meeting small groups of people, so it was a b
ig change. She recognized a few faces who immediately involved her in conversation. Everyone was very kind and after only an hour, Lilith had been given a carton of strawberries, meckleberries, two loaves of hamel bread, several books on history, romance, and legends, and a batch of clothing for both her and Colm. The girl wondered how she was going to take it all home, but Milly just laughed and assured her it would be just fine. Lilith thanked everyone vehemently and promised them she would help with anything if ever it was needed. Amethyst didn’t speak in human words all day, so no one but Lilith understood his happy grumbling about stupid giants as he stole some meckleberries from Lilith.

  “It’s so wonderful,” Lilith sighed contentedly.

  “What is?” Milly asked.

  Lilith spread her arms and twirled.

  “All of this! Oh!”

  She stumbled forward trying not to drop all the gifts the villagers had given her. Milly’s brother stepped in and took the berry crates from her arms.

  “Let me help,” he said quietly, not meeting Lilith’s gaze.

  Lilith smiled at him.

  “That’s very kind of you.”

  Then she turned back to Milly and gestured at the young man.

  “This is what I mean. Everyone here is so wonderful! How could anyone want to be anywhere but here?” She laughed.

  “I’ve got to admit – it’s better here than elsewhere,” Amethyst grumbled in agreement.

  It wasn’t long after this that they decided to return to Colm’s cottage. They made it there just before dusk and Milly had to hurry with James to get home before darkness fell.

  Colm tried to ask her about the day, but Lilith was exhausted. The unusual day and the sheer number of people had wiped her out. Barely replying to his questions, Lilith handed the gifts and offerings to Colm, before she climbed the stairs and passed out as soon as her head touched her pillow.

  *****

  There were plenty of times when Colm took Lilith on long walks and taught her about nature and biology. He would point out the different types of plants and tell her about the individual properties they harbored if used in different ways. He would have told her about animal life, too, but it quickly became evident that she learned more from listening into the forest and asking Amethyst.