by G S Santos
I, Sorceress:
Promise of a Sorceress
G. S. Santos
Copyright © 2018 G. S. Santos
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Contact mail: [email protected]
Cover art: Nicula Mircea
To my sister Beatriz.
Chapter I:
The deserted castle
Adelphine set the wooden lantern aside, hiding the light from the tower window, and peered through the curtains. Outside, the moon shone over the armors of five men with long sheathed swords hanging from their belts and burning torches in hand.
"Varunas! Come out!" shouted one with a black beard and bronze armor shining before the flames, with a captain’s insignia dangling from his cloak. The other three laughed, and another one, in a blue cape with white armor and flaunting a tree on his breastplate, had his eyes fixed on the gate.
Adelphine swallowed hard and turned to her brother, Kaunas, waiting for a solution. He returned the glance with a pale face. Sweat dripped from his forehead, into his red beard. He moved his lips hesitantly, but Adelphine knew he had nothing to say.
"Kaunas, we can’t wait in here!" Adelphine turned her back and walked toward the spiral staircase. "Someone has to go talk to them."
"Talk to them?" Kaunas grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close. "Talk? Do you think they want to talk? They want blood!"
"What if we both go?" Adelphine said, releasing herself from his grasp. "Kaunas, take some responsibility! Don’t be such a coward!"
"Coward? I'm just being reasonable! What are you talking about? Talk to them? I already told you, Adelphine! We are done! There is no escape!"
"And what do you want us to do? Stay here? Wait for them to enter and do whatever they want to us? Do you want them to hurt Papa?"
"Well, anything but talking to them! Blast! Either hide or escape."
Suddenly, they heard a low voice coming from the room behind them as the rusty door handle shook. It was their father, the Duke of Varunas. "Escape like cowards? Do not!" he cried. "The sons of the Varunas clan are not cowards, and will never be! Oh, Ea! Do not! Do not! Do not! Quiet, abyss of blood, I am a child of the ways of the gods who ride at dawn..."
Adelphine and Kaunas exchanged glances. Kaunas swallowed. "I think they're gonna hear him."
The cries became louder, and to Adelphine, more heartbreaking. Adelphine’s heart sank. She missed her father’s smile, his wise counsel, his love. Now his wisdom had faded into madness. She sighed and decided to ignore him and concentrate on finding a solution.
"Kaunas, we cannot let them see him. I do not want to imagine what they will do to him." She fixed her eyes on her brother’s. "Come on, Kau, let's talk to them. It cannot be so bad if we promise to do our part!"
"Adelphine." Kaunas's blue eyes flashed with fear, and his voice became a plea. “No... Please. Hide with me."
"We've been hiding for six months!" Adelphine lowered her voice. "They did not like it at all."
"Well, we already tried to fix the matter, and they want nothing to do with it! Dad is out of his mind. He is going to kill himself or get himself killed. He will do it. And we do not have a penny or a kilo of wheat to pay for the tributes. Let's run to the barn and let's cover ourselves, or rather, the cellar!"
"Kaunas! Don’t you have any shame left in you? Dad would kick you out into the cold if he heard you!" She stepped forward. "That's it. I'm going to go talk to them myself."
"You? No, Adelphine, do not dare go out." Kaunas took a step forward while the captain’s voice echoed from outside the castle.
"Varunas! Step out of your cave, you rat! You have made us wait long enough! Come on, the count is waiting for the profit!"
Suddenly, a knob turned on the door behind them.
"No," Adelphine moaned. "Kaunas, he’s opening the door!"
"How did he manage to...?"
The door flew open, and their father fell on his side, his face dark and weather-beaten, with bits of hay dangling from his beard, an iron helmet that swayed from side to side on his head, and a rusted spear in hand. "I shall take them, or I will die!" he shouted, holding the spear high and running to the window. "Today I will not die, my soul will ascend to the gray sky, to the sides of the North...! Prepare my carriage, Saulé, the one with shining hair, today I ride like the sun with my legions!"
Adelphine and Kaunas ran to the door and grabbed their father by the arms. He struggled and turned his head like a madman.
"Dad!" Adelphine cried.
"Let me go! I'll skewer them with my spear! I condemn you, vermin!"
"Adelphine." Kaunas’s face was pale. "I don’t know what he's going to do now."
"Come on, I’ll help you."
They both stood up, dragging their father into the room. She fixed her eyes on her brother so that he could not hide his. "Kaunas. I cannot imagine what I will do if they find him. Worse so. Come on, Kaunas, let me go downstairs and face them."
Kaunas took a deep breath and looked through the window. He blinked. Adelphine saw Kaunas's eyes moisten. He gritted his teeth and stood up.
"I'll go," he said.
"Easy, Papa," Adephine whispered in the old man's ear, as she walked backward with her arms on her father's shoulders. Then she looked at her brother. "Do not do anything stupid, Kaunas. Do not provoke them."
"I will not," he sighed, fear trickling from his lips. She reconsidered. Kaunas would not make them angry. Unlike her, who lost her temper with ease, Kaunas could be as apologetic as if he owed everybody something. Adelphine left her father in the room and hurried to close the door. She had the key tied to her waist, put the lock in place, and locked it, perhaps in vain, because the lock was opened with a trick.
"He's going to open it again!" Kaunas cried, struggling to move a redwood cupboard, almost as tall as him, next to the door. "Help me to move this thing."
Adelphine ran behind him and struggled to make the piece of furniture stand up, but she felt that she was hardly helping the huge Kaunas. They dropped the piece of furniture in front of the door, and Kaunas hurried down the spiral stairs. Their father's screams echoed behind the door.
Adelphine ran to the window and peeked. She heard the rumble of the wooden gate opening to her brother’s efforts.
Kaunas walked timidly over the stone bridge. Adelphine struggled to pay attention, but barely managed to hear.
“Gentlemen, I came to bargain."
The captain, dark hair to his shoulders and a dark beard, approached him. His horse neighed, its breath escaping like smoke in the autumn cold. Suddenly, the other three soldiers in dark armor surrounded him on their horses, while Kaunas glanced around nervously. Their laughter made Adelphine feel uneasy. One of them was big, like Kaunas, his arms, under the armor, were hairy and thick like trunks, and a double-headed axe hung on his back. The rest of them had longswords.
"Where is your father?" the captain said.
"Leave my father alone, the poor man does not sleep, thinking about all this. And about the payment, well, I am really sorry, but I’m sure we can reach an..."
"Well, you should have thought of that before you scammed Count Siwelzac. Do you think the count can invest in his plans and lose thousands of denarii and a whole load of energy roots? Someone’s got to pay, boy! And you all will pay!"
"My father did not scam anyone!" Kaunas cried, losing his cool. "Sir, please understand that the cargo was lost. Not even we made any profit out of it. We were sorry, yes, but it was not our fault."
"Do you
think the count will accept that explanation? After six months without paying a dime nor a single barrel! After six months of ignoring things!"
"Sir, we were just preparing for the harvest… This year was bad for the vines… With all the rain, and the wind, also, without our serfs… Please be patient! We have nothing. Our castle is empty, you already have our servants, everything; you are in charge of the village… Just give us some time, we'll get back to you. Please have patience."
"Patience? We had too much of it!"
The soldier looked at his companions, then scoffed. The laughter of the others followed, except for the man in the white armor. Adelphine had seen him before, she was almost certain that he was the count’s heir. Yes, he seemed to be, with a pale face and brown hair, short and shiny as straw, and the tree emblem emblazoned in his chest.
Kaunas lowered his head. "Give us a few more months, we promise we'll get something!"
"You do not have a single servant, and nothing to sow! What do you want to pay with? Your flesh? Well, three months. Three. But your payment starts today."
The captain looked at his companions and whispered something Adelphine could not hear. Then he turned and mounted his horse with a haughty gesture. His black hair fluttered in the wind, and his eyes sparkled.
What were they doing? Were they going to leave them alone? Were they just threatening them? Adelphine sighed with relief.
But the soldier drew his sword, the horse neighed and rose on two legs.
Adelphine's heart throbbed like a galloping horse as the rider pounced on Kaunas.
"No!" Kaunas shouted and ran to the castle, stumbling as the rider caught him. Adelphine let out a cry as the horse kicked her brother, face down on the ground, screaming in a harsh voice.
"Thank you for your payment!" the captain said.
She dropped the lamp on the ground.
Below, the soldiers ran and dropped their heavy boots on her brother's body and kicked him, while, behind them, Siwelzac's heir lay still, staring at the ground.
Blast, she thought. How could they do that to poor Kaunas? What had he done to deserve such a thing? She clenched her fists and looked around. She wanted to see fire consuming those wicked men. If only she knew how to use a sword...
Suddenly, Siwelzac's heir looked up and stared at the tower. Adelphine was startled, stepped back, and released the curtain.
They knew where she was.
The screams of her father rang out behind her, until suddenly, they stopped.
The men mounted their horses and rode into the castle. Adelphine swallowed. She had to act fast.
She thought that the first step was protecting her father, so she went to the door and knocked, without a plan in mind, but containing her emotions.
"Papa?" She rushed next to the door. "I need you to do me a favor."
She heard nothing but moans growing fainter every second.
"Papa? Can you hear me?"
She looked from side to side, already hearing the hooves under the tower. They would run up the stairs at any moment. She stood on the cabinet and pushed the door inside and fell, lantern in hand, casting light over piles of dust and hay. Then she saw her father's face, trembling, his mouth half-open and blood flowing like a waterfall. Adelphine screamed in horror as the lamp revealed the scene. The spear ran through his stomach, his hands were fixed, pushing inward.
"Papa..."
Blood soaked the ground, and the old man bowed his head, his helmet on, toward the front, while he panted.
"Papa, no..."
He stuck his blue eyes, still bright, in the gloom, toward Adelphine, as if to say something. She clenched her fists as her father collapsed.
Adelphine's eyes were wet. She could not lose him now, she would not dare lose him, but nothing would be worse than to let Siwelzac’s men find him.
She rushed to pile hay over his body. She could not stop her tears from flowing, but in her heart, rage blazed like a volcano.
But she was weak. How could she face five armed men? How could she meet a cruel man, esteemed by the king of the land, with armies and heartless warriors?
She slipped out the door and looked out the window that led to the small square of the castle. From the window to the inner court, she noticed Siwelzac’s men were either breaking through the rooms in their horses or busy snooping the pantries, carrying lots of tin, tools, and ornamental pieces.
She thought of the best place to hide, stealthily walked down the steps with the lamp under her cloak and her hand extended to feel the walls in the dark. She slid to the corner of the tower and opened the horizontal cellar door. She walked down the steps carefully, uncovered the lantern, and illuminated barrels of wine and the hundreds of bottles in the cupboards, reflecting its light like a mirror. She let out a sigh of relief, but the rumble above her grew louder.
The hooves echoed on the roof of the cellar, and she looked up. She wished they did not notice the wooden entrance in the middle of the castle. Suddenly she heard the soldiers calling one another, and the cellar door opened. She dropped the lantern in fright.
With no time to pick it up, she jumped behind a barrel, panting, her heart hammering like a drum. She glanced sideways as a man walked down the stairs, his flaming torch leaving a trail of smoke and the two headed axe reflecting its light.
The lantern shone on the ground, threatening to give her away. She swallowed. If she ran to that side, they would see her. The man's footsteps were heard closer, and her heart beat faster.
The soldier approached the shelves and illuminated the labels with his torch, paying attention to what was there.
"Good wine!" he said in a harsh voice, surprised.
"Since when can you read?" snapped the black-bearded captain behind him.
"I'm learning," the axe-wielder said. "But look at these pretty bottles. I do not need to read to know that these bastards enjoyed the best wine in Ladania."
Adelphine crouched and crawled through the barrels, found an empty one, and slipped inside. She barely fit inside, and had her neck pressed against the wood.
"Stop wasting time!" said the captain. "Come on, if you want something, take it, and let's go."
"What about the girl? There's supposed to be a girl, right?"
"Well, find her. She has to be somewhere."
"Look at that!" said another soldier with a screechy voice.
"Look at that! A lantern!"
"I think she is here. Find her, and let’s have some fun!"
"Wait, the wine is good. Let me choose the best, for we don’t have space to put it all," said the man with the axe, opening a bottle and drinking a mouthful. "These Varunas bastards had good taste."
"You cannot read, you idiot! Come on, hurry up, get it. I’ll take care of the door."
"Let's see, where will this girl be? What is your name, dolly?"
"Her name is Aphenina." The captain’s voice was heard in the entrance. "I think, Édoard knows her."
"No, sir. Her name is Alphenine," said the one with the screechy voice. "Alphenine! Where are you, little doll?"
Adelphine shut her eyes. Please, do not come any nearer. She tried to remember that spell she had read in the book she stole from her aunt. It was supposed to make her invisible before her enemies, but it never worked to fend off her tutors. Or did it? It sounded like even anandarad adar.
Suddenly, she heard an axe swinging, wood breaking, and liquid flowing next to her.
"What a pity it is to waste such good wine!"
She shut her eyes, then heard the axe pierce through oak again. She took a deep breath, but realized that the air was missing. The feeling of suffocation became more and more intense. Instead, she clenched her fists and shook her head.
An axe was heard a step closer, cutting through a barrel.
How many barrels were there, after all? She felt the desire to cry, but the tears did not come out. She closed her eyes and tried to remain silent. Was that the end? She tried vainly to breathe in for the last ti
me, as the axe penetrated her barrel on the side and stabbed the skin of her arms.
She swallowed the scream, felt the tears washing her face, and gritted her teeth. The desire to jump up, scream in pain, and breathe deeply invaded her, but she held herself back by tensing all her muscles.
The axe broke loose from her skin and rose into the air. The soldier made a noise, as if something surprised him.
The captain’s voice echoed through the cellar. "What is it, Svarnas?"
The axe swung in the air. The axe-wielder sighed. "This one was empty."
"Is she here or not?" the captain asked.
"Wait a minute," the screechy voice said.
"I do not see her anywhere."
Disappear, you bastards, Adelphine said in her mind.
The steps drew closer as she tried to contain the tension, then further, until she heard the door close, and she jumped up. The lid of the barrel flew through the air, and she stood up, squeezing the wound in her arm. She yelled, and dropped to the ground between rivers of wine still dripping from other barrels, mixing with the blood that stained her pale tunic.
"Siwelzac! I will make you pay for what you have done to my family! You and your lackeys!" she shouted with her hand made into a fist and anger emanating from her soul like a burning sun.
Adelphine crawled out of the cellar, pressing her arm to stop the bleeding. The gate of the castle looked like a window to hell, where the family vines burned in flames and the bushes that surrounded them turned to ashes. Part of her did not want to see her heritage lost, but she had to make sure her brother was still alive.
He was lying over the bridge, eyes closed, blood staining his beard, arms, and legs.
"Adelphine," Kaunas moaned in pain.
"Kaunas!" She ran and dropped to her knees next to him. "Are you all right?"
"Do I look alright?" he said between screams.
"Gods… My gods, you’re alive! What have they done to you, brother? Your leg! Your leg is broken!"
A bone tore through his leg, like a lamb chop full of blood and fat. She felt like fainting for a second.
