Battle SeerChapter 10: A Vision of Death
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Table of Contents Chapter 10, part 1 appears in this issue. |
“Actually,” she started. “I had an errand to run for my father. He had to close his shop late this evening, and I was the only one with him. The duty fell on me. Besides, I like the Fallen Crown Tavern. So I took the chance to come by. I know the waitress there. She is a long time friend. Her family has been a friend of my family since my grandfather was alive.”
She turned to look at him. He was listening to her. She didn’t expect him to be, really. “Why are you out here alone?” she asked. “I thought you were always guarded and protected? I have never seen you without a guard. Are you not afraid? I guess you have no reason to be.”
This time he grinned.
Renson, watching and waiting, grinned. Though the prince was powerful and handsome, almost as handsome as himself, he had nothing on the mage. Renson’s grin could remind a person of a wolf. At other times, he could remind a woman of an innocent child.
The prince looked around. “But, my lady, we are not alone. We have been followed since you left the tavern. Not once have we been in any danger. No one can reach us without fighting through at least five men this night. Fear not for your safety. Nor mine.”
She searched the trees and street for any sign of men. There were plenty of shadows for an experienced warrior, or thief, to hide in. The trees made enough of a whisper with their rustling to mask tentative footsteps. She felt a chill crawl through her. She had been watched this whole time, and she hadn’t even known it.
She focused on the prince again. “So why the sword? If we are not alone, then there is no danger. And if we are not alone, then this walk is not a private one.’
She walked off then. She turned around to regard the prince when he didn’t follow. He looked at her intensely. It was too dark to see his eyes, but she could feel them staring at her. In the dim light, she could make out his handsome features.
Was he upset?
“My lady, this meeting between us is private. No one in all of Acrene Tarrynth will hear of this meeting if I do not wish it. You may speak to all open ears, but they will take your story as a made-up one. As for being followed, I hope you take no offense. I would rather be with you like this than with a bunch of men at our side.”
He gazed down at his sword. “As for this,” he continued. “I carry it because I command an army. If for no other reason I should carry this, it is to protect you and all of these people under my wing.” He spread his arms to punctuate the image of him defending Geamehn and all of Acrene Tarrynth.
She took his sight with flames in her eyes. She felt her face flush and was thankful for the darkness that surrounded them. It would be too embarrassing if he noticed. “Then I rest easier this night, my lord.”
He walked over and extended his elbow to her. She put her arm in his and continued on their walk. She tried to catch a glimpse of the men she knew followed, but to no avail.
“How many?” she asked curiously.
“What?” he asked surprised. It pleased her to know he had lost himself in his thoughts. This meant he felt especially comfortable around her.
“How many are following us?” She peered around into the thick trees and bushes that lined the street. They were getting closer to her home. For an instant, she felt a pang of regret. There was no guarantee the he would ever see her again.
He gazed down at her as if weighing something in his head.
After a moment, he said, “Six. There are two in front of us and two to the back. One to each side.”
She looked in the direction he pointed. There was nobody there, except the trees swaying gently to the breeze. “There is nobody there.”
“Of course not,” he confirmed. “They’re not to be seen. They’re not supposed to be seen or heard. Oh, please call me Palance. I don’t like the sound of lord upon your lips. It makes me sound superior. If the little glimpse in you that I’ve seen of fairness is true, then you are never to be ruled. So, please, from now on just call me Palance.”
The compliment was almost too much. She was, after all, just an ordinary woman. She had seen other men in the course of her lifetime, some rogues and thieves, and others of better status than herself, but never anything serious. She was a woman of virtue, and many times this proved to be too much of an obstacle for men. She was a respectable woman with high standards, but she had never fancied walking with the prince of Acrene Tarrynth.
She was even more surprised when they came upon her street and he turned her on to it without being told. She knew then that he had been watching her. Instead of being wary and worried, she felt even more elated. The prince of Acrene Tarrynth had been watching her!
They walked half the block until he stopped her in front of her house. Her house had a large acre of land in front and to its sides, giving the residents plenty of room. Somewhere in the back, horses could be heard in their stables. The manor itself was shrouded in shadows except for a large oil lamp burning at the front door.
The manor was at least three stories high. The front porch had three pillars gracing its visage. The walls were painted a creamy white. Windows lined the first and second floors at odd intervals. The third floor had only three windows, all of them dark and lightness.
There was a small fence surrounding the whole lot. Palance Demondread opened the front gate for her. He walked her up the walkway to the front door, where he regarded her intently. They stood looking at each other for a while. To Andina, it felt like only seconds. The night had passed too quickly.
“If I never speak with you again,” she said at last, “know that I enjoyed this immensely. There will never be another man quite like you, so I fear you have ruined me for the others.”
Renson was surprised to find she meant it.
“If this was a private meeting,” she continued, “then have no fear. I will not speak of it to anyone. I hardly doubt I’d have the courage, anyway. Who would believe me?”
“But don’t sound so gloomy, Andina.” He touched a gloved hand to her cheek. “You have no idea what it is you have done to me; all those ladies at my court pale next to you. One day soon, expect an invitation to visit the palace. Not everyone gets this invitation, so I pray that you accept it. Come and let them know what a real woman is like.”
She smiled. She blinked back tears and brought a hand up to muffle a giggle. Andina Lerouse hoped the prince of Acrene Tarrynth wasn’t lying. It was too much to hope for, but she dared it anyway. “How are you going to get me in the palace?”
“An invitation,” he said reassuringly. “Your father is a cloth merchant. Is he not? Okay, I’ll use the excuse that I want him to get some fabric for me that I want tailored personally by his people. How’s that?”
She nodded eagerly. “So how am I to convince him to believe my story?”
He reached over and pulled his cloak tightly over her shoulders. “Keep my cloak, Andina. There are no others like it. Show it to him. Tell him your story is viable. In two days you will get an invitation. That should seal things for a while.”
She didn’t know what to say after that. She stared at his face for a while, opening the door and slipping inside. Her heart beat in her chest and for a moment sounded like it was going to burst. Her skin tingled where he had touched her cheek. Her own hands burned where she had touched him, if only briefly.
She moved over to a window and watched him walk out of range of the light coming from the burning oil lamp. He moved down the walkway until he reached the front gate. She lost sight of him for a moment from the glare of her lamp. Then caught sight of him again as another man approached the prince. Then they were gone down the street, but not before the prince turned to look back one last time at her house.
Renson shifted in spite of himself. Maybe he had been wrong about the vision. He split his consciousness down the middle. He felt a tingling sensation throughout what he recognized to be his body and concentrated. Instantly, the right side of himself opened his eyes. He could see Andina still lying asleep. So there was still time.
His left side, however, probed unrelentingly. He felt with a million tentacles for an opening in her thoughts. He waited for another dream. It would come, he knew. People always dreamed. No one could sleep without dreaming.
He knew the vision was there. It was just a matter of time. Renson charged around Andina’s mental barrier, waiting for a chance that would be an invitation for the mage to enter her dream.
Dreams were the easiest to access. Dreams were unconscious thoughts being released by the brain so it could breath while a person slept. Dreams worked as bridges to visions. Visions could be reached through thoughts, too, but it was much harder. Andina would have to be aware of his presence. And through thoughts, Andina had the power to throw him out. Her power was great, as a Seer, and even he would be hard pressed to stay in there. Besides, she had already made it well known that he was not to intrude without permission.
He surfed the bubble of her thoughts without intruding upon them. He glided smoothly on the curve of the bubble until he reached its hole. He perceived it as a great void in her mind. This was where memories formed. He reached its edge and looked over.
To his right side of consciousness, Andina still slept soundly. He dared to look outside and found the stars climbing to their peak. The carriage still moved, if at a slower pace than earlier, and he was thankful for Kendel. They would reach Acrene Tarrynth and Palance before long.
Inside his head, he moved around the circle of the void. He could feel its tug on his being, wanting to suck him in. If it were possible to have hair here, his golden locks would be flailing directly into the empty mass he stared at. The mage found the best footing possible and focused on the center of Andina’s mental being.
The hole trembled and grew. It opened, threatening to consume Renson. If it opened too fast, he would be sucked in. He would be lost forever. He would live without magic, without having his own sense of self-worth. Andina would control him with her thoughts. Not out of want, but because she would become two people.
The vision was coming. He had been right. The hole where her memories came from was preparing itself for the vision. It took tremendous force to accept visions. The space where memories came from had to be strong and formidable. A Seer without training could go mad on the first try. The space where memories came from exerted tremendous energy to prepare for the vision that would come out of nowhere. A Seer had to accept what came to it without the benefit of memory.
Renson stared without eyes as the hole stopped opening. All he had to do was be there to See the vision in its raw stage. Renson felt a shift. The tug loosened and the left part of his consciousness relaxed slightly. He involuntarily tensed. The black mass fluttered and colors appeared swirling in its center. It retracted for a moment and then rose straight at the mage. He had just a second to move before the swirling colors exploded from the hole in a shower of light.
Outside Andina’s head, Renson could see his charge moving her arms. She grunted and moaned as if she was having a nightmare. The mage bent next to her. He put a hand to her forehead and tried to soothe her. It had no effect on her. The Seer slept fretfully in the bouncing carriage.
The bursting of colors blinded the mage. He staggered back with unseen feet and battled his way back to the edge. Once there, he got a good foothold and looked up at the colors. They gathered around each other, piling atop one another. Some colors faded from existence as the pressure of the force began to mix shades with other shades. The white shades were consumed by the black shades. Yellow shades were tainted by red shades and greens were destroyed by purples.
Through this all, Renson could sense the desired goal. They were trying to form an image. But because the image did not come from memory, Andina’s Talent was creating it from the things she knew. Colors were the easiest things to pick out of a person’s memory.
But then Renson detected a problem. With a frown, he tried to figure what it was. The colors continued to swirl until they were nothing but a colorless mass of dark shades. Renson felt himself blown back several times every time a color extinguished itself. The blasts boomed in his ears and drowned everything else. The hole disappeared for a moment then came back to view.
Then he saw the problem. The pressure of the vision and the mesmerizing display of colors were causing their size and substance to shrink. They gathered around tighter and tighter. Renson looked on with awe. He had done this before, many times. But the light show being displayed here was beyond belief. He had never witnessed anything like it. Nothing ever this strong had ever come his way.
Andina was powerful. He had been right about her all along. His right side of consciousness grinned. He couldn’t help it despite the danger that his mind faced. She was proving more talented and more powerful than his own senses had told him she was.
The lights gathered enough to form a tiny ball of swirling lights. He saw it condense further and he ran for cover. His biggest fear now was not getting out alive. Renson worried about surviving the blast that was about to happen.
He was sliding down the curve of Andina’s bubble of thoughts when the blast shook him. The brilliance caused him to close his eyes and gasp. The force sent him further down the curve as his formless body was flung. He forced himself to stop. He looked up and sparks were raining down on him. If he wore clothing here, he would have caught on fire.
It took him a second to gather his wits. Such power! Slowly, the lights’ dazzling effect wore off and he Saw the aftermath.
* * *
Outside, Andina Lerouse relaxed in her sleep. She let the force of the vision take her away. Somewhere deep inside of her, the light knew where, she hoped Renson was there. She, too, knew this was something new. She would need his strength and power to survive, she was sure.
* * *
Split in half, Renson bowed his head down and clenched a fist. His other hand fell across his chest. The mage took a deep breath to try and calm himself, but without success.
Inside their minds, Renson found Andina huddled in the folds of her spirit. She wasn’t afraid, just wary and awed. He reached out a hand he didn’t have and picked her up to her feet. They turned to face the vision that showed itself to them, and they shook. He pretended to be strong and confident for her, though he trembled openly beneath his purple robes. With sure steps they jumped in unison and together they fell into her vision, devoured by a future both knew they weren’t supposed to change.
And then everything went black.
To be continued...
Copyright © 2005 by Julian Lawler
