A Guardian of Shadows (Revenant Wyrd Book 4) Page 11

“This room isn't being used,” Angelica said.

  Jovian motioned toward the doorway, opened onto the entrance hall so everyone coming and going could see them. In fact, many people were walking by, looking in on them. Jovian was sure it was because they were “the two from the Holy Realm.” Those people never gave it a thought that their new Realm Guardian was also from the Holy Realm.

  I wonder if they even know, Jovian thought. Quite possibly it wasn't even a question to them. Joya shared the dark hair and pale skin that every person in the Shadow Realm had, whereas Angelica and Jovian were blond-haired, like most people from the Holy Realm.

  It was true that not everyone walking in and out of the Spire of Night was dark-haired, but Jovian thought their difference in hair color might be attributed to dyes or wyrd.

  “We can close the curtains,” Angelica said. Jovian hadn't even noticed the dark blue curtains tied back from either side of the doorway before his sister mentioned it.

  “I think maybe it would be better if we just found another place, or even in one of our rooms.” Jovian said.

  “I wish we had a joined room like Joya has suites,” Angelica complained.

  “I'm just happy we have accommodations inside. We are from the hated rival realm. We’d better count our blessings that we’re still alive.”

  “True,” Angelica said.

  “Well, if we’re going to commune with her, maybe the sitting room on the fourth floor won't be in use this early?” Jovian said. He rarely saw anyone in there when he was walking by.

  “I don't think they've been putting anyone there, not wanting people to be exposed to us,” Angelica said. Jovian wished it were a joke, but he thought Angelica was right; no one wanted to be around the taint of those from the Holy Realm. But still, he had seen evidence of other people on their floor.

  The second day they were there Angelica had discovered a spiral staircase to the left of the platform with the lift. The stairway had a landing at each floor, and instead of making themselves more of a spectacle by riding up the lift, they chose the seclusion of the stairway. It was too much like a stage in the center of the crowded hall.

  “Not all of these people can be realm officials,” Angelica said.

  “I suspect a lot of them are just regular people coming to see their new ruler.” When Jovian put it that way, calling Joya a ruler, it really sunk in.

  “Our family will never be normal, will it?” Angelica said. It was more of a statement than a question.

  “It's not in our blood, apparently,” Jovian said. They both smiled.

  The doorway to the hidden staircase whispered open as they approached, and when they stepped through there was a noise like pressure being released, and a series of levers and springs pushed the door shut once more.

  “Nothing is run by wyrd, is it?” Angelica asked.

  “Some of it might be, but it doesn't appear to be common.”

  “I wonder what it is,” Angelica said as they made their way to the fourth floor. The staircase was dark, with sunflower-lights only at each landing, plunging the path between them into near-darkness.

  Jovian grabbed one of the orbs off the wall when they passed, shook it a few times to strengthen the glow, and continued on the way, holding the light above his head so as not to blind him.

  The door opened at their approach, and they were in the silent, red-carpeted hall by their rooms. The walls were made of some black wood, and all of the doors were polished to a near-ethereal sheen.

  Angelica turned into the sitting room, with its low ceiling, draped doorway and multitudes of sofas, chairs and divans. It was paneled in the same black wood of the hall, but made softer by the addition of varying shades of blue and green fabrics and accessories.

  Angelica stoked the fire to keep away the chill. They were farther away from the snows of the Realm of Earth, but they were still entering the winter months, and this sitting room must have had an outside wall because an occasional chilly draft whispered through the room.

  Angelica sat down in a chair across from the one Jovian sat in before the fire.

  “Aunt Pharoh?” Angelica asked.

  They felt their aunt gathering in the room before they saw the silver shimmer in the air in front of the fire. The shimmer strengthened to a glow, and then subsided as a form took shape of a short, black-haired woman so similar in looks to their sister that a quick glance would confuse the two of them. Her hair was swept back from her face and twisted in a strange braid down her back. Her dress blended in well with the Realm of Shadow.

  “I was wondering when you would seek my aid,” Pharoh said, and smiled.

  “With Joya's new position, we aren't sure she will have time to teach us,” Jovian said.

  “I understand. I'm sure she will. There are tasks she has yet to complete before she can rest in this spire with any kind of permanence.” Pharoh smoothed the skirts of her dress and sat in a chair across from the fire and between them.

  “So she will continue with us?” Angelica asked.

  “Yes, even now she's trying to find a way out of the meetings so you can all continue your journey home.”

  “That's a relief,” Jovian sighed.

  “What made you think she wouldn't?” Pharoh asked.

  “Being a Realm Guardian, she has other priorities now,” Angelica answered.

  “Well, the lands of the Great Realms, unlike the people, are patient with those they choose to govern them. The Shadow Realm won't choose another unless Joya is killed, and the senators and governors will have to be happy with that. At least they have one after twelve years.”

  “Why hadn't it chosen one before now?” Jovian wondered.

  Pharoh shrugged. “It must not have thought anyone was worthy before Joya came along.”

  “Is it normal for people from other realms to be chosen?” Angelica wondered.

  “It doesn't happen often, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.”

  “Alright, we have been having some strange dreams,” Jovian said. “I really don't know what's coming, but everything seems in such disarray now. We know we have wyrd, and we have seen our family grow in strength around us, and we still haven't been able to figure out how to draw on our wyrd.”

  “It's because you don't possess wyrd like everyone else,” Pharoh told them.

  “Does that mean we are destined to never be able to draw on our wyrd?” Angelica asked their aunt.

  “I didn't say that, but it will be harder for you because you aren't from a traditional school of wyrd such are known in the realms. I'm sure you can probably draw on wyrd using the same steps as everyone else, but you are different because your wyrd doesn't reside inside of you, but instead in things around you.”

  “The Tall Stranger,” Angelica said. “It makes sense. I took his wyrd, and stopped his storm.”

  “Porillon — we took in some of her spells and transmuted them,” Jovian said.

  Pharoh was nodding.

  “So what kinds of things can we draw upon?” Jovian asked.

  “Anything with high energy,” Pharoh said. “Obviously not furniture and walls, but you should be able to tap into other energy sources, like storms, and trees, and the land.”

  “People?” Angelica asked.

  Pharoh got a strange look on her face. “If you were an alarist, then yes, but I think there is a ready enough source of energy around you at all times that drawing from people wouldn't be something you would have to do.”

  Angelica nodded.

  “And then what can we do with that energy?” Jovian asked.

  “What do you mean?” Pharoh asked.

  “Well, if we draw from the earth, would we only be able to cast earthy types of wyrd?”

  “Oh, you mean if you draw on a storm would you only be able to cause lightning and rain?” Pharoh asked.

  “Yes,” Jovian agreed with a nod.

  “No, I think you would be able to cast whatever was in your mind.” Pharoh leaned back. “Get comfortable. Right
now we will learn how to draw from the energy source, and then, when we find a suitable place, we will try casting it out. Until we find that place, we might be able to work with principles of control by affecting the fire. Mind you, the fire will be the same as lightning, or message orbs, or wyrd light.”

  “How so?” Angelica asked, trying to make herself comfortable in the chair.

  “Because once you know how to draw, and then how to manifest your desire with the wyrd you've drawn, you can manifest whatever you desire — whether that is influencing fire, or casting lightning. The goal here is to show you how to draw and then how to manifest your desire. It doesn't matter the desire, just knowing the actions of how to do it.

  “Now, close your eyes and let go. It might work better if you let me in enough that words aren’t needed.”

  “How do we do that?” Angelica asked.

  “Just relax, I will do the rest,” Pharoh told them.

  Jovian leaned back in the chair and eased his mind. Once he was fully relaxed, to the point of sleeping, he felt another awareness slip in beside his own. It was a lot like when his father showed him to shoot a bow, standing behind him, guiding his hand as he nocked the arrow and drew the bow. So, too, did he feel his Aunt Pharoh showing him how to best find the largest power sources like balls of energy under the surface of the earth. From there she showed him the best way to link his mind with the energy, opening a conduit between it and himself.

  A word of caution, he heard her in his head. Each energy source will have a personality of its own. Earth will be stable and calm, but a raging storm might be like struggling with a bear, trying to tame it.

  He could feel his aunt showing him how to stop the energy flow, but not completely disengage from the node of power. Pharoh showed him how to open the conduit wider to allow more energy flow, and he figured for something really strong or powerful he might want a larger flow of energy.

  For the next hour or so Pharoh showed them the ways of connecting with the power and then withdrawing from it, making sure they had the hang of it. With the conduit between them and the earth open, she brought them back to their bodies.

  “In time it will get easier, and it won't take so much concentration. But now do you feel the link in your mind? How it is closed off like a tightened fist?”

  They both nodded. The energy was strange to Jovian; it felt like a wisp of smoke connecting his mind to some distant place in the earth, where he channeled from.

  “Jovian, we’ll start with you. Imagine the fire growing, and open the channel a little, not a lot.”

  Jovian focused on the fire, saw it growing in size, and when he had the image perfect in his head he opened the channel. But he couldn't determine what a small amount was, and the fire roared to life, erupting in the hearth and spitting out into the sitting room.

  Angelica yelped and jumped out of her chair, but Jovian reacted fast and clamped the channel shut. The fire went out.

  Pharoh laughed.

  “Alright, I see we should have tried banking the fire.” She moved her hand and the fire sprang cheerily to life once more.

  “Angelica, you try it now, just as I told Jovian, but this time we will see the fire weakening.”

  Angelica concentrated for several moments before Jovian saw anything happen, and when it happened it was nearly expert in control, the fire dimming and dimming until all that remained was a slight glow among the coals. He knew the moment when she stopped the wyrding, because the fire rose easily back to life.

  “Perfect!” Pharoh said.

  Several more times they tried it, and by the end of their session Angelica was easily able to control the flame, banking it, stoking it, putting it out, but not able to conjure it from nothing. Jovian was able to put it out when he was trying to dim it, make it flare violently when he was trying to stoke it, and though he wasn't good at controlling it like Angelica was, he had been able to conjure a flame from nothing.

  “It was a very good first start,” Pharoh told them.

  “Are you kidding me?” Jovian asked. “This morning I hadn't even really thought about working with wyrd, and now I’m able to call on it and work with it, even if not very expertly.”

  “I know!” Angelica was ecstatic.

  Pharoh laughed. “Now, for homework, I want you both to work on harnessing the power from the same source we just tapped into. Work on that until you don't have to go through a bunch of relaxation techniques to do so. You should be able to do it while you are holding a conversation, or concentrating on something completely different. Work with it until it takes little more than the desire to harness the power.

  “Working with your wyrd should be like working any other muscle. You don't have to think about standing in order to walk to the bathroom, you just do it. The same should be true with your wyrd.

  “Now, I think your sister is on her way here with an entourage to invite you all to dinner.”

  No sooner had Pharoh vanished from the high-backed chair she sat in than they heard the footsteps of several people coming down the hall. When they arrived it was a circle of guards in black and red livery, surrounding their sister in the center.

  A short heavy set man stepped forward.

  “The Realm Guardian—”

  “Oh, for Goddess’ sake, I can do it myself.” Joya pushed through the crowd of guards. “These are members of my family,” Joya told servants behind the circle of guards. “They will not be treated like outcasts. Get them into proper rooms, and maybe put some of the less agreeable senators on this floor. Angelica and Jovian's rooms should be on my floor.”

  The servants bowed away into Jovian and Angelica's rooms, taking their possessions off to wherever Joya's floor was.

  “Now that I have a free minute, would you two please join me for a private dinner?” Joya shot a glare over her shoulder.

  When Joya answered their knock on the door Angelica barely recognized her. After so long on the road, it was strange to see Joya in her normal trappings. Her hair had been washed and styled, and hung loosely down to her waste in wavy locks. Her normal riding dress had been traded for a simple plum-colored dress that hung about her, hugging her curves down to her hips, where it spilled to the floor in folds. The top of the dress was largely open, making Jovian blush and avert his eyes from his sister's cleavage.

  “You look…well,” Jovian said.

  “Apparently they don't like their Realm Guardian looking disheveled and smelling of road sweat,” Joya answered.

  “Go figure,” Angelica said.

  “I arranged for us to eat in my sitting room; at least the guards feel comfortable allowing me to be in my own suite alone.”

  “Of course, there are enough of them lining the halls,” Jovian commented. He sank into one of the chairs Joya showed him. The table was small, but large enough that they weren't cramped.

  Joya sat down into her chair at the small table. Everything seemed like a chore for their sister. Angelica knew that Joya could be fiery when needed, but she had never exactly seen her be nasty with people. But that's what it had taken for Joya to assure they had time together without being interrupted.

  Joya rubbed her head.

  “They are giving me the worst headache I've ever had,” Joya complained.

  Angelica was about to ask what had been going on with their sister since they had seen her last, but just as she took a breath to speak, the doors pushed open. She saw her sister tense, about to rant at whoever disturbed them, but pasted on a smile when she saw it was the servants with their meal.

  They pulled in a cart and started setting items on the table. Angelica was thankful that there was nothing alien to their eating customs. Long-stem glasses were set before all of them, and from an amber decanter a servant with hair braided past her waist started pouring a glowing white wine into the cups.

  “Sunflower wine,” she reported in that strange, proper accent they had heard the ooslebed use. “It is the finest wine we have, but I'm sorry, it’s such a conc
entration of sunflowers it might keep you awake all night.”

  Angelica didn't think that was likely.

  Silver trays with silver covers were set before them, and once the rest of the utensils were on the table, the servants saw themselves out.

  “Do you think this will make our lips glow?” Jovian asked with a wink.

  “Yes, but probably not as much as the governor from Darkglenn. I swear she bathes in sunflowers. She glows brightly enough that we could hang her in the sky and have a sun all of our own.”

  Angelica laughed and took a tentative sip of the wine. It was warm, and sweet, with a slight burn after she swallowed. She loved it and took a deep drink. The sunflowers themselves worked on her instantly, making her feel dizzy in a way no normal wine ever had.

  “Wow, this is good,” Angelica said. “I think I've found my dinner.” She pulled the decanter closer.

  “Oh, dear Goddess, you might want to drink the rest of the bottle before you lift the lid of your tray.” Jovian looked sick as he stared at his plate.

  “Seriously, what is this?” Joya asked, setting her lid aside. “It looks like a snake! How will I ever get used to this place? These people?”

  “Oh no, is there anything else?” Angelica peeked around Jovian to where the cart sat. Not seeing anything else, she inspected Joya's tray again. “Maybe it’s a round length of roast?” She suggested. Angelica didn't even believe that. The meat was long, coiled on the plate and covered in a kind of purple gravy.

  The wine made her a little more adventurous, so she took the lid off her tray and was delighted by the aroma.

  “It smells good,” she told them. Angelica set her wine down, sliced a chunk of the meat and took a bite. The meat was soft enough it nearly fell apart in her mouth, and it was flavored like sausage.

  “Oh my, you will love it,” she told them. “I think the purple goop is a pepper sauce.”

  Jovian nibbled at a little bit of meat on the tip of his fork before slicing off a larger section and eating it.

  “Oh, you’re right!” Joya said. Only when they’d finished their dinners did they push the trays away, bellies full and even more tired than they had been before.