Spirit of Vengeance - 15. Ch 15: Vengeance

CHAPTER 15: Vengeance

“Do you understand why I have called you here?” The Lady said as she stood tall before me. It had been several days since we returned to Malden. My uncle was vehement in keeping me from talking to The Lady. His outlook of her seemed to have changed quite quickly after the events in Alba. But Grand Master Assero himself went to me and brought me to her. My uncle could do nothing but watch.

We were alone in her chambers. Grand Master Assero had excused himself. I suspected that my uncle was somewhere nearby but he was not within the room so it was impossible for him to hear anything even with his heightened senses. The magic of The Lady’s chamber would not allow it. The three graceful waterfalls were the only things creating any other sound in the room. Without the masters and the journeymen that filled the place the last time I was there, it looked empty, almost lonely.

“You know where he is,” I said with certainty. “The one responsible for the evil that threatens our kind.”

She nodded. “He is free from his crystal prison at last. Fortunately, the bindings the Earth Spirits created still hold. His spirit is still held within the blade. Yet, he walks now at the hands of a mage, an empath capable of hosting even Ho-o’s power.”

“Why has Ho-o not done anything yet?” I asked with vehemence. In the back of my mind, the name Ho-o sounded familiar yet I couldn’t quite place why. “Has she allied herself with the Darkness?”

“No,” The Lady responded. “Ho-o is weak. Her powers have taken this long, too long, to manifest itself again in this world. The Lords of the Dead had foreseen her coming. A powerful seer must be working against us. We’ve been betrayed.”

“The Earth Mages?” I asked. “Has the Spirit of Earth turned against us?”

“I do not think so,” The Lady said with a frown. “Although his absence disturbs me, it is unlikely anyone within that Circle could have betrayed us without the others finding out. It is in the nature of their powers to know such things. No, it must be someone else, someone outside that’s powerful enough to foresee events in order to change them. We cannot worry about that now though. Dark things are in motion. Ho-o has been broken. The Lords of the Dead have managed to separate the two hosts she manifested herself in and now she is trapped within one who is under their control. If the sword ever reaches that host, all will be lost. We cannot let him get the sword.”

I nodded. “What would you have me do?”

She raised her hands and water formed between them to form an orb as perfect as can be. Light shimmered through the liquid and an image formed itself at its center. It was a boy, perhaps at the edge of manhood, with brown hair and brown eyes. He had a light complexion and sharp features that were marred by the frown he had on his face. It looked like he was staring into the distance, thinking sad thoughts.

“This is Adam Lowry,” The Lady said. “He is the other half that once held the essence of Ho-o. He is also the current holder of the sword. The mages of Arantiva have failed in their duty to protect the blade. They have forgotten the true importance of their task. They do not understand truly what is at stake, otherwise they would have taken it from the boy already. The Earth Mages will not allow it anywhere near their city knowing what it will do if it ever tapped into the power held within their walls. It falls to us now to take the sword and ensure that the evil within shall never escape. Take the sword from Adam Lowry. Bring me the sword and I will imprison it here in Malden where it shall stay for all eternity.”

“Would it not be simpler to destroy the sword?” I asked.

The Lady shook her head no. “If only it were that easy. None of us have the power to vanquish the evil within. Even if we were to destroy the sword, all it would do is disperse his essence. With time, he will form again at a time, place, and form we do not know. We will be at a disadvantage if we destroy the blade. No, it is better if we imprison it and keep it locked away forever.”

I nodded. “And what of the boy?” I asked. “The one you said once held the essence of Ho-o.”

“I do not care,” The Lady said. “Kill him if you want. I care little if Ho-o returns to the abyss. It is because of her that we are in this predicament in the first place. What matters to me is that the evil in the sword does not gain a foothold in this world. You must bring the blade back to me.”

“I shall not fail you my Lady,” I said with a reverential bow.

“I know you won’t,” she said with a smile. “I have waited long for your return, my son. You will avenge your brothers and sisters who have fallen to this evil.”

Son? I wondered.

“I shall not disappoint you, mother,” I replied.

Mother? That was a strange thing to say to The Lady. However, she didn’t seem to find it strange.

I left her chambers to find my uncle waiting outside.

“What did she say to you?” He demanded. “What did she want?”

“She has a task for me to do,” I said as I walked past him without looking at him. “I am leaving Malden at once.”

My uncle held onto my arm to stop me. “I will not allow you to go. Whatever it is, it is certain to be folly. You cannot trust her, not now, not ever again.”

“You do not control me, uncle,” I said as I pulled my arm free. “You never have. You never will. I know my place in this world. Do you?” I turned to leave again.

“Samuel,” my uncle called out. “What is wrong with you? What has changed? Why are you acting like this?”

I turned to him and smiled. “I have awakened uncle. And I shall not stop until I have my vengeance.” I turned and left him there to stare after me as I walked away.

I returned to my room and gathered my things. I took several light sets of clothes and placed it into my pack. It might be necessary to look different in some situations. I knew I wouldn’t be back for many weeks, maybe months so I had to take everything I needed with me. I took the stone The Lady had given me and placed it onto my wrist. Again, the bands of water formed and tightened so that the bracelet sat comfortably on my arm.

It was then that I noticed an odd stone on the shelf. It was a small round stone, about as big as my thumb. It was wider in one way than the other. It was perfectly smooth and had vein-like striations across its surface.

“That’s,” I said as I held it between my fingers. “This was a gift from… someone,” I said. “Someone important.”

No, it isn’t…

“I…,” I stared at it as though something important was there. “I should bring this.”

You have no need for this. It is nothing but an ordinary stone.

I debated with myself, uncertain why the stone was so important. In the end I relented and placed it at the bottom of my pack between folded clothes to keep it safe from harm. I pulled the pack over my arm.

“Sam,” I heard Ernie’s voice say. I looked towards the doorway. He was, surprisingly, alone. Nathan was nowhere in sight. He looked at the pack I was carrying and asked, “are you going somewhere?”

“Yes,” I replied and nudged my way past him as I walked down the hall.

“Where are you going?” he said as he followed me. “Not even going to say goodbye?” He laughed at the absurdity of the thought. But after I continued walking in silence, he frowned. “You’re really leaving?”

“The Lady has given me a task I must do,” I replied.

“Really? What’s it about?” he asked excitedly.

“Ask her if you want to know the details,” I replied.

“Sam, what’s wrong?” he asked. “Why are you being like this? Matty told me you weren’t acting like yourself when you came back but I didn’t think you’d be rude to your friends too.”

I turned to him. “And how should I be?” I asked. “How is it that I normally act? What? Careless? Carefree? Bullied by everyone and yet unable to do anything about it? Would you prefer that my only friend was you?”

“Sam,” Ernie said with a hurt look, “what has gotten into you? I was just wondering where you were going? I mean does Matty even know you’re leaving? He wouldn’t be happy at all if you left without saying anything to him.”

“I don’t care,” I replied. Somehow though, I knew that I did care.

“Sam…” Ernie replied.

“Leave me alone, Ernie,” I said turning to him with a glare. “I don’t need you or anybody. Don’t pretend that you’re hurt because I’m leaving without saying goodbye. I don’t care for you so you should stop caring for me.” I left him there, looking dumbstruck.

I walked out of the Academy and made my way to the stables. A feeling of unrest was spreading through me and I hoped to leave without encountering anyone else.

“Something’s wrong,” I whispered, my fingers were fidgeting like I was trying to grab onto something, anything.

Nothing’s wrong…

I reached the stables and brought out a sturdy horse. He would have to endure much with the travelling I will do. Arantiva was nowhere near Malden and the horse would die long before it reached that city if I pushed him to its limit full time. There was no need for that though. Not yet at least.

I had just mounted the horse when someone came running in, almost out of breath. He was sweating and looking around frantically.

“Matty,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“Ernie said you were leaving,” he said, trying to calm his breathing.

“Yes,” I said as I nudged the horse out.

“When will you come back?” he asked.

“In a few months, perhaps a year,” I replied. How did I know that?

“A year?” he asked in shock. “You’re going to be gone that long? Why? Where are you going?”

“You don’t need to know,” I replied as I tried to nudge the horse faster while at the same time trying to hold him back. Something was wrong…

“Can I come with you?” he asked.

At that, I stopped my horse and looked down at him. “Come with me? Why?”

He looked like he was reluctant to answer but he did. “Because I’m worried about you. You’ve been different since you came back the last time you left. And… and because I care about you. I like you. I… I think I might even love you.”

I wanted to smile and wave my hands to fly up to the clouds and sky. He just said he might love me! “Well, I don’t love you, Matthew.”

What?!

“What?” he asked softly.

“You the most have held me back,” I said. “You gave him hope when all he had was despair. I could have handled Ernest. But you, you gave him love and even if it took him so long to realize what it was he was feeling, you barred my return.”

“Why are you talking like this, Sam?” he asked. He looked confused and wary at the same time.

“You are nothing to me, Matthew,” I said. No, Matty! That’s not true. I like you. You are precious to me. “You are but chaff in my wake. Don’t look for me for there is nothing you shall find that you will like.”

“Sam…” he whispered as tears started flowing from his eyes.

“Farewell, Matthew,” I said as I turned the horse towards the swirling lake that led towards Malden. I broke the horse into a gallop.

I wanted to turn back. I wanted to pull on the reins. I wanted to return to Matthew and apologize to him for what I said. But I couldn’t. My body wasn’t obeying what I wanted. It was like someone or something else was controlling me.

No! I screamed as I rode further away from Malden, further away from the one I loved. Matty, help me!

* * * * * * * * * *

Arantiva was nothing like Malden. There were so few trees, no free flowing water. My magic felt limited in that place. It was not a place for Water Mages.

I had long tried to resist the thing that had taken over my body. But I couldn’t. He was stronger than I was. I knew it was a he because he sometimes spoke to me, soothing me, as if trying to get me to cooperate. But I wouldn’t and I knew it troubled him severely.

His magic often failed when I placed my greatest effort to controlling my body. He would shout in frustration when a spell suddenly failed when I attempted to gain control. I knew he couldn’t fully use my powers without me cooperating. My body at least seemed to refuse it. However, I could do nothing more than those few bursts where I felt I could make a difference. But such moments often left me tired and drained and I knew it was not something I could do consistently.

I don’t know what it was. The Lady seemed to know. Perhaps my uncle suspected. But they were all far behind me now. Malden felt like a distant memory. I couldn’t even remember my home before that. It was like all that mattered was the very moment I lived in.

It had taken months to learn everything I could about the boy, Adam Lowry. There were many close calls. He was gifted for sure. He often looked in my direction when I knew I should have been undetectable. I just doubled my care in trying to learn as much as I could about him without him knowing. Still, it felt like I was just one or two steps ahead of him and any mistake would get me caught.

I could not take the sword from the Academy where he stayed. There were too many wards and it would only take me setting off the wrong one for me to get captured. He was too well protected there. Also, I had seen Magister Aenhol there. I wasn’t certain if the old man would recognize me as it has been many years since we met in Malden. In the end, I did not want to risk it.

Not that there were no risks when he would be outside the castle. He often had several people following him at all times, guards staying always at a distance. These same people would guard whatever building he entered, waiting and watching to hold back passersby that want to speak or touch Adam like he was some sort of divine being. Whoever this Adam Lowry was, it was evident he was a very important person to the people of Arantiva.

He rarely travelled alone. Aside from his guards, he was also often in the company of another boy named Stanley. From what I heard from the citizens open enough to talk, Stanley was some sort of apprentice to him. But even the information I garnered from them was quite limited and sometimes didn’t even make sense. They didn’t seem quite keen to talk about Adam to outsiders who asked a lot of questions. Nonetheless, they spoke of him as the hero who saved the city at its darkest hour.

If only they knew the Darkness that resided within the weapon he now carried around.

So I watched from a distance. It seemed like he had no plans to leave the city any time soon. I even got the impression from some people that he was forbidden from leaving. Nonetheless, I discovered his habits, the places he liked to visit, the times he would visit them.

And so, there I was watching while the thing that took over me planned for that moment. I ordered a drink they called coffee but didn’t drink it. I had only ordered it in order to avoid suspicion from the store’s owner. It would be odd of me to sit there without ordering anything. Even if I was in full control of my body, I probably would not have drunk it still. The water in the cup seemed tainted and the murky darkness of coffee made it look almost evil.

Adam walked down the street, coming from Arantiva’s large and looming Academy. His apprentice Stanley was by his side, talking animatedly about something. Stanley’s hands were flying left and right in excitement as though he could not express himself merely with words. Adam merely nodded with an impassive face as though he wasn’t truly listening to what his apprentice was saying but just giving the polite appearance of doing so. The sword I was after was wrapped in a cloth and attached to his back like some trophy. He was heading as he always did on that day towards the Ice Queen’s Taverna.

I had visited the place once before. It was nothing but a brothel, a stark place where old women hung from the arms of much older men. Someone who had the taste to visit such a place regularly could certainly not be good. The bartender asked if he knew me. He did of course for he was Jorik, the one who was sent by Magister Aenhol to ask for Malden’s assistance in the war against the non-mages. Fortunately, the memory didn’t seem to return to him so I left quickly before he could recall.

I waited for Adam to come closer. I looked up at the tower that was being constructed overhead. It was damaged during the war against the non-mages that ravaged Arantiva. Runesmiths were working hard to reconstruct the building.

“Runesmiths…” I said with a frown as though the word was somehow important. I shook my head to clear it and looked down at my prey.

He crossed over the line I was waiting for. I released the magic I had trapped within the tower above, the water I had sustained there to undo the magic holding the structure together.

There was a boom and a crack as the half-built tower crumbled and fell over Adam Lowry.

NEXT CHAPTER: EPILOGUE
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