“I need to go to him,” Braelyn said suddenly, pulling herself away from Wynn so she could look at her. Wynn nodded slowly, of course she should, but he was in Terra, so far away. Yet that path was right for Braelyn, Wynn could feel it in her heart, she had never believed in Lady Fate but now her eye was cast over Braelyn it made complete and perfect sense that Braelyn return home to Terra.
“Is there any way we can send her to her father?” Wynn asked Medea, thinking of how she had transported them here and wondering if she could do it again. Fatigue pulled on her body like a weight, would using that amount of magic and energy be fatal? She could not die...
“Of course, are you not a Magus?” Medea said sternly interrupting Wynn. Wynn replayed her life; her years at Lord Oprend’s Manor had taught her that she was nothing. A servant. She was expendable and it was only through sheer luck that she had not been killed or worse... Her thoughts twisted in her brain, of her new found family and of her life at Oprend Manor... Wynn shuddered at the thought of the men which had graced Lord Oprend’s doors. No more than beasts. She had owned nothing save a cotton dress... except the book which lay snugly in the leather bag across her body.
“The book?” Medea said suddenly.
“What book?”
“The book that you stole from Lord Oprend.”
Wynn frowned and stared at Medea. She did not steal it, the word stung, but of course she had stolen it and taken it away from the Manor and had it here against her body, desperate not to leave it behind. Slowly and reluctantly Wynn took the book from the satchel and handed it to Medea, the bag felt odd and light without its weight.
Medea frowned as she read the title, Wynn tried in vain to study Medea’s expression, since she had no other way to determine what she was thinking and feeling, but Medea’s face had gone pointedly blank. The silence was complete in Medea’s little house. The candles flickered and the wind forced the boards to creak noisily. The tension was thick and Wynn swallowed nervously, as though waiting for a huge revelation.
“You don’t know what this is? Do you?” Medea said.
“No,” Wynn admitted, “I cannot read.” And she had never shown it to any of the travellers, Jareth could have read it for her, or Arabella, but she had not wished to give it to them.
“This... this is a book of black magic. No other copies exist supposedly, it certainly would be extremely difficult to find one now. All were burned fifty summers ago when magic became forbidden.”
Wynn’s stomach clenched. “Is... is it dangerous?”
“No, the words need to be spoken aloud to have any effect. They are written in the ancient tongue too. Few speak it now.”
Wynn relaxed, but the look in Medea’s eye was one of fear, she was intently reading a passage from the book, her eyes flickering to the Dagger of Night which was still sheathed on Wynn’s belt.
“The Dagger of Night,” Medea breathed, “why do you carry it with you?”
Wynn touched the dagger’s hilt unconsciously, wondering why she had taken it from the torture chamber. It signified her weakness resulting in Theodore’s death, her decision to sacrifice Rueben, and her success at killing Procel; she supposed it was a choice she had made so that she would never forget what she had done. She explained this to Medea who regarded her levelly.
“I think it is something more child, something you are not admitting to yourself. Can you honestly say that if I demanded it, right this moment you could give it up?” Medea asked, “No, exactly,” she carried on, not letting Wynn reply, “it is a weapon is one of mystery and evil and I do not think you should carry it.”
Wynn considered Medea’s words as was only proper – Medea was over three hundred years old and her advice was one born of great wisdom – but knew she would continue to carry it, if anything it was a weapon that had killed the un-dead and it may prove useful in the future. Medea sensed what she was thinking and sighed dejectedly. Wynn raised her eyebrows in surprise that she had caused Medea such a reaction.
“I can see nothing but trouble in carrying it, but I cannot see everything and cannot say for certain the outcome,” Medea said.
Next to Wynn Arabella bristled, she wondered about the morality of any who could hold and wield the weapon. Wynn was startled by the thought; she had no idea that Arabella had doubted her, though in truth they had had little time for conversation over the past few days. It hurt Wynn to know Arabella’s concerns. Medea, however, carried on smiling.
“You always did have a vast knowledge in that pretty head of yours, but you are indeed mistaken. I suppose the general understanding would have led you to this conclusion, but Wynn has proven that wrong, has she not? Is she evil Arabella?”
Arabella’s lips pinched together for a moment before she snapped, “Of course not, that was never my worry, I was merely thinking of the weapon itself and its history.”
Medea nodded slowly and seriously, all humour gone from her face, “I say this truthfully but Wynn would not be alive now if I had sensed even a flicker of malevolence. None of you would, I do not tolerate the minds and souls of evil in my house.”
Arabella’s face did not betray her surprise, but Wynn felt it keenly. Arabella wondered why Medea had not killed her on sight, had her past actions not warranted such a change in her soul? Arabella had convinced herself that her past had transformed her magic, corrupted it even.
“Your actions have been far from... virtuous in the past, but just as you believe you have been just, I believe it also. It takes far more than self defence to corrupt ones soul,” Medea stood up suddenly, “I wish to speak with Wynn alone, you are welcome to sit down in my study.”
Griffin raised his eyebrow sardonically as Medea motioned to a small corner of the room, separated by a wooden screen. Griffin and Jareth had been pointedly ignored throughout, but neither felt bitter and Wynn watched them take Braelyn and Arabella with them to the ‘study’ with a newfound respect. Medea waved her hand in their direction and turned her attention back to Wynn.
“They will not hear this conversation, a trifle unnecessary you may think but in these times the less you know the more protected you are. You have a long and perilous journey ahead of you Wynn,” Medea said sadly, her face wise and sober, “the lands are wrought with danger and few will aid you in this journey. You must travel to Berhandril.”
“Where? I have heard of no such place.”
“Oh and because you have not heard of it means that it does not exist?” Medea smiled, almost teasingly, “You know a map of the lands well I trust?” Wynn nodded. Inlo was the centre of the map, Terra somewhere far west. The map that she had seen, which was available to all in Woodstone showed Inlo as vast and very well guarded. It was sketchy on anything else. “That is only a fraction of the true size of these lands,” Medea finished.
Wynn opened her mouth to reply, but found nothing fitting. Of course she had not considered it, it was something you accepted. Many never left their birthplace and so had only the tales of travellers and the incomplete map they were shown as a child to understand what lay across the borders.
“You must head north, Aerona is looking for you and you are close to inheriting your magic. It will be a painful and awakening experience and you need to be far from here when it happens.”
“I... I don’t understand?” Wynn stammered.
“North is where you will find the ruins of the once proud Seminary of Berhandril. I know of at least a dozen Mages and Magus who may teach you. I can give you only the scantest help my child, my vision dims the further I look ahead... well there are many reasons to that, it is of course macabre to delve further, I shall spare you the details. All I can tell you with any certainty is that you
must
reach the Seminary.”
Wynn nodded seriously, “What will happen to my friends?”
Medea knew Wynn meant in the future and it took her a moment to arrange her face into a blank expression. She could not tell Wynn anything, as much as Seeing was an erratic art Medea knew with an extreme clarity that to tell Wynn anything about what would befall her friends would deviate her from her destiny. Medea smiled.
“Griffin and Jareth shall accompany Braelyn to Terra and Arabella shall go with you to Berhandril. I feel this is best. It is what I See.”
Who was Wynn to argue with Medea? Though parting would almost certainly be agony; Braelyn had become a sister to her, a sibling when she had had none. To be apart would fracture her heart, and Griffin and Jareth too had found a way into her affection, she would miss them all. How would they survive without Arabella? Danger would surely stalk them. The thought of Braelyn in harm’s way was enough to make Wynn reconsider them parting. But she could not argue with the feeling of order and pertinence that fell upon her when she considered Braelyn returning to see her father.
“Will they be... will Braelyn be... safe?” Wynn found it hard to talk about Braelyn and the danger she would be placing herself in. Braelyn was not like the others; she had no natural instinct of survival and had never, to Wynn’s knowledge, even held a weapon let alone had the drive to use it. How would she cope?
Medea ran her hands through her hair, “I cannot See further than Braelyn, Jareth and Griffin reaching Cairon. I am sorry child, I know your heart fears for your friends, but we cannot argue with Lady Fate’s design.”
Wynn swallowed; it was not really an answer. Her hand gravitated to the hilt of the Dagger of Night, a habit she had picked up from Arabella, in her worry. Medea’s eyes followed the movement and her lips pinched together almost without conscious movement. She gestured to the weapon, “The Dagger of Night will give you the respect of those that dwell in the shadows, they will do your bidding. I pray you only use it when you see fit, it is a mystery even to me and I cannot predict how it will react to the touch of an untutored Magus.” Wynn nodded, startled, unaware she had been touching the dagger at all.
Medea sighed, “I have spies through the lands. They have told me Aerona seeks you, attempts on your life have been miscalculated due to the necklace you wear. It is a powerful spell for a Magus who was dying...” Wynn gritted her teeth at the mention of her mother, “but once you inherit your powers her attempts may prove fatal, she will send everything under her command to make sure you fall. Your life may have been difficult but in no way would you have died from any injury, no matter what your attacker did. You know just as well as I that it allowed you to feel pain, but you would never have passed on. When the magic dissipates you will be vulnerable to physical and magical attack. “
As though the army of Fallen were not bad enough, Wynn thought. What else would she encounter? Wynn described the animal they escaped from in Cratewood to Medea.