Child of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel Book 1) (4 page)

“Talisa rarely takes on an apprentice. It’s uh, something she does her best to avoid,” he explained. “However, I think I’ll say a few words to her. It would be well worth the pain, Jack. She is a well-renowned witch even outside the Woodland Realm. She is one of the best in all of Arrygn, especially because she was endowed with a touch of Kiare’s power.”

“Yes, if I want to live in a new kind of hell!” Jack snapped. He took a deep breath. “It’s true that I long to learn all that she knows…the cost however, I’m not willing to pay. At least I know what abuse to expect when I’m with the aunt.”

“I’ll try to make her reach a compromise. If she agrees, you’re on your own after that.” Shadow chuckled.

Jack glared at him. I tried to smile reassuringly.

“It’ll be fine, Jack,” I insisted, while trying to believe the words myself.

I couldn’t imagine Talisa being as horrifying and strict as Jack and Shadow made her seem, but I suppose ignorance was bliss.

Shadow stood up and stretched. “I have to tend to a few errands before the day’s end, sadly. Perhaps we could catch up more during dinner, Artemis? My home?”

“I’d like that,” I agreed. I took the teacup from him, and Jack handed me his as well. “What? You’re leaving too?”

“Yes. I have to make sure my home isn’t as much of a wreck as I was this morning,” he said. “Shadow? Would you mind if I walked a bit with you?”

“Not at all.” Shadow hugged me good-bye and moved aside for Jack to leave first. “Until tonight then.”

“Until tonight,” I repeated, seeing them off.

Shadow and Jack made their way through the celebrating crowd of Ellewynth, and the moment they were finally alone, Jack nervously cleared his throat. Shadow blinked at him, confused.

“So there was a reason you wished to accompany me after all,” Shadow stated.

Jack nodded. “Are you really going to speak to Talisa about me?”

“Yes. I think it would be to your benefit to learn from the best,” Shadow explained. “You fear rejection from her?”

“Believe it or not, I do.” Jack sighed. “I’ve always loved magic. I’ve a gift for it, and I can’t understand why. Elves aren’t normally beings of magical capacity. I mean, I’ve heard about the elf mages, but I know for a fact that I am not one of them. I’m
not
.”

Shadow looked straight ahead in his efforts to avoid eye contact with Jack. He first met him before he left for the war, and Shadow remembered the gossip about the young elf. He had his own suspicions, of course. If Jack was really an elf mage, it was better for Talisa to break the news to him. The elf mages of the past were known to be volatile, whether they wished to be or not.

“Everything happens for a reason, even if we do not understand it at first,” Shadow said, breaking the momentary silence. “But I trust that’s not all you wish to speak of.”

“I know Artemis wrote to you all these years. Did she…” Jack paused a moment. “Did she speak about her blackouts?”

“She did for a time. Even as a child, she feared her heritage. Talisa and I tried to lead her to a safer path for a blood-drinker.” Shadow shook his head at their failure. “You can lead a horse to water, bur you cannot make the horse drink. I fear it’ll take something drastic to make her realize she must embrace what she is.”

“I’m worried about her. I saw blood on her hands earlier today.”

“As far as I know, she’s only killed foxes.” Shadow recalled one of the recent letters stating that she had better control of her blackouts. It appeared she lied. “How bad has it been, Jack?”

“Bad enough that she’s stopped being open about it with me,” Jack answered.

Shadow shut his eyes. He should have been back sooner.

“I’ll speak with her.”

“Thank you.”

Jack continued to follow him, and Shadow realized there was more he wanted to speak of.

“What else do you need?” Shadow inquired.

“Well…I was wondering about…” Jack began, while wringing his hands. “Artemis is the only true friend I have, and I’ve tried to understand the feminine point of view on the issue, which is frustrating by the way, but—”

Shadow stopped walking. “Don’t tell me you’re in love with Artemis.”

“Goddesses, no!” Jack choked. “I know better!” He stopped to catch his breath, and mumbled, “And she’s in denial of her own love…”

“What was that, Jack?” Shadow asked, now frozen and questioning whether he correctly heard that last bit or not.

“Nothing!” Jack replied with haste. “So…?”

“You’re asking
my
advice about the matters of the heart?” Shadow frowned. “Don’t you know I’ve never been involved with a woman before?”

“I refuse to believe you’ve never been infatuated before,” Jack said. “I know of our curse…the one where when we find our mate, they are so for eternity.”

It’s not necessarily a curse
, Shadow thought. “You’re wondering if you have found your life-mate?”

“Yes. How in Avilyne’s hell do you know?”

“They say you know once you see them,” Shadow explained. “When they’re all you think about and you feel that twinge within your heart…it’s more commonly known as the elven string. Life-mates tend to say they can feel a string-like sensation binding them to one another.”

Jack gulped. “Aerios blow me. I’m damned then.”

“Oh?” Shadow raised an eyebrow. “Who is it?”

“Lily.”

“
Lily
? As in Serlene’s younger sister?” When Jack didn’t answer, Shadow patted his shoulder. “May the goddesses help you, you poor bastard. That is no easy task.”

“I’m very much aware of that. Serlene is a scary bitch.” Shadow started walking again, and he stopped once he realized Jack didn’t follow. Jack folded his arms when Shadow flashed him a puzzled look. “You really mean to tell me you’ve never felt an infatuation, let alone the string?”

Shadow took a long time before answering. “All right. It’s…complicated.”

“How so?”

“It can never happen. Ever.” Shadow turned from Jack. “I accepted that a long time ago.”

“You mean
you
won’t ever let it happen,” Jack corrected as he stepped in front of Shadow.

When Shadow didn’t answer, Jack’s eyes widened with realization. “It’s Artemis. Avilyne’s hell…you never lost her ring, did you? You couldn’t bring yourself to return it to her because it’s a memento of a dream you won’t allow to become reality. That’s not acceptance, Shadow. That’s just foolishness.”

More silence.

Shadow moved past Jack and kept walking.

“I’ll let you know of Talisa’s decision when I can.” Shadow spoke aloud, and he did not wait for a response.

hadow felt agitated as he stepped into his home. He tried to put the last part of his conversation with Jack behind him, but did not have much luck. He had enough on his mind already; there were more important things to pay attention to than what had just transpired.

The first was that of Jack’s magical nature. The last time he saw an elf looking like Jack who carried the same curiosity of magic…

Oh, the dark memories
that
brought back.

The scent of peppermint tea wafted throughout his home; it was much too recent. Grabbing a dagger from behind a bookcase in the main room, Shadow moved quietly as he followed the scent to his library.

Dim candlelight lit the room, and a dark figure was seated by the hardwood desk. Shadow gripped the dagger hilt and took a few more steps. A familiar soft laugh stopped his advance; Shadow grumbled as he recognized it.

“You know,” the voice started, “if you were an enemy of mine, you’d already be dead.”

The chair moved and revealed a tall woman with waist-length black hair streaked with white. She wore dark blue robes common among those who served the water goddess, Kiare. Her pointed, wide-brimmed hat was resting atop several aged tomes. She appeared to be a maiden, but her gray eyes told a different tale; they were eyes that watched many
centuries pass by. “Of course,
I
should be the one giving an apology. I let myself in and stole a bit of your tea, after all.”

Shadow flipped the dagger, caught it by the blade, and left it atop a book within the shelf. He took one of the empty chairs closest to him and moved it toward the desk, seating himself.

“Fancy seeing you so soon, Talisa. I thought your plans were to lock yourself in that cottage for several moonturns,” Shadow teased. “I certainly didn’t expect to see you again today.”

“I hadn’t either,” Talisa said, now rubbing her temples. “And my plan
was
to lock myself away after fighting for the realm as long as we did. Goddesses know I
need
my alone time.”

“So explain to me why you’re sitting here in my library rather than your own.”

Talisa deeply sighed. “I was visited by a messenger from the Elders.”

Shadow was confused. “And what did this messenger want?”

“To bring more hell upon me!” Talisa snapped as she snatched her hat and crushed the point in her fist. “They mean for me to scout for a disturbance near my cottage.”

“This is why you broke into my home?” Shadow rubbed his brow. “You realize it could be far worse, Talisa.”

“Oh, but it does get worse. The Elders suspect vampires, Shadow,” Talisa explained. Shadow froze, and she handed over a piece of folded parchment for him to read. “Yes, the full-bloods in particular. Apparently, they’ve become braver by crossing through the Woodland Realm borders. If they are the cause behind a few, erm, mysterious deaths that have been occurring in our absence…well, I don’t have to spell the rest out for you.”

“It’ll mean you and I will be sent to investigate the matter further.” Shadow shut his eyes, irritated. “Not even a full day’s return and we face the chance of another war brewing. Another damned fight, so soon!”

“We’ve always fought full-bloods, Shadow, as you well remember. That won’t change for centuries to come.” Talisa took a sip from her tea and fixed her hat. Satisfied at its less rumpled appearance, she placed it in the spot it had rested before. “But on to happier things. How fares Artemis?”

How predictable of you to bring her up, Talisa
. “She’s well,” Shadow answered aloud. He noticed an odd smile that formed on Talisa’s face. “What mischief are you thinking of now?”

“Nothing,” Talisa said, quickly getting rid of the smile. “I plan to visit her tomorrow afternoon. I imagine she’s fully grown into her mother’s image.”

“Indeed she has.” Shadow frowned for a moment. “Though her eyes are more like her father’s than I remembered…”

Talisa chuckled. “I don’t believe it bothers you as much as you make it seem.”

Shadow raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Oh, come now! You’ve visited the girl and didn’t return that ring to her. Don’t even bother denying it to me, elf.” Talisa crossed a leg atop the other, and mischeviously smiled. “If you were in my shoes, what would
you
think?”

“You speak nonsense, Talisa.” Shadow stood up and was ready to leave the room, until Talisa called him back.

“Come back, you ridiculous elf!” Talisa scolded. “It is my duty as your friend to jest. Relax, will you?”

Shadow returned to his seat and remembered Jack. “When I visited her, I saw Jack as well.”

“Jack?” Talisa blinked. “The dark-haired elf?” Shadow nodded, and she shifted in her seat. “What of him? Is he causing trouble again? Did he insult Serlene? If he did, I’d like to congratulate him personally. I can never get a rise out of that woman…”