Eramane (8 page)

The beast searches my face with its burning eyes. I am terrified by its presence, and the intensity behind its eyes forces me to close mine, unable to bear the gaze from the beast any longer. I hear it move and I open my eyes to see it advance toward Lebis. The creature moves with impressive speed and is able to quickly and effortlessly disarm Lebis with one strike from its massive hand.

Lebis is knocked to the ground by this attack and loses his sword. He looks around for it with no success. The creature stands in front of Lebis, towering over him. Lebis scrambles to his feet in an effort to defend against the next attack. The beast stretches out its wings, flexing. It steps aside and exposes Lebis’s sword. Lebis looks down at the sword. Laughing, the beast orders Lebis to engage. “Take it,” the beast’s deep, commanding voice vibrates in my chest. It takes another step away from the sword, giving Lebis more room to snatch up his weapon. He grips his sword tight, his knuckles white, and aims it at the creature.

“Who sent you? A summoner? A caster?”

“I am summoned by no one, cast by no one.” The beast rolls its shoulders forward. “Are you going to use that?” it taunts Lebis.

“I will if I have to.” Lebis stands guarded. “What is your purpose in all of this? We are no challenge for you.”

“That is right; you are no challenge for me, yet there you stand with your sword, ready. What do you think you can do with that?”

“What do you want?” Lebis shouts. The beast turns from Lebis and looks at me.

“Her,” it says. And while it focuses on me, Lebis lunges and slices the beast across its leg. It snarls and faces its attacker.

“You will have to kill me first,” Lebis says.

“I know,” the beast says and jumps at Lebis, taking hold of him effortlessly. With one of its hands around Lebis’s throat, the beast grabs his face with the other and separates Lebis from his essence.

“
No!”
I scream. Lebis’s body is cast down, landing at my feet. I collapse to him, take his head in my arms, and search for any sign of life. I know I will not find it; the beast has what is left of Lebis. “Oh no! Lebis!” I cry out. I rest my head on his, my tears dripping on his face. I feel I am about to be consumed with grief, and then anger emerges, replacing my sadness. My abhorrence is indescribable, immeasurable, and undeniable. I stand and scream, to the beast, to the meadow, the forest, the world. “Let him go!” I demand. The beast looks at me, surprised. It releases Lebis’s essence, what faintly remains of it, anyway. The creature seems to have absorbed some of it already. That is what it looked like, as if it were soaking Lebis in through its hand somehow. The remainder breaks apart and fades into nothing, but I am not satisfied. I want to scream so loudly that my noise causes the beast to break apart and fade into nothing too, and picturing this fuels my pitch, so I continue to scream.

The ground begins to tremble; I have the beast’s attention. It looks down at the earth and watches as cracks ripple through the ground. The beast looks at me and back to the ground again. I scream so violently that my voice begins to break. My voice is hoarse, but I will not stop until the earth cracks open and engulfs the horrible beast.

The creature leaps in my direction and lands in front of me; I look up at the massive creature towering over me, and it is like being at the bottom of a mountain and looking up toward its peak. “
Eovettzi` nomistara,
” the beast’s words lull me; I want to run, but my body is numb and my mind calms. The ground begins to settle, an action that gives relief to the beast.

“We belong to each other now,” the beast declares as it grabs my limp body and takes me up into the darkness.

CHAPTER FIVE

Mountain Palace

CRACKLING FLAMES FROM THE OVERSIZED
hearth touch my face with their heat and wake me from my void. I feel as though I have been asleep for days, without having dreams or any other reassurance of existence. I am lying on a white fur on the floor of a chamber. The bright fur stuns my vision momentarily; I have had my eyes closed for too long. I move my fingers through the fur; it is soft and smells like wood and smoke. Where am I? I blink my eyes to adjust my vision, and it begins to clear. Then my mind clears.
Lebis!
I sit up, and fright surges through me. My eyes search the room for my abductor. Where is it? It is dark in the corners of the chamber; does it lurk there? The chamber is a large stone room with no outside openings, and the ceiling is so high that I cannot see where it ends. I rise from the soft fur bedding and put my feet onto the cold floor. It is not until I stand on the chamber floor that I notice my foot has been re-bandaged. I look around the room, desperately trying to see into the darkness. If that
thing
is in here with me, I would rather discover it now than wait in wonder of my fate. I make my way to the shadowed corners. I see nothing, for now I am alone.

The rock walls have pieces of crystal that catch the reflection from the fire, causing them to twinkle like the night sky. I feel as if I am atop a mountain, surrounded only by the starlit skies. I walk slowly toward one of the walls, touching one of the sparkling crystals. The warmth of the large fire does not reach the walls, so I go back to it for comfort. I stand in front of the hearth feeling the flame’s heat begin to lightly toast my skin. I stare into the flames, and their color reminds me of what brought me here, those fire-colored eyes! Images of Lebis flash inside of the flames, like a reflection in a mirror replaying that horrible event. Tears fill my eyes and blur the flames. I lie down on the white fur again and weep until I lose myself again to the bliss of sleep.

My breath is taken by a swift, musky draft. I am aware that I am still in the room with the twinkling walls and golden fire pit, but when I wake this time I can sense the presence of someone else in the chamber. However, my eyes cannot find anyone. I had hoped that death would find me in my slumber; instead it passed me over, left me alive, in the captivity of a monster. I am at the mercy of the beast that murdered Lebis, robbed me of an innocent life, and confiscated my future. Only where is this murderer? I do not believe that I can bear to gaze upon that creature again. The horrid memories spin through my head, and I wonder if I will go mad harboring all of them.

Creak,
the door to my chamber opens. Hinges squeak and rattle, taking me away from my thoughts. I am suddenly keenly aware of my vulnerability, not having the safety of a closed door. “Come, Eramane,” a raspy, cracking voice says. I stand and listen for the voice to speak again. “Do not be afraid; you are safe here,” it says. My eyes dart around intently, not finding the source of these words.

“What do you want from me? Why have you brought me here?” I shout. My voice carries around the chamber, echoing off the stone. The door closes, leaving me alone once more, alone with my thoughts.

I do not know how long I have been held captive—hours, days? It could be either, for I have battled exhaustion the entire time, sleeping most of it. I am certain that my brother is searching for me by now. I imagine him and his Riders invading this stone prison and saving me. I have dreamt that scenario several times. It is a hope that keeps me from walking into the fire that continuously burns, hot and strong. My daydream of rescue is intruded on as the creaking of hinges and jarring of metal accompany the opening of my chamber door. There is no dark, odorous cloud this time. Again a voice, seeming to radiate from the walls themselves, offers a meal to me. Taking the offer as a cue, my stomach rumbles and gnaws at me, as if trying to claw its way out, hoping to find food on its own, in the belief that I have given up on its need of sustenance. I am starving but afraid to leave the chamber. I stare at the open door, wondering what fate awaits me if I walk through it. The door begins to close, but this time my fear of the unknown is second to my need of nourishment. “Wait, please,” I say, choking back my words, afraid to actually say them. The door pauses. I walk toward it, and it waits for me.

I cannot see anything outside of the door, but I am compelled to continue through the opening anyway. I look to my right, into the darkness, and there is nothing. I look left, and it offers the same. My body is numb with fear, but I cannot seem to control its will to find food. My body moves me forward while my mind pleads for me to turn around and run back to the warm fur next to the hearth; it is desperately trying to fight against going into the dark hallway

As I proceed down the dark corridor, torches hanging from the walls begin to ignite with my every step. The walkway appears to be endless, yet with each grumble from my belly, I am compelled to proceed. I turn to look behind me; there is nothing there, not even the torches that burned a moment ago. Complete darkness backs me. All I can navigate is the way in front of me. I follow the torches until I come to another door, an oversized, wooden double door, with black iron rings the size of wagon wheels hanging from the center. The doors are so big that it seems like I will need a team of plow horses to open them. I stand in front of the wooden barriers and watch with intense curiosity as they slowly open on their own. Finally, the enormous doors cease to move, and my eyes take in a beautiful sight.

Candles upon candles illuminate this great room. They line the entire wall that is directly in front of me. Various heights and shapes of candles sit on stones that poke out of the wall. Some have long drips of wax hanging down, almost touching the floor. Others look as though they were just lit.

To my left a hearth harnesses an army of flames. I feel the burn of the fire on my skin. I stand there a moment, closing my eyes, to take in the power of the roaring flames. The walls surrounding the fire are shiny and black, like onyx. On each side of the fireplace stand glowing amber pillars, illuminated by the raging fire. Each of these pillars runs from the chamber floor to the ceiling. I never could have imagined a fireplace being so beautiful.

An iron chandelier the size of a horse carriage hangs from thick black chains above the center of a long table. Its design is intricate and looks as though it took many years to craft. There is no wall to my right; it is completely open to the night sky, where the big, round, blue moon imposes its radiant presence on the chamber. I gaze at the moon; it seems close enough for me to touch were I to lean out of the opening. It is so intrusive that I believe, for a moment, that if I jump from the ledge, I might land on the surface of that luminous globe. The immaculate beauty of the place arouses me, and I feel exhilarated.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?” a deep, soothing voice asks from behind me. Turning, my body tenses, and then my eyes look on the face of the voice, the stranger with the beautiful amber eyes. I look up at him; he is much taller than I. Never have I seen a human so beautiful; he is intimidating, with hair as black as a starless night draping down to his mid-back. His eyes remind me of nothing other than the amber columns next to the hearth in this chamber; they glow brilliantly against his golden skin. He wears a black garment that wraps around his waist and stretches down to the floor. And although he has a youthful appearance, his mannerisms and the way he speaks reveal wisdom that can be gained only from the experience of living a long life

“This is the most glorious place I have ever seen,” I say, looking away from his piercing eyes. But then I lock back on them. “How did I get here? Where is that … ”

He interrupts. “You are safe here. This is my home.” My questions are so numerous that I cannot seem to form them individually. I take a deep breath.

“And the voice in the chamber?” I ask.

“That was one of my servants; they like to stay in the shadows.”

“If you did not want me to be afraid, why did you not fetch me yourself?”

“It is not wise to approach a fearful animal, Eramane. I wanted you to come out on your own.”

I take in what he says, analyzing his explanation. And despite all that he has offered, he has yet to explain why and how he visited me at Samiah’s and the river. I listen to his words in my head, trying to make sense of it all. He must be a summoner or a type of caster, or both. With this conclusion, I again find myself fearful. I cannot speak to him, afraid of his ability to inflict whatever harm he wishes. I try to hold my tears, but they have filled my eyes, and I can no longer keep them at bay. He sees this and breaks my thoughts.

“You are still afraid,” he says.

“Why should I not be? You are a practitioner of the craft. You told me you were coming for me. And you expect me to feel safe? Who are you!” I blurt out swift and sharp. I could bite my tongue off. My lips tighten as I regret having opened them.

“I am Adikiah, and this is my home, my mountain,” he says. “But what good is all of this,” he gestures to the extravagant room, “if my eyes are the only ones to behold it?” He sees that I am unsatisfied with his answer. “I know of your loneliness, of desire for more than what is allowed for a young woman. I noticed you walking through the streets of your village during its festival, the empty look on your face. No one there can give you what I can, Eramane,” he finishes.

I am not sure if this is real, for it feels like a dream. When am I going to wake?

“This is not a dream for you to wake from in the morning,” he says.

“You can read my thoughts?” I ask, frightened and offended.

“No, I cannot read your thoughts, though your face I can.” He offers his hand. “Come, a meal awaits you. We have much to discuss later, but first let us eat.” I hesitate only a moment, for my hungry belly will not wait any longer.