Child of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel Book 1) (20 page)

Callypso disappeared into the wind before Talisa could respond. Talisa found she couldn’t say a word even if she wished to.

Her friend was right, and it hurt her to think that Tamina could be someone else now.

As soon as I stepped outside of Ellewynth’s borders, I felt some sense of peace return to me. I’d always wanted to venture away from the city, but I was never able to take the extra step into the open forest…not since Shadow and Talisa first left for the war.

I lowered my hood and relaxed as I felt the cool breeze brush against my cheeks. It felt as if I were living back at Talisa’s cottage, where I was free to roam around and safe from any disturbances.

I heard the snort of a horse, and I was surprised to find one standing behind me. The horse’s white coat glistened in the rays of the sunlight, and the golden eyes flashed with a sense of amusement. I held up a hand and was about to stroke the bridge of the horse’s nose, but I hesitated and kept my distance. The horse huffed as it pushed its head beneath my palm.

I felt feminine energy from the touch, and I beamed; the horse was a mare.

“You are beautiful,” I said as I enjoyed the feel of her soft coat. “You’ll have to forgive my hesitation earlier. The last time I pet a horse…well, he panicked and nearly knocked my head off.”

The mare shook her head, as if in embarrassment. I decided I liked her.

“No need for apologies. Horses don’t usually like me because of what I am. They think I come to feed on them. Lucky for you, I actually hate horse blood. I only drink fox blood,” I babbled, now rubbing her neck. “If it was possible, I wouldn’t even drink it.”

The mare butted my shoulder with her head, and I laughed instead of feeling shocked. “I can understand that emotion well enough. Shadow, an elf soldier in the city, thinks it’s foolish for me to avoid it too.”

“It’s as I said before…you have to accept your nature, my dear.” I saw Shadow walking toward us, and the mare trotted beside him. “And as for horses, they tend to reflect the nature of their caretaker. Azrael here is in a class all of her own.”

“Azrael is
your
horse? It’s no wonder why she isn’t afraid of me.”

Azrael returned to my side and dipped her head for me to rub once more. Shadow folded his arms with a smile.

“Regardless of her rider, Azrael judges others for herself,” Shadow explained. “She is not like the other horses. For that, I let her roam as free as she desires. Azrael also chooses her own company.”

“I can see that.” Azrael didn’t attempt to move away from me; I could feel her contentment with the attention I was giving her. “What are you doing out here? And so early, I might add?”

“I felt a stroll might help with the mood I’ve been in lately. I was going to take Azrael along, but it appears she’s perfectly happy being pampered by you.”

“I’m enjoying the fact that something isn’t running away from me at first glance.” I grinned. “Does your mood have to do with the Elders, or is there something else adding to it?”

“Something else,” Shadow replied. “I am more curious, however, as to why
you’re
out here.”

I looked away.

“The dreams are getting worse, aren’t they?”

I opened my mouth to say yes, but no sound came out. I then nodded, since my speech failed me.

“Mine are haunting as well,” Shadow said. “The something else I was referring to earlier…I saw someone I hadn’t seen for a very long time. That same someone just so happens to be dead.”

My eyes widened, and then he knew.

“All this time…you’ve been seeing your mother.”

“It’s been unpleasant,” I answered. “It hasn’t only been her.”

“Who else have you been seeing?”

“Other vampires.” I thought of the gray-eyed woman who always fought Mother in the dreams. “There was a full-blood woman who was always fighting against Tamina. She…she looked as if she were my kin.”

I saw Shadow stiffen at the mention of the woman. “Describe her a bit more.”

“She had such cold gray eyes. It’s the most memorable thing about her,” I said. “I don’t know anything more than that. And each time she and Mother fought, there was no sound.”

“Odd.”

“I know.” I moved to sit comfortably on the ground, and without skipping a beat, Azrael joined me. Shadow followed and sat across from us. “Who is she?”

“I have an idea of who she may be. But…” he paused as he rubbed his temples. “Artemis, if it is who I think it is…she’s very dangerous. It wouldn’t surprise me if you meet her soon.”

“You’re evading the question, Shadow. Who is she?”

He didn’t answer.

“Is this part of the explanation you’ll give me when you feel it’s safe to?”

“Unfortunately.” Shadow nodded. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions just yet. I want to be able to have enough of my own questions answered before saying anything else.”

“I suppose that’s fair enough.”

“You mentioned vampires before, which implies that you saw more than just your mother and the woman she fought. Who else did you see?”

“I saw a small scouting party…also full-bloods.”

“What were they doing?”

“They were escorting a caged carriage. A female dhampir was inside of it.” I remembered Netira’s hatred for Latos, and how Mother said she would be the one to show me the way to wherever I was supposed to go. “She’s supposed to be someone important for something that’s to occur.”

“Where are we supposed to find her if it turns out to be true?”

“I’m not so sure.” I studied the forest and frowned. “I didn’t recognize the part of the forest they were in, but the dhampir mentioned something about the scouts taking her to the elves. I don’t know to which elven land specifically.”

“Only the Woodland Realm and the Oceanic Realm have forests within their borders,” Shadow explained. “I suppose we’ll just see what happens in time, hmm?”

I nodded, while still remembering Netira and the shape she was in. “What’s coming, Shadow?”

“I can’t say for certain,” he answered. The three of us stood and started to walk back toward Ellewynth. “I think it’ll be an event that will change everything we know. I’d rather be prepared than to be caught unawares.”

etira stirred in her cage as the sunlight warmed her face. There was a benefit to being a dhampir, since she rather enjoyed a good sunrise.

Her escorts were hidden beneath heavy and dark cloaks with small runes stitched at the hems. It was Karesu’s handiwork; it was part of his duty to Blackwen City as a mage to find efficient ways for full-bloods to maneuver within the daylight hours. The cloaks were preferred more by the scouts and a score of Arlina’s stealthier warriors, but of course, it wasn’t enough to satisfy them.

Netira realized they weren’t moving once she awoke. She moved closer to the bars of the cage, wincing with each gesture, and noticed the scouts were taking cover in a small cave. She could hear their conversation as well as some other noise and understood they were feeding. Netira could smell deer blood, and she salivated. Her wounds weren’t fully healed yet, even with Latos’ stunt of force-feeding her.

She didn’t trust him. He would have poisoned her for his own amusement and then reported to Arlina that she had committed suicide before reaching Ellewynth. She would expect nothing less from such scum.

Retreating to the farthest corner of the cage, she tried to recall how long they’d been on the road. Her sense of time was altered due to her injuries from both Arlina and Latos, but she remembered just enough to know that they’d been away from the Dark Fortress for at least a week.
Netira didn’t recognize the part of the forest they were in, which led her to believe they were either on a less known route or they were closer to Ellewynth than she originally thought.

Her chances of survival grew slimmer the closer she came to the woodland elves. Unless she was able to locate or even encounter Artemis upon her arrival…Netira couldn’t allow herself to hope.

“Forgive me, my love,” Netira said quietly. She rubbed her chest as she thought of her vampire mage. She couldn’t even call on the power of the fire rune he tattooed onto her skin, between the pointer and middle finger; it sapped so much of her energy with each use, and she would have been a fool to use the rune in her current condition. She didn’t even fully recover from the time she called on the rune to burn the bodies of the scouts and the elf. “I was suspicious, but not enough to protect myself from this.”

“Praying, are we?” she heard Latos mock her. Netira glared at him the moment she laid eyes on him. “Come now. Why would the sacred sisters listen to a filthy half-breed?”

“They’ll listen to anyone over you,” she spat. “At least I had a legitimate reason for my deceit. You? They’ll jump on any kind of opportunity for someone to send you to a special circle of hell Avilyne holds for your sort.”

“Who will be the one sending me there, I wonder?”

“Me.”

Latos snorted before letting out a belly laugh. He frowned when he noted her serious gaze. “I’d like to see you try it.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Netira answered. She turned away, signaling she was done speaking with him.

She heard Latos swear at her while he returned to the others in the cave.

Netira sighed and moved a hand over the gunshot wound in her waist. It was healing slower than she expected, which made her wonder what ammunition Arlina used with that damned flintlock pistol of hers. It didn’t help that she was shot twice by it in so short a time either.

“Blessed sisters of Eolande,” Netira prayed, “be merciful and guide me to Artemis upon my arrival. Let me live long enough to carry out
Latos’ murder. Let me live long enough to see my city return to the glory it once held.”

Callypso rode the wind for days after Talisa’s request of finding the sai of Tamina Ravenwing. The more she roamed, the more she felt the energy trail of something
different
from the forest; it seemed the weapons were calling to her, drawing her to them. The energy was so dark…not only did it worry her, but it also made her ill.

Tamina was thorough, however. She made sure only those she wanted to find her sai would do so.

It made Callypso all the more uneasy. Her experiences with lingering spirits always ended in tragedy. She prayed to the goddesses that this one would be different, especially for Talisa’s sake. She couldn’t blame her friend for wanting to believe an old face of the past wasn’t scheming something sinister, but she hoped Talisa would also listen to reason.