Child of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel Book 1) (47 page)

“All right.”

Jack cut into my pointer finger, and I felt a sting; my hands were still healing from my stunt earlier this morning. He held my hand over the water of the well and pushed the skin together so that a few drops fell within. We all watched the droplets swirl in the water, and I saw something happening. I recognized the faces that formed after my blood disappeared.

I saw Jack in the mirror, but his hair was cropped short, and it was black. I heard him choke when Jack realized who he was staring at.

He wore the strange leather clothing that I saw the full-bloods who escorted Netira to the Woodland Realm wear, and he had a sword in each hand. Callypso was there with him, also wearing the strange leather clothing. Her hair was a deep blood red, like that of the full-bloods. They were both bloodied and fatigued, but they kept on running to this large tower made of steel. The skies were covered in darkness.

This was Blackwen City, the Dark Fortress.

What’s going on here?
I thought as we continued to watch.

The view shifted and now showed Netira, who was in a heated battle with several full-bloods. It looked as if she was in a prison; there were cells and chains everywhere. Talisa was with her, and she too wore the odd clothing. She was carrying someone I did not recognize—a male with long black hair and a silver cross earring hung in his right earlobe. He looked severely injured, but managed to keep conscious.

Was this Karesu, the vampire mage and Netira’s lover?

Before I could study him further, the image changed once more. I saw myself and Shadow, and we fought full-bloods in a strange place. My hair was no longer a dark brown, but completely red. I was shocked to see that I was in the true dhampir form: silver irises, fangs elongated, and black leathery wings fully extended from my back. Shadow’s hair was a similar red to mine; he looked as if he was one of the full-bloods.

I somehow found myself liking the look, and I then quickly erased the thought from my head.

“I will never look at Shadow the same way again,” Jack snorted.

“Jack, keep silent,” Callypso scolded.

I watched how well both Shadow and I worked while fighting together; it seemed that all the training sessions had paid off. The idea of having control while in the dhampir state was comforting as well; there was hope for me yet.

We ran up a long, spiraling staircase, and we all jumped when we heard a loud, piercing blast erupt from the mirror.

I shuddered as I remembered the sound—it matched the one from Arlina’s pistol.

Jack was horrified. “That flintlock pistol again…”

Callypso held a hand to her chest.

I was puzzled.

“A flintlock pistol?” I asked.

“Yes,” Jack answered. “It is a weapon used by merchants and sailors. We should keep watching, Artemis. I’ll elaborate more once the vision is over.”

I saw Shadow push me against the wall of the stairwell when more of the horrifying sounds exploded from the flintlock pistol of the unseen assailant.

“I’m going to break my promise, Artemis,” Shadow said, looking solemn. “You’re going to have to go to the top of the tower without me.”

“I’m not leaving you behind!” I heard myself yell.

“You’re going to have to,” he insisted. “I need to take care of this bastard.
You
have to keep going. I swear I will find you when my fight is over.”

“Shadow, don’t do this.”

The image began to shift; I felt my heart do a violent flip.

“Goddesses,” I heard Callypso whisper.

Who was Shadow planning on fighting?
I wondered, and I had a flashback of that damned dream.

I tried to get rid of the images from the dream as the mirror continued to show us more. I saw myself in a strange chamber filled with large onyx statues of women. In the center was a large black marble throne, and on the walls were jutted torchlights. In my hands were Mother’s sai, and I noticed the jewels within the hilt were brighter than I recalled.

“Come out, Arlina!” I heard myself yell. “You’ve run from me long enough!”

There was silence. I saw annoyance form on my face. “I will admit the stunt you pulled in the tavern was unexpected, yet impressive. But why do you continue to hide when what you seek is finally within your grasp?”

I heard the flintlock pistol go off and watched as I rolled away. I saw the same woman who haunted my dreams, the same woman with the cold, gray eyes who fought my mother, the same woman who tried to kill me in Ellewynth, step from behind the throne and flash a devious smile.

“The filthy half-breed thinks to mock me in my own audience chamber,” Arlina said, the thin and razor-sharp heels of her boots clicking with each step she took. “I’ll have to show you what it means to disrespect me.”

The image disappeared with another deafening bang, and the water stilled. I backed away from the well.

“Artemis?” I heard Callypso call.

“Is that what will happen when we get to Blackwen City?” I asked, avoiding eye contact.

“It’s a possible future,” Jack said. “That’s the function of the mirror. They don’t always come to pass.”

“What’s wrong, Artemis?” Callypso asked. “You’ve paled…more so now than you had during the visions.”

“I just saw something that I hoped to never see again,” I admitted. “I dreamt this morning of someone dear to me dying, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

“Who was it?” Jack inquired.

I shook my head in refusal.

“Artemis?” Callypso asked once more. “Who did you see die?”

“It was only a dream,” I said to myself, while rubbing my arms to rid them of the goose bumps that formed. “Only a dream…”

“Artemis, something in that vision triggered whatever image you’re seeing now.” Jack tried to have me look at him. “Who did you see die in your dream?”

I finally looked at him as the tears blurred my vision. Jack was taken aback and tried to apologize, but I waved him off.

“Shadow,” I answered.

he walk back to the cottage was a silent one. Jack and Callypso were stunned when they heard the details about my dreams. They tried to dismiss it, but they knew I wouldn’t. Those two of all people knew better than to label a dream as imagination.

Callypso held onto my arm in the effort to give me some comfort. I kept my focus on the steps I took along the earth. Jack was walking ahead of us again.

“You know,” Jack began, “while I don’t doubt that we will be encountering similar circumstances in Blackwen City, I don’t think it’ll turn out the way the mirror showed us.”

“Why do you say that?” Callypso asked, intrigued.

“For one, none of us would leave Artemis alone in that tower, least of all Shadow,” Jack responded. “Second…my hair will
never
be like that.”

Callypso and I burst out laughing.

“I’m serious!” Jack yelled. “I like my hair the way it is!”

“I thought the color suited you,” Callypso said. “Made you look like a true mage.”

“Well, I guess I could survive with the color…” Jack muttered. “But it was
short!
”

“It’s only a possible future, Jack,” I chimed in. “Remember?”

“Yeah,” he replied, unconvinced. Jack fell back in his step and stood to my other side. “Shadow’s a tough man to kill, you know. He’s already survived a ton of wars.”

“I know.”

“Does that explain the hand debacle?” he asked, pointing to my bandaged hands. “Tried to get rid of the feeling of his blood on your hands?”

I nodded. “It’s part of the reason, yes.”

“I’m sorry, Artemis.” Jack patted my back. “I had a hunch that I thought would play out, and it didn’t happen. I had the feeling you were going to come with me to the grove before we left and thought maybe the mirror would show another memory of the past, not a possible future.”

“Why did it show us different scenes for a possible future?” I asked.

Jack shrugged. “I wish I knew.”

“Kiare’s Mirror is tricky that way,” Callypso added. “I think perhaps the mirror was trying to quell the fear of you not holding up your end of the fighting.”

“That’s a nice way of looking at it, Callypso,” I began, “but I don’t think that was the mirror’s intention. What we saw…it was a warning.”

“A warning of what?” Callypso wondered.

“A warning that Arlina might not be our only enemy to worry about once we reach Blackwen City. This…accomplice…is one who also has a flintlock pistol, and one who Shadow seems to have a history with.”

“I don’t understand why someone like Arlina would have need of that weapon.” Callypso frowned. “It doesn’t suit the style she loves to use.”

“But at least we know she still has it. Possible future or not,” Jack pointed out.

“And we also know that we can survive the wounds it’ll give,” I added. “Netira is proof enough.”

“It’s still a dangerous weapon, Artemis,” Callypso warned. “You’ll have to use caution.”

“Oddly enough, the pistol is not my main concern,” I admitted.

“What is?” Jack asked.

“The identity of this other enemy,” I answered. “Who is it?”

Jack sighed. “If it’s true that we will have another enemy as bad as Arlina, then we’re bound to find out once we go on our journey.”

“Until that should happen, let us keep our focus on the first part of the journey, which is Westyron. That’ll be a unique experience in itself.” Callypso chimed in.

“So I keep hearing.”

Netira was listening to Talisa and Shadow speak about the trip to Blackwen City. She still wished they didn’t have to stop in Westyron. She did not like humans, and the humans of that city enjoyed persecuting “outsiders”—their term for anyone not of their race.

Netira excused herself once she felt odd pains in her chest. She knew Talisa and Shadow noticed the strange behavior, but they hadn’t inquired about it. She was thankful for that.

Netira settled into her little sleeping space of the main room and kept rubbing her chest in the hopes of ridding herself of the pain.

What in Avilyne’s hell is going on?
Netira thought as she shut her eyes.
Karesu, what are they doing to you?

“Karesu, I need a hand up here.”

Karesu jumped at the sound of his grandmother’s voice, and then put down an aged tome next to a stack of old parchment filled with his notes. It had been a few decades since he was first brought to his grandmother’s study. Since then, Karesu never once regretted the decision of committing to his mage heritage
.