Sorceress' Blood (3 page)

“Wow, this is really good.”

“Yes. I made sure that the head chef personally cooked his
speciality for this meal. I see even the young lady is enjoying
herself. I am pleased she is more active than she was when you first
arrived. How do you like my castle?”

“The rooms are very nice,” Rebecca said politely.
Everything had been exceptional since her arrival as Lord Sebastian’s
guest, but she still felt like a glorified prisoner of a madman and
his personal army.

“Has she spoken yet?” Lord Sebastian asked. He had yet to
look up from his meal and when it was Rebecca’s turn to talk he
would eat a little more and sip his wine. Rebecca looked down at
Ashley. She wasn’t smiling and she didn’t move any more
than she had to in order to eat. The little girl had remained quiet
since they left Rebecca’s bedroom and showed no desire to say
anything.

“No. She hasn’t said a word since I met her.”
Rebecca looked back up at Sebastian.

“No matter.” he said. “Should her condition persist
I will bring a psychologist to my castle to help her. That is
unlikely to be necessary, however. When the tests begin tomorrow she
will not need to speak, only to listen and follow along with what she
is told.”

“Tests? What tests?” Rebecca placed one hand on Ashley
and tensed her muscles. She wondered if her legs were up to running
yet.

“We must discover if she is indeed the Sorceress’ heir
that the Thralls believe she is. Therefore, we must test her.”

“Like a blood test?”

“No. We have no record or sample of the Sorceress’ blood
to compare her with.”

“Then how?”

“Ms Williams, you are unlikely to know this but it is, in fact,
true that the majority of people on earth are capable of learning
magic.” Lord Sebastian put down his knife and fork and for the
first time looked up at his guests. Rebecca went to say something but
he began talking again before she could. “Let me finish.
Children in particular are adept at picking up the arts of magic.
That is why, in ages past, a sorcerer or sorceress would take an
apprentice at a young age. You see, as we grow older, we begin to
develop certain mental blocks either in what we call rational
thinking or in our confidence. This is especially true in today's
so-called age of information and science.” His tone was almost
mocking at the mention of science. “Once a person does begin to
master the arts, a change takes place in them. Now, that change might
be a genetic change or perhaps it is deeper than that, we don't
really know. But what we do know is that the change gets passed on
through the generations almost indefinitely. This trait makes that
person even more able to perform magic – even beyond child
hood. You’d be surprised how many people in today’s world
have this potential sitting untapped in them. The majority of them
will go unnoticed.”

“So…” Rebecca smiled at her host. As dangerous as
Lord Sebastian was with his own personal army, Rebecca couldn’t
help but be amused by this wealthy, grown man’s childish and
innocent devotion to his fantasies. Lord Sebastian and his knights
hadn’t been nice enough for her to be sympathetic towards the
clearly delusional man. Instead, he sounded, to her, just like a
child. His age only made his rambling make him look idiotic. A
powerful, dangerous idiot but still an idiot. That was reason enough
to politely indulge him for now. At least until she could escape.
“You’re telling me that the only way to find out if she’s
what these Thralls want is to test if she can do magic. You expect me
to believe any of this?”

“Yes. I expect you to believe it because it’s true. All
magic requires is belief, determination, intent and, most of all,
willpower.”

“So if I wanted to make this salt shaker float, all I’d
need to do is believe hard enough and say ‘abra kadabra!’
and it would happen?” Rebecca asked as she picked up the salt
shaker. Lord Sebastian smiled, lifted a hand from his lap and splayed
his fingers out towards Rebecca. She was expecting him to say
something but he didn’t. Just then she felt the salt shaker
begin to move in her hand. Rebecca jumped and in her fright, let it
go, whipping her hand away. The salt shaker didn’t fall but
instead drifted over the table towards Lord Sebastian and he caught
it in his hand.

“Abra kadabra, Ms Williams,” he said with a victorious
smile and salted his meal. Rebecca’s mouth fell open and she
stared, speechless.

Rebecca spent most of the night sitting up in bed. She wasn’t
sure if she couldn’t sleep or didn’t want to sleep, and
it didn’t seem important. Dinner had put her mind a little at
ease. She now knew that Lord Sebastian wasn’t entirely crazy,
after all. But now she didn't know where she stood. Was he her captor
or her saviour? Rebecca searched and searched her mind for answers to
how Lord Sebastian had moved the salt shaker. The only answer she
could come to, though, was magic. Real, true, no smoke and mirrors,
honest to God magic. That meant that maybe his story was true and
maybe this Sorceress had really lived. Maybe Ashley was the latest
generation of the Sorceress’ bloodline. The night had torn down
all her ideas about where she was and who the people around her were.
Now she thought that maybe they really were out to protect her.
Rebecca shook her head, trying to throw the ideas from her mind. She
could only be sure that she was still a prisoner to a man with a lot
of power. They were nice strangers and if the dinner had been
intended to poison her she’d probably have died by now. But
they were still strangers and she didn’t have any reason to
trust these people. She was a woman set in her ways and her way
wasn’t just to hand out trust.

The last time Rebecca trusted anyone was when she decided to move in
with Arthur Short. They’d been dating for six months when he
got evicted from his apartment. Arthur suggested that together they
could afford a nicer, bigger place than either of them could afford
alone. Rebecca was convinced – Arthur could have convinced her
of anything. Arthur could have told her that watering the grass with
orange juice would turn it bright purple and grow it into palm trees
and she’d have believed him. There was just something about the
way he spoke and the way he smiled that convinced her. Rebecca had
trusted Arthur and they moved in together. Three weeks later Arthur
didn’t come home from work. Rebecca waited for him and when he
wasn’t home by nine she went to call him. There, by the
telephone, she saw a note waiting for her.

To Rebecca

I won’t be coming home tonight or any other night. I met a
girl two months ago and now me and her are going to go live in
America. She’s hoping to become an actress and you know how
I’ve always wanted to live there so I have to go. The flight is
about noon so this is the only way I could say good-bye.

Arthur

P.S We’re out of milk.

They say hind-sight is twenty-twenty vision and Rebecca knew she
should have seen the signs before it happened. She didn’t,
though, because she trusted Arthur. She had been stupid and that’s
what happens when you’re stupid. Rebecca didn’t feel sad
for long; she just felt angry. Getting over Arthur hadn’t taken
her long either but she’d learnt her lesson: People have to
earn your trust. You don’t trust them and you don’t make
friends with them until they’ve earned it. No one in Lord
Sebastian’s castle had earned her trust yet.

Rebecca eventually fell asleep but she tossed and turned
uncomfortably before she finally woke up at dawn. The first thing she
did was sit up, yawn, rub her eyes and fall back on her pillow. She
didn’t remember dreaming anything and what little sleep she'd
managed, hadn’t rejuvenated her. Rebecca was still tired but
she didn’t feel as though she could get back to sleep. For a
while she just lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Finally her body
began to crave movement and she pulled herself out of bed and went to
the shower. She didn’t hear anyone come in while she was
showering but there was a fresh set of clothing on the bed waiting
for her when she got out. They looked exactly the same as the clothes
she’d been given the previous day. The idea of someone coming
into the room made her uneasy.

The light outside her window said the sun had risen well above the
horizon which meant it was some time in the late morning. She checked
the clock and then left her room. She paused in the corridor and took
a step towards Ashley's door. Then she stopped, turned around and
headed downstairs as she'd intended – there was no reason to
wake the little girl. Rebecca passed by a window on her way
downstairs and saw a large group of uniformed men running through the
courtyard. These were Sebastian's knights. Rebecca wondered how long
they had been awake and working themselves into a sweat. She saw one
of them stop and shout back down the line but there was no sound. She
couldn't hear anything from outside the house. A chill ran down her
spine. Sebastian's castle truly was either an impenetrable fortress
or an inescapable prison. She thought the house was too nice to be a
prison but it wasn't very homey either.

Rebecca didn't know what the procedure for getting breakfast was. The
only thing she could think of was going back to the sitting room
where she had eaten dinner. She was surprised to find Lord Sebastian
there with Ashley, both of them already eating breakfast.

"Come and sit down." Lord Sebastian said, not taking his
eyes off Ashley. "We've been waiting for you."

"Has she spoken to you?" Rebecca asked as she came into the
room.

"Not yet. A maid found her wandering around and brought her down
here to me. I assumed quite correctly that she would be hungry. What
about you?"

"I am a little hungry." Rebecca told him – but she
was more than a little hungry.

"Then you may eat a little."

Rebecca took her seat next to Ashley, on the opposite side of the
small round table from Lord Sebastian. The maid who was serving this
morning immediately served her eggs, bacon, sausages, toast and more.
She placed a serviette on Rebecca's lap.

"You're not outside running with the others?"

"No. I have some hundred or so knights here in my service. They
wake up early, eat and then begin their routine of keeping fit and
combat-ready. I oversee management of some business interests that
finance our order and, of course, I am the one who decides which
knight will undertake what task. You were picked up by Julian
yesterday under my instruction to track the movements of some
Thralls. We received some intelligence that the Thralls were
targeting somebody in your town. Today he will be back to his normal
training."

“Intelligence? From where?”

“I'm afraid I can't tell you that. You are not a knight and it
doesn't concern you.”

"Well what does concern us? What are we supposed to be doing
while we're here?"

"Well, the girl will begin testing today. Should she pass her
tests, she will also begin an apprenticeship under one of the handful
of sorcerers here."

"There are others who can do magic here?"

"Correct. As for yourself, Ms Williams, you are not bound to
anything other than your desires. You may acquaint yourself with the
knights or you may visit the library on the third floor. I do ask
that, whatever you decide, you do not get too involved with anyone in
particular. I wouldn't want any of my people suddenly distracted from
their duty. You are also free to leave at any time." Rebecca
didn't answer him. She just went on eating.

When breakfast was done Lord Sebastian stood up and instructed his
maids to clear the table. Following this, he told Ashley to accompany
him upstairs to where she would be tested. Ashley, as silent as ever,
didn't move from her seat. Rebecca placed her hand on Ashley's and
said:

"It's alright. I'll go with you." That seemed to comfort
the girl and she stood up. Lord Sebastian did not protest this or, in
fact, speak at all. He led them both up the stairs to the second
floor and to the back of the house. An old fashioned cage elevator
took them up to the third floor from there and opened onto an
enormous library. Shelves were stacked with books all around them and
the room seemed to go on and on.

"You must have books on everything," Rebecca said in awe.

"Yes, I imagine so. Some of these books you won't find another
copy of anywhere else in the world, so I do ask you be careful if you
read them." The three of them walked through another door from
the library into a small, windowless sitting room. Two lounge chairs
and a sofa were positioned around a fire and stacked up around these
were piles of books. Sitting on one of the chairs, reading a book by
the light of the fire, was a skinny, frail looking young man with
pale skin, black hair and dark rings beneath his eyes. He didn't seem
to notice them as they came in and, even as they stood looking at
him, he was too engrossed in his book to acknowledge their presence.

"This is Benjamin. He is the order’s most dedicated
sorcerer. Sometimes a little too dedicated. Would you kindly look up
from your book, Benjamin?"

Benjamin glanced up and a surprised look seized his face. "Lord
Sebastian!" He gasped. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Benjamin, I would like you to meet..." It occurred to Lord
Sebastian he still didn't know Ashley's name. "I don't know her
name. However, I believe this young girl may be the Sorceress' heir
and so we need you to test her."

"Yes, of course, Lord Sebastian." Benjamin put down his
book and stood up. He walked around the table and knelt down in front
of Ashley. "What is your name?" Ashley didn't respond. "Can
you talk?" There was still no response.

"She hasn't spoken to anyone since she arrived." Lord
Sebastian commented.

"I see. Well, if you can hear me, I'd like you to do what I say.
First: follow me." Benjamin stood up and walked across the room
to the back wall. There was a small desk set up there with a
solitary, used candlestick sitting on it. Ashley followed him to the
table and Rebecca went with her. Lord Sebastian, however, turned and
left the room without saying another word.