Wielder: Apprentice: Book 1 of Lady Shey's Story (The Wielder Cycle) (13 page)

“How could she? She might have thought you would one day wield and she might have suspected you could enchant, but her main objective was to keep you hidden regardless of your abilities. In fact, she might very well have known and hoped you would not wield at all until she could deal with it.”

“I may ask her the next time I have a chance to talk with her in private, although, at this point, what does it matter? What is done is done. Knowing what Enowene was thinking when I was younger won’t help me now.” She folded up one of the pieces of parchment. “Here, take this piece and hide it in your room. It’s the final set of instructions. I don’t want all these pieces in the same place.”

“Why? What good would that do?”

“I usually can’t make enchantments stick for very long. From what I can see, this parchment explains how to make my enchantments permanent. If I am forced to enchant something, the enchantment will be temporary, at least for now.”

“I see,” Marella said, taking the parchment. “I will hide it well.”

“The fact is I am a terrible enchanter. I don’t want to be good at it.”

“But your mother said it’s dangerous not to learn it.”

“I don’t think so. If I can’t do it, how can it be dangerous?”

“For one, if your enemies believe you can enchant and you can’t, that could get you killed.”

“I can enchant well enough for that.”

“Perhaps you should discuss this with Toborne or Enowene.”

Sheyna let out a sigh and put the parchments back in the box. “I’m tempted to go back to the streets where I was a nobody. I’m not sure about all this.”

Marella clinched her fists. “Oh no, I will not stand by and let you feel sorry for yourself. This ‘poor me’ attitude has to go right now! You play the nine cards hand that was dealt to you. Too many people feel sorry for themselves and fail at their task in life or fail to see what steps they could have taken to make their lives better. You are stronger and more intelligent than that.”

Sheyna felt better. “You’re right. I can do this. What was I thinking?”

“Aye, you can. Besides, Enowene took care of you out on the streets. You only thought you were on your own.”

Sheyna pondered what Marella just said, and then yawned widely. “The day is still young, but after all that has happened, I think I will take a nap.”

Marella tucked the parchment into her dress. “I can imagine. Come find me when you wake up, and we will go down to supper together.”

“I will.” Sheyna watched Marella step toward the door. “Marella, thanks.”

The blonde girl smiled, nodded, and left, closing the door behind her.

Left alone, Sheyna hunted for a suitable hiding place for the box. She thought that putting it under her bed would be too obvious; the same for putting it at the top of her closet. Finally, she found a small ledge up inside the unused fireplace. After she slid the box into place, there came a knock at the door. Thinking it was Marella returning, Sheyna flung open the door. She was surprised to see a young man with blond hair waiting to enter. She recognized him immediately. It was the same man that she caught skulking around the tower back in Symbor. Before she could slam the door shut, he stepped inside her room.

“Get out of here before I scream!”

The blond man took his jacket off and folded it carefully over his arm. “Look at you. You are alive and vivacious. I was told you were dead.”

“Dead? By whom?”

“It isn’t important. My name is Akros. I am a servant of Enowene from Scarovia.”

“What? Scarovia. You are a little far from home, aren’t you?”

“Indeed I am.” He put his folded coat over the back of a padded chair near a lavishly-carved wooden desk. “Our mistress, Enowene, asked that I come here. If you don’t believe me, then how did I set foot on this island without being prepared by a wielder?”

“I’m sure there is more than one way. That proves absolutely nothing. What do you want?”

“To the point. I like that.”

“If you like points, then I have two.” She produced her two daggers and pointed them at Akros.

“I am not here to fight you. I am here to warn you.”

“Have you been stalking me from the shadows here; skulking around like you did back in Symbor at the tower?”

“Of course I haven’t. You are being stalked?”

Sheyna was surprised at the genuine concern that appeared on the Scarovian’s face. “I thought I saw a shadow stalking around about the roof of the citadel earlier. I am still not certain it wasn’t you. Why would Enowene send you here to warn me instead of coming herself? I don’t trust you and I would her; it makes no sense.”

“It does make sense. You merely need to allow me to speak and hear me out.”

She pointed to the chair he had lain his jacket over with the point of her daggers. He sat down, and Sheyna sat on her canopied bed. She kept both daggers in hand but relaxed them down to the bed.

“Enowene is unable to talk to you about what I have to say. In fact, all wielders are unable to talk to you about what I have to say here on Rugania. As you might surmise, I am not a wielder. I am probably the only non-wielder on the island. Enowene has been trying to find a way to get a message to you, but Toborne watches her every move.”

“Toborne?”

“Aye, he is the one Enowene wishes me to warn you about. He did not have your training in mind when he apprenticed you. He knows of your ability to enchant, and that’s the reason he wants to be close to you. He needs your ability to enchant for some dark purpose. Enowene believes him to be evil.”

Sheyna remained skeptical. “He has never given me the slightest indication that what you say is true. He has even given me books to work on my training.”

“I am simply relaying a message. Enowene requests that you do not trust him under any circumstances. She also instructed me to tell you not to discuss it with her because Toborne is very adept at ferreting out conversations between wielders. He also has eyes and ears all over Rugania who report to him.”

“Will they not report to him about you coming to my chamber?”

“Aye, they will. However, I was also sent here by Toborne to talk with you. Don’t worry, my first allegiance is to Enowene. I have Toborne’s confidence at her request.” He moved the shoulder of his brown tunic over to expose a healed puncture wound. “Toborne is a much more dangerous man than you realize. He had this done to me just to have a talk with me.” He put his tunic back the way it was. “He is meddling in dark arts and creating dark creatures in the dungeons of his tower. I believe he also possesses the Silver Drake. I think he stole it and is planning to use it to control the dragons somehow.”

“What if I believe you? What then? How am I supposed to keep my suspicions of Toborne from him?”

“I have no idea. I am just the messenger.”

“Then what is the message from Toborne you are supposed to bring?”

“You are not supposed to know Toborne’s message comes from him.”

“All right. What is it?”

“First, I have one more tidbit of information from Enowene. You have an amulet with blood at the center. Enowene wanted me to tell you that you can use it to locate your mother. She isn’t sure how, but she said you were resourceful and would figure it out.”

Sheyna nodded.

“Remember, do not tell anyone of my visit and keep the amulet’s purpose a secret. Promise me.”

“I promise. Now what was the message from Toborne?”

Akros moved with blinding speed. Sheyna felt a blow to her head and all went dark. When she woke up, she immediately went to the fireplace to check on the box. It was as she expected: it was gone.

Sheyna directly set out to find Marella. She surmised she had been asleep for quite some time. She located her friend still in her room. Closing the door behind her, she sat Marella down on her bed with some urgency.

“What’s wrong? All the blood has drained from your face.”

“A Scarovian named Akros came to see me just after you left. He made me promise not to tell of his visit, but I am sure I need your help in this. I think Toborne has my mother’s box.”

“Slow down for a moment and start from the beginning,” Marella said.

Sheyna broke her promise and recounted the entire story. Afterward, she examined the amulet around her neck. The blood glistened in the vial at the center. “What if it’s true? What if this blood can lead me to my mother?”

“Try it and find out.”

“I wouldn’t dare try it here after what Akros told me. I doubt she is on this island.”

“What if she is? Wouldn’t it be worth the risk?”

“Frankly, no. It doesn’t make sense. Why would she go to the trouble of setting up a way for me to contact her if she was here to begin with? Enowene knew her, and I am certain she would know her if she saw her here.”

“That’s true. I am just dumbfounded. Where in the world could she be? How come she can’t be near you or let you know exactly where she is?”

Sheyna examined the amulet again. “I know she has her reasons, and they don’t appear to be all of her own choice. There is more to the story than we know yet. She has given me the tools to find out. I just have to be clever enough to use them.”

Sheyna noticed Marella had something on her mind. “What is it?” she asked.

Marella cleared her throat. “This Akros person was at the tower when you first arrived. He had ties to some . . . thing that was trying to get to you. I used my abilities to put you to sleep, and I created an illusion that the creature had killed you.”

“You did what? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Enowene thought it best that you didn’t know.”

“That was stupid. How is keeping me in the dark protecting me?”

Enowene opened the door with a slight knock. “I can answer that. It’s because being a target tends to destroy one’s focus. You have a lot to learn in a relatively short period of time, and I don’t want you all jumpy and looking over your shoulder when we can watch out for you.” She sat down on the bed. “If Akros is here, then the enemy knows you were not killed. They will be on the hunt for you again.”

“Wait a moment. Akros said he worked for you, and you sent him to talk to me.”

“I most certainly did not!” Enowene resounded.

“He said that Toborne watched your every move and you were loath to risk talking to me yourself.”

“He does watch my every move, but he is nothing I can’t handle. I’m used to being scrutinized. However, he would never dissuade me from talking to you.”

“Why did he say those things? Did he just want to get his hands on the box from my mother?”

“Ah, you left that out of the story,” Enowene said.

Sheyna was becoming increasingly frustrated. “Look, none of this sits right with me,” she pointed at Enowene, “you supposedly leaving me orphaned, my mother disappearing, me almost being killed, this Akros person, and Toborne’s machinations. The only one I believe is telling me the truth is Marella, and she hated me.”

“Well, hate is a strong word for it,” Marella said sheepishly.

“I have news for you both. Something has been hiding in the shadows outside my window at the tower, and I have seen it here as well. I was never safe because of your ruse. I have been watched this entire time.”

“Is that a fact?” Enowene stated. “You may as well show yourself, Kyrie. Apparently you aren’t as good at hiding as you think.”

The wardrobe door creaked open and out stepped the pint-sized Kylerie elf. “She saw me? Ridiculous!”

Enowene stared at Sheyna for a long moment as if she was contemplating. Just when Sheyna was becoming uncomfortable, she could feel the sudden rush of Enowene drawing in essence. A fog surrounded the room and pressed against all the walls, ceiling, and floor, all around them. “You want answers; I will give you all I have.”

“What did you do?” Sheyna asked, a bit alarmed.

“I secured the room. You can’t be the mistress of spies without learning a few tricks.” She walked around the room, checking here and there to make sure her essence spell held. Once she was satisfied, she sat Sheyna down and looked her directly in the eyes. “You can trust everyone in this room. What I am about to tell you concerns them, too. Sheyna, your mother’s name, Sylvalora, is dragon tongue for Silver Drake. Your mother is the Silver Drake created as a statue by the First Trine, Ianthill, Morgoran, and Toborne, and bestowed with a gift from each of the gods of this realm. Loracia, the mother of life, bestowed the gift of life upon her. She took the form of a woman and married your father. In a very real sense, you are a child of the gods. That is why you are of dragon blood, and that is why you can enchant, among other things. No one knows the full extent of what you are, but there are those who will stop at nothing to find out.”

“My mother is not real? She is some kind of statue?”

“That’s what you heard from all that I just told you? Of course she is real. Loracia gave her life. She is very much alive. She actually did give birth to you.”

“What happened to her?”

“We don’t know. She was taken somehow and forced back into the form of the Silver Drake. We had hoped you could lead us to her or draw out her abductor. The blood amulet you possess is the key. She made it for you, but we don’t know how it works.”