The Sorceress and the Vigilant
Chapter 2
The sky darkened into a gloomy mauve as the sun set opposite the misty lake. The rain had lightened considerably during Edrea and Dahn's ride through the woods, but that mist clung to the castle grounds like a cloak. Dahn's head was on a swivel, his hand on the hilt of his sword the entire ride, but Edrea's mind was singularly focused on the castle. Emerging from the woods and cresting the rise, they beheld the monolith at last, and a symphony of memories sprung forth from the recesses of her mind.
Hart Castle stood like an old, shrouded sentry, sturdy even as it was quite dilapidated. The stone edifice was cracked like forked lightning in various places, and more than a few windows were broken. Vines and vegetation grew like webbing up all of its faces, and the grounds were clearly abandoned. Hedges were overgrown, shapeless as they consumed the stone walkways and moss-covered statues. In the center of the road leading up to the entryway, there was a copper fountain. Green with oxidation, it depicted a lord and what was perhaps his son. Edrea didn't recognize their likenesses, but they probably lived a hundred years before her time.
She remembered this place. Not specifics so much, but rather the feeling of being here. She imagined herself chasing cats down the walkways when they were properly kept. She felt impressions of conversations she'd had with her mother in the gardens, so perfectly manicured they seemed unnatural. And she remembered the other servants and their families, tucked away into a small basement wing all to their own, like an odd little family.
“Familiar?” Dahn had ridden right up next to her, and she'd been so absorbed in her reverie she hadn't noticed. He was the only one that could sneak up on her like that.
“Awfully so,” she replied. “I remember the feeling of this place, wondrous and magical and a little haunted, like the castle is hiding some big secret.” She remembered feeling that way even as a little girl. She'd always assumed it to be a product of her young mind conflating the town and the castle with what happened in the Harrowing, but now she wasn't so sure. Perhaps, even as a child, she'd felt the sorcery here, buried deep in the castle like a seed. Dahn nodded as if agreeing even though he'd never been to Hart before.
“Look sharp,” he said. “More slighter tracks nearby.”
“Fresh?”
“Extremely. We should investigate before dark.”
Edrea agreed. It wouldn't do to have slighters loose in the area. She'd have enough trouble keeping the townsfolk pacified without adding monsters to the mix. They dismounted and tied their horses to a picket line near the entrance that had somehow weathered the years. Edrea embraced the Stillness (the state of mind necessary to properly channel a sorceress' power), and pulled a cloak of shimmering air over them, hiding them in plain sight. To any passing eyes, slighters included, the picket would be empty and the smell of horses nowhere to be found. As always, within the depths of the Stillness, she felt a little numb, as though she was submerged in pleasantly cool water. She didn't bother to release the state as she motioned to Dahn, instead welcoming the sensation like an old friend.
“Lead the way.” She followed Dahn as he led them to the tracks. He unsheathed his sword and carried it loosely, following the trail as it led them deeper into the thicket surrounding the castle. Edrea could feel it too, the skunk of monsters nearby. It was much stronger than it had been on the other side of town. The slighters must be nested up here near the castle.
Night crept on as they searched; soon they'd be swallowed by the darkness of the dense woods. Edrea conjured a flame and held it aloft like a bright torch. The trail led them around the castle and along the side of the lake until they reached a little clearing next to the water. Mossy and soft, it would have been quaint if not for the slew of eviscerated deer carcasses sprawled across the bed. Most were half-eaten, large chunks of muscle and fat ripped from bones white as bleached parchment. Dried blood splatter covered the moss and the trunks of the nearby trees, dark and sticky. The vile odor that permeated the space nearly made Edrea vomit. Dahn whistled as he crept through the clearing and touched his fingers to some of the blood on a tree trunk.
“Still wet. This happened today. This evening, likely.”
Edrea studied the woods around them, holding her flame high. The shadows of the trees fled from her like long, thin fingers, but within them nothing moved. She felt no stronger presence of slighters here than she had around the front of the castle, and the sun was fully set now, making it difficult to press on. The castle was barely visible against the charcoal sky.
“We'll have to continue tomorrow,” she said. “For now, let's get settled inside. I need a bath.”
*
If the foyer of Hart Castle was any indication of the shape of the rest of the castle, which it surely was, Edrea expected the entire place to be in utter disrepair. The once-white tile underfoot was cracked and chipped, now so dirty it could be brown, and the elaborate wallpaper was peeling off in ribbons. There was a double staircase leading up to a second floor opposite the entrance and large halls leading in the other three directions from the foyer. The north wing, the east wing, and the south wing, Edrea remembered. She remembered because, as a child, the lack of symmetry from missing a west wing had bothered her in the silly way things sometimes bother children.
“At least I won't feel bad for bedding the horses down inside,” Dahn said, surveying the place with a scowl. The stables outside were unusable, all but fallen apart. Spare, her horse, stood uneasily as she eyed the foyer. Edrea patted her and whispered reassuring words before rustling through her pack in search of a few items: hairbrush, robe, soap, and slippers. She gathered them in one arm, keeping her flame aloft in the other hand. “I'm going to find a bathtub,” she said, striding across the foyer for the stairs. “I'll light my path, so you know where I am.”
And so she walked, carefully, up the carpeted wooden stairs and onto the second floor balcony. The east wing, she thought, led to the master bedroom. There, if anywhere, she was likely to find the tub she sought. Dahn would bring the rest of her things after taking care of the horses.
As she walked down the hallway with her flame as her light, she lit sconces on the wall. She didn't bother to check if they had oil, rather she fed them a trickle of sorcery that would sustain them for a few hours. The carpet was moth-eaten but had once been beautiful blue with silver accents. She greatly desired to remove her boots and stretch her toes despite the decay. Oddly, she noted, the air wasn't too dank. Perhaps the broken windows provided enough fresh air to purify the place.
The first doorway on her left led to a small bedroom. Two large four-poster beds were separated by a mirrored dresser. Edrea could almost see two little girls playing at the dusty dollhouse on the far wall. She couldn't remember their names, but they were the lord's daughters. They were older than she was by a few years and had shunned her for being a servant. Edrea hadn't really understood, not at the time, but looking back she couldn't think of why else they'd refused to play with her.
Moving onward, she passed two more bedrooms and a chaotic study, which had certainly been used as a nesting room for some rodent or another, before finding herself in the master bedroom. She lit a few sconces on the wall, the orange glow flickering as it illuminated the state of the room. The bed was moth-eaten, and every surface was coated in a thick layer of dust. But there, in the far corner tucked behind a folding wall, was the tub she so badly sought.
It was copper, green and white with oxidation, and there was a sickly greenish crust at the base. Edrea turned on the tap, mildly surprised that it still worked. At first the water came orange, but it slowly lightened until it ran clear. Embracing the Stillness, Edrea touched her hand to the side of the tub and pulsed energy into it at a very high frequency. The vibrations shook all of the oxidation and crust from the tub forming a ring of green and orange on the floor. Everything in the tub washed down with the water, leaving a shiny copper basin that rang like a bell.
Within moments she was soaking in hot, soapy water, wrapped in the scent of lavender. She could practically feel the days and days of dirt and grime leaving her. Her hair floated in a crest atop the water's surface. She sucked in a breath and submerged her head fully. Under water and totally relaxed, she found a place of peace. Her heartbeat, audible, slowed to a crawl. Her limbs floated weightless. She was one with the water.
Until she needed to breathe.
Surfacing with a gasp, she leaned her head back against the rim of the tub and closed her eyes. What was she doing here? Returning to Hart had always been a curiosity, but now that she was here she was having second thoughts. Everything was so real. Would she like the things she found, digging around in her past? Maybe there was a reason Pemona never told her more about herself. Whatever power she felt here was surely worth digging up a few old skeletons.
A thumping sound startled Edrea out of her meditations. She sat up and glanced around the room.
“Dahn?” She called out. There was no response. It was an old castle. It was sure to make all kinds of sounds. And if the windows had been broken long, there were probably critters all throughout. Perhaps even a monster. At that thought, she embraced the Stillness and kept her eyes and ears open. Dahn could handle himself, but maybe she'd better not tarry too long in the bath.
She mustered the will to leave the hot water and stood. The cold air stung but, wrapped in the Stillness, she barely noticed. She threw on her robe and tied the sash loosely, slipped into her slippers, and affected a final longing glance at the tub. There would be more baths soon enough.
A mewling at her feet nearly startled her right back out of her robe. Sitting there on the floor, where she was nearly certain there had been nothing before, was a black kitten with white boots. It looked up at her through bright green eyes and mewled again.
“Oh, you darling,” Edrea said, kneeling down and reaching out her hand. Cats were one of the only animals that weren't naturally repelled by sorcery; hence, many sorceresses kept them as familiars. After a tentative sniff, the kitten tried to bury itself in Edrea's palm. She scooped it up and, noting it was a female, cooed and shushed the mewling kitten. “It's alright, you're safe now.” Where was the mother? Perhaps this was the runt of the litter and thus abandoned.
Not if Edrea had anything to say about it.
Tucking the kitten under her arm and snug against her breast, she set off to find the mother.
A shuffling sound from the hallway preceded Dahn. He strode into the room with two bags slung over his shoulder. Looking around, he grunted. “Dustier than a locked cellar.” He looked at Edrea, glanced at the kitten, and his eyes asked a rhetorical question. Edrea walked over to one of the windows. Somehow, none were broken in the master bedroom. She opened it and then returned to the center of the room.
Weather had never been Edrea's strongest arcane discipline, but she knew enough to get by. Channeling a localized pressure differential using the window as a focus, a whirlwind of air began to circle the room. Dust was pulled up into the vortex and ferried out the window to be scattered by the breeze. The whirlwind, of course, ignored her and Dahn. When she was finished, the room was much clearer. The wind had blown out the lamps, so Edrea re-lit them and raised her eyebrow at Dahn.
Satisfied, he grunted and dropped the bags on the master bed.
“You find that thing in here?” he asked, clearly referring to the kitten.
“Indeed. Mother must be around somewhere. I'm going to find her.”
“Do it tomorrow,” Dahn suggested, starting to unpack. “I was going to take the room across the hall, but I keep hearing sounds like there's something living in this place. I feel bad enough with the horses in the foyer, obfuscated or not. Until we can root out monsters, I'd feel more comfortable sleeping in here with you. And I don't need you wandering around looking for a cat in the dark only to stumble into a slighter nest.”
Edrea scoffed. “Which one of us is the sorceress?” she argued. If she did stumble upon a slighter in the castle, more than likely it would be alone, not with a pack. Besides, she'd burned slighter nests on her own before. It was easier when they were grouped up.
Dahn softened a little and stopped unpacking to face her. “I know, but it would make me feel better. There's something about this place that unnerves me, and you know how rare that is.” They stared at one another for a long, palpable moment until Dahn added, “Please?”
“Very well,” Edrea replied, scratching the kitten's head gently with her nails. “You are right that there is something unsettling here. I don't believe it to be monsters, but we'll err on the side of caution. You may sleep on the sofa tonight.” She gestured to the newly dust-free crimson sofa along the wall. Dahn eyed it briefly before nodding. They'd shared a bed before, but it wasn't a regular occurrence, and Edrea didn't feel much like sharing that night.
It wasn't long before she was snuggled up in bed with the kitten snoozing easily next to her pillow, tiny chest rising and falling rhythmically. The bed wasn't too lumpy, and the blankets weren't as moth-eaten as she'd first thought, yet she had trouble falling asleep anyways. Thoughts of her childhood refused to leave her alone, returning every time she banished them. The problem was that the thoughts were merely impressions. Her memory from that age was hardly reliable, and, if she was being honest with herself, she couldn't even remember what her parents' faces looked like. Trying to recall them was like looking at faces she almost recognized—but underwater. The features would distort and change, and Edrea couldn't even properly recall what color their eyes or hair were. She had a vague impression that her mother's eyes and hair may have been brown and black respectively, like her own, but that was all she had. A vague impression.
It wasn't just thoughts of her parents that kept her awake. Thoughts of the Harrowing of Hart taunted her as well. In these, she could remember even less. Once, during her sorceress training, Pemona had told her that memories of traumatic events can often be distorted with time, reshaped by the mind to soften the harsh truth. If that were indeed true, what was she to make of the images her mind conjured to hide the truth of the Harrowing? A black raven and a sky churning so violently it looked like a choppy ocean. Glowing purple eyes the size of wagons? Ravens, of course, were an omen of death. In the aftermath of the Harrowing, there had been plenty of death. Most of the town, in fact. Or so she'd been told. She could vividly remember seeing piles of dead bodies being picked through for valuables before cremation. Had the raven been real, then? And what about the churning sky? Storms and rain were constant in the west country, but that sky hadn't been natural. Not the way she remembered it.
Just as she was beginning to find a semblance of peace within her mind, she heard a high-pitched chiming sound coming from somewhere in the castle. Sitting up in bed, she glanced over at Dahn to find him fast asleep on the couch. The kitten was fast asleep in her bed.
Sliding out of bed and into her slippers, Edrea crept to the hallway and peeked her head out in an attempt to discern where the noise might be coming from. The sconces she'd lit earlier had died without more sorcery to feed them, but dim, pale light from the moon sneaked into the hall from the adjacent rooms. There was no movement in the hall. An eerie stillness, palpable, hung in the air like smog.
A flitting motion demanded Edrea's attention just as a flash of lightning cast the hall in bright light. When it faded, there was nothing. It had looked like a cat. A rumble of thunder followed the flash.
The chiming abruptly stopped. In its absence she felt oddly exposed, like something was watching her. She embraced the Stillness and enhanced her eyes, the entire hallway lightening even as the colors shifted to blueish green. The rush of arcana, even such a small amount, brought a pleasant tingle to her body.
Nothing.
Strange, she'd been certain the cat and the noise weren't in her head. Perhaps her time on the road, in addition to her old memories surfacing, was causing her to see things. She needed sleep. Putting the chiming sound out of her mind, she returned to bed, closing the door to the hallway behind her until it latched shut.
Once snuggled up in bed, she nearly jumped right back out. The kitten was a kitten no longer, but a fully grown cat. It slumbered there, in the same position as the kitten had, chest rising and falling rhythmically. Edrea might have been able to convince herself that the mother had found her kitten and jumped into bed, except the cat had the exact same white boots and somehow Edrea knew it to be the same. How had it grown?
Edrea reached over to pet her, but when the kitten opened her eyes there were only empty sockets oozing red blood. Edrea's breath caught in her throat and the hairs on the back of her neck rose as her body was seized by a chill. She snatched her hand back. The cat meowed at her, a croaky and ragged sound, and black bile bubbled out of its mouth, a thick, viscous fluid that scorched the blankets and burned a hole in the mattress.
With a start, Edrea woke.
The kitten was fast asleep next to her, still a kitten. Dahn sprung up, his sword clearing scabbard before his eyes had fully opened. He wiped crust from his eyes with his other hand.
“What is it?” He asked, surveying the room.
“Nothing,” Edrea said after a moment, realizing she must have screamed. “Just a dream.” And so it was. Right?
Dahn nodded, but rather than settle back down, he sat on the sofa and rubbed his face.
“Really, Dahn. It's nothing. Go back to sleep.”
“If it's all the same, I think I'll stay up and keep watch the rest of the night. It's only an hour until dawn.”
Edrea checked the wall clock and was surprised to see that it was nearly five. Settling back down in bed, she closed her eyes and fell into another light sleep riddled with strange dreams.