|
Lady Darkmoon
…And for the third time, I awoke to the echoing of murmured
voices and blurred colors. This time, the colors were primarily grey and brown
and the voices, the sweet musical voice of Treali and another, gruffer voice.
And once again, I had a headache like no one's business.
"But-but she's going to be fine. Isn't she?"
Treali moaned piteously.
"Hush," the gruff voice whispered. My vision
focused a bit more, and I saw Treali hovering over me, a concerned expression
on her face. "Tessa… Oh Tessa."
"Third time's the charm." I murmured weakly.
The gruff voice spoke again. "I say, three strikes
and you're out."
Sitting up, I took a good look at my surroundings.
This seemed to be an underground dwelling, much deeper underground than Beneterr's
and Maloporg's had been. Not even the deepest-burrowing Symol came down to this
level. The floor was made of rough, unpolished marble, and the walls and ceiling
were dirt. Light Faerie mushrooms grew on the walls, illuminating the small
chamber with a soft, wavering glow. To my left, there was a heavy oak door and
a fancy maple armoire. I was sitting on a pile of shed feathers, black, but
with silver tips. Treali was still hovering uncomfortably close to me, so I
couldn't see beyond her. "You like my humble adobe?" The voice said with a hint
of amusement.
"Yes." Then, to Treali, "Could you please get
out of the way? I'm fine. Really I am." She obliged, and I got my first glimpse
of the speaker.
It was an elderly shadow Lenny woman, wearing
a red velvet cloak and sitting in a rickety rocking chair. Half-moon spectacles
sat rather crookedly on her beak as she peered down at an ancient, leather-bound
book. Strangely enough, her night-black wing feathers were tipped with silver
on the ends. I concluded that the feathers that my bed consisted of probably
came from her wings. "According to the young Tree-daughter," she said, gesturing
towards Treali, "you've been through quite a few troubles."
"Yes," I replied, massaging my head. Then I
realized… the headache was gone. "What…"
"I'm a healer-mage," the Lenny explained, still
not looking up from her book. "My name is Lady Darkmoon, eldest daughter of
Lord Noctus, dark mage of Lisedale and Lady Marai, water mage of Meridell. And
who might you be?"
"Tessalea Bordorian of Bord… Eyrie Peak," I
explained, a lump forming in my throat as I remembered that the mountain wasn't
really mine.
"Ah, Eyrie Peak. One of my father's favorite
destinations." Closing her book, Lady Darkmoon walked over to an armoire in
the corner of the room. From it, she drew a vial containing a bubbling green
substance that smelled of rotten apples. "The Tree-daughter told me of your
quest and of its purpose. I have only one thing to say to you… it can only end
in tragedy."
Seeing the fur on the back of my neck bristle,
Lady Darkmoon quickly added, "But good things can come from tragedy, dearie.
Luck, blessings, even miracles. From the bitterest ashes, a phoenix can arise
in all of its glory. Keep your eyes peeled, for phoenixes come in many shapes
and forms…"
Puzzled by the lady's speech, I simply shrugged.
"Well we will succeed in our mission. I guarantee that."
The Lenny gave a small chuckle. "Just drink this,
child." She handed me the vial of bubbling green liquid. Plugging my nose, I
chugged it down as quickly as possible, then resisted the urge to throw up.
"Thank you," Treali said, curtsying to show
her appreciation. "So… what's all this about Eyrie Peak?"
I told her. She was just as shocked as I was.
"Poor Tessa! It must be awful, knowing that your family could do such a thing!
The savages!"
"Don't rub it in." I said in a half-joking manner.
But the comment still stung. I decided to change the subject. "So what happened
after I was knocked out?"
Treali tore her gaze away from mine and looked
down in shame. "I'm not quite sure… They leaped on you. I was so scared Tessa…
Not scared for my own life, but afraid that I might lose you. So I jumped out
of the tree and wished that they'd just go away… wished with all my heart, wished
with every tear running down my cheek, because I was crying, Tessa. I was crying…
And they just turned tail and left. They must have seen something else that
caught their interest."
Remembering what Beneterr said about the history
of my home, I said, "Or maybe it was your magic."
Treali laughed dryly. "Yeah right. Like I have
a spark of magic in me. Anyway, a few minutes after the Lupes left, Lady Darkmoon
came, gathering herbs and flowers. She saw you and invited us into her home
under the mountain."
Lady Darkmoon gave a wry grin. "The hour grows
late, Tree-daughter. It's about time you got to bed."
"Okay," Treali said, approaching the oaken door.
"Tessa, I'll be in the room across the hallway. Just to let you know."
"Okay," I said, watching her disappear. Then,
I turned to Lady Darkmoon. "Why do I get the feeling that you know more than
you're telling us?"
A few moments passed, during which she sat down
in her rocking chair, lather-bound book in her lap and eyes closed, as though
listening carefully to something that I couldn't hear. Finally, opening her
eyes, she said, "I'm not just a healer, child. I'm a Seer too. One who can look
through the Mists of Time and See what lies on the other side. A difficult task,
for those Mists are far thicker and cloudier than any that have ever graced
this mountain with their presence."
"You've had visions about Treali and me?"
"Yes."
"And…"
"Your situation looks bleak and grey. Hopeless.
I can't share any specific details with you…"
"But you saw tragedy." I interrupted her, my
voice a bit more sharp than I had intended it to be. "You saw us failing. You
saw one of us hurt… or worse…"
Lady Darkmoon nodded grimly.
"Is what you Saw… will that definitely come
true? Or is it avoidable?"
"It's very hard… almost impossible to alter
Fate…"
I threw my paws up in disgust, my voice high-pitched
with frustration. "Impossible! Hopeless! Foolish! I'm sick of hearing these…
these words!" I put my paws down again, accidentally hitting a wound on my arm
with my claws. Wincing in pain, I decided it was time to cool my temper.
Lady Darkmoon seemed unfazed by my outburst.
She rose from her seat, clutching the book tightly to her chest. "Follow me,
Tessalea. And watch your step. The floor is rough."
I followed her out the door and into a corridor
lit with torches. The ground here was indeed rough, and I stumbled several times
before we reached our destination. The path curved, stooped, rose, turned in
on itself like a writhing snake. But finally, after ten or so minutes of walking,
we reached a simple wooden door at the end of the hall. From a pocket in her
robes, the Lady drew a small silver key. Unlocking the door, she put her wing
to her beak, gesturing for me to be silent. I nodded, and entered.
The room was pitch black, but at least the floor
here was smooth. "Luxi." Lady Darkmoon whispered, raising her wings grandly.
Something in the middle of the room instantly lit up, casting an eerie, glowing
light over the Lady's gloomy face. We approached the light source. It was a
pool, a luminous pool of swirling cerulean waters raised above the ground on
a hill. Looking much like a witch from a faerie tale, Lady Darkmoon stepped
closer to the pool, its light accenting every line and wrinkle on her face,
making her seem fiercely sage. "Pool of Seers," She whispered. At the sound
of her voice, the waters changed from cerulean to black, still swirling like
a whirlpool, making the fur on the back of my neck rise stiff with fear. "Show
to me the Fate of one, Tessalea Bordorian of Eyrie Peak."
The color of the pool changed again, now to a
bright crimson. The swirling slowed and stopped, making the surface smooth as
a looking glass. Bending over so that her beak nearly touched the waters, Lady
Darkmoon peered into the pool. "Yes…" she whispered. "Yes. Yes!" Her eyes were
glued to the surface, glued to some horrible image not visible to me. I shuddered
convulsively, teeth clenched and eyes squinted in terror, tough what I was afraid
of, I did not know. I kept trying to drag my eyes to the waters of the pool,
but they turned away against my will. "Great mountains and vales! Great Darkness
and Light!" the Lady cried passionately, whether by her own will or not I don't
know. The waters turned grey, then their light went out, casting the chamber
into darkness so thick I couldn't see my paw in front of my face. Then it erupted
with such a violent explosion of golden light that I lost my balance and fell,
whimpering like a fearful pup, shielding my eyes with my paw. Then, the vision
ended. The waters turned blue once again, swirled for a minute, dimmed their
light and extinguished it. Regaining my nerve, I pulled myself onto my paws.
Wordlessly, Lady Darkmoon exited the chamber. When we returned to the room with
the rocking chair and the bed of feathers, she whispered to me in a soft voice,
as though she were afraid someone might overhear. "Fate has spoken."
"What did it say?" I demanded.
"I can't reveal all of its secrets. Let's just
say that it doesn't look good for you."
I opened my mouth to speak, but she put a wing
to my lips in a gesture of silence. "Get a good night's rest, because tomorrow
morn, I'm going to take you to the edges of the Guardian's domain. There's a
tunnel that will get you there safely."
Tearing my head away from her wing, I looked
her in the eye. "You mean you've seen the Guardian of the Star?"
The Lady chuckled mirthlessly. "My dear, no one
has seen the Guardian of the Star. At least… no one who has survived. If you're
unlucky enough to lay eyes on him," She drew her wing across her throat in the
universal gesture of death.
"Well, there's a first time for everything,"
I said, laying myself down on my bed of feathers. "Good night, Lady Darkmoon."
To be continued...
| 
