Leslie Moore - Griffin's Shadow

“Yes, sometimes. But your father has said he wants no children between us, so I take steps to see to it that I don’t conceive. Perhaps, now that he has you and your child, he will relent and allow me to have a baby of my own.”

They had ridden out beyond the last clusters of houses that made up the suburbs of Sendai and now traveled in open countryside. The road that ran to the town of Meizi, seat of Prince Raidan’s fiefdom, stretched ahead of them, lined on either side by ranks of ancient oak trees. A chilly wind played in their gnarled branches, rattling the old wood with a sound like dry bones.

The screech of a raven echoed from high above. Jelena’s head jerked upward like a startled deer. She peered at the pale sky, frowning.

It is time!

The cold voice of The Nameless One sounded in Sonoe’s head like the faraway whisper of death. She twisted in her saddle to note the position of the two unsuspecting guards bringing up the rear, their bodies relaxed and swaying along with their mounts’ strides. She crooked the index finger of her right hand, and her horse tripped and went down on one knee, sending her tumbling from the gelding’s back to the roadway. Jelena cried out in alarm and the guards shouted in dismay.

Sonoe groaned as she raised herself on her elbow.

“Sonoe, are you hurt?” Jelena asked breathlessly, kneeling down on the hard dirt of the road.

How did she get off her horse so fast? Sonoe wondered.

“Lady Sonoe!” the two guards cried as they flung themselves from their horses and ran to her.

“I’m not hurt… Just had the wind knocked out of me! Don’t fuss!” Sonoe grumbled in a show of irritation and hurt pride. She extended her hand to the nearest guard. “Help me up,” she commanded.

“Yes, my lady,” the man replied and seized her hand.

Sonoe pounced on the man’s unprotected mind and squeezed. He made a little choking noise in his throat and fell forward on top of her, unconscious.

“What th…” the other guard exclaimed, but before the rest of his words could leave his mouth, he, too, collapsed. Jelena screamed in fear.

Sonoe pushed the guards’ limp bodies aside and grabbed Jelena’s wrists.

“Jelena, hush!” she commanded, and before Jelena could pull away, Sonoe had the girl’s head between her hands. She looked deep into Jelena’s eyes and plunged through their hazel depths, past the girl’s superficial consciousness toward the center of her mind. She saw the Key, glowing like a lamp at the bottom of a well. She encountered no resistance, which surprised her .

What has Taya been teaching her? Why is she not fighting me?

Sonoe slammed against an invisible barrier with enough force to throw her out of Jelena’s mind and rock her back on her heels. Intense pain shot through her head and she groaned aloud through gritted teeth. Jelena slumped forward, moaning.

Damn you, Taya!

The barrier had been so skillfully laid that Sonoe had been unable to detect it. Only an adept of equal or greater skill than her own could have constructed such a beautifully made shield.

“S…Sonoe…wha…wha…”

Sonoe touched two fingers to Jelena’s temple and felt the girl subside into her arms, head lolling. She eased her to the ground.

The flutter of wings alerted the mage to his arrival.

The raven alighted on the roadbed a short distance away and hopped closer until it stood a couple of paces from Jelena’s head. It looked sideways at the girl’s slack face out of one jet-bead eye. This particular bird still appeared fresh and healthy, so Sonoe knew the Nameless One had just recently taken control of it. It uttered a small croak.

“The Crown Princess has been busy,” Sonoe said aloud, disgust roughening her voice. “She has put up a third level shield around the Key. I can’t crack it without killing the girl.”

Then kill her! She has to die anyway!

“I can’t kill her now!” Sonoe retorted. “How would I explain her death? Besides, we don’t have another vessel prepared, and without a proper vessel, the magic of the Key will be lost! Is that not what you told me?” Sonoe had to struggle against her mounting fury. In the part of her mind she kept hidden, she savored the knowledge of the weapon she would use against him when the time came.

A gust of sulky energy wafted through her mind like the fetid odor from a latrine pit.

I grow weary of my prison. It has been a thousand years since I last walked the earth as a flesh and blood man. I long to see, to smell and hear, to taste…everything!

“You must be patient, my lord,” Sonoe said. She held out her arm and the raven hopped onto it. “I’m already working on a way to bring the girl to you. I found an ancient book in the king’s library. It’s a lost chronicle of the Kirians. In it, I found references to a translocation portal somewhere within the precincts of Sendai Castle. If I can find it, I might be able to reactivate it. There is a portal within the ruins of the Black Tower. If both can be reactivated, I can bring the girl directly to you.”

The portal within the Tower remains energized, though the power has waned over the centuries. The last time it was used was over three hundred years ago, when two of your order came to check on me.

“Taya Onjara is Mistress of the Kirians now.”

Though that office should belong to me, Sonoe thought.

“She watches me very closely now, especially since I’ve gained the girl’s trust.” Sonoe frowned. “Amara also keeps a close eye on the girl, and both have had a hand in her training. They are preparing her for the Sundering, though neither has told Jelena the full truth of what will happen. They will send her, unwittingly, to her death and console themselves with the righteous knowledge that they have saved the world! Cowards!” Sonoe spat. “If they had any nerve at all, the two of them would seize the power of the Key for themselves!”

And you, of course, would not dare to entertain such a betrayal!

The black stone pendant hidden between her breasts exploded with a sudden burst of heat, searing Sonoe’s skin and wringing a startled cry of pain from her lips.

“No, Master, no!” she gasped, clutching the stone. “Please, you are burning me!” The stone grew cold again and Sonoe sighed in relief and irritation.

One of the guards stirred. The raven spread its wings and clacked its beak.

“You must go now, so that I can revive them all before too much time has passed and they notice something’s amiss,” Sonoe said.

Without warning, the raven lunged at her face and sliced her cheek open with its razor-sharp beak.

Sonoe screamed and flung the bird from her. Cursing, she pressed a hand to the bleeding wound. “Why did you do that?” she cried.

So that when you gaze upon the scar that mars the beauty of your face, you will be reminded of who owns you .

The raven launched itself into the air. It turned on a wingtip and sped off in the direction of Sendai, leaving Sonoe sobbing with rage.

When she had at last mastered herself, she reached over and tapped each of the guards on their temples. They groaned as they regained consciousness. Sonoe lay down on the ground and brushed Jelena’s forehead. As the girl’s eyes fluttered open, the mage slipped into her mind and sponged away all traces of her intrusion.

The two guards climbed to their feet, looking bewildered.

“My lady!” they cried in unison.

“Are you hurt?” the older of the two asked, bending over Sonoe, his face a mask of concern. He seemed to have no idea that he had been unconscious.

“I’m just bruised,” Sonoe snapped.

“My lady, your face is bleeding!” the other guard exclaimed.