Colin Tabor - The Fall of Ossard

“In the celestial, in my soul.”

He leaned forward. “And what of your grandmother, is she helping?”

“I don’t really know.”

“Sometimes you hear her voice?”

“Yes, and the others with her, and sometimes even the crack and snap of angry flames.”

He went on, “She can talk to you, so does she help or just look for opportunities to possess you like back at Market Square?”

“Sometimes she gives me advice. I hear her words in my mind or have sensations that tell me to be careful. I think she could do more. I wish she would.”

“Maybe it’s hard for her to talk with you?”

“Perhaps. Look, I’m glad of her book. I’ve learnt something from it, even if it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. It’s helped me understand the truths of the world, but not how to use my magic…” I shook my head as my words trailed off into confusion.

“Juvela, do something for me tonight, and one thing besides trying to save your family?”

“What?”

“Open up to your magic – and not just with your heart, but also with your mind and spirit. What we’re going to do isn’t going to be easy. We’ll need any kind of help you can give, and I want you to offer it without any preconceived ideas.”

I nodded, but remained unsure. “What are you saying; that I’m stopping myself from using my own witchery?”

“Maybe, because perhaps you’re not a witch.”

I just looked at him, and then started to shake my head. “Of course I am, I can feel the power and see into the celestial.”

“So can members of the Sisterhood, spirits, the gods, and their priests.”

I sat stunned by his words. I couldn’t be any of the first things he’d listed, but a priest?

Sef watched the confusion run across my face. With tender care he stroked my hands and said, “All I’m asking is for you not to shut your mind to the possibilities. Such open mindedness could make all the difference – all the difference in saving your family.”

I nodded.

“We need to go and get ready, but we’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”

“And what of tonight?”

“Just relax and do what comes naturally.”

It was after midnight before our party was ready.

Fires burnt along much of the opposite riverbank, but they seemed to be dying down, and the sounds of riot too. Cloaked in darkness, our group of twenty crossed the Cassaro near the city wall by way of three small boats. It was one of the few stretches of water not illuminated by flames, instead it lay lost under thick drifts of smoke.

On arrival, we climbed the slime covered river wall to be greeted by an empty but ash-filled street. Sef took the lead and darted across the cobbles to disappear down a shadowed lane. Without a word we followed.

In our trek, we stuck to winding alleys and cover, walking, running, and even crawling as we sought Ossard’s heart. The Kavists moved with surprising speed, particularly for a group weighed down by arms and armour. I just worked at keeping up.

I wasn’t used to such rushing, let alone in the dark lanes of the city. Before long a rising tide of adrenalin began to energise me. I tried to keep quiet as I followed, reminding myself with each step or turn that I drew closer to my goal.

My family!

The Kavists treated me as one of their own. They advanced with me, acknowledged me, and I realised, expected me to fight. That was sobering. I was no longer in a world of maids, drivers, and bodyguards – this was a harsher and more real life. Only once before had I fought someone; the cultist in Market Square. Tonight I might have to draw blood again.

Sef had given me a knife and dagger, both of which I’d hidden away in my dark cloak. I knew I’d use them if I had to, by all the gods I’d do anything to get my family back, yet I hoped I wouldn’t have to.

On our way through smoke-filled alleys, and past occasional burnt out ruins, we also saw other groups. Those dark silhouettes fell away from our larger band, always seeking the safety of other lanes and shadows.

Sef hissed at us to keep quiet, particularly when others were about. It wasn’t the noise of our armour, boots, or swords that worried him, but our voices. Any Heletian would recognise our accent, and such a thing could be the death of us.

We moved from alley to alley, only crossing streets and never taking to them, and hoped with our quick and twisting progress to be too hard to track. After a while, it began to seem like we were trapped in an endless maze from some dark nightmare.

Over time, a change became apparent in the districts we passed through, from the ramshackle buildings next to the flood-prone river to the well-built stone of more prosperous areas. We were getting somewhere. All the while the sounds of riot and flame continued, but remained distant. Finally, like all things, our journey came to an end.

Sef stopped us and gathered us about. He pointed ahead to where the alley we were in continued after crossing a narrow street. Before long its worn cobbles finished in a dark dead end surrounded by the glum walls of a tall but tired building. He touched a finger to his lips and whispered, “The opera house.”

We were there!

I didn’t recognise the building, yet I’d never seen its rear, and certainly not from a back alley after midnight. With a grim smile I savoured how appalled my mother would be.

It loomed four floors high, with walls marked by missing render, the lowest level, windowless, hosted generous clumps of moss. One thing was certain; the back of the building lacked the grandeur of its front, giving off a more honest air to resemble the bankrupt theatre that it was.

The cobbled lane wasn’t empty though; it held a timber platform at its very back. The loading dock stood waist high, with crates piled underneath, it backing onto two solid doors chained shut.

We stood in silence, watching for any sign that the building might be occupied. After a while, one of the Kavists whispered, “Nothing, no guards, not even a candle’s light. No signs of anything.”

He seemed to be right.

I slipped my perception into the celestial and searched for Maria, sensing here and sensing there.

Nothing…

Deeper and deeper I went, through seas of blue and voids of black.

Nothing…

My worries stirred. What if she was asleep, would she be able to sense me? I could only try again.

Nothing…

Sef whispered, “Can you…”

I was already shaking my head.

He turned to the others. “We’ll be back.”

Sef led me down the alley and onto the street, it heading to an avenue that would end at the square. It was the same avenue that I’d been on when I’d last connected with Maria. He took me to the same spot, and then checked for anyone watching. “Try again.”

I did.

Nothing…

“Get down on the cobbles like this afternoon.”

I dropped to the road and gripped the cold stones.

Nothing…

My tears came.

Sef asked, “Might she be asleep?”

“I don’t know.”

“Try again. Call out to her soul, call out with everything.”

I did as I tried to use my power.

Nothing…

I stood up and shook my head.

Sef said, “We’ll still go in.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded, but grew tense as he searched the surrounding shadows. “We must be careful, the night whispers; we’re not alone.”

We hurried back to our band.

The Kavists stood eager and ready. They knew tonight might deliver a fight, but they were also aware that the kidnappers of children would be less than honourable. Surviving such an adversary would require caution.

Some of them stretched their limbs, while others whispered prayers, yet all tried to hold the quiet that luck had so far allowed. With relief and weapons drawn, we began our advance.