Page 12 of Wind and Water (Reign of the Witch Queen #2)

Chapter Six

Liam

T he raven follows us down the hills, continuing to call out as we go. It’s strange that a white raven would appear. I was certain it would be a message from my mother, but I sense no connection.

I’ve only been to Clandunna a handful of times, when I brought word from my mother or during regular patrols.

We sometimes check with towns and villages for word about dark magic.

It’s a nice little community at the southern end of the continent.

Sitting on a peninsula, it has the Gulf of Uaine on one side and the ocean on the other, with a river running through for fresh water.

The forest at the southern end of the point is small but one of the oldest in Domhan. Those trees have lived long enough to have obtained a kind of consciousness.

We’re much farther from home than I’d hoped. The Storr portal should have brought us near the Naomh River. It would have been an hour’s ride to the oracle from there.

Now I’m weeks south, without a horse, missing one human, and three weeks later than when I left the Wren’s world. Nothing has gone to plan, and the thought of Birdie in the hands of centaurs is sobering.

“Do they all go to bed early here?” Wren asks, looking at the empty central area surrounded by small houses grouped by family.

The raven lands on the back of a bench at the center of town. Its gaze is fixed on Wren.

She approaches the bird. “You’re persistent. Have you a message for me?”

The raven caws loudly.

Cocking her head, Wren stares at it. “Huh.”

“Does it speak to you?” My mother can send messages through ravens, and she can see through their eyes, but she’s never met Wren, so it’s unlikely a human woman would be able to receive the words.

“Not so much in words, but I think her name is Adhar.” Raising her hand, she gently pets the raven’s head. “You’re very beautiful and unexpected.”

Adhar preens and fluffs the feathers on the back of her head.

“It means air in the old language. If our new friend has no other message, let’s see if anyone’s home.

” I point to the largest house to the east. It belongs to Serena and Jax.

She is the chieftain of this village. I take my sword in hand and head that way.

“Where is everyone? Something isn’t right. Stay behind me.”

She points to the little woods south of the village. “What happened there?”

Several trees are blackened, and at least two look as if they’ve exploded. Whatever happened, it wasn’t good. To kill ancient trees like those is a terrible act. “Those trees are many hundreds of years old. They have life and magic.” I hear panic rising in the tone of my voice.

At the door, I pound as if I’m the invading force.

No answer.

I bang harder.

“Liam, look.” She points to the other houses, the meeting area in the center, and the grassy area where children might be at play.

“Everything is in perfect order. Maybe whatever destroyed the trees was the catalyst, but these people didn’t run, and they weren’t attacked here.

” She reaches around me and pulls the latch on the door, which swings open.

We step inside the tidy home. The living area is clean with several blankets neatly folded on a bench near an empty stand likely meant for some kind of instrument.

The staircase is dark. The last time I was here, children sat on the steps listening to news from the capital.

I remember their handsome faces peering through the wooden rails.

Despite several young sons living here, there are no toys anywhere. In the kitchen, not one plate sits on the counter or in the basin.

“These people cleaned, they packed what they needed, and then they left town.” She stares down at the kitchen table where a shallow bowl sits. Dipping her fingers in, she disturbs the water. “Why would she leave a bowl of standing water when everything else is pristine?”

Rushing over, I pull Wren back a step. “I think it’s a scrying bowl. Probably not dangerous, but stay behind me, just in case. I might be able to contact my mother through it.”

With my hand over the water, I search for magic and find the binding spell meant to keep foes from using the bowl. “It’s locked.”

Wren shakes her head. “That makes no sense. Why leave a device for communication and lock it?”

I wish I knew the answer. “It can be used to leave a message, but we’d have to know how to unlock it.”

She touches the side, and the bowl rocks slightly. With a push, she spins it. “Explain yourself.” Her voice is full of frustration, which I share.

“Whoever you are, you must live in the light if you’ve unlocked this bowl.

” Serena’s soft voice echoes from the water.

As it stops spinning and the water settles, her features become clear.

Fair skin, blue eyes, and long blond hair all perfectly at ease.

“We have left Clandunna and gone to Tús Nua. It’s not safe here after the witch queen took the first of the prophesied.

We will go and help with the coming war while our children are secure in the walled city.

If you are in the light, you are welcome here.

Use what you need and may the old gods be with you. ”

The image shimmies and disappears.

Pulling out a chair, I sit. I have a dozen questions for Serena, but the bowl gives no answers.

“Did she mean the witch queen took one of the human women? Could she have been talking about my mother?” Wren spins the bowl again as if it will bring the message back.

“This kind of message is only given once. Then the bowl becomes inert. I may be able to contact my mother in a sacred pool, or maybe if I revitalized the bowl.” The problem is that it takes more magic than I’m willing to expend when I need my strength to go into a forest full of centaurs.

“I think she was talking about one of the women my brothers were sent to find. Birdie’s prints didn’t come in this direction, and there were no elven prints at the battlefield. ”

“Maybe the centaurs destroyed those trees?”

“Centaurs are keepers of forests. They would consider it a blasphemy to violate an ancient tree like that.” My heart is heavy.

A human woman was taken and no mention of my brother.

Which one had it been? Is either Aaran or Raith dead, or worse?

I have to focus. “We’ll accept Serena’s hospitality and rest here.

Tomorrow we’ll confront the centaurs and find Birdie. ”

“You said they’re vicious. You and I are going to get Momma back by attacking vicious horse men?” She pushes her hair from her face and wipes an errant tear from her cheek.

I must protect her. I’m going to have to get creative. “We can’t fight them. We’ll have to negotiate somehow.”

Pushing aside the worry over things I can’t control, I rise and take Wren’s hand. “You have to rest. Do you want to go upstairs and sleep in a bed? It may be our last chance to do so for some time.”

“You go up. I’m sure you’re sick of sleeping on couches. I won’t be able to sleep. I’ll just stay here.” She kisses my cheek.

There is no way I’m leaving her, even to sleep in the next room. I lie on the couch and pull her down beside me. “Try to close your eyes, Wren. You’ll need your strength tomorrow.”

Resting her head on my shoulder, she sighs. “Why not try to contact your mother if you can restore the bowl’s magic?”

“Magic takes a toll, and it would take a lot of energy for the task. Scrying bowls are rare because they require a lot of magic to stay vital and useful. Serena probably left the bowl and the message, knowing her power would be needed for other things.” I’m surmising a lot, but without facts, all I can do is try to make sense of things.

“I think we can assume one of my brothers came through the same portal. It’s possible she believed we might as well if it was safe. ”

“But it wasn’t safe.” She yawns.

“No. Light magic failed and that’s not a good sign.” I comb my fingers over her hair and ease her way to sleep with a relaxation spell that my mother used on my brothers and me when we were small.

Her head gets heavy as her breathing evens out.

It’s difficult to stay awake. With another spell to alert me if anyone comes near the house, I let sleep take me.

Wren’s heartbeat is fast like a bird’s, but it doesn’t beat against my chest. No. It’s as if it’s beating all around me.

Opening my eyes, I’m standing in water to my knees, but I don’t feel the wet. As far as I can see is a flat still ocean. “Where are we?”

Wren’s voice is filled with terror. “This is the dream, Liam. This is where I see your witch on the butte.”

When I turn, she’s behind me, staring back with fear in her beautiful eyes. I reach out and touch her, but while I see my hand on her arm, I can’t feel her warm flesh. “I’m in your dream. How is that possible?”

Without looking at me, she walks past, still with her head tilted as if looking at something over my head.

An obsidian tower gleams in the sunlight and reflects in the water. It had not been there before, but maybe that’s because I can only see through Wren’s eyes. “Is that the butte?”

“In my last dream, it was golden brown, like those in New Mexico. It wasn’t as clear either. Do you know this place?”

For as far as I can see, there is nothing but this shallow water.

I take a step on the sandy surface and search for some clue about where this place is in the conscious world.

I know for certain that I have never seen a tower of black stone anywhere on land in Domhan.

Yet we are not truly on land. “Could this be the lost lands?”

She heads for the tower, and I follow. “What are the lost lands?”

“Far to the west, there was a continent that fell from sight. This was before the memory of anyone living. A thousand suns ago, the entire continent was lost to the sea.” I’ve never set foot in that water. They say the spirits there will drag you under.

“Sounds like Atlantis.” She keeps a steady pace toward the black monolith.