Chapter 40
AIMILIA
Once Aimilia had finished collecting their supplies, she didn’t really know what to do with herself.
She couldn’t hear anything. She didn’t know whether that was a good or bad thing.
She imagined they probably didn’t want to disturb the whole town with what they were doing, but she also couldn’t imagine that it was noiseless.
Everywhere she went, Aimilia felt the townspeople staring at her. She talked briefly with a few of them, but they all seemed wary of a mage from Imperia. She couldn’t blame them.
She was going through the middle of the small town the square when a voice speaking in her tongue cut through the air. “There you are.”
Aimilia turned to see Hypatia approaching her, a bag slung over her shoulder. Aimilia’s guard went up immediately. She said, “My apologies, Chiefess. I didn’t realize you were looking for me.”
Hypatia said, “Well, all the men are off taking care of business, so I thought I’d see if you would like to accompany me instead of simply wandering around by yourself all day.”
Aimilia raised an eyebrow. She’d promised Nikias she would be careful, but Hypatia wasn’t someone you could avoid… when she wanted you, anyway. And for some reason, it seemed Hypatia wanted something from her.
Hypatia grinned. “There’s an old temple on the outskirts of town. Did you see it?”
Aimilia had seen the building briefly when she’d been walking around, but she hadn’t gotten very close to it. It was on the other side of town from where Nikias and Konstantin had disappeared to.
“What about it?”
“Just because there’s no priest there doesn’t mean it’s not still useful. The townspeople still use it to pray to Asentai and burn incense.” Hypatia reached into her bag and held up a few sticks. “Would you like to see?”
Aimilia supposed that sounded innocent enough. Besides, this was something that mattered to Marcella and now Gavril. Marcella had bemoaned the fact that in Aerator there was nowhere for her to worship, leaving her stuck burning incense in her room instead of at an altar.
Besides, with Konstantin occupied, Hypatia was the only one who could give Aimilia an update on how Gavril and Marcella were doing after the news they’d gotten right before she’d left.
Assuming Hypatia knew about it. But considering Hypatia seemed to know everything, Aimilia thought it was possible.
Aimilia said, “I’d be honored.”
Hypatia’s wicked grin grew bigger. She snapped the fanned-out incense back into one bundle in her palm. “Then follow me, Commander Aimilia.”
It would take her mind off of Nikias and her worry about what exactly he was doing—about what Konstantin was having him do. It seemed maybe Hypatia had the same idea to distract herself, although Aimilia was certain it was four different reasons.
As they passed through the town again, Aimilia watched as Hypatia was occasionally stopped by the townspeople, and she immediately began chatting with them. She rattled off in her language so fast Aimilia struggled to catch anything.
She would manage to catch a few words here and there. Nothing stood out as all that strange about it, other than the fact that there was nothing strange about it. Hypatia was surprisingly pleasant with them.
There was always this air of smug superiority, an aura of wealth and power that Hypatia exuded, but Aimilia would expect so of anyone that was considered essentially royalty, and even more so one like Hypatia, who was considered blessed.
There was a reverence in the way people spoke to her, and an expectation of such in her manners.
But she wasn’t dismissive or rude or cruel.
She smiled and laughed, but not the kind of dark, hungry smiles Aimilia had seen on her before.
If Aimilia didn’t know any better, she would have thought Hypatia a normal woman.
Albeit one with status.
They pressed on, and Aimilia caught a few looks directed at her red hair. They weren’t derogatory, not by nature, mostly confused. It didn’t seem anyone had her kind of hair, in either color or texture, in this town. Not that she was surprised.
As the temple grew larger, they left the town itself behind, finally alone.
Hypatia said, “Quite a few of them like your hair, by the way. Say it reminds them of the roses that grow on the outskirts. I presume you didn’t catch that.”
Aimilia shook her head but couldn’t stop herself from reaching up to touch her braid.
She’d always been partial to roses, but she highly doubted anyone looked at her hair and was reminded of the deep, beautiful red of the flower.
“I doubt that. They were probably just trying to be polite to your guest. You’re the one they like. ”
Hypatia raised an eyebrow as they reached the steps leading into the small temple, only darkness inside. “Does that surprise you?”
Aimilia shook her head. “You’re their royalty. Does it surprise you?”
Hypatia just grinned wider. “I knew I was right to like you.”
Then Hypatia disappeared inside into the darkness.
Aimilia looked around at the columns and the pediment.
It was less than half the size of the temple that Gavril and Marcella had held their second wedding in.
However, it was twice as intimidating. There was a cold, quiet stillness, even though all the carvings of Asentai on the stone outside and of her symbol were meant to be warm and inviting. There was no life.
Aimilia shivered even though it wasn’t cold outside, and she followed Hypatia into the darkness.
As soon as Aimilia reached the top step and started to walk between the columns inside, vitae lit the air as Hypatia cast with one hand, lighting torches along the interior of the sanctuary. Aimilia turned on her feet, looking up at the dilapidated temple around them.
It was certainly old and in need of repair and a very thorough cleaning.
Foliage had crept in and started to overtake some of the walls.
Vines obscured Asentai’s figure and cut through paintings of scenes from myths that Marcella had been taught as a child.
Marcella had told her a couple of them, but Aimilia didn’t recognize any of the paintings as ones Marcella had told her.
Hypatia reached the altar and pulled out her incense, arranging it in a very specific formation that Aimilia didn’t know the significance of. Hypatia lit them and soon enough, smoke poured off the tips. The pungent smell filled the air.
Aimilia took a deep breath, which was a mistake, as it sent her coughing. She knew Marcella was fond of it, but Aimilia had a hard time seeing why. It was very strong. Now was as good a time as any, and Aimilia called out and said, “Has Marcella ever been here?”
Hypatia shook her head. “I’ve only been here once before myself. Marcella never really left the estate much until she was a soldier, and then it was only on assignments. I didn’t like her to go on them, so I didn’t let her. She looked far too much like me, and I wanted to keep her close.”
Aimilia supposed it was her fault for asking. “How much later did you leave after us?”
Hypatia finished lighting the last stick and turned around. “If you’re asking about Marcella’s condition, there was no new information when I left. That kind of news takes more than a few days to bury and a lifetime to grieve.”
Aimilia fell silent. So Hypatia did know about it. She couldn’t imagine Marcella had really wanted to tell her.
Smoke filled the air, enveloping Hypatia as she said, “You’re surprised. Don’t forget she’s not my distant cousin anymore, but my sister-in-law. I know you and your people have a specific image of me, but I do make it my business to know what’s going on with the people I care about.”
Aimilia couldn’t help her scoff. “The people you care about?”
But Hypatia’s expression didn’t change. She said, “Why does that surprise you? I thought you might know better than most. Even monsters have their favorites. From what I saw this morning, you are his, aren’t you?”
Aimilia took another look around and said, “Do you just light incense and that’s it? Is that all this is for?”
“For the Solitus, yes. For me, no.” Hypatia spread her hands wide and took a deep breath. “Tell me, Commander Aimilia, how would you like to see the future?”
Aimilia’s heart ricocheted. She’d heard much about Hypatia’s abilities. She had her own doubts, but Marcella swore it was all true.
Nikias was going to kill her.
But considering Aimilia had no idea what her future held, she couldn’t resist the allure of answers. What was her future? Was it to be off to the side, just a secondary thought in Gavril and Marcella’s lives? Was it to take over House Mitis, now that her grandfather was gone?
Or… Was it something she was beginning to finally consider that she never had before?
Was Nikias her fate?
She said, “If you can show me the future, I would like to see it.”
Hypatia’s grin spread even wider. “Good. It’s harder with an audience, but I much prefer one.”
In a flurry of movement, Hypatia pulled out a bowl and a water skin from her bag. She gestured Aimilia closer, and Aimilia did so despite the feeling of shadows clawing at her skin.
Hypatia poured water into the bowl as the room began to be overtaken with the haze of the smoke.
She knelt on the ground as Aimilia knelt across from her at the bowl.
Hypatia pulled the water skin back once the bowl was full.
She said, “You didn’t see it while you were there—I don’t let many people do so—but I have a whole room designed specifically for Seeing.
However, I always keep what I need on hand so I can set up in a pinch like this.
It’s been helpful, considering how much traveling I’ve been doing the last few years. ”
Aimilia said, “How often do you do this?”
Hypatia said, “I’ve been given a rare gift few mages will ever possess. How often do you think I’m doing this?”
Aimilia was beginning to suspect Hypatia would never answer a question straightforwardly. “I don’t really understand how this works.”
Hypatia said, “Of course, you don’t. You’re an Inimicus.
You can’t. What I can tell you is I cast a series of runes.
We don’t know why they don’t work for everyone, but they work for me.
That’s what it means to be favored by Asentai.
But they don’t work for me every single time.
You also have to have enough magic as well as the right kind of magic.
There’s only so much of it I can control.
I can point my Sight in a certain direction, but I don’t control how far it goes or what exactly I See.
My Sight isn’t limited to the future either.
It’s much easier for me to see the past or present, but far less enticing, in my opinion.
And when I say See, I don’t always mean vision.
I always have water in case it is a vision.
But visions are the one of the rarer forms of Sight.
Sometimes it’s more a premonition, a feeling.
Prophecies are also rare, and then sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between a premonition and a prophecy.
It takes a skilled seer to know the difference.
We have very few skilled seers. I would go so far as to say I’m the only one. ”
“Have you ever had a prophecy?”
“No. I’ve had plenty of premonitions, though.
Premonition is more like a feeling. It’s just a sense.
It’s the hardest to convey to you, frankly, because it is entirely a feeling.
A vision, at least, I can see reflected, and if I have a witness, they see it as well.
That doesn’t make it easy to show you a vision, but I can’t make you feel a premonition the way I feel one. ”
Aimilia was frankly surprised Hypatia was sharing all of this with her. “How do you point your Sight in a direction, as you put it?”
As long as Hypatia was going to keep answering her question straightforwardly, Aimilia would take advantage of it. Who knew when that information might be useful?
“It’s easiest when I have an object or a person, if I’m looking for something related to a specific person.
For example, if I wanted to know about the future of Desero, I might hold onto a map of Desero with one hand, or a rock from my lands.
That in alignment with my runes usually does the trick.
If I want to know the future about a specific person, the best thing to do is to have them in front of me, putting my hands on them.
The second best thing would be an object they own, a piece of clothing or jewelry. A lock of hair, that also works too.”
“Is that why you brought me here? Why would you be interested in my future?”
“I’m not only here about your future. I’m simply offering. I have plenty of other things I would like to see. Shall we start?”
Aimilia stretched her hand out, the one with Nikias’ ring on it. “Let’s see what the future has in store for me.”
Hypatia grinned. She took Aimilia’s arm and gripped it firmly, but not painfully. With the other, she began casting and murmuring in her native language. It was familiar to Aimilia even though she couldn’t get the exact words.
She’d heard Marcella saying something that sounded similar to this that she called praying.
It sounded like Hypatia was praying. She didn’t know if that was part of the magic or not. While the Elemens were required to use speech in order to activate their magic the Runai didn’t.
But this was Sight, and maybe it was something else entirely.