Chapter 14 – Isolde
ISOLDE
Two bells later, our initial success in learning about the limiters was beginning to dim when footsteps approached from behind.
Anna’s—I recognized the unique pattern of her foot fall mixed with the sound of her crutch hitting the floor.
But someone else was alongside her too. I turned and smiled at my friends.
“We found something interesting.” Anna held up a book.
“Anna found it,” Duran corrected.
“About the magic?” Thyra scurried down from where she’d been scanning books and joined me.
“No, but still potentially important.” Anna thrust a book at us and pointed out a section. “It’s right here.”
“Read it out loud.” Anna had found it and was excited. I wanted her to get the credit.
My friend beamed and recited the passage.
“Documentation passed down from Queen Sassa Falk’s inner circle at court leads us to believe that the Shadow Fae were eradicated from Isila, not by an unforeseen force.
Nor primarily by magic performed by the queen herself.
But by powerful gatemakers. One, being of the Lisika line, died five moons after the Shadow Fae War.
Sources close to the family say that he wasted away. ”
“Holy stars,” Thyra breathed.
Luccan had claimed it was possible. Was this the proof we were looking for?
“The second gatemaker was a commonborn subject of House Virtoris. A sailor sent on a boat tasked to intercept a second wave of Shadow Fae forces before they made landfall. During that interception, the gatemaker created a gateway, sending the attackers on the ship elsewhere. She knew not where. Nor had she meant to perform such a feat of magic, but had done so out of necessity. However, after the war ended, she was commanded to journey to the Shadow Fae Isles and do so again. The second feat of magic cost her life.”
Anna stopped. “There’s more, obviously. The most important bit is that Luccan was right! Gatemakers banished the Shadow Fae. And it stands to reason they could bring them back too.”
“The problem being, of course, that we don’t have any idea as to where they went,” Duran added excitedly.
“Or if the two gatemakers sent the Shadow Fae to the same world. Some may be in the human world, and others elsewhere.” Duran looked up, as though he could see the stars in the sky, and the gods said to rest among them.
“Roar once said Sassa banished the Shadow Fae. I wonder if he really thought it was a joint effort? Or if he knew at all?” I frowned. “And, actually, Roar’s father was a powerful gatemaker. So it seems that power ran in their line. Thank the stars Roar doesn’t have that magic.”
“You’re sure?” Thyra asked.
Was I sure of anything when it came to that fae? Roar had hidden so many things from me. From everyone.
“No. Actually, I’m not.”
“Gatemakers have always been kept under close watch,” Duran said. “It would be natural to hide that talent. If someone possessed other powers, hiding such magic would be relatively easy.”
Luccan had done that. Stars, what if Roar wasn’t just a shifter?
“They’re not feared like whisperers,” Thyra added. “Not killed but controlled. Always under the Crown’s thumb in case the ruling king or queen wishes to use them. Or they rent gatemakers out to a kingdom where no such power exists. If I had that power, I wouldn’t tell anyone either.”
“Clearly they’re rare among Shadow Fae, too.” I chewed thoughtfully on my lower lip. “Maybe nonexistent. Or else they would have returned on their own, right?”
“That’s right.” Duran nodded enthusiastically “Shadow Fae magic differs from the magic the rest of the fae control.”
“As if we don’t know that firsthand,” Thyra snorted and gestured to herself. “If this power felt anything like our winter magic, we’d be able to sense our way through this issue.”
“At least we now have confirmation that a portal can be opened only one way,” I said. “By a powerful gatemaker.”
“True,” Anna replied. “We have to hope that the king doesn’t know of one. Or find one.”
Was Luccan powerful enough? He’d told me he was still early in his training.
“Set that book aside.” I rolled out my neck. “If we can take it with us, I’d like to read more.”
Anna nodded. “Will do. Any luck on finding information on the magic?”
“None. Which means we should get back to looking.”
Anna and Duran left, and I turned to my sister. “Today hasn’t been a total flop.”
She was silent for a long moment before replying. “Have you considered using the sword?”
I blinked and patted my hip. “This sword?”
“Is there another we ever talk about?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Go on.”
“If one of us gave it blood, and the shadows appeared, why don’t we ask it questions? To teach us or to find a book that could actually help us. They spoke to you, right?”
They had. Not to Thyra, though. Yes, shadows emerged for her, but it had taken so much blood that she passed out. Once she lost consciousness, they’d disappeared.
“We can try.” I gestured to the shelves filled with priceless tomes. “Away from the books.”
We made our way to the far corner of the library.
No one was in sight. There was so much information about the Shadow Fae, our friends hadn’t yet needed to delve so far back, and this area was far from the door.
From other fae who didn’t know our secret.
Careful not to make a sound, I unsheathed my sword.
“Ready?” I asked.
“I’m right here if you faint.”
I drew the blade across my palm, not my first choice, but my clothing showed little exposed skin. I winced as a shadow drifted from the blade.
Sensing that Sassa’s Blade needed more, I placed my bleeding palm on the zuprian steel.
The first time I’d done this I’d been facing a horde of orcs.
While this experience was still scary, at least I knew what to expect.
How it would feel. There was a pull of my blood as the blade drank in more and a shadow slowly teased out of the metal to form into a person.
I was beginning to feel light-headed when it bowed.
“Hi,” I said. “We’re shadow wielders too. Can you feel it inside me?”
The shadow nodded.
“Then, we were wondering, can you teach us how to wield our magic?”
It shook its head.
Thyra swore.
Before I could ask another question, the rush of air on my left alerted me to the fact that someone had joined.
“Bleeding skies! You two terrified me!” Thyra hissed, as both Livia and Astril appeared out of nowhere.
“We smelled Isolde’s blood.” Astril looked us over. “We thought someone attacked you.”
“Now we see we were wrong.” Livia watched the shadow with apprehension. “What are you doing?”
“We hoped it might teach us magic, but we were wrong,” Thyra said.
“More,” the shadow spoke, its raspy voice like jagged nails scratching rocks.
I shuddered, but if I wanted it to stick around, I had to comply. I pressed my bleeding palm into the blade again, shuddered through the pull. My vision dimmed, and powerful hands supported me from behind.
“She’s weak.” Astril’s head tilted as she listened. “Her pulse is slowing.”
“Hurry, Isolde,” Thyra whispered, concern plain in her voice.
I cleared my throat. Suddenly, I was very thirsty. “If you can’t teach us magic, is there a book in here that can? Can you find such a thing here?”
“I sense only one that will be of use.”
“Find it. Bring it here.”
The shadow looked at me.
“Do as she says. Stay out of sight, though.” I didn’t care if our friends saw, but there were library assistants at the door, and random fae might walk by.
The shadow soared away, and I slumped.
“A chair,” Astril said.
Livia moved to get one, then lowered me into it. Only three minutes passed before the shadow was back. With black fingers, it set the book in my lap.
“That’s all,” I croaked.
Maybe this book would not turn out to be exactly what we needed, but I couldn’t give more blood and stay awake. If we had to ask for the shadow’s help again, it would be in a few days.
The shadow vanished. I sighed and made sure my hand remained far from the book. “Thyra, can you read it?”
The weight of the tome lifted from my lap, but before my sister could find a place to set it, Astril bit into her arm. “Let me put this on that cut. It will heal quickly. No questions from others.”
I allowed her to cover my cut in vampire blood, and it worked its magic, sealing the wound quickly. I still felt woozy, but at least I was no longer bleeding. “Thank you.”
Astril looked to her sister. “Livia, can you get something to clean her palm?”
“I’ll be back.”
When three remained, Thyra studied me. “Are you strong enough to continue?”
“I am.”
My sister opened the book, and Astril leaned closer, her ruby lips twisted with disgust.
“That book is made of fae skin.”
“What?!” Thyra’s spine straightened in her chair.
“Shadow Fae skin, I believe. It’s unlike anything I’ve smelled, but it somewhat smells like your blood.”
My stomach churned. But then, something worse happened. Two tendrils of shadow appeared from the back of my hands and floated towards the book. They touched it. Caressed the paper. Paged through the tome. All three of us watched, mesmerized, not knowing what to do.
As it turned out, we didn’t need to do anything. The shadows stopped in their own time and, like the figure I’d summoned, disappeared.
Thyra leaned forward again and took in the page the shadows had opened to. A grin spread across her face. “Finally, we’ve got something we can work with.”