Chapter 17 Awakening #2
This usurper is nothing more than a mite who has tried to take more than he is owed. Few should listen to the mutterings of a madman. He’s only been in the Underworld for a year, a blink in the life of an immortal. Surely, not enough time to amass an army.
Elizabeth caught a flash of her face, seen from his perspective. She was watching herself sit at the table with her hands folded in her lap.
Then, there’s the girl. How she vexes me.
She turns her nose up at nearly everything, choosing to stay mute unless addressed and spends all her time alone. Doesn’t seem to care for me at all, which complicates things. So very busy, she keeps.
Pretty as she is, I doubt there’s anything to worry about. It’s not like she could possibly figure out the truth of what is hiding within these walls. Pretty and extraordinarily simple, like all noblewomen.
Shame she’s not more clever, or I might have been genuinely interested.
She came to herself with a gasp. Returning to her own body, she felt like she was plunged into icy water. She gripped the table to tether herself back to reality. The wood was solid—real. Was that … Did she imagine all of that?
Were those his thoughts? Did he really think her to be stuck-up and simple-minded?
How cruel.
He hadn’t even tried to get to know her.
Heat flooded her cheeks—not from embarrassment but fury. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her expression even. She couldn’t let him see that his thoughts had wounded her—or worse, that she’d somehow been able to hear them at all.
“Elizabeth, are you alright?” Caspian asked her again.
She took a moment to regain her composure. “My apologies, Caspian. I seem to have choked on my water.” The lie came easily, but her voice sounded strained to her ears.
Caspian raised a brow, then turned and continued his conversation with Asmodeus. Cold, uncaring. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised. He sipped from his goblet, his teeth becoming tinged with red.
Simple, indeed.
Quiet didn’t mean simple. Intelligence was quiet, more often than it was loud.
“And you, Elizabeth? How have you been settling in?” Finnigan asked, his mustached face serious and unsmiling.
“I’m settling in quite nicely, thank you. How was your trip?” she inquired.
“Good. I had some business in the Winterlands.”
“How nice. It sounds like a lovely place to visit.” She forced herself to nod.
“An icy hellhole, you mean,” Asmodeus quipped from across the table.
Finnigan smirked. “It certainly is an icy wasteland, but my trip was certainly illuminating. Worth the cold, I would say.”
“Oh? Illuminating how?”
“I am searching for something. I heard a rumor it had been seen there.”
She smiled. “It must be a precious item indeed to justify travelling so far. What were you looking for?”
Finnigan gave her an annoyed look. “A rare and precious artefact. Something that mortals need not concern themselves with. It is an item of immense power, sought by witches and demons alike for centuries.”
“I see. Well, I hope you find whatever it is you’re searching for.”
He inclined his head to her.
Elizabeth studied Finnigan’s sharp features, trying to distract herself from what had just happened with Caspian.
The older-looking demon’s eyes had a calculating gleam that made her skin crawl.
He had been with Caspian for some time and seemed abrupt, bordering on rude, and spent most of his time travelling the realm.
She tried to see herself through his eyes: a young, untried, untested girl who had not seen much of this world and knew nothing of his.
Despite his rude nature, she sympathized with him in that moment.
As she watched Finnigan, that strange tingling sensation she had with Caspian returned behind her eyes. She tried to stop it, but the world was already shifting, and she was falling into someone else’s thoughts.
She saw herself through his eyes and felt an intense wave of dislike. There was distrust and a deep bitterness that coated everything in his mind.
Can’t tell the girl, must keep it secret. Don’t trust her.
The witch I found told me the same thing they all do. The amulet is long gone, and there isn’t a witch alive who remembers where it was hidden.
Wait, why is the girl looking at me?
“Yes?” he asked sharply.
Reality crashed back over her like a physical blow, leaving her dizzy and lightheaded. She murmured her apologies and quickly averted her eyes. Finnigan gave her a look of disdain.
After supper, she almost ran to the library. What was happening to her?
When she had first looked at the titles on witchcraft and magic, she felt like she was doing something forbidden, like touching the books would have her thrown in the dungeons.
But now, she felt like the angel had nudged her down the path of learning about magic, and she knew he wouldn’t lead her astray.
A gift, he had called it.
It felt more like a curse than a gift with each passing moment.
She wanted to know what was happening to her, but she was frightened that if she truly had magic, she wouldn’t be long-lived. What would Caspian do to her if he found out she could read his thoughts as easily as she read a book?
Furthermore, if she told a soul, and if ever returned to Rhodea, she might very well be the next witch put on trial in Calyx.
She ran a finger over the titles on the shelf and pulled one called ‘A Theory of Magic’ off the shelf.
Taking a deep breath, she made sure no one was watching and flipped it open.
Only witches can harness the power of magic as they are the devil-touched and therefore have a natural affinity to the arcane arts.
Magic can take on a variety of shapes and forms, depending on the intent of the spellcaster.
Witches often use incantations or herbs to direct the magic of the spell.
Potions, poultices, astrology, divining the future, moving objects, creating blessings or curses, and summoning and trapping demons to do their bidding are among the specialties and disciplines of magic.
It was interesting, but it hadn’t explained what the angel had done. This text seemed to suggest that magic was passed down through families. No one in her family was a witch or had magic. She would have known if they were.
She thought back on what he had said.
A gift for the woman surrounded by demons.
What could that mean?
***
The walls of her chamber felt suffocating after what happened at dinner.
Fiza was in her chamber tidying and struck by a sudden desire to be alone, Elizabeth wandered the halls.
She ran into Iago, who wanted to inquire if she needed anything, and other strangely shaped demon servants.
Wanting to be by herself and have some space from the demons in the castle, she retrieved her cloak from her chamber and ventured into the gardens.
She was enjoying her walk through the pathways in the gardens when she looked up and saw Caspian watching her from a window. She circled the garden again and glanced up. He was still watching her and hadn’t moved an inch.
Growing annoyed with the residents in the castle, Elizabeth sighed and edged closer to the castle grounds, wanting to be free of demons for a while.
The skies were gloomy overhead, and a cool breeze kissed her skin as she strode across the grassy fields, her boots squelching in the wet grass.
The mountains and forests loomed in the distance, and she walked at a leisurely pace.
Finally, alone, she inhaled the scent of the crisp forest air, feeling a deep sense of calm wash over her.
She pondered at length what the angel might have done, and why, and what would happen to her if she told anyone what had happened.
Was slipping into someone else’s mind something that she could tell anyone?
Or would it be best to keep it a secret—it was certainly not something that she could trust to a letter.
The sky had shifted from gray to deep blue before Elizabeth realized how far she’d wandered.
Suddenly, a dark shape darted across the field and into the trees. It was far enough away that she wasn’t overly concerned, but what in the world was that?
Dread coiled in her gut as the last light of day faded, and the sky turned pitch black. The hair stood up on the back of her neck, and she hurried towards the castle, but it was a small speck on the horizon, and much too far for any shouts to be heard if something happened to her.
She lengthened her strides, chastising herself for being so paranoid. It was nothing. Surely just an animal skirting around the underbrush. She was being silly.
The thing sped across the field again between the trees to her right—large and maroon. She didn’t run, but she did hasten her steps, having no desire to tangle with forest animals in the dark. Plus, what forest animal was that colour?
Risking a glance, she didn’t see its shadowy figure.
Hopefully, it was gone.
Elizabeth kept her eyes on the trees and hurried towards the castle. She had just relaxed when something sharp nicked her shoulder.
She whirled and was met with a face crafted from nightmares. Black and soulless eyes met her. The beast’s red hide stretched over protruding ribs, while curved horns jutted from its forehead, and its mouth twisted in a snarl. Her heart jumped into her throat.
It curled one of its long, black talons under her chin.
Hello, little human. How far you are from safety.