The Raven's Curse Page 2

  Merlin made a sound of amusement.

  “Had I directed you straight to Magnus, you would not have learned why you’re different or that you’re not alone. Livia told you to stop your brothers from fighting Magnus and when you refused, she locked you up, but she made sure you could escape.”

  “I still don’t get why.”

  “Because I told her to. I foresaw many ways it could end. In order for you to succeed, Livia had to show you there was another way and you had to be determined enough to defeat the chimera.”

  “I don’t like being lied to, even if you think it’s for my own good.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Merlin divert his eyes. “Okay, so now can you tell us how to break Merlin’s curse?”

  “Not yet. Right now, you are needed on a quest.”

  “A quest? I’m not a warrior.”

  “This is a very special quest that only you can do.”

  “What?! Why me? I’m not special.”

  “You are, and you have an obligation.”

  I thought about it for a moment before I realized what she meant. “My mother did something, didn’t she?”

  “She hasn’t done it yet, but she has something very sinister planned. I foresee vary dark days ahead of us if she succeeds. Part of that plan is to kill others who have your power.”

  “My power?”

  “Seventh daughters of seventh daughters and seventh sons of seventh sons.”

  “I thought Livia and I were the only ones.”

  “You did?” Merlin asked. “Who gave you that idea?”

  “You and the others are a magical phenomenon that has existed since the dawn of magic on Caldaca,” Dessa said.

  “It exists on other worlds as well, but not as drastically,” Merlin added.

  “Then why didn’t I know about it? Did you know what I was when we met?”

  “It is not widely known, because sorcerers like your mother would hunt them. And yes, I knew what you were even then.”

  “How many are there?”

  “There are seven males and seven females, and they vary in ages greatly because if one dies, another is born. They are not all born to sorcerers or wizards, either.”

  “If you can bring them back here, I can protect them,” Magnus said.

  “Because you did a great job last time she attacked,” I said automatically. Merlin looked at me, as confused at my outburst as I was. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “It’s fine, Ayden,” Magnus said. “I know that this is very stressful for you. However, I take the protection of people very seriously. If you will go and convince them to come here, I will keep them safe from your mother.”

  I thought about it. I wouldn’t just be dealing with wizards or sorcerers. In fact, some of them would be young children. All of them needed to be taken somewhere safe. “Merlin, what do you say?” I asked in the wolf’s mind.

  “Can you turn it down?”

  “Can I leave a bunch of people out there with no idea that my mother is after them? No, I don’t think I can.”

  “I would expect nothing less.”

  “Are you willing to go with me?”

  “Of course I will go with you, young sorcerer. You never have to ask. Although, all of them being in one place, in public, can also make them vulnerable,” Merlin suggested. “Your mother could possibly be counting on it.”

  “Is there any chance my mother knows that you’ve had a vision of her attacking them?” I asked Dessa.

  “Sorceresses cannot oversee the visions of seers, and I haven’t spoken to anyone about it.”

  I glanced at Merlin and he nodded. “We’ll do it, but how do we get to them? We can’t travel all over the world and come back for each one.”

  “Here,” Magnus said, pulling off one of his rings and handing it to me. It sported a large green gem with a silver streak through it that moved in the light. “This is called a cat’s eye. Once you convince each person to come here, say Fluffy’s name into the ring. Fluffy will let me know and I’ll raise a golem to protect them and lead them back here.”

  “A golem? I thought that was only a sorcerer thing.” Golems were powerful creatures made of the rock, dirt, and clay, but they were under the complete control of the person who conjured them. Although golems were too slow to be great warriors, they were perfect for suicide missions. My mother had used the golems a few times, but she was more likely to send her sons, because we didn’t drain her magic.

  “Golems are created of magic, so they can be good or bad. Since I am a wizard, mine can only protect.”

  I slipped the ring on my right index finger. “How do I find these people?”

  “For that, I cannot help you. You will need to go to your aunt.”

  “Is she safe?”

  “She is safer now than she was when Veronica attacked her,” Magnus said. “I can transport you as close to her as Red Rock, and there should be a boat that will take you to her castle. I highly suggest you conserve your magic as much as possible.”

  “What about my studies?” I asked. I really enjoyed learning magic from Merlin, and I was making a lot of progress. Well, most of the progress was at focusing when he spoke. It also helped me to pay attention when I wrote the lesson down in my grimoire, which I realized was the entire reason Merlin made me write them down in the first place.

  “You need to be careful about who notices you,” Dessa said. “Your mother may have people looking for you. In fact, I suggest leaving behind your Dracre robe and your wand.”

  “No way. Those are the last two things in the world I would leave behind.” My wand zapped me through my pocket. “Ow! Sorry. And my staff. And Merlin. Those four things are the last… four things in the world I would leave behind.” She sighed. “I’ll put them away so they’re not seen. What about my brother? Have you had any visions of Thaddeus?”

  “I have, but all I can tell you is that he has his own journey, which will decide his future.”

  “Was I wrong to spare him?”

  “You are never wrong to follow your heart. You gave Thaddeus the opportunity to escape your mother’s control and turn his life around. Now the rest is up to him.”

  I nodded. I wanted the best for him, just as long as he wasn’t trying to hurt me or anyone else. If he turned out like our mother, it was my fault for letting him go. If he turned out like our father, I would be happy.

  After Dessa promised to return and tell us more about Merlin’s curse as soon as I saved the others like me, I went upstairs to pack. I grabbed all my usual supplies, plus my grimoire. When I went back downstairs, Magnus transported Merlin and me to Red Rock.

  Chapter 2

  We appeared in Red Rock with a bright flash of light. No one paid me any attention, but several people stared openly at Merlin. I was glad it was a large enough city with enough travelers passing through that no one recognized me from my first visit, during which I put the entire city in an invisibility bubble, or my second visit, during which I fought my brothers in the middle of town.

  It was a busy morning and people were opening their businesses or beginning their early morning shopping. There were a few children who gawked and pointed at Merlin, probably having never seen a wolf before.

  “This way,” Merlin said, leading me towards the beach. It didn’t take us long to reach the docks, where quite a few boats were stationed. “Try to find a merchant ship, rather than a pirate ship.”

  I nodded and studied the ships, which were all different colors, shapes, and sizes. “The two on the end are trade ships. They have a dark blue flag with a wagon. It’s the symbol of the traders’ guild.”

  “Good. You did bring currency, right?”

  “I have enough to get us to Livia’s castle, yes. Maybe I should just use magic.”

  “Save it for emergencies. We have no idea what we might face and when.”

  We started walking down the road towards the ships. “It takes practice to get better,
and I want to get as good at transporting as Magnus.”

  “I could not do that myself, young sorcerer, so if something goes wrong, there is nothing I can do.”

  “But you’re more powerful than Magnus.”

  “In most things, I am. However, transporting yourself across space as you do is impossible via real— I mean… magic of other worlds. With your wand and staff, you can do things that wizards of other worlds cannot. That does not make you more powerful, though, as we can do magic without wands and staffs.”

  I didn’t say anything, mostly because I didn’t want to frustrate Merlin, as he had told me this stuff before. It was also because I had stopped listening about halfway through and was instead watching men carry cargo on and off the ship. When we reached them, I picked the one with fewer men and tried to spot the captain.

  Merlin turned to look behind us, but he didn’t say anything, so I didn’t bother to look. When I felt a hand slap me on the back, I jumped. Fortunately, I managed not to shriek. This was probably because Merlin was so light on his feet that he often snuck up on me and I was getting used to it.

  “Ayden! Good to see you again!”

  Recognizing the voice instantly, I composed myself and turned to see Jevwen. He was about sixteen, slender, and very clean considering he was the son of the captain of a pirate ship. This time, his hair was nicely cut and his clothes were well-made, so it looked like he was doing better in life, not that he was lacking funds before.

  Jevwen and his father were definitely nicer than I’d expected pirates to be, but that was probably because I was a sorcerer, not a wizard. I wondered if Jevwen would care that I wasn’t a sorcerer anymore.

  “It’s good to see you, too. Is your ship around?”

  “My father’s ship isn’t. I left them about a month after we met you. I opened up a book shop in Red Rock for a while, but I missed the sea too much, so when I met Goola, I started to buy and sell books at sea.”

  “Goola?” I asked.

  He indicated one of the men on the ship. “He’s the captain of a merchant ship. I had to become a member of the traders’ guild to work with him, but at least we don’t have the pirate reputation.”

  “What about your father?”

  “Ayden, that is too personal,” Merlin said.

  “I miss him, but I really wanted to go my own way for a while. Someday, I’ll probably return. Until then, I’m happier here.”

  I nodded, since I understood his situation completely. He then introduced us to Goola. He looked every bit the merchant he was. His white undershirt had big billowy sleeves and his red velvet vest looked way softer than even my Dracre robe. His face and hair were clean, albeit smelling of salt water. He was also fairly tall and muscular, which undoubtedly helped him sell his merchandise to women.

  “Don’t I know you?” he asked.

  “I doubt it.”

  “I do! You’re the curse breaker.” He held out a hand and one of his men rushed forth to hand him a scroll.

  “Do you stand around waiting to hand him the specific scroll he asks for?” I asked.

  “Yes, that’s my job.”

  Goola unrolled the scroll for me to see a perfect drawing of myself, with a less-than-perfect drawing of Merlin.

  “That had better not be me,” he growled. “I am not a German Shepherd.”

  “Where did you get that?” I asked, putting my hood up to hide my face. The scroll had a language on it that I couldn’t read, suggesting it was from pretty far away from my homeland, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t reach my mother. If she wasn’t out to kill me before, she would be when she saw that.

  “It’s not anything to be ashamed of,” Goola said, handing the scroll back to his assistant.

  “I’m trying to keep a low profile right now.”

  He nodded knowingly. “Ex-girlfriend? We’re all running from someone.”

  Jevwen blushed deeply and disappeared below deck. “I need to get to the Island of Light. I know this isn’t a passenger ship, but can you take Merlin and me there? I don’t need a pickup or anything.”

  “Normally, I would rant about keeping my schedule, but since you’re a friend of Jevwen’s, I’ll do it. Not for free, of course, but for a fair price.”

  “Thank you.” Although Merlin was obviously uncomfortable about going back out to sea, he didn’t say a word.

  It took a while before we were ready to go, and when we did get going, I asked Jevwen what the name of the ship was.

  “Titanic.”

  Merlin made a choking sound. “The what?!” he asked, sounding half shocked and half sick.

  “Um… any reason?”

  “The former captain was a world traveler and named it after a ship of another world. From the stories, it was a legendary ship.”

  Merlin put his right forepaw over his eyes and sighed. He was very strange sometimes.

  * * *

  The ship was slow and we didn’t make it to my aunt’s castle until the sun was getting low in the sky. The castle was just as immaculate as it was when we first saw it, despite having been destroyed by Veronica. Since the islet didn’t have a dock, Jevwen, Merlin, and I got into one of the small boats and were lowered from the ship.

  Jevwen and I rowed up to the beach while Merlin flattened himself against the floor with his front paws over his eyes. When we reached the sand, I had to pull the boat completely out of the water before Merlin would even sit up.

  Once I half dragged Merlin out, I said goodbye to Jevwen and he returned to the ship. “Just out of curiosity…” I asked Merlin as we walked up the beach towards the castle. “Can you swim?”

  “I could once. However, I am not entirely certain I still can.”

  “Then why did you act like the water was acid?”

  “It was the rocking that bothered me.”

  “Because you’re a wolf?”

  He hesitated before answering. “I cannot be sure.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean? Did you get sick on ships before you were cursed?”

  “I have never been on a ship before Bloodbath’s pirate ship.”

  “Oh.” I was surprised; Merlin was more worldly than anyone I’d ever met. “I hadn’t been on a ship, either.” Merlin smirked at me. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  We arrived at the castle doors then and I decided not to push. Merlin believed in me more than I did, and I knew he didn’t lie to me. When I raised my hand to knock on the door, it opened. I was surprised to see no one standing there. “Hello?”

  Suddenly, Sonya burst up out of the floor in front of me. Fortunately, I had seen the ghost do this enough that I only jumped a little. “Hello, Ayden,” she said, smiling brightly.

  Having been murdered by her sister at the age of twelve, she had always looked like an old, abused doll. Apparently that had something to do with her not being at peace. Now, her blond hair was long, loose, and curly and her blue eyes were clear and lively. The paleness of her ghostly skin was more shimmery than sickly. Even her blue dress, which had been raggedy before, was now pristine. She resembled her mother quite a lot now.

  “You look happy,” I said.

  “I am. I enjoy having a mother again. She’s expecting you. Come in.” She moved aside for Merlin and me to enter. When we did, she led us all the way through the castle to the garden, where Livia was tending to the rose maze. The white roses caught the late afternoon light and seemed to glow against the dark background of the foliage.

  Livia turned to us, smiled kindly, and held her shears out to the side.

  To my shock, a hand reached out of the hedge and took the shears from her hand. Obviously, her magic guards had returned. “It’s nice to see you two again.”

  Like me, Livia couldn’t have looked less like a Dracre. Her long, golden blond hair was partially braided, partially loose and draped over her shoulders, her eyes were bright blue, and she wore white robes instead of the Dracre ones. She was a very powerful witch/sorceress with a fairly dainty ap
pearance.

  “I guess you spoke to Dessa?”

  “Yes,” she said, approaching us. “I have something that can help you upstairs.” She went inside and we followed her through the castle, up the stairs, and into a study. Although my aunt was a sorceress by blood, she had even less dark magic than I did. Her castle reflected this.

  The ceilings were high and the walls were decorated with gold art and extravagant murals. All of the furniture was old, delicately crafted wood with soft-looking, colorful fabrics and accented with glass and gold vases and statues. Huge windows let in lots of sunlight.

  The study had wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The fireplace, door, and window were the only sections of the walls not covered in books. Two high-back, green suede chairs sat facing each other in front of it with a small, low table between them. The table was mostly made of glass with a sturdy-looking redwood frame.

  “Would you like some tea?” Livia asked, sitting in one of the chairs.

  I sat in the other chair and Merlin sat beside me. “Yes, please. Merlin?”

  “Just water.”

  “Merlin wants water.”

  Livia pulled her wand from inside her sleeve and waved it at the table, where three cups appeared. I picked up the cup of water and held it in front of Merlin for him to drink. Livia waved her wand again and a small mirror appeared on the table.

  I set Merlin’s cup down. “What is that for?”

  “It’s a portable magic mirror. All you have to do is put a little magic into it and tell it what you’re looking for. It works just like a wand, except it shows you what you ask for instead of doing something.” She pointed her wand at the glass table, which instantly changed into a large mirror. “Give me the names of all living people on Caldaca with neutral magic in order of those closest to me.”

  Slowly, one by one, names appeared in white in a row, starting with Livia and me. I pulled my grimoire, a quill, and ink out of my bag, found a blank page, and copied all the names down. Then I tore the section of the page out, causing Merlin to flinch.

  “It is extremely disrespectful to tear paper out of a magic book.”