Page 61 of The Oracle's Journey

“Ah.” It was time to start putting our plan into action. “Yes, your Grace?”

“I’ve decided that the trouble that follows on your heels is too great. I’ve learned more about your clan, and I’d like you and your brother to leave. Your wife is welcome to enjoy the protection of my household, but that is all the shelter I can offer.” Nicolas’ youthful face seemed to age as the words fell from his tongue. They were things he wouldn’t have said if not for the ruse. He set a folded piece of paper on the book in front of me. “Here is a list of items that I am willing to spare for your journey. You will leave no later than sundown tomorrow night. I will give you no more time than that. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, your Grace,” I nodded and lowered my eyes, as if disappointed. “Would we be able to return if we resolve our troubles?” I picked up the note and closed the book.

“It’s possible. We could reassess your standing here if you return for your wife.”

“Thank you for allowing us to stay as long as you have, your Grace. I’d best go speak to my family about this.”

“Please, if you truly care about Emmelina,” Nicolas added, “you’ll tell her you’re leaving by your own good judgment.”

“I don’t like to lie to the people I care about,” I snorted, waving the thought off. “But for her sake, I’ll say it was our conscience that led us to the decision.”

“Thank you,” Nicolas nodded before turning to leave.

With a sigh, I opened the folded note. The men loyal to me all work tomorrow night, they won’t search the cart. Get whatever supplies you think we will need together during the day. Please gather common clothing for us. I’m going to scry when I return to my chambers. If you hear nothing of it, assume I didn’t glean anything useful. Now go have an argument with your wife. I snapped my fingers and incinerated the note.

I had an argument with Oz about her staying behind at the chateau. Obviously one I would lose. I then told Lobikno in the hallway outside the princess’s suite about our plans to depart the following evening.

The next morning, we told Emma about taking our leave. She was not only an excellent storyteller, but a convincing actress. She cried and moped and begged us to stay. Then she got angry and slammed the door in our faces.

I summoned Guille to stand guard for her. He was Nicolas’ most trusted friend and, from what the other knights had told me, a brutal fighter. Then we started packing our bags. Eve was upset with us as well, but it was to be expected. She wasn’t informed of the plan. Though she was still offered to pick up supplies from the quartermaster for me while Oz went into the nearby market to buy clothing for herself and Emma. With that done, we put together food and survival supplies. All the while we said our goodbyes to the good people of the Chateau de Bergellon, claiming we needed to leave for a family emergency. We had the cart packed before we took our dinner in the kitchen.

Finally, we went upstairs to say goodbye to Emma and Nicolas. Emma slipped out of her suite, apprehension plain on her sweet face, and disappeared under my shadow. Then we made our way to the duke’s room to say farewell, and he hid away under Lobikno’s shadow.

We made it as far as the entry hall before it fell apart.

I groaned in pain as a searing light shone in our eyes. I raised my hands to shield myself from it. Gradually, my vision adapted, but by then my concentration on maintaining the shadow over Emma faltered. Lobikno’s conjured shadows dissipated to reveal Nicolas as well.

The floor shattered under our feet, the sharp crack of a thousand tiles felt like daggers in my ears. Loose pieces of tile slithered beneath our feet; my light step unable to gain traction to flee. The shards formed jagged tendrils that snaked over our feet and calves, curling around our knees and thighs, the sharp edges cutting and scraping my skin. Then the hall was silent. The cutting tendrils halted, solidified, and held us in place. I drew my sword preparing for whatever might attack while we were held immobile by the bands of shattered tile.

A figure stood in the doorway of the great hall, with a knotty, crooked staff. A stout man, Ubras de Rais was bald with a wispy salt and pepper beard. His beady eyes were set in a broad, pockmarked face. His sallow skin was probably meant to be the same warm red-brown as his nephews, instead, it was pale, as if he hadn’t seen the sun in years. We’d been well prepared to run away. It should have taken longer for Ubras to realize that the Nicolas and Emma were not in their rooms.

“You’re not as clever as you think you are,” Ubras sneered at us.The brilliant ball of white light he’d summoned faded, along with the pain in my watering eyes.

Lobikno hurled a plate-sized ball of flame at the man to obfuscate the knife he threw right afterward. De Rais deflected the flame easily, but the blade embedded in his thigh. I pressed the broad side of my sword against the tendril encircling my knee. Its enchantment undid the spell holding the tendril together. The tile crumbled and my leg was suddenly free to mid-calf. I moved to press the blade to the tendril holding my ankle.

De Rais realized what I was doing. He cursed and reached out towards Oz, Lobikno, and me, muttering the words of a spell. My sword wasn’t strong enough to break it though. He closed that hand into a fist, and it felt as though an iron band wrapped around my chest, squeezing all the blood into my head. I couldn’t breathe. My vision tunneled and faded to black.

Emma

Ubras hobbled to Ozanna and Lhoris’ limp forms, the bloody knife from his thigh in hand.

“No! What are you doing?” I demanded, all but frozen in shock.

He grabbed fistfuls of their hair and roughly cut the anchoring plait out. He discarded the extra hair, just letting it flutter to the shattered floor like straw. Then a gaping maw opened under each of my friends’ limp bodies, swallowing them whole and blinking out of existence.

“No!” I screamed and tried desperately to find the chaos inside, to smash Ubras’ head, but the power wasn’t answering me. I looked at Nicolas, who was trying desperately to pull his feet and legs out of the tile claws, blood soaking his pant legs, cursing to put Lobikno to shame.

“Leaving yourself bound to something is so clumsy,” Ubras said, with a twisted frown, contempt in his eyes. He held the plait up for me to see. “Very sloppy, girl. Someone like me could just come along and use it to control you.”

“Uncle,” Nicolas snarled through clenched teeth, “let her go!”

“You’re done overruling me.” Ubras drawled. “Her powers are mine to manipulate now. Mind your tongue.”

Nicolas started screaming, and I realized my power was hurting him. It was coursing through me, directed by some part of me, but I was being directed by that bastard.

“Stop!” I screamed, squeezing my arms across my chest, as though I could somehow pull the magic back, or stop more of it from drifting out of me. Nicolas still screamed. “What do you want? Just stop hurting him!” I shrieked, tears streaming down my face.

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