Page 39 of The Oracle's Journey

Ozanna rolled her eyes and gave him a half frown.

“Prick,” I huffed a laugh, got to my feet and started guiding Ozanna to the loft ladder. But I knew my brother would be dutiful and look out for her, especially if I wasn’t there.

“I’m going to work you harder,” Lobikno said in elvish as he closed the barn door. “She can practice endurance with that little candlelight. I won’t push. She might not have enough magic left for the child if she tries for more.”

“That’s fair,” I nodded. “Goodnight, brother.”

In the morning, we cleaned up after our horses, and I left a stack of silver coins on the farmhouse doorstep.

CHAPTER 16

Emma

Ialmost didn’t believe Lhoris when he said we could be in Bergellon within the week. The fact didn’t sink in until the seemingly endless forest had started giving way to more and more farmland. Bergellon had always just seemed so far away to me; it was almost an impossibility for it to be within reach. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was partly because I hadn’t existed as a whole person until just recently. That and I wasn’t accustomed to existing in just the present. My past was so unclear, and the future hadn’t tried to reveal itself in all its bewildering layers and possibilities since that last night with the elven bandits. I’d be lying if I said I missed that confusion. Instead, I focused on enjoying the freedom of the road and the time with the people I now counted as friends. Who knew how much longer I’d be free of my oracle’s talent.

For two days, Lobikno pushed Lhoris to practice speed, timing, and placement in summoning light and shadow while we rode. In the evening, they sparred, Lobikno posing as the attacker and Lhoris attempting to incorporate the new skills into his sword play. But the dour elf only occasionally goaded Ozanna to summon her tiny candlelight. She fell upon her food rations as though she’d been starving at each meal break. The little light was apparently exhausting for her.

During that time, I lost all but the feathers and fur of my altered form. One morning I woke up, naked aside from my fur, backside hanging off Eve’s bedroll. She and Judith made a fuss of putting me in the last dress that hadn’t been ruined or lost. Being covered in fur, I hardly felt like I needed it, but Judith would hear none of it.

Then training abruptly stopped on the third day. Looking pale and ill, Ozanna rode in Lhoris’ arms. They whispered quietly to each other. Somehow, Lobikno looked even more severe than usual.

When I asked if she was okay, Ozanna smiled and said that she was having a bad cycle. They hadn’t said anything beyond that, but I knew, somewhere in my soul, that a life had been lost. A flicker that hadn’t had a chance to shape itself. I gave Lhoris some of the herbs my physician back in Cudcona had given me for painful cycles.

Their quiet grief cast a cloud over my mind. I had divine powers ... could I have saved that life if I’d known about it sooner? For the first time, I consciously considered guiding the power instead of letting it guide me. I abruptly understood that gaining a better handle on it, or at least learning a little more self-control, was imperative.

I approached Lobikno when we stopped at midday for a break. He watched over all from a hummock on the right side of the road, forest behind him. On the left, a field had been allowed to go fallow for the season, its tall grasses waving in the breeze.

“Lobikno, can you teach me about magic?”

I would never have believed in a million years that anything could frighten that old elf, but the color practically drained from his dark face.

“Emma,” Lobikno gaped, “your abilities are far beyond anything I know about.”

I furrowed my brows. It wasn’t the right time to bother Lhoris, though his academic understanding had so far been my best guide. He and Ozanna rested in a mossy patch under a gnarled tree between the road and the field. I knew that Ozanna, discomfort still plain on her face, needed a break from riding.

“Well,” I said, still feeling the need to do something, “then would you teach me how to protect myself?”

Lobikno sighed and his face softened a little bit. “I suppose I don’t have anything better to do.” Grumbling in elvish, he hopped down from his perch and called to Eve. “Get over here girl and bring your mother this time.” With a glint of roguish humor in his red eyes, he put Ozanna’s sword in the older woman’s hand. “Just in case.”

Under Judith’s watchful eye, Eve and I practiced on each other while Lobikno gave instructions.

I enjoyed sparring with Eve, even though Lobikno would grumble and sigh whenever we got the giggles. But there was always a little spark of amusement in his eyes.

Eve had me by the wrist while we took turns practicing how to break that grasp, when I saw four dark figures move silently over the roadside hummock. I didn’t have time to say more than “Look out!” as they glided across the ground toward Lobikno’s back.

Lobikno turned and drew his sword and horseman's axe, the wicked spike on the back of it glinting in the sunlight. Lhoris untangled himself from Ozanna and sprang to his feet. He pulled his blade while charging into the fray. Ozanna called the rest of us to her, taking the sword from Judith. She stood on her feet, though clearly unsteady.

Three of the attackers couldn’t get past the brothers, but the fourth made his way toward us. Ozanna held him off for a few exchanges before I realized she might not beat him. Our assailant was driving her back one clash of swords at a time. Ozanna’s pale face was no less fierce, but her speed wasn’t there. He struck her temple with the pommel of his sword, and she toppled.

Hadn’t she been through enough?

I had to do something!

There was a sudden surge of hot, buzzing power within me, followed by an urge to squash that evil elf like a rotten tomato in the palm of my hand. I closed my eyes and visualized that tomato, held out a hand and clenched it into a fist. The foul juice and guts of it oozed between my fingers and fell to the grass at my feet in big, pulpy splats.

Eve and Judith screamed over the sounds of sickening wet crunching and popping. Then there was silence.

I was frozen in place, cold dread preventing me from opening my eyes, but … I had to see what I’d done. I’d either let my friend die, or I’d taken my first life with a sound mind.

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