Page 60 of The Shadowed Oracle
She nodded, still seething.
“In a nutshell, you’re the only one that can stop Makkar because?—”
“Bullshit,” Ingrid said with a scoff. “I don’t know anything! I literally almost died five minutes into being here. No. You’rewrong. I’m not… whatever it is you think I am. I’m a liability! Not you’re fucking last hope.”
Tyla stifled a laugh with her palm.
“Well, that didn’t take long,” Raidinn said. He looked to Ingrid with that incendiary smile of his. “Fine, she says.”
“I’m fine enough to stick my foot up your ass.”
“There it is! The great Oracle and all her glory. Makkar must be shitting his pants about now.”
“Enough,” Tyla said. “Let’s get this over with.” She pulled out a chair, scooting close to Ingrid. “There’s a reason Makkar wants to find you. He wants you for your power, but more than that, he needs you close. He needs you in his control, or he needs you dead. There’s no grey area. Because you are the only being inanyworld that can match his power.”
The words nearly snapped Ingrid out of her rage. She shifted in her seat a little, trying to process the information. This, she realized, this was why Dean had evaded her question about what the King of Hydor was capable of. He didn’t want to give specifics. Didn’t want to go down that road, the road that led to this. To her importance.
Makkar was the most powerful Viator in all of Ealis, Dean had said. And if Sylan was the greatest swordsman, the most skilled soldier, some kind of walking anti-magic charm, then…
“What is Makkar capable of?” she asked.
“World-ending,” Raidinn answered with his usual bluntness.
“Could destroy all of Earth all by himself, if given enough time,” Tyla followed. “He isn’t just a practitioner of the old rites. He’s a summoner. A Magus. A god damned bloody sorcerer. And once he has enough power, he’ll turn Earth and any opposition in Ealis to ashes. Just like his ancestor tried to do thousands of years ago.”
Ingrid moved her mouth, expecting words to come out, questions flying, but none did.
“Makkar isn’t the first to invade Earth,” Dean said. “He isn’t the first to do any of this.”
Raidinn scoffed. “Lousy mimic.”
“Who else?” Ingrid asked exasperatedly.
Dean started, but thought better of whatever sat on the tip of his tongue. He looked to Tyla instead, imploring her with a nod to use some of her feminine finesse.
“In the first days of this civilization,” she said. “There were two great rulers. The Oracle, Izadora, a peaceful Queen in the East. And the Magus, Gannotar, a great and powerful warrior King in the West. Together, they built this world up to what it is today. Castles and cities carved into the great mountains. Civilizations coexisting with the forests and rivers. A perfect harmony. For thousands of years, Viator lived like this, and there was only peace. Only life.”
Tyla stood and calmly walked to the window, beckoning a still slow-moving Ingrid to join her. She did, and together they peered into the forest, out into the wilderness from whence they’d come, marveling again at the dazzling vibrance that seemed to glow from every tree, every plant and flower.
“But somewhere along the way,” Tyla went on. “Viator succumbed to greed. Instead of being grateful for their eternal life, they grew restless. They wanted more. More power. More glory.”
With a small gesture, Tyla alerted Ingrid to a grove in the distance.
The Oracle assessed the scene a moment before giving a questioning glance. “What is it?”
“Out there,” Tyla said. “Look.”
It took a minute of scanning before she registered the toppled-over conifer, reminiscent of the smaller tree she’d hidden in earlier. It was gargantuan, its pine cones the size of her head, and leaves like ship sails. Then Ingrid noticed the trunk ofthe tree. There was a distinct, blackish rot slithering up the side and extending out to the branches. The inky disease had spread, infecting nearly everything nearby.
The sheer overwhelming beauty of the forest had blinded Ingrid to the cracks, the death, the signs of decay. And now, the more she looked, the more she saw of it. It was like the forest’s veins had been stained black with pulsing poison.
“With the warring and greed came a scourge on Ealis, just like the one happening now,” Tyla went on. “The Oracle Izadora believed it was the circle of life and death, the necessary suffering to make way for new growth, new life. But the Magus, he believed it was Ealis asking for nourishment. For even more death, even more flesh, more sacrifice.”
“Sound familiar?” Dean asked.
Ingrid looked to him in acknowledgement, seeing a deeper root of where his impatience and anger came from. He shook his head, then glanced up at Tyla, urging her to go on.
“The Magus started sending soldiers through the portals. Into Earth. To cause chaos. A living, bloody nightmare. Because chaos, he believed, bred life. From the death on Earth, great vitality and power would come to the people of Ealis.”
