Page 102 of Light and Shadow
As suddenly as it first rang, the sound stops.
My heart drops as nothing changes in the cave.
Aaran grips my shoulder tighter, either in warning or from anticipation.
The back wall of the cave spins and glows a white-blue.
Elspeth says, “The oracle will see us.” She looks at me and smiles. “Try not to speak unless asked a direct question. I find these encounters go better if we let their wisdom come to us unhindered by a lot of questions.”
Despite thinking that she might as well ask me to stop breathing, I nod. I have questions that need answers.
I brace for the pain of a portal and follow Elspeth through. It isn’t terrible, painful, and nauseating. There is no harsh jarring or feeling of my flesh being ripped away. This is more like floating through a thick atmosphere. Then we step onto soft ground, and two women dressed in formal blue silk robes stand before a white castle built into the side of a mountain. The door is twice as tall as a man and equally as wide.
Elspeth covers her left fist with her right hand and lowers her chin. “Forgive our early arrival. Our first prophesied human has arrived and made a rather discouraging discovery.”
Brion and Aaran make the same gesture with their hands, and we all follow as the heavy wood doors open with no sign of anyone pushing or pulling. The walls are all white and unadorned. Through another door, ten elves sit behind a high desk that wraps the circular room. There is one opening to the center, and we walk through while the two who brought us in find their places. All ten, men and women, are dressed in the same blue of Elspeth’s flag. With hair and skins of all shades, they all look peaceful, as if nothing is amiss. Sconces burn all around the chamber.
The intimidation of the oracle is awe-inspiring. I’ve never seen anything so serene be so terrifying. It’s pretty clever how they’ve set this up to put visitors on edge. It’s working on me, and Elspeth’s advice seems sound. I keep my mouth shut while Elspeth recounts what I told her about Venora using water and fire to reach the Siar Fàilte continent.
In the center, a woman who might be thirty or a hundred and thirty stares at me. Her long white hair is unbound, and she wears a ringlet around her head with a round sapphire in the center of her forehead. “Harper Craig, step forward.”
My legs shake, which pisses me off. I lift my chin and do as she asks.
A flash, and she’s on my side of the desk, a foot from me.
It takes all my will not to back up. “Nice trick.”
Her lips twitch. “The oracle deciphered a tablet that brought us to you and two more of your kind. You must defeat the witch queen or Domhan will perish. Do you understand?”
Is she kidding? “I nearly died more than once to get here. Of course, I understand.”
Aaran’s voice is in my head.Gently, Harper.
The oracle turns her attention to him. “You are bonded.” She closes her eyes, as do the other nine.
I get the impression a conversation is happening that we’re not invited to.
After several uncomfortable minutes, she opens her eyes. “The oracle will protect the water. We have no sway in the fires of Coire. It is hoped your sisters and brothers will not encounter Bolcán or anything like it.”
“I don’t even want to tell you how many times I’ve been told we’re safely out of range of Venora, or how each time, the information was wrong. Are you certain that the witch queen can’t reach us here unless she goes through hell to get here?” In the back of my mind, Aaran advises me to ease up on the questions and sarcasm, but I push him away.
Staring into my eyes as if she can read everything in my mind, the oracle says, “No. She is resourceful and wants what we possess. She will always try to find a way.”
Since I’m getting honesty from her, I ask, “What is behind the Watcher’s Gate?”
“That is beyond our knowing. The gate was sealed by the old gods when your human world and Domhan parted ways. That is before any who live as the oracle were born. In your world, we’re stories passed down from mother to daughter, father to son. Myths and legends of no import. Those stories made it possible to bring you here. No magic could have worked if the hope of reunion didn’t remain inside your soul. You must come to us for training to gain control of the strong magic the oracle senses.” She closes her eyes again and the others follow.
Several minutes pass, and I begin to wonder if we’re meant to leave now.
When the oracle’s eyes open, they’re brighter, as if lit from behind. “Do you wish a union with the Riordan?”
“Oh. Okay. Change of subject. Um, is that relevant?” I have to make the leap that the Riordan is Aaran, and I feel like this might fall under the none of your business column. I’m sure I appear braver than I feel. I just can’t stand a bully, and this intimidation thing is annoying me.
She steps close, touches my shoulder, then we’re standing on a wide stone veranda that looks out over the land below.
I take a moment to regain my balance. The castle looks very small but brilliant white in the sunshine. Rolling hills, the river, and lakes shine in the distance. It’s too far to see, but I imagine the ocean beyond.
Aaran stands beside me, and his parents as well.
