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Chapter 42 - Air
Metheus
The attack was sudden but no longer anonymous. Time was running out for either them or me. It must be that.
It started with a large funnel of smoke entering the courtyard. Mercifully, it stopped there, spinning and spinning. It broke the fountain and all my father’s little knickknacks into smithereens. The palace’s front door flew open. Paper and leaves swirled around the place, making a mess. At least, it had not smashed anyone on the walls. We needed to count our blessings.
Then, there was quiet. As the dust settled, the intruders entered the palace. In the middle of it was a tall woman with pale blonde hair. She contrasted with the rest of her group, some of which had the dark skin of Rama and others the honey complexion of most of Arrowspear, something close to mine – a blend of Rama and Prozeus.
“Is that not an air witch?” whispered Samara.
“Do you recognize her?” Leevar whispered back.
“Of course not. Even if she did come from the same continent, it did not mean that I knew her.” was the annoyed response from Samara.
“Aye, my lady,” Leevar said apologetically.
We were crouched on the ground, near the entrance to the Great Hall. Perhaps it was the right thing to do, but I felt like a coward. So, I rose to meet this witch, stepping out of the shadows. If it was a stupid thing to do, perhaps I should start saying my goodbyes.
“Good day to you,” I greeted ironically. “What brings you and yours here, my lady?”
“I am Olena of The Touch,” she answered smoothly. However, her melodic voice revealed more of her origin. She was an air witch.
“What is an air witch doing with The Touch?” I asked, standing inches from the woman. She was about Luella’s height, a little over half a foot shorter than me.
She laughed. It was a taunting laugh. Of course, I knew why she was with The Touch. Air witches went with whoever was the most beneficial leader. They often get paid for their services. This air witch might have moved to Arrowspear a long time ago, though, because the ones in Mogochislenia were newly born ones, loyal to Queen Tamara of Cathrona, the wise new ruler of the north. Luella had gushed about her, revealing that the young queen was supposed to marry her brother King Samuel, but he fell in love with Erishkigal’s ward instead.
“I know you know the answer to that, fire stealer. The Touch has been searching for you and your family. We will kill you one by one.”
My blood ran cold. Did it mean that they already murdered my kin in Rama?
“Yes, we are done with your blood in Rama,” she revealed, reading my mind. “Except for that one girl.”
Rowan!
“You need her, don’t you?” I taunted, biding my time.
“It was never about us being fire stealers,” I said as calmly as I could. “You want us because my mother left, and nobody could leave the Touch.”
“You are right, King Metheus. We are hunting you down because of a betrayal from a long time ago…” her voice trailed off, but she had a smirk on her face and a glint in her eyes.
“and something else?” I hazarded a guess. “Something to do with power and the Ninurta?”
The air witch narrowed her eyes. I had guessed a part of the truth, and she did not like it. She should shut her mouth if she did not want people to know her secrets. I was fortunate to have to deal with a chatty one. She was better than any vision and sound from the Seers. She was there in the flesh.
“The love for power can be found everywhere, King Metheus,” she told me patronizingly.
Yes, I admitted it then. Aruna was right about my naivete. I did not want to think of the people of Arrowspear as power-hungry. My father never was!
“So, what will you all do with the power you will get?” I demanded.
“Power begets more power. Money. Gold.”
I frowned at that. The Touch could have asked the kingdoms for money, and most Arrowspear domains would have given them. We gave The Coven of Prozeus donations to keep them comfortable.
“What gold are we dealing with?”
I felt something tickle my brain. It felt like a Seer trying to dig into it. What was Samara trying to tell me? Unfortunately, I had no powers other than stealing fire and balancing energy.
