Ch 26: The Taunting of the High Sorcerer

Over and over, Astasha replayed her conversation with the demon, taking the puzzle pieces and trying to force them together. But nothing would fit, none of it made sense, and the picture refused to form. There was nothing that gave a clue as to who the accomplice could be, no hints as to what might happen next. And despite multiple attempts to reach out to Errant, he still had not come. With no idea of what Helia had done or said, if anything, Astasha’s suspicions grew and her anxieties multiplied.

She poured over the pages of history and spells hoping to find something she had missed, but nothing was standing out. Frustration set in and she longed to be back in her bed with Cal, laughing and making love, not worrying about what was happening or going to happen. But all that did was shake the protective shield around her heart.

Astasha slumped back in her seat and took a deep breath. She wondered what Calder was doing and gently tugged on the magical tether leading her to him. From its direction, she could assume he was still busy with his father in the War Room. Had he felt all the emotions she had been going through? Hers had been so strong she hadn't noticed if she had felt any of his.

Closing her eyes she tried to separate the ones she knew to be her own, but there was simply more frustration. Would it be all that surprising for him to feel the same at this moment? She had no idea what kind of things he was being thrown into now that he had returned and was free of the demon. Running a kingdom was no easy task.

Tasha blew out a deep breath. Thinking about Cal wasn’t helping anything. She needed to speak to Errant. He needed to know there was a possible imposter. And if he wouldn’t come to her at her request, she would make him come to her out of necessity.

Her mind made up, she stood and walked to her door, opening it to see Zephyr, standing silent, his eyes closed in concentration. The sound of the door pulled him from his meditations. "Sorceress Astasha, how are you feeling?"

His gaze was kind and she could feel the warm genuine nature of the old man. She smiled and tried to send back a calmer energy than what she knew she had. “Physically, I am doing alright, thank you.”

He smiled back. "I am glad to hear your health is withholding."

"There hasn’t been any word from the High Sorcerer has there?”

Zephyr shook his head. "Alas, I am afraid he is still occupied with the King and cannot be summoned."

Astasha sighed. The two of them had made several attempts to contact Errant, but according to the air sorcerer, he had made it extremely clear that he was not to be disturbed unless it was an absolute emergency. Despite her claims that it was, Errant refused to come unless he was told specifically what the problem was, which she was not willing to reveal unless in person. And so, they were at an impas. He had left her with no choice.

Astasha had made it a point not to cross the threshold seeing as it would set off the barrier spell, alerting Errant that she was no longer in her room, but since he was choosing to ignore her, it was the only way left to get his attention.

“Please, Zephyr, this is extremely important. Perhaps you could escort me personally..."

She took a solid step out of her room.

“Sorceress!” Zephyr’s eyes had gone wide as his hands went up. “I am sorry dear, but I must insist you remain in your room."

Shielding her true intent, Tasha quickly stepped back. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking! With everything that's happened, I'm just a mess."

She knew Zephyr was reading her energy, but she had always had a good relationship with the old sorcerer, and she knew he wouldn't be angry or upset with her. “I understand, I can only imagine. I'll try to call out to Errant before he becomes too worrisome, let him know it was an honest mistake.”

The Wind Sorcerer closed his eyes and focused, no doubt trying to tell Errant that the barrier alarm was false. She only hoped he didn't believe it. "I'll just retire back to my room, I'm so sorry again Zephyr. Please let me know if there’s any word from him.”

Zephyr opened his eyes and nodded to her. "Of course Sorceress."

She closed the door behind her and prayed to the Gods and Goddess that Errant would come. She couldn't help but let out a small smile when she heard his voice echo down the hall outside a few minutes later.

"Where is she?! Is she secure?"

He clearly wasn't happy and there was a small amount of panic in his tone.

Before Zephyr could respond, Astasha opened the door. "Yes, High Sorcerer, I am secure, the demon is still secure, however, there is an urgent matter that must be discussed if that is to remain the case.”

Errant came to an abrupt halt before her. “If I didn’t know better I would say that sounded like a threat.”

“Not a threat, Errant, a warning. Please, hear what I have to say.” She didn’t wait for a response, it was now or never, whatever the consequences were. She hoped her instincts about Zephyr were correct because he would now know the biggest secret she had to keep. “The demon, it spoke to me while I was unconscious after the Extraction Ritual. It spoke of a woman, a woman I believe it’s working with. It said it would find someone to release it. I don’t know if that’s the same person, or someone the woman will find, but whoever they are, they could already be here, within the castle. The demon was too calm, too sure. Please Errant, you must believe—“

“How have you not mentioned this before now?!”

“Because there hasn’t been the appropriate time. That’s why I’ve been trying to reach you, to get you to speak with me—“

The High Sorcerer's jaw was clenched so hard it looked painful. “There was plenty of time to speak of this in the healing ward.”

She could sense doubt and judgment coming off of him and her heart sank. She knew this wasn’t going to end well, but she had to try. “I didn’t want to risk exposing what I knew to a potential accomplice.”

He scoffed at her. “The only people in that room were members of the Advisory—“

"Yes, but what if it’s someone on the Advisory, High Sorcerer?” She could feel the energy shift immediately, Zephyr’s to shock, and Errants to absolute fury.

"Sorceress Astasha!" Errant erupted and she tried not to flinch. “The nerve of you to make such an accusation, especially when last I checked, it was you that had been charged with treachery? Need I remind you the only reason you still carry magic inside you is by some dark tie you have to the Crown Prince? For all I know it is you who is actually in league with the demon and this is all a very clever act to gain control and access to more information."

“Maybe it is me. You are welcome to investigate that theory. I would welcome it. But perhaps, it isn’t, perhaps it’s a certain other fire witch who happened to arrive just as all of this was unfolding, who seemed far too interested in knowing more information about the demon and what it had said about working with someone. Tell me, High Sorcerer, did you even bother to try to authenticate the genuine nature of your old lover when she came to take my place? Or would that have meant you would actually have to pretend you used to be human?”

The wave of energy that came off of Errant could have shattered windows. Zephyr actually had to step back and Astasha braced herself. “How dare you! You make judgments and accusations of things only you seem to be guilty of. I see only one of us standing here who has tainted their vows with pleasures of the heart and flesh, ones that you seem to have plenty of time to indulge in while you claim a potential imposter roams freely. Again, I remind you, the only reason you are not laying on the ritual table as we speak is because of some dark magic you have entangled yourself in and the fact that the very woman you seem so quick to slander has made a desperate case for sparing you, although I don’t understand why considering it seems it would solve many of our problems to just be done with you.”

The very air seemed charged and Astasha dared not move or speak.

Zephyr took a gentle step toward Errant. “High Sorcerer, if I may—“

“No, you may not.” Errant’s eyes never left Astasha. “Not a word of this is to be breathed to anyone. The last thing we need is everyone in a panic over an unfounded accusation based on what very well could have been a manipulation of the demon to pit us against each other.”

Zephyr nodded. “Yes, High Sorcerer.”

Astasha still hadn’t broken her gaze. She refused to let him think she was weak by bowing down to his wrath. She knew he was correct that the demon could have been messing with her, but if he had simply taken the time to actually talk with her, it might not have come to this. “And what if it isn’t a manipulation?”

“Enough! I swear to the Gods if you dare to speak again, I shall not think twice about silencing you, no matter what his highness does to punish me. You have done enough damage to last a lifetime, I shall not stand for any more.”

Neither moved or said a word, and then, with a wave of Errant's hand, the door slammed shut against Astasha's face and she heard him storm off down the hall. She realized she was shaking and leaned her forehead against the door, trying to steady herself.

She had pushed too far. She knew it was more likely than not that Errant still had feelings for Helia, but his reaction made it clear that he was incapable of being objective when it came to her. Which meant Astasha had no way to trust that he would make sure she wasn’t in league with the demon.

Once he had cooled down from their encounter, Astasha knew he would look into the possibility of an intruder. She may have pushed a button he didn’t know could be pushed, but he was still the High Sorcerer and she trusted that he would follow his intuition. Now she just had to hope he would follow the same choice as he had before and pick his job over his affections when it came to vetting Helia.

If he couldn’t though, it was up to her to find out the truth about the other fire witch. She needed to decipher the demon’s puzzle, and if she couldn’t work it out, it had to be because she didn’t have all the pieces. She needed to speak to the one who did. She needed to find a way to talk to the demon again.

Pushing herself off the door, she hurried to the bookshelf that stood in her workshop and began tearing through the many scrolls and books upon it.

Snatching an armful of items off the shelves, she dumped them on her bed and settled in. Page after page, scroll and scroll, she searched for the right spell, or combination of them, that would allow her to slip back into the trap within herself and speak to the vile creature encased there.

Time slipped by and finally she found a way to put herself into a deep meditative state that she could control. Now, however, she needed to find a way to protect herself from the demon latching on and pulling himself out with her.

How had she been able to escape the trap and not bring him with her the last time? What was it that had brought her out?

Calder. It was the love and power of her Prince that had shown her the light while keeping the demon in the darkness.

The realization hit her and she took a deep breath. His scent filled her nostrils. It was like rain in a meadow, deep and earthy, but with a hint of spice and a subtle touch of musk. Slowly, her hands slipped from the page she was holding, gently grazing the bedsheets. They were still in disarray from their night together.

Closing her eyes, the memories came flooding back. His smile against her lips, his eyes watching her every move, his body pressing against hers, his words that spoke of love and devotion. And just like that, the ball around her heart, protecting her from all she dreaded to feel, melted away. She couldn't keep her feelings for him locked away like that. And with the melting of her barrier, so came the falling of her tears.

Suddenly she felt so alone. So lost. So empty. All of the pain of being parted from Calder, the sting of Errant’s words, everything had come crashing down around her so quickly and now the full force of it was hitting her.

She missed Cal more than she could bear and it hadn't even been a full day since they had parted. All she wanted was to have him by her side, comforting her, helping her to find the answers she was seeking. But she knew, there would be no comfort, no aid. He would never have his arms around her, or wipe her tears away again. She truly was alone.

Slowly her sorrow overcame her, and she laid herself down and curled into herself, clinging to the bedding, to his smell, to her memories. She wept until she had nothing left to cry and the exhaustion overtook her, and finally, after days of restlessness, she succumbed to sleep.