Hidden Magic

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Well, what is that supposed to mean? I was never any good at riddles." Valen gives me an irritated look as if I somehow offended him by asking him what his cryptic message meant.

"It isn't a riddle, it's a prophecy, one that warns of your certain demise if you don't listen to what it is trying to say. As to the specifics I can't help you." This time I was the one who looked at him with irritation, so after all that, he was just pretty much saying figure it out yourself? I thought they wanted to help me so that I would free Sira, but this didn't seem like help at all.

"What do you mean you can't help me? Sira said that you would know what to do!" He stares at me solemnly, not the least bit swayed by me trying to invoke his consort but more like wife into it.

"As a consort to Sira, I am forbidden in directly interfering with the lives of humans or the elementals. I've helped you all I can, anymore and the consorts will find it a violation and fight us until our magic is completely drained, and then we will certainly not be able to help you at all then." So, they wanted me to help them free a god, from the prison another god put her in, without truly helping me? Yeah, they were very useful towards the mission they had charged me with, the sarcasm in my thoughts was so heavy I almost wanted to say it out loud just to let them know how I felt about their so-called help.

"How are you supposed to help me when you can't actually help me? How am I supposed to figure out a riddle that could potentially save my life, when I can't bloody tell any of my friends what is going on! How am I supposed to free a god from another god all on my own! These are all things you can help me with, but now you are saying that you need my help, but you can't help me do anything?" I was breathing heavy by the time I had finished shouting at Valen who just stared at me steadily the entire time, as if what I had to say, what I was worrying over, meant nothing to him.

"We can help you, but with our magic levels the way they are, we will only be able to protect you once, one time when you desperately need it, and then we will be able to help you no more. That prophecy alludes to multiple dangers, and we cannot protect you from all of them, and I think that you will find now that you've found the source of your dreams, other things that you could not do before, have become options to you. I am sorry Karinna, that we are asking so much from you, yet have so little to give. This is all the help I can give you now, I have faith you will figure it out." Valen takes a step away from me, and shadows spring up from no where and envelop him, transporting him somewhere else, likely far away from me.

"Don't die before you free Sira." Osiris' parting words were about what I expected of him, the man cared nothing for me, though I imagined based on his attitude he cared a great deal for Sira, strange that he treated the person who was supposed to help free her, so coldly.

"Ignore him. He isn't usually so grouchy, you just remind him of Sira, it makes him very touchy right now. You'll figure it out, Dove, look how well you figured out the dreams." With a soft smile, Makin steps into the shadows and disappears as well, leaving me alone with Ezra and Landon.

"I don't think I can do this." Landon gives me a soft look, which only makes me wince, they had so much faith in me only because I reminded them of Sira, I would probably end up dying because I wasn't the right person for this job.

"You can and you will, don't say you can't, because the moment you believe something is impossible, you've already lost the battle, and if I know one thing that is most alike between you and Sira, it is that you are not quitters, don't become one now, because if you don't free her, no one else will, the shadow branch will become extinct with no one left to bond people to it." It was a heavy thing to know that the weight of all future Sira branch members relied on me finding and freeing the Goddess who was responsible for the element I wielded, I wasn't sure I could bear it, but I suppose Landon was right about that at least, I would die trying, whether I succeeded or not was yet to be determined and I wouldn't let doubt and fear control me.

Ezra stares at me silently as Landon disappears just as quickly. "Why do you all shadow teleport when I've been told it uses up so much magic, shouldn't you be saving everything you can?" He shrugs his shoulders, looking not the least bit worried about it.

"We've been doing it for over a thousand years, it has become a habit, and it uses much less magic for us than it does for your kind. You probably wonder why we are still using magic at all, and you're right that it is not just habit, every drop of magic we use trickles back to its source stronger than it was when it left, we know that the chances of that small increase in magic probably won't free her and yet...." He trailed off, but I already knew what he was going to say.

"You can't help but try to give her everything you can, you love her, I can see that all of you would do anything for her. It must be wonderful to be able to spend so many years with your consort." He looks off to the side, his eyes taking on a far away distant look.

"The years we've been together doesn't make our love any stronger, it was this strong back when we were only human, the years have only served to let us understand one another more, to know everything that there is to know about one another. There is benefits to having multiple spouses, Karinna, and I don't mean sex, but be careful who you trust." He stared at me meaningfully, as if trying to convey something to me, but whatever it was, it was lost on me, and he didn't seem to want to elaborate any further. "We're counting on you Karinna, don't let us down." He disappears just like the rest, leaving me in this forest all alone.

I began to make my way back towards what I hoped was Sira branch, I wasn't quite sure what I would do if I got lost in here, but luck seemed to be on my side, as it didn't take long before I could spot the glowing pink vines that covered the wall of the night garden. The door on this side of the wall was obvious, letting me soundlessly back into the night garden with minimal fuss, the hardest part was pushing through the large bush that helped conceal the door, I got more than one branch to the face, this plant wasn't alive, it's leaves, and branches just spread far, good for concealment, not so much for moving around it.

I look up in surprise as bright right hits my face once I finally free myself from the bush, I hadn't noticed in the forest because of the thick foliage, but sometime when I was with the consorts or speaking to Sira, the stars had disappeared to be replaced with the bright sun. I wander back into the lounge, startling Astra and Monica who were talking about something I didn't quite understand. "Maybe we should talk to Ezekiel..." But before Astra could finish, she spots me, standing there awkwardly, I was sure I looked a right mess, covered in dirt, with leaves and twigs all over me, but they didn't say a word, instead they rushed up to me with relief and worry on their faces. "Karinna! Where have you been! We've been looking for you all morning!" Monica waves a bandage arm in my face and when I see some black veins sticking out from underneath the bandage I wince.

"I even went into your room to make sure you weren't unconscious in the bathroom or something, not that your pixie appreciated my concern at all!" Now I felt terrible, I hadn't know so much time had passed while I was in the woods, I was just grateful today was Sunday and not Monday, meaning I hadn't missed any classes.

"I am so sorry, I fell asleep in the Night Garden after star gazing and then I..." I trailed off, not because something stopped my words, but because I realized that for the first time, I could say the words, I could tell them about my dreams, the forest, anything I wanted, Valen's words about things I couldn't do before, had become options to me. As well as Ezra's words about being careful who I trusted, knowing that they wouldn't be able to help me much, they had at least given me the chance to get help elsewhere, maybe this wasn't all up to me. "I have so much to tell you, things I can finally say that I wasn't able to before, but I don't want to have to repeat myself unnecessarily so please, can you grab Rebecca, Ariel, and Seth?" I tacked on Seth's name at the end after a momentary hesitation, something about bringing him into my circle of trust felt right, I suppose I would find out whether my instincts were right or not some point soon.

Not just about Seth, but about any of them, I would like to hope that I could trust them with this, but even if I felt like we were great friends, I had only known them for a little over a week, what true friendship could properly form during that small period of time, I wasn't sure, but I guess I was about to find out.