The Power Of Cithrí - A Chaol Westfall Fanfiction

Part 16

The library was dark, abandoned where I paced. Books scattered on thr tables nearby, random pages of family trees and the kings rules of magic facing the ceiling miles above us. Shadow chewed on the leg of a chair, her wolf teetj making quick work of it.

How was it possible? The exact same night I had dreamt of that girl dying, she did. It couldn't be a coincidence! In my dream she had been wearjng the same dress as the one she was found in, walking down the corridor her body had been found, and I had snapped her neck.
Then in real life it was the exact same, except I wasn't the one who twisted her neck so hard it made a one hundred and eighty degrees turn. I had been asleep all night in Saskia's bed, dreaming of doing it.

What was wrong with me? Was I a freak?! I had checked all the records, although few remained after the great purge. There was no history of anyone in my family having visions that came true. None. Not even on my mother's side. The only weird thing had been that at least one woman in each generation had never married, had all miscarriages, and yet lived on to see the next two or three generations. That is until my great great grandma came - she broke the pattern, marrying, bearing nine children and dying aged twenty eight. Ever since then all my female ancestors had died young in child birth. I ran my hand down the page, coming to my mother's name - Mora. Then the lines drew off that, twelve in total, I ran down my brother Harry's name - he had died aged fifteen when he had been caught under the wheels of a carriage at the illegal racing tracks. Then to my younger sister, only a year seperated us, along with the six foot of soil she was burried under.

Only four of us where still alive, and yet unknown to this book, Helsha was actually a cousin. I saw no mention of Korgan. He would die and be forgotten in our family line.

None of this explained what I had done! I had killed someone from the opposite end of the palace. In my sleep! I knew it was me who had killed her.

I had never dreamt of her being raped, that was on someone else, but I had been the one to snap her neck. I grabbed my cloak, tossing the books onto the floor so no one many know which pages I was reading. "Come Shadow, I have someone to visit."

The basement stunk of bloodbane, belladonna, and an assortment of other poisons. A cloud of smoke made the room invisible apart from the metre in front of me. I headed for the bar, in search of the illegal tavern owner. "If it isn't the princess of Cithrí." A voice, scratched by too many near death experiences, spoke from a figure, polishing a glass in his hand. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon after your last visit." He stepped into the light, his face was rectangulsr, his hair scruffled on his head and around his face. His glass eye rolled in its socket, his fingers with black nails stopped it, turning it to face me. The black dot on it, disturbing.
"Hello Eduardo." I hissed, reaching over and helping myself to a beer, I poured the top layer onto the bar. It looked clean. I sniffed it. It smelt clean. I sipped it and didn't die, please I set it down close to my body. Shadow was pressed agaisnt my leg, her fur standing on end. Her yellow eyes lashing out at anyone who came too close.
"Last I heard of you." Eduardo said leaning on the counter. "You were a wanted woman, for breaking your brother out of jail, who was scentaced to death for murdering your father. Odd little family thing you have going on there."
I bit my lip. "That was a long time ago, your informers are slow." I only knew this place from my last visit to Rithfold, I had come here in search of poisons, and unfortunatly, to my embarrassment I had ended up playing hours of poison games.
"I am looking for someone to talk to."
He chuckled, his teeth black and rotting in his mouth. "Then you have come to the wrong place, no one talks here for very long."
"I hoped you would know someone who could..." i took a deep breath. "Inform me on visions."
He chuckled again. "This is a place of poison, y/n, everyone here has had visions."
"Visions coming true." I interjected.
He leant back, setting the glass down, his one eye gleaming with mischief now. I would have to be careful of what he said. I'm sure he would gain a lot of power if he could own the crown of killing a child of Cithrí. "Knowledge comes at a costly price in these fine parts."
I flipped a gold coin onto the greesy counter. He didn't bat an eyelid. "If I wanted gold I would mug a Lord." He reached over the bar, his fingers running down the stitching of my cloak. "I think a princess like you would have a lot better price to offer."
Shadow jumped up, her paws on the counter and she snapped at his fingers. Her teeth now easily the size of pocket daggers. They were pristine and deadly, shining in this dump. Eduardo hissed at the wolf, cradling his almost lost hand into his chest.
I sighed and reached for my belt, it was one I wore on special occasions, ones like these. I pulled out a vile and pushed it over the counter. "A poison from Melisande, kills a man like that." I snapped my fingers with a click. "Only after five minutes you've had to escape far away."
He smiled, examining the colourless liquid. "Five minutes is a long time."
I leant over to his ear. "Long enough to kill the king, and leave rifthold should a boat or horses be waiting."
He set it back down. "I still think you can do better, afterall you seem keen to meet this someone."
I growled, Shadow's paws still on the counter, her claws like an eagles talons.
I pulled out another vile, this one burgandy like wine. "This one is very expensive Eduardo." He reached out to snatch it up, but I held it back. "It had better be a very good person with lots of knowledge!"
He scoffed. "Have I ever let you down?"
It was true he hadn't, but then there was still time for that. I reluctantly passed him the bottle. "From the ruins of Morla, it bursts the membranes of every cell in the victims body, so they drown in their own fluid, whilst causing their skin to crack like a lizard so only the scaly carscet remains."
He gleamed with joy, pocketing both poisons and the gold coin. "Very nice princess. Follow me." And he stepped out from behind his counter, shinking a good four inches as he stepped off the block. I followed him through the murk, bald, bearded men, all smoking a roll between their lips watched us as we walked past.
"That's a big wolf." Eduardo said, psuhing open a door that looked like someone had been hiding behind it whilst others tried to break it - with an axe. He pushed past a stranded curtain of beads. "What breed is she?"
"Grey." I replied curtly, keeping focus as to where he was leading me. He stopped before a white curtain splattered with blood, thankfully from the way Shadow sniffed it, I knew it wasn't human, more likely pig.
"Here you are princess!" He jabbed a thumb at the curtain, either behind this door lay a trap, or a real vision explainer. "Yet again, it has been an honour dealing with you."
"Eduardo!" I snapped, resting my hand on my dagger. "If I should find for any reason that this is a trap, I will come for you, and I will show you the pain those poisons can inflict."
The little man gulped but managed a black smile and tottered back the way we had come, vanishing into the smoke.
I pushed the curtain aside and stepped in.