[wattys 2018 shortlisted]
Humans see her as a dangerous threat -a witch that must be executed. With the uncontrollable ability to form ice at her fingertips, Ravenna is forced into hiding amongst the humans, stealing to survive. That is, until she h...
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A MASSIVE TREMOR vibrated beneath Ravenna's feet and her retort to Vyses' comment instantly died on her lips. Her gaze flickered around the room uneasily. Jagged cracks spread through the stones that surrounded them, turning the walls and floors into spiderwebs of terror. Another quake shook the room. The castle began to groan, the sound echoing throughout the halls, mingling with the chorusing sound of pebbles raining down onto the floor. Panic seared through Ravenna's core.
"We need to get out of here!" she shouted to Vyses.
He moved further into the room. His hands were outstretched, a meager attempt to maintain his balance as he walked. His right hand glowed bright red. "Hold on," he shouted back.
Ravenna watched as his glowing hand lifted toward the ceiling. His lips moved around a spell that she couldn't hear. A beam of red light shot toward the stones above their heads and immediately fanned out. It seeped into the cracks, glowing red spreading through the growing crevices like lava.
The entire castle seemed to freeze.
The silence that coated the room was an instant relief. Vyses straightened and lowered his hands to his sides. He sighed. "That should hold it for a while," he told her. "At least until we figure out what to do next."
Vyses walked closer to the corpse. He bent down closer and examined its face. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What exactly happened here, lass?" he asked.
"That used to be Tylat," Ravenna said, her tone matter-of-fact. Her jaw clenched and her nose scrunched up with disgust as she stared at the corpse's unfamiliar face. "I'm not sure who it is now. He snuck into my bedroom and tried to kill me."
Vyses frowned. He reached out, his fingertips lightly touching the dead man's chin, tilting his face to the left slightly. "I know this man," he said quietly. He stood and took a step back. "If I am correct, this used to be Tylat's assistant."
Ravenna arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"It is common for wizards to take on assistants, especially as they grow older," he explained. He gestured toward Lyth, who stood in the doorway, completely unfazed by the corpse. "Lyth is my assistant. His purpose is to help me with whatever is needed, whether that be basic household chores or magical aid. This used to be Tylat's. I met them once before, years ago when I was much younger. I don't remember his name."
"Why didn't we see him around the castle earlier?" Ravenna asked. "Surely we would have noticed his presence lurking around. This castle is impressive, but it really isn't that big. He would have had to have helped with preparing the dining hall for dinner."
Vyses frowned. "I don't have an answer for that," he said.
"I also don't understand why he was disguised as Tylat," Ravenna added. She folded her arms across her chest. "I didn't know his identity before this discussion —so if he had managed to murder me, his actual identity would have been safe. Nobody would have been the wiser."
