A Raire Gift

Chapter 11

I brushed Stardust down and put away her tack. Herl's hand glanced against my lower back as we walked from the stables to the dorm building.
Lina stood in the doorway, waiting. She raised an eyebrow when she saw us, covered in dirt and bruises. "You were gone awhile. After some weedling, Nanya told us what happened this morning. Her side of it anyway."
I sighed, I had hoped they'd forgotten. I didn't really want to explain the dream when I still knew nothing about what it meant. "And now you want my side?"
She nodded. "I can see you don't want to talk about it, but from what Nanya said I think you should."
Herl and I followed her to the library, where it seemed everyone had been waiting. Flette was the first to notice us, "Audrey, why blood? Whose blood was it? And why didn't you mention this before?" He sounded almost shrill. Despite his angry tone, I could see his hands shaking in his lap. He was worried.
I sat down beside him and squeezed his shoulder. "I don't know what it meant. Honestly, I just worried about getting you all involved when it was still so muddled in my own mind." I noticed that Marc, who sat on Flette's other side, was resting a hand on his back.
Herl sat down on my other side, where he barely fit. After a moment, I started speaking. "So, I guess I should start by saying I have no idea what they were referring to." And I told them all about the dream. About how I had waded in blood, and been told to make a decision without knowing what that decision was for.
When I finally finished, the group fell silent. "So," I began again. "To sum it up, I had a conversation with gods. As a result, I was ill for a time and woke up with my feet stained red."
Lina groaned, "Of course you did." She sounded defeated. "Why am I even surprised? As it is you have very.." she hesitated, "odd Magik."
I frowned, but before I could abject, Marc spoke up. "Not to mention a skill for falling into the most troubling situations."
At that, I broke in. "Now wait a moment, that isn't true." They stared at me. "Okay, so the bandit thing could have happened to anyone. And it was your idea to challenge me with that elemental." I pointed out.
I heard a slow exhale from beside me, which was followed by Herl's voice. "They're right though. Something about you is strange, it's almost like you draw unwanted attention simply with your presence."
I nudged him with my elbow. He winced, and I was reminded of how many fresh bruises we both had. Sorry I mouthed.
He shook his head. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but you do draw strange attention. Do you know how rare it is to encounter a god from the divided road? Much less all five of them. And I've never heard of the blood, or waking evidence that it was more than a dream."
I had to give him that. It was odd.
Flette spoke up from my other side. "Yeah, and let's not forget; on the topic of the bandits, you had them soul sworn. I don't care how much natural talent you have, you had no way of knowing how to bend the energy into that form. It's a high-level craft. If you want to ignore your affinity for strange situations, stop getting yourself into them." He still sounded angry, but his voice was at a much more normal pitch now.
I thought back on the events mentioned. I had been taught how to form a soul oath, right? I could swear I had been. And yet no matter how I looked at it, I remembered no such lesson.
I shifted uncomfortably, still squished between Herl and Flette, who were both staring at me with differing expressions of exasperation.
I looked over to Lina, only to see a similar look on her face.
Finally, I glanced toward Tena, who had remained quiet so far. When I saw his expression, something cold went down my spine. The expression itself wasn't so odd, but it looked out of place on his usually open face. He looked at me with something detached. An intense focus and curiosity that left no room for emotion.
I cleared my throat and glanced away. When I looked back, he seemed his usual self. I took a deep breath. "Okay, yeah, I get the point. I may run into a few unusual confrontations. But really, none of them were strange enough to explain a visit from gods."
Finally, Tena spoke up. "I'm not so sure that's true. You know things, we've discussed this before. In a fight, you react before there's something to react to. And you knew how to bind someone into a soul oath without having been taught. You told us you felt like you were being observed, and it turned out you were. Lord Gavel wanted you in his class and kept an eye on you. I'd say all that is reason enough for a god's visit. I don't know if all those things happened because you already have a connection to the gods, or if their interest is a result of your abilities. Either way, something is off here."
I licked my suddenly dry lips. A thought had occurred to me, and I wanted to dismiss it. I took a deep breath, glanced at Herl, and started talking. "Do you think," I hesitated. "Do you think this could have something to do with my parents? They were both wizards, and in theory that makes my abilities odd from the start."
Lina was the one to respond. "That's a possibility... But I still don't see why the gods of the divided road would show so much interest in one person."
I nodded. It wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for, but it was better than a complete affirmation of the incompatibility between wizards.
Nanya cleared her throat. "By chance, do you have an object of historical significance? Or say, an object that was the focus of a prophecy? Magik, something? It seems unlikely but worth asking. The gods of the divided road are the keepers of fate. They intervene when a choice has to be made. And they said you were 'fated to end the life of the oldest lie.' That sounds pretty prophetic to me." She shrugged, seeming almost uncomfortable with her suggestion.
I shook my head, but before I could say no, Lina interjected. "Maybe.."
I looked at her, confused. "Lina I don't have anything that even might be the focus of a prophecy, what do you mean?"
She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then responded. "Your sword. We know it's crazy powerful and somehow bound to you and you alone. We can't even touch it without your hand also touching it. And do you remember Gabriel's strange reaction to it when he first saw it? He said something about 'it starting again,' whatever 'it' is. And he mentioned a name.. Alen? Something like that."
I froze for a moment. "No... No not Alen, Alain. My birth father."
"So, what does that mean? Could it really be some kind of prophecy you have to fulfill? Because there's no way in Lanai I'll let you face 'killing the oldest lie' alone."
I almost laughed. Lina's protective tone contrasted with the ridiculous situation. But when I looked around, I saw everyone besides Nanya nodding. I took a deep breath, "Well if this is some kind of prophecy, I'll need the help. Besides, I think that was the intent... They did say something about not being alone."
Nanya perked up at that, "can you remember exactly what they said?"
I scrunched up my nose, trying to think. "Something like, 'Andreya Raire, you are at a crossroad. You are destined to kill the oldest lie.' that part I told you already. 'You will have allies, but the way they view you will be your choice. Whether with love or loyalty.'" I shook my head, that didn't sound exactly right, but I thought it was close enough.
I felt everyone's eyes on me. "What?"
Tena shook his head. "Your eyes.."
I frowned. "What about them this time?"
Herl squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Uh, when you were talking about what the gods said, your eyes went... Light. Almost white."
I felt goosebumps rise on my skin. I was getting seriously tired of whatever was going on with my eyes, especially considering I couldn't see it myself.
Seeing my agitation, Herl changed the subject. "Well, whatever they meant, they were wrong. You have love and loyalty from me." After a moment he added awkwardly, "from all of us."
"Yes," Lina said drily. "From all of us."
I shifted in my seat, very aware of everyone's eyes on me. If I was the focus of some gods forsaken prophecy, why was I the last to know about it, and what the hell was happening with my eyes? Surely there was an explanation for all this. There had to be...
"Tena," I said. He looked at me, caught off guard. "You kept talking about seeing what's in a person's soul or something to that effect, is there anything, I don't know, peculiar about my own?"
He shifted his gaze away, "Maybe, but I don't have a definite answer to what you really want to know. Yes, there is something odd, but I can't identify it yet."
I felt my spirits sink once more... What could I be expected to do if I had no idea what was going on with myself.
I felt a hand on mine, I glanced up to see that it was Nanya's. "Audrey, the only advice I can give you is to go on with your life, whatever happens, will happen, there's no changing that. If you stress and overthink it, it won't help any of this."
She was right, I tried to push the situation out of my head. I nodded, acknowledging her words.
After that, we went our separate ways.
Herl and I walked around the Academy's grounds after Flette was sufficiently satisfied with the healing bruises.
It was a while before he spoke, and when he did, his voice was quiet. "So, I heard the last bedraggled soul returned today. Tomorrow, I have no doubt we'll go back to classes."
I linked my arm through his, "I hope so, sparring aside, I feel far too energetic with nothing to do."
After a moment, he wrapped his arm around my waist and tugged me to a shadowed area on the outskirts of the woods. "I could think of a few things to do besides fighting." His voice was husky, and I felt him draw me closer to him.
Before I knew what was happening, my hands were running through his hair, his hands resting on my hips. His mouth was on mine, and I felt light for the first time since explaining the dream to my team.
After a time, we pulled apart. "Well, that did nothing for my energy levels." I sounded breathless even to my own ears.
Herl grinned his lopsided grin, before pulling me towards the archery range, I was sure he was laughing.
We spent the rest of the afternoon sparring and practicing my possible Telae. I managed to use the ability three more times, and by the end of the day, I really was exhausted.
We parted ways, and I went to the bathhouse. The water, cool as it was, was a relief against my sore muscles and aching bones. I could wish it was warmer, but it got the dirt out of my hair and skin, which was a win in my book.
I dragged myself back to the dorm and was happy to sink into my mostly clean bed.
Lina was still out of our dorm, as usual. But when I looked around, I realized Nanya was gone too. I had to wonder what they were up to, but it really was none of my business.