Chains of a Promise - Wolfheart (best ereader for academics .TXT) 📗

For the first time, he understood why Rift looked the way she did, and why she was blind. Casters saw during the day. Singers saw in the darkness, at night. So the contrast would leave a child blind. But the power of the child…and her sense of the world…would be amazing.
Damn. That’s gotta be hard, though. Knowing that you can taste the breeze and hear the fall of a twig ten feet away but never being able to see it…

How would she know what time it as, or the seasons coming up without the moon? How would she know the lay of the land, or where her enemy was?
How will she live a life like mine? How will she ever be a Chosen if she can’t even see?

Suddenly, Rift rose and walked over to Omen. She sat down next to him and laid her head down. Then, the child was asleep.
He watched her, tense and confused.
“Uh…Lady Tiff…”
“She’s exhausted. Shut up and don’t move until she wakes up.” Chaos told him. “And don’t bother Tiff.”
Omen sighed. Her eyes fluttered slightly.
This is going to be a long, hard night…

******

Rift woke with a start. Something was wrong. It was cold and quiet. No wind blew. Then she felt the heat of the boy. The woman who’d helped her – she’d called herself Tiff, right? – wasn’t far away. And that man, who called the boy Omen, was close-by, too.
None of them were sleeping, but all of them were awake.
“Tiff…”
“You’re awake.”
“I…saw a bird…he was white…”
She looked a little surprised. “You can see?”
“Not usually…but sometimes…” She felt the boy squirm.
He hates me.

Feeling the energy, Rift slowly rose and felt the land out. She again, saw in her mind, the woman. Limping over her – painfully trying to walk right – and sat down with as little noise as possible.
“But I see you in my mind, and I see the moons sometimes. I can feel all three of you…and I saw the bird…”
“I see…Andoreous blessed you with what’s known as Second Sight. Only a handful of blind mixed bloods see with it. Most rely on animals or magic, and they don’t fight; they become healers who need to be guided and protected.”
She listened.
“You’re blessed by His will, child. Now…it’s nearly dawn. Why don’t you get some reeds for kindle? Don’t stray far, and tell Omen if you need his help.”
I won’t bother him. He hates me enough already…
She staggered up and went to the river. Omen’s eyes followed her with interest and a mix of pity and concern.
I don’t need your pity, like I don’t want your hatred.

She carefully grabbed a day’s armful of reeds and cattails for the fire, and found her way to the flame.
“Do I put it here?”
“That’s fine.”
She dropped it beside the fire, just far enough away that she didn’t feel the heat.
“Now come over here and rest.”
“Yes, Lady Tiff.”
Omen called her that. I should too, probably.

She laughed. “Dear Rift, call me Tiff. You call the man Sir Chaos, however. Omen is the boy, as you’ve heard. He has no title.”
Rift nodded and found her seat. To her surprise, Omen rose and dropped a fur on her. It was thick with his scent.
“What’s this?”
“You’re burned; you’ll need my fur more.” He responded brusquely.
Stop pitying me!

But she was weary, and didn’t crave to dispute something the others saw as being generous. Rift allowed herself to fall asleep.

Chapter Two
Five Years Later

The taste of blood burst into Rift’s mouth; she spat it the tart, hot liquid onto the rain-sodden mud at her feet. She felt her lip swelling, but disregarded the pain from the split. Instead, she focused her eyes on the much more powerful man before her. He was twice her size.
She listened, closing her sightless eyes and lifting the staff to guard her face better. She heard the mud squelch as the man shifted in his leather boots. She touched three of the markings on the staff and muttered a word. As the man rushed for her, she rolled away faster than he could punch. Dropping him with a well-aimed kick at the knee, Rift flipped away and used her staff to smack him in the middle of the back. His cry of pain made her smile.
“Great move.” Tiff’s voice praised. “But that’s enough showing Omen his place for tonight.” There was a bit of a laugh at her jest. “Come and sit; Chaos made us lunch.”
Rift nodded, tossing Tiff’s staff back to her. She breathed in the scent of roasted meat, and wondered again what the beast behind it looked like. Then a caw caught her attention. Looking around, she relaxed when she saw nothing.
“The bird’s in the trees.” Omen told her. “It’s black, don’t worry.”
“Is the blue moon full?” She asked him hopefully.
“Hmm…” He paused; she guessed he was looking at the sky. “Not quite. It’ll be full in a few days, I think.”
He grabbed her hand and pointed it to a position in the sky. “That’s where the blue moon is. Where’s the white moon?”
She thought for a moment, and moved her hand to directly opposite.
“Wow. How do you do that, if you’ve never seen them?”
“I have…once…” Rift’s voice was soft and pleasant and almost dreamy. “And I see them all the time in my dreams.”
“Are you two going to keep pointing at the moons, or are you going to eat? We still have three hours of travel to cover, and a shelter to find after that.” Chaos sounded frustrated.
Can’t they let us talk for once?

But Omen took the blind Necromancer’s hand and guided her over to the fire, though all of them knew by now that she could find her own way. Rift felt the adults’ eyes plastered to them; she could sense their disquiet.
“Is something wrong?”
Why do they behave this way every time he’s nice to me? What are we doing wrong?

“N-no, Rift.” Tiff’s voice told her apprentice that the words were lies.
“Then why are you lying to me?” Now there was a little anger in the teen’s tone.
“I’ll explain later, alright? Just eat.”
Unsettled by Tiff’s sudden secretiveness, Rift could only take the food offered to her. She was so busy mussing over what she’d done wrong that the food was tasteless.
Did I misuse a rune? Or was I slightly off with the staff? Wait…it must have been my stance. Unless…it happened after I jumped at the bird call. Does she think I’m afraid of birds? Is that why she’s anxious?

“Let’s walk ahead, “Let’s walk ahead a while, Rift. We need to talk.”
Nearly panicking at such an outlandish request, Rift almost tripped over a tree root.
“Rift?” Omen caught her. “Are you alright?”
Now I am.
“Yes. Thanks.” Breathing in his scent steadied her nerves, and she was able to break away and follow her mentor. The air was charged strangely, swiftly undoing her short reprieve. Rift paused, trying to hear footsteps. “Tiff?” She asked, realizing she’d stopped.
“Do you need the staff, Rift?”
“N-no. I wasn’t paying attention…” Rift waited for Tiff’s direction. A moment later, the footsteps led the sightless apprentice after her teacher.
They hurried from the men almost too fast for Rift, who’d never been on the terrain and had to feel her way after Tiff.
“Tiff…” She begged, hoping her aunt would understand; she was out of breath.
“Right. I’m sorry, Rift. I don’t mean to rush.”
“What is this about, Tiff?” She asked, stopping the moment Tiff did and still nearly running her over. “You’re behaving so strangely. Was my stance wrong? Did I error in my magic, or the way I moved the staff?” Rift was frantic.
“No, Rift. It’s not that.”
“Then it was because the bird’s caw always makes me turn! Look, it was the same sound I heard the night we met…”
“Yes, I realize. The cawing makes you anxious, for Andoreous may spy. Believe me; I know. He used to do the same with me. The bird does still watch you. But the blue moon isn’t full, so there is no worry.”
Now she was frantic. “Then in what way have we wronged Chaos and you? Every time we speak, every time he is kind to me, you two become tense…what is this about? Can I not speak to the man who will defend me when you and Chaos have gone?”
There was the unsettling quiet again.
“It is us, isn’t it? It is us talking?”
Andoreous’s Chosen sighed. “You have done nothing wrong by speaking with him, Rift. In fact…I need to know how much I have erred. Recite to me who Andoreous is, the classes of the Necromancer, their tasks and the Laws of Andoreous.”
Panic almost taking over, it was difficult a moment to think. Then she heard Omen laugh, and it all flooded back to her.
“Andoreous is the Necromancer God; he created this world, and has the power to end it. His blood is the blood that flows through the veins of all that live, and once it leaves us so life does. His breath is the wind in our lungs. He is all and nothing, life and death.
Singers are Necromancers who use their voices and ceremonies to heal and guide souls. They are weak in the body but strong in the mind. Their eyes are blue, and sunlight blinds them. This is why they are usually with Contractors, who are powerful death-magic users with green eyes. These guards use those souls they have bound to them to protect them during the day, though they can see in daylight as well as darkness, they are nocturnal for the Singers. Contractors and Singers often stay in small groups of mates and apprentices, and usually the Singer and Contractor apprentice grow to mate. This means it is vital to make sure the apprentices aren’t related. Casters are diurnal, with brown eyes. They use powerful runic and summoning magic. They aren’t talented in soul sending, but gather them in dances and absorb them for defense. When they return to Andoreous or the Messenger of Andoreous comes to them, they give up their souls gathered and start over.
The laws are a thing of order and need to be followed to avoid chaos among the Necromancer Bloodlines. First, gather, bind or send to the Moon of Souls any souls found who are suffering, grieving or lost. Second, never question the dreams, omens and messengers of Andoreous. Third, pray to Him anytime you are unsure. He will guide you – even if it’s painful, he will make things better and show you the way. Four, always obey Him. Five, do not kill those who aren’t ready to die.”
Rift stopped, trying to think of others. But she couldn’t recall any. But she knew from the lack of Tiff’s praise that she’d missed something.
“Those are the common laws.” She spoke with tension in her voice. “There are four more for us Chosen. The first rule is that we’re to not just pray to Andoreous when we need him, but every night we don’t see him at the temple. We’re to do it when we wake and sleep. That’s not your task now, so I didn’t get you in the practice. But I’m going to have you start memorizing the correct prayer for his Chosen. The night I die is