Worlds Unseen - Rachel Starr Thomson (beach books .txt) 📗

This day I stand most alone of all living things. This day I have seen Blackness, and there is no power of good beside me to fight it; this day I have seen treachery, and I have not the strength to speak out. My pen must do what my arm cannot; it must say what my tongue cannot. These words on paper must inspire men to return to the high things and turn away from the evil that drags and sucks and covers with filth.

I, Aneryn the Prophet, have seen a great Spider in the Blackness beyond the Veil. I have seen a great treachery. In this moment I wish for the tongue of the Shearim, that I might sing out against evil; I wish for the strength of the Brethren of the Earth, that I might battle it; I wish for the companionship of men, that together we might form a fortress of hearts which the Blackness cannot penetrate. But none of these things is given me; I am alone; I am forsaken; and in darkness and sorrow I see…

The Spider weaves a web and its strands pierce through the Veil, joined to the souls of men. Men themselves have called it to them. They have reached for the Blackness, and the Spider has answered them.

On the strands of the web, power flows to the children of men. Even now they form an alliance one with another; Blackness calls to blackness in their souls. This night I have seen them light a fire, and it burns blue before my eyes. A brotherhood, they call themselves, to subject the world in darkness. This is their covenant with Morning Star.

The tapestries of time flow before my eyes and I see the days to come. I know what this Order will do to the Seventh World. I see the bondage the Spider weaves.

But I remember the King. I remember other visions. He will return, for he has spoken it in my soul, and I, the Poet, I, the Prophet, have heard. The Gifted Ones will challenge the Order of the Spider and they will conquer.

I have seen it.

*

Virginia crawled forward on her hands and knees, feeling her way through the forest underbrush. The earth was cool and tangled with roots and leaves and moss. Insects ran over her hands as she moved. She felt it behind her: the power of darkness at her heels. Her wrists ached from the wounds inflicted by the shackles, her body from the jump from the train, and every pain grew sharper as the pursuer drew near.

The ground sloped down. The sound of running water filled Virginia’s ears. She moved until her fingers found the cool brook, and she paused to bring the water up in her hands and drink.

She stood and waded through the brook; then stayed still for a moment and strained her ears for the sound of footsteps through the rushing of the water.

The darkness swirled around her for a split second and she saw a black-robed figure moving through the woods as silently as death.

And then she smelled flowers, and heather-covered hills, and the coming of spring, though in reality the world was drawing close to winter. It was the smell of the King. His strength and love filled her with a fierce, quiet joy. She whispered, “I remember.”

Somewhere in the distance a wolf’s long, lonely howl rose and hovered above the trees.

Virginia turned to face the one she knew was standing just behind her. The air stirred slightly, and once again she caught the scent of spring, borne on the wind from some far country. But as she turned, the smell was overwhelmed by the fearful stench emanating from the one on the other side of the brook.

“Who are you?” Virginia asked.

The voice that answered was low and rich. A woman’s voice.

“I am one like you,” the voice said. “I have come to help you, Virginia Ramsey.”

“I want no help from you,” Virginia said.

The voice sounded wounded. “I have come to offer you friendship,” she said. “Do not turn me away. You have already experienced the friendship this world has to offer.”

“My friends have risked their lives for me,” Virginia replied.

“Do you think that will last?” the woman hissed. “They are afraid of you! Afraid like all the others, and as your power grows they will turn against you. They will cry for the High Police to come and take you away! You feel their fear already. And do you think the Lord of Angslie is your friend? To him you are a prize possession-though evidently not worth protecting, as you are now alone.”

“How do you know me?” Virginia asked.

“We of the Gifted take care of our own,” the woman said. “We have known of you for some time. We have been watching to see when you would need our help. You need us now, child. I know… I, too, have been alone.”

For an instant Virginia’s resolve faltered. Her heart reached out to this being who knew what it meant to be different. But then she gasped as the world swirled around her and she saw, with the eyes that only she possessed, that the creature standing across from her had the scales, the eyes, and the tongue of a serpent. She saw a cloud of pestilence hanging around the woman’s cloak, tiny vermin screaming hatred and violence.

The vision passed as quickly as it had come. Virginia raised her head high.

“Do you know me?” she asked. “Then know that I also know you! I have seen the death that clings to you, and I have seen the tongue of a serpent that you possess. Say what you will: I know you for a liar. I am not one of you.”

The woman screamed with rage. The sound lashed across Virginia’s face like a whip. She cried out in pain, and she heard the woman spit out words that cut like knives and bound Virginia so that she could not move. She fell to the ground as otherworldly bands tightened around her till she could hardly breathe.

Under the palm of her hand, Virginia felt the ground growing hot until the heat was burning her skin, and she pulled her hand away with all of the strength she could muster. The smell of smoke filled her senses, and suddenly the ground all around her was in flames, a fire that grew with the urging of the cloaked woman’s voice. Virginia lay in a prison of fire. The bands around her snapped; she could move again. She curled herself up as tightly as she could while the fire roared in her ears. Only the sound of laughter rose above the noise.

Then she felt the woman’s presence with her, inside the circle of flames. A hand reached out and grabbed her hair, pulling her up to her knees.

“A serpent’s tongue, have I?” the woman asked. “A dragon’s power! And you? Do you have the power to fight me? You have nothing! You have scorned me, scorned my help, and here you are-more helpless than a child. Blind! You are a freak of nature; blind and yet able to see. Without my help you are nothing. But you will learn. We will teach you to fear the power of the Covenant Flame!”

Virginia made no answer. Then, slowly, a smile appeared on her face. The woman jerked away as though she had seen something repulsive in Virginia’s face.

“I have seen the end of you and your power,” Virginia said quietly. “I have seen the King.”

Slowly and deliberately, Virginia rose to her feet. As she did, colour and shape began to take form before her eyes. She saw the circle of flames all around her. The fire was dying down, the earth beneath it scorched black. The woman, cloaked in black, was standing in the very center of it, her dark eyes wide with horror.

Outside the circle, wolves were closing in. They stepped forward on padded feet, their eyes glowing with power. In the trees, owls, sparrows, and hawks perched, waiting. Behind the wolves, farther back in the trees, stood the commanding forms of the red deer, their sweeping antlers gleaming in the firelight like spears; the great hulking threat of the bears; the wild boars, foxes and badgers and even mice.

And then, out from the trees and up from the ground came the forms of creatures like men, and yet like nature itself-a giant form, translucent and yet marred like bark, with long hair like ropes of vine; a slender creature whose lines moved and faded in and out with the wind; a wild man with long hair and clothes made of fur, arrows on his back made with teeth, and fierce joy and gladness in his eyes.

Virginia heard the woman scream with rage and fear. Then everything was blackness again, and the smell of the coming of spring overpowered the stench of smoke.

*

Huss swept into the house with the commanding power of a man long known and respected in the courts of the city. Libuse lived in a rich house near Pravik Castle. In the open foyer, a dozen High Police stood guard, looking uncomfortable as Huss berated their leader.

“This is an outrage!” Huss said, waving his long finger in the Police captain’s face.

“I follow orders,” the mustached captain defended staunchly, his powerful arms folded across his chest. “I don’t question them. We received word of a planned attack on the princess’s life and were commanded to place her under house arrest. For her own protection.”

“I have never heard of anything so ridiculous,” Huss snapped. “The princess is a reasonable woman. It is hardly necessary to arrest her in order to keep her safe.”

“Orders are orders,” the captain said. “It’s not my job to question them.”

“Then tell me who gave the orders,” Huss raged, “and I will question them!”

“No need for that, my friend,” said a voice, interrupting the discussion. Every head in the room turned to see Libuse descending the staircase, her long blue dress trailing behind her. The officers at the bottom of the stairs stepped back respectfully as Libuse approached Huss and the captain. She held out her hands to the professor. He took them and held them for just a moment.

“It is good of you to come,” she said. “But there is no need for anger. I am being treated well enough.”

It was Jerome who spoke then, from his place beside Maggie. “You should not be kept like a common