A Walk Amongst Shadows (Book 2)

After a decent night’s rest, I found myself feeling far less distressed when I woke up the following morning. I had insisted on walking to work on my own, confident that I was capable of handling whatever might or might not happen that day. The morning had been pleasant and I had all but forgotten the events of the night before by the time I had entered the Royal City. I was about to enter the apothecary when Deja appeared. Grabbing my arm urgently, she pulled me towards her.

“I need to talk to you.” Her voice was stern, like I had never heard it before.

“Sure, what’s going on?” I asked, leaning in.

“No,” she shook her head, “not here.” She led me by the arm away from the apothecary and down a side street where there were no passersby.

“Deja, what’s wrong?” I asked, feeling concern rising within me.

“So, when exactly were you going to tell me you’re a mage?”

My heart dropped. “What-” I stuttered as I searched for words.

“Save it. Simon told me everything. He said that ever since you’ve started working with patients there hasn’t been a single death. He’s been keeping tabs on you.”

“Deja, listen.” I put my hands up. “I can explain everything. I promise I wasn’t trying to lie to anyone.” Her expression softened a little. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest.

“Simon thinks you’re a life mage…” she trailed off, her tone was laced with the slightest bit of foreboding.

I took a deep breath. This was it. “He’s right,” I uttered, barely over a whisper. I paused as I mustered up the courage to continue. It was time to come clean. “Look, I’ve wanted to tell you, for a while now actually.”

“Why didn’t you? You know I wouldn’t have told anyone!” She sounded incredulous.

“I know, I know. It’s just, I was nearly killed the last time someone found out…” I trailed off.

Deja furrowed her brow, then her eyes widened in understanding. “That’s why you came to the city,” she asserted. “Your village was probably one of those conservative ones that don’t believe in magic, wasn’t it?”

I nodded again.

“So how does Aris fit into all of this?” she asked. She had finally gotten in the habit of using his name.

“Let’s walk somewhere else. I don’t want to talk about it in the open.”

We walked side by side out of the city and chose a road to follow. I waited until we were separated from society before I spoke again. I started at the beginning. I told her about my family, about Wren’s Glen, the council, Aris, everything. Deja listened intently, hanging on my every word. When I finally wrapped up my story, she looked astonished. She sat quietly for a moment. I could see the wheels turning in her mind.

“Gods, Rose… I had no idea.” She ran her hands through her curly hair. “I suppose I don’t blame you for keeping it a secret.”

“So, you’re not angry then?” I asked meekly.

“Heavens, no!” she exclaimed, pulling me into a hug. I relaxed in her embrace, relieved that I still had my friend. “So what are you going to do?”

I crossed my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean about this prophecy stuff. Are you going to go along with the dark god’s plan?”

I shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not even sure I have a choice in all of this.”

“What does Aris want you to do?” she asked.

“He hasn’t said. I’m not sure if he’s even heard from his father since we got here.”

“Father?”

“Yeah, that’s what shadow walkers call the dark god.”

Deja feigned a shiver. “Spooky,” she said.

I laughed.

“If he asked you to go along, would you?”

“I don’t know! I feel like I’m being kept in the dark. I mean the prophecy itself is so vague. I don’t even know what it would mean for the dark god to ascend…”

“Are you insane?” she asked incredulously, “Rose, that would be disastrous. I’m talking apocalyptic bad!”

“How so?”

“I can’t say for sure, but think about it, anytime there has been a shift in power amongst the gods there has been chaos for us mortals.”

“Oh?” We never told such stories in Wren’s Glen.

Deja, realizing this, sighed and explained. “It’s said that when Reika came to power, there were droughts that lasted for years. Temperatures soared to great heights, crops burned and withered away, many died of hunger. It wasn’t until Riza came along that things got better.”

“Aris told me Reika and Riza have been called lovers,” I said remembering my first day in the city.

“Precisely,” she nodded. “Riza showed up and restored a natural balance. My grandmother used to tell us that Riza tamed his wild heart,” she giggled.

I smiled.

“Of course, the most recent was Loeva, but I don’t have to tell you about that.”

“Let me guess, her ascension is what made everyone believe magic was evil.”

“Basically. Early prophets of Loeva claimed that magic led people to hedonism and that only by overcoming our more carnal desires can we make ourselves more like the Goddess.” She made a waving gesture with her hand as if to indicate you get the rest.

I nodded. I knew all too well the words of the sacred texts. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still feel the faintest sting of guilt when practicing my magic even now because this notion. Granted, that guilt had diminished greatly and had all but gone extinct entirely, but it was still there.

“So, what? The dark god ascends and total anarchy breaks out?”

Deja shrugged. “That’s what most people fear.”

“What do you mean most people? How many know about this prophecy?” I felt myself getting nervous again.

“Oh, Rose, there are so many prophecies floating around out there it’s hard to tell.” She shrugged, “But all throughout history people have worried about the next great shift in power. Most of us never live long enough to witness one.”

I sighed. None of this was comforting. Or even mildly indicative of what I should do in my current predicament.

“So am I still allowed to work in the apothecary?” I asked, changing the topic.

Deja scoffed. “I’d be surprised if they don’t put you in charge of the whole place.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

“Oh yeah. It’s been nearly a hundred years since a magic user worked at the royal apothecary and even then, they weren’t life mages.”

“So, they’re not against using magic to heal.”

“Quite the opposite! This is huge, Rose!” she exclaimed.

Just as Deja predicted, Simon pulled me aside as soon as we arrived back at the apothecary.

“Can I borrow you for a minute?” he asked casually.

“Of course,” I replied. I shot Deja a glance and she gave me a reassuring nod. Simon led me out of the medicine room and into an empty patient room. “What’s going on?” I asked, trying desperately to sound nonchalant.

Simon held out his hands and gestured around the empty room.

“What?” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Look at this place. Completely empty.”

I nodded. “Yeah? And?” I had to keep playing dumb.

“Do you have any idea how long it’s been since we had this many empty rooms in our apothecary?”

I shook my head slowly.

“A few weeks ago, Evangeline mentioned to me that she had noticed a sharp decline in the number of patients we’ve been seeing. It got me thinking, what could have possibly changed to bring such good health to our patients?” He paused and searched my eyes for a reaction.

I steeled my resolve, feigning ignorance.

“Then I remembered you. Since the day you’ve started seeing patients they have been spending less and less time with us. Then last night… After your excellent work with that young girl-”

“Is that a bad thing?” I asked, interrupting him.

“No, quite the contrary!” He smiled, “it’s marvelous.”

I felt my heart rate quicken. Perhaps he was happy to have a mage here after all. We stood in an awkward silence for a moment, tension building with each passing second. I wasn’t about to divulge anything. I wanted him to be the one to say it.

“Alright Rose, I’ll just come out with it” he folded his hands in front of him, “You’ve been healing our patients with magic haven’t you?”

I felt my face burning and knew Simon must’ve noticed as well. I quickly sensed his life energy. He can’t hurt me. I tried to speak but my jaw was locked in place.

“Rose,” he placed a hand on the side of my arm, I jumped in spite of myself. “You can tell me. I promise you aren’t in any trouble.”

I exhaled; I hadn’t realized I had been holding my breath. “Okay, fine… I’m so sorry Simon, I should’ve told you…” I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face. I wanted to leave.

“There’s no need to apologize.” He squeezed my arm reassuringly, “this is fantastic! Do you have any idea what this means? The state of public health in our city will reach an all-time high.” He was practically giddy with excitement. “And to think all this time I had you following me around like I was the expert…” he shook his head incredulously.

“You still are,” I asserted.

“Do you mind if I observe you today? I’ve never seen magic used to aid in healing before, it would be an honor…”

“Of course, although there’s really not much to see…” I trailed off. I don’t know how exactly I had expected Simon to react, but it certainly wasn’t like this. I felt relieved. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Simon spent the rest of the day glued to my side. Every moment, every patient, he was there. While I was painfully aware of his presence at the start, I was able to tune him out once I got into patient rooms. For the first time in my life, I was using my talents to the fullest of my ability. I didn’t have to hide it or be subtle. Every patient I saw went home, happy, healthy, and awestruck. I was running on an all-time high. I attributed most of this feeling to the magic I had allowed to flow so freely through me. But it was more than that. To be able to be fully myself without fear for the first time since my arrival was liberating. As usual, word spread fast in the apothecary, and I had several healers approach me asking if they too could observe me work. For the first time ever, the apothecary was completely empty.

“Wow,” Evangeline said, a huge smile on her face, “in all my days working here, I’ve never seen this place empty.” Her eyes shone and she placed her hands on either side of me. “You are a true gift to us Rose. I praise whichever god or goddess sent you to us.” She threw her arms around me in a tight embrace. “Our city will forever be in your debt dear girl.”

“That’s kind of you to say,” I started, feeling a little flustered by the sudden display of affection. “I’m just grateful that you are going to allow me to continue working here.”

Evangeline and I exchanged a few more pleasantries before she made her way to her personal lodging in the back of the apothecary and I was free to go home and share my news with Aris.