SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Eight: The Keeper of Secrets
Lord Mikhail strolled along the court, hands clasped behind his back and a perplexed expression across his face. King Orcus sat on the throne with his chin resting over his palm, in deep thought. The clock ticked by on the wall, the only sound heard in the otherwise silent court. All the Ministers and knights sat in grave silence, their thoughts lingering about in their heads for some way to solve Lord Mikhail’s dilemma. Since the day Lord Mikhail had expressed his desire to take away Amara’s powers, everyone had been trying to find some way of doing it so it would stay hidden. However, the results were all against them. For a long time, everyone tried to know why Lord Mikhail wanted to end the great witch, but he refused to divulge the information. Yet they all were given orders to find ways to do the task.
“Your highness, being a King, it is your duty to help us all. I ask for a little help, for taking away the powers of a weak witch and you can do absolutely nothing about it! Should you even be King?” complained Lord Mikhail in an angry voice.
The King looked up from the ground and stared at Lord Mikhail silently. He had no answer, he kept telling himself that he should be a good King but he never wanted to be one. He wished for a simple life, away from all of this, where he could live peacefully with his wife. If only my brother, King Salmoneus, had not abdicated, he thought, I wouldn’t have been the heir. His mind went back to a day several moons ago.
***
“I apologize, your highness. But I won’t be able to serve you as High Minister,” said Lord Lucifer, bowing down in grace to King Orcus.
They were in the court of the king’s palace, Lord Lucifer and the other Ministers sat there on their thrones, to appoint Lord Lucifer as the High Minister.
“Lord Lucifer, your ancestors have been our High Ministers for centuries now, why must you deny such an honour? It would only be breaking the tradition,” argued the King.
“Your highness,” Lord Lucifer began. “Acanthus is in threat. The attacks by witch-hunters have increased and there is absolutely no protection for the land. I wish to create a coven of the strongest Conjurers to keep Acanthus safe.”
“Lord Lucifer,” said Lord Mikhail, standing up from his throne. “I believe that you can gather your Conjurers even while serving His Grace. As far as protection of the land is concerned, I believe that is being taken care of by our guards and goblins at every corner of Acanthus. Why then, do you wish to break a tradition?” Lord Mikhail strolled up to Lord Lucifer to where he was standing before the king. “In all honesty, Lord Lucifer, there are plenty of us Ministers who can take your post but none of us wish to break a century old custom. We strive to maintain traditions in our land, and we would appreciate it if you did the same.”
“I am sorry, Lord Mikhail, but I cannot accept the post. My only concern is to protect our land and that can’t be done while serving as High Minister. There are responsibilities that I will not be able to fulfil if I were to serve the realm,” said Lord Lucifer.
“You can-” Lord Mikhail began when King Orcus raised a palm to silence him.
“My lords, do not trouble yourselves over a trivial matter such as this. If Lord Lucifer wants to resign from the post then he is allowed to do so. We can always have another High Minister. All of you are capable enough and it does not matter who takes the post,” the King said and Lord Mikhail began to protest, when he continued. “Lord Mikhail, you are welcome to take the post of High Minister and serve the realm. Lord Lucifer is free to go.”
“Your highness.” Lord Lucifer bowed in grace before taking a few steps backwards and leaving the courtroom.
“Your magnificence!” Lord Mikhail exclaimed. “Lord Lucifer is merely trying to create a empire of his own this way. We cannot seem to agree to let that happen. I am sure we can appoint more guards for Acanthus to be protected from the attacks of witch-hunters. This is not the way to-”
“Lord Mikhail, let us not ponder upon this anymore. Let Lord Lucifer protect the land. I give him my consent. It will take time for him to create a strong coven. There is nothing he can possibly do to harm us. I would appreciate it if you agreed to take the post as High Minister so the proceedings of the court can continue peacefully,” the King said and Lord Mikhail let out a breath before nodding his head.
“I would be honoured, your highness,” he said. After all, there was only so much you could protest in front of a King, how much ever feeble and incompetent he may be.
***
“Forgive me, Lord Mikhail,” he said in a meek voice, waking the king from his reverie, “But I believe this is not the way you speak to the King. However unsatisfied you are with him. It does not give you the right to talk to him this way,” concluded Samael, the youngest Minister, a bit more confidently.
“And who are you to talk, Lord Samael? You dare address me? An inexperienced sorcerer who has next to no knowledge,” Lord Mikhail replied, a menacing look on his face. Samael looked down, ashamed.
“Lord Mikhail, I have always tried to be of help to you but we all know that she isn’t a weak witch. That is the reason we cannot compete with her. For a witch like Amara we need someone who is as brilliant and as brave as her, who can finish her off using wit above strength.” the King sighed.
Lord Mikhail looked at the King for a while. Well, he is right for once, he mused to himself. As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew Amara was nowhere close to being a weak witch. To defeat her, they needed someone as strong or stronger. It wasn’t an easy task, finding someone who could stand forth her and fight. What she was protecting, needed incredible strength that, which she possessed. To achieve that, to gain that, a fight was essential. Her powers were to be taken away; her greatness had to be brought down to get what he wanted; but who would be capable of standing against her?
“We need a trained, powerful witch or sorcerer to defeat her. All those who have enough power are in Lord Lucifer’s coven. We require a skilled warrior,” Lord Zachariah said, looking with a hopeful expression at Lord Mikhail.
Lord Zachariah, the eldest sorcerer in the land of Acanthus knew everything about Lord Mikhail. From his birth to his training, he knew all the little details. Being the only person that Lord Mikhail respected, Lord Zachariah had knowledge that knew no bounds. He was learned in witchcraft, had performed various rituals in his life, created spells, potions, trained Conjurers of all kinds. He was seven-hundred-years old, and was getting weaker since he stopped talking the Elixir of Immortality. Lord Mikhail regarded Lord Zachariah silently, trying to understand his message. When he nodded, the great Lord smiled knowingly. He had gotten the message.
“If his highness permits, we could declare war,” Lord Mikhail offered, looking at the King and the Ministers hopefully.
“A war?” The King raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, your highness. Our Ministers seem to agree upon the fact that Lord Lucifer is creating a coven this strong so he can become the next King. If a war is declared, we can destroy his entire coven.”
“I believe Lord Mikhail is right,” said Lord Gabriel.
The King paused for a few moments and then said, “All said and done, Lord Mikhail, you should allow the Ministers and me a fortnight, to ponder over the matter and come to a conclusion.” He concluded sighing.
“A fortnight would be too long, I believe, your highness, but if you insist,” said Lord Mikhail. Lord Mikhail bowed curtly, with one last lingering look in the direction of Lord Zachariah, he stalked out of the court, his black robes swishing behind him along the marble floor. Letting out a sigh, the King glanced around and left the court as well to find some fresh air.
The thought of having to face war again was daunting. The King would rather not think about it and decided to shun it aside. He always knew that war was impending since the day Lord Lucifer walked out of his castle to commence his own coven. The years of mutual animosity between his coven and that of Lord Lucifer’s was kept at bay due to his, the King’s, disinterest in such matters. But, that fateful day was now dawning. And hard as he tried to avoid it, it was bound to dawn.
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Back in his seat, Lord Zachariah closed his eyes and connected immediately with Lord Mikhail’s mind. You will find Lady Calypsa in the deep waters of Cypress. Meet with Lord Perseus. He will be your guide to the one who will vanquish Amara.
As soon as the message entered Lord Mikhail’s mind, he began his journey to the Sea of Cypress.
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Inside her chamber, Iris sat on a chair with Erasmus opposite to her. She wanted so much to tell him what Amara had made her see, but she had sworn not to tell anyone. It was Amara’s past, her secret to tell and Iris had no right to reveal it to another person. It was better that Erasmus didn’t know, he was already privy to lots of other things. Nevertheless, he could help her with meditation that she had been trying to master for the past month. After a while, she had started to get very impatient and wanted to give up, but Erasmus urged her on and helped her in any way he could.
“Imagine a ferocious dragon,” said Erasmus, trying to cheer up an unresponsive Iris. For the past two days, she had been quite down and moody. She barely spoke at all, which was beginning to bother him.
“Why?” She retorted, with an apathetically, her eyes fixed on the rug below her feet. Erasmus rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh.
“Iris, what is it that’s bothering you so? You have been acting really strange,” he finally said, unable to control his curiosity.
“I just can’t do this, you know! I mean, I have been reading books about witchcraft and witches and everything, but I don’t know what I am supposed to do. There are so many skills witches have, and I am sitting here with absolutely nothing! What am I doing?” She let out a frustrated sigh.
Erasmus sealed his lips, running a hand through his hair. This girl is extremely impatient, he thought to himself. She refuses to understand the concept of time. It wasn’t easy to be a good witch even though she possessed the skills. She was unaware of putting them into action, which needed training. Training took a lot of time. Witches spent more than ten years to master the arts and here Iris was getting impatient in just a couple months.
“I told you this before, it takes time. This is not easy. You have the skills but you need to be good at them, and you need to give yourself some time. Calm down,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to assure her. Iris glanced at him once before standing up and pulling on her hair in frustration. Erasmus had not seen a more infuriated witch. She was going mad.
He opened his mouth to say something when a knock sounded on the door. “Am I interrupting something?” Nicholas poked his head in through the door, a little smile across his face.
Erasmus straightened up and smiled back at his old friend. Nicholas and Erasmus had been friends from the day they had joined the coven, but since Nicholas travelled a lot, they hardly got to spend time with each other. “Good evening Nicholas,” he said, and Nicholas stepped inside before giving a warm, brotherly hug to Erasmus.
Iris turned around only to have her eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful creature standing in front of her. Erasmus hid a chuckle at her reaction. She stood there agape, a surprised look etched upon her face. It seemed as though she was at a loss of words. Nicholas glanced down, hiding a smile and shot a mischievous look at Erasmus before turning back to Iris who was still staring at him, motionless.
“It’s a pleasure to be in the company of such a delightful witch. I’m Nicholas, by the way, and you are?” He asked, extending his arm in front of her even though he was perfectly aware of her identity. He always did background research on the new witches that joined the coven, despite of the fact that he was barely ever in Acanthus. For a moment, Iris looked lost but gained her senses and blinked, noticing the outstretched hand of the Adonis standing in front of her. Well, I’m only a sixteen-year-old human, she mused to herself. She was allowed to admire good-looking men, regardless of the fact that they were sorcerers and she knew nothing about them.
“Iris,” she finally replied, a little out of breath albeit, placing her hand in his. Nicholas smiled at her, bending a bit and bringing her hand up to his lips as he gently placed a kiss on it. Iris resisted the blush that was creeping along her cheeks. Erasmus cleared his throat, biting back an amused laugh and looked at Iris, “Would you like to have some tea, Iris? You need to clear your head,” he said.
Iris snapped her attention back to Erasmus when Nicholas let go of her hand.
“Oh I-no… I think I’m, I’m, I am okay,” she stammered, giving a slight shrug of her shoulders. Erasmus sent a silent message to Nicholas who nodded and stepped closer to Iris. She attentively looked at him when he did so. Her eyes were still wide enough and Nicholas resisted the urge to snigger at her innocence.
“It would break my heart if you didn’t come have tea with us, Iris, it really would,” he said, dramatically placing a hand on his chest, with a sad expression on his face. Keeping his eyes focussed on hers, he gave her the daunting stare that could make people give into his charm.
Not surprisingly enough, Iris nodded her head with her eyes still stuck on his face as he stepped away smiling. He gestured to Erasmus to follow him. Iris blinked, dazed and then frowned for a moment before sauntering out of the chamber behind Erasmus. She felt as though she didn’t know what had happened a few moments ago. Shaking her head, she walked behind the two men as they led her to the kitchen.
Pots rested above the stoves, the spoons stirring themselves inside as light smoke wafted out of a few cauldrons, creating the fragrance of different sorts of food in there. Iris suddenly missed the normal food she had had back in her home. The food here was definitely different but the same as what humans ate. Everyone was a vegetarian and herbs were the main ingredients. In the month that she had been here, Iris had become quite accustomed to the eating patterns that she took a little time to adapt.
In the morning, everyone had tea and fruits, which was followed by a lunch at noon that consisted of salads and herb juices. For five hours, they were allowed to have water and then some juices. Dinner never happened, and if anyone got hungry, which they barely did apart from Iris, they were allowed to have a salad of herbs. Everything tasted very good, but she got hungry quite a lot of times during the day. They all have such appalling physiques and beautiful faces only because they all are generally on every fat-free substance, Iris thought.
“Have a seat,” Erasmus said pointing at an old and rickety three-legged stool to Iris who now held a cup of steaming herb infused raspberry tea in her hands, staring at it blankly. She could still not get the image of Amara being tortured by Leo out of her head. It haunted her every now and then and she could barely forget about it. The worst part was that she could not tell anyone. Nicholas tugged at Iris as he gestured for her to sit. She glanced at him once and then sat on the rickety stool, next to Erasmus and Nicholas who sat opposite to her. Nicholas rested his hands on the walnut panelled table in between. They talked in the kitchen for a while, sipping the tea as Iris tried her best to take part in the conversations but every now and then, her mind would wander back to Amara. How could she experience all that and be calm about it? She thought. Did she not feel like screaming in frustration? How could a woman build up so much strength?
More questions ran through her mind, the answers to which were never found. She kept thinking upon what it could be that she was capable of helping Amara with. How could she be of any help to such a great witch? To a woman who had gone through so much and yet emerged out this strong. Just at the thought of her parents being dead, Iris would shudder in pain while Amara had watched her family being burnt alive, in front of her along with the additional pain of being the victim of Leo. Her reverence for Amara kept on growing the more she thought about it, and the nagging stabs of pain thinking of how she went through it also increased.
Nicholas observed Iris calmly after Erasmus had left to go for some work and Iris had not even noticed him walk away. Her face was expressive, Nicholas could understand that there was something bothering her and she wanted to get rid of it. He could sense that she had the potential of being a great witch. The only thing coming in her way was her childishness and impatience. If that was gone, she would realize her true capabilities. Erasmus and Amara were doing a good job but they needed assistance, and Iris needed motivation. She needs lots of motivation, he said to himself and took it upon him to help Erasmus and Amara with the job.
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Miles away, the waves of the Sea of Cypress crashed upon the shore, the waters black and terrifying. Under the moonlight and the darkening sky, the wild waves could have petrified a human. A tall figure stood upon the rocks at the shore. Arms spread to the sides, it rose in the air before diving graciously into the water, vanishing immediately. The water roared as though trying to fight something and the clouds thundered with lightening.
Lord Lucifer stood at a distance, watching the grave waters as the lightning illuminated the sky. Raising his foot, he placed it on the water for a long moment and the waves suddenly went still. Calmness surrounded the shore, and the wind – now colder than ever – stung his skin but he could barely feel it.
Closing his eyes, Lord Lucifer pulled his foot away to find a wave rising up from the middle of the sea, swirling around ferociously and morphing into the hooded figure of a woman. She stood there, her head low and hands bendy at the sides. Moments later, she lifted her head to look at Lord Lucifer. Gliding across the water, she approached him and stood before him over the water. Her face was hidden, her body covered in a huge mouldy green cloak. Only her wrists were visible. Her fingers were thin and wrinkled with long dirty nails. She had a frightening appearance, almost ghastly. She had no feet and dangled in the air, centimetres above the water, her robes so long, she seemed to be coming out from the waves behind her.
“What does the Lord seek? What is your concern, great Lord? Does he need weapons, or strength, or does he wish to sacrifice a human to me?” She spoke, her voice a mere whisper, husky and deep. It was horrible in the most subtle way.
“I’m here to have you take an oath for me,” began Lord Lucifer, “You have always been of great help, oh Empress of the Seas, and I do not question your loyalty. Although I must make sure that your duty remains solely to me,” Lord Lucifer concluded, in a calm but serious tone.
Lady Calypsa remained silent for a while as though pondering upon something. Then she spoke, “I owe my existence to nothing, oh great Lord. I have created myself, hidden myself in these waters and safeguarded the greatest treasures that your ancestors have possessed. They trust me to protect everything and I swore to it. You ask me to take an oath, which implies your wavering trust on me, m’Lord. I have my duty to all the sorcerers and all the witches that seek my help. I swore to be of assistance to all those who need me and not be caged to one. My freedom is of no concern to you, great sorcerer. Although, I must assure you, the secrets that you tell, the help that you need will remain with me for as long as I exist and to eternity. An oath, however, I have never taken, and never will. Express your need, m’Lord and I shall seek the solution.” She circled around him in the air and stood in position again, her gaze focussed on Lord Lucifer who seemed in deep thought.
“The treasure that you and my most loyal apprentice guard is to be kept safe for as long as I am here. Some seek that treasure, some desire it, and some need it. The threat is increasing, Great Lady. Your strength will be questioned, the prophecy will be known to all when the dark forces try to steal the treasure away. Swear to protect it, swear to protect my loyal apprentice, swear to never divulge it to those who ask for it,” he said, a gravely.
“Oh glorious Lord, I have my duty to you, unfailing faith is what I desire from you. Your apprentice, your trusted will be protected. The treasure will be safe. The prophecy is bound to be known, and no one can stop it. The truth will be told, but Lord of mine, I swear to protect the treasure forever, for as long as you wish for it to be safeguarded. And she will be safe, do not perturb yourself, oh Lord, she will live to tell the tale.”
With that, Lady Calypsa swirled back into the water and disappeared, the waves starting to get wild once again. Lord Lucifer held himself back from summoning her once more. As loyal as she was, she could also be vile when she wished to. With one last lingering glance in the direction of the sea, he started taking steps back to the way he came from. If Lady Calypsa swore to protect Amara and the treasure, he had nothing to worry about. He had no choice but to trust her, for she was loyal, faithful and devoted. Lord Lucifer took hold of his robes and sauntered away into the valley of the huge mountains, starting his journey to gather more apprentices for his coven. For if it was true, what Lord Mikhail sought, he was going to need as many Conjurers as he could.
The waves crashed at the shore behind him again and a light rose up from the middle of the water, in a moment it reached the skies, trembling as it did so. Deep inside the sea at the bed, Lady Calypsa shut the door of the passage that led to the possession of Lord Lucifer’s ancestors that was kept hidden inside a cave millions of miles below at the bed of the sea. The light descended from the sky back into the water and chains bound themselves on the door, sealing the passage completely. The Lady swam around in the sea, shooting up wild waves upon the shore wherever she went past.
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In the castle, Amara sat perched upon the railing of the highest tower, the lake about thirty feet below her. Her legs dangled in the air. She stood up, spreading her arms to her sides and turning her back to the water. Lifting herself off the railing, she twirled around and dropped herself into the water, the waves rising up for a moment as she dove in. Iris sat in her chamber, watching the scene unfold in front of her and she could not help but think about the dream that she had when she was in the human world. In her dream, she had seen a figure diving into a vast terrifying sea, the same way that Amara did.