Chapter 4

And here is Chapter 4, for anyone interested!!! :D I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 04

“Rae. Come on, Rae, wake up!”

I blinked my eyes open and saw Rory’s worried face above me. “What happened?” I rasped, my voice almost gone. “Why can’t I talk?”

“Your memories…you were screaming the whole time.” She stroked my short hair in an effort to keep me calm. The shaking started again. I remembered.

“Stay with me, Rae,” she whispered in my ear.

“I’m trying.

“Try harder.”

An order. I obey orders, and I obeyed this one. I pulled myself together. I started to sit up, but my vision turned hazy, so I nestled my head back in Rory’s lap. “Why, Ror? Why now?”

Rory continued stroking my hair, comforting me. “I don’t know, Rae. But we’ll get through this, just like last time. I’ll still be here.”

At four years my senior, she was like an older sister more than anything else. Without Rory, I wouldn’t have survived the streets, or life after…after…him. She had been my only close friend besides Keeran. The only one that hadn’t betrayed me. I owed her everything.

I sat up again, taking it slow. This time my vision didn’t fail me. “I’m okay.”

Rory looked skeptical to say the least.

“I’ll be okay.” I amended my original statement.

“I know you will be. But it’s now that worries me.”

“I’ll survive. I did last time.”

“Barely,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.

I looked into her eyes, and for a moment I saw myself reflected in them. Not as I was now, but as I had been when I first saw her after my living hell with Sarmad. A broken, bruised, bloody little girl. There was not a single part of me untouched by some sort of torture device.

Then I blinked, and it was gone, and I saw myself as I was now. A strong, confident, though somewhat shaken young woman, who still bore the scars of her former life. Those visible and those hidden deep within. The ones that would never heal.

“I will survive,” I said, my voice firm, leaving no room for questions.

Rory kissed the top of my head, then helped me to my feet. “You always do.”

The Lady rushed in. Rory and I stood there shocked, then bowed.

“He is gone then?” Was all she said.

“He is,” said Rory, her tone holding a hint of disapproval.

“He told you.” It was not a question.

“Aye, I’m now mixed up in this plot of yours,” I said, my voice conveying more than a hint of bitterness.

“Don’t be like that, Rae…” Her face showed sadness, rather than annoyance, and the use of my nickname surprised me. We got the occasional ‘dear,’ and a few other endearments, but seldom were they personal.

“Sorry, Lady,” I mumbled.

“I am not speaking to you as your Lady, Rae, you may use my given name.”

“I don’t know it, Lady,” I said, looking down at my feet. I’d never heard anyone mention the Lady’s name. It wasn’t common knowledge, if anyone knew it at all!

She looked surprised. “Maybe I have kept myself too distant…”

I stood in the awkward silence that followed, stealing a glance at Rory, who also looked baffled at the employers behavior.

The Lady seemed to notice our self conscious attitudes, and snapped herself out of whatever thought she was in.

“My name is Seren, you may use it, but in private only.”

I nodded, a little afraid of how rapidly my life was changing.

“Rory,” the Lady said with a little dip of her head, “I’m not surprised Rael got you mixed up in all of this. You two are as thick as…well, never mind,” she said with a small grin at the pun she refused to make.

That slight lift of the corners of her mouth changed the whole Lady’s appearance. She was young, and she was beautiful. I was beginning to see a new part of the Lady I had never known existed. One that made jokes, and cared about her thieves in more than a business way. It must be lonely in such a position as the Guildmaster, everyone almost feared you. The Guildmaster had no friends. Could it be that she wanted some?

The Lady turned back to face me. “Rael, I assume you know what you are suppose to do…?”

“Not exactly, La—Seren,” I changed at the last moment when I received a glare from my employer. “I know only that I am suppose to protect this amulet from…from…” I couldn’t make myself say the name.

“I know of whom you speak,” the Lady said, her voice deliberately emotionless. I thought once more of the scars the covered her body. Did we have a similar past…?

Seren cleared her throat and continued, “You must eventually face and defeat Sarmad. You are both quite powerful, and with the amulet your victory is almost assured.”

“Almost?” I said, not sure I liked the sound of that.

“Well, we can’t guarantee. You’ve hidden your ability for so long—“

“How did you find out?” I cut in. I hadn’t performed magic since I had come to the guild.

“Well, Aro had gathered some knowledge from…a source. He told us you were very powerful.”

“It was Keeran,” I said, clenching my fists. “He’s the only one still alive that could know…other than him.”

Rory took my hand in hers, working my fingers open. She frowned at the small cuts my nails had made in my palm.

“Fix it,” a command from the Lady.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Fix the cuts.”

“I can’t!”

“You can. You can do many things you’ve never dreamed of doing.”

“The last time I used magic, eight people died.”

“You were trying to kill them, this time is different. Focus on the cuts and making them go away. The rest will come naturally.”

“I can’t…”

“Do it.” I had obeyed every other order the Lady had given me, and I obeyed this one.

I focused on the pain in my hand, willing it to go away. It wasn’t lightning like last time, more like a slow electric shock. It didn’t hurt, but it felt like sparks were running through my veins. As I watched, the cuts in my hands closed up, leaving no hint that they’d ever been there.

“There, see! It’s not that hard,” the Lady said, smiling.

I rubbed my temples, a monster headache beginning to form.

“Ah yes, that’s one of the drawback. You’ll get used to it.”

“Easy for you to say,” I muttered.

“Actually it’s true. I have something of an ability myself, remember?” the Lady said, frowning a bit.

“I’m trying not to have a nervous breakdown, excuse me if I can’t remember every detail!” I said, rather more loud than I should have.

Seren’s face softened. “Of course. Why don’t you go back to your room and have a little rest while you think things over.”

I started to object, but Rory cut me off. “I think that’s a good idea. Come on, Rae, I’ll help you to bed.”

That’s Rory, always looking out for me.

I stumbled through the hall, dazed. I had used magic. Used it with my best friend, and the woman I most respected in the room. I had to be going insane.

Once again, a memory for my past surfaced in my mind. The biting pain as the lash fell, the fist connecting with my jaw, the punch to the stomach, knives cutting into skin. Magic had made that stop. Made it stop in a terrible way. They had deserved their fate. More than deserved it. But was it my job to carry out the judgment?

I shuddered as I remembered the blank faces staring up at me, drained of colour. Drained of life. I had taken away their existence without thought.

“Come along, Rae. You need to lay down for a bit.”

Rory’s voice intruded on my thoughts. She tugged gently on my arm, and I staggered along behind her. My brain was working over time. Too much was going on.

By now, Rory was practically dragging me through the halls. My body was separate from my brain. I couldn’t hardly control my movements. My feet never left the ground, they just shuffled along. What was wrong with me? No matter how tired I was, this had never happened before.

I heard Rory’s sigh of relief as she pushed our bedroom door open, and helped me into bed. “Sleep, Rae,” she whispered.

“Don’t leave me,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears.

“Always there, Rae,” she said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

“Never alone, Ror,” I whispered. “Never alone.”

~ Calleigh

Sort of an Announcement...that fails. :P

Alright, so a few weeks back, I actually made another Shadow Spinner blog. I was really excited, and it looked pretty cool...but I didn't like how the posting worked. SO. I'm back to here again. ^_^ My random, annoying, and uneventful posts will continue. Sorry. :P

~ Calleigh