Rise of Tempest Merlin

Chapter 14

Volga sat cross-legged beneath a cherry tree in the garden, blissfully savoring a few of the ripe fruits, plucked directly from the tree. As with the day before, her parents were simply too stunned by her sudden shift in behavior to articulate their disappointment. She knew the reprieve wouldn't last long, but she planned to take advantage of every moment.

A beam of sunlight shone upon her spellbook, open in her lap. The spell to soothe sore and chafed n*****s from nursing a child intrigued Volga because it had potential to cure the same caused by her often elaborate and uncomfortable wardrobe. Though still a little weary from her late night in the city, she still felt giddy from the trip — and the subsequent reunion with Thadis.

She could still see the look in his eyes as he stood with her in the moonlight at the servant's gate. For a moment, she'd thought for certain that he was going to kiss her. In fact, she'd actually felt irritated when he didn't, instead returning to the city after saying that he hoped to see her there the next evening.

Enough of that. Study, Volga, she silently chided herself as her body reacted to the memory of his face and how badly she'd wanted that kiss. Her recent lapse in manners would eventually fade from her father's mind — taking up with a vagabond sellsword certainly would not.

The words of the spell she studied were quite similar to the other two spells she'd mastered, and Volga found that this magic came to her easily. After only an hour or so, she felt confident that she knew a little over half of the spell. The encouraging results pushed her even harder, reducing her world to the spidery words on the pages before her — until the snake slithered out from under a patch of violets on the opposite side of the path.

Whether alerted by the sound, a flash of movement in her peripheral vision, or pure intuition, Volga looked up from her book just as the serpent appeared on the path. She recognized the venomous reptile by its copper-colored head and attempted to scoot back, around the tree.

The action caused the snake to rear its head up in an ominous posture. Volga froze in place, her eyes locked on the snake. Her hand rested against her spell pouch, providing her with a possible solution. With slow, minimal movements, she withdrew one of the miniature arrows from inside the pouch.

The snake remained in front of her, well within striking distance, seemingly daring her to move. Volga raised the arrow in front of her, prompting another frightening change in posture from the serpent. She whispered the words of the spell, moving her fingers through the few gestures necessary to call up the magic. The magical darts probably wouldn't kill the snake, but they would certainly stun it and make it think twice about coming near her.

Just as Volga completed the spell, she felt a tingle in her thigh that she knew came from the dagger sheathed there. It distracted her for a moment just as she whispered the final word and directed the tiny arrow toward the snake. The arrow vanished, and again Volga felt the tingle — stronger this time.

Curiously, Volga knew the magic hadn't failed. She could feel it within her dagger. Somehow, the weapon had contained the magic and held it there. With the same slow movements she'd adopted since the snake appeared, Volga unsheathed the dagger. She pointed it at the snake, concentrating on the strange sensation of magic there. Her magical dart leapt from the dagger, striking the snake right in the head. The creature curled up with a hiss and rolled over on its back, twitching from the bite of the magic.

Volga wasted no time in scurrying to safety.

Once a safe distance away, seated on a limestone bench, Volga examined her dagger. Gwen had suggested that the dagger was made for a wizard, and that certainly seemed to be true. While the ability to hold spells and release them with a thought was useful, it could also prove troublesome if she couldn't learn how to control it.

Volga retrieved another arrow from her pouch, looked around to make sure that no one was around, and cast the spell at a brown, curled leaf lying upon the ground. Again, she felt the tingle from her dagger, but ignored it. When she finished casting the spell, the dart hurtled from her fingers and blasted into the dried leaf.

Pleased with the result, she decided to try to contain a spell within the dagger. She pulled one of the miniature candles from her spell pouch and cast the light spell she'd utilized to navigate the servant's corridors the night before. This time, when she felt the dagger reacting to the magic, she opened her mind to the weapon. The tiny candle vanished, and Volga could feel the presence of her magic within the dagger, awaiting her call.

A second casting of the light spell yielded the same results, and Volga could feel both of the spells distinctly within the dagger. At least I won't have to speak the words of the spell when I sneak out to the city tonight, she thought.

Continuing to experiment, she cast another dart spell into the dagger. She could tell the difference between all three spells, and knew she could call up whichever she wished with nothing more than a thought. On a whim, she cast first the fertility divining spell, and then the spell to lessen the pain and discomfort of deflowering into the dagger. With the last, she had a sense from the weapon that it could hold no more.

Volga sheathed the dagger with a wide smile, appreciating Gwen's gift even more, now. She couldn't wait to reveal the secret to her friend. She sheathed the dagger and decided to return to her room to continue studying the new spell. The encounter with the snake made her too uncomfortable with the thought of focusing on her book in the garden again.

As she stepped out of the garden, Volga smiled at the sight of the sun sinking toward the western horizon. She hoped she could remain hidden away in her room as much as possible, because she didn't know if she could contain her anticipation for her venture into the city tonight. With that pleasant thought in mind, Volga hurried to her room.

Her mood buoyant, Volga stepped from her bath and prepared to dress for bed. She considered changing into what she planned to wear into the city, but thought better of the notion. Her mother might decide to finally confront her about her recent behavior, and finding her not dressed appropriately would raise questions she couldn't answer.

Once she toweled dry, Volga slipped into her silk chemise and retrieved her new spellbook once more. She felt as though she was on the cusp of mastering the spell, and she was eager to do so.

Before she could open the book, she heard a knock on the door. Quickly slipping the book beneath her overstuffed pillow, she called out, "Yes?"

Kylie answered, "I have some of your laundry."

"Come in, Kylie."

The young woman entered carrying a woven wicker basket, and Volga offered to help. After removing her panties from the top of the basket, Volga's eyes widened at the sight of the clothes she'd worn out last night in the bottom. She'd carefully hidden the clothing away, planning to wash it herself in secret.

Kylie whispered, "Your escape didn't go entirely unnoticed. Don't worry, we're not going to say anything. If you plan to go out tonight, it would be nice if you'd tell me, though. The stairs in the servant's corridors are just beyond the wall behind my bed. I entertained all manner of nightmares about ghosts and thieves until I discovered the true source of the sound."

"I'm sorry," Volga apologized with a little smile.

"I thought I might go into the city this evening as well. I would truthfully feel much better if you'd let me go with you."

Volga sighed inwardly, not happy about having anyone go with her into the city.

Kylie's voice dropped even lower when she whispered, "I know about the young man who walked you home, as well. That secret is mine alone, and I will neither interfere nor speak a word of it to anyone. I'm quite happy for you, actually."

"He just offered to accompany me," Volga quietly protested.

Kylie smiled knowingly. "Of course. Will you let me come with you?"

Volga nodded. "Yes."

"I'll slip something under the door when I'm leaving and wait for you by the servant's gate."

Still not overjoyed with the intrusion on her clandestine excursion, Volga accepted the necessity. She knew that Kylie would have only found some way to follow even if she'd refused. Kylie took her assignment as Volga's personal servant very seriously.

Her spellbook once more in hand, Volga sat back against the oaken headboard of her bed to study until the hour grew late enough to make her escape.

"Got someone with her, she does. A pretty little thing, too."

"It is of no matter. The woman is a mere servant. We are prepared for far more dangerous opposition."

"We allowed to play with that one, once we got yer prize?"

A sigh emerged from deep within the man's hood. "She is irrelevant. Do with her as you will. Should your foolish indulgence interfere with my goal, rest assured that the consequences will be — unpleasant."

"Of course, Milord," the unkempt brigand replied with a wide, evil smile that revealed his yellowed, broken teeth.

The hooded man turned toward another in a voluminous robe of dark blue. "You have her, I trust?"

"Of course, Lord. My trinket has latched firmly onto her shoe. She will neither discover nor dislodge it."

"You will have your payment once she is in my possession. Stand ready and remain hidden until the woman returns from her nocturnal visit to the city. Do not fail me."

The brigands surrounding him nodded and grunted their agreement, sounding all too eager for the task put before them. Volga had no idea that this might happen to her that her powers as a Kolduny were going to lead her to her capture by the most vicious of the knight gamers of her land.

And as she remembered what she had done that night she slowly regained her sense and felt that her head was pounding with the force of the hit that had happened when that vile thing had thrown her into the wall. She could smell the damp and the saline air around her and as she touched her head she could also feel congealed blood at the back and her ire rose.

Why did the men think that they could do anything with her just because she was a woman? Not even a spirit took her seriously…but enough was enough.

Enough men had already hurt her and now it was time for payback. She needed to cross this level with her own powers and the spirit would not even know what actually hit him. And when she had mastered the game she was going to make sure that the handsome bastard who had done this to her would be trapped in the netherworld with violent spirits for an eternity.