They fucked again and again, and only barely got enough sleep to carry on with their climb the next morning thanks to the help of a caffeine spell that Lance knew.
“I think we're being followed.”
Lance pointed up at the sky, where four black birds circled them silently. Terra watched them as they continued to climb the trail to the top of the mountain. They really were following them.
One of the birds left the circle, flying out of sight. Terra noticed too late that when the bird returned, much closer to them. With its sharp beak readied as a weapon, the raven dived towards Terra, slashing her arm.
The bird's long talons grabbed at her skin, tearing her clothes and pulling her hat away. “Hey!” She screamed. “Stop!” Lance ran at her to try and slap the raven away.
Another raven dived, and with the help of the first, opened her pocket and grabbed the amulet from within.
Terra gasped, patting her pocket when she saw the blue gem flying away in the talons of the huge raven. She was attacked again by the other three ravens. Lance smacked two of them away, stabbing the third. The wounded bird fell to the ground, but then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“We have to get that necklace back!” Terra started running in the same direction the bird went, Lance following close behind her. She couldn't believe she let the birds take the necklace away. She berated herself, cursed herself.
They were out of breath, their legs aching, when they spotted the bird again. It flew out of the woods and into a clearing. They were at the top of the mountain, and there was the cabin where The Great Sage lived.
A man was standing in front of the cabin. He wasn't an old, frail man. He was tall, and though there was gray in his hair he still looked young and strong. His hair went down past his waist, and shined black as night in the sun.
It was Terra's father. Orussus Neithercutt.
The raven dropped the necklace in his open hand while he watched Terra and Lance approach. Lance's eyes flicked from Orussus to Terra. She wondered if Lance knew this was her father.
Relief swelled in her body. She was so worried she would find something horrible at the top of the mountain, or that The Great Sage would confirm her mother's death.
But if her father was alive, then Queen Anai must have been alive as well.
“Father!” Terra said, closing the distance between them with a sprint. He opened his arms, and she jumped into them. He hugged her close, then put her down.
“Terra. I've been watching you for so long, ever since you were a child. I knew you'd do great things, and you have. You brought me a piece of the puzzle, one more thing I need to fulfill the prophecy.”
Terra pulled back and gave him a strange look. “What prophecy?”
Orussus looked past her, at Lance, and raised his eyebrows. His lip twitched into an ironic smile, then he looked sadly down at his daughter.
“Father… can I have that necklace back? It's important-”
“Unfortunately, you can't have it back. You know, I knew that Helina was a lost cause, that she would take after her mother. I thought you, my daughter, would take after me. But I see your mother's genes poisoned your soul, too.”
She was confused. What was he talking about? Was he disappointed with her over something? She couldn't think of a reason for him to be disappointed. “I'm looking for my mother. Do you know where she is?”
“No.” He continued to glare at Lance, who kept his distance.
“Is she dead?”
Orussus shook his head. “She isn't. Not yet.”
“Terra, I think you should step away,” Lance called, backing up towards the woods again.
She looked back at him and saw the fear on his face. “Why?”
“Because I recognize his voice. I would recognize his voice anywhere.”
Orussus grabbed Terra's arm and pulled her closer, grinning like a madman. His other hand put the necklace in the pocket of his huge fur coat, and pulls out a small dagger, its blade straight, the color of blood.
The blade went through her chest easily. It came out easily, as well, and her blood began to fall.
Lance was upon him in an instant, pulling Terra away from his grip and punching Orussus in the face. Her father fell back into the snow, but was up again too quickly. He had magic, but Terra couldn't figure out how. Her vision was going dark as she bled into the white snow.
Orussus plunged the dagger into Lance's chest, too, but didn't manage to pull it out before he was hit with a ball of white light. The last thing that Terra saw before she passed out was the absence of her father. He was gone. Disappeared.
Soft humming woke Terra up from the blackness. Her body was warm, though it should have been freezing from the cold mountaintop.
She couldn't move her body, no matter how much she tried. She couldn't even wiggle her toes. Struggling for a few moments, she finally managed to open her eyes, just a crack.
The light was intense until she adjusted to it. There was a figure over her, though its back was to Terra. It looked like a woman, with long and wild hair. Her hands were out, hovering over another figure. Lance?
Terra's arm finally moved. She felt dirt beneath her, and smooth stones. The figure turned towards Terra, and finally she saw. She saw, but she didn't understand.
It was her mother.
“My sweet child.” A hand was placed on Terra's forehead.
Terra coughed, and swallowed, trying to make her horribly draw mouth work. She croaked out, “Am I dead?”
Her mother smiled, sweetly. “No, Terra. Not yet. You must live.”
“Mother, are you back? Will you retake the throne?”
Her eyes were sad, gentle. “No. I am not meant for that throne. I am meant to lead an army, with your help. I have things I must finish, and I cannot finish them without you, or your friend here.”
“There's a war coming! We need a queen! You can lead an army from at home, can't you?”
“I can't. Not the kind of army we need. It can't just be witches anymore, because something bigger than vampires is looming over us. I need you to get strong. This apparition only has so much strength, and I focused on healing your wounds. If you want your friend to live, you must heal him.”
“Lance is going to be okay?”
“I healed him as much as I could, but I'm limited when I am so far away. You need to heal him, because he is as important as you are for our future.”
Anai stood and stepped away from her daughter. She seemed to be growing more pale by the second. Terra sat up, trying to grab her mother's hand.
Her mother was gone before she could stand. Terra's head was spinning. Crawling over to Lance's side, she placed her hands over the blood spot on his shirt. The wound was closed, but there was infection growing within him.
She couldn't heal him while they were outside. She had to get him inside. She looked around. The cabin was still intact.
She hoped The Great Sage wouldn't mind her using it.
Dragging Lance by his shoulders, she pulled him into the cabin, which was warm with a fire still burning in the stove. A stew was cooking. Once Lance was in the bed, covered by furs, she looked and finally saw it.
The Great Sage was dead, his hands charred. A sign of fire magic. No doubt he was burned from the inside out.
She touches him, trying to decide what to do with the body. She wasn't strong enough to dig through the frozen ground and bury him. Maybe once Lance was healed, he would help her.
There was something in his hand. Pulling his fingers away from the object, she found a key. Was he trying to hide something?
Looking around the room, she tried the key on whatever she could find with a lock. The closet door didn't fit. The trunk where he kept poisons was unlocked, but it didn't fit there either. She sat on the floor, but below her she felt something strange.
Pulling away the rug, there was a lock on the wooden floor. She sucked in a breath of air and undid it, pulling the floorboards up to reveal a book in the ground. It was The Great Sage's written prophecies and predictions.
A few had notes on whether or not they came to pass. Most seemed like gibberish.
The last one, in red ink, was written as if The Great Sage were in a hurry.
The Demon will return, and will destroy all mortal life
The Vampires shall drink the blood spilled by his darkness
Only in the Great North, Sharptide, will light shine
Terra read the words over and over again. They didn't make much sense to her, but she knew where she needed to go next: Sharptide, the hidden country between the borders of Finland and Russia.
Chapter Four
It was a cold day in August. All of the women in the East Manor on the castle grounds were wearing sweaters over their shirts, except for the staff who had to remain in their uniform. Servants wore simple black clothes with the royal crest stitched with a rose pink thread.
Helina-Catherine Neithercutt sat at a tea table next to the large south-facing window that overlooked the rose gardens. Her two closest friends were with her.
The princess fidgeted with the ribbon of her corset, poking out from below her sweater. Very few women wore corsets, as it had gone out of fashion decades ago in Mindren, but Helina continued to train her waist. She preferred feeling that her core was solid to the freedom that most women enjoyed.
She was also something of a traditionalist among the Mindren elite. She observed all of the holidays, and spent much time at her personal altar to the gods and goddesses she was promised to when she turned eight.
“Can you believe that Edward thinks he can woo me?” Anais asked, covering her mouth from revealing a pleased smile. “A cook! A French one at that! I should think the future queen's cousin and best friend would deserve better than that.”