Read Online Enchantress Awakening: Part One of the Book of Water (The Elemental Cycle 1) by J.W. Whitmarsh - Free Book Online
Authors: J.W. Whitmarsh
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to destroy these lingering works of darkness. At that meeting I was betrayed and together they bound me in a prison to which I remain to this day, tethered in all but spirit.” Loreliath was quiet at this, as though exhausted by the fitting such weight of history, events and emotions into so short a speech. Caleigh felt it too, for all the might and majesty at its heart there was a human being who had suffered greatly for the wrongs of others. “Wonders thou, why they did not kill me? They were not without foresight or completely bereft of pity. It was my power most of all that hurt the beast and I was part of the spell that banished him. As long as I live my power keeps the Beast at bay, or so they believed. For a very long time I believed that they did not kill me as they intended to release me some day. I am certain that was their original plan, but as with all their good intentions this notion has long since gone awry.
They were mistaken in their beliefs though. They thought that if they kept me alive it would be enough to hold back the Beast forgetting that they too were part of the spell. As each of them has let themselves be corrupted and has let darkness fill their hearts, so has the gate they held been opened. Alone I have striven but no longer can I strive alone. So now I ask of thee, bear this warning so that the Beast may not go unopposed.”
“I will.” Caleigh stated. Loreliath smiled and then just as quickly the smile faded to a pensive look.
“I would ask of thee a second great favour, too. The relics of which I spoke both attract the Beast and bind me. Should their masters relinquish them the forces of Darkness will be much weakened in their cause and so too I will be freed. The latter I would not ask for were it not joined with the former.”
“Why would you not ask for your freedom?”
“The task is great and perilous to any who would undertake it. My liberty alone is not worth that.”
“I will do all I can for you.”
“Do all that thou feel is right in thy heart. More than this, I cannot ask. Protect thyself thou hast a great destiny before thee, if such is thy wish.” Loreliath’s eyes shot skyward as if she had caught sight of a storm cloud above. “My prison draws me back once more. Fare well, Caleigh. I have seen thy heart and in it I trust. It is for this you are chosen.” A shadow drifted over the shrine and very suddenly Loreliath’s robes billowed forward and she disappeared into thin air. By the time the shadow had passed there was no trace of her or the power that had been present with her. She had gone and now it was left to Caleigh what to do next.
6. Aftermath
Dana did not need to ask Caleigh if she had seen what she had hoped to see. The experience was etched on her face in an expression that contained bewilderment, excitement and determination all at once. Silently they descended the steps together and re-joined their companions at the waterside where they had left them. Words were exchanged and somehow Caleigh related what had happened and what it meant for her, though in a daze of which she would recall little later.
One thought did strike her clearly and came into focus a while later as they sat about the rocks at the water’s edge and ate their lunch; her friends seemed less surprised about her personal revelations than she was. “Well, we’ve always known you were a bit special.” Explained Ellie when pressed, “You don’t know what it’s like to be around you because you are you; ‘tis the one way in which your powers of perception fail you.”
“How are you to use your gift?” Penric questioned. “I know not what a wizard does afore they open their first leaf of spells.”
“Nor I, which is why I must see Tovrik as soon as I can.”
“Is he really a wizard though, I always thought his shows were made of clever tricks rather than real magic. I seem to recall him revealing the secret to some of them and it was merely a matter of
They were mistaken in their beliefs though. They thought that if they kept me alive it would be enough to hold back the Beast forgetting that they too were part of the spell. As each of them has let themselves be corrupted and has let darkness fill their hearts, so has the gate they held been opened. Alone I have striven but no longer can I strive alone. So now I ask of thee, bear this warning so that the Beast may not go unopposed.”
“I will.” Caleigh stated. Loreliath smiled and then just as quickly the smile faded to a pensive look.
“I would ask of thee a second great favour, too. The relics of which I spoke both attract the Beast and bind me. Should their masters relinquish them the forces of Darkness will be much weakened in their cause and so too I will be freed. The latter I would not ask for were it not joined with the former.”
“Why would you not ask for your freedom?”
“The task is great and perilous to any who would undertake it. My liberty alone is not worth that.”
“I will do all I can for you.”
“Do all that thou feel is right in thy heart. More than this, I cannot ask. Protect thyself thou hast a great destiny before thee, if such is thy wish.” Loreliath’s eyes shot skyward as if she had caught sight of a storm cloud above. “My prison draws me back once more. Fare well, Caleigh. I have seen thy heart and in it I trust. It is for this you are chosen.” A shadow drifted over the shrine and very suddenly Loreliath’s robes billowed forward and she disappeared into thin air. By the time the shadow had passed there was no trace of her or the power that had been present with her. She had gone and now it was left to Caleigh what to do next.
6. Aftermath
Dana did not need to ask Caleigh if she had seen what she had hoped to see. The experience was etched on her face in an expression that contained bewilderment, excitement and determination all at once. Silently they descended the steps together and re-joined their companions at the waterside where they had left them. Words were exchanged and somehow Caleigh related what had happened and what it meant for her, though in a daze of which she would recall little later.
One thought did strike her clearly and came into focus a while later as they sat about the rocks at the water’s edge and ate their lunch; her friends seemed less surprised about her personal revelations than she was. “Well, we’ve always known you were a bit special.” Explained Ellie when pressed, “You don’t know what it’s like to be around you because you are you; ‘tis the one way in which your powers of perception fail you.”
“How are you to use your gift?” Penric questioned. “I know not what a wizard does afore they open their first leaf of spells.”
“Nor I, which is why I must see Tovrik as soon as I can.”
“Is he really a wizard though, I always thought his shows were made of clever tricks rather than real magic. I seem to recall him revealing the secret to some of them and it was merely a matter of
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