The Illyrian Series: The Oracle Of Rosedale

"Wow," Violet says as I exit Malin's tent a few hours later. "Relaying work to others, you truly will make a fantastic Queen."

"Good morning, Violet." I say.

Malin gets up from his spot on the floor and yawns. His eyes are red and his eyelids heavy.

"Thank you." I whisper to him.

"It was only three hours, you did it for longer." He yawns again. "I'll be asleep in my tent."

"You're lucky this all looks good." Violet says. "You didn't tamper with the Sandalwood, did you?" She picks up the bowl of crushed up bits of Sandalwood, Awan leaves and coconut oil (courtesy of me, Rainey packed it for my hair).

"The same as it was last night."

"Good, then everything is on track. This should be fully extracted in 15 hours."

"When are we leaving?"

"You're in a rush." I give her a look. She drops the bowl. "We leave as soon as the potion is ready, if we wait a minute after, it loses its potency."

"So we can't fail." My heart rate picks up. "Or if we do, we can try again."

"The portal can only be opened during certain lunar calendar days. The one after tonight is in five days." She sounds worried.

"So we do it tonight." I sound determined. "Do you need help?"

"You're no use to me now." She takes in my state. "We don't know exactly what's waiting for us over there. You've only had three hours of sleep, you need to be sharp tonight."

"Thanks." I say even though I can't go back to sleep, I'm too worried. My mind is keeping me wide awake. I make myself busy by making breakfast, porridge.

"No," Violet says as I lodge the pot from the back of the barn to twenty feet to it's front. "That thing you made yesterday wasn't palatable. It tasted almost metallic."

"There wasn't any blood in it."

"I know, but Malin told me about your experience with the knife." She's smiling. "Wish I was there to see it."

"Whatever," I mumble. I get started on the porridge, I recall memories from Violet or Malin making it. I get confused after pouring the oats and consider asking her for help. But I don't, because she will never let me live it down.

I manage the task and serve it to her, I anxiously wait for her response. "Did you accidentally put pepper in this?"

I nod slowly. "Oh, princess." She gives me back the bowl and continues with her tasks. "Oh, and I'll need the pot around noon."

I spend the next few hours training; shooting arrows and thrusting my dagger into an invisible enemy. I have no idea what to expect in Tatris, Violet insists that her mysterious informant only told her how to get there. And not what to expect on the inside.

I hand Violet the thoroughly scrubbed black pot and she places it on the fire. She dumps three out of the four bowls in and it sizzles before giving a satisfying poof of green smoke.

I start feeling sleepy an hour later and reassemble my tent, that entire task is starting to feel very tiresome. I crawl in and curl up on the thick blanket. Soon, I'm lulled to sleep.

***

When I wake up, the sun is beginning it's descent across the orange skyline. I stumble out of my tent, I don't feel comfortable. My vision is blurred, my stomach is tight and my head is pounding.

"What time is it?" I call to the empty barn. I swing the poorly hinged doors open and clamber out. "What time is it?"

Malin drops one of his swords and consults his pocket watch. "Four minutes to five."

I rub the sand from my eyelids. "I didn't miss anything." I peer into Violet's make believe cauldron. "Looks... blue."

"It does." She agrees. "Tastes even worse."

My stomach reacts accordingly to that. "Do we have to drink all of this?"

"We're not drinking it."

"We're not? Then what's it for?"

"Rub it on your skin, it will protect you from the air in Tatris."

"Will we be slathering it on our whole body?"

She shrugs. "Just the parts you don't want detoriating slowly in the wind."

Malin picks his weapon from the ground and sheathes the two of them. "We should get ready, we leave at 9. Addy, you should pack your satchel. The essentials; first aid, weapons, food..."

"Don't waste your time on food, you can't get hungry there." Violet says.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Nobody has time to feed the prisoners." She says this like it's the simplest thing ever.

"Anything else you want to add about the realm." I sound cross.

"There are these creatures that patrol the place. Magicians would have done that job, but again, who has time?" She stirs her potion. "The creatures are called Crawleys, they kill on sight. Also, you can't use magic there. Well, I can't."

"How are you going to survive?"

"I can manage a sword." I catch Malin's eye and see him shaking his head slowly.

"We'll stay around you at all times." I promise. "We'll make it out of there, and with an answer from Zane." The rest don't look too hopeful.

I kneel next to Violet and watch Malin training with his swords. As he always does with this weapon, he moves at rapid speed. I lose track of his movement. Eventually, all I can see is his back.

He jogs back to us and nods, he isn't even sweating. He doesn't look out of breath neither does he look tired. He looks as refreshed as ever. "What is it?" He asks.

"Nothing, you're just really good." I get up. "We should eat before we leave, I'll make us something."

I go back to the barn and check our food basket, it's still full. Although most of it will be stale, spoilt or rotten by tomorrow. I cut up the fruit as carefully as I can, spread butter and jam on the crumbling bread and pour orange juice into two cups for Malin and Violet, and Apple for me. We eat in a heavy silence, we don't know what to say to each other.

Violet produces a long white chalky stick and draws a sizable circle between her potion and the barn. It's just big enough for the three of us. Nine o'clock draws near and we stand around with our satchels and weapons.

Violet pours the Sandalwood oil into the cauldron and it spurts out fire. When the flames settle down, we see a thick dark blue liquid in the cauldron.

"Quickly, rub it all over." Violet dips her hand inside. I tentatively put my hand in and recoil, I was expecting it to be hot. Instead, it's freezing cold. How is it so cold? It's still on the fire. I scoop up a lot and rub it all over my face.

"I'm freezing." I shiver. I apply more on my arms. I reach my legs and pause. "Do you guys mind?" I point at my leg. We all face different directions. I remove my light brown leather pants and slather the icy substance all over my exposed leg. I remove my shirt and rub it all over my stomach, chest and back.

Once I'm done, I put my clothes back on. "Are you guys done?" I stare back at the barn.

"In a second." Malin calls. "Okay." He turns back and I start laughing. He laughs too. "You're blue."

"So are you."

"Focus please." Violet scolds. She stares up at the moon, it's in a special crescent shape. "It's almost time."

We stay quiet for thirty seconds. "Is anything... anything happening soon?"

"Keep quiet." She whispers something. Nothing works. She starts whispering again, still nothing. She does this three more times.

I start to lose hope. "Maybe there was a mistake in the potion."

"I didn't make one." She snaps. "Or maybe you didn't pay attention last night and fell asleep, that sounds more plausible."

"I did my part." I object. "I stayed up for hours, you didn't..."

"Do you hear that?" Malin asks in a low voice. "Listen."

I stop shouting and take a deep breath. I strain my ears and that's when I hear it. A soft whooshing sound, it grows louder as the seconds go by. Soon, it's so loud, I have to block my ears. "Malin." I call. I scan the area, no one is there. Even the circle is gone. A second later, it's so dark, I'm not sure if my eyes are open or closed.

I clutch my stomach and release a bone chilling scream, something just pierced me.

I try to scream again. I can hear it, reverberating in my mind trying to escape through my throat. But nothing comes out. I try to stand straight and feel the pain subsiding.

The darkness starts receeding and everywhere is getting brighter. My knees feel wobbly and I struggle to stand. The moon comes into view illuminating my surroundings. I turn back and see another one, and another.

"Violet." A strangled voice says. "Have you seen Adria?"

"I'm here." I cough. "Where are you?" I stumble around the lumpy plain. The floor is so uneven, some of the bumps are big enough to hide behind. Some are so small, they barely reach my knees.

"Adria, we're here." Malin leaves the bump he was standing behind.

I relax and run to them, I trip on uneven ground and am sent to the floor. "Here." Malin offers me his hand. I choose to remain on the floor.

"Are my eyes still getting used to the surroundings or is this place really like this?" I ask. Everything including the atmosphere is grey, the same dull shade of grey.

Violet appears, she looks dispiritedly at her surroundings. "No, this is how Tatris is."

I rub my eyes. "I want to leave."

Violet opens her satchel and brings out a green flag. "What spot did you apparate in?" I take the flag from her and plant it on the spot. "Remember, the only way out is to make it back to this exact spot."

We all stare at our surroundings once more. "Do you know which way to go?" Malin asks Violet.

"No, and I can't use magic. Did you bring a compass?"

"I have it." I show them the scratched, metallic device. "Which way?"

"Um." She stammers. "I don't know exactly." She glares back at us. "I told you, I don't know how this place works. My friend didn't mention all this."

"Your friend, can you at least tell who that is?" I demand.

"No."

I rush to the tallest bump I can find (8 feet) and stare out. "Be careful." Malin calls from below, ready to catch me if I fall. I lose my balance on the narrow and steep top, and slide down a bit. Malin reaches out to hold me.

"I'm fine." I use my hands as a shield between us. "I won't fall." I take a step further and watch out for anything besides empty fields and bumps. "I see something." I consult my compass. "Up North, towards the second moon."

I bend lower and carefully come down the grassy bump. "What did you see?" Violet asks.

"A house. Single storey, not wide. It's like an abandoned shed."

"How far is it?"

"I don't know, it's hard to measure here. Let's just start walking."

We walk for a while, I'm not sure how long. We eventually reach the little, one storey building. There's a flat roof, no windows and a door at the front.

"Should we go in?" I ask.

Malin draws his swords. "Might be a trap." He says. "Let's try not to walk into houses that are owned by creatures."

"Creatures?" Violet asks. "They're magicians. And they can't use magic here. If anyone should be scared, it should be them." She brandishes her knife.

"I still think we should be careful." I warn. "How about one person goes in and the other two can wait here?"

"Separation. You truly haven't learned anything from this trip." Violet mocks. "I'll go in."

"No, I will." Malin says. "Take care of Adria, please." He directs that at Violet. He walks the remaining meters to the house and pushes the knobless door open. He walks in and is enveloped by darkness.

"Malin?" I call. He doesn't come out. "I should check."

Violet looks around. "We don't know what's inside."

"Yes, we do. Malin is inside. He might be in trouble, we have to rescue him." I counter.

"I think that's a bad idea."

"We're not leaving him behind." I say forcefully. "I'm going in." I ready my bow and arrow.

Violet begrudgingly follows me in. I pause at the threshold and try to make sense of what's inside. It's pitch black.

I place one foot in front of the other and am sucked in. I drop to the ground and keep my hands on the marble-like floor.

I wait a few seconds then look up.

The room is colorful.

I have never seen a room as grande as this. The ceiling is made of pure sparkling gold, the walls are moving pictures and the furniture is made of shiny oak.

Like the outside, there aren't any windows. Just walls that seem to be telling a different story every ten seconds. The only furniture present is a blue sofa, a table and one cabinet. They're all placed in the middle of the room.

I focus on the South wall and watch the shifting figures. The first one, a man drawn with a charcoal pencil is walking up to a castle. A second figure, a woman, opens the door and lets him in. The wall is bare for a second before an invisible hand draws another scene.

In this one, the man is looking into a mirror. The woman catches him and they fight. Their little stick hands are gesticulating wildly. He tries to curse her, but she's quicker. She casts a spell on him and he appears in a grey and bumpy landscape, here.

"Does that answer your question?" A loud and confident voice calls. Someone has appeared on the couch. He sticks out sorely from his environment. While this room has colour, he doesn't. His skin, eyes, hair and clothes all appear grey. It's like mine.

"Who are you?"

He smiles. "Isn't it obvious?" Even colourless, he still looks beautiful. Like he was carved from the finest stone by the most talented sculptor. "I'm Zane. And you have no idea how long I've been waiting for you."