The Raven & The Wolf

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I still feel myself standing there in shock, unable to truly figure out what I just did. How did I use my magic, this fresh out of an overload, without triggering another one? I used the earth’s filter automatically, and the most surprising out of what had just transpired, is that it had warned me of Gedric’s accidental attack. Did it adjust to my magic, while I explored it’s filter?

“Nat, what happened?” Stanya demands, looking at me as if I had just done something life alternating.

“The earth warned me,” I tell her, looking at her with so much confusion that it makes it clear that I have absolutely no idea either. “It merged with my magic to control the output of my spell.”

“What do you mean by that?” Gedric asks, touching my arm gently to turn me towards him so he can see me.

I search for the words, but they seem to fail me. “Just that. It filtered my magic.”

Halthin stands, thinking things through. “Maybe because it recognizes Nat’s strength, and acted with hers.”

Stanya thinks about it. “Nat’s magic does rival the strength of the earth, so it sees the possibility of what hers can do if left unchecked. It’s protecting itself by keeping her power in check. Nat must have accidentally let it line her magic while she was exploring it.”

“So I accidentally saved my own life?” I ask her, following what she is saying.

“That’s one way of phrasing it. I wouldn’t trust it to stop your overloads, at least not until you’re stronger and more familiar with it.”

“But it was automatic.” I tell Stanya, still having the hardest time wrapping my mind around that. As soon as those words had left my mouth, my marks starts tingling and I hear the raven cry. “Son of a-” I say while all feeling drains from my legs, and I fall into Gedric’s arms.

The plane I had been pulled into is vibrant. I’m standing on water, the water is clear enough that I can see the fish at the bottom swimming several feet below me. The sky is a pastel orange and pink, giving off the impression of a beautiful sunset. There appears to be nothing else.

A man stands there in what appears to be a remake of his old body, so not to startle me of what his new true form is. His silver hair flows down to his shoulders in thick waves and he’s staring at me with hard ocean eyes set against pale skin. He’s muscular and radiates strength.

“You just had to keep talking about it, didn’t you,” Articus snaps at me, glaring at me hard.

“I’m still trying to figure out what exactly happened.” I tell him, unbothered by his hostility.

“Are you slow or something,” Articus demands. “You know exactly what you did. You used the earth’s filter as your own. It’s accepted you, deeming you powerful enough for it to be used by you in order to protect itself. It’s felt you. It knows you’re not a threat.”

“I know that, but how?” I demand back from him.

“What do you mean, how? You found it. You gave it permission to touch you. It evaluated you and found you worthy of it. And that’s where you fucked up. Now the Fates are dealing with you, not just me.”

I groan, “Look I don’t want to do this, or have time for this.”

“Well if you hadn’t limited their options to kill you, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I didn’t plan for it to happen. It was an accident.”

“That makes it worse!”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever. Can I heal myself now or not?”

“Not, you moron.” Articus snaps at me. “Do not let magic touch you at all. You were projecting the magic away from you, which is why you’re okay now. How are you this dumb?”

“Look, you’re the only one to have experienced the same issues as me, so I’m going to sound stupid every now and then.” I flip my hair in my annoyance. “Now can I go now, or what?”

“I’m not the one that pulled you here. The Fates did.”

I groan. “Now I really want to go. Why do you look like that?” I ask, motioning to him. “You’re skin tone is all off.”

Articus glowers at me. “I prefer this look over what they did to me.”

“Fair,” I say, cocking my head. “Now where are they?”

“They’re evaluating you, to find what they can offer you to get a deal out of you.”

That makes me stiffen. They’re a lot more observant than Articus, and he at least seems to have moral standards. They don’t. “Now what did I do to gather this much interest?”

“You know damn well what you did.” He folds his arms. “Oh I’m sorry, accidentally did. You cut off a resource. That was a guarantee for them. It’s gone now, and that makes them angry.”

“If they have you, why on earth do they want me?” I demand, folding my good arm.

“Because they’re moving in on another world, and that world is particularly hostile. They’ve found ways to cancel out magic, and the Fates take offense to that. They want all of us to fight their war in that plane and take it over.”

I find the hole in his words. “But they promised you your freedom.”

“They canceled that arrangement the moment you did this.” Articus growls, his fists balled in his fury.

“They weren’t going to do it anyway,” I tell him. “If they lied like this once, they’ll have no problem doing it again.”

“You don’t think I know that?” He yells at me. “I had a plan. I had it perfectly worded and phrased that if they went back on it, they lose control of the Servants. But no, you had to ruin that.”

“I think that deal is still on, since until I die, you haven’t failed.”

“Not if they revoked the deal,” He hisses, stepping towards me. “They broke it off.”

“Look, that’s not my fault. And if you can’t cancel a deal with them, then they really shouldn’t with you.”

“Fairness doesn’t exist here, so stop being so naïve.”

I roll my eyes. “I think the naïve thing is believing that you’re out of luck here.”

“Or just make a deal with me, and we’ll see what I can do to get that deal reinstated.”

“Is this just an elaborate plot to make me make the deal with you?” I ask, dodging an answer.

“No! Are you thick in the head? You’re always asking questions…” Articus says, trailing off when realization hits him. “Oh you clever clever girl. You’re dodging answers by asking questions.”

“Deflection does seem to work on you pretty well.” I say, smirking just a little.

“Would you two stop, you’re giving me a headache.” A willowy voice says, breaking into our argument. I look over to see an emerald green man appearing before us. His body ripples like water with each move he makes, making it very disorienting to look at him. It looks like I have met the man who is the main source of my magic.

He looks at me, “You’re quite meddlesome, little girl. We’re considering taking your magic away, if you continue to refuse to comply with us.”

“Please do,” I say as I widen my eye in sincerity. “It’ll save me from so many overloads.”

“And dealing with Ari?” The Fate asks, raising his eyebrow at me.

“I guess I’ll have to be more creative,” I answer while shrugging.

He glares at me while Articus snickers. “Natasha, don’t you dare speak to me as if your magic isn’t a gift.”

“Right now, it’s a hazard.”

“You ungrateful little girl.” The Fate seethes, glaring at me.

“You see what I’ve been dealing with,” Articus interjects. “She’s not worth your time.”

I’d take offense to that, only that’d draw attention to me. The Fate glares at Articus. “Silence you insolent insubordinate. If you hadn’t failed in your task, we wouldn’t be here.”

He turns his attention to me and takes a step towards me. “No you, madam, are trouble. You’re not leaving this plane until you make a deal with us.”

“Then we’re going to be here for a long while.”

“Oh really? What about your little friends? Would they be so inclined to be against making a deal to save you?”

My breath catches. “You wouldn’t. You don’t even want them.”

“We don’t, but a Champion and Second Guardian would be quite a good addition to our collection. They’re not weak by any means either.”

“You’re not willing to waste your time on them, so why are you bothering?” I demand while Articus gives me a worried look just before disappearing.

“Because you’re so obstinate that you won’t listen to a word that is told to you. But there is one thing that you’d willingly risk your life for without hesitation, and that is to save your friends.”

“They’ve never struck a deal with you,” I tell him, stepping towards him.

“Are you sure about that? You’ve seen what we’re capable of. You’ve stunted yourself socially enough that there is very little that you hold dear. Your little friend Stanya is who’d you risk your life for more than anything, but Halthin and Gedric are close on that list as well. Also, those Sheika Clans that you conceal. If I were to remove you, they would be vulnerable.”

“You’d sacrifice our entire race, and the Forest Folk, just for me to make a deal with you?” I demand, actually astonished they could be that cold.

“Life means nothing to me.” He growls harshly enough to make me flinch. “I created you for one thing and one thing only, Natasha. You’re a weapon and that is all. You’re gifted with my magic. I will stop at nothing to bring you under my rule. I made you!” He roars, making me take an automatic step back.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask him, forcing me to correct that step.

“I told you already. You’re mine. You were supposed to die when you were six. You’re always ruining my plans.”

“What are you saying?”

“You weren’t supposed to live to see your seventh birthday. Now your body has grown into your magic, and your mind. This is making my life harder than it needed to be. Now just make the deal I want you to make, and I might just let you live to see twenty one.”

“Are you going senile?” I demand from him, trying hard to keep my anger in check.

“Just look,” He growls, touching the water we’re standing on.

When I look down I see Gedric, Halthin, and Stanya surrounding my body. I do look particularly more pale than normal. Maybe it’s just the angle. Why is Drew glowing purple? Oh shit. Please don’t be morons. Please don’t be morons.

Articus pops back up and gives me a wide eyed expression that immediately makes my stomach drop. The Fate touches the water again, allowing sound to come through. “If you want your friend Natasha, I want to make a deal with you, Second Guardian. You give up your powers and your life, in exchange for her to be returned here.”

“No!” I scream out. She loves her magic. It’s a part of her. Her favorite thing to do is make pink flowers float around her when she’s not tired enough to sleep. I also can’t let her die. I love her too much to let her do this. I try to reach out towards the water, but Articus stops me.

Articus holds me back while I try to move away from him. “Natasha, don’t. If you dive into that water, you’re actually going to die.”

Stanya is in tears at this point. “I-I-I can’t. She’d never forgive me if I did.”

“You’re going to let your friend die, because she’ll be angry at you?”

“No!” I scream, anger tearing through me and pulling the water around us, striking the Fate and sending him far away from us. My body glows a bright green in the scene below, caused by my desperation to stop them, making everyone take an automatic step back.

The Fate plays it cool, and uses it to his advantage. “You see? Her magic is starting to leave her.”

“Fine!” Stanya cries. “I’ll do it!”

“No!” I scream, begging for this to be a trick. This can’t be real. This is a trap.

“Natasha, you have an option to stop this. Make a deal with us, and I’ll rescind our offer to her.”

“Stop,” I beg. “This is a trick. You’re lying.”

“He’s not,” Articus tells me. “I’ll serve your sentence if I’m lying to you, Natasha.”

Defeat runs through me when Stanya reaches over to touch the Fates hand, making me go limp in Articus’s arms. “Alright, I’ll make a deal with you.”

The Fate stops inches from Stanya’s hand. “Never mind, Natasha has agreed to make a deal with us. I won’t be needing you after all.”

“What are you telling me?” Stanya demands, horror spreading through her.

“Your little friend is just unconscious, courtesy of us.” The Fate waves his hand, dispersing the illusion he had placed over me; returning color to my skin. “Count yourself lucky girl. Your friend just saved your life, which would have made some Sheika Clan’s very vulnerable.”

Articus lets me drop to my knees as the Fate disappears from below, the matching purple figure then appearing before me. He looks towards the green Fate. “You broke her Mikal, congratulations.”

Mikal walks over to me as I pant, angered tears starting to roll free. I don’t want him to see me like this, so I don’t look up, only looking at his shoes. “What deal do you want to make little girl?”

I close my eyes, and think hard, choosing my words with care. “If Ari is defeated, with not just the Champion, I will bend to you Fates, and follow in servitude. This is for an exchange that if I win, the Servants of the Fates shall be released from your rule.”

“Deal,” he tells me quickly in his relief, “but only Articus. One life on the line for the other is plenty fair.” Still not really listening to the deal I had just made, he waves me away.