Father of Storms Page 4

  “Anyway, it is Frigg’s will which allows us to use her energy for our own ends, without her grace we would not be here speaking now. So, you understand trying to use Spae without knowing how to do so correctly would upset her…and we wouldn’t want to do that now would we?” Seth didn’t need to think about the answer and his head shook almost involuntarily.

  “I intend to teach you how to work with Spae, Seth. I want you to learn the lessons I did when I was your age and for the next few years, I will show you all I know about the energy and how it works as well as showing you the things that live within it...those things you can see and those you cannot. I want you to become one with Frigg’s essence, so you can fulfil the potential I saw in you when you were first born and still see in you now.”

  Seth's smile returned, and he nodded eagerly.

  “Lessons will start tomorrow, Seth not today. Today is for you to think about what I have told you and tomorrow I want you to explain to me what Spae is, so I can see if you have gained the knowledge you will need to begin. Do you understand?”

  Seth felt a little disappointed, but he nodded showing he understood what was being asked of him.

  Mae dragged herself to her feet and Seth jumped up beside her. “Well, Seth I think it’s time we headed back to your house, where I’m sure your lovely mother will have something hot waiting for us to drink and maybe a little something to eat as well?” She gave Seth a wink and turned back towards the hill and began to walk purposefully towards Seth's house. Seth paused a moment trying to commit to memory what he had been told then ran after Mae and together they made for his house and some breakfast.

  Ardeth’s Wrath

  Ardeth crept away from Mae’s garden leaving her to talk with the boy, Seth. He had been coming around her house more and more over the last few months and Mae had been devoting all of her attention to him and not to her own development, although she was of the opinion she didn’t need any further teaching.

  Ardeth had become increasingly frustrated over the past ten years as Seth’s training increased and hers became non-existent. The circumstances had led to many heated conversations with Mae about Ardeth being named a full Spae worker, which would allow her to work alone without the need for guidance or meddling.

  She had been apprenticed to Mae for twenty-five years and was tired of bowing and deferring to the ancient woman, especially as she felt she and her abilities had outgrown her teacher.

  The sun was setting over the hills behind the village and Ardeth hurried down the path towards the woods.

  She was slightly breathless as she arrived at the meeting place and stood to catch her breath searching the trees to see if he had arrived. Minutes passed without any movement other than the birds dropping to roost in the trees overhead. Ardeth was growing impatient; she didn’t have time for games and could certainly do without being stood around in the darkening forest waiting.

  There was a noise ahead of her and she narrowed her eyes to try and make out any movement but there was nothing she could see.

  “Are you here?” she called tentatively.

  She was suddenly aware of a presence and spun on her heels and came face to face with the man she had been waiting for, she let out a squeal of fear and took a step backwards.

  The man was hooded and held his cloak closed tightly around him hiding his shape from anyone who may have decided to take a stroll through the woods and happened upon them.

  “Where have you been?” Ardeth scolded.

  The man took a deep breath and his shoulders raised as his chest expanded. He stood from his stoop to reach his full height and now was head and shoulders above the diminutive looking Ardeth who began to cower under his growing stature.

  “You forget who it is you are speaking to, child, I do not care you have been waiting, I only care you are here!” The hooded figure scolded.

  The air around her grew thick and the breath caught in her throat as she wilted beneath the man’s imposing figure and the power which emanated from his aura.

  “I’m sorry, Master, I am merely concerned I will be missed, and you are right, I forgot myself,” she bowed her head and looked to the ground.

  The man let out a hiss and returned to his previous hunched shape.

  When he spoke, his voice echoed in Ardeth’s head and it was all she could do not to put her hands over her ears to stop the sound filling her mind.

  “What news child? Has the witch shown you any weaknesses you can tell me of?”

  Ardeth instinctively looked around herself to check there were no watchers and lowered her voice, so if there was any nearby they would not pick up on the conversation.

  “No, master, she has been preoccupied with the boy as his training has intensified, but I am sure I will find you what you need...”

  The man growled and took another deep breath. Ardeth lifted her eyes and peered hesitantly into the hood to see if she could make out the features of the man in front of her, but there was nothing but shadow inside.

  Ardeth had first met the man two summers ago, when she was walking down the stream collecting flowers for a potion she was making. He had beckoned her over from his position beside a tall ash tree and she was sure he had not been wearing a hooded cloak, but she could not recollect what he looked like.

  He had shown her he understood her troubles with Mae and her ambition and desire for power. She could not remember how or why she had begun to call him Master but knew in her heart this was who he was and to question him would lead to an outcome she did not want to even contemplate.

  “This boy, I have seen you both with him…he has power I can feel it” he let the words hang for a second for effect and then continued. “You are weak child; maybe I should focus my attention on this boy…Seth is it?”

  Ardeth nodded and a panic filled her chest, “Master, I can still get the information you need, she is old and readying herself to leave the world…she sees the boy as her last student, she is ready for you to take her I am sure of it...” Ardeth dropped to her knees in front of the man and grasped for the bottom of his cloak.

  “Please do not abandon me, Master, I can still be of service…” desperation filled her voice.

  The man took a step back and wrenched his cloak from Ardeth’s hands, “You are pathetic!” he spat as he reached down and grabbed a hand full of the woman’s hair and pulled, forcing her from her knees to stand.

  Once at his eye level, he moved his head closer to hers and his hood touched Ardeth’s forehead. She closed her eyes tight and reflexively prepared herself for whatever was coming.

  “Do you remember, child, what this witch has done to you, do you?”

  Ardeth’s mind was suddenly filled with images of beatings and derisory comments from her teacher, years of embarrassment in front of the village leaders and her own family. Hate built up inside her and she clenched her jaw at the memory of those many, many times. Her eyes slowly opened, and she looked into the darkness of the hood.

  “I remember, Master; I know she has treated me like a dog for far too long. What do you wish me to do, please let me continue to serve you?” she pleaded.

  The man released his hold on her hair and Ardeth dropped to the ground again. The man folded his arms behind his back letting the black cloak open slightly to reveal colourful garments beneath.

  “I need her to be broken child, I want you to provide me with an opportunity to destroy her mind and the only way I know of for people like her is to take something from them, to show them life can be filled with pain and suffering,” he took a deep breath before continuing. “This boy is of interest to her, she sees him as a challenge. To bring forth a male Spae is not something to be taken lightly, and if we take him from her during his lessons,” he mused, “then she will fill with guilt and anguish over her mistakes and at that point I will be ready to take what I want. When I am done with her, I will leave her to you to finish off.”

  Ardeth grinned excitedly, “how can I help, what do you want me t
o do Master?” she asked.

  “I want you to introduce this boy to the Mara, he must be nearing the time where he is taught to connect to the spiritual realms and instead of weakling sprites and other woodland energies I want you to open the gate for them to come and take him.” His commanding voice once again filled Ardeth’s mind and rang like a blacksmiths hammer on steel.

  “You will inform the Mara of their upcoming feast, can you manage that child?” his voice was filled with contempt and Ardeth knew what she was being asked to do but she wasn't sure in her heart that she could meet the Mara and get away, they were powerful daemons and had taken many who had dared to try and communicate with them directly. She nodded, regardless of her own doubts.

  “Believe me when I tell you, they do not like to be left disappointed!” The man turned to leave but paused and looked back towards the now thoughtful Ardeth, “make sure he is left unprotected child, do not allow her to intervene and then I will have what I want, and you will have your revenge.”

  With that, he strode off away from Ardeth leaving her to contemplate the buzzing images of Mae’s lifeless body beneath her knife and of her taking the place of the old woman as the trusted Spae worker for the area. At last, she could come out from this disgusting old hag’s shadow and truly provide the people with what they need.

  Ardeth waited several minutes whilst she decided how best to approach the matter in hand. Finally, the decision made, she moved towards a large oak tree and sat crossed legged at its base and readied herself as she prepared to communicate with the spiritual realm.

  After a few moments calming herself and letting the world around her grow dim to her other five senses, she took several deep, clearing breaths and dropped into the mental state needed before searching out the ones she wanted.

  It took her a while, but she finally felt the presence of the Mara and she allowed herself to be drawn towards them as they slowly made themselves visible to her mind’s eye.

  The Mara were cloaked creatures with an intense aura of dread about them. They were truly terrifying, and their reputation required they remain that way as they were the bringer of night terrors and they worked tirelessly to ensure humans were always reminded of the things they feared the most.

  “Who is this that disturbs us from our work?” they looked upon Ardeth warily and slowly took the measure of this human in their midst. When they spoke, it was as one hissing voice coming from two mouths and the combined tones grated and instilled a primitive caution in Ardeth as she fought her instinct to run from them.

  “A human soul free from its body!” they said greedily as they edged closer to Ardeth.

  “Do not think I am unprotected daemons?” Ardeth warned. “I am a Spae worker and am more than capable of sending you back from where you came.” Ardeth tightened her jaw in concentration.

  The Mara chuckled, “A Spae human…how nice, we have not had the pleasure of one for so long and this one thinks she can send us back to where we came from!” They drew closer.

  “It will be pleasant to taste the sweetness of your soul, Spae worker!” Both Mara closed in on Ardeth who began to sweat at the effort of trying to hold them back, but she was not strong enough and was starting to wish her master was with her to assist.

  “It has been too long since we last had this kind of opportunity human, and we will enjoy watching your face as you realise the same truth that all others who have come here to command us learned…neither you nor any human can command the Mara in our own realm!”

  This was a bad idea she thought to herself as she was indeed realising she did not have the ability to stop them.

  “A bad idea?” The Mara repeated. “It was a good idea from our perspective, human, for we now have a small feast to pass our time and reward us for being distracted by your pathetic summons,” the pair reached towards Ardeth who was now shaking both physically and mentally with fear.

  “Wait, I have a proposal for you both” she screamed.

  The daemons paused and looked to each other then back to Ardeth, “what proposal do you have, human? Make it quick as our appetite is growing strong and we want to feed.”

  “I have a boy who is ripe for your picking, I can bring him for you to enjoy instead of me?” Ardeth’s pleading voice tried to sound confident but she knew she was desperate and hoped the offer of a young soul would sway the pair.

  The Mara stopped and looked thoughtfully at each other.

  “A young, fresh soul you say, and how will you bring it to us?”

  “He is being trained to become Spae, his lessons will soon include spiritual communications and I can ensure you are there ready to take him when he does.” Ardeth was slowly losing herself as the Mara intensified their will upon her. She tried to return to her physical body but found she was stopped from doing so by the entities that now had her in their sights. She knew she was moments away from death should the Mara not agree to her proposal.

  Seconds passed but it felt like several lifetimes as the Mara whispered to each other before turning to Ardeth.

  “It is agreed, human, bring us this young soul for our tasting. Let us be clear, you pitiful creature, if you are deceiving us we will seek you out and make you wish you had let us taste your soul!”

  With that Ardeth was released and crashed back to consciousness. As her eyes opened she found she was now lying in the foetal position at the base of the tree and was soaked through with sweat. In her mind, she could still see the Mara and hear their calls as they moved away from her.

  “Remember human, we now have your scent and will not rest until you have either given us what you have promised or tortured your mind until you beg us to take your soul.”

  Ardeth slowly climbed to her feet and took several deep breaths before checking her surroundings again. It had gotten dark and the sun was now completely gone from the sky, in the blackness, she could hear the night creatures scurrying around the woods looking for food or hiding from predators.

  Ardeth took a few more moments and then, feeling composed, headed back towards Mae’s house absently picking forest plants on her way to aid in her explanation as to where she had been.

  First Inquisition

  The sudden rush of freezing water hitting his face was like a thousand volts of electricity coursing through his body. Seth let out an involuntary scream as he bolted upright with hands raised to protect himself.

  “Wakey, Wakey” the sound of a London accent confused Seth and he looked towards it and felt slightly disorientated. This was a new face, gone were the two from his last encounter. Seth tried to focus on when that was…how long had he been sleeping, it almost felt like weeks had passed in his sleep.

  “Come on big boy, you can’t sleep all day…I thought he was supposed to be some kind of tough guy? Did you hear him scream?” there was laughing, and Seth could hear several voices in the room with him.

  He felt a hand grab his arm and some pressure applied in an attempt to pull him from his sitting position; Seth resisted a little which, by the reddening of his face, must have been more than slight resistance to this man because he couldn’t move him at all.

  Seth took this opportunity to look at the owner of this new face and gazed at the now familiar suit and black tie which seemed to be the uniform of this group, whoever they were. The last two he met addressed each other as agents but he couldn’t find the logic behind their claims as no government agency he had come across seemed so keen to torture first and ask questions later.

  The man had a shaved head and black goatee beard, he was a fair bit shorter than Seth but he had a wide frame which suggested he worked out, so clearly the effort it was taking for him to even move his recently woken captive was somewhat of a surprise and with an air of resignation he grunted towards the other voices for help.

  Soon there were several hands grabbing Seth and he maintained his stubbornness and refused to move, at least for now whilst his head cleared. There were things which weren’t making sense in his mind, he
could now recall the injection the doctor had given him but how long had it been?

  Memories of his dreams will still be floating through his consciousness and recognition at some of the events he had seen had somehow brought him comfort and were allowing him to piece some things together. Seth sat for a moment longer trying desperately to gather his wits, but the shock of waking had subsided and all too soon the waves of guilt and despair filled his whole being again…they were gone...but that couldn’t be possible. Confusion wracked his guilty mind and the mixture of emotions began to make his head swim.

  Finally, the group lost patience and there was a sharp blow to the back of his head which broke his concentration enough for them to gain control and pull him from the bed and out of the door.

  Seth let himself be dragged and took note of his surroundings as he moved down the corridor outside the room he’d been kept in. It was just wide enough for the men carrying him to walk down without touching the walls and there were lights at regular intervals along the ceiling. The corridor was white with two black stripes down either side of the floor. He passed only one door as he was pulled for his room, Seth wondered if this was where the people on the other side of the glass got in. He turned his attention to the people dragging him.

  There were five in total and four had hold of some part of his arm and were pulling, with some effort Seth noted. The fifth was leading the way and Seth could only see the back of his head. This one had long grey hair touching his shoulders and was probably a head taller than all the other men labouring with Seth down the corridor.

  All were dressed in the same suits with perfectly groomed hair, Seth glanced at them all individually whilst they continued on their way and noted more than one had a bead of sweat rolling down their temples, perhaps the effort is taking its toll? he thought.

  The one nearest to him on his left arm looked down and Seth caught his eye. A flash of panic filled this young man’s green eyes and he quickly averted his gaze and stared straight ahead.