The Bowl of Souls: Book 05 - Mother of the Moonrat Read online

  The metal itself was black and yet the blade was brown as if caked with dried blood. Justan shuddered at the thought that they had been carrying such a thing with them all this time.

  John continued, “Once he had gained enough power, he changed the nature of the daggers to an even more insidious purpose. It became a way for someone to bind their own soul to the Dark Prophet.

  “To become one of his true servants and gain the powers such a position held, a person had to sacrifice someone dear to them using one of these daggers. If the person killed was dear enough, say an old friend, a spouse, or a family member. The dagger would bind the soul of the sacrificer to the Dark Prophet. From that time on, he had a conduit directly into the sacrificer’s mind.

  “The blood of those sacrificed clings to this blade. Their souls cry out to me even now.” The prophet’s eyes narrowed and his hands blazed white. The darkness that blazed from the dagger began to fade and the metal glowed with a dull heat as he spoke. “Of the six daggers made, only three are left. I destroyed Pelos, the pearl dagger and Felos, the onyx dagger myself. A good friend of mine died while destroying Dalos, the turquoise dagger.

  “Now this will take some effort, so please bear with me just a moment . . .” John grit his teeth in concentration and the white energy around his hands flared. The darkness recoiled from his fingertips and wrapped itself in tendrils around the blade as if trying to shield itself. The glow dimmed for a moment, but the prophet’s attack was unrelenting.

  The black tendrils thinned and the dagger’s glow intensified. Finally the tendrils unwrapped themselves from the blade and began lashing out at the prophet’s hands. Their attack was fierce, tearing at him, but they couldn’t penetrate his magic. The blade began to glow with a white heat and shone with such a bright light that Justan had to put up one hand to shield his face.

  Then the light and heat faded. Justan put his arm down and saw that the dagger that once radiated blackness, now glowed with a soft light. The metal had turned to a pure white and the rubies in the hilt gleamed with a sparkling brilliance.

  The prophet blew on the blade and smiled. “There! Now only two of those foul things remain.”

  “What’d you do to it?” Lenny asked, gazing at the white dagger with wonder. “I ain’t never seen metal like that before. It’s dag-gum beautiful.”

  “Yes.” The prophet nodded. “Yes it is. Or, it may yet be. It still needs some work, but if it could be repurposed that would really sting him. Thank you for bringing it to me.” He tucked the blade away in his robes and Lenny frowned in disappointment. “So. Does anyone have questions before I begin?”

  Justan had several but he was hesitant to speak up. Were they worth delaying the tale further? Questioning the methods of the prophet seemed presumptive to say the least. What if he offended the man?

  “I have a question, John,” Locksher said, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. “With a story as important as you say this one is, why did you chose to tell it to us? I look around this hall and other than Master Latva, there are no other leaders here. Why not other members of the High Council or the Battle Academy Council or perhaps a representative of the elves?”

  “That is a fair question, Wizard Locksher,” John said. “As I told you earlier, the Dark Prophet has gathered his champions and I have come here to the Mage School to gather my own. The bonding wizards have ever been my champions. It is necessary that you learn what you are up against.”

  “But not all of us are bonded, Prophet, Sir,” Jhonate said with a frown. “Why are the rest of us here?”

  John smiled. “I asked the rest of you here because I had a feeling that you needed to be here. I did not know what the reasons were at the time, but some of them have become evident. Zambon had the sword that was meant for his father. Lenui had the knowledge that Tolivar needed to make his decision to accept the bond and he also carried the dagger, which I must say caught me quite by surprise. As for you and Locksher, well . . . I believe this tale will affect the two of you most directly.”

  “How interesting,” Locksher said, leaning so far forward in his chair that Justan wondered if he would fall.

  Jhonate looked troubled by the prophet’s answer and Justan reached out to take her hand in his. She blinked and gave him a slight smile, then squeezed his hand in return. Neither of them let go and, as the prophet told his tale, they listened hand in hand.

  “Now, first things first. In order for you to truly understand the importance of this story, there is something you should know. Stardeon’s wife, Mellinda, is the woman who eventually became the creature you know as the mother of the moonrats,” John said and waited a moment for the revelation to sink in.

  Justan blinked in surprise. “But . . . if Stardeon’s wife is the witch . . .”

  “Then she’s been ‘round a dag-blamed long time!” Lenny said. “How come we ain’t heard of her before?”

  “I have never read of this woman in the histories,” Alfred said.

  “This will all be explained as I tell you the tale,” John said. He looked around at each of them and he could tell he had their full attention.

  “I first met Stardeon when he was a boy. His bonding magic came on him suddenly and quite ferociously on the day his mother died. It was actually his first display of magic. Spirit magic awakenings are rare, but for some reason he was chosen early. In that burst of magic, he had bonded to his childhood friend Sam, his dog, and three small birds, all at once. As you can imagine, that was a difficult trial for a boy so young.

  “Stardeon was frightened by his powers. He was afraid that his father would think him crazy if he told him that he had bonded to his friend and the family dog. So he and Sam decided to keep their bond secret. They got away with it for quite a while too, but I felt a strong impression one day while passing by the town and decided to investigate.

  “When I first saw him, Stardeon was cradling the body of a little bird in his hands and weeping. The poor boy had bonded to such fragile things. One of the neighbor’s cats had caught the bird and injured it and he hadn’t known enough about his magic to heal it.

  “The bird wasn’t even his first bonded to die. His dog had been old and riddled with the diseases that come to dogs in later years. Even the portion of Stardeon’s youth passed along to it by the bond hadn’t been enough to save it. Most children learn to deal with loss gradually over the years. The eleven-year-old boy I met that day had already lost his mother and two bonded in just a few short months.”

  Justan couldn’t imagine what that would have been like. He glanced over at Squirrel in concern. It sat there listening to the prophet’s tale, eating perhaps its third or fourth nut. How old was it anyway? How long did squirrels live and just how long would its bond with Fist extend its life? More importantly, how would the ogre handle it when Squirrel died? Justan felt a sudden urge to give Fist a hug.

  Are you alright? Fist asked. You feel sad.

  It’s a sad story, he replied and hoped Fist wouldn’t probe his emotions too deeply. The ogre patted his shoulder and to Justan’s relief, didn’t press the issue.

  “I comforted the boy as best I could, then took him and his bonded off to the Mage School so that they could learn the uses of their magic,” John said. “Back in those days, spirit magic was as plentiful as elemental magic. Bonding, binding, blessing, and bewitching were all taught here at the school.”

  “Bonding magic can be taught?” Justan asked.

  “Well . . . To a degree,” the prophet replied. “Spirit magic is much like elemental magic in that people are born stronger in some areas than others. Certain aspects of bonding magic can be taught to those with the talent, but no one can be taught to bond. The act of bonding itself is a gift given to a chosen few. There were, however, bonding wizards at the school who taught those with bonds how to use them. In the days of Stardeon, bonding wizards were much more common than they are now.”

  “Such a different world,” Latva said, his youthful blue eyes looking sad
in his ancient face. “To think what we’ve been missing all these years.”

  “We can change that now,” Alfred said, gripping Latva’s shoulder. “Now that the ban on spirit magic is over, we can bring those times back to the school.”

  “I hope that’s the case, Alfred,” John said with a sad smile. “But the heights of spirit magic in those days may never fully be realized again. In fact, I am not so sure they should be. So much depends on what happens in this war.”

  “Yes, hopefully we’re all still around to find out what happens,” Zambon said.

  “Quite true,” John said. “To return to my tale, Stardeon became somewhat of a sensation at the school. He was a prodigy; talented in nearly every aspect of magic that could be taught, and he was fiercely smart. He became an apprentice at age twelve. He was a mage at age fourteen and was named at age fifteen. By the time he graduated as a full wizard, he was just eighteen and already widely regarded as the wizard most likely to lead the school as the next Head Wizard.”

  “Amazing,” said Alfred and to Justan’s surprise, the gnome gave his long drooping nose a tug. Justan had only seen Vincent do that. “He was talented in all aspects of magic and yet the histories have so little to say about him.”

  “That is my fault,” the prophet said. “When I outlawed the teaching of spirit magic at the Mage School, many of the histories from Stardeon’s time were . . . edited.”

  “Edited?” Master Latva said, staring at the prophet in shock. “All that history lost?”

  John raised a calming hand. “Not at all. The complete editions still exist. I have them locked away in my section of the tower. I fully plan to release them back to the library shortly.

  “Now, as I was saying, Stardeon was a shining star at the school and he was content to stay here and continue his research, aiming for the office of Wizard of Mysteries. I, however, felt that staying at the school was stunting his growth. At that point he only had two bonded: his friend Sam and a horse from the stables that he had bonded with when he was a mage. I spoke with the council and encouraged them to send Stardeon abroad for a time and give him a chance to explore the outside world for a while. He could return in a few years if that was what he wished to do. They reluctantly took my advice and sent Stardeon on an assignment to gather and study new spirit magic techniques from different parts of the known lands. It went well at first. He bonded twice within the first year and learned a great many new applications of his power.

  “Then when he was in Malaroo, he met his first wife, Shelda. She was a sweet woman and Stardeon loved her. They even had a child together; a daughter. But Shelda grew jealous of the bond. She realized that Stardeon’s bonded knew him in a way she never could. After a few short years, she decided that she couldn’t stand the fact that Stardeon couldn’t love her in the same way he loved them and Shelda left him and took their baby with her.”

  Jhonate squeezed Justan’s hand slightly and he glanced over at her, but her eyes were focused on the prophet. He realized that he hadn’t given thought to the possibility that his bond with the others could interfere with their relationship. Was Jhonate going to have a problem with his connection to his bonded? Her facial expression revealed nothing.

  “Stardeon returned to the school shortly thereafter, a little stronger and a little wiser. He accelerated his research and became the school’s foremost authority on binding magic and magical constructs. He was given a seat on the High Council as the lead spirit wizard.

  “All seemed well for Stardeon, but I grew concerned. The few times I saw him, he was despondent and distracted. He began to delve into the deep mysteries, skirting the edges of dark magic. He told the other council members that he was simply trying to understand the way that the Dark Prophet’s servants worked so that he could better learn how to defeat them. I perceived a different problem.

  “Stardeon was lonely. On the surface, that might seem a strange thing for a bonding wizard to be. After all, he had four minds connected to his; four people that cared for him deeply. But Stardeon tried to isolate them from his inner thoughts. He dove into his research and went long stretches of time without conversing with them at all.

  “The next time I visited the school, Sam approached me. He told me what Stardeon was getting into. In his opinion, what Stardeon really missed was the connection he had with his wife. He needed a person that he could confide in that loved him without being bonded to him. I spoke with Stardeon and came to understand that Sam was right. Stardeon needed a new wife. But even more than that, he needed a wife that understood what it was like to be bonded.”

  John paused and let out a sad sigh. “That was when I decided to introduce him to Mellinda.”

  Chapter Two

  “You introduced them yourself?” Jhonate asked.

  The prophet steepled his fingers. “I perceive that many of you are wondering why I chose to take such a direct part in Stardeon’s life.”

  Several of the others nodded and Justan had to admit he had been wondering the same thing. The prophet was a busy man. He traveled all over the known lands influencing events. Why had he been so focused on Stardeon?

  “Well, first of all, I introduced them,” John said. “I didn’t say, ‘Stardeon, marry this woman.’ But you are right. I did focus on him. He was a bonding wizard and as I said earlier, bonding wizards are my champions. So I focus more of my attentions on them, which is one of the reasons I feel somewhat to blame for our current situation.”

  “So, you are . . . in charge of us, Big John?” Fist asked.

  The prophet pursed his lips. “Most of you should have noticed by now that I have . . . nudged the events around you throughout your lives. I do that with the major players. It’s one of my responsibilities. Usually, I’m not so direct about it as I was with Stardeon. For the most part I just give a gentle push here and there; like introducing two people that need to know each other.”

  Everyone knew that the prophet did things like that, but Justan hadn’t expected to hear him talk about it so openly. The purposeful way he went about it was somewhat disturbing. From the expressions around the room, Justan wasn’t the only one to feel that way.

  The prophet laughed. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Several people in this room wouldn’t have been born otherwise.”

  “We know how it is, John,” Lenny said with a frown. “Yer the prophet. Yer always goin’ ‘round controllin’ what folks do.”

  “Not at all. I never take away someone’s freedom to choose. I don’t even force people to make decisions except in extreme circumstances,” John said firmly. “That is the Dark Prophet’s way. I might give positive advice from time to time, but for the most part I influence events mainly by making people aware there is a choice to be made. In fact, I usually don’t know what the consequences of my actions will be. I feel a prompting and follow the directions I think best.

  “For instance, Sir Edge, I stopped by Wobble one day and felt inspired to order a dagger from Lenui’s brother. When he asked me what I wanted it to look like, the idea came to me that it should have two separate blades and I sketched it out as I saw it in my mind. I never returned, and it wasn’t until much later when I learned of the circumstances of your naming that I understood why.”

  “So yer the one that ordered that gall-durn dagger,” Lenny said. His eyes narrowed. “Never paid for it, neither.”

  “If he had, you wouldn’t have finished it, Lenny,” Justan said in understanding. “Chuck would have finished it himself and held onto it and you wouldn’t have given it to me that morning when we parted ways in Sampo.”

  The dwarf frowned again. “I guess yer right.”

  “Wizard Locksher,” John said, holding up a finger. “I know you have a question and I’m pretty sure what it is, but I am not going to answer it just yet.” Locksher grunted. His eyebrow was raised as high as it could be and his face was nearly red from holding his question in. “I’m sorry, but I need to redirect us from this tangent. I need to shift the focus
of my tale to Mellinda now.

  “When I introduced her to Stardeon, the poor woman was in almost as sad a state as he was. She was a bonding wizard as well, but Mellinda’s life had taken a very different path than Stardeon’s. She wasn’t from Dremaldria, you see. She was born to a people known as the Roo.”

  Jhonate’s hand gripped Justan’s tightly and he saw that her eyes had widened in recognition at the name. “What is it?” Justan asked, but she frowned and shushed him before returning her eyes to the prophet.

  “The Roo were a proud warrior people steeped in traditions of spirit magic. In those days, they populated most of southeastern Malaroo. They were a people that shunned the use of elemental magic. In their minds, the elements were the realm of the gods and for a human to use such magic was blasphemy. Those found with the talent were banished from their lands and those found using it secretly were dealt with even more harshly.

  “Mellinda’s elemental magic was discovered when she was a teenager. The day of her awakening, her parents knew what was going to happen to her and contacted the Mage School in Alberri. The wizards were there to meet her when she was left at the border.

  “Once at the school, Mellinda learned that she was quite weak in elemental magic, but when it came to spirit magic, she was gifted. She was especially strong in bewitching and blessing. Her bonding magic was not as strong. It didn’t manifest itself until just before she became a mage, when she bonded to a gnome librarian by the name of Dixie.

  “As soon as Mellinda achieved the rank of mage, she left Alberri and traveled back to her people, eager to learn more about the spirit magic that they practiced. She had convinced herself that once they found out about her spiritual gifts, they would welcome her back with open arms.”

  “She was wrong,” Jhonate said with a firm shake of her head. “The Roo would have seen any amount of elemental magic ability as a taint whether she used it or not.”