The Dark Shadow of Spring (23 page)

Alex found Batami sitting in a large wooden, but well-padded rocking chair by one of the windows. She held a steaming cup of tea in her hands, although Alex could not remember her carrying one with her. He sat on a small love seat opposite the rocking chair and balanced the plate of sandwiches on his knees.

“There are some things we must discuss that are better heard by your ears alone,” Batami began.

“Okay,” Alex said, staring at the plate of sandwiches and realizing that he wasn’t remotely hungry.

“There is much for you to learn,” Batami said, “and it would seem, very little time for you to acquire the knowledge you require.” She paused then and sighed, the deep lines of her face appearing to grow deeper still with worry and fatigue. Alex wondered momentarily just how old she really was. “The first thing you must know,” Batami continued, “is that, while you are special, you are not unique. In each age, when the Shadow Wraith struggles to escape its bondage, as in the age when it was first created, there arises a hero or heroine to defeat it. Or, to be more accurate, the hero returns to face the eternal adversary.”

Alex remembered then the words of the dragon Gall’Adon and the destiny that he had spoken to him in the cave. It seemed like months ago, but was really only days past. “You mean I’m not really me,” Alex said. “I’m some hero reborn?”

“Yes and no,” Batami said, her face gentle. “You are very much you, Alex Ravenstar, and no one else. But the eternal essence of your being, your very subtle nature, is the same as that of the heroes, men and women, who have faced the Shadow Wraith in the past. Normally the returning hero is born at the first inklings of the Shadow Wraith’s struggles against its prison and comes to maturity at nearly the same time as the Shadow Wraith gains the height of its power.”

“I don’t understand,” Alex said. “I thought Shan’Kal had been imprisoned thousands of years ago. No one even seems to know about the cave in the Black Bone Mountains.”

“Firstly,” Batami said, her eyes narrowing for emphasis, “you must be careful when using the Shadow Wraith’s true name. The greater its power in the world becomes, the more power its name has. There was a time, during the War of the Shadow that first defeated it, when the mere whisper of its name was enough to bring its dark minions down upon you. Secondly, the reason that no one knows that the Shadow Wraith’s prison is in the Black Bones Mountains is because that is not entirely true. A part of its prison lies in those mountains, but only a part. There is not enough magical energy in the Rune Valley to maintain the seal that holds it from this world. Therefore, its prison is spread among all twelve of the secret places of this world where magic still flows through the land. Think of it as a prison cell with many doors.”

“So this is the first time the Shadow Wraith has tried to escape through this prison door, in this valley,” Alex said.

“Exactly,” Batami replied.

“And each time it tries to escape, I’m reborn to fight it?” Alex asked, trying to get his mind around that idea.

“Not exactly you, not with your memories and personality,” Batami said. “The essence of you. Your soul-essence.”

“What about everyone else?” Alex asked, thinking back to the Sunday sermons of Pastor Spiritos and trying to remember what he had said about life after death.

“Different paths for different people,” Batami said. “And different paths again for the non-magical folk outside the valley. But Spirit Mages, whether destined to fight the Shadow Wraith or not, are always reborn. My husband was a Spirit Mage. I have been waiting many years for his return.” Batami took a long sip of her tea.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Alex said, still struggling with the thought.

“Sometimes it is easier to accept things as they are than to try and make sense of them,” Batami said.

“That’s why I remember things,” Alex said, “like runes and spells and astral travel. Because I’ve done it before.”

“The Spirit Magic, yes,” Batami said. “The rest you remember like any mage, pulling it from the collective eternal mind of the spirit realm. You will remember more of the Spirit Magic as time passes, but that will not be sufficient to defeat the Shadow Wraith. You will also need to learn how to wield the magic. And you will need to grow stronger in it.”

“How?” Alex asked in exasperation. Looking down, he realized that he had entirely forgotten about the sandwiches. It was just as well, since his hunger had continued to dissipate as his despair developed. “The Shadow Wraith is breaking free now. There’s no time for me to learn anything. I’ve seen its cave. In my astral body. It’s gathering people. Soon it could have the whole town.”

“The times are dark,” Batami agreed in a solemn tone, “but not as dark as all that. I, too, have been to the Shadow Wraith’s lair in astral form and you are right, it is building an army, but there is still time to thwart its efforts. It is not as strong as you suspect it to be. Its powers are limited, thanks to the limitations of its creators.”

“Creators!” Alex said with a gasp. “You mean someone made the Shadow Wraith?”

“Oh yes,” Batami said with a sigh of weariness. “The Shadow Wraith was the end result of an effort by a faction of misguided mages intent upon acquiring unlimited power and glory. Fortunately, the first victims of the Shadow Wraith’s war on humanity were those selfsame mages. But it is not all powerful, as its defeat thousands of years ago proves. A swift attack now should be enough to seal it back in its prison.”

“What am I supposed to attack it with?” Alex asked, his voice plaintive.

“Not you alone,” Batami said. “It will take many mages to seal it properly. Possibly much of the town.”

“You’ll help,” Alex said, trying to make it sound more like a statement of fact than a question.

“What little I can, yes,” Batami said, “but I am, as I told you, confined to this forest. I can only leave its borders in my astral form and my powers are greatly weakened in that state.”

“Why?” Alex asked. “What happened to you?”

“I made a bargain many years ago,” Batami said as a wistful look crossed her face. “I was young and it seemed like the only course of action. In return for an extended life, my life itself became tied to this forest. You might say that the forest and I are no longer two separate things. I draw my power and my life from it, and in return, it has eyes and ears and a mind. But if I were to step beyond the boundary of its trees, my physical form would waste away to the dust that it should already be.”

“Oh,” was all that Alex could think to say, realizing that Batami, for all her power and knowledge, was in some ways just as imprisoned as the Shadow Wraith.

“But I will help you all I can,” Batami said, leaning forward to emphasize her words. “I will teach you and help you become the mage you must be. To that end, I have three things for you. The first is a book.” Reaching within the folds of her long robe-like dress, she removed a small book. Her gnarled and bony hands grasped it tightly as she handed it to Alex. It was a small leather volume of only a hundred pages or so. He took it silently and let it sit in his open palms as he read the title. It was one he knew well.
Radiant Spirit: Ka’Neff Magic Uncovered
.

“How did you get this?” Alex asked. “It was missing from the library. My father was looking for it.”

“I have my ways,” Batami said with a quiet laugh. “And since it was originally mine, it is not exactly stealing. Besides, only a Spirit Mage can really make sense of it. To a normal mage, even if they can read its runes, it will sound like gibberish.”

Alex opened the book at random and read the first phrase that his eyes fell upon. “There is no realm not touched by this realm, but there is too, no true realm at all, and yet all realms are but a single manifestation of the ultimate realm and all realms are but a shadow of it in their manifestation.” Alex could see what Batami meant. Gibberish. It didn’t instill him with a sense of confidence to know that the book’s words were so obtuse to him when he felt such a great need of their knowledge.

“I would start at the beginning, instead,” Batami said. “And expect to read it many times before you begin to glean even the slightest hint of its true power and meaning.”

“I was hoping for something that might be more useful in the short term,” Alex said, trying not to sound ungrateful.

“That is what this is for,” Batami said, reaching to her neck and pulling a long leather necklace over her head. At a knot in the middle of the leather thong was a small white-gold rune that glinted in the sunlight from the window. Alex leaned forward as Batami stretched her arms toward him and placed the necklace over his head. He could feel the weight of the metal rune as it fell against his chest and he could smell a slight fragrance of lavender as Batami sat back.

Alex looked down at the rune-amulet on his chest. It looked like an endless knot of sharp angles layered over one another again and again. He had never seen it before, but it stirred memories in him of something that he could not quite place. He felt a wave of assurance and confidence flood through him. Whatever it was, it was powerful and it felt right to have it close to him.

“That rune-amulet was my husband’s,” Batami said, her eyes suddenly sad. “The meaning of that rune will come to you in time. It is a rune from the Rune Tree itself.”

“The Rune Tree?” Alex asked.

“A magical tree which contains and creates all possible runes,” Batami said. “Some say that it resides in this very valley. It is ancient beyond measure. The rune that originally imprisoned the Shadow Wraith came from the Rune Tree.”

“I could try to find it,” Alex said, imagining the quest for the Rune Tree in his mind.

“Many before you have tried,” Batami said, “but it is elusive, to say the least.”

“I can use all the help I can get,” Alex said.

“Then let me give you a small bit of advice,” Batami said. “It is a simple piece of wisdom, but possibly more important than any other thing I can give you.” Alex leaned forward, listening intently. “Spirit Magic is not like other magic. The power of other mages depends upon how much magical energy they can draw from the land. But a Spirit Mage can draw magical energy from realms beyond this one. However, access to those realms depends upon the purity of a Spirit Mage’s heart.”

“You mean like being a good person?” Alex said, wondering if his constant thwarting of authority would count against him in terms of acquiring magical power.

“More than that,” Batami said. “Being a good person is about the actions we take. Being pure of heart is about the state of mind, the motivation in our heart, when we take those actions. While a dark Spirit Mage can become powerful, they will only ever be strong in a handful of spells that will be warped and distorted. To become a truly powerful Spirit Mage, one needs to truly pure heart. A heart free of hatred and anger and malice and jealously.”

“Oh,” Alex said. It was going to be harder to be a Spirit Mage than he had expected.

“And you of all Spirit Mages will need an especially pure heart,” Batami continued.

“Wonderful,” Alex said, leaning back into the love seat with a sigh.

“Oh, it won’t be as bad as all that,” Batami said with a small laugh. “You already have a good start. And you have many past lives of being pure of heart to rely upon. They have left an imprint upon you that will ease your journey. But be forewarned. As the Shadow Wraith gains strength, it also acquires the power to influence human minds and souls. Now that it knows you, it will seek to tempt you with promises that stir your darker nature. It desires to embolden the little Shadow Wraith within us all. And it feeds off of the anger and hatred of humans, so the more people are swayed by it, the stronger it becomes. Even if they arrive in that dark place by themselves, it gains strength. I believe the reason it has gathered so much power now, before you have come to your maturity, is because of the wars the ordinary humans have been waging beyond the confines of this valley. Their violence gives it strength.”

“So if I don’t want to punch Dillon in the nose with all my heart, I’ll be a more powerful Spirit Mage than if I do?” Alex said, trying to rephrase what Batami had told him in terms that were more immediate.

“Exactly,” Batami said with a laugh. “Which doesn’t mean that he might not need a punch in the nose at some point.”

“I’m just not supposed to enjoy it,” Alex said ruefully.

“You will make an excellent pupil,” Batami said, clasping her hands in her lap.

“Assuming I live that long,” Alex said, staring at the sandwiches and suddenly feeling hungry again. He had gone past the point where fear could upset his equilibrium and had settled into a dazed, fatalistic acceptance of his lot. He would have to look at it like the biggest adventure of his life. And thinking about an adventure always made him hungry. He picked up a sandwich and took a bite. Ham and cheese with way too much mustard. He shook his head as the sting of the mustard flowed through his sinuses.

“I have every faith that you will face this challenge and emerge from it stronger,” Batami said. “But it will not be easy. You must convince your father, and he must convince the town, to go to the cave and seal it closed again. With your help, they can.”

Alex wasn’t certain which part of that plan was worse: telling his father what he had been up to or trying to seal the Shadow Wraith back into the cave.

“For now, finish your lunch,” Batami said. “You’ll need your strength. Then you should be on your way. Your parents will be worried with you missing during the middle of the day. Especially with all that has happened. Or did that not occur to you?” Her probing eyes found his and held them.

“Sort of,” Alex said, trying to swallow a mouthful of sandwich as he spoke. He wasn’t sure if Batami would be a stickler for table manners, but it might be best if he didn’t talk with his mouth full.

“I have sent a messenger to your father to advise him that you are with me,” Batami said. “That will not make things much easier for you, but it may help a bit. And I will send Sufina with you to make sure you are safe until you reach the town.”

“Thank you,” Alex said, looking deeply into Batami’s gray eyes. “For everything.”