The Oracle's Secret (The Oracle Saga Book 1) (7 page)

I’m so exhausted and miserable that I can’t bear to fight with them, but I don’t exactly cooperate either. I just lie there, and they have to drag me to my feet and hold me upright. It’s good that I can be defiant in a way that doesn’t really involve expending any energy, because I really don’t have any left.

At least the crackling blue energy stops, even though it leaves my legs feeling like jelly. Instead they tie my ankles and wrists with cable ties - sometimes the mundane alternatives are just as good as magic - and one of them slings me over his shoulder so that my head’s hanging down and I’m looking at the ground. We start walking. I can’t even tell when we leave the maze - the ground all looks the same. The bouncing motion of my captor’s walk is soothing, repetitive, and in spite of myself I’m getting sleepier. I drift into a weird half-sleep, jolting back to consciousness every couple of minutes only to find the same swaying ground beneath me in the half-dark, the same muttering of Northerners talking together.

‘We’ll make camp for the night,’ I hear one of them say - the woman with the electricity, I think. ‘Now that we have these two, we can afford to take some time to rest. But we set out at dawn tomorrow!’

I’m dumped unceremoniously on the ground. I feel a bump next to me, and then a warm body touches mine. Tarian.

‘You ok?’ I whisper.

‘I’ve been worse,’ he replies. ‘You?’

‘Same,’ I say.

I’m pretty sure I never have been worse. This is the most horrible thing that’s ever happened to me, and it’s still happening, and it’s probably only going to get worse. Steele’s dead - I hated him but I didn’t want him
dead
- I’m trapped, who knows what’s going to happen next or if I’ll ever see my family again... it’s too much to think about.

‘Secure the prisoners,’ the woman with the electricity orders, as the Northerners start setting up camp around us. ‘Especially the Oracle - we don’t know how powerful she might be. Make sure she can’t speak or use her hands for spells.’

I want to laugh at the idea that they think I might be powerful. If they knew how powerful I really was, they surely wouldn’t bother. There’s no use telling them that though, and besides, I probably shouldn’t actively advertise my lack of skills.

Someone takes me to pee, then eat and drink something. I guess it makes sense to keep us in decent shape. They don’t offer to let me get clean though, and nobody looks at the blood that’s dried on my lip or the bruise I can feel developing on my cheek. When I’m done they tie me with cable ties again and strap my fingers down with black tape. They gag me, shoving a knot of bandage in my mouth and covering it with a thick strip of tape across my lips. At least the bandage is clean. They seem to have plenty of supplies. Of course, they knew about this before we did.

They use a thick rope to fasten my tied wrists to a tree. I seem them doing the same to Tarian on the other side of the little camp - as if we could conspire together like this! They leave a bit of length so that I can move around a bit if I need to, but I’m so exhausted that as soon as they push me back onto the ground I close my eyes, and a few minutes later I’m asleep.

I don’t sleep well. My dreams are full of trees and burning bridges and stones flying through the air and the blood trickling down my arm and Steele’s surprised face as he falls. Then I dream that I never escape from these Northerners but they can’t take me to their court because of the spell Steele cast, so they keep me in Sherwood forever, tied to this tree until eventually the forest grows around me and I become a tree myself, and people come to cut me down with axes, so that blood pours from my trunk and my roots.

I wake once to find everything still dark. The axes in my dream were the sharp stones underneath me. I was so numb when I lay down that I hadn’t even noticed them until now. I shuffle awkwardly into a new position, trying to ignore the way the rope drags my arms above my head. The gag is starting to make my jaw ache, and I’m scared I’ll choke on it. I prod at the knot of bandage with my tongue, but there’s nowhere else for it to go, and the tape presses firmly against my lips. My feet and hands feel weird where they’re tied, tingly and bloodless. I’m so uncomfortable that I’m convinced I won’t get back to sleep, but tiredness wins and I drift back into my anxious dreams.

I sleep through dawn, and I’m woken by the electric woman shaking my shoulder.

‘Time to get moving, Oracle,’ she grins down at me. ‘Comfy night?’

I can’t spit or kick or punch her in the face, so I just glare at her. She laughs.

‘Dearden, Rourke, get our guests ready to travel,’ she says.

It seems like she’s the leader, maybe Steele’s equivalent at her own court. The thought of Steele makes my chest hurt - we never liked each other but I’ve known him for so long, and on this journey it seemed like maybe he was beginning to actually respect me. I wish he was still here. He knew his stuff when it came to magical fighting, and that’s something Tarian and I could really use right now. I’m dreading telling the Prince that he’s dead. If I even make it that far. I wonder briefly if his death means that the spell he cast to keep us here is broken, but it’s kind of a moot point for now anyway.

Anyway, Dearden and Rourke, two athletic guys, happily take the woman’s orders. One of them - a young black guy with a shaved head - comes over to me, unties the rope from the tree and uses it to drag me to my feet. He cuts the cable ties at my ankles and we do the same routine as last night - he takes me into the forest a bit to pee and then sits me down against a tree to eat and drink.

It hurts when he rips the tape away from my mouth, and I have trouble opening my jaw wide enough to let out the sodden bandage, but I don’t care, it’s so good to be free of it even just for a moment. My hands are still tied, so Dearden or Rourke, whichever one he is, lifts a cup of water to my lips so I can drink. My mouth is so tired and confused that I spill half of it, but the rest is good, cool and fresh. Then he breaks up bits of an energy bar or something and feeds it to me one piece at a time. My jaw protests at the chewing but it’s good to have food inside me.

I think briefly about biting his fingers or something. I’m not sure just sitting here and eating what I’m given counts as doing everything possible, and I worry about my blood oath again. But there are at least eight of them - I haven’t been able to get a good count - and only one of me (two if you count Tarian but I’m not sure where he is) and biting this guy is probably only going to make them keep a closer watch on me. Maybe if I cooperate there’ll be an opportunity to escape at some point soon. And as long as we’re still heading toward the Lightstone, I may as well be with them so that I can keep an eye on them.

So I keep eating until I’m done.

‘I have to gag you again now,’ the guy says. ‘Sorry.’

I shrug. ‘Hey, you’re just doing your job.’

He smiles at me. Does he think I was being genuine? I guess his hands are tied by his orders from his Prince, just like mine are.

‘Look,’ he says, ‘I’ll make you a nicer gag, since it’s daytime and we can keep an eye on you.’

He pulls a fresh bandage out of his pack, ties it a few times so that there’s a big knot in the middle, gently pushes the knot into my mouth and ties the loose ends tightly at the back of my head. I can’t close my mouth but at least I can move my jaw a little.

‘Now, try to say something,’ he says.

‘This sucks,’ I try to say, but it comes out like muffled grunts. I have to admit, though, it feels a little more comfortable than the last one.

‘Great,’ he says. ‘No incantations for you. Come on, it’s almost time to head out.’

He pulls me up, not too roughly, and leads me to the centre of camp with the rope that’s still attached to my wrists.

‘Oracle’s ready to go, Elise,’ he reports.

The electric woman smiles. ‘Thanks, Dearden. Good job. Hope you’re ready for a nice long walk, Oracle?’

I just roll my eyes at her.

‘Rourke, bring the Finder!’ she yells over her shoulder.

Rourke drags Tarian towards us. His wrists are tied like mine, but he’s not gagged like I am.

‘All right, Finder,’ says Elise. ‘Time to earn your keep. Where do we need to head next to find the Lightstone?’

‘I’m not telling you that,’ says Tarian, in his low, melodious voice.

‘Rourke,’ says Elise.

Rourke punches Tarian in the side. Tarian barely flinches. I hope Rourke’s hurt his hand.

‘Come on now, Finder,’ says Elise. ‘You’re going to tell us eventually. It may as well be now. If you help us find the Lightstone, maybe after that you can just go home.’

Tarian bites his lip, and I know he’s thinking of the mountains and sea he left behind in Wales, wishing he were there. I wish he was there too. I wish we both were.

‘I can’t help you,’ he says. ‘I’m under orders from my Prince, and I will not disobey them.’

‘Very loyal of you,’ says Elise. ‘Let’s test. Dearden, bring the Oracle over here.’

Dearden makes a confused face but he pulls me closer.

‘Now, Finder,’ says Elise. ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t dream of letting anything bad happen to the Oracle, would you?’

My heart starts to pound.

Tarian glares. ‘You can’t kill her. She’s too valuable.’

Elise winks at him. ‘Yes, I know... but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t need all of her fingers for her powers to work... she probably doesn’t really need
any
of them... let’s experiment, shall we? Dearden, get that tape off her hands. Rourke, get your knife out.’

‘No!’ says Tarian. ‘Don’t. I’ll lead you, just don’t hurt her.’

‘Tarian, no!’ I try to say, but the gag muffles me and instead I just end up coughing.

‘I knew you’d see reason,’ Elise smiles at Tarian. ‘Rourke, take him to the front, he’ll be leading us. Dearden, take the Oracle too. Use your discretion, Rourke. If you think the Finder is lying or trying to stall, do whatever you think best.’

Rourke winks at me and I shudder. He drags Tarian a little way off. I see Tarian start talking, leaning his head sideways to indicate a direction.

‘All right, time to go!’ calls Elise. ‘Quit gossiping! We have a Lightstone to find! Everyone form up behind Rourke and Dearden!’

The camp scrambles around me. People tie up boots and shrug on packs and stretch.

‘Come on,’ says Dearden, winding the rope around his arm so that he can keep me close. ‘Let me know if the pace gets too hard, I’ll see if we can rest on the way.’

I shoot him a look of thanks. He seems genuine and sweet. I wonder if we’d be friends if he was part of my Prince’s territory.

Then we’re walking again. My feet haven’t been out of my boots for over a day and my ankles still hurt from being tied. My legs are stiff and aching and my arms, still tied, aren’t much better. The gag makes breathing harder as we get up to a decent walking speed. But at least I’ve had some sleep and something to eat. Things could be worse.

That’s what I tell myself, anyway, but my heart is sinking further the closer we get to the Lightstone. I can’t see a good way for this to end.

We walk. Tarian is nearby, close enough to look at even though Dearden and Rourke are between us. I keep sneaking glances at him. He’s doing this to keep me safe, defying the Prince’s orders to protect me. Steele wouldn’t have done it - not out of malice but because his training wouldn’t allow it. I wouldn’t do it - my blood oath makes it impossible now. But Tarian doesn’t have any training and he doesn’t have an oath. All he has is his conscience.

He’d probably have done the same for anyone.

He shoots me the occasional sympathetic smile - his mouth is still free, they need him to talk to explain where he’s leading them. I wish I could smile back, but it would just be a weird grimace around my gag. Dearden checks it whenever we stop for five minutes - he may be nice but he’s still thorough and good at his job. One time I’ve almost managed to use my tongue to prod the knot in my mouth out of the way by the time he spots it.

‘Nice try,’ he says, and grins as he readjusts it and ties it again tighter, but he doesn’t sound angry. He does check it more often after that, though.

I bet Tarian doesn’t think I look like a spoiled princess now. The thought makes me laugh, a stifled gurgle. I haven’t even looked in a mirror in forever but I can picture it exactly - caked in mud, face streaked with blood and sweat, bruises on my forehead and cheek from falling over, hair a matted mess from sleeping on the ground. I’m past the point where I even care what I look like. Nobody here is waiting for me to impress them.

We’ve been walking for most of the morning when I see Tarian say something to Rourke. Rourke passes the message behind us and after a minute Elise calls a halt and walks down to us.

‘Rourke tells me there’s a problem,’ she says to Tarian. ‘It better not be a big one...’

She grabs my hair and pulls my head back, to emphasise her point. I growl.

Tarian glares at her. ‘Shouldn’t be, as long as your people can all follow instructions properly,’ he says. ‘What I can tell is that the next stretch of forest is riddled with some sort of... dangerous obstacles. I can’t tell what. I can sense a clear path, but it’s a very narrow one. Either you’ll have to trust all of your team to follow the exact path of my feet, or you’ll have to let me lead them through one by one.’

I hold my breath, hoping she goes for the second option. This could be our chance, and I’m sure Tarian’s thinking that too.

‘I don’t like that idea,’ says Elise. ‘Too much opportunity for bad behaviour. No, we’ll all go through at once. But this needs careful preparation. You two, watch them. everyone else, come with me.’

She disappears behind us, presumably to confer about what to do next.

‘Might as well take a break,’ says Dearden, and he lowers me to the ground so that I can sit for a minute.

‘Time to adjust your gag,’ he says. ‘Promise you won’t try any incantations if I give you two minutes out of it?’

I nod and he removes it. I work my aching jaw.

‘Livya, are you ok?’ Tarian asks.

‘Yeah,’ I croak. ‘I’m ok.’

Dearden lets me drink some water, then refastens my gag just as Elise comes over.

‘All right,’ she says, ‘this is how it’s going to go. Finder, you’re going to walk through the danger zone, making sure you step in exactly the right places. We’re going to put a spell on your boots that will make your footprints glow, so that we can all follow you precisely. You’ll be in the lead, and your Oracle friend will be bringing up the rear, so she can’t make it safely until all of my people have. Get it?’

‘I understand,’ says Tarian, trying to hide his disappointment.

I wonder if he’s lying about the danger - maybe this was all a ploy to try and get a moment alone. If it was, it hasn’t worked. A woman I haven’t really seen yet casts the spell on Tarian’s boots, Rourke and Tarian start walking again, and Dearden pulls me back to wait until everyone else has gone ahead. Then we start to walk. Dearden lets me go first so that he can keep an eye on me, but he still has the rope to hold me. I have to put my feet exactly where Tarian put his. The narrow way is a little churned up by everyone else by the time I get to it, but the footprints are still clear, glowing brightly even in the midday sunlight. I don’t put a toe out of line - Tarian might have made this up, but he might not have. I don’t want to risk it. I try not to think about what will happen if a vision hits while I’m here - I hope Dearden will catch me if I fall, or I could be in serious trouble.

There’s a surprised yell ahead, followed by a chorus of shouts. I stop, peering forward to see what’s happening. Dearden puts a warning hand on my shoulder and together we watch as one of Elise’s followers - not one I can put a name to yet - sinks into what seems to be thick, liquid mud. I watch as he tries to drag himself out of it, but the mud seems to suck him downward. The two nearest Northerners grab his arms and try to pull him out, but they’re almost sucked in too as their friend sinks lower and lower. Dearden’s hand on my shoulder tightens as they watch him disappear, leaving only a few muddy bubbles behind.

‘Jesus,’ says Dearden, and he sounds upset. ‘That idiot. He’ll never take your word for it, he always has to try everything himself.’

I’m guessing he must have stepped off the path. That means Tarian really didn’t make it up. I look down at my feet, even more eager now to step precisely where he stepped, even more afraid of what will happen if I’m overcome by a vision. Nothing I can do about it but keep walking.

‘Don’t stop!’ calls Elise, from the head of the line.

‘Come on,’ says Dearden, nudging me forward.

We keep going. I keep looking at my feet. Behind me, I’m sure Dearden is doing the same. Now would be a great time to try to escape, while everyone’s distracted, but there’s no way without running into that sucking, killing mud. So I keep going, and hope my blood oath will understand.

It takes an hour of careful walking before Tarian announces that we’re out of danger. By the time Dearden and I catch up, the others are all sitting down to rest. My eyes are swimming from looking at nothing but glowing footprints for an hour. Before Dearden can even help me sit down, I feel myself slipping into a vision. I think I distantly hear Tarian calling my name, but I’m gone already by the time it registers.

I’m on a stone path. We’re still in the trees but we’re walking up a hill. I’m still tied, Dearden is still leading me. Suddenly everything around us is shaking - an earthquake? A spell? I don’t know, but I know what to do next. I yell through my gag, getting Tarian’s attention, and we both run, heading for the rocks nearby. There’s a narrow gap between two large rocks and we slip through it.

I wake from the vision and remember every single thing with total clarity. I feel a thrill of triumph. We’re getting away. Maybe not right now, maybe not even permanently, they could catch us in five minutes and things might get even worse - but we’re getting away. And when we do, I’ll be ready.

‘Was that a vision?’ Elise’s face is hovering over me and I realise I’m lying on the ground.

I struggle upright and nod.

‘Did you see anything important?’ she asks. ‘Did you see the Lightstone?’

I shake my head. She slaps my face. ‘I don’t believe you.’

I growl at her. Tarian hurries over, dragging Rourke in his wake.

‘Hey!’ He yells. ‘I’m cooperating, leave her alone!’

‘You may be, but she’s not,’ says Elise. ‘She’s lying.’

‘She can’t even say anything,’ Tarian points out, struggling to contain his anger.

‘She had a vision,’ says Elise. ‘But she says it wasn’t anything important. She’s lying.’

Tarian laughs. ‘I’ve only known Livya for a couple of days,’ he says, ‘but in that time she’s had about a dozen visions about various breakfast foods, and maybe two that were actually about anything important.’

Elise peers at me. I shrug.

‘I’d have thought an Oracle would have more control over her powers than that,’ she says. ‘But all right. I believe you. For now.’

I nod gratefully to Tarian. He smiles back. I notice for the first time that his eyes aren’t just brown - in the sunlight they glint almost golden, a colour like autumn. I want so badly to smile back at him.

Elise stalks away again and, while Rourke is busy complaining to Dearden about how long they’ve been walking and what a load of crap this all is, Tarian takes the opportunity to sit down beside me.

Rourke glares at him and jerks at the rope holding him.

‘Why bother?’ asks Dearden. ‘We’re both here to keep an eye on them, and she can’t say anything. We’ll be going in five minutes anyway.’

Rourke seems to decide that it’s not worth his trouble and goes back to whining about his rations.

‘I’m so sorry this is happening,’ Tarian whispers to me, in his voice like warm honey. I want to dive into it. I want him to keep talking to me forever.

I nod, trying to make him understand that it’s all right.

‘I know I shouldn’t have disobeyed the Prince’s orders,’ he says, ‘but I couldn’t let them hurt you. I’m sorry.’

It’s not his fault. He was never trained for this. He’d never even been to court a few days ago. I shuffle closer to him, so that our sides are pressing together, and lean my head against his shoulder. Just touching him makes me feel better. He’s the only constant, these last few days. He’s all I have left here now that Steele’s gone. Knowing Tarian is still with me makes everything less hopeless. I wish I could tell him about my vision. He leans his head on mine, too, and we sit there for a moment, breathing together.

‘I know we can get free, somehow,’ he says. ‘We just need to keep...’

He’s jerked away as Rourke pulls on the rope. ‘Hey! No escape talk!’

Rourke drags Tarian back to a standing position and I follow him with my eyes, feeling cold without him beside me. But I know now that all I have to do is wait. Wait and watch until I see the place from my vision. We’re going to escape.

After that, anything could happen.