The Raven & The Wolf
Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

I hurriedly get away from Gedric as fast as I can. It’s so easy for him to lecture me on living my life. He gets to. Meanwhile, I can die just for misjudging an ounce of earth magic. Stupid Fates. That’s it. If I die, I’m taking them out with me. They’re planning something strong in their wheelhouse if they want someone of my strength. Articus is powerful enough. Ari would also be strong enough if they want him. Take him. He’s the one that’s willing to destroy any part of himself in order to avoid death.

What is with Gedric anyway? I’ve only met this man recently, but he’s acting as protective as Stanya. He’s also managed to get under Halthin’s skin pretty good. Stanya is driving me insane as well. The only one who isn’t treating me differently is Halthin. Then again, Halthin has been in his own little pity party world for the last month. To be fair, it looks like I have been too. Gedric has a point, but only to an extent.

After stumbling around for a half hour or so, I replace some sweathouses. Okay, house is too generous of a term, as well as lodge. They’re packed small and resemble more of a hut. They’re small buildings that are centered around helping to sweat out toxins. It’s basically your own private steam bath. For Forest Folk, it’s essential to be alone; to allow complete silence to quiet their thoughts. It gives them time to cleanse their minds without directly being influenced by outside influences.

“Natasha!” I hear Gedric yelling, trying to search through the crowd for me. I quickly duck into a hut, grateful to replace that it’s empty. It’s hotter than I anticipated, as well as humid. They really do want you to sweat everything out in here. I look around and see that it is big enough to host my small little group. It might be a good place to teach Stanya to sort the elements. It’ll be easy enough to replace the water in the air and to put it into the earth; without creating mud.

“Come on Nat, I’m sorry.” I hear Gedric yelling, further than where I am. He didn’t spot the slip, so I can count that as lucky.

Well, no time like the present to test my theory, I guess. I take off my sling and hold my arm close to my waist as I draw a rather large circle around me. Carefully, I place both hands on the ground as I sit in the center, cross legged. I can feel the earth pulsing towards me, causing my heart to quicken and my breathing to grow louder. It’s racing up to charge at me, ready to enter me.

I calm my heart as I steady my breath, closing my eyes in that moment. I lower my guard, forcing my rebelling mind that is trying to convince me that the earth is going to hurt me. I feel it touch me, and I flinch when it feels like fire.

“What is wrong with you?” A voice snaps, making me jump back and bring my hands back into the air.

“Articus,” I growl and then huff. “Where are you?” I demand, looking around the empty hut.

“I’m inside of you, you idiot. What are you doing?” He demands, making me shiver.

“Get out of me.”

“I’m magic. This is the only way I can survive in your world without inhabiting a body. I can’t physically touch your magic lines without nearly killing you, but I can speak to you through it. Now what are you doing?”

“Trying to forge a connection with the earth like the one I have with Stanya.”

He snorts. “That’s a once in a lifetime connection. You know better than this.”

“Then oh fucking smart one, what do I do?” I demand sarcastically. “Or are you just trying to kill me?”

“You’re not allowed to put yourself in that position until we make a deal. Do you have one to offer me yet?”

“Do you ever stop asking that question?” I hiss. “Now leave me alone.”

“Tell you what, I’ll teach you, and if you can defeat the Fates using what I taught you, then I’ll see to it that you make it to thirty.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re an idiot if you think I’m going to take you up on that offer.”

“You forget, I already mastered what you need to know. This could mean the difference between life and death for you.”

“And the difference in your freedom.” I remind him. “Now leave me alone to try to figure this out.”

“You’re going to trigger an overload that way. Your little fan boy isn’t here to save you this time.”

“I can’t be scared to try it. Doing nothing about it is going to get me killed. And considering you’re number one in line hoping for my death, I have even less reason to trust you.”

“What if I told you Brin is hoping you’ll take me up on my offer?”

“I’d say you’re a liar, and try to move onto the next sap you want to lie to.”

“He may have said don’t let the wolf reunite with the pack, but didn’t he tell you something else?” I stiffen while he chuckles darkly. “I’ll let you sit with that. Don’t let my words rattle you too long little girl.”

“You’re despicable.”

“And your resolve is weakening.”

I roll my eyes as I close them. He’s such a manipulative liar. Still…how did he know what Brin told me? No, he’s a Servant and cannot be trusted. Focus Natasha. Do not trust Articus. Brin is the one who taught me how to avoid making deals with them. He’d never want me to even slightly trust one.

I put my hand back to the earth gently. As soon as I feel the earth charging towards me again, I mentally put up my hand to stop it. Surprisingly, it freezes in mid step. Unsure how to proceed with this development I just stand there, sensing the magic and feeling it out. I feel like the feeling is mutual at this point.

Carefully, I stop myself from touching the earth’s magic line, and mentally feel around. It’s wet, but a thick wet that is slightly less than sticky. I’ve never felt this texture before. Slowly, I move around it, trying to familiarize myself with this feeling. It feels safe here, and I can’t feel an overload starting to trigger. I melt into it, well aware that I need to stay away from the earth’s line.

There is a smile on my face as I see my marks sitting around my magic line. Raven, deer, and an owl. They look restless, and I’m enjoying watching the raven guarding my body. It’s close and poised, as if ready to attack anything foreign that comes near me. Cautiously, I reach towards it. The owl’s head twitches, watching my movement, always aware of what is near him. Gently, I brush the raven’s foot, making it jump and squawk at me, making me giggle.

I still don’t know how to use this to filter my magic, but it’s interesting to see the earth as something other than a magical source. If I remember my teachings correctly, this is the protective layer around the earth’s line, preventing it from leaking and spreading to everything that touches the earth. It filters…It filters the earth’s magic from the earth’s elements. So I need to use the earth’s filter. Now how do I do that? I mean without the earth trying to kill me.

The sound of a bear roaring brakes my concentration the moment that one enters just outside of my vision. I jump back and scream, hitting my back against the wall. I hiss in pain while my mind tries to understand what I just heard.

“Geez Natasha, you scared the life out of me,” Gedric’s voice comes, breaking through my confusion. My eyes widen once realization hits me. Of course he is. How could I have been so stupid? Everything the Fates ever told me about him is starting to make sense.

“Nat?” Gedric asks while I just stare at him. “Geeze, get off that wall. You tore your stitches. What are you doing out of your brace anyway?”

“It’s you,” I tell him while I straighten.

“What’s me?” He asks, sitting cross legged in front of me. “Are you okay? You’ve been missing for hours. It’s past dark. I had to use my earth magic to sense you.

That doesn’t make sense. “How did you replace me? You shouldn’t be able to sense me.”

He watches me carefully, “That’s what Stanya said.”

Well that just confirms it more. “Gedric, how good are you at tracking?”

He shifts uncomfortably. “Why?”

“Just give me an example.”

He gives me a squeamish look. “I found Ari.”

“When?” I demand.

“Nat, your shoulder.” He says quickly, trying to change the topic.

“Gedric, when?”

“When we first met…the second time we first met. Ari killed a friend of mine so I went to go kill him.”

“You were going to kill Ari,” I demand, my voice going high as my stomach drops. “Are you suicidal or something?”

“I didn’t know Ari was Ari. I thought he was just some stupid Sheik. I didn’t know he could kill me the second he looked at me.”

“How did you replace him?”

He shrugs. “It’s just a feeling I follow. There are too many people here to properly feel you that way, but I can see your magic. It’s a little bit weird, but my mind is automatically drawn to it. If that makes sense. I don’t know why.”

Yep, just yep. “It’s because you’re the Champion.”

He stiffens while his entire body pales. I’ve got to figure out ways to say things to people without scaring them. “How do you know this?”

“Gedric, you’re fantastic at tracking, very attuned to earth magic for getting started so late, and you’re drawn to me on a magical level because I bare the other three marks.”

“That’s impossible. I don’t have one of…those!” he says, gesturing towards me to point out my marks.

“The bear hibernates, and comes out when it’s ready. You’re a bear.”

“You’re insane.” He tells me, standing up.

“No, your bear scared the living daylights out of me.”

“My bear? Nat, that’s crazy lady talk.”

“Okay, then you explain how you can sense me when no one else can? You’re not stronger than I am, so explain it.”

“Hey,” Stanya says, interrupting our conversation as she pokes her head in. “There was reports of a male Sheik being in the city. He didn’t get in here with us.”

“Male Sheik?” I demand, peering around Gedric.

“He was last spotted around here.” She says, looking at me. “And where in the name of the Fates have you been?”

“Meditating here. I didn’t see anyone, or sense them for that matter.” I tell her, looking at a still visibly shaken Gedric.

Stanya’s eyes follow mine and land on Gedric. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I told him he’s the Champion.” I stand while Stanya blanches. “His bear scared me,” I say in way of explanation.

“Bear?” She demands, looking at me. “Why are you bleeding?”

“I was playing around in the earth’s filter and teasing my raven. The next thing I know, that bear growls at me, scaring the living daylights out of me, and there stands Gedric.”

She purses her lips as she mulls that over. “Makes sense. He’s gifted in magic, earth magic but magic none the less. He seems to have found you, of all people, using his magic. The Fates did say we already had seen him, and so had Ari.” She turns to look fully at him. “Yeah I can see it. Now what do we do since we found him?”

“Train him I guess.” I muse, looking at him. “If he’s going to fight Ari, and inherit the wolf, he’s going to need to be taught at least how to survive.”

“But if he’s carrying a symbol, won’t he kill what the wolf stands for?” Stanya asks, coming to stand next to me so we can look Gedric over.

“He’s not wearing one. It seems like it’s camping out inside of him. Like it’s hibernating or something.”

“So how do we draw it out?”

I shrug. “Not sure. My mark comes out when there is a great deal of death around me.” I shudder when the scene from Madrid pops up in my mind.

“Okay, what about tracking something important?” Stanya suggests. “You saw it when he was searching for you.”

“I was in another mindset. You’ve seen my raven.”

“When you’re decimating an army of the dead,” Stanya snorts.

“And Brin’s owl?”

“Okay okay,” she sighs. “Well he hasn’t moved for a little bit. Do you think we should get him to bed?”

“How late is it?”

“Almost midnight. You were hard to replace. Now I can see why. You were practicing a new skill. I thought for sure you’d show up by dinner.”

“What makes you think I didn’t just walk out of the city?” I demand, flipping my hair.

“With that arm?” She scoffs. “Girl, you can barely go to the bathroom by yourself. You’re not willing to chance getting spotted by Ari like this.” She gestures towards me in grand exaggerated movements. Stanya then speaks as she tries to mimic my tone, “Don’t come anywhere near me Ari. I’ll swing at you with my good arm.”

I roll my eyes. “Someone’s sarcasm is raging supreme tonight. How’d it go with Halthin?”

“Hey, no talking about the boys in front of a boy.” She goes and touches Gedric. “Gedric? Are you okay in there?”

“Where is Natasha?” He asks, his voice sounding very off key.

“Right here, why?”

“Because I think I’m the Champion.”

“What makes you think that?” She asks with genuine concern in her voice.

“Because I heard a bear roar in my head when she told me the bear scared her. He thought it was funny.”

Stanya and I lock eyes, both of us highly concerned. I walk over to him and touch his arm gently. “Let’s get you to bed Gedric. You’ve had a big day.”