Chapter Three

Fon cast a light, illuminating the inside of the cave. And matters took an abrupt turn for the worse.

Vashri conjured a blast of air that blew the anchoress away from me. She stumbled back, crashing against the rough wall.

“Stop it!” I ran to her. “I’m so sorry. We were taken by surprise. The kings acted to protect me.”

She sat up with a groan, rubbing the back of her head. I got a proper look at the anchoress in Fon’s light and I was the one taken by surprise.

She was old, and thin as a twig. She was covered with wrinkles, but I hadn’t expected quite so many of them to be on show. With none but her own society, she had dispensed with conventional clothing. Instead, she wore strand upon strand of beads, made from all manner of natural detritus. They swung and clattered as she scrambled to her feet with more agility than I might have expected from a woman of her years.

I shifted my eyes firmly to her face. The beads appeared to be covering everything important, but I didn’t want to take the chance of catching an eyeful of something usually kept private.

“What’s this, then?” She peered closer at me and then turned her attention to the kings. “Who disturbs my peace?”

“I am Kyann. We have come to seek your wisdom, mother.” I used the title of respect, although I couldn’t suppose that would entirely counteract the violent introduction Vashri had given her.

“Ha!” She turned to the back of the cave. I switched my attention to the wall. The beads didn’t cover the back of her body. “The village has done just fine without me for twenty years. What can you possibly need me for now?” She turned and waved an impatient arm to see us still standing by the cave’s mouth, Fon’s light glittering. “Come on, come on, if we must talk, let’s talk in comfort.”

She disappeared into a fissure in the rocks. I followed, and the narrow crack of rock opened into a wide cave that was clearly her living space. A charcoal fire burned in the middle of the space, while a scattering of furs showed the spot that was usually her bed. Fon extinguished his light.

“We need to travel to the underworld.”

She turned when I said that, beads clattering as she examined my face, eyes bright. “Are you a bunch of fools? You don’t look like fools. You’ll go to the underworld when you’re dead. What makes you in such a hurry to reach the place ahead of schedule?”

“The four kings of legend have awakened—”

“The four kings?” She cackled at me once more and continued to walk into the cave, sitting on a flat stone positioned close to the fire. “Why would they waken?”

Fon stepped forward. “Because Charnrosa needed us.” He straightened. He had to step forward so his head didn’t knock against the ceiling; the middle of the cave was higher.

She turned. “You? You’re claiming to be one of the four kings?”

I saw the twitch of his jaw. “I am the king of fire.” He cast a light, suspending it just above his palm as he watched the anchoress steadily.

“Cheap tricks won’t impress me.”

Vashri stood forward on my other side. A breeze flicked through the chamber, making the fire flare and ruffling the furs on the woman’s bed. “And I am Vashri, king of air,” he stated.

The anchoress muttered something to herself. I thought I overheard the phrase, “King of delusions.” There’d be little point introducing myself, if she was determined to disbelieve our story.

“The four kings have awakened to defeat the Stalwart Emperor,” I started.

“Who?”

“The Stalwart Emperor.” She scowled at me. “Our ruler?” She shook her head again. I glanced at Vashri. He raised a shoulder. Fon made an impatient gesture. And followed it up with a rude one that I hoped she didn’t spot. Anchoress, I reminded myself: a life of ascetic withdrawal from the world. If the last time she’d visited the village was twenty years ago, that set her twenty years behind with the news.

“Our new emperor is not fit to rule,” I told her. “New” hardly described a man who’d been in power for eight years, but it appeared he was new to the anchoress. “He is draining magic across the Empire. The four kings have awakened to stop him.”

“Humph.” She didn’t sound impressed. “These fools, you mean?” she asked, waving a hand at Vashri and Fon as though they were deaf and dumb as well as foolish.

“All four kings awoke and together we were fighting the Stalwart Emperor and his allies. We won the battle, but two of the kings were enchanted. Their souls have been stolen away to the underworld. We need to go there and fetch them back.”

“It can’t be done,” she stated baldly. “I don’t know what stories you’ve heard, child, but the barrier between the worlds…” She shook her head. “It’s not like opening a door and stepping through, whatever people say.”

“We’ve been before,” Fon said.

The anchoress peered at him, then gave another cackle. “And can’t retrace your steps, eh? You’ve no business there. I won’t help you.”

So much for persuading the anchoress. But I was the guardian. It had taken a while for me to accept my destiny. I wasn’t going to back down now simply because matters had become difficult. “We do have business there. If you won’t help us, we will find another way. But time is of the essence while Charnrosa is in danger.”

“Hurry, hurry, hurry. That’s what’s the matter with the world these days. The world will keep turning without your interference, girl, I promise you.”

“I know that. And yet, the sun may set on the Charnrosa we know – the one you remember. The Emperor has stolen magic from across Charnrosa.” I swallowed. “And he has killed people who can use magic. We need your help.”

“If what you say is true, you need a miracle.” She turned her back on all of us. “And that’s not something I can supply.”

I wasn’t about to be dismissed. “Can you do magic?” I demanded, my voice echoing against the stone of her home.

She looked over her shoulder. “When needed I can.”

“In that case, I need you and you need me.”

She scoffed. “I can’t help you, and you certainly can’t help me, child.”

“Yes, I can.” My voice vibrated with determination. The anchoress didn’t understand our parlous situation. “If you have magic, then the Emperor wants you. He will steal your magic.”

“Ha, he can try!”

“He will do more than try, mother. He is determined to make himself immortal, and that needs more magic than anyone’s ever used before. He will take your magic and kill you. Your isolation may have saved you until now, but as he grows more desperate, the Emperor will look harder for people he can use. The only way to be safe is to stop him. And we must work together for that.”

I fell silent, waiting to discover whether I’d said enough.

Finally, she shook her head. “Go home. I will stop the man if he attacks me. I won’t help you walk into danger.”

“We must reach the underworld.”

“You have no idea of the perils you’ll face.” Her head continued to twitch back and forth as though she were picturing something I couldn’t see. “The magic in the underworld… Enchantments would swallow you whole.”

“I can’t be enchanted.”

She paused, drinking me in with her sharp gaze. “Everyone can be enchanted.”

“Not me.”

Her eyes narrowed. She muttered something, one hand waving in my direction. I wasn’t sure what she intended to achieve, but what she did do was prove to herself that I was telling the truth. “Huh. You just got much more interesting, child,” she said. “Come, sit with me.” Her hand flashed out and gripped my wrist, pulling me towards the fire. She looked past me to Fon and Vashri. “I suppose the pair of you will want to stay, too.”

“Yes, we will.”

The anchoress sat down, beads clattering. She yanked me down to a seat beside her, a smooth stone warmed by the nearby fire. Vashri and Fon found spots either side of us, lowering to sit cross-legged. They were both close enough to reach me, I noted. Not that I’d need help against this little old woman, I hoped.

“Right,” she snapped. “Let’s see how strong you really are.”