Child of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel Book 1) (5 page)

“How do you feel about another attempt at receiving an apprentice?” he asked, ignoring the banter.

He watched Talisa stiffen in her chair. Before Shadow could say another word, she jumped from her seat. The blood rushed to her face, revealing a rare level of fury.

“Are you out of your mind?” she snapped. “Even the goddesses know of my oath to never take an apprentice again! There is no one, alive or undead, that is capable of learning all that I know!
None
have ever finished their tutelage with me!”

“That’s because you threaten them away with death by the time they can,” Shadow reminded her. “You’re no easy master, Talisa. Even
I
would run.”

“Then why in Avilyne’s hell would you even try to throw another imbecile at me?” she fumed.

“Because,”—Shadow took one of the books lying on his desk and flipped through the pages— “I have suspicions that Jack is of the old elven mage bloodline. I forgot about them until I saw him again today. I refer to the most volatile bloodline, mind you. He can be dangerous, if he continues to figure out his gift without the proper guidance.”

“It cannot be.” Talisa gaped at him. “My first apprentice had some decent control over magic, but she was no elf mage. What proof do you have that Jack is?”

“His appearance, for starters.” Shadow motioned for Talisa to sit. “Don’t you dare dismiss that bloodline as a myth, for you and I both remember that one elf mage who shall not be named. He was of the Woodland Realm, and had similar features to Jack—the dark hair and eyes, the lack of interest of weapons training, and a strong need to know all sorts of magic. Artemis told me how gifted he is with it, and how even she can fight with more skill than him when it concerns weaponry. As of right now, he is harmless. How long it will last, I do not know.”

“He must be an outcast like she is.” Talisa sighed. Shadow nodded. “You understand the elves shun him because that said elf mage caused the first war with the dragons over a century ago…the one you yourself fought in. The younglings mimic the hatred simply because they don’t know any better.”

“Yes, I’m aware.” More so than he cared to admit.

“Then reconsider what you ask of me, Shadow. I won’t be the one responsible for him should he repeat the history of his bloodline. I cannot be.”

“I won’t reconsider.” Shadow ignored Talisa’s frown. “You are the only one who can help him. You once told me about how you have no memory of your life before coming and serving the Woodland Realm. You could have become a dangerous adversary to Arrygn, if it weren’t for Kiare making you a longtime vassal instead…you said so yourself. Jack could use your intervention, and I believe he is capable of being the apprentice you once dreamed of long ago. He could very much use your…harsh discipline, Talisa. His only known vice, drinking, has gotten out of control. Even Artemis cannot continue to be patient with him.”

“Oh, wonderful! A drunkard as well!” Talisa said sarcastically. She pursed her lips. “If I do this, you’ll owe me
many
favors.”

Shadow smiled. “I assumed so.”

“I’ll collect, Shadow,” Talisa warned, while wagging a finger. “
Very
soon.”

“Yes, yes, I understand.” Shadow teasingly waved his hand. “I take it the first of the favors would be to scout the disturbance for you.”

“For starters, yes.” Talisa stood up and snatched her hat, adjusting it so that the wide brim cast a dark shadow over her face. “I will return tomorrow and properly converse with Jack. He has to understand that his life will belong to me until I see fit to free him from my apprenticeship. If what you suspect is true, I will have to exert the harshest discipline in my arsenal. For safety’s sake.”

“Naturally. And just out of curiosity, how long
has
an apprentice lasted under your tutelage?” Shadow asked, also standing. “I could have sworn one survived at least a decade.”

“Please.” Talisa snorted. “The last one you remember only lasted four years. Four! If any one of those bastards had lasted a decade, I wouldn’t so abhor the idea of an apprentice. You’d better pray this one lasts long enough. I’d rather not catch grief from Artemis.”

“Neither would I.” Shadow led Talisa to the front door and flashed a grin. “I thought you’d like to know that Artemis suggested you to Jack first. If she hadn’t, I would have either way.”

Talisa tipped the brim of her hat at him out of mockery. “The list of favors continues to grow, elf. I better not hear a single complaint once I begin to collect.”

“You may as well call them demands, Talisa.” Shadow waved as he watched her disappear from Ellewynth’s borders.

“Favors just sound nicer,” he heard her say, a whisper along the wind.

He sighed at the thought of Talisa’s “favors”; he knew what a few of them would be.

Reaching inside his tunic, he felt thin steel brush along his fingertips. Bringing the chain out into the open, he stared at the ring of carved birds clutching a garnet within the center of the silver band. Rubbing the stone as if it were a ritual, he let it drop against his chest and sighed.

“You are a hopeless fool, Shadow,” he said to himself, “a hopeless fool.”

The night came quickly that day as I sat in my study, reading through a few books about dragons and other wars of the past. I became interested in the dragon hierarchy after hearing Shadow speak of it earlier. I made a mental note to ask more about it during our dinner.

Feeling my hunger, I went to my room to tidy up before heading to Shadow’s house. I found the bundle of bloodied clothes and huffed. I’d forgotten to burn them. I remembered how Jack stared at me when he found the fox blood on my hand, and I frowned; he better not have said anything to Shadow.

You
should tell Shadow
, I thought.

I shook the thought from my mind. I lied to him in the last set of letters about the blackouts. Shadow already had too much going on with the war. I didn’t need him to be concerned about me on top of everything else.

I decided not to change out of my dress and instead fixed my braid and ribbon. I found my black cloak, wrapped it around my shoulders, and fastened it with a silver vine brooch.

Stepping out into the night, I moved the hood atop my head so that it cast a shadow over part of my face. I didn’t have it in me to deal with hateful comments tonight. It was bad enough that my dhampir senses heightened after the sun set; I needed to keep control of the leash now more than ever.

Taking a more discreet way to Shadow’s house, I looked to the sky to admire the stars. I always enjoyed piecing them together to create symbols and faces. Talisa used to join me when I still lived in her cottage. We’d spend countless hours making our own little puzzle in the sky. Sometimes she’d tell me stories about the stars and how the goddesses lived among them. The realm of Eolande, she called it. The ones that shone brighter than the rest, she’d say, represented the sacred sisters
themselves—they thought we should see their happiness from the ground and follow their example with our own lives.

I smiled at the memories. I missed those days.

Shadow’s house was within sight, and I sped up. He lived far from the main square of Ellewynth. He preferred being close to the city borders so that he might retreat to the more open areas of the forest whenever he wished. I wanted a home near the boundaries for the same reason, but Talisa and Shadow wouldn’t hear of it; they wanted me to integrate more with the people of the realm.

A lot of good
that
did.

I reached the door and knocked. I heard footsteps quicken on the other side, and I smiled when Shadow opened the door. He’d tidied up a bit himself; his hair was fully pulled back into a long tail with a ribbon, and he had changed into a darker tunic.

“You’re a bit early, my dear,” Shadow greeted me.

“I was getting stir-crazy.” I winked.

He moved aside for me to enter and held out an arm for my cloak. I scowled at him for being too proper, but I surrendered and handed him my cloak after I was met with a sarcastic stare.

“Am I interrupting one of your errands?” I asked.

“No, I’m done with those for the day.” Shadow led me into the main room, and I sat on one of the cloth chairs. “Talisa sends her love, by the way. She promised to see you sometime tomorrow.”

“Always a tease, she is.” I laughed. “Wait, does that mean you already spoke to her about Jack?”

“Yes.” Shadow handed over a glass of wine and sat across from me. “Despite the cost it took on my end, she has agreed to an apprenticeship. She wants to meet with him tomorrow to discuss it.”

“Wonderful! And yet, there goes another friend.” I sighed. “It’ll be good for him though. Maybe it’ll help him ease up on the drinking.”

“How did it get so out of hand?” he asked, taking his own glass of wine.

“His aunt is dreadful,” I started. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she herself had first supplied the alcohol to him. Jack has his moments where he drives me to the edge, but I know he can’t help his jester nature. It’s
his manner of defense…to keep sane. He’s only seen as a monster by his aunt, so he runs away to the taverns with her coin and drinks to forget the harsh memories she continues to add to. I force him to use the spare room to sleep in because I know he’s at least safe with me rather than lying face down on the dirt for others to step on.”

“You’re a good friend, Artemis.”

“I try.” I took another sip of the sweet, light wine. “I’ll have less to worry about now that Jack will be under Talisa’s care.”

“Well, you may want to worry
more
now that he’ll be Talisa’s apprentice.” Shadow chuckled. “He’s going to have to endure quite a bit these next few years. If Jack can last for more than that, then he’ll be considered worthy enough to be called her student.”

“His life
is
hers then.” I laughed uncertainly. I lightly smacked the armrest after a realization. “Ugh! So much for his chase of Lilith!”

“Ah, so I’ve been told.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You have?”

“I have. Jack was asking me for advice.” Shadow stood up and smirked. “Apparently he needed a male point of view, since he had plenty from the female end of the situation.”

I stood up as well, frowning at his jest. “Very funny.”

“I try.”

Shadow led the way out of the main room and into the dining room. There was plenty of food for the both of us on the cherrywood table, and I tried not to rush to the seat; I was hungrier than I first realized. It was comforting to know that I was hungry for
real
food. The blessing of being a dhampir was that I could eat what others could; the curse was that I still needed to drink blood in order to keep up my strength. My refusal to drink blood more than I already do made me weaker, but I did not care. I always wondered how Mother lived with the vampire’s curse.

Once Shadow reached his chair, I sat down and quickly took a plate, filling it completely. Shadow was amused at my actions while he took his time choosing his own food. “I wasn’t sure if you’d had your ‘other’ source of sustenance, so I left that well alone.”

I couldn’t help but shake after that statement. I silently cursed, because I knew Shadow caught the action.

“It’s not necessary,” I said after a moment’s silence.

Shadow watched me carefully.

“Because you already had it,” he stated. “Jack informed me about your increasing blackouts.”

I cringed.

“I do not drink as often as I should,” I started, “and I don’t intend to unless I have no other choice.”

“That’s not wise, Artemis.”

“Leave it be, Shadow.”

“You are
not
a monster, Artemis,” Shadow insisted. “You need to accept what you are. You’ve only killed foxes…for now. The more you restrain your natural urges, the more they will struggle to take over. There are safer and less complicated ways to deal with this. You know this, my dear.”

“I’ll say it again, Shadow,” I warned. “
Leave it be
.”

Shadow shook his head before taking a bit of fruit from his plate. I was grateful for him backing off. I then remembered an earlier part of our conversation. “What exactly did it cost you for Talisa to become Jack’s teacher?”

It was now Shadow’s turn to be uncomfortable. “She earns the right to collect on favors I have no choice but to perform. She prefers calling them favors rather than demands.”

“Of course she does.” Laughing while taking a few grapes, I asked, “Did she at least tell you what they were?”

“I only know of one,” he answered. “For the rest, I’ll just have to wait and be surprised.”

“What is the one you do know of?”

Shadow grew silent, and I felt a twinge of anger from him; I felt uneasy.

“Apologies. You don’t have to answer that.”

“No need to feel sorry,” he said, now smiling again. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m just a bit agitated because I’ve finally returned home after all these years and my plans of rest are interrupted yet again by the Elders.”

I felt my heart drop. “Are you being sent away again?”

“No, no,” Shadow reassured. I breathed a sigh of relief. “However, Talisa was asked to scout a disturbance that’s been occurring near her cottage.”