Chapter Two

Fires of Fate

Ivy looked at him and there was sorrow in her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “It should be fine.” The Seer of Malia sighed. “Eventually.” She blew on the latest page in her book, then closed it. After running her fingers across the worn brown leather of the cover, she reopened it to one of the first pages. She looked at Hayden, who came to her side and rested a hand on her shoulder. Ivy looked back at Brand and Edana. Though they were nearly eighteen summers now, she still saw the little children standing in the firelight.

“You both know the story of how we met that long ago night at the Market in Malia. The night the Tareath Prophecy came to me. Some of these drawings are from then. I sculpted some to get the visions out of my head. They rested in that old chest you rescued the night of the flood. I still have it of course, in my workshop. I saved them for today it seems.” She touched Hayden’s hand and nodded. He stepped to the mantel, and fetched a small wooden box. There was no ornamentation, it was simple and neither Brand or Edana had ever really noticed it.

Ivy continued as Hayden handed her the box and stepped behind her once more. “They came to me after you were born, the fire flower when Edana first put her hand in mine, and the circle when you did the same Brand. They came to me from the Fates all ready to be strung as pendants. I never knew what yours meant until now.” She opened the box and began to lay out sculptures. A Phoenix feather tinted with flame, a glistening black chunk of ore, a fiery rose frozen at the peak of its sunset beauty, and two pendants on black cord. Another was a fiery crystal apple blossom Edana had long ago taken as her personal sigil and named a Fire Flower. The other, a shimmering dark blue circle with orange flames trapped inside the glass.

Ivy lifted the circle pendant from the box. Hayden held out his hand. Carefully, since the tension of the Sight was still on her, she dropped the circle pendant into his hands without touching his skin. Hayden looked at Brand and patted him on the shoulder. “WE have had to work together many time over the years as you as you learned to control your fire my son. The need to hold it back, and when to let it go. You have been quick to anger, and quick to forgive. Now we must ask for that forgiveness. For two decades I have helped your mother interpret her visions. And though we knew darkness was in your future there was no sign until now of what that entailed.”

He held the pendant in the palm of his hand. “I have not had as long to interpret this prophecy as I have Edana’s but the strength of it means it is just as important. You’ve always said that you wanted to aid your sister in her quest. Now is your chance.” He put the cord around Brand’s neck and centered the pendant on his chest. There was an intake of breath from all of them as the flames within the crystal seemed to flicker and glow. A flash of silver streaked through those frozen flames and remained like a contrasting accent to imply movement where before there was none. Ivy blinked and turned pages forward in her book to the new prophecy. She made a notation, but said nothing.

Hayden lifted the flower pendant from box and at an absent nod from Ivy, he turned to Edana. “Your fate is coming faster than we dreamed my daughter,” he murmured. “We’ve played with fire so long now you and I. Bending it to our will and creating beauty where there was only light and heat. Soon now you will set out on a journey. You should take this with you. I think you’ll need it.” He put the cord around her neck and made sure it hung properly then smiled at her. “You look beautiful.” He tugged on one of her copper curls until she smiled back. For a moment the firelight made the flower shimmer and glow as it settled into place reflecting light up into her face and dancing in her golden eyes.

Ashlyn reached up from Edana’s arms and covered the flower with one paw. Her rumbling purr was loud enough for all of them to hear. It broke the tension in the room and everyone except Brand seemed to relax. He looked at his mother, who was smiling, then at the book. “What do we do now?” he asked. He could feel the fire in him shifting as fear and uncertainty struggled with his determination and his control. Then his stomach rumbled.

“Supper is in order,” Edana said. “Prophecy or no.” She looked at Brand and he felt her touch his power. “You’ll need to keep that spark alight for the journey to come.”

“I’m fine,” he said out of habit.

“You’re not,” Edana said. “I told you that you sparked too much on the path.” She frowned and studied him.

“Come on then,” Hayden said. “Sit down and we’ll eat.” He moved to do just that, pushing Edana and Brand to do the same. Edana sat, settling the kit in her lap. Brand cleared the teapot from the table and fetched a metal pot with a lid hooked on top from the stone oven built onto the side of the hearth. He did so barehanded, though the contents sizzled. Zephyr crackled at him, tongue lolling out, but he paid the firedog little attention as he placed the pot in the center of the table.

“Your father brought home a rabbit, so we’ve a roast,” Ivy began. “and there’s apple cake for after.” She smiled a little. “He even brought us some cinnabar, so there’s cinnabar cream for the cake.” She closed her book once more and moved it to one side of the table. “This was supposed to be a celebration after all,” her bright tone faded as she looked at the sculptures on the table. “A welcome home.” She turned from the table then and looked at Hayden. Now her green eyes shone with unshed tears.

“Come now,” Hayden said, reaching for her hand. At a slight nod from her, he took it in his and held her gently. “Don’t think of that. We’re all here now. Let’s make the most of it.” No one spoke as they passed the food around and served themselves. Hayden pushed a bowl of an unfamiliar vegetable across the table to Brand. “Try one of these son,” he suggested.

Brand shrugged a little and plucked one from the bowl. “What is it?” He studied the tear shaped vegetable. It was variegated shades of orange, red and yellow.

“Try it and find out,” Hayden said. His eyes danced with barely concealed mirth. Ivy and Edana looked at them both questioningly.

Brand took a small bite of the narrow point of the tear. He chewed a couple of times then started to smile. His eyes flared gold and he flicked his fingers towards the candles around the room. Sparks flew from his fingertips burning white. Edana made a choking sound of surprise and reached to guide the sparks to the candle wicks. Brand laughed and tossed a flare of flame into the fireplace. Zephyr burst apart around the white heat and then reformed, with a roar.

“Brand,” Ivy said, a note of warning in her voice. “Don’t go setting the house afire please.” Her green eyes were calm, but the corner of her mouth quirked up in a half-smile.

“Edana’s got it Mama,” he laughed. “How’s my spark now?”

“Blaze it, Brand you could have warned me,” Edana muttered as she brought the fire fully under control. She glanced at him. Her eyes widened, still glowing amber. “It’s fine. As if you’ve done no fire work at all today.” She looked at Hayden. “What are those things?”

“They called them candle peppers in Doreen City. The man who sold them to me said they come from the Chords, the islands in the Sapphire Sea. He couldn’t believe I wanted the bushel. It was all he had in stock, but he usually only sells them one at a time to apothecaries and sailors wanting to prank the new crewmen.” Hayden grinned.

“What are we going to do with a bushel of peppers that get his fire up?” Edana asked.

“We’re going to use them,” Ivy said. She looked at Brand. His eyes were still glowing, but he wasn’t sparking any longer. “We’ll bottle them, dry them, juice them, even plant them. You’ll take some with you to Minian. Not to sell, but to stoke the fire if you need it.” She smiled gently. “You’ll need them before you’re done.” She gestured to their plates to get them eating again, before she continued. Brand munched on the rest of pepper. This time he held the fire in, though his eyes glowed bright.

“As you know, your father planned to take a shipment of smoke apples to Minian in a fortnight. Now Brand will go in his stead. Afterwards, if necessary, sell the wagon and the horse. With those coins buy what supplies you need for a long journey. Let your instinct guide you. You’ve always been able to start things. Use that to move forward. Wander, explore, gather information, make friends if you can. Learn what is happening outside the forest. I have faith that you will find yourself in the right place at the right time to do what is needed.” She glanced at Hayden. “Your father and I will leave as well. There are things I must check on myself, and a part I have yet to play in this. A side of this I cannot see…” She trailed off a moment and then met her daughter’s eyes.

“You, my dear daughter will stay here. Mind the orchards, walk the forest, and prepare for your journey. The charms we’ve set throughout the forest will give you warning, and tell you when to make ready and begin.”

Edana frowned. “It could be months before its time…” she stopped. “I’ll have no news of you. Any of you.” She glanced at her brother, then back at her mother. “And what about the coals? If they go out…”

“You’ll just have to take care not to let them go out,” Brand said. “As you always have before. We’ve no end of fuel to feed them here in the forest, and with your talents, even a twig lasts longer than it should.”

Hayden glanced at his wife then back at his daughter. “And if they do, then it is for a reason. Do not fret about it. Only take care with them, and who you tell about them. There are those who if they know of that weakness would seek to separate you from them.”

“We are stronger together,” Edana said, her golden eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“We always have been,” Brand agreed. “And when we need to be strong, we will be together.” With the heat from the pepper on his tongue and his power crackling, his earlier fear seemed far away.

“There are things you both must do before then, to increase your strength apart so you may be strong enough to do what must be done together in the end.” Ivy said. “If I’m reading the visions right… we all may be together.” She stared into the fire, her green eyes muted and vague once more. Ivy glanced at Hayden, then at the dannikit in Edana’s arms. Her husband of more than twenty summers nodded and stood.

“Come along Edana, let’s see what we can do about a sleeping box for Ashlyn.” He put a hand on Edana’s shoulder and guided her gently to her feet. The girl cuddled the kit close and let him lead her out of the kitchen through the backdoor. She looked back at her brother just once and Brand felt her touch his power with hers once more, checking.

Brand looked at his mother, then at the book and sculptures on the table. “You have something more to say to me,” he said with all seriousness.

Ivy shook her head a little, glancing after her husband and daughter. “I did not want to speak of it to your sister,” Ivy admitted. “Edana has a long time to wait and other burdens she will carry in time. This is one that I can spare her.” She touched the pages of her book lightly and shivered. Brand frowned and put his hand on her shoulder.

“You’re cold!” he said, astonished. “How…?” He glanced at the fire then back at his mother. After a moment, he pulled the warmth from the heart of him and came to the verge of a spark in his hand, warming his skin from within to rid her of that chill.

“Careful son,” she murmured. “You’ll need all you have and more before we’re through. There is darkness and cold where you are going.”

“I am careful Mother,” he said. “Besides, we have the peppers. Take the warmth.”

She sighed. “Thank you.” She looked up at him, the light sparking in his gold eyes, a mirror of his sister’s as he used his gift to aid her further. A scene from her vision, showing that light she loved all but faded and eyes filled with pain flashed into her mind. “Do you remember the words of the prophecy?” she asked.

“I remember most of it,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to hear you speak one so I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“It’s a good thing I’ve schooled myself to memorize and write them then,” she said. “I wrote down your sister’s and then sealed it to give to the old king… It was years before I was able to read it since it was stricken from my memory as soon as I wrote it.”

“The old king… I did not know that.” Brand said. “I know some of yours and father’s pieces are there in the Fortress on display.”

“Yes, they took a few all those years ago as a wedding gift for the Queen. They also took a scroll with the Tareath Prophecy written on it to put amongst the records. As I’d forgotten what it said, I could not explain beyond what they already knew of my Sight from village gossip.”

“But why?” Brand asked. “You’ve kept the others to yourself or here among the family unless it directly involved someone else.”

“I still do not know for certain,” she said. “I only know that it had to be done.”

“So I need to memorize mine then,” he concluded. She nodded and then began to recite it again. Every word echoed in his mind this time. She asked him to repeat it back to her, and only when he had it perfect did she stop and he touched the chain still coiled before them. “What does the part about the ember growing dim mean?”

“Pain,” she said. “That is all I know.” She looked back at the pendant around his neck and smiled. “But this,” and she traced that new silver line with a fingertip, “this is good. The fire was trapped in the crystal from the time you were born, but now there is a way out.”

“The moonlight,” he murmured. He stared at that silver streak curiously.

“Perhaps,” she answered. “There are hints that the moonlight is a woman, but her very soul is in danger. The danger to you begins long before she finds you in the dark. After that, the images are less clear. All I have are the words to give you.” She took his hand in her own and held it. Yet no other visions came. Brand warmed her hand further and they sat quietly watching the flames and the firedog flicker.

Hayden and Edana came back. He carried a wooden box, and Edana had the kit cradled in her arms still, but now she was smiling. He set the box down by the fire, but Ashlyn wouldn’t let Edana put her in it. “She hasn’t let go of me yet!” she said to Brand with a grin. She sat back down at the table. “What did you two talk about?”

Brand shrugged, “Peppers and prophecy. I think I can make a paste from them that will travel well.”

“I’m glad they’ll be of use,” Hayden said. “Since you’ll be on your own after all.”

Hayden and Ivy shared a look. “Your father and I are going to go South to the Port of Doreen. We’ll take some of the apples for trade.” Ivy sighed. “It seems our peaceful life here in the forest is over for a time. The gods have need of us.”

“What will you do in Doreen?” Edana asked. “Tareath is the only fortress by the sea in the prophecies.”

“It is not a place but a person, perhaps two, that we seek. You two cannot do all that needs doing on your own. We’re going for help.”

“Another fire witch?” Brand asked. “Three is not enough?” There was some worry in his voice.

“Flames borne by fate are more than enough from this side.” Ivy answered softly. “I see another. A singer on a storm-tossed sea.”

“You’re going to the Chords?” Edana exclaimed. “Nobody goes to the Chords unless they have to. The last time we went to New Malia they were talking about a ship that had gone down in the Sapphire Sea because they tried to go through the constant storms without a Singer.”

“And Singers don’t come to Doreen or Tareath. They’ve no reason to.” Brand added. “Without a Chorale to sing a ship safely through the storms, how will you get to the Chords at all?” He studied his mother. His father looked baffled as well, but he was used to going along with Ivy’s visions. “Do you have to go?”

“Yes,” Ivy said. “We’re going there as soon as possible.” Hayden sighed a little and nodded. “We’ll get everything ready and leave-takings will take place in a fortnight or less. It will be alright. The way will be clear for us when we get to Doreen.”

“While you two set sail, and you ride off to Minian, what am I to do here?” Edana’s voice was low and questioning. Her golden eyes shimmered and the fire faded to scarlet embers.

“You’ll wait here and practice,” Ivy answered. “Controlling the flame, even the ordinary kind. Defending yourself and others.”

Edana nodded and nuzzled her kitten, “When do I go to the Fortress myself? How will I know? What about the orchard, the forge, all of this?”

“We’ll fire-spell the buildings before we go. As for the orchard well, we’re in a forest, the trees will manage without us.” Hayden said matter of factly. “We’ll treat the Dalian vines to some fire charms too when we go.”

“And if Mama returns alone?” Brand asked quietly.

“I won’t,” the Seer said with certainty.

Her children both sighed with relief, but Hayden studied his wife in silence. “I could have sworn this was a celebration,” Ivy said. “Fetch that apple cake.” She smiled at her family. Brand did as was asked and brought out the cake from the pantry. As promised, there was sweet cinnabar cream to spread on top. The heat of the cinnabar spice brought out the smoky flavor of the apples in the cake and made it hum with warmth. The kitten woke up and was given some milk, and snitched a bit of Edana’s cinnabar cream as well.

They chatted about the dannikit. Hayden shared a few other tales from his journey. They didn’t speak about the prophecy, or the upcoming journey. Just settled into being at home, together again, and preparing for the apple harvest.

Next Chapter: The Harvest