The Mage of Blue Elm

Chapter Seven

The cell I was led to had never seen the light of the sun or felt the heat of the summer. The clang of the metal door and the click of the lock went on and on and on in my mind long after it had faded from my ears. It smelled of salt and rot. It smelled of despair.

For the first time in seven years, I cried.

Not just a single tear, but a storm of them. Raining down my cheeks, thunder ripping from my throat, lightning zinging through me until I thought my heart might stop. I had weathered several terrible storms at sea, but none had been half so bad as this.

A life sentence.

A...life...sentence.

It was misnamed; for sure a cruel joke by those who imposed it. For what sort of life was this. What sort of life stretched out before me in this cramped, crumbling room? 

When there were no tears left, I walked around the cell, my hand trailing along the rough stone of the wall, familiarizing myself with the divots and cracks. I considered what to do next. Despite the crushing aftershock of my trial, I was not about to let my life sentence truly become one. And Franc was still out there somewhere.

Once again, I cursed myself for wasting the last of my blue vial. I walked about the room again, this time testing for loose stones. My heart leapt when I found one in the side wall. It wiggled like a loose tooth, and I dug what was left of my nails into the mortar on either side of the brick. It took several minutes and a mouthful of curses spat through gritted teeth before I was able to pry it free. It tumbled with a heavy thud to the floor, narrowly missing my foot. I peered into the gap left in its wake and scrambled backwards with a cry, nearly going to my knees on the slippery floor. An eye was staring back at me.

"I had a bet on how long it would take you to discover that loose stone," said a voice that I assumed belonged to the eye.

I massaged the base of my throat, my pulse pounding against my fingertips. My mouth opened and closed a few times before I managed to get out, "Who were you betting with?"

"Well myself, of course!" said the voice. It had an old, rusted door hinge quality to it, and what little skin around the eye I could see was deeply marked by a crow's foot at the corner. The eye pulled back and most of an older woman's face came into view. Her thin hair was so white it gleamed in the dark like a melting moon. "I have to say, you've surpassed my expectations. With all that noise you were making earlier, I thought for sure it would take you several days to compose yourself enough to search the walls. But here you are, mere hours later. I'm impressed."

"Um...thank you," I managed. My thoughts were racing to catch up with my pulse. "Who are you?" I asked.

"A fellow prisoner," the woman said. "Though I'm sure you meant to inquire about my name. It's Elspeth. It's been quite some time since I've had anyone to talk to. Unless you count the occasional rat. So, you will have to make allowances for my conversational abilities."

"Right," I said, still flummoxed by this unexpected turn of events.

"And your name?

"Fayore."

"Fayore," she repeated. "I quite like that. It sounds very strong. Would you consider yourself strong, Fayore?"

"I...I'm not sure." Once upon a time, I might have. In this moment, I couldn't say it with certainty.

Elspeth tsked. "You will have to be strong to survive this place."

Despite my earlier resolution, I replied, "I've been given a life sentence."

"As have I. Yet, I still plan on surviving this."

Her presumed age did nothing to inspire my confidence, but I admired her words all the same.

"Did you carve out that stone, or was it someone else?" I asked.

"My old neighbor dug it out so that we might conduct ourselves in a more civilized manner. The guards did not like it when we shouted and frankly it was hard on the vocal chords."

"And how long ago was that?" I asked.

"Oh, difficult to say. It's rather hard to assess the passing of time down here. But I'd wager a guess at three years. He died of some horrible illness."

How reassuring, I thought sourly. "So you've been alone down here for three years?" I asked. It was strange to think of my prison sentence aboard Brune's ship with longing, but this cell was seeming smaller and smaller by the minute. At least aboard the ship I could feel the sun, smell the sea, talk with Brune. I could pretend something, someone, waited for me just out of sight on the horizon. Here, there was only darkness.

"No," said Elspeth, startling me. "The voices in my head keep me company." She said it with such a genuine smile that I found it hard to hold her gaze, until a wheezy laugh doubled her over and she was momentarily lost from sight.

She reappeared, grinning even wider so that I could see the black gaps where her teeth had fallen out. "Oh dear, I'm sorry. I wish I had a looking glass to show you your face. It was truly something. I'm not mad, I promise you."

I wasn't so sure I believed her. But, for someone who had spent years in this place, my expectations had not been very high to begin with. At least she was speaking complete sentences. At least she was someone.

Elspeth wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Now," she said. "I suppose we should address the elephant in the room."

"Um," I managed in response, not at all sure where the conversation was headed.

"What terrible crime did you commit to get yourself thrown in here with me, Fayore?"

"Oh," I said. "Um, well,"

"I'll make it easier. I tell you what I did first." Elspeth fixed me squarely in her gaze. "I committed the unforgivable crime of performing magic."

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So, we have a new character! What do you guys think of Elspeth? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments :)