NIGEL

CHAPTER 6: THE FORTUNE TELLER

Lily and I walked into a town in Laitharia called Robin's Nest to sell our products as usual. This town was slightly bigger than the others we typically visited, especially in Severno and Andella where the towns were very tiny. Lily and I only traveled to the northernmost parts of Ibhan because it was so bloody hot down there. Besides, there was too much desert you could get lost in unless you knew the terrain.
Not uncommonly, we were asked to go directly to see the Lord so he could take a look at some of our more exotic items which normally were from Ibhan. Our time with the Lord was short because he only decided on one or two items he was interested in.
By the time we left the Lord's abode, we decided to go and look for a hot meal since Lily was getting hungry. In every town there was at least one pub and this was no exception. We quickly found the place, run down and less than welcoming, but had plenty of customers. A tattered old sign hanging outside read "The Snoring Sword Tavern." I chuckled to myself. Every town we stopped in, I was always amused by the creatively strange pub names. Lily and I approached, but just before we entered, something unusual caught my attention. Outside the pub there was a handsome young man about mine and Lily's age with short red hair and freckles all across his face. His dark blue eyes stared at me, concentrated. Lily didn't seem to notice, but there was something about this strange boy that made me incredibly uncomfortable. A shiver ran up my spine. I decided it was best to forget about it and have a quick lunch with Lily before we looked for someone who would house us for the night.
"What's your problem?" Lily asked me, her usual blunt self.
I sighed. "It's nothing darling." I insisted. She arched an eyebrow at me disapprovingly. I knew she didn't believe me and I would be damned if I thought she wasn't going to say something about it. "Nigel, you've been acting kind of off since we walked in the pub. Seriously, what's bothering you?"
I didn't know how to explain to her that I had a weird feeling about that boy outside the tavern who was staring at me. I felt some odd pull towards him, like the gods were speaking to me. But I knew that was absurd; especially since the gods were a load of nonsense. Still, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach that I was going to speak to this young man whether I wanted to or not.
Lily finally dropped the subject, though she was quite annoyed about it. Sure enough, as we left, the redheaded boy tapped on my shoulder. I turned, not exactly thrilled to be conversing with him. "Can I help you?" I asked.
"Sorry," He replied chipperly. "But I just had to come and speak to you. I'm Kieran by the way."
"Nigel." I answered as he took my hand. "And this is my intended, Lily."
"Pleasure!" Said Kieran way to enthusiastically. "Again, I'm sorry for bothering you but please keep an open mind because there is something I really need to explain to you."
Lily squinted at him suspiciously. "If you're trying to sell us something it's not going to work buddy."
Kieran shook his head. "I promise I'm not trying to sell you something. But you my friend," he said to me with a flourish of his arms. "Have the most incredible energy I've ever felt. There is something about you that I haven't experienced before and the gods are most definitely trying to tell you something!" He insisted.
I furrowed my eyebrows, "Tell me what?" I asked cautiously. This boy Kieran was clearly mad, but I played along to humor him.
"I'm not sure." Replied Kieran, scratching his head. "But I'm serious. You need to find out what it is. I can help you if you would like!"
I opened my mouth to speak when Lily cut in. "And how are you going to do that?" She said failing to hide the skepticism in her voice.
"Well," began Kieran, "my mother is a fortune teller, and she could possibly tell you what the gods or the universe is trying to say to you."
"Ah ha!" Cried Lily. "I knew this was all just a ploy to get us to buy something! C'mon Nigel, we should get out of here before we can't find somewhere to stay."
"I can help you with that too!" Kieran yelled out before realizing he'd been too loud. "If you come with me you can stay with my mother and I for tonight! I'm serious, I'm not approaching you for money, though you probably don't believe me. I'm telling you there is something you really need to know and I just don't have the magic my mother does to tell you what it is."
I glanced over at Lily. She and I exchanged apprehensive looks. "One moment please." I said to Kieran who was all too eager to wait for us. "What do you think darling?" I asked Lily. She groaned. "I think he's nuts, but he is offering us a place to stay so why not take it? If his mom wants to read your fortune then who cares?" I nodded in agreement and we told Kieran we would accept his proposal. Again he was all too happy about it and led us through the village to his home.
We were brought to a rather shabby home cottage on the edge of town, practically up against the wall that surrounded Robin's Nest. There was some racket that I could hear from outside and Kieran glanced nervously at both Lily and I. "Just to warn you, my mother is a little... unique." He said before we apprehensively followed him inside. We asked The Lord, as it was customary, if we could leave our merchants cart and mule at The Lord's Mansion so nobody would rob us. All Lily and I currently had on us were shoulder bags that contained the basics for an overnight stay.
Once inside, I immediately noticed the incredibly pungent smell. It was such a muddled mess of various scents that I couldn't even explain to you what it was that I was actually detecting. Lily definitely noticed it but she didn't look half as bothered as I did. I was always very sensitive in almost everything, (physically speaking of course.)
Anyway, the house upon first glance was a mess. It was full of moth eaten furniture, jars of random plants and spices strewn about on shelves and other places. There was the faint sound of crickets as though they were hiding in the walls. "Mother!" yelled Kieran. We waited there patiently, before finally a rather disoriented looking woman appeared from the back room. She had a mass of fair curls herself but they were more a light brown as opposed to her son's red locks. Her clothes were loose and tattered and once she lifted her head up I could see the frighteningly light gray eyes she possessed. They looked almost white and unnatural. "What?! What's going on?" She exclaimed.
Kieran sighed as though he had gone through this exchange with her more than once. "Mother we have visitors."
Kieran's mother looked about, confused and jittery. "What? Who's talking?" She asked. Again, Kieran let out an exasperated sigh. "Kieran, mother! Your son Kieran is talking with you! We have guests!"
"Kieran?" She said as though the name was familiar to her but she couldn't quite remember why. She looked up suddenly, and immediately dashed over to Lily and I. "Oh this one needs a reading!" She exclaimed, gripping my arms. "I know mother." Sighed Kieran, "That's why I brought them here. They're guest for the night as well." He tried to explain slowly. She didn't seem to notice, jutting out her hand, "Rosalie Loveland!" She introduced herself. "What a handsome young man you are! What a troubled energy! What a troubled troubled energy!" She went on as I cautiously shook her hand.
"Pleasure to meet you." I said, failing to hide my weariness. but I doubt she noticed that either. "I'm Nigel, and this is my intended, Lily." Lily went to shake Rosalie Loveland's hand as well and was met with an incredibly enthusiastic grip. "Come come come!" She gestured for us to follow. I exchanged nervous looks with Lily but Kieran urged us to go, assuring us we were fine. "My mother is a bit abnormal as you can see. But she means no harm." whispered Kieran.
We did as we were told, indulging our strange host for the night and were met with an equally strange back room. It looked quite similar to what we had initially walked into, only this time it was lit with candles because there were no windows in the room. In the center was a circular table with a crystal sphere sitting on a stand in the middle of the table. "Sit sit!" Rosalie insisted.
"Hands please." Said Rosalie kindly. I looked back to Kieran who was leaning against the wall behind us. "Go on." Urged Kieran. I cautiously went to put my hands in Rosalie's when she immediately grabbed them with surprising force. "Ahhh." She breathed. "You have too much... everything! I see you are a damphyr yes? Interesting."
I stopped her. "A what?" I asked, confused.
"A damphyr." She said matter of factly as though this was something I was aware of already.
"What are you talking about lady?" Asked Lily impatiently.
Rosalie again didn't seem to notice the attitude in Lily's tone. "A half vampire."
My heart stopped as she uttered the words. A damphyr? I was shocked that there was actually a name for the monstrous creature I was! But my biggest question was how in the name of the gods did this random mad woman know about my most precious kept secret? A secret which not even Taji knew before he died. The only soul who knew about it was Lily!
"How do you know that?" Lily demanded, her expression growing dark. I put my hand on hers to signal to her not to do anything rash. "It's my job dear." Answered Rosalie before going back to concentrating. I then became acutely aware of Kieran's presence in the room. I peeked out of the corner of my eye and he didn't seem phased about it at all. Part of me went into an internal panic that these people who I didn't know had just discovered something that I'd tried desperately to keep as secret, and as nonexistent as possible. The paranoid part of me wondered if this was all a trick to lure me here to destroy me. There were very specific outlaw bandit tribes living in the woods that thrived on vampire and werewolf hunting. Then I realized these people couldn't have some kind of plan because they only just met me.
"You are too much everything." She repeated from earlier. "What do you mean?" I asked, growing curious. As mad as this woman was, I couldn't help but get a little intrigued since she somehow knew about my... condition.
Rosalie's eyebrows furrowed, her eyes squinted even tighter and she clung to my hands so hard that to a normal person it probably would have hurt. "You are a song with too many notes! You are a man with too many eyes! You are an overflowing glass! So much love to give, so much anger to let out! Your heart is trapped behind a wall but beats so warm and big, it fights to be free! Break free! Yes break free!" She asserted loudly. Rosalie released her grip on me finally, and placed her hands on the crystal ball in front of us. Lily and I gaped at it, fascinated as mist swirled inside it, waiting to reveal something we couldn't actually see. "And break free you will." murmured Rosalie ominously.
"From what?" I asked, growing uncomfortable.
"Everything." She said. "Yourself. Your past. Your heart." Her voice was no louder than a whisper. "Everything." she repeated. I could see Lily peaked at me with a subtle fear in her eyes. "There is someone you must find if you want to cleanse yourself of the pain which you bare. It's a monster clawing its way out of the box you've put it in, though the lock is rusted and fragile."
I didn't know how I was supposed to respond to this woman's mad ravings. I hadn't the slightest idea what she was talking about! I think at the time I was probably in denial, but it's so easy to scold yourself for something in hindsight. For whatever reason, maybe I was genuinely interested or I wanted her to just get this done as quickly as possible, I asked her, "Who? Who am I supposed to find?"
Rosalie took a breath and bit her lip, her eyes still shut tight. "N. N. N. N." she said over and over. "Put your hand on the crystal ball." She ordered me. Immediately I did so. "Look into it. Tell me what you see."
I stared at it hard for a few minutes, unsure of what to expect. Finally, an image appeared that put me in what felt like a trance. I saw a forest. An odd looking forest with trees of various shapes with one that resembled a weeping willow, but hanging from it were diamonds like a chandelier. I almost felt like I was standing there beside it. Suddenly, The forest melted away and I saw a cave, a beautiful cave full of glowing blue crystals. I reached out to touch one, and again it melted away. I found myself cold and damp, surrounded by a forest of dead trees. The familiar silhouette that I had seen so long ago and forced myself never to remember was before me. I could taste blood in my mouth and my body shivered. I screamed and in a flash, I could feel Lily shaking me and calling out, "Nigel! What's happening?!"
I blinked, bringing myself out of my strange vision, tears in my eyes that I promptly wiped away. I took a deep breath, feeling disoriented. I turned to Lily, embracing her, still startled. She gave me a kiss and I looked to my left to find Kieran standing there, ready with a glass of water. I took it eagerly and sipped it with shaky hands. I looking back up at Rosalie Loveland, who for the first time since I had met her seemed calm and almost sane. "What the bloody hell was that?!" I cried at her. She remained poised and still. "What you have seen is what is to come. Seek out the N. Go East. Andella is where it begins." Her voice was haunting and as she uttered the words, she stared dead ahead, refusing to look us in the eye. "What? What are you talking about?! Him? Who's him?" I demanded in a panicked frenzy. Rosalie didn't answer. "What is wrong with you lady?!" Exclaimed Lily who was clearly distressed for me. Again she didn't answer, she just slunk into her own trance. "Hello?!" cried Lily again, her frustration growing. Rosalie shook her head and looked up at us wide eyed. "What? Who are you people?" She asked, becoming suddenly paranoid.
I honestly didn't know what to say. This was too bizarre even for me. Lily was flabbergasted but Kieran quickly stepped in. "Mother why don't you go to bed?" He suggested, taking her from her chair and moving her out of the room. Lily and I both gaped at each other, unsure of what to do. "What did you see?" She whispered to be, rubbing my back tenderly. I shook my head. "I don't know. It all happened so quickly!" Before I could elaborate more, Kieran returned.
"I suppose I have some explaining to do." He said sheepishly. "You think?" commented Lily sarcastically. Kieran brushed it off. "My mother as you can see is not a well woman. She barely remembers who I am half the time. See, since all the enchantresses and wizards don't exist anymore, there's no one left to train those who are born with magic abilities to use their craft. There's barely any mages anymore, though I feel that will get better with time. However, just because there are no official enchantresses and wizards doesn't mean there aren't people born with the magical potential to become one, but since the practice has been extinct they can't do more than become a mage when they show signs of magic ability as a child. Most of them never know they have the potential to be so powerful. My mother is different. She's a sibyl." explained Kieran.
"What's a sibyl?" Asked Lily.
"A sibyl is a specific kind of enchantress whose power is almost exclusively related to clairvoyance and the creation of prophecies, fortunes, etcetera. They were incredibly rare and sought after amongst royalty. The king had his own private ones. Too bad they didn't tell him Sanctuary was going to fall, but whatever. I guess we'll never know." He said trying to be slightly humorous. I assumed to lighten the mood a bit but I didn't think it helped.
"Go on." I urged.
"Okay anyway," He continued, "Well, my mother saw this in herself and tried to train herself to be a sibyl. So she's not actually a sibyl, but she would be if she was properly trained. All she's relegated to now is a simple fortune teller. It's actually quite the lucrative business, not that she knows how to handle it. In her attempts to train herself, she led herself horribly astray and because she doesn't know how to control the magic or use it properly, she's been driven a little insane from all the looking into the future. You did it once and look how you feel!" Said Kieran tapping me on the shoulder.
This was all a lot to take in and quite honestly I was still so in shock that I couldn't quite process everything he was explaining to me. "So what do we do now?" asked Lily, trying to gage where I was at emotionally and physically. Kieran shook his head. "Well you stay here tonight and if I were you I would do as she said and travel east to Andella."
"We were already going east to Andella. She knew that! I don't believe any of this." said Lily, getting clearly more frustrated. Kieran shrugged. "Doesn't matter what you do or don't believe. Whatever it is that you are supposed to find there will come to you. This is obviously important. The gods wouldn't have sent you here to meet me and my mother with such strong energy surrounding you otherwise. They are telling you something and you should follow it." He responded calmly.
I snorted. "Nonsense. Darling, you can't possibly think the gods are trying to communicate with little old me. Besides, what's the point of it all? I'm perfectly content thank you very much." I said indignantly taking another sip of my water.
"No you're not." Said Kieran bluntly. I was speechless. Nobody spoke to people like that! The only time I ever got such honesty was from Lily but I was close enough with her where it was okay. "Go to Andella. Find 'the N.' as my mother put it; whatever or whoever that is. Since you were going there anyway, what's the harm? You'll never be happy Nigel until you face what you're so afraid of." He said.
My first reaction was to yell at him for his sheer audacity to say such things to me. He didn't know me! What could this boy I'd only just met possibly know about my personal feeling and what I needed to be happy? I had Lily and that was all that was important to me. But something that Rosalie said rang in my ear loud and clearly the entire night, no matter how hard I tried to shut it out. When I asked her what it is I needed to "break free" from, and her haunting answer was, "Everything. Yourself. Your past. Your heart."
Again the words rang in my ear over and over again. I didn't want her to be right about anything. I wanted to believe she was just some crazy old woman spouting rubbish. I just wanted to carry on with my life. But still it whispered to me. A whisper that felt like the deafening sound of loud bells right next to my ear.
"Everything. Yourself, your past, your heart."
"Everything. Yourself, your past your heart."
"Everything. Yourself, your past..."
"Everything. Yourself, your past..."
"Everything. Yourself...."
"Everything. Yourself..."
"Everything..." It whispered. "Everything..."