moment. As the sensation swelled she could almost feel Wulfgar holding her, taking her, whispering in her ear.
Soon her urgency reached a crescendo. Aching to be taken by it, she let the spell enslave her. The result seemed never-ending as she fell into its rapturous embrace. Crying out, she lost all track of time. It seemed the overpowering contractions might never end.
Then the spell slowly left her. The music stopped, the violet light vanished, and her heartbeat slowed. Wondrous, she thought.
The queen turned her head to one side and fell into a deep sleep.
“SERENA,”SHE HEARD THE VOICES CALL AS SHE LAY SLEEPING.“Awake to do our bidding. There is much for you to learn.”
Stirring from her sleep, she looked around. Several hours had passed, and the room’s candles had nearly burned to their bases. Calling the craft, she brought flame to three fresh ones in various places about her chambers. She left the bed and went to her knees, then bowed her head and closed her eyes.
“I am here,”she responded silently.
“The Conclave is nearly ready to sail,”the Heretics’ voices said.“Circumstances demand that you be shown how to defend the Citadel. Rise, and do as we say.”
She came to her feet.
“Go to the lowest Citadel region,”the voices commanded.“You know the place. Go alone.”
“As you wish,”she answered. She left her chambers and entered the hallway.
There were few consuls or Valrenkians about at this late hour, save for those standing guard. Her appearance surprised them. Our queen is restless this night, some thought as she walked through the shadows.
Serena entered the moonlit courtyard and trod down one of the many covered porticoes before coming to an old door. Made from solid oak, its iron cross braces were deeply layered with crimson rust. Calling the craft, she caused it to open. Its hinges protested loudly. Once she was on its opposite side she closed it again.
Remembering what the Heretics had said about coming alone, she locked the door from the inside with an especially convoluted spell. She brought light to the oil lamps lining the steps. Lifting her skirt, she started down.
Although the curved stairway seemed interminable, Serena was not afraid. She and Wulfgar had come here once before. They had been out exploring the Citadel one day soon after their marriage. On reaching the bottom they had found only an abandoned stone room. In the end their search had given them nothing but a good laugh. Unable to imagine why the Heretics would want her to go there, she dutifully continued on.
Reaching the last step, she looked around. The nondescript room was just as she remembered. Square and spacious, it was carved from the surrounding rock. There was no other way in or out besides the stairway she had exited. The room was barren save for several oil lamp sconces hanging on the four walls. A shiny metal light reflector lay attached to the wall behind each one. Waving an arm, Serena brought the lamps to life, flooding the room with a golden glow. She waited.
“Well done,”the voices said.“Walk to the wall facing you.”
She walked across the room to stand before the far wall. Like the other three, its surface was unremarkable.
“Touch the wall,”the voices said.“As you do, enact the same spell you would employ when using a visage board.”
Having spent much time in the Citadel Scriptorium, she was familiar with visage boards. Reaching out, she touched the granite wall and called the proper spell.
At once the wall’s right side started to change. The stone morphed into a smooth black visage board. As she watched in wonder, four separate formulas written in Old Eutracian rose from its depths. The azure symbols twinkled brightly against their dark background.
“Good,”the voices said.“Summon the first spell, then the second one. But never bring the third or fourth ones unless told to do so.”
Marshaling her concentration, Serena employed the first spell. Without waiting to see the results, she then called forth the second one.
“Back away from the wall,”the voices ordered her. She immediately obeyed.
The wall’s entire left side started changing. The rough granite vanished to show another dark panel, its right edge bordering the visage board. Larger than the first, this one stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Then the second spell took hold. As the black panel became transparent, a bright light appeared, illuminating the area on the panel’s opposite side.
Stunned, Serena took several steps backward. Her hands flew to cover her gaping mouth. What she saw was impossible. She was looking directly into the Sea of Whispers.
The vision before her was wondrous, overwhelming. She suddenly realized that the lengthy stairs she had descended had brought her to a place far below the ocean surface. The seafloor partly pressed against the panel’s opposite side. As the second spell brightly illuminated the depths, she stared in wonder at the sea’s untold mysteries.
The water was a brilliant blue. Fish and other exotic sea creatures swam, crawled, and scurried across the ocean floor. Their strangeness both fascinating and beautiful, most were alien to her.
Like they were being caressed by some unseen hand, undersea waves gently undulated the colorful foliage. Multicolored coral grew in abundance. Starfish and shellfish trudged slowly across the sandy bottom, while shadows created by fish swimming overhead crawled over the scene, adding to its mysterious elegance. The occasional fish, eel, or other sea creature would sometimes approach the panel and seem to stare blankly at her, only to turn and swim away again. Entranced, Serena could have stood there watching for hours.
“Four years, Serena,”the Heretics said to her.
“I don’t understand,”Serena answered.
“It took us four years to create the wonder you see before you. That is what you were wondering, is it not?”
Surprised, Serena nodded.“Yes,” she answered.
“Summon the third spell.”
Serena did so. At once the seascape started changing. The ground outside the panel rushed toward her, like she had somehow gone into the water and was sailing over the seafloor. As the journey quickened she became dizzy, even though she herself did not move. Finally the onrushing landscape slowed, then stopped to show a different underwater scene.
The seafloor had become dark and highly irregular. A high underwater cliff lay before her, its leading edge facing west. It seemed as tall as the Citadel itself before sharply dropping off into a dark infinity. Confused by what she saw, she could only look and wonder.
“The ledge you see is many leagues west of the Citadel,”the Heretics said to her.“Listen closely as we explain what happens with the fourth spell’s onset.”
As Serena listened she became astounded. Could such a thing be possible? she wondered. How could I, a far weaker craft practitioner than the Heretics, ever summon such power?
“When the time comes, all you must do is summon the last spell,”the Heretics answered.“It will then perform all that is called for to defend the Citadel. The fourth spell has never been enacted. Even so, it is as strong as the day it was first conceived. Now you may rest easier, knowing how your island home will be protected. If the time comes that the spell is needed, we will tell you.”
“I understand,” she said.
“Command the first three spells in reverse,”the voices ordered.“Return everything in this room to what it once was.”
Serena walked back to the visage board and cast the first three spells in the opposite order from which they had been summoned. The seascape rushed back to its original place on the ocean floor. Then the bright light illuminating the ocean went out and the viewing panel disappeared. Finally the visage board vanished. In their places the granite wall reappeared.
“Do you fully understand your duties?”the voices asked.“The Vagaries’ future and the Citadel’s defense might soon depend on you performing these deeds properly.”
“I understand,”she answered.“If needed, all will happen as you have ordered.”
