Chương 46: Vessel (of discoveries)

By the time I get back to my quarters, I'm barely able to stand on my own two feet. I don't remember unlocking and opening my door, nor do I specifically recall getting into my bed fully clothed and falling asleep. But the next morning brings about the acceptance that I did, in fact, do all of that. I have to learn the signals for when I am about to overexert my magic usage. Who am I kidding? I know when I'm about to overdo it. What I need to do is be able to stop myself from doing so.

This regenerative sleep blackout thing is going to get me killed. There's a knock on my door, and I check to see who it is. Considering I wasn't warned by any of the elements, it must be someone I don't actively dislike. Minx. One of the people I desperately need to see. The other being Lennick. But I thought he'd like some time with his wife before he lectures me on letting her get almost killed.

"Just a minute," I call out, knowing she can hear me through the door. There's so much I need to know about my parents' death and its obvious connection to the Blood Sect. To them knowing about me and what I can do. It's all there, in the head of her vessel. I just have to fish it out. Taking a breath to calm myself, I stand and pull off my rather rancid, dirt-caked clothing that I never had a chance to change out of. Brilliant. I need to wash these sheets again too. In getting dressed, I glance at my desk.

There, right in plain view, is a bundle of clothing. Beautifully folded, gloriously tailored. I stop halfway to pulling an older, looser pair on, and grab the amazing burgundy set of leathers. There's a note attached. Thought you might like this new color I managed to dye. It's perfect for hiding any blood stains. Velina I smirk as I pull them on. They're so soft against my skin, I wish I was pulling them on after a fresh shower.

From the looks of it, I have two pairs of this new color along with the habitual black ones! I shudder to think what this has cost me, but I also sort of don't care. Pulling open the door, I find Minx standing there, her eyes downcast.

"Come on in," I say, pulling it wider. She still won't look at me. It leads me to believe she's either about to become a vessel, or she's really lost right now. I so hope it's the former. I'm not the best advice giver out there. Minx flashes me a soft smile before plopping herself down on my floor in a fluid movement. I join her down there, loving the way the supple leather gives in to my body's every movement. It provides a layer of warmth against the chill that's stolen into the stone around me.

Winter is approaching.

"So. Are you going to make me guess, or are you telling me why you're here?" She looks up and focuses on me, and I know, without a shadow of a doubt that Minx is in there, but it's not her talking to me.

"There are things in motion that shouldn't be. Elements you must be aware of." Okay. I get it, although I frown, because I'd sort of like to also say hi to Minx first.

"It'd be nice if I got to see Minx before you took her over."

"Why?" Great, this channeler doesn't know basic human etiquette.

"Because she's my year mate, and I worry about her fragility in this line of work." It cocks Minx's head to one side as if considering what I'm saying seriously. There's a grey gleam to her eyes, yet another way for me to differentiate them.

"Understood. But she is here. And will be vaguely aware of everything we've said."

"How so? She ran out of the torture observance yesterday. And now she's here looking like someone kicked her puppy. Why is Minx your vessel?" And I mean every word of it. Me, personally? I'm set on revenge and if something needed to use me in order to accomplish a task, but it meant I'd get my revenge along the way…then please come and possess me. But Minx doesn't seem like the type of person that can be easily done with.

"Bloodlines. She has seer blood in her veins. It's strong. Moreso every generation. This is her destiny." I scoff.

"Then I suppose it's my destiny that my parents were killed in a staged house fire after copious threats so that it set me on this path to revenge that I refuse to deviate from."

"Yes," it answers simply.

"It is." I blink at my friend and her stony gaze. There's none of her usual liveliness in her body right now. Right now, she just seems like a husk of her, but I know she's still in there. Still. Destiny that my parents are dead and I'm in the middle of this whole shenanigans? That's a stretch. Though I choose not to say that part out loud. Instead, I change the subject.

"Did they knowingly accept my tithe—being aware of what I am?" There's a pause as if it's contemplating the question. Or perhaps what answer it can give.

"In a manner of speaking." Maybe there are rules or something. Fine. I guess it's too much to expect it to give me a straight answer.

"What do you want then?"

"You should not have shown off your mage skills yesterday in the dungeon without a guarantee that Dendrak would die before revealing them to anyone else." Okay, I guess that was a bit of showing off, but my superior did command me to do it. Not to be picky or anything, but the whole Sorrishen Enclave saw me use the damn magic.

"Why not?" I seem to be asking that a lot lately.

"Did you not heed my previous warning?" Wracking my brains again, I was pretty sure I'd done so. Then I realize that there was a distinct warning about who I could and couldn't trust and that not everyone was as they seemed. Well, I'd already figured that out. Only I didn't think that would include year mates. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I need to go over what I gleaned from the vessel the first time around.

"I didn't think that would be applicable. I know everyone who I showed that coffin."

"Do you, though?" The hollow tone of the voice sends shivers down my spine, and I know it's right. There is so much I still need to understand. I definitely don't know Dendrak. Keliar and Farin were never particularly close to me. Even Xan can appear shady sometimes. Not to mention Mithris and his coat of many colors. Or mask of all his personalities. Although I get this strange feeling that Mithris is trustworthy. The elements seem to like him.

"I get it. I do." Damn it. Did I give away too much? I literally showed the whole room my ability to maneuver stone, but I also showed an entire Enclave previously.

"I cannot maintain this grip for long. Minx grows restless, and my power grows weak. Be more careful. Danger is closer at hand than you realize."

"Stop being so cryptic. Give me something solid to work with," I snap. It blinks Minx's eyes slowly, like it's desperately trying to keep a grip on its host.

"There are elements at work manipulating you and those around you. Be aware of it. Break its grasp. It's greater than you, and it's growing stronger by the day. Be wary of traps."

"What does that mean?" I ask, reaching out, but Minx is already shaking her head. She blinks several times, like she's trying to clear cobwebs from her mind and then she stretches. The small shaft of morning light manages to pinpoint her from the slit window. She looks like a cat stretching in the sunshine. Only I know there's nothing lazy about her.

"I'm glad you know when it's not me," she says, a small smile spreading across her face.

"Sometimes I'm not even sure." If that's not confusing…I take a deep breath and force my own smile.

"Now at least you don't have to keep my secret. One less thing to run around in your brain." Minx nods, solemnly.

"It's not difficult to keep a secret. It's more difficult not to speak of all the ones I know. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm imagining them, or if they're things I've heard while being overtaken." I've never really felt the urge to hug another person in my life. Sure, I loved to feel the closeness of my parents while they were alive. But that served a purpose—differently than this does now. Giving comfort is not my forte, yet I find myself drawn to Minx's need to be comforted.

Even if I don't think she's aware of it herself. Instead, I reach forward and squeeze her arm.

"If you need a place to hide or rest, you're always welcome here." She looks at me, like she's looking through me again. It's so eerie when she does that. Then she laughs.

"No, I'm not. But it's definitely nice of you to say so. Thank you, Taria. I'll try not to bug you too much." Minx pushes herself up from the ground, standing with fluid grace and turns to me as I do the same.

"Farin still wants that lunch with you—I'll do my best to dissuade her." I shake my head.

"No. Don't bother. Eating food with someone isn't the worst thing. Besides, I have some questions for her."

"Very well." Minx opens the door and closes it as she leaves. Shouldn't have let everyone know I can use magic? Well, that would have made fighting in the forest damned near impossible. Not to mention the fact that Mithris specifically called me out down there in the dungeon. If only this would all make sense, it'd be easier. First up, we have the Blood Sect infiltrating everyone and their brother. They're in multiple orders that I know of, and in the courts.

From Bryony and Nightshade, right through to Oak and Rowan. I'd even be willing to bet that Rowan actively works against spreading information about them. In songs that downplay the possibility in subtle ways. It's easier to overtake something if no one sees you coming. Some of that might be supposition, but it's pieces of a puzzle fitting together. Now that the Blood Sect appears to have a solid foothold, they're beginning to act out. Just like they did in Sorrishen.

Which stands to reason that there are many more branches about to break out of the formation. Why would they do that? Could they potentially have dissention in the ranks too? My senses alert me there are footsteps approaching, but it's nothing dangerous. At least not to me. I pace my room, trying to sort through the noise in my head. It clamors at me from all angles, from three different elements. Suggesting to me, lending me ideas. It's a lot. Blood Sect infiltration.

Orders set up to collapse like a deck of cards. And no one knows when the wind will come and blow them over. Are they less wary now? Has something happened to bring this all about? But is there a way to know? Is there a way for me to find this out? I hear the very faint creak of my door as it opens again, the movement of air alerting me that I'm no longer alone. Yet my thoughts continue to swirl. Arralesh is in danger as things stand now, and I know I'm not the only one aware of things.

I have to talk to Lennick, and probably Lareny too. Can I really trust them? Do they know enough to keep themselves safe, or only enough to get themselves killed?

"You realize your thoughts are written all over your face, right?" Xan quips from the doorway. Like I said, it was nothing dangerous to me. Just Xan.

"Yes. I've been etching them there all morning. So glad you noticed." This time Xan practically guffaws in surprise. It's rewarding to know one of my witticisms has landed well. I clear my throat as they recover.

"What can I do for you?"

"I was coming to help you transcribe those thoughts to paper or something more manageable than your face." Ah, Xalin. If only you were telling me everything, you'd be the perfect person. But even Xalin has their secrets. From the way they move around me, to their occasional closed expressions—not to mention the flicker of their usually controlled aura every now and again—it's all there. All the clues. It's difficult to pull myself out of the more-cynical-than-usual frame of mind.

Xan has never been your usual person. They're very unique even as far as assassins go. Maybe that's why they ended up getting under my skin.

"Seriously, now," I say, shaking my head to help rid it of the double echo I feel when I think.

"What's wrong?" They take a breath before they speak, and I realize that this time it might actually be something.

"I think you should be more careful. That exhibition with the coffin down there might not have been the best idea. Farin and Keliar weren't yet aware of what you can do. Mithris didn't even know the extent of your abilities. Now all of them, including Dendrak, know." They lean against my bed and sigh.

"Frankly…has everyone forgotten Dendrak is here because I fought him using magic?" Xan blinks for a moment.

"Oh. Right. Well, you should have seen both Dendrak and Mithris's expressions when you did that. You almost scared the prisoner to death, and Mithris looked…hungry." I raise an eyebrow at that comment.

"Hungry?"

"Like…sort of wanting to use or devour that skill. Like he was calculating the best way to use it." Xan is watching me, as if waiting for my reaction. Suddenly everything that's happened since we got back feels too easy. Too specific. Manipulated.

"Xan, why did you come here this morning?" They blink at me, not understanding my question. Which is only to be expected since I don't precisely understand the feeling myself.

"Because I wanted to check on you after the journey home, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. You sort of passed out last night…" Their words peter off as they realize what it is they're saying.

"Why didn't they let you rest as soon as we got home yesterday?"

"Because Aarron wanted me to witness Mithris's torture methods." But there's a disconnect between when I left Aarron's and when I gathered the rest of my year mates. It's not so much a gap in memory, but more of a period of time that moved slower for me than it should have. Sort of like I imagine sleepwalking. And I have no idea how to work with that. Just what did the vessel mean when it told me to watch out for traps?

"Because he probably wanted me to scare the information out of Dendrak…and likely wanted me to reveal my abilities." That sounds far more likely, if I think about it. It also makes sense, but I was so tired when I got home yesterday that I wasn't exactly thinking straight.

"Why didn't he just order you to do that then? He is the Prefect."

"Mindreading isn't one of my abilities."

"Yet." That makes me smile. Maybe this wasn't a trap. The vessel has made me paranoid. That's unlike me. It's illogical to be paranoid about things without definitive proof or a substantiated theory. The voices in my head back off somewhat, perturbed, a little sullen even. Ah, that explains it. The elements are emotional beings. They're filled with so many residual feelings, with history, with a past that saw them confined and restricted.

A past that prevented them from communicating with the human world without accidentally killing their conduits. A past that has seen the earth ridden with blood and subjugated it to the whims of the Blood Sect. I get it now. I need to harness those emotions like I do my own. Not push them away, not disregard them or lock them out. I need to engage them. Exploit them. And use them to fuel my power.