The Spiritist Read online

  What could have caused her siblings to summon her with such urgency? The fact that Alicia hadn’t used a spell to communicate meant she didn’t want any curious mage to intercept the message.

  What had happened in the castle? She had left barely a week ago, and everything was fine at that time.

  With a light hand, she urged her mount to go faster. The gelding responded to her touch with a practiced ease, thundering its way on the unpaved road, leaving clouds of dirt swirling behind them. Biting on her lower lip, Zo barely noticed the taverns she passed, or the fires around which huddled weary travelers. During the day, this was a busy road. It led to the training camp, and went on beyond to one of the biggest beach towns on the island.

  Bending slightly, she pushed her right hand through the bundle that swung on the saddle and pulled out an apple. She munched on it, and threw the core away. It was enough to sustain her for now. Later, she would get a late meal from the castle kitchen. Thank the Goddess, her horse was well-fed. It would cover the distance quickly.

  As if sensing her urgency, the gelding maintained the break-neck pace for two leagues. Mountains loomed ahead and Zo slowed the animal as she sighted the lights from the castle. Here the road was treacherous. It snaked its way through rough boulders, and wound upwards. The castle was situated half-way up a mountain and she could see the brightly-lit lanterns that hung on the walls even from this distance. Carefully, she guided her horse on the winding pathway that led to the castle gate.

  At this time of the night, it was barred shut. Her way was blocked by four guardsmen. “Who goes there?” one of them said.

  “Open. It’s I, princess Zo,” she commanded, without dismounting from the horse.

  The guards moved out of her way, yelling for the man inside to open the heavy gate. With a slight creaking noise, the doors shuddered apart. Once inside, Zo jumped off. She passed the reins of her exhausted horse to a guard. “Take him to the stable, and see that he is taken care of.”

  She ran inside, throwing open doors as she headed for her sister’s room. Even though her brother Seve wouldn’t mind being interrupted at this late hour, Zo wanted to talk to her sister first. Seve was king, and it was best to maintain a semblance of protocol, even if only for appearances.

  Her heart pounded in her chest. Was Alicia all right? What was the reason for such alarm?

  She hoped it wasn’t one of her brother’s cruel pranks. Seve was notorious for his practical jokes, and his sisters were his most frequent victims. However, Zo was sure Alicia would not have collaborated with him on any scheme against her.

  To her distress, Alicia was not in her room. A maid sat on the stool in one corner, nodding sleepily. Seeing Zo, she stood. “Your highness, princess Alicia said to tell you to come to the king’s chamber.”

  Without a word, Zo pivoted and ran towards her brother’s room. What was Alicia doing in the king’s chamber at this time of the night? Was Seve all right? Worry gnawed in the pit of her stomach. Seven years older than Zo, Seve was crowned king only a year ago, after the death of their father. At times he sought his sisters’ advice – but never at such a late hour.

  Was there an emergency he couldn’t deal with?

  The island of Iram was a peaceful kingdom. Sometimes during the monsoon season, squalls and cyclones burst through the land, wrecking havoc on crops and villages. But this was the month of Arcson, and the weather was perfect, with clear, sun-lit skies. Surely no natural calamity could have wrecked destruction on any part of the tiny kingdom without her hearing about it at the camp.

  Panting, she reached the king’s chamber. The contingent of soldiers outside his room was double its usual number. Waving them aside, she opened the door and walked inside.

  For a moment her mind refused to comprehend the sight that met her eyes. Seve lay on his bed, his skin the color of spoilt milk. His eyes were closed, and dark circles shadowed them. His lips were a pale shade of blue.

  “What happened? Seve?” Aghast, she rushed to his side. Placing her hand on his forehead, she found it to be cold and clammy.

  Had he suddenly taken ill? What was wrong with him?

  “He has been poisoned.”

  “What nonsense!” Zo rebuked her sister. Alicia was sitting in the chair that always stood next to the window. Seve liked to sit there at times, and stare out. His room faced the far off ocean, and on a good clear day, one could look right out to the heaving waves on the beach. “Seve?” she called her brother, knowing he would open his eyes in a moment and wink at her. He couldn’t be so sick. He just couldn’t. She wasn’t ready to believe in something as reprehensibly dangerous as poisoning.

  Alicia tucked a stray lock of her long curly hair behind her ear. “I’m telling the truth. Someone tried to murder Seve.”

  The simple statement crashed Zo’s world as nothing had ever done before. Was she destined to lose her brother?

  How could something like this have happened? Was there something she could to do to save him?

  She sat on the bed and clasped Seve’s pale hand. “How? How is it possible? Who would do such a thing? I can’t believe someone would try to kill him…” Her breath caught in her throat as tears threatened to overwhelm her.

  Alicia wiped a hand on her brow and leaned back. “Believe it,” she whispered.

  “Seve.” Zo bent closer to her brother. “I know you’ve a wicked sense of humor, and this one time you must’ve convinced Alicia to go along with this awful prank you’ve cooked for me. But this is not funny. Get up now.” She poked him hard in the arm.

  She wanted him to rub his arm, smile and open his eyes. She needed him to sit and laugh at her anxiety. Then she would curse him, and vow never to talk to him again. In the morning, he would beg for her forgiveness, and all would be forgotten.

  There was, however, no hint of pain on his face. He was still, his eyes shut tight. Something was seriously amiss.

  Zo rubbed her forehead, feeling confused. “Has he really been poisoned?”

  “It’s true. He has been poisoned. This isn’t a joke,” Alicia said.

  Zo heard the tremor in her sister’s voice. She looked into Alicia’s eyes and understood the pain her sister felt. The last time she’d seen such grief in her sister’s eyes had been at their father’s funeral. But Seve was not dead. His chest moved with each slow breath. He was still in the realm of living – and Zo would do anything to see he remained here.

  “How? Why?” She rubbed the nape of her neck and forced away the panic that threatened to block her reason. This was the time to act, and she refused to give in to fear and worry.

  “We don’t know who did it or how the killer got access to the king’s private chambers. Not many are allowed inside. Someone put the poison in his water jug. Seve must not have bothered to check it for any tempering…and…” Alicia’s voice broke, and tears escaped her eyes. She brushed them aside with her hand.

  “Why would he check the water? None of us ever do. Nothing like this has ever happened before.” Zo tried to imagine someone trying to poison her brother but couldn’t come up with any possibilities. Seve was a well-loved king. He was new at his job, but he did it well, treating everyone pleasantly and with respect. It was hard to imagine anyone harboring any personal grudge against him.

  “Sultan has alerted the guards, and every inch of the castle is being searched for signs of an intruder,” said Alicia.

  Zo put the matter of the killer out of her mind for now. She would deal it with it later. When she found the culprit...? “Have you administered the healing potion? How long before he wakes up?” She ran her fingers over her brother’s cheek, hoping to see a sign of improvement.

  Zo’s faith in her sister’s magic was absolute. Alicia was the master healer in the castle, in fact, in the kingdom. No one knew the healing properties of plants, shrubs, and flowers as she did. Her healing spells were legendary and she had a number of apprentices who worked with her, learning the craft only as she could teach them. Her gift was str
ong and powerful, and ran true in her blood. Just like the magic that ran true in Zo’s blood, and made her the dueling champion in the kingdom.

  “I can’t heal him,” Alicia stated.

  Zo snorted. “Come on, Alicia. How is that possible? Don’t test my patience.”

  “Listen to me, Zo.” Her sister’s voice was like shards of ice. “Seve has been poisoned.

  Luckily the guards called me in time. I’ve put him under a spell. It will halt the spread of poison in his body but it will not heal him. To make him recover, someone will have to get the newly bloomed flowers of rosem. They have the magical properties needed to save him.”

  “All right. I’ll go get them. Where do they bloom?” Not wanting to waste any more time on questions, Zo sprung up, having decided to do what her sister was saying. She couldn’t trust someone else to do this important task. One of Alicia's assistants would go with her to recognize the flower and once she was back, and Seve was safe, she would get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the attempt on his life.

  Alicia closed her eyes for a moment. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. “At the plateau on the lone mountain of Ibarjan.”

  “Where the hell is that?” Zo knew the geography of her land well enough. Their island didn’t have a lone mountain. They had the jagged peaks of Vassa, against which the castle stood. What was Alicia talking about? Had she lost her mind?

  “It’s on the mainland, and you’ll not go there. I won’t allow you. It’s too dangerous a journey…what with the war that engulfs the mainland and rumors of strange sightings of demon mages.”

  Zo stared hard at her sister. For the first time, she noticed the dark shadows under her sister’s eyes; eyes the same hazel shade as hers, as was the rest of the face and body. Alicia was her identical twin, born moments after her own birth. As children it was near impossible for people to tell them apart. As they grew, Zo kept her hair short and spiky, while Alicia’s were long and curled well below her shoulders. Even their dressing styles were different; Zo preferred cloaks worn over a tunic and hose while Alicia wore long gowns that lent her a grace and dignity beyond her years.

  Today, she looked exhausted. Her usually rosy cheeks were hollowed and beads of perspiration shone on her heart-shaped face.

  Walking over to her sister, Zo knelt and touched her hand. It was cold. Ignoring her sister’s edict for now, she said. “Which spell did you use to halt the poison?”

  Alicia’s eyelids fluttered, and she sighed. “Someone mixed the juice of Ikamin in his drinking water. It’s a potent poison, made from snake venom of a very rare species, liaka leaves and dugar seeds. Everything that goes in the preparation of this poison is hard to find and gather. It’s even harder to mix the ingredients since they have to be added with deliberate care, with precise movements, and at a certain temperature. The potion makes for a lethal combination. Colorless. Odorless. Hard to identify even with basic precautionary spells. “

  “Which spell did you use?” Zo prompted her sister, her heart hammering against her chest. A frightening notion took root in her head, and she wanted…no, needed her sister to deny it. She couldn’t have…Alicia wouldn’t have taken such a risk. It wasn’t possible. She couldn’t have been so foolhardy.

  “The binding spell. It was the only thing I could do to prevent his death.”

  Zo lifted her sister’s right hand, and turned it palm up. She pushed up the sleeve of her long, yellow gown. Sure enough, the telltale circle of the binding spell glowed as bright as the moon on Alicia’s wrist. For a moment, all Zo could do was to stare at the mark that bound her sister to share their brother’s fate.

  She had only read about the binding spell before. Not many dared to put it into practice.

  “Are you mad? How could you…?”

  “He would’ve died. I don’t have the herbs or spells to heal him. This would buy us some much needed time.”

  “Could you not have given him some potion…something…?” Zo stood and pounded her fist against the wall. The pain in her knuckles was nowhere close to the despair in her heart. “Surely there’s something else that could’ve bought us some time?”

  Alicia remained calm. “There was no other way. Did you want me to let him die?”

  “Don’t be silly!”

  “You would’ve done the same thing in my place.”

  “I wouldn’t even have known how to begin weaving a binding spell.” Zo ran her bruised hand over her face. Turning, she looked at Seve. He looked the same as he always did. But she had never seen him so quiet, so helpless. She didn’t acknowledge or deny her sister’s statement. They both knew any one of the three of them would die willingly to save the other. The bond between the siblings was as true and strong as the magic that ran in their veins.

  “How much time do we have?” she said.

  Alicia looked down at the circle that marked the binding spell that for now halted their brother’s death. “It’s hard to say. The binding spell ensures that whatever healing potions I drink would slow the spread of poison in his body. Perhaps two weeks? If we’re lucky, three weeks. No more than that.”

  Zo tried to take a deep breath. Something seemed to be lodged in her throat. Was it fear? Two weeks was too short a time. “And when he dies…you die with him?”

  “Yes.”

  Zo looked out at the full bright moon that shone in the clear sky. “And this flower of rosem? Will that save you both?”

  “Yes.” Alicia nodded her head with certainty. “The flowers are the main ingredient in a healing potion that is the antidote for any poison. I’ve never made it before, but if someone manages to bring me the flowers…I will try.”

  “I’ll go myself.” Zo raised her hand to stop her sister’s protests before she began. “There is no one better suited for the task. I am the master mage of fire and air, and such missions fall under my domain. Also, I have a vested interest. I want to save you both. No one will be as motivated as me to complete this charge successfully. What’s more…” She took a deep breath. “I can’t stay here, twiddling my thumbs, seeing you both die day by day.”

  Alicia grasped Zo’s hand. “No. You can’t go. It will break the blood oath.”

  The blood oath was a magic invoked by their father more than twenty years ago. The spell ensured the safety of all siblings from magical attack as long as they remained on the island. If any one of them stepped off Iram, the magic would shatter and they would lose the protection.

  “It didn’t help us much, did it?” Zo glanced at Seve. “The blood oath failed us.”

  “That is why they used a poison because no magic would have worked.”

  “It doesn’t matter, does it? Seve is dying. Whether by magical means or others is irrelevant. If we don’t do something, we will lose him…and you.”

  “We can send someone else. Even if something happens to us, at least you will be safe here,” Alicia insisted.

  “What is the use of this safety if I have to watch you die before my eyes?”

  Alicia gripped Zo’s arm hard. “If something happens to you…”

  “Nothing will,” Zo said in a firm tone. “I’ll make sure I come back with the flowers. Believe me I am not ready to lose you or Seve. Now, let’s not waste any more time with these silly arguments. If someone has to go to the mainland, it’s going to be me, blood oath be damned.”

  Alicia nodded. “You will bring the flowers,” she acquiesced.

  Zo pushed her hands through her hair, resisting the urge to tug at the ends in frustration. Although she didn’t doubt her sister would succeed in making the potion - Alicia never failed at duplicating a recipe for a magic potion, brew, or herbed mixture – Zo was worried about the limited time they had.

  The mainland was a complete mystery to her. Zo had never set foot outside the island. In fact, none of them ever had. The three of them were born and raised on the island, and never traveled outside. Their paternal grandfather made the island his sanctuary more than forty years ago when he
’d fled here along with his son and a band of loyal supporters, to save their lives from his tyrant brother Sian. No one from his family ever went back to the mainland.

  Their father had further strengthened their ties to the island by invoking the blood oath. Breaking this oath would certainly make them all susceptible to future attacks.

  However, Zo’s first priority was to save her siblings. The rest would be dealt with later.

  Her mind worked with utmost ferocity. “Don’t these flowers grow in our kingdom?” She paced the room, resisting the urge to kick something to relieve her frustration. “I mean…isn’t it possible that you don't know that they grow around here somewhere? Perhaps on a plateau on our mountains?" Zo searched for other nearby, easily accessible, possibilities.

  “You might be right. No one has ever scoured every single crevice or nook of the mountains to see all that grows there,” Alicia admitted.

  “But we don’t have the time to do that now.” Zo planted her fist on the wall again and uttered the sentence her sister left unsaid.

  “No, we don’t. But it’s a good idea. Once you leave, I will dispatch a few of my assistants to search everywhere. Perhaps they might find something.”

  “How can you remain so calm…so poised?” Anger tore at the vestiges of Zo’s control. How could this have happened? Both her siblings were on the brink of death, and the only chance she had to save them lay outside their beloved kingdom.

  Alicia rose. She didn’t acknowledge her sister’s anger. “You will have to erect a safety shield around Seve. We can’t afford another attempt on his life while he sleeps. You know that I’m not as good with protection spells as you are.”

  “No one is as good as me.” There was no arrogance in her words. It was a simple statement reflecting her conviction in her gift. Striding over to her brother, Zo planted a kiss on his forehead. Gently, she brushed her fingers against his cold cheek. “I promise that I’ll get those damned flowers in time to save you. You’re a pain in the ass, but I love you all the same. Once you’re up, together we’ll find the person responsible for making you ill and tear him apart limb to limb.”