‘You have an offering?’
Chloe unclasped her copper chain. She removed the heavy amulet before returning the bare necklace to its place around her neck.
‘I do,’ she said, displaying the amulet.
‘She must stay with me!’ Kargan growled.
The magus closest to Kargan fixed his dark eyes on the bigger man. ‘You have made your offering, and so we will ensure she is returned to you. But she has stepped onto the path, and now we will take her to the Seer.’
‘I cannot—’ he began.
‘Do you wish to know the manner of your death?’ the magus said. ‘For I can tell it to you, Kargan of Lamara. There is no curse greater.’
Kargan shook his head. Relenting, he scowled at Chloe. ‘I will wait here.’
‘Come,’ both of the magi said in unison.
Chloe’s heart raced as she followed them up the winding path. She passed flames the color of sapphire that lit the surrounding rock blue, and crimson fire as red as blood. The path was wide and the two magi flanked her on both sides. Thinking about the threat they had made to Kargan, she suddenly felt terrified about what the Oracle would say.
The path continued for an eternity, and then the magi stopped in front of the cave.
‘Enter,’ the man on her left said.
Chloe walked inside.
The ground was now unpaved but nonetheless she felt smooth stone beneath her feet, sloping deeper into the passage. Water dripped down the rock walls of the passage at both sides, yet the floor was dry and the rivulets followed channels where the walls met the stone, trickling into the shadowed depths. The tunnel curved around sharp promontories but she could see by a fiery glow coming from somewhere ahead.
Taking turn after turn, Chloe saw the light growing brighter and brighter, and then after a final bend she put a hand to her eyes, blinded by whiteness.
Squinting against the glare her vision cleared, and she saw a pure white flame burning in the center of a high-ceilinged cavern. The fire burned without tinder. Chloe smelled a scent she had encountered only once before, when she had slept beside the rumbling Mount Oden.
A woman sat staring into the flame. Her back was to Chloe and all she could see was a hunched figure with pure white hair cascading down her back, stretching all the way to the ground. The woman wore a black robe with long sleeves that covered every part of her skin.
‘Come, Chloe of Phalesia.’ A sibilant voice bounced around the cavern, coming from everywhere at once. ‘Place your offering beside me and then sit with the fire of the gods between us.’
Swallowing, Chloe stepped hesitantly forward and placed the copper amulet next to the woman. Without looking down, she circled the white flame and sat on the hard stone, across from the Oracle.
Chloe looked up.
The flame danced between them, rippling across the Seer’s features so that they were hard to make out. Chloe gained an impression of surprising beauty: with startlingly green eyes, the Seer had the delicate features and noble cast to her face that Chloe had only seen before on the statues of Edra, goddess of love, fertility, and children.
‘You offer the materia of copper,’ the Oracle murmured. Reaching down without looking, she picked up the amulet and tossed it into the fire.
Chloe waited for the copper to melt, but it didn’t change at all.
‘Stare into the flame,’ the Oracle said. ‘Open your soul to the fire. Gaze and do not blink.’
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Chloe gripped her knees as she focused on the white flame. Sweat formed on her brow and her heart rate increased as if a galloping horse was trapped in her chest. Her vision narrowed as she stared until she could no longer see the Seer; she felt she was floating in a sea of darkness, and nothing existed but the pure white fire.
‘Close your eyes,’ the Oracle instructed.
Chloe closed her eyes, and the feeling of floating free from her body became so strong that she began to panic. But she fought to remain strong and banish the fear. Her breath came in short gasps.
‘The gods have accepted your offering. I now pronounce this prophecy.’
Chloe was desperate to open her eyes and see the face of the woman speaking to her as she revealed her future. Her consciousness floated in a void. She could concentrate on nothing except for the Oracle’s words.
‘You will kill a man you pity. You will desire a man you fear. You will wed a man you do not love. The gods have spoken. Open your eyes.’
Chloe opened her eyes, trembling with dread.
The fire had ebbed. The amulet in the flame was gone.
Chloe could now see the Oracle’s face.
The woman’s skin was blackened, as if the flesh had been pressed to hot iron. She had no eyes and shifted her head from side to side in the swift movements of the blind. The Oracle put her palms together in prayer. When she did, Chloe saw that her hands were withered and her fingers were like claws, with nails so long they curled back on themselves.