Exeres drifted in pools of sleep, too exhausted to push for the surface and awaken. He did not want to, for a terrible storm raged beyond and he would be safe as long as he remained deep in the waters. The summoning of the Vocus had utterly drained him. He had pulled too much Earth magic into himself. Warnings during his training as a Druid priest flitted through his hazy thoughts. Taming and releasing too much Earth magic could paralyze a man for days. The body still needed food and water. One could die before awakening. It had happened to other Druid priests, found dead in the woodlands—wasted away.
Yet there was some degree of thought left open to him. Part of him nudged through the space. Like a door opening in his mind, the vision rose up—the dream that had haunted his entire life. A cage made of glass and gold stays. A woman trapped inside it. Reaching out, he touched the smooth barrier with his palm. The glass was warm, cloudy.
The woman in the cage stirred and looked up at him. He saw the mass of golden curls shift from her shoulders.
—You’ve come again—
Had she spoken to him before? He could not remember. Or was that part of the dream that always faded when he awoke each morning?
“Who are you?” Exeres asked.
—You can hear me?—
He touched the glass with his other hand, wishing he could see her face. But the glass distorted all but the vague image of her. “Who are you?”
The woman shifted away from him to the other side of the prison. He could not see the colors of her clothes or the pattern of her shawl except in dull amber tones.
—She is coming for you. Beware.—
“Open your eye—let me see it!” another woman’s voice hissed and her words shoved the heavy door in his mind closed.
Exeres gasped awake on the soft folds of a carpet, pressing his hand over the pain in his blind eye. The woman! The forgotten woman in the cage! He had spoken to her!
—Beware of her!—
The whisper of thought came before the vision shut completely.
Someone else jerked Exeres to his feet. He was so weak he could barely stand. His good eye squinted and he saw the source of his deepest fears. The woman who had forced him to use the Earth magic. Her thin pale hands were strong for someone of her size. Black robes rustled against the carpet as she jerked his chin to face her. After tugging the cloth patch away, she stared into his glossy white eye. She reeked of magic and death. She pressed his head between her hands and stared into the opaque snarl of tangled bloodveins.
Exeres nearly choked as he drew in quick breaths. The smell of her magic...
“Be still!” she said, squeezing his head tighter.
Her hard eyes stared into his, and he felt himself go dizzy looking at their black depths. He could barely believe he still lived. His stomach growled with desperate hunger and his thirst raged. Yet the thought of food filled him with disgust.
“Show me the vision. Show me what you remember.”
Pain filled Exeres’ skull as her magic invaded him like locusts. He tried to escape back into unconsciousness, but could not manage it. The sick-smelling scent of her wrapped him in tight coils and crushed against his mind. He remembered the visions—he remembered the times he had seen the imprisoned woman before. The feelings of loneliness and sadness quickened inside him once more.
“It’s her,” the woman whispered and the vision trickled from Exeres’ mind like sand through a child’s fingers. The burn in his mind began to cool.
“Who…who is she?”
She shook her head and released him. Her robes swished as she turned away, rubbing her mouth.
The pavilion tent was dark with dancing shadows, their rhythm caused by a row of red dripping candles. A large oak pallet with black drapes straddled the center of the place, covered with dark furs and crisp with the aroma of jasmine. A single bound volume inlaid with silver rested near a stack of quills and two inkwells by the bed. Outside, the churn of the waterfall pattered endlessly. But inside, it was quiet, except for Exeres’ ragged breathing.
“Who are you?” Exeres asked her, feeling her magic drain from him.
“I am Miestri. And you are my servant.”
Exeres licked his lips. The sound of the pattering waterfall turned his thirst into an ulcerous craving. He needed a drink. How many days had he been sleeping off the effects of the Earth magic?
“How long…?” He stopped, choking, trying to get enough moisture to speak. “Sleep? How long did I sleep?”
“Almost three days. You’re a strong young man. Healthy. You’ll survive.”
“Drink…”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I have questions for you.” Whirling, she gripped Exeres’ chin and raised his face. “Who is Jaerod?”
“I...I don’t know...”
“A Sleepwalker? A Druid? A god? Tell me!”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve seen these visions all your life, haven’t you?”
“The woman in the cage—yes...”
“Is that all you’ve seen?” Her lips twisted into an angry scowl.
“I have memories sometimes. In places I’ve never been before. Please, Miestri. I need some water and food. I’m starving…”