The Inner Circle: The Knowing (4 page)

‘
Collecting me?’
Seteal narrowed her eyes irritably. ‘I’m not a possession. What
reasonable explanation could you have for abducting me?’

‘
We didn’t want to
abduct you, you silly little girl.’ Far-a-mael waved his hand
dismissively. ‘Your father resisted us. He left us little
alternative.’

‘
And that’s how you
get your way, is it?’ Seteal said disdainfully and stood up so
forcefully that her chair struck the wall. ‘You just kidnap people
when they don’t do as they’re told? Well, I’ve never come across
anyone so despicable.’

‘
Be careful, child,’
Far-a-mael cautioned, planting his hands firmly on the table as he
rose to his feet. ‘Sit down and I’ll explain.’

‘
Child?’ Seteal spat
furiously. ‘I’m hardly a child. How dare you treat me like
one.’

‘
You are a child,’
Far-a-mael chuckled mirthlessly. ‘How old are you,
eighteen?’

‘
Nineteen.’ The
defiance was clear in Seteal’s voice.

‘
Dear girl.’
Far-a-mael laughed aloud, ‘I very recently celebrated my one
hundred and seventy-fourth birthday. As far as I’m concerned,
you’re a child.’

‘
That’s impossible,’
Seteal said, slowly retaking her seat. ‘No one lives that
long.’

‘
If you knew anything
about the Elglair, you’d know that we’re notoriously long-lived,’
Far-a-mael said calmly as he too sat back down. ‘And, of course,
that brings us back to the matter at hand.’

‘
Go on, then,’ Seteal
encouraged, thrown off-balance by the man’s age. ‘What’s your
excuse for turning my father into a sock puppet and taking me from
my home?’

‘
We know,
Seteal.
’ Far-a-mael looked her in the
eye. ‘We know about you.’

‘
You know
what?’

‘
Don’t be coy,’
Far-a-mael cautioned. ‘You’ve touched the Ways. You’ve experienced
the knowing.’

Seteal fidgeted uncomfortably. ‘I’m not
sure what you mean.’

‘
The Way of things,’
Far-a-mael murmured. ‘You know the Way of the future.’

‘
Nonsense.’ Seteal
rocked back in her chair. She didn’t know why it was so important
to keep her secret, but these people had strayed far from gaining
her trust. ‘I’m just an ordinary girl from a small
town.’

‘
You’re
half
Elglair,’ Far-a-mael stated without
emotion, although his face betrayed him, revealing disgust. ‘I knew
your mother very well, so you needn’t bother denying
it.’

‘
You knew my mother?
She wasn’t Elglair. I’d have known,’ Seteal finished with more
certainty than she felt. Did she remember a similar set of strange
eyes in some distant memory? Had white pupils once served as a
comfort as they watched her fall asleep?

‘
Jil-e-an,’
Far-a-mael appeared to lose his composure, if only for a moment as
the name rolled off his tongue. His eyes became focused on
something far away and long ago. ‘That foolish girl. She could’ve
had it all. Instead she ran away with an outlander.’ Far-a-mael’s
face bore an expression of undisguised repulsion. ‘Your
father.’

‘
But Father would’ve
told me.’ Seteal gripped the table. ‘That’s not even how we
pronounce mother’s name.’

‘
Of course Gifn
didn’t tell you.’ Far-a-mael stared at her pityingly. ‘What would a
strong spirited young lady such as yourself be likely to do had she
found out the truth?’

‘
I’d have travelled
to the Frozen Lands to find out more about my mother,’ Seteal
replied hesitantly.

‘
And what would
any sensible outlander
not
want his daughter to
do?’

‘
You’ve made your
point.’ Seteal raised her eyebrows. ‘Still, I refuse to believe
that I’m half Elglair. My eyes are normal and mother’s name was
Jillian.’

‘
Normal?’ Far-a-mael
chuckled. ‘Normalcy depends merely on where you come from, my dear.
In any case, with mixed race relationships, the Elglair eye is
always the first thing to fade. The darkness of the outlander pupil
pollutes the white and overwhelms it. As for your mother’s name,
it’s likely she modified the spelling and changed the pronunciation
to better fit in amongst outlanders.’

Seteal leaned back thoughtfully and
stared at the entrance in time to see El-i-miir come inside. ‘I’ve
tied up the horses and given them water, Gil’rei,’ the young woman
murmured with a kind of forced respect.

‘
Very good.’
Far-a-mael waved his hand to dismiss her.

‘
So why did you take
me by force . . . or at all?’ Seteal raised the constantly nagging
question. ‘What do you intend to do with me?’

‘
What do we
intend to do with you?’ Far-a-mael behaved as though the question
surprised him. ‘The question would be better put, what do
you
intend
to do with you?’

‘
What do you
mean?’

‘
There is a grave
problem that arises for half-caste Elgair.’ Far-a-mael’s tone
became serious. ‘You lack the natural instincts required to control
your connection to the Ways and without special training they will
overwhelm and kill you. It’s really only a matter of
time.’

‘
Maker,’ Seteal
gasped. ‘But I feel fine.’

‘
Of course you do.’
The elderly man shrugged. ‘But surely you’ve noticed an increase in
the frequency and severity of your episodes?’

‘
I suppose.’ Seteal
frowned and crossed her arms.

‘
Then your connection
is getting stronger,’ Far-a-mael urged. ‘It must be
restrained.’

El-i-miir made a sound of contempt,
headed back outside and slammed the door behind her. ‘Is she okay?’
Seteal asked.

‘
Never mind her,’
Far-a-mael replied calmly, but his eyes defied him, burning
furiously after the woman. ‘She is an insolent child.’

‘
So why do you care
about me?’ Seteal asked suspiciously.

‘
What do you
mean?’

‘
From what I’ve read,
the Elglair don’t much care for outsiders and even less so for
half-castes,’ Seteal said quizzically. ‘Why would you bother coming
for me? What’s in it for you?’

Far-a-mael seemed surprised by this,
sitting back forcibly. ‘Well . . . you’re very powerful. The silver
glass--’

‘
What’s that?’ Seteal
cut him off.

‘
What’s
what?’

‘
The silver
glass.’

‘
It’s rather hard to
explain.’ Far-a-mael scratched his chin through his beard. ‘It’s
not particularly relevant, but I suppose it couldn’t hurt to tell
you. It’s much like a standing mirror, but instead of your
reflection it shows the outline of places or people in distant
locations. We’re not quite sure how it works, as it’s quite an
ancient artefact, but wherever there is a decent breeze, the silver
glass provides the viewer with an image. One day, you simply popped
up before me and I realised who you were and how much potential you
had.’

‘
Potential for
what?’

‘
Whatever you want.’
Far-a-mael shrugged. ‘The point is, you took my interest enough
that I refused to let you slip away and die. You should be
grateful. By torrid, girl, I’ve come to save your life!’

‘
All right.’ Seteal
nodded, finally coming to accept the old man’s story. After all,
she had seen the future on many occasions and his explanation was
reasonable. Even her kidnapping--in a way--she’d sensed coming.
‘What do I need to know to stop it?’

‘
Oh, dear.’
Far-a-mael slapped his knee and burst out laughing. ‘You want me to
tell you right now?’

‘
Why not?’ Seteal
scowled. ‘Then I can go home and have words with Father as to why
he’s kept all this from me.’

‘
Dear girl,’
Far-a-mael somewhat startlingly smiled--almost affectionately.
‘It’ll take months of training before you’re fit to return home. I
fear your condition has already progressed dangerously
far.’

‘
What’re you saying?’
Seteal glanced about the room apprehensively. ‘I can’t stay here .
. . wherever here is.’

‘
Of course not.’
Far-a-mael shook his head. ‘You must come with us to the Frozen
Lands where you can be properly trained. El-i-miir will be
graduating soon and I’ll be able to give you my undivided
attention.’

‘
But what about my
father?’ Seteal asked.

‘
What about
him?’

‘
I can’t just leave
without any explanation.’ Seteal waved her hand in frustration. ‘He
needs me. We have a business to tend.’

‘
I’m afraid you’ll
have to,’ Far-a-mael replied sternly. ‘As it is, we’re running out
of time. Never fear, you’ll be able to reach him by letter once
we’ve arrived in the Frozen Lands.’

‘
By letter?’ Seteal
said in alarm. ‘It’ll take weeks to get there! Father will be
worried sick. Why couldn’t you just have explained all this at
home, rather than knocking me out and kidnapping me?’ Seteal stood
up heatedly, now doubting everything the stranger had said. ‘How
can I trust you?’

There was a slight pause in which
Far-a-mael opened his mouth to respond, but an unrecognisably loud
sound tore through the room and stole the words from his lips.
Far-a-mael and Seteal stared at each other in silent apprehension
when a rumbling thud and a shrill scream pierced the silent night.
‘El-i-miir!’ Far-a-mael’s eyes shone protectively as he threw back
his chair and lurched away from the table.

As the old man charged toward the door,
the entire wall that housed it exploded, sending dust and debris
spraying across the floorboards. Far-a-mael shoved Seteal under the
table and turned again to the scene outside.

El-i-miir’s delicate form was crumpled
beyond the spot where the door had been moments earlier. A
frightening beast shrieked beside her and gnashed its hooked beak
menacingly. The creature stood at least three times the height of a
man, closely resembling a giant vulture or some deformed bird of
prey. The beast ruffled its feathers and shrieked again, its golden
eyes fixed on Seteal.

CHAPTER Two

In These Woods

‘
Stop!’ Far-a-mael boomed
commandingly, both arms stretched out toward the beast. It didn’t
listen. Instead, it propelled itself toward the old man on two
sharply taloned, scaly legs. The legs reminded Seteal of something,
but in that moment she couldn’t pick what. It was something about
the toes. They were unusual, with two in the front and two out the
back.

Far-a-mael held his ground as long as he dared,
before having to leap out of the way as the beast jumped up onto
the table. The old timber moaned under the heavy weight, but Seteal
wasn’t left too much time to wonder whether it might collapse. The
dark yellow beak was before her, the bird-like head upside-down,
snapping at her feet.

‘
Get away,’ she cried, kicking at
its feathery face.

The beast roared and leapt off the table in its
renewed efforts of getting underneath. Seteal threw herself out the
other side and ran. She could hear the creature struggling to turn
around in the confined space and a moment later felt its breath on
her neck. She hit the floor and the beak snapped shut.

‘
Stop,’ Far-a-mael commanded, his
brow covered in sweat. Utter silence filled the room. The man stood
over Seteal his hands stretched out toward the beast. ‘You’ll stop
this now.’

His tone was more reminiscent of a plea than a
command. All the same, the beast stood transfixed, snapping its
beak dispassionately. The creature released a sound of irritation
and--much to Seteal’s astonishment--began to shrink. Its limbs
shrivelled up toward its body and its feathers became less
dishevelled. The beast’s eyes became a more dazzling orange and its
talons became less menacing. Before long, Seteal found herself
staring at a bird no larger than her clenched fist.

‘
Oh,’ Seteal gasped in surprise,
recognising the bird as an elf owl, a native to the area. The tiny
animal stared at her through large eyes. It somehow seemed
desperately sad and lingered only long enough to share a strangely
mutual look of disbelief, before opening its wings and vanishing
amongst trees.

‘
El-i-miir,’ Far-a-mael panted as
he hurried toward his fallen accomplice. ‘Are you all
right?’

‘
I’ll be fine,’ El-i-miir replied,
shocked but otherwise unharmed.

‘
Where did it come from?’
Far-a-mael asked. ‘Weren’t you watching?’

‘
It didn’t have an aura,’
El-i-miir sobbed. ‘Why wouldn’t it have an aura?’

‘
I’ve heard of this, although
seldom come across it.’ Far-a-mael’s expression was one of fear and
disbelief.

‘
How can it exist?’ El-i-miir
winced as she rose to her feet. ‘I couldn’t see it. It just
appeared. It was like being as blind as . . . as one of them.’ She
pointed at Seteal.

‘
It was seeol,’ Far-a-mael
replied, his eyes fixed on some distant memory.

‘
Seeol,’ El-i-miir murmured
through shaking lips.