“What about Ludwig or Luzie? Have you seen either of them?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen anyone in many years, not in the flesh anyway,” the oracle said with a bemused cackle.
Fritz shook his head. “We haven’t seen them. But I’m sure they’ll join us soon. Luzie was meant to take the carriage and flee to Artria if we didn’t get to her in time.”
Liane didn’t look convinced. “And Ludwig?”
Erich grabbed her hand. “He’ll come. Don’t worry.”
And she leaned against him.
“What now? Should we wait to see if Luzie and Ludwig come to find us?” Liane asked. “I don’t want to leave Basilia without them.”
She relaxed beneath Erich’s touch, and guilt ate at his stomach. He’d fed her comforting lies to get her away from the temple, but he was skeptical of Ludwig’s chances of survival. If Luzie were smart, she’d make a run for it. All that mattered to him was getting Liane to safety, and as long as she was within Neolyra’s borders, he feared the church would keep pursuing her.
His uncle’s offer of a boat to Sundland came to mind. But that was a ludicrous thought. There were other ways of escape.
Erich looked around at their surroundings. They were standing under a canopy of trees in a near-empty field filled with tall grasses, but as he looked closer, he saw remnants of the stone structures—a single column overgrown with vines, half-crumbled walls, and overgrown cobbled streets. Now that he wasn’t thinking with his cock, he sensed the magic in the air and the half-faded runes carved into the stone.
“The old city,” the oracle said.
“How do you know?” Erich asked.
“I wasn’t always blind. I used to come here often. The magic called to me...”
“Then you’re familiar with this place and the veins of magic?” Liane asked.
“Yes, it is one of the few uncorrupted veins of magic left. Which is why the church has tried so hard to keep people away,” the oracle said.
“I think this is where the raven wanted me to come,” Liane said, staring off into the distance. Her gaze had that dreamy, farseeing quality he’d seen on Fritz’s face before.
“You should have drawn the sword long ago,” the oracle said.
“I’ve been trying.”
The oracle shook her head. “When you were summoned during your thirteenth year. It should have been drawn out then.”
“But that was when it fused with my back.”
The oracle shook her head again, as if she were feeling impatient. “That’s what the Avatheos thinks. You were born with the power within you. It comes from the blood. Like all magic, it is intrinsic to who we are. And why the Church of Sol’s desire to take control of it is so dangerous. I tried to change the church from within, but in the end, that wasn’t my role.”
Liane’s gaze sharpened as she looked the woman up and down. “And who are you?”
Erich was wondering the same. Leonhard had asked him to free her, but had left out instructions on what to do with her after. Was Leonhard going to come find them here in the wilderness?
The old woman folded her hands in front of her and glared at Liane for a moment. “The unfortunate soul whom the goddesses chose as their mouthpiece. I’m one of the last priestesses of the old religions. Though I didn’t do much in my short time on this continent, I hope it’s enough to return things to the way they were.”
“I thought you were an oracle,” Erich remarked. But his neck prickled as he sensed the magic in her. He’d heard whispers of the old religion. Most of what remained of it was worn-down ruins in villages, too small for the Church of Sol to care about. Or too remote to risk the priests to fully convert the people to the church’s worship.
“I was one of the Church of Sol’s chosen few. That inner circle privy to the machinations of the church. I thought we had a holy destiny. Until I saw a vision that led me to this place. I tried to undo the work the Avatheos did, in whatever way I could, until he discovered my plots and had me locked in a cell. I realized my calling too late, but it’s not too late for you.” She turned to Erich, and it felt as if her gaze might pierce him. “Every sword needs a shield.”
He felt Fritz’s and Liane’s stare on him, and all of their expectations, but he couldn’t be that for her. A shield was meant to protect, and he was capable of only harm.
“For her to have a shield, she needs to draw the sword first. Have your visions told you how she might do that?” Erich asked to draw attention away from himself.
The old woman stared at Erich as if she saw through all his fears and hesitations. And then she looked away. “Liane already knows. She can feel it calling to her.”
They all turned toward Liane. She had her arms wrapped around her torso, as if she’d gone cold, but it was a warm night.
