“What?”
“He said he wanted ‘the champion’s blood for Lord Raspian.’ What does that mean?”
Taavin stood and began to pace. The magic trailed through the air behind him, as though his very essence was unraveling. Vi’s technique had improved with his tutelage, but she was struggling to catch up.
“Can you hold more still, please?” she asked. He stopped abruptly but did not face her. “Taavin, I need to know what I’m up against.”
“The ritual you saw, with the man of red lightning, do you remember?”
How could she forget?“Yes.”
“To perform that ritual, to bring back Lord Raspian to walk along this mortal plane, they need a sacrifice of Yargen.”
“How do they get the sacrifice of a goddess?” Vi asked slowly. Suspicions were dawning on her even as she asked, but she wanted to leave no room for error.
“Ashes, from the flame if it is snuffed. The blood of the voice… or the champion.” His eyes fell heavily on her. Vi swallowed hard. It was as if his words alone reignited pain in her ailing body.
“That’s why, in my vision… the body on the altar in the bag…”
It was one of them. One of them had been gutted, bagged, and laid across an altar to resurrect an ancient evil.
“You must be careful, more than ever, Vi. Yes, in the vision there was a whole body and that would be the most… effective way.” He grimaced at the wordeffective. “But given the strength they’re already displaying, I have no doubt that all they need is blood from one of us to pull off the ritual.”
“Should I start telling Ginger to burn my clerical rags?” Vi didn’t want to begin keeping track of everywhere she spilled a drop of blood.
“No… It needs to be fresh blood spilled at the sacred site. Or blood captured by one of their ritual daggers so that it is kept in a specific stasis to be brought back for their ritual.”
“That explains the dagger he was holding,” Vi murmured, remembering the strange-looking weapon the man kept slashing at her with.
“They shouldn’t even be able to create those weapons. It takes great power to craft them, ready them for collection of blood, and then keep the blood viable for ritual.” Taavin shook his head grimly. “Yet another sign of how Raspian’s power is growing while Yargen’s dims.”
“Dimming… The traveler said the flame will be fueled again, didn’t she? That the champion holds the key.” Taavin gave a small nod. “Taavin… I don’t know anything about your flame. Even if I wanted to rekindle it… I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“And that is what I hope the apexes of fate will show us.”
“Do you have any new leads?”
“None that I haven’t already told you.” He sighed.
“The throne room… the dark room… and a temple with eye-owe?” Vi recalled.
“Just so. Do you have any new leads on them?” he asked hopefully.
“Unfortunately not…” Vi admitted. “Eye-owe keeps sticking with me, but I haven’t been able to place it. I’m sorry. I’ll do my best to find it, though.”
Vi looked down at her hands: one rested in her lap, supporting the glyph, and the other rested at her side. A shimmering hand interrupted her thoughts. Delicate fingers rested on hers. Vi couldn’t tell if her mind filled in the sensation she expected, or if he truly felt warm.
“You must be careful in your search, Vi. More than ever. The elfin’ra and their dark arts were locked away, but the barrier keeping them in exile vanished when the seal on Raspian’s tomb was broken.” Her eyes drifted up the embroidered sleeve of his coat to his face. “I am protected in Risen. I am the most guarded man on Meru in a city surrounded by a barrier of its own that’s directly connected to the flame itself.” Taavin leaned forward slightly, and Vi wondered if she just imagined it. His voice was deep, pained. “But you are an easy target—and they will continue to come for you.”
Vi felt fear rising within her but forced herself to swallow it down. Jax had always told her she would be a target for enemies of Solaris. This was no different. She had been raised for this.
“Teach me how to protect myself,” Vi demanded. “Teach me beyond anchoring the glyphs and basic principles. I want to use Lightspinning to fight.” For a brief second, she was afraid he would reject her.
“I shall do my best to make myself available at every moment to be your tutor.”
Vi let out a small sigh of relief, leaning back into her pillows but making no motion to pull her hands from under his silhouette of light. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He glanced sideways. Then, speaking mostly to himself, said, “Here I am, willingly seeking you out after you’ve haunted me my whole life… I feel I should hate you for entrapping me once more.”
