Spirit's Journey (temporary title)
an excerpt

Chapter Three

Guardian’s Resistance; Haven’s Attack

“Eras, where is Shamira?”

“Out in the forest, or in the coral, perhaps,” replied Eras. He had a fierce look of concentration on his face as he pointed a long sword straightforward, turning it by the handle as he measured the blade up with his pretend target. “Why do you want her?”

“The Queen and Council want to meet her today.” Aevorn sighed and walked over to a nearby chair that was against the wall of the training room, putting his hand through his graying hair.

Eras lowered his sword and turned to look at his foster father. “Why do they want to do that?”

“You know why, Eras. And don’t pretend not to,” Aevorn replied. “Shamira has grown up. Not only that, but things are happening, and . . . well, certain events need to be put into place.”

Eras looked away from him as he thought about this. He sheathed his sword, then moved to sit down in another chair next to Aevorn.

“A week ago, I went riding in the forest with Shamira. When I came out of the barn while she was waiting for me, she was staring at some bushes. When we were in the forest, she kept insisting that she was seeing something . . . I told her that it was just some animal, but she said these were . . . different,” Eras said.

Aevorn looked at Eras, his eyes widening. “Different how, exactly?”

Eras shrugged, “She didn’t really say.”

“I wonder if it was an Animus,” Aevorn muttered.

Eras shook his head, confused, “A what? What are you mumbling about, Aevorn?”

“An Animus is . . . well, they’re spirits in the form of an animal. They’re from the Spirit Lands,” Aevorn replied. “If it was who I think it was, then I believe it’s even more urgent for us to find wherever Shamira is and get her ready. The Council and Queen want to meet all of you, so go make yourself look presentable.”

“But Aevorn, I don’t understand. Why . . ?”

“Just go,” Aevorn cut him off. “Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

*****
For once, as Shamira stood at the top of the hill facing Castevon and the Haven, Shamira wanted to go to the Haven. Now that she knew she was meeting a group of the most important people in the country, she was not so eager to go to the palace where they awaited her.

But Shamira had found herself with no choice but to do as her father said and go with him to the palace. So it was with a pounding heart that she, with her brothers and foster father by her side, made her way down the hilltop and walked in the direction of Castevon.

The small group of travelers walked in silence, just as they had eighteen years before when Aevorn first brought them as children to the Haven. Shamira tried to remember that day, but for the most part her memories seemed random, at best, and hard to place into a time frame. Her memories from before that day were harder to place, as they were non-existent.

Soon they came up to the long path that led up to the stairs where the palace’s tall, large doors waited for them at the top. Two guards saw the small group approaching and immediately moved to walk both behind and in front of them, escorting them to the palace’s doors. The doors were then pulled open slowly, revealing a large entrance hall. As the group came into the hall, they looked around with wide eyes. The room itself was beautiful, and was far better than any of the rooms the Haven had.

Not a moment later, a plump man waddled his way towards the group, a hand resting on his stomach. His head was mostly bald, and he had a goatee.

“Greetings, Master Aevorn and company,” the man said. His eyes looked at each member of the group, until finally they settled on to Shamira. “Ah, you must be Mistress Shamira. It is an honor to meet you.” Before Shamira could respond, he then said, “I will take you to see the Council now.”

Looking at Aevorn, her eyes begging him for an explanation, Shamira began following the others. Aevorn avoided making eye contact with her, and simply kept himself facing forward. It would be better this way, he told himself. How was he going to assure Shamira of that, though?

They were led down a long hall that went to the left of the entrance room they’d been in. At the very end of it, Shamira could see a large oak door that she guessed led into the Council chambers. Her guess was correct, for when she entered, she was greeted with a large chamber that held a long table in the middle. Along it, several people sat waiting. She could feel their eyes on her as she slowly stepped into the room, looking around.

The chair at the head of the table was empty, but there were a total of eight seats filled. One of the empty chairs was normally Aevorn’s seat, making the number of Council members nine. Aevorn moved to sit in his seat, motioning to the rest of the seats. Shamira’s siblings all conveniently managed to move faster than her, leaving her the chair that sat at the opposite end of the table from the one she assumed belonged to the King or Queen.

The man who had escorted the group left, the oak door slamming shut behind him. There was an eerie silence for a moment longer before Aevorn spoke up.

“Councilors, these are the . . . children I spoke of the last time I was here.” He introduced each of her brothers, starting with Eras. “And this is Shamira.”

“So . . . this is her,” said one Councilor.

“Yes . . . it’s urgent that we speak with the Queen as soon as possible. Shamira has met her first Animus,” replied Aevorn.

“My first what?” Shamira asked, frowning.

“Your first Animus,” Aevorn repeated. “Animus’s are spirits who appear as animals. They come from the Spirit Lands. Tell me, what did the Animus look like?’

Shamira blinked slowly, staring at her foster father. “I didn’t actually see it. At least, not . . . fully. I saw its eyes.”

“What if it was a Spectre?” asked another Councilor.

“They wouldn’t know where to find her, would they?”

As the Councilors went back and forth, Shamira could feel herself begin to fume. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the different voices. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore, and before she knew it, she had jumped up, opened her eyes, and was banging her fist on the table loudly, trying to get their attention.

“Stop it!” she yelled. The Councilors and her brothers all looked at her. “Stop talking about me like I’m not in the room.” She looked at Aevorn. “You dragged me to this palace without so much as an explanation before hand, telling me that these people and the Queen want to meet me. And now you’re talking about . . . Animusus, or whatever they’re called, and Spectres, and all I want to know is why I was brought here.”

Aevorn was about to reply, but his mouth closed as he heard the light tapping of heels against the floor. He turned his head to see a figure in the shadows of the room walking toward the empty chair at the head of the table. The figure was that of a woman, tall and slender, with blonde but graying hair pulled up out of her face, with a crown on top of her head.

“Calm down, child,” the woman, who Shamira could only assume to be the queen, said. She walked behind the chair at the head of the table, her blue eyes watching Shamira. “Your frustration is quite understandable. I apologize on behalf of my Councilors for no explanation being given to you before now.”

Shamira swallowed hard. The Queen had heard her outburst, and that could not have been a good thing. She managed a quick glance to Aevorn, whose eyes were downcast to the table.

“I think, my dear, that perhaps you should come with me.”

Shamira looked back at the Queen, her heart pounding in her chest. She opened her mouth in an attempt to respond, but found herself stuttering over her words.

“Don’t be afraid,” the Queen urged.

Shamira looked back at Aevorn, who nodded his head slowly, mouthing the words “go on.” She looked back at the Queen and walked slowly around the table, coming to the Queen’s side.

Queen Kelesana led Shamira out another door in the room, which would eventually lead to one of Kelesana’s personal chambers. She opened the door and let Shamira enter first before following and closing it behind her.

Shamira was the first to speak once the door was closed. “Your Majesty, I deeply apologize for that . . . outburst I had in the council chamber.”

Kelesana waved her hand dismissively as she walked over to the window in the room. “It’s quite all right, Shamira. You have every right to be angry that things have not been explained to you. I cannot promise that my explanation will be any easier to hear, but I shall try to make it as . . . simply as possible. To tell you the truth, you remind me of someone else who was once in the same position as you.”

“Really?”

Kelesana nodded, smiling sadly. “Long ago, a girl I once knew was . . . well, she was faced with the same choice that I’m about to face you with. The Spirit Lands, as Aevorn mentioned earlier, was actually a country of people, with three different kingdoms. I was just a young girl at the time, not much younger than you. My . . . friend was told that she was going to be one of the next rulers of the Spirit Lands.”

“What happened to her?”

“A man named Vanaitus started doing horrible things. He . . . turned people into spirits, which is why the country, Ossarris, that is now the Spirit Lands, is the way it is. He killed some of our mutual friends, who were her . . . well, I suppose they were her bodyguards. Then, my friend was caught doing something that was considered treasonous. She was punished, and then banished. The day that happened was . . . probably one of the hardest days of my life, because I had to be there to oversee her sentencing,” Kelesana explained.

“So what are you saying? How does this have anything to do with me?” Shamira asked, walking over to the window to stand next to the Queen.

“Ossarris is still the way it is because its rightful ruler has not come to save it,” Kelesana began. “My friend can no longer be its ruler because of what happened to her. But you . . . you are meant to become the next queen of Ossarris, Shamira. I really don’t know how else to put it.”

Shamira looked up at the Queen, staring at her. What was this woman saying? Was she serious? She shook her head slowly. It couldn’t be true. She was a no body, an orphan who had grown up in the Haven, living there happily for as long as she could remember. She wanted it to stay that way.

“Why should I believe this? Why should I believe any of it?” she asked.
The Queen sighed, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Because . . . you can see the Animi. Which means that you were born in the Spirit Lands, as we were told, and are meant to be their next queen. You have a gift that not many others have, and were able to see the animal spirit in the forest. You are the Spirit Guardian.”

Shamira backed up slowly, the Queen’s hand slipping from her shoulder, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Suppose I decided to believe you,” she said after a moment. “Tell me what happened to my parents, and why I was brought to live at the Haven. Tell me why my foster brothers were brought there.”

“That’s a little more complicated to explain, Shamira. Your parents were members of a . . . secret force that made it their goal to do whatever they could to help those who were trapped in the Spirit Lands. Vanaitus, of course, did not like this at all, and captured them, as well as other members of the force. You weren’t much older than four years old at the time of their deaths. Before you were brought to the Haven, your memories of your parents were erased using magic. It was believed, at the time, that it was best for you to not have those memories. The less you could remember, the better,” Kelesana replied. “As for your brothers . . . like my friend, you, too, have guardians of your own, and those are your brothers. The stories of how and why they came to the Haven and why they were chosen to guard you are different, though.”

”Suppose, for a moment, I decide to believe everything you’re saying. What does that mean for me?”

“Well, it means that you’ll need to go to the Spirit Lands to claim the throne,” the Queen answered simply. “Although, it’s not quite as simple as that. There are certain . . . dangers that await you because of who you are.”

“And what if I don’t want to claim the throne? Whoever said I wanted to become queen, of a place I’ve never been to, no less? And what in the name of the stars above are Spectres?”

“You don’t really have a choice, Shamira. You are the rightful heir, and the people trapped in the Spirit Lands need your help,” Kelesana replied. “As for the Spectres . . . they’re evil spirits, for lack of a better term. They work for Vanaitus, and will probably know who you are if you’re ever seen by them, which makes things even more dangerous for you.”

Shamira sighed, looking out the window of the palace. Below, she could see a flower garden surrounding a fountain of some great king who had probably ruled Castevon centuries before. To the right and in the distance, she saw a stable where she could see horses. Straight ahead was green land, and then treetops, marking the forest.

“I take it this Vanaitus isn’t going to just let me claim the throne,” Shamira stated bluntly after a moment.

Queen Kelesana smiled slightly, “No, probably not. What you need to understand though, is that things will start making more sense as events come into play. Things are going to happen the right way this time. They have to, or Osarris will be lost forever. Do you understand now?”

Shamira looked up at the Queen, studying her for a moment. She could see the pleading look in the older woman’s eyes, and she knew the silent message they were giving her. Whether Shamira liked it or not, and whether she fully believed in it or not, the Queen needed Shamira’s help, as did the people of Osarris.

“Yes, I think I do understand. At least, most of it,” she replied after a moment.

“Then you’ll help us?”

Shamira slowly nodded, and the Queen sighed in relief. “Good. Come, there is much more to discuss. We don’t have a lot of time before you’ll need to leave for Osarris.”

****

Shamira, Aevorn, and her brothers were now heading back to the Haven. It was dark out, and though the various animals continued their night sounds, the group was silent. There were hundreds of questions and things Shamira would like to say to her family, but she was trying to find the best way to start asking things first.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she finally said. “Why didn’t you tell me about any of this? Didn’t you think I had the right to know?”

As they came up the familiar hill, Shamira stopped, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at her foster father for an explanation. Aevorn stayed with his back turned to her for another moment before turning to look at her.

“Shamira, I didn’t want to have to tell you,” he began. “I mean . . . I didn’t want the circumstances to be what they are now. I wanted to know that you knowing the truth wouldn’t put you into even more danger.”

“Aren’t I in danger any way? What if I hadn’t been told, and these Spectre creatures of yours were to attack? What then?”

Aevorn closed his mouth and hung his head, having no response to give. When Shamira did not receive the answer to her question, she rolled her eyes and began walking again, her arms falling down to her sides.

She came to the bottom of the hill and went straight for the door of the Haven. She pushed it open without the usual difficulty she found. It was then that she realized that the door was all ready open. Frowning, she entered the main hall, looking around.

“Javis?” she called.

She went further into the hall, searching for any sign of the Haven’s other keeper. Shamira walked into the dining hall to find pushed over chairs and shattered dishes on the floor. Near the entrance to the kitchen she saw Javis’s plump body lying there.

“Javis?” She quickly ran over to where his body was and kneeled down, putting two fingers to the side of his neck. She could feel a heart beat, at least.

Javis began groaning, and after a moment he sat up, putting a hand to his head while using the other to hold him up.

“What happened?” Javis asked.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Shamira replied.

Javis looked at her, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Princess Shamira,” he said. “You’ve returned . . . where are Aevorn and your brothers?”

“They’ll be here in a minute. What happened?” Shamira wrinkled her nose at being called “Princess,” but let it go for now.

“Spectres attacked,” he replied. “I do believe they were looking for you, Your Highness. They outnumbered me, and managed to hit me pretty hard.”

With Shamira’s help, Javis pushed himself off the floor, rubbing his head. A moment later, Aevorn entered followed by Shamira’s brothers, looking around the mess that had become the dining hall before looking at Javis.

“Spectres.” It was not a question, for he was entirely certain that he was correct.

Javis nodded, “I’m just glad Princess Shamira was not here for the attack.”

“Do you understand now, Shamira?” Aevorn asked, picking up a chair and putting it the right way.

“I understand, but I don’t like it. What do they want with me?” Shamira replied.

“You’re a threat to their master. They want you out of the way, probably by any means necessary.” Aevorn sighed, closing his eyes. “I will go back to the palace and inform the Queen and Council about what has happened. But you’re not safe here any more, Shamira. You’ll need to come back with me.”

Shamira looked at Aevorn. “Go back to the palace? Aevorn . . .”

“You heard what I said, Shamira,” Aevorn interrupted her. “Believe me, it’s for the best.”