Secrets of the Soul
an excerpt

(A note: 'Devier' and 'David' are one and the same person. David is his real name, where as 'Devier' is the name given to him since being declared a wizard)

“Stay here.” Ellial suddenly demanded in a tone that left no room for argument. David nodded timidly as she unlocked the door edged it open a crack before slipping in, drawing him a filthy look. “All of you.”

Lady Asri stepped forward and extended her arm to stop the door – but it had already shut and the lock slammed home into the door frame. Her face resembled that of a cat that had just eaten a bee. She stood rigidly by the door, her eyes fixed on it so intently that she might be trying to burn a hole with her stare. Even though he felt like he couldn’t have been in a more dangerous situation, David could help but smirk to himself at Ellial’s bettering of Lady Asri. Furious, she snapped at her wizard; David instantly wiped the smirk off his own face before she noticed and wiped it off herself; which, given her current mood with doubtlessly be an extremely unpleasant experience.

“Open it, Enagiel. Now.”

“I cannot…” Enagiel spoke regretfully, overtones of obvious disappointment at his failure to his master.

“What do you mean ‘cannot’?” Lady Asri fumed, staring down her wizard; her full anger directed solely at him. “You have done it before.” She hissed angrily.

“That was before he came, M’Lady.” Enagiel replied, his gaze settling firmly on David. “The locks of the Queen’s immediate family are enchanted to bar entry to any wizard with the exception of High Wizard Arael and the occupant’s own. The enchantment was ineffective so long as she was without a wizard, but as of today…”

“Open. It.” Lady Asri growled once more, her outraged gaze joining Enagiel’s on him.

Like finding a wolf-torn sheep, David could not pull his eyes away from the spine-chilling stare of Lady Asri. Her gaze pierced him, as though cutting into his very soul, invading deep into the core of his sanity. How anyone could have such unforgiving eyes, such merciless rage within them was beyond him. In his village it wasn’t uncommon for the townsmen to get rowdy after some drinks, though this was nearly always born of the alcohol they consumed and each spent more time the next day nursing their headaches rather than wishing to pursue the arguments – even if their head wasn’t amongst the injuries sustained. Yet, this woman – if she could really be called as such, as scary as she was – had no reason to dislike him and certainly didn’t sway nearly enough (in fact, not at all) to be drunk.

“I… I can’t.” David swallowed hard, quickly adding “I don’t know how!” under the fiercer glint in Lady Asri’s eyes.

“All you need to do is think it, Devier.” Enagiel explained patiently, his attempt at a softer, less aggressive approach caught David off-guard and he found himself looking towards the lock. “Think it and want it. Will it open, as though recalling a memory or painting a picture in your imagination. Imagine it being unlocked, listen to the click of the cylinder shifting in the shaft in your mind and then push it into reality.”

David stared at the lock intently, picturing the mechanism holding the door in place within his mind. He could see the cylinder moving out of the door frame, hear the click of the lock turning, he could see the door opening…

Want it.

Suddenly he shook his head, his mind crying out in shock as he did so – his heart telling him he could not and that it would not. Perhaps Ellial knew of this enchantment, he certainly would not be surprised if she did, and, if so, would know that it was him that was responsible for the trespassing of her room (he doubted he would ever consider it ‘theirs’). She hated him enough – and rightly so, he had concluded – and to add fuel to the fire, to slap a sore wound, was nothing short of idiocy.

Is standing up to Lady Asri and her wizard anything less? His mind debated heatedly.

He mind’s argument was sound. He had found himself firmly planted between a rock and a hard place, but he knew what he had to do. While all his logic screamed at him that facing up to Lady Asri and Enagiel was beyond insane – that he would doubtlessly lose his head in the argument, and in the most literal way. Yet, the idea of betraying Ellial’s trust, even though she had none in him, somehow seemed like the worst option. He swallowed hard, the sound, he was sure was audible, and stated his case.

“I won’t do it. Princess Ellial requested we wait and I will abide by her wishes.” David spoke simply, somehow managing to straighten his back and maintain eye contact with the purple faced Lady Asri.

“I don’t care what Princess Ellial has said.” Asri hissed, grabbing David by his tattered jumper and lifting him from his feet by her handful of it. “Enagiel and I are your masters – you do as we command. Now, open that door!” She demanded her voice as venomous a hiss as David thought possible as she pointed firmly to Princess Ellial’s door.

“But Enagiel-”

“Wizard Enagiel, to you, Devier.” Lady Asri growled.

“Wizard Enagiel follows your orders. I should be following Princess Ellial’s, correct?” David retorted. Where he had found such brave words within him was a mystery, but they were spoken now and there was no turning back.

“He also takes orders directly from the Queen or High Wizard Arael. I do not hold sole possession of him.” Lady Asri snarled impatiently, lifting David to her eye level. “Open it.”

Amazingly, even to himself, David shook his head.

“Queen Elessia and High Wizard Arael outrank you. That is why Wizard Enagiel must obey their commands.” Lady Asri’s face seemed to contort gruesomely with rage as she realised where David was going with it. “Princess Ellial outranks you both. I must obey her.”

Faster than David’s eyes could follow, Lady Asri had unsheathed her sword, dropping David ungracefully to the ground before pressing the tip of her blade against his brow, squarely between his eyes. David winced, first at the second harsh impact to his rear but mostly to the sharp pain he felt above his nose. A warm trickle ran down the side of his nose and flowed down his cheek like a disturbing red tear. He looked up the length of the sword, the light of multiple bright torches dancing energetically on its polished surface. The view pulled at his eyes, the perception forcing him into a cross eyes stare; the undeniable swordness of the item drudging up fear within him.

“I’d worry less about rank and more about your skin, Devier.” Lady Asri sneered, looking down the length of her own blade into the eyes of her would-be victim.

Suddenly the door clicked behind them, Princess Ellial stood in all her high stature at the entrance to her room. She had changed her clothes into decidedly less formal attire. Her immaculately white dress, puffed ridiculously bellow the waist to twice her width had been replaced by a simple light brown dress; the skirts of it flowing down loosely around her legs, but tight enough around them that she bore no resemblance to a bell. Her hair, while still worn down, was pinned back from in front of her face by a clasp to either side of her fringe.

“Is there a problem, Lady Asri?” Ellial enquired irritably.

“He spoke out of turn, Ellial-”

“Princess Ellial, to you, Lady Asri.” Ellial retorted, her eyes matching the dangerous tone in her voice.

“My apologies, Princess.” Lady Asri replied through gritted teeth, her jaw clenched. “Your wizard must learn his manners.”

“Then he will be taught them.” Ellial snapped back, “Now mind yours and sheath your blade.”