Nym's Arc

Chapter 19 of 41

Magnus knelt on the tower floor. He set the small stones in a wide circle and pressed each one flat. His silver hair fell across his face as he worked. Nym held her mother upright. Drasila's legs still shook, but her chin stayed high. The castle was a mystery. Nym did not know where it stood or what waited there for her. Magnus had said only that something inside could help. She needed to know more before she stepped into the light. "You send us blind," Nym said. "I don't even know the castle's name. Who lives there?" Magnus did not look up. "The stones choose the place. Not me." He set the last stone and rubbed his hands. "They point to that castle because your answer lives there. That is all they will tell me." A black cat slipped from the shadows by the shelf. Its coat caught the firelight. Nym knew this cat. It had led her out of the circling forest and to the center stone. It crossed the room and sat inside Magnus's circle. It stared at the wall, tail curled tight. Drasila drew a sharp breath. "That cat." Her thin fingers gripped Nym's arm. "It came from the castle. It knows the way back." She looked at Magnus. "Send it through with us. It will lead us the last mile." Magnus stared at the cat, then nodded slowly. "Then the stones and the cat agree. Trust it." He pressed his palm against the tower wall. Runes glowed under his hand. "The portal opens to the outer kingdom. A day's ride from the castle gate. The cat covers the rest." Nym still had no name, no face of who waited. But she had a direction now, and a guide. That was more than she had held all morning. "A day's ride," she repeated. "And people there can help." "People who knew your mother's kind," Magnus said. "That is why the stones point there." The wall split open. White light poured through the crack and spilled across the floor. The cat rose and walked toward it without fear. Drasila reached up and brushed Magnus's face with her fingers. "We will see you again. I know it." "Go," Magnus said. His voice broke. "Before he wakes." Nym pulled her mother forward. The cat led. They stepped into the light together, and the tower vanished behind them. They stood on open grass under a wide sky. The air smelled of rain. Far ahead, past rolling hills, a castle rose against the clouds. She could not yet make out the castles colors. “We make camp for the night and rest” Nym said sparking flame from her hands