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An Eternity of Shadows:
A Raven Saga
Book 4
Coming soon from
Caleb turned his attention back to the hustle and bustle below. The girl on the stump who had noticed him now focused back on her harp. He hadn't noticed before that she had wire framed wings to make her look like a fairy. They were made of pink and brown gauze like material with leaves and flowers sewn onto them. As the sunlight filtered through the tall pine trees, the rays bounced off the glitter also trapped within the wings. The braids twined around her head were an artwork unto themselves. Her face was painted to resemble a butterfly mask with the wings covering entire face. Confident fingers began to pluck away at the harp strings and strum a melody out of the brass wires. Once the song resonated from the instrument, he found himself following along with the tune. People gathered around the harpist and listened to her melody. Something about it made the onlookers go into a trance as they were lulled into another reality. Caleb even caught himself swaying to the music. The girl's fingers were long and lithe and flew over the strings. He was so captured that when the tune faded away he had to rouse himself as if coming out of a spell. Something about her music had ensnared him. Caleb watched as people dug into their pockets and wallets and put money into a jar that she had by the stump she sat upon. Some also bought the CD she had in front of her lying in a basket. The Raven Warrior then decided to focus on the greyhounds being led around on corded leashes by over decorated women who were parading the dogs around to try and gain some attention as the court of the faire.
Caleb yearned to hide his head under his wing. Were humans going to demean themselves more! How could they parade around in costumes just to entertain others? He felt bad for the animals. He figured the dogs hated being used as eye candy next to yards of fabric and hoop skirts. The Raven reinforced the walls on his mind to keep out the pressing thoughts of the humans around him. Normally it was nothing for him to ignore the thoughts of crowds, but today he was having trouble handling the pressure of so many minds. As Raven Warrior leader, he had the ability to hear the thoughts of all his Warriors. Morrigain had not stripped that power from him when she demoted him. Caleb wondered if Jet had the ability. The goddess hadn't taken away any of his magick just the title and position as leader. Unless she forgot? Caleb wondered. He knew that wasn't the answer. Morrigain would never overlook anything. She always had an agenda. He shrugged, not really wanting to contemplate the goddess's plan for him. His same attitude toward his charges was also beginning to carry over to the goddess. Did he really care about Morrigain? Caleb knew he wasn't as devoted to her as the other Warriors were. The reverence he once had in his heart for the almighty being was absent. The goddess was now his task master and he realized he didn't trouble himself with what Morrigain thought of him anymore. For eons he had honored her and he never would have thought turning his thoughts away from the goddess.
What's the point in all of this? Caleb ruffled his feathers as a strong wind came up and tried to knock him off his perch. The gust was so violent he knew it was Morrigain's breath. He opened his mouth and let out a long loud caw that was really a sigh. He drew himself up and focused on the people again. Below him was his charge. Caleb hadn't found his charge yet. The human was somewhere among the gaggle. Slowly, he drew himself back up and tried to remember what it was like to feel the excitement of meeting a charge for the first time, of the prospect of who they were and what they could do. He used to take pride in knowing his charges were powerful, magickal humans and he always wondered what their abilities were and watching them grow. But there was none of that now. Someone in the hundreds of people browsing at the wares in the faire, his charge was waiting for him to connect with them. If he didn't find his charge, he would be punished. Once he did find the human, he would form a mental bond with them so he could communicate telepathically and know what they were thinking in case they were in trouble.
His eyes searched the rabble. Lowering the walls in his mind, he strained to hear any inclining of a magickal thought, or feel power stirring his feathers. However, there was nothing except the harpist below him who had slipped into another song. The Raven Warrior sighed and let his thoughts settle as he began to listen to the tune drifting on the breeze. This one was different than the other. The other song she had plucked was easily recognized by the humans in the horde, an old folk song. This melody was not like that. At that moment, he wished catch a glimpse of the harpists face. Caleb wanted to know if she knew what she was strumming. However, her hair had fallen across her face and she was leaning over the instrument so from his position he couldn't see her. The notes chiming in his ears were like the ring of a crystal. The Raven Warrior listened to the harmony and recognized the tune. The piece was one that had been lost to the shores of Atlantis. No one in the human race could have known even if they had only dreamed it. It was a song he hadn't heard in ages conjuring memories of his past. Where had this human learned the tune? The thought troubled him. But as the tune progressed, he realized that the woman below him knew exactly what she was doing. It wasn't just a coincidence she had picked up on the correct melody. All her fingers strokes and the way she plucked the strings were deliberate.
A larger crowd than before had gathered around her. Caleb watched as even the wind stilled. He shifted his vision and used to power to look between the worlds and saw the dryad residing in the tree next to the harpist had hushed and was listening to the song too. Anything within earshot was bewitched by the melody. The harpist was not playing the instrument fast. The song was slow and sorrowful talking about broken hearts. He heard the dryad crooning as it seemed to know the tune as well. Listening harder, he heard the humans around her humming to the tune, but they didn't know the words. Underneath that, he heard that the woman was singing in the original and ancient language the song was written in.
The tune came to an abrupt end as the lovers in the song were forced apart because one was an elf and the other was a human. Once the last note died away, the activities around the woman started up again. The breeze wound through the leaves once more and the dryad went back to tending to her tree. Caleb watched as the woman smiled to those who placed money in the tip jar and thanked them. The Raven Warrior noticed there were tear trails on her cheeks. He was certain then that this woman was the charge that Morrigain had assigned him to.
