Free The Heartstone by Lisa Finnegan Page A

shivered, that face scared her. “No, I was hoping you would.”
    For the rest of the week Ariana worked with wild magic. Cerynus taught her to clear her mind and concentrate on the task at hand. She became comfortable with the four elements, able to control them easily. They settled into a pattern. In the mornings were lessons. After lunch Ariana practiced and at night Cerynus would tell her about his research on the Stone, or they’d sit relaxing before the fire. Ariana looked forward to the evenings together in the firelight. She could relax and feel safe here with the only sounds turning pages and crackling flames.
    By the middle of the second week, Ariana grew restless. Worries about Jarod and questions about her parents intruded on her concentration. Cerynus noticed. Suddenly she was unable to access the magic.
    “You can’t get lazy. You are a newborn babe. You have potential. Yes, more than I’ve ever seen. But Rhysin could stop you before you even drew breath. There is no second chance.” Chastened, she continued practicing. But still her mind wandered to Jarod, she hoped he was all right. The water eddied and she saw Dun Caer.



Chapter Five
     
     
    A pall of smoke hung over the town. Dun Caer was rubble. Deserted, except for bodies tumbled haphazard in the streets. Small fires smoldered in the thatch and charred timbers littered the streets. Periodic screams sounded as the invaders found hidden victims. A battering ram impaled the gate surrounded by splintered wood, mangled iron and twisted corpses of defenders and invaders. The courtyard was filled with Rhysin’s forces, dressed in black and crimson emblazoned with a stylized cat. Smoke poured out of the windows as Dun Caer burned.
    Prisoners sat stunned in one corner, Ariana couldn’t hear but she saw the anguish on their faces. Soldiers and two leashed creatures guarded them. They mimicked panthers, but these cats had never lived. They gleamed metallic in the smoky light. Their blazing eyes unblinking, lusting to rend and tear the prey before them. Their tails lashed with excitement and great claws unsheathed from silver paws as a prisoner moaned. Looking straight at Ariana they leapt up screeching.
    Ariana reeled away from the bowl, shaken from her vision. Where was Jarod? Was he alive? Tears streamed down her cheeks, Cerynus came over and supported her. He led her to a chair. He knelt holding her cold hands, “What did you see?”
    “Dun Caer, destroyed, Rhysin’s forces have taken over. It was horrible, death everywhere. I couldn’t find Jarod or Kievran”
    Cerynus stood. “We have to move more quickly than I had planned. Tonight we go to the Grove.”
    “But what about Jarod?”
    “There is nothing we can do for him. If he is alive he’ll come back to Shady Vale.”
    “But what about the people?”
    “The only way you can avenge them is to learn as much as I can teach you and defeat Rhysin. We don’t have time to waste. Tonight you must be initiated.”
    Moonlight washed the trees; warm green metamorphosed to cold silver throwing shadows into stark relief. Darkness pressed against Ariana following Cerynus on the now familiar path toward the grove. She felt numb, trying to understand her vision. She shivered in her white shift. What was she supposed to do? Cerynus had been mysterious. She was to stay in the grove until dawn no matter what. What was going to happen?
    In the center of the clearing Cerynus gestured for. He’d warned her earlier not to speak. Chanting softly he took jars of white, red and black pigment from his bundle. He painted symbols on her hands, forehead and the soles of her feet. Briefly his hand touched her breasts and belly. His touch was cool and impersonal. His face was remote in the silver light. He looked over her head as he circled her.
    Putting the jars away, he spread sweet oil under her nose and on her eyelids. Then he gave her a flask covered in symbols, gesturing for her to drink. It was bitter. She forced