Chapter 4: The Seer

It was a dark and stormy night. A flash of lightning lit up a dark and dreary castle, as dark and dreary as the owner's heart…

Okay, so perhaps that's pushing it a bit. It was nighttime, with a bit of drizzling rain, and the dark castle wasn't really dark or a castle.

It was actually more of a mansion, with over thirty rooms. The grounds took away from the grandeur, covered with decades of overgrowth and weeds, long abandoned by once eager gardeners. The once beautiful building, painted with gentle greens and decorated with swirling black designs, had long faded from its glory into something dark and depressing.

This was the remains of the Drake household.

Inside it was an entirely different story. The rooms were all plushly decorated, with paintings from Valencia, furniture from Marleybone, ancient Krokotopian art from Krokotopia, and even magical trinkets from as far away as Polaris.

And locked in the basement was an even more valuable item: a mistress of Moon magic, which, when combined with the dark arts, formed a young and very powerful seer. This young seer had been located in Darkmoor and had been 'adopted' by Malistaire approximately three months before her tenth birthday. Now thirteen, almost fourteen, the poor girl had never left the mansion since leaving Darkmoor.

"Sibyl!"

The call rang throughout the building. Sibyl froze, her hands hovering above her looking glass. She closed her shocking blue eyes, took a breath, and with a flick of her fingers, dispelled her newest enchantment. Pushing silver hair behind her ears, she stood, still holding her looking glass.

Wait. And Didrika, now...

Her door banged open and Didrika, the housekeeper, appeared, her ever-present scowl somewhat deeper.

"Malistaire wants you now."

"I hear that, Didrika." Sibyl sashayed past the black-haired woman, trying to keep her too-big hand-me-down skirts out from beneath her feet.

"And bring the mirror."

Sibyl rolled her eyes so her governess couldn't see. One, it wasn't just a mirror; the enchantments laid on it at her birth made it a looking glass, the most important part of a seer's life. But she wasn't about to turn around and lecture the old woman. The bruise on her ankle from last time still throbbed.

Climbing up the mahogany staircase, Sibyl briefly wondered what Malistaire wanted. As far as she knew, there were no threats, no one who could challenge his power.

"Ah, Sibyl. Come in. Sit."

Sibyl stood before the Monquistian desk, choosing to ignore the man's request.

"How are you today?"

Sibyl arched an eyebrow. How was she? How was she?

I'm fine today. As fine as I can be when I'm locked up in a dungeon and I haven't seen the sun for four years, you–

Sibyl held her tongue, keeping her bitter remark back. Malistaire could do a lot worse than Didrika.

"I have a request for you." Malistaire leaned across the desk and steepled his fingers. Sibyl slowly leaned forward to indicate that she was listening. Whenever Malistaire 'requested' something, he usually paid her in new clothes, a warm blanket, a fresh loaf of bread…whatever he could spare for his little prisoner.

"There is a girl. She is young, perhaps your age, maybe a bit older. I thought that I successfully killed her, but one of my crows reported that she is alive and well. She is powerful; she defeated my draconians without any training."

Sibyl was about to say that that wasn't really an achievement; with just an examination of the battlefield and how the enemies used their spells, anyone could fight. It would just be riskier. But then Malistaire added, "And she did it without a wand."

Now that was something the powerful Necromancer should worry about. Usually wizards needed a wand to channel their magic, and it was usually impossible to perform magic without the implement. But sometimes very advanced–or extremely powerful–people could perform wandless magic with the same and even a greater effect than if they used a wand.

"I want to know if she is a threat."

Sibyl didn't speak for a moment as she processed the information.

"What is her name?" she whispered.

"I left before I could recover it."

Sibyl opened her mouth. Surely the wizard could sneak into the city and find it! But before she could voice this suggestion, a headache struck her. Now, when a seer gets a headache, it usually means that they are getting a premonition. The worse the headache, the bigger the premonition.

"What do you see, Sibyl?" Malistaire snapped as the girl fell into her seat, closed her eyes, and massaged her temples. This was the worst headache she'd ever had. Whatever was coming was going to be important.

A string of events tore through her mind, one after the other, showing her what was going to happen. In each scene was a blond-haired, green-eyed girl, and five human shapes surrounded her.

"One will come some day,

One who holds the shard of a star in her heart

With this shard, she will destroy all evil

And goodness will reign over the spiral."

Malistaire snapped Sibyl out of her seat and held her in front of him.

"What does that mean, Sibyl? Sibyl, answer me!"

Sibyl wasn't finished.

"But if she allows the Necromancer to touch her heart

The star will die

And all will be lost."

Malistaire dropped Sibyl and spun towards his window, which had been closed and draped for decades. Sibyl sat where she had been dropped, rubbing her head.

Did I just recite a prophecy?

Only the most powerful seers relayed prophecies. Sibyl had been training for years before she was kidn–'adopted', but she was sure she wasn't as powerful as seers such as Madame Vadima. Most definitely not.

Suddenly Sibyl's skull began to pound again. She groaned and touched her head as it began.

"You will meet five wizards.

One takes control of Ice, the other of Fire.

One of Death, one of Life.

And one controls the Moon.

One of these is a traitor,

One is a warrior,

Two hold the keys,

And one will lead to your downfall."

Malistaire didn't move. If Sibyl didn't know better, she would assume he hadn't heard.

Two prophecies? What is happening to me?

Sibyl held her breath, waiting, hoping that there wouldn't be a third. She felt like her head had been run over by a thousand Samoorai and then again by their horses.

"Sibyl, you will go to Wizard City."

Sibyl looked up. Malistaire had opened his window. The sun was shining bright in the sky and Sibyl blinked, adjusting her mental time. Due to almost always being locked in the dungeon, she was never really on top of time. It could be nighttime and she would think it was early morning, or it could be late afternoon and she would think it was night. Like it was right now.

"Wizard City?" Sibyl repeated dumbly. Was she being set free?

"The second prophecy tells of a moon wizard. Clearly, this is you. You will find the Shard of the Star. You will find a way to lead her to the Necromancer. And we will make sure that the shard dies."

Naturally. He would never let her go free.

"If you do this, I will personally return you to Darkmoor."

Sibyl grabbed the edge of the desk and pushed herself up, staring at Malistaire.

"You'll…You'll take me home?"

"I will not waste a second."

Sibyl's thoughts immediately turned to her parents, her grandmother, and her baby sister, Awena. And if Malistaire was telling her she could go home...She clutched at her skirts and her oversize blouse.

"I'll need clothing."

Malistaire waved his wand. Immediately, she wore a skirt, a blouse, and a cloak…and they fit.

"Didrika will supply you with more. Camdon will transport you to the city. I assume you do not need a wand?"

Sibyl snorted. She was an Archmage and had tossed away her old training wand when she turned nine. Seers were usually quick to advance and only a few still used wands, and usually those who had learned the art.

"Then tomorrow, Sibyl, you will leave the Drake Mansion and travel to Wizard City. Now go. I must arrange your transportation."

When Sibyl left the room, she couldn't help herself. As she skipped down the stairs, she let out a whoop of joy. She would be leaving the mansion. She would see the sun. She would would return to Darkmoor.

This was turning out to be a wonderful day.

At least, it was for her.

*Whistling non-chalantly* Once again, if you're new the next chapter button is right down there and thank ya' kindly for reading! If you've been here before, there are just a few changes to this chapter, holes filled, grammar and spelling rechecked, things explained just a biiiiiit more…But nothing big. I have quite literally nothing to say today…

Thanks for reading and review!