White Devil Read online

  However, listening to the many animals living in the Highlands made it obvious that not all of them possessed the same level of intelligence as Amethyst or Colm’s goats. In fact, the majority made only repetitive exclamations, such as “Food! Food! Food! Anger! Danger! Fireball! Fireball! Sleeeeeeep.”

  Of course, Lilith asked Amethyst about it. The raven sighed.

  “You’re telling me,” he mumbled. “Try living with them.”

  “But how can that be?”

  Amethyst flapped his wings.

  “Dunno. I just woke up like this one day.”

  “Maybe it’s an environmental factor,” Colm suggested. “There is more and more technology powered by Silphan, and if the safety measures break down, the magic energy can leak into its surroundings. It’s possible that it might affect the fauna around it.”

  “So your magic might have changed the goats?” Lilith asked bewildered.

  Colm nodded gently.

  “It’s a possibility.”

  Colm taught her about many other things. In the evening, when they were comfortably sitting by Silphan or fire light, Colm would teach her about history and geography. One of those times was when Lilith came home one day after an excursion with Milly, to find Colm leaning over some drawings spread over the table.

  “What are you looking at?” she asked, gazing over his shoulder curiously.

  “They’re maps,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve taught you how to read them yet. Look, these are the ten official countries on the continent: Quintz, Pbecrah, Velsalia, Xtlzquel, Macrin, Crane, Evarain, Zutopia, Taquin, Fintel and Stelry. We are here.”

  He pointed at a valley in the mountain range dividing the countries he had identified as Quintz and Pbecrah.

  “What is this?” Lilith asked, pointing to a shape to the east of the continent marked as Tree of Life.

  Colm smiled and waved her to follow him outside. There he signaled toward the massive white-blue column that reached up into the eastern sky. Lilith had asked Amethyst about it once before and he had explained that it was the pillar that held up the sky to stop it simply crashing down on their heads. At the time the raven’s explanation had appeared reasonable to Lilith, but now she began to harbor doubts.

  “Have you been there?” she asked.

  “No, but I have been to Evarain which is about the closest we can get. We’re not certain as to what the Tree of Life is, but it reaches higher up than any eye can see, or anyone can fly. People have traveled around it and mapped the circumference of the falls. They’ve proven that whatever is up there is larger than any country down here, maybe even the size of the entire continent, or larger,” Colm explained, observing the distant column with melancholy in his eye.

  “There are many stories and legends about it, but-,” his voice faded, and he stared intently at something in the sky between them and the Tree of Life. Lilith followed his gaze and spotted it as well. A dark dot in the sky.

  “A bird?” she asked uncertainly. Colm shook his head and crossed his arms, he looked almost relaxed.

  “This is something very different. I can feel its magical energy from here, and it’s nothing I have ever encountered before.”

  Silently, they stood there for a while, regarding whatever seemed to be coming in their direction.

  “I need to speak to Phyenor,” Colm mumbled suddenly and left Lilith standing outside by herself. She watched the dark dot for another few moments before following him inside.

  There she saw him talking to the fire, in which Lady Xelma’s face had appeared. Lilith was used to this already. Since the woman’s visit, there had been a number of conversations of this manner. Apparently, the mage had been so shocked by the fact that Colm had taken Lilith in, that now she wanted to make sure that she was always up to date with the latest news. Lilith couldn’t hear what they were saying as they communicated via long-distance telepathy, which was apparently quite difficult and therefore needed the supplementary connection of the fire.

  Colm had used the same method to speak to Milly at her house and to some other people he knew around the world, although those conversations were a lot rarer.

  Colm had explained the concept of magic ability to Lilith when they figured out she didn’t have any. There were three stages. Base Magic encompassed skills that anyone who had magic could learn and improve upon. This involved telepathy, empathy, low-level telekinesis and alchemy. They could also conjure things, but that was still considered a high form of alchemy, as they needed to take matter from the universe somewhere to create whatever they were making, as there could not be less or more matter in the universe at any given time. Long-range Telepathy was also considered an advanced technique. Many people who had magic abilities could only ever learn the Base Magic Skills, but they were enough for anyone who didn’t want to be a mage.

  The next Stage was Elemental Magic. That was not something one could learn but had to be born with. An Elemental Mage could control one element and its aspects in as many different ways as they could come up with, as well as the Base Magic skills. Some additional abilities were connected to certain elements, such as healing with water, and floral communication with earth.

  The third Stage was called Celestial Magic. It was Magic that combined one or more Elemental Magic Castes and added further properties, though Colm had been vague about what exactly those were. Again, whether someone had the ability to be a Celestial Mage and which caste they belonged to was predetermined.

  Milly was an Elemental Mage with the water alignment. Both Colm and Phyenor were Celestial Mages, but Lilith didn’t know which specific castes they were. Apparently Celestial Mages were quite rare. In Pbecrah there were only Lady Xelma and Colm himself. It was one of the reasons why both of them were so highly regarded.

  Colm had made it clear to Lilith that the majority of the few existing Celestial Mages preferred to keep their abilities hidden from the public; too much trouble came with public knowledge.

  Eventually, Lady Xelma’s face disappeared from the fire. Colm stood up and turned to Lilith, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand.

  “We’ll need to take care of it. Phyenor has far too many things to look after right now. A bunch of problems are arising all at the same time down there, so it’s up to us,” he explained. “Can you call Amethyst?”

  Lilith nodded. After a few minutes the three of them were back outside, looking at the far away dot that had slightly increased in size.

  “Alright. We need to find out what it actually is, so Amethyst, I need you to fly up there and look at it up close. Don’t get too near in case it’s dangerous, alright?” Colm asked the raven, pointing toward at the dot.

  “Fine, but only if I have tasty food waiting for me when I get back,” Amethyst replied, grumbling. As he lifted off, Lilith found herself thinking that the raven didn’t appear to be in a good mood. Perhaps it was because of the weather. The sun was shining brightly, and it was rather warm. For him in his black feathers it must be even more overbearing. She was also certain that he would continuously bring it up over the next couple of days or even weeks.

  Colm figured it would take a few hours, if not days to hear back from Amethyst, so he went back into the cottage to make tea.

  When Milly arrived a few hours later, he said he was going to be teaching Lilith Mathematics and other Sciences, so if Milly was already there, she might as well join in the class, knowing all too well that the young girl despised theoretical classes. Milly quickly retreated back home with a number of rushed and hardly believable excuses and Colm told her that they’d be busy for a couple of days and he would send her a message when it was time for her next lesson in Magic. To Lilith, he explained that, considering they had no idea what was coming their way, it was better to have Milly out of the way in a safe place.

  “I am going to teach you a couple of things you still need to know, though,” he added, upon which they spent the next few hours drinking more tea, l
ooking at more maps while Lilith found out about the relations Pbecrah had with other countries. During breaks, both of them went outside to see how much the dot had progressed. It seemed to be traveling at very high speed, while constantly getting closer to the ground, tossing about, almost as if it was a leaf in the wind, kept from falling but made to drift across an entire continent. Now that it was getting closer, they could tell that it was glowing blue.

  During the third break, Amethyst returned, out of breath. By then, night was close.

  “It’s a ship,” the raven reported.

  “A ship?” echoed Lilith.

  Colm stroked his stubbly chin, observing the floating shape with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes, and I heard the crew talking. I can’t understand a word they’re saying. But I talked to this cat and she said the ship is constantly losing height and if they can’t find a way to rise up soon, they will crash into the mountains. Apparently, they also can’t steer the thing. Such stupid creatures, using a vehicle they don’t understand how to command!” Amethyst babbled on.

  “We don’t have much time,” Colm muttered, craning his neck around to look at the surrounding area. Lilith watched him curiously. He appeared to calculate several things at once, while looking for a particular piece of land as well as check the stock of firewood behind the cottage. Eventually, he nodded, seemingly satisfied with the result.

  “Alright. Amethyst, I need you to fly up to the crew and lead them here. Talk to them. Tell them we’re preparing a place where they can land safely. That way nobody in the mountains will be in danger and neither will they. I’ll take care of the rest here.”

  “You want me to fly by night? You know birds like me don’t do that, right?”

  “Please, Amethyst. It’s important.”

  “Are you sure it’ll even work?”

  “It will. Besides, if we don’t do it, they might crash into one of the villages and many people could get hurt or even die. It would be a disaster. They might be good people. Everyone is welcome up here in the Highlands, don’t forget that.”

  Amethyst had nothing else to say to that, so after a short rest to recuperate, he soared back up into the sky to relay Colm’s message. Meanwhile, the man constructed a rough frame according to the vague measurements the raven had given him with Lilith’s help.

  “It’s going to fit itself to the ship’s size,” he explained, burning runes into the wood. He glanced back at the shape in the sky. By now, it was clearly recognizable as a ship. Lilith suspected it would arrive within the next few hours, perhaps even within one. It was rapidly decreasing in altitude, and would barely make it to the provisional hold Colm had crafted. The ship was completely black beneath the blue glow. There was even a black flag hoisted above the sails. A giant bat acted as the figure head, its spread wings reaching halfway along the length of the ship’s sides. In front of it there were a small emerald colored dragon and giant owl that were pulling the ship toward Colm and Lilith with ropes.

  Now, Lilith could even make out Amethyst. He flew alongside the dragon and the owl, evidently telling them where to go.

  Colm told her to stand by the cottage, while he himself remained right beside the frame, using Silphan lamps to illuminate the night around him.

  The ship came closer and closer. Lilith clasped her hands tightly, desperately hoping that everything would turn out alright. Concerned, she observed how the ripped sails were furled and the dragon and owl hovered above the ship, letting it down slowly and setting it into Colm’s structure which did, indeed, move to fit itself to the ship’s shape. The blue glow ceased as the ship fell into place.

  All had gone very smoothly, but nevertheless, Lilith could see a giant hole in the ship’s side. She figured with a hole like that, there had to have been some prior trouble. In general, the ship looked rather worn down. One of the sails had been entirely torn apart and it was obvious that the ship had been damaged a lot, even from this distance. Slowly, Lilith approached. At the front of one of the bat’s wings, the name shone out in beautifully ornamented bronze letters: Bat.

  Standing next to Colm, she waited. The dragon and giant owl returned on deck of the ship where some people were talking, perhaps even arguing, it was hard to tell. Amethyst landed on Lilith’s shoulder. None of them spoke. They waited, looking up to the deck, where hopefully someone would show up soon to give an explanation and make first contact. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, the emerald dragon flew down from the ship, carrying a carnelian-red cat on its back.

  “I will go talk to them,” Lilith whispered to Colm who nodded.

  She stepped forward, Amethyst still on her shoulder, and the cat jumped off the dragon’s back.

  “Hello, my name is Lilith. I hope none of you have gotten injured? This man is a skilled healer, so if there is anything you need…”

  “No, all is quite alright. I am Aestiva,” the cat replied quickly and not unkindly. Her voice was young, but it still appeared to hold a lot of wisdom. Her green eyes rested on Lilith like those of an ancient god. “Thank you for your help. Without it I am afraid things might have turned rather ugly.”

  “Oh no, of course! We are always glad to help!” Lilith replied with a smile. Upon a sign from Colm she added “Also, if you would like, all of you are very welcome to stay a while. We are happy to share our food if you are hungry.”

  The cat bowed her head.

  “That would be wonderful; we had most of our provisions taken from us a few days ago. I shall return and let my friends know,” she said.

  Lilith wondered whether the feline could speak like Amethyst did, or if someone from the crew could understand animals the way she could. Then again, dragons and giant owls should certainly be able to.

  “And what’s your name?” Lilith turned to the dragon before they took off again.

  “Ayalon,” the dragon grumbled and looked away.

  “He’s a little shy toward strangers, I’m afraid,” the cat said. After a short pause she added, “And you’ve got quite an unusual gift.”

  Then the dragon lifted off the ground with the cat on his back and flew back aboard the ship. Lilith was left staring after them, wondering at the strong, majestic beating of Ayalon’s wings, until Colm tapped her on the shoulder.

  “So, what did they say?” he asked, clearly unnerved by the fact that he was the only one who didn’t know what had happened in the conversation.

  “I think they are going to get the rest of the crew to come down. They will need food. She – the cat I mean, her name is Aestiva – well, she said that they have not eaten for a couple of days, but we should have enough, right?” Lilith asked concerned. Colm nodded reassuringly.

  “If you ask me, that dragon is dumb as acorns though,” Amethyst grumbled.

  “Do not say things like that!” Lilith interjected. “Aestiva said that Ayalon is shy; that has nothing to say about his intelligence. You should not judge others so quickly.”

  Amethyst continued to grumble a little to himself, but to Lilith’s satisfaction he said no more about the subject.

  Balthasar stood by the railing, observing Aestiva and Ayalon communicating with the strangers. Aside from the raven there were only two: a girl not much older than Selene and a man a little younger than himself. The Bat’s crew could easily overwhelm them if needed, but these two had come to their aid, seemingly for no reason.

  Balthasar narrowed his eyes. He didn’t believe in unfounded kindness. People only acted in selfishness; these two would be no different. Perhaps they wished to take the Bat or uncover the secret of her flight.

  As he pondered these thoughts, Aestiva and Ayalon came back on board and the cat relayed what they had learned to Griffin, as he understood her best. The capabilities of that animal were astonishing. Balthasar had seen a lot in his lifetime, but this cat was truly unique – communicating by sending images and feelings into people’s heads. While waiting for Griffin to piece together Aestiva’s info
rmation and Ayalon’s comments, Balthasar looked over the crew.

  Just a few days ago they had left their homeland, fled everything they knew, including certain death. They had escaped at the cost of the life of one of their friends – Skip. It hadn’t even been a week yet and it was still written clearly in most of their faces. Griffin, Selene, Ryo and the troll Maco were the worst off. Ryo and Griffin had been able to pull themselves together because they’d had to. Selene’s state fluctuated. Maco just stared into thin air, whimpering occasionally. At least he had stopped howling. Skip had been Maco’s first friend in a long life of torture and unhappiness. Skip was the one who had taught him about the nice things in life, friendship, and loyalty. As far as Balthasar was concerned, those two had always seemed like brothers, and as thick as the thieving pirates they were.

  His gaze wandered to the other members of the crew. Most of them stood around quietly, waiting for a decision to be made. Joe, the ship’s doctor, knelt on the ground looking after a short, blue, unconscious kobold known as the Klabautermann. Robert Ference, an old, arrogant, and annoying scholar stood behind him, watching the procedure with interest. Balthasar sighed. Considering the past few days and Selene’s current state, it was likely best if he made the decisions for now. He waved Griffin over. The young man looked at him uncertainly, a little overwhelmed by the situation.

  “So tell me, boy, what’s happ’nin?” Balthasar asked.

  Griffin looked down at the red cat prowling around his legs.

  “Well, Aestiva said that the girl can actually talk to her…”

  “Well so can ye.”

  “Kind of, but this is a little different… Because that girl can talk animal speech or something, I think. And they invited us to their food and that man is a doctor, she said, and we are welcome to take shelter here if we want…” Griffin explained hesitantly. He clearly didn’t know what to do. Balthasar sighed.