SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦. 𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴. 𝘈 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.
Xanthiene Vivenca, af...
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Reeca blinked and she was in yet another room. A sigh blew off her lips as her shoulders slumped. When would she finally be in a stable room?
This new room wasn't bigger than the one she woke up in. A huge, circular basin filled to the brim with murky water standing in the middle of the room caught her eye. Vials with colorful liquid sloshing inside them greeted Reeca from their shelves pressed against the wall as she followed the High Priestess towards the basin.
Light only came from the braziers protruding from the bare walls where blue fire quietly burned. Reeca slid into the trail dimension to discover that those fires were magically conjured. The absence of windows unsettled something inside Reeca.
Reeca pinched her nose. It smelled like someone had drunk Rosado until morning in this room. The High Priestess, Ezril, walked towards a spot in the wall that has hooks. Reeca watched the banshee unclasp her cloak from her neck before hanging it against the hooks. The High Priestess' pale gray dress scratched against the smooth, dark floor as she approached the shelves to Reeca's left.
Reeca squinted her eyes at the banshee. The way the High Priestess moved suggested royal upbringing. From the folds of Ezril's skirts, Reeca spied a sheathed dagger hidden in them. The High Priestess was Carleon's version of a Queen so unless Ezril has had multiple attempts on her life, Reeca wouldn't understand the need to always carry a weapon.
A small hammer went into Ezril's hand followed by a gold, disc-shaped item and a strip of cloth with tiny, jingling bells sewed into it. Tinkling filled Reeca's ears as the High Priestess handed her the bell-ridden cloth.
"Tie the paneldoja on your left ankle," Ezril turned back to the basin in the middle of the room as Reeca's fingers closed around the item. "That should keep unwanted spirits at bay."
Reeca knotted the paneldoja as instructed and followed Ezril by the basin. The hammer and golden plate went to Reeca's hands as well. "Ring that thrice when I call out your mother's name," Ezril put her arms forward and took a deep breath.
Reeca nodded even though Ezril didn't see it. The High Priestess started chanting. The ancient words blurred in Reeca's ears, preventing her from understanding what was being said. The pool groaned as the water inside it swirled inward. Reeca leaned over at the pool and peered into it. Before she could see anything, Ezril's arm shot out to bar her.
Reeca whirled to the High Priestess to see her with one eye open. "Lean further in and the spirits would have grabbed you—soul and all."
Reeca cleared her throat. Ezril closed her eye and continued with her spell. With each verse, the room's temperature dropped notches colder. The water began swirling faster. "By the Name of Pidmena, we summon Phiaris Torlin, the Queen of Narfalk," Ezril chanted.
Reeca flinched and slammed the hammer against the golden plate. A stringent ring reverberated around the room in a deep echo. Three rings. One. Two. Three.
