Outlander Ch. 04

"Virginia had become a grown woman by then and a powerful sorceress in her own right. She fled her father's court and sought out every magic user that her father had not corrupted. She formed a covenant to fight against her father's tyranny and to preserve what was left of our traditions. Thus the order to which I and my mother belong was born."

While Ava was speaking, Garek got up and opened one of the wooden cabinets that stood against the front wall of the room. He poured an amber liquid from a decanter into a cup that he took from the cabinet. He set the drink by Ava who nodded thankfully. She took a sip then resumed.

"Ananias was furious at Virginia's betrayal and declared her to be a witch. The witches and warlocks of the covenant as they came to be called, never developed enough strength to confront Ananias directly, but worked in the shadows to hinder his reign of tyranny. Ananias became so fearful of covenant infiltrators that he wouldn't let any of his own magic users heal him when he became seriously ill. He died old and alone, surrounded by those that could have saved his life, but too distrustful to allow it."

She paused again and took another sip. A few drops of the amber liquid decorated her full lips and Jack's heart skipped a beat when she ran her tongue over them, to lick up the liquid.

"Upon Ananias's death," Ava continued, "Many begged Virginia Dare to take the throne but she refused. Instead a distant cousin of the King that Ananias had usurped and killed was found to assume power. The new King wasn't strong enough to hold the empire together and it soon broke apart. It wasn't until Queen Arabella reunited the southern provinces some 200 years later that Aramoor became whole again.

"The Outlander Ananias caused the deaths of over 100,000 people and changed us forever before he died. Is it no wonder why the people of Croatoan reacted as they did when another Outlander appeared? The common people fear the rise of another Ananias. They fear it so much that otherwise good people can be driven to murder."

"Is that why the man in the other ship wishes to capture me? To keep me from becoming a tyrant?" Jack asked. "Shit, I could've told him he was wasting his time. I can't even control my own life much less become an Arch Mage and control magic," he added with a hint of self-disgust.

Ava opened her mouth to answer but Garek spoke before she could. "Perhaps," he responded with intentional vagueness. "But whatever Captain Drebin's reasons are for wanting to capture you, I assure you, they are not in your best interests. It's best you stay with us. We will keep you safe."

"If I am in danger, and if you are truly concerned with keeping me safe, why didn't you just send me back through the portal to my own world?" Jack asked.

"Orders," Garek answered. "Those who have been tasked with guarding the portals have orders to take anyone who comes through to the King."

"And what does the King want with me?"

"The King will be very curious about you and the world from which you come. He will probably want to know all about you. Beyond that, who can say what a King will demand of any of us?"

Ava gave her father a sharp look. He had deftly steered around the truth without actually lying to the Outlander. He'd deliberately avoided telling Jack of the Karokai and the Seer's prophecy regarding him.

"When can I go home?" Jack asked even as he wondered what he had to go home to. His parents had passed on, and things could never be the same again between him and Barbara; her betrayal had seen to that. The thought of Barbara twisted his guts and he grimaced before pushing the painful thoughts into the back of his mind. Garek and Ava both saw the look of pain cross the Outlander's face.

Garek almost asked if Jack was all right, but the Outlander nodded for him to continue so he let it pass. "It is up to the King to decide that," he said. "Perhaps when you have performed whatever tasks the King asks of you, you may be given the choice of whether or not to return to your world."

"Perhaps? May? It sounds as though I am a prisoner with no choice in the matter," Jack said sharply, anger creeping into his voice. He didn't like the thought of his choices being in someone else's hands.

Garek frowned. "Not at all," he said. "You are our guest, and under my protection. I only speak ambiguously because I am just a ship's Captain and I can't speak for His Majesty in matters such as these. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah, I understand," Jack said sourly.

"Good," Garek said, choosing to ignore Jack's disgruntled tone. "Now, I suggest you go get something to eat with the rest of the crew. I need to talk to Ava for a moment and then we will join you."

Jack recognized the dismissal for what it was. He wasn't stupid and he knew that Garek hadn't told him everything. He'd seen the subtle looks Garek and Ava had exchanged, and that alone told him that Garek was holding something back. Jack decided to bide his time for now and process the information he'd just received. He rose and left them, knowing they would be discussing him behind his back.

Jack made his way back to the main deck and found that a long table had been set up. There were several large pots on the table and the aroma of food wafted on the sea air. Betta and a few other women were ladling soup out of the pots and into wooden bowls for the sailors who stood in a line along the ship's rail.

Jack considered eating with the others, but found he had no appetite. He wanted to be alone to think so he headed for the cabin that he had slept in the previous night.

The sailors watched as the Outlander walked past them. Some stared at him in awe, some in fear, and some with hope. A few gazed at him with open hostility. Jack saw none of this as he walked by, lost in his own thoughts.

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Garek waited a moment after Jack had closed the door behind him before turning to Ava. "You wish to ask me something?" he asked.

"Why didn't you tell him about the Karokai and the seer's prophecy?" she asked, regarding her father curiously.

"Two reasons," he answered. "One, the prophecy only says an Outlander will come. It did not say it would be the next Outlander that comes. He may not even be the one we are waiting for. And two, the man has been through enough for one morning, don't you think? Finding out that the fate of an entire world rests upon his shoulders may just push him over the edge."

"I see your point, father," she acknowledged. "But you heard what he said. He can actually see the leylines. Even our most powerful sorceresses can only feel them. He can actually see them. He must be the one."

"I agree with you, daughter. And that," he said after a brief pause, "scares me down to my bones."

"But why?" Ava asked. She had never heard her father admit to fear before and it rattled her.

"The man is broken inside. You can see it in his face if you look for it. He is wounded of soul just as the seer proclaimed he would be and that scares me. He has no love for Aramoor. He doesn't know us. So why should he care about our fates?"

"He will come to care for us father. He must," she said with a hint of desperation in her voice. She had been so focused on the prophecy that the possibility of the Outlander refusing to help them had not even occurred to her.

"Perhaps," Garek said. "But will just caring for us be enough?"

His question hung in the air. Neither had an answer so they sat quietly for a while, each occupied with their own worries.

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