Chapter 7 The Voice in My Mind
Anara…
I jerk awake, pulling myself up on my elbows and looking wildly around my room. I don’t recall falling asleep, but the dampness on my cheek where it was lying on my blankets tells another story. I must have been more tired than I thought.
Or my mind decided it had enough of reality.
I get out of bed and straighten my armor as I walk over to the window. The sun is nearly touching the horizon. I’ve wasted the whole day!
Anara!
My head whips around. That’s right, someone was calling me. Are they at the door? I walk over and throw it open, bracing for a guard to come and scold me, but no one's there. Stepping out of my room I look up and down the hall, even check the secret passageway, but there’s no one. Likely they’ve all gathered for the Trial. A Trial I’m about to be late for.
Anara!
The voice booms, rattling my skull. I clench my head and fall to my knees, looking around wildly for the source of the voice. It’s masculine and angry, but I’m alone in here.
Tell me, when do the wild cats of Obsidian Reach cower before they die?
“What?” I scream, battling for control as the voice rips through me.
When does the dragon bow before a mouse? When do the guardsmen cower before the beggar? Tell me, Anara!
“They don’t!” I cry, bracing myself with my hands on the cold stone floor.
That’s right, Anara. The strong do not kowtow to the weak.
Slowly, the intensity of the voice becomes but a whisper, a caress in my mind. Like something I’ve known my whole life.
Neither should you to that boy. He seeks to destroy you. You, the one who saved his life. He has not earned your tears, he does not deserve your sorrow. Come, Anara. The Trial awaits, and I’m afraid you have no idea how hard they will truly be.
“Where are you?” I pull myself to my feet, my head still pounding from the roaring voice. “Who are you?”
I’m everything you will ever need, Anara. I am everywhere you need me to be. I am the wind in your hair and the flame in your heart. It’s time to seize control of your fate. Come. We have much to do and very little time to do it. It took far too long for me to find you, Anara, and now I have but mere moments to ready you for what will be the first of many deadly steps you will take before this is over.
I’ve lost my mind. That’s what's happening. I chuckle to myself as I pack my belongings hastily. I’m hearing things and going fucking crazy. Maybe Zaries bashed my head into the wall and I passed out. Maybe I’m still unconscious in the secret passageway.
You’re not going crazy.
“Says the voice in my head? Right!” I laugh loudly as I check my weapons and tighten the straps of my armor. I can deal with this. I just need to get through the Trial and then I can figure out who the angry man in my head is.
You do not have time to ignore me, child!
“You’re right, I don’t have time!” I shout, smacking my forehead as if rattling my brain will shut the voice up. “So leave me alone!”
Ignoring him, I jog out of my room and race down the hall.
You can’t ignore me, Anara. You can’t push away your destiny.
“Watch me!”
You will see very soon, my dear. For you will not survive the Trial without me.
I skid to a stop at the front doors of the castle, gasping for breath. What did that mean? I won't survive without the voice? That can’t be possible… I’m a warrior, after all. What could some voice do for me that I cannot do for myself?
My eyes survey the courtyard and the giant magic doorway that’s been erected where the gate to the castle grounds used to be. Lightning cracks on the other side, illuminating an enormous stone structure.
The location of the Slayer Trial.
Many have gathered for the Trial, child. Many will kill you for the chance of becoming a dragon slayer. Only five will achieve their goal and look how many have gathered.
Only five? Surely not…
Milling in front of the portal are the contestants. Among them, I register Sylvain’s fiery hair and Malachi’s towering form next to Zaries. I recognize no one else. From the armor, I can tell that most of them are from Stormcoast and Obsidian Reach. Only a handful wear the red armor of Flamepeak.
“How will a delusional voice in my head keep me safe from all of them?” I ask, feeling the first real stab of fear since I decided to sign up.
I can see behind you, above you, below you. I can see into their souls, see through their eyes. I can see so much that you cannot even fathom, and if you obey me, child, you will succeed.
“Yeah, we’ll see,” I growl at the voice as I descend the stairs two at a time.
I feel Queen Serena’s eyes on me, but I refuse to turn and look at her.
I hear Silas cackling, machinating some painful death for all the contestants, I’m sure.
I see Thorne standing on the platform and leaning on his staff.
Once again, he turns his face to me as I approach and grins that unsettling toothy grin that makes me think he can see so much more than his blind eyes let him.
“You’ve come. I thought for a moment I’d have to track you down and throw you inside the maze myself!” Thorne barks as I walk by.
“Idiot,” Zaries hisses as I step to the front of the line.
“I knew you’d come!” Sylvain shouts, waving at me from a few paces away.
“An eye for an eye, queen’s pet?” Malachi snarls, his left eye now bandaged with spotless white strips. I’m disappointed he’s not still bleeding.
I will not let him touch you!
“In your dreams, asshole!” I smile and flip him off.
“Now that everyone has arrived, let the Trial begin!” Thorne booms, raising both hands to the sky.
The portal opens further, now a monstrous tear between dimensions wide enough for all of us to step through when the time comes. From this safe vantage point, the people watching will see everything. Thorne will make sure of it. It’s the greatest spectacle of the year, better than an execution. Watching the poor souls die for a chance to kill a dragon on this day every year has become a holiday for the entire continent of Amaranthine.
This year, it’s my turn.
This year, I will become a slayer.
Or I'm as dead as the rest of them.