After traveling west, we turned north into the foothills. The trees thinned, holding mostly to gullies and washes, and we rode in the sunshine among waving grasses. In the distance, jagged snow-topped mountains loomed like teeth of a mythical monster.

Without asking, I knew our ultimate destination. Aria. Her self-imposed prison laid in what many called the 'Wastelands', a desolate desert that few dared to venture. The tales claimed Darkness cursed it and that even today, demon Chort roamed the rocky hills in search of human flesh. But the Wastelands were located more west than north.

Obeus hardly spoke all day. I asked, "Why do we head north toward the mountains? Won't the early snows hinder us?"

Without looking at me, he grunted a reply, "I know the way."

Steamy irritation rose from my core. Time to prod the old man, and I know just how to do it. I rode up next to him and glared.

"What?" he said, narrowing his eyes.

I put a hand to my chin and an exaggerated thoughtful expression on my face. "Strange. You don't look at all like a Big Pooky."

That got to him. Obeus' eyes shot full open and his jaw dropped. For a precious moment, he froze, but it didn't last long. Urging his horse forward, he cut me off and pointed a finger. His eyes shot anger like flaming arrows. "Only one person ever calls me that, and even she knows her limits. Well you should remember that!"

I shrugged with a half smile. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it kinda fits. Aria said earlier that you were like a soft bunny inside, all warm and fuzzy." Oh, this is fun.

Obeus growled between clenched teeth, but then the anger faded as fast as it had risen and his expression softened. "She came to you again?" he said in an airy voice.

"Yes. Last night in my nightmare, this time when I needed her. Your daughter has the most compassionate of hearts."

A warm smile blossomed on Obeus' face, something I thought not possible. "That she does," he whispered. "Did she say anything else?"

"She warned about someone named Naamah. That we must not allow her release, even if it condemns Aria. Do you know this Naamah?"

Obeus dropped his eyes as if a shadow had crossed his heart. "Naamah is the personification of the Darkness itself. Pure evil. Aria and I faced her in battle, and she is quite powerful. Aria's warning is true."

"Then what would we do?"

"Let us take rest in those trees ahead and I shall explain."

My eyes widened is surprise. Would he actually share his plans with me?

While the horses nibbled on plants, Obeus leaned back against a reddish boulder and puffed on his pipe while unconsciously stroking his white beard. "What do you know of magic, Tomas?"

"Little, I must admit."

"Magic exists all around us within the very fabric of reality, but intangible." He spread his arms as if to encompass the world. "Ones who channel it and bring it to bear, we call mages. Oracles cannot themselves utilize magic, but they activate the ability in those Blood Born. Aria is a rare combination of both. At the Sacrifice, she entombed herself with Naamah within an impenetrable shield of rock and magic, saving all but herself."

He blew out a bluish smoke ring and continued. "Once cast, all magic fades over time, returning whence it came. But since Aria is also bears a Blood Crystal, the barrier of her construction will exist as long as she does, continually renewed."

My gut tightened, and I took a short breath. "What do you mean, 'as long as she does'?"

"There is method beyond hatred for Naamah's torture of Aria. Should Aria die, or I fear more likely, go mad, the regeneration will stop, and then Naamah would eventually break free to plague humanity again."

"But how could we rescue Aria if she must remain within the tomb to contain Naamah?"

"Long have I studied the old texts, and I believe I discovered a way. The key is the Blood Crystal. We must separate it from Aria and leave it behind. That way, the crystal will continue to regenerate the barrier, leaving Naamah trapped without her." Obeus leaned forward and his eyes bored into mine. "Tomas, you and the Magicae Null will bore a hole through the magic barrier. Then I, with my magic, will chip through the rock. We will extract Aria, but leave Naamah and the Blood Crystal behind."

No wonder he needed me, or rather the Fury within that consumes magic. "It sounds simple."

Obeus shook his head. "I assure you, it won't be. But I shall not fail Aria again."

For years, this question weighed on my mind. "Why me? I mean, why did this Magicae Null choose to live in me, a simple blacksmith, and not Blood Born?"

Looking away, Obeus tapped the pipe upside-down against a rock, spilling the spent ashes. "It was not a coincidence, Tomas. You were born on the day of Aria's sacrifice, likely that very moment. There is a balance of sorts to magic, like light and darkness, or good and evil. When Aria channeled so much magic to bind herself with Naamah, the action also created the Magicae Null, the anti-magic. And it found a home in you."

"Is it that which also allows Aria to contact me across the barrier and across time?"

"I believe it so." Obeus nodded. "The old writings tell that the Magicae Null usually revealed itself in children much younger than yourself, who could not contain it. Kings and mages alike feared it, since it could so easily change the balance of power against them. Such is the corruption of power. Always the cursed child would be killed. That you could control it at all is a testament to your fortitude, Tomas."

More to my mother, who taught me ways to pacify it.

"And now the king wants me dead."

"Most assuredly."

"Wait." I jerked up in amazement. "Did you just give me another compliment? That's number two."

"Enjoy it while you may," Obeus muttered, drawing down bushy white eyebrows. "Like I said previously, it shall unlikely be a common occurrence."

Obeus' commitment encouraged me. He gave up prestige and a comfortable existence, not to mention risking his life, for the singular goal that bound our destinies together. Aria. For the first time, I thought we had a real chance to pull off her rescue.

A faint whiffling of grasses interrupted my thoughts and I perked up my ears. Obeus stood, busying himself by reloading his curved pipe.

A snap of a twig. Shadowy motion behind brush.  

"Down!" I leaped at Obeus, tackling him to the ground.