Crystal Shadows

by Joy Nash

* * * * *

  Clouds hung low, dulling the night sky. Derrin crouched behind a boulder at the highest point of the ridge and peered into the shadowed valley.

  “He’s here.” A chill wind blew, stirring the trees.

  Beside him, Ariek shifted, leaning forward. “I can’t see a thing.”

  “The web touches the wilderness at the Seventh Sign,” Derrin muttered, half to himself, “but how could Balek have known?”

  “Perhaps the webstone led him here.”

  An unnatural silence pressed close. Derrin’s jaw clenched. “When the web opens, its power will be absolute. If Balek is able to control it—”

  A light flashed, then held. A soft glow spilled from deep in the trees.

  Ariek rose. “Let’s go.”

  They descended, moving toward the light. Derrin’s hand closed on the hilt of his dagger when he heard Balek’s voice.

  “You knew I would come.”

  No answer came. A knot formed in the pit of Derrin’s stomach.

  “We will live forever as part of the One.”

  He caught sight of the high wizard at last. Balek stood in the center of the ruined village with his back turned, speaking to someone Derrin couldn’t see.

  A strand of white-gold light arced from Balek’s hand. It twisted and shattered, spewing a whirlwind of golden threads. Derrin circled to his left, intent on discerning the object of the high wizard’s attention. When a woman’s form came into view, his lungs seized.

  Gina.

  She stood facing Balek, the talisman of a Na’lara shining on her forehead. Her white doeskin dress bore a circle of red beads with a burst of gold in the center, a design peculiar to the Seventh Clan.

  Derrin swore under his breath. He’d sent her home. Why had she returned?

  Balek’s web dropped over her like a net. Gina fell forward, onto her hands and knees, head bowed.

  “Tarol’s blood, Derrin, I thought you said she was gone.”

  “She was.”

  The web streamed through Gina’s body, infusing her with pulsing light. Her arms buckled, sending her face down in the dirt. In his mind, Derrin heard her soft moan.

  His control snapped. He sprang at Balek, a savage cry on his lips. The high wizard turned toward him and frowned. He swept one arm in a dismissive gesture.

  Derrin crashed into an invisible wall and crumpled to the ground. Unseen bonds snared his arms and legs. He twisted, trying to break free. The webstone spun in Balek’s hand, throwing strands of light outward.

  “So the guttersnipe has returned. This time I will not make the mistake of leaving you alive.”

  Balek strolled to Derrin and flashed a leering smile. “You will die, of course, but first you will watch me make love to my queen. Is she not beautiful? She will rule in eternity by my side.”

  Derrin glared up at him. “You’re mad.”

  “What is insanity, but a spirit set free?”

  He moved away, toward Gina. Derrin strained, but could move no more than a hand’s breadth. He fell back, gasping.

  Balek passed through the shining strands and stopped at Gina’s side. His booted foot nudged her body, then thrust harder. She rolled onto her back. He leaned close and touched her face, molding his palm to the curve of her temple.

  No! Derrin hurled his consciousness outward, desperate to reach Gina before Balek entered her mind. He slammed into the force of the web. Balek stroked Gina’s face, ran one finger over her chin and down her neck. His hand came to rest on the swell of her breast.

  Derrin’s mind battered the barrier of light, struggling to reach Gina within the violence of Balek’s web, even as the web sought to divert his attention. He flung off its assault and, one by one, forced the shining strands apart.

  He slipped past Balek and entered her mind. In the chamber of her consciousness, Gina stood with arms raised. A storm raged around her, a distortion of the web revered by the Baha’Na, an abomination of the sacred light. Derrin wrapped his mind around Gina’s. He positioned himself between her and the obscenity, absorbing the strands of light into his own psyche.

  Six delicate threads sprang from Gina and disappeared into the darkness beyond the tempest. Pulsing energy returned. Derrin sensed Zahta’s spirit first, touching him. Zera met him next, then each Na’lara in turn. Derrin struggled to grasp the meaning of their presence. He nearly lost his hold on Gina’s mind when he did.

  He had entered the Circle.

  Balek’s rage washed over him in hot, suffocating waves. From a vantage point somewhere above the struggle, Derrin’s spirit-body saw the high wizard abandon his position beside Gina. Still holding the webstone, he drew his dagger and advanced on Derrin. Derrin tensed, trapped outside his body, waiting for the blow.

  * * * * *

  Ariek tore out of the trees, intent on reaching Derrin before Balek planted a dagger in his back. The high wizard whirled, laughing.

  “Another one? This grows tiresome.” He waved in Ariek’s direction. An arc sprang from the webstone.

  Ariek shot his will toward the line of light. The arc slowed, then wavered, then stopped in midair. His mind pulsed forward, forcing the strand back. When it reentered the webstone, he followed it into insanity.

  Balek laughed again, with true mirth. “Will you command the One with your mediocre talent, Ariek?”

  A song more beautiful than anything Ariek had ever imagined teased at the edge of his consciousness. He advanced, seeking, needing to hear its full essence. The melody wove a pattern of promise. Freedom, safety, comfort. Ariek’s head, suddenly heavy, dropped. Overwhelming desire plucked at his heart, carried him forward. It would be so easy to surrender.

  In the deepest reaches of Ariek’s memory, he saw his mother’s garden sinking from glory to ruin.

  See what is real. Understand what you have lost.

  The illusion snapped. Ariek peered through the mesmerizing light and saw the webstone for what it was—the warped ambition of a madman. The melody played false. He twisted free of its grasp and the glittering strands dissolved.

  The five-sided crystal burst into flames in Balek’s hand. Balek howled. The stone hit the ground and skittered across the dirt.

  “Ariek! Watch out!”

  At Derrin’s shout, Ariek spun to face Balek’s dagger. He blocked the blow with his arm, then turned his body and smashed his shoulder into Balek’s gut. The high wizard staggered, arms flailing. The blade sliced into Ariek’s thigh.

  Ariek went down on one knee, cursing. Derrin wrenched himself free of the ground and rolled, grabbing for Balek’s leg. Balek twisted out of his grasp. Snatching up the smoldering remains of the crystal, the high wizard scrambled across the dirt to Gina.

  Sparks shot from the webstone, wrenching Derrin from Gina’s mind. A dome of light dropped in place over Balek. He straddled Gina’s body and placed the crystal on her chest.

  Ariek struggled to his feet, ignoring the stab of pain in his thigh. Balek gave a shout of triumph. Derrin threw himself at the wall of light, smashing his fists against the barrier and shouting obscenities.

  * * * * *

  Gina felt the loss of Derrin’s embrace as a fierce, hopeless pain. She fought her despair, drawing on the strength of her sisters. Their love sustained her, allowed her time to focus once again on her task.

  She must destroy the webstone.

  The crystal had weakened, but its power still raged, drawing her toward the void. Balek’s consciousness buffeted her, seeking entrance. It sucked her energy and sapped her resolve, promising rest if she only would accept it.

  She spread her arms wide and resisted, opening herself to the will of the Goddess. Her body was a fragile construction, too frail to hold the Great Mother’s full power. But she would offer it, nonetheless.

  The suffocating weight of the webstone squeezed her chest. The glittering strands of the web constricted, imprisoning her. The spirits of her sisters, so far away on the edge of the Circle, wavered, then faded, until she stood alone.

>   The storm raged around her, stinging ice and unforgiving wind. Gina held the Center of the Circle, wondering how long she would last.

  * * * * *

  “Tarol’s blood, Derrin! You won’t break through it that way.” Ariek wrenched Derrin away from the dome of sparks.

  Derrin closed his eyes and concentrated on drawing one breath, then another. His fists were raw with pounding, but Balek’s shield hadn’t even shown a ripple, let alone a crack. Ariek was right. He would be of little use to Gina if he lost control.

  Ariek paced the perimeter of the dome, peering through the wall of light. “The crystal has lost some of its power,” he said. “There are sparks, but the strands of the web can’t form. But how can we pierce it? Even if we link our minds together, it won’t be enough.”

  Derrin swung around. “We have to find a way to enter it, even if it’s only with our minds. We haven’t much time. If Balek gets control of Gina’s psyche…” A sudden thought struck him. “The rose crystal.”

  “What?”

  He fished in his crystal pouch and extracted the stone he’d taken from the gown Gina had worn on her first passage through the web.

  “What’s that? I’ve never seen a crystal that color.”

  “It comes from Gina’s world. She believed it aided her passage through the web.”

  “And you think it might help us to break through it now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then let’s do it.”

  Derrin extended his consciousness to Ariek and formed the link they had shared many times, when building the twinned crystals. When they were joined, he added a link to Gina’s crystal. Thus united, they approached the webstone’s barrier.

  The rose crystal glowed. Derrin sank his mind into the stone and channeled its power. He tested the strands forming the dome. They wavered at his touch. He drew a deep breath and signaled to Ariek. Together, they launched their combined will, augmented by Gina’s crystal, at the web.

  The strands cracked, and their minds slipped through.

  The high wizard knelt beside Gina within the dome of light. The webstone fragment lay on her chest, in the center of the beaded rings. Sparks spewed outward and arched overhead.

  Balek’s hand moved to his breeches. He undid the laces, freeing his thick red cock. You are too late, guttersnipe. Once I enter her, the web will never close.

  Derrin and Ariek circled and advanced, pressing in on his consciousness. Balek retaliated with a mental thrust.

  Burning pain exploded in Derrin’s skull. He shook it off and continued his advance, but the fire returned, licking at his mind until Derrin feared his sanity would turn to ashes. Beside him, Ariek fell back.

  Balek chuckled. Your pitiful struggle is useless. He parted Gina’s knees and ran his hands up the inside of her thighs.

  Derrin howled his rage. With one mighty effort, he wrenched his will from the flames and sent it diving toward Gina. Her eyelids fluttered and her head rolled to one side.

  Derrin skimmed past Balek and entered Gina’s mind.

  Though Gina’s body lay motionless under Balek, her spirit was still free. A dark storm enveloped her, obscuring the edge of the Circle. Derrin plunged into the maelstrom and fought his way to her side. Once there, he knelt before her, and offered his strength. Gina’s fingers touched his head. He felt her acceptance.

  Drawing on the deepest part of his courage, he surrendered his soul to the Circle.

  A shaft of light pierced the darkness. The voices of the Na’lara rose in unison. Flames of pure gold surrounded Gina and Derrin, binding them together. Six arcs of light sprang from their combined aura and leaped to the outer edge of the Circle. The light shot round the ring, touching each of the six women standing on the rim, then returned to the Center. To Gina.

  The web opened. Not the insanity of Balek’s false construct, but the full force of the wilderness, the wisdom of each Sign, linked by “That which has no name”. The webstone flashed and disintegrated into a heap of black ash. The dome of sparks vanished.

  “No!” Balek’s wail was a sound of fury and pain. He caught Gina’s body and hauled her against his chest. The tip of his dagger pricked her stomach.

  “You will pay, gutter wizard. Your whore will die.”

  Derrin launched himself out of the Circle and into his body. He lunged toward Balek.

  He couldn’t reach Gina in time. Balek’s knife plunged. Gina’s blood spurted.

  The high wizard flung Gina’s limp body away and laughed like a drunken maniac. With a shout of pure fury, Derrin sprang on him, driving him to the ground. His hands closed on the soft flesh of Balek’s throat.

  Balek clawed, gasping. Derrin tightened his grip.

  A gurgling sound emerged from deep in Balek’s throat. His eyes bulged and his face darkened to a color deeper than the finest wine. Derrin gave a swift twist.

  The soft pop flooded him with satisfaction.

  Balek’s eyes went blank. Derrin stared at the contorted face of the madman he had killed, unable to look away.

  “Derrin!” Ariek was bent over Gina, his bloody hands pressed to her ribs.

  Derrin’s triumph fled. He choked back a sob and met his friend’s gaze, unable to voice his question.

  Ariek shook his head. “She lives, my friend, but for how much longer, I cannot tell.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “I am sorry, Derrin.”

  He started at Dahra’s approach. “Is she…”

  “Not yet, but I can do nothing more. Her mind drifts in the world of spirits.”

  Derrin massaged the sharp pain between his eyes. He’d fought to heal Gina’s physical wounds, but her struggle with Balek had caused a mental trauma even his most powerful healing crystal could not touch. He and Ariek had carried her to the village of the Skyeagle Clan.

  Derrin had dared to hope Dahra could save Gina’s mind, but now, looking into the Na’lara’s eyes, his courage faltered.

  “She can’t die.”

  Dahra was silent.

  He paced a few steps away, toward the edge of the village. Incredibly, Gina had returned to the wilderness bearing the lost talisman of the Seventh Clan. She had stood in the center of the Circle. Had she found the stone in her own world? Yet even if she had, she didn’t have the right to wear it. Something didn’t fit.

  He met Dahra’s gaze “Gina wears the lost talisman. Why?”

  “She is the Center of the Circle.”

  “That’s impossible. The Na’lara of the Seventh Clan is the Center.”

  Dahra inclined her head. Derrin stared.

  “Gina is of the Baha’Na,” Dahra said. “She was conceived in the wilderness. She crossed the web in her mother’s womb as her home burned. She returned bearing her grandmother’s talisman. She is Na’lara.”

  Derrin’s legs threatened to buckle. “It can’t be true. The Blight worsened with her presence.”

  “No. The sickness of the land sprang from the spirit of the defiler, not from Gina’s return to her home.” Dahra advanced and laid one hand on Derrin’s arm. “It is true, Derrin. No Outsider may wear the talisman.”

  His gut twisted, but his heart recognized the truth. The web had guided Balek to Gina not because of her knowledge of crystals, but because she had been born of the Baha’Na. Derrin had been blind not to realize it.

  “May I see her?”

  “Of course.”

  He ducked inside the Na’lara’s dwelling, his eyes adjusting quickly to the dim light. The cloying scent of healing herbs hung low over the fire. Gina lay on her back on a spread of furs, the rise and fall of her breath coming in erratic spurts. Derrin lowered himself to the ground and touched her.

  Her skin leached the warmth from his hand. Derrin gripped Gina’s fingers and willed her eyes to open, but they did not. A gray pallor dulled her complexion. A shadow lurked behind him, death hovering just out of sight. His free hand brushed across his eyes and came away wet.

  She drew a long, shuddering breath, then
lay silent and still. Derrin tensed, every muscle in his body tightening in panic. His mind reached out, desperate to encounter a spark of Gina’s life, something to hold for a brief moment before she was truly gone. He plunged into her soul, searching.

  Her spirit did not stir. He forged ahead, into the farthest reaches of her mind, where memories lay buried in the soil of time. There, the ember of Gina’s life force dwindled, surrounded by ashes.

  Derrin cradled the spark, lifting it from the dust, leaning forward to caress the dying coal with his breath. It dimmed for the span of a heartbeat, and he feared his own heart would stop if the spark died. He blew another slow breath, fighting his despair, emptying his soul.

  The spark leapt, then settled into a steady glow. Encouraged, Derrin cast his heart into the ember, offering it as tinder. The lick of a tiny flame emerged, and with it, his hope.

  He fed the flame steadily, blending his life force with Gina’s, giving her all his strength. If it meant he would travel beyond the veil in her place, so be it. The fire grew, then blazed. Derrin sensed Gina’s mind awakening and knew the moment she recognized his presence. He poured his emotion into her and felt her response. The flames burned higher. Tears stung his eyes.

  He wrapped her tight in his love and held her close, savoring the sweetness of her mind’s embrace. Her spirit touched his, then dropped into a deep sleep—a sleep of healing, not death.

  Derrin opened his eyes, almost surprised to find himself still within the walls of Dahra’s dwelling. Gina hadn’t moved on her pallet of furs, but her cheeks held a vibrant glow and her breath came deep and even. Her hand warmed his skin. He tilted his head upward and let out a long breath.

  She would live. She would take her place with the Seventh Clan and wear the talisman as Na’lara.

  The Circle and the People were complete.

  He released her hand. He carried the blood of an Outsider. No matter that Zahta had named him a man after all his years of exile, he could never be part of the Baha’Na.

  Leaning forward, he brushed the barest of kisses across her lips and whispered his farewell.