She and Gryffon obediently complied, both reaching back to take off their hoods, revealing their faces. “It’s us, Sir Ruawn,” Layna said and the hands restraining them immediately withdrew.
Sir Ruawn bowed. “Your Majesties.” He was tight-lipped. He had not approved of their escapade into the city even when they had agreed to have him accompany them, and was practically foaming at the mouth that he was now being left behind. Once he had shown them the secret tunnels, however, there had been little he could do to stop them from sneaking out on their own. Regardless of its futility, he had spent many hours of wasted breath trying to convince them to continue to bring bodyguards. Both she and Gryffon were adamant that it was their responsibility to find out what was going on in the city and an entourage of bodyguards only increased their chances of getting noticed.
“We’ve been told that there’s an unusual concentration of the Bricrui being left at the North End district,” she reported to him, “but while we were there we did not see even one. Can you please have the watch keep an eye on that area? If there are bodies left this morning it would mean that whatever is going on seems to be happening in the early hours.”
“Of course, My Liege,” he answered, a line of worry creasing his brow.
*
Katya joined hands with Hunter and the Dena’ina on either side of her. They had spent hours in debate on how best to modify the spell to make it work for their situation. They were not starting with already established rivers of power that they were diverting, but rather they had to create the riverbeds, as it were, for the chaotic magic to gravitate to. They didn’t want to just pull power for the original spell and then have it revert back to its natural chaos; they wanted it to be easiest for the magic to flow where they wanted it to.
According to Gryffon’s memories, they would be performing similar magic to what the dragon gods had done to cleanse the world for their arrival. It required first that they burn out the current routes, which in this sort of environment would hopefully only cause superficial damage, since the magic simply swirled and flowed on its own whims. It did not follow any set course which would have cut a path through the fabric of power. Therefore, they only had to smooth out the surface which was rutted and soiled, and then create their own channels for it to flow through.
It sounded nice in theory, but they were about to see how it actually did in practice. Even with the combined strength of their party and the strongest mages of the Dakelh tribe, it was a daunting task. The sheer area they needed the spell to affect was immense, and if they missed even one area, the power could be diverted from their channels, quickly creating new ruts that would be that much harder to smooth out a second time.
Petra had sent word back to her people, Slade to his, and the Dena’ina leader contacted the rest of his to possibly send aid as Gryffon had suggested. It was eventually decided, however, that rather than wait for them to make the journey here in order to attempt the spell, that they would try it first without them. If it did not work, then they would accept the assistance. The leaders all seemed to be in agreement that increased communication between them was necessary regardless, and would welcome the excuse to interact even if their help turned out not to be needed.
They wanted to work as quickly as possible for obvious reasons, and Katya was glad to see that the tribes seemed to be getting genuinely concerned as well. They were talking about setting up meetings to brainstorm other ideas should the powerstones not break the curse as they hoped.
She felt the power flow through her from Hunter and from her into the Dena’ina leader, completing the circle. As she was the one who had spoken to Gryffon, and therefore considered the most knowledgeable on the subject, it had been decided that it would be her who would direct the spell.
She took a deep breath and readied the power, finding her center and focusing on the bright white light within her that was her talent. Slowly, she sent it outwards, paying careful attention to keep its spread uniform and even, not allowing it to settle into the existing pathways. As she spread it farther and farther out, she increased the intensity of the white light, feeling the power increase exponentially, and started to burn away the hills and crevices in the fabric of magic around them.
She held the strength steady, ignoring the slight pain that was starting behind her eyes, and paused the spread, letting it burn through where it currently was. She felt heat around her, and knew that it was beginning to work. The physical plane would only be partially affected; the flame more on the magical plane, but there was enough overlap that the effects would be felt.
The area she was holding the flames on began to lessen in intensity, having no more for it to burn, and she slowly widened the circle. The acrid scent of smoke met her nostrils and she knew instinctively that a dry area of the grasslands had caught on fire. The Dakelh were on the watch for such occurrences, and soon she smelled wet ashes, indicating they had found it and put it out.
Her worry of the danger of the fire reaching them eased at the same time that the intensity once again waned, and she spread the spell a bit farther. They repeated this process for some time, though the length of it eluded her in her focused state. She suddenly felt the power flowing into her from the circle weakening and she knew she would have to stop soon. She paused a moment in her burning to evaluate how far they had been able to reach.
Not quite far enough, but almost. If they stopped now, they would have to redo much of what they had accomplished already. She pushed farther, urging those she drew strength from to hold on just a little longer. She felt one waver, and shifted her focus from where it was taking the power to give that particular person a break. She couldn’t tell who it was, but felt their immediate relief as she arched the power around them. The circle as a whole was weaker this way, but it kept it intact.
She continued to push it farther and farther, draining her own last reserves to finish the spell. Finally, sweating and exhausted, she broke contact, collapsing to the ground. Through sleepy eyes, she saw the rest do the same.
When she awoke, she was wrapped snugly in a blanket, Hunter’s face inches from her own. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten there, but it hardly mattered when she was with him. He was all that mattered.
She blinked sleepily, and smiled at Hunter as he woke, murmuring softly to himself. He returned the expression and sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
“Do you think it worked?” he asked her, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. Katya rose and padded her way over to the doorway, where a flap of fabric hung over the opening to keep the light out. She pushed it aside and saw that the sun was just beginning to rise.
“We must have been out all afternoon and through the night,” she commented, amazed at the toll the spell had taken on them. “We should be able to tell by now whether or not the magic flowed into the channels we created for it.”
They splashed some water on their faces and emerged from their huts. Katya was curious to know how the others had fared, and the outcome of the spell, but found that her body had a different priority. She was ravenous. Before anything else on her list was accomplished, she needed to get some food.
Hunter seemed to have a similar goal in mind as they both instinctively followed their noses to where a group of women were busily throwing different ingredients into a cauldron over a smoldering fire. It was putting off the most appetizing aroma, and as they neared, they saw that several of the others from their circle had beaten them to it.
The Dena’ina leader smiled at them. “Such spellwork works up quite an appetite, doesn’t it,” he asked rhetorically, handing them each a bowl.
They sat around the pot, waiting as patiently as their growling stomachs would allow for one of the women to come around to each of them and dish out a generous portion of the delicious concoction. As soon as it hit her bowl, Katya began gulping it down in great heaping spoonfuls, almost causing the woman to spill it in her haste to draw it towards her mouth.
When they had filled their
bellies, the mages all looked excitedly around at one another. Katya stood and looked around, noticing for the first time the side-effects of their spell. Though the effects were subtle, they were also numerous. Singed huts were everywhere, burned patches of grass, and faded colors on decorations. Obviously the spell had done something. Hopefully it had done what they wanted as well.
Katya glanced at each of the people around her, and found that they were all watching her expectantly. She cleared her throat. “Well, shall we see if it was worth it?” she asked.
They all scrambled to their feet and formed another circle around her, joining hands. Though it wasn’t particularly necessary just for seeing the magic pathways, this would allow them all to see it simultaneously.
Katya found a river of power they had created and latched onto it, allowing its flow to carry them along it. The power had actually pooled into the areas they had carved out for it and run along the paths they created! It was remarkable. Katya would never have believed such a thing possible. It was the very thing that the dragons had done to make this world habitable. No wonder they were considered gods, to have come up with a spell to shape the very world around you to your whims.
They flowed farther along smoothly, riding with the flow of power that now went naturally in a very ordered fashion. Very unlike the previous chaos. It was amazing. And amazing that such a spell hadn’t been utilized before. But Katya scolded herself. The only reason she had been able to perform it was by the careful instruction from Gryffon who, of course, garnered it from one of the minds of the gods themselves. The spell wasn’t just a set of words or a particular way you waved your hand, though for some spells these were either necessary or helpful, but this spell was the actual way you handled the power. It was all about your attitude in touching it, the mindset when you manipulated it. It was hard to explain, the spell was done by feeling.
Suddenly, the flow of power hit a snag, the magic eddied and swirled around like a river around a large tree fallen into its path. Katya sent out a question to those linked to her, and through the connection, immediately got their response. Fix it. She drew power from all of them and concentrated on the snag, focusing on removing whatever it was that was blocking the flow from where they wanted it.
Soon, it had been remedied, and they moved farther along, checking river after river of their planned web design. Aside from the one snag, all were perfect. Katya sucked in an appreciative breath. It was something to behold. She once again broke the link, but this time instead of collapsing into heaps, she was met with broad grins all around.
“We did it!” one of the Dakelh who had joined them exclaimed.
“Indeed,” Katya agreed, “But our battle is only half over.” Though they had seemingly succeeded in taming the magic in this area, hopefully forever, there was still the matter of now creating the magical dam to both direct the flow of water, and ensure that it wouldn’t flood out the village. As long as the rivers of power didn’t revert in the next day or two, however, this spell should be fairly uneventful since they already had the rivers flowing exactly where they would need them to. The tricky part would be permanently attaching them to the water spell. Rivers controlling rivers. Katya smiled to herself.
They gave it a couple days, both to regain their strength, as well as allow the rivers to really settle in. Hopefully any problems that might arise would do so before they completed the second spell so it could be fixed before the fate of the village rested upon its success. When the chosen day was upon them and the rivers still remained secured in place, they gathered one final time for the moment of truth. Katya led the group again and guided them through the steps to complete their goals. It went perfectly, and did not wear them out like the last one had.
As soon as they finished, they were able to examine their work for weaknesses or problems. They found none, and were soon on their way to find the leader of the tribe to tell her of their success.
It didn’t take long, as she was already on her way to them. Though she was a powerful mage herself, she had chosen not to be a part of the circle, rather wanting to be alert to the dangers that both spells could pose to the village in order to immediately resolve them. She had a smile on her face as she approached, so Katya assumed that meant they hadn’t made too much of a mess of things.
“I can feel the spell working already,” she said as she slowed to a stop before them. “Just the tamed power was like nothing we’ve felt in some time. The rush…” she trailed off, and Katya knew what she meant. Cleansing a small area, as she had become accustomed to doing out here, was nothing compared to when the power around you naturally coalesced into intense flowing magic. The woman’s attention focused back on her once more and she continued. “We promised that if you could do this, the powerstone would be yours.” Her eyes darted over to the Dena’ina leader’s and back. “You are sure you need to take it?”
“We’re sure,” Katya nodded, that made three out of five stones. “We have discussed it and would like to offer ourselves to help protect the village should anything go wrong while the powerstone is removed. To prove how confident we are in our success, we will put ourselves in harm’s way.”
“That’s not necessary,” the Dakelh leader surprised her by saying, “though support would be appreciated. Since you were able to tame the magic, we have been using the time you were waiting to see if it worked to prepare, and have evacuated most of the people anyway. The devastation to our village and way of life, mind you, would still be dramatic, but our people will be safe.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Katya said, “I hate to rush you into such a dangerous thing, but the lives of many people – including my friends – are at stake. We really must retrieve the stone and be on our way as quickly as possible.” She posed it as a question, hoping the woman would catch on and offer her a time frame. She was not disappointed.
“I understand,” she said, nodding vigorously, “I am deeply appalled at the atrocities which we helped to commit, and I am as eager as you to rectify them. Let us retrieve the powerstone at once.”
Katya had not expected that response, she’d thought they’d at least want a little time to prepare, but was gratified. Layna’s reports of the spread in the city were disturbing. Though they had sent enough chokeroot to slow the whole city, it appeared that getting it to all of the inhabitants was proving to be a much harder task than originally expected. Not only that, but Katya had found out that Layna and Gryffon were taking it upon themselves to go roaming about the city at night to keep it clear of the Bricrui that were too far gone. She surprised herself by how much this news worried her.
“Thank you,” she acknowledged the woman’s kindness, and followed her to the spot. It was quite a trek up to the top of a vast waterfall, held that way by the magic of the stone, and now, the rivers of power which flowed into a permanent spell to keep it there. They hoped.
The Dakelh leader and her group of Elders made quick work of the protections set to maintain the stone’s location, and soon they stood before it in all its magnificence. Even with it being the third time now that Katya had seen one, she was still impressed by the beauty and pure power which emanated from them. It seemed to shine brightly from within itself, all different colors, and no one who gazed upon it would doubt its power.
The Dakelh leader reached into its nesting place, huddled in amongst the cave wall, and drew it out. The power pulsed around it for a moment, as the spells it powered stopped, and everyone held their breaths. Katya counted her heartbeats. One, two, three, four, five. Nothing. No sounds of crashing water or cracking wood. No screams from the village below. And no fluxes in the magic of the spell they bound to this place.
It had worked. The Dakelh leader let out her breath noisily and smiled, turning to Katya to hand her the stone. “It appears that you are worthy of bearing it,” she commented.
Katya took the stone and brought out the other two from her pockets, comparing them. They were all obviously of the same stone, but e
ach in its own unique odd shape. Katya looked at the edges of the newest compared to one of the other’s sides. They looked like they might fit together. Experimentally, she brought the two together, and grunted in satisfaction as the broken edges fit perfectly together.
She almost dropped them when they flared to life, magically mending the break of its own accord. Katya repeated the process with the third and again, it attached itself to the bigger stone. Now, instead of her three smaller stones, Katya had one large stone. But it was still not complete, two gaping sections were evident where the last two stones belonged. They were getting closer. Closer to the people of Naoham’s – and eventually the world’s – salvation.
Several of the people around them gasped at the spectacle, and one little girl came forward. “My mother asked me to give you this,” she said in a quiet, stuttering voice.
Katya took it from her gently. “Thank you,” she said, looking at the object in her hand. It was a bottle of some kind of clear liquid.
“It’s water from the healing spring,” the girl supplied. “My mother is the healer and she says that it might help you with the curse.” The little girl scampered off, relieved that her duty was complete, and eager to get out of the spotlight.
The Dakelh leader watched with interest. “That is quite a gift indeed,” she commented, “there is only so much that the spring produces and it is saved and conserved for the most serious of cases. Use it well.”
“Thank you,” Katya repeated again, “Thank you for everything.”
CHAPTER 10
Kali humored the man with an audience. He had sent her an urgent summons that everything was falling apart. Though his ‘falling apart’ was likely to be her success, she was interested to hear exactly how it was happening.
She strolled into his sitting room and was immediately bombarded by his nasal whine.
“You said they wouldn’t find the stones!” he accused, standing and pointing a finger at her face. She had convinced him that their looking for the stones would be a distraction and would keep them taking the chokeroot longer. He seemed to be rather intimidated by the monarchs’ talents for some reason.
Light the Reign (The Forgotten: Book 3) Page 12
