by Gerard Bond
Loranda rolled off, the pain in her lower stomach was excruciating. She managed to get up with the help of Borlund and she reached inside her clothing to feel the wound. Then when she pulled her hand free she saw that her blood was almost black. Keera had got her in the kidney.
“That bitch!” She exclaimed. “She’s killed me too.”
Now her eyes widened as she felt her legs go wobbly and she collapsed to the ground watching Borlund.
Borlund immediately scooped her up and lifted himself up onto the horse then cradling her, raced back into town. He knew they had about twenty minutes before it would be too late. Reaching the outskirts of town he made his way to the infirmary, which was well established months ago by the Kingdom’s supplies. Sliding off the horse with his burden in his arms, he walked to the entrance and kicked the doors in crying out for a physician. Borlund found a table to lay her on and a nurse ran up to them.
“She has a knife wound to the kidney, she needs surgery immediately!”
She nodded and instructed Borlund.
“Take her into that room there and lay her out on the table and start removing her clothes.”
The nurse turned and ran back down a hallway fetching the surgeon in attendance. Now four of them came back at a rush into the room where Borland had removed Loranda’s heavy coat. The surgeon addressed Borland while inspecting Loranda.
“You may wait outside, we will deal with it as necessary.”
Borland went outside and sat down. After a few short moments he decided it would be best to report back to Night at their quarters so he left the building.
Lord Raz stood in the woman’s quarters in shock. He had only been speaking to Dark a couple of hours before and here she lay dead on her cot. Night was still sitting by her side. Raz felt a rush of memories of when he had lost his wife and had spent a day in vigil by her side. Many folk were in the same room crowded around and murmuring amongst themselves, they all knew Dark and were paying their respects. Night looked up at Raz.
“I have to contact Wollfen somehow, he needs to know.”
Lord Raz understood perfectly and nodded, but what could they do? Wollfen was a captor in Isogorr. Night stood and motioned for a chair, she sat down and again spoke to Raz.
“I am going to sent out a blast of energy via mind touch. I don’t know if he will hear me but I have to try. It will take a few minutes of my time and I will probably collapse from the effort. If you could be so kind as to take care of me until I awake again?” Raz didn’t hesitate.
“But of course, whatever you need.”
The others around the room looked on as Night closed her eyes and went into a seeming trance. Her face screwed up a little in concentration and effort, a grim look set upon her features.
Wollfen hung in the darkness without any sense of his surroundings. He didn’t know how long he had been there and now he was losing touch of why. His mind was slowly unraveling in the nothingness, but he knew it wouldn’t end. It would never end.
He once again reached out with his mind in all directions for something, anything he could latch onto. How many times had he tried? He had lost count and still there was no hope to be found. Then he sensed it, the tiniest white light far, far away. He focused and directed his energies to it. It was a beacon, someone was getting through. Who knew he was stuck there? It took a little while longer to feel it and bring it closer. It happened very slowly at first, but he gained momentum with time. Quicker and quicker he was traveling toward it and it became clearer with every passing moment.
It was Nightwing! She was sending it out! His heart filled with hope, he didn’t hesitate in accelerating even more. If the light went out, he would be lost again and he had no intention of missing this time. Wollfen just hoped there was plenty of room where he would land, he would be coming in on a huge magical wave.
For a couple of minutes the group watched as Night quietly sat. They all were holding their breath willing her success. The onlookers knew she was sending out a message, all felt for Dark and wished the best. They had no idea their energies were feeding Night’s efforts and boosting her ability. Then all of a sudden the room trembled and there was a rumble of sound. They all looked about, there was no storm coming?
A piercing white light filled the room and they shut their eyes at the brightness. Some cried out as the noise rose until there was a thunderclap that went off in that confined space shattering the windows as the building shook. Then all of a sudden it went dark and silent. There in the stillness stood a tall man dressed in furs, a hood covering his head. Many people were bowled over by the force that had blown through and taken out the windows, leaving them gasping and some even whimpering. Lord Raz was on his butt and picked himself up as the man standing there threw his hood back. Night let out a cry of recognition.
“Wollfen!”
Night was sitting there in awe. Wollfen looked at her and smiled. In a low full tone that filled the hushed room he spoke.
“Hello Night, I heard your call and came.”
Night picked herself up and flew into his open arms and hugged him tight.
“By the gods Wollfen! It is so good to see you!”
This was Wollfen? Lord Raz was dumbstruck. The man had materialized out of nowhere at Night’s call, this was incredible! Now all the others in the room began babbling to each other at what they had just seen. This was no mere man to them. It was simply astounding! Raz looked about. This was the grand entrance of all grand entrances. He would not have believed it for a second if he hadn’t seen it for himself.
“Never in my days have I seen such a powerful magic user such as yourself Wollfen.”
Wollfen looked up at the stranger addressing him.
“Thank you sir, but I must apologize for entering as I did. I would normally have arrived very quietly except I came in as quick as I dared. Tell me, what is your name?”
Raz had forgotten himself in the ruckus.
“Please forgive me, my name is Lord Raz. I am supreme commander of the southern forces of the Kingdom. May I welcome you to Port Volarus.”
He wasn’t sure if he should bow or something.
“Thank you Lord Raz for your welcome, it is much appreciated.” He turned back to Night, “Where is Dark?”
Night looked up at him and tears welled in her eyes. She couldn’t speak but simply turned and held out her arm. The crowd parted and Dark was revealed on the cot. Wollfen moved to it and looked down at his beloved. She looked serene and at rest. He sat down on the edge of the cot looking at her. He reached out and touched her cheek, it was cool. There was a commotion at the door and Borlund entered. He didn’t know most of them, but recognized Lord Raz and Night. He turned and addressed them.
“Loranda is seriously injured and is now as we speak in surgery. More than that I cannot say.”
Night turned to Wollfen who nodded his head. She turned and motioned for Borlund to lead and they left. Lord Raz decided to stay. Wollfen was alone and right now Raz was the only one there that Wollfen sort of knew.
Wollfen went back to looking at Dark. There were tears in his eyes but he would not let himself cry. He leaned down and lightly kissed her on the forehead. He placed his hand on her chest and feeling with his magic inspected the damage. He could see in his mind’s eye the cut of the blade that went in, pierced her heart through. It hadn’t been a big cut but it was enough. She would have died quickly.
It was a small mercy. Wollfen couldn’t stand it. The pain was too much. He wanted her back more than anything else, more than having friends, more than saving these people, more than releasing Lord Vincent. A voice came into his head, ‘Do it.’ He hesitated, ‘Do it.’ He looked around the room. Right now he wasn’t thinking beyond his immediate circumstances and he didn’t care for anything else. Taking out the imbued crystal of energy that was meant for releasing Lord Vincent, he addressed all that were there.
“I want you all to leave me now. I would like some time alone with my woman.”
&
nbsp; Many nodded and a lot bowed their heads as they moved off. Lord Raz was moving to be the last to leave.
“Lord Raz, I want you to stay, I will need your help.”
Lord Raz was a little confused.
“What is it you wish me to do?”
“I intend to bring Dark back and I will need you to watch over me, it will be very taxing.”
Lord Raz stood there stunned. What had he just said? A couple of the stragglers overheard Wollfen’s words and when they got outside they started spreading the word. It wouldn’t be long before words of his grand arrival and talk of bringing back the dead spread throughout the entire Port.
Wollfen motioned for Raz to shut the door. He turned, picked up the chair and sat it down beside Dark looking down at her. He whispered,
“I would sacrifice everything for you my love.”
He closed his eyes and began focusing on the damage in Dark’s heart. Using the energy of the crystal, he started manipulating the tissue within, repairing it on a cellular level. It would take a long time but Wollfen had all the time in the world for it. It took a couple of hours to feel his way through doing the repairs, eventually she lay there without a mark on her.
He then took the crystal and held it to her chest and began opening its energies even more. He used his own magical forces of his mind to channel the crystal’s energies into her body, imbuing it with a soft warm glow. Then after another minute Dark took in a sharp breath and her eyes opened wide. She settled again and began breathing normally. Lord Raz who was watching everything all this time couldn’t believe his eyes.
“My god man! She is alive!”
Wollfen sighed,
“Well to a point, her body lives but she is not here.”
In demonstration he waved his hand over her face and there was no reaction at all. Her eyes stared vacantly up. Lord Raz was terribly confused,
“I don’t understand?”
“Her body is repaired and it lives, but her soul is still in the land of the dead. I have to go get her back.”
Lord Raz could only shake his head, he had never even heard of such a thing before,
“I can’t pretend that I know anything of what you are speaking, but I will do what I can.”
Raz wasn’t really sure he could do anything, this Wollfen’s capabilities were far beyond anything he knew, far beyond anything he had ever come across before in his life. The room was getting decidedly cold now. The broken windows offered no protection against the breeze that had picked up. Wollfen addressed Raz.
“If you could arrange for the windows to be boarded up immediately and also have the fire stoked, these are simple things but very important. Also I will need Nightwing in attendance and Keera too before I can begin. They will be able to supplement my magic needs.”
Lord Raz realized that Wollfen knew nothing of the circumstances of Dark’s death.
“I’m afraid I have bad news for you. It was Keera who killed Dark.” Now it was Wollfen’s turn to be in shock. How could this be? Why would Keera do such a thing? It didn’t make sense at all. Dark and Keera normally got along very well. Maybe Justin would be able to shed some light on the subject.
“Is Justin available? I would at least like to speak to him.”
Again Raz had to be the bearer of bad news.
“I am afraid he fell in battle quite a few months ago near here.”
Raz watched on. He could see Wollfen was taking all this news badly and he couldn’t offer the man any positives at all at the moment. There was a silence between them as Wollfen quietly digested all this information. Then he finally spoke.
“I have been away too long and I have let my friends down. I wish I could have been back earlier. Even one day would have made a huge difference.”
Wollfen shook his head. No matter what decisions he took, someone always suffered and after so many years of watching that happen he was getting tired of it. He turned back to the task at hand.
“Could you send for Night for me please?”
Raz bowed and moved outside. The cool wind of the winter night struck his face and he realized he had bowed to another man of no rank, but it had felt so natural and right. He nodded to himself. Yes it was right, this man was a leader amongst men. Finding his adjutant tucked in the corner out of the wind, he ordered that Night be returned here forthwith and the man hurried off.
It was less than ten minutes later that Night arrived back mounted on a horse and Raz approached as she dismounted. He couldn’t contain himself.
“For so long I have doubted you and your friends’ dedication to this Wollfen, I doubt it no longer. I understand why you follow him.” Night listened and was a little confused; she nodded but couldn’t really understand what brought it on. Raz continued, “He needs your help, it is best you go in.”
“Thank you Raz.”
She really didn’t know what else to say, she turned and entered her quarters.
As she walked in she could see Wollfen sitting with Dark and he was caressing her cheek, but something was different. She realized with astonishment, Dark was alive! She moved closer, her eyes fixed on Dark’s. How could she be alive? Then Night realized something was strange for Dark didn’t move a muscle and stared vacantly. Wollfen saw Night’s intent stare and spoke up.
“I have repaired her body and now it is ready to receive her soul back.”
Night turned to Wollfen and stared at him.
“You can bring back the dead?”
“This once I may be able to. I haven’t finished yet and I am still not sure it can be done, but I am working on it. I need you for the next part.”
Wollfen had her total attention, he could see she had so many questions.
“We will talk all you like after we have finished this, but for now time is of the essence and we must act, can I count on your full cooperation?”
Night nodded without hesitation,
“Yes of course. Anything you need at all.”
Wollfen smiled and it made her feel good.
“Thank you Night, you have no idea how welcome it is to hear that. It’s a pity Keera is responsible, I wonder if she would make reparations by helping as well?”
Night shook her head, he couldn’t know.
“I’m sorry Wollfen, but I had sent Loranda to kill Keera when I found Dark dead. Loranda did as she was told.”
Wollfen looked at her with sad eyes and sighed, he seemed so old all of a sudden as he slowly shook his head.
“You shouldn’t have done that Night.”
Wollfen sat there for a little time not saying anything. Then finally he spoke again,
“Well what’s done is done I cannot set everything right.”
He returned to the present and focused on the job at hand.
“Okay, I intend to cross over into the afterlife and find Dark. When I do it, it will be you who will bring us back. I will explain how it should work.”
Night piped up,
“Should work?”
Wollfen looked at her.
“I have never done anything like this before. This is where the danger lies for I am only familiar with the theory, do you understand?” Night nodded once more. “This is what I propose. I have a teleport crystal on me normally used for physical travel between great distances. In this instance I intend to only send my soul out on this journey through a portal into the afterlife. There I will search for Dark and when I find her will hold her tight. Then I will call out to you just as we do when we mind touch. Then it will be up to you to pull us back to here. Do you understand?”
Night nodded in understanding.
“We must link up mentally before you leave then, so I can keep a hold of you as you go.”
“Yes that’s it, you’ve got it.”
Wollfen was pleased by the speed with which Night picked up on things.
“It also occurs to me we should be in bed on either side of Dark for when I pull the two of you back.”
He agreed, it would work be
st that way. They both moved over to Dark and shifted her into the center of the bed. Night kicked off her wet boots and slid into the bed. Wollfen did the same and lay down as well. He produced the turquoise crystal and held it in his hand.
“Alright, here goes.”
Wollfen opened his mind to Night who was waiting. He knew what they were about to do was very dangerous. They could very well end up with both Wollfen and Dark stuck in the afterlife.
The two of them made their connections and he gave a mental wave. Then he focused on his goal and destination. The crystal glowed a little and a portal opened.
Wollfen stepped through to the other side and he found himself standing in an open meadow. Birds were chirping and the smell of the air was like a clear spring day, it felt wonderful. He took a few steps and looked about. This was his idea of what perfection was. He wondered what others would envision when they stepped over? Off in the distance he could hear a waterfall and he could feel the pull, it called him and he so wanted to go.
No, he had to focus on why he was here. This was not his time and he could not stay. Looking about some more he spied some people off in the distance and he set off in that direction. As he got closer he realized that they were part of a procession. It was all the recently dead moving on. As he approached he could see they all faced one way like a huge crowd patiently waiting to go somewhere. In fact that was exactly what they were doing. He stood at the rear and searched amongst them for Dark. She had to be somewhere near the rear. There were so many. Then it hit him, he only now realized just how regularly people died.
Wollfen was getting nowhere with this so he pushed his way in looking for a familiar figure from behind. This was taking so long and it was proving a lot harder than he imagined. None of them paid any attention to him as he moved through. Then just as he was getting particularly frustrated he saw her blonde hair. It had to be her, he pushed deeper to her and turned Dark about. There was no recognition in her face, just a blank stare. Grabbing her Wollfen called to Night but there was no response, maybe he needed to go back from where he came from.
