by D N Meinster
"Ughh," Aros moaned, and he stirred, stretching his arms and rubbing at his eyes. It took him a moment before he looked up and realized who had awoken him. "Rikki?"
"We're at Faunli's border," she said. "The exact opposite of where we wanted to be."
"And where you wanted to be," Doren added.
Using the tree for balance, Aros got back on his feet. "Why did you come after me?" he asked, genuinely surprised that his friends had found him.
"Do you have to ask?" Rikki replied. She glanced at Doren, whose agitation was plain on his face. He really was upset that Aros had to stay with them. "We need you, Aros."
Aros ran his hand through his spiky brown hair, and he tried to give them a warm smile. "I won't attack you again. I promise."
"That's reassuring," Doren grumbled.
"It is," Rikki said. She gazed deep into Aros' eyes, certain that she could trust his word. "Who was here last night, Aros?"
Aros was taken aback. "How do you – "
"I'm a mage, remember?"
He closed his eyes, recalling with vivid detail all that had occurred the night before. "So it wasn't a dream."
"Was it the Goddess?" Rikki asked, sure that it had to be.
"It was Leidess," Aros said, eyes still shut. He opened them, expecting her to reappear as he mentioned her.
"Leidess?" Rikki was even more confused. She wouldn't have confused Leidess for the Goddess. That is, unless it wasn't exactly the Goddess she was feeling, but the Great Bastion. Leidess and Magenine were in the same place now.
"Why was she here?" Doren asked, eyeing Aros suspiciously.
The sides of Aros' mouth twitched. "Because of me. And because of Milo."
"Milo?" Rikki said with some shock. These were not the names she had expected to hear from Aros.
"She told me I have to kill Sarin to save Milo's soul."
Now that at least made some sense. There was one member of the Resurrected left, and he had a piece of Milo' soul trapped within. Killing him would free that piece. But that hardly felt like Aros' responsibility. She had known Milo best. It should've been up to her.
"I can do that, Aros," Rikki told him.
"No, I promised Leidess," Aros replied. "I won't let her down again."
Rikki patted her staff, considering what Aros had relayed to her. Having the dead visit from the Great Bastion was not a common occurrence. And having them give orders was even less so. If she wasn't feeling Magenine's presence here, she might have thought Aros was crazy. He was definitely in a fragile state. But she believed him and saw the spark of determination within him that she had first noticed when they were trying to find Leidess in Kytheras.
"Did she say where Sarin was?"
"No," Aros answered. "But he's not in my bedroom back home."
Rikki nodded. Aros intended to stay with them. Was he looking for permission? If he was, she'd better speak up before Doren. "Let's get going."
As the three of them headed back into the trees, Doren crept up on Rikki and whispered into her ear. "I still don't trust him."
Chapter Nine
Deduction
It seemed less real the further away he got. Every tree that he reached for zapped the memories away. Each twisted motion forward caused Leidess to fade from his mind.
He never thought he'd see her again in this life. Rather, he expected he'd only ever see her face in his memories or dreams. In fact, he considered it had all just been a dream or hallucination the moment she disappeared. It was impossible to come back from the Great Bastion, wasn't it? If it wasn't for Rikki, he would've kept it to himself and doubted what had occurred forever.
But now he was convinced. Leidess had been there. She had spoken to him when he thought her voice was lost forever.
He felt lighter, knowing that she was still around; that she was still with him. She was keeping an eye on him from over there. It made him embarrassed to think that she had seen him in some of his weakest moments. But he didn't have to act out anymore because she was gone. She wasn't gone.
A new fear crept in as he was feet from the end of the thicket. What if that was the last time he ever saw her? What if he only got that one extra moment?
Aros tried to shake those thoughts away. They didn't matter now. He had a promise to keep. Only after he fulfilled it might he allow such anxiety. But until then, he had to keep to one frame of mind. He only hoped that he could.
Rikki was already fumbling about at the grove's edge when Aros joined up with her. Doren was standing beside her, with his arms folded and looking rather pouty. There was nothing but open fields ahead, and Aros' stomach grumbled as he wondered when his next meal would be.
"Here it is!" Rikki exclaimed with some relief, taking out the ancient map and unfurling it. "So we're at – "
"Perish Lake," Aros said.
"Right. Perish Lake." She perused the map until her finger found their location. "And we want to go down here." She drew her finger downward until it pointed to their destination. "Fair Forest. Wow, we are completely opposite of where we should be."
As the three of them gazed at the map and considered how long it would take to reach Fair Forest, a distant rumbling caused Aros to glance up from the parchment. His eyes locked onto an incoming whirlwind of kicked up dirt and displaced grass.
"Rikki," Aros murmured.
She lowered the map from in front of them and stared out at the approaching threat. A stampede of creatures was seconds away from trampling them. The four-legged beasts disturbed the earth with every stride. Though their details were hard to distinguish behind the haze, it was obvious to conclude what was going to happen if they didn't react.
Rikki let go of the map, sending it fluttering to the ground, and pointed her staff at the herd. Aros and Doren both withdrew their weapons, unsure if they could contend with wild animals.
"Maybe we should head back," Aros suggested, seeing a better defense amongst the trees.
But Rikki didn't respond, possibly because the animals were already on top of them and they were as loud as a herd of horses.
These animals weren't as wild as they had assumed. Atop each was a person, riding along, in full control of their vehicle. As they came up on Aros and his friends, instead of colliding with them, they broke off from their trajectory and started circling them.
There were at least twenty, perhaps more. It was difficult to count as they rode around them. The animals were ridden like horses, but they were much uglier than those majestic creatures. These were squatter, covered by green and black scales, with an exceptionally long tail sticking out behind each one. They lacked hooves; instead treading the ground with human-like claws. And their faces were less appealing, with wide snouts and beady eyes that were smaller than their nostrils.
Aros knew what they were, but he had never seen one in person: velizards. In Kytheras, all they had left were a few drawings and bones. They were native to Faunli, and any that had been kept after the Parting were long dead. It was a wonder, beholding that which he never thought he'd live to see. But any excitement was easily quashed by a feeling of dread. This was not merely some group of velizards; this was a gang.
Rikki, Aros, and Doren stood tense, unsure what would happen when the velizards finally settled down. After they were done circling them, there was a pause, as if neither side was sure how to approach the other.
Finally, one of the riders disembarked from the velizard, their boots landing on the ground with a soft thud. Her black hair was tied back, though most of it was covered by a wide-brimmed hat that matched the sandy color of her footwear. She wore a black vest atop her red shirt, with tight black pants to match. The buckle on her waist gave off an obnoxious shine that made it stand out even more than its abnormal size. And apart from a mace hanging from her belt, she appeared to be unarmed.
She studied them with one yellow eye, the other covered by a dark eyepatch. Aros stared right back at her, but it was clear who was more intimidating. He loosened his hands on his b
lades, as he did his best to control his urge for violence. This didn't have to end in a fight, he kept telling himself. He took a few deep breaths as the Faun rider stepped forward.
Her head was tilted back as she neared them, so the tip of her hat didn't interrupt her line of sight. Her skin was smooth, without blemish, and she looked younger the closer she got. "Ne lio pecha," she said.
No one responded to her words.
She bent down, not at all afraid of the weapons Aros and his friends were holding, and picked up the map Rikki had dropped. Her eye skimmed it before she looked back up at them. "Muchela bund."
"We don't speak Faun," Rikki said.
"I can tell," the rider replied with a heavy accent. "You are not from Faunli." She folded up the map. "Your map is outdated. And your eyes are not of our people. So where are you from?"
"That is no business of yours," Doren spoke up.
"Insolence!" one of the men atop the velizards shouted. "You know not who you insult."
"You don't know either," Aros spat back.
"He has a point," the rider stated. "I am Lady Yveen. This is my land. This is my gang. You are trespassing." With every word, her tone became more acrid. "Explain your position, or we are well within the laws of the land to kill you."
"We should kill 'em," the man on the velizard said. "They is Kytherans. Kyn tu lemeniskis."
Lady Yveen turned and silenced him with a look.
"We already have permission from your emperor to be here," Rikki said. "We do not need yours."
A high-pitched shriek escaped Yveen. When her laughter died down, she said "And which emperor would that be? These are trying times for Faunli. We don't know whose authority to recognize. So we only follow our own." She patted the mace at her hip. "The question is, who do you follow?" Her intense stare moved from Rikki to Doren, and then to Aros. "Anybody?"
Aros thought better than to look away from this woman, but he urgently sought direction from his friends. He was more than willing to attack, but he wasn't going to start anything this time. It was up to them.
"Merula che quin," Yveen said, and the riders atop the velizards all raised their weapons at the trio. "Are you responsible for Lemon Village?" She barely waited for a response before continuing. "No, I suspect not. But then, why won't you say why you're here? You've spoken to our emperor, though which I do not know. Are you looking to sway this war? Has Kytheras become involved in Faun matters? I don't know how. When I look toward Kytheras, all I see is Oblivion."
Yveen spread open the map. "Maybe this will provide an answer. It's ancient, likely from before the Liberation. So you grabbed it from the Kytheran archives and came here." Her gaze returned to the trio. "You most certainly are from Kytheras. How did you get here? And why?" She pinched her chin as she thought out an explanation. "You carry a staff, meaning you are a mage. Your shield carries Aergo's symbol, so you unquestionably obtained it elsewhere. Fauns destroyed all relics with that logo centuries ago. Yet you perplex me, for your blades are without doubt made from Ligold. But you are not a Faun."
Aros tensed up as she spoke of him, but he let her keep going without interruption. Could she actually deduce their motives without them speaking a word? It seemed unlikely, but Rikki and Doren must've wondered the exact same, for they remained silent.
"However, you carry a key," Yveen went on. "The Key. One of five. And I presume that our dear emperor did not just turn his over. So then, that one came from Kytheras. But why would you carry it? You mean to collect them, but for what purpose?" She began a slow pace in front of them, her eye bouncing around wildly as the possibilities passed through her mind. "The Keys open the Door. You seek Neanthal's release." She stopped. "No, you seek to prevent his release. Someone else is after the Keys and you intend to beat them to it. You went to the Emperor to get his key, and he did not have it. So now you head toward our other emperor to retrieve it." Her head turned to them. "Am I right?"
Aros and his friends were speechless. How had she figured that out?
"I'm done," Yveen said. "You can speak." She pointed to her companions. "Don't make me give the order."
Rikki spoke first. "If you intend to be an obstacle, we will defeat you."
"Dear girl, I have no desire to see Neanthal return to our land."
"How?" Aros mumbled.
Yveen grinned at him. "I am overly educated. Do you see the dumb looks on their faces?" She motioned toward the other riders. "Maybe two have any idea what I just said. But if I tell them to shoot you, they will." She closed in on them, putting a finger on Rikki's staff. "I've never seen a mage before."
"You'll never see anything again if you don't back away," Doren barked.
"So protective," Yveen said, and her hand dropped to her side. "Who exactly are you? You've got such an arrogant look about you. I'd guess you were some sort of royal."
Aros and Doren nearly choked. How was she doing this?
"Let us go on, and we need not quarrel," Rikki stated calmly.
"Quarrel? I want to help you," Yveen said. "For a price."
Aros noticed the channeling crystal on Rikki's staff light up. He made sure he had a workable grip on his blades and prepared to strike. This was about to get violent, and for the first time since he arrived in Faunli, Aros wished it wouldn't.
Yveen took one step back. "Come on, you need something better than this ancient map. I'll mark it up for you, show you the safest path to Emperor Kuwain. All it will cost you is one of those fine blades." She fixed her eye onto Aros' clawblades.
Rikki let one hand off her staff and held it up to Lady Yveen. "The map."
Yveen scrunched the old parchment in her hand. "I think it's a reasonable trade."
"We will not bargain with you," Doren said.
"Definitely a prince," Yveen shot back. "You haven't even let the bearer of these weapons speak. What say you?"
Aros' lips parted, but no words came out. Instead, he returned both clawblades to the magnets on his back and crossed his arms.
Yveen's fury was evident in her golden eye. She was not accustomed to being denied that which she desired. "If that's how you want it. I can just as easily take them both from your corpse." She turned her back on them, throwing the map at the trio, and yelled out to her fellow riders. "Guwin thes!"
Right as she gave the order, arrows and machetes launched from the top of the velizards. Aros would not even have time to withdraw his swords before they were skewered by the weapons. But there was no need to. With just a wave of her staff, Rikki sent the barrage that perfectly targeted them back at their attackers. There were a few gasps and screams as the riders were nicked by their own cleavers and arrowheads.
A couple velizards collapsed as the blades pierced their scales. Another few took off to escape the dangerous blowback.
Lady Yveen looked at the Kytherans, having deduced so much about them except the threat they posed.
Rikki didn't wait for another bombardment. She held her staff to the sky and a dark cloud formed directly above them. With just a thought, a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck the patch of land inches from Yveen. Smoke and embers rose up from the decimated grass.
"I can see when I'm beat," Yveen said, and she ordered her riders to lower their weapons. "I will do better than to underestimate a mage next time." She hopped on her velizard and flicked her hat. She took one last look at Aros and his clawblades, giving him a wink and then darting off into the open fields of Faunli.
The rest of her pack followed, some shooting dirty looks at the trio as they went on their way. The storm cloud above dissipated when the last of the riders was little more than a mirage in the distance.
Chapter Ten
Lemon Village
All three of them let out deep breaths as the momentary threat ended.
"Look who can control the sky," Doren said with some glee.
"I got the hang of it at the right time," Rikki replied. She examined the top of her staff, amazed that she had managed
the feat.
"Do you think she's clairvoyant?" Aros asked, still puzzled over how she could know so much.
"No," Rikki said, "but she is formidable." The crumpled-up map zipped from the ground into her hand. "I should hope that we do not cross paths with her again."
"Yeah, but now we know that you can take them," Doren said, ogling her.
Rikki could not return her friend's gaze, though part of her deeply wanted to. She unfurled the map, keeping her eyes on it as she tried to flatten out the newly formed bends and creases. For once, Rikki had actually managed to command the weather, and she felt awful about it. It had obviously raised her best friend's expectations about what she could do, while she had no confidence that she could pull it off again. It could've been a fluke. Of course, she could practice, but not with those dark gray eyes watching her. What if she accidently hit him?
Hatswick had been able to shoot lightning straight out of his staff. All she could do was summon it down from the sky. And he thought she could take on Lady Yveen's entire gang? There was so much she was unable to do, that she hadn't been trained in. Didn't he realize that? If she tried doing it on her own, it might put them in danger. It already had, really. Had he forgotten about the hail?
She knew she was going to have to start attempting feats outside her proven abilities, but she was going to have to teach herself. And she would rather Doren not be around to see her fail over and over again while she tried to match the abilities of other mages. Yet when was she supposed to find the time to do it? They were in a race with her former teacher to gather the Keys. Any delay could hasten his victory.
Rikki was going to have to prioritize, and there was very obviously one ability that mattered more than any other. But even that would have to wait.
Rikki stretched out the map, content with its reformed condition. "We're still by Perish Lake, which means..." She twisted her body to face toward the south. "We need to go that way." She folded the map and slipped it back into the pouch hidden within her dress.
