“I wish it would sustain you a little better,” Yusa teased, “or that a bevy of these nymphs would bear you up…”
Both Alanna and Yusa shouted in surprise as they found themselves twirled away from Kevon, who rose up on a dozen hands, settled eyes closed, staring up at the glowing sky.
The Elven male who had spun Alanna away, as though they were dancing, grinned and offered her his hand.
No tattoos, indeed. She sheathed her dagger, and turned her attention to the group bearing Kevon, and hastened to catch up with them, escort in tow.
They reached the building ahead in what seemed like minutes. The closer they came, the more translucent the blocks of the structure became, never quite achieving transparency. Shadows composed of color, rather than darkness, flickered frenzied motion from inside as they approached. The inside appeared brighter than the outside, as viewed through the golden-hued archway they drew nearer to.
The crowd of elves bearing Kevon, now more than a dozen in number, began turning and lowering him as they passed through the portal into the brilliance of the cathedral. They tipped him up onto his feet, facing forward toward the pool of light in the center of the large room. The Elven maidens moved away as they concluded their support of Kevon, their final caresses lingering long enough to crease Alanna’s brow.
The assassin nodded to the Elven men at her elbows as they released her arms, and she moved up to Kevon’s side. Yusa chattered with the crowd of maidens that had conveyed him along, unconcerned that they were not answering him, as they slipped away to join the others ringing the inside of the building.
“Ah.” Yusa cleared his throat. “We’re here.” He settled into his place alongside Kevon. “What is here, exactly?”
“Power…” Kevon breathed, sensing the energy in the pool of light that lay just feet from where they stood. Light from the circular hole in the ceiling funneled into the pool, which fairly pulsed with a life of its own. “There’s more… there’s something here…”
As if in response, the light in the pool contracted, gathered to the center, and drew itself upward. It stretched and writhed, growing in brilliance until Kevon looked away in anticipation of pain. He saw Alanna do the same, and heard Yusa swear on his other side.
Be welcome, children.
Kevon felt the words in his mind, and saw runes, pictures, as the being before them spoke. Yusa swore again, then apologized.
Step forward, let me see you.
Kevon took a breath, stepped forward, and turned to look up into the face of divinity. The light had coalesced into the form of utter perfection that stood before him, a woman of Elven build towered twelve feet tall, smiling down on them. Stylish, translucent garments shifted design as she moved, ranging from matronly to suggestive.
You’re not…
The figure of light stooped to get a better look at the three, and Kevon nearly fainted from the shift in magic.
Men! But Men were destroyed, along with the rest of…
The goddess stood, smoothing her shifting garments.
The Plane of Enchantment endures?
“Our realm survives, a darker, harsher one than this, to be sure,” Yusa affirmed.
And you know me…
“A thousand pardons, ma’am,” Yusa sputtered. “I don’t…”
This one does. My name is imprinted on his heart.
“M’lani…” Kevon coughed. “Are you M’lani?”
M’lani leaned down, extending a perfect hand to brush against Kevon’s cheek. Inches away, she recoiled, and the light flickered.
WHAT IS THAT?
The ground rumbled at her question, the elves surrounding them wailing in confusion. Kevon followed her gaze to the weapon that hung at his side.
“It’s a sword,” Kevon answered. M’lani convulsed as he touched the hilt, and his magic drained away. “It is an instrument of death, and I apologize for bringing it.”
I fail to see how even my brother could use so vile an object.
“It can be used to prevent evil, as well as cause it,” Kevon explained, flush with embarrassment.
Bring you… news of my children?
“Your…” Alanna began. “The elves! They sent us.”
They prepare for my return. Their faithfulness shall not go unrewarded.
“Y-Yes… your majesty,” Yusa stammered. “But they also sent us to see if Kevon could be healed.”
They have lost… It has been so long. Come closer, child.
Kevon took a few steps further into M’lani’s light, and she knelt, taking his head in her hands.
The evil at your side destroys you from within, yet you believe it to be your greatest strength.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my friends, my family… my realm, from the darkness that threatens it.”
Darkness.
Memories of the portal beneath the ruins of Gurlin’s tower flooded to the forefront of Kevon’s mind, the breaking of the Enchantment, and the malevolence of the being that attempted to use Kevon to pull itself across into the world. The memories slowed and played over and over, until Kevon screamed.
Peace, child. I’m sorry.
Light flooded Kevon’s mind, banishing the darkness of the memory, scouring away the despair that had come with it.
M’lani scooped Kevon up, and cradled him to her bosom, humming a soothing lullaby. Runes he could not grasp flickered at the edge of his mind, and his pain and fatigue began to fade. Her song finished, she kissed him atop his head, and placed him back between his friends.
Such pain.
The goddess stroked Alanna’s hair, pausing after a minute, then running her finger from the bridge of Alanna’s nose, to the tip.
Some things I can heal, others merely take time.
She turned her attention to Yusa, and tilted her head, grinning.
The most beautiful of things can sometimes spring from the most horrific events. You are far too lovely to fix.
“I’ve often said so,” Yusa said, taking M’lani’s hand, and kissing it.
M’lani’s laughter thundered through Kevon’s brain. He could almost see the runes, as if mirth and joy were spells that could be cast. After a moment, she grew quiet.
Now that the plea of my children has been answered, we must set about truly saving them.
Chapter 24
“If he’s not here, everyone else in the realm surely is.” Carlo nodded to the ship’s captain, who shouted the order to drop anchor.
Soldiers crowded below, gathering last minute supplies before boarding the longboats. The men and dwarves that were staying behind on the ship helped the others into the large rowboats, and aided the crew in lowering the craft to the water below.
“Thoughts?” Carlo asked as the sailors crewing the boat began to row toward shore.
“Much as I hate the sea, I’d rather return home on it than set foot on this island,” the senior Mage admitted. “Something feels wrong about it. No…” he corrected himself. “Something feels too right.”
“There’s something I’ve never…” Carlo grunted. “Well, there was this one lass… I…” The commander shook his head. “So, let’s just be ready for anything.”
“Someone ashore!” one of the soldiers called from the front of the boat.
“Bertus,” Alma announced, shading her eyes to get a better look.
“Odd that he should be the only one of the bunch here…” Carlo remarked. “Then again, who’s to say what is odd for this company?”
Martin forced a smile, and craned his neck to look over his shoulder toward the shore once more.
The sun neared its apex as the boats reached shore.
“Took you long enough!” Bertus shouted over the rumbling surf.
“Demons,” Carlo answered with a shrug.
“Mirsa felt the disturbance in the sea earlier, sent me down to meet you.” Bertus squinted at the blazing orb in the sky. “She’s on top of the mountain, hoping Kevon will come back today. It…” the young
hero looked into his mentor’s eyes. “It has been weeks now.”
The commander handed Bertus a rucksack of supplies. “We’ll get settled in, then, and decide what to do at our leisure.”
* * *
Letting the waterfall that fed the small basin hammer down upon his shoulders a few moments more, Carlo frowned at the absurdity of the whole situation. Kevon, vanished from the top of the mountain above, along with his troubled lady-friend, and the captain of one of the ships anchored below. For the first time in ages, Carlo could turn his head and not lay eyes on a dwarf. It would not last. Outside the glade he bathed in, the homeland of the elves stretched over half the island. He was no stranger to the Elven people, having dealt with their kind often in Eastport, and more recently in Navlia. Having their lilting, breathy speech as the background noise of a city… was another thing entirely.
Carlo climbed ashore, standing in the sun to dry, and pitched rocks at the unicorn that poked their heads through the treeline. He changed into his military dress uniform, the only clean outfit he still had, gathered the rest of his things, and went to find the others.
* * *
“Mirsa has returned to her quarters,” Bertus told Carlo as he entered the central square. “She’s staying further up in the city, because of Kevon, and her…” The young Warrior’s face reddened. “We’ll have to hike up to see her, and the Elder.”
“The four of you, stay here.” His two soldiers snapped salutes Carlo’s way, and the Dwarven translator jabbered at the lone Stoneguard that had accompanied the group into the city. “Understood?”
“Stood!” The armored dwarf mimed a salute, his arm joint creaking and preventing the full motion.
Carlo patted the ferocious dwarf on the helmet. “Lead on, then.”
“Standard escort, the last few weeks,” Bertus murmured, noting Carlo’s attention to the huntress that led them up through the winding pathways of the city. “Since Kevon’s departure.”
“I’ve no particular issue with it,” Carlo answered, studying the hypnotic movements of the bark-tattoos across the twisted branch walkways, through the splotchy shade of the jungle canopy.
“We’re here,” Bertus announced half an hour and a mile or so later, as their escorting huntress slid to the side of a doorway and stood at a relaxed attention. He opened the door and walked in.
Carlo followed, but the huntress’s unstrung bowstaff caught him under the chin and to the right side of his face, steering his gaze into her eyes. He stared for a long moment into her grey irises, and the weapon was again at her side. She turned her head forward, surveying the trees ahead.
“Huh,” he chuckled, and followed Bertus into the building.
“He still has not returned?” Bertus asked Mirsa.
“No,” the Mage answered. “Several elves have volunteered to make the trip across to investigate, but Aelion and I both agree that it is not safe. We will continue opening the portal daily, and hoping.”
“Why did they cross over in the first place?”
“Kevon’s… illness was beyond what Aelion could heal, with either potions or magic,” Mirsa answered.
“Elves can heal with magic?” Carlo asked, turning from Bertus to Mirsa, and back. “Since when?”
“Aelion is Elder here, and his skill, combined with this place, make it possible, to a degree.” Mirsa explained. “It wasn’t enough, and they sent him somewhere that he could be healed, completely.”
Carlo gritted his teeth, fists clenched. “I don’t know why you people think magic is always the answer. Rest! Decent meals! He would have been fine!”
“The way he was using magic, the volume of power he was controlling,” Mirsa shook her head. “It was eating away at him from inside. Burning him up. Nothing was working.”
“So you sent him into the unknown,” Carlo scoffed. “With others. Brilliant.”
“Come with us to the Seat tomorrow. You’ll see what we’ve been trying.”
“Enough talking,” Bertus helped Mirsa over to a cushioned bench. “You need your rest.”
“Easy there, boy,” Carlo laughed. “You’re treating her like she’s…”
Bertus met Carlo’s gaze without comment.
“By the gods! Is she?”
“I won’t be leaving the island for at least two more seasons,” Mirsa replied, smiling.
“How can you endure the strain of what you’ve been doing?” Carlo glared at Mirsa. “Let me bring along the Magi that accompanied me here. Maybe between the lot of you…”
“Yes, perhaps that will help,” Mirsa sighed. “Bring them up the mountain before noon.”
“His sister, and brother-in-law, as well,” Carlo added. “I’ll have to return to the beach camp to fetch the Magi, of course.” He opened the door, winked at the huntress, and began following her down the mountain.
Chapter 25
Blinking his eyes from habit, Kevon shrank back from the bubble of retreating light that had engulfed the three of them, and was reforming into M’lani. “Save them?” he asked, catching the armrest of the throne for balance. “What do you mean by that? What do you know? You didn’t even think we existed until a few moments ago.”
M’lani’s form resolved, sharpened into the breathtaking beauty she’d been at the temple, but smaller, now only a foot taller than Kevon. As she returned to her true shape, Kevon could have sworn he saw the faces of his sister, his mother, and at least one elf he recognized, before the goddess resumed her otherworldly façade.
Your memories showed my brother attempting to enter your world. Should he manage, he could terrorize you as he has the rest of us, but to greater effect.
“That was…”
It is. He has harried my other brothers and sisters from our home on the Plane of Magic, forced a retreat into our personal realms. His power grows, as ours weakens.
“So if we bring you back with us…” Alanna began, “You could help us against him?”
I would do my best. Let us begin.
M’lani stretched, growing tall enough to sit on the throne where they’d first entered her realm. The illuminated sky dimmed fractionally, and the goddess swelled to her original height, skin glowing with amassed Light energy. When she fit the throne perfectly, her radiance blossomed further, the surrounding countryside fading in comparison. She stood up to her full height, and gestured to the spot the portal had been.
Curious.
The amassed power dancing about her calmed, sank beneath her skin, where it still glowed.
“What’s wrong?”
I still cannot open a gateway to your world. Something interferes. You try.
Kevon formed the runes it had taken to open the portal to this place. He forced his will into them…
No, child. Enchantment. Your Plane is Enchantment.
M’lani’s thought-runes showed the difference between spell-forms, and Kevon adjusted his efforts to match.
“Nothing…” Kevon could feel M’lani’s magic pressing up against a barrier, and going no further.
This is why we feared your realm was lost. Why we had not returned.
Alanna’s eyes, wide with fear, locked onto Kevon’s. “How are we going to get back home?”
Kevon tried again, visualizing the hilltop on the Glimmering Isle, sharpening his runes to crystal clarity. His senses wrenched, and M’lani stumbled before him.
The portal flickered open.
Children!
M’lani’s stored magic burst to the surface, and the portal widened.
I’m coming, children!
The goddess stepped forward, extending a hand into the grayness before her. With an arm halfway through, her face contorted into an expression of disbelief. She pushed a few inches further through, and the portal began shrinking.
No!
The anguishing thought was more than Kevon could bear. His world spun, and he collapsed.
* * *
Kevon snapped to awareness, gazing into an angelic face through closed eye
s.
Surprisingly fragile.
“What happened?”
The portal only allowed a fraction of my being through. There is a curious resistance, something that prevents my passage.
“Like when the dark one could not force his way through,” Kevon opened his eyes and sat up. “He made it further through.”
Your memories make more sense, now. My brother is much more powerful than I.
“That portal had been there for some time, and the destruction of the Enchantment did things I’ve never seen before.”
How long had the portal been open?
“Years. Many years. Enough for the Orclord to grow large enough to…” Kevon paused. “Many dark creatures spilled from it before it was destroyed.”
He’s gained more influence over your Plane.
“These are dark times, milady,” Yusa remarked.
The force that bars me from your realm, I can sense it more clearly. Part of it is here.
Kevon followed M’lani’s gaze to the sword at his side.
I must see this evil firsthand, try and understand it.
Most of Kevon’s mind was paralyzed with fear, huddled within itself, mumbling. His body moved as if of its own accord, drawing the sword, and holding it out to the goddess for inspection.
A memory from the furthest reaches of his mind collided with the scene unfolding before him. A woman’s perfect hand curling about the blade, closing on its sharp edges. The anguished cry that echoed throughout his being at the contact might have been hers, or his own, but Kevon recoiled, and the blade slid, slicing the insides of her knuckles, as well as the flesh between her thumb and forefinger. The awareness of pain blossomed, a saturating empathy, and Yusa cried out to the side.
Hold fast.
Kevon looked away, unable to shut out the spectacle before him in any other manner.
The pain stopped.
Look here, child.
Edging his view toward M’lani, Kevon could see her hand still grasping the blade in a far too familiar manner. The blood that had dripped down the blade oozed back upward, and into her wounds, which closed up. The droplets that had hit the ground bloomed into miniature roses at her feet.
Blademage Adept (The Blademage Saga Book 3) Page 12
