by David Wind
On the plateau across from them, Roth and the Nevaens emerged, fighting the exiles at the mouth of the trail. Two of the Sixes stood on high rocks, firing arrows at the exiles that were attacking Areenna and Mikaal. To her left, Sirod and Neleh, with the small women of the village, were on the western slope of the mountain, attacking the exiles with their powers while the men of the village fired arrows. Join us, came Neleh’s thought.
Areenna and Mikaal pushed themselves to her and the four were one; seconds later, Akassia and Laira joined. Instinctively, Areenna took control and drew all their powers to herself. She reached back and grasped the staff. It came out of the ground without her pulling it free. When her hand went around the staff, she channeled the incredible amount of power within her and pointing the staff at the Dark Master, released a storm of hellfire.
The force exploded from the staff in giant waves, knocking away anything before them and arrowed toward the Dark Master. In the heartbeat before it reached him, the gray mist reappeared and surrounded him. Before their powers could strike him, the Dark Master and the gray mist were gone.
Is he dead? Mikaal asked.
Areenna could not sense him at all, yet there was something. She focused on the ground where he had stood, feeling for anything. He lives, came the voice of the Speaker of the Eight. He hides now. However, we foresee he goes to his ship in the dark.
And we follow, Mikaal told the Speaker.
A strange silence fell over the plateau. Within it, Sirod and Neleh walked toward them from the left while Roth and the Nevaens came from straight ahead. From within the cavern flowed the gentle warmth of Ailish. I am now complete. Trust in the Master Jalil; he is the means to survival and freedom. Then Ailish was gone. Mikaal’s arm went around Areenna and drew her close. “It will be all right,” he whispered aloud.
Areenna shook away the certainty she would never see or hear Ailish again and looked at the village’s two women of power. How did this happen?
Neleh broke away and ran to Mikaal, who picked her up and held her close. Areenna smiled at Neleh and Mikaal. Sirod walked toward them and said silently, we went for Neleh’s training. It was… it lasted only a day and she was done. Before we returned, they told us to come here at this time. No reason was given; that we would be needed was all we were told.
You were. You saved our lives.
Sirod reached Areenna and put her hand on her shoulder. As you will save ours.
Before she could respond, voices rose and the rest of the Nevaens arrived on the crown’s plateau. Roth was almost to them and behind him, Enaid ran to catch up, her thoughts to Mikaal and Areenna moving faster than her feet. We were not too late.
<><><>
A half hour later, with the wounded attended to, Areenna, Mikaal, Roth, and Enaid stood at the very edge of the plateau, looking down at the foothills. Areenna said, “We must go after the Dark Master. We have to stop him.”
Enaid, her eyes closed, said, “He hides in the foothills. He will go to his ship.”
“He has no ghazi left to handle the ship. He cannot get away,” Roth added.
“He can,” Areenna said. “The power he controls… I have never seen the likes of it before. There is no time to explain what has happened. Mikaal and I must go after him.” She held up a hand to stop Enaid and Roth from speaking. “No one else can do this. Enaid, join with me.”
When Enaid did so, there was an instantaneous sharing and a half minute later, Enaid staggered back and grabbed Roth’s arm for support. “Ailish,” she whispered. “I… and a Master…”
Areenna signaled to Neleh. When the young girl came to her, Areenna knelt before her. What powers were you gifted on the Island?
Neleh opened her mind and Areenna saw all. Good. I will need your help.
Mikaal, she called. Come with us. We must clear the way.
“Enaid, we will need you as well,” she told the High Queen.
They crossed the trail and with Areenna holding the staff of Afzal, Mikaal on one side and Neleh and Enaid on the other, they began. Using her mother’s gift, and aided by Mikaal’s strength, Areenna lifted the first boulder, after which Neleh and Enaid took control and moved it to the high ridge. When she started working on the second huge rock, something touched her mind. She stopped and turned. Coming toward them was Akassia and Laira, supporting between them, the Master Jalil.
Again, silence descended across the plateau. Every head turned to watch. When the Master reached Areenna, and his gentle touch caressed her mind, she handed him the staff. He stepped forward, the staff raised even as Akassia and Laira continued to support him.
He stood there for several long moments; the staff raised high, his mouth forming silent words until sparks erupted from the staff. The white mist grew, not from the flaring staff, but the very ground itself. The white billowing haze lifted and enveloped him, wrapping around him before spreading to the two women supporting him. There was a sudden flash followed by a low whooshing, like air released from an old wine skein. On the trail below, the rocks turned to dust.
The white fog withdrew quickly from the three and the Master turned, first to Areenna and then to Mikaal. “You must try to stop him before he can get to the ship and to… them.”
Mikaal’s brow furrowed. “Them?”
Master Jalil’s eyes locked on Mikaal. “The other Masters are on the sea. They all come. Without him, they weaken.” He collapsed, half dragging the women to the ground.
“Get him to the cavern. Tend to him,” Areenna told Laira and Akassia.
Areenna gazed skyward. Find, she asked Gaalrie, sending a mind picture of the Dark Master. She watched the giant treygone wheel and dive, flying parallel to the mountainside in search of the Dark Master.
“Call Charka and Hero,” she said to Mikaal, who she realized, was already doing so.
Neleh stepped close to Mikaal. “I go with you.”
He dropped to one knee. “You will stay here. You are not ready for this.”
I am!
You chose me as guardian. You will listen. I need you to stay here. Neleh, you are strong. You will know if and when to use your powers.
Her pale yellow eyes welled with tears. I am afraid for you.
Mikaal smiled at her. Fear for me not, little one, I have Areenna to protect me.
You will protect him? Neleh asked.
Areenna opened her mind to the small sorceress. He is my life.
Neleh smiled hesitantly. “I know. Neither do I want to lose you.
Tell her to come to me, came the call of the Master Jalil. Areenna stiffened. “Go to the cavern, your purpose here is not yet done. Go, Child, you are needed.”
When she was gone, Mikaal nodded to Areenna and mounted Charka while Areenna did the same with Hero. The staff lay on the ground, where Master Jalil had dropped it. She stretched out one arm and the staff flew from the ground to her open hand. Once she got hold of it, she nodded to Mikaal and they started after the Dark Master.
Even before they moved, Areenna was already seeing through Gaalrie’s eyes, watching the Dark Master, who had reached the foothills of the mountain. Gaalrie flew higher to give Areenna a further view. She saw one long ship on the ground. On the water, hundreds of yards from shore rode another ship, which she knew awaited him. Like broken branches after a storm, the small landing boats of the ghazis littered the shore.
In the far distance, a thick darkish gray fog blanketing the horizon was rolling toward shore. We have little time, she warned Mikaal, sharing the sight of the ships and the fog.
Once past the narrowest section of the trail, they pressed the kraals to a faster pace. Using the staff, Areenna cleared the trail of ice and snow to allow the sure-footed kraals a faster and safer passage.
“Can we make it in time?” Mikaal asked.
“We have to,” Areenna said. By the time they reached the foothills, Gaalrie had shown them the Dark Master was almost at the shore.
“We must slow him,” Mikaal shouted. We have to stop h
im from reaching that ship.
How?
<><><>
In the cavern, lying on a sleeping silk, Master Jalil held Neleh’s hand. Sirod knelt behind her daughter. Surrounding Jalil were Enaid, Roth, Ilsraeth, Laira, and Akassia. “So many of Ailish’s line,” he whispered. “So strong are you.” He turned his gaze to Roth. “You have done all we have foreseen and more. But there is still much to accomplish, Solomon Roth. Know you of whom you were named after?”
Roth, fairly certain of what the Master meant, played innocent and said, “My grandfather was named Solomon,” he said.
Jalil’s weak smile broke his beard. Teeth, shades whiter than the beard, peeked from beneath strained lips. “I speak of the old book, of the old Kings.”
“I know you do,” Roth whispered.
“Such is good. In the coming months, you will have to show the wisdom your namesake was said to have had, for what comes will be the hardest on Nevaeh and on you.” He turned his head to Neleh and Sirod behind her. “You have done your duty well. It is time for you and for all your people to become part of the people of this land.” He stiffened, his eyes rolling up and all that was visible were the whites. His grip on Neleh’s hand tightened.
Neleh’s eyes widened, her yellow irises deepening. “He… he sees them, I see them,” the girl whispered. “The dark one has reached the shore. Areenna and Mikaal are too far back to stop him.”
“Use your gifts,” Jalil Ben Afzal whispered to Neleh.
<><><>
They rode as two, but their minds were one. Even as Areenna asked how, a plan emerged. They both knew there was only one way. At the end of the foothills, they drew the kraals to a stop and called Gaalrie back.
Mikaal dismounted but stayed next to Charka. Areenna did the same and stood next to Mikaal. Gaalrie rolled and, like an arrow shot from the sky, sped toward Areenna. The giant treygone dropped to the saddle bar of Areenna’s kraal before hopping to Areenna’s shoulders.
Facing each other, Areenna took the staff and dug it into the hard ground. Mikaal grasped the staff, fitting his hand so it was below hers, yet touching Areenna’s skin. The staff vibrated within the joined grip and their powers roared forth. Their eyes locked on each other, their minds opening fully, and they joined as never before.
Areenna felt the blood pumping through his body, stood with the solid muscles of his legs and breathed through his lungs while Mikaal did the same. There was no time for modesty or for hiding thoughts, as each mind melded with the other.
Then another mind joined them: a woman-child. Neleh.
He escapes! Neleh opened her vision to them.
The Dark Master stood in one of the small boats. His hands spread wide, the gray mist that had carried him now moved the small boat into the water. The distant fog had edged closer and was engulfing the ship furthest away.
Areenna’s first thought was fire.
Fire erupted around them, flames shooting to twice their height. Together, they took control of it. They raised it from the rocky ground, formed it into a ball and sent it hurtling toward the Master.
The fireball struck the Dark Master and the boat and disappeared as quickly as it struck.
The gray mist wrapped around the Dark Master while propelling the boat toward the first of the large ships. The fog rising from the ocean hid the far ship and flowed quickly toward the second ship. The Dark Master glared back and raised one hand. A shockwave struck savagely, knocking Mikaal and Areenna off their feet.
Lying on the ground, her back screaming from the jarring fall and gagging on the vileness within the dark powers, Areenna raised her shield in time to stop the second wave of the evil Master’s attack. Mikaal gained his feet, picked up the staff, grabbed Areenna’s hand, and pulled her up.
When they again stood together, their hands on the staff, Areenna’s strong shield pulsed as the Dark Master sent wave after wave of deadly energy at them. Areenna sensed a deadly change; he no longer wanted to capture them. Now, he wanted them dead.
The water. It's the only way!
Yes, Areenna responded. Their powers were so connected that the thought itself created the formula needed.
The Staff of Afzal glowed white when the combined abilities of the two flowed through it. Areenna took charge of their abilities and directed her power to where it needed to go. On the water, between the Dark Master’s small boat and the large ship, a huge wave formed. The blue waters turned foamy under her control and soon a huge wave rose high.
Together, Areenna and Mikaal controlled the wave, urging it even higher. The seawater spiraled skyward; the tip of white cascading foam grew broad. Curving forward but not cresting, the wave turned into a wall of water, a hundred feet above the sea’s surface.
Through Neleh’s vision, they watched the Dark Master turn in the boat and raise both hands at the water. Directly in front of the boat, the water split into two, leaving an opening for the boat to escape.
No! Mikaal screamed silently.
Areenna gripped the staff tighter and drew up a spout of water in the exact spot where the wall had split. This time she turned it into a spinning waterspout and sent it crashing onto the small boat.
We cannot lose him, came Areenna’s frantic thought.
A wave of energy washed through them, built within them, and blossomed, lifting the very essences of their minds from their bodies and projecting them high above the water to a floating place made of shimmering golden light. Yet they stood on something solid even though they were floating above the vast sea.
From here you fight, came the mind-voice of the Speaker of the Eight.
They looked down from the golden place on which they floated and saw the small boat bobbing in the water. The Dark Master was gone.
There! Areenna cried and pointed to a speck on the water. Between the boat and the fog-shrouded ship was the Dark Master, his body moving just above the water.
Areenna released a stream of energy, not from her hands, but from where she floated bodiless above the Master. The bolt struck. He spun and fell into the water, only to rise and send another wave of blackness at her mind, not her body.
Mikaal projected a shield. The energy struck hard, flashed violet and faded. The Dark Master disappeared.
A heartbeat later, the Master’s face floated before them. The small oval mouth opened showing yellow-brown teeth. Red-ringed eyes glared at them. Rage spewed from the now dark ocher orbs, and the Master gave vent to a scream. Mikaal started to project himself in front of Areenna, to protect her. He stopped, instinct holding him back. At that exact moment, on the ethereal projection they both rode, Areenna enveloped his consciousness within her entire being just as the Dark Master’s rage struck.
Areenna fought back, defending them both with her every ability. You will never defeat me! You are mine! He sent a massive wave of power at her. Blinded by the awful energy of his fury, and ripped from the golden air she floated within, Areenna was spinning with Mikaal still wrapped in her protective aura. She fell into a whirlpool of darkness, grasping at anything to hold herself back. There was nothing and she spiraled down, tumbling helplessly into a darkness so devoid of life, all she could do was to scream soundlessly.
<><><>
“No!” Neleh cried in the cavern. Her back arched. Her hands rose and yellow-white lightning-like bolts discharged from her hands to strike every woman in the cavern. Caught by her power, she pulled the women’s energy into her and sent it to where Mikaal and Areenna fought the Dark Master.
<><><>
Mikaal swelled within the protective circle Areenna held him in, expanded with a power so strong, he drew himself from her protection and in the next instant was back in his body, standing next to Charka. Areenna lay at his feet, the staff on the ground next to her hand. He grabbed the staff, held it up, channeling the lava-heated blood flowing through his veins into the staff, and projected it at the Master.
He dropped the staff when it struck, knelt, and pulled Areenna into his arms. He push
ed them into a joining and wrapped his shield around them as he pressed her head to his chest.
<><><>
Slipping away, Areenna was lost in the dark void. Her mind pulled from her consciousness, emptying her of… herself, until something grabbed her, stopped the draining of her mind, held her, caressed her and brought her back.
Areenna opened her eyes and found Mikaal’s face above her. His features were drawn, his skin the color of carna milk and his eyes frantic.
“You… you stopped him from taking me. How—”
“—no, not just me,” Mikaal whispered. “I was caught, but not like you. Neleh… it was Neleh who freed me so I could free you.”
Areenna took several deep breaths to steady herself and joined with Mikaal to see what had happened. “The Dark Master?”
Mikaal shook his head. “Gone. We… we could not stop him.”
Areenna sat. “Neither could he stop us. You remembered the lesson of the Island.”
He nodded. “I can only protect you, if you are protecting me. But we have failed,” he said, his voice bitter. “He joins the other Dark Masters. All of Nevaeh will soon be at war.”
“Failed, no, no, for we still live… and we have learned a weakness,” she whispered.
“Weakness? I saw none.”
Strangely, she smiled at him. “Because you cannot see yourself. You are his weakness, you and I. In the last moment before you stopped him, as he was draining my mind, there was a connection. It lasted but a heartbeat, yet I saw clearly his weakness. They know you make me who I am. You give me strength and increase my abilities. For the first time he and the others are afraid. That is the weakness of the Circle of Afzal—fear of you and me together.”
<><><>
It took them two hours to return to the plateau of the lower peak. When they were a short distance away, Mikaal drew Charka to a stop and motioned for Areenna to do the same.
