The Journey Home: The Ingenairii Series: Beyond the Twenty Cities
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But those actions would take time, if they were to be done right, and he knew that the challenge of fighting Hellmann was so great that he had to have the patience to do everything possible, and to do everything right, so that he would have whatever odds possible in his favor. Andi would not have to worry about her body perishing while she lacked control of it, at least, he tried to comfort himself. He thought of the time he had first utilized ingenaire powers, without any training or preparation, while healing Captain Lewis so long ago, and how his own spirit had sank under the energy. He had been unable to control his own body, just as Andi could not control hers now. But he had not faced a hostile entity occupying his body at that time, just as she had not faced the prospect of a body that might have perished from lack of nourishment.
He sat up at the thought, sensing that there was something there, some idea he needed to focus on for Andi’s sake. But even as he tried to find the logical thread, he felt a presence outside his door, and then a gentle knock. “May I come in, my lord?” Aja called.
Come in, my friend, he sent the silent message, and lay back on the mattress, the thoughts of Andi’s problem driven from his mind.
You are troubled, she said as she lay down on the bed next to him. Your heart is breaking for your beloved. What is the problem?
She has been possessed by an ancient enemy, one who is more powerful than me, and it pains me. I am on my way to try to find allies to help me defeat Hellmann so that Andi can be free, he told her. We found a problem I did not expect when we followed the ingenairii to the Dominion, and now I know the entire world faces a problem.
That doesn’t seem possible; you are the strongest man I know, and now you are stronger than you were when we were together before. I feel greater depth, and potential, and love within you. Who could be stronger than you? Aja asked.
Do not ask, my friend, you do not want to know, Alec said gently.
Let us talk of happier things. Tell me what has happened to you, he tried to change the course of the conversation. I awoke in Boundary Lake…
…and I was gone, Aja gently finished for him. I wept when we left because I did not want to leave without telling you farewell. But Amane and the hostage girls were all ready to go, and the guardians of the city had an escort ready to bring us back, so there was no waiting. Plus I knew that no one would look after you more closely than Andi, despite everything that was between the two of you at the time. When I was around her I felt your presence.
I am glad that the two of you were able to know one another again. I sense the wholeness in you in that regard as well, Aja told him.
They continued to talk for several more minutes, as Aja told Alec about the uneventful journey and the love Amane professed for her. He is unsteady, I know, Aja admitted to Alec, but with these powers your blood has given me, plus the daylight hours that your water gives me, as well as something he seems to find delightful within me, I think he will grow calmer and more mature; there is much good in him, and much potential for more. If not, I’ll threaten to call you back to discipline him!
“Go to sleep now, great one,” Aja said at last, rising from the bed and stepping away. “Get your sleep and I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll go down and sing to the crowd to entertain them,” and with that she opened the door and left the room.
Chapter 25 – Alliances in the East
Alec said farewells to everyone the next morning, including to Roslyn, who professed her delight to be back among her people, and thanked Alec with great sincerity. He then followed Aja as she led him to the home where Kriste was staying in Exbury, before continuing her journey eastward. The two former residents of Ridgeclimb held a warm reunion, then Alec took her with him as he translocated to Woven.
Before he left, he assured Aja that he would be back and told her that he hoped to bring several Ajacii with him to travel back to the Dominion with him within a few days.
“All those years in Ridgeclimb you had extraordinary powers, and nobody knew?” Kriste asked him as they prepared to depart. There was the brief translocation, then they stood in the tower bedchamber where Alec had slain Trayma, the usurper. The room was empty, but cleaned up and presentable, different from the prior time Alec had seen it, when it had been a shambles of death and destruction.
In the hallway they were immediately confronted by guards, but Alec demanded to be led to the Lady Salem, and through the ostentatious use of multiple powers he was able to force the guards to show him to a small sitting room, where Salem was eating breakfast with General Filpon and Major Bray. His appearance astonished them, but during a casual conversation he explained his mission and the hospitality he would possibly need later to house a group of Ajacii during their travels.
Afterwards, Alec and Kriste walked through the city streets of Woven to the shop where Alfred, Jasel, Hope, Stracha and Bauer lived, for another emotional reunion. As Alec watched Jasel and Kriste cry over each other, he thought about the strength of the relationship the brother and sister had, and then he thought about the relationships that had grown among the people who had made the long journey through the mountains together during the winter. They had all found the need to rely upon and unite with each other, and the power of those bonds had remained in place even after they had settled into place in Woven.
Your heart is glad, but there is a very dark cloud beneath it, Hope interrupted his warm thoughts. What troubles the Great Leader of the world?
Hellmann is free of his bonds, Alec told her and Bauer as well. His spirit has escaped the prison I created, and now possesses Andi’s body, waiting for a new body to arrive that he will be able to control completely.
What are your plans? How can we help you? Bauer asked in horror. He must be stopped.
I am going to Valer, to ask the Ajacii to lend me warriors who will help me, Alec said.
Would even a squad of Ajacii be able to defeat Hellmann? Bauer questioned.
No, Alec replied, as the others in the group continued to laugh and speak to one another, unaware of the dark thoughts being exchanged nearby. But Hellmann has a group of ingenairii and sorcerers he controls, and the Ajacii will even the battlefield by fighting those others. Somehow I must find a way to battle Hellmann and defeat him, without harming Andi within the same body. If the Ajacii will battle the others, perhaps I will find the opportunity to defeat Hellmann, his thoughts trailed off.
The Ajacii will help, my friend, Bauer comforted him softly.
If the grandasteur can help you, or if I can help you, please take us with you, friend Alec, Hope also offered comforting words.
We should not worry over this now, while the others are so happy. Let us join them in this celebration while we can. I have to leave soon, to continue my journey, Alec told the others.
They spoke with their other companions, until Alec stood up. “Jasel, Kriste, will you stay here, or will you return to Ridgeclimb?”
Jasel looked at Stracha, and the two exchanged a long glance. “I will stay here,” he said firmly. “Kriste, you can stay with us as well, if you like.”
“Alec, can I go home?” she asked.
“I can take you to your home at Ridgeclimb. We can be there in half an hour,” he replied.
“I want to go home. I want to see mother and pa. This seems like a wonderful place, and maybe I can come back soon; everyone seems friendly,” Kriste said. “But all throughout the trip when the kidnappers held me, all I thought about was coming home and hugging my parents and never letting go.”
Alec gave her a warm smile. “I think that’s the right decision,” he replied. There was a round of farewells, then Alec and Kriste departed.
With his first jump through space, he took them to a secluded spot in the mountains, just below a thick patch of evergreen fir trees. He could sense a remnant of the carnivorous pond that remained on the other side of the trees, but its powers were greatly diminished. Then with another jump, they were back in the yard of his own Ridgeclimb clinic. He was taken to Grile an
d Mirren to greet them, then he escorted Kriste, walking with her through the settlement that poured out numerous joyful greetings, and down the trail into the valley, where she had a heartwarming reunion with her parents.
“Oh bless the stars!” her mother said every two minutes, before hugging the girl tearfully again and again.
There followed a long explanation about Jasel being alive and happy in the Twenty Cities, with a pretty girl he doted on.
Alec left the family and walked back to Ridgeclimb to sit with Grile and Mirren to talk about the state of the clinic and its successful recovery from the attack by the kidnappers during the winter. With matters settled over the future of the clinic – much to the dismay and protest of the two leaders there, Alec announced it was unlikely he would ever return to operate the facility again – he bid his followers goodbye, and made his final jump through space for the day, arriving on the outskirts of Valer in the mid-afternoon.
“You provided the Select of Valer to assist my efforts in the city of Valeriane,” Alec told the council of the leaders of the Ajacii. He had asked for a meeting with them immediately telling them the situation was dire.
“That was a great gesture, and a useful one, that I thank you for. But now I come with a greater need for assistance, and only the Ajacii can help me to protect all of the races of mankind from the return of Hellmann. I am here to ask for your help and support again,” he told the astonished trio of leaders who oversaw the community of the Ajacii.
He related to them much of the story of his long journey as the afternoon passed, and finished with his request for a squad of Ajacii warriors. “The opponents we will face will include not only Hellmann, but a number of Warrior ingenairii, who are much the same as Ajacii, and probably demons, called forth by the sorcerers and sorceresses.”
“How many do you need, friend Alec?” one of the councilors asked. “All the village would volunteer to participate in such a crusade, especially against Hellmann, and especially for you.”
“The problem we will face is that the journey is a very long one. Even if I travel with my unique powers, I will be able to carry no more than two or three each day, and need a day to return,” Alec explained.
“So in two weeks time you could convey twenty of us?” another councilor asked. “Are you able to spend two weeks on this preparation? I know that we can find more than twice that number who will serve you well and be willing to embark on the crusade you offer.”
Alec looked at her gratefully. “I think that for so many great Ajacii, I would be well-served to spend two weeks in transporting your warriors to Michian. We will deliver such a battle as they have never seen!” he said with enthusiasm.
Alec spent the night in the village, eating dinner with many residents and discussing the proposed campaign repeatedly as excitement swept the community at the prospect of participating in the fight against the ingenairii who were described as “almost as good as Ajacii.”
The next morning Alec picked up the first two appointed members of his elite squad, a man and a woman. They were delighted to be delayed when Alec told them to bring more weapons with them, and they went to their respective armories to add spears, knives, and bows to the Ajacii armament they carried when Alec embraced them and the journey to Michian began.
Their fourth stop was in Exbury, just a couple of disconcerting hours later for the two Ajacii, where Alec took time to rest, and to wrench Roslyn away from her homecoming.
“I realized I need someone who can set up and run housing for these Ajacii in Michian for a couple of weeks while I carry all our forces into the city,” he told her. “And I need someone who can speak the language of Avonellene and the Twenty Cities, for the Ajacii will not be able to communicate with anyone in Michian,” he pointed out. “There’s no one better suited and aware of the need for this,” Alec pleaded with Roslyn.
“I’ve only been back for two days, and now you ask me to leave again?” she asked with an arched eyebrow that Alec happily recognized was a positive indication of her inclination to assist. She was about to disclaim on the unfairness of the proposal, and then accept; he had learned and appreciated her humor and personality during their long trip through the mountains together.
Alec introduced Roslyn to Tred and Malia, the two Ajacii he was transporting that day; the two were expected to be the captains of the Ajacii contingent that would fight with Alec. They were a pair of steady, reliable, and battle worthy warriors.
The strain of transporting three other people over a long distance, for repeated jumps, tested Alec as they left Exbury and went to Moriadoc, then Boundary Lake, then Chanradala, where they rested in the alley for several moments, even after being spotted by lacertii in the street. The next jump was directly from Chanradala to Michian, to the alley where he had met Boris, the vagrant who had introduced him to Roslyn. It was a long jump, one that nearly left Alec unconscious with fatigue from moving so many passengers, but happily it was the final jump, better than the alternative of making the five or more jumps he would have ordinarily made going around through familiar sites in the Dominion.
Roslyn led the group, with Tred supporting Alec, to a nearby inn where they rented two rooms for that night. Alec laid in bed and rested, as Roslyn took her companions to the public room, translated for them, and introduced them to the spicy cuisine of Michian, laughing at them and with them as they sampled several dishes, washed down with copious amounts of ale.
The next day Alec traveled alone on his way back to Valer, while Roslyn and the two Ajacii went in search of an apartment they could rent to house all the Ajacii who were due to arrive. In his stop in Chanradala, Alec paused. He made himself invisible, then erected a stone wall that was large enough to hide that city’s landing spot from the view of the street. Satisfied, he resumed his journey to the east, and spent the night in Valer with the Ajacii.
For the next twelve days, Alec travelled back and forth carrying two, or sometimes three, Ajacii with him. At the end of the fortnight, Roslyn was house-mother to seventeen Ajacii plus Alec. Following the final journey, Alec rested for two days, recovering from the heavy strain of constant use of his powers, and during that time he and the Ajacii discussed and planned for the assault they were about to launch on Hellmann’s’ fortress. On the third day following the completion of their assembly in Michian, Alec led the attack.
Chapter 26 – Ajacii versus Ingenairii
When morning dawned, Alec led a parade of Ajacii to the front of the fortress at Poklonna Heights. They traveled in spaced-out pairs, so as not to draw attention to themselves, and Alec, Tred and Malia carried the bulk of the weapons within Alec’s invisible bubble, so that the rest of the group appeared ordinary in their armament as they walked through the city and casually congregated outside the castle gates.
Their mission was simple: they were to engage and fight everyone they found inside the fortress. Alec gave them special directions to be on the lookout for the sorcerers and sorceresses who wore black robes, and to make those their prime targets. In the event a demon was unleashed, Alec advised the Ajacii to run and battle elsewhere; they had nothing to defend within the fortress, beyond each other, and therefore no reason to battle the monsters they might face.
He would be focused on hunting for Hellmann. He warned them all of the attractive blond Warrior who had so many powers; Andi’s body possessed by Hellmann was something none of them could defeat he warned, even fighting in teams. He would tackle that battle, alone, for he could imagine no way anyone else could help. Even though John Mark had told him he could not win alone, he still had not visualized any means by which the Ajacii would be able to help him defeat Hellmann.
It was going to be an unusual battle, one in which Hellmann would have the advantage over him in many respects. Of paramount importance was that Alec sought to do no great damage to Andi’s body; that was in part why he rejected involving the Ajacii in his struggle with Hellmann, because they could only seek to harm the physical entity.
“Come get your weapons,” Alec called out, speaking loudly in the Avonellene language that was unknown to the guards who stood at the gate and atop the walls of the fortress. When all the Ajacii were armed, Alec transported himself, Tred, and Malia to the inside of the gate. The Ajacii immediately slew the unprepared guards at the fortress gate and opened the way for the rest of their companions to come dashing inside, while Alec translocated himself back up into the tower that overlooked the gate and the courtyard, the place he had visited so many times before. He began firing arrows at every target that moved, hoping to find where the sorcerers might be clustered together by watching the flow of defenders within the fortress.
He did not intend to move immediately down into the below-ground chamber where he had found Andi’s body the first time. He did not want to risk the chance that the Spiritual ingenairii might be gathered there again in another ambush that would deprive him of his powers. Nor did he expect that Hellmann would keep Andi’s body there any longer. Hellmann was likely to be moving about commanding and directing his forces.
From up in the tower Alec had some faint hope that while watching others he might spot Hellmann approach the battle. So forewarned of Hellmann’s approach, Alec believed he could find a way to ambush the monster and then worry over prying the evil spirit out of Andi’s body. He preferred fighting Hellmann out in the open as opposed to a dark or enclosed arena.