by Lexy Wolfe
Terrence approached Ash, expression troubled. "Master Ash, I have never seen... what happened to the Desanti woman? I do not understand."
Ash placed a hand on Terrence’s shoulder in silent reassurance. "I do not know, Terrence. It is something I intend to understand before we leave these forsaken lands." Behind him, Amelana glared darkly.
Chapter 33
THERE was a noticeable shift in how Storm's suitors viewed the Swordanzen woman. The differences between the Desanti men's behavior towards Storm became more prominent. It was most obvious when the group stopped to set up camp at the border between the sand wastes and the ravines that lay in the distance. Radisen offered an almost reverent, if grudging, respect. Though he and Storm traded no words, there seemed to be a mutual understanding and acceptance that had not been present before.
In contrast, indignant rage all but oozed from every orifice of Sumalen. He stalked towards Storm, stopping when Radisen stepped in his path, his bone spear held at the ready. "Enough of this foolishness," Sumalen growled, shoving at Radisen. "Out of my way! Swordanzen is a man's art. It is time someone took her in hand and reminds her of her place."
Barely recovered from the encounter with the sendarli, Storm turned with a soul weariness that was painful to witness. "Come, Sumalen. Let's finish this." She gave Radisen an imperceptible nod at the questioning look he gave her over his shoulder.
Sumalen surged forward, shoving Radisen to the side. Storm did not move, waiting for him with her hands at her sides, eyes unfocused. His hand grabbed at empty space. Before he could do more than blink blankly, Storm drove her knee into his stomach, driving the wind from his lungs, then struck the base of his neck with her elbow. The staggered Sumalen stubbornly kept coming at her. He was rewarded with his arm being twisted behind his back. The dull, wet sound of his shoulder separating from its socket was clearly audible before he howled in agony.
The Desanti woman's voice was chill with formality. "I am Githalin Swordanzen. By Swordanzen tradition, I am outside the rules of tribal mating traditions because Swordanzen belong to all tribes and to no tribes." She jerked his arm up harder behind him. "Ignoring the marks of the Totani I bear, you denied I was Swordanzen out of pride. You wished tribal rituals followed. I have granted you your wish."
Her voice held no pity as she shoved him away, his face hitting the dirt. "I have answered your challenge for mating rights. Your defeat has been witnessed." She shoved him away from herself with a foot to his lower back. "Remove yourself from my presence, or die by my hand."
"This is not over, woman." Wheezing, half bent over, Sumalen glowered at Storm even as he left, the rest of the travelers coming closer to the Swordanzen. The drizar herded his drizzen alone over to the man. Sumalen shied away from the fang-bared drizar.
Storm was unmoved by Sumalen's threat, waiting until the man had ridden out of sight over the dunes where they had come from. Radisen jumped forward to catch Storm by the elbow, keeping her on her feet. "You must rest," he muttered in broken Swordanzen.
"Sumalen was not the only enemy I have in this camp," Storm murmured in return. "I cannot rest while there still may be challenges made to me."
Radisen shook his head. "I may not have been formally Named, but I never turned my back on Swordanzen honor. You have my promise. I will allow no harm to come to you. Especially not from the Forenten." She looked at him sideways in silence, and then eventually nodded. As Storm finally lay on her sleeping mat, Radisen sketched a salute to Almek as he took the watch position near the Desanti woman, guarding the camp only by virtue of the fact he was guarding Storm.
"Well, that was... interesting," Mureln said, breaking the utter silence that had settled on the group. Offering an innocent expression to the shocked ones turned to him, he held up his hands. "What?" Uneasy laughter shed the last of the paralysis and the remaining travelers settled in to wait for sunset.
Sitting apart in meditation as usual, Ash's nearly closed eyes rested on the Desanti pair. He had folded his heavy outer robe neatly and placed it next to him, the water skin with Storm's mark resting atop it. So fixated on studying the Desanti pair, the master mage did not notice Amelana until she touched him.
"Master Ash," Amelana crooned in Forentan. "It was so brave how you saved that Sevmanan mercenary. Healer Taylin is oddly fond of him." Pressing herself against him, she started to slide her hand inside his tunic.
Ash pushed Amelana away firmly, regarding her with narrowed eyes. "Restrain yourself."
Affronted, Amelana said petulantly, "What is the matter, Master Ash." Boldly leaning against his back, her hands slid around his waist to his lap. "You always liked it when I-" She stopped when he caught her wrist, forcing it and her away again. Deterred only for a moment, she pulled her hand out of his, slid it around his waist, embracing him from behind. "You are tense. Let me help relax you."
"Not here," Ash stated flatly, aware of Radisen's eyes on them. As Amelana's hands deftly slipped under his belt, he clenched his teeth, trying to suppress the very reactions Amelana so easily aroused. "It is impro-"
Amelana laughed softly. "Why worry about propriety out here? There is no one of importance but the Dusvet and he is sleeping." Nuzzling his neck, she murmured, "It never bothered you before when lowborns could see—"
Unable to restrain any reaction, Ash grabbed Amelana's wrists, all but throwing her to the ground, pinning her wrists above her head. He looked down at her, and any desire he felt died in a wash of disgust. For her and for himself.
Ash growled. "I said. Not. Here. You are a journeyman mage. My student." Releasing her, he stood up. "Prostitutes behave with more self-respect than you. If you continue acting like this, I promise you, Avarian or not, I will ensure you will be marked with disgrace." He gestured away sharply. "Go!"
Amelana pushed herself up, cheeks burning as she pulled her robes shut and scurried over to her sleeping mat. Ash looked over towards the Desanti to see Radisen averting his gaze from the mage. Unaccountably bothered the Desanti man had witnessed the incident, Ash growled inwardly.
Chapter 34
THE wind wailed mournfully as it blew across the arid land with biting sand caught in the currents. The air was touched with a bittersweet scent that made each human and drizzen uneasy. Storm brought her drizar to a halt at the crest of a rise, staring out in the distance wordlessly.
"Are we there yet?" Terrence wondered aloud as the others came up beside Storm, also stopping. When he caught up, his jaw dropped. "Oh, by the gods..."
"It-it's horrible." Taylin closed her eyes and turned away, unable to look on it for long. Feeling a touch on her arm, she looked up into Mureln's equally pained eyes. She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders to face what lay ahead.
Though several months had passed since the death of the Vi'disa tribe, the dark shadows of the half-burned pyres and fallen tents lingered under the dust that had blown over them like a mourning shroud. Grimly, Almek angled his drizzen to go down the slope to the site of the massacre, the others following him.
Ash did not follow the Guardian immediately, studying the Swordanzen from the corner of his eye, frowning slightly. She had not blinked since he started watching her stare at the devastation before them. "Swordanzen." When there was no response, the mage looked closer at the woman, narrowing his eyes. "Swordanzen!"
Storm finally blinked, but did not otherwise acknowledge the mage. Neither the pallor nor haunted look left her eyes as the drizar started moving. Ash pressed his lips together, unsure why the Desanti's feelings concerned him more than the devastation of the tribe. Shaking his head in a vain attempt to dismiss his emotions, he followed the drizar into the field of death.
Nothing had disturbed the dead. There was no sign of scavengers or insects, as if even they could not bear the horror. The blackened bodies had been carefully laid out, arms crossed. The range of ages of the dead made the sight all the more horrible. "Oh, gods," Taylin whispered, clapping her hands over her mouth as she saw the infants all c
lustered together. Mureln put his hand on the healer's shoulder, his own jaw muscles jumping with tension.
"There was not enough fuel to burn them all properly," Storm stated with so little emotion, the others could not look at her. She pointed to the single body shriveled from weeks in the sun, untouched by fire. "The source of the taint is there."
"You did not burn the body," Almek stated simply without criticism, simply studying the corpse before looking back to the Swordanzen woman.
Storm's voice was distant. "To burn the body is to set the soul free. Too many lost their lives. I was not going to permit it freedom." She closed her eyes. "There was nothing else I knew to do. It was unlike any dinnais I had encountered before."
Almek frowned slightly, nodding once before approaching the corpse. He raised his hand. As blue light glowed around it, the body twitched. An unearthly shriek split the air, unsettling the drizzen. The desiccated body briefly moved as if alive. Soon, though, the body collapsed into a pile of dusty bones and a ghostly shadow separated itself from the body, trapped within the Guardian's power. Its eyes—white, glowing points of light—fixed on Almek, widening in surprise.
"Guardian!" The thing hissed as it writhed. "How can a Guardian be here?!"
"How is irrelevant." Terse, Almek shifted his hands, the shadowy thing shrieking in pain. "You will hunt no more, Shifter."
The shadow writhed, begging. "No! Do not destroy Dzee! Dzee can help you!" Almek started closing his hands, the power squeezing the thing. Struggling desperately, the shifter yelled, "Dzee can tell the Guardian who sent Dzee and others here to hunt!"
The words brought everyone up short, even Almek pausing. "Who?"
"Guardian must promise not to destroy Dzee! Do not destroy! Then Dzee help!"
Storm glared, drawing her paired single-edged blades, stalking towards the thing. "Do not listen to it, Lord Almek! It must be destroyed!" The shadow hissed, trying to flee the approaching woman.
"Hold, Swordanzen!" Almek barked. Storm froze, only the shiver of light on the blades betraying her emotions. He turned towards the creature. "You know I cannot set you free, parasite. You do not belong on this plain."
"Guardian, Dzee was born here. Born when Desantiva green. The one that sent Dzee told Dzee could stay but that Dzee had to feed on those here to find the energy to sustain the tie here." The thing seemed to hang its head shamefully. "Dzee did not like hurting anyone. But it was the only way Dzee could stay. To go home."
Almek considered for several long moments, and then lowered his hands, the glow around the shadow creature fading. Joyfully, Dzee hissed happily, then arrowed for Terrence before anyone could react, the entity's shadow entering the young Forentan man through his mouth.
Terrence gasped then clutched his throat, falling to his knees with wide eyes. Storm growled, raising her swords to behead the Forentan apprentice. "No!" Ash grabbed her arm at the same time Almek yelled, "Hold!"
Terrence panted as his struggle ended and he looked up, his pale blue eyes turned to dark black. "Guardian freed Dzee. Dzee will help Guardian. The boy is strong. He has a pure heart. And he has strong energy. Plenty enough for Dzee to stay. Dzee..." Shaking his head, Dzee-Terrence's words became less broken. "I... will not hurt the boy. I promise."
Dzee-Terrence looked at Ash. "I only want to go home." In the hollow of Terrence's throat, a faceted gem had formed, glowing softly. The young mage touched the smoky jewel. "He says he created this so I may sleep finally. I have... very much wanted to rest. I have been gone... for so very long."
Dzee-Terrence looked to the Swordanzen woman. "I thank you, Warrior, for holding your strike. You allow me a chance at redemption." Looking weary, Dzee-Terrence's shoulders sagged a little. "Beware, Warrior. The darkborn is coming for you." The young Forentan looked up, his eyes returning to their normal pale blue. "I sleep now. I will not hurt him." The gem at Terrence's throat darkened as his eyes cleared and resumed their pale blue color.
No one moved, uncertain what to do. Terrence touched his temple, voice rasping. "M-Master Ash. You... you do not need t-to worry. It... Dzee... I don't know how to explain. It is so strange. I can... I can sense it there. Like feeling someone standing close behind me."
Ash moved to his apprentice, kneeling by him as he took him by the arm to help him stay upright. "It does not control you?"
Terrence shook his head. "No, Master." He touched the gem at his throat. "It asked me for help so it could stay without feeding as it had before. It told me." Swallowing several times, he closed his eyes, shaking his head.
"While it sleeps, it does not need to feed as much. It really..." Looking up at Storm, Terrence said, "It really is very sorry, Swordanzen. It did not know of any other way. It is so desperate to stay. But... It needed..." He looked away shamefully. "It needed the life energy of northern magic and a physical form to anchor itself."
Storm clenched her swords so tight, her fingers were white with blood loss. Looking at Almek with an expression of utter betrayal, she made an inarticulate guttural noise and turned away. Radisen tried to offer a comforting hand on her shoulder but she only shoved him out of her way violently.
She stopped in front of the group of nine bodies, each with a two-edged blade similar to the one that Storm carried driven into the ground at their feet. Throwing her single-edged swords down, Storm fell to her hands and knees in front of the ninth body. Putting both hands around the half-buried sword's hilt, she bowed her head a moment, and then screamed with such pain and grief, even Amelana paled and looked away.
Radisen bowed his head, a single tear coursing down his cheek. Almek studied Radisen. "You cry?" the Guardian half stated, the question of why behind his words. "She does not."
"Desanti do not waste water, not even tears. To shed tears for yourself is a sign of weakness, but for another it is a tribute to their sacrifice and their loss," Radisen said in a gruff voice. "Storm has shed her tears already for her Swordanzen brothers and sisters."
"You cry for the Vi'disa and the lost Swordanzen?" the Guardian prompted.
"No. I cry for her. For your hand in her betrayal to her Swordanzen vows, Guardian." Almek scowled, but fell silent at Radisen's words. "The pain of not being able to avenge the deaths of two tribes and nine brothers of the blade is a pain I cannot imagine."
Mureln frowned, trading looks with Taylin and the two mercenaries. "...Two tribes?"
"Of course, you would not know, not being one of the people." Radisen wiped the single tear from his cheek. "Storm was the only survivor of her birth tribe and has never found their killer. To protect the people, she killed the entire Vi'disa tribe, including infants. She could not save even one other because they had been corrupted by the touch of the dinnais." The Desanti man shook his head. "You cannot understand her pain."
Almek considered Storm quietly a moment then looked to Emil and Emaris. "Find a good place upwind to set up camp. I need to consider where we will be going from here." Eyes looked towards the Swordanzen, then quickly away.
Ash hung back as the others followed the two Sevmanan mercenaries, watching Storm. With quiet purpose, he walked over to her and waited. Certain her throat was all but bleeding from the intensity of her agonized screaming, he said simply, "This nonsense is not serving any purpose, Swordanzen."
Storm swung around with a snarl to glare at Ash darkly. "Go away, treewalker."
"No." The mage spoke without inflection. "This distraction is not serving Master Almek. Stop it."
Storm's eyes dilated in surprise, and then turned nearly black in fury as she lurched to her feet, her knife blade against his throat. "I should kill you, defiler," she hissed, her words pitched for his ears alone.
"But you won't." Ash remained impassive in the face of her maddened rage. "You won't because you gave Blood Oath to the Dusvet Guardian. You knew," he continued, ignoring the bite of cold metal against his throat as the blade pressed closer. "You knew there was a chance the oath would be needed to control your impulses."
"What do you know of my oath, treewalker? You spit on everything Desanti."
The mage met her gaze unwaveringly. "Because I did the same. I swore my life to Master Almek, and he uses my oath against me, just as he had used it against you." His words penetrated the rage, and he felt her falter with uncertainty. He waited. Finally, she lowered the blade and closed her eyes, turning away. "Can you go on?"
"I must. I have no choice." Her voice was so raw, Ash winced hearing it. She returned the knife to its sheath, retrieved her paired single-edged blades, and slowly walked towards the camp.
The others had secured the shelter and finished caring for the animals as the sun had reached halfway to its zenith. Tired from the long emotional day, no one noticed the raiders until it was too late.
The raiders quickly subdued the outlanders with an odd precision, bashing the Forenten in the head, grabbing or beating the others into submission before they could react.
Except for the Swordanzen. Storm reacted with preternatural speed, dispatching three of the raiders before the largest of them got her attention. Her eyes went wide. "Sumalen!"
The man smiled darkly, licking his lips as he looked her over. "I told you it was not over. Now, you are mine and will learn who your true master is!"
"No man owns me." She bared her teeth in a feral snarl. "I will see you dead first." Her advance halted as a raider dragged Almek over, blood in his white hair, wobbling on his feet in disorientation.
"Oh, I think I do own you, because I own him." Sumalen purred as he walked around and stood close behind her, reaching around to cup her chin in his massive hand. "I had been hunting for you for a long time, my lovely desert flower. I was not sure until now it was you." He licked her ear. "I could sense your strength even as a child, but after I killed your tribe, you still managed to hide yourself from me."
