Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2)

by Gary Stringer

  The druidess gave her a sheepish grin. “I guess I should have told you I could do that. Sorry.”

  Sara sheathed her blades and laughed. “Wow, that’s amazing! I mean, I know Daelen does a tiger, but to be honest,” she looked around and shared in a whisper, “it’s not very good.”

  Cat nodded. “I haven’t had the heart to tell him, yet.”

  Sara asked if she could do any more animals, but when Cat offered to show her, she stopped her.

  “No, wait. My sister has to see this, too. Can you go back to leopard form and hide? Only fair you give her the same scare you gave me. Don’t worry, I won’t let her hurt you,” she assured her. “I can’t wait to see the look on her face.”

  “If it’s anything like yours, you won’t be disappointed,” Cat promised her and agreed to do it.

  A few minutes later, Sara returned with her sister, and leopard form Catriona leapt out at her. True to her word, Sara was quick to stay her hand when Jessica reached for weapons.

  Cat shifted back, and Sara burst with laughter at Jessica’s reaction.

  “You set me up deliberately, didn’t you?” Jessica mock complained.

  “I got the shock of my life, and you’re my sister – we share everything.”

  With a cheeky grin, her sister pointed out, “Not everything: You didn’t share that elf boy you were snogging.”

  “What? You think he could have handled us both?”

  Jessica considered that, then agreed, “No, you’re right, love. Fair point.”

  Chapter 22

  The next few days fell into a pattern. Mandalee trained with Daelen, often alongside one or both of the Chetsuans, while Cat split her time between studying in the library and working on her magic in the garden.

  Then, one evening, about ten days into their stay on Earth, when Cat and Mandalee went to look for Daelen, he was nowhere to be found. What they did find was a note on the dining room table.

  Dear Catriona and Mandalee,

  There’s trouble on one of the other worlds I keep an eye on and I need to nip it in the bud now.

  Tomorrow, in my absence, I have instructions for you. I expect you two to train hard all day. That means you, too, Cat. You’re far enough behind as it is. Just because I’m not around, that does not mean you get to slack off.

  Sorry to run out on you like this, but if I leave it, things will only get worse in the long run. Better to take a day out of our schedule and sort it out now.

  Thank you for understanding,

  Daelen.

  “There he goes again,” Cat complained to her friend, “giving us his orders and expecting us to jump to follow them. Well I, for one, am going to do nothing he ‘expects’ me to do. I hate it when he gets like this.”

  Mandalee grinned and goaded her friend, “Maybe, but you still love him, right?”

  Catriona’s look shot her down in flames. “Love?” she wondered. “Who said anything about love?”

  “You did, actually. Just once.”

  Cat snorted, “I couldn’t possibly have been sober, at the time. Infatuation perhaps, but love is something quite different. In fact, I’ve had just about all I can stand from him right now. It’s been days since I yelled at him and despite me telling him I thought some of my points were valid, he still hasn’t found time to talk to me about them. Mandalee, you train tomorrow if you like, but I’m…how do they say it in this world? Oh yeah, I’m on strike. I swear, one more thing, and he’s going to find my staff rammed up somewhere very painful.”

  “Your confused feelings aside, you do have a point, Cat,” Mandalee admitted. “It does always seem to be his rules, his way. Alright, I’m on strike, too. Tomorrow, I’m having a day out, exploring the city. You want to come?”

  Cat smiled apologetically and reminded her friend that she still had nothing to wear. Having just recovered, she didn’t want to risk a setback by trying to wear any of this world’s clothes.

  When Sara and Jessica brought dinner and sat down with them, Mandalee grilled them for recommendations of where to go and what to see on her ‘day off,’ and Cat wondered if there would be any problems going out at night in owl mode. Other than the possibility of confused bird watchers, they both thought it should be OK.

  So, the next day, Catriona continued her usual split of study and magic, while Mandalee spent the day sightseeing, returning in the evening. Before the druidess could take her turn to go out, however, Daelen returned.

  Striding into the great hall where the assassin was telling Cat all about her day, he launched straight into, “Have you been training hard in my absence?”

  The two friends looked at each other and then turned to him.

  “Nope!” they chorused.

  “What do you mean ‘nope’? My instructions were quite clear; I told you what I expected you to do.”

  Cat leapt to her feet, lips and eyes narrowed in barely suppressed anger. “That’s just the problem,” she snapped. “Your instructions, your expectations, your training, your way, your rules.”

  She took a step forward, and Daelen found himself once more stepping back in the face of her fire.

  “You stand there and say, ‘you will train now,’ ‘you will be doing my style of training,’ ‘you will wear body armour,’ ‘you will do this,’ ‘you will do that,’ ‘you will do as I say.’ Well, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, Daelen, but I will not do as you say! For the last time, I am not your lackey, I am not your student, I am not your soldier, and you are not my commander. You have absolutely no right to stand there and give me orders or leave notes telling me what you ‘expect.’ I will not tolerate it. If you want me to do something, you ask me. You discuss it with me. Is that clear enough for you, or do I have to write it down?”

  “Cat, I never meant–”

  “No, you never do, that just makes it worse.”

  Daelen reached out to her, apologetically, “Look, Cat, if I’m getting this all wrong then I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m not used to working as a team. I’m used to either working alone or having students and soldiers under my command. Giving orders is what I do…it’s a hard habit to break.”

  Catriona was unmoved. “Try harder,” she suggested. “Otherwise, if you can’t accept me as your equal partner, if you don’t start showing me more respect, consideration and courtesy, I’ll go back to my world and walk away.”

  She took a few meaningful steps to put distance between them.

  Turning back, she added, “Maybe I don’t need to go on this quest anymore. Maybe my time would be better spent at Calin’s Tower, training my mind and my magic.”

  “I thought you were committed to saving your world with me,” a confused Daelen protested.

  “I’m committed to saving our world from you!” Mandalee quipped, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

  Cat shook her head. “No, I told you I had my own reasons for joining you, which essentially boils down to knowledge. In my time with you, I’ve learned a lot about you. Come to that, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve been to Calin’s Tower, I’ve unlocked all but a few layers of the security of my staff, and I’ve learned how to open portals to other worlds. Maybe I’ve learned all I can from being with you.

  “But you’re right; I have pledged myself to this cause, and it is a matter of honour that I see it through. Still, I will only put up with so much in the name of honour.”

  “Look,” Mandalee ventured, standing between them, trying to calm things down. “I think we all understand Cat’s objections, right, Daelen?” she asked, pointedly.

  Daelen nodded.

  “And, Cat, you don’t really want to leave, do you?”

  Catriona shook her head.

  “Good,” Mandalee breathed. She then suggested that Daelen let Cat go flying that night for as long as she wanted. She thought it would do her friend a world of good to get out of the house for a while in a way that worked best for her. Then when she returned, all happy and relaxed, they could all sit down
calmly together, talk, and discuss what they might do the next day.

  “Does that sound like a reasonable plan to both of you?” she asked.

  They both agreed that it did.

  “Excellent,” Mandalee declared, much relieved. “In that case, I guess we’ll see you later, Cat.”

  Cat hugged her friend. “Thanks, Mandalee. You’re the best.”

  Stepping away, she shifted to Tawny owl form and flew straight out of an open window, into the cool night air.

  *****

  Later that night, Daelen and Mandalee were doing some cooldown stretching exercises together, when Mandalee noticed an owl glide silently behind Daelen and shift to Catriona’s natural form. Cat pounced on Daelen, but his reactions were faster, and a moment later a bewildered Catriona was sitting in the pond. To Mandalee’s dismay, she still looked annoyed. She hoped there wasn’t going to be another fight.

  “Cat, I’m sorry, please forgive me?” Daelen gasped. “I didn’t mean to throw you in the pond. It was just a reflex.”

  To the assassin’s relief, Cat smiled and told him it was OK.

  “You just looked pissed off.”

  Cat shook her head. “For once, Daelen, not at you.”

  She explained that she’d been having a great time until she ran into a male owl who took a shine to her markings and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. “By the gods, Daelen, I swear even you would draw the line at such a macho display!”

  The shadow warrior grinned. “So, I wasn’t the only guy to ruffle your feathers today, then?” he remarked.

  Cat laughed, “You could say that.”

  That’s when Mandalee pushed Daelen in the pond, too, sharing in the laughter just for a moment before unexpectedly joining them. Cat had worked her magic to ask the ground to rise up, suddenly, under Mandalee’s feet causing her to lose her balance.

  “Actually, Daelen,” Cat giggled while splashing the others, “I think the shock of a nice cold bath was just the thing for all of us.”

  The three climbed out of the water and sat down together. Given the cool night air, they’d have to head back inside the house, soon, so they could dry off and change, but first, there was something Daelen wanted to say.

  “Cat,” he began, “I really will do my best to treat you better from now on.”

  “Good,” the druidess relented. “Now, would you like to start again? Pretend we just got here tonight, and tomorrow is Day One.”

  With a supreme effort, Daelen politely asked, “How would you like to spend the day tomorrow? I would like it very much if you would train with me a little. All I ask is that you try a few things that I suggest. If you’re not comfortable, if they don’t suit your style, then that’s completely up to you to decide. If there’s anything specific you’d like to learn, please feel free to ask, and if there’s anything you want to teach me, go ahead.”

  “There,” Cat approved with a warm smile. “Didn’t hurt, did it?”

  “Little bit.”

  “Poor baby,” Mandalee snarked.

  “Tough,” Cat insisted, “and to answer your question, I can see that a certain level of training to improve my physical fitness level could only be a good thing.”

  “Agreed,” her friend nodded, “and I think that once we’ve had a few more days’ training, you and I should combine our skills to take Daelen on and basically kick his arse.”

  Cat liked that idea immensely.

  “Perfect,” she agreed. To the shadow warrior, she added, “Together, we can demonstrate that for all your power, you have your weaknesses that can be exploited. Power isn’t everything.”

  Daelen agreed to the plan, so it was settled.

  “See?” Mandalee spoke up. “Wasn’t that easy once you two stopped yelling at each other?”

  That earned her a hug from both sides.

  “Can I ask you a question, Cat?” Daelen broached carefully.

  Cat nodded and assured him he could ask her anything he liked. It was being dictated to that she objected to.

  “Believe me, I’ve got that message, now,” he affirmed.

  He pointed out that with her micro-portal connection home, her druid magic was at full strength and with a cotton underlayer, he was confident she could wear the body armour without any ill-effects. “Would you consider wearing it or something similar? Obviously, we’d all monitor you closely to make sure it doesn’t affect you.”

  “As an experiment,” she considered, “while I’m in this world, I could try it for a short period, but there’s no point getting used to wearing it because back on Tempestria, it’s just not possible. I’m sorry, Daelen. I know you’re trying to help, and I appreciate that, but the Council of Wizards forbids it. The law is quite clear: ‘A wizard mage, or druid mage, shall carry and use but one bladed weapon and shall wear no armour or shield.’”

  “Mandalee uses bladed weapons,” Daelen countered, “and seems quite happy wearing armour.”

  “I’m different,” Mandalee explained. “I’m a cleric. We have our own rules. I’m not the mage that Cat is. Primarily, I’m a demon hunter and assassin, and your body armour suits me.”

  Cat winked at her friend. “In more ways than one.”

  Mandalee smiled back before continuing to explain that her magic was mostly a way to enhance her physical skills, adding strength, speed, agility. Plus, her affinity for nature expressed itself in different ways to Catriona’s. She could talk with animals, treating them like her own personal network of spies. “Because even when people think they’re alone, there are often animals around who can see and hear everything,” she pointed out. “I don’t often fight with magic directly the way a mage does. I can do a bit, but it’s not my style.”

  “But I promise I’ll try your body armour, at least once, as an experiment,” Cat assured Daelen. “It may be something I can take to the Council for a ruling, once we’re done with Kullos. At the very least, given how I reacted last time, it would be a good test, to see if my link to Tempestria is as strong as I think it is. Gaining that knowledge is perfectly in line with the philosophy of my Order so they could have no objections. If I can touch and even wear your armour without a reaction, it would open up other possibilities, too. Maybe I could even give that shopping mall a second go with an open mind and a fresh attitude.”

  “More shopping?” Mandalee enthused, her eyes lighting up. “Now you’re talking!”

  Daelen suggested they start to head inside, then, so the girls didn’t catch a cold. They both agreed it was a good idea.

  Stepping between them and linking arms, Mandalee asked, “So, does this mean we’re all friends again?”

  “Yeah, I think we can safely say that,” Cat agreed.

  “An assassin peacemaker,” Daelen remarked, shaking his head in wonder. “I thought I’d seen everything until I met you two.”

  “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Mandalee quipped. “Jessica’s been coaching me on more of this world’s expressions. Did I say it right?”

  “Yes, you got it. Spot on, well d–”

  “What did you say?” Cat demanded, suddenly, an intense look growing on her face.

  “I was just saying Mandalee got that expression right.”

  Cat waved a hand dismissively. “Not that – before that.”

  “Er, I mentioned something about thinking I’d seen everything unt–”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” Cat affirmed, nodding and snapping her fingers, impatiently, “back up another step.”

  “Let me think. Oh yeah, I called Mandalee an assassin peacemaker.”

  “Wow!” the druidess gasped, almost missing a step. “Second time was even better.”

  “Cat, what are you talking about?” Mandalee wondered.

  “Hmm? Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll try to explain, but not here. Let’s go and clean ourselves up, then meet me in the library. There’s something I need to check up on.”

  Without another word, she changed into her owl form and flew into their bedroom through an op
en window. The other two had to take the more conventional route through the house.

  Chapter 23

  Forgive me, gentle reader, if you feel I’ve been neglecting you for a while. I’m afraid I have once again got so caught up in my writing, that I haven’t been interjecting very much to give you my perspective on things. Actually, maybe some of you were pleased about that. If so, I guess I’m sorry to interrupt, but it is necessary from time to time, and there’s something I would like to discuss at this point: perception filters.

  If we’re honest, I think most of us have them. They may not be actual tech devices but we still have them. We use them without even realising it. As I gaze through time to the scene in Daelen’s library, in his house on Earth – itself hidden by a perception filter – is, I believe, the perfect illustration of my point.

  *****

  By the time Mandalee and Daelen reached the library, Cat was already sitting in her favourite leather office chair, surrounded by books and her notes. Sara and Jessica were there, too, eager to help, as always, and keen to be involved in what Daelen’s two Tempestrian guests were doing. Daelen recognised that a few of the books arrayed before Catriona were from this very library. The two Chetsuan girls had obviously been helping her find a few things. Daelen hadn’t failed to notice how much they had both started to shine in the presence of Mandalee and Catriona. They were similar ages – as far as one could judge such things when they were different species from different worlds where Time moved at a different rate – and he was delighted at how quickly they had formed a bond.

  Perception filters were useful things, but how could Sara and Jessica ever make real friends if they couldn’t be themselves? Sadly, the way some Earth humans treated even members of their own species with slightly different skin pigmentation, they definitely weren’t ready for a pair of purple, cat-like aliens.

  Mandalee could relate, too, in a different way, given how some people had problems with her gender identity. None of the people in that room saw it as an issue, but on Tempestria, she sometimes hid the features of her face behind a mask. Features that gave away the fact that she had not been born biologically female, despite her otherwise flawless efforts to ‘pass.’ That mask was her perception filter.