by V C Sanford
“Want company?” he asked.
Nikiva nodded slowly but didn’t reply. She shifted over so that he could walk beside her into the temple shrine.
“You look so serious.”
“I was just thinking,” she replied.
“About?” he asked softly.
“All of it---everything that’s happened since we left Cabrell.” She replied, dropping her eyes from his face so that he could not see the tears brimming there.
He leaned closer and turned her head up, so he could see her face. “I know it’s been hard on you and Rhianwen.” He felt his legs go all rubbery again as her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips moved closer to his face. She was so close he could feel her breath against his mouth as she spoke.
“I always knew we’d be okay,” she whispered. “I admit it wasn’t easy at times. I’ve also discovered that my fear wasn’t always unfounded. But no matter how difficult the situation, I’ve always been able to depend on you.” Nikiva’s blush deepened as he continued to stare deep into her eyes. She shifted uneasily. “Don’t you think it’s about time you kissed me again?”
“I was just waiting for the right moment,” he whispered as she settled deep into his arms. Slowly he brought his mouth down over hers, her lips soft and yielding. Her touch inflamed him, and passion took over, driving all concern for tenderness from his mind. Startled, Nikiva pulled away. Reality came rushing back like a wave crashing onto a beach. She placed her hand over her mouth in surprise, a haunted expression in her eyes. Then before Alex could stop her she was out of his arms and running away.
“Wait! Nikiva wait! Give me a chance to explain.” He grabbed for her arm, but she avoided him and continued running down the hall toward the others. Alex felt as though he’d been kicked in the stomach by a rogue mule. His eyes brimmed with tears, but he refused to cry. This wasn’t how he wanted their conversation to end. He felt lost as if everyone he’d cared for in the world had suddenly disappeared leaving him totally alone. Crushed, he slumped down to the floor below alter, put his hands to his face and let the tears fall. He was still sitting there when Nikiva returned.
********
“Well, isn’t that a touching scene?”
The two young lovers were struck by a powerful wind, knocking them off their feet and rolling them across the ground. Alex struggled to regain his footing, but he was unable to break out of the winds force. Desperation drove his actions as he clawed at the pedestal that had held the ruby. Somehow, he managed to catch hold with three fingers but lost his grip when the wind increased in strength. Once more he was thrown across the room, his body only slowing once he struck the adjoining wall. The unknown woman continued to blast his body with wind and loose sand from the floor of the sanctuary.
He was unable to make out Nikiva through the wildly blowing debris. As his vision dimmed Alex suspected he was seriously hurt, perhaps even dying. His back had twisted and at least one rib had punctured his lung. He was bleeding freely from his mouth and his nose, with little strength left to fight. All he could hope to do is hang on until the spell had run its course… and trust he survived until Rhianwen could heal his injuries.
Nikiva fared a little better. She managed to half roll, half slide her way out of the main torrent until she was able to escape the wind by crouching behind one of the fallen statues near the ancient altar. There she watched in terror as Alex was brutalized by the winds surges, unable to do anything to help him escape the violent flow. Peering through the curve of the statue's arm, she searched for but could not see the mysterious Sorceress. Whoever she was, she appeared intent on destroying Alex. Nikiva was forgotten as the unknown woman directed her rage against the helpless man. Without waiting for the first spell to fully dissipate, she struck again, sending bolts of lightning into the body of the severely wounded man.
Each time a bolt struck Alex’s battered body, Nikiva jerked as though she too, was being struck by the electrical discharge. It seemed hours, but she knew only seconds had passed since the first attack. She had to help him! The simple spells she’d been taught at school seemed insignificant against the superior skills she faced. Alex is dying! I’ve got to try, I … I love him!
Then she remembered the scrolls she’d found in the secret chamber. Several of them were offensive spells maybe one of them would help. Frantically she untied the small case, dumping its contents on the ground, scattering the various sheets as she searched for anything that might help. Yes! This one could work! Using the statue to brace herself against the wind, she stood and after taking a deep breath, began to read the words aloud.
Time slowed…then everything happened at once. The words on the scroll twisted, blurred and ran together as the magic welled up inside her and exploded forth in a burst of flame. Fire coursed thru her body, leaving her feeling as if the heat was flowing through her, engulfing her body and all her senses. She held her hands before her and directed the flames toward the black-garbed mage.
Izabal s’ stared into Nikiva’s eyes, and at that moment, she came face to face with madness brought about by the indescribable loss. She struggled to counter the spell and failed. Tried once again, and then fell screaming as Nikiva’s flaming whip left blistering lines of fire across her skin, searing lack swaths that cracked and flaked into grey ash as she writhed within the growing conflagration. The fiery inferno grew in intensity as the distraught young girl willed it to lash out, striking over, and over again, the love conjured flames burning into Izabal’s skin until her entire body seemed lit from inside. Her voice failed as flames erupted from the countless bloody tattoos lacerating her body, her strident cries fading, then stopping, as the searing flames engulfed her immolated form.
Suddenly the room lit up with a blinding white light, so bright it blurred her vision through closed eyes. Once Nikiva’s eyesight returned, all that remained was a pile of ashes and a few scattered fragments of bone.
********
No one could endure that much pain and live, and Alex’s appalling injuries left little doubt of his chances. The damage was too severe for an experienced Shii-Lakka healer, for Rhianwen it was suicide. Even if she somehow managed to survive the healing, she’d be permanently disfigured… or worse.
Shock was setting in, bringing with it waves of cold and cramps as Nikiva struggled to pull his head into her lap. A low moan escaped blackened heat cracked lips, and he attempted to raise his head. Those beautiful lips… Tears streamed down her face as she cradled him, a puddle of blood slowly spreading around her fingers. She felt weak, powerless, and mad…very, very mad. She’d never killed anyone, never even been in a fight. But those days were gone now. She wanted to hurt someone, anyone, just to let go of the pain. Not even the memory of that witch Izabal writhing in agony could cool the flames of anger growing inside her soul. Now she finally understood her mother’s grief after her brother was killed. She pulled at her hair…but it didn’t help. She wanted to hurt someone… anyone…, just to let go of the pain. She screamed.
********
Startled awake from a deep sleep, at first Maxx’s mind didn’t register the significance of the wailing cries resonating throughout the room. Seconds later, he was out of his bedroll and running in the direction of the temple, axe in hand. Something was seriously wrong with Nikiva! And where was Alex?
Rhianwen hesitated for a few seconds, unsure if she should follow him. As Nikiva’s second mournful keen echoed through the silent sanctuary, her heart leapt. Something was wrong with Nikiva! Tweet was curled up atop Alex’s bedroll, exactly as he’d been when she laid down earlier that night. And Nikiva bedroll didn’t appear to have been used. Then she heard Maxx screaming her name. Heart hammering, she ran toward the hidden altar room.
At first, Rhianwen didn’t recognize Alex’s charred and broken body lying on the floor. His face was burned beyond recognition, only Nikiva’s keening and Maxx’s pallid visage convinced her it was really him. One hand was burned so severely only bits of bone remained and the o
ther was missing fingers. Much of his skin was gone, what little remained was blackened and oozing. He was bleeding from several lacerations, at least one caused by a broken bone tearing through flesh. But he was still alive…at least for now.
Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, she placed her hand against his chest and began to pray, beseeching Rheaaz for her assistance, vowing unquestioning service, promising her body, soul, and mind, if Rheaaz would only heal her friend. At first, nothing happened. Then her hands began to glow. She bit her lip against the first wave of pain as a warm flush swept over Alex’s ravaged body. The old burnt skin fell off as the glow grew in intensity, leaving patches of healthy pink flesh behind. Rhianwen steeled herself against impending agony as she moved next to his shattered leg. She used her own weight to draw the shattered bone back into place, then cried out as Rheaaz knitted the cracked and splintered tissue into solid bone again. Tears streaming down her face, she set back on her heels, exhausted and unable to continue. It wasn’t enough. Despite everything she’d done, Alex was still dying.
“No! You can’t stop now. Rhianwen, you need to continue. Alex will die.”
“I’m sorry Nikiva. I have no more left to give.” She held out her hand, showing her cracked and blistered skin. “Rheaaz won’t allow me to take more than my body can handle.”
“Then I invoke Dy’shalla! I invoke the right of sacrifice.”
“No! Nikiva please--- It’s too much. You don’t understand what you’re asking.”
“I do. I love him! You are Shii-Lakka. You have to accept what is offered freely.”
Rhianwen studied Nikiva, noting the firm set of her mouth and flash of fire in her eyes. Once freely offered The Right of Sacrifice was sacrosanct, and as Nikiva stated, an offer she couldn’t deny. But the cost! Using your own life force to heal another, that could be fatal even to one anointed by the goddess. Nikiva had no such protection. What her friend was asking of her, it was …wrong. Nikiva was only fifteen! Rheaaz, I beg you. She’s thinking with her heart, not her head, Have mercy!
Crying openly, Rhianwen placed her hand on Alex’s chest. The other hand grasped Nikiva’s outstretched palm. Once again, the glow began moving across Alex’s body, but this time it continued to grow until it encompassed Nikiva too. Slowly, a rosy flush appeared, and his breathing strengthened, then his wounds began to close once more. Rhianwen could hear Nikiva’s breathing grow strangled and slow. Then Alex gasped one final time and Nikiva collapsed.
********
Maxx took Nikiva’s unconscious body into his arms and carried her back to the makeshift campsite in the former kitchen. Gently he laid her upon his bedding and covered her with Alex’s cloak, hoping the familiar scent might comfort her as she slept. He could hear the sibilant words of some type of cantrip, but he couldn’t make out the words Rhianwen whispered. Soon Nikiva stopped shaking and started taking slow deep inhalations as she drifted into a soporific slumber.
Rhianwen stood silently, watching as Maxx made her as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. Her friend would never be the same. Her sacrifice had been accepted by Rheaaz. The goddess had allowed Rhianwen to heal his burns and broken bones, all the damage wrought by Izabal. But there was always a catch, his outward injuries healed, but Nikiva had collapsed… and Alex’s overworked heart had failed.
She tenderly brushed a lock of snow-white hair away from Nikiva’s face. The cost of Rheaaz’s assistance was clear, she’d aged about forty years, now appearing to be about the same age as Rhianwen’s own mother. The damage to her mind was another matter entirely. Hopefully, that damage could be healed, if only they could get her safely back to Cabrell before it became permanent.
“It’s likely that Nikiva is beyond caring anymore,” she whispered as Maxx blew out the lantern next to her bed and made his way back to the fire. She offered him a steaming mug of kava. “Only true love would have allowed her to give so much of herself.”
Maxx just nodded, unable to speak. No one could understand how he was suffering. Alex is gone. I loved him like a brother. Every time I looked at Nikiva I think about her sacrifice, and for what? Alex had died anyway. His frozen expression hid more than his tears. Thankfully Rhianwen sensed his need for quiet and left him alone.
********
“Uhhh…. Maxx?”
Maxx turned, curious about the hesitation in Rhianwens voice. She was standing just inside the doorway to the kitchen. Next to her stood Castillo, one arm grasping her around the waist, the other holding a knife blade pressed against her neck.
Maxx jumped to his feet moving toward the pair in the doorway.
“Id’ think about that”, Castillo said. He pressed the dagger against her throat, allowing a bead of blood to dribble down her neck. “Just drop that axe and she will be fine.”
Maxx dropped it, but he didn’t back away. All I need is one opening. My hands will do the rest.
Castillo laughed as if he heard the Duaars thoughts. Moving faster than Maxx though possible, his blade lashed out again, an indifferent stroke that sliced deep into Maxx’s arm before exiting the muscle near his shoulder. The cut was not deep, but it had nicked a vein. The ensuing stream of blood flowed down his arm to his hand. Even injured he fought to protect Rhianwen, stepping closer to the Castillo’s body to limit the length of his swing. The older man spun, his serrated blade whistling as it slipped into the space between them. Somehow Maxx managed to block the knife, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he landed a killing blow. Castillo was the stronger, more experienced swordsman. One more solid strike, and it would all be over. Sensing victory, Castillo raised his blade. Rhianwen screamed as he struck. Maxx’s legs buckled, and he dropped to the ground.
********
“What happened?”
“Thank your ancestors for thick bones, you have a really hard head. Castillo surprised me too. I thought he’d kill you, but at the last moment, he turned the blade, striking you in the temple with the hilt instead. He took the ruby. You’ve been out for a while. You’re going to have a horrible headache--- but you’ll live.”
Maxx didn’t need to feel the fist-sized lump on his temple to know he was lucky to have survived the previous night’s events. “My side? That was a killing blow. I should be dead.” His back was sore like he’d been sleeping on too soft a feather mattress, but his kidney didn’t hurt. In fact, he didn’t feel much pain at all.
“Rheaaz must like you.” She sighed, wanting to comfort him, but having no idea how to begin. Physically he’d survive…. mentally, he was barely hanging on. She was in bad shape herself. Once she’d ascertained Maxx would live, she’d ignored him, choosing to sit beside Nikiva’s bed and wait. Hours had passed and Nikiva showed no sign of improvement.
“I failed. It was all for nothing, Alex, Nikiva, everything.”
“No one could have known what was going to happen. You’re not to blame. No one is.”
“No, you don’t understand. It was my responsibility, I was supposed to keep everyone safe. Now my brother’s dead, and Nikiva’s little more than a walking vegetable.”
“I keep hoping I’ll wake from this nightmare. Nikiva was my rock, the sister I always wanted. Now she’s older than my mother.”
“Perhaps someone at the Rosemont can reverse the spell once we get her back to Cabrell. Alex is dead. Gone. Not coming back. Get it?”
“No, you don’t get it. It wasn’t a spell,” she roared. “It can’t be reversed. Nikiva literally gave up her life to save Alex. And it still wasn’t enough. Alex died anyway.”
“My father always said, ‘Yesterday was the last good day.’ I never really understood what it meant until now.” His look was cold and sharp, like the blade of a knife. “Try and get a good night’s sleep, tomorrow we have to bury Alex. Then we need to start back to Cabrell. Drasst! He screamed as he threw his axe, slinging it across the room and into one of the marble statues. It landed with a clink, chipping the corner off the base.
Stomping over, he ben
t down to pick up his axe again, then paused. There on the base of the statue, directly beside the chipped section, someone had carved the godforsaken wyvern! “Yaaga carry me away! There’s another wyvern on the statue. I think the base is hollow. My axe knocked a hole in the corner.”
“But why would they put a sigil there?”
“I knew it was too easy. We followed the wyverns all the way, and then the ruby was just sitting there on the pedestal in plain sight. I bet it was just another ruse to throw us off the trail of the real heart. Castillo stole the decoy heart.” He began chipping away the edge of the opening, enlarging it until he was able to see inside. Sure enough, there was something hidden in the hollow base.
“I think I can reach it, Rhianwen stated, my hand is smaller than yours.”
“No, Maxx replied, let me make the hole bigger. It’s probably trapped or poisoned. I’ll need you safe, so you can heal me if anything else goes wrong, let’s not take any chances.” He cautiously reached inside, removing a small cloth wrapped bundle. Inside the faded muslin was a shiny black stone etched with unknown runes.
“This is it? This is the great treasure everyone has been looking for? Alex died for this… a rock. No, it must be the ruby. Greed I can understand. Love I can understand. Why would anyone steal and torture for this?” Both the teens were completely baffled. There was nothing about the rock that appeared different in any way from a million other rocks lying on the ground. Except for the glyphs, and any good scribe could have carved them.
“I’m done with it, Maxx shouted. Rock or not, Alex died for it, so he going to be buried with it. After we seal the door, I’m going to make sure this room can never be opened again. He dropped the stone on Alex’s chest and turned to walk away.
