Darkness: A Guardians of Orana Novel

by Nancy E. Dunne

  Sath paced back and forth, occasionally looking out the window or trying the door again. He looked at Gin, putting some troubling pieces together in his mind.

  Wait, he told you that his daughter, the dragon that took the orb, the only offspring of a dragon in two centuries—is under someone else’s control? What of the orb?

  He did not mention the orb, but I could feel his concern. The one controlling of Daelyth’s mind has to be that Ikedrian that was following us, she is in this palace somewhere, and we have to find her. Do you think she has the orb, though? Gin chewed on one of her fingernails, and after watching her for a moment, Sath looked at his own hands. “Don’t do it; not only is it a filthy habit, but once you’re back to yourself, you will rip your bottom lip off with one of your claws.” Their eyes met, and both burst into nervous laughter.

  Why do you think she doesn’t have the orb? We saw Raikynth take it, but -

  She was taking it to the stronghold—I assume that Omerith checked, and it isn’t there now. Sath, let me ask Omerith when he began to suspect his daughter.

  Gin focused on the red dragon in the bond, only to find that he was already there.

  That is a difficult question, Nature Walker. When the First Caeth took the orb from you, everything was fine. I did not know why my daughter disappeared, so I checked the stronghold as you astutely guessed, and it is not there.

  You have got to stop listening in on our conversations, Omerith. I know that it is innate for your kind, but it is not for us, and -

  I am sorry, but you must help me.

  The only other person we can think of that might be involved, Omerith, is a dark elf that we caught following us. She tried to steal the orb from us, and we think she might be working for your mother.

  You must find this Ikedrian and bring her here.

  What is it with you higher beings?

  Gin turned to look at Sath in surprise, and she could feel that his question had Omerith’s undivided attention. She pleaded with him to stay quiet but knew that there was little chance of that now.

  What do you mean, Rajah?

  I mean that you spend all your time safe and sound, either in the Void or tucked away in this grand palace, and then when you need something done—something dangerous, I might add—you come to us to do it for you. And if you’re Sephine, you incapacitate me first and then send me on my way.

  Gin pointed a finger at him, but he dismissed her. Sath was clearly just about at the end of his patience.

  Sath, please, be respectful.

  Why? You may fear her, Gin, but I do not. The Qatu were made directly by Orana, just like the gods and the dragons. I have no reason to fear her—or them, for that matter.

  Gin could feel Omerith’s anger at Sath’s impudence, but she knew there was nothing she could do to stop Sath from talking. My Lord Omerith, you must understand that Sath has not –

  I think you have been squeezed into that illusion for too long, my Qatu Guardian. You need not call on Sephine for help. I have the magic to fix that for you—then perhaps we can get back to the things that matter.

  A light coalesced in the middle of their bedchamber, and they could just about make out the figure of Omerith in the middle of it. He was not really there—it was a projection—but his eyes found Sath’s, and they glared at each other for a few minutes before the dragon began speaking in Eldyr. Gin moved closer to him, only to be met by a blinding white light. Gin threw her arms around Sath and clung to him. It felt like he was pulled apart from her, but all she could see was the light, coalescing into a solid form and pushing her away. Gin dug her fingers into the leather tunic that Sath wore, but to her horror, she felt him slipping away from her. “Sath!” She scrambled to get a better grip, but it felt as though he was melting under her fingertips. “Omerith! Stop! What are you doing?”

  “Gin, I love…” Sath said, and then he was just gone. The light faded—Sath was lying on the floor, face down, in a heap—in his own body. He was Qatu again.

  “Sath…”

  Sath opened his eyes slowly. Every bone, every muscle, every atom that made up his body ached. He was smothering under a thick hide blanket but couldn’t move to shove it away. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words formed in his mouth. All he could manage was a strangled growl. A growl? Sath’s eyes scanned his surroundings. It was very dark, and he seemed to be face down in the heavy blanket. He finally made one of his arms move, and thankfully the hide came away from his mouth so that he could breathe properly. He pushed himself up on one elbow and tried to call out for Gin, but all that happened was the same growling sound.

  “Sath?” The sound of her voice instantly calmed him. She was all right…well, she was alive and able to speak, that was all he knew for sure. “Oh, Sath, you’re…you…” Sath flopped over onto his back and stared upward into Gin’s worried face. She reached out to touch his face, but he flinched away, instinctively thinking that her touch would hurt. “Sath, do you know who I am?”

  “Of course I do,” he said. At least he thought that’s what he said. The growling was getting louder each time he tried to speak. “What happened to me?”

  Why are you snarling at me? Gin asked, her forehead creased with concern as she looked down at him. Sath reached up to smooth out the wrinkles on her face and tell her it was all right but startled when a fur-covered clawed finger nearly scraped the delicate skin on her face.

  I can’t make the right sounds because...I’m me again—I’m Qatu. NA’HINA! He was dumbstruck. Why had the red dragon done this to him? Why had he not taken the chance to kiss her one last time? He would never again feel her skin under his fingers or be able to grab her up in his arms without worrying about breaking her fragile bones or skin.

  Gin smiled down at him. “You’re perfect is what you are.” She stroked the fur on his face, murmuring a spell that would heal his body of the pain that currently shot through him from his ears to the tip of his tail. “My Sathlir.”

  “At least your Qatunari hasn’t gotten any worse,” Sath replied, chuckling a bit despite the gloom that had claimed him. “But you don’t have to keep this up…it was good while it lasted with me in the wood elf suit, but…”

  “Don’t you dare, Sathlir Clawsharp,” Gin hissed at him, her expression serious. “You are no different to me than you were before, got it? Just because we can’t…you are more to me than that, and I would hope I am more to you than just a body.”

  Sath ran the back of one of his fingers down the side of her face. “You know you are.” He struggled to sit up, and Gin tried to help him, but he was back to being twice her size. Finally, he was up and managed a good look around. “I see that Omerith has departed, if he was ever even here,” he said as he rubbed a large hand over his face. He felt fur and smiled.

  Gin walked over to the window and looked out. “You shouldn’t have made him angry,” she said softly, hoping that he wouldn’t hear her—yet knowing he had. “Sath, I don’t know what to do. We don’t know where the orb is. We don’t know who is controlling Daelyth. Without Omerith’s help, I do not know how we will get back home. And we still don’t have a plan to stop the Mother Dragon.” She sighed, and he walked over to her, wishing he could wrap his arms around her waist the way he had only hours before. Instead, he put his hands on her shoulders, and she leaned back against him, relaxing a little. “And the orb—can you imagine, Ikara’s magic back in the world?”

  “I have to admit, this is a little unsettling.” He leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Omerith is key right now. He is our only chance to stop the Mother Dragon and get back home.”

  The Qatu is right.

  Omerith! Gin forgot herself for a moment in the face of the intrusion into her mind. What did I say to you about just dropping into our conversations?

  I am speaking to both of you, Nature Walker. I can get you back home, and I will send you now if that is your wish.

  Not before we stop Kaerinth. What about the orb and your Dael
yth? Is there any way that Sath and I can help you?

  There may be, Nature Walker. Rajah, I must apologize for my fit of temper. I should not have undone what the goddess did for you.

  It is of no consequence now, Omerith. Let us help you find your daughter, and then we will know where the orb is.

  A bright light split the darkness and Ellie was aware again. She was still trapped in the back of her mind—everything hurt.

  Ah, you’re awake. Good.

  Taeben, what do you want?

  You are to call me -

  I will call you whatever I like. You have left me here. Further, you told me -

  Fair enough. I need your help, Elspethe.

  I could not possibly care less, Taeben.

  She could feel him getting closer, and he was angry. She genuinely did not care.

  I fear that I have made a mistake, and I do not know if I can fix it. Please tell me that the daughter of the red dragon is not, in fact, a FROST DRAGON.

  And if she is?

  If she is, I have shown my hand too soon and will likely need to force the golden dragon to give up the location of the orb. She took it from the stronghold and hid it before I could get a good hold on her mind.

  Again, please tell me why I should care, Taeben? I am locked up here, inside my own mind. For all that I can do about it, I might as well already be dead, so I fail to see how -

  I will let you out.

  You are lying because you are desperate.

  You are pushing your luck.

  Let me out of here, give me back control of my body, and I will find the information you need—and the orb as well.

  There was a long pause. It was apparent to Ellie that she had overlooked Taeben’s extreme hatred for being out of control—she had been so eager to learn from him and then so foolishly taken in by his charms that she had ignored that aspect of his character. No more.

  Yes. I agree. Let me get us somewhere safe, and you will be free of that prison, Elspethe. You have my word.

  All went dark for her, and when she could see, again, she found that she was no longer in her mind. She was in a room, surrounded by her books and Taeben’s journals. Everything was there—and he had clearly been trying to make sense of her work. Was she in the embassy again? Uncertain. Ellie smiled and stretched for the first time in however long she had been confined. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? Get locked up in the dungeon you created for me, A’chrya Taeben.”

  Thirty-One

  Call Me Mother, Revisited

  It felt so good to be able to stand. Taeben had let her out and given her back control of her body. Ellie was sure it wouldn’t be for long, but she planned to take advantage of it. The low hum that reminded her of the presence of her A’chrya in the back of her mind was still present, but she didn’t care. It was so lovely and quiet, here in hiding—she didn’t even know where she was, really, but didn’t care about that either. Taeben had found a place for her to work and had gone off to tie up a loose end. Silence soothed her and made her smile until -

  Elspethe?

  Well, that was really too good to last, wasn’t it? The voice was unmistakable—the Mother Dragon had found her.

  Yes, my Lady?

  How is the plan coming along? What is going on with the Nature Walker and the Rajah? Why have you not made a report?

  They have made it to the red dragon, and they gave him the orb, but I do not know where it is. Taeben has been involved and tried to intercept the orb, but the golden dragon hid it before he could get it. I have her under surveillance—but there is interference. Someone has taken control of the golden dragon.

  DAELYTH?

  Even though the dragon was not there in the room with her, Kaerinth’s voice ricocheted throughout Elsepeth’s body. She bit her lip until the stinging pain it left behind subsided and took a moment to make sure that her communication with Taeben was concealed from the Mother Dragon—for now.

  Yes, my Lady. I am not sure how it happened, but I am investigating.

  She could feel Kaerinth’s panic at the mention of her grandchild. She felt the frantic consideration of options. She felt the hatred the Mother Dragon harbored for Taeben. That might just be useful. And as soon as those emotions surfaced, they were gone.

  Elspethe, please, call me Mother. You have served me as best you can, and you have made up for the wrongs done to me by your ancestor, D’Ayna. You will have a place when I again control Orana if you will obey me now and help me save my granddaughter. I fear it is your wizard that has invaded her mind.

  Yes, Mother.

  Keep me informed.

  To the north, in Omerith’s fortress, a female figure—concealed in a hooded cloak that hid even her facial features—walked the halls, stopping periodically to put a hand to a door. She would incline her head toward the door for a moment, and then move on. Finally, she came to the door where Sath and Gin were contemplating a plan, and as soon as she removed her hand from the door, she knocked the hood off her head and entered the room.

  Gin looked up at the sound of the door opening and gaped and then immediately knelt.

  Mother.

  Sephine crossed the room and took Gin’s hands in hers, helping the Nature Walker back to her feet. “We will speak aloud so that your Rajah is not left out. I sense he is already angry enough with me that he would not allow me in his mind. You need not kneel before me, my Nature Walker. I am here to help. Did Omerith know what to do with the orb?”

  Sath narrowed his eyes. “He initially didn’t want anything to do with it. Too tempting, it seems, for him to bring his father back from the Void—nevermind the tyrant that Lord Taanyth had become, or the pain he had inflicted.” Gin shook her head at Sath, but he ignored her. “He agreed to help and to keep it in his stronghold. But that didn’t work either because his daughter has been compromised—along with the orb, mind you. So I’d say this has been a bust, as far as top-secret missions go.”

  Sephine turned her attention to Sath, her face etched with sadness. “And the potion I gave you, did you use it? For you seem to be your old self again, Rajah.”

  “You know good and well that I did.” He looked at Gin. “This is what I mean about ‘higher beings.’ They want to play and meddle in our lives like we are their dolls, and then when things go a bit sideways, they walk away and leave us to sort out the mess.” He growled loudly as he stalked over to the window.

  Gin swallowed hard before she spoke. “Mother, I -”

  Sephine held up her hand. “My Ginolwenye, do not worry. Sathlir is well within his rights to express his frustration. Remember, the Qatu do not have the same relationship with us that you do.”

  Sath didn’t bother turning around before he spoke. “Yes, we don’t beg for more mistreatment.”

  The flush drained from Gin’s face. “SATH!”

  Sephine narrowed her gaze as she looked at Sath. “Watch your tongue, Rajah. I will tolerate only so much.” He opened his mouth to answer, but a pointed look from Gin shut him up. “Now then, how may I help?”

  “We need to find out who is controlling Daelyth, and then we need to find out where she hid the orb when she took it from the stronghold.”

  “By the way, thank you for NOT warning us about touching the orb, Sephine.” She turned her attention back to Sath for a moment, a puzzled look on her idyllic features. “The reason that Daelyth had to hide it was -” He paused for a moment, looking at Gin. “I was having visions of—well, of someone I once knew and cared very much for, and it was trying to convince me that it could bring her back to me.”

  Sephine’s face darkened. “Ikara is cunning, Rajah. Of course, he still retains a connection to the orb because it contains his magic. I was not aware that he could communicate through the orb, but it makes sense that his magic might be trying to find its way back to him. Our Eleinnagh had no trouble holding the orb, but perhaps that was to do with her blended ancestry. This is troubling.” Both Sath and Gin looked confused. “I may be a �
�higher being’ as you said, Rajah, but there are still things about magic that only Orana herself knows.” She moved to the cushions by the fireplace and sat, motioning for them to join her. They did, but Gin was slow to move at first—never had she imagined that she would be sitting across from the All-Mother, speaking as equals. “I gave the orb to Eleinnagh, or as you know of her, Lena and what I understood of it at the time was that it would trap Ikara’s magic within so that he was no longer able to control his Ikedrians in the battle for the Great Forest. But I feel that the orb was more than I knew. I think that it trapped a part of his soul—the worst and darkest part—and that is what was speaking to you, Rajah.”

  “You gave us Ikara’s soul to carry about in our packs like a skin of water?” Sath glared at the goddess. “Am I getting this right?’

  “Rajah, you are so short-tempered. Was your time in the illusion not to your liking?” Sath’s nostrils flared at her question, so Gin hopped up from her cushion and stood in between them.

  “Mother, Sath, stop it, please? We need to find this orb—clearly, that is more important than even finding out who is controlling Daelyth. We cannot allow the Mother Dragon to get the orb and resurrect -” She paused a moment, the very name of the Father Dragon difficult for her to say aloud. “We cannot allow her to resurrect Taanyth.”

  “Yes, and Omerith knows what his father was like. He, of all of us, knows how important it is to keep it from his mother, and he is most able to defend it against her. At least that was my reasoning. You three as Guardians should have been strong enough to stand against her. But my children, I have come here to share with you that I know how you came to be on this side of the world, and it is disturbing indeed.” Gin’s mind was already reeling, and she blinked as she looked from Sath to the goddess. “It was not only the work of the Mother Dragon. You are here because of the wizard, Taeben.”

  Sath snorted. “Impossible. I killed him myself.”

  “I thought that you would say that, Rajah. When a living being dies, their soul goes to the Void on the way to the afterlife. Sometimes souls are stuck there.” Sath nodded his head and made a circular gesture with his hand to encourage Sephine to get to the point. Gin reached over and pulled Sath’s hand back down to the cushions, nicking her finger on his claws as she did so. She stuck her finger in her mouth as Sath looked at her, horrified. “What you may not know is that hundreds of years ago, when the bond was more widely used, a soul could come back from the Void if there is a body for it to inhabit. You have traveled through the bond, yes?” They both nodded. “It is the same principle, only the incoming soul has to either share the body with the current inhabitant or overtake that soul.”