Darkness: A Guardians of Orana Novel

by Nancy E. Dunne

  “Not at our hands.” Both Sath and Nelenie looked at Gin in confusion. “I will not have another death on my hands—Kaerinth’s madness has not caused a single moments’ trouble in our side of the world for more than 200 years.” She frowned as she continued speaking. “I do fear that once she is unable to resurrect her mate, Taanyth, she may choose to join him -- but that death will not be our doing. I will not be responsible for her end. It is not necessary, at least not yet.”

  “Right.” Sath settled in, sitting cross-legged like Gin did when she meditated. “So I will contact Kaerinth and tell her that the wizard has control of Daelyth, and we want to assist her in keeping him from getting the orb. Yes?”

  “No—well, yes, that might be better.” Gin smiled at Sath. “See? You are a better strategist than I am. Leaving it until we are inevitably captured to tell her about the orb would give the wizard time he does not need to be given, as well as make our chances of saving Daelyth even worse. Yes. You do that, and I will work on explaining the Guardians to Nel here.”

  Nelenie grinned. “No need, Gin. That was another thing Mother has already told me. So much information! Who would have thought it was the two of us, eh? If anyone in my family was going to be selected, I would have thought it to be Tairn.”

  “Why? Because she has magic, and you don’t?” Nelenie snorted at Gin’s question.

  “No—I have some magic too, I’ll have you know. No, I would have guessed my sister to be the Guardian because she was always so concerned with your safety when we were kids. Remember? She used to get angry when Papa stopped letting you eat at the table with us because -” She flushed to the roots of her blonde hair at the memory. “She was never as haughty as the rest of us, that’s all.” Gin took Nelenie’s hand and squeezed it.

  “I’m just glad you’re here. We both survived our upbringings and Naevys’s perverse idea of a family, and now we’ve found our way back to each other.” Nelenie nodded, a sheen of tears reflecting in her eyes.

  “Another thing Mother told me was how this is passed down in families. I—have a child, Gin. It’s why I left Naevys, and I imagine it is why Dor left her and then found you.”

  “The child is his?” Gin’s face darkened.

  “Oh, no.” Nelenie almost burst out laughing. “Dear Spirits, Gin! I was lonesome but not THAT lonesome.” Both of them laughed. “No, her name is Thara, and her father was another exiled from Alynatalos, just as I was. Kerym and I traveled together for a few years after I finally left Naevys, and Thara was born while we were trying to book passage to sail—here, I suppose. We wanted to find a new start for our family.”

  “You talk about him in the past tense, Nel. Where are he and your daughter now?”

  This time it was Nelenie’s face that darkened. “He died. We were sailing, and he jumped out of the boat to swim ahead to the land we were approaching—only when he got close, everything just disappeared. He was gone, the beach was gone, everything. Luckily Thara was little then, so I had her in a sling that I wore. I got the boat to stop, but Kerym was nowhere to be found. So I turned the boat around and paddled until I got back to Calder’s Port.”

  Gin’s eyes were wide and her fingers spread out across her cheekbones in shock. “Nel! That must have taken weeks!”

  “I don’t know how long it took, honestly. I just kept paddling until I felt too sleepy to continue, and then I would drop anchor and sleep a little bit. Luckily, Thara was still nursing, so I didn’t have to provide solid food for her as well—our rations lasted me almost all the way back to the Port. She’s a tough little thing, my Thara.” She chuckled, but it was a hollow sound that hurt Gin’s heart to hear. “We must have been quite a sight when the boat pulled into the harbor. Thank the Mother we were able to make it back home. I took her back to my family in Alynatalos to keep safe, but sadly Tairn wasn’t there—I hear she lives up with the dwarves now?”

  “She does—that is a long story for another time, but she is safe and well. Oh, I promise you, Nel, if it is at all possible, we will find Kerym. If he still lives, I promise we will bring him back to you and Thara.”

  “Oh, Gin, thank you, but he was lost when Thara was only a few months old. She is nearly 10 now.” Nelenie shook her head as she squeezed Gin’s hand. “Let’s just focus on the task at hand now, shall we? Once that is done, we can talk about the legacy I am now leaving for Thara.”

  “Done!”

  Both of their heads swiveled to look at Sath, and Gin scooted closer to him, taking his hand in hers. “I’ve found her, but she isn’t responding to -” His facial expression went utterly blank, suddenly, as though someone had removed the parts of him that made him who he was.

  “Sath?” Gin tried to join the bond he had formed with the Mother Dragon, but she could not—the door to that conversation slammed in her mind with a thud. She decided to leave it for now and let him communicate with the Mother Dragon alone since clearly Kaerinth had blocked her from hearing them—hadn’t she?

  Thirty-Seven

  A Date with a Dragon

  As Gin and Nelenie caught up and plotted strategy, Sath was deep inside his mind and still searching for the Mother Dragon. While he felt bad about lying to Gin and locking her out of his mind, he knew that he had to be alone when he made contact with Kaerinth. He was not really all that upset that, so far, she had not answered him—he could still hear Gin and Nelenie’s conversation, and he could only surmise that their plan was going to be uphill both ways with a side helping of awful. He finally gave up on calling for her and ended up trying to find her so that he could at least see where she was and what she was doing. But nothing worked. She was clearly blocking him, most likely after his accidental contact with her previously.

  Sath absentmindedly reached out for Gin’s hand at the same time that she scooted closer and took it. With that contact, Sath felt Gin’s power surging into him, and he turned his attention back to the Mother Dragon, but not without a grin on his face. This time felt as though he was pushing through the water in a river. “I’ve found her, but she isn’t responding to -”

  You again.

  Greetings, Mother Dragon.

  What do you want, Rajah?

  I wanted to apologize for my intrusion before. I bring you urgent news concerning your son and granddaughter.

  There was a shift in the air that Sath was confident that Gin and Nelenie could feel. What do you mean, Rajah? What news?

  Mother Dragon, your granddaughter is under the control of a very powerful wizard.

  Taeben? No. He is in the Void. He has nothing to do with Daelyth.

  Are you certain?

  Ah, Rajah, as is the way with your kind, you and I are not on the same page. Goodbye.

  Wait, Mother, please?

  Now you call me, Mother! Sath could almost feel her snort—he involuntarily reached up to make sure that the fur on the back of his neck was not alight. Very well. I will hear you, but speaking to you through the bond this way is tiresome. I prefer to look you in the eye when you talk to me. You will come here now.

  Gin spun around, leaping to her feet as Sath’s hand disappeared from hers. He was gone—there was no flash of light, no circle of fire, no warning at all. “SATH!” Gin turned in every direction, trying to sense him, but he was nowhere to be found.

  “What happened?” Nelenie was watching Gin, wide-eyed. “Where is the Rajah?”

  “Kaerinth must have taken him through the bond. He doesn’t know how to use that kind of magic without help.” Gin was raging as she looked around up into the night sky. “SEND HIM BACK!” She shook her fists at the unyielding stars.

  “Gin, I don’t understand what the Mother Dragon has done -”

  “Of course not, Mother didn’t think you needed to understand the bond.” Gin exhaled sharply. “I can’t even follow him because I can’t guarantee that you will come along with me.”

  Nelenie hung her head for a moment, but then looked up at Gin—she understood what Gin was really saying, and it
clearly did not sit well. “I don’t know what you’re talking about exactly, but—you’re saying I’m a liability?”

  “Well, you aren’t HELPING, are you?” As soon as the words came out of Gin’s mouth, she felt Taeben laughing in the very back of her mind. “Ikara’s TEETH.” She covered her face with her hands for a moment and then lowered them to find Nelenie glaring at her. “Nel. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

  ‘Yes, you did—and you’re right. I just need you to tell me how to help, and I will.” She put a hand on Gin’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to snap at you either.”

  “It was him, Nel. It was Ben, I heard him laughing just now.”

  “Ben took Sath?”

  Gin sighed. It wasn’t Nelenie’s fault that she didn’t know what Gin meant. “No—it wasn’t him exactly, but I made him laugh by how frustrated I became with you. That can’t happen again—it means he can hear us somehow. It means he is back in my mind again.” Gin looked up into her friend’s eyes. “Swear to me that it was Sephine that sent you and not Ben.”

  “What?”

  “Swear it. In fact, Mother, I know you’re listening, and I need you to show yourself. I cannot take anyone’s word for anything anymore!” Gin held her arms out wide and moved around in a circle, again addressing the stars above them. “I cannot continue until I know why Nel is here, and that you actually are the one that sent her.”

  “Gin, I told you, it was Sephine and the Ikedrian, Ayna that sent me, just as she told you she would in the bond.”

  “You didn’t say that before. You said it was the All-Mother.”

  “You are nitpicking.”

  “YOU have not proven to me that you are my Nel!” Gin’s arms folded across her chest, but electric magic sparked between her fingers. Sath’s disappearance was unraveling Gin’s grip on her temper.

  Nelenie’s eyes narrowed as she focused on Gin. “Prove it, huh? Fine. I never wanted to play tag with you because you cheat!” Gin was taken aback by Nelenie’s outburst. “That day in the forest, the day that you were a tree, and then you weren’t—that was the last time I remember us being young and innocent. You were my best friend! You said that I would leave you, but it was you that -” The mighty high elf warrior’s voice shook slightly, and she fell silent, her lips forming a thin line.

  Gin wiped a tear from her cheek. “Nel, I’m sorry I doubted you.”

  “It is fine—I would do the same in your place. Maybe sooner. Now tell me what I need to do to… whatever it was you said, go with you? Tell me how to do that, and I will go! I’m sorry I gave you a reason to doubt me.” Gin held out her hands, and Nelenie took them. “Now, what do I need to do? Sit cross-legged? Chant?” The corners of Gin’s mouth tugged up into a grin.

  “Nope. None of that. Just hug the druid and whatever happens, Nel, DON’T LET GO. I have never tried this before, so I don’t know if it will work—but as our Elys used to say -”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Nelenie smiled sadly and took hold of Gin’s forearms as Gin did the same just above Nelenie’s elbows.

  “Here we go.”

  “Not accustomed to that kind of travel, are you, Rajah?” Kaerinth chuckled as Sath struggled to get to his feet. His head was a little swimmy, and he was almost tempted to close his hand, just to prove to himself that Gin was really not there with him. “Oh, no, I left your little druid and her friend in the woods, Rajah. I wanted you and I to have a chance to talk before she figures out how to follow you here.”

  Sath looked up into the face of the oldest, most powerful creature in all of Orana and found his knees a bit weak, just as they were when he first hopped through the portal from the Void and landed on “her” beach. She was intimidating at the best of times. He swallowed hard and tried to conjure up his best and most haughty Rajah persona. “You have saved me time, my Lady. Had I wanted Gin and the warrior to be privy to our conversation, I would have included them in the bond.”

  “That paladin doesn’t even know how to be included in a bond. I’m not stupid, Rajah.”

  “Of course you aren’t, my Lady.” Sath swallowed hard. Time to change tactics. “I just needed to let you know about what has happened with your granddaughter while the Nature Walker was not listening—it involves a wizard that was so powerful in life that he was able to control her.”

  “Oh, this again? I know all about Taeben,” Kaerinth snorted. “He led my Taanyth to his demise, as sure as if he had the magic that killed him.”

  “He is the one that has control over your granddaughter, Mother Dragon.”

  “Impossible. Daelyth would have annihilated him. He has no corporeal form.” She paced back and forth, studying Sath. “He is working with someone. The Ikedrian. I should have known -”

  “Pardon me, but he has taken control of your granddaughter’s mind. I don’t know how he did it—but when she returned to her father, Lord Omerith, she was not herself. My Lady, if we leave him squatting inside her for too long, we will never be able to get her back.” Sath held his breath as the Mother Dragon considered his words.

  “Why do you say we, as though you would help me? What is it to you if my Daelyth lives or dies?”

  “Selfishly, my Lady, I know that losing his daughter will drive Lord Omerith mad, and as the founder of the Guardians—well, your son could be the only thing standing between peace and chaos on my side of our world. But on a more personal note, I know what it is to think your child is in danger. I know how it feels to almost lose your child, and I cannot put him—or you—through that.”

  “Yes, this same wizard and my misguided Taanyth took your son from you, didn’t they?” Sath looked up at her with surprise. “Oh, don’t look so astonished, Rajah. I may have slept for two centuries, but my mind was not dormant that entire time.” She paced back and forth again, never taking her eyes away from his. Sath found the amber gaze unnerving at best. “So why did this wizard target Daelyth? I have to assume this again has something to do with the Nature Walker—it seems that the wizard dedicated his life to utterly destroying hers.”

  “Not this time, my Lady.” Sath rubbed the back of his neck—the fur there was standing on end, and his neck and head were tingling. Nerves? “This time, we believe his motives to be selfish. He wants Daelyth because she was the last one to see the orb that contains the magic of Ikara—and he needs the orb to resurrect himself and leave the Void.” Sath wasn’t sure if he was supposed to tell her everything that was now pouring out of his mouth, but at least she was listening. If only that tingle on the back of his neck would stop distracting him!

  “Found him. Hang on, Nel.” Gin focused on her bond with Sath and could visualize in her mind the connection to him. It appeared as a golden cord, and once she was sure that she had a good grip on Nelenie, she visualized grabbing the cord and pulling it to her—which in turn pulled the two of them through the bond to Sath. They fell into him as they appeared, almost knocking him into the Mother Dragon.

  “Ah, seems our private time is over, Rajah.” Kaerinth looked down her scaled nose at Gin. “Hello, Nature Walker. We meet again.” Gin bowed low before the massive creature and Nelenie followed suit. “I see you brought your playmate with you—Nelenie, is it?”

  “Aye, my lady Kaerinth, I am Nelenie Ergwyn, First Caeth of Alynatalos and Guardian of the High Elves of the Great Forest. I am at your service, sent by the All-Mother, Sephine.”

  “Gracious. Do all of you in the Great Forest talk that much? I thought it was just the Nature Walkers.” Kaerinth ambled closer to Nelenie, who stood her ground. Gin didn’t notice the slightest tremor in her friend’s entire body. What it must be like to have that sort of courage in the face of a creature that to date had been mere legend! Pride for her friend surged through Gin, almost making her forget about Nelenie’s new title. She made a mental note to ask about that later—there had not been a Caeth of any sort, First or otherwise, since King Nim had given up sole rule to the Council. “I know your Sephine, but I had no idea there we
re still Caeth prowling about the golden citadel. Interesting.”

  “I presume that the Rajah has told you what we have learned of your granddaughter’s fate, Mother Dragon?” Gin stood up as tall as she could as she addressed the dragon. “We are at your service to make sure that she is safe.”

  “And it wouldn’t hurt you to make sure I don’t use the orb as well, would it, tiny one?” Kaerinth lowered her neck until she and Gin were eye to eye. Gin stood her ground but was not as successful as Nelenie at resisting a shiver. Something about the Mother Dragon reminded her of Lord Taanyth—there was a hint of malice coupled with madness in her amber eyes.

  “We have responsibilities as Guardians, my lady, and keeping the peace is one of them—I will not pretend that I think it would be a responsible thing to have Taanyth rejoin the world of the living, but -”

  “LORD TAANYTH.” Gin took a step backward, and Nelenie stepped quickly in between her and the Mother Dragon, her hand on the hilt of her sword. “You will refer to him with respect in death since you obviously held him in such low regard when he was still alive.” Sath shot a pointed look at Gin, who was glaring back at Kaerinth—Gin nodded and held up her hands in surrender.

  “My apologies truly. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a mate, my lady.”

  “That’s much better.” Kaerinth turned her attention to Nelenie. “Tell the soldier to stand down, will you? I have no interest in fighting such an easy target.” Gin caught Nelenie’s eye and shook her head, and Nelenie complied, stepping back behind her friend. “So how do you three propose to save my Daelyth from this wizard?”

  Gin took a deep breath. “With your help, Mother Dragon, I believe we can distract Taeben long enough to force him back into the Void. We are four Guardians strong, and we bring with us the power of the Guardians gone before us. If you stage an attack on La’al Drygyr, we can find the wizard in the bond and remove him from Daelyth’s mind. Once he is again non-corporeal, we will banish him to the Void for good.”