Daphne found herself back in the cave, phantasmagoric lights changing the features of her friends' faces. "I succeeded," she said simply. The others seemed to want to ask of her test, but refrained, thinking it might not be the best time now to ask.
Then Daphne realized how much her task had drained her, and she felt herself fall, as if from a long ways off. She slowly grasped the idea that she was no longer falling, and something was supporting her. As she came back she saw Maik's face and realized swiftly that he had caught her as she fell.
"You okay, Daphne?" the tall Texan asked her, concern in his chocolate-brown eyes.
"I'll be fine in a little while," she told him. She tried to stand on her own, but stumbled back to his strong, supportive arms.
"Maybe you should lah down for a few minutes," he said. She nodded gratefully. He scooped her up in his arms, taking her to a wall of the cave where she could rest.[YER WELCOME, LAUR! *G* ...that was allllll me an' Daf. ;) ] [Fishing for praise, are we? >-{ :} <-Fish *g* Okay, I'll bite--thanks. It really was nice of you.]
When the two had disappeared within the changing images of the caverns, the water voice spoke to the others. Daphne will be well after a rest. Although to you it may have seemed a relatively short time, it was to her much longer. Her test has drained her of her energy. You will understand in time.
Your test is next, Maik. the water-voice continued.
Maik looked at the still somewhat dazed Daphne apologetically, but said, "All right, then." He kissed the top of Daphne's head. "Try to get some sleep or somethin'. Watch her, you guys." [Awwww, how sweet...! *g*] With that he stood and said, "Ready to go."
Maik transported, his surroundings melting into a feathery, cream-colored pattern. It was here that the water-voice spoke again.
This will hinder you more than it helps, Maik, but it must be seen, for much of your test hinges upon it. These are pieces of what Daphne experienced during her test. But your test is this: You must find a way out of your confinement, and you cannot do so alone.
The pattern before him changed to images from Daphne's test. Not only could he see what Daphne experienced, though, but he could also feel her tension, fear, and even pain as the memories flashed before him, filling him in on the basic plot of the experience that had traumatized her so:
You speak of loving all, and giving to all...but would you take the chains of one so odious to you that it angers you to look upon him?
"I kidnapped a dozen little girls half a season ago. I tortured them, then I killed them..." "And you're not sorry?" "Not a bit. It was right."
"Just pretend I'd taken your place in those chains. And you were free. What would you do?" "Shapeshift and be a Rojane--then kill people from both groups secretly..."
"I'm sentenced to public torture at sundown..."
"So, my freedom for your bondage. Take it or leave it." "I take it..."
"And by the way, my name is Emphi D'rai..."
"Behold Emphi D'rai, killer of twelve female Rojanis..."
"Go! Between the lines! Now!"
"Why wait for the seasons to pass? I say we take him to the top of
the Low Tower and kill him now!"
"Don't kill me! I'm Daphne Celora--I had to take his place--I'm not an A'Laude--I'm not D'rai!" "Lies from the killer of our daughters!"
"Thanks for taking my place, kid. I make a good Rojane already, don't I?"
You have completed your task. Well done, Daphne.
The images melted away, and a shaken Maik found himself in pitch-black darkness. The air was musty and cool. The floor under his feet was cold. Wait a minute, thought Maik, why are my feet bare?
Suddenly a short, sharp sound was heard, and a lamp of sorts was lit not far from him. It was a very different lamp than Maik was used to--it consisted of a short, wide bowl, possibly of adobe-like pottery, that contained a flat stone. The stone gave off a bluish, phosphorescent glow as it smoldered. In the light it gave from its place on the floor, Maik looked down at himself and was surprised to find that his clothes were much like those he had just seen(?) [Yeah--I had that written before; wonder what happened to it...] on Emphi D'rai in the projection of Daphne's test--torn and dirty, and often rent with holes.
He looked up, and saw that he was in a rectangular room with walls and floor made of a strange type of stone. Maik himself was sitting down, his back almost touching the wall behind him. The wall to his left contained a wide door with bars across--was this a jail cell? The wall directly across the room was bare. A man was sitting by the wall to Maik's right.
Maik looked over at the man with the lamp and instantly drew back, so shocked that he hardly felt his back slamming hard against the wall. He'd seen this man before.
The man looked up at the sound of Maik hitting the wall, noticed him for the first time, and started a bit. "Haven't seen you before." he said. "How'd you get in here?"
"You!" Maik burst out. "You're Emphi D'rai!"
"That's my name." D'rai said coolly. "What brings you into my cell?"
It hadn't been more than a minute since he had experienced Daphne's test, and her feelings still lingered with him. Only they didn't make Maik afraid of D'rai; they made him furious with him. For anyone to put Daphne, his Daphne, through that...! [Ooo, *his* Daphne, now! *G*] [Well, they're together now. Why not?] His eyebrows lowered. "You slimeball!" he spat, that being the first insult he could think of. [Maybe not *the* worst insult, but it's fun *g*] "Do you remember Daphne Celora?"
D'rai sighed. "Who? Oh, wait a minute, tell me this isn't another mourning for the Rojani girls." he said wearily. "I don't remember their names, okay? And I'm in enough trouble for that, and everything else, without being hassled by some--"
Maik lunged for him (though he wasn't quite sure what he would do when he had D'rai), but barely got a hold of his shoulder before D'rai shapeshifted, turning into a strange worm-like creature that slipped from Maik's grasp. No sooner had D'rai done this, though, than he snapped back to his normal self. But his groan of pain showed that the return to his natural form was forced and not intentional. "Shapeshift-resistant cells." he muttered to himself, rubbing his back. "Forgot about that."
But Maik wasn't done with him by any means. He grabbed D'rai by his worn shirt, but without his previous violent thoughts. Rather, he put his nose one inch from the surprised criminal's and continued his discussion. "You can't even remember the girl who saved your pathetic skin? For your information, Daphne Celora is the only reason you're not back in the Rojanes' tower right now, still bruised from your torture! You tried to kill her, after she willingly set you free and took your beating!"
"Oh, of course," D'rai said lazily, regaining his composure and pulling himself free from Maik's grip, "the one I threw over the Low Tower. I thought the name sounded familiar. But that was two seasons ago, and I've been through a lot, okay?" D'rai replied. Then his eyes narrowed. "Wait--tried to kill her?"
"That's what I said." answered Maik. "But she didn't die. She was brought back to where she was sent from--the place where I come from."
D'rai paused in surprise. "That's right." he said finally. "She mentioned that--something about trying to send someone home, and that was the way she had to do it. I tried to tell them that when they caught me, but they dismissed it as lies."
"Told who?"
"The Indilani Legal Council, of course. It is their jail we're in."
Maik regarded the criminal, suddenly getting the uneasy feeling that the water-voice had been implying that D'rai was the one he would have to cooperate with to escape his confinement. He tried to drop the interrogative note in his voice and speak evenly. "Look, D'rai, just like Daphne had to set you free for her part of sending that boy home--his name is Gavin, if it means anything to you--my part is here. I don't know who the Indilanis are, or why I'm in their jail. I'd..." --he paused, forced himself to be polite, then continued-- "...I'd appreciate it if you could fill me in on what I'm missing here. Who are the Indilanis?"
D'rai heaved a frustrated sigh. "Why is it me who keeps getting mixed up in this parallel-universe thing? [Maik doesn't know.. go ask Daffy. ;)] All right, here's the story. I don't know how much time's passed for you since I threw your Celora-friend over the Rojanes' Low Tower--"
"About ten minutes, maybe."
"Well, then! Two seasons have passed here, so there's quite a difference. Killing the Celora-girl off--or so we all thought I had--took the pressure off me for a while, but the Rojanes were starting to get nervous. If I was a shapeshifting bounty hunter, who had even been put to death in another form--they had no idea that I was still alive, see; they thought I'd chosen to be tortured as a girl so people'd go easier on me, but ended up being killed anyway--there could be plenty more like me, out switching sides until everyone else was dead, profiting from the war. They didn't know who to trust anymore. The fighting became bloodier, people killing one another even at rumors of someone being a bounty hunter, or even a shapeshifter." ("Kind of like the Red Scare." Daphne was to say later, when the story was relayed to her.)
"And the suspicion spread to the other side?" asked Maik.
"Who, the A'Laudes? Yeah, they got wind of it and went paranoid, too--did the same thing. So I took advantage of it. I pretended to be one of the paranoiacs, and had all the people I wanted for skins. So soon I had plenty of money--though, of course, I stayed in the army and kept collecting skins."
Maik couldn't resist a disgusted reply. "You're sick, you know that?"
D'rai shrugged. "Depends on your opinion of people. Yours is the typical one, the one given by everyone who's got enough money to live on. But if you'd been living on scraps all your life--ignored, hungry, seen as worthless--"
"You think I haven't been that?" Maik asked shortly. "I have." [True.. nice touch, remembering that, Laur.. guess our Monkeefan training worked pretty well. :) ] [Actually, I only remembered that the day I finished it--but good thing I did; in a way, that sentence changed everything. It gave me a good reason for D'rai to be friendly to Maik, which was something that wasn't very believable before.]
Very uncharacteristically, for a split second, D'rai's features registered embarrassment at his words. Almost instantly, though, his face returned to normal and he continued as though nothing had happened. "So, anyway, everything was insane for a while, what with the shapeshifter scare. And, see, that's what started the Indilanis. They emerged as a group of dissidents who wanted to end the madness--they're the closest those sides have come to peace yet. Half the members are Rojanes, half are A'Laudes."
"Still?" asked Maik. "But aren't the Indilanis a whole new side? Why do they call themselves Rojanes and A'Laudes still?"
"Well, that's their religions. Just because their side changed doesn't mean their religion did. But they aren't religious radicals, like most of the fighters are. The radicals keep fighting in the name of defending their religion, and all that--but the Indilanis aren't radicals, and they have enough sense to see that no point is ever going to be proved--that neither side is ever going to be swayed into the other's beliefs. And, unlike the radicals, they don't believe that killing off the other religion is the solution to their problem. That opinion is what makes them Indilani, and not just whatever religion they are. Even the word "Indilani" means something like "The Clear-Sighted"--a term from some language we used millenia ago, they say. But anyway, this members of the group have made peace with each other, and now they're trying to spread that peace." [This whole escapade's startin' to sound like the Hindus and Muslims in India... actually I was thinking the Israeli conflict first, but India's a closer fit, I think.]
"Peace, huh? I'm starting to like these Indilanis." said Maik. "So how'd you end up in their prison?"
"Well, these people, as I said, wanted to stop the killing of suspected bounty hunters, since a lot of people were dying who weren't bounty hunters, or even shapeshifters. Now, they have some brilliant chemists within 'em, and these chemists managed to make a liquid that simulates anti-shapeshifting chains--those things the Celora-girl saw me in. The Indilanis also have some brilliant diplomats. So, somehow or other, they convinced the leaders of each side--Rojane and A'Laude--to have everyone in their armies drink some of this liquid. Those who were currently in another form would be snapped back into their regular, non-shifted form, and could be identified, and then the needless deaths would stop--for the most part, anyway, since they figure some of the hunters aren't shifters. But we, the army members--I was in the Rojane army at that point, hunting A'Laudes--weren't told we were going to be tested like this. They just did one night, slipped it into our drinks at the gathered meal, had us all drink a toast, and watched the results. You can imagine my surprise at being snapped back--and their surprise at finding Emphi D'rai, whom they thought they'd killed over a season ago."
"Who had killed their Rojani girls." added Maik. "I'm guessin' they weren't too happy."
"That they weren't! And all those Rojanes had all sorts of weapons right outside the dining hall! Left to them, I'dve been dead in twenty seconds flat--so would've the others, 'cause I wasn't the only one, though I was the least popular of 'em. But, see, the Indilani diplomats had made each side promise that any recognized bounty hunters would be handed over to them, to be given an Indilani trial. So instead of being killed on the spot, I was tried on the war crime of bounty hunting, found guilty, then sentenced to death. I was also charged, during that trial, with the murders of the twelve Rojanis--and one innocent bystander; you can figure out who that is. I was found guilty on all counts, of course. And here I am. Oh, and while we're on the subject, you'll be happy to know that a post-death respects ceremony was held for your Celora-friend once they found out she'd been needlessly killed. I hear it was nice."
"I'll be sure to tell her. So how long do you have to live?" asked Maik.
"A little less than two days--it would've been two more seasons than that if I was with the Rojanes, but the Indilanis don't mess around with war criminals. Once this morning comes, I'll have until sundown the next day. That's when all the bounty hunters will be put to death." He eyed Maik suddenly. "So, come to think of it...you're in a bit of trouble, too."
"Me? I'm not a bounty hunter!" cried Maik.
"Well, this is the bounty hunter prison wing, and here you are in the same type of clothing as me. There's no window in here, so you can't have climbed in. And you can't get in or out by shapeshifting--the bars, walls, and floor are resistant to it; that's why there's no chains, like there were in the Rojane tower. Simply put, there's not a thing you can say that'll convince the Indilanis that you aren't one of us. You can talk 'til you're breathless about the place you say you're from, but it'll do no good. They've heard enough excuses to count your story as one of them." [Oo. Tight spot for poor Maik..!]
"But how can they say I'm one of theirs? They've never seen me before! They didn't even put me in the cell!"
"So what, man? Their security system is the most advanced in the whole dominion, and then some--you can bet they're not going to take the paranormal into account. They'll dismiss you as someone who slipped through the cracks--some lost record in the paperwork--and kill you just like they'll kill me."
Maik, saying a word that Daphne wouldn't have liked, [;D ..like Dirand will..? *eg*] [Yes...only notice that *I* wasn't blatantly specific...*g*] leaned back against the wall. "I've stopped liking these Indilanis." he announced after a while.
"Haven't we all." said D'rai. "I'm getting some sleep, so this light's going out in a second. See you tomorrow." He licked his thumb and index finger and pinched the glowing rock, and the cell was plunged into darkness. Maik, however, was awake for an hour or more, turning the matter over in his mind again and again, trying to formulate some plan. His eyes finally rebelled against this, however, and closed. Maik slept deeply and dreamlessly until the morning.
"Hey, up an' at 'em. Breakfast is served."
D'rai's words, and the shake they were accompanied by, roused Maik from his quiescence. [Oo, nice big word! ...tho I don't actually remember what it means..;)] [It means, more or less, "state of rest". It's fun to say, which I why I couldn't resist using it here.] He opened his eyes halfway, felt around groggily for his green wool hat, and realized that it, like the rest of his normal clothes, wasn't with him. He sat up and rubbed at his neck and back, sore from sleeping on the cold stone floor. "What's for breakfast?" he asked. "Or don't I want to know?"
"Depends." said D'rai. "What's your opinion of lukewarm krishni on toasted bread?"
"Depends." replied Maik. "What's krishni?"
"Well, it's in that dish over there, if you care to find out. You dip the toasted bread pieces in."
Maik went over and peered into the largish bowl. It was, in fact, only lukewarm--and was a lightish gray. It resembled cream of chicken soup, but smelled different.
"It's not bad, I think, as breakfasts go," D'rai said, "though it's certainly not as good as fried reyder strips. With the drippings made into sauce--now that's a breakfast!"
Not realizing that this uncharacteristic semi-friendliness of D'rai's could be an opportunity of some sort, Maik only responded with an absentminded "hmm" and dipped a hunk of the toasted bread into the krishni. He looked it over once more, braced himself, and tasted it. It was obviously some kind of meat, and it was sort of like chicken--but with a strange flavor to it, like it had been mixed with a seasoning he had never tasted. Though a bit gluey in consistency, the krishni was edible. "Yeah, it's okay." Maik said. "Do we get anything to drink?"
"Oh, that's right--they're bringing yours in as soon as they get another one. You didn't see the servers come; you were still asleep. They weren't planning on your being in here, of course--though, just like I said, they were already mumbling about paperwork as they left--so they're getting one for you. I finished mine already. It's haldren...though I'm guessing you've never had that, either."
"No, I haven't. We speak the same language, but I've never heard any of your food words except 'bread'. It's odd."
"Yeah, it is."
A server came just then, bringing Maik's cup of haldren. It steamed just a little, and smelled much better than the krishni--somewhat like warm milk sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. It tasted good, too--though, again, like nothing Maik recognized. [Coming soon: the official Recipes of the Rojanes and A'Laudes cookbook!] [::cracks up:: Very fun idea, but it'd be useless unless you're a member of their dominion--where else are you going to find krishni, which is the local version of a prairie chicken?]
Maik and D'rai sat with their backs against one of the cell walls, sharing the krishni on toast. Maik thought it strange that he should be feeling almost friendly toward a remorseless child-killer and bounty hunter, and even more strange that said hunter should be feeling the same toward him, but decided to try to keep the feeling--if his hunch about the water-voice's instructions was right, he would need D'rai to trust him.
Over breakfast Maik related, at D'rai's request, some of the adventures he and the Applebus crew had gone through, particularly those concerning Gavin: Ràspia and Reûic, and the boy's mental message. D'rai flashed a grin at him at the end of his narrative. "I wouldn't have minded finding this Ràspia you're talking about." he said. "She sounds like fun. [Hehehe... *eg* ...nice touch, Laur.] [Thanks. Really, though, the more guys I talk to, the more I think that that'd be the typical male response. We definitely do not want to explore the Ràspia and Reûic chapter through the guy crew members' eyes...] And she actually singled you out, while you were getting back onto this Applebus-thing, and asked you to come back with her?"
"Yeah, she did."
"And you didn't go back? Maik, Maik,"--D'rai knew his name by now--"what were you thinking, man? I saw this Daphne-kid of yours, and, no offense, but I wasn't particularly impressed. What could she possibly have going for her that Ràspia didn't?"
"She likes me for real. She's not just some fake seductress who just wants me for her own purposes. She knows me, and likes me. And I like her."
"Yeah, but this Ràspia's incredible, Maik! Everything you've ever wanted in a girl--whatever you want her to be. And if what you want changes, so does she. Why leave her for someone who's going to be moody, and'll fight with you, and'll probably fall in love with someone else eventually...and who--again, no offense--really isn't such a looker?"
"'Cause she's real. And she's Daphne. If we can like each other, despite all the bad things, well...what better liking is there?"
"The kind you had! ...Sorry, but I just don't get you, Maik."
No, Maik thought, you wouldn't. The conversation had bothered him a bit, though, and he sat for a while, shredding a piece of toasted bread into crumbs without realizing it.
"Why leave her for someone who's going to be moody...?" It was sort of true; Maik still remembered the night they had first found the water-voice. Daphne, while she'd said she was "just zoned", had acted sort of strange. And she had cried before, the night he had covered her with the blanket, and had said she wanted everything back to normal--before everyone had fallen in love. She was a bit on the emotional side. [Uh-oh... *fearing some Zinni-esque drama ahead*...
"...And'll probably fall in love with someone else eventually..." He had a point there, too. Maik knew how much it had meant to her to get Bryan out of that castle; he could almost see her bouncing on her heels in the castle corridor again, voicing her concern for the captive boy. She had acknowledged Bryan's being only a friend eventually...but what did that say? She had obviously liked him before. If she had fallen out of love with Bryan, she certainly could with him. Was D'rai right? Would Ràspia have been the better girl? [AH! Nooo!!!! Maaaiiiikkk!!! *evil glare* Be NICE to Daphne!!! ...sorry... *g*] He had certainly felt more at ease around her, taking charge of their relationship--or so he thought he had done at the time. He began to wonder if D'rai was...well, right. What was so bad about being a slave to a magic force if it got you whatever you wanted? People often acted soulless for less, and if you never knew the difference...
Then Maik remembered what Reûic had done to Gavin, and how scared Daphne had looked when Ràspia had asked him to come back. She'd never given Reûic a second look, and he'd been right by them. If Daphne was going to fall in love with someone else before she went home--and Maik was beginning to doubt that--he guessed it wouldn't be for quite a while. Maik looked over at D'rai. "She looks pretty enough to me." he said. [phew! *sigh of relief* *g*]
D'rai shrugged. "Hey, whatever you like, I guess."
After breakfast Maik and D'rai were escorted outdoors to the labor area--all the prisoners worked during part of the day--and were soon working side by side in the baking sun. "Is it always this hot here?" asked Maik, mopping his forehead with his ragged sleeve.
"More or less. It's hotter the season before this, and it'll be cooler next season. But we get a lot of days like this."
Sometime around an hour later, a tube-shaped instrument was blown upon by a guard, and a high-pitched note sounded across the labor area. "Good, it's break." said D'rai. He put down the stone-cutting tool he'd been working with. Maik put down the glaze and brush he had been using to coat the brick-shaped stone pieces that D'rai was cutting. The stone would be used to build a new prison wing sometime in the next four seasons.
Maik cast squinted eyes (it was bright) around the area, looking for any weak spot in the guard or the structure of the area. He found nothing. The reddish-gold-colored stone walls were strong, and in each corner of the rectangular area was a tall tower containing sentries. There was nothing he could do to get out. He turned and desperately addressed D'rai.
"D'rai," he said quietly, "I've got to get out of here. I've got 'til sundown tomorrow, and then they'll kill me. And I didn't do anything!"
D'rai shook his head. "Look, Maik, I can't help you. If there's a way out, I don't know it. And, you know, it's not just you they're killing."
"But I--" Maik stopped himself from saying "I'm the only innocent one". He thought a second, then took a breath, deciding to take the plunge. It was time to listen to what the water-voice had said, and act accordingly. "I know that. And there may be something I can do about that. Now, listen. When I got sent here, it was with two pieces of knowledge--the one who sent me here gave them to me. I got sent with the knowledge that to do my part in sending Gavin home, I had to break out of my confinement. I take that to mean this prison. I was also sent with the knowledge that I couldn't do that alone. And I take that to mean you. I need your help, D'rai."
D'rai looked straight at Maik. "To get out of here--that's your part?"
"Yes. And I was told that all have the power to accomplish their test. I was not given something that could not be done. If you help me, I can escape. Now, if this being that sent me is who I think it is, then it's not going to let you die after helping us send Gavin home, either. You'll escape somehow."
"Just for helping you? Maik, if you're putting me on..."
"I'm not--you have my word that I'm not. I'll even make you a deal: I won't escape alone. If I go, you go, or we'll die trying. But you have to do something in return, 'cause your life's being saved: You can't go back to bounty hunting once you're free. You've got to find a way to live without killing others. Now, c'mon, we've got over 24 hours. We can think of something. And, well, we've got nothing to lose that we wouldn't anyway. How 'bout it?" [Oo. Nice dealin', Maik!]
Emphi D'rai stared at Maik for a long time. Then a roguish grin [hehe...like Bryan's...? *eg*] [Well, not quite...but close, come to think of it. D'rai's is a bit more on the evil side.] crept across his face. "Done. Let's find a way out of here."
The high-pitched note sounded again. The break was over. Maik and D'rai went back to work.
"...So any shapeshifting in the area we were working in is guarded against by those towers? How?"
"Well, it works the same way the shapeshift-resistant walls and floors in here do, and the way shapeshift-resistant chains work for the Rojanes." explained D'rai. "See, shapeshifter ability occurs through lack of a specific body chemical--I forget the name right now. If I have any in me, it's a very low level. Because of that, my body shape isn't as permanent as most people's. The low level of this chemical is genetic, by the way--on the same gene, there's the ability to command one's body into shifting. It's one gene--you either get both characteristics or you don't, with very few exceptions. Now, you can't change genetics, but you can inhibit shapeshifting ability by exposing a shapeshifter to the chemical they're missing. Even small doses, a little absorbed through the pores of the skin, will inhibit shifting. It might not always stop it completely, but it'll make it so you could only hold your shift for a few seconds. So in this cell, the floors and walls are coated with this chemical, and as I absorb it, I get inhibited. It was that chemical that was put in my drink the night the Rojanes found out who I was. Stuff like that." [Wow. Somebody put a heck of a lotta work into this chapter!] [Yeah, but you don't know how much fun it was, or how great I feel to finally be able to come up with something so complex after my years of realistic fiction!]
"All right." said Maik, nodding his head. "So what do the towers do?"
"Well, the towers have ventilation systems that mist the chemical through the air. It's not much, or the non-shapeshifters--like you and the sentries--would stiffen, and their normal movement would be slowed. But it's enough. Like you saw last night, even if I could shapeshift, it'd only be for a couple of seconds--then I'd snap back."
"Hm, more air chemicals. Something like that happened to us earlier in our travels--it caused memory loss, though, not movement loss." said Maik. "But, see, we found an antidote. I doubt there'll be anything like that here." [Huh? When was that...? ...must still be workin' on Naomi/Ananda here...] [The castle. Remember how their cells made Bryan, Aubrey, Daphne, Myki, and Daivi forget everything?]
"So do I. But the point here is, if someone could shut down the ventilation systems, shapeshifting would be possible outside. I could shift into something that could get us both out of there. But the question is how to get to those towers. We're all stuck in here for the night, and they start watching us first thing in the morning."
Maik sat back and thought. "Well, as far as a general plan, shapeshifting definitely seems the way to go here." he said. "That's the only advantage we have over them--that you can shift and they can't."
"It's not an advantage yet. I can't use it for more than a second or two at a time."
"Well, all right. But it still seems like the best way to go about it, don't you think?"
"It seems the most likely, anyway. If there's a way to get out of here, it's probably that. If we can disable those towers, we're home free--we can try to cut the wires or something. If not, even if we can rig it so it takes any more time than fifteen seconds to start up the ventilation again, that's enough. I can get us out of there by then. But I can't get to the towers to disable them. If I could shapeshift for a few seconds, I could get you out of this cell. But then you'd have to go it alone."
"Wires, though. Sounds easy enough. At least you run on the same power system as I'm used to." Maik answered. "Now, supposing all went well, and I did get out--would I have to dodge the guards?"
"Not if we did it late enough tonight. I'm pretty sure that for a few hours near morning, they stop watching this wing--'cause, I mean, how are we going to get out? There'll just be some guards in the main complex in case of emergency. There'll probably be a couple of sentries at the towers, though, but probably not more than two--and if I'm not mistaken, they'll go in time shifts. If you're really careful, you could sneak between the towers as the time shifts happen, and cut the wires then. If you're in and out, they won't suspect anything."
"But how will I know which wire to cut? I don't want to turn off anything that'll arouse suspicion. If the guards wake up and find that there's no heat or something, they'll go up there pretty quick, and they'll keep us all in the cells 'til everything's finished."
"Well, I don't know how much gets controlled by the towers. I think mostly just the ventilation--probably the lights on top of the towers, too, but I doubt anything important. It's too far away from the main building for them to put anything critical there. I'd be surprised if there were more than three or four wires for you to choose from."
"Well, I don't like the odds of finding the right one, but maybe it won't matter if I take out the tower lights or something. Now, how do I get out of the cell?"
"Your part'll be easier than mine--you'll just have to move forward." said D'rai. "I'm going to have to use one of the more complex shifts to get you out--which means I can't hold it for long at all, especially not around here. If we get a good shot, I'm guessing I can hold it for just over a second. Bad shot, half a second. How fast can you run?"
"From where? What are you going to do?"
"It's kind of like becoming a hole. It's the move shapeshifters use to get through solid things. I can shift in such a way that it'll make a gap in the cell bars wide enough for you to get out--but, like I said, not for long. If you stood at the other end of the cell, and ran...I know it's not far to run, but maybe just that extra bit of speed would be what we needed to get you through in time. I was planning on using the same shift tomorrow to get us out of here."
"I see. And what'll happen tonight, after that second of shifting, assuming I get through?"
"I'll snap back and be left in here. It'd be up to you to do everything else."
"You can't just emerge on the other side of the bars? Didn't you say that's how you'd get through a solid thing?"
"Yeah, but the circumstances are different. My problem isn't that the shift wouldn't allow me to do it. It's time that's the problem here. Just getting you through'll be close--I'd never have the time to do it myself. Even if I was alone, and you weren't going through, I couldn't get myself to the other side in a second. But tomorrow I'll have enough time."
"Oh, okay. So when do we do this move?"
"When the guards are gone and everyone else is asleep--you'll be able to tell when the guards are gone. And the other prisoners will be asleep, trust me--at least the ones who're close enough to hear us, 'cause they're all shapeshifters, too--and we tend to need a lot of sleep. A side effect of the chemical imbalance, I guess. We'll have to sleep in shifts, though, so neither of us'll be too dead for this."
"Good idea. You can sleep first. ...And, hey, how do I get back in the cell? Same move?"
"Yeah. So I'm going to have to stay up 'til you get back. Try not to take too long, all right?"
"I'll see what I can do."
The bounty hunter wing of the Indilani prison was pitch-black when Maik woke D'rai. "How are we going to see to get me out of here?" asked Maik.
"Same way we saw each other last night...the lamp." D'rai replied, lighting it. The rock began to smolder again, and D'rai and Maik regarded each other in the glow. "You're sure all the guards have gone?" D'rai asked.
"Yes." answered Maik. "And everyone seems to be asleep. It's as silent as it'd be if there was nobody there--no moving around, even."
"Good. Let's get to it. You ready?"
Maik shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be."
D'rai got up and pushed himself against the bars. Maik was already standing against the opposite wall. "All right," D'rai whispered, "here's what we do. I'm going to count to three, okay? I'm going to start shifting at two, so I should be almost done by three. The idea here is for you to get to me just as I've made the hole--if that happens, you'll make it through even with time to spare. You might have to aim, though--the hole's only going to be about as big as I am. I'll spread my arms--that'll make it somewhat wider."
"Gotcha. Start counting whenever you're ready."
"Okay." D'rai moved around a bit, then stood still. "Here we go. One...two..." D'rai began to turn sort of transparent. His voice became altered, but Maik still understood his next word perfectly: "Three!"
A hole formed between the cell bars as Maik raced forward. He shot through the hole, but only just made it before D'rai snapped back. D'rai tried to stifle his moan of pain so as not to disturb the other prisoners. "Not a great shot--must be they coat the bars pretty well--but you still got through. Good job."
"Thanks. Are you okay?"
"I wasn't ready for that--but I'll get over it. Go, quick, get to one of the empty towers, and try to do it without anyone seeing you. I'll be waiting back here."
"All right." Maik responded. "How do I get out of here?"
"The same way we came out this morning. Go down the same corridor. It'll bring you into the labor area, but there's an entrance to each tower from there. You'll find 'em--they had guards posted there this morning--you'll recognize it."
"All right, thanks. Thanks for all the help."
"It's nothing. Just trying to save your neck."
"My neck?"
"Well, mine, too, but more yours. It's your test."
Maik grinned at him. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you'd gone honorable on me."
"Ah. In that case, if you screw up, you're dyin' before sundown tomorrow, 'cause I'll definitely kill you before they do." But Maik could see that D'rai was grinning back as he said so.
Maik reached the door to the outside without considerable trouble. Cautiously he pulled it open--then drew back a bit. The tower lights were all on, illuminating most of the work area in yellow light. Only the edges of the walls were covered in shadow. Maik realized he would have to stay in the shadows if he wanted to avoid being seen.
He crept out, closing the heavy door behind him as noiselessly as he could. He moved along the wall, his back pressed against it, sometimes having to walk on tiptoe to avoid the yellow beams. After a stretch of time that was really only half of what it felt like, Maik's now-clammy hands found one of the doors that D'rai had spoken of. He pulled it open and stepped into the corridor it revealed.
The corridor, which extended to the left and right from the door, had a floor made mostly of dirt--and the same walls as the entire labor area. Maik realized that the labor area walls that he had thought so strong were hollow inside, and this corridor--which, like the walls, ran through all the towers--was what was inside them. Maik was surprised to hear how much quieter his footsteps sounded--he was used to hearing them echo off the hard stone floor of the cell and the concrete-like floor of the labor area. Maik chose to go left, and walked down the corridor. At first he didn't know how it was lit; he saw no lamps or bulbs. Then he looked up and saw a long black wire running across the ceiling. Somehow this wire, like the stone in D'rai's lamp, projected light. Maik, having stopped in fascination, stared at it for a few seconds, then blinked a few times and continued along the path.
After a stretch of dirt, Maik encountered a staircase, also made of packed dirt. He crept up the stairs, pausing after every step to see if he could hear a sentry. He reached the top of the staircase and beheld a smallish room--one that contained no sentry.
He entered the room. It was mostly bare, but there were two objects of note: an object that seemed to be some sort of intercom, and a small control panel, set with a few switches and a button, mounted on top of a sort of cabinet. Maik made a quick guess at what the cabinet held.
He went to his knees and fumbled with the cabinet's stubborn but lockless latch. When he finally pried it open, he saw what he'd been hoping for: several wires of different colors, running through the cabinet. These wires were connected to the switches on the control panel. One of these was the wire he needed to disable.
He knew better than to bother with the thick black-coated wire he saw; that worked the lighting in the corridor, as he'd seen when he looked at the ceiling--and it also lit the lighting in this room. But there was a white one, a green one, and a bluish-black one; which one worked the chemical-ventilating system?
Maik looked up at the control panel. There were three switches and a button, as he'd seen before. One of these things worked the tower's beam, one the other lighting, one the ventilation...what did the fourth device on the panel control? He ducked down and looked at the wires again. The thick black one was connected to the button, so now he only had three switches to contend with in finding the ventilation control.
Maik threw all caution to the winds and tried one. The intercom snapped on, and a bit of static-sound issued from its speaker. Maik flipped the switch again, turning it off. That was the tower's fourth control--the intercom. He hadn't thought of that.
Now he had two switches. Both were turned up, which Maik assumed meant the "on" position, since the tower beam was controlled by one of them, and it was on. If he flipped the wrong switch, the tower beam would go off...if the right one, nothing should happen to the light.
He chose another at random and flipped it. The tower beam stayed on...and a bit of white noise in the background--Maik hadn't noticed it before--subsided into silence. That was the switch he wanted. The ventilation had turned itself off. Maik checked the wires. That was the white one. He had to disable the white-coated wires.
He looked at the white-coated wire again and realized the ends were held in small sockets of some sort, much like the ends of a modem. He gave the wire a hard yank, and it popped out and hung limply in Maik's hand. A grin spread across Maik's face. One tower down, three more to go...but what to do with the wire that he was holding?
Not having any pockets, Maik knotted the ends of the wire together to make a loop. When that was done, he slipped the white-coated circle around his neck like a necklace, then closed the opening to the cabinet. He flipped the ventilation switch back to the "on" position--no need to make the regular sentries suspicious before they had to be--nodded in satisfaction as the white noise failed to sound, and exited the tower, descending the steps. Mission accomplished, at least this part of it...
Maik kept along the corridor in the same direction he'd gone in before. He came to another staircase. This time, though, there was a sentry at the top--though, happily, his back was to Maik as he peered out of the large tower window. Maik quickly but quietly hurried down the staircase. He'd come back to it later.
But another startling encounter was about to be had--just as the next staircase appeared, he saw a sentry descending it. Maik backed up a few paces and pressed himself tightly against the wall, frantically planning his next move should the sentry sight him. But Maik had another narrow escape--the sentry went the opposite way, never looking in Maik's direction. As soon as the sentry was well out of sight, Maik shot up the staircase, located the white wire, and removed it, tying this one, too, loosely around his neck.
Now there were two towers to cripple, and both were guarded--the sentry Maik saw had been relocating. That was a difference from what Maik had expected--rather than many different sentries taking shifts to guard two specific towers, as D'rai had guessed, Maik realized that the same two sentries were rotating between all four towers, so that no two were left unguarded all night. In any case, there was nothing to do but wait until they moved.
He sat at the bottom of the staircase of the tower he had just disabled, fairly sure he would be able to hear the sentries' footsteps approaching in enough time to hide. After a nerve-racking length of time, this very thing happened. Footsteps approached from his left, and Maik raced down the corridor in the opposite direction. The sentry went into the tower Maik had disabled, and Maik went to the tower the sentry had been guarding. There he removed the wire.
In this fashion, he also removed the fourth and last wire from the remaining tower. Elated, Maik crept down the last staircase, then found one of the doors back to the labor area. All he had to do now was get back to the cell. D'rai, hopefully, was still awake, and he could slip back into the cell.
The tower beams had been dimmed because they weren't as necessary in the brightening sky. This made Maik's job somewhat harder--no longer could the darkness hide him; it was very possible that a sentry could see him in the pinkish morning light. Still, Maik pressed against the wall and moved along without incident. Congratulating himself, still grinning, he reached the door that led back into the cell complex and pulled the handle that would open it.
The door didn't open.
He pulled harder. Nothing happened. Maik realized that the door was bolted shut from the inside--had been, ever since he pulled it shut behind him some time earlier--and slumped against the door, furious with himself for not thinking of such a thing beforehand, not to mention somewhat panicked. How on earth was he going to stay hidden until D'rai came out? Wouldn't the guards find him?
It didn't take long for the latter question to be answered. In the brightening light of morning, Maik was soon spotted by the door. A voice came over the intercom--Maik never knew until then that the intercom had a speaker outside the tower. He heard the sentry's every word.
"Prisoner in the labor area! Prisoner outside his cell! Security!" [Ahhh! Knew you'd hafta make something go wrong!!!] [Well, of course. No plan so complex and thrown together as that goes off without a hitch. No one'd believe *that*, now would they?]
Maik's panic increased, especially when he realized that the white wires were still tied to his neck. One look at those would tell the guards what he'd been doing for the past hour and a half. He pulled them over his head and managed to throw them, unnoticed, into one of the buckets that littered the labor area. Then he stood helpless as guards entered through the door he'd tugged at and grabbed him by the arms. A cloth wetted with something was shoved in Maik's face, and all at once his entire field of vision went black.
D'rai sat sleepily in his cell, impatiently awaiting Maik's return. It wouldn't be long before his fellow prisoners would begin to wake up--Maik needed to be back before then if he was to come back into the cell unnoticed.
He had been listening since Maik was gone, fearing the sound of an alarm, but hadn't heard one yet. D'rai, who rarely got excited about anything, regarded the tingling feeling in his limbs and stomach almost as something strange--something he hadn't known since his imprisonment, or, indeed, since the first time he'd been paid off for bringing in skins. But he couldn't deny it--Maik must be okay, since he would have heard the alarm if there had been one. He was going to be free.
He thought about this and noticed another strange change in himself: after all the times he'd cheated and lied to people, feeling that somehow they deserved it for putting him in such a position, somehow he couldn't bring himself to break his promise to Maik that he wouldn't hunt again. Maik, after all, had a point: If not for this test he'd been sent on, D'rai would be ticking off the last hours and minutes of his life. He thought about that, and, while not feeling exactly remorse for his crimes yet, he did admit to himself that it would be something new not to have to kill soldiers for his bread. It was almost like being a rebel to go against his normal tendencies in this way, and that, too, brought an odd feeling--though this one was harder to identify; something like adventure, as much as his unsentimental nature rebelled against the emotion. It seemed saccharine. [Much like this paragraph, incidentally, but it had to be written, though I apologize for not being able to do it better than this.] [S'alright, it's not too bad.. *g*] Still, he couldn't shake it. And then there was his growing respect--something he hadn't felt for anyone for as long as he could remember, so cynical and negative was he--for Maik. Maik had made it clear that much of his past had been a wretched one, but he had somehow emerged from it more or less unscathed--and was now risking his life for someone he hardly knew, who had attempted to kill his girlfriend. He couldn't think of a single instance where anyone would want to do such a thing, but Maik had. Maik had somehow made everything very, very different. [Awww... how sweet... Now, if we were *really* twisted children, he'd like, fall in love with Maik or summat now... but I don't think even *I'd* do that, might not be a foreign concept in Fushigi Yuugi (right Daf? *g*), but..no. ] [Yech, thanks for the visual! ::scowls:: I really would never have thought of that if you hadn't brought it up, you know.]
Five seconds later, D'rai's stomach turned cold as he heard an alarm go off. He sat bolt upright, as did many prisoners who were awoken by the grating sound. He waited in terrible suspense as three guards ran past and burst through the door leading to the labor area.
Some half a minute later, these guards marched past again, carrying Maik's limp body. D'rai, anguished, stared at them as they went by, trying desperately to see if there was any sign on Maik that he might have carried out his task before being captured. There was none.
The other prisoners talked amongst themselves about this mysterious occurence, but never noticed D'rai banging his fist on the floor of his cell, muttering curse words under his breath. The wreck of the plan brought a very familiar sensation--anger. But then, as the anger subsided and the thought of death sank in, it brought another unfamiliar one--sorrow. And not just for himself, but for Maik. What would they do to him?
D'rai sat in misery until breakfast. When the servers came by to ask D'rai what he wanted to eat--giving him choices for once, as it was his last breakfast--he heard them talking as they turned away. By the slightest chance, they were discussing just what he needed to hear. "They found him right by the labor area door. He'd just gotten out of there before the towers spotted him, they say. They don't know how he got out of his cell, but at least he didn't get far."
In a flash of comprehension, D'rai realized what had happened. He knew very well that Maik hadn't just escaped; time was inscrutable in a cell, but D'rai guessed he'd been away for at least 45 minutes. That meant--D'rai's sly grin appeared at the thought--that meant that Maik had most likely been coming back! Maik had disabled the towers and was coming back! And if no one suspected that he had entered the towers, probably no one would think to check whether the tower systems were working. Could the ventilation be off? And would it still be off by the time he went outside?
D'rai decided that he might as well find out.
Maik slowly opened his eyes--then closed them when he remembered what had happened and realized where he was. He was lying on his back in a cell--but this one highly guarded, as he noted from the two sentries watching the bars, and adjoining what he guessed was a questioning room--he wasn't anywhere near where he'd been before, obviously.
True, he had successfully disabled the towers--even if the sentries, by some small chance, noticed this, they would be hard put to replace the wires--but had been caught trying to get back to his cell. If only he'd realized that the door would be bolted! But that was ridiculous--why bolt a door into a cell complex? How many prisoners would try to get back in? No matter. It had been bolted, anyway, and here he was. D'rai would probably have no idea that the ventilation was off, and so wouldn't try to escape while in the labor area. Had he seen him being put in here, or even taken by...or was he still wondering what had happened, and what was making him so late? How long would it take for him to decide that his "partner in crime", so to speak, had been captured?
And if D'rai did try his luck in the labor area and realize he could escape, what would he do? Maik didn't like his mental answer to that--D'rai had been, very surprisingly, tolerable--possibly even likable--during most of his stay in the Indilani jail complex, but he felt it a bit too much to ask of D'rai to free him. A condemned man, risking his freedom and life to save someone he didn't know the location of? Not likely of anyone, and certainly not of Emphi D'rai. No, D'rai would not be coming to save him. What now? Would he truly die? Would the water-voice come to his aid? What would happen if he failed this test? Gavin wouldn't go home--and wouldn't it be his fault?
Maik's tension, building up, suddenly brought him to an infuriating, devastating realization. All through his stay in the cell, Maik had found one piece of the puzzle that never seemed to fit: D'rai's continued friendliness. There had never seemed to be any logic in it--why would he go from chill and suspicion to asking for stories of the Applebus travels? Why treat a stranger so nicely if he had the coldheartedness to torture and kill little girls? Suddenly Maik could think of a reason: D'rai had been using him, all this time. He remembered the alteration in D'rai's face--and manner--when he remembered who Daphne was. D'rai, Maik reasoned, had followed the logical chain of thought: Daphne had come to free him some seasons ago; he had indeed gotten out; suddenly he was in jail again, now condemned to death, and another being from the same source had come--angry about Daphne, true, but this being must also have the power to free him. D'rai would have seen that if he played his cards right, pacified the newcomer, and subtly brought him to the conclusion that he needed to escape, and quickly, he could most likely find freedom himself. What if there was no execution today? What if that was just a ploy to get the wheels turning? D'rai would be long gone by now, laughing to himself at the sucker he had netted, congratulating himself on putting on two parallel-universe beings whom he resented for their nobility and intelligence. D'rai had told him of his low regard for human life--why hadn't the warning bells gone off at that? Maik began to feel that he had deserved everything he'd gotten, so foolish and naïve as he'd been to think that he could teach a hopeless malefactor morality. He'd seen, in the projections, how D'rai had treated Daphne, how he had repaid her nobility by trying to kill her--why hadn't that told him that D'rai wasn't worth giving a second chance to? [Yiesh... nothing worse than self-induced mental torment...]
"He's twitching." one of the guards said suddenly, breaking into Maik's raging thoughts. "He'll wake up soon."
Maik's anger at himself surged again--now he had to face these Indilanis. Why couldn't he have kept still? Deciding he might as well get on with it, he opened his eyes and slowly sat up.
Just as the guards turned around to look at him, Maik was shocked to hear shouted instructions from D'rai...and more shocked to find that they were coming from directly under him.
"Maik! It's me! Listen, I'm going to make a hole for you, and I want you to jump down into it as soon as I do--your floor's coated, I'm sure, so it's only going to be for a second. Get ready!" [Ah! Yay! Save the Texas Woolhat! ..errr..yeah... *g*] [Hey, why not?]
"Who's talking to you?" demanded one of the guards. He practically slammed his fist into the other one's shoulder. "Call for more security! I'll stun this one before he goes anywhere, but the other one'll--"
It was at this second that the hole opened a few feet from Maik. Maik, astonished, elated, and confused as he was, still had the sense to move toward it...
...the guard took whipped out a strange-looking weapon and took aim between the bars of the cell...
...Maik jumped into the hole just before the guard fired...
...And D'rai snapped back into form under the cell, leaving the weapon's shot to richochet off the metal floor of the cell, now above them. "Run for it!" shouted D'rai to Maik, more or less in his ear.
Maik barely had time to realize that he was in an underground tunnel that he could stand in if he hunched over a bit. Then he was racing, bent-backed, along the uneven dirt surface, D'rai at his heels. Within some seconds they burst into the sunlight and the sweltering heat, just outside the walls of the jail complex. Sandy yellow ground stretched out for miles around, and the jail complex had broken into noisy chaos.
"What now?" cried Maik, turning to stare at D'rai.
"Just hop onto me when I shift again!"
D'rai wavered, turned semi-solid, and became altered. In a few seconds he was a giant bird, much like a large eagle. [Cool...] Maik leaped onto his back and threw his arms loosely around its neck. The bird spread a sweeping wingspan, pumped it, and slowly became airborne.
But their rise hadn't been as fast as D'rai had planned, and now they were in trouble. Guards came rushing out of the complex, weapons drawn and ready. Seeing Maik on the huge bird's back, they took aim and fired at the pair. It was not bullets, however, but nets that exploded from the cartridges being shot. Three of them shot up and unfolded in the same way as Chinese flower nets, spinning in midair, surrounding Maik and the transformed D'rai. In a few seconds the nets would entangle them both--there was no way to avoid them--they were going to be captured again...
Suddenly a great thrust shot them forward, tearing a hole in the nets as they rocketed through. Maik's grip on the bird's neck turned vicelike as he struggled not to fall off from the thrust, though he knew it was half-choking D'rai...
...And their surroundings melted into a familiar cream-colored pattern, textured like the feathers of the bird that Maik desperately clung to, and then back to the cave from which Maik had come. Maik's grip on D'rai slipped off as the shapeshifter slowly turned back to his normal form.
Both of them found themselves standing in the cave, meeting ten silent, wide-eyed stares.
D'rai turned, his own eyes widened, to Maik. "Is this...?"
Maik nodded. "These are my friends, the crew of the Applebus. Everyone, this is Emphi D'rai."
There was a second of silence, broken by Ianthe. "You were a bird just now. You must be a shapeshifter."
D'rai turned to look at her. "Yes." he said. "You're not, though, are you?"
Ianthe shook her head.
However, she is not a normal humanoid, came a mental voice. [Gaaaahhh! Awright, that's it, I already know Daf's planning on expanding on this..or something...I don't know, guys, I'd really rather keep the us-characters more realistic, y'know..?] [I didn't mean it that way. I was playing off Daf's next bit--you know, how she experiences just a slight something beyond the realm of humans. You remember that line, right?]
D'rai whipped his head around. The water-voice had appeared nearby. He turned back to Maik in shock. "What's that?"
Maik half-smiled. "I'm surprised it hasn't answered you already. This is what sent Daphne and me to your world. We call it the water-voice. Oh, and that's Gavin, the boy I was telling you about." He motioned to Gavin, who met D'rai's glance for only a moment before dropping his eyes shyly and addressing Maik. "Daphne's asleep." he said.
Maik and D'rai glanced over. "It's probably just as well." D'rai said quietly.
The water-voice broke into the question that had entered everyone's mind. He is here to assist you. I told you that two people would appear to help you find Gavin's sister and father, one that you did not know. Emphi D'rai is your unknown aid.
"I am?" D'rai asked, startled. "But I don't know the first thing about any of this! How am I supposed to help?"
You will see in time, answered the water-voice. In the meantime, I congratulate you both on the success of Maik's test. It was indeed I who thrust you through the nets, but the friendship of sorts, cooperation, and planning were your own.
D'rai nodded, not sure what else to do, and asked, "So, Maik...which of these people are which? ...He's told me a bit about you guys, and it looks like I'm going to be here a while, so..."
Maik's introduction of the others was interrupted halfway through by a piercing scream. Daphne had woken up in the semi-commotion of greeting D'rai, and had seen him first, before she realized that the others were still there. [Well, yeah, I s'pose a sadistic murderer isn't exactly the first thing you'd wanna see when you wake up...] She had closed her eyes, but opened them when Maik came over and laid his hand on her arm. "It's okay. He's here to help now." Maik explained.
"Help? Him?" asked Daphne incredulously, voice shaking a bit. Maik nodded.
"Daphne?" Naomi began questioningly. "What is it?"
It was D'rai who answered. "Um, well, Daphne and I have already met...and, uh, we didn't exactly hit it off."
"That's a nice way to put it." Daphne said, a bitter note creeping into her voice.
D'rai sighed. "All right, so I basically tried to kill her." he amended, avoiding the faces of the other Applebus members. He turned back to Daphne. "But you did say it was your test to free me, right?"
"Throwing me over the Low Tower wasn't supposed to be part of the bargain." Daphne replied, but her tone was less cold this time. She paused after that, apparently being talked to privately by the water-voice. Then she looked back at D'rai. "But I'm being difficult, I guess. It was really great of you to save Maik, and I am still alive. And no scars or burns or anything, see? They all went away when I came back. So..."
D'rai's face twitched a bit as he groped for words. "Yeah...sorry about that, though." he finally said.
"Okay," Daivi announced, "you guys've all got a lot of explaining to do."
"Yeah, let us in on all this." agreed Sandra. "What happened to you, Daphne? And you, Maik?"
The water-voice regarded the group of thirteen silently, approvingly, as Daphne, Maik, and D'rai began to make everything clear to the other members of the Applebus.
Two successes, it said, addressing an invisible entity far away, and not simple ones. [*phew*, no kidding! *g*] But still you are not content? ...As I expected. Very well, then, who is to be tested next?
Chapter 15 Notes
Daffy finally took time to get on line and finish her part o' the story so now we can here all about Ianthe's test an' get acquainted with her dark side an' have an excursion into some classic evil.... Mua-ha-ha-ha...... (Sorry all... The story made me do it....)