CHAPTER XXII
OUT OF THE MISTS AND INTO THE FURY
Kiaphas opened his eyes slowly, staring blankly around the cabin.
Marse was the first to notice that he was awake, and warned the rest of us,
startling a sleeping Felin so much she sat bolt upright. There didn't seem
to be any need for alarm, however. Kiaphas stared at us with an expression
of deep unconcern.
"Kiaphas?" Marse ventured after a few minutes, "Kiaphas, how do you
feel?" Kiaphas slowly turned his head to stare at him. "Kiaphas, are you
all right?" Kiaphas's forked tongue flicked out and caressed the air in an
unthinking manner.
"I think something's seriously wrong with him." Felin said, looking
somewhat better for having gotten some sleep, "I mean, he looks sort of
dopey, doesn't he?"
"Though I generally hesitate to use the term 'dopey' in the presence
of the patient in question, yes, I'd definitely say that something is wrong,"
Marse answered, "There's no way of knowing what his experience has done to
him."
"What, you mean becoming that huge snake?" Felin asked.
"Well, yes. Besides that, there's also the fact that he spent so
much time in the Source itself, and that he was probably hallucinating from
the moment he got there. Who knows what he saw, and what that did to his
mind?"
"Well, can't you just heal him?" Felin asked, eliciting a sigh from
the cleric.
"No, I'm afraid not. Physically, he's fine. Altering another
person's mind is beyond the range of my skills. The most I could do would
be to calm him down, or help him shake off depression, and he doesn't look
like he needs either."
"But... you healed Palas when she was acting just like this, didn't
you?" A flicker of what might have been anger or frustration appeared on
the cleric's face, so quickly that I almost doubted that I had seen it.
"If I could remember how I did that, I'd be more than happy to, but
I'm afraid that knowledge has faded away."
"Then there's nothing we can do for him?" Diana asked.
"Nothing but wait, I'm afraid. Back at Bradhaven temple, there are a
few of my brothers who are looking into this sort of illness, but I don't
know if this would be within their abilities. If he doesn't improve by the
time we get back to the tower, we may have to take him to Hurshtown to see
them." He saw Diana grimace. "What's wrong, Diana? You don't like temples?"
"No, I have no problems with temples, Marse. I've just been to
Hurshtown before, and... well, I didn't exactly enjoy the visit."
"I've lived there all my life," the cleric said, sounding slightly
insulted, "I know it's probably not the best, but there are places a lot
worse."
"I'm certain there are." Diana said, turning away, "But none of them were
on the carnival's tour." To that, Marse's civic pride could find no answer.
I drew Diana aside a few hours later as we were returning from lunch,
to talk with her about all the things that had happened in Kanda. We'd both
seen things about ourselves that were unpleasant to admit, and I wanted to
make sure that we had everything out in the open. Secrets were proving to
be far too costly a luxury.
"If you like, I'll go first." I said, and she nodded for me to do so.
"Both times I saw myself as I'm afraid of being. I mean, you remember how I
acted on our way to Jolan's tower. I've always been afraid that my instincts
and temper will get the better of me, and that I'll hurt someone." I brushed
her cheek with my paw, "Especially you." Diana looked uncomfortable.
"In my first vision, that happened."
"Really?" I cringed inside, "Perhaps you'd best tell me about it."
She described her first vision in greater detail than before.
"I suppose that, somewhere deep down inside me, I was afraid that
you'd hurt me, and the Mists made it real."
"You say 'was'." I noted, "Has something happened to change that?"
"No, I suppose not." She said, sighing, "I guess I just still have
trouble trusting people. Even you. I mean, you do act without thinking
sometimes, and it scares me." I found myself feeling disappointed at this
revelation, though I couldn't really blame her. I told her as much.
"It's understandable, I suppose, that you'd have a hard time trusting
after all the times you'd been betrayed."
"Then you aren't angry?" She asked, and I shook my head.
"Not really, no. It makes me a little... sad, I suppose. But it's
really not that terrible a thing."
"No?"
"No. It just means that I have to work harder to earn your trust. I
think that's a small price to pay for having you with me." That managed to
bring a smile to her face.
"Really?" I brushed my face across hers in silent answer. "That
makes my second vision seem almost trivial." she said afterward.
"What was your second vision?"
"I saw a deamon with Shaloc's face."
"And that's how you scalded your paw?" She looked a little angry,
and I was about to apologize for bringing it up, until I realized that her
anger was directed at herself and not at me.
"I backed all the way to the edge of the blasted water before I
started fighting back. I let him beat me the whole time. I was just so
scared of him... I just couldn't do anything."
"But that's not the end of it, is it? Something else happened after
that and before I arrived."
"Well, yes." She said, her anger dissipating somewhat as she
thought about how the vision had ended, "I stopped letting him hurt me, and
after that I fought back. But I should have been fighting him from the
second I saw him. I shouldn't have let him make me afraid."
"There is no shame in being afraid."
"Yes, there is," she snarled, though again, her anger was not for me,
"Back before we escaped, you accused me of being trained like a dog."
"I didn't understand then," I interrupted, "and you've proved that
he has no control over you."
"You understood well enough to see the truth. He has me trained to
fear him. I thought I had conquered that, but after this, I don't know
anymore." She sighed. "I have to admit that I wasn't being completely
honest before."
"When?"
"When Marse mentioned..." she hesitated, unwilling to even speak the
word, "Every time I think about... that place, I feel horribly afraid."
"Well, you've had bad experiences there. It's only natural that some of
your dislike for the carnival would color your judgement of the city." She
shook her head back and forth, near tears.
"You don't understand. I feel sure that Shaloc will find me again
the second I set foot there. He used to let me out of the cage while we were
in town for part of the show I had to do, and he always warned me that we
were in his home city, and that he had friends around every corner. He told
me that if I ran away, they'd find me and bring me back, and he'd let them...
he'd make me..." She broke down crying and I put my arms around her, letting
her lean against me. "I hate being afraid, but I can't help it!" she sobbed.
As I held her, I vowed that if Shaloc and I ever crossed paths again, I
wouldn't be nearly as forgiving as I had been before.
"You know I'd never let anything happen to you." I whispered into her
hair, "Shaloc can't hurt you anymore. You've beaten him, remember?" She
nodded weakly. "Besides, he was probably lying anyway." She pushed herself
back from me and angrily wiped the tears from her face.
"You think I don't know that?" She asked, "I know he was lying, I
just can't make myself really believe it. He had ways of convincing me that
left little room for doubt. You were right, Blast me! He does have me
trained. I'm surprised he didn't have me fetching his slippers for him."
"You aren't being fair to yourself," I said, "I don't think anyone
could have held up any better than you did. I mean, you were there for years
before I got there. You can't expect to get over being locked in a cage and
tormented for all that time immediately. And I wouldn't worry about going
to Hurshtown. After all, we could always stay at the tower while everyone
else goes." Diana shook her head.
"That would mean admitting that Shaloc still has power over me. I
don't want Shaloc to still be controlling my life even now that I've escaped
him!"
"Then when we do go to Hurshtown, I'll be there with you. I swear
that I'll never let Shaloc take you back." Diana sighed.
"That does make me feel a little better," She said, "But to be honest
I don't want you to think you have to protect me. I've gotten to like
fighting my own battles, and I'd rather keep fighting them."
"You can fight your battles," I said, "And I can fight mine. But
there's no reason we have to fight them alone."
"Maybe so, but you've never needed my help to fight your battles." I
gently brought her head up so that she was looking into my face.
"How can you say that?" I asked, "You've been helping me ever since
we escaped! Who stopped me from killing R'rall? Who stayed by my side when
I couldn't even move?" She smiled again.
"I did. But it just seems like I need you so much more than you need
me." I shook my head.
"I need you more than I need to breathe, Diana. I need you more than
I need to eat. If I needed to, I could hold my breath for a minute. I could
go without eating for weeks. But I can't go without you for a moment." She
smiled.
"I think we've been separated for longer than that before, and you
lived through it." I shook my head.
"We were apart, yes," I admitted, then leaned forward, so that my
forehead touched hers and our eyes were a finger's-breadth apart, "But I was
never without you, not for a moment, because I knew that you loved me. In
truth, that was about the only thing that kept me going back on Ver." She
sighed and put her arms around me, drawing me closer to embrace herself to
me.
"You certainly know how to make me feel special, do you know that?"
"It pleases me to hear that. Now, what do you want to do about
Hurshtown?" She shrugged.
"I'll go wherever everyone else goes. I mean, it isn't like there's
really anything to fear, right?"
"Right."
"Anyway, what did you see out there? I presume you had a hal-
lucination, too?"
"I saw pretty much the same thing I saw before."
"Yourself again?" I nodded. "I wonder why you had the same vision
twice. Is there just nothing else you fear?"
"Without sounding too egotistical, no. Nothing I can think of,
anyway." Diana laughed and pulled me close to her again.
"So long as you're mine, you can be as egotistical as you want."
The next day showed no change in Kiaphas's condition, and we decided
to untie him, though we kept a wary eye on him for a while, just to be
certain that he wasn't trying some kind of trick to get free. Everyone was
starting to feel better--physically, anyway--after a few good nights sleep,
but there was something wrong that I couldn't quite place. I felt
uncomfortable, like I was too hot, though the weather was actually quite
pleasant, and every sound grated on my nerves. I did my best not to snap at
them, but it was quite a struggle. What made it worse was that Diana stalked
off early on after listening to Agnon and Felin squabble over something or
another, and I didn't see her for the rest of the day. By the time everyone
was getting ready for dinner, I was almost trembling with the desire to hit
something, and I was afraid that if I wasn't careful it would probably be the
next person who asked me what was the matter. About the only person who
didn't seem to have a bug up his nostrils was Kiaphas, who remained utterly
complacent.
At dinner, the captain made an announcement that managed to take a
little of the edge off my aggravation.
"In a few more hours, we'll be completely out of the Mists. After
that, it shouldn't be more than a few days before we can be back in Ortygia.
From what Jolan says, it'll be easier for you to just use his magic to get to
Hurshtown overland that it would be for us to sail there, so I suppose we'll
part company then."
"Good riddance." Agnon sneered. "If I had to spend another minute on
this crate I'd start heaving like the cleric!"
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" The captain demanded.
"I'm sure he didn't mean any offense by it, did you, Agnon?" Marse
tried to intervene, still looking a touch haggard, though whether from the
heaving Agnon mentioned or from his ordeal on Kanda I couldn't say.
"You'd bloody well better believe I do, bootkisser! This ship gives
me the willies, and I don't care who knows it!"
"By the gods! I'll have your head if you don't apologize!" The
captain shouted.
"Yeah, Aggie, apologize." Felin snickered.
"You stay out of this, you little troll!"
"Hey, I'm not a troll!"
"How can I hope to respond to such a come-back? I'm struck to the
bone, I tell you!"
"Tur's Beard, you're as sarcastic as the Scarecrow over there!"
Felin exclaimed, nodding toward Palas, who jumped to her feet and jabbed her
finger in Felin's chest.
"Look here, if one more person compares me to a scarecrow, I'll..."
"You'll what, Scarecrow?" Agnon sneered. That set them all off
again, the captain getting dragged in when he demanded again that the thief
apologize. It finally became more than I could take.
"Enough!" I roared, drawing everyone's attention. "Stop bickering
at once! You're all acting like spoiled children!" Palas stiffened,
apparently taking the comment personally, but it was Agnon who answered.
"Look here, I've had about as much of you as I plan to take. Maybe
we're getting tired of you jumping in and acting like you're in command or
something."
"And maybe the rest of us are tired of your attitude, you miserable
little..." He shoved me, and I raised my paw to bat him across the room.
"STOP!" Diana's voice carried so much command that everyone in the
room actually did stop what they were doing and turned to look at her. She
was standing in the doorway and holding a large jug. "It looks like I got
finished just in time. Everyone grab a cup and get over here, now!" So
firm and confident was she that just about everyone jumped to find a cup.
Only Agnon didn't.
"Why should we do what you say?" He demanded. "What makes you think
you can tell us what to do?"
"That fact that if you don't, you'll all go mad and kill each other?"
"What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with me!" Diana
shook her head at his lack of comprehension.
"Don't you remember the Fury Box? We're passing out of the Mists,
and you're suffering from withdrawal."
"What makes you think you can do anything about that?" Agnon's tone
was belligerent, but less confident.
"I collected some plants before we left, and I was able to extract
some of their essences. There should be enough of the Mist absorbed into
their fibers that it will calm you all down. Now unless you want to be
restrained like Kiaphas was for the rest of our trip home, stop standing
there and grab a cup!"
Agnon sneered again, but reluctantly moved to obey. Everyone else
was already waiting with theirs, and she began to pour for each of us. The
mixture had an odd sweetness to it, and a strong bitterness almost hidden
behind the saccharine overtones. After a few minutes, I forgot about the
taste, and everything else, as my anger evaporated in a lovely pink cloud
that floated across the room. We all sat down and watched the pretty
colors, and Diana led us one by one back to our bunks. She came for me
last, and I kept up a nice conversation all the way back to my cabin.
"Yes, Firemane, I'm sure the clouds are very nice." She said
politely. I reached out and brushed my paw across the fur on her face.
"You're soft." I said, wonderstuck by the massive implications of
this.
"Yes, I am. You're pretty soft yourself, remember?"
"Yes, but I mean you're just so... soft!"
"I'm sure."
"The clouds are soft too." I said, and they were. They were soft
and pink and blue and green and purple and they tasted like chicken. I asked Diana
if she wanted to try one, but she said she wasn't hungry. I had an even
better question.
"Diana, why are we walking on the ceiling?" She didn't answer right
away.
"Actually, on a ship I think it's referred to as the deck. Or is it
a bulkhead? I can never keep those straight."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Why did they make these walls curve so
much?"
"Maybe they used bent wood." I could see my footprints outlined in
front of me in bright orange. I asked Diana about it. "Well, that's so
you'll know where you're going." That made sense, so I told her about the
clouds again. They tasted like chicken! She got me back to my bunk and got
me settled in, which was fun, because the bunk was just like the clouds,
except that it didn't taste like them. She told me to go to sleep, and I
realized what a great idea that was, and I was going to tell her about the
clouds one more time, but by then my eyes were closed, and the clouds were
floating around inside my head instead.
I had a skull-shattering headache when I woke up.
Diana was there, and she was happy to inform me that we were out of
the Mists and only a few hours away from land. Somehow, I couldn't muster
the enthusiasm that news deserved.
"What in the Seven Hells was in that drink?"
"The extract from those plants, just like I said." I just looked at
her.
"Well, I may have mixed in a little something to help you sleep."
"Like what?"
"Well, a good dash of the captain's private stock of liquor, for one
thing."
"That would explain the headache."
"Sorry about that." She giggled.
"What's so funny?"
"I was just thinking about how funny it was to hear you babble on and
on about your hallucinations."
"Don't blame me, you're the one who mixed the stuff."
"Well, you're the one who was about to knock Agnon silly." I winced.
"True enough. How did you know how to do that?"
"Do what?"
"Obtain plant extracts, and mixing that concoction up." I could
sense her tensing up about it. "Look, if you don't want to tell me, that's
fine, but..."
"No, I'm just being foolish. I'm half-afraid you'll laugh at me
when I tell you. I learned some alchemy from an old woman when I was
wandering the forests, before I became like I am now."
"Why did you think I would laugh at you for that?"
"Just promise me you won't tell Palas or Jolan, okay?"
"If you like. I still don't understand why, though."
"Alchemy is not very well thought of by Magi. It was well practiced
about five hundred years ago, but it just couldn't compete with the kind of
magic practiced today. It's all but vanished, and now you can only find it
in ancient books and old country lore. If you told a Magi that I knew
alchemy, they'd laugh, and probably think I was a fool."
"I fail to see the logic in that. After all, you used it to save our
lives, didn't you?"
"This isn't a matter of logic, Firemane, it's a matter of prejudice."
I could hardly argue that point, so I agreed.
"All right, then, I won't tell anyone." She smiled wryly.
"The same way I didn't tell anyone about Palas. I don't think we
have a good record for keeping secrets."
"Maybe not, but I can't see any reason not to keep this one, so I
wouldn't worry about it."
"Thanks. Now, about that headache..."
"Don't worry about it. It's already clearing up. Will we need to
worry about the Fury again, or do you think it's over?"
"You shouldn't have any more problems with it, I don't think. I've
got enough extract to go around if it comes back, though." I winced at the
idea, and she laughed again.
"Come on, let's get something to eat." My stomach protested ve-
hemently at the thought of eating. It must have been obvious from the
expression on my face, because Diana began insisting. "You do need to eat.
You've slept more than a full day through, and like it or not, you need
food!" I grumbled a bit, but I got up and followed her to the galley, where
I found several who were most sympathetic to my condition. Diana was the
only one who didn't look like death warmed over. We discussed the upcoming
trip to Hurshtown in severely muted tones, none of us feeling particularly
inclined toward loud noises just then.
It was decided that not everyone needed to go to Hurshtown, and Jolan
and Palas opted to return to the tower with Felin, to see if there was
anything they could do about her prematurely aged state, and said they'd
catch up with us. That left Marse, Kiaphas, Agnon, Diana and I for the trip
to Hurshtown.
"How are we going to get there without you along, Jolan? Can you
make that sphere without being inside it?"
"Theoretically I could, but I don't think that will be necessary.
There should be no problem with Marse teleporting you to his temple, even
after what he's been through. It is, after all, his center of power."
"I don't understand. Is that one of those things about magic that I
don't know about?" Jolan nodded, a touch smug, I think.
"Yes. The more familiar you are with a place, the easier it is to
teleport to. For Marse, the temple is a repository of his power, and that
makes it even easier to teleport to, since he's traveling toward the source
of power instead of away from it. It does get a bit more complicated than
that, but I think you get the idea."
"So we'll just teleport our way to Hurshtown? If we're going to do
that, then why do we need to wait to reach land?"
"We don't, really, but you'll need someplace stable to teleport from.
Teleporting while moving is extremely difficult."
"I can hold us still, if that's what you need." The Nyad's Call
offered.
"Well, I don't want you to get the idea that we're eager to leave you.
You're truly a marvel, but..."
"You need to help your friend. I understand. And I want to thank you
for getting us involved. This trip has been more fun than any I've had in
years."
"I wish I could say the same," I said, "But with all the confusion
and hallucinations and hangovers--especially the hangovers--I'll be glad if
our next trip was a little less... fun."
"I understand. I wish things could have been more pleasant for you.
But who knows? Maybe you can sail with us again, sometime."
"I think I'd like that."
"I'll even put in a good word with the captain. Maybe he'll actually
let you and Diana bunk together next time."
"One can always hope."
"If you're in a hurry, get your things and head above, and I'll talk
to the captain. He's still in a bad mood after that last argument."
"I can well imagine. Especially if his head feels anything like
mine!"
A short while later we were gathered above decks, taking our leave of
the captain. Jolan, Palas, and Felin said their good-byes, and seemed to
vanish as Jolan cast his spells. A second later, however, we could see the
tiny blue bubble floating away on the wind. As I watched them floating away,
I thought about Palas, and wondered if having her and Jolan off by themselves
was really such a good idea. Then again, maybe Palas would finally tell
Jolan her little secret.
The rest of us gathered around Marse, who bent his head and began
whispering something quietly, his brow creased with effort. The world dis-
solved into a white haze as it had back in Ombal, but this time when the
world faded back in, we found ourselves gathered before a large altar, in
what was obviously a temple.
There was nobody to be seen, and the temple almost looked to be in
ruins. More than that, though, the place felt wrong. It had an atmosphere
more like a battlefield than a place of worship. Indeed, several places bore
scorch-marks, as though there had been a fire. Obviously, something wasn't
right here. Our cleric must have thought so too. He looked almost as white
as his robes.
"Sweet Shani! What happened here?" He gasped, then crumpled to the
ground.
"War." Someone said, "War and disaster happened here." Two men in
dark gray robes stepped out from behind the pillars to our right. "Now, who
are you, and how did you get in here? No one is allowed to enter or leave
these premises, by Official Decree of the Republic." He looked over and
recognized the fallen cleric. "Marse?" He swung back to us. "What have
you done to him?" I held up my paws in a gesture of innocence.
"We didn't do anything. This is our friend, he brought us here.
What did you mean 'War happened here'?" I asked.
"Where have you been for the past month, Ver? The city's been under
Republic control for weeks now." The priest answered.
"What?" we shouted in unison, "When did this happen?"
"You mean you really don't know? They invaded three weeks ago, with
no warning. They overwhelmed the city with sheer numbers, they swept through
the Mage Guild's wards as though they were paper, and... well, you can see
how well we came out."
"They attacked right after we left for Kanda." I noted. Beside me, I
felt Diana trying to hide the fact that she was trembling beside me. I
wanted to whisper reassurances to her, but for once I had none to give.
"What about Marse? Can you do anything for him?" The two looked at each
other, then the one who had spoken sighed.
"I doubt it." He said, "We are forbidden to draw upon the gods'
power. Even if we weren't, we probably couldn't. The power of the Temple
is broken. Shani no longer answers us at all, and the rest are faint and
distant." He looked down at the fallen cleric. "However, we can take him
to the infirmary, and I'll see what can be done. Likely he just overworked
himself again."
"He said he had enough strength to get us here." I put in.
"Yes, but he was doubtless expecting to be travelling toward a power
source. As I told you. there is no power here for him. You were lucky
nothing went catastrophically wrong with the teleport. What about your
draconian friend? Did his condition result from the teleportation?" The
priests lifted Marse while they listened to my answer.
"No, he was like that before. That's why we came here. There's
something wrong with his mind, and Marse said there were people here who
might be able to help."
"Yes, that would be me." The other priest cleared his throat loudly
from his position on the other side of Marse. "And my college, of course,"
he added, with obvious reluctance. "Once we're done with Marse, we can see
about the draconian. Just from what I can see, it looks like an extreme case
of battle-shock resulting in an extended fugue state. We've seen plenty of
shock cases in the past few weeks, and we've been very successful in most of
them. I'm sure we can do something for him."
"Assuming that it is shock, of course." The other priest jumped in,
"You're just too quick with your diagnosis, as usual. Once I have a chance
to examine him, I'm sure I'll find a deeper cause..." The two carried Marse
off to the infirmary, and after a gentle prod in the right direction, Kiaphas
ambled along after them. I looked around, and found myself alone with Diana.
The thief had vanished again.
"Diana?" I put my paw on her shoulder, "Diana, are you okay?" She
shook her head quickly.
"I shouldn't have come, I knew this would happen, oh, gods, he's
going to get me Firemane, I just know he is!" I turned her so she had to
look into my face.
"Shaloc isn't here, Diana. He can't hurt you anymore. That doesn't
mean we aren't in danger, though. If the Republic were to get hold of us..." My
unfinished statement proved to be all too prophetic. The sound of tramping
boots ushered in a group of six men, all dressed identically. I'd heard
enough from Palas to recognize the uniforms of the Republican Guard, and to
know that the three black bars on the leader's shirt meant trouble; It was
the badge of the Purifiers. Upon seeing the Guardsmen, Diana's tremors
became a full-scale quake, and it was all she could do just to remain
standing. I stepped between her and the Guardsmen, determined to protect
her. I snarled at them, but they looked completely unconcerned. The
Purifier turned to his comrades.
"You see? It is as we were told. The pagans' beast-gods have
revealed themselves." Another guardsman nodded.
"Who could worship something so obviously demonic?" He asked. The
Purifier shrugged.
"These Easterners are such barbarians. Don't worry, with a few years
work, we'll have them civilized. The first step to that, of course, is to
renounce these... affronts to the universe." They all nodded.
"I'm not a god, and I've never claimed to be one!" I snapped.
"Oh, it speaks!" The Purifier mocked, and turned to his companions,
"Aren't you all terrified? Don't you just have the urge to fall upon
the ground and grovel at his feet?" His cohorts gave that a good chuckle.
When they were done, the Purifier stepped forward, in what was obviously a
threatening gesture. "And the other one, who cowers behind you? Is she one
of your pagan goddesses?"
"You leave her alone!" I said, a threat rumbling in my voice.
"I think not." The Purifier replied calmly, "The people must be made
to see that their gods are nothing more than masquerading deamons."
"But I'm not a god!" The Purifier laughed.
"We know that, you bafoon! We aren't Easterners that you can impress
with your paltry tricks. We are Republicans, and you have no power over us!"
I roared and rushed forward, deciding to make a preemptive attack. Halfway
to him, I felt a sting in my shoulder, barely noticeable. Instinctively, I
stopped and felt the spot. It felt like I had a splinter somehow stuck in
my skin. I looked up, and saw one of the guardsmen lowering a thin wooden
tube. I took a step forward, and fell to one knee, my head swirling.
"A mixture of wolfsbane, garlic, and pollen, with a few extras thrown
in. A concoction guaranteed to stop any deamon dead in its tracks. Now, for
the other..."
"NO!" I roared, mustering the strength to stand. For a moment I was
so dizzy I thought I would pass out, but the vertigo quickly cleared, much
to the surprise of the Purifier, whom I finally managed to get hold of. I
grinned at him, as wide and toothy as I could, and was about to bodyslam him
into the ground, when the bastard smiled back at me.
He closed his eyes and whispered, and I saw him glow an eerie blood
red, so dark as to be nearly black. It was then that I remembered what
Palas had said about the Purifiers being Magi. I felt icy tendrils lacing
themselves around me, weaving about my body and stabbing into my mind. The
last thing I heard was Diana's scream as my vision faded to black.
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