CHAPTER VI
Stormsinger followed the pull of the magic across the ocean. He'd felt
it almost immediately after taking over his host. And what a host it was!
So many powers, so much strength, so much potential. The body... HIS body,
now... had an elemental bond, a link to the patterns and currents of power
that flowed through the world. It was through this curious affinity that he
could sense the disturbance, and trace it here, to its source.
He knew as soon as he landed that he'd found the right place. The land,
the atmosphere, everything was laced with a taste of magic. Nature had been
raped here, forced to submit to the demands of mortals. It still cried out
in its resentment, but was restrained by the magic. Elsewhere it had raged
and vented its frustration, but here it was impotent. But Stormsinger
wanted that power for his own use, and found that the elements were eager to
help him. He followed their call, past villagers who thought they might
have recognized him... but who also felt the violence that surrounded him,
and cleared out of his path. Stormsinger took no notice of them. What
were they to him? Sheep, resources to be used as his leisure, and ignored
the rest of the time. They were nothing, beneath his notice.
At last, he caught sight of his goal, a small shrine on a mountain-side.
Here the traces were the strongest. Here he could taste the power.
He climbed into the shrine, which was rapidly vacated by the few
devotees who were kneeling there. Momentarily unsure of how to proceed, he
reached out through that strange bond he shared with the elements, and the
whispering voices of magic instructed him. He spread out his arms, and
gathered his strength. The Element of Air, chained as it was, responded,
reaching out to him through the magic that bound it.
And in the sky, dark clouds began to gather, where none should have been
possible.
From our distant vantage, speeding through the sky in Jolan's protective
sphere, we grimly observed the gathering storm. We didn't have much time.
Discarding secrecy and caution in favor of expediency, Jolan streaked us in
straight toward the shrine, knowing that Stormsinger would have followed the
magic to its source. The mountainside hurtled toward us at an alarming
speed.
"Jolan, we can slow down now!" Felin said. The screaming didn't start
until we angled straight for the ground... still at full speed.
The protective sphere vanished when we struck the ground, and there was
a deafening "pop" as we all regained our normal sizes. We were surprised...
but very pleased... to find ourselves alive. Apparently, Jolan had known
that the bubble's collapse would negate the force of our landing... he hadn't,
however, seen fit to tell that to the rest of us. It must have slipped his
mind. I would have slipped a few other things out of him mind... physically,
if I wasn't concerned with more pressing things. Firemane was near again, at
last. And by the gods, this time I wasn't leaving without him.
The land grew dark and shadowed as the clouds obscured the sun. There,
inside the shrine, I could see Stormsinger.
The power brought with it memories, of days before language or time,
of hunting and mating, of siring cubs, the faded memories of a life long
dead. But more, it brought a new knowledge, the experienced gleaned from a
lifetime of listening to the music of the winds. His element reached out to
him, crooning a love song of vengance and destruction. Filled with the
righteous wrath of a violated order, he gathered his will.
And began to sing the storm.
Stormsinger's voice broke the hush, raising in a deep, rumbling song
that spoke in voices that predated word and meaning. The ground, the trees,
the air, everything glowed a fierce blue, with a sickly-sweet smell of
corruption long hidden. With a shriek, the winds broke loose, and began to
sing a duet. Palas and Jolan screamed in agony as the magic shrieked in their
veins, a bitter, fierce fury, the vengeful cry of a power betrayed. The
voice of the wind merged with Stormsinger's to make a fearfull harmony,
beautiful and terrible. The blue glow from the ground began to pulsate,
and flowed into the shrine to envelope Stormsinger, flashing counterpoint to
the pulse of the island. The song rose in intensity and volume, as did the
storm, and as we watched, the glow began to fade around us, even as it grew
brighter around Stormsinger.
"We have to do something!" Felin shouted over the storm.
"I'm open to suggestions!" Merri yelled back.
"Merri!" I had to strain my voice to be heard, even though she was right
next to me, "Follow me in!" I didn't wait for her to answer, but pushed my
way against the wind to climb toward the shrine. Toward Firemane.
The song was deafening within the shrine, and even I could feel the
power it carried. He stood there before me, communing with his Element, and
for a moment, he looked so much like my Firemane that I felt my heat skip a
beat. Then he turned around, and I saw a madness that had nothing to do with
Nature's outrage.
The song was coming to an end. He could feel it, could sense it in the
way the storm responded. The Element was almost free, now, bound only by the
thinnest of cords. And when those were gone, the song of summoning would be
done.
And the song of destruction could begin.
"Firemane!" I shouted, hoping to reach him, praying that the darkness
hadn't completely consumed him. I lost my footing as the entire mountain
seemed to lurch. There was a sudden flash of blinding blue light, and then
it was gone. A frightning darkness closed in around us, lit only by the
fire in Stormsinger's gaze and the crackling nimbus of power that surrounded
him. "Firemane!" I tried again. He stopped singing.
"Why do you call me by a dead man's name?" Stormsinger asked quietly.
"Why have you pursued me? You are nothing to me." Oh, that hurt. Oh, you
don't know how that hurt.
"I've come for Firemane." I answered. "I'm not leaving without him."
"Firemane is no more." He snapped, "I am Stormsinger! What you knew
was but a shadow of what I am! He was limited, weak and foolish! I have
power. I AM power!"
"You are a fool!" I shouted. My temper was rapidly getting the better
of me. "Firemane was a thousand times greater than you. You have nothing.
You ARE nothing!"
"Idiot! You dare to speak to me that way?"
"Yes! You love nothing, you care for nothing but yourself! Firemane
had strengths you couldn't begin to imagine. He had love!" I stood my
ground, but I wanted to shrink back from the cold in his gaze.
"Did he?" He asked, "Did he now? For what? For you? You want to think
about who you are speaking to. I know everything that Firemane felt. What
makes you think he felt anything for you?" He laughed scornfully, "You were
convenient. And so easy to bed. Doesn't take much, does it? A few kind
words, pretend that I care, that's all." I felt like someone had shredded
my heart. "Go away. I have grown tired of you, and you have no further use
to me. But don't worry. I'm sure you'll find someone else to spread your
legs for." I knew that it wasn't really Firemane speaking... but gods, how
do you deal with hearing that? He turned away from me. "I suggest, if you
care for your life, that you leave this place. I have no feelings for you
either way, of course... but I bear you no malice. And you were a usefull
tool, for a time. Go, while you still can." I pushed my way forward,
through the energy that radiated from him in near-physical waves.
"By the gods, I'll kill you!" I swore. He had taken a breath to begin
singing again, but he stopped, and looked over his shoulder at me.
"You won't kill me," He laughed, "After all, I've got your lover in
here."
"That's exactly WHY I'll kill you. I know that Firemane would rather
die than be a part of you."
"It is a moot point, my dear. You can't kill me. Not now. The full
fury of a natural force flows through me. Enough!" He shouted, "You had
your chance to leave. Now you will suffer for your stupidity. Behold! The
next verse begins!" He turned away from me and began his song again, in a
voice that rumbled like angry thunder. The storm above rumbled back, and
the wind rose to a new pitch. I saw Merri out of the corner of my eye,
clinging to whatever handhold she could find to keep from being blown away,
as the roof of the shrine ripped off with a splintering crack. The tempest
swirled around us, and I saw huts and people fly past like thrown toys.
"That's ENOUGH, Firemane!" I shouted, pushing my way forward again in
spite of the storm. "Stop this right now, or I'll..." My threat was cut off,
by a bolt of lightning that struck me full on from the sky above. There was
no doubt that it was no accident. Especially since the next three bolts
also struck me dead on.
I can only imagine how surprised Stormsinger was to see me still
standing, unharmed. The protective amulet Jolan had given me glowed red and
was uncomfortably warm, but the charm held. I was protected against attacks
from the element of Air. Good planning, huh? It also let me keep my feet
in winds that carried boulders away. Stormsinger turned around to face me.
"Do I have your attention now?" I asked. "Yes? Good!" I laid into him
suddenly, not giving him warning, not letting him get his guard up. I pushed
my advantage for as long as it lasted, getting in my jabs, not letting him
pull back. I had to buy time, let Merri get into place. All too soon,
though, he bounced back, and it was my turn. I'd been holding back, trying
not to hurt Firemane's body. Stormsinger, as predicted, had no such
compunctions. Still singing, he came back with a cold fury.
He knocked me down with a single solid punch to the midsection that
left an unpleasant crunched feeling in my lower ribs and a throbbing in my
gut that didn't want to let me uncurl. But I'd done what I'd intended.
Merri came up behind him, and when she placed that eerie glowing hand on him,
his singing became a wailing shriek as he tried to pull away. Merri's hand
was all but nailed to his back, though, and no matter what he tried, she
hung on. I saw him glowing, and some instinct warned me of what was coming
next. I pushed myself off the ground, and flung myself at them, just as the
glow enveloped them, and we all winked out of existance.
With the pain and agony of Merri's anti-demonic on him, he knew he had
to escape, but her hand seemed fused to his flesh. He reached out to his
Element for help, and found a power he hadn't realized was available to him.
Reaching out, he tapped winds and powers that stretched across the world,
and opened a tiny gap in the surface of reality, plunging head-long into the
depths of elsewhere.
I was lost in a vast confusion of swirls and eddies, in a place that had
no shape or size or perspective. I had no form or substance, only a strong
impression of traveling at speeds beyond imagining. I was dragged along for
centuries, or seconds, or days, before I caught a brief glimpse of something
wonderously different, and then it was all gone.
I crashed back into reality along with Merri and Stormsinger. A forced
truce held, as we all choked and retched in the horrible after-effects of
that strange other-space. I looked around through tearing eyes and saw that
we were in a rough clearing. I also saw black robes. Not a good sign.
"I was wondering when you would get here." Li-Ren-Ka hissed. "I've been
waiting for some time."
"Get back!" Merri warned, raising her hand weakly. Li-Ren-Ka laughed.
"Or what, you'll faint on me? You may count yourself fortunate that I
am not concerned with you at the moment. I haven't forgetten what you did to
me."
"What I did...?" Merri started to wonder, but Stormsinger cut her off.
"What business do I have with you, Deamon? You are an agent of Chaos.
I am the bringer of Order. There shall be no compromise."
"I see you have made a common mistake." The deamon hissed, "Though I am
born of the Darkness, I do not serve those masters. Our goals, really, are
the same. You seek to bring Order to a chaotic world. This is my goal as
well."
"You lie!" The deamon shrugged.
"Believe what you wish. I have time in plenty. Do you?"
"What...?" I ignored them both, and let into him again, not being as
gentle this time.
"Let Firemane GO!" I screamed at him, between slashes, "Damn you, let
him go or I'll kill you both! Take me instead!" He recovered, and flung me
off. He quickly backed away from Merri, before she could latch on again.
"Keep away from me!" He roared, but I noticed he didn't lash out with
lightning or anything. Apparently whatever he'd done to get us here had
worn him out for the moment.
"Firemane! Firemane, fight him!" I shouted.
"D.. Diana?" Stormsinger blinked, and suddenly, Firemane was there.
"Oh, gods, Diana, help me!" I ran over to him. He reached out to me. "Oh,
Diana, I was so scared, he's so powerful.." Before I knew what had happened,
his arm was wrapped around my neck. "And now I have yet another hostage.
My, but you're gullible, aren't you?" Merri stepped forward, but Stormsinger
tightened his grip. "Not another step, my dear, or your vixen friend loses
her neck."
"S..standoff." I managed to choke out.
"What's that?" He asked, giving me enough slack to speak.
"We're... at a standoff. If she moves, you kill me. If you kill me,
my friends will hunt you down and kill you, no matter where you go. If you
let me live, I will hunt you down and kill you. No matter what, you lose."
He considered that. "There is also the currently battered condition of your
body to think about." Gods, I felt like a horse-trader trying to sell a nag.
"I presume you have a viable alternative?"
"Diana, no, don't!" Merri shouted.
"Yes, I do. Take my body instead. I'll give it to you of my own free
will. My friends will have no cause to persue you." There was a long
pause.
"You would sacrifice yourself... willingly... for Firemane?"
"Without a second thought." He broke into a laugh that shook my against
his chest.
"You're a bigger fool that I thought. But so be it. Order your friend
to stay back."
"Merri, stay out of this!" I ordered, "You know that I have to do this!"
Stormsinger let me out of his grip. I knelt before him, unresisting. With
a painful-sounding roar, Stormsinger left Firemane's body. The dark spirit
floated there, an etherial mass with glowing red eyes, for only a moment
before it descended on me. I opened my mind to allow him in...
And grabbed hold of him with every trick I knew. I caught him right as
he entered me, and held him between hosts, not letting him take me or escape.
"You... This cannot be!" The entity roared, "You have not the strength
to resist me!"
"But WE do." Merri said, coming up behind Firemane and putting her hand
on his shoulder, cutting of Stormsinger's only hope of retreat. My mind
ached from the strain of both holding Stormsinger at bay and maintaining the
link with Merri that was giving me the strength to do so.
The whole credit for the plan was Merri's. It was she who had realized
what sort of creature Stormsinger was, and how we could trap him. By linking
with me, she could give me the psionic strength and skill I needed to deal
with him, and at the same time use her anti-demonic touch to keep him from
simply breaking away and flowing back into Firemane. Admittedly, getting
transported gods-know where wasn't part of our plan, but then, neither was
meeting Li-Ren-Ka. Speaking of whom...
"I think, under present circumstances, you should reconsider my offer."
The deamon laughed/hissed. I felt Stormsinger's pressure against my mind
decrease ever so slightly, then pull away.
"I believe you are correct." The spirit rumbled. Those fierce red orbs
beat down on me. "If you want him that badly, you can have him. What's
left of him." I shuddered as the disembodied soul laughed. "Enjoy!" With
that, he flowed effortlessly into Li-Ren-Ka, who then blinked out suddenly,
leaving us alone with Firemane. Firemane, no longer held by Stormsinger,
crumpled to the ground. I knelt beside him and took him into my arms.
"Oh, gods, Firemane, please." I whispered, "Please wake up." His eyes
slowly opened. He sighed, once, before his eyes slid shut. "Merri, we
have to get him to a healer. I hurt him worse than I meant to." Merri
nodded.
"First, we have to figure out where we are. We don't even know if we're
still in the Nine Realms. One thing's certain. This isn't Ombal." The
lack of storm-clouds proved that much.
"Merri, could you do me a favor?'
"What?"
"Now that everything is over, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I snarled. She
winced, but I hadn't done anything drastic... I had, after all, invited her
there in the first place.
"Sorry." She said, and I felt her presence withdraw as well. It felt
good to have my head all to myself again.
"So how are we going to... what's that?" I pointed to a small blue
speck in the sky. It came closer, slowed, and descended slowly toward us,
where I recognized it as Jolan's protective sphere. I'd never seen it from
the outside before. They landed, and there was a "pop" as they appeared
full-size in front of us.
"Is it done? Did you win?" I nodded.
"But Firemane's hurt. Marse, can you help him?" The Cleric nodded, and
bent to work. I left Firemane in his capable hands, and went to greet the
others. Damn if my mood wasn't improving already. "So, how did you find
us?" I asked Jolan.
"It wasn't too hard. We just went back to the tower and searched for
you with my scrying pool."
"You had time to do all that?" I asked, amazed.
"You've been gone for two days, Diana. We were starting to get really
worried. We thought Stormsinger might simply have destroyed himself and
taken the two of you with him." So I'd spent two days in that strange
non-reality Stormsinger had traveled through.
"So where are we, then?"
"Southern Barsa. We should think about leaving soon, before an Ogre or
three runs across us." I nodded, and turned back to check on Firemane.
"How is he?" I asked Marse anxiously. Marse smiled.
"He'll be fine. You did manage to put a few dents in him, and if I'm
not mistaken, you also bruised a few of his organs, but nothing I couldn't
put to rights. He should wake up before we reach the tower." I heaved a
sigh of relief. Things were finally starting to go right for a change.
We gathered around Firemane, and Jolan helped Palas weave the magic. In
moments, we were encased in a steel-grey sphere, and flying northward, back
to the tower. The fact that Jolan had shared the task with Palas wasn't lost
on me. A lot of things had changed between them, since I'd been captured.
I still hadn't figured our just how much, though. It was something to think
about some other time, though. For the moment, I gave in to my exhaustion,
and twined my fingers in my mate's mane as I let the waking world slip away.
Firemane's movements eventually woke me. Gods, it was good to have him
back. I couldn't wait to get back to the tower... there were a few things
that needed tending to rather badly, if I was to be fit company again. I
hoped Firemane was up to it... he looked a little pale. Oh, well, I could
probably wait if I had to. I mean, Hells, I'd waited that long, what was
another day?
My comrades, however, seemed inclined to disagree. They wasted no time
giving hints as soon as we landed at the tower.
"Well, Diana, now that we're here, why don't you and Firemane go off and
have some private time together?" I blinked.
"Um, that sounds good... Now? Really?" They sounded a little eager to
have me go.
"Oh, yes, now will be fine," Merri assured me, "I've got to see to
Kiaphas, anyway..." She surruptitiously elbowed Marse.
"Uh, yeah, and, uh, I have to go help." He supplied.
"You know, I never really got around to alphabetizing my library..."
Jolan muttered, walking away. Palas looked at us.
"Hey, wait for me! Can I help?" She hurried after the Archmage. Which
left Felin, who stood there, trying to think of an excuse to leave us alone.
None was apparently forthcoming.
"Uh... Um... Oh, for the gods' sakes, you two just go get it over with,
already. I'm going to the kitchen to get something to eat." She stomped off.
I turned to Firemane and shrugged. Had I really been that bad? Guess I must
have. Oh, well... there's a cure for that. Firemane followed me back to
our rooms, and I pushed him to the bed.
An hour later, I stormed out of the room.
"Diana!" Palas exclaimed, as I pushed past her in the hall. "What's
wrong, didn't Firemane..." I whirled around to face her, and she blushed.
"I mean... um..."
"I.. I couldn't." Firemane said behind her.
"You WHAT?" She shouted, looking thunder-struck.
"I couldn't... you know... I just couldn't." Firemane was suddenly very
interested in his hindpaws. "Diana, I'm sorry... I..."
"Don't TALK to me!" I yelled, seething. I turned and stalked off
again. I knew it wasn't his fault... but that didn't really help at the
moment. I needed some time to calm down. Maybe... maybe later we could try
again.
I sat in the arboreatum for a few hours to cool off. It wasn't just
the frustration... though, honestly, that was a BIG part of it. It was that
Firemane just... wasn't himself. Something was missing, some vital, hard to
explain quality that just wasn't there anymore. It just wasn't fair! I
fought so hard to get him back and he STILL wasn't all there!
A small noise alerted me that someone was behind me. I turned around,
and found Firemane standing quietly behind me, slump shouldered.
"Diana... I'm sorry." I shook my head.
"It... it isn't just... Oh, gods, Firemane, what's wrong with you?"
"I don't know. I just couldn't..."
"I don't mean that. I mean... you just aren't the same."
"I know. When Stormsinger left... he took something with him..."
"What? What's missing?"
"I don't know. I just feel empty and cold inside. My... my fire is
gone, Diana. I just can't seem to feel anything strongly." Tears came to my
eyes, and I blinked them away quickly. He noticed. "No, Diana, I can still
feel that. I still love you... but like you said, it's just not the same."
He sighed, and it seemed to shake him from his head to his toes. "I just
don't... don't have any passion anymore... for anything."
Whatever I might have said... and I'm not sure there was really
anything to be said... was cut off by a loud resonant gong that sounded
throughout the tower. We both hurried out to see what was happening. Palas
rushed by, with Jolan on her heels.
"Someone's at the door!" She explained, "Could be trouble. Come on!"
We followed her, and in due course we were joined by Felin. Merri and Marse
were apparently too engrossed in whatever they were doing with Kiaphas to be
bothered. Ailuros bounded out into the hall after us, though. He gave
Firemane a curious glance, and followed at a respectful distance.
We took positions in the foyer, and Jolan commanded the door to open.
A rather nervous human stepped in, dressed in the livery of the royal house
of Cosan.
"Um... M-Message for you... S-sir?" He stammered at Jolan when we all
stepped into view.
"Message from the King? Speak, messenger, you are safe." The young man
heaved a sigh of relief, but didn't look or smell any more at ease.
"His M-Majesty is ssumoning all the mages of the land. T-the Republic
is on the move again, sir, and it looks like they plan to take Thanghorn.
W-we need all the help we can get." He took a deep breath, and drew himself
up. "In the name of the Guild and the Crown, sir, I must request it."
"Name of the Guild indeed." Jolan huffed, "Wait outside for a moment,
while I confer with my collegues." The nervous human bolted for the door.
Jolan turned to the rest of us. "Well, I don't think I can ignore this
summons, even if I'm not under the Guild's authority."
"I'm not letting you go off to war without me." Palas warned.
"Hey, you aren't getting out of my sight." Felin informed Palas, "You
need someone with sense to keep you out of trouble."
"I think we should talk to Merri about this..." Firemane put in, rather
timidly, I thought.
"Well, let's go talk to her, then." I said. We went back to where
Merri and Marse were working with Kiaphas. Marse was sitting next to Merri,
who had her hands around Kiaphas's head.
"Can she be interupted?" Palas asked Marse. "It's kinda important."
The Cleric nodded, though a triffle unsure. He placed one hand on Merri's
forehead, then slowly peeled her hands away from Kiaphas with the other. She
blinked a few times, then looked muzzily at us.
"This better be good." She warned. "I'll have a terrible headache in a
moment."
"I've been summoned to assist the King in battle against the Republic."
Jolan explained. "I can't refuse."
"Of course not." She agreed. She looked at Palas. "I assume you're
going too?" The elf nodded.
"Me too." Felin stuck in.
"I'd thought as much." Merri commented. "If you're going to war... I
think it might help to have a Cleric along." Marse nodded.
"Yes. I must go." There was something about the way he said it...
"Well, I have to try to recover the Stone of Darkness, of course. Not
only is it my quest, but it's also the only chance the Cosan mages have of
using their spells. I think that Ailuros and I can manage well enough on our
own, though. Just as soon as I get done with Kiaphas..."
"Is he any better?" Firemane asked.
"Some. He's trapped in a debt-conflict that... well, it's hard to
explain. It has to do with the way the draconian mind works. Once he comes
to grips with reality, he should start really recovering."
"What about us?" I asked, meaning me and Firemane.
"Well... I could certainly use your help... but so could Jolan and Palas.
It's up to you." I looked at Firemane, and shook my head.
"I don't think Firemane's up to it." He glanced down, and didn't say
anything to contradict me. "And we'd complicate things too much in the
Republic." She nodded. "I guess we'll probably wait this out here." She
gave the two of us a shrewd look, and nodded.
"A little time together will do you good. Hells, look what it did for
those two!" She nodded toward the mages, who looked away and blushed.
"You may be right. You don't mind us staying here, do you Jolan?"
"Not at all. In fact, it's probably a good idea for someone to stay
here and keep an eye on Kiaphas." I recognized his obvious attempt at
making us feel useful for what it was, but I appreciated the effort if
nothing else.
All in all, it took them about a week to prepare. Jolan and Palas
spent a lot of time alone together in the library, which I didn't make much
of until everyone was leaving. As they were going, Palas cornered me and
handed me a book of herbal remedies.
"I don't know how you feel about this sort of thing," she prefaced,
"But I know you're a competant herbalist, and there are a few ways in here
of dealing with the problems you two are having... I thought you might be
interested." I shuddered as I remembered the agonizing effects of the pill
Shalloc had forced on me, and I nearly pushed the book back into her hands.
My feelings must have shown on my face. "I thought you might be a little
uncomfortable with the idea, after all you've been through... but you of
all people should know that not every remedy is the same."
"You're right." I conceeded, "I'll give it a look, and see what I can
find. Thank you, Palas." Palas smiled.
"You've been a good friend, Diana. I'm just glad I have the chance to
try and repay the favor."
With that they left, Merri and Ailuros heading for the heart of the
Republic and the rest heading for war, leaving me alone with Firemane and
Kiaphas. Between the three groups, I'm not sure who's task seemed more
impossible. Sighing, I headed to the arboretum to study. The book I'd
been given was thick, and I had no doubt that it was poorly organized.
Even if the solution to my problem was to be found within its pages, I
knew it wouldn't be easy to find.
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