The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds (12 page)

"You there... You're big enough for litter duty... Head down to the courtyard. You can help carry my secretary and his staff." The white robed Maltacken priest said.

Not knowing what to do Tolivier responded with a feeble. "Aye sir."

Yet again, this apparently was not the expected or required response. The priest looked at the Sergeant with a look of utter shock. "Aye sir? Aye sir? Are you daft?"

He went to strike the big man with the back of his hand but Tolivier reacted instinctively and grabbed the hand and twisted down. The white robed monk collapsed to his knees with a gasp and a curse. The man immediately began to summon a powerful spell to strike out at the defiant sergeant but Bendon, feeling the pressure of the magic on the nape of his neck, lashed out with his own, far more powerful, blast a fraction of a second faster.

A blue nimbus enveloped the man and he went flying across the room with a loud thunderclap.

"Run!" Bendon screamed at the others. "Every magic user that can snuff a candle will have felt that. We have to get out of here! As in yesterday!"

Dropping all pretense, the other three dropped the bags they were carrying and dashed for the corridor they had seen the others moving down. There had to be a gate to the outside somewhere in that general direction. Guards and clerics rushed towards them with swords and staffs drawn but a constant barrage of magic counter attacks from Bendon kept them at bay. The four raced down corridors as fast as they could. Unfortunately with every energy blast or protective shield Bendon tossed up their presence was further broadcasted.

Mortia was as confusing a castle as Bendon had ever been in. Worst, the only time he had been in it was as a very young man and injuries suffered immediately after that visit obscured his memories. He had no real idea where they were going as they ran down hallway after hallway.

At long last they spotted an exit. Bendon cleared an opening through the guards with a concussive blast that sent men flying in every direction.

Just as they were making a dash for it Bendon heard a voice he had been dreading echo from the cobblestones behind him. "Oh father... You have been a bad boy... What shall we do?"

Tommy watched from the trees just outside the side gate to the castle known officially as Mortia but unofficially as the Dark Keep by the locals who lived in abject fear of the place. It hadn't always been so. Tommy had grown up in this castle and knew its walls best. Unfortunately, with that familiarity would come unwelcome recognition. Tommy's family had ruled these lands for generations but the coming of the Dark Lords had cost him his home, his childhood and his parents. He dared not enter the fortification for fear of drawing unwanted attention.

He felt the press of magic on the back of his neck. It carried with it a touch that he had come to recognize. Kindra, many leagues to the east was trying to contact him. Her skills as a dragon born imbued her with skills few could match without great effort.

"
Dearest, are you able to converse?
" Kindra projected in his thoughts.  

"
For you? Always.
" He returned.

"
Gawin is a father. The child is strong and has a good measure of the gift from both her mother and her father. We await your return.
"

Suddenly Tommy felt a large and frequently repeating pressure at the back of his neck. That was not a good sign.

Kindra must have felt his unease. "
Dearest? What's wrong?
"

"
I'm not sure... Be ready for the unexpected. I have a bad feeling about this.
"

***

Kindra sat back on the bench and stared at Robert as he gently rocked Jewel's baby in his arms. Jewel was in a light healer's sleep that Robert had induced in order to promote a speedy recovery from the rigors of birth.

"We may have a problem."

"Oh?" He said while smiling at the bundle in his arms.

"Tommy is concerned and warned me to be ready for anything." She added as she reached for her granddaughter. "You might want to reconsider a healing for Jewel... We may have to move fast."

Robert looked at the sleeping woman for a moment as if making up his mind. He typically preferred letting a body heal itself, but this was perhaps the wiser choice given their situation. Heaven only knew what would happen when the others returned through the portal plates Bendon had setup in the floor of the workshop.

As he placed a hand on Jewel's abdomen she stirred slightly. He magically encouraged her to continue to sleep as he flowed energy reserves from himself into her birth-torn tissues. Slowly, the fibers began to mesh. He thought about the portal that he and Gawin had spent weeks designing and ultimately built in this very room.

Unlike the portal plates that Bendon had used, which required one or more matching sets at the destination, their machine could pick a arbitrary location in time and space. Perhaps it would be best to set it up for a fast escape. The real question was 'How to prevent someone from following them through it?'

As Jewel began to stir awake, he thought he had the answer. It broke his heart but he would instruct the machine to fuse critical parts two minutes after its next use. This would give their group plenty of time to travel through in pairs but would not allow a large party to follow them.

He stood up and made his way to the device.

Kinda, seeing the general direction of his movements spoke up. "Are you thinking what I think you are?"

"Probably." He said. "I'm going to calibrate this for Thioden. There will be safety there. The magics of the city should have repaired the Great Library by now. No one, not even Altana will look for us back there so soon.  I'm setting the device with a self-destruct so it can't be used to follow us. I'm also going to cloak it in an obscurant spell to hide it from all eyes but those of our group."

"I think you are being wise... You are a good man, Robert Kimbridge."

"Not always... But I'm trying." He said with a self-depreciating smile.

***

519 years before present... Arathin (Marlhema)

“
In here, Ainara
.”
With a gentle yet firm push she ended up in a small room. It was furnished as a cozy sitting room. Seith quickly shut the door.

“
Seith, what are we doing in here? I thought your father told us to leave. To escape
.
”

Seith turned away from the window he had been pondering
.“
That is what we are going to do, but I ca
n’
t make a portal in the middle of a hallway for them to find easily
.”
He came over and collected Ainara in his arms. He kissed her briefly before whispering
.“
For our chil
d’
s sake, I ca
n’
t take that risk
.”
He turned from her again to face the window. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. Slowly his hands rose as if surrendering. Ainara could feel the air thickening with power, feel the pressure building upon her nape. Seit
h’
s eyes snapped open. A haze clotted the window. Then, as if it were water and someone tapped it, the haze rippled away. In its place was a nighttime forest. A shudder swept violently through the whole palace.

“
What is happening
?”
Ainara cried.

Seith glanced wide eyed in the general direction of the throne room
.“
The
y’
ve started
.”
It was barely a whisper. A look of such sorrow was in his eye that Ainara wanted to question him. To comfort him. But instead Seith grabbed her arm and dragged her through the fabric of space. The last she saw of the palace was an eagle; a hundred times bigger and blacker than deepest night. The floor was crumbling. And a brilliant light was shining through the doorway.  Then she fell into a cold nothingness that suppressed her at the same time as it felt endless. It lasted for only a second.

Cold, clear, and crisp was the outside they stumbled into. Seith helped her to her feet. The two of them were trembling from shattered nerves
.“
That portal was strang
e
…
”
Seith murmured softly. He glanced to where the portal sat shimmering
.“
But we m
a
…
”
Seit
h’
s eyes widened in stunned horror
.“
No
!”
Seith shouted as a
searean bre
darted through the portal. The portal shuddered in its final moments. Just as it rippled in on itself two more
searean
flung themselves through. A blinding light licked at them before the portal collapsed completely. The bird that had been closest to the light screamed and fell. Ainara did
n’
t see where it landed for Seith pushed her off the road and into the eaves of the forest. Ainara stumbled forward a few paces before she turned back. Seith stood on the road, head tilted toward the sky. The two remaining
searean
circled. One of them hissed before diving toward Seith, but Seith was not there; at least not the man Seith.

Ainara had, so often of late, seen Seith in his other form due not to the simple joy that came with it, but to its superior strength and innate weaponry. Still she could not get over the magnificence. He was the size of a small barn. A proud head started a serpentine neck that widened into a deep chest. There was a cracking sound from his whiplash tail. From the tip of his snout to the tip of his restless tail were scales of silver. Knife like talons flexed into the earth of the road. Seith lowered his head; snarling. His back arched, causing the spines running down his spine to stand. The same went for the sail that began at the crown of his head to his shoulders. His bat-like wings unfurled slightly. Moonlight bathed the skin of both wing and sail to palest gold. His silver veined  blue eyes needed no light to shine fiercely. With a bout of fire spilling from his jaws he leaped into the air; meeting the diving bird. He struck at it with two raking claws.

The eagle screamed and made to retaliate. It got a face full of fire for its trouble. Its fellow made to attack but was met with a powerful blast of wind that threw it hundreds of feet into the sky. Seith beat his wings after his improvised feather ball. The
searean
whom received an unhealthy dose of fire to the face followed screaming in fury. One thing absolutely known about the
searean bre
, besides their mindless bloodlust, was their core deep hatred of the dragons and their magic.

Ainara stared after them in mute awe and terror. How much longer could Seith keep fighting?  Deep breathing and a snapping twig broke into Ainar
a’
s worry. She turned and saw red eyes, like a
searean bre's,
glaring at her from the shadows across the road. Ainara gasped, her hands covering her mouth. Stumbling toward her was a skeletal man with sallow skin. His tattered shirt framed a seeping rip in his flesh. She could just see the white of his clavicle at the top of the rip. He was breathing deeply. His burning red eyes focused hungrily on her.

His mouth was moving. At first all Ainara could focus on were his eyes and the ragged wound. Eventually she could hear what he was saying
.“
Come, come. I hungr
y…
you tasty, yes? Yessss
.
”
 
At the end of it he started to lunge for her. Ainara tore her eyes away and ran. She crashed through the underbrush like a crazed beast. She could hear high laughter behind her. It reminded her of hunting hounds braying. Through the crunching of leaves and snapping of branches she could still hear it talking
.“I’
ll eat you...
I’
ll tear into yo
u…
Bloo
d…
you have i
t…
. I wan
t…
lots and lots of bloo
d
…
”
And other such horrible snippets. Ainara whimpered and worked her legs harder. She longed horribly for a speck of wood sense. Maybe then she could escape without leaving a road for the crazy man to follow. Her leg muscles burned and protested the sudden demand she was making on them. Living in a palace did nothing to prepare the body for the rough terrain of a forest. It was even harder pregnant.

She lost all sense of direction. All she knew was that she was heading up hill. Her dress was in ruins. The fabric had been snared by countless branches. Her bound hair was now everywhere. Burs entangled it. Ainara slowed down to a walk, panting. She could
n’
t keep running. She had
n’
t heard the man for some time now. Maybe he had lost interest. Maybe he had slipped and hit his head on a rock. Would
n’
t that be nice?
What horribly callous thoughts
. In response to the out of touch voice in her head, Ainara raised a very indecent, unladylike mental hand gesture.  Her chest heaved, trying to hold more air then it was ever designed to hold. She was dizzy. She listened to the forest around her. A roar startled her into looking up. Far above she could see a spark of orange fade. A silver shape that seemed to glow was circled by two drifting shadows. A brilliant flash of blue white light engulfed one of the shadows. Pure
marana
: Starfire.

A rough hand grabbed her arm in a punishing grip. Ainara screamed and turned to see the red eyed man.  He lifted her arm. In the pale light, Ainara could see dark stains on his teeth. In debilitating disbelief she watched him take a bite from the fleshy part of her arm. The pain kicked her out of her disbelief. Without thought she slammed her left fist into his eye. It hurt, but it seemed to hurt him more. He growled and unclamped his teeth. Good. She kicked and hit him. Her frantic digits clawed his fingers from her arm. She started to run again when he snarled and sank his fingers into her tangled hair. With a cruel yank he unbalanced her. She fell into his arms. He laughed in a raspy, hair rising way. It reminded her of the sounds a
searean bre
make
.“
Rip and ren
d…
yesss suree. Rip and
tear
.”
He sang.

Ainara screamed as she watched her end come for her. A surge of pure terror poured through her. That and a stab of harrowing regret for her unborn bab
y…
A roar echoed her scream. The man with red eyes was suddenly gone and in his place was Siet
h’
s silver draconic head
.“
SIETH
!”
Ainara reached out to him.

“
I’
m sorry that thing touched you. Let me try to heal you
.”
The dragon said. Ainara watched as a stream of blue
marana
cloaked her wound in soothing warmth.

“
Thank you. Are you alright
?”
She asked standing up and touching his snout.