Delver Magic Book III: Balance of Fate

by Jeff Inlo

Chapter 25

  Enin appeared outside the door of the Borderline Inn. He stepped quickly inside and moved to the bar that Linda was tending. It was very late, near closing and only a few patrons sat scattered about the room. It was a slow night anyway with most of the guard out of Burbon and involved in the attack on Connel. Linda was just about to begin closing up the bar when Enin called for her attention.

  “You and I have to speak in private, we must do it quickly,” he said with a graveness Linda was not used to.

  Without hesitating, she directed him back behind the bar and to a small storage room filled with mugs, plates, and other assorted items used during the inn’s daily activities. With a look into the wizard’s face, Linda quickly assumed something terrible had happened, and she imagined the worst.

  “What is it? Is Ryson alright, did something happen to him?’

  “Ryson is fine,” Enin began, “but he is the reason for my coming to you. The truth of the matter is that so much has already happened this evening. Eventually, you will come to learn all the details, but there isn’t enough time for that now. What you need to know is that Connel has been freed and Tabris is no longer a threat. In fact, she is no longer alive. Your Ryson and Holli are alive and well in the Lacobian Desert, but I am afraid two of Ryson’s close friends have also passed. Lief and the Reader Matthew from Connel died in the battle with Tabris.”

  Linda found herself very torn at this moment and her head swam with the confusion of opposing emotions. She could not understand how Ryson became involved in a battle with Tabris in the Lacobian Desert. She knew this night was critical for many that called Burbon home, and the last six days moved at a snail’s pace for her and everyone else that had a loved one in the town guard. Still, she only believed Ryson would be working to evacuate the people trapped in Connel. The thought of him fighting Tabris left her near breathless. While she felt great relief to hear that he had survived the confrontation, she also realized how the loss of his close friends must be affecting him at this very moment. She also wondered what else he might be suffering from, for fighting magic was not something she could easily comprehend.

  “You fought with Tabris?” she questioned after finally finding her voice. “I thought they were going to Connel, not the desert. How did Ryson end up in the desert? Why did he fight Tabris?”

  “There will be time for greater explanations later,” Enin stated flatly.

  “But I don’t understand…”

  “I know you don’t, but this is not the time for that.”

  “Can’t you bring Holli and Ryson back here now?” she asked as she realized Enin was not about to explain much of what happened. She hoped if Ryson was here he could explain and she in turn could try to comfort the delver during his time of loss.

  “I can, but we don’t have the time for that either,” Enin admitted. “There is something of great importance I must ask of you and it’s going to be hard to explain. It’s not something you’re going to want to hear, but you must. You have a decision to make and you need to know everything.”

  “What’s going on?” Linda pleaded, growing more frustrated with Enin.

  Enin for his part leapt right to the area of his focus. He did not even attempt to guide Linda slowly into what needed to be said. He broached the subject with all the subtlety of a mountain shag at a sheep farm. “You once asked me what Ryson’s destiny was, what it was I saw that allowed me to know that he would not fall at the hands of Tabris. I didn’t tell you then, but I will tell you now. There is a magic caster, a dark creature—very powerful. At this moment, he is now even more powerful than me. It is Ryson’s destiny to face this creature.”

  This news immediately and completely obliterated any relief Linda felt only moments ago. “What are you talking about? Is this going to happen now?”

  Enin frowned but did his best to explain. “I hope it will happen soon, but this is beyond my control. This is more of a choice Ryson has to make. I can set the stage to a degree, but how it plays out and when, I can not say.”

  Linda now became visibly angry with the wizard’s answers and made as much clear to him. “If it’s his choice, why does he have to face this creature?! And it sounds like you’re trying to manipulate something. What is it you’re not telling me?!”

  “I’m trying to tell you everything. It’s important that I hold nothing back from you, but you’re really not giving me a chance.”

  “Give you a chance? A chance for what? Ryson can’t face something like that! That’s insane! This is exactly what I told you couldn’t happen, exactly why I asked you to tell Tabris to stay away from him. Tabris is dead and you come to me and tell me that something even more powerful than you is going to face Ryson. You can’t do this to me!”

  “It is not my doing, it is destiny.”

  “Don’t hand me that, you just said he had a choice. If he has a choice, then it doesn’t have to happen. You have to stop this!”

  “Linda, calm yourself. I can’t stop it, but I intend to help him. And I am here to give you the opportunity to help him as well, but you have to listen to me!”

  “We…I can help him?” At that moment, Linda found the strength to calm her fears. She took a deep breath as she waited for the wizard to finally offer some form of explanation.

  Enin took the opportunity to spell out the situation to the best of his abilities. “Yes, I am sure you can help him, but only if you listen to me. The problem is you will not like what you are going to hear. Baannat is the name of the magic caster. He is very evil. He has manipulated many things in the past few days, of that I am now certain. He has done this to grow powerful in magic and it looks like he has succeeded. For a while now, I have known of his existence, and though I thought I was keeping him in check, I have failed to do that. I have been hesitant to confront him, but I can no longer avoid that. I am going to face him now and do everything in my power to weaken him. If I go alone, I believe there is no way I can win. If you go with me, there is a great chance we can succeed. That is the key, for it will give Ryson the ability to survive what he must face.”

  “You want me to face this Baannat?” Linda asked with near amazement.

  “Not exactly, I will battle Baannat, but you will serve as the shield. As we have talked about this before and you showed great reluctance to admit it, you are immune to magic. If I bring you to Baannat, I can use you as an anchor, a reference point for me to actually cast spells to defeat him. Because the magic does not affect you in anyway, you will allow me to be present in Baannat’s realm without really allowing myself to be vulnerable to his attacks. It will seem to you as if I’m there, but I will not be in a physical sense that would allow Baannat to use his magic on me. He will, however, be vulnerable to what I can do.”

  Linda found herself torn once more, this time between the opportunity to help Ryson and the situation she would have to face. “So we’re going to go to this Baannat and I’m going to be some sort barrier between you two? He won’t be able to get to you through me, but you’ll be able to get to him?”

  “That describes it fairly well. You will be the focal point between us. As long as you remain conscious, he will not be able to get to me.”

  “Conscious? I thought you said I was immune to the magic. Why is there a chance I might become unconscious?”

  Enin looked directly into Linda’s eyes and did his very best to make her aware of one certainty. “This is very important and you must believe it to be true. Baannat will be unable to hurt you physically in any way. He has created a realm for himself that consists entirely of magic. You, however, are totally immune to magic. Everything he hurls at you, you will cast aside. That one thing you must never forget. There is no way he can cause you true harm. Because you will be in a place that is made of pure magic, he can’t even attack you indirectly. But that does not mean you can let down your guard or not be strong. He will undoubtedly recognize your immunity very quickly. At that point, your true struggle will begin.

  �
�He might have been able to deceive me, and for that I’m truly sorry, but I still know him. There is only one thing he can do that will affect you, but it will not be real. Just like me, he is strong in all facets of magic, which includes illusion. He can create things that look real, sound real, even feel real, but they are not. No matter what you believe is happening, you must not accept it. Everything your mind sees will be of his creation. It will be fake, it will be a lie, but I don’t wish to lie to you, too. I believe he can create very dark things and though they are not real, they might appear very real.”

  “But you’re sure he can’t harm me?”

  “Only if you let him. If your mind begins to believe the attacks are real, you will end up descending into the darkness of your own fears. You will lose consciousness and then he will be able to attack me. At that point, I would be in danger. Rest assured if that does happen, I will make sure you are returned here, but I will not be so lucky.”

  Linda grew silent and she turned away from the wizard to contemplate what was just said to her. Enin offered a final explanation of why it was necessary.

  “I want you to understand why I am here asking you to do this. There are two reasons. You have a unique power, extremely unique. You are not simply resistant to magic, it is much beyond that. You deflect it completely from your being. As long as you understand that, then I am not putting you in any danger. With you there, I believe I can critically weaken Baannat beyond his ability to mend himself. It is not my destiny to eliminate him completely. As I said before, Ryson must face him. That is your delver’s destiny. For me, I need to do this. I need to move beyond the excuses I have made in the past and I have to do what is right.

  “The second reason is one that is much more personal to you. It is what I see and why I feel obligated to make this offer to you. Your destiny is hard to define. You are meant to be with Ryson and he is meant to be with you. It doesn’t take a wizard to see that. It is, however, my plight to know that Ryson’s fate is to face this being. And that is where we come to you. I can not see a destiny in you. Perhaps it’s because you have none at this point, or maybe because you deflect the magic I simply can’t see it. When we last talked of this, you said your destiny was to help Ryson. I also see, however, that you feel in many ways unable to help him on your own. I believe you will know in your heart what you are supposed to do. As it is my choice to face Baannat, I believe you deserve the same opportunity to do what it is you believe is your own fate.

  “It’s not going to be easy, and you must be sure of yourself or you will accomplish nothing. But if you do believe this is what you must do, keep your strength and your mind on your purpose, you will win. Of that, I have no doubt. You will also, however, carry memories of what you will face for a very long time. They will not be pleasant. In the end, it’s up to you, your choice.”

  Linda turned and asked the one question she was afraid to hear the answer. “What if I say no?”

  “Then I will go alone. As I said, facing Baannat is now something I have to do. I have been very good at coming up with reasons for why I shouldn’t act, why I shouldn’t help others even when they are in great need. For the most part, they were excuses because I was afraid. I really don’t wish to interfere in people’s lives, but I can’t use that anymore to keep from doing what I should do. This creature is evil and he is very powerful, more powerful now because I was so easily deceived and so willing not to take any action. Many people have been hurt because of him, and many more are now in danger. All the reasons I used to talk about for not getting involved now seem small in comparison. I need to do this for myself, to make up for what I have done. Maybe I will get lucky. Maybe I can weaken him enough and still escape. If I do that, I will succeed in giving Ryson a better chance.”

  “If you can’t weaken him at all, can Ryson defeat this creature?”

  “I can not say. The delver has a unique inner power and has already done much of what I would have guessed impossible. But in all honesty, I don’t like his chances.”

  “And if I do go with you and you accomplish what we set out to do, how do you know Ryson will be able to defeat him?”

  “Again, I don’t know for sure, but I know he will have a much better chance. We will probably find out very shortly because I believe he will arrive in Baannat’s realm shortly after we do.”

  Here Linda became more than just concerned. A look of terror washed across her face as she erupted back at Enin. “Ryson? You’re bringing him? You just said you didn’t know when Ryson would have to face Baannat!”

  “I don’t, but I believe I know him well enough to know what will happen. Before I left him in the desert, I said you had a choice to make and nothing more. He is a delver. His feelings for you and his own curiosity will force him to find out what I meant. I left him with Holli. She knows where I am at all times and she will undoubtedly reveal as much to Ryson. He will follow my trail here. If you decide not to go, his journey will end and he will face Baannat at some point in the future. If you go with me, he will follow. Holli has the ability to send him forward to where we will be. I made sure of that many days ago.”

  “So if I go, then Ryson will end up right where I don’t want him, facing this Baannat creature.”

  “That is true, but if you think by saying no he will avoid that confrontation, you are only fooling yourself. He will still have to face him eventually. If this happens now, he will face Baannat with your help and mine. If he does it in the future, he will most certainly do it alone.”

  Linda pressed with one more question, a question that would determine her own final answer. “I’m going to ask you one question that I want a simple and honest answer to. Is there any way for Ryson to avoid facing this Baannat?”

  “No.”

  Linda wished to be certain of this. “I need you to swear on all that you believe in that that’s the truth.”

  “I swear on everything I hold dear, Ryson will have to face Baannat. There is absolutely no way to avoid it. I know it just as I knew Holli would come to me and ask to be my guard. I know it just as I knew that Lief would die this day. I honestly don’t know how I know these things, and part of me wishes I didn’t, but I do.”

  Linda no longer hesitated in her decision. “Then my choice is that I will go with you and I pray that you are right.”

  Enin actually felt a wave of relief for he knew if he faced Baannat alone, he would certainly die. With Linda, he had a chance. He was beyond grateful for this, but he felt a greater need than ever before to alert her for what she would face. “Before we go I must prepare you for what to expect. While Baannat has done his best to hide his true being to me, there are things I do know for certain about him. Baannat is not a creature natural to this land, nor is he a being of pure shadow. He is something in between, or perhaps a mix of both. He has substance, but not the kind you and I are familiar with. He is not made up of simple flesh and bone, but he does exist in our physical plain and thus can be attacked as well as destroyed. He is very powerful, even more so as a result of Tabris’ death. He has most certainly absorbed all of the energy she once controlled. Just remember, no matter how much power and energy he now controls, he can not physically harm you.”

  “I’ll remember,” Linda said while trying to focus on that very thought. “So what do we do now?”

  “We go together to face him. I will cast a spell and you will find yourself in a place that will appear to be shrouded in a white mist. You will eventually see Baannat. Ignore everything else you see or hear from that point on. Simply concentrate on the fact that you are immune to his power. We should not wait. If you are ready, we should go right now.”

  Linda nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”