Into Storm

by Jason Hamilton

  Perhaps her Healing brand, compounded with her Strength brand were finally beginning to kick in. A renewed vigor seized hold of Jak and she grabbed the nearest object available, a small dagger lodged in the belt of an unsuspecting guard.

  Pulling it out of its sheath, she hurled it at the Telekinetic. It found its mark, burying itself to the hilt in the man’s neck. The man clutched at the blood that gushed its way out. He fell to his knees and collapsed on the ground.

  Encouraged, Jak tried to stand, but the moment she did so, the pain in her chest redoubled and she fell back to her knees with a cry.

  Someone caught her.

  Looking up, she saw Naem, a concerned look in his eyes. Killing the Telekinetic must have set him free. But others were closing in. A Flamedancer spewed fire at them, and more raised arrows and spears. They weren’t going to make it. Naem had come all this way just to get himself killed. And how had he even gotten here so fast? She had been using the Pillar of Eternity for almost the entire time since she last saw him. There was no way he could have run all that distance in the short time after she’d been stabbed.

  Naem did not miss a beat. With a slight twist of his body, he raised her arms and got underneath her. She realized what was happening just as he stood up straight, lifting her above his shoulders.

  She screamed, dropping the Pillar of Eternity as the pain in her chest shook her entire body. Blood trickled down Naem’s back. Her blood. For just a moment, she blacked out. Even with Healing and Strength being the only things keeping her conscious, they would not do much good as long as the bleeding continued. And she couldn’t cauterize the wound here.

  Naem stooped and picked up the Pillar, waving it frantically to ward off the oncoming attackers.

  But they did not come.

  Jak’s breathing was coming on fast, but she could finally see what was going on around her. Naem had stopped thrashing about in an attempt to avoid the magic and weapons of the guards. Because every last one of them stood frozen in place. One had his palms out, spewing out a jet of flame that hung in midair. Another literally floated just above them, with spear in hand ready for gravity to bring him down so he could skewer the both of them. But time stood still.

  “What’s going on?” Naem said aloud.

  Jak was having a hard time believing what was happening too, though she recognized the magic immediately.

  “You...ack,” she coughed and flecks of blood peppered Naem’s shoulder. Lowering her voice to a rasping whisper, she forced out the words, “You must have activated the Pillar of Eternity.”

  Naem raised the staff in one hand, staring at its polished length. “How? I thought others had tried to use it already.”

  Jak didn’t know, but her head was swimming again with the effort of talking. She was still losing blood, and if she didn’t get that fixed soon…

  That was her last thought before she blacked out.

  24

  Something cold splashed her face. Jak sputtered and her eyes snapped open.

  She was alive.

  She knew that fact immediately, because a dead person would not feel the pain she had in her chest at that moment. It was more of an ache now, instead of a sharp, white-hot sensation. But it was far from a dull ache.

  She groaned, and even the sound vibrating from her throat to the rest of her body was enough to hurt. She stopped immediately.

  She blinked, trying to make sense of the dark world around her. How was she still alive? She had passed out from loss of blood.

  Amelia’s face moved into her vision. She was staring down at Jak. Water swirled around the Water Fae. But Jak wasn’t in the water. No, she was on the ground. That was the hard surface beneath her.

  “She’s coming to!” said Amelia emphatically. The girl’s overly enthusiastic voice rang in Jak’s sensitive ears.

  Jak shifted her arms at her sides and tried to sit up. The ache in her chest quickly flared to something more urgent and she gasped, collapsing back on the ground.

  “Careful,” said Amelia. “You almost died.”

  “Wh...what—” Jak’s voice came in a rasp, “—happened?”

  ”Naem managed to cauterize the wound before he brought you to us, otherwise you might not have made it back to us. We cleaned you up, and helped your mother care for you.”

  “Mother?” Jak glanced around her. She couldn’t see much other than the starry sky above, and Amelia’s face.

  “I’m here,” said a concerned voice. It was her mother’s. A second face appeared beside Amelia’s, this one trailing shadowy tendrils, and sporting two glowing green eyes. The sight would have frightened most people in Jak’s position, but it only made her relax. It was her mother’s face. “We know a few things about healing herbs found in the mountains. We’ve used what we have, but we don’t have a Healer in the camp so there’s not much more we can do.” Karlona’s face was full of concern.

  “It’s okay, I feel better already,” said Jak. That was only partially true. She still felt like someone had taken a blacksmith’s hammer to her chest, repeatedly. But her Healing brand would ward off infection, and as long as the bleeding didn’t continue, she should live.

  Slower this time, she tried rising to her elbows again, fighting through the pain. Everyone was there, though most stood a safe distance away, probably on Karlona’s order. Skellig, Gabriel, Seph, Yewin, Girwirt, Noralim, and even one of the trolls. Judging by its size, she figured it was the leader she had befriended, though it was still hard to tell the difference between two different trolls. Behind them stood more of their company, humans and Fae alike. They were all gathered to watch what happened to her. Finally, her gaze rested on Naem. He stood directly across from her, still grasping the Pillar of Eternity.

  “What about the queen?” she asked.

  “She hasn’t made a move yet, but we’re expecting her to attack at any minute,” said Skellig.

  “I got you out of there in a hurry, using this,” Naem brandished the Pillar of Eternity. “But I couldn’t keep it up for long once I got you here. I needed everyone else’s help to keep you alive.”

  Gabriel and Yewin were looking at Naem curiously, as if wishing they could ask how he had used the staff’s magic. But they kept their peace, wisely sticking to the matters at hand.

  “She’s going to attack,” said Jak, wincing as she tried to push herself up further. Karlona bent to place one hand on her shoulder.

  “Most of us have already retreated into the mountain pass. That will give us the tactical advantage,” said Skellig.

  Jak met the major’s eyes, “but how many will we lose if we fight, even in the pass?”

  Skellig’s lips pressed to a thin line. Jak saw the answer there. If they fought, they would likely lose everyone.

  “We either have to run and hide,” said Skellig, choosing her words carefully. “Or, there is one possibility to win against them in battle.” She gave Jak a knowing look.

  Jak shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

  “If you’re not feeling well, perhaps we could hold out long enough for your Healing to take effect, and then we could…”

  “No,” Jak interrupted. “I will not attack fellow humans in anything but self-defense.”

  The corners of Skellig’s mouth twitched. “How is a preemptive strike not a defensive one?”

  “Because our first goal is, and should always be, to preserve life at all costs.”

  Skellig took a deep breath, but did not argue. They had had this conversation before, and Skellig had clearly taken it partially to heart when she had attacked the trolls. She had chosen to trap them rather than kill them. She would understand.

  Jak reached out a hand to her mother. “Help me up. Just because I won’t attack them doesn’t mean there isn’t something I can do.”

  Karlona did not take Jak’s hand. “You need rest,” she said.

  “I can rest when we don’t have an army on our tail.” Jak responded. “Don’t worry, your herbs and m
y Healing brand have taken the edge off the pain.”

  Karlona hesitated a while longer before finally taking Jak’s outstretched hand.

  Jak gasped for air as she staggered to her feet. Naem stepped forward to help Karlona steady her. She almost pushed him away, and would have had she not been about to fall over.

  After a few deep breaths, she managed to hold herself steady. Her blood was pounding in her ears, and with each pulse her wound flared. But it didn’t begin bleeding again, and she could breathe. Those were good signs.

  She nodded at her mother, who let her go, though she kept her hands up, as if expecting Jak to collapse at any minute. Jak turned to Naem. “I’ll need that back,” she gestured to the Pillar of Eternity that he still held in his other hand.

  He nodded, and handed it over. Her fingers closed around its cool, black surface. And before Naem could pull his hand away, she brought her free hand around to hold it firmly in place around the Pillar of Eternity. Then she activated its magic.

  The pain still interfered with her concentration, but unlike before, she was able to concentrate well enough to bring time to a standstill. Naem, still holding onto the Pillar came into the time bubble with her. His quick glance at their surroundings told her that he knew what was happening.

  “I needed to talk with you privately, and this was the only way to find the time,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I feel I owe you an apology.”

  Naem shook his head. “No, I’m the one that betrayed you in Skycliff. Perhaps if I hadn’t done that, things...would have worked out differently. For the Fae I mean. Perhaps we could have avoided the slaughter that followed, and the shifting attitudes against the Fae.”

  Jak regarded him. She knew what he wasn’t saying that would also have worked out differently. They would probably still be together.

  “You made a mistake,” she said. “A bad one, and I still don’t know if I will ever trust you fully.”

  Naem opened his mouth as if to say something, but she raised one hand to keep him from doing so. “But...I also made a mistake. I let my resentment for what you did influence my actions.”

  He swallowed. “Like you said, you don’t have any reason to trust me.”

  “No, but that wasn’t the biggest mistake I made. I let my confidence in my own abilities make me blind to the help that you could have provided. You were the only one who saw that, the only one who said something.”

  The beginnings of a smile graced his lips. “You were being pretty reckless.”

  Jak stopped herself from rolling her eyes. He didn’t have to confirm it when she said she was wrong. Though instead of protesting, she said, “and I paid for it, almost with my life. I can’t imagine what would have happened if that guard had cut off my head, or even stabbed me in the heart. I would have died before my Healing brand could have done anything about it.”

  “Well, it all worked out in the end. You can learn from that.”

  Jak nodded. “I can. And I will. But before we move on, I just wanted to say...thank you. And if I ever make any signs of doing something dumb like that again, I want you to say something. I promise not to get mad at you for it.”

  Naem cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll remember you said that.”

  “Don’t push it,” Jak added, narrowing her eyes at him.

  Naem smiled, the first time she had seen him do so since he arrived. “Don’t worry, I’ll only say something when you’re really being dumb.”

  Jak had half a mind to wrench the Pillar of Eternity away and leave him frozen like the rest of them, but she resisted that impulse. Instead she changed the subject. “Do you know why the Pillar of Eternity worked for you?”

  “I don’t know. I thought I heard it say something to me right before it happened. Is that weird?”

  Jak shook her head. “Not at all, that’s what happened to me right before I used it the first time. What did it say?”

  “Well, I was a little preoccupied with staying alive, but I think it said something like ‘save lives.’”

  Jak focused her gaze on the Pillar. Yes, that sounds about right. The Relic was as concerned with saving lives as she was now. More so, even. That would explain why she couldn’t kill demons or anyone else for that matter using its power. It would explain why it would lend its strength to Naem. It did so to save her life. Would it allow her to kill someone like Cain, if the opportunity arose?

  “Well, I suspect the Pillar understands a person’s inner self better than I do,” she said. “I’d be a fool not to give you the chance you deserve from here on out.”

  Naem shuffled his feet, “That...that doesn’t mean.”

  “No,” she stopped him right there. “You and I cannot have that anymore, I’m sorry.”

  “Right, yes,” he said, acting like it had been a stupid question. “Sorry, I just thought...the way you said it…”

  “I thought you said you didn’t want that anymore?” Jak asked.

  Naem remained still for a moment, staring into empty space while he considered his words. Then he met her eyes. “Jak, I don’t think I will ever not want us to be together. I don’t expect it, and I won’t ask for it, but that does not mean that I don’t wish it. I regret what I did all the more for it.”

  Jak stared at him. Was he really being serious? After everything that had happened, he still felt that way about her?

  “I’m sorry, Naem. I can’t give you that anymore.”

  “I know, and I understand why. I’m sorry I brought it up, I won’t again.”

  He looked away, and his hand loosened on the Pillar of Eternity. Jak put one hand on his, to keep it there.

  “Naem, when I said I didn’t trust you, I really only meant emotionally. You’re welcome in the camp, and among the Fae. I trust you to have their interests, and mine, at heart. But I can’t open that part of myself to you again.”

  She wanted to say more, to say that she was sorry. But anything more would have been hollow. So she left it at that. They didn’t say anything more for a while.

  Finally, Naem spoke. “I understand. I’m happy to help out where I can.”

  He didn’t look happy, but Jak accepted his offer with a nod. “And I forgive you for what has happened in the past. Can we agree to move on with our lives?”

  “I’d like that.”

  With a smile that attempted to hide the sorrow she felt, Jak let the magic of the Pillar of Eternity fade.

  “So what’s your plan?” said Skellig. None of them were aware that anything had happened between her and Naem. Time had gone on for them.

  “We put on a demonstration. Something to discourage them from attacking.”

  “You want to scare them?”

  “Fear is a powerful motivator, but I have a feeling that it will work against us in the long run. If we scare them, we might avoid a battle now, but it will only reinforce the idea that the Fae are a threat. No, I have another idea. One that some of you might not like, but one I think might just work.”

  “Let’s hear it then,” said Girwirt. “If you giants aren’t as blind as you are stupid, you’ll notice that there’s an army about to attack us. We gnomes don’t do as well as you humans when we’re facing those pointy sticks of yours.”

  “Girwirt,” said Noralim from beside the gnome. “It’s not nice to call someone stupid. We’ve been over this. You’ve got to…”

  “But the gnome is right,” said Skellig, cutting Noralim off and turning to Jak. “Tell us what you have in mind.”

  Jak turned to look at all who was presently gathered. “Can I count on all of you?” She met the eyes of the troll in particular, who had made no sound this entire time. The giant creature met her gaze with steady eyes. It nodded, as did everyone else.

  So she began to outline the details.

  25

  They stood on the battlefield, only a handful of them, the leaders of each Fae and human group. Everyone that stood on the council, apart from Amelia and Cerai of course. The Water Fae couldn’t exactly ex
tend their reach this far inland. But they would make an appearance soon enough.

  Naem was there too, holding the Pillar of Eternity for now. Skellig had questioned her decision on that, wondering why she would let him hold such a powerful Relic after what he had done to her. And while it was a definite risk, something told Jak that Naem could be trusted. At least he could for now. He had learned his lesson. Besides, she had a job for him.

  Skellig was the only member of the council who wasn’t present. She was busy leading the rest of their people, Fae and humans, through the mountain pass. Now it was Jak’s job to hold off the entirety of Queen Telma’s army with less than a dozen people.

  “I don’t like this,” said Girwirt from one side. “We’re too exposed.”

  His usual, almost humorous cynicism was gone, replaced by something more serious. He must really be worried. Noralim stood beside him and said nothing, but had the same nervous look in his eye. His hands were clasped together, fidgeting with themselves. Jak glanced at all the others. Gabriel and Seph stood resolute, though they too did not look happy. Of the group, they were the weakest in combat, and mostly here to show human support of the Fae.

  On Jak’s other side were Karlona, Yewin, and Naem. All three gripped their weapons in their hands, confident yet wary. If things didn’t go according to plan, this could mean their death, and they knew that. Surprisingly, it was Naem that shared the most confidence. His smile deepened, and he winked at Jak as she caught his eye.

  Of course, it was the large troll standing behind her that showed the least emotion. He stood there, towering over the rest of them, facing the queen’s army as though they were a mild interest, not an army capable of killing even him.

  The army was forming ranks in front of them, soldiers creating a line of shields and spears, archers readying themselves behind them. Telekinetics and Flamedancers activating their brands, evident from the light pouring out of their left hands. They were close enough that Jak could make out some of their expressions. They ranged from angry, to afraid, to indifferent. A few looked confused, probably wondering why just a handful of their enemy had come to face them.