The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  "What did they do to you, Sapphire?" he asked. her. "They made you gigantic!"

  "They did nothing of the sort," she snorted, looking down at him. "Dear friend, this is my true self."

  He stared at her in surprise.

  "When the Breaking came, the Weave could no longer sustain us," she told him. "So we regressed to the state of a drake, changing ourselves into something not quite so dependent on the magic. It made us forget who and what we were, and we actually became drakes, simple-minded and bound by instinct. But we survived. When the Weave was restored, the magic that sustains us was renewed, and it caused us to revert back to our true selves. I am not a drake, my friend. I am a dragon."

  "You mean--you lived as a drake for a thousand years?" he asked in surprise.

  "I don't really remember much of it, but yes, I did," she told him. "I'm sure others survived as well. They have all probably woken up by now, returned to their true shapes."

  "The dragons are restored to the world," the red said with a very big smile. "That means that the Weave must be whole."

  "Why didn't you regress?" Tarrin asked the red one in sudden insight.

  "The magical power of this trapped section of the Weave was enough to sustain me," he said. "I laid in torpor until about twenty years ago, when the birth of a new sui'kun finally brought enough to the Weave to sustain me while awake. I would guess that birth was you," he said with a smile. "Would you please remove your sword? It hurts!"

  Tarrin Summoned the sword to him without much thought or effort, and sent it back into the elsewhere. The red dragon scrubbed at its snout with its forepaw and blew out a sigh, accompanied by a hiccup of flame. "Thank you ever so much," he said amiably. "It was starting to throb a bit." He looked up at the sky with a longing expresssion. "If you two will forgive me, five thousand years in one place can make a dragon a little stir crazy," he told them. "My service is done, but I don't think I'm leaving what I defended in bad hands. I surrender to you the Firestaff, my worthy friend. I'm confident you'll know what to do with it. Defend it well."

  "Th-Thank you," he said in confusion.

  "Defend him, sister," the red dragon said to Sapphire. "For him, this ordeal is not over. He will need you."

  "He is clan. For us blues, clan is all. I will protect him," she said with a stately nod.

  "That's why you blues are so respected," the red told her with a toothy grin. "Someday us reds are going to have to try cooperation. But it never seems to work out. Ah well. Farewell, and may the Eternal Dragon grant you prosperity and happiness."

  The red dragon nodded to them, then jumped up and beat its wings. Wind blew over him as it pulled itseful up to the hole. It wriggled itself through, and then the sound of its wings heralded its departure.

  Tarrin stood there with only the sounds of the volcano echoing in his ears. That...was...bizarre. Just like that, it was over. Timing. Timing was everything. Had he been an hour earlier, they would still be fighting, as the red dragon would still be under the strictures of its agreement. An hour later, and he may not have had to fight it at all. It may have clawed its way out of the volcano and left the Firestaff behind, for anyone to come and claim.

  And that, he realized, was why they had sent him. The Ward was gone, the dragon was gone. Had Tarrin and his friends not dealt with Syllis the day before, he would be up here right now, trying to take the Firestaff. There were no protections left--except the wind and that reef--to defend the Firestaff from the wrong hands. Little did anyone know that the wrong hands had been on the island for a thousand years. They had come this close to losing the Firestaff to the mad Syllis, who would have taken it, Teleported away, and made getting it back a serious challenge before that appointed day.

  The act of protecting Sapphire caused the dragon to yield to him, to yield to him the Firestaff.

  The Firestaff.

  He looked up to where it was, fearful that the collapse of the roof had swept it away, but it was still there, still hovering just over the rock spire, still waiting for him. And it was now his. His promise to the Goddess was about to be fulfilled. He had persevered. He had survived the ki'zadun in the Tower. He had survived Jegojah and Triana on the journey to Dala Yar Arak. He had survived the desert and his own personal demons on the journey back to Suld. He had survived the attempt by the ki'zadun to banish the Goddess in Suld. And he had survived to get to where he was now, to stand before the Firestaff and to know, to finally know, that he could reach out and claim it any time he wished.

  He had won.

  It was a heady feeling. It was almost over. Almost over! All he had to do now was hide the Firestaff, move it and protect it until the day of its awakening came and went harmlessly. Then he would be free!

  Touching the Weave, exercising the endless power that the Goddess had imparted to him, Tarrin froze the lava in the center of the stone ring, making it solid. Then he caused the rock spire to lower, the Firestaff lowering with it, sinking the spire down into the lava beneath their feet and putting the Firestaff where he could finally claim it.

  Sapphire sat on her haunches and watched silently as Tarrin walked up to the Firestaff, step by step by step. The red one said it wasn't over, and that reminded him of the poem. He would have to sacrifice to take the Firestaff. That's what the poem said. It very well may kill him. He came to a stop but arm's length from the priceless artifact, staring at it with careful eyes. It was made of stone, not wood. A reddish stone, the color of blood, that seemed to throb like the beating of a heart before his eyes, but that throb was the pulsing of the power of the Conduit that shimmered around it. It was about six spans long, and had that flicker of fire dancing about the top of the staff like a candle wavering in the breeze.

  This was it. This was what he had come to claim.

  He assensed the Conduit, and felt no magic about other than the Conduit itself. If there was a magic spell on it, it was well hidden.

  He paused, flexing his fingers. Sacrifice. Was he ready to sacrifice? Now that the end was in sight, the possibility that everything would turn out as he wished was within his grasp? It was right there. All he had to do was reach out and take it. But it would cost him. Everything he was, everything he is, and everything he would be. That sounded like death to him.

  He was afraid. He had to admit it to himself. He didn't want to sacrifice everything now. Not when he was so happy! But he had a duty. He made a promise. He vowed to the Goddess that he would find the Firestaff and protect it from all others.

  How many times had the Goddess helped him? Protected him? Blessed him and forgave him? How many times did she cheer him up, did she make him feel better? He was a coward to be afraid now! So what if had to sacrifice? After everything the Goddess had done for him, he was going to back out on his promise to her now?

  And what about his children? His mates, his parents, his sisters, his friends? If he didn't take the Firestaff, which of them would have to sacrifice everything in his place? Who would he send in here to die, because he was too afraid?

  Several of them would do it. Dolanna would do it. Camara Tal would do it. Allia would do it without blinking. Azakar would do it. Because they understood that sometimes, in the course of doing right, one had to sacrifice.

  No! No one else will die! There won't be another Faalken, even if I have to die to make sure of it!

  And in his mind's eye, he saw his children and the uncertain world which would be theirs if he did not do what had to be done.

  Gritting his teeth, his face a sudden mask of ultimate determination, Tarrin reached out and snatched the Firestaff out of the Conduit.

  It was hot. He could feel it in his paw. He looked at it, watched the fire at its top suddenly flare like a torch, its fire and heat washing over him. It suddenly exploded into a bonfire of flame that enshrouded him, a magical fire that enveloped him, and to his horror, infused him.

  That was the spell! That was the final defense!

  He felt it descend into the core of him, a lance of white
-hot fire, seeking out his soul. He could not hide from it. He could not defend against it. It found his soul and looked within it, he could feel it searching, searching, searching. Searching for something.

  All that defines you. All that you were. All you will be.

  All that defines you. All that defines you. ALL THAT DEFINES YOU.

  It found what it was looking for. The lance of fire plunged into his soul, and it felt as if fire had consumed his body. Fire he could feel, heat that burned into him, incinerated his flesh, blackened his bones. A great agonized scream was torn from his lips as the power of the final defense lashed out against him, scouring into and through his body, a magical fire of purity that burned away all that defined him. It burned through his bones, seared his muscles, set his blood boiling, blackened his skin. It felt as if he were being Consumed all over again, as the magical fire infused the totality of his body, causing him to burn with white-hot flames, flames that roared around him, roared through him, roared into his mind, burned him, burned his brain, burned his memory, burning away--burning away--

  NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  The fire ceased as quickly as it had appeared.

  Sapphire, the blue dragon, blinked from the sudden darkness, her head literally right over him from where she had rushed towards him in near panic. Spots danced in her draconic eyes as she blinked them, trying to fathom what had just happened.

  Tarrin, her beloved friend, had taken the Firestaff. He seemed strangely reluctant to do so, standing there for a long moment and just staring at it. That confused her slightly, but she did not interfere. Then, when he did finally take it, it surrounded him with that bright fire. That didn't concern her at first, for fire couldn't harm him, but then he screamed in pain! She had rushed over to see what was wrong, to try to wrest the artifact from him, but the light was so strong! And then he cried out no in a voice of such tremendous loss that it nearly broke her heart. Such great pain tied up in that forlorn wail!

  She blinked, found that her vision was clearing, and looked down. He was unconscious, all his clothes burned off, laying there with the magical staff in his limp hand, laying on his back. But he was...different. He had no fur, no tail. The ears were gone, the hands and feet were different. He was much shorter. She gasped.

  He looked human.

  She was confused. She didn't know he could do that!

  Being careful with him, Sapphire collected up her friend and his prize in her mighty forepaw, then jumped up towards the hole. Strange that he would shapeshift like that. She didn't know he could. In any event, he needed someone to care for him, and his mate Kimmie would know what to do. She wriggled out of the hole she had made quickly, losing a few scales in the proceess. She would take him to her. Kimmie would know what to do.

  Across the cauldera, standing on the ledge from which he had arrived, a solitary figure stood. She was a tall woman, delicately beautiful, with amazing rainbow-striped hair, glowing amber eyes, and a dress that looked to be spun of silk made from stars. She had her hands to her chin, a look of profound sadness about her, and tears were sliding down her cheeks.

  "Oh, my sweet kitten," she said in an anguished tone. "I'm so sorry! I wish it could have been different for you. Please forgive me!"

  Wiping the tears from her face, the mysterious woman simply vanished, as if she had never been.

  Chapter 20

  It was over, but there were too many mysteries to unravel.

  Sapphire had come back not long after she left, carrying an unconscious, human Tarrin. And in Sapphire's massive paw with him had been the Firestaff.

  She had handed him over to Kimmie, who immediately carried him into the manor and put him in bed. He was ashen, cold to the touch...and he was in his human form. How had that happened? When did he shapeshift into his human form, and for what purpose? Had he had to do it to get the Firestaff for some reason?

  It was a puzzle beyond puzzles, and Kimmie and Dar sat there and mulled over it for quite a while. It was so much a puzzle that neither of them paid much attention at all to the stone-like, red artifact that had been brought back with him, that looked rather unremarkable. After all, it looked just like a red stone rod, a petrified staff. It meant very little to Kimmie, not compared to her precious, beloved Tarrin.

  What had happened in that volcano? Why was Tarrin in his human form? She had never seen him in his human form before, and struck her as...odd. He looked too young, barely more than a teen. His scent in human form betrayed no trace of his nature, but that wasn't too unusual. In cat form, all Were-cats' scents became much more cat-like. In human form, since they had no trace of the Cat about their physical form, it radically altered their scents. The basic element of his scent was there, it was just lacking the extra texture she could identify when he was in his normal form. What had happened in that volcano? Sapphire had flown off, and then returned very quickly, carrying him. Had it been over when she arrived? Did she find him like that? She'd been so concerned about her mate that she ran off without asking any questions. She needed some answers, but Sapphire was way too large now to fit into the house. She'd have to go out to see her, but she wasn't about to leave her mate's side until he woke up, or Dolanna arrived. Dolanna knew how to care for Were-cats. She had been tending Tarrin since he'd been turned.

  The absolute last person she ever expected to be there arrived not long after Kimmie put Tarrin to bed and began to try to unravel this perplexing mystery. The door blew open, and an infuriated Triana burst into the room. How did she get here? They were thousands of leagues from Suld! She had traversed two entire oceans!

  "Where is he!" she shouted hotly, slamming the door behind her. "Where?" Her eyes locked on Kimmie. "Kimmie, where is my son?"

  She seemed....agitated. Almost afraid. "He's here, Triana," she replied quickly, standing up. "They only just brought him back. He, he did it, Triana. He got the Firestaff!"

  "Who gives a damn about that!" she snapped at her as she literally ran to the bed. She leaned over the pale Tarrin, who looked discomforted in his unconsciousness, stroked his cheek with infinite tenderness.

  Her paws were trembling.

  "I, I didn't believe it," she said in awe, touching his face with both paws, searching his features. "I can't believe it!" she gasped, pulling the covers down and putting her paws on his bare chest. "It's impossible!"

  "What's impossible, Triana?" Kimmie demanded as Dar quickly joined them, silent and respectful in the powerful Were-cat matriarch's presence.

  "It's gone!" she declared in fear. Fear, from Triana! That in itself was a miracle! "There's nothing of it left! It's like it had never been!"

  "What, Triana? What's gone?" Kimmie demanded anxiously. She did not like the tone of Triana's voice.

  "Kimmie, Tarrin is human!" she gasped, looking down at her with wild eyes. "His Were nature is gone. He's even younger, as if the clock was turned back to before he was bitten!"

  Kimmie stared at Triana for a very long, very quiet moment. Dar gaped at Triana in shock. "He's not a Were-cat anymore?" she asked woodenly.

  "Kimmie, it's just gone. Like it was ripped out of him!" Triana said in a tightly controlled voice. "Has he woke up? Did he speak at all?" she asked quickly, nervously.

  Tarrin, not a Were-cat? She couldn't believe it! It wasn't possible! Nothing could take the Were nature away, not without killing the Were-kin! Her head spun and her vision swam. Her one love, not a Were-cat! What was going to happen to him? Was he going to survive whatever had done the impossible to him? She felt a little dizzy, and had to sit down on the bed to keep from passing out. Dar was there then, holding her paw and patting the back of it, trying to keep her from swooning.

  "I felt his bond shatter," she said in a nervous voice, splitting her time between checking Kimmie and putting her paws on Tarrin. "I thought he was killed! I got over here as fast as I could, but now I see why it did that. He lost his bond because that part of him was stolen from him!"

&n
bsp; "Stolen? Mistress Triana, what could possibly do this to him?" Dar asked her in a worried tone.

  "Nothing could do this, boy," she said grimly. "It's supposedly impossible. We need to find out what happened. Who was there? Where are the others? Where is Camara?"

  "I don't know," Kimmie said with a fret. "They left before sunrise. Sapphire brought Tarrin back alone."

  "That bloody big dragon?" Triana asked. "I nearly wet myself when I saw that thing laying on the lawn. I didn't think there were any left!"

  "That was Tarrin's pet drake," Kimmie told her. "She was actually a dragon, all this time!"

  "Then we have some questions she needs to answer," Triana said bluntly. "You, Dar. Sit here and tend him. If he's not at least as well as he is now when I get back, I'm going to grind you up and feed you to him. Do you understand me?"

  "Absolutely, Mistress Triana," Dar said in a sturdy voice, looking up at her with steady eyes. "He's my friend too. I'll watch him like he was my own brother."

  "Come on, Kimmie," Triana ordered. "You know her. Let's go ask her what the hell is going on around here!"

  Kimmie found herself being literally pulled along by the Were-cat matriarch, her mind spinning so badly she had trouble making her legs work. Tarrin, not a Were-cat anymore! It was inconceivable! Triana acting so uncharacteristic for her, but she loved Tarrin like her own son. What had happened to him was absolutely ghastly, as far as Were-cats were concerned. It was worse than death! Something had stripped away his very identity, taken away everything that he was!

  Sapphire still lay calmly on the lawn, sedately as you pleased, with the entirety of the Sha'Kar population of the island looking at her from a very safe distance. Her tail, which had to be two hundred spans long, swished absently across the grass, but it stopped and she stood up as soon as Kimmie appeared in the doorway. The Sha'Kar gave out a collective cry of alarm and backed up several paces as the indescribably huge creature stirred. "Kimmie, is he well?" she asked intently.