The Timeless One

by Lexy Wolfe

  Chapter 29

  The night was bitterly cold, the mournful howls of the winds blowing through the World Spine only adding to the looming crisis. The moons, both nearly full, bathed the world in silvery light. In the shadows of the ominous tunnel entrance, the figures of a tall, slender man and woman dressed in rich, elegant clothes of silver, white and indigo stood on the inner side of the threshold.

  The pale woman put her hand on the man's arm. "Waiting is no longer an option, Kendle. They cannot hear our call and they will not enter the mountains because others have told them to do so means death."

  Kendle slanted a look at the woman. "It is not as though we have not encouraged that perception among our mortal surrogates, is it, Ulani?" he asked sarcastically.

  Ulani shrugged one shoulder. "It is not as though any of us are blameless of making mistakes in the past, either. But if not for your blind selfishness and strict adherence to the divine laws," she waved a hand towards the longhouse, "none of this would have been necessary."

  Dark eyes flashed in the moonlight. "Do not presume to judge me, Ulani. None of you would have been be banished to this forsaken place if we had done our duty to our mortal charges instead of giving into a perverse experiment to sate our selfish curiosities."

  "I know this," Ulani replied, her tones as sharp as his. "Do you think I have forgotten? How could I forget when the mortals remind me what we lost every time one comes to us for testing? But for the Guardians, the world has forgotten us, and even the Guardians of Time do not speak of us often." Crossing her arms, she pointed out, "You saved yourself from our fate once. Why do you refuse to try to save yourself again?"

  Kendle made a disagreeable sound under his breath, turning to stalk into the darkness when Ulani's words brought him to an abrupt stop. "Are you so jealous, you would condemn them to another two thousand years of torment?" The woman remained unmoved when he spun back, his scowl dark and foreboding. "Yes, I know about your love for a mortal soul, Brother. It is hardly a secret."

  "We are forbidden--" Kendle started to argue, falling silent when Ulani put a slender finger on his lips. Her expression was terrible.

  "I know what you did. You thought if you let her die, it would eliminate the mortal who had truly won her heart, and then you could win her for yourself when she was reborn. Love is selfless, not selfish. If you had ever truly loved anyone, you would understand what you really did." She shifted her hand to grab Kendle's face to keep him silent before the Roylat could speak. "Stop hiding behind the literal interpretation of the divine laws and do the right thing for once in your life, Kendle. You are the only one of us who can correct this."

  Glaring for a heartbeat longer, the Roylat woman spun in a swirl of white silk skirts and disappeared into the depths of the mountain. Kendle glared after his sister for a time before turning his attention to the longhouse. Taking a resolute step forward, he left the cavern and walked to the building. He paused to look in the window before touching the wall and passing through it to the inside.

  Gazing over the scattered bodies of sleepers, the Roylat paused uncertainly. "What in the world can I do that is not forbidden by divine law?" he asked no one aloud. He startled, looking down when he felt his pant leg being tugged and meeting a pair of bright blue-green eyes staring up at him. Over Izkynder's shoulder, a tiny pair of jewel-like eyes glared as well. Little wings fanned as the chitan hissed warningly. The tiny reptile subsided at Izkynder's touch, though its hateful glare did not diminish.

  "Go 'way! You bad," the boy stated firmly, crossing his arms. "You no owie Sta-im!"

  "What?" Kendle crouched to be more on the boy's level. He offered a smile to the child. "You think I want to hurt Storm?" Izkynder nodded, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. "I want to help Storm." He put his hand over his heart. "I want to stop her owie."

  Izkynder squinted at Kendle, his expression one of distrust. He pulled himself up by the front of Kendle's elegant jacket, and put his hand over Kendle's heart. The Roylat inhaled sharply, reflexively putting a hand to the floor to keep his balance at the unexpected power that struck him. He looked down at the boy with consternated wonder. He touched the opalescent white mark on his left cheek. "There is... divinity within you. A part of her... How is this possible?"

  "Sta-im be good?" Izkynder asked, more hopeful than hostile. "No owie?"

  Kendle looked over towards where the Desanti slept. His expression flickered at Ash as the Forentan man hugged his lifemate in his sleep, the woman sighing contentedly. His eyes went back to Izkynder when he felt the boy put his hand on his chest. "Be good," the boy stated firmly.

  Covering the boy's hand, Kendle closed his eyes as the ache in his heart eased at the boy's touch. Opening his deep blue eyes again, he looked down at him. "Would you help me make Storm's owie go away?" he asked humbly. "I have to stop Storm from shielding the others, or they will all owie forever."

  "Owie bad. No owie," Izkynder stated. He held his hands up to the Roylat with utter trust. "Go. Sta-im go, too."

  He blinked at the boy. "You want me to kidnap you from your tribe?" Izkynder nodded. Kendle shook his head as he picked him up. "Well, there is no doubt she will certainly follow me. Through all the hells and back if necessary. But she'll kill me if she catches me."

  "Sta-im!" Izkynder called loudly, making the Roylat wince. He patted Kendle's shoulder. "Go fast!" the boy encouraged with an impish grin. He held tightly as the Roylat opened the door. The divine servant could sense Storm's eyes on his back as she roused.

  The half smile on Storm's lips as Ash tightened his hold around her disappeared when she saw the shadowy shape depart. "Izkynder!" she whispered. Pulling free of Ash's embrace, she got to her feet, throwing her sword harnesses on then drawing her two-edged sword.

  Ash blinked as he woke up, squinting in sleepy confusion. "Storm, what--?" He pushed himself up to his feet, suddenly awake as the woman dashed outside. "Storm?!"

  Storm growled as she saw the shadowy figure running towards the tunnel carrying a giggling Izkynder. The figure paused to look at her, Izkynder waving at her. "Sta-im!" Her sword hissed as she resheathed it to draw the paired blades when both boy and the shadowy figure disappeared into the tunnel.

  Ash had just reached the door when he saw where Storm headed. He reached out helplessly, eyes wide. "Storm, no! Wait! You can't--!" The moment Storm went under the arch, she vanished from sight. At that same moment, blinding pain lanced through his brain. He cried out, falling to his knees, holding his head. He barely heard the rest of the tribe's Adepts also cry out in similar agony.

  At a loss with what was happening, the Unsvets and Dusvet were at their sides, looking bewildered. "What the hell happened?" Jaison demanded, shaking his head to clear the echoing he got from the others. He looked around as the initial rush of shared confusion and pain subsided, scowling. "Where are Storm and Izkynder? I cannot sense either of them!"

  Almek blinked as he looked between the Adepts while they slowly recovered. He went to Ash's side, helping him back to his feet. "Storm..." Ash shook his head to clear it. "She ran into the Proving Grounds, Master Almek." He grimaced as he grabbed Almek's robes, staggering a bit. "Someone took Izkynder. She chased them into the tunnel. I lost... Izkynder before she--"

  Realization dawned. "Dear gods," Almek breathed. "Storm's been shielding the entire tribe against the Kings and Queens!" He looked at the three Unsvets in awe. "That's why they didn't feel the call." He waved a hand at Bella. "Get the willow bark powder. Jaison, get breakfast started."

  Tyrsan grabbed Ash by the arm when the Forentan staggered towards the door with grim determination to find Storm. "Hang on there, Illaini. You will want your wits about you before you go chasing after your lifemate." He looked at the younger man seriously. "Odds are, you will be tested separately anyway."

  "But all of you said we couldn't..." Ash grimaced, pressing the heel of his hand against his temple. "Couldn't go into the mountain until we were called."

  "That we did,"
Tyrsan agreed, steering him back inside. "But you are being called. That's the source of your headache. The amount of pain is due to the call having been denied for..." The Dulain squinted as he looked into Ash's eyes. "I would say shortly after the ceremony to make everyone na'Zhekali."

  "Impossible! I'm certain we would have noticed long before now if--" Ash protested, letting Tyrsan push him into a chair at the table. "She couldn't have blocked divine will."

  "Mmhm. I might have agreed with you once." Tyrsan accepted the cup of water with willow bark from Bella, putting Ash's hands around it and urging him to drink. "A few sevendays after you arrived in Sanctuary, I noticed that Storm has a few... very unusual traits. She blocks people from scrying her or anything connected to her, among other things. Given there are moments it is possible, I do not think it is entirely unconscious."

  Ash stared into space as Tyrsan's words finally sank in. A small, proud smile touched his lips. "Of course. Storm can block divine sight."

  "Apparently," Almek said dryly as he sat by Ash. "We didn't realize that this odd trait Storm has that blocks scrying would affect the Kings and Queens's call, or that its reach encompasses all of you. Though why she would feel any need to block the divine..."

  "That is easy enough to figure out, Almek," Tyrsan said drolly. "She was instinctively protecting her tribe. Her distrust is universal. Mortals and immortals alike must earn her trust. They," he waved towards the mountain, "apparently want very much to test all of you. Enough to do the one thing that would draw Storm into their domain so she can no longer block them. Somehow. They took Izkynder."

  Looking back towards the mountain, Ash shook his head with a tired laugh. "Damn it, Storm. You are so stubborn." As the willow bark finally started soothing the roar in his head, he sighed. "I'll find you. No matter what, I'll find you, Aelia. Not even the divine will make me lose you."

  Chapter 30

  For the first time in his very long life, Kendle knew abject terror for his very existence as he ran through the tunnels into the Kings' Proving Grounds. He dared not slow even for the darkness, knowing the furious Desanti woman was hard on his heels and completely undeterred by the unlit tunnels, having spent so long blinded when she first arrived in Sharindel.

  "By all the gods, she is persistent, isn't she?" Izkynder giggled at the Roylat's droll question. Kendle hopped up several rocks to reach an upper level. He hid behind a boulder, panting heavily as he listened. He narrowed a glare upwards as another figure hopped down from a higher ledge to his. "What took you so long to get here?" he hissed.

  The chestnut-haired man, with refined features much like Kendle but dressed in forest green, smirked at him. "We had to figure out how to get here without drawing her ire as you have." Ignoring Kendle's less than elegant response, the gathered Kings transformed their inner world into a surreal wilderness.

  Kendle heard her skid to a stop below. "Izkynder!!" she called. He covered Izkynder's mouth, but the muffled giggles were still audible. "I swear to you!" she seethed. "If my tlisan is harmed, I swear upon the souls of my ancestors, you will suffer for eternity!" With a visceral shout, she spun, slicing a giant, snake-like creature looming over her from a bizarre tree with violet foliage. It fell dead, sliced into five segments before it even hit the ground.

  Kendle blinked as he looked down to where Storm turned on another Roylat-created beast. "Incredible. She is more a force of nature now than ever." He looked at the boy. "Come, young one. Let us go await her completion of this trial. I have no doubt she will be done quickly."

  Pushing onwards, Storm hacked, slashed, dodged or otherwise dealt with various obstacles with such determined focus, she barely noticed any of the injuries she was incurring along the way. By the time she caught up with Izkynder and his abductor, she was tattered and bleeding, but no less furious and driven. "Give him back!"

  Standing across a wide gorge, Kendle was a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in deep indigo edged with silver and accented with white. His hair was black as night and his eyes were vivid blue. Izkynder sat on his hip, tugging at the pendant the Roylat wore. "You fight well, Warrior," he stated mildly. "As we expected you would, once you came to us. You have nearly completed the tests within the Kings' Proving Grounds. I have only one more task for you to win this round."

  "I care nothing for you or your games," Storm snapped. "You have no right to torture me or any of my tlisan. We did nothing that caused your imprisonment here. Return my tribesman to me!"

  Lightly brushing his fingers through the boy's hair, the stranger looked at Izkynder, who though looking worriedly at Storm, was calm and quiet as the woman raged. "He will be returned to your... tlisan? The one you call Jaison waiting for you outside. Unharmed," he added, then turned his piercing regard back on Storm. "On two conditions." When Storm said nothing, he continued. "The first is you agree to continue to the Queens' Crucible."

  "What is this 'Queen's crucible'?" Storm demanded after gritting her teeth for several heartbeats.

  "There are two phases of tests every mortal who wishes to become a Guardian must endure. The Kings' Proving Grounds tests the mental and physical ability of those who would face the time shifters and other entities directly." He quirked a wan smile. "Your methods are quite effective, if a little untraditional."

  "Give!" Izkynder stated flatly, yanking harder at Kendle's pendent.

  The Roylat smiled faintly at Izkynder and transferred the necklace he wore to the boy's neck. "The Queen's Crucible tests the mental and spiritual endurance of an Adept." He regarded Storm with maddening serenity. "An Unsvet must pass one. A Dusvet must pass both."

  Storm glowered at the man, swords not budging an inch. "If I agree to enter this... crucible, you will return Izkynder to Jaison? Outside of this pit?"

  The man considered a moment. "You must agree to both conditions. Do you wish to know the second?"

  "I wish Izkynder to be returned!" Storm yelled. "I care nothing about your games!" She shifted position, beginning to run to attempt leaping the divide when vines lashed around her wrists and ankles and pulled her back from the edge. "Return him!"

  "We both know this gorge is too wide for you to jump as you are now, Swordanzen," Kendle stated, his tones hard but flinching as he watched her hack at the vines in single-minded determination, occasionally cutting herself. He waved a hand, and vines lashed around her wrists to stop the heedless attack. "Tell me your true name," the man stated flatly.

  Storm's struggling faltered a moment before the fury returned, albeit subdued. "If you are what you are, you already know my true name. All divine servants know a mortal's true name."

  "What I know is irrelevant. It is what you know. Tell me your name."

  "I am Githalin Swordanzen Storm il'Thandar!" she snapped, tugging at one wrist to free herself.

  "That is one of them. But not the name I want. Your true name," the man stated again.

  Gritting her teeth, she snarled, "Aelia na'Zhekali."

  The man tilted his head. "Almost, but not quite." His smile faded to a more menacing expression. "Your soul's true name! Say it!"

  "I did say it! You want a name from a previous life?" She spat to the side. "Go prong yourself! You know as well as every mortal and immortal alive and dead that mortals do not remember beyond their current lifetime." Storm looked at her wrist, focusing on aging the vine until it withered, pulling her hand free.

  Another vine appeared and lashed around her wrist again. Narrowing a hateful look on the man, she closed her eyes, all the vines binding her turning to dust. Storm only managed to take two steps forward before new vines pulled her down to her knees at the precipice of the ledge.

  Kendle suppressed a pained, sympathetic expression watching Storm's struggles. "You are persistent, Swordanzen," the man said almost kindly. "I have no wish for you to die. I never did. What I had done in the past was unforgiveable." He hesitated a few heartbeats before he walked towards the ledge. Large fingers of rock melted like living liquid, reaching outwards to form
a bridge. With Izkynder nearer, Storm stopped struggling, glowering up at him.

  The Roylat crouched by her, intense blue eyes on her furious green-gold ones. "You know me, Swordanzen. I am Kendle." Storm flinched when he stated his name, looking away. "Countless lifetimes ago, you once counted me as a friend." He fixed his gaze on her. "Your true name. Speak it, and you will be free to go to the Crucible and I will return the boy to those who await you without. I vow this upon the ancient trinity."

  "I cannot," Storm whispered. "Only immortals can remember..." She flinched when he touched her hair comfortingly.

  Kendle murmured quietly, "One wiser than me once told a fool that mortality and immortality are not about destiny or birthright, but about--"

  "Choice." The word was a harsh whisper, torn from the depths of her soul. Storm trembled in silence before she finally relented, head bowed as she touched her brow to the rock. "Zhekali. My true name... is Zhekali."

  Kendle relaxed, gently setting Izkynder down when he began to struggle trying to reach Storm. "You counted me as your friend, Zhekali, and I failed you twice. Once because I was too late, once because... I was too weak. I do not deserve your forgiveness. But I hope... you understand the reasons behind my actions."

  Hunched in a small ball, Storm did not notice the vines melting away as she reflexively covered her head with her arms. "You were always more Trisari than Totani in your cruelty, Kendle. Ruling yourself with your head, not your heart. Now you understand the power of the heart you had always denied." With a pained sound, she begged, "Please, I don't want to remember more. It hurts..."

  She looked up when she felt a small hand on her shoulder. "Sta-im," Izkynder said quietly as he tugged his shirt out and wiped away the tears on her cheeks, much as the others would do for him. Mutely, she fiercely embraced the boy. Izkynder hugged her tightly, then put one hand over her heart. "Be good, Sta-im. No owie." He repeated firmly as the tension in the woman's body eased. "No owie."