by John Evans
"How..." Karina stopped again as the mask moved with her face when she spoke.
Woldan howled with laughter. "I love humans. They're so simple and uncomplicated. Now can I get back to work, Adelpha?"
"Yes, dear," said Adelpha, kissing him on the cheek. "Ready, Karina?"
Karina closed her eyes just in time before the world tilted again with a gut wrenching twist. She found herself back in the hallway of the temple. Adelpha was standing in front of her. Karina undid the catches and took off her mask.
"Thank you for what you have done for me," said Karina. "May I ask you a question?"
"I may not be able to provide you with an answer, but ask away."
"Why are you helping my son and I?"
"Let's say I'm intrigued by this little drama," said Adelpha. "You're on a quest for an ogre god who basically has the same goals I do, but for different purposes. There is also the fact that several women have sent me requests to watch over Per."
"How is Per doing?" asked Karina.
"You know I can't answer that." With that, Adelpha disappeared. Karina turned and walked up to the forge to the gasps and startled exclamations of everyone there.
Chapter 15: Witchcraft
Helga shuddered as she watched the pair spar. Ivin was teaching Karina how to use the mace, Skeletonbane, and Octavia was teaching her to use the axe, Remarg.
It was not the new deadly weapons that made Helga shudder, though. It was the armor. Karina's new armor fitted her like a glove and Helga found the helmet to be the most disturbing part of it. She could barely look at the silvery mask, which had Karina's face on it. What made Helga want to scream in horror was the way the mask moved to duplicate Karina's every facial expression. The mouth opened when she talked, and it showed all of her feelings - anger, astonishment, happiness. Helga shuddered at that one.
She sighed and went over to see how Nesbra was doing. The poison had been nullified, but the healing process was long and protracted.
"How are you doing today?" Helga as she approached the litter Nesbra was lying on.
"Okay, I guess," replied Nesbra, who then grimaced in a spasm of pain. "The pain isn't as often or as intense as it was. I still can't move around on my own. How far are we from Tectin?"
"We should arrive there tomorrow," said Helga. "Can I get you anything?"
"Just some water," said Nesbra.
"I'll get it for you," said a voice behind Helga.
Helga spun around and found herself staring at the silver face of Karina. Ivin and Octavia were now sparring in the field. Helga had not heard Karina's approach over that din. Helga began to shake as she stared at the mask.
"No, I'll get it," said Helga quickly and took off running.
The mask took on a look of bewilderment and hurt as Karina watched Helga run off. She undid the catches on the side of her helmet and lifted it off her head. Karina's ash-blond hair was plastered to her forehead and the hurt was still visible in her eyes.
"You seem to be in as much pain as I am," said Nesbra.
"I don't understand why she keeps avoiding me," said Karina.
Nesbra shuddered as another jolt of pain lanced through her. "Could it be that you are turning into someone she does not recognize? Have you talked to her about it?"
"How can I?" asked Karina sharply. "All she does is run away or she just stares at her feet and mumbles. It's been like that since we left Cific."
"She's scared of you for some reason," said Nesbra. "Talk to her. Pin her down somehow and talk. Oh, and leave the armor here."
"You really think it's the armor?" asked Karina rhetorically. "Thanks, I'll do that and have Gedda bring you some water."
"Karina?"
Karina had started to walk away, but now turned back to Nesbra.
"You've saved my life twice," said Nesbra. "You've nursed me all the way back here without any assurance that I would take part in your ritual."
"It's not my ritual," corrected Karina. "I wouldn't leave you in Woodgate with Beckdom on the loose."
"Either way, I owe you," said Nesbra. "I'll fulfill my part of the ritual, but that makes us even. Deal?"
"Deal. Let's make another bargain. High Priest Bargan is holding property for me in Cific. I won't be able to use it, but you could. We'll split the profits fifty-fifty."
"Seventy-thirty since I have to do the work. What's the property?"
"Sixty-forty and you'll have to go to Cific to find out what the property is," answered Karina. "Don't worry. It is something that I think you'll like."
"Agreed, but if I don't like the setup this deal is void."
"Agreed," said Karina, knowing that Nesbra could not walk away when she saw the wagons and horses belonging to Horgreth and his gang.
Karina left and after a quick stop to tell Gedda to bring some water to Nesbra, she changed out of her armor. Karina pulled on a smock and went looking for Helga. She found her sitting slumped down on a fallen log. Helga looked to see who was approaching and then jumped up to leave.
"Helga, wait, please," pleaded Karina before Helga ran away again. "Please sit down."
"Um, uh, Nesbra needs me," stammered Helga quickly.
"She sent me to find you," said Karina. "Please sit. We need to talk."
Helga wavered back and forth as if she could not make up her mind. She then sat down on the log. Karina sat down, but Helga did not look at her. She just stared straight ahead.
"Helga, have I become so ugly that you can't even look at me?" asked Karina softly.
"No!" blurted out Helga, turning to face Karina. She then faltered. "I, uh, that is..."
"Have I hurt you somehow?" asked Karina. "You've been like a stranger to me these past days. If I've offended you somehow, please tell me what I did so I can make amends."
Helga's lower lip started to quiver and a tear ran down her cheek. With a loud sob, she threw herself into Karina's arms. Karina, totally baffled, held on to the crying girl until Helga managed to catch her breath between sobs.
"It's not you!" cried Helga. "It's me! I found myself wanting to make love to Bargan. All of that year with Cedric came back to me afterwards. Cedric was right! I wanted all those men!"
"Stop it!" said Karina intensely. "Do you really believe that you are responsible for Cedric's abuse? Helga, listen to me. Did Bargan give you a choice?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Helga looked at Karina in confusion. "Why did he give me a choice? I suppose, I don't really know why."
"You told me that you made love to Corporal Zutz in Woodgate because you wanted to," said Karina. "Didn't Bargan leave the decision up to you on whether you did or didn't?"
"Yes."
"Helga, think on this clearly, did Cedric ever leave the decision up to you?"
Helga stayed silently for awhile. She sighed, wiped her tears off her cheeks, and turned to Karina for a long hug.
"I've been a silly, little girl," said Helga. "All that guilt and shame came back to overpower me. I thought again that I was the one at fault and you...you were becoming larger than life."
"I've always been larger than life," said Karina, straight-faced. "Especially in the breast area."
Helga snorted, then choked at Karina's playful statement. Karina thumped Helga gently on the back until she caught her breath again.
"Helga, believe me, I'm not larger than life," said Karina. "I'm just a person who has been sent on an insane quest by a lecherous ogre god. If I wasn't living it right now, I would never have believed it if someone had told me about it. All the rest - the armor, the weapons, the adventures - they are all superficial to who I am."
"Even armor made by a god?" asked Helga skeptically.
"Armor ordered by Tenan and modified by a god," corrected Karina. "It's just an outer shell and does not change the person inside. Adelpha asked me if I loved Tenan and then asked me how I felt about all of you. She asked me before she took me to see Woldan. I think that if I did not answer her questions the way I did, I wo
uld never have been taken to see him."
"How did you answer her questions?" asked Helga.
"I told her the truth. I said I love you all."
Helga broke out in a wide smile. She then leaned over to kiss Karina on the cheek. "You are larger than life. Are we going to the Capitol after we leave Nesbra at Tectin?"
"No, I'm not and yes, we are," said Karina. "I do have some good news. Nesbra told me that since I've saved her twice, she will take part in the ritual. Of course, she sees it as paying off a debt."
"That is good," said Helga, "but you're wrong. You've developed...." Helga faltered as Karina looked down at her huge breasts. "Oh shit, you know what I mean!
"I know what you are trying to say," said Karina smiling. "The person who has changed the most, though, is you."
"Me!" scoffed Helga. "I look exactly the same as when we first left your castle."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you," explained Karina. "All of my changes have been spectacularly external. It's all on the outside. Yours have all been internal and more substantial than anything that has happened to the rest of us. Your emotions have been set free. You've made sacrifices for us and have selflessly nursed Nesbra during this trip. It is a far cry from the emotionless, bitter girl who came with me to the farm. Tell me, what do you see and hear?"
"Octavia and Ivin are laughing and carrying on. Cendri's exasperated at Gedda's grammar on her last letter. The wind is whistling through the brush. There are a thousand myriad colors streaming through the trees."
"Sounds to me like you're perfect, dearie," said a soft, feminine voice from behind them.
Both Karina and Helga gasped in fright and jumped up to see who was behind them. They both froze in amazement, staring in astonishment at the woman standing there. She was wearing a dark green dress with long sleeves and a cowl. What had amazed Karina and Helga was the fact that the woman was the spitting image of Ivin.
"Oh, dearie, dearie, dearie," sighed the bemused woman. "Your poor minds can not comprehend, can they? Well, come along, dearies."
The woman made a gesture with her hand and Karina felt a pleasant tug at her mind before it dissolved like smoke in a strong wind. Helga, however, started to take a couple of steps towards the woman with a smile on her face.
"Ivin!" screamed Karina, pulling out the only weapon she had, which was the end of the unicorn's horn. "Octavia!"
"Ivin? Here?" asked the woman, looking around as the four other companions ran towards Karina and Helga.
"Lorilei!" said Ivin when she caught sight of the other woman with a little hint of disgust in her voice. "Why are you here?"
"I'm here because of this dear, sweet child," said Lorilei, touching Helga's cheek.
"Release her or else," threatened Karina, brandishing the six-inch long, needle-sharp horn.
"Ah, a unicorn's horn, and one freely given, and be potent enough to make you immune to my spell." Lorilei waved her fingers in a gesture of dismissal and Helga's face regained its normal animation. Helga then realized how close she was to Lorilei and stumbled back to get away. Only Cendri's hand prevented her from falling over.
"Who is this woman, Ivin?" asked Octavia, her spear ready to thrust at the slightest menacing movement for Lorilei.
"Can't you guess?" asked Lorilei in mock surprise. "I'm her twin sister, but whereas Ivin believes in the innate goodness of man, I believe in following the letter of the law."
"Especially if the law is to your benefit," added Ivin.
Lorilei arched an eyebrow. "Is there any other kind of law?"
"Lorilei, what are you doing here?" asked Ivin again, relaxing her stance.
"I said the girl brought me here," said Lorilei, who looked around at the uncomprehending faces before her. "You can't feel it! Oh, this is so rich! Well, dearies, she's a witch! She's been trooping along with all of you, oozing out huge emanations of sympathetic magic and none of you noticed. When I caught her scent, I decided she might make a good apprentice. So I came to fetch her."
"An apprentice?" scoffed Ivin. "Why? So she can be burned at the stake like you almost were?"
"A slight miscalculation," conceded Lorilei. She then turned serious. "She needs to be taught. Uncontrolled, her sympathetic magic will attract others and there are others who are far worse than me."
"I'm not leaving," said Helga with determination. "I'm staying with Karina."
"Nonsense, child," said Lorilei abruptly. "You have to be trained."
"I'm not a child, either," stated Helga snippily.
"You are as far as your powers are concerned," pointed out Lorilei.
"Then they will have to wait," said Helga. "I will go with Karina to finish this quest."
Lorilei opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again when she saw the steel in Helga's eyes. Lorilei's face turned ugly for a second before it relaxed and she began to laugh. "Have it your way, dearie. I'll just have to accompany you."
"Shit!" hissed Gedda as Octavia, Cendri, and Karina all shouted, "No!"
Ivin remained silent, staring at her twin sister. Helga recoiled as if Lorilei had just handed her a snake.
"Quiet! Quiet!" shouted Karina, hushing up the outraged and angry mutterings. "We need to discuss this. Please, come into our camp."
"This is her decision, not yours," said Lorilei.
"If it interferes with what I am doing, then it becomes my business," replied Karina.
Lorilei nodded. "I need to get some things. This will give Ivin a chance to tell you all about my sordid past. I'll be back within one hour." She raised her arms up high and disappeared into a billowing cloud of green smoke.
Ivin sighed, shook her head, and turned to head back to the camp. "She always did go for the dramatic and flashy," she said in a tired voice. "I have not heard or seen my sister in ten years. When Lorilei was sixteen, she fell head over heels in love with a nobleman's son. He treated her like a whore. When he finally got tired of her and dumped her, Lorilei was devastated. She secluded herself away from everyone and that, we believe, was when she learned witchcraft. The nobleman and his entire family died of a strange disease that could not be cured by medicine or magic. Lorilei was blamed and she fled just before the mob burned her at a stake."
"How good is she?" asked Cendri.
"I don't know, but off hand, I'd say she's equal to me. When we were growing up, neither one of us could excel over the other. Since I am High Priestess at Adelpha's Temple with numerous spells I can use, I am sure Lorilei is an equally powerful witch."
"Is what she said about me true?" asked Helga.
"True enough for her to try and kidnap you, and when she couldn't do that, she decided to accompany you," said Ivin.
Everyone went over to where Karina had laid out her armor. Karina started to put it back on with Octavia's help. "Helga, this is going to sound strange, but how do you feel about Lorilei?" she asked.
"She gives part of me the willies, like she's a cat and I'm just a mouse," replied Helga. "Another part of me seems to lean towards her. Funny, isn't it?"
"Not really," said Ivin. "Clerical spells are given to the recipient through prayer and devotion. Wizards and Sorcerers spend decades in studying to prefect their spells. Witchcraft is more elemental, as I understand it. It is part of the person. If you do have the power, it may call to its own."
"If it's a part of me, why do I need a teacher?" asked Helga.
"I don't know," admitted Ivin. "I suppose it is to learn how to tap into your power and use it safely. The people who practice witchcraft are very secretive. Very little is known about it."
"What do you want to do, Helga?" asked Cendri.
"I don't know," she replied. "I'm sort of divided and that scares me because I just met this woman. I will stay with all of you, though, no matter what. Karina, what do you think?"
Karina sighed, both in relief that Helga decided to stay with them, but also in anxiety because she did not have an answer for Helga. Karina knew her initial reaction was to di
strust Lorilei. "I really don't know what to say."
"Tell her to trust her feelings," came a weak cry from the litter.
Everyone started in surprise and then broke out in nervous laughter. They walked over to where Nesbra was. "Why?" asked Karina.
"She's a smart girl and cautious enough to know what is best for her," stated Nesbra.
"Sounds like the best idea so far," said Karina. "What are your feelings about this, Helga?"
Helga remained silent for a moment. "I have to go with you. It's more than an obligation, but at the same time, something inside is telling me I need to learn from Lorilei."
"I don't want to stand in the way of something you're supposed to be, but I must complete Per's ritual," said Karina. "As long as Lorilei does not hinder me in that aspect, I have no objection to her coming along. I can't answer for the others, though."
Cendri and Gedda both looked at each other and then shrugged their shoulders. "I don't think we're thrilled with the idea, but we'll go with your decision, Helga," said Cendri.
"Ivin?" asked Helga.
"I have to abstain," said Ivin. "My past and Lorilei's are too intertwined for me to give you any sort of sound answer. If she comes or if she goes is your decision and I'll abide with it."
Helga turned with some trepidation to face the last person in their group. Octavia stood there, lost in thought, for several moments.
"This is bad news, really bad," Octavia finally said. "This may be worse than Karlto's idea to go visit the castle on the crag. That idea nearly killed all of us. Helga, I'm sorry, but if you're determined to do this, well, okay."
Helga stood still for a moment until Octavia's final word registered. With a laugh, she flung her arms around Octavia and hugged her tightly. "Easy! Easy!" said a discomforted Octavia.
The group broke up to go do their individual chores. Karina and Ivin stayed with Nesbra until the others were out of earshot. "You didn't state your opinion," said Karina.
"I'm not really part of your company," said Nesbra. "I'll be leaving you soon. But I will give you some advice. Don't let Helga get isolated from you."