- Who are the K’tuin? Thomas The Elder
I flew across the country searching for the man who had done this to me. Time was on my side; I had wrapped myself in a cloak of it. I’d be back before Lia could get up. I needed to be back in my body, I needed to tell her how I felt. We hadn’t travelled far from Gynt’s Keep, so it didn’t take long until I was hovering outside Lassadar’s tower window. I could see him sitting on his massive armchair, looking into the fire.
Glad you could join me. Come in, make yourself comfortable.
I entered his room through the window. I could have probably flown through the walls, but the human in me resisted against that. Being without a body was strange enough, thank you very much.
Oisín was lying in a corner, seemingly unconscious. He had grown again since I’d last seen him. I wondered how big a fully grown peryton was. The metal collar was cutting into his throat. Rage bubbled up in me as I saw my abused little peryton. No more. I knew the collar was preventing him from talking to me, but I tried nonetheless.
Oisín?
No reply.
I turned to Lassadar. I was ready. When I was done with him, he would harm no one ever again.
Are you seriously going to fight me? Lassadar asked. You don’t stand a chance.
I didn’t deign him with a reply.
I closed my non-existing-eyes and found Lassadar’s golden flame. It flickered brightly; an inferno waiting to be unleashed. I wrapped myself around it, screaming in pain as the flames licked at my mind. He was so strong.
You want to burn, little girl? Burn then, burn for me.
Through the agony, I remembered why I was doing this. Why the pain was worth it. With practised moves, I weaved a time cloak and threw it over Lassadar’s flame. They wavered a little, then fought against the cloak. I poured all my energy into it, securing it as tightly as I possibly could. It still hurt, but it was no longer agony.
This won’t work on me. I am too-
I stopped time. The shackles I had put around the hands on my inner clock were shaking, but held. Now to the task at hand. With my last burst of energy, I released the clock hands and sped up time. They raced across the clock face, spinning faster and faster. I allowed myself a glance at Lassadar’s body. It was ageing fast. His black hair turned to grey, then white. Wrinkles appeared on his flawless skin, destroying his ageless appearance. His bright blue eyes became milky, unfocused. It didn’t take long for him to look like an old man.
His flame still burned bright, however. His body may have aged, but his spirit had lost none of its energy. He was still struggling against my grip on him. I threw myself against the time cloak, willing it to stay in place. Finally, the golden flame began to shrink. Was that a flicker? Lassadar’s body crashed to the floor. His limbs had become thin, almost skeletal. Thin skin stretched across his skull. A few teeth had fallen out. In old age he hadn’t become a friendly looking grandfather. He finally looked how he felt like on the inside: disgusting, raw, evil.
But Lassadar hadn’t given up yet. With a mental roar, he broke free from my grip. I was flung back, out of his mind. While I gathered myself, he tried to get up but his aged body was too frail. He let out a frustrated groan as he fell back onto the ground.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Lassadar, defeated by the very own magic he helped me develop.
Suddenly I was yanked towards him. Panicked I looked at myself and noticed a black sheen covering my spirit-self. He could see me. A mental claw gripped me and pulled me to Lassadar until he was holding me in front of his sunken face. I wiggled and fought against the claw. How was he still this strong? His energy should be just as depleted as mine. He squeezed and I could feel myself flicker. Could I die in this form? Could he kill me?
A wing sliced through Lassadar’s back. His eyes bulged. Thin red blood spilt from his mouth. He looked at me with astonishment. Then with one last evil glance, his eyes closed and his head fell to his chest. Lassadar was dead.
I looked behind him. Oisín was breathing heavily, his wing still extended. Blood was dripping down from gleaming sharp spikes that had formed at the edges of his wing. As I watched, they retracted until only red feathers remained. He shot me a wary glance and folded his wing back on his body. He looked like he was close to fainting.
With the last drop of energy in my reservoir, I willed Oisín’s collar to open. I didn’t know how I did it, but somehow it worked. Clearly, I was going to have to look into all the things my magic could do.
Thank you. Now get back. You’re running out of time.
17
Where the flowers grow
Where the sunshine lives
Where the trees unfold
Is my home.
Where my lover lives
Where he steals my kiss
Where we share a bed
Is my home.
Where he touches me
Where he pleasures me
Where he moves in me
Is my home.
- Song heard in The Wicked Woman in Ritteltown
Lassadar was dead.
He no longer had control of my body, but somehow I was still floating. The fight with the sorcerer had depleted my energy. There was not enough left to weave another time cloak. I had to make my way back in real time.
However, a spirit - was that what I had become? - was fast. I didn’t need to stay on the ground and be hindered by walls and trees. I could fly.
I soared up into the sky, trying to remember the route I had taken to get here.
It only took me a few hours to get back to where I had left my body. But it wasn’t there. Neither were Lia and her brother. The clearing was empty, but in the centre of it, a circle made of leaves and branches caught my eyes. It was around five feet in diameter, large enough for several people to fit inside. I floated closer to the ground. Tiny dandelions were growing among the grass. It took me a moment to realise that they formed shapes - feet! Two people had stood in the circle. I had heard about portals, but they usually needed fire to work. No scorch marks here though. It seemed Lu-an’s magic was one of a kind. But where did this leave me? They could have travelled hundreds of miles without me knowing where to. All I knew about Nythea was that it was to the south of Fer and the Plains. That was probably the extent of most humans’ knowledge. The K’tuin were a secretive people who didn’t venture out of Nythea much. They were the topic of many songs and tales, sure, but those didn’t come with maps attached. I sat down inside the circle, willing it to jump to life. I didn’t know anything about how portals actually worked. Was there a spell you had to know? Was this one primed to Lu-an, so nobody else could even use it?
I sat there for a while. The task of searching for them seemed overwhelming. Maybe I should just stay away from them. I had already caused the two K’tuin so much trouble. Maybe it was better if my body just died. I didn’t know what would happen to me when that happened, but I was willing to find out. I was tired of fighting. When I had been in the dungeon with Lia, her will to survive had been infectious. Now that she was gone, I noticed how indifferent I really was about it all.
But then I remembered how she had cuddled my body. How she had whispered those all-important words. How I needed to tell her I loved her.
I felt a tug in my mind. Someone was calling for me. I followed the call, flying into the air. I was going home.
Despite flying as fast as possible, it took me two days to reach the forests of Nythea. From above they looked like an endless sea of trees, stretching far into the horizon. After flying over the forest for what seemed like forever, I finally felt a tug towards the ground. When I broke through the foliage, a peculiar sight awaited me. A large house was sitting in a tree. Not made of trees or anything like that, but just a normal house that was up in a tree rather than on the ground. It looked like a giant had picked it up and simply dropped it on the next available tree. A large wooden balcony in front of it turned into a stretched-out staircase that went all the way down to the grou
nd. It looked beautiful in a quirky sort of way.
There were a few wooden tables and benches in the clearing below - and on one of the tables lay my body, surrounded by four people. I recognised Lia’s golden-red hair and Lu-an with his vine clothing beside her. The other two people were men, one human and one K’tuin.
“She’s fading,” a voice said sadly. Lia. I wanted to comfort her, finally take her in my arms, but then I remembered that I had no body. “We need to do something. I would have never got out of there without her.”
The K’tuin had one hand on my brow, the other on my chest. I had lost weight since I had last seen my body. His eyes were closed and his forehead was a mess of creased lines of concentration. Even so, he was beautiful. In a very rugged sort of way. His black hair was cut short, leaving his elven ears in full view. Tattoos twirled on his skin, disappearing under the fabric of his black leather top. Maybe this was Aspen, the K’tuin who was living with Lia. The muscles on his arms certainly made him look like a warrior.
At my feet stood the human man. He would have looked boyish with his blonde unruly hair and his beardless cheeks had it not been for his strong angular jaw. He was younger than the others but not by much. I guessed that this had to be Eldor, the human who had found refuge here, who had told Lia how to enter Gynt’s Keep.
The K’tuin man lifted his hands off my body. “There is something missing in her… like a hole in her heart. I can see where her spirit usually sits, but there is an extra space there, empty and dark. I think that is why Lassadar managed to possess her. He took advantage of that and buried himself within her. Now he has left, but I’m not sure she’ll be able to return to her body as long as that hole isn’t filled.”
“How do we fill it?” Lia asked, her voice more hopeful than it had been for a while.
“I don’t know. If someone could take Lassadar’s place, not possess her, but link with her somehow-”
“I’ll do it,” Lia interrupted. I wanted to hug her. How did I deserve her devotion?
“No offence, Lia, but I don’t think you’re strong enough. You’d have to give up too much of your essence. You don’t want to control her like the sorcerer did, so you can’t put too much of yourself into her heart. Maybe if there were several people who each link themselves to her we might be able to fill it. I don’t know how many we’d need though; I’d say at least three or four. Lassadar must have increased the size of the hole in her heart, she wouldn’t have been able to survive with it being empty otherwise.”
Lu-an stepped forward and put one large arm around Lia’s shoulders. “I volunteer. My sister may not be alive if it hadn’t been for her.”
“Then I will do the same,” Eldor said quietly. When everyone looked at him in surprise, he shrugged. “You two took me in when I had nobody, so I guess if you want to help her, I should help you.” Lia jumped over to him and gave him a hug. Eldor smiled uncomfortably. He turned to Aspen. “Will the three of us be enough?”
Aspen frowned. “It should be. Only one way to find out. And we have to do it quickly before it’s too late.”
All four of them put a hand on my chest. Usually, I would have been embarrassed for them to feel my breasts, but this was too important for anything as menial as that. Closing their eyes, they followed Aspen’s instructions. I focussed my sight on their magic. Two golden flames, one silver, and one… green. That had to be Lu-an. The biggest golden flame sent seeking tendrils to the other three, encouraging them to move towards it. Once they were all close together, they twirled around it each other, becoming a colourful flaming braid. On the top of the fiery column a new, tiny flame began to form. It separated, colours swirling, and began to slowly float down - and right into my heart.
My body gasped and bent at the spine, contorting and shaking. I could see Lia trying to hold back her tears. I was looking down on it, waiting for something to happen. Just when I thought it had all failed there was a sharp pull and I was sucked into my body with so much force that everything went black.
Four pairs of eyes were looking down at me. Two green, one brown and one a warm gold that made me think of liquid sunlight. Slowly their faces came into focus. Aspen. Eldor. Lu-an. And Lia. I smiled up at her. Her face came down towards me, lips first. I felt her kiss my cheek.
I could finally feel again.
When I woke again, Eldor was sitting by my bedside. He held a book in his hands but wasn’t looking down at it. His eyes were looking into space, deep in thought.
Unwilling to startle him, I sent him a careful thought. Hello.
He jumped, staring at me in shock. “How did you do that?” he shouted. “How did you get inside my head?”
I must have looked a little scared because when he turned back to me, his gaze softened. “I’m sorry. No one has ever been able to do that with me. The K’tuin have tried but I don’t have any magic, so I didn’t think it was possible…”
“It’s ok. I was a little surprised myself when Lia first talked to me in my mind.”
He gave a short laugh. “Can you… can you read my mind?” He tried to be nonchalant about it all but I could see how unsettled he was under the surface.
“No, I can’t. All I can hear is what you send to me. Try it.”
Eona? His mind-voice was beautiful, like deep bells and birdsong.
Yes. I smiled. So you’re Eldor?
Yes, did Sa-Lia tell you about me?
Only good things. I hear you’re from Fer?
Aye, but let’s not talk about me. How are you feeling?
Like a wild beast mangled my body. But I’ve been without a body for so long that I don’t mind the pain. It shows me I still live. I gave him a brave smile, but he got to his feet.
“I’ll get Aspen, he’ll be able to take some of the pain away.”
Before I could tell him not to leave me alone he was gone.
Aspen was huge. He filled the room with his presence without even stepping through the doorframe. He stood there for a moment, looking at me until I realised he was waiting for me to ask him in.
“Please, come in.” I smiled at him but he didn’t smile back. I wasn’t offended though. He didn’t seem like a person who gave out free smiles.
Eldor said you were in pain. Where does it hurt?
A bit of everything. My chest hurts when I breathe, I’ve got a headache and I feel too weak to properly move my limbs. Oh, and I’m really thirsty.
Has no one given you water? He looked at me as if I was to blame for that. I didn’t want to get on his bad side. His stare was frightening.
Without a glance back he left the room, returning a moment later with a wooden cup and a glass carafe. He set them down on the bedside table and put an arm around me, pulling me up and propping me against the large pillows behind me. I didn’t even have time to protest.
He filled the cup and held it to my lips, ignoring my protests that I could do that for myself. When I had finished drinking he put the cup back on the table and gently - gentler than I had expected for a man of his size - laid a hand on my forehead. Warmth washed through my body and I instinctively closed my eyes. His healing was tender, careful, pleasant. When his hand left my skin, I sighed and curled up in bed. I was tired but in a comfortable, nice way.
Aspen walked away quietly. When he was almost out of the room I called to him. I know what you did.
And what was that?
You didn’t just help the three repair my heart. You gave me a part of yourself. I paused. I don’t even know what to say. You don’t know me and still… thank you.
He looked at me with held back emotion.
“You’re welcome,” he finally said gruffly, and left.
Lia stormed into the room.
“I heard you’re awake! I’m sorry I didn’t come any sooner but I had to report to the Council, and they wanted to know all the details, and...”
Shhhhhh, it’s ok. I smiled and patted the duvet next to me. She smiled back at me and hopped onto the bed.
Are
you feeling better?
Yes, Aspen did a great job. I hesitated.
What? she asked.
I don’t know if you realise but I could see and hear you most of the time I was outside of my body. I felt you hug me. I felt you kiss my cheek. And… I sat up and turned towards her, cupping her face with my hand. Now I would like to return the favour.
I looked into her green eyes to seek permission. She granted it. I leant in to kiss her. My lips met hers in an explosion of sensations. Hers were so soft, so pliable. I gently sucked on her bottom lip. Delicious. Her mouth opened and her tongue nudged my lips to do the same. She invaded my mouth and I retaliated, soaking up her taste and enjoying the warmth of her mouth. Out tongues met and danced. She felt like home.
When we both broke apart, gasping for breath, I hugged her.
“Thank you for saving me,” I whispered into her ear.
She chuckled.
Anytime.
Epilogue
Oisín’s collar flew open and he could finally breathe again. The peryton hadn’t stopped growing in the weeks since he had been fitted the collar, and it had started to slowly choke him to death. But now he was free and Lassadar was going to pay. But first, his human needed him. He had only seen a glimpse of her when she confronted Lassadar, but she hadn’t looked good. Her spirit was frayed at the edges from being so long without a body. He had seen it before, in his ancestors’ memories. He needed to get to her, fast.
The peryton launched himself into the air, ignoring Lassadar’s body on the floor, and jumped out of the open window. Freedom, finally. He had never flown before, but he could draw on the collective knowledge stored deep within his mind. The memories of hundreds of generations of perytons were his to remember, and all of them had once taken their first flight. His muscles weren’t quite sure what to do, but after a few unsteady flaps of his wings, he managed to soar rather than fall. His right wing had healed well, although it still felt different from his healthy left wing. His kind healed fast though, and it wouldn’t be long until he would no longer be able to feel the injury. His red fur warmed quickly now that the sun was shining down on him. The only time he’d been outside before was when one of the humans carried him to the cave. He’d been half conscious back then from the effects of the collar. But no longer. He was free. He was strong. And he was going to stay that way.
Heart of Time (Ruined Heart Series Book 1) Page 22