Reality's Plaything

by Will Greenway

  Though he tried to favor his wound, Bannor found that nothing he did significantly lessened the pain. Each jarring step sent jolts of agony shooting up through his middle.

  He tried to focus away from the hurting and turn his attention to something else. “Where have they been keeping you, Laramis?”

  “Some quarters where the nobles are housed,” the paladin answered. “Bit of all right for a holding room. The maid and serving people were courteous.”

  Bannor coughed. “You had a maid?”

  “The guards of Malan only suspected my collusion with the Arminwen,” he answered, running a hand through his blond hair. “Not even Malanian royalty can press charges against a holy Justicar without proof. I simply needed an opportunity to explain and clear the matter up.”

  Bannor made Laramis stop for a moment. He adjusted his breeches while still leaning on the man. Looking back down the stone corridor he saw Sarai and Janai hauling the supplies they would be taking with them. The Queen and Wren continued ahead obviously discussing what they needed from the royal quarters. Wincing, he took a few steps and found he would need assistance to walk any distance. He gestured and Laramis continued to help him down the passage.

  “So why did they hold you?” Bannor asked.

  “There was another matter.”

  “What?”

  Laramis reddened. “When they found me, I told them that I did not have time to be detained or questioned.”

  Bannor sighed. “No doubt they insisted.”

  The paladin nodded. “They were rather rude, actually. The Praelor was quite lacking in manners.”

  “Let me guess. You resisted?”

  Laramis shrugged. “Aye, the situation did get a bit out of hand. I regret the injuries I caused, but it couldn’t be helped. By Ukko, I told them ‘no’, and that’s what I meant.”

  Bannor could imagine a platoon of Malanian elves trying to subdue Laramis; any less and they wouldn’t have stopped him. Fortunately for them, he obviously hadn’t wanted to kill anyone.

  The group came to a parting of the corridor. The Queen and Wren said a few words to one another and the savant headed down the left passage. Kalindinai swung around with Meliandri still hanging over her shoulder and gestured for them to follow. She took the right branch.

  The passage slanted upward and they needed to lean into the incline. Behind him, Janai puffed under her loaded pack, satchels and other paraphernalia. Sarai brought up the rear.

  The Queen took a few more turnings down progressively smaller channels. These areas were natural fissures in the rock and not hewn passages like the other ways they’d been down. Drafts of cold air scented with needleleaf blew over them.

  Finally, at the end of teardrop shaped chamber light could be seen shafting down into the cave. With Melindinai still on her shoulder, the Queen clambered up a stair-stepped section of rock and out. Laramis climbed out first then helped Bannor up the last bit. The three of them stood together on a ledge overlooking the mountainside. An icy breeze nipped at their faces as they stared into a gray, orange and white striped sunset.

  Though the wind felt bitter cold, Bannor didn’t care. What lay around them was greater than any single sensation for him. Framed by snow-covered slopes that rose high above them on either side, the lowlands stretched out to the horizon. The terrain looked like a leagues wide patchwork quilt of pastel greens and browns decorated with ribbons of mist. Several mountain lakes and rivers formed a string of turquoise jewels winding among the trees.

  The sight made Bannor’s heart pound. In the last few days there’d been times that he thought he might never see anything beautiful again. Sarai helped Janai drag their heavy burdens up the last of the way. The two sisters stood by him in silence. Everyone stared at the spectacle, the fiery orange ball of the sun disappearing in the west behind a sheath of clouds.

  Gusts hummed through the pass, making the trees and rocks seem to whisper.

  Laramis broke the fragile silence. He put a hand over his heart. “Smell that,” he said, taking a deep whiff of mountain air. “That is the scent of freedom. Can you think of anything more worth fighting for?”

  * * *

  Few mortals have met me in magical combat and survived.

  Ironically, the few still living are acquaintances of Wren Kergatha.

  I am convinced it will be a mistake to wait until she has formed a resistance cadre.

  To that end, I am moving to cut her off from acquiring the Garmtur Shak’Nola.

  Others of the pantheons would be wiser to listen to me concerning the threat posed by Kergatha and her allies lest they feel her sting as well…

  —From the Dedriad, ‘musings of an immortal’

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  « ^ »

  Bannor, Sarai, Laramis, Janai and the Queen stood on the mountain ledge staring at the sunset until the last streaks of orange faded in the west. The wind blowing through the pass grew icy and stray flakes of snow drifted down from the higher altitudes. Janai and Laramis rubbed their arms and stamped their feet to keep warm. Sarai and the Queen didn’t seem affected by the temperature drop. Bannor wished that he, too, could resist the elements.

  Queen Kalindinai pointed to a trail several paces below them. “Up slope that curves around to the main entrance. Down slope we can find the back entrance and the horses I arranged for. The cold weather gear we need to get out of the pass will be there, too.” She bent and picked up Meliandri’s body and put the healer over her shoulder. “Stay wary, we don’t want to be stopped and questioned by any patrols.” The Queen turned and picked her way down the rock face to the path below.

  Laramis left Bannor on the ledge while he assisted Sarai and Janai down the incline with their packs and other heavy paraphernalia. He returned, and then he and Bannor descended the uneven rocks together. The trail wove back and forth around broken boulders, snow dusted trees and heavy bracken. Off to their left, the incline became steeper before dropping a hundred or more paces to the floor of the pass. The light in the sky faded. Breaks in the trees afforded a view to the east and the darkening horizon. A few of the brightest stars peeked between scattered clouds.

  Bluefeathers chattered in the boughs overhead. Mists twined along the ground underfoot. Moisture dripping from the trees pattered around them like rain.

  Despite the pain of moving, Bannor felt relieved to be walking among the trees again. He hoped to never see another cave again.

  Focused on the forest, Bannor lost track of the time they spent on the trail. Battling the numbing chill and the pain of his injuries, he needed all his concentration to stay upright and moving.

  The Queen hiked down the trail, only slowing to adjust the burden of Meliandri on her shoulder. Bannor saw that Kalindinai didn’t get to be Queen simply by being nobly born. The lady demonstrated every bit of the hardiness attributed to the legendary Kings and Queens of the Elf nation.

  “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” he said to Laramis.

  “What’s that, my friend?” Laramis asked.

  “The Queen and this gate. What good does it do to shut it? Why waste effort closing a portal that the avatars will simply open elsewhere?”

  The paladin nodded. “Tis a reasonable assumption. However, gateways such as the one we are speaking of can usually only be opened once every few summers. Once a portal onto a world is open, it can be kept open as long as there is power to do so. Once shut, the worldgate cannot be reopened until the correct time. Kalindinai must feel shutting the gate will buy us a reprieve.”

  “I hope to cut them off for a full cycle of seasons,” Kalindinai said over her shoulder. “More if we’re lucky.”

  Bannor jerked. The Queen’s voice surprised him. He’d spoken quietly and hadn’t expected her to overhear his words.

  “Will that be enough?” he asked.

  “Shutting the gate doesn’t stop the avatar’s armies already here, if that’s what you’re asking. The gate’s closing will weaken their forces by cu
tting them off from their reinforcements and supplies.”

  Bannor stumbled on a rock. He grunted as pain knifed between his legs. He broke away from Laramis and braced against a tree. The procession paused while he collected himself.

  “You all right?” Sarai called.

  He waved to her, trying to not let the pain show on his face. “I’ll be okay, give me a moment.” He stared into the darkness between the trees, focusing on nothing and letting the discomfort relax. Branches rattled. His heart jumped as a silhouette flashed through the dense thicket overhead. He scanned for a second glimpse but saw nothing. The shape appeared unusually large for a flufftail. Along the kingdom’s southern coast, one variety of the nut-eating creatures possessed the ability to glide from tree to tree. The outline looked similar to one of those in flight. He sighed. Probably only an ordinary flufftail distorted by poor light and nervousness.

  “Something wrong?” Laramis asked.

  “No, a big flufftail startled me is all.” He pushed away from the tree and everyone started moving again.

  After a while, he composed himself enough to speak again. “It keeps at me, Laramis. Why? If the avatars had left me alone, I might never have even discovered my Nola! I posed no threat to them.” He shook his head. “Now, they’re threatening innocent people because of me.” The idea made his stomach twist. “They want the Garmtur and they’ll destroy everyone to get it. This makes no sense!”

  “Bannor, my friend,” Laramis said. A light gleamed in his blue eyes. “The avatars must do as they do. They know you were destined to be their undoing. Either you are annihilated, or they are. What can be simpler than that? Fate chose you for this path.”

  “Fate?” Bannor ground his teeth. “Don’t you understand? People will die! By resisting the avatars, I might as well be killing those people myself. Why is my life worth more than theirs?”

  Laramis’ jaw tightened. “Because you have the power to banish the evil. Think of the lives that will be renewed. Rejoice knowing that people will be spared the agony of becoming slaves to Hecate. You have heard how Lady Wren was captured as a youth to be made into an avatar. Such a violation of her life was wrong! Yet, right now, thousands of others are being abused in similar ways. If lives are sacrificed in this war, they will be lost while pursuing the destruction of evil. If people must die to see Hecate destroyed, then their lives are spent for a worthy cause.”

  Bannor pulled away and put his back against a rock. The group stopped again. The paladin folded his arms and stared. The Queen turned back, glowing eyes narrowed. She set down Meliandri and put hands on hips. Sarai and Janai caught up and paused.

  He realized then that everyone had focused on him. No one apart from Laramis believed that fanatical palaver—did they? Bannor frowned. He only wanted to take responsibility for himself and Sarai—not a nation of people—Kings and Queens did that.

  The idea sounded ludicrous. He wasn’t a savior. He couldn’t even save himself. How would he save someone else?

  He glanced around. The Queen, Laramis, Janai and Sarai all watched him intently, apparently waiting to hear his answer. He looked to Sarai. She’d set her pack down. Her expression showed a mixture of interest and concern. What did they want him to say?

  When Bannor spoke, he kept his gaze on Sarai. “I never wanted more than to have a good life with the person I love.” Her chin came up, and she smiled. He met Laramis’ gaze. “Of course, wanting something doesn’t always make it come true.” He glanced toward the Queen. “If it will keep good men from dying, I would rather run than fight. The easiest way to get the avatars off Titaan is for me to leave this world. They’ll follow me. They have so far.”

  “No,” the Queen said in a flat tone. “You are too valuable to risk.”

  Bannor scowled. “Too valuable? I’m dangerous—even to myself—what good am I?”

  “Last I checked, my friend,” Laramis said. “You had defeated every operative of the avatars that had been sent against you. You have the avatars scared. They fear you will get the Garmtur under control. They know that once your Nola is mastered that they cannot defeat you.”

  “Let me tell you, Laramis,” Bannor replied. “They aren’t the only ones who are scared.” He took a breath. “Look at my face! I’m half crippled because of—whatever you call that.” He flicked a hand at Meliandri’s unconscious form. “She came this close,” he held up a tiny space between his fingers, “to dragging me and Janai off to Hades. By almost killing myself, I got lucky and caught her off-guard. Next time, I won’t get a chance to fight back.”

  “That’s precisely why we have to take the fight to them,” the Queen said. “Bannor, no one here is eager to fight the avatars.” She stopped and eyed Laramis. “Well, most of us aren’t. The avatars must be driven off this world. By concentrating their forces in a search for you, they’ve given us a unique opportunity to strike a real blow against them.” She sighed. “We can discuss this later. Suffice it to say, that if you wish to stay alive, and if you want my daughter as your wife, you will fight. Let us go. We’ve tarried too long.”

  Kalindinai bent and picked up Meliandri’s unconscious body and started down the trail. Bannor stared at her back, anger and frustration seethed in his gut. You will fight. She made it sound so blasted easy. If she weren’t the one leading the way into battle, he’d have told Kalindinai what to do with her pronouncements.

  Sarai picked up her pack and came toward him. She kissed him gently, careful to avoid his injured nose and cut face. He grew warm inside. “I’m with you, my One.” The sugary taste of her mouth lingered on his lips. As he watched her walk up the trail, he realized that despite their bitter differences Sarai would always follow her Mother’s lead. Wherever Kalindinai went, into battle or into Hades itself, Sarai would be there.

  Struggling under her load, Janai stopped by him. She put a hand on his chest. Her amber eyes searched his face. “You kept your promise and watched my back. You got us out of that mess alive.” She rose on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. She backed away her fingers lingering on his arm. “I’ll remember it.”

  Janai shifted to get her load square and continued after Sarai. He watched her fade into the grayness between the trees.

  Laramis’ gaze followed the sway of Janai’s hips as she moved over the uneven ground. He sighed. “Such fine pulchritude. It reminds me how I miss my lovely Irodee.” His voice caught. Bannor had never heard the man sound more despondent. “After this long, sometimes I fear the worst.” He sighed. “Let us go. The sooner we are off, the sooner we shall find her.”

  He leaned on the paladin’s shoulder and they followed the others. He empathized with the man’s pain. When the slavers took Sarai, worrying about her made him crazy.

  “She’s a tough lady, Laramis,” he said. “It’ll take more than an army to stop her.”

  The man smiled. “My thanks for your confidence. Ukko give me strength, she shall be returned to me.”

  The rest of the trip down the mountain grew more difficult. The trees afforded little shelter from the icy gusts coming through the pass. The chill cut like a knife. The thin air at this altitude didn’t help either, making the labor that much more arduous.

  By the time they came within sight of the back entrance, Bannor felt as if he’d been turned to stone. His arms and legs moved as though petrified. A tingling ache hummed through his whole body.

  A cluster of trees concealed the gaping mouth of the cavern. Only a single narrow switchback trail zigzagged up to the ledge that lay over a hundred paces up the steep mountainside.

  The Elven ladies bunched up as they picked their way carefully along the treacherous course. Laramis and Bannor came last, trusting keen elven night-sight to find a safe path in the darkness.

  Bannor’s heart pounded like a drum by the time they reached the ledge. The uneven footing, poor visibility, and slick stone made for a nerve-wracking white-knuckle climb.

  At the top, they found Wren sitting next to a small fire cooking a
long-ear on a spit. Several horses on tethers snorted and stamped nervously a short distance farther inside the cave.

  Wren waved to them as they entered. Her eyes sparkled from the flickering light. Her cheeks looked flush from the heat of the fire. “It’s about time. Pull up a rock and get warm. It’s nasty out there.”

  Everyone hurried into the sheltered opening. Even the Queen and Sarai who appeared unaffected by the cold moved quickly. For the next while, the cave filled with the sound of sighs and hands being rubbed.

  Bannor moaned blissfully as the flames sent waves of thawing warmth up his arms.

  The Queen frowned at Wren. “Did you abandon your mission? You couldn’t have finished so quickly.”

  The savant frowned. “Abandon? Everything you asked for is packed and ready to go.” She shook her head. “Someday, we should discuss royal security.” She turned to Sarai. “I snitched some extra medical supplies so you can fix up Bannor.”

  His mate nodded.

  Kalindinai peered into the darkness beyond the tethered horses. “Are you certain you weren’t followed?”

  “Double-checked and triple-checked,” Wren answered. “Getting the items was so easy, it made me suspicious, too.” She shrugged and dragged her knapsack over close to her and started rummaging around inside. “The avatar’s screams had everyone going crazy. The echoes made it impossible to guess where that rumbling came from, so the King had the guards conducting a chamber-to-chamber search. They simply didn’t notice me in the confusion.”

  “Did you leave the note for my husband as we discussed?”

  “Right on his pillow where you said. Here it is. Bannor, I bet you recognize this stuff.” Wren held up a clear crystal vial with a swirling liquid inside.

  His stomach churned when he saw the stuff. “Dragon whiz.”

  Sarai and Janai both chuckled.

  The Queen raised an eyebrow. “Dragon whiz? I’ll have you know that’s some of the finest healing potion that can be bought.”