“I am so sorry, Master Kasai. This was never our intention. However, you did save his life. For that, I am most grateful,” she replied in a soft voice. Kasai snorted irritably.
“Well and good. There is no changing that. I know that, and I know it was an accident. However, you and I, we have a bigger problem to deal with. Tell me, how much do you know of your own magister's past?” the Harrier barked. Kalla winced again. It seemed Aleister's suspicions were right.
“You named him Kaze on purpose, didn't you? You already knew it was his name. Yes, I do know his past. He did what was necessary,” Kalla said. In her mind, she felt the Fox begin to stir and mentally urged him to stay still and to listen. She felt him tense beside her, then relax. He was laying on side, facing the wall so the Harrier didn't know he was now awake.
“Necessary?” Kasai hissed out, eyes narrowing. “Necessary? He killed his parents! He killed my father!”
Kalla jerked back, stiffening. Of all the things Kasai might have said, this was the last thing she expected.
“Your father? Aleister's your half-brother? He never knew.” Kalla squeezed her eyes shut, opened them slowly.
“Yes, he did kill his father, but only because Kaminari killed his mother,” Kalla said, low. Alarm and sadness filtered to her from Aleister.
“I've spent my entire life hunting after my brother. If I had known who he was on Sevfahl, he would not be your magister today. It is only out of respect for you, and what you have done for my people, that I haven't taken his life yet,” the Harrier replied.
Behind Kalla, Aleister finally stirred, ignoring the Healer's unspoken admonitions to stay still. He rolled over and sat up, wincing at the soreness in his arm and chest. His eyes flicked from Kalla to the comatose Vander to Kasai, who held his gaze with fierce attention.
“Show him. Show him my memories, that he can know the truth of what happened,” Aleister murmured, not taking his gaze from the angry hawk.
He placed his hand in Kalla's without being asked and she mutely held out her other hand to Kasai. The Harrier spared her a distrustful look before focusing his attention back on the magister, but he did move close enough to grasp her proffered hand. She looked back at Aleister.
“You are sure of this?” she asked. He nodded and she broke the link open, letting the memories flow through her to Kasai. The hawk jerked as if shocked, then relaxed as his attention turned inward, to the visions she presented. The mage let him feel Aleister's feelings as well. The remorse, the old guilt, the newer guilt he felt now that he realized that he had hurt another family as well. And from him, she sifted memories to Aleister, letting each learn the past of the other.
Finally Kalla stemmed the flow of memory. She gently tugged her hands out of theirs, breaking the link. Kasai's face was pale in the bobbing magelight. He shook his head as if to clear it and refocused his attention on Aleister. A pained look crossed his face, and Kalla watched as the anger and bitterness flowed out from the Harrier. She felt it leave him as well, a tangible energy that snapped back to neutrality. Kasai's features settled into a placid weariness.
“Sometimes… I guess you don't know people as well as you thought..,' the Harrier said in a low voice. Kalla turned her attention to the sleeping War Mage.
“No, sometimes you don't. And sometimes that can cause a great deal of grief,” she said as she gently ruffled the Dashmari's hair.
“I am sorry, Master Kasai. For that and for this. If not for me, you would not be a magister either,” the Fox said.
“That I cannot exactly lay at your feet, Kaze,” the Harrier twitched the barest hint of a smile. “It may take some time to fully forgive you… but I do understand now. I suppose I can thank you for my place as one of the Khan's Harriers. I wouldn't have ended up here, if I hadn't been found wandering by Nobunaga.” He barked a laugh, a sound so like Aleister's that Kalla had to grin. “Do I really have an uncle? This… Hauss, is it?”
“Yes, I guess he would be. Hopefully you will get the chance to meet him. I'm sure he'd be delighted,” Aleister replied.
He was more relaxed now, though still wary of the Harrier. Kalla could tell he found the idea of having a brother intriguing and was hopeful of building a better relationship with him. The Healer was delighted that he had found another living family member, even if their start had been rough.
Kalla was grateful that her magister was now awake and fully alert. Her heart ached to think of how close she'd come to truly losing him earlier. And if it weren't for the War Mage's quick thinking, he wouldn't be in nearly as good condition as he was now. She sighed as she checked Vander yet again, frowning at what she found. If anything, he seemed to be getting worse. She glanced up at Kasai, who had shifted position again, moving back to rest against the wall. The Harrier was looking worse for the wear as well, worse by the minute, truth be told. His skin was paler now, a dusty unnatural color. He ducked away from her scrutiny.
“I'm fine… just tired. Incredibly tired… Is this normal?” he asked.
“No, it's not. Sleep is what helps us heal a magickal drainage, to rebuild our own energy levels. He should be recovering on his own by now, but he's not. He's continuing to draw energy from you…” Kalla's voice trailed off as Vander's breathing changed, becoming shallow and ragged. Through her hand on his face, she could feel his heart slow, his body finally beginning to give up. By the door, Kasai slumped to the ground with a dazed, glassy look.
“Not happening. This is not happening…” Kalla muttered. She pulled Vander over onto his back, brushing his hair out of his face with the tenderness of a mother tending a sick child. His eyes finally opened, revealing a sliver of blue. He favored her with the ghost of a smile before his eyes fluttered shut again. As he drew in a long, shuddering breath she felt the chains binding his essence to mortal coil break.
Without quite knowing why, she covered his mouth with hers, taking in his last breath, his very essence itself and, in doing so, found herself in a bright realm of indistinct features and golden sands. The world between worlds. Here she was Amaraaq, in the form of a great frost wolf. Between her forepaws was the limp form of a red-furred cub. The frost wolf growled as a figure approached, a tall man with raven hair, dressed in a simple tunic and pants of a pale green color that matched his eyes. His feathery black wings flared out in agitation as her growl deepened.
“All is One.” The man's voice was low and he stopped a respectful distance away.
“One is All.” she growled.
“As above,”
“So below.”
“Thus are all connected,” they spoke as one. The man took another step closer and Amaraaq moved forward, sheltering the cub between her paws. She knew who he was. Carron Death-bringer, he who led the souls to the Otherworld.
“They need to come with me, Lady. Their time here is done,” he said.
They? What they? The wolf looked down and found that she now guarded not only the red wolf cub, but a fuzzy raptor chick as well.
“No!” she snarled. She hunched down over the cub and chick, her mane fluffing out. “They go back with me. I will give him the strength he needs.”
“And what of the other one?” Carron asked. Amaraaq's ears flattened.
“Both of them. They are mine to protect,” she rumbled.
“You would unnecessarily risk your living body to bring them back? Before you have faced Al'dhumarna?”
“Yes. I need them. They don't deserve this, neither of them. The hawk is here only because he was unlucky enough to get caught in a magickal snare. Vander is my responsibility.
“I should have anticipated this. I don't know why acquiring a magister didn't help, but he is here only because he went above and beyond in trying to help me heal Aleister. They go back with me or you will take four instead of two,” the wolf replied, a steady growl thrumming in her chest. She crouched down closer to the ground, completely covering the pair with her body. Emerald eyes blazed with fury.
Carron chuckled as his pale
green gaze met Amaraaq's angry one. His wings rustled softly as he stepped back. “It did not help because it came too late. His body was already dying when his essence latched on to the hawk. All it did was prolong the inevitable.” Carron paused a moment. “Very well. Take them, though I likely will see them and possibly you again very shortly. I pray it not be so, Lady Amaraaq. I pray you have strength enough to keep them there. If they die again, I cannot allow them to leave. They must come with me.”
Amaraaq relaxed, dipping her muzzle the ground. “I thank you, Master Carron. I understand. But if you see them, you will see the Prince and I as well.”
“You are stubborn, Lady. You will serve your people well, I have no doubt. Til we meet again.” Carron fanned his wings, stirring up a miniature dust devil.
Amaraaq closed her eyes as golden sands swept over her and it was Kalla who opened them. Mere seconds had passed since she'd bent over Vander, his dying breath still warm on her face. She gave it back to him, blowing the breath deep into his lungs, suffusing his body with his returned essence. With it she pushed a part of her own, to serve as an anchor, carefully reweaving the bonds that bound essence to flesh. He drew in a gasping breath of his own, rolling back over on his side, but each new one he took was stronger than the last.
Satisfied that Vander was okay for the moment, Kalla turned her attention to Kasai. The Harrier lay in the floor, Aleister kneeling by his side and it was clear from her Magister's thoughts that there was no longer anyone at home.
Aleister's sorrow washed through her. Sadness etched lines into his face. He reached out to close the hawk's eyes, but Kalla caught his wrist and gently pulled him out of the way. Her hidden dagger materialized in her hand.
With the patient efficiency of her Healer's training, she quickly cut the Harrier's tunic open. Her hair started to fluff out as she drew an electrical charge around her. Aleister watched in fascination as she held her hands diagonally, just above Kasai's chest, palms down.
“Come back,” she whispered. With a sudden movement she drove her palms down, discharging the gathered electricity. The Fox flinched as his brother's body jerked spasmodically. The Healer lifted her hands, resting two fingers over his heart. She frowned and clapped her hands together, building the charge back up. Three times more she shocked him, before she was finally satisfied.
Kalla sighed. She'd managed to get the Harrier's heart started again. Now she needed him breathing. She tilted his head back and blew into his mouth, filling his lungs with life-giving air. Once, twice and then he coughed, struggling to breath on his own, and she sank back as he, too, rolled over onto his side. She gently touched him on the forehead.
“Sleep,” she murmured. The simple command and its accompanying magick did the job, and Kasai drifted off into a deep, healing sleep. Behind her, Vander was once more under the Dreamwalker's sway, but he and his Magister were both alive and stable, their strength increasing with each passing moment. With the Fox's help she made a pallet for Kasai, near the heads of their own nests, and together they moved him off the hard floor. The Healer wanted to be able to touch them both without moving far, so she could continue to monitor them throughout the night.
When they were finished moving the hawk, Aleister turned away from her, rearranging his nest to move it away from hers, suddenly feeling very awkward and shy without any of the others awake. Guilt and shame bubbled in his mind, and he thought Kalla would have been better off had she never claimed him in the first place. He had only managed to get himself seriously injured (twice!) and ended up causing the death, however indirectly, of Vander and his own brother.
“Aleister?” The Fox froze at the sound of Kalla's voice, but didn't turn around. “Aleister, look at me,” she said softly. He turned around slowly and found himself staring into her intent emerald gaze. The magelight made her eyes seem to glow with an otherworldly light and he drew in a sharp breath. Gods be good, but she was beautiful. He loved her, would willingly give his life for her, but he wasn't worthy of even being her guardian. She deserved someone who could protect her and keep her safe.
Kalla's intense gaze grew more focused as she caught the beginnings of one of Aleister's unidentifiable thoughts. She reached out and snagged it before he could bury it beneath his shields. His eyes widened when she smiled at him.
“You think so? Really? Thank you.” Kalla paused a moment, “Are these the feelings you've been trying to hide all this time..?” she asked. The increased sense of shame gave her all the answer she needed. She shifted, moving closer to him, taking his face in her hands. Panic surged through the bond between them, but he didn't move.
“You idiot,” she scolded. “This wasn't your fault. All's well that ends well, right? We are all still alive. You, my handsome Prince, are everything I need in a guardian.” Another pause. She drew him closer, so they were almost nose to nose. “And you are everything I want as the Lady's Consort.” She brushed her lips against his in a gentle kiss. He relaxed, leaning forward to cup her face as she held his, and kissed her again, a bit more deeply, but as chaste and gentle as he'd been in Kituk's realm. Kalla smiled at him as they broke apart, noting the look of muted adoration in his eyes. She twitched his blankets back in place.
“And where, exactly, do you think you're going?” She scooted her own bedding closer to Vander's, making it so that Kasai's head was right above hers. As she snugged down into her warm nest of blankets she urged Aleister to pull his closer as well.
“I want you to hold me, Prince. I need that comfort after such a day,” she said.
She felt Aleister's pleasure at the request. With the time that had passed since they had come to Karokorum and been separated he had feared that she might change her mind. The dream had fulfilled the mysterious requirement for her to become Lady of Wolves. Nothing said that she would continue to feel that way.
Bound by ages-old bonds, the Fox knew that his heart would always belong to her, no matter what their actual relationship. But now, now she'd shown him she still felt the affection and love that Kituk had forced her to confront. The magister was grateful too, for he'd tried to push his hopefulness away. Too often his hopes had turned to dust on him. Better not to have any at all, than to have them snatched away, having known what possibilities were once there.
Aleister sighed, content as a lazy cat before a hearth-fire, as he settled down beside Kalla. He slipped an arm around her as she threw a blanket over the pair of them, and his breath caught in his throat as she gently kissed the palm of his hand before lacing her fingers through his and tucking both under her cheek.
“I'm glad you are okay, Aleister. I don't know what I would have done if you had died…” she said in a drowsy voice. He hugged her close.
“You would have gone on. You would have kept your promise to Amaterasu and went to confront Al'dhumarna. You are a very determined woman, milady, and thoroughly dedicated to whatever mission you think is at hand.”
“Maybe… but I would have been the poorer for it.” She paused for a moment. “So… tell me how it feels to have a brother?”
Aleister chuckled dryly. “We'll have to see about that. I wish our lives could have been different, but then we wouldn't either of us be where we are today. I… I think I understand better now why Kaminari hated my mother so… Theirs was a marriage born of politics. She was his first wife, but not the one he truly loved.
“The Inaba are a large clan. It is little wonder I never knew of Kasai or his mother. I wonder if Ulya did. She must have. It would have been harder to keep such a 'secret' from her than from a young boy.
“My mother, she wasn't the jealous type. I don't understand why we didn't all live as one family. Maybe none of this would have happened, maybe we wouldn't have been such an inconvenience…” Aleister quieted, but his thoughts remained in turmoil, and Kalla realized that he had been pushed to the brink.
Like her with Melaric, he had a great deal of buried grief and guilt that he'd never fully dealt with. She felt fine tremors running th
rough his body as he struggled to bury them once more. Kalla gently brushed her lips across the back of his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Relax. Fight no longer. Let it go. Don't worry, they cannot hear,” she whispered through his mind.
The trembling grew worse, then suddenly he hugged her close, tight enough to almost be uncomfortable. He buried his face in her soft mane, muffling the sobs that now shook his lithe frame. She could sense his swirling emotions as they washed through him, cleansing old hurts. The Fox cried until there was nothing left in him to give before finally falling into a sleep born of grief and exhaustion.
The Hounds of Heaven
Arkaddia, Evalyce, Year of the Mythril Serpent, 2014 CE
Kalla opened her eyes, inhaling the rich scents of the flourishing plains. The sky was a muted deepening purple, day turning to dusk.
“Not again…” a voice behind her groaned and she turned to find Aleister.
Kalla chuckled, scanning the broad plains for some sign as to why they had been called here. She spotted a speck on the horizon, moving towards them, but before she could give it any more than a cursory glance another voice spun both of them around.
“What the hells. Where are we?” Kasai asked. He and Vander stood behind them now, the hawk looking bewildered and somewhat angry, while the War Mage merely looked curious. Vander's gaze focused on Kalla and he gave her a look tinged with both awe and fear.
“You brought us back, Dashkele ti'amaraaq. You fought for us against Carron himself. For that I am most humbly grateful.” The Dashmari's voice was filled with reverence. He started to kneel before her.
“No!” she snapped.
The War Mage froze, ears swiveling in consternation. She reached him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. “No, Vander. Never kneel to me. I am Kalla, not Amaraaq and you are a friend, not my subject. I didn't want to lose you. Either of you,” the Healer said in a gentler tone of voice. Vander straightened, giving her a shy smile. “Besides, I have you to thank for keeping Aleister alive. We're even.
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