by David Wind
Her eyes roamed his face, moving from feature to feature. What bothers you? Areenna asked silently.
He does. Master Jalil. I want to trust him, but something is stopping me.
Areenna struggled with Mikaal’s words. She went deep inside herself but found nothing to make her doubt the old Master. She thought back to the first touch from Jalil and the subsequent ones. “All is as it should be,” she said. Our minds met his. There was no deceit.
“Did you join with him?” Mikaal asked aloud. As you do with women of power?
I… She shook her head slowly beneath the realization of Mikaal’s truth. It was not mutual. He joined with me.
As he did with me.
“But why? He has lain there for thousands of years. Would someone as powerful as a Dark Master willingly imprison himself in crystal not knowing we would release him?”
“But he did know. There had to be a foretelling. What if this is the Dark Ones’ plans to finally conquer Nevaeh?”
Areenna shuddered at Mikaal’s words. “What of Ailish? She was open. She drew me into her. It was not me.”
“He could have deceived her as well.”
Areenna thought about what they had said and came to the only conclusion she could. Careful must we be on this. Challenging him will be dangerous.
Not as dangerous as accepting without question.
Areenna closed her eyes and pushed herself to him. They joined instantly. Heat flowed through her, and she almost pulled away but instead she let his warmth wrap around her, as if it were his arms. Then, ignoring what was happening, she asked, Neleh?
As soon as she thought the name, they touched the young woman’s mind. She was unresponsive, lost within a healing. She heals the Master and we cannot stop her.
CHAPTER 37
From where she sat upon Hero, when they emerged from the ravine-like trail, there was nothing but devastation. While they had battled the Dark Master, the remainder of the Nevaens had reached the summit of the lower crown. The wounded lay on silks while the uninjured men and women tended them. A full half of the Nevaens were injured, some severely. How many had died fighting the evilness she did not know—what she knew was however many it had been, it was too many.
While she’d listened to the old stories of the battles against the Dark Ones, this was the first time she had been in full battle. The effects were numbing. So many hurt, so many dead, and what laid ahead was… unthinkable.
The bodies of the dead exiles and ghazis were gone, to where she cared little. The devastation wrought by the dark continued to assault Areenna’s emotions. Several of the Nevaen women, some still in battle armor, walked among the badly injured to tend whomever needed their help. Beyond where the injured lay, fires burned and food cooked, and the remainder of the Nevaen force sat or milled about. The men from the village gave aid wherever necessary.
Roth stood near the cavern with Timon and Noslen at his side. The three turned to watch her and Mikaal’s progress through the plateau but did not move. When they reached the cavern, Areenna and Mikaal dismounted.
How do we do this? Mikaal asked.
Together is the only way.
With the staff in her right hand, she clasped Mikaal’s hand with her left, entered the cavern, took three steps inside and stopped dead. Before them, the Master floated a few inches above the ground. Sitting cross-legged at his head, her hands set on each side of his face, was Neleh. At his feet, sitting the same way with her hands on his ankles was Akassia. Laira was on one side and Enaid on the other. Their hands were touching him as well.
To the side, stood Ilsraeth, Queen of Northcrom. Unlike the four women surrounding Jalil, her eyes were open and unfocused.
A sense of darkness hung within the cavern. An insidious black malevolence crept along their skin. Tentacles of evil sought to capture their bodies and mind. Without thinking, Areenna and Mikaal created a shield that broke them free of the darkness.
“There is much wrong here,” Areenna whispered aloud. Still tightly joined with Mikaal, she turned to look into his eyes. We must break through their trance.
How?
She drew on her power, drew Mikaal’s as well and explored the minds before her. Carefully, she tested the borders of the four minds surrounding the Master and found them completely locked. She pushed herself to Ilsraeth and found a solid block so powerful she knew the queen was under another’s control.
It comes from Jalil? Mikaal questioned.
I… I cannot tell… Releasing Mikaal’s hand, she went around the Master to where Enaid knelt. She put a hand on Enaid’s shoulder and attempted to join with her mind. Nothing happened.
She moved to Neleh and did the same. The result was identical—nothing.
When Areenna’s hand lingered on Neleh, something faint touched her, something distant. Do you feel it?
Barely. What is it?
Whom, she corrected and pushed herself harder than ever before. It took almost a full minute before she recognized the mind feel, so weak was it. Releasing Neleh’s shoulder, she spun to face Ailish’s crystal box.
Thinking of how Mikaal had released Master Jalil from his crystal tomb, she went to the floating haze-filled box. Mikaal walked next to her, understanding her intention.
Are you certain?
Can you think of another way?
Mikaal looked from the floating crystal to Areenna. His eyes searched her face while his mind sped through every possibility. “No,” he whispered aloud.
They stopped before the crystal. Unlike the last time, when she had seen Ailish within, its surface was now so cloudy there was nothing to see within, yet there was no doubt it had been Ailish whose mind she had touched a moment before.
She raised the staff, held it against the box. Nothing happened. Mikaal?
His brows furrowed, his eyes questioned.
Then she remembered. He was her complement. The Eight of the Island had so said. ‘Your Complement,’ Ailish had said. ‘He was born to be your complement,’ Enaid had said too. Suddenly, she understood exactly what that meant. He was the masculine half to her feminine. His magic complemented hers. His powers were the hidden part of her, the part she could not access because she was a woman. The knowledge of what it meant burst forth with a startling clarity. He was not just her complement; he was more. His male strength—not the strength of his body, but the strength of his mind—and his powerful abilities, so different from hers, did not detract; rather, they added to and increased the strength she had been born with, deepening it beyond imagination and making her complete.
In that moment of realization, she knew what she had to do. “Grasp the staff,” she said aloud. “Your hand over mine.”
“You said she was gone when she returned to the crystal.” Can we bring her back?
We can but try. There is no other choice.
She will never be able to return to the crystal, he stated.
Areenna closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. When she opened them, she sent her senses into the floating container. Nothing changed. The same low vibration was there, one of almost feeling but not, held steady.
A low cry from Gaalrie echoed within the cavern. The giant treygone landed on Areenna, her talons locking on the leather covering her shoulders.
A sensation of strength filled her and Mikaal as well. Gaalrie… she senses the same as we. Areenna said.
With Mikaal’s hand still covering hers on the staff, she raised the ancient wood high and swung it downward at the crystal. Forgive me, Ailish.
The staff descended and the world ground to a stop. A flash of white leapt from the staff and flooded the cavern, turning everything within into a blur. It took an eternity for the staff to reach the container. When the wood and crystal met, there was a flash, followed by an explosion that sent thousands of shards of crystal careening through the cavern. Yet, the slivers of crystal evaporated—not one touched a living being.
Ailish stood before them. Her eyes wide, her mouth a bare
line cut between nose and chin. Slowly, she crumpled to the stone floor.
Mikaal dropped to the ground next to her. He slipped his hand beneath her head to cushion it from the cold stone floor. Her eyes, the same green as Areenna’s, focused on his face. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. So strong you have become, she told Areenna, who knelt at her side as well. You understood.
Areenna shook her head. Understood, no. We sensed a wrongness about Jalil.
It is not Master Jalil: it’s the others. The Eight Masters have joined minds. They attack Jalil. They hold him and the women prisoner.
Releasing her ability to sense her surroundings, she tried to go beyond the cavern, but struck a solid wall. I cannot see out.
I am dying now. Ailish told them. You must take what remains of my powers. Both of you, but as one.
Areenna shook her head. I have the healing, I can—
—No. My body, my mind is alive only for the purpose I have now accomplished. You must take what remains of my powers and of me before they fail. Do not allow my sacrifice be for naught. Be strong, children of my children.
Ailish slowly reached out and grasped Areenna’s hand. She placed it over her heart. She did the same with Mikaal’s hand, placing it on top of Areenna’s. Now!
Under their hands, Ailish’s body arched. Unlike other transfers of ability, this one was extremely gentle. There was no flash of power; heat built slowly, growing stronger with every heartbeat beneath their fingers. With each rise and fall of Ailish’s chest, the heat built until their hands glowed with vibrant shades of orange and red. The glow moved upward along their arms, into their shoulders and spread throughout their bodies. Then the heat moved upward through their faces and into their minds. Their vision blurred beneath red and orange flashes. The heat, like a stoked furnace, roared madly once more.
Areenna gasped, her mind reeling from what had just happened. Her hand was still beneath Mikaal’s and she saw Ailish was no longer there. All that remained of the ancient woman of power was an outline of white ash.
Tears rolled down Mikaal’s cheeks and she realized her cheeks were wet with tears as well. Without a word—silent or aloud—Areenna and Mikaal stood and as they did, Areenna released Mikaal’s hand and transferred the staff from her right hand to her left.
When she raised it, Mikaal placed his hand on the staff. Fire, he said.
Light, added Areenna.
Areenna’s blue light rose, not from her hand, but from her entire body. At the same time, Mikaal’s fire joined the shimmering blue light, turning the red of the fire and the blue of the light into a deep sapphire of shimmering shifting flames. Together, they pushed their combined powers at the block holding everyone within the cavern prisoner. The blue fire struck the barrier the Dark Ones had created, and there was an explosion of light. The block crumbled and the malicious darkness fled.
Together, one mind, one thought, Areenna and Mikaal chased after the malevolent tendrils, unwilling to let them flee, until the darkness stopped its retreat and released a bolt of pure evil at them.
When the force struck their wall of blue fire, they raised their hands and together released a stream of white light at the oncoming blackness. There was another flare as the powers met and, strangely, Areenna and Mikaal were no longer in the cavern— rather, they were suspended high above the twin peaks of the mountain.
The Nevaens were frozen in place. In the distance, two thousand miles away and floating on the sea, a huge armada of ships sailed toward Nevaeh. On the lead ship stood the eight Masters of Afzal—all were looking up at them.
Fasil Abdul-Mu'eid, the Dark Master, the leader of the Circle, The Master whom they had been unable to stop on the sea, raised his arms. A swirling blackness rose from his hands and streaked toward them. Areenna and Mikaal reacted with blue fire, but just before the two powers met, another force grabbed them and they found themselves standing in the cavern exactly as they had been before breaking free of the block.
This is not the time for your battle, came the voice of the Speaker of the Eight. You are not yet strong enough. You must learn more of yourselves. Understand what Ailish has sacrificed; understand what she has given you. Only in such a way can you defeat them.
Everything was exactly as it had been. Master Jalil floated in the air, the four women still holding him. Ilsraeth stared vacantly. “We must free them,” Areenna said aloud.
Not yet, said the Speaker. Accept my words and follow them carefully. This time the Speaker waited for both of them to agree before she joined with Areenna and Mikaal. When she did, thoughts and pictures, instructions and lessons streamed through their consciousness until finally, the Speaker withdrew and their minds were their own.
So much to do, Areenna thought.
So short a time to prepare, Mikaal responded to her thought.
Again, without either consciously directing a thought, they went to Ilsraeth, one on each side. Areenna placed her hand on Ilsraeth’s chest while Mikaal did the same on the queen’s back. A half a heartbeat later, Ilsraeth blinked and gasped. Mikaal caught her before she fell and eased her to the cavern floor.
“Rest,” Areenna said. “Regain your strength.”
Ilsraeth reached out and stroked Areenna’s cheek but did not speak.
Areenna rose and went to the others, Mikaal following behind. They repeated the process with each of the women until all were free. Areenna and Mikaal knelt on each side of Jalil. Areenna placed the staff on the Master and their hands on his back. The staff flared white for a second. When it cleared and Jalil opened his eyes, Areenna and Mikaal lowered him to the ground.
<><><>
It took most of day for the five women and Master Jalil to regain their strength. It was late in the day, barely an hour before the darker gray of the Northwestern sky took control of the night, when the leaders of Nevaeh gathered about a fire just outside the cavern.
Roth and Enaid sat together as did Ilsraeth and Timon to their side. Areenna and Mikaal sat on the other side of the High King and Queen and next to them were Neleh and Sirod. Master Jalil, who sat quietly between Laira and Akassia, completed the circle. Trebor was, of course, next to Akassia.
Mikaal and Areenna explained to them all that had happened. When they finished their explanation, Roth asked. “What you saw was not of now?”
Areenna shook her head. “It is hard to explain. Time seemed to stop outside the cavern. We saw you and the Nevaens here on the plateau, but you were frozen. When we saw the ships of the Dark Ones, the Master we fought was with them. He could not have reached them so quickly. Not even he has that amount of power.”
She paused for a moment to moisten her lips. “It was a vision of the battles to come. It came from Ailish’s powers.”
Mikaal took over, speaking the moment Areenna stopped. “We saw ships, perhaps forty. They will be here soon, a few months at the most. There is not much time to prepare. We must also bring Sirod and Neleh’s people with us.”
Roth, his eyes sweeping from Mikaal to Sirod and Neleh, said nothing.
“Our ship is grounded and severely damaged,” Timon said.
“They left one ship in the water. It is large enough, is it not?” Areenna asked.
Timon paused in thought. “You are certain?”
Areenna nodded as did Mikaal.
“These ships are clumsy, but they are large. They can hold six, seven hundred with ease, much more if necessary. We have not nearly that amount. We can manage.”
“How long will it take to bring them here?” Roth asked.
“Two days to reach the western edge of the mountain, where the sea meets the land,” Sirod responded. “But we need a few days to prepare our leave taking.”
“They give up much,” Enaid said.
Sirod smiled gently, her eyes on Enaid. “They gladly go to start a new life knowing they have fulfilled the purpose our ancestors placed upon us.”
“They will be a great benefit to Nevaeh,” Areenna said, looking first at S
irod and Neleh, and then at Roth. “I would ask you to allow them to settle in Freemorn. They will find a welcome home in my father’s dominion.”
Roth nodded. “A good place to start.”
“There is more you have not spoken of,” Enaid said, looking at Mikaal.
“Much more, but we need time to understand,” Areenna said.
Mikaal reached out and took Areenna’s hand. “We must go to the Island again. We have work to do there. Master Jalil will go with us.”
“It will take you too long,” Roth said.
“No,” said Master Jalil, speaking for the first time. “We do not go with you by ship. There is another way, but only for those born to the powers.” Jalil paused to look at Areenna and Mikaal. He favored them with a slight smile before turning back to Roth. “You must gather all the forces you can. There will be those who will not join, not many, but some. They are already corrupted. Afzal will land at two points. The southeast shores and the southwestern.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. When he looked at Roth again, he exhaled slowly. “For now, that is all I see.”
“So be it,” Roth declared.
<><><>
Areenna awoke an hour before daybreak. Turning on her silks, she stretched out her arm to Mikaal but found his silks empty. She reached out with her mind.
Here, he responded.
She closed her eyes and joined with him. He stood at the edge of the plateau looking west. Rising, Areenna walked to where he stood. Charka was next to him, the kraal’s head pressed to Mikaal’s arm. Gaalrie was perched on Charka’s saddle.
She stopped next to him and took his hand. As always, the spark leapt between their palms when they touched, and a rush of warmth spread through her. “We are almost done,” she whispered.
“Yet so much is still before us,” Mikaal replied.
She searched his face. A strange feeling settled over her. There was a heaviness wrapped around Mikaal. It took her a moment to understand that the doubt she sensed was the weight of Nevaeh’s future pressing upon him. “All that matters is that we do it together.”