The moment the words registered, he remembered. His heart began to race, and he struggled harder to open his eyes. “Amanda?” he managed to croak. Immediately, all the voices around him went silent, only the sound of crying remaining. He heard Helen sob again, and his heart sank into his stomach.
“She’s… gone. There was nothing we could do, Allistor. I’m so sorry.” There was a pause as she broke down, crying and sniffling. Allistor managed to open one eye enough to see a blurry image of her leaning over him, her hands covering her face. “You managed to save William, I think. He’s unconscious, but alive, barely. Amanda, she… sacrificed herself. To make sure you could save him.” Allistor felt more heals wash over him, and managed to open his other eye.
As his vision cleared, he turned his head to the side. Looking up from the floor and past Helen, who was kneeling beside him, he blinked away tears and saw the jagged opening in the station’s hull. The force field that had sealed the breach glowed faintly. Laying between him and the hole was the tiny body of William. Ramon and two others were kneeling next to him, all three of them casting repeated healing spells.
Allistor tried to roll over, but his muscles didn’t respond. And the attempt caused his abused nerve endings to scream even louder, making him groan in pain.
“Don’t try to move!” Allistor thought the voice was Cogwalker’s. “Ye were exposed to the vacuum of space. The motes inside ye kept ye alive, but yer body was nearly frozen, and needs time to warm up. Ye just lay there and recover! Any movement right now could do more damage. Here, drink some o’ this if ye can.” Allistor saw a flask move into his field of vision, then felt a small amount of liquid dribble into his open mouth. He couldn’t taste it, but he felt a warmth in his throat and chest when he swallowed it down. “Yer friends be healin’ ye as fast as they can. Let em do what they’re doin for a bit.”
Allistor wasn’t in the mood to listen. He closed his eyes and pictured Amanda floating away from him as he reached out. His pulse hammered in his ears, and he could feel more tears run freely down his face. When he tried to speak, his voice sounded slightly better.
“What… happened?”
This time it was Harmon who answered. “The griblin’s vest was wired with explosives. When it went off, the blast opened a breach in the hull. There have been other explosions as well. We’re still trying to gather information. I will handle this, my friend. You rest. We very nearly lost you.”
“Stupid fool!” Helen grumped at him, causing him to open his eyes and see her face pasty white and her eyes red and puffy. “Brave, but stupid! Don’t you ever do that again!” She smacked his shoulder, causing a new flair of pain. Allistor gritted his teeth and tried not to show it.
Instead, he took a few deep breaths, the pain in his lungs slightly less now. Another wave of heals washed over him, and the pain lessened further. He licked his lips before asking, “Anyone else?”
“What?” Helen blinked at him, momentarily confused. “Oh! No, some injuries, but nothing serious. And no one else was killed, thankfully. Well, none of our people.” Allistor saw her glance briefly in William’s direction, a look of doubt in her eyes.
“I’m fine, go help William.” He rasped at his best friend.
“William is getting plenty of attention. And I’m not so sure you’re out of the woods yet. So shut up and let us help you.” Another wave of healing magic. Allistor coughed, and a splatter of blood sprayed into the air, some of it coming back down to land on his face. Strangely, there wasn’t much pain. “See! You’re all messed up inside. Your body tried to decompress out there. You’re lucky you didn’t burst like a water balloon.”
Harmon’s voice came from somewhere outside of Allistor’s field of vision. “Actually, when a body is exposed to space…” Allistor saw Helen’s gaze rise above his head, and the look on her face silenced the ruler of the entire orcanin race.
Allistor lay there for what seemed like an eternity. While the pain in his body faded, the pain in his soul deepened. He thought back to moments shared with Amanda, little things like a mischievous smile, the sound of her snoring in his ear, the twinkle in her eye as she came at him with a scalpel in hand. And lastly, her hesitation at walking onto the space station.
“She was right.” He mumbled to himself.
“What was that?” Helen leaned closer in order to hear him better.
“She was right. She was afraid of this place, and it killed her.”
Helen shook her head, having no words for him. Somewhere behind him, Harmon answered. “This place did not take her from you, Allistor. Some ONE was responsible for this. And when we discover who that is, you and I will seek retribution together. This I swear upon my throne, and the lives of my people.” Allistor gasped as the swirling glow of a binding oath enveloped his body. “Ah, I’m sorry my friend.” the orcanin stepped into sight and bowed his head.
“Ye’ll have to get to em before we do.” Cogwalker had ceased issuing orders into his comms and rejoined them. “This be our responsibility.” He bowed deeply to Allistor. “On behalf o’ me clan, I offer our deepest apologies, and acknowledge the life debt we owe ye. I dunno yet what has caused this, or who be behind it. But know that the Stardrifter clan meant ye no harm. It be our great shame to have this happen to ye on our watch, and we will make it right.”
Allistor found himself unable to find words to respond. He acknowledged with a nod of his head, which seemed good enough for the dwarf who bowed deeply once more before turning away.
Allistor closed his eyes again, and was wallowing in his grief, sinking into a dark place, contemplating revenge. He was beginning to embrace that darkness when he heard several gasps, then some quiet cheering. He opened his eyes and turned his head just in time to hear Ramon say, “He’s waking up! He’s gonna be okay!”
Two of the bodies between Allistor and William stood up to hug each other, clearing a path for Allistor to see his squire’s eyes blink a few times as he lay on the station floor. A moment later, they opened fully, and Allistor saw the boy’s confusion and pain. Once again his heart wrenched, and he gritted his teeth against the physical aches as he moved an arm to reach out toward William. More heals washed over both of them, and he heard a tiny, rhaspy voice ask, “What happened?”
Still kneeling on the other side of the boy’s prone body, Ramon leaned closer. Eyes filled with tears, he spoke softly, his voice thick with grief. “There was an attack. You and Amanda were pushed out into space.” He paused, then shook his head, unable to continue. His eyes fell to the floor, and cleared his throat.
Allistor’s eyes found Harmon’s. “Please, I need to be the one to tell him. Would you…?”
“Of course.” Harmon crouched down and effortlessly lifted Allistor off the floor. He turned and took two steps, placing Allistor so that he was sitting upright next to William, his back against the bulkhead. Allistor took a few deep breaths, both to deal with the physical pain, and to give himself a moment to prepare. He saw William’s questioning gaze fixed on him, and almost lost it. One more ragged breath, and he began.
“Hey, buddy. I’m so glad you’re still with us. That was a scary thing.” He paused for another breath. “I want you to know that Amanda saved you. I tried, but I wasn’t close enough to grab you. She pushed you to me so that I could bring you back in here. She loved you so much, and her last thought was of you.” His voice cracked, and he had to swallow a few times. The look of horror on William’s face as he remembered what happened and processed the loss of Amanda nearly broke Allistor. All around them people were openly sobbing, watching the young squire’s heart break.
All the dwarves in the corridor with them took a knee and bowed their heads. Allistor noticed that more than a few of them were shedding tears of their own.
Helen broke the silence, kneeling next to the boy and placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. “She will always be with you, William. Her love for you, her quick thinking and acting to save your life… that was her gift to you. She�
�d want you to think of her and smile, to remember the good times you shared. She’d want you to live a long and happy life.”
William face crumpled as he cried, but after a few moments, he managed to whimper, “Okay, I’ll try.”
*****
Within the hour, all of Allistor’s people had been rounded up and escorted back onto the Phoenix. Helen had broken the news to the others as Allistor and William were carried to the ship’s infirmary. Allistor felt like a coward for not telling them the bad news himself, but he just couldn’t face them right then. He was mentally and physically exhausted, and just wanted to hide in a dark room and grieve.
William had fallen asleep, thankfully, and the only other person in the infirmary with them was Meg. He had asked her to leave them alone, and she had responded with threats and insults that were so Meg that Allistor wanted to hug her. Then she went quiet and just stared at him for a moment, before bending to kiss his forehead. He heard her mumble “Stupid boy” before she’d turned and grabbed a chair to pull over next to his bed.
Harmon had them hold orbit for a while, an escort of a dozen orcanin ships surrounding them for protection while his people cleared all the airspace for a thousand miles in every direction. When it was clear that the path from the station to Invictus was secure, the Phoenix took them home.
Allistor wanted to walk from the parking garage back to the tower, but Meg forbid it. He and his squire were both transported on hover pads, his people gathered around him, and a small army of heavily armed and angry orcanin surrounding them. Sydney and Addy walked on either side of William, each holding one of his hands as he slept. The girls were humming a sad tune that sounded like a lullaby, and Allistor hoped it would keep William asleep for a good long time.
Back at the tower, most of his party broke off to share the news and answer questions. Sam organized people to send to each of the Strongholds to relay the information in person. Meg and Helen accompanied Allistor, William, and the girls up to their quarters. Meg tried to tuck Allistor into bed, but he just couldn’t face the bedroom he and Amanda had so recently shared. Meg eventually agreed to let him sit quietly on the sofa with his feet up and half a dozen blankets covering him. Helen and the girls put William to bed, then returned to sit with Allistor and Meg.
“Can you eat?” Meg asked. “I can have some food sent up. Whatever you want. I… I don’t know what to do for somebody that nearly froze and exploded at the same time. Maybe some warm soup?” the woman chattered, clearly rattled.
“Meg, I’m okay. Really. And if you don’t quit being nice to me, I’m gonna get off this couch and try to kiss you.” He gave her a small smile as he said it, which grew a bit wider when she snorted at him. The smile faded quickly when he saw more tears forming in her eyes and she looked away. Her moment of weakness triggered something in him, and he cleared his throat.
“She loved you, Meg. Just like I do. You’ve been a friend and mother to us since day one, and now that she’s gone, I’m gonna need you even more. So let’s all have a good cry, and tomorrow or the next day we’ll all get together and say goodbye. We’ve all lost enough people this year to know that we can’t dwell on our sorrow. We’ve got to get up and keep living.” He paused, looking from Meg to the girls, then to Helen. “You know that’s what she’d want us to do.”
The others all nodded their heads, the girls hugging each other tightly. A short time later, the two of them went off to their rooms. Meg muttered something about making sure everyone got fed before lightly slapping Allistor’s cheek a couple times and planting another kiss on his forehead. As she stepped onto the elevator, Helen made a show of settling into the armchair she occupied, putting her feet up on the coffee table.
“Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna hang out here for a bit. Make sure you don’t do anything stupid. You look fully healed, but if you try n get up off that couch I’ll smack you so hard you won’t remember your name.”
Allistor shook his head. “I love you, too. Could you maybe take three or four of these blankets off me now? I feel like Fuzzy’s laying on top of me and-” He froze, his eyes widening the same time as Helen’s. “Oh no. Fiona!”
“Don’t you move! I’ll handle this.” Helen was already on her feet. She quickly snatched all the blankets off of Allistor as she rushed past him, then threw one back over her shoulder as she realized she’d taken them all. It hit him in the face. A moment later she was on the elevator and gone.
“Nigel, can you tell me where Fuzzy and Fiona are?” Allistor asked the ceiling.
“Fuzzy and Fiona left the Wilderness Stronghold several hours ago, and have not returned. However, Master Daigath is currently at that facility, and has expressed a desire to speak with you, when you feel up to it. Please accept my condolences on the passing of Lady Amanda, sire. She will be missed by all.”
Allistor felt a lump in his throat. After a long moment, he managed to swallow. “Thank you Nigel. Please instruct Helen to find Daigath at Wilderness. And let Daigath know he’s welcome here anytime. Explain to him that if I tried to go see him now Meg would be very angry.
“Of course, sire.”
Despite the jumble of emotions and thoughts racing through Allistor’s head, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. When he awakened several hours later, he found Daigath sitting in the chair Helen had vacated. On the table between them was a pile of neatly folded blankets. There was also a plate of fruit with a cup of chicken soup sitting in front of Allistor. Daigath appeared to be finishing one of Meg’s scones, popping the last bit into his mouth and chewing calmly before swallowing.
“Fiona will be okay, I believe.” He smiled at Allistor. “I was nearby when her bond with Amanda was severed. I am sorry for your loss, Allistor. She was a wonderful lady, and I quite liked her.” The elf bowed his head slightly.
“Thank you, Master Daigath. I’m sorry I was asleep when you arrived. I hope you haven’t been waiting long?”
Daigath shook his head. “When you are as old as I am, ‘long’ is a relative term. I understand you nearly perished yourself today, saving young William. I know that in the coming days you will doubt yourself, even berate yourself, and feel guilty for not saving them both. I spoke to Harmon, and he told me exactly what happened. There was nothing more that you could have done. In fact, it was a miracle you were able to retrieve William. An act of great sacrifice from Lady Amanda. Yet another reason to admire her.”
Allistor shook his head, tears forming again. “I could have saved them both. I teleported myself out there without calculating how fast they were going. I should have known better, If I’d only jumped further out…”
“No!” Daigath leaned forward in his seat. “If you had taken the time to do that calculation, assuming you are even capable of getting it right, they would have been out of range of your Dimensional Step spell. By acting quickly, you got yourself close enough that Amanda was able to help you save William. That was the best possible result in the circumstance thrust upon you. You need to get those ‘if only’ thoughts out of your head. Such unfounded self-doubt might cripple you, and there are many thousands of people out there depending on you.”
Allistor sat there in silence. He had grown angry as Daigath lectured him, and had to restrain himself to keep from lashing out. The old elf watched him, his face stoic as Allistor took some deep breaths and considered his words. Despite his anger, and his self-doubts, he found some comfort in his mentor’s words.
“I will try.” He unconsciously echoed Williams words from earlier.
Daigath nodded once, leaning back in his chair and producing another of Meg’s scones. “Helen is with Fuzzy and Fiona. I put Fiona to sleep, to give her time to adjust to the loss of her bond, and to keep her from causing any harm in her grief. I expect she will survive, though I do not know what her mental condition will be. Fortunately, the bond was relatively new.”
“Thank you for that. And for coming here.” Allistor paused. “When you spoke to Harmon, did he give
you any indication of who did this, or why?”
Daigath shook his head. “Our mutual friend is literally scouring the Collective for information. He has applied the full weight and might of the Orcanin Empire to the problem, and has recruited many of your allies as well. Including the Or’Dralon. The Stardrifter Clan is also creating quite a stir already. They will not rest until they have punished those responsible and restored their honor.” The old elf paused to take a bite of his scone, chewing thoughtfully for a moment. “I must say, I would not wish to be the one responsible for this cowardly attack. They now have some very powerful forces aligned against them.”
Chapter 10
Loki sat in his new home atop the Hawaiian volcano, his dark mood causing the mists around him to swirl with agitation. Two facts contributed to this mood. First, the human prince had been attacked, his mate killed. Second, Odin and Baldur were going to punish Loki for that, though he was not behind the attack.
Baldur’s warning replayed in his mind as he awaited his arrival. It would not be long, he knew. And Loki would, of course, attempt to convince Baldur that he was innocent. He had, in fact, discovered and eliminated several threats to the young prince. Each time it had galled him to do so, but his fear of Odin’s wrath was greater than his pride. So he had protected the human.
Loki had been working on expanding his territory on Earth when he received notification of the attack. His aim was to thwart the human’s plan to expand his holdings on the planet and become Emperor. Having fully claimed this island and the surrounding Hawaiian islands, Loki had moved westward. He now owned the entirety of an island nation formerly known as New Zealand, and large swathes of a nearly empty continent known as Australia. Most of the continent had already been sparsely populated prior to the Assimilation. During Stabilization the population centers were quickly overrun, as few of the humans possessed any weapons with which to defend themselves. The larger population centers still held several Strongholds, and even a couple Citadels constructed by human survivors. But Loki had claimed more than ninety percent of the land mass. He’d been standing atop a large reddish colored flat plateau and surveying his new property when his comms bracelet alerted him to the attack.
Shadow Sun Unification: Shadow Sun Book Five Page 16