A rough hand grabbed her arm in a punishing grip. Ainara screamed and turned to see the red eyed man. He lifted her arm. In the pale light, Ainara could see dark stains on his teeth. In debilitating disbelief she watched him take a bite from the fleshy part of her arm. The pain kicked her out of her disbelief. Without thought she slammed her left fist into his eye. It hurt, but it seemed to hurt him more. He growled and unclamped his teeth. Good. She kicked and hit him. Her frantic digits clawed his fingers from her arm. She started to run again when he snarled and sank his fingers into her tangled hair. With a cruel yank he unbalanced her. She fell into his arms. He laughed in a raspy, hair rising way. It reminded her of the sounds a searean bremake.“Rip and rend…yesss suree. Rip and tear.”He sang.
Ainara screamed as she watched her end come for her. A surge of pure terror poured through her. That and a stab of harrowing regret for her unborn baby…A roar echoed her scream. The man with red eyes was suddenly gone and in his place was Sieth’s silver draconic head.“SIETH!”Ainara reached out to him.
“I’m sorry that thing touched you. Let me try to heal you.”The dragon said. Ainara watched as a stream of blue marana cloaked her wound in soothing warmth.
“Thank you. Are you alright?”She asked standing up and touching his snout.
Sieth snorted“I’ve been better. While I was up in the air I saw lights of a village. I’ll fly us near there. As you walk the rest of the way, I’ll shield the valley so we will be safe.”
At his words, Ainara relaxed. Her hands unconsciously going to her stomach. The child within moved. “It will be alright, little one.”She whispered with a smile. She met Sieth’s silver veined blue eyes. They were shining with hope, but something was hiding in them…Before she could figure out what it was, Sieth picked her carefully up in his clawed foot and took off.
The night air was cool and comforting on her face. The star strewed sky a dream compared to the horror of the red eyed man. The trees became a dark silver lined sea that whispered in the night breeze. A wolf howled in the distance. And just a little ways away were the lights Sieth had mentioned.
They were almost there. Civilization, or something resembling civilization, was almost theirs again. A warm bath would be heaven to her muscles. Especially considering that they were now taking the opportunity to scream quite loudly against the abuse they had received. Ainara stroked Sieth’s talon, wondering at his endurance. He had been fighting all day. Now he was fighting again and flying with her. How tired was he? He wouldn’t answer if she asked. It wouldn’t really help either, she had learned over the years. He always put her health first. He was her protector.
That didn’t mean that she was little more than a child to him. No, they were partners in life together. But since the war had started he had made sure that she was well protected, which meant he had begged her to stay at the palace while he fought to keep her safe. She didn’t like it, but knew it gave him one less thing to worry about. His protectiveness had grown once she discovered that she was expecting. After the fall of Emeran he took to staying by her side. It was sometimes annoying when he tried to insist that she do nothing that might put too much strain on herself: like knitting. Sheesh, what did men expect a woman to do during the long nine months? Honestly! Be fair she thought. She couldn’t berate him too much, since he was a soon to be father. Men always acted strange at such times, or so her mother always told her. And life hadn’t been kind to him, or anyone, this past year. It had been stressful and horrific. That was going to change though, because soon…Soon. She thought to herself. We will get to that village and I will make sure that he rests and is taken care of. She smiled. A shared warm bath and a hot meal.
“I love you, Sieth.”She said to him.
“I love-”Sieth grunted in pain.
“Seith? SEITH!”Ainara screamed as they hurtled downward. The triumphant cry of a seareanis a terrible sound. Seith writhed. Ainara heard the snapping of teeth. Seith batted his wings in an effort to stall their inevitable landing. He suddenly folded them and darted into the tree tops. There was a shriek and a tearing sound as they submerged into the leafy sea. Seith’s foreleg brought her to his chest to shield her from the snaring limbs. He set down three feet before he set her down. She turned to him and saw runnels of blood flowing down his sides.“Are…are you alright?”She asked knowing it was a stupid question.
Seith shuddered, but drew himself up.“Eventually. Ainara, I need you to go to the village we saw. Meanwhile I’m going to take care of that damn bird.”
She saw it again. That hidden thing was still in his eyes, but now was not the time to ask about it. There would be plenty of time afterthey both got to safety.“Stay safe.”She told him before heading off in the direction of the village. She didn’t see him close his eyes, nor bow his head. Nor did she see the single silent tear.
And that was how he wanted it to be…
Chapter Eleven- Upon a Sword’s Whim
Present Day- Pershara
Grim mopped a bit of sausage gravy with a warm piece of crusty bread. It had been many weeks since he had eaten a proper meal and the food, while tasty, settled roughly in his stomach. Still he ate what he knew to be an adequate portion and forced himself to keep it down. One never knew when the next meal would come and his body needed the fuel.
JayDee watched the big man across the captain's table. He was powerfully built and he carried himself like a soldier. She knew him to be the nephew of the current Holden throne. Many believed him to have the better claim to that throne and if recent as yet unconfirmed reports could be believed he was indeed asserting that claim... And yet he did not strike her as a man who craved authority. He wore it like an old cloak. Not particularly valuable in and of itself but comfortable in its familiarity.
Against her better judgment she found herself liking this man. The way he held doors and chairs for others. The way he sincerely thanked even the lowest of cabin stewards for a forgotten napkin or complimented the cooks for their judicious use of spices given his recent enforced fast. In short, he was kind and generous in all the little things. Pershara could well benefit from a man such as this as king.
"The meal was to your liking?" she asked.
"Indeed. I thank you most sincerely for your hospitality" he said while wiping his lips with the silk napkin. "I imagine you have quite a few questions."
"Indeed" she echoed with a warm smile.
Grim was utterly captivated by this young woman. To say she was beautiful would be to say a rose was simply a flower... While essentially true the description did not do justice to either. Grim was used to strong women but JayDee had a commanding confidence that with the possible exception of Perela, he had rarely seen.
"Unless I miss my guess you would be the Princess Jacquelyn DeCotes" he said.
"And unless I miss my guess you would be Thomas Holden... Leader of the Order of Grim... Or perhaps something more 'ambitious' now?"
"Your sources are well informed... Although I assure you ambition has precious little to do with it."
"As strange as this may sound, I believe you. From what I hear from my father, there is much of your brother Randolph in you."
Grim set his napkin down. "Trust me... He was the far better man."
"I cannot speak to that" She said. "What I can speak to is the current king... Raymond is bleeding Pershara dry with his greed. In you at least I sense an honest man."
Grim straightened his shoulders and caught himself as the boat swayed in a gentle wave. "There are those of us in Pershara who feel Raymond's depravities can no longer be tolerated. I have prayed for God to show me another path, but I'm afraid sometimes men of stout purpose must take arms in defense of what is right and just."
"The Island of Grinley is aware to some limited degree of what is happening. My mission is in part to learn more."
"In part, Princess?"
"My friends call me JayDee. Yes in part. There is word of factions using counterfeit Royal Blue Birds. I'm to verify and p
ut a stop to it."
Grim looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Ah yes... Well, JayDee... About those birds..."
"I'm sure your need was genuine but you will of course be required to compensate the crown or his duly appointed representative."
"And what sort of compensation are we talking about?" Grim asked suspiciously.
JayDee for her part blushed a deep red before answering... "Oh, I'm sure we will come up with something."
***
Altana was moments from departing for the capital when she felt the strong use of magic within the castle. Every magic has its own flavor and the taste of this magic was one she was well familiar with. Without a word to her servants she stormed out of her chamber and headed towards the familiar source of the disruption. She arrived at a side gate just as she saw her father and a small party of others exit. The elite priests and guards had attempted to stop them but they had had no chance against a wizard of the First Circle, especially one of Zebendon's strength. She did not blame them for failing. She did not blame them but she would of course punish them most severely anyway.
She hastily flung a massive energy bolt in their direction while yelling "Oh father... You have been a bad boy... What shall we do?"
Bendon had already erected a shield that easily deflected her attack. The wall where it struck, however, was shattered in an explosion that killed ten of her soldiers. She did not pause. The baby in her womb fought her for strength and briefly she regretted begetting the child. Bendon was a formidable adversary even when she was not distracted.
The group managed to make their way to the edge of the woods surrounding this side of Mortia Castle. She did not feel GrimHolden in their midst but the fact that they were here meant that somehow they must have aided in his escape. She would have her answers so she pursued as fast as her pregnancy would allow her.
***
Bendon hurried the small group along. "We have to get to the portal pads... It won't take her long to catch up."
"'Her?' I take it is Altana your daughter" Gawin said breathily as they raced for the portal Tommy was guarding.
"The very one lad" Bendon huffed.
Surprisingly Sergeant Tolivier had the least trouble of any of them keeping up despite his more portly dimensions. He was the first to get to Tommy and step through to Jewel, Kindra and Robert. Tep followed a second later.
Just as Gawin reached the stone platform that Bendon and the others had so carefully laid many months ago... Laid so the party could travel instantly between Mortia and the lake where Jewel was in space... A powerful blast of raw energy enveloped the shield Bendon had erected around them.
As he stumbled through the device he heard Bendon yelling after him...
"USE ROBERT'S DEVICE... I'LL HOLD HER OFF AS LONG AS I CAN!"
In another instant he was standing on a matching portal stone just inside the work shed they had rented in South Port. Sergeant Tolivier, Tep, Tommy and Robert stood protectively in front of Jewel, Kindra and a little bundle in Jewel's arms.
He stepped forward hesitantly. "Is that..." Gawin began but couldn't finish on account of a knot in his throat.
"It is" Jewel said proudly. "You are a father."
"I don't mean to ruin the moment but we have a very nasty sorcerous on the other side of that portal. Shouldn't we be doing something?" Tommy asked.
Gawin'sface transformed into one of alarm. "Bendon said to use Robert's device... That he would buy us the time we needed to use it."
"We anticipated that when Tommy warned us something was happening. Where's Grim? Is he holding off Altana with Bendon?" Robert said as he motioned Tep forward to the portal machine.
"Not exactly" Gawin admitted as he started helping Robert send members of the team through to Thioden. "By the time we got there he had already escaped."
Sergeant Tolivier and Tommy stepped through next.
Robert grabbed Kindra's hand and started to lead her towards the portal. Suddenly the light that had been streaming in the windows began to darken and take on a sickly yellow-green tinge. There was a general sense of dread.
Jewel had learned to read the signs. The Dark-kin were coming. Somehow Altana must have broken through Bendon's defenses. Robert pulled Kindra through the portal with him. In the process he jarred the cradle that held his black sword in the device.
“We've run out of time!”Jewel warned as the howling started. The shadows were lengthening and the smell of burnt sulfur made her eyes water.
“Then it is time to leave.”Gawin said as he adjusted Robert’s sword in the cradle.“We have to step through the portal... Now!"
“You know I hate this thing, pencil-boy.”Jewel said holding her daughter closer to her. The howling was intense. A rumbling was causing the structure to tremble. Jewel watched it warily. It didn’t look like it could take much more.
Gawin made a grunting sound as the sword finally fell back in place. Unfortunately, at that very moment several other things happened. None of which were particularly good.
The ground heaved, knocking Jewel into Gawin. The earth cracked and Dark-sons began pouring into the room from the breaks in the earth. Finally and perhaps most concerning... Altana appeared.
Gawin steadied Jewel and grabbed his staff with one hand while reaching for Jewel. Jewel took in the hordes of dark sons and the smiling Altana and knew that there was little chance of survival if they stayed. As much as she loathed the spatial and temporal device, it was their only way out.“Time for running, dear.”She shoved their daughter into Gawin’s arms and pushed him toward the portal.
“NO!”Altana screamed and something flashed out of her hand. Gawin grunted and he staggered into the sword cradle. A dagger buried in his leg. The ground rolled again and pieces of the roof fell. Gawin saw it coming just in time and hunched his back to keep his child safe. He took a step and his weakened leg gave out and he tumbled into the portal. As he went he saw that the sword was not where he had set it.
“The sword!”he shouted as he fell.
Instinctively Jewel's dragon-infused heritage knew what to do and from her hands golden flames sprang forward to devour the evil before it. The Dark-kin that touched the flames instantly dissolved. Jewel heard Gawin’s shout and saw him disappear.
“FOOL!”Altana raged. She glared at Jewel and Jewel could feel the power building. Jewel flicked her wrist and a magical shield appeared. It wouldn’t hold, Jewel knew. It was already trembling as she turned away. The sword had shifted position again. She slid the sword back to where she thought it had been positioned when Gawin fell through. All the while she muttered about how technology always seemed to fail when one needed it most. Jewel felt her shield begin to fail and dove for the portal.
She didn’t see that the elemental forces raging in the room had moved the sword yet again…
***
19 years before present... Arathin (Marlhema)
After watching Ainara run into the trees, Seith launched back into the sky. His back muscles screamed in agony, but at least he could still fly. His veins burned with the searean’s poison. The same poison that had Cursed Sieth’s attacker in the first place. Somehow. Besides causing excruciating pain that made it hard for a shapeshifter to concentrate on his current form, it seemed to not do anything to him. He acknowledged the pain and then pushed it away, so it couldn’t distract him anymore.
He had thought that he would have more time with his wife, Ainara. But the fates were not with him. He was running out of strength and the spell he needed to cast was complex and required vast amounts of power. Soothing the wound on her arm had been all he could spare. It had caused physical pain not to heal her completely. But life had given him a choice: she could suffer a little now and heal on her own or the Enemy could find her and kill her.
There wasn’t really a choice.
An eagle’s shriek mixed with wind whistling under an eave that was a searean bre’s call sounded. No more thinking time. Now it was all action.
Seith led the
seareanaround the valley bowl. As he flew he gathered the well of power that thrived inside him. It was alarmingly less than its usual self, but it would be enough. It had to be… He dove straight down into the forest near the road. Seith landed and shifted simultaneously. He clasped his hand over the jewel star that hung about his neck and poured everything he had into it. First his power to shield his wife and child in the village. Then he poured his memories into it in the faint hope that perhaps his child would find it. Seith stared up at the seareancoming down toward him. He yanked the star from his neck. He felt naked and half dead. Once he set it off…Oh Ainara, may you live long. He smiled viciously at the descending searean.“I hope you don’t mind a little light.”he whispered.
On the inside of the valley, Ainara felt tremors of power building along the magical weave. She paused and looked up at the valley’s ridge. A flare of blue light that nearly blinded her shot high into the sky. And it was then when she saw himlunging toward her. She tried ducking away, but the red eyed man still raked her side with long claw like nails…
Chapter Twelve- Pershara City
The leaders of Thomas GrimHolden’s army sat about the table and discussed the situation of Pershara city. The cruelty of King Raymond knew no bounds. As soon as the coward learned of the army outside his gates, he took all the food into the palace. The rest of the city was left to fend for itself…without food. Only those he perceived as loyal were fed. And those were nobles. The rest were left to fight amongst themselves.
“That toad is not just a coward, but an idiot.”Perela muttered scathingly. If the despot king had heard her tone of voice he would have soiled himself. Duncan thought. “He is going to have riots in the streets.”Perela continued.
The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds Page 9