She stopped long enough to put a magic shield around herself, hoping it might stop the energy draining of the wights. Her legs hurt with every step, and she was finding it harder and harder to move quickly.
The stairs down into the dungeon were daunting and when she emerged, the prisoner in the cage gasped, “You’re alive!”
Kyrin moved as fast as she could and untied the Priest from the table. The shadow elf stood slowly and gathered his robes before the two of them set off. She used his experience as an Assassin to guide them from shadow to shadow.
Only twice did she have to destroy more Nosata, and each time she grew weaker. She was able to pry her flail from the hands of one of the dead, and the weight of it in her hand was somewhat comforting. Her left arm hung uselessly at her side as they crouched low and looked toward the front gates of the Nosata’s compound. The wights and revenants were still there, and en masse.
“Can you get us past them?” she whispered.
He shook his head, “Undead see through my advantages.”
“Ok, here’s the plan. I’m going to distract them with a split image and see if I can get them to run off. We need to make it to the other side of Kyrstalis. The portal for Paramide is in the cemetery, and we just pray to Daemionis that there’s a portal key there.”
He nodded, “If you die on this mission… I will sacrifice for you.”
She smiled and then shut her eyes and began to chant. When her soul split it caused some pain, and her image flickered weakly above the water. Seeing that the undead hadn’t noticed the figure, the Priest began throwing tiny pebbles into the water to draw their attentions.
The hiss of the wight let them know her image had been seen. When the undead began to lurch toward the water’s edge, Kyrin and the Priest took off. She couldn’t use her boots of speed, or she would leave the Priest behind, but he spotted the perfect hiding spot, and she was able to break the spell and reattach her soul just as one of the undead had reached it.
There were screams of anger from the revenants when her image disappeared.
The Priest nodded to Kyrin and she moved behind him, careful to step only where he stepped and to pay attention to his every move, a trick Creteloc had taught her. The Assassin was good, and he even had time to poison one of the Dieb Consortium before they made their way to the cemetery.
Kyrin’s pain was becoming worse, and she was bathed in sweat.
“Is there a key?” he asked, glancing around a tomb in the cemetery.
She nodded, “If you can grab it, I’ll lead you into the portal. It’s that stick lying up against the wall.”
He nodded when he saw it and then made a break for it.
“Hey!” someone shouted when he ran across the cemetery. Kyrin saw two of the Clemency heading toward him, so she stood and mustered the energy to hit each with a ball of fire before she grabbed the Priest by the collar and hauled him through the portal.
Once on the other side, she collapsed and fell unconscious. When she regained consciousness, it was dark in Paramide and no one was around. The Priest had left her at the portal, as soon as he was back in his own dimension. Lucky not to have been killed by stray Assassins, she sat up and tried to nurse her wounds, so she could get back to Paragoy.
When she tried to pull her left arm back into the socket, the pain was unbearable, and she started to black out. Deciding to just leave it for now, she tied it to her side with a strip of rope she kept in her backpack.
Kyrin sat down and ate a few apples, which helped her feel better immediately. The pain in her jaw to eat was only tolerated because of the intense hunger she felt. Her right arm seemed fine, but her legs were wobbly and lacking strength. She had a long way to go and still had to make it through Kyrstalis before she came even close to Paragoy.
She’d been gone for just over five weeks, but already missed it. Or missed him, she thought. Glancing in a mirror she stole off of a dead gnome in the plane of sun, she looked over her face. She was right about the damage, and was sure her nose and jaw were both broken.
Kyrin looked around with her one good eye and then steadied herself on the portal before slipping back into Kyrstalis. The Clemency Consortium had given up on finding her, and the cemetery was empty and quiet.
She hobbled across the city, sticking to the back streets, and was completely focused on returning to Alric. She no longer thought of the food or the water in Paragoy, but wanted to feel his arms and see his face.
It took extra time to get to the dimension outside of Paragoy because both legs were still causing pain to shoot into her back, and the slightest movement jostled her injured arm. Even though it was tied tightly to her side, it sent pain up through her chest.
Kyrin fell through the portal and into Paragoy. The high mountain portal was now surrounded in snow, and the wind was blowing mercilessly. As she looked down onto the Boriana ruins, her heart sunk. She wasn’t sure how to crawl down there with only one arm and her legs in so much pain.
She decided her best bet was to freeze her injured limbs in the snow and then try to make it down the cliff without falling. The snow actually felt good against her dislocated shoulder, and once she’d numbed her arm and legs, she inched down on to the first foothold.
The pain intensified, but she was committed now and couldn’t get back up if she wanted to. Down was her only option, and she held on for dear life with her one good hand, hoping not to fall the rest of the way.
Kyrin wasn’t sure how far down she was, but she couldn’t take much more.
“I got you,” someone said, and she felt strong arms pull her off of the wall and gently lay her down on the snow. She looked up into the face of one of the Knights of Valhara.
“We have to get her to the Priests,” another said as he wrapped a blanket around her.
“The horses will be the most painful, but the fastest.”
“Horse,” she groaned, and then leaned her head against the shoulder of the Knight that picked her up. The sway of the horse made her entire body hurt, and she held onto the Knight as she asked Daemionis why he didn’t help her.
The Knight stopped quickly outside of the temple and Saith met him, “We have Kyrin.”
Saith nodded and motioned him forward. The Knight laid Kyrin down on the table and Saith immediately began summoning the blessings to heal her. He frowned when the wounds didn’t heal, and then he called for more of the Priests.
By the time Alric arrived, the Priests were frantically trying to figure out why they couldn’t heal her. She was no longer moaning in pain because the warmth of the room and being able to lie down on the table was already helping.
“What’s wrong?” Alric asked, looking over her wounds.
“We cannot heal her,” Saith told him.
“Sithias?” Alric asked toward the back of the temple. When the god didn’t answer, Alric turned to the Priests, “Can you still help her?”
“Yes, but it will take time.”
“Do what you can. I’ll go find out why Sithias is refusing these blessings.”
Alric stepped into the back of the temple and dropped his sword by the door. He hit his knees and fought to calm his voice, “Sithias, why aren’t you helping her?”
Sithias appeared and looked down at him, “She was injured doing the deeds of a demon. He has forsaken her after this dangerous mission, and I cannot intervene.”
“What do you mean he’s forsaken her?”
“It’s common for the evils. Once she saved the Priest, she collapsed at the portal, and he left her there to die and returned to his god. Daemionis didn’t even come to her aid, even though she sustained the injuries on a mission to retrieve his Priest.”
“Why does he have followers?” Alric asked, confused.
“Fear. I cannot step in when a god has forsaken their own. She will heal with time, and it may help clear her mind about the god she follows,” Sithias told him.
“Can you block him from entering Paragoy?”
“Not wh
ile she is here.”
Alric sprang to his feet when Kyrin’s screams pierced through the quiet temple. Sithias excused him and he ran out, “What happened!?”
Saith was bandaging a wound on her wrist, “We had to re-set her shoulder. It’s been long enough the swelling got in the way and made it more painful.”
“Is there anything we cannot fix?”
“If we cannot fix it, then it will eventually fix itself.”
“I told you I’d be back,” Kyrin said from the table.
Alric touched her arm lightly, “I’d prefer if you would return in one piece.”
“Thank you for the Knights.”
“I figured you’d come back there.”
“Drink this,” one of the Priests told her. He held out a vial and put it to her lips, but she turned away.
“No”
“What is it?” Alric asked.
“It will help the pain and make her sleep.”
“Take it, Kyrin.”
“No,” she said again. Kyrin knew better than to take a potion from someone she didn’t trust. Just because Alric trusted the Priests, she didn’t.
“Why won’t you take it?” Alric asked, kneeling down to her level.
She just shook her head.
He sighed, “We’re going to move you to a bed here in the temple ok?”
“Floor”
“I want you to try a bed.”
She nodded and then Alric picked her up gently and laid her down in one of the back rooms. The fire was roaring, and he watched as her eyes slowly slid shut.
***
Kyrin sat up suddenly when she felt she was being watched. Her shoulder screamed at the movement, but she instinctively reached for her flail anyway. The day after her return to Paragoy she had been moved back to the castle, and into the Lady’s quarters. She was on day 9 of her recovery and was feeling stronger each day.
“Good morning,” Alric said from beside her bed in the Lady’s chamber. “Are you going to attack?”
She yawned and then shook her head, “What are you doing in here?”
“I came to see if you were going to get up today.”
She looked over at the window and saw that the sun was high in the sky, “That’s why I hate beds!”
“Because you sleep well in them?”
“It’s hard to defend yourself or know if you’re being watched if you’re too deep asleep.”
“You’re too jumpy. As a Holy Knight, I’m always on guard, but my body needs rest to heal, so I allow that. I still have a reaction time if attacked.”
“You lose too much time waking up.”
“A second, at best.”
“That’s all it’d take.”
“How’s the shoulder?”
“Not too bad.”
Alric looked over her and sighed. She still had signs of the fight with the Nosata, and though it didn’t bother her, the injuries infuriated him.
He sat back and watched as she slowly got out of bed. He learned quickly that she didn’t accept help unless it was vitally necessary.
She sat down on the bed, facing him, “It seems to me, you want to talk about something. I’m thinking you want to start that training again.”
“No, I decided you don’t need to learn how to be proper. You’re fine the way you are.”
She frowned slightly, “But I don’t fit in.”
“Do you want to?”
“Not really. You seemed to want me to though.”
“I did, but then it dawned on me that there’s no reason you should conform to the norms of Paragoy.”
“So what is it you want to talk about?”
“Daemionis”
Her eyebrows rose, “Ok.”
“His Priest abandoned you the second you rescued him.”
“So?”
“Don’t you think after almost dying saving him, that he could at least help you?”
“Why should he?”
“Common courtesy.”
“Yeah, not a strong suit of Daemionis’ followers.”
“Then why didn’t Daemionis help you?”
“I suspect he was mad that I was that injured.”
“It wasn’t your fault!”
“Yes, it was. I messed up with my execution of getting into the Nosata’s compound. I’m sure he knows that and figured I didn’t deserve help.”
“That’s stupid! As your god he should have helped you. You’d just saved his Priest, and it shouldn’t matter how.”
She sighed, “Daemionis isn’t like that.”
“Then why follow him? Gods protect their followers and offer them rewards for loyalty. Yours punishes for no reason and often neglects you.”
“Of course he does! It makes us stronger.”
“Why follow him? What benefit does he have?”
She thought about her answer, trying to decide what she could tell him and what would make Daemionis mad. She finally decided to explain most of it, “When I escaped from the Shadowmere, I was 11-years-old.”
“Right”
“I didn’t even know what a dimension was when I first shifted. What I did know was that I’d escaped out of where the Consortiums were though, and into a dark place full of sounds and shadows. I’ll admit it. I was terrified.”
“Of course you were! You were on your own at 11.”
“I was on my own at 6, if we’re going to be honest.”
“True, go on.”
“I was a fighter by then, but had no idea how to survive out on my own. So I did something stupid and fell asleep…”
“That’s not stupid. That's necessary.”
“Creteloc found me.”
“You’re lucky.”
Kyrin smiled, “She decided that I was too pretty to kill herself, and decided to offer me up to Daemionis as a sacrifice instead.”
“Or not…”
“He scared me to death, and my first instinct was to cast at him. So I did. The sacrifice stopped immediately, and I was given some food and turned over to Creteloc to be trained. Daemionis realized how ignorant I was to the ways of the land, and knew I wouldn’t make it without help.”
“So he kept you alive because of your magic.”
“Yes. Creteloc took me in and taught me the ways of Daemionis, and he offered my life in exchange for devotion. After a year, I set out again with the knowledge Creteloc gave me and the power of Daemionis behind me.”
“He’s using you.”
“Daemionis uses everyone.”
“But why follow him now? You don’t need his help.”
“He’s my god, what more reason do I need?”
“You need to find one more suitable for you. Your god shouldn’t send you on impossible missions alone. You can’t tell me he doesn’t have some Assassin or rogue running around that could have helped you.”
“I didn’t need help.”
“From the looks of your injuries, you could have.”
“It’s my fault. I got in the situation to be drawn and quartered though.”
“No it’s not! Your god is using you for your abilities, and he’s going to kill you doing such.”
She stiffened, “I’m not going to sit here and let you bash Daemionis!”
He put his hands out, “Calm down, I’ll stop. I just worry that you may be needlessly in pain.”
“I don’t mind pain, and I will do whatever he asks me to.”
“I know, and I’ll drop it.”
Kyrin leaned back against the headboard, “So no more training at all?”
“Nope, none.”
“We’ll see.”
“Do you want it?”
“No”
“You just don’t want to dress like a woman.”
Alric stood suddenly and looked out the window when the mountain’s battle alarm went off.
“You get attacked a lot,” Kyrin said from the bed.
“Crows”
“You’re getting attacked by a bird?”
“Mi
llions of them,” he said, and ran out of the room.
“I’m not wiping out a million birds,” Kyrin mumbled to herself before getting up to look out the window. The entire eastern sky was completely black. What looked like a cloud was moving toward them, “Damn, that’s a lot of angry birds.”
“Kyrin!” one of the Knights called out.
She slowly walked to the door and peeked out, “What?”
“We’re on battle alert.”
“For birds?”
“Erianah’s birds.”
She shrugged, “Ok, well, have fun.”
“You aren’t going to fight?” he asked, frowning.
“Why would I?”
“Valhara is under attack!”
“By birds,” she reminded him.
“Millions of war birds.”
She looked at her window, “My window’s shut. I’m good.”
He shook his head and ran down the stairs.
“Wait! Who’s Erianah?” she called after him, but he was already gone.
Kyrin went back to the window and looked out. The crows were getting closer and had forced the nearby mountains into shadow. She started to get leery when she saw the size of the coming cloud, so figured it’d be best to at least be ready to fight.
It was hard to get her clothes on with one arm, but she finally managed and then slipped the sling on over her black leather vest. Once her flail was tucked in at her side, she started to tie her hair back, but heard a loud thud against the window.
She jerked and looked at the window and saw birds slamming into it, “What in god’s name…”
A wolf howling stopped her curiosity, and she turned and ran for the door when another answered. She took the stairs two at a time and appeared out in front of the castle where the Knights had gathered. They had their swords drawn and were looking up at the sky as millions of black crows swirled above them.
“They’re coming in from the north!” someone shouted, and Kyrin looked toward the northern mountains. A solid army of gray wolves was walking toward them. Their hackles were raised, and they were snarling.
Kyrin ran toward them, but Alric grabbed her arm, “No! You can’t fight those alone.”
Dimension Shifter Page 20