A big figure crouched down near him. “Damn,” a deep gravelly voice said. He realized it was being said to someone else, and looked around toward the sound. “How does the kid do it? We leave him behind, and he still makes trouble.”
Tal, a blood-streaked mess, his armor torn and gashed was leaned down looking at Corim. Despite the fearsome injuries, he seemed little affected.
Willowy Terra stood behind Tal and put a hand on his shoulder. Silver-haired Senalloy dropped to her knees and began examining Corim with calm expertise.
“He’ll be okay,” Tal determined before Senalloy’s diagnosis. “Just some burns and broken bones. Kid’s too tough to be killed by that stuff.” He looked over to Cassandra. “How’s little Vee?”
The gold woman nodded. “Just broken bones, organ bruising and loss of blood.”
“I’d have her on my team in a heartbeat,” Tal murmured with a shake of his head. “That whole thing with her clan is just messed up.” He scowled over at Vulcindra’s collapsed body. He turned to Bannor, and tilted his head. “Anyone tell you that you turned gold?”
Bannor let out a snort and coughed. “W-w-wasn’t time—time to be—choosy.”
Tal grinned. He looked over toward Sarai and Kalindinai where the Vatraena was kneeling. “Marna,” Tal asked. “Ain’t this the body of Daergon Rhajgon? One of the guys on your list?”
“He is,” Marna answered, looking up from her ministrations.
“Guess we won’t get much out of him now.”
“Actually,” the Vatraena said. “Before Garfang interrupted, I had already retrieved some vital intelligence. Bannor’s takeover of his body was non-disruptive, his memory encryption link stayed intact. We should get some significant data from him.”
“Yeah, Garfang,” Tal said. He looked back to Koass who was just starting to recover. “Boss, you think he lived through that? I mean whatever happened in there blew a chunk the size of Sharikaar out of that enclave.”
The advocate eternal pushed to his feet, he uprooted the sword Sharonsheen and held it out. Megan appeared at his side, took it and sheathed it over her back. Koass opened and closed his hands, as he did so the blackened flesh flaked away to be replaced by new, normal looking skin.
“It is possible,” the eternal said in his slow boom, his white glowing eyes going dim. “It would be foolish to rule it out. We used the weakening of the shields to pull Bannor out. He might have slipped out the same way.”
“That ain’t good,” Tal murmured. He focused back on Marna. “How’s the princess and Kal?”
The elder Kriar rubbed at her scratched face. “I’ve done what I can for them here. We need to get them to better facilities. Bannor stabilized them at a low threshold.”
“So, Boss, what’s the plan? Regroup or push on?”
Koass sighed, his echoing voice growing heavy. “There’s nothing to push on to. That enclave is no more. Bannor yanked their last gambit from their fingers. Even if the genemar was not destroyed by that blast, it will require preparation to find. We will pull back to Eternity’s heart and set up an infirmary there, regroup everyone from the Kul’Amaron as well. We’ll give Marna time to work the political angles now. Touching off that micro-star on the property of that councilor and the sighting of Garfang is definitely going to shake loose some support.” The advocate Eternal stepped around and bent down. Bannor realized it was King T’Evagduran on whose shoulder he placed a hand. “Jhaan, your family has shouldered this conflict from the start. Allow us to make it right.”
The elf lord bowed his head.
“Tal, Nethra, make preparations to move our operation back to Eternity’s Heart.”
Both Tal and the fire-haired eternal stepped away.
“Marna,” Koass said, his tone dropping. “I will make sure all the appropriate facilities are prepared before our arrival. With our axe raised to take off the snake’s head, there’s no telling which way they will strike.”
The Vatraena nodded. “Agreed.”
He turned to Gaea. “Domma, I hope you don’t mind being our guest for a while.”
Still at Bannor’s side, dark jewel eyes gleaming, Gaea smiled. “If I can be with my children, I’m satisfied.”
Around them the members of the assault team milled about getting ready to depart. There were a lot of them, Bannor realized, not just the thirty or so from the citadel. He noticed at least three score of valkyries milling around, gathering gear and guarding the area. He saw not only Idun, but Thor and Sif as well. Marna’s Kriar contingent had increased as well, with Eclipse and Quasar directing at least a two score of Kriar. Aarlen, Beia, Sindra, Drucilla, Cassin, and Annawen all seemed to be organizing and leading another group of towering warriors all wearing armor adorned with the Frielos falcon crest.
He never imagined that his act of desperation and retaliation would touch off the release of such an amazing juggernaut of fighting power. Eternals, gods, immorts, savants and Kriar all arrayed together with a single purpose.
Mecha that were part of the Kriar contingent with the team rolled up, and he, Sarai, and the others were gently placed on litters.
In a few breaths, the procession began filing through a huge portal formed by Nethra.
As the icy caress of the gateway pulsed across his burned flesh, he felt himself drift off.
***
Bannor awoke an indeterminate time later. The pain of his burns no longer troubled him. He lay in a totally unfamiliar place, on a simple bed with clean linens. The Daergon armor had been stripped off him and he wore the simple close-fitting black stocking the Kriar wore as clothes. The bed sat in an area three paces square cordoned off by curtains. From the sound and feel, this section was one of many in a large ward. A diffuse white light provided a shadowy illumination.
His immediate concern was for Sarai and his heart didn’t even have time to pick up speed before he recognized she was in the bed next to his. His wife-to-be’s face was composed, her silvery hair running in strands across her smooth features. Her chest rose and fell in the slow deep breaths of deep slumber.
He reached out to touch her and stopped as he saw a gold hand stretch out. He frowned, that was not how he wanted to wake her up. After what she’d been through, that shock she could live without.
It was satisfying enough to simply look at her and know she was out of danger. He sighed in relief. Safe. The sight of it made his chest ache and his eyes burn.
It took him a while to pull his gaze away from her and take an interest in his surroundings. The air had a strange cinnamon scent to it, and was so thick with Eternity’s energies that his skin tingled. Voices murmured a short distance away.
A set of breeches had been laid across a chair at the bedside. He slipped out of the blankets, and pulled them on over the paper thin body stocking.
Rubbing his chest he pushed through the curtains toward the voices. The ward was even bigger than he surmised, with more than fifty curtained off alcoves on either side of the long chamber.
Wren, Daena, Ziedra, Euriel, and Idun stood together in a small group speaking in hushed voices. They had obviously cleaned and washed. They all wore their casual clothes instead of armor and their hair was down.
They weren’t the only group, small gatherings of Kriar, valkyries, and other allies stood together near different sections.
Wren’s group noticed him, all of them tensing for an instant before relaxing.
“Bannor,” Wren said, putting a hand to her chest. “Sorry, not used to you looking like that.”
He looked down at himself and back up at her. “Is this guy ugly? I have no idea. Looking in a mirror was pretty low on my list of priorities.”
“You…” Daena drew the word out, obviously looking for the appropriate response.
“Mean looking,” Euriel determined, giving her a blonde hair a flip.
“Aye,” Idun put in with a nod. “A fellow to steer clear of to be sure.”
“Sarai seems okay,” he said. “How’s Kalindinai?”
“The King, Rye and Jan are in with her,” Daena said with concerned look. The girl moved her chin toward the alcove next to his and fingered her auburn hair. “She took more of a hit because she was the one trying to make a defense. If she hadn’t been a Shael Dal, she would have died.”
“She’s out of danger though?”
Daena made a pained face, the green glow of her eyes dimming. “For the most part…”
“It was close,” Ziedra added.
He nodded. “I knew I needed to hurry.” He paused and eyed Wren and then Daena. “You two seem okay.”
Wren put a hand to her chest. “These ascendant bodies are like tree stumps. I feel like an idiot though. I could have gone into battle shape and the blast would have hurt, but it wouldn’t have knocked me out.”
“Me too,” Daena said, face going grim. “We both fouled up. We lost Bhaal because we weren’t thinking.”
“Don’t beat yourselves up,” he responded. “It happened really fast. What about Vera? Is she okay?”
“She’ll mend,” Wren answered with a frown. “Physically anyway. That thing with Vulcindra,” she let out a growl. “Damn that vindictive witch. I think the disappointment messed Vera up even more than before. I feel like invoking the soul biter on Vulcindra just to teach her a lesson.”
“Wren, don’t even joke about that,” Euriel snapped. “That creature is one our family would be wise to avoid the gaze of.”
“Vera is amazing,” he murmured. “I feel bad. I helped her as much as I could.”
“Oh hush, you helped plenty,” Wren said, hands on hips. “What happened? How did Vulcindra interfere?”
He sighed. “We got into a drawn out fight with a higher ranked Daergon, and he was scared of us.”
“Well, yeah,” Daena laughed. “What sane creature wouldn’t be?”
Bannor shrugged. “He went full defensive, and time was running out. She was working on making an opening and we just never got the chance because Vulcindra sneaked in and put him down.” He shook his head. “Vera did something that maybe only a few other people could even come close to doing and because it wasn’t perfect, it’s not a success. I wish I could say she wouldn’t be stubborn about it… but… that’s the way she feels.”
“Trust me,” Wren growled. “Vulcindra knew. It was just her way of getting back at Kalindinai.”
“Well, the one it hurts is Vera,” he said.
“There’s more to it,” Euriel said. “If Kal got Vera over this honor thing, the Felspars would be ecstatic with her. It would be a huge win. It was Vulcindra’s slap for being disrespected.”
“Kalindinai was right not to trust her,” he said. “I just don’t know how we can change Vera’s mind. She was so angry, I was in the sword and it felt like getting cooked.”
“She got angry?” Wren said, blue eyes going wide.
“Blood rage mad,” he said. “She stopped herself and focused back on the mission. She has amazing control.”
“Too much control,” Idun murmured.
“I think Gaea may change her mind,” Ziedra said, looking thoughtful. “I overheard her say something to Cassandra and Koass. I think what Kalindinai proposed to Vera was something Gaea had suggested.”
“I hope so,” he said. “Vera deserves something for all her dedication.” He did a slow turn, seeing no one else familiar around. “Sooo, any thoughts on how long it might take to get back in a body that won’t give Sarai nightmares?”
“All the healers are working on injuries and special cases,” Euriel offered. “I’m thinking a bell or so. Marna had a lot of business to take care of and told us to make sure you don’t leave that body until after she had a chance to examine you again.”
“Aye, there was another strange thing,” Idun said, rubbing her chin. “Gaea said that you had not killed this fellow, and that you should wait until she did something. I—am—perplexed. Pray, how is that possible?”
He frowned. He was both relieved and concerned. The act of killing Rhajgon in order to save Sarai and Kalindinai had not sat well with him at all. He hadn’t destroyed the Kriar’s spirit core. He’d merely pulled it free to get it out of his way. “I’m not sure,” he answered Idun’s question. “I suppose since I didn’t destroy his spirit core that maybe he was preserved somehow.”
Wren clapped her hands. “That’s it. He’s in your hair.”
His hearts jumped a beat. “What?”
“She’s talking about that weird thing when people die around savants,” Ziedra said. “The nola gathers in the spirit and preserves it.” The woman rocked her head back as she speculated. “If you just kind of shoved the guy’s spirit core aside and went inside him, his spirit was probably sublimated.” She pursed her lips. “It usually only happens with someone you’re close to, but I suppose in this case, your nola and his spirit probably touched.”
“Ewww!” Daena let out with a grimace. “Nobody ever told me that! Dead people stick to us? Ghosts follow us around after people die. That’s gross!”
“It’s different than that,” Wren said in quiet subdued voice. “It can be…” She let out a breath. “Unpleasant.”
“You still have Grahm with you?” Bannor asked her.
Wren closed her eyes. She pressed her lips together. “I haven’t dreamed him in a while…” Her voice trailed off.
“Grahm?” Daena said with a furrowed brow. “You mean the guy you ran around with when you were a guilder? The painter guy Ziedra told me about?”
Wren nodded.
The girl’s green eyes were wide. “Whoa.”
Idun raised a finger. “It was that spirit capturing phenomena that allowed me to restore Sarai after Bannor was forced to kill Hecate while she occupied Sarai’s body.” The goddess tilted her head and eyed Bannor. “Vanidaar’s quick thinking to use Melandri’s body to preserve Sarai’s spirit is what saved her life.”
He always wondered how Idun had managed that particular feat but there never had been an occasion or a time that seemed appropriate to ask. Understandably, Sarai was still touchy about it. Moons later, the death of Meliandri remained a taboo subject. Though Kalindinai had never asked what happened to the elf healer’s body, Bannor suspected she knew what transpired.
“Yes, so even though it’s ‘gross’, it’s more of a privilege unique to savants,” Wren said, raising her chin. “Bannor found out he still had his brother with him.”
He blinked. It was still disquieting to think about it. He nodded. “Yes. That reminds me,” he said. “Did I tell you that when I was in your body that one time, that Grahm and my brother Rammal got together somehow in my dream? They seemed like they were plotting something.”
Wren rose up to her toes and her voice cracked. “What? No, you didn’t tell me!”
He pushed out his lip. “Oh. Well, a lot was happening at the time.”
Daena looked sidelong at Wren. “Spirits… plotting? Uh, like what—a body rebellion?”
“I—don’t—know…” Wren’s voice trailed off.
Euriel folded her arms and stared between the two of them. “I swear you two, it’s always something else.”
Both of them blinked at her.
He let out another sigh. Compared to other things going on, that was trivial. There were much more important things to address. “Think I should look in on Matradomma?”
Wren put a hand on his arm. “Let me look in with you so you don’t cause anyone to jump out of their skin.” She pulled her hand back and rubbed her fingers together. “How did you do that anyway?”
“What?”
“That.” She tapped his arm which clunked like metal. “Graft a shaladen into yourself. Everybody that saw it, even the eternals, were making noises.”
He rubbed the arm. “Uh, desperation I guess. When Sarai needs me, I just do whatever I need to do.”
The blonde savant smiled. She walked over to the other cubical and peeked through the curtain. She whispered something then gestured to Bannor.
He stepped up and looked in. King Jhaan, Ryelle, and Janai were all at Kalindinai’s bedside. The Queen looked very pale, her dark hair standing out in bold contrast to her skin where strands fell across her face. She seemed deep asleep. The appearance of her threads was that of extreme exhaustion and weakness.
The King looked to him and nodded. Ryelle and Janai frowned a little, no doubt a bit disturbed by his appearance. They acknowledged him.
The three of them all nodded.
He drew back, feeling self conscious in this strange form with its odd sensations.
He put a hand on Wren’s arm. “Let’s find Marna and Gaea, I want out of this body as soon as possible.”
She put hands on hips. “Is there some hurry besides the obvious?”
“It’s not over, Wren. It won’t be until that genemar is found.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t destroyed?”
“No, I’m not sure,” he responded. “That’s why I want to find out for certain.”
“Well, I agree with you there.”
He frowned. “Wren, would you look in on Sarai and see if she’s awake? I don’t want to scare her.”
The blonde savant nodded, went to the other alcove and peeked in.
“Still asleep,” she reported after a few instants. “That trap really roughed her up. We should have been wearing the armor… there was a lot of things we should have been doing.”
“It’s done now,” he said with a frown. “I can’t help but feel it’s partially my fault.”
Wren frowned at him. “How’s that?”
“I went and nearly got myself killed—again. For a while there, everyone thought I had died. It messed everyone up—including you—that’s why you didn’t go on the counter offensive, right?”
Wren frowned. She met his eyes for a moment then looked away. She rubbed a hand through her golden hair. “I was tired—really, really tired.” She pursed her lips. “Sarai was in a lot of pain, and so was Kalindinai and Janai, I couldn’t leave them like that. Neither could Daena.”
He looked at her for a moment, then turned his attention elsewhere. Sometimes there were disadvantages to the telepathic powers granted by the shaladens. The twinge of hurt that he caught was more than enough. He felt humbled to know that he had come to mean that much to her even though they were only friends.
Reality's Plaything 5: The Infinity Annihilator Page 52