The Fallen One

by Lexy Wolfe

  "What happened?" Nolyn asked as he and Marcus join them.

  "I do not know. None of us did anything, and I did not sense anything." She bit her lip. "Unless my lack of sight—"

  Nolyn put his hand on her shoulder, shaking lightly. "It is not your fault," he told her. Tugging off his glove, he pressed his fingers against Valerian's neck. "Marcus. Run ahead and find Tobias. We'll meet you."

  Rockspar rose to her feet, drawing her sword so quickly the boy paled and took a half step back. "We do not know what attacked the Unsvet Guardian. I will accompany you."

  "Glad you are on our side, Swordanzen," Marcus stated fervently. Rockspar almost smiled, putting a hand to his shoulder before the two started running.

  Nolyn grunted as he got Valerian on his back. Kiya stayed near as the remaining Swordanzen took various positions to protect the three in the middle. Halfway back, the Vodani man began rousing. Setting the groggy man down, Nolyn studied the man's sickly appearance. "You back with us, Valerian?" Eyes shut tightly, the Unsvet nodded. Without warning, he rolled to his side and retched over the side of the bridge. When he finished, he rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand, leaving a thin trail of blood on the light colored glove.

  "I… I did not know snow could do that," Kiya said in a small voice.

  Valerian blinked, staring at her blearily before he managed a weak, reassuring smile. "Wasn't the snow. Or being carried." He coughed, wheezing a little as his eyes rolled closed and head fell back with utter weariness. "Goddess. Wasn't expecting that to happen."

  Kiya's eyes dilated as she reached up to touch the hair at his temple when his hood slipped back a little. Nolyn followed her hand and stared, seeing the hair at Valerian's temples had gone very white. "Oh, no… Unsvet!" Impulsively, she hugged him.

  He put his arm around her, patting her back. He met Nolyn's eyes. "The braces I put in the barrier were breeched." Swallowing hard, he said, "Not the direction I expected, though."

  "What do you mean?" Nolyn demanded, his expression hardened.

  Valerian did not respond immediately, letting his head fall back against the tree again. "Figured that thing… would try to get out. Set up the barrier to warn me… so could warn you." Struggling to get to his feet, Valerian gritted his teeth as he kept falling to his knees, finally accepting Nolyn and Seeker's support to stay on his feet. "Someone tried… to break my mending. Think… they might have. Head's swimming too much right now. Can't tell."

  "'Not the direction…?" Nolyn's felt a cold knot tighten in the pit of his stomach. "Something went in?" Valerian nodded minutely. The mage swore colorfully under his breath in Forentan. So much so, Valerian paused to arch an eyebrow, his expression impressed. "I doubt that is physically possible."

  "It will be when I get my hands on the bastard responsible," Nolyn growled. Valerian considered the mage, then nodded slightly, carefully putting one foot in front of the other to start walking.

  "Good," was all the comment the Vodani made.

  Chapter 64

  The kitchen bustled with activity as everyone prepared for the evening meal. Tobias peeked around the doorway, his eyes wide as he stared. "May I help you, Journeyman?" Kelafy asked. So engrossed in watching, he had not noticed her approach and jumped with a yelp. The headwoman grinned a bit. "Ana, would you get some calming tea for Journeyman Tobias, please. I think he is very much in need of some."

  The young woman looked up from her task of cutting vegetables. She smiled shyly at Tobias as she put the knife aside and dumped what she had completed in the large bowl. Wiping her hands, she bobbed a curtsey. "Yes, Miss Kelafy."

  Tobias scratched behind his ear, sheepish. "I am sorry to bother you, Miss Kelafy. I was trying to stay out of the way."

  "And we appreciate your efforts, Journeyman," the headwoman replied easily. She waved towards the room. "Unless you understand the ebb and flow, walking into the middle of this is begging to be run over or having something scalding spilled on you. You may be a healer, but the best healing is not needing to be healed to begin with."

  "I think you and my mother would get along wonderfully, Miss Kelafy," Tobias stated. "You are both very practical." He smiled when Ana approached, accepting the cup with a shy smile for her, their hands touching just a little longer than necessary. Her tan cheeks reddened with a blush.

  Kelafy smiled at the pair indulgently. "Perhaps if you promise to stay out from underfoot, you can sit by Ana while she finishes cutting vegetables."

  Ana dropped her eyes, her cheeks bright red. Tobias was no less red, but his infectious grin was huge. "I promise I will behave myself, Miss Kelafy. I do not want to miss out on any of your apple cakes tonight."

  Before they could move, the outer door in the common room slammed open and the dissonant shrieks of the drizzen and distinctive Desanti battlecry brought alarmed silence to the kitchen. When Marcus ran into the dining hall archway frame, leaning against it to keep himself upright, Kelafy went to his side at once, Tobias right behind her. "Apprentice, what—?"

  Pale from fright and flushed from the run in cold weather, Marcus swallowed several times. "I-I do not know what is happening. Unsvet… he is near death! And there are mercenaries around the house! Rockspar…" He shook his head, shaking in fright. "She came with… to protect me. Saw them… called the drizzen out. Master… right behind… with others."

  Tobias looked sharply towards the common room. "Someone is hurt," he muttered before he ran.

  "Journeyman!" Kelafy called, the woman scowling. She turned to the people in the kitchen. "Secure the house! Move!" All activity stopped and the servants scattered, some grabbing knives or fire pokers on the way. She grabbed a long stick from the corner, pausing when Ana grabbed her arm.

  "You cannot face warriors!" Ana cried in alarm. "They are too strong!"

  Kelafy's scowl eased some as she touched Ana's cheek. "I protect what I love, child. Go. Find somewhere safe to hide." The older woman removed Ana's hand from her arm, then turned to march out to see what was going on.

  < —- * —- >

  Outside was chaos. Rockspar kept three mercenaries at bay, the five drizzen harrying several other armed men. When Tobias got outside, he skidded to a stop, his eyes wide in shock and disbelief. "Those are the colors of the Zeridian temple! What—?" Suddenly, a man grabbed him by the arm, roughly dragging him away. "Kellan, what are you doing?" he demanded.

  The burly man growled, "Taking you back to the temple where you belong, Tobias."

  "Take your hands off that young man," Kelafy demanded. "How dare you attack a member of a Forentan house on Forentan soil, Sevmanan cad!"

  The hold on Tobias's arm was as merciless as it was unmoveable, the journeyman vainly trying to pull himself free. "This is not a Forentan concern, old woman."

  "No!" Ana ran out, beating on the man in a vain attempt to get him to release Tobias. "Let him go, you monster!" The man scowled and backhanded her, flinging her into the snow where she fell.

  Tobias's eyes went wide and he turned a dark look on his captor. With his free hand, he grabbed the large man by the throat. The man uttered a sound of pain before he collapsed. Tobias ran to Ana, gathering her in his arms. "Ana! Oh, Ana, you were so brave!" Ana looked up at him, torn between abject terror and nascent bravery. He looked up suddenly, eyes drawn across the way. "Oh, no!" He pushed himself to his feet and ran, skirting as much of the violence as he could.

  Without warning, a bolt of lightning struck the ground in the middle of the assorted battles, bringing the humans to a halt. Sharp whistles from the Desanti kept the drizzen from laying into newly vulnerable targets. Servants flooded out of the house and stables, grabbing the attackers and tying them. The ones with swords stood guard over them, looking ready to kill them, waiting for a single word from the Edai Magus. Their expressions mirrored the drizzen that bared their teeth at the prisoners.

  Kept on his feet by sheer will and the support of Kiya and Seeker, Valerian squinted at the scene. He grumbled. "Bother. Timing couldn'
t be more atrocious." He nearly collapsed at the abrupt cessation of pain when Tobias began healing him.

  Nolyn seethed in naked outrage. "What the hells is going on here? Does Sevmana want to start a war with Forenta? Because I can assure them, they will lose."

  Tobias could not raise his eyes to meet Nolyn's. "This-this is my fault, Edai Magus. They came for me."

  The Desanti traded bewildered expressions. Nolyn's scowl did not abate, but he tempered his expression of anger when talking to the young Sevmanan. "Explain quickly. Once word spreads, there will be demands for retribution for this insult to Forenta."

  Hesitating only a heartbeat, Tobias explained in a rush, "My father is Grand Master Arman of the Zeridian Temple of Healers in Surthan. When Valerian came to him asking for a master healer to travel with him, Father said no because he says that healers are not to leave the temple unless adequately guarded and maybe only the king might have enough guards to satisfy him.

  "But I knew it was bad to insult Fortress and I wanted to go see the world so I could become a master because most people who come to the temple are not hurt all that bad and it takes lots of healing of different types to grow strong enough to become a master so I…" He closed his eyes. "I ran away from the temple to travel with Valerian."

  Nolyn ground his teeth together for several heartbeats, hands clenching and unclenching as he focused on regaining control of his temper. "This is how the Zeridian temple deals with healers who leave? They attack anyone they consider obstacles and attempt to drag them away like kidnapping thugs?"

  "Father… Father probably did not believe I would listen to anyone who told me to come back. Since… since I would say it was my duty to, ah, to help Fortress. I am sure… he did not mean any insult to you, Edai Magus." Tobias looked at Kellan as the more burly servants dragged the man over.

  "Do not defend these actions!" Nolyn shouted. "There is no justification to come to my home and attack my people. I do not know how things are done in Sevmana, but this is Forenta." He leveled a dark look on Kellan as the servants pushed him to his knees. "I try to be a patient man, but an attack on my home, my people, and my guests goes beyond the pale. Give me one reason I should not cut you into small pieces and feed you to the lupine?"

  Kellan looked up at Nolyn without apology. "It was the savage bitch and those monsters that attacked us. Our orders were clear. Find Journeyman Healer Tobias, bring him home. Keep casualties to a minimum." He fixed a look on Tobias. "It is an internal matter to the Zeridian temple. It has nothing to do with you."

  Tobias grabbed Nolyn's arm when he raised it to backhand Kellan. Nolyn's scowl darkened more. "This is still Forentan soil. This is my home. You think you have some right to invade my home?" He pulled his arm out of Tobias's grip, grabbing the front of the man's tunic and jerking him forward, nose to nose with him. "My people could have died defending themselves and our home!"

  Kellan grunted at the rough handling. "No one would have been hurt if they simply let us get the boy and leave. He is not your responsibility."

  "But they are my responsibility, Kellan," Tobias stated. "They need me here."

  "You are a naïve boy! You are a journeyman from skill alone, but you do not know anything about the world outside." Kellan grunted when Nolyn shoved him back as he released him. "Who taught you the dark arts? The Grand Master will punish them for tainting his teachings."

  Tobias stared in disbelief for a heartbeat before he shouted back, his face flush with emotion. "So I am naïve. At least I am trying to fix being naïve by learning about the world! I can't do that locked away behind walls and kept all safe. Father is the one who doesn't know anything about the world outside! He sees only bad things and expects bad things, but we are supposed to go out and help people! Sometimes they can't get to us because they are hurt too badly!"

  Kellan got to his feet, hands still bound behind him. He towered over Tobias, glaring into the defiant young man's eyes. "You are only a journeyman, boy. You disobeyed the grand master of your temple. It is time you gave up this foolishness and return to the temple where you belong so you can learn to be a real healer."

  "I am a real healer!" Tobias shouted back. "I am more of a healer than Father ever was! He is the one who is betraying Zeridus's teachings! You can't hide away because you are afraid bad things might happen to you. Bad things happen to people all over. We are supposed to help them."

  "You mean like that pitiful slut that threw herself at me trying to make me let you go?" Kellan sneered. His hostile expression vanished when Tobias grabbed him again. This time, however, it was not pain the healer dealt. Blood began pouring from rents in the man's skin.

  Nolyn grabbed the journeyman's wrists, trying to pull him off. "Stop it, Tobias!"

  "No! Nothing I do is good enough. Nothing I say means a damned thing." Tears streaked down his face. "I am sick of being treated like I am useless. And I won't let anyone talk about Ana like that ever again!"

  "You are better than this, Journeyman. There is no reason to kill him. Not like this," Nolyn stated, but he could not budge the young man's hands as Kellan dropped to his knees.

  Ana ran to his other side, hugging his arm. "Please stop, Tobias," she begged. "Please. Don't become a murderer." As she hid her face against his arm, Tobias uttered a pained sound and released Kellan. The man choked, wheezing. The journeyman turned to Ana, grabbing her in a desperate, fierce hug.

  During the confusion of Tobias's confrontation with Kellan, one of the other mercenaries had gotten free of his bindings. He grabbed his sword, raising it to swing on one of the servants. Suddenly, a drizzen leapt at him, grabbing him by the sword hand with his vicious teeth and jerking him back. The mercenary desperately tried to fend the animal off, but soon he was surrounded by the desert beasts. His shriek did not drown out the sound of breaking bones or tearing fabric and flesh.

  Nolyn stared at them with a mixture of fascination and horror. "Storm and Skyfire weren't kidding about drizzen eating people." One of the drizzen put its foot over the man's sword, jerking up on the hilt until it snapped, its teeth grinding the metal as it chewed it. "Or that they eat… everything."

  Seeker grunted as he and Kiya guided the still weakened Unsvet Guardian back towards the house. "I hope they do not get sick from consuming such filth." The servants gave the drizzen a wide berth, nudging the remaining mercenaries towards the stables to lock them up for the time being. There was not even a hint of any of them making another attempt for freedom.

  Nolyn blinked at Seeker, then looked at the drizzen, grimacing when he caught sight of what was left of the dead man. "Swordanzen Pacer, would you escort Chani to the Magus Academy once I write up a message to the Se'edai Magus?" The Swordanzen man put his fist over his heart and bowed crisply in agreement to the request.

  At the door, Nolyn paused by Kelafy. She examined him as much as he examined her. "Are you hurt, Miss Kelafy?"

  "No, Master Nolyn. Mad as a summer hornet, yes." Her eyes flashed with emotion. "I cannot believe anyone would dare such a foolish venture! On the home of our Edai Magus?!" She snorted. "I cannot say I am sorry for what happened to that fool. The drizzen are quite efficient when they eat. Least it saves my people the trouble of having to clean up."

  "Miss Kelafy!"

  "Oh, don't 'Miss Kelafy!' me. You are thinking the same thing I am."

  He smirked. "Actually, I am trying to justify just feeding the rest to them, but they are behaving now." He wagged a finger at Kelafy's expression. "Oh, don't 'Master Nolyn!' me, Miss Kelafy. You are thinking the same thing I am."

  "Yes, but you have other things to worry about right now," Kelafy stated archly as she led the way inside. "You should leave such ugly business for me to handle on your behalf." Nolyn could not help but chuckle and shake his head.

  Chapter 65

  Nolyn rose from his chair as a servant led Ellis and Eptina to the house library. "Se'edai Magus, Edai Magus. Forgive me for the bluntness of my summons. I could not find the words to explain eve
rything that has happened today."

  "When a servant arrives with a Swordanzen as a bodyguard, I know things have gotten dire." His brilliant blue eyes looked over the other man. "I am as glad you are unharmed as I am distressed that the Unsvet Guardian was not so fortunate. It will not help Forenta return to the good graces of the Timeless One or Her mortal servants."

  "Valerian will vouch for us. Thankfully he is still alive to do so, though he is… unwell. Journeyman Healer Tobias and the servant girl that travels with them are watching over him right now." He went to the cabinet and reached for a dusty bottle near the top, opening it and setting it down for Marcus to pour drinks for everyone. "Unfortunately, his collapse has to do with the Andarian barrier, not the attack by the Zeridian temple."

  "I trust you will explain," Ellis said as he accepted the glass from Marcus. He looked at Eptina with a slight frown. "Master Eptina's visit to Ithesra is related, I believe. We were going to speak when Chani brought your message."

  He took Eptina's hand and kissed the back gently. "I am relieved you were in Ithesra, Master Eptina."

  "As am I, Edai Magus Nolyn," the woman replied. "I wish my reasons for being in Ithesra were less grim. But it seems the temporary mending Unsvet Valerian put in place has failed. We have had reports of more victims starting to appear again."

  "In a perfect world, the Andarian barrier would never have been necessary." Nolyn gestured Marcus to shut the door. "And Unsvet Valerian's mending did not fail." The two turned alarmed looks to him. "He expected whatever is in there to try to get out. He did not expect someone to try to get in yesterday."

  Eptina paled even whiter, her hand going to her chest. "…In? Oh, dear goddess, I thought he was just mocking me." She raised her eyes to the two men, abject terror in the depths of her eyes. "Father… he had been drinking. Again. I did not think anything much of what he had said. Later… Later, he was talking with one of my brothers when I passed the open door of his library. He said… He said," she stammered, choaking a bit.