Altered Intentions

by G David Walker

  Of course, from centuries of experience, he was sure she was just ditzy enough to have flown into a rage at some supposed slight and destroyed the hall on her own. For all he knew, she’d decided she just didn’t like the view here and set up a palace somewhere else. While he could easily picture such a scenario, something told him that wasn’t what had taken place. Even if she had moved her palace, he should still be able to feel her power, especially from this close. No, something else was going on. With one last glance around, he stepped to Ekim’s domain. Maybe he would know where his wife was.

  He pursed his lips as he stared at the pile of rubble that had been Ekim’s palace, and then looked up at the skies where not a cloud could be seen. Had someone done this? Who would be strong enough to defeat an Altered? Certainly not Jason Bennett, and absolutely not any of those pathetic, so-called Loremasters. He was equally sure Ekim hadn’t done it himself. He’d been far too proud of his creation to destroy it, even in a blind rage. Something else had to have happened.

  Had Ekim and Haras gotten into a fight? He didn’t know what could spark something like that after fifteen centuries, but he also knew their marriage hadn’t been the happiest one before the war. Who knew what kind of wounds might have been festering under the surface? Maybe being back in charge of Teleria had gone to one, or both, of their heads and they had decided to settle old scores? Even if that was the case, where were they now? Neither of them would have stopped using their power, so where were they and how come he couldn’t sense either of them?

  He decided to see Darnoc next. Even though the older man could be a bit stuffy, he was the most level-headed of them all. If his place was gone, there was definitely someone else in—

  “Regor!”

  He turned at the frantic cry and saw Ekim, out of disguise, running toward him.

  “Regor, you have to help me! Please, you have to!”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, as Ekim stopped, panting and coughing from his exertion. “And why do you look like that? Where is your Altered appearance?”

  “They took away my power,” Ekim managed between coughs. “I can’t change anymore. And just look at my palace! You have to stop them and make them give me back my power!” His lips drew down into a pout as he looked at the rubble. “It was a masterpiece and they destroyed it.”

  “They? They who?”

  “Nyala and that Jason Bennett! And they’ve got one of the Loremasters helping them.”

  “Nyala? Don’t be stupid. She can’t get out of her prison. It had to be someone else.”

  “No! I’m telling you it was her! She must have gotten free somehow and decided to team up with the boy to take away our power.”

  “Impossible. Even if she managed to get free, you can’t take away an Altered’s power without killing them.”

  “Well, they obviously figured out a way.” Ekim spread his arms to prove his statement.

  “I’ll get to the bottom of this ri—”

  “Not so fast, Regor. We’ve been looking for you.”

  “See? See?” Ekim shouted. “I told you it was her!”

  He turned to see Nyala, Jason Bennett, and the Loremaster healer, Seryn.

  Ekim was still shouting at him. “Be quiet, fool.” With a flick of power, he sent the former Altered flying, to land in a heap a short distance away. He turned his attention back to the trio.

  “How did you get free?”

  “What difference does it make? All that matters now is that I am free and you are about to cease being Altered. Now, Jason!”

  Jason laid his hand on her shoulder and she sent a burst of power toward him. He was able to deflect it, but the impact knocked him backwards. Jason was giving her his power! That’s how she managed to overpower the others. He was the strongest of the Altered, but he wasn’t sure he could hold out against both of them together. No matter how he tried to ignore it, the boy’s power was significant. Time to change the game. He sent a tendril of shadow shooting out and grabbed the Loremaster, placing her between him and them.

  “Are you sure you want to do this right now, my dear? I’d hate for this one to get hurt because you were overzealous.”

  “Think again, Regor. She is the only hope you have of surviving this.”

  “Really? Then I definitely wouldn’t want anything to happen to her.” He wrapped more power around Seryn until all that was visible was her head.

  “Wait a second,” Jason said. “I don’t want Seryn getting hurt.”

  “See?” Regor chuckled. “You don’t want to upset your only ally. We mustn’t hurt our little Loremaster.”

  “Give her back to us and you walk away. Human, but alive. If we do this the hard way, you won’t be human or alive.”

  “If we do this ‘the hard way,’ neither will she,” he said. He constricted his power, drawing a groan from his captive.

  “Nyala, listen,” Jason said. “I don’t want anything to happen to Seryn. We have to find another way.” Regor saw him try to remove his hand from Nyala’s shoulder, but it wouldn’t budge. Jason pulled again, then tried with both hands, but his hand didn’t leave her shoulder.

  “What are you doing?”

  “If we let him go now, Jason, there is no telling what he will do. We cannot take that chance, even if it means only two of us walk away.”

  “Nyala, stop!”

  “Decide now, Regor. My suggestion would be to give her back to us. At least that way you wake up when we’re done.”

  “You want her back? Take her!” He threw Seryn at them, at the same time sending a black bolt of power streaking toward them. He didn’t expect it to do any damage, but that wasn’t the point. The instant they were distracted by his attack and the woman’s flying body, he stepped to another place.

  He had questions that needed some answers.

  *****

  As the portal winked out of existence behind him, Reyga looked around and wondered if he should turn around and go back. The unknown woman had never identified herself, but she had assured him she could help him. He still had not decided whether he should trust her or not. In truth, her secrecy and refusal to identify herself argued strongly against it. But unless he wanted to put Seryn or one of the other members of the Diamond Order at risk, she appeared to be his only hope. She had shown him a strange symbol and told him to focus all of his energy on it as he created a portal. A portal that led here. Wherever here is.

  He stood at the edge of a forest that bordered one of the most desolate plains he had ever seen. Sickly, yellow grass covered the uneven ground while twisted scrub and crooked trees almost devoid of leaves dotted the landscape. Here and there, jagged spikes of rock sprang from the ground, turning the scene into a bizarre parody of a garden full of granite weeds. The air felt dead; there was not the slightest hint of a breeze.

  A sound behind him made him turn just in time to see a small portal vanish and a scroll fall to the ground. What is this? He picked up the scroll and unrolled it.

  ~~

  “Greetings, Loremaster Reyga,

  Please follow the path through the woods to my abode. I await your arrival.”

  ~~

  There was no name. He examined both sides of the parchment, but saw no clue as to the identity of the sender. He looked all around, and then turned back to the forest, which looked no more inviting than did the plain. The thick canopy of branches and leaves blocked out almost all of the sunlight, leaving the interior murky and ominous. He could just make out the beginning of a trail twisting into the shadows. Although there was no breeze, the gloom of the forest tricked his eyes into seeing motion that was not there…at least he hoped it was just his eyes.

  As he stepped into the shadows, he created an orb of dimsai to light his way, and then frowned as he saw the streak of Regor’s power corrupting it. The dark strand had grown stronger. Now it was almost as thick as his thumb. He increased the intensity of his power to compensate, and slowly moved deeper into the woods, the orb floating above a
nd ahead of him. As he walked, faint rustling in the darkness to his left told him that the movement he had seen was not a trick of his eyesight. Something was moving in the underbrush. He looked behind him, but the entrance to the trail, and the world of light, had already disappeared. No matter. Going back was never really an option.

  He picked up his pace to put some distance between him and his unseen companion, alternating his gaze between the shadows beside the path and the ones on it, but the sounds moved with him. Whatever prowled the shadows was definitely following him. Dimsai danced across his fingertips as he prepared to defend himself should the need arise.

  Just as he turned to glance up the trail, the brush exploded into a frenzy of motion. With a sweep of his arm he hurled a half dozen flaring globes of dimsai into the air, flooding the area around him with emerald light. He gasped as the creature the light revealed reared into the air, hissing and turning its head away from the shining orbs. The part he could see stood two heads taller than him; the rest disappeared into the brush. Its segmented body was as thick as a tree trunk, with a pair of short, clawed legs emerging from every other segment. Two long, whip like appendages like tentacles with bone spikes on the end sprouted from its head, above sets of large orb eyes and dangerous-looking mandibles.

  Another sound behind him made him spin and instinctively throw up a shield. The wall of power flashed as a barbed tail crashed against it. Brayden’s blade! It has me surrounded! His head swiveled back and forth as he tried to watch both the head of the beast and its spiked tail. The tentacles on the creature’s head waved and feinted as if waiting for just the right moment.

  He threw a stream of power at the brush on one side of the trail. Thick vines erupted from the brush, wrapping around the creature’s head and upper segments. It hissed and flailed its head back and forth, trying to free itself from the vines. He repeated the process for the tail and then ran up the path. The plants would not hold the creature for long, but he would rather not kill it if he could avoid it. He had not taken two dozen steps when something crashed into his back, knocking him to the ground. He rolled over to see the creature’s head diving toward him, shredded vines still clinging to it. He managed to get a shield up in time to stop the razor sharp mandibles. They snapped and ground together less than an arm’s length above him. Holding the shield with one hand, he created another blinding ball of power. As before, the creature shied away from the light, obviously used to hunting in the shadows of the dark forest.

  He scrambled to his feet and flashed a glance behind him. The creature had him surrounded again. He threw more balls of light into the air, but saw that these were not as bright as before.

  He spun and threw up a shield as the creature repeated its previous tactic. Again, his shield stopped the tail, and then a blinding spike of pain in his shoulder drove him to his knees. He looked down to see the bone tip of one of the tentacles poking out through his robe, a blossom of dark red growing on the fabric around it. As he watched, a globule of viscid fluid formed and fell from the tip. He realized he had been fortunate that the spike had driven all the way through instead of remaining embedded in his flesh. A sudden wave of rage engulfed him. How dare this creature attack me? Ignoring the pain, he jerked his shoulder free and turned to the head.

  “You chose the wrong prey today, beast. Now learn the price of your foolishness!” The head and tail of the creature burst into twin fountains of gore as blasts of green and black power destroyed them. With a wet thud, the creature collapsed to the ground.

  He grabbed his head and staggered as the world spun and swam around him. What had just happened? He had never experienced such an overwhelming rush of anger before, not even during the battle at the Scorched Plains. Regor’s power grows. He needed to hurry, but right now he could barely stand up from the dizziness. He waited until the world righted itself and he was able to take a few steps without staggering to the side. Moving as quickly as the pain in his shoulder would allow, he began walking up the path.

  A few minutes later he came around a bend in the trail and saw a large building in a clearing in the forest. Between him and the building, however, was a deep crevice. He looked to both sides, but there was no bridge he could use to cross. Had he been able, he would have created a portal to the other side, but that was not possible. For some reason they had never been able to discern, portals would not work if you were too close to where you wished to go. The portals would form, but then immediately collapse. This was too close. Is Jason truly worth this trouble? He started at the thought. Where had that come from? Of course Jason was worth this and any other trouble that might arise. He was Jaben! He was the hope of Teleria. Is he really Jaben? Are you certain?

  He shook his head to try to dislodge the rebellious thoughts. He needed to get across this chasm. The sooner he did, the sooner this would be over.

  He saw some vines hanging from the other side of the crevice. He focused his power, now almost half black, on the vines and watched as they lifted and began growing. They stretched toward him, lengthening and thickening. Tendrils grew out from them and began interlacing with tendrils from the other vines. He continued pouring his power into them until a sturdy vine bridge extended across the chasm.

  “Why am I doing this?” he muttered. Then he gave his head a sharp shake. “No! I will not succumb to Regor’s influence. I do this because I must!”

  He made his way across the bridge and to the building. The door opened as he stopped.

  “Greetings, Reyga. Welcome to my home.”

  Reyga stared in shock, unable to believe his eyes.

  “You!”

  Hard Choices

  “What was that all about?” Jason shouted. “You were willing to sacrifice Seryn to get Regor?”

  “No!”

  Seryn lowered herself onto a nearby stump and tried to calm her racing heart. This was the second time she had been under Regor’s power. It had been no easier than the first.

  “Then what the heck was going on?” His hands waved in the air. “Because it sure looked like you were ready to go after him anyway, and ‘who cares’ what happens to Seryn!”

  “Jason, stop! Just stop and listen. Let me explain.”

  Jason crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. “Fine. Explain.”

  Nyala turned to her. “First things first. Seryn, are you hurt?”

  “No, I am well. Just a little shaken is all.”

  “Good.” She turned back to Jason. “Now. Regor had to believe that I was willing to sacrifice Seryn to get at him. It was the only way to keep her alive. Otherwise he would have left and taken her with him, and then we might never have seen her again.”

  “I don’t get it. Why does that help keep her alive? To me it just makes her look expendable.”

  “No. If he believes we are willing to do anything, sacrifice anyone, to get to him, then he knows it will do him no good to use someone as a shield and it will do him no good to take hostages. Not if we’re willing to just go through them to get at him. By making him believe that, now he has to focus his attention on you and me, since we’re the ones with the power to undo him. As long as we stay together, he can’t attack either of us without attacking both of us. And I know him well enough to know he won’t make any move unless he believes he has the upper hand. For the moment, that belongs to us.”

  “So you wouldn’t have attacked him as long as he had Seryn?”

  “Of course not. But I had to make him believe I would.”

  Seryn could see Jason struggling to regain control of himself. It was touching to see his concern for her wellbeing. It was also nice to hear Nyala say that she was not actually willing to sacrifice her. While in Regor’s grip, she had thought she might be in her last moments. Just like Regor, she had believed nothing was going to keep Nyala from attacking.

  “Fine,” Jason said at last. “Sorry I went off on you like that. I guess we’re okay.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. I have a question of my ow
n for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you trust me, or don’t you? Because this is the second time you’ve questioned me, questioned what I was doing and why.”

  “Well, c’mon, you’ve gotta admit the way you’ve been acting is a little different than when we first met. It just seemed a little out of character for you, that’s all. I didn’t know what the deal was.”

  “The ‘deal’ is that we’re in a different situation now than we were then, a much more serious situation. Before, it was just a human borrowing a little power from an Altered. Now it is the Altered themselves. More serious problems call for more serious solutions.”

  “Okay, I get it. But you could’ve explained that before we got started.”

  “I didn’t realize I needed to. I thought you knew me well enough to know what I would and wouldn’t do.”

  “Okay! Alright! I’m sorry. You just weren’t acting like yourself and I didn’t know what to think.”

  “So you trust me?”

  “Yeah, I trust you.”

  “Because I have to warn you, Regor is a master at twisting words and facts. He can have you wondering if white is really white if you’re not careful. And if he spots even the tiniest bit of doubt, he will attack it without a second thought. We cannot abide another moment of hesitation like what just happened. You have to be with me, with no reservations, or else he could defeat us. If that happens, Teleria will never be the same.”

  “I get it! I trust you. I won’t question you again, okay?”

  “Very well. Because I’m pretty sure we’ll only get one more chance at Regor. But we have to be ready at any moment. Now that he knows what we’re doing, he’ll make sure our next encounter will be on his terms, and he’ll be ready for us.”

  “Should we go after Airam?” Seryn asked.

  “No. We have to be ready for Regor to make his move. Airam can wait.”