Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2)

by Gary Stringer

  He set aside the upper chamber of the temple he had built so long ago, where his friend and comrade would sleep, protected until needed once more. He knew that day would come, for Kullos was bound to return.

  Over time, Daelen became increasingly aloof, setting himself above and apart from this world. Where it had once been an escape, now it was a prison, albeit one of his own making. He was a prisoner of conscience, but a prisoner, nonetheless. Despite Alycia’s efforts, one day Daelen chose to leave the world entirely. While he could not Ascend, he could use his power to move ‘sideways’ to another mortal world. He created a Prismatic Sphere, a portal to another world he had seen. A very different world, a world without magic. There to heal his scars and forge a life. It didn’t last; he supposed it never could.

  Daelen received a distress call from Alycia. Kullos was once more Descending to rain death on Alycia’s world, and Daelen was honour-bound to answer the call to arms. He raised Ossian Miach Kaidool from his slumber and together they fought as they had before. For her part, Alycia would not fight but instead extended her powers to protect and shield the world she loved. Once more, Kullos was driven back, forced to retreat and Ascend, again killing the demigod in the process. Daelen returned his friend’s body to the crypt and when it was sealed, he once more left this world behind.

  This dance became familiar over the centuries. Each time Kullos was defeated, but never utterly defeated and each time Ossian Miach Kaidool was slain. The demigod was weary of this and wished only to be allowed to remain in peaceful oblivion forever, but he knew this was the purpose for which he had been placed in this world.

  Just when they believed nothing would ever change, once – just once – they danced to a different tune and the world was ripped asunder.

  Kullos had by now completely lost control and this time he Descended while retaining more of himself than ever before. More than this realm could handle. Ossian Miach Kaidool was raised, Daelen fought, Alycia protected and shielded, but the power that Kullos commanded this time was unstable. He channelled the full force of his power at Daelen, ripping the shadow warrior’s shields apart. It slammed into his body, not destroying it, but changing it. Daelen tried to absorb as much of the power as he could, trying to use it, assimilate it so that it would not destroy him, but the power was not what it should be. He didn’t know why, but it seemed as if two incompatible powers had somehow been forced together. The two halves of the power were too different to assimilate. They were equal and opposite, containment of both was impossible, and the resulting reaction caused Daelen to split in two. Each a reverse copy of the other, light and dark clones, and as they separated, excess energy spilt out before they each managed to staunch the flow. They both fell unconscious.

  Alycia had not Daelen’s power and knew she couldn’t fight Kullos the way he did, so instead, she tried to deflect it away to protect the mortal creatures of the world she loved. Trying to take advantage of this break in the pattern, Ossian Miach Kaidool implored her to rip away his power herself, rather than let Kullos do it. He would die the same as always, either way, but at least this way his death would do some good. So, with apologies, Alycia slew him and tried to use his power to force Kullos to Ascend. She didn’t quite manage to get rid of all of him, but a good-sized portion was ripped away. Caught in the backwash of all this power in his already drained state, his mortal form was thrown out into the void, floating somewhere between this realm and that of the gods.

  Under the stress of such immense, unstable power, the void threatened to collapse. The combined forces would rip the world apart if something drastic wasn’t done to prevent it. In terror, agony and distress, Alycia could not, would not see her beloved world destroyed, robbing the mortals of their boundless potential, so she acted.

  No-one knows precisely what happened next. Even Daelen never understood it. All we know is that, if this legend is to be believed, that was the day the void storms began, swirling and dancing in the sky. Alycia gave herself wholly to the protection of our world, but even as she lay there, exhausted, she looked around at this mortal, physical realm and smiled. It was saved, and it was beautiful. Her actions bound her to this world. It would forever be her prison. Unlike Daelen, she could never leave this world for another, but she could think of no greater justice than to accept this sentence as her penance. Her mortal friends, the ones who called themselves druids, flew to her side to help her if they could. She knew there was nothing they could do, but she appreciated their efforts. Even as she surrendered to her sleep, she vowed that her power would always be theirs, so that their druid magic might help heal the scars that the shadow warriors’ battles left upon this world.

  Alycia’s actions shattered Kullos’ control device, so he could no longer Ascend. Nor could any other shadow warriors Descend to the mortal realm to wreak further devastation, for she had placed a barrier in the void between the mortal realm and the plane of the gods, preventing such travel.

  Alycia reflected on how often the druids spoke of the Mother of Nature as a mythical force that protected their world and needed their protection in return. In their eyes, she had become just that: Blessed Alycia, Mother of Nature. With that beautiful thought, she slipped into a blissful sleep.

  And, gentle reader, she remains in that state to this day, even my day, if one is to believe the legend. As I have said, I do not know for sure how much of this is true, or what to make of it if it is. Only one thing is certain: Daelen was not the man he was and he had not his former power. Fortunately, neither did Kullos.

  But they were still extraordinarily powerful and dangerous by mortal standards, and it wasn’t long before the dance began again. Only now it was a three-way struggle between Kullos, Daelen and his dark clone.

  *****

  When he finished his tale, Daelen implored Catriona to believe that he would give anything to stop Kullos harming Tempestria any further, to stop him permanently or at least take the battle back to the higher planes.

  “But I don’t know how to do that,” he told her. “None of us can penetrate Alycia’s Barrier. My dark clone and I have no control device and Kullos’ is destroyed, so all I can do is battle him forever and try to minimise the damage we do in the process.”

  Chapter 6

  Daelen’s story was enough to persuade Catriona to trust him at least to some extent. Still, she wasn’t done negotiating. All of her experience as an information trader came to fruition with this meeting. She revealed that the place he was looking for was overseas but would say no more unless he agreed to take her with him.

  “Why would you ask such a thing?” the shadow warrior demanded, incredulously. “I can’t put you in danger like that!”

  “I’m putting myself in danger,” she countered. “You’ve got nothing to do with it. If you refuse, I’ll simply find a way to go there by myself, but it makes more sense to go with you.”

  Daelen did not immediately get to answer, as a storm flared up around them. As before, Cat knew it wasn’t natural. Daelen knew it, too, and both were on their feet instantly.

  Out of a shimmering blue portal, flew Daelen’s dark clone. Cat had never seen him before, but now that she had, she understood why he was called that.

  Catriona had some experience with the relatively new medium of photography. Only a few days ago, she’d enjoyed a day out in Gaggleswick with Dreya and they’d stopped at the newly refurbished studio, where they’d had a few photos taken together. In comparison to the ‘real’ Daelen, if one could call him that, his dark clone looked like a three dimensional photographic negative.

  The dark clone landed, ready to confront Daelen.

  “Hello, you!” he greeted them, in a cheery voice that was at odds with his sneering expression. “What’s this? Have you traded in Mr. Bony for a human pet? I can see why you would. She’s way prettier.”

  “Actually, I’m half-Faery,” Catriona shot back.

  “Really?” the clone remarked, drawing out the word. “Shouldn’t you have wi
ngs?”

  Catriona wasn’t sure how much of the bile she felt rise up inside her, in response to the casual racial slur, came from herself and how much was transmitted from Dreya, via their sympathic link.

  At first, Daelen couldn’t understand how his dark clone had managed to get the jump on him. Then the shadow warrior remembered his visitor from the future telling him about someone interfering in Time. It was why he’d been asleep in his other world when he should have been here. If this Time meddler had shut off the system that alerted him to Kullos’ activity, it made sense that alerts for his dark clone would also be disabled. His visitor had said it wasn’t Daelen’s fault, but the way he saw it, he had really screwed up this time.

  Ordinarily, the village surrounding Justaria’s home was quiet, but already, the word was spreading about this confrontation and people were fleeing the scene.

  Still, Catriona stood her ground. Dreya was in her head, offering to teleport her out of there, but Cat told her no. Having learned so much about Daelen, this was an opportunity to gather information about his dark clone. Then, just as Dreya returned to the background, another voice thundered into her mind.

  ‘Catriona,’ came the voice, ‘it’s me, Daelen. Sorry for barging through your defences. I promise I can’t and won’t read anything unless you project it to me, but I need your help. My clone loves the sound of his own voice – please keep him busy while I talk to you like this.’

  ‘Alright,’ Cat agreed.

  Catriona could tell this connection was painful for him, and choosing to trust his good intentions, asked Pyrah to ease off on her barriers, but not take them down. After all, if Daelen could get in her mind with effort, his dark clone could, too, and Pyrah didn’t know if she could block both at the same time.

  She gritted her teeth against the dark clone’s words and used them.

  “No wings on me, I’m afraid. Speaking of which, can you fly around like him?” she asked, indicating Daelen.

  “Of course, little pet,” he returned.

  “Can I see? Please?” she begged. “I asked him, but he was all mean about it,” she pouted.

  “Aww!” the clone remarked in mock sympathy. “Is my brother being mean to our little pet Faery? Don’t worry – I’m way nicer than him, and I’d be happy to show you how I fly.”

  With that, he flew all over the place, as if it were the most impressive thing in the world.

  ‘Excellent, keep him busy,’ Daelen approved. ‘Listen, this shouldn’t have happened. This is all wrong. I’m always alerted before he appears so I can have Michael fighting at my side, but he’s still locked in his tomb.’

  The dark clone got bored of flying, then, and landed once more. Catriona applauded with feigned enthusiasm as he took a bow.

  “Any other requests, little pet?”

  Cat was getting really sick of him calling her that, but kept a smile fixed on her face as she asked, “What’s your name?”

  “My name?” The clone seemed thrown by the unexpected question.

  “Yes, of course. Well, I can’t keep calling you ‘dark clone’ now, can I?”

  “Little pet,” he replied with exaggerated patience. “My brother obviously hasn’t explained the word ‘clone.’ You see, we were split from the same being – Daelen. The original was Daelen, he’s Daelen, and I’m Daelen.”

  ‘If my clone and I fight all the way to Michael’s Tomb,’ Daelen continued in Catriona’s mind, ‘we’re going to leave a trail of devastation right across Elvaria.’

  ‘Can’t you teleport?’ Cat wondered.

  ‘Not with him here, we can block each other’s powers,’ Daelen explained. ‘That’s why I need Michael in the first place.’

  Meanwhile, Cat kept up her performance for the clone, laughing self-deprecatingly.

  “Oh, but that’s just too confusing for my poor little mortal brain. Why don’t I call you Nelead?”

  “Nelead? What kind of a name is that?”

  “It’s an anagram,” Cat clarified. “In fact, it’s Daelen in reverse, and you’re kind of the opposite of this Daelen, so I thought it kind of worked. Frankly, it’s either Nelead or Fred.”

  “Call me Fred. No, wait, don’t call me Fred. Actually, I’m warming to your anagram idea, but I don’t like Nelead. Let me see, what could I use…”

  He spent the next few minutes running through and rejecting various anagrams of Daelen, talking to himself and completely ignoring druidess and shadow warrior.

  ‘That should keep him busy.’ she told Daelen, mentally. ‘Pyrah’s willing to bite him if it will help.’

  ‘It wouldn’t stop him while he’s at full power, and if anything happened to her, he could ravage your mind in a second.’

  ‘So, you need me to get Michael for you? I have a friend who could teleport me there.’

  ‘The defences won’t let you pass without the right power signature,’ Daelen told her.

  ‘Actually, I have a sort of tool, a staff, that has higher planar energy inside it.’

  The shadow warrior didn’t know how that was possible, but he didn’t waste time arguing. ‘Don’t bring it out in front of my clone.’

  ‘Wasn’t planning to,” she assured him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. As if she’d casually wave her most precious possession around under the dark clone’s nose. She just wanted to know one thing. ‘Will it let me in?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Daelen allowed.

  ‘Maybe? We don’t have time for maybe. There must be a way to make sure I get in.’

  “I’ve got it!” the dark clone declared, suddenly. “Aden-El!”

  ‘Really?’ Cat remarked in her head. ‘That’s what he’s going with?’

  “Aden-El!” she enthused aloud. “That’s perfect!”

  “You know what’s even perfecter?” Aden-El asked.

  Cat shook her head.

  “You can call me Aden for short.”

  “Aden,” Catriona acknowledged. “I like that. Well, my name’s Catriona, but you can call me Cat for short.”

  “Me-ow!” Aden quipped.

  ‘You never told me your nickname,’ Daelen complained, good-naturedly.

  ‘I just did,’ she shot back. ‘Any bright ideas, yet?’

  ‘There is one way, but there are risks to you. I can’t allow it.’

  ‘Not your call,’ she insisted. ‘Be clear. Be concise. Get out of my head for thirty seconds. I decide.’

  *****

  You will recall, gentle reader, how I told you shadow warriors Descended to the mortal plane by shedding those parts of themselves that couldn’t fit and leaving them safely back on their home plane. In much the same way, it was possible for him to temporarily keep a part of himself, his essence, inside a mortal’s body. If he did that with Catriona, the security surrounding Michael’s tomb would recognise that part of him and grant her full access, including the authority to wake Ossian Miach Kaidool.

  *****

  He had done it only once before, Daelen explained, seemingly distracted by the memory. Long ago, when he had a relationship with a mortal woman called Rose. Catriona even reminded him of her in some ways, although Rose had been quite a lot older…

  ‘Don’t care about your past girlfriends!’ Cat sniped, interrupting his reminiscence as she continued to engage Aden in a mixture of small talk and flattery. ‘Just tell me the risks. Quickly.’

  Daelen snapped himself out of it. She was right, of course. He couldn’t imagine why he’d distracted himself with such thoughts at a time like this.

  ‘If you’re quick, it should be OK, but the longer you’re exposed, the greater the chances of serious complications.’

  ‘Like what?’

  He answered her as best he could, telling her everything it could mean for her. As he quickly listed the potential consequences, her eyes grew wider and wider. When he was finished, Catriona swallowed, nervously, but quickly composed herself.

  ‘Thirty seconds.’ she insisted. ‘Out of my head. You promised.’
>
  The instant he left her mind, she reached out to Dreya. Some of these complications could affect her, too.

  In the end, though, Dreya simply projected ‘Support,’ telling Cat it was her choice, and she would back her either way. She could either agree to help Daelen or let Dreya teleport her away and leave the two shadow warriors to it.

  “Are you alright…‘Cat’?” Aden asked with feigned concern. “You seem to have turned quite pale,” he continued, still with the most pleasant tone, sugar coating his poisonous words. “You’re not coming down with some disgusting Faery disease, are you, little pet?”

  Catriona told Daelen her decision.

  ‘Do it. I can’t let anyone else’s home and family be destroyed like mine was.’ Besides, the chance to learn about a shadow warrior’s true nature was irresistible.

  ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘Completely. I know the risks, and I want to help. How do we do this?’

  ‘Just follow my lead.’

  Speaking to his clone for the first time, Daelen told him, “I’ve had quite enough of you calling her that! She’s not ill – you’re upsetting her. Catriona is no-one’s pet. She’s my girlfriend!”

  “Yeah,” Catriona nodded, “it feels like I’ve known him forever.”

  ‘Thank you, Cat,’ came Daelen's voice in her mind, ‘and I’m sorry about this. It’s the only way. This means nothing, it’s just what we planned, OK? It’s nothing more than that. I’m sorry. I swear, it means nothing.’