Aden recovered quickly, flying up and out of the firetrap, pulling his powerful cannon out of his pocket dimension.
“Big mistake, little pet,” he taunted. “Some of your pinpricks were actually starting to hurt. But as fun as this has been, it’s time to have you put down.”
As much as he was trying to hide it, in reality, he was in a lot of pain, and the humiliation of that pain being inflicted by a mere mortal helped morph that into rage. A rage that he channelled into his cannon blast as he streaked upwards towards Dreya, following in the wake of his own power. He expected the blast to kill the witch but instead, she absorbed what she could and reflected the rest, the beam splitting into three until they each hit one of her ghouls. Each ghoul absorbed as much as they could, channelling and equalising it in a ring between them, before passing it down to the death knights. They, in turn, created their circle of power, completing the circuit. Before Aden knew what was happening, he was hit by eight separate high energy beams. Trapped inside this pyramid of power, he couldn’t escape. Since the attacks were coming from all directions, there was nowhere to go. He tried to teleport, but Dreya had already taken steps to prevent that. Finally, the beams stopped, and he fell all the way down to the ground, hitting with a hard impact.
Dreya floated gently down and disclosed, “I’ve been working on my own version of what you just did. Let me show you.” A beam of magical energy shot out from her hand, backed up by the extra power she had gained from absorbing part of his attack. “I think I’ve got the technique down pretty well, but I’d appreciate any feedback you might have.” She shot him a second time. “Well?” She shot him a third time. “Did I do it right, or do you have notes?”
Now that he was stunned, she began siphoning off his power, taking as much as she dared to absorb without risking her own safety. Once he was sufficiently drained, a power word backed up with blood magic should be enough to finish him.
“I suppose this is the part where I make some grand, gloating speech while talking about myself in the third person,” she deadpanned as she checked the preparation of the power word – this was one she did not want to get wrong.
As she prepared, however, she felt that post-hypnotic suggestion kick-in again. The same voice that had been telling her to kill Daelen was now warning her it was too soon. For a moment, she thought she caught sight of a shadowy figure at the edge of her vision. Perhaps the source of the warning. Refusing to be dictated to, however, Dreya chose to ignore it.
“But in the interests of avoiding the clichés, all I’ll say is—” she never got to the word ‘DIE’ because Aden pulled out a knife and threw it at her. Not expecting that kind of attack, she only partially deflected it, and it took a slice out of her right arm. It only took her a moment to recover, but it was long enough for Aden to open up a Prismatic Sphere and escape.
Dreya swore, cursing herself for her hesitation and letting him get way. She’d won the battle on points but missing out on the kill was annoying as hell. Still, there was nothing to be done about it now. Thanks to Aden, she was more powerful than ever – or she would be after she’d rested and healed. She’d just have to kill the dark clone another day. Kill him and drain his power. She couldn’t take it all at once without harming herself, but between Dreya and her elite guards, it would be safe enough. Or maybe she’d go after Daelen next. She was happy for Cat to gain his knowledge – she was exceptionally good at that – but when the time was right, Dreya would have his power, too. After that, they wouldn’t need Daelen to go after Kullos. She could just do it herself. Then the world would finally be rid of all three of them, and she would forever be the Greatest Mage Who Ever Lived.
*****
Miles away, in the FaerWay Tavern, the crystal on Catriona’s staff glowed, and she heard the same ethereal voice that had spoken before:
Black faction first attempt gone. Two attempts remain.
*****
Daelen awoke after a little over three hours. Cat could see he was looking a lot better. His energy levels were back up again – not all the way but improving almost in front of her eyes.
Cat asked if it was now safe to give back that portion of his essence that she still held inside. It had definitely been useful, helping her to unlock more of the security protecting the core power of her staff. Now she wanted it gone.
“Yes,” he assured her, “I promise you it’s safe. The problem before was the extreme difference in energy levels between what I had when I entered you and what I was left with after the battle and the accident. Now the difference is not so great, it will not be such a shock to my system.”
“OK, I take it that means we’ll have to kiss again?” Cat inquired.
“I’m afraid so. If there were any other way…”
Cat shushed him. “It’s just an essence transfer,” she reassured him. “No need to make a fuss. As you said, it doesn’t mean anything, right?”
“Right,” Daelen affirmed as he rose from his bed and stood before her.
For a second, Catriona thought she saw a flicker of disappointment flash across his face, but she dismissed the idea as pure fantasy. Daelen offered to go somewhere private if it made her more comfortable, but Cat just pulled him close and kissed him passionately in front of the whole Tavern. They had no idea there was an essence transfer going on. They thought it was merely the relief of a young woman whose lover had just recovered from a terrible injury. Many of them even applauded.
Playing to the crowd, the druidess curtseyed, and removed all of her magically created barriers with a flourish and a reiterated heartfelt apology for keeping them captive for so long. Pyrah returned to her nest in Catriona’s pocket, and the crowd left the Tavern.
To a stunned Daelen, she explained, “People talk, and news of this will spread. They don’t know who you are, but many will recognise me in the stories they tell. This way, the narrative will be that Catriona has taken a new wizard lover and they’re off on some whirlwind adventure together. If the stories spread to the ears of our enemies, they should have no reason to pay it any heed because they’ll have no reason to connect it with you.”
“Good plan,” Daelen conceded.
“Thanks,” Cat smiled. “It’s all part of being an information trader. Control the information and you control the situation.”
Now that Daelen was back on his feet again, it was time to get back on the road. Having ‘borrowed’ Justaria’s horse, Cat felt responsible for him. The best thing they could do, she decided, was to keep him until they reached the port where Daelen’s ship awaited them. The port maintained secure stables for the convenience of travellers. Daelen offered to pay. He insisted it was the least he could do.
“Speaking of trading information,” Cat ventured, returning to their previous conversation, “as I mentioned before, there’s somewhere I’d like you to take me on our whirlwind adventure. Don’t worry, it’s on the way – not even a day out of our way. It’s on the island of Esca.”
“I know it,” Daelen agreed. “I’d planned to make a stop anyway, on another island near there, to take on fresh water and supplies.”
Puzzled, Catriona dug out her map and unfurled it. “There aren’t any other islands near Esca,” she asserted.
Daelen just smiled, “Not one you can see, no,” he acknowledged, mysteriously. He would say no more about it. She would just have to wait and see.
They engaged in small talk for a while as they rode for a few more hours until it began to grow dark, and Catriona, who had been up for nearly twenty hours straight, yawned repeatedly.
“Daelen,can we stop for the night, soon, please?” she asked sleepily.
“Of course,” the shadow warrior agreed. “Do you want to try and find an inn?”
She shook her head. “No need for that. I’m happy to sleep under the stars. It’s been a while. Let’s just find a comfortable spot before I simply fall asleep right here and fall off the horse. Oh, and do you mind taking first watch?”
Daelen tol
d her she should just sleep and not worry about a thing. Cat maintained that she was quite capable of keeping watch, but he reassured her that he didn’t doubt her for a moment.
“The way I see it, you’ve done more than your share already, today. You guarded me for hours, carrying a part of my essence inside you for far longer than you should. I think it’s my turn, now.”
Cat decided he was right: she’d scored enough points for one day. Better to make sure she did equally well tomorrow rather than try and score any more tonight.
*****
When Catriona woke up, the first thing she noticed was the smell. Bubbling away over the campfire was a stew pot. Rabbit, if she wasn’t mistaken. Daelen was sitting with his back against a tree, blades in his hands as if guarding her, but strangely unmoving. As her brain warmed up, she realised why: Daelen had fallen asleep.
“So much for keeping watch,” she grumbled good-naturedly, wandering over to him. “It’s a wonder you haven’t boiled our breakfast dry.”
The instant she touched him, however, he crumbled to dust. Catriona screamed in shock, which was only compounded further when Daelen rushed back to their campsite and ran to her side, asking what was wrong.
Cat poked him in the chest to try and re-establish her grip on reality. Thankfully, this one did not turn to dust.
“What the hell was that?” she demanded.
“Oh yeah,” he replied with a sheepish grin, “I guess I should have told you I can do that. I vanish, leaving a simple copy to make it appear to any onlookers as if I’m there when I’m not.” He explained further that it crumbled because he didn’t have the energy to make it more solid.
The druidess exhaled, deeply, allowing her heartbeat to slow. Torn between hugging him in relief and slapping him for scaring her, she ultimately did neither.
“It’s a good thing I like surprises, shadow warrior,” Cat remarked, acidly. “There are plenty of them with you around.”
Daelen laughed, “You’re not without a few surprises yourself, my dear druidess. I’m just trying to keep up.”
“Fair comment!” Cat admitted, grinning.
She was definitely wide awake, now, so she suggested he finish cooking breakfast while she had a quick dip in a nearby river.
Chapter 12
Travelling to the harbour at Kingsville Piers took most of what turned out to be a generally uneventful day, other than one slightly awkward conversation they had both been avoiding.
“Daelen,” Cat broached at last, “I just wanted to thank you.”
“For what?” he asked, knowing full well what she meant.
“For trusting me with part of your essence, part of who – what – you are. When you were inside me, I got a glimpse, no more than that, but enough to realise something I never understood before. Daelen, we throw around words like ‘higher planar being’ without any real concept of what we’re saying. This body isn’t really you, is it?”
The shadow warrior shook his head. “No, it’s not. Same goes for Kullos and…‘Aden.’ This body is a shell, albeit one I’ve grown quite attached to.”
“But why are you called shadow warriors? All I sensed was light, or at least, that’s the closest word I know to describe it.”
Daelen flushed as if this was embarrassing to talk about.
“That is because I am incomplete. What Kullos did to the original Daelen StormTiger all those centuries ago split me in two.”
“What does that mean?” Cat asked, then when he hesitated, she offered to drop the whole thing.
“No, it’s not that,” he assured her. “It’s just difficult for me to put it in terms you can understand, and I don’t mean that to be insulting. The fault lies with my ability to explain rather than any lacking on your side.”
“Just do your best,” Cat encouraged him.
He considered for a moment, then smiled and stated, “We’re light in a box.”
“You’re what?” Cat laughed.
“We’re light in a box,” he repeated.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Most of the best explanations are,” he asserted. “Just imagine it – light in a box.”
“OK,” Cat agreed.
“Now imagine someone coming along and tearing the box in two. What happens?”
“The light spills out,” Cat answered. Then she grasped the implications. “So, what you’re saying is, the true nature of your people contains the light, keeps it in shadow, hence the name. But Kullos ripped open your outer shell…” she trailed off, considering her next words, “…your skin?”
“Essentially,” Daelen nodded.
Thinking more about the analogy, Cat was horrified.
“So, when you say Kullos ripped your original in two, you mean literally?”
Again, Daelen nodded.
“How are your insides not falling out?” Cat blurted out before she could stop herself.
“Well, physiologically, it’s not as serious as it would be if someone cut you open, but it does take effort to keep myself together.”
Cat just needed to ask one more thing. “Sorry, Daelen,” she broached, tentatively, “I’m trying to find a delicate way of asking this, but when you were inside me, I got the impression…” she trailed off and tried again. “You don’t normally show all of your inner light to other people, do you? I mean your people. Routinely.”
“Not routinely, no,” he agreed.
He explained that his people, the Shadowkin, could make their outer shell semi-translucent to display an aura – the equivalent of facial expressions and body language. A way of conveying emotions. How much they chose to display was governed by complex social norms. Revealing their true inner light, however, was something quite different, and certainly not acceptable in public.
“But you might choose to show it to someone…special?”
“Usually only one. Not always.”
“Oh, Daelen, I’m so sorry,” Cat offered, eyes glistening. “You shouldn’t have had to do that.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he replied, placing a reassuring hand on her arm. “For me, it was little more than breaking a taboo of intimacy – uncomfortable, but not life-changing. You’re actually the third person to see my light, which would raise a few eyebrows among my people – if my people had eyebrows. The implications for you were potentially much more serious. I’m just glad you don’t seem to have suffered any ill-effects.”
“I’m fine,” Cat assured him. “It’s unlikely either of us would have chosen to do it under other circumstances, but things being as they were, we both fully consented, we both knew what we were doing, and I have no regrets.”
“Well if you don’t, then neither do I,” Daelen agreed. Changing the subject, he remarked, “If you don’t mind me saying so, I was impressed with how you handled the pain.”
“It was pretty similar to the pain of shapeshifting,” she replied.
“It’s that painful for you?” he gasped in astonishment. “You seem to do it so freely.”
She shrugged. “Pain is part of nature. I simply don’t let the pain stop me, just as you don’t let yours stop you. Besides, it’s mostly outweighed by the joy of being some other creature for a while.”
“Well, I’m still sorry I caused you more.”
“But Daelen, you’ve also given me so much knowledge, and that gift is precious to me. Part of my reason for being on this quest with you is to understand you better. Understanding your power, your nature, your pain…it’s all the same thing. It’s the nature of the Balance.”
*****
They reached the harbour at last and left their ‘borrowed’ horse in the stables. They had no idea when Justaria might be able to reclaim her horse, but Daelen gave them enough money to cover the costs for a whole year, if necessary. If the missing sorceress hadn’t returned in that time, then frankly it was highly unlikely she ever would. Catriona wrote a pair of quick notes, one for the Council of Wizards and one for Justaria personally, taking responsibility for the t
heft of the horse and the damage to her property. She didn’t dare risk saying too much beyond ‘emergency circumstances,’ but she vowed to volunteer herself for a Conclave when she returned.
“In the interests of increased understanding,” Daelen ventured as they walked down the harbour in search of the ship he kept on retainer, “before your staff nearly killed me, I was thinking I have seen it before, but I haven’t been able to quite remember where.”
“Well, it’s possible you were around one of the times in history when my Angel showed up and made the stars shift.”
“Yes, I suppose that could be it. Anyway, as long as you don’t touch me with it again, I’d be happy to take another look, maybe see if I can unlock its power for you.”
Cat looked troubled by this offer, however.
“If you have information, I will listen, of course, but if you intend to unlock the power itself, then I must refuse. That’s not the way – it’s not my way. No doubt an agent of Darkness would jump at the chance to increase her own power, and an agent of the Light would be glad of the prospect of using this power to save the world in the coming battles. But I am neither of these things. As an agent of the Balance, I do not seek power for its own sake, and I have no interest in becoming a hero. The edicts of Balance teach that power without context is dangerous, whether used with good or evil intentions. Even the best of intentions can cause great harm. The best way to fight that is with knowledge. For what purpose was the staff created and imbued with this power? Why was the power hidden and the knowledge scattered? Why is it that this power has never been used in the centuries that this staff has existed? Why did my Angel give it to me? I find it hard to accept that only I have the necessary skill and resourcefulness to put the pieces together.” With a smile, she added, “Frankly, I’m not that conceited. When I have a complete understanding of the power of my staff, then I will be qualified to choose how, and indeed whether, the power should be used.”
“Well, it’s your staff and your business, so I won’t interfere,” Daelen promised. “You must do what you believe is best, but I want to help if you’ll let me.”
Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2) Page 9