“The best way to help is to do what we already planned: let me stop off at Calin’s Tower.”
“Why is this place so important to you?” Daelen asked.
Catriona was only too pleased to explain.
Calin was a sorceress of the Balance, who had sacrificed all pursuit of magical power, dedicating her life instead to collecting knowledge. Hers was the ultimate collection of rare magical texts in the whole world. She was also a strong proponent of druid magic being given equal status to wizard magic. Wizard, druid, cleric or just the curious, Calin did not discriminate. Her policy was free access to information for all.
“I could happily get lost in there for weeks, but I know we have our quest to think about, so I will just pay a flying visit.”
Cat already new the volumes she wished to borrow, and her staff had a way of drawing her to any others she needed.
“I’m used to studying as I travel, so I won’t slow us down. Since I’m the one who insisted on being your shadow, I won’t be the one to separate us. You can accompany me in your guise as a wizard. We can use the same rumours that have no doubt spread from the FaerWay Tavern, and say you are my current love interest.”
“Alright, we’ll do as you suggest,” Daelen agreed. “I would be honoured to be at your side…my love.”
Giving him the side-eye, Cat’s only response was, “I don’t think there’s any need to get into character just yet, Daelen.”
“Cat,” Daelen began, haltingly, “I know we’ve only just met, but…”
Before he could finish the thought, he was interrupted by the keening cry of a giant albatross, which promptly came in to land. Cat knew, without looking, who was riding this bird.
“Uh-oh,” she remarked. “Here comes trouble.”
Mandalee dismounted and sent the bird away, while Daelen, acting on instinct, flew into the air, powering up rapidly. Cat could feel Mandalee gathering her own powers in response.
“Go away, assassin!” he commanded. “Or I’m going to smack you so hard it’ll take you a month to fly back. If you survive.”
Her green eyes were glowing with fierce anger. “I’m not here for you!” she shot back. “Be thankful for that. I’m here for Catriona.”
“No!” Daelen thundered in response. “You will not harm her!”
“I have no intention of harming or even hurting her, I simply need to talk to her. Alone!”
“Request denied, I will not allow it! Go now, while you still can.”
Alone and ignored, Catriona looked upon the scene with dismay. They were both her friends, and she couldn’t bear to see them tear each other to shreds.
‘But how can I protect one without offending the other?’ she wondered.
Pyrah, sensing her friend’s thoughts, observed sympathically, ‘Not good.’
‘I know,’ Cat sent back, ‘I’ve got to stop it.’ Then she had an idea. ‘Well, a certain someone’s always telling me I have a flair for the dramatic. Maybe I should embrace that.’
Sensing Catriona’s plan, Pyrah wished snakes had eyelids so she could close her eyes to shut out what she feared would be a very messy scene.
Cat used her Windy Steps power to create a staircase of dense air which she then ran up, placing herself high enough to stand directly in the path of any attacks, magical or otherwise. If they wanted to fight each other, they would have to go through her. She pulled out her staff and asked the blue crystal to reflect the light more until it glowed, fiercely, for added theatrical effect.
“I command it;” she declared at the top of her voice, “there will be no battle between you here!” She allowed her words to echo for a moment. When she continued, her voice lost some its fire, but none of its steel. “Mandalee, shut up and calm down. I have sworn not to use my powers to harm you, but I can always restrain you to prevent you from harming yourself.” Turning to Daelen, she added, “As for you, what’s this you say? You ‘will not allow’ us to talk? Who the hell do you think you are to decide what you will or will not allow me to do? I am my own woman, and I will talk to whomever I please. Your permission is not required. Power down this instant – and don’t flatter yourself that I won’t use my magic to restrain you if I must,” Cat let her words ring in the air for a long moment, before continuing in a softer tone. “Now, let’s all just calm down and try to be sensible about this, shall we?”
Daelen powered down but refused to float back to the ground. Catriona calmly walked down her invisible steps, taking her own good time as a sign that she was still very much in control of this situation. Mandalee was still smouldering but kept a lid on it. She hadn’t seen Catriona in this mood before and even with her oath of friendship, she knew better than to push her luck.
“Alright, Cat,” Daelen smoothed, trying to regain some dignity and control. “Talk to your friend, I won’t interfere, but I will stay to listen.”
A furious Mandalee shouted into the air, “No. You will not listen. There are some things in this world you need not know. If you know that she and I are friends, then you should also know that she’s completely safe with me.”
Then, looking at Cat, she told her, “I need to talk. If you truly believe there’s a chance of rekindling our old friendship, then come and see me. Alone,” she emphasised. “I do not want ears other than yours and mine to hear. My business is not his. Send me a sympathic message when you’re ready.”
With that, she invoked her super-speed and streaked away.
At last, Daelen floated down to the ground.
Cat wasn’t happy that they’d made such a scene, but replaying their words in her mind, she was at least thankful Mandalee had not used Daelen’s name. With a bit of care, she realised she could quite easily spin the narrative.
To Daelen’s astonishment, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips.
“Don’t worry, lover,” she reassured him, raising her voice just enough to be overheard, “she’s just jealous. Let me go and smooth things over with her.”
She leaned close again and whispered, “Play along. Support the story. This is just Catriona Redfletching in the middle of a love triangle. Nothing to do with Daelen StormTiger.”
“Alright Cat,” he acquiesced, matching her tone, following her lead. “I’m sorry about what I said. Of course, you can talk to anyone you want to. I guess I was jealous, too.”
“Nicely done,” she whispered, “and I forgive you.”
*****
Catriona left Pyrah with Daelen. Neither Shadowkin nor Ysirian was happy about it, but Mandalee had insisted on being alone. The druidess wasn’t sure if Mandalee would have a problem with Pyrah, but she didn’t want to risk losing this chance to mend bridges because of a technicality.
Cat sent a sympathic message to Mandalee, asking her location.
Mandalee was rusty at this and returned the image of an anchor, which Cat mistook to mean she was on board a ship. After a couple more goes, Cat finally realised she meant she was at an inn called the Anchor. She asked directions of a passer-by, and soon enough she found it. Her old friend was sitting outside. There was a bottle of beer in her hand and another on the table.
Cat sat down opposite and quipped, “Is this drink for me or are you just saving it for later?”
The assassin granted her a half-smile and stated, “It’s for my friend.”
“It’s nice to know I’m still that,” Cat replied removing the cap and doing ‘cheers’ with Mandalee before taking a sip.
“You came when I asked,” Mandalee replied, pointedly, “which is an improvement on last time.”
“Mandalee, I really am so sorry about what happened. Where is Shyleen, anyway? I trust she’s OK?”
The assassin assured her that her feline friend was fine and on her way.
Cat was much relieved to hear it.
“It was two years ago,” the assassin shook her head. “Forget it.”
“No,” Cat refused, resolutely. “I don’t want to forget it. I was a terribl
e friend, and I want to remember it for the rest of my life so I never, ever do anything like it again.”
“It just hurt so much when she got zapped by that wizard, I couldn’t see for the haze of pain.”
“When someone you love is hurt, you feel it, too,” Cat agreed.
“It’s more than that.” Mandalee shook her head and took another long drink. “She’s a part of me.”
“Of course she is,” Cat affirmed, but her friend insisted she still wasn’t getting it.
For Mandalee, it wasn’t just a metaphor, but it took another half bottle of beer to explain. She became a Cleric of Nature thanks to Shyleen, because Shyleen was no ordinary leopard, just as Pyrah was no regular snake. Although she wasn’t from a plane anywhere near that high, in the scheme of things. “Just one level up, in fact,” she concluded.
“One level up?” Cat puzzled over that until her brain realised, “Wait, Shyleen’s a god?”
“Well,” Mandalee replied with another half-smile, “she doesn’t like the term – says it’s pretentious – but she’s from the Pantheon, yes. She was a follower of Blessed Alycia, and as far as Shyleen was concerned, it was Alycia who was a god, not herself.”
“Because sometimes even the gods have gods,” Cat mused.
“Exactly!” Mandalee gasped. “That’s a great way of putting it.”
“Just something someone said to me recently,” Cat explained dismissively. “So, she came down here because…”
“…Because Blessed Alycia did. According to the legends, anyway.”
There was, in fact, much more to the story, but this was neither the time nor the place to tell it. For the moment, she simply explained that Shyleen gave her affinity with nature and access to clerical powers in the faction of Light.
“In exchange for…?” Cat knew these things always came with a price.
“The only thing that would allow her to fully manifest here.”
“Which was what?”
The answer to that required the rest of her bottle of beer.
“Half my soul,” she admitted quickly.
Cat had no idea what to say. Selling one’s soul was traditionally more the province of a Dark wizard in exchange for power.
Mandalee was adamant that she absolutely did not sell her soul. It was an equal share.
“It’s a completely different thing,” she insisted.
It was a lot to take in, but in the end, it seemed to Catriona that there was only one question of relevance.
“Have you ever regretted it?”
“Never for one fraction of a second.”
“Then who the hell am I to judge?”
When they stood up and embraced, Catriona felt as though her heart had just restarted after a two-year break.
“Anyway,” Mandalee continued finally, as they sat back down, “the point is, Shyleen forgave you and, I suppose…much as I tried not to…so have I.”
Chapter 13
Mandalee explained that it had taken her a while to track down Catriona, using her network of animals. As soon as she realised her friend was heading for the port, she knew she had to act fast if she was going to catch up before Cat boarded a ship. Otherwise, she would have to rely on the intelligence of seagulls. Never a wise move. Unfortunately, there was no way to get a leopard to ride on the back of an albatross.
They both laughed at the idea and just for a moment, it felt as if the friends were slotting back into familiar patterns, but the awkward silence that followed belied that.
After a few minutes, Mandalee asked, “What can you tell me about Daelen?”
“Still want to kill him?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what I want. My assignment has become less and less clear. I don’t even know who my client is, yet I still have their voice in my head telling me I have to stop Daelen before he destroys the world. Shyleen reckons I need to pick up what I left behind when I walked away from you, you’ve teamed up with him, and it’s all so confusing! What I need…” She trailed off. A moment later, she started again, “What I need is some more pieces to the puzzle.”
Cat reached out to place her hands on Mandalee’s. “But that confusion is good,” she told her. “It means you’re thinking for yourself, not just accepting what your mysterious client tells you.” She sighed heavily. “Mandalee, maybe this time you’re not supposed to kill your mark. There are many ways to stop someone besides killing.”
“That thought has occurred to me,” Mandalee huffed sullenly, “but what else am I to do? Human relations aren’t exactly my area. I’m a bloody assassin for hell’s sake!”
Cat offered her a crooked smile, “Well Daelen’s not human, and no-one’s asking you to have relations with him – he’s mine, so hands off.”
“What?” Mandalee gasped.
Cat giggled. “No, not really.”
She assured her friend that it was just a cover. People knew her, now, so she was trying to generate a rumour that she was off on some wild, romantic quest together with a mysterious and powerful wizard lover. She also talked about Daelen’s perception filter, disguising who he really was. A combination of their sympathic link and the fact that she already knew Catriona was with Daelen, meant it didn’t work on Mandalee.
“Low profile. Got it.” Mandalee nodded. “Actually, I have heard rumours like that about you.”
“Excellent, it’s working already,” Catriona enthused before getting serious again. “An assassin is a hunter. A hunter doesn’t always hunt to kill. Sometimes, a hunter hunts for a person or animal that is lost, hurt or in danger, so she can help, not harm, and sometimes people join together to hunt a mark which neither could attempt alone.”
The assassin ordered another drink from a passing barmaid. She was going to need it.
“All of which brings me back to, ‘What can you tell me about Daelen’?”
*****
By the time Shyleen arrived, Catriona had managed to convince Mandalee to return to the docks with her, where Daelen and Pyrah were waiting in uneasy silence.
Cat asked her old friend to hang back for a moment, while she prepared the way with the shadow warrior, explaining that she hadn’t given details of the deeply personal things they had shared, but what she had told her had been enough to convince Mandalee that trying to kill him was not the answer. He was somewhat placated when she explained about the prophecy about him destroying the world.
“To be fair,” he accepted, “if my actions were going to destroy the world, I would want someone to stop me, by any means necessary. You don’t need to worry, though. Even I don’t have that kind of power. Perhaps if I were still whole, I might. Kullos might, too, if he has ‘outside help,’” he added, obliquely referring to the void-creature.
Cat introduced them properly, then, and while they were still tense and wary, at least their relationship stopped short of explosive.
They walked along the docks until they finally found Daelen’s ship, the StormChaser. She was a tall sailing ship with an ornately carved tiger figurehead, three-tone-stained oaken deck, and red and gold sails attached to the three masts. It was by far the most impressive ship in the harbour.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Daelen declared, beaming with pride.
Testing Daelen’s sympathic sensitivity, Cat projected the impression of boys and their toys. Then on sudden impulse, she added a rather rude comment, connecting a grown man’s need for oversized toys as compensation for a lack in other departments. She couldn’t be sure if he got the message since the link was one way, but she was almost certain she saw him blush slightly. She found that gave her a rather perverse sense of satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Mandalee’s lips twitched with suppressed laughter and tears formed in her eyes. “You can’t possibly be serious!” she blurted out.
Daelen looked hurt. “What’s the matter with you?”
Mandalee’s laughter was like a dam bursting. She just couldn’t hold back the tide any longer.
“Loving the low profil
e!” she laughed. “You sail in that, nobody’s going to suspect a thing!”
Cat, making a supreme effort not to tease him any further, looked up at the shadow warrior who clearly still did not see the problem. She sighed and tried to be as diplomatic as possible.
“Oh, Daelen,” she sighed, “this is precisely what I’ve been trying to tell you. Your power leads you to make basic mistakes. Your problem is, you’re not used to thinking strategically. You’ve never needed to. You just go into a situation at full power and blast your enemy. Look, your ship is magnificent, and I would be proud to sail in her, but as Mandalee says, it’s not ‘low profile’ is it?”
“But StormChaser is the only ship that can get us to my secret island base, due to the perception filter.”
Cat shook her head. “Ah, you see, it’s not,” she disputed. “It’s the only crew that can get us to your secret island base.”
“Wait!” Mandalee exclaimed, turning to Daelen with a stunned expression. “You have a secret base on an island?”
“Nope,” he replied, with a grin. “I have a secret island with a base on it.”
The assassin rolled her eyes. “Figures.”
Ignoring the exchange, Cat fished out her notebook and pen, opened it to a blank page and with a look of concentration on her face, sketched a diagram, occasionally crossing out a line and drawing a new one.
At last, she declared, “It’s fine, it’s no problem. I can work with this, use it to our advantage. Here’s the plan.”
She walked them through her idea, using her diagram as an aid. When she finished, she asked, “What do you think?”
“I think it’s the least ridiculous radical plan I’ve ever heard from you,” Mandalee answered. “I’m disappointed.”
Cat raised an eyebrow. “Mandalee, I’m crossing the ocean to a continent I’ve never seen before and travelling to a desert I know nothing about, to go up against the most powerful and dangerous being in the world that I’ve no clue how to stop and his growing army that I have no way to fight.”
Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2) Page 10