“It’s too late for that, isn’t it?” Cat surmised.
Daelen confirmed it.
“He already has enough pieces to activate the weapon; it’ll just be unstable. Trouble is, he’s unstable. If I confront him before his device is complete, he’ll just use the weapon anyway. But if we wait until he does have all the pieces, at least the weapon will be controllable.”
“Oh great, he’ll be in control when he blows us all to bits,” Mandalee sniped.
“My clone and I agreed we’d have only one chance: our recombined power might just be enough for me to take it from him and use it to destroy him, or least the part of him that’s in this mortal plane. Nothing I can do about the rest of him, but if I can re-shatter his control device – assuming it doesn’t blow itself apart anyway, due to Heaven’s Surrender, he will be cut off just like the rest of my people.”
“As you are cut off from them,” Cat realised. Of course, she already knew that Alycia’s Barrier prevented all travel between the mortal realm and the higher planes. She just hadn’t framed the thought in quite that way to see it from Daelen’s perspective. She knew what it was like to lose a home. She was lucky – her ‘Angel’ had given her a new one. “With Kullos gone and you recombined, you’ll be the last of your kind in our world,” she realised, further. “The last living shadow warrior.”
Daelen nodded. “I’ll be alone.”
Cat hugged him tight, tears in her eyes.
“No,” she insisted. “You won’t.”
Daelen smiled, weakly, at the sentiment.
Even Mandalee, though she still wasn’t sure she should trust him, at least felt sympathy and refrained from any remarks about her friend’s feelings for him.
Instead, she asked something that had always puzzled her about his kind.
“You’ve explained how, when you and Kullos came down to our mortal plane, you had to leave part of yourselves behind, but you haven’t explained what that means for that part of you.” Convinced she was once again failing to make any sense, she tried again. “What I’m asking is: while this part of you is running around down here, is the other part of you still running around up there?”
Daelen shook his head. “When my people used to do this all the time – before they were cut off – it was like going to sleep. In fact, once upon a time, long ago, before our understanding grew, my people used to believe the mortal realm wasn’t real.”
“What?” his companions demanded.
Daelen smiled reassuringly. “It was a very long time ago, but they honestly used to think their dimensional control devices were dream enhancers and the mortal realm was just some kind of shared dreamscape.” He chuckled, as he continued, “Even when they began to accept that this was a real place they were travelling to, there was a school of thought that suggested we’d dreamed you into existence.”
“Maybe you did,” Mandalee considered. “There are a few creation myths on Tempestria that say the world was dreamed into being. Maybe your people were the dreamers.”
“Philosophy aside,” Cat put in, “in the case of you and Kullos, you’ve both been asleep for a very long time.”
“Once again, putting it in mortal terms, we’d both be classed as being in a coma.”
“Can your people survive being in a coma for that long?” Mandalee wondered.
“I honestly don’t know,” Daelen admitted. “Nor do I know how long the part of me that’s ‘running around down here’ as you put it, can survive without the part that should be ‘running around up there.’ Plus, you know time works differently on Tempestria compared to Earth, so imagine trying to relate either of those to how it works on my home plane of existence.”
“I imagine you can’t,” Cat replied.
“Exactly,” Daelen confirmed. “All I can do – all anyone can do – is live my life for as long as I’m alive. My people call you ‘mortals’ and I use the term out of habit myself, even though I know it’s a misnomer. After all, it’s not as if shadow warriors are immortal. The nature of our existence is different, but still, we are born, we live, we age, and we die, just like you.”
Once again choosing practicalities over philosophy, Cat pressed, “Anyway, going back to Heaven’s Surrender, what can we do about it?”
“Well, I’m the only one who knows enough about the weapon to shield your world from the overspill of power.”
“How?” Cat asked.
“I was working on a different angle in our war because Kullos wasn’t the only Champion of our people with technical expertise. Not a weapon, but a shield. Some way to keep our enemy out of our plane of reality forever. I can adapt that shield to contain the power of Heaven’s Surrender and protect your world.”
“But how can you access it, if you can’t reach your home plane of reality?” Mandalee wondered.
It was Cat who answered, “Because it’s already here, isn’t it?” she realised. “In Michael’s Tomb.”
Daelen gasped in astonishment, “How on Earth did you figure that one out? Oh, no, don’t tell me: You used your special ability of paying attention.”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? That place is full of technology. Some of it keeps Michael in…what’s that word again…stasis? But that wasn’t its original purpose. It couldn’t be. It was built before Michael even existed. Besides, there’s an entire lower level to the place. I’m guessing that’s where this shield of yours is kept, yes?”
Daelen confirmed it. “In a way, Kullos was partly right all those centuries ago: there was a sort of weapon being built down here. It seemed like the best way to keep it out of enemy hands. She was too busy with our war to even notice the mortal realm. In fact, I don’t believe she even knows it exists.”
“And what fancy name did you give this shield power of yours?” Mandalee asked.
“The only thing I could call it. To my mind, it was a final roll of the dice. There was no way to know if it would be successful in keeping the enemy out. When I came to deploy it against her, in mortal terms, I was just going to close my eyes and make a Wish.”
“So, in a nutshell,” Cat recapped, “you’re planning to steal this ultimate weapon from Kullos, use it against him, and protect our world with a Wish?”
Daelen nodded pensively.
To Mandalee, she remarked, “And you think I have ridiculous radical plans.”
There followed a profound silence, penetrated only when the assassin declared, “Dear gods, I need a drink.”
“Me, too,” Catriona agreed.
“I think we could all use one.” Daelen approved. “Let’s take a break from our mission. We’ve been through a lot already, and there’s plenty more to do, but for now, for the next few hours, I officially veto any conversation about wars, our fight against Kullos and higher planes of reality. There’s loads to do in this place, so let’s just try to forget about it for a while, agreed?”
The two young women glanced at each other, then looked back at Daelen.
“Agreed,” they chimed in unison.
Chapter 19
The three companions spent the next few hours eating, drinking, and shopping. Mandalee was more interested in the clothing and jewellery stores, than was Catriona. She was especially pleased that there didn’t seem to be any issues relating to her gender identity while she was shopping.
“Well, I’m not going to stand here and say there’s no such prejudice in this world,” Daelen sighed. “Sadly, that would be a lie. But in a big city shopping mall like this, frankly, you’re nothing people haven’t seen before.”
The only slight incident was when Mandalee helpfully told a sales assistant that a pair of jeans she was going to try on were damaged. She pointed out the rips and tears on the legs, but apparently, they were meant to be like that. The assistant pointed out other ‘non-ripped styles’ that actually cost less.
A very confused Catriona tried to make sense of it. “Why would clothes that look damaged cost more than clothes that don’t?”
Daelen tried to explain it was c
alled fashion, but neither Mandalee nor Cat really understood.
Several hours in, Mandalee was still thoroughly enjoying the experience and ended up with more bags than she could carry, so Daelen had to help her out as well as pay for everything with something called a ‘credit card’ under the human name ‘Daniel Storm.’ She had already changed three times. The only constant, a pair of silver sapphire earrings that caught the light as they dangled from her ears. They had been her first purchase – love at first sight.
By contrast, Catriona’s initial curiosity in technology and books had quickly evaporated, until enthusiasm had been replaced by irritation and ultimately a nasty temper. She seemed intent on finding reasons to dislike everything she saw. In the end, she refused to buy all but a few basic cotton clothing essentials. Otherwise, her acquisitions were limited to a single black dress made from a synthetic velvet, which she had only accepted because Mandalee picked it out for her, insisting it would look perfect on her. Not wanting to upset her friend, she did her best to wear a fake smile and seem grateful.
In truth, she hated it: The fabric reminded her of Dreya. She was already feeling cut off from her world and this reminder of how much she missed the woman she loved, while at the same time having feelings for Daelen, was like pouring salt into an open wound. But her magically backed promise kept her from explaining the pain this experience was causing her and that made her lash out.
At last, she declared she’d had it with the place and flatly refused to walk another step in any direction other than the exit.
“I’m going back outside to read,” she decided. “You keep wasting your time if you like, but I’m not wasting any more of mine!”
“But you’ve barely bought anything,” Daelen objected. “I thought you’d want to be able to fit in with this world when you go out.”
Cat insisted it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to fit in because she had no intention of setting foot outside Daelen’s place again while they were on Earth.
When Mandalee asked Cat to put some of her stuff in her pocket dimension, her friend snapped, “I can’t! All my connections with our world are severed here, so I can’t access my pocket dimension, and even if I could, it’s not there to be cluttered with stupid, frivolous stuff like your shopping!” Scowling at Daelen, she growled, “Let me know when you’re ready to go. We’ve got more important things to do – or at least, I do.”
Mandalee tried to ask what was wrong, but Cat just turned her back and strode away towards the exit.
*****
Later that evening, back at Daelen’s house, Cat was sitting in a corner, her nose in a book, while her companions chatted on the other side of the room. They occasionally glanced her way, but they treated Cat in the same way one might treat her namesake animal when its claws were out, its tail was wagging, and its fur was standing on end. They sensed that even asking what was wrong was likely to get them scratched, so they simply gave her a wide berth and hoped she would come to them when she was ready.
When Daelen and Mandalee decided to retire for the night, Daelen approached her, but a glare stopped him from approaching within three feet.
“What do you want?” she demanded.
She knew she was being rude, but somehow, she just couldn’t stop herself. From her shapeshifting, she thought she understood what pain was. This place was proving her wrong about that.
“I was just suggesting to Mandalee that we should go to bed now. The time difference in this place can throw you off, but it’s good to try and establish a routine for the next few weeks.”
“Thank you so much for your opinion,” she replied acidly.
“Look, if this is about before, I swear I’m back under control now.”
Cat's only response was a stony silence.
“Tomorrow, we start training properly,” he told her, “so you’ll need to be wide awake for that because I promise you, you’re going to have to use every trick in the book.”
“My tricks aren’t in the book yet, Daelen,” Catriona countered, closing the book she’d been reading to punctuate her statement. “Good night,” she offered; a phrase with no emotion behind it. Refusing to even look at Daelen, she walked away.
*****
Dawn came, and the two girls woke to the scent of cooked eggs, bacon and sausages drifting towards them from the kitchen.
As they rose, drawn to movement from outside, Mandalee offered her friend a “Good Morning,” and got nothing but a “That remains to be seen,” in return. The White Assassin chose not to comment.
There came a polite knock on the door, and a female voice sang, “Heya, loves! Are you up?”
When Mandalee invited her in, the door opened to reveal a young woman standing there. If she were from Tempestria, Mandalee would guess she was in her late teens, no more than two or three years younger than Cat and herself. However, she was clearly not Tempestrian, so she couldn’t be sure. The girl had dark purple skin, golden eyes, catlike ears poking through her dark hair and a tail swishing behind her. Skin tone aside, her face was mostly human-like, but with just a hint of something feline. That was OK. As she’d once told her friend beside her, she’d always got along really well with cats.
“I’m Jessica,” she beamed with a small wave. “I work for Daelen here. He asked us to come and help out while you’re with us. Just wanted to tell you, your breakfast is ready if you’d like to follow me…”
The pair walked with her, through to the dining room, where someone was just finishing up preparing a table for them. Her skin tone was ever-so-slightly paler, Mandalee thought, but otherwise she looked remarkably similar to Jessica. She hoped that wasn’t racist. Just because they were ‘alien’ from her perspective, she’d hate to be one of those people who thought they ‘all looked alike.’
Her fears proved unfounded, however, as Jessica introduced her as, “Sara – my twin sister.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Mandalee offered.
“Likewise,” Sara returned.
Cat remained silent. Jessica and Sara’s eyes flickered towards each other but otherwise did their best to pretend they hadn’t noticed. “If you’d care to sit down, loves?” Jessica invited them. “Cheers,” she smiled when they complied. “Right now, first thing I need to ask: do you have any food allergies I should know about?”
“Food allergies?” Cat wondered.
“Not that we know of,” Mandalee agreed, looking equally blank.
“Well, it’s always good to check,” Jessica opined. “We wouldn’t want to poison Daelen’s visitors on their first day. It’s bad manners,” she laughed.
Then, noticing that her sister seemed to have zoned out for a moment, she declared, “Earth to Sara!”
Sara gave a start. “Hmmm?”
“Shouldn’t you be getting back in the kitchen, love? Before you burn something?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” Sara apologised to their guests, “still recovering from the afterparty,” she explained. “Two hours’ sleep.”
“Hey, it’s the same for me,” Jessica objected, “but I’m proper bright-eyed and,” she flared out the end of her tail, “bushy-tailed as always. You’re just getting old, that’s what it is.” she teased.
“I thought you said you were twins?” Mandalee put in, enjoying their banter.
Jessica was about to say something, but Sara cut her off. “This is the part where she says she’s younger by, like, ten minutes.”
Jessica grinned, “You’re as old as the person you feel, dearie. Speaking of which, how old was that elf boy you were snogging in the corner last night?”
“You saw that?”
“Sara, love, everybody saw that! They put it up on the big screen. Was he really an elf or just a human dressed up?”
“Jessica!” Sara admonished her sister. “You know I never kiss and tell.” With that, she excused herself, saying, “I’ll be in the kitchen.”
As she walked away, Jessica turned back to the two guests and whispered, “To be hones
t, loves, I’m cream-crackered myself. I just hide it better.
“Now,” she continued, “normally I’d ask what you’d like, but we weren’t sure what you’re used to where you’re from, so we figured it’d probably be best if we were to give you a full breakfast and then you can leave anything you don’t want. We won’t be offended. OK, dears?”
Mandalee agreed that sounded reasonable. Cat just nodded, which left Jessica hesitant.
“You sure?” she pressed gently.
“Yes, fine!” Cat affirmed in a belligerent tone.
Jessica flickered a nervous smile and glanced at Mandalee, who offered a small shake of the head in a silent, apologetic, ‘please ignore my friend.’
“There’s water and orange juice on the table,” Jessica told them. “Anything else you need, just give us a nudge, OK, loves?”
“Thank you, Jessica,” Mandalee replied, doing her best to reassure her. “It smells delicious.”
“Well, we’ll do our best,” she replied and left for the kitchen.
When she’d left the room, keeping her voice down, Mandalee rebuked her friend, “Cat, that was rude. Whatever your problem is, I’m pretty sure it’s not Sara and Jessica’s fault. If you want to be grumpy with Daelen and me, fine, but don’t take it out on them.”
Cat’s eyes flashed for a moment, but the fire faltered, and with a sigh, she admitted, “You’re right.” She still wasn’t forthcoming about what her problem was, but she did apologise when Jessica returned. “And say sorry to Sara for me, too, will you?”
“No problem, love,” she replied with a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye as she placed their cooked meals in front of them. “That was nothing. You should see Daelen when he’s in one of his moods.” She shrugged. “It’s part of the job.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be,” Cat insisted, frowning. “I was wrong, it won’t happen again, and next time Daelen’s rude to you, make sure you tell him it’s unacceptable.”
“Maybe I will, at that,” Jessica, her cheeks taking on a golden sheen. Her species’ equivalent of a blush, Cat supposed. “Anyway, I’d best not keep you talking. Don’t want you leaving a bad review on the ‘net cause your breakfast was cold, do I?” she laughed. Then, seeing the blank looks, she dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “Don’t mind me. I’m not from around here – obviously,” she added with a giggle, indicating her body, “but I’ve been here a while and picked up a lot of the lingo with the way I talk. Sara’s not so into it, but I don’t even realise I’m doing it, half the time. Anyway, I’ll leave you guys to it. Give us a nudge if you need anything else, OK, dears?”
Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2) Page 16