Point Taken
Vaati awoke the next morning to darkness. Not due to the hour, he noted, but because of the near black clouds that hung low in the sky, threatening another downpour.
'Rain' he thought wistfully. As a child, the very mention of it instilled fear. A downpour presented the same kind of danger as the fires of war. The fear was still ingrained in him and he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness. There was a small thought in the back of his head, though. Was it actually the weather that had him on edge? He shook it off.
The rhythmic patter above him meant it was beginning to pour from the heavens. Where he grew up in fear, he mused, Marickiya grew up in wonder. She, having lived in a desert all her life, had not been exposed to these inclement elements. He counted her lucky.
He looked towards the loft where she slept and noticed her presence was absent from the room. She wasn't in the house or within the vicinity at all. He hummed quietly.
Perhaps she went out to ride her horse in the rain. It wouldn't be unlike her to wander around the village or just outside it. The thought passed and he resumed his morning ritual despite the sleepy feeling he still had.
Vaati dragged himself over to the window where the water basin lay. He dipped his pale hands into the coolness to wet them and cupped them around his face to wash away any traces of sleep that still lingered. Despite the attempt to relax, there was something unsettling that dwelt on his heart and he wished he could pinpoint what was causing it. He was toweling his damp skin when the door opened.
Link walked in and removed his hood from his cloak that protected him from getting too wet. He looked up and spotted Vaati. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments. Then Link tore his eyes away. He hid it well, but there was always an air of enmity about him when they were alone. The hero only endured his presence for their shared companion. Link dropped off his bags and cloak at his bedside and began rummaging through the things he had brought in. He started to pull out groceries and placed them onto the counter where they usually prepared food. He looked up at the loft.
"Have you seen Mari?" He asked as he turned his gaze back to the mage.
"No," Vaati replied, "I just woke up."
"Late start?" He was trying to converse idly with Vaati but it was like he felt uncomfortable being in the same room with him. It was equally as awkward for him.
"I-is it that late in the morning?" Vaati sputtered unintentionally. He cleared his throat and tried gathering his thoughts.
"No, I suppose not," Link trailed off. He turned away and started seeing to the chores around the house. "She wasn't here when I got up. I thought she would have returned by now." He stated.
"Do you think we should look for her?" Vaati asked quietly. Link watched him try to simulate a passive face.
"She's probably just on a roof somewhere watching the rain. I don't think we need to worry." Vaati let out a breath. He wished Marickiya would return so it wasn't so stifling.
For a while, things were uneventful. Link, to keep his mind off of the growing threat that was Ganondorf and his inability to take immediate action, cleaned and worked on other tasks that needed to be seen to around the house. Vaati worked on revising spells and all other things related to practicing magic. It was relatively quiet and still a bit tense while Marickiya wasn't around.
Imagine his delight when the door opened and a dark skinned girl with short hair entered the room. Link said his hello with a wave and she smiled cheerily at him. Vaati however, did not offer a greeting.
There was something different about her. Something was off. Her scent, her aura, was nothing like what he was accustomed to. It was like she was a completely different person. He watched her as she moved about the room. It wasn't threatening, just off.
"Man, I'm soaked. It's coming down like nothing I've ever seen before," she said. Disapproval laced her voice. Still, neither of these characteristics was suspicious enough to be wary. It wasn't like he sensed any darkness from her. It wasn't the obvious change in her very essence that threw him off.
As he studied her, he found only one physical thing out of place; a leather cord hung around her neck and disappeared into her shirt. Marickiya didn't own any jewelry to his knowledge, though she could have bought something while she was out, he reasoned. The longer he stared, the more apparent it became to him just why he had been having misgivings all morning. His stomach dropped when he realized why the cord looked- no, felt- so familiar to him.
His body responded before his thought's fully caught up. He called on his power and flew across the room and separated Marickiya from Link, which incidentally sent the latter sprawling to the floor. There was a heavy 'Thud' as he threw the girl against the wall and held her there with a thin sword at her throat.
"What in the hell are you doing?!" Link screamed while he tried picking himself up. He had pure hatred plastered all over his face. Vaati, for the moment, ignored him and threw a barrier around himself that Link crashed into.
"So nice to see you again," Vaati said dangerously to the girl within his grasp. She merely gave him a fierce scowl as she winced at the grip he had on her throat. Link was banging against the barrier between himself and his two companions, still yelling at Vaati to stop. Knowing his efforts were fruitless, he watched helplessly, his ferocity quickly growing.
"What happened?" He jeered, "You used to have so much to say. Why so tight-lipped?" She still only glared at him. His own anger was beginning to surface and it was difficult keeping it in check. His taunting turned to a low growl at her silence. "Did you think I would not notice?" His sword disappeared from his hand with a lazy flick of his wrist and his hand moved to the cord around her neck.
She gasped as he pulled a beetle-like pendant from out of her shirt.
"I'll be taking this back." He untied the leather behind her neck and pocketed his belonging.
She knew she had been caught then and gave it up. Before he could say anything more, the girl was chuckling and her form began to liquefy beneath him. Her giggling grew in intensity until it was full on manic laughter and her whole body shifted, changing her features to reveal who she truly was. Lana.
"You are a tricky one, aren't you?" She continued to giggle even though Vaati put more pressure on her neck. "Too bad she wasn't so clever." Both Link and Vaati's faces fell into dismay at her words.
"What did you do?" Vaati thrust her against the wall again, no longer holding back his fury. She yelped in pain, but he held her fast. "Where is she?!" He yelled but it was too late.
"You'll never find her." And as quick as a bolt of lightning, she melted into the shadows behind her leaving only the imprint of her gleaming red eyes in his retinas and a ghost of a chuckle that reverberated in his skull.
Vaati stood in silence for a moment, seething. He let down the barrier and was about to turn around to address this development when a fist came from nowhere and collided with his face sending him to the wall and knocking over a nightstand. Little lights danced in his eyes as he tried regaining his balance and head. Holding the wall for support, he turned to Link, his attacker.
"You let her go!" Link shouted at him, fuming. Vaati was a little surprised by Link's reaction.
"As if I could stop her," he said with little more than irritation on his tongue. He could taste blood. Link was spluttering for words to say. "Look, Link, I fully acknowledge your distaste of me but right now is really not the time to be exploiting it." Vaati paused after this statement. Link still looked like he was ready to fly off the handle again. "You can hit me all you want later... after we've found her."
Link held his fists tightly.
"Deal?"
Link looked up with resentment in his eyes, but there also, was agreement. He headed for the door, not bothering to pick up his cloak, and ran out without closing it. Vaati was alone in the room as the raindrops beat hard in the entryway.
0000
It was a struggle regaining consciousness. Marickiya had no sense of being and for a moment was afraid she had somehow died. But that didn't make sense to her. Nothing did.
'Where am I?' She could think and she could definitely feel for there was a dull aching somewhere near her forehead. Had something hit her? She couldn't remember. Taking slow breaths as she started to completely awaken, she noticed those breaths were fairly laborious to take. She felt light headed. Deciding she should try out her normal functions to see what worked and what didn't, she opened her eyes. When she did, it was like they were still closed. Everything around her was pitch black. She tried turning her head to the sides of her and the small movement made her groan involuntarily. Her neck was sore, from what she had not a clue. She reached up in an attempt to see if she could maneuver through the darkness, but there was something very close to her that obstructed her movement. More confusion settled into her mind along with anxiousness. She moved her hands around to one side and found another obstruction. She felt slightly nauseated as a small notion seeped into her thoughts. To confirm her theory, she gently moved her hands to the other side. Another wall. She reached with her feet towards the bottom of the enclosure and there was yet another wall.
She was trapped in a box.
Her breathing quickened at this new frightening revelation. After a moment of frantic thoughts, a voice of reason wedged itself into the midst of them. If she was trapped and she was already short of breath, then breathing even harder from fear would definitely not help her situation. She forced her thoughts to disperse and concentrated on slowing her airflow. Another wave of nausea washed over her.
'This is bad,' she thought to herself. She had no clue where she was or where Link and Vaati were or if they even knew she was missing. She tried remembering how she could have possibly gotten herself into this predicament but could come up with nothing. The last thing she remembered was waiting for the guys to wake up she could tell them what she found out in the night. Getting impatient with that, she went up to her usual place to watch it rain on the town. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious. She wasn't even sure if it was the same day as the last moment she remembered.
She was too closed in and she just wanted to curl up into herself to become smaller. She placed her palms on the top of her enclosure and pushed. It didn't budge at all. It was sickening how quiet it was. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. Fear, again, crept into her thoughts and a tear rolled unchecked down her temple and into her hair. She had another fit she had to force down to conserve her limited air. What in all hell was happening?
0000
Rain poured down even harder as Link rushed out of the house toward the stables. To the Hero, it was mocking him.
He knew it had been completely inappropriate of him to strike Vaati. It wasn't the mage's fault that Marickiya had been ambushed by their assassin. He knew Lana was after them and he should have been better prepared. They should have stuck closer together. He partially wanted to blame her for not being careful enough, but he had no idea what happened. He couldn't blame Marickiya, he told himself.
As he neared the entrance to Kakariko, shouts carried through the rain. Another sound accompanied it. Clashing metal.
He changed directions and sprinted toward the entryway where the commotion was coming from. Upon his arrival, he saw the backs of many village men gathered under the arched entrance. One of the men waved him over when they noticed him.
"You're quick to arrive," the man said as he hid behind what looked like hastily constructed defenses.
"What's going on?" Link asked.
"We're under attack. Moblins, Stalfos, Lizalfos, you name it, it's down there," he thumbed in the direction of the bottom of the stairs. Link peered over the edge of the shield of wooden slats at the thronging monsters below, only slowed by another makeshift barrier at the foot of the stairs. "It only just started. One of our men caught sight of them before the rains really started coming down and we were able to fortify the entrances a bit before they got here," he said and watched Link pull out his new bow and started taking out some of the enemies trying to climb the pile of debris barring their advance.
"Have you seen Marickiya?" Link said as a barrage of arrows came sailing up towards them, both of them ducking out of range.
"No, sir." The man replied. "Why, is something wrong?"
"I don't know where she is. She could be in a lot of trouble," Link's face darkened. The man grasped his shoulder.
"We've got this here, man." They looked into each others' determined faces and Link nodded.
After a wave of arrows passed, he got up and ran back to the village. There were people milling about in confusion and Link was stopped by a man he recognized as the potions shop owner.
"What's happening?" He demanded of Link.
"The village is under attack. Gather the remaining men. Find as many bows and arrows and bring them to the village entrance." The man nodded and jogged off to begin his mission.
Now Link could begin his search for Marickiya. Where would he start? He thought hard about what Lana had said when she'd been found out.
'You'll never find her.' 'Too bad she wasn't so clever.' He did not want to think about that last sentence. She made it sound like Marickiya was already...
No! He had to focus. Oh how he wished he hadn't been so irritated at her yesterday.
He ran between houses, searching every nook and cranny he could get to, knowing it would not be that easy. From what it looked like, Marickiya was either dead or captured. She wouldn't be in the village if it was the latter. He had to believe she was alive though. He would not accept the only other truth.
"Marickiya!"
0000
Vaati sat in a meditative pose, eyes closed. He hadn't even bothered to close the door that Link had stormed out of. He was concentrating on pinning down Marickiya's consciousness.
He could not feel her up until a few moments ago. He had begun his search as soon as Link had left and at first there was nothing. Then, she was there suddenly. Close by, even. That both relieved him and unsettled him. Her entire being was shrouded in fear.
Forcing his worry aside, he noticed something. There was some kind of huge physical blockage that was keeping him from finding her immediately. He couldn't even tell what the blockage was or where it even came from. He took a guess that maybe Lana's lingering presence that had initially thrown him off had something to do with it. Whatever it was, it wasn't dissipating.
He kept her consciousness locked and pushed it to the side for a moment while he searched for Link. He was incredibly easy to find, running frantically around the village, dodging people and shouting their shared companion's name. He was a bit surprised at how quickly he was able to find him when it was so tedious to locate Marickiya. He pushed Link out of his mind and refocused on her. She was still as elusive as ever. He was irritated.
Something else demanded to be noticed. A gathering at the fore of the town. And it wasn't just townspeople. He saw a massive horde of monsters congregating at the foot of the stairs trying to force their way in. That was unnerving. He would not be convinced that Marickiya's disappearance and the situation at the entrance were unrelated. They were being attacked purposefully, because they were vulnerable. His teeth grit together uncomfortably.
"Marickiya, where are you?" He said quietly to himself. He felt exceptionally foolish for letting this happen essentially right in front of him. He knew Lana's intentions, he should have been more attentive. This occurrence was becoming increasingly common. Too often did he let his guard down around this girl. He should know better. After all he'd been through and everything he'd done, he shouldn't fall to these weaknesses. The usual guilt began to set in on his thoughts. But he wouldn't be distracted from his search just yet. He could brood later.
He thought to spread out his senses a bit more. He closed off immediate senses such as hearing and smell and touch, and used their energies towards fanning out a more broad layer of himself over the village. He could see every person in the village preparing for the oncoming attack. There was something at the entrance to Death Mountain Trail that caught his attention. There was some amount of disquiet coming from the gate and he noticed another white silhouette, large in girth and short in stature. It definitely wasn't what he was looking for, so he put it aside in his mind for the moment.
As he was retreating back to his body, something else distracted him. He turned his spectral self to look in the direction of the thing and his breath caught. There was a swirling void-like entity looming on one side of the village near the windmill. He had no idea what to make of it. The deep blackness troubled him.
Back in his right mind again, he got up and headed for the door. He looked around at the bustling village that he could see, then glided up to the roof of the house. He could easily sense the strange void now that he knew it was there. It came from just outside the village wall. There was even an archway that led to it.
He had a sudden feeling of uneasiness.
'I really hope that has nothing to do with Marickiya,' he thought, disheartened.
0000
Marickiya let out an aggravated snarl as the top of her tiny prison would absolutely not budge no matter how hard she pushed or beat at it. She imagined her hands must be bloodied pretty bad if the stinging was anything to go off of. The pressed in air felt even more close to her. The panic of being in the tight space was starting to settle in on her no matter how hard she tried to push it down. She didn't know how long she had been in this box or how long she would have to remain in it.
'You're completely worthless.'
That had started a few moments ago as well. There was a criticizing voice in the back of her mind that berated her incessantly. She chose to ignore it for the moment.
'You may as well just die here. No one would care.'
Gritting her teeth, she started pushing against the topmost wall again. She gathered that there was something very heavy on top of it that was keeping it from moving easily.
"What the hell?!" she strained to push with all she had. It wouldn't give. As another wave of panic and nausea shot through her, she screamed out and started banging on the walls. "Let me out!" She shouted, knowing no one would hear her. The response of silence had already made that clear. Tears streamed down her face and she choked from the lack of oxygen.
'It's pointless. There's no saving yourself this time.'
She stopped abruptly as a realization hit her. She knew who's voice it was that she was imagining.
'Selfish! Your half-existence means nothing to anyone!' A sickening memory flooded her thoughts.
She had been wandering the village in the rain. Something was leading her to a place where no one seemed to approach. It led her through an archway, naturally made into the rock wall. There, she found a graveyard. She had been wandering the rows of neatly placed tombstones when she heard a voice. She turned around and saw-
"NO!" she shouted. "NO NO NO!" She was hyper-ventilating and slamming her whole body around in an attempt to escape. The one who she had met in the cemetery; her face lingered in her visage as if it had been burned permanently into her eyes. She was completely overtaken by fear. She had lost all reason and sense of calm. It was only a matter of time before she used up all her air. She began to sob in between hacking coughs.
"H-help me…"
0000
Link was frantic in his search. He could not live with himself for losing his friend. He arrived at the stables. Not having a whole lot of space, it wasn't long before he was making his way back outside. When he attempted to exit, a distressed horse whiny brought him back.
Epona stared at him with curious eyes and snorted in his direction. He thought it strange that Epona would make such a sound. She was usually so well mannered. Then he looked past her and made the realization that it hadn't been Epona he'd heard.
Trysting was acting up, pawing at the gated enclosure wildly. Link stared for a moment, then on a whim, grabbed his reigns and led him outside.
The horse acted even weirder once outside the stable. He would yank at his reigns in one direction and stare determinedly, then shake his head brusquely and paw at the ground. He did this several times in different directions. He could sense something was wrong.
The horse was becoming more agitated and was kicking up dirt. With all the people running around, Link thought it better to tie him down to keep him at the stable. Though the mare was missing his rider, there was no way he knew where Marickiya was. On his way out, he looked back to see Trysting staring at him with sad eyes.
"Don't worry, boy. I'll bring her back." Then he ran before he was overcome with any more guilt.
Link stood in the middle of the town amidst the scrambling townspeople, not knowing where to turn next. His eyes roved over his home and saw Vaati, using magic, drifting up to the roof. He felt shame. The way he acted towards the mage was childish. He knew very well that he cared for Marickiya. He knew they cared for each other. He also cared for her and respected her as well, despite how little they knew of each other. He had overreacted and lashed out at Vaati for something so stupid. He wouldn't even give himself the excuse that it had been in the heat of the moment. He shouldn't attack his allies.
He could see Marickiya in his mind's eye.
"Why did you do that?" She said to him with her illusory hands on her hips. "You need to go apologize." He smiled to himself through a knot in his throat.
"I know," and with that he made his way back home.
As he got close he saw Vaati staring off in the direction of the graveyard. When he reached the top steps to their miniature courtyard, Vaati noticed his approach. He drew near the edge of the roof and jumped down. His tied back hair was all mottled and plastered to his face and his soaked black tunic stuck to his frame. Link thought he probably didn't look much better.
"Have you found anything yet?" He asked of him. Vaati solemnly shook his head.
"I have been searching for her using magical means and the only thing I've been able to find out is that she's nearby, but I don't know where exactly."
"She's still in the village." Link repeated, reassuring himself. He looked back up to see there was a thin line of blood still caked down the mage's chin. "Listen, Vaati. I... I shouldn't have hit you. I'm sorry."
Vaati looked a bit surprised for a split second. It had come and gone so fast, Link could have easily mistaken that it had even happened.
"Do not worry about it," he unconsciously wiped at his lip with the heel of his hand. "I understand why you reacted." He stated. Then he looked downcast, "I should have told you what I was doing. Right away I should have warned you that it was Lana," Link only replied with a somewhat comforting hand on his shoulder and a fierce look of determination.
"We will find her." He said resolutely.
Vaati had a sudden sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was still connected to Marickiya and she was starting to cave in to fear. Her anxiety was heightened in that moment and he could feel it.
"We should keep looking," Link suggested. He noticed the pained look in Vaati's eyes before he said this. The mage pursed his lips and clenched his jaw tight to keep the nausea that he was feeling quelled. He could only nod in agreement.
Link told him he had already asked around and no one had seen anything. They agreed that they needed to widen the search. Every few minutes, Marickiya's panicked state would peak and Vaati would feel a little weak for a second. This sense that he could feel her but not know where she was hidden was driving him mad. It was like she was nowhere but at the same time everywhere at once. They weren't making any headway on asking the villagers, so Vaati suggested Death Mountain Trail.
"I saw something up there earlier. I do not know what it was though."
"Alright, let's check it out."
They neared the gate and saw movement. When they were close enough, it was revealed that a Goron was building some sort of rocky wall. He looked up from his work at their arrival.
"Link, brother," he said excitedly, "What's happening?" Upon seeing their grim expressions he added, "Nothing good, looks like."
"There's a mass of monsters attacking the village and we're missing a friend of ours," he said as the Goron straightened up to his full height which was only a few inches taller than himself. "Have you seen a woman around here? She's a little shorter than me with short hair," Link began but the Goron was shaking his head.
"I'm sorry I haven't seen anyone around and I've been at this gate all night." He indicated his wall he was making, "Since it's been raining so much, we feared there could be a mudslide. I think my work is pretty much done here, though. I'll go up to the city and see about getting you guys some back up." He gave him a thumbs up and Link nodded.
"Thanks."
"Anything for a brother," and with that, the Goron scaled his rock and mud wall and rolled up the path behind it.
He turned back to Vaati who hadn't been paying attention to the conversation and was staring off towards the graveyard again. "Can you sense something?"
Vaati shook his head. "I cannot tell. Nothing to do with Mari, I do not think. There is just something…dark." He turned to face Link, "Do you know what is over there?" It was a bit off-putting when Link's expression darkened at his question.
"Over there is the graveyard and beyond it, the Shadow Temple." His ears perked at this. "Do you think it's possible she could be there?"
It took a second for Link's question to register in Vaati's thoughts. He had been thinking about what could possibly be lurking in a graveyard and temple of shadows that could meddle with his senses. He nodded slowly.
"It is... possible," he said. Without a word, Link started to make his way over to the graveyard. Vaati got another uneasy feeling that, for once, wasn't connected to the Gerudo girl.
The two hurried over to the opening in the wall that was making Vaati so nervous. The short path ended at another archway. The graveyard seemed pretty harmless at first glance. He looked up as Link gestured towards a fenced off alcove sitting just above the largest head stone.
That was what was interfering with Vaati's magic. It was teeming with darkness and the longer he stared, the more his stomach knotted. They kept moving towards the alcove, then stopped and stared up at the fence.
"Come on, then," Link urged. He didn't seem too happy about entering either.
"Right," Vaati swallowed, then grabbed Link's forearm and leapt entirely over the fence. With a light landing, they started down the stairs that led to the underground temple. The further they traversed, the darker and quieter it became.
Vaati was beginning to feel quite dizzy when they came upon a circular room full of lit torches. An open doorway was just beyond it. He followed Link as he passed the torch room and walked past the stone door and down a confined hallway. Vaati's head swam and he teetered for a moment, bumping into Link.
"Sorry," he said as he held his head with one hand. Link grabbed him as he fell towards the ground. Voices were whispering in his ears harshly, coming to a crescendo with each step they took.
"What's wrong?" Link asked as he struggled to hold up the wind sorcerer.
"The spirits in here, they are…" He groaned as a wave of sickness washed over him. All of his senses were snuffed out. Only the whispers filled him, warning him to leave or die. He was no longer connected to Marickiya's consciousness; he couldn't even sense Link standing right next to him. "Link, she is not here," he said.
"How do you know for sure?" Link asked worriedly as he started to half drag Vaati back towards the exit.
"When we were outside, I could sense her," he didn't think he could say much more with his head spinning as much as it was, but he noticed Link's hesitation. "This place is blocking my senses. If she were in here, I do not think I would be able to sense her at all"
They walked back towards the top of the stairs and the fenced area. Vaati's head began to clear just as soon as the rain started pelting the top of his head again. He took several gulps of fresh air to steady himself. Then pulled himself upright.
"Sorry for that." He said. Link looked on in wonder.
"Why does it affect you so much?" he said. Vaati thought for a moment.
"Sorcerers are more sensitive to the will of a spirit," he said as he pulled his hair back that had fallen in front of his face, "And there are a great number of angry spirits here." He was still a bit shaken just from entering the temple. Link looked somber.
"I've had to visit this place before. I knew about the spirits. I should've warned you." He said. Vaati waved a quavering hand at him.
"It is fine." Now that they were back outside, he could feel her again. Though her aura had faded from what it was before. Fear and anxiety were still prevalent, but it was like she was on the verge of falling asleep. That disturbed him.
"Alright." Link looked pensive for a second, "If she isn't here, then where is she?" Vaati shook his head.
"I do not know." How he hated not knowing.
They hopped back over the fence and were heading back to Kakariko when it happened.
A vision of Marickiya flashed right in front of him. She was crying and looked as she were in a lot of pain. He yelled out in surprise and tumbled into Link again. He fell to his knees as he blacked out momentarily.
"What is it? The spirits-?"
"No," he said as he started to come to. He stared at the wet blades of grass between his fingers. "No," he slowly got up. He looked at Link with a confused expression. He waited another moment before taking a few steps towards the exit. Link followed suit.
"Vaati..."
He whipped around searching the area frantically and finding nothing. He had heard her voice. Using a name had a power all its own, and she had spoken his. He was completely connected to her in the moment. They were very close.
Link had walked ahead a little before noticing his companion had stopped again. He was getting a little agitated.
"What is it?" He asked, managing to keep the irritation out of his voice. Vaati said something he couldn't hear. "I didn't catch-" Vaati turned abruptly.
"She's here." He said. Link looked bewildered. "She… she's in one of the graves."
"What?" Link was aghast and took a look at the surrounding mounds. There were no bothered soil in the cemetery at all. Vaati began to walk the rows. He opened all of the senses taught to him, magic and natural, not caring how painful it was to have every single one exposed to an onslaught of chaotic elements. He searched desperately with Link behind him, blind. He walked past one and felt another kick of Marickiya's consciousness. He was closing in on her. He ran to the end of the last row and the second to last headstone stood unmarked and solitary in his vision. He dropped to his knees and placed his palms upon the wet grass and mud. He put his ear to the ground and heard a series of weak thumps that made his heart trill.
"She's here," he said again. He pushed Link back before he could begin digging up the dirt atop Marickiya and prepared an erosion spell. He closed his eyes and intertwined his fingers over the side of the grave and then with a mighty push, began blowing great chunks of earth away from their quarry. It took a matter of seconds before he had finished his work but then something hit him.
It was like a snap of a finger, and then there was nothing. He couldn't feel her anymore.
Fear creeping into his frantic thoughts, he jumped down into his hole he had made and uncovered an old coffin. With a tug, he wrenched the lid open.
Marickiya was indeed in the coffin, but she was as still and silent as the dead. The image sickened Vaati.
"Marickiya!" Link shouted as he slid down the length of earth and joined Vaati next to the half Gerudo. "Mari?" he yelled in anguish as he grasped her shoulder. She remained motionless. He put his palm on her neck. "Dammit," he whispered through a choke.
"Hold on," Vaati said. No healing magic could revive anyone in this state. Not that he could utilize that kind of power anyway. He went through his list of spells. The problem was she needed to be awake. Maybe shocked awake.
Vaati set to work immediately. He didn't know if this would work but he was willing to try just about anything. He used his wind sorcery to dry them all off. Easy. Then he threw an elemental barrier around them to keep them dry. Now the hard part. Link looked on with doubt, curiosity, and worry all etched in the lines of his face which were more pronounced than usual. He lifted Mari's shirt up and placed a hand just under her left breast. Then he placed his other hand on her right shoulder. He closed his eyes and readied a charge.
"What are you doing?" Link asked just as Vaati let an electric volt course through Marickiya's torso between his hands and her body surged upward. Link gasped, clearly in a panic.
"It's alright," Vaati told him as he readied another bolt of electricity. The second one was more successful than the first. Mari coughed and sputtered for a second then was still again. He was more than elated that this was even working. The sorcerer let one more volt loose and Mari was then coughing more vigorously. Link looked on, beside himself with anxiety, but let Vaati work.
After a short fit, her chest was heaving up and down with steady breathing. Vaati took his hands off of her chest and placed a hand on her forehead. She was unconscious and breathing somewhat normally. She was saved. He let out a shaky breath. He fell back in relief and exhaustion. His barrier fell around them along with splashing raindrops. Link leaned down into the pit and checked the small Gerudo girl over. She was covered in insects, dirt, and blood. He tried to clean her off as much as he could. They needed to get her to the house.
Link pulled her prone form up and out of the dirt and positioned her legs where he could get his arm under and around them to hoist her up. Vaati helped to pick them up out of the grave, not bothering to recover it. They rushed out of the cemetery together.
Before they could make it to their house though, they were met with a discouraging sight. The monsters had broken free of the barricades and were pouring into the village. The men couldn't hold them off. Too many were injured and retreating. The women and children of those who fought were yelling for their loved ones. Everything was in chaos.
"Link," Vaati said in a low, stoic voice. Link looked over to see pure malice lining his face. "Get everyone back." He walked off in the direction of the oncoming horde, and Link could have sworn he saw Vaati's eye glowing a deep crimson.
Still carrying Marickiya's prone form, he started yelling for everyone to get back to safety. He called out to fall back, screaming it as loud as he could. Everyone within hearing of his shout were pulling the others back, allowing Vaati to take point.
"What's he doing?" The man who had first informed Link of the situation had sidled up to Link with a worried expression. Link didn't have to answer his question.
There was a gust of wind that rushed toward the mage and formed a protective barrier around him sending his clothes and hair flying. Then Vaati raised an arm and the wind was directed at the enemy. Dirt and other debris were picked up and suddenly there was a cyclone, controlled by the wind sorcerer, in between the high walls picking up Moblins and dismantling skeleton fighters. The whistling was almost unbearable. People were backing up even more, some running indoors for shelter.
To top it all off, Vaati brought his hand back down into a fist and blinding bolts of lightning began to dance through the wind tunnel. They couldn't see what was going on in the tornado, but they heard cries of pain for a few moments, then there was nothing. Vaati dropped his hand and the winds started to die out. There was nothing that remained of the enemy army. The man gawked at Link's side.
"I'm sure glad he's on our side." He stated and for once, Link agreed.