21. High Stakes

Summary: Callista's life-and the life of her unborn child-is put in danger when Nuriel's Shadow makes a deal with her. Dagran, Um, Gil and Zoran have to figure out a way not to get spotted by anyone as they guide themselves through Lazulis City. Finally, as Therius arrives in Melodia after much travelling, Tahirah performs the Song of Plenteousness-and the results of it are devastating to her and everyone close to her as well.

Characters: Callista, Zael, Nuriel's Shadow, Dagran, Um, Gil, Zoran, Therius, Tahirah, Nuriel, Arlyn, Zesha

Callista sat at a desk, gazing over battle plans for the upcoming encounter between Lazulis and the Reptids. She couldn't believe the recent news-Um and Gil had apparently escaped the Reptid Headquarters, marking Gil as a traitor to his kind and Um the next target on the Reptids' hit list. She prayed that the two were alright-that they were safe somewhere, where no one could find them.

Shaking her head, she continued to read the reports. It was troubling that a war could be brewing so quickly, so soon, and just after Lazulis had made peace with the Gurak as well. She thought of Zesha, the current king of the Gurak, for a moment. Was he alright? She wondered if he'd heard of the news, or if he was too occupied with helping Melodia. She had heard that Zesha had personally went to Melodia to help Tahirah find the Song of Plenetousness. If that was so, there was no way Lazulis was going to get any assistance for now.

"Well, well, well..."

She felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end as a familiar voice oozed into existence. She dared not to look up as a dark chuckle resounded, before the voice continued speaking.

"It's about time I talked to you personally, Lady Callista."

She immediately looked up to see none other than the Shadow standing in front of her. Immediately, she stood, slowly walking around the desk to face him properly as she spoke, ready to whip out a light-magic attack if she needed to. "What do you want, Shadow?" She tried her best to sound as cold as possible, and it was easy to-this man could have killed Nuriel, nearly hurt her other friends as well- "What business do you have with me?"

Nuriel's Shadow smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind his ear as he leaned against a nearby wall. "Well," He started, "I thought I'd go see how my original was doing, but it seems that he's not here. And I don't intend on travelling anytime soon, see, because I nearly got killed the last time I did." Crossing his arms, he continued to speak. "Unfortunately, I also know that the dear Lady Tahirah keeps strongly to her word. Going to Melodia isn't going to help me-she'd get me annihilated in seconds the moment she knew that I stepped into her little kingdom." He frowned slightly, letting out a sigh. "If he'd been here, this would make things so much easier..."

"You want to fight him, don't you?" Callista remarked, crossing her arms. "The last few times I've seen you, you've always been ranting about how much you wanted to fight Nuriel to the death."

"Precisely!" He snapped his fingers, causing a small sphere of flames to appear in his hand. Tossing the sphere upwards repeatedly, gently, without any care in the world, he paused for a moment before continuing to speak. "I really didn't want to make things so complicated, honestly, but this is the best thing I can think of...You are pregnant, right?"

"Huh?" Callista unconsciously touched her abdomen with one hand-she had only been pregnant for about three weeks, as far as she knew. She then realized, immediately, what the Shadow could be thinking of-

And was unable to defend herself in time as black energy cracked and sparked around her, making her weak in the knees as the pain of the attack caused her to let out a scream. She wavered for a moment, before falling to her knees.

"Callista!" Zael burst into the room, immediately taking note of his fallen wife and the Shadow. "What the hell did you do to her, you bastard?" He snapped, taking out his sword and standing between Callista and the Shadow. "Don't you dare lay a hand on her any further!"

The Shadow laughed, before starting to explain. "I used my abilities to cast a 'Death' spell on her, except a little different. Instead of dying within five seconds, the unborn baby in her will die within three days, and possibly her too, as well. I'll give you three days, Zael, to get Nuriel to come back to Lazulis, or else they'll both die at the stroke of midnight three days from now..."

Before Zael could even start cursing the Shadow, he disappeared in a flurry of flames. The former mercenary rushed to Callista's side, trying to help her stand as he shouted for help.

"Someone, please! Help me carry her to the infirmary!"

"Is it clear yet?"

Gil's voice wavered slightly. Dagran looked around carefully, before nodding once. The four crept into a nearby alley, before Zoran pulled down his hood.

"Alright, pretty boy, do we really have to wear these hoods?" The theif-turned-merchant complained. "I'm a trustworthy man! No one is going to arrest me!"

"Yeah, right..." Gil muttered underneath his breath, but Dagran pretended not to notice the 'pretty boy' comment as he started to explain.

"I get the point that the people of Lazulis will trust us. But what about Um and Gil? If they find us helping them, who are supposed to be on the Reptids' side, things could get ugly. Zoran, if they find out, no one is going to come to your shop anymore. Do you really want that to happen?"

Zoran let out a groan, before putting the hood back on. "No..."

"Good. Now, let's keep going." The four slowly walked through the alley, continuing to look around in case there were other people wandering through the place as well. Um exhaled once, before he spoke up again.

"Dagran?"

The other three turned to look at him, and the islander swallowed a little before he continued to speak.

"...Will I be able to see Horace and Meredith?" Um trembled slightly, biting his lip a little. "I know it's...dangerous, but...will I be able to see them again?"

Zoran and Gil turned towards Dagran, who exhaled a little. Taking a deep breath, he managed a reply. "I'm not sure if now is such a good idea-it's dangerous for you and all, but...I'll make sure that you see them again."

Dagran honestly didn't know if it would be possible for Um to see Meredith and Horace again. Things were getting so dangerous, and Dagran was sure that Gil and Um being at risk of getting arrested was only a fraction of all the danger that could occur. For now, though, Dagran couldn't focus on those other things-he just needed to get Um and Gil somewhere safe, for now...

The unfortunate part was, though, that it seemed that nowhere was safe.

"We're not stopping until we reach Melodia." Therius told the soldiers accompanying him for the third time in a row. "It is of dire need that Melodia may need reinforcements, and we cannot leave them unguarded in case the-"

"Sir?" One of the soldiers spoke up, coughing a little. "Begging your pardon, Sir Therius, but we are here now."

Therius dismounted the steed he'd been traveling on (all of the knights had been traveling on horse, to be quick), and could not say a word for a moment. Melodia seemed so...full of ash, completely lifeless. It was as if something had came and literally sucked the life and colour out of it.

And then, before he realized it, a voice echoed from far away, trailing from the castle and winding its loveliness around everything in existence.

Zesha and Yurick could do nothing but watch as Lady Tahirah continued to sing. Closing his eyes, the Gurak King merely listened. Nuriel on violin and Arlyn at the piano made for a perfect accompaniment, their melodies intertwining with the Melodia Countess' voice.

He was no expert in music, but the sound was...heavenly. It was as if it was not a mere human singing that melody or playing those instruments. No, this was the sound of angels. It had been so long since he heard her voice, and Zesha was glad to be there to hear it.

At the same time, though, he felt helpless. He noticed the three trembling slightly as they continued performing the song-the very effort of continuing to do so was increasingly painful, he was sure, and he knew he could do nothing to alleviate their pain. He had no skills in magic-only in the art of the sword. If only Zepha was here, not killed by Yurick, then maybe...

The Gurak King shook his head. That was then, this is now. He must not think about the past. Not at a time like this, when Tahirah needed his support most.

The sound of a door opening caught his attention, just as the song ended. A familiar knight, clad in white armor, rushed into the room.

"Tahirah!"

Zesha turned, only to see Lady Tahirah Zakiyaa collapse onto the floor, unmoving. The both of them rushed over to her, as well as Arlyn and Nuriel (albeit slower, because they were still recovering from the toll the performance took on their own health) and Zesha touched the Melodia Countess' forehead.

"She's feverish.." Zesha muttered quietly, before glancing at the knight beside him (what was his name again? Therius? Wait, why was he even here?). "We need to get her to the infirmary immediately-"

"I should have known." Therius' voice sounded solemn, his eyes just staring at nothing but the fallen Countess in front of him. "Tahirah, I should have known...that you would have..." He shook his head, before starting to scoop her up in his arms. "You're right, Lord Zesha." He managed to say after a moment, voice cracking slightly. "We need to get her to the infirmary immediately. I apologize for being here so suddenly-I will explain as soon as we get her some medical attention."

It didn't take long to rush Tahirah to the infirmary, with Therius running as fast as he could with Tahirah in his arms, with Zesha and Yurick rushing after him. Arlyn and Nuriel were left in the dust more than once, and neither of them liked it but knew that the Countess needed attention now. Gurak and Lazulis healers came to their aid, doing their best to help. All the others could do was wait and pray that things would be alright. Zesha, Nuriel, Yurick and Therius stayed outside the infirmary while the healers did their work, with Arlyn assisting.

Hours passed by, full of waiting and praying and hoping that she was going to be alright.

Arlyn finally walked out of the infirmary, closing the door behind him.

"Is she alright?" Therius asked, his heart leaping towards some sort of hope, that maybe she was alright and the damage done to her was probably minor but easily repairable...

Arlyn took a deep breath, pushing a lock of hair out of his face. "Well..."

Yurick spoke up before the advisor could continue. "Don't tell me she's..."

"She's alive."

Those two words were all it took for Therius' stern, tense expression to turn into relief. "Thank goodness..." He murmured quietly. "Thank goodness she's-"

"Um...there is a problem, though."

"What?" The knight looked up. "What is it? Is it serious?"

"Well, in terms of her life, no, but..." Arlyn bit his lip, before speaking. "She can't speak or sing anymore. Her special can no longer be used."

Nuriel, Yurick, Therius and Zesha exchanged glances with each other, before Yurick summed up everyone's thoughts.

"Damn it.."

This was not good.

Author note: Thank you for those who have voted on my poll, and I also apologize for the lack of updates in this fandom as well. Hopefully it'll be more frequent once Christmas comes around, and I hope that I'll be able to get some more updates up soon. Thanks for your patience!