"Seh…seh…seh…"
"Shhhh…we're here. Try not to move, Cale."
"Seh…"
"This is all your fault!" Kayura screamed at Sekhmet. She pushed him away from the prostrate form of the other warlord.
Sekhmet was furious. "My fault?! You're the one who threw that fireball thingy!"
"I wouldn't have thrown the power orb if you had shut up!"
"Seh…"
Kayura was sitting beside Cale. She'd been there for the past 15 minutes, cradling Cale's head in her lap. Sekhmet had been trying to help but all that had resulted was several fights between the two remaining warlords. Kayura couldn't heal Cale—she'd used what little mystic core power she had left for the power orb—and Sekhmet's healing capabilities only worked for poison-related ailments. Cale had only started showing signs of consciousness for the last three minutes.
"Cale, I'm so sorry," Kayura repeated for the hundredth time. "Oh, Cale…"
"Seh…" Cale tried again. "Seh…Sekhmet."
Sekhmet scrambled back to his position beside his fallen comrade and held his hand. "Right here."
"You…"Cale breathed. "You…take…take care of…Kayura."
Kayura covered her face with her hands and tried not to sob. Sekhmet swallowed. "Hey, man, what're you talking about?"
"Take care of her…don't let them…don't…" the Darkness warlord struggled to say. "Don't let them…take her…don't let them…"
"Cale…I won't."
Cale smiled. A rarity for him and something to take seriously. "Good," he said. "Kayura…"
Sekhmet got up and walked to the other side of the cell. This was private, he knew; he wouldn't listen in on this.
Kayura combed Cale's hair with her fingers. "Yes?"
"That was…real stupid…of you."
Kayura gave a sad little laugh. "I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."
"That's…okay…" He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Do you…remember the…legend?"
"Which one?"
"The…elementals…"
"Yes, of course."
"They're…real."
Kayura looked surprised. "Nani?" she asked. "What?"
"They are…I…saw one."
"No, Cale. You must've been dreaming," she soothed.
"No…no, no…I saw one…she—"
"She?"
"Yes…she was…hurt…like me…we're…bound…" He was becoming less coherent. "Real…white…so sad…bound…real…real…" Cale's eyes closed and he slept.
Kayura carefully set his head back on the floor and stood up. She walked towards Sekhmet, who had his back turned to her. "Sekhmet?"
The Warlord of Venom turned to the Ancient. It had always amused him a little that she was so very, very old in spirit and yet her body looked like it was only around 15 or 16 years old…he was a fine one to talk, even if he did look to be around 20 (he'd matured physically since the Demon Wars). How old was he now? 400? 450? The number was better off unrecalled. "What?" he snapped.
Kayura suddenly rushed at him and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't've blamed you; it was my fault and I had no right to accuse you of my own crime…thank you."
"For what?"
"For promising Cale—"
"Nah. I just said what he wanted me to…y'know, Kay…Cale really likes you."
Kayura blinked. "Huh?"
"He likes you. He has ever since we bumped off Talpa…he hated you before then, we all did—"
"Oh, gee, thanks."
Sekhmet grinned. "Well, you were always so bossy and bitchy and—"
"Hey!" She slapped his arm and scowled.
"But seriously, he really does like you. Like, like likes you."
She squinted at him. "Are you lying?"
"…No."
Kayura sat down on the stone bench/cot. "Oh, dear."
Sekhmet sat down on the floor beside the bench. "Hey, Kay?"
"What? And why do you always have to call me that?"
"Because it's cute. And what I was gonna say was…Cale's gonna be okay."
Kayura bit her lip. "I hope so."
"He will. He wouldn't be stupid enough to die and make you mad."
"Sek…you're nuts."
"Yep," Sekhmet agreed and leaned back on the floor with a silly smile. "I know."
* * * * *
Sage pulled his reluctant companion along beside him. "Come on, Zee," he said exasperatedly.
"It is so big! And the noise! I have heard these machines in action before, Sage, and I do not like their sound. They are awful creations!" the elemental declared.
"Well, we still have to get on the plane, whether you like it or not. Don't be difficult! I swear, you and Rowen are like twins or something."
"Hey! Sage!" someone called. When Sage turned to see who it was, Zephyr yanked loose and sat down on a chair beside the door that led to the tarmac. She gripped the sides of the chair and wouldn't let go. Sage glared at her. She glared back.
Cye and Rip ran up to them. The airport employee, who'd been watching Sage try to get Zee through the door, looked past the pair of newcomers and saw more coming. He shrugged and wrote in his little book.
"Hi, Cye," Sage greeted. "How'd your homecoming go?"
"Uh…"
"Cye's gonna be an uncle," Rip announced.
"Rip!"
"What?" She pretended ignorance of his resentment toward her and continued, "His sister's pregnant and none of 'em knew. His mom was sure happy to see him, too. She's kinda cool. She gave me food." Rip grinned. "It was good…Speaking of which—"
"If you say you're hungry again, I'm going to strangle you," threatened Cye.
"Okay, then I won't say it. But I can indicate it." At that, her stomach growled.
Cye narrowed his eyes at her. "That's not funny, Rip."
"I'm not trying to be funny," Rip said seriously but she was smiling.
"Boy, you two get on just grand together, don't you?" smirked Sage.
"Yeah, just great. How'd your visit go?"
"Satisfactory, let's leave it at that. The only drawback was that Zee decided that she likes Satsuki. She agreed with her on everything. Figures, huh?"
"I did not agree with her on everything. I simply said that you should be friendlier with her. Really, Sage, you are turning out to be truly discourteous."
"Shut up, Zee."
"No."
"Zee…"
Zephyr glared at him and then turned away, refusing to look in his direction. Sage sighed. "Zee's also decided to act like Rowen. She's just as difficult as him. She just remembered that she hates planes and now she's refusing to go anywhere near them."
"Yeah, she's a real bitch," Rip said.
"Rip!" Cye exclaimed.
"Oh, please. Quit being all hoity-toity, wouldja? I'm gonna go find something to snack on." She stalked off angrily.
"I'm going to need a vacation," Cye said.
"I second that emotion," agreed Sage.
"And I third it!" Kento added, joining the group. Dice followed him, looking haggard. She nearly stumbled into him as he stopped before her. Kento just put an arm about her to hold her up. "And I think Dice would gladly throw her vote in," he laughed.
"Mmm," was Dice's only response. She plopped down in a chair beside Zee.
"You guys ready to go?" Mia asked merrily as she approached.
"You're too cheerful," Dice said softly.
"And you just need a nap," said Danji, stepping up to ruffle his friend's hair.
"A long one," agreed Ryo, reaching the growing assembly.
"Where the hell are the snack machines?!" roared Rip, storming past.
The whole group watched her go by with a mix of amused, bewildered, bored, or blank expressions.
"What's up with her?" Kento asked.
"She's hungry," several people answered.
Kento looked surprised. "Is that what I'm like?"
The others just laughed.
"Damn it! Where are the freakin' things?!" roared Rip.
"I'm not getting on that plane," stated Zee.
"I'm not getting up, period," slurred Dice.
"Grrrrrr," moaned White Blaze.
* * * * *
Fey sat on the little rock beside the little pond. She laughed at her companion's tale. "And then what happened, T'vika?"
"We dropped the chestnut on his head. He just fell over right there without a single sound."
Fey howled with laughter. T'vika, sitting upon Fey's knee, giggled and beat her wings for emphasis. A few of the other faeries scattered around the area also giggled. K'sinn, a deep violet faerie, rolled her eyes from her perch on Fey's shoulder. "It really isn't that funny, Fey," she said in a bored tone and sighed.
"I thought it was!"
"More likely, you were just looking for an excuse to act like a hyena," commented a new arrival. Shoquia sat down on another rock with a basket full of dirty laundry. K'sinn flew to Shoquia's shoulder, for she found the charmer far more favorable to her tastes than Fey.
Fey scowled. "Don't be such spoil sports. T'vika's story was very interesting and it was funny!"
Shoquia and K'sinn exchanged a glance. "If you say so, Fey."
Fey and T'vika both glared at the other two. T'vika beat her bright green wings and repositioned herself on Fey's shoulder as the wild girl rose to her feet. "C'mon, T'vika, we don't need them," she said in an offended tone and walked away.
K'sinn just sighed in unison with Shoquia and asked, "So, how're things?"
The charmer placed her washboard in the water and began to violently scrub a white shirt on it. "Same as any other day," she grunted.
"You seem a little pale. Have you fed lately?"
Shoquia closed her eyes. "No. But I don't really wish to. It is so…"
"Vile?"
"Yes."
"But, charmer, it is your way. That is how you survive."
"Yes, yes. I know. Still, I don't look forward to my hunts."
With a thoughtful expression, K'sinn lifted herself into the air and alighted on Shoquia's busy hand. "Now, Shoquia, listen to me. You are what you are. You will do what you will do. That is the way of everything." The violet little faerie smiled sadly into the teal-haired girl's tired face. "You must feed. You do not bring death upon those whom you use for your nourishment. You merely borrow what you need from them…" She was silent for a moment and then sighed. "There is nothing wrong with wanting to live."
"I suppose that is one way to look at it."
"It is. You should go hunting, now, charmer. I'm guessing that you haven't fed properly in at least two weeks."
"I will, dear K'sinn. But first, I must finish this laundry." She began scrubbing the shirt again, forcing her little friend to return to her shoulder.
K'sinn shook her head stubbornly. "No. You should hunt now. You are too pale for my liking." She jumped up and whistled sharply. Five other faeries, of various colors, flitted over to her. "We will do the laundry."
Smiling gratefully, Shoquia rose with a weary groan. "Thank you, little friends. If Fey asks for me, tell her where I've gone, please."
"Yes, of course. Now, go! Hunt!" insisted K'sinn.
Laughing, Shoquia drew her cloak's hood up over her head and vanished into thin air.
* * * * *
"How're you holding up?" Dais whispered. He had Rowen's arm about his shoulders and his own arm wrapped around the teen's waist.
"Fine," rasped Strata. In truth, he looked rather ill. Without his armor, his legs weren't the most appealing sight and having to let them drag along the floor wasn't helpful when it came to pain. "J'st fine…Oh, shit…"
Quickly, Dais turned the boy's body toward a corner and helped him to bend over. When Rowen was done, Dais carefully moved him away from the waste and helped him to sit down. Rowen weakly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Well?" prompted Dais.
"I'm okay…Let's keep going."
Dais's face was grim. Carefully, he lifted the Ronin up and they began moving down the corridor again. It was perhaps the 6th they'd gone down and the first that had no guards patrolling it. Dais knew why. The guards were getting organized. They were preparing to hunt him and Rowen down.
"How far…is it?" choked Rowen, stifling a moan. He, too, was aware of the reason for the lack of guards and thus, the need for silence.
"Their cell is at the end of this corridor and up those stairs, I believe." Dais tried not to step up his pace, knowing it would only increase Rowen's misery. And we're running out of time, he worried.
Rowen's head was pounding. He clenched his eyes shut tightly. Then, he blinked and tried not to groan. "Uhhh…my head…" Abruptly, the persistent throbbing in his head exploded.
Dais heard the Ronin groan and then the teen went limp. The dead weight made Dais stumble. "Damn," he cursed. "Kid?"
Rowen did not reply.
"Kid?!" Dais stopped and turned the Ronin so that he could look at the youth's face. Rowen's eyes were wide open and rolled back, the whites glaring in the dark of the corridor. All pigment had left his face. Somehow, though it was not that ghastly, the sight made Dais feel ill.
"Oh, shit…" the Warlord said and swept Rowen up into his arms. He ran the rest of the way down the corridor and started up the stairs. The Ronin was heavier than he would have thought, but it might've been due to his own poor health. After all, he'd only had one meal a week since his arrival in this miserable hellhole.
As he struggled up the stairs, surprised that he couldn't keep the perfect balance he usually had, he heard sounds ahead of and behind him. The guards were coming. Dais picked up speed and lurched over the last step. Panic fueling his strength, he rushed down the corridor, counting doors as he ran. He finally counted the 12th one on the right and, with a sigh of relief, ran up to it.
"Sekhmet, you get over here right now or I'll kill every snake I can get my hands on," he gasped through the metal bars of the cell door's window. He nearly dropped Rowen right then.
Sekhmet came to the door fast as lightning. "Dais!" he started but then saw the look of warning on the other man's face. He lowered his voice. "Who's that?"
"Strata," replied Dais curtly. "Now take those keys and unlock the friggin' door. I can't put the kid down."
Sekhmet slid his hand through the tight space between the bars and grabbed the ring of keys hanging from a protrusion of Dais's armor on the shoulder. "Which one?" he asked.
"Hell, if I know! Start trying 'em."
Sekhmet started to try to push his arm further through the bars but stopped. He turned around. "Kayura, you do it. You're smaller."
Kayura left Cale and came to the door. She had already gotten one key into the lock and was twisting it when she noticed what Dais was holding. "Ancient," she breathed. "What in the name of all holiness happened to him?!…Is that Strata?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" cried Dais impatiently. "The keys, Kayura!"
"Oh!" She began trying the keys again. She was on the fourth one when a spear flew out of the darkness and barely missed the Warlord in the corridor.
"Kayurrraaa—" he began.
"I know, I know: hurry! I am hurrying!" The monk tried another key. The lock clicked. Drawing her arm back inside, Kayura shoved the door open. "Sekhmet, get Cale!" she ordered.
The Venom Warlord picked up the injured man quickly and ran after the Ancient and the others. "Umph," he grunted. "He's heavy!"
"Damn!" Dais looked up and down the corridor. The guards were close. "We aren't going to make it."
Kayura was staring at Rowen's legs and at his forehead. Her mystic senses could feel the wrongness in the teen. "Oh, no…they took it?"
Dais nodded. "Yeah. Near killed him taking it, too. And if they catch us, first thing they'll do is kill him. They want him dead more than anything."
"Why?"
"Elementals. They really want to kill off his elemental link. Apparently, if they kill him, the elemental linked to him will die, too."
Kayura turned towards Cale and Sekhmet. "Cale said…"
"Damn," said Sekhmet.
A volley of spears began to rain down around them. Kayura, jumping away, saw one spear graze Dais. He tried to spin away, which only helped the spear to set him off balance. The Warlord fell hard, his head colliding with a wall. He was knocked unconscious. Sekhmet groaned behind Kayura. She turned around. "Oh, gods!" A spear had caught the green-haired man full in the abdomen. He slid down the wall, coughing. Cale lay on the floor where Sekhmet had dropped him. Rowen was no more than a pathetic heap beside Dais.
Kayura looked around her frantically. She was the only one still standing. The guards were coming. Spears flew everywhere. Her mind racing, she rushed over to Sekhmet. "Oh, gods. Oh, gods…" she sobbed. Laying a hand across Sekhmet's brow, she looked into his dimming eyes. "Hold on. Just hold on." A burst of white light exploded from the man's forehead and was absorbed into Kayura's hand. She jerked and choked. Turning from her fading friend she laid her hand on Cale's forehead. Another burst of light was absorbed into her hand. She jerked again.
Running to Dais, she did the same to him. By now, she was shaking all over. Falling to her knees, she had to struggle to grab Rowen's hand. No light would come from him, but she had to hold onto him or she would lose him when she did this.
Lying on the cold, black, unforgiving stones of the corridor floor, Kayura whispered, "Locius transi ven."
With a shudder, she lost consciousness. An explosion of bright white light surged into existence around her body, enveloping the Warlords she'd touched and then collapsing in upon itself. No one but the guards remained in the corridor.
* * * * *
Danji knelt beside Dice. "Dice, it's almost four o'clock," he told the sleepy girl in a hinting voice.
Dice blinked at him for a moment. Then, she shot out of the chair. "Oh, God!" She turned to Kento. "Let's get on the plane! Now!"
"What? But you just said—" began her soul-brother in confusion.
"Nononononono! We have to get on the plane!"
"Dice, perhaps you should calm yourself," said Zee. "I will not get on that plane simply because you say to."
"Ohhhh…" groaned Dice. "Okay, then I'll help you." Before the startled Zee could react, Dice had picked her up and was carrying her through the gate.
The others hurried after them down the little tunnel hall. Sage was laughing at the furious expression on Zee's face and the string of foreign curses she was shouting at the earth elemental. Kento just grinned and shouldered both his and Danji's bags. Mia smiled and evaded Danji as he tried to pick her up. Laughing, she ran down the tunnel with the grinning doctor close on her heels.
Behind them, Ryo and Cye were trying to pull Rip away from a snack machine. She put up quite a fight and screamed "But I'm hungryyyyyy!" the entire way down the hall. Finally, she gave up and went along with them. But when they released their hold on her, she quickly socked Ryo in the eye. Then she ran down the hall with a wicked grin, Ryo trying to tackle her the whole way.
Cye followed, laughing, with the annoyed White Blaze beside him.
The gate attendant at the door blinked after the group had departed and shrugged. As long as he got paid.
* * * * *
Shoquia propped the young man against the mud wall of the hut. She turned and walked away into the forest that surrounded the little village. The young man would awaken in a few hours. He would feel a bit woozy and have a sore neck for a couple of days, but nothing more serious than that. He would never even remember what had happened to him.
Rubbing her fangs with her tongue, Shoquia found a path amongst the trees and followed it. After that feeding, she felt much better, but she still hadn't fed enough to feel replenished. She detested the process and never looked forward to it. But, as K'sinn had said, that was her way. Still trying to wipe the coppery taste of the young man's blood from her fangs, Shoquia approached another village.
She was surveying the possibilities from the shadows of the forest edge when, abruptly, she froze. She had felt a disturbance. Distant and enclosed, but there was no doubt in her mind that it had been powerful. She retreated back into the trees and drew her red-gold fire ring from her cloak. "Show me Fey," she asked of it.
The ring lit up in its strange white fire and Shoquia peered through it, seeing something that wasn't there. She could see Fey, still hanging around the little pond back home, and safe. "Good," said the charmer, happy to see her wild friend was alright.
She was about to put the ring away when a thought occurred to her. "Wait…show me the sumantra."
The fire ring's flames winked in and out of existence once. This time, Shoquia could see the sumantra. It's colossal walls and turrets rose high above the trees around it, stretching to a height of nearly 5 stories above ground, and there were at least four more levels below ground. Shoquia closed her eyes and thought towards the massive fortress. She could almost taste the traces of a foreign magic in the air around the sumantra. She followed the residue in her mind to a certain corridor within the dungeon. She knew all she needed to.
Opening her eyes, she grabbed the fire ring out of the air and thrust it back into her cloak. She glanced over her shoulder at the village. Her hunger was still quite great…
No, she had to go now. Quickly.
A moment later, a leaf drifted down and touched the ground Shoquia had just transported from.
* * * * *
Cye carefully avoided looking out the window. Beside him, Rip happily munched on Twix bars. Across the aisle, Kento and Dice were arm wrestling on a food tray. A few rows behind them, Sage was still trying to calm down Zee. In the very last row, Mia and Danji were laughing and talking. White Blaze and Ryo—who had a black eye from where Rip had punched him at the airport—were 3 rows in front of Cye and Rip, the tiger stretched out on the floor beneath Wildfire's feet, groaning his complaints against air travel.
The plane had taken off nearly ten minutes before. Zee had covered her ears, squeezed her eyes shut, and, for a moment, it seemed that a gust of wind would knock the ascending aircraft off kilter. By now, the wind elemental seemed much calmer, but was still slightly furious. Sage had had to choke back several laughs at Rowen's soul-sister's petulant expression.
"I win!" cried Dice as she slammed Kento's fist down.
Kento rubbed his sore knuckles with a frown. "Okay, rematch!"
"No…I'm too tired…"
Hardrock shrugged. "Dice?"
"Mmm?" She was already half asleep.
"Why was it such a big deal that we got on the plane?"
Dice caught her breath. In the back of the cabin, Danji froze and turned his head towards his young friend and her soul-brother. "Uhhh…" began Dice.
Kento was surprisingly patient. The others had caught the tension in the air and were now paying close attention.
"Dice…just tell them already," said Danji.
The girl sighed. "Oh, alright." She looked Kento directly in the eye. "There will be an earthquake near the airport in a few minutes. It will split the tarmac and bring down a large portion of the hangar. Several planes will be damaged severely. No one will be seriously hurt. But if our plane hadn't yet taken off when the quake hit, we never would have gotten to Australia. We would have been trapped in the airport. The media would've swarmed the place, found us out and…well, the rest is easy to figure out."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Kento broke it with, "Huh?"
Dice shook her head. "Since I was about 9 years old, I've been able to predict almost the exact time earthquakes will hit, where they'll hit, and figure up most of the extent of the damage they'll cause. The other day, when Sage thought I'd just drifted off into La-la Land, I was feeling out an earthquake."
"Okay," said Kento. "…Well, I guess that could come in handy."
"And you're sure that no one'll be hurt down there?" asked Ryo.
Dice blinked. She was surprised. "Yes…but you're not…you aren't surprised or mad at me or anything?"
"Why would we be mad at you?" laughed Mia. "And as for surprised…Dice, we've seen quite a lot, especially in the last few days. Very little can surprise us."
"Oh."
Kento laughed at the fawn-eyed girl's expression. She scowled and shoved him. "Hey!" he exclaimed.
"Shut up."
The rest of the group was no longer interested. They ignored the pair's arguing and the ensuing arm wrestling. For a while, it seemed to Ryo that he might actually get some sleep.
Wrong.
Zee had gotten up to retrieve a glass of water from a cart at the back of the cabin. Halfway there, she simply collapsed without warning. She didn't make a sound.
Sage got to her first. He raised her to a sitting position and held her against him. "Zee? Zephyr? Can you hear me?"
"Damn," cursed Ryo. "This just never ends, does it?" He helped Sage to move the girl to a seat.
Danji and Dice were leaning over her immediately. "She's got a good pulse," said Dice. Danji nodded.
A minute later, Danji straightened up. "I can't see anything wrong with her. Maybe she's just sleepy."
"This kinda reminds me of an epilepsy absence seizure," Dice commented.
"She couldn't have epilepsy. She's not human, remember?"
"Good point."
"Well, so what do we do now?" asked Mia.
"Wait for her to wake up. I'd bet half this plane that something weird's up," said Ryo.
"Don't say that!" moaned Cye.
* * * * *
"I don't think—"
"I'm fine. I'm just having some difficulty staying awake."
"It's more than that."
"…I suppose you might be right."
"We're going to have to get involved now."
"No. Not yet."
"But the charm soul…"
"Don't worry. I believe this may work to our advantage."
"How?"
"Wait and see…I think I'll sleep some more now."
"…Alright."
* * * * *
Shoquia appeared in the corridor and stumbled. She allowed herself a soft moan as she leaned against the wall. Her fingers touched something sticky and wet. She raised them to her lips and sniffed, then licked the sticky stuff delicately. The taste nearly knocked her over again.
"Vrath!" she cursed. The blood tasted of power. It was certainly not completely mortal. And, thus, not the sort she fed on. Shoquia lifted a long grey feather to the wall. She held it just above the surface and moved it up and down and from side to side, as if scanning. Then, she touched the feather to her forehead.
"Oh, my…" Within her mind, she could see the man whose blood she'd just tasted. He was tall and had green hair. Around him was an aura of a specific power. Shoquia's mind was already searching through all the knowledge of mystic auras that her experience as a charmer allowed her. "A yoroi. That's what it is. He's one of the humans Xyrelyc had locked away. What were they called?"
She tasted the blood on her fingers again. For some reason, it reminded her of Fey. "MaSho," she told herself. "They were Warlords."
Strange thoughts kept bothering her. She knew she should go to Xyrelyc and get him up to speed on how his prisoners had escaped. The magic residue in the corridor air spoke of transportation of a very unusual sort. The transporter had used several different forces to cause the porting. But she couldn't shake those strange thoughts. None of them made sense, really.
Then she realized what it was.
"I was wrong."
* * * * *
Rip grinned. "I can just barely see the very tip of the landing strip," she told Cye.
"That's nice. Put on your seat belt." He had already strapped his on and was nervously awaiting the pilot's announcement that they were landing. He glanced at the Hawaiian girl. She hadn't done as he'd said. "Rip! Put on your seat belt!"
She rolled her eyes. "Why? The pilot hasn't said anything yet. Why do you panic so much. Landing's easy."
Cye glared at her. "Put. On. Your. Seat belt!"
"No!"
"Rip, please," he pleaded.
She looked at him strangely. "Cye…are you afraid of heights?"
"Oh, that's right. You weren't there when we had confession time." Ryo started laughing, remembering the looks on Cye and Sage's faces. Soon, everyone else—excepting Zee, Sage, Cye, and Rip—was laughing.
Cye just scowled.
"I'll take that for a yes." Rip looked thoughtful. "Okay, Cye. When I was 3 years old, my older brother, Tar, took me out to a beach, sat me on a surfboard, and swam me away from shore. The first little wave that came along, Tar let it take me back to shore. At first, I was screaming and scared out of my mind. But Tar just kept taking me out and letting the waves carry me in. After a while, I realized that I wasn't going to drown, or fall off and have the board hit me, and that the waves weren't lifting me that high. And then…it was just fun."
Cye blinked. "But how does that apply to—"
"What you fear may not be as bad as you think it is. But first, you're going to have to face it."
The Ronin sat thoughtfully. This girl hardly trusted the ground she walked on—being her soul-brother and the Ronin of Trust, he knew that—and here she was, helping a bunch of almost total strangers at the expense of thousands of dollars. If she could make herself do something like that, he should be able to do the same. "I suppose…I could try not to be, um…scared."
Rip smiled. "Okay. Here, I'll put my seatbelt on and all that stuff. And you…well, why don't you try looking out the window before we land?"
Torrent gulped. "O-okay." He unbuckled his seatbelt and began to lean across Rip towards the window. He willed himself to look out the window, but couldn't quite do it.
"Relax," said Rip. "I think you'll find it's kinda cool."
With a deep breath, Cye looked out the window.
Not terribly far below, miles of green and blue and other colors flowed past. Several trees, a field, and then a flock of sheep greeted Cye's eyes. Three young children were running around with the sheep and two dogs were helping to herd the flock. From his vantage point, Cye could merely tell that the children were children and the dogs were dogs. But still, this new perspective of so many earthbound, simple wonders left him feeling strangely liberated, privileged.
"Wow," he breathed.
"Aia la!" exclaimed Rip.
"Huh?" Cye looked at the girl in confusion. She'd spoken in a language other than English or Japanese.
"She said 'There! I told you so!'," explained Zee, sitting up. "In Hawaiian."
"You're awake!" Sage was at her side almost instantly.
"Yes, I am awake." Zee pulled away from Halo's hand. "And I believe you shall all be quite pleased with what I found out while sleeping."
"You know Hawaiian?" scowled Rip. "Shit."
"Rip!"
"But that's not right! You shouldn't know my language. It's not fair. I don't want her to know Hawaiian!"
"My apologies," said Zee. "I shall block off that portion of memory from now on, until it is needed, since it upsets you so."
"Whatever," growled the water elemental. She had developed a deep disdain towards the silver-haired immortal. Zephyr herself seemed to be getting a little peeved over Rip's attitude.
"Zee, what did you find out?" asked Ryo.
"Rowen has returned to this realm. I can almost feel him, again." She looked very pleased. "Although, it was an abnormal manner in which he returned."
"We'll have to find him soon," said Kento. "If he doesn't have his armor…he'll need us."
Just then the pilot's voice came over the loudspeaker, instructing them to prepare for landing. Rip sat in her seat grumbling about lingual laws; Cye seemed more relaxed now that he'd looked out the window; Kento was trying to wake up Dice; Sage was keeping a concerned eye on Zee, who looked like she would glow with happiness over Rowen as she yawned; Ryo was trying to keep White Blaze from licking his face; Danji was stretching and looking at a brochure.
Mia was thinking.
* * * * *
Dais was the first to wake. He opened his eye to a glaring sun, a drum-filled head, and a peculiar scent, pleasant but unknown to him. At first, he thought it might be a dream. But the drums in his head took up a heavy rock beat, dissolving that idea. He groaned and clutched his head. In the process, he got sand in his hair and on his face.
Sand?
He rolled over onto his stomach, hiding his sore eye from the midday sun, and looking instead at the sand that he was lying on. Sand? he thought again. Aren't I supposed to be looking at stone?
"Oh, wait a minute…" He slowly sat up, groaning as his world was set a-kilter by his complaining head. When it finally settled down again, he thought quickly. "We were in the corridor, the guards threw spears at us. One nearly hit me…but then what?"
Sekhmet. Something happened to him.
That got him going again. He began to really look around now. "Sekhmet? Kayura? Kid? Cale?" No one replied. Dais pushed himself to his feet. He was lying on a beach. Deep blue waters surrounded the little coast, which was fenced on its landside by unfamiliar plants, mostly tropical trees and undergrowth.
Turning in a circle, the Warlord shaded his eyes and searched his surroundings for other people. A metallic glint caught his eye. Like the pinprick of a star, except it was sometime after noon and the metallic "star" was too close to the ground. He started out in that direction.
What he found was Kayura, lying on her side and coughing into the sand with wide, frightened eyes. Her left hand gripped one of her jitte; her right grasped the unarmored Strata's arm. Her armor was throwing off odd glows and her face was all but colorless. Her pupils were becoming dilated. Strata was still unconscious and certainly not looking any better. But Dais didn't think anything could be done for the kid without Kayura's help, and she was obviously in some sort of trouble, so he concentrated on her.
Dais knelt and gently disengaged Kayura's deathly grip on Strata, but decided against taking her jitte from her. Carefully, he rolled her over onto her back, triggering another, more violent coughing fit. She wasn't getting much air.
"Shh, Kay, shh," he murmured. "What's wrong?" He couldn't see any wounds, but the way her armor was reacting had him anxious and he wasn't sure what to do.
The ancient girl just gasped and coughed, her eyes filled with confused fright, her free hand clawing the sand desperately. She couldn't tell him a thing. It was all very strange.
Unsure of himself, Dais sat her up and pounded her back. Maybe she was choking. But, no, she wasn't turning blue, and the treatment didn't work; although it didn't hurt either.
Dais glanced around the beach. He couldn't see Cale or Sekhmet. It seemed he was the only one of the group not incapacitated. What could he do? If Kayura didn't survive, in this strange land, Dais doubted he could do much for the kid. And last he'd seen of Cale, he doubted that he could do much for him either, should he be able to find the other two Warlords. Sekhmet, it seemed, must've been injured, for Dais could almost remember the sound of the man groaning in pain, though he wasn't sure that was a true memory.
"Oh, kami," said Dais. "What can I do? Kayura, what—ah, shit—I don't know…"
I can't breathe.
Dais froze. He was imagining things, surely. He'd heard Kayura's voice, but not out loud. In his head.
Help me, Dais. Please.
He stared at her. I'm going insane, he thought.
No, no you aren't, said the voice. Then it seemed to grow frightened. Ancient, help me.
"Kayura? I—you—you're in my head!"
Dais, please!
He looked down at his youthful friend, dying there in the sand of who-knew-where. Ah, to hell with it! It's not like I have any other options. What do I do?
Kayura's body showed no sign of awareness of his presence, but that voice definitely sounded like her. I can't breathe, Dais. I used a random magic and each of your Deep Life powers to… The voice struggled. …get us out of there. I just thought that we had to get away, that we'd all die…and now…I overdid it. I was in no…condition for that sort of magic use. I can't…it's eating me alive, Dais. Abruptly, the voice screamed, Take it back! Take it back, please!
Dais was confused. He didn't know what to do. Take what back? How?
The physical Kayura suddenly stopped moving and just lay in the sand. The hand that had so tightly clasped the jitte let the blade fall away. The voice was small and strangled, pained, now. Your Deep Life. Take it back. Don't you feel it missing? Just make it come back to you…oh, Ancient…
Dais thought of doing CPR, but somehow he knew it wouldn't do any good. Instead, he began to reach into himself, searching in a near-frenzy for whatever the voice claimed he had lost. And, indeed, he did feel something…wrong, something missing that shouldn't be. He held Kayura's lifeless hand and willed whatever-it-was to return to him. Begged, pleaded, coaxed, threatened, but mostly just willed.
A bright flash exploded behind his good eye and he fell backward. He scrambled back up again, but found himself so strangely disturbed that he ceased the effort. A moment later, he knew that whatever-it-was was with him again. He leaned over the Ancient girl.
She breathed.
"Thank, gods!" he shouted and let himself fall back again. He waited a few minutes, then heard a soft moan. "Kayura?"
"Uuuuhhhh…"
He hurried to lean over her again. She gazed up at him with a nearly blank look, but not quite.
"That hurt," she said suddenly.
Dais laughed. Kayura glared at him. "I don't think it's funny," she said.
"I know. Of course, it hurt. It must've, considering what all I just saw."
"It isn't over yet. You only took yours. I still have Cale and Sekhmet's."
He stopped laughing. "Eh? You mean, that really was you talking?"
She looked confused. "Yes. What did you do?"
"Me? I didn't do anything. I thought you started the voice-in-my-head thingy."
"I guess it's just a natural thing between us then." She scrunched her brows together in thought. "I wonder…"
"If we can talk to the others that way? I was thinking the same thing."
"Where are they?" Kayura glanced around.
"I dunno. What can we do about the kid?"
She sighed. "I dunno."
"I guess we should start looking for the guys."
"That would be a good idea," she said. She was doubled up and biting her lip. "I think their Deep Lives are in a voracious mood."
"Here we go again, then." Dais picked up Strata and then used one hand to help Kayura to her feet, letting her lean against him. "You know, you could've at least sent us somewhere useful."
"I did," was the reply. "I think I sent us to the region of an elemental." She glanced up at the Illusion Warlord. "I think…"
* * * * *
A guard found Shoquia lying in a shivering heap on the corridor floor three hours after she'd arrived there. After her revelation, she'd finally run out of energy and collapsed. Despite her cloak and how well her hands and feet were wrapped—well up past her elbows and knees—the floor was still terribly cold. By the time the guard found her, the charmer was wondering if she'd die there on such a hideous stone.
The guard recognized the teal-clothed figure huddled in the darkness immediately. Very few people in the sumantra had not heard enough of Lady Shoquia not to recognize her. Her magics, mystics, and charms were a favorite topic amidst the lower-ranks. But mostly, it was the story of how she'd become involved with Lord Xyrelyc that interested the servants, slaves, and guards.
Nearly 15 years before, Xyrelyc had been brought a cage full of a dozen Shadow faeries as an offering from a rural lord. Variably colored, each one unique in shade, hue, and tint, Shadow faeries were rarely caught. Xyrelyc was, of course, pleased with the gift and the rural lord who'd gifted them found himself rather favored for several years. But it wasn't the faeries that truly had Xyrelyc intrigued. It was the possibility of capturing a Queen.
Shadow faeries lived in flights of up to 75 individuals and if a flight had at least 30 faeries in number, it had a Queen. A Queen was a faerie born from a blossom, the same as any other faerie, but in a much more extravagant display. Mere hours after birth, a Queen would have grown to the size of a human infant. Henceforward, a Queen grew as a human would, excepting concealable wings and strangely tinted hair, eyes, and skin. Renowned for their beauty, sightings of a Shadow Queen were extremely rare, and it was said that those who met their eyes would either know such sorrow as couldn't be lost for the rest of their lives or eternal happiness.
Xyrelyc took it into his mind that he wished to have himself a Shadow Queen. He liked to collect rarities and certainly, a Queen was rare. So, he allowed one of the faeries given to him to go free. The little Shadow flew straight to her Queen of course, and told her what had happened to her companions. The Queen had been furious. She'd gone to the sumantra in the night and freed the captured faeries, and would have slain Xyrelyc, too, but could not find him.
The Queen gave up her search for the Lord and was leaving when she suddenly found herself caught up in a net. She had been captured. She was brought before Xyrelyc, who had become entranced with her. Delighted with the Queen, he took on a solid form, something he did only once a century, and she could not help but fall in love with him of her own free will. She carried his child with pleasure and he gave her freedom to go where she pleased, though she always returned to him.
But when the young Queen, Qindra, went into labor a month earlier than expected, she was deep within a mystic forest in a foreign realm, exploring. She couldn't return in time to birth the child at the sumantra. There, in that strange place, she delivered a little girl. Demons infested that particular realm, and intended to toy with Qindra. They sprung up spirit fires about her and she was trapped. She screamed and pleaded for help, shielding her child from the hungry flames.
It happened that someone was amidst the forests of the demonic realm that day, hunting. That was Shoquia, a young charmer. At the time she was 19 mortal years old, but in the way of her race, she would be that age in appearance and development for the rest of her life, if she so chose. Shoquia heard Qindra's screams and hurried to her rescue. By the time she arrived at the fire, though, Qindra was close to death. Shoquia couldn't get past the flames. In desperation, she plunged her bare arms into the fire and grabbed the Shadow Queen.
The flames were not of common fire, they were almost sentient. They tore at Shoquia's arms and hands, toying with her through torture. The charmer was unable to drag the Queen out of the fire. Drawing her cloak about her she stepped into the flames and bodily moved Qindra, who still clutched her daughter in her nearly-lifeless arms, out of the demonic fire.
The flames died away, the demons had had their fun. Shoquia's arms, hands, feet, and legs were deeply burned, and would scar hideously. Nothing the charmer did could save Qindra, and the Queen died there. But the infant lived; she had not even been licked by the flames. Shoquia took the child into her care, not knowing if it had any other relatives. She named it Fey, "fated one", for the circumstances of her birth and her mother's death had been most unfortunate, a cruel game of fate.
From that day forward, Shoquia had wrapped her arms and legs, feet and hands, in the teal wrappings. She had searched through her magics, mystics, and travels for any trace of Fey's origin or kin. She finally met a flight of Shadow faeries, who told her about Qindra and Xyrelyc. By this time, Fey was in her fifth summer and the charmer loved her as her own daughter. Shoquia had gone to Xyrelyc, and the Lord had agreed to allow her to continue acting as Fey's guardian. Since then, a sort of working relationship had been held between Lord and charmer.
Now, in the cold adamas-masoned corridors of the sumantra, the guard lifted the weakened Shoquia with respect. "Lady," he said in his slithery voice, "I'll take you to Lord Xyrelyc."
Helpless, Shoquia could not protest. She merely lay in the guard's arms, wanting to scream with guilt and hunger. I have been wrong for so long. I've helped to destroy a wrong that did not exist, that was truly good. I was so wrong.
* * * * *
Mia didn't mention her thoughts till the group was settled in a hotel suite in downtown Brisbane.
"I think the next elemental may be here," she announced, interrupting various conversations.
"What? Why?" asked Ryo.
"The poem." Mia glanced around to make sure she had everyone's attention. "Remember the lines: The next, radiant and loud/ Loving life down under, shining proud."
"Yeah. So?"
She sighed. " 'Loving life down under'. Down under is a phrase used in reference to Australia."
"Hey, we're in Australia," said Kento.
Dice patted his arm. "Yes, Kento. Australia," she said as if speaking to a kindergartener. He glared at her.
"So, the next elemental's somewhere in Australia? I guess that narrows down the search a bit," said Ryo. "But this is a pretty large country. Heck, it's its own continent!"
"Well, we found Dice, Rip, and Zee pretty easy. Who's to say we won't find the other two the same way?"
"Kento, that was luck. The chances of something like that happening are one in billions," Cye commented. "The other two elementals probably won't just come to us. We have to find them."
"Now, how do we go about that?" pondered Sage.
"These are the times when I wish we lived in a sci-fi movie," joked Kento. "We could use scanner-tracking thingies to locate our subject and it'd all be so easy."
Zephyr looked at him thoughtfully. "Tracker?" she asked. "Is that the device that uses signals to follow an object or person from a distance?"
"Yeah. And a scanner looks at things to see if they have something hidden in them. Sometimes, the aliens use them to scan Earth and see if there are intelligent life forms living here."
"Kento," groaned Dice.
"Hey, a guy can dream."
"I think," Zee said softly, "that I have a way we may track-scan for the other elementals."
"Really? What?" Mia was very interested.
"I am immortal…My immortality does not appeal to me anymore. I believe that I would not enjoy life much after Rowen's and your lives had…expended."
Sage looked lost. "What are you saying?"
"I want to give up my immortality."
No one said a thing.
She continued, explaining, "There may be a way for me to break up my immortality and spread it amongst the other elementals. I would retain a small part of it for myself and that would allow me to track the other parts, which would, at that point, be within the other elementals."
"So, in tracking down your scattered immortality, you would track down the elementals," clarified Cye.
"That is the idea."
"Hmm…" Mia mused. "That sounds useful. Would you be giving it to just the two we're missing or to all four?"
"All four. It could prove valuable to have a means of locating one another."
Mia seemed excited. She said eagerly, "Well, then how do we go about this?"
"I will require extensive meditating. As long as it goes uninterrupted for at least eight hours, I should be capable of breaking up my immortality. I simply need a quiet place to begin."
Danji said that there was a spare room in the suite he and Sage were sharing. So, Zee went off with the doctor to settle herself there. Meanwhile, Cye asked, "Rip, when were you planning on visiting your friend?"
"I was hoping to start looking for Roar right away—"
"You mean you don't know where she lives?"
"She's moved a lot. She's kinda…um…homeless."
* * * * *
Several hours later, at nearly midnight, Cye awoke sweating. His empathy was reacting to something. Someone was involved in an intense process, concentrating fiercely, and causing themselves a very slight amount of discomfort.
Rubbing his sweaty face with a sheet, he left the bed. Leaving his bedroom, he wandered down the hall and knocked at a door. Someone inside mumbled a sleepy acknowledgment. Cye opened the door and entered the room.
"Kento? You awake?"
"No…"
Cye sat on the bed. "I think Zee just started breaking up her immortality."
"That's nice…"
"I'm going to go make sure Sage and Danji don't interrupt her. I won't be gone long."
"Yuh-huh…"
Cye shook his head and departed. Leaving the suite, he walked down the hall to another door. It wasn't locked, as the group had agreed. Entering quietly, the Ronin crept through the dark to the door he believed to be Sage's. Instead of knocking, he decided to use the telepathic link. He didn't want to take the chance that that was actually Zee's room.
Sage? Are you in there?
At first there was no response. He tried again. Sage? Sage, it's about Zee.
What about her?
Cye smiled. He had caught on more than the others about the wind elemental and his blond friend. She's just started breaking up her immortality. Just thought it would be wise to make sure you knew so you wouldn't interrupt her.
Oh. Okay. I'll tell Danji.
I'm leaving now, said Cye.
Yuh-huh.
Cye nearly laughed. As a final comment before he left the suite, he said, I think you're turning into Kento.
Sage would've made a nasty remark of his own if Cye hadn't broken the link.
* * * * *
The next morning, Kento had to wake Cye up when Torrent didn't wake before 10:00.
"Ohhh…good, morning, Kento. You're up early."
"No," grinned Hardrock. "You're up late."
"Late?" Cye glanced at his bedside clock. "Oh, my."
"Zee just came out of her room a few minutes ago. She's not in a very talkative mood. Kinda sleepy. Sage had to give her a lot of coffee."
"Zee needed coffee? But she said the other day that when she wakes up, she has no problem being alert. Apparently, it's a part of her im—…oh. Guess it worked then, eh?"
"Yep. She's finding mortality to be, uh, what were the words she used? …'A nuisance-filled existence'." Kento grinned.
Cye laughed. "Okay, well, I'm up. Might as well start cooking a late breakfast."
"It's been covered. We ate cold pizza for breakfast. Zee loved it. That made Rip mad."
Torrent sighed. "I don't understand her prejudice against Zephyr. It's sort of petty."
"Yeah, well…Come on. We're doing an experiment."
"Experiment? What kind of experiment?"
Leading the way out of the suite, Kento didn't turn towards another set of rooms, but to the elevator. "We're checking to see whether or not the tracking works. Dice and Rip are hiding somewhere on the hotel grounds and Zee's trying to track them down."
"Uh-oh."
"Why 'uh-oh'?"
"Rip's going to be difficult," groaned Cye. "She'll do everything she can to make Zee fail."
"Uh, from what I've seen…I doubt that Rip can succeed." The Chinese boy laughed. "You shoulda seen Zee. Hyped up on that coffee, and with that fresh heal Sage gave her legs this morning, plus her good mood…" He whistled. "I wouldn't want to be her quarry if she were a hunter."
"Oh? If she's in a good mood, she must feel better about Rowen. Which reminds me, any more news on him?"
Kento shook his head. "Zee hasn't even mentioned him. But, Cye, just between you and me…" He glanced around as if to check for any other people. "I think Sage and Zee—"
"I already knew, Kento."
"You did?"
"Empath, remember? One good thing about this new ability, I discover all the interesting stuff before the rest of you. In fact, I think they were imitating Mia and Danji's balcony act the night before last."
"You're kidding."
"Nope," smiled Cye.
Kento laughed. Just then, a swift gust of wind swept past them. Kento stopped laughing. "Hey…was that…"
"Zee!" shouted Cye. "You're wind!"
The wind came back around and solidified before the pair. Zee stood there, a soft smile lighting up her face. "Yes. It feels so good. Do you know what this means, though?"
"Rowen's close by," Cye realized. "Wonderful!"
"I agree," the elemental said. She began to shift again but Cye stopped her.
"Be careful that no one sees you in shape-shift. And, Zee, feel welcome to hunt Rip to death. She deserves it for being such a brat."
Zephyr just smiled. "Once again, I agree."
* * * * *
Kayura watched in silence as Dais dragged Cale over to the shady spot where she sat beside Sekhmet and Strata. Upon heaving Cale into the scanty shadows of the trees, Dais sank to the sand with a sigh. "Ugh, he's heavy."
Kayura smiled. "We have to wake him up, now. He has to be conscious to take back his Deep Life. Sekhmet, too."
Dais glowered at her. He looked at the green-haired man. "You healed him a little."
"Only a little. I'm still not strong enough to do much."
"Mmph." Dais sat Cale up, patting his face. "C'mon, scar-face. Time to wake up."
Cale groaned and opened his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he moaned.
"Ah, gee. Thanks for the warm welcome. Wake up."
Cale concentrated on breathing. "Where's Kayura?"
"Right here. How're you feeling?"
"A little…better…I guess."
"Good. Cale, we have a problem," said Dais. "Kayura needs your help."
That got the Warlord's attention. "What? What's wrong?"
"She overloaded. Borrowed some stuff from you and me and Sekhmet to get us out of that hellhole. And now, it's eating her alive from the inside out."
"Eh?"
"I took your Deep Life, Cale," said the Ancient's descendant. "Unfortunately, one person's Deep Life never gets along with another's. Yours and Sekhmet's are ripping me apart."
"What…do I…do?" He was still having problems breathing.
"Take it back. Just will it to you, out of me."
"Okay." He grunted as he tried to sit up. Dais helped him. A few moments later, he collapsed back into the sand, exhausted. "Weird stuff," he said.
"Sorry," Kayura apologized. "Are you okay?"
"Of course not." He seemed about to go back to sleep when he suddenly asked, "What's Strata doing here?"
"Long story, buddy. Go to sleep," ordered Dais.
A few minutes later, Sekhmet was groaning on the sand. "Kayura, don't ever do something so stupid again," he said.
"I seem to be saying this a lot these days but I'm sorry."
"Hhhhhnnnn…" hazed Sekhmet as he drifted back into unconsciousness. His wound was a mess.
"Strata?" reminded Dais.
Kayura smiled sadly. "I can't heal him or Sek or Cale. Cale seems to be coming along. Sekhmet's not bleeding much any more; the transporting seems to have frozen the wound a bit. But Strata…I think he may die."
Dais sat there, shaking his head. "That won't work. Where're the other Ronins? What do we do about the kid's armor? And what about your staff?"
She sighed. "I don't know. I'm too tired for all of this. Maybe when I wake up, we can do something for the guys. Can you keep watch for a while?"
"Sure." He watched her slip easily into sleep and then turned to watch the sea. The sun had come up hours ago. Once or twice, he'd seen a boat out far out on the water. And, occasionally, he'd gotten a whiff of air that smelled of city-life. So, he concluded, there had to be some mortal civilization nearby. They were definitely in the mortal realm.
Glancing over his shoulder at his slumbering companions, he let his gaze linger on the armorless kid. He started to think. Standing up, he moved over to sit beside the boy. "This is a stupid idea," he told himself and laid a hand on Strata's forehead.
Kid, do you hear me?
No response. He'd known it was a stupid idea. He moved away from the teenager again. He watched wave after wave after wave strike the sandy shore.
Mornin', Spidey.
Dais nearly jumped out of his armor. "Crap," he mumbled.
Why's my mouth feel so dirty? drawled the voice in his head.
The Warlord turned and scrambled up to the boy again. Kid, you hear me?
Yeah. There's sand in my mouth.
Dais grinned. So spit it out.
Too tired.
What do you expect me to do?
Nothin'. Ain't that whatcha always do?
Ever the cynic. Why don't you wake up, kid?
Told you. Too tired. Ain't worth it. Hurts too much. J'st wanted to tell ya not to bug me anymore, 'kay? Stay outta my dreams.
Oh. Okay.
Yeah. The voice stopped.
"This whole gig's a little too tangled for my web, I think," Dais said to himself, returning to his wave-watching. The waves came in, the waves went out. A perfect rhythm, eternal, a true natural symphony.
Dais looked from shore to sea to sky. "Where the hell are we?"