Author's Note: Hey, I updated! Although, for the record, I am officially crabby, because I am two reviews down from Chapter 10. ::glares at everyone who didn't review:: If you haven't reviewed, let me encourage you (aka, coerce you) to REVIEW! REVIEW OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES! And a special glare for a person I know READ my chapter, but didn't bother to review it. And who STILL hasn't updated. ::cough, OPAL-DRAGON, cough::
But I'm cheering up now. You guys will all be happy with me (right now, that is, ::mysterious and evil chuckle:: ) because this chapter in normal text is FIVE ENTIRE PAGES LONG! FIVE! Isn't that amazing? It's really long. Really, really long. That's twice as long as my longest chapter previously, so you people should be impressed. I've written entire stories shorter than this chapter. But anyway. ::does Vulcan hand thingy:: Read long and review! ::people stare at her blankly:: You know, like in Star Trek… ::more blank stares:: Never mind.
Chapter 12: The Black City
There was no sand in the Black City, no dust—nothing to show that centuries had passed since people lived there. There was nothing but hard obsidian pavement that shone eerily in the harsh sun. The alien buildings—beautifully and carefully carved—rose without break from the rock of the streets. If any tower was not part of the mass of rock beneath their feet, they did not find it. The city rose like a cluster of needles stabbing into the bright azure sky.
"It's beautiful," Alanna said with approval when they were just inside the gate. "We've seen it, now let's go back." She remembered suddenly the vision she had seen of a black city. Reality seemed eerily familiar. Was she meant to be here? Well if she was, she wasn't too happy about it. She hated these stupid destiny things. The Bazhir belief in the Balance had always driven her insane. Destiny. Hah. What a daft thing to have to deal with.
"You can go," the prince replied, running a hand over a carving. "I'm looking around some more." Alanna sighed in frustration and suppressed anger.
"This is not a safe place. We shouldn't stay here," she told him, trying to keep her cool.
"Then why are you still here?" the prince asked her caustically. Alanna glared daggers at him. Stupid royal moron.
"Because if you get yourself killed, it won't reflect well on the Bazhir," Alanna told him venomously. "Your royal father could go on rampage in our desert." After four years, Alanna considered herself a member of the tribe. Jonathan grinned wickedly at her.
"Well then, you'll just have to keep an eye on me, won't you?"
Alanna groaned in vexation and followed him. They walked silently, peering into echoing buildings while the noon sun beat down on their heads. The great towers were bare of everything—furniture, cloth, glass—except the carving that covered the entire city.
Alanna examined these carvings with care. They showed strange animals and stranger people: men with heads of lions, women with bird's wings, great cats with human faces. Alanna had never seen anything like it. Now that she had, she wished she hadn't.
"I don't see bodies or skeletons," Jonathon whispered. "Those young Bazhir probably just took off for the cities."
"Then why are you whispering?" she asked challengingly. Her voice was equally soft, though infused with curbed rage.
The Prince looked around, searching the windows and doorways. "I'm not sure— Yes, I am. This place is evil. Whatever has or hasn't happened here, the city is still evil, through and through."
"At least you admit that much," Alanna commented. Her voice was a mixture of fear and sarcasm, if such a thing was possible. Sarcasm was the more dominant emotion. She was still mad. As they ventured deeper and deeper into the city, she kept a close watch on the doors and windows around them. Her anger was fading, and this place was making her edgy. It just wasn't natural.
They turned a sharp corner, and the city's central square lay before them. It was a wide, flat reach of stone, carefully polished and yet reflecting no light from its surface. It was as if the stone itself absorbed the rays. It took all of Alanna's nerve to step onto it, but step she did. The building in the center of the square called to her. Its sides were columns of plain black stone. The roof separated itself from the columns with a border of carving covered with gold. Topping a long rise of stairs, great doors beckoned.
She and the prince climbed up to the doors, feeling smaller and smaller as they progressed. The doors stood open and waiting. Like the stone of the city, the black wood of the doors was covered with exotic pictures. The edges of the carvings were etched with gold, so that rays were reflected and magnified as the light played over them.
When they reached the doors, Lightning began humming, its hilt trembling in Alanna's hand. "My sword—" she stammered to her companion.
"Hmm?" The Prince was eyeing the doors.
"I don't think we should go in—my sword is—it's humming."
Jonathan shook his head. "I'm going to find out what's going on." He stepped inside the temple.
Alanna tightened her grip on her sword hilt and followed. "Idiot prince," she snapped as she caught up with him. "Someone has to save your royal hide." The crack fell somewhat flat as her voice trembled on the last word.
The prince didn't reply. She guessed it was because he didn't trust his voice to behave itself, either.
They walked forward slowly, their hands on their sword hilts. There were no windows or torches, but a weird yellow-green light came from somewhere inside. The walls were carved from glassy stone, catching the light and making it ripple along their surfaces. At the end of the chamber was a large block of dark material that swallowed the light without reflecting it.
"The altar," the prince whispered.
The light moved in a blinding wave across the room. When the eyes of the two humans cleared, ten men and women were standing in front of the altar. Even the smallest of the women was taller than Halef Seif, and they were all so beautiful that it hurt to look at them for very long. Their power flared and rippled around their bodies in a flash of green light.
"It has been so long," a woman in scarlet said with a sigh. "And they are so small."
One woman stretched out a hand to them. Her fingernails were long and red, like claws. "Feel the life in them, Ylira. It is a flame. These two will be enough for us all."
Alanna edged closer to Jonathan's side. Pompous jerk he may be, but at least he was human. Lightning was trembling in her grip. "This was your idea," she muttered to the prince.
"Who are you?" Jonathan demanded of the strangers. His voice was clear and calm. He showed no sign of fear. Alanna wondered how he managed it.
"They speak," a man-being sneered. "And look at the little one. It will hit us with its sword."
The beings—the Nameless Ones—laughed. Alanna shivered at the cruelty in the sound. The largest of the men waved a careless hand. He was broad-shouldered and black-bearded, a giant even among these creatures. "Your mortal weapons will not harm us," he boomed. "We are the Ysandir. We are immortal. Our flesh is not like yours.."
"You cannot keep us here," Jonathan replied steadily.
"We are hungry." The clawed woman's eyes glittered. "We have not fed for one of your years. The goatherders are too good at keeping their young from us."
A woman with hair whiter than snow purred, "He thinks his father the king will hunt for us and destroy us."
They laughed. Alanna wanted to put her hands over her ears and shut out the dreadful sound, but she forced herself to remain still, moving her feet so she would be totally balanced when the attack came.
The black-bearded one smiled. "I am Ylon, chief of the Ysandir. I have fed on hundreds of your mortal lives. Let your father bring his armies. We will feed on their souls, and we will be strong. We will break the curse of fire the Bazhir put on this place."
Jonathan took a deep breath. "I don't need my father's soldiers. I am going to leave here, and you are not gong to keep me."
"Listen to the princeling!" mocked the red-clawed woman. "How you roar, young lion! And your tame kitty mewls!"
"I will not be insulted so!" Alanna cried angrily. A kitten, was she? She drew Lightning in one swift movement. The crystal on the hilt blazed out, throwing a harsh light into the darkness around them. The Ysandir shrank back against the altar, trying to keep the light from their eyes.
"So. You come armed with their weapons," Ylon said. "But can you use them?"
"Ylanda," said Ylira, the woman in red. "I cannot see into this one's mind. It is hiding something. Where did you get that sword?" she snapped, staring at Alanna.
"None of your business!" Alanna replied, focusing on the red-gowned being. For a second she felt a touch in her mind, like claws raking through her head. She yelled. Lightning flashed, and the woman with claws—Ylanda—collapsed against the altar. She was gasping for breath.
"Don't give them an opening like that again," Jonathan warned. Already the air around him was shimmering with blue light. Alanna brought up her own shield of violet magic, keeping Lightning outside—just in case.
"I didn't plan to give them that one," she murmured.
Ylanda had gotten her breath back. Suddenly she was laughing. The others watched her. "In all my centuries," she gasped finally, "I have not known such a jest. Young lion—see your companion for what she really is!"
Before Alanna could bring Lightning's crystal up, power from Ylanda and Ylon smashed into her defenses, breaking through. She doubled over in pain. It was over as swiftly as it began, with one difference. She was no longer wearing her comfortable burnoose. She was attired in a dainty noble's gown, with satin slippers and a veil over her once-again copper hair. Alanna swore.
"Dammit, I hate dresses."
"Thom?" Jon gasped in amazement.
"No, Alanna, you dimwit. Alanna of Trebond, Thom's twin sister."
Jon's jaw dropped in shock as he stared at her. "But you're dead!"
"Obviously, I'm not!" Alanna replied angrily, rattled. She looked down at her dress and grunted in disgust. "I can't fight in this idiotic get-up." She slashed at the hem, ripping off good six inches of length, and all of the heavy petticoats. Alanna looked up. Jon was staring incredulously at her, enemies forgotten.
"What, am I some kind of freak show?" she snapped. "Shut your mouth before something falls into it." He snapped his jaw closed. She darted a glance at the Ysandir. They were snickering nastily with Ylanda, but they could easily start something any minute. "We don't have time for this," she muttered to the prince. The one called Ylira laughed scornfully.
"A noble lady who tries to protect her prince! How touching!" Alanna glared pure hate and held up Lightning's crystal, letting its light burn into their eyes. The crystal flared, and she shouted, "I may be a lady, but I can fight as well as any warrior!"
Ylon's booming voice pulled their attention to him. "Separate them."
Instinctively Alanna grabbed Jonathan's hand. Sapphire and amethyst power collected at their intertwined fingers.
"The Wall of Power," the prince hissed. "What's the spell?"
Alanna started the verses. Jon's voice joined hers, the words thundering in the great chamber. Slowly a wall of blue-violet light rose between them and the Ysandir. The immortals covered their eyes, unable to look at it for long. They retreated.
"You defy us?" Ylon cried. "Pay the price, mortals!"
Tearing pain shot through their joined hands. "Don't let them part us," Jon said. He held on so tightly Alanna's bones creaked. She ignored the pain, keeping her mind on the Wall. The Ysandir came closer. Furious, they threw bolts of power at their prey. Jon and Alanna concentrated, bringing up all their will power to keep their defenses strong. The Wall stood. Two immortals touched it and screamed. They vanished with a flash.
"So you can die," Alanna taunted. "You can feel pain."
"How long do you think she will last?" Ylira asked Jonathan softly. "Another few moments? She is a noble girl. She is weak. She will give way, and then where will you be?"
It was the same things that the tribe's warriors had said to Alanna at first, before she proved her ability in combat; the same taunting voice that made itself known in the back of her mind, undermining her self-confidence. But this time Alanna wasn't panicky, she was enraged. No one was going to belittle her abilities one more time!
"You think so?" she shouted furiously. "Then try this on for size!"
A slender thread of violet fire snaked through the wall, wrapping around Ylira's throat and tightening. The immortal did not even have a chance to scream before she fell to the ground and vanished.
Alanna didn't have time to gloat. Three women joined hands to form a deadly looking triangle. Power collected at the center of their formation in a small, evil ball.
"Highness?" Alanna whispered. This kind of magic had no connection to anything she had learned from Umar Komm. She hoped Jonathan knew a way to counter it.
Jonathan spoke, using words she had never heard before. Alanna felt her own magic flowing into her companion's body. It was an eerie feeling, but Alanna didn't try to resist; she trusted Jonathan, short acquaintance or not. Slowly the prince reached through the Wall. Magic lanced from his fingertips, shattering the triangle. Alanna blinked, trying to clear her eyes of the blaze that had been the three Ysandir.
Five remained. The redheaded woman and the brunette with the hungry eyes screamed and threw themselves on the Wall. They blazed and vanished. The others drew back.
Alanna remembered something. "Highness—fire?" she hissed.
"Of course," he whispered. Together Alanna and Jon whispered a fire-spell, the right words somehow planting themselves in her mind and flowing out of her mouth. She knew this spell was not one that she had learned, but she didn't question it; it simply was.
"Ylon!" cried one of the two male Ysandir remaining. Fire roared up outside the Wall, reaching with eager fingers for the one who cried out. He screamed and disappeared, the fire vanishing with him.
Only two remained of the Ysandir: Ylon and Ylanda. Alanna gulped. These two had joined hands, and power gathered to them.
"Ak-hoft!" Ylon cried. The Wall vanished as if it had never been.
"The others were weak and greedy," sneered Ylon. "We are not."
"We are the First," Ylanda added. "We were here before all the others. We shall remain."
"Who are you?" Jonathan asked, trying to catch his breath. Alanna wiped her sweat-beaded face on her sleeve. She was tired, so tired her bones ached.
"We are gods and the children of gods," the woman said. "We were here before your Old Ones, and we laughed when their cities fell."
Alanna felt a return of her old spirit. "A likely story," she said with a sniff. "Gods don't die. You do."
"You think you know all, mortal. You know nothing. Even immortals die when they weaken. Ylanda and I are the strongest. You will not weaken us."
"You're very good at pretending you're invincible," Alanna retorted coolly. "Somehow, though, I don't really believe you."
"Give up," the prince said. Jonathan's voice was even and strong. "Your time is past. You no longer belong here."
Ylon and Ylanda raised their linked hands, chanting in a weird language that made the two humans shudder. Outside thunder crashed. The eerie glow that lit the temple vanished. The only light now came from their magics.
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Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Evil cliffie. I know, I know, you hate me. But this cheers me up immensely, I can't tell you how much it makes me happy. I love this cliffhanger. It's such an excellent cliffhanger. ::gazes adoringly at cliffhanger for a while:: But anyway. Reviews must be replied to. Here we go!
Barranilwen: Long enough for you? But is it not exciting that I updated? Are you not thrilled? Anyway, if you didn't like the last chapter, I can promise you that you'll like the next one even less. ::evil smile::
Daemon: I like your pen name. May I theorize that you're into Philip Pullman? Aha, I see by your bio that you are. Well, good for you. Philip Pullman is cool. Although the end of The Amber Spyglass really depressed me. : ( Anyway, thanks for your happy review. ::grins::
LadyoftheRogue: As you see, I have indeed written more. I hope that made you happy. Except the cliffie probably made you mad, but it was supposed to. Yes, that's right. I did that to all of you on purpose. As for George, see big bold note at the bottom.
Allure: Yeah, I wish get out of school free cards actually existed. That would make my life. Wow. ::contemplates the awesome possibility for a second:: If only my life was like a game of Monopoly…
Morrigan: ::chuckles at the excellent and entertaining rambles:: Yeah, I know. I write wrong words for things too. I am sorry for assuming you so silly as to not know the difference. ::makes repentant face:: Anyway, I hope you like this long chapter. But I'm afraid you won't like the next one… ::chuckles evilly to herself::
Karina: The chapter is up! ::cheers wildly, and then realizes that every one else is silent, and stops with an embarrassed laugh:: Thank you thank you thank you for all the nice things you said. That makes me happy. ::grins::
Athena Masterson: Yes, I am depressed about school. On top of other, review-deficit-related issues. But anyway. I will survive. Well, boot camp, yeah, I think that would be a bit nerve-racking. But you wanted to do it, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have gone to that school. I know all about college applications now, because my sister is in the midst of finding schools, and making college visits, and taking her ACTs and SATs. Anyway, I hope all your family problems are all better now.
Nanook997: Writer's block. The bane of all good writers everywhere. Yes, writer's block must surely be your terrible problem. You have my sympathies. And you were close. It's consequence. You just had an extra letter in there.
Temptress: Oops, about the abiento thing, it's A bientot. You just don't say the T. Anyway. Sorry about your hack. That must really disturb you when you're trying to be evil and menacing. I'm so sorry. Not. ::laughs evilly:: Mwahahahahahahahaha :cough:: hahahahaha ::cough, hack:: hahahahahahahaha ::cough, hack, hack, hack:: Oh man! It must be contagious! Yes, I'm sure your fluffy bugs are excellent fluffy bugs. It's just a bit frightening that a) you have them, and b) you named them. That's all. You can name them all you want, but it's still quite frightening. Yes, she does think Jon will be bad. He's a wimpy coddled prince to her. Did you enjoy the Jon bashing, or are you one of those who isn't so big on that? Anyway, thanks for all your comments. ::starts to laugh evilly, than remembers the hack, and stops::
Sir/Lady Loose Associations: What is the origin of your pseudonym? It's really cool. Thanks for your review!
Lady Arianna: Thank you, that is exactly why I had her run away! Now, let me answer all your questions. Time to use the cut and paste keys. : ) "is she ever gonna tell thom that she is still alive?" Yes. "is she gonna end up with george?" Most likely, but maybe someone else. But definitely not Jon. I am anti A/J. They could never be happy together. "is faithful gonna come into the picture?" Yes, I think so, eventually. "is myles gonna adopt thom instead of alanna?" Haven't decided yet. Your questions are not stupid, they are excellent questions. I like it when people ask questions. Opal-dragon's Alanna stories are entitled "Man of the Tribe" and "The Lady Lioness". I like "Man of the Tribe" better, but they're both good. To make it easier for you, just click on my profile and go to my Favorite Author's list. Opal-dragon's there, you can read all of her good stuff. She also has a really good short story called "The Glass Child" that is kind of cool and supernatural.
Keziah: Lucky. But you've started school now. Ha ha. You get to join me in the depressed ranks of school-goers and homework-doers. Poor us. Thank you for your comments about Alanna's various identities. They're good, they help me.
Elspeth: I'm sorry, this wasn't very soon, was it. Oh well. It's really long, so that should make you happy.
Crown: Aha, but you will have to wait. It is inevitable. I like long intervals, it garners me more reviews for the chapter.
Bblond07: Thank you! You made me happy. ::grins::
ThePenMage: Where do I get that stuff? I made it up on the bus back after my first day of school, as I was feeling horribly unhappy about actually having to go back to school. I'm going to steal your thing and go *** Alanna and Thom are twins, and they're not THAT old yet. When you're younger, girl's and guy's voices can sound really similar. But since they're twins, the timber of their voices is relatively similar, and contributes to why everyone at Trebond couldn't tell them apart. If their voices were a lot different, it'd be easy, wouldn't it? *** She is a smart person. She's figured out where he's going, because of all the unusual interest he showed in the Black City with Ali Mukhtab, and the fact that he's dressed for a ride in the desert. See? Not THAT hard. *** Haha, you thought last chapter was short. ::gags herself before she says anything else, because she wants it to be a surprise, even thought you've probably already guessed:: But this chapter actually is extra long. It compensates for the shortness of last chapter. *** I have lots of shelf space. My bookshelves tower from floor to ceiling, and all the books that don't fit there go live in the basement. Those're mostly the ones I don't really read anymore, though. I have a lot, because I spend most of my allowance on books, see, because there's only so much good fantasy at the library. *** Ah, you see, I own practically all of Anne McCaffrey's books. They take up a shelf-section thingy and a half, because there's ::goes to count:: 49. But we'll assume a little over fifty, because chances are I have some that aren't currently on my shelf. Sometimes I put books in very random places. But really, you'd be surprised how many books fit on one shelf. Several hundred is quite possible. *** It IS A/G, we make fun of Jon. George will appear in the sequel, if I ever write it. So don't kick up a fuss. Anyway, thank you for your wonderfully long review. ::grins::
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All righty, now, time to review. And oh yeah. GEORGE IS NOT IN THIS STORY. ALANNA WILL NOT MEET GEORGE IN THIS STORY. GEORGE DOES NOT APPEAR IN THIS STORY. THIS STORY DOES NOT INCLUDE GEORGE. GEORGE IS NOT A CHARACTER IN THIS STORY. END OF STORY. Sorry to do that to you, but about ten thousand people have said, "When is George appearing?", so I am telling you now, so you will not be tempted to write that so over-asked question. Now, REVIEW! I'll take forever to update this cliffie if I don't feel loved and encouraged by all my wonderful reviewers…