Chapter 4
"Quickly now!" the a'ladon prince called over his shoulder in a fervent whisper as he scampered among the trees outside his manor.
T.K. did his best to keep up with the other boy, though he knew that even under the best of circumstances there would be no way for him to keep up with the fleet-footed a'ladon. And the injuries that he had apparently sustained after being rendered unconscious made it painful to even try. "We can't run the whole way there, can we?" the boy panted, holding his ribs tightly. It hurt just to breathe.
Mylam frowned, taking notice of the human's condition as he returned to his side. "Of course not. Even traveling the open roads it would take us half a day to get there. The way that we'll have to go, probably twice that. But we've got to get away from the town before my uncle realizes that you've escaped."
"But why not just go back to your village? If your people think that I'm some kind of god…"
Mylam shook his head to interrupt. He had already considered, and decided against, that option. "Now that he's set marital law in the town he'll have it under curfew, and the only ones who will be accessible will be his soldiers. With luck we might be able to get a message to Lugh and his Laenites, but that could take days to arrange and we've got no one to trust with such a message. Those Saurians were after Perrin and Lady Hikari for a reason, Takeru. We haven't got days."
"So just you and me against the whole of the Saurian nation?" the human boy asked. "Do I even want to know how big it is?"
Mylam gave a bitter smile, his blue eyes narrowing on the other. "Why? Are you looking for a reason not to go?"
T.K.'s echoed the challenging glare with one of his own, sensing that the other was testing him. "No. Mylam, I'm coming back with Kari, or I'm not coming back. Don't mistake prudence for cowardice. No matter that we're not the gods your people have made us out to be; you can't have any idea of the bonds between the two of us."
Mylam raised his chin, then nodded his approval. He'd had to significantly adjust his thinking since the revelation that this creature was actually younger than he himself was. And briefly, very briefly, when he had spoken of Hikari, the prince had caught a glimpse of what was special about the other. "Good, then. Come over here," he said, indicating a large tree just off the path.
T.K. followed, and soon Mylam struggled to pull a long, sturdy wooden rod from behind the tree where it had been concealed. "I took this from the armory of the True Believers. It was the biggest one I could find. Do you really know how to use it, or was that part of the stories untrue as well?"
T.K. took the weapon. It was similar to the one that Angemon had wielded during their time in the digital world, the one that his friend had played at teaching him to fight with. And he had used something similar during his battle with Tai when the older boy had been possessed by Piedmon's spirit, but to actually choose it to defend himself…?
Still, it felt solid in his hand, and he nodded a response. "I can use it." It was far better than nothing, which was what he'd had against the Saurians back in Killian's mansion.
"Good," the prince said. "I left a few things here before I went back to get you… a very few things."
Mylam donned a dark green cloak and buried his blue one in the leaves. He then tossed one of a similar hue to T.K. as well. "We'll be in the forest most of the time, and the Saurians' eyes aren't that good to begin with. Hopefully these will hide us from them most of the time."
The garment was somewhat large on the human boy, but not so much as to become a hindrance. Finally he watched as the young prince draped a thin, silvery object around his neck. Satisfied, Mylam gave himself a quick once over. "Ready?" he asked.
****
Kari and Perrin sat huddled together in the cold, damp cell in which they had been placed. The older girl was crying, and Kari stroked her soft fur in an attempt to comfort her. "Perrin, please don't cry," she whispered. Then, with a sudden revelation, she removed the crest of Light from where it was bound to her wrist. The delicate illumination coming from the crystal seemed to calm the other, whose tears faded into halting sniffles.
"Oh, Lady Hikari!" the girl exhaled, burying her face into the human's shirt. Kari's expression turned grim for a moment. Perrin had not been at most of the meeting, and so was still under the misguided impression that she was a goddess of some sort.
The crest warmed slightly in her hand, and the illumination level increased ever so slightly. "Perrin, look at it," Kari whispered.
The other did as requested, the glimmering object reflecting merrily in her soft, brown eyes. "You... you are the Lightbringer," she whispered fervently.
Kari refused to destroy what little hope her friend had left by correcting her. "Touch it," she said, nodding at the crest.
Perrin hesitantly stretched out a furry paw, then brushed her fingers against it. "It's so warm," she said, smiling in relief at the marvel.
"Do you know what it means?" The young a'ladon girl shook her head. Kari smiled with the knowledge that she herself did know. It was the inaudible call of Light's crest to the Crest of Heroes. "It means that he… that they're coming after us."
"Who?"
The crest was inundating the girl with the faith and resolve that it always did whenever T.K. acted on her behalf, fortifying her strength that might otherwise have failed. It had done much the same thing months ago when she would have died, but for the boy. "T.K. and Mylam. They're on the way here."
"Teekay?"
"Ahem, the Lord Takeru," Kari corrected herself.
The furry creature's eyes reflected the glow of the crest with delight. "Mylam?" she whispered to herself in exultation. "With Lord Takeru? Does that mean that he finally believes?" She smiled softly to herself.
Kari smiled at the other girl, then realized with surprise that she was no longer afraid for herself. The light from the crest had vanquished most of her fear, and the rest was overwhelmed by sudden concern for the boy who was coming to her rescue. She lowered her head into her hands as the image of the boy's beautiful, innocent eyes coalesced in her thoughts. And that messy blond hair that just would not stay out of those eyes. He was coming for her, but that could easily get him hurt... possibly even killed. It was at that moment she realized that there was nothing that she would not do to have him there with her, to hold him again, if only just for a moment.
*****
"Why did you bring them both?" the cowled creature demanded of the guard captain. "You were commanded to bring me the outlander. I have no use for the a'ladon."
"Humblest apologies," the thick creature muttered, lowering its scaly head in a modicum of shame, "for the fault lies solely with me. I had not anticipated the arrival of the second girl, and in my haste had ordered the soldiers to capture only the female while leaving the males. The arrival of a second of that gender confused them."
"Put her to death," the king muttered callously, lounging lazily atop his throne. "We have an abundance of slaves, and too little food for them as it is."
The captain bowed and turned as if to go, but then the king's counselor froze it with a word. "Wait," it murmured, lifting a single hand. There was a momentary pause, as if the creature were contemplating a point. "You had said that they show a fondness of one another?"
"So it seems. The outlander injured herself in an attempt to keep one of men from the a'ladon, who then returned the gesture by defending the outlander when she was in danger."
The creature hidden beneath the dark folds of cloth seemed to consider this for a moment. Then it gave a nod of the head. "Then keep her alive. There is something that I need from the foreigner, and her friend may prove very useful to me as a bargaining piece, should it come to that."
The king glanced quizzically at his advisor, but then shrugged. "Very well," he countermanded his earlier order. "Keep the second girl alive. Pick one of the other slaves and kill it."
The captain bowed and turned on his heel, his shoulders stiff with military precision as he moved through the large doors. "And you," the counselor droned to another one of the assembled guards. "Select three others and bring said captives before me."
Several of the older sentinels' eyes shifted enviously towards the other. He had been newly assigned to the Guard to replace one of their comrades who had been slain in the earlier raid. Young and quite brash, it was widely whispered among them that the sole reason for his sudden promotion was that his father was their captain.
The young guard, however, made no move to comply with the command. "I said you," the counselor accentuated with a thrust of a finger.
But the brash Saurian still did not move, though this time it was clear to all that he knew that the order had been directed at him. Instead he turned in place and stared at the creature in a conceited manner. "Are you speaking to me, counselor? For I am the King's Own, and have sworn to serve his crown to the ignorance of all others. Never do I recall having taken any oath to obey a pile of filthy rags such as you."
Everyone froze in place, particularly the captain, who had heard his son's words as he opened the exit to the room. "What?" the king bellowed, rising halfway out of his seat. "Why you insolent--"
The counselor silenced the monarch with a dismissive gesture. "What did you say?" it demanded, its voice a sibilant echo within the cloth.
The Saurian's eyes narrowed dangerously. "When the king himself gives an order, that is the instant in which I will obey. Why would you expect that I obey you, when none of us even knows what manner of creature you are?"
The captain stepped back into the room, his reptilian heart being rapidly inside his chest. "Stand to attention, soldier!" he snapped, hoping that a quick rebuke on his part would forestall any more serious punishment from the king.
But it was not to be, as neither of the principals took notice of him. The counselor then pulled itself up to its full height, which was much greater than its normally hunched-over appearance would suggest. "So it appears that there is a lesson to be learned by all today. Pay attention, please, the rest of you, because I hope to not have to repeat what will happen here today." And with that the creature started to slowly unwind the dark cloth from about its head. The gathered assemblage gave a collective gasp as they finally were able to put a face to the rasping voice.
The ostensibly female creature was pale... deathly pale, as any human cadaver. The only color manifest on her face was her lips, which were a shade of crimson so dark that they might well have been black. Her eyes were little more than dark, hollow sockets in the framework of her ashen face, and the hair atop her head was a mottled gray and filthy with grease and debris. The entire gathering in the throne room was stunned into immobility by her hideousness, and the creature continued to unwind the rags about her body.
She stepped away from the fallen cloak, her body naked and as ashen as her face. Feathered wings, which were as filthy as her hair, drooped limply from her back, and monstrous claws extended from her fingers and toes. Observing her horrid nudity, several of the guards dropped to their knees on the stone floor of the room and became violently ill.
The creature gave a shudder as the gaping and bloody wound on her left shoulder, seared once by holy fire, was exposed to air yet again. She had lived with the pain from that wound for a century and more, and knew now with certainty that it would never heal. Alone, she reasoned, the girl had no power to harm her. But the boy… well, of that she was not so certain. And the two of them together! Even a glancing blow from the power that they wielded as one had given her the deadly injury and had hurled her from that dimension into this. Hence her private instructions to Brennan to kill the other human when the girl had been taken.
"Now this is my lesson, and learn it well lizards," she leered mockingly, directing her long forefinger at the defiant guard. "Hades... Thorn... Barrage!"
As the last syllable left the creature's lips a nexus of dark power swirled into existence on her fingertip, then exploded from the finger and struck the young guard a thunderous blow on his chest. The intensity of the burst was awe-inspiring, and instantly seared through the guard's armor and scaly skin to cut into his flesh, hurling his body high into the air. There was no doubt among the others that he'd been killed instantly, so violent was the attack, but still the counselor continued her deadly assault; each subsequent burst of power blasting bits of flesh and blood from the guard's body. Several seconds later (though it could have been hours to the horrified crowd), she allowed what was left of the body to drop back the floor, twenty feet below from where she had held it suspended.
Those who had not been sick before now were, falling to their knees and gagging repeatedly as they wiped green blood and bits of entrails from their bodies. The captain alone could bear to look at the smoking, skeletal carcass of what had been his only son.
When the heaving had stopped the remaining guards dared to look up once again. What they saw was the same cloaked figure that they had always seen, and now it indicated another of the Saurians with a finger. "You. Select three others and bring the captives before me."
The soldier pointed wildly at three of his comrades and dashed to the door, tripping over his own feet as he went.
*****
"What do you mean, 'no longer there?' " the regent shouted furiously.
The a'ladon guard stood to attention amidst Brennan's fury. "He is gone, Majesty. His bonds have been severed, and, if I am permitted to speculate, I do not believe that he could have done it on his own."
"Mylam." The other frowned. But for the pending return of the household staff he would have killed both the 'god' and his nephew at once. However, since several of the workers had returned early, he'd been forced to simply have the Saurians stop chasing after the prince and bind the boy god to the table in the cellar. He had reasoned that it would be a simple matter to send one of his troops alone to the basement to slit the child's throat.
"Sire?"
Brennan held up a paw to silence the other. The two attacks in under three days had finally given the excuse that he needed to declare martial law, so there was no chance that Mylam would be able to get help in the village. The only ones accessible to him there would be the militia. But now free, where would the two go…?
After the girls, fool. Of course. Killian had already informed him that Mylam had spoken Takeru's Vows with Perrin, and so would be honor-bound to go to her rescue.
"Leave me," Brennan snapped the curt order to his private guard. Though it troubled him, he knew what must be done now.
The other turned with a bow and left. Brennan grimaced and glanced over his shoulder to make certain that the other was gone, then took the dark jewel from its chain around his neck and, with a shake of his head, smashed it onto his desk.
A dark vapor instantly escaped from the shattered gem and gathered in front of him, arraigning itself into a solid image on the desktop. "What is it?" the cowled creature exhaled.
"The boys have escaped, Lady," he murmured quickly. The dark creature had told him that his messages sent in this manner must be brief. "The outlander Takeru and my nephew Mylam are on their way to you now."
The other's fury was evident even in the image. "Damn you, Brennan! Was it too much to ask of you to kill two children? Come to me, at once. Leave now!" The directive was delivered with uncharacteristic haste, almost as if the other were panicked at the prospect of facing the pair. But before he could respond, however, the figure again dissolved into smoke and dissipated on a gentle breeze. The regent sighed, then called again for his guard.
"Sire?" the other answered promptly.
"Make ready my traveling clothes. I'll be leaving soon."
*****
T.K. looked up… and up… and up. Another mountain. Once, just once, why couldn't the bad guys live at the bottom of a valley or something? His ribs were still aching terribly, and he didn't at all relish the idea of continuing such a climb.
The trip to through the forest to the foot of the mountain had been relatively uneventful, even peaceful. T.K. wasn't certain whether to attribute that to the Saurians' carelessness or Mylam's woodcraft.
Kari would love this place, the blond-haired boy thought. He and Mylam had come to know quite a bit about one another during their journey, and the more they talked the better friends they became. The prince had recounted most of the stories about 'Lord' Takeru and 'Lady' Hikari that were spread among his people, and T.K. in turn had pointed out what basis in fact the tales had, if any.
Then Mylam lifted his snout and gave the air about them a cautious sniff. "Off the path," he whispered to the human boy.
T.K. nodded and slid into the woods after his friend, the prince's grace making him feel uncharacteristically clumsy. Moments later a large, well-armed group of the lizard-like creatures passed close to where they crouched, concealed behind one of the impossibly large trees which grew in this land. One, who was apparently the leader, grunted an order to several of the group who turned and started a slow climb up the mountain, passing within several feet of the boys' position.
"And the four of you, that way," the leader grunted to another group, who also split off from the main body and entered the forest from which T.K. and Mylam had just emerged. "Remember, if you find them, kill them… no questions asked, no quarter given."
The divisions continued several more times after that, and each time a group of four or five of the creatures were sent off in a different direction. The two boys stood stock-still the entire time, until finally, mercifully, the final group left along the path which lead back to the a'ladon village.
"Damn Brennan," spat Mylam. "He's already won. Did he have to tell them that we were coming?"
"So much for our sneak attack, right?" T.K. asked.
The prince looked at the younger boy. "Is this some sort of game for you, Takeru?"
The human frowned. "No. No, it isn't, Mylam. I've already told you how deadly serious this is to me. But being so grim about it isn't going to help us, or them, any."
Mylam looked chastised, then nodded. "I guess I'm just worried about her… them."
T.K. nodded back. "Me too." Then he had a thought, and brought his crest out from under his shirt. And of course it was throbbing with a warm radiance and marking the boy with golden honor, as it tended to do when he acted bravely on Kari's behalf. And somewhere behind the sound of the powerful heartbeat from the talisman, he was almost sure that he could just make out a peculiar dialogue that he felt rather than heard. But it was so faint that he couldn't be certain just what it was trying to communicate to him.
The prince glanced over T.K.'s shoulder to see what held his attention, then turned again to the climb before them. It would be much too dangerous for them to take the path, being patrolled as it was, so it looked as if they would have to continue on further into the forest. "Let's get going," he muttered.
T.K. nodded, and pushed his reassurance back into the crest. I'm coming, Kari.
*****
"I'm scared, my Lady," Perrin whimpered to Kari as the two made their way through a maze of prison cells, escorted by four brutal-looking guards.
"No talking," one of the creatures trailing behind them snapped.
Kari glanced over her shoulder at the speaker and affixed him with a glare, then dropped her hand to grasp her friend's tiny paw. "It'll be okay," she whispered in response, not at all sure that it would.
The two were led to a large pair of wooden doors, which one of the guards pushed open. The duo behind the two captives then shoved them, none-too-gently into the room, then turned on their heels and left. The king's counselor had ordered that she be left alone with these creatures, and after what they'd seen earlier in the throne room, none had any desire to question her commands.
Kari stumbled once, then turned and caught her friend by the arm when it seemed Perrin would have fallen. The room in which they'd been left in was surprisingly barren, and was built of the same sort of dark rock as the rest of the fortress. There was but a single inhabitant in that room, and that inhabitant's dark clothing seemed to allow it to melt into the gloom of the place.
"Welcome to you, Lady Hikari," the dark figure murmured, almost inaudibly.
Kari frowned a response, her brow furrowing. "Who are you?" she demanded, the words seeming to echo back to her from the cavernous room.
"One who thought to never see you again," was the reply. A moment afterwards the figure pulled itself to its full height and slowly moved towards the two frightened girls. Disturbingly to Kari's eyes its feet never once seemed to touch the ground, and Perrin caught the girl's arm and buried her face against it.
The figure reached them and started to drift around them in a circular pattern. Kari kept her eyes straight ahead, as if in refusal to acknowledge the other despite her curiosity. The stench of the creature flooded her nostrils with an almost overpowering odor. Overpowering as well as disturbingly familiar…
Kari's nerve finally broke and she turned on the creature. "What do you want with us?"
"Ah, now that is the question, is it not? Why were you brought before me, and Takeru left to his fate at the hands of these Saurians? The simple answer is that I want nothing from your a'ladon companion. Nothing, but that she assure your cooperation. Because from you I want... everything!" And with the last word the creature reared back and tore the cowl from her head, again allowing her repulsive visage to be seen.
"You!" exclaimed Kari, her eyes and the crest bound to her wrist glimmering with a simultaneous flash. But Perrin, at the girl's side, was stunned into oblivion at the horror of the sight and collapsed lifelessly to the floor, her paw slipping from Kari's grasp.
"So you do remember," the other almost purred. "But then, of course, it has been only a manner of months for you since last we met." Kari snarled at the abomination, and thrust her crest forward as if a threat. "Now pray do not bother with what we both know is a futile gesture," the angel continued. "Do you think me ignorant? I also know the secret of the unity of faith, and your light is only the preservative half. Without the boy, you are powerless to attack me."
Kari, of course, hadn't known any such thing. She surrendered an involuntary step away from the other. "You should be dead."
" 'Should be', in this instance, is a far cry from the truth, child. Now, at the last, I will have what I need from you. The power, my ultimate power, shall be mine to wield."
Kari was terrified, but steadfastly refused to let it show. The crest of Light on her wrist was still keeping the creature at bay, and she remembered her brother's confrontation with Roan during that time. The power that the creature sought from her had to be given, and could not be taken by force. "I won't give you what you want!"
The dark eyes, disturbingly free of pupils, now fell from Kari to the unconscious girl at her feet. "Are you so certain of that?" she smiled menacingly.