Chapter 5
Kari stared silently into the gloom of the cell that she shared with Perrin, the fallen angel's threats still echoing in her ears. You will surrender it to me, child.
No! I won't give you what you want!
And are you so confident of that? Think before you speak, child, and do not be so certain of your trinket's power to guard you. I have been told of the friendship between you and this creature, and though you may be unassailable for the moment, she is not. I can, if necessary, unleash upon her almost unlimited amounts of pain and suffering before sending her to death's cold embrace. And if her pain alone is not enough to force your compliance... well, I do have several hundred more of these creatures locked up in this place. And each one will suffer and die slowly until you do yield.
Perrin's eyes flickered open, her head resting in Kari's lap. Alarmed at her surroundings, the creature bolted upright. "Lady Hikari!"
"I'm here, Perrin," the human answered with a calm she did not feel, taking her friend's furry paw and stroking it lightly. "It's okay, we're back in our cell."
"My… my Lady," the other stammered timidly. "What manner of creature was that?"
Kari's face was bleak and further upset the other girl, who still lingered under the impression that the human was the goddess of her people. "One that we thought had been vanquished some time ago."
"But you can fight her?" the other stammered, a pleading quality in her voice.
The brown-haired girl bit down on her bottom lip. What had the dark angel called it? The unity of faith. Was that the potent, divine light that echoed her love for T.K. when they were threatened with evil? The radiant aura that had saved them from the fallen angels, and before that from the insane ghost of Piedmon? The bonding of his Hope and her Light? Faith? "I.. I don't think so, Perrin. Not without T… Lord Takeru."
The older girl face fell, her eyes reflecting Kari's own fear. Again for reassurance she held the crest that was bound tightly to her wrist against her chest. Please, T.K., hurry. I need you. More than ever before, I need you now.
*****
Back in the forest, T.K. and Mylam had another sort of problem. They had finally been cornered by one of the Saurian patrols that were lurking about the mountainside, and had been brought to battle with the creatures.
"Mylam!" shouted the human boy as he rolled away from the thrust of a Saurian's long spear. But his young a'ladon friend was far too busy fighting against another two of the creatures to give any aid or response. T.K.'s mind was working frantically, trying to call to mind everything that Angemon had taught him about fighting with such a staff in his hands, but those lessons had been three long years ago.
The only reason that the lizard-creature had not yet won the fight was that all of his life he had been trained to fight Mylam's people, the a'ladon, who were much shorter and less sturdy than the human boy. The Saurian appeared to be unable to adjust his approach to battle in light of the fact that he was now facing a much larger and stronger opponent. Still, it would not be long now.
T.K. staggered backwards. The bulky creature was much tougher than he was, and though the boy's stamina was greater it was rapidly being worn down by his opponent's incessant onslaught. T.K. winced and collapsed to one knee as the force of the last blow he'd caught with his weapon overwhelmed him completely. The power behind it had been tremendous, and the pain in the boy's injured ribs suddenly became unbearable.
Then, inexplicably, a vision of Kari slowly began to coalesce in T.K.'s mind. She was alone and frightened, kneeling on the cold stone of a prison cell and awaiting an unpleasant fate. T.K. felt a great regret that now, at the last, he could not be there for her. He was all she had, and he was going to fail her. But just then, as the boy's dazed psyche latched onto the girl in his final moments, the crest of Hope also became conscious of the image.
The talisman was resting against the bare skin of the boy's chest, and suddenly awoke with a blistering jolt of heat that burned throughout T.K.'s flesh and blood without hurting him. It pulled the young human to his feet and slapped him smartly across the face to bring him back to his senses, then enhanced his body with a strength and courage that was drawn forth from his indomitable soul. The boy's eyes blinked twice in rapid succession, and upon opening the second time a halo of blue light had set to crowning his dark pupils.
His Saurian opponent was clearly shaken at the conspicuous change in the human's countenance. All of his life he had heard the slaves held in the fortress talk of their god, Lord Takeru the Oathkeeper. But he had, up until that very instant, considered those tales little more than a myth; his own superiors, after all, had said that this was a child simply impersonating the 'god'. Now though, as the other fought to his feet and launched his own remarkable offensive, he began to believe. There was suddenly something about this creature, something that made him believe and turned the cold blood in his veins turn to ice.
The creature's guard dropped just enough. With the new power that the crest had poured into his body, T.K. lunged forward and swung a mighty blow at the side of his opponent's head, connecting with a bone-crunching thud. The Saurian's eyes went vacant as it swooned, then collapsed to the ground at T.K.'s feet.
The young boy whirled about, his eyes searching out small friend. It was a moment before he found Mylam and his foes a good distance away. He could see the prince duck expertly under the thrust of one of the creatures and stab the other cleanly though the chest with his small blade, but then the human watched in horror as the a'ladon was unable to pull the weapon from the dead body as it fell. The blade was wrenched from his grasp and was trapped beneath the corpse, and even from his position T.K. could hear the remaining Saurian's hissing laugh. The human boy sprinted through the woods to assist his friend, but it was clear that he had much too far to go and far too little time to come to Mylam's aid.
T.K.'s eyes narrowed as the lizard thrust the spear at Mylam. The nimble prince slid to the side and caught the shaft of the weapon under his arm, then removed from his cloak the silvery object that the boy had seen him place there before. A whistle?
Apparently a whistle it was, for at that point Mylam placed the object to his lips, faced the Saurian and sounded a single, ear-piercing note.
The creature released his grip on his weapon, astounded, as he was suddenly picked up by an invisible force and hurled though the air at a tremendous velocity. Mylam's human ally was equally surprised, and watched as the Saurian was thrown violently into the side of a gargantuan tree with a speed that shattered both bone and wood. Green blood exploded from the creature's mouth, and the side of the tree that had been struck was blasted free of bark.
T.K. finally reached Mylam's side, just as the older boy was retrieving his weapon from the body of the first creature that he had killed. "Is yours… dead... too?" the prince panted.
T.K. swallowed, his heart beating furiously against the inside of his chest as he shook his head. "Don't think so. Just unconscious." He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and motioned at the second creature. "How did you do that?"
Mylam sheathed his blade and looked down at the tiny instrument in his other hand. "It's an inherited gift from my father's side of the family, like the second sight from my mother's. The Laenites call it the Holy Symphony, and say that it's a sign of royal favor from--" He glanced at the other boy, then back to the body of the creature. "That was clumsy, and certainly wasn't very holy. With my other hand free I could've done better."
"Better? It saved your life. What else can you do with it?"
Mylam spun the little whistle around his fingers and pocketed it again. He shrugged. "A lot depends on the instrument I'm playing on. Not very much with this one."
"Why didn't you bring something else?"
The prince looked at him, one eyebrow askew. "Did you want me lugging my pipes along with us? We're supposed to be in a hurry."
Mylam led the way back to where the Saurian that T.K. had felled lay. Grimly the older boy pulled out his sharp blade again and pressed it against the creature's throat, and in alarm the human grabbed him by the furry paw to hold him back. "Mylam! What are you doing?"
"Killing this thing, and fast. That 'note' I played is going to tell every single one of these things within a mile where we are, so we'd better do it quickly and get out of here."
"But you can't just..." the human boy protested. "I mean--"
Mylam's eyes narrowed on the other boy. "Takeru, a moment ago he would have done the same to you without a second thought," he chastised. "And much as I'd like to, we aren't going to make it to the city without killing some of them."
"I know... and I guess that I would have killed him too if I'd have found a way. But to do it when he's like this just seems… I don't know… wrong."
The older prince sighed and just kept his eyes from rolling. "So what do you want to do with--?" He cut himself off short, then nodded and handed his bladed weapon to the boy. "If this doesn't work, please don't be too decent to kill him before he gets his claws into me," he muttered, again removing his flute from his pocket.
Mylam took a deep breath and began to pipe a short, merry-sounding series of notes on the object, and T.K. watched as the Saurian creature blinked its eyes once, then opened them completely. The look on its face was still somewhat glazed over and the creature wobbled unsteadily as it pulled itself to its feet. "Wha--?"
Mylam continued to play, more rapidly now, as the creature turned its eyes on him. There was an answering glare of loathing in the eyes of the boy, and then T.K. was reminded that creatures like this one had been responsible for the murder and enslavement of the other's people for well over a hundred years. Then the a'ladon prince suddenly brought the merry tune to a halt and addressed the creature. "Can you get us into the fortress city?" he demanded. "En-Grela?"
The other looked at him stupidly, then slowly started to nod. Mylam turned and nodded once at T.K., who returned the prince's weapon to him as the other pocketed his whistle. "What did you do to him?" the human whispered.
Mylam smiled. "He's enthralled... bound to my suggestions," he responded. "As long as the suggestions aren't too complex, at least."
T.K. looked uncertainly at the other. "If you can do something like this, how is it that these things have been terrorizing your people for so long?"
The smile turned a bit more grim now. "It's a little unreliable, and I can only enchant one or two at a time. Plus the smarter ones can usually shake it off, and it doesn't last very long besides."
Then, seeming to ignore the two boys, the lizard-like creature started to slowly trudge up the side of the mountain. T.K. watched as his small friend moved to follow the hulking creature, then was struck with an inspiration. Racing back to the creature that Mylam had crushed into the tree the human boy stripped it of the red garments that it was wearing, and carried them along as he joined Mylam and his willing slave on the trek.
The prince peered at his younger friend, brow furrowed. "Disguise?"
T.K. nodded a response, looking troubled. He could not shake the vision of Kari that he had seen, alone and afraid. Kari, please hold on. I'm coming… I promise.
*****
Brennan and the Saurian king glanced to the side at one other, murmuring in quiet tones as they knelt in submission to the dark angel. Kari was chained by the wrists to the wall behind the creature, and a bright aura of light flowed from her torso to that of the dark temptress, who no longer appeared weak or filthy. Now her feathered wings spread triumphantly about the room, plunging it into an even greater darkness.
Perrin was chained by the neck at the creature's feet, and whimpered softly at the evil presence towering over her. Kari reeled in weakness as she caught sight of the young a'ladon girl, and tears came to her eyes as the light that embodied her purity powered the evil creature to a great dominance. Perrin… T.K. … I'm sorry.
"Now!" the dark creature addressed the kneeling pair. "The two of you, as well as your respective peoples will be my slaves… forever. Any resistance on your behalf will be met with pain and suffering beyond your mortal ability to comprehend. Observe!" The hideous creature clapped her hands together twice, and in response two Saurian guards pushed their way into the room, dragging an aged and struggling a'ladon between them. The wicked creature's eyes sparked with a cruel light as she extended her palm towards the three. "Hades Thorn Barrage!" she shrieked. A massive surge of darkness flew towards the group from her hand, and the two guards cried out in dismay as they were crushed by the power, along with their captive.
"We were supposed to have been friends," the Saurian king whispered to the angel from his knees.
"Fool!" the other spat back. "Infant! Do I look as though I need friends or allies? What kind of friends would you be, anyway? A race that turns on and enslaves its peaceful neighbors the moment that I come to their world and offer them the opportunity? Or one whose leader betrays his own people to their deaths in order to seize power for himself? Hah!"
Tears continued to fall from Kari's eyes, but she no longer had the strength to sob. Practically all of her life-energy was being sucked from her body in order to supplement to angel's power. The girl knew that she should try to fight back, to resist... but then Perrin and the others…
"And don't even contemplate a betrayal of me," the angel warned, looking directly at Brennan. The a'ladon's eyes widened in dismay, and the angel laughed. "Oh yes. I know your thoughts every bit as well as you do. I know every choice that either of you will make before it even occurs to you as an option. Don't you understand? You sought my power, but in return you each surrendered to me your souls. You will be my slaves, willing or not, until the day that both of you die!"
*****
"Mmph!" muttered Mylam, clinging tightly to T.K.'s back beneath the robe that the boy had stripped from the dead Saurian.
"Shh!" the human returned, bowing his head and following their ensorcelled guide through the dark gates of the city.
"Easy enough for you to say, Takeru," complained the prince with a murmur. "It smells like rotting fish inside here. It's positively rancid."
"Well we did take it from the body of a dead Saurian, and he'd obviously been living in it for a while. Don't blame me for how the thing smells."
"I wasn't talking about the clothing, I was talking about you. How long has it been since you bathed? If you expect your Lady Hikari to be happy to see you when we get to them, you can only pray that we find a bathhouse on the way."
"Quiet, we're going in now," T.K. murmured, mortified. He was keeping the hood of the cloak down over his eyes and had hunched over, both to conceal Mylam and in an attempt to emulate the lumbering gait of the Saurians. The added weight of the young prince clinging to his back was worsening the dull ache in his ribs, yet still he tried to simply follow the creature in front of him.
Because of the leadership of their guide, the disguise, or perhaps because most of the personnel from the city were out patrolling the mountainside looking for them, they were not challenged on the way into the massive fortress.
Mylam hopped down from T.K.'s back, and after what had seemed like an eternity of pain the human boy was able to straighten up again. He exhaled in relief and placed a hand on ribs.
Mylam turned to the ensorcelled Saurian. "Now get back out there," he instructed, motioning towards the gate. "Forget you took us in here, and tell any of your company that you come across that we were spotted at the bottom of the mountain."
The look on the creature's face was still one of bedazzlement, and turned to take his leave of the boys. Mylam frowned at the broad shoulders of the other as it lurched away. "I hope that wasn't too much for him to understand. Now, you're sure that you can find your way to the girls without him, right?" he whispered.
T.K. nodded, closing his eyes to see the vision behind them. The golden warmth of the crest resting against his bare skin told him exactly which way to go to find Kari, as well as the fact that she was tired, weak and afraid. "Let's go," he whispered, motioning towards the largest building in the city.
Mylam nodded, and together the two of them crept along the narrow, cobbled city streets. Their caution, however, was evidently unwarranted, as they neither met nor even saw any sign of any of the lizard-creatures on their way to the building. "What'd they do? Empty out the whole city to go and look for us?" T.K. whispered.
Mylam shrugged, though his eyes said that something was wrong. Certainly the king of the Saurians, even if Brennan had revealed that they were coming, shouldn't be afraid of the approach of the two boys. By all counts the creature was powerful and quite poised, and certainly not subject to the kind of paranoia that it would take for him to send an entire army against a couple of small children.
It was seemingly mere moments later when they reached the building where T.K.'s crest told him that Kari was being held, and Mylam pulled his weapon from the sheath at his side. The black doors were massive but unguarded, and opened at a brief shove from the young prince's paw. The two looked at one another. "I do not like this," the a'ladon murmured as they entered the place, moving back-to-back.
The light inside was dim, and the boys had to wait for a moment before their eyes could adjust from the bright sun outside. The stench in the building was almost overpowering and it gagged Mylam, his sense of smell much keener than T.K.'s.
"Shh!" exclaimed the human, taking Mylam and leading him by the paw into a narrow corridor as he caught a glimpse of moment in the passageway ahead. Both boys knelt in the shadows and watched from their hiding place as a solitary pair of guards, each carrying an enormous weapon, passed them by and went to stand at the door that they'd just entered through.
The boys waited in silence for a moment, then one of the guards spoke to the other in a thick, heavily accented voice. "This is a disgrace not worthy of either of us. Not one whole day ago members of the King's Own, now reduced to simple jailers... jailers of our own people, no less."
"Be silent, S'sras," the other responded in a hushed voice, "or she will have you detained as well. Else do to you what she did to Eedin and Saran." He paused for a moment, glancing around to see if anyone was listening. Then, in an even lower voice, so that the boys had to strain to hear, he continued. "What kind of creature is it that can summon that kind of power from her very body?"
"Devil," the first responded. "She can be nothing less. Not only did Uriah surrender his throne without a fight, but the new king of the a'ladon did as well."
An uneasy feeling started to form in T.K.'s stomach, and Mylam seethed furiously at hearing that his uncle had surrendered his throne. Mylam started to pull his weapon out to attack the two, but T.K. again grabbed his furry wrist. "Don't," he whispered, moving the other slightly down the hallway to prevent being heard.
"What? Why not?"
"Weren't you listening to them, Mylam? They're jailers. They're not here to keep anyone out, they're here to keep prisoners in. If we must then we can deal with them on the way out, but doing it now would just raise an alarm that we're here. Let's go get Kari and Perrin, and we'll get these two on the way out if there's no other choice."
Mylam looked unconvinced, not relishing the idea of leaving live enemies at their backs... but then sheathed his weapon and followed the human boy further down the dimly lit tunnel. "I hope you know what you're doing, Takeru. The Laenites had always taught that you were never one to shrink from a battle against evil."
"I've got a bad feeling that we're going to see too much of a battle as it is, Mylam. And I'd hate to think that the day would come when I'd go looking for a fight that I could possibly avoid." He sighed, wondering what he'd ever done to make the a'ladon envision him as a fervent general against evil. "Come on, the girls are this way."
The two made their way furtively throughout the enormous structure, at various times having to conceal themselves when groups of guards passed... but fortunately these times were few. Passing by what were clearly clusters of prison cells, the boys heard the sound of wailing coming from some that contrasted strongly with the sound of singing coming from others.
Mylam managed to ignore the wailing cries, but stopped cold when he heard the songs. "My... my people--" he whispered, his voice trailing off.
T.K. stopped and listened. "I can't understand what they're saying."
Mylam appeared on the verge of tears, and his voice was husky with emotion. "It's a hymn. Sung in the old language, that which my people spoke before the seers gave us yours. They are singing...
Takeru hear our tears, the children and the meek
Who call to you, who surrender our lives for freedom
Though bound in chains, still we believe
Loose our souls, Lord, to enter your Kingdom
Now T.K.'s lips began to quiver, and he clamped his teeth over them to make them stop. He was suddenly swamped by an irrational feeling of guilt that he was only steps away from creatures calling upon him for deliverance, yet could do nothing. Mylam slipped his paw into the boy's hand. "Come, Lord Takeru. We can come back for them if we survive to rescue Perrin and Hikari."
T.K. nodded, his eyebrows furrowed together, and it did not escape his notice that Mylam had now used the honorific 'Lord' to prefix his name for the first time. "That much I promise," he murmured.
It was only after several more minutes of slinking through dark corridors that the two came to a much larger room. "We're getting close," T.K. whispered, leaning over to speak to the prince and gesturing in the opposite direction. "They're somewhere down that way." Mylam nodded in response, and moved to take the lead when the two were again forced to duck for cover as they heard another pair of voices.
"You're a fool. Can't you even control your own slave?" The voice was eerily familiar.
A thick, grunting voice responded. "I, a fool? Look to yourself, a'ladon! You came back to her willingly. All you had to do was pack up your people and abandon your villages, and now you've surrendered them to her. If they had been distressed by our rule, how much worse will it be for them now?"
The two stepped into the light. It was the aged Saurian king Uriah, and at his side was Mylam's uncle, the deposed ruler Brennan. The young a'ladon's eyes narrowed in fury at the sight of his former regent. "No, Mylam," whispered T.K., making a late grab for the other's arm as the prince pulled out his weapon and leapt into the hall with one motion. "Uncle!" he cried his challenge.
"Mylam?" hissed the other in astonishment, as if the prince was the last creature on earth that he would have expected to see at that moment. But then the regent's eyes were drawn to the naked blade in his nephew's paw, and brow furrowed in response as he unsheathed his own silvery weapon from the belt at his waist. "Despite what I'd warned these others of, I cannot honestly believe that you went through with this. But if fills me with some satisfaction to know that you have, as I'd hate to have left the pleasure of killing you to someone else. What did you do with your charlatan god?"
T.K. felt a sigh escape his lips, and he stepped from the shadows as well, tightening his grip around the staff that Mylam had given him. He wasn't about to allow the prince to enter this battle against the two on his own, after all.
At his appearance the Saurian king pulled out his weapon as well, an enormous, ugly looking rod with a vicious serrated blade at its apex. The creature shrugged off the tattered robe that hung from his shoulders as Brennan looked back over his shoulder. "You may deal with the outlander at your leisure, Uriah," the regent growled to his erstwhile partner, "but this is something personal between my nephew and myself."
The Saurian responded with a toothy snarl and began the battle almost instantly, leaping forward and directing a decapitating strike T.K.'s head. The human boy reeled backwards, away from the blade, and took a slap at the king's face with his own weapon as the sharp blade whistled past his ear.
Brennan's assault on Mylam was much more tempered, and began in a such way that an onlooker might have mistaken it for a gentleman's duel. "You've never been able to beat me before, nephew," the older creature reminded the younger.
"I've never had a good enough reason before, uncle," the other answered, thrusting his little blade towards his uncle's exposed neck.
The two contest of the a'ladon was skillful, and might have been mistaken for a ballet were it not for the deadly blades involved. The fight in the opposite corner of the hallway, however, was rapidly disintegrating into a brawl. Once again the bulky lizard was measurably stronger than the young boy, but T.K. was faster, younger and had the image of Kari firmly implanted into his head to drive him onward and to fortify his courage. A furious downward blow from the lizard king splintered the stone wall right next to T.K.'s ear, but the boy quickly countered with a stinging, if brief, blow to the Saurian's face. Green blood spurted from his injured mouth, and the creature gave a loud roar at his opponent.
On the other side, things were not going as well. Brennan had taught Mylam everything that the boy knew about fencing, and so was easily able to neutralize any attacks that the younger creature offered. When Mylam thrust his blade at his uncle's shoulder, the other deftly twisted aside and slashed his nephew's forearm open from elbow to wrist. Mylam gave a quick cry and clutched at the wound, then wiggled his claws to make certain that the tendon itself had not been severed.
T.K. was now backing his opponent away, the lessons finally returning to him and a righteous rage lending strength to his body. Almost angrily he smashed through the king's attempts to defend himself, all the while pummeling his aged body with sharp blows to the ribs and chest. Frantically the king tried to keep up, but for some reason while he was becoming increasingly weary the creature opposite him seemed to be gaining strength from somewhere. The Saurian was well beyond the years where he should have been fighting, but he had been told that this creature was simply a young child.
Then T.K. brought the heavy orb atop his rod down with a crushing blow to his opponent's skull. The king's eyes went vacant, and he dropped his vicious weapon to the ground with a clatter as he collapsed in a heap. T.K. pressed a hand against a small cut that he had received on his thigh to staunch the bleeding, but then shook off the pain as he looked to Mylam.
The prince was staggering about weakly now, blood pouring from numerous wounds all about his body as he stumbled away from his uncle's onslaught. Brennan laughed at the boy's feeble attempts to defend himself, and sneered as he continued to pound away at the child's body. A particularly wicked slash tore open the fur and flesh on Mylam's chest and Brennan raised his blade for the final blow. "Goodbye, nephew!" he cried mockingly.
Mylam seemed to falter, but then with what seemed to be the last of his strength he lunged forward and buried his blade deeply into his uncle's unprotected chest.
The older creature seemed almost astonished at having been struck and stared down at the blade that was buried in his chest. His own sword then fell from nerveless claws as he staggered backwards, then collapsed with a sigh. The hilt of Mylam's little blade was the only part that remained visible outside of the usurper's body. "Mylam!" cried T.K. as he rushed to his friend's side.
The boy prince had already crumpled to the ground as T.K. arrived at his side. The human glanced down at the other's torso, then quickly looked up again as he simply could not handle the gruesome sight of his furry companion's chest. Red blood spilled out from wounds too numerous to count, and a small trickle ran from the prince's mouth as well. With a retching cough that brought more blood the young a'ladon looked up at the human with deep blue eyes that mirrored T.K.'s own. "Guess… guess I won't have to wait for Perrin to accept my vows after all... right, Takeru?"
T.K. could barely see through the tears as the boy's cold paw wormed its way into the human's warm hand. "Please Mylam... call me T.K. Nobody but my mom calls me Takeru."
"All right then... Tekay," the other rasped, stumbling over the new pronunciation. "Please… for me... get Perrin out of here. I know you can. Tell her… tell her that I kept my vows the best way that I knew how. Tell her that I really… really do love her."
T.K. held the other's quivering paw firmly. "I promise, Mylam."
The prince's eyes focused on the human boy's face in surprise, as if considering something about him for the first time. "Yes… I… d…do see it now. I don't know why I couldn't before…"
"Wh... what, Mylam? What do you see?"
The boy prince was able to force a feeble, but genuine smile. "I do believe… in… you…"
Then, just as the prince's eyes started to close for the final time, the talisman laying against T.K.'s chest exploded into radiant brilliance and golden light, almost as if it had simply been waiting to hear those very words. The human quickly pulled it out from beneath his shirt out and focused on it. The light was intense, and for T.K. the question that Kari had posed upon first entering this world was finally answered. "You are a Digimon," the boy said in awe.
"W…what?" the prince responded as a shower of energy burst forth from the object and enveloped the two of them. Every hair on Mylam's furry body stood on edge, and he winced in something other than pain. The power of exhilaration surged through he body as he stared at T.K. "What's happening to me?"
T.K. couldn't respond without a ecstatic shout as his friend's form swelled into a larger manifestation before his eyes. The wounds on his body vanished as a new tenacity took hold in his eyes and strength surged through his lithe form. The glowing nimbus swirled around the a'ladon and brought him to his feet, and the prince stood stock-still as the reconfiguration was finished.
T.K. stood back and let the crest of Hope finish what it had begun in his friend. The weapon that had been buried in Brennan's chest now vanished and reappeared in Mylam's fist, and had changed as the a'ladon had changed. No longer was it the short blade that the boy had wielded so skillfully, but had stretched and filled out into a great, rune-crested sword. And whereas before Mylam's boyish features had resembled those of a squirrel, his sharp eyes and long ears now him appear much as a tall fox-like creature, standing on his hind legs before the boy. A small circlet of a golden crown rested atop his head, and the cloak that he wore was once again royal blue.
"Royal evolution, Mylam," T.K. said with a sparkle in his eye.