It had been two months since the arrival of the royal Tortallan delegation in Carthak. The confirmation of the peace between the kingdom and the empire was going very smoothly, and the departure of the Tortallans was scheduled for the next week.
Daine was almost eager to leave Carthak behind. The animals at the menagerie had all assured her that they were being treated properly, and after giving the new members waking dreams as she had the old, there had been nothing left for her to do here. Endless numbers of balls had come drifting her way, most of which she had been forced to attend, but those she could avoid, she did – there was a limit to her tolerance of watching swarms of ladies flooding Numair. And Varice! There was no forgetting that whore; she was insufferable. Following her recovery from her surprise at the first time she'd seen Numair and Daine together, she'd ploughed right on ahead and delighted in coming between them whenever she could.
Kaddar, on the other hand, was incredibly regretful that the two months had passed by so quickly. He had made an increasing number of advances on the lovely Wildmage as often as he could when no one was watching, but to no avail. Daine and Lisette had become almost inseparable, and when they were not together, Alanna or that cursed mage, Numair, was by her side. He'd stolen more than several kisses out in the gardens escorting her back to her rooms, but she had never been willing, and for some unfathomable reason, Lisette kept showing up in the oddest places at the most inconvenient of times. He was starting to reconsider his hospitality towards her, relation of his or not.
Numair was growing more and more irritable at everyone by the day, with the exception of Daine. He was using all his will at every social event to keep various Carthaki court members from approaching his love. All those young men were always staring and wanting a dance or two, until they'd seen the overbearing, six foot five black robe mage glaring at them in their peripheral vision. Truthfully, Numair knew that the visit was straining their relationship, and he too longed to board the ship back to Tortall as soon as possible.
Lise was furious. She'd been kept on her toes for the entire duration of the two months, and was growing very ill-tempered. Shakith had visited her on Midsummer's Day, with her mother, Juliana, and her grandmother, Katharine. She'd cried her eyes out seeing her mother again, but that hadn't changed the following lessons that she'd been given from the three most important female figures in her life. Lise had learned the intricacies of the human mind that afternoon, and had discovered how to enter someone's conscience and alter their perceptions of memories. The work of a good seer could never be detected, not even by a mage, with the exception of those who had power equal or greater than that of a minor deity, and with the blessing of Shakith, Lise would be almost undetectable. As a result of this new ability, she had been able – and rather forced, she thought – to enter Numair's mind countless times to rearrange memories of Kaddar and Daine together. It was torture, and Lise wanted nothing more than for the delegation to leave and never return.
Whether it was welcome or not, the day of the departure loomed ever closer. But twenty kilometres to the south of the Carthaki capital, someone waited for their chance. Spells warded him, weaving a barrier through which no one, god or less, could see. Patiently abiding his time, there was but one thought on his mind: the return of the world to Chaos.
.::.
The hot sun beat heavily down on Daine's back as she sat at the edge of a shallow pond, her feet dangling in the water, crystal clear and shaded by palm trees. She was in the middle of a desert, and save for the small oasis in which she sat, the landscape stretching out in four directions around her was completely monotonous, flat sand.
The air in front of her suddenly shimmered, and a familiar goddess appeared. The Graveyard Hag hobbled slightly and sank to the sand beside Daine.
"Hello, dearie," the Hag said brightly. "Fancy seeing you again!"
"Oh, I'm sure you fancy this visit," Daine said darkly, "considering I probably wouldn't be here if you hadn't brought me. Is this another one of my dreams?"
The goddess nodded, and abruptly a sharp, chastising whistle sounded. Kitten appeared in Daine's lap, and started berating the Hag emphatically.
"Silence, impudent dragonling. Just because you can go where you wish does not mean you have the right to speak to me like that," the goddess said. "In the Dragonlands, you would be severely punished for speaking when not spoken to. I will send you back there, where those of your kind will be most happy to take you in hand. Is that what you would like?"
Kitten put two paws over her muzzle and turned a sulky shade of grey, leaning against Daine's stomach and scowling.
"What am I here for?" Daine asked. "I'd like to go back to bed."
"You are in grave danger, child," the Hag said seriously, "you and the world. Do you remember what your mother and your father told you on Midsummer's?"
Daine remembered. "They said, 'keep your wits about you, and spend as much time as you can with Numair honing your new power.'"
The goddess nodded approvingly. "And what have you managed to learn with your mage?"
Daine thought, then answered. "I have discovered my range – it is about the same as with the animals. I have mastered the summoning of the manifestations of the four elements and have become more advanced in doing so – for example, I can sense all the candles in a room upon entrance and call fire to each wick simultaneously. I can command things as well as call them to me or to someone else. I can do lots of little things. I can encourage the growth of plants, and filter soil. I can change salt water to fresh by removing the salt. I can -"
"And can you kill?" the Graveyard Hag asked, interrupting her.
Daine stared. "Kill?" She'd never thought about that before. "What do you mean?"
"Can you burn with fire? Can you drown with water? Can you bury with earth? Can you savage with wind?"
"I – I guess I could," Daine faltered.
"Create me a plant," the Hag ordered.
Daine created a cactus and embedded it in the sand a few feet away, on the other side of the pond. She encouraged its growth until it was nearly her height. "Is that enough of a plant for you?" she asked.
"Yes. Burn it," was the peremptory command.
Daine called forth the hottest fire she could and set it on the cactus. It was reduced to cinders within minutes.
"Do you think you could do that to a man?" the goddess asked after a moment's pause.
A man! Could she kill like that? Daine wondered. She supposed it was no different than killing with her bow, and nodded mutely.
"Good," the Hag said. "I'll leave you now. This is the last you'll hear from us for a while. Strength, Daine, and remember that we're all watching." She placed a gnarled hand on Daine's shoulder in a rare gesture of affection, and vanished as suddenly as she'd appeared.
.::.
Daine sat up in bed with a start, spilling dragonet from her lap. Numair rolled over groggily beside her, passing a hand over his eyes.
"What is it, magelet?" he asked her.
"Something's going to happen to me," she whispered. "The gods know it, and they can't help me." Kitten agreed with a long, sombre whistle.
Numair sat up quickly and put his arms around her. "Sweetling," he began, "nothing's going to -"
"There is something!" Daine countered. "The spidren, Lise being here, my ma and da being so touchy at Midsummer's and so weepy – like they'd never see me again! The Hag just came to me and offered me strength after making sure I would be able to kill with my new powers. She told me, for the Goddess' sake, that I was in grave danger. I'm so lost!" she burst finally, and buried her head in Numair's shoulder, tears streaming down her face.
Kitten jumped to the floor and left the room as Numair rocked Daine until her tears stopped, caressing her curls and murmuring softly.
"I love you, sweet," Numair said quietly once she'd finished, "and no matter what happens, we'll be together, I promise. And you know that if we're pulled apart, I swear by Mithros' name that I'll do everything within my power to get you back. I'd die without you," he whispered fiercely, holding her tight.
Daine couldn't trust her voice to speak, so she kissed him gently instead, letting her emotions run over as she took shelter in his embrace. Passion jolted through her like an electric current as the kiss intensified, his hands all over her and her lips all over him.
Finally, Numair forced her away from him, as much as he didn't want to. "No, Daine," he said raggedly, "if you keep going - I won't be able to stop."
Daine looked up at him through wet eyes and hugged him. "I love you, Numair," she said softly, "with all my heart."
He took her hand in his and kissed her fingers as he lowered them both back down to the pillows. He held her snug that night, drifting in and out of sleep as he worriedly watched her face that even in sleep was creased in anxiety. He hadn't a clue what was happening, but if the gods were involved – then what? He forced the thought of losing his love out of his mind with all his strength and focused on protecting her from whatever would come.
.::.
Daine rose at sunrise, changed into what she'd worn when they'd arrived at Carthak, and placed everything else back into her packs. They left at noon today, and she made sure all her belongings were stored. Letting Numair sleep, she exited the bedchamber and sat in a chair in the main room, brooding.
Silver light bloomed on her lap, and much to her joy, a wolf pup appeared.
"Silver!" she exclaimed, and hugged the wolf tightly to her chest. She hadn't seen him since Midsummer's, with the badger, Broad Foot, and her parents, and she'd missed him immensely.
-Daine,- Silver said simply in greeting. –Daine, though the gods cannot come to you, always remember that the gods of the People can. I won't lie to you and tell you that nothing's going to happen, but when you get the chance later on, summon me with the claw.- Placing two paws on her shoulder, he licked her cheek. –Take care,- he said finally, and disappeared.
Daine put her hands over her face in frustration. Kitten came and climbed into her lap, squawking and trilling for a moment before falling silent. Quietly, dragonet and girl sat, watching the sun grow ever brighter as it rose from the horizon.
.::.
Lise and Daine walked through the gardens after breakfast, winding between the elaborate hedges in silence. Daine had told her of the previous omens, and Lise hadn't been able to offer anything of help. Out of reassurance, they had reverted to a comfortable muteness as they walked, feeling the sun coming slowly to full strength.
Suddenly, Lise felt the onslaught of her Sight gnawing at her as it always did before something that she'd seen before happened, but she knew she couldn't tell Daine – it was protocol. Her skin prickled with anxious trepidation, and she clenched her teeth in order to remain calm though she started sweating. Something wrong was happening; she'd seen this in a dream on Midsummer's Eve, but she couldn't remember what was going to happen. Danger! her conscience screamed. Finally, she couldn't stand the feeling any longer.
"Daine," she began, but she never had time to finish.
The world around the two of them blurred as both cried out in surprise. Suddenly, they were in a windowless room of stone, barely nine feet wide, and very disoriented.
"Lise," Daine said, her voice shaking. "Where are we?" She realized that this must have been the threat she'd been warned against since the spidren hunt that now seemed so long ago.
Lise touched a cold stone wall with a hand, reaffirming the reality of the situation. "How would I know?" she whispered. The tingling of her Sight gone, she knew that they were in deep trouble. Shakith had known about this; she toyed with the pendant around her neck thinking about the goddess, as was her habit. She thought and remembered – the race! It had begun; the two month mark had arrived. How was she to run it?
Daine sent her magic out, trying to sense any of the People who might be able to give her a location, but she felt nothing within her reachable radius. "Impossible," she muttered, and tried again, but felt nothing.
"What's wrong?" Lise asked her, sensing her discomfort with her magic.
"There isn't a single animal within kilometres of here!" Daine exclaimed. "I don't understand."
"Let me try to sense people," Lise said, and reached out herself. "Nothing," she gasped, "there is no one around."
Daine's eyebrows raised. "Someone told me once that there were cells under the old imperial palace that cancelled out the Gift. You could scry and never find someone in there, no matter how hard you tried, and people inside would not be able to use their magic. Perhaps this cancels out wild magic, and the Sight of a seer," she mused.
"But," Lise said quickly, "not the power over elements and nature – your power is without precedent!"
"You're right," Daine said, "I could feel the plants, and the rocks. I should have realized earlier - stand back from this wall here, will you?"
The two of them stepped back from the wall Daine had indicated. Daine used all her anger at being imprisoned like this, mixed it with her fear, and threw it at a stone block that offended her with its shape. The block was reduced to pieces, and she kept disintegrating the wall until the hole in it was big enough for the two of them to step through.
They were in a hall, a large room made entirely of stone, with windows through which murky light streamed. Daine probed the air outside and found that it was foggy; the sunlight was being filtered through thick cloud banks. The place was nondescript; it was suffice to say that everything was grey stone, from the floor, to the ceiling, to the pillars spaced out evenly along the sides. There was nothing in the room, furniture or otherwise, to distract one's attention from the monotone setting, with the exception of an arched entrance through which only a grey stone hallway could be seen.
Daine shivered. She had an eerie feeling that people had died here before; her skin prickled as if this was evil's lair. Suddenly, she heard voices.
"Lise!" Daine hissed. She dragged her behind a pillar, where they crouched, shaking, concentrating on the voices that grew steadily louder.
"Master, I have brought her here," an oddly familiar, male voice said.
"You have done well, Ozorne," was the reply. It was that of a man with a deep voice both powerful and terrible; it shuddered, somehow grating and painful to listen to, piercing the bone with its intensity.
Chills ran up and down Daine's spine. Ozorne? She'd killed him two years ago; there was no chance that he could still be alive - was there? She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out.
"They will not be able to escape, Master," Ozorne said smugly. "I placed them in a cell that cancels out the powers they both have."
A pause ensued. "They?" the man enquired harshly.
"She was with another, a seer, whose magic I cancelled too," Ozorne explained hastily. "Should I have taken just the one, the other would have called for help before I had time to erase the traces of the transportation."
Another silence. "I see," the man said then.
"Master, forgive me if I have done wrong," Ozorne begged. "Please, Master."
"You have not. A seer, you say?" the man asked.
"Yes, Master, a seer, Lisette of Whitecross."
"Is that so? Lisette of Whitecross? The very same relation of my dear, dear sister?" His voice dripped with malice, and both Lise and Daine blanched.
Sister! Lise mouthed silently.
God! Daine mouthed back urgently. She clenched her lips together and kept listening.
"Whitecross, yes," Ozorne stammered.
"And is she beautiful now?" the man – god – demanded. "As beautiful as I knew she would be?"
Ozorne stammered before finding a suitable reply. "Lovely, Master, yes," he said finally.
"I wish," his master said slowly, "to have her – and I will. But before we discuss this matter, Ozorne, do tell me – have you arranged our Midwinter surprise?"
"Yes, Master, it has begun."
A sinister laugh echoed off stone. "So at Midwinter, every single immortal that we have pulled out of the Divine Realms once more will attack, along with every fleet we can muster, and every man we will recruit. All at once, is that not correct?"
"That is correct, Master," Ozorne said submissively.
"And when we take Corus, we will capture the royals and take the Dominion Jewel. The Wildmage will work for us, and the seer with her. We cannot fail, Ozorne."
"No, Master, we cannot. It is brilliant, Master. We will take the world, and Tortall first."
The voices had reached the room now, and Daine could hear footsteps on stone. The hole! she thought with a dead conviction. It was directly opposite the archway, and they had seen it.
"What is the meaning of this!" the man said terribly.
Daine knew they couldn't afford to wait any longer. She turned and blasted a hole through the wall on their left, grabbed Lise's hand, and bolted.
They were outside, in rocky hills that led up to tall mountains, and it was freezing. Visibility was severely limited because of dense fog, but by sharpening her eyes, Daine could make out the shape of woods nearby.
"Follow me!" she told Lise as they began running hard.
"They're coming!" Lise said, panicked.
"Who's they!" Daine yelled.
"A squad of armed men and Ozorne – they've got live capture on their minds, not murder, but all the same – come on!" Lise urged.
Daine concentrated as they sprinted for cover and drew the fog around them closer, concealing them in grey mist. Behind them, she could hear the frustrated shouts of men and a squadron commander shouting orders. Finally, the two of them reached the trees, ran in a ways, and stopped to breathe. The men's voices were getting farther away – they'd gone off in a different direction. Lise and Daine slumped to the ground.
"Attack on Corus!" Daine exclaimed weakly, when she'd caught her breath. "Emperor Ozorne, alive!"
"You're not the one whoever that was wants," Lise muttered. "I understand now," she then said calmly. "Daine, listen to me.
"Two months ago, Shakith came to me and told me of impending danger. A race, she called it, one that I would have to run. This race has now begun, and it is the most important thing of my life and yours thus far – we have never done anything else that has mattered more. My mother and I were separated – yes, she's alive, in the Divine Realms – for this purpose alone, and this is the reason why I have the Sight. My duty is to return a treasure to those who are missing it. You are the treasure, Tortall is missing you, and I am to ensure that you get back so that you can tell them about Midwinter."
Daine gaped. "That important?"
"Extremely," Lise affirmed.
"Why aren't you the treasure?"
Lise thought, and knew. "Because you are the important one – it is you who must return. Should I die on this trip, it will be less consequential than if you were to die. If you are gone, I have failed, and the Midwinter attack will commence. Daine," she said then, "it was a god in there, or a lesser god; Shakith is his sister. We have a serious enemy, and if they're bent on the world, then we are in grave danger indeed."
"I don't understand," Daine protested.
"Understand first, then, that whomever was with Ozorne is very, very dangerous," Lise warned. "I skimmed his mind – it was like nothing I've ever felt. The minds of the great gods are screened off from humans, but his wasn't, and malevolence and hatred was dripping from every corner of his conscience. I have never sensed someone with so much hatred."
"And can he find us now?" Daine pressed.
"No. His power is severely limited for a god. However, the important thing is that you must get back to Tortall to warn the king. If they don't know, the attack will come right in the middle of a Midwinter celebration, and we'll be flattened." Lise emphasized the last word.
"Damn it," Daine mumbled. "Okay," she said, sucking her breath in, "I guess we should find out where we are."
Daine conjured up a large sheet of parchment and a stone cup of ink and laid them down between her and Lise. Placing her palms flat on the ground in front of the parchment, she commanded the earth elemental. Sensing the feel of the terrain, she called for the earth to show her its shape, which she then forced to transpose onto parchment with ink. She then commanded the air above her to rise up and move slowly round, verifying the map that she'd made.
"Finished," Daine said when she was done. Together, she and Lise studied the map, and it was Lise who paled first.
"I don't recognize where we are," Daine said, puzzled.
"I do," Lise said shakily. "We're in northern Scanra."
.::.
Short chapter. Sorry :P
Numair's Daine: Thank you! And congrats on the completion of 'Summer' or whatever you decided to call it – was it Same Love, Different Circumstances - :: memory blank :: (:
Spice: Haha I'll pray for deliverance should it ever come to the day where I must face your wrath! :P
HuntressDiana: Thanks! I'll keep that in mind (:
Moonfairy2000: Thank you (:
Martini: It's kinda hard LoL but yeah, now that the Canucks got kicked, there's nothing else really to distract me :P Thanks!
Thanks for reading guys; keep reviewing, you know you wanna!
