Chapter Eight

The End of a Storm

The sickening smell of decayed flesh was strong in her nose.

She had never seen Peachblossom falter, but when they reached the village on the coast he reared in terror, almost throwing Kel to the ground. His eyes were wide in fear, and it took all the strength Kel had to keep him from running the other way, and all the will power she had to stop from wanting to do the same herself.

All around her were burnt bodies and animals of all kinds; nothing had been spared. She could barely see through the smoke it was so thick. It filled her lungs and made her cough and sputter, "Neal," she managed to choke, and he came toward her, a shield protecting him from the smoke. Kel pulled Peachblossom so that his flanks were touching Atervultus'. Peachblossom was too terrified to even bite, and that's when Kel knew they were in serious danger.

"Be on your guard; they're somewhere nearby," Kel instructed.

"As if I couldn't tell by the smoke," Neal muttered sarcastically.

Kel smiled wryly at him and urged Peachblossom forward, slowly. The geldings were careful not to step on the half-charred bodies and wreckage lying at their feet, so they picked their way around the town very carefully. They didn't even hear the few horses behind them.

"I don't like this," Kel whispered to Neal after about ten minutes, "It's much too quiet."

"I know," Neal answered, feeling he had to keep his voice low or shatter this deadly silence.

The next few moments were utter chaos, Kel didn't even know who she was fighting as her blade came down upon men that were trying to strangle her.

Someone flew down upon Neal, throwing him to the ground, and sending Atervultus into frenzy as he reared and almost brought his hooves upon his rider. Kel saw a burst of Neal's magic stop the horse from killing him, and another burst sent at his attacker.

Before Kel could worry about Neal she realized she had problems of her own. A man threw himself against her chest, knocking her from a screaming Peachblossom. She tried to reach her sword, but he was strong and held her down, so she reached down in an amazing burst of strength and grabbed the dagger on her boot. In one smooth action she slit him up the middle, and the life was pulled out of him in an instant. As fast as she could, she threw the corpse from her stomach and stood, drawing her sword and looking around her, but everyone was gone, everyone, including Neal.

"Neal!" she screamed in fear and waited for an answer, but there was none. "Neal!"

Peachblossom nudged her gently, and she stroked his nose and closed her eyes. She knew this was no time to cry, but tears were springing to her cheeks. She could smell the man's blood all over her, and before she could stop it, she had thrown up, but was feeling a slight bit better afterwards.

"Come on, we're going to find them," Kel told Peachblossom as she mounted and grabbed Atervultus' reins.

*

"Seems to me that it's far past time to visit the fair Lady," he smiled as he looked in the mirror and watched Kel lead the two horses through the smoke.

"Leave her alone!" Tobe shouted and ran toward him, but he held open a hand and stopped him in his tracks, struggling against the magic. He laughed and released the spell, sending Tobe skidding to the floor.

Neal's eyes widened in terror, and he shook his head. "You sold your soul for that magic!"

"What's a soul worth anyway? I can have anything I desire this way," he whispered and looked back to the mirror. "I can have anything…"

Neal opened a hand and a burst of green magic sent him to the ground, knocking the mirror over and shattering it. He turned, and his dark eyes flashed as he used a huge blast of dark magic on Neal in retaliation. Neal fell to the ground, his hands over his head, barely breathing. Dom knelt by his side and spoke to him, but didn't have any magic to help him.

He shook his head and turned back to the mirror, pulling it up with a hand and fixing the crack by running a finger over it. "But I no longer need a mirror, because the Lady has come to me, my Lady."

*

"Lady Keladry, my fair one, it's no wonder everyone around you loves you; you are very beautiful and yet so strong. Strength draws men in you know, a woman with strength is very hard to come by, especially a beautiful woman," her nemesis stepped from the smoke and slowly it parted for him. His pale body was highlighted in the smoke, a huge contrast- the white against the black of the smoke and his robes. His flashing green eyes looked almost snake-like as he inched his way forward to her.

"Where are they?" Kel clenched her fingers together and gritted her teeth, but kept her voice Yamani calm.

"Alive, it's all you need to know, alive and waiting for their savior. How about we make a deal?" he asked smoothly; his words were like honey, almost hypnotizing, and she understood why he had so many followers.

"I won't make any deals with you. I know your kind, and you will only trick me with your pretty words. I may not be a Mage but I'm not stupid," Kel spat.

"My kind? What kind would that be? Villains or Mages? I'm sure Neal would appreciate these words. Just what is it you truly think about Mages Keladry of Mindelan?" he questioned, his mouth curving into a twisted smile.

"Don't twist my words, this has nothing to do with Neal, or with Mages," Kel tried to stay calm, but her blood was boiling. Here he was, playing word games with her while plotting to overthrow Tortall.

"No deal? What a shame, guess I'll have to show you what a good idea a deal would be," he snapped and vanished, but Kel could feel his presence all around her.

She suddenly heard laughing and a child running.

"Lady!" a voice called, and she spun in the smoke.

"Tobe?" she squinted but could only make out flashes of someone running nearby," Tobe!"

"Lady come and play!" the voice giggled gleefully, and she was sure it was Tobe's voice now.

"Tobe where are you? Tobe come on! This is no time for games!" tears sprang to her eyes, but she pushed them back.

"I'm sorry," a gentle voice muttered.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," the word echoed all around her, from all directions.

"Neal?" she looked to the sky.

"I failed…"

"Failed, failed, failed…"

"No!" she screamed. "Neal no! You didn't fail!"

"See, originally I was going to try and take a position by Roald's side, but now…I'd rather just kill him. I'll get power faster that way, with all these powerful people by my side…" the Mage's voice was in her head, replacing Neal's.

"Never! No one will ever accept that!" she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.

"Kel? Kel why are you crying?" Dom questioned behind her, and she turned around and shook her head.

"You're not real," she whispered, and he looked pained.

"Not real? Of course I'm real, come on Kel, I'll take you to them, I'll show you to Neal and Tobe. I've escaped Kel, come on, quickly, they need you," he held out a hand, but Kel shook her head and refused to accept it.

"No, you're not real!"

"Kel, stop, you're talking crazy, we have to hurry," his voice took on more urgency and…anger.

"No!" she screamed and drew her sword, and his eyes filled with terror as she brought the sword down upon him. He vanished before the sword ever touched him, and a hand held her from bringing down the sword. She saw who it was and ripped her arm away from him, pulling back. "What do you want from me?"

"Agree to stand by my side. I need an ally like you for Tortall to accept me as the new ruler. You can be Queen," he offered, his eyes were almost sincere.

"Never," she whispered.

"Why won't you do this easily?" he snapped, and Tobe appeared beside him, trembling in fear.

"Lady!" he screamed and ran toward her, but one hand from the Mage stopped him in mid-air.

"Tobe!" Kel ran toward him, but she was quickly stopped as well, inches from Tobe.

The Mage slowly sauntered forward and pulled a boot knife from his ankle, twirling it between his fingers, examining it.

Kel shook her head and tried to reach for Tobe, but she was frozen so she couldn't move.

"What does it take for you to realize that I hold the power?" he asked gently and slipped the knife down Tobe's cheek. Tobe winced, and tears slipped as he whimpered slightly. Kel could see every drop of blood that trickled down his cheek, she was inches away, but she couldn't do anything to prevent it. "I can take away everything you love Lady Keladry, I can kill them all in an instant," the knife then fell gently across Tobe's neck, making a wound, but not deep enough to kill, only a scratch. "I can…of course…go deeper, but not before I see what they have to say about your predicament. What will they think of you and your strength when they see this?" he snapped and Neal and Dom were on both sides of him.

"Kel," Neal whispered and looked down.

Dom tried to reach her, but a hand stopped him, and he was frozen solid.

"At least the Mage had enough sense not to move, Neal and I are alike aren't we Neal?" he looked at the other Mage and smiled a wicked smile.

"We are nothing alike," Neal gritted his teeth. "We are not at all the same. You chose the wrong side Coriolis, and you will suffer for it."

"No Neal, you chose the wrong side, but we are alike. Both Mages, both rejected by the women we love because of loyalties to other things…because of magic…"

Kel's eyes turned to meet Neal's which fell quickly.

"It's not magic that makes her turn you away Coriolis, it's hate," he said softly and raised his hand. A burst of green magic wrapped around the older Mage and let Kel, Dom and Tobe free for an instant, and Kel ran toward Tobe and wrapped her arms around him.

"Dammit Neal, if you want it that way, we'll see where her loyalties lie, how much she'll sacrifice for a Mage," he ripped Neal up with a hand and walked around him as Dom came to stand beside Kel and Tobe, all helpless.

"Now Neal, doesn't that make a precious picture? Aren't they the perfect family? Where do you lie in it? Anywhere? Nope, doesn't seem like it, seems like you're left alone in the cold aren't you? I mean…your cousin taking the woman you care about; oops…did I say that out loud? I didn't mean to…" he put a hand to his mouth and giggled slightly.

Kel's eyes widened, and Dom just stared. Neal closed his eyes and breathed deep, calling on all the strength of his magic. He forced himself free and faced the Mage.

"Oh, that was good," he commented sickly. "But you think that you can stop me?"

Kel drew her sword and tried to get to Coriolis, but he only grabbed her and threw the sword into the ground with a hand. She struggled to get free, thinking it would be easy with the frailness of the man, but he was strong, and she guessed she was fighting magic more than strength.

She screamed in aggravation, and he laughed and shook his head.

"Poor dear, don't you want to see what they'll do to save you? Aren't they the three most important people in your life after all? And two of them want to know where they stand I think, right about now. Let's see where they stand shall we? We'll have them prove themselves to you, see just what it is that they love about you, because we all know just what it is that I love."

"Stop playing games Coriolis. You used to be different, always ambitious, but…what drove you to this? What caused you to go mad? A sane man does not make bargains with Chaos!" Neal's eyes never left Coriolis', which made Kel's eyes dart from one to the other.

Kel realized then that the smoke was beginning to lift, and as it did she noticed that a faint green glow was surrounding Neal and upon looking down, saw that Coriolis, in turn, was also glowing slightly black. Kel guessed this must be their magic. She also guessed that they were battling in more than just words; they were battling in magic, and it seemed that Neal was losing. Kel didn't understand magic; she didn't have any idea what was going on, and her own ignorance frightened her. This wasn't a battle against men for some unknown borderline. This wasn't a place far from Corus where no one would ever see or hear the battle. The weapons weren't wrought of iron and fire, but were Gifts of the mind and body. It was the essence of the soul. And the victory or defeat didn't mean how many men were killed. The victory or defeat wasn't one that would go unnoticed; this was a battle for the Kingdom, for all Tortall as they knew it, and those present were the only army. At that moment, Kel knew she had to do something, so she pushed herself out of Coriolis' arms so violently that she and he both fell to the ground. Dom quickly helped her up and smiled encouragingly, though rather weakly. She looked over at Neal who had not moved; his eyes were still set unblinkingly on Coriolis. It was as if he was rooted to the ground, a stone statue, only posed to look like a human Mage with the disheveled hair and blazing eyes, and of course that convincing green glow surrounding him. But surely this unmoving figure couldn't be her Neal, the one who had helped her as a Page with studies and bullies. This wasn't the same Squire of Lady Alanna with dry humor and quick wit. This certainly was not the same Knight who had accompanied her on long journeys and fought time and time again by her side.

Coriolis pulled away from his gaze, breaking a sweat, "Well Neal, if nothing else you are determined," he smirked and held out his hands as a large rock behind Neal began to float over him and to Coriolis. "What do you think about this? If you can get the stone from me I'll let her go. If not, I'll kill your cousin. Either way she'll live and really either way he'll die, so you're just playing for her freedom," Coriolis put the stone in the air between them, and Neal's eyes narrowed, as if considering.

"You're on," he glared and closed his eyes.

'It'll take a very powerful Summoning Spell, and I don't have the strength,' Neal's voice admitted in her mind. 'It'll buy you enough time to get Dom and get away.'

'Neal, what about you?' Kel demanded frantically.

'Do you want to save Roald from this lunatic or not?' Neal snapped. 'There's no time. I've already agreed,' she felt the magic die and knew the spell had been severed.

"Neal," she whispered as Coriolis lifted the stone into the air.

"Will you do the honors Lady Knight?" Coriolis looked at Kel, and she gulped, not knowing what to do except go along with his sick games.

"One…two…three…" she whispered. "Go!"

A whip of black then green magic lashed around the stone as they began to pull. Kel saw Neal grow weak quickly. She wanted to reach out to him but knew she couldn't. She was about to grab Dom's arm and force him to leave when a huge ball of fur attacked Coriolis' face, and Neal pulled the stone to the ground in front of him before collapsing to his knees in a coughing fit.

Coriolis threw the animal from his face, only to be attacked by a falcon from overhead. Kel looked to the creature that she now recognized as a dog and ran to its crippled form, "Jump?" she cradled him in her arms, running back to Neal. She didn't know what to do, but then something quite extraordinary happened.

A nimble hand reached through the wall of smoke, and the falcon flew to it. The hand was followed by a body, and Kel almost screamed in joy upon seeing it was Master Numair. So then…she looked at the falcon and met the eyes of the Wild Mage Daine. She flew and landed gently on her lover's shoulder as Numair began to speak, "Oh Coriolis, you always were brilliant. When did you trade brains for madness?"

"You can no longer match my power Numair!" Coriolis raised his hands, and Kel saw his face was dripping with blood, there were large gashes and scrapes from claws and teeth. "Not even with that Wild Mage you keep close by your side!"

Daine shrieked her fury in her high falcon voice, and Numair pulled a hand close to her for reassurance before he smiled smugly.

"I'm sure I can't, not with the power of Chaos coursing through your veins, but I'm sure I can outwit you. Daine, love," he bent down to the bird and told her quietly, "you might want to see about Jump. I think Lady Keladry has enough to deal with just now."

The falcon nibbled his ear, and he smiled and pulled off his cloak, dropping it over Daine whom had just landed near Kel, Neal, Dom and Tobe.

Slowly, a figure began to emerge in the cloak and when Daine had it properly tied, so it wouldn't come off, she pulled Jump from Kel's stunned fingers and began to heal him. Kel couldn't seem to pull her eyes from the fight that was about to take place. She knew Master Numair's power, had witnessed it firsthand, but…how could any normal man compete with the power of Chaos? She guessed she was about to find out…

Numair bowed, but Coriolis just glared in response. Numair picked up the stone and hurled it toward Coriolis who seemingly plucked it out of mid-flight and threw it back. Numair ducked and raised his hand to perform another spell, and Coriolis smiled wickedly. The stone flew from behind Numair, toward him. All the while Numair was totally unaware there was a boulder hurtling toward his back. In a split second, Kel had tackled Numair to the ground. The boulder whizzed over them, and Coriolis just barely had time to catch it. He snarled and ripped Kel to his side.

"You've foiled my plans for the last time Lady Keladry," he growled and ripped Kel to his side, then forced her to her knees. She screamed in pain, but he didn't release his hold.

"Kel!" Dom shouted, but Numair held him back, and Kel was grateful.

"I try to go easy on you, help you out," as Coriolis spoke, Kel slowly moved her hand to her boot, but he didn't notice. "Offer you bargains, ways around your untimely death," a light 'snap' and the buckle to the hilt on her boot knife was open. "Only because I thought we had a lot in common…" in one quick movement Kel whipped out her knife and slammed it into Coriolis' foot. He released his hold on her, and Kel leapt to her feet.

"Kel," she turned and grabbed her sword that Dom had tossed her. She didn't waste a second. She dove the blade into Coriolis' heart.

"You may have the powers of Chaos, an immortal, but you yourself are mortal and susceptible to weapons that pierce flesh. We are nothing alike," she whispered as she twisted the blade, then ripped it out.

He coughed once, blood spilling onto his robes, then fell to the ground, cold as death.