Aether Winds

Chapter twenty-four- Silent Greetings

By- IceWind

A/N:

This is my first fanfic for The Protector of the Small books by Tamora Pierce. The names, places, things, ect, all are credited to her. The word Aether goes to Juliet E. McKenna, but the way I use it and the gem idea is all mine. This fanfic is set in an alternate universe. I.E: Joren is NOT dead, Cleon and Kel are not together (hehe), and other incidents that have I messed up on and don't feel like making it exactly like the book. Please REVIEW *grins* and as long as its not flames on how Kel and Cleon should be together or something of that trivial nature, flames are fine. This story is PG-13 for anything that might come up lol.

IceWind: *sweatdrop* Not only do I have to work on other stories, but THEN I'm taking a class in school called creative writing and I have to write in that… ^^;;

ThePenMage: *shrieks happily* LURKER! AHAHAHAHA! O.o;; (got it from one of my reviews, people who don't review from like the first 10 chapters but have been reading them (and told me about it) are called it) hehehehe. And I agree about Cleon *innocent grin* I hope I don't get so pissed at him that I do… something… that cannot be, er, reversed.

Larzdinn: O.O *says cheerfully* I love long reviews! And thanks for telling me about the part with Cleon and Kel in Lady Knights *pouts* I hoped that she had at least ended up with Dom, eh, better nothing then with Cleon I suppose. ^_^ I don't know if you guys would like the other story that I'm writing, one is an original that I don't post at fanfiction.net I post it at Elfwood…

Aric: *blink, blink, blink* Wow… I guess that means you don't like Jon huh? *snickers* SPORK!

Free2Bme: Tell them? But WOULD they actually tell others as embarrassing as them being bonded? *evil grin* But I'll think about it. Neal and Cleon will NEVER stop insulting Joren… at least for me, mwahahaha.

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Neal squeaked out, his eyes wide with disbelief, "You know, you really have to stop surprising us like this Kel." He cast a nervous glance towards the hizar, having a healthy sense of self-preservation around him… well unless he was near Joren. His hand raked through his hair as he stared at the girl with ill-disguised disbelief.

"Me?" Kel's tone had slight traces of indignation, "Not me! Talk to Raen! It isn't all my fault! Next thing you'll know is that he'll tell everyone that Joren and I are bonded as well…" Goddess… I'm a dolt sometimes… please, oh please let them think that I'm joking… wait, I never joke. Damn it.

In fact, it was Joren's next words which totally crushed her hope that they would think that it was just an off-hand comment, "Damnit Kel, you really put your foot in your mouth didn't you?" His ice blue eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her, faint stirrings of anger wrapping around him.

"WHAT?!" Neal seemed to forget about the previous comment of Kel being a princess, jumping on more serious and pressing issues, "You unbond to her right now Stone!" Beside him Cleon was nodding like a marionette and Owen looked as if he would like to crawl under a rock to hide.

Idiot humans, they cannot 'unbond' as you say Raen's mind-voice had a hint of a sneer in it, And so you cannot do anything about it and even if you try it wouldn't work… and I'd be going for your throat He flicked his tail haughtily and leveled his gaze at King Jonathan.

Kel groaned softly, her hazel eyes catching the astonished looks on everyone's face… this would take quite a while to explain to them it seemed.

~

Kel readied to move out, a faint smile on her face appearing as she felt Arctic Wind stretched out from under her, nearly dancing in place. She cast a glance to where Raen was standing near the castle entrance, a decidedly unhappy expression in his dark blue eyes. Oh well, she couldn't please the hizar every time. She looked back at the small group of four knights with her, calling out powerfully, "Ready to go?!"

It had been a couple of weeks since they arrived back and Tortall and everything has been going smoothly, well as smoothly as they could get. Her power may be at its all time low, but that wasn't going to stop her from scouting around and doing her duty. After everything that has happened, Kel could still feel a sentiment of uneasiness surrounding herself, Raen, and Joren. Some people openly did not believe in the tale that they told, and some facts were too dangerous to open to the public.

A faint sigh escaped her lips at the thought, it was true though, some viewed her and Raen with naked suspicion and distrust, and especially with the fact that she was also female and a knight didn't help support her… As well as the fact that Joren, who had once publicly hated her, now was… tolerable around her to say the least.

Fine, maybe he was acting a little bit more then tolerable lately, but still, he didn't show it much in public. Only in the way he didn't call her 'Mindelan' anymore, instead opting for her nickname, also the fact he didn't seem to try to get her -or anyone close to her- killed, or maybe it was the way they were err… regularly making love at night….

Whoo hoo, did she just think that in her head? Kel binked and got lost in her thoughts as she and the other knights began to move out, a faint blush appearing on her face. Ah, figures she just had to get herself embarrassed. Noting that one of the men was looking at her with a curious expression, she smoothed down her face and put on her Yamani 'lump' one.

Oh it was true, the last bit, but it wasn't as if she and Joren were going to announce it any time soon. It always just sort of… happened, though it wasn't as if it was bad or anything… Ugh, this was getting even more embarrassing. Off the subject then… right, focus on evil monsters, even strange monsters.

A faint frown flashed briefly across Kel's blank face as she thought of the growing number of reports that were being sent to the king of strange monsters that were destroying the country side and killing random people. If there was anything she hated, it was things that killed for their own enjoyment. So the king had started to send out groups of knights to scout the land and try to keep the citizens safe from the monsters.

A faint shudder passed through her body at the thought, for one of the groups evidently did find the monsters, and the results weren't nice… Out of the group of three men, 2 were dead and the other was crippled for life. So Jonathan apparently sent out more men, and Kel started to volunteer, knowing that she would be plenty of help.

Usually Joren and Raen were with her though, Raen because he was bonded to her and Joren for reasons of his own. For a moment Kel entertained the idea that he was there to support her, but she pushed it to the back of her mind, smiling sadly. They may be getting alone extremely well, by Joren's standards anyway, but Joren was still Joren and wouldn't show a trace of emotion that was positive towards her unless they were alone.

Today though, she was going out alone, unless you count the other four men of course. A message had come from Darial and Joren was back at the castle to try to figure out the cryptic message the elf had sent. She had made Raen stay with Joren because he knew more about elves and Medea then anyone else, being that he had lived there. The hizar had been most unhappy with the fact, but trusted Kel not to get herself killed.

Maybe we won't even meet anything… I haven't met one of the monsters as of yet. She rolled her shoulders back, stretching the muscles languidly as she let Arctic Wind go wherever the Kalyrath horse wanted. It was nice having a horse that seemed to understand your every need, that moved to accommodate you, and could take care of itself when the need arose. She patted the milky white mare's neck lightly, the group moving deeper and deeper into the forest.

They didn't even know what the supposed monsters looked like, for the only knight to come back seemed to have lost his mind in the process of being crippled, and anyone else who might of seen them had been killed. But they all knew that it was some sort of monster since humans nor any regular animal could have made the large slashes in people's bodies, could not have left some people half frozen… it was terrible.

Hazel eyes scanned her surroundings, alert still even when she was thinking…

And they couldn't use magic to scan out the creatures for there seemed to be some sort of interference, causing them to spy upon little rabbits and harmless deer, nothing terrifying there. It was frustrating since she always felt as if magic could bail her out of anything and she couldn't even bring up a picture of the monsters.

Thinking of magic always seemed to turn her thoughts towards Numair, Daine, and the elves. Numair was understandably slightly jealous of the powers she and Joren seemed to have, but was fascinated at the same time, always trying to get one of them to stop whatever they were doing and become a live experiment. Really though, if she and him did have a mage battle it would be a close one and she really didn't know who would win. She may have more power, but Numair had more skill and time implementing magic.

Daine seemed to tolerate the live experiments until she saw that Joren or Kel were getting annoyed and then she happily made a little 'diversion' for the black robed mage, letting them get away. That was always amusing to watch, Numair getting flustered by everything Daine was doing.

I miss Arylanth… It had only been a couple of weeks, two and a half to be exact, and Kel was already missing the elf queen who never seemed to quit calling her 'Auntie', however amusing or irritating that was. For a moment she wondered what the elves were doing, knowing that they had more time to prepare for war since time moved differently… no wait, that was right. Kel heaved a mental sigh, the war was in this world and the elves couldn't help at all except by sending one or two of them here.

Idly she wondered if there was a way to transport them all here, but even she got extremely tired transporting between worlds, and the elves had to use up a lot of energy just for Darial to come to Scanra. Well, that blew that idea out of the water.

Suddenly she shook out of her thoughts and glanced at the other four knights, all who seemed rather bored, yet managed to look alert at the same time. She knew none of them, and for a moment she wondered if that was good or bad. Eh, it didn't matter much to her. Arctic Wind nickered softly as the horse suddenly plunged through some brush, running quickly towards a small clearing with a cliff soaring up ahead.

"What? Arctic!" Kel pulled back at the reigns lightly, trying to slow down the horse, confusion flaring in her mind, a Kalyrath horse shouldn't just start doing this! Behind her, the other four knights followed quickly, not knowing what was going on, but unwilling to leave Kel behind. This is one of those times I wish I had Joren's ability to talk to my mount…

As soon as Arctic reached the clearing, the horse whirled around and backed up slowly, her backside facing a large cliff. The other knights slowed down and approached Kel and Arctic, one man by the name of Taylor calling out, "What's wrong? I thought that horse of yours doesn't bolt or do things like regular horses!" Apparently tales of the horse's strange behaviors have been swarming the castle.

Kel just gave him a look of bewilderment; about to lift her shoulders in a shrug until a sound of footsteps reached her ears. Immediately she motioned to the other knights shouting out orders, "Back against the cliff! They're coming! Bring out your bows, fire upon command!" With that, she lifted her own bow and set an arrow resolutely against it, pointing towards where the sounds were coming from.

Confusion flashed through all of the men's eyes, but they scrambled to obey her commands until all of their backs were against the cliff. Each one took out a bow and arrow; swords ready at their sides, determination in each and everyone of their eyes.

The sound of crashing feet was now audible to the human's ears and they shifted uneasily, waiting until they see their prey spring out from the brush. Their prey? From what they have heard, it may just be that they themselves were the prey, and that thought alone was distinctly unsettling. Each knight looked grim, their eyes narrowed in concentration as they waited silently.

Suddenly the monsters appeared… and their appearance alone made the knights pause and scramble to shoot at them. Not only were they terrifying, but they were down right ugly in appearance as well. There was a swarm of them, as soon as you spotted one; it melted into the crowd of the others. It was impossible to just count them all for they kept moving and blending with each other.

Kel got a clear picture of it when one leapt over and clamped it's huge jaws upon Taylors' horse's leg, an audible snap heard when the horse gave a shrill scream and fell down. Arrows seemed to be of little use, the creature seemed to ignore the multiple shafts that dotted its large ungainly body.

It was of a mottled green and blue color; its six eyes were glowing slits of yellow. A quadruped creature, it stood tall on its four legs. What seemed to be tentacles were attached to both sides of its neck, long and slimy looking. The creature had long webbed feet, and gill slits on its side. A bulky creature, it seemed more suited for water then for land. Its head was small and slightly blunt, it's tail long and finned, the edges of the fin looking razor sharp. Long serrated teeth angled inwards, more for tearing and slashing then for holding.

A curse emerged from Taylor's throat as he leapt off his fallen steed, rolling and unsheathing his blade. A wild, desperate look entered his eyes as he brought his blade down on the creature's side, its edge sinking in deeply.

The creature gave a strange sort of roar and it's jaws clamped onto Taylor's throat, crimson blood spraying out as the creature hit the jugular, effectively killing the man. Kel gave a cry of dismay and her sword slammed down deeply into the creature's chest, her fear making her movements even more powerful. She continued pressing down, striving to kill the creature as black blood sprayed out all over her. It burned; the blood was like acid, like spidrens' fluid, it began to eat away at her flesh.

"Stay in a group!" Her words seemed lost in the din of battle, Arctic reared and slammed her powerful hooves into the side of one of the things, but that only made it lose its balance. The other men seemed to hear her and pressed together, faces grim in the appearance of death.

No matter what they did, the creatures seemed to keep coming. One by one each man fell, his dying screams echoing in Kel's head. Her magic could do nothing at a time like this, she was too weak, and it took too long in this type of state. Her sword was lost somewhere and she drew out her glaive, hacking away at the creatures furiously.

Sharp pain lanced through her left arm, her shield had been long lost, as a pair of claws caught her arm, sinking deeply into the muscle. Arctic was lathered in sweat, the horse's movements becoming more and more frantic as she bit and kicked. Kel whirled around and her glaive came down on the creature's head, becoming even more drenched in the black acid blood… but she had long forgotten about pain, her attention fixed solely on the adrenaline rush and her need to defeat her enemies.

One man's neck snapped cruelly as a tentacle had fixed around his head, jerking it sideways viciously. Bile rose up in Kel's throat at the sight, but she strove to keep fighting, her limbs feeling heavier with each stroke she made. Suddenly she was aware that she was all alone, with the exception of Arctic, all the other men dead.

Fear flashed through her hazel eyes as she signaled Arctic to bolt and try to escape; there was no good in being heroic if you die in the meanwhile. But the creatures seemed to keep up with even the Kalyrath horses great stamina, speed, and agility, as surprising it may seem. Suddenly she was aware of the streams of ice that the creatures were shooting at her and she gasped softly in surprise, urging the already straining Arctic to greater speeds.

All of a sudden a rope flashed out and looped around Arctic's neck, stopping the horse in mid-stride as she squealed loudly in panic. It cut off her breathing, and no matter how much she threw up her head and struggled, the rope did not slacken and she was held fast.

Kel tried to cut off the rope, but before she could do anything, something heavy slammed into the back of her neck and she blanked out…

~

Joren's head jerked up as Kel's pain and suddenly disappearance from his mind made itself known. He looked around wildly, while Raen had bolted to his feet and gave a mournful howl, the hizar's dark blue eyes frantic.

"…What?" Jonathan looked towards the duo with surprise, confusion flashing across his handsome face, as Numair looked thoughtful. "Sir Stone, what is wrong?" He leaned forward in worry, wondering what made Joren and Raen look so upset.

"Pain, disappearance, WHY CAN'T I FEEL HER?" Joren leapt up from his chair and suddenly froze, his eyes closing. His clenched fists suddenly slackened and he slumped over, falling to the floor. Next to him, Raen was also down, the hizar prone body splayed across the floor.

Silence greeted their forms.

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IceWind: *large sweatdrop* Whoo hoo, if THAT isn't a cliff hanger, I don't know what is.

Raen: *snorts* I'm UNCONSCIOUS… *makes a face*

IceWind: *remarks cheerfully* Aww, don't worry. Btw, I know this chapter is kinda shorter then my regular ones… *cringes* But be happy that I got it out, because I've been extremely busy with my other stories, school, and social life.

Kaori: *chirps up annoyingly* What social life?

IceWind: *hangs head and sniffs* Your right, I DON'T have any… *large sweatdrop*

Raen: *blinks and snickers to himself*

IceWind: *growls out at Kaori and ignores her* Well, I have nothing else to say, so see ya till next time!

~

Facts:

Seibutsu Bond: A bond between a creature and a humanoid. It is less powerful then a life-bond yet it is strong none the less. The bonded can thought-speak to one another and they also feel the others emotions. If one of the bonded dies, the other feels a deep and wrenching pain in themselves, but they don't die also.

Seibutsu Items: These are the items that Raen and Kel got when the bonding was over. Kel had gotten a dagger and Raen a chain. If one of them breaks it symbolizes that one of the bonded has died.

Hizar: A highly intelligent species who are organized like wolf packs with a dominant male and female. All hizar are black and look like large cats, panther sized. They are lithe and graceful, all of them agile and fast. Each one has their own type of magic and that type, and power, is shown by the color of the gems on their forehead. When using their power the hizar's eyes turn that color. The types of gems are fire, water, earth, air, light, dark, ice, lightening, psy, and a silver unknown color. The alpha males must have the silver kinds of gems to lead; the alpha females can have any kind and are chosen by the males.

Jerogil: A type of creature in the world of Medea. They are usually peaceful animals and tend to stay away from others except their own kind. Their color range from black to a muddy gray and they have large eyes for seeing at night. Their tails are curved like a monkey's and can pick things up in that fashion. All over their body they have hard plates for armor, something not easily dented or broken through. Running along their backs is a series of sharp spikes.

Elves: They are tall human like creatures with pointed ears. They all live extremely long lives and each one has magic gems, such as the ones the hizars have, only their powers are stronger. They are a peace-loving race, but they will fight if they have to. They have one king and one queen, both who watch over their lands justly.

Soul Mates: Soul mates are extremely rare in any type of creature. Two people share one soul, literally. They can feel their beloved's emotions and in some occasions, talk to each other mind-to-mind. If one dies, the other dies also because half of their soul just died. You do not know you have a soul bond until you and another acknowledge your feelings for one another, you may go through your entire life without knowing that you have a soul bond. As soon as you acknowledge it, your souls connect and you cannot stay away from the other in a great distance for very long or else you get weak and might even die after an extended period.

Kalyrath Horses: These are extremely intelligent living beings with high stamina and running speed. These horses all have blue eyes, in varying shades, but it is all blue to symbol their purity. They chose their rider, and only one person is allowed to ride the kalyrath horse that is bonded to you unless you are soul mated to a person. Occasionally, there pops up a human/humanoid that can talk to their kalyrath horse, and the horse can talk to any of its kind up to a certain distance. Kalyrath horses are in-tune with their rider and it's rare for any none elf to bond with one since they usually only dwell in Elfin land. They are adept at fighting with their chosen and can be extremely protective depending upon their nature. It is said that they were a gift from the great mother goddess of the elves and they cannot be subvert by any dark magic for that reason.

Aether: The last element, the other nine elements are- fire, water, air, earth, psy, lightening, ice, dark and light. This element is the strongest by far and rare for hizars, extremely rare for elves. It controls all of the elements and its color is always silver for hizars and either a silver or white for elves. White is the most powerful, but none knows why. Aether is not an element known too much about, especially for the elves, all they could discern is that it has something to do with stars… The last elf to have this kind of gem died in a great battle, saving the world of Medea from certain doom.

~

My e-mail address is flyby311@hotmail.com and put Aether Winds, so I know what the e-mail is about. Anything you want to add/criticize/comment/whatever you guys just review it… please? Thanks for listening to me ramble for that you get a pumpkin pie. *hands person a pumpkin pie*

Raen and Kaori (hizar and rabblite) are MINE! GET IT? MINE!!! *they sweatdrop in the background* no stealing or else I'll blow you up! MWAHAHAHA! Also any other made up characters in the story are mine to, if you want to use any of them please ask before doing so, same goes for Raen and Kaori. ALSO, the poems that appear in the story are also mine (duh) I'll tell you if I use any that aren't. BYE NOW!