Aether Winds

Chapter twenty-five- In the Face of Danger

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: *twitches* You don't have to tell me how late this is… I KNOW how late this is and I'm terribly sorry. If you want, one of you can blow up my school and then I'd be able to write all day long! ^^;

Sir Lady Katherine of Valdez: *grins* What do you think? Kel got knocked unconscious *whistles innocently*

Aric: A SPIFE? NOOOOO BLASPHAMY! How can you turn away from the SPORK? O.o; hehe.

NiceDay: lol, Joren could only speak to Demon Wind, and Demon Wind hears from Arctic Wind. But Arctic was understandably too busy to call for help, don't you think?

Felix: hehe, this story goes on until I end it. ^^; That's all I can tell you right now. I don't know anything about a sequel, if I get a plot idea, and it fits my story line, then maybe.

Xelena: *bows* Then I have done my job and made all of your lives miserable! *evil cackle. Kaori hits her. She sweatdrops*

Princess Sanidaylene: *grins* I know that was overly dramatic, but every once in a while a person has to do some really weird scene like that… (don't ask) And of course Joren was upset! Ever since they err.. *coughs* did it… they have been bonded and Kel has been in the back of his mind. What would you feel like if part of your mind was taken away? *scary thought hehe*

ThePenMage: Cleon dies! WHOO HOO! ^^; Okay, yes, I'm going to somehow make him die, unless I can't. o.o; what a scary thought, having no control over your own story *sobs*

Jarna Hill: *cuddles the unconscious Raen and snickers*

Charlotte: *pause* I KNEW I forgot something! Wait! No! I had it all planned out! *evil grin*

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"What… happened?" Kel's eyes blinked open blearily as she awakened slowly, thoughts a jumbled mess. Suddenly images of what had happened assaulted her and she jerked awake, looking around frantically. As she tried to move, something stopped her within her tracks and she looked down, eyeing the chains holding her to the stone wall. "Where am I?"

"I… can't feel them! Where are they!" At first she had known something was terribly wrong, but… not something like this. It was bad enough that she was captured, but she couldn't… feel Joren or Raen, her constant companions ever since she started this crazy quest. The constant familiar presence in the back of her mind, the warmth she felt from the other two… it was all gone.

She struggled fruitlessly against her chains, muttering softly, "No, no, no, no…" Muscles strained against the rigid metal, feeling it dig into her skin as she continued to struggle, knowing somewhere in her mind that she couldn't escape and that she would end up with several cuts. I don't care… I need to find them again! Can't be left alone again…

"Yes…" a silky dark voice vibrated through the dimly lit cavern and a shape appeared slowly, crimson eyes gleaming in the faint light. A figure appeared, dark hair, crimson eyes, pale skin… and a maniacal smile upon his face. He walked up slowly towards Kel, one of the creatures who had helped to capture her trotting at his heels.

The creature was even more ugly when not moving, its tentacles waved in the air lightly, blood lust clear in it's yellow eyes. Its mouth opened slightly, revealing rows and rows of jagged teeth, its thin tongue flicking out a bit before it pulled it back in.

Kel glared at the creature with a look of clear disgust, faint beginnings of fear in her hazel eyes. She hissed softly at the man, "What are you going to do with me? What happened to Arctic?!" Concern now dominated her thoughts for the mare, what had happened to her? She kept a steady gaze at the man before inexplicably she turned away, as if she couldn't look anymore.

"You're actually able to look into my eyes for a short while… impressive mortal," the man gave a soft chuckle, quite unsuited for his supposed insane personality that Kel gave him the instant she saw him. He inspected her for a bit, crooning softly, "Don't worry about the horse, she's not dead… yet." A faint smile appeared on his mouth, "And you my dear halfling, I have a great number of plans for you."

She stilled in her chains, halfling? Mortal? Goddess no… Kel jerked her head back up onto the figure, trying to keep a steady eye upon it, determination shining clearly in her eyes, "What sort of plans? And who are you?!" Who was he exactly? What did he want with her? A faint inkling of suspicion lodged in her mind, one she feared yet couldn't dispel. Her eyes turned downwards again, as if they couldn't handle looking at him directly.

He quickly walked in front of her, and a delicate hand reached out before it grabbed her chin and forced her to look up onto in eyes. His delicate statue belied his strength and he was able to force her without any problems at all, a faint sneer playing upon his lips as he whispered to her, "And who do you think I am?"

Try as she may, Kel couldn't jerk out of his grip, she could hardly summon enough strength to turn her head slightly to the side. Determination not to show any fear was etched in her face as she muttered, "That god… the 'Great Evil' as the elves call you... stupid name if you ask me." She managed to place a tremulous smirk upon her face, an air of unconcern around her.

Suddenly the man let go and backhanded her across the face, the force as if she had been hit with a sledgehammer. The side of Kel's head slammed into the stone wall and she saw the beginnings of darkness in her vision. Blood welled up and trickled down the side of her face, but she disregarded it as she struggled back into full wakefulness and muttered, "Damn you."

"I already am, halfling." A vicious smile lighted up the man's face, "And call me Tonshi… feel privileged, I don't allow many to call me that. Though I much prefer it to 'Great Evil', it sounds so much better. Do you not think so?" He glanced down at his body before continuing on, "Humans are so frail, but I doubt you can handle my true form."

Kel remained mute and continued to look to the side of the man, it was just so hard to look at him directly for a prolonged period of time… especially if it's into his eyes. Finally she spoke, her voice low and angry, "And you were the one who captured Arctic Wind and me?"

Tonshi fixed on Kel a considering look before a slow smile made its way onto his face, "No, of course not. I do not concern myself with the grunt work… I leave others for that. No, I just ordered your capture my sweet halfling. I need your power, more like want it I suppose." A feigned thoughtful look entered his eyes as he tapped a slender finger against his chin, "And afterwards I'll give you to one of my loyal followers."

She snarled and spit at him, eyes defiant. He's going to give me to one of his followers? I think not! My power… if I could summon enough strength, how could I forget about my gem? Silently Kel 'reached' for her mage strength, willing it to fill her and later free her. Wha? Why wasn't it working? She could feel her power, but it was as if it was hovering just out of her reach. Unbeknownst to her, she spoke out loud softly, "I don't understand."

Silently, deliberately, Tonshi wiped away the spit as if it wasn't even there, an amused look touching his crimson eyes. His voice was continuously mocking when he spoke, "My dear, must you try to understand everything?" At her cold look he gave a mock sigh and continued, "If you need to know, I have blocked your powers from you… your mind link to the others, even your mare's link to the other horse. It was ridiculously easy since you were at the low point of your powers… not very smart to leave the castle in that state.

Kel made a movement as if to lunge at him, but was stopped short by the chains, her eyes blazing as she snarled out, "Bastard!"

"No, no! I am no bastard… you are closer to being a bastard then I, my dear halfling." He grinned roguishly at her, "How can I be one when I haven't any parents?" Suddenly he tossed a look to the mouth of the cavern and a smirk appeared, "Why don't you meet the one who captured you? You're lucky he has taken an interest in you or else you would have died after I have taken your powers…" Suddenly he stopped speaking and a cruel look appeared in his eyes, "Or maybe I'll ask him to share you later… there isn't anything he would deny me."

Silently Kel stared him down before she was forced to wrench her eyes away once again, cursing her luck. How am I going to escape? It doesn't seem possible… She watched Tonshi, who was looking at the mouth of the cave, and saw another figure start walking towards her. Eyes grew wide as her mouth hanged open slightly in shock; quickly she regained her composure as she whispered, "Radock."

The man smiled pleasantly at Kel, dipping his head slightly, "Well Sir Mindelan… pleasure to see you again." His dark blue eyes roamed her form before they came to a halt onto her white tear shaped gem, "I had my suspicions… but who would have thought that you were the one?"

"You're the one?!"

"Of course… who else could it be? Did you think it was Darial at first? I think not…" Radock smirked nastily at her, "He isn't smart enough for that. Now, let's change topics into a more pleasant area…" he walked closer, bowing low towards Tonshi (who looked amused and inclined his head to let him go on), before he stopped directly in front of Kel. "You look as lovely as ever."

She bristled at him and locked eyes, noting with some distant triumph that she didn't have the problem of looking at him as she did with Tonshi, "And you are forever the self-centered pig!" Once again her head slammed into a wall, pain exploding in her mind as she shook it slightly to clear her vision. She looked back up to the glaring Radock before saying tauntingly; "Can't take insults can you? You and your master are the same."

Just as Radock was about to hit her again, Tonshi looked directly at him and the other man cowered away. Crimson eyes looked at Kel before he said softly, "You are not to insult one of us again." As he watched Kel open his mouth, he didn't speak, but rather kept watching with a triumphant look.

"…" Kel couldn't speak the words, defiantly scathing and quite inappropriate, to either of them. Eyes widened slightly in shock and she trembled lightly as she tried again, no insults this time, "What did you do?"

"Have you forgotten of who you speak towards?" Tonshi smiled darkly at her, his gaze causing her to shrink down slightly. "If you were intelligent, you would understand that gods are ones with more powers than ordinary mortals, keep that in mind halfling." His glanced flickered towards Radock -who didn't seem to be able to look fully at him for more than a second- and he spoke again, "What is the status of Takashi and the troops?"

Takashi? Kel's interest sharpened at that name and she listened in intently. So he is in on this as well… I should have known that! His 'master' must have been Tonshi… what I fix I am in.

"Why you favor that fool…" Radock muttered softly to himself before speaking in a louder tone, "He is fine, they shall be coming here soon from Medea." His gaze darted towards Kel and he spoke to his master curiously, "Should we be saying this in front of the girl, master?"

Apparently Tonshi heard Radock's first comment as well because his lips tightened slightly as he spoke harshly, "I recruited Takashi before you, remember that Radock! You may be favored above others, but Takashi is of a higher rank than you are!" At Radock's cowed look, the god continued on smoothly, "And the girl can't do anything. She's trapped and her mind speech as been blocked off."

Kel sighed and silently acknowledged that fact herself. What good was it that she heard the information now, but couldn't relay it to anyone? She had also been stripped of her mare and her weapons… well except for the Silver Falcon. That was still hidden inside her tunic, she was sure that Radock only took off the visible weapons, what a fool he was. Or was it that she was the fool? It was something to ponder over since it seemed as if she would spend a considerable amount of time here.

What she was really wondering about was how was Takashi coming here? It took so much power to transport one person and Radock had been talking about Takeshi and troops… Goddess… they were planning an invasion and no one knew about it!

~

Joren awoke slowly, finding himself swathed in blankets on a comfortable bed. Ice blue eyes looked around confusedly before he ran a hand through his mussed up blonde hair. Finally he spoke, his voice slightly raspy, "What in Mithros name happened?"

"That's what I would like to know! That creature won't give us any answers! All he talks about was how he had to get to Kel! Where is our daughter?!" Suddenly looming in front of Joren's face was the angry face of Baron Piers of Mindelan, with the worried Ilane behind him.

"Mithros…" Joren groaned and almost buried himself back into the pillows on the bed before deciding that it would bad for his image. He shook his sleep fogged mind awake once more and suddenly what happened hit him once again and he closed his eyes, "Oh damn…" Where is she? Silently Joren quested out for Kel but discovered nothing but emptiness where her presence had once been. His voice suddenly barked out, startling the two worried parents, "Cat! Can you sense her?"

The hizar had been currently pacing the room; his mouth lifted slightly in a snarl, sharp teeth glinting in the candle's flickering lights. He stopped when he heard Joren's voice and looked at him for a brief second, dark blue eyes holding rage and sadness, No boy… they blocked her… she can't be dead or else you or I would have felt it. You would die if she did

"Fuck!" Joren threw off the sheets and struggled into his clothes, eyes determined, "Any ideas on what to do now?" Both of them seemed to forget about Kel's Tortallian parents, each one wrapped up in their own thoughts.

No… no idea at all! This wasn't supposed to happen! I am supposed to be with her! Not all alone again… Raen suddenly slashed viciously at the door, leaving long deep tears into the wood, venting his rage out on inanimate objects.

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!" Pier's voice boomed through the room, when he was sure that he had both of their attention, his voice became softer, but still firm, "Neal was all for gutting you two and leaving you for the storm wings, all I want is my daughter back… where is she?"

Ilane wrung her hands lightly, trying to maintain an aura of composure as she spoke softly, placing a hand upon her husband's arm to comfort him, "We need to know…" Behind her, Lalasa's head peeked through the door, her own eyes worried as she whisked out of the room, evidently heading towards the others to tell them that Raen and Joren were awake.

Joren turned towards the parents, his eyes cold and dispassionate as he asked coolly, "You do know that she isn't your biological daughter?" Yes, definitely cruel and cold… but he cared not at this point. We have to find Kel… damn it, how are we going to accomplish things without her? He refused to think about what he would do without her, keeping his mind focused.

Quietly Pier's looked at him before he spoke softly, "Yes, the others told us before we came into your room… I don't know if I could believe it, but since everyone else seems to…" he trailed off as if he couldn't speak anymore.

Instead, Ilane filled in for him, her eyes calm and resolute, "She'll always be our daughter, maybe not biologically, but we shall always think of her as ours. We were the ones who raised and loved her, it is only fair."

That is just I suppose… all eyes snapped to the hizar's form as Raen finally stopped pacing, But that does not concern me now. I need to find my Mistress! Coming boy? with that, the door blew opened and Raen bounded out, his strides swift and graceful.

Without a backward look towards Piers or Ilane, Joren bolted after the hizar, eyes narrowed slightly in determination. He muttered something about impatient hizars, but didn't seem to mind following Raen too much. He caught up with Raen suddenly, and glanced down at the hizar, knowing full well that Raen could out run him any time.

Raen just flicked an ear towards him, his pace at a lope as he went towards the main gates, ignoring everyone who stopped to look at them both in surprise, Any ideas? We can't find my Mistress blind like this…

"Finally sense comes from you," Joren smiled tightly, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes, a thoughtful look stealing over his face before he spoke again, "Not a fucking clue. Before I had that link to Kel, but she's gone…"

I know, it is the same for me as well Raen suddenly stopped as and veered towards the thrown room instead of the main gates, his pace picking up speed. An intent look flared in his dark blue eyes as he ran, going faster and faster with each stride.

"You're going the wrong way!" but Joren ran after him, hair whipping around his head as he ran into the thrown room -which had been thrown open when the hizar reached it-. He suddenly stopped moving and stared, eyes widened slightly, "What?"

"Oh, Joren… how nice of you to join us. I trust you know our guests?" King Jonathan inclined his head towards him and Raen, sapphire eyes serious. He motioned to the newcomers, watching the rest of his court shift nervously around.

Arylanth smiled pleasantly towards Joren and Raen, her eyes brightening. Behind her were scores of elves and groups of hizars, "Hello you two… we just arrived. Do you know where Auntie is?"

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IceWind: *grins happily* Done with the chapter! YAY! Took me long enough ne? Well, I do have my creative writing stuff to do as well… also my other stories, you guys understand right? *sweatdrop*

Raen: *grumbles to himself*

IceWind: *grins roguishly at him and whispers to the audience* He's unhappy that he got knocked out earlier, don't mind him! Did you guys like THIS cliffhanger? *innocent look* Yeah, I do believe that I'm getting better and better at them!

Kaori: *sneers* Or you think you are and you're really getting worse.

IceWind: *snarls at the rabblite and tackles her. Gets in a huge fight*

Raen: *sighs and speaks mournfully* Oh well, nothing else to say I suppose. See all of you guys next time!

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*Updated*

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.

Carzo: Vicious, mainly amphibious creatures that lived in the world of Medea before being brought to Tortall by the Great Evil -or Tonshi-. They are of a mottled green and blue color, with six yellow eyes. They stand at around a tigers' height at the shoulder with two tentacles on the side of their small and slightly blunt head. Carzo have long webbed feet -strangely able to run quickly still on land- and gill slits on the side of their body. It has a long, thin tail, sharp, which could cut through a multitude of things, the least of which is flesh. They have long, jagged, serrated teeth, made for tearing and ripping. They usually live in pods of about five, and they move so quickly together that it is hard to site one and focus upon it because it then drops back and blends back into the pod.

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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 some candy corn. *hands person some candy corn*