Thank you to everyone who reviewed!!! I love the world!!! Someone put
something in my spaghetti!!! I am high on happiness!!! I also have a new,
adopted muse because my other one left me (temporarily) and so I dedicate
this fic to Muse#2 * drum roll * . . . . . Catherine! (did I spell your
name right?)
A Girl Called Candice: Am I really evil? Aw, that is such high praise - thank you! I'm sure Numair will come to his senses, though bashing him on the head with a big stick would probably be of no avail- it would just kill him!
Okie: Thank you so much for your praise - it really encourages me. You'll just have to wait and see how the current situations are resolved. * psychotic grin starts to appear*
Raashna: Cheers - I'm glad one part of my fic is original!
Clarylissa: Thanks - and frozen your tooth off? That must have hurt!
Numair's Daine: Hey - I like it! (Both the praise - how often do you get called genius? - and your fic!) *Grin becomes even more psychotic *
Catty: Merci beaucoup!
Jossie: Don't, you're making me blush! *red, red, red * Thank you - that's the highest praise ever - I really don't deserve it.
Ali: Charming, I'm sure. Need I point out that you are about half a foot smaller than me so I don't know whom you're calling little midget!
Georgi: Yep, you found me alright! I'm glad it made sense to you!
Diana: Thank you - there will be D/N romance providing I find a non -cliché way to get them back together.
XXX: But you know I love being cruel to characters! It's what makes the story!
Coley: But I like dancing around the truth! It's much more interesting, you have to agree. Thanks for the encouragement anyway! Please update your fic - I'm dying to know what happens!
Spam: There's a difference between reading and writing with exams looming, m'dear, but never mind. Thanks for your compliments * blushes * and an autograph?! (
Disclaimer: I own nothing, absolutely nothing. I am poor, destitute, impoverished! My possessions number one item only - the plot.
Players only Love You When They're Playing
Daine entered the Royal Forest, venturing cautiously into the gloomy grove that was bathed in fearful darkness. Around her no animals moved and in her mind no animals spoke. Made wary by their absence, she threw out a net of her copper magic, sensing that the nearest animals were about three miles away, out of their minds with fear, meaning that the spidren was within a radius of a couple of miles. Casting out her magic once again she was proved right since the spidren was found to be about half a mile due away due west of her.
Daine began to head in that direction, accompanied by a feeling of both disgust and fear; of all the Immortals, she loathed the spidrens the most. They had the head of a human and the body of a five-foot high spider and possessed no trace of the honour that even the Stormwings had. Her recent experience with spidrens had done nothing to raise her opinion of them, but as they had trapped her in one of their webs and were discussing the rewards they would reap for her capture, they had only added to her natural aversion of the creatures. Daine lost her mind in the past, recalling how angry she had been when one of the three had the nerve to badmouth her Ma, a goddess nonetheless! But then Numair had arrived, and livid with rage had killed the spidrens; upon finding that she was alive, Numair had held her close and had kissed her for the first time . . . .
"No!" Daine swore softly and hit her forehead with her hand. She couldn't think about Numair now, not about him, nor his kisses, nor . . . 'No, no, no!' she yelled in her head, furious at herself for being so weak and for wallowing in self-pity when the lives of her friends among the People were in danger.
Too busy berating herself, Daine didn't notice the change in direction of the fast approaching Immortal until the stricken voices of the People screamed a warning in he mind. She spun on her heel quickly, ready for the impending attack but realised too late she carried no weapons since Numair had removed her dagger from her possession earlier. She understood that she would have to face the spidren in an animal shift, the very thought of which made her tremble in fear, though she reasoned that there was really no alternative way, not if she wanted to help the animals.
Then from about twenty metres to her right she heard a trail of branches snapping in quick succession. She took a deep breath and envisaging a hyena, she felt her clothes slide off her body as her limbs began to shorten and shift shape. Powerful haunches and slab-like shoulders appeared; teeth grew and sharpened to wicked points and her nose elongated into a cruel, grinning muzzle as patterns of fur rippled as a wave across her bare skin, brown, dun and black merging then separating, islands of colour on a coarse bed of fur. This took but a second in time, but Daine scarce had time to scent the air, nostrils flaring, before the spidren burst into the small clearing in which she crouched. Immediately dread seized her, and would have frozen her where she stood if a cynical laugh hadn't torn through the air, accompanied by the spidren presenting himself in front of her with mocking civility.
"Do I have the not-so-enviable pleasure of meeting the legendary Veralidaine Sarrasri?" It was a statement rather than a question. Daine wrinkled her muzzle in disgust as the creature's putrid breath drifted over on the breeze that danced around the clearing, regretting that hyenas were gifted with such a keen sense of smell. She shifted slightly so that she had a human voice box and mouth, allowing her to respond.
"That you do, though fair's fair, so I will have the pleasure of killing you."
The spidren snarled at that, baring its silver teeth in an act of defiance, as locks of black hair swung about its dirty face. "You've got too high an opinion of yourself, you filthy little mortal. It's time that I did the world a favour and rid it of you." Not waiting for an answer from the girl, he lunged forward, his legs manoeuvring him quickly across the short distance.
Daine yelped slightly as she threw herself to the side in order to avoid the spidren, catching her back against the rough bark of a nearby tree. Growling, she ignored the bruise that was inevitably forming where her skin was chaffed and throbbing. She kept behind the spidren, knowing that if she faced him directly he would be able to hit her with web from his spinneret, so she continued to circle him, never quite out of sight but never really there either. Wariness cautioned her to take her time, but fear of facing the enemy alone and so near caused her to miscalculate her actions and she rose to meet the creature that attacked once again. Twisting her body so that she missed the many-jointed, flailing legs, her nerves screamed as sharp teeth grazed her ribs, her skin burning at the contact.
She couldn't think, the fear at fighting a spidren one to one gripped her tightly, scarcely allowing her to breathe as her body reacted instantaneously to the blow's delivered by the spidren. She fought the fear, pushing its black mask away from her eyes and mind where it blinded her and tainted her judgement. She did not realise that in doing so, she had stopped fighting and now was slouched close to the ground, shivering as she slowly forced the vines of fear back, hoping to control them. She yipped in pain as a great weight slammed into her all of a sudden and sharp claws dug deep into her flesh, wrenching downwards and dragging her mind into unforgiving oblivion as blood welled up and poured down her side, staining her fur and that of the spidren's. Her howl shivered in the still air and there was an eruption of sound and feathers further into the forest as the People felt her pain, and trying to draw it into their bodies instead, screamed in agony. Crystalline tears formed in her eyes as Daine's body began to shift back to its two-legger state. 'No,' she told the people, shielding her pain from them. ' Don't do this! I can cope, just let me cope, please' she resisted their demands to be let free of her will and kill the creature that had hurt her so badly. Tears began to spill as they continued to fight, but then they stopped. There was an emptiness in her mind, a loneliness that she had never felt when there were animals were present. It saddened her and scared her, and reluctantly, painfully she turned back to the spidren and once again shifted her form, again to that of a hyena.
"Suddenly you're in this fight alone." The whisper came from the spidren, his eyes glinting with the primeval desire of a hunter to make a kill when his prey falls. "You have no strength left, no friends left, nothing. Just stay there and make it easy for the both of us; let me kill you now and you can soon be joining your parents."
All the time the spidren was stalking closer, but now the fear was gone. She saw only a creature abiding by its true nature and in place of fear, it was now confusion that stopped her thinking. I'm alone She couldn't bear it, could hardly hear her own murmurs above the ragged sound of her short, tired breaths. Dizziness invaded her mind and muddled her senses. Ma she whispered. It seemed like the sensible thing to do - what did she have that was worth staying here for? She missed her mother so much, regretting the years that they had lost because of those bandits and she was eager to get to know her father, Weiryn, God of Hunt. She knew that she wasn't thinking straight but that didn't bother her anymore; something in her blood stirred and thrilled her as she entertained the prospect of living in the Divine Realms. It occurred to her that the spidren was waiting, not attacking as is normal, as though it knew that she would be torn with indecision, but her mind, in its almost sleep-like induced state barely registered the significance of this fact.
Daine felt a sharp pain throbbing in her front paw, rousing her out of her reverie. She noted with some disgust that it was covered in silver blood, that of an immortal, and dragging her paw along the grass beneath her tired feet, she attempted to wipe it off. The blood kept flowing; her blood kept flowing and stained the dirt and grass so that they shimmered silver in the dappled sunlight.
No, Gods, no! A snigger brought her attention quickly back to the spidren, who, ignoring the injuries that had ripped through his flesh, was gloating, lines of triumph etched into his face, his lips curled into a malicious sneer. His sadistic voice was laced with poison and what he said next was all too clear.
"Do you understand now, Veralidaine? The balance of your blood has been upset; what with it fighting itself, you're going to die soon anyway. You might as well let me kill you now."
Daine stepped backwards, shaking, though the countenance of her hyena face belied none of her feelings. The air was thick and heavy, crushing her, not allowing her to breathe. Die? She wasn't ready to die, she knew that now. Beforehand, that had been her blood dictating her thoughts. Dazed, confused, she thought of what she would be leaving behind should she die now and she couldn't bear it. Her heart had been broken once already today, and the thought of leaving that self-same man behind shattered it again, filling the hollow numbness that resided in her with pain and despair. Fury rose like bile in her throat, rough and sickening.
No!! She threw herself forward and in that moment the spidren knew that he had failed like so many before him as he saw his death in the form of a great beast radiating rage, flying towards him. It was too late, it had always been too late and he realised this only as he felt strong jaws clamp violently around his throat and wicked teeth pierce his skin and cruelly slide in between his weakening muscles, ripping out his throat savagely. He fell to the ground, convulsing, dead, as his last feral scream echoed around the clearing and out of the forest; it was the scream of a thousand wraiths that were neither dead nor alive, and entered the soul of everyone that heard it.
Daine moved away from the now lifeless body sprawled and twisted at her feet. Blood flowed like a silver river around the corpse, fed by that which dripped from her jaws and fell from her own body. As her shape began to shift back into her own exhausted form, she could think of nothing apart from what the spidren had said. She was going to die; she knew he had been speaking the truth, deceitful, treacherous creature that he had been. 'I've got to say goodbye to Numair, got to make him understand that I love him. Then I must leave. . ." She couldn't even finish her line of thought before a pain beyond everything she had ever experienced seized her body, needles racing through her veins, bleeding her dry. Hurled into a world of torture and darkness, her scream was the last thing she heard, merging with that of the spidren's, a disjointed melody. Everywhere the People fell silent, but the screaming went on.
*****
Numair woke suddenly from his sleep, where he had been dreaming of Daine and dying on the inside. A scream echoed in his ears, the most terrifying scream he had ever heard, but was it real or just in his mind? Too far gone in his misery he realised that he didn't care. All he cared about was Daine and now he no longer had her, he cared about nothing, not even the person or creature that had roused him from his agonies. He turned over on his bed, blocking out the sound and whispering his love's name over and over again, as if it were a prayer.
"Oh, Daine, my Daine . . . Forgive me."
*****
"Numair!" There was a pounding on his door, so frantic and heavy that he could not ignore the distraught voice that was yelling his name. He sat up quickly, heart filled with hope and fear.
"Daine?" he whispered. He sank back down again, a defeated man, as recognition of the voice stirred a memory and grew in his mind. It wasn't Daine, it was Onua, yet she never screamed, only yelled K'miri war cies. He got up slowly and walked to the entrance of his rooms where Onua was now throwing her weight against the heavy oaken door in her urgency. Numair yanked the door open, worried despite his own pain. Onua, unprepared for this, fell at his feet, looking up at him with such fear as he had never seen in her face, not in all the years he had known her. Her grey eyes were filled with trepidation and anguish lined her hard features as sobs racked her slight frame.
Numair reached down and pulled Onua to her feet, drawing her gently over to a chair before collapsing in one himself. Something had happened to his magelet, he just knew instinctively that it had but still needed spoken confirmation from Onua to appease the terror that now overwhelmed him, blinding him to anything that was not related to his Daine.
"Onua, speak. Tell me what it is that has happened." Numair commanded, though his own voice was none too steady. Onua looked up at him, scared to face up to what she knew, scared to tell Numair, knowing that he would do something stupid once he too knew.
"D-daine . . ." she whispered, trembling uncontrollably.
"What, what about Daine?" Numair saw Onua wince at the sharpness of his voice. He immediately regretted his tone, and softening it, he apologised. "I'm sorry, Onua, truly I am, but I must know what happened to Daine." His urgency showed in the strain of his voice, but it was of little significance in comparison to the way his heart beat so hard against his ribs that it would've bruised had it not already been broken.
Onua shut her eyes in pain as she recalled what she had heard and seen in the forest. "I heard a scream - a scream terrible enough to wake the dead. For a while there was nothing, then I saw this bright flash of white light erupt from the forest, followed by another scream. I . . . thought that it sounded like Daine and so I made my way towards the place where the light had shone from. I was so scared, Numair." She bit her lip then continued. "I reached the clearing and found that it was surrounded in white magic. Gods, it was awful - there was blood everywhere." She paused, trying to dispel the feelings of dread that had haunted her ever since she had entered the forest. "I could see Daine beyond the barrier, as well as a spidren. Neither of them were moving . . ."
" No, Goddess, this isn't true! I won't believe it!" Numair leapt out of his chair and crossed the room, anguish shrouding his powerful frame like a cloak.
"Numair, I couldn't break the barrier. I tried, but I couldn't do it."
Numair turned abruptly, anger blazing out of his dark eyes, though it was directed at not Onua, but at the gods the gods themselves. "Maybe you couldn't, but I will."
Onua saw that it was not in her power to stop him, and could only pray that the white barrier would not harm her tall friend. In truth, she wanted him to shatter the barrier; she knew that Daine meant a lot to Numair, as she did to Onua herself, she just couldn't bear to see another one of her dearest friends come to injury. Fighting back the fear that still bound her helpless with its invisible bonds, she nodded her understanding to the distraught man who stood before her. Shaking, she rose to her feet unsteadily.
"I'll show you the way." Numair shook his head stubbornly, already half way out of the door, impatient to wait for anything that would delay him from reaching his Daine. Onua opened his mouth to protest, but Numair interrupted he before she could even speak.
"No arguments, I need you to go and inform Duke Baird what has happened and have him prepare a bed in the healer's wing." Without another word he set off at a run down the corridor.
*****
The forest was silent as he entered it - too silent. He couldn't hear the garrulous chirping of the birds that normal echoed amongst the shady leaves, nor could he hear the rustle among the undergrowth as squirrels and other such like creatures went about their business. The place was deserted, and the only sound that reached his ears was that of his own breathing coming in short, ragged gasps. The absence of noise drove him nearly crazy with fear; he knew that if Diane was alright then the woods would be alive with the noises of animals, and wasn't consoled by the fact that should she be dead, the People would probably be screaming in agony.
Nearby he detected the presence of two magics; one was foreign, and it was pulsing strongly; the other was much weaker, wavering in and out of existence as it faded rapidly. The latter was familiar, it was Daine. Reassured by the knowledge that she was still alive, Numair increased his pace even more, guided by a white light that he could now see clearly shining through the trees. 'Daine . . . .' Her name was the one thought that inhabited his mind, repeating itself and fuelling his desperation to find her. He burst into the clearing, only to be thrown back by some foreign force. Nursing a bruised rib, he surged to his feet again, carefully inspecting this magical divide that cut him off from Daine.
Beyond this wall a horrific sight greeted his burning eyes. The entire clearing was drenched in silver blood, and in the midst of it all lay two prone figures. A strangled cry of horror exploded from him as he recognised one of them to be Daine. The other was a spidren, and Numair knew in that moment that if it were possible, he would bring this creature back from the dead and kill him again, and again, and again . . .
Livid with fury and grief, he raised his hands, looking for a weakness in the white magic that he was confused to find that was emanating from Daine. Finding a flaw, a mortal flaw, black mist gathered about his upraised palms and shouting in Old Thak, he hurled the dark fire towards the barrier. It hit and spreading out, exploded. The barrier collapsed beneath it, revealing everything that it had hidden with its impenetrable mist.
Numair rushed forward and gathered the warm body of his student up in his arms. She was unclad, presumably she had faced the spidren in an animal shift, Numair theorised, and stripping off his own shirt he slipped it onto her tortured body, biting back cries of sorrow and pain as he saw the blood continue to flow from her savage wounds. He stared at the blood that ran down his own hands as he cradled her close, shocked to find that instead of being crimson it was silver. Misguided realisations began to dawn in his mind.
"Gods, Daine, why is this happening now?" his voice was rough, trembling with the emotions that tormented his mind, fiery agonies burning him, killing him.
A faint moan sounded from Daine's blood-stained lips and his heart twisted in hope as he rose quickly, ready to take her home.
*****
This wasn't going to be the end of the chapter but due to coursework deadlines and exams etc I don't have time to finish this off today. Next instalment will be short, but it should be up soon. After that I won't be able to update for a little while because I'm going to Greece on a Latin trip. Unfortunately this means I also won't be able to review your fics, people, but if you want to send them to me via email . . . . (hint, hint, Numair's Daine, Coley, Jossie, Kylaia etc.)
In addition, I won't even contemplate the idea of updating unless I get, let's say, 65 reviews, so you know what you have to do if you want some more. (
A Girl Called Candice: Am I really evil? Aw, that is such high praise - thank you! I'm sure Numair will come to his senses, though bashing him on the head with a big stick would probably be of no avail- it would just kill him!
Okie: Thank you so much for your praise - it really encourages me. You'll just have to wait and see how the current situations are resolved. * psychotic grin starts to appear*
Raashna: Cheers - I'm glad one part of my fic is original!
Clarylissa: Thanks - and frozen your tooth off? That must have hurt!
Numair's Daine: Hey - I like it! (Both the praise - how often do you get called genius? - and your fic!) *Grin becomes even more psychotic *
Catty: Merci beaucoup!
Jossie: Don't, you're making me blush! *red, red, red * Thank you - that's the highest praise ever - I really don't deserve it.
Ali: Charming, I'm sure. Need I point out that you are about half a foot smaller than me so I don't know whom you're calling little midget!
Georgi: Yep, you found me alright! I'm glad it made sense to you!
Diana: Thank you - there will be D/N romance providing I find a non -cliché way to get them back together.
XXX: But you know I love being cruel to characters! It's what makes the story!
Coley: But I like dancing around the truth! It's much more interesting, you have to agree. Thanks for the encouragement anyway! Please update your fic - I'm dying to know what happens!
Spam: There's a difference between reading and writing with exams looming, m'dear, but never mind. Thanks for your compliments * blushes * and an autograph?! (
Disclaimer: I own nothing, absolutely nothing. I am poor, destitute, impoverished! My possessions number one item only - the plot.
Players only Love You When They're Playing
Daine entered the Royal Forest, venturing cautiously into the gloomy grove that was bathed in fearful darkness. Around her no animals moved and in her mind no animals spoke. Made wary by their absence, she threw out a net of her copper magic, sensing that the nearest animals were about three miles away, out of their minds with fear, meaning that the spidren was within a radius of a couple of miles. Casting out her magic once again she was proved right since the spidren was found to be about half a mile due away due west of her.
Daine began to head in that direction, accompanied by a feeling of both disgust and fear; of all the Immortals, she loathed the spidrens the most. They had the head of a human and the body of a five-foot high spider and possessed no trace of the honour that even the Stormwings had. Her recent experience with spidrens had done nothing to raise her opinion of them, but as they had trapped her in one of their webs and were discussing the rewards they would reap for her capture, they had only added to her natural aversion of the creatures. Daine lost her mind in the past, recalling how angry she had been when one of the three had the nerve to badmouth her Ma, a goddess nonetheless! But then Numair had arrived, and livid with rage had killed the spidrens; upon finding that she was alive, Numair had held her close and had kissed her for the first time . . . .
"No!" Daine swore softly and hit her forehead with her hand. She couldn't think about Numair now, not about him, nor his kisses, nor . . . 'No, no, no!' she yelled in her head, furious at herself for being so weak and for wallowing in self-pity when the lives of her friends among the People were in danger.
Too busy berating herself, Daine didn't notice the change in direction of the fast approaching Immortal until the stricken voices of the People screamed a warning in he mind. She spun on her heel quickly, ready for the impending attack but realised too late she carried no weapons since Numair had removed her dagger from her possession earlier. She understood that she would have to face the spidren in an animal shift, the very thought of which made her tremble in fear, though she reasoned that there was really no alternative way, not if she wanted to help the animals.
Then from about twenty metres to her right she heard a trail of branches snapping in quick succession. She took a deep breath and envisaging a hyena, she felt her clothes slide off her body as her limbs began to shorten and shift shape. Powerful haunches and slab-like shoulders appeared; teeth grew and sharpened to wicked points and her nose elongated into a cruel, grinning muzzle as patterns of fur rippled as a wave across her bare skin, brown, dun and black merging then separating, islands of colour on a coarse bed of fur. This took but a second in time, but Daine scarce had time to scent the air, nostrils flaring, before the spidren burst into the small clearing in which she crouched. Immediately dread seized her, and would have frozen her where she stood if a cynical laugh hadn't torn through the air, accompanied by the spidren presenting himself in front of her with mocking civility.
"Do I have the not-so-enviable pleasure of meeting the legendary Veralidaine Sarrasri?" It was a statement rather than a question. Daine wrinkled her muzzle in disgust as the creature's putrid breath drifted over on the breeze that danced around the clearing, regretting that hyenas were gifted with such a keen sense of smell. She shifted slightly so that she had a human voice box and mouth, allowing her to respond.
"That you do, though fair's fair, so I will have the pleasure of killing you."
The spidren snarled at that, baring its silver teeth in an act of defiance, as locks of black hair swung about its dirty face. "You've got too high an opinion of yourself, you filthy little mortal. It's time that I did the world a favour and rid it of you." Not waiting for an answer from the girl, he lunged forward, his legs manoeuvring him quickly across the short distance.
Daine yelped slightly as she threw herself to the side in order to avoid the spidren, catching her back against the rough bark of a nearby tree. Growling, she ignored the bruise that was inevitably forming where her skin was chaffed and throbbing. She kept behind the spidren, knowing that if she faced him directly he would be able to hit her with web from his spinneret, so she continued to circle him, never quite out of sight but never really there either. Wariness cautioned her to take her time, but fear of facing the enemy alone and so near caused her to miscalculate her actions and she rose to meet the creature that attacked once again. Twisting her body so that she missed the many-jointed, flailing legs, her nerves screamed as sharp teeth grazed her ribs, her skin burning at the contact.
She couldn't think, the fear at fighting a spidren one to one gripped her tightly, scarcely allowing her to breathe as her body reacted instantaneously to the blow's delivered by the spidren. She fought the fear, pushing its black mask away from her eyes and mind where it blinded her and tainted her judgement. She did not realise that in doing so, she had stopped fighting and now was slouched close to the ground, shivering as she slowly forced the vines of fear back, hoping to control them. She yipped in pain as a great weight slammed into her all of a sudden and sharp claws dug deep into her flesh, wrenching downwards and dragging her mind into unforgiving oblivion as blood welled up and poured down her side, staining her fur and that of the spidren's. Her howl shivered in the still air and there was an eruption of sound and feathers further into the forest as the People felt her pain, and trying to draw it into their bodies instead, screamed in agony. Crystalline tears formed in her eyes as Daine's body began to shift back to its two-legger state. 'No,' she told the people, shielding her pain from them. ' Don't do this! I can cope, just let me cope, please' she resisted their demands to be let free of her will and kill the creature that had hurt her so badly. Tears began to spill as they continued to fight, but then they stopped. There was an emptiness in her mind, a loneliness that she had never felt when there were animals were present. It saddened her and scared her, and reluctantly, painfully she turned back to the spidren and once again shifted her form, again to that of a hyena.
"Suddenly you're in this fight alone." The whisper came from the spidren, his eyes glinting with the primeval desire of a hunter to make a kill when his prey falls. "You have no strength left, no friends left, nothing. Just stay there and make it easy for the both of us; let me kill you now and you can soon be joining your parents."
All the time the spidren was stalking closer, but now the fear was gone. She saw only a creature abiding by its true nature and in place of fear, it was now confusion that stopped her thinking. I'm alone She couldn't bear it, could hardly hear her own murmurs above the ragged sound of her short, tired breaths. Dizziness invaded her mind and muddled her senses. Ma she whispered. It seemed like the sensible thing to do - what did she have that was worth staying here for? She missed her mother so much, regretting the years that they had lost because of those bandits and she was eager to get to know her father, Weiryn, God of Hunt. She knew that she wasn't thinking straight but that didn't bother her anymore; something in her blood stirred and thrilled her as she entertained the prospect of living in the Divine Realms. It occurred to her that the spidren was waiting, not attacking as is normal, as though it knew that she would be torn with indecision, but her mind, in its almost sleep-like induced state barely registered the significance of this fact.
Daine felt a sharp pain throbbing in her front paw, rousing her out of her reverie. She noted with some disgust that it was covered in silver blood, that of an immortal, and dragging her paw along the grass beneath her tired feet, she attempted to wipe it off. The blood kept flowing; her blood kept flowing and stained the dirt and grass so that they shimmered silver in the dappled sunlight.
No, Gods, no! A snigger brought her attention quickly back to the spidren, who, ignoring the injuries that had ripped through his flesh, was gloating, lines of triumph etched into his face, his lips curled into a malicious sneer. His sadistic voice was laced with poison and what he said next was all too clear.
"Do you understand now, Veralidaine? The balance of your blood has been upset; what with it fighting itself, you're going to die soon anyway. You might as well let me kill you now."
Daine stepped backwards, shaking, though the countenance of her hyena face belied none of her feelings. The air was thick and heavy, crushing her, not allowing her to breathe. Die? She wasn't ready to die, she knew that now. Beforehand, that had been her blood dictating her thoughts. Dazed, confused, she thought of what she would be leaving behind should she die now and she couldn't bear it. Her heart had been broken once already today, and the thought of leaving that self-same man behind shattered it again, filling the hollow numbness that resided in her with pain and despair. Fury rose like bile in her throat, rough and sickening.
No!! She threw herself forward and in that moment the spidren knew that he had failed like so many before him as he saw his death in the form of a great beast radiating rage, flying towards him. It was too late, it had always been too late and he realised this only as he felt strong jaws clamp violently around his throat and wicked teeth pierce his skin and cruelly slide in between his weakening muscles, ripping out his throat savagely. He fell to the ground, convulsing, dead, as his last feral scream echoed around the clearing and out of the forest; it was the scream of a thousand wraiths that were neither dead nor alive, and entered the soul of everyone that heard it.
Daine moved away from the now lifeless body sprawled and twisted at her feet. Blood flowed like a silver river around the corpse, fed by that which dripped from her jaws and fell from her own body. As her shape began to shift back into her own exhausted form, she could think of nothing apart from what the spidren had said. She was going to die; she knew he had been speaking the truth, deceitful, treacherous creature that he had been. 'I've got to say goodbye to Numair, got to make him understand that I love him. Then I must leave. . ." She couldn't even finish her line of thought before a pain beyond everything she had ever experienced seized her body, needles racing through her veins, bleeding her dry. Hurled into a world of torture and darkness, her scream was the last thing she heard, merging with that of the spidren's, a disjointed melody. Everywhere the People fell silent, but the screaming went on.
*****
Numair woke suddenly from his sleep, where he had been dreaming of Daine and dying on the inside. A scream echoed in his ears, the most terrifying scream he had ever heard, but was it real or just in his mind? Too far gone in his misery he realised that he didn't care. All he cared about was Daine and now he no longer had her, he cared about nothing, not even the person or creature that had roused him from his agonies. He turned over on his bed, blocking out the sound and whispering his love's name over and over again, as if it were a prayer.
"Oh, Daine, my Daine . . . Forgive me."
*****
"Numair!" There was a pounding on his door, so frantic and heavy that he could not ignore the distraught voice that was yelling his name. He sat up quickly, heart filled with hope and fear.
"Daine?" he whispered. He sank back down again, a defeated man, as recognition of the voice stirred a memory and grew in his mind. It wasn't Daine, it was Onua, yet she never screamed, only yelled K'miri war cies. He got up slowly and walked to the entrance of his rooms where Onua was now throwing her weight against the heavy oaken door in her urgency. Numair yanked the door open, worried despite his own pain. Onua, unprepared for this, fell at his feet, looking up at him with such fear as he had never seen in her face, not in all the years he had known her. Her grey eyes were filled with trepidation and anguish lined her hard features as sobs racked her slight frame.
Numair reached down and pulled Onua to her feet, drawing her gently over to a chair before collapsing in one himself. Something had happened to his magelet, he just knew instinctively that it had but still needed spoken confirmation from Onua to appease the terror that now overwhelmed him, blinding him to anything that was not related to his Daine.
"Onua, speak. Tell me what it is that has happened." Numair commanded, though his own voice was none too steady. Onua looked up at him, scared to face up to what she knew, scared to tell Numair, knowing that he would do something stupid once he too knew.
"D-daine . . ." she whispered, trembling uncontrollably.
"What, what about Daine?" Numair saw Onua wince at the sharpness of his voice. He immediately regretted his tone, and softening it, he apologised. "I'm sorry, Onua, truly I am, but I must know what happened to Daine." His urgency showed in the strain of his voice, but it was of little significance in comparison to the way his heart beat so hard against his ribs that it would've bruised had it not already been broken.
Onua shut her eyes in pain as she recalled what she had heard and seen in the forest. "I heard a scream - a scream terrible enough to wake the dead. For a while there was nothing, then I saw this bright flash of white light erupt from the forest, followed by another scream. I . . . thought that it sounded like Daine and so I made my way towards the place where the light had shone from. I was so scared, Numair." She bit her lip then continued. "I reached the clearing and found that it was surrounded in white magic. Gods, it was awful - there was blood everywhere." She paused, trying to dispel the feelings of dread that had haunted her ever since she had entered the forest. "I could see Daine beyond the barrier, as well as a spidren. Neither of them were moving . . ."
" No, Goddess, this isn't true! I won't believe it!" Numair leapt out of his chair and crossed the room, anguish shrouding his powerful frame like a cloak.
"Numair, I couldn't break the barrier. I tried, but I couldn't do it."
Numair turned abruptly, anger blazing out of his dark eyes, though it was directed at not Onua, but at the gods the gods themselves. "Maybe you couldn't, but I will."
Onua saw that it was not in her power to stop him, and could only pray that the white barrier would not harm her tall friend. In truth, she wanted him to shatter the barrier; she knew that Daine meant a lot to Numair, as she did to Onua herself, she just couldn't bear to see another one of her dearest friends come to injury. Fighting back the fear that still bound her helpless with its invisible bonds, she nodded her understanding to the distraught man who stood before her. Shaking, she rose to her feet unsteadily.
"I'll show you the way." Numair shook his head stubbornly, already half way out of the door, impatient to wait for anything that would delay him from reaching his Daine. Onua opened his mouth to protest, but Numair interrupted he before she could even speak.
"No arguments, I need you to go and inform Duke Baird what has happened and have him prepare a bed in the healer's wing." Without another word he set off at a run down the corridor.
*****
The forest was silent as he entered it - too silent. He couldn't hear the garrulous chirping of the birds that normal echoed amongst the shady leaves, nor could he hear the rustle among the undergrowth as squirrels and other such like creatures went about their business. The place was deserted, and the only sound that reached his ears was that of his own breathing coming in short, ragged gasps. The absence of noise drove him nearly crazy with fear; he knew that if Diane was alright then the woods would be alive with the noises of animals, and wasn't consoled by the fact that should she be dead, the People would probably be screaming in agony.
Nearby he detected the presence of two magics; one was foreign, and it was pulsing strongly; the other was much weaker, wavering in and out of existence as it faded rapidly. The latter was familiar, it was Daine. Reassured by the knowledge that she was still alive, Numair increased his pace even more, guided by a white light that he could now see clearly shining through the trees. 'Daine . . . .' Her name was the one thought that inhabited his mind, repeating itself and fuelling his desperation to find her. He burst into the clearing, only to be thrown back by some foreign force. Nursing a bruised rib, he surged to his feet again, carefully inspecting this magical divide that cut him off from Daine.
Beyond this wall a horrific sight greeted his burning eyes. The entire clearing was drenched in silver blood, and in the midst of it all lay two prone figures. A strangled cry of horror exploded from him as he recognised one of them to be Daine. The other was a spidren, and Numair knew in that moment that if it were possible, he would bring this creature back from the dead and kill him again, and again, and again . . .
Livid with fury and grief, he raised his hands, looking for a weakness in the white magic that he was confused to find that was emanating from Daine. Finding a flaw, a mortal flaw, black mist gathered about his upraised palms and shouting in Old Thak, he hurled the dark fire towards the barrier. It hit and spreading out, exploded. The barrier collapsed beneath it, revealing everything that it had hidden with its impenetrable mist.
Numair rushed forward and gathered the warm body of his student up in his arms. She was unclad, presumably she had faced the spidren in an animal shift, Numair theorised, and stripping off his own shirt he slipped it onto her tortured body, biting back cries of sorrow and pain as he saw the blood continue to flow from her savage wounds. He stared at the blood that ran down his own hands as he cradled her close, shocked to find that instead of being crimson it was silver. Misguided realisations began to dawn in his mind.
"Gods, Daine, why is this happening now?" his voice was rough, trembling with the emotions that tormented his mind, fiery agonies burning him, killing him.
A faint moan sounded from Daine's blood-stained lips and his heart twisted in hope as he rose quickly, ready to take her home.
*****
This wasn't going to be the end of the chapter but due to coursework deadlines and exams etc I don't have time to finish this off today. Next instalment will be short, but it should be up soon. After that I won't be able to update for a little while because I'm going to Greece on a Latin trip. Unfortunately this means I also won't be able to review your fics, people, but if you want to send them to me via email . . . . (hint, hint, Numair's Daine, Coley, Jossie, Kylaia etc.)
In addition, I won't even contemplate the idea of updating unless I get, let's say, 65 reviews, so you know what you have to do if you want some more. (