Disclaimer: Not mine, none of it. Mercedes Lackey owns it all.
A/N: You might have noticed that I raised the rating of this story to PG-13. I read some stuff on what the rating system means and decided that this story fit the PG-13 criteria better than PG. Hope that doesn't bother anyone.
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Chapter 9: A Desperate Search
Selenay watched with concern as the Queen's Own walked to her seat in the Council Chamber.
"Anything?" she murmured under the cover of her Councilors' verbal bickering. She didn't really need Talia's headshake to tell her that there had been no success in the search for the missing Trainee.
"Not a trace." Talia's face and posture were calm, but her voice, though she kept it low, displayed her anguish. "We've got practically every Herald in Haven looking for her, either with their Gifts or physically, but there's not a sign of her. She's been gone since last night! I don't know – this has never happened before – what else can we do? I –"
The Queen gently touched her younger friend's hands, which were twisting anxiously in her lap, and the Herald abruptly shut up.
"I should excuse you and let you get some rest," Selenay suggested, noting the dark circles under her eyes that showed the effects of using her Empathic Gift all night without sleep.
Talia shook her head. "You know you can't do that, or the Council will wonder what's going on. We can't let it be known that one of our Trainees just disappeared and we have no idea what happened!"
Selenay sighed. "You're right, but … Just don't work yourself to death, OK?"
"If I'd done a little more work last week, I'd have already talked to her and we wouldn't be having this problem."
"Talia –" The Queen cut off her response as the Council grew quiet in one of those random silences that occur periodically. Instead, she used the opportunity to open the meeting, praying as she did so that Kira would be found soon.
* * *
Talia hoped that nothing too important had happened at that Council meeting, because she had been completely unable to concentrate. Her mind kept going in circles, trying to figure out what else they could do to locate the Trainee. Her lack of sleep made it impossible for her to pay attention to the Council at the same time. She had the impression that no duels had broken out, which was a good sign, but beyond that, she had no idea what had transpired.
She was still lost in thought when the meeting ended, as she proved by walking straight into Dirk as she exited the room.
"Careful, little bird!" he exclaimed as he caught her. He had to bend down slightly to peer into her face. "You look awful, Talia."
"I'm fine," she claimed unconvincingly, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it. It didn't do much good.
"No, you're not," he told her firmly. "You need some rest, or you'll collapse on us."
Talia wanted to protest, but she knew he was right. "Just one more try?" she suggested instead.
Her lifebonded looked like he wanted to protest, but he agreed. "Only one," he said firmly. "Then you will take a break and let the others handle the search."
She sighed. "I feel like it's my fault," she confessed softly. "The Companions warned us she would need me. If I had taken the time to talk to her sooner, this never would have happened."
"You don't know that," Dirk insisted. "No one can say what would have happened. You can't do everything, Talia."
She mustered up a grin from somewhere. "But I'm a Herald – that means I try. You know we're all crazy and self-sacrificing enough to be lining up to die for our country."
Dirk managed to look affronted. "You aren't including me in that category, are you?"
She looked him up and down, mock-serious. "You're wearing an 'Oh-shoot-me-now' white uniform, and I know I've seen you with a big white horse in the past. Yep, you're included."
"I'll have you know that I am a perfectly well-balanced –" She poked him, cutting off his speech. Then she wondered what had come over her, to be joking at a time like this. I must be so tired that I can't think straight. No surprise there. But she had more energy than she had just had during the Council… Well, we are lifebonded; I guess it shouldn't surprise me that just being close to him helps. Since Fetching was of no use in their search, he'd been looking physically through Haven that night. He was tired, for he hadn't slept any more than she had, but riding was not nearly as exhausting as using a Gift.
And speaking of using Gifts… "Well, if I only get one more try, I'd better do it now," she announced, stepping away from him.
He took her arm. "You're not going off alone, lady; I know only too well that if I let you, you would just keep going till you keeled over from exhaustion. You're not going to be able to help her when we find her if you wear yourself out now."
"You have a point." She allowed him to lead her away, hoping desperately that they would find Kira in time for her Gifts to be of help.
* * *
Resk blinked as he slowly came out of his trance. He looked over at Jaren; his friend was still hunched over his bowl of water, scanning the countryside for any sign of the missing Trainee. He wondered how much longer the young Herald-Mage could go on; he had just barely passed his Master trial, after all.
For a moment Resk felt again the faint twinge of jealousy he'd had when he first realized that Jaren had mage powers. After all, in this case Jaren could scry just as easily as Resk could FarSee; what was the point to being Gifted, anyway, when the mages could handle so much more? But he shook off the feeling; Jaren was his friend, after all.
:And you can do things that he can't,: his Companion reminded him. :We need all our Heralds and their Gifts; we couldn't do everything we need to with just Herald-Mages.:
Resk sighed; he and Nandia had this conversation fairly often, it seemed. :I need a break,: he told her instead of continuing it. There was only so much scanning the countryside for any sign of a small black-haired girl in Grays that he could take before going stir-crazy. He stood up and moved quietly out of the room, careful not to disturb Jaren.
Out in the corridor, he glanced both ways. Down the hall to his left he could just see a statue; he decided to walk to it and back before returning to his work. Striding briskly ahead, he was startled enough to jump out of his skin when a hand caught his arm.
* * *
Dirk watched his love with a hint of concern. She'd been in trance for several minutes now, giving him plenty of time to see exactly how tired she looked. She wasn't about to collapse, the way she had been when she led him to Herald Ylsa's body all those years ago, but she was clearly beginning to push her reserves of strength. He resolved to carry her to the Healers and have them force her to sleep if she didn't agree immediately upon exiting the trance. He knew that she would be needed to help the girl when they found her, and he did not want her working her way into exhaustion.
The way our luck is going, Kira would be found just as she collapses. That would be a wonderful addition to this event.
:Talking to yourself again?: Ahrodie asked with a provoking mental chuckle. :Now why would you do a thing like that when you have me around?:
Her Chosen had no opportunity to reply. Talia reached out to him. "Dirk."
"What is it?" he demanded, grabbing her hand.
"I can sense her – but I don't know where she is!" He could hear the strain in her voice and knew that she was afraid that she would lose the girl again without ever knowing where she was.
If only Kris were here… He shook himself. This was no time to be thinking about the past; he had to act now!
Looking around frantically for inspiration, he saw someone walk by the half-open door. Without thinking about it, he jumped up and grabbed the Herald's arm.
The young man almost jumped out of his skin, but he relaxed when he saw Dirk's Whites. "What –" he started to ask.
:His name's Resk, and yes, he is a FarSeer,: Ahrodie told him.
"Resk, Talia's located the missing Trainee. Link with her and find out where she is!" When the boy just blinked at him – possibly not understanding his hurried speech – Dirk forcibly propelled him into the room and over to the table.
After a moment, the Herald started moving by his own volition; either he'd figured out what Dirk had said or his Companion had explained it to him. Dropping into Dirk's chair, he grasped Talia's hand and closed his eyes.
It seemed to Dirk, waiting impatiently next to them, that the trance lasted forever. At long last, the two stirred, separating their hands and opening their eyes. Resk looked exhausted, but Dirk was more concerned with his mate.
However, Talia looked relieved, actually smiling at him. "We found her. The shields just went back up, but Resk pulled his friend Jaren into the link. He will be able to find that place again, won't he?" she asked the young man with a new hint of concern.
"He says so," Resk said tiredly. "He's a Herald-Mage; he says he did something so he can find it again. It's somewhere to the north; not too far away."
"What's happening to her?" Dirk asked, but Talia only shook her head.
"I don't know. All we saw was her in a patch of woods; then the shields went back up. I don't know what's going on."
"But now we know where she is," Dirk reminded her. "Now we can find her. We'll figure the rest out later."
"Yes," Talia agreed. "Let's go bring her back."
* * *
The man in black looked up from his scrying bowl and cursed. He had been foolish to pay so little attention to the girl; she had wandered out from under the shields he kept over his house, and those Heralds had located her. He hadn't intended for them to find her so soon, but if he moved her, they would surely be able to track him down. If he left her, she would be enough of a distraction that they wouldn't find him, but he wouldn't have the time he needed to work with her – or would he? His eyes narrowed in thought.
After a moment, he reached out to the sleeping girl's mind. He'd laid the foundation earlier, with his manipulations. He'd been a bit surprised that she responded so easily; he'd have expected a Herald, even a Heraldic Trainee, to be more difficult. However, this one had clearly been through more trauma than she could bear, as she had so helpfully broadcasted to any sensitive within range. He thanked the gods once again for placing her in his path; such a tool as a traumatized Heraldic Trainee was incredibly valuable. But then, he knew he had the gods' support; this was just another proof of it. The gods always supported the right.
He touched her mind once again, noting with pleasure her total belief that she would kill anyone she came in contact with. He started to whisper to her; it was below the level of real Mindspeech, but she would hear it subconsciously and take it in. You are cursed; you will kill them. I am the only way out. You must turn to me. No one but I can help you. Trust only me…
It took time and effort for the whisper to be firmly planted in her mind, but it was well worth it. As he came out of his trance, he looked around for anything that could be used to trace him. It didn't take long to gather his things; he kept very little in any of his homes, for this very reason. He didn't want those White abominations finding him, after all. They would not like what he planned to do, not at all. But now, they wouldn't be able to stop him.
Take your Trainee back; I will let you have her. But there will be a price to pay – a high one. And I will come out the winner of this little trade.
After all, the gods supported the rightful Heir.
* * *
Rain. Why does it have to be rain? Talia pushed her wet hair out of her eyes yet again. It had begun to pour almost as soon as they had left the Palace grounds. She continued to grumble mentally at the weather, knowing that she was only trying to distract herself, and that it wasn't working too well. She couldn't stop worrying about the condition Kira was in. The girl's emotions had been thick with pain and guilt, and a self-hatred that was only a short step from suicide. And what was happening to her behind those shields?
Since she couldn't do anything about it at the moment, she forced herself to stop the negative thought cycles before they could set in. Glancing back, she saw that Resk was nodding off in the saddle. Jaren, next to him, looked much better, though, and she could tell that he was keeping an eye on his friend. Resk's FarSight wasn't that strong, and she wished that he had stayed and rested, but he had insisted on coming along. She was glad someone was watching out for him.
"And how are you doing?" Dirk asked in her ear. She smiled wearily at him, not surprised that he had guessed where her thoughts were.
"Less tired, actually. Knowing where she is – it gave me an energy boost. Now I'm simply worried."
He gently touched her shoulder, where she still bore a hand-shaped scar as a souvenir from her imprisonment by Ancar. "That's no surprise. If you weren't worried, I'd be shocked."
She relaxed slightly; talking to Dirk about her concerns always helped. "It's just – it's hard to think of anything other than another Ancar, under these circumstances."
"Someone kidnaps a Heraldic Trainee and keeps her locked behind shields?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're right; it is difficult to think of any benign reason for this.'
"Of course, we don't know that she's been kidnapped," Talia responded, taking the position of devil's advocate without believing a word she said. "The shields are not necessarily there to prevent us from finding her. After all, she was extremely upset when she left; if someone found her in that condition, he might have tried to help…"
"By taking her to his heavily-shielded home and not notifying the Collegium?" Dirk finished. "I suppose it is remotely possible."
"But not at all likely." She closed her eyes. "Can you think of a better argument?"
He shook his head. "I think we're left with no other believable reason."
"An evil mage." The fear knotted in the pit of her stomach began to grow. "And we're riding directly toward him."
Dirk tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Talia. Look around." She obeyed. "Look how many Herald-Mages we have now. We're lucky Elspeth and Darkwind are here for a visit. They could probably handle whoever-this-is on their own, and look at all of the support they have now."
The fear receded slightly, and she relaxed a bit again. "You're right; I'm overreacting."
"Like I said, it's completely understandable. I bet –"
He was cut off by her gasp. She looked frantically around. "Elspeth – the shields just went down. I can sense her again."
"Right." Elspeth and Darkwind shut their eyes, presumably to see if they could locate whoever had created the shields – or something. Talia didn't know exactly what they were doing, but she was confident that they did.
Resk rode up beside her on the other side, reaching out to her. "Herald Talia, guide me; I'll FarSee there to find out what's going on."
"Are you sure?" she couldn't help asking, seeing that he was still tired from his last use of his Gift.
"Nandia will help me if I need it," he said impatiently. "Come on!"
With a nod of acquiescence, she linked with him and drew them toward the pain-guilt-hatred-fear that Kira was attempting to suppress. With some concern, Talia noted that the girl's control was improving; the emotions were just as powerful, but she was succeeding in burying them to some extent. That was not healthy; she couldn't simply hide the emotions and expect them to go away. It would only make things worse. However, for the moment she was mostly relieved that the girl was still alive.
Through Resk's FarSight, she caught glimpses of the area. The images weren't too clear – whether because of her secondhand link or the younger Herald's exhaustion, she wasn't sure – but it was obvious that there was no other person in the building. Neither his FarSight nor her Empathy turned up any trace of another inhabitant, although they widened their range as much as they could. When Talia felt Resk's control beginning to slip, she brought them back to the group without any idea of who had brought Kira to that house.
Talia opened her eyes just in time to see Elspeth open hers and curse.
"Well, at least he's not waiting in ambush to attack us," Darkwind commented.
"Yes, but we have no idea who or where he is – we don't even know if this mage is a 'he' at all!" Elspeth fumed. "And it will come up again, you know it will!"
"I take it you didn't find him," Dirk cut in.
"Not a trace," Darkwind admitted. "Whoever this mage is, he is good at hiding his tracks."
Talia urged Rolan into a faster gait. "Then let's get to Kira while we have the chance." She concentrated solely on the Trainee's emotional turmoil until they arrived at the building, ignoring the future possibility of trouble with this mage for the problem at hand.
Leaving the others behind, Talia followed her sense to the house. Slipping from Rolan's back, she ran inside, feeling an almost physical pull toward the child. It pulled her to a halt in the middle of a room; it took her a moment to realize that there was a trapdoor under her feet.
She dropped into a nightmare. It was only a hole in the ground, slippery clay soil making up the sides and bottom of the pit. The area was too small for even Talia, slight as she was, to stand upright.
Kira was huddled in a corner, arms clasped around her knees, rocking slightly back and forth. She was filthy, her uniform stained and rumpled and earth matted in her long black hair. The negative emotion pouring off of her forced Talia to strengthen her shields in order to think at all.
The girl seemed completely unconscious of Talia's presence. "Kira." She projected love and support toward the Trainee. "We found you. You're safe now."
The child's reaction shocked her. She stiffened, staring up at Talia for the first time, exuding terror and guilt in almost physical waves.
"NO!" It was meant to be a scream, but came out as nothing more than a breathless whisper. Kira lurched to her feet, pressing herself back against the side of the pit. "No, please, you can't! Leave me alone!" She turned and began clawing at the earth behind her. "Let me go!"
Talia stood motionless for a moment, frozen by the Trainee's hysterical fear of Heralds, her absolute terror at the idea of returning to the Collegium. Before she could gather her wits enough to respond, Kira collapsed. Stepping over to her, Talia realized that she had fainted. Probably hasn't eaten in a while, on top of all that emotional turmoil, some distant part of her mind thought dimly as she lifted the girl.
The others had apparently caught up; Dirk poked his head down the trapdoor. "What happened?"
"I have no idea." Her voice shook. "Let's get her back." They had a lot of work to do, to help this poor child, and she wasn't even sure where to begin.
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A/N: Well, I got this chapter out within a week of the last one, just like I promised. I'm sorry it's a little shorter, but that was where it was supposed to stop. What did you think of my portrayal of the canon character? I thought that some of them were a little out of character; do you agree? Any suggestions on how I can fix that? Or anything else, for that matter. I like constructive criticism!
Reviewer Responses:
Hawk: Well, I hope this was quick enough that you didn't totally go insane. Of course, a little craziness is a good thing…
PrettyKittyOreo: "*cries*"? Really? I guess that means I made those emotions convincing, then. Yay! I had some trouble. I'm afraid this chapter doesn't get her through it, though. That'll start in the next two chapters. Sorry to keep you waiting.
Dephanie: Yeah, sometimes I want to gloop Kira too. She can be frustrating at times. Here's a bit more about the Mage – nothing to answer your questions, yet, but maybe it'll raise a few more. I'm still working on him, anyway.
badgerwolf: In this chapter, you get to see that everyone was mobilizing – I hope. Thanks for the input! I kind of left the last chapter just talking about Kira and Layven's responses; this one is everyone else's. What do you think? How'd I do?
oceanmate: Thanks for the nagging and the wonderful support! Yeah, Layven is acting like a teenager; he basically is, for a Companion. Just barely old enough to Choose. Besides, I got kind of sick of his "perfect all-knowing all-loving" Companion-ness, so I decided to show a little of the other side of him. I'm glad you thought Kira's despair was well-written. Thanks again!
wizard116: Thanks for the compliment. However, since Van is hanging out in Bermuda – er – the Havens at the moment after being stuck in a forest for years, even though I'm playing with tons of Misty's other characters, I'm going to let him enjoy his rest. Just wait; Kira's going to kick some serious Mage butt at a later point! (At least, I think that's where this is going…)
Neko-Li: Yay for long reviews! Thank you! I really appreciate hearing that the emotions and actions are well-written and believable; I worked hard on that. Seeing Kira's head being messed with isn't exactly enjoyable, I agree, but trying to write it convincingly is a challenge I definitely enjoy. I'm glad I did a decent job. And you'll have to wait a bit for Kira to deal with the Mage – I'm putting it off for a while :). Wait and see. But no, Lerienne isn't from Misty's series. She's mine, all mine! Mwauhaha– er, sorry. No, I just made her up because Layven needed someone to talk to. But she wants to come back in later, so you may see more of her.
