It had long since fallen silent in the great banquet room of the a'ladon when Gatomon, her flesh torn and her body broken from her struggle, finally succeeded in dragging herself out from underneath the table. The look on little feline's face was of one in a hazy stupor as she glanced back over her shoulder to make certain that the thing... whatever it was that had attacked her, was no longer at her back. And as she looked back into the darkness, she trembled. She, who had never once in her life acknowledged fear, trembled.
The vicious battle remained little more than a blur in her mind. She had been fighting nearly blind the entire time, and had managed to catch only the briefest of glances of her dark opponent. To her the thing had seemed to be made almost entirely of bone, with the only flesh to cover it a horribly stretched layer of jet-black skin that seemed to be almost impermeable even to her own vicious, dagger-like claws. The creature had had horns of a sort jetting out from the top of its skull that it had used with deadly efficiency and a long tail, barbed at the end, that had served it as well as any whip.
Kari, Gatomon thought weakly, glancing around the room for some clue as to where they would have taken her. And then, as she crawled the last few feet away from the table, she chanced to glimpse the underside of Kari's chair and there saw the pentagram that had been etched into the dark wood. And she nodded. Of course. A demon. Nothing else could have fought like that.
Gatomon's blood smeared on the floor as she pulled her limp body to rest against the stone wall opposite the table. It had let her go. She didn't know why, but she knew that she hadn't beaten it. She was almost as certain that she hadn't even hurt the evil thing, even after what had seemed like several hours of fighting. It was almost as if it had been toying with her, flogging her over and over again in ghoulish delight, but in the end it had simply left of its own accord.
She would have to leave quickly as well, though she was certain that she no longer had the strength to do so. She was not sure why Moya had betrayed Kari, but sooner or later it must certainly come into the creature's mind to come back here and check on her own corpse. The trail of blood that now stained the cobbled floor would tell her that this part of her plan, at least, had not succeeded. Not yet, at least.
And Patamon... poor little Pata. He had been taken entirely unaware. Her heart bled for him even as it broke for Kari. She'd have to find them. Find them both, and rescue them, wherever they were.
The little feline stood up on her rear paws, her back braced against the wall to keep her from falling. And as she stood she noticed a deep gash running across her middle, a gash from which continued to fall a steady amount of her own dark, red blood. She stared stupidly at it for a moment, her head swimming as she tried to make sense out of what she was seeing. And when she looked down at her arm and saw that it, too, continued to bleed, it struck her. The wound were not clotting of their own accord. She was not simply tired... she was bleeding to death.
Gatomon did not have time to wonder why this was happening, though if her thoughts had not been so addled by her weariness she certainly could have guessed. She needed to stop the bleeding, or at least slow it, as soon as possible. And so she staggered forward and caught hold of the edge of the rich, lacy tablecloth and began to tear jagged strips of it away with repeated slashes of her claws. These she bound tightly around the wounds at her belly, upper arm, and another that she found lower in her thigh.
After another moment or so to catch her breath she turned and staggered from the room, her head swimming as she noticed that her lacy dressings had quickly become soaked through with her dark blood. The bleeding had not stopped, only been slowed for a bit. But still, she had to find Kari. And Patamon. And get them all out of the city. She was forced to drop to all fours to walk as her balance failed her, and she realized with despair that, in her current condition, it was all that she could do to keep from passing out. She was certainly in no condition to rescue anyone...
************
T.K. and the two a'ladon boys trod steadily upon the winding path that led from the Valley toward the mountainous region that crested at the peak of Cypress. Shay was in the lead of the group, his sharp eyes darting from side to side in anticipation of trouble ahead. The silvery-haired lad at times ranged far ahead of the other two, scampering off the path or up the side of trees to get a better view when it suited him. T.K. would have almost thought that he was playing were it not for the deadly serious look on his face and the fact that he had already alerted them to the presence of an ubbeth (which turned out to be something like a cross between a wolf and a small bear). The creature had not caused them any trouble, as Shay had simply led the other two out of its way and then back onto the trail.
Eloan was at the rear, his nose stuck in a small, leather-bound book that Kiara had given him at their parting. T.K. had learned that it had been a sort of journal that T'Kai had kept in the months and years before T.K. and Kari had arrived to help him on his quest. Inside, T.K. found not only more of the detailed charcoal drawings that had amazed him at first meeting the boy, but also a long list of songs... as well as a record of what (if any) magical effects those songs had had for him.
It was all a jumble for T.K., who (despite having a musician for a brother) had never really learned to read music. Eloan, on the other hand, was deeply enthralled in the pages and was busy trying to work out the combinations on the little wooden whistle dangling about his neck.
T.K. was about to interrupt Eloan, to ask him if he'd learned anything useful, when Shay came scurrying back down the trail to meet them.
The human boy stopped dead in his tracks, pulling his red-haired companion to a halt as well. "Shay?" he called out, his knuckles turning white as his fingers tightened around the weapon at his side. The young prince appeared to be quite alarmed, and that sort of air surrounding the normally unflappable boy was enough to cause him concern.
"Something's coming!" the other hissed in response, pulling off his backpack and tossing it into the woods at his side as he slid to a stop on the dusty trail, whipping the twin swords out of their sheaths at his waist.
Eloan looked alarmed. "Something? What?" he demanded, at the same time pulling his own backpack off and placing the book inside reverently, then sliding the pack out of the way as he drew his sword as well.
T.K.'s eyes continued to watch the trail ahead of them until it disappeared around a bend some fifty feet in front of them. When a moment passed without an answer from Shay, T.K. chanced a fleeting look over to the boy. "Shay?" he hissed. "What is it? What did you see?"
"I didn't see anything!" the prince retorted quickly. "I smell it. I hear it. I feel it..." He glanced back over his shoulder at Eloan, his furry nose twitching. "Use something besides your eyes, Eloan! That's a Saurian, or I'm a fool. But there's something wrong about it. Something... unnatural..."
The three stood on the road, T.K. shivering slightly with the cold but with adrenaline rushing in a deluge through his blood. He almost started to reach for the golden Crest of Hope around his neck, then stopped himself halfway. No. He could not use it in battle again, casting it into the form of Michael's great blade. Not unless he was willing to accept what it offered in a return to magnificence and a departure from all that he clung to as a mortal. If he was to stay here and live as such, he had to honor the restrictions that came with mortality. No divine weapons for him...
The wind was in their faces now, and Shay raised his nose. "Where are they?" he scowled, his handsome face screwing up in a grimace of impatience that told T.K. that the boy was losing his composure. At his other side Eloan, though anxious as well, looking to be weathering the tension much better than his friend. "I'm honored to be with you, now," he whispered to T.K.
And then there was a foul current of air at T.K.'s back, one that whistled just past his ear and caused the sigil of Hope resting against his chest to explode into brilliant life. T.K. clutched it in his fist to calm it, then heard From the sky, fool! whispered upon the passing wind. And then the dark odor was gone again, replaced by the clean, mountainous air that continued to blow in his face.
But the demon had warned him of enough, though he was still galled to be aided by the thing. His eyes turned skyward, and gave a shout to the others, "It's coming at us from above!"
The warning came just in time.
The two a'ladon boys dove away from T.K., and he in turn threw himself flat to the ground as the lizard-like creature rocketed past him, its long, bat-like wings nearly tearing his head from his shoulders as they swept by. The tailwind from the attack blew the dust from the road into the human boy's eyes before he managed to shut them, and he blinked rapidly to try to regain his sight as he lay flat upon the dusty trail.
"Flying?" Shay exclaimed, watching the creature that had just ambushed them, as well as another, circle like vultures in the sky above them. "How did that thing grow wings?"
Eloan had mounted a small outcropping of rock on the mountain face to his left and was straining his eyes to get a better look at the pair. He, too, had never heard of any of the lizard-folk having the ability to take to the skies. These two looked to be of the four-legged, primitive race of the creatures from what he could see, though their necks had seemed to him to be awkwardly stretched out and away from their bodies.
The boy's paw was on the sword hilt at his side as he cagily watched the pair circle above them. It seemed to him (who had spent many restful hours watching birds in flight) that they were flying rather awkwardly, as if this was something that was new to them. But, awkward or not, they were clearly bent on not letting the trio of adventurers beneath them escape without a fight.
And then the pair each fell into an identical dive, their wings spread wide to catch the air currents that were coming off of the mountain to slow their descent. Shay whirled one of his swords in his paw while holding the other straight out in front of him. "All right!" the boy shouted defiantly up at the pair. "Come on, then!"
The creature on the right peeled off before it hit the ground to answer Shay's shouted challenge, soaring past him at a breakneck speed with claws outstretched to grab the boy. As it neared, Shay swung his first blade, then his second, at the creature's scaly hide with a shouted cry of 'Goring Gambit!'. The first blow landed upon the hard scales of the Saurian's breast and did no damage. But the second of the weapons found its way to a tender area in one of the other's four clawed feet, and managed to sever one of its cruelly hooked talons.
The Saurian screamed in pain and swept past the boy, its shoulder glancing off of his own and combining with the force of the wind to throw him back and to the ground. Shay bounced once, rolled a few times, and then came to a skidding halt in the center of the path. But despite the fierce blow, he had still managed to hold on to both of his weapons... the second of which now had a thin line of blood running down the blade.
T.K. gripped his staff in frustration, watching as the Saurian soared over his head with impunity. How he wished he had Pegasusmon here with him right now! Again the Crest of Hope warmed within his hand, reminding the boy that with its power he could most certainly strike both attackers from the sky. And again, with a steadfast stubbornness, the boy ignored the whisper in his ear.
Eloan stood calmly on top of the small outcropping of rock. He had placed his sword back into its sheath and now held the musical reeds to his lips with both of his paws. T.K. could see that the boy's eyes were closed in concentration as his fingers danced lightly along the air-holes on his little instrument. He was not blowing, just running his fingers along the reeds as if trying to get the combination of notes right before he actually played them. And the human boy was alarmed to see that his counterpart was apparently unaware of the flying Saurian bearing down upon him from above.
"Eloan! Above you!" he shouted into the wind.
There was no response, as the boy continued to stand calmly upon his perch and concentrate on whatever it was that he was doing. The Saurian was almost on top of him now. "Eloan, get down!" T.K. demanded once again. And once again, his call went ignored.
"No!" T.K. shouted as the Saurian opened up its claws and reached down for the a'ladon child. The human boy reversed his grip on his staff and hurled it like a blunt spear at the lizard-like creature, but it was badly thrown and into the wind and fell well short of its mark. "Eloan! Listen to me!"
And then Eloan's eyes did blink open, and he blew a short, low-pitched series of notes from the reeds clasped tightly in his hands. Slow, heavy notes that seemed to permeate and thicken the very air around all of them. The Crest of Hope around T.K.'s neck glowed in defiance of the music's inferior power, leaving the human free to move around as he wished. But the Saurian now realized that his wings no longer had the lift in them that they'd had before, and was unable to check his freefall as Eloan (unencumbered, of course, by the effects of his own magic) threw himself off the outcropping and to the trail below.
With a sickening, bone-shattering collision, the Saurian slammed headfirst into the ledge on which Eloan had been standing, chips of rock exploding in every direction and the green creature's broken body tumbling limply to the ground. A small shower of stony debris then crumbled down on top of the winged lizard, effectively burying it.
Further up the trail, Shay had regained his feet and was just holding the other Saurian at bay. For he could not, of course, challenge the creature up in the sky. He had to wait for it to come and attack him before he could even attempt to engage his winged opponent.
The stupid creature circled above his prey for sometime, trying to determine a way to get at the tasty little morsel without suffering any more damage from the vicious blades still held in the other's paws. But it was, of course, no great thinker and after a moment allowed the stabbing hunger from its stomach to prevail over the fear of the a'ladon boy's keen weapons and circled once, caught a gust of wind approaching the other and glided low over the ground, claws outstretched.
Shay quickly calculated the other's speed, then turned and ran back down the trail in the direction of Eloan and T.K. As he ran, the boy sheathed his left-handed blade and flung the other to the side and to the ground. Ahead of him, he could hear the shouts of Eloan and Takeru as they cried out advice and warnings to him... and more than anything, he wished that they would be quiet. He already had this worked out.
And then, just before the creature could nab him, Shay threw himself down on his back. And the Saurian, misjudging, missed the stab that it had been aiming at him with its taloned claws. And then it tried to soar off again into the sky, only to find that it could no longer lift itself any higher into the air. With alarm, the creature realized that the boy a'ladon had latched onto the scaly hide of its tail and was now being dragged along with it as it flapped its wings repeatedly to try to maintain whatever lift it could.
Shay was being hurt terribly by his recurrent collisions with the ground and the jagged rocks that lay half-buried within it as the Saurian dragged him along, the boy digging his claws fiercely into the other's rough tail to keep from being dislodged. And after a moment of repeated jostling, it occurred to him that while the creature could no longer gain any more altitude, neither did he have sufficient weight to take it from the air altogether. He would have to move, or let go, or risk being his body being broken before the creature finally tired.
The winged lizard howled with agony as Shay drove sharp, vicious claws further up on its tail, then gave a shake as it felt the boy pull himself over and to the top of its back. After a moment of clumsy jostling it realized its ultimate horror... it was being ridden again!
The a'ladon prince held on for dear life just to the rear of the creature's bat-like wings, fighting against both the forceful push of the wind and the fierce shaking of the creature that was almost certain to dislodge him from his perch. And then, just as he felt that he could get no better hold and that the creature would most certainly succeed in shaking him off if given anymore time, he clamped around its sides with his knees and pulled his one remaining sword from its sheath, lifted it high, and brought it down hard on the thin membranes of the other's wing.
T.K. and Eloan watched on in horror as the creature fell, spinning, from the treetops to the ground with Shay riding the crippled creature all the way down. Both immediately scurried to the wooded area that they had seen the pair falling towards, weapons at the ready.
"Shay!" T.K. shouted into the thick undergrowth of the old forest, caring not that his voice resonated and careened off of the mountain and carried over a great distance on the wind. If there was anyone to hear, they would already have taken note of the shrill screams of the attacking Saurians.
"Shay! Shay!" Eloan echoed, the tone of his voice just slightly more desperate. He and Shay had been the best of friends for many years, and to imagine the other laying wounded, maybe dying, in the woods...
The red-haired boy raised his reeds to his lips and blew as hard as he could on the two highest notes possible, noting with satisfaction that the little instrument sounded a trilling call far louder than his own (admittedly flimsy) voice could. Perhaps it was his desperation, perhaps an aftereffect of the magic that he had used it to create that made it echo so loudly in his own ears. But in either event, it was this call which Shay finally responded to.
"Eloan! Takeru! Hoi, you two! Over here!" the silver-haired creature gasped out thickly in response.
The two rushed towards the sound of Shay's voice, the larger human plowing a trail through the thick forest floor for the smaller a'ladon to follow. On the way they caught sight of the body of the dead Saurian, a gaping hole cut through the membranes of its wing and its body broken upon one of the taller and thicker trees in the area.
"Shay!" Eloan called again. "Where?"
"Here," came the response, and now T.K. and Eloan could see the boy, a single paw raised above his head, resting with his back to a massive pine. They tumbled through the brushwood and very nearly fell at his side.
T.K. was on his knees, looking closely at the boy and his wheezing, measured breaths. "Shay? Are you all right? Bleeding anywhere?" He stared into the other's eyes as he spoke, studying them for some sign of shock that might tell him more than the boy himself would.
Eloan grabbed the other boy by the paw and shook it. "Shay, that was incredible! You flew! You actually had a chance to..." But then the younger of the two trailed off, noticing that his shaking of his friend's paw was apparently causing him pain and that he was not responding with any vigor in his words or his actions.
T.K. noticed it too, and also took note of the other's silence in response to his own questions. "Where is it, Shay? What hurts?"
To T.K. (who was studying the little prince more closely than Eloan was) it looked as though Shay was going to start to cry. The way his teeth were clenched down over his lower lip and the way he measured every word of his response made him almost certain of it. And so, when the creature closed his eyes and turned his face away from the pair, only T.K. knew why. "My... my back and my shoulder hurt, Lord Takeru. Sting pretty fierce, too..." he trailed off. Eloan immediately went to look at his friend's shoulder and upper back, but T.K. waited in dread for what was to come. He could hear that the other had not yet finished.
"And...?" the human prompted.
Shay's lips were trembling now. "And... and I can't feel my leg. This one," he clarified, tapping gently on the upper portion of his left thigh. "I can't feel it, and can't stand on it. Else I would have found the two of you before you found me, tromping through the woods like you were."
"Can't feel it? At all?" T.K. asked, for clarification's sake.
Shay, who had still not turned to face the two, shook his head silently in response. T.K. frowned, then picked up a fallen pine needle from the ground and ran it gently along the bottom of the other's foot to try to get some sort of reflexive reaction. And when there was no response, he found a sharp, pointed stick at his side and poked and prodded up and down the leg in several different areas. Not enough to make his young friend bleed, but very nearly.
And now both Eloan and Shay were watching the golden-haired boy closely, Eloan in confusion and Shay in measured hope. When, after another minute or so of tickling, prodding and tapping he stopped, the hope fell from both of their eyes. "Only this one?" he asked.
Shay nodded, raising and lowering his right foot off of the ground twice for demonstration. T.K. looked grim. He was no doctor, of course, but neither was he stupid. He knew that something like this could only mean trouble. "Come on," he said with a momentary pause. "Let's get back up to the trail and get our packs back. I've got something in there that Kiara gave me that should help with the cuts on your back, anyway." He was back on his feet and extended a hand to the fallen boy. "Here, Shay. I'll help you walk."
"No!" Eloan interrupted, and T.K. looked down at the boy. "I mean... that is... if you don't mind, Takeru, I'd rather help him back up myself."
T.K. looked to Shay, who it seemed did not care one way or the other who helped him... or seemingly even if they did help him or simply left him behind, so deep was his depression. It made the young human wonder if the boy was telling them the entire truth... or if he knew more and would not say. And so T.K. nodded to Eloan and took the swords from both of the boys so that they wouldn't be encumbered by them on the way back up, then helped the red-haired child lift Shay to his feet and tied Shay's left leg to Eloan's right with the long, leathery reins that he found in the mouth of the Saurian. And as he saw this, he frowned. This creature had been someone's mount sometime recently. But whose?
It was a long, arduous trip back up the mountain side with one boy injured and with no trail to lead them, but eventually it was completed. T.K. had walked behind the two, moving to steady them each time the awkward walking arrangement caused either (or usually both) to slip. And when they finally completed the climb, T.K. located both of the boy's packs as well as Shay's discarded sword and conveyed them back to the leeward side of the mountain, away from the wind, where the three had agreed that they would rest for the night.
T.K. and Eloan bandaged Shay's back as well as they could with some strips of cloth and a clear, greasy substance that Kiara had placed in T.K. pack, and Eloan played 'Great Peace' for the boy several times over, though T.K. wasn't at all certain that it would work without a singer accompanying him. And the three ate a meal in silence, gathered around a fire that Shay had pulled himself out of his deepening doldrums enough to light for them. And then it was time to sleep, and T.K. volunteered to take the first watch. Shay had wanted to as well, but T.K. insisted and said that the silver-haired prince would not take a watch at all that night.
The human waited until the two were safely asleep, then wandered a few steps away from the fire. A glower was in his eyes as he went, and he did not care for the choice that he had to make. He desperately needed to know the depth of Shay's injury and whether the crippling was permanent, but the most obvious source for that information came at a heavy price.
Divination... that was forbidden. The holy Book made it perfectly clear that no true believer could call upon a demon for knowledge, even if that believer had a demon that was following him of its own accord and was more than willing to tell him anything he wanted to know. But the beast had already warned him of the attack, and the boy debated about how great a sin he would be committing to call the creature back to learn from it just how badly Shay was hurt. It was not a pleasant choice, but his need was very great.
The opportunity tempted him, Paragon though he was, but in the end he decided that little would be gained by knowing how serious Shay's condition was. They had only two choices in either event; continue on or turn back. And he didn't dare turn back unless Shay's very life was at stake, as Kari was surely almost out of time by now... he had simply dawdled too long with Kiara.
"He would not tell you true in any event," came a voice from behind the boy. "He has no interest in the matter, and so would deceive you simply for the sake of the deception itself."
T.K. whirled around at once, though in joy instead of alert surprise. For he knew that voice... indeed, had been waiting to hear it ever since he had learned of Kari's danger. And as he turned he saw one who few mortals, from either world, would ever both see and recognize. Instantly he fell to his knees and grabbed at the paw of the Reverend Father of the a'ladon, a simple creature garbed in a simple cloak. Not really an a'ladon, but then, not a human either, of course. T.K. brought the furry paw to his face and kissed it, gripping it tightly as if it would vanish into thin air and instead be some sort of lovely dream instead of a beautiful reality. "Gabriel... Cheyne... whoever you are now," the boy murmured gratefully. "Thank you for coming."
The creature smiled, and placed his other paw upon T.K.'s bowed head. "Come now, Takeru," he murmured gently, smoothing back the boy's golden hair. "On your feet. That is the greeting from servant to master, not the greeting from servant to servant. I might as well be bowing at your feet and kissing your hand."
And then T.K. did manage to stand, and he looked at the creature unashamed of the tears of joy in his eyes. He had nothing to hide from this one, nor could he if he wished to, for deceptions hid as little from him as the bodies or clothes of men did. All was laid bare before the heavenly host.
The golden Crest of Hope around T.K.'s neck gave a brief, warm glow at the other, enveloping and embracing him in its light. "And a joyful hello to you as well, little master," Cheyne responded to it. The reverend creature looked back to the boy. "I trust you've been keeping each other out of trouble?"
T.K. gave a weak smile. "It likes to fight and throw its weight around a little more than is absolutely necessary, I think."
The other nodded in agreement. "Of course. At first, it even tested the strength of Michael himself when it was given into his keeping. It is only natural, I suppose, for it to test its limits again now that it had been given to mortal hands... no matter how much it loves you. Remember, it is an instrument of Holiness, and wants more than anything to be allowed to cleanse the world with its fire. Since it hasn't yet done so, I suppose you have it in hand well enough."
The pair stopped in mid-step, and T.K. took the smaller creature by both paws. "Where have you been? I've been praying and begging and waiting for an answer for ever so long. You know what's been happening, of course." It was a statement, not a question.
The other nodded shortly. "I have. You are often in my thoughts, Takeru, but there are many things which require my attention. If I could I would stay with you always, for you alone among mortals are a delight to me and my kin. But knowing how things are in your world, we have little enough time as it is. We are not like the Almighty. We cannot be in all places at once."
"Then you know... about Kari?" This was a question, the boy not wanting to acknowledge that Gabriel had been aware of her peril and had remained absent.
The a'ladon smiled with concealed pride at T.K., careful that the boy not know just how much he thought of him. He should have been one of us... "Yes, Takeru, we know. We have known, and above all else, He knows."
The young human looked almost stunned. "And you... you haven't done anything to stop them?"
The angel in disguise looked guardedly at the boy. "Oh, but we have, Takeru. Think on it, Paragon-in-the-flesh. Our conflicts with the fallen are many; the struggles eternal. Perhaps we have not sent Michael and the ten thousand against them to stop them in their desire for the girl, for what would that accomplish save to have the enemy hit back with equal force and tear your world apart? But of course we would never leave even one human to them willingly... and so, we gave her you."
T.K.'s eyebrows shot up with a look that any other time he would have said was mightily disrespectful. "M... me?" he stammered.
The wind was at Cheyne's back, blowing his grayish-brown fur forward in gusts. He nodded. "Of course. We have known of her peril far longer than you have, Takeru. Just what did you think that it meant to have a divine affirmation of your love for her? In whose hands would you rather trust besides your own? And don't say His," the creature interrupted, just as T.K. was about to.
"But... but I'm no... I mean... I'm not--"
"Whatever you're going to say," the other interjected. "Stop. Because you are. More than you know. Do you think that just anyone can be called 'Paragon'? That just anyone can wear that Crest around your neck? Hikari needs a hero... a holy hero. She has you, and could not ask for better. Be content."
T.K. was looking down at the ground, thinking on what the other had said. When he looked up again, the creature was shuffling along the trail that led up the side of the mountain. "Wait! Ga... Cheyne! Where are you going? I need you!"
The shrouded a'ladon reverend turned and looked back over his shoulder at the boy. "Of course you don't," he answered. "I'm not the one that's needed now, you are. And you'd best get used to being needed, Takeru, because people will likely be needing something from you for as long as you live."
"Wait! What about Shay?"
The other looked saddened for a moment. "And he, as well. What he's done to himself is irreparable, at least for me, though I see it causing him no more physical grief than what's already evident. But he'll need your wisdom soon to keep it from destroying him, Takeru. Now I must go, if I'm to make it to the top in time to meet the new apostles for this land. Remember, it was your idea to have them ask for me!" And with these last words echoing down the trail to the boy, Cheyne the Reverend Father was gone.
************
Aine could feel the spirit dwelling inside of her being start to swell, almost bursting at the seems of her flesh to try to escape her body as she led her troupe further down into the bowels of the mountain. The dark spirit that was using both her and Moya's bodies as vessels until the time when the Lord of the mountain was freed could feel the nearness of his new body, and was eager to take possession. Then, and only then, could he wed the Lady Hikari and realize true power.
Once or twice its impatience almost overcame it, and it nearly forgot itself and began to leap outwards from Aine's flesh. Remember, she had cautioned it, the creature itself having told her that this would likely occur, you cannot appear yet in this world. You yourself have said so. To be here without a body would draw your enemies to you and leave you vulnerable to them.
At her reminder the other drew back, dismayed, and again concealed itself deep within her flesh. It had awaited this time for sixteen years now, until this human Hikari was old enough to undergo this rite. It was maddening to think of having to wait another day...
Aine, for her part, would be almost sorry to allow the spirit to leave. While it dwelt within her, it gave her an aura of invincibility, of power, as if none in the world who valued their lives dared to anger her. The creature had promised her this much and more when it had finally taken Hikari and made her power its own, of course, but still she felt as though she would miss the comforting dark blanket around her soul.
The girl, still wrapped in her glossy black robes, could hear Jeron lapse into another fit of coughing up ahead as the Saurians toted him on his litter further down though the sloping cave. The mixture that she had given him to alleviate his drunkenness had doubtless irritated his throat, and now the thick sulfur in the air was making his breathing genuinely difficult.
Aine snickered to herself. He would be dead in a few hours anyway, of course, but it pleased her to think of him suffering because of what she'd done before she saw him dead in the claws of Da'saan. No matter that he would be the one to free it. The spirit dwelling inside of her had called attention to the fact that when the creature was loosed, it would kill and kill and continue to kill until it had sated itself with death and blood. Aine looked around at the troop of a'ladon and Saurians that she had brought with her. A fair sized group... it should give the creature the lives that it sought.
And then, right in the middle of her scheming and unbidden, Kueren fell back to join her. The old soldier had a wet rag over his mouth to keep from breathing in too much of the fetid air. He had advised (though not yet ordered) the others to do the same, but had been largely ignored. None of the a'ladon soldiers wanted to be seen as weak in front of the lumbering Saurians who were carrying their king, and none of the lizard men seemed to be affected by the burning thickness of the air.
"Mistress?" the man murmured as he glanced distastefully at the girl. "I have asked before and now ask again. End this. Jeron may not see truly in this matter, but I do. Whatever it is that we are doing here, it is to your gain, not his."
Again. Boring. Couldn't the old goat think of any original accusations for once? Treason! Witchcraft! Blah, blah, blah. Aine did not turn to look at the older creature, continuing to walk on in silence as he marched dutifully alongside. She wanted to tell him the truth, if for no other reason than to shut him up. Or better yet, to dangle it in front of him, taunting him with it while knowing that he could do nothing to stop her. Acknowledge his suspicions, and let him know that the truth was even worse than he could possibly imagine. She was proof against whatever retaliations that he might attempt, and she desperately wanted him to feel the despair of hopelessness...
The two continued on in silence, trailing at the rear of the a'ladon advance guard as well as the Saurian porters. There were none to hear what the two might say between one another, and few that would care. The lizard men... they cared nothing for the tiny, furry creatures. Their king had sent them here on a mission of infiltration and conquest, and they had been fortunate to find allies in the king's two counselors. The girls had promised them that the entire nation would fall into disarray when they had finally finished their tasks, and it would be theirs for the taking. And so, they were content to wait with the patience of the cold-blooded.
But she would not take such a foolish risk. Not with so much on the line. As long as Kueren knew nothing, only suspected, he did not dare even attempt to interfere with her.
"Don't be foolish, Kueren. Jeron is in real danger. My sister and I have seen what must happen if the Lord Takeru should come upon him unguarded. You know the reason as well as I. Are you enough to stand in His way? Are you and even your entire army proof against His wrath?"
The girl glanced back over her shoulder now, most of her countenance still hidden within her dark cowl. "Could you? Or do you even dare try? How many of your men would agree to fight against the Lord Takeru? How many would you lose to reverence? How many more to fear? Takeru is come, Kueren. Come to avenge the death of his best disciple upon the body of our king. All of the signs agree. Jeron needs protection, a protection greater than you can give, and it is only down here that he will find it." That was assuming, of course, that her own little pets hadn't already taken care of the stupid human.
The older solider knew the tricks of the other's voice, even if Jeron did not. He knew her to be lying... at least, most of what she was saying was a lie. She did fear Takeru, though. That much he did not question. But he could not take his suspicions to the king. Not without proof. And when proof came, it was certain to be too late. All that he could do was be at Jeron's side when all of this came to a head. And as the heat and sulfurous smell thickened around him and they continued their decent into the heart of the earth, the man was certain that that time must come soon.
************
Kari awoke to find herself in a small, dimly lit room. The thick odor of scented candles lay heavy in her nostrils, and her head throbbed painfully. She tried to reach up to feel the back of her head where she had been struck, only to find that her hands had been tightly bound at her back.
"Ahh... so she wakes," a thin voice whispered at her from the other side of the room.
Awareness came slowly to the girl. Yes, she was bound. Bound in a sitting position and tied into a wooden chair of some sort. The thick air and pain in her head almost made her swoon back into near unconsciousness, but the girl was determined and forced herself to stay awake. She knew the voice across the room to be Moya's, and answered her weakly.
"Why... why did you d... do this to me?"
The creature was on her feet now, obscuring the candlelight in the room as she moved to Kari's side. She did not answer the other's question right away. "How are you feeling, m'lady? In truth, I had not planned for my man to strike you so hard. It will be worse for me if you are injured when you are delivered, I think."
Kari could see more of the room now, as Moya moved out of the light and to her back. A small room, yes... very small. And the walls very literally awash in strange sigils and markings, some so alien to Kari that they made her blood run cold, if she was uncertain just why.
When she did not respond to the creature, Moya continued. "My apologies for the snugness of your bindings, Hikari, but I dare not take the risk that you might free yourself... or injure yourself further in some foolish attempt to leave this place. Hopefully, when what will be done has been done, you will remember me with kindness."
"Done...? What-- why are you doing this?" the human girl repeated, and she was upset to hear how terribly weak and frightened her own voice sounded. She had tried to mask it, but...
The other's face appeared suddenly in front of her own, and Kari drew involuntarily back. She could see now, behind the cool demeanor and professional bearings of the magistrate, a look of hunger in her eyes. Almost fanatical hunger, that of one who craves something so much that they have been overtaken by the need to have it. "Oh don't be afraid, m'lady. This is a time of happiness for you, not of fear. At least, you may look back on it that way, no matter how you feel right now. Yes, happiness! Because in a few moments, you see, I'll be taking you to meet your husband." The creature ended with a brief chuckle... one that Kari thought contained a certain feel of madness.
The girl wiggled, trying the bonds around her hands again, but they were so intricately woven together that the more she struggled, the tighter they became. "What do you mean, 'husband'? Do you mean T... Lord Takeru?"
The a'ladon chuckled again as she made herself busy, rearranging some items on a table nearby. Kari could not crane her head quite far enough to see exactly what they were, but the brief glimpse she caught made the one of them look extremely unpleasant. "Takeru? Oh no. No, no, no. That would never do. That would be quite... disastrous, I'm afraid," the creature prattled on, her words coming as quickly as her now frantic rearranging. "But do not fear! The one that has chosen you for his bride is one that holds a power that even Takeru might kill to possess."
Kari was scared, and now she was upset too. "T.K. doesn't care about power!" she snapped angrily. "And I'm not going to marry anyone right now! Certainly no one who isn't him!"
Another giggle burst from Moya's lips, one that sounded almost demented to the human girl. But then the giggling died away, and was replaced by a deep, throaty growl. A moment later there was another giggle, much weaker this time, followed by an even more powerful rumble from the creature.
And then the other was back at her side in a flash, her angry face only inches away from Kari's. "Oh, but you will!" she snarled, her voice almost masculine and markedly different than the one she had been using before. "You will, and you will enjoy it! Bitch of a human whore! You will be mine, and you will revel in it and despair of it until I tire of you!" And Kari saw red fire glowing in those eyes, unnatural fire the likes of which she had never seen. And the breath coming from the other's mouth and nostrils smelled strongly of sulfur, and her fur bristled with electricity.
The Crest! the girl thought, flinching back in alarm. Where was the Crest? Had it been taken from her in the struggle? Where were Gatomon and Patamon? Had they, too, been taken? Of were they (she cringed away from the thought) already dead?
But now Moya had moved away again, and seemed to be struggling with herself. Her head was bowed and hidden by the velvety darkness of her cowl, but she sounded as if she were mumbling to herself and appeared to be shivering violently, though she could not be cold in such attire in the oppressive heat of the room.
Finally, after some time, the a'ladon girl stood back up and turned again to Kari. "You mustn't do that, m'lady. You mustn't be so defiant to us... to me. It will only make things that much harder on both you and I. Know that there is nothing that you can do to stop this. You will wed. And after that, you will thank me. And bestow on me such gifts as I have been promised. Rest, allow this to happen, and it will all go much easier."
************
Gatomon awoke to a cool cloth being placed against her forehead, and the little feline sat up in alarm. She caught only the most vague impression of a female a'ladon seated at her side before she swooned and fell back against her pillow, the loss of blood having made her very, very weak. She closed her eyes and fought to maintain consciousness, pushing the stars behind her eyelids away and taking deep, cleansing breaths. Again she could feel the creature at her side place the cloth upon her forehead and then put one of its small paws gently upon her cheek.
She continued to breathe heavily for a few moments before she felt well enough to again open her eyes. She could tell already, of course, that she was face-up in bed, and could feel that her wounds had been bandaged in a much more proficient manner than she herself had done. And while the light in the room that she lay was dim, she had the distinct impression that she was no longer in the manor that she had fallen.
She glanced weakly at the creature at her side. "Who are you...? Where am I?"
The creature nodded slowly. She looked to be a very wise one of the a'ladon, possibly approaching middle-age or younger, and had a reddish scarf covering her head between her ears. "My name is Kiara, young lady, and you are in my house at the center of the Valley of Ash and Tears. You have been here almost a day now."
Gatomon struggled to prop herself up on her elbows, more slowly this time. She still felt terribly weak. "Kari? Patamon?" she asked, looking at the other, then blinked. "Forgive me, but I'm not at all familiar with your land. Where are Kari and Patamon?"
The other looked grim, her eyes lowering as she considered what to tell the little creature. Then she glanced back up, her eyes narrow and intense. "If by 'Kari' you mean the Lady Hikari... she has already been taken. Back in Kelmuir, more than a day's travel from here... at least, a day by ordinary means. Don't get up," the other insisted, placing a firm paw upon the little feline's chest and holding her down. "There is naught you can do for her now, even were you to get back there this very moment."
Gatomon's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?" she snapped. The creature's paw, though frail-looking, was like iron against her chest. "And how did I get here? Where's Patamon?"
"Patamon is in the next room, being looked over by my daughter. No, no, don't concern yourself. His injuries were significantly more mild than your own. He is simply exhausted by the flight from the city... and that should answer your first question as well."
Gatomon's teeth snapped shut like a trap. "He... he abandoned her?" she hissed, clenching a fist within her powerful gloves. "He left her there to save his own sorry hide and me?"
"I did."
Both Gatomon and Kiara turned as the door inched open and Patamon fluttered into the room, landing at the foot of the bed. One of his feet was wrapped in bandages, and he winced as he put pressure on it. He looked at Gatomon, his long ears folded down at his side and as thoughtful a look as she had ever seen on his face. "I was told to; I had to. You were dying. I couldn't help Kari... it was all I could do to get us out of there and bring you here."
This was all happening much too fast for Gatomon. She had so many questions that she wanted to ask, she didn't know which to voice first. "You carried me? How? T.K. wasn't there to help you evolve... was he? Who told you to come here? Where is Kari now?"
Patamon looked down, as if he were trying to collect his thoughts. When, a moment later, he looked up again, Gatomon was surprised at the change. Maturity. In her little friend, Gatomon saw a maturity that she had never before seen in him. He had always been the most childish of them all, the most happy-go-lucky. At least in this stage in his evolution. But now, as she looked at him, it was evident to her that it was no longer so.
"I... I didn't need T.K., Gatomon. And though it makes me kind of sad, I don't think I'll ever need his help again. There was somebody there, the one who rescued me, who explained it all. She rescued you too, even though you probably don't remember much. She said she had been waiting there for a long time to help us, but couldn't do anything to help Kari. She said that Kari was in the hands of the Enemy, and if she did it would start the war too soon... or something like that. But she said that T.K.'s on his way to meet up with Kari and the one who's taken her, and we can help if we can get there in time... and she gave me this." And Gatomon, sitting up, could now see Kari's Crest of Light tied around Patamon's neck.
Gatomon was on her feet then and inched forward to his side. And she looked at him, and felt strange. "I guess... I guess I'd normally be mad at you, Pata. How come I'm not?" And she continued to stare at him, not really expecting an answer, before she continued. "That must have been some person that helped us. I've been waiting years for you to grow up, and she's done it to you in one day."
"Do you feel up to flying?" the orangish little mammal returned. "Kiara's fixed you up as well as she can, she says."
The a'ladon woman, who had fallen so silent that the two had almost forgotten she was there, nodded. "It was almost beyond my skill, but they should bleed no more. But you must have time to rest, to recover the strength that you have already lost."
Patamon shook his head. "We don't have time for that. We've got to reach T.K. and your sons before they reach entrance to the mountain. They're facing a terrible fight there, and are walking into it completely unaware."
"Sons? Your information is wanting, child of Hope. Shay is not my son."
The other gave a gentle smile, very wise, very adult-like. So unlike Patamon. "If I understand right, all lost children who find their way to this house are yours. But no matter. We must leave, and soon. Gatomon's stronger than you think. If anyone can make the trip, she can."
Gatomon glowed with pleasure at the words, and now knew that what she had suspected was the truth. Were he still thinking as a child, he would have waited here with her or, at worst, left her here while he went on alone. Trusting in her and her strength, things which he had no control over, showed great maturity.
"It's all right, Kiara. He's right, I do have to go. My thanks for all you've done, but if anything, I have to get that Crest back to Kari."
Patamon shook his head. "To T.K." he corrected. Gatomon turned to him in confusion. He looked away briefly, then continued. "It's too late to get it to her, Gatomon. I don't know how to explain it really, but it is. My Lady... she called it Gabriel's Ward, but said it can't protect her from them if they already have her."
Gatomon blinked, then her eyes went vague as if she were trying to remember something. And after a moment, she started. "Two halves of the whole! That's what she said, isn't it? If they're separate, they're not whole. And if T.K. has both of them--"
Patamon smiled. "You were awake. At least for a little bit. I thought so."
"Pata," the little feline gasped, having only a vague impression of a grand, towering lady of great fairness. "Who... who was she?"
But the other didn't respond to her question. His only answer would be a guess, and certainly Gatomon's guess would be as good as his own. "Or maybe if Kari has them both, but in a different way. Maybe not. She did tell me that they don't see Kari as Paragon. But now all that's left is to fight, so it has to be T.K. We know he can use them both."
Gatomon nodded vaguely. "But where do we find T.K.? The Crest of Hope will call the Crest of Light to it, I suppose, but only Kari knows how to make it listen. Do you know where he is?"
Patamon shook his head. That continued to be the flaw in his plan. He turned to Kiara. "Do you think you could draw us a map or something?"
The woman bit her lip. Something seemed to be going through her head, a decision that had to be made. But certainly a map was a rather innocuous request, nothing to be troubled by. "What?" she asked, blinking her eyes away from their reverie. "A map? Oh no... certainly not that you could read while flying, in any event. And I would not know how to draw what you would use as markers from the air, never having been up there myself. But I was thinking, perhaps... perhaps I do have someone to guide you. She's been moping about the house ever since she was left behind anyway. That is, if you wouldn't mind a companion on the trip..."
************
It was a long, arduous climb up the side of the mountain for the three boys, even though the path that they were on was relatively hazard-free. Shay's condition made it difficult, but his attitude made it several times worse. Eloan had woven together an intricate apparatus that T.K. wore around his waist and allowed him to carry the silvery-haired prince on his back. It made Shay furious, and he commented often that it made him look like a baby kit being toted around by his mother. (Eloan thought so as well, but wisely refrained from mentioning it).
And as they climbed further into the heights, the wind became even more bitterly cold and the air even more thin. This made it that much more difficult for T.K., as he needed all the strength that he could muster in order to carry Shay, who was about a third of his own weight.
Eloan stopped in the middle of the trail, panting. He was exhausted too, for he was forced to carry not only his own pack but Shay's and T.K.'s as well. "How much further is it, Lord?" he shouted, his head bowed against the gusting wind that whipped the hem of his cloak around his legs. "I thought we would've reached it by now."
The human boy leaned forward, not daring to lean back even to ease his aching legs lest he allow Shay's weight throw him off balance and to the ground. "Almost there, Eloan!" he returned, breathing heavily. He glanced up from within the confines of his deep cowl and pointed ahead. "We should be able to see the entrance around the next corner!"
Eloan nodded and took a step forward, then missed his first step as his foot slid out from under him. The boy had to windmill his arms quickly to regain his balance, and only just kept his footing as T.K. marched past him. The young a'ladon knelt, looking in confusion at the slimy residue that had almost put him down. It covered the ground in a long, though not wide, area that hugged the side of the mountain. It was odorless and almost invisible unless one was looking for it, though it did glisten a bit when the light shown on it in a certain way.
"Lord Takeru?" the boy howled into the wind, rubbing the slick substance off on the corner of his cloak. He looked upwards along the trail to see T.K., head bowed, marching steadily into the wind. In his seat resting upon the young human's lower back, Shay sat with his head leaned to the side and his arms folded across his chest. If anything, it looked as though he was pouting. Understandable, of course, but at the moment it irritated Eloan greatly. "Shay!" the boy shouted.
The other looked down with just a flicker of recognition, then leaned back and closed his eyes in indifference. Eloan grimaced. "Shay! Tell Lord Takeru to--"
But Shay clearly wasn't listening, and Takeru could no longer hear him over the wind whistling through the towering fir trees. The boy grimaced in annoyance and left the pool of goo behind, forgotten, as he scrambled to keep up with the pair.
Takeru had told him that Shay would likely never have use of his leg again. He didn't say how that he knew, as he had been as ignorant as the other two the night before, but he did seem certain of it. He had come to Eloan first to ask how the other boy would respond if he were to be told, as Eloan knew the young prince better than he himself did. And Eloan had responded that Shay would act much as he was acting now... either that, or throw a king-sized fit. So the two had agreed not to tell the hobbled creature for the time being, though it now appeared that he had figured it out on his own.
Eloan moved forward as fast as his feet would take him, encumbered as he was. In truth, he would have preferred the fit. At least it would have told him that some of the boy's old personality remained. But instead he had sunken into this deep depression, neither speaking nor eating nor even acknowledging either of his companions.
Takeru had rounded the bend now, beyond which he had promised that the entrance to the mountain cave lay. Eloan was uncertain of how he felt. Nervous certainly, but it had also occurred to him that he would finally be seeing the place where his father had fallen, victorious in what by all counts should have been an unwinnable battle. It filled him with a reverence the like of which he had not felt since T'Kai had first given him the shattered hilt of the blade that he had brandished in that same battle.
Then from up ahead and carried upon the wind, the boy heard a tremendous crash and unintelligible cry. He looked up in alarm, torn away from his reverie. "Takeru!" he shouted, quickening his steps. There was no answer, of course, since there was no reason for the human to hear him now when he had not before. But now, having the others out of sight, the failed response made his heart begin to beat faster and hurried his steps even more. "Takeru? Shay?"
He was nearing the bend now, and dropped all three packs to lessen his encumbrance and yanking his sword from the sheath at his side. It galled him to drop his own belongings, including those precious few mementoes of his father, but he felt certain that something was fearfully wrong.
***
T.K. stared up in horror at the colossus towering above him, blocking the cave mouth. For a moment his mind struggled to comprehend exactly what it was that he was seeing. It looked... he had no words to describe it, but the closest thing that he could imagine was an enormous, writhing worm that was at least ten feet tall and thrice that in length. Its scaly flesh was a twisted, dark emerald color that reflected his own image in a broken manner upon its surface. There were no eyes, no antennae... nothing to tell which end of the creature was which, and the ground upon which it lay was covered with a glistening ooze of some sort.
The boy grabbed frantically at the golden Crest, now resting inertly against the outside of his shirt. "F... Father, protect us," he murmured, then watched as the muscles deep within the massive creature's body began to contract and move it towards his direction.
"Shay!" the young human whispered in alarm to his ward. When, after a moment, there was no response, he murmured in a slightly louder voice. "Shay! What is that thing?"
T.K. found himself backing away from the massive horror, when suddenly his foot slid into a small hole in the surface of the mountain that was filled with the clear slime surrounding the creature. The boy went down with a crash, Shay's conveyance breaking and clattering heavily to the ground.
The creature turned at the noise, and now hastened its lurching movements towards the pair. And now T.K. could see a mouth open up at the end that was moving towards them, a mouth that was literally filled with a circular layer upon layer of razor-sharp fangs. The sight made T.K.'s skin go even colder than the frigid mountain wind.
But then the boy turned and grabbed at Shay, who was laying quite still upon the ground and not even appearing to take notice of what was happening. T.K. feared for a moment that something else was wrong with him, until he saw the boy's eyes flicker and his chest rise and fall with deep breaths. "Shay, come on!" he shouted, grabbing the other's furry arm and trying to pull him to his feet. But the prince only continued to lay there like dead weight, not making one motion to even acknowledge the other boy's presence.
T.K. looked back up, to find the horror almost directly on top of them now. In desperation he tried pulling Shay along the ground and out of the path of the creature. He was certain that it would again tear open the wounds on the other boy's back, but at the moment that was his last concern.
And then, as he started to have some success in pulling Shay from the creature's path, the other looked up at him in evident annoyance and yanked his paw out of his grasp.
"Takeru!" T.K. heard at his back. The boy turned, and saw Eloan throw his staff to him and rush to engage the creature. T.K. looked from the red-haired child to Shay and back again, then moved to join Eloan. "Shay, get back out of the way!" he hissed before he left.
Shay said nothing in response, but did finally turn his head to watch as the pair rushed into battle. And he grimaced as Eloan now began to fight with the skill and grace of a genuine warrior. His blows were measured and accurate, and his movements were as fluid as those of a dancer. Little Eloan. The little dreamer. The minstrel, the romantic... now looked to be growing into a true warrior. The warrior that he himself would never be. Not now. Now he was a damned cripple, and in his father's court, he had learned that the crippled could hope for little better than being turned out on the streets to beg for their bread. Ailora... Ailora would despise him now for what he had become. She had used to love it when he had chased her through the woods, always allowing her to stay just one step ahead of him. Of climbing the tallest of trees and dancing among their branches. He would never do any of that again.
And now he was crying. He hated himself for it, and his only consolation was that no one else could see the tears. And through tears, a whispered plea went out to his red-haired playmate, one that neither of the combatants could hear, of course.
"Eloan... Ene aterdes yi moreves."