A/N: I apologise for any anxiety I have caused about George. I am following cannon, though, so you all know that I won't kill off any main characters!
Silverlake: Thank you. I apologise for the cliffy! Esmerelda: I'm dying to have a go! I'm avoiding death, really. Far too messy! Daine's Daughter: You are very astute – yes that was what Numair was going to ask! Celuna Cirrus: Don't worry too much! Goldeneyedwildmage: Head and balls fried on a platter… That tickled me. That would be her reaction, very much! Thank you for reviewing Embers! Bitterosemary: I've surprised myself with the plot actually. I didn't think I would be able to do a mystery/action type thing. The poems will be up sometime this week, I'll mention on here when they are. I would be grateful if you'd look them over. NealsChick: I love George too much to hurt him, so don't worry! Dolphin Dreamer: I liked that line about the tree too, my elf was very hard at work when he made me think of that! Thank you for noticing. Sonnet Lacewing: You think of many other great ideas though! I like having all the character in, I'd get bored if all I wrote about was Daine and Numair. Thank you again! Kelsey: I'm sorry, I can't tell you that! A fan: here's the update! Aravilui: I didn't kill George! Yet….
Disclaimer: It's not mine. (I wish it was!)
Chapter 18 – Seers
Daine recalled the horrific nightmare she had experienced in the series of weird dreams several nights ago. Alanna's voice echoed out again, consuming the air around her and pouring it into an almighty expression of pain. Daine flew below the smoke, her small lungs almost swamped by the toxic air as she inhaled the fire's short-lived legacy. She saw that Alanna stood, with Numair gently restraining her, outside the Dancing Dove, her amethyst eyes alive with hurt and anguish as she struggled to break Numair's grip and head inside the building. Numair had placed Daine's clothing beside him; Daine spied it and shifted into a dog, picking up the clothes gently in her jaws. She quickly took them into an alley and changed into them, rushing to Numair. Alanna's cries still permeated the air, echoing around the buildings and eclipsing all other noises. A crowd had begun to grow around the inn, which looked to be barred shut, with no sign of life anywhere inside it. Daine looked up anxiously at Numair, who was still clutching the Lioness.
"George is in there with Karrum Makheen. Makheen's taken several people hostage. We believe he has killed two already," Numair said quietly, his face the grimmest Daine had ever seen it.
"George?" Daine questioned.
"We don't know," Numair answered, his voice filled with obvious worry. "So far he hasn't issued any demands. I think he's insane."
Daine realised from his tone that he was deadly serious. He did think the mage inside was mad. He had been referred to as being insane before, but only half in jest and shock at the things he had done. Daine knew that if he was mad and powerful the he was likely to be twice as dangerous. Numair finally released Alanna into the waiting grip of Hakim and preceded a little closer to the inn. She saw a black glare of his gift encompass the building and realised that he was testing the area to see what magic Makheen was using. Daine suddenly felt panic rise in her, knowing that this situation would become Numair's to deal with. Yet again she would have to go through the worry of knowing that he might not walk away from this. She looked toward Alanna, never having seen the Lioness react in this manner. Alanna had ceased the shouting and was now standing still, completely frozen and staring intently at the building. Numair walked back past Daine, toward Jonathan who had just arrived from the scene at the prison, his face grey with worry.
"What do we know?" She heard the king ask Numair.
"He has nine people in there. I'm almost certain that two have been killed. I can still sense George's presence in there, or at least I'm sure that George is still alive," Numair replied.
"Why's he holding them hostage? Has he issued demands?" Jonathan inquired.
Numair shook his head. "I assume it will be something to do with the release of Yolane from the gaol. She's still captive, as is his cousin. I also think that this is the last attempt at taking power. From all accounts of what we've heard from some of his followers he's been losing mental stability for one or two days. People have begun to stop believing his manifesto and refusing to go along with what he's demanding."
"But we've had the attack on the horses and Harailt in that time," Daine heard Jonathan mutter.
"Don't misunderstand what I've said, Jon. He still has some ardent admirers," Numair advised.
Daine broke away from the crowd, edging toward the inn. She had been in there once before quite a while ago. She changed her eyes to that of a hawk's and began to search for an entrance. If she could get inside she could assess the situation more thoroughly than what Numair could, even with his gift. Her eyes caught sight of a gap in a broken window. It would be possible to squeeze through the opening in the form of a mouse if Numair could lift her on to the ledge. She ran back to her mage, still talking with Jonathan, and explained her idea.
From the look on Numair's face she knew that he immediately wanted to say no, and dissuade her from going inside. She identified with his feelings, knowing that the thought of her not coming back to him had run through his mind.
"Numair, I can see what's going on in there and it will help you to know what to do…" she began to persuade him.
"Daine, we don't know what he might do if he realises that you're in there. He has met you before – he may be able to sense you and attempt to strike you…" he argued.
"Look. You're going to end up putting your life at risk to fight this man. If I can't do this, then you can't get involved with a fight!" Daine said forcefully.
"She should go," Jonathan entered the argument. "We need all the help we can get here, Numair. George and six other people are alive in there and we need to find a way of getting them out unharmed."
Numair looked resigned. "Okay," he gave in. "We do need to know what is happening in there. Daine, go straight in and out. Don't try anything that may not turn out well." She nodded, instructing Numair in how he could help her, then changing before them into a mouse. Numair lifted her up and walked the twenty paces or so to the windowsill, placing her down careful and watching with some fear as she entered the Dancing Dove.
Daine found herself in one of the back rooms of the inn, completely empty aside from two other mice who were cowering in a corner.
Hello, Daine spoke to them. What's happened in here?
One of the mice, whose white fur was patterned with patches of a deep chocolate brown, wriggled his ears at Daine. The man with fire came in and made some of them fall asleep.
Thank you, Daine replied. What are your names?
I am Cobble and this is Frow, the same mouse replied. We hid in here when he began to throw his fire around.
Is there a man in there who looks like this? Daine sent them a picture of George.
Cobble's ears twitched again. He was one that the fire-man threw at. He tried to strike the fire-man. He was alright though, but then the fire-man made him fall asleep.
Daine felt relief, knowing that if George had been made unconscious then he wasn't likely to get into more trouble with Makheen. She left the two mice to seek out the room where Makheen was, having found out from them where to go. She slipped down the cold, uneven stairs into the cellar, listening to the mad mage's ramblings as she drew nearer. She began to catch odd words and phrases, hearing Numair's name mentioned several times in conjunction with many curses and threats. She slipped into the cellar, the cool air chilling her as much as the mage's words.
"Salmalin… Draper, pathetic, conceited, idiot… get rid of him… not good. Ozorne said Draper would die! I should have had his gift, put it to better use…" she heard him mutter, letting random balls of magic rebound against the stone wall, one narrowly missing Daine. She caught sight of George and four others, one of whom she knew to be the current king of the rogue. All looked to be sleeping. George showed signs of cuts and bruising to his face and lower arms and she imagined that he had been involved in a fight, possibly before Makheen had even made his presence know. She left the cellar, dodging a ball of mage-fire as she exited, heading for where the two small mice were huddled together, and quivering at the noises arising from below them.
When did the fire-man get here? She asked them.
He was always here. When the man you showed us got here the fire-man came out, calling him and his mate. He said bad things about your king, too, that the whole of the country would be sucked into the Black God's place, the mouse called Frow informed her, speaking for the first time.
Did he say anything about someone called Numair Salmalin or Arram Draper? Daine asked.
Cobble twitched his ears. He said that he would be sorry he'd left him and been a traitor, I think that was the word, Cobble said, his whiskers twitching furiously.
Thank you, Daine told the mice. You have been very helpful. I will come back and see you with some cheese.
That would be good, Frow replied. We like nice cheese. Let us know if we can help you. We both have strong teeth!
Daine gave her thanks once more and began to scramble up the furniture that led up to the windowsill and through the window. Numair was waiting anxiously near the window. Seeing her, he scooped her up and carried her and her clothes around the back of a building next to the inn, allowing her to change back in some privacy. She explained what she had found as she dressed, Numair's face looking dark with worry and anger. They returned to Jon, Daine repeating what she had told Numair.
"I think I should go in," Numair said in a low voice, not wanting to draw the attention of the large crowd that had transferred themselves from watching the fire at the gaol to surrounding the inn.
Jonathan sighed. "It's looking like our only option. I can't send any one from the Own in, as he'll just blast them with his magic. I don't like it Numair, but he has captives in there that need to come out alive. And if he does become more angered then there will be the chance that he'll damage the building; more people would be injured or killed and there will be more destruction then there is already."
Onua and Thayet had joined them by this time, so Daine felt too surrounded by people, including the king's personal guards, to even attempt to persuade Numair to think up some other solution.
"Have you any idea what you're up against?" Onua asked, quietly from the centre of the crowd.
Numair shrugged. "He's powerful, but not like Tristan Staghorn or Ozorne. Alamid's skill was in poisons, hence his involvement in making the bloodrain. I have never particularly feared him before, but I do not like this insanity that seems to have taken hold of him. He was always on the edge when I knew him in Carthak, but I think that he will have the strength of a mad man, and combined with his power, it will not make for a comfortable fight," Numair looked towards his lover. "Where exactly is he?" He asked her.
"He was in the cellars," Daine responded. "That's where the hostages were being held."
"Can we call them hostages yet?" Thayet asked. "He hasn't demanded anything."
"Then let's not give him time to," Numair grumbled. "The longer we wait around for him to do something the more damage that's likely to be done." He began to ease his way through the crowd towards the door to the inn. Daine watched worriedly, wondering why he hadn't acknowledged her before he had gone, not even turning back. He blasted the door open with a bolt of his gift and entered, disappearing from sight. An almighty bang came from inside, lighting up the building with a multitude of colours, including Numair's black with silver strands. Then it all went deathly quiet, the crowds frozen as the guards tried to usher them away to safe distance. Daine thought her heart had stopped beating as she waited for a sign that Numair was still alive.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the silence was broken by the sound of a loud bang and green light overtaking the building. Daine felt her pulse rise and a ball fix in the back of her throat.
"Numair's brought him upstairs," she heard Jonathan whisper to Thayet behind her. "He'll have managed to get him away from the people in the cellar. That means that Makheen can't try to attack any of them and Numair just needs to worry about one thing and not protecting anyone else."
Another bang and a sound like a pan clattering onto the floor were heard, and then Daine caught the noise of someone laughing. She began to edge closer to the inn, wanting and needing to know what was going on in there. When Numair had fought Inar Hadensra she had been preoccupied with Ozorne to dwell too much on what was happening; now all the responsibility had been given to Numair, and Daine was left in a waiting position. More sounds and flashes of colour appeared, she could tell that they were shouting and calling at each other, but couldn't make out what was being said. She heard Thayet calling her to stay away, but almost robotically ignored her, knowing that she had to find away to check on Numair and see if she could help.
Once he was inside the inn, Numair had found that Karrum Makheen, or Alamid Mokhlos as he had previously been known, was exactly as he'd predicted. He'd been sat in the cellar, mumbling to himself when Numair had appeared. On first sight, Makheen had begun to chuckle, then turning it into a ferocious laugh, causing Numair to feel quite unnerved. Numair hadn't struck; he'd hoped to be able to reason with him to give himself up. He disliked being violent without great cause, although he understood that sometimes it was the only path left to chose. Makheen stopped the maniacal laughing abruptly, standing up and shifting closer to Numair.
"So they sent you in at last?" He asked, his voice deep and threatening. "Did you have to have special permission? You were always somebody's puppet, Arram Draper, or should it be Numair Salmalin now? Your old name not good enough? You always did have high opinions of yourself, mage!" Numair felt a sharp jet of pain being focused into his ribs. He blocked Makheen's spell, but didn't retaliate, theorizing that if the mage did lose control completely by being ignored then he would be an easier opponent, burning himself out quicker. Numair also wanted to move the inevitable fight upstairs, away from George and the prisoners who were under a sleep spell.
"What was the purpose for your name change, Alamid? You were always proud of your name. Made sure that we all knew who your father was," Numair growled back.
"If you could change your name to up your status then so could I. Besides, how could I reside so easily in Tortall when you were still looking for Alamid Mokhlos? I'm not the fool like Tristan was. I knew how to build up my strength and power to dispose of the likes of you!" Makheen rose to Numair's bait.
"Then why are you here now? Surrounded by the King's Own, in an inn with a few hostages and you haven't even made a demand. What is it you want?" Numair taunted.
"I have you. The king's pet mage. He doesn't want anything to happen to his dear, dear friend. With you I can buy my way out of this, have Yolane back," the mage spoke almost sanely as he mentioned Yolane's name.
"Is that what all this was about?" Numair asked, half-shocked. "You just wanted Yolane?"
"Fool!" Makheen cackled. "Yolane is royalty. With support we could have freed her and taken back what was hers. Then I could have had what should have been mine all along and disposed of idiots like you and that imbecile king of yours!"
Numair laughed. "In the name of Shakith how did you think that it would ever happen? You created some reasonable methods of attack, but the king would never have given in to your demands! Yolane committed treason. She wouldn't be released for there would have been an outcry if she were. The prisoners who escaped from the gaol have been recaptured and your plan failed there as Yolane had no chance of escaping. And now you're caught up here," Numair shook his head, walking towards Makheen and causing him to back away toward the stairs leading up to the main part of the inn.
"Not for long. You and Baron George over there," Makheen spat in the direction of George, "are too precious for your king to lose. He'll let me go and Yolane, and we'll command over our own people. There's enough who wish your king dead and would do anything to help us see him away from Tortall for good."
Numair laughed again, a laugh that showed how little he believed in Makheen's plan.
Makheen threw out his fists and shot a bolt of green light at Numair. Numair blocked in, small balls of the light reverberating around the room. He began a spell that forced the mage to go back up the steps, an invisible sheet that Numair pushed against his enemy, pressing so much force on him as he attempted to come back down to the cellar that he gave up and went in the way that Numair desired.
Numair sealed off the steps, draining himself slightly, but needing to know that the people downstairs would be protected form the ensuing battle. He blocked a spell sent by Makheen that attempting to effectively freeze his hands. The magic dropped, frozen in mid air and clattered to the ground. Numair prepared himself for an onslaught. He had gathered that the mage's intentions would be to confine him while he tried to negotiate with the King for Yolane's release. Although Numair didn't doubt for one minute that Jonathan wouldn't agree, he knew that the best result would be to immobilize Karrum Makheen, stopping any further damage from being done. If any of the Own tried to hinder him, then they would likely end up on the wrong end of a spell.
Numair muttered two words quietly to himself, hoping that the gods were smiling upon him. From around the room, fine, sticky web-like substances began to fly at Makheen, binding his arms to his sides. Numair heard an unnatural scream come out from his mouth, followed by a burst of multicoloured light that Numair would later play back in his mind and almost marvel at the many different colours. The webs melted and Makheen was freed.
He turned to Numair angrily, "How did you think that mere school boy spells like that would work? You were a bookworm, Draper, you never learnt proper war-mage skills." He held up his hand, "Desperatio Abeo!" he called, blocking Numair's mouth with what felt like a tight gag and holding down his arms as if the were stuck to his sides. "Cado Cadere Cecidi," he uttered, sending what looked like bolts of lightning directly at Numair.
Numair controlled his thoughts as meditation and long months of trying not to think about Daine had taught him. He drummed up his gift from the depths of his mind and without speaking pushed the lightning away towards Makheen. Makheen dropped the spell and the lightning evaporated as if it had never existed. Numair thought away the bindings, grateful for the practise he had spent on his concentration. He sent back his own spell, hoping to capture Makheen in a similar binding, but one that could not so easily be escaped from. Makheen dodged the curse, and Numair found he'd bound a chair instead. He aimed again, knowing that Makheen was about to counter curse, this time sending a spell that would knock the other mage out cold and leave him ready to be carried out by members of the own.
But Makheen's spell hit first, violently sending Numair banging to the ground, his own curse showering around him, not having the energy to get to its target. Numair felt as if a heavy foot had been placed on his chest, refusing to let him move. He felt crushing pain, as if the mage was standing on his body. Numair's eye caught a glance at a cat that had just slipped into the room, from where Numair couldn't tell, but he recognised the cat although he had never seen it before. It was Daine, he could tell by the eyes and the way she moved. Makheen spotted her and recognition gleamed in his eyes as he realised who she was and what power he now held over Numair.
Numair remembered two words from the back of his mind. "Debilito Malus," he whispered, feeling the foot lift. Wondering why Daine had entered, he began to mutter an old incantation, taught to him by Harailt when the mage had been deciphering some old texts he had found bumbled away in one of the university libraries.
He saw three outlines of what could have been humans rise from the ground and approach Makheen. They shone with an otherworldliness that was disturbing and Numair wondered how he would repay for conjuring up the souls of the seers who had given their eyes to Shakith. Makheen visibly began to panic, trying to move away from them, but unable to, such was their strength. He looked at Numair, hatred in his eyes and pointed his finger at his rival mage. A pale strip of green magic pierced through the air, directly aimed at Numair's heart. Numair felt himself freeze, unable to move away from the bolt. He saw cat-Daine change into an overlarge tiger and felt her paws hit him side on, pushing him out of the way.
His heart sunk as the green dagger ripped through her, the tiger screaming painfully as it collapsed, leaving the naked body of Daine Sarrasri lying on the floor, seemingly lifeless.
--------------------------Oooh, another cliffy! Just remember that I am a sunny, optimistic person who doesn't like bad things! Please review!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------