The Black Ankh
Duel
of Fates, Cont'd
by Laura Campbell, aka Shadow of Light Dragon
I don't think there was anyone who liked the idea of Mellorin's presence. Lord British said he would keep watch over her, since there was probably nothing more she could do to him that she hadn't already (even so, I'd asked a couple of the mind-reading tril'khai to tag along at a discreet distance). Julia and Katrina took it upon themselves to stay close to Iolo, who hadn't regained consciousness since the Shrine of Compassion. Jaana and Mariah, who had been Resurrected with the others I'd brought back from the Shrine of Spirituality, displayed no fear in Mellorin's presence, but anyone who knew them well enough could sense their disquiet. Even Dupre, who'd been brought back with the rest from the Isle of Fire with Arcadion's help, avoided looking at her if he could help it, and refused to discuss anything that'd happened on the Isle of the Avatar besides the escape.
Only Geoffrey seemed unconcerned by the Dark Avatar's presence, as he and other military minds discussed tactics for an assault on the Shrine of the Codex.
I wandered through the breaking camp aimlessly, trying to shake the thought that we'd never see the end of this. My feet took me to Lord Draxinusom, who was standing alone on the edge of the Deep Forest, his red skin vivid against the greenery. He looked away from the still-swirling clouds as I approached, nodded and returned his gaze to the sky where the noon sun blazed. I came to his side and stood in silence.
Thunder rumbled somewhere far off.
"To not feel his presence," Draxinusom said at last, in hushed tones. "To have felt it always before in Britannia. To have felt him in the very air and ether, as real as the grass we stand on, until he died. Even with his ghost near… to not feel him. Or you. To be in Britannia now when he is dead, and you are as you are, it is like…"
I waited quietly, before realising I knew what he was trying to articulate. I knew what he was feeling, or not feeling.
"It's like your home," I said. "The Underworld. When… the world was crumbling." I hesitated, forced myself to say the word: "Dying."
He inclined his head, still staring upwards. "To see? To see Britannia struggle… fight for a breath that won't come. To feel her suffocating, as the Underworld did."
I can't breathe…
The words flickered in my mind, vanished. I shivered.
Draxinusom inhaled deeply then looked down at me. "To ask what plans have been decided?"
"The mages have been watching the Isle of the Avatar," I said. "There are scrying shields over the Shrine of the Codex, but Arcadion is pretty sure only one daemon is in there with Richard's body… though it's likely there are human guards there too.
"The rest of the army is gathered all down the length of the island—what parts of it aren't too rocky. No one can walk the eastern side, so they're all formed up down the western slopes." I paused. "There's a shield over the Shrine of Humility too."
"That is where we will arrive," the gargoyle said, and I nodded.
"I'll go in first, by myself. I discovered a while back that an unfortunate habit of the aeth'raesh'al bracer is that it tears down scrying shields."
The gargoyle, grinning, wordlessly returned his attention to the sky. After a breath of silence, filled only by the soft patter of raindrops falling from the trees behind us, he said, "To fight."
Fight for a breath that won't come…
I looked up at the whirlpool of cloud, hearing again the distant thunder.
"We fight.""The Atarkans will be focussed on keeping us hemmed in at the Shrine of Humility," Geoffrey said. "The area around the shrine isn't small, but it isn't large enough to contain all our forces. Even if it was, it wouldn't be wise to bring them all in to an enclosed area. Mellorin… offered an alternative."
My double stepped forward and overturned a leather bag, sending a collection of smooth, brightly coloured rocks tumbling to the grass.
"The Virtue Stones?" Dupre said.
"When the Atarkans plundered Britain," Mellorin said, "these were taken from the museum. I thought it would be useful to have a way to teleport besides the bracer, and Marking one of those things for the caverns under the island was more convenient than walking from the Shrine of Humility every time."
"It's true," Arcadion said from my hand, sounding bored. I'd ordered the daemon to verify anything Mellorin said that was true, and denounce anything false.
"Does he really have to keep doing that?" Mellorin asked, annoyed, and rolled her eyes when several voices said "Yes," as one.
"This means," Geoffrey said, shooting a quelling gaze around the group, "that while some of us attack through the Shrine of Humility, the rest can enter via the caves using the appropriate Virtue Stone. Neither Elora nor Mellorin are needed in that second group. The teleportation can be achieved by any accomplished mage, and Mellorin has provided a serviceable map of the tunnels."
"As I recall," Dupre said, "those caves exit quite close to the path that leads to the Codex."
Geoffrey nodded. "The force that goes that way, though, won't be heading for the Codex. They'll be attacking the Atarkans from behind and keeping them from the Codex."
"For those who're coming with me into the Shrine of the Codex," I said, "that group will be watching our backs."
"And hopefully the two-front attack will be such that the Atarkans will be too confused to decide which group to rally against, giving Elora the time she needs to rescue our king."
"And grab that crown," Mellorin said. "Unless you want some other daemon picking it up."
"Destroy it, rather," Kra'lysie said. "That'll solve the problem."
Dupre spoke over both of them. "So if thou'rt going with neither group, Elora, how art thou—I'm sorry. How are we getting to the Shrine of the Codex?"
At this, Kra'lysie grinned broadly. As I nodded for her to speak her piece, Dupre groaned and put his face in his hands.
"Don't tell me," the knight said. "We're flying, aren't we."
"I can carry a few by myself," the dragon-woman said, blithely ignoring (or enjoying?) Dupre's display. "The dragons of your world can only safely manage one each. That flying horse Cale can carry another. We can fly down the eastern side where no one's to see, drive away anyone guarding the entrance to the caves so the group down there can safely emerge… and then…"
"Then the dragons can help our army," Geoffrey said, in answer to her questioning gaze. "They'll be too big to offer much help in the Shrine of the Codex—saving thyself, Lady Kra'lysie," he added quickly as she started to puff up, and in response to Dupre's frantic hand-waving from behind her back.
"Well, good," she muttered. "I'll go with the Avatar. I can't kill humans, but I would really like to try setting that daemon alight. What are you laughing at, Avatar?"
"Er. Nothing.""Me," I said, "you, Julia, Katrina… Jaana doesn't want Iolo to come, but Iolo says that someone has to write down what really happens and can't trust any of us to pay attention to the details…"
"So he's making a full recovery," Dupre remarked.
I grinned. "Jaana, Mariah, Lord Draxinusom—he can fly himself, Cale, Bishop, Kra'lysie—"
"—of course…"
"—Sentri, Tseramed, Spark—"
"Art thou sure about Spark? He's still so young."
"I thought that at first too, when he asked to come with us, but have you seen him lately? He doesn't look young anymore."
Dupre only frowned and motioned for me to continue.
"Only one more. Mellorin."
"We have to bring her with us?" he asked, looking unhappy.
"Wouldn't you feel better if she was in a position where we could keep an eye on her?"
"Thou canst not possibly trust her."
"Of course I don't." I tapped my nails on Arcadion's scarred blade. I'd insisted the Shade Blade remain with me, while Mellorin make do with the Lifestealer she'd previously taken. "But I believe she doesn't want to be turned into a zombie, or whatever the daemons have planned."
"I just don't understand what she's doing here," the knight said, glancing around and lowering his voice. "Why would she care what happens to Britannia? She could just transport herself to another plane."
"She would be chased," Arcadion said. "The aeth'raesh'al is limited in its destinations, and all of them have been touched by the Guardian's servants. Sooner or later she would be caught. She doesn't want to spend her life always running and always looking over her shoulder."
Dupre shook his head. "But why warn us about Lord British, then?"
"Our lives are intertwined," I murmured. "Maybe she's afraid his… undeath would affect her?"
"Did his death affect her?" Dupre asked sharply.
"It did," Arcadion said.
"Very enigmatic. It just sounds, Avatar, like once we're done with the Crown of the Liche King, we're back to square one. Mellorin won't just say 'thank thee' and give thee her bracer."
"Do you know what she has planned?" I asked Arcadion.
"No."
"There's someone missing from your list," Dupre said, after a moment.
I nodded. "Shamino."
"Do we even know where he is?"
Arcadion sighed when my eyes fell on his crystalline prison. "He's alive. And a lot safer than you're soon to be. He is not on Britannia."
"I hope he's all right," Dupre said quietly. A moment passed before he spoke again. "I should check a few things before we leave. And someone should tell Kra'lysie how many people she's going to be carrying."
He wandered off, leaving me alone.
"You don't know how to end this, do you, Master?"
I shook my head.
"Perhaps, then, you might be interested in a theory I have. But first I must ask… do you trust me?"
I smiled wryly. "Arcadion, we both know that any plans you share with me, or I share with her, can be betrayed."
"Just answer the question," he said patiently.
"I trust you to an extent."
"You must wear the Crown of the Liche King," Arcadion said. "I will tell you no more so Mellorin can't pry it out of me later, but after you've put it on I will tell you what to do. If you listen to me and do as I say… you will not have to worry about that shackle on your wrist for much longer."
"You couldn't have told me all this before? When I still had the crown?"
"I'm telling you now, Avatar. Whether you choose to listen or not is entirely up to you."
"Listening to daemons again?" Kra'lysie's voice made me jump. The dragon-woman was leaning against a tree behind me, her arms folded and her golden eyes disapproving. "Don't you remember where that leads, Avatar?"
"How much did you hear?" I asked, glancing around to see if I had any more of an audience.
Her eyes narrowed further. "What, you'll trust it but not me?"
"No! That's not what I meant. I wanted your opinion. If you heard it all I won't have to repeat it."
Kra'lysie raised a brow. "It's hard to say, considering that the sword seems to be hiding a great deal of this scheme even from you—for precautionary reasons, surely. No need to watch your back at all."
"Thank you very much for that vote of confidence," Arcadion drawled.
Kra'lysie scowled at the weapon, then turned her glare upon me again. "We're ready to go, Avatar. We only need you."
-TBC-
