The noise and heat pressed in on Karigan, adding to the crushing pressure that was building inside her head. She quickly lurched out onto the balcony again to gasp for air, leaning over and clutching the rail. The pressure. She didn't know how much longer she could take it before her skull burst. She closed her eyes and concentrated on slowing her breathing. The music softened over a few songs into a waltz and the fresh air gradually helped to subside the throbbing in her skull to a dull pressure. Karigan loosed a sigh, relaxing her shoulders and turning to re-enter the hall, when hands wrapped around her arms. She whipped around to find herself in the kings embrace.
"Your majesty!" she said, startled, before dipping into a curtsey. He stared into her eyes and she blushed. "Karigan, you are so beautiful," he whispered, dropping his hands. She trembled but said nothing. After a moment he stepped back and bowed. "I had wanted to ask you to dance tonight, but I know how difficult it would be for you in the ballroom with your back. So I thought perhaps; might you consider finishing the waltz with me out here?"
She stared at his hopeful gaze. "Uh…I…" was all she could get out at first. Her blush heightened. Say something, she thought to herself furiously. "I would be honoured, your majesty".
He wrapped his arms around her gently in the style used when couples were intimate. This way, she didn't have to raise her arms. Her eyes watered at his simple gesture of kindness just as her heart fluttered at being so close to the man she loved. They began a very slow version of the waltz, ever aware of her injuries. He was so gentle, so loving, his eyes never leaving her face. She was overwhelmed; she felt guilt for Estora, ecstasy at his touch, despair at the inevitability of their parting, and desperately unhappy and fed up over this constant emotional battle. The song came to a close and the king stilled, unwilling to let her go.
All of a sudden Karigan felt as sluggish as she had in her childhood when wading through the ocean currents of Corsa. Her movements were fragmented. The pressure in her head rapidly grew thunderous again and she stared up at the foreboding sky above. He's here, she thought to herself grimly. She could barely move now. The wind picked up speed and she watched as plants toppled over and flurries descended to tear the earth. Her mind screamed at her fingers, begging them to reach her brooch faster as she forced her arm ever so slowly upwards. Moments later her brooch glowed with warmth at her touch. The world became grey and she felt her movements speed up as she returned to her normal timeline. Thanks, she thought with surprise to whichever ghost or god had helped break the spell. About time they helped her, really.
She closed her fist over her brooch, grabbing the king at the same time. He unfroze instantly and stared at the grey world around him as whirls of shrieking winds blew out the candles in the ballroom where his unmoving guests stood stranded in darkness. "Karigan, what's happening?" he whispered. "Mornhaven", she whispered back. He grasped her hand tighter. "Sire, come quickly."
She dragged him to where Fastion stood rooted to the ground and touched him as well. For a moment he seems perplexed before he realised who must be standing in front of him. "Karigan?" he whispered to the empty space in front of him. She took his hand. "Fastion, it's time to play your part. You know what to do. But first, grab Alton's hand." Zachary stared at her in confusion as Fastion fumbled for Alton, waking him up through their unbroken human chain.
"What do you mean? We need to prepare ourselves and protect our people." She ignore the king and quickly pulled them along until they reached Estora, releasing her from the spell as well. Estora blanched. "What is happening?" she whispered, as Karigan let go of her targets and dropped her powers to save her strength.
"Don't worry your majesty, we have a plan, but for it to work and save everyone here, you and the king need to be out of sight. It is imperative or this won't work."
After a seconds' more hesitation Zachary nodded and Fastion led Estora out of sight first, followed by Alton who was whispering under his breath as he erected a shield around her. "Do you know what you're doing?" Zachary whispered. Karigan nodded firmly. "Be careful," he said quietly with a final glance at her. "I can't lose you." Before she could reply he kissed her swiftly and then followed Estora through the passage behind one of the hidden tapestries.
Karigan scanned the crowd and located Laren standing next to her father. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she snaked her away across the room. Laren, although herself under the same spell, seemed to have a better range of movement than the rest of the crowd, no doubt owing to her own magic. Karigan felt for her own badge again and touched Laren, who straightened. "We need to get out of here," Karigan said without preamble. "We have to draw this fight away." She avoided looking at her father, fearing the torrent of grief if she did. Laren nodded brusquely.
The air was thundering; huge winds had built up during her quick exchange with the king and the window panes were shaking furiously. They scrambled back to the balcony, fighting hard to win every step as the unnatural gale worsened with each passing second. Karigan tagged Donal on their way but he didn't move a muscle. Looks like my luck's run out, she thought. Just great. An old rider and a wounded rider is not the most inspiring combination. And finally, as they staggered back onto the balcony, that little thought she had kept buried at the back of her mind, that she hadn't truly made peace with after all, burst to the surface. "Goodbye," she whispered with a sob, thinking of her father, her aunts, her king. Laren and her, they weren't coming back from this.
They managed to head down the steps to the garden below, the wind howling and tearing at their clothes. The airy tendril was searching and hungrily ripped into the gaps of their outfits. Its' ethereal fingers had been seeking another prey, a man whom their master wanted to play with. But when it touched her skin, tasted her sweat and fear and essence, the longing of their master grew wild and his need for her sent it into a frenzy. It grasped her hair and smothered her flesh, frantic to cover every inch of her with its' cold breath. The woman next to her was in the way, the wind heard from its' master. It cocooned around her in a ball, tighter and tighter, and flung her across the grass. Now their master's true prize was alone. The wind could feel the displeasure of their master as the girl shrieked with pain, her face grimacing. The master was angry that she should be so discomforted and the wind howled at his bidding, forming a hurricane around the girl so she stood protected in the eye of the maelstrom.
Tears dripped down Karigan face as she lay on the grass moaning. The tension in her head and the pain in her back were unbearable and she knew she couldn't last a moment longer. It must end. Then all of a sudden, the wind stopped. She clutched her head and gradually realised the pain had…gone. She blinked in disbelief and clumsily got to her feet. "It has been some time," came a slow, measured voice, thick with an accent long past. Karigan stared at the guest she had been waiting for all night, an involuntary shiver passing through her body at the sight of his dreaded face. "Hello," she replied to Mornhaven.
They stared at each other. Mornhaven tutted. "You are not looking so well these days, Galadheon". All of a sudden Karigan felt her body turning against her will and to her absolute shock, the carefully mended dress disintegrated off her body and motes of fabric flew into the air. Her brooch fell to the ground. She was completely naked, her body bared to her captor. Mornhaven was silent for a moment, his eyes dark in contemplation. Karigan stood stock still. "You know, I offered you a place by my side long ago. I will offer this to you once more. Perhaps I can give you a more enticing offer now?" All of a sudden Karigan stood straight. All her injuries were gone! She couldn't believe it. Her hands raked the back of her neck and she felt her skin whole and complete. She couldn't remember the last time she had been pain free. His hold over her ceased and she whipped around to face him, quickly picking up her brooch and landing in a fighting stance.
Mornhaven laughed. "I give you freedom, and this is how you answer me? Why must you always be so difficult?!" Karigan ground her teeth and then spat at the ground in front on him. "I will never stand by your side Mornhaven! My name might be Galadheon but it is not Hadriax". He stopped laughing and she held her breath. All of a sudden the wind exploded into a frenzy and she held her arms up to protect her face, fighting to keep her eyes on his form. He stepped forward and whipped his arms around her in a tight embrace. She gasped as the familiar pain arched in her back again and she struggled in his grip. "You will be mine, or you will die. And your king will watch you".
Zachary suddenly appeared on the grass next to them, frozen mid-pace at the moment when Mornhaven had plucked him from Fastion's place of hiding. His eyes followed her, wild with anger and worry. She glanced back to Mornhaven and looked him dead in the eye. "You do not own me. I am not yours'. He tightened his grasp on her as his eyes filled with hot rage and his skin started to glow. She only had a few seconds before she followed the fatal path that had ended Yates' life.
"Now!" she screamed as her brooch blazed in her clenched fist. She felt the veil of time thin as Lil rode though, followed by dozens of riders from years and millennia past. Mornhaven let her go. "What is happening?" he demanded as riders shrieked around him in a maelstrom of hatred, thrusting their ghostly spears into any part of him that they could. As the ghosts took his full attention for a few precious moments, Karigan felt the veil slip further and a magnificent black horse appeared, as dark as the days were never ending.
"Mount!" a thunderous voice reverberated in her head. Karigan glanced into Salvistar's eyes and saw a thousand stars shining back at her and then she was on top of her saddle, dressed in star armour. Mornhaven shrieked with rage. "You are no more," Karigan heard herself say with the voice of a god layered over her own. Without pause Salvistar leapt forward and Karigan plunged her halberd into the centre of Mornhaven's head, cleaving his body in half. His outrage were cut short and the wind ceased. One moment of stillness crept into another and then his body drifted down into dust.
Using her other hand she plunged her sword towards his remains to capture the tatters of his soul. His screams became audible only to those who walked within the spirit world. A second later she was standing before the seal in the castle tombs and the magical writings strained against the metal in their eagerness to take the prisoner that the gods were so angry with. Karigan could hear the faint shrieks of the damned ensconced in that prison, desperate to get out. Mornhaven continued incoherently, occasionally managing to string enough words together to insist he was the One True God. Without further ceremony or acknowledgment she pushed his soul onto the seal with her sword tip and watched as it absorbed him into the hell that lay below. She tapped her sword against the seal to imbue it with further protections that the gods had ordered with this particular prisoner in mind.
"It is done," Karigan thundered and a second later she was back on the grass dismounting, standing naked before Salvistar. She leaned in to stroke his cheek and was filled with the understanding of why the gods had finally decided to intervene. Then Salvistar whickered and stepped back through the veil, followed by the riders who had brought her a precious piece of time just when she needed it the most. Some of them waved to her in passing. Before long the last of the ghosts were through and she was face to face with Lil.
"Thank you," Karigan breathed. "I could not have done this without you". Lil chuckled. "Well, it seems the gods were sick of listening to me banging on and decided to put a stop to it. Can't say I blame them. It was a good ride," she said, staring wistfully at the few ashes of Mornhaven's corpse that remained. She looked up at Karigan and her face broke into a smile, startling Karigan, who had never seen Lil look so peaceful. "Lass, you are a credit to your king and country. I feel sure we will meet again, in one shade of the world or another. It has been an honour serving with you". Karigan reached to pat Lil's shoulder and her hand met cold air. They smiled at each other. "Thank you", she whispered as Lil turned to enter the veil and their timeline returned to normal.