The Sorceress of Alois

Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns all the original characters etc. from her books, including the Sorceress of Alois. Any other characters, places etc. belong to me.

AN: Thank you to the people who have reviewed chapter one. I am so sorry it has taken me soooooo long to update, I have been busy busy busy (and had mega writer's block!). I hope you enjoy this and please R&R!

Chapter Two:

The little girl stood silently, the wind billowing around her. The sand of the desert whipped up and around, spinning up into her glossy black hair. She was about three years old, dressed in the common garb of a desert maiden. Her stance betrayed nothing. Her face betrayed nothing. It was as if she was locked in stone, unable to move or change. Only her eyes held the truth.

Her stormy grey eyes held about them a strange fear. She stared off in to the distance, her eyes filling again with tears as she saw something others could not. She was afraid; it was coming to get her. The thing, the creature, the one who would not be named, it was coming for her.

"Sari!"

A commanding voice broke her attention and the creature vanished. Sari looked up to see her mother, Nardi, running towards her, her burnoose billowing in the wind.

"Sari!" her mother said. "You must stop! You're bringing down the entire . . . . what is it, child?"

Sari clung to her mother's burnoose, shaking with fear. Nardi picked her up and held her close.

"Ssshhhhh, it will be alright," she murmured to her daughter. "Ssshhh . . . ."

Nardi carried Sari back to the village, and placed her on her sleeping mat.

"Sleep now, my child, sleep," she whispered.

Nardi watched as Sari fell into a slumber, and then walked out of the tent.

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"What's wrong with our daughter, Garat?" Nardi said to her husband a few moments later. "This is the sixth time she has raced out into the desert on her own, and been found staring out at the sand. I don't know what she sees, but she's always shaking when I find her. I think she's mad . . . ."

Nardi's eyes began to well up. Garat took her hands in his large ones and looked deep into her eyes.

"I don't know, Nardi," he said. "I honestly don't know. I think it's time to find out. If she's mad, I'm sure someone will know what we can do."

"Oh, Garat," she said, with a heavy sigh. "What, what if she is?"

"Then we'll fix her. It will be alright, Nardi, our baby will be alright."

Nardi nodded. She pulled her hands out of Garat's.

"I must go; it is nearly time for the Voice."

She hurried off. Garat watched her go, his heart heavy. It had come, the time had come. He would have to move his family, move away from his friends once more. They had come a long way since moving to the Bloody Hawk, and Hiran Falah was a good man, and a good Headman.

His eyes faded off into the distance. As they did, he began to notice a strange form beginning to glow in front of his eyes. It started to take shape, and as it did, Garat could make out the vague outline of a creature, of the one who would not be named, the Demon Lord of the Underworld. He stumbled back away from the apparition in front of him, barely noticing the steep incline of the slope behind him. He tripped on a rock and fell heavily, the Demon Lord approaching . . . . . . . . .

Flashback

A younger Garat runs along the sand dunes, looking over his shoulder from time to time. Another man is just behind him, shouting and cursing, and pointing what appears to be a long stick with a crystal ball at the top.

"Demon!" he shrieked at the top of his lungs. "Demon! Come and face your nemesis!"

The shaman's crystal staff emitted a strange, dull sound, and a lightning shot slammed into the sand barely inches from Garat's feet. He jumped and, stumbling for a quick minute, regained his momentum and kept running. Then he stopped . . . . . .

End Flashback

. . . . . . . . the Demon Lord approaching. Garat's head slammed into the ground and kept sinking. Within seconds, his face was under sand. He fought to breathe, fought to keep his consciousness. In front of him, he could see the Demon Lord's gruesome face contorting into what could only be described as a smile.

"You're done, Garat, time to return to where you truly belong," he hissed, saliva dripping from his mouth, teeth baring in Garat's face.

Garat shook his head, fighting to keep himself above the sand . . . . . . . . .

Flashback

Garat fell heavily, and slammed into the sand dune. The shaman laughed, a hacking laugh that chilled him to the bone. The shaman reached Garat, and stood over him, pinning him to the ground with his staff.

"Demon, I send you back to your hell!" he spat.

"No, no, I'm not a demon," Garat said, trying to get up from the shaman's grip.

The shaman pinned him tighter to the sand, and Garat felt his head slowly into the soft sand. The shaman sank him further, then rose his staff.

"No!"

End Flashback

. . . . . . . . . "NO!"

The Demon Lord vanished as fast as he came, so fast that Garat lurched out of the hole he had been sinking into at a painful velocity. He rubbed his aching head and looked out at the sand.

"Next time, Garat, you're mine." The Demon Lord's voice swept across the empty plains, sending a shiver down Garat's spine. "And your lovely daughter too . . . . . . . ."

Garat stood up quickly, and began to run towards the village, his thoughts only on Sari and Nardi. He could only hope they were alright.

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AN: And there you have it folks. Please R&R! Chapter three will be up very soon, I promise! Quick question, in TWWRLAM, does Ali Mukhtab say if he was a childhood friend of the Sorceress, or if she was just a friend? I don't have the books on me. Anyone who can answer my question will be greatly appreciated!

Skysong