Golden Sun: The Sands of Time

Chapter 18: Where the Beast prowls

"So, tell us. Exactly what happened?" Isaac stood, with arms folded, staring at the shivering form of Sheba in front of him. Behind him, the rest of the gang, minus Ivan, stood silent.

"She… she took Ivan." Sheba managed to whisper. "And then, she… she hurt me. Some… some kind of mental attack." She looked up, fear apparent in her eyes. And yet, Isaac noted, something else shone through. Determination. And anger. Lots of anger. Sheba was seriously pissed. And this blend of emotions that could be extremely dangerous if handled wrongly.

"There's more." Sheba continued. "She also said that he was taken to… the Northern Mountains. Something like that. She said the elves would know where it was."

Isaac nodded. "Fine. We're all beat from the battle, so we set out early tomorrow. Chances are, they want Ivan as a hostage, and they won't hurt him." Turning, he began to leave the room, but stopped short as a new thought entered his mind. "Oh, and Sheba? Get some rest. You need it."

"The Northern Mountains?" Davion mused. "Yes, I've heard of them. The ancient legends say we're not supposed to go near it."

"Can you describe them to me?"

"Well, there's Snarlgrin Rock, the highest mountain in this area. From the books, it's supposed to look like a wolf's head. But I've never actually seen it, other than in sketches and drawings."

"No? I would have thought you'd explored your entire realm in your days."

Davion gave a terse laugh. "Yes, I would have. Except that there is a prophecy, that any of my kingdom who sets foot within the mountains triggers off a great catalyst, and will put the entire kingdom of Anthis in it's greatest peril. Personally, I think that it's utter rubbish, but we still steer clear of that area. Somewhat of a tradition."

Isaac ran a hand through his hair. "Well, from the looks of things, that woman seemed to be working with the karan. I think we'll be safe saying that's where their main power bastion in located."

Davion leaned back in his chair. "The only way you're going to be able to reach there in less than an day's travel is through your flying ship."

"No biggie." Garet spoke up. "We'll travel non-stop of we have to."

Felix, who had remained almost silent to this point, added his contribution to the conversation. "How many soldiers can you send with us, Davion?"

Davion exhaled slowly, and closed his eyes. "None."

"Excuse me?"

"We have just finished fighting off one and a half million karan. The men are exhausted; most of them are still in recovery. And you want me to go up and tell them that we're supposed to storm the stronghold of the karan, in what is essentially a forbidden area? I'm sorry, Isaac. But I cannot risk so many men just for one person. Even if it is Ivan."

Isaac stood silent, an unreadable expression on his face. "I see." Turning, he left the room.

"Grrrreeerrrrllll…."

Jirad stopped short. What had that been? He'd thought he'd heard a strange growling noise. Turning, he glanced around nervously. Man, this part of the city gave him the creeps. It was always so… deserted.

"Hey! Hurry up, will you?" His fellow elf guard shouted impatiently at him. Jirad could certainly understand that. This place was about as far removed from the lively portion of the city as anything else could be. Although it was close to the guest quarters, essentially in the back rooms of the palace, there was very little in terms of elfin activity here.

"Sorry." He muttered as he hurried forward in a slight jog. "This place gives me the creeps, is all."

"Then hurry up." His partner growled irritably. "Sooner we finish our rounds, sooner we can get back to the barracks."

"Yeah, yeah." Jirad tried not to glance around the place. There were so many shadows around… and the light was making some of them look like they were moving.

He blinked. One of the shadows was moving. Drawing an arrow, he aimed it at the shifting mass. "Step out of there!" He ordered, hoping that he sounded more confident then he felt.

"Arrreer…" Suddenly, something exploded out from the niche in the wall, and black smoke swirled out in a thick, suffocating cloud, temporarily blinding Jarid.

But he could hear the sounds. A harsh growling, then the startled yelps of his partner, and then… the screaming. It seemed to go on and on. Iris, what was going on out there?

Suddenly, all the sounds stopped. Jirad's mouth hung open, as he raised his bow. He couldn't see a single damned thing out there…

Suddenly, something smashed into him, with enough force to send him onto the ground. Scrabbling into a crouch, he saw something emerging from the shadows. Whatever it was, it was big. And it was walking on all fours. Suddenly, it turned, and vanished back into the fog.

Jirad continued staring around aimlessly, his bow and arrow now forgotten. Stretching out a hand, he attempted to feel his way out of this darkness. Anywhere. As long as he could get away from… this place.

Suddenly, his foot caught something. Stumbling, he glanced down. He was barely able to make out the shape of his soldier. Missing a head.

Then another growl, and he was knocked flat onto his back, with an incredible weight pressing down on him, and as he twisted, trying to dislodge the weight off his back, he caught sight of two bloodred eyes, flaming in the darkness, and he opened his mouth to scream.

"Unf!" Sheba fell backwards, landing on the cold stone floor with a thud. Before she could pick herself up, she felt his hand, closing around her wrist. A second later, she was hauled roughly to her feet.

Saturos leaned close to her, so close she could see the black iris in the center of his red eyes. "It's been far too long since we've met, hasn't it?" Slowly raising his blade, he aimed it at her heart. "I want you to know that this is one of those times when you realize you're going to die. And there's nothing you can do about it. Sad, isn't it now?"

Suddenly, the image of Saturos in front of her wavered slightly, and vanished. In his place stood…

"Ivan?" Sheba gasped out. But this wasn't the Ivan she knew. He stood over her, eyes cold and hard. A blur of motion, and she was on the floor, the wind knocked out of her.

Gazing up, she saw Ivan with sword raised, staring straight into her eyes. "No…" She whispered. The corners of his mouth formed into a sort of horrible sneer.

And he stabbed downwards.

"IVAN!" Sheba sat bolt upright in her bed, staring with wide eyes. Slowly, she sank back down onto the duvet, panting for breath.

The dream… it was rushing back at her with startling clarity. Saturos… then Ivan appearing, and the terrible expression on his face right before the dream ended. Sheba squeezed her eyes shut, her body shaking with suppressed sobs. Ivan, why did you have to leave?

"Sheba?" Jenna's face appeared at the doorway. "I heard you… yell."

Sheba turned her tearstained face to stare at the sympathetic face of the female Mars Adept, not bothering to respond. Sensing Sheba's hesitation, Jenna slowly walked into the room, trying not to discomfort the distraught Jupiter Adept any further.

Settling herself down beside the younger girl, Jenna placed a comforting arm on her shoulder. She could feel Sheba trembling slightly at the touch. Why? Jenna wondered. Then she realized. This reminded her of Ivan. The male Jupiter Adept had often did just that when they sat together in any of their meetings. Damn. Sighing, she withdrew her arm and began to speak.

"You know," Jenna said thoughtfully" I've never been good at this emotional stuff. But… Sheba, look. We all know that you miss Ivan and you… well; you have a special bond with him." Pausing to clear her throat, Jenna went on, feeling slightly uncomfortable. " And I promise you… we promise you. Nothing will happen to Ivan. We'll find him and get him back."

Slowly, Sheba lifted her head to stare at Sheba, eyes glimmering with tears. And yet, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards in pretense of a smile. "Promise?" She asked in a shaky voice, barely more than a whisper.

"I promise." Jenna nodded. "We'll get Ivan back, Sheba. No matter what."

Picard let out a long, frustrated sigh as he climbed on board his ship. Behind him, the rest of the crew were climbing up the ladder, all looking harried. The ship had been fixed in double quick time, and without the extra weight of a hundred or so passengers, it would be able to fly without too many problems. But he was still worried about the current condition of it. His one remaining link to Lemuria, it was a treasure beyond price.

Almost immediately, Isaac headed for the tiller. Casting hover, he concentrated, willing the ship to rise into the air, and the ship-

Remained exactly where it was.

"What's going on now?" Isaac growled irritably.

"Oh, right." Picard stated. Pulling out the black orb from his pack, he tossed it into the air, catching it easily again. "I took the Orb out yesterday for safekeeping. I'll go set it back, then."

Entering the hold of the ship, Picard quickly circumvented the various crates and boxes scattered around, until he reached the exterior of the power room. Dousing the two pillars, he unlocked the door, and stepped into the power room, where the pedestal waited to receive the Black Orb.

He didn't notice a shadow melting out of a wall; to follow behind him, it's bloodred eyes gleaming in expectation. No, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at all.

Sheba leaned by the wall, gazing out to the North. She thought she could see some watery shapes, distorted by the heat and distance. Maybe those were the Great Northern Mountains.

"Ivan, hang on." Sheba whispered. "We'll find you, wherever you are."

Felix and Garet stomped by, faces creased in frowns. "What's taking Picard so long?" Garet complained. "He should have activated the ship by now."

Then they all heard it. It was wavery and slightly muffled, but there was no mistaking it for what it was.

A scream.

"Are you aware?"

"Yes."

"What is your name?"

"Names are unnecessary."

"You will serve me?"

"Yes, I will."

"What is your purpose?"

His eyes opened. "To destroy." He said.