Lonewolf ran ahead of the main group, keeping to the shadows away from the road, avoiding any places where he could be spotted. Further behind him was lady Triniel with two other assassins making sure the path was clear for Darrand and the rest of the Asmodians. His goal was to get unnoticed to the cliffs above the Gelkmaros fortress and prepare to shoot from a distance. He knew the terrain. At the bridge over Antagor canyon he cloaked himself in shadows and jumped down, spreading his wings. The updraft from the hot air geyser lifted him and he quietly glided to the steep mountains surrounding the fortress. His shadow cloak has dissipated as he crouched between the rocks. For the next several heartbeats he watched the area around. The night sky was slowly brightening and the possibility of him being spotted was real. Nothing moved. He climbed higher and as quickly as possible while stealthy, he traversed the cliffs, until he had a good view of the fortress. He found a small plateau, where he had enough stability and could hide between rocks if needed, and waited.
Several minutes later, the defenders on the battlements noticed something outside and started shouting. Alarm was raised in the fortress. With a few quick arrows Lonewolf disposed of the guards closest to the gate. Those seconds before new ones replaced them should be enough for the attackers to plant the explosives. He shot one more guard and moved his attention to the scouts looking for him.
The gate exploded.
Asmodian force rushed in, wreaking havoc in the defenders' ranks. The teleport operators began preparations for accepting reinforcements. Shadow moved between them and they fell. The crystals and aether seals on the teleport exploded, briefly illuminating Lady Triniel's figure.
The sky flickered. Thin cracks appeared in the shimmering golden barrier above Gelkmaros. The barrier shook and shattered, its pieces moved as if in a funnel, to one spot behind mountains. It took Lonewolf a few seconds to realize it was the location of Krug Basin. The place where they left all the refugees. He didn't let the thoughts distract him and concentrated on the battlefield again. Securing the fortress was the priority.
~ o ~
"Could you be a little less theatrical, Ylrian, and explain what do you mean?" Madam Veille snapped at the Elyos gunslinger.
"Sure. When Lord Marchutan was defeated by the Balaur, in his last attempt to do something about it, he sacrificed himself and used his life force, along with his remaining power, to create the barrier over Gelkmaros. The result was, the Balaur couldn't enter. And as we all saw," Mister Ylrian made a wide gesture with his arms, "you, young lady, have just absorbed that power."
"But... how? Why?" Cathy's voice was shaking. She felt unfamiliar warmth and glow from inside herself.
"What happened? The barrier is gone? Will the Balaur attack? It's her fault, isn't it? We're not safe here?" the voices from the crowd were becoming clearer. Cathy's heart was racing.
"Quiet!" Madam Veille shouted. The crowd obeyed, but they still looked scared. "Cathy, can you do something with that power?"
"I... I don't know..." the girl bit her lip and looked around. "I... I don't... didn't have any training..."
"Try something easy, what you already know," Mister Ylrian said. "And make it bigger or stronger."
Cathy stared at him for a moment. Something I know? Stronger? But I don't... Her eyes shifted to Madam Veille and the scared crowd. She was scared too. She got up and grasped her staff with both hands. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated on the aether around. There was a lot of it. And not just because of the nature of the place itself, she could feel every detail, every person... She tapped on the aether to form something, but the sensations were distracting her. It was too much.
"I can't..." she breathed out and opened her eyes, tears forming in the corners. "I'm sorry, I can't..."
"Well, how about this?" Mister Ylrian pulled out a gun, aimed at Madam Veille and shot.
"No!" Cathy screamed and a shimmering golden shield formed around the former Elyos general.
Everyone stared in silence for a few seconds.
"What it was supposed to mean, Ylrian!" Madam Veille glared at him.
"I was just testing her," he shrugged. "And the test was a success. Relax, it would have just stunned you for a few minutes."
"How was that a success?"
"She can access aether on instinct, that's not something you'd see in someone recently ascended. You need hard training to do that. Or some extra amount of power. Yeah, Cathy, you'll definitely need some training, but it was a good start."
"Good start or not, we have to figure out what to do now. Everyone in Gelkmaros and nearest surroundings had to notice the barrier is now gone," Madam Veille said.
"Will... will the Balaur come?" Cathy asked carefully.
"Not now. Maybe some scouts from Silentera will come to see what happened, but it takes a long time to prepare any larger group. After Lady Triniel takes the Fortress, we'll have time to prepare for them."
"If she takes it," Mister Ylrian said.
"After," Madam Veille glared at him again. "And yes, I'm aware their morale is probably shaken by the disappearance of the barrier. Which is why you, Ylrian, are going to take Cathy to them to give them hope."
"Are you mad? Taking a child to a battle?"
"She's a child, yes. But also, as you said, the new Lady of Fate. Her presence is important. And you will be there to protect her."
~ o ~
Nesha sat in the corner of the dining hall, loosely tied to a table, watching the few scared civilians, who had the same misfortune of being stuck here as she had. One daeva, the Asmodian ranger Esumi, quietly talked with them, calming them down. She and the other daeva took turns in watching over Seritha, who was sleeping in the infirmary. And Aielyn, strangely pale, was sitting in the opposite corner, staring in front of herself and shutting down any attempts from the others to start a conversation. Nesha frowned. That wasn't right. The blonde couldn't shut up during their travel on the Shugo ship, she wasn't supposed to be this quiet.
"Lyn, your turn. Go watch for Seritha and send Oldarn to take some rest," Esumi said.
Aielyn nodded without a word, got up and tried to take her bow from the table, but missed it, staggering for a few steps, then collapsing to her knees.
"Lyn!" the Asmodian daeva ran to her. "What's wrong?"
"I had an accident with a scorpion in the desert," Aielyn said quietly. "I'll be fine."
"If you're not healed soon, you won't. Show me the wound. That's... you're insane, right? Don't ever keep such a wound a secret again. Now, stay here and I'll go ask Oldarn if he has any healing potion," Esumi helped her get back to the corner corner bench and left the room. Few minutes later the other daeva came in and walked straight to Nesha, carrying her cube.
"Do you have an antidote in this?" he held the cube in front of her.
"What? Don't tell me you didn't open it to search for some secret orders."
"If anyone opened it, they're not here. Do you have something to help Lyn or not?"
"I don't have any antidote," Nesha sighed. "But I had a very strong sleeping potion. If it's still there, give her just enough to barely not kill her and that slows the spread of the poison. That should give her about a day more."
~ o ~
Cathy was almost out of her breath, but she kept running behind Mister Ylrian. He kept a steady pace and occasionally checked on her. After they left the basin, the aether in the air got too thin and they couldn't fly anymore. Maybe he could and she was only slowing him down? Again? No! Cathy shook her head and banished distracting thoughts. She had to run and get to the fortress in time.
She tripped on a rock and landed with her face in the dirt of the road. Mister Ylrian was immediately at her side.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm... sorry..." she coughed and pushed herself up.
"Can you run? Or walk?" he helped her to get back to her feet.
"I... maybe... I don't…" another cough. "What should I do? If... when we get there?"
"No idea here," he shrugged. "Find Darrand or Lady Triniel and tell them what happened. Or you can cast a big flashy spell. Dunno, but first we have to get there. Let's go."
Cathy nodded and started walking again. Her breath was fast and shallow and the side of her belly was in piercing pain. But maybe... if she was the Lady of Fate, maybe she could ease her own pain? She stopped, pulled Miss Anteia's... no, her staff from the cube and focused on the aether around. Even if there wasn't enough of it to fly, there was still plenty of it for her to use. She reached for it and within seconds it filled her body, rejuvenating her muscles and relieving her pain. But something moved in the aether. She opened her eyes wide and saw a shape moving towards them. At the same time Mister Ylrian pulled out his pistol and shot at it. The shape disappeared and a person appeared behind him. After a series of blows, parries and evasions, too fast for Cathy to tell apart, both combatants stepped back, watching each other. The attacker was a man dressed in dark clothes and with a black scarf over the lower part of his face. Pale blue skin and short grey hair indicated he was an Asmodian, but his eyes glowed white instead of red.
"Oh, wow, Gathre, I didn't expect you here, but it makes sense you survived," Mister Ylrian said with his usual nonchalant tone. "Can you let us pass? We're in a bit of hurry."
"No."
"Ah, well, Cathy, you'll have to go ahead. I'll deal with him and try to catch up," the Elyos gunslinger switched to a serious tone. "Be careful, this one may take a while."
"But..."
"Go."
Cathy turned around and ran in the direction of the fortress. The path was long, she had to stop a few times to renew herself with the aether, each time getting the spell done faster. Finally, she got to the gate ruined by an explosion. And she stopped, stared at the battle in front of her. Within the pieces of wood and metal no one has seen her yet. But that could change any moment. She had to do something. Demonstrate her power in a way to give the Asmodians hope and improve their morale. But the battle in the fortress was a complete chaos. Everyone seemed to be fighting everyone. Most of the combatants were on the ground, the aether wasn't strong enough to fly here either, so she couldn't recognize them by the colour of their wings. And the aether around was swirling in an unpredictable manner from the spells being cast. She noticed Mister Darrand commanding a group at the base of the central stairs, right under the pedestal with the monument. That was too far! Way too far, but she had to go there. She jumped down from the entrance ramp and as quickly as possible ran along the wall. Her heart was beating fast, almost louder than the sounds of the battle. Her hands were sweating and she had to adjust the grip on her staff.
Shield... I need to prepare a shield. I did it once, I have to... I can do it again, she thought as she watched the open area between her and Darrand's group. No one has noticed her yet. She took several deep breaths and ran.
Something moved to her right.
She turned.
An Elyos assassin pointed his dagger at her. An arrow appeared in his neck, so instead of stabbing her, he just grazed her arm.
She yelped.
Where did the arrow come from? She looked around. At that moment a rope of aether wrapped around her and yanked her sideways. She landed in the middle of the Asmodian group.
"Stay down," Mister Darrand said. "Engor, take care of her wound and make sure she stays down."
"Yes, sir," the healer helped Cathy to sit and within seconds the cut on her arm closed. "So, Cathy, you had orders to stay back. Why are you here?"
"I... Madam Veille sent me... the barrier... it's..."
"Yeah, we noticed. That's not the reason to break your orders," the templar grunted. "Birmi, Nura, that sorcerer over there, lure him out and take him down. I'll defend us from this side. Engor, be ready to heal them immediately. And you, girl, stay with Engor and keep quiet."
Cathy crouched between the healer and the stone pedestal of the fortress monument. She had to tell them, but she didn't want to distract them from the battle. Was it really a good idea to come here? She focused on the aether around her. It was chaotic and strained, but there was a pattern in it, almost a melody. She quietly started humming to synchronize herself with it. But there were more of them. The deeper she concentrated, the more melodies she discovered. She attuned to one, that felt soothing, protecting. She needed to feel safe. Within moments the aether around her grew thicker. Maybe she could help Mister Darrand to protect the group? She did create a shield before. If she could just remember...
~ o ~
Lonewolf ducked into a ditch in the stone and crawled forward a few meters to hide behind another bush. His job was to spot snipers and assassins and get rid of them, although he would prefer to just shoot anyone, who was a threat. But that would make him easily discovered, so he had to be patient. Something moved at the base of the main fortress stairs. It was too clumsy and erratic to be a soldier.
Cathy? What is she doing here?
Shadows moved behind her. An assassin? Lonewolf fired an arrow before the shadow fully materialized, just in time to prevent it from killing her. Then Darrand noticed her and used his aether rope to get her to the relative safety of his group. Lonewolf scanned the fortress and its surroundings again. There was still at least one sniper he couldn't get rid of. And that one was good, almost got him a few times.
Suddenly a bright golden light burst from the fortress. Around Darrand's group was now a shimmering shield. It looked familiar.
Yes, of course! It's exactly like the barrier!
~ o ~
Yes, this was it! The melody of the barrier, that was calling to her earlier. If she could pull it together like this... Cathy sensed the warmth of the aether rising around. Even with her eyes closed she knew she was glowing again. The aether formed around her and spread in a dome to surround the group. Now she needed to maintain it, keep it up for as long as needed.
"Cathy!" Mister Engor grabbed her shoulders and shook her, breaking her concentration. She opened her eyes only to see the golden glow fading. "Don't waste your aether, we'll handle this."
"But..."
"I said stay down," Mister Darrand growled. "This is a real battle, don't interfere."
"But I have a lot of aether now!"
"Follow orders!"
"Darrand, wait," Mister Engor said. "There is something different about her aether. Cathy, what happened? Why are you here?"
"I... the barrier is inside me. I... I don't know how, but... Madam Veille was afraid you could lose hope, when it disappeared, so she sent me here..."
"What does that mean?" Mister Darrand kept frowning.
"That means," Mister Engor took a deep breath. "She can actually help us. Cathy, can you do the shield again and walk with it?"
"I... don't know..."
"I'll help you," the cleric put his hand on her shoulder. "Just focus on the shield and remember I'm here. Don't panic, if you hear other voices. Don't think. Just keep the shield up and do what I tell you."
"I'll try," Cathy nodded, tightened the grip on her staff and focused on the melody of the shield. In more than enough heartbeats the golden glow appeared again and the dome covered the group.
"Darrand, we're ready. The shield looks solid enough, it should deflect most of the arrows or spells."
"I hope you know what you're doing, Engor," the templar swung his sword and it sliced through the shimmering shield, but left no trace of its passage. "Birmi, Nura, keep close and shoot whatever you see. We're going up."
Mister Engor gently nudged Cathy and the group moved around the pedestal and up the stairs. Immediately spells and projectiles were hurled at them, but the shield deflected them aside. Cathy felt every hit, but Mister Engor was stabilizing her aether, helping her maintain the concentration. The two rangers took care of several attackers.
As they reached the top of the stairs, less and less attacks were landing on the shield. When Mister Darrand ordered to stop, Cathy raised her head and looked around. The entire inner area of the fortress was presented in front of her. Groups fighting. Injured people leaning to walls or each other. Dead bodies waiting to be picked up by the obelisk.
This is wrong! So wrong!
"Cathy, calm down!"
Nonono! They shouldn't fight! All the aether... It's not their time yet! Her heart was beating faster and the aether around her swirled. The melody changed.
"Stop! Keep the shield!"
"Cathy, don't..."
But I have to do something! The shield around the group expanded. Within moments it surrounded the entire fortress and the soothing light was healing the injured. Friend or foe, the light didn't see the difference. A lot of steps and shouts echoed from the building behind her.
And then everything went black.
~ o ~
Lonewolf walked along the line of bound and disarmed Elyos soldiers. A lot of them surrendered after the freed prisoners ran into the battle under Cathy's fading spell. Not all of them, but enough to make the rest of the battle almost easy. Both sides still suffered losses, but the wave of healing aether Cathy released was enough to save some lives. And now Lady Triniel very visibly issued orders and the Elyos were, one by one, searched and moved to the cells. Something blue flashed at the edge of his vision.
"What are you hiding here?" he grabbed the hand of one Elyos soldier and revealed platinum ring with a sapphire embedded in it, glistening in the dawn light. He held his breath for a few seconds, tore the ring out of the soldier's grasp and grabbed him by the collar. "Where did you get it?"
"Hey, it's my ring!" the soldier blurted in surprise.
"I's my wife's ring," Lonewolf's voice was stone cold and his eyes flashed red. "Where the fuck did you get it."
"I bought it, in the market..."
"Where?!" the ranger twisted the collar a bit.
"In Eltnen fortress, there was sale of things... It was a good buy for the price..."
"Who was selling it?"
"I don't know them! They had the Lepharist symbols, that's all I know, I swear!"
"Fuck!" he dropped the soldier and walked over to Lady Triniel. She was discussing something with Darrand, so he impatiently waited. The templar was still limping from the injury he got, when he was defending Cathy from an Elyos assassin, after Lady Triniel publicly announced the girl was the new Lady of Fate.
"Phair, any trouble with the prisoners?" the Lady of Death asked.
"No, my Lady," he bowed. "I request a permission to travel to Eltnen."
"For what reason?"
"I need to investigate the Lepharist base..."
"Denied. That place will be taken care of, but not now. We have more urgent matters."
"One of those prisoners here found my wife's ring there," he showed the jewel. "And if she's there..."
"No," the Lady didn't waver. "This does not prove she's in Eltnen. There will be a mission to Elysea soon, and you can be on it. But for now, we have to secure this place and make it running."
"Yes, my Lady, I understand."
~ o ~
First came the sounds, voices nearby were talking. Then the sensation of something soft on her skin and the smell of odella. It was very comfortable to just stay in the bed and not move.
"But you healed me, so I'm fine!" was that Miss Aielyn's voice?
"Yes, I healed you," Mister Engor sighed. "But the poison damaged you quite badly and you're still not at full strength."
"I can't get back to full strength, if I can't train."
"Look, just stay here and keep an eye on Cathy. If there are any Lepharists still hiding around, they might try to hurt her. So you'll get rest and do something important at the same time. Does it sound good enough?"
"No, it doesn't. Why would the Lepharists go out of their way to hurt one random Asmodian girl?"
"That's right, you were unconscious, when Lady Triniel shared the news. She's not random and you can ask her, when she wakes up."
"Really, Engor? You are trying to keep secrets?" Miss Aielyn laughed. "Come on, tell me."
"No, Lyn, you'll have to stay and find out."
There were steps and sound of a door closing. Cathy carefully opened her eyes. She was indeed in the infirmary and sitting on another bed was Miss Aielyn. She looked very pale and bored.
"Uhm... hello?"
"Cathy!" Miss Aielyn smiled. "You're awake already? Are you alright?"
"I... I think so... I... probably depleted too much aether. I'm not injured," Cathy sat up. "What happened?"
"I don't really know. You see, I was fighting that giant scorpion, I won, but it poisoned me. And the group stranded in the Shelter didn't have any antidote or healer, so they gave me some drug to make me almost dead to slow the poison. And I woke up here. So... I don't know how the fortress was captured, no. What happened to you?"
"I... I don't know. I went to Gelkmaros with Madam Veille and after the daevas left, I fell asleep and I had the dream about the desert in the hourglass again and then I woke up and I was glowing and the barrier over Gelkmaros was gone... And Mister Ylrian said... something strange and Madam Veille said I had to go to the battle... so I went there and helped Mister Darrand and Mister Engor and then I saw all the injured and dead and I wanted to help them... I don't remember what happened after that. I'm sorry."
"I don't understand why they wanted you to go to the battle. And what happened to the barrier?"
"Well... uhm... please don't laugh, but they said... and I think they're wrong, but they said the barrier is inside me and I'm now the Lady of Fate. But that's wrong, right? I can't be a Lady of... anything."
"What?" Miss Aielyn jumped from the bed and quickly, although wobbly, walked to Cathy. "You have Lord Marchutan's power?"
"I'm sorry."
"That's awesome!"
"Uhm, what?"
"It's amazing, do you know what it means? It means the other Empyrean lords can be revived too! I mean not like really revived themselves, but someone else can get their power and help us against Israphel and the Balaur!"
"I... I can't use the power... I mean, I created the shield and maybe I healed some people, but I don't know how to use it."
"That's alright, you can get training. There has to be someone, who can train you. And in the worst case, there's Engor," the ranger winked. "So, can you walk? Yes? Let's go and find someone."
~ o ~
General Perento put on civilian clothing, made sure Lord Vaizel's medallion was safe in his inner pocket and went to the teleporter to travel to Beluslan. It wasn't a direct route, he had to go to Sanctum first, then special teleport to Pandaemonium and only from there could he go to the snowy cold region of Asmodae. The fortress itself was in ruins with only few guards.
"I have an appointment here," he showed the medallion to the guards and was immediately brought to an underground complex under the ruins. A servant, young, Asmodian, human woman led him to a luxurious room.
"The Lady is almost prepared for you, sir," she bowed. "If you wish, you can take a bath or request food or drinks. And when you're ready, you can go through that door to meet her. And of course, you can request anything you would like at any time you're here. Do you have any wish?"
"No, not now," he shook his head. "I'll call you if I need something."
"Yes, of course, enjoy your time, sir."
Perento glanced around the room. Everything looked like how one could imagine a luxurious brothel. The sofa with cushions, the soft carpet, the bathtub behind a half-translucent partition, the red glowing crystals, everything was perfectly arranged. The only thing that didn't fit was the location. Why did Lord Vaizel hide something like this in the ruins of Beluslan fortress?
He took off his coat and boots, washed his hands and face and took a bite from the fruits on the low table. Did they watch him even here, or was he free for a few moments? No, that was a naive question, of course he was watched. Everyone was. After what he thought was an appropriate time of marveling at the luxury of the room, he opened the door and went to see whom they prepared for him. The next room was as fancy as the previous one, but the tone has changed slightly. The carpet was even softer and at the far side was a large bed with a great number of pillows. When his eyes fell on the person sitting on the bed, waiting, his heart skipped a beat.
The woman had a perfect body and was dressed in black lacy underwear with feathery patterns, her dark purple hair was arranged in perfect suggestive style... Even the aether-cuffs on her wrists, ankles and neck were ornate and decorated. But they were still aether-cuffs. And while she was smiling, her golden eyes were empty, lifeless.
"Lady... Lumiel?" he stared at her in shock.
"What do you wish of me, master?" she asked in a tone that was clearly memorized to be suggestive, but there was no real emotion behind it.
"This is not real," he whispered and blinked several times. "Lady Lumiel, stay where you are."
Perento turned around and left the room. As quickly as he could, he put on his shoes and coat and left the fortress without talking to anyone. In Sanctum, instead of back to Heiron, he teleported to Inggison.
"I need to speak with Lord Kaisinel. It's urgent."