Description: Numair and Daine face off against Inar Hadensra.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to Tamora Pierce.
Author's Note: I cannot deny that I was inspired by the shapeshifter scene from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country for my mage fight. I made this one slightly easier to choreograph by doing it from Daine's perspective (please insert usual rant about mage fights here).
Chapter 36
Daine went to visit the horses leaving the men to discuss viable locations for Numair to wait for Hadensra. Hearing her friend return so easily to saying 'yes Nobility, no Nobility' left her feeling distinctly twitchy and she needed some time with the People. Raoul's Drum approached her first with the other horses quickly ignoring their rider's protests so they could introduce themselves to the Wildmage. Their voices clamoured in her mind while she walked among them. They could feel the difference between themselves and Cloud and Spots. The Own's mounts wanted to be smart like the mages' horses. Numair had said it wasn't a bad thing, so Daine let her magic flow into the warhorses, changing them as she walked along the lines, touching each of them on a muzzle or flank.
"What are you doing, sweetling?" A hard-faced Bazhir tribesman bent down to whisper to her.
"Just speaking with the horses," she answered shyly.
He was a well-muscled warrior with dark skin and kind eyes. "Ah, yes. The girl with the strange magic."
"You weren't with Sir Raoul at Dunlath?"
"No, but I heard the stories." The man introduced himself as Qasim ibn Zirhud. "What do they say?" He nodded towards the horses.
"That they're well cared for, but they want to do more to help. I used my magic to change them." Daine shifted nervously. "They'll understand more now."
"More?"
The Wildmage nodded. "They'll understand more two-legger speak."
The Bazhir's face broke into a broad grin. "You are a true gift from the gods. I wish there were more like you."
Daine blushed and retreated to Cloud, burying her face in the pony's mane.
What is wrong with you now? The mare snorted.
People are starting to notice what I can do, the Wildmage mumbled.
Why is that a bad thing? Cloud asked.
Mayhap it's not. I'm just not used to the attention is all, Daine admitted.
Just be yourself and forget anyone who might be watching. No one would dare hunt you now, especially with the stork-man around, the mare pointed out.
The mage in question appeared at her side to squeeze her shoulder before taking Spots' reins. He wouldn't mount his gelding with so many people around. Numair was secretly quite embarrassed about how bad a rider he was, which only made Daine want to help him more.
Raoul rode up beside them on the back of Drum. "We'll take care of the raiders. Contact me about Hadensra by tomorrow morning at the latest. If we don't hear from you then we'll assume the worst."
"I'll send a bird if I can't come myself," Daine informed him.
The Knight Commander nodded grimly. "Good luck," before barking to The Own, "Move out!"
Daine and Numair waited and watched while the knights rode past until their campsite was empty. It would be a while before the People returned after so much two-legger activity.
The mages rode for several hours until they found a clearing large enough for Numair's liking. He wanted something with good sightlines and not too much coverage, rejecting many of Raoul's suggestions because it wasn't open enough. Daine knew he was fussing over her safety rather than thinking of his own but, eventually, he settled on a valley with a small stream running through it where the trees thinned, and she could shoot from a high vantage point.
"You remember the plan?" Numair asked while pacing in circles around her and the horses, black sparkling magic flowing behind him.
"It's not difficult to remember," Daine responded tartly.
"Indulge me," he insisted in a firm voice.
"Stay in the protection circle until you give the signal," she recited with strained patience.
"Which is…?"
Daine rolled her eyes. "You'll stamp your foot on the ground. I fire my arrow and kill Hadensra."
"And you won't come out until I tell you it's safe to do so," Numair finished.
She scowled at him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes again lest they fall out of her head. "Once he's dead there's nothing to worry –"
"Daine!"
"All right, all right!" She held up her hands. "I'll stay here until you say it's safe to come out."
"You promise me? All of you?" His dark eyes looked at each of them in turn.
Kitten and Zek nodded their heads solemnly while Cloud snorted in derision. She enjoyed being molly-coddled as much as Daine. Spots took a step forward to lip at Numair's hand still not happy with this plan but willing to stay where it was safe.
"Quit fussing, we'll be fine." Daine sighed. "You've added so many layers of protection to this thing, I'm surprised I can't see the spells myself."
The mage tensed, looking down the valley. "He's coming. I can sense him nearby." Cupping her cheek with his hand, Numair gazed deep into her eyes. "If I fall, you are not to take on Hadensra by yourself. If you get yourself killed, I will never forgive you."
For a moment Daine almost thought he would kiss her again, his soulful brown eyes were so intense, but instead he strode away without another word. Taking out the griffin arrows from her quiver, she stuck three of them point down into the ground before notching a fourth to her long bow, leaving the last three in reserve. Checking her stance, Daine breathed deeply and scanned the area, senses alert to the Scanran's approach.
The birds signalled the alarm, taking to the sky and making a lot of noise, mostly for Numair's benefit. If Hadensra had thought to try anything sneaky, his cover was blown as the shaman-mage approached from the north. He was a tall man with broad shoulders covered by a bearskin cape wearing stained leggings and a tunic. His shaggy blonde mane and beard marked him as a northerner, but it was the large ruby in his left eye socket glinting in the bright sunshine which drew the eye.
Did he come alone? Daine asked the People.
All the replies came back that the shaman-mage was indeed alone and none of the animals could smell or see another two-legger.
"Kit, any invisibility spells?"
The dragonet who was sat in her travel bag on Spot's back shook her head.
What's going to happen? The gelding shuffled his hooves nervously.
I don't know. I've never seen mages fight like this afore, Daine admitted quietly.
Hadensra stopped a short distance from Numair, glaring with his single cold blue eye. Daine was too far away to hear what the mages were saying so she very carefully reshaped her ears to that of a bat.
"Ozorne doesn't want you back, slave. He wants you eliminated," Hadensra spat with disgust.
"Just as well. I would rather die than return to his side," Numair replied blandly.
"I'll gladly accommodate that request," Hadensra snarled, lashing out with a storm of fire.
It surrounded Numair who countered with a blast of ice turning it to water before the flames could reach him. The Wildmage quickly reshaped her ears when the Scanran shouted a phrase, summoning flaming meteors. They rained down from the sky to ricochet off Numair's shield, destroying trees and scorching the grass.
Daine fidgeted uncomfortably, fingering the silky feathers of her arrow, hating being stuck on the sidelines. She was forced to watch while ebony tentacles erupted from the earth to ensnare her friend while Hadensra conjured a yellow fog which looked an awful lot like what the wyverns breathed and directed it towards Numair. He summoned a wind to blow away the fog while he chanted a spell to dissolve the tentacles.
Twice the battlefield got covered in ruby-coloured and black sparkling magic obscuring the mages from view. Each time Numair was able to counter or shield against an attack, but sweat was running off him with the effort needed and he was starting to look a little grey.
Finally, when Daine's patience was hanging by a fine thread, Hadensra shot ruby chain lightning at Numair who countered with his own black sparkling lightning. It sparked where it connected, looking like thick cords as the mages poured their power into their attacks.
There! Zek squeaked excitedly. Numair stamped his foot.
Daine drew back the string of her long bow and fired, watching the arrow zip towards the shaman-mage. At the last second, Hadensra seemed to sense the attack, directing their combined lightning to atomise the projectile.
"Too cowardly to fight me yourself, Draper?" the shaman-mage shouted. "I will kill you and your skulking friend."
Swearing under her breath, Daine retrieved another arrow from the ground and notched it to her bow. Numair's face darkened as he muttered something and gestured with his hand sending spikes of rock racing across the earth which Hadensra flattened with pure power alone. Black sparkling lightning shot from Numair's hands again to spark uselessly off the Scanran's shield. With a cruel grin Hadensra shouted a word as a beam of brilliant light flashed out from his hands.
When Daine managed to blink away the spots from behind her eyes the landscape had transformed into a desert with sand dunes instead of green hills. Hadensra was laughing maniacally as blackened corpses rose from the sand, stumbling towards Numair with outstretched arms.
Kitten chattered and pointed a silver claw at Daine's feet where grass remained in the confinement of their protective shield.
"It's an illusion!" she gasped.
The tortured scream that ripped from Numair's throat broke her heart. Would he realise none of this was real or would it set off another flashback? Every instinct inside her told Daine to run to his side and shake him out of it when a wave of power rolled through the land, knocking her to her knees as the illusion shattered returning the valley to what it was. Breathing a shaky sigh of relief, she got back to her feet, readying her bow.
For the next half an hour the mages battled while Daine watched feeling her patience evaporate while Numair was cut, burned and thrown into the air. Refusing to wait for another signal, she fired the instant Hadensra turned his back to her after sending Numair flying backwards with an explosion.
The arrow arced towards the Scanran only for him to turn at the last second and incinerate it. Shouting an arcane phrase, Hadensra sent a hail of fireballs in her direction as Daine ducked instinctively. The horses screamed in panic and the Wildmage was forced to hold them firmly with her magic to stop them from bolting. Numair's shield protected them as fire engulfed the area.
The ruby eye, Daine thought. Is that how he's able to see my attacks? Numair had said it only acted as an amplifier for the Scanran's Gift but maybe there was more to it than that.
When the smoke cleared, she blinked in confusion when two Numair's stood in the valley below her. Same height, same clothing, same coloured magic. How was that possible? Simulacrum?
"Which is the real one? Kit, any ideas?" Daine asked.
The dragonet trilled in consternation unable to tell the mages apart either.
"Shoot him!" one Numair shouted, sending out his Gift to attack the other.
"No, don't!" the second Numair cried, fighting power with power.
Where their magic intersected a ball of swirling ruby and black sparkling magic began to form but with no clear direction as to where the ruby magic was coming from. Daine drew back the string of her long bow to her chin, letting out a calming breath. Aiming along the shaft she directed the point of the arrow between the two mages, not knowing which was the true Numair until she saw a shimmer around one of them. Was that Hadensra? Lowering her bow Daine squinted at the two men who looked identical again.
The ball of power was growing steadily as the mages' Gifts pulsed violently while their feet scrabbled in the earth trying to find purchase. Raising her bow and drawing back the string once more, she watched as the Numair on the left shimmered. Griffin feathers dispelled illusions!
Daine fired, watching as the arrow flew through the air to strike Numair through the heart causing the magic in the centre to explode in all directions covering the battlefield in a multi-coloured cloud. Someone screamed in a voice that sounded surprisingly like her own as Daine rushed out from the protection circle, charging down the hill to where her arrow had struck the mage, heart in her throat. What if she'd shot the wrong one?
"Numair!"
A few feet away in the stream lay a dead body with an arrow embedded in the chest as the young woman stumbled forward to find the blonde, bearded Scanran staring sightless with his one blue eye.
"I thought I told you to stay hidden until it was safe!"
Daine spun around to see Numair leaning against a tree, breathing heavily, covered in sweat and mud with a weary smile on his handsome face. With a choked sob she ran to him, launching herself at him to wrap her arms around his neck as she crushed her mouth to his. Strong arms wrapped around her waist holding her in place, as he returned the kiss with unbridled passion. Daine was floating in a state of euphoria between the taste of Numair's lips and the feel of his solid body pressed so close to hers. All too soon the need to breathe became too important to ignore. They separated just long enough to gulp a lungful of air before diving straight back in. Daine wasn't sure she'd be able to stand once they'd finally calmed down long enough to simply gaze into each other's eyes.
"I didn't know which of you to shoot," she apologised, stroking a hand through his loose mane, hairpins lost somewhere during the battle.
Numair rubbed his long nose against hers. "It's a good job you had griffin arrows then, isn't it?"
Their next kiss was so tender, Daine felt sure her bones had liquified. "I should check your injuries," she murmured when she could think again.
"Is that an excuse to get me shirtless?" he teased.
"Only if you'll let me," she responded, breathless.
Numair swallowed and blushed, slowly returning Daine to the floor. "We should contact Sir Raoul and inform him we were victorious."
The horses rode at a steady pace for two miles until they located a cave large enough to accommodate them all. Closing his eyes, Numair rested with his back against the wall trying not to let his thoughts linger on how eagerly Daine had clung to him while they kissed. For now, it was a miracle to still be alive after that fight. If she hadn't been there, Numair wasn't entirely convinced he would have won.
Food helped to restore some of his energy even with his Gift mostly tapped out. Sleep would help, but he didn't have enough power to set protection wards tonight and that bothered him. At least the animals provided their own form of early warning system, however he'd be mostly useless in a fight now.
"Shirt off, please," Daine ordered after she returned from clean-up. He'd tried to insist he could do it because she'd cooked but to no avail.
Numair blushed and fidgeted, looking at her from under his lashes. "I can tend to the cuts myself."
She merely shook her head, ignoring him, while she retrieved a bottle of ointment from her pack and crawled over, an expectant look on her face. "If you're not going to remove it then I will."
Numair tried to laugh that off, but it sounded strained to his ears. He wasn't prepared when Daine straddled his thighs in an incredibly bold move, the smile falling from his face while he watched her with impossibly dark eyes. Licking her lips nervously, she placed the bottle to one side and slowly slid the shirt up his body, hands brushing against more skin than was necessary.
Numair lifted his arms obligingly, all thoughts gone from his head as he very gently rested his hands on her thighs. Tossing the shirt aside, Daine placed her hands on his bare skin, fingers stroking through his chest hair while she looked at him from under her extravagant lashes.
"Daine…" he whispered, not sure if he was begging her to stop or continue.
Their eyes locked in a heated exchange then his mouth was on hers. Her fingers buried into his hair dragging him closer until he deepened the kiss. It was rough and demanding and not at all what he'd imagined. His fantasies had mostly fixated on a leisurely exploration of her body before they made love, but Daine had almost stripped him completely out of his clothing before he'd even removed her shirt.
She helped him to remove her clothes, their lips barely parting from each other, only leaving him long enough to throw a bedroll to the floor before she rolled him onto it. Their kisses were feverish while their hands explored every inch of skin, pausing whenever one of them gasped or moaned at a particularly sensitive spot. When Daine's hand slipped between his thighs to touch him, Numair almost disgraced himself entirely, letting out a strangled cry.
Rolling her onto her back, he kissed his way down her body, mostly to get out of reach of those delicate fingers but also so he could please her. Daine's grip on his hair was almost painfully tight while his mouth and tongue explored her delicate breasts. And the sinful noises she made! Up until now those had only featured in his dreams, and he almost ejaculated at the sound of her voice begging his name. Numair couldn't stand it any longer, he had to touch her!
Sliding his hand down over her stomach to cup between her thighs, he carefully dipped a finger inside her, groaning when he discovered how wet she was. Resting his cheek on her breast, Numair gently worked a finger between her folds, drawing slow circles while he watched her face as it transformed from need to realisation and then total surrender. That look of pure ecstasy when she orgasmed unravelled him at the seams until the need to be inside her had gone beyond all reason.
Crawling back up her body, Numair captured her lips in a searing, desperate kiss. "Daine, how many times have you done this?"
"I've not yet," she slurred happily.
Moving back sharply, he swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes off her and the vision she made beneath him: naked, gorgeous and far too willing.
"Is that a problem?" Her hands stroked up his chest to his shoulders trying to pull him back down to her.
"I shouldn't be your first." He locked his elbows, resisting her with difficulty.
"Why?" Daine frowned in confusion.
"A multitude of reasons spring to mind but, primarily, because you deserve far better than me." On a number of counts.
"But it's you I want," she pleaded, wrapping her muscular legs around him.
Numair's heart leapt into his throat. "There are many far younger and more deserving of your affections than a former slave –"
Surging upwards Daine silenced him with a punishing kiss. "I've wanted this for far too long to stop now."
Any argument he'd intended to put forward died instantly while they kissed again and again. Daine's nails clawing at his back while she writhed beneath him had Numair breaking away to hunt through his belt pouch for anything he could use as a suitable lubricant.
"Charm," he rasped, pointing at her chest.
Rolling away to grab her pack, Daine retrieved the gold chain and pregnancy charm from the front pocket before hurriedly attaching it around her neck. He was relieved she hadn't lost that. While a rational part of his mind knew he could pull out before completion, Numair wasn't entirely convinced he possessed the control and awareness needed for that.
Slathering the cool oil over himself he slipped a finger inside her, coating Daine's entrance in the substance. She moaned low in her throat, spreading her legs wider while Numair marvelled at how easily his finger slid in and out of her. Adding another finger, he continued to thrust, using his thumb to circle her vulva mesmerised by her reactions until she arched and cried out. Of all the beautiful things he'd seen in his lifetime, his darling Wildmage in the throes of passion was by far the most glorious sight he'd ever witnessed.
Positioning himself between her legs, Numair pressed the head of his cock inside her, gasping at how tight she felt. He was barely halfway inside her when liquid heat engulfed him, obliterating his frayed control as his hips jerked and spasmed uncontrollably.
Letting out a string of curses, Numair rolled off her to cover his face in mortification. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I said you deserved better…"
"What's to be sorry for? I got something good then you did." Her languid voice purred.
He glanced over at his friend like she was crazy. "Daine, you deserved to have a first time not for me to –" he stuttered, covering his face again. "It's been a very long time…"
Of all the things that could happen, that was by far one of the worst. Numair lay there trying to get his breathing under control while he silently berated himself.
"Could we try again?" A gentle hand touched his chest, stroking lightly.
"Pardon?" He opened his eyes not sure he'd heard correctly.
Daine licked her lips giving him a game smile. "Is it something you can only do once a night or can we try that again?"
"No – you can certainly have sex multiple times in one night depending on the male's – performance, as it were," Numair replied, blushing crimson.
"I meant you, not men in general." She leaned over to nuzzle her nose into his chest. "So… can we?"
It took him a minute to fully comprehend her request before he answered her with a lingering, tender kiss. They were slower this time, now that the urgent need had been satisfied. Hands caressed while mouths explored. Daine was quickly discovering that teeth and nails excited him while he found that her neck was a severe weakness which he exploited thoroughly. When Numair entered her a second time, he managed not to disgrace himself seeing the discomfort on her face.
He rested there, fully sheathed inside her, gazing at her beautiful face while they both got accustomed to each other. It felt more intimate than the act itself. With a soft smile, Daine raised her hand to stroke his cheek and down his chest. Feeling like she was giving him a signal, he rocked his hips, hearing her gasp in response.
He made love to her then like he'd originally intended, gliding in and out slowly, finding what she liked. Their gasps turned into moans when Daine hooked her legs around him bringing them closer. Numair couldn't form a single thought while her hands groped everywhere for purchase. He managed to hold back just long enough to watch her go over the edge before he followed with a deep, guttural groan.
Numair was a little too close to confessing his undying love and devotion while he very carefully extricated himself, rolling onto his back. They were both panting heavily when he gathered her into his arms to press a tender kiss onto her curls.
"Well, that was certainly worth trying again," she giggled breathlessly, snuggling in close.
While he couldn't argue with her on that point, Numair was fairly certain that if the Lioness didn't castrate him before slitting his throat, then Daine's divine father would strike him down. Either way he was a dead man. One look at her glowing face erased all his misgivings and Numair knew he'd do it all again if only to see that look of pure happiness on her face.