Chapter Six #2
Rain growled and leapt to his feet. He dragged Ellysetta up with him and shoved her behind him, putting his body and his blades between her and the rest of the quintet. “Try it, vel Serranis, and you will be the one to die. I promise you.”
“Las, Rain.” Ellysetta tried to spin a soothing weave on him, but he would not be calmed.
“Nei las,” he snapped. “I scorched the world once to avenge Sariel’s death. I’ll scorch it again before I allow anyone to harm you.”
“Parei! Stop!” Unmindful of the danger, she grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her.
“Don’t even think such a thing. You saw the same vision in the Eye that I did.
And that was bad enough…but Rain, when I was in that Mage’s mind yesterday morning, I learned something else.
Something worse. The High Mage doesn’t just want to enslave my soul and force me to do his bidding. He means to take over my body.”
His spine stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“I mean he intends to live inside me. To become me—or rather, to wear my body and use my magic as his own.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The Mages manipulate souls, Rain. They aren’t immortal like the Fey.
They’re long-lived, but their bodies age and die.
So they find a new body—someone young, someone with powerful magical gifts—and then they transfer their soul into that body.
They call it ‘incarnating.’ And that’s why the High Mage is so desperate to capture me—he wants to incarnate into my body.
That’s why he made me. He doesn’t want to command Tairen Souls to do his bidding—he wants to be a Tairen Soul. ”
Rain reeled back in horror. “The Mage in Orest—you learned all this from him?”
“Aiyah. And it can’t be allowed to happen. You saw the same vision in the Eye that I did. You know what will happen if the Mage soul-claims me. Death would be by far the kinder end—for all of us.” She met Rain’s gaze. ?Steli has already sworn to do it, so you need not.?
His face crumpled.
She laid a palm over his heart and sent him all the love in hers.
Her lips trembled when his eyes filled with a shimmer of tears.
When first he’d flown into her life, he’d been so wounded by loss and full of despair, he had lost the ability to cry.
As his shei’tani, she was supposed to bring him joy, but so far it seemed all she’d done was melt his heart enough so he could hurt again.
?It’s the only way, shei’tan.? She lifted her hands to cup his face, thumbing away his tears.
?If we cannot complete our bond, I must die before the Mage completes his claiming.
I saw in my nightmare what would happen if we don’t.
I saw your death. Felt your soul severed for all eternity from mine.
I won’t let that happen. I can’t. Death offers us hope, at least. Not for this life, but for another. ?
?Ellysetta… ?
?Shh. My soul has found yours now. It will not forget. As long as the Mage does not complete his claiming, I will find you again. Whether it takes one lifetime or a thousand, we will be together, just as the gods intended.?
He bent his head. His arms crushed her to him while his lips touched hers with exquisite tenderness. ?Ver reisa ku’chae, Ellysetta. Kem surah, shei’tani. In this life and in every life yet to come.?
She filled her hands with the silk of his hair and her lungs with the warmth of his breath.
?I will hold you to that, shei’tan. Even if I never come to trust myself enough to complete the bond, you I trust without question…
and I love you even more than that.? Her mental voice hitched.
?But you and I both know, we must prepare for the worst.?
His forehead touched hers in surrender. ?I know. Though every spark of my being cries out against it, I know.?
When Rain released her, he stepped to the side so she could see Gaelen and the others once more.
“The tairen have already promised to ensure I never become that monster the Eye of Truth showed us,” she told them.
“But now I need your promises as well. If for some reason, Steli and the tairen cannot see it done, I want your Fey oath that you will. Rain cannot, so the duty falls to you. You will not be breaking your lute’asheiva vow.
You will not be harming me. You will be saving me. ”
“We cannot, Ellysetta,” Bel said. “Our souls are bloodsworn to yours. If you died by our hands, we would become Mharog—evil beings so foul even the Mages fear them. We cannot do this. Not even to honor your command.”
She glanced around the circle at each member of her bloodsworn quintet. One by one, they dropped their eyes until only Bel and Gaelen held her gaze.
“Vel Jelani is right,” Gaelen said. “No lu’tan can harm you. Not even to save the world.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Then we must find someone who can—or I must do it myself. I don’t know how much time I have left.”
Rain’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I think the Mage has already begun to influence my thoughts. First with Aartys, then again yesterday with the Mage, and this morning with that nightmare. Gaelen says he should not have been able to reach me through all those shields, but I can’t think of what else could have caused that dream.
I think part of him is in me, Rain, whispering to me, just as Gaelen said. ”
Rain went still as stone. He searched her face intently, as if looking for some hint of the Mage’s presence, then said, “The Elves. We will go to the Elves. Hawksheart can see everything that was, is, or ever will be through that infernal Dance of his. If there’s a way for us to complete our bond or rid you of the Mage’s Marks, he’ll know it. ”
“I thought you didn’t trust him.”
Rain gave a short, bitter laugh. “I don’t, but what choice do we have?
You’re already willing to sacrifice your life to save your soul.
What greater price could the Elf king demand than that?
” He shook his head. “Much as I dislike them, Elves are no friends of the Dark. Celieria will have to wait. We head south, to Navahele.”
“Rain, nei.” This was exactly what she’d been afraid he’d say.
“It will take more than a week to get to Elvia and back. Celieria doesn’t have that much time.
We must go to Celieria City first to warn King Dorian about the High Mage’s impending attack, then to Danael to ask for their help. After that’s done, we can go to Elvia.”
His brows climbed up to his hairline. “Are you mad? Ellysetta, you’ve just convinced me I must accept your murder rather than risk your getting a sixth Mark. We go to Elvia first, and that’s the end of it.”
Ellysetta scowled. “We’ve been over this a hundred times. If Celieria falls, we’ve already lost. We can’t hold out against the Eld alone. We need Celieria and the Danae.”
“And if you fall to the Mage, you think there will be a different outcome?”
“You’re being impossible!”
“And you’re a raving crack-skull if you think for one instant that we’re going to run around the countryside seeking allies while the High Mage freely torments you in your dreams!”
They glared at each other, sweet murmurs of love and devotion replaced by fiery temper and stubbornness.
Gaelen cleared his throat. “There is a way to help buffer her from the Mage. Something we have not tried yet.”
“And what is that?” Rain snapped.
“Let me add Azrahn to her shields. It isn’t a permanent solution, but it should buy us enough time to take our news to Celieria and still reach Navahele before the worst comes to pass.”
Rain’s teeth came together with an audible click.
His jaw worked, as if the mere thought left a foul taste in his mouth.
“Spit and scorch me.” He threw up his hands.
“Fine. Do it. I’ve already blackened my honor beyond repair.
What’s one more stain upon it?” He glared at Ellysetta and thrust a finger in her face.
“One day, Ellysetta. One day in Celieria City. Then we leave for Elvia, no matter what.”
“Danael first, then Elvia. There’s no sense crossing the entire continent three times,” she pointed out when Rain opened his mouth to object. “Besides, if we go to Elvia first, the Danae will be too late to help even if they do agree to fight.”
Rain ground his teeth. “Fine. One day in Celieria City. Then we head straight to Danael and Elvia.”
“Agreed.”
Ten chimes later, Rain took to the air with his Azrahn-shielded truemate on his back and the Fey began to run, heading east towards Celieria City.
Ellysetta turned for one final look at the Mists-enveloped mountains that marked the borders of the Fading Lands, wondering if she would ever see those Mists again—or the beloved family trapped within.
She closed her eyes briefly and sent up a silent prayer. Adelis, Bright One, Lord of Light, no matter what happens to me, please, watch over the ones I love. Shine your Light upon their Path and keep them safe from harm.
The Faering Mists
Lillis sat up with a groan and lifted a shaky hand to her pounding head. Perhaps she shouldn’t have left the place where she’d first woken up after all.
Wandering blind on a shattered mountain came with many a deadly peril—including roots and stones to trip small feet, razor-sharp rocks, abrupt dropoffs, and trails so steep a billy goat wouldn’t tread them.
Even so, she’d managed to survive most of the dangers with only a few minor bumps, bruises and cuts…
until the ground disappeared beneath her feet.
One moment, she was climbing down a steep, rock-strewn slope; the next, she was tumbling down the mountainside, cradling Snowfoot protectively in her arms as she fell.
The last thing she remembered was the big bump that sent her flying through the air, the sudden, painful jolt of landing, then nothing until she woke again just now.
She was surrounded by a mist so thick and white she couldn’t even see her own hands when she raised them to her face.
For one terrified instant, she thought maybe she had died and gone to the Haven of Light, but then the mist began to thin.
Within a few chimes, she could see her own badly skinned arms and legs and a small circle of the steep, rubble-strewn mountainside at her feet.
Grit-filled wounds on her knees and palms throbbed with a dull pain.
There was a long slash down her left thigh and a terrible lump on her head just above her left eye.
Her head hurt. Her brain hurt. Everything hurt.
And that proved she wasn’t dead.
At least, she thought it did.
Lillis put her face in her hands and started to cry. She wanted Papa. She wanted Kieran. She wanted them to hold her in their arms and tell her everything would be all right.
A weak mew emerged from the sling around her neck.
“Snowfoot!” Frantic, she fumbled to open the sides of the pouch to reach her pet.
The instant he was free, the kitten clambered into her lap, mewing and rubbing against her the way he did when he was hungry.
If she were on her own, she would probably just sit here and cry, but Snowfoot was depending on her. She couldn’t let him down.
“All right.” She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “All right, we’ll keep going.” She took off her pinafore and tied it around the wound on her leg. Then she settled Snowfoot back in his sling and hauled herself to her feet.
Carefully, each step slow and deliberate, Lillis began once more to hobble her way down the mountainside.
This time, she tested her footing first before shifting her weight.
More than once, the ground crumbled beneath her feet, leaving her scrambling for safe purchase, but she didn’t stop.
After a while, the crumbling ground grew firmer.
Shifting, treacherous rubble gave way to grassy mountain meadows dotted with shrubs and fragrant fir trees.
The mist began to thin until Lillis could see several tairen lengths around her.
Just up ahead, a footpath led through the grass towards the crest of a mountain pass flanked on both sides by dense stands of fir trees.
Lillis started towards the path, then froze in sudden fear as a shadow moved in the stand of trees on the right. Someone—or something—was hiding there. Watching her.
She clutched Snowfoot to her chest and took a nervous step back. “Who’s there?”
The shadow moved again. Lillis’s heart rose up in her throat. Her shaking hands squeezed Snowfoot so tightly the little cat screeched a protest.
“Las, ajiana. Nei siad. Ke nei vu’odahira.” The voice whispered on the breeze, soft and compelling.
Lillis swayed. The tension in her muscles melted away along with her terror. Except for the phrase “las, ajiana,” meaning peace, sweet one, which Kieran often said to her, she did not know what the words meant, but the moment she heard them, she felt calm.
The shadow stepped closer, and Lillis couldn’t bring herself to run.
Closer still the shadow came, and now Lillis could make out a tall, slender figure emerging from the mist. A woman, dressed in gleaming white leathers, with hair the color of golden oak spilling down in thick waves past her hips.
She was as beautiful as a Lightmaiden of Adelis, her pale skin shining with a familiar, silvery luminescence.
Her amber eyes were bright, yet full of peace and a welcome so loving, Lillis felt her chin begin to tremble.
“Veli, ajiana.” The woman stretched out her arms, beckoning.
Wounds and tears forgotten, Lillis went.