Chapter 15

 

Kyrin waited outside of the compound for a way inside. She’d been tracking the Nosata for almost a month and had finally found one that was careless enough to lead her to his compound. She knew that Daemionis’ Priest was in there, and she was determined to get him back and return to Paragoy to prove to Alric that she was capable.

As she watched, she saw that the Nosata had wight’s guarding their boundaries and revenants walking around. Both animated corpses posed a great problem to a fighting magic user. They were able to drain the power she had to pull from to cast magic.

There had to be another way in. The Nosata weren’t the smartest of the Consortiums, but they were smarter than the Shadowmere. Necromancers started the Consortium but were killed off when the Clemency Consortium outlawed magic. Now it was being run by worshipers of the dead, a type of necromancer that used their deity instead of magic to animate corpses into the undead.

The Nosata compound had water on three sides of it, but Kyrin figured they would have draugen hiding in the water itself. She’d much rather have to fight off wights or revenants than the draugen. She studied them to see if any spells came to mind. That’s how she usually found spells. They seemed to pop into her mind when the need for them arose.

Nothing was happening though, and it would be dark soon, putting her at a disadvantage. She was glad that the other Consortiums tended to stay away from the Nosata because of their tendencies toward evil. That meant she had little chance of running into the Shadowmere tonight.

The only idea to get inside easily wasn’t a pleasant one. She’d done the spell before, and it made her appear dead. It ceased the heart and lungs, while still maintaining the body for some time. The problem was, to keep the body alive it required a type of stasis, so while under the spell, she wouldn’t be aware and would be unable to defend herself if there was a problem.

She suddenly had another idea and ran back into Kyrstalis. The first house she came to belonged to an elderly man and woman living out their lives in peace. They weren’t aligned with a Consortium, so they were ignored by most of them, unless they did something illegal.

Kyrin studied them as they got ready for bed. This wouldn’t be hard. Killing the elderly was easy compared to some of the fights she’d had. She first had to make sure that there was no one else in the house. After a few hours, she was sure of it, and she quietly slipped into the house through an open window.

When under the cover of the house, Kyrin chanted softly, and slowly began to transform into the old man, then tucked her flail onto her side. She had both of them dead in seconds, and pulled on the old man’s clothes. She then picked up the old woman, using a levitation spell, and started to carry her to the Nosata.

A lot of the people of Kyrstalis thought the Nosata had the ability to bring back the dead. As such, anyone brave enough to walk up to the compound, would then ask for a loved one to be brought back. Kyrin had seen it many times, and knew that the Nosata always offered to bring the loved one back, and invited them inside. After that, she didn’t know what happened to them, but none of them had ever stepped foot outside again.

When she was within sight of the Nosata compound, she slowed her gait and slumped, so as to appear old. The revenants and wights ignored her. They were there to find trouble, not to deter someone from handing themselves over to the Nosata.

“What do you want?” A tall man asked. He wore the black torn robes that were customary with the Nosata, and he smelled of death.

“Please, my wife… my love is dead,” Kyrin said, faking a deep voice as best as she could. “Can you help her? I can pay…”

“You can pay?” the Nosata asked, looking down at the frail old man and his dead wife.

“Yes, I can pay 10 platinum if you can bring her back. Please… help us…”

The Nosata smiled, “For 10 platinum? I guess I can do that. Let’s bring her inside and see what we can do.”

Kyrin nodded and then swallowed hard before walking voluntarily into the compound of a Consortium. Just inside, a heavy stone door was shut behind her, and she followed the Nosata down dark passageways. Screams pierced the building and there always seemed to be someone running through the hallways.

“In here,” he said, pointing to an empty room. Kyrin walked in and then jerked when the door slammed behind her. She was now in the custody of the Nosata.

She dropped the woman to the floor of the cell and then counteracted the spell that made her look like the old man. She listened carefully and heard rustling from all around her.

“Usstan lac natha m'thain nindel zhahus plynnet dal Daemionis,” she whispered toward the doorway. The rustling stopped, and the area grew eerily silent.

She knew the best way to stand apart from the Nosata was to speak in shadow elf. They swore that the language of the dead was orc, and refused to learn the shadow elf language. When no one answered her question about a stolen Priest, she sat down to think through the rest of her plan.

Footsteps broke the silence, and Kyrin sprang to her feet and moved back to the wall when the door opened.

“The old man is in here,” one of the Nosata said, and then looked inside. His eyes went from the dead woman to the cloaked figure in the corner, “Who are you!?”

Kyrin stood tall, “I’m a representative of Daemionis, and I’ve come to retrieve the Priest that you took.”

The Nosata snarled, “See how Daemionis likes the Nosata having two of his minions!”

She knew the compound rather well, and with the Priest not in the prison block he had to be down below in the torture chambers. She saw only two Nosata at her door, and quickly killed both of them with electrical bolts from her hands.

She ran out of the prison block and hid in shadows, working her way along the hallway to the lower dungeons. When the alarm sounded, she knew the dead Nosata had been found though, and her way became blocked with angry men looking for her.

Her heart almost stopped when a wight appeared in the hallway. The Nosata were getting smarter. He turned dead eyes directly to her, and she ran, hoping to find a lucky break out of there. She felt the pull of the wight as she ran, and knew if she didn’t do something fast she wasn’t going to have the energy to cast a spell.

She tossed fireballs over her back blindly, hoping to catch the wight, but something slammed into the back of her neck, and she collapsed onto the floor.

When Kyrin started to come around, she felt her arms were trapped straight out to her sides, and her head was pounding. She felt weak and knew that the wight had drained her of energy.

She struggled to open her eyes and saw she was standing in a long room, up against the wall. A bar had been slid through the sleeves of her tunic and held her hands out to her sides, with no chance of getting them together.

She pulled against the metal cuffs holding her to the wall, but there was no give. Off to the left side of her was a smaller woman hanging by her wrists and probably dead. To her right was a decayed corpse that had once been shackled to the wall, but as his body rotted, the weight of it pulled his hands away from his body, and it had slumped to the floor in a congealed mass, leaving the grotesque hands to hang from the shackles.

Cages stood along the floor down the right side, and in them were prisoners in various stages of rest. Across from them were the rack tables, and in one was a dark-skinned elf with white hair and a jagged scar down the side of his neck. His clothes were torn off and tossed beside the table, but she saw the distinct mark of Daemionis on them.

Kyrin pulled at her sleeves, but the metal bars wouldn’t bend. It was irritating how they used her own tunic to keep her hands apart so she couldn’t use magic. She looked down and saw her flail was no longer at her side, which didn’t surprise her. She just hoped she could get it back.

She whispered softly into the air, asking in shadow elf if the Priest on the table was alive. He nodded slightly, but was obviously in a great deal of pain.

“I’ll get you out of here,” she whispered again.

“You? Young one?” one of the prisoners in the cage said. “They’ve already sent for the Clemency Consortium to come and get you. It’s going to pay off some huge debt they owe.”

She sighed and again tried to pull her hands away. If she could get the tunic to tear, it would drop her arms, but the tailors in Valhara were very good, and she couldn’t get them to rip even a little.

“When did they contact Clemency?” she asked.

“Not long ago, then they complained that Clemency can’t come and get you until morning.”

“Good, I’ll be gone by then,” she said.

“Every Consortium is looking for you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Your picture, my Dear. It’s posted on every street corner. The Shadowmere and Clemency have joined forces to find you, and the reward is great.”

“I bet the Nosata will love that.”

“Except they don’t know what they have. They told the Clemency that you are merely a young magic user that needs punished. They do not know you are the much-sought after Kyrin.”

She nodded and looked around, to see if she could find a way out of this mess.

They all looked up when the doorway at the end of the room opened. A Nosata entered and headed straight for Kyrin, “You, magic user. It’s your turn.”

“For what?” she asked, trying not to sound afraid.

“You need punished for killing one of the Nosata,” he said, and roughly pulled her from the wall. He slipped the bar out of her tunic, but held her wrists tightly so she couldn’t get her hands together.

Thinking quickly, she kicked off from the wall and slammed her knee into the side of his head. He fell forward and crashed into one of the empty cages, sending it in pieces to the ground.

Kyrin jumped onto him and pressed her foot onto his neck as she kicked the side of his head to keep him down. When he fell silent, she ran to the Priest and began untying him, “We have to get out of here.”

Just when she got his first hand free, a punch flew in from the side and connected with her jaw, sending blood flowing from her mouth and onto the Priest. She spun, and the Nosata blocked all of her hits and dodged each attack, but managed to hit her a few times. The last punch was squarely to her stomach, and she doubled over in pain. He slammed his elbow into the middle of her back and sent her onto the floor, now at the mercy of the Nosata again.

When a bucket of water was poured over her, she woke up with a gasp and shook the water from her face. Her limbs were all pulled away from her and tied to horses that faced away from her in all four directions. She was surprised to see horses, but their hollow eyes, sunken faces, and decaying skin let her know they were undead also, probably stolen from another dimension.

“Prisoner, it is the decision of Ryder, our most holy leader of the Nosata, that you are to be drawn and quartered in punishment for the killing of two of the Nosata.”

He gave the signal for the horse’s riders to move forward, and she screamed in pain at the feel of her limbs being torn from her body. She finally managed to shout, “The Clemency will be mad at this!”

“Pull back,” he said, moving the horses back a bit. Kyrin did a quick assessment and found that her left arm was dislocated but the rest of her limbs were fully attached, albeit in pain.

“Why would the Clemency care that we kill a magic user?” one of the Nosata asked.

“Because I’m Kyrin…”

Just the name brought a murmur through the Nosata and one of them knelt down to study her, “It’s hard to tell with the look of her face.”

She knew she must look completely different. One eye was swollen shut, and she felt her jaw might be broken. Her lips were puffed and bloody, and her mouth was filled with the taste of it.

“It could be,” the Nosata said, studying her.

“If it is her, we cannot harm her, or they will punish us.”

“She could be lying though.”

“Only if she’s stupid. Why would she prefer to go to the Clemency Consortium?”

Kyrin tried not to groan in pain. She didn’t want to give the Nosata the satisfaction to know they’d already injured her badly enough it was hard to concentrate.

“Let her go then. If she wants to meet the Clemency Consortium so badly, we’ll let them know.”

It was more than she could hope for. In their haste to turn her over to the Clemency Consortium, they untied both of her hands at the same time.

With her left arm useless at her side, she swung onto her left side and brought her right hand to the left. The second they connected, she yelled, “Vasiieth!”

Lighting shot out from her hands and killed each of the Nosata and their horses. The loud thud from the fall of the horses made her nervous that others had heard, so she quickly untied her feet and then ran back into the compound, in search of the dungeons.

She stopped long enough to put a magic shield around herself, hoping it might stop the energy draining of the wights. Her legs hurt with every step, and she was finding it harder and harder to move quickly.

The stairs down into the dungeon were daunting and when she emerged, the prisoner in the cage gasped, “You’re alive!”

Kyrin moved as fast as she could and untied the Priest from the table. The shadow elf stood slowly and gathered his robes before the two of them set off. She used his experience as an Assassin to guide them from shadow to shadow.

Only twice did she have to destroy more Nosata, and each time she grew weaker. She was able to pry her flail from the hands of one of the dead, and the weight of it in her hand was somewhat comforting. Her left arm hung uselessly at her side as they crouched low and looked toward the front gates of the Nosata’s compound. The wights and revenants were still there, and en masse.

“Can you get us past them?” she whispered.

He shook his head, “Undead see through my advantages.”

“Ok, here’s the plan. I’m going to distract them with a split image and see if I can get them to run off. We need to make it to the other side of Kyrstalis. The portal for Paramide is in the cemetery, and we just pray to Daemionis that there’s a portal key there.”

He nodded, “If you die on this mission… I will sacrifice for you.”

She smiled and then shut her eyes and began to chant. When her soul split it caused some pain, and her image flickered weakly above the water. Seeing that the undead hadn’t noticed the figure, the Priest began throwing tiny pebbles into the water to draw their attentions.

The hiss of the wight let them know her image had been seen. When the undead began to lurch toward the water’s edge, Kyrin and the Priest took off. She couldn’t use her boots of speed, or she would leave the Priest behind, but he spotted the perfect hiding spot, and she was able to break the spell and reattach her soul just as one of the undead had reached it.

There were screams of anger from the revenants when her image disappeared.

The Priest nodded to Kyrin and she moved behind him, careful to step only where he stepped and to pay attention to his every move, a trick Creteloc had taught her. The Assassin was good, and he even had time to poison one of the Dieb Consortium before they made their way to the cemetery.

Kyrin’s pain was becoming worse, and she was bathed in sweat.

“Is there a key?” he asked, glancing around a tomb in the cemetery.

She nodded, “If you can grab it, I’ll lead you into the portal. It’s that stick lying up against the wall.”

He nodded when he saw it and then made a break for it.

“Hey!” someone shouted when he ran across the cemetery. Kyrin saw two of the Clemency heading toward him, so she stood and mustered the energy to hit each with a ball of fire before she grabbed the Priest by the collar and hauled him through the portal.

Once on the other side, she collapsed and fell unconscious. When she regained consciousness, it was dark in Paramide and no one was around. The Priest had left her at the portal, as soon as he was back in his own dimension. Lucky not to have been killed by stray Assassins, she sat up and tried to nurse her wounds, so she could get back to Paragoy.

When she tried to pull her left arm back into the socket, the pain was unbearable, and she started to black out. Deciding to just leave it for now, she tied it to her side with a strip of rope she kept in her backpack.

Kyrin sat down and ate a few apples, which helped her feel better immediately. The pain in her jaw to eat was only tolerated because of the intense hunger she felt. Her right arm seemed fine, but her legs were wobbly and lacking strength. She had a long way to go and still had to make it through Kyrstalis before she came even close to Paragoy.

She’d been gone for just over five weeks, but already missed it. Or missed him, she thought. Glancing in a mirror she stole off of a dead gnome in the plane of sun, she looked over her face. She was right about the damage, and was sure her nose and jaw were both broken.

Kyrin looked around with her one good eye and then steadied herself on the portal before slipping back into Kyrstalis. The Clemency Consortium had given up on finding her, and the cemetery was empty and quiet.

She hobbled across the city, sticking to the back streets, and was completely focused on returning to Alric. She no longer thought of the food or the water in Paragoy, but wanted to feel his arms and see his face.

It took extra time to get to the dimension outside of Paragoy because both legs were still causing pain to shoot into her back, and the slightest movement jostled her injured arm. Even though it was tied tightly to her side, it sent pain up through her chest.

Kyrin fell through the portal and into Paragoy. The high mountain portal was now surrounded in snow, and the wind was blowing mercilessly. As she looked down onto the Boriana ruins, her heart sunk. She wasn’t sure how to crawl down there with only one arm and her legs in so much pain.

She decided her best bet was to freeze her injured limbs in the snow and then try to make it down the cliff without falling. The snow actually felt good against her dislocated shoulder, and once she’d numbed her arm and legs, she inched down on to the first foothold.

The pain intensified, but she was committed now and couldn’t get back up if she wanted to. Down was her only option, and she held on for dear life with her one good hand, hoping not to fall the rest of the way.

Kyrin wasn’t sure how far down she was, but she couldn’t take much more.

“I got you,” someone said, and she felt strong arms pull her off of the wall and gently lay her down on the snow. She looked up into the face of one of the Knights of Valhara.

“We have to get her to the Priests,” another said as he wrapped a blanket around her.

“The horses will be the most painful, but the fastest.”

“Horse,” she groaned, and then leaned her head against the shoulder of the Knight that picked her up. The sway of the horse made her entire body hurt, and she held onto the Knight as she asked Daemionis why he didn’t help her.

The Knight stopped quickly outside of the temple and Saith met him, “We have Kyrin.”

Saith nodded and motioned him forward. The Knight laid Kyrin down on the table and Saith immediately began summoning the blessings to heal her. He frowned when the wounds didn’t heal, and then he called for more of the Priests.

By the time Alric arrived, the Priests were frantically trying to figure out why they couldn’t heal her. She was no longer moaning in pain because the warmth of the room and being able to lie down on the table was already helping.

“What’s wrong?” Alric asked, looking over her wounds.

“We cannot heal her,” Saith told him.

“Sithias?” Alric asked toward the back of the temple. When the god didn’t answer, Alric turned to the Priests, “Can you still help her?”

“Yes, but it will take time.”

“Do what you can. I’ll go find out why Sithias is refusing these blessings.”

Alric stepped into the back of the temple and dropped his sword by the door. He hit his knees and fought to calm his voice, “Sithias, why aren’t you helping her?”

Sithias appeared and looked down at him, “She was injured doing the deeds of a demon. He has forsaken her after this dangerous mission, and I cannot intervene.”

“What do you mean he’s forsaken her?”

“It’s common for the evils. Once she saved the Priest, she collapsed at the portal, and he left her there to die and returned to his god. Daemionis didn’t even come to her aid, even though she sustained the injuries on a mission to retrieve his Priest.”

 

“Why does he have followers?” Alric asked, confused.

“Fear. I cannot step in when a god has forsaken their own. She will heal with time, and it may help clear her mind about the god she follows,” Sithias told him.

“Can you block him from entering Paragoy?”

“Not while she is here.”

Alric sprang to his feet when Kyrin’s screams pierced through the quiet temple. Sithias excused him and he ran out, “What happened!?”

Saith was bandaging a wound on her wrist, “We had to re-set her shoulder. It’s been long enough the swelling got in the way and made it more painful.”

“Is there anything we cannot fix?”

“If we cannot fix it, then it will eventually fix itself.”

“I told you I’d be back,” Kyrin said from the table.

Alric touched her arm lightly, “I’d prefer if you would return in one piece.”

“Thank you for the Knights.”

“I figured you’d come back there.”

“Drink this,” one of the Priests told her. He held out a vial and put it to her lips, but she turned away.

“No”

“What is it?” Alric asked.

“It will help the pain and make her sleep.”

“Take it, Kyrin.”

“No,” she said again. Kyrin knew better than to take a potion from someone she didn’t trust. Just because Alric trusted the Priests, she didn’t.

“Why won’t you take it?” Alric asked, kneeling down to her level.

She just shook her head.

He sighed, “We’re going to move you to a bed here in the temple ok?”

“Floor”

“I want you to try a bed.”

She nodded and then Alric picked her up gently and laid her down in one of the back rooms. The fire was roaring, and he watched as her eyes slowly slid shut.

 

***

 

Kyrin sat up suddenly when she felt she was being watched. Her shoulder screamed at the movement, but she instinctively reached for her flail anyway. The day after her return to Paragoy she had been moved back to the castle, and into the Lady’s quarters. She was on day 9 of her recovery and was feeling stronger each day.

“Good morning,” Alric said from beside her bed in the Lady’s chamber. “Are you going to attack?”

She yawned and then shook her head, “What are you doing in here?”

“I came to see if you were going to get up today.”

She looked over at the window and saw that the sun was high in the sky, “That’s why I hate beds!”

“Because you sleep well in them?”

“It’s hard to defend yourself or know if you’re being watched if you’re too deep asleep.”

“You’re too jumpy. As a Holy Knight, I’m always on guard, but my body needs rest to heal, so I allow that. I still have a reaction time if attacked.”

“You lose too much time waking up.”

“A second, at best.”

“That’s all it’d take.”

“How’s the shoulder?”

“Not too bad.”

Alric looked over her and sighed. She still had signs of the fight with the Nosata, and though it didn’t bother her, the injuries infuriated him.

He sat back and watched as she slowly got out of bed. He learned quickly that she didn’t accept help unless it was vitally necessary.

She sat down on the bed, facing him, “It seems to me, you want to talk about something. I’m thinking you want to start that training again.”

“No, I decided you don’t need to learn how to be proper. You’re fine the way you are.”

She frowned slightly, “But I don’t fit in.”

“Do you want to?”

“Not really. You seemed to want me to though.”

“I did, but then it dawned on me that there’s no reason you should conform to the norms of Paragoy.”

“So what is it you want to talk about?”

“Daemionis”

Her eyebrows rose, “Ok.”

“His Priest abandoned you the second you rescued him.”

“So?”

“Don’t you think after almost dying saving him, that he could at least help you?”

“Why should he?”

“Common courtesy.”

“Yeah, not a strong suit of Daemionis’ followers.”

“Then why didn’t Daemionis help you?”

“I suspect he was mad that I was that injured.”

“It wasn’t your fault!”

“Yes, it was. I messed up with my execution of getting into the Nosata’s compound. I’m sure he knows that and figured I didn’t deserve help.”

“That’s stupid! As your god he should have helped you. You’d just saved his Priest, and it shouldn’t matter how.”

She sighed, “Daemionis isn’t like that.”

“Then why follow him? Gods protect their followers and offer them rewards for loyalty. Yours punishes for no reason and often neglects you.”

“Of course he does! It makes us stronger.”

“Why follow him? What benefit does he have?”

She thought about her answer, trying to decide what she could tell him and what would make Daemionis mad. She finally decided to explain most of it, “When I escaped from the Shadowmere, I was 11-years-old.”

“Right”

“I didn’t even know what a dimension was when I first shifted. What I did know was that I’d escaped out of where the Consortiums were though, and into a dark place full of sounds and shadows. I’ll admit it. I was terrified.”

“Of course you were! You were on your own at 11.”

“I was on my own at 6, if we’re going to be honest.”

“True, go on.”

“I was a fighter by then, but had no idea how to survive out on my own. So I did something stupid and fell asleep…”

“That’s not stupid. That's necessary.”

“Creteloc found me.”

“You’re lucky.”

Kyrin smiled, “She decided that I was too pretty to kill herself, and decided to offer me up to Daemionis as a sacrifice instead.”

“Or not…”

“He scared me to death, and my first instinct was to cast at him. So I did. The sacrifice stopped immediately, and I was given some food and turned over to Creteloc to be trained. Daemionis realized how ignorant I was to the ways of the land, and knew I wouldn’t make it without help.”

“So he kept you alive because of your magic.”

“Yes. Creteloc took me in and taught me the ways of Daemionis, and he offered my life in exchange for devotion. After a year, I set out again with the knowledge Creteloc gave me and the power of Daemionis behind me.”

“He’s using you.”

“Daemionis uses everyone.”

“But why follow him now? You don’t need his help.”

“He’s my god, what more reason do I need?”

“You need to find one more suitable for you. Your god shouldn’t send you on impossible missions alone. You can’t tell me he doesn’t have some Assassin or rogue running around that could have helped you.”

“I didn’t need help.”

“From the looks of your injuries, you could have.”

“It’s my fault. I got in the situation to be drawn and quartered though.”

“No it’s not! Your god is using you for your abilities, and he’s going to kill you doing such.”

She stiffened, “I’m not going to sit here and let you bash Daemionis!”

He put his hands out, “Calm down, I’ll stop. I just worry that you may be needlessly in pain.”

“I don’t mind pain, and I will do whatever he asks me to.”

“I know, and I’ll drop it.”

Kyrin leaned back against the headboard, “So no more training at all?”

“Nope, none.”

“We’ll see.”

“Do you want it?”

“No”

“You just don’t want to dress like a woman.”

Alric stood suddenly and looked out the window when the mountain’s battle alarm went off.

“You get attacked a lot,” Kyrin said from the bed.

“Crows”

“You’re getting attacked by a bird?”

“Millions of them,” he said, and ran out of the room.

“I’m not wiping out a million birds,” Kyrin mumbled to herself before getting up to look out the window. The entire eastern sky was completely black. What looked like a cloud was moving toward them, “Damn, that’s a lot of angry birds.”

“Kyrin!” one of the Knights called out.

She slowly walked to the door and peeked out, “What?”

“We’re on battle alert.”

“For birds?”

“Erianah’s birds.”

She shrugged, “Ok, well, have fun.”

“You aren’t going to fight?” he asked, frowning.

“Why would I?”

“Valhara is under attack!”

“By birds,” she reminded him.

“Millions of war birds.”

She looked at her window, “My window’s shut. I’m good.”

He shook his head and ran down the stairs.

“Wait! Who’s Erianah?” she called after him, but he was already gone.

Kyrin went back to the window and looked out. The crows were getting closer and had forced the nearby mountains into shadow. She started to get leery when she saw the size of the coming cloud, so figured it’d be best to at least be ready to fight.

It was hard to get her clothes on with one arm, but she finally managed and then slipped the sling on over her black leather vest. Once her flail was tucked in at her side, she started to tie her hair back, but heard a loud thud against the window.

She jerked and looked at the window and saw birds slamming into it, “What in god’s name…”

A wolf howling stopped her curiosity, and she turned and ran for the door when another answered. She took the stairs two at a time and appeared out in front of the castle where the Knights had gathered. They had their swords drawn and were looking up at the sky as millions of black crows swirled above them.

“They’re coming in from the north!” someone shouted, and Kyrin looked toward the northern mountains. A solid army of gray wolves was walking toward them. Their hackles were raised, and they were snarling.

Kyrin ran toward them, but Alric grabbed her arm, “No! You can’t fight those alone.”

“They aren’t here to fight me,” she said, and then pulled free.

“Don’t go over there!”

She ignored him and ran at the wolves. Once at them, the front wolf lowered his chest to the grassy ground and then stood up. She nodded and then turned and walked back to the shocked Valharans as the wolves followed behind her.

“Who is Erianah?” Kyrin asked Alric.

He kept a close eye on the wolves, “She’s the god of the Qualsax.”

“She sent the crows?”

“Yes”

“For what?”

He glanced at her before looking back at the wolves, “Because we’re harboring the follower of an evil demon not of this world.”

Kyrin looked up at the crows, “So they came for me.”

“More like they came to punish us for having you here.”

“It has to be more or Daemionis wouldn’t have sent support.”

“He sent the wolves?”

“Yes,” she said, and walked forward a bit. The wolves kept close to her and carefully watched the Valharans.

“Erianah!” Kyrin yelled toward the sky, “I suggest you back off.”

One of the crows dove at her, and Alric stepped back when it stopped suddenly mid-air and fell to the ground, dead. The space in air it had stopped glowed blue for a moment and then disappeared.

“You can’t get through my shield, so I suggest you get your ugly ass down here and face me yourself,” Kyrin yelled.

Alric winced. The people of Paragoy weren’t used to challenging a god.

Laughing sounded and the crows dove to the ground and began to form a tall figure. Kyrin took a step back and watched as the goddess Erianah emerged and looked down on her. She was an imposing figure, standing 8-foot tall with broad shoulders and short, spiked red hair that flowed, as if blowing in an imaginary wind. Her armor was made of black feathers, and her eyes were pure white.

She turned away from Kyrin and faced Alric, “Why have you allowed an evil into my world without my permission?”

“We don’t need your permission for anything,” Alric yelled toward her.

“Evil has been gone from this land for centuries… yet you bring one here and don’t even consult me?”

“Again, I owe you nothing.”

“Did you know that she is an evil?”

“Yes”

“Yet you allow her to live with you? What do you gain by that?”

“Nothing, she’s done nothing to warrant expulsion.”

Erianah smiled, and her teeth dripped with thick, green saliva, “You love her.”

“Leave him alone,” Kyrin yelled. “If you have a problem with me, then I suggest you turn around and face me.”

Erianah spun and glared at Kyrin, “How dare an evil talk to me like that! This is my world, and you are not to be in it.”

“Oh, you going to kick me out?” As soon as she said it, the wolves began to advance.

The goddess began to laugh, “Daemionis sent dogs? How quaint.”

Thunder cracked and Kyrin bowed when Daemionis appeared, towering behind her, “Erianah.”

“You do not belong here! This is my world,” she roared.

“If you want me to leave, then you have to make me.”

Alric called for his troops to run. He’d heard of the ancient god wars and knew they were unpredictable and highly violent. The Valharans ran for their houses for essentials, and then were heading to the safety of Fortress Orphang.

Alric ran up and took Kyrin’s arm, “Let’s go. This will get nasty.”

“I can’t just leave.”

“Let the gods handle this.”

“Do not fight on my ground,” Sithias said angrily, appearing beside them.

Alric turned when he heard his god speak, and stopped pulling at Kyrin’s arm as he froze.

“Sithias, you allowed this evil to invade our land?”

He floated forward but kept away from the other two gods, “I did.”

“What gives you the right!?”

“It’s not his choice what my followers do,” Daemionis yelled.

Sithias was calm and spoke evenly, “She has done nothing that would banish her from this land. I am studying her.”

“You’re what!?”

Erianah snarled, “You had no right, Sithias.”

“You’re just mad because she stays with Valhara and protected them against the Minotaurs.”

“She didn’t protect your puny Valharans! She protected that insignificant King of theirs.”

“Back off, Erianah. Kyrin is staying here as long as she likes.”

Erianah looked at Kyrin closely, “What does she have that you two want?”

The wolves advanced on Erianah, so she turned and held her hand out to them. Angry crows flew from under her feather robe and began to attack the wolves as they howled in pain and tore any bird they caught to shreds.

“Take your quarrels out of here!” Sithias yelled.

Daemionis stomped his hooved foot, and the ground began to shake and crack beneath Erianah. His growls echoed off of the mountains, and Erianah turned to him and looked up toward the sky.

He looked up just as the crows appeared and began to barrel down at him. He swung his massive, scaly hands at them, and they began to fall to the ground with dull thuds and small puffs of feathers.

“We have to get out of here,” Alric said, pulling Kyrin again. “We can’t stay here during a god fight.”

“I can’t leave…”

Without another word, he picked her up, tossed her over his shoulder and ran toward his horse. She didn’t struggle badly, and soon he had her on the horse and mounted behind her. With a swift kick, he sent the stallion flying toward the mountains near Boriana ruins as lightning shot down from the cloudless sky.

Hail began just as they got to Boriana ruins and Alric stopped his horse, and they ran into one of the fallen rooms that still had part of a roof. The horse was fidgety as they sat down to wait out the storm.

“Some storm,” Kyrin said, looking out at the fist-sized hail that started to fall. They were glad that the hail that started while they were on horseback was much smaller than what it was now.

“God fight,” Alric said, and smiled slightly. “We’ve had this issue before.”

“Erianah and Sithias fight often?”

“Not really any more. There was a big fight when it was decided to get rid of all evil from the land though. We hid for almost a year before things calmed down.”

“Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Daemionis fight another god.”

“I’m sure he has. It’s pretty dangerous to stay there during it though.”

The entire ground shook, and they grabbed onto rubble and held on until it stopped. When it did, fierce winds started and dirt flew past them.

“How far are we from Fortress Ophang?”

“Too far to make it. We’ll have to stay here.”

“I can’t believe this entire thing is over me.”

Alric smiled slightly, “This is nothing. If Erianah knew you were a magic user, it would be a thousand times worse.”

“Why does she care?”

“It’s dead here, remember? We didn’t necessarily want it gone. When the evils were removed from the land though, magic went with them. We’ve tried to get it back, but haven’t managed so much as a spark.”

Kyrin thought about that for a bit, “What do you mean when the evils were removed?”

“About a hundred years ago there were four kingdoms here; Valhara, Qualsax, Minathim, and Aloria. In short, Valhara had the Holy Knights, followers of Sithias. Qualsax held the darker types, unruly fighters and such, but they weren’t exactly evil. Qualsax follows Erianah.”

Alric paused when they both had to duck to avoid a flying branch that the wind flung at them. When it was clear, he continued, “Minathim was home to the elves, what you called Royal Elves, and they are good aligned also and follow Sithias. Then, there was Aloria, home to the black elves. They were evil, pure evil, and magic users. They followed Tiasis.”

She cringed, “Has he joined the fight now too?”

“No, he’s dead. His followers were all that was keeping our lands from being mostly peaceful. The gods fought a lot and most of that was started by Tiasis. When it was decided to get rid of evil, then, for the first time ever, Sithias and Erianah joined forces and killed him. We took care of the black elves and, sadly, with them went magic.”

Kyrin shifted uncomfortably. Creteloc was affiliated with the shadow elves in Paramide and most of Daemionis’ followers were shadow elves.

“Since then there’s only been bickering between Sithias and Erianah… caused by her.”

Kyrin smiled, “Of course.”

“It was thought that once Tiasis and his black elves were gone, evil wouldn’t return.”

“Then I came along.”

“Well, yes, but Sithias found you intriguing and was determined to learn more about you. It wasn’t until he saw you single-handedly wipe out the Minotaurs that he knew how powerful you are though. He told me that if you were to return, you would be welcomed back.”

“Why though? I’m an evil…”

“We need your magic.”

“For what?”

“Nothing specific,” Alric told her. “It’s just something this land is lacking and something prized.”

“Well if Erianah doesn’t like me, she must absolutely love having Daemionis here.”

Alric laughed, “Oh yes. I would imagine so.”

“I can’t do Sithias’ bidding though. I won’t use my magic to further his followers or to help him.”

“I’m sure he knows that.”

“I hope he wasn’t expecting Daemionis to help him get rid of Erianah.”

“There’s no way he would team up with Daemionis.”

An explosion sounded in the distance, and both of them peeked around a high pile of rubble just in time to see the top blow off of a volcano and a thick plume of smoke barreled out of it, turning the sky black.

“This went on for how long?”

“11 ½ very long months. This won’t be as long though.”

“You’re sure?”

“No, but I suspect Erianah will back down to the two other gods.”

“If not, you may not have a dimension left.”

“Well then it’s a good thing I’m with you.”

“How long have you been king?” Kyrin asked.

Alric looked up and shook his head when snow started falling from the volcanic ash, “Fifteen years.”

“You’re old enough to be king for that long?”

“I was 20 when my Dad died, and I took over.”

“So you were handed the Kingdom.”

“I wouldn’t say handed to me.”

She smiled, “You’re offended?”

“Well you make it sound like I didn’t deserve it.”

“Didn’t mean to.”

When thunder crashed above them, Kyrin looked past the roof to the sky, “You do realize that just because I come into Paragoy here, it’s not a portal out.”

“It’s not?”

“Nope”

“You don’t see some… I don’t know... rabbit testicles or something that’d get us out of this?”

“Rabbit testicles?”

“Well I don’t know what you use.”

She grinned at him and then shook her head, “No, I don’t see any portals around here.”

“We don’t have any food here.”

“I have apples in my bag.”

“What’s with you and apples?”

“They’re perfect. Full of water and they’re so good.”

“I never thought of that.”

“You’ve never starved.”

“True”

Kyrin sat back, “So your Dad died, and you became king at the age of 20.”

“Basically”

“What am I missing?”

“The post was between me and my brother.”

“Did you fight to the death for the position?”

“You need to get a life. No, we didn’t fight to the death. He died with my Dad.”

“At least you made king.”

“You have an odd view on things.”

She shrugged.

“Anyway, yes I was young, but I was ready. My brother and I were raised from birth to be kings.”

“Sounds like fun. Why aren’t you married?”

His eyebrows rose, “Is that odd?”

“Yes, at 35 and with your money, I’d think you would have a lot of wives already.”

“Well I never found anyone interesting enough to marry.”

“Just Genessa.”

“That was different. She and I had only met briefly before she moved in.”

“If there are only three groups of people left, then how did you meet her?”

“There are three kingdoms, but there are some little outlying villages and such. Her Dad wanted to incorporate their village into Valhara’s Kingdom. During talks, I met her.”

“Want to tell me why you banished her?” Kyrin asked.

“No, I don’t.”

“Why not?”

Alric just smiled, “No.”

Another rumble shook the Boriana ruins, and Alric jumped for his horse while Kyrin held onto what was standing of an old doorway. When it stopped, he tied the horse up and walked back to sit down beside her. She was pulling an apple out of her pack and cut it in quarters, then handed him one piece of it.

“I don’t rank a full apple?”

“We’re rationing.”

He ate the quarter in one bite and then watched as she ate hers more slowly. Alric watched her and wondered how often she’d been out of food and water. He could only imagine what hardships she’s been through, and he wondered if she’d realize that in Paragoy, she had enough of both.

After eating her part, she tucked the apple core into her pack.

“What are you doing with the cores? I’ve seen you put a hundred of those into your bag in the past.”

“I’ve planted them in my favorite dimensions.”

“Is there enough water to grow them?”

“Probably not.”

When the ground shook again, Kyrin put her backpack beside her, grabbed the flail in her good hand, and then laid down, using a rock as a pillow.

Alric sighed, “Great.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“How long have you had to sleep on the ground?”

“I’ve always slept on the ground.”

“Never had a bed?”

“Not until now. Lay down and get comfy.”

He groaned when he laid down and then shifted to try and get comfortable, “Is it possible?”

“Sure”

Kyrin drifted off quickly, but Alric tossed and turned all night. Just before dusk, he sprang to his feet when balls of fire began to fall around them from the sky.

“Kyrin, get up,” he said as he moved the horse further into the ruins.

She looked up and then gasped and scrambled further away from the exposed part of the castle. The flaming balls landed around them stirring up the dust. Some of them hit the rubble hard enough that another wall caved in at the opposite end of the ruins.

 

“I was hoping they’d be done,” Kyrin said, looking through her bag.

Alric dodged just as a flaming ball flew at him and barely missed hitting him in the leg. He crawled backwards, trying to get further away from it.

“Come here,” Kyrin said, pulling him back.

He leaned up against the rock wall, still shaking from how close he came to losing a leg. He was confused when Kyrin slipped between his legs and leaned back against him.

“Jilavanu,” she whispered, and the sounds around them died down some.

Alric looked carefully, but couldn’t tell what she did, “What was that?”

“Magic shield. I’m hoping it’ll stop those fireballs.”

“I’m worried about my people at Fortress Ophang,” he said, relaxing some under the shield.

“I’m worried about us.”

“How much damage can your shield take?”

“I don’t know. It’s different strengths each time.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. There’s no one to ask.”

“Oh, right. Well as long as we don’t get hit directly, we should be ok.”

“I can hold it, unless I fall asleep.”

“Can I have another apple?”

“We’re about to fry, and you’re hungry?”

“Yes”

She chuckled, “Yes, grab one.”

“I get a whole one?” he asked, digging in her bag.

“Are you going to complain about hunger if you don’t?”

“Probably”

She just shook her head and looked out over the burning terrain.

“What’s this?” Alric asked, holding up the amulet she’d stolen off of a Qualsax Warrior.

She looked back at it and shrugged.

“These disappear off of Qualsax Warriors when they die.”

“Oh”

“So you killed this one.”

“Not exactly.”

“Did you kill him?”

“He was already on the way to being dead.”

“So you did.”

She just shrugged again.

Alric sighed, “Was it after they attacked our village?”

“Fine, yes, it was. When I found him, he was almost dead anyway.”

“Did you kill him?”

“Yes”

He reached up and whispered, “Please don’t prove Erianah right.”

“He was already almost dead.”

“Still, I can only hold the gods off for so long if you can’t rein it in.”

“I’ll be more careful, ok?”

“Promise me you won’t kill anyone else.”

“No”

“No?”

“No, I kill who I want, when I want, and they always deserve it.”

It was silent for almost an hour while they watched the fireballs fall from the heavens, and both thought through their last conversation. He was worried Sithias would eventually tire of Kyrin if she kept doing evil deeds, and Kyrin was afraid that Alric would try to control her enough to make her behave. She thought it would cause a fight bigger than the one of the gods if he ever tried.

“It’s calming down,” Kyrin said finally, and then watched as the last of the fireballs fell.

She started to get up, but Alric wrapped his arms around her, “No reason to leave.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess it’s safer under the shield.”

“Not what I meant,” he said, and lightly kissed her neck.

She shivered and then crawled out of his grasp, “We have to see if it’s over.”

Just as Kyrin peered out from behind a tall pile of rubble, Sithias appeared. She immediately disappeared back into the ruins toward Alric, “Door’s for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alric?” Sithias called out. His voice sounded ethereal, but it was obvious he was close.

“Oh, gotcha,” Alric said, and walked out. He bowed to Sithias, “Is it over?”

Sithias floated gently above the ground, “It is over and Daemionis has left my dimension.”

“What was decided?”

Sithias saw Kyrin peeking out from the rubble and smiled before motioning her over, “Come, I won’t hurt you.”

She thought for a moment and then walked out.

“Erianah is appeased for now, as long as no evil befalls her people,” Sithias said, directly to Kyrin.

“If they leave me alone, I’ll leave them alone.”

“As is expected.”

“Do I have a Kingdom still?” Alric asked, a little leery.

Sithias laughed, “Yes, King Alric. You do. Our little quarrel didn’t reach to Orphang.”

“Little quarrel?” Kyrin asked, crossing her arms. “That was more than a spat! You almost hit Alric with a fireball.”

“My apologies.” It was obvious to Alric that Sithias was amused at how she spoke to him. She didn’t seem to be afraid of the towering god.

“We’ll return then. Was it agreed that Kyrin can stay in Valhara indefinitely?” Alric asked.

“I wouldn’t say indefinitely. Daemionis is studying this land, so he has allowed her to stay. I suspect when he is done, she will be called back into the dimensions.”

“When he tries, I’ll stop him.”

Sithias nodded, “I assumed as much.”

Kyrin shook her head and started toward Valhara. She knew that Alric couldn’t change Daemionis’ mind if she was told to leave Paragoy, but she didn’t want to deal with that right now.