Okay now that I know I'll be able to put this out shortly (i.e.: the day after I write this) I'm going to put a bit more into it. First off I want to say that if I can't access the archives, the next best thing is to be able to post on them. Not as good as being able to do both, but it's the closest I can get for now. The second thing I would like to do is sort of an FYI. In my mind the forest surrounding Selvar's castle (and pretty much most of England) is like the forest that appeared in Nsync's new video. Nice video and great song. Just thought I'd toss that out there.
Thanks to everyone that's e-mailed me. It makes my writing a lot more fun if I know what the readers are thinking, enjoying, hating, etc. That and I just like getting e-mail. Special thanks have to go out to Kenitra (e-mail me please Kenitra, I've lost your address), Shade, Aeoros, Hamado, Matt and many others. I can't remember all the names off the top of my head, but thank you to anyone I've left out.
As usual I'm putting in the disclaimer. This story in no way is representative of the actual sexualities of the members of Nsync. If any of them are gay I'm not personally aware of it. If you're too young in you area, or it's illegal to read this, please leave. If homosexual themes offend you leave as well. Parts of this story are based off the RPG Rifts. All trademarks belong to Palladium books and Kevin Siembieda
That's it for now. Let me know what you think. You can reach me at either Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I check both and respond as quickly as I can using school computers.
Until next time, Rune
PART TEN
"JOEY!!!!" Justin shouted as he and Pyre entered the main hall of the castle. The blonde wanted to run to find his friend, but couldn't because of the burdens that he and Pyre were carrying. The dragon had teleported them from Yesena's mansion to the castle in five mile stops. Apparently all dragons could teleport naturally. It had saved them an incredible amount of time. "JOEY! Where are you?"
"What are you yelling about?" Joey asked as he came into hall at the opposite end. He had a tired look around his eyes. The look on his face changed instantly when he saw who Justin and Pyre were carrying. He cursed loudly and ran across the hall. "What happened to them?"
"Not now," Pyre said. "Can you do anything for them?"
Joey closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. His face cleared and when he opened his eyes they had taken a different light. "Yes I can," he said softly. "Bring them to Joshua's room. I've a few things I need to gather before I can help them. Make sure to set them on top of sheets. Remove the blankets completely and do not cover them with anything." Joey left the room swiftly the same way he'd entered.
"That was strange," Pyre said.
Justin shrugged as best he could well holding JC. "I guess we can deal with it later. Let's get them up to Josh's room."
Pyre nodded and followed his lover out of the hall and into the corridor beyond. They quickly made their way to the sleeping quarters and into the room that Selvar had given to JC five years before. The room bore JC's mark. The walls were covered in tapestries that depicted various seascapes, some of which were beneath the water. Numerous musical instruments were placed around the room. Josh had taken an interest in multiple musical instruments after his time under the sea.
The dragon carefully manipulated the woman in his arms so that he could remove the blankets from the bed. He succeeded and laid her down. Justin followed suit and put JC next to her. The bed was more then large enough to accommodate both of them. They had just moved the blankets to a nearby chair when Joey walked in carrying a cloth bag.
"You can you stay if you want, but don't disturb me," Joey said. He didn't notice the questioning looks that Justin and Pyre exchanged. Joey walked over to the bed and set the bag down on the bedside table. He gently placed two fingers on the woman's forehead and closed his eyes. A moment later he repeated the gesture with JC. Without saying a word he started pulling small bottles from the bag and setting them aside. "Pyre, be a dear and fetch me some water. Don't bother heating it. I'll need about half a bucket. Also about four bowls."
Pyre arched an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He left the room and returned a few minutes later with the items that Joey had asked for. "Did you need anything else?"
"No that should do, thank you," Joey said. He started humming quietly to himself as he poured the contents of a few of the bottles into the pail of water and stirred it with a rod that he pulled from the bag. After he mixed the solution he poured some of it into each of the four bowls. Into each of the bowls he poured some of the liquid from a different bottle. Satisfied he took the first of the bowls and walked to the woman's side. Being very careful not to touch her skin he applied some of the mixture to each of her burns. He repeated the process with JC. When he had used the last of the liquid on JC's burns he set the bowl aside and took the next one. He applied this liquid to each of the lacerations that covered both of their bodies. The second bowl joined the first.
Finding a patch of skin that wasn't horribly maimed on the woman, Joey closed his eyes and touched her gently. A ripple seemed to pass under her flesh. The angry redness around the various wounds dulled until it became a pink and then faded completely. The lacerations slowly began to close. The flesh welled up slightly to close the wound and then flattened itself out as the new tissue filled in the injury. The torn skin that should have formed the blisters over the burns turned white and dissolved away to reveal the reddish skin beneath. The skin darkened as it hardened until it was a reddish- brown. The brown again faded until it the skin was a healthy hue. The woman groaned quietly in her sleep.
Justin and Pyre watched in silently wonder as JC was healed just like the woman had been. The burns and cuts were healed over completely. Even his torn lips were restored. When Joey finished there wasn't any proof that the two had been through hell and back. There wasn't even a scar.
"Joey," Justin said quietly. "How did you learn to do that?"
"I'm not done yet child," Joey said softly. The brunette touched the woman's forehead and she convulsed slightly. She opened deep green eyes and looked confused at the man standing over her. Joey smiled gently to her and offered her the third bowl. He helped he drink the fluid, which she did without question. When she had finished it all he set the bowl aside and made her sleep again. Pyre held Justin tightly as Joey brought JC around long enough to give him the last bowl. The dragon let his lover go when JC was asleep once more.
"Okay," Justin said. "Are you going to tell us how the hell you just did that?"
"Justin please don't use that language," Joey said. "It isn't becoming."
"What?"
Joey closed his eyes and sighed deeply. His eyes had taken their original light when he opened them again. "It's a long story, but I think we've got time for it." He started putting the various bottles back into the cloth bag. "Justin, would you put the blankets over those two? They can take that now."
"How long are they going to be out?" Justin asked as he covered the two people sleeping on the bed?
"A couple of hours at least. They need a lot of rest, and after this so will I." Joey told him. He handed Pyre the bucket and bowls. "I'll meet you guys in my room in about five minutes."
Chris rubbed his shoulder and cursed again. They had been riding for a number of hours, having only stopped for an hour to wait out a storm. The weather had rapidly changed from the norm for Africa. Instead of the dry heat that should have been present at this time of year, a thick blanket of snow covered the land. A land that should have never seen snow under normal circumstances was now covered in white. The heavy snowstorm had stopped a few hours before and the skies had cleared for about half an hour. They made good use of the time by riding their horses a little harder then usual, hoping to gain more ground before nightfall. The hail had started falling without warning. They could ignore it for a few minutes while they looked for shelter, but when the stones grew to the size of grapefruits they had to seek with more vigor. They'd found it in the form of a lone tree. The Savanna doesn't offer much in the way of protection from the elements.
They'd pushed the horses up against the trunk and waited the hailstorm out. Mala covered the horses' eyes while Chris set up a wall of fire. The fire kept most of the ice from reaching them, but the odd piece still got through. When the storm stopped an hour later the four of them were covered in tiny bruises. The Bruise on Chris' shoulder had been caused by a large hailstone zinging through the fire and slamming into him. Mala had checked the shoulder and it didn't seem to have been broken, just badly bruised. He probably wouldn't have the use of the shoulder until the swelling went down, and they didn't have the time to deal wait.
As night began to fall Mala pointed to an outcropping on the horizon. "We might as well see if that'll be able to shelter us for the night."
"Well since there's nothing else anywhere in sight, I'd say that's a good idea," Chris muttered.
Mala rolled her eyes and ignored the sarcasm in his voice. "We'll probably be able to make it there before full dark."
The outcropping was much larger then either of them had expected. It was a hundred feet tall and was easily as wide around as a house. It looked like a natural formation, but an opening had been hewn out of the rock and a tunnel lead downward. A faint flickering of light floated upward from below. The sounds of a battle followed the light upward.
"Why is that everywhere I go people are fighting?" Chris asked to no one in particular.
"Lucky I guess," Mala offered. She tethered her horse just inside the cave out of the wind. "Wanna see if we can help? I'd like to be on good terms with the victor if we're going to be spending the night."
"Good point," Chris said. He tied his horse next to hers. They both left their heavy cloaks with the horses and made their way downward. The tunnel opened into a large underground chamber. It was warmer here because the wind couldn't work its way this far down and the sudden cold hadn't seeped into the ground.
In the center of the room were two people back to back. Chris couldn't make out the one on the far side. Facing him was a man that looked about twenty. His dark blonde hair was cropped close to his head and tight bangs touched his forehead. He wore a royal blue shirt that was opened to reveal part of his chest. Black pants and boots completed his clothing. A large bow rested in his left hand. His right hand pulled the string back as if an arrow were knocked, despite the fact there was none.
A ring of twenty or so vampires stood around them. One of the vampires turned and hissed at Chris and Mala. A sharp voice sounded from the far side of the chamber.
"Ignore the humans. Deal with the renegade and her servant."
The vampires surged forward as one. An arrow of pure light formed in the man's hand and he let it fly at the nearest vampire. The creature screamed in pain and lashed out at him. The man threw himself to the side and went into a roll, losing four bolts of light as he went. A few of the creatures moved to avoid the arrows, the rest simply took them and pressed on.
A vampire went flying across the room and slammed into a wall. Chris grabbed a piece of wood and staked the creature before it could recover. He looked back to the fight and a small woman dressed in a black leather jumpsuit wielding two silver swords. She spun and slashed through two vampires' arms with her blades. When she brushed the hair out of her eyes Chris smiled.
"Need some help?" He shouted to her.
"Do you really have to ask that?" Maria shouted back.
"Thought I'd ask anyway." Chris's skin glowed with scarlet patterns that signaled his fiery aura. He isolated three of the vampires in a circle of fire and kept them there by increasing the temperature inside the circle. The creatures wouldn't go near the fire because it was hotter then the center of the circle, but they needed to get out because the heat was intense enough to combust their clothing.
Mala raced around the chamber staking any vampire that came close enough to her. She pulled the occasional vampire's feet from underneath it with her rope when she could.
Maria and the blonde worked as a perfect team. When an arrow burned the flesh of one of the vampires Maria would sweep in and decapitate the creature before it realized what had happened. In short order the four of them had dispatched the twenty vampires and were staring down the source of the creatures' commands.
It was a little boy, no more then five. He wore a light brown shirt and pair of shorts, he didn't have any shoes. His dark curly hair was cut very close to his head. He looked in every way a normal five-year old child, except that his eyes were glowing crimson and a pair of ivory fangs stood out against his dark skin.
"This little kid caused all of this trouble?" Chris asked. "Except for the demon- child part, he's kind of cute."
"Silence human," the boy sneered. "You know nothing of my power."
"You do know that I'm going to kill you don't you?" Maria asked.
"Of course," snapped the boy. "But you can't run forever traitor. Other's will hunt you down and kill you for your crimes."
"Guess we'll just have to make an example of you then," Maria said calmly. She drove a sword into the boy's chest and sliced the other through his neck. "I don't need any more enemies following me then I already have."
JC's eyes flickered with the thoughts that drifted through the mind just before sleep fades. He twitched slightly in his sleep. His body was covered with a fine layer of sweat. A high pitched wail filled the room as the siren sat up in bed. His eyes flew open and the wail intensified. Various glass objects shattered around the room.
Calypso's eyes fluttered open seconds after the screaming started. She clutched at JC's arm and pulled herself into a sitting position. Her gaze snapped to the door when the handle started to turn. As the door was opening she was leaping out of the bed and changing. Her shoulders broadened and the rest of her form filled out to become bulky. Teeth grew to give her an under-bite. A fine layer of fur covered her body.
The second Pyre stepped into the room he was knocked off his feet by a naked ogress. The dragon hit the floor stunned and was easily thrown into Justin by Calypso. The shapeshifter followed the two of them into the hallway. She grabbed Justin and threw him off Pyre. The blonde flew down the hallway until he hit the floor about thirty feet away, he slid from there into the wall.
"JUSTIN!" Pyre shouted. "GET JOEY!"
His words were cut off by JC's wailing. The singer had left the bed and joined the fray. The siren had focused his voice into a single column of sound. Tapestries and tables shredded in the wake of wherever he looked.
Justin picked himself off the floor and darted toward the fighting. He leapt over Pyre and dodged around JC's voice. The siren caught sight of him and the wall behind Justin began to explode as the sound hit it. Once he was around the corner JC turned his attention back to Pyre.
The dragon had grabbed Calypso and rolled backward with her. The ogress was launched into the air and back into the room she'd come out of. Pyre continued the roll and followed her back into the room. JC darted in after them.
Calypso's flight was cut short as she shifted in mid-air. Her form sleeked out and the fur thickened and turned golden. When the shapeshifter touched the wall she'd transformed into a humanoid cat. Her claws were out when she shoved off the wall and flipped over Pyre's head. Three slashes were on his face when she landed. A fine line of blood appeared at each.
He touched his cheek in surprise. He was knocked off his feet and flew into a wall when JC's song touched him. Calypso shifted again to become a naga. Her tail snaked around his ankle and flipped him into the floor. With a ripple of muscles Calypso flipped him into the floor on his back. Her tail released his ankle and began snapped at him as if it were a whip.
"That is enough," a warm voice said. "Sleep."
Calypso reverted to her original form and slumped to the floor. The room fell silent as JC followed her lead. Pyre got to his feet and turned to see who had incapacitated the other two. A raven-haired woman stood in the door. She was dressed in a slinky robe that reveled nothing, but hinted at everything. She carried Evelyn in her arms.
"I hope you don't mind my intrusion," she said. "But I'm a very busy person. I've brought your friend back to you. At least her body. I hope you can care for her better then I could."
Pyre gapped at the woman. "Ishtar?" He whispered.
A smile graced the woman's face. "Yes dragon." She walked across the room and set Evelyn on the bed. "Evelyn's mind is no longer attached to her body. But the body and the mind continue to exist separately. If you can get her mind close to the body the two should be reunited."
"Thank you," Pyre said simply. "I don't know what else to say."
"I once failed my one of my chosen ones Pyre," Ishtar admitted. "And as a result he died and his love exists in great pain. I found Evelyn after the five had left this world and saw a chance to begin to make amends. Not completely, but in part. I couldn't save Selvar, but I could do something for Evelyn."
Pyre watched as the goddess walked through the door and vanished into the hallway. A moment after she left Justin and Joey came running into the room. A look of complete confusion covered their faces.
"What happened?" Justin asked. "When I left Calypso and Josh were beating you up."
"Ishtar showed up and knocked them out," Pyre told him. "She brought Evelyn back."
"Evelyn?" Joey said. He rushed to the bed and looked down at the woman on the bed. Tears rolled down his face. "How do I do this?" A ripple ran through his body, starting at his ankles and working its way to his head. He let out a sigh of pain and clenched his forehead when the ripple had passed. A moment later Evelyn's eyes flickered open.
An avian elf screeched in rage as she dove down on a male trent. Her sword blade slashed through the tree-like bark of the trent's skin and into the tender flesh beneath. The trent cried out in pain before lashing out with one of its branch-like limbs. The foliage snatched the elf out of the air and her wings snapped as she hit the ground. Swiftly he stabbed her with one of his roots.
All across the battlefield it was the same. The sky was darkened by the sheer number of avian elves. The ground was alive with the trents. The elves would swoop down and try to destroy any trent that was separated from the group while trying to avoid the deadly reach of the tree-people. Due to the enormous strength of the trents it took several of the elves to kill a single of the trents. In retaliation the trents would sweep the air with their branches and snatch the elves from the sky. The battle had lost all organization and would eventually end with no clear victor. Both sides would sustain such incredible losses that both might as well have lost.
Sayer and Wraith stood off to one side admiring the carnage that was before them. Neither spoke for a long time, only enjoying the senseless bloodshed.
"The trents are known for their patience and the avian elves for their indifference," Wraith said after a while. "How did you pull them into a war of mutual destruction?"
A smile crossed Sayer's face. "I had Neva attack the trents baring marks that looked like elven runes on her hide." Sayer laughed to himself before continuing. "Since, among the elves, only the avian elves would know the magics to bind an ice dragon, the trents reacted accordingly. I believe they attacked an elven outpost, and so it escalated from there"
"There's more to it then that, isn't there?"
"Of course," Sayer said. "With the Guardian of Death out of the way her sphere is out of control. What normally wouldn't happen because she was watching, can happen. With a bit of manipulation of course."
"Of course," Wraith said.
Both of them turned back to the battle. There were fewer trents on the field, but the flock of elves had taken substantial losses as well. Before the sun set the field would be littered with the dead and the living wouldn't be able to perform the last rites that was due to each.
"How do you plan to use this to your advantage?" Wraith asked after almost an hour had past.
"Chaos is it own reward," Sayer said softly. "But this will put every kingdom on the planet on edge. If two races that have long been indifferent to each other will war until the point of death at the drop of hat, why not a man's neighbour? No one will trust anyone else. Which will make their fall that much easier to orchestrate."
"We should bring one of the Gemini here," Wraith said. "He should be able to raise a nice pestilence from all these dead." The creature turned to leave the battlefield. "Besides I've satisfied my appetite for now."
"Hush Lance," Clotho said. "Just watch. I've brought you here for a reason and you'll understand why shortly."
Lance sighed and shifted his weight from his one foot to the other. They were standing in the desert surrounded by nothing but miles of sand. In front of them rose a sand dune. He could see over the top of it and could see the stone base that sat on the dune. Clotho had stopped him from getting any closer. All he could make out about the base was that it was round and had a number of carvings on it. The intense heat of the sun beat down on both of them, though the woman seemed to be able to ignore the heat completely.
"It's beginning," Clotho whispered as the sun finished its climb to high noon.
A slight breeze ruffled the edge of Lance's robe. The wind grew until it was picking up the sand. It swirled around the base and formed itself into a miniature sandstorm. None of the grains of sand touched Lance or Clotho, but their vision of the base was completely obscured. The whirlwind grew higher as more sand was added into its winds. Within the span of ten minutes it had grown to over a hundred feet tall.
"Close your eyes Lance," Clotho told him.
Lance didn't question what she had told him. He shut his eyes as he watched the wind stop and the sand fall from the sky. The sand rushed past him and scratched at his face as it went by. When the sensation left he opened his eyes again.
The whirlwind had cleared the sand away from the stone base. What he had originally thought of as a circular slab on top of the dune had been a pillar that the dune had surrounded. The pillar itself was only ten feet high but was covered in similar carvings to the ones its top.
Six lines ran from the top of the pillar to its base. These lines began to glow under the noon sun. Slowly the light became blinding and Lance had to squint to continue looking at the pillar. When the lines had grown to their most brilliant a cracking sound filled the desert air. With a groan the pillar split into six section, each fell away from the center.
At the very center of the pillar was a small rock with a hole in its top. A gurgling sound could be heard and an instant later water flowed from the hole. It flowed down the dune and away from its source, making a path as it went.
"My time with you is almost over Lance," Clotho said. "Are you beginning to understand why I've showing you the things that I have?"
"I think so," Lance said slowly. "If I guess which Guardian's died, would you tell me?"
"If you're right I'll let you know."
"Death," Lance said.
"Why do you think that?"
"Everything that you've shown me so far relates to death. The pup in the arctic, the father saving his kids, and now this."
"But how does this one link with the others?" Clotho asked. "There is no death here."
"But there's no life either," he pointed out. "The pup will die because there's no one to help it live. The father gave his life so his kids could live. And the desert is a wasteland. In order for there to be life there must be death, and in order for there to be death there must be life."
"Very good Seeker," another woman's voice came. She wore a gray robe of the same design as Clotho's. Unlike Clotho, who appeared to be in her late teens, this woman looked about mid-thirty. Her dark brown hair fell around her shoulders, like Clotho's. She had a candle in one hand and in her other she carried a stick with notches for measuring on it. "You are learning. I hope you can perform the tasks that lay before you."
"This isn't going to turn into a Christmas Carol is it?" Lance asked.
Clotho laughed. "Something like that Seeker. My sister will be able to aid you from her on. Trust her, she has the same quest I do."
"Go sister," the woman said. "Atropos has need of you."
Clotho nodded. She walked over to Lance and touched him lightly on the left side of his chest. "Take care Seeker." She shimmered lightly before him and vanished.
Lance opened his robe and looked where Clotho had touched him. Below his left nipple a mark had appeared. At first glance it looked like a birthmark, but Lance knew he hadn't been born with that mark. It was in the shape of a cross with an inverted teardrop at the top. He shrugged and closed his robe.
"Are you ready Seeker?"
"I guess so," Lance said. "Do you have a name I can call you by?"
The woman smiled. You can call me Lachesis."
So what did you think? Good? Bad? Not so good, but not so bad? Let me know.
Until next time, Rune