I've returned with another installment. It's kind amazing how quickly I keep putting these out. I'm not complaining, and judging from the feedback I've been getting, the readers aren't upset either. So I'll stop mentioning it now.
Thanks everyone for e-mailing me. LHW, Kenitra, Aeoros, Kief, Matt, Aphrodite, and all of those others who e-mailed me. You guys have been great. Keep them, coming. Good stories to read are BSB and Nsync Chronicles, Millennium Love, Forever, Justin's Dark Angel, and there are several others out there. Enjoy them all
Okay the disclaimer is here. This story isn't supposed to imply anything about Nsync's sexuality. If they're gay that's their business, not mine. If you're too young in your area or it's illegal in your area, leave now. If homosexual themes offend you leave as well. Parts of this story are based on the RPG Rifts. All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
Enjoy, Rune
PART NINE
"Damn," Karr muttered under his breath. He was floating in the water next to the lifeless bodies of two eel-people. One was a fairly young looking female, and the other was an older male. The physical resemblance was remarkable. Most likely father and daughter. He didn't really care. Josh wasn't here. He had been, but he had left several hours before these two were killed. He could be anywhere.
Both bodies had small burn marks all of their skin. Karr found it interesting that the burn marks could have even been made. The head that had been needed to do this would have been incredible. He did a quick sweep of the cave and found that several of the rocks near the bodies also had black marks on them. Apparently the heat wasn't always aimed well.
After a few more minutes of checking the rest of the cave, Karr returned to the bodies. He searched them quickly to make sure that there was nothing of interest on them. There wasn't. Satisfied with that he swam over to the mouth of the cave and muttered a few spells. Small magical symbols appeared around the mouth of the cave. When he finished chanting the symbols flashed and a field of energy flickered across the opening. Nothing was going to get through without making a lot of noise. Finished with that he headed back over to the bodies again.
He had to use a great deal of physical force to separate them. In their dying moments they had latched onto each other and showed no signs of letting go without a great deal of convincing. The looks on their faces suggest that their deaths had been very painful. None of this mattered to Karr. He needed to know what had happened, and he was going to find out.
Once the bodies were separated he moved them to opposite ends of the room. He started with the young female. He closed his eyes and opened himself to the magic that was part of who he was. The magic that he had been able to sense his entire life. He found it and began to shape it into the desired form with his words and mind. When the shape had been formed he forced that shape into the body. Then he opened his eyes to watch the show.
The body had begun to glow faintly. If it had been on dry land, it would have been hovering above the ground right now. As it was, it just swayed slightly in a current that touched nothing else. A small ball of light appeared next to the body.
It expanded until it was the same length as the body and then began to take shape. In short order the ball of light had become a transparent version of the young eel-girl.
Karr smiled to himself. He held up his hands, palms facing inward, and slowly brought them together. The light and body reacted accordingly to his hand movements. They merged together with little struggling. Over the years Karr had learned this spell to perfection.
"Now," Karr spoke to the body. "Tell me what happened."
"Please," the girl whispered. "Let me go."
"I'll let you go when you tell me what happened," Karr told her firmly. "I need to know and you're going to tell me. Then I'll return you to your rest. Start off with how you died."
A look of pain crossed the girl's face. She obviously didn't like the memories that were coming back to her. "A woman killed us. She came in looking for Josh. He wasn't here. She killed us."
"What did she look like?"
"She was shorter then you are, but not by much. She wore a white robe. I couldn't make out her features." The girl looked at him pleadingly. "Please let me go now."
"I'm not finished with you just yet," Karr told her. "Did the woman say anything that would suggest where she is right now? Or where she's going?"
The girl shook her head. "No. All she said is she wanted Josh. And she was going to get him. I don't know how long she took killing us. It felt like days."
"Where's Josh now?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Yes, you can," Karr told her. "The woman is after you friend. Most likely to kill him like she killed you. If you tell me where he is, I'll have a chance to save his life."
"Josh isn't my friend," the girl snapped. "Never was, never has been. I don't care if he dies. But father does."
"Then for your father's sake, tell me where he is."
The girl looked over at the body of the older eel-person. She hung her head. "He went to Erastus." She stopped for a moment before telling him how to get there. "Please let me go now."
Karr nodded and waved his hand absently. The light separated from the body and dissipated. He turned his attention to the older male. Perhaps he would have more information then the girl did. He'd have to do this quick. They were starting to run out of time.
Nydia playfully scratched her familiar's back. It was an ugly creature by most people's standards, but it served her well. It was sort of a cross between a cartoon rat and a bat. Its wings were attached to its arms and it was far more comfortable in the air. A fine layer of gray fur covered its body. The familiar cooed at the attention. Normally Nydia didn't play with her familiar at times like this, but this time the creature had done its job well.
"You did a very good job Oltec," she told her familiar. "Very good indeed."
"Oltec do good?" The familiar asked with pride. "Mistress happy with Oltec?"
"Yes I'm happy with you," Nydia said. "Very, very happy." She smiled as Oltec nuzzled up against her. "Now take me to where Lance is Oltec. It's very important."
"Oltec do good," the creature said happily. "Oltec take Mistress to man." Oltec flapped his wings and hovered in the air. He blinked twice and vanished.
Nydia shook her head. "He's a handful at times. You're right about that brother. But he's worth the effort." She muttered to herself and vanished as well.
Oltec and Nydia appeared in a lush forest. The trees towered into the sky, almost obscuring it completely. The forest was dark, but you could see clearly. A thick layer of moss covered the forest floor. Green was the predominant colour here.
"Where is he?" Nydia asked. "Oltec?"
"Oltec take Mistress to man. Oltec take us first to place where they not see us coming," the familiar explained. "Oltec know they not like visitors."
Nydia smiled. "Very clever Oltec. Remind me to reward you for this. Which way is Lance?"
Oltec grinned happily at his mistress. "Oltec do good. Man this way. Oltec show you." The familiar flapped his wings a few times and fluttered around Nydia's head before heading south.
It wasn't long before Nydia saw where they were going. A huge black castle rose from the ground before the cliffs that they were working their way toward. Oddly enough the castle didn't look out of place. It was a beautiful piece of architecture and was probably made from solid black marble.
"Is that where Lance is Oltec?" Nydia asked her familiar.
"Yes," Oltec said. "That where man is. Oltec do good."
"Yes, Oltec do good," Nydia said absently. "So we've found the last of them. This should make the our lives easier. Though somehow I doubt that." She sighed as she looked over the castle from the hill they were standing on. It was a foreboding structure. It was beautiful, but she wouldn't want to have to lay siege to it.
"Mistress okay?" Oltec asked with worry.
"I'm fine Oltec," Nydia said. "Just thinking." She lapsed into silence again while staring at the castle. "He seems safe enough for the moment. Oltec, who else have you seen in the castle?"
"A strong woman. Small but strong," the familiar told her. "A pale man. Very beautiful."
"Anybody else?"
"A man in green," Oltec said. "Very bad man. Try to hurt Oltec when he see me."
"A man in green saw you?" Nydia asked with alarm. "What did his clothing look like?" The alarm she had felt a moment earlier returned even stronger when Oltec described the man's clothing. "Stay here Oltec. It's very important. Come to me or Karr or Damek if you see anyone else like that come near here. It's very important. If their clothing is similar, even if it's a different colour, come get one of us right away. I don't care what time it is. Do you understand me?"
Oltec nodded his head. "Yes, Mistress. Oltec understand."
Nydia nodded. "Good. I'm going to find my brothers. Remember Oltec, if anyone like that comes near the castle come get one of us." She spun quickly in the air and teleported away.
The hawk flew down toward the break in the snow-covered trees and shimmered into Damek. He landed lightly on the ground in front of the blue robed woman. Her features were mostly hidden by the robe, but she still appeared attractive.
"What are you doing here?" Damek demanded.
"I've come to deal with some people that are of interest to the Acolytes," she replied calmly. "And I don't believe you have the authority to question me."
"I'll question whomever I damn well please," Damek snapped. "There's nothing here that will interest you."
"I don't believe you understand the situation completely," Blue said. A hint of steel entered her voice. "I have business here. You do not."
"You're mistaken," Damek told her. "I've plenty of business here. You, however, are simply interfering with what I have to do."
Blue laughed. It was a striking laugh, reminding Damek of better times. "I had forgotten how insistent you are. It would appear that the years haven't diminished your will any."
"They haven't," Damek said levelly.
"I'm afraid I must insist," Blue said. "I have business here. The Acolytes are interested in a few people here. I've been asked to check them out."
"Over my dead body."
"As charming as that concept is darling," Blue told him. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass. I don't love you any more, but you're still far too cute to kill. Despite what the others think, I never agreed with putting you to death. It was actually my hand that stopped that penalty. It had to be complete agreement among the six of us. I didn't agree with death, so you and your siblings just lost your power. Or as it turned out. Most of your power."
"I'm so glad that someone decided to throw us a bone," Damek sneered. "It's nice to know that everyone in the world isn't evil."
"Don't take that tone with me Damek," Blue snapped. "I said I didn't agree with your death. I can change my mind. You were a match for me before. You aren't now. Your simple weather magic is nothing compared to what I can do. You boast you can manipulate the very air a man breathes. I AM the air you breathe. You manipulate, I control. What you do with a spell, I do with a thought."
Damek smirked. "You always did think you were better then others because of that. You aren't."
"I've never considered myself better," Blue said. "But I am. I have power, and I plan to use that power any way I see fit. And at the moment I plan to use it to interfere with your plans. You're not going to recover the power you once had Damek. None of you will."
"Perhaps not," Damek told her. "But if I don't, I'm taking you down with me."
Blue laughed again. "Really? We both know you don't have that power to do that to me and live."
"Who said anything about living?" Damek asked. "I'll take you down. Even if it takes my life to do it. I've had a very long time to think about what you did to me. And my thoughts toward you haven't changed since that night. We had love once, but that's gone. Long gone. I won't hesitate this time."
"It's about time you realized that," Blue told him. "If you hadn't been weak all those years ago we would never have caught you. Of course you did hesitate, and because of it, we captured you. You foolishly believed that I wouldn't harm you because you loved me. Love is a fool's trap, Damek." She laughed again. "And you darling were a fool."
"Yes I was," Damek said lowly. "But not any more. I have loyalty, but not love. You won't win so easily this time."
"You truly believe that don't you?" Blue asked. The surprise in her voice was apparent. "I have more power then you do, I'm far stronger. I will win when we come to blows. The Acolytes will crush you beneath our heels. And we'll destroy your little hope. The boys you found that will aid you in the recovery of your power will die." She smiled sweetly at him. "I'll even be kind for the moment. I'll remember what we had once and let you keep your little protectees for a while longer. I'll come back later and destroy them then."
"And I'll be here wait for you," Damek told her. "And I'll stop you."
"I'm sure you'll try," Blue said. "Until then lover." Blue turned and strode off into the snow-filled forest.
"We have a few problems" Damek said. He was sitting across from Karr and next to Nydia. "The Acolytes are involving themselves again. They're aware of what we're trying to do. And they're attempting to stop us. I had a run in with my old flame. She didn't attack me, but she was pretty determined to try and kill Chris and Joey."
"Oltec said the same thing about Lance." Nydia added.
"You found Lance?" Karr asked. "Where is he?"
"He's right under our noses actually," Nydia said. "He's in the land of magic, England. He's apparently staying with Selvar."
"Selvar the necromancer?" Damek asked. "Isn't that a tad odd?"
"That's what Oltec said he saw. And I believe him. I scanned the castle quickly, Lance is in there. Selvar wasn't at the time, but it's most certainly his castle."
"How do you know the Acolytes went after Lance as well?" Karr asked.
"Oltec said that he saw a man in a green robe enter the castle," Nydia said. "I asked for the description of the robe and it was the same that an Acolyte wears. And there are only six people in the existence that would dare wear that style of robe."
"True," Karr mused. "A woman in white went after Josh. She didn't get to him, but she killed the eel-people that were taking care of him."
"So we know where they all are now," Damek said. "Let's go get them all and finish what we started. We've been working at this for over a thousand years."
"It's not that simple," Nydia said. "We need a particular celestial alignment first. And even if we didn't, we still have the problem of the Acolytes. They're going to annoy us every step of the way."
"Or worse they'll kill one of the boys first," Karr said. "We can't afford for them to do that."
"Exactly," Nydia said. "We also can't protect each of them by ourselves. What about revealing to the people they're with what's happening?"
"Won't work," Damek said. "At least not with Evelyn."
"Why not?" Karr asked. "From what I've heard of Pyre and Selvar, they'll take us at our word. And each of them is more then capable of fending off an Acolyte for a little while."
"Evelyn won't believe me. I killed her son a while back." Damek told them.
"Great," Nydia snapped. "And just what possessed you to do something as stupid as that?"
"First off I had no idea that we would need her help at some point," Damek defended himself. "And secondly I was dealing with a problem that was very important at the time."
"And just what was this pressing issue that caused you to commit an act that we may no be able to recover from?" Nydia asked with sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Her son was possessed," Damek answered simply.
"There are better ways to deal with possession then death Damek," Karr said.
"True, but not in this case." Damek sighed. "The creature that was possessing her son was a body jumper. If you threatened it at all it would just jump to another body. It was getting more and more difficult to catch because it found a few cities. It was wreaking havoc in the Coalition cities. You know how much they despise anything not human. Well this thing was both not human and full of magic. A prime target for the Coalition."
"And this has to do with the boy how?"
"The creature feeds off death," Damek explained. "Every time its host died it would absorb the energy and jump out of the body to another host. The Coalition just went nuts. They killed anybody that was a host trying to kill the creature.
Which of course just gave it what it wanted, more energy. I finally tracked it down and chased it north. I killed its current host hoping that there wasn't anybody around it could jump to. It jumped into Evelyn's son. I trapped the boy in a cave and killed him. I made sure that the creature was sealed in the body so that it couldn't get out at the time of death. Since it was stuck when the body died, it died too."
"I take it the Evelyn won't see things this way," Karr said.
"She won't. Trust me on that one."
"What about bringing them all together?" Nydia offered. "They're all vulnerable off by themselves, but if they were in one spot they would be much better defended. It would also make our lives easier. We'd all be able to focus our attention on one spot, rather then all over the globe."
"That would work," Karr said. "Where do you suggest?"
"Selvar's castle," Nydia answered. "It's well defended naturally and it's right in the middle of a forest. It's hard to get to in large numbers, so an army won't be any help."
"She's got a point," Damek said. "And it doesn't matter how strong the Acolytes are. With everyone that would be in that castle, plus ourselves, we'd be able to protect them without a problem. The Acolytes are strong, but not that strong. We still have the problem of Evelyn."
Karr nodded. "Yes we do. We also have to find a way to get them all to England. Justin is in Mexico, Chris and Joey in what was once Canada, and Josh is off in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It's going to be difficult. Even if Evelyn would listen to us."
"Dreams," Nydia answered simply.
"What?" Both her brothers asked.
"Well, we can send Joey and Chris a message in their dreams. Something that would let them know that the others are still alive and will meet them in England. Of course we'll have to make sure they have a way to get to England then. We could probably do something similar with Justin and Josh."
"Josh won't be a problem getting to England. It will take him a little while, but he should be able to swim there without a problem," Karr said. "You said Justin and Pyre can both fly right?"
Nydia nodded. "Yes. I haven't seen either of them actually tired. It's almost like they sleep out of habit, rather then any real physical need."
"Okay then," Karr mused. "We'll have to put together our vision to send them. Something reasonably simple, but cryptic enough to look like a real vision."
"We'll also have to find someone to deliver it," Damek said. "Do you think Arvia will be able to help us?"
"I don't trust her," Karr said. "We accepted her help so her order wouldn't go running to the gods. I'll deliver the message myself. I've enough experience in the dream world to do that."
Nydia stood. "We've got a lot to do in the next little while. I'll start putting together a way for Evelyn, Joey and Chris to get to England. One of you can deal with the vision. I'll keep an eye on Lance and Justin. They should be fine for the time being, but better safe then sorry."
"I'll take care of the vision," Damek said. "It'll take me a few hours to put together a good one. I'll head over to Evelyn's and keep an eye on Joey and Chris. I don't trust the Acolytes to leave them alone for any length of time."
TBC
That's all for now. Let me know what you think. I've been getting some nice feedback, and I love it. I want to here from you guys. I need to hear from you guys.
I want e-mail I'm not really sure when the next part will be out. It'll be soon. I've gotten really lucky with this story lately and it's just sort of coming out of me. So probably in the next day or two I should have the next part up.
Until next time, Rune