Chapter Ten

Repercussions

Kite

Reluctantly letting go of Cian, I took three or four steps to the door and wrenched it open. The boy standing there, dressed in a deep red shirt and grey trousers a little too long for him, was breathing heavily, his eyes dilated with an emotion I identified immediately as pure terror.

          “Please,” he gasped, “I- my sister-“ Cian ducked under my arm, and took one brief look at his face before stepping to stand directly in front of him and grip his shoulders tightly.

          “Calm down,” she told him in a quiet authoritative voice, and the nudge of magick that she sent with the command felt the same as when she had calmed our horses. He nodded as his breathing slowed, and the wild look in his eyes diminished. “Right,” she said, nodding with satisfaction, “Now tell us.”

          “It’s my sister,” he replied quickly, “She’s got something wrong- she’s been unhappy, and her wrists-“ he broke off and swallowed before continuing, “She’s lost too much blood, the healers say only someone as powerful as you can save her. Please-“ he choked, and when he looked up at me I saw the bright liquid gleam of tears on his cheeks. I didn’t even hesitate.

          “Take me quickly,” I snapped, and he took one look at my face before sprinting down the corridor, beckoning me to follow. I did as he asked, not even looking to Cian- whatever had happened, there was now no thought in my mind but a healing, and what sounded like a hard one. It came as a shock, then, when I turned my head slightly to find her running alongside me.

          “What- why-“ I managed between breaths and she looked grimly at me.

          “If she’s suicidal, which it sounds like to me… I may be able to help.”

          “What can you do?” I asked as we rounded a corner. Cian shrugged, steadying herself against the wall as she stumbled slightly.

          “I don’t know. Help her- calm her down at least.”

          “We’ll have to see if I can save her first,” I said bleakly, lowering my voice so that the boy in front of us didn’t hear me, “I’m not all that much better than an average healer.” She grinned, and I wondered how I could ever have doubted my feelings for her, when she could make me feel so right just by smiling at me. I shook myself out of my bemused daze just in time to hear her say, “I believe in you.”

          We slowed with our companion as he skidded to a halt outside a door, which he wrenched savagely open.

          “Belief might not be enough,” I told her quietly, as we followed the boy inside. I found myself standing in the living area of a large set of rooms, facing a worried looking man in the universal blue gown of a healer, the sleeves pushed up around his elbows to leave his arms bare.

          “Lord Kite!” he exclaimed, relief clearing across his face, “Thank Irisa. She’s through here, and-“ he looked at our companion, who was already walking through an open doorway, before lowering his voice, “She hasn’t got long. Please- she did it- did it herself.” He looked seriously at us and we both nodded grimly before hurrying through after the boy who had come with us.

          In the airy bedroom behind the door, a girl only a little younger than us was lying flat on her back on the wide bed. The sheet below her was white, with great blots of shining poppy scarlet blood around where her outstretched wrists lay. Now bandaged tightly to stop the flow, her hands were bluish white, as was her face. I could see her life force fading before my eyes.

          “She’s far gone,” I breathed, and the brother looked across at us, frightened.

          “Please,” he choked, “Bring her back. Please.” I nodded grimly, crossing to the bed.

          “What’s your name?” I heard Cian ask him quietly, and the hoarse answer, “Ioan Stormlain. My sister, her name is Jayen.” I sat on the side of the bed, leaning over the girl and listening to her breathing, which was shallow and stuttering in her throat. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get her, which meant… Taking the girl’s hands, I shut my eyes, opening the connection between us so that I could pour my healing into her. I was unusual for a non Healer, in that I could heal at all- let alone as well as this. Cian could, but that was to do with her ability with minds and people, I had no such excuse.

Sinking into the other world, the world of light that is a magickal world, I reach down into the network of brightly coloured strands that are my magick, flowing through me and select a handful of blue threads, healing threads. Then I pour the soothing coolness of the deep blue magick into the girl, praying it is enough. I feel myself draining and keep going until I can go no further, feel the magick rush to heal her, make more blood and seal the wounds.

          I am too late, I think tiredly, she is going- I can feel her heart rate slowing, slowing…NO, NO! I won’t lose her, can’t now. As I watch through our magickal connection, I see a deep green shadowy shape move away from her- her soul is leaving her body. If I had only got here sooner…

NO! I think angrily again, and follow her soul, trying to grasp at her before she passes into the Dark Kingdom, but my fingers slip through hers, and I open my eyes onto the physical world.

The healer was shaking his head, eyes full of tears, and stepped out of the room with shaking hands as Ioan shouted, “NO! JAYEN, COME BACK!” He knelt down by the bed, clutching at one of her hands as the tears finally rolled down his face, leaving tracks through the dirt on his face.

          “No,” I whispered, “No. I have to-“ Cian stepped towards me, her eyes frightened, but holding her hand out.

          “Kite,” she whispered, the amazing amber eyes holding mine, “I know what you’re going to do. Please-“

          “Don’t try and stop me,” I told her briefly, and she shook her head incredulously.

          “I wouldn’t. I was just going to say- take some of my magick. You’ve just drained yourself, take some of mine in replacement.”

          “Would it work?” I asked quickly, confused, and she nodded, smiling slightly.

          “It likes you.” She took my hand, slipping her fingers through mine and sending a tingle up my arm, shut her eyes briefly- and then I felt a huge surge of magick blast through me. I staggered and she opened her eyes looking at me contritely. “Sorry. That was slightly over the top.” I grinned and let go of her fingers reluctantly.

          “I might need you to catch me,” I said seriously, and she nodded seriously, saying, “I will.” As I leant myself against the wall, knowing I couldn’t perform this magick sitting down, I heard Ioan say urgently, “What is he doing?” and Cian reply quietly, “He’s following Jayen into the Dark Kingdom to try and get her back.” Ioan’s gasp of terrified astonishment was the last thing I heard as I dropped back into the magickal world.

Looking around I see Jayen’s track, the magickal trail left by her soul as it walked- turning, I find the deep darkness of the arch into the Dark Kingdom. Following the footsteps of the recently departed soul, I walk across the room and through the archway, leaving my physical body behind me. If I look down at this non-physical self, I can see the golden shimmer of Cian’s magick, not quite touching my own but close. As I step under the arch, I feel an icy cold sensation deluge over me, leaving me gasping. In front of the world is pitch black and I feel the old fear, a primeval terror of death that has nothing to do with power, but everything to do with imagination and instinct. In front of me I see, as my eyes grow used to the darkness, the Wall, rearing infinitely into the blackness above. I don’t like it, unsurprisingly- the deep grey of the stone is bleak and forbidding, and I know what lies behind it.

          I hurry forward, hoping to get to Jayen quickly, before she goes to far, I walk towards the only definable punctuation in the grim line of the Wall. The Gate is almost as menacing, and the two inscrutable Guardians, more so. Dressed in black armour, their heads are bare, not that that makes any difference to their threatening looks. Their pale faces are flat, the noses little more than slits in the white smoothness of paperlike skin. The eyes are slanted and narrow, gashes of redness in the dark of the Kingdom, and cruel, thin lipped mouths smile faintly. They are not connected to the Dark God himself, but are totally impartial entities.

          “Kirel of Astoreth,” they say flatly, voices monotone and oddly choral, “This is not your time. Why do you come?” I pause before them, my face bland as I keep my horror of this place from my expression. I know that it is not a bad place, any more than the Guardians are bad people, but they frighten me in any case.

          “I come to return a soul who should not have passed,” I tell them firmly, “I have healed her hurts, so she will live- and it is not her time.”

          “Who says it is not her time?” they ask in that strange harmonic double voice, “She has passed the Gate.”

          “Because she died of her own volition. I know this,” I say, then push a hand through my hair, “But she is not for this world! She is here because some evil has taken the Mother, and by doing so hurt the soul I seek. This is not of her own choice, she has been forced into the Dark Kingdom.” They glance at each other and I brace myself to perform some serious magick, but one of them abruptly nods, and steps aside so that I can pass.

          “Go with blessing,” they tell me as I walk through, “She did not deserve her fate.”

          “Do you know who-“ I begin turning back to look quickly at them, and they nod slowly.

          “We do. But we cannot tell- it is against the Charter…” their voices fade, and they turn back to stare into the dark beyond the Wall, waiting for the next soul. I walk on, oddly depressed by their refusal to tell me, and at the same time touched by the blessing of impartial judges who have every reason to dislike me. Clearly the Guardians, however inhuman, have a sense of fair play. I walk into the dim gloom of the Dark Kingdom, looking around for a sign of the deep green trail I follow. A hill rises in front of me, but…then I catch it, a flash of the colour of pine trees in the corner of my eye. Turning sharply to my right, I see the trail stretching away like a thin cord. If I was here without a purpose, I know I would see every single trail of every single soul to enter in over a month, but my intent acts as a sort of filter. The souls are still here though, clustering around me suddenly as I step onto the path the cord has followed. I hear them whispering, grey shadows just out of eyeline, whisking around me and brushing softly against me. Their touch makes me shudder and I pull away quickly before pulling myself together.

“Lord Kite…” I hear them whisper, voices as they were in life. Here an old man, a young woman…a small child- a tiny shape that I feel tug on my shirt, then whirl away as I turn to look.

“I look for Jayen Stormlain,” I tell them quickly, “Do you know-“

“She is young and headstrong…” I hear them breathe, the whisper tickling the hairs on the back of my neck. I nod as I hurry on along the path, following the green thread.

“I cannot force her,” I add sadly, “She must return of her own accord.”

“Talk to her,” they say, surprisingly forcefully, “She must return!” I frown, puzzled.

“Why do you say that?”

“The boy will blame himself if she does not…” I hear a female voice whisper beside my ear, “Two lives should not be lost for this. More will die soon, more will follow if the Mother does not return…to lose these innocents is wrong…”

I nod, then leave the path as the trail moves off uphill, towards a small coppice of trees.

“We will leave you to speak with her,” the spirits still trailing around me murmur, “She must return..” Then they are gone. I proceed up the hill, slower now as I walk towards a confrontation that could go either way- and must go the right way.

          I reach the edge of the trees, and walk through them, listening to the whispering of the pines as they welcome me. Even in this place of death, natural things like me, it seems. There is precious little love left in the living world, I think sadly- everything is beginning to grieve. When Gaia first went, I hardly noticed it- but now, there was an ever growing void in me that I was frightened about even thinking of.

          I find Jayen in the centre, her hands pressed to her face. She looks a little more solid than the floating ethereal shapes of the spirits, a combination of her recent death and her strong personality, which stands out to me as clearly as if I knew her.

          “Jayen,” I say quietly, tentatively, and she looks up abruptly to fix me with blue eyes, the same as her brother’s. Automatically I make an awkward bow and she simply stares at me.

          “It was you who tried to save me,” she says quickly, mouth round with astonishment, “I tried to hold onto you, but I was gone…” I nod, my throat suddenly dry.

          “Will you come back with me?” I ask impulsively, catching her hand, “Please, Jayen. You don’t belong here, not yet.” She sighs and shakes her head resignedly.

          “I can’t,” she says, her tone of voice much more reasonable than the words. I look steadily at her, willing her with all my heart to change my name. I didn’t know her, didn’t know if she was a good or bad person…but I did know that I had to bring her back.

          “Why not?” I reply questioningly, and she shrugs.

          “I can’t, it will hurt. And besides- with Gaia gone, with that great empty, yawning hold inside me…” she shudders violently, “What is there left in a world that soon will be dead?”

          “It won’t die when I’m alive,” I tell her grimly, then catch her hands in my own, forcing her to look at me, “Listen to me, Jayen. Your brother is back there, and he can’t live without you.”

          “He’ll learn,” she whispers, her eyes full of tears, great and shining in the dim light of the Dark Kingdom, “He will learn to live without me, as I did without my parents.” I shake my head violently.

          “You haven’t seen him,” I insist, “Ioan needs you, and you’ve abandoned him. I suppose you’re proud of that.”

          “No,” she screams, as I know she will- I am trying to provoke her now, “NO! I love him, too much…” She puts her hands over her face, desperately trying to hide the tears now readily flowing across pale skin, “I can’t come back, I CAN’T! The pain inside me is too great… the emptiness without the Mother…”

          “You can’t bear a little pain, to be returned to your brother?” I exclaim angrily, exaggerating my fury for a greater impact, “You should be ashamed of yourself! I always thought family was about sharing, and doing things that hurt you to keep your family whole- you clearly have a different definition. Are you proud of leaving Ioan to cope with the world by himself?” She shakes her head.

          “No, no…” she whispers, “I just- you must see-“

          “I can’t,” I tell her sharply, “I cannot see at all. Jayen you must return with me! I can’t bear to see you die so pointlessly, or your brother destroyed by the people who did this. If you die now, you have given them what they want! Do you really want that?” She shakes her head, and I grip her hands more tightly, saying in a gentler voice, “So come home. You do not belong here- the Guardians gave me their blessing to return you, and if it had been your rightful time they would not have done.” She looks doubtfully at me.

          “Please, Jayen,” I say softly, “For Ioan’s sake if not for your own.” She clenches and unclenches her fists convulsively, turning her head this way and that to avoid my gaze. “Ioan nearly killed himself coming to get me,” I carry on mercilessly, “He couldn’t understand why you abandoned him.” She begins to cry again but I stare stonily at her.

“All right,” she says brokenly after an agonising moment of silence, “All right. Take me back, take me- take me home.”

          “Thank you,” I tell her, feeling tears well in my own eyes, “Come on, this will be quite unpleasant for me.” I gently take her unresisting hand and lead her through the trees and back down to the path into the dimness. The shadowy shapes of the spirits are back, clustering around us.

          “Good luck, Jayen,” they murmur, “Good luck…be strong…”

          “Thank you,” she whispers, the tears that still drip from her face tumbling like pale glimmering pearls to the small pebbles on the track.

          “Lord Kite will stop this horror…” they sigh, “The Mother will return, we have faith.”

          “I appreciate that,” I tell them sincerely, “I do. Know that if you ever need aid, of any kind- Kite of Sorental is at your service.” The spirits whisper their thanks as we approach the gates. It is as I step up to push them open, the hardest part of any trip into the dark kingdom, that I hear a male voice behind me, sharper and more coherent than a number of the spirits.

“Lord Kirel?” I turn to see a shy looking young man with ruffled brown hair, more solid than most.

“My name’s Casern,” he offers and I recognise the name with a shock.

“You’re Cian’s friend,” I say slowly, and he nods, watching me narrowly.

“Yes. I have been watching over her today.”

“Oh,” I say just as slowly as before, knowing just what he had seen, “Oh…”

“I care a lot about her,” he says in a rush, “If I was still alive, I might resent you, but now…” he shakes his head smiling, before sobering and saying, “She cares for you, my Lord, as I thought Cian could not care for anyone. You make her laugh, she accepts who she is when she is with you. Perhaps you can teach her to stop believing she will go mad- and even begin to use her power to her full extent.”

“I’ll do my best,” I tell him gravely. Casern nods.

“Good,” he says grimly, “Look after her, Lord Kite.”

“With all my heart,” I whisper, overcome with an emotion I don’t want to name.

“Go now,” Casern says quickly, “She is frightened.”

“One thing,” I say, “By saying one of our enemies is one of Cian’s kind, do you mean a clairvoyant?” Casern nods, then vanishes.

Jayen, who had watched the exchange with interest, now tugs my hand impatiently. Sighing I look down at the network of flowing glittering threads that were my magick, the gold of Cian’s force intertwined with it. Taking a handful of threads, I pull the magick into my hands, feeling the tingle in my flesh as it gathered there.

Opening my fingers I hold up my palms towards the dark solid mass of the gates and take a deep breath. As I say quietly, “Open,” I shoved my magick into the gates with all my strength. There is a bright explosion of light and sound and the gates buckle. Still they are closed. My hands tremble as I raise them again, and I grit my teeth before saying more loudly, “Open!” There is a grinding, as of metal, this time, but the gates remained closed. Jayen is looking at me, terrified, and I put one violently shaking hand to my head, which is filled with a throbbing pain. Fear fills me. What if we can’t get back? What if- and suddenly a picture rises in mind, of a girl standing in my arms, her blonde hair ruffled, saying seriously, “Kite, I don’t want you to go away.” Raising my hands I shove every last little bit of magick I have into the gates as I roar, “OPEN BY THE COMMAND OF LORD KIREL OF SORENTAL! DO MY BIDDING!”

There is a long low rumbling as the magick flows from my fingertips. A bright white light grows from where the glow of my magick hits the metal of the gates, enveloping all sight. Sound and light grows in intensity to a point that is almost unbearable. Then they vanish, and I watch, shaking as the gates open.

“Come on,” I croak to Jayen and she steps up to my side, her eyes very wide. I take a step forward, ignoring the Guardians who stand impassively on either side, and fall through the archway into the real world, Jayen’s hand clasped tightly in my own.

*

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in the bed in the apartment I had been given in Firepoint, staring at the ceiling. Struggling up onto my elbows, I took a quick assessment of my situation. I was fully clothed, no obvious injury, and felt as if I had been repeatedly beaten with a large blunt instrument. Checking my magick levels, I found them low, but not as bad as I had been expecting.

          As I sat up a little further the door opened and Cian came in, her face very white so her eyes stood out like golden embers. I smiled at her, feeling a warm rush when I looked at her, watched her halt slightly, then rush towards me.

Somehow in the confusion that followed, I put my arms around her, and she sat down next to me.

“Goddess,” she whispered, touching my face gently with one finger, as if to reassure herself I was there, “When you didn’t come back, I- I thought-“ I didn’t answer, just bent my head and kissed her, feeling the tremors and horror that the Dark Kingdom always instilled in me wash away.

When we broke apart I heard Cian sigh then rest her head against my shoulder.

“Saleni,” I said softly, “What- is Jayen all right?” She nodded sleepily.

“Yes,” Cian replied, “She’s fine- I’ve spoken to her, put a calming spell on her so she doesn’t have another fit of panic. She was talking to Ioan when I left.” I nodded. “Good. How long before the duel?”

“Three hours,” she mumbled, eyes beginning to shut. I laughed tiredly as I realised what a ridiculous picture we made.

“You can’t sleep in my bed,” I told her, though she was too sleepy to understand what I was saying, “What would people think? Come on.” I pulled her grudgingly to her feet and together we half walked, half staggered into the sitting area next door. When we collapsed into sitting positions, Cian made an inarticulate sound and shut her eyes, leaning against me and the back of the couch. Looking down at the small blonde girl next to me, I felt a sudden rush of unaccustomed tenderness and instinctively slipped my arms around her.

“We’ll sort everything out,” I said softly, “I promise. Everything is going to be…all right…” I thought she was asleep but she nodded then echoed my gesture, putting her arms around my neck. I remembered very little after that, as I drifted off into my own exhausted sleep.

“Kite, Cian!” I- we- were woken abruptly from our separate slumbers by the hurrying footsteps down the hallway outside, then the sound of the door into my chambers slamming back. I jerked my eyes open, realising where I was- and with who- and saw Reynar standing there, his jaw dropped. As I stared at him, not exactly sure what to say, Cian stirred, then opened whirling chaotic eyes the colour of sun on grass, and smiled up at me. I cleared my throat slightly and she whipped her head round, following my gaze to where Reynar stood. There was a full minute of dead silence  in which I heard with deafening clarity the distant sound of a bell ringing the hour. What was he going to say? I racked my brains for an innocent explanation, but could think of nothing that sounded more convincing than the truth.

Abruptly, Reynar began to laugh, a clear sound that filled the room as Cian and I stared at him apprehensively. Hurrying forward, he hugged Cian and then engulfed me too before sitting back on his heels, a gigantic grin splitting his face. Coughing slightly, he stood up, looking slightly embarrassed.

“I came to tell you,” he said, slightly too fast, “The Duel will be in an hour. Lord Fearne-“ he made an eloquent face of disgust that made me grin at him, “And I have to go to all the purification rituals now and promise that we won’t try to kill each other and so on. As if we would bother duelling with enemies and not try to kill them.” Cian reached out and hugged him to her, clinging to her friend like a lifeline. I felt a pang of stabbing envy, which I suppressed quickly.

“You’ll be all right,” she told him shakily, looking into his eyes, “Do it, do it for Linarth and for you. He deserves everything you give him.” Reynar smiled at her.

“I agree.”

“Reynar,” I asked, “Do you know a girl called Jayen?” He nodded, looking seriously at me.

“My friend Mia is betrothed to the healer who was there when you brought her back. She told me. Thank you, Kite- you didn’t have to do that.” I shook my head, knowing he couldn’t understand why I had had no choice.

“I did,” I told him, “I did have to do it- it’s a way of paying off the debt I have. I’ve been given a gift, and not to use it would be like-“ I searched desperately for an analogy, “Like borrowing money when you want it, and not paying any back.” He grinned understandingly at me.

“How is Mia?” Cian asked, “I haven’t seen her since we arrived, what with- everything…but I know you’re worried about her.” Reynar ran a hand through his hair, thinking.

“Tired,” he said eventually, “Very tired from keeping the Flame of Sirea in place. You’ll probably see her later. Jayen is well, by the way.” He looked very uncomfortable for a moment, then dug at the neck of his shirt, pulling out a gold chain that he slipped over his head. On it hung a red jewel, one of the pair he had made in Rosenthal for Ella, and he held it out to us, coiled in the palm of his hand.

“If anything happens,” he said quietly, “Tell her for me. I- care about her, and I haven’t told her about this duel.”

“Why not?” Cian began, but I understood and smiled. Clearly this was a male thing that she didn’t understand.

“So she isn’t frightened about you,” I said softly, “If- if she cares about you too. Of course we’ll tell her, Reynar. I won’t say good luck because that would suggest you needed it, and I don’t think you do.” He nodded gratefully, ducking his head, then looked up and met my eyes as he clasped my hand tightly in a gesture of friendship.

“You two,” he began slowly, shaking his head, then grinned as I felt a huge hot flush rising in my cheeks. Glancing sideways at Cian, I saw the same rosy colour seeping into her face. Reynar looked from one of us to the other and eventually said, “I won’t embarrass you further. Just- well, finally!”