The Timeless One Read online

  "Everyone who comes here from the outside is unfamiliar with Sharindel and Fortress. They get over eventually. We all had to." Jaison crossed his arms stubbornly. "I understand respecting them for their masteries, but giving them preferential treatment just because of that will not serve them or Fortress well." Almek did not respond verbally, merely arching an eyebrow. "Look, if they require babysitting, I can do it just as well as you. You must think about yourself right now. We can't lose you!"

  Almek looked aggrieved. "I am not now nor will I be lost. I appreciate your anxiety, and your offer to take my place. And while you are an excellent Guardian, you are not me. We have endured much together, Jaison. And they do not easily accept new people to their numbers. And they possess a fierce independence. No matter how you approach them, they aren't going to readily listen to anyone other than me. Look at them. Can't you see the distrust in their eyes when they look at you? At anyone else but me?" Pointedly, he stated, "You have to earn their trust, and trying to separate me from them at this juncture will not enamor you to them in any fashion. If you remember, I did much the same for you when I brought you here." The Unsvet flushed at the rebuke.

  Almek sighed, putting his hand on the other man's shoulder. "We only just arrived with two of our number near death. Give them the courtesy of time. It may have been over a century ago, but you should remember what entering Fortress was like even without having endured such a traumatic experience as they have."

  "I have never forgotten, Almek," Jaison stated, unable to meet his eyes. "But--"

  Eyes flashing with atypical impatience, Almek stated firmly, "They will not be separated from me, nor will I be separated from them, until I know Storm and Ash have survived the ordeal and they all have been accepted. If taking them over the threshold into Sanctuary's area without the Unseen's approval were an option, I would do it. But the stress of crossing the threshold, especially on two hovering between life and death would be the height of callous thoughtlessness. Such a venture would undoubtedly seal the fate of Storm and Ash, and I will not do that to two who risked everything for me."

  Jaison pressed his lips together in annoyance. "You need not lecture me, Almek." He looked in the direction Storm and Ash were. "But as you said, the Githalin Swordanzen and Illaini Magus nearly died for you. I should think they would wish you to return to our Mistress's restoring embrace to ensure their sacrifice meant something!"

  Almek's eyes darkened in anger. "Yes, but I know they would doubt they succeeded unless they see me for themselves. The least I can do for them now is to remain until they have recovered."

  "If they recover." The Unsvet crossed his arms. "I can tell them--"

  "They will not believe I live unless they see me for themselves." Feeling the attention on them when he spoke louder than he meant, Almek grabbed Jaison's arm, turning him away from the intent eyes of his students. He added in a low voice, "And I must know for myself they survive, that they will all be well. You well know once I go to our mistress, I will not be able to leave until She has mended the ravages the time energies has made of me. It will be months before I could possibly emerge from seclusion. Likely years before She allows me beyond Her territory's boundaries for having come so close to death again. I cannot leave without knowing they live."

  The two men glared at each other until the Unsvet sighed, looking away. "Forgive me, Dusvet. To see how close you--" He cut his words off, shaking his head sharply. "I don't want to think about what losing you would mean. I wish I could ignore seeing how bad off you are, but I can't."

  Almek placed a fatherly hand on Jaison's shoulder. "You always were much more perceptive than any other Guardian I have known. Thanks to this journey, I finally understand why."

  "You do?" Jaison's demeanor became guarded.

  "Your perception is a gift of your father's heritage." Jaison looked askance at Almek at the term 'gift,' but remained silent. Almek put a hand at Jaison's back, guiding him a little further away from the cluster of his students. "I discovered the Desanti have a keen gift for Guardian talents. Since less physical approaches to obstacles are such a foreign concept to them, I will need you to guide the Swordanzen to embrace the Guardian arts."

  Jaison stopped short, staring at the Dusvet. "You want me to do what? Are you kidding, Almek?" The Vodani man shook his head bitterly. "As far as anyone knows, I am only Vodani, and Desanti acceptance of Vodani is minimal at best. A racial kinship does not mean unquestioning acceptance. I may not be viewed as an outlander, but I am still a foreigner."

  "The Swordanzen will accept you if you are strong enough to earn their respect, regardless of what you are," Terrence stated from behind Almek and Jaison. As the two Guardians turned to regard Terrence with mild surprise at his unexpected presence, the young man met their gazes with unflinching gravity. "Forgive me for interrupting your discussion, Dusvet," he stated with formal sincerity. "But--"

  Smiling warmly, Almek put his arm around the young man to draw him closer. "Unsvet Jaison, I would like you to meet Terrence. He is the newest Illaini Magus."

  Jaison blinked in surprise, looking the young man over. "There has not been an Illaini Magus within Forenta for nearly three centuries, and you bring two? And two Githalin Swordanzen?" He looked over towards the others. "I expected perhaps another master or two. But god-touched?"

  "You do not seem surprised about there being two Githalin," Almek observed.

  Terrence interrupted again, but this time with some annoyance. "Dusvet, Unsvet, please, I must speak of a matter of great urgency." Once he got their surprised attentions, he continued with impatience. "Gods willing, Storm and Ash should be awakening soon. But with having put so much of themselves into the spell, I suspect they are both in danger of--" he began, when an unholy shriek of pain broke the peace in the main room. The young man scowled and swore under his breath. "Taylin!" he commanded, running towards Storm and Ash's room. The others were hard on his heels.

  Chapter 5

  The room was lit only by the dim late afternoon sunlight as the day waned. Seated on the floor with his legs drawn up, Skyfire rested his head on his arms, quietly praying for the two unconscious people he watched over. He looked up sharply as pain shot through his arm, radiating from his Totani mark as the silver mountain cat reached out to him. The worry and fear he sensed alarmed him. "Kailee! What is it?"

  Something is wrong with Storm, the silver mountain cat Totani said anxiously. Thandar is so distressed, he is incoherent.

  On his knees by Storm's bed, Skyfire touched the woman's face, the Totani's alarm adding to his own. "Storm?" he called uncertainly, feeling the suddenly building tension in the woman as pain tightened her features. With only a fraction of a moment of warning, Skyfire tried to dodge when Storm lashed out blindly. He collapsed to the floor, pain shooting through his broken jaw. The Desanti woman grabbed her head and screamed in mortal agony.

  The door burst open as Skyfire shakily attempted to push himself up off the floor, holding his jaw. The Swordanzen woman's face contorted as she screamed in anguish, clutching her head so desperately, her nails dug gouges into her scalp. Weakly trying to sit up, Ash struggled to reach her, his own expression contorted with incapacitating, skull-splitting pain that was second to the distress he sensed from his lifemate. "Storm?!"

  "Get out of my way!" Taylin demanded imperiously, pushing her way past Jaison and Terrence. The healer turned instinctively to protect her unborn when Storm lashed out blindly again, taking the strike to her hip. Stumbling back a few steps, the healer looked even more determined. She grabbed Storm's flailing fist, tenaciously holding on as she focused on easing the Swordanzen's pain, the power she used glowing blindingly bright electric blue.

  Slowly, Storm relaxed, sobbing with her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Soothingly, Taylin rested her hand across Storm's brow. Several minutes passed before Storm finally rested quietly in sleep, though there was no peace in her expression.

  "Storm?" Ash called with growing urgency, reaching blindly. "S
torm, where are you?!"

  "Shhh," Taylin soothed as she sat beside him, holding his reaching hand in hers as she brushed her fingers along his temple. The Forentan man sagged back onto the bed with a groan of relief as the Sevmanan woman eased his pain. "She is okay, Ash. Storm is okay," she crooned. "Rest now."

  Once the crisis was past, Taylin took a deep breath before standing and turning a stern glare on the rest staring in confusion. "All of you, leave. Whatever is afflicting them is not done yet. There is much work for me to do to keep ahead of the damage and the less distraction I have, the better." Nobody moved. She scowled and pointed. "Get out!" When Almek turned in mute obedience, Jaison and the others followed silently. Terrence looked back, unable to conceal his worry behind the Forentan façade of impassivity completely, then shut the door quietly behind him.

  Once alone with the three, Taylin turned and knelt by Skyfire, her hand along his jaw as she healed the broken bone only enough for him to function. She managed a gentle, encouraging smile for the man. "You should have ducked so she didn't break your jaw," she pointed out.

  "I did," Skyfire stated sourly, rubbing his sore but mostly mended jaw. "If I had not, she would have killed me." Looking down at Storm, he touched her cheek with the back of his fingers gently. "You must understand. She did not mean to strike either of us. In Desantiva, we would become prey to those who only seek glory in defeating Swordanzen, even in honorless battles during our moments of weakness. It was purely instinct she lashed out with."

  "How could I blame her? I could sense her pain from the hall. Bright, like a lightning strike, but growing only brighter." Taylin's gaze rested on Storm, expression sad. "I am glad I was able to spare you from the others witnessing you being healed. I never can do so for her."

  "I understand." Catching Taylin's hand, he kissed her palm lightly. "Thank you, Master Healer, for accepting Desanti ways. It means much to Storm and I that you try to accommodate us."

  Taylin blushed brightly as she stood up. "You are welcome, Githalin Swordanzen." Her expression grew troubled again, reaching to put her hand on Storm's forehead lightly. "The damaging pressure and pain is building again. I must remain with them until the danger passes. Go." Taylin assured gently, "I will look after them now. Lyra needs you more at the moment."

  Skyfire tensed in alarm and some guilt for his preoccupation with Storm. "Lyra is hurt?"

  Taylin smiled reassuringly. "No, no. But she is worried sick. Nearly came to blows with Adept Ophilia." Skyfire could not help but smile at that. "She is trying to be brave for you and Storm, but it is difficult for her." Her smile faded. "And you will need her to watch over you while I work."

  Looking at Storm, she stated, "Ash is very drained, and he is suffering from a headache so painful he can barely see. But for Storm... it is beyond that. It is doing physical harm even as we speak. They both require healing. My own energy was enough this time." Touching the blood crystal pendant that let her draw on the two Swordanzen before drawing on her unborn child's life energy, she murmured, "But now it will require more than I have alone, and I am afraid my healing will do her more harm than good."

  Understanding the Sevmanan woman's concern, Skyfire shook his head. "You need not worry. You will draw from the stronger of us first." He clasped her hand briefly. "Do what you must to save them both, Master Healer. To keep the Raging One's daughter alive, the Totani will keep me alive." Hesitating only a moment more, Skyfire turned and left the room.

  Before she could turn back to Storm, Ash roused and struggled to get up. Taylin quickly went to his side, trying to restrain him. He weakly tried to push her away even as she brushed her fingers through his hair, seeking any hidden damage she either missed or he was developing. "Ash, please, you must rest so you can recover your strength."

  Ash stared with glassy-eyed sightlessness, reaching out. "Taylin! Where is Storm?" he begged pitifully. "I cannot feel her. I can't... Where is she? Tell me she is not lost. Please! I cannot live without her. I can't--"

  "She lives, Ash," Taylin assured. "Please, you must relax. You are very weak right now. You can't--"

  The mage shook his head slightly, struggling to sit up. "How-how bad is she?" he asked flatly. Taylin caught him as he nearly fell off the bed in his determined effort to reach Storm. "The chlayxin... I did not realize she would..." He grimaced, gritting his teeth as he pushed the throbbing in his head back. "...suffer with me. I thought it was... that she tired from the scrying... not that she shared in the spell... It should not have happened this way. She has so little experience..."

  Realizing the futility of trying to stop him, Taylin got her shoulder under the mage to help him to Storm's side. Ash fumbled to touch Storm's clammy, grey-tinged cheek, then felt for the pulse along her throat. "She is not dead." His voice caught with his relief, bowing his head, his forehead pressed against hers. "Mother, bless you. Her spirit is not lost." His relief was short-lived as he brushed his fingers over her brow, his touch providing only nominal ease to the woman. "But she hovers so close to the blade's edge..."

  Taylin did not insult the Illaini Magus by trying to sugarcoat the situation, her words blunt and factual. "It is bad. Something nearly burst inside her brain. If I had not gotten to her when I had, she would have died." Putting a hand on Ash's shoulder, she said in a low voice, "Storm still may die, Ash. Whatever is hurting her returns in surges like gusts of wind. It physically tears at her and she is... very weak. It is not within my power to restore her soul or her energy. I can only try to keep ahead of the damage, but I am afraid it may be futile."

  "No. I will not lose her. Not now," he whispered. He leaned forward to press his lips to Storm's brow for several long moments. The grey of death slowly eased from the Desanti woman's complexion while his face turned grey as he depleted what little strength he had left. He sat up, a small smile of satisfaction curling his lips before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

  "Ash!" Taylin caught him as he collapsed, keeping him from falling to the floor. Once assured he had not killed himself, she eased him by Storm's side, putting his arm around the Desanti woman's waist. She could not help but smile sadly as she brushed his hair straight. "Any fool who gets between a man and the woman he loves deserves whatever they get." Once settled, both mage and warrior relaxed as he laced his fingers with hers unconsciously.

  Taylin murmured, "I will not lose either of you. I promise you both that." As Storm's face reflected the surge of pain, Taylin became even more grimly determined. Sitting on Storm's other side, she placed her hands on Storm's forehead and over her heart, closing her eyes and bringing every healing lesson and instinct to bear on the silent battle for life.

  Chapter 6

  As the door to Storm and Ash's room was shut, the others traded bewildered looks. "What the hell just happened?" Mureln asked in bewilderment. When both Almek and Jaison's expressions were one of guilt, Terrence scowling accusingly at them both, the bard demanded, "You know what happened to them? What is going on?!"

  Terrence's blue eyes flashed as he brushed strands of dirty blonde hair out of his eyes irritably. "We mages called what Storm and Ash are suffering the chlayxin. I was trying to warn Almek and him about it," Terrence stated tersely, arms crossed. "But they did not give me the chance." He closed his eyes and said, "I should have realized sooner..."

  Mureln frowned. "Chlayxin? I've never heard of any such thing before."

  Terrence sighed. "You would not have because it is only whispered about within the circles of mages because it is our greatest weakness." Looking up apologetically, he continued. "I suppose it is best described as magic backlash. It is the price we pay for asserting our will over the fabric of the world around us." He cast a deeply worried look at the closed door. "Every spell creates... a physical pressure inside our heads. This is why mages often must chain to cast the most powerful spells."

  "Ash nearly died when he used the morelmi to sever Amelana's connection to Forentan magic," Almek confirmed unhappily. "I should have realized...
"

  Nodding, Terrence said in a low voice, "Most never even wake up once they succumb to the energy spent. Some succumb to the physical damage the chlayxin causes first."

  "Ye mean Storm an' Ash could still die?" Emil demanded in alarm. "Even after gettin' Almek back here?"

  The younger Illaini Magus stated with guarded reassurance. "They woke up. It is a good sign that they were not totally drained of energy. If they had not awaken within a few hours of the spell, even for a brief moment, they never would have. But now they must survive the physical aspect of the backlash. Storm... is especially vulnerable."

  Emil waved a negating hand as the group returned to the main room to wait, the Guardians utterly silent. "But th' mage had jus' been usin' her eyes, right? She ain't gots no magic to be doing spells with. Why would doin' magic ha' affected her at all?"

  Terrence shrugged. "Yes, they had been connected so he could share her vision. Between them, only Ash can touch Forentan magicks, but they are both gifted in Guardian magicks, and I suspect the spell called on more Guardian energy than Ash realized it would. Or more likely, Storm gave more of herself to the spell than she should have." He closed his eyes with a sigh. "Whatever the reason, she shares the consequences. Consciously or unconsciously, they both were part of the spell. I do not think Ash expected... this result. He would have been more reluctant to make the attempt. Even for Almek."

  Mureln's eyes widened as realization dawned. "Chaining? So that is how the mages were able to have such a wide effect on Desantiva during the Great War..." His voice drifted off as the true horror of what happened to the warrior folk sank in. "So not only Desanti were killed, but the Forentan attackers suffered self-inflicted losses as well?" Terrence only nodded mutely. "Truly a war without a victor," the bard whispered to himself as the others' attentions turned to Almek.