Delver Magic: Book 06 - Pure Choice (40 page)

It was Dzeb that intervened. He
wouldn't allow Linda to continue. As gently as he could, he took hold of her.
Pulled her away so she could not reach the delver.

Linda continued to swing in
Ryson's direction even as she hit nothing but the tree branches overhead. Her
frustration exploded.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

But Dzeb would not release her.

She struggled mightily, but she
could not hope to break the titan's grip. In a fit of pure fury, she screamed
with every ounce of energy within her. It was the last noise she made before
she passed out.

Ryson rushed toward the cliff
behemoth and took his wife from Dzeb. He held her in his arms as a flood of
emotions overwhelmed him. He was hurt, both physically and emotionally. He was
confused and at a complete loss for what to do next.

"She's not herself,"
Dzeb said with more than just compassion. He appeared to have a far greater
understanding of the situation than the delver.

"What's wrong with her?"
Ryson demanded.

"Something is inside of her,
something that should not be there."

"I don't understand what that
means."

"Do you understand that the
rage was not her own?"

It was a relief to hear, but Ryson
wasn't sure he could believe it.

"You're saying something's
controlling her?"

"Control? No. Confusing her.
Angering her."

"Do you know what it
is?"

"I cannot say."

"Then how do you know?"

"How could I not?"

Ryson wanted to shout at the
behemoth, but he could not find it within himself. He was emotionally spent,
but he still needed answers.

"Dzeb, this isn't the time
for games. How did you know?"

"I am not trying to play a
game with you, Ryson Acumen. She is stricken, even you should know that, but by
what, I still cannot say. I simply do not know."

"We need to get her to
help."

"I am in agreement. Let me
take her for now."

Ryson was reluctant to let Linda
go. He almost argued, but the gentle behemoth stated a simple truth.

"You must use your skills to
find the quickest path back to your home. You cannot do that and carry her at the
same time. Let me help you."

Ryson conceded and allowed Dzeb to
gently take hold of Linda once more.

"You lead and I will
follow," the cliff behemoth offered.

Ryson agreed, but decided to
change their destination.

"We're not going back to
Burbon. We're going to Connel. I don't know if this is magic or not, I don't
see how it could be, but I think we should go see Enin."

Dzeb nodded and then followed
Ryson through Dark Spruce toward the east, toward Connel.

Linda regained consciousness just
as Ryson and Dzeb reached the outer limits of Connel. She stirred as if waking
from a long sleep, but she never struggled to be free of the cliff behemoth's
grasp. She looked up at Dzeb, recognized the giant, but did not smile or curse.
She simply shrugged.

"She is awake," Dzeb
alerted the delver.

Ryson stopped immediately with
both relief and trepidation gripping his every thought. He was thankful to hear
Linda was conscious, but he braced himself for a another outburst of her
seemingly uncontrollable fury. It was like finding her in the forest all over
again. His heart leapt at the prospect of avoiding catastrophe despite the
terrible odds, but he feared just how angry she would be over his decision to
remove her from Dark Spruce.

He stepped up quickly to check on
her, and to possibly cope with a barrage of insults and scorn. As he looked
upon her face, most of his fear began to drain away, but his burden had not
been completely eased.

Linda appeared well enough, but
the hostility that had been etched on her face melted into indifference. She
gave him no joyful smile of recognition, no glow of emotional attachment. She
just looked at her husband, and then seemed to gaze through him as if he wasn't
even there.

"Are you alright?" Ryson
asked with genuine concern, but also with a level of delver curiosity. He could
not understand the change within her, and though he worried terribly about her,
he could not dismiss the mystery of her emotions.

Linda did not answer immediately.
She took a heavy breath as she looked at the delver with clear recognition. She
did not shout or snarl at her husband, showed not the slightest hostility, but
she didn't offer any genuine affection, either. Her expression, her entire
being, was devoid of emotion.

"Did you hear me?" Ryson
asked again, not wanting to antagonize his wife, but needing her to answer.

"I heard you," she
replied. "I'm tired. Where are we?"

"Connel."

"It looked familiar,"
Linda stated.

"Do you remember what
happened?"

"When?"

"In the forest, right before
you passed out."

"I think so," she
admitted with another shrug.

She frowned slightly, but not at
the thought of her own actions. She could recall her outburst—even remembered
striking her husband—but that caused her little regret. The only thing that
annoyed her, and it was only marginally, was the thought of the shag running
away.

"I hit you," she
announced as if she had recalled serving him an ale at the Borderline Inn.
"I was in the forest. A shag ran away from me. I wonder why."

"I believe because it saw
me," Dzeb offered. "Do you remember me?"

"Yes. You kept following
me."

"That's right," Dzeb
confirmed with a sincere smile, very pleased to hear that Linda recalled most
of the events.

Her attitude, however, did little
to encourage the delver. While she wasn't hostile to him or the cliff behemoth,
she regarded them both with the barest consideration.

"Would you like me to put you
down?" Dzeb asked.

"Are you well enough to
walk?" Ryson pressed.

Linda disregarded the concern of
her husband. She seemed to weigh the benefits of walking on her own as opposed
to being carried. In the end, she wouldn't make a decision and left it to the
giant.

"You can if you want."

"I want you to be safe,"
Dzeb replied. "I will hold onto you until you wish me to put you down or
we reach our destination."

"Where are we going?"
Linda wondered but with no real interest one way or the other.

At that very moment, they were
interrupted by a soldier on horseback who had ridden out to meet the threesome.
The guards at Connel's border could not ignore the sight of the cliff behemoth,
nor could the citizens at the edge of the city. A crowd was beginning to form.

"I'd like to ask you the same
question," the guard announced as he moved up. "Where are you
headed?"

Dzeb smiled broadly at the horse.
He cradled Linda in one arm, allowing him to lift the other free. As he held
out his palm, the horse willingly stepped up to the giant and nudged the huge
hand with its snout. Dzeb patted the horse gently but lovingly.

"Do you recognize me?"
Ryson asked of the soldier.

"Yes, you're the delver...
Acumen, I believe."

"That's right," Ryson
replied with relief. He hoped that would make things easier. He didn't want to
be delayed by guards that might question his intentions. He knew Enin was
difficult to see, but he had a long history with the wizard. "We need to
see Enin."

"I don't think that's going
to be a problem. He'd want to know about your friend here. I've heard about
cliff behemoths, but never saw one myself. Never thought I ever would, to tell
you the truth."

The soldier regarded the giant
with both a sense of awe and gratitude. Despite the overwhelming appearance of
the cliff behemoth, word had spread through the ranks that they had assisted
humans in the past. He was grateful for that. He had defended the city against
shags and bloat spiders—colossal beasts in their own right—but neither could
match the staggering presence of the titan before him.

"What's the best way to
handle this?" Ryson wondered aloud.

The guard looked back to the city
border. The number of curious bystanders was growing. He wasn't sure what the
delver wanted with Enin, but he acknowledged the wizard was the best suited to
handle the situation.

"I'd like to get you to a
safe place," the guard stated. "You're causing too much commotion out
here in the open. Did you have a place in mind?"

"I was going to head right to
Enin's home. I've been there before."

"Then you know that might not
be the best place to go. You're going to attract a big crowd and there are some
narrow streets between here and there with quite a few open markets as well.
Too many people at this time of day. We also need to find a place that can
accommodate your friend's size."

"Would you escort us to the Church
of Godson, please?" Dzeb
requested as he continued to pet the contented horse.

"That's not a bad idea,"
the soldier allowed. "You alright with that?"

Ryson was fine with the idea and
nodded in agreement.

"Alright," the soldier
stated and then reviewed the surrounding grounds. "This is what I'd like
to do. I'm going to lead you around that hill to my left. That's going to take
us out of the view of the crowd. Then, I'm going to pick up the pace a bit. I
know you can keep up," the soldier acknowledged as he looked to Ryson, but
then turned to Dzeb, "but how about you?"

"I will try to maintain any
pace you set," Dzeb announced with all humility.

"I don't think you have to
worry about him," Ryson added. "They are surprisingly fast and their
long stride allows them to cover a lot of ground in a hurry."

"Great. Then I'll lead you
down a side path I know. We're still going to attract attention, but not as
much. I'll get you to the church, get you inside, and then I'll send word to
Enin."

"Thank you very much."

"Not a problem. Okay, let's
go."

The soldier pulled on the reigns
and led his somewhat reluctant mount toward the hill. The horse did not wish to
leave the cliff behemoth, but when the animal saw the giant follow, it perked
up noticeably. The horse seemed more than pleased to be leading the cliff
behemoth. In fact, the animal appeared downright proud.

They moved quickly. The soldier
looked back only once. When he noted the speed and agility of the behemoth, he
lost any worry of outpacing the giant. He nudged his horse to a quick step and
entered the city out of sight of the initial crowd.

Others within Connel, however,
quickly took note of the giant. They could not have missed him. Curious
onlookers tried to follow, but by the time they recovered from their original
surprise, the small group of travelers had weaved their way out of sight. Only
a few citizens managed to keep up, but they found the pace and path difficult
to maintain.

The guard moved through alleys
wide enough to handle Dzeb's massive frame but deserted enough to avoid growing
attention. He steered them away from all street markets and public squares, and
he maintained a swift pace to lose all followers.

Other guards on patrol quickly
observed the continuing disturbance. They moved in to address the mammoth form
rushing through Connel's streets. After brief calls to the lead soldier, they
accepted the short explanation without debate. They even assisted in diverting
any growing crowds. Rather than detaining or even delaying the group, the
escorting soldiers allowed for even faster travel through the city.

While making such progress and
gaining the assistance of the soldiers, Ryson believed the decision to bring
Linda to Connel was the correct one. The only other choice was Burbon, and
though he would have liked to bring Linda home, parading a cliff behemoth through
the controlled streets might have raised other problems.

He was actually surprised the
soldiers of Connel were so accommodating and willing to assist without
obtaining approval from superiors. He knew Burbon's guards would have been much
more reluctant to permit such a disturbance. He wondered if they would have
allowed Dzeb to pass through the town gate without checking with Sy, but that
was not a concern in Connel, and Ryson dismissed such thoughts in order to
focus on the well-being of his wife.

Much sooner than Ryson hoped
possible, they had reached the tall steps of the Church
of Godson. The soldier stopped at
the base, but ensured the delver and cliff behemoth would reach the door.

"You going to be alright from
here?" the soldier asked.

"It'll be fine," Ryson
assured the guard. "I know them, and they view cliff behemoths as kind of
a blessing. We've been here before."

"You know I've already asked
other guards to get word to Enin. I'm going to the nearest post. I'm going to
make sure they increase patrols around the church to keep any gawkers from
creating a problem."

"Thanks again."

"Just get inside as quick as
possible," the guard requested.

His horse gave one last look to
Dzeb and whinnied a final farewell before following the soldier's urges to move
on. The behemoth offered a bow of his head and another broad smile to the
departing animal.

"Such magnificent servants of
Godson," the giant noted and then followed Ryson up the remaining steps
and through the door of the church.

Ryson quickly explained the
situation to a few followers and the Reader Rachael. He was pleased but not
surprised to hear they would assist in any way possible. They placed Linda in a
comfortable chair in the main seating area for the congregation. The stone
building contained an interior that was large enough to easily accommodate
Dzeb's size, as if it were built with the understanding that a cliff behemoth
was apt to enter at any time.