Emergence (Book 2) (5 page)

"Alyne
." He used her pet name, calling her softly, his hand across her brow. Her eyes were closed, her face pale as the summer clouds. "Goddess's blood. Alyne."

The door opened behind him but Bolin didn't turn. He now had the dubious honor of setting the wards off two times in the space of one day. At the moment it didn't concern him as much as Nialyne's condition. A hand on his shoulder drew him away from the settee, and Danya Blyth took his place next to Nialyne. Another much less welcome elder inserted himself in front of Bolin.

"Now what have you done?"

Bolin swiveled his focus from the settee to Maurar's face, far too close to his own. The elder blanched at the look Bolin gave him and wisely backed off two paces.

"Danya Blyth," Bolin said, without taking his eyes off Maurar, "is Danya Nialyne all right?"

"Yes," Nialyne answered for herself, her voice shaky.

She sat up with Blyth's help, and Bolin hunkered down in front of her, taking her hands in his, tentatively in the event the previous reaction repeated itself. "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"What happened?"

"I'm not certain," she replied. "If I had to guess, I'd say some of the Dominion magic remained inside the wound like a poison. That magic isn't safe for you, Bolin. Promise me you will stay far from it."

Bolin shook his head. "You know I can't do that."

"Then what do we do with the crystal?" asked Maurar.

Nialyne's grip on his hands tightened when Bolin would have stood. "Do. Not."

Bolin bowed his head, closed his eyes, and prayed to the Goddess to give him the strength to not throttle Maurar where he stood. He looked up at Nialyne from under his brows. "If you are well, I will take my leave."

She caressed the side of his face and smiled. "Go."

Bolin stood and turned slowly, careful to avoid looking at Maurar. He stopped at the table's edge and glanced sidelong at the crystal. "I will take the crystal when I leave Galys Auld." And the tone he used allowed no argument.

Not even from Nialyne.

CHAPTER FIVE

Andrakaos watched Ciara approach his chamber within the ethereal realm, his head resting on massive forelimbs, eyes half-lidded. He had become more tangible since the battle with the old woman. He no longer appeared as a vague, smoky, serpent-like entity but rather something of form and substance, though most of him still remained shrouded in darkness. Even the shimmering green blanket of the Greensward's magic that kept him subdued couldn't penetrate the shadows around him.

Ciara wet her lips. He terrified her even more than he had before.

A wave of hot air hit her as he snorted.
Why?

She swallowed against the dryness in her mouth. "You're evil."

I am what you make of me.

"You made me a murderer."

I saved our life.

"I won't kill again."

He blinked in lazy appraisal.
We will do what we must.

He slanted his head to survey the shimmer around him. The light of it flickered in the depths of his obsidian eyes, and he half closed them again. Ciara's breath caught; her pulse quickened as his emotion washed over her. A sound like a cat's purr rose in his throat.

Ancient magic. Older than me. Strong.
He exhaled.
Worthy of us, but dangerous.

"What do you mean, dangerous?"

If we stay, it will seek to control us. I would be tempted to give myself to her, but she does not desire us.

"She?"

The huge head swiveled back toward her. An image of Nialyne flashed through Ciara's mind, followed by one of Bolin.

This one desires us.

A sudden flush warmed Ciara's body, as though she had just come from the cold into the sun. It faded just as quickly. "He desires you, perhaps. Not me."

No? Does he not sing to you? Even now I hear him.
Andrakaos dropped his head back to his forearm so that his eyes were on level with Ciara.

"Yes," Ciara said, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice. "I hear him. Always."

Claim him.

Ciara frowned. "What do you mean?"

If you claim him, he will be ours if he chooses or no. He cannot resist us.

"I would never force someone to love me. Not even if I could."

Andrakaos closed his eyes, nestling down under the blanket of Nialyne's wards.
Then he will take me from you one day, and I will not stop him.

***

Ciara startled at the light touch on her arm and lurched from the bed. She had stretched out on top of the blankets for a quick nap but must have fallen sound asleep. She hadn't been aware of Nialyne coming into her room.

"Are you all right, child?" Nialyne's face clouded with concern.

Ciara drew in a shaky breath. "Fine. I was just resting."

The
elder's brow rose. "Ah. In that case, I think you will find it best when you are tired not to deal with magic of any sort."

Ciara felt the color rise in her cheeks. She plopped back down onto the edge of the bed and avoided making eye contact with Nialyne. "I'm sorry, Danya."

"There is no need to apologize, child." Nialyne took a seat beside her. "I hear you are to stay with us for a time. I'm glad. I have spoken to the rest of the elders and they are all in accordance."

"Even Danya Maurar?"

"Yes."

"That's a surprise."

"Danyala," Nialyne scolded.

"I'm sorry," Ciara said. "I just get the feeling he doesn't care for me very much."

"You mustn't be put off by Danya Maurar. He's a bit set in his ways, and fiercely protective of the Greensward."

Ciara made a face. "Does he know Donovan is looking for me?"

"That one cannot cross our borders."

"Bolin said he'll try. He would kill you to get to me."

Nialyne didn't appear at all rattled by the prospect. "He would need a substantial amount of power at his disposal in order to breach our borders."

"He'll find it. Somewhere," Ciara insisted. "You don't know him."

"As a matter of fact," Nialyne said, "I do. Does that surprise you?"

"Yes."

"I am also fiercely protective of the Greensward. I make it a point to know what lies beyond our borders and what may, or may not, prove to be a threat. In any event, you're to put it from your mind and not let it worry you." Nialyne put her hand over Ciara's, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. "We cannot choose our parents. Fate does that for us. But we can choose our destiny. If you should decide to make Galys Auld your home, we will teach you to use your power for purposes other than those your sire would. And I'm sure Konly would welcome another skilled healer."

Ciara blinked. "Make Galys Auld my home? You mean live here? Forever?"

"It is not such a bad place to be."

Nialyne's smile froze. Her eyes lost focus, and she canted her head as though she heard a sound she needed to decipher. Her grip on Ciara's hand tightened. A moment later, Ciara felt it; the tingling across her skin that meant the wards around Galys Auld had been triggered. Her heart lurched in sudden panic. Nialyne pulled her to her feet and headed toward the door.

"Come, child, we are needed."

***

Ciara came up short just outside the healer's hut, her earth magic flaring unexpectedly. A shadowy specter filled the opening of the wide, double doorway. An arm swathed in darkness lifted as Ciara drew near, and a skeletal finger jutted in her direction. Words issued from beneath the shroud of a hood, and though Ciara couldn't make sense of them she felt Andrakaos stir. She braced for his burst of anger but instead felt only curiosity.

"Ciara, what's wrong?" Nialyne said from beside her.

Ciara kept her eyes on the figure. "Can't you see it?"

"No. But I sense something."

"It's a figure wrapped in a cloak. It's saying something but--Konly! No!"

Ciara lurched forward, pushing the master healer aside as
the woman came through the doorway. The specter laughed and darted over their heads, vanishing in the sunlight as though it had never existed.

"What's in your head, girl?" Konly said with a scowl, adjusting her smock.

"It was right there," Ciara said. "Didn't you see it?"

"Huh." Konly cast a look around. "Well, if it was, it's not now. There's nothing here but us, and we're needed inside."

The master healer turned and led the way into the large room that served as the surgery. A man lay on one of the wooden tables, naked from the waist up. Except for the fact his chest rose and fell in irregular bursts, Ciara would have thought he had already passed to the Goddess. His skin, pale as winter snow, glistened with sweat, and his light hair lay plastered to his head. Ciara wrinkled her nose at the putrid smell seeping from the ragged wound just below his ribs, then gave up and covered her nose with her hand.

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know," Konly said. "He came across the northern border. An Imperial messenger. His name is Canil, but all he's done beyond telling us that is ask for General Bolin."

"There is dark magic here," Nialyne said.

"Whatever made this wound has not only poisoned him but grows within." Konly waved Ciara around the side of the table. "Time to put your healer training to use, my girl."

"Just tell me what you need me to do."

Konly handed her a cloth. "You can start by calling his fever from him."

Ciara nodded. Even a novice healer could call a fever. She took the cloth from Konly, soaked it in the basin of herbal water, and pressed it to the man's forehead. The instant she touched him, the man's eyes blinked open, wide and filled with terror. His mouth worked to form words. Failing, his lips curled into a snarl and something other than terror flared in his eyes: a look of rage.

Mist swirled around Ciara, and the room fell away as she followed the slim tendril of Canil's essence into the veil. It wafted ahead of her like a ghost on the wind. She could feel Konly across the table, the healer's own magic concentrated on drawing out the poison in the wound. Nialyne watched over them both. Ciara should have been focused on the fever, but something else drew her attention. The man's essence couldn't keep his form. It shifted, like the dancing smoke of a torch, growing transparent, became a man again, then just as quickly something else. A figure with fistfuls of glittering claws and eyes glowing deep amber.

"Canil?" Ciara called.

Laughter from a mouth showing small, sharp fangs. Ciara had never seen an illness such as this.

"Canil," she called again, and made it a demand, putting the weight of her earth magic behind it. The shape before her shimmered. The man appeared, his face a mask of pain. He held out a hand to Ciara.
Help me
, he mouthed, then his body contorted, dissolving into the amber-eyed figure.

"Help me," it mocked, its speech thick and stilted. "You'd better hurry, healer. He's almost gone."

"He doesn't belong to you," Ciara said.

"I claim him, so he is mine. Or do you think to take him from me?"

Ciara took a deep breath and tried to ignore the specter. "Canil, listen to my voice. Come to me."

The form shifted and changed again: part man, part shadow. Ciara reached out with her earth magic, tied it around the bits that were man, and tried to stitch them together. A deafening screech nearly flattened her. It ripped through the strands of her earth magic, shredding them as though they were insubstantial bits of fluff.

"I will have you next, healer."

Ciara felt Nialyne
's presence come up beside her.

"Who has woken you from your slumber, denizen?" the elder asked, and the timbre of her voice made Ciara thankful not to be the target. "You are not allowed within the Greensward. Be gone!"

The demand carried the weight of old magic with it. The beast's eyes narrowed.

"I am not within your precious borders, sorceress. You do not command me."

"You are in this man, and we have given him sanctuary."

"I am going to eat your heart."

A swipe of sharp claws whistled through the air toward Nialyne. Ciara didn't think, she moved. Fast and silent, she stepped in front of Nialyne and sent a double blast of earth magic hurtling into the figure. The white light enveloped the beast and it wailed, a long, drawn out sound that grated up and down Ciara's nerves. It became even worse when the cry morphed into harsh laughter as her earth magic fell away leaving the creature unharmed.

"I'll have both your hearts." It sneered, and lunged again.

Nialyne shoved Ciara out of the way and took the brunt of the attack. She collapsed onto her knees. When she stood she brought with her a deadly spear formed from the magic that ran deep through her land. It spiraled through the air but the creature no longer stood in the path of her killing blow. The man, Canil, gaped at the magic hurtling toward him, his own death reflected in his eyes. Nialyne twisted and the spear went wide, missing Canil. Too late Ciara saw the ruse as the shadow-figure loomed up, fangs bared, and pulled Nialyne to the ground.

Rage and terror overrode thought. The earth magic Ciara sent slamming into the figure only slowed it. She screamed as claws tore at Nialyne. Andrakaos pushed against the webbing of Galysian magic that held him. With a whispered word dug from memory, Ciara freed him. He came, eager and hungry, a deafening roar preceding him.

The creature swung its head to face the new threat. Ciara leapt frantically out of the way as it made a sudden lunge, bloodied claws slicing perilously close to her stomach. Andrakaos roared again.

"Kill me, you kill the man," the creature said.

Canil's face swam into view, pale, twisted in pain and terror, his mouth pleading silently for help. Ciara swallowed bile along with her fear.