The Guided Journey (Book 6) (32 page)

Kestrel’s tactic worked, and he was waiting in place as Morph sped by.  His sprint took him on an interception course that allowed him to leap onto the streaking god, knocking his quarry down, while stunning Kestrel with the sensation of evil that the physical contact gave.  He knocked Morph down, as had been his intent; but as he made contact, the physical touch between the two of them allowed waves of hatred and loathing and desire for destruction to begin flowing through to Kestrel’s awareness, products of the evil that was manifest in the entity he was fighting.

“You’re not Morph!” Kestrel cried in astonishment.  He had doubted that the enemy was either Morph or Krusima ever since the ordeal had begun, but as he felt the animosity and loathing that emanated from his opponent, he knew that he was fighting no god of the people he knew.

“Who are you?” Kestrel asked.

The figure shrugged Kestrel off with a rippling undulation of its body, vigorously flinging Kestrel free, and leaving him stunned from the hard impact of his collision with the stone wall.   It stood up over him, then reached down and wrapped one hand around his throat.

Kestrel struggled, but his adversary suddenly blazed forth with a new burst of red energy, and Kestrel felt the hand upon his throat grow hot.

“Kere, help me!” he gasped.

“Your puny gods are not going to help you here, and once you are defeated, I will return to ravage this land,” the Morph-figure crowed with a cruel laugh.

Bring him to me, Kestrel
, a feminine voice spoke within his mind. 
Kere has given you all that she can; let me help.

Kestrel intuitively understood.  He wrapped his own hands around Morph’s neck with a feeble grasp, then exerted his own powers to travel between places, and transported himself and his attacker to the place where he hoped to find salvation.

Chapter 30 – The Statue

They entered nothingness together, the two antagonists locked together in their deadly struggle. 

“There is no point in looking for a safe haven,” Morph said as soon as the
y returned to the reality of the world.  His hot hand was still wrapped tightly around Kestrel’s neck.

“You will die, and then this world will be ripe for the plucking,” it crowed, as Kestrel felt his breath become completely cut off.  He was already exhausted from the long battle that he had waged.   He felt his own choke hold on Morph’s neck weaken.

“My beloved will not die today,” an ominous female voice boomed from high overhead.

There were screams in the background, coming from places Kestrel could not see.

Kestrel’s field of vision was constricting, as the oxygen to his brain was cut off, and the narrow slice of sight that remained to him was tinted red.  But he saw a dark shadow suddenly hover above Morph’s head, then lower itself.  Vast fingers suddenly emerged from the shadow, and wrapped themselves around Morph’s torso, then began to lift him away from Kestrel, breaking the deadly grip that was choking Kestrel.

Morph blazed more brightly, squirming himself around to face upwards, away from Kestrel
– who lay on the ground, panting and catching his breath – to see the unexpected intercessor who had halted the execution of Kestrel.

“This cannot be!” the Morph impostor bellowed.  “You are puny and weak!  My followers destroyed your temples and murdered your followers.  You cannot have powers left!”

“My followers love me, they do not fear me, and so I have grown strong again,” Kai said.  Her imposing statue in Hydrotaz had come to life – frightening the worshippers who had come to the Hydrotaz temple to see the amazing creation that Kestrel’s love for the goddess had created.

“My servant banished you from this world once already,” Kai rumbled in a dangerous voice.  Her fist around the imitation Morph began to squeeze, and the imposter screamed in pain.

His red glow suddenly diminished, then disappeared.  There was a ripping sound, and once again the creature altered its appearance, as it remained clutched in Kai’s hand.  The appearance of Morph sloughed away, the shell of the disguise evaporating away in large chunks, as it had before.

Kestrel looked upward, his vision improving as he gasped deeply and inhaled fresh air.  He looked up and saw that the change was complete – what had once been Krusima, then become Morph, was exposed now in its true form as a Viathin, one of the reptilian invaders that had wreaked havoc in the kingdoms of the Inner Seas, and beyond.  Only Kestrel’s long, valiant crusade, urged and aided by Kai and Kere and other local deities of the Inner Seas, had allowed him to prevail in the long struggle.  He had thought that he had permanently eradicated the Viathins from the lands, and had killed their bloodthirsty god,
Ashcrayss.

Yet he saw the evidence above him that his success had not been complete.  There was a Viathin in Kai’s grasp, its tail lashing furiously as it futilely sought to escape the goddess’s hold.

“We found a way around your destructive water,” the Viathin said.  “We are gaining powers that will allow us to return to this world and finish plundering it.

“You may have managed to defeat me this time, but it took everything you have, while we are going to grow stronger, and others will follow in my footsteps,” the Viathin laughed, just before it gave an unearthly shriek of pain.

Kai’s fingers tightened their hold on the monster, crushing the life out of it.  As it felt its life ending, it wiggled one arm free, drew a cruelly-bladed knife, and tossed the weapon down at the ground, at the unexpecting Kestrel, who screamed in agony as the knife blade sunk into his stomach, and he passed out in shock and pain.

Chapter 31 – Departure from the North

Kestrel awoke the following day, lying on the ground next to the healing spring.  Both Alicia and Lucretia sat next to him, looking at him with concern, and then relief, when his eyes opened.

“Where are we?” Kestrel asked.  He suddenly remembered the end of the battle at the Hydrotaz temple, and his fingers involuntarily reached up to clutch his stomach.  He found that he wore no shirt, and a series of stitches held a gash closed.

“We’re at the healing spring, once again, where we seem to meet so often,” Alicia answered.  “You’re going to be fine,” she added, as she placed her hand atop his, and squeezed her fingers tightly around his.

“What are we all doing here?” Kestrel asked.  He felt himself relax.  The two women were friends, and he felt safe in their presence, especially at the healing spring, knowing that the evil entity, the Viathin in disguise, had been defeated by Kai.

“You are apparently the topic of considerable conversation among the deities,” Lucretia said in her brisk northern accent.

“The human goddess Kai saw that you were injured at the end of your battle with that monster that came hunting for you in Oaktown,” she said.  “How did you end up in Hydrotaz, anyway?”

“So Kai called upon the god of the imps, and he commanded his children to carry you to the healing spring,” Alicia said.  “Then Kai informed Kere of your condition, and Kere contacted the god of the imps as well, and asked that the two of us be brought here to treat you.”

Kestrel sat up, and looked over at the shallow waters of the spring, where he saw multiple imps immersed in the water.

“Naturally, they all wanted to be placed in the spring, once their god assured them that there would be no further nightmares in the water, because the mighty hero had defeated the evil one again,” Lucretia answered his unspoken question.

Kestrel grinned shyly.

“You need to go easy for a day or two, legendary hero,” Alicia spoke in the soft tones of the eastern elves.  “Even the hero of the gods needs a little time in addition to the waters of the healing spring to recover from a wound as wicked as the one you had.”

“But not too easy,” Lucretia corrected.  There seemed to be some competition between the two women, it occurred to Kestrel, as he observed the way they interrupted one another.

“The goddesses want to have their conversations with you, Kere tells us,” she explained.

Kestrel rolled onto his knees, then stood up.  He had no shirt, apparel apparently lost to the need for Alicia’s surgery on his abdomen, but he noted thankfully that his pants were intact, though badly scuffed over the course of his marathon, running battle with the Viathin.

He inhaled suddenly, in shock, as the import of the monster’s final words struck him.

“Does something hurt?” Alicia asked with concern.

“No,” he replied.  “It’s the Viathins,” he said.  “That monster was one of them, able to imitate our gods, in looks and even in abilities.

“It said they’re going to come back to try to conquer our lands,” he felt his legs grow weak at the thought of another battle with the Viathins.  “At least we know better than to listen to them this time,” he said.

“I need to go talk to the goddesses,” he said resolutely.  “Let me take you home,” he told the two women who had tended to him.  He reached down and helped Alicia to her feet.

“Do you have everything you brought?” he asked.

“I’ll gather things up while you get the imps ready,” she said, looking at the items scattered around their area.

Kestrel grinned, knowing that he intended to carry the doctor home without imps, using the ability that had been lent to him by Kere.

“Lucretia, would you go wake up the imps?  I think our time here is almost over,” he asked the other woman, who promptly waded into the water, clothing intact, and waded towards the other shore.

“Are you ready?” Kestrel asked Alicia, as he turned from watching Lucretia.

“Ready,” she affirmed, holding her bag of medical devices and supplies.

“Lucretia?  I’ll be back in ten minutes,” he called loudly, waved once, then encircled the surprised Alicia in his arms, and exercised Kere’s powers to transport back to her bedroom in Center Trunk.

“How did you do that?” she asked in astonishment, the moment they arrived in her room.

“A friend helped me,” he laughed.  “Kere lent me her powers during the fight against the Viathin.  I imagine she’ll want them back soon.”

Indeed I will, soon
, Kere’s voice sounded in his soul. 
We’ll talk soon
, she assured him.

“Trading favors with the gods!  Kestrel, you’re extraordinary, so much more so than Sylvan could have dreamed when he selected you for his assignments,” she sighed.

“Be cautious,” she warned suddenly.  “Maybe one of the favorites of the gods doesn’t have to worry, but the princess seems to be on a rampage of exerting her authority around the palace.

“Are you sending her betrothed back as a broken man?  If not, she may finish the job for you.  Elder Miskel has been dismissed,” Alicia astonished him by saying.

“That’s not wise,” Kestrel reflected.  “Hampus is stronger than I thought, and wiser too, I suspect.  He may be able to offer some stability, some steady guidance to her,” he suggested.  “I found him to be a better companion than I expected.”

“I’m sure he learned something from you,” Alicia said graciously.  She set her bag down.  “And here I find you’ve come back to my bedroom once again!” she said archly.

“I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to sneak up on you this time!” Kestrel grinned.

“Be careful,” he told her, as he held both her hands in his.  He was facing the prospect of another long battle, he realized, and his next visit with the lovely elven doctor could be a long time coming.

“You’re the one who needs to be careful!” she said.  “Consorting with gods is going to get you in trouble, I’m sure,” she warned him.  She kissed him on the lips.  “Take care of yourself, Kestrel.

“Now, excuse me; I want to go see Silvic, before he forgets I’m his mother,” she released her hold on Kestrel, and stepped to the door.

She had her priorities, and lingering with him was not at the top of the list, Kestrel realized regretfully.  “Farewell, my friend,” he said softly, then re-engaged his borrowed abilities and sent himself back to the healing spring.

“Kestrel!” Lucretia squealed in surprise.  She stood with her dress held in front of her.   Apparently, in Kestrel’s absence, she had regretted swimming through the water while wearing her clothes.

The imps were starting to stir as they laid on the ground at her feet.

“Turn around,” she ordered, “and tell me how you did that.”

“You were there in Oaktown, when Kere came to warn me,” he said, his back turned to her, as he heard the rustle of her damp dress sliding over her body.  “She gave me the power to move around the way the imps do.”

“So you can carry me back to your home in Oaktown, and then you’ll take the yeti and me back to Kirevee?” she asked.  “We missed the wedding, you know.”

“I’m sorry, Lucretia!” Kestrel felt abashed by the news.  Princess Aurelia’s wedding had to have been a great event in the woman’s life – something that she must have been looking forward to and planning to participate in for months, he was sure.  “I wish I could make it up to you.”

“Kestrel,” he felt her hand on his shoulder, as she approached him, dressed once again, “you gave that girl life when we thought it was about to end.  You cured an illness that would have been fatal.  You’ve apparently done some even bigger things I know nothing of.  This is small compared to all of that.  Let’s be on our way back north to congratulate the happy couple now.”

Kestrel looked at the girl.  She sincerely seemed to be at peace, despite missing the wedding.

“Don’t worry!  Hundreds of people in Kirevee are going to say they saw the wedding, but how many are going to say they saw you fighting a god?” she gave a lopsided grin.

“I think five or six,” he replied, and explained further when she looked at him with a blank expression.  “Our battle started in Oaktown, moved to the healing spring, then went to Kirevee, and ended up in Hydrotaz, when Kai beat the Viathin.

“We fought at Ripken’s house actually,” he added.

She looked at him, then laughed.  “You certainly get around.”

“Stillwater,” Kestrel called.  The imp, followed by many others, floated over to see him.

“We are angry with you,” Mulberry spoke first.  “How could you fight such a battle without calling upon us to come to your assistance?” she scolded him.

“I needed your help,” Kestrel admitted.  “But the enemy was a terrible one; only the intervention of a goddess was able to save my life.”

“You must call upon us when you need help,” Stillwater insisted.  “Our god has spoken to us.  He says that you are a most valuable ally, one we must support in every way possible.”

“He may be failing in his judgment, but we still must obey him,” Mulberry said petulantly.

“I will call upon you,” Kestrel reassured the imps, “beginning now.  I will travel to Oaktown with Lucretia; when we arrive there, and find Putty, then we will all return to Kirevee.  At that point, I believe our traveling will be finished for the time being, until I learn more from the gods.

“We’ll see you in Oaktown,” he grinned, delighted to have the chance to show off his own temporary powers of transporting to the imps.  He wrapped his arms around Lucretia, her damp dress growing warmer within his embrace as her body heat warmed it, then he focused on reviving the power from Kere, the borrowed power that lay dormant within him.  The imps were hovering towards the couple, unsuspectingly prepared to carry them, when Kestrel suddenly engaged his powers, and the two elves disappeared from the sight of the imps.

They arrived back in Kestrel’s office, and released their hold on each other.

“I suppose that is an easier feeling to endure when you’re in control instead of being a passen
ger,” Lucretia said, “but it still feels strange to me.”

“It feels faster when I get to control it myself, but it still feels wrong,” Kestrel agreed.

At that moment the imps arrived.

“What do you think you’re about?” Mulberry demanded.  “How is it that you traveled here without us?  Do you think you are so high and mighty now that you have become an imp?

“Let me assure you, I’ve been an imp, I’ve known imps, and you are no imp, yet,” she scolded him, floating down to eye level as she shrilly castigated him with their faces just inches apart.

“Has anyone ever told you your eyes are beautiful when you’re angry?” Kestrel asked.

The other imps laughed, and Mulberry looked confused.

“Kestrel friend, you have achieved another great feat, you have made Mulberry stop talking,” Acanthus laughed.

“Let’s go find Putty and then we’ll be on our way,” Kestrel said.

As it turned out, they were slightly delayed.  Putty was in the middle of eating a large baked meat pie.  The yeti dropped the food to charge at Kestrel in delight, and wrapped him in a hug, then returned to her food, as Whyte arrived to join them, alerted to the return of the master of the manor and guests.

“She has been well-behaved, sir,” the steward assured Kestrel.  “Cook has grown rather fond of her.  She enjoys Cook’s squirrel pies better than anyone else in the manor, I believe.”

Kes
trel and the steward guardedly discussed what had happened when he had left the town so hastily, then briefly discussed the state of the manor, where the finances were flush with the revenues from the mushroom markets they had hosted through the spring.

“We are ready to go, I believe,” Kestrel finally told his odd entourage.  The imps assembled around Putty, who warbled with unhappiness at facing the prospects of another trip.

“Kestrel traveler, you must let us spend time with your yeti when we do not travel, so that she will not think we are only here to travel with her,” Mulberry scolded Kestrel.

“We will go back to the garden where we met the last time we were in Kirevee,” Kestrel told the imps.  He was glad they did not have to plan to arrive upon the top of the tower, and go through the lifts once again.

He and Lucretia left, and arrived in the garden where the tent had been erected over him as he recuperated from the battle with a city patrol, a battle that should have never taken place, but somehow had, because of an unfortunate coincidence of events.

When they arrived, the first thing Kestrel saw was the granite
statues of the patrolmen who he had turned to stone.

“Oh,” he said softly.  So many things had happened in the intervening hours that he had completely forgotten the earlier adventures he had undergone during his relatively brief interlude in the Northern Forest.

“What?  Oh,” Lucretia asked, then turned and saw the statues as well.  There were flowers laid at the feet of each of the patrolmen.  Putienne and the imps arrived at that moment.