Chapter 9 Meech's Revenge
Upon arriving back at the safe house, the mood was somber. David and Damon spoke little before heading upstairs. Marinae pulled Eliza to one side."I think I found something that will help you.", Marinae said as she pulled the bottle that she found in the dungeon out of her pocket and handed it to Eliza. "This looks like the same stuff we injected into Kenneth. I don't know how it should be used, but if it counters transmutation, maybe it will get rid of the thing inside of you."
Marinae paused and looked at Eliza. "I've been keeping an eye on you. I can tell you're still hurting from it."
Eliza took the bottle hesitantly and looked away. "I can hold it. I don't know if this will help but thank you."
"It's not much.”, Marinae conceded, “But maybe it will help. I feel responsible. I was the one who got you infected."
"It isn't your fault, Marinae.”, Eliza interrupted. “I knew what I was doing."
"If I hadn't gone after the horses, it wouldn't have happened.", Marinae said firmly. She wasn’t about to let herself off the hook.
Eliza walked over to Lynn and placed the bottle of gray liquid in her hands. "Lady Renier.", Eliza said quietly. Lynn looked at her a little confused.
Marinae was confused as well. "She was turned into a rat by Meech?"
"She changed into an animal too.”, Eliza replied. “Maybe she could use this more than I."
Lynn wished that Eliza would reconsider, but she knew that she could never force her to do anything. Instead Lynn put her arm around her and walked her towards the back room.
David trudged down the stairs and stood in the doorway. "I assume you'll all be needing a way out of the country.", he asked.
"It would help, sir.", Marinae said nervously.
David watched Lynn lead Eliza off and didn't speak again until Lynn closed the door behind them. "I'll be happy to help. Marinae, your father is upstairs. He asked to see you."
Marinae nodded and walked up the stairs. "I'm sorry we couldn't help your friend.", she said as she passed David. She wanted to say more, but she couldn’t find the words.
David nodded and took a seat in the room. He looked at the old wood floor for a while, deep in thought. At last he spoke. "Have you ever watched a friend die, Weamar?"
"No. I'm sorry.”, Weamar replied. “Not that being sorry helps any."
"He had a wife and children.”, David explained. "They live in a small farmstead near Eckar. He was going to go back to them next month."
Weamar's expression became even more brooding. "Who will tell them? And when?"
"I will.”, David answered. “As soon as we get you all to safety."
"Please pass on my deep regret.”, Weamar said. “I acted as I thought best at the time, but I was wrong."
"If you hadn't, he probably would have killed us all.”, David reassured him. “But his family will never know that. They will know that he died hero."
Weamar nodded, but deep inside he was kicking himself. If only he’d waited just a little longer Kenneth would still be alive. “Why didn’t I wait.”, he thought to himself. "Why didn't I wait one moment longer?"
David went quiet for several minutes. "What do you know about Lynn?"
The tub was only large enough for one and the water was cool. Eliza was very tired. Lynn knelt before her, feeling the coldness that continued to grow slowly within her soul mate.
"Forgive me.", Lynn began, remembering what she did to Neal to stop him from sounding the alarm. "Everything I did was for you."
Eliza dropped to her knees and touched her forehead to Lynn’s. Lynn could feel her trembling.
"I'll take care of you no matter what I have to do.", Lynn whispered.
Eliza began to shiver. "I'm so afraid.", she said as her teeth chattered.
Lynn held Eliza close and started to undress her. When she got to Eliza’s midsection she stopped suddenly. Stretching out around Eliza’s navel, about the size of a hand, was a lattice of black lines.
"Oh no.", Lynn gasped. "I, we need to get help for you right now."
"From who?", Eliza said listlessly.
"The stuff in the bottle.", Lynn replied. "Or anyone who can help. There has to be someone."
"I don't know what to do.", Eliza breathed.
Lynn wrapped Eliza up in anything warm that she could find, but underneath the blankets and cloaks Eliza still shivered and chattered.
"I'll get help." And in a flash Lynn ran out the door and up the stairs.
Marinae could hear the soft sound of Damon's singing on the other side of the door. When she knocked the singing stopped. The door opened and Damon waved her in. On the bed there was a woman sleeping peacefully. An elf with silver hair and fair skin. To the human eye she appeared full of youth but by elven standards she was approaching her late middle years.
"Hi. How've you been?", Damon whispered.
“Aside from the usual adventures, I'm well.”, Marinae replied. “And you?"
"Ups and downs." Damon said. Then he turned and looked at the elf woman. "Her name is Adederia. She's the one I came here for."
"Is she injured?", Marinae asked.
"Her body has healed.", Damon said, sitting down next to her. "That isn't the problem."
"Her mind?", Marinae replied. “An elf without a mind might as well have blunt ears.”, she lamented.
"Given what they did to her, it is no surprise.", Damon answered with the air of someone who knew.
Marinae decided not to ask about who "they" were and what they did. "Will she recover, do you think?", she asked instead.
"I don't know. Perhaps in time.”, Damon replied. “She is better than when we first brought her back. She's stopped screaming."
There was a pounding on the door, it was Lynn.
"What's wrong?", Marinae asked as she opened the door, but Lynn had already begun to tell her.
"It's Eliza.", Lynn whispered breathlessly. "The thing inside her is growing. We need to help her now."
"Shit!", Marinae replied. Then she lowered her voice and turned to Damon. "See what sort of language being around humans has taught me?"
Lynn turned and ran back down the stairs with Marinae and Damon right behind her. Soon they were in the cellar again where Weamar and David had risen to their feet wondering what was going on. Lynn dashed into the backroom where she found Eliza wrapped in blankets and slumped in the corner. Lynn rushed to her side and held her tightly. Eliza was unconscious and cold but she was still alive.
"Dammit.”, Marinae hissed. “We need that bottle, Lynn."
Lynn rustled around in her robe and produced the bottle.
“And we need that, that...”, Marinae said trying to remember the word for it.
Lynn reached into her robe, pulled out the syringe, and handed in to Marinae.
"And we need something to clean it with…whiskey, rum, something stronger.", Marinae demanded.
Damon pull forth his hip flask and gave it to Marinae. Marinae took a nip from the flask to steady her nerves, then she poured a bit of it on the syringe and wiped it off. Marinae opened the bottle and loaded the syringe. Then she took a deep breath and carefully needled Eliza near her navel, hoping that injecting the antidote near the black lattice would make it go away faster. She squeezed the syringe and the white fluid went into Eliza. Lynn held her soul mate tightly and hoped for the best.
The black lines began to writhe and twist across Eliza’s body, stretching and receding. Eliza grimaced in pain and shook violently. Her convulsions grew even more violent as the cold seemed to win through. The black lines spread steadily across her skin until she was completely covered. With a terrible shudder she went still.
"No!", Lynn cried out. Tears burst from her eyes. The most awful thing that she could ever imagine was happening. She buried her head in Eliza’s chest and tried to wish her back to life.
Weamar felt a hand on his shoulder. Weamar shuddered for a moment at the touch and then turned around. It was an Adederia. She shuffled unsteadily into the room and looked down at Eliza.
"I can hear her.", the woman said.
Marinae turned her head to see the elf woman and raised an eyebrow. "Can you help her?", she asked.
Eliza wasn't dead, but Lynn could feel that she was losing the battle. Eliza’s heart had slowed to almost nothing. Only her connection to Lynn was keeping her alive.
"No. No. No.", Lynn cried. "Don't leave me Eliza. Please don't leave me."
"She is still here.”, Adederia whispered. “She won't leave. The Mists refuse her. They say she is not of them." Then she turned and shuffled slowly back to her room.
Moments passed as they pondered the old woman's words. The only sound in the room was Lynn’s sobbing and pleading.
Eliza stood shaking at the edge of the Mists. Death lay before her, the haunting eternal darkness. But part of her wouldn't let go of life. She could still feel the icy fingers of the Beast slowly clawing at her guts. She longed to be free of the pain. She had fought it for so long but now it had won and the end of her struggle was close at hand.
She didn't want to die. She didn't want to leave Lynn behind. She didn't want to leave Marius all alone against the church. And she didn't want to leave the church behind, even though they had excommunicated her. She stared into the Mists but she could not walk into them. The Mists would not accept her as long as part of her still lived. So instead she waited.
Others walked past Eliza into the Mists. As some of them entered she could see the outline of a figure walking beside them, but when others entered she saw that they walked alone. Wonderment moved through her as she realized who the figure was. It was Ezra, her Guardian in the Mists. A smile moved across Eliza's lips. Soon she would be with Ezra and everything would be made right again.
Eliza watched in awe, and soon noticed something odd. Though her Guardian did not walk with everyone who entered the Mists, she did not always walk with Ezrans, and sometimes she walked with those who were not a part of the church. What she saw was not what the church elders had taught her, and Eliza's doubts grew. What she saw confirmed what she felt in her heart, that Ezra was with her even though she had left the church, but it made her feel sad, sad for the people who thought that they had been saved by the church, but who had been misled.
Eliza grew anxious. She wanted to be with Ezra. She wanted to tell her all that she had been through and tell her that the church needed her guidance once again. But still she could not move, and she stood transfixed in the space between the living and the dead, wishing for the final bittersweet release but lingering on in despair.
"Be strong.", a voice said to Eliza. Eliza had never heard the voice but she knew who it was. It was Ezra. And hear the message gave Eliza a spark of hope. She decided to keep fighting for her life.
Damon watched Adederia pad away and turned back to the assembled group. "We'll need to get her to a healer.", he said softly.
David looked down at Lynn helplessly. The poor girl was lost in her misery. Marinae just sat and stared.
"Would the Anchorites help her?", David asked. "Perhaps the elves in Sithicus?"
Before anyone could answer the sound of pounding footsteps and slamming doors echoed through the house. One of the other resistance members rushed into the small room and skidded to a stop almost knocking Weamar and David to the floor.
"David! We have a problem.", the man said, his eyes wide open. "It's the Talons. They and the army regulars are starting a canvas of the city. They're going house to house!"
Marinae cursed under her breath. David 's face lost all color as he took in the man's words. With no hesitation he started barking out orders. "Start evacuating everyone. Gather the important documents and equipment and destroy what you can't take with you. And send word to the other cells immediately."
The man nodded, spun on his heel, and bolted back down the hall. The house was soon filled with activity.
Damon leaned against the door frame. "Lovely.", he said humorlessly as thoughts of returning to the safety of his jail cell filled his mind.
"If it isn't one thing it's another.", Marinae mused. Then she stood up and turned to David. "What can we do to help?", she asked.
David ran a hand through his hair and with a sigh he nodded towards Lynn and Eliza. "Get them ready to travel. We need to get to the gates before they can lock them down completely. If we can reach the forests outside the city we should be safe. I hope."
Marinae nodded and knelt down beside Lynn as David headed downstairs. Damon followed after to gather Adederia. Lynn sat up slowly, oblivious to what was happening around her.
"We have to get out of here.", Marinae began. "Let's get going."
"What's happening?", Lynn asked softly.
"Trouble.", Weamar answered. "We have to move."
For a moment Lynn did nothing. Her life didn't seem to matter anymore. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Then she thought about Eliza and the spark of life still burning inside her. It wasn't much, but it was something, something that gave Lynn hope. Quickly she sprung into action. Weamar and Marinae watched in amazement as Lynn deftly rolled Eliza up in her blanket and picked her up in her arms. Before they knew it she was out the door and heading to the stables. Moments later Weamar and Marinae were as busy as everyone else in the house. Resistance members were rushing all around. Some were packing various items, others were burning sensitive documents. They'd been through the drill before, some of them many times, and it was not long before the house was wiped clean of any evidence that they had been there.
Behind the house at the stables, the sounds of shouts and screams broke the predawn quiet from somewhere else in the city. David wondered if the Talons had found one of the other cells and if he knew anyone who was there. It was still quite dark and the horses seemed nervous. The group had gathered at the stables with all their belongings. A few of the other men rode off to warn the other resistance members in the city while David organized the rest. David figured that Damon could ride with Adederia, who was semi-lucid and could obey his instructions, but Eliza was in no condition to ride along with anyone. He scratched his head and thought.
Marinae spotted an old cart next to the stables. One of the wheels was cracked but it looked like it might hold. She waved Weamar and David over to it and they rapidly began hooking it up behind Marinae's horse. David worked feverishly, looking as though he'd aged ten years in the last ten minutes. Once the cart was hooked up, he gave final instructions.
"Make for the eastern gate. I'll meet you there. Once you're out follow the river into the woodlands. Whatever you do avoid the roads." David wanted to add more instructions but he knew that time was short. He checked his weapons and turned his horse towards the fence. With a leap and a gallop he was gone.
Lynn lifted Eliza up onto the cart. It wobbled but held up. Marinae knew that it wouldn't hold their weight for long if they had to move fast over bumpy terrain. She thought through all the spells that she knew and then got an idea. She grabbed a length of rope and closed her eyes. Murmuring in Elvish, she tossed one end up into the air. It appeared to catch on some invisible hook and hang in space. A small tug sideways on the rope caused the anchor point to slide towards her. Marinae tugged at it a few more times until she felt confident that it would hold too. She then tied the rope to the cart's front rail so that it hovered over the center of the cart. Lynn looked up at the rope. From underneath it she could see a small room at the top of the rope.
"You and Eliza can hide there.", Marinae said. "Don't worry. It's safe.", she added, trying to sound sure of herself.
Lynn and Marinae worked together to lift Eliza into the space above the rope. As their heads passed into it, the sights of the yard were replaced by a featureless white room. Looking down, they could still see the cart below. Lynn climbed up into the room, trusting in Marinae's magic, and knelt next to Eliza. From the back of his horse, with Adederia in his arms, Damon took the reins of Eliza's horse. He glanced at the point where the rope disappeared, unable to see into the space from outside.
"My daughter, the magician.", Damon thought to himself. "Shall we?", he asked. Without another word they were off.
The group rode out calmly onto the dark streets and headed towards the east gate. The searches seemed to be progressing in a sweep from the north end of the city to the south. The sound of many soldiers' boots came from about three blocks away. Marinae cringed and wished that they could go faster but she dared not go too fast for fear that the Talons might suspect something. She could feel her magic straining with each tug on the rope. Each tug sent ripples across the surface of the room. Inside, Lynn held Eliza close, hoping that they wouldn't fall. The group turned onto the road in front of the gate but the doors were already closed. Weamar could see four well armed soldiers on the street in front of the gate and at least two on the ramparts near the door mechanisms.
Marinae cursed under her breath just loud enough for Weamar to hear.
"Methinks they won't go for the same trick as the last time.", Weamar whispered back.
"Are there any other ways out?", Marinae asked.
Damon shifted in his saddle. "Only ways out are the four gates." He narrowed his eyes. "What's that?"
"What's what?", Marinae replied.
Marinae looked where Damon was looking. On the rampart two shadowed figures approached the soldiers near the controls. Taken by surprise from behind, the soldiers struggled futilely as the life was choked out of them. Then one of the figures pulled a lever and the doors slowly began to swing open. A guard down below noticed the struggle and gave a shout.
Damon raised an eyebrow. "This would seem to be our chance."
"I fear to make this thing go any faster.", Marinae said.
"We may have no choice.", Damon answered.
Two of the soldiers ran up to try and capture the men on the rampart, the other two noticed the horses approaching and drew their weapons. From atop her horse, Marinae whispered a familiar enchantment and let fly three spheres of light. They circled about each other and streaked toward the surprised guards, slamming into one man's chest and leaving a smoking scorched mark on his armor. With a thud he fell flat on his face. Weamar drew his blade and charged the remaining enemy on the ground, but his stroke went high and missed the soldier by inches. The speed of the ranger's charge caused the counterstrike to miss him but Dry didn't fair so well. The soldier's long sword left a bloody line along the horse's flank just past the saddle.
The clash of steel up on the city wall rang loudly. The soldier on the ground turned to face Weamar's next charge but Marinae loosed another volley. The soldier gasped as Marinae's magic slammed into his back but he kept on his feet and focused on Weamar. His effort was for naught though as Weamar's mighty blow sent the soldier tumbling to the ground. He moved no more. Two more armored bodies fell from the walls to the street below. For a moment all was quiet again. David climbed down from the wall and waved to the other man on the rampart who promptly faded into the shadows. From up the street a band of new soldiers was arriving. Drawn by the sounds of battle they charged towards the gate.
"Time to go!", David shouted. He hopped up on Eliza's horse and took the reins from Damon. Then he looked around for a moment, confused. A hint of panic tinged his voice. "Where are Lynn and Eliza?"
"They're fine.", Marinae assured him. "I've got it tied up."
Weamar sheathed his sword and pulled his pistol as the others rode away. He had just enough time to get off a shot. Weamar fired his pistol but the jostling of his mount sent the shot crashing through a storefront's window. He shook his head, put his pistol away, and soon caught up with the rest of the group.
Along the river they rode with at least a dozen members of the Falkovnian army on their heels. Lynn clutched Eliza tightly as the room they were in shimmered and shook. Then a shiver ran over her spine. She had the eerie feeling that she was being watched.
The dark woman peered into her reflecting pool as the drama unfolded. She had found it, the last specimen of Meech's ancient enchantment, and she wasn't about to let it escape her. She wanted to study it, to learn its secrets, and make more like it if she so desired. She also knew that she would need the knowledge. With Meech now dead, Drakov would be coming to her for magic to power his army, and she would give it to him, for the right price.
"Kiri.", the dark woman said with a voice as cold as ice. "Bring this woman to me."
A second woman, not so old, and not so dark as the first, looked into the pool where the first was pointing.
"Make sure that she's alive.", the dark woman commanded. "And bring her friends as well."
Kiri nodded dutifully and left the room. Before long she had mounted her shadowy horse and was off on her quest.
"Falkovnia, yuck.", Kiri mused. "The goddess must have been on a rag when she created that place."
Kiri frowned. She'd been there before and hated every minute she had spent there. The men were, well, barely men. But soon her mind wandered on to more pleasant thoughts.
"Who should I do first?", she wondered, remembering what she'd seen of the group through the magic pool. "Not the one-eyed man. Well, not first at least."
"The musician?", she asked herself. "No. He seems stuck on that elf woman."
"The ranger.", Kiri smiled wide. "The big strong ranger."
Kiri hoped that he had a big cock.
Marinae pushed her horse to run faster and worried with each jostle. It was open plains for several miles before they hit the forests. With the soldiers thundering close behind, Weamar coaxed Dry to run on ahead of the rest. When he gained a good distance, he pulled Dry to a halt and quickly reloaded his pistol. The others rushed past him as he cocked the pistol, leveled it at the lead pursuer's mount, and fired. This time he hit the mark. The bullet struck the lead horse square in the chest and sent it, its rider, and several other horses and men tumbling to the ground.
Weamar turned and caught up with the others. "Nice shot.", David shouted back at him.
"More luck than anything else, I think.", Weamar replied.
The remaining horsemen slowed their pace and then turned back to assist their fallen comrades. Meanwhile Marinae's enchantment finally unraveled and Lynn fell to the cart below with Eliza in her arms. The cart wobbled and bounced, but the cracked wheel held.
Marinae turned her head around sharply. "Are you all right?", she asked worriedly.
Lynn nodded and kept holding Eliza tightly, hoping that soon they would all be safe.
"The forest isn't too much farther ahead.", David called out. "We should be able to stop for a few minutes."
The group put more and more distance between themselves and the horsemen as the sun climbed lazily along its course. Soon they passed through a line of trees. The cover of the forest was a welcome change from the open grasslands and they had time to stop and rest. Weamar set about watering horses, tending to Dry's wound, and having something to drink himself. Then he wandered around amongst the trees, listening to the sounds of the forest with a wistful, nostalgia-laden look in his eyes.
David dismounted and approached Lynn. "How is she?", he asked.
Lynn sensed Eliza through the ring. Eliza was still there, though she felt so very far away. Lynn could feel a lot pain and fear coming from her. She knew that Eliza couldn't hold out for very long.
"She needs help, soon.", Lynn said softly, her voice trembling.
"We must get out of the country.", David said. "Drakov will almost certainly increase patrols now. What about the Ezrans at Levkarest? Wouldn't they help her?"
Lynn shook her head. She knew what would happen to them if they ever went back there again.
David turned away sadly. "The quickest and safest way out of Falkovnia would still be through Borca. The patrols tend to avoid the area near the Shadow rift."
"Sturben.", Lynn whispered. "Marius might help."
"Are you sure?", David replied.
Lynn nodded. "He's the only one in the church who would help Eliza."