El-Vador's Travels (62 page)

She
struggled to get up, but her body would not comply, as if tethered to
the ground by unseen ropes that pressed into her and bound her into
inaction.

The
darkness stood over her now, patient and indeterminable in her
periphery. She tried to rise her head, to gain a glance at her captor
but nothing happened. She called upon her power to reach out and
spoil the enchantment she was held under but nothing came. The
shadowy figure slowly receded into the darkness of unconsciousness,
and Aliana knew no more.

El-Vador
felt it even as he knew that it was too far to do anything about. A
semblance of power on a strange register had him scrambling for his
weapon before he realised that it came from a distance. He cast his
net out, and only then sensed the warning signs of others closing on
his position. Apparently they had been sent to waylay him so that he
could not return to Aliana. There was no doubt in his mind that it
was an attack upon the Pixie. It also confirmed his suspicions that
Anacletus had betrayed him. The assassin had promised he would keep
her safe in his absence, that he would provide her with protection
whilst El-Vador saw to Salvarius. Now he had been found wanting a
second time in spite of the Elf's warnings and threats, a matter he
would have to attend to later should he survive that long.

The
approach of the creatures was one of utter silence. He could not see
them in spite of the flat plain of the barrens but he knew that they
were there, he felt their energies as they prepared to spring the
trap. That he was being hunted El-Vador did not doubt. That meant
that Aliana had undoubtedly been kidnapped by similar forces. To do
anything to help her, he must first survive, and kill his enemies as
quickly as possible.

Their
confidence in their lack of detection betrayed them. One dark figure
materialised behind him and readied a strike, El-Vador responded by
stabbing his sword up and back. The point dug deeply into the sternum
of the creature and left it motionless upon the floor.

The
other figures appeared directly before him, knowing that the Elf was
now aware of their presence. One ducked low, the other leaped upon
high, so that any cut El-Vador intended to make could only impact
upon one of them.

El-Vador
extended his palm and the darkness surged forth in a ball of
concentrated energy. His other hand swept the sword out and beheaded
the second charging figure, returning both of them to the dirt in a
chalky memory.

Another
of the dark figures appeared before him, slashing toward the left,
its bladed appendage slicing at the Elf's sternum. Though that
warning cut had not tasted flesh, the figure began to shift so the
return would take El-Vador's head off cleanly.

El-Vador
shifted his sword in turn from right hand to left and blocked the cut
at his middle. He sent another stream of dark tendrils racing out,
clasping what would have been the creature's throat and raising it
from the ground. The figure slowly lost colour and crumbled into
white powdery nothingness before the grinding grip of the darkness
that ensnared it, but the Elf knew that the diversion had been
enough. There was no way he was going to be able to get back in time
to save Aliana from abduction.

That
Salvarius had taken Aliana had been obvious, there were no other
living souls out here in the barrens. All he could do was press on,
continue searching for the ruins that Salvarius was attempting to pry
the artefact from and stop him from achieving his ultimate goal. He
knew that the Pixie would be carried in that general direction by her
captors, his only hope now was to outpace them.

They
left no tracks to announce from whence they had come, and their
scattered powdery remains yielded no clue as to what they were.
El-Vador simply had to continue onward and hope that the ruins were
evident when he came into proximity with them.

Turning
his back to the dusty remnants, he headed further into the endless
barrens.

The
pieces started to fall into place, the reality began to take its form
and it was a gruesome one indeed. A cannibalistic boil that needed to
be lanced before its swellings devoured all that surrounded it. If I
had known the portents of my every action in my youth I may have trod
carefully and with more circumspection. It matters not now.

A
liana
spun dizzily as the dark figures carried her across the plain.
Whatever these things had done to her had rendered her largely
senseless and docile during their journey. Her head was a blur of
nothingness and attempts to call up her powers were muted. She must
have passed out eventually, because the blurring traversal of the
lands had finally ceased. Even as she lay upon the cold stone floor
she felt as if she was still travelling endlessly, being drawn onward
with a force that exceeded all her previous desires.

There
were four of them as far as she could recall, that brought her
paralysed form forth into the ruins that undoubtedly held both the
artefact and Salvarius. The hallways were vast and the ceilings
barely visible, making her feel dwarfed in stature and stating the
immensity of the situation she found herself dragged into. She
couldn't begin to imagine what creatures constructed such grandiose
monuments, nor why they would need such space in order to flourish.
The floors and pillars were worse for wear, but they still spoke of
an artifice of intricacy unimaginable.

Ahead
of her a vaguely feminine figure moved through the hallway with
confident grace. She raised a hand as she came to massive stone
doors, and they swung open before her without any visible means of
doing so.

The
room was a cluttered mass of antiquity, sprawling out from the centre
as more of the shadow creatures arrived with additional heaps of old
pottery and indiscernible devices. Large statues of huge winged
creatures stared grotesquely down upon the scene, mute in their
appraisal but ominous in their looming. At the centre of this stood
the armoured form of what was presumably Salvarius, clawing his way
through shattered pieces of debris and consulting a tablet that lay
nearby.

She
was thrown prostrate to the ground, as if she were but a lump of meat
being offered up to a vulture.

'Master,
the final attempt succeeded, my twin has arrived.'

Salvarius
seemed to ignore the comment, as if such matters were beneath him.
Instead he continued to scour the piles for the artefact he sought,
his movements almost feverish in their intensity. He eventually stood
and strode across the floor, his eyes raking her form as he smiled.
There was no warmth behind that smile, it was one of determined
calculation, one of a hunter that has finally caught wind of its
prey.

He
dropped to a knee and took Aliana's jaw in his hand. He turned her
face left and then right. 'So you are the twin then. The resemblance
is striking I must say. At least now the bonding part of my quest can
be concluded.'

Aliana
tried to fight the touch of the man, but her body remained paralysed.

'I
can see why the wings sprouted now, Mina. It would appear that our
captive isn't entirely human, most interesting.'

The
woman called Mina stroked the side of Aliana's neck with a cool
caress, revelling in her ability to place her hands on her twin
without struggle. She withdrew after a time, but with some
difficulty. Apparently whatever bond had entwined them was as
difficult for her to resist as it had been for Aliana.

Salvarius
continued his search, ignoring the two women now that their business
with him was largely concluded.

Mina's
face dropped down to Aliana's ear, whispering into it quietly. 'Soon
we will be one, you and I. Together we shall infuse a new dawn for
the Brotherhood by turning the very power of the opposition against
them. It will be glorious to behold, but in the bonding to come I
assure you that it will be the last memory you create.'

'I've
found it!' Salvarius roared, scattering away all the other fragments
he had been digging through. 'As you claimed Mina, it is entirely
intact.'

Mina
hissed in Aliana's ear. 'Once the master has learned the secrets of
the artefact, our bonding shall begin.'

Salvarius
stared at the device in momentary confusion that was soon dispelled,
transfixed by the pristine and untouched nature of the ancient
artefact that he held. 'You may begin the bonding, Mina. The use of
this artefact is evident.'

Anacletus
drifted through the darkened alleys of the small town, at one with
the shadow and all but undetectable. It was a bad night to be
wandering astray from the main road, unless you were the most
dangerous thing the night had to offer. Those he did allow glimpses
of him were soon to turn the other direction, it was his presence
rather than the cloak that warded off any scrutiny. Those who studied
him knew that, at best, attacking him would be a lethal exercise that
promised little return for their efforts.

The
assassin rapped patiently on the back door of a gambling den that few
knew of. There was no doubt in his mind that the man he sought would
be here. He knew how the encounter in the barrens was going to play
out and he knew exactly what he had to do to avoid it from happening.
It would be a close call, and much was riding on his decision to
abandon the Pixie. He knew that the Elf would certainly be
problematic should he discover that particular betrayal. It wasn't
one that he could afford not to make, he had been placed in a corner
by recent actions beyond the ether and a more immediate approach was
required. His endless trekking through the barrens would serve no
purpose but to doom them all.

The
door opened and he palmed the guard a substantial offering of coin
for his compliance, after that he made his way through the poorly lit
labyrinth of tables and shadows.

The
assassin did not immediately see his target, but he was not concerned
by the absence. His information was correct, there was no cause for
concern.

He
made for another man in the room directly, undoubtedly stirring up
any number of venomous warning glances from those surrounding him.
There were none that could touch him, he had assessed the place the
moment he had set foot in it. None would be piercing his shadow
through force of arms this night.

Reaching
the man's table, he interrupted the conversation in a brisk and
abrasive fashion. 'I am looking for a thief.'

'That's
nice.' the plain-spoken man said dismissively, a calm voice that
betrayed no fears. 'Why are you telling me this?'

The
assassin offered him an easy smile. 'I seek Judicael.'

The
men about the table burst into laughter, as if he had just muttered a
ribald jest.

'Why?'
the quiet one in their midst asked, his voice somehow cutting through
the belly laughs.

Tendrils
of smoke whipped out and caressed the throats of every man seated.
Anacletus did not raise his voice, he simply repeated the statement.

The
man's eyes goggled at the dark smoke that was slowly strangling the
life from him.

He
could hear the sounds of weapons being drawn, more out of caution
than any desire from the fellow occupants to help this particular set
of scoundrels.

'I
am here. You need not kill them, unless you really want to that is.'
Judicael appeared from a darkened doorway to the right.

The
tendrils relinquished their grasp as Judicael made his way to the
table. 'This is Anacletus. Had you defied him any further you'd all
be dead,' he nodded with a smile toward the other occupants that had
foolishly drawn their weapons, 'all of you, dead.'

He
turned to Anacletus and his tone became more business-like. 'You seek
my services?'

The
assassin nodded. 'You owe a favour to El-Vador of the mountains.
There has been a miscalculation on my part, unless you repay that
debt immediately his life is forfeit.'

Judicael
raised an eyebrow. 'Cleaning up after your mistakes once again, am
I?'

'The
stakes have changed since our younger days, Judicael.'

'Very
well then.' Judicael replied, swiping a goblet from the table and
quenching his thirst. 'What needs done?'

Anacletus
smiled, and laid the details of the plan out to his associate.

Mina
stared on impatiently as her servants held Aliana in place, their
shadowy forms spreading her out upon the floor. She stared down upon
the naked form of her captive and then upon her own, the resemblance
was uncanny but not yet total.

Mina
advanced on the struggling creature and grasped the arms of one of
her servants, willing her mind to mutate the darkness to her purpose
and feeling her stomach lurch at such an askance of power. It was
required though, she couldn't have the joining disrupted.

The
blackened protrusion solidified into a sharpened blade that she
snapped off, and gently pricked the feverish skin of her twin with.

It
took but a moment for her to go rigid, the effects of the blade more
potent given that she had already been infected before. Now she was
entirely under her control, and there was nothing from this side of
the ether or beyond that could break it. When the body was poisoned
beyond a certain point, no amount of will be it the individual or an
intrusion could force it to be otherwise. A safeguard lest the others
attempt to take matters into their own hands.

She
approached now that her target had stilled, drawing herself closer to
the climactic point of giddy acceptance, teasing herself with the
inevitability as the power she had installed goaded her on.

The
darkened shadows that served her melted away and she felt release, it
was her and the twin alone with no other worldly intrusions.