Calm Before the Storm (28 page)

“Ready?” Tyr repeated waking Irina from her
daydream.

Irina swayed into him, her shoulder bumping
his. She knew she had a sappy grin on her face but was unable to wipe it away.
“Always.”

“We’re up after Luc and Tani,” he said,
reminding her of where they were. Irina gave Luc a wave glad that he had agreed
to attend the ceremony and stand as a witness. She felt it meant that he had
accepted the reality and come to terms with her relationship with Tyr. To have
both Luc and Cassi present meant the world to her.

Irina waited as Luc and Tani disappeared
into the starportal vortex and Tyr held her hand more tightly, the electrical
buzz sizzling in her palm. The connection was such an intrinsic part of her now
she could not imagine how she had survived before Tyr. His presence as
necessary as the air she breathed.

They stepped forward together. She waited
for Tyr to access the portal. His skill as a portal traveler was an innate
ability the Eunomi had found amazing, and Borealis predicted that as he
trained, Tyr would access other powers and abilities as yet untapped.

As the vortex shimmered before them and Tyr
spoke the summoning phrase, Irina took a deep breath and stepped in. While the
vortex spun around them wildly, they stood together in the calm center of the
storm and a bubbling excitement fluttered in her chest. She would never be
alone again.

A sudden wrenching pull to her left and
Irina was struggling to keep contact with Tyr, two hands grabbing her left
shoulder tugging violently, nails gouging into her flesh. Her fingers slipped
from Tyr’s grasp, cold air rushing by as a howling wind ripped them apart and
Irina found herself plunging into a whirlwind that sent her spinning
helplessly, arms flailing wildly.

Sudden impact as her body slammed into the
ground. Her eyes fluttered open. A face swam into focus in front of her eyes.

“I hope it hurt,” a voice sneered. Alcina!
Irina was lacerated by the acid sting in her tone. “And if it didn’t, then
don’t worry because I intend to make sure you suffer.” As Irina struggled to
pull herself up, Alcina’s booted foot smashed into her stomach, leaving her
gasping for breath.

“Why are you doing this?”

“You know why.”

“Because of a man? That’s just so pathetic.
Get over it!”

Alcina bent her face closer, viciously
adding more pressure on her foot. “You silly little bitch!” Her voice grated
like cut glass the jagged shards slicing into Irina’s skin. “You know nothing.
I want you to experience the pain of loss like I did.”

“I already have. You took my family away
from me! Murdered them! All for spite, jealousy!”

“Yes and I’d do it again!” Alcina spat.
“But you haven’t yet experienced the pain of losing the love of your life like
I did.” A chill raced through Irina.

“What have you done to Tyr?”

“Nothing. Yet.” Alcina lifted her boot and
kicked Irina in the side, leaving an agonizing pain in her ribs. “But soon. We
have a few minutes to kill before you find out.”

Grabbing Irina by the hair, Alcina dragged
her up. She snaked calloused hands around Irina’s aching limbs, pulling them
behind her back, and roughly bound her wrists together, leather fibers cutting
into her flesh. It hurt but Irina forced herself to ignore the pain and instead
focus on her surroundings.

The landscape was a rocky bare desolation.
Great chasms of garish green smoke spewed from yellow sulphurous mounds, the
foul stench causing her to gag. Irina guessed that this was Chthonia. Cassi had
described it as hell and it seemed fitting.

She was then dragged over to a rock
embedded with a metal chain. Locking her into place, Alcina wound the chain
across her chest and pulled it tight. Once the chain was secured, Alcina
stepped back admiring her handiwork, a wild light glimmering in her eyes, which
shone bright red.

“Let’s see if your lover can get you out of
this.” Alcina jerked the chain, causing the links to tighten. The pain was
excruciating, but even worse was the foul smoke from the pits that invaded her
lungs, burning her eyes as hot fumes seared her flesh.

“What do you hope to gain from this?” Irina
asked, choking, tears washing down her cheeks.

“You’ll see,” Alcina sneered, her mouth
twisted in an ugly smile, and Irina wondered how she could have missed the
coldness in her eyes.

“Let her go, Alcina!” The rough familiar
growl warmed Irina’s heart. She turned her head, the only part of her that
could move, to see Tyr striding toward them, a dark angel of deliverance.
Alcina didn’t flinch, her smile growing more evil, her stance belligerent as
she held a knife to Irina’s throat.

“You made it here more quickly than I
thought,” she said.

“I’m a natural when it comes to portals,
but I guess you were banking on that.”

“Oh yes definitely,” she replied smoothly.
“You’re so predictable.”

“Really?” he said. “What do you predict
I’ll do now?”

“You’re going to tell me to let her go
again.”

“Do it then!” he ordered.

“You know I won’t.”

“So we have a stalemate.”

“It appears so.”

Tyr paused in the midst of the rapid-fire
conversation, his eyes meeting Irina’s. He could see she was afraid although
she refused to show it. He took a deep breath, knowing he needed to stall his
adversary, keep her busy. “What do you really want, Alcina?”

“That’s easy. I want to see Irina suffer
like I suffered all these years.”

“How will you do that?”

“By killing you and making her watch.”
Alcina’s lips curled in twisted madness.

“Is that how you get your kicks?”

“Definitely. I’ve done it before, and it
was very satisfying. Did I tell you, Tyr, how your mother suffered?”

“What are you talking about?” Tyr frowned
at the reference to his family, his mother.

“You didn’t really think her death was an
accident, did you?”

Tyr could barely contain his anger but he
forced himself not to go for her throat. That was what she wanted. He wouldn’t
give her the satisfaction. Alcina continued, her tone venomous. “We identified
you very young. We needed your mother out of the way so you could be isolated
and brought to the Discordant cause. I took great pleasure eliminating Carita
and your father. Carita was always so righteous. I laughed when Hate betrayed
her. Strange, I thought that would break her completely. I find it odd that she
met and married your father. Apparently she loved him very much. She tried to
save him. The look on her face when I cut his throat in front of her is
something I will always treasure.”

Tyr gritted his teeth as the pain of losing
his parents ripped open a fresh wound on a scar he had thought almost healed.
“She was more resilient than you, Alcina. She was able to move on. Something
you obviously haven’t been able to do, and she was able to love again. Perhaps
that’s why Irina’s father didn’t love you. You don’t know what love is. You’re
nothing but an evil, selfish bitch. Get a life.” He forced himself to remain
calm. One glance at Irina swept a balm over that pain, numbing it for a moment,
giving him the strength to focus on strategy.

“Alcina.” Irina spoke softly. “You are the
one who is suffering. The acid of envy and jealousy is eating away at you. Let
it go. Give it up. That was the past. Those things cannot be changed. Listen to
your heart. You still have one. It’s not too late.”

Tyr realized Irina was using her power. Her
voice soothingly weaving a net around them, a comforting blanket of words. He
could see Alcina hesitate, indecision crossing her expression for a fleeting
moment. Then the twisted grin returned as Alcina focused on something behind
him.

“Tyr!” he heard Irina scream just as his
legs were swept from beneath him and he fell, almost toppling into one of the
pits, barely managing to grab on to a rock and drag his body up. He stood
shakily, turning as his assailant came into view.

The beast was huge. Tyr understood Irina’s
gasp of horror as the creature approached. He’d never seen anything like it.
Even Choronzon in his saevici form was nothing compared to this beast. Whatever
it was, Tyr knew it wasn’t good. “Aw, Alcina, you have a pet,” he said, brain
racing ahead, calculating his next move. “Its funny how pets often look like
their owners.”

Alcina ignored him, laughing hysterically.
It was then that Tyr realized she was truly insane. “You cannot hope to
vanquish the chemosh. Its shell is the hardest substance in the universe. Few
are ever killed and certainly not by the likes of you, a pathetic Earthani.”

“Don’t forget I’m half Lyrani,” he said
with more calm than he felt. Tyr focused on the beast, searching for a weakness.
Its rhinoceros-shaped head carried three curved horns running down the center.
Two lethal tusks curled out from huge jaws that were filled with a series of
razor-sharp teeth. Most of its hide was covered with a matte black shell that
encased all vulnerable areas. It walked on four thick legs that pounded into
the ground, causing a small earthquake with every step.

A massive tail covered in spiky bone
whipped toward him and Tyr realized what had hit him earlier. This time he
managed to jump clear of the sweeping tail, rolling forward to a standing
position as it almost caught his legs again. Even standing he was still dwarfed
by the beast. Tyr glanced at Irina who was struggling with the cords that bound
her wrists. He knew through their connection she was more concerned for him
than for herself but even scared as she was she remained defiant. Her strength
pulsed through his veins bolstering his resolve. He consideredthe options and
his weapons. He had a small laser gun holstered under his arm that would be
useless against the armored beast and a couple of knives plus a long sword.
Luckily, when Irina had disappeared in the vortex and he arrived in Vega’s
portal hall, Borealis had been waiting with a group of warriors. Once they
realized what had happened, Tyr had managed to get a reading on Irina’s Esseni
signature. Because of the bonding aspect of the ceremony and the mingling of
their essences, he could track her to within a few feet as long as she was
wearing the pendant. Tyr had grabbed some weapons from Borealis and jumped back
into to the vortex before they had the chance to follow.

Wishing he had waited for them, Tyr
considered how to incapacitate Alcina so he could at least untie Irina and try
to make run for it. In order to do that he needed to divert the creature. If he
ran toward Irina the beast might follow and she would be crushed. He began by
throwing rocks that made little impact on the chemosh’s impenetrable shell.

“Pathetic!” he heard Alcina yell. “You’re
supposed to be War. What kind of strategy is that?”

The chemosh threw back its head and roared
an ear-splitting howl that pierced the air as the cascade of rocks bounced off
the thick hide of its nose. Tyr had found a weakness. However, the beast stood
its ground and Tyr had no option but to face it with his sword. It charged
toward him. His veins pulsed with Irina’s fear even as his own heart beat
faster and he sought for a way to avoid the animal’s assault.

Just as it reached him, Tyr leapt away from
its jaws then twisted back, grabbing one of its horns, and as it passed, he
swung himself forcefully onto the beast’s head. He landed on its neck, one hand
poised with the sword raised to strike. The creature whipped its head around,
jerking as if to dislodge a particularly nasty fly.

The momentum of the jerking movement caused
a change in direction and Tyr, still clinging to its back, experienced the most
agonizing stab of fear he’d ever known as he realized where the rampaging beast
was now heading. Desperate now, he began stabbing at its head, wrenching at its
horns in a frantic effort to distract it from its path. All in vain. The
chemosh was relentless in its distress.

Alcina was cackling with psychotic glee.
“Two birds with one chemosh. It’s poetic!” She moved away from Irina whose eyes
were closed, her body still. The chemosh was headed straight for her, the
crushing impact certain to cause her death. “Open your eyes, Irina! Don’t you
want to see your lover trampling over your heart?”

In one last-ditch effort to distract, Tyr
stabbed at the beast’s eye. Roaring in agony the chemosh’s head flailed
jerkily, causing Tyr to lose his grip and he found himself plunging to the
ground. The impact of the hard rocky ground almost knocked him into oblivion,
and he struggled through a haze of dizziness as he fought to stay conscious.
His soul splintered at the sound of a scream that tore through the air. Tyr
rose to his feet fighting the wave of nausea that engulfed him.
Irina! Dear
God! No!

The chemosh had finally halted, its tail
twitching as it tried to swat something away. Tyr raced toward it catching a
glimpse of a torn body, bright red with crimson blood streaming from a gaping
hole pierced by one of the tail spikes. The body, limp and distorted was not
his concern. Alcina hadn’t got what she deserved. Nothing but slow torture for
eternity could make up for what she had done to their families.

He skidded to a halt as he drew level with
the creature’s eyes, the splinters of his soul stabbing his heart to pieces in
despair. No! No! No! He couldn’t bear to look. A soft whisper in his head. A
gentle voice stroking his skin with a satin embrace. Irina!

Hardly daring to breathe, Tyr moved around
the chemosh’s head. His heart stopped. Chills shuddered through the length of
his body as relief poured over him. He thought he was going mad. The creature’s
nose lay not two feet away from Irina, her still frame erect and steady, eyes
closed as she spoke soothing words to the enthralled animal. Tremors replaced
chills as Tyr felt the heat of her words, a woven cloak encircling them, the
tranquil calm of it replacing the frantic fear and anguish.