Ice Phoenix (23 page)

"Her Highness is right, Master Titik," said the grandmaster. "If you value your life, you will not insist on riding the faars. They have been known to abandon certain riders in the In-Between. The closest people to Sector Five are Kuldor and I. I believe we can make it to Si Ren Da in a day and a half. Until then, Her Highness and Lady Anrath will have to hold out with the others until we arrive."

"What about the rest of us?"
Kiaten Titik asked.

"Continue gathering information on the war, the demons, and the Dream Walker. It is absolutely vital that we learn as much as we can about the enemy. Lady Skiss, please inform the L-Council that the first team has run into trouble in Si Ren Da and a few of us have left to rescue them. Do not mention anything about the girl and ... speak only of the distress signal that Baneyon sent."

The liquid blob that was Lady Skiss gave some appearance of a nod. The grandmaster glanced at the queen.

"Ride well and stay safe,
Your Highness."

"Thank you, Grandmaster Deitrux."

The images of all eight Imeldors vanished from the room. Queen Julere plucked the tiny device from the air and tucked it beneath her collar.

Waiting in the next room, Terrana sniffed for the umpteenth time until the prince leaned forwards and offered her some tissues. They were sitting in the headmistress's pristine kitchen, facing each other across the table, not saying a word.

"Thanks," she said in small voice. The silence descended again, and she avoided looking at him directly. Keeping her eyes downcast, she brought the tissues to her nose discretely. Then she blew for all she was worth, shattering the silence. The prince flinched and leaned back.

"Are you going to stare at the floor forever?" he asked, after she had emptied her nostrils.

Terrana turned red. She hadn't seen or spoken to him since the day he had fished her out of the lake, completely naked. And, of course, she couldn't forget that she had tried to kill him. Or that she had thrown up on him twice — well, twice more.

She ignored his comment and continued staring at the floor, allowing herself to descend into a world of darkness, hurt, and confusion. Her daily life seemed like a dream, a land of the blessed, and she struggled to swim to it every day. Otherwise, she would drown in the memories of her family's death while the evil eyes of her dark alter ego watched her. The only thing that kept her afloat was the memory of seeing Puddy.
Knowing that the dolphin had tried to reach out to her in the lake, that he hadn't abandoned her, flooded her with dangerous hope that they would be together again. She should have felt better about this glimmer of hope, but instead, she felt worse.

She couldn't understand why Baneyon had asked her to forget about Puddy. After everything she had been through, she would have thought that he'd be happy to know her old friend had returned. She loved Baneyon — she knew that now — but promising him she would not see Puddy created an internal conflict which ate her from the inside. She feared she was going to break her promise to Baneyon. Puddy could not have killed her family. He was part of her, part of her soul, and she would have known if he had meant her any harm.

She forgot the prince was sitting there as she sank deeper into her reverie. Puddy had come to her at a time when she had been a danger to herself and the prince. The thought that she had an evil twin nesting inside of her, just waiting to break out, terrified her. Her alter ego had called herself Terrana, told her that they were the same being, but Terrana refused to believe that. They may look the same, but this twin was not her. Puddy had referred to her alter ego as her ‘powers,’ but Terrana decided to call her T2; the second or other Terrana.

Every day Terrana asked herself the same question — what if T2 had appeared at the school and not over the lake? Puddy wouldn't have been able to come to her, and she would have ended up hurting a lot of students. Terrana had never been so scared in her life. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt innocent people. Whatever T2 was, Terrana didn't believe that she was just a manifestation of her own powers. Powers couldn't materialise, talk to you, and then lock you away, could they? Puddy had told her to control T2 before T2 controlled her, and Baneyon ... she had seen the look in his eyes. He feared something in her.

Terrana needed to know who she was, why she was born the way she was. She owed it to Archie and her parents. One day, she hoped, she could return home to Fiji, and when she did she would sit by her family's graves and explain what happened. Her mum would be there, smiling as she scraped the coconuts while listening, and at the end of it, she would flick her ear and tell her, "Terrana, scrape this coconut. We are going to make something good from it."

And that's how her mother was. No matter how bad the situation, she would always say, "We are going to make something good from it."

Terrana clung to those words. She didn't know what she could make yet, but once she knew, she would make something good out of her situation. She would make something good for her family. But the heaviness still clung to her heart, and self-doubt gnawed at her. Her determination to remain strong was being swallowed by depression and fear. Fear of what she was.

The prince’s voice spilled into her thoughts like cold water. Terrana looked up at him, turned red — again — and then looked away. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," she mumbled. It was a miracle that the prince even heard her. He leaned forwards.

"I said, are you going to stare at the floor forever?"

"It's a very unusual floor," she said quickly. "I've never seen one like it before."

"Suit yourself. Personally I'd rather look at people — with clothes on."

Terrana could have fried an egg on her face. It was that hot. She glanced at him angrily. "You didn't have to bring that up! I wasn't myself at the time!"

The corner of his mouth lifted. Terrana scowled. He was laughing at her! She didn't realise it then, but his subtle teasing removed some of the darkness in her, pulling her from the hurt and confusion of everything that had happened in the last week.

"Then perhaps you should explain that to the irritating Daiphus boy who saw us outside your room."  It took a moment for Terrana to realise he was referring to Lorn. She could still recall Lorn's stunned look when he had seen them outside her room, after returning from the lake. Not knowing what to say, she had avoided him too.

"Is that your mum outside?" she asked abruptly.

A glint appeared in the prince's eyes as he recognised her futile attempt to change the subject, but he went along with it.

"Yes," he answered.

"You look a lot like her. Why are you both here?"

"We were discussing you before you arrived."

Terrana's eyes widened.
"About what?"

"About how an uncouth girl from Sector Thirteen could not realise that it's inappropriate to attack the prince of Swiva, especially when she does not have any clothes on."

Terrana's eyes narrowed. He had deliberately let her steer the conversation because he knew it would lead right back to
that
.

"That was mean," she said.

"Nevertheless, true," he replied. Terrana opened her mouth to retort but he held out his hand, silencing her. He walked quietly to the door and stood really still. Curious, Terrana shuffled up to him, attempting to peer past him. Almost immediately, his hand came down on her head and pulled her back.

Her eyes could have burned holes through his back, but she bit down on her lip and said nothing. She, too, wanted to hear what the queen and the headmistress were saying, and arguing would not help. Her attempts to eavesdrop on the two women proved futile, but the prince seemed to be having better luck. Suddenly, he pushed her back and she found herself sitting at the table once more.

The women walked into the kitchen. Terrana ran over to the headmistress.

"Are you going to send someone to save Baneyon?" she asked.

Headmistress Marl nodded. "Her Highness is going to Si Ren Da with some others. They'll do their best to rescue Baneyon and his comrades."

The prince looked at his mother sharply, his eyes betraying his emotions. "Your Highness, do you intend to confront the demons?"

"If I have to," she answered softly. Something flashed in the prince's eyes and Terrana was startled to recognise it as pain. Something unsaid was happening between the queen and her son, and Terrana sensed that the prince was angry, although she didn't understand why.

The queen spoke, her face betraying no emotion. "You are the prince of Sector Six, Ra Im. You cannot afford to allow your emotions to show."

"Her Highness should have protectors accompanying her. I do not understand why she insists on partaking in this suicidal mission when it is only logical and convenient to assign somebody else!"

The queen's eyes softened for just a moment. "Young Majesty, you overheard some things that you should not have, and you try to position yourself in my stead when there is no need. There is time for all that, but it is not now."

In an unexpected display of emotion, she reached out and stroked her son's face. "Trust your mother. I will have Nisa and Lady Anrath by my side."

Prince Gil Ra Im nodded, although his expression remained stony. The queen turned to Terrana. "I have more questions for you, Terrana. Apart from the five demons, did you see any others?"

Terrana shook her head. "I don't know."

"Can you control where you go in your dreams?"

Terrana shook her head miserably. She felt useless, not to mention, responsible for sending the queen away. She wracked her brains to remember anything that would help the queen. Something came back to her.

"Mire's Point!" she cried. "I heard Baneyon say they would meet there."

The queen's eyes flashed. "Thank you, Terrana."

"And, be careful of the demon with the hood. He felt very bad to me."

The queen nodded. "I shall make my leave now."

"Journey well, Your Highness," said Headmistress Marl. She accompanied the queen to the main room in which Terrana had sat earlier, and up some stairs that disappeared into the ceiling. Terrana guessed it led out to the top of the dragon's head, where the queen's faar would be waiting.

A yawn escaped her, releasing fresh tears, and Terrana realised she was really tired. Since the episode at the lake, sleep hadn't come easy to her. A painful rap on the head roused her immediately.

"
Ow! Whaccha do that for?" she cried, rubbing her head.

"Meet me at the stables in half an hour," the prince whispered fiercely.

"Huh?"

But he did not elaborate. Headmistress
Marl descended the stairs alone, coming to stand in front of them. She threw them a stern look. "I don't have to tell the both of you that whatever was discussed in this room stays in this room. Understood?"

They both nodded.

The time was past noon and the three suns blazed mercilessly upon the baked, rocky planet of Si Ren Da, giving rise to swirling optical illusions that could drown a person within seconds if they were to rely on their eyes only.

Five demons frantically dashed about the dry, cracked surface of the planet, scouring the earth and rocks for something, anything. There was an air of disbelief about them, mingled with fury and the intent of violent retribution for the humiliation they had suffered. In their frustration, they churned the earth violently in the hope that the pendant would present itself.

"Meldogan, the dogs are surfacing," Garok pointed out. Meldogan glanced across the harsh, sun-baked terrain to where the dratkaars were, and growled.

"If you have time to worry about them, you're not looking for the pendant!"

Garok looked nervously at the dogs again. They had begun to appear on the surface since the collapse of the cave and, as far as he could tell, they didn't look happy. There were hundreds of them, and yet, more were breaking through the ground, nonchalantly shaking off rocks and earth. The explosion must have awakened all the sleeping packs on this barren planet, and they appeared from every direction. Garok had the feeling they were planning something.

"Now I know why that Skra woman hid the pendant on this planet."

Meldogan swore. "Keep them away from this area until we find the pendant!"

One of the dratkaars took its eyes off the demons and sniffed a large pile of rocks on its right. It looked around and, after appearing satisfied that it would not be missed by the others, it edged closer towards one of the rocks and raised a leg. Urine shot out, a heavy stream of reeking blue liquid, which oozed down quickly between the gaps of the adjoining rocks. Finally relieved, the dratkaar lowered its leg and rejoined its horde of angry brethren, heading to the area where the demons were.

"Unbelievable!" said Baneyon as loud as he dared. A string of the worst cusses followed, and his cohorts didn't know whether to cover their ears, sympathise, or snigger.

All five members of the team were crowded inside the rock the dog had peed on. They were uncomfortable and hot— but they were alive!

Baneyon and Quempa had survived the blast because Baneyon had been able to weave a vacuum tunnel for him and Quempa to escape in, and it had sucked them away to safety. The others had survived because they were not in the demons' ship when it exploded. In fact, due to Quempa's foresight, they had not been in the ship when it left the ground. Quempa had predicted that the demons would chase after the ship, determined to board it mid air and slay the entire team. So, instead, Kalum and Ferro had snuck aboard the ship, and Ferro had programmed the ship's computer to make it appear that there were people on board.

Imeldor Kalum set about rigging the ship with explosives which would go off as soon as the demons boarded the ship. Then once they had completed their tasks, he and Imeldor Ferro joined the others at their hiding places on the ground. It was up to Baneyon and Quempa to lead the demons to the ship, giving the enemy the impression that the Imeldors and L-Masters intended to flee the planet with their vehicle.

But, Quempa's plan to kill the demons in the explosion had backfired. The ship had exploded before any of the demons could board it. Nashim had blown it up himself, using his terrifying powers.

From the ground, the team watched the explosion in silence, anxious for Baneyon's and Quempa's safety as they realised the two of them had been caught in the blast. Desperate, they sent out messages to the pair, and were overwhelmed with relief when they heard back from Baneyon. He told them how he and Quempa had survived the blast, and he also gave them some unwelcome news; the demons had already figured out they had not been in the ship and were still hiding on the ground. Then he told them to join him immediately because he had created a place for them to hide.

He and Quempa had returned to the area where Meldogan's lightning had struck earlier and woven a pile of rocks for them to hide in. The charred smell of the earth in the area would mask their scents from the dratkaars. The dogs' presence would also neutralise their qi and prevent the demons from sensing them. The six transported themselves, squeezing into the area inside the rocks just before Baneyon sealed it around them. Unfortunately for everyone, in order to prevent the pile of rocks from standing out too much on the burnt landscape, Baneyon had made it just big enough to hold them all. They could not stretch out their legs without kicking someone else in the face.

"This idea of hiding in these rocks seems to be working, Baneyon," said Lady Fless. She huddled farthest away from Baneyon with the wounded L-Master Ana. The L-Master was weak after losing her limbs to Garok, but she sat quietly, focusing on healing her body. Her race's natural regenerative process helped — her legs had completely regenerated and her arms were nearly whole.

"Yes, clever idea to weave the burned ground into rocks. The dogs can neither
see nor smell us," said Raimus.

"And with Baneyon smelling of piss, they might even consider him part of the family," sniggered Talinuk Ferro.

"We're in a sorry situation here!" snapped L-Master Kalum. "We have no means of communicating for help, we've lost a night and half a day since the explosion, we have no food, and those demons are stronger than we are!"

"They are not stronger than we are," Quempa contradicted. "At least I don't think them to be."

"Tell us what you think then," said L-Master Kalum.

"They are like you, Kalum," Quempa replied steadily. "Just as lacers are able to manipulate superior qi and provide an instruction to the intention, the
demons have access to some other property of qi that we don't know about. Their responses are faster and their attacks are more powerful as a result."

"That may be true, but let's not get distracted from our immediate problem here," said Baneyon. "We need a way off this planet. Think, people! Why did the demons willingly destroy their only ship? Were they planning to remain here?"

"I've been thinking that too," said Quempa, "and I believe it's something to do with the pendant."

"Please tell me it converts into a ship so we can get the hell out of here!" Raimus whined.

"No, but remember, the queen told us that it protected Namasar and the others in the Voron Cloud. If it could do that, then protecting people in the In-Between should be plausible."

"That would make sense," said Baneyon, thoughtfully. "The demons were probably relying on the pendant to take them through. The question is,
how
?" He removed the pendant from his belt, holding it up for everyone to see.

"Perhaps it requires qi to activate," suggested L-Master Kalum. There were no other suggestions forthcoming so Baneyon shrugged.

"Why not?" Baneyon channelled his qi into the pendant as everyone watched. A whole minute passed by without any reaction.

"Try a little harder, Baneyon," said Raimus. "It may not be getting enough of a charge."

Baneyon released more qi and it settled around the pendant like a heavy shroud. The surface of the pendant rippled.

"Everyone, direct some of your qi into it!" Quempa barked.

Almost immediately, the others gathered around Baneyon and began to channel their qi into the pendant.

"Quite the guzzler we have here," said Raimus. "I have new respect for this Namasar fellow."

"Look, everyone!" Talinuk Ferro cried. "It's opening a wormhole!" He was right. A tiny wormhole, no larger than a coin, appeared above them. A wind picked up, carrying surrounding debris towards it.

"What now?" asked
Baneyon. "Who wants to be the first to see where it goes? Quempa?"

His little friend glared at him. "And get lost somewhere in the depths of the In-Between? Not to mention, that hole is a little small, even for me."

"We need to experiment first by sending objects through," said L-Master Kalum. "We could try —"

The rocks Baneyon had cleverly woven and arranged to conceal their presence exploded, leaving the fugitives exposed. They were now standing on the barren ground, feeling dazed and confused. Gathering their wits, the Imeldors and L-Masters scrambled into defensive formation as the demons raced towards them.

Baneyon barely avoided a lightning blast when a knee slammed into his chest. He staggered backwards, quickly bracing his body for the next blow. Garok suddenly appeared in front of him, swinging his fist. Baneyon leaned back and turned aside, grabbing hold of Garok's arm as he did so. Using the demon's momentum, Baneyon flipped him over and kicked him in the stomach.

The demon grunted and rolled back on the ground. He got to his feet, patting the dust off his body. "You have some combat skill," he said, eyeing Baneyon dangerously.
"Good, because I've been dying to kill somebody the old-fashioned way."

They were evenly matched in build. Around them, demons and weavers faced off. Quempa was heavily occupied with the lightning demon, and Lady Fless was engaged in physical combat with another. Talinuk Ferro had joined forces with the L-Masters to face the forth demon, and Raimus was left alone to face the one wearing a hood.

Baneyon didn't know much about the L-Masters, but out of the Imeldors, only he and Lady Fless were serious combat types. This meant that they had trained in Kampu martial arts and were adept in both attack and self-defence.

Looking at the demons, they also appeared to be combat types, and Baneyon worried they would have the advantage. However, worrying was something he couldn't afford. Garok brandished a pair of evil-looking metallic rings about two hand spans wide and threw them in tandem, towards him. Baneyon deftly evaded the rings and they swerved past to slice cleanly into the rock behind him. The rock split into three pieces.

The rings returned to their wielder. As soon as Garok caught them, they expanded to three times their original sizes. Baneyon's eyes narrowed. He had seen weapons similar to the rings before, but none had been able to expand at will. He also suspected that they had been highly modified to respond only to their wielder.Baneyon reached over his shoulder and removed a short cudgel strapped to his back. He twisted it down the middle, revealing two sections. The action triggered a chain reaction and the cudgel began to unfold and expand as Gratchonian nanotechnology went to work. From one section, a large double-edged blade appeared, made from the hardest mineral known to the thirteen sectors. Velassium, or better known as Dartkala's breath, Baneyon had paid a fortune to Master Kuldor to have it made.

The lower section of the cudgel extended, providing him a handle. A rectangular guard appeared at the point where it met the blade, offering some protection from well-placed attacks. The entire length of the spear was taller than he was; its long handle allowed Baneyon to deliver devastating attacks, while enabling him to stay out of the enemy's reach.

"That's an interesting blade," said Garok feigning nonchalance. "What is it?"

Baneyon had no intention of telling him. "Fight me, and you might learn something of it," he said.

Garok's eyes glittered. "Then I give you my word that I shall not use qi without warning." He hurled the rings at Baneyon. Blade met blade and there was a bone-grinding noise as the rings spun against Baneyon's spear. The force from the rings was immense and pushed Baneyon back several metres.

As Garok moved in to attack, Baneyon flung the rings aside and stabbed the hilt of his spear into the ground. Still holding onto the hilt, he lashed out with both legs and caught Garok in the face. The demon fell back with a grunt.

Garok rose to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth. "First round is yours," he called out. "Perhaps you'll last longer than your comrades."

Baneyon stiffened. He had been so occupied with Garok that he had not sensed the diminishing qi of his comrades around him. He risked a quick glance towards the others.

L-Master Ana had fallen, and both Kalum and Ferro were fending off the demon who had come after them. Baneyon couldn't believe what he was seeing. The demon attacking Kalum and Ferro came at the masters from the front, but then he vanished suddenly. He reappeared behind them and Kalum brought his staff around with amazing speed, defending himself successfully. Talinuk Ferro wasn't as quick, and the demon struck. Ferro fell to the ground clutching his stomach. Blood seeped through his fingers.

"That's Eera," Garok told Baneyon. "His ability is speed. He moves at a speed quicker than the ordinary eye can detect, and what you see of him is the image left behind. Your comrades do not stand a chance."

Baneyon clenched his jaw and searched for Lady Fless. He spotted her some distance north of L-Master Kalum, and was relieved to see that she was faring better. She wielded a pair of devastating broadswords.

In a seemingly shocking move, Lady Fless dropped both her swords, stumbled, and fell to the ground. The demon seized his chance, quickly pinning her down with his foot. As he stooped to deliver the killing blow, a flurry of knives appeared out of thin air and peppered him. He fell back in surprise, looking like a hedgehog.

While still lying on the ground, Lady Fless summoned her broadswords, catching them in each hand. She crossed them over in one swift movement.