Mortals & Deities (41 page)

Alant Cor had released the Sight when Rohann Vimith approached him. He did, however, retain the storage of energy he had accumulated while holding the Sight—something he had not known he could do. He could feel the reserve of power in him.

Once the merchant had distributed the three Ju’kagi, he stepped to Klain’s side. The boy, Charver, also stood next to the lion-man. Alant Cor did not think he had ever seen the boy so frightened.

Very good. Now, each of you approach one of the columns of the Toji’ka’gana.

Alant had never heard the term Toji’ka’gana, though he knew that ka’gana translated to
into
, or
of the Essence
. The word Ju’kagi still nagged at him. He knew he had read that word during his studies of the Old Tongue.

The other two had taken up position before two of the posts. With a last look at the stone in his hand, its tiny runes glowing bright, he stepped up to the last one.

In the center of the posts, you will find a groove that matches the Ju’kagi. Place the Ju’kagi into the slot and keep your palms on them until they Meld into the Toji’ka’gana.

Spinning the small black stone, he turned it so that it matched the orientation of the post. He peered closely at the smooth blackness of the Toji’ka’gana until he noticed a small groove in its center. Pressing the piece he held into the groove, he slid his palm so that it rested flat against the stone.

Slowly, the Ju’kagi began to Meld with the post, sinking in deeper than the original groove should have allowed.

Once the face of the Ju’kagi was flush, the small runes around its edges grew. They continued to expand until they overlapped the runes on the edges of the post. The small stone merged so perfectly with the larger, Alant could no longer even see a crack where they came together.

The blue orb surrounding the goddess shook as if struck by a hammer, then began to shrink. It collapsed in on itself and lowered to the floor. The Chandril’chi root tried to remain firmly attached, yet it soon pulled taut. One by one, the little rootlings snapped free. Once all were detached, they swung back toward the larger root that rose up the pillar, disappearing in the shadows of the ceiling high overhead.

You may all stand back now.

An overpowering urge filled Alant, and without thinking he took a step back. The bubble continued to shrink and soon the woman lay on the floor between the three columns of the Toji’ka’gana, curled up in the fetal position.

With the light of the sphere gone, the only illumination came from the forgotten Essence-enhanced torches.

With the woman now lying exposed on the ground, a sense of dread crept upon Alant.

Is it that the woman is exposed to us, or that we are now exposed to her?

He tried to swallow the lump that had caught in his throat.

Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked. Sitting up, she smiled. Though her smile never touched her brown eyes. “You have done well, my children.” She turned to the Kith and the lion-man’s stature straightened. Pointing at Alant, Arderi, and Elith in turn, her voice held the tone of someone who expected her every order to be carried out. “Do not harm these three, my pet. They are still of some use to me. You may kill the other two, however.”

Her statement, so out of place, pulled a gasp from Alant. And he was not the only one.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Klain spin and in one fluid motion rake his sharp claws across Rohann’s neck. Blood sprayed out in pulsating waves, spilling down the front of the man’s shirt. With a look of horror on the merchant’s face, the man reached out and grasped Klain by the shoulders. The gurgling noise, combined with the man’s life bleeding out, filled Alant’s senses. Bending over, he retched as his stomach heaved and convulsed.

The young boy’s wail bit deep into Alant’s very core and he retched once more. When he regained control of himself, he stood and wiped his mouth and chin with the sleeve of his shirt. Yet, the scene that awaited him caused him to moan in dismay.

Charver’s small frame dangled from Klain’s outstretched arm. The boy’s small hands beat futilely against the large paw that was squeezing the life from him. Glancing to where Elith and Arderi stood, he noticed that they were just as stunned as he.

His brother jerked. Dropping his sword, he raced at the lion-man. He grabbed the pole of the torch from the pile of rubble where he had propped it earlier. With a scream, he swung the end of the handle at Klain. It struck the beast in the side, though Klain did not even flinch. Again and again, Arderi hit the beast, each time grunting with exertion as the metal pole slammed home. If the attacks damaged the Kith, he made no reaction.

The boy stopped struggling, his body dangling limp from the lion-man’s paw. “Nix!” Arderi’s shriek rippled with the pain Alant felt also. As if he were throwing away a piece of trash, the Kith tossed the body of Charver into the darkness. The beast then turned and gazed back at the woman. Though he wore a look of absolute rapture on his features, tears streamed down his face unchecked.

Arderi spun and launched himself at the woman who stood watching the carnage with a faint smile on her face. Pole raised over his head in both hands, he bore the weapon down with his full body weight behind it. Before the torch struck, however, it stopped. Arderi grunted, jolted by the unexpected halt of his attack. Then, with a flick of the woman’s hand, Arderi launched into the air. Flailing, he flipped head over heels down the dark stairs behind him. His torch still hung in midair where it had stopped.

A wild screech came from Elith, and she also attacked the woman. However, she only made it one step before some unseen force pulled her from her feet. She hovered in the air, legs together, arms pressed firmly against her sides. She glared down at the woman with malice and Alant could not believe even a goddess could remain so composed under her vicious stare. He had never seen eyes more filled with hate. “She will
kill
you!”

Saphanthia giggled. “We were such fools when we discovered your race. We pulled you through and put you in this shell of a body. Yet, now that I have had…time to contemplate what we did, I realize that you are much more valuable to me in your natural form than in that
ridiculous
body!”

All of a sudden, Elith’s eyes flew open wide and her chest heaved. A spasm wracked her thin frame and she let out an ear-piercing wail of despair. Alant watched in horror as something—some ghostly shape—emerged from between her small breasts. It was silver, with the consistency of the Liquid Essence from the Chi’utlan. It held the same basic shape as the gray-skinned girl. Though it glowed with an inner light that hurt Alant’s eyes. He could not turn away, however. The sight mesmerized him.

When she screamed again—screamed until she ran out of breath—he realized that he stood there watching her suffer without helping. Letting the Sight fall upon him, he grabbed his store of energy and began adding more to it. Now that the blue sphere created by the Toji’ka’gana had been extinguished, he saw that the Spectals and Strands had returned to a more natural state.

Clenching his jaw, he stepped forward.

Let us see if you can toss me around as easily!

A fear she had never known before gripped Elith when Arderi Cor flew down the stairs. Her first instinct was to run to him. Yet, if she did not kill that which threatened him, she would be useless to him by his side.

Letting out her most feral battle cry, she reached for her Ratave staff and moved to attack. Before she took her second step, however, an unseen force reached out and plucked her from the ground. Her staff shot from her hands and her arms pressed to her sides, held tight by invisible bonds.

She did not let this deter her. Glaring down at the woman, she filled her voice with all the hate that lay pent up inside her. “She will
kill
you!”

The woman looked up and giggled. Giggled! “We were such fools when we discovered your race. We pulled you through and put you in this shell of a body. Yet, now that I have had…time to contemplate what we did, I realize that you are much more valuable to me in your natural form than in that
ridiculous
body!”

Without warning, fire consumed her chest. It was a level of agony Elith had never felt in all her time training under the priests. Her body convulsed and she heard herself cry out. The pain intensified as something sliced her chest. A silver knot formed, then grew into an egg-shaped ball. The sheer torment of it threatened to overwhelm her—the pain reached a stage her mind could not contend with. Her entire chest felt as if it were splitting open. With horror, she realized the silver glowing ball protruding from her chest was not a ball.

It is a head!

Shoulders ripped out from her body following the head and magnifying the pain tenfold. Her shrieks continued until she had no air left in her lungs. The only thing she could do was suck in another breath and continue screaming.

Then silence.

The pain was gone.

Opening her eyes, Elith found herself standing on a vast Plane of white. A crystal-clear sky stretched out overhead into infinity. A glow caught her attention, and looking down she noticed her arms were no longer gray. Instead, a silver liquid-like substance formed her body.

“Welcome sister.”

Spinning on the voice, Elith took an involuntary step back. Behind her stood a being composed of the same silver substance she saw in her own body.

“It has been so long. You have been missed.”

Elith did not understand. Her mind struggled to comprehend any part of this.

She was in an underground city. She was struggling. Arderi Cor was hurt!

The last thought slammed into her. “She must save Arderi Cor!”

Her statement seemed to puzzle the silver being. It cocked its head to the side. “You must save
yourself
, sister. You must
return
to us. It is the only way. You will die if you stay there.”

“NO!” She spun in a circle, her head shifting from side to side. Yet, as far as she could see, the landscape did not change from the white surface and clear sky. “She must get back! She must save Arderi Cor!”

The silver being’s hand snapped out with blinding speed, striking Elith in the forehead. Or, more accurately, it bored
into
her forehead.

Images and flashes filled her mind. A tunnel. A flat silver pond. A temple. A cold table. A blinding light. An ocean. Mountains. Cities. Men. They all came so fast, and in no discernable order, that her mind reeled.

The strange silver being pulled away. “Find the portal. Come home to us, sister.” In the blink of an eye, it vanished.

Elith’s wonder lasted the merest beat of a heart, then pain crashed down on her and she looked once again into the amused eyes of the black-haired woman.

Filling her lungs, Elith screamed once more.

A loud wail of pain pierced through Arderi Cor’s haze of unconsciousness. Pushing himself off the floor, a movement he regretted, he shook his head to clear it. He found himself at the bottom of the stairs. Bruised and bleeding from a myriad of small cuts, he felt no broken bones. Looking around, he saw that he lay in a large circular room with many hallways leading off in different directions. Rubble littered the area.

A second shriek of pain pulled his eyes to the top of the stairs. Elith hung suspended a pace from the floor, arms and legs pinned, a continuous scream flowing from her lips.

Forcing himself to stand, he scrambled up the stairs, using his hands as much as his feet. As he approached her, he saw his sword, Dorochi, lying behind Elith where he had dropped it in his haste to save the boy.

The memory of Charver and what the Kith did to him, fueled Arderi’s anger. Closing the distance between him and his sword, he scooped up Dorochi and charged up the stairs. The Sight of Sujen fell upon him. Reality slowed to a crawl while his ability to take in his surroundings increased. With the extra speed of Sujen, he took in the scene.

The torch he had tried to attack the woman with still hung in mid-air. Elith hovered next to this, some…
thing
ripping out of her chest. His brother, Alant, approached from the far side, lightning sparking between his hands. And the woman—the goddess!—Saphanthia, stood inside the very sculpture that had held her when they arrived. Smiling. As if she had not a care in her heart. She looked like a woman out for a stroll on Holiday.

In this heightened mental state, he felt invincible. Arderi pushed his body around Elith at a speed no normal man could match. As he did, his brother’s hands rose in slow motion. A bolt of lightning, the biggest Arderi had ever seen his brother produce, shot out and arched toward the back of Saphanthia’s head.

Arderi did not pause in his charge. He would ram his sword through her heart even if it was after his brother had burnt her to a crisp.

For the pain and death she has caused, she deserves nothing less!

The goddess raised up her right hand when the bolt of energy reached her. Instead of boring into her hand, it…ricocheted.

Even with the added speed and perception of his Sujen enhanced mind, the bolt of energy moved at a dynamic speed. Too late, Arderi realized the bolt now streaked directly at him.

Ah, sheep’s dung!