The Book of Deacon: Book 02 - The Great Convergence (30 page)

"Even if that were true, why would you kill
her? She is still Chosen, and there are precious few left!" Myranda
said.

"Foolish child. The Great Convergence has yet
to occur," Ether said.

"And it never will if you destroy every
Chosen you find," Myranda retorted.

"Do you know nothing of the quest you hope to
assist in? Until the Great Convergence occurs there may arise as
many Chosen warriors as the gods deign fit. A fallen Chosen may be
replaced until five of them unite and turn to the cause. It is thus
our duty and obligation to rid this world of the Chosen who have
strayed from the pure path, lest they gather and keep the truly
virtuous from their place. Now strike that beast down!"

"No! There is no reason to. She is coming
with us!" Myranda declared.

"I can come with you!?" Ivy cried, jumping
up, a look of pleading hope on her face.

"She cannot!" Ether demanded.

"Of course you can!" Myranda contradicted at
the same time.

Ether grasped Myranda by the neck of her
cloak and shifted to stone, lifting the girl effortlessly into the
air.

"I could easily kill you and leave that thing
here to die," she stated.

Myranda coughed and struggled in the
unbreakable grip.

"Hey! Put her down!" Ivy objected, a flash of
anger in her eyes.

Myn, suddenly recovered from her bout of
fear, leapt out and clamped down onto the stone arm casually raised
as a defense.

"You are tolerated only so long as your
benefits outweigh your liabilities. I will not allow you to
endanger my purpose," Ether said. Her voice was as steady and
emotionless as ever. She seemed not to be threatening or warning
Myranda, but informing her.

Myn shook her head violently. Her teeth
scraped, cracked, and finally crumbled the stone of Ether's arm.
The shape shifter's hand dropped to the ground and shattered.
Slowly she turned to see the damage, dropping Myranda suddenly to
the ground. She and her fallen appendage shifted to wind, rejoined,
and with visible effort returned to her human form.

"However, until I am able to secure a more
sizable surplus of strength, I shall allow you to remain by my
side, provided that you can ensure me that the animal you insist
upon shepherding can control itself," Ether allowed.

"Myn will behave," Myranda said, climbing to
her feet.

"I was referring to the newest beast in your
menagerie," Ether corrected.

"Is she talking about me?" Ivy asked.

"I believe so," Myranda replied.

"She's mean," Ivy pouted.

"You will have no arguments from me," Myranda
agreed. "Now, if you are to join us, you will need something warmer
than the rags you are wearing now. Did they keep any extra clothes
for you here?"

Ivy shrugged. Myranda thought for a moment,
reluctantly pulling what she knew of Epidime’s fort to mind. During
her escape she had come upon one or two storerooms that she had
briefly considered as hiding places. Perhaps similar ones could be
found here. Ivy must have been wearing something when she was
brought to this place. Myranda led the way up the stairs, with Myn
and Ivy scampering with eager enthusiasm alongside her. Ether
followed, conjuring an extra layer of clothing to ward off the cold
that this form seemed so weak against. Doing so required a measure
less effort than altering away the weakness. She briefly considered
having Myranda tell the dragon to blast her with flame a few more
times so that she could be off and done with the foolish girl, but
the human would see it as a request for aid, and the thought of
such an inferior creature feeling as though she had been able to
help her was distasteful enough that she would rather await a more
independent method to recover.

Ivy looked with interest at the other floors,
inspecting bars and cells as though she had never seen them.
Myranda found the first storeroom. There were weapons and armor for
the nearmen. Ivy rushed in, excited by the new things inside.
Shortly after, she came running out with a club that looked as
though it should be a bit too heavy for her. She managed to carry
it with little difficulty.

"Can I bring this?" Ivy asked.

Myranda could feel the stern gaze of Ether
without looking. If this newcomer was a danger to them, it was best
not to allow her to be armed. At the same time, if she was to be of
any help, she would need to be able to fight, and thus she would
need a weapon. Myranda looked over the club. Such a brutish weapon
looked out of place in Ivy's hand. It was perhaps the size of her
leg and striped with iron bands and blunt iron studs. It was a
cruel weapon, and the newest Chosen held it as though it were a
plaything. Myranda pushed the thought that this innocent creature
might be something to fear out of her mind.

"If you are careful with it," Myranda
decided, pausing for a moment as she realized how motherly she
sounded.

"Thank you!" Ivy gushed in a sing-song tone
as she hurried off to inspect more of her surroundings.

They were making their way slowly through the
more battle-scarred floors now. In truth, though, it was only
Myranda
that was moving slowly. Ivy was
navigating the debris with a dancer's grace even with the heavy
club in her hand, and Myn was right at home among the rubble. Ether
squandered a bit of her freshly regained strength in order to whisk
immediately to the surface in the form of wind. Near to the surface
Myranda found the caved in remnant of a second storeroom. It had at
least a few things that had some use, and was most certainly where
the possessions of those imprisoned were kept. Most of what was
found within was unusable, but Myranda was able to salvage a second
canteen and bag, and a hodgepodge of clothing. An overlarge, heavy
wool shirt and a pair of leggings that were fairly close to her
size, the former dingy white and the latter gray, supplemented her
rags. One of the ubiquitous gray cloaks, also quite oversized, was
the final touch. When all was said and done, the outfit seemed to
suit Ivy. The saggy clothes and sleeves that hung past her hands
were a complement to her childlike demeanor.

One floor above was the wind whipped field.
Myranda cast one look at the wind and snow and was suddenly
reminded that she'd had too little sleep and too much exercise that
day. The thought of spending the night in the frozen ground was
hardly an inviting one. She decided that it was best to spend a few
hours resting in what little shelter the ruined fort offered.
Shards of broken support beams were gathered together to start a
fire, which Ether immediately took advantage of. The sight of a
dragon starting a fire and a woman turning to flame and stepping
into it had managed to become commonplace for Myranda, but Ivy
marveled at it.

"Does the dragon belong to you?" Ivy
asked.

"In a way, we belong to each other. She is
more of a friend than a possession," Myranda said, eating the last
of her meal that was a bit smaller than it should have been, thanks
to her generosity earlier.

"Oh. That's nice . . . Myranda? Why did you
come here?" she asked.

"I came because something inside of me told
me that I would find someone very important here, and I was right,
because I found you," Myranda said.

She settled back against the wall, Myn
climbed on top of her, and she wrapped the cloak around the both of
them.

"Myranda?" Ivy said.

"Yes," she answered, eyes closed and already
slipping into sleep.

" . . . Thank you," she said.

The words went unheard as Myranda dropped off
into an exhausted slumber.

#

In Entwell, other wizards had begun to take
notice of the events raging beyond their city. There were forces,
bursts of mystic power, that could be felt even here. All agreed
that a momentous time was upon them, but few could agree upon the
deeper meaning. Eyes began to pour over the prophesy once more. The
elemental had been summoned, that much was known. Was this truly
the time presaged so long ago? Or would the events be scattered
across years, centuries, or longer? Most eagerly awaited the
answers. One was denied them.

When Deacon had provoked the unprecedented
answer from Hollow, volumes of dense prophesy had been spilled
forth. Most were even more indecipherable than those that had
preceded them. It had taken much deliberation, but it was the
decision of the Elder that Deacon's failure to alert others, and
indeed his dismissal of those already present, was inexcusable. The
missing words spoken that day would never be reclaimed, and it was
solely his fault. As a punishment, Deacon was forbidden from
viewing another word of the prophesy, or any other book. For five
years he would not be permitted any apprentices or apprenticeships,
and his casting gem was taken away. The primary goal of Entwell was
to gather knowledge. His actions had violated that principle to the
highest degree. As he had denied the world of knowledge, so he
would be denied.

For a lifelong student such as he, this was
devastating. For one so consumed as he had been since Myranda's
departure, it was doubly so. He struggled to retain the pieces of a
spell he had managed to assemble in the weeks before the decision
had been made. Permitted only blank paper, he recorded what he
remembered and set about fabricating the procedures and
affectations that might fill in the gaps. He had to be careful. The
spell drew dangerously close to lines forbidden to be crossed. Days
at a time were spent without leaving his hut. Shelves stripped of
their books began to fill with loose pages covered in hasty
revisions. The few phrases that he could recall of Hollow's last
speech were nailed to the wall. 'A long journey, necessary and
deadly, is made safely in a single step.' He had underlined 'single
step' repeatedly. On the increasingly rare occasion that he left
his task to eat, he would make his way to the waterfall, oblivious
of the whispers of his fellow villagers. Most were convinced he had
slipped into madness. He would eat, and as he did, he would stare
at the waterfall. It would not relent for weeks, months even.
Impossible to leave . . .

#

Myranda was shaken awake by Ivy. There was
terror in the creature's eyes, and before she even spoke, Myranda
could feel the flutter of fear growing in the pit of her own
stomach.

"They are coming! They are coming!" Ivy
whispered insistently.

"Who?" Myranda asked, suddenly wide
awake.

"The teachers! I can smell them!" she
said.

"So soon?" Myranda said.

Ether stepped from the fire and took on her
human form.

"It was to be expected. A fort staffed by a
General was likely to be resupplied and restaffed frequently,"
Ether remarked.

With strength to spare after the hours of
recuperation, she whisked into the form of wind and launched
herself to the surface. Myranda tried to follow, but Ivy caught her
by the sleeve.

"No. Don't go! Stay here with me! We can
hide!" Ivy urged.

"Myn, keep Ivy safe. I need to find out what
we are facing," Myranda said.

Myn did as she was told, though she clearly
wished to stay by Myranda's side. Dutifully planting herself in
front of the frightened creature and fighting off an unfamiliar and
unwelcome fear of her own, she faced the stairs to the surface. Ivy
crept up and hugged the dragon's neck.

"Don't let them get me Myn. Don't let them
get me," she whispered.

The dragon shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't
certain she liked this newcomer, but she had been given a job to
do.

Myranda squinted her eyes against the wind.
They had slept through most of the day. The failing light showed a
few rows of soldiers and a pair of equipment sleds. Perhaps fifteen
soldiers in all. They were nearmen. She could tell by the way they
moved. Pulling the sleds were . . . wolves? At this distance she
couldn't quite tell, but they seemed too large. There was one more,
behind the rest, but he seemed . . . different. Myranda pushed it
out of her mind and considered her options. She was well rested
now, and Ether had some of her strength back. Victory was not out
of the question if they were to clash, but it would be best if
battle could be avoided. Perhaps she could conjure some manner of
illusion to conceal them. She weighed this option with a few
others. None seemed likely to succeed. A moment later her decision
was made for her. Ether drew herself back together into her flame
form and streaked toward the soldiers. It would be battle.

Like a comet, the fiery form roared through
the air. Swords and shields were raised, but she still managed to
destroy two of the soldiers with her first strike. The others
scattered. Myranda approached the battle, but kept her distance,
more out of fear of Ether than the soldiers. She was moving so
swiftly, striking at soldiers one after the other with such
intensity, that Myranda felt certain if she moved any closer she
herself would be burned. The final row of soldiers, those nearest
to the man who must have been their leader, drew back arrows. Two
were aimed at Myranda, three at Ether. The arrows flew. Myranda
threw up a hasty shield spell that only just stopped them. Ether
laughed as the first two flew uselessly through her burning form,
but the third was different. The head glowed faintly, and when it
passed through Ether she shrieked in pain as a long stream of her
flame seemed to follow it.

The injured being retreated to a position
well behind Myranda. Eight soldiers remained, as well as the pair
of what were most certainly no normal wolves. They seemed to be
made of stone, and they were nearly the size of horses. Myranda
conjured a wind as powerful as she could manage, hoping to force
them back and away from the fort that held Ivy. The advancing
soldiers began to slow, but the leader raised his hand and
Myranda's spell instantly died away. She tried to restore it, but
to no avail. Suddenly the stone form of Ether charged past her. The
leader signaled for the wolves to be cut free. Both met the
charging shape shifter. She knocked one aside and grappled with the
second.