The Ways of Mages: Starfire (5 page)

Immediately, the creature jerked to the side and tackled one of the smaller pack members who had leapt to attack next.  The alpha growled at the rest of the pack. The other pack members shifted about, severely confused. Why was the alpha protecting the prey as if it were a valuable pup?

The circling pack edged closer. They avoided the alpha, but when its back was turned they would lunge forward. Apparently the alpha was only alpha because she was the largest female. In most things, the pack went along with her decisions. But when those decisions were so backwards, like protecting prey, they could choose their own way. Which wasn’t good for Kairevasigh. She had expended a lot of power to take the alpha’s mind. And even as the alpha protected her, it was starting to realize something was wrong. The wrong was probably somewhere on the alpha’s part if the whole rest of the pack was gainsaying it.

             
Time was running out for Kairevasigh. She didn’t have enough power to keep ahold of the alpha, nor did she have enough to capture another pack member. And what would be the point? She would only have two against ten or so others. There was also no way Kairevasigh could survive if she decided to chop at them with the sword. They had too long a reach and her back would be unprotected.  She looked up and narrowed her eyes at a branch high above. She had enough power to flash up there.

             
Another of those monsters lunged toward her and the alpha was looking at her like she was food. Kairevasigh teleported. Kairevasigh crouched on her chosen perch , the sword in her hand. The dog-like creatures barked at her and leapt toward her branch.  The hair rose on the back of her neck as the creatures stood on their hind legs and stretched up the tree. Sharp teeth stopped short of her branch by a man’s length.

Then the beast
jumped
.

“
Shrakha
!
”
Kairevasigh swore. She stabbed the sword down at the creatur
e’
s face. It roared and fell back to earth. Another looked up at her and began to push at the tree, obviously wanting to knock it down
.“
You have got to be kidding me
.”
Kairevasigh muttered
.“I’
m not even snack size for
one
of you
!”
She called down.

Arruu RUP! was the reply she received. The tree continued to sway and groan. She needed to climb higher, thus needing her hands. And leaving a sword was foolhardy. So, with limited options, she tore off her shirt leaving her breast band, and wrapped the destroyed shirt about the sword. The sleeves she tied together so the sword rested roughly diagonally across her back. That done, she scrambled up the tree.

The hapless tree was swaying alarmingly now.  It was almost enough to make her sick. She got as high as she could. Kairevasigh jumped as the tree gave a final groan and began to topple to the ground. Once the branches cleared her, Kairevasigh shifted into her Night Eagle form.

She thanked God that shapeshifting drew from a different magic well within her, or else she would have been dog-meal.  She heard the dog-monsters howl and bark in frustration as she flew away. She headed north, looking for a safe place to finally get a decent rest. 

“This much, at least I know. When I stop feeling the need to move forward and improve, it’s time to toss another clod of dirt on me because it means I've already left this world for the next.” – Robert Kimbridge

“
Exactly, how many of those things do you have
?”
Robert asked as he and Bendon walked out of the forest onto the road.
 ‘
Those thing
s’
being the transport symbols Bendon had set up over the years deep in the woods.

Bendon adjusted his red cloak and raised an eyebrow at his old friend
.“
A wizard never tells all his secrets
.”
He said with a smile.

“
Old friend, that applies to parlor magicians and charlatans only
.”
Robert replied in a tone of voice that conveyed that he was not buying what Bendon was selling
.“
How many, Bendon
?
”

 
The old wizard sighed and shrugged
.“
A few here and there
.”
At Rober
t’
s look he continued
.“
Alright, they are near large cities as escape routes. They are keyed to me only, unless I temporarily change it to include someone. Like the one we used. If someone else tries to use them, they disintegrate
.
”

“
So tha
t’
s how you have been showing up over the years
!”
Robert said with a laugh.

“
Yes, well. Do not expect me to tell you my other ways. A wizard needs some secrets to keep his mystique intact
.
”

“
Do
n’
t worry, Bendon, you are very mysterious
.”
Robert assured, patting Bendo
n’
s shoulder.

“
Humph
.”
Bendon shook his head muttering something about those who did
n’
t appreciate the upkeep of a proper image. Eventually Bendon turned his gaze back on the older engineer
.“
Is the sword still south of us
?”
He asked.

Robert closed his eyes for a second before nodding
.“
Not too far ahead
.
”

“
Good. The sooner we retrieve it, the sooner we can rejoin the others on the road to my daughter
.”
Bendon said, snuggling into the folds of his cloak. It still amazed him the Robert seemed unfazed by the low temperatures.

Kindra, Tommy, Tolivier, and Tep were heading for the Sigon Pass. Selfish, though it was, Bendon had to admit that he was glad he was away from Kindra. At least for a little while. The mother dragon reminded him so much of Jewel. It had
n’
t bothered him when Jewel had been here in this timeline and place. But now that Jewel had disappeared it was a sore reminder. He knew some of the same feelings existed for her as well. He was Gawin returned. He reminded her of Jewel.

“
You and Kindra need to come to terms
.”
Robert said softly. Bendon looked at him sharply.  Robert sighed
.“
The fact that Jewel is missing  is not her fault nor yours
.
”

“
I know that
.
”

“
I know you do. But knowing and accepting are two different things. I know that I am not much of one to talk, but Jewel is alive. You two need to stop acting like she is dead and keep your eyes open. When they are open, you have a better chance of seeing her
.
”

Bendon eyed his friend. The man knew him too well and saw far too clearly
.“
Yo
u’
re right
.”
Bendon admitted
.“
Kindra is stronger than I am and I know she will pull herself together soon. Especially since she has Tommy. We both just need time
.
”
 
Robert nodded, patting his shoulder in a show of support. To change topics Bendon aske
d“
Are we any closer to the sword
?
”

Robert closed his eyes . He suddenly stopped walking. Bendon halted and faced him curiously. Robert opened his eyes, his expression incredulous
.“
I
t’
s above us
.”
He mouthed then looked up into the trees.

Bendon glanced up and blinked several times. Tucked high up in the branches was a slim dark haired girl. She appeared to be sleeping in the crook of several branches. He blinked not because he was surprised to be seeing the same girl he had seen earlier, first riding a horse, then later in the vision to locate the sword.  He blinked in surprise because there was no way the girl could have climbed the tree that high because the lowest branch was twelve or fifteen feet above the ground and there were no step stool trees close to it
.“
There she is
.”
He remarked

“
How did she get up there
?”
Robert mused, a hand stroking his chin.  He glanced at the wizard
.“
Better yet, how do we wake her and get her down here without her falling to her death
?
”

Bendon shrugged and calle
d“
What ho?
!
”

The girl was instantly awake. She looked down at the two older men. Then she started to look frantically around for somewhere to hide.

Robert glared at Bendon
.“
And if she fell, oh mystical wizard
?”
He hissed.

“
I would have slowed her decent
.”
Bendon muttered. He called up to the girl again
.“
Do
n’
t be afraid. We are friends
.
”

“
I do
n’
t know you. How can you be friends
?”
The girl replied, her words hesitant as if she was unsure about how to speak. 

“
My name is Bendon. My companion is known as Robert
.”
Bendon said gesturing helpfully between himself and Robert
.“
You know who we are now. Friends
?
”

“
You do
n’
t know who I am
.”
She countered

“
Yo
u’
re right. I do
n’
t know your name, but I do know some things
.”
Bendon caught Rober
t’
s half hidden smirk. He decided to ignore i
t…
for now.
 “
I know that you somehow survived a meeting with an evil, yet beautiful woman with a scar on her left cheek
.”
He saw the gir
l’
s eyes widen
.“
Her name is Altana and she is our enemy. Since you are not with her,  that makes us potentially friends
.
”

“
Tha
t…
that may be, but how can I trust you
?
”

“
I can only say so much. The rest is up to you
.”
Bendon told her honestly.

“
You also have something of mine
.”
Robert called softly.  The girl, who had been starting to scoot into denser branches, paused. She peered down at Robert blankly.
 “
A black sword with a brass hilt. You probably pulled it from a strange machine back in South Port. I want to thank you for keeping it from Altana. I would like it back now
.
”

“
You left it there
.
”

“
Because we were ambushed and I had to leave it
.
”

Kairevasigh stared down at the two men. What if this was all some elaborate trick? What if it was
n’
t? She put her head against the rough bark. Her head hurt so much. She did
n’
t know if she could trust them or not. She desperately wanted to be safe. Her lack of sleep was making her head hurt and she could
n’
t think straight.

Safe
. A thought whispered. Kairevasigh had no idea if that was her mind creating a desperate illusion because it was being driven hard, one of the men down there, God, or the Voice from earlier. She was too tired to try to muddle it out.

Bendon and Robert shared a glance as the girl stayed where she was. Not moving. Suddenly Bendon got an answer to how the girl had gotten up in the tree in the first place. He was
n’
t sure if he felt pressure or not, but suddenly the girl was standing before them.  Close up, Bendon guessed her to be around twelve. Her brown hair just touched her bare shoulders. She wore pants and a breast band. A familiar brass hilt poked over her right shoulder. The shirt cloth she had used to tie the sword to her was strapped diagonally from her right shoulder to her left hip. Her strange, but beautiful black veined blue eyes were tired and wary.

She swayed slightly as she eyed the two men. Finally, she spoke, her voice flowing over the strange sounds
.“I’
m Kairevasigh
sé
Eel Cressi
.
”

***

Arathin-
Plarn
,
Marlhema

Keeping Zeeve a secret was near impossible, Jeremy and Terana soon found out. He went where ever his little heart desired. Who cared if it was more than likely that someone would see him? Zeeve was a curious creature. And at the time neither Jeremy nor Terana could figure out what he saw that was so fascinating in a small town like Plarn.

Everything was simple. There were no adventures or anything really fun. If anyone made a single step out of tradition, then their respectability went down. In a small town, such a thing as respectability hardly ever returned to their name. The town was full of gossips and small mistakes soon became large. But the one thing that that town especially loved to ridicule and blame was Terana. It did not take long for the tow
n’
s children to learn a very simple trick
.‘
If in trouble, tell adults that Terana told you to do it
.
’
 
The adults, looking for anything else to add to their list of gossiping materials, loved it.  And they say children are harmless.

Sometimes, Terana thought that the only things keeping her in the town were her parents, her vow to them not to leave, and the terrible thought of where she would go. The town probably did not insist that she leave because she offered such a treasure trove of gossiping material. She still could not figure that one out. It was like they wanted her to be a part of them and yet they did not accept her. It was very confusing.

Mira, of course, was absolutely no help. She and Terana were never close and Mira liked the attention she got for saying anything about Terana. All Mira really had to do was say to her little friends that her sister talked to spiders
.‘
Yelping Spiders
.’
Then her little hen like friends would talk to their parents and the parents would talk an
d…
it got a whole lot bigger.

And Zeeve was everywhere.  Whenever Terana saw him, she either had to stuff him in her bag quickly, which caused him to yelp, or try to block him from passerby. Then she would turn and whisper scold him and tell him to go home. But a town had many eyes, and the kids claimed they saw Terana and her yelping spider. 
             

The town folk would then talk about Terana in front of her parents. Jeremy, who was often in the same room, would grind his teeth and use any excuse to get out of the room. No young adult could leave without a reason while his elders talked. Nor was he to say anything that could be viewed as an interruption. However, if he was asked or there was a pause he could fill, then yes, he could talk. He also had to wait for the pause to excuse himself. When Jeremy was alone he would pace and yell at imaginary town folk.

Terana could hardly leave the house anymore, the ridicule and gossiping got so bad. To go outside also meant to be badgered by little boys who wanted
a‘
yelping spide
r’
. That was annoying. If she snapped at them she would receive a tongue lashing from the nearest adult. The unfairness of it made her want to cry, but she would die before she let these people see tears fall from her eyes.