Daelen caught up with the other two and agreed to Catriona’s terms.
“Takes him a while, doesn’t it, Michael?” Cat commented with a sly wink.
Michael snorted. “For him, that was fast.”
“I’m glad I’m splitting you two up. You’re a bad influence on him, Cat.”
“Yes, I know, I’m trouble,” Cat admitted. “But don’t worry, you’ll soon learn to love me.”
Without any further ado, she took out the map Dreya had given her and unfurled it to show her two companions where they were going.
As one might expect, Daelen had explored most of Tempestria in his long life, and he remembered the area. On the southern edge of the Rhynas Desert, lay a forest called the Corolis Wood. Just as the foliage got noticeably thinner, there lay the ruins of an ancient temple. Michael knew it well and confirmed the map co-ordinates. That became the designated rendezvous. Using their powers to cross the ocean was best avoided as it was bound to be detected by Kullos. That meant a voyage of approximately ten to twelve days, but Daelen was keen to stop for a week part way there. He wouldn’t immediately say where or why; only that it was necessary. Once on land, the journey would take another four or five days from the nearest harbour. That was three to three-and-a-half weeks until they could meet at the temple ruins.
As for what they would do about Kullos’ army when they got there, well, they had a few weeks to think about that. Cat indicated that she had a few ideas but would say no more for now. She couldn’t even if she wanted to because many of her ideas relied upon Dreya. Even allowing for any complications that might delay their journey, they should have time to scout around for a day or two before finalising their plans. They would begin the attack in exactly one moon cycle.
They were all clear on the plan as far as it went, so Michael bade them farewell and teleported away.
*****
Daelen wanted to remove his essence from Catriona’s body as soon as possible, but Cat insisted on showing him something first, and retrieved her Crystal Mage Staff from her pocket dimension.
The shadow warrior admitted he had never seen a device quite like it before, “containing all those different powers together like that. Like a perfect merging of the technology of my realm with the magic of yours.”
“Having seen Michael’s tomb, I wondered if it was something like that. Any idea to what purpose?”
“None that I can think of,” Daelen admitted. “Do you mind if I take a closer look?”
“Sure, go ahead,” Catriona agreed and held it out to him.
The instant their hands touched on the staff, there was a mighty discharge of power, the blue crystal flared, and Daelen screamed in pain. Cat yanked the staff free of his grasp, but the damage was done, and Daelen collapsed to the ground, drained of energy, unable to move and barely conscious.
Cat immediately shoved her staff back into her pocket dimension out of harm’s way, vowing that this was the last time she was letting anybody touch it. Cursing herself, she belatedly realised it was a clear pattern: Mandalee, Dreya and now Daelen – the more powerful they were, the bigger the reaction.
“Daelen!” she cried, rushing to his side. “I’m so sorry. That was stupid. How bad is it? Can I help?”
Most druid magic in the world was used for healing, of course, but Cat herself had minimal experience of it. Besides, her powers worked with nature, and Daelen’s nature was quite literally alien. She wouldn’t know where to start.
“I’ll— I’ll be OK. Just get me somewhere— somewhere warm and secure so I can recharge...sleep. I’m— I’m in your hands, Catriona Redfletching. Strangely, I’m not as worried about that as I should be.”
Cat thought quickly. She considered breaking into Justaria’s house – she was reasonably sure she’d understand and forgive under the circumstances. She dismissed the idea, though. She didn’t have time and energy to waste, trying to penetrate her magical defences. Even more ludicrous was the notion of a sympathic communication to Dreya, to ask if she’d mind sheltering the being that she was still at least half convinced she should kill. No, Daelen presented too tempting a target in his present state. Fortunately, their sympathic link wasn’t active at the moment, meaning Dreya was busy and not paying attention. As long as Cat didn’t transmit a sympathic shout, she could keep her girlfriend out of this.
In the end, she knew of only one place nearby that would work. Warm, dry, comfortable, defensible and a public building, so no problems getting inside, though it would create quite the stir. She briefly cursed the cosmos that kept bringing her back to that place, like some awful, offensive joke, but it was still the right choice. It wasn’t that far, but she couldn’t carry Daelen there. Well, the druidess reconsidered, she could if she were to change into something large enough. Cat had been working on a grizzly bear form, but that might start a panic and make things worse.
Maybe there was merit in her first idea, after all, with just a slight alteration. Not breaking into Justaria’s house, but her stable, instead. Any Tempestrian of Justaria’s standing would have their own horse, and the stable would have less security than her home. Again, Catriona could have changed into a horse herself – she’d done it before – but Daelen couldn’t get himself onto her back without help.
“Daelen,” she began, “I’m going to get us a horse, but I’ll need you to help me get you onto it, so save your strength, OK?” Daelen nodded, so Cat continued, “It’ll only take a minute or two – for once I’m going to take your brute force approach.”
Running over to Justaria’s stable, which stood at the far side of her house, out of sight of where Daelen lay in her garden, Cat took one look at the wooden doors and immediately knew the fastest way of gaining access. Grabbing her little-used bow and arrows from her pocket dimension, she called upon even less-used wizard magic to light a small fire at the end. She fitted the flaming arrow and fired, using her druid powers to turn that flame into an explosion large enough to blow the doors off entirely. She would accept responsibility for the damage at a later date, once the crisis was over. Putting bow and arrows away, she ran inside the stable, projecting sympathic reassurance and calm to Justaria’s horse. She threw on minimal tack and saddle as quickly as possible and walked the horse out.
As she led it around the front of the house, she was shocked to see someone dressed all in white, sprinting towards the fallen shadow warrior, with some kind of magical sword in their hand. Acting fast, Cat asked the grounds to please grab them, while she simultaneously threw a water bottle, to land, with the aid of the wind, between the would-be assassin and their target. The water spilt and grew into an ice wall, separating them. The assassin hacked free of the restraining vegetation and spun to face Cat.
They gasped when they saw they saw each other.
“Mandalee?”
“Catriona?”
Continuing to walk the horse up the garden path, Cat approached her old friend, warily, telling the garden to stand down for the moment. She collapsed the ice wall only when she was in a position to stand in between hunter and prey herself.
“Why are you trying to kill Daelen?” Cat asked. “He’s not a demon!”
“I don’t just hunt demons anymore,” Mandalee replied, “I’m an assassin now. I hunt the wizards who summon demons in the first place.”
“But Daelen isn’t a wizard, and he doesn’t summon demons.”
“His kind cause a lot more damage than any demon,” Mandalee insisted. “You’ve never had much love for them before, why are you defending him now?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s my fault he’s in the state he’s in right now. Besides, I’ve talked to him, and I’m starting to see him in a different light.”
“I’ve talked to him, too,” Mandalee retorted. She glanced at her timepiece. “About two hours ago. He was rude, arrogant and condescending.”
“Oh, I see, and those are capital crimes now, are they?” Cat shot back.
“No, but destroying the world is.”
*****
That morning, the demon-hunter-turned-assassin opened her eyes and immediately regretted it; the brightness of the sun was too much for her today.
“Dear gods, what was I drinking last night?” she groaned and lay back in bed.
For a moment, Mandalee couldn’t remember where she was. Then it came flooding back: Walminster. She hadn’t expected to be back in this area after only two years – or ever, really – but this was where she had to be.
About a fortnight ago, she had accepted a most unusual contract. Strangely, she couldn’t remember much about her meeting with her client. Female, she thought, although Mandalee of all people was wary of making snap judgements about such things. Still, she knew who her target was, that was the important thing. That knowledge and the rightness of this task burned in her mind.
The timing was critical, and she’d been on the wrong side of the continent. Five hundred miles to travel in fifteen days. Thankfully, it was summer, so it was doable. She’d thought about calling her giant albatross for a lift, but that would have meant leaving Shyleen behind. That she would not do.
Despite being assured that if she struck at the time and place that she’d been told about, her prey would be weakened sufficiently for her to take out, she was still going to need all the help she could get.
As it was, by changing horses regularly, she’d made it with a day to spare, so she’d taken the opportunity to check out the renowned city nightlife. Given the nature of her assignment, she thought it might very well be her last night on Tempestria, so she really let herself go. She found a bar that looked promising. Good music, great dancing and a whole lot of drinking. Mandalee even decided to forgo her mask, and the entire night went off almost without a hitch. Except for one particular bartender who decided to address Mandalee as ‘sir’ in a really pointed way. The first time she let it go. The second time, she gave him a warning look. The third time she told him that if he said it one more time, she would give him a reason to question his own gender identity by cutting off a particular part of his anatomy. After that, he wisely kept his comments to himself and Mandalee had thoroughly enjoyed herself.
A little too much, it seemed, because she suddenly realised it wasn’t just the brightness of the sun that had bothered her, but also its position in the sky. She’d overslept.
She leapt up, gathered her things and mentally called for Shyleen.
“Well done, Mandalee,” she berated herself. “Today the world ended because the person who was supposed to stop it went out partying all night. But hey, she had a great time, so it’s not all bad.”
She forced herself to calm down. The Council building was only five minutes down the road, and it was something of a transport hub with stagecoaches ranging out all over. It was vital that she make it in time. Fortunately, she knew the place quite well: Compton, just ten miles outside Walminster. The town where she’d first met Catriona in the form of a naked boy with nothing but a strategically placed staff. She couldn’t help a small smile at the memory, but she stifled it instantly. That part of her life was in the past, while she needed to focus on the present. She could afford no more delays or mistakes. Everything was depending on her to get this right, for Mandalee’s target wasn’t a Trickster, a wizard, or even a Greater Demon. Her objective was something much, much worse.
She had to kill Daelen StormTiger because, her client had told her, if Mandalee didn’t stop him…
…he was going to destroy the world.
*****
Mandalee had no sooner reached the Council building than a strange ball of blue light appeared in the sky, through which stepped Daelen StormTiger, accompanied by his usual signature freak storm, disrupting the natural weather patterns of the day.
Anticipating an attack of some kind, the wizards and other locals fled the scene. Mandalee just froze. She was supposed to kill him in less than two hours while he was ‘weak and vulnerable.’ Yet here he was, flying overhead apparently at full strength and power. Did he know? Was he here to kill her first? There was no point running. It wouldn’t make any difference if he attacked her now.
‘Maybe he’s here for some other reason,’ she sent to Shyleen. ‘Maybe he won’t even notice me.’
“You there!” Daelen called out. Mandalee winced. “You! Dressed all in white with the cat!”
‘Not a word,’ the assassin warned her leopard before she could project a wise-crack into her head. So much for not noticing her. She consoled herself with the reminder that at least she’d had one fantastic party before she died.
“Can I, erm, sorry, can I help you?” she yelled up at him.
“Are you a wizard?” he asked.
Mandalee couldn’t believe what she was hearing. A higher planar being stopping a passing human for a chat. If she hadn’t been so terrified, she would have laughed.
“Not a wizard, sorry.”
“It’s OK if you really are a wizard,” Daelen assured her. “You don’t need to worry. I promise I didn’t do it.”
“Oh no, sorry, I’m sure you didn’t,” Mandalee called back, having no idea what he was talking about. “But honestly, I’m a cleric. So, if you’ve got an injury you want me to look at, I’m your gal!” She let out a nervous giggle. “Otherwise, sorry, I don’t think I can help you. Sorry.”
‘Why do you keep apologising?’ asked Shyleen in her head.
‘I don’t know. I have no idea what I’m saying.’ Mandalee thought back.
‘That is obvious,’ Shyleen snarked in response.
Daelen laughed. “As if I would ever need healing from a mortal – no offence.”
‘Quite a lot taken if you don’t mind,’ she grumbled to Shyleen.
“I rarely even talk to you lot – you’re just not interesting enough yet – but you still might be able to help me,” the shadow warrior continued. “Where might I find the home of one called Justaria?”
“Well, as I say, I’m not a wizard,” Mandalee repeated through gritted teeth, “so I’m not exactly familiar with…”
‘Stop!’ Shyleen cried out in her mind. ‘You may not know where this Justaria lives, but you know where Daelen is supposed to be two hours from now. Why not send him there?’
‘That’s a ridiculous idea,’ Mandalee shot back. ‘I love it.’
“But wait!” she called out again before he could fly away. “I think I have heard that one, now that I think about it. Yes! I remember now. You need to fly to a town called Compton, roughly ten miles northeast. Can’t be more specific, but failing anything else, just ask at the FaerWay Tavern.”
“Good enough,” Daelen accepted, and then flew off without so much as a ‘thank you.’
“You’re welcome!” she called out, anyway. “Don’t mention it. Oh, that’s right – you didn’t.”
‘I am so going to kill him.’
‘If you get there in time,’ Shyleen sent back.
Mandalee looked at her timepiece and swore. Thanks to the shadow warrior’s appearance, everyone had scattered – people and horses alike. If she could set off now, a horse and coach might just make it, but by the time things settled down enough, it was going to be too late.
‘I’m going to have to fly. Sorry, Shyleen, you’ll have to make your own way there.’
Shyleen sent a mental farewell and immediately ran off, while her friend used her magic to summon her flight.
“Rule one: don’t let your prey see you coming,” she berated herself as she waited impatiently. “It’s rule one! But no, I’ve got a better idea: why not give your prey directions to the place you’re going to kill them? Dear gods, I need a drink!”