Outside Justaria’s house, Daelen weakly protested at Mandalee’s assertion, but Cat shushed him.
“This is a private conversation,” she insisted, “it’s nothing to do with you. Just get on the horse.”
She helped him stand and mount up. He was still vulnerable and she needed to get him away, but she couldn’t turn her back on Mandalee when she was in this mood.
“What are you talking about?” she demanded. “He’s not planning to destroy the world.”
“OK, let’s say he isn’t. Let’s say it’s something he does by accident. So what? When a wizard lets a demon loose, whether it’s a plan or an accident makes no difference to those it kills. If the world ends, it doesn’t matter whether it was intentional or not.”
“But how could your client possibly know about Daelen destroying the world by accident before it happens?”
“I don’t know, but she was right about him being weak and vulnerable if I attacked here and now.”
Cat was stunned. “Your client told you that? When?”
“A couple of weeks ago, now.”
“But it only happened a few minutes ago!”
“Exactly,” Mandalee concurred. “So, if my client was right about that, maybe she was right about the rest.”
Cat shook her head. She hadn’t been convinced by Daelen’s claim about a Time traveller before, and while evidence was starting to mount up, now, Cat continued to be sceptical. She certainly wasn’t ready to surrender her free will or Daelen’s life to some vague prophecy that may or may not be from the future.
“Who is this client of yours?” Cat wanted to know. “And don’t give me any crap about confidentiality.”
For the first time, Mandalee seemed to waver in her certainty. “Actually, confidentiality is kind of moot…I don’t really remember much about her.”
“How can you not remember?” Cat was incredulous.
“I don’t know,” Mandalee admitted. “It’s all kind of vague. All I know is that it feels…right that I kill him.”
Catriona latched onto that. “You mean, like a post-hypnotic suggestion?”
“Yes, now you mention it,” the assassin agreed in surprise. “That’s a brilliant description. How in the world did you come up with it?”
“I’ve…” Cat hesitated. She couldn’t talk about Dreya. “…heard of similar things before. The point is, do you really think that’s a good enough basis for killing Daelen? When you go after a wizard, do you kill him just because of some vague feeling, because somebody points a finger, or do you do your research?”
“I…do my research,” Mandalee answered.
She hated to admit it, but her old friend made a good point. All of a sudden, this action didn’t feel as right as it had before.
“Maybe your client is from the future, maybe not, I don’t know. What makes you so sure she’s telling the truth? OK, she was right about today – that doesn’t mean she’s right about tomorrow. Suppose someone told you it’s going to rain today, and it does, are you going to automatically believe everything they say from then on?”
Mandalee gave a wry smile. “As I recall, you can use your magic to make it rain anytime you want.”
“Precisely,” the druidess agreed. “If your client really is from the future, who knows what powers they might have to influence what happened today?”
Mandalee groaned. “Why are things always so complicated with you around, Cat?”
“The world’s a complicated place,” she replied with a shrug. “I just embrace that. Right now, there’s more going on than you realise. Tell me, have you heard any reports of wizards and clerics going missing? Or an increase in missing persons, generally?”
Mandalee confirmed that she had. She had assumed there had been an increase in demon activity.
“You’re right, but not in the way you mean. Kullos is building an army of mortals and demons.”
“He’s what? Seriously?”
Catriona nodded. “Daelen and I, we have a plan – sort of – and I’m going with him.”
“What?” Mandalee snorted. “You’re going to save the world, now?”
Cat shook her head and chuckled, gently. “Nothing so grand. I’m just going to do what I always do: gather information, gain knowledge, find out how it all fits together and act on what I learn. My almost killing Daelen wasn’t part of the plan, so I’m not going to let you finish the job.”
“But what if you’re wrong? There may be no other chance to stop him, like I was told.”
“Wait – is that what your client said? Her exact words? ‘Stop him’?”
“Yes, that was it, I remember now. She said, ‘He’s going to destroy the world. You must stop him.’ What’s your point?”
“That’s for you to work out. Sorry, Mandalee, but I can’t discuss it any longer.” She mounted up behind Daelen and took the reins. “The bottom line is, Daelen and I are going now. I won’t fight you, Mandalee. Never. But for the moment, Daelen is under my protection, so to kill him, you’ll have to kill me, too. I don’t believe you’ll do that.”
Without another word, Cat nudged the horse into a trot out of Justaria’s garden, which now looked somewhat worse for wear, and out into the street.
As Mandalee watched them ride away, a familiar feline figure emerged from the shadows.
‘How long have you been there?’ Mandalee asked.
‘Long enough,’ Shyleen replied.
‘What do you think she meant?’
‘That sometimes you are meant to kill and sometimes you are not.’
‘But I’m an assassin and a demon hunter,’ Mandalee protested.
‘That is not all you are,’ the leopard countered.
Mandalee shook her head, emphatically.
‘I left all the other parts behind a long time ago.’
‘You left them near here when I got hurt,’ Shyleen pointed out, philosophically, ‘so you are in the perfect place to pick them up again.’
*****
When Daelen StormTiger came around, he found himself lying on a bed in one corner of what appeared to be an inn. It was quite the hive of activity.
Catriona Redfletching was standing over him, protectively, with her back to him, staff in one hand, while her other hand hovered near her belt from which all of her spell components hung. She was watching the crowd intently, ready to strike at the first wrong move. Pyrah was reared up on a barstool, hissing and showing her deadly fangs. The plants in the tavern had grown considerably, too, creating a natural barrier. Several blackened, smouldering marks suggested that the druidess had made her power and intent quite clear, and judging by the faces of those around, Daelen could tell they were convinced.
“Look, I’m really quite easy to get along with,” Cat was saying, “but my friend needs undisturbed rest, and I do not know who I can trust. Therefore, I will not risk any of you coming near while he is vulnerable, or trying to leave, so word gets out to an assassin. I apologise for the inconvenience and the disruption to your day, but please just stay calm, enjoy your drinks, your games and your conversation like nothing special is happening. Then no-one will get hurt.”
As an additional precaution, Daelen did not look like himself. He was using something he called a ‘perception filter,’ which worked even on minimal power. This meant that anyone who was not expecting to see Daelen would just see an average guy, with no particularly distinctive features. Most people wouldn’t know higher planar energy if it was clearly labelled, so almost anyone who tried to get a power reading would think he was just some wizard. The latest in a line of wizard lovers that rumour insisted Catriona had enjoyed.
Just then, Pyrah looked around and saw Daelen was awake.
Daelen guessed she must have sent a sympathic message to her half-Faery friend, because Catriona remarked over her shoulder, “So, you’re back with us then, eh? How are you feeling?”
“What happened?” he asked. “What’s going on?” Then with a weak smile he added, “and while I’m going for the clichés, ‘Where am I’?”
“You passed out on the way,” Cat explained. “It was all I could do to keep you from falling off. As for where,” she pointed to a twisted metal sign on the floor that depicted a Faery with wings hovering over a road, along with the words ‘FaerWay Tavern.’
“That’s disgusting,” Daelen spat.
“Well, I don’t like vandalism, either,” Cat replied defensively, “but I couldn’t stand to look at it any longer.”
Daelen shook his head and winced. “No, I mean, the sign is disgusting,” he clarified, then in answer to Catriona’s surprised look, explained, “A very long time ago, a…” he hesitated, “…friend once taught me a few things about Faery culture.”
Rose. Her name was Rose. She had been with him for twenty years, all those centuries ago. Twenty years exactly from the day they met to the day she left. Seeing the way Catriona used magic was bringing forth old memories. Painful memories. Good memories.
Before he could try to speak further, she hushed him.
“Just relax, sleep…or I’ll knock you out myself.”
By the look in her eyes, Daelen was prepared to believe she might just carry out that threat, and he was in no position to argue. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so powerless. By contrast, Catriona looked so formidable. He realised it made her very attractive, but he dismissed the observation as a symptom of exhaustion.
“Yeah, I hate this place,” Cat agreed, in response to his earlier point, “but it was the only practical option.”
She went on to explain how a couple of helpful souls had ‘volunteered’ to fetch a bed from one of the rooms. There was no way she was letting them get trapped in one small room with only one way out.
“It’s amazing how helpful people can become when they meet my sweet serpent,” she reflected, stroking Pyrah’s head for a moment. “Pyrah just seems to have that kind of positive effect. Once you were settled, though, I had to take a few…precautions to make sure you got the rest you needed.”
Cat grabbed a drink from a nearby table and threw it a few feet in front of her. The glass smashed, the contents pooled on the floor, and she used that liquid to create a frozen shield of ice to further cut off the crowd.
Relaxing, she sat down on a stool and casually inspected her fingernails. “So, it’s all been quite exciting, really.”
Daelen couldn’t help smiling at his companion’s attitude, but there was one thing she seemed to have forgotten: there was still a piece of him inside her.
“It would be best if you gave me back to myself, now,” he told her.
“Best for me or best for you?” the druidess asked, pointedly.
“Cat…” Daelen began, understanding but not wanting to answer.
Catriona was having none of it.
“Don’t avoid the question. Would returning your essence to you now, as you are, in this state, be good for you or not? And don’t even think about lying to me.”
“No,” Daelen answered reluctantly. “It would be better for you, but expending effort on reintegration would set back my recovery significantly.”
“How long before you recharge?”
“Three, maybe four hours.”
“Then thank you for your concern, but the subject is now closed for at least the next three hours. It’s my fault we’re in this mess and my responsibility to get us out of it. You say you’re not a hero, so don’t act like one. Don’t worry about saving me, save yourself first. I can defend this position against just about anybody mortal, but if your clone decides to drop by again, I’ll need you at full strength.”
“I can see there’s no use arguing with you.”
“Good, you’re learning. Now, those three hours don’t start until you’re asleep. There’s nothing to worry about, so just close your eyes.”
*****
But for my mother, there was something to worry about, gentle reader. She didn’t plan on telling Daelen this, but after her confrontation with Mandalee, something strange had happened. Her staff fell out of her pocket dimension – that hadn’t happened for years. She caught it, reflexively, almost letting Daelen fall off the horse in the process, and an otherworldly voice came to her:
White faction first attempt gone. Two attempts remain.
*****
“Go to sleep,” Cat insisted, “or I’ll start singing ‘Angels Among Us’.”
“What’s that?” Daelen wondered.
“Oh, just an old Faery lullaby. It was the first thing that popped into my head.”
“Then sing it,” he requested with a smile.
Cat flushed, clearly embarrassed. “What? You want me to sing a children’s lullaby to a ‘grown man’ in front of all these people?” she whispered.
“Why not? You brought it up.”
“I wasn’t serious,” she insisted. “What will they think?”
“They’ll think it’s cute.”
“Exactly. I’m trying to act tough, not cute.”
“Are you saying you can’t do both at the same time?” Daelen asked, slyly.
Catriona couldn’t believe it. Suggesting she couldn’t do something was the surest way to make her determined to do it. She saw it as a challenge. But they’d only just met – how could he possibly know that?
“Oh, alright!” she surrendered. “But if the lullaby doesn’t send you to sleep in five minutes, I’m knocking you out instead.”
They spoke no more, then, as Catriona sang1:
Angels among us, stars in the night,
Watch o’er your sleep, shining so bright,
Safe in their light, as you close your eyes,
Love will surround you, ‘til morning you rise.
Angels among us, shed you no tears,
Bright Angels guard you, quiet your fears,
Nature’s embrace, is gentle and strong,
Love will surround you, all your life long.
*****
That lullaby brings back memories for me, gentle reader. It was sung to me many times when I was little. Hearing it like this, I can close my eyes and almost believe my mother is singing it to me, though of course she never could.