The remainder of the sea voyage to the continent of Northern Alloria had been uneventful – mercifully so, as it had allowed the two young women and one leopard time to recover and adjust their body clocks back to their homeworld.
In general, it was good to be home, but Mandalee did express one regret at leaving Earth so suddenly: After all the shopping she had done, she’d left all of her Earth clothes behind. All except a pair of blue sapphire earrings that she’d barely taken off since buying them. Meagre souvenirs, but at least she had something.
They had left Earth about a week early, Earth time, which on Tempestria was just a couple of days ahead of schedule. That meant they should reach the temple ruins no more than a day either side of when Michael and his team arrived.
Mandalee offered to begin teaching Catriona to speak the language of leopards, telepathically, so her two friends could communicate more easily, and Cat jumped at the offer. Before the lesson, though, Daelen told them it was time to fill them in on his battle plans.
*****
What he told them, gentle reader, he had implied before, so it wasn’t entirely new, only a fleshing out of details. Michael would not be turning up alone. Far from it. There was a group, an organisation, dedicated to him – Jessica would no doubt describe it as a ‘fan club’. Where Mandalee and Cat were from, on Elvaria, it had never really caught on as much, so it was understandable that they didn’t know about it. Throughout Alloria, however, it was almost a religion built around what they saw as a tragic, legendary hero. Many of them were capable fighters, clerics, wizards – a diverse group who most likely wouldn’t have anything in common, were it not for Michael. As for the demigod himself, he appreciated what they stood for, even if it made him uncomfortable being idolised. They also had the irksome habit of referring to him as ‘Mickey’. They may be fans of Michael’s, but he was not a fan of that name. Still, if he turned up at one of their meetings and asked for their help in fighting Kullos’ army, they would pledge themselves in a heartbeat. It was difficult to estimate numbers, but every little helped.
*****
When they approached Corolis Harbour, the port that served visitors to the forest of the same name, Daelen dived overboard and swam the rest of the way while Cat changed to seagull form – well out of sight of Shyleen, just in case she was hungry – and flew ashore, indistinguishable from the flock of such birds that flew around the bay. That left Mandalee on board with Shyleen. The assassin had registered the Dolphin in her name so, in the unlikely event that anyone checked, the records would show that she chartered the ship to sail there alone from Kingsville Piers on Elvaria.
It was late, so after meeting up they didn’t travel far before finding a place to camp for the night.
*****
The next morning, Cat awoke to the sounds of two tigers play-fighting. One of them was quite obviously Daelen. She watched for a little while – it was good to see her friend having fun. She supposed it might be his last chance before the real fighting started. After a while, the real tiger grew either tired or bored – she wasn’t sure which – and wandered off. Daelen changed back into his human form, wished her a good morning and asked if she would take a walk with him so he could talk to her about something alone before Mandalee woke up.
“It won’t take long,” he assured her. “We’ll be back before she starts to worry that we’ve been kidnapped or something.”
Cat shook her head. That wouldn’t be an issue. “She’ll be able to tell from our tracks that we’ve just gone for a stroll.”
“Well then,” Daelen offered his arm, “shall we?”
The druidess laid her hand gently on his arm and began to walk with him. Seeing that he wasn’t going to speak immediately, she tried to break the ice.
“You seem to be a little out of practice with your tiger form, Daelen,” she offered, good-naturedly.
“It was a perfectly convincing tiger,” he objected.
“To most people, perhaps,” Cat allowed.
“But not to you?”
“Not to that tiger, either,” she continued. “He found you quite funny.”
“You know this from what Mandalee’s been teaching you?”
“Partly,” Cat allowed. “Mandalee told me that the languages of all big cats have a common root structure and knowing one gives the essence of another. Tigers aren't great conversationalists anyway, so I find them relatively easy to understand with the aid of my sympathic skills. More than that, though, I learned long ago that just taking on the form of an animal is a long way from actually becoming that animal. Remember I told you that when I went flying as an owl on Earth, I was harassed by another owl?”
Daelen smiled. “I remember your ruffled feathers.”
Cat returned the smile. “Yes, well, my point is, convincing humans that you’re a tiger is easy. Convincing other tigers is the real test. Think of it this way: suppose Shyleen had morphogenic abilities and she took the form of a human woman. She might convince other animals she was human, but if she didn't know how to speak the human language, act or think like a human, she wouldn't fool us for long. Why do you think I limit the number of animals I change into? In principle, I can take the form of any animal I like, but I won't do it in public until I learn how to truly become that animal. That takes time, study and practice.”
After a moment, she cut the small talk and pressed, “So, Daelen, what is so important that you can tell only me and not Mandalee?”
“Well, I've been thinking about a lot of things, like this battle with Kullos, and the thing is, Cat, I want you to let me do it alone, even though I won’t be coming back.”
From her conversation with the Chetsuans, Cat already had an inkling that he was thinking along those lines.
From her expression, Daelen could tell she wasn’t in favour of the idea, but he rushed headlong to explain before she could get a word in.
“I realise I’m asking that you stand by and let me kill myself, but that’s how it must be. Taking care of his army is the best thing you can do to help – it will ensure I’m at peak power levels when I confront Kullos – but if what I’m thinking will happen comes true, then I need you to give me your word that you won’t interfere with my battle with him. Please, Cat, I need to know that you – and Mandalee of course – are safe. I want you to be able to live a full and happy life. If I destroy Kullos, then there will be some peace for all of you.” She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “Yes, I know that you’ll miss me, and I’m sorry about that, but it’s for the best. Please, Cat, promise me.”
Seeing he was at last done, Catriona took a deep breath and let it out slowly, collecting her thoughts and taking her sweet time before answering.
“No, Daelen, I cannot promise that. I have listened patiently to your reasoning, but it changes nothing. You will not face Kullos alone, and that is the end of it. I will not allow it, and no power you possess will prevent me from fighting by your side. It is not for you to protect me – I reject that utterly – and it’s not just your fight; it’s mine, too.”
“Please, Cat—”
“Daelen!” she interrupted, her tone warning him to be quiet. He’d had his say. It was her turn, now. “There is great danger, not only from Kullos, but also from you. Yes, he has great power, but so do you, and that is precisely the reason I must be with you. All power can be defeated and, if necessary, I will find a way to defeat yours as well as his.”
“But even Michael won’t be with me this time,” Daelen pointed out. “Keeping him out of it at the end should break his Curse and allow him to live his own free life at long last.”
Catriona remembered the demigod telling her that he was cursed to die permanently during the final war of the shadow warriors.
“Good for him,” she acknowledged.
“Alycia’s barrier will prevent anyone else from my plane coming here ever again, so your world – all mortal worlds – will be free from our interference, as it should be.”
“Sometimes, your interference is a good thing,” Cat countered. “Just ask Sara and Jessica.”
“That’s another thing,” he put in.
He went on to explain about the letter he had hidden in his library. Through her link with Dreya, of course, Cat already knew that his plans for the Chetsuans had been superseded but didn’t tell him so.
“Enough!” she cut him off, eyes flashing. “What Sara and Jessica choose to do is up to them. As for me, I have given you my answer, Daelen, and the subject is closed. Now, if you will excuse me, I think I'll go and see if Mandalee’s awake.”
With that, she walked away.
“That went well,” Daelen grumbled to himself when she’d gone.
When she was alone, Cat communicated with Dreya, sympathically. The time was fast approaching when she was going to need her, and she wanted to check if she was ready. She wasn’t. Not quite. Dreya just needed a little more time to finish off what she was doing; she’d been busy. They agreed on a time to put their plan into action and ended their communication.
*****
Two days later, having picked up horses from a stable at the harbour, Daelen and his two friends reached the edge of the Corolis Wood. They found the ancient temple ruins and made camp there to wait for ‘Mickey’ and his ‘fan club’ to arrive. Already they could see the foliage had thinned markedly. Less than one more day’s ride and they would officially be in the Rhynas Desert, a stone’s throw from where Kullos’ hidden army was based.
Once they had consolidated their strength, they would begin careful scouting and lay some plans. In three days, they would attack.
Since reaching the temple ruins, Catriona had become distant for a while. Daelen was wondering if she was thinking more about their conversation, the other day. He hoped he could find a way to get her to change her mind. If necessary, there were other ways to keep her out of things, but he’d rather have her agreement, if possible.
As night fell and the last of the sun’s glowing embers faded, judging by Catriona’s expression, she seemed to reach a decision. Almost as if she had been counting down to some event – he knew not what – and that countdown had finally reached zero.
“So, this is it, then,” she noted, approaching him. “We're almost at the end of our quest. We've come a long way together, and I don't just mean in terms of distance travelled.”
“Yes,” Daelen agreed, “I know what you mean. It's a shame it has to end at all, in a way. I haven't enjoyed myself this much in a long time. Soon, though, it will be time to strike. Once Michael and the others arrive, all our forces will be in place.”
“Ah, not quite all,” Cat disagreed. “There is one more who is yet to take their place among us.”
“Who’s that?” Mandalee asked, wandering over to join them.
“Someone who is key to so much more than you yet know about. Now the time has come to reveal what I’ve been hiding from you both.” Before either friend could respond, she suddenly asked, “Daelen, do you trust me?” She didn’t need to ask Mandalee that question.
“Yes, of course I trust you, Cat. What's this about?”
“I need you to hold on to that trust now and try to understand that there are things that circumstances compelled me to do. You may not like it, but I hope your faith in me will be enough to see beyond that and accept that it was necessary and for the best.
“Also, regarding our feelings for each other, we both know where we stand, don’t we?”
“Yes, Cat, I do, although I confess, I also wish you would tell me why you won't return my affections.”
Catriona smiled apprehensively, “Yes, well, the time has arrived when I can finally tell you. The truth is simple, Daelen. I do care for you, but I cannot love you the way you would wish, because I am already in love with someone else. I'm sorry.”
The pain Daelen experienced felt as if an old scar over his heart had freshly torn open. It was irrational, he knew. What difference did it make? A few more days and he would be dead. Still, there was something he wanted to know.
“Why, Cat? Why couldn't you have just told me that instead of…”
“…Leading you on? I swear I never meant to do that. I wanted to explain, but I literally couldn't.”
“This is your magically backed promise, isn’t it?” Mandalee realised.
Cat confirmed it. “You see, I promised that my lover would remain secret and hidden until the moment was right, and I agreed to enforce my promise with magic. That’s why I couldn't explain my feelings to you until now.”
“So, who is this lover of yours?” Daelen asked.
“That’s the part I can’t tell you.” It was such a natural question; it was almost inevitable that he would ask it. Since she was blocked from answering, she had always felt it best to say nothing at all. “But now that the time is right, I can show you.”