As Mandalee led Catriona away, Dreya stepped up to Daelen, who had turned his back on the proceedings.
“So, you are the mighty Daelen StormTiger,” she observed.
When the shadow warrior turned around, she bowed her head in reverence. At first, the shadow warrior thought she was mocking him, but she gave no indication that she was anything other than genuine.
With an icy cool voice, the sorceress continued, “I have long admired your power. You could even say that you are my inspiration. It's funny how life works, sometimes, isn't it? I mean, here I am preparing to fight by your side when I've been looking forward to killing you for so long.”
That was just about all Daelen could stand in his current mood. With a roar, he flew into the air, and without further warning, he powered up and fired his beam cannon straight at the brazen witch.
His power flared around the sorceress, but when he could see again, Daelen was amazed to see her standing there, apparently untouched.
She stretched luxuriously with feline grace. “Why thank you, Daelen, it was very nice of you to give me so much power to absorb.” In truth, anticipating such a response, she was maintaining an active link with her guards through a micro-portal. That meant she was able to share the power when it was too much to absorb herself. “Mmmm,” she purred, “that felt good…I wonder if it works as well for you.”
A blast of energy hit the unprepared shadow warrior full in the chest, knocking him from the sky.
Getting to his feet, he demanded, “Where did you learn that?”
“Don’t you remember? It’s how I beat your dark clone.”
“I guess ‘Aden’ must have compartmentalised that bit. I knew you beat him. I didn’t know how.”
Dreya gave a facial shrug. “Now you do, although I’ve improved it since then. I’ve even experimented with adding a bit of dragon magic to see if it might give the power a slight edge.”
“How could you possibly know about dragon magic?”
“I learned about it while I was conquering Phitonia.”
“And how did you manage that?”
“Well, I like a challenge, and I can find precious little here, so for years, I’ve been working on magical transport to other worlds. I was so close! I could open portals, but they were unstable and unusable. Then, by working my magic through Catriona's sympathic link, I got the chance to examine your Prismatic Sphere portals. That's all I needed to see where I was going wrong – though I would have figured it out myself before long.
“The conquest itself wasn’t as difficult as I expected, although a lot of the credit for that must go to those delightful sisters, Sara and Jessica. They told me everything I needed to know to conquer their world. Wasn’t that nice of them?”
“You’ve been to my facility on Earth?” The shadow warrior felt himself go cold at the thought of Dreya the Dark bursting in on the Chetsuans. They could defend themselves and their home against most threats, but against this one, he knew they’d be out of their league.
Daelen’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You didn't—”
“—Harm them?” Dreya finished for him. “Please, Daelen, give me some credit. They're fine. I don't do random violence; it's a waste of energy. I only kill those whom I consider a threat. They were hardly that. We sat together and had a pleasant chat. I had no desire to harm them, and I have no intention of harming you, either. You are a renegade and killing you would earn me a great deal of power and prestige, but the situation has changed.”
“How so?”
“Heaven’s Surrender.”
“What could you possibly know about that?”
“Very little,” Dreya freely admitted. “That’s why you’re still alive. I agree with your assessment of the situation: that weapon will be used, and as much as I enjoy power, I know better than to bite off more than I can chew. I have no way of controlling a weapon about which I know nothing. Given the available options, then, between Kullos and yourself, I would prefer it was your hand on the trigger.”
Just then, the other two returned.
“Is there some kind of problem here?” Mandalee asked, lightly, seeing the two scorch marks on the ground from their exchange of power. Dreya immediately turned her back on the shadow warrior and quickly checked Cat was feeling OK. She didn’t return her attention to Daelen until Mandalee assured her that her girlfriend was perfectly fine. The Cleric of Nature found that endearing and added it to the growing list of reasons why she believed their match to be officially ‘A Good Thing.’
She kept the observation to herself, however, as Dreya answered her question, “Don’t worry, Mandalee. We’re just getting to know one another. Isn’t that right, Great One?”
Ignoring that, Daelen declared, “The black witch says she wants to fight alongside us. Is it just me, or does anyone else have a problem accepting the concept of Dreya the Dark trying to save the world?”
Dreya laughed, coldly, “Save the world? Who said anything about me saving the world? I am doing this for the power and prestige I will earn.”
“Personal ambition – you heard her, Cat. Doesn't that bother you?”
“Not at all,” the druidess replied. “Power isn't everything, but it has its place, and it can be very attractive in its own way. In case you've forgotten, I'm not here to save the world, either. I’m here to gain knowledge, unlock the power of my staff and perhaps avenge my parents’ deaths. Are these things any purer than Dreya's motives? Who am I to judge that? Dreya has every right to represent her Order, and her motives are her own business.”
Mandalee held up a hand and volunteered, “I'm here to save the world, if that's any consolation. I never thought I'd hear myself say that – I'm an assassin for hell’s sake – but it's true. Still not sure whether I’m saving the world with you or from you, but I’m saving it either way.”
“You see, Daelen?” Catriona offered. “We are balanced.”
“But it’s obvious she’s been using you to spy on me all this time, don’t you see that?”
“No, Daelen,” Cat shook her head, “she did not use me, and spy is a very pejorative word. All along, I told you I wanted to learn about you. What was the point of that knowledge if I didn’t share it?”
“You should be pleased, Daelen,” Dreya put in. “Everything Catriona learned, I brought to the Council. Thanks to Cat’s knowledge and my influence, the Council made a ruling: If there are two dangerous and powerful renegades, and killing both is not an option, then I am authorised to aid one to kill the other. The Council of Mages has declared Kullos a greater threat than you. Therefore, you are granted amnesty for the time being.”
“Plus, there’s the small matter of the army that’s out there,” Mandalee put in. “Don’t you think it would be a good idea to have the support of the Council of Mages in the coming battle? Maybe even, thanks to the new rules, throw some clerics in there for good measure?”
Daelen had to admit that if they were going to fight an army of wizards, it would help to have a magical army of their own.
“None of this would have been possible,” Mandalee continued, “without Catriona and her link with Dreya.”
“Or you, Mandalee,” Dreya insisted. “Your transition from trying to kill him to saving him and working alongside him did much to persuade Maia and her faction of Light.”
Trying to lighten the mood, Cat grinned at Daelen and asked, “What is it with you, anyway? Every time I introduce you to my friends, you try to kill them. First Mandalee, now Dreya. Remind me never to take you home to Quarthonia. I still know a few Faery there, and frankly, they don’t need the hassle.”
Daelen relaxed enough to smile back. “Sorry, Cat, but it seems to me your friends always start by trying to kill me. Or at least threatening to.”
“You know that with Mandalee, it was just a misunderstanding, why can't you accept the same with Dreya?”
“Of course it's a misunderstanding, Great One,” the sorceress agreed, still never raising her voice, maintaining control at all times. “If I'd actually tried to kill you, you'd be dead.”
“OK, enough, Dreya!” Cat frowned with obvious irritation. “That's not helping.”
Dreya raised her eyebrows and demanded, “Have you no respect for the powers arrayed before you here?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“Is she like this with you, too?” she asked Daelen.
Smiling in spite of himself, he answered, “All the time.”
Turning back to Catriona, she wondered, “So, girlfriend, what would you propose to do if we decided to fight out our differences?”
“Probably just stand in the middle and shout ‘stop’,” Mandalee put in, reprising her role as assassin peacemaker. All eyes turned to her, but she faced them down and added, “It worked with me, anyway.”
“You and Daelen?” Dreya's eyes widened. “She really did that?” She burst out laughing. “Oh Cat, that is so you! I wish I'd been there!”
Everyone joined in with her laughter, then calming down, Mandalee asked, “So, does this mean we're all friends now? A team, Daelen?”
“Maybe,” the shadow warrior allowed, “if she and I can talk alone a bit more.”
Catriona was unsure of the wisdom of that.
“Cat, I give you my word that I will not attack her in any way, and while we’re talking, I’d like you two to do something for me. I’m worried about Michael and his group. They should have been here by now. Could you go and look for them, please?”
“It's a sound strategy,” Dreya concurred. “You two are the trackers, not us.”
“Mandalee,” Cat marvelled, “did those two just agree on something?”
“I believe they did,” Mandalee nodded.
Without another word passing between them, they both looked up at the sky, as if searching for something.
“What are you looking for?” Daelen asked.
“A blue moon!” they answered together.
“OK, I walked into that one.”
Mandalee mentally called for Shyleen and linked arms with her friend. “Come on, Cat, it will give me a chance to continue teaching you how to speak leopard. You really are learning fast. You'll be as good as me before long.”
“Thanks, Mandalee.” Turning back to Daelen and Dreya for a moment, Cat raised a warning finger and scolded them, “You two behave, OK? Don’t make me come back there and split you up!” With that, the two girls left with Shyleen.
A short way in the distance, Catriona reached back with her sympathic senses, while she pulled a vase out of her pocket dimension. She used her magic to fill it with water and placed Dreya’s roses into it before putting it safely back in her pocket dimension.
“At least, so far, those two haven’t killed each other,” she remarked to her cleric friend.
‘So far are the keywords,’ Shyleen offered.
“What was that she said, Mandalee?” Cat asked with a challenging raised eyebrow. “I didn’t quite catch it.”
“Uh…nothing important, Cat,” she replied and then in leopard, added, ‘I don’t need any more problems right now, Shyleen.’ Turning back to Cat with a smile, she said, “But clearly your leopard speak still needs work. Where did we leave off?”
*****
When they had disappeared into the trees, Dreya remarked, “Well, that told us, eh, Great One?”
“I do wish you'd stop that,” the shadow warrior grumbled.
“Why? I am merely showing respect for your power. I would have thought you would appreciate it after being surrounded by ‘power isn't everything’ for so long.”
“The trouble is, Dreya, I can’t quite tell with you, whether you're serious or making fun.”
“Yes,” she conceded, without confirming either way, “I can see how that might be confusing.”
Putting that aside, Daelen continued the conversation from what seemed to be common ground.
“So, ‘power isn’t everything’. She does that with you, too, then, does she?”
“All the time,” Dreya nodded. “Infuriating, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” Daelen agreed. “Of course, what’s even more infuriating is that she’s usually right.”
“It’s also one of the things that makes her so attractive. That sharp mind that can find a way around the most complex of problems using nothing more than…”
“…two sticks of celery and a shoelace?” Daelen suggested.
Dreya snorted, “And the celery’s just something to eat afterwards.”
“Exactly!” Daelen laughed.
*****
“Alright then, Dreya the Dark,” the shadow warrior began, after a pause, “while we’re walking, I would like you to do something: block her from your mind. What I have to say is strictly between you and me. For once, I’d like to have a private conversation.”
“Our sympathic connection does have privacy settings,” Dreya assured him, “so doubtless you’ve had many private conversations, but if you’d rather I block her completely, I have no objection.”
“Please do so.”
Dreya paused for a moment, then told him, “I’ve just sent Catriona a final sympathic message, for the time being, so she doesn't worry that there's something wrong. Now I've blocked the connection. Nothing can get through.” Stepping forward, she laid a hand gently but firmly on Daelen’s arm. In answer to the shadow warrior’s questioning look, she asked, “Don't you know a gentleman is supposed to offer a lady his arm when they walk together?”
“I know the custom, but we’re hardly lovers out for a stroll or even friends.”
“That's no reason to be rude,” she countered. They walked in silence for a few moments before the sorceress spoke again. “My, isn't this all terribly civilised?”
“Very,” Daelen agreed.
“Now, what shall we talk about?” she wondered.