Gorinthians (40 page)

"What's going on?” Seranova
shouted, angrily pulling on her horse’s reins as she tried to bring
it under control.

"That's
yara
,” Ferrich shouted in amazement.
"Someone is using
yara
!"

Morindessa had never seen
anyone use
yara
,
having only read about it in books and been told about it by Riah.
"Are you sure, Ferrich?” she asked doubtfully.

"Yes," Ferrich replied,
finally bringing his own horse under control. "We can use it
sometimes in the Pit."

A scream rent the air, a
scream that made Morindessa's hair stand on end. She lifted Jesha
from in front of her and handed her to Ferrich. "You three stay
here. If I am not back in an hour, continue south until you reach
Chasel Ri’ Aven.” She brought her hand up sharply as Ferrich and
Seranova both opened their mouths in protest. "This is no time to
argue! Now do as I say!"

She slid from the back of
her horse and began stealthily making her way toward the source of
the screams. As she neared, she could sense four people just over a
rise ahead of her, one of them filled with
yara
he was directing into the other
three. Suddenly, she recognized the resonance of the man
using
yara
.
Rushing forward to the summit of the rise, she peered over the top,
wondering what she could possibly do against someone with that much
power. Morindessa looked at the women he was channeling the energy
into, and gasped in horror. Riah stood next to a twisted form that
was slowly wilting, screaming so loud she could feel it on the
Communion Plane of spirits as well as with her ears. The man she
had recognized as Terrance was glowing with an azure aura that
surrounded the women next to him. The buzz that filled the air made
Morindessa's bones ache.

The realization that
Terrance was harming, perhaps killing, Riah overrode Morindessa's
elation at seeing her alive. The other woman behind Terrance must
have been Selindria, the sister Riah had told her about. They
almost looked like twins, except Selindria was smaller and had
tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at her sister.
Morindessa studied what Terrance was doing, trying to sort out the
complex arrangement of elements streaming out of the dwindling form
next to Riah.

Morindessa spun as she heard
rocks crunch behind her, whipping out a dagger. Ferrich froze in
his tracks at the look of hate that burned in her eyes. "I couldn't
leave,” he mumbled, not meeting her eyes. "If I am going to die
with you, then so be it."

Morindessa forced the heat
to leave her eyes as she reached down and pulled Ferrich up next to
her. He sighed in obvious relief as she sheathed her dagger. She
hoped that she lived through this, because she had some definite
plans for Ferrich if they lived.

"All right," Morindessa
said, studying Terrance as the hate returned to her eyes. "We need
to kill that man.” She pointed at Terrance, noticing that his eyes
were beginning to take on a glazed look.

"What do you want me to do?”
Ferrich asked simply.

"I want you to focus on him
the way you did the weeds in the road, when you shattered all of
those trees,” Morindessa said grimly. "Do it the same
way."

Ferrich took a deep breath.
"Here goes."

Riah had just stopped
screaming when Terrance began to waiver slightly, like water in a
pond. The figure that had been hunched next to Riah lay limply in
the road, lifeless. Selindria looked at where Ferrich and
Morindessa lay crouched on the hilltop, just as Ferrich sent a
blast of his
yar
down the hill toward them.

"No!” Selindria screamed,
diving between Terrance and the wave of destruction bearing down on
him. At the last instant, Terrance’s wavering form grabbed her arm.
She immediately began to waiver as well, just as Ferrich's
yar
slashed through them.
The ground around them erupted in a spray of dirt and rocks,
throwing Riah backword through the air several paces. As the dust
settled, there was no sign of Selindria or Terrance.

Morindessa felt a sliver of
ice run down her spine as she recalled the look of terror on
Selindria's face when they had tried to harm Terrance. Hoping she
had not just made the largest mistake of her life, Morindessa
rushed down the hill toward Riah's still form with Ferrich
following behind.

"Riah!” Morindessa shouted
as she ran toward the giantess' still form, "Riah!” Morindessa
dropped to the ground next to Riah, checking for a pulse. "No
pulse!” she said worriedly to Ferrich. Reaching out with her
yar
, she tried to force
Riah’s heart to begin beating. Morindessa could tell that it would
not continue beating if she stopped using her
yar
to force it. She reached deeper
into Riah, looking for her awareness. She had never been very
skilled with her
yar
when it came to linking with others. She wished she had paid
more attention to Riah, instead of always wanting to learn things
that would help her fight.

There was an awareness
inside of Riah, but even as Morindessa sensed it, she could feel it
losing its hold on the body in front of them. "Somebody help me!”
Morindessa screamed at the sky, tears blurring her
vision.

In a moment, she was
rolling sideways as a dark form pushed her away. As she rolled into
a crouch, she saw the form of Lochnar cradling Riah's head in his
arms as his
yar
shot into her. Morindessa could feel his
yar
, twisting around something she
could not sense, the whole time holding a soft note with his voice,
"Oohhmm.” Morindessa watched him hopefully, not daring to breathe
for fear she might break his concentration. He continued chanting
the same note repeatedly for several minutes, while his
yar
began to weaken
slightly.

Riah coughed raggedly,
sitting up, "No father!” she cried weakly, "No!"

"It is done, Riah, and it
will not be undone,” Lochnar said softly, pushing her back to the
ground. "You need to rest."

Morindessa stared at
Lochnar in shock. She could feel his diminished spirit, as if a
part of his body had been removed. His
yar
glowed feebly in her mind as he
sat next to Riah, brushing her hair with his fingers. He had given
up part of his spirit to save her. Morindessa knew even after
Lochnar died, he would never regain the part of his spirit he had
given up.

Riah's eyes found
Morindessa, still crouched as she watched them, "Des!” She cried
longingly. "Oh Des, I've missed you!"

Morindessa rushed forward,
embracing her with tears streaming down her face. They took turns,
laughing and crying as they clung to each other. Morindessa
realized that Riah was naked and hurriedly rose. "I have some
clothes back with my horse."

"And you think they will fit
me?” Riah asked, smiling through her tears. "You are still a little
midget, Des."

"I am sure we can modify
them,” Morindessa assured her with a grin. She rushed back to her
horse where Seranova was still waiting with Jesha.

"What's going on?” Seranova
demanded with a scowl. "Why are you grinning like that?"

Morindessa blinked as she
realized the silly look she had on her face. She stilled her
features, though she still felt elation so strongly it should have
lifted her off the ground. "It's all right,” she said as she swung
up onto her horse. "They're friends.” With that, she booted Nenstle
into a gallop back to where Riah lay.

When Morindessa returned,
Ferrich was staring at the ground as he talked to Riah, trying to
avoid looking at her naked form. Lochnar sat studying Ferrich with
his intense gaze, causing Ferrich to falter as he tried to answer
Riah's questions.

"Here you are,” Morindessa
said, pulling a robe from her saddlebags and stretching it with
her
yar
.

Riah sat up and pulled the
long, black robe over her head, making Ferrich breathe a sigh of
relief as his eyes found a safe place to rest at last. Seranova and
Jesha were just arriving, pulling Ferrich's horse and the packhorse
behind them.

"I suppose some
introductions are in order,” Morindessa said to Riah as her three
companions gathered around her.

"You might want to wait for
the others to arrive before you start the introductions,” Lochnar
said in a low growl.

"Others?” Morindessa asked,
reaching out with her
yar
. She had not been keeping watch
around them with her
yar
because she was still in shock of what happened.
Her eyes widened slightly as she felt several figures quickly
moving toward them beyond the hill. "Who are they?"

"Some kids from Chasel Ri’
Aven,” Lochnar replied with a grunt, "and a very irritating little
man that doesn't know when to shut up."

Morindessa could not help
smiling at the tone she had once been afraid of. Some things about
Lochnar would just never change. He was watching her with his
penetrating eyes and she could tell he was waiting to tell her
something unpleasant. Whenever she had over-extended on a fighting
technique, or put too much force in her
yar
, his eyes would always grow
hooded like they were now, and he would tell her what she was doing
wrong. He looked away without saying anything however, staring in
the direction the others would come.

"Why don't you let me tell
the others what happened when they arrive,” Lochnar suggested
firmly, not looking at her.

"What did happen?”
Morindessa asked, a worm of fear returning as she remembered the
look on Selindria's face. "Why was Terrance attacking them?”
Lochnar was the first person she had heard of Terrance from, and
none of it had been good.

"What you saw was a
misunderstanding,” Lochnar explained quietly. "A man named Jerard
had captured Riah shortly after we left you. We thought that she
was dead, but we found her several days ago, her spirit twisted and
broken. Terrance had to use her twin sister as a map to rebuild her
spirit. What you saw when you came over the hill was Terrance and
Selindria healing Riah."

At Morindessa's stricken
look, Ferrich reached down and gripped her shoulder. "It's not your
fault,” his grip tightened. "Anyone would have thought she was
being attacked. It isn't your fault."

"I killed them?” Morindessa
whispered, feeling the world crashing down around her. She felt
like there was a growing piece of ice in her stomach trying to
consume her.

"No, you didn't kill them,”
Lochnar said, shaking his head in disdain. "Not that I would miss
Terrance much if you did, but they are still alive."

"Then where are they?”
Morindessa looked around, feeling with her
yar
and sensing nothing but the
approaching strangers. "Where did they go?"

"Jerard created a trap
inside of Riah's old host,” Lochnar scowled at the limp form
several paces away. "Terrance was going to use Selindria as an
anchoring point in this realm when he sprang Jerard's trap. He
didn't count on both of them being sucked into it.” Lochnar
clenched his fist at his side and stared into the distance. He was
filled with a rage that emanated so strongly Morindessa felt caught
up in it.

"But where are they now?”
Ferrich asked, grimacing at the land around them. "Does this Jerard
person have them?"

Lochnar glanced at Ferrich,
frowning slightly, "I don't know. I don't think so, though. I would
guess they are somewhere in the negative realm. I felt a depression
in it when they disappeared."

Morindessa had never heard
of the Negative Realm, but if they were still alive, then she
maintained the hope they could return somehow. She looked down at
Riah, who still looked drawn and tired. "Should we make camp around
here?” Morindessa asked Lochnar, with a gesture toward
Riah.

Lochnar nodded without
replying, turning his attention to the group of people that were
just arriving, led by someone that was obviously not human. His
face seemed to have a wild look to it, an effect heightened by the
sharp, pointed teeth that flashed at them as he spoke.

"What happened?” the
wild-looking man demanded, with a worried expression on his
face.

"It worked,” Lochnar
grunted. "Terrance ended up with some extra baggage, but it
worked."

"Hello, Thistledown,” Riah
said with a wan smile. She was lying on the ground hidden by the
horses.

"Riah?” Thistledown asked in
wonder, quickly walking around the horses to Riah. When he saw her
lying in the road, he let out a cry of glee and dove on to her with
a rough embrace that threatened to crack her ribs.

"Gently, Thistledown,” Riah
gasped with a grunt, "I may need some of these ribs
later."

Thistledown leaned back,
grinning from ear to ear as his strange feral eyes brimmed with
unshed tears. "I never thought I would see you again. The least I
owe you is a few cracked ribs."