The Labyrinth of Destiny (43 page)

Kendan walked into the darkness of
the tent. There were no lamps, and for a moment he wondered if Basha had been
moved to a different location. Then his searching eyes identified the outline
of someone sitting in a chair.

He moved closer and silently knelt
before what was left of the young woman. He had not known her well, but he knew
her by sight. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he studied her face, and he
found that he hardly recognized her at all.

Her blunt features were withered
and gaunt, making her look much older than she really was. There was a scar on
her cheek where Adesina had marked her many years ago—a scar that had filled
Basha with hatred for the one who inflicted it. Her light blue eyes, once cold
and calculating, were now empty spheres that stared at nothing.

Kendan knew instinctually that
Basha was no longer in possession of her body. He was not one to speak of
souls, but he knew at least that her mind was gone.

In an action that surprised
himself, he reached out and placed his hand over hers. He spoke to her in a low
voice, even though he reasoned that she could not hear him.

“Basha, it is Kendan. I have come
to set you free.”

There was a momentary flash of life
in Basha’s vacant eyes. It was a glint of acknowledgement, and one of pleading.

Kendan felt his throat tighten, and
tears stung his eyes. He raised his knife to her heart and gave her hand a
squeeze.

“Sleep now,” he whispered. “You are
safe.”

Adesina had never felt such power
coursing through her body. She felt invincible, and it was a heady sensation.

She didn’t have much time to enjoy
it.

Cha-sak rushed  her, his enlarged
form streaming wisps of shadow. He raised one clawed hand and brought it down
again, as if to swat her like an insect.

Adesina steeled her frame against
the force that she knew was coming, and her large feathered wings spread in
anticipation. She raised her blazing sword in an automatic defense, but she
knew she didn’t have the strength to withstand such a blow.

Or, at least, that is what she
thought.

With an audible ringing sound, her
Blood Sword stopped Cha-sak’s hand.

The blade did not cut his flesh,
but the bright power that emanated from it seemed hurt him in a different way.
The demon hissed in pain, as though he had been burned, and he withdrew his
clawed hand quickly.

Cha-sak opened his mouth and spat a
huge fireball at her. It was composed of the freezing black flames that Adesina
had seen before, only now on a larger scale.

Adesina leapt backwards and her
feathered wings wrapped around her like a shield. The fireball burst against
the wings and the air crackled ominously as the flames dissipated. She felt a
jolt of pain run up her back, and she realized that the wings were not simply
decorative. They were connected to her body, and they could be injured just as
her other limbs.

You cannot stay on the defense.
Fight!

Ravi’s voice sounded in her head,
and she squared her shoulders.

The young Serraf summoned her
vyala
around her, swirling in tangible light. She had become so powerful that her
body was buffeted by the power as it circled her. Adesina reached out with her
mind and she felt Ravi reaching back. Her guardian held onto her firmly,
keeping her steady in the torrent of
vyala
.

Adesina whipped her feathered wings
outward, and dozens of darts of light streamed toward her enemy.

Cha-sak swept his clawed hands in
front of him, using mists of shadow to block out the light. However, several of
the darts still made it through and pierced Cha-sak’s body. The demon howled in
pain and his glowing red eyes filled with a surge of fury.

Cha-sak’s tail shot forward in a
sudden physical attack, catching Adesina off guard. The blow knocked her
backwards, and it felt as though every ounce of air had been forced from her
lungs.

Adesina gasped for breath,
momentarily stunned.

Move, Ma’eve!

She followed Ravi’s instructions
out of instinct, and she rolled out of the way of another lash of Cha-sak’s
tail.

A flick of Adesina’s wings brought
her to her feet again, and she started running in a randomly selected
direction. She was still recovering from being hit so hard, but she knew that
she would be safer as a moving target.

It only took moments for her
thoughts to clear, and she immediately began to form a plan for her next
attack. She could hear the demon pursuing her, and she knew that she needed to
act quickly to catch him by surprise.

Adesina heard the demon skid to a
stop, and she looked over her shoulder to determine the reason why.

Cha-sak stood frozen, with his
glowing eyes wide in shock.

“My vessel,” he rasped. “You have
severed me from my vessel. How?”

The L’avan queen felt a surge of
triumph. Kendan had been successful in his mission, which meant that Cha-sak
was now vulnerable.

She turned and planted her feet,
gathering her
vyala
into Falcon. Her wings spread outward as she raised
her blade and pointed it at Cha-sak’s charging form.

“Fly, Falcon,” she commanded.

The flaming form of a falcon burst
from her Blood Sword and streaked through the air at her enemy. Her increased
vyala
made the falcon larger than ever before, and the flames that followed it
glittered like gold. A falcon cry sounded as the shining form flew toward its
target.

It collided with Cha-sak, and the
smell of singed flesh permeated the air. The demon shrieked in pain once more,
but he was not as easily destroyed as others who had met with the attack.

Adesina felt the sharp drain of her
vyala
, as she had before when using that attack, but it did not leave
her helpless. She was bolstered by the
vyala
of her allies, and she
immediately began forming her next attack.

The air began to clear of the smoke
from Cha-sak’s burned flesh, and the demon became visible once more. His left
arm was badly injured, and his face was covered in severe burns. It made his
shadowy form look like a bed of dying embers, with bits of red glowing at the
edges.

The demon paused to look at his own
injuries, and Adesina felt a distant hope that he would admit defeat.

Such luck was not to be hers.

Cha-sak stood up straighter and he
raised his arms as if summoning his powers. Shadows began to swirl around him
in response, and his injuries began to heal themselves. It was only a matter of
moments before he was completely unmarked by her attack.

Cha-sak’s eyes had taken on a manic
gleam, and his voice was filled with hatred. “Do you think such a paltry show
of power would stop me? Nothing can stop me. It does not matter that you have severed
my connection with Basha. I do not need the aid of mortals. I am the King of
Darkness, and you are nothing but a puppet to those too cowardly to face me.”

Cha-sak spread his arms again and
slowly brought them together, as if gathering something to his chest. At first
Adesina couldn’t see anything, but then she realized that was
exactly
what she was seeing. The demon was gathering the darkness from the air and
compressing it in front of him.

Then, with the motion of a man
throwing a discus, the demon hurled the darkness at the Serraf. It formed into
a thick beam as it streamed through the air, aimed directly at Adesina’s
slender form.

Adesina’s sword snapped up in a
defensive stance, and her
vyala
flared in front of her as a shield.

The beam of darkness struck her
with the force of a small explosion, and it knocked Adesina off her feet. Her
shield was not enough to protect her, and she could feel the icy pain of the
darkness burning her flesh.

She was not able to contain a
scream of agony as the tendrils of darkness pierced her and expanded sharply.

It was her
vyala’s
independent action that saved her once again. It flowed to the parts of her
that were being invaded by the darkness and it isolated them. Then, with a
pulse of power, her
vyala
burned away the darkness and healed the
injured parts of her body.

Somehow, in spite of the healing,
the pain lingered in Adesina’s mind. She rose to her feet shakily, and she
tried to keep her expression neutral.

Cha-sak grinned maliciously as he
watched the effects of his attack. “Do you see? You are nothing compared to me,
even with the help of your little friends.”

The demon began to form another
beam of darkness, and Adesina immediately sprang into action. She extended her
feathered wings and threw herself into the air, somehow knowing by instinct how
to fly.

She could feel the attack getting
closer to her as Cha-sak hurled it her way. The darkness was anathema to her
own nature, and her very being recoiled from its presence. Such a warning
allowed her to change the direction of her flight and escape being hit again.

Adesina flew in a circle around the
nothingness of the realm around her, with Cha-sak charging close behind. Her
mind raced, trying to formulate a plan that would allow her to win this battle.

She knew that she was
strong—stronger than she had ever imagined possible—and that her strength was
connected to the Immortal allies who had pledged themselves to her. She had the
support of most of the remaining Children of Light and Children of Night, and
she even had the support of some of the Creatures of Darkness.

It was important that she wasn’t
fighting alone, but she was beginning to doubt if it was enough. Cha-sak had
tapped directly into the powers of Darkness, and he was fighting just as
desperately as she.

Having the support of allies was
not the same as having one of the ultimate forces of the universe at your
command.

Adesina veered on her course in
order to dodge another beam of darkness that was shot at her.

She knew she couldn’t afford to be
hit again. The impact would be fatal.

What am I to do?

Her thoughts were not specifically
to Ravi, nor were they kept to herself. She sent them outward, almost like a
silent call for help.

I cannot win this fight, even
with all the gifts that have been given to me. How can I face such a powerful
enemy and come out victorious?

Adesina veered again as another
beam of darkness burst forth and consumed several of the feathers on her wings.

An indescribable sense of peace
settled over her mind and a gentle voice spoke directly to her heart.

You are not alone, my child.

Adesina felt a jolt of surprise
that was discordant with the peace she had been feeling only moments before.

She recognized that voice.

It was the voice of the Creator.

I know I have the support of my
Immortal allies,
Adesina thought tentatively,
but it is not enough.

She could almost feel the Creator
smiling.

None of you are alone. I have
not left my children to fend for themselves.

Adesina didn’t know the proper
etiquette when addressing a deity, so her response was more restrained that it
would have been normally.

Does…that mean you will help us?

I have always helped you,
Ma’eve, even if you did not recognize my hand in your life.

The familiar use of Adesina’s
alternate name should have surprised her, but somehow it didn’t. It seemed the
most natural thing in the world.

Take my hand, my child.

Ahead of Adesina, a pillar of pure
light descended. She forced her wings to beat even faster, and she heard
Cha-sak roar in fury behind her. She didn’t need to look to know that he had
also increased his speed in an effort to keep her from reaching the light.

Adesina felt the demon’s claws rake
at her trailing feet, and she knew that he was closing the distance. She pushed
onward desperately, ignoring the pain that shot up through her legs.

The young woman extended her hand
and she approached the pillar of light, as if she was hoping to be pulled to
safety.

And she was.

Adesina did not see a physical hand
reach out and grab her, but she felt it happen. She was pulled into the pillar,
and everything else disappeared.

When the Creator spoke to her
again, it was as if someone was standing right next to her, though Adesina
could see nothing but the blinding light that surrounded her.

“You accepted the role of the
Threshold Child, even though you knew it would not be easy. You have done
everything in your power to fulfill your responsibilities, and I am proud of
you for that.”

Adesina felt her heart burning
within her. “Thank you.”

Once again, Adesina felt as though
the Creator was smiling.

“It is I that am thanking you,
Ma’eve. Your work has been hard, and you know that it is far from over. Yet,
you do not balk at what you know must come.”

There had been a time when Adesina
would
have felt discouraged at the confirmation that there was still much work to be
done, but now she felt only a firm determination to continue onward.

The Creator’s voice was filled with
approval. “Your fighting spirit is what makes you special, my daughter. I chose
you for this work because I knew you would not give up.”

Adesina nodded slowly. “That does
not mean that I always know how to succeed. A stubborn refusal to give up is
not helpful unless I can find a way to win.”

Her thoughts were on the battle
with Cha-sak, and the Creator seemed to understand.

“I have told you that I have not
forsaken you, and I always speak the truth. Up until now you have relied on the
strength of your fellow Immortals. Now, I grant you the power of wielding the
Light.”

The words of the Creator left
Adesina feeling stunned. She immediately felt a change in her being, as if the
authority she had been given was a tangible thing placed upon her shoulders.

“With this power comes a burden,”
cautioned the Creator.

Adesina’s brow furrowed gently.
“What burden?”

“I am giving you the power to make
a decision—one that could change the entire universe. You alone must make that
decision, and I cannot do more than give you a single piece of advice.”

The L’avan queen felt her heart
pounding in her chest. If this decision was as important as the Creator said,
why would it be entrusted to someone like her? How would she know if the choice
she made would be right?

“Peace,” soothed the Creator. “You
need only remember one thing: I know you perfectly, and I chose you to make
this decision. Trust yourself, and your decision will be right.”

“Was that your single piece of
advice?” Adesina asked uncertainly.

“Yes.”

She had feared that would be the
case. While it was encouraging to be told to trust herself, it didn’t really
help her to know what was expected of her.

“I do not even know what is to be
decided. When will I have to make this decision?”

“It will happen soon. You will
understand everything when the time comes.”

Adesina nodded. She could feel
herself being sent out of the pillar of light, and she knew that she would be
faced with Cha-sak once more.