Let me start of by saying that Hotmail is being stupid, so if I haven't responded to your e- mails it's not my fault. I haven't been able to get into my account for over a week. Temporary problem my ass. If you remember what you sent me in an e-mail and want a response you could send it again. I wouldn't mind at all. Yet another plea from the e- mail junkie. Anyway, my address has changed to Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I'll let you know when the other account is working. Until then please use the yahoo account.
I'm going to start of by saying thanks to everyone who wrote me. I love hearing from you guys so let me know what you think of the story. Special thanks to Kenitra, Shade, Aeoros, Tom, Matt, Di, Aphrodite, Keif and so on and so forth. There are a lot of people who deserve thanks. But unfortunately I'm having memory lapse. Thanks to you all. As for good stories check out Millennium love, BSB and Nsync Chronicles, Justin's Dark Angle, Nsync and the Vamps, Search and Rescue, and Brian and Me. All good stories and worth your time to read them.
Legal part. If you're underage in your area or it's illegal in your area to read this, please leave. If homosexual themes offend you, please leave as well. This story is in no way suppose to reflect on the members of the musical group Nsync. If any of them are gay, it's not my business. Parts of this story are based on RPG Rifts. All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
As usually please e-mail me with your comments. Likes, dislikes etc. They're all good. Just remember the address is now Mist_dark@yahoo.ca
Enjoy, Rune
PART THIRTEEN
"Maria," snapped Lance. "Stop this, I don't hate you. You're my friend."
"But I'm not human," Maria hissed. "She bared a pair of ivory fangs as her eyes glowed red. "I'm a vampire."
"And this is suppose to effect me how?" Lance asked casually. "I know what you are Maria, and frankly I don't care. I knew you before I found out you where a vampire, and nothing has changed. Besides even if you weren't my friend I would still owe you my life."
Maria closed her mouth to cover her fangs and her eyes returned to their normal colour. "Why aren't you afraid of what I am?" She asked softly.
"I trust you," Lance said simply. "Selvar trusts you, and I trust him. Maria if you were going to have hurt me you would have done it already. Since you haven't I don't think you're going to start any time soon."
"Thank you," Maria whispered, her head bowed slightly. "You don't know what that means."
"Actually I do," Lance said pulling the woman into a hug. "I felt exactly what you were feeling when I told the guys I was gay. They took it remarkably well. But the feeling of them possibly rejecting me tore through me every day until I told them." He pulled back from the hug. "It's not the same, but I think I understand the feel enough."
Maria smiled and then pounced on Lance. The momentum behind her slight weight was enough to knock him to the ground. "So everything's okay between us?" She asked while she pushed down on his shoulders.
Lance laughed, "Yep."
"Am I interrupting something?" A gentle female voice asked. Maria leapt backward to land on her feet, she spun around to see who had entered the room without her hearing. The voice belonged to a beautiful woman wearing a dress that revealed far more then it concealed. She was barely decently covered.
"A nymph," Maria whispered as she helped Lance to his feet. "May I ask why a nymph has decided to bless us with her presence? Normally a nymph is never seen within the walls of a mortal structure."
The sound of leaves being blown in the wind filled the room as the nymph laughed. "Observant," the nymph told Maria. "I have come to request the presence of the Lord of this Castle."
"Not to offend," Maria said. "But, why should my Lord answer the summons of a nymph?"
"He should not have to answer the summons of a forest spirit," the nymph replied warmly. "Save for the sake of courtesy. However, the summons of the Guardian of the Forest, is far more urgent."
"The Guardian of the Forest?" Maria asked with a touch of awe in her voice.
"Yes," the nymph said. "The Guardian wishes to speak with Selvar the necromancer and James the Diabolist. As well as Cro the Rune book. I will await them in the courtyard." The nymph turned and walked to the door. "Please do not take long. What the Guardian has to see is urgent." Not even bothering to open the door, the nymph walked through it.
"That was weird," Lance said. "I haven't told anyone my first name, except you and Selvar. I wonder how she knew it."
"The Guardian probably told her," Maria said. "You get Cro and go to the courtyard. I'll get Selvar and meet you there." She practically flew across the room and yanked the door open. "Don't take too long." Maria took of down the hallway at a dead run.
Less then ten minutes later Selvar and Lance were following the nymph out of the courtyard into the surrounding forest. Lance was carrying Cro so that they could move faster. The nymph just walked ahead of them, she didn't attempt to make any conversation.
"Who is the Guardian of the Forest?" Lance asked Selvar.
"A spirit that protects all forests," Selvar told him. "It knows a great deal, though it rarely shares its information. It strives to make balance in the world. All the Guardians do."
"There are more then one?"
"There are several. One for each of the elements, one for death, one for life. And that's just a few of them. They're all very powerful. Though the Guardian of the Forest is the most powerful. It controls the others, and to a limited extent has their powers as well. Or at least that's what the readings I've found on the subject have said. There isn't a whole lot to work with."
Lance nodded and turned his attention to the forest around him. It looked far different at night then it did the day he had arrived here. A shiver ran up his spine as he remembered how he had come to meet Selvar.
"The Guardian awaits you in the grove," the nymph's words pulled Lance and Selvar from their thoughts. The entrance to the grove lay just ahead of them. Two oak trees sat on either side of it. The nymph faded into the foliage and they entered the grove.
The inside of the grove was amazing. The moonlight filtered down and illuminated the entire thing, almost to the point of appearing like day. A small pool of water lay in the middle of the grove. A man knelt on the far side of the pool. He appeared to be staring intently into the water's depths. He was dressed in a green robe that seemed to be made of leaves.
"Welcome," the man said without taking his eyes from the pool. His voice sounded as if it were cared on the wind. He stood and his long silver hair fell to his ankles. He looked toward them. Lance gasped. The man's beauty eclipsed Selvar. There was simply no way to describe his appearance. Other then that even an elf couldn't hope to come close to this man.
Selvar bowed deeply, "Guardian," he said. Lance followed the gesture. "We have come as you have requested."
The Guardian nodded and moved around the pool. "Time is growing short," he said. "I will give you all the information I can at this point in time. Please listen to what I have to say. Your actions beyond that are beyond my control." He motioned to them to come forward. "I will not harm you."
Lance and Selvar cautiously stepped forward. Lance had no idea what this man could do to them, but he had not intentions of trying to find out.
"The Guardians all strive for balance," the Guardian told them. "We have stepped into situations to assure that balance is kept. Life must be countered by Death. Too little life and death will dwindle. Too much life and death will flourish. Each force must be held in balance. I have called you here to address this balance." The man waved his hand toward the pool. "Cro," the Guardian said. "Please watch the pool and remember the pictures that appear within your pages." The book left Lance's arms and floated toward the pool. It opened itself and hung suspended above the pool.
"You can do that?" Lance asked the book telepathically.
"Yep," Cro replied smugly. "I've got a lot of talents. I'll show you this one later."
An image appeared in the pool. It was blurry at first, but cleared into an image of Lance, Justin, Joey, Chris and JC. "For reasons of their own, the Trinity, Nydia and her brothers, brought you five to his world. They changed things about you so that bringing you here would be easier. In doing so they changed you in ways that can never be undone. Your talent for diabolism is a reflection of this," the Guardian said to Lance. "Justin interfered with the spell at an important moment and the five of you were spread to the winds. Nydia and her brothers have been searching for the five of you ever since. They have recently discovered your whereabouts.
"Their motivations, however, are not my concern. What does concern me is another group that has taken an interest in you. The Acolytes." Selvar hissed quietly when he heard the name. The image in the pool changed to a man garbed in a red robe. It stayed with that image for a moment before cycling through a man in a black robe, one in a green robe, a woman in a blue robe, one in a white robe and another in a brown robe. "They wish to stop the Trinity. They seek to do this by killing you and your friends. You are the Trinity's hope, but removing you they will triumph. I seek to prevent that from happening. The carnage that would be a result of their triumph will upset the balance. That cannot happen.
"Your friends are moving. They will arrive here with in a few weeks. The Acolytes will not be far behind them. You must prepare yourself. The Acolytes will throw all their power against you to destroy you. The Trinity will defend you as best they can, but their actions are their own. They do not seek to protect you for your benefit, but their own."
The Guardian moved away from the pool. "I have nothing more to say, save this. Before the fall of two moons, a battle shall be waged within this forest. I cannot aid you directly, but allies shall come to you. Prepare yourself."
"I didn't think these things could be so big," Justin said as he and Pyre flew through a Ley line. The blue energy crackled softly around them. "We've been flying for hours and we still haven't left this thing."
Pyre laughed. "It's the biggest one on the planet. It covers several thousand miles. I wish we could avoid it, but we can't."
"Why?"
"All Ley lines are dangerous to some extent," Pyre told him as they continued flying over the Atlantic Ocean. "The lines attract all sorts of creatures that feed of magic, as well as various practitioners of magic. The lines can be dangerous just if those show up. On top of that Rifts have a tendency to show up unexpectedly along Ley lines. Things like that. Though most of the time they're reasonably safe."
"Somehow that didn't put me at ease at all," Justin said with sarcasm dripping from his voice. "How long until we get out of this line?"
"Probably a couple of hours at least," Pyre said. "If we're lucky we won't have any problems." They flew in silence for a few more minutes before Pyre began cursing. "Justin start flying faster. We have to get out of this area. NOW!"
"Feeling any better?" Chris asked sweetly. Evelyn grasped the railing and scowled at Chris. She turned a slight shade of green and vomited over the side of the boat. When she'd emptied her stomach she scowled at Chris again.
"Christopher, if I had the ability to stand on my feet without being tossed around you would be in a lot of pain right now."
`Of course I would," Chris said as sweetly as before. "But you didn't answer my question. Feeling any better?"
"No I'm not," Evelyn said before vomiting over the side again. "I hate sea travel. I don't even like traveling along the river."
"Look on the bright side," Joey said as he joined them. "The captain says we'll only be on the ocean for another two weeks or so. Give or take a few days."
"That doesn't help," Evelyn told him. "Did he say how much longer we'll be in this Ley line? It's got my senses all on edge. I don't like it."
"At least a couple of days," Joey told her. "He says this one's pretty big. It'll take a while to get through it. He said something about storms crop up now and again. He's hoping to avoid any of them, but he thinks one might be on the way. Just a feeling he said."
"I agree with him completely," Chris said. "I don't want to be out here during a storm."
"I don't think the captain is worried about normal storms," Evelyn told him. "Most likely worried about Ley line storms. They're far worse."
"What are they like?" Joey asked.
"Take the worst storm you can imagine and couple that with the effects of reality falling apart. They effect the elements causing horrendous storms. To complicate matters random effects start happening. Rifts open, creatures appear, spells cast themselves. The most dangerous thing about them is that they just show up without any real warning whatsoever. They can't be predicted. Hopefully if we do get a storm it will just be a normal one."
A peal of thunder split the general silence of the ocean. The crew suddenly started racing over the deck.
"I think we should hold onto something," Evelyn said.
The water swirled in small eddies around JC's and Erastus's swimming forms. They had been traveling for days and had been lucky to catch the current they were following. Erastus had stumbled across the current a few days after they'd left for England and it had greatly reduced their movement time.
"What is that?" JC asked, pointing to a wall of bright blue light ahead of them. The current was taking them directly into it.
"The surface people call it a Ley line," Erastus told him. "Sea dwellers call it a Song line. It shouldn't be a problem. And we don't have much choice. We have to get to England as quickly as possible and cutting through this line will cut down on our traveling time."
"Sure," JC agreed as the current pulled them into the blue light. He braced himself for some sort of pain, but all he felt was a slight tingling sensation as his skin came in contact with the light.
It took some adjusting, but JC finally got used to the odd feeling of swimming through glowing blue water. He kept having flash backs to all those old movies where someone fell into glowing water and horribly mutated. It took him a while, but he finally pushed those thoughts from his mind after the fifth time Erastus shot him a dirty look for laughing.
After a few hours of swimming along the current JC's skin began to crawl. It was a disturbing sensation. It actually felt like his skin was going to crawl off his body. "Erastus?"
"What is it Josh?" Erastus snapped. He had become increasingly annoyed over the last few hours. The stress of manipulating the current was getting to him. Both of them needed sleep, badly.
"I don't know," JC said truthfully. "I just don't feel right. I'm suddenly getting the creeps."
"Josh," Erastus sighed. "The line isn't going to hurt you. The increased magical energy has this effect on people who haven't felt it before."
"I don't think that's it," JC said with doubt obviously present in his voice. He was about to continue when he and Erastus slammed into a solid wall of ice that appeared out of nowhere. "Where the hell did that come from?"
Erastus began to curse inventively. "Ley Line Storm," he muttered. He spun in a quick circle looking for a way around the wall. "We're going to have to get out of her Josh. There's no telling what's going to happen or how long this is going to last."
A banshee-like cry caught JC's attention. He spun around in time to see a huge shark swimming toward them. The creature's jaws were open wide and probably could have easily swallowed a house. The shrieking sound was being made by the rushing water that was flowing into the creature's gaping maw. Shock froze him, he couldn't even think of moving.
The shark swam forward, snapped its jaws shut around JC and vanished before the teeth could touch him. He was grabbed from behind and yanked downward. The wall of ice passed by him and he was suddenly on the other side of the wall.
"I'm going to change," Erastus said. "And with any luck, we'll get out of this alive." His body lengthened and he changed into his whale form. He swam up next to JC and paused. He started swimming again when JC had attached himself to his back.
"FASTER JUSTIN," Pyre shouted over the howling winds. The storm had appeared out of nowhere. One moment the sky had been the regular bluish colour of a Ley line and the next it had become a vibrant red. Purple lightning laced the sky and hurricane force winds had appeared in a matter of seconds. There wasn't any rain, but it was only a matter of time.
"I'M TRYING," Justin shouted back. "THE WINDS ARE TOO STRONG."
Pyre prayed silently that they would make it through this storm alive. They had to find some sort or place to land. Being on the land was bad enough during a Ley line storm, being in the air was almost suicidal. He scanned the ocean for anything to land on before flying to Justin's side.
"How long will this last?" Justin asked. They were close enough that the need to shout was reduced. But only slightly.
"I don't know," Pyre said truthfully. "A few minutes, to a few hours."
A blast of wind slammed into them. They tumbled through the air for a few minutes before they could regain enough control to fight the wind. They had been pulled apart by the blast and were about a hundred feet apart again.
"STAY THERE," Pyre shouted at him. Justin nodded and stayed where he was. Pyre was had covered half the distance when a beam of red light struck him from below. He screamed in agony and dropped out of the sky.
"The captain wants us to stay above deck," Joey said telepathically. "Something about some of the stuff in the cabins not being secure."
"Great," Evelyn muttered back. "I guess we just hold onto something, and stay out of these people's way."
The wind picked up suddenly and rain started pelting the ship. A wave knocked the ship backward and everyone reeled trying to get their balance back so that they wouldn't fly overboard.
"Joseph," Evelyn said. "Be ready to catch anyone who looks like they're going to fall overboard."
Joey nodded and caught two of the sailors as a wave washed over the end of the boat. With a small grunt of concentration he deposited the two of them in the middle of the boat. The men waved their thanks and ran off to complete other tasks.
The wind began to howl and the sky changed from a reddish hue to a pale brown. There was a cracking and one of the smaller masts was ripped from its support base and sucked into the air. Evelyn snagged the three sailors that were attached to the ropes on the mast.
Another wave rocked the ship. The ship rode the wave forward for a fair bit of time before the wave cut out. A huge gust of wind snagged the side of the ship and they turned completely around. Chris grabbed Evelyn's arm to stop her from sliding away.
"Thank you Christopher."
"Evelyn?" Joey asked. "What's that?"
Everyone looked to where Joey was pointing. A winged figure was flying toward the ship. They couldn't make out much except that the figure was obviously a woman and appeared to be having little trouble with the wind. In fact she was flying though it as if there wasn't a storm at all.
The captain made his way to the front of the boat and stood there waiting for the woman to land. She did so a moment later. From where they were Joey, Chris and Evelyn could see that the woman was of Asian decent. She was dressed in what looked like brown leather pants, jacket and boots. Her black hair fell between her wings to her mid-back. She spoke with the captain for a few minutes. The two of them nodded before they parted. The captain made his way to Evelyn, Chris and Joey.
The woman stood at the very front of the ship. She held her hands upward and a crack of thunder split the sky. The winds lessened and then all together stopped. A few moments later the rain slowed down dramatically. The lightning still streaked the sky, but didn't come close to the ship.
"That is the Lady Selena," the captain informed them. "She is willing to get us through the natural section of this storm and out of the Ley line as quickly as possible. She, however, wishes to speak with you three in exchange for her services." He caught the worried look on Joey and Chris's faces. "Don't worry about that. I've met her before. She is a caring woman. Young, but caring."
Evelyn was about to say something when a voice shattered the silence.
"PYRE!!!" And instant later a man hit the ship
JC had given up trying to pay attention to what was happening around him. He had long ago closed his eyes and hugged Erastus's back. He had decided to keep his eyes shut after he had seen the fifth attack on himself. Since they had left the wall of ice, they'd seen a water dragon trying to eat them. A sea witch that had attempted to Enchant Erastus into attacking him. Numerous small creatures had appeared and attacked them. Erastus could out-swim them all, but it was still a harrowing experience.
After the sea witch JC firmly pinched his eyes and refused to open them. He began singing quietly to himself and shortly Erastus joined in. Forming an odd duet, but one that was calming. They sang together for a while just enjoying the calm that the song created despite the incredible danger that they kept facing.
The first song faded away and they began another. Without any cue whatsoever they both began working magic into their song. Erastus's speed doubled itself and then tripled. JC worked more feeling into the song and was rewarded by feeling the water move around and away from him. He clung more tightly to Erastus, but didn't attempt to slow the increased speed. They had to get out of this line and this storm.
Despite his better judgement JC opened his eyes a crack and looked forward. He immediately regretted it. Erastus was navigating a coral reef. JC thought it was odd that this sort of thing would form in such deep waters, but didn't bother to think about it too much. After all magic was a predominant force in this world. So it made some sense that coral would grow so deep.
It took everything he had not to break his song and scream in terror. Watching a wall of coral shoot up on you and then suddenly turn to your left was horrifying. He decided it was best if he just closed his eyes and let Erastus continue his navigation. He obviously knew what he was doing.
TBC
Not exactly what I wanted to accomplish. At least not when I started, but since this story ahs more or less taken a life of its own. I imagine we'll all live. Anyway. As stated above my address has changed to Mist_dark@yahoo.ca . So please e-mail me there. Until next time.
Rune