I've returned with another installment. This one is shorter, but I think we'll all live. Anyway, I've decided to write a sequel to this story so I'm starting to think of things to put into the story. That way I'll have things to work with for the next one.
Thanks to everyone that's e-mailed me. I love hearing from you guys, so keep them coming. You can reach me at either Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoomail.ca I check both of them. I do respond to my e-mails, it just takes me a while sometimes. Anyway, I have to thank Kenitra, Shade, Aeoros, Di, Aphrodite, Saint, Hamando (I think I spelt that wrong), Mark and Keif. There are others, so many others, but those are a few. As for good stories to read. There's Millennium Love, BSB and Nsync Chronicles, My surprise Romance (just started reading it, it's good so far), there are a few others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.
Okay legalities. First of this story isn't suppose to imply anything about the members of Nsync. If they're gay it's not my business. Also if you're too young or it's illegal in your area, please leave. If homosexual themes offend you, leave as well. Parts of this story are based of the RPG Rifts (though less and less as the story goes on). All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
Enough talk, onto the reading. Again let me know what you think. The good, the bad, the etc.
Until next time, Rune
PART SIXTEEN
The runes that were engraved on the stone wall of the cave glowed faintly in the dim light that illuminated the cave. Not enough to read them if you didn't have exceptional sight, but enough to know that they were there. The runes were elegantly carved. No sharp or rough edges, but each was carefully carved into the stone. They covered the entire back wall of the cave.
The woman stood in the middle of the cave staring at the runes as if she could read them in the dim light. Which she could. She was of Egyptian decent. Her black hair hung to her shoulders, matching nicely with her darkly tanned skin. She wore a circlet made from a golden snake and around her neck hung an ankh. Her clothing was Egyptian in style, but not in colouring. She wore the thin fabric that was popular because of the desert heat. It both clung to her body and flowed around it. The colour was deep purple. She was also bare foot.
She patted the black jackal at her feet as she moved forward to touch the back wall of the cave. The runes glowed when she came close to them. Starting at one end of the cave she slowly made her way across the entire wall reading and touching every rune. When she got to the last few she sighed deeply. A tear rolled down her cheek. She traced the runes several times with her fingers.
"You've known this would happen from the beginning," a male voice said.
"Yes, I did," the woman replied. "But a part of me wished that it wouldn't."
She turned to face the new comer. He was also of Egyptian decent. His head shaved except for a single braided lock that hung down to just above his left shoulder. He wore the traditional white of the Ancient Egyptians. Several layers of white linen wrapped around his waist and tucked into form a skirt of sorts. His darkly tanned skin stood out in the dim light of the cave. Like the woman he was also bare foot.
"Perhaps we all wish that," the man told her. "But each of us knows that this would come to pass. That prophecy has existed since long before either of us took our places in the balance."
"True," the woman replied turning back to the runes. She traced her fingers of the last few runes again. "But at that time the prophecy was just that. A prophecy that would some day become true. Now the prophecy is at hand. We have lived for millennia without this last passage happening, and now it soon will."
"We all know that. We have all waited for this day. Each of us knew it would come, and some of us welcome it. I wish it to happen soon. Even if it refers to me. The balance is more important then the individual."
"You always did talk like that," the woman smiled. "Over thousands of years and I still can't resist your logic."
A smile crept over the man's face. "Isn't that one of the reasons you love me?"
"Among other things, yes." She turned away from the runes and moved toward him. When she was close enough she pulled him into a passionate embrace. Her lips met his and they remained in the kiss for over an hour. The jackal sat quietly to one side making no move.
The man broke the embrace and stepped back. "Have you temporarily forgotten the prophecy?"
"For the time being yes," the woman said. "Thank you."
The man studied her eyes for a moment. "You know which of us it is, don't you?"
She nodded slowly. "I've known since the first day I touched the runes. I've kept the secret well and I plan to keep it that way until the day comes for me to reveal it."
"You've kept this secret for thousands of years?"
"Yes." She leaned in for another quick kiss. "Don't worry for me, I've dealt with far more then this before."
The man smiled again and returned her kiss. "The world awaits my love. Let us go and seek it out." He offered her his arm and waited. When she accepted it he smiled at her and led her from the cave. The Jackal followed at their heels.
As the pair left the caves the runes flashed brightly. For a moment they flashed into words and then back into runes again. For an instant anyone could have read them, but of course no one was reading them. But if they had been...
"The ten most powerful shall break their oaths of neutrality and one shall pay the price."
Arvia walked calmly into the room where she had been summoned. Her robes bustled around her but she ignored them. The door opened at her touch. The throne room was just as it had been all the other times that she'd visited it. A large room with only one piece of furniture in it. A ornate stone throne at the far end of the room. Even the walls were devoid of any decoration. The man that had summoned her sat in the throne.
The Red Acolyte waited for her as he had every other time that she had come. He was not a patient person, but would do what was needed to achieve his goals. As he'd done for centuries. He regarded her with a clam gaze. She wasn't fooled, he was very curious as to what she had to say.
"My lord summoned me?" Arvia asked as she dropped into a low curtsey. "I wish only to serve him." She hated saying that. Just as she hated this man. She found it ironic that she thought of him as a man when she knew full well that he wasn't a man any more then any of the other Acolytes were human.
"Where are the five?" Red demanded. "They have left their earlier locations. Only Lance is still where he was."
"They are moving to Lance's location," Arvia said. "Joshua was taken by the Guardian of Water to Selvar's castle. Justin, Joseph and Christopher are aboard a ship that is nearing the coast of England. They will arrive there within the week."
"Why did you not inform me that the Guardians were involving themselves?"
"My lord," Arvia said. She put a slight tremble into her voice to make her fear seem more convincing. "My sources just recently discovered this. I would have come as soon as I found out about it, but you had already summoned me. There was no need to interrupt your work when I would be seeing you within the hour."
Red's eyes flashed brightly. Arvia felt herself thrown across the room to slam into the closed doors. She groaned as she slid to the floor in a heap. It took every ounce of control not to attack the Acolyte. She wasn't sure if she could kill him, but not certainly wasn't the time to find out. Instead she lay there for a moment, appearing to catch her breath.
"I will decide what is important and what is not," Red told her tightly. "Do not make these choices by yourself. You have neither the wisdom nor the intelligence to know the difference between importance and a waste of time."
"My apologies my lord," Arvia croaked out. She pulled herself to her feet faking pain. "I will see that it not happen again."
"I would do so," Red warned. "I am not a forgiving man when I am crossed. How much of the Guardians' involvement do you know of?"
"Each Guardian is offering one gift. Several of them have already given their aid. They see you as a danger to the balance and are seeking to stop you from accomplishing your tasks."
"I see," Red said softly. "It would appear that the Guardians have to be dealt with. We will have to deal with them after we take care of both the Trinity and the five." He paused for a few moments contemplating something. "What are the Trinity doing at this time?"
"They are watching the five. They need them to regain their power, and they will do anything to make sure that they are kept safe," Arvia informed him. "Damek is making sure that the skies stay clear during the voyage and Nydia is doing everything she can to speed the entire trip. She has already cut the travel time in half."
"And what of Karr?"
"Karr has been spending a great deal of time off planet. I am unsure of his whereabouts."
"Find him," snapped Red. "I want to know exactly where the Trinity is at all times. His actions are important as the rest."
"Is there anything else my lord?"
"Do you know what any of the gifts of the Guardians will be?"
"Most of them are simple gifts, they Guardians refuse to take a direct hand in the battle, but are offering advice. I believe several of them will be offering allies. The Guardian of Animals is sending several tribes of werebeasts. Some of the others might send their creatures as well."
"Interesting. We may have to collect our own army to use against them. Something to distract the troops of our enemies long enough for us to slip in and finish our tasks."
Nydia flew upward to join her brother. The strands of an invisiblity spell hid her from the view of the people on the ship. Damek was in his hawk form. She wasn't sure why he'd decided on that form, but he had. She'd argued with him to pick a different form for this situation. Hawks weren't exactly renown for their sea faring ability. He'd insisted. He made sure that he avoided Joey and his girlfriend when they went flying, and he kept out of range of the ship so he looked like any other sea bird. He would leave the mission to her completely once they got closer to land, the sea gulls would be scared off by his presence.
"How are your elementals doing?" She asked when she got close to him.
Damek clicked his beak a few times before answering. They're doing their job, but not as well as they should be. That Ley line storm spooked them. They'll listen to me, but none of them want to be here. I'm going to have to send them back to their native dimension after we get the ship to land safely."
"Are you sure they'll listen to you until then. We can't have a rouge elemental on our hands. We could deal with it, but it would attract far too much attention for my liking."
"I'm aware of that," Damek snapped. He'd been on edge ever since they had found the ship after the storm. He was constantly combing the skies for another storm. "I won't let them out of my control."
"I know that," Nydia said trying to calm him down. "I was just making sure you realized it. I have every confidence in your abilities."
The pair just flew in silence for a while. They never out-distanced the ship below them, though both of them could easily have done so. Now and again Damek would whisper something to one of the elementals and then lapse into silence.
"How are the water currents?" Damek asked after an hour had passed. "Are they still strong enough to get the ship to England within the week?"
"Water isn't my area of expertise, but the currents will get them there in time." Nydia sent her mind out to touch the water below her. She felt along the currents. Adjusted their speed and direction. The ship below her shot forward with increased speed. "I have to keep a close eye on it, but they'll get there."
They lapsed into silence again. Just enjoying the sensation of flying. The two had been alive for countless centuries, but they rarely had the time to simply enjoy flying like they were right now. And even now they had other things on their minds, but they could let them slide for the time being.
"Damn it," Nydia muttered to herself. "The currents have tied themselves into a not of sorts up ahead. I have to deal with that."
Damek didn't answer her, he just nodded and watched her shoot forward. When she was about a mile in front of the ship she suddenly jack-knife and dove downward. The robe really wasn't suited for the maneuver, but she pulled it off somehow. She cut the water as easily as a hot knife cuts butter. There was hardly a ripple in the water, let alone a splash. No one on the ship was any the wiser that a person had dropped into the water from five miles in the air.
Damek smiled to himself and continued his lazy flight above the ship. He groaned slightly when one of his elementals came up to him to report its findings.
Karr tapped his foot impatiently while the woman before him read through an ancient tome. She had deep black skin as was her hair. Her eyes were white and the room around her seemed to dim as she gestured. "Well?" He asked.
"I'm sorry Karr, but I'm afraid I won't be able to help you. Neither will any other on this world. The Acolytes are too powerful a force to risk their wrath. We realize your situation, but we will not risk out lives simply to help you regain your lost power."
"And what of the five?" Karr asked abruptly. "Do you have any idea what the Acolytes would do to them? Just to stop us from gaining our power?"
"The Acolytes concern themselves with creatures of great power, gods, godlings, dragons, demon lords and the like. I am a simple sorceress. Powerful in my own right, but not worthy of the Acolytes' attention. My people are powerful as well, but again not worthy of the Acolytes' attention. What you are asking of me is to make my people worthy of their attention."
"What is to stop the Acolytes from moving onto you once all the more powerful beings have been stripped of their power. You have alliances with four or five pantheons. Who will protect you once those allies are gone? You are right, you can't stand against the Acolytes under normal circumstances. But if you were to strike when they were distracted. Then you could harm them."
"And what if we fail to kill them?" The woman asked. "They will turn on my people as quickly as a cat on a mouse. We would not stand a chance against them. No mortal can destroy an Acolyte."
"Several have already driven the Acolytes off. A vampire and a diabolist have battled the Green Acolyte and ran him off."
"I'm aware of that happening. And the reason it happened was because the Green Acolyte let it happen. He had more then enough power alone to destroy the entire castle, he simply didn't use it. I've seen that creature destroy nations single handedly. He was toying with the vampire and the boy." She adjusted the book on the table in front of her. "You have failed to convince me that I should aid you Karr. I am a busy woman, please don't waste my time."
"What if I told you the Guardians were involving themselves?" The look that crossed the woman's face clearly showed that she hadn't expected that possibility. Karr smiled at her. "The creatures that have sworn themselves neutral from the dawn of time have rallied themselves against the Acolytes."
"They can't participate," the woman gasped. "Everything would be destroyed if they did."
Karr shook his head. "They are only aiding. They refuse to take a direct hand in the fighting. Only the minions of the Guardians will fight. Some of them will be offering advice, but none will take direct action."
"This changes a great deal." The woman started searching for something among the papers scattered over the table. She found the one she was looking for and pulled it out. On it was a diagram of a ten-spoked wheel. She started at the diagram for a few minutes. "I wonder which one it will be," she whispered to herself.
"Will you help us?" Karr asked. "We need your help."
"You will have our help Karr," she promised. "I will send five hundred of my most powerful sorcerers to aid you when the time comes. I'll lead them myself. However," she raised a finger. "I will decided when that time is. They will come to aid you when I decide. And their first priority will not be saving your life. It will be destroying the Acolytes. After that they will try to save the five. Then they will attempt to save you and your sibling's lives. Understood?"
Karr nodded. "Of course. That's perfectly acceptable."
The woman nodded and turned back to routing through the papers. She found a few and pulled them out. "This spell should help you if it's needed. Learn it. Make sure that your siblings know it by heart as well. You need the five to gain your power, but you may have to undo what you've done to defeat your enemies."
"How long does it take to cast?" He asked, flipping through the papers.
"About thirty minutes. Maybe less. It depends on the caster's need. All of the sorcerers I send will know that spell as well."
"Thank you," Karr bowed. "Your help is appreciated."
"I hope that it isn't misplaced." She turned back to her book signaling that the meeting was over. She looked up from her book just as Karr was about to close the door. "One last thing Karr."
He stepped back through the door and arched an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Don't trust that priestess of yours. She is more then she appears to be. She might not be dangerous, but she's certainly not as defenseless as she appears."
A smile crept across his face. "I don't trust her. You needn't worry about that. I need her for the information she can collect. That and if I don't keep her around she'll go running to her order and blab all of our plans to the gods. Not all of them would welcome us back into their ranks with open arms."
"You could kill her," the woman offered.
"True, but then we run the risk of her order running to the gods." Karr shrugged. "For the time being it's best to keep her close to me so I can watch her."
"Whatever you think best. Just watch her."
TBC
Not as long as some of the others, but I can't think of anything else I need to put into this installment. Anyway let me know what you think. Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoomail.ca
Until next time, Rune