Okay I've started Winter's Heart, and am enjoying it. Though I think the prologue was a tad long. Somehow I think that chapter one shouldn't start on page 87. It's just wrong for some reason. Oh well. Anyway, it's good so far. Just thought I'd let you guys know that.
Thanks to everyone that's e-mailed me. As I've stated many, many times, I love hearing from you guys. Let me know what you think about my story. Good and bad. If you like something, let me know. If you don't, let me know that too. You can reach me at either Mist_dark@yahoo.ca or Mist_dark@hotmail.com I check both, so either one will get to me. Special thanks go out to Kenitra, Shade, Aeoros, Hamado, Phoenix, and Dax. You guys are great.
This story in no way is supposed to reflect the sexuality of the members of Nsync. If any of them are gay, it's their business, not mine. I just write about a possibility. Granted a far fetched one, but it's still a possibility. If you're too young, or it's illegal in your area to read this, 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 I go on). All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
Thanks for listening to me babble slightly. Enjoy the story. Until next time, Rune
PART FIFTEEN.
"I don't really know what it means," Joey said. "I just keep having the same dream over and over again. I see a man in a blue robe holding a red gem. The gem shatters and a dark shape crosses over him. Then I wake up."
"That is odd Joseph," Evelyn admitted. "I don't have any idea what it means either. I think you're right though. It seems to be a vision of some sort. It'll make sense in time. That much I'm sure of."
Joey grinned at her. "You know you're just full of wonderful advice that makes me feel all better? You didn't answer any of my questions, but I still feel better."
Evelyn laughed and touched his shoulder. "A mother's talent. We do whatever we can for our children, and when we can't do anything we simply make them feel better."
"So you do consider me your son," Joey crowed. "I didn't think I'd ever get you to admit that."
She laughed again and playfully slapped his shoulder. "Of course I do. I didn't have any pains during your birth, but you've more then made up for that in the time I've known you. And of course Christopher is a handful all his own."
The grin left Joey's face. "Do you think he's alright?"
Evelyn nodded. "I believe so, and nothing will make me believe differently."
The doors to the room they were sitting in flew open. Justin hovered in the air on the other side. A look of both joy and panic covered his face.
"Evelyn," he breathed. "Chris is here. He needs your help."
The woman gave the blonde a startled look and left her chair in one swift movement. "Where is he child?" The worry is clear on her face.
"He's fine, it's his friend," Justin told her. "They're in the great hall."
He didn't wait for her to say anything else and flew down the hallway toward the great hall. Evelyn grabbed the hem of her dress and bolted after him. Her speed showed nothing of her age. Joey was close on her heels. Even with his youth, he had a difficult time keeping up with the woman.
The great hall was a calm before the storm. The fire in the hearth kept leaping up, startling anyone near it. Pyre stood off to one side conversing with Maria. Josh knelt next to an unconscious blonde woman singing quietly. Calypso was talking with a smallish blonde man. Chris was kneeling next to the blonde woman as well.
Justin flew into the room seconds ahead of Evelyn and Joey. He hovered in the air next to Josh. The moment Evelyn entered the room Chris raced to her. He threw his arms around her and wept into her shoulder while babbling incoherently. She took it all in stride and kept moving while comforting Chris.
"What's happened here?" She asked. She directed the question at everyone except Chris and Joey. Chris tried to tell her, but she pulled his head to her breast. "Hush child."
Maria was the one that told her. "We were attacked a few hours ago. A golem tried to kill us. Mala," she gestured to the woman. "Destroyed the gem in its forehead. I think it was some kind of magical backlash. I don't know for sure."
Evelyn nodded. "What song is Joshua singing?"
Calypso stopped talking to the blonde man. "He's put her in a stasis of some sort. He didn't really explain it. Just something to make sure you had enough time to work with her."
"I see." She looked around the room. Her gaze fell on Justin. "Justin would you please take Chris somewhere to get something to eat and get him a drink as well. Tea, nothing with alcohol in it." She gave Chris a tight hug and then released him to Justin. "Pyre would you please take care of Maria and her friend." She looked at the vampire. "It is good to see you again, though I wish it were under different circumstances. Tell Pyre everything about the fight.
"Joseph come with me." Evelyn looked at Josh and Mala. The pair of them rose into the air. Josh didn't notice at all, or if he did he ignored it. He kept singing quietly. "The rest of you don't disturb us."
Joey followed Evelyn from the great hall. He had no idea what he could do to help. He could barely heal a tiny scratch, let alone what had been done to this woman. He couldn't see anything wrong with her on the surface, but he knew from experience that wounds weren't always apparent.
Evelyn led them back to her room. Once inside she carefully set Mala on the bed and Josh on the floor next to the bed.
"I know your healing isn't strong Joseph," Evelyn told him. "But you can learn something from this. I will do what healing can be done, but I can show you some things. As long as Josh can hold her in stasis she is in no danger." She took his hand in hers and led him to the bedside. "I want you to open your mind Joseph. I'll lead, all you have to do is follow. Understand?"
Joey nodded. "I guess so."
"It won't hurt," Evelyn assured him.
She touched the woman's arm with their hands. Joey felt his mind move toward the body and then he lost touch with the world around him. Instead his mind was being filled with information about this woman's health. Evelyn showed him how to trace the path of an injury. First they scanned her for internal bleeding, there was none. Then he felt the beat of her heart, slowed as it was, and the subtle fluctuations in her lungs. They quickly followed the shape of her skeleton to check for cracks. Again there was nothing wrong with them. Then they touched her nervous system. There, Joey felt everything that was wrong. Whatever had happened to her had done its damage here. She should not have lasted an instant, let alone the hours it took to get her here. Most of the nervous tissue was burned away. What was left was barely functioning. It sent feeble signals to her brain, just enough to keep her alive. But the signals were weakening. She would die within the hour if she was kept in stasis. Within twenty minutes once Josh stopped singing.
"Do you think you can do that again if the need arises?" Evelyn asked when she had pulled them out of Mala's body.
Joey nodded. "I think so." He stole a glance at Mala. "What are we going to do for her? She seems to be really important to Chris."
"She is child," Evelyn told him. "Love always is important. We won't be doing anything for her. I said I'll be doing the healing and I meant it. You can't help her, but I will try."
"Can you help her?" Joey asked. "Will she live?"
"I honestly don't know," she said. "But I won't let her go without a fight. She means to much to Christopher for that." She gave Joey a tight hug. "Don't worry Joey, things have a tendency to work out in the end. Now take Joshua and leave me to my work. Try to keep Christopher from barging in here."
"I'll try," he told her. The brunette walked over to where Josh was still singing quietly. "Come on Josh, we've got to go." It took him a moment to rouse the siren from whatever trance he was in. "Evelyn needs to work." Josh shook his head and followed Joey from the room. They both turned to wish her luck, but she was already involved in a deep trance. She held Mala's hand in her own and was muttering quietly to herself.
A fine white mist rose from the floor of the hallway. The walls and ceiling were of the deepest black that Lance had ever seen. He had never seen anything like it before. Even the black marble of Selvar's coffin hadn't this dark. The stone was just black, no gloss or shine, just pure blackness. He felt like he could reach out to touch the walls and never feel anything. To accompany the mist was cold. Not the biting cold of the northern winds, but just pure cold. Like there was no heat anywhere in the world. He shivered and briskly rubbed his arms. If his robe was protecting him from the worst of the cold he didn't want to experience this realm without any protection.
He had no idea how long he walked, or how far he walked. Because of the colouring of the walls and the mists, distances were impossible to judge here. And as a result, so was time. For all he could tell he hadn't moved an inch. Or he could have covered miles. It didn't take him long to give up trying to keep track of how long each step took him. There wasn't any point.
What felt like hours later he spotted something ahead in the mist. Though it could have been minutes. Taking careful steps through the mist, he made his way toward what he saw.
It turned out to be an old wooden dock projecting itself out into a river. The boards creaked under his weight when he stepped onto them, but held. All the wood was worn smooth as if they'd been exposed to years of the elements. Though there was no wind or rain here. A few of the boards were also missing, but nothing that impaired safety.
The dock was fairly long and the shore was lost in the mist before he reached the end. The end of the dock opened up to form a platform that was about twenty feet square. Docked by the far side was a boat with single figure standing in it. The figure's hooded robe was faded the same gray as both the dock and the boat. Several holes in the fabric gave him a tattered look. He held a long pole that disappeared into the water.
Lance didn't hesitate. He could feel that there were two Guardians in this realm. Which meant one of them was the replacement for the Guardian of Death. He needed to get across the river and this man was going to help him.
"Sir," he called to the boatman. "I need to cross the river. Will you take me?"
The boatman turned to face the blonde. For some reason lance wasn't at all surprised to see that it was a skull looking back at him from under the hood. "No passage for the living," the boatman rasped.
"You will take me across the river boatman," Lance told him forcefully. "I have business in the Realm of the dead."
"No passage for the living," the boatman rasped again.
Anger flared in Lance. For some reason he knew that the boatman should not deny him passage. The anger continued to grow in him as he stared at the boatman. His eyes flashed from green to white and glowed with some internal light. The mist swirled around his robe and seemed to seep into the very fabric. The runes that adorn the material flashed silver as the robe itself changed to become white. He raised his right hand into the air and a ball of light appeared above him. The mists swirled away from him and the light. Even the boatman flinched when the rays touched him.
"YOU DARE DENY ME PASSAGE?" Lance's voice was made all the louder because of the complete silence that surrounded him. He didn't know how he was doing it. Any of it. The lights, his robe changing colour or even how he was making his voice as loud as it was.
"My apologies," the boatman rasped. "You did not first appear as you are. I will bare you across the river."
Lance nodded curtly to the boatman as he boarded the vessel. It rocked slightly under his weight, but was more then stable enough. He waved the light away and the mists returned. The white light in his eyes faded to their original green.
"Sit," the boatman told him. "And touch not the water of the river." The boatman waited for him to sit before he began the trip across the river.
The trip across the river was much like his journey to the dock. Timeless. Once the mists swallowed the dock there wasn't anything to judge distance or time by. He waited patiently. The only sound was the boatman's rowing. Now and again he could hear the joints of the man creak. But that was to be expected of a skeleton.
Sometime later another dock appeared in the mists. It was identical to the first one. For an instant Lance thought the boatman had simply turned around in the river and returned to the original dock. he realized that it was a different dock when he paid attention to the tingling sensation. It was much stronger then it had been before. This was definitely another dock.
"I will wait for you," the boatman said.
"No need," Lance said as he disembarked. Without another word the blonde walked quickly away from the boatman and his boat. It took him a considerably shorter time to reach the shore then it had to reach the boat. Or so it seemed.
The mists were thinner when his feet touched solid ground again. He could make out more of the ground, but he couldn't see any walls yet. The ground was still made of the solid black stone that it had been on the other side.
Letting the sensation on his skin guide him Lance walked into the thinning mist. There were two sensations. One off to his left and one to his right. The one on his right was weaker, but it seemed to more stable. The one on the left was the stronger of the two, but kept flickering as if it wasn't able to hold its power. He looked left and then right before deciding on the right. The weaker sensation was most likely the new Guardian.
The fog thinned greatly and Lance could actually make out shapes in the distance. Some of them were statues. He recognized a few of them. Most of them great men and women from the past. There was one of Cleopatra clothed in her Egyptian dress. Another was Wolf dressed in his battle uniform. Several more were Greek and Roman figures.
Beyond the statues was another hallway. This one was wider then the first one had been and was lined on both sides by doors. Each of the doors was ornately carved. A sweeping arch brought each door to a gentle point. A name was carved into each of the doors. He walked down the hallway, ignoring the beauty of the doors that he passed. Each had something unique about it.
His skin was practically rippling when stopped in front of the door that he wanted. It was much like the others. Except that it had an ivy vine carved into its surface. Each of the other doors had their own marks, but few of them were plants. He pushed on the door and stepped into the room beyond.
The walls were made of the same black stone that everything else was. When the door closed behind him, Lance felt like he was standing in a void. Hovering more accurately, he didn't even seem to be standing on anything. The room was unfurnished except for one stone bench. Selvar sat on the bench watching him.
Lance raced across the intervening space and threw himself into the elf's open arms. "It's been so long," he whispered. "Far too long."
Selvar kissed him deeply. "What are you doing here Lance? The Realm of the dead is no place for the living. How did you get past the boatman?"
Lance returned the kiss and pulled the elf into a tight hug. "I bullied him. It doesn't matter. I'm here now. I'm here with you."
"But you can't stay. You're alive Lance. I'm not. I belong here, you don't. You have to go back."
Lance pulled back from the elf and looked him in the eye. "Do you really want me to leave?"
"No," Selvar admitted. "But you have to. I never wanted to leave you, but I had to. And I don't want you to leave now, but you have to."
A knowing smile crossed Lance's face. "I know, but I'm holding you to your promise Selvar. Death won't release you from it."
Confusion touched the elf's features. "What promise?"
"This one." Lance held up his left hand to show the ring on his ring finger. "You made it, and I intend to see that you keep it." The blonde kissed the elf once more and then stepped away. "That won't be the last my love." He willed himself to return to the Hall of Gateways.
Sayer bowed his head to his master. Sweat drenched his robes. His breath was ragged from the pain he had just experienced. The priest was sure he had never screamed for so long in his life. Carefully he raised his head to look at the ball of energy.
"You have failed me again Sayer," the ball said. "I do not wish to be failed again. You failed to kill the Seeker's friend. A failure I would not allow to happen again if I were you."
Sayer opened his mouth to apologize to his master, but couldn't form the words. He closed his mouth and tried again. "I beg your mercy Master."
"And you will receive it this time Sayer," the ball told him. "But remember that even in death you are mine. Fail me again and you will die. And I will not be pleased with you."
"Yes Master," Sayer babbled. "I will not fail you again. I promise."
"You would sell your own mother at this point if it would save you from one instant of my wrath. You are a weakling Sayer and I regret the day I made you one of my priests."
"Master, surely you can't mean," Sayer stammered.
"I could strip you of your powers with a thought priest, never forget that. You have become slothful in your power. My power. But I will not take it from you. Yet. You will perform one last task for me. If you succeed we will see if you shall keep your power. If you fail, I will be less then pleased."
"I won't fail you."
"See that you don't." The ball was silent for some time. When it did speak it, its voice was far away, as if it was thinking of something else. "We are too late to stop the Seeker from completing his task. He has almost finished that. So my plans of complete chaos across the land is almost dead. But I will not be denied some portion of victory. The man you failed to kill," scorn was clear in the voice. "Will seek revenge. As will his friends. Revenge against you. Bring the vampire and the wraith to your side. Along with the dragon you three shall meet them. I expect nothing less then their utter destruction. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Master," the priest whispered. "Do you wish me to call the Gemini as well?"
"If I had wished them to take part then I would have told you," the ball snapped. "Release them. They will be of no value to us dead. I wish them to spread their plagues and curses across the land. Allow them to stay if they wish, but do not order them to stay."
"It will be as you say Master," Sayer promised.
"See that it is," the ball warned. "And Sayer. Do not think you can run from me. You are my creature. Now and forever. Not even death will break that bond."
Heat pulled Mala from slumber. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. She carefully opened one eye and was startled to see someone leaning over her. Opening both eyes she tried to sit up. The woman pushed her back.
"Who are you?" The thief croaked. She swallowed a few times and then tried the question again. This time it came out more clearly.
"Evelyn," the woman told her. "A close friend of Christopher's."
"Where are we?" Mala asked. "The last I remember is fighting a statue and then I'm here."
Evelyn looked around them. They were on a beach made entirely of white sand. A thick forest boarded the one side and on the other stretched a body of water. The water disappeared beyond the horizon and was the darkest blue Mala had ever seen. It almost appeared black.
"A construct of your mind," the older woman told her. "I'm not sure why your chose a beach, but you did. It doesn't really matter."
"Why are you here then?" Mala asked.
"You took a nasty injury from that fight Mala," Evelyn said. "I've come to heal it for you."
"I can't be that hurt," Mala said. "I just feel a tad warm."
Evelyn shifted and pulled something into her left hand. It was a long silver cord. The cord attached to the older woman's middle. "This is my silver cord. It reflects how healthy I am. This is yours." The second silver cord could barely be called silver, let alone a cord. Her silver cord was frayed and dull. She could see that it was on the brink of snapping.
A gasp was torn from blonde's lips. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"
The woman shook her head as she released both cords. They dropped out of sight. "Not if I have anything to say about it. You mean a great deal to Christopher and he means a great deal to me."
"You can save me?" Mala whispered. "How?"
"All we have to do is to repair your cord." Evelyn said. "It will take a while so why don't we get to know each other better?"
"Okay," Mala said. She tried to sit up again, but Evelyn wouldn't let her. "What do you want to know?"
"You'll have to forgive me for being the way I am, but I am a mother. How long have you and Christopher known each other?" She was staring intently at something out of Mala's sight as she asked the question.
"A few weeks," Mala said after a moment's thought. "We meet in Africa."
"How did you first meet?" The woman asked. Her eyes never left whatever she was looking at and her hands were moving
"I saved him from a mob that wanted to string him up," Mala said. She laughed slightly as she remembered how she found him in the alley. She told the other woman about the mob and the Gemini. "Does he always get into trouble like that?"
"Constantly," Evelyn admitted. "He can be a handful, but he's worth it."
"I really do care for him," she told Evelyn. "I don't know why, but I do. And I haven't known him that long but I want to do anything for him."
"He does have that effect on people doesn't he?" Evelyn asked. "Love doesn't usually let the people involved have any choice. I can see that you love him, and he loves you. Do take care of each other?"
"You're happy for us?" Mala asked. "I mean you're not upset that I'm sort of stealing your son from you?"
Evelyn laughed. "Hardly. All children grow up, even if we don't want them to and they don't act like it. And Christopher was already grown when he came to me. It was only a matter of time before he met someone special. Besides I know you're a good woman and that you'll make him happy."
"How?" Mala asked.
"You're asking how I know you're a good person when we are having this conversation inside your mind while I heal your body?" Evelyn asked with amusement.
"You're right," Mala blushed. "Silly question." She blinked. "I don't feel warm any more."
"I should certainly hope not," Evelyn said. "If you were I'd be upset. Now you'll need some rest after this. A few days I think should do it. And don't think for a moment that you're not going to sleep. You need it. Understand?"
Mala nodded briskly.
"Good." Evelyn leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. She pushed something into Mala's hand and then stood. Without saying a word she turned and walked away.
Mala flinched when she watched Evelyn step into the water. It looked cold enough to chill to the bone. The older woman didn't hesitate. Mala watched her walk up to her waist and keep going. In less then two minutes Evelyn had completely disappeared beneath the water's surface.
She shook her head to clear it and looked to see what she had been given. In her hand were two silver cords. One was strong and bright, the other was frayed and dull. With a shock she realized that the strong one was attached to her and the frayed one was fluttering in the breeze. It wasn't attached to anyone any more.
TBC
So what do you think? Let me know. Things are starting to come to a head now, but I still want to hear from you guys.
Rune