NOW, NATURE WALKER!
“What are you saying? What have you done?” Taeben channeled his anger into his magic, surrounding Ellie with enchanted lightning. Ellie screamed and struggled, but could not free herself from the pain. And as quickly as she had appeared at his feet, other Ikedrians appeared, all of them phantoms just like Taeben himself—and they hurled themselves at him, breaking his concentration and ending the assault on Ellie. She fell to the ground but soon staggered back to her feet.
“You will not end the House of Turlach, wizard. I warned you.” Ayna stood before him, made slightly less transparent by the magic humming between her and the other members of her house that had joined her in the Void. “Our destiny is interwoven with that of the Nature Walker line, and you will not have another chance to hurt that family. Our two houses stand united, even if only here in the Void.” Others stood with them, just out of sight—there was Gin’s annoying sister Lairky, and that must be her older brother, Cursik, standing just behind an exact copy of Ellie—her twin sister Maelfie. Next to Maelfie stood the shade of her brother, Kamendar, who had a hand on Lairky’s shoulder. All of them glared at him—projecting the magic of the Void against him, holding him fast where he was, keeping him out of Ellie’s mind, or anyone’s still in the plane of the living. “Hold him here, my kin, and I will take our Ellie back to where she can help the most.” The shades nodded, never taking their horrible dead eyes off of Taeben—who screamed and howled as he spun himself into a frenzy, yet unable to do anything to stop them.
THIS IS NOT OVER, GINNY! I WILL COME FOR YOU, AND THIS TIME I WILL KILL YOU! I SWEAR!
Gin looked up as the stinging in her neck faded away and smirked.
Shut up, Ben. May the gods have mercy on your soul, because my tolerance for you has run out.
Thirty-Nine
Flights of Fancy
“Ellie says to go now, Sath. They have him—the wizard—in the Void.” Gin looked up at him as her mouth began to tug upward into a smile. “She says they are all there, Sath, the ancestors, House Turlach and the Nature Walker Line, and they are holding him back.”
“Can you port the three of us to La’al Drygyr?” If the wizard was already imprisoned in the Void that would make their work even simpler—walk in, find out where the orb was, walk out. Very easy—and very unlike any plan they had ever undertaken. Something had to be missing.
“I don’t know, I didn’t even know it existed before a few days ago.” Gin frowned. “We could ask Kaerinth to—oh, no, I have a better idea.” She sat down on the ground between Sath and Nelenie. “Sit close to me, and if I tell you to hang on to me, you do it immediately, understand?” They nodded in response as they sat down close to her. “Now then -”
Omerith? It is I, the Nature Walker, fellow Guardian. I need you to pull me, the Rajah, and the First Caeth of Alynatalos to where you are, via the bond. Please. It is a matter of life and death.
Yes, Ginolwenye of the Trees. I will help you—I need your healing magic for Daelyth. Make sure that all are close to you. There was a long pause. Who is this other you mention? I cannot find her.
She does not know how to use the bond, Omerith. It was decided not to teach her at this time to keep her safe from those that would use the bond to malicious ends.
Fair enough. I cannot bring her without the bond, Nature Walker, but I can bring you and the Rajah.
A moment, Omerith.
Sath frowned as Gin looked at Nelenie. “We have a problem. Because Nel cannot form the bond, Omerith cannot bring her to him.” She thought for a moment, and then returned to the bond.
Omerith, if you can see through another’s eyes, could you use magic to bring another to where you are?
Possibly, yes. I have never tried it over such a distance, but I am willing to -
There was suddenly another presence in the bond, an ancient and very powerful presence that seemed to eclipse Omerith’s answer before it was finished.
Oh, stop it, the pair of you. I will bring the Caeth if you allow me to come to your territory, my son? Though I admit that I cannot believe I have to ask at all.
Gin’s eyes were as wide as saucers as she looked at Sath. Clearly, Kaerinth had not included him in the bond this time. “What?”
“Nel, the Mother Dragon has offered to fly you up to La’al Drygyr if you will allow her?”
“She wants the orb, Gin, it is not safe.” Sath looked back and forth from Gin to Nelenie. “She will pick up Nelenie here and take her off somewhere and hold her hostage for -”
Mother, I am not sure that I can trust the safety of this female to you. I know what you want to do with the orb.
My offer is on the table, my son. You may take it or leave it.
Mother, can your daughter Embyr fly?
Yes, but she is not strong enough to carry the First Caeth.
Is Embyr with you now?
Yes—why do you ask, my son?
Omerith used all of the Guardians’ combined strength to pull Embyr from M’aanyr up to his home in La’al Drygyr through the bond. She heard the scream of the Mother Dragon and felt her fury. She felt Embyr’s childlike joy at the new experience. Sath was aghast; clearly, he had felt the same things. Only Nelenie was left in the dark, looking back and forth from Gin to Sath in utter discombobulation.
Omerith, my son, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
I have
