Part 19 (1/2)

”I wish Myn would come back. I like her,” she said, yawning again.

”Myn . . . is she a year old yet? I can't remember,” Myranda admitted. ”How old are you, Ivy?”

Ivy smiled and held up a few fingers. Then the smile dropped away. She looked at the fingers, then her hands. A look of deepening confusion came to her face.

”I'm . . . I'm . . . ” she stuttered. She was visibly upset.

”What sort of creature are you?” Myranda asked.

”I'm like y- . . . no. I'm . . . ” she said hesitantly.

Tears were beginning to well in her eyes and they darted slightly, as though a long lost memory was fighting its way into her mind.

”Something . . . something is wrong. I . . . I don't . . . I'm not . . . ” she attempted.

Finally the tears began to roll down her cheeks. Myranda knelt down and embraced her to comfort her. The creature hugged her tightly and began to sob. Feelings of pity, and more so, concern swept into Myranda's mind along with the sadness of the creature forcing its way through. She had held up six fingers when asked her age. From the smile on her face when asked, she was initially sure of it. Six years old? How long had she been in their hands? She even seemed unsure of what she was. Had they changed her? These questions swiftly drew others that continued to plague her. She knew better than to expect any answers.

Deacon closed his door and threw up an array of subtle but powerful locking spells. It was a useless gesture, there was no spell he could conjure that could not be broken by his peers, but in the light of his actions, he had to take some sort of precaution. Taking a seat at his desk, he reached inside his cloak and removed a small satchel. He unfastened the string and reached inside. Out came an impossibly large book he'd taken from the library, then another, then another. The satchel was the culmination of several months of work earlier in his training. It could contain anything that could fit through the opening. No one besides Gilliam ever knew that he had made it.

Quickly he began to transcribe the notes within. He had to be swift. The missing books would be noticed. Had this been any other time, he would have been ashamed, nay, disgusted by his behavior. Stealing the books had required the exploitation of every aspect of his art that the others distrusted, but it was necessary. The gaps in his spell were too wide. It might work, but only under the best conditions. That would not do. The severity of the circ.u.mstances was the very reason the spell had to be created. Finally, when all of the new information was collected, he put the stylus down. It wasn't enough. The knowledge wasn't there, and without it the odds were against him. He closed the books and slid them back into the satchel. The odds . . . the spell could not be improved . . . perhaps . . .

Ivy had calmed down by the time Lain and Myn returned. They had tracked down a mountain goat. The look of pride on Myn's face was priceless as Lain dropped it down before Ivy. The grief stricken creature instantly perked up at the sight of the meal. Myranda opened her mouth to offer to cook a piece of it for Ivy, but before she could get the words out, Ivy had torn off a piece with her teeth. Myn did likewise and Lain sliced off a piece for himself. Myranda turned away. She'd had a hard enough time adjusting to Myn's eating habits. This was too much for her. When the meal had been finished, there was more than enough left for her. Her hunger overcame her revulsion. She cut away a piece and tried to apply a spell to cook it. Too little sleep and too much stress made it more of a task than usual. Ivy, licking blood from her lips with a look far more innocent and satisfied than such an act should ever allow, became intrigued.

”What are you doing?” she asked.

”Cooking the meat . . . or trying to,” she said, pausing to let the frustration pa.s.s.

”Why?” she asked.

”I can't eat it raw like you. It would make me sick,” she said.

”Are you sure? It tastes great. It the best thing I have ever eaten,” she said.

”I'm sure,” Myranda said.

”Why? I can eat it. Myn and Lain can too,” she said.

”Myn is an animal. You and Lain are . . . well, the three of you are better suited to a life like this than I am,” Myranda said.

”So, Lain and I are . . . like animals then,” she said.

”No, no, no, you're . . . ” Myranda began to rea.s.sure her.

Suddenly Lain's fingers shot to the hilt of his sword and he turned swiftly. A stiff, steady wind began to blow in the wrong direction, against the mountains. This could be only one thing. Sure enough, the wind swirled tightly together and formed into the familiar human form of the shape s.h.i.+fter, Ether.

”Once again you prove useful to me, human. You should be honored,” she said. ”Lain, your skill at evasion is a match for my skill of detection. You have proven yourself to me. It is time that you and I set about our task as Chosen in earnest.”

”Oh, no. Not you!” Ivy whined.

”I am sorry that you have had to endure the presence of this abomination. As you have no doubt noticed, her essence has been sullied by the will of the D'karon. It is in the best interest of the world that the inevitable demise that her weak mind would have led her to be allowed to occur, such that another more worthy sp.a.w.n of the G.o.ds may take her place,” she said.

”See, she's mean!” Ivy said. ”Why don't you go away!”

”I intend to,” Ether said.

”Really?” Ivy said.

”Lain and I will have no use for the likes of you. We shall be on our way,” Ether said.

”Wait, you are going to take Lain? But . . . Lain brought me food. He brought me a goat. It is my favorite food ever. That means he is nice. Why are you going to take him?” Ivy asked.

”I do not need to justify myself to you,” she said.

”I have my own plans. You have no place in them,” Lain said.

Ivy clapped joyously. Ether's eyes narrowed.

”I had antic.i.p.ated such a reaction,” she said. ”What precisely is your plan?”

”None of your concern,” he said.

”Ha, ha,” Ivy laughed mockingly.

”I naturally would have preferred that our partners.h.i.+p be a willing one, but it needn't be. Now that I have found you, you cannot be rid of me. I require no sleep, and I am not so foolish as to be distracted again. In time you will either see that my help is invaluable or rid yourself of the mortals you have so burdened yourself with in hopes of evading me. In either case, the outcome is beneficial to me,” she said.

”What? No!” Ivy objected.

Lain showed little reaction, but it was clear that he was not pleased. Ivy looked pleadingly to Myranda to produce some manner of solution. Myranda merely returned to the task of rendering the meal edible without a fire. Myn, satisfied that those who mattered to her were not upset, simply ignored those who did not, curling up in Myranda's lap. Defeated, Ivy crossed her arms and pouted. Lain scanned the horizon and sniffed at the air. No one was near, at least not to the east, out of which blew the stiff mountain winds. His real concern was in the south. The person he had seen had been heading in that direction. Myranda was not a difficult person to find for those sufficiently skilled, and Lain could think of no other reason one might brave this frozen waste save to find her. There were powerful people on her trail. Normally, he would face such a foe immediately, but now there was Ivy. She must be kept from harm. Nevertheless, the surest way to ensure her safety was to take her to the south as soon as possible. There could be no delay. He would have to take his chances.

The long journey had taken its toll on the others. A semblance of shelter was found. Shortly after, Lain crouched and slipped into his bizarre subst.i.tute for sleep and Myranda wrapped her cloak tightly about herself and Myn against the cold. Soon the only members of the odd group that were awake were Ivy and Ether. Ivy shot Ether angry stares. Ether seemed to look through her with an air of unquestioned superiority. For a time a there was a mutual feeling of dislike, but a few hours boredom and curiosity weakened Ivy's resolve.

”So . . . Ether. You can change into anything?” she asked.

Ether stood silent.

”Ether?” Ivy asked, optimistically believing that she had not been heard the first time.

The shape s.h.i.+fter turned away.

”Can all humans turn into different things?” Ivy asked.

Ether flinched. Ivy grinned.

”I am not a human. Humans are stupid, emotional, worthless creatures. I am beyond human,” she stated sternly.

”Well, right now you're human. And you were one before, so you must be a human pretty often,” Ivy reasoned.

”I a.s.sume this form to more gracefully interact with the weak minded who could not comprehend my more fundamental forms,” she said.