A week had passed since we left the Moonwood and traveled into grassy hills with small stands of trees dotting the landscape. We traveled leisurely, but cautiously, for we were now close to where Mithril Hall lay, according to Zayanya. I could see the mountain cliff, and the valley as she had described it, I just had to figure out how to get in. Zayanya also mentioned that the area had recently had trouble with orcs, so we all kept our senses alert for any kind of trouble.
We stopped about midday to eat and drink, on the top of a cliff overlooking a valley. The view was spectacular, and standing on the edge with the wind in my face was something that I’d never experienced before. But by the time we were all content and the twins -- who may be old enough to keep up, but still young enough to play -- were romping in the sparse grass, I could tell we were being watched. I caught Yahn’s eye. <Do you feel it too? That we are being watched?>
He nodded, and Stormwatcher did as well. Very carefully, I let my mind wander until I found the watcher, then gently touched her mind with mine. <I would rather have you come out than watch me from the shadows, sister. Will you come where I can see you?> I felt a confirmation in my mind, and as I watched, a huge, beautiful black panther stepped to the edge of the shadows, and sat on her haunches there. The wolves, of course, all bristled and growled at her.
“Calm down guys, she’s just curious.” I got up and went over to her, let her sniff my fingers and hand as introduction. When she shoved her head under my hand, I took it to mean she wished her ears scratched, and did so, all the while admiring her. She stood slightly taller than my waist at the shoulder, but shorter than my chest, and gleamed a glossy black that showed she was well fed, rested, and exercised. “What’s your name, pretty panther?”
She looked at me with large green eyes, and blinked once before answering. ‘Guenhwyvar.’
I nodded. “Thank you, Guenhwyvar, for the visit, and not letting the wolves deter you. I think we need to be on our way though.” As we left, I could feel her eyes watching us, even after we got out of sight.
We made it as far as the next clearing before I felt her again, but this time she wished to stay hidden, for she did not answer when I brushed her mind. I was puzzled, and the rest of the pack turned to see why I had paused. I cocked my head and listened, but didn’t hear anything. <Something feels... not necessarily wrong, but different.> I saw the pack tense up, and just as quickly felt the cold blade against my neck.
“Tell me, dark elf, why I shouldn’t slay you here and now.” I couldn’t turn to see my attacker, but could only feel that he was taller and stronger than I. The wolves looked ready to fly at his throat, and even Yahn seemed to be steaming a bit more than usual.
“No Stormwatcher. Let me do this. The human way.” I sensed his displeasure, but he let my judgment stand.
“What do you tell them, drow?” I didn’t answer, rather closed my eyes and concentrated on gathering all the power in my body, and discharging it at once. The effect was a small explosion, knocking the man backwards. I could feel where his blade had dragged lightly across my throat, and the small beads of blood that welled up. I touched my hand lightly to my neck, willing myself to be calm. My heart sank as the tell-tale itching starting, spreading outward from my neck to my shoulders, and further as blood carried the taint of silver throughout my body. I turned and faced my attacker uncertainly, staff and magic at the ready. But when I got a clear look at the stranger, I almost dropped them both, staring wide-eyed.
He was a dark elf. The man I had spent almost a year searching for, and here he was trying to kill me. Now what? Zayanya had asked what I would do once I found Drizzt Do’Urden, but I didn’t expect he would try and kill me. He was taller than me, with the grace and speed of a full-blooded elf. His shoulder length white hair was tied back from his face, and he wore the leathers of a ranger. He carried two curved, silvery blades in each hand which glowed in my mage sight, and he seemed very intent on killing me.
“Stormwatcher?”
‘Yes Shadow?’
“No matter what happens you must not touch this man or those who are with him. Please.”
Drizzt looked somewhat puzzled when I said this, but seemed to shake it off as he circled me. I could feel myself losing control of my power; I had trained it to light fires, not be controlled as long as this to fight battles. I had never expected to need it this way. But now it was filling me, making my staff glow purple. Drizzt attacked, and I blocked, palms sweaty and hands shaking. He attacked once more, and that’s when I completely lost control. The surge of power ran down my arms and into my staff, exploding when it came into contact with one of the curved blades Drizzt carried. It knocked us both back, me a few steps, him almost clear across the clearing, where he lay still as if dead. I stood still, shaking. What if I had killed him? I’d never seen my power do this before, but I had also never been in this kind of situation.
When I had pulled myself together and stopped shaking, I went over to where Drizzt lay. He was breathing, but appeared to be unconscious, and I could feel nothing wrong in his body except for a small cut on his head where he had hit it on a rock. I bent over him to look at it, than gathered my power carefully and healed it. When I looked at his face again, his eyes were open, and the last thing I saw was his face before everything went black.
- - - - - - - - - -
When I awoke again, it was night, and there was a fire burning a short distance away. When I sat up, head throbbing, Lightfoot and Stormwatcher were beside me, and I could see green eyes and a black shadow from across the fire. I hugged the two wolves.
“Where is the rest of the pack? And where is Drizzt? He’s ok, isn’t he? I didn’t hurt him?”
Stormwatcher smiled. ‘Are you a pup again, to ask so many questions?’ he said jokingly, then sobered. ‘The rest of the pack is hunting, even the twins. And as for that man,’ he said it as if it almost burned his mouth. ‘I don’t know where he is, nor do I care.’
“Interesting to know you care for my health. Most drow don’t.” His voice came from my side, behind Lightfoot, and Stormwatcher backed up a step, growling. I laid my hand on his neck, and he calmed, but I could still feel his distaste. “You were lucky this time, Guen wouldn’t let me kill you, even if I had been able to get through your circle of wolves.”
“Guen? She’s your cat?”
He laughed. “She doesn’t belong to me, but she is my companion, yes.”
I looked at the green eyed shadow across the fire, and touched her mind with my thanks, then addressed Drizzt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. That’s never happened with my power before. And the only reason the wolves didn’t hurt you was because I told them not to.”
He nodded. “Yes, I wondered about that. A dark elf who travels with wolves and a seemingly ordinary looking black horse. And you healed me, which is unusual as well. But how am I supposed to believe you didn’t mean to kill me?”
I stood up carefully, using Stormwatcher as support, and looked around, searching with my mind for a specific being.
“If you’re trying to call your horse, don’t bother. I hobbled him for the night.”
I looked at him and blinked. “If you think you can hobble Yahn, you are sadly mistaken. He has a thing for bindings: he doesn’t like them.” At that moment, Yahn trotted up to me and put his nose in my chest, shoving gently. I hugged him, grateful that everyone was okay, ignoring the tiny purple sparks that appeared briefly on my arms and fingers where I touched him.
‘Foolish elf. You can’t hobble a nightmare, even a half-breed.’ We all chuckled at that, though Drizzt looked at us suspiciously.
“I think you’d better explain yourself, drow, and quickly.”
I sighed. “I do have a name, you know, and since I know yours already, mine is Alyssa. Or Shadow, that’s what the wolves call me. Why would I want to kill you, when I’ve spent the last year looking for you?”
“Why would you have done that if not to kill me?”
I could feel my eyes growing heavier, and sat down before I fell. I was exhausted, and having to argue with the man I had set my hopes on didn’t help. “Because I didn’t know where else to go. Everyone else tries to kill me, just as they did my parents. Because my father’s last words to me were to search you out, as you were like me. Why would I kill such a man when it would set his magnificent companion against me?”
Drizzt glanced at Guen as if reminded that she was there, then walked over and scratched her neck before pulling something out of his belt pouch. I could just barely make out what he said to her. “It’s alright Guen, she’s awake. I won’t harm her until I get some answers, and that won’t happen until morning. Go home and rest.” As I watched, the green eyes turned to mist and disappeared, and the object in his hands flared blue for a second. He stood and looked at me, and I blinked back sleepily. “Sleep, we’ll talk more in the morning.”
I read the intent in his eyes. “Only if you do too. The wolves can keep watch.”
He stared at me long and hard before nodding his agreement and laying down to sleep on the side of the fire where Guen had been. I lay down as well, rolled on my side and was asleep quickly.
I dreamed again that night, the first dreams in a while, since before the grove. I dreamed of rotting corpses and burning houses, a bounty hunter with a throwing star in his skull cutting my ear off, and the last sight I had of my parents. Then at the end, one more sight: that of a dark elf with shoulder-length white hair, a curved blade in each hand, flat on his back, his sightless eyes staring at the sky. I awoke crying, and Sunbeam was there to comfort me as I cried myself softly back to sleep.
When I woke, it was already midmorning. I was sore and tired, as if I had never gotten any sleep at all. I got up and followed the twins to the nearby stream, where I rinsed my face, watching the twins splash water on each other and play in the stream. Eventually, after finding no solace in my contemplation, I called them to me and started back. When I got there, I found Drizzt rooting through my pack.
- - - - - - - - - -
I kept watch over my packsister for the night, sharing shifts with Moonlight and my mate Stormwatcher. Shadow tossed and turned most of the night, for the first time in moons, waking at one point crying. Moonlight comforted her, but she still cried herself to sleep. In the morning, I watched as she went with the twins to the stream, and while she was gone the man who had hurt her picked up her pack and started looking through it.
‘She won’t be happy about this when she gets back,’ I commented to Moonlight. She agreed, and the two of us waited.
She was indeed not happy about a stranger going through her bags without her consent. “Hey! Who gave you permission to go through my pack?!” This was angrily said from the edge of the clearing, as Shadow got closer.
Drizzt looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. “I’m your captor, that gives me the right to find out what you are carrying.” He held up the shortsword from the grove. “Where did you get this?”
Shadow looked at her feet and didn’t answer. He wasn’t so calm the next time. “Where did you get this!?” He commanded. “Tell me!”
“The grove of Montolio DeBrouchee,” She said, so quietly it was barely audible.
“You dared set foot in that sacred place?”
She looked up sharply, eyes flashing. “Dared? I, sir, was given permission by my father, who was as holy as any! And if you don’t mind, I’ll take my pack back!” With that, she stormed over and tried to grab the pack from him. But the moment she did, there was a flash of purple light, and the man was thrown across the clearing, as he had been yesterday. Shadow looked at where he lay in horror, then turned and ran, her bag forgotten on the ground where she had dropped it.
‘Stormwatcher and Moonlight, follow her, make sure she doesn’t run off the cliff. When she stops, one of you come back so we know where she went.’ I commanded. I walked over to the man and inspected him. He was still breathing, and nothing seemed to be broken, he had just been knocked unconscious from the fall. I sat on my haunches and waited for a few minutes, till Moonlight came back.
‘She ran all the way up to the edge of the cliff, and that’s where she stopped,’ Moonlight reported. ‘How is the elf?’
‘He is fine, I was just waiting to try and wake him. We can not talk to him either, so I think we need Yahn’s help.’ I called Yahn over and explained our problem to him, and he agreed to help as long as I could wake the elf. I stuck my nose in his ear and sniffed, and he woke quickly, rolling to his feet and looking around him as if expecting an attack. When he saw it was just us, three wolves and a horse, he seemed to relax a bit, then tensed up as if looking for something else. I nodded to Yahn, to tell the man where Shadow was.
‘Shadow ran up to the edge of the cliff. That is where she is now, and if you like, we can take you to her.’ Yahn spoke in his unusual way, understandable by all. The elf looked, startled, at Yahn before speaking.
“What happened?”
Yahn chuckled at his look before answering, ‘She lost control again, and she must have thought she’d killed you, for she ran. Moonlight knows the way. If you insist, I will let you ride me.’ He didn’t seem very happy at the notion, but we all knew that if he had not wanted a rider, he wouldn’t take one. However, it turned out we did not have to worry about it.
Drizzt gathered up Shadow’s pack from the ground, along with the short sword that had been knocked from his hands. He looked Yahn up and down before answering, “No thank you, I would prefer to walk. Lead the way.”
Moonlight stood up and turned towards the cliff, and when he did not follow, turned and yipped. He looked surprised, but followed her, and the rest of us followed the two of them. When we reached where Shadow was, we stayed back at a distance, and let the elf go forward by himself. Shadow was sitting on the edge of the cliff, her arms wrapped around her knees, which were tucked up to her chest and her head buried in her knees. When Drizzt approached her she looked up to glimpse who it was, and I could see that her eyes were streaked with tears. When she saw who it was, she turned her head away and rested her chin on her knees. Stormwatcher was sitting beside her. I saw Drizzt reach out his hand as if to put it on her shoulder.
- - - - - - - - - -
When I stopped running, I found myself on the edge of the cliff, so I sat down and wrapped my arms around my knees, buried my face in my knees, and cried. I felt a cold wet nose on my cheek, and when I looked up Stormwatcher was there, understanding in his eyes. I leaned against him and wrapped my arms around him instead. Just like before, I felt the magic discharge from me into him, singeing some hair and causing him to yelp. I jerked back, feeling even more depressed. “Stormwatcher, how many time is this going to happen? What if I really do kill him, like in my dreams?”
‘I don’t know, packsister. But it can’t go on forever, and I think he’s a lot tougher than he appears.’
I stared out over the cliff, not comforted at all by his words, and became absorbed in the rocks and sky, trying to forget all that had just happened.
I heard footsteps approach, and when I turned to look, it was Drizzt. I turned back to my contemplation of the cliffs opposite, my chin on my knees. I felt rather than saw him start to put his hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t touch me.” He paused, and withdrew his hand. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time I touched you? This time, the only place for you to go is off the cliff.”
He sighed, and sat down beside me, appearing to contemplate the same rocks I was, as if they held many memories for him. He finally held up the shortsword again, and asked quietly, “Where did you get this?”
I looked at him. “I told you already.”
“Than tell me again.”
“From the grove of Montolio DeBrouchee. We stayed there for almost three months, it’s where Yahn appeared. And the elf watching us never protested to us being there, or me having the sword.”
“How did you know who’s grove it was?”
I managed to chuckle softly. “It was the only place in the area that would have an armory. I found that among the ruins of some buildings, and it was the only one there that hadn’t rusted and gone to pieces. I figured that meant it was magical in some way since it has been years since anybody actually lived in that grove. And it glowed blue.”
His brows knitted together in puzzlement. “Glowed blue?”
“My mage sight, magical things glow blue.”
“How did you know about Mooshie?”
“My parents told me about him, and about you.” I spoke very quietly.
He nodded in understanding. “Tell me about your parents.”
So I did. I told him about what they taught me, and about life each year. About my childhood with them and the wolves, and climbing The Tree to watch the storms. I told him about the bounty hunters each year, and how this year had been different. When I got to the death of my parents, Stormwatcher moved closer, and I put my arm around him for comfort. When I was done, there was silence as he absorbed it all, and I realized that the entire wolf pack was there, and Yahn as well.
“Do you dream like that every night?”
The question startled me. “Like what?”
Yahn answered for me. ‘Stormwatcher says she used to dream almost every night like that since leaving home, especially after the first town. They stayed a while in a Cave,’ his brow furrowed in puzzlement. ‘Of Dreams? While they were there, she didn’t have any nightmares, but once they left, they started occurring infrequently. Except when in the grove, she didn’t dream at all there.’
He glanced at the circle of wolves as if seeing them in a new light, then looked back at me. “You went to a town?”
I nodded, and reached for my pack, carried unknowingly with me when I ran. I pulled out my circlet and handed it to him carefully, and he took it, still looking puzzled. “What does this do?”
I took it from him, careful not to make contact, and placed it on my head. He looked at me a long time before answering.
“I see.”
“It’s not perfect, but it helps when I needed to get supplies. But after that one visit in town... I didn’t use it again because I didn’t go into town.”
“Not perfect?”
I tipped my head to the side, and the circlet slid off my head to rest on the ground between us. “Not perfect. In a fight, I found out, you’re in much bigger trouble when they find out you’re really a dark elf.”
He picked it up off the ground and tried it on his own head, but it didn’t have the same effect for him as it did for me. “It’s attuned to me.” I pointed to the amethyst in the center. “The illusion spell is focused through that stone, which is why the spell is broken when the circlet isn’t on my head. I found it in the secret place with all the other supplies. The wolves told me that Father bought it because he knew I would need it soon.”
He put the circlet back in my pack. “So you came all this way on just the last words of your father?”
I nodded. “I had help, though. Before the desert, a mage helped me. She made me a portal across it, and told me you where near a place called Mithril Hall instead of in Icewind Dale. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since… since I left. I’ve killed man and beast, and had good luck and bad, but I don’t think I would change it.” I thought of Ris and smiled. “No, I defiantly wouldn’t change it.”
Drizzt’s expression didn’t change. “And I don’t suppose you could explain to me why you can’t touch me?”
I sighed. “It’s not just you, look.” I extended my hand slowly towards Stormwatcher. When I was a few inches away from his fur, my fingertips started to spark slightly. The closer I got, the more sparks and tiny fires there were. “I’m not sure why it’s so violent with you, but I have a couple of ideas. I’m losing control of my magic, which is why it sparks at all. The wolf pack is my family, and so is Yahn. I’m comfortable around them, and when I’m around them I feel calmer. My magic is tied to my emotions, and since you can be so intimidating…” I blushed. “Well it seems to be making it react violently.”
Drizzt directed a long look my way, but waited another long moment before he spoke. “Why are you losing control?”
I rummaged in my pack before answering “I’m not sure.” I finally found the tiny mirror Sagais had provided me with. I looked in it, and what I saw made my heart sink. <Oh Stormwatcher, I’m so foolish.> I could see the small cut where Drizzt had held a blade to my throat yesterday. My wild run had opened it again, and the edges were an angry, swollen red. I wiped the small trickle of blood away with my hand and held it up in front of my eyes as I heaved a sigh. “One of your swords is made of mithril, isn’t it?” I asked as I put the mirror away.
His eyebrows furrowed together in puzzlement. “Yes, why?”
I held up my bloodied hand for him to see, then bared my neck so he could see the cut. “That’s why I’m losing control. Because I’m allergic to silver, and mithril is pretty much just enchanted silver.”
“I see.”
There was a long silence, neither of us really knowing what to say to each other. My mind was running around in circles, seeming to think of everything but not really getting anywhere. Eventually, the rumbling of my stomach and the aching of my legs caused me to stand up and reach for my pack. Once it was in my hand, I realized that a mess I’d left: my circlet, mirror, shortsword strewn on the ground around me, my armor back at camp where I’d dropped it, my bedroll near the campfire. I bent over to pick up my belongings near me, but when I stood up again the world spun around me. Confused, I tried to get my bearings, and took a step back towards camp. It wouldn’t do to leave my detritus scattered everywhere. I was dimly aware of voices asking me if I was ok, then a sudden cramp in my stomach doubled me over as I dry heaved at the base of a tree. This disoriented me even more, so I put my hand against the tree to support myself. The instant I did, there was a flash of purple and the side of the tree I had put my hand on turned black. As I stumbled towards the camp, I looked at my hand in wonder. <Magic! I can do magic!> The thought raced through my mind, and my craving for more intensified. The world was no longer spinning, more like not staying in one place like it should. I tripped, and had a flash of remembrance: the Stone of Sages, fully charged, wrapped in a rag inside my backpack, carried in my hand. I reached for it, hungry for power, but… No. A part of me put my foot down. Sagais said not to use the stone unless it was truly, direly needed. Another memory flash, then a whole rush as I remember the death of my parents and wept anew for it. Cold, so cold… I moved closer to the fires to warm up. And thirsty. I found a water skin full of water, but my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t get it open. A dark, slim-fingered hand appeared at the edge of my vision to take it from me, open it, and hand it back. I emptied it, but it did nothing to quench my thirst. Another rush of memories, like someone hitting me in the temple. I dropped the waterskin and fell to my knees, clutching my head and dry heaving into the dirt as they flashed before my eyes: the bounty hunter and the mob, the thugs in Ashabenford, the lamias, Ris dead, Sagais, Ris alive, and Nighthunter. I felt every emotion again – depression, anguish, pain, anger, loss, rage. The pain became real, and I howled my rage to the evening sky. The cut on my neck felt like it was on fire, but the rest of me was so cold. Someone put a hand to my forehead but immediately snatched it away with a curse as purple lightning arced to it. My vision suddenly cleared. Not with the sight of my normal eyes, nor that of heat vision, but with the sharp detail of wolf eyes. Stormwatcher was in front of my, and in my peripheral vision I could see Drizzt clenching and unclenching his hand. I could feel my organs slowly rearranging themselves, and my fingers were gradually shortening and growing claws. The inner wolf was making its presence known, and it hurt more than I could remember it ever hurting. After the next cramp in my stomach subsided, I looked at Stormwatcher and tried to tell him what I wanted, but couldn’t. I finally managed to gasp out, “Stone… get it… Sagais…” before another cramp in my chest choked off my words. Beneath the haze of pain, my mind could barely focus on one thing: magic would make it go away, keep the wolf from taking hold. I could feel the power of the stone calling to me as Stormwatcher brought it closer. When he dropped it in front of me, it rolled out of the rag to rest between my paw-like hands, the rune glowing a cool blue. I touched it, and felt the magic wash over me. As the pain faded away, I stood up. There were a few moments where the magic felt like I was wrapped in furs, never to be cold again. Then it started to burn, along my skin, through my veins, and arc between my fingers. Even my delirious mind quickly realized that with no control over my own magic, I also had no control over the magic I drew from the Stone of Sages, or the earth. I saw a lightning bolt discharge from me to a nearby tree, and it seemed my vision went white with the flash of light and stayed that way.
- - - - - - - - - -
Sagais was feeding the animals when he felt a sudden wrench and the drain of power from the Stone of Sages. He rushed into the library where Ris was reading at the table. “Got to go on a trip. Alyssa’s triggered the Stone and there’s a massive power drain from it. Don’t know when I’ll be back, I suppose when things are straightened out.” He barely gave Ris enough time to look worried before melting into the rock and disappearing. He didn’t even have to look hard for Alyssa, he only had to follow the energy being drained from the earth.
He arrived at the edge of a previously wooded clearing. The wind and the lightning had knocked over some of the trees. Alyssa was in the center, head back and arms outstretched while lightning bolts arced from her to the clouds and trees. She was standing, but only because the force created by them wouldn’t let her fall. He looked around and spotted the wolves in the shadows, but didn’t have to ask before Stormwatcher appeared at his side to fill him in. ‘Shadow got sick. We think it is because she got mithril in her blood. She was starting to turn into a wolf when she touched the Stone.’
Sagais nodded and spoke hurriedly. “Find me her pack, and if you can, the potions. If that’s the case we’ll need them.” He started towards Alyssa, ignoring the lightnings that struck him and splayed on his skin. He was stone, he barely even felt them. When he reached her, he only had to take the Stone out of her hands to break the flow of energy, and she collapsed into his arms. Her eyes were open but not seeing, and her breath came in ragged gasps. All of a sudden she arched her back, one hand gripping his upper arm with an almost unnatural strength. He could see her nose start to extrude and her teeth elongate. Once again, before he had to ask, Stormwatcher was there next to him with her pack; he upended it on the ground next to him to find the potions he’d sent with her. After finding the right one, he opened the stopper with his teeth and poured it in her mouth, stroking her throat so that she swallowed it. Slowly, the wolf changes reversed themselves, and when he was confidant she wouldn’t explode again he laid her gently on the ground and stood up with the stone.
With a sign, Sagais summoned his own power and delicately went about setting the weather to rights and repairing the trees as best he could. When he was done, he found a rag nearby, wrapped the stone in it, and laid it carefully on top of the pile that had come out of Alyssa’s backpack. The evening sky was now clear and the last rays of the setting sun were reflecting off the departing thunderheads as the wolves, a black horse, and a dark elf slowly emerged from the trees. He looked at Alyssa, unconscious at his feet, and contemplated his options.
- - - - - - - - - -
I woke slowly to the murmur of voices and a massive, pounding headache. The voices stopped when I stirred and sat up, clutching my head, only to find that the rest of me ached as well. When my eyes had adjusted to the light, I found a familiar hand holding a water skin for me to drink. Groggily, my eyes connected hand to face. “Sagais? What are you doing here?”
Sagais gave me a long look with his dark gray eyes. “You don’t remember?”
I thought for a minute before the fragmented memories started coming back to me. “Oh. Oh no. I didn’t hurt anybody, did I?” I shivered, partly with horror.
Sagais shook his head. “Only yourself. They were all smart enough to get out of the way when you started discharging lightning bolts into things.”
I tried to get up, but he wouldn’t let me. “I don’t think so. You’re still pretty sick. Tell me what happened.” He stood up and got me another blanket.
“He cut me.” I bared my neck so Sagais could see the cut. “Drizzt cut me. I could feel it start to itch and I lost control of my magic, but I didn’t think it would get this bad. His swords are mithril.”
“Its poison to you, kiddo. Sounds like it started with your magic and went from there.”
“Yea. Every time I touched him…” I pulled a shaking hand out from under the blanket and put my hand on Sagais’s arm. The nimbus of purple fire sprung up where we touched. “Like that, but much worse. And then we were talking, and I got up because I was hungry… it’s all fragmented from there. I remember trying to throw up, and being real dizzy. And I had like a waking nightmare, so that’s why I started to change.”
Sagais nodded. “So you touched the stone because you thought it would stop the change. Which it did. But I’m guessing since you had no control over your own magic, you didn’t have any over what you drew from the Stone, either. Your body just kept channeling massive amounts of power. That’s why you hurt, sweetie. No more magic for you, not for a while.”
I nodded slowly, gripped by sudden exhaustion. My eyelids became heavy and I let sleep overcome me.
My next few days were dotted with brief periods of waking. Some were lucid, only moments where I somehow struggled up out of the deep well of sleep to groggily eat and drink something placed in front of me before dropping off to sleep again. Others are remembered only as a feeling: trembling like a tree in a storm, so cold that I felt I would freeze, yet drenched in sweat. And Sagais, always was Sagais there to care for me.
At some point I awoke, clear minded and wrapped in blankets. It was evening, and the only wolf in sight was Solstice, sitting not far from my side. She raised her head from her paws when I sat up. I felt relatively normal until I tried to talk to Solstice telepathically. The headache exploded behind my eyes and I almost fainted. Warm rough hands were on my shoulders then, helping me lean forward to put my head between my knees. “Didn’t I tell you no magic?” Sagais asked as I clutched my head.
“I never considered that magic before,” I said when the throbbing had subsided enough for me to talk again. I gladly accepted the waterskin he offered me as he shrugged.
“Innate talents are still magical.” He handed me food almost before I realized I was starving. As I took it, my hand brushed his and it was hard to miss the spark of purple lightning between us. I caught my breath when I saw it and slowly raised my eyes to his. He motioned for me to eat, his stern visage showing he wouldn’t answer any questions until I did.
I was too hungry to be stubborn, so I took a bite out of the bread he gave me. I waited until I’d taken another before voicing my worry. “How long am I going to be doing that?”
Sagais sighed, and in his eyes I saw concern. “I don’t know. From what Drizzt has told me of your symptoms before I arrived, you’ve been doing it for five days now. But the only other lycanthrope I’ve dealt with is Ris, and he never had the presence of mind to get himself severely poisoned by silver.” He grinned slyly at me, intentionally trying to lighten the mood. “I think the worst is over, but I had to keep pouring sleep and wolfsbane potions down your throat, not only for the poison, but for the full moon. For all I know, you could be losing control of your magic like that for another week, or a month,” he hesitated. “Or it could be gone tomorrow.”
I swallowed, the bread forming a hard lump in my stomach. I tried to wash it down with the second waterskin Sagais passed to me. After I drained it and started in on the rest of the food Sagais gave me, I got my first real look at the clearing where the campsite had been set up. I winced at the sight of burn marks and jagged trunks. Under the fire Sagais had lit was a large patch of scorched earth radiating out from the center. The contents off my packs were scattered a short distance away as if someone had quickly rooted through it. The clearing was deserted except for the three of us.
“Where is everyone?” I asked Sagais.
“Out hunting. They’ll be back shortly.”
I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Together?” He shrugged but wouldn’t elaborate. I made my way to my feet with Sagais’s support and Solstice’s anxious hovering. At one point we brushed, fingertips to ears, and I was pleased to notice only a small spark jumped between us. So small, in fact, that Solstice grinned at me and turned to lick my hand, resulting in a few more tiny sparks. By the time I had walked around a bit and discovered that my entire body was sore, I heard rhythmic hoof beats. A few moments later, Yahn appeared, snorting and tossing his head with contented pleasure. When he saw me standing near the fire, he trotted over and pushed his nose into my chest, nearly knocking me over. As he ambled away in search of grass, my stomach turned over from the jolt and I grabbed the nearest tree for support as I heaved up all of the bread and water I’d eaten. Sagais heard and rushed over to help guide me into a sitting position a few feet away.
He pressed another waterskin on me. “Too much, too soon. I should have realized and said something.” I eyed the waterskin dubiously, my stomach threatening to mutiny if I tried to fill it again. But Sagais motioned for me to drink. “Little sips, slowly. You need to keep something down. The water will help flush out your system.”
I nodded and took a sip, suddenly too tired to even speak. Then I leaned back and closed my eyes, seeking that inner peace that comes when I meditate, taking an occasional drink.
Although I could practice calming breathing exercises, the meditative calm eluded me for only the handful of minutes it took for me to fall into a light doze. Eventually I was startled awake by the soft noises from the trees and the rustle of the underbrush. Soon afterward, I could see Stormwatcher and Lightfoot emerging, followed by the rest of the wolf pack in ones and twos. Lightfoot caught sight of me and bounded over happily, and soon I was all but buried in wolf fur. I grinned and hugged each of them, ignoring the faint purple lightings. Guenhwyvar pushed her head under my hand, not willing to suffer a hug but wanting her ears scratched instead. I looked up to see Drizzt striding in to camp. Guen swung her head to watch him as he crossed the campsite, then abruptly left my side and bounded over to intercept him for attention. He smiled and obliged before reaching into his belt pouch for something that he rolled across his knuckles. He murmured something – I was too tired to try and catch what. Guenhwyvar, sitting patiently on her haunches, slowly turned into mist and faded away into nothing.
A loud clinking interrupted my thoughts and I looked over to see Sagais stacking empty bottles. I struggled to my feet and made my way over to ask him what he was doing.
“You’re out of suppression potions,” Sagais calmly pointed out. “I’ve got a fair supply of this tea left; drink at least a cup of it once a day, but no more than three.” He handed my a packet of herbs and showed me how much to make tea with. “The worst part is over and there’s not really anything else you need me for.”
“But…” He didn’t give me a chance to voice my opinion; instead, he smiled briefly at me before melting away into the earth. I wish somehow he could take me with him.
That random, almost idle thought startled me. When I analyzed it, I realized that while I had wanted to find Drizzt, I no longer knew why. I missed being at the Cave of Dreams with Ris and Sagais, where I actually felt content. The revelation made me look at Drizzt in a whole new light.
Abruptly I snapped back to reality with the realization that the object of my focus was actually saying something. “I’m sorry… what did you say?”
“I don’t want to delay here much longer,” Drizzt said patiently. “I was patrolling for orc bands when I came across you.”
I shrugged. “I’m not keeping you here, and I won’t keel over anytime soon.”
- - - - - - - - - -
I drank as much as I could of Sagais’s tea before sitting down to meditate. I hoped that having a full night of meditation would help purge the last of the silver from my blood. It felt lonely to not be able to talk to any of the wolves or Yahn. But halfway through the night, my tired body demanded real sleep, so I curled up on the ground and was oblivious in moments.
When I woke, Drizzt was gone. Perhaps he felt as uncomfortable saying farewells as I did, or maybe he simply got restless to be on his way. I wasn’t upset’ I’d discovered that we weren’t alike as I’d originally thought. I packed up all my things, still strewn around on the ground from the night my magic had gone haywire. Then I called Yahn and the wolves over to me. “I’m ready to move on, how about you?” I asked them, not expecting to hear their reply.
There were nods all around. ‘Back to the Cave?’ Equinox asked.
I couldn’t stop the huge grin from spreading across my face. “I heard that!” I exclaimed excitedly. “Just barely, but still!”
Yahn stuck his nose in my neck and snorted. ‘About time,’ he grumbled.
Still ecstatic, I pulled myself onto Yahn’s back. Faint purple sparks flew where I gripped his neck, but nowhere else. I leaned down, eyes shining, but didn’t have to say anything for the wolves to start into a lope. I simply pointed so Yahn could see they were already outdistancing him. He launched himself into a gallop and passed them. Our first steps back to the east were at an exhilarating breakneck speed.
|