Chapter 15
"ALRIGHT!!!"
bellowed Ian. "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I AM IAN OF FNIM. I WANT TO KNOW WHERE MY
FRIENDS ARE AND I WANT THEM RELEA...(here he noticed Lokey, Magbert and Crystal
huddled in the corner) oh, that's convenient; hi, guys! Okay, now I just want
them released."
Lokey
and Crystal exchanged agonized glances, the same thought running through their
minds. So close to escape and yet so far...!
"Can
I assume that you wish to die, too?" sighed Kathyrn.
"Can
I assume that you misheard me?" replied Ian. "This is a rescue
mission."
"This
would have been a peaceful escape," grumbled Lokey.
"Since
when are you into peaceful escapes?" asked Crystal softly.
"Since
we got singlehandedly outnumbered," he returned just as quietly.
"And
who are you?" asked Kathyrn of the nymph.
"Pandora,
daughter of the High Priestess of the Nymphs of Alkin Forest," said she
proudly. "And you, Evil Sorceress, need no introduction," she added
sarcastically.
"Well,
now that we all know each other..." began Kathyrn, then she turned on
Crystal again. This time, she had to stop to magically shield her body from
Ian's oncoming broadsword. It clanged against the invisible shield and vibrated
so hard it seemed as though it might disintegrate. As it was, it had an
irreparable bend in it. Ian glanced at it briefly, while Lokey leapt to his
feet with his staff, clicked two hidden blades in its shaft and began to attack
Kathyrn. As he did, Pandora began to throw a set of magical daggers she had at
her side, while Ian slid over to Magbert and Crystal with the bent sword.
"I
know, remind you to buy a new one," Magbert said faintly.
"Honey?"
said Crystal, looking down at him.
"No,
don't move!" he grinned, then looked at Kathyrn about to cast her spell at
Crystal again. He pulled Crystal down to him and rolled to the side just as a
bright blue ball of light hit and destroyed the floor near them. "Strike
my last request," he said, looking down at her.
She
nodded with a brief gasp, just as Kathyrn repelled both Pandora and Lokey with
a force spell as before. She turned on Crystal again and she and Magbert rolled
once more, barrelling into Lokey as they narrowly missed getting hit again. Ian
leapt to the attack, as both Lokey and Magbert noticed the luck charm around
Crystal's neck with extreme relief.
"Think
we fixed that glitch in your luck charm, dear," said Magbert
half-seriously.
"And
none too soon," added Lokey.
Ian's
attack on Kathyrn's physical person was still meeting with oposition from her
shield, while Pandora's attempts to help again with her reappearing daggers was
doing fairly little. Lokey tried to throw a spell to negate the shield, while
Crystal sang to try and shatter it, but neither had any effect except to
slightly change Kathyrn's focus of attention. There was a massive surge of
magic through the room as Kathyrn repelled them all at the same time, jarring
all of her attackers to confusion for a moment.
"Very
well," she gasped. "If I can't disintegrate you, little one, then
I'll simply drain your magic from you."
Before
anyone could recooperate enough to stop Kathyrn, Crystal cried out in pain,
grasping Magbert's arms in agony.
"No!!!"
Magbert shouted, torn between leaping up to attack Kathyrn or grab hold of his
darling Crystal to protect her.
Lokey,
Ian and Pandora chose for him, leaping up again en masse to attack Kathyrn
again. This only served to add more to Crystal's pain, for the very magic
Kathyrn was stealing from Crystal's now sprite-sized body, was immediately
being used to keep her friends from helping her. Magbert, not even caring for
his own safety, changed himself to Crystal's height to be able to hold her more
guardedly in his arms, while the others were pushed back to the wall by Kathyrn
and Crystal's combined power. Nothing seemed able to prevent Kathyrn from
taking Crystal's life...until something did.
It
flew through the door, looking much like the balls of power that Kathyrn had
thrown at Crystal before and hit her square in the back, dropping her to her
knees. Crystal, who had been convulsing in Magbert's hold, suddenly relaxed
into unconsciousness as the bond between her and Kathyrn broke.
Kathyrn,
still surprised, looked up at the doorway in amazement, only to find...
"Drianna!"
gasped Kathyrn, looking slightly hurt. "You...would dare to use
your magic against me? The power I instilled in you and nutured from the
very start?"
The
entire group's gaze, minus Crystal, shifted from Kathyrn to Drianna. Her lower
lip trembled, but she replied in a strong and clear voice:
"If
need be."
Kathyrn
held her gaze for a moment, then looked evenly at Magbert, who still looked
worried. "Do you truly believe I am not a woman of my word?"
Kathyrn asked.
"I'm
not in the position to trust anyone!" he shouted back so she could hear
him.
She
smiled vaguely at him, then turned to Drianna. "Have your motley
crew," she snapped harshly. Then, in a softer tone, she added, "I
wash my hands of the whole affair."
To
everyone's surprise, she, the castle suroundings and even Ian's bent sword
disappeared, leaving them outside the castle. Everyone else stared around in
shock, while Magbert kept his attention on Crystal. "Oh, babe, please wake
up, please!" he begged, gently lying her back on the ground and shaking
her. "Don't say we made it this far and she didn't keep her word...!"
Crystal
remained still.
"Where's
Magbert," asked Ian, scanning the ground.
Lokey
closed his eyes for a moment, then pointed to the ground near Pandora.
"There," he said.
Pandora
knelt down near the spot and gasped. "Something's wrong with
Crystal!" she said softly. "Magbert's trying to wake her up."
Drianna, Lokey and Ian surrounded the miniature gnome and his sprite, neither
of whom noticed.
"Is...she...?"
began Ian.
"Noooo,"
whispered Magbert, closing his eyes and gathering her up in his arms again.
"She can't be gone. She just can't."
Drianna
and Lokey looked at each other with the same thought in mind. Not if we
have anything to do with it. Quietly, Lokey began to murmur and Drianna
began to concentrate.
"You're
getting my wings all wet," came a soft voice in Magbert's ear.
He
nearly leaped in surprise. "C-Crystal?" he ventured, easing up on his
hold on her.
"Hi,"
she said, smiling weakly.
Magbert
almost sobbed with relief. "E-YE-AH!!!" he shouted. "It's
okay! Everything's okay! Oh, thank God, it's okay!"
"What
happened?" Crystal asked.
"Kathyrn
was trying to drain your magic from you and I guess you fainted or
something," Magbert replied. "I thought I'd lost you!" He turned
to Drianna. "Good God, woman, you had me going there for a minute!"
he said.
"I
had you what?"
"Don't
you get it?" he demanded. "That was your test we so
unwillingly got sucked into. You're free! You can do what you want! And Crystal
gets to live! We get to live!"
Drianna
looked at Magbert in astonishment. "You mean, Kathyrn wanted to get
rid of me?"
"Not
the way you're thinking," said Magbert, growing himself back to normal
height and enlarging Crystal as he spoke. "She just didn't want you to be
afraid to try new things, which include seeing and understanding the world
before you're too old to try. Kathyrn already did what she wanted to do with
her life. Have you?"
"No,"
said Drianna, adding decisively, "But I guess I should. I know I
should!"
"So
you will stay with us!" said Crystal, the excitement reviving her a
little.
"No."
"Ex-cuse
me?" said Lokey, Crystal and Magbert simultaneously.
"I'm
going to go it alone this time," explained Drianna. "Either I do this
for the right reasons this time or I'll end up getting someone else into
trouble." She sighed at Crystal. "I know you had wanted me to go with
you, Crys. I hope you understand."
"I
do," she said, as Drianna leaned over to give her a misty-eyed hug.
"It's just hard to take right now."
"Do
what you have to," said Magbert, shaking her hand with an understanding
nod.
"All
that trouble and you're leaving?!" exclaimed Lokey in disbelief.
"You're
disappointed?" smirked Drianna.
"Disappointed,
hell!" snapped Lokey, sitting back. "I'm exhausted! Go on, get
outta here, I'm not sheddin' any water over it."
"Thanks,
Ian, for letting me stay while I did. And thank you, too, Pandora," said
Drianna. "I appreciate your fighting skill. If any of you ever need my
help, Crystal can call on me anytime," said Drianna.
"I
can?" asked Crystal.
"Un-hmm.
That's why I returned your slightly faulty luck charm."
"It
wasn't faulty," Crystal frowned.
"It
isn't now," smiled Drianna, raising an eyebrow.
"Then
that means it wasn't a luck charm when Kathryn was..." began Lokey. He,
Magbert and Crystal exchange glances, then Magbert said,
"No
way!"
"Way!"
nodded Crystal and Lokey.
Drianna
laughed. "All you have to do is concentrate on the charm," she said.
"Like
wishing on a star," said Crystal, looking at the charm.
"Exactly.
Just wish and I'll come."
"Sounds
like the end of a fairytale," said Lokey. But Drianna didn't hear, for
with a fairytalish dramatic exit, complete with bright light and sweeping wind,
Drianna was gone.