Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 10

Asor hated it when Mane-of-Night did things like this.

No matter how much power, how much confidence she exhibited, Asor was still rather "old fashioned" about his companion. He felt honour-bound to look after her - after all, she was significantly smaller and physically less strong than he, and of course she was female... but that was where any similarity between Mane-of-Night and any other woman the Gara-Laserma had ever known ended.

There was no denying it - Mane-of-Night was a force of nature. She could be as carefree and reckless as Asor himself had been just after The Curse took hold of him... and thinking back to those times just made things worse for him. He remembered all those times he nearly got himself killed, but he'd been on his own at the time - Mane-of-Night at least had someone trying to watch her back...

That, however, was never easy, not that Asor would ever complain. Mane-of-Night would often go off alone without a word, then shortly after make brief telepathic contact to let him know she was safe, and follow that with tiny snippets of information now and then, gradually allowing him to build up a picture-puzzle of what was taking place. This instance was no different - until Mane-of-Night digressed alarmingly from the norm, and told him she intended to let herself be captured.

Asor objected even though he knew she would never listen, then gave up on it and backed off, up the hill, to watch how things developed from relative safety as Zserreth and his "herd" abandoned their camp...

"She will need you..."

Someone had spoken to Asor, with real words rather than projected thoughts, and he turned, expecting to find one of Zserreth's people in the bushes behind him - but there was no-one. He had never been one to believe in the "Unpassed Souls" of fanciful story and song, or any of the other incredible beings said to inhabit dark and lonely places, but on Wyridaen, he had seen all kinds of things, creatures and people - Mane-of-Night herself verged on the mythical - and so he chose to heed the disembodied words, edging closer to the camp, and the Gara-Morsa soldiers, hoping to catch sight of his friend.

There - emerging from a curtained cave; Mane-of-Night, apparently safe and well, and several Gara-Morsa, two of them smeared with blood and dirt. The warriors, in light armour and carrying energy lances, led her to one of their vehicles, and once she and several guards were inside, hidden from view, the machine started to move down the valley-side...

"If you care about her, you will follow..."

Asor didn't give danger, or the source of the voice, another moment's thought. He gave chase, keeping to the undergrowth, out of the soldiers' sight. The Gara-Morsa didn't seem particularly alert to possible danger, none of their warriors hanging onto the outside of the transport, or on watch from one of the roof-hatches, and that seemingly relaxed attitude gave Asor time to think - think, and imagine the worst.

She's never this quiet, thought the Gara-Laserma. She's either hiding her powers for some reason, or she's unable to use them - perhaps drugged... perhaps that voice was some attempt to secretly let me know, magic maybe...

Now he was worried, and if that wasn't bad enough, there seemed to be little he could do, apart from stand in the path of the armoured vehicle, and hope he could force it to stop...

A glimmer of hope dawned as the transport slowed, having reached the floor of the valley where Gara-Morsa "civilisation" was starting to encroach on the wilderness, in the form of a fairly even dirt-road, but just around the bend, Asor's heart turned to lead inside him. There was another transport, newer, sleeker, and man in black uniforms, not the standard earthy green-grey, were getting out, moving onto the road with the apparent intent of stopping Mane-of-Night's vehicle.

They don't seem to have weapons, thought Asor, and their vehicle isn't obviously armed. If there's trouble, I can take them...

Mane-of-Night's transport stopped next to the second vehicle, and one of the men in black leaned in through the open window - on the wrong side for Asor to see anything within, but a few moments later, that door opened, and Mane-of-Night emerged, unscathed and seemingly relaxed. Asor hoped she might look around, he could catch her eye, and she would make contact, but she seemed wholly focussed on the Gara-Morsa, and without protest in word or gesture, she swapped over to the newer, more prestigious vehicle.

Asor continued his pursuit, following Mane-of-Night's new vehicle as it moved off, and went deeper into Gara-Morsa territory, but he was starting to struggle to keep up as the road became more even, the dirt changing to smoother artificial stone, and the undergrowth was starting to thin out, forcing him further and further away from the road. Soon, the flying machines that clattered overhead every now and then would surely see him, and there was a very good chance he would be attacked...

And then, Mane-of-Night's vehicle exploded.

I tolerate this treatment for about two seconds - and after the third, I'm gone.

In the blink of an eye, I put the Gara-Morsa in the back of the transport into psionically-induced comas, then I punch out the roof with telekinesis, in a most satisfying display of my developing power in that field of psychic endeavour. The driver suddenly finds open sky above his head, and in his confusion, he's easily subdued - he bends to my will like paper in the wind, and he pulls the transport over to the side of the road, switches off the engine, and obediently falls asleep.

That's solely for the benefit of my would-be assassins - I've already left, telekinetically carrying myself to safety, and by the time the vehicle stops, I'm several hundred feet away, back down the road, surveying my surroundings. There's no sign of any kind of military base nearby, let alone one capable of launching a missile that could destroy a body the size of The Dark Child - but I do see two Gara-Morsa aircraft, with enclosed, tilting rotors at the tips of their wings - their equivalent of old-fashioned helicopters - pausing in mid-air before they turn towards me.

And at that same moment, Asor bounds out of the cut-back forest - the perfect target at the worst possible time...

"Are you insane?", I exclaim as I run up to him.

"Another possible explanation", he answers cryptically. "I'll explain later - it does look as though the Gara-Morsa aren't about to leave us in peace."

I perform a telekinetically-boosted leap that lands me squarely on my companion's back, just where neck and body meet. Whilst I'm grateful that he followed me, at no small risk to himself, his presence now presents me with something of a problem. The Gara-Morsa are closing in - they'll start firing any time now - and Asor is a soft target; but at least I can be more than just a passenger...

My telekinesis can stop projectile-based small arms fire, but the Gara-Morsa have rudimentary energy weapons, and those scout craft coming right at us look to have rockets, too, under their wings. I can surround myself and Asor with a psionic force shield, but withstanding a rocket attack will take something more - and luckily for us, Mystalornan magic and psionics were made for each other. I do have other defences, but they were intended for one, and I need time to see if I can get them to work beyond their intended limits.

I look into the mind of one of the Gara-Morsa pilots, to see my surroundings from his airborne viewpoint. He immediately gives me what I need - the military base is on the far side of Tol'Latla, the nearest city, which itself isn't too far from here...

He also unknowingly tells me we've just come into range of his craft's weapons.

At my urging, Asor leaps away down the road - and a missile blows a hole in the highway just where he'd been standing. We experience the entirety of the deafening sound, and a little of the accompanying heat, but my combined shield stays firm and strong.

***We shouldn't go this way***, advises Asor. ***This path leads straight into the heart of one of the Gara-Morsa's largest cities.***

***And that's exactly why it's the right path***, I reply. ***Shortest distance between two points? A straight line...***

I've tried to sound reassuring, but it doesn't seem to be working. ***Now who's insane?***, asks Asor. ***That's the worst possible thing we could do!***

I send a calming pulse back down the telepathic link, the psionic equivalent of a stroking. Yes, my plan may sound like madness, but in it, there's cold, steely logic. The city isn't an impediment - it's going to help us...

"How long have you been a traitor to your own kind?", roared the man in black, slamming his hands down hard on the table, making a cowering Ibarha jump, and whimper. "How often have you abused the trust placed in you to give information to our enemies?"

Ibarha wished she was brave, brave enough to respond with spirit and pride, but instead it took all she had left to murmur "...b-but they're not our enemies..."

For the first time, the still nameless man from Investigation and Special Security came over to Ibarha's side of the table. Grabbing a handful of hair, he pulled her head back, and spat in her face. "What you told them is a state secret!", he hissed, close to her face. "That's a death-punishment right there - and a public execution, 'cause you're employed by Civil Security!"

Tell him...

Ibarha could hear another voice in the room - calm, clear, sounding almost as though it were speaking from inside her head...

You're going to die anyway, it continued. May as well die proud of yourself...

A fire fluttered inside the girl, like a tiny bird, newly caged - and it found a voice. “The only creature to ever hurt me is you", she declared, looking the ISS man in the eye. "Who, then, is my enemy?"

The man in black drew his hand-lance, thumbed the "Charge" button, and pressed the weapon to Ibarha's head. "I have Chancellor's Authority to put you to death right here and now!", he snarled...

"I love The Spirits of The Forest", Ibarha responded, quite calmly. "I dance for them, and they love me. I work for the Gara-Morsa, and I'm lucky to be thanked. Go on, kill me - do it now, 'cause if you have me executed in public, I'll tell everyone who the real monsters are!"

The girl expected to die, right at that very moment. She closed her eyes...

She felt the warmth of the hand-lance's emitter-jewel move away from her head, its portentous humming rapidly fading. A door swung open, and remained open, allowing sounds from outside to reach the girl's ears for the first time in what felt like days - and amongst those sounds was the voice of her interrogator, exclaiming "What do you mean, there's a Cursed inside the city...???"

Ibarha smiled to herself. It had to be a sign.

...to be continued...

Posted at 13:47 on 09.05.2009


~ o O o ~


Previously...
Mane-of-Night And The Watcher From Beyond - Chapter 1 - 21.06.2009
Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 14 - 17.05.2009
Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 13 - 15.05.2009
Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 12 - 13.05.2009
Mane-of-Night And The Dark Child's Descent - Chapter 11 - 11.05.2009