The Last Druid (26 page)

His words made Ca
lla more agitated than ever. 
I can’t stand here listening to any more of this,
she said. 
We have to do something!

I am aware.
  Elenia was disgusted more than anything with this foolish mortal. 
Do not give in to despair, Calla—we are not too late.

T
hey sprang forward to stand right next to the burning pile of wood; it took a moment for anyone to realize what had happened.  Elenia and Calla couldn’t get any closer to Hiran—the flames along the edge flicked out towards them almost as if in warning, the wall of heat so intense it held them back.

If Elenia had been on her own she would have been able to charge through such a barrier with ease.  But she had merged with Ca
lla, and the girl’s body would easily burn if they tried that kind of stunt.

Cal
la,
Elenia said, suddenly having an idea,
focus your mind—try to draw the air around your hand, making as dense of a ball as you can.

But how?
the girl replied. 
I’ve never done anything like that before.  How do I—

Imagine pulling on a piece of lightweight fabric, drawing it towards you.  Then imagine it flowing tighter and tighter around your hand.  I will take care of the rest.
  Elenia sensed a flicker of uncertainty in Calla’s soul, but she didn’t back away from this new challenge: quieting the doubts that still bounced around her mind, she did as she was asked.  Already Elenia could feel the energy gathering around Calla’s right hand, growing stronger with every second; it grew perhaps a little too quickly, the sphere weighing down the arm while the effort to gather the energy was draining Calla.

Just a…little…more…
Calla was thinking not quite to herself.

Cal
la stop!  You are taking too much out of yourself!

I…almost…have it!
  Her body was now shaking from the strain.

Stop Cal
la!  You have gathered more than enough! 

Elenia could feel the energy swirling around the hand: it was strong, heavy—and far more than they would actually need.  Ca
lla finally stopped, and she seemed to drop; the effort had taken its toll, draining her of energy.  Elenia used her own power to hold on to her, to keep her spirit from trying to drift away.  She should have known better than to have the girl perform that kind of spell when she hadn’t been properly taught how to use her gift; Elenia would have to take over now.

She raised “her” arm up sharply, releasing the ball of energy and sending it directly at the platform.  So much air energy had been gathered that the burning wood was scattered in every direction, sparks and flaming pieces left to rain down on the crowd.  The force of the blast took out the stone column as well—it cracked at its base and slowly fell back away from them, smashing into numerous small pieces as soon as it hit the ground. 
Hiran was sent tumbling for a few feet until he finally stopped with his back against the pavement, staring in a daze at the sky.

Cal
la’s mind abruptly became deathly quiet, the ripples of energy in her spirit growing still.  She was out cold, but she was still alive.  Elenia would have to take full control now if the mortals on the Council were to be shown how wrong they were; she wanted to give them a piece of her mind anyway.

She wasn’t actually breaking any of the sacred laws she followed, but she would come dangerously close to it.

The Councilmen were slowly getting back on their feet after having pieces of bonfire dropping onto them.  Mrok was the first to recover completely from the shock; as he turned he saw the mess across the plaza.  His eyes lingered over the dazed Hiran, and he seemed to swell with sudden rage.  He whirled around to face her directly.

“Great One,
what have you done?!
” he bellowed.  “That monster will bring about our destruction if he is allowed to live!  For the safety of us all, he must be the one who is destroyed!  You cannot—“

“
Silence, old fool,
” Elenia snapped.  She had to use Calla’s voice for everyone to hear her, but a little of her own was layered in with it.  It still carried the desired effect: a hush descended over the crowd and everyone froze, all attention directed at her.  Mrok looked as though someone had thrown dung at him but he held his tongue, as did his fellows gathered behind him.

Elenia took three paces towards them; they seemed to shrink more and more with each step she took.  “
Who are you to question the decisions I make?  You, who do not even have the guts to look your people in the eye and admit that death is fast approaching and will try to take them.  You chose to ignore what was really happening around you all those years ago, and again now, thinking you knew how you could best deal with it—YOU FAILED EVERYONE!
”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw
Hiran stand back up.  Mrok spotted him as well.  “Guards!” he shouted.  “Seize him!”

About a dozen of the Council Guard advanced towards
Hiran.  Seeing their approach with weapons raised, he turned and stood ready to meet them.

“
STAND!
”

The Guardsmen stopped just a few feet away from him, and the weapons dropped from their hands to clatter on the paving stones.  Elenia had everyone’s attention once more.

“
The boy is not the traitor here—he is innocent of everything you tried accusing him of.  He has proven his loyalty over and over again, and you saw it as too little, too late.  All you were able to see was the life he led as a child, the dark events that befell his mother before he was even born; you tried to have him damned from the moment you first saw him!  I have half a mind to reduce you and your fellows to ashes for all you have done, not just to him but also to the citizens around you, as well as me!
”

Mrok’s mind was working hard, trying to find a way to regain control of the situation; it showed plainly on his face.  He straightened up, trying to make himself appear taller than her.  “Stop this,” he said slowly through gritted teeth.  “Stop this right now, girl.  You do not understand that this has to be done.  You must stand aside!”

Elenia scowled at him.  He actually thought it was all Calla’s actions, that she was proving to him how much of a child she was by not understanding.  The damned fool—Calla had known perfectly well how wrong he was even before she tried running off on him.  He had the nerve to think this was all some kind of child’s game?  His words made her even angrier, the energy of her own soul flaring up to create a wall of flames at her back for all to see.

The nerve of him—he
refused to believe what she actually thought of him.  She saw only darkness emanating from his soul and the souls of the others on the Council.  They had all been corrupted, and whether they realized it or not they were willingly opening the doors to the threatening darkness that drew ever closer.

They lost the right to her protection a long time ago.

“
I must do nothing for you,
” she said coldly.  “
Ever I tried to warn you whenever you were going astray and always you ignored me, taking each event as the work of someone else—the work of the boy, because his father was a master of dark magic.  I gave you so many chances to set things right, but your old tricks to stay in power only became worse.  If any here are to be labeled traitors, let everyone see that it is you of the Council!
”

With these last words she reached out with her mind, locking on to one particular wave of their energy: it didn’t come from their souls, but was linked directly to their physical forms.  Its stability meant they would be able to keep their present appearance.  But if a powerful magical being like
herself was able to tug at it enough their forms would shift, and she could turn them into whatever creature she wanted to.  It was the kind of spell she used rarely, and only as punishment for the most severe of crimes—those she performed it on suffered a tremendous amount of pain from the transformation itself, and she was always left feeling some kind of guilt afterwards.  It always pained her to hurt another living thing this way.

But this was the only way the Councilmen would learn.

She grabbed hold of that wavelength in all of them at once and pulled on it hard.  Mrok cried out and dropped to the ground writhing in agony, as did the others of the Council.  Elenia started altering their physical forms; as everyone watched the men’s skin darkened to almost black, their existing limbs thinning out as another set grew out from their midsections, and their eyes grew unnaturally large in their heads.  Slowly they began to shrink until they disappeared within the folds of their robes.

“
For the crimes you have committed against myself, my servants, and the people you were sworn to protect, I strip you of your natural forms and curse you to live out the rest of your lives as creatures that all will despise.
”

The Councilmen gave one final collective shriek before they were swallowed up by their clothes and fell silent.  As the crowd stared at where they had been, the only things to emerge from the folds of fabric were ants.

So ends this Council
, Elenia thought to herself.

It was over.  Guards came up and started dropping their weapons in piles on the pavement; people began cheering and chanting hers and Cal
la’s names; children started running around in the streets stomping on any bugs they found—a very quick end to the once-Councilmen.

Elenia felt a ripple of energy somewhere within her.  It came from Ca
lla’s soul; the girl was coming around again.  Elenia turned to Hiran, who stood off to one side with a mixture of confusion, relief, and fear on his face.  She walked over to him.  His eyes went wide and he stiffened as she came closer.

“
Catch her, Hiran,
” she said calmly.  “
She is waking up again.  If I remain in her body for much longer my presence will start to damage her.
”

He blinked in surprise, then nodded.  Elenia immediately let go of Ca
lla’s mind, pushing against it with her own to force them apart again.  It would hurt them both, and Calla was bound to feel the effects of the merge later on, but it wouldn’t be enough to cause any lasting damage.  Elenia pulled herself away, being careful to do so gently to keep from taking a piece of Calla’s soul with her.  After several minutes they were half-apart, making the separation easier from here on.  Elenia pulled herself completely out of Calla’s body, and the girl promptly dropped into Hiran’s waiting arms.

Elenia, in her own form once more, stretched slowly to ease some of the soreness from the merge.  She turned to face the two mortals behind her.  Cal
la eyelids fluttered open and she stared at Hiran, apparently unaware that he was leaning over her.  He said something to her that Elenia couldn’t hear as he helped her stand back up.  They both turned to meet Elenia’s gaze.

—You have only tonight to enjoy this victory—she said, projecting her thoughts directly into their minds so no one else could hear.  –We have won this small battle, but our greatest one is about to begin.—

XXXII

Hiran

Hiran
sat on one side of the field and watched as the three women went on with their lesson in magic.  Calla stood within a large ring of stones with her back towards him, her attention focused on something in front of her.  Her body was shaking as she struggled to raise a pillar of stone right from the ground.  She was giving this her entire focus.

Hiran
felt himself frowning.  This wasn’t going as well as it could have, he could feel it.  Her task had been to draw a pillar of stone directly out of the earth, which meant manipulating the soil material to create the object.  She understood how it was supposed to be done, but she kept pouring so much of her energy into it.  Calla had her entire focus on this one thing, when the point of the exercise was to get her to focus on raising the stone with only a fraction of her mind.

She had been at this for a week now, but she
still wasn’t showing any signs of getting stronger.

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.  Time was running out—they were reminded constantly of that nowadays.  Ever since the old Council had been removed reports had come flooding in: the Dead Lands were still growing, the decay spreading ever closer towards them; whole groups of Brilken soldiers had been crossing the border to attack some of the smaller towns and villages; refugees were flooding into Elenan, more and more coming with each day; and the new Council had ordered every possible preparation to
be made for the city’s defense and for the coming battle.  Elenia had sent two of her Nymphs down to help train Calla in the hopes that she would be at least somewhat ready to face Dranl when he finally came.