Awaiting Vexyna at the top of the stairs was her grandfather. “Were you able to take in what Alexdander had to teach?”
“I think so,” Vexyna replied hesitantly. She was still worried about Cateran.
“Good. Then prepare yourself for the madness of Dacreel. I am about to light the candle and release the side of you that flows from your mother, Langsuyar. Please stand in front of the altar.”
Vexyna took up a position in front of the altar and was shocked when her grandfather moved around her, fastening her arms and legs to heavy golden chains attached to the base of the altar.
“Chains,” she said despairingly. “Why?”
“There can be no predicting how violent the combining will be,” Qrxyn intoned gravely. “The chains are meant as a precaution to safeguard us all.”
Glancing up from her chains, Vexyna saw that the three she had left at the bottom of the stairs were now standing around the altar. She looked at them helplessly.
Igniting the candle, Qrxyn began reciting the Incantation of the Candle. He did not require Langsuyar’s diary, for he already knew the spell. “Rebirth comes from the Twinning flame, come forth now and seek out your same.” He continued chanting, but his words were lost in the roar of the flame.
A geyser of flame issued forth from the candlestick as Qrxyn’s invocation reached a thundering climax.
From out of this massive flame stepped the image of a girl who, except for her eyes, which glowed a deep sapphire blue, was composed entirely of gray smoke. Her feet were still engulfed in flame as she leaned out and swiftly rotated around the flame while hissing at the assembled people. Abruptly, she swirled out from the flame until she was a point of blue-gray smoke penetrating Vexyna’s chest.
Vexyna’s body heaved with uncontrollable convulsions. The gold chains, which bound her, strained to their limit before snapping.
Collapsing to the ground, Vexyna lay in a heap breathing heavily. Without warning, she leaped to her feet and turned on the person closest to her: Phantasmine.
Steel fingers grasped the mane of white hair on Phantasmine’s head and hoisted it high into the air. A tearing sound echoed through the chamber as a long, black pointed tail appeared from behind Vexyna. Swiftly, the jagged edge of the tail penetrated Phantasmine. Phantasmine gasped.
Pulling Phantasmine closer, Vexyna moaned deeply.
Phantasmine was letting out little gasps and seemed unable to move. She dangled helplessly in Vexyna’s grip.
Moving in to separate the two girls, Lanton found himself pushed easily aside by Vexyna.
Qrxyn’s efforts were also in vain. “We must get them apart for both of their sakes,” Qrxyn informed Trulo. “It is your turn to try.”
Trulo placed his fingers on the inside of his shirt front with his thumbs adding resistance to the outside. With a quick jerk, he puffed out his shirt and revealed more of his well-muscled chest. Striding over to the two girls, he forcefully grabbed Vexyna by the back of her head. He could not pry her off Phantasmine, but he did manage to get her to look at him.
Greeting Vexyna’s gaze with a warm smile, Trulo suddenly found he was able to move Phantasmine away from Vexyna. He had Phantasmine by the shoulder and simply moved her away by turning around. Her wobbly, jerky movements resembled those of a puppet.
While Lanton and Qrxyn saw to Phantasmine, Vexyna and Trulo remained lost in each others’ eyes. A swirl of blue could now be seen in Vexyna’s brown eyes.
Vexyna’s thoughts were barely focusing. She remembered up to the flame on the candle getting really big and the girl made of smoke hissing at everyone. After that, she recalled Trulo’s smile, but nothing more.
A curious breeze at her hind quarters gave Vexyna a start. Reaching around behind her, she felt at the large bump at the base of her spine. The last of the blue was fading from her eyes as the amulet against her chest suddenly flashed a dark purple light. Sharp prongs popped from the amulet and embedded themselves in Vexyna’s chest. Screams tore from her as the stone sank between her breasts until it had buried three quarters of itself. The platinum band had slithered away to wrap itself neatly around Vexyna’s neck. It shone and expanded to form a shiny collar. Her hands went from her chest to her throat.
Horror ravaged Vexyna’s face as she gathered in the view of Phantasmine lying on the ground, lightly twitching, with her head resting in Lanton’s lap. “Phanta,” she cried as rushed to her friend. “What happened?”
“Don’t you remember?” Lanton asked, cradling Phantasmine’s head in his hands.
“No!” Vexyna shouted. The connection between the lump on her rump and Phantasmine’s injuries occurred to her. “I didn’t. I couldn’t.” She dropped to her knees and her body was racked with sobbing.
Comforting Vexyna by placing his hands on her shoulders, Trulo said softly, “No one knew that would happen.”
Looking up at Trulo through tear-filled eyes, Vexyna tried to speak, but could only move her lips in a nonsensical fashion without uttering little more than gasps and sputters.
Vexyna jumped at the limp touch of another hand on hers. She snapped her gaze up the arm of the other person until she was eye to eye with Phantasmine.
Phantasmine smiled weakly at Vexyna. Her lips barely moved. “Do not worry. My little workers are replacing the lost fluids. I hate to sound like Cat, but some food would go down pretty good right now.”
Tears splashed down Vexyna’s cheeks. She threw her arms around Phantasmine and held her tight. A light grew inside Vexyna until it enshrouded her entire body. The light did not stop growing in size or intensity until it was half a meter around Vexyna. Phantasmine was bathed in the glow emanating from Vexyna. Inside their minds, the girls heard one word repeated simultaneously by many voices, both feminine and masculine. The word ‘love’ reverberated through their thoughts in a split second and left when the light from Vexyna sank into Phantasmine.
Clarity returned to Phantasmine’s eyes and she sat up. Her hands felt where she had been pierced, but could find no traces of injury. She gaped in awe at Vexyna.
This turn of events did not appear to come as a surprise to the men.
“Let us adjourn to more comfortable quarters for food and conversation,” suggested Qrxyn. He led them to the back of the altar room and ushered them all into a small room. Stepping inside, Qrxyn closed the door, then pressed a button on the wall. The room lurched into motion and moved down the building.
Huddled inside the tiny moving room, Phantasmine was crouched in Vexyna’s arms while Vexyna was surrounded by Trulo’s arms. The three gave strength to each other. The elder gentlemen stood stoically looking straight ahead at nothing.
The room jerked to a halt. Qrxyn opened the door and ushered out the ensemble.
Outside the tiny room lay an enormous and lavishly decorated chamber. Brightly colored tapestries adorned the columns throughout, and vines and ferns added brilliant greenery. Fountains sprang up everywhere. The floor was slabs of stone set through a lake the size of the room. Larger stone slats were grouped to form pedestals for the wrought-iron framed lounging chairs and tables that dotted the room. Softly lit crystals set behind the plants illuminated the chamber.
It was a comforting and relaxing atmosphere. The group took no time to find places to rest.
Phantasmine looked around suspiciously at the men and women who were busy serving food or fetching pillows for the group. Swiveling in her seat, she called out to Qrxyn, “Those people are Vags, are they not?”
“Yes, they are,” Qrxyn replied calmly. “Do you fear the past, Illusian? Your effort to live as long as someone from Nogard is commendable, but did you really think you could outlive your connection to the events before the Forgetting?”
The Crystal Queen’s visage turned sour, silent and brooding. “How much are you planning to tell Vexyna?” she finally asked.
Vexyna looked from Phantasmine over at Qrxyn.
“As much as Vexyna needs to know,” came a response from Lanton. “There are pieces to this
puzzle we must share with her because now, more than ever, Vexyna needs a clear mind. From here on out, she cannot be plagued by questions or doubts. This is much bigger than fighting over which group of Overseers gets to guide the people back to a world filled with technology or ferreting out the truth about what happened before the Great Fire.”
Eyes widened as Vexyna gathered in her father’s words.
“Agreed,” Qrxyn confirmed. “Vexyna’s mission outweighs everything else at the moment. We can deal with the case of the Illusians versus the Vags once Vexyna is able to seal the Throne of Life.”
Fruits, breads, meats and cheeses of all kinds were served to them as they reclined on the softly padded chairs with the wrought-iron frames.
A heavy sigh came from Vexyna. She picked at her food. “Would someone please start as close to the beginning as possible and explain to me what is going on?”
“Where to begin is the hard part,” Lanton said. “I know. You’ve been carrying around your mother’s diary, haven’t you?”
Nodding, Vexyna reached into her cloak and produced the volume. She waved it in the air a couple of times. Thankfully, nothing happened.
“Did you take the time to read any of it?” Vexyna’s father asked.
“Some of it could only be read by the light of the candlestick from grandmother,” Vexyna replied. “Yes, I did read some of the entries. You and mother met because of a storm.”
“That’s right,” Lanton said. “Your mother was already a roving Langsuyar. She was supposed to be on her way back to the Throne of Life to take over the position from her mother. The light of Dazartan within me brought back enough of her humanity for her to fall in love with me. It also healed her enough to bear another child: you, Vexyna.”
“Another child?” Vexyna repeated, looking for clarification. “I thought Langsuyars were only supposed to have one child.”
“They are,” Qrxyn interjected. “But Langsuyars don’t often interact with people from Nogard.”
“Wait, you mean I have a sister somewhere?” Vexyna thought about the question for a moment before her eyes widened in shock. Qrxyn’s words from the altar room came back to her. “Din. Din is my sister?”
“Yes, you figured that out before,” said Qrxyn. “Din is the one who has been gathering energies for the Throne of Life.”
“Before being healed by Vexyna, I had the opportunity to run an analysis of my system to determine the cause of damage.” Phantasmine explained, more to Vexyna than to anyone else. “It is as I thought. Langsuyars are not bloodsuckers. Your tail acts as more than just a means to pierce flesh. It provides an entryway for neurohormones. These neurohormones affect the endocrine glands and drain them of their secretions. It is a two-part process. First comes the piercing and the injection of neurohormones. Then comes the extraction of pheromones and other hormones. Some particularly vicious Langsuyar attacks have rendered the victims without their pituitary gland.”
“Glandular secretions? That’s what I was… was I?” Vexyna didn’t want to think about it. Changing the subject back to the Red Empress, she asked, “What am I supposed to do about Din? Or am I supposed to do anything about her?”
“It is up to you to stop Din from taking her place on the Throne of Life,” Qrxyn informed her.
“What about Din’s control over the earth-beings?”
“The Earth Elementals? She must be tricking them somehow. The Elementals will not do the bidding of a flesh-bound being, or ‘fleshling’ as they call us,” Qrxyn said.
“Since they are made of soil, is there anywhere these Earth Elementals cannot go?”
“Of course,” Lanton chipped in. “The other Elemental types of beings, like Water and Fire, won’t allow the Earth Elementals to venture in certain places.”
“Earth Elementals, or any of the Elementals, are of little consequence at the moment,” Qrxyn stated. “Vexyna, you must know about your lineage through Nogard.” He turned slightly to indicate Phantasmine. “You might like to pay attention to this part. It involves your grandfather.”
“Grandfather?” Phantasmine was startled. “My grandfather disappeared over two hundred and fifty years ago. What would you know about him?”
“Quite a bit, actually,” Qrxyn said as he flicked the underside of his silver moustache with his upturned thumb. “He is my brother and another of the Avatars of Dazartan. It has also been much more than two hundred and fifty years since you last saw him.”
“If that is so, why do I not have the same abilities bestowed upon Vexyna?” Phantasmine asked.
“Each of the three Avatars is blessed with a different set of gifts, which are then passed on to their bloodlines,” Qrxyn explained. “Vexyna is blessed with the ability to wield powerful white and black magic. Though you do not know it, Phantasmine, you possess the means by which to cast healing magic more awesome than Vexyna has thus far demonstrated. Inside you beats a virtuous heart, no matter which organic body you are contained within. Stamina, loyalty and a keenly analytical mind; all of these you have inherited from your grandfather, Exuthron, my younger brother.”
“Magic, Grandfather, when will I learn more about it?” Vexyna asked.
Qrxyn closed his eyes and appeared to focus them even though they remained closed. When he opened them, he said, “The use of magical forces will have to be taught to you over time. Alexdander has already started you with the basics and you’ll work your way up to more elaborate conjurings in time.”
“Will you be teaching me, Grandfather?” asked Vexyna.
“Some of the lessons will come from me,” replied Qrxyn. “There are others who have things to teach you, as well.”
“I wish Grandmother was one of them,” Vexyna lamented.
“She is a possibility,” Qrxyn mused.
“She is?” Vexyna asked in wonder. “I wasn’t sure what had become of her.”
“Your grandmother, Zuud-Akh’Do, prefers to dwell on a far off isle,” Qrxyn stated a bit wistfully.
“Oh,” Vexyna let out in a semi-whisper. “I’m really tired.” She yawned uncontrollably. “Could the next step on this journey be a nap?”
“That would probably be a good idea,” Phantasmine added. “After which we should find out how Dr. Deathbrain is progressing with the manufacture of the fogs and mists.”
“Rest would do you both a great deal of good right now,” Lanton agreed. “There are smaller sleep chambers off from this large hall.” He pointed to the archways in two corners of the room. Each archway was a doorway leading off down a hallway filled with doors. “Those rooms are equipped with beds and there are baths between each sleeping room. When you are ready, you may choose any of them.”
Chapter 16: Trulo’s Confessions