Sleeper Of The Wildwood Fugue (Book 7) (8 page)

“This feels awkward,” Delvin claims while taking a sip of delicious coffee. He reaches out to touch his Dariana’s arm, but his hand passes through her. “I thought so. You’re nothing more than a phantom in here. Am I wrong in guessing that the only solid versions of you are those in your memory?”

“That does not make sense,” Timoran mentions from across the table. “The child version that appeared in Shayd was able to touch us.”

“I hugged her,” Sari points out while tasting a sweet wine. “She wasn’t part of the memory, but she wasn’t definitely solid.”

“All of you are correct,” the Darianas say in unison. They bow to each other and point at the one standing next to Nyx, who continues talking. “My past is done and unchangeable, so they are more . . . solid. If you attempted to interact with my memories then you would be the one to become a ghost and pass through. Yet I can touch you and let you touch me if it is a focused image like the child. This is something I can only do when I have visitors or am in the mind of someone else.”

“Like with me and Sari,” Luke interjects, leaning back in his wide-backed chair.

“Sari was an accident when the Compass Key was reactivated,” the young woman explains with a kind smile to the gypsy. “I sought Luke out intentionally because I felt him calling for help. I should not have helped you, young Callindor, but it did not feel right to leave you suffering. Oh, I’m sorry if my words give you the wrong impression, Sari. I have no romantic intentions on your lover. I know how jealous you’ve been getting recently since you and Luke have tried to stop your relationship. It must hurt so much.”

The blue-haired girl blushes and stares at her plate, taking a few deep breaths to remain calm. “Are you reading my mind?”

“All of your hearts, minds, and pasts have been laid bare for me.”

A pie explodes and a pot of soup bubbles over as a circle of flame surrounds the small group. The flames turn from red to blue, their crests reaching for a ceiling that they will never find. Fizzle burrows into the apples, his eyes peering out at Nyx whose face is red with an intense rage. Sweat runs down everyone’s body and they gladly drink ice water that appears in front of them. With a loud snap, the fire turns to aromatic smoke and drifts into the distance. Nyx glares at the nearest Dariana, but is surprised to see that she is crying.

“I’m really sorry,” the silver-haired woman says, her body turning transparent. She kneels next to the half-elf and desperately clasps her hands. “I’m so lonely in here and each of your minds was calling to me. If it makes you feel better, my mind and heart has been left open to you. All that I am is in your mind if you seek for it.”

“That does make it a little more palpable,” Delvin admits as he uses a fork to scoop some pie off a tray of yams. With a shrug, he licks the golden goo off the utensil and is surprised at the tangy and tart taste. “That’s a new flavor. So how much do you know about us, Dariana? Do you know all of our secrets?”

“You hold no secrets, Delvin Cunningham the Mercenary Prince,” she replies with a friendly smile. For an instant, Dariana’s smile turns into a look of apprehension and she glances around the table. Her white eyes grow blue irises, the color reminiscent of cloudless skies. “I don’t know of any way to prove what I know without saying things that I should keep hidden. There’s the love between Luke and Sari, which I’m sure everyone knows about. Timoran . . . I will make a special case for you and purge what I know from my mind once I am awake.”

“Thank you,” the barbarian states with a sigh of relief. “Why not do it for all of us?”

“It’s a dangerous procedure and it will include removing this part of the conversation from everyone else. I would only do it in certain situations. Will you wake me up now?”

“I want to know what Nyxie’s secret is,” Sari mischievously replies, grinning at her childhood friend. “Consider it a test of our new friend’s declaration. It’s all been vague statements and saying what any mind reader could get with a surface scan.”

The Dariana near Sari scowls at the gypsy while the one near Nyx rubs her knuckles against her temples. The only sounds are of Fizzle devouring apples and Luke serving himself a slab of cake, both noises traveling throughout the white void. Floating into the middle of the table, all of the Darianas meet to whisper and argue over what to do. Their words are hidden from the others, but the gestures show that all of them are annoyed. One of them jabs a finger into another’s face, resulting in an echoing smack in the head. Before a fight can break out, the quietest of them opens her mouth to release a scream that only the others can hear. With a nod of her head, the victor returns to Nyx’s side and bows her head.

“I will not tell your secrets like your friend wants. I know what she is after and she can get that information on her own. It will be more fun for her that way,” Dariana announces, turning her head to Sari. The gypsy holds up her hands in defeat and goes back to her wine, frowning when she sees that it has been replaced by water. “Would you be so kind as to wake me up? We must be off to Bor’daruk and I’m curious to see what it is like these days. I have not been to the southern deserts in nearly two hundred years.”

“How do we wake you up?” Luke asks, wolfing down his food in fear of it being taken away any second. “Eat quicker, Fizzle, because we might be back in the forest soon.”

“Luke have good idea,” the drite mumbles from inside the apple stack.

The Darianas glance from the warrior to the dragon and the one near Timoran curiously asks, “Are they normally like that?”

“They have their moments, but Luke gets famished if he changes form too much,” the barbarian replies, pouring himself another cup of whiskey. “Then again, you probably knew that already. I worry that we are at a disadvantage with you. At least when inside your mind, so I would like to leave.”

“I apologize for not mentioning this earlier,” Dariana nervously says. She cringes at the groans from her guests and nervously wrings her hands. “I’m not permitted to tell you how to undo my curse.”

“Then how-” Delvin begins.

The warrior stops when Nyx gets to her feet and creates a ball of aura in her palm, happy to have access to her magic again. A knowing smile appears on her Dariana’s face and she politely accepts the orb. The woman shimmers as her body is absorbed into the energy, making Nyx’s fiery aura appear with a fringe of silver light.

“She said we can look at her past and mind too,” the half-elf states while she sits down and catches her breath. Her head is swimming and she can barely keep her eyes open, the sleepiness telling her she made the right decision. “That means we’re connected at the deepest levels. The only thing we don’t share with her is the curse, which is coming from her aura. If we give her some of our energy then she can purge herself of the contamination and wake up. It’s a common method of sleeping curse removal. Hurry up and we’ll be out of here soon.”

Delvin is the first to follow Nyx’s example with a yellow orb that is nearly the size of his head. Like the caster, his powerful aura appears around his body with a silver edging that is barely noticeable against the pure white. One by one the others give some of their essence to a patiently waiting Dariana until only Timoran remains. He struggles to create an orb from his minimal level of magic, his fear of casting spells making it difficult. Growling in frustration, the barbarian gets to his feet and holds both of his hands out, but only manages to create a flicker of orange energy. With no other ideas, he draws his great axe and focuses on the weapon to gather the needed aura. A dense, coin-sized ball of orange aura appears along the edge and he hands it to the patient Dariana. He frowns at the laughter and applause from Luke and Sari, but the corners of his mouth threaten to turn the expression into a proud smile.

“Thank you, my new friends,” the final Dariana whispers before vanishing. “I apologize for the discomfort that the next step will cause.”

The white area dissolves and the adventurers find their senses are swirling around a terrifying void. For a second, Delvin sees the forest through someone else’s eyes and notices that his body has been bound. Sari feels the softness of a mattress before the touch of grass strikes her bare legs. Nyx can barely focus on the area as whatever she has merged with zips around the clearing, the motion making her think she is a fly. Before their minds snap from the pressure of being tossed around multiple bodies, a low mumbling rolls through the trees and pushes each of the champions into their proper form. Their eyes open to find the mist has vanished and they have been wrapped in enchanted ropes.

“Good afternoon, dear champions,” Stephen says while he holds Nyx by the throat. He lifts the groggy half-elf off her feet, lowering her when Trinity smacks his side. “As you can see, we decided to restrain you and I took the liberty of claiming a trophy. How was your meeting within the head of our mutual friend?”

“What did you do to Nyx?” Sari asks as she slips out of her bonds. The gypsy immediately freezes, her hand gently pressing a dagger against her own throat. “You cowardly bastard. Let me go!”

“He didn’t do anything. The ropes and your current situation is all me,” Trinity answers with a wave of her hand. The amber ropes around her rival begin to disappear, but suddenly grow tighter when her fingers twist in unnatural directions. “That hurt, Stephen! Fix my hand and let me drop the spell. You don’t like it when your women and your enemies are unable to fight back.”

“True, but she’s awake now,” he replies, hungrily licking his lips. “I’m sure she has a few good screams in her. The look on her friends’ faces will be priceless too.”

Stephen releases Nyx at the same time he smacks Trinity in the face, sending the chaos elf into a tree. The sound of her impact is muffled by a cushion of air that she creates against her back, but she is still dazed from the initial blow. Impressed by his companion’s reflexes, Stephen casually turns back to Nyx and receives a solid punch to his mouth. The unexpected attack holds enough force to make him lean away from Dariana, who picks one of his teeth out of her knuckles. She swings her leg at his head and he puts his arms up to block, but his opponent’s limb disappears like a hazy mirage. Unable to defend himself, the strong knee to his stomach causes Stephen to double over and gasp for air. Not wanting to fight any more, he draws his bastard sword and aims it at Nyx, which forces Dariana to step in front of the caster. The black-haired man makes a playful jab and is surprised when the champion kicks the weapon from his grasp, her bare foot unharmed by the edge of the blade.

“You’re still an annoying weakling,” Stephen states, his weapon returning to its leather scabbard. He rubs his stomach as he checks on Trinity and heals her minor injuries. “I guess you’re back in the game. I can’t say I’m happy to see you since we’ve been doing this dance for centuries.”

“Leave my friends and I alone,” Dariana demands in a quivering voice.

“Your friends?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really want to make it that easy?”

“Please don’t say it.”

With a cruel smile, Stephen claps his hands and the bonds around the adventurers sputter out of existence. He stares at Dariana who remains between him and Nyx, the caster bathed in fire that ripples around her body. Turning on his heel, the immortal nobleman grabs Trinity by the arm and they vanish from the clearing. The adventurers relax and release their held breaths, but draw their weapons when Stephen reappears.

“I almost forgot how bad you are at introductions,” he says, grinning like a demon. He bows to the silver-haired champion as his body fades away. “May I introduce all of you to Dariana . . . Kernaghan. Enjoy your new friends, little sister. Father and I will be watching you as usual.”

5

Dariana sits on the edge of her bed, her white eyes nervously darting from one person to another. Her muscles ache from being pushed so soon after waking up, her right calf feeling like it is strained. The pain is a welcomed sign that she is no longer asleep even though the tension in the air nearly chokes her. The woman is tempted to read their surface thoughts, but knows it would only make her situation worse. It is difficult enough to ignore the sensations she is feeling from the other champions’ mix of emotions, which call out to Dariana like sirens. Nyx and Delvin are especially hard to put out of her mind, so she focuses on humming the harp section of her favorite song. She stops when everyone glances at her, their eyes holding more caution than warmth.

“I’ll say the obvious,” Delvin announces, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. “I fear this is a trap, but it makes no sense if it is. Dariana is obviously the sixth champion and Stephen doesn’t like her.”

“That could be to ingratiate her to us,” Timoran points out from where he is sitting on the ground. “I am sorry, Dariana, but we need to be cautious. It makes no sense to me why Gabriel would put the daughter of our greatest enemy on our side.”

“That’s the only part I’ve figured out,” the brown-haired warrior interjects before their new companion can speak. “It’s to take a powerful weapon out of the Baron’s hands. He already has Stephen, so Dariana would be too much. The sides need to be somewhat even.”

“I can explain if people wish for me to speak,” the nervous woman offers, meekly staring at her feet.

Sari eyes her while juggling three daggers and her money pouch. “You don’t have to ask permission. Being timid isn’t going to endear you to us. If anything, it makes you more suspicious. So drop the act and be your true self like when we were in your head.”

“But . . . this is the real me,” Dariana replies, her silver hair shimmering when sunlight hits it. She steps away from the beam, fearing that someone might think she is using her powers to distract them. “Everyone is stronger and . . . better in their own mind. My power is greatest when I’m asleep, so that is where I’m more confident. In the real world, I’m a freak of magic and the daughter of an evil man. I have very little reason to be brave here because it would give off the wrong impression.”

Fizzle lands on her shoulder and is surprised at the way she tenses. He stretches his body to stare into her eyes, which he notices are disguised by a thick coating of solid aura. Underneath the layered illusions are blue irises identical to Stephen’s and a depth that mesmerizes the curious dragon. Fizzle snaps out of his trance when he feels a cool hand tickle his chin. He licks Dariana’s fingers, causing her to pull them away and attempt to get away from the drite. She falls off the bed and stays sitting on the ground, refusing to see if the others are still paying attention to her.

“You know, she did help Luke with the Dark Wind curse,” Sari says, tucking her daggers into her skirts. “Though she did take that help back, but that was because she had been punished, right? So she’s already helped save your life, Luke.”

“Nimby did that too and look what happened there,” he bitterly responds, feeling guilty about the words as soon as he hears them. “I’m sorry, Dariana, but I’ve been tricked by an agent of your father before. You saved me twice and I thank you for that. It’s just that . . . I’m scared to trust you and leave myself open to another betrayal.”

“We would be fools if we were not cautious,” Timoran calmly adds, narrowing his gaze at the woman. He is quietly amazed at how frail and timid she is considering that she was beating on Stephen less than an hour ago.

“This is a lot more complicated than any of us ever expected,” Delvin groans while rubbing his eyes. The warrior approaches Dariana and offers her help in standing, her eyes still locked on her dirt-caked feet. “How about explaining why the daughter of our enemy was made a champion? That might shed some light on what we’re dealing with.”

“All of you should know if you search your minds. My past is part of you now.”

“I don’t like that you planted memories in my head!” Sari angrily snaps, storming over to Dariana. She has to stand on her toes to get close to the taller woman’s face, but the gypsy is still too short to be intimidating. “I refuse to search for these thoughts. In fact, take them out of my head because I don’t trust them. Do it to all of us because that isn’t how you get people to understand you.”

Dariana flicks Sari’s forehead, creating a spark of magic that drifts into the air and disappears in the sunlight. From a distance, she makes the same motion toward the other champions who wince at the sensation of being flicked by an invisible hand. One by one a spark rises from their heads and vanishes until only Nyx remains, the quiet caster staring at the clouds while lying on her back. Nothing happens when Dariana tries to remove her memories from the young woman who begins whistling an Elven lullaby. She tries again and feels a hand of warmth push her against the bed, the hazy form touching her cheek before dispersing. The urge to try again rises in her chest, but she is too scared to go through with another attempt. It takes her a few seconds to realize that she cannot remove her memories because the half-elf is currently looking through them.

“Do you want me to share or let them learn on their own?” Nyx asks, sitting up with twigs in the back of her hair. She turns the tiny sticks into ashes and watches them drift on the breeze, a few needing to be wiped from her shoulders. “I’ve been examining your memories since Stephen left, so I know your story, Dariana. I also know you left some things out, but I don’t blame you. After all the previous champions treated you terribly, so I can see why you wanted to open yourself up to us. Though I’m surprised you tried this again considering what happened the last time. Trust me when I say none of us will do that to you.”

“Keep her secrets, Nyx,” Delvin requests, holding up his hand to silence Dariana. He smiles at her for the first time, which becomes a frown when she looks away. “I prefer to learn about you the old-fashioned way. That should make this easier to handle and make it feel more like a friendship if it can get that far. Does everyone agree?”

“I just want to know why Gabriel chose her,” Luke states as he hears distant voices in the forest. “I’d appreciate it if you could explain it quickly. The victims of the curse are wandering around out there and they seem scared.”

“It’s simpler than what Delvin said,” Dariana softly answers, her mind searching for the confused people. She gingerly coaxes all of them in the direction of the road where they will gather and wait for the adventurers. “The Baron and Gabriel are ancient enemies from when they were mortal. Me being turned into a champion is one of the few ways the Triple God can strike at my father. It’s petty and causes me pain, but I’m nothing more than a weapon in this game. It hurts my mother too, but I’m not strong enough to speak of her now.”

“Perhaps we should have this conversation in a tavern,” Timoran suggests. The barbarian fingers the Compass Key dangling from his neck and looks at their new ally. “Are you able to see this?”

“Yes and I know it has been hidden from my father’s agents.”

“In that case it appears you truly are on our side”

Nyx pulls a spare cloak out of her bag and brings it to her new friend, stretching to put it on the taller woman’s shoulders. “I agree with Timoran about the tavern. It doesn’t help us to be paranoid about Dariana. She’s one of us and there’s no question about that. By the time we get to a town, we’ll have more questions and we can talk over real food and ale.”

“I don’t drink,” the silver-haired champion announces.

“Then you and I have even less in common,” Sari quickly claims, turning on her toes and walking away. “I’ll behave, but I’m staying on guard.”

The gypsy leads the way into the forest and the others follow, but Dariana hangs back with Fizzle on her shoulder. She finds it hard to move when she sees Luke take the lead and start playfully arguing with Sari. A wave of happiness washes over the telepath, but she knows it is nothing more than the emotions of others. Her own heart is still gripped with fear and sadness, the memories of her past threatening to rise to the surface. Dariana puts her hands in her pockets, nearly pushing the loose clothing down to her knees. Her muscle tone is gradually returning, but the baggy clothes hide how emaciated she really is.

“Why were you quiet?” Dariana asks the drite.

“Fizzle sense you sad. Not make worse. Fizzle stay neutral while listen. Trust Nyx too.”

“I wonder why she trusts me.”

A stern cough makes the woman jump and her head jerks up to see Nyx waiting a few steps away. With a warm smile the caster states, “Welcome to the family, big sister.”

*****

Luke and Nyx lead the mob of confused wanderers down the southwestern path, knowing that it will take a week to reach the nearest town. After a few subtle conversations with the collection of farmers and travelers, the champions learn that two days have passed since they were drawn into Dariana’s mind. Most of the people only remember entering the forest at the first sign of sunlight, but there are a handful who admit to having waited a day or two before braving the mist. The only survivors from the Day of Darkness is a quartet of barbarian warriors, who agree to spread out around the edge of the mob in case they are attacked by predators or bandits. A handful of lost children have claimed Sari as their protector, never straying more than a few steps away from the story-telling gypsy. One girl, who could not be any older than two, has a tight hug around Fizzle, the drite wrapping his tail around her waist. Timoran and Delvin move through the crowd to answer questions and check on the elderly and injured that they have placed in the middle. Eventually, the group of forty falls into a steady pace and their anxiety shrinks into a faint tremor in their whispered voices.

“She’s still hiding in the back,” Nyx mentions as she looks over her shoulder. She can barely see the top of Dariana’s head beyond the rest of the group. “We made a really bad first impression with her. Well a really bad real world impression. I’m not really sure how this works with . . . whatever she is.”

“Don’t you know what she is?” Luke asks with a wide yawn. “After all, you have all of her memories in your head.”

“That doesn’t mean I understand her and I’m not going through all of them,” the caster admits, frowning at one of the barbarians who is harassing a calico woman. She catches the large warrior’s attention, causing him to stop his unwanted advances. “As far as her birth, childhood, and powers go, I’m in the dark. I sought out her life as a champion and I’m going to ask her to remove the memories when we reach a village. The only reason I kept them was because I thought she would be hurt by all of us giving her gift back.”

“It was a strange gift, Nyx.”

“I agree, but I don’t think she’s very good at dealing with people.”

Luke turns and walks backwards to see Dariana, who is hanging even further back from the other travelers. He notices one of the barbarians glaring at her, but he abruptly turns his attention to helping an elderly halfling get over a puddle. As he watches Dariana, Luke becomes aware that anyone who looks her way is immediately distracted by something else. The only people able to focus on the silver-haired woman are the other champions.

“I think she’s using her powers to avoid people,” the forest tracker says as he faces Nyx again. He examines his yellow feast ring, the images of a goblet and cooked chicken clearly etched upon the metal. “I’ll use my ring to give us some food in a day or two. For now, we can hunt and find fresh water in the forest. I’m still afraid people might get worried and panic once the sun goes down, especially the kids. Maybe you should talk to Dariana about finding a way to keep people calm.”

“Her going into people’s minds would cause trouble,” Nyx whispers, her voice tinged with annoyance. She moves closer to her friend, fearing that someone might overhear them. “She’s a living being. Not some tool we can use whenever we need her. Dariana has been through a lot, so we need to be gentle with her.”

“I should point out that she’s already using her powers on people,” Luke replies, staring down the other half-elf. He lets out a long, slow breath and goes back to listening for trouble. “I never said she should use her powers. I meant that we should get her involved in things. We have a week of being on the road, so we can’t wait for a tavern before we interact with our new companion.”

“Good idea. I’m sorry I snapped at you, little brother. It’s just that we were so cold and mean to her.”

Luke watches for the source of a rapid heartbeat to his right. He relaxes when a yellow hummingbird flits out of the bushes, curiously darts around the giggling children, and returns to the forest. The animal vanishes quicker than he expects, making him wonder if it was real to begin with. He is about to make eye contact with Sari, but his keen eyes catch the flicker of a smile on Dariana’s face.

“I know and I feel bad about it, Nyx. I’m sure the others do too. Still you can’t blame us for being cautious and distant. We all have a lot of questions. Why has the Baron kept her alive and shown an interest in her? Does she know why the other champions failed? Why is Dariana immortal and who is her mother?”

“I think I’m going to talk to her before I get tempted to read more of her memories,” the caster quietly says, wrinkling her nose when Luke tussles her hair. “Though I think the Baron is interested in her because she’s his daughter. In her memories, there’s always a sense that he genuinely cares about her wellbeing and is upset that she’s been pitted against him. I’ll find out more after I chat with her. Not like I’m any good as a forward scout, so I might as well make myself useful.”