The Gems of Raga-Tor (Elemental Legends Book 1) (49 page)

“Release me, witch!” Eris shouted again in an effort to keep his mind tightly focused and not remember the past.

“How you dare! I release you from nothing,” her voice screeched, not realizing that Raga-Tor stood behind her, but rather thought Eris was the cause of the glowing light.

“Gently, Eris. Just barely touch the light.”
Raga directed through the link.

Eris paused as another wave pounded over his head. Then he unwrapped his arm from around the spire and better positioned his feet to guard against being swept from the rocks.

“Release me or feel your fate,” Eris shouted back. He held the talisman firmly and reached up to touch it to the light. He felt a spark of power ripple though his fingers as a black force issued from the stone. He pulled the talisman back, grabbed the spire and watched. The black streak devoured the light in its path and raced to Charra-Tir. For a split second he hoped Raga knew what he was doing as the blackness grew larger and sucked in more light as it went.

Charra-Tir screamed when the blackness touched her and crumpled her against the railing. Her hands clutched the cold stone and the wind whipped her long hair into the storm. Her eyes, wild with fury, tried to see through the writhing vapors, but her nemesis remained hidden from her sight.

“Raga, I can’t see anything. What is she doing?”

“I believe she is considering your message. As I suspected, in her weakened state that little jolt has cost her quite a bit.”

“Do you release me, witch, or do I finish my task?” Eris shouted to her.

“I release you. Now get out of my sea and leave this place forever,” she shouted in a much lesser voice than before. She tried to stand erect, but the jolt had drained her so unexpectedly that she continued to clutch the railing for support.

“Eris, now! Grab the staff with both hands and hang on tight.”
Raga suddenly commanded.

No sooner did his hand encircle the staff then he felt himself move. A violent curse escaped his lips as an unseen force yanked him from his perch and he was hurled through the misty air toward the cliffs beneath the keep. The light of the triangle grew smaller as the black mass of jagged rock loomed larger.

“Damn you to hell, Raga-Tor!” he swore as he slammed into the rock face. Raga’s aim missed the balcony, and he slid down the jagged, slippery cliff. With the precious staff in one hand, and the other only partially useful as it was still wrapped with the leather thong, he scrambled to find a hand or foothold before his increasing downward momentum became too great to overcome and he plunged to the rocks below.

He tumbled and cursed in the darkness as rock and branch scraped and tore his clothing and the skin underneath. The rough bark of an exposed root scraped against his leg and he reached out desperately for it. The staff in his other hand snapped as he twisted his torso to grasp the root, which came directly into his palm and he gripped it tightly. Hanging by one hand and struggling to find solid purchase for his feet, he hardly dared to look at the staff to see which end he still held. The other half had already bounced from the cliffs and was lost to the sea.

He waited for a flash of lightning, but it was slow in coming, so he raised what he thought was still the gem-covered top to his cheek. He felt immeasurable relief as the smooth, slightly warm stone pressed against his skin. He reached behind and carefully stuck the broken shaft beneath his belt and into his breeches. After gaining a more solid position, he unwrapped the talisman from his hand, put it around his neck and started the long, treacherous climb up the cliff to the lighted balcony above.

It wasn’t long before Eris heard Charra-Tir shrieking with indignant rage. He was glad it was Raga and not he who faced her terrible anger. He had done that once and it was enough. He also wondered if he was truly uncursed, or whether she had just said that so he wouldn’t finish sucking her into the earth demon’s talisman. At the moment, he didn’t feel any different, and he had long thought that when the time came he would feel a certain heaviness leave him, or perhaps a change in mood, but he felt nothing.

As he struggled up the cliff, he wondered if his other form could climb so well, probably not, he thought as a way to taunt the essence of Erisa. No thoughts, only internal silence and the howl of the storm winds whipping around the cliff face. A slight smile came to his face as he pulled himself up onto a boulder. Perhaps this one last mad scheme had worked after all.

When he finally reached the balcony, Raga was there to pull him over the railing.

“By the gods, Eris, you didn’t drop the staff did you?” Raga asked, concerned, when he didn’t see it in his hands or on his person.

“Your aim still leaves something to be desired, sorcerer. But, we are lucky and the fates smile on us tonight.” Eris reached behind to where the green gem rested on the top of his belt and pulled it out. “It broke when you tumbled me down that damned cliff. Do that again and you might not have either of us.”

Eris looked down at his ripped and tattered shirt. The fabric was cold against his skin, so he tore it the rest of the way off and tossed it into a pile on the balcony’s marble floor.

“I didn’t think you would fall,” Raga said as he put the green stone back into his bow. He looked up to see a multitude of bruises and abrasions on Eris’ arms and back.

“Obviously,” Eris said rather good-naturedly as he clapped Raga firmly on the back, then stepped into the room seeking a bit of warmth.

Eris was bedraggled from head to foot and smelled of the sea. With a sweep of his hand, he removed the green sash from his head and ran his fingers through his sand-speckled hair. A pool of water grew beneath his feet and ran to a low spot on the polished marble. Red tendrils of blood dried and turned dark as the water evaporated from his skin.

“You?” Charra-Tir exclaimed in horrified amazement, when Eris moved into the room where she stood. Though he looked a sight and then some, there was no mistaking his face. “How can this be? No man has ever survived that spell. Never. Do you hear me, never!” she shouted, as she approached him. She stopped and stood before him. He returned a stare as black and ominous as the storm from which he came. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted the talisman resting against his chest.

“You did this, Raga-Tor. You gave that to him,” she accused, spinning around to face him, but Raga shook his head.

“He found it all on his own before we ever met,” the sorcerer said, amused. Charra-Tir was experiencing for herself the enigma that was Eris.

“Listen, you nasty fiend, I did to you what I was told. What happens between us, between elementals, has nothing to do with the mortal filth we must live with. And especially not with him.”

“Don’t pretend innocence with me. You and you alone put that extra little spell on them,” Raga said, pointing a finger at her. “Were it not for him, I would still be chasing my stones, and perhaps, I might not even exist. My power drained so low I couldn’t even do this.” He snapped his fingers and a ball of fire appeared in his hand. He tossed it at the cold brazier next to Eris where it landed and burst into a warming fire. “Would you care to be known as the one who destroyed a first-level elemental? You can be assured that no matter my faults, my seconds would have numbered your days by the pains in your flesh.”

Charra-Tir looked at Raga. She was as cool as the ocean’s depths and neither man saw her fearful twinge.

“Don’t you dare threaten me in my home, Raga-Tor. You know as well as I that elementals will exist as long as the universe exists. You’re just trying to avoid telling me why you’ve brought this pathetic creature here.”

“Having you lift your curse is but a small payment for what he’s done to get my gems back. Besides, he’s my friend, and your torture has gone on long enough,” Raga said.

“Friend? You?” Charra-Tir laughed suddenly. “Then I don’t feel so bad. Your
friends
always end in a brutal, fiery way, don’t they? Don’t fool yourself. You’ll kill this pathetic creature in the end. And just so you know, my punishment was not unjust. Do you know what he did to incur my wrath?” She spun around to give Eris a scathing look.

“Of course, but we all make mistakes,” Raga said.

“Mistakes!” she said angrily. “Don’t try to make excuses for this defiler of my maids. I had to send the girl away from here and the wretched soul was crushed in a rockslide coming out of the pass. As punishment for that, I have half a mind to hurl him back out on those rocks below and see how he fares by my hand a second time.”

Charra-Tir rested her hateful stare on Eris, who truly did feel remorse for the young girl. But he, like the sorceress, was not about to let her see his true emotions and returned an equally hateful stare.

Out in the black night, the fury of the storm intensified as a mirror of the frail-looking sorceress’ anger. Thunder crashed and an icy blast of wind rushed into the tower chamber making the velvet wall hangings crash to the floor and the fire in the brazier danced wildly.

“Truly, Raga-Tor, you were spawned in the pits of hell. What gall you have in bringing him here, and what sort of fool is he for thinking he can defy me in the midst of my storm even with that trinket he has,” Charra-Tir raged at them.

“One who’s fool enough to want his life back,” Eris said. He bent over the brazier to warm his hands. Small pieces of mica pressed into the surface of the talisman glinted in the firelight as it swung out over the flames.

“Silence, wretch! No one spoke to you. I should have killed you outright when I had the chance. You might have tricked me out of one curse, but we’ll see how you fare against this one,” she stormed and raised her hands against him.

Eris straightened and faced her. His eyes looked beyond her rage-twisted face to Raga. Raga saw his uncertainty, but gave him a smile. Instantly, Eris felt mistrust twist in his stomach. His heart raced. That smile was a little too smug and already the sorceress was beginning her ritual. He had to keep his faith in Raga and hope the warning that tingled in him was only habit. His hand twitched and he started to reach for the talisman, but Raga's frown and shake of his wooly head stopped him.

Charra-Tir planted herself firmly before him. In her blue eyes, he saw the sea's roiling fury. Her bluish hair, whipped about by the wind, hung wildly around her pale face. One hand clutched at the blue-green stone that hung around her neck and the other suddenly wove a quick pattern in the air in front of his face.

Eris felt the familiar rise of dreadful apprehension when her hand stopped. Nothing happened. The room was silent. The sound of the storm lessened. He breathed a shallow breath of relief as still nothing happened. Then, slowly, a broad smile came to his scratched and dirty face.

“You are powerless, witch! I’m free of you!” Eris shouted in triumph and shook his fists in the air. He suddenly couldn’t remember a time that felt so good.

Charra-Tir was stunned into silence. Her shock doubled as her maidens came silently, fearfully through the door carrying the blackened remains of the power-dead sea leaves.

“Mistress, we…that man destroyed…” they tried to say and mumbled to silence seeing their Lady’s horror.

“You did this to me, Raga-Tor!” She whirled on him. “What have you done with my powers?” Fear was bright in her wild eyes.

“Don’t worry, my dear. It’s only a temporary inconvenience. In no time at all you’ll be back here making trouble for us all,” Raga assured.

“What do you mean
back here
? What are you doing? How dare you?”

She stumbled a step backwards as Raga stepped quickly to her. He wrapped his golden rope several times around her hands and then around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides. With a loop and a tuck, the rope was secure with an easy to wiggle out of knot.

Seeing their mistress suddenly bound and powerless, the bedraggled maids fled the room.

“We’re sending you for a little visit with an acquaintance of Eris’. We thought it might do you some good,” Raga replied. He tied the last bit of rope to the end of an arrow.

“Who could he know that I would even condescend to see?” She glared malevolently at Eris and swore that he had not heard the last from her.

“The Sultan of Reshan,” Eris replied.

“The Sultan of Reshan? Reshan?” she repeated in an effort to recall the country and what sort of place it was.

Seeing her lost in thought, Raga gently insisted that she move out onto the rain-slick balcony. Eris moved away from the fire and followed, but kept a fair distance from her. He felt her hatred for him, and even though she was temporarily powerless, he was still wary of her. Their revenge on her was complete, when he saw the horror creep into her eyes and swiftly consume the rest of her.

“Reshan is in the middle of an arid desert. The whole damned place is a desert. You can’t do this to me!” she raged at them, struggling against the rope. “Raga-Tor, damn you to the seventh hell, you can’t do this to me. There is no water. I will die. Do you hear? I will turn to dust in that place.”

“Mud would be more like it,” Eris muttered, but she heard.

“Silence, wretch! You and I are not finished. I’ll have your miserable life for this. Raga-Tor, I’m warning you!”

“I’m sure you’ll have a very nice time, if you behave.”

“I’m going to die, you monster!”

Raga smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “What was that you said? Ahh, yes, elementals don’t die. They live as long as the universe exists and I suspect it will be around for a few more millennia at least. Shall I?” Raga looked at Eris and knocked the arrow.

Giving Charra-Tir a smile she would not soon forget, Eris nodded.

The bowstring snapped and with one last, echoing curse Charra-Tir became one with the tempest as Raga’s lightning hurled her through the storm-blackened sky.

“Well, Eris, it's finished. We've both won this day and you're all man again,” Raga said, stepping away from the balcony.

“Nothing, besides having my life back, has ever felt so good.” An unexpected sneeze shook him. “Verin’s blood! Even this has a price to pay,” he complained and sneezed several more times in rapid succession.