Tanis the shadow years

28

Tanis was tired of running from the Maqe. More than that, he was tired of hearing Kishpa's name on Brandella's lips. What had the mage sacrificed for the woman? What had the mage done to show his deep affection? As far as Tanis was concerned, Kishpa ran a poor second to him in devotion to Brandella. Yet the woman loved Kishpa above all else. And that rankled.

The hand that rested on his shoulder did not worry the half-elf. It was the other hand that concerned him. Once before, Kishpa had held a knife to his back, and he might again. The way Tanis was feeling just then, he was of a mind to break that hand in as many places as he could. Tanis grabbed the hand on his shoulder and jerked forward with his whole body, throwing the mage over his head. Over the surprised Flint's head, as well.

Kishpa landed on his back on top of a wooden table, which crashed to the floor under his weight.

"And here I was suggesting that you stop Flint from fighting," complained Hey, You, quickly tabulating the cost of the table and adding it to Tanis's bill.

"He's good," Hint said approvingly to the innkeeper when Tanis got up and went after the mage. The dwarf protectively picked up his new tankard of ale.

"Yes, but can he afford the damages?" the innkeeper queried, his sad eyes growing more doleful. He'd obviously become resigned to bar fights in his acquaintance with the dwarf.

"I'll pay for anything he breaks," offered Hint. "I haven't seen a good fight since-"

"Since this morning," said Hey, You.

"Helps me digest my breakfast," explained the dwarf. "Did you just see that blow to the belly7 That fellow I was drinking with sure knows how to throw a punch."

"Don't count that other one out," cautioned the innkeeper. "He seems to be able to absorb the punishment."

Tanis fought with a cold fury, his fists burying Kishpa under an avalanche of punches to the stomach and head. The mage rocked with each blow, yet he didn't break and he didn't bleed. Nor, strangely, did he fight back.

Breathing heavily, Tanis picked up Kishpa, held him over his head, and then threw him again, this time against the wall. The mage hit the wall with a thud and then slid to the floor in a heap.

"At least he didn't break anything this time," said the innkeeper.

"All this activity is making me thirsty," complained Hint, watching Tanis manhandle the mage. The dwarf tossed down a mouthful of ale.

Tanis walked toward the wall to pick up Kishpa. Before he got there, though, the mage calmly stood up on his own. The half-elf stopped, wary.

"Wise move," Kishpa snarled. "My magic protected me from your attack. But what is going to protect you from mine?"

"Magicl" protested Flint loudly, jumping to his feet, accidentally knocking the table askew. "Unfair! Nobody said anything about magic."

Tanis eased his way to the left, edging closer to an overturned chair while Kishpa strode toward the half- elf. When Kishpa was right in front of him, Tanis picked up one of the chair's upturned legs and smashed it over the mage's head. It shattered into a dozen pieces. But Kishpa just stood there, giving Tanis a malevolent smile.

The innkeeper scribbled again on the tally sheet. Flint handed him the half-full tankard, which the man took without a word.

Flint watched as Kishpa and Tanis faced off again. "Where's Brandella?" the mage demanded.

Tanis felt a curious satisfaction. "I don't know. You've missed her."

The half-elf didn't see the mage's hands move. Nobody saw them. Nonetheless, Tanis was struck in the eye by a punch that staggered him. An unseen fist hit him in the cheekbone, nearly knocking him senseless and snapping his head to one side so hard that he spun halfway around. A blow to the stomach left him on his knees. In all of this, Kishpa never moved. Nor did he continue the pummeling once Tanis was down. He merely took a deep breath as though he had labored hard and then quietly stood over the fallen half-elf.

"Reorx's beard!" Flint thundered and charged at Kishpa, butting his head into the mage's back. Caught off-guard, Kishpa fell forward, landing on top of Tanis.

"I wish I had my battle-axe!" the dwarf roared.

He was hardly helpless, though, without his favorite weapon; as Tanis sat up, Hint kneed Kishpa in the small of the back, eliciting a groan from the mage. 'That will teach you to pick on folks with your magic!" the dwarf declared. Then he threw a punch meant to strike the side of the mage's head. He missed, hitting Tanis in the chest, instead.

"Oh. Sorry," said the dwarf as Tanis fell backward.

Meanwhile, Kishpa muttered several words under his breath, words that neither Tanis nor Hint had ever heard before. Without warning, Hint was lifted off the mage's back as if he were a puppet on a set of strings. He hovered in the air near the ceiling.

"Hey, you, get me down from here!" insisted the dwarf.

The innkeeper shrugged thin shoulders. "Don't know how."

"I meant him!" Hint said with exasperation, flailing his arms and legs. The dwarf pointed at the mage. "Let me down, and fight fair!"

"Is two against one 'fair'?" Kishpa asked calmly, blue eyes mild.

'The boy was already down," Hint countered. "It was one against one when I hit you." He aimed an unsuccessful kick at the mage's head.

Tanis began another attempt to get to his feet. The mage took a handful of the half-elf's tunic with one hand, seemingly holding him steady in order to strike him with the other.

"Kishpa!" a new voice sang from the doorway. "Don't!"

The mage twisted to face the door. His eyes sparkled with joy, and a huge grin lit his face. He let go of Tanis and ran to his Brandella. When he did so, Tanis stayed on his feet, but Hint suddenly fell to the floor, hitting the wooden planks with a thud.

'Thanks," the dwarf muttered under his breath, pulling splinters out of his beard.

"I've been looking all over for you," Kishpa declared, taking Brandella into his arms. Scowarr peeked around from behind the woman and skittered into the room, staying out of the mage's sight.

Meanwhile, Brandella fought free of Kishpa. The mage's expression instantly turned somber. "What's wrong?" he asked, following her into the Inn.

She pushed Kishpa aside and hurried to Tanis, studying his bruised face with a gentle hand. "Why did you do this?" she demanded of the mage.

"Because he deserved it," Kishpa answered defiantly. "I could have killed him, but I didn't. After all, he has a journey to make. And," he added with infinite sadness, "so do you."

Her hand fell from Tanis's jaw. Curly hair framed a suddenly joyful face. "Kishpa… you haven't come to stop us?"

He shook his head. She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the neck, the cheek, and then the lips. Tanis, teetering on weak legs, turned away and sank into a chair.

"I tried to tell you when that gag was in my mouth," Kishpa explained, "but none of you would take it out and listen to me. What you said to me… made sense. I believe you. I've been trying to catch up to you to tell you."

'Then why'd you fight me?" Tanis demanded.

"You started it," the mage grumbled.

"Men!" exhorted Brandella. Then she kissed Kishpa again and straightened his robes. "It was all for nothing," she said pensively. "There will be no good-byes between us because we can't leave. It seems-"

"You're wrong," he said gently. "You can go. At least you can if my magic is strong enough."

Tanis heard the wizard and blinked several times, trying to remember what Clotnik had told him so long ago. He'd said it was Kishpa who would bring them back to the present. But he hadn't said which Kishpa. Tanis laughed harshly All along, he had been trying to get the wrong Kishpa to help them while running away from the right one! "I'm sorry about Mertwig," Brandella said tenderly, stroking her lover's face. The mage lowered his head. "That's the other reason I've come to help," he said. "I was wrong about Mertwig, and he died. I can't take the risk of doing that to you, too." Brandella hugged him. "I wish I knew what was going on," said Flint. "This kind of thing happens all the time in the innkeeper business," Hey, You confided to the dwarf. "You learn to ignore it." He passed Hint another ale. With the help of Scowarr, Tanis hobbled over to where Kishpa and Brandella were lost in each others' arms. He cleared his throat to get their attention, and then said, "It would be better not to wait. If you can free us from the ancient Kishpa's memory, you should do it soon." The mage reluctantly pulled away from Brandella and nodded. "I don't know if my magic will work. I've rethought all of my spells, trying to find a new combination of conjurings that will have the desired effect. I don't know if I can do it." "But you can try," countered Tanis. "And so I shall. But I would like a moment alone with Brandella first." Tanis limped toward the dwarf and innkeeper near the bar. Hint was appraising the half-elf with an approving eye. "You did well," Hint said. "A rule of thumb, though." He leaned closely. Tanis winced at the odor of stale ale on the dwarf's breath. "Don't ever fight wizards." Tanis looked Hint straight in his slightly bloodshot eyes. "Then why did you jump in to help me?" Hint shrugged. "You looked like you could use a hand. Who are you, anyway?" "His name is Tanis," said Scowarr, who had quietly joined the trio. "But he is rarely funny." "And you are?" the dwarf asked Little Shoulders. 'Tell me something amusing." Scowarr sat down next to Hint and began quietly telling him a story…

As Scowarr spoke in low tones, Tanis drifted toward Brandella and Kishpa. The mage saw him coming and regretfully led the woman to the doorway of the Inn of the Last Home. Tanis joined her there, taking her hand.

Kishpa kissed her one last time. And then he surprised Tanis by saying, "Half-Elven, there is no one I would entrust her with but you. I thank you for coming to get her. I know you risked not only your life but your world to do this thing for me. Don't think it escapes me."

Tanis touched Kishpa's arm. "Have a good life between now and then."

Kishpa put his hand over Tanis's but said nothing.

The mage stepped back, gave Brandella a last, loving look, and then closed his eyes. Kishpa's lips began to move. At first, Tanis didn't hear him say anything. Soon, though, he could make out the faint sound of odd words spoken in a peculiar rhythm. The chanting became louder.

At that moment, Tanis also heard the sound of Hint roaring with laughter. Scowarr had found a willing audience.

Kishpa's chanting grew even louder.

Tanis felt the pull of the magic. Soon his mind swirled with images. He saw the burnt glade next to the pond. He saw ashes floating in the water. He heard the ragged breathing of the ancient Kishpa. But it was a blur- unreal, untouchable, yet somehow tangible. He and Brandella floated there, looking down from on high as if they were seeing a picture in a cloud that kept changing with the wind.

They were getting closer. He could smell the aftermath of the fire. He could even feel the heat of the sun. Soon the ground below seemed almost real enough to step down upon.

Suddenly, he noticed a change. Something that he had noted was no longer there. Then he realized: The breathing had stopped. The ground beneath his feet vanished. The glade disappeared. The sights, the smells, all were no more. Everything was gone except for an impenetrable darkness and the familiar sound of a beating heart. Except it was beating too slowly, irregularly. Tanis was still holding Brandella's hand, but he could not see her in the blackness.

Kishpa, ancient in years and ravaged by fire, was losing his final battle.

Although neither could hear the other, Tanis and Brandella called out to Kishpa, urging him, begging him, to fight death just a little longer, to live, to bring them home.

Their cries fell on ears that could no longer hear.

Kishpa was dead.

The beating heart stilled.

Tanis realized that they might exist in this netherworld forever, sailing on a sea of black in a mind that no longer could think or feel.

The darkness loomed empty, bleak, and seemingly never-ending… until they saw a spot of light far in the distance. It was tiny but bright. And it was getting ever closer. Was it a sun? A moon? A fire that would consume them? All Tanis knew was that they were hurtling straight toward it.