The Shattered Land

CHAPTER 4

The darkness slammed into Daine like a wave of tar-thick and fluid, yet charged with a terrible chill. He was thrown back off his feet, and in that instant it was all around him. The physical pressure built with every passing second, but the mental agony was far worse. He could feel the shadows seeping into his mind, slowly sinking into his thoughts and melting them away. Emotion, will, all was dissolving in the cold. A few more moments and there would be nothing left-an empty shell suspended in the dark.

No.

This would not happen. This was his mind-his battleground. Struggling against the darkness, he summoned his strongest memories, his deepest pains: his father’s face in the great hall of the Blademark, shame and rage warring in his expression; his first view of the Mournland, of the sweeping ruin that was once his home; a gnome woman’s laughter in a candlelit room; Jode’s shattered body sprawled across a pile of corpses; and Lei-the first time he’d seen her, the sun bringing out the fire in her coppery hair. Her hand was against his cheek earlier that night. Binding joy and pain into a single bright force, he threw this raw emotion against the encompassing dark, and the cold shadows retreated before the light. Even as the chill began to fade, he was consumed by fire. The faces he’d conjured wouldn’t go away, and now these phantoms of the past clutched at his mind. The mad artificer Kharizal d’Cannith and the changeling Monan howled with laughter, while Naelan of Valenar spun his bloody scimitar into a shield of razored steel. Teral ir’Soras stepped out of the shadows, wearing armor formed of raw flesh and muscle. Daine thrust his way through the phantoms and seized Teral by the throat, slamming the treacherous counselor to the ground, but even as he tightened his grip, his victim’s features flowed away, and now it was Lei who lay beneath him. Horrified, he released her and staggered back. With every second the mental cacophony increased. The mocking calls of his enemies and the cries of dying friends tore into his mind, crushing all thought.

Daine. Come back from the darkness.

It was a command. A brilliant light flowed down from above, shattering the shadows. He was back in his room at the inn with no name. Every muscle ached, and he fell back against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor.

Voices called to him. Daine. A radiant figure knelt before him, and at her touch confusion and pain were swept away.

Lei and Lakashtai pulled him to his feet, each of the women holding one of his hands. He didn’t know the kalashtar woman well enough to read her expressions, but Lei’s face was full of fear.

“I’m … I’m fine,” he said, mustering as much strength as he could. Surprisingly, the words were almost true; his strength was swiftly returning, and he actually felt better than he had all day.

“Not nearly.” Lakashtai had set aside her bantering manner, and her flickering smile had vanished. Her eyes were cold; her mouth a tight line. “Tashana. It would be her.”

Lei whirled to face the kalashtar. “What is going on?”

Lakashtai’s eyes flashed, and Lei took an involuntary step back. “A great evil has touched the mind of your friend, and I can’t allow it to spread any further.” She looked at Daine, and glittering green energy flowed around her hand. “I am sorry it has to end like this.”

“Move and you will share his end.” Pierce was standing in the doorway. His bow was in his hands, and an arrowhead of black steel was leveled at her heart.

For the briefest instant, Lakashtai’s eyes flickered toward Pierce. That moment was all that was needed. Daine latched onto her wrist with one hand, gripping her elbow with the other. Even as he moved, Lei brought her darkwood staff around in a low arc, sweeping Lakashtai’s legs out from under her. Daine knelt to keep his grip on her arm, and Lei put the point of her staff against the kalashtar’s throat.

“Thanks, Lei.”

She nodded.

The verdant energy faded from Lakashtai’s hand, but her face was a serene mask. “I bear no malice toward you, Daine. You may not believe it, but I saved your life a few moments ago, for the second time.”

“What was that? A healing touch?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

She glanced at her pinioned hand, and raised her delicate eyebrows. Daine took a deep breath and released her arm, moving back to stand by Pierce. “Try speaking more plainly.”

“The fears that brought me here were proven true. Your mind is under siege, and it is a battle that can only end with your death.”

Was there the slightest trace of pity in her eyes?

“I cannot allow my enemies to break you, but I lack the power to drive them from your mind. I can only hold them off, as I did moments ago, but I can offer you a quick and painless end.”

Lei prodded Lakashtai’s neck with her staff. “Your enemies? You’re responsible for this?”

“Lei …” Lakashtai looked up at the angry young woman. “Your fury is misplaced, and your weapons are unnecessary. Allow me to stand, so we may discuss this as equals; you know that I would do the same for you, were our positions reversed.”

That’s true, Daine thought. Lei was frowning slightly, but she raised her staff and took a step back. Pierce lowered his bow and returned the arrow to his quiver.

Lakashtai stood up and straightened her cloak. “Better.” She glanced at Lei. “My enemies are the enemies of all. I do not know what they want from Daine’s mind, but the fact that they seek it is all that I need to know. This sacrifice is a tragedy, but we must serve the greater good.”

Daine found himself nodding; strange as it was, it seemed to make sense. After all, who was he to stand in the way of the greater good?

“There has to be another way.”

Lei’s words pulled Daine out of his fog. What had he been thinking? He stared at Lakashtai suspiciously, but she showed no signs of guilt.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, but you said that you held it off-that you saved his life. If you could do it once, why can’t you do it again?”

“I shielded our spirits from the attack, and were I to remain by Daine’s side, I could continue to hold it at bay, but I cannot remain with him forever; I have my own duties to attend to. There is no power that can drive the darkness from his mind. There are only two options: swift death or an inexorable descent into insanity.”

“Well, at least I’ve got options,” Daine said.

“I don’t accept that!” Lei’s knuckles were white against the dark wood of her staff. “I don’t know you, and I’ll be damned to Dolurrh before you touch my friend. If I learned one thing as a child, it’s that there are always solutions-you just have to find them.”

“I take no pleasure in this, Lei-”

“You don’t know me.”

Lakashtai met Lei’s gaze, and this time it was the kalashtar who looked away. “You don’t understand what you are dealing with. This is the source of every nightmare. Its power is beyond comprehension, and no-” She broke off abruptly, her brow furrowed in concentration.

“What?” Daine and Lei said together. Pierce watched silently.

“Yes …” she said, as if speaking to herself. “I had forgotten … but it might be possible.”

Daine could see that Lei was preparing for another blow with her staff, and he put a hand on her shoulder. “Many things are possible,” he said. “Can you be more specific?”

Lakashtai glanced back at him, and the intensity of her gaze sent a shiver down his spine. “I have booked passage to Stormreach. I am leaving in a few hours. You will travel with me.”

“Oh, I think not,” Lei said.

Daine tightened his grip on her shoulder. “Lei-”

“No. Stormreach? That’s Xen’drik, Daine. Across the Thunder Sea? Barren wastes filled with savage giants and creatures we’ve never even dreamt of?” Lei shrugged off his restraining hand and took a step toward the kalashtar woman. “First you try to kill him, and now you want him to take a little trip to Xen’drik? If you think I’m letting Daine out of my sight, you’re insane.”

Lakashtai shrugged, a surprisingly human gesture. Her voice had regained its cool composure. “Then join us. I never wanted him dead, Lei. I simply saw no alternative.”

“And now?”

“A slim chance, to be certain, but if there is hope, it lies in the shattered land.”

“You just happen to be going there. Why is that?”

“A fortunate coincidence, and one I have no time to explain.” Lakashtai took a step toward Daine, and Pierce and Lei leveled their weapons; she glanced at them with the faintest trace of exasperation in her luminous eyes. “Daine, nothing in this land can save you. I know not why the darkness seeks your memories, but I must oppose them. Xen’drik is your only chance, and at the least I can shield you from further harm for the duration of the journey.”

Daine pondered. Lei and Pierce remained at the ready.

“You sought my help before, Daine. I saved your life then, and I will do it again if I can.”

Lei glanced at Daine, puzzled.

It seemed insane, but Lakashtai had helped him before. Although she had been planning to kill him a moment earlier, he found that he believed her. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

Lei glared at him. “Not alone.”

“I won’t be alone.” He nodded at Lakashtai. “That’s the point.”

“You know what I mean. You’re not going without me.”

“I don’t recall giving you a choice.” It had been a long day and a strange evening, and while Daine wasn’t angry at Lei, it felt good to have some sort of outlet for his anger and frustration.

“She did,” Lei snapped.

“I’m not asking, Lei. You’ve already been through too much. We’ve all heard the stories, and you’re not risking your life on my account.”

“On your account? Did it ever occur to you that I might prefer risking my life in Xen’drik to living in this … this dungheap? My parents were exploring Xen’drik before you were born, Daine. Perhaps I want to go there for myself.”

“Do you?”

For a moment Daine thought she was going to hit him. Then she turned and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Lakashtai was the first to speak. She seemed unaffected by the outburst, and her voice was as calm and confident as ever. “I cannot say where our travels will take us, Daine, but Xen’drik is a land of many dangers. If your friends-” she glanced over at Pierce, who had been still and silent as a statue throughout the exchange-“would accompany you, I would not be so quick to dismiss them.”

“Did I ask you?” Anger and guilt mingled in his gut.

“I have never needed your permission to speak my mind.” There was no heat to her words-it was a simple statement of fact. “I have preparations to make, and I’m sure you do as well. Pack for a long journey, and be at the Greenman Pier by the sixth bell. The ship is the Kraken’s Wake … I’ll tell the captain to expect multiple guests.” She pulled up her hood and stepped into the hall. Pierce followed her; apparently the warforged had no intention of leaving her unwatched.

A minute later Daine heard the sound of the front door. Sighing, he pulled on his shirt and considered what to pack.