Chapter Ten: A New Start

As Elba and willam plummeted down into the abyss, a winged blur picked both of them up. It must have been strong, for it carried them through the updraft with the skill of Hercules himself. Before Elba slipped into unconsciousness, she saw the look of absolute fear on Willam's face...

As they emerged from the tunnel and the beast threw Elba and willam down on the ground they gasped for breath. Willam was the first to regain control of his rapidly beating heart. He saw that the thing (person?) that had saved them was obviously a creature of which he had never heard.

He had long, pallid wings made of some exotic leather, but they were melded through his body somehow so they could be used. He had a white tunic on, without a single stain upon it, that made him look large and intimidating. (Weather or not that was his intent, Willam could not say.)

He had long, flowing hair, also white, that had many colored beads braided in. His face was a bleak pallor, and it looked streched, as though it had been in existance for far too long. His eyes were blue, a deep, heart-wrenching blue.

Once he had finished scrutinizing the stranger, he said, "Who are you?"

"I am known by many names," It said in a strange voice, one that sounded like fingernails scraping against a chalkboard;"You may call me Zalcota." By this time, Elba had at last steadied herself.

"What are you?" Willam nearly laughed. Clearly, she is far more bold then I, he thought to himself.

"I am an Ergizer," He replied, a tone of what Willam thought to be dignity in his voice.

"Yeah," Said Willam, "But what are you?"

"The Ergizers are a race that lives in the Azmach mountains," Said Elba, to Willam and Zalcota's amazement both,"They are known for their rarity and lack of color." After glancing at Zalcota's impressed face, she added, "He is a very far way from home."

"How did you know all of that?" Zalcota inquired, and Elba flinched at the sound of his voice.

"I read it in a book that my master, Falerin, gave to me." She said. At this point Elba wondered if Falerin would still take her as his apprentice, then she chided herself with the realization that such things were the least of her worries.

"Hmmm. Dangerous information to know, in a time like this."

"Many things are dangerous to know," Willam interjected, feeling somehow protective of Elba, "Those who know the danger knows from whence it came."

"Do not toy with my emotions, boy!" Said Zalcota sharply, "I just saved your patheic lives!"

Willam had no such reply for this, his felt his dark face grow hot. "Wait," Said Elba, her brow furrowed in thought,"Why DID you save our lives, if we're so pathetic?" Zalcota gave willam a very nastily cool glare before turning to Elba.

"It is a rare man indeed who would leave a damsel's scream unaided," Zalcota said, a smile forming as he bowed deeply. There was only one problem with that reply, Elba thought to herself, I don't remember screaming.
The children struggled against their bonds as the soldiers ate supper. How could this have happened? It was simple. Saian, Daenaur, and Zalcota had sent them to capture the children. Why? The children did not know. They knew of their joyous reuninion with Elba and Willam, as they told their tales. Likewise, Elba and Willam knew of Eliac. Now the soliders had made the mistake of leaving them alone, and the group was speaking of what was to happen. Trying to make a dent in this impossible riddle.

"Wait..." Elba said, glancing at Shannon, who was in shackles before her, "Eliac's Ankh! It was enchanted, how could it have allowed Nydia to do something like this?" Shannon bowed her head.

"A clever idea. Nydia was in control, certainly... what of the beast? The beast that lives within him is stronger, and seperate from Nydia. It could have easily ignored the power in Eliac's Ankh."

"Mother," Eve said, "Mother, if Circe brought one of them back to life...."

"Was it Nydia-- or the beast?" Jack finished for her. "Well, I do not know. Nydia would never have done such things to people, and I've never seen him excerise such control over his powers. The ability to change to a beast does not belong to Nydia's good half...it is a defense that is triggered by extremely dangerous circumstances. Thus, we can safely assume from Nydia's changing so quickly that he is no longer Nydia, but the beast. And obviously the beast is working for one of our imbesile friends...Hmm. Either Saian or Daenaur, I would say."

They stared at him as though he had suddenly sprouted a second head. In response, he shrugged. Circe was not looking shocked, bewildered, or just plain dumb as the others were. She looked strangely triamphant.

"Don't worry," She said, "That's not Jack."

"What?" Neindel said, "I think that rope is cutting off your circulation. Of course its Jack! Who else would it be?"

"I don't know, but when has Jack been able to prenounce the word 'Imbesile,' and not use a single jargon word typical of living on the street? How did he suddenly sprout perfect grammar and prenounciation?"

Shannon sniffed Jack's foot. "Funny... this doesn't smell like anyone. Like there's nothing really there."

"Flowers," Eve said decidely, "He smells like flowers. From a dense forest, I'd say."

"Nymah," Elba breathed. "Its Nymah! Saian's servent Nymah is poccessing Nydia!"

"Circe!" Willam ordered, "Quick, Circe! You know more magic then the rest of us do-- what would Eliac have done?"

"Eliac would've broken into his mind and seperated Jack from Nymah, then destroyed the alien presence," Said Circe, without skipping a beat. Seeing the group's hopeful expressions, she sighed. "Alright, I can try."

"Wha?!? Wait, do I not get a say in this!?!!" Jack's voice said, his voice so thin it was almost a whimper.

"NO!" They responded universally.

"Watch me," Said Circe, clouds forming over her irises, "If I show any sign of shaking or seizing, wake me." And they did watch. Very carefully. Circe's mind went into a blank area of the brain, and she saw that there, in a strange looking web, was Jack.

"Jack!" Circe said, "Jack, what in the name of..." She sighed. "Where are we, Jack?"

"I don't know, but tha' guy who walkin' 'round as me sure aien't doin' it righ'." Circe nearly laughed, she was so relieved to hear that voice again. Drawing a knife from her belt, she cut him free.

"Yah, let's go get tha' isile!" Circe smiled.

"It's 'Imbesile,' Jack."

"Wha' eva," He mumbled.

"Now... where is he?" She noticed that blood was pouring from the web before going, "Oh."

"See you in a minute, Jack!" She said, jumping out of his mind. She blinked in real life, and a wide grin spread over her face.

"Wha' t'heck has happen'd? Where ar' we?" The six sighs of relief were so audible, Jack nearly laughed.

***

"Saian, I can't wait here all day! Celebrama is going to be coming soon!"

"Ah, I know, Daenaur, but we must have patience." The beast said, "Saian would not have called us here without reason."

"Quite right, Ny--Err. Beast. Nymah is coming."

"Nymah?" Daenaur asked, surprised, "Isn't he dead?"

"He was," The beast said distantly, "He's living in some kid's body now." A wisp of smoke began to form at the floor of the area, and soon a full-grown figure had emerged from the fog. It had no face, or details, it was just... a blob?

"What the heck? What happened to you, Nymah!?!"

"Um... I got kicked out of my body." His voice sounded far away, as though he were shouting over a great distance.

"How did you even--" The beast sighed, cutting off his own inquiry. "Well, what news have you?"

"Zalcota survived the fire, the one that he had started in that little town," Nymah's voice reported faithfully, "What was it? Nesim? Leslie? Anyway, he survived it, and escaped when we captured that group of kids. That's when they figured it out, that I wasn't Jack. It was rather painful, too. Zalcota still seeks what you've both been looking for."

"Where is she?" Whispered Daenaur, "I am to be killed soon, I need that power!"

"You'll get her soon enough," He said, "And hey... why did they put the spirit of all magic into a girl, anyway?"

"I have no idea," confessed the beast, "Probably due to her delicate nature."

"Yea, it has to be that," agreed Daenaur.

"Let's greet our guests," Saian said, baring his teeth in a near-smile.

The four of them laughed, none of them realizing that they had chosen the wrong girl.

"Catherine, you ready to overtake these monsters?" Tristan was ready to help free Nydia and the children, and they had traveled a very long distance to reach that end. They stood behind a massive pillar inside Daenaur's Fortress, Estivale.

"Tristan?" She whispered, "I have something to tell you."

"Not now, Catherine! We have to work on saving the children!" He leapt from behind the pillar with a lithe movement, and the macabre moment when he sliced off the head of a solider was nearly too much for meek Catherine to bare. But she did.Quickly, she drew a long pale sword and began to battle the other guards, freeing the children as she passed them. Jumping up and grabbing their weapons (which had, for whatever reason, not been taken from them) they began to fight.

In moments, they had overtaken them. A great gust of wind blew through the hall, and all but Ailiftari and Shannon sank to their knees. From a great stair of marble, there came a wolf. Both of them knew him, and both of them hated him.

"Let's kill him together, Shannon," Mumured Ailiftari quietly, not taking her eyes from the monster, drawing a dagger silently from her side.

"Fine, but I'm stabbing the heart."

"Lets get him together." And so Woman and wolf went together to slay the great monster, neither of them realizing how many soldiers the beast had at his command.

***

"My lords! The prisoners have escaped!" A solider cried, "Quickly, to the great hall!" With that, he hastily muttered an excuse

for his leaving, and sprinted from the room.

"We must do something," Said Nymah, leaping from his chair.

"Oh, you won't be going anywhere." A small yellow bird had flown inside, and he landed on a table near the villains.

"Yes, I'm just quaking in my claws," Sniffed Daenaur with a hint of sarcastic distain, glaring downward at the canary.

"You should be, it's Etienne!"

"Wasn't he--?"

"But how!" Etienne's body had begun to fade during the scene that unraveled itself around him. He grew larger, and whiter, and then...

"Zalcota." Zalcota said of himself, "My name is Zalcota."

Saian growled. "So, its you that's been causing our problems!" He leapt at him, with mal intent, but Zalcota raised his hand and turned him into a small kitten. He fell to the ground, and Zalcota smiled. Next came Daenaur.

When Daenaur growled and let loose a jet of flame to kill Zalcota, Zalcota smiled. Then he raised his hand, the same hand in fact, and the flame turned blue and flew back at Daenaur... Daenaur, emersed in the flames, dissappeared. Nymah simply turned to dust without any magic left to support him and, since he was alone, Zalcota laughed. "Too easy,"

He said to himself with a grin, and he left the room.

***

"So, my two friends are here to slay me," The beast grumbled, with a hint of that sardonic humor that was so unlike Nydia,

"Then so be it." The white wolf ran at the two of them, and disarmed them, a sudden gust of wind flinging him through the air. Both Ailiftari and Shannon stabbed him.

"For Rolyn!"

"For my heart!"

At this, Shannon's eyes flashed gold, and her fur turned into pale skin, and she stood as a more beautiful woman than the world had ever seen before...

"For the Children!" But both of them grew oddly silent as Circe walked forward. She bent down on her knees and began to wipe the wound clean of blood. Mesmerized by the odd scene of affection, both the woman and the wolf stopped moving.

"That was for Nydia," Circe whimpered, a single tear running down her pale cheek, "Lets go."

"I think not." Zalcota had appeared from nowhere, entering so silently that the group had been caught unawares. Although every one of them was ready to fight, there were too many soliders for them to move even an inch. "Lay down your weapons!" The children, Willam, and Ailiftari did so. Shannon simply bowed her head.

"Good. Now, come with me, Circe." He said, offering one of his pale hands to the beautiful woman. Rising slowly, she went over and took his hand. "Who do you think you are, Circe?" He said, in an almost conversational tone.

"I... I... I am Circe Amur." It was nearly funny that she chose to answer in this name, given that Mr.Amur was not her father at all.

"Oh, I know that," He said gravely, his voice scratchy as ever, "but do you know who you ARE?" Circe thought of her reply for a moment, thinking long and hard before her reply came.

"I am many things. I am young, and dangerous. I was in love, and I have known suffering and sorrow." She glanced at Jack, Niendel, Eve, Elba, Willam, Ailiftari, and Shannon. "I have also known a family," She said, "and I am proud of them." While she said this, she stared at him straight in the eye. She was clearly unafraid, although Zalcota thought this was not going how it was supposed to.

"I see, I see... Can you use magic, Circe Amur?" Zalcota said, flexing his long hands nervously.

"Yes, fluently." She referred to it as though magic were a language, in a vague attempt to degrade her value. It was not successful.

"Ah. How long have you been using magic?"

"Long enough." Circe did not like where this conversation was going, and hoped that Zalcota would give up if her answers were empty. Instead, quite the reverse was ocurring, Zalcota was all the more fasinated.

"You know that you your bloodline is a spirit holding bloodline, I trust?" He said, pretending to seem uninterested, matching her dangerous game.

"Wha--I.. Um.. Yes, of course I do!" She declared, a little too loudly to be convincing.

"You are related to Eris, the great goddess of--"

"Death!" Circe said, "I am NOT related to DEATH!"

"Of course, of course. But you are her daughter, unoffically, you see.... you are not death. You are LIFE. Immortality lies hidden in those beautiful hands." He reached out and took it in his own, smiling.

"Can you feel the power?" Circe closed her eyes for a long moment, searching.

"I'm sorry," She said, with a true apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, I don't feel anything."

"You must," He said, "Try harder!" Circe backed away slowly.

"Look, I know this must be a bit of a dissapointment to you, but I'm not going to--"

"HARDER!" He said, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her as though she were weightless. She choked and sputtered for air, and Elba stepped forward.

"ENOUGH!" She shouted, "Let her go!" Zalcota did not move, nor did he appear to even have a grasp on reality. As he squeezed harder on Circe's delicate neck, and as her blue eyes began to close... Elba felt something stir. Her hands were suddenly filled with a savage, unbridled power, and she let that power fly from her. Right onto Zalcota, who fell to the ground, dead.

Circe fell also, and, after a few moments, the color returned to her cheeks. She would live.

"Now," Elba said to the soldiers, "I am the one who is Eris' Heir, and you shall follow me until your dying day!"

And then the soliders bowed, and Jack said, "Can I get me one'a thos' unifoms?" Elba grinned.

"Sure." And so Elba ruled over the mountain range until Falerin found her again. That Army grew and grew and grew yet more in the hands of her wise leadership.

And--Zalcota would have regretted to say--They lived happily ever after.