Chapter 43 Callous sympathy…

Chapter 43

 

Callous sympathy…

 

 

“Gerad!”….

“Gerad, get up!”…

His eyes snapped open. Pain pounded in his head. Groaning he sat up gently touching the back of his head. Gerad pulled his hand away covered in blood. His eyes refused to focus as he looked around the room. The last thing he remembered was Meria getting pulled through the shadow then pain on the back of his head.

“Meria?” He called cautiously.

By the echo he could tell the room was vast and empty. He thought he heard movement in the far corners outside the circle of light he was currently in.

“Who’s there?” He called.

Again silence answered him but he could feel eyes on him. His eyesight was finally returning and he dared to get to his feet. The world tipped a little but he made it without too much wobbling. His sword and shield were nowhere in sight and neither was Meerlp. Something moved in the shadows to his right and he turned to face it. Meria stepped into the circle of light.

“Meria!” Gerad cried in joy, “You’re ok!”

She didn’t say anything just smiled at him. Her smile was beginning to creep him out. Something was off about her. The hair on the back of his neck was rising. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Meria?” Gerad asked.

One of the winged serpents slithered into the light beside her. Gerad began to call out to her to watch out but his cry stuck in his throat when she began to pet it. She sneered at him as the serpent began to advance. Gerad’s eyes flicked from Meria to the serpent and back.

“She’s gone.” Meria said softly answering Gerad’s unspoken question, “I’m back.”

“And you are?” Gerad asked inching backwards till he heard hissing behind him.

“Tch, Cheeky brat.” Meria glared at him, “Surely you’ve heard the legends of me.”

Gerad pursed his lips, “Mmm, No can’t say I have.”

“Oh,” Meria help her hand open and a small twister danced on her palm, “pity.”

She flicked her hand and the twister fell to the floor and grew to about the size of a man. A winged serpent lunged at him from the left and Gerad stepped back to dodge it. Another one came at him from the rear and he ducked down and rolled to the left. The one next to Meria lunged at him. He called on the power of the fire medallion and wrapped his fist in fire.

Lunging forward from his crouched position he hit the winged serpent square in the jaw. Then he brought his left leg up and dropped it on the serpent’s head, hitting it with the heel of his boot. Another one came at him and he called up a spirit shield to block its fangs. Holding out his hand he conjured up a mace and hit the serpent, crushing its head.

“Oh, very nice.” Meria purred from where she watched his fight the twister spinning beside her, “But how long can you hold that power?”

Gerad didn’t answer, already his breathing was labored. More serpents attacked him and he did his best to defend but each passing second was taking its toll. Turning the shield and mace shattered and his flames dispersed. The serpents pulled back as he fell to his knees. Smiling Meria strolled forward the twister following her.

“As amusing as this is.” She said smirking at him, “I have lands to conquer.”

She held her hand above her head calling a thunder cloud to appear. Gerad could do nothing but watch as the cloud got darker and darker. Sparks skipped across its surface becoming more and more frequent. He closed his eyes inwardly crying for his body to move. A golden streak shot for Meria’s face.

Crying in surprise she lost her concentration and the cloud struck out at a nearby serpent. Meerlp pulled Meria’s hair and bit her hands when she tried to pull him off. Gerad watched in shock as the little dragon continued his assault on Meria while lighting flashed around them. The twister went out of her control and swirled off into the darkness throwing serpents every which way.

A serpent was headed straight for Gerad whose legs still wouldn’t move. He felt something grab him by the shoulders and pull him backwards. There was a flash of blue light and a feeling of falling. He watched Meria grab Meerlp off her head. She threw him off into the distance and turned to face Gerad. He watched her face change from shock to rage as she screamed.

 

Gerad landed and the breath was knocked from him. Lying on the floor he gasped for air. He sat up slowly and realized he was in the Chamber of Sages. Spitting out blood from his bitten cheek he stood up.

“Where’s Meria?” Gerad asked looking towards the Wind Sage dais.

Calhan swallowed hard before he answered, “She had to stay behind.”

“What,” Gerad glared at Calhan, “the hell does that mean?”

“It has to happen this way.” Calhan answered his voice level.

“Says who?” Gerad spat.

“Me.” Nayru answered materializing next to Calhan.

Gerad glared at her, “Care to elaborate?”

Calhan was doing a chopping motion across his throat and shaking his head but Gerad ignored him. Challenging a goddess probably wasn’t the smartest move he’d ever done but he was too pissed off to care. Nayru’s eyes narrowed as she starred back at Gerad. Suddenly Gerad couldn’t breathe. He grabbed his throat and fell to his knees. Nayru smirked and looked down on him condescendingly.

“Question me not again.” Nayru soft voice had a hint of steel to it.

Gerad gasped as breath returned to his body. Tears streamed down his face as he drew ragged breath after ragged breath. He slowly stood back up still coughing. Calhan slapped his forehead as Gerad glared at Nayru again.

“Care to,” Gerad huffed, “elaborate?”

“Meria can’t leave the temple because it would come crashing down from the sky and destroy the countryside.” Calhan interjected before Nayru killed Gerad.

“What do you mean?” Gerad asked turning to Calhan, “What was the thing that took over Meria?”

“They aren’t necessarily two separate questions,” Calhan explained, “The thing that took over Meria is the spirit of King Shal. If that leaves the Temple then the spell keeping the isle floating will stop and the island will fall.”

“I thought you said Shal was a dragon?” Gerad pointed out.

“He was actually a shape shifter,” Calhan replied, “And also the Wind Sage that betrayed the others all those years ago.”

When Gerad didn’t respond Calhan continued, “So because of his betrayal the other Sages banished him.”

Gerad nodded, “So that’s how and why he took over Meria. What do we do to get him out?”

“There’s nothing we can do.” Calhan said, “Before you freak out, the goddesses have already sent someone to help.”

“Who?” Gerad asked.

“Your little friend, Meerlp.” Calhan replied smiling.

“What?” Gerad asked his voice rising an octave, “He’s like two feet long, if that!”

“Are you questioning my actions?” Nayru asked her eyes narrowing.

“No,” Calhan said quickly, “he isn’t. Gerad trust us, please.”

Gerad’s eyes flicked from Calhan to Nayru and back. He trusted Calhan beyond a doubt, mostly, but Nayru was a whole other matter. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands.

“You have to get Selene and head to the Light Temple.” Calhan urged, “Time is running out.”

Gerad’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean?”

“Ganondorf is amassing his army on the plains of Hyrule as we speak.” Nayru replied. “It will not be long before he descends on Hyrule town and the palace itself.”

“We need to warn them.” Gerad cried, “And the other nations as well.”

“No.” Nayru said sternly, “You and your sister need to go to the Light temple; once you are there I will give you further instructions.”

“What? You expect me to do nothing?” Gerad asked, “We have to help them fight.”

“You will,” Calhan said, “You just have to do this our way.”

Gerad looked from one to the other, “You promise?”

“Yes.” Nayru said without pause.

Sighing Gerad relented, “Fine, how do I get back?”

“Like this.” Calhan snapped his fingers and there was a bright flash of light. Gerad disappeared from the Hero dais after the flash was gone. Calhan sighed as he looked at the place Gerad had been. Nayru watched him from the corner of her eye but said nothing.

“You’re sure,” Calhan said turning a steely gaze to Nayru, “there isn’t any other way?”

Nayru didn’t answer his question as she turned away from him. She phased out to her home dimension and left Calhan alone in the Chamber of Sages. Calhan sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes. He waved his hand and the puddle of light came back into existence.

 

Gerad exhaled this time before he hit the ground so the wind wouldn’t be knocked from him. Rolling over he felt the grass prick his face. Getting to his knees he got his bearing and realized he was in the middle of Lon Lon Ranch field. The isle was still floating above his head and blocking out the sunlight. Rain poured from the dark clouds circling the island.

“Gerad!” Selene called his name as she ran from the porch.

He had never been so happy to see her in his life. Standing up he caught her in his arms as she threw her arms around his neck hugging him close. As she pulled back Gerad could tell she had been crying even though the rain washed away the tears.

“Are you alright?” She asked stepping back and looking him up and down, “And where’s Meria?”

Gerad grimaced, “I couldn’t save her.”

Selene listened to him recount the events after Calhan and him had disappeared. Once he was done she stared up through the rain at the floating isle. He wanted her to yell at him but she only looked at him with sad compassion. He felt so loathsome having failed her expectations.

“So what’s our next move?” Selene asked him firmness in her voice.

Her confidence bolstered his own, somewhat, “We head for the Light Temple, like Calhan told me to I guess.”

“And then what?” Selene asked skeptical.

Gerad shrugged, “He said he’d tell me more when I got there.”

“Where is he?” Selene asked looking around for him.

“Over here.” They heard coming from their left.

“No, down here.” His voice rung out again and looking down they saw his image in a puddle.

Gerad stared down at the puddle of water, “What the hell?”

“Ditto.” Selene said softly.

The image of Calhan rolled his eyes, “I ran out of time. That last trick where I pulled you to the Chamber of Sages sucked the rest of my power in the real world. So I have to stay here if I want to live long enough for you to save the world.”

“Great.” Gerad mumbled, “Is it only puddles you can talk through?”

Calhan gave him a scathing look, “No, I can do any reflective surface. But that’s only if I want to talk to you face to face. I can speak to you through the medallion pendant anytime.”

Gerad raised his eyebrows and nodded in understanding. Selene just slowly shook her head in annoyance.

“At any rate you two need to leave now and head for the Light Temple.” Calhan urged them.

“What about Meria’s parents?” Gerad asked looking to the house, “We can’t not tell them.”

Calhan didn’t say anything as Gerad looked back to him. Selene hugged her arms and said nothing as the rain poured even harder on them. Taking a deep breath Gerad walked toward the house. Finding what courage he had left he knocked on the door. Malon answered to see Gerad and Selene dripping wet and solemn faced.

“What’s wrong?” Malon asked slowly, “Did you find Meria?”

Gerad glanced at Selene who didn’t meet his eyes then turned back to Malon, “Yes, she’s alright. She stayed in the Wind Temple to train. And Calhan’s gone ahead of us.”

Selene didn’t contradict his lie as she saw relief wash over Malon. She couldn’t take that away from them. Gerad went on to tell her that he and Selene had to depart immediately and thanked her for the hospitality. Malon asked them to stay and set out when they were rested but Gerad politely refused. Nodding in understanding Malon moved aside to let them gather their things from the rooms.

Gerad was waiting for Selene by the front door when Ralph, Meria’s father, came up to him. He took a long hard look at Gerad. Gerad was sure he saw through the lie he had told Malon but Ralph said nothing as Selene came down the stairs followed by Malon.

“You two be careful, you hear.” Malon said motherly as Gerad pulled his pack onto his shoulders, “And tell Calhan to be careful as well.”

“Yes ma’am.” Selene smiled and hugged Malon goodbye.

The two of them got their horses from the barn and headed out the entrance to Lon Lon Ranch, not once looking back. The rain was falling harder as the horses trudged down the path to Hyrule Fields. The rain slacked as they moved further and further from under the shadow of Moon Isle. Once on the fields Gerad kicked Artimus into a gallop and headed straight for Hyrule.