Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2), Gary Stringer [classic children's novels .TXT] 📗

“Wait, the void-creature’s back?” Cat demanded, forcing herself to catch her breath and slow her heartbeat.

She could not panic in front of these two and she told her mind she did not need any flashbacks to the Day of the Monster, thank you.

“You know about it?” Daelen wondered.

Cat was grateful when Michael stepped in and covered for her. “The monster that killed her parents, along with many of her friends and neighbours,” he explained, gently.

If there was any possibility of Daelen talking her out of joining him on his mission before, this news removed that chance entirely.

Acting on a sympathic suggestion transmitted by Dreya, Cat volunteered, “I think we should try and limit knowledge of this void-creature. We particularly wouldn’t want your clone finding out. He’s already not happy about being outnumbered. If he knew of the power of the void-creature working with Kullos, he might decide to throw his lot in with Kullos, too.”

“Then we’d be in even more trouble,” Michael agreed.

“Well, I wouldn’t expect Kullos to be willing to work with my clone,” Daelen mused, “but then I wouldn’t have thought he’d build an army to take on Michael, either.”

“Exactly,” Cat affirmed. “You can't go on like it's business as usual. Things have changed and you need to do the same. Whether it really is Time manipulation or not, I don’t know. But either way, I’d say it’s time to throw the old rule book on the fire. The fight between the four of you isn’t just about you anymore. That void-creature attacked my home and Kullos is dragging us mortals into his army. They have to be stopped. We might not be able to control much about this situation, but we can control the information.”

“Catriona’s right, Daelen.” Michael backed her up. “You must place a block in my mind, so I don’t remember the void-creature, and then send me away. I will rendezvous with you when you’re ready to make the final push to Kullos’ fortress, and I’ll bring help.”

Michael explained his reasoning. His was the only mind that was vulnerable to Aden’s telepathy. Even if he tried not to think about the void-creature, that would be like telling someone not to think about elephants. Plus, he knew there was something else Cat wanted to discuss with Daelen that he could not be privy to.

“If we’re doing this, though, we need to know where we’re going,” he reminded the druidess.

She nodded. “Daelen,” she began, a determined look in her eyes, “swear to me, with Michael as a witness, that you will take me with you, and I promise I will give you both the location. There will be no more tricks from me, and if you want Tempestrians to believe you are in any way trustworthy, there will be none from you, either.”

The shadow warrior was torn. He could see the value of Catriona, more so than any other mortal for centuries, but his instinct to protect was telling him to keep her safely out of it. To buy himself time to think, he formed the mental block in Michael’s mind, as agreed.

“The way I see it, there are three reasons why I should be with you,” Cat pressed.

“First reason is this: I do not underestimate your power, or that of your fellow shadow warriors, but have you ever wondered why the most powerful mages in history are so often defeated by those with less power? Power isn’t everything. Power breeds confidence; great power breeds over-confidence. When a being of your power goes into battle, your first instinct is to hit your enemy with the most powerful weapon you possess. There’s no subtlety, no finesse, just mindless brute force. Trouble is, that makes you predictable, and so your enemy can take steps to defend himself. You try and overpower your enemies. I out-think them.”

“You can’t out-think an energy beam,” Daelen disputed.

“Really? I think Aden would say I just did. He was predictable, that’s why I could deflect his weapon blast. I anticipated he would do it.” She left out the part about her magic having a temporal element. “I’m concerned that your power may lead you to underestimate our enemy and in my experience that is fatal. Across this continent, there are bashed and broken towers, the bastions of wizards, some of whom are bashed and broken themselves. They underestimated me and look where it got them.

“We’ve said the rules have changed, Daelen, but I fear that you have not. You’re set in your ways, predictable. Your enemy has adapted. You must change, too, and I think I can help you with that. Lower power weapons, wielded with guile, ingenuity and creativity can usually win the day. In short, I believe in brain over brawn. With you and me together, we have both. That’s why I should be with you.

“Second, there’s my research. There’s somewhere en route to our destination that I’ve always wanted to visit but never had the means. You do. Joining with you is my best chance for success in my research, and as far as I’m concerned, that means my place is at your side. I’m your shadow now, Daelen, so you’d better get used to it.”

When it became apparent that Cat wasn’t going to say any more, Daelen prompted, “What’s the third reason? You said there were three.”

Of course, she had just been waiting for him to bite.

Flashing him a dazzling smile, and fluttering her eyelashes, she explained, “That’s simple. Why go off alone when you can enjoy the sweet, charming and delightful company of yours truly?”

Michael rumbled with laughter. “I think you buried the headline there, Cat. Tell you what, my dear, why don’t you walk with me a bit while he reaches the only sensible conclusion he could come to. He can catch us up, you can tell us where we’re going, and then we’ll go our separate ways. Don’t forget, you need to get Daelen’s essence out of you, too.”

Cat