Delver Magic III: Balance of Fate, Jeff Inlo [most popular ebook readers .txt] 📗

“You want me to face this Baannat?” Linda asked with near amazement.

“Not exactly, I will battle Baannat, but you will serve as the shield. As we have talked about this before and you showed great reluctance to admit it, you are immune to magic. If I bring you to Baannat, I can use you as an anchor, a reference point for me to actually cast spells to defeat him. Because the magic does not affect you in anyway, you will allow me to be present in Baannat’s realm without really allowing myself to be vulnerable to his attacks. It will seem to you as if I’m there, but I will not be in a physical sense that would allow Baannat to use his magic on me. He will, however, be vulnerable to what I can do.”

Linda found herself torn once more, this time between the opportunity to help Ryson and the situation she would have to face. “So we’re going to go to this Baannat and I’m going to be some sort barrier between you two? He won’t be able to get to you through me, but you’ll be able to get to him?”

“That describes it fairly well. You will be the focal point between us. As long as you remain conscious, he will not be able to get to me.”

“Conscious? I thought you said I was immune to the magic. Why is there a chance I might become unconscious?”

Enin looked directly into Linda’s eyes and did his very best to make her aware of this certainty. “This is very important and you must believe it to be true. Baannat will be unable to hurt you physically in any way. He has created a realm for himself that consists entirely of magic. You, however, are totally immune to magic. Everything he hurls at you, you will cast aside. That one thing you must never forget. There is no way he can cause you true harm. Because you will be in a place that is made of pure magic, he can’t even attack you indirectly. But that does not mean you can let down your guard or not be strong. He will undoubtedly recognize your immunity very quickly. At that point, your true struggle will begin.

“He might have been able to deceive me, and for that I’m truly sorry, but I still know him. There is only one thing he can do that will affect you, but it will not be real. Just like me, he is strong in all facets of magic, which includes illusion. He can create things that look real, sound real, even feel real, but they are not. No matter what you believe is happening, you must not accept it. Everything your mind sees will be of his creation. It will be fake, it will be a lie, but I don’t wish to lie to you, too. I believe he can create very dark things and though they are not real, they might appear very real.”

“But you’re sure he can’t harm me?”

“Only if you let him. If your mind begins to believe the attacks are real, you will end up descending into the darkness of your own fears. You will lose consciousness and then he will be able to attack me. At that point, I would be in danger. Rest assured if that does happen, I will make sure you are returned here, but I will not be so lucky.”

Linda grew silent and she turned away from the wizard to contemplate what was just said to her. Enin offered a final explanation of why it was necessary.

“I want you to understand why I am here asking you to do this. There are two reasons. You have a unique power, extremely unique. You are not simply resistant to magic, it is much beyond that. You deflect it completely from your being. As long as you understand that, then I am not putting you in any danger. With you there, I believe I can critically weaken Baannat beyond his ability to mend himself. It is not my destiny to eliminate him completely. As I said before, Ryson must face him. That is your delver’s destiny. For me, I need to this. I need to move beyond the excuses I have made in the past and I have to do what is right.

“The second reason is one that is much more personal to you. It is what I see and why I feel obligated to make this offer to you. Your destiny is hard to define. You are meant to be with Ryson and he is meant to be with you. It doesn’t take a wizard to see that. It is, however, my plight to know that Ryson’s fate is to face this being. And that is where we come to you. I can not see a destiny in you. Perhaps it’s because you have none at this point, or maybe because you deflect the magic I simply can’t see it. When we last talked of this, you said your destiny was to help Ryson. I also see, however, that you feel in many ways unable to help him on your own. I believe you will know in your heart what you are supposed to do. As it is my choice to face Baannat, I believe you deserve the same opportunity to do what it is you believe is your own fate.

“It’s not going to be easy, and you must be sure of yourself or you will accomplish nothing. But if you do believe this is what you must do, keep your strength and you mind on your purpose, you will win. Of that, I have no doubt. You will also, however, carry memories of what you will face for a very long time. They will not be pleasant. In the end, it’s up to you, your choice.”

Linda turned and asked the one question she was afraid to hear the answer. “What if I say no?”

“Then I will go alone. As I said, facing Baannat is now something I have to do. I have been very good at coming up with reasons for why I shouldn’t act, why I shouldn’t help others even when they are in great need. For the most part, they were excuses because I was afraid. I really don’t wish to interfere in people’s lives, but I can’t use that anymore to keep from doing what I should do. This creature is evil and he is very powerful, more powerful now because I was so easily deceived and so willing not to take any action. Many people have been hurt because of him, and many more are now in danger. All the reasons I used to talk about for not getting involved now seem small in comparison. I need to do this for myself, to makeup for what I have done. Maybe I will get lucky. Maybe I can weaken him enough and still escape. If I do that, I will succeed in giving Ryson a better chance.”

“If you can’t weaken him at all, can Ryson defeat this creature?”

“I can not say. The delver has a unique inner power and has already done much of what I would have guessed impossible. But in all honesty, I don’t like his chances.”

“And if I do go with you and you accomplish what we set out to do, how do you know Ryson will be able to defeat him?”

“Again, I don’t know for sure, but I know he will have a much better chance. We will probably find out very shortly because I believe he will arrive in Baannat’s realm shortly after we do.”

Here Linda became more than just concerned. A look of terror washed across her face as she erupted back at Enin. “Ryson? You’re bringing him? You just said you didn’t know when Ryson would have to face Baannat!”

“I don’t, but I believe I know him well enough to know what will happen. Before I left him in the desert, I said you had a choice to make and nothing more. He is a delver. His feelings for you and his own curiosity will force him to find out what I meant. I left him with Holli. She knows where I am at all times and she will undoubtedly reveal as much to Ryson. He will follow my trail here. If you decide not to go, his journey will end and he will face Baannat at some point in the future. If you go with me, he will follow. Holli has the ability to send him forward to where we will be. I made sure of that many days ago.”

“So if I go, then Ryson will end up right where I don’t want him, facing this Baannat creature.”

“That is true, but if you think by saying no he will avoid that confrontation, you are only fooling yourself. He will still have to face him eventually. If this happens now, he will face Baannat with your help and mine. If he does it in the future, he will most certainly do it alone.”

Linda pressed with one more question, a question that would determine her own final answer. “I’m going to ask you one question that I want a simple and honest answer to. Is there anyway for Ryson to avoid facing this Baannat?”

“No.”

Linda wished to be certain of this. “I need you to swear on all that you believe in that that’s the truth.”

“I swear on everything I hold dear, Ryson will have to face Baannat. There is absolutely no way to avoid it. I know it just as I knew Holli would come to me and ask to be my guard. I know it just as I knew that Lief would die this day. I honestly don’t know how I know these things, and part of me wishes I didn’t, but I do.”

Linda no longer hesitated in her decision. “Then my choice is that I will go with you and I pray that you are right.”

Enin actually felt a wave of relief for he knew if he faced Baannat alone at this moment, he would certainly die. With Linda, he had a chance. He was beyond grateful for this, but he felt a greater need than ever before to alert her for what she would face. “Before we go I must prepare you for what to expect. While Baannat has done his best to hide his true being to me, there are things I do know for certain about him. Baannat is not a creature natural to this land, nor is he a being of pure shadow. He is something in between, or perhaps a mix of both. He has substance, but not the kind you and I are familiar with. He is not made up of simple flesh and bone, but he does exist in our physical plain and thus can be attacked as well as destroyed. He is very powerful, even more so as a result of Tabris’ death. He has most certainly absorbed all of the energy she once controlled. Just remember, no matter how much power and energy he now controls, he can not physically harm you.”

“I’ll remember,” Linda said while trying to focus on that very thought. “So what do we do now?”

“We go together to face him. I will cast a spell and you will find yourself in a place that will appear to be shrouded in a white mist. You will eventually see Baannat. Ignore everything else you see or hear from that point on. Simply concentrate on the fact that you are immune to his power. We should not wait. If you are ready, we should go right now.”

Linda nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”

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Ryson felt two large gaping holes in his