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

soul—one for the loss of Lief and one at the death of the Reader Matthew. He did not wish to ignore their deaths, but the words of the wizard left him unable to focus on little beyond his concern for Linda.

“What’s going on? What did he mean by saying Linda has a choice? Do you know?” Ryson demanded of Holli.

Holli did not hesitate in answering. “I do not know for certain. There is nothing he has spoken of which I can rely on to give you a complete answer.”

Ryson looked hard at the elf guard. “But you have spoken about Linda with Enin before, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“About what?”

“She is immune to magic. It can not touch her in anyway. I’ve known of this since I first met her. Enin also knows of this.”

Ryson took a few moments to consider this. “Enin said he had to deal with Baannat before he left here. Enin said Baannat is now stronger with the magic, but you and Enin have talked about how Linda is immune to it.” He stopped after that thought and looked back toward Holli with dismay. “Do you know where Enin is now?”

Holli nodded. “He is at the Borderline Inn.”

“Godson! How fast can you get us there?”

“I can get us there as I brought us here, but I can not move as fast as he does. Enin returned most of my energy, so I have the power to get us there far faster than if you had to travel on your own.”

“Do it!”

#

Linda found herself in a place that was nearly beyond her comprehension. Pure magical energy surrounded her, yet her body could not be touched by it. In the simplest of terms, she was hovering in a state of tactile suspension. She simply floated in this existence, but the sensation went well beyond any similarities to floating in water or even in air. It was more like wafting in the merest sliver of space between the flame and smoke, never feeling the heat but knowing it was there. The moment she was placed in Baannat’s realm she lost all physical contact with everything around her. The feeling was unnerving to her and she wrapped her arms around herself as if to confirm that her body still existed.

She didn’t understand how she could move in such an environment for there was nothing for her to stand upon or press a hand against. Still, she was able to turn about in all directions and move forward and backward with steps that fell upon this all encompassing emptiness. She somehow knew she was no longer in the same type of existence as back home in Uton. Her body was here, but she was not dependent on the same needs. She wondered if she could feel hot or cold, wet or dry, because at the moment she felt nothing about her at all.

The sensation of touch seemed to be the only sense that was deprived of her. She could see into the white haze as she made out two figures in the mist with her, and she believed she could smell a strange, almost electric scent as if she stood in a smoldering depression where lightning had just struck. She could hear as well, and she recoiled at the sound of a bellowing, insane voice, the voice she knew to belong to Baannat.

Baannat spoke between vicious giggles of uncontrollable laughter, but his attention was focused on the wizard who was also now present in this misty place. “Hello, Brother. I was wondering if you were going to come here right away, or if you were going to wait until I actually committed some act you viewed to be worthy of your attention. Since you’ve shown up so fast, I imagine you’ve figured out that I now possess all of the energy that used to belong to that pathetic tart of a witch from the desert. This can’t make you happy.”

Enin gave a quick glance over to Linda to ensure her condition before responding. “I am very aware that you have taken the power of Tabris. I am aware of many things now, and so there was no need to wait.”

Baannat actually howled with delight. “And in being so newly aware, do you realize what has truly been happening? Are you admitting how foolish you have been? I must tell you, brother, I have been so amused by your antics. You kept coming here looking for some kind of obvious clue, as if I was stupid enough to leave a clear trail for you to follow. It was beyond entertaining to watch you looking for a direct link between me and Tabris, or me and Sazar. How pathetic. Do you really think I would be that obvious? You don’t always have to use magic directly to get someone to do what you want. Sometimes all you have to do is set the stage for them, and they do it all on their own.”

“I realize you have been interfering all this time, and yes I admit my mistake,” Enin replied without shame.

Baannat, however, wished to relish the point. “Do you know how easy it was to make one of Sazar’s goblins walk through one of your stupid Pinesway web spells? And then you kept talking to me about how your prized delver could sense me. I allowed that. It was necessary to keep him focused on what I wanted him focused on. When you knew Sazar was attacking Pinesway, I wanted the delver interested in this as well. I wanted him to spoil the serp’s plans, which is exactly what he did. I even placed a river rogue in the town long before all of that happened to entice that elf friend of his to show up just at the right time. With Sazar defeated by the delver, it was simplicity to direct him to Tabris. Sazar was destined to grow in power. You’re not the only one that can see fate, brother. I just know how to use it.”

“And that will be your undoing,” Enin said firmly. “Destiny is for the purpose of the individual that it belongs to. It is for him or her to experience, to learn, to grow. It is not for you to exploit.”

“And yet I did anyway,” Baannat countered. “Do you still not understand? I needed Tabris to choose a path opposed to you so that her energy could also grow in opposition. I needed her to join with Sazar so that she could be the source of his new power. Once he became a sufficient threat, it was clear he would bring other forces down against him and his ultimate defeat. But I knew it would not end there. Those that fought Sazar would then focus on Tabris and ultimately she would fall as well. When she did, I was waiting to grab everything she had. All of that loose energy just there for the taking. I have it now, just like I wanted.”

“It was not Tabris’ destiny to become evil,” Enin shot back. “That was her choice. You may have benefited by it, but you were simply lucky. Remember, luck can be changed.”

“So you do not wish to give me proper credit?” Baannat asked.

“Credit? For Tabris’ ill-advised decision? No, you earn no credit there. She made that choice of her own will and she has faced the consequences of that act.”

“And now are you here to tell me of the consequences I face?” Baannat chided the wizard.

“No, I am here because of my own choice, of my own decision. Your action did not bring me here on its own. In the end, I realized I would no longer try to hide from what I am, just as you hide in the shadows of your mist.”

“You think I hide from you?” Baannat seethed with hate. “I used the mist to cover myself only so that it would continue to confuse you. It was part of the game and nothing more. The game is coming to an end, so I will indulge you and let you see me for what I am.”

Baannat’s figure seemed to almost solidify out of the misty white shadows that covered him. His full features came into focus just as his angry growls turned once more into a maniacal laugh. The long thing fangs that jutted from his cat-like muzzle glistened in the clearing mist. He stood on hind legs that were curved deeply and bent on two separate joints, but his arms were long and straight. His hands were like the thick heavy paws of a tiger with thin razor claws. His eyes glowed green with deep black irises, and bent whiskers drooped from the balloon like cheeks that extended his muzzle. His body, however, did not match the cat-like appearance of the rest of him. A dark brown cloak covered a twisted, shifting mass. There appeared to be no solidity to his center, as if his shoulders, chest, back, and pelvis were made of nothing more than melting taffy. His core trembled with waves from each cackle, like the surface of a pond disturbed by the churning oars of several boats.

“Is this supposed to frighten me?” Enin asked without a hint of surprise. “I’ve suspected all along that you were nothing more than a slink ghoul. You could shadow your form, but you could never truly hide your basic instincts. Each time we talked I sensed more of what you were. I have enough of an understanding of the dark realm to know the kind of creatures that are spawned there.”

“Congratulations,” Baannat answered sarcastically. “You should also know that my physical prowess exceeds yours. You can not match me in magic and now you can be assured you can not match me in physical battle.”

“If it’s that simple, why don’t you just get rid of me once and for all?” Enin dared the dark creature. “Use your new found magical advantage to obliterate me, or show me the strength in your arms and the sharpness of your claws and kill me with one quick strike.”

“If I wanted to, rest assured you would be dead already,” Baannat answered with a twisted grin that wrinkled his whiskers even further. “You’ve always amused me and I like being amused.”

“The time for your entertainment is coming to an end. I have come here so that one way or another, this will be our last encounter.”

“But once again you did not come alone.” Baannat took a quick glimpse over at Linda. He did not recognize her, and that bothered him greatly. Still, he sensed no great magical energy in this woman and he scoffed at her presence. “I am surprised, however, that you bring this human with you. I expected the elf you’ve been training. I would have bet you might have thought the elf’s assistance might have leveled out the imbalance that now exists between us. You would have been wrong, but that was my guess.”

“It does not matter who I bring,” Enin responded hoping to keep Baannat’s attention on him and away from Linda. “I am the one that will bring you to an end.”

“You? I thought it was the delver that was supposed to take care of me? What happened to his destiny?”

Enin did not wish to discuss Ryson, especially in front of Linda, and he turned the conversation back at his nemesis. “You were the one that scoffed at that destiny. You even came out and told me I would have to face you eventually. As it turns out, you were right. I do have to face you. It seems you know my fate better than I.”

“It is not your fate to just to face me,” Baannat giggled. “It is your fate to die by my