Deliverance Read online

  Placing the tip of the blade against her temple, Miko slowly dragged the blade downwards drawing blood as the blade slid down the side of her face. Illadari’s heart twisted inside his chest as he fought against the restraints that held him. Screaming, he was unable to be understood as the cloth muffled his words.

  “Isn’t blood beautiful?” Miko asked lifting the blade to his eyes. “If it was any other color, I don’t think I’d like it as much.” Turning his head as he looked down at Tessla, he continued, “Red is the color of passion... which I have for this line of work,” Before standing upright, Miko bent down and grabbed Tessla bringing her up with him. “Say goodbye,” Miko said looking at Illadari.

  Illadari used what little strength he had to twist his body clockwise and hit Miko in the legs attempting to drop him, but the attempt fell short. Instead, Miko just laughed and kicked Illadari in the stomach.

  “I wasn’t going to kill you, but you left me no choice!” Miko said throwing Tessla backwards onto the floor as he approached Illadari. Drawing his blade from his pouch, he pushed it against Illadari’s neck. “Goodbye,” Miko said as he began pulling the blade across Illadari’s neck.

  Chapter 13

  Nejik appeared on the platform and saw Tessla. Motioning with her head, she directed his attention to Miko kneeling at Illadari. Running over to Miko, Nejik pulled him away from Illadari.

  “Stop!” Nejik shouted. Miko grunted and swung his blade at Nejik, but was surprised when Nejik dodged and slipped his own blade into his torso. Staggering backwards, Miko grabbed at the flesh wound on his torso and tripped backwards, falling off the platform. Rushing over to Tessla, he removed the cloth around her mouth.

  “Illadari!” she screamed. “Go, I think Miko might have killed him!” Nejik hurried over to Illadari and removed the gag that was wrapped around his head. Holding his head in his hands, Tessla could see the blood around the neck from where the blade had cut. “No!” she screamed as she began to sob.

  Illadari let out an agonizing moan. “He’s alive,” Nejik said looking back towards Tessla. Nejik began to circle his index finger in small tight woven circles over Illadari’s neck as he spoke unrecognizable words. Blinking the tears away, Tessla watched as a soft green light fell from Nejik’s fingertip and onto Illadari’s neck.

  “The wounds, they aren’t healing,” Tessla said. Gently, Nejik set Illadari’s head back down. Nejik came over to Tessla and untied her hands.

  “My mending abilities are weak and they are in the form of Druidic magic… I’m not sure if it will work, but his wounds appear to be changing to some degree and he is healing.”

  “My mandolin!” Tessla exclaimed as he finished loosening her restraints. “It should be down at the base of the tree, let’s get it and I can play my Song of Healing!” She leaped up and went to get onto the slide that led down to the base.

  “How would you get back up here though?” Nejik asked. She turned and looked at the empty shelf and the teleport potions that had been smashed on the floor.

  “Can we take him with us? We aren’t going to stay up here forever.”

  “I’m afraid he has broken bones… If he’s moved before they are healed, he could die from one piercing an organ,” Nejik said.

  “And if we stay up here? He could just die here?”

  “I’m afraid so sister,” Nejik said as he approached her and put his arm around her shoulders. “I’ve spent some time with the druids in recent years, and they not only practice Druidic magic, they use prayers to help heal their people. They believe that Omad gives grace to those he deems worthy.” Glancing at Illadari, he continued, “Your priest relies on the grace of Omad to conduct his work, maybe if we rely on that same grace, we can bring Illadari back to health.”

  Tessla recalled Illadari’s rituals he performed in the alter room in the Halls of the Living. Bending down on her knees at his side, she untied his hands and brought them to his chest. Placing her hands on top of Illadari’s, Tessla bowed her head.

  Omad, please grant grace to your servant Illadari… Help his wounds heal.

  Opening her eyes, she didn’t recognize any change in Illadari. “What are we going to do?” Tessla asked as Nejik joined her on the floor next to Illadari while she held Illadari’s hand.

  “We have to wait now. What happened anyways?” Nejik asked.

  “We teleported here because we were being chased by guards in New Haven,” Tessla said raising her eyes. “We thought we could just get away quickly without an issue.”

  “Did you find out what was in the vial?” Nejik replied.

  “We found out there was some kind of Runic magic inside it,” Tessla said as she looked over at Illadari.

  “Really? Runic?” Nejik asked curiously as he looked to be thinking. “You think father stole Ada away?”

  “He’s not magical… and Ada is so powerful. It’s hard to understand,” Tessla said.

  “Who was that ninja?” Nejik asked motioning over his shoulder.

  “He was a ninja?” Tessla asked. “I guess it doesn’t matter… he said his name was Miko and he was hired by the Wizards of Curo to capture me?” Tessla said confused.

  “The Wizards of Curo? Who are they?” Nejik asked. “I wonder if this has something to do with the war.”

  “So the Wizards are trying to get me and the Runic’s have my child… Fantastic,” Tessla laughed as she rested her head against her hand. Shaking her head, she looked up at Nejik. “I miss my home in Silvermeer… I guess it was a fantasy thinking it’d last forever.”

  “I know you miss it, but it was crazy to think that it would work forever. Ada isn’t immortal, she can and will die at some point. When this all gets figured out, we can have a normal relationship and spend time together. I know I didn’t reach out to you at all after I ducked out from the castle… but these years you’ve been only been a small distance away and… I just want something more than we have had. You know? Life is short and I don’t want to lose you again. ”

  Glancing over at Illadari and thinking about her son Kessler, she replied, “But at what cost Nejik?” He looked down between his folded hands and sighed.

  “I know…” he said softly.

  **

  Illadari began coughing and moaning as he turned onto his side. “My neck!” he screamed as he clenched his throat in pain. Tessla touched his face and kissed his cheek.

  “Thanks be to Omad you are okay!” she said resting her head on his chest. She inspected his neck and saw that his wounds were beginning to close. “See if you can walk,” Tessla said helping him to his feet. Grabbing his ribs as he stood up, he staggered across the floor cringing with every step.

  “It’s okay… but I rather rest longer,” he said as he lowered himself back down to the floor. Bending down next to him, Tessla put her hand on his shoulder.

  “Our son needs us,” she said softly. “I can give you better healing down below when I get my mandolin.”

  “At least bring me a black diamond to restore my mana energy before we go down there…” Illadari said.

  “Certainly,” Tessla said jumping up; she retrieved one from their pouch. “Here,” she said handing him the diamond. Placing his finger tips on the black diamond, he drew the energy out and immediately Tessla could see his energy return. “Did the diamond make you feel any better?”

  “No,” Illadari said in a grumpy tone. Tessla knew he was being over dramatic, but she kept silent and let him bask in his misery.

  “Well you are well enough to travel to the base of the tree now. Let’s go,” Tessla said helping him upright. Nejik grabbed the pouches and joined behind them as they traveled down the long winding slide that wrapped around the tree to the base.

  Arriving at the bottom, Tessla left Illadari with Nejik and set foot across the glade in search of her mandolin. Finding her mandolin rather quickly, she was curious to where Miko had fallen to his demise. Continuing her search, she followed around the entire Great Tree’s base in the glade and found
his body nowhere along the way. That’s strange, she thought to herself as she glanced back up at the platform.

  “I didn’t find Miko’s body anywhere,” Tessla said upon approaching Nejik and Illadari.

  “Odd,” Nejik said glancing around both directions. “Maybe a wolf dragged off his body or he managed to pull himself into the forest to die. Regardless, I don’t think he’s an issue anymore.”

  Tessla nodded as she began to play the Song of Healing Rain for Illadari. White notes traveled from her mandolin and formed a white puffy cloud over Illadari. As the last note played, it appeared to be made entirely of water as it floated up into the cloud above Illadari. A moment later an explosion disturbed the cloud and rain droplets began to fall over Illadari healing him quickly to full health.

  Falling to her knees, she asked Nejik, “Could you get a black diamond from my pouch next to you? I don’t have the energy to play a song of regeneration for my mana.”

  “Sure,” Nejik said as he opened the pouch and pulled one out. Glancing around in the bag he said, “This is the last one you have.”

  “I am aware, please bring it to me,” she said with a smile. Bringing it over to her, she drew the energy from the diamond restoring her energy. “Much better,” she said standing up rejuvenated. Illadari arose to his feet fully healed and stretched.

  Chapter 14

  “Thank you,” Illadari said to Nejik. Any ill feelings he had towards the man had all gone away through the act of generosity in helping save his life. “I would have died if you didn’t save me,” Illadari said extending a hand and a smile.

  “So that’s it? You just let it go and like me now?” Nejik asked curiously with a half grin on his face.

  “Saving my life is a pretty big deal and I figure that’s a good trade off for the offense of almost killing me when I first met you,” Illadari responded. Looking to Tessla, Illadari embraced her tightly in a hug and kissed her passionately.

  “I was scared I was going to lose you,” Tessla said hugging him.

  “So you sat with your brother and chatted?” Illadari laughed. “I’m not upset, but it seemed unusual.”

  “You were healing and I needed to catch up with him,” Tessla said defensively.

  “Understandable.” Directing his attention to Nejik, Illadari said, “It’s safe to assume you didn’t figure anything out about with the Kobold’s having Ada… since we figured out it was Runic magic, right?”

  “Correct…” Nejik paused for a moment looking at Tessla. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think we need to travel to Ashengale and ask around about any rumors circling the town about Ada and her whereabouts. Maybe she was brought through town on the way to the castle? Or maybe she’s being held somewhere around the area.”

  “And risk seeing my Mother and Father again?” Tessla asked with widened eyes. “I can’t risk that,” she said turning away.

  “Well unless you have a better way, I don’t see how we are going to find Kessler and Ada,” Nejik said. “I don’t like Mother and Father either, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about Kessler and getting him back to you two safely.”

  “You are right, we need to find Ada and get this resolved,” Tessla replied.

  “What about the Curo Wizards seeking to capture you?” Illadari asked.

  “What about it? We can handle it. We have to find Ada and fix this mess. That’s the most important thing,” Tessla said.

  **

  Traveling through the evening, into the night and through the next day; the three of them traveled through the Darkwood Forest, the Dustwallow Pass and into the Ironwood Forest in pursuit of Ashengale. As night began to fall, they made it to the outskirts of Ashengale.

  Illadari rubbed his forehead as he set his sights on his old priest halls in Ashengale that lied between the two buildings that they were near. I was so young, he thought to himself as he watched Elder Konner come out the front door shutting it behind him. He walked down the street and out of their view.

  “I’m going to go stop in at the local pub and see if I can find anything out,” Nejik said to Illadari and Tessla. “People won’t recognize who I am since I’ve been gone so long and the berry tar on my eyes.”

  “How come we can’t use the dirt of the Ironwood Forest to hide ourselves and join you?” Tessla asked.

  Nejik looked at the both of them and shook his head. “I know people that frequent the tavern. They know me as a loner and would be suspicious to see others with me.”

  “Sounds like a plan then,” Illadari said.

  “Don’t be gone too long” Tessla said.

  “I won’t,” Nejik said giving her a hug. Nejik set foot into town, while Tessla and Illadari stayed behind a pile of logs that sat just on the backside of the Ashengale general shop.

  “You think Kessler’s here in Ashengale? What if he’s in the castle? With my parents?” Tessla asked.

  “I am not sure of where he is… but I hope he and Ada are here so we can get it all straightened out,” Illadari said. His stomach began to growl in hunger.

  “Let me get you some food,” she said reaching into one of their pouches. Retrieving a Hilted Banes Leaf and a loaf of gymer bread, she gave him a chunk of the bread and a leaf. Grabbing both from her hands, Illadari smiled. She reached into the pouch again and fetched a waterskin for them to share.

  Tossing the leaf into his mouth, he chewed it quickly and shoved bread immediately in afterwards to help with the bitter taste. His hunger pains began to subside and he took a swig of the waterskin. Wiping his mouth, he handed the waterskin back to Tessla.

  “Thank you,” he said smiling. Looking over into the forest, he said, “I remember the first time we met, just walking with you in these woods and talking as I healed animals…” He looked over at her and smiled. “Life was so simple back then…”

  Joining him in the reflection on their early years of their relationship, she said, “We thought it was complicated and difficult back then…”

  “We were young,” Illadari said reaching over and grabbing her hand. Kissing the topside of her hand, he looked her in the eyes and said, “I’d do it all again if I had to.”

  Smiling, she said, “I would too.”

  “Life’s crazy sometimes… but a little bit of chaos is nice, it keeps it interesting. For instance, I could have been listening to boring fishing stories, going to the Halls and conducting my life like it has been for the last decade instead of sneaking back into a city that wants to kill me.”

  “True… but I rather have our boy back and you listening to boring fishing stories then this,” Tessla said with glossy, tear-filled eyes.

  “That is very true… I’d be happy to listen to fishing stories for the rest of my life if that meant Kessler were safe with us at home.”

  A couple hours had passed, and Illadari and Tessla became worried about Nejik as the sun began to set fully and the moons were out. “You think he’s okay?” Tessla asked Illadari as they lay their heads against the pile of logs.

  “I hope so, it has been a few hours now…” Illadari said. “I’m starting to wonder.” Sitting up, Illadari climbed the pile of logs and glanced over the top, into Ashengale. The streets were less crowded than earlier and it appeared that many of the shops were now closed. “I wonder if you should go into the tavern,” Illadari said.

  “Uh… why not you?” Tessla asked.

  “The Ashengale folks know my face very well. You are the princess and were not present in the city very often, you are better suited,” Illadari said.

  “Well I was still in the city sometimes…” Tessla said. “What if I cut my hair?”

  “Cut your hair? With what? A rock?” Illadari laughed. “Here, just put my blue robes on and go into the town.”

  Illadari stripped off his robe and down to his under garments. “I’ll be fine, just hurry back once you get find him,” Illadari said as she put the blue robes on that were clearly too large for her small frame.

  “Is
this going to work?” she asked looking at Illadari as she raised her arms trying to get comfortable in the rather large robes. Relaxing her arms to her sides, the sleeves went well beyond her hands.

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Illadari laughed wrapping himself with his arms to keep warm.

  “I hope you are right,” she said going around the wood pile, Tessla smiled nervously back at Illadari. Taking a deep breath, she headed into the streets of Ashengale.

  Chapter 15

  Pulling the hood of the robes over her head to help conceal her face, Tessla looked down as she made her way into the tavern. Glancing up as she entered, she barely spotted Nejik at a table near the back corner. The lighting was poor in the tavern and it smelled of hops and smoke. Brushing the smoke out of her face as she coughed, she made her way across the creaky wood floor, to the table that Nejik sat at.