More of them went into the swirl, a black hole pulling in the last orbiting moons.
One final thought kept Bel able to maintain a sense of self. What of the path? he cried. It guided me through battles, kept me safe from dragons, urged me to walk into the sphere of light and stand with you as they cast the spell that brought us together …
What of it?
I thought it was fate’s threads, guiding me to victory!
Losara chuckled. It was.
The noise in Bel’s mind grew louder as he broke to pieces, unable to hold on.
Do not fight any longer, Bel, and I shall promise you something.
What?
All you ever really cared about was winning, my friend. Well – and there was a surge of elation as Bel shared the realisation …no, not shared, for they were no longer apart – you can.
Emergence
‘Stand back!’ shouted Corlas. ‘Give him space!’
The others backed off as the gateway continued to expand. A body was forming – a man, his long, curly blue hair swept about by unknown forces. He spilled forward suddenly into the clearing, onto his hands and knees, his hair falling to obscure his downcast face. Behind him, the gateway snapped closed.
Nobody dared breathe. The man reached down with a finger to scratch at the clearing floor, as if seeing earth for the first time. His arms were muscular, but they did not have the bulge of Bel, or the slightness of Losara. A tiny crumb of dirt caught in his fingernails, and he stared as if unsure what to make of it.
‘Can it be …’ he whispered.
‘No,’ whispered Lalenda. She was staring at his hands – human hands, no trace of shadow. She clutched her own hands to her chest as hairline cracks began to split her heart.
Quietly, surreptitiously, Tyrellan pulled a dagger from his belt.
‘Bel?’ said Fahren, not yet daring to edge forward. Jaya began to, taking hesitant steps – but it was Corlas who felt none of their fear.
‘Boy?’ he asked, kneeling beside the figure, putting a hand upon his back. ‘Are you returned, boy? Are you all right? Come, speak to your worried old man.’
The man looked up and, as the cocoon of his hair fell back, he revealed a pitch-black gaze. Even Corlas faltered at that, withdrawing his touch.
The man frowned at him. His face had the smooth-featured boyishness of Losara, but there was something of Bel there too. ‘Father?’ he said, and lurched up to fling his arms around Corlas. Corlas, surprised, rocked backwards, but at the same time held on tight. Forcefully he rearranged his embrace, clutching his son to him, his eyes streaming with tears. Charla went to be with them, grinning at her husband’s happiness, placing a hand on Corlas’s shoulder as he wept.
‘My son, Charla,’ said Corlas.
‘I see, my love. I see.’
The man pulled free, and blinked around at all of them: Fahren, fingers twitching, ready for the worst …Tyrellan, dagger twisting idly in his grip …Jaya, seemingly caught between running to him and running away …Lalenda, her hand unclenching from her breast as she stared into his dark eyes …
‘Who are you?’ said Fahren.
‘The both of us,’ he said. He raised a hand to his brow, pressed his fingers to his temple and thought deeply for a moment. ‘But I think you had best call me …Losara.’
Lalenda gave a cry and ran to him, and he rose from the ground to meet her. As she clutched him, his eyes came over her to rest on Jaya. Hers were open wide and blinking quickly, and her mouth was hanging open in unspoken question.
‘You can still feel it?’ he said to her. ‘Our connection endures, Jaya.’
Lalenda pulled back, her claws now pricking his sides. ‘What?’
He laughed as he smoothed tangled hair from her eyes. ‘It does not exist at the expense of what we share, flutterbug. But there’s no denying it is still there.’
Lalenda glanced at Jaya uncertainly.
‘But your hands,’ said Fahren desperately. ‘How can you be Losara?’
The man held up a hand, turning it for inspection. ‘Bel was always good with his hands,’ he said. ‘It was something we agreed to keep.’ He smiled then, a mischievous smile that Fahren remembered well from another face. ‘A warrior needs his hands, Fahren.’ He wiggled the finger that had been missing.
‘My lord,’ said Tyrellan, sinking to one knee, his voice full of ardour. Unusually, his hand shook as he slid the dagger back into his belt.
‘But …’ said Fahren, ‘…you were the lesser.’
‘Was I?’ said Losara. ‘How can that be defined? What attributes are worth what? Which traits are shadow and which are light? Certainly I now have what I needed from Bel …his determination, his bloodlust …’ He shook his head. ‘Though I fancy it is now more under control.’
Panic showed on Fahren’s face, and he brought up trembling hands to conjure a ward. Losara reached out and ripped it away, and Fahren fell to the ground, asleep.
‘Watch over him for me, Father,’ he said.
There was a rustle in the trees. Corlas glanced around, as if looking for someone who wasn’t there. ‘My Lady …’ he doubtfully addressed the air. ‘He has already been through so much …’
Twigs and leaves whipped up suddenly, and a funnel of earth rose to mesh with them. Losara started and pulled Lalenda behind him as Vyasinth formed.
‘Who …?’ he said.
The green pinpricks of her eyes flared brightly. ‘I am the Lady of the Wood,’ she said. ‘And your true god.’
‘She wants to reawaken your Sprite blood,’ muttered Corlas.
‘Oh,’ said Losara. He held out his hand, and closed his eyes. ‘So be it.’
Vyasinth paused for a moment …then firmly clasped Losara’s hand with her own twig-like fingers. Losara tensed, and Lalenda exchanged a look of concern with Jaya. A few moments passed in silence.
‘Ah,’ said Losara eventually, opening his eyes. ‘I remember our people now, as you wish me to. But if you think, my Lady, that changing my purpose is as simple as that, you are mistaken. Maybe if I had grown up here,’ he gestured around, ‘as you had intended …but my blood is full of dreams and memories now, enough for two men, and a few more will not change me.’
Her hand fell slowly, and several of the leaves growing from her withered. ‘But you are my champion,’ she whispered. ‘A champion for our people.’
‘Your people are a long time gone,’ said Losara. ‘I am sorry. But I will allow you to remain here. This place will go on as it was – as a sanctuary, not a power.’
‘But …’
‘Now,’ said Losara, ‘I must away.’ He reached for Corlas’s wrist, clasped both his hands around it. ‘We shall have our time, Father. Soon. And you both,’ he looked from Lalenda to Jaya, ‘I love you each very much.’ He left Lalenda to go to Jaya, and she did not flinch. Instead she reached to touch his face, her eyebrow quirking for a moment.
‘You’re still in there?’ she asked quietly, rubbing a thumb on his cheek.
‘I am, my thief.’
Lalenda hissed behind them. ‘Hush, flutterbug,’ said Losara. ‘It will be all right.’ Then he stepped away, looking up to the sky.
‘Where are you going, my lord?’ said Tyrellan.
‘To battle,’ said Losara. He gestured at Tyrellan, who was startled to lift up into the air. ‘And you shall come with me.’
Together they rose out of the forest.
Grimra swirled amongst those who remained. ‘Ho ho!’ he said. ‘Nasty spirits took some shaking. What did Grimra miss?’
•
As Losara and Tyrellan flew over the Grass Ocean, the armies battled on.
‘We are going to win, lord?’ said Tyrellan.
‘Yes,’ replied Losara. ‘We are going to win. I shall put us down there.’