Serial Saturday: "Clan of Outcasts" Season 3, Part Final "Catch A Falling Star"

FINALE (Part 2)

"Catch A Falling Star"

"Princess?"
"Zayra, we're here!"

Raedyn and Edri appeared in the cavern, just in time to see Zayra crumple to her knees. They rushed to the princess' side. Edri whipped off her glove and began searching for wounds under the blood soaking Zayra's gown. "The others aren't far behind, she whispered quickly.
Zayra couldn't tear her eyes away from Polaris' debilitated figure.
"It's too late..." she choked, as tears fell down her face.

"Polaris!" Jaran's voice carried through the cavern, as he and Beren, Damaris, Azelie, Aurelle, Tessa, Denahlia, Markus and Korsan arrived, borne by Erlis, who shifted from dragon to human as they joined their friends in the cavern.

Denahlia's eyes shifted from the two dead bodies she recognized to the rapidly-declining one she didn't. "Wow," she muttered under her breath. "Is that him?"

The ground began to rumble, as more of the shed blood seeped from the wounds and spread in red, branching rivulets farther than it should have, all the way to the six stone pedestals, and as the blood pooled underneath the statues, the rumble increased, until the statues began to crack and crumble, giving way to bright-glowing skin underneath.

Trevon looked up at them and gasped, as the familiar faces took shape, and the wings began to beat again.
"Gemmar!" He cried as they surrounded him. "Allhenn! Scathys! You're alive!"
"Tyrven!" Boomed the tall Angel with long dark hair tied back in a tail. "It is good to see that you have survived... but--" His eyes wandered to the devastation before him. "What happened--"
A female Angel gave a quick glance toward the back wall of the cavern and warned her compatriots, "The Gate collapses! Look out!"

As she spoke, several booming cracks shattered the Gate, and threatened to collapse the entire cavern along with it.

The Angels did not hesitate, and Raedyn helped along with Sir Roger, bringing all those who were still alive--including Polaris--out of the cavern, and down to a high platform just below them, at the edge of the city.
As soon as her feet came to rest on firm ground, Tessa ran over to Polaris and wrapped her arms around him. The six Angels withdrew to observe without interfering.

"I don't believe it!" Tessa choked as she sobbed. "All this time... You're real! You were actually there!" She ran her hand over Polaris' face to brush his silvery locks aside. "I can see you now!"
"Tess..." Polaris grunted, reaching a feeble hand toward her.

Tessa grasped it in her own. "Polaris," she said. "My guardian Shadow!" Her face crumpled, and she wept, although she kissed his hand and pressed it against her own cheek.

Sir Roger--or, as the others knew him, Juros--stepped forward so that Polaris could look at him.
"Do you now understand my intention for giving you this--" he gestured toward the Knife in his hand and to Polaris himself, "assignment?"
Polaris managed to form his answer in just one word, "Yes." His eyes traveled to Zayra, standing forlornly at her husband's side.

Juros nodded. "Since you now understand why I give the mortals these Gifts, and you recognize their ability to stand with what they are given... Polaris, I release you." With the tip of the knife, Juros pricked the heel of his own hand, letting his own blood drip down and wash away the wicked stains left by Mallory.

In Tessa's arms, Polaris felt his strength return, and he let out a deep sigh. The color returned to his pale cheeks, and after a moment he was able to sit up, and even to stand. Tessa supported him up to his feet, aiding him in moving very slowly until he nodded to signal that he could support himself.

The young woman looked at the old soldier, her eyes squinted as she searched his face. "How did you do that?" she asked. "Who are you?"

The Gifted friends all exchanged knowing looks and grins. Markus finally leaned over to his cousin and whispered, "I guess Polaris wasn't just referring to a star, after all."

Polaris, meanwhile, took this opportunity to kneel in front of Sir Roger, and he glanced up to Tessa.
"Lady Tessa," he murmured, "It is my honor to present to you my own ruler, Juros of Justicia."

Tessa's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, and she tremblingly took to her knees as well. "You're Juros?" she gasped. "You're him! All this time... just a soldier?"

Juros chuckled. "The White Castle has been the center of much contention--I wanted it to be the nexus of those who would honor me in the mortal plane, a safe haven for all those who believe in my name. I did not mind taking on the persona of Sir Roger, seasoned knight and trusted protector, as it gave me the chance to personally see how my Gifted people were getting along." He nodded to Edri and Zayra, and also to Beren and Jaran. Everyone respectfully nodded their heads.

Juros returned his attention to Tessa. "I chose you to be the bearer of Polaris' Dagger because I could see your noble heart, and the way others would underestimate you, and I wanted to know what you would do with unlimited protection and awesome power." He glanced over his shoulder, in the direction of The Roque. "You have done well, Milady. The Roque is truly a bastion of sanctuary and security outside of The Realm, and by your deeds, Gybralltyr is saved from the tyranny of evildoers who would have invited my wrath and judgment upon this island."

Tessa ducked her head as a deep blush stole over her face. "I have only done what I could to defend the innocent and strengthen the weak," she murmured.

Juros nodded, reaching down to raise her and Polaris together to their feet again. "And for that, you have earned yourself a favor from me. What is it you desire?"

Denahlia noted how Polaris suddenly went rigid, and wondered why he would be so concerned about what Tessa wanted. Why would it have anything to do with him?

Tessa glanced at Polaris, a bashful smile playing about her face. "Well, if you had asked me that a few hours ago, I would have said that I desired for Polaris to be set free from his obligation to the Knife--but you've already done that, so..." She paused, folding her lip between her teeth in careful thought. "My Lord Juros," she continued in a clear, confident tone, "I would like to be Gifted, as these others are." She gestured around at the group.

Juros nodded slowly. "Gifted? Why do you suppose that such a thing would be profitable for you? Why not desire any of an infinite number of things that I could give you?"

Tessa shifted her hand to clasp Polaris' hand in hers, and said, "I know that Polaris, now that he is free from his obligation, will be returning to Justicia, and I will not have his protection any more. I know that only those who are Gifted may enter Justicia. Furthermore, I know that even if I cannot be with Polaris any longer in this life, I very much want the assurance that I will see him again in the next life."
The pair gazed into each others' eyes and Polaris smiled even wider than Tessa did.

Juros nodded. "It is high time that one such as you would receive a Gift to aid you in the work that you have before you. Seline!" He beckoned to the back of the group. "Seline!" he called.

The Angel lifted above the heads of everyone, and alighted beside them. "Here, my lord," she said.

Juros gestured to Tessa. "Gift this one with the ability of Industry--she has much rebuilding to do, not just in improving and expanding The Roque, but also restoring Gybralltyr to somewhat of its former glory. With this Gift, she will be able to clearly envision the optimal future, and comprehend what is needed to reach said future. And in the end," he smiled at Tessa and Polaris standing side by side, "she will see her protector, and they will be together in Justicia."
Seline nodded. "As you have said, so will it be," she answered.

Tears of happiness sprang into Tessa's eyes, and she grasped Juros' hand. "Thank you, sir!" she whispered. To Polaris, she said, "I hope you don't mind. Even though I couldn't see you, I did like having you around."

Polaris grinned and wrapped his arms around Tessa, like he never wanted to let her go. "I confess, I've been thinking that once the Crow Queen had been vanquished and the spell of the Knife had been broken, that it might be time for me to retire as a Knight--if it meant seeing you more often."

The sun broke over Gybralltyr, and in Tessa's newly-Gifted sight, the future had never looked brighter!
>>>>>>>>

That same sun had reached midday by the time Elvish lookouts came to announce before Prince Aspen and Princess Mignonette that the King and Queen and all their entourage had returned.
Jaran and Azelie paused in the courtyard of the castle to appraise the changes that had gone on in their absence.

The courtyard was no longer a scene of chaos, but a well-tended parade ground, with clean cobblestone walkways and lush patches of grass. The holes in the stonework around the garrison had been repaired, and everything looked to be in working order.

The Elvish servant led them across the castle to the gardens, where Aspen and Mignonette sat in the pavilion enjoying a midday repast.
The two Elvish rulers stood in deference to the returning Royals.
Jaran nodded in return. "It is done," he declared. "Mallory is no more."
"And the Enchanted Knife?" Mignonette asked.

"No longer enchanted," Zayra answered with a smile. "We had some assistance from Juros himself, and he ended the spell that had trapped the Shadow Knight."

Aspen nodded slowly. "Very good--and I trust you'll find that we have upheld our end of the bargain here," he gestured to the castle grounds.

Javira stepped away to inspect the new flowers growing among the hedges. They were unlike any she'd ever seen--but they responded to her Gift in much the same way. Damaris and Anahita slipped away hand-in-hand, to see how the kitchens had been maintained--or at least, that was the excuse Damaris gave, while Anahita only blushed and giggled without saying a word.

Aurelle instinctively glanced toward the window of the library, and Mignonette supplied, "Our archivists have sorted and re-shelved all the records and scrolls that the conflict left scattered."

"And your scientists will be happy to know," Aspen added, with a nod toward Lizeth and Nyella, "that all of your experiments have been preserved, and your ingredients for the synthetic tinctures have been resupplied."

Nyella got a strange look on her face, but by the time she vanished and reappeared, she wore a smile instead of a frown. "It's true! Everything is better than when we left it!"

Princess Tamarind observed the group with a tilt of her head. "Where is your new friend--the half-giant?"
Azelie smiled. "Tyrven chose to stay behind, along with Lady Tessa, to help her rebuild Gybralltyr as a Gifted community outside the Realm. Even though he is the last of his race, he wanted to use his knowledge gained by living with the Angels, plus what he had picked up from being warped by Mallory in her diabolical experiments, to reclaim the city as a remote community for Gifted individuals--much the same intentions we had for Wildhaven."

"In fact," Beren spoke up, "Brinley promised to make the portal between Wildhaven and Gybralltyr more accessible, so that if things get too crowded or unsafe for anyone here, they can easily get to there, where there will be more room for them, and they still wouldn't be cut off from any resources or community on our side."
Aspen nodded. "The Realm expands, I see," he mused.

At this point, Markus stepped forward, with Hadrian's Wyrmling crouched on his shoulder. "By the way," he said, nudging the Wyrmling from its perch, "This little fellow has agreed to say in your sanctuary until he's strong enough to be out on his own. Hadrian reserves the right to come and go as she pleases, but she acknowledges that the sanctuary does have all the protection and nourishment a growing Wyrmling needs--something she hasn't found in the outside world." He smiled as the Wyrmling warbled and bopped him on the leg with its head. "He'll live there for a time, she'll come and go as she pleases, but I think she's hoping that it will go a long way toward repairing relations between Elvendom and The Realm."

Aspen nodded slowly. "I will consider it," he said, well-aware of the red-scaled, sharp-fanged shadow hovering overhead.

Mignonette giggled at the Wyrmling's antics. "Does he have a name yet?" she asked, reaching toward the little dragon with a steady, non-threatening hand.

Markus watched the Wyrmling study the Elvish princess for a moment, before cautiously extending its neck for scratches. "Actually, Hadrian decided on the way over here. His name is Roger."

Risyn stood by with one arm around his sister, and the other hand tracing the runes carved into his staff. 

Quilla leaned against her brother's shoulder. "Korsan seemed only too happy to live out the rest of his days in Gybralltyr, wouldn't you say?" she mused.

Risyn nodded, and even chortled a little. "I couldn't tell who was more excited: Tessa, at getting to cook for and host both Korsan and Tyrven at The Roque, or Korsan, to be fed by someone who could really cook!"

Quilla snorted. "Are Damaris and Anahita really that bad in the kitchen?" she asked with a hint of apprehension in her voice.

Risyn shrugged a little. "I suppose you'll have to decide that for yourself, little sister!"

As the others conversed out in the garden, a lone figure ascended the steps onto the patio of the White Castle.

A golden-eyed Elf stepped out of the shadows to greet her.

"Lady Vel-Thane," said Prince Spruce, beginning to bow his head in deference. Halfway through the motion, he stopped, and straightened to peer closely at her. "Wait... Not thane--but how can it be? Your own blood was far too poisoned by the Dragon-Blood..."

Erlis smiled and gave a breezy chuckle. "It was not the blood poisoning me, but my own fear of what I was supposed to do with it. It was that same fear that drove me to agree to Velora's offer to seek a cure from the Elves, and that fear continued to haunt me and cripple me until I no longer knew myself..."

Spruce's lips thinned, and he tilted his head. "What changed?" he asked.

"I met Juros," answered Erlis. "He gave me a portion of his own blood, and showed me how the Gift I'd been given--that of healing--was not something to shy away from or be afraid of, any more than I should fear the Dragon's Blood, in the way that it gave me shifting abilities and also heightened my healing capabilities." She straightened and shifted the cowl back from her face. 

Her ears were still softly pointed, and her skin was very pale indeed, more like Mignonette's complexion, but there was a clarity and consistency about her demeanor that Spruce had never seen in her before. "Juros redeemed me with his blood," Erlis said, "and his blood protects me from harm, so that I can continue being his agent of healing, and also a defender of the weak and vulnerable with my dragon form--but in all of this, I carry out his will."

Spruce nodded. "I think you will find good reception across Elvendom's borders hereafter, Lady Erlis."
Erlis nodded. "Thank you very much."

By the end of the day, the Elves had returned to their kingdom, and the various leaders around The Realm returned to theirs. King Jaran and Queen Azelie ruled their people well and wisely, acknowledging the truth that Zayra had spoken in Gybralltyr, in the face of one who tried to control the future and thought that mastery over all things was the key to lasting peace: A community's strength didn't lie in the Gifts one could wield, and those who had Gifts weren't necessarily more important or better than those who didn't have any. Rather, a community could draw its strength by its citizens' capacity to work together, and support each other, and the Gifts were merely a means of doing that even more.
And so the Realm did flourish. The Lost Boy found his home, and when the time came, the Lady was reunited with her Star. And they all lived in community, one with another.

(Are you sure you want to end it like that, Kaidan?)

(Yes, Aurelle, I'm sure.)

Thus Ends 

THE COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CROW QUEEN, 

By Kaidan Clissander

Read More Of The Clan Of Outcasts Saga:

--> Season 1, Part 1: "The Storm"

--> Season 2, Part 1: "Upgrades"

--> Season 3, Part 1: "Always A Party"

Serial Saturday: "Clan of Outcasts" Season 3, Part Final-- "Once a Queen..." (1 of 2)

FINALE (Part 1)

"Once A Queen..."

Mallory stepped out of the thick mass of shadows at the edge of the cavern. Behind her, Polaris absorbed the shadows back into himself and hung back, his eyes fixed on the floor. He could not bear to see the faces of the ones he betrayed. Where was Juros at a time like this, when his enemies were about to consolidate their power against him?

Mallory stood in front of the Gate, her eyes gleaming as she caressed the lock with her fingers. "I can almost feel its power," she murmured. "Power that will soon be mine, for when this lock is opened, mortals will be able to pass freely into Paradise, and not even Juros can stop them!"

Polaris' lips twitched. "You may have gotten the dagger," he said, "but you still need the Key; there will be no opening of the Gate without it."

Unfortunately, Mallory wasn't as disappointed as he'd hoped. She lifted her hand, and a gleaming pendant dropped out. "What, you mean this Key? I had Kamau lift it for me when he retrieved the dagger. Don't worry, little shadow--I've got everything I need, and by the time your merry band of misfits arrive, it will be too late!"

The scream of a dragon rent the air, answered by the thundering roar of another. Mallory looked up to see two dragons circling overhead, one very large and the other slightly smaller. Both of them carried riders upon their backs.

"I see her!" called the rider from the second dragon. "Mallory... and she's got the star in the cavern with her!"
Mallory frowned at the pair. She gestured to Polaris. "Now, do your duty, Shadow! Get after them and don't let them enter the cavern!"

Polaris would rather have stood back and let Markus and Denahlia have their way with the mad Queen, but she flourished the Dagger, and Polaris felt the shadows within him respond in a concussive blast, aimed toward the mouth of the cavern.

The blast hit the smaller dragon, sending Hadrian wheeling through the air. Erlis managed to hold her position, and dove toward the cavern. Polaris brought the cloud of shadows in front of him like a wall, barricading the opening. Not even fire from Erlis' jaws could penetrate the blackness. Polaris watched the dragons hover for a while, as if waiting for the shadows to dissipate like fog. When they would not, the two cousins directed their dragons away.

"Finally, some peace!" Mallory sighed, returning to the Gate as if her actions weren't about to unleash a whole chaos of colliding realities upon the mortal world. "Now--to commence the establishment of my kingdom!" She laid the pendant in the shaped groove at the center of the lock. Pressing it into place, she turned the disc at the center of the mechanism.

Polaris cringed and braced himself for the glory of Justicia pouring forth... but no such outpouring came. Mallory frowned and kept twisting the Key, but after a quarter-turn, it locked into place and would not move further.

"What's wrong?" she huffed, slamming her fist against the lock. "It's the Key! It's supposed to work!" She scowled and whirled upon Polaris. "Bring me Kamau!" she ordered.

Polaris nodded, stepping through his veil of shadows to leap back to the Roque where Mallory's henchman waited.
He returned moments later, accompanied by the small, dark-skinned man.

Mallory loomed over him, her arms folded and her countenance stormy. "Well?" She snarled. "What have you to say for yourself? You told me all I would need is the Key, and that would be the one thing that would unlock the Gate!"

Kamau trembled, his glowing snakes hissing protectively as they curled around his arms and shoulders. "Milady," he stammered. "All the information I have gathered has confirmed this. No one may unlock the Gate without the Key."

"Did you not hear me?" Mallory shrieked. "The Key doesn't work! I put it into the lock, but it's not open! You missed something!"

Kamau cringed before her ire. "Please, Milady!" he begged. "I tell you everything I know! I have hidden nothing from you!"

"You're a liar, Kamau!" Mallory swung her hand and slapped him across the face, sending the man prostrate on the floor. "A liar, and a fool! There's something else that this Gate needs--something I need, and you know I'm going to do whatever it takes to get it!"

"Queen Mallory!" boomed a deep and penetrating voice.

Polaris felt the cold surge of ethereal energy racing through him, and he floated into the air at the sound of the voice he recognized--but Mallory only watched as a single soldier in the livery of the White Castle climbed up to the cavern level. He was an older man, with many wrinkles, scars, and a roughness in his carriage that spoke of many years of hard training and service in battle. His armor bore the scars of combat, stains from dirt and grass and blood, and spots of dull tarnish all over.

The soldier placed a hand on the hilt of his sword resting at his side, but kept his distance. He nodded to Mallory, briefly glanced at Kamau, and just barely acknowledged Polaris. "What seems to be the problem, your majesty?" he asked.

Her lips twitched and her eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask? You think you can stop me?" She waved her hand, and the soldier remained rooted to the spot, unable to move. "Fool! I have already perceived your thoughts. You are the one they call Sir Roger--an old relic of the Realm's bygone past. You came alone, that is your mistake. Now you can stand by with all these statues as I open the way to Justicia, the domain of Juros!"

Sir Roger's body didn't move, but his mouth still worked, and he asked, "Do you intend to allow Juros to rule over the mortals, then? There are those who believe that the Gifts were designed by Him to allow humans to benefit each other in powerful ways, not to set himself over them."

"Hmph!" Mallory snorted, returning to inspecting the Gate to see if any part was missing and preventing the mechanism from turning. "Shows what you know. Juros has hoodwinked his followers, lulling them into a sense of greater purpose with the Gifts--but if those things are supposed to be so beneficial, then explain to me how a psychic connection and ability to attract and control birds is supposed to help a young farm girl?" She left off fussing with the Gate and began pacing as her agitation grew. "If he really had the mortal Realm's best interests at heart, then why does he get to consolidate this awesome power in a separate reality from our own, away from all of us?" She stopped and pointed to the Gate with an accusing finger. "If he is really so open and noble and accepting of all of us mortals, that we should be worthy of his Gifts, then why does he hide behind a locked Gate? Why not allow mortals direct and unfettered access to Justicia, and all the wonders and blessings Juros has to offer?"

Sir Roger blinked his eyes. "I don't understand what is so unfair about Juros' treatment of the mortals. Are you not standing in front of a Gate that will allow direct access to his throne? Do you not have the very Key that is the only physical means of unlocking said Gate? Why then do you not enter and seize that which you believe is due to you?"

Mallory clenched her fists and whirled on the man, blasting him with enough telekinetic energy to shake the pedestals beside him--yet the old soldier didn't move. "Don't you think I've been trying?" She seethed. "The Key doesn't work! It's a farce, perpetrated by Juros himself--he's been taunting us all along, knowing that he is untouchable and safe as along as the puny mortals think they can just waltz in!" She gestured toward a pile of boulders at the side of the cavern, and they rose easily into the air, just as if they'd been made of foam. Mallory flicked her wrist toward the Gate, and the boulders collided upon it with earth-shaking force. Kamau crouched and covered his head as the cavern quivered, large cracks appearing along the walls and floor at the tremendous impact, but everything stood.

"Everyone lies to me--Juros has cursed me!" Mallory railed. "Everything I have, I've given to myself--and it's never enough to get what I want!" She reached toward the sheath at her side, drawing out the enchanted Dagger.

Polaris felt the air around him thicken at the sudden gleam in her eye.
"At least there's one way to absolutely have my way, Key or no Key!" She raised the Dagger, but before she could say anything, Sir Roger blurted, "Wait! An Abnormal wouldn't be able to help you. Especially not that one."

Mallory frowned and tilted her head at him. "How did you know--oh, never mind! Why wouldn't it work? He still has a connection to Justicia himself, doesn't he?"

Sir Roger actually moved then, a simple shrug of his shoulders. "That may be... but that Gate was built to withstand just about anybody happening upon it."

The suspicion never left Mallory's face. She lowered her arms and peered at Sir Roger. "What would a mere soldier such as yourself know about this Gate?"

Sir Roger bobbed his head. "I know only this: that in order to activate the Key within the lock, the Gate requires one thing more, that few mortals are willing to give."

Mallory rolled her eyes. "Tell me what it is, before I rip it from your mind!" She growled.

Sir Roger fixed her with a serious gaze. "It requires a sacrifice."

Her lips twitched into a scowl. "Have I not given up everything to reach this cavern? Have I not sacrificed all that I could possibly give to attain unlimited power?"

Sir Roger wagged his head. "I meant a sacrifice... of blood."

Silence hung in the cavern as Mallory studied the blade in her hand. Her eyes flicked to the two men cowering under one of the Angel statues.
"Kamau," she said softly. "Come hither."

The swarthy man staggered forward on reluctant legs, as if dragged into the presence of his mistress by his own snakes.

"What does my lady require?" he choked in a trembling voice, both of them knowing exactly what her answer would be.

Mallory laid a tender hand on his shoulder. "You have served me well, my minion," she murmured. "Know that your sacrifice will not go unrewarded in the next life." As she uttered the last words, Mallory drove the blade into his chest.

Polaris felt a sudden weight cling to his body, and he dropped from his hovering position near the heads of the statues, to the ground below. His hands and knees smarted where the connected with the hard stone surface. As he gazed at his firm limbs and felt the pounding of his pulse radiating through his body, he barely noticed Mallory watching him as she withdrew the blood-soaked Dagger from Kamau's lifeless body.

"Interesting..." she mused. "Killing with the blade has given you a corporeal body. I wonder if it's temporary." She shook herself with a short sniff. "Oh well, experiments later. Right now, I have more important things to do." She wiped the blood from the Dagger's blade onto her hand, and smeared it over the Key still resting in the lock.

A faint glow stole over the gem, spreading a quick flash of brilliance in the darkness of the cavern, but when she tried to turn it again, it made another quarter turn and stopped.

In the midst of so much attention being focused on the Gate, Polaris barely noticed the way the blood seeping from Kamau's wound seemed to pool and trickle toward the statuesque Angels. Thin cracks appeared at the bottom of their stone feet, but not much more.

"Argh!" Mallory snarled in frustration. She grabbed the knife in her bloody hand and whirled upon Sir Roger. "It didn't work! Maybe I didn't get enough blood--you're next, soldier!"

"Mallory, wait!"

Polaris felt a second surge of energy, and a second mass of shadows appeared, depositing Trevon in their midst.
Mallory's eyes still gleamed with murderous intent. "Well, if it isn't my traitor brother!" She spat. "Come to stop me again?"

Trevon waited, watching with the keen insight of psychic energy. He looked at Kamau's body, up at the Angel statues, the Gate with smears of blood upon it, and asked, "What have you done?"

Mallory pointed at Sir Roger with the blood-stained Dagger. "He told me the Gate needed a blood sacrifice, and so I slaughtered my closest assistant to get it, but it didn't work."

Trevon sighed and glanced over his shoulder at the grizzled old knight. "I see," he said. "Perhaps the necessary sacrifice needs a more important personal connection than just someone who is devoted to your cause," he gestured to Kamau. "Or someone you would like to see dead," he pointed over his shoulder to Sir Roger.

Mallory tilted her head back to look Trevon in the face. "What's your point, then?"

He tipped his chin down and looked right into her eyes. "I will be your sacrifice, if it means you are able to open the Gate. You've needed me all along, that's why you bothered to seek me out when I was lost, and you've worked so hard to keep me close by your side, and given me powers similar to yours. Take my blood, and may it be of use to you."

Mallory actually let out a small, dry laugh at this. "My, how noble of you, brother!" she spat the word with so much scorn. "You know, I've never actually needed you as much as you've let yourself believe! All that mind-Jacking and power-Jacking I did was just my way of trying to make use of something that didn't belong here in the Realm--something that would have been a tool for Juros, otherwise. That's all you are, Trevon--a tool!" She pointed toward the mouth of the cavern. "That city? I know that you realize that it was supposed to be your city, and it was, once upon a time--but now you come in here with your piety and martyrdom, begging me to kill you because I'm supposed to sacrifice something I care about... Well, too bad, because I don't actually care about you at all!" She snapped with a mad cackle. "I used whatever I could get out of you, and I made you care about me, I gave you abilities and memories and feelings that would make you devoted to me--I did that! But that was never who you were--I hate everything about who you really are, and from where I'm standing, you seem to be doing all those things that would drag you back into being that person, and undoing all the work I've put into you!"

"Mallory! Stop what you're doing at once!" Called a high voice, and Polaris felt a lurch in his gut as Princess Zayra appeared at the mouth of the cavern, a sword in her hand and determination on her face.

"You!" Mallory lunged forward in fury, and Polaris saw Zayra brandish her sword with an eager smile. That smile soon vanished as something from Mallory lashed out and seized the Princess, wrenching her arm to cause her to drop her sword.

"How annoying and tiresome can one person get!" Mallory shouted. "Of all the people destined to foil me at every turn, you're the worst! I tried everything I could to ruin you and the others, but you just wouldn't quit! Ever since I tried to eliminate the only person who would ever be able to communicate with the poor dumb Gybralltan my parents raised--"

"So that was you who sent Raedyn to kill Azelie!" Zayra interrupted in surprise. She regarded Mallory with a firm set in her jaw. "She wasn't the only one with a Gift that could reach a telepath, you know." Zayra closed the distance between herself and Mallory, and Polaris could feel the hairs on his arm standing as Zayra's power-leaching Gift radiated from her. "You were so obsessed with eliminating your competition that you failed to even recognize that telepathy wasn't the only method of connection we had with Tyrven."

Polaris straightened. Tyrven was the name the Angels had given to the abandoned Gybralltan boy! Out of the corner of his eye, Polaris saw Sir Roger smile from his position, trapped in the shadows. Even Trevon watched the exchange more keenly at the sound of his old name.

Mallory seemed to lose her composure, and the Knife dropped from her hand as Zayra continued.
"Even if you had succeeded, and we didn't have Azelie to hear and understand when Tyrven tried to reach out from his hiding place under the Castle, then Aurelle could have found him, with her Illusionary abilities, or Risyn would have located him with his Magic Gift. If not them, then others that you tried to take from us, using that pirate crew you conscripted into your service. Don't you see?" Zayra advanced a step, and Polaris noticed when Mallory backed away at the same pace. "It doesn't matter who you try to believe is the most important--the truth is that we are all a team together, we've learned to rely on one another as equals, as a community. That is why we have always found so many ways to triumph over you and others like you, again and again." She glanced at Polaris and wagged her head. "Even when a deceptive Shadow tried to turn us all against each other, we banded together and found a way to cooperate instead. That is what makes the Gifts effective and worthwhile: when they can be used to bring people together, not split them apart."

Mallory had stood, frozen, while Zayra spoke, but as she finished, and at the mention of Gifts, her vitriol returned. She seized Zayra's own sword and brandished it.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Mallory waved the sword in Zayra's face. "All this sanctimonious talk about cooperation and community being Juros' intended outcome from his precious Gifts--where was all that community when I was being hidden away and chastised by my own parents for using my Gift? Where was the cooperation when my own village rejected me because they thought it was witchcraft that brought the birds to me? Juros gave me a useless Gift because he doesn't care--well guess what?" She whirled on the Gate, as if she thought the ruler of Justicia waited just on the other side. "I don't want it! You hear me, Juros? Come down from your high-and-mighty throne and just take it away from me! I don't want any of your Gifts, I don't need any help from you, and I certainly don't want to be obligated to someone so capricious and arbitrary and demanding and--oooohhhh!!"

Mallory ceased speaking and let out a pained gasp as the point of the enchanted Knife appeared from a bleeding wound just below her neck.

Sir Roger and Trevon looked on in horror as Zayra gave the knife in her hand an extra shove, ensuring that it had made it all the way through Mallory's back. Sir Roger recognized the hungry gleam in her face at the influx of power from being so close to Mallory.

"Oh, child," he murmured softly. "What have you done?"

At the gentle voice, a shadow passed over Zayra's face, and she blinked. "Oh!" She gasped, pulling the Knife out and letting Mallory's body sink to her feet. "Oh no! I didn't mean..." Her voice broke, and her chin trembled as she watched the dark, malicious blood now coating the blade.

Polaris crumpled to his knees with a cry. Zayra watched him as his limbs seemed to shrink and wither, and blood seeped from his nose.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked Sir Roger.

Before the old knight could answer, Mallory's body gave a jerk, and she let out a wet, gurgling chuckle. 

"It's your fault," she rasped through the mouthful of blood. "My last bit of revenge... for all the pain you caused me. Don't you see? You got the Knife because... I wanted you to stab me. I made you do it--I pulled on your Gift... Jacked it up so that you would do whatever it took to get more of my power... And as my blood covered that Knife, so it carried with it the stolen Abnormal powers I manufactured myself--and now... your precious trapped Knight is going to die... before any of you have the chance to save him!"

"NO!" Zayra wailed, as Mallory released her last breath and perished.

TO BE CONTINUED....

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