Lain"s face was unchanged. There was no indication what was going on in his mind. A brief, shining hope had been stolen away from him. Something that had been enough to convince him, in the s.p.a.ce of a day, to uproot himself and postpone the cause that had driven him for decades. Now hope was replaced by doubt, mystery. He lowered Ivy to the ground, kneeling beside her and looking at her sleeping face. Slowly he drew his sword. Myranda drew a breath, unsure of what he had in mind. He bent low and nicked her finger. A lone red drop spilled out to stain the white fur. He then cut his own finger and watched the drop roll down. The sword was put in its place, and Ivy was raised to his shoulders once more. He continued southward.
"You mortals have truly poisoned his mind," Ether reprimanded.
Myranda ignored her.
"Lain. I understand how you feel. But think about it. You can"t just hide her away. She doesn"t know what you have planned for her. She won"t be happy when she hears that you plan to leave her," Myranda said.
"I do not care if she is happy. My only concern is that she survives," Lain said.
"I know what happened when she became too frightened, and you have seen what happened when she became angry. It is only a matter of time before something like that happens again. Will these friends you hope to leave her with be able to handle that? They certainly won"t be able to hide it, and before long agents of the D"karon will be after her," Myranda reasoned.
"Then I will take her where she cannot be found. I will take her to those who can handle her," Lain said.
"Entwell," Myranda said.
Her mind flashed upon her time there. It was a paradise, certainly the happiest time of her life, and it was the perfect place for Ivy. But it would not do. It would waste time and leave them with an incomplete force.
"How do you suppose you will get her there? The cave is a terrifying place. What guarantee do we have that the way is even open? Do you suppose that we can afford to remain within the cave for months waiting for it to clear?" Myranda said.
Lain stopped once more.
"Lain, the best way to make her safe is to see to it that the world she lives in is safe. I give you my word that I will protect her with my life. As long as I live, she will live," she swore to him.
"Some a.s.surance. The feeble of body protecting the feeble of mind. Were I you, human, I would focus on preserving my own fragile form. After all, that lizard of yours was far better equipped to protect someone than you, and - " Ether said.
"Don"t you dare finish that sentence," Myranda hissed.
"Listen, human, do not think that your recently bestowed status as my comrade in arms in any way makes you my equal. I will not abide anything short of reverence from you," Ether warned.
"Reverence? What have you done to earn my reverence? You condescend to all around you. You care nothing for anyone. You run away from any battle that manages to even threaten you!" Myranda fumed.
"I have yet to face anything that could hope to do anything more than delay me, and it is just such a delay that I am bound by my purpose to avoid at all costs. You, on the other hand, have no respect for the purpose for which you have been so recently tapped. Look at you. You are wasting away. Seldom do we have an encounter of any kind that fails to leave you at death"s door. You didn"t eat yesterday, and with that anchor about Lain"s shoulders, I do not imagine he will be providing a meal any time soon. You are the victim of innumerable weaknesses. You would do well to address them before attempting to offer aid to those infinitely superior to you," she said.
"I can take care of myself. Unlike you, I know what pain and difficulty is. I face it every day," Myranda said.
"The insignificant things that const.i.tute pain and hardship in your pitiful life are nothing to the trials that lie ahead. Do not presume that-" Ether began.
"Silence," Lain stated with authority.
Both Ether and Myranda instantly obeyed. Seldom did Lain address either of them. From one who spoke so seldom, words carried considerably more weight. No explanation of his order followed, but none was needed. The group simply continued south in silence. Before long, the reality of the situation came heavily upon Myranda. Her stomach growled, and she could feel the nagging weakness that a.s.sured her she was more than simply hungry, she was truly starving. She rummaged through the bag. All that remained was the stylus, a rock hard frozen potato, two knives, and her canteen. All the rest had been washed away or used up. She transferred the potato to the inside of her cloak. It was an old trick, her body heat would eventually thaw it enough to be edible. Ether watched Myranda with her emotionless gaze, silently judging her.
Time wore on. The sun began to fade, and the air became colder. Myranda wrapped her hand around the pendant that Myn had worn. She missed her. Even the absence of the sound of her footsteps made the world seem hollow. Tears trickled down her face. She quickly wiped them away, more to avoid a comment from Ether than to keep them from freezing. It was a pointless act. Before a second tear could fall, Ether had begun her a.s.sault.
"So. This is sadness. Clearly the most worthless emotion," she said quietly.
Myranda ignored her, but she went on.
"What possible purpose can be served by mourning the dead? Fear keeps you from danger, and anger motivates you to take action. Mourning does nothing. For mortals, death is a certainty from birth. A fact that each pa.s.sing moment you are keenly aware of. To alter your behavior in any way when an antic.i.p.ated inevitability occurs shows a disdain for what little knowledge you have of your future," Ether stated.
"Myn was my friend. I cared about her," Myranda said.
"Well she is gone. Any time spent thinking of her is wasted. She doesn"t matter anymore," Ether proclaimed.
Myranda opened her mouth to object, but before she could, Ivy stirred. She stretched and yawned before being lowered to the ground by Lain. She looked about sleepily, her mind slowly taking in her surroundings.
"What happened . . . what was going on?" She asked, more to herself than her friends.
Slowly the memory of her last waking moments returned, and a desperate, terrified look came to her face.
"The monster! It came back, didn"t it! What did it do?" she cried.
Her eyes darted around. The surroundings were different. There were no enemies about. No one seemed hurt . . . but someone was missing.
"Where is Myn?" she gasped.
Myranda didn"t need to answer. The look in her eyes was answer enough.
"No . . . NO! She"s gone! She"s dead!" she cried, a torrent of tears and sobs following.
As before, it didn"t take long for the intensity of Ivy"s sorrow to infect Myranda. Somehow Lain and Ether seemed immune, but the weeping creature was inconsolable, and Myranda had to fight her own sadness compounded with Ivy"s. She offered her shoulder to cry on, all the while choking back her own tears. In the back of her mind she prayed that Ether would remain silent. Mercifully, it would seem that sorrow did not bring a violent reaction similar to those that anger and fear had, but it would only take a few of Ether"s venom soaked words to turn this into a far more volatile situation. For now, the shape shifter simply stood with her cold, judging stare. It was several minutes before Ivy was able to fit words between her sobs again.
"Did you see the monster? Did you see it happen?" she asked, sniffling.
"There wasn"t . . . it wasn"t . . . " Myranda began, hesitating.
"The monster did come. I know it, I felt coming it. What did the monster do? What did it look like?" she asked.
"It was . . . " Myranda began. She was not sure what to do. Could she tell the truth? Surely not, but neither could she feed Ivy"s fears of this monster by lying. For better or for worse, her decision was made for her.
"You are the monster," Ether said.
Lain and Myranda shot her a savage look.
"What?" Ivy asked.
"Ivy, listen to me, she-" Myranda began, but Ivy cut her off.
"No! . . . Let her tell me," Ivy said. "You were talking to me, right before the monster came. You were saying terrible things about me. What happened after that?"
She looked resolutely at the shape shifter. The tears still trickled down her cheeks, but she knew that Ether would tell her what Myranda didn"t want her to hear.
"Your fragile mind couldn"t handle the truth. You lost control of the divine gift you have been given, transformed into a raging berserker, and tried to kill me. You failed pitifully, and in doing so, you managed to destroy the bulk of the creatures that had attacked," she said.
"But . . . I couldn"t . . . how could I?" Ivy said, struggling to comprehend what had been said.
"Isn"t it obvious? What do you suppose they were doing to you in that place? They were turning you into a weapon. Clearly they have succeeded," she said.
Ivy shook her head and looked pleadingly to Myranda, hoping to hear a contradiction. An apologetic look was all that came in return.
"But I helped, right? I . . . killed the things that were trying to hurt us? You aren"t going to make me go away, are you?! I can stay with you, can"t I?!" Ivy pleaded.
"The decision has already been made. You shall be delivered to the south and we shall continue with our task unhindered by your idiocy," Ether informed her.
"No. Myranda wouldn"t do that," she said.
"It was not the human"s decision," Ether explained.
"Well if it was you then I don"t have to listen. You"re mean," she said, crossing her arms.
"Were I to have my way you would be festering in the bottom of that ruined fort. Lain is the one who deems this journey necessary," Ether said.
Ivy looked to the culprit. Lain"s cold gaze stared back.
"Why? Did I do something wrong?" she demanded, tears welling up again.
"Something wrong? You are a menace! You . . . " Ether began.
"Quiet! I know what you think! Now I want to know what he thinks," she demanded.
"Very well. Hear it from the mouth of Lain. The message is the same," Ether stated.
She locked eyes with Lain. After a long silence, he spoke.
"You are a danger to yourself. I will not allow you to die," Lain answered.
"But I . . . I," Ivy stuttered. "I"ll be careful! I"ll stay hidden! I"ll do whatever you say. Don"t make me go!"
"I will not humor you, I will not coddle you. I will not be kind. What must be done shall be done," Lain stated.
With that he turned suddenly to the mountains. A breath of wind had carried the scent of a long overdue meal, and with a burst of his startling speed, he was off after it. With teary eyes, Ivy watched him go. She then turned to Myranda, running to her like a scolded child. As Myranda comforted her, Ether cast a judgmental gaze over the scene. Her face bore a vague expression of contemplation, peppered with a dash of revulsion. Myranda prayed that she would have the wisdom and decency to hold her tongue until Ivy had recovered somewhat. It came as no surprise when those prayers went unanswered.
"Explain," she demanded.
"Ether, please, just give her some time," Myranda begged.
"No. You. Explain this. Why does this creature have such an effect on the two of you. She is undoubtedly a source of tremendous mystic might, able even to inflict her emotions on others, but you behave with the same foolishness even when the effect is absent," Ether said.
"I don"t expect you to understand this, Ether, but people need each other. We need to care about others, and we need others to care about us. Lain has fought it for most of his life, but now that he has finally found one of his own, he can"t deny it anymore. He needs her. We need her. And she needs us," Myranda said.
"Mmm. It is actually quite fascinating. You see, the true reason for such feelings, as well as why they are nearly exclusive to mortals, is really quite simple. Love between a male and a female is merely a means to ensure the propagation of bloodlines, and love for others is at best a means to ensure that the brood persists. Creatures slightly lower than humans and the like devote the whole of their existence to these tasks. For creatures that have just enough intelligence to become distracted, nature must fool them into maintaining their kind. To know that you cannot explain this need, but value it deeply, speaks volumes of its fundamental nature," Ether said.
Myranda and Ivy shot her the same stern look. Ivy then turned to Myranda.
"Do you really mean that? You need me?" Ivy asked.
"The world needs you, Ivy. You are a very important creature," Myranda said.
Ivy sniffled. "The whole world? No. How?"
"You are Chosen," Myranda said.
"I know. They said it a lot when I was there, and you and Ether argued about it when you found me. What does it mean?" Ivy asked.
"It means that you, Lain, Ether, myself, and one more person are the only ones who can stop the people who started the war," Myranda explained.
"The teachers?" she asked.
Myranda nodded.
"I can"t stop them. I don"t think you can either. There are a lot of them, and they can do things that no one should be able to do," Ivy said with a shudder.
"Well we have to try, because if we don"t, no one will," Myranda explained.
"But if that is true, then why does Lain want me to go away, and why doesn"t Ether like me at all?" Ivy asked.
"Lain is worried that, if you die, then he will be the last of his kind. Ether . . . Ether thinks that there are others better suited to the task than you," Myranda said.
The shape shifter"s face became visibly more stern at the gently worded explanation. For the moment, at least, she kept silent. For a time Ivy too was silent. She looked defeated, confused, and frightened.
"Where will I go? Who will take care of me?" she asked.
"Well . . . If you go to the south, Lain claims to have friends there," she said.
"No! No friends. You said Ether was a friend and she hates me. He was supposed to be a friend and he wants me to go away," she said, shaking her head.
"The only other place is a place called Entwell. It is a wonderful place, and there are wonderful people there. You will certainly be safe, but it is difficult to get there. It is a long trip through a dangerous cave. And once you are there, it will not be easy to leave," Myranda said.
She knew that telling Ivy this would hardly help things, but she could not bear to lie to her. It was instantly clear that the concept of trudging through a cave did not appeal to her.
"You have to talk to him. You have to make him let me stay. I don"t trust his friends, and I don"t want to go in any cave," Ivy said, fairly begging.
"Listen to her. She must have been well trained. She plays this part perfectly," Ether said.
"What are you talking about?" Ivy said angrily.
"Ether, don"t," Myranda warned.
"You are an agent of the enemy. You can do no good to that end if you are not nearby. So you beg to stay. This softhearted and softer minded girl feels for you, but I am not so blind," she said.
"I am NOT one of them! I TOLD you I am NOT ONE OF THEM!" Ivy raged, stamping toward Ether and pointing an angry finger in her face.
Her anger had surged suddenly. The stir of feelings swirling inside of her turned eagerly to it. Anything that she could lock onto was preferable to the terrible uncertainty.
"Ether, no! What is wrong with you!? Are you trying to make it happen again? Are you trying to get us killed?" Myranda scolded, her own anger doubled by Ivy"s.
Ivy turned to Myranda, a shocked, hurt look on her face.
"You . . . you think I would kill you? I would never . . . I could never . . . " she said.