Aliphor

CHAPTER TWELVE

By Beck McLaughlin

Zale Kragorn, High Mage of Aliphor, sat at the head of his Hall's small audience chamber, and regarded his visitors with grim attention. Around him, half-hidden in the lengthening shadows, were mages roused from their studies, silent and fearful at the sight of armed men in their midst.

Kellin stood at Moric's back, silent. These two men -- lords of their respective worlds, had never met, not directly. Centuries of fear and vengeance separated them. Under ordinary circumstances, the presence of soldiers in a mage hall meant the beginning of blood and fire, but this was no ordinary Mage Hall, nor Kellin an ordinary prince.

"You have a great deal of audacity to come and ask us to return to Krisalka," said the Master finally, heavily. "I understood that our agreement was for the beginnings of an alliance, nothing more."

"I know." Kellin's voice cracked. He made a tired, helpless gesture toward his men. "And I would not ask such a thing now if there were any other choice."

"Aye," spoke up another mage angrily. "For centuries you've slaughtered us, driven us from one principality to another -- and here you are, hat in your hand, god-worshiper!"

There was angry muttering from the believers in Kellin's company. Men laid hands on their bloodied swords and, in the corners of the hall, shadows moved. Moric cleared his throat. Carefully, he did not look at Kellin.

"Master Kragorn -- when last we spoke, you mentioned particularly wanting a seat on the prince's council. At the time you had no legal standing to claim one, I believe."

Kellin choked. Kragorn stared, then slowly, began to smile.

"That I did," he agreed amiably. "But now, here you are, Prince Kellin, in my hall, asking for help. Is a seat on council not a right of all loyal lords who provide troops to his highness?"

"That's blackmail," gritted the prince.

"That's life," replied Kragorn.

Elfie opened her eyes and saw gray sky. Her teeth were chattering and she was tired, so very tired. Lifting her head from her arms, she looked around. She had been unconscious for only a few minutes.

"Doctor?"

At the sound of her thready voice, the mage lifted his head and looked anxiously at her.

"I did it again ..." A tear slipped over one cheek. "I should -- I should have left him alone."

"No!" replied the mage fiercely. "You saved his life!"

"For what?" It was hard, but the girl managed to get to her feet. "To become something like that?"

"Careful," he said softly. Belatedly, she saw the demon that had been Thonnor, watching them both, inhuman features unreadable. She dropped hastily back to her knees.

"Is Storchi here?" the Doctor asked softly.

"Storchi doesn't exist. The Rani was right. It's me. It's always been me."

He said nothing for a moment. His mouth tightened. "Listen carefully, Elfie," he said in the same, quiet voice. "I'd hoped that Moric would have brought help by now, but something must have gone wrong. I dare not wait much longer. I have to ask a very great favor of you."

She gave him a wide-eyed look. "I'll help how I can, Doctor, but I don't how much good ..."

He shook his head, cutting her off. "I don't know what Reven will become in there." They both looked to the well where the Rani stood, her back to them, entering instructions into its controls. "But whatever it is, no matter how terrible, remember always that it is our Reven imprisoned inside. When I give the signal, you must use whatever of your power you have left to lure him back into the well."

"What?"

"Shhhh!" He glanced apprehensively at Thonnor, who shifted at her raised voice. "Please, Elfie, you must trust me. Neither of you will come to harm in there. I have a plan."

The girl looked at him in disbelief. He was bound and bruised, wine-colored hair falling into his eyes, but his grin was undaunted. She swallowed. What difference did it make now? Even doomed to failure, his plan could hardly make things worse, could it? Elfie nodded. "I promise."

That seemed to give him some comfort, for his grin widened into one of his radiant smiles and he attacked his bonds with renewed vigor. A moment later, he was free. Leaping up and ran, but not for the Rani, as Elfie expected. He was escaping, leaving her behind!

"THONNOR!" screamed the Rani.

The creature that had been Thonnor suddenly burst into flames. A fiery hand lifted, pointing at the fleeing mage. Fire streaked across the hilltop, a jet of it so intense, she could feel the blast of heat on her face.

"Doctor!"

At the last moment, the threw himself to the ground, reaching wildly for something, then rolling desperately aside as the flames spread across the ground where he had been.

"All right!" he cried, holding up his hands. They were empty. Disappointment was clear in his face. "I get the message!"

The Rani glared while he got to his feet and, with abject mein, returned to Elfie's side. Crouching beside the girl, he wrapped his arms around his knees, but Elfie saw a quick, encouraging smile before he hid his face from them both.

Staring suspiciously at him, the Rani finally shrugged. "Watch him," she ordered Thonnor. Turning back, she entered the last of her instructions.

There were Ankaran guards around the Rani's TARDIS. The mages cast a glamour over them and they never saw Kellin's band until it was too late. Moric helped himself to one of their swords, a sight that had the prince abandoning his grim scowl long enough to ask: "And what are you going to do with that, my lord?"

"Wave it around, make loud noises, and hope the enemy is impressed," admitted Moric wryly. "And stay well behind the rest of you."

Kellin laughed, then sobered abruptly. He regarded Moric with a level look -- so long, it began to make the young viscount nervous again. "I'm sorry," Kellin said finally, "for believing you would betray me."

Moric shrugged, but the words meant everything to him. "My lord," he said. "I'm your man. Never doubt it."

"But it's your father ..."

"He's my sire. There is a difference, Kellin. Whatever his relation to me, he has disgraced the name of Marrowcroft. And while I admit it never did shine with particular brightness, still, it is an old name and deserves better."

They left the men bound and stacked like cordwood against the silver TARDIS. There were more troops halfway up the hill. Kellin's party arranged themselves behind the obelisks that lined the road and took the patrol in ambush.

Above them, on the hill's summit, the well was filled with whirling stars. Moric could feel the energy building. Around him, mage and soldier alike faltered, terrified at the sight.

"Beware!" cried Moric, not so bemused as his companions. Around the curve of the hill he'd seen movement. An Ankaran soldier appeared, then another. Kellin shouted, dragging the attention of his men back to their very real danger. But there was no need. One of the men, an officer, threw his sword to the ground, his men quickly following suit. Stunned, the prince looked at Moric, who shook his head, just as mystified. The officer approached and dropped to one knee, casting an anxious look toward the top of the hill. Inside the ring, the whirling stars had become a madly pulsating mass of color. Hair rose on the back of the viscount's neck.

"Captain Elb, your highness," the officer said. "We surrender."

Kellin's sword did not waver. "Why?"

"That's why!" The man, Elb, looked back at Kellin with real fear in his eyes and pointed toward the well. "The princess says she works for the gods, but that's demon magic, highness. The gods don't make horrors like that."

"No," agreed Kellin, "they don't. Will you join me?"

Relief and gratitude were in the honest face. "Yes, sir!"

"How many troops has she up there?"

Elb's face worked. "None, highness, but don't think she isn't guarded. She's conjured a demon from that demonic ring and is even now summoning another. I never thought I'd say such a thing, but 'tis a good plan to bring mages."

It was with a much larger party that continued up the hill. Near the summit, Kellin called a halt and they went to ground. Inching forward, they finally had a view of the summit. Moric, Anton beside him, saw a cluster of figures near the well. The Doctor was there, and Elfie, both under the watchful eye of -- what? Moric's skin crawled at the sight of it.

The Rani stood apart from the others. Reluctantly, the viscount followed her gaze. Within its ring, the crazed spiral of colors subsided. Darkness replaced it and, after a moment, a patch of ghostly luminescence gathered substance in its center. It became a man -- or something very like -- and stepped out onto the windy hillside. Moric felt slightly sick. He saw his cousin in the chiseled features, but the rest ...

Pale as death, the creature's eyes glowed red. Unarmed, it looked like Reven, moved like his cousin, but was most definitely not Lord Revenant Avril. Kellin looked a question at him. The viscount had nothing useful to tell his prince.

The prince motioned to Anton.

"Watch yourself, my lord," the guard captain admonished the viscount. "And do try to stay out of the way."

Moric returned a haughty stare, but Anton was off, grinning, circling the hill to take up a position on the other side.

The dusk was was lit by the well's baleful glow. Moric couldn't take his eyes from Reven. The Rani beckoned. For a moment, his cousin did not move, then, with dangerous grace, approached her. His bloodless lips pulled back, exposing sharp teeth. The Rani seemed amused, gesturing toward him, saying something to the Doctor and laughing.

Anton and his men were in place.

"NOW!" Kellin shouted, leaping to his feet.

Over the hill ran warriors and mages, swords and staves waving. To their consternation, the Rani burst into laughter. Undaunted, Kellin gave the signal. His men surrounded her. She was only one woman, thought Moric uneasily. So why did he have such a bad feeling about this?

The Rani turned in a slow circle. More then a few -- warrior and mage -- made the sign against evil as her mocking gaze slid over them.

"You're a fool, Kellin!" she cried at last. "And you, Elb, a traitor! No matter. Now is as good a time to test my creations. Thonnor! Avril! KILL THEM!"

The Doctor pulled Elfie close as the night exploded into inferno. Men screamed and ran, some of them afire. Thonnor stood stolidly before his mistress, aiming death where she directed, implacable, unstoppable. But Elfie's eyes were drawn to what once had been Reven Avril.

"What has the Rani done to him, Doctor? What did she mean when she asked you what you thought of her design?"

The Doctor's smile was bleak. "She made him into the form of an ancient Time Lord enemy. It's her idea of a joke."

There was nothing funny about the demon that walked casually into the confusion of men, swords and fire. He disappeared briefly from sight. The Doctor's expression was stark.

Reven stopped and stood, unmoving, as the men struck uselessly at him with their weapons. He opened his mouth and Bloodsinger's horrible song vied with the anthem of the well. The men nearest to him screamed and fell where they stood, bleeding from their ears and noses. Even dozens of feet away, Elfie felt sharp pain shoot through her head. She clapped her hand over her ears while, oblivious, Reven stepped over the twitching bodies and started toward Kellin. Elfie took a deep breath and prepared to jump up. The Doctor's arm tightened around her. "No," he said urgently. "I've changed my mind. It's too dangerous!"

Elfie nodded. "All right, Doctor."

There was an infinitesimal relaxing in the arm around her shoulders. With a quick wriggle and shrug, she was away.

"Elfie!"

Fortunately, neither Thonnor nor the Rani were looking in her direction, their attention fixed on the soldiers that were, even now, beginning to retreat in disarray. For the first time, Elfie saw mages among the soldiers, using their magic as shields.

A man engulfed in flame went shrieking, reeling mindlessly past her. She saw Reven in the middle of a widening clearing as his attackers fled.

"My lord Idiot!" she cried, voice all but lost in the din. Even so, he heard it, turning and fixing her with his burning eyes. Her nerve almost failed. She thought she heard the Doctor frantically calling her name. Reven started toward her.

Elfie veered to the right. From the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor, edging after the retreating men.

"Leave her!" the Rani screamed. "She's not important!"

Reven was closer, moving with unnerving speed. Trying not to look into that hellish gaze, trying not to see the blood that covered him, Elfie danced to the right, evading his first lunge at her, moving closer to the well. He lunged again, his fingers brushing her, cold as death. Heart pounding, she turned and raced straight at the howling emptiness.

Oh, Doctor, you'd better know what you're doing!

She heard the Rani's shriek, but barely heeded it. Emptiness yawned at her feet; cold, scentless wind pushed her back. For a moment she was transfixed.

Beware, little one!

She whirled and found Reven inches from her. He reached -- but she was faster. Thief-quick, she seized his wrist and threw them both backward, into eternity.

"Regroup!" Kellin's shout rang across the hillside. Kragorn, the left side of his face blistered from the demon's fire-jet, echoed the cry hoarsely, rallying his mages. True to his word (and Anton's insistence), Moric had stayed well back from the fray, but now he joined the others. They were a greatly reduced and frightened force. Man after man cast uneasy glances toward the hill top, but there was no sign of pursuit. And why should there be? The Rani had thoroughly routed them.

Kragorn turned away from the prince, gathering his exhausted mages around. Kellin said: "We're going back, but we know what we face now. Kragorn's men ..."

"Going back?" cried one of the men -- a kelguard. "There's no fighting that! Let's get the three hells out of here!"

"And go where?" Moric retorted. "Do you think she will let us live to carry the tale home? The Rani has but one demon now -- thanks to the courage of the little thief. Give her the time and she'll bring Reven back out of the well. Kellin's right. We must go now!"

"Lord Marrowcroft speaks with uncommon wisdom," Kellin said with a short, bitter grin. "Kragorn?"

A hand seized Moric's arm and he was spun about. Anton snapped: "Don't get any ideas, my lord. Stay clear of this."

"Nonsense," Moric returned. "There's few of enough of us left. Let's just hope his highness and Kragorn have some idea how to destroy that creature."

"At least stay behind me, my lord," begged the swordmaster desperately.

"Honestly, Anton. It's not like I don't know how to use this thing. I had lessons ..."

"Four," reminded the swordmaster brutally. "Behind me, my lord."

So it was back into the fray. Feeling decidedly queasy, the young viscount nevertheless kept close on Anton's heels as they crested the hill once more. The Rani, her back to them, busily entering computations, spun about and looked coldly annoyed. She spoke to the demon beside her. Moric looked quickly about for the Doctor. The mage crouched several feet from the pair, hunched over, attention focused upon something in his hands.

Moric felt a tingle across his skin. Ahead of the battered little group, the mages were mumbling, eyes half closed. The air shimmered before them. Flame exploded from the demon's arms, but this time, it struck the mages' shield, splitting away harmlessly. Even so, Moric could feel the heat of it, and the mages, already fatigued, stumbled.

Untiring, the demon continued its hellish assault. Another mage fell, groaning. The others fought to hold the shield and continue the slow advance. What they needed, Moric thought sourly, were a few good archers.

Anton shouted. Over his shoulder, Moric saw the Doctor running toward them, waving them frantically back.

"Retreat!" Moric roared.

Kellin gave him a startled look, but instantly echoed the order. There was a moment of confusion and then they were all running, down the hill and away. The Doctor sprinted into their midst.

"HURRY!"

His fear infected them all, and as a man, the troops bolted after him.

A sickening feeling crawled through Moric and he faltered. It was too hard to draw a breath -- as if the air had been sucked away. Mercilessly, the Doctor pushed him onward. He heard a deep groaning and the ground trembled.

They were almost at the bottom of the hill. The fortress loomed before them. The ground convulsed, sending them all flying. An earsplitting roar drowned out all other sound. Moric couldn't breathe, couldn't think ...

When things finally sorted themselves out, he was lying in the snow, staring into a star-crowded sky. He ached all over and his thoughts were damnably hard to collect. But: "Still alive," he observed faintly.

"Indeed," came an equally unsteady voice nearby. Moric managed to roll over. The mage lay a few feet away, rubbing his eyes. Upon investigating, the viscount discovered he could sit up, but it was a touchy few moments.

"What --- happened?"

All around, mages and warriors were sitting up, looking around in dazed incomprehension. The Doctor, with a wobbly grin, lifted a scraped and bleeding hand, the small box still clutched in it.

"Earlier, I paid a visit to her TARDIS," he said breathlessly. "And picked up one of her remote controls." Getting to his feet, the Doctor leaned against an obelisk and looked back toward the hilltop. The ring now showed only twilight "I sent the coordinates to materialize around her and Thonnor. If they've survived, they're probably caught in a temporal paradox.""

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Moric admitted, "but it sounds as if everything has ended well."

"Hie! Doctor!" Kellin limped toward them. Among the men at his heels was Anton, much relieved to see the viscount, unharmed. "What did you do up there, Doctor? Is Driade gone?"

"Yes, and Thonnor, too, more's the pity." The Doctor looked again at the remote control in his hand. For a moment, there was sorrow in the bruised face. Then he straightened his shoulders and smiled resolutely at the prince. "I'll find out soon enough."

"Wait! We'll come with you!"

It was a subdued band of men that made their cautious way back to the well. The Doctor went to the panel in the base. He entered some controls, then trotted back to the others.

"I'll have to finish this down in the Fortress," the mage said.

"What are you doing, Doctor?" Kellin gazed at the well with extreme dislike.

"Retrieving our friends."

"They're alive?" Moric asked, hardly daring to hope.

The mage snorted. "It'll take more then temporal instability to destroy a braxis singularity," he said. "Wait here."

He vanished down the hill, oblivious to the growing dark and the cold that bit deeper.

"We could use some of that demon's fire right about now," muttered Anton, clapping arms around himself. "Damn, it's cold!"

No one had much else to say. Most were exhausted, knowing full well their fight was not over. Far to the south, a usurper had taken the throne of Seroult. Moric thought about his father's part in that, and his spirits sank.

Stars winked against deepening indigo of sky. A familiar tingling ran over his skin, and the viscount looked automatically toward the well. One by one, the others fell silent, watching apprehensively as it came to life again.

Kellin and Anton drew their weapons and stepped forward -- just in case. The star-stuff gathered substance and became a slight, graceful girl who stumbled out onto the windy hilltop. She was followed by a man, tall and straight, with a tousled mane of gold hair. The girl swayed; the man caught her, and they stood together, staring dazedly about.

"Avril?" Moric ventured. "Elfira?"

"The Rani?" Elfie asked in a faint, frightened voice.

"Gone, and Thonnor, too!"

"Where the devil are we?" Avril stared at them in confusion. "What happened?"

Moric caught Elfie's eye and saw relief there. She was right, it was better than his cousin never know. He stepped forward. "Welcome back, old man. How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Reven's brow lifted. "I take it I missed something?"

Elfie choked and Kellin turned to hide his smile. Moric said, straight-faced: "Oh, perhaps a little, but I can think of better places to talk then here. Let's get back to the Doctor's TARDIS. If I remember correctly there's tea and some extremely tasty biscuits."