It's me again, sorry about forgetting to include the TBC part at the end of the last installment. My bad. Anyway, here's part two of my story. Again, comments are welcome and wanted badly. Mist_dark@hotmail.com
Okay, the disclaimer part. First off this story isn't supposed to imply anything about the musical group Nsync. If any of them happen to be gay, then that's their business, not mine. Also parts of this story are based loosely on the RPG Rifts, all trademarks belong to Palladium books and Kevin Siembieda. Basically I'm just using the geography associated with that world. If you're offended by homosexual content, are too young in your area, or it is illegal in your area, please leave. I don't want anyone to get in trouble for this.
Enjoy, Rune
Part two
Lance's first thoughts were that he couldn't move his left arm. He lay there for a few moments before opening his eyes. He was lying on a comfortable four poster bed in the middle of a castle-like room. Various tapestries covered the walls and added some colour to the otherwise dull room. The sun was just rising through the window and the embers in the fire were barely alive. A creaking called his attention to the door. The man that he had met in the clearing was standing in the doorway.
"I see you're awake," the man's voice was no less lyrical then it was the first time.
"Who are you?" Lance asked. "And why did you capture me?"
The man laughed richly. "Normally I would be the one to ask the first few questions. But I'll humor you. My name is Selvar and I am lord of these lands as well as this castle. Before I continue though, I would like to know the name of my guest."
`Guest?' Lance asked himself. "Lance."
"Well Lance to answer your next question, I saved your life."
"Saved me?" Lance asked. He held up his left arm. "My arm is broken and you call that saving me? What the hell were those things?"
"Lance running off into a forest that you are obviously not familiar with is a bad idea. I apologize for the method I used to stop you, but I was running out of time to do something. About a hundred yards or so from where the hands stopped you was a cliff. You would have continued running and gone right over the edge." Selvar nodded toward the window. "You can see the cliff from your window actually."
Lance carefully climbed off the bed and walked over to the window. In the early morning light he could make out the cliff Selvar was talking about. As the sun climbed higher he saw just how bad a fall from there would have been. Even if he had somehow survived the rocks that he would have landed on, he would have bled to death long before anyone could get to him.
"Thank you."
"You're perfectly welcome Lance. However, I do have a few things that you can do for me in payment."
"Pardon?"
Selvar laughed again. "Don't worry, they're nothing difficult. First, you will remain my guest until your arm heals and I feel that you are capable of surviving in this world. And secondly, you will have to tell me how you came to enter my domain. You don't seem to have any magic of your own and the amount of magic in that clearing was overwhelming. How did you come here?"
"Magic? What are you talking about?"
"I see this is going to take some time. Perhaps we should continue this conversation in the sitting room after breakfast." His eyes flickered over Lance's body. I'll have Maria bring you down shortly. In the meantime you may wish to wash yourself. There is a basin in the room through there. I'll leave you some clothing on your bed. What you're wearing is slightly distracting."
Lance glanced down at himself and blushed. His shirt was barely clinging to his body and his shorts had several tears in them as well. Selvar laughed at his reaction. "Thanks Selvar, you're just too kind."
"Of course," Selvar smiled. "I'll have the meal prepared by the time you finish." The man turned and left the room. The only sound that signaled him leaving was the creaking of the door.
Maria turned out to be a petite Hispanic girl. She brought Lance a black robe similar to the one Selvar was wearing, except this one was smaller and fit him perfectly. Once he was dressed she led him through various hallways and down a flight of stairs until they entered a dinning hall. Once they were in the hall she led him to one of the chairs near the head of the table and left.
The d‚cor of the hall was similar to the room he woke up in. Tapestries lined the walls to give it a feeling of colour. The table was made of some dark wood and would have easily sat fifty people. Other then the table and chairs there was no furniture in the room. Multiple candles gave light to the room and a fireplace at the far end gave it heat. There were no windows. Lance wondered how many candles it would take to light this entire room fully.
"I'm afraid all I have to drink is water," Selvar's voice startled Lance back to reality. "I normally have some sort of fruit juice, but apparently I just ran out."
"That's alright. I don't really care what I eat, as long as it's food," Lance assured him.
Selvar smiled and set a large platter of various fruits in front of Lance. "I prefer a light breakfast. I find fruit is perfect for that." He set a smaller plate next to Lance and began to place some of the fruit onto his own plate. After he had enough he sat down at the head of the table. "Take as much as you want, I have enough stores."
"If you insist," Lance said smiling. He filled his plate with fruit and made short work of it. After several plates he leaned back in his chair. "That was great. Where do you want me to put these?" He motioned to the plates on the table.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Selvar stood and cleared the table before Lance could protest. He slipped out of the hall and returned a few moments later. "You needn't worry about handling that sort of thing Lance. I normally have...servants that deal with these things, but you seem to be uncomfortable around them."
"What? I was fine with Maria. She was quiet, but I kind of liked her."
Selvar laughed again. "Maria isn't normally awake at this hour. She has nocturnal habits, so she generally performs her duties during the night. I'm normally awake during the night myself, but I can work during the day if needed." He started toward the main entrance of the hall. "Let's head to the sitting room. We've a fair bit to talk about."
Just sat on the edge of his bed in the room that Pyre had rented for the two of them. He had been traveling with Pyre since the man had picked him up a week before. He just couldn't understand why Pyre was doing all these things for him. Justin liked Pyre and didn't really know why. It was sort of like finding a friend you instantly liked. It was odd. In the past week Pyre had given Justin clothing, fed him and made sure that he didn't get into too much trouble. Not that it was easy to get into trouble in the middle of a desert. Or rather, so he had thought.
It turned out that he had appeared in Mexico. At first he thought this was great, until he found out about the majority of the population. Vampires. Justin laughed at Pyre until the second night they were traveling. They had camped in a cave and were preparing for sleep when two of them appeared in the cave's mouth. They were looking for food and Justin and Pyre were to suffice. Pyre killed them easily. Before either of the creatures could react Pyre had staked one through the heart. The other barely had time to react before a stake punched through his heart. Each of them fell to the ground as their flesh turned to dust leaving skeletons on the cave's floor.
"Are they dead?" Justin had asked.
"They were already dead. But no, they're only in a stasis." Pyre pulled a knife and cut of the skulls of each vampire and set them aside. Then he opened his mouth and made a clicking sound in his throat. A moment later fire shot forth and consumed the bones. It didn't take long before the bones were reduced to ashes.
Understandably Justin hadn't slept well that night. He also started taking Pyre far more serious when stuff like vampires came up. He had realized shortly after that night that he wasn't home. Or even close to where home was. This world was similar to his, but very different.
"What are you thinking about?" Pyre asked him as he entered their room.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just thinking about the last couple of days." Justin told him.
"Okay," Pyre sat down on his own bed and began rummaging through the knapsack that he had taken with him when he left. "Ah, here it is." He pulled a ring from the bag and held it up to the light. "This should do the job nicely."
"That's what you went for?" Justin asked slightly shocked. "A ring? You were gone all day and you got a ring?"
"Justin this ring is very valuable. And is very useful. I was planning on letting you have it, but if you don't want it." Pyre turned and started to put the ring away.
"Ah come on." Justin whined. "What does it do?"
"Put it on and find out." Pyre handed him the ring. "It does something different for each person. I think it's magic works on an intuitive level and gives something to the owner that suits them."
The blonde accepted the ring and slipped it on his finger. His face fell when nothing happened. "That sucks. Nothing happened."
"What were you expecting? Flashes of light? The ring will probably just take a while to start working." Pyre leapt of his bed and flopped down on Justin's. "Besides, that'll give us time to find something to satisfy your never happy appetite."
"Shut-up. I'm a growing boy." Justin said as he shoved Pyre. Pyre gave a squawk of surprise as he flew across the room and slammed into the far wall. Justin just sat on the bed in shock.
Shaking his head to clear the stars Pyre sat up. "I guess the ring started working faster then I thought."
"Pyre, I'm so sorry." Justin leapt of the bed and helped his friend to his feet. "I didn't know that I'd do that."
"Don't worry about it Justin. You'd have to do a lot more then that to hurt me." They made their way across the room to the beds and sat down. "Though I think I should open doors for a while. Until you get that strength under control."
"EVELYN!" Chris cried out the door hoping to attract the older woman's attention. "EVELYN!" He glanced back at Joey who was curled up in a fetal position on the floor. "Hang in their bro. She's coming."
"Chris," Joey whimpered. "It hurts." As if to punctuate what Joey said every glass in the room exploded. "Make it stop." One of the chairs danced across the room.
"EVELYN!" Chris called again.
"Christopher there's no need to shout. I heard you the first time." Evelyn stepped through the door and viewed the destruction around her. Then she caught sight of Joey curled up on the floor. She dropped the logs she was carrying and rushed to his side. "Oh you poor dear. I didn't think they would come so soon."
"Is he alright?" Chris asked worriedly.
"Christopher bring me a cup of water and some of the herbs from the blue tin on the counter." She closed her eyes and held Joey. "Don't bother boiling the water. Just mix the herbs in and I'll deal with it after that."
Chris handed Evelyn the cup. "What's wrong with him?"
"Christopher, I'll answer your questions later. Go make up his bed. He's going to need some rest." She looked at the cup and the water began to steam as it heated. "Joseph dear, drink this. It will help the pain." Joey uncurled just enough to take a drink from the cup. "Finish it all dear."
When Joey had drank everything in the cup he relaxed slightly and his head lolled against Evelyn. In a moment he was asleep. Evelyn carefully uncoiled Joey from herself and stood.
"Christopher, would you please put Joseph to bed. He needs the rest." She walked over to a closet and pulled out a broom. "Christopher, I'll explain what happened after this mess is cleaned up and Joseph is in bed. The sooner you put him in his bed, the sooner you get answers."
Chris carefully lifted Joey and carried him to his bed, which was no easy task. Joey was bigger then Chris was, and weight more as well. Somehow Chris managed to get him into bed. When he returned to the main room of the cabin Evelyn had the room almost returned to normal.
"Evelyn? What happened to him?" Chris put the chair that had moved earlier back at the table. He pulled out and slumped down into it and started to cry. "Is he going to be alright?"
Evelyn set her broom aside and stood next to Chris. "Christopher listen to me. Joseph will be fine." She pulled him into a hug and hummed to sooth him. "He'll be just fine." After a moment she pushed him back. "Alright?" She asked as she wiped the tears from his face.
Chris nodded and smiled. "I guess so. But what happened to him?" He motioned around the room. "What happened here?"
"Joseph is developing his psychic powers. What he's going through is natural, but painful. Usually telepathy or empathy develops first. By now and again telekinetics does." She walked over to the counter and poured a glass of water, which she handed to Chris. "Drink this. I'll start training him when he wakes up. It'll be difficult, but far easier then him figuring it out on his own."
"Why are you doing this?" Chris asked.
"I told you that already Christopher. I will help you because you need it. And at the moment Joseph needs it as much as any boy does."
"There's more then that isn't there?" Chris asked.
"Of course there is, but a woman doesn't give away all her secrets." Evelyn gave him a mysterious smile. "Even one as old as me has a few she keeps."
"I guess." Chris cried out in pain as a headache suddenly hit him. The fire flared briefly before returning to its normal size. The headache quickly faded and then disappeared all together. He looked at the woman in front of him. "Your son. That's another reason isn't it?"
"It would appear I will have two students. Get some rest Christopher. I'll wake you when supper is ready." Evelyn turned so that Chris wouldn't see her tears.
JC absently toyed with the small amulet around his neck while he listened to Ivar, the person who gave it to him, argue with his daughter in the next room.
"But Father, he's a human." Fayth said. "Why are you making me do this?"
"Fayth," Ivar said firmly. "He may be human, but he also needs our help. And we are both going to give it to him."
"But,"
"No buts," Ivan said cutting his daughter off. "I'm not asking you to love the man. I'm only asking you to train with him. He has talent and I'm not going to let a little thing like race interfere with that."
"Father, it was a human that killed my mother," Fayth nearly screamed at Ivar. "I will not train with him."
"I am well aware of that Fayth. Your mother was a very kind person as well as forgiving. That is a trait that you should learn as well. This conversation is over Fayth, and my choice is final. Tomorrow you will arrive for your lessons just like every other day. And tomorrow, Josh will be there as well."
JC hastily moved farther from the door and busied himself looking at the amulet. It was a small piece of clay carved into the shape of a whale. A tiny diamond was set where the whale's eye would have been. No matter how many times he had looked at it, he still couldn't believe this tiny thing allowed him to speak and breath underwater. It was just amazing.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that Josh," Ivar's voice filled the room. "Fayth can be stubborn sometimes." Ivar was an eel-man. At first JC had thought he was a merman from myths, but the man's tale wasn't exactly the same.
"It's alright," JC swam over to where Ivar was floating. He hadn't gotten the hang of swimming all of the time yet. "Can I ask you a question?"
Ivar looked surprised. "Of course Josh. You are to be my student. I encourage my students to ask questions."
"I think I can help you in that regard then," JC smiled. "I have two actually. First, what are you training me to be? I'm not sure if I'll be any good at it. And secondly, why does Fayth hate me, and apparently all humans, so much?"
Ivar sighed and swam over to a couch. "The first one is easy. I will train you to be a siren, that's not exactly the right title, but it's as close as I can come to in your language. It's a practice of magic that deals with song. Most magic involves chanting and gestures as well as mental control. Song magic is invoked more by feeling. The desired effect is pulled from the caster and sung into existence. It's a limited form of magic in that it affects almost everyone who hears it. Though you can control it so that it only affects allies or enemies." Ivar flicked his tail so that his body moved upward and then settled back onto the couch. "As for you not being good at it, don't worry about that. If the singing I heard you do on the day we met is any indication, you'll be a natural."
"Okay, that answers one question," JC said lightly. "What about my other one?"
"That one is a tad more difficult. And slightly painful. But you have the right to know. For the most part, surface dwellers and our people have lived in harmony. Every now and then there would be problems, but not very often. And those situations were always isolated. At one point a small battle between a fishing village and our tribe broke out. It was a pointless conflict that neither side should have let happen, but it did happen. Fayth's mother, my wife, saved a human child and as a result was killed by the villagers. They thought she was trying to steal the child. Once they realized their actions they were horrified they had let themselves come that far, but the damage had been done. The battle ended immediately, but Fayth has never forgiven the villagers for what they did to her mother. Fayth was only a child at the time, no more then two years old. She carries that hate deep and refuses to let it go. I admit that I held hatred for the villagers for a time, but Fayth hates all humans. I've tried to help her get over it, but she won't." He sighed deeply. "She's going to be hard on you Josh. You represent what took her mother away. I hope you can handle that."
"I have to try."
"Why?"
"If for no other reason then to pay you back." JC explained. "A week ago you found me huddled against a tree near the lake. For whatever reason you gave me this amulet and took me into your world. I wouldn't have survived without your help. I have to pay you back some how, and if that means braving the temper of your daughter, then I'll do it."
"You humans are and odd group." Ivar laughed. "Very well Josh. Tomorrow you will begin your training to become a Siren. It's not going to be an easy task. Though you might luck out and be a natural. I'm a very difficult man to train under, but I have produced fine results. I expect no less from you then your very best."
Smiling ruefully JC nodded his head. "Of course Ivar."
"Cut to the chase Karr. I'm in no mood to be listening to your babbling."
"Damek, do not disrespect me," Karr warned.
Damek laughed at Karr. "Karr, You're my older brother. Not my master. I don't even bow to my twin, let alone you." Damek was almost an exact copy of Nydia. His black hair was the same colour as his siblings and it fell to his thigh, like his sister's. The only real physical difference was their choice in clothing. Nydia preferred red, where Damek choose white. His flowing white robe ended with silver hemming. He wore several golden rings set with diamonds. His belt had a large sapphire set in the middle.
"You should learn to respect those more powerful then yourself Damek." Karr snapped.
Again Damek laughed at his brother. "Brother, you control the forces of life and death, but do so through magic. I control the very air you breathe. I could have you locked in a vacuum before you could utter your first spell. It's very difficult to cast a spell when you can't breathe."
"Both of you stop this," Nydia snapped. "We aren't asking you to get along with us Damek. We're asking you to help us." She shot a look at Karr. "And none of us shall be subordinate to any of the others Karr. We shall all be equals. We each have our talents and the others shall defer to one when one's talent is being used."
"Of course, dear sister," Damek smiled. "That is what I was trying to convince our darling brother of."
Karr rolled his eyes and sighed. "We need your help with our little plan. I'm assuming you already know the basics of it."
"Don't insult me," Damek said. "I have known what you two have been up to for almost three centuries now. I keep a close eye on family. I don't, however, know how you plan to accomplish this."
Nydia pulled a book down from the shelves. She flipped through it and found the pages she was looking for. "This should explain it well enough," she handed the book to Damek.
After a few moments Damek closed the book and set it on the table. "Are you sure you can pull this off?"
"With your help," Karr said. "Yes."
"I see," Damek stood. "I will have to think this over. I believe a visit to the Seer is in order. I'll check over various prophecies that I have at my library." He turned to go and stopped. "I'll be in touch." He touched the sapphire in his belt and vanished.
TBC
Okay, I'm here again, begging. I'll probably keep writing this story even if I don't get any feed back. At least for a while. Though I do want it. I haven't got the next part written down, but it shouldn't take to long before I send it off. In the mean time, tell me what you think at Mist_dark@hotmail.com