It took far longer than she wished but Kayla did find a small window looking out upon the fields north of the castle. The grounds were covered in undisturbed snow and more snow continued to fall. The window was squat and she knew it would be impossible for her to squeeze out unless she were a normal sized skunk and only after breaking the solid pane of glass that stood between her and the winter outside.
Neither of these obstacles bothered Vissarion.
I can express myself in thee long enough to reach Rickkter's window. Do thee know which way it faces?
"To the southeast," Kayla replied. "He likes to see the sunrise. It also points toward his homeland, something he doesn't want to forget."
I will help thee find it. Put thy paw on the pane of glass.
Kayla did as instructed. She splayed her fingers until her thumb touched the stone above and her pinky the stone below. She felt a hot strength reach down her arm and press where her fingers pressed. Her fur nearly sizzled as the glass brightened around her fingers, turning a brilliant yellow like the sun. She felt the heat as of a forge wash over her face. Ice and snow on the other side melted and ran. Yet her hand felt nothing but the melting glass. As if sensing some impulse from the black dragon within her, she pushed the glass and her paw sank through it. A few more brushes of her fingers and the pane was completely dislodged from the window.
Kayla drew back her paw and smiled. "Thank you, Vissarion."
Now thee must let me touch every part of thy body. It may hurt for a moment, but I will do what I can to minimize thy discomfort. This is the only way we can reach Rickkter's side in time.
"Go ahead."
That indomitable strength, something she had witnessed in the breathtaking cavern in her dreams, now suffused every part of her body. From her hind paws and the tip of her long tail all the way to her head and her arms she felt the warm power course through her. It struggled briefly as it passed through the bracer on her left wrist that Rickkter had given her so long ago, but the moment of hesitation was short.
And with the strength radiating from her heart, she felt a tightening grip pull and crush her chest. She gasped for breath but could not find one. Her skin stretched beneath her fur as her torso lengthened like a serpent, bright black scales revealed between patches of fur. Her little claws grew wicked and long, fingers thinner and glistening with reptilian sheen. From the tip of her tail grew a broad flat spade like she saw in her dreams. From behind her ears and down the ridge of her back she felt horns and spines sprout. No wings came from her, but she could almost imagine their presence and felt diminished by their lack.
And then the discomfort passed as Vissarion had promised. She still appeared a skunk but now blended with the dragon so mighty and powerful. Though she could not see them, she knew her eyes were slit as were his, glowing a brilliant gold flecked with violent and emerald and now the deep sapphire of her own eye colour. She breathed deep and with her exhalation, steam and smoke curled from her nostrils.
"I am here now," Vissarion spoke in her voice. "This too will be a gift to Rickkter. Perhaps one day we will even be able to fly. But Marzac took much of our strength. Thanks to thee, Kayla, I will one day have it back; now to share with he whom thee loves."
Thank you, Vissarion!
Kayla was somewhat surprised to learn she had no power over her tongue anymore, but not alarmed. Vissarion the Wise would see her to the side of Rickkter. She only needed his strength to save her raccoon. Until then, it was best to let the dragon do as he must.
Vissarion slithered through the open window and emerged only ten yards or so from the snow-covered ground. Their body, now slinky and serpentine, was narrow enough to fit through that small aperture. The cool air touched them but did not chill them. Vissarion's claws tightly gripped the ice-covered stones as they began scaling the outer walls of the Keep. Their long tail waved back and forth as they slunk higher and higher.
The walls of the Keep were jutted with numerous balustrades, balconies, and battlements. Kayla saw that they were in the eastern half of the Keep, the one that brooded like a hunching dwarf festooned with misshapen towers and donjons. The mighty spires to the west in which the bells hang and in which Duke Thomas held court watched them with silent assent. Through this labyrinth Vissarion led them with unerring direction. Always he turned toward the left, inexorably leading them around to the east.
The spires fell beyond the horizon of the Keep, and Kayla contented herself with watching the walls ahead. Snowflakes turned aside as they neared their joined body, repelled by some understanding that they would surely melt if they came too close to the draconic skunk. Claws gouged into the ice and stone beneath as they dragged their way like a vast salamander up the bark of a tree. Purpose filled her and a hunger she couldn't explain.
Soon the city of Metamor came around the walls of the Keep, shrouded by the storm, it nevertheless brought her joy to see it. One day soon Rickkter and her would walk its streets again. That was how things should be. And with Vissarion's aid, she would set the wrongs of Rickkter's wounding aright.
There. I think that's the one.
Vissarion nodded at Kayla's thought and guided their body to the shuttered window. He pressed a golden eye at its base and through the narrow slats they saw the familiar mouse mage and four other soldiers keeping a close watch on the door. Around them were the familiar instruments of Rickkter's magical inquiry left wisely undisturbed.
Reaching out one foreleg, Vissarion drew a line down the middle of the casement which briefly glowed a pale red. He then circled above the window, coiling their massive serpentine body just over the casement. Their fur shuddered in anticipation. She hoped that they didn't have to hurt any of them.
"I will be quick," Vissarion assured her in a sibilant whisper.
With a single impulse of will the window cracked in the middle. Vissarion leaped, flinging them inside the room where they landed with a tangle of coils and shouts of alarm. The long tail smacked Kindle in the chest before he could even lift his arms. The mouse slammed against the wall and sagged there. The four soldiers, men and beasts, rushed for their shape, but Vissarion rose to their hind legs and drew criss-crossing sigils of scarlet in the air. They flashed onto the foreheads of the soldiers and each of them collapsed into slumber.
"As promised, they are unhurt. The mage will have a bruise on his chest and head, but no more."
Thank you, Vissarion!
"And now to aid Rickkter."
Vissarion lowered to all fours again and crawled to the door of Rickkter's bedroom. They shoved it open with their snout. They found Rickkter sitting in the centre of his bed, wrapped in quilts and propped upright on pillows. The quilts he'd not removed to keep himself warm were marred by chalk lines representing circles of protection. They glowed a sombre green as of Summer grass beneath the shade of trees. Vissarion came to their edge and snorted.
The raccoon gasped at the sight of the monstrosity creeping into his room, eyes widening in horror. "Kayla! What has it done to you?"
"Kayla is here unharmed. We have come to thy aid, Rickkter." Vissarion's deep basso voice was sublime and sure.
Rickkter snarled, actual spittle dripping from his snout. "Marzac beast! Get out of her!
"I intend to," Vissarion replied. Extending one half reptilian, half furred arm toward Rickkter the dragon raked his claws across the linens, scratching other runes over the fabric that ate away at the raccoon's protective circle like mice at cheese. "Kayla has asked me to help give thee thy strength back. I will enter thee and do that."
"I've had my soul ripped form my body once already. You will not do it again."
"I would never do such a thing. Thou will be gifted with the power of a dragon, Rickkter."
"A power that will consume me! As its consuming my love! Get out of her! Kayla! If you can hear me in there, fight him! He's devouring you!" Rickkter pushed away from the dragon's runes as they chewed at his defensive wards. "Look what he has turned you into!"
Vissarion's rebuttal was quick and, it seemed, a trifle hurt. "No, Kayla. I would never do such a thing. I'm here to help thee."
Kayla felt greater anguish at seeing Rickkter despise them than she had at Murikeer's betrayal. Let me talk to him. He'll believe it if it comes from me.
But Vissarion rebuffed her. "There is no time. The others are coming."
She felt horrified at his words, but even she could hear the frenzied sound of footsteps both human and beast approaching. She sighed and consented to him. His spells tore at Rickkter's circle. A few moments more and it would snap. Vissarion could give his strength to Rickkter then. Kayla hoped it came soon.
Sir Saulius brought the sleighs to a halt just inside the plaza south of the castle's largest set of doors. Charles kissed Kimberly on the forehead and grabbed Julian by the shoulder. "Take Kimberly and my children to a nearby Inn. We'll come find you when this is over." His eyes snapped to the opossum. "Baerle, go with them."
"Be careful, please," Kimberly begged as her husband and his friends scrambled out of the fur blankets.
"I will," he assured her. And then he leapt to the snowy embankment and with his travelling companions, Sir Saulius, Cassius, and the Longs rushed into the Keep. They were met by other guards inside who waved them passed. Lindsey ran the fastest with Andares close on his heels. Jerome hefted Abafouq in his arms, while Charles and James kept right behind him. Sir Saulius, Cassius, Misha, and the other Longs all kept pace behind them, weapons drawn and ready.
They ran up two flights of steps, their thoughts only on Rickkter's quarters and Kayla who was in danger. On the second landing they nearly collided with Murikeer, George, and a contingent of soldiers running down an intersecting corridor.
"Lindsey, Charles!" Murikeer exclaimed. "Thank the gods you've come."
"What's happened to Kayla?" Lindsey asked. The northerner grabbed Murikeer by the collar and pulled him close.
Murikeer's tail danced alarmingly but he appeared too intent to take umbrage. "She's been touched by the same evil that touched Agathe. I think it's the Marzac taint. She's slowly killing Rickkter. We chased her into the cellars but lost her. We've doubled back and are retracing our steps."
Lindsey frowned as the rest caught up and stopped. Abafouq called over their heads, "Do you know where she might have gone?"
Murikeer shook his head. "And none of George's men have seen her either. Not even Andwyn knows where she is."
"She doesn't even know what she's doing is wrong," Lindsey said in a softer voice. He let Murikeer go and took a deep breath. "She'll think what she's doing is necessary, even though everyone around her tries to stop her. We'll all be her enemies now. But she's going to keep trying to do it..." His face went white. "You said she's killing Rickkter? Then that's where she'll be. Let's go!"
"She's very dangerous. Don't hurt her."
"I'm going to save her!" Lindsey snapped. He pushed Murikeer aside and then all of them began running down the halls of Metamor. Murikeer fell into step beside Andares with George next to Misha and his soldiers with the Longs. A long amalgam of Keepers like a serpent wound through Metamor and all who saw them fled out of their way.
Although Murikeer had wondered whether Kyia might be stymieing their earlier efforts, now they were brought almost immediately to their goal. Murikeer gestured to Rickkter's door, and Lindsey did not even pause before crashing through, snapping the handle in his rush. They were met by a shattered window, the bodies of five Keepers laying about, and the rear end of dragon covered in patches of skunk fur disappearing through the door into the raccoon's bedroom. The tail lashed with a heavy scaled spade and knocked Lindsey into Murikeer and Andares who collapsed beneath their combined weight.
"Hurry!" Rickkter shouted weakly from the room blocked by the dragon's hindquarters.
Charles and James tried to help Lindsey to his feet, but the northerner was already past them and into the room a second time. "Kayla! Hear me!" The tail lashed again but this time Lindsey ducked to the side. "Marzac has you as it had me! Listen to me!"
Murikeer was right behind him, weaving his paws in the air as he wove at the stransds of magic invisible to most of the others. "Let me help!" Abafouq said, rushing to the skunk's side and gripping and guiding the weaves in ways now familiar in their long struggle against Marzac. Murikeer adapted swiftly and let him direct their spells. He followed the short stranger's magical intents and added those of his own as they probed the web of darkness that had consumed Kayla and now showed itself as this dragon.
"Get those men out of there," Misha shouted to the soldiers with a sweep of his arm at the fallen. Longs pushed into the room to quickly retrieved the five who'd fallen and pulled them to safety while Charles, Sir Saulius and the other Longs all poured in one by one through the narrow door. Rickkter continued to shout from beyond the doorway his voice becoming more and more desperate.
"Grab the other leg," Jerome gestured at the dragon's hind legs both still covered in patches by skunk fur. The tail that ponderously threatened between them was coloured as a skunk's, but the fur was few and far between the bright scales and thick serpentine girth. Charles leapt over the tail and as he landed wrapped his arms around the dragon's right thigh. Jerome grasped the left, and together they pulled with all their Sondeck. The tail thrashed and the dragon howled in anger, claws rending carpets and stone as it contended with two Sondeckis of the Black.
Misha, Saulius, Lindsey, Andares and the other Longs all wrapped their bodies about the tail or middle to help still the dragon while Murikeer and Abafouq strove magically against it. Wrapped about the dragon's body was the remnants of Kayla's clothing including the buckler with the dragon swords which alone was undamaged. On sudden whim Andares reached for them but the dragon twisted and beat the Åelf against the stone beneath him with its tail despite the weight of Keepers upon it until he collapsed and rolled away.
With all their effort combined they were able to yank the dragon backward. In its fury it tore the bedroom door clean from its hinges, revealing a cloistered Rickkter whose appearance was as gaunt as when he'd first woken from his six month sleep. A circle of protection surrounded him but it was faltering beneath a magical onslaught. The dragon snapped its head back, golden eyes flecked with jewelled fire. "I am Vissarion! Kayla has asked me to aid this man!"
"Do not listen to his lies!" Lindsey replied, struggling to hold onto the dragon's midsection. The dragon's jaws veered toward him but stopped inches from the northerner's face. Lindsey stared into the depths of the beast whose visage bore only a vague resemblance to Kayla's. The draconic aspect had all but obliterated her kind and resourceful countenance. "Kayla. He is lying to you! Just as that which grew in my pouch did to me!"
"I do not lie," Vissarion said with an almost magnanimous majesty. Each of them began to wonder if perhaps they were not in error after all. "I am here only to aid Rickkter who is in need of strength."
"You took my strength from me!" Rickkter gasped. And then his spell faltered and failed. The sigils of red light rushed to him and spun about his head. The raccoon swooned, collapsing in a torpor but not falling unconscious. He stared blearily out, tongue hanging from his snout, all strength in him sapped as if he were a puppet shorn of its strings. The eyes, though, burned with a passionate hatred as they gazed at the dragon, his lips quivering as they tried to form a snarl.
"Thou sees he has no strength," Vissarion continued, turning his head back to the raccoon. "I will give him myself and he shall be strong as he is meant to be. Kayla has asked this of me. Would thou deny her what she wishes?"
The dragon did not wait for their reply. His scaly hide became hot as scalding water and all of them flinched away. Charles, after letting go, turned his flesh to stone and grabbed the dragon's hind leg again. But his vine began to squirm and sizzle. Charles tried to shift to hold the leg without touching the vine to it, but after a few seconds without being able to move the beast unaided he let go again with a gasp of frustration.
Vissarion lunged for the doorway, golden eyes intent, only to be bounced back with an angry snarl from a brilliant pane of energy that flared to vermillion life in the doorway. The dragon's sigils left Rickkter and immediately set to the wall of energy while it's head turned on the skunk and Binoq. "Thou will let me pass. Thy magic cannot stop the desire of Kayla's heart."
"A desire you put there," Lindsey shouted. "You are Marzac spawn and cannot be allowed to live!"
"I was freed from Marzac!" Vissarion objected, even as he began to slink toward the two mages. "Kayla believes this."
Misha drew Whisper and swung the black axe in a wide arc. Vissarion flinched back, lowering his head in mock dismay. "I did not wish to hurt anyone. Kayla did not wish to hurt anyone. But thy obstinance leaves us little choice."
"This is not Kayla speaking!" Lindsey stood beside Misha, his own mundane axe in hand. Charles and Jerome flanked him, the rat spinning his Sondeshike. Andares drew his ivory blade, Saulius and James their swords, George his cutlass, and the Longs each their weapon. Rickkter's receiving room was not small but the crowd of warriors with naked weapons made it seem dangerously confined. Vissarion looked them over each in turn as he coiled in on himself. The patches of skunk fur dwindled even further as the dragon swelled in size another foot.
"Kayla believes me," Vissarion insisted in a low hiss.
Lindsey gritted his teeth and said in tones of bitter recrimination, "I believed what was in my pouch told me too. I listened, I trusted, I hoped beyond hope that it was Zhypar's last gift to me, and that nearly cost me, us, everything!" he cried out in anguish at the memory of hope lost when he had realized how that dark touch had twisted him. "It is lying to you, Kayla. It will kill us all, Rickkter too! Don't forget what Habakkuk warned you in his letter!"
Deep inside the dragon there was a woman still, a woman who loved so deeply that she was willing to listen to the Dragon when it came to her, willing to yield herself to the creature. And yet she heard every word uttered and saw all that Vissarion saw. It horrified her and she begged Vissarion not to hurt her friends. His comforting presence had assured her that nothing he did would bring them more than momentary pain and so far he had kept to that. But no matter what she asked him not to do, he always asked her to let him do a little more.
And now she began to wonder. Lindsey's words struck true and that filled her with fear. Vissarion assured her they were nothing but falsehood; fear fed by uncertainty, justified by the past, but still false. She looked at their body and noted that it was almost entirely that of a dragon now. She felt locked up inside with no escape but for the promise of Vissarion and that too gave her pause.
What had been on Habakkuk's letter to her? As the sigils devoured the magical seal skunk and Binoq had placed, she scoured her mind for those few precious words the Felikaush had left to guide her. Only three had survived the fire. The last came to her immediately. ‘Rickkter'. She could never forget the man she loved, and even seeing his name in the kangaroo's precise script had brought warmth to her heart.
And the second came only a moment later. ‘Swords'. Somehow they played a role in what Habakkuk saw of her future. She had kept them because Rickkter was too weak and they'd guided her to listen to Vissarion. But was that what they were truly meant to do? She hadn't heard them speak to her at all in the last day. In fact, not since she'd spoken to Vissarion that first night.
But the very first word that had been left eluded her. She half watched as Vissarion kept the Keepers at bay and twisted their draconic body in the confines of Rickkter's quarters. His rugs were destroyed, and his window beyond hope, but most of the rest of his things were still intact. That wouldn't last if they fought. Try as the Keepers might, they could not get between Vissarion and the doorway to Rickkter who lay as helpless as a newborn babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.
With a shudder, Vissarion shed the last of Kayla's clothing, all but traces of her fur subsumed beneath a black scaly hide. Only two things remained; the swords still buckled about the dragon's mid-section, and the bracer adorning their left wrist. Kayla felt very small inside Vissarion and her vision through his eyes began to fade, as if they were holes in a wall that she was backing away from.
But she still saw the bracer. And with it remembered the first word Habakkuk had given her. ‘Bracer'. With it she had circumvented the Marquis's control. And against it Vissarion had struggled when taking control of her body. It was either a terrible coincidence or a frightening truth. She had to know for certain.
Vissarion! Let me have control of our body again. They'll listen to me.
No. They will only think thee corrupted and it would take too long for me to resume this shape. Without my strength now, we have no chance of saving Rickkter from them.
They do not wish him harm either.
He will die without me, Kayla.
Then give me control of this body! They will know my voice!
Don't thee wish to save Rickkter? I am the only one who can.
Kayla felt a sickness filling what was left of her. She didn't understand how, but she knew Lindsey had been right. With all her will, she focussed on the bracer, trying to feel what power remained in it. It had aided her once to free Rickkter from the Marquis. Now she needed it again to save him.
But Vissarion noticed immediately.
What are thee doing?
Taking my body back!
Trust in me, Kayla!
Not if you will not trust in me!
Kayla doubled her efforts, trying to make Vissarion's left foreleg respond to her will. She felt an anger never before directed at her try to push her back. But she could feel the bracer in her mind and to that she clung.
Vissarion's head snapped toward the skunk and Binoq as a hand of blue reached in and slid between the cracks of scales. Kayla grabbed that too despite the dragon's howls of protest echoing in her mind. Vissarion was furious and defiant, and seemed incapable of understanding how Kayla could refuse to do as he instructed. He fought her and tried to seal her inside of his very will, but what she now held she would not let go.
The ghostly blue hand seized at Kayla's will when she reached for it and pulled. Somewhere in the fast fading dimness through the dragon's eyes she saw Murikeer almost upon his knees, both hands extended before him and clutching at air. "Help me, damn the gods!" the skunk snarled as his body bowed under the effort. Abafouq darted away from the snapping jaws of the dragon and slid around behind the skunk as Misha leaped forward and swiped menacingly with his shadow black axe. Vissarion drew his head back swiftly from that deadly magical blade and Misha took a step back. Still menacing the beast with his axe he grasped Murikeer's shoulder and lent what little magical strength he could to the young mage's efforts.
With the Binoq shoring his crumbling magical foundations and the surge of Misha's strength Murikeer redoubled his efforts. The spiritual grasp of his magic seemed to gain solidity and strength as Kayla clung to it, centring her will upon the bracer that gave her an anchor of her own, a clarity of inner sight that had saved her once already. Murikeer's lips lifted from his sharp teeth and he dug his claws at the flagstones, "Pull!" he shrieked as the fur of his left cheek slumped under a dark, wet weight.
And then the great blue hand pulled her out. With a gasp, the world returned to focus and Kayla felt limbs of her own again. She tumbled to the ground next to Vissarion, the bracer on her left hand and the swords round her waist though the rest of her garments remained a torn ruin. She stared at her friends gathered — far too many for this modest room but enough to keep the dragon pinned — who gazed back at her with surprise and confusion. Her startled gaze snapped aside to Vissarion whose eyes no longer radiated kindness. There was a fury in those eyes that had been cleverly concealed from her all this time. But now the dragon's duplicity had been made known and any restraint he had shown earlier was gone.
James grabbed Kayla by the arm and dragged her out of the dragon's way as it thrashed and roared in utter abandon and madness. Misha swung Whisper down at its mid-section, but the axe bounced off his scales. With a gasp he shouted, "Muri! Magic!"
The dragon's jaws lunged for Kayla's legs but was met with another barrier of light. He snarled, eyes narrowing, and began drawing sigils with his forelegs. Little red chevrons danced in the air and ate away at the magical field. Alas, the same field that kept the dragon comfined kept them from getting to Rickkter. In a sonorous voice, Vissarion mocked them. "Thy efforts are vain. Thou can only delay me."
James managed to get Kayla to safety behind the line of her friends and Long scouts. "Are you all right?" the donkey asked.
She shuddered, gazing at her furry flesh and feeling so grateful for seeing it again. "Thank you. I'm well now." She reached down and put one paw on the buckler. The last two words in Habakkuk's letter returned. "I have one thing I have to do. Help me up."
James helped Kayla to her paws and the skunk pushed her way through the crowd come to rescue her and Rick. She was heartened to see so many there and to realize that she truly did have so many who loved them both and would risk their lives to save them. But she now knew what Habakkuk had wanted for her to do. Without any more hesitation, she fingered at the buckle at her waist and lifted the swords free. She nestled the katana and wakizashi to her chest and kissed the hilts one last time.
Sidling through the tight press, heedless of her fur clad nakedness, she leaned down close to the only other skunk in the room. "Muri, I need to get these to Rickkter," she whispered into his backed ear.
Swaying in place and panting Murikeer did not spare her a glance and only nodded his head slightly. Blood dripped from the drooping whiskers on one side of his face. "Do it now."
‘Bracer' ‘Swords' ‘Rickkter'. Her rescue. The weapon. And the hand that should wield it! She stepped through the press of bodies and then flung the swords toward Rickkter collapsed on the bed. The swords passed through Muri and Abafouq's magical barriers as if they were not there and landed on the bed. Clymaethera slid from her scabbard and nestled against the comatose coon's snout. Trystathalis lay at her side.
A smile twitched on his lips as he eyed the blades. Gather the very last of his strength and magic, he thrust forward a paw and wrapped it around the wakizashi. That only seemed to drive him on further as he felt the inner strength of the blades pour into him. Sliding from the bed, both swords in paw, Rickkter staggered to where Vissarion lay pinned beneath the magical shield of the Keepers. There was just enough strength in his legs to bring him into striking distance of the dragon's back, so that when he did collapse he was able to thrust the point of the blade past those hard, black scales.
At the moment the blade sank between the hard scales and bit into flesh a stunning transformation overtook the raccoon. Rickkter's gaunt flesh, so sickly and desiccated, regained in vigour all that it had lost. His cheeks fleshed and filled out, fur vibrant in hue. He blinked eyes that no longer seemed rheumy and dead but vivacious and determined. Strong paws gripped both swords, and with legs replete with muscle and no longer sapling twigs ready to break beneath a strong wind, the raccoon rose from the floor, fury radiating, as he prepared a second strike.
But Vissarion also suffered a change of his own, one as horrific as the raccoon's was miraculous. Where once his scales were a lustrous black they now withered like parchment in a fire, drawing back and exposing decaying flesh beneath. His eyes hardened and sank back within his skull until there was no sign of them. His roar of fury ebbed into a silent scream. The flesh sank onto his bones and then disappeared like dust in a gentle wind. The skeletal dragon, once mighty, writhed and shrieked with necrotic rage as his body rapidly withered. Wicked spiked vertebrae on its tail lashed toward the Keepers who steeled their weapons to take the blow. They were still knocked from their feet. Murikeer sprawled bonelessly backward under Misha's thrown weight, bowling into Kayla and almost swooning as his shields flickered madly and winked out.
"This ends now," Rickkter snarled, bringing the larger blade, Clymaethera, to the fore. "You're dead!"
Vissarion snapped with his jaws but Rickkter leapt to the side and snapped up the kata against the strike. The blade bit clean through the bone and sheering loose a shard that clattered against the ground before disintegrating into black dust. Vissarion leapt backward against the other wall smashing Rickkter's worktable to splinters as he scraped at his shorn jaw with both forelegs.
Rickkter roared and ran after him, blades swinging, pieces continuing to fall from the dragon. Misha leaped to his paws and broke from the crowd first, driving Whisper into the dragon's thighbone. This time the black axe shattered the bone with a crunch. Charles, Saulius, Andares, Lindsey, and all the rest joined them, hacking and smashing the dragon's bones in a fury. Vissarion thrashed, kicked and clawed for a few moments, but his end was already come. Only moments after Kayla was yanked free, moments after the swords had been returned to their master, there was nothing left of the great dragon Vissarion but a pile of bones and black ash.
Silence settled in the wake of the dragon's end.
A still silence but for the sigh of the cold wind from the open window and the panting of the Keepers as they stood scattered amongst the wreckage of the room. Kayla was the first to move. She let Abafouq take Murikeer's somnolent weight and dashed across the room and throwing her arms around Rickkter. Burying her head into the renewed thickness of fur on his neck she wept openly.
"I'm so sorry! He told me he could save you. Even the swords believed him. I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"
Rickkter wrapped his arms around her in turn, holding her close as he nuzzled the back of her head and neck. "I know, love. I know." He whispered tenderly into her ear, his voice sweet and full of life. "It's over now. You're safe. And you saved me."
"I almost killed you," she whimpered.
Pushing her back, Rickkter gazed tenderly into his eyes as he rubbed away her tears with one paw. "No, Marzac almost killed me. Twice. And you saved me from them. Twice." He pressed his muzzle lightly against hers in a kiss. "I couldn't ask for a better love, ever." A mischievous smile spread across his muzzle as he pulled into a tight embrace once more. "Speaking of which, love, you might want to go to my room and put something on before any more people see you in the fur."
Blushing in embarrassment, though a smile still on her own muzzle, Kayla hurried to do so as Murikeer, helped staggeringly to his paws, and Abafouq bade everyone step back from the ruin that was now Vissarion. Only Rickkter and Andares stayed at their sides, and the four of them in concert drew magical wards about what was left of Vissarion's body. The power of their incantations gathered every mote of dust together, compacting it down until it was all sealed inside a glowing orb no larger than a melon.
"Wait," said Rickkter, moving off from the group to hunt for something amongst the wreckage near the windows. They could see his nose twitching as he clearly was sniffing something out. Eventually finding what he was after, he returned to the other three and tossed what he had found into the orb before casting the final seal on it.
"Was that one of the pastries I got you earlier?" Misha asked, blinking in disbelief.
"Aye, it was," Rickkter replied, a paw on his hip. "I figure if there's anything still left alive in there, I want it to suffer." He grinned a feral, toothy leer, "Oh, and that atrocity that Caroline forced me to read."
There were an appropriate number of groans and a few chuckled from around the room. Misha's jaw hung and after a moment he snorted humorously.
"So what shall we do with this?" Murikeer hissed. "It is too evil to let anyone even touch it." He leaned heavily on the strong shoulder of the Binoq at his side, his face twisted into a grimace of sustained pain.
"The last time," Lindsey said as his eyes searched them for something, "we put it in a metal canister, one magically protected against rust. And then we cast it into the deep sea, where it could do no more harm." His eyes gazed into Rickkter's room where even now Kayla rummaged for something to wear. The northerner sighed, arms reaching out as if he were giving a comforting hug.
Murikeer glanced aside at him and sucked a breath through his teeth, "Where even the slightest taint of whatever laid upon Marzac remains there is ever the danger that it may grow. It is a cancer that, I fear, even excising will never fully and truly destroy." He sighed and leaned against an overturned table, "Creation requires entropy, to our eternal pain." He pawed at his left cheek with one hand and stared numbly at the dark stain of blood upon his fingers.
In the end a similar course of action was decided upon. George brought a metal canister big enough to contain the ball of dragon dust. Lacking a deep sea at hand, they settled on placing it in one of the secret storehouses in Long House beneath as many magical wards as Murikeer and Rickkter thought prudent. For fear that either Abafouq or Andares might still have some corruption upon their souls, they were not allowed to see either where the canister was placed or aid in any further magical casting upon it.
Those Vissarion had attacked were all well; Kindle was shaken but in good spirits while the four soldiers remembered only the smashing of the window before all went dark. Murikeer and Abafouq examined them thoroughly but found no trace of foul magic on them. And at Lindsey and Kayla's insistence, they also examined Charles and the others who had journeyed to Marzac. But again they found no trace of the evil corruption that had briefly overcome Kayla.
The room itself, though, was not nearly so fortunate. Vissarion had destroyed pretty much all the furniture and ruined the rugs and even the stone floors in his fight with the Keepers. It was settled on Kiya being the best person to handle the cleanup.
Once the room was cleared, George sent the rest of his soldiers back to their regular duty posts and then told Misha to inform him of anything he needed to know. The jackal left after giving Rickkter and Kayla both firm embraces, which surprised everyone. Murikeer, barely able to stand without assistance, was helped to Rikkter's dishevelled bed and laid out. The raccoon fetched a chalice from a cabinet and mixed some noxious smelling concoction that the skunk drank down without a flinch. Shortly thereafter he faded into blessed unconsciousness.
Misha also sent his fellow Longs back to their regular duties but also had them along with Sir Saulius deliver a message to Charles's family that everyone was well and there was no more reason to worry. But Misha stayed, keeping a wary paw on Whisper, his good ear alert and his eyes focussed for any other signs of danger.
The travellers, who were all there apart from Guernef and Jessica, waited patiently assisting where they dared but otherwise kept quiet. Once the canister was secreted away all were again assembled in the Long Hall. Rickkter glared at them all with the scrutiny of a judge. "Now that all the excitement is over, would someone like to inform me of what in all the hells is going on? Where did that dragon come from and how did it possess Kayla?"
"His name," Andares said with profound sadness, "was Vissarion. He was a dragon of great wisdom and power. Your swords can tell you that much. But long ago he sought to destroy the power of Marzac and was corrupted by it instead. He became Vissarion the Mad. He met his death in Carethedor at the hand of Pelain of Cheskych. But all of Marzac's servants were connected even in death. Whatever remained of Vissarion must have latched onto Kayla as we made our escape."
"I have heard the legend of Vissarion the Mad," Rickkter admitted as he paced back and forth, eyes passing over each of them. He glared a little more intensely at Charles and Jerome but spared none of the others his displeasure. "Carethedor is one of the places I always wished to find and explore, even if only to see Vissarion's bones which were rumoured to still linger in that dead city. I never thought to see them in my quarters!"
"He is truly dead now," Andares continued. "No more of his spirit remains. What is left in the dust is an evil that lingers only because the last remnants of Marzac have yet to be extinguished. Lindsey was the first. Kayla the second."
"I'd hoped it would only happen to me," Lindsey said in a deep groan. "But I guess that was foolish."
"So it seems." Rickkter stopped his pacing and faced them directly. They stood in a line against one wall, their hearts heavy, especially those for whom no darkness had yet surfaced. "But this brings us to several questions. First, have any other evils infected Lindsey or Kayla and how would we know? And also, can we expect to see some evil blossom in each of you?"
"And another question," Abafouq added quietly. "How will we know when all of the lingering evil has been extinguished?"
"I do not know," Andares admitted. "But I suspect that each of us will only be struck once. And once defeated they cannot be touched again."
The raccoon's eyes narrowed. "What makes you say that?"
"The letters Habakkuk wrote. Though destroyed by fire, what is left suggests care and precision and perhaps but a single clue to unravel. If there were more that we should face there would be more than one clue."
But at this Rickkter scoffed. "Prophets. Prophets speak in riddles because it pleases them. Habakkuk was no different."
"He was right about me," Kayla said in a small voice.
"What?"
All eyes turned toward the skunk who trembled still from the memory of what she'd given assent to. "I had but three words on my letter. ‘Bracer' ‘Swords' ‘Rickkter'. They were the map to our victory today. Inside Vissarion's mind, the only thing I could touch was the bracer given to me by that fortune teller, Rick. Because of it, Muri and Abafouq's spell was able to pull me out of him. And then I gave the swords back to you and you were able to use them to get your strength back from Vissarion."
"And my letter was much the same," Lindsey added. "What was said there was exactly what I needed to hear to know what grew in my pouch was evil."
Rickkter ran his tongue over his teeth mulling their words. Beside him Misha began nodding his head. "It all makes sense to me, Rick. Now we just have to worry about what evil may be in the others."
"And Guernef and Jessica." Abafouq added in a quiet voice.
Rickkter, face descending into an unpleasant moue, asked, "What has become of the letters?"
"We each have our own now," Charles said. He was flesh again and the side of his tunic was scarred where it had touched Vissarion's searing hide. "It would probably be a good idea to go over them again. Perhaps your eyes can help us see things we have not."
Rickkter's ears lowered like an angry beast at the sound of the rat's voice. But he tempered himself and said, "I suppose I do owe you all some measure of gratitude for helping save Kayla and myself." His gaze settled on the rat and he forced the scowl from his face. "And even you for returning my Sondeshike. I see you found another. Don't tell me, I'm not that interested." He sighed deeply. "Very well, I'm going to spend the next several days reestablishing my wards; wards Vissarion destroyed when he sapped my strength." He snorted in amusement and turned to Lindsey. "Actually, you should thank the evil, old lizard for that. If he hadn't, we'd be clearing you up along with the rest of the wreckage, what with how you burst through my door."
Lindsey grunted but said nothing.
"In the meantime, there are some magical practice rooms in which we can work. I want you to bring your letters. Jessica and Guernef too when they show themselves. Murikeer, when he recovers, and I are going to study them at length to see what we can learn."
"Will he be well? I did not see how the dragon injured him so." Abafouq asked in concern. "He was stronger than I ever imagined a single person could be, but using his strength seems to have caused him great pain."
Rickkter waved one paw dismissively. "He will be well, the injury he suffers came at the hand of another. He wrought just vengeance for that injury and a life taken. We do not need to worry about him."
"But we do need to keep a closer watch on each other," Kayla said. "Vissarion struck me just as I was left alone."
"It's unreasonable to think we can all stay together all the time," Charles pointed out. "We all have our separate lives here at Metamor."
"But we can gather together frequently to help," Kayla pointed out.
"Not I," Jerome said with a sigh. "I'm leaving the Valley after the funeral tomorrow. I will not be back for some time."
Charles put a paw on his fellow Sondecki's side. "Are you sure that's wise after what we saw today?"
"No, but I will not risk the Curse. I am no use to you beyond this Valley if I look as you do. I will return as soon as I can."
Rickkter crossed his arms. "You may be a danger to everyone around you. We can make you stay."
Jerome snorted. "No, you can't."
Misha swung Whisper into the ground between them. Chips of stone shot in either direction. "Enough of this! We all need to be more watchful. Until some evil is shown in them, we cannot treat them like prisoners and I won't allow anyone to do so. That includes you, Rick."
"You haven't been the victim of that evil, Misha."
"It isn't right to do it," Misha declared with cold voice. "Nor will Thomas countenance it." For a moment the raccoon and fox glared at each other. But after several seconds the raccoon turned aside and shook his head.
"Fine. Let him leave for now. But he should return regularly so we can scan him for any taint."
The Åelf lowered his eyes and sighed. "I fear that if there is a taint, no one will be able to see it until it has expressed itself."
"Then what can we do?" James asked.
"We do what we must," Andares said with a simplicity that brooked no argument. "We keep vigilant and trust each other above else. If any voice tells you that you cannot trust your friends, then the evil is upon you and you must not listen to it."
"Aye," Lindsey agreed.
"Aye!" Kayla echoed with a gasp.
"Then let us renew our pact here and now," Abafouq said, holding out his hand. "To always trust each other until the evil in each of us is defeated."
One by one Keeper and ally came forward and placed their hands and paws together. Eyes met and hearts affirmed their solemn pact. Trust and vigilance until the evil of Marzac was defeated unto its last dying gasp.
Kayla rested her head on Rickkter's shoulder as they walked out of the Long House, arms around each other's waists and tails brushing against each other. This was the man she loved; irascible, irritable, and temperamental as he was at times but also caring, loyal, and indomitable. She had risked everything for him because she knew he'd do the same for her.
And now she had him back. Not weak and ravaged like before, but hale and hardy like he had been eight months before when she had last seen him. Reaching a large stairwell, they stopped and gazed out and over it a few moments before Rickkter turned and faced her.
He reached up and ran his fingers alongside the stripe on her muzzle and back around to her ear, tenderly rubbing into the thick fur there. "I told you I was jealous of everything you'd done while away, love. And part of me is. The bigger part, though, is proud of you. I am so proud of what you accomplished. Having seen Vissarion, a shadow of what Marzac was, I can only imagine what you had to go through. But you never faltered, you never wavered."
Kayla wrapped her paw around his, closing her eyes and purring deeply as she savoured his touch. "You were what kept me going. I would have never let you go. Even in all the darkest moments when everything else seemed lost, especially when we faced the Marquis and then Yajakali himself, I thought only of my friends but mostly of you. That's what love is; never giving up on the other person."
"Too true," he replied, imparting a light kiss on the side of her muzzle.
With a light purr she responded to that, but only briefly. "I am still worried about the others, Rick. I think it's safe to say Marzac is not done with them." Reaching up between them she placed a paw on his chest. "I'm here only because we helped each other when we saw it was needed. When the next time comes, I want you at my side."
Rickkter reached up and wrapped his paw around hers. "I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."
"Even if the next one is Charles?"
"Do I have to?" he whined pleadingly.
The smile and obviously playful tone to the whine earned him only a light shot to the side and a mildly reproving look from the skunk.
"Okay, love. Even Charles." He removed his fingers from her neck fur, smoothing it over once more. "He saved my life today. And yours. So, by that estimation, saving him from Marzac should just about make us even."
Kayla could only smile and shake her head.
"Enough of that now. Let me truly welcome you home." Rickkter leaned forward and pressed his muzzle to hers in a deep, passionate kiss. Kayla let her paws drift to his side and pull him in close to her as she kissed back just as passionately. Eventually breaking it, he kept close, his nose rubbing against hers. "Now, there is the matter of quarters. Mine are in rather a shambles..."
Eyes bright and with a merry laugh she squeezed him close again. "And your student would be little pleased to find us sharing your bed when he wakes?" she chortled softly.
Rickkter grinned and nodded, "Even drugged to the eartips as he is he might just take note." He added with a warm laugh of his own, full of strength and vigour once again after what seemed, to him, like an eternity. "Let him sleep, mine are not the only chambers to tenant." He asked as he looked into her warm gaze.
She agreed, her own would do quite well, for the both of them, for the next few days.