Authors: CJ Rutherford,Colin Rutherford
18 – The Never – The Beast’s hunger
The creature regarded the scene before it. The inferno was everywhere now, and its triumph was within its grasp. Soon it hoped to take the soul of the girl and rip it from her body, to deliver its innocence to its master. It longed to be given the gratification of consuming the sweet essence, but knew Tenybris treasured the moment of corruption above all else. The girl’s soul would become Tenybris’s puppet, as its own had years before.
The creature wondered briefly at the silence of the spark of soul left trapped within its ruined consciousness. The violent, hopelessly futile struggles to gain precedence had ceased weeks ago, but it was unusually dormant and the creature was concerned it may have gone mad. Master would fix that, it knew. He would not allow a victim to escape the torment decreed by him.
So it continued its observation, laughing in cruel glee as the girl screamed in torment, burning over and over as she dreamt. Soon she would demand release, and soon it would be there to grant it.
19 – Belfast – Derren’s hope
The ball of ice became lead as Katheryne felt a chasm open up below her soul and all her hope disappear into it.
“Who’s taken him, Krista?” It was Perri. She’d managed to regain a bit of her equilibrium and she grabbed Katheryne as she slumped sideways.
“The Leadership,” Krista began to explain, “Derren and I travelled to Sanctuary to report, to tell them we’d found you, Katheryne; that we’d finally found the Foundation.”
At the mention of the Foundation, Kat sobered before snapping back to awareness, instantly exerting a level of discipline which managed to scare Perri for a second. She was alert, her attention focussed on what Krista was saying.
“He told them, didn’t he?” said Katheryne in a whisper, “he told them about us.”
Krista nodded, “Yes, he did,” she looked puzzled at Katheryne as she continued, “I tried to tell him to take it easy, to sound them out first. None of them ever had an inkling Derren was in love... had been in love with you from the start.”
“But you knew.” It was a simple statement, a fact, and Krista nodded again.
“I’ve known for years there was something he was hiding from me, but he only told me the truth shortly after he’d arrived on Sanctuary,” explained Krista. “Katheryne...Kat, you need to understand what this was doing to him. He kept meeting you time and time again, and every time he did, he denied he was in love with you. But each and every time he hoped beyond hope the next one would be you, and each and every time he got his heart broken in half when it wasn’t.”
Katheryne blanched as her heart both leapt and quailed. She’d known Derren had been searching for her for years, but he hadn’t told her about his feelings for the other Katherynes’, the dread this must have instilled in him toward every new encounter. She almost wept as she imagined his pain.
“So he was determined to tell them everything,” Krista went on, “He said he’d spent too long denying it, and wasn’t about to waste any more time refusing to acknowledge his love for you. When he told the gathering it...it was as if a bomb went off. Derren has...upset, a few of them over the years.” A smile ghosted over her features briefly. “There was one of them there, B’ran, who despises him and he had quite a few supporters with him, enough to persuade the rest to take Derren away for ‘questioning’.”
Perri looked across at Katheryne’s face to see a mask of pain mixed with anger and determination. Krista was looking at Katheryne too, concern on her face, but concern for herself this time as if her next admission would make Katheryne hate her.
“I couldn’t get to him, Katheryne,” she cried, “there were too many of them for us. We tried, we took out scores of guards, but for each one we did, two more appeared. He shouted for me to run, and for a second I hesitated and they almost had me. But I ran, Kat. I opened a portal to here and ran away. I’m sorry, Katheryne, I’m so sorry.” Krista slumped to her knees and put her hands to her face to try and hide the tears, but in an instant Katheryne was there, pulling Krista close, hugging her fiercely.
“It wasn’t your fault, Krista,” hissed Katheryne, her voice colder than Perri had ever heard it. “I don’t know what their problem with us is, but they’ve made a big mistake.” She gently pushed Krista back so she could look her in the eyes. “I’ll need your help to fix it.”
Katheryne helped Krista to her feet. She didn’t know how she was so calm, when inside her chest her heart was shattering, but she knew if she lost control they would lose any chance of helping Derren.
“So, what do we do?” This came from Perri, and Katheryne and Krista turned to her as she stood there with her hands on her hips and a determined look on her face. Katheryne smiled and opened her arms, inviting Perri to join in the huddle, embracing both of them tightly.
“I don’t know, Perri,” she admitted, “but I think I might know someone who does.”
Krista looked back, confused as Katheryne grinned at them both. “Who?” she asked.
Katheryne’s smile deepened. “Derren,” she said.
Krista and Perri looked at each other and simultaneously back at Katheryne, as if she’d just lost her mind.
“But, Katheryne,” argued Krista, “I can’t get back. I tried, but they’ve put some sort of block in the way, something I’ve never experienced before.”
This interrupted Katheryne’s train of thought.
“But why would they do that?” Katheryne asked, almost to herself. She looked at both her friends. “If I’m the Foundation, why do they want me kept here? I thought the whole idea was for me to travel to Sanctuary with you to carry on the battle from there.”
“That’s what we’ve always been told; it’s the prophecy,” she stopped short as she saw Katheryne’s eyes widen in shock.
“Yeah, sorry, we hadn’t gotten round to telling you yet. You, ah....seemed to have other things on your mind.” She paused for a second before going on to recite it.
“You are supposed to come back to Sanctuary where you will unite the powers and provide the means to defeat Tenybris. Sorry that’s not word for word; my history sucks.”
Perri grinned from ear to ear, “You’re in a prophecy… Wow!”
Katheryne cringed, “God, why me?” she asked looking heavenward, “Couldn’t you just have sent Derren here as a kid and arranged for us to meet as two normal, everyday people? But no, there had to be a prophecy, didn’t there?”
Perri’s grin widened as she giggled, and even Krista smiled, before bringing them back to reality with a bump.
“But Kat, none of that matters,” she stressed. “If we can’t get back to Sanctuary, how can we get to Derren? And why do you need to speak to him anyway? What insight can my baby brother possibly provide to overcome his current situation?”
Katheryne’s thoughts flashed in her head, her mind racing as she followed a plan which was unfolding faster than she could ever have imagined. And it was her plan, and this realisation alone shocked her more than anything.
She knew she wasn’t stupid; her degree proved otherwise, but as these thoughts flashed through her head she knew what was happening inside her head was several levels above what a normal person was capable of.
“You said Derren had upset some of these leaders.” Katheryne spoke quickly now. “Why did he do that? Aren’t these guys supposed to be like, guardians of some sort? If so why did Derren keep trying to cause trouble with them? Surely he trusted them.”
A strange expression crossed Krista’s face as she finally comprehended what she herself had never understood about her twin’s confrontational behaviour.
“He didn’t trust them,” she said, understanding at last, “not all of them, anyway, and definitely not B’ran, though in his case I tend to agree. He’s slime.”
“And these others he upset,” continued Katheryne, “were they among the supporters who backed up B’ran?”
Krista visualised the gathering, concentration crossing her features before the penny seemed to drop. She looked horrified as she turned to Kat and Perri.
“All of them were there, every single one,” confirmed Krista, “and all of them sided with B’ran. Katheryne, if what you’re suggesting is true, there is something very wrong on Sanctuary.”
“Excuse me,” Perri snapped loudly. “I’m sorry if I’m a bit slow, but what exactly are you suggesting, Kat? Maybe you can slow down a bit so we mere mortals can catch up?”
Katheryne laughed warmly, “Sorry, Perri, I keep forgetting this is all new to you.”
“I’ll try to fill in the gaps, shall I?” suggested Krista.
Katheryne nodded. “Go ahead; I’m still getting my head round it all too.”
“OK then, Perri,” began Krista, “Sanctuary was hidden thousands of years ago so Tenybris couldn’t use it to travel instantly to the other realms. If he’d conquered Sanctuary we’d have ceased to exist, and he’d currently be Mr. Big around here. Actually here, there, and everywhere, but you get the picture.”
Perri nodded for her to continue.
“So for the last few thousand years, the Leadership have been watching for Tenybris’s return, while all along they’ve been recruiting the Liberi…us…to fight their battles against the leftovers of Tenybris’s armies. But what Katheryne is saying, and I don’t want to admit this but I think I agree with her, is some of the leaders have been operating to a different agenda. Derren didn’t quite know, but he’s a very good judge of character. He must have sensed something unnatural going on.”
“Didn’t he ever tell you?” asked Perri, and Krista blushed.
“Yes, he did.” She groaned. “Lots of times, in fact."
Krista’s face looked horrified, “Oh my god, he’s going to be insufferably smug when we manage to free him.”
She looked beseechingly at Katheryne.
“I don’t suppose we could leave him there, just for a year or two maybe?”
Katheryne smiled and shook her head.
“No, I suppose not.” Krista grimaced.
“Which brings me right back to our main problem; how do we get back to Sanctuary to rescue his sorry arse?” Her words hid her deep concern for her brother’s safety, but Katheryne and Perri understood completely.
Katheryne simply smiled enigmatically, “I think I need to go and speak to some of my other friends.”
20 – The Island – Rescue plan
Katheryne looked out across the bay, remembering the last time she had been here and who she’d been with. Now she was alone, she no longer had to put on a brave face, so as she sat on the fallen trunk she wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed. How would she live with herself if she let something happen to Derren?
And so she sat, and although she knew she was being incredibly selfish, all she could think about was how broken she would be if he didn’t come back to her.
Part of her knew he must be hurting just as much as she was, more so because he was totally alone among enemies. Enemies whom he’d thought of not as friends perhaps, but at least as allies. Did he even know she was trying to rescue him? No, how could he?
The success of her plan hinged on so many things, but it was a good plan, she thought, as did Krista. Perri still hadn’t got her head fully around how it was going to work, but she was coming along.
Katheryne had talked to most of her friends here on the Island and asked them a simple question. Did they know any Liberi, and could they contact them?
She was surprised when most of them replied yes. It turned out most had been discovered by the Liberi over the years but strangely, they had been asked not to discuss them with anyone. It was obviously important to them to remain in the shadows.
It was only the fact that Katheryne had brought them together to this place and provided protection from the beast that they had agreed to trust her in this revelation.
Also to her surprise, all of them were aware of the existence of Sanctuary, which made her next request much easier once she’d explained her fears. Krista had given her names of Liberi who were friends of her and Derren. She’d been amazed when two of islanders knew a different one each.
She took the two of them aside and asked them to contact “their” Liberi, as Katheryne had started to refer to them, and explain what had happened and ask if they were willing to help.
So she sat, waiting here for a response to her desperate cry for help, praying that Krista wasn’t terribly mistaken and her ‘friends’ could be trusted.
As she waited, she was suddenly overwhelmed when she realised it had been less than a day since she and Derren had walked along this very beach, afraid to hold each other’s hands in case the slightest touch would spark the fire burning at their core. It seemed like they had lived a lifetime since that first touch, by virtue of how much had been shared between them.
Her whole being cried out in anguish and loneliness, but as she turned to look into the jungle, to the shielded nook where they had given themselves to each other so completely only hours ago, her breath caught in her throat.
Derren stood there, watching her in disbelief and euphoria. They ran into each other’s arms, their mouths meeting, their lips parting as they revelled in each other’s presence. Part of her wondered how this was happening, but it was a very small part. She didn’t care; he was here and he was hers.
Last night had been a release, a rapturous explosion of the pent-up emotions which had been repressed for years, finally given a conduit.
What happened now was an exploration of each other’s needs and wants as they clung to each single second in the presence of the other half of their soul.
The sense of urgency was still present; indeed how could it not be? So much time had been wasted already, and the desire for each other was heightened by his capture and forced separation.
But as they lay with each other, entwined in the limbs of their soul mate, exchanging tender caresses and sharing in the joy of each other’s unexpected presence, they knew it had to end. They had to talk, because the opportunity that Derren’s presence here on the Island granted increased the chances of Katheryne’s plan tenfold.
She drew back. She knew Derren understood, though she sensed it was a battle to contain his emotions. Katheryne knew how he felt. She wondered again at the change which had come over her, how completely she wanted this man to take her. She struggled to regain control but eventually managed to reassert her will.
“How is this even possible?” asked Derren in amazement. Like Katheryne, he had been caught up with the need they both had for each other, but he had been walking the Never for years searching for her. What had happened should have been impossible.
This place, this Island Katheryne had created, was a bridge between realities which allowed the Powers in each universe to interact consciously with each other. But the only reason he’d been able to follow her last night was because they had been so close, physically as well as emotionally.
And there was the fact they had discussed and planned his entry to her mind, and by proxy into the Island beforehand.
The shield he’d used to hide this fabrication from the beast had taken weeks of probing into Katheryne’s subconscious, and he had only managed to enter for an instant to taste her thoughts so he could complete it.
In that instant he’d known she was the one, the Katheryne he’d searched for so long. He’d yearned to stay with her, to reveal his love for her. But the hope had been ripped away as he’d been ejected forcibly from her presence. She hadn’t been ready to accept the truth he knew now, but at the time the rejection he’d felt had almost destroyed him.
He thought Krista had sensed a subtle difference in his approach to the inevitable meeting. There had been the dread as there had been so many times before, and he’d continued his facade of denial of love for her.
But as he pushed the door open and saw her, not just her physical body but all she had within, he’d been suspended in time, unable to move as he witnessed the image he’d kept in his heart look back at him.
Look back and return his love, his hesitation and denial, but with an acceptance of the inevitable, of the inescapable bond between their souls.
But that couldn’t explain how he was here now, when his physical self was so far away, imprisoned behind a barrier on Sanctuary.
Katheryne didn’t need him to explain his bewilderment. She could sense his confusion but was still struggling with the reality of what she’d done. As she looked around she saw the island but her perception shifted and she could see beyond.
She saw the Never for the first time and marvelled at its vastness. She knew, even as she watched the currents and eddies effect the strands and paths shifting timelessly, she could discern a pattern within it.
She was so inexperienced at the sheer scale of it all that she was scared of this ability. There was nowhere she couldn’t go and no place she couldn’t see. It rushed in on her, threatening to overcome the limits of her mind but then Derren was there, holding onto her in the dream as she knew Perri would in the mundane world.
Katheryne dragged herself back to him and he stood holding her gently but firmly in his arms.
He balked at her ability but instinctively he understood what she was becoming. The Foundation. He’d expected the changes to take place over years, as she accepted her power and learned to wield it. But as he gazed at this amazing young woman, whom he loved beyond anything else, he knew she’d been born to the task and the knowledge was already unfolding within her.
“You brought me here Katheryne,” said Derren, beaming at her, “your heart reached out and found me and brought me here.”
“God, I thought I’d lost you and I sat over there, and just as I broke apart you were here,” she sobbed, tears of wonder and joy welling in her eyes as she returned his embrace.
Derren kissed her again and their hearts bounded in rapturous union and Derren whispered, “My heart, my soul is yours Katheryne, for now and into eternity.”
The feelings threatened to overcome them again, to shut the world outside a cocoon formed of love and desire, but Katheryne became aware of one of the Islanders standing discretely a short distance away, obviously at odds as to whether to interrupt. It was a battle for them both to wrench themselves out of the others embrace but they eventually parted.
“Later,” Katheryne promised, smiling tenderly.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he breathed and kissed her gently, even that brief contact making her soul soar.
“You’d better,” gasped Katheryne impishly, as she turned and beckoned her friend to come over.
The man approached and Katheryne bowed. She’d tried to learn the proper greeting for all the races present on the Island, and this one was a Calarian called Jip. His real name had turned out to be unpronounceable to her. He had tried for days to teach her unsuccessfully so they’d eventually settled on Jip as a compromise.
He bowed in response, revealing the line of short spikes along the back of his head. Except for these he could have been taken for a human.
“Hello Katheryne.” He spoke in heavily accented English and bowed also to Derren. “Toshi sends his greeting to you both and has asked me to tell you he will be returning to Sanctuary as soon as possible. He will wait there for further instruction.”
“Toshi?” said Derren, wide eyed. “You contacted Toshi? How?” Derren struggled to comprehend the steps already taken towards his rescue. Katheryne smiled at him, laughing at his incredulous expression.
“What, did you think I would just leave you there?” she purred as she passed her arm around his waist and pulled herself into his chest, “when we have so much unfinished business?” Katheryne looked up to see his expression soften to one of awed affection.
“When you say it like that, we do have quite a bit to discuss don’t we?” he agreed, mischievously, but his musical voice then took on a serious tone. “It won’t be easy, Katheryne. They’re holding me in a cell below the Arbiters building. B’ran’s group are in control of the major factions of the Leadership and he has guards everywhere. Even if Toshi manages to get me out we’ll have a fight on our hands.”
“Which is why Toshi won’t be coming to get you,” beamed Katheryne. “I will."