Keith Baker - The Gates of Night

Now she was an outcast, banished from her house for reasons she didn’t understand. Pierce and Daine were all she had left in the world. And once again, she was watching as they fought.

He needs me, she thought. Daine’s swordplay was flawless; he slipped between the legs of the mighty boar, slashing at an ankle and rolling to the side before the beast could find him. It was an amazing display, but how long could it last? Arrows studded the creature’s hide. Blood dripped from a dozen small wounds, the work of Daine’s swords. Xu’sasar had managed to leap on top of the boar, and she struck at its spine with elbow and fist. Yet the boar fought on, its fury burning hot as the fires in its jaws.

Frustration warred with despair. There had to be something she could do, some magic she could weave that could help turn the tide of battle. But what? She could produce a burst of fire or a blast of cold, but she’d already loosed two bolts of lightning at the boar and aside from two patches of scorched skin the creature had hardly seemed to notice. Watching the battle, she tried to reduce it to an equation, seeking shelter in her formulas. What could she do to even the odds?

The boar laid a mighty blow across Daine’s back, tearing through his armor and slamming him to the ground. Time shattered, and images flashed through Lei’s mind-blood dripping from the beast’s tusks; Daine on the ground, struggling to rise; Xu’sasar leaping into the creature’s gaping maw. And then Lei found herself beside the beast, its rank odor washing over her as she darted around a massive hoof. She didn’t remember moving. Rage, fear, and the howling song of her staff drowned out all thought as she lashed out again and again.

Her staff struck empty air. Flesh and blood transformed into black smoke, boiling out and over her. Warm wind and dark fog blotted out moonlight and moor.

When Lei’s vision cleared, everything had changed. The moonlight outlined the lean shapes of a dozen giants, reaching for her with emaciated limbs. She spun around, fighting back panic. The creatures were all around her, and her companions were nowhere to be seen. Even her staff had fallen silent. She was alone. Mastering her fear, she raised her staff and waited for her enemies to strike.

No one moved. Lei’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, and things became clear.

Trees surrounded her.

The moor had become a forest, and the trees weren’t the only change. Moist, warm air flowed around her, rich with the smell of moss and sweet flowers. Calls of night birds merged with the sounds of insects and frogs.

Lei cursed her stupidity. Teleportation, I suppose . At the same time, something about her surroundings was deeply disturbing, beyond the sudden change. The gnarled hulks of the trees seemed to move in the shadows, in ways that couldn’t be justified by the slight wind. At the edge of her vision the trees were twisted into contorted human shapes, and she could almost see screaming faces pressing out from the trunks … but when she turned to look, the shadowy images fell away, leaving plain wood and bark.

“My lady?”

Shock and relief rushed over Lei as the warforged stepped out from behind a tree. “Pierce! What happened?”

“I do not know. I had one arrow left, which I intended to use in close combat. I saw Daine rise to his feet and strike the beast. Then I found myself in this place.”

“Daine!” A chill ran through her heart. She’d thought she was alone, but if Pierce was here … Lei charged through the trees, ignoring clawing branches and leaping over roots as she tried to remember exactly which direction Daine had been in.

Lei found him sprawled across the ground, his sword a few inches from his outstretched hand. Blood glittered on the grass.

Xu’sasar knelt over him, and she glared at Lei like a challenged cat. Lei felt her fury grow … then she saw what Xu’sasar was doing. The dark elf had removed Daine’s cloak and cut it into strips. She had bound the smaller wounds and was applying pressure to the deep cut on Daine’s back.

Lei stepped forward. “Let me-”

The drow’s hostile gaze stopped her short.

“I protect him,” Xu’sasar snapped. There was something in her hand, a curved rod of ivory.

“Then you’ll let me work,” Lei said.

“You know nothing,” Xu’sasar said. “You would send him to your cold and empty place of death.”

“Daine’s on the brink of death, and you’re arguing cosmology? Get back, girl. I know you mean well, but he needs my help. Out of my way, or we’ll all die together.”

Lei could feel Pierce behind her; he might only have one arrow, but his strength and speed could make all the difference if it came to a fight.

Xu’sasar held Lei’s gaze, her silver eyes glowing in the light of the moon. Then she vaulted backward, a swift flip that brought her down a few feet away.

“Save him, or we will all die together,” she said.

Lei barely heard the threat. She knelt by Daine, taking stock of the situation. Xu’sasar knew her work. Daine’s injuries were grave, but the dark elf had stanched the bleeding and done as much as could be expected with the limited tools at her disposal. Lei drew a small wand from her pouch, falling into the meditative state required to weave her magic. Reaching out with her mind, she grasped the magical energies that lay just beyond the everyday world and pulled , forming strands of mystical power. Working as quickly as she could, she spun these threads together, completing the familiar pattern of healing and tying it to the rod in her hand.

Lei opened her eyes. Her nerves were sore; using magic was always a trial, and she’d stretched herself near to her limits. But there was no other choice. Daine could take days to heal on his own, assuming that natural healing was even possible in this place where the moon stood still. Taking a deep breath, Lei drew the wadded cloak away from Daine’s back.

She winced at the sight, holding back bile. Though Lei had seen terrible things over the last four years, she’d never gotten used to the stench of blood or the sight of wet bone. She was trained to repair warforged, to work with stone and wood, not unlike snapping the pieces of a puzzle into the proper shape. The body of a warforged made sense to her. Humans were blood and meat bound within thin skin. She hated the idea that her friends-that Daine -could be so fragile.

It’s a weakness of the medium . Who had told her that? She shook away the thought; this was no time for reminiscing. The gouges across Daine’s back were deep. Links of torn chainmail were crusted in dried blood. Lei picked up the rod and passed it over the wounds, slowly releasing the power held within. Muscle and flesh flowed before her eyes, knitting together. New skin formed over the injury, without even leaving a scab.

But something was wrong.

Daine began coughing as he returned to his senses. True to form, his first action was to reach out and grasp the hilt of his sword. “Where … Lei?”

He tried rise up, to turn and face her, but she pressed him back down against the ground. “Shh,” she said. “I’m here. Pierce is watching over us. Just lie still. I’m working.”

“I feel fine.” He started to stand, and again she pushed him down. Despite his words, he was far from his full strength.

“Please,” Lei said. “Be still. Just a moment more.”

“Will you at least tell me what’s going on?”

“Quiet. I need to concentrate.” Working as swiftly as she could, she wove two new enchantments. She studied Daine closely as she unleashed the first spell, a second charge of healing. She could feel the strength flowing into his limbs … but what she saw on his back didn’t change.