Jeff Inlo - Chain of Bargains

"We are missing something," she announced, "and that was my fault. You were right and I was impatient."

"I don't understand?" Ryson admitted.

"At Huntston, you asked if we should check on the goblins. I was in too much of a hurry to get to Prilgrat. It was a mistake. One I intend to correct. We are going back."

"She just… I'm not sure how to explain it. She just turned off."

Jure stood beside a bed where, aside from shallow breathing and an occasional blink of the eyes, Heteera rested motionless. He watched her closely as she stared up toward the ceiling and paid no mind to the entrance of the wizard. Jure had hoped that Enin's appearance might spur some reaction, some hint of recognition within the sorceress, but his hopes were quickly dashed.

"What exactly happened?" Enin asked, as he moved to the side of the bed.

"She collapsed. It's not like she fainted. As far as I can tell, she never lost consciousness, but she couldn't stand up. She didn't say anything or wince in pain. She just seemed to lose the ability to remain upright. Never stopped breathing, didn't make a sound, not even a groan. She just… buckled."

"What was she doing at the time?"

"She was walking beside me. We were headed for breakfast."

"Has she missed any other meals?"

"No. She ate last night. I'm sure of it. I was with her."

"And she made no complaints before the incident?"

"No, but you know she doesn't complain about anything, not since I placed the barrier in her mind. Every time I ask her how she feels, she just says that she's fine. I think we could have jabbed her in the eye and she'd say she was fine, but at least she responded. Now, she won't say anything at all. She hasn't said a word since she collapsed."

Enin attempted to see if his voice might stir some response.

"Heteera, can you hear me?"

The sorceress said nothing.

Enin clapped his hands forcefully by the side of her head, but Heteera didn't even blink. It was as if she could not hear.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Jure explained. "After she fell, I picked her up and brought her to her bed. She's just been lying there and staring off into space. She can't hold her arms up or her head. She can drink and swallow. I tried that, but you have to hold her head up for her and pour the water into her mouth. I thought it might revive her a bit, but it hasn't. I called for you. I was worried about what you said before… about what might happen to the magic inside of her if anything were to happen to her."

Enin examined Heteera more thoroughly. She remained totally unresponsive to his calls and his touch. She would breathe and blink when needed, but beyond that, she was as lifeless as a rock. With nothing noticeable in the physical realm to cause the paralysis, Enin turned his attention toward the magic.

"Did you sense any spells around her before or at the time she collapsed?"

"Nothing. And I haven't cast any… either at the time or since."

"Do you sense anything around her now.. any type of spell?"

"No, not a spell, but there's a lot more magic flowing into her now. I'm not sure if she's trying to use it to heal, but I can feel the flow. It's really rather strong."

Enin inhaled deeply, but he took in more than just air. He purposefully concentrated on any energy surrounding Heteera, and he absorbed even the slightest vibration of magic. He could sense it flowing into her-a fairly substantial current. In itself, it did not cause him great concern. She always had the capacity to attract magic across the spectrum. She had retained that ability even after Jure cast the barrier spell. The flow of magic was strong, but that might have been nothing more than an instinctive response, a call for additional energy to revitalize her. Enin initially took that as a positive sign. He sensed no adverse spell from an external source and admitted as much.

"You're right. There's nothing there. Whatever is wrong with her must be internal. I thought she had stabilized, but something is not right. I'm going to have to look inside her."

Before the wizard forced his own cognizance deep into the folds of Heteera's essence, he pressed lightly against her most peripheral thoughts. He simply wanted to check the state of her most basic awareness. He was nearly tossed to the ground as he was forced back several steps.

The near violent reaction surprised Jure almost as much as Enin himself.

"What happened?" Jure asked.

"I'm not sure," Enin replied, obviously taken aback by the incident.

"Is she blocking you?"

Enin shook his head. "No, it's not a shield or even a buffer. It was more like a surge of power."

"Did she cast some spell at you?"

Enin grimaced, not in pain, but in confusion.

"No, definitely not a spell," he finally said, as he stared intently at Heteera, but kept his distance. "It was almost as if I popped a bubble of pure energy in her mind, but at the most outer regions of her consciousness."

"Maybe it's a good sign," Jure offered. "Maybe she's finally trying to communicate with you."

"It's possible, but there was nothing like that in the surge-no hopeful desire to reach out to me-there was just… intense power. I can't imagine what might have summoned such a response. Her conscious thought was nearly void the last time I checked."

Enin remained several steps away from the sorceress and showed no desire to move any nearer. He had sensed no magical disruption until he attempted to reach beyond Heteera's blank stare. His effort was nothing more than a simple whisper into her consciousness, yet it invoked what appeared to be a harsh rebuke. The incident confounded the wizard for it appeared purely reactionary and totally in contrast to his understandings of Heteera's mind.

Previously, Heteera had attempted to force the wizard out of her consciousness, but only when he reached deep into the twisted paths of her essence. She never tried to prevent him from reaching out to the cognizant yet dormant sections of her mind. It was only when he walked through the maze of unconscious mayhem, when he raised the fears deep within her, did she lash out at him.

Still, he was convinced that it was not a deliberate shield placed by the sorceress to keep him from entering her mind. It was nothing more than a rush of power, a surge for which he was unprepared, and while it contained no clear message, it seemed to want something from him. Unfortunately, he could not comprehend what that might be.

Jure could not help but notice the reluctance in Enin's desire to return to the sorceress' side. He might not have been equal to the wizard in magical power, but he had seen enough years to develop a perception of people. For whatever reason, Enin had grown extremely cautious, and that in itself concerned the older spell caster.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Enin quickly considered Jure's ability to access the magic within Heteera, and that offered a sensible alternative.

"Actually, yes. I wish to check the magic."

"You usually do that after you enter her essence."

"I know, but that surge has me worried. I don't think she caused it."

"You think something else is in there with her?"

"No, I don't. I believe she is very much alone, but something is… different."

Jure nodded, and without any reluctance, he opened his link to the magical reservoir that resided within the sorceress. For him, it was very much like opening a spigot. He held a direct connection to the barrier that held the magical energy, and he simply pressed his will upon the obstruction which would allow him to pass.

Before he could invite Enin to probe the energy, before Jure could even say a word, the flow of magic overwhelmed him. It flooded his being like an immense wave of water flooding through a narrow basin. It threatened to overcome him in an instant, and it would have had he not removed himself from the flow. Almost instantly, Jure shut down the paths of access he had opened, and broke away from the massive rush of power.