Iorrjaer

Chapter 49

Panic entered Kêdêmel's magic as he was now faced by Sorâth and Häsmæl. Victor's eyes opened wide upon seeing the two warriors together and his panicked quickened when he felt the whole of the ziggurat's structure start to weaken. He thought quickly and there was only one thing left for him to do. He plunged his dagger down into Shanna's belly.

She screamed out in pain and disbelief. As she succumbed to the pain she tried to grab onto Victor's arm but she could not reach it nor was she able to keep herself conscious to see or hear what Victor was doing. He cut cleanly along her belly and chanted:

With this fetus, tainted with orcish blood, I bring its blood into the magic of the God of Change. Kêdêmel! Bless me with your powers! Bless me to use this tainted blood and your magic to enact your will upon this mortal world! This orcish...

As Victor prized the fetus from Shanna's belly, he was shocked to find that it was not orcish. It was human and he could feel his spell failing. The energy that had gathered around him was looking for a particular component that he could not provide and the spell was collapsing because of it. Victor continued to chant but his confidence was faltering and he was barely able to hold on.

Malka, braced by Barsabel, spoke: "Your spell fails, Victor. There is no orcish blood to that child - a child of incest between Shanna and her father, Cid."

Impossible - Victor's voice echoed through the remaining gusts and the magical energies that filled the space.

Malka continued: "Another lie that Yophiel sold because of her misunderstanding of all that was happening."

You did this

"All I did was keep her believing that she was right. You did this to yourself by putting your faith in someone you knew was too naïve to understand what you were seeking."

I will not be beaten by you! I will not be beaten by mortals!

"We are not just mortals." Sorâth said as he and Häsmæl stepped into view.

No, it cannot be! Pæn... Jörcnir... you live? How?

Sorâth and Häsmæl 's visages changed between them and their father's before Victor's eyes and his mind caved to Kêdêmel's will completely and all that was seen were the two versions of the same cursed elf.

How have you returned, Pæn? I changed you... I cursed you... you should not be here! You cannot be here! Jörcnir, you... you destroyed yourself... how have you returned?

"You don't remember my promise?" Häsmæl asked. "The promise I made you when I called upon Iørr's magic to split myself unto my creations? I promised you that I would return and that it would be in time to stop you again. Here we are, Kêdêmel. You succeeded in escaping your exile but despite your efforts to delay me, to stop me, I have returned and you have failed. Kêdêmel, you will never succeed."

Yophiel struck a pillar with a hard and sickening sound of metal and bone crashing against hard marble. She landed on the marble flooring just as hard. Graphiel broke from Sorâth's grip and rushed towards her. He reached her and got her into his arms without interference and when he looked to see if the others were behind him, he saw that they were squaring off against Victor.

He hesitated as he thought of rejoining them but he could not bring himself to leave Yophiel's side. The air and the magic within were pregnant with anticipation. The pieces were set, Malka's and Sorâth's plan to use Yophiel's ignorance and naivety had worked - her belief in her own lies had kept Kêdêmel in the dark about the true nature of Shanna's child and the true nature of Häsmæl. It pained his heart to admit that their plan for Yophiel had worked. It broke his heart, past any pain he had felt when she adopted false rhetoric, to admit that her use as a pawn outweighed allowing her to know the whole truth.