Ethereal

~Marcie~

I stared at down at my hands for moment, before I looked up at Charlotte in horror, only to see her slipping away--she was falling, down into darkness, and Risun was fading away, smiling triumphantly.

"No!" I hadn't meant for it to hit her. I didn't even know what I had done--but now Charlotte was gone, and I heard a rushing sound in my ears as I was pulled out of Dream, twice.

I gasped and flailed wildly. Nusir held my arms behind me, and I shook violently at being so suddenly awoken. I looked over at Charlotte--she was gently stirring, her eyes flickering awake as Fear made a distressed noise. Risun knelt next to her, and there was no sign of Tennin or Grebon.

But when I looked to my right I saw Ashan.

His hands weren't bound, and the guards that circled our little camp paid him no attention. He wouldn't meet my eyes.

Nusir left me on the ground and stood, approaching him.

"Ashan," She purred, walking around him and trailing a finger along his shoulder. "My brother tells me you blame him for the fall of Gralad. How sweet of you to forgive me," She said softly in his ear. Ashan looked away, staring out into the forest. "Of course, we couldn't have the young prince becoming consumed with such guilt...although I would have thought you would be in at least a little trouble for falling prey to my charms." She wrapped her arms around his neck and sat down in his lap, while he stared stonily ahead.

I looked away from them in disgust, sitting up and rubbing my head. My hands weren't tied together, but there were so many guards surrounding us that to run would have been foolish.

"Won't you sing for me, dear boy?" Nusir fluttered her dark lashes and tilted Ashan's face towards her. "Remember all the nights you would sing me to sleep?"

At that Ashan stood, and Nusir slid off him in a lithe movement, giggling.

He still would not meet my eyes.

"How did Gralad fall?" I murmured, not really directing the question at anyone in particular but Nusir raised an eyebrow and stepped lightly over to me, folding herself into a sitting position in front of me. I glanced over to see that Charlotte was still coming to her senses, Risun bent over her.

"It was quite silly, really," She said, twirling her hair, and smiling at me. "In the end, man's greatest weakness is a woman. Dearest Ashan is no different, I'm afraid."

I frowned. "What was one of the Descar-Dran doing at Gralad?"

Nusir grinned and leaned in. "That's the clever part. I was the liason, you see--there to negotiate peace between our two countries. But you see, many a secret has slipped between the lips of a satisfied lover..." She sighed, looking over at Ashan, whose back was turned. "And, well, of course I had to tell my brother all of this valuable information I learned."

I shuddered at the thought of Ashan and Nusir sharing bedside secrets. "And what would you do with all of this...inside information?"

Nusir giggled again and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Why, discover the Koreask, of course."

I looked over at Charlotte.

"No, not that one, silly." Nusir laughed. "The false one. And, well, my brother did get quite angry when he discovered this ruse." She shrugged. "It's not my fault he chose to destroy everything in this place."

I frowned. "But I thought that the people called the Rae-Saeed destroyed Gralad."

Nusir leaned back and looked at me pointedly. "My dear girl, what do you think the army of Descar-Dran is called?"

"I believe this history lesson is over," Risun's voice called across the clearing. Charlotte was sitting up, and I ran to her side.

"Are you all right?"

She stared straight ahead, unblinking. I frowned. I was tired of people not meeting my gaze.

"Charlotte." I snapped my fingers in front of her face and someone grabbed my hand.

It was Charlotte.

I looked down at her hand, wrapped around my wrist in a vice grip. "What are you...?"

"She is Lost," Nusir tilted her head to the side and twirled her hair, looking down at us. "Do not even try."

I stared into Charlotte's eyes. They were empty, and clouded. She just wasn't there.

"Get up."

Just when I was about to turn to Risun and tell him that he couldn't tell me what to do, I was pulled roughly to my feet. Not-Charlotte stared past me, still holding onto me tightly.

"This can't be happening," I murmured.

And when Ashan brushed past me, without even acknowledging my presence, I fell apart all at once.

Suddenly, the deep violet sparks of magic shot out of me and I exploded in a deep purple light. It felt like I was burning up from the inside, and Charlotte's hand left mine as my skin reached unnatural temperatures.

I fell to my knees, gasping, as the heat slowly subsided. My insides were still burning, and around me small sparks were eating away at the brush. On my shoulder, Deca glowed worriedly.

"She is volatile, no?"

There was a voice from in the trees, and all of the guards raised their crossbows suddenly.

Prince Dominiv stepped out from behind the bushes, raising his hands above his head, and I wondered if I was the only one who could see the crackling blue energy at his fingertips.

"We'll keep her under control, Lodorvrin," Risun snorted. He nodded at Charlotte and she pulled me roughly to my feet. I gasped as pain racked through me, and my heated blood coursed through my body.

"You'll keep a dead body, then." Dominiv stepped forward again, and the guards let him pass. He simply waved a hand over Charlotte's eyes and she dropped her hand. I looked up at him, gasping from the pain.

"You're burning up inside, Seer," He said quietly. He trailed a single finger from my throat to my stomach, leaving a trail of blue fire that seemed to sink through my skin and calm the madness a little. "You can't keep so much inside, or next time it will kill you."

"It is time to take your leave," Risun said icily. "We do not wish to engage in another battle."

"Nor I." Dominiv shook traces of energy off of his fingers and turned to him. "That is why I propose a deal. The same deal I offered the people of Sub-Terra, although they seemed somehow hesitant to accept it..." He turned a disapproving gaze on Ashan's back.

Risun made a disbelieving noise. "That you'll take her and then return her to us? What makes you think a Koreask can be used more than once?"

Dominiv turned to him with a smirk. "This."

In his right hand he held a scroll.

Rusin rolled his eyes. "And I suppose that is..."

"A lost scroll of the Zadax." Nusir grabbed it out of Dominiv's hands and unrolled it with a gasp.

"No..." Risun looked at Dominiv, raising an eyebrow. The Prince shrugged.

"But it is useless to us," Nusir hissed, shoving it back towards Dominiv. "This is a codex unknown."

"Do you truly fancy yourself an expert in all of the languages of the Kingdoms?" Dominiv snatched it from her with a disbelieving expression.

"Well..." I said quietly.

Even Ashan turned to look at me.

"It is true," Nusir said softly.

"A Seer could unravel these words," Risun breathed.

I raised an eyebrow. "Um, well I was only going to say I'm pretty good with cryptology--"

"Read it."

"Tell us the prophecy."

"Hey!" I stepped away from them and held up my hands. "Why should I help you?"

Nusir snorted. Risun laughed. Dominiv grinned, and Ashan turned his back again.

"Because if you don't," Nusir said, sidling up to me and ruffling my hair. "Your friend is forever Lost."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the end, everyone was happy but me.

As we trudged through the forest, I learned of all the pacts and double crossings, promises and betrayals of our little band. Ashan led the way--apparently he was only alive by the grace of Nusir, and the fact that he was the only one with the knowledge of how to get out of Gralad. I had not noticed it before, but the dead forest surrounding the castle spanned for miles, without a single identifiable marker.

Dominiv was only with us as the keeper of the scroll, and to keep me alive. He trailed behind us at the back of the group, the guards keeping a wary eye on him.

Risun pushed ahead eagerly, clapping his hands to get Charlotte and I to catch up. At these moments, Charlotte would take my arm and pull me forward sharply. Any time I looked in her eyes I saw only emptiness.

"Why are we stopping? Are you lost?" Risun's voice carried back to us. I stood up on my toes and peered over the guard's head.

And I saw that we had come upon the clearing again.

I wouldn't have known it was the same place at all, if not for two, rather odd details.

A broken twig, and the burnt out remains of a small fire.

I looked at Ashan. And of course his back was to me--when was the last time I had seen his face? But now I wasn't sure if I should be mad at him--here, he had led us back to where we started. Was he on our side or not?

One of the next three things that happened reassured me.

First, a small black cat bounded out of the trees. It grew in size until it towered over us and became a hissing, black panther, with glowing eyes. It roared and swiped at the guards, toppling them like chess pieces. Fear ran towards Nusir, who danced away, laughing as her guards fell around her. Grebon, cackling madly, fired his crossbow seemingly haphazardly, but with deadly precision.

Secondly, Ashan drew his sword and turned suddenly. In one quick motion, he swung his sword at Risun, and it hit his side with a clang as it came into contact with some kind of armor. Risun drew his sword as well, and the two became a sudden clanging maelstrom of metal.

And finally, Tennin came out of the shadows.

He practically materialized right next to us, and he only had to take Charlotte's head in his hands and kiss her for her aura to pulse to life again. The clouds that had cloaked it fell away, and my friend returned, smiling.

And a little less lost.