…And Shame the Devil

I have seen tempests when the scolding winds

Have rived the knotted oaks, and I have seen

Th' ambitious ocean swell and rage and foam

To be exalted with the threatening clouds,

But never 'till tonight, never 'till now,

Did I go through a tempest dropping fire.

Either there is a civil strife in heaven,

Or else the world, too saucy with the gods,

Incenses the to send destruction

Althea's soul and spirit seemed to watch the motions of her body from high above within the storm itself. She moved by a will she could not name, a force she could not see, and a faith she could not understand. She seemed so far from herself, she did not know what would become of her if a stronger wind should blow this night. Indeed, how hard must the heavens shake before she broke upon the earth ready to take her back? Or how little? Would merely the slightest rise be enough to destroy the already breaking body as it bore too much?

She walked as though she knew any moment would bring the attack she knew was coming, any second the spark of their final battle would ignite, and any flash of the torrential heavens could mark the beginning of the end – one way or another. In her march back to meet with fate, she thought for the first time how truly real her own death might be. When she had decided to come back, she never feared that her life would be brought to a violent end. Durai may be a monster, but she knew he would keep her; he had needed her in some way. Now she was certain of nothing. She accepted now that her transgressions against him may have tipped him into further violence, perhaps even insanity. She wasn't sure if Durai would not want to end her violently or conquer her completely to a life of broken spirits. In that thought, she wasn't sure which she feared more.

Jian held out a hand and stopped the small company just before the threshold of the stone castle. He crouched and held tighter to his sword as he heard the tiny sounds outside the makings of the storms. Mireya put her body before Althea. Mireya may not be able to fight in the battle of good and evil's champions and their inconceivable level of Magic and power, but she would be damned if she wouldn't try to protect her sister, her last love on earth, for as long as she could.

A cold hand reached out from the shadows and pulled Althea around with desperate force. Before Althea could brace herself against the pull, she found herself wrapped and pressed against the wet body and heaving motions of gasping breaths.

"You're safe! You're alive. Thank God, thank God, thank God."

"Galen?!" Althea pushed back in disbelief from the chest she was held to and found the sight she didn't think she would again see in life. As soon as she was certain of the figure before her in the dark, she pulled herself back into this arms and he into hers.

"I ran here the second that door opened. Permission or not, I was leaving. I saw this light…I didn't know what it meant. But I was done waiting around to hear the worst." He held her tightly as he spoke. But then he suddenly recoiled with passionate contrition and looked upon her with the most apologetic face. "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?" He looked toward her shoulder filled with worry, sorrow, and furious anger.

At first she didn't know what he meant. She was so happy to see him she forgot about the pain she carried. Then she was so shocked that he would know. Surely he hadn't seen her wound in the darkness. "The crow…" she said to him, and he nodded.

"He told me the things he saw, the sorrow in your face. I wasn't about to stay any longer to see what more Durai would do." A tear mixed with the rain upon his face, and she moved a hand to wipe away both.

Mireya looked at Jian then; her eyes silently asking if this was the man they spoke of. Jian nodded. His expression was equal parts shame at his part in the man's imprisonment and astonishment that he made it to the castle so fast. He must have run the entire way without stopping. It wasn't that far from the castle, but it was still an impressive feat. What had given him such fire? Examining the look in Galen's eyes, the way he looked at Althea even as broken and bruised as she was, he could see what made him fly so fast.

"You must be the man they found with Althea in the village," Mireya offered quietly. "Please accept my personal apologies for what was done to you, as well as my thanks for being there with her."

As Galen nodded in acceptance, Althea took his arm and introduced the two of them. Galen could feel how weak Althea's body had become. In all their travels she had never leaned on him quite the way she had now. He could feel the exhaustion in her shuddering muscles. Certainly, she would sleep for days once they survived this. And he was determined that she should.

Galen put a hand upon Althea's as he asked, "What do you need?"

Althea smiled warmly if not weakly. "We need to make it back to Durai. I left him on the ground.... long story. He is the source. I have to end the Mist within him."

Galen's face dropped as he could hear the fear she was trying to hide. He squeezed her with just the right combination of tight reassurance and considerate gentleness. "You lead the way. I'll follow."

Mireya stepped in and placed a hand on Althea's good shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "We all will follow. You won't be going in alone."

Althea appreciated the comfort and the solidarity, and it helped somewhat. But the truth was that she would be fighting this very much alone. And the success or failure was solely her burden. As she looked into the faces depending on her, she donned a mask of confident bravery. In so doing, she half believed it herself.

The four entered into the castle and knew at once that Durai had recovered. Every light that was once lit in the corridors was extinguished. The smell of lingering candle and torch smoke still hung heavy in the air. Althea could feel the hands of Mireya and Galen tighten their grip on her, so she tried her best not to show her paralyzing dread. Jian took a step to head for Durai's room, but Althea stopped him.

She reached out with all of her senses to see if she could determine something, anything, about their surroundings and where he could be. The very air seemed to be thick with a foreboding sense of treachery. Althea felt very keenly that they had walked into a very primal predator/prey situation, and in the darkness, they were at a disadvantage. She was not used to hunting, yet she couldn't afford to be prey. She did not want to be there walking towards risk and peril, yet she could not run this time.

Mireya put both arms around one of Althea's. Althea could feel her start to tense and tremble; she was certainly afraid. "This is my castle," Althea could hear Mireya whisper to herself.

Jian had heard also. He turned to his Queen and responded, "But this is HIS darkness."

Althea felt all three pairs of eyes on her. As much as they all knew that she was burdened by so much, they had nowhere else to lay their hopes. Althea closed her eyes. She didn't know where to turn herself. She was so scared, she just wanted to be warm and safe far from this night. With that strong desire, Galen's face appeared in her mind as he cared for her on their hill. She pictured Mireya and her brushing their hair together. She saw Baldrik's smile. And she imagined a future far from now surrounded by all of their love.

As the warm feelings flooded into her mind and soul faster and faster, her whole body began to glow with the light of love, friendship, and trust. The sight was so beautiful, the three that accompanied her looked on breathless in astonished amazement. Althea opened her eyes, and the glowing remained. She held onto the feelings that she had brought to her heart, and the light followed. She reached out one of her hands and conjured elemental fire with bright red flames that flickered and danced from her palm. Althea extended her hand, and the flame flew in different directions towards the extinguished torches and candles and lit them brightly.

With the corridors lit, Althea turned to Mireya, "This IS your castle. We are not helpless against the dark. Not anymore." Mireya smiled and straightened her body with pride, both for herself and her dearest sister.

The group walked the long hallways in utter silence. Even their footfalls were careful and as quiet as possible. Though their way was lit, they felt uneasy and vulnerable. The walls seemed to watch them and gave them the feeling of a deeply breathing, sleeping dragon tracking their every step. The air slowly grew dense and humid adding to their discomfort. Galen, Mireya, and Jian began to subconsciously slow their pace, but not Althea. She knew that if she were to hesitate for even a second, she would not find the courage to keep going. So, she kept her steady pace and walked towards the last place she had left him.

When they arrived at Durai's rooms, they weren't really surprised to find that he was not there. He wouldn't be waiting for them in the spot where he had fallen; rather his nature would suggest he would seek out another spot and meet with Althea on his own terms.

"What do we do now?" Galen asked Althea. Althea tried to reach out throughout the palace to try and sense where he was. She spread out her warming sense of light through every part of the castle that she could reach. Finally, she came upon a place so cold that it burned, so dark that it swallowed all light.

"The throne room," Althea said to herself, and she began in that direction with the others following her. She was the very image of the lamb walking up to the lion.

Sooner than any of them would have liked, they reached the door to the massive, grand throne room. It felt like the mouth of an ominous cave that reeked of chilling dread. Althea put her hands against the door to open them, and they felt like ice. She knew then that he had been building up Magic within that room; she would be walking onto the battleground of his making and on his terms.

But she had no other choice.

The door opened with great resistance. The wood snapped and cracked against the movement, and the air seemed to creep out in a visible wintery chill. Althea stepped through the door into the room and felt her entire body freeze.

Before the others had a chance to react, the door slammed violently shut seemingly on its own. Althea could hear pounding on the door by multiple fists and Galen's voice calling out for her in vain. She blocked the sounds from behind her out as she was enveloped in the darkness of the room, and she was searching out her surroundings for her adversary lying in wait. She took a step forward carefully, and then two – the further into the vast room she tread, the darker and colder it became.

Just as she had expected, a pair of glowing, green eyes eventually appeared before her; they were elevated and seemed to come from the throne. The light from his eyes seemed to radiate outward like smoke. Instead of awaiting his attack from the darkness, Althea brought light to her hands just as she had done in the hallway. But the light could only penetrate the black so far and brightened a mere few feet in front of her. The darkness he had created was unnatural and powerful. But a few feet of light was enough to show his reclined outline upon the throne. One couldn't even tell that moments ago he was a quivering mess. His resilience was frustratingly remarkable.

Durai slowly leaned forward towards her on the throne, and though his eyes were merely slits of glowing green, she knew he was looking at her. He began to make a "Tsk" sound as he shook his head. It made her skin crawl. It was infuriating.

She took a step confidently towards him hiding well how much she was shaking inside. Her shoulders were back, and her head was held high. "The site was you all along. The temple had nothing to do with any of it. It's you who must be cleansed with light. And…you knew it this whole time, didn't you?"

He started to stand and said, "Well, it was my spell." He also was hiding something, but her keen eyes from so much experience in the perilous wilds could pick up the slight shudder of his muscles and the hand he left against the throne carrying more of his weight and support than he was letting on. He was weakened. And that made him even more dangerous.

She fought back an urge to take a step back as he descended one step from the elevated throne towards her. Before he seemed to slither gracefully like a snake, but now he seemed like a prowling bear or lion whose clambering steps were full of power if not grace. The darkness in his aura seemed to drip off of him like thick poison. "Whatever shall we do with you?" his deep voiced asked. "What punishment is worth what you've done to me?"

The green glow seemed to extend from his eyes in long streams of dancing light. It slithered like a serpent towards Althea before it wrapped itself around her. She took a step away from it to find that it held no substance and could create no bindings against her.

"Oh, Durai," Althea said as her breath blew visibly before her. "I plan to do far more. That before? That was just a taste of my intent. I am far from paying you for all you've done."