Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2) by Gary Stringer (howl and other poems .txt) 📕

chest to try and re-establish her grip on reality. Thankfully, this one did not turn to dust.

“What the hell was that?” she demanded.

“Oh yeah,” he replied with a sheepish grin, “I guess I should have told you I can do that. I vanish, leaving a simple copy to make it appear to any onlookers as if I’m there when I’m not.” He explained further that it crumbled because he didn’t have the energy to make it more solid.

The druidess exhaled, deeply, allowing her heartbeat to slow. Torn between hugging him in relief and slapping him for scaring her, she ultimately did neither.

“It’s a good thing I like surprises, shadow warrior,” Cat remarked, acidly. “There are plenty of them with you around.”

Daelen laughed, “You’re not without a few surprises yourself, my dear druidess. I’m just trying to keep up.”

“Fair comment!” Cat admitted, grinning.

She was definitely wide awake, now, so she suggested he finish cooking breakfast while she had a quick dip in a nearby river.

Chapter 12

Travelling to the harbour at Kingsville Piers took most of what turned out to be a generally uneventful day, other than one slightly awkward conversation they had both been avoiding.

“Daelen,” Cat broached at last, “I just wanted to thank you.”

“For what?” he asked, knowing full well what she meant.

“For trusting me with part of your essence, part of who – what – you are. When you were inside me, I got a glimpse, no more than that, but enough to realise something I never understood before. Daelen, we throw around words like ‘higher planar being’ without any real concept of what we’re saying. This body isn’t really you, is it?”

The shadow warrior shook his head. “No, it’s not. Same goes for Kullos and…‘Aden.’ This body is a shell, albeit one I’ve grown quite attached to.”

“But why are you called shadow warriors? All I sensed was light, or at least, that’s the closest word I know to describe it.”

Daelen flushed as if this was embarrassing to talk about.

“That is because I am incomplete. What Kullos did to the original Daelen StormTiger all those centuries ago split me in two.”

“What does that mean?” Cat asked, then when he hesitated, she offered to drop the whole thing.

“No, it’s not that,” he assured her. “It’s just difficult for me to put it in terms you can understand, and I don’t mean that to be insulting. The fault lies with my ability to explain rather than any lacking on your side.”

“Just do your best,” Cat encouraged him.

He considered for a moment, then smiled and stated, “We’re light in a box.”

“You’re what?” Cat laughed.

“We’re light in a box,” he repeated.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Most of the best explanations are,” he asserted. “Just imagine it – light in a box.”

“OK,” Cat agreed.

“Now imagine someone coming along and tearing the box in two. What happens?”

“The light spills out,” Cat answered. Then she grasped the implications. “So, what you’re saying is, the true nature of your people contains the light, keeps it in shadow, hence the name. But Kullos ripped open your outer shell…” she trailed off, considering her next words, “…your skin?”

“Essentially,” Daelen nodded.

Thinking more about the analogy, Cat was horrified.

“So, when you say Kullos ripped your original in two, you mean literally?”

Again, Daelen nodded.

“How are your insides not falling out?” Cat blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Well, physiologically, it’s not as serious as it would be if someone cut you open, but it does take effort to keep myself together.”

Cat just needed to ask one more thing. “Sorry, Daelen,” she broached, tentatively, “I’m trying to find a delicate way of asking this, but when you were inside me, I got the impression…” she trailed off and tried again. “You don’t normally show all of your inner light to other people, do you? I mean your people. Routinely.”

“Not routinely, no,” he agreed.

He explained that his people, the Shadowkin, could make their outer shell semi-translucent to display an aura – the equivalent of facial expressions and body language. A way of conveying emotions. How much they chose to display was governed by complex social norms. Revealing their true inner light, however, was something quite different, and certainly not acceptable in public.

“But you might choose to show it to someone…special?”

“Usually only one. Not always.”

“Oh, Daelen, I’m so sorry,” Cat offered, eyes glistening. “You shouldn’t have had to do that.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he replied, placing a reassuring hand on her arm. “For me, it was little more than breaking a taboo of intimacy – uncomfortable, but not life-changing. You’re actually the third person to see my light, which would raise a few eyebrows among my people – if my people had eyebrows. The implications for you were potentially much more serious. I’m just glad you don’t seem to have suffered any ill-effects.”

“I’m fine,” Cat assured him. “It’s unlikely either of us would have chosen to do it under other circumstances, but things being as they were, we both fully consented, we both knew what we were doing, and I have no regrets.”

“Well if you don’t, then neither do I,” Daelen agreed. Changing the subject, he remarked, “If you don’t mind me saying so, I was impressed with how you handled the pain.”

“It was pretty similar to the pain of shapeshifting,” she replied.

“It’s that painful for you?” he gasped in astonishment. “You seem to do it so freely.”

She shrugged. “Pain is part of nature. I simply don’t let the pain stop me, just as you don’t let yours stop you. Besides, it’s mostly outweighed by the joy of being some other creature for a while.”

“Well, I’m still sorry I caused you more.”

“But Daelen, you’ve also given me so much knowledge, and that gift is precious to me. Part of my reason for being on this quest with you is to understand you better. Understanding your power, your nature, your pain…it’s all the same thing. It’s the nature of the Balance.”

*****

They reached the harbour at last and left their ‘borrowed’ horse in the stables. They had no idea when Justaria