Not letting go -- Alt. Board for the world of Variance

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Date Posted: 01:17:26 01/03/03 Fri
Author: Tristan
Subject: Not letting go

OOC: I apologize if I've gotten any of the events muddled up, particularly Naiomi's dialogue. The boards were down, and I had nothing to refer back to, except my own memory!

Tristan flinched instinctively when the three men rushing toward him suddenly exploded in all directions. He tried to shield his face with his arm, but he was too late; bits of skin, muscle, and other bloody tissue rained down upon him, though he was fortunately blocking Marz.

He gagged reflexively, doubling over, but somehow managed to keep the contents of his stomach from coming up. When he straightened, he saw several more men burst into flames, their screams of pain and terror sending a chill up his spine�not so much because he pitied them, but because he knew their deaths were Marz�s doing.

So much power�and the priest was hungry for it. The siphoning of magic had begun�through his link with Marz, Tristan could feel it. The ex-gang leader�s eyes blazed red with rage, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. Tristan put his bloodstained hands on his arms, which were already growing hotter and hotter through his clothing, as the magic bucked violently out from him against his will.

Then he screamed. Tristan felt the mental echo reverberating in his soul, as his lover dropped to his knees and cradled his head in his hands. He knelt down beside him, too frightened and shocked to do anything except put his arms around him and hold him tightly, clenching his teeth against the heat radiating from his skin.

�Marz,� he whispered, trying to remain calm. Blood trickled from his lover�s nose to drip slowly across his open mouth and down his chin. Tristan growled softly, the low, agonizing sound fading into a moan. How could he save him? How could he stop it and save�

Tristan!

Killing him. She had screamed that it was killing him. �No,� he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut while cradling Marz�s head to his chest.

�Tristan! Get him out, NOW!�

His head snapped up. Naiomi was staring straight at him, colorless eyes blazing fiercely as her body shook slightly with the effort of containing the high priest�s magic. Suddenly, his reason returned, snapping steadily into place as if it had never gone.

Nodding silently, he bent to scoop Marz into his arms, but a razor-sharp stab into his right shoulder stopped him short. A knife, its wooden handle inscribed with strange hieroglyphics, now protruded from his upper arm; with a snarl, he wrenched it out and scent it hurling back to its owner, where it embedded itself into the man�s forehead, killing him instantly.

He tried not to wince as he picked Marz up and began running for the door. He heard Naiomi screaming at the others to leave her; outside he passed Dalo, who struggled against Corum and the blonde girl, as they held him forcefully back. Tristan set his burden gently down on the ground just as the beastmaster broke free. His mad dash forward was cut short, however, as the building suddenly exploded, buckling inward first with one last gasp of pent up energy before blasting outward, knocking Dalo flat on his back.

�Naiomi!� When Tristan�s frantic mental cry brought no response, he started to stand, his heart pounding wildly. But something stopped him from mimicking Dalo and rushing to save his friend. The explosion of the building had finally severed the priest�s link to Marz, whose lingering life-force drifted quietly through Tristan�s consciousness for one second before it fluttered lightly�and was gone.

It felt as if his heart had simply stopped beating.

�NO!� he cried out, falling to his knees again and gathering his lover into his arms. �No, no, no, no�� He finally choked on the word, an immense, silent sob racking his body as he hugged Marz tightly. All around him, the alarmed cries of the citizens of Medina al-Afyal began to fade into whispers, then echoes of whispering. The air itself grew still, encasing him in a profound, unearthly silence.

Subconsciously, he felt his magic surge forward, reaching blindly for the soul it had so stubbornly attached itself too. Anxious to quit the pains of its mortal body, the soul resisted, tugging insistently toward the bright, peaceful existence it had never known.

Please, he begged. Please, stay with me. Don�t leave me alone again.

Why? it wanted to know. The peaceful place was so close now, and it would never have to suffer again, as it had been suffering for so long.

For the children, he replied. For me and the children. Because you love us, and we love you, always.

There was a pause so brief he barely registered its presence.

Then�slowly, then more rapidly, the empty place in his heart began to fill again. Soon, the awful stillness had completely vanished, and Marz�s chest against his was once more rising and falling softly with each breath he managed to take. Tristan made a small, grateful noise deep in his throat before burying his tear-streaked face into his lover�s neck.

�Where is Marz?�

Naiomi�s soft, unusually strained voice penetrated his hearing. Without lifting his head, he murmured quietly, repeating the words into her head as he spoke, �He�s here. He�s with me. He�s safe.�

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Replies:

Conscious -- Marz (and Dalo), 10:33:39 01/03/03 Fri