Garrick lingered little at the caravan on the road. He realized Damian and Domino had not followed once he dismounted and soon found them facing Nephrita not far off the road. The krolmins had departed by the time he arrived. The wagon-drivers had faced little casualty and only one death. After quickly asking if they were alright, Garrick ran toward the cluster of trees where Damian and Nephrita stood off.
He slowed his pace when he neared the grove just as Nephrita flung a blast of magic at Damian. Pausing, he watched with bated breath, but Nephrita seemed to stumble more from the effects of her spell than Damian did. Domino stood nearby, glancing helplessly at the scene. There was little he could do, and not much more that Garrick could, either. He only hoped Damian could stop Nephrita.
Raising her hands, Damian threw an immense spell at the dark goddess. Garrick's eyes widened when he saw it flash against an invisible barrier surrounding Nephrita. Small beams of light penetrated the barrier and hit the goddess directly. Nephrita staggered in place. Damian's hands and arms began to glow as she gazed steadily at the dark goddess.
Carefully, Garrick crept across the grass behind Nephrita, drawing his spear. It was a dangerous place to be if anything went wrong with Damian's spell, but it was the most opportune if she pulled it off.
Suddenly, Nephrita averted her eyes. Garrick didn't have time to warn Damian. A boulder the size of an anvil hurtled through the air toward Damian, guided by Nephrita's outstretched hand. Domino darted forward to push her aside, his black cloak billowing behind him, but he wasn't quick enough. The rock collided against both of them, throwing Damian and Domino to the ground.
Garrick twitched at the impact, but he turned his attention away from them when Nephrita spun to escape. Her head leaned back, obviously startled to find him there. She swayed in her place, still shaken from the spell Damian had cast at her.
"You," she snarled, but she made no move to attack him. With how easily she had incapacitated him before, Garrick could tell that Damian's spell had cut her deeply. However, she was still a goddess. He needed something more than his spear, and even his abilities as an Agaesi, to defeat her.
"Why do you seek such destruction?" he asked. It wasn't entirely a distraction. The encounter the last evening had left his curiosity raging. Nephrita's eyes narrowed.
"You want to get in my head?" she growled, all the charm of her elegant voice gone. "Then here, feel what I feel." She raised her hand toward his head. Before he could dodge, a flash of light roared out of her palm and the air quaked like thunder. Garrick felt as if a stone had struck him in the forehead, toppling him over onto his back. No pain echoed through his body from her spell, but thousands of memories flared across his mind at once. Great ages passed through his consciousness in the blink of an eye. He saw ruins where once had been cities, mountains where once had been flat land, flowing rivers turned to dry troughs and depressions filled up with lakes, and he saw it all through the eyes of a goddess.
He opened his eyes to find himself panting. Danger still loomed nearby and he knew that only a few seconds had passed. Yet suddenly, he remembered all of Nephrita's long life as if he had lived it himself.
Raising his head, he glanced over his fallen body at the dark goddess, suddenly seeing her in a new light. Nephrita stumbled over to the edge of the grove and there raised her hand as if to cast a spell. Nothing happened, however, and she sent a dark glare towards Damian. Damian held a hand out to the goddess before falling limp in Domino's arms. Garrick quickly stood and stepped towards Nephrita. He couldn't find words for the memories that played at the back of his mind. Nephrita turned her angry gaze towards him.
"Does it satisfy you to know the truth, knight?" she asked, spitting out the last word. Garrick could only stare at her. He realized that he had left his spear a few paces behind him, cast out of his hands as he fell.
"Does it satisfy you to tell it?" he replied softly. Nephrita let out a single, loud laugh, like a crow's caw.
"If you think you can soften me with my own memories, think again," she retorted. Her voice and expression softened to cold malice. "What I once desired is too far gone."
"Only because you keep giving people reason to hate you," he responded. Garrick stepped forward carefully. Nephrita backed away from his advance, though slower. She was shorter than him, perhaps even more so than Damian. She seemed almost fragile as she was and Garrick felt an uncontrollable pity for her. She snorted in disdain.
"I've waited far too long for this," she remarked, rage almost entirely dissipated to the controlled demeanor she had shown before. "No words of yours will dissuade me from exacting my revenge." Garrick gazed down at her, almost close enough to feel her breath.
A glimmer caught his eye from behind her. Surprised, he glanced up. Nephrita began to follow his gaze. Before she could glimpse the intruder, an immense orb of glowing white energy roared through the air to collide against Nephrita. The spell threw her forward with a yelp echoed by her attacker. Instinctively, Garrick raised his arms, and Nephrita fell into them. He gasped and stumbled back a step. Gripping arms as soft as satin, he felt an intense warmth and surge of energy radiating against his bare hands. The pulsing sensation made his head swim and his heart pound in his chest.
Shoving him away, Nephrita spun to thrust a spell at the malakh. Garrick recovered in time to see the spell hit Niabi, throwing her to the ground with a cry. Turning to send him one last glare, Nephrita backed away and faded from view.
He only stood there, still stunned by what he had felt when Nephrita lay in his arms.
"You fool!" Niabi roared as she stood. "All you had to do was draw that knife of yours and she would be destroyed! What were you thinking?" The fox woman's eyes blazed, but Garrick only sent her an irritated glance through half-lidded eyes. Ignoring her question, he turned to retrieve his spear.
"If you impede my efforts ever again..."
"Look," Garrick snapped, spinning to face Niabi. He almost summoned the power of Agasis in his rage and could feel dragon's breath flowing through his body. "If you want our help stopping Nephrita, then you damn well better talk to us, but it's not our fault if you screw things up because you won't tell us how we can help! You're not the only one who wants her gone, you know." Turning, he stalked across the grass towards Damian's softly stirring body.
"You have no idea what she is capable of," the fox woman growled, the earth underfoot quaking with her words. It had no effect on Garrick anymore. The malakh was all arrogant, bitter rage but no action.
"And you have no idea what she's been through," he retorted. He was tired of Niabi's impatience with actions he didn't know he was supposed to take, or not take. He had no sympathy for someone who suffered because she refused to seek assistance she obviously needed. Nephrita so far had been easier to deal with, and she had nearly killed him twice.
A flash of light flared out from behind him as he walked, but he didn't turn. He tried to calm himself as he neared Damian and Domino. Damian was already sitting up again and gazed at Garrick with recognition.
"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded, then cringed and held a hand to her head.
"Careful," Domino urged softly. He laid a gentle touch against her back.
"Are you alright?" she asked, glancing wide-eyed at Garrick. He nodded slowly. It had been an eventful afternoon, that was certain. Thoughts and memories still played at the back of his mind.
"I need to ride on," he stated. "Nephrita is bound to head for Windermere. I have to try to help there if I can."
"I'm coming with you," Damian responded and stood. She swayed on her feet. Domino stood beside her, his hands hovering about her body. A worried look crossed his face.
Garrick shook his head. "You need to rest," he remarked. "I don't want you to get hurt any more."
"I won't let you go alone," she argued. Sunlight glinted off her determined yellow eyes. "This is my fight, too." Garrick admired her perseverence, but he shook his head again.
"You're in no condition to fight now," he answered. "You'll only aggravate your injuries."
"Garrick..." she began, but he laid a hand on her shoulder before she could continue.
"Look, Brenadier can get me there faster than your horses can, anyway," he remarked. "You can catch up to me at Windermere, but take your time. You can't help anyone if you run yourself ragged. I'll see you soon." Turning, he began jogging through the grass, allowing no further argument from Damian. He whistled loudly. With a whicker, Brenadier galloped over to meet him halfway. Hastily, he mounted the destrier and kicked it off.
"Hurry, Bren," he urged as he leaned over the chestnut stallion, "we don't have much time!" Brenadier let out a loud whinny and pressed harder, hooves dancing across the grass back to the road.
Domino's eyes remained on Damian as she watched Sir Magni ride off. The frustration in her eyes made it clear that she was reluctant to let him go on alone. Domino felt an uncontrollable ache in his heart from the way Damian gazed after the knight.
After a long moment, Domino laid a hand lightly on her shoulder. Turning, she smiled at him. The sight caused a faint smile to come to his own face. His gaze shifted. A bloody scrape marked her temple from Nephrita's attack.
"We should attend your wounds," he offered softly. He nodded toward the trees ahead. "Would you like to sit down in the shade?" Damian nodded and approached the grove while Domino lead the horses forward and tied them to a tree. His arm throbbed where the boulder had struck him.
Gazing down at Damian kneeling on the grass, he felt his pulse quicken. His heart didn't pound in his chest as it had as soon as he glimpsed the rock that Nephrita hurled at her, but his anxiety hadn't entirely abated. He had protected her, but instead of easing his mind it only increased his fear. That flying boulder had given him a glimpse of how easy it was for him to fail her. It was terrifying to consider how quickly she could be gone. Dealing with the malakh was difficult enough, but now she had entered a battle he couldn't fathom, one in which he was powerless to help Damian. Next time, he might not be quick enough.
Crouching before Damian, he began cleaning the wound.
"Thank you," Damian stated. She smiled at him from the corner of her eye. "You saved my life." Domino simply nodded, his attention focused on the scrape. He didn't want to think what would have happened if he hadn't absorbed the brunt of the boulder's force. Damian's smile widened. "You've been doing a lot of that lately." He bit his tongue. The reminder of his actions at the cliff the last night made him feel cold. It was an incredibly foolish thing he had done. It could have killed them both. He had acted without thinking, but he didn't imagine he would act differently if he relived that moment. He couldn't simply watch, unharmed, while Sir Magni was killed before him. Domino had spent much of the day silently thanking Fate and Fortune for the effect Nephrita's spell had on Damian.
Domino's arm began to ache fiercely, but he ignored it as long as he could use both hands. The blood stopped flowing from Damian's injury shortly and he applied garlic and aloe to the wound. He used the lightest touch he could as he worked, mortified that he would cause her pain. Damian never complained.
He drew back as he finished treating the wound. "Did you get hurt anywhere else?"
"My shoulder," she answered. Carefully, Domino lifted her cloak over her shoulder. Above her long gloves, the skin was fair and smooth. A dark bruise was forming on her shoulder, centered around the corner of the bone. Letting her cloak fall, he began digging through his satchel. Soon, he found an old salve rarely used.
Damian took off her cloak as he removed the lid of the clay jar and applied the salve to the bruise. Concerned, he glanced at her as he ran his hand over the tender skin. She smiled at him, discomfort showing only in slight flinches.
"Thank you," she stated again when he was done. Her eyes passed over him. "Did you get hurt from that rock?" Even as she spoke, Domino took off his cloak and began unlacing his hard leather vest.
"Just my arm," he answered. Cringing, he eased his injured arm out of the vest and removed his shirt. Damian gasped. A large welt covered most of his upper arm, uglier to behold than Damian's wound.
"Mother of darkness," she uttered. Domino was surprised at the severity of the wound himself, despite the pain it caused him. He simply began rubbing the salve over the bruise.
"Are you okay?" Damian asked. Domino nodded.
"This will help it heal quickly," he replied. "We should both be fine within a few days." Damian's fingers lightly brushed over the wound. The hairs on his arm stood up from her touch. She seemed to look past him, however, and her eyes narrowed in determination.
"We should ride on," she stated. Domino raised his eyes to her, unable to voice the complaint that came to his mind. He realized that he had been looking forward to spending this time alone with her. More so, he could keep her safe here. He didn't want to take her somewhere she might get hurt again.
"I think we had better give your wounds a little more time to heal," he responded awkwardly. The words struggled to come, though he kept his voice steady. Frowning, Damian glanced over her shoulder at the road winding away into the distance. She shook her head.
"Garrick doesn't stand a chance against her alone," she remarked and began to stand. "We have to help..."
Her voice stopped short as Domino grasped her arm, tighter than he intended. A resigned look was in his eyes as he gazed at the ground, defying the desperation in his hold.
"Please," he stated softly. Slowly, she turned to face him. She must have heard the entreating sound to his voice. Even avoiding her eyes, he could tell his actions had surprised her.
"Domino?" she asked. The name actually sounded pleasant coming from her voice. He let go of her arm.
"I've been so worried about you since the battle in the field," he continued. He raised his eyes to hers. There was something mysterious and elegant in that strange amber shade that attracted him. "I haven't been able to protect you recently. I'm afraid that I won't be quick enough next time." He brushed her hair away from her eyes, but drew back before his hand touched her face. Damian shook her head, looking upset.
"You've protected me better than I could have hoped," she replied. "If it wasn't for you, I would've died a long time ago." Smiling, she scooted forward and took his hand in hers. Her touch sent a wave of warmth up his arm. "I feel safe knowing that you're with me." Domino shook his head strongly, shoulder-length hair tossing over his bare back.
"I don't," he answered. "I'm so afraid..." Abruptly, he looked away, his eyes burning. The words he wanted to say caught in his throat.
"Of what?" Damian prompted.
"I don't want to lose you," he stated quickly. It had been years since Domino had felt tears gathering in his eyes, but the thought of failing Damian hurt more than anything he had experienced since his parents died in a wildfire just before he joined the Red Hawks. His breath raced and a lump formed in his throat as he gazed at Damian. "I care so much about you." His voice began to waver. It seemed somehow appropriate that he would lay his heart bare before her as he sat naked from the waist up. She could plunge that beautiful dagger of hers up to the hilt in his flesh right now and he would die happy.
Damian laid a hand against his cheek. Her touch felt so soft and cool against his skin. He gazed into her eyes, trying to decipher the look she gave him. Before he could say anything more, she leaned forward and kissed him. His heart swelled as his mouth worked against hers, the sensation easing all the muscles that had tensed up in the last minutes. Warm trails of falling tears ran down his face against her mouth. Defying all his fear that she might turn away from him, he reached for her. Threading his fingers through her hair, he cupped the back of her head in his hand and pressed her body against his.
After a long moment, she drew back. He opened his eyes to find her smiling at him. With a sigh, she leaned her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. Domino held her tight against him, a rush of energy swimming through his body even as his anxiety rose. He had lain with a few women during his lifetime, but it never felt like this. In that moment, it seemed that his heart had been missing for years, to finally be recovered by a young mage from Aether. It felt like magic, what she had done to him.
"I haven't cared this much about anyone since I joined the Red Hawks," he remarked quietly. "Almost ten years ago." Damian's grip tightened about him.
"We'll get through this," she assured him. "I have faith in you, and myself." He felt her smile as she leaned against his chest. "Besides, there's no point in mourning when I'm still here." Raising her head, she glanced up at him once more. His heart raced to think that she truly desired him. Tilting her chin upwards, he leaned down and kissed her again. It wasn't fair to her to be forcing his decision to wait and rest upon her, but he no longer cared. All he wanted was to hold her close and keep her safe, at least for a little while.
The afternoon sun hung overhead, casting dappled shadows about them. The sounds of birds chirping, cicadas buzzing, and wind rustling the trees and long grasses filled the wild plains, but everything else lay silent. The only creatures stirring were the wagon drivers on the road, but they left mage and mercenary alone.
"Are you really faced with such scorn from so many people?"
Domino didn't know how much time passed, nor did he care. He was overcome with such a sense of calmness and an utter silence of his mind that he could hardly focus on Damian's words.
"I don't know," he answered softly. "Many know my name, though not all know my face." He gazed blankly at the trees ahead, one arm wrapped around her body and his other hand stroking her hair. It smelled faintly of juniper. "I've avoided towns and people whenever I can. It's easier not to care." He hardly heard even his own words as he spoke to her.
"But you do care," she stated. Her fingers brushed over his shoulder. Every touch she gave him resonated through his body.
"All I ever wanted was to help," he responded idly. Visions of his past in the Red Hawks flitted through his mind, but they were like images of someone else's life. Nothing could break the peace filling him. "I truly believed in them. Even when I saw how vile they were, I still wanted to believe. I felt so betrayed when I finally accepted the truth. I didn't want to trust anyone again." He slid his fingers through her hair.
"So why me?"
Domino felt his breath fill his lungs and then escape. Damian's head rolled against his chest from the movement.
"I thought you would run," he told, "as soon as you knew who I was. I was expecting you to." She turned to face him and he turned his gaze to her eyes. "But the way you reached out to me... as much as I was afraid to trust you, and trust myself with you, I couldn't turn away from that." Lifting his hand, he ran a finger down the side of her face. "I still don't understand why you did."
Damian smiled faintly and glanced away. "I don't entirely either, myself." Sighing, she turned back to him. "I suppose... after the attack on Aether, I just needed someone to reach out to." Her smile widened. "I was lucky to find you." Smiling, he shook his head softly.
"No," he replied. "I was the lucky one." Damian reached her hand around his neck and sat up.
"Let's just say we were both lucky." Leaning forward, she kissed him again.
There was no mistaking that, he thought. The Light may have abandoned him, but Fortune had showered him with gifts in return. That, he had come to learn, was the beauty of Time. Any man could claim to be Wise, or Just, or Loving, but only Time held Fortune, Truth, Change. It was truly the path of the gods. And after years of darkness, Time had finally shown him his path.