Chapter 9: Absence

Okay...I don't like this chapter.  Not really.  It is necessary, but...It's a transition between the high adventures of previous chapters and the daily life of Mina and her friends.  So, it is important.  It has character development, world building, and is kind of a resolution from the previous chapter and setting things up for later, but it isn't as action packed as I might like.  I like some of the character bits, but still, I'd rather be writing about Mina and Aeon on a mountain full of murderous Dragons...coming soon.  Anyway, I hope you like it.

Also, I need to come out and say that I'll be on hiatus, probably until after Christmas or New Years.  I need time to battle a cold and reconnect with my family so, while I will be working, the Chronicles of the Frozen Shade will continue in 2013.  See ya then.

Chapter 9: Absence

            "Mina?  Mina!  It's time to get up!"

            Squirming under her thick covers, Mina turned over and let out a short groan.  "Celiiiiii...I don wanna!"

            "If you don't, the old man's gonna keep you cooped up in here for another coupla days," Celine said.  Mina felt the bed shudder as her friend took a seat near the edge.  "I know you don't want that.  Personally, though, I'd rather you stayed in bed, considering Aeon brought you to us unconscious, sopping wet, and covered in sand."

            Sitting up and blinking her eyes, Mina glanced over at Celine's reproachful look and sighed.  "Sorry.  I bet you were worried."

            "Just a little," Celine snorted, lightly buffeting Mina on the back of the head.  "The ocean, Mina?!  Really?!  I mean...what were you thinking-?!"

            Lowering her eyes, Mina said, "Celi, I-"

            "Going without me?!" Celine finished and flashed Mina a grin.

            Stifling a giggle, Mina leaned into Celine's back.  "Next time.  I promise.  The aquillans said I can come back.  They might even show me their home."  Slowly, Mina's eyes widened and she kicked back her covers.  "Celi, the last thing I remember was walking with Aeon and Miss Kinana to meet you.  How did you find out about my trip to the ocean?!"

            "Aeon told me and Daryl everything," Celine blew air out of the side of her mouth.  "I swear...what did you think you were doing?!"

            "Huh?!"

            "Going to the ocean, fine, I get it, but..." Holding out her hand, Celine began to count off on her fingers.  "You nearly drowned trying to help a bunch of people who almost killed you.  You beat the tar out of a fire wizard.  Turned down a reward from royalty.  And...had a party without me!"

            A smirk climbed to Mina's lips and she shook her head.  "I was just as surprised as you were."

            "Oh, I'll bet!" Celine grabbed Mina's head and rubbed her knuckle into the fourteen year old girl's scalp.  Mina squealed and giggled as she tried to wriggle free from her friend's grasp.

            When Celine released her, Mina put her hand over her chest and caught her breath.  Her heartbeat was a little fast, but steady.  Glancing down at her feet, which were devoid of even a grain of sand, Mina stumbled out of bed.  She pulled out her leather work dress and shoes, both of which were clean, freshly oiled, and without a speck of dirt on them.  "Who-" she started to say.

            "Echidna.  Aeon brought you to her cave to meet us and the second she saw you, she scooped you up, stripped you down, and scrubbed you clean.  Dakon helped her clean up your clothes.  The man's surprisingly good at leatherworking."

            Mina froze in place for a moment.  "They...they gave me a bath?"

            "We helped, a little," Celine smiled and crossed her legs.

            Slowly, blood flowed into Mina's face and she turned a deep shade of red.  "I...I don't remember any of it."

            "Well, you were out like a light.  Aeon said that considering everything you'd been through, it wasn't surprising.  I can't even imagine how tired you must have been."

            "Umm...were...Aeon and...Miss Kinana there too?" Mina squeaked.

            "Dunno what you'd be embarrassed about," Celine shrugged.  "They've seen you naked before, haven't they?"

            "CELI!" Mina squealed.

            "Girls!  Everything all right up there?!" Kano pounded on the attic door.  Before they had a chance to respond, he threw the door open and leapt into the attic.

            "Uncle!" Mina yelled, holding her clean dress in front of her nightgown.  "I'm not dressed yet!"

             The orange haired man glanced from Celine, to Mina, before his lips split into a smile.  "Lookit ya!" he called, scooping Mina up in his arms and rubbing his beard against her cheek.

            "Uncle!  That tickles!" Mina giggled, trying and failing to wriggle free of the burly innkeeper's hug.

            "You were so thin and pale yesterday, but...lookit ya," Kano mumbled, setting Mina down and lifting her chin with his hand.  "Got a much better color...ya even look a little meatier."

            Still sitting on Mina's bed, Celine stifled a chuckle while Mina bowed her head and blushed.  "I told you I'd be fine.  I just needed some rest."

            "Haha, well, this time I'm glad to be wrong," Kano said, ruffling Mina's hair before retreating downstairs.  "If ya feel up to it, how about helpin out today?"

            "Sure!  We'll be down in a few, uncle!" Mina called after him.  When the large man had left, Mina let out a sigh.  "He must have really been worried about me..."

            "He wasn't the only one," Celine murmured, getting to her feet and putting a hand on Mina's shoulder.  "But...you're not really all better, are you?  Aeon said you had some chest pain last night.  Sure it's wise to push yourself?"

            Lowering her eyes, Mina brushed past Celine and took a seat on her bed.  She slowly pulled off her nightgown, stuffed her leather work dress over her head, and stepped into her shoes.  "Celi..." Celine plopped down next to her on the bed and put her tan arm around Mina's shoulders. 

            "This isn't the sickness from before, is it?" Celine said, pulling Mina's head against her shoulder.  "What's wrong, Mina?  You know you can tell me."

            "Well..." Mina let out a nervous, half hearted laugh and looked away.  "See...I'm not...actually sick.  I...I lied to Aeon." 

            For a moment, there was complete silence in the attic, only broken by the sounds of the diners downstairs.  Celine gingerly flipped Mina around and stared straight at her.  "You what?"

            "I...I couldn't help it!" Mina stammered.  "We...after last night, I was never going to see him again and...I..."

            "Came up with a reason..." Celine sighed.  "Not sure what surprises me more.  You lying to a lich or you actually wanting to go back to him."

            "He...he's different, Celi.  Different from The Molten Zombie.  From...Agni," she spat out the last word, as if saying it was like swallowing a needle.  "I want to know more about him.  I want..." she stopped and balled her hands into fists.  "I want to know why he was there the night those flaming monsters attacked."

            Celine digested this information for a moment before furrowing her brow.  "He said you were to return tonight."

            "Will you come with me?"

            "Well...I wouldn't mind having another look around," Celine rubbed her chin.  "I was so stuck on Yuka being a Neeg...she's not a bad sort, after all, but..."

            "Maybe Daryl will come too," Mina said, brightening.

            "Right...cause that's all we need," Celine groaned.

            "Oh, don't be like that," Mina smiled and pulled the attic door open.  "It'll be fun!  Especially now that we know they're good people."

            "Yeah, yeah..." Celine grunted, following her downstairs.

            As the pair passed the kitchen, they both picked up trays that Kano had left out for them.  Once inside the tavern proper, the two girls made their way over to several large tables full of men in dirt encrusted white and blue uniforms, occasionally tinted with a little bit of frost.  The girls began to pass out trays of food and mugs of drink to the weary border guards.

“Wooh, Celine!  Boy are you a sight for sore eyes!” one of the guards called and raised his hand to slap her butt.

“Here’s your food!” Mina sprinted in behind Celine and forced a tray into the guard’s hand.  “We pride ourselves on punctuality!” she smiled warmly as the bemused man looked down at her.

“Y-yeah…thanks Mina,” he mumbled.

            "Shouldn't you keep your men on a tighter leash, Sergeant Thedan?" Celine snorted at a gaunt looking man who was missing the smallest two fingers on his right hand and a chunk of his left ear.

            "Nope," Thedan said with a smirk, downing his mead in a single sip.  "If they cause trouble, I jus leave it up to you, Mina, or Kano to discipline em for me.  Saves time."

            "Sides, at least those beatings are off record," one of the guards laughed.  "Captain Morak turns a blind eye to em, so no bad marks."  The border guards all laughed heartily and the two girls scooted back to the kitchen.

            Narrowing her eyes at the raucous group, Celine snorted.  "Idiots."  A small grunt escaped Celine's lips as Kano banged an empty tray on her head.

“They may be loud, but they’re brave men and good business,” Kano said, handing a fresh set of trays to each girl.  "Show em respect."

"Uncle, I didn't see Wrec today.  Is he alright?" Mina asked.

"Ah, right...ya missed him.  Morak took him and the others up to the Keval Pass last night.  Won't be down for a bit, I wager.  Though, that might not bother him too much.  Therians tend to be hot blooded.  Come to think of it, he ain't the only one we're missin.  Kinana ain't here either."

Celine chuckled while color rose to Mina's cheeks.  "Honestly, old man.  Isn't she a bit young for ya?"

Kano replied by banging his empty tray on Celine's head again.  "Don't be stupid.  She still owes me money.  That room of hers is reserved for four more days, but she only paid me half up front."

            "Heh, sure that's all there is?"

            With a sigh of relief, Mina slunk away from the kitchen, hearing Kano smack Celine's head one more time as she went.  Dropping food off to several patrons along the way, Mina headed for Nivtenc, who was seated in the very back corner of the tavern.

            Dropping the tray off in front of him, Mina saw Nivtenc filling his cup from a flask which he tucked inside his sand strewn white cloak when he saw her looking.  "Something the matter?" he asked.

            "Not really.  Just wondering why you always pour that into your cup.  What is that stuff, anyway?"

            "Just a little spiced wine.  Add it to anything to keep the blood warm all night," Nivtenc replied pulling out the flask again and pouring more of the ruddy crimson fluid into his cup.  "The days are hot, but the nights are cold in Aridia.  This wine can chase the chill from anything.  Even ice."

            A short laugh escaped Mina's mouth, but the second she got a whiff of the wine, she wrinkled her nose.  It smelt like sweat and iron.

            "Are you well?" Nivtenc said.  "You seem...distracted."

            "Huh?  Oh...it's nothing, I've just got a lot on my mind these days."

            "Worried about Wrec, are you?" the Aridian murmured, his red eyes seeing straight through her.

“I guess there’s no point in hiding it from you, huh?" Mina chuckled, scratching the back of her head.  "Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“Probably.  Things have been pretty quiet since the attack five days ago.  The priests and border guards forced back the few errant Telnumbrans who broke through the Keval pass, so it seems unlikely they’ll try again so soon,” Nivtenc replied.  “You have nothing to fear."

A smile crossed Mina's lips and she bowed her head to Nivtenc.  "Thank you."

"Mina!  Get back here!  I got an errand for ya!" Kano called from the kitchen.

"Guess I can't dawdle any longer.  Enjoy your meal!" she called, leaving Nivtenc to his food and wine.  The Aridian waved goodbye to her as she made her way back to the kitchen.

"I need ya to pick up ten pounds of aurox meat from Devan and his son.  The larder's runnin a bit low and we'll need more for the evening shift," Kano said, putting five pieces of silver into Mina's hands.  "Think ya can handle it?"

"No problem, uncle."

"Good.  Just...don't overdue it.  If you can't carry it all, get Aegle to help."

Bobbing her head up and down, Mina headed for the door.  Passing Celine, she caught her arm for a second and whispered, "When the shift is over, we need to talk."  Before Celine could reply, Mina had departed.

Near the door leading outside, Mina spied Daryl going over a few drawings with Angelo.  “So, am I correct in assuming that the structure of a Metronian is similar to that of neeg machinery?” Daryl mumbled without noticing that Mina was peering over her shoulder.

            “That’s an interesting comparison,” Angelo murmured, running his fingers along a careful sketch of the metal body of a Metronian.  "The legion of Metron are beings of order and they reflect that through their pristine metallic forms.  Though, I suppose if you look closely, you could see their orderly demeanor as mechanical,” Angelo stroked his chin as he outlined a wing that resembled a bundle of swords.  “Still, where did you get the idea that they were akin to neeg machinery?”

            "I was studying late last night and hit upon the idea," Daryl said, without missing a beat.  She wiped her bleary eyes and stifled a yawn. 

            "You ought not to do that.  Priests need rest just like everyone else," Angelo muttered, rubbing his chin.  "Still...this is an interesting line of thought.  May I keep these?" he held up the drawings.  "This information could prove to have some practical uses."

            "Certainly," Daryl smiled, before flinching when she noticed Mina standing behind her.  "You!  You're up!"

            "Don't go out with the priests," Mina whispered in her ear.  "Need to talk later.  Meet me and Celi in about twenty."  Before Daryl could protest, Mina skipped out the door and into the brisk morning air.

            The ground was littered with snow, however the morning sun seemed to have thinned it out greatly since the previous night.  All around her, Mina heard the tell tale drips of icicles melting above her.  Standing in the sun, Mina took a deep breath and basked in the warmth for a moment before heading towards the outskirts of town.

            Passing by a few children wrapped in thick, woolen cloaks, Mina dodged some errant snowballs and side stepped a fallen child in a snow drift.  She smiled as she looked back at children half her age and was so distracted she tripped over a stray root.  Rather than falling hard, however, a spindly man in a thick coat caught her and hauled her upright.

            "Day dreaming again, eh, Mina?" Underneath the coat, a man with a droopy nose, short ears, and blackened teeth gave her a smile.

            "Hehe, thanks for the save, Devan."

            "I heard you were abed...feelin better are ya?" the man muttered, spitting and leaving a black stain on the snow.  Pulling out a tin case, he dumped a few brown leaves into his mouth and began to chew.

            "Ugh...Devan that's gross," Mina wrinkled her nose.

            "Hehe, if ya can still complain, ya must not be that sick," Devan laughed.  "Sides...my wife'll have my head if I go back to smokin.  Hates that I light my pipe using my finger," he added, holding out his finger.  A tiny flame sparked to life on it.

            Mina watched the flame dance on his finger for a moment before clearing her throat and saying, "Devan, there's something I need from you."

            "I'm off to get some onions and potatoes for the evenin broth.  If meat's whatcha need, then Aegle's tendin the storehouse.  Just pay him and I'll sort it out later."  Spitting on the snow again, Devan nodded to Mina before heading further into town.

            A little ways off from the northern side of town was a large fenced off area, with apocra running around inside.  They were large and hairy creature's, with cloven hooves and five muscular legs.  Their heads were longer than a humans and jutted forward, with three curved horns coming out of the right, left, and back parts of the skull.

            One of the apocra saw Mina and lazily sauntered over to her.  Though the creature was easily two heads taller than her, it didn't even touch the fence which kept it trapped.  It merely eyed Mina for a moment, snorted on the snow, and chewed on a patch of frozen grass.

            Following the edge of the fence, Mina eventually came to a small cottage with a large barn attached to the fence.  Pushing the door of the barn open, Mina called out, "Hello?  Aegle?  You here?"

            Inside the dim, musty barn, hooks were hung up on all sides.  Salted bits of meat were hanging from the ends of the hooks, however, several freshly slaughtered pieces were also among them.  They were frozen in ice, with a distinct tint of red near the bottom and a cleaver embedded in a beam.       A tiny gout of flame from the back of the barn shot into the air and lit an oil lamp hanging above her.  Mina inhaled sharply and put her hand over her chest.

            "Aegle!  You're going to burn the barn down if you keep doing that!"

            Hurrying towards the very back of the barn, Mina saw a lanky young man with ruddy blonde hair and more than a few muscles holding his hands close together.  He breathed on them and his breath turned visible.  Holding his hands apart, Mina could see a few drops of water and what looked like a miniature tornado swirling in the palms of his hands.

            "C'mon, ya ruddy bastard!" the youth snorted, clasping them together again.  Closing his eyes in concentration, he let out a grunt and pulled his hands apart.  Cold air seemed to waft out of his hands, and a tint of frost crept up his fingers.  Quickly grasping a hunk of bloody meat, he held tightly and ice began to creep over it.  When the meat was completely frozen, the youth pulled back and blew on his hands, rubbing them together to warm them.

            "Huh...thought you were a dab hand with magic, Aegle," Mina said, glancing over his shoulder.

            "S'not as easy as it seems," Aegle murmured, shoving his hands under his arm pits for warmth.  "Pops showed me how, but s'trial and error.  I can freeze the meat, but I don practice enough to really control the ice."

            "Still," Mina said, touching the ice, "What you do is amazing..."

            "I guess," Aegle shrugged.  "Y'can do it too y'know.  Anybody can.  Least, that's what pops told me."

             For a moment, Mina glanced down at the bloody ice and her heart began to beat faster.  A vision of Aeon with six frozen wings jutting out of his back flashed before her eyes and she stifled a gasp.

            "Anyway...whatcha here for?" Aegle muttered.

            Taking Aegle's still cold hand, Mina dropped the silver into it.  "Uncle Kano asked for ten pounds of aurox meat."

            Aegle looked down at the pieces of silver and shrugged.  "Ow fresh does he wan it?"

            "Ummm...fresh enough to eat today and probably tomorrow?"

            For a moment, Aegle seemed to be deep in thought, then shrugged, retreated behind a small curtain of carcasses and came out with a large rack of ribs.

            "Aegle, when he said ten pounds, I think he meant meat.  Uncle Kano won't be happy if half the weight is bones."

            Aegle looked down at the meat, then to Mina, then tossed it behind him and vanished again.  He came back with his arms full of salted strips of meat.  "This alright?" he grunted.

            Taking one of the strips, Mina quickly examined it.  Finding no bones, she nodded and opened the barn door.  "That'll be fine.  I'll need some help getting back to the tavern though.  Can you give me a hand?"

            Passing half the bundle of meat strips to Mina, Aegle led the way into town, with Mina trotting close behind.  "Hey...Aegle..." Mina stammered, "Do you...think you might be able to teach me magic?"

             A snort broke lose from Aegle's throat and he began to laugh.  He only stopped when he realized that Mina wasn't laughing with him.  Blushing slightly, the blond haired young man, said, "Nah.  Too hard.  Gotta train every day and feel the Leyline and...well, pops taught me from when I was a little kid.  Took me eight years to spark my first flame.  It's a whole lotta effort for nothin, Mina.  Ya're better off without it"

            "But...you can do anything with your magic, can't you?"

            "Ummm...s'lighting lamps and freezing meat anything?  I guess I can make kites fly too, but-"

            "Nevermind," Mina sighed as they approached the tavern. 

            Celine met them at the door and took the bundles of meat from Aegle.  "How's the old freezer business going?" she smirked.

            "Same old," Aegle shrugged and began to head back to his home.

            The two girls stepped inside and Celine jerked her head in the direction of a table that was empty save for Daryl.  The tavern had thinned out and save for Nivtenc and a few of the border guards, they were the only ones left.

            "Your breakfast is ready," Kano said, handing three trays to the girls in exchange for the strips of meat.  "Ya ought to get some rest till-"

            "I think we'll be out and about after breakfast, uncle," Mina quickly cut him off.  "I've been in bed too long as is."  Kano nodded and let out a dejected sigh before retreating into the kitchen.

            Mina and Celine dropped their trays down next to Daryl and slid one over to her.  The grease on the aurox meat and cockatrice eggs hadn't yet congealed and the oatmeal porridge next to them smelled vaguely of honey.  The three girls wordlessly tucked into their meal.

            After several minutes, Celine smacked her lips and pushed her empty tray back.  "So...what did you need to talk about?"

            "Considering what the vagabond's told me...I can harbor a guess," Daryl grunted, narrowing her eyes at Mina.  "You really are crazy, you know that?"

            "Yeah, like you weren't hanging on Nerise and Yuka's every word..." Celine snorted.

            "That's...different!" Daryl snapped, brushing strands of purple hair out of her face.  "I mean...I like them, but...they ARE Telnumbrans!"

            "So am I, technically," Mina shrugged.

            A long sigh escaped Daryl's lips.  "When do we leave?"

            "After breakfast.  We just need to be back before the evening shift," Mina said.

            "Fine...it beats skulking around in the dead of night, I suppose."

            Celine turned to Mina and began to drum her fingers on her upper lip.  "What happens if Aeon discovers you're lying?"

            "I...don't know," Mina replied, lowering her eyes.  "But he needs us alive.  He won't hurt us."

            "Well..." Daryl ran her fingers through her hair and slumped in her seat.  "That's reassuring."

            "Promise me you won't do anything dangerous this time," Celine muttered, putting her hand over Mina's.  "Even if Aeon needs us, I don't want anything bad to happen to-"

            "Celi, I'm not a little girl," Mina sighed.  Looking up at Celine, Mina saw concern etched on every pore of her tan skinned friend's face.

            "No, but you are reckless," Celine frowned, gripping Mina's hand tighter.  "Who else threatens fully grown and armed men while serving them breakfast?"

            "To be fair, she has a mean right hook," Daryl interjected.

            "Not helping, princess..." Celine said through gritted teeth.

            Silence overtook the girls as Mina and Celine were locked in a wordless struggle.  Minutes ticked by slowly.  Kano poked his head out of the kitchen, but Daryl rose to her feet, held up her hands, and shook her head.  The burly innkeeper retreated without a word.  Finally, Mina sighed and said, "I'm sorry..."

            "What?" Celine mumbled.

            "I've been very selfish lately.  Even asking you two to go with me has been...very selfish of me." Mina glanced over at Daryl, who seemed out of her depth.  "I just...I need to know who Aeon really is.  But I didn't want to go alone.  Even after all that's happened, he still scares me, a little."

            "If we had any sense, we'd be telling Angelo and Morak about this," Daryl muttered, glancing from Celine to Mina.  "But seeing as we don't...le's just go.  There's still more I want to learn.  And I am fond of Nerise."

            "Promise me," Celine repeated, loosening her hold on Mina.  "I'm going with you either way, but-"

            "I'll try, Celi," Mina said.  "I'll try and not be so reckless."

            Celine and Daryl exchanged a glance.  "I give her a week," Daryl smirked.

            "Thanks for the vote of support," Mina snorted, rising from the table.  The three of them headed outside, careful to make sure no one was watching them.

            Mina almost tripped over twins who were playing in the snow near the tavern, but Daryl and Celine steadied her as they made their way towards the exit of Gesthal in relative silence.  The houses began to thin out as they walked and they soon left the sounds of farmers working, artisans at their craft, and children at play behind.

            Clearing her throat, Daryl pulled a few pieces of paper out of her fur lined purple cloak.  Some had sketches of Metronians on them, while others had similar shapes but were full of crudely drawn neeg machines.  "Wonder what Yuka might think if I showed these to her..."

            "Neeg can't conjure, I don't think," Mina said, "So I don't think she'll know much about the Legion of Metron."

            "That or she'll ask how far up your butt you'd stuck your head last night," Celine snorted.

            Without even looking up from her sketches, Daryl quipped, "Well, you're as surely as ever.  For some reason, I think that was more aimed at Yuka than me, though."

            "Celi, are you sure you're..." Mina touched her friend's arm.

            "I'm fine..." Celine sighed.  "Yuka's...she's really an alright gal.  But I ain't about to forget what happened to me overnight."  Feeling her scarred ears, Celine's face twisted into a scowl.

            "But she did save you.  Isn't that-" Mina stopped when Daryl touched her shoulder.

            "You fear liches.  Celine hates neeg.  I don't trust Telnumbrans.  You can't force someone to act against their nature.  They have to do it themselves."

            "That's really good, Daryl.  So...where'd you read it from?"

            Daryl rolled her eyes and shook her head.  "The Leyline Arcanum.  The first Lord Prophet said something to that effect in her book of Comrades."

            "I should have paid more attention when my mother read it to me," Mina said, as they approached the forest on the outskirts of Gesthal.  "I got bored after the chapter on how the Lord Prophet met Shanadia and saw how the universe was formed."

            "I never paid attention to any of that.  Even when Angelo was trying to teach the kiddies about Shanadia," Celine shrugged.  "She's the goddess, we're the people...ain't that enough?"

            "Your ignorance is legendary, vagabond," Daryl snorted.

            "You shouldn't eat so much, princess," Celine retorted, "You're fulla crap."

            "Ummm...girls?" Mina mumbled, as they approached the smooth hill which concealed Acacia.

            "I'm not the one making dirty jokes," Daryl spat.

            "Girls!" Mina called out after knocking on the hill three times.

            "Clean it up however ya want, but crap is still-" Celine started to say.

            "GIRLS!" Celine and Daryl stopped and turned to Mina.

            "You three have not yet mastered the art of stealth, have you?" Vincent smirked at them, leaning against the doorway.  He was garbed in a black and red tunic, matching pants, and a long cloak draped over his shoulders.  "Aeon said you'd be back.  Though, this is earlier than I was expecting."

            "Best not to risk slinking around at night...it tends to make people...suspicious," Daryl furrowed her brow at the teythen.

            "Makes more sense to be gone when people expect us to be gone," Celine said.  "Though, I don't look forward to the old man getting it in his head that we've all found lovers."

            Color rose to Mina's cheeks.  Clearing her throat, she said, "Is Aeon busy?  I...was hoping I might get a chance to talk with him about-"

            "He is absent, I fear," Vincent said, without blinking his crimson eyes.

            "Oh!  Well...I guess we could come by tonight, if-" Mina started to say.

            "He will be gone until the morrow at least," Vincent said, "Emergency meetings tend to last at least a day or two."

            "What do you mean by 'emergency meetings?'" Daryl crossed her arms, but took a step behind Celine when Vincent fixed his gaze on her.

            An amused look passed over Vincent's face and he smiled, showing off his fangs.  "It would seem there was an incident in the Bay of Bendak," he winked at Mina.  "Those involved discussed it with their guardian, Marina, the Drowned Maiden.  She called an emergency meeting of the Telnumbran Elder Council to order in regards to this and other pressing issues which require the council's immediate attention.  As a member, Aeon was required to attend."

            "Ah..." Mina let out a small grunt and lowered her eyes.  "I hope he's not in trouble."

            Vincent shrugged.  "Liches, merchants, mages, and kings all sit upon the council and often disagree.  Yet somehow, they hold Telnumbra together, despite perpetually arguing.  As such, I doubt this is anything to worry about."

“Well that stinks,” Mina sighed, her shoulders slumping as she walked.  “I was hoping to see him.”  Noticing Vincent's attentive stare, she clutched her chest and added, "So he could treat me, I mean."

“I heard about your relapse,” Vincent said, furrowing his brow and kneeling down next to Mina.  “Are you well?" he put a cold hand over Mina's forehead and she shivered.  "You do not seem to be in any pain..."

"Are we going to stand here all day or are you going to let us in?" Celine put her hands on her hips.  "Even if Mina came here for treatment, Daryl and I came her to see our friends."

"Friends..." Vincent said the word slowly, as if savoring every syllable.

"Umm...so is it okay for us to come in for a visit?" Mina squeaked.

"Of course," Vincent said, with a warm smile.  Ushering the three girls inside, he pulled the door shut behind them and led them into Acacia.

Chapter 8: Protector

I know this took longer than usual, sue me, I've been having a rough time of it.  Though not perfect, I love this chapter.  It is a big action scene and shows a lot of good chemistry with Aeon, Kinana, and Mina.  This also marks the end of the first really big arc of this book, from Mina's introduction to Aeon and his cohorts to an understanding of them.  I do hate how most of my chapters are getting longer thanks to character bits rather than being streamlined.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy.  Also, updates may be more sporadic soon.  If I go longer than two weeks without an update, I will post extras.  But for now, life is just...complicated.  Now, without further ado,

Chapter 8: Protector

            When Mina and Aeon drew close to the ship, they saw the aquillan soldiers who had accosted them on the beach floating facedown in the water.  Though the waves jostled their bodies, they remained completely motionless.  Mina averted her eyes and put a hand over her mouth.  "Goddess...this...this is horrible," she murmured.  "Are they all dead?"

            The sheet of ice underneath them expanded and lifted the aquillans out of the ocean.  Aeon floated down towards one of the soldiers.  His body was covered in burn marks and his pink and green eyes were bulging out of his head in a visage of stunned horror.  "There may be survivors," Aeon said, closing the aquillan's eyes.  "We must check everyone."

            Close to the bow of the ship, Celos let out a pitiful whimper.  Both Aeon and Mina turned to face the leviathan.  His entire body was smoking and had black burns running up and down it.  Several scales had been peeled off by the thunderbolt and his eyes were wide and unfocused.  The pair floated over to the leviathan and Aeon placed his hand against the side of Celos's head.  White light poured out of Aeon’s palm, enveloping Celos's body in a gentle glow.  The black marks began to recede and Celos's eyes managed to focus on Aeon and Mina.  Shaking his massive head, the leviathan let out a weak screech. 

            “You need not worry.  This one is determined to help your friends,” Aeon murmured, jutting his thumb at Mina.  “And I will assist her as best as I am able.”

Scampering off the lich's shoulder, Mina fell onto the ice with a sharp thud.  "I'll go check the others while you heal with Celos," Mina said.  She climbed to her feet and made her way over to a downed aquillan, careful not to slip on the ice.  A blue apocra with an elongated head which was covered in sickly reddish bruises was nuzzling him.  Giving the beast a reassuring pat, Mina felt the aquillan's wrist.  “Aeon!  This one’s alive!” she called, rolling the aquillan over.  "It's...it's prince Alnor!"

“Y-you!?!” Alnor choked, spewing reddish purple blood all over his chest.

Floating over to his side, Aeon placed a hand to Alnor’s burns and white light began to wash over the aquillan's body.  “You are lucky, prince Alnor.  Your wounds are not as severe as some of the others,” Aeon muttered, moving his hand back and forth over Alnor's burns.

            “P-please, you’ve got to save her!”  Alnor’s trembling hands grabbed Aeon’s wrist.  “They’ve got Miriel!  The...the teythens came and were fishing, and....and...they caught her!" he panted.  "We heard her cries and went to save her, but...a mage...so powerful..." Alnor grunted, laying his head back on the ice.

“Rest now.  Think about your own wounds, before-" Aeon murmured.

            “Please!  You want my scales?!  You can rip them from my hide!”  Alnor screamed, tears blossoming in his eyes.  “Pull out every strand of my hair, drain me of my blood, tear the flesh from my bones if you want, but please...please save my sister!”

            “We will,” Mina clasped Alnor’s hand.  “We’ll save everyone that we can, including Miss Miriel.”

            Aeon turned his skull to face Mina and watched her for a moment in silence before floating back into the air.  "If we are to do that, time is short," the lich said, holding out his left hand.  "First, we must deal with the wounded."

            Spheres of red and black light formed above each finger.  One by one, Aeon flicked the five spheres onto the ice spread and five circles of ethereal light formed on the ice.  Within each circle was a pentagram and in the center of the pentagrams was a symbol that resembled a mortar and pestle.  Five hoodedfigures in tattered red robes rose out of the circles of light.  Pulling back their hoods, revealed that they had a smooth heads with no eyes and only small slits for his their mouths and noses.  Holding their robes open, Mina saw that they were not robes at all, but pieces of skin hanging down from their arms.  They had the bodies of emaciated men and within their flaps of skin were pockets which held an innumerable amount of surgical equipment, from herbs and multicolored vials to needles, sutures, and bandages.

            “Tend to those who remain," Aeon said.  "Most have significant burns and may be close to shock.  Make sure they do not die."  Four of the figures bowed their heads and went to work on the aquillans who lay unconscious on the ice.  One of the figures began speaking in a language Mina could not understand.  It seemed to be made entirely out of moans, grunts, and sighs.  "Tend to Celos and Alnor's kelpie as well.  They will take more time, but are in no immediate danger.  You may save them for last," Aeon said in response.  The final figure bowed his head and shuffled over to the leviathan, pulling out long strings of herbs from his skin flaps as he did so.

            "Aeon...why are you doing this?" Alnor coughed, splattering more blood onto his chest, while one of the faceless men began to rub a salve into his burns.  "After all I said...after everything..."

            "Even so," Mina said, patting Alnor's hand, "We couldn't just let you die."

            "It is as she says," Aeon nodded.  "Alnor, before we go...are you certain Miriel is still alive?"

            "She..." Alnor averted his eyes, "I saw her gills flaring, but...she was not moving."

            "I see..." Aeon mused, stroking his chin.  Holding out his hand, he began to chant.  “One who travels through the dreams of men, you, who steal the soul but satisfy the body, I call on your body, I call on your mind, I call on your heart...seductress, bind yourself to me in this contract!  Kinana!”  A sphere of pink and black light formed in Aeon’s hand, which he promptly dropped onto the ice.  A moment later, a pink and black circle formed on the ice with a pentagram inside and a heart shaped sigil in the center of the upside down star.  Pink smoke billowed out of the circle which quickly took on the form of Kinana, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

“Uwaaa!” she let out a groan and stretched her arms over her head.  "I thought you told me to get some rest.  If you were just gonna call on me again..." Kinana froze in place and glanced around at the wounded aquillans on the ice spread. “Crap…this isn’t a social call, is it?”

“Miss Kinana?” Mina mumbled.

            “Little Mina?" Kinana raised an eyebrow.  "Aeon, what in the Goetian hells is wrong with you?!” Kinana snapped at the lich.  “Why would you bring her to a place like-”

            "An aquillan lies dying on that ship," Aeon cut her off and pointed to the vessel behind them.  "Are you strong enough to support her?"

            Glancing from Aeon's stoic gaze to Mina, who seemed to be pleading with her eyes, Kinana nodded.  "I'll manage."

            "Then we must go," Aeon said, floating into the air and onto the deck of the ship.

            "You're a magnet for trouble, you know that?" Kinana smirked and scooped Mina into her arms.

            "I...I don't mean to be!" Mina blushed and puffed out her cheeks, as Kinana flapped her wings and rose into the air.

The succubus touched down on the ship next to Aeon.  At the bow of the ship was a grizzled man who looked to be in his forties, garbed in a crimson robe with streaked back, fiery red hair and a scowl adorning his face, which had a large scar running across his nose.  He held Miriel up by her sea foam green hair. 

"Release her!  We never said ya could have one of the children of the ocean!"

Turning towards the stern of the ship, Mina and the others saw nearly a dozen men with pallid skin and fangs jutting out of their mouths.  Each man was garbed in clothes soaked with salty spray and had light burns adorning their skin.  Five of them charged at the grizzled man in red, throwing their hands out in front of them.  The air distorted and seemed to crash towards the man in red, but he held up his free hand and fire wrapped around it.  He flung it out in a curved wave, which dispersed the distorted air and blew the pale fishermen into their companions at the stern.

"I thought the mage was on their side," Mina whispered to Aeon.

"It would seem that there has been a disagreement," Aeon said.

Turning to Aeon, a smirk crossed the grizzled man's face.  “More lambs ta the slaughte-” the man's words died in his throat when Aeon held out his hand and a wave of ice crashed over him, completely immobilizing him.

“Miss Miriel!” Mina called, scampering out of Kinana's arms and over to Miriel.  The grizzled man's frozen hand held tight to Miriel's hair, but after a few experimental pulls, Mina managed to free her. 

Laying Miriel down on the deck, she felt her wrist.  Mina's eyes widened and she let Miriel’s arm drop.  “Sh-she’s dead!”

Flying to her side, Kinana lifted Miriel into her arms, jammed her tail into the aquillan's neck, and began pouring fluid into her.  Kinana grimaced and a vein in her forehead bulged out as the fluid entered Miriel's body, but she persisted.  "Anything?!" she grunted.

Frantically grabbing her wrist again, Mina numbly shook her head.  Clambering all around her were the sailors, beating their brows and gnashing their teeth at the sight.

“No…a child of the ocean…”

“P-please forgive us!  We didn't mean for this ta happen!”

            “W-we never wanted ta hurt any of ya!  We just wanted ta feed our families!”

            Brushing through the small crowd, Aeon floated over to Kinana.  Putting his left hand to Miriel’s back, Aeon held out the index and middle fingers of his right hand, which began to crackle with electricity.  White light flooded into Miriel through her back while Aeon pressed his fingers between her breasts.  A surge of electricity ran through Miriel's body and she bucked in Kinana's arms.  Feeling for her pulse again, Mina tuned to Aeon and shook her head.  Aeon tried twice more, each time using more electricity.  On the third try, Miriel’s eyes flashed open and she coughed up a large glob of reddish purple blood onto her kelp tunic.

“She’s alive!”  Mina yelped, a tear playing at her eyes.

            “Kinana, I trust you can keep her stable?”  Aeon mumbled.  Kinana nodded, her tail pouring more life energy into the mermaid.  "You," the lich glowered at the pale skinned men.  "You are teythens, yes?"

            "Aye, we are," one of the teythens nodded.

            "Then move them to the stern of the ship and look after them.  I shall see to the mage."

            The pallid fishermen stood up and formed a ring around Mina, Kinana, and Miriel.  They all raised their hands and the three of them gently floated into the air.  As a group, they moved back to the stern of the ship and a few of the teythens made a crude bed out of netting and clothes to lay Miriel on.

Glancing back at the bow, Mina saw the ice holding the red haired man crack and shatter as flames slithered up and down his arms before disappearing inside his cloak.  “Hmmm…well, this is a predicament,” he muttered, taking out a pipe and lighting it with a spark from his finger.  After exhaling a large plume of smoke, the man said, “Judging from yar appearance, ya’re only a fledgling lich.  Born in the last decade or two, I'd wager."

"You would wager incorrectly," Aeon muttered, folding his hands behind his back.

The grizzled man let out a snort and a deep bellied laugh escaped his throat.  "Hahaha, would I now?  Look at ya.  Ya can barely maintain a cloak of magic ta shield yar corporeal form.  And the one ya've got is pretty poor besides.  Doesn't even have legs." Taking another puff of his pipe, the man sighed and added, "I used up more energy than I thought.  Shoulda kept my guard up.  Now I've gotta reclaim what's mine."

"I cannot allow that," Aeon said, floating towards the man.  "Hear me.  If you retreat now, I will not kill you.  Should you choose to linger, Empress Austarine and the Drowned Maiden will not be so forgiving, considering you have slain aquillan soldiers and threatened Ahrian fishermen."

Snorting out smoke, the man chuckled loudly.  “So, ya’ll kill me?  Hehe, well, that’d be a problem.  See, I was just about ta become immortal.  Not that these fools knew, of course,” he jerked his head at the fishermen.

“Wh-what…do…you…m-mean...they didn't know?” Miriel coughed.  She tried to sit up but was held down by Mina and the sailors.

“Simple, really.  I was hired ta protect these fishermen during one of their runs.  Seems the coastal villages of Ahri can barely scrape by on what they can fish close to home, so a few decided to farm the Bay of Bendak, where the fish are as plentiful as grains of sand in the Aridian desert,” the man muttered, blowing smoke at Aeon.  “However, they needed protection from the aquillans.  I saw an opportunity in this job.  See, what I'm really after is-”

“You wish to eat the flesh of an aquillan,” Aeon finished for him.

The teythen fishermen let out a collective gasp.  Their crimson eyes were wide and full of loathing and hatred for the grizzled man at the bow of the ship, but none of them said anything.  They could only glance from Miriel, to the man in red.

"I don’t understand.  Why would he want to eat an aquillan?" Mina whispered.

Miriel tried to answer, but a fit of coughs prevented her and she laid her head back to rest.  Pouring more of her life's blood into the aquillan through her tail, Kinana replied instead.  “When a human eats the flesh of an aquillan, their aging slows…however, to keep themselves young, they must eat more and more of it, lest their body wither and grow old.”

“Th-that’s barbaric!” Mina gasped, scowling at the crimson mage.

“And foolish,” Aeon muttered.  “So, you are just another mage who has realized how short life can be and grown scared.  Tell me, what is your name, coward?"

“It’s Denad,” the man spat, taking another puff of his pipe.  “Denad the Flame Weaver."

"For one with such a fancy title, your name is unknown to me," Aeon snorted.  "I harbor a guess that you have not earned that name."

"And what if I haven't?" Denad exhaled a plume of smoke and smirked at Aeon through soot blackened teeth.  "I was trained by master Dezolis himself.  Given enough time, I am certain I can surpass him.  When I have succeeded him on the Telnumbran council and have a thousand years under my belt, will I be worthy of the name then?"

 “You understand nothing," Aeon sighed.  "You aim to live forever, as he does?  Fool.  There is nothing more tortuous than an endless life.  It will be your curse to reflect on your idiocy for all eternity…and eternity is a long time indeed."

“Beats dying,” Denad snorted.

“Does it indeed?” Aeon mused.  “Tell me, what will happen after you eat your first aquillan?  In time, you will need more and more until your desire to maintain the youth you’ve acquired consumes your life.  And supposing you kill all the aquillans there are.  What then?”

“Hmm?” Denad raised an eyebrow.  “What?”

“You’ll have nothing left.  Only enough time to grow old and lament that you never did anything meaningful with your life,” Aeon muttered.

Tossing his pipe aside, Denad blew a large screen of black smoke out of his nose, obscuring himself from view.  “Ya could be right, lich…however I’ve burnt too many bridges already to turn back now!”  Flames leapt out of the sides of the smoke, circling around Aeon as if they were alive, carried by legs of fire.  When the lich was surrounded, a massive column of flame burst out of the smoke, blowing it aside, and headed straight for Aeon.  At the same time, the flames which had surrounded him flew towards the lich.

Reeling one hand back, Aeon made a swipe at the flames all around him and scooped them up in one hand.  Holding the same hand out, Aeon caught the column of fire with ease.  Closing his fingers around it, he snuffed out the flames immediately.

"What?!" Denad exclaimed.

"Is that all that you can muster?" Aeon murmured, the green flames in his eyes swirling with anger.  "How unfortunate.  Now.  Let me show you what real magic looks like."

Holding out his still smoking palm, ice burst forth from Aeon's hand.  It crept along the wood of the ship and the air itself seemed to shimmer with frost.  Denad formed a blue flame in his hands, but before he cold throw it at Aeon, the ice burst forth like a tidal wave, washing over him and freezing the crimson mage in place, blue flame still clasped in his hands.

"Is it over?" Mna mumbled from the stern of the ship.

"No," Aeon replied.  "I sense that this one still has some fight left in him."

The blue flames in Denad's hands intensified and melted the frost on his face and joints.  When he could move, Denad dropped to his knees, panting for breath.  Water ran down Denad's face in great rivulets and he gritted his teeth, scowling at Aeon.  "What in the Goetian hells are ya?!" he spat, stumbling to his feet. "No fledgling lich has that kind of power!"

"I never claimed to be a fledgling," Aeon said, his hands calmly folded behind his back.

"Damn...fine then!" Denad grunted, opening his mouth and spitting another screen of black smoke out in front of him.

Cupping his hands, Aeon reared back and thrust his palms forward.  A powerful wind blew the smoke away, revealing Denad amidst a circle of runic symbols with a pentagram adorning the center.

"You are summoning one of the nobility?!" Aeon exclaimed.

"I don't know who ya are...but I WILL make ya suffer for opposing me," Denad flashed Aeon a malicious smile.  "I may be weakened...but my time studying with Master Dezolis has granted me many powerful allies!"

Burying his hands in his chest, Denad pulled out a ball of churning lava.  “You, who promotes the flow of fire, erupt into this world and reduce my foes to ashes!  Nobleman of the inferno, I offer myself to thee and invoke our contract!  Belial!”  Having spoken the incantation, Denad hurled the ball of lava overboard, whereupon a giant red circle formed on the ocean floor.  A pentagram was held within the circle and inside the pentagram was a sigil that resembled a flaming bident.

“Belial?!” Kinana exclaimed.  “Ugh, this won’t end well…”

"Teythens," Aeon called out.  "Do you wish to redeem yourselves?"

The fishermen who were gathered around Mina and Miriel let out a resounding cry.  "Aye!  What should we do?!"

"Protect my vassals," Aeon said.  "Those who can use blood arts, shield them with your telekinesis.  Those who cannot, use your bodies.  I swear to you, if you do this, you will survive."

Nodding their heads, the teythens spread out to form a circle around Mina, Kinana, and Miriel.  The teythens held out their hands and the air distorted, twisting and contorting around them to form a protective bubble over Mina, Kinana, Miriel, and the teythen fishermen.

No sooner had the teythens formed their bubble then the water around the ship began to froth and churn as something massive came out of the circle on the ocean floor.

“W-what’s happening!?!”  Mina exclaimed, keeping a tight hold on Miriel, while watching Aeon and Denad through the dome of distorted air.

Turning to face the swell which rose out of the ocean, Aeon stoically watched as a titanic Goetian erupted out of the water, so large that the surface of the ocean only came up to his waist.  Covered in fiery red scales with two dorsal fins running down his back which stopped at his spiked tail, the creature Denad called Belial hefted a huge bident over his shoulder and glared at the assembled onlookers.  His face was human, despite being covered with red scales, but his eyes burned with the intensity of a volcano.

Belial smirked and let out a raucous laugh.  “Gwahahahaha!  Well, I’ll be damned!  If it isn’t Aeon and his whore!  I haven’t seen you since the city of DIS burnt down!  And before that there was the incident with our lord’s harem!” the demon rubbed his chin nostalgically.  “Ah, memories…!”

Inclining his head, Aeon bowed respectfully.  “Greetings, Belial.  Do you bear me ill will for the destruction of DIS one hundred years ago?”  Aeon asked indifferently.

“Not at all!  It was refreshing to see you so alive with the fires of destruction!” the Goetian chortled.  Turning his gaze to Denad, Belial breathed volcanic vapor down his neck.  “So, you’re really gonna try and fight the Frozen Shade, eh, little man?!”

Though his face betrayed no surprise, Denad ground his teeth at the Goetian and hissed, “Is what ya said just now true?!  Is my opponent really the Frozen Shade?”

“Hmm?!  Gwahahahaha!!!  So you really didn’t know who you were fighting?!” Belial laughed.

Balling his hands into fists, Denad scowled at Aeon.  “Perhaps I should have taken ya up on yar offer,” he muttered.  “A courtier of Empress Austarine, trained in the ways of magic by my former master, and the youngest lich ever ta join the Telnumbran Elder Council.  I heard ya burnt the Goetian city of DIS to the ground with yar bare hands…and judging from Belial’s exuberance, I take it that wasn’t just a rumor."

“Correct,” Aeon retorted.  “However, my offer still stands.  Retreat and I will do you no harm," Aeon said.  “I have no desire for senseless bloodshed."

Oh no you don’t!”  Belial snickered, leaning closer to Denad.  “There’s no backing out of this!  I haven’t been summoned in years and I feel like running wild!!!  And…since you didn’t have the customary tribute ready, I can take either him...or you as payment!” the Goetian guffawed.

Slowly, a smirk filled Denad’s scarred face and he stroked his chin.  “Hmmm...if I can defeat the Frozen Shade, I’ll be guaranteed a seat on the Telnumbran Elder Council!"  Flames sprouted in Denad’s hands, while Belial leveled his bident at the lich.  “Sounds like the perfect start ta my endless life!  Tell me, Belial, can ya pierce his cloak of magic?”

Belial nodded, raising his bident over his head and preparing to strike.  “Sure!!  He ain't invincible afterall!!  Just wear him down enough and Aeon'll die, same as anyone!!" Belial yelled, bringing his bident crashing down on the lich.

Raising both hands over his head, Aeon managed to catch the bident, however the force of the blow shot straight through him, cracking the ship halfway through.  Even with the teythens' barrier in place, it bobbed up and down, threatening to throw Mina and the others overboard.

As she poured more of her essence into Miriel's body, Kinana began to sweat.  Wiping her brow, she glanced back at Aeon.  “Don’t toy with them too much!  I doubt this barrier will hold against a Goetian noble for long!"

Turning to the shaken crew, Aeon’s eyes fixed on Mina and Miriel, watching helplessly behind the telekinetic barrier the teythens had erected.  “You should pay more attention to the battle, Aeon!”  Belial howled, reeling back his right hand.  Lava spurted from his scales, while Aeon quickly shrugged off the bident and raised his right hand into the air.

Shooting his fist forward, a wave of lava blasted out of Belial’s arm towards Aeon, however a wall of ocean water rose up to block the fiery mass of rock.  Though it sizzled uncontrollably, the lava forced its way through the wall of water, having cooled into stone, and bore down on Aeon.

Meanwhile, Denad cupped his palms together, then drew them apart to create a surge of red lighting in his hands that coalesced into a spear of electricity.  Stepping forward, Denad tossed his lightning javelin at Aeon, who grabbed the approaching mass of rock and twisted it around himself like a mantle. 

The javelin pierced straight through the rocks and slammed against the teythens' shield, knocking two of the sailors off their feet before exploding into a shower of light.  The impact rocked the ship and Mina winced from both the brightness of the light and the ship's swaying.  When she looked back at Aeon, the mantle of rock collapsed around him, revealing the lich to be completely unharmed.

Taking a deep breath, green light flickered violently in Aeon’s eye sockets and he raised one hand in the direction of each opponent.  The ocean rose up to meet Aeon, twisting around his bones and feeding into each of his hands.

“That’s it!  That’s the look!  You had the same fire burning in your eyes when you crushed DIS!” Belial rumbled, giggling madly.  “Come on!  Show me what you can really do!”

Reeling his right arm back once more, lava spurted forth from Belial’s scales, while Denad gripped his left shoulder and flames burst forth from his arm, changing color from golden orange, to a deep blue, before finally turning pitch black.  Both Belial and Denad shot their arms forward, black fire and lava crashing towards Aeon.  However, before they could reach the lich, a torrent of water with the intensity of a raging rive burst out of both of Aeon's hands.  Fed by the ocean, it blew back and engulfed both the lava and the flames.  No sooner had the water touched the flames than it immediately froze, trapping the heat within, while continuing towards Belial and Denad.

Holding on to both Kinana and Miriel, Mina looked away as the force of the attacks unbalanced the ship and sent it rocking violently from side to side, threatening to capsize it.  When the swaying died down, Mina turned to face Aeon.  Spray fell upon the ship like snow, crystallizing as it drew nearer to the lich and landing as flecks of ice on the sea bleached wood.  Suppressing a gasp, both Mina and Kinana's eyes widened at the sight of Denad and Belial.  Their lava and flames were frozen in two giant masses of ice that extended out of Aeon's hands.  The ice seemed to curl around Belial and Denad's arms, however, underneath the crystal it seemed to continually pierce them with a thousand tiny daggers of ice.

Aeon lowered his hands and the two masses of ice wobbled unsteadily.  Without his support, it was up to Belial and Denad to keep them up.  Denad's fell first, shattering his frozen flame on the deck along with three of his fingers, which cracked off of his hand from the impact.  Belial bashed the ice off of his right arm, severing it from the frozen lava flow, which fell into the ocean.  Frost still licked at Belial's arm and tried to creep over it, however black blood and lava oozed out of shattered scales and cracked skin, keeping it at bay.

Falling to one knee, Denad grimaced, pawing at his crystal encased arm.  “Damn!  How...how can he be this strong?!” he grunted.

 A grin crossed Belial’s face.  "Ice cold enough to freeze black fire!  Not bad!  Not bad at all!  However you're not there yet!!!"  Scooping Denad up, the Goetian dropped him on his massive shoulder.  “Now...lets see if we can’t draw out your true power!”  Belial chortled, opening his mouth as wide as it would go. 

A vortex formed in the giant Goetian's mouth, pulling everything around him towards it.  Ocean water, chunks of the ship, the fish in the ocean, and even the light of the moon twisted together and spiraled into a single point which stopped just in front of Belial's mouth.  To Mina, the vortex seemed to be gathering everything around it into an incredibly dense black ball, and she held tighter to Kinana and Miriel, as the teythens' telekinetic barrier began to wobble uncontrollably.

The fire in Aeon's eye sockets grew brighter and swirled more violently.  Floating over to the ship's railing he called down to Celos and the Goetians below him.  "You all need to get away from here!  Take as many as you can carry and flee from this spot!"

Celos let out a loud screech in reply.  The leviathan rose out of the water, carrying Alnor, the Goetians, and the wounded aquillans away.

Turning to face Aeon, Mina saw that the lich was struggling to avoid being pulled into the black sphere in front of Belial, even while the ship's deck was torn asunder to feed the vortex.  Facing his palms down, Aeon fired a blast of ice out of his hands and froze his body to the ship, but left his arms free.  Placing one hand in front of the other, Aeon stretched out his fingers as far as they would go.  White light began to gather in Aeon’s palm, forming a large sphere of energy which grew with each passing moment.

Eventually, the black ball in front of Belial absorbed enough matter to rival the ship in size and the vortex coming out of his mouth ceased.  Working his mouth around the ball, Belial swallowed it and a huge bulge formed in his throat, like a cancerous tumor.  "Holy magic…won’t stop this!” The Goetian grunted at Aeon.

Rearing back, Belial spat the ultra dense black ball at Aeon, who fired his white sphere of magic directly at the demon.  The recoil of Aeon’s attack cracked the ice which held him and threw him against the ship’s railing. 

The two spheres collided with an impact that split the ocean on either side of the ship.  The teythen sailors all dropped to one knee and grunted from the strain of keeping their barrier in place. 

Mina clung to Kinana as the ship rocked back and forth with such force that it nearly tipped over.  However, as the seconds ticked by, the rocking gradually receded and the ship became still.  Looking up, Mina saw the white sphere and the dense black ball appear to be frozen in mid air, each pushing against the other with equal force.  The white sphere began to shrink, while cracks appeared in the black ball.  Eventually, the white sphere had disappeared completely and the black ball was cracked all the way through.  The black sphere pulsed for a moment before exploding, sending countless chunks of the dense sphere streaking out in all directions.  Four black arrows tore through Aeon's left arm and another two ruptured the base of his spine, while countless other bursts crashed into the teythens' barrier, bouncing off the telekinetic wall and knocking the already exhausted teythens backwards.

A wall of spray had been kicked up all around Mina, Kinana, and Miriel from the blast, however the ocean was roaring all around them.  The boat heaved to and fro and Mina held her hand over her mouth, feeling the fish she'd eaten less than an hour before trying to find their way back to the surface.  Then, the spray momentarily parted and one last shard of the black sphere ricocheted towards them.  This blast had no dome of telekinetic energy to bounce off of and Mina's eyes widened as it passed within feet of her, only to have Kinana back hand it into the ocean.

Glancing from Miriel, who was just as wide eyed as she was, to Kinana, who held up her hand, which was bent backwards at the wrist, broken in four places, and with all her fingers jutting out in odd angles.  "Miss Kinana..."

"I'm fine," Kinana coughed and held her good hand over her mouth.  "That just...used up more energy than I'd have liked..." she slumped her shattered hand down on the deck and turned her attention back to Miriel.

The wind picked up around them, dispersing the salty mist.  Wiping at her bleary eyes, Mina glanced around her.  Most of the teythens were on their backs and groaning, but alive.  However, a gasp burst from her throat when she turned to face Aeon

Out of the splintered remnant of Aeon's skeletal left arm, a human hand with blue, frostbitten skin emerged, covered in ice.  Where his spine had been damaged, Mina could see the remnants of a suit of blue armor and burlap pants with matching blue greaves below his waist.

"What...what's going on?!" Mina whispered to herself.  A raucous laugh drew her attention back to Belial, who still towered over the ship.  The red scaled Goetian had at least a dozen black shards from his own sphere embedded in his body, but they didn't seem to bother him in the least.

“Aeon, Aeon, Aeon…a spell meant to disperse my attack?!  Are you that scared of going head to head with me?!” Belial sneered.  “Or is it because of these innocent people?!  Don’t want to get them involved, do you?!”

Glancing over at Mina and the others, the flames in Aeon's eye sockets almost died away. “Innocents, eh?” Denad grimaced from his perch on Belial's shoulder.  “Well, if they’re so damn important ta ya, then…” he chuckled and raised his good hand, “Go fetch!”  Several bolts of fire shot out of Denad’s hand, headed straight for Mina, Kinana, and Miriel.

Watching in frozen terror, Mina felt a tear leak out of her eye.  Swallowing hard, she whispered, "Mother...no..."

"Mina!" Kinana screamed.  She reached out to grab her, but instead collapsed on deck, her violet eyes fixed on Mina.

A wave of cold air blew past Mina and a terrible voice rang in her ears, growling a single word.  "Enough!"  Fixing her gaze on Aeon, Mina saw a monstrous blizzard burst forth from Aeon’s mouth, freezing Denad’s flames in midair and wrapping the sorcerer, Belial, and miles of ocean behind them in ice.  The bolts of fire dropped harmlessly onto the surface of the frozen ocean.

Meeting Mina's gaze, Aeon closed his mouth and held out his hand.  Ice spread from his splintered arm and the ruined part of his spine, covering his human hand and legs.  When it had covered them completely, Aeon's human hand disappeared, replaced by one made of bone and his legs vanished entirely, replaced by the base of his spine and black cloak which trailed beneath it.

"Woah..." Mina murmured as if in a trance.  "No way..." 

A sudden cracking sound made Mina wince.  Turning her eyes towards Belial and Denad, Mina noticed that the Goetian's body seemed to be glowing a deep shade of red.  The ice which held him in place cracked and with a loud roar, he shrugged the ice off.

“Yes!" Belial exclaimed, leaning on his bident for support.  "That’s the power I remember!  Look at this!  Even though you just wanted to stop us, you’ve frozen almost a quarter of the ocean, hahaha!”

Without replying, Aeon snapped his fingers and the thick sheet of ice melted in an instant.  Still snickering to himself, Belial breathed on Denad and the sorcerer collapsed on the demon’s shoulder after the ice had melted.  “So, tell me…is that kid really all that important to you?!” Belial smirked, raising his left hand.  "Or perhaps you were really saving your lover?"

Aeon glanced over at Mina, then turned to Kinana, who lay prone on deck.  Her tail popped out of Miriel's neck and she flopped onto her back, panting hard.  "One warning, Belial.  That is all you get," Aeon growled, his words as soft as freshly fallen snow, but with the force of an avalanche.

A smirk crossed Belial's face and he reached out to grab Kinana.  "Miss Kinana!" Mina yelled.  Grabbing the succubus, she tried to pull her away from the claw, but to no avail.  She was simply too heavy.

"I...I've got nothing left," Kinana grimaced, her breasts heaving with each strained breath.

Putting herself between Kinana and Belial's hand, Mina tried to shield her.  However, before the Goetian's fingers could close around the two of them, a gust of wind blew past Mina, vanishing almost as quickly as it had appeared.

The crimson Goetian frowned and pulled back his hand to reveal that it had been severed at the wrist.  The giant red claw teetered on the edge of the ship before falling into the ocean below while black blood poured from Belial’s stump.

"Aeon..." Kinana coughed up black blood and turned to face the lich.

Looking over at the him, Mina saw Aeon lower his hand and float in between her and Belial. “I cannot allow you to continue in this manner, Belial.  It is time you returned to Goetia,” Aeon said.

“Hehe, do enlighten me on how that will work!”  Belial laughed.  “I’m easily twenty times your size!  How do YOU intend to make ME go!?!"

Silently floating higher into the air, Aeon ascended until he was above Belial's head.  Holding out both hands, Aeon began to twist them around in great circles.

Mina blinked and rubbed her eyes.  To her, it looked as though water was gathering around Aeon's fingertips.  Only a few droplets at first, but slowly, more and more water was pulled out of the air until Aeon held a mass of water roughly twice his size in each hand.  The water twisted around him, dividing itself into six long tendrils that connected to Aeon's back.  Crossing his arms over his chest, the lich let out a sigh and air so frigid that it was visible poured out of his mouth.  Gathering behind him, the mist embraced the six tendrils that came out of Aeon's back and they froze, long icicles forming along the bottom of each tendril.  To Mina, it looked as if Aeon had sprouted six bony wings.

Lashing out from behind him, the tips of two of his ice wings formed into a pair of sharp, jagged points that shot into the ocean and pierced Belial through each leg, sending a sickly amount of black blood into the water.  The other four wings wrapped themselves around the Goetian's arms to keep him from moving.

"Is this your play?!" Belial mumbled, sounding more than a little disappointed.

"Just wait," Aeon said, holding out both hands.  With his left hand, he extended his fingers and began to twist his hand around in a circle, with the palm facing down.  As he did so, the ocean surrounding Belial’s legs drained away until Mina could see his feet touching the bottom.  Aeon jutted the fingers of his right hand up and the drained water rose up behind Belial, forming two gigantic rectangles on either side of him, almost like an open casket.

"I grow bored with your water works!!" Belial growled, biting through one of Aeon's ice wings.  "This is pathetic!  I expected more fro-agggh!!!" Belial stopped, his voice drifting off into unintelligible gurgles as the casket of water froze over and hundreds of ice spears shot out of it, skewering Belial.

No part of the Goetian was left unmolested.  Jagged, frozen spikes perforated Belial's throat, chest, arms, legs, and tail, all embedding themselves in the moist ocean bottom and pinning him to the spot.  Black blood fell freely from Belial's wounds as he twisted against his bonds.  His scales glowed bright red and smoke poured off of them, however they could not melt the ice.  Despite his wriggling, Belial was trapped.

 Staring at the gigantic icy death trap, Mina's mouth dropped open.  A voice beside her brought her back to reality.  “An iron maiden…” Kinana muttered, pulling herself onto her knees by using Mina's shoulder for support.  "Nice."

There was a burst of flames from Belial's shoulder where he wasn't pierced through, and a tiny figure flew off the Goetian.  Fire poured out of Denad's feet, carrying him over to the ship, however the ice wing Belial had bitten through whipped past the mage and his feet froze solid.  The flames coming out of Denad's feet slowly petered into nothing and he crashed onto the deck of the ship, shattering his frozen arm completely.  Lurching to his feet, the sorcerer squinted at Aeon, who was occupied with keeping Belial trapped.  The lich didn't even turn to face him.

“I don’t intend ta die here…not now…not when I’m about ta become immortal!” he snarled, turning his gaze towards Miriel, alone without Kinana or Mina by her side.  “While he’s dealing with Belial, I’ll take my prize!” he snorted, raising his arm.

“Protect the child of the ocean!” one of the teythen sailors called, staggering to his feet.  The others let out a ragged yell and charged straight for Denad.

The grizzled mage swept out his hand and Kinana pulled Mina down against the deck as a disc of flame flew from Denad's hand and floored the weakened teythens.

“Mina, stay down,” Kinana gasped, using her shattered hand as a brace and rising to her feet.  Letting her useless arm hang limply by her side, Kinana raised her good hand and her purple nails extended into long claws.  “You know, you’re actually pretty handsome,” the succubus panted.  “I think I’ll gobble you up!”

Kinana slashed at Denad, but he leapt into her in order to avoid the attack.  Ramming his knee into her stomach a fireball burst out of Denad's kneecap and catapulted Kinana backwards.  Denad held out his hand at her when the succubus used her nails to keep from falling and a plume of fire burst out of it, setting her leathery wings ablaze and burning her tanned skin.

"AGGGGGGHHH!!!" Kinana screeched in agony and collapsed on deck.

“Miss Kinana!” Mina cried.

The blackened succubus tried to sit up, but Denad planted his foot down between her breasts and held his hand up to her face.  “Not going to retreat to Goetia, eh?  Well, it’s no concern of mine if ya want to burn, harlot!”

Jumping to her feet, Mina grabbed Denad's arm and twisted it aside.  "Leave her alone!" she cried, as a gout of flames poured out of Denad's hand uncontrollably.  Half the deck was ablaze before he shook Mina off.

“Ya little bi-eeeeeaaaaahhh," Denad started to scream, but Mina darted up to him and buried her knee in his groin.  A high pitched squeal escaped Denad's lips as Mina gave him a quick uppercut before grabbing his cloak and tossing him off Kinana.

Collapsing next to Kinana, Mina held her hand over her chest, which was pounding uncontrollably.  "Think...that got him?" she panted.

Kinana and Miriel stared at her.  "Shanadia..." Kinana stammered.

"What?!" Mina exclaimed.  "I live in a tavern right next to the border between Telnumbra and Lucaria.  I'm used to dealing with unruly bastards like that."

Stifling a grin, Kinana laid back on the deck and struggled to keep her eyes open.  "Who'd have guessed..."

"You..." Mina and Kinan's heads whipped around as they say Denad struggle to his feet, holding his crotch with his single hand.  "I'll kill ya!" he yelled, a column of fire erupting out of his mouth and heading straight for them.

Mina stared at the oncoming flames and froze.  "Get down!" Kinana leapt over Mina and folded her wings around her.  However, the flames never came.  Instead they were surrounded by a gentle coolness.  A few seconds passed and the pair looked up.  Aeon's broken ice wing was between them and Denad.  Glancing up at Aeon, Mina saw the lich looking down at her and Kinana from the corner of his eye socket.

“No!  No, I will not be denied!” Denad shrieked, hurling fireballs and shooting out plumes of flame at them with his hand.  The fire crashed against Aeon's ice wing and dissipated with no noticeable effect.

"Ugh...aren't you dead yet?!" Kinana snarled.

“No!  I will not die!  I will be immort-ack…” suddenly the flames died away and Mina looked over Kinana's shoulder at Denad.  A bejeweled trident had pierced him through the chest.  He fell forward, twitching and gurgling on deck with Alnor clutching the trident’s shaft behind him.

“That…was for my sister!” he grunted, pulling his trident out of Denad's back.  The aquillan prince was swathed in bandages and looked as if he could barely move.  No sooner had he pulled his trident free than he fell back on deck, his gills flaring uncontrollably.

"B-brother!" Mina and Kinana glanced back at Miriel.  Her eyes were wide open and seemed to be focusing on Alnor.

Helping Kinana to her feet, Mina and the succubus made their way over to Alnor.  "Are you alright?" Mina murmured, half lifting, half dragging Alnor over to Miriel with Kinana's help.

“F-fine…” Alnor grunted, smirking at her.  “M-Miriel...is she-?!”

“Also fine.” Aeon floated down to join the four of them.  The six bony wings of ice that had formed from his back snuffed out the remaining flames on deck before dissolving into thin air.  Raising his skeletal hand, Aeon snapped his fingers and the iron maiden made of ice shattered around Belial.  The Goetian dropped to one knee as ocean water washed over his many wounds.  "It is over," Aeon murmured.

“Over?!  Not quite…!” Belial gurgled from the hole in his throat.  A scrabbling sound below deck caught the attention of Mina and the others, who looked down to see Belial’s disembodied hand scampering along the side of the ship.  It jumped onto the deck and grabbed Denad.  A stream of black blood shot forth from Belial’s stump and connected to his hand, pulling it back over to his arm, where it reconnected almost immediately.  “Now, it’s over!” Belial snickered.  Dropping the barely conscious Denad into his mouth, the demon crunched down on him before releasing a satisfied belch.  “Ah!  Our contract is complete!  Well, it’s been fun!  Till next time!” he added, bowing to Aeon before disappearing into a circle of red light that had formed on the ocean's floor.

"Fool traded his life and his soul for power," Kinana grimaced, patting out stray flames on her wings.  "Why can't sorcerers today be a bit less ambitious?"

Supporting Kinana with her shoulder, Mina gently pulled on Aeon's cloak.  "Aeon...Miss Kinana is hurt.  Can you heal her, like you healed Miriel?"

Giving Mina a curt nod, Aeon began running his hands over Kinana’s burn marks.  White light poured out of his palms and flowed into Kinana, strengthening her enough that she no longer needed Mina’s support to stay on her feet.  The lich took Kinana's hand in his own.  She grimaced at first, but as the white light washed over her, her fingers and wrist began to bend back into place.

"Aaahhh, that's nice," Kinana purred.

"Will you be okay, Miss Kinana?" Mina put her hand on Kinana's thigh.

"In a few days, I'll be back to normal," the succubus sighed.  "What about you?  Charging a sorcerer like that was really reckless."

"I am not surprised," Aeon said.  "She gets that from her mother."

"Ehehe..." Mina let out a nervous laugh and blushed.  Scratching the back of her head, she glanced around the deck of the ship and saw the teythen fishermen begin to stir.

"Eh?  Is it over?"

"Look, another one!"

"They did it...they saved her!" the sailors murmured before breaking into a ragged cheer and swarming around Alnor and Miriel to see make sure they were alright.

Wh-what’s going on?” Alnor mumbled, his eyes wide and uncertain.

“The ocean is the livelihood of these men,” Aeon muttered.  “It is only natural that they are respectful of her children.”

"But...but my mother-"

"It was all an accident," Mina sighed.  "I mean, look at how glad they are that you're alright!  They even helped protect Miriel during the battle."

Stumbling to his feet, Alnor leaned on his trident for support.  "Is this true?!"

One of the teythens stepped forward and nodded.  Lowering his eyes, he added, "Aye...but it was our fault Denad attacked ya to begin with.  Your lordship...we only know how to fish.  It's all we've done for decades.  We couldn't just stop...so...we hired someone ta protect us while we-"

“Then…all of this was your doing!” Alnor bellowed, feebly trying to raise his trident.

“Stop that!” Mina yelled, storming over to Alnor and knocking his trident out of his hands.  “These men saved Miriel!  Besides, even if they did bring Denad, this is as much your fault as theirs!"  Panting hard, Mina looked Alnor right in the eyes, which were wide with shock.  “You went on and on about how you have to protect yourselves from us," she put her hand to her chest before pointing straight at Alnor, "But did you ever think that if you start attacking people they might need protection from you?!"

“She has a point, you know,” Aeon said, appearing behind Alnor and patting the aquillan prince on the shoulder.  "That kind of flawed philosophy was what kept Lucaria and Telnumbra at war for millenia."

"Alnor..." Miriel coughed and held a webbed hand over her mouth.  "Mother wanted us...to act with...humility...remember?"

As she spoke, Celos lifted his head over the ship's railing and the remaining half dozen aquillans staggered off, assisted by the Goetians Aeon had summoned.  Aeon nodded in their direction and once the aquillans were on deck, circles of black and red light appeared beneath the Goetians and they slowly descended into them before disappearing from sight.

“Prince Alnor, are you unharmed?” the aquillan soldiers wheezed, raising tridents against the sailors.

Lowering his eyes, Alnor let out a long sigh.  "See to my sister."

"Alnor?" Miriel stammered.

"Humility..." Alnor mumbled, kneeling down in front of Aeon.  "Miriel.  Go home and explain what has happened to father.  I...I have a debt to pay."  Raising his eyes to the lich in front of him, Alnor said, "Frozen Shade…beyond all hope, you saved my sister and my countrymen.  Now...I am yours.  Shave my hair, pry off my scales, and drain every drop of blood from my body…it is only fair payment for what you have done.”

“Brother?!" Miriel exclaimed.

“Prince Alnor, no!” the merfolk called.

"Oi, what's all this?!" the sailors yelled.

A smirk played on the lich’s lipless mouth.  “I am not the one who accepted your offer,” Aeon said.  "Your fate is not mine to decide."

“Wh-what?” Alnor grunted.

“Minava was the one who agreed to save Miriel.  Your life belongs to her,” Aeon pointed to Mina.

Mina’s mouth dropped open and she raised a finger and pointed at herself.  “M-Me?!”

"The prince owes you a debt, Minava," Aeon said, folding his hands behind his back.  "Is there anything you would ask of him?"

"Just...just try and get along with people on the surface, I guess," Mina shrugged.  "I mean, I know you have to defend yourselves, but...not all of us are bad people."

“I-is that all you want?”  Alnor stammered.  The aquillans and teythen sailors were looking at her dumbfounded.  Kinana winked at Aeon and suppressed a fit of giggles.

“Sure.  Do that and we’ll call it even,” Mina smiled sweetly.

After a moment’s silence, Alnor began to laugh, holding his sides while milky tears poured from his eyes.  "Unreal..." he said after a solid minute of laughing.  "I could offer you the bounty of the seas or a kingdom near the bay, but...but all you want is for us to get along?"  Turning to Aeon, Alnor shook his head and chuckled.  "I should have known.  She's one of yours through and through."

"Ummm...what?" Mina blushed deeply.

"Minava, was it?" Alnor said, holding out a hand.  "I can't promise anything.  My father is very stubborn.  But I'll try."

Mina grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously.  "I hope it all works out!  Next time I come visit, I'd love to see your home, if that's alright."

Glancing from Aeon, whose face was an emotionless mask, to Mina, a picture of earnestness, Alnor stifled another chuckle, and nodded.  Limping over to the other aquillans, he allowed himself and Miriel to be carried over to Celos.

"You lot!" Alnor called to the teythens.  "No more mages.  Promise me that and you'll have safe passage through the Bay of Bendak."  Rather than waiting for a response, Alnor patted Celos and the leviathan descended into the water.

The sailor’s mouths hung open for a moment before they burst into a raucous cheer, gathering around to shake Mina’s hand.  The blushing girl tried her best to oblige them until Kinana scooped her up and carried her out of the crowd.  “Okay, enough’s enough!  We're done here, right, Aeon?" she asked. 

The lich nodded, floating over the edge of the ship and freezing a pathway on the surface of the ocean.  Aeon helped Kinana and Mina down, while the sailors hurled cheers and thanks after them.

When they touched down on the ice, Mina touched Kinana's charred wings and lowered her eyes.  "Miss Kinana...are you really sure you'll be alright?  I know Aeon healed some of your wounds, but-"

"Don't worry about me," Kinana laughed and forced Mina into a vice-like hug, squashing her face against the succubus's ample cleavage.  "My body will heal itself in no time once I return to Goetia."

When the succubus let go of her, Mina's face was beet red and she stamped her foot on the ice.  "Miss Kinana!  I...Aeon, say something!"

Chuckling to himself, Aeon silently led the way, the ice spread extending out in front of him as he moved.  Kinana stuck close to Mina, who glowered at her while still glowing red.  Eventually, Mina let out a sigh and said, "Well, this wasn't what I was expecting from my first trip to the beach."

"Hmmm?" Aeon stopped and turned to her.  "Are you...dissatisfied?"

"No, it's not that," Mina let out a small chuckle.  "I got to see some amazing things today.  But...aren't we forgetting something?"

“Frozen Shade!  Please, wait!”  The three of them turned to see an aquillan swimming after them.  His body was covered in light burns and two small apocra adorned a pair of coral shoulder pads, while a spiral shell was strapped to his wrist.

“You are the sentry who attacked us, correct?” Aeon asked, looking down at him.

“My apologies about before,” the aquillan lowered his eyes.  “Prince Alnor told me to give this to you...for your part in saving lady Miriel,” he added, lifting a small coral basket onto the ice flow.  Inside were several small bundles of sea foam green hair, two dozen multi colored scales and several vials of reddish purple blood.

“These are the ingredients you were looking for, right?” Mina smirked.

“What is the meaning of this?”  Aeon muttered.

The aquillan shrugged and turned to leave.  “Nothing much.  Prince Alnor and Princess Miriel both agreed we ought to give you your fair due.  The human got her wish.  And now you've gotten yours,” the aquillan said before disappearing beneath the waves.

Gingerly lifting the basket off the ice, Aeon looked down at Mina, who gave him a toothy grin.  The lich tucked the basket into his cloak and continued towards the shore. 

With a sigh, Mina followed after him.  As they drew closer to the shore, Mina's steps began to grow smaller and smaller until eventually, she stopped a few feet from the sandy beach.

"What's wrong, little Mina?" Kinana asked, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze.

Pausing for a moment, Mina saw Aeon turn to face her, his eyeless sockets swirling with a gentle green flame.  Glancing over at Kinana, Mina's heart began to pound as the succubus gave her a warm smile and knelt down next to her.

"We're friends, right?  You can tell us."

Mina put her hand over her chest.  Her heartbeat was strong and steady.  Taking a deep breath, Mina opened her mouth said, "My chest feels tight."

"Hmm?" Aeon tilted his head to the side.

"Does it hurt?" Kinana whispered.

Mina scrunched her eyes shut and nodded vigorously.  Dropping to one knee, she added, "I...I think something might still be wrong with me."

"I can examine you when we return to-" Aeon started to say, but was cut off by Mina.

"No!  I have to go home!  If I'm not back in bed by dawn my uncle will get suspicious!" Mina said, trying not to look Kinana or Aeon directly in the eye.  "I-it's not so bad," she panted and got back to her feet.  "I can....I'll be okay, I think."

"Nevertheless..." Aeon mused, tapping the bottom of his skeletal jaw.  "It would be wise for you to come back on the morrow so I can examine you again."

"Sure," Mina grunted, "I...I think I can manage that."