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I had to fight the urge to break down in tears. The smoke was carried to me by an errant lake-zephyr and I coughed.Oh, gods, I thought, Not this.
"Kat. . ."
I turned at that voice, instantly spotting the elf sprawled near the lake's edge. I went to his side, kneeling, "Krol. . ."
"She was," he gasped, "better than I expected."
Anything but this.
I blinked back my tears, rising fromt he elf and stepping knee deep into the crystalline lake. I bowed my head, softly murmuring, "Bast, Oh Beloved Bright One of Heaven, I ask. . .I plead that you give me the Power to heal the wounds inflicted upon this wonderful land."
I felt a comforting presence enter my soul, replacing part of what I had thought I'd lost. You had only to ask, Katja.
Bast.
I closed my eyes, my spirit rejoicing from the reunion with my deity. A white light surrounded me and something came into being before my eyes. A silver and emerald Amulet of Bast, as well as my own Dagger of Mystics.
Take these, came His bright Voice in my mind, with my Blessing.
Blessed of Bast. There was a part of me that now felt complete with that. Yet, there was still a part of me that remained incomplete; something was still missing.
* * * I was not the only one Blessed that night. To both our surprise, Bast turned His Light upon Krolaun and bestowed upon him the Armor of Bast. Among the Tyberan, it was the male equivalent of the Amulet.
With my reclaimed Power I called upon the Power of Earth to heal the damage done by whatever battle had taken place. Even as I undid the scars created by my own people, a white-hot rage burned in my heart.
It was as I finished that I realized what I had to do. I glanced at Krolaun, knowing he would never permit me to do what I had in mind. So, silently I formulated my plan. Vowing to begin the following night, I nodded to myself.
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© 1999 E. Angeli Mansfield
