Disclaimer: I do not own the Heralds of Valdemar.

Warning: Yes, I am deviating from Lackey's Valdemar. No, it is not the end of the world. Relax.

Chapter 5

The answers that Axton and Deonn desired were slow in coming. Since Nalani could not be Healed she had to be taken care of the traditional way. Axton tried not to speculate on what all the marks on Nalani meant, he did not want to start jumping to conclusions without any information, but it was difficult. However, he and Deonn agreed that at least some of them entailed Healing because Nalani's wounds were healing for too quickly and though neither of them knew how to treat wysra poison she seemed to be healing from that as well.

Nalani came awake slowly. 'Where am I? A bed?' She bolted up and instantly regretted it. The room tilted crazily and Nalani barely had enough time to get to the door. She leaded against the doorframe just outside and threw up. When her stomache stopped rebelling she leaned back against the frame and tried to catch her breath. 'I'm alive. I can't believe I survived. Ouch! This is why I hate fighting wysra. Their wounds hurt with an unholy pain.' Something wooden clattered to her left but she did not want to risk opening her eyes and experiencing more vertigo.

"You're up. A few more days and I was going to head out for a Healer."

"How long was I out?" she groaned.

"Four days."

"Only four days…" Nalani fell to cackling madly. She had to clutch the frame to keep for falling over.

"I fail to see what is so funny about that."

"Histhis put me put down for nine days. I wish I hadn't killed Sithin so I could rub it in his face! Arrogant prick, always though he was so powerful." She cackled madly again. She put a hand to her side as she laughed and suddenly realized that except for bandages and her undergarments, she was not wearing anything. The laugher and the blood drained from her face.

"Oh. Oh Damn. So I guess it's off with my head now?"

"What? No!"

"Oh, right. You have to interrogate me first. I always forget about that part. Well, best get started."

"I am not going to torture you, but you are going to answer my questions."

"And you will just take me at my word?"

"No, you are going to do whatever you need to do to allow me to put a Truth Spell on you, just like you did at the Collegium."

"If I refuse?"

"Then you will spend the rest of my circuit in chains and under guard. I will return you to the Collegium. You will answer their questions or spend the rest of your days in a cell."

Nalani though for a moment, 'Hm, perhaps I have underestimated him. For a bloodless threat that wasn't half bad. I really don't want to be locked up again.'

"Alright. You will get your answers, but on one condition."

"What?"

"I want some clothes."

Axton passed a mug of willow tea to her. Nalani took a seat at the head of the cot where she could lean against the wall. She had calmed down a bit once she was dressed.

"What is this?" she sniffed and stared at it for a long moment.

"Willow tea, for the pain." She eyed him for a long minute before drinking the entire mug in one go. Nalani leaned back against the wall, took several deep breaths, and nodded to him when she was ready. He cast the Truth Spell the vrondi popped into the air. It circled and wobbled around Nalani's head a few times before settling on her. Deonn pushed open the shutter that covered the window between the stable and the inside of the way station.

*That was odd.*

*Looked like it couldn't figure out where to go.*

"First," Axton held up his hand. "How many fingers am I hold up?"

Nalani rolled her eyes. "Four." Axton held up his other hand.

"Lie this time. Now how many?"

"Fifteen. And three quarters." The vrondi glowed blue signaling the lie.

"Okay, then let's get to business. What is that thing on your back? What does it do?"

"It's a Blood Rune. It binds my Power and channels it into whatever it symbolizes."

*She obviously has some voluntary control over it. But how much?*

"How much control do you have over it?"

"I can moderate it; rein it in to some degree, like now."

"What does it channel your Gift into?"

"It has a Healing component to it, which is why I am not dead from the wysra poison since I doubt you know how to cure it." Nalani paused and studied Axton and then Deonn for a long moment before continuing. "But it's main task is to Hide me. I am immune, in a sense, to magic. I can't be Healed, Scryed, Seen, Searched, or Tracked. Unless I am actively suppressing, like now."

* She is a Mage's Bane, Chosen! Magic has no effect on her. She is well trained in the killing arts and a con artist to boot. She talks her way in, or just sneaks into a place, robs it or kills the mage, and slips out without triggering wards or being harmed by the mage's spells. Then she can't be Tracked afterward. She's a mage killer.*

Instinctively Axton reached for the knife on his belt. His gaze flicked up to Nalani's, for just a moment he though she looked hurt, but her mocking gaze chased it away too fast for him to be sure.

"Peace, Herald-mage, if I wanted you dead you would be. " she gestured to her wounds, "It should be apparent by now that that is not my goal."

"What is your goal?"

"To kill the man who did this to me."

"This was done against your will?"

"No, I woke up one day and decided I wanted to kill people for a living." Was her acerbic reply. The vrondi turned bright blue.

"It wouldn't be the first time its happened."

"No, this is not my chosen line of work. It was forced upon me and I am going to kill the man who forced me. " The vrondi faded from sight.

"Who is he?" Now Nalani showed some interest in the conversation, her veneer of disdain vanished.

"His name is Deton. He used to be a minour Hardorn nobleman with great aspirations. He had some small mage gift that he amplified with blood magic. He used it to climb the ranks. It didn't do him much good, he wasn't very creative, until he got me, that is. I gathered information for him, stole for him, killed for him; until I was able to escape him. His was ousted as a blood mage shortly afterward and was forced to flee the country or be tried and executed."

"Why didn't you kill him?"

"The wysra. They are, excuse me were, his inner guard. I couldn't kill them all at once plus him and all the other guards. He'll be in fits when they don't come back." She grinned.

"How'd he get them? And control them?"

Nalani shrugged then winced as it jerked at her wounds, "No clue. He had them before he acquired us. As to controlling them, they're sentient he just made a deal with them."

"Us?" Nalani twitched at her unintentional slip.

"You think I was his only Bane?"

"How many Banes does he have?"

"Unless he's made more, none. I killed the other when I fled."

"Back to the wysra, what deal did he have with them?"

"I don't know! I was just a tool, not his confidante. I overheard Histhis reference it a few times."

"How did you learn to speak wysra?"

"I lived with them for years. It was a necessity."

"How many does he have?"

"Again, unless he's gotten more, none. Those three were the last."

"You took them out easily enough. So why didn't you just kill them earlier and try to kill this Deton?"

"Are you not listening? He had human guards, another Mage Bane, and five wysra! Look at the damage three did to me. I appreciate your high estimation of my skills but I'm not that good."

"Why does the bracelet work if magic isn't supposed to work on you?"

"The tracking spell is on the bracelet. The spell allows the wearer of one bracelet track the location of the other bracelet. Is this game of twenty questions over? I am tired and I'd like to know what you are going to do to me."

"Do to you? Well, I was intending to feed you, but if you are against that then I'll just go straight back to hauling wood." Nalani eyed him incredulously. She sighed and the vrondi slipped off her with a squeak. It circled a few times as though confused, and vanished. Axton brought her a bowl of cold soup and left her to eat it.

The Herald went back to hauling wood while his Companion watched. Axton needed to move, do something physically repetitive, so his mind could sort this new information.

*What do you think we should do?* he asked Deonn.

*I don't know.* A long silence stretched between them.

*Well… what are our options Deonn?*

*Well, we can kill her here and now.*

*No, we're not murders.* Was Axton quick answer, he could feel Deonn's distaste at that option as well.

*Two, we take her back to the Collegium and let them deal with her.*

*What if she's telling the truth and that blood mage is nearby?* Axton countered.

*That is option three. We hunt this blood mage down together.*

*Afterwardwe can take her to the Collegium and explain everything to them; she is still a prisoner of Valdemar.*

*Yes, but can we trust her?*

*Yes.* Axton firmly answered. He suddenly realized that of all the things he wondered about her, her trustworthiness was not one of them. *She could have killed us at almost anytime. It would have been weeks before someone realized that we hadn't reported in, especially once we got out here near the boarder. Instead, she saved our lives. We could not have defeated one wysra, much less three. She could have let them kill us and then dealt with them. Instead, she put herself between them and us.*

*You put a lot of faith in a Mage Bane. Blood magic is so abhorred because it corrupts both the wielder and the one whom it is used on. You know this.*

*She can't be all bad. She ran off to mourn a bunch of graves that were probably people she knew, perhaps her family…. She took the time to bury those people and mourn them. She's not all evil.*

*Even corrupt people can love. It doesn't change the fact that they are evil.*

*Nevertheless, I think the best course is to get her help in catching this blood mage. Besides we can always alter the plan later if we need to.* Then Axton asked *Do you think she is beyond saving?* Deonn was slow in answering.

*I think that she has been corrupted by the mark she wears and by what she has done, yes. You saw how she changed when the wysra challenged her. But I think, that she has been able to focus it, control it, with her desire to kill this mage. I wonder, and fear, what will happen when she achieves her goal. What will she turn into when she has nothing to aim all that bloodlust and rage at?*

It was evening by the time Axton finished his work.Nalani had dozed off, the empty bowl in her lap, but she snapped awake as he approached.

"This mage is a threat to Valdemar. You know him the best, so I want your help in capturing him. Afterward, I am taking you back to the Collegium and they will listen to your tale and decide what to do with you."

"So you don't have to nerve to kill me in cold blood? You'll let your superiors do it for you." She barked a laugh.

"Would you prefer I kill you now?" he countered.

"No."

"How do you know this Deton is nearby?"

"No Truth Spell? You'll trust my word?"

"I trust you want him dead."

"The wysra. He'd not let them wander far. Why not kill me now? Why wait?"

"I am an agent of the Crown, not a vigilante. That means I am beholden to the laws of Valdemar. You do not pose an immediate danger. So you will stand trail before the courts and answer for your crimes as they see fit."

"But you are allowing me to kill Deton."

"No, you are going to help me catch him and take him back to the capital. He will also answer for his misdeeds." Nalani went dangerously still.

"I will have his head! You are not going to stop me from killing him!" she hissed.

"You assistance in this is not mandatory. If you cannot abide by the law then I will not allow you to be involved in this any further. Besides," he added hoping to defuse the situation, "would you rather he have a quick death at your hand or spend the rest of his life in a magically warded jail cell?"

"When did I say his death would be quick?" She snapped back but the anger had fled and was replaced with thoughtfulness. A feral grin slowly grew. "Hm, to let him spend the rest of his years in a cage, chained to the floor, his magic just out of reach...yes. I like that… I like that a lot. All right, I'll play this your way. But you had better not be lying to me." He waved her threat aside.

The next morning Nalani woke early. She laid on the cot thinking about the events of the previous day. She was still confused and disturbed that they had not killed her. 'Why didn't they kill me? They should have just killed me outright…. But now they will use my talents and then kill me. Perhaps these Heralds are not as noble as they would have everyone think they are?' For some reason the though of Axton having to kill her distressed her. Her ability to read people stirred in the corner where she had shoved it trying to give her insights she did not want. 'Perhaps they have some special executioner so he won't have to do it…' But these thoughts also made her uneasy so she hauled herself up and went in search of her gear. It was easy to find in the small building. She dug her knives out and went outside. 'At least now I can practice. I've gotten so slow. Use it or lose it.' She pushed everything from her mind: the worries, the confusion, the pain, all of it, and got to work.By midmorning her wounds were weeping and by the afternoon they burned bled freely. Axton tried to convince her to stop and rest.

"For weeks I have been sitting about getting slow and weak. Now my quarry is near and I am not ready!" She growled at him.

"You'll have an even harder time killing him if you bleed to death." Nalani turned away, dismissing him. She practiced a few hours more before stopping to meditate. The Rune was disrupted and that made it harder to control and direct. She, with no small effort, she bent it to her will, forcing it to focus it's Healing on burning out the last traces of the wysra poison. Then she turned it to the deeper wounds that affected her fighting. When it grew dark Nalani hauled herself up, fed Buck, and went inside. Axton had already cooked and eaten. She devoured her share, ripped the blanket off the bed, slid under the cot and did not move until the next morning. The next day saw a repeat of her new routine. Three days later Nalani started including Buck into her training sessions. Shortly after that in the early morning, before she started her training with Buck, Axton approached her, sheathed sword in hand. Nalani tensed sliding into a battle stance.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"Why?"

"We should know how to fight together. I don't expect this Deton fellow to just surrender to us."

'Makes sense. I could get a good feel for his fighting style. It'll make it easier to kill him later.' She immediately shied away from that though. "Alright. Just don't slow me down."

They sat panting on the ground. Axton was surprised at how fast Nalani was, even wounded she was blindingly fast. Sometimes he felt that she was holding back so he could keep pace. He was even more impressed at how fast she was healing. Every day her wounds were markedly improved even with her constant reopening them. Her leg and side were almost completely healed. The wounds on her neck and face were not too far behind them. Though they were going to leave some nasty scars.

"The Rune gets its strength from your Gift correct?" He pressed her with questions now and again trying to ferret out more about her past. Sometimes she answered usually she did not. He watched her carefully decide how much to tell him. Since he had started training with her, Axton was able to read her body language more and more easily. Plus, since Axton knew what she was, she no longer tried so hard to hide her more bloodthirsty side.

"Yes."

"So you were very powerful once."

"I still am." She warned.

"What's it like? Wearing that thing, having your Gift tied up." She rubbed at the drying blood on her neck. She closed her eyes frowning.

"Its like… being in a room that is dark and cold. My Gift is like a patch of light, and warmth, that is just out of my reach." She shook her head and turned to Axton.

"Why did you continue spare me? You saw that I am tainted, evil, even if you did not know the exact nature of it. Even now that you know you still spare me, why? And it isn't because you need me to kill Deton. You have options, resources." Nalani's gaze was intent, almost predatory.

"As long as you are alive you can change. Do you think you are evil?"

"Yes." Was her quick reply.

"No, think carefully. You've done evil things but do you think you are truly corrupt? All they way to your heart? Utterly beyond saving?" She sat thinking for several minutes before slowly answering.

"Yes."

"Well, I don't believe that. I have seen people who are utterly beyond saving and you don't act like that. If you were completely evil you would have killed me months ago or let the wysra do it. So you aren't all bad, you can change."

"I can't believe that."

"Well, until you can, I will believe it for you." Nalani looked at him as though she had never seen him before. Her gaze was piercing and Axton quickly became uncomfortable under it.

"How about round two?" he stood and brushed off his pants. He offered her a hand, usually she never took it, but this time she did. Axton covered his surprise and pulled her up. She did not release his hand.

"You are a strange man." She cocked her head to the side, "But if there were more people like you, perhaps, there would be fewer people like me."

"You can still become like me. Nothing is stopping you." Nalani waved his comment aside.

"We should get on the road soon. I can travel. Deton will be worried now that his wysra have been missing almost three weeks."

"Then we'll head out tomorrow."