Title-- The Demon-God of Jubagh (part thirteen)
Rating and Warnings-- PG; mild language.
Species and Characters-- Rai Gerring, defected black magician (human man); Brandon "Exile" Styhan, exiled paladin-warrior (human man); Lhafa Softstep, dishonored spirit warrior (baghan woman); Kerrek Rockhide, disembodied holy man (baghan man).
Previously-- Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve.



Rai's eyes opened with unexpected ease when he heard the soft thump of a body falling to the earth. His chest moved in great bounds as he breathed, and the simple act of lifting his head felt like he'd been shot forward from a catapult. His wiry muscles burned with latent energy, as though his blood were fuel for some inner fire. Slowly, wonderingly, he sat up. Brandon's eyes had opened, as well, and the ex-paladin was pulling himself upright, moving deliberately as though to test his true state of health.

Lhafa had collapsed, her eyes glazed, her streamlined frame utterly motionless. Rai swore quietly and crawled the two paces separating them, waiting until he felt the passage of air from her lips against his knuckles before he allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. "Lhafa?" He touched her shoulder, shaking her gently. "Lhafa, can you hear me?" At the words, her eyes tracked slowly to settle on his face, and she blinked. "Lhafa? Blink twice if you can understand me." She blinked twice.

"She looks frozen," Brandon observed from over the magician's shoulder. He stood, arms folded across his chest, skin and clothing stained with magical residue from his battle with the Rockhide hexer. Rai eyed him, and Brandon nodded to the unspoken question. "Yeah, I feel back to normal, too. More than normal, really. Like I could do even more. Enhanced, somehow." He shrugged. "Dunno why."

"This is strange. So very... She still has the crystal." Rai uncurled the baghan's fingers from the cut gem, then stifled a hiss as he stared at it. "It's empty."

"What?!"

"The hexer's soul escaped somehow. I can't imagine where it went or how it even got ou--grrk!" Rai stared at Lhafa in surprise as her hands wrapped around his throat and squeezed. He threw himself backwards, feeling his flesh grind and windpipe cinch shut, but he couldn't break her grip and couldn't breathe--

Brandon's booted foot connected with the side of her head, knocking her sprawling. Rai gasped for air, coughing raspily, and scrambled upright as the baghan also stood, her tail lashing. She slipped into a fighting stance, her makeshift spear in one hand; her face was a mask of rage. Brandon laughed. "Girl, you have no idea how good I feel about a fight right now. Stand down."

"Girl!?" came her voice, strangled. "How dare you!" She lifted the spear, grasping it tightly, and gracelessly sprang--

The ex-paladin moved more swiftly than her, easily so, and sank his elbow squarely into a bloodied wound he saw stretching across her ribs. She cried out and fell to her knees - another blow to the back of her head sent her face-first into the dirt. Carefully, Brandon rested a boot between her shoulder blades, ignoring her ragged breathing. "So, why are you attacking us, again?"

"Brandon." Rai locked gazes with the bigger man. "Get off her. Now. I think I know what's going on."

Brandon didn't budge. "Oh, good," he muttered, eyeing the woman. "Enlighten me."

With a sigh, the magician moved forward and placed his palm on Brandon's shoulder, giving him a shove. Shocked by the strength in his companion's thin arms, the paladin stumbled and barely caught himself before he could fall. Rai knelt without a word, rolling Lhafa onto her side; a silver-and-blue glow from the tiny hide-wrapped bundle that she kept on a string caught both men's attention. "Where else could a dead man's mind go but into another magical object? This must be some amulet from her tribe." He touched the talisman lightly, then caught Lhafa's wrist as her hand shot towards his throat. It was too easy to restrain her; she must be weak from her wounds. The unusual physical power he felt was probably just a trick of his mind, seeming so strong and fast in comparison to being unable to move...

Rai kept his voice calm, level. "Lhafa. I think the Rockhide is maddening you with magic. Please try to calm down."

"'Lhafa'?" she spat, voice hoarse. Her wound was bleeding again, profusely; half her flank was already stained red. "I am Kerrek Rockhide, and I will not rest until I slay the murderers of my tribe!" She wormed her other arm from beneath her body to curl strong fingers around Rai's wrist, squeezing the pressure point painfully until he tore her grip loose with his free hand.

"...she's possessed?" Brandon blinked. "I don't know that I can do an exorcism for dead guys, Rai. Demons are my specialty." He stared, perplexed, at the struggling woman.

Surprised, Rai peered at the soft-furred, cat-nosed alien face that had become almost familiar to him. Lhafa had more restraint than to wear such an expression of hatred and fury. "Kerrek? Do you realize you're dead, and in Softstep's body?"

"Lies of a murderer!" she cried, baring her teeth.

"...Kerrek..." Brandon was unable to completely stifle his laughter. "Look at your chest. Or, hells, your fur. You're in a woman's body. Your enemy's body."

Slowly, Lhafa craned her neck to peer at her chest. There was a moment of stillness, then she let out an unholy scream. "I AM DEFILED! THIS IS NOT MY BODY!" Rai clung to her wrists as she began thrashing, and Brandon quickly grabbed her ankles to keep himself from getting lacerated by sharp hooves as she kicked out.

"Kerrek!" Rai snapped. "You're going to kill this body if you keep moving like this! You are wounded. Calm down. If you give us the knowledge we desire, we will help you get back to your body." He didn't glance over the ashen field to check if the hexer's body even remained intact.

For a moment, Lhafa stilled. Then, she resumed writhing, though she couldn't suppress a few short, pained noises when the gash in her side tore further. "I will kill this body and find my own again! I am defiled to wear the body of a woman! They are lesser! I must--" Abruptly, she went limp, the talisman glowing sharply silver - all hints of blue were consumed in the bright flash. Then, slowly, her eyes opened again, and her voice was softer. "Please release me now. I have control."

Wordlessly, Rai and Brandon let go of her ankles and wrists, and she pulled her limbs beneath her to sit up. "Lhafa? Can you... can you speak to him? Is he in your head?" Rai leaned forward intently, concerned.

She pressed a shaking hand to the wound in her flank, face again expressionless but for a wince. "I can, yes. He is incoherent."

Brandon crouched next to her, looking skeptical. "How'd you regain control? And will you lose it again?"

"I... was angered. I fought him fiercely at first, but he knows more of minds and bodies than I do. I laid in wait, gathering strength, until I could attempt again." Her breathing was measured, her eyes half-lidded. "I may lose control again, yes. He wishes to kill me - destroy my body. He is certain that he can escape once I die."

Ex-paladin and black magician exchanged glances. "This means," Rai said softly, resting a hand on her shoulder, "that we cannot trust you until he is gone. And we cannot rid you of him until we obtain the information about Zeh Gurhai that we need to save your world."

Lhafa nodded slowly. "I know." She exhaled, then said, "He knows many, many things, but I cannot read his mind. I can only feel his emotions. You will have to learn about Zeh Gurhai directly from him." She glanced at the blood smeared on her palm. "I am hurt," she admitted with something akin to shame in her voice.

"That, I can fix," Brandon muttered, placing both hands near her neck without touching the dappled fur. "We'll need you able to travel, anyways. Rai and I are feeling great. Not sure why, though," he said conversationally as golden light gathered in his palms and seeped into her body with honey-like slowness. "What's your amulet do, anyways? Didn't even realize it was magical until the ghost got in."

She stayed very still, eyes closed. "My talisman is from my... from the Softstep holy man. All spirit warriors have one. It strengthens us and helps to dull pain."

Rai tilted his head, sitting cross-legged with his robes crumpled awkwardly around his knees. "What exactly is a spirit warrior, Lhafa?"

Lhafa kept her voice quiet and level, though it was strained. "Spirit warriors are the women who guard the holy men. The holy men give us these talismans to make us more powerful than tribal warriors, who cannot use magic. Even when far away from the holy man, the talisman will work... until drained of strength."

"Uh... Softstep... why're spirit warriors women? No offense, but baghan men seem a lot more capable, at least where fighting's concerned." Brandon sounded perplexed as he continued to channel healing energy into her body. Her wounds were sealing slowly, and she seemed to be breathing easier.

"The tribesmen cannot use magic," she murmured patiently. "Only the holy men and the spirit warriors can. We are not taught the stories or the rituals; the talisman is our only way of using magic."

"Oh," Rai said suddenly. "Spirit warriors are the female equivalent of holy men. Just untrained, and given a source of power." He shook his head. "It's always strange to meet a people who differentiate their men and women so strictly."

The Light faded and died, and Brandon rose again, dusting his hands off. "Feel better?" He grinned down at her.

Lhafa glanced down at her wound, which was now only a thin scar, and stretched each limb carefully. "I do, yes." She couldn't hide a sigh of relief, and she smiled softly up at the ex-paladin. "Thank y--" She cut off with a choking sound, then went rigid, eyes rolling back in her head. The talisman shone bluely, the silver glow winking out.

Rai caught her as she collapsed.