"And that is…?" Nathifa asked.
Haaken kept his eyes on the roiling cloud above them as he answered. "A Ragestorm is a group of air elementals that were once bound in containment rings on sailing vessels or airships. During the Last War, when elemental vessels were damaged in battle and their air elementals were released, sometimes they merged into a single creature. I'm not sure why-something to do with the release of the magic within the containment rings themselves. Once a Ragestorm is created, its only purpose is to seek out other bound elementals of its kind, free them, and absorb them into its mass, growing larger and stronger. The Ragestorm sensed our air elemental and was drawn to our ship. But though we shut down our containment ring, the storm knows we have an air elemental onboard, and it won't leave until it's absorbed it!"
Nathifa looked back up at the Ragestorm with renewed interest and pondered what, if anything, her magic might be able to do to drive the creature off, if not destroy it altogether. Elementals of any stripe were notoriously hard to work with, and it required a high degree of mystic finesse and skill to deal with them. Nathifa had no training in the handling of elementals, and very little practical experience to drawn on. She wished she had Espial with her, but the obsidian skull that allowed her to hear her mistress's voice was inside the cabin, and she feared there wasn't time to retrieve it. She would've liked to consult her goddess on the best way to deal with the Ragestorm. But then, Vol preferred to help those who helped themselves.
The wind increased until it felt as if claws of ice raked their flesh. Nathifa could feel a column of air surround her, and a quick glance told her the others were experiencing the same thing. The Ragestorm was reaching out with invisible hands and grabbing hold of each of them. She felt air spinning rapidly around her, pressing inward with each revolution. The Ragestorm was attempting to crush them. Accompanying the sensation of increasing pressure was a feeling of movement, as if Nathifa were being lifted upward by the small whirlwind that had taken hold of her. But her feet remained on the Zephyr's deck, as did the others'. She was puzzled for a moment until she realized that they were being lifted upward because the ship itself was rising. The Ragestorm had grasped the sloop within its winds and was bearing the craft aloft, most likely intending to dash the Zephyr back into the sea, cracking the ship open like an egg, destroying the containment ring, and releasing its trapped brother. Voices shrieked in the wind, screaming rage in a language Nathifa didn't recognize, though she was able to divine the basic meaning from the tone.
You hunt us…
… capture us, enslave us…
Now it is we who hunt you…
You shall pay for what you've done to us, what you've done to our brother…
Nathifa knew that she had only seconds to act to prevent the Ragestorm from ruining everything she had worked so long and hard for, had sacrificed so much for…
She knew only a little about elementals, but from what Haaken had said, the release of mystic energy which occurred when the containment rings were destroyed acted as a binding agent of some sort, fusing the elementals and holding them together. But if a different sort of mystic energy were introduced into the mix, perhaps the binding agent could be disrupted.
You shall pay…
… pay, pay, pay!
The column of whirling air that pressed against her like the squeezing hand of an invisible giant prevented her from filling her lungs, and without enough air to speak, she couldn't use any spells that required a spoken component. And since her arms were pinned to her sides by the Ragestorm, the same went for spells that needed mystic gestures. That severely limited her options. If only she held the Amahau… but no, she'd left it back in the cabin. For safekeeping, of all things.
Pay, Pay, Pay!
She felt her ribs beginning to crack under the pressure the Ragestorm applied, and though she experienced no pain, she didn't relish the idea of being an undead ragdoll, her body crushed to the point of uselessness. With no time left, she chose to forego subtlety in favor of sheer power. She concentrated on gathering the necromantic energies at the core of her foul being-the dark power that dwelled where her mortal lifeforce once had-and using only the power of her will, she thrust the energy toward what she sensed was the heart of the elemental conglomerate that held them and their ship in its grasp.
A bolt of crackling ebon energy lanced forth from Nathifa's forehead and streaked into what she judged was the center of the creature-though in truth, she had no idea if this thing even had a center. The voices of the Ragestorm raised in pitched and took on an edge of desperation as the necromantic energy she'd released began to eat away at the ties binding the air elementals to one another.
No, you mustn't!
Stop… please!
We beg you!
"You want me to stop? Fine!" Nathifa shouted into the wind. "Release us and be on your way! Otherwise, I'll keep attacking, and you'll be forced to let us go!"
The shrieking stopped and the wind's anger abated somewhat, though it didn't entirely vanish. The Zephyr remained aloft, though Nathifa had no idea how high above the sea she hovered. Nathifa had the impression the Ragestorm had paused in its attack and was trying to decide its next move.
They didn't have long to wait.
The wind ceased, and the Zephyr-possessing all the aerodynamic properties of a large boulder-plunged to the waiting sea below. The sloop hit the water, sending up great plumes of seaspray. The whirling column of air that had held Nathifa withdrew, and when the Zephyr struck the surface, the lich was knocked off her feet. Before she could stand, a wave washed over the rail, engulfed her, and carried her away.
Nathifa had been bobbing on the surface of the Lhazaar for only a short time before she saw a dorsal fin slicing through the water toward her. As it drew close the shark slowed and turned its side to her. The lich took hold of the creature's dorsal fin, and the shark began swimming with powerful strokes of its tail. Within moments, they were in sight of the Zephyr-or at least what was left of her. The vessel was still afloat, but she listed to starboard and a set of runners was missing. The shark brought Nathifa up to the sloop's hull, and the lich let go of the creature's fin and, using her own magic, levitated up and over the ship's railing. Once her feet touched the deck, she took hold of the railing behind her to steady herself. She wasn't about to waste something as precious as magic energy to help her keep her footing on a canted deck.
A moment later, a humanoid shark climbed over the railing and joined Nathifa. The creature's facial features began to soften, and its eyes became less cold. Soon, a nearly naked Haaken stood next to the undead sorceress, also gripping the railing to keep from sliding on the slanted deck.
"I thank you for coming to my aid, Haaken." The words were as sawdust in her mouth. She wasn't used to needing help, and she was even less used to thanking anyone. She glanced around, searching for Makala and Skarm. She found the latter in his barghest form clinging to the mast, fur soaked and body trembling with fright. As for Makala…
A black-winged bat swooped down from above and circled the lich and the wereshark once before transforming into Makala. The vampire smiled weakly.
"All present and accounted for," she said, her voice tinged with weariness. It was clear to Nathifa that it had taken a great deal of strength for Makala to resist the energy-draining power of the Lhazaar. But resist she had, if only just.
Nathifa gazed skyward and was pleased to see the moons and stars once more. She didn't know whether she'd destroyed the Ragestorm or merely driven it off. Either way, she was glad the damned thing was gone.