Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 17:31:04 EDT
From: Rune Therin <mist_dark@hotmail.com>
Subject: Nysnc Saga, part 4

I'm back again.  And you thought you could get rid of me so easy.  Guess
again, I'm here forever.  (insert evil laughter).  Excuse that, I'm just a
tad odd today.  But that's good, oddity is fun.

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me about the last installment, and the ones
before that.  You guys have helped a lot.  In particular I want to thank
LHW and Kenitra, as well as Aphrodite.  There are more, many more.  But I
can't think of your names right now.  There are also a number of stories I
should recommend, but I can only think of two off the top of my head.  BSB
and Nsync Chronicles is a good one and so is Millenium Love.  Check them
out.  It's worth the time.  If I forgot you, I'm sorry.

The usual disclaimer applies.  This story isn't meant to implay anything
about the sexuality of the members of Nsync.  If you're not old enough or
it's illegal in your area to read this story.  Please leave.  This story
will contain homosexuality.  If that offends you, boy are you in the wrong
place.  I use some concepts in this story from the RPG Rifts.  All
trademarks belong to Palladium books and Kevin Siembieda.

Enjoy,
Rune

PART FOUR

	The cool desert breeze blew through the camp that Justin and Pyre
had set up.  Both of them had agreed that the town they had been staying in
wasn't right for them.  Neither felt overly comfortable there, but had
stayed until Justin stopped flying up to the ceiling.  Thankfully Justin
had learned quickly and was fine by the time the sun rose.  They had left
later that day, after securing some supplies for traveling.

	Justin had grown accustom to the heat of the desert, so traveling
during the day wasn't a problem any more.  Actually he wasn't affected by
the cold either.  The first few nights traveling with Pyre had been awful.
He would freeze during the night and roast during the day.  That had all
changed when he had been given the ring.  He assumed that his immunities
were a result of the ring's power.

	"Justin?"  Pyre's voice broke through.  "I've something I want to
ask you."

	"Huh?"  Justin said as he snapped back to reality.  "What is it?"

	"Are you comfortable traveling with me?"

	"What?"  Justin said.  Dread began to fill him.  What if Pyre
wanted him to leave.  He wasn't ready to brave this world alone.  He needed
Pyre to be his friend.

	"It's a simple question.  Do you like traveling with me?  Do you
want to continue traveling with me?"

	"Yeah.  I'm like traveling with you.  I've only known you a week,
but I like you.  You're a good friend.  I want to stay with you, if you'll
have me.  Why do you ask?"

	 "I was hoping you'd say that."  Pyre smiled and pulled something
from his pack.  "I was wondering if you wanted to be my partner."

	"You're what?"  Justin asked surprised.

	"You know, a partnership.  Where two people enter into a contract
and help each other out."  Pyre grinned at Justin.  "It's really not that
difficult to understand."

	"Shut-up."  Justin punched Pyre in the shoulder.  He'd gotten
control over how much force he used, so Pyre didn't go flying.  "What do
you do?"

	"I'm a vampire hunter," Pyre replied.  "These lands are full of
them, and there'd be a lot more of them if people didn't try to stop them.
Most people are too afraid of them to try to do anything.  And I guess it's
to be expected.  Vampires aren't the easiest things to deal with if you
don't know how."

	"So basically you want me to be your vampire hunting buddy?"

	"That's one way of putting it."

	"Cool.  I never thought I'd end up like a Belmont."

	"Who?"  Pyre asked with utter confusion in his voice.

	"Oh.  Where I come from there are some video games that have a
character called Simon Belmont in them.  He's a vampire hunter, his entire
family are, and he goes up against Dracula."

	"Whose Dracula?"

	"You don't know who Dracula is?"  Justin asked in amazement.  "He's
the most famous vampire ever.  He's like the vampire king."

	"The intelligence?"  Pyre asked.  It was Justin's turn to look
puzzled.  "Oh, you don't know.  Vampires are created in a world when a
powerful intelligence reaches out and touches a mortal mind.  It offers
that mind great power in return for servitude.  If the mind accepts then
the intelligence transforms it into a master vampire.  The master then
begins spreading the plague by biting people.  When there are enough
vampires the intelligence can come to that world physically.  So the
intelligence is a king of sorts."

	"Uh, I guess so," Justin said.  "But I think Dracula would be more
like a master.  He's powerful, but he didn't create vampires.  He just
became one."

	Pyre shrugged.  "Sure.  So do you really want to be my partner?"

	"Of course I do," Justin said.  "It'd be so cool.  And who knows, I
might actually meet up with my friends.  That'd be nice."

	Pyre nodded and handed Justin a small wooden box.  "Those should
help with fighting vampires."

	 Inside the box were ten silver claws.  Justin had to laugh, they
reminded him of the claws Catwoman had worn in Batman Returns.  Each was
well crafted and looked sharp enough to cut through steel.  "Wow!"  He
pulled out one of the claws and put it over his index finger.  It was a
perfect fit.  He quickly put the rest on his right hand and scratched at
the air a few times.  The claws showed no sign of falling off.  "Are these
for real?"

	"Yep.  They're real silver," Pyre told him.  "And they've been
enchanted to make sure they won't break."

	"You know," Justin said as he put the claws back in the box.  "As
morbid as this sounds, I can't wait to try those out."  Pyre laughed.
"Thanks Pyre."

	"For what?"

	"All of this.  You've been a great friend."

	"No problem Justin.  I'm glad I ran off that woman when I met you.
You've been an interesting person to be around."



	"Fayth," JC called.  "Wait up.  I want to talk to you."  JC had
finished his lesson with Ivar and had gone looking for Fayth.  He'd just
found her near a network of caves.  Everything was different underwater.
There was no real up or down.  And he still couldn't get used to the fish
swimming around him all the time.  The sun was just starting to set, not
that that had much impact on where he was swimming.  Though the shadows
were starting to encroach on the caves.

	"What do you want Josh," Fayth practically spat at him.  "Why are
you here?"

	"I wanted to talk to you Fayth," Josh said as he swam up next to
her.  His swimming skills were getting better, but he still couldn't keep
up with her if she decided she really didn't want to talk to him.

	"About what?"

	"That," Josh told her.  "Why do you hate me so much?  You hated me
the second I walked.er.swam through your door with your father.  I haven't
done anything to you and you hate me.  What's up with that?"

	Fayth arched an eyebrow.  "You're human Josh, that's enough for
me."

	"You hate me simply because I'm human?  Something I have no control
over whatsoever?  You're telling me you hate me because you're a bigot? "

	"I am not a bigot Josh," Fayth hissed at him.  "I hate you because
of what you did to my mother.  Nothing more nothing less."

	"No you hate what happened to your mother and you blame humans in
general," Josh retorted.  He was starting to get angry.  "You can't stand
the fact you were powerless to help one of the people who you loved.  You
can't punish the people who were directly responsible for your mother's
death, so you punish every human that comes along instead."

	"And what if I do?"  Fayth snapped.  "That's my business."

	"Let me tell you something Fayth.  Every human isn't out there for
the soul purpose of killing your loved ones.  The universe doesn't revolve
around you.  People get hurt and people die.  We don't have any control
over that.  I've got friends some where in this world and I don't even know
if they're alive.  I could blame the eel-people just because they were the
first things I saw in this world.  But I don't.  And do you know why?"

	"Why?" Fayth asked with sarcasm dripping from her voice.

	"Because I realize that there are some good people out there.  Yes,
there are some bad people.  But you're never going to find one of the good
ones if you don't stop hating every human that comes along.  Not all of
them are evil."

	"Good speech human."  A soft voice said.  A dark shape loomed in
the shadows of one the cave mouths.  "Very good indeed."

The shape moved out of the shadows.  It was a giant shark, easily a fifty
feet long and ten feet across.  It's jaws alone would have been able to
snap a grown man in two without difficulty.  It's skin was a dark gray and
it almost appeared to have no eyes at all.  It disturbed JC that the shark
was talking.  Not because it was talking, but that it was actually doing
it.  The mouth of a shark isn't built with the concept of talking in mind,
but this creature was doing very good job of speaking.

"A shadow shark," Fayth hissed under her breath.

The shark looked at her.  "Quite right.  You two have arrived just in time
actually.  You two are going to deal with a small problem I have."

"Really?" Josh asked cautiously.

"Yes.  I'm rather hungry at the moment and you're going to solve that
problem for me."  Somehow the shark managed to smile.  It was a truly
disturbing sight.  Rows of teeth gleamed in the dim light.

"Josh, it get stronger in the shadows," Fayth whispered to him.  "You get
some light here.  I'll set up something else to buy us some time to work
out a better plan."

JC nodded and quietly began singing.  The shark noticed him and started to
swim forward.  There was a flash and the shadows were gone.  A ball of
light hung above JC's head.  He moved it mentally and it set it above the
shark's body.  He sang a few more notes and the ball moved when the shark
did.  Always staying above it.

The shark noticed the ball and swam in a few circles trying to shake it.
Fayth moved herself the other side of the shark while JC just watched the
creature in awe.  It was performing physical feats that were impossible.
It went from being completely still to swimming at incredible speeds in
less then a foot.  To top it off, the shark was spinning in circles so
tight that it should have snapped in two.

Fayth began singing her own song as the shark stopped spinning.  The
creature oriented on JC.  "That was not a bright idea human."  It lunged
toward him but stopped suddenly.  A number of seaweed plants had attached
themselves to it's tail.

"Josh move out of the way," Fayth called.  More seaweed attached itself to
the shark preventing it from moving.  JC swam out of the shark's range, but
made sure to keep it completely in sight.

Fayth had already started another song and was ignoring him now.  It was a
shorter song, but made shivers run up his spine.  She held the last note.
The longer she held it the higher it got.  She abruptly shut her mouth and
a wave pulsed through the water.  It slammed into the shark, hard.  Because
of the weed-snare it was in, the shark could only rock in place.  JC
guessed that the force of the pulse would have sent it into one of the
nearby rocks.

"Would you mind helping me?"  Fayth asked.  "Or is that thought just to
much for your mind to handle?"

"Just keep it busy," JC snapped back.  He opened himself to his emotions
and sang them into a message.  His voice rose high enough to drown out the
shark's struggling.  When he finished a sound wave moved away from him in
all directions.  "That should get someone's attention.  FAYTH!"

While he had been singing a distress call the shark had broken free of it's
snare and was now swimming after Fayth.  It easily caught up to her and
opened its jaws to rip her tail off.

Without thinking JC started swimming toward them.  "The sun is yellow, the
ocean blue, the grass is green, what lovely hues."  The water around Fayth
hardened as the jaws snapped shut.  The shark grunted in surprise.  It
opened its jaws and closed them quickly again.  Fayth's tail was fine.  She
pulled it away from the shark's mouth and slapped the creature with it.
Fayth turned sharply and swam into a nearby crevice.

The shark shook its head to clear it.  By the time it had recovered itself
Fayth was safely out of reach.  It turned toward JC with its jaws opened.
The teeth were even more terrifying when they were moving toward you.  He
started swimming backward trying to get some momentum, but the shark was
closing to quickly.  He closed his eyes and prayed.

There was the sound of something being struck and a gasp of pain.  JC
slowly opened his eyes.  The shark had suddenly relocated itself alongside
some sharp rocks.  It lay there a moment before shakily swimming away.

A naked man floated in the water to JC's left.  No hair touched his ebony
black skin.  The skin around his left eye and cheekbone was white.  It made
an interesting contrast.  He was in perfect physical condition, and didn't
seem disturbed that he was naked in the presence of other people.

"Fayth," the man called.  "Come out now.  The shark is gone."

"Erastus?" Fayth called as she pulled herself out of the crevice she'd
dived into earlier.  "Is that you?"

"Yes child, it is.  Now get moving.  Your father will not be impressed by
this incident."  Erastus turned to JC.  "Next time move when a shark is
about to eat you.  Closing your eyes will do nothing to aid you."

"I knew you wouldn't be any help," Fayth snickered.

Erastus gazed levelly at Fayth.  "Actually he's the reason you're both
alive. He sent the call out and I heard it.  You two both are too
inexperienced to be tackling a shadow shark by yourselves.  What were you
both doing out here alone?"

JC blushed slightly.  Thankfully Erastus hadn't stopped looking at Fayth
and she was to busy studying the rocks to notice him.  "I followed her," he
explained.  "I wanted to talk to her and I found her here.  We were talking
and that shark showed up."

"Of course," Erastus said.  He seemed to know there was something more, but
didn't press the issue.  "Ivar will want to speak with you both, and I want
to talk to him as well."


	Lance pulled his knees tighter to his chest.  He had run from
Selvar a few hours before and had come across this library.  Normally
libraries fascinated him, but he just found the farthest corner and curled
up in it.  The last rational thought he had thought through was locking the
door.  He'd done that two hours before.  He hadn't move since.

	"Lance?"  Maria called softly.  The petite servant girl stood at
the end of the aisle of shelves.  "There you are.  I've been looking all
over for you."

	"Go away," he whispered.  "I don't want to talk to anyone."

	"Funny," she said as she came toward him.  "Selvar said the same
thing a little while ago.  But he needed to talk.  Just like you do.  He
told me what happened Lance."

	"Really?  Did he tell you about all of the things that he did.  All
of thing atrocities that he committed?  Did he tell you that?"

	"Yes, Lance.  And he told me more.  I know more about Selvar then
you do Lance.  We've been friends for a very long time.  All you saw was
part of his past.  You don't truly know the man."

	"I know enough to hate what he is, " Lance whispered.  "A monster."

	"Listen to me," Maria said forcefully.  "Why do you think that
Selvar helped you in those woods?  Why do you think he helped you?  He
could have just killed you in the forest.  Or he could have brought you
back here and tortured you.  But he didn't did he?"  She waited for a
response, but didn't get one.  "No, he didn't.  Did you question why he
hasn't harmed you the entire time you've been here?  That thought hasn't
crossed your mind, has it?"  She paused again.  "Well, has it?  Answer me!"

	"NO it hasn't.  Are you happy now?"  Lance shouted at her.  "Are
you happy to know that I haven't questioned why a murder hasn't killed me
yet?"

	"Think about it Lance," Maria said softly.  "Think for just a
moment why he hasn't done anything to hurt you.  He's gone out of his way
to make you comfortable.  None of his minions are here.  He's opened
himself completely to you.  If someone were to attack the castle right now,
we'd be in trouble.  Serious trouble.  We'd win, but we'd take loses
because the castle's normal defenders have been moved."

	"Why?"

	"Because they make you uncomfortable.  Lance, Selvar is a
necromancer.  And a damn good one, but he's not evil.  At least not any
more," Maria whispered.

	"What happened to him?"  Lance asked quietly.  "What changed?"

	"A spell," Maria replied helping Lance to his feet.  "One simple
incantation destroyed a monster and created a man.  He was attacking a
village.  I forget exactly what the village had done, but it had earned his
wrath.  He was striking a villager down when the town fool revealed himself
to be a dragon.  The dragon cast a spell on Selvar.  In a moment Selvar
relived every atrocity he had ever committed."

	"So?  What would that have done to him?"  Lance asked as he sat
down in one of the chairs at a library table.  "He wasn't affected by them
the first time.  Why would the second time be any different?"

	Maria smiled as she sat down across from Lance.  "Because this time
he experienced the events from his vicitms' eyes.  In an instant he relived
everything.  He was horrified that he had done these things.  Normally the
spell's effects only last a few minutes, maybe a few hours at most.  For
some reason Selvar reacted more powerfully to the spell.  The effects were
permanent.  It's been over two centuries and Selvar still hates what he
did.  He's never forgiven himself for it.  I doubt he ever will."

	"So a magic spell made him the way he is," Lance asked.  "And is
that supposed to make it all better?"

	"Not it isn't," Maria snapped.  "That spell didn't change him
directly.  For one moment it let him see the world differently.  He made
the choice to keep looking that way.  He could have gone back to the way he
normally thought, but he didn't.  He's trying to repent for his sins.  But
he won't accept forgiveness.  And that alone deserves some understanding."

	"How do you know all of this?  Did he tell you everything?  He
could be lying you know."

	"Selvar has never told me about his past in detail.  I knew he did
some bad things, but he never told me exactly what.  I know what happened
to him because I was there.  I saw him struck down with my own eyes.  I
touched his mind and knew what he was going through, and I knew he had
forever changed.  I slipped into the village and took him away.  It was
hard at first, I had to stop him from committing suicide.  In time, he saw
that he could continue living.  If only to make amends."

	"Are you an elf too?"  Lance asked.  "Selvar said he was over three
hundred.  You don't look that old."

	"Thank you," Maria blushed slightly.  "A woman is a mysterious
creature."  She stood and walked over to a shelf.  She scanned it for a
moment and pulled down a number of books.  She set them on the table and
pushed them toward Lance.  "I suggest that you at least repair the door
before you leave."

	"Leave?"  Lance asked.

	"That is what you were thinking isn't it?  You were going to leave.
That way you won't have to deal with a monster."

	Lance hung his head.  "I'm sorry Maria.  I didn't think things
through.  He made mistakes.  But I did too."

	"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.  Selvar is.  Though
I'd read up on diabolism before you do.  That way you could at least
understand how much damage you've done to the door."

	"Diabolism?"

	"Rune magic.  It takes symbols and charges them with magical
energy," Maria explained.  "The symbols on the door were magical runes.
You shouldn't have been able to open the door, but you overloaded the
magic.  You seem to have a touch for rune magic.  You might just be able to
fix the door.  It's the least you can do."

	"I guess so," Lance opened one of the books he'd been given.  It
was a thick leather bound tome.  The first few pages were covered with
nonsensical scrawling.  A few pages in it started to make sense to him.
Maria was right, he would have to fix the door.  After that he would talk
to Selvar.



	The soft snores from Chris caused Evelyn to smile.  She carefully
pushed the blanket around his shoulders and lightly kissed his forehead.
Chris snuggled into the warmth of the blanket without waking.  She stepped
over to Joey and made sure his blanket was tucked around him before kissing
his forehead as well.

	"They're so innocent when they're asleep," she murmured to herself.
"I hope they stay that way forever Daryl."  She quietly backed out of the
room and closed the door behind her.

	It had taken some time to get Chris calm enough to sleep.  He may
not be five years old, but he had the energy of a child at times.  It was
endearing at times.  She finally just drilled him on the candle until he
was exhausted.  He had gotten it to light several times before he went to
bed.

	Evelyn took her cloak from its hook.  She gave the room a quick
glance to make sure everything was settled.  It was.  She wrapped the cloak
around her shoulders as she stepped out into the winter night.

	It was snowing outside, but there was no wind.  She didn't bother
with a telekinetic shield to block the snow.  She'd long ago learned that
these situations didn't need her enormous psionic power.  Instead she just
shut the cold out with her cloak and ignored the occasional piece of snow
that worked its way up her leg.

	She moved away from the cabin and into the dark forest.  The
darkness didn't bother her.  Evelyn had never been afraid of the dark.  She
would occasionally scan the area with her mind to make sure nothing was in
the area.  Nothing dangerous ever was.  The local wildlife was either
sleeping or uninterested in her.  She wouldn't be bothered.

	Her destination appeared ahead of her between two large trees.  She
had traveled this route so many times she could have done it blindfolded.
There were times she wished she could forget that this place existed.  But
she never had, and never would.

Evelyn pushed onward and entered the cave.  A small snowdrift had collected
in its mouth.  She stepped over it and continued.  Just inside the mouth
she picked up a torch.  She concentrated on it and the tip lit.  Chris
would have been envious of how easily she did it.  He was still having
difficulty trying to concentrate long enough to create fire.  She shook her
head and forced the thoughts from her mind.  Christopher wasn't why she was
here.  At least not exactly.

The cave echoed her footsteps as she made her way toward the back of the
cave.  The hard rock of the outer cave gave way to soft earth.  The cold
hadn't penetrated this far in, so the earth wasn't frozen.  In the
torchlight Evelyn saw why she'd come.  A hand- carved tombstone gleamed in
the gloom.  Holding the torch in one hand, she lowered herself next to the
grave.

"I know it's been a while since I've come," Evelyn said softly.  "But I've
been busy.  Some boys came into my life.  I've been taking care of them.
They're so young an inexperienced."  She laughed quietly.  "Like you
actually.

"Christopher is like you in so many ways.  I've been able to use some of my
tricks on him.  You know the ones I used on you?  They still work.  At
least they work well enough."  She sighed.  "They're both good boys.  I
only hope I can help them both.

"I can't really stay long.  I want to.  But they might wake up.  They
aren't ready to be without me just yet.  I exhausted them both before I
left.  They shouldn't wake up, but they might."  She touched the grave with
her free hand.  The moisture from the cave had condensed and obscured
anything written on the stone.  "I miss you.  I'll be back as soon as I
can.  I love you."  She pulled her hand away and ran out of the cave.

In her haste Evelyn to leave dropped the torch.  It lit the room, but
slowly started to die.  One word shone in the fading light.  Daryl.


TBC

Okay, how was that?  Feedback please.  I'm not sure when I'll have the next
part out.  But since I've been pumping these out so quickly, I think we can
all wait a bit for the next part.  Anybody want to hazard a guess as to who
Daryl is?  I've already sort of told you, but I just want to see how many
people remember.

Feel free to drop me a line at Mist_dark@hotmail.com