Into the Light

32 | MERGING

The tethers came again, hungry, grasping. They ignored Illidan's attempts to put himself in their path, his screams to choose him instead of Tyrande. Driven by Gul'dan's necromancy, the tethers wrapped themselves around the sphere once more, pulling it towards the portal. The Light of Elune poured into Tyrande, she braced herself, but it wasn't enough. The pain was more than she could stand. She blacked out and woke to find Elune had not been able to heal her completely before the next group of tethers arrived. She screamed as she was consumed once more, Elune's power surging through her and down the tethers into the portal. Above the crackling hiss of blue fire, she heard a sound, insidious, jarring, reminding her of a dagger's point drawn upon glass. Something sharp struck her, and burrowed its way into her soul. She could taste it, bitter and cold, it gnawed into her, spreading darkness and despair.

She opened her eyes. She was back in the Chamber. Illidan the demon hunter watched her, intent. His golden tendrils seethed around her, encircling her, caressing her. She still couldn't move. The tendrils brought her against Illidan's torso, holding her in a lover's embrace. She heard Illidan's voice in her mind.

I will not hurt you. For as long as I can I will protect you. You can trust me.

She felt his lips press against the top of her head. She blinked and she found herself back in the sphere, whole again, remade for the hundredth time. They were moving once more.

Illidan caught her eye as he strained to push the sphere across the endless distances. "Do you remember the Chamber?"

"Yes, but how could you--"

"Because I was there too."

She moved closer to him. "That was you? But, how?"

He shook his head. "I can only guess. I think Elune's stolen Light is speeding up Gul'dan's work, which means for a while we will be able to experience both here and there, as our spirits and bodies merge."

Tyrande thought about it, but it didn't make any sense for her to have been in the Chamber. She was safe inside the sphere. Illidan continued, grim, reading her thoughts.

"A tether breached the sphere. A part of you left with it. Your transformation is beginning. Though I tried, there was nothing I could do to stop it. Elune sealed the breach, but not soon enough."

Tyrande wrapped her arms around herself. The memory of the pain in her torso returned, and she relived the grisly feeling of that thing burrowing into her. She shuddered. How could she have forgotten? Gul'dan--the crafty orc--had been using the tethers not only to attack the sphere but also to siphon Elune's Light away from the Goddess and into Illidan's body. Tyrande looked at Illidan, who continued to watch her, tense. He had said he was protecting her from being violated again, that meant . . . No.

"How long have you been able to be in both places at once?"

His jaw clenched. "Since your dream."

She crept closer to him, seeing the tension in his face, the tightness around his eyes. "How do you do it, how do you overcome Sargeras, and your other self?"

"The same way I overcame everything else that has passed in my life. I use my will. It seems the ten thousand years I spent confined to a cell weren't wasted after all."

She reached out and touched the sphere, tracing the contour of his jaw. "I once accused you of being drawn to power, saying it was a fault you needed to remedy. How wrong I was, your power is what will save us all in the end."

He scoffed. "I can only stop this for so long, if Malfurion doesn't get us out of there soon, I will be the avatar of Sargeras, and you--" he looked away, unwilling to finish.

"Will be his consort," Tyrande said, quiet.

He glanced at her, sharp. "How did you know?"

"When I entered the Nether, Sargeras told us it was our destiny. I didn't believe it could happen, Elune is a goddess."

Anger flashed in Illidan's eyes. He shoved his weight against the sphere, the muscles in his chest and arms flexing. "She has bound herself to a mortal, which makes her vulnerable. How pleased Sargeras must be with himself to enslave a goddess."

"I refuse to believe it will happen. Malfurion will find a way."

Illidan cursed, and shoved the sphere, using his shoulder. "Will he? Perhaps he has run back to his precious barrow den to sleep while the rest of Azeroth fights his battles for him."

Tyrande opened her mouth to defend her husband but the words died on her lips. The tethers were coming again.

She could hear Illidan bellowing over the thuds of a dozen tethers slamming against the sphere. She spun around, incredulous. Gul'dan's power was increasing exponentially. She didn't even have time to prepare herself. The Light burned into her, vicious, coursing through her body until it filled the sphere. The tethers juddered, splintering. They howled, dying, their high-pitched cries gnawing into her spine.

An insidious chuckle. She opened her eyes. The Chamber, again. Illidan's golden tendrils tightened around her, protective. He did not look at her. His eyes blazed, filled with hate, fixed on someone behind her.

A voice--like a blade against a sharpening stone--chilled her soul. Gul'dan.

"I applaud your tenacity Illidan, but you cannot protect her forever. Elune continues to weaken, and now without her protection, so does your precious Tyrande. Soon they will belong to our Master. And then, I intend to finish what I started with you. I look forward to watching you suffer."

Tyrande could feel Illidan straining against the tethers holding him imprisoned; felt his hatred sear through her, burning hot, like lava. She closed her eyes, sensing the darkness growing within her, her own spirit turning against her. It beckoned, promising her power beyond her dreams. She looked at Illidan, fighting both his tainted self, and Sargeras. She closed her eyes, and blocked out her thoughts. Malfurion would come. He had to. The alternative was unthinkable.