Chapter 52: Chapter Fifty-Two: Afraid of the Da'ark?
By the time Fury and Moon Bear entered Ranjai Tor's battlements, Nicodemus was walking on his own. He knew approximately where the stone panel was that triggered the secreted door, but Moon Bear's superior night vision spotted the outline where the warmth seeped through the seam of the stone door. He led Fury right to it. Nicodemus pressed the stone that would swivel the stone wall inward and as it softly rumbled open, Fury motioned Moon Bear to go in ahead of him. There were several tunnels and staircases built throughout the thick walls of the outer wall of Fury Castle. Nicodemus had the map in his head and could navigate in darkness if necessary. Fury slid his fingertips along the wall until he stopped and pressed a small stone and it slid inward. "This goes up to the study," Fury whispered for only Moon Bear's ears to pick up.
They started up the narrow staircase and mid-way Fury paused and slid the small shield away from the lantern and the luminous glow provided more than enough light to show the rest of the way up to the study. Moon Bear followed silently behind Nicodemus. As they climbed higher it grew warmer. Moon Bear laid a hand on the wall, which was almost too hot to the touch. They were passing behind one of the chimney stacks. Fury paused, lifted the lamp higher, and pressed his hand against a brick. The wall swung inward, and he stepped into his study. Moon Bear followed him into the room.
Fury pushed the panel that contained books and other items back into place and smiled at the Sith. "For the quick escape – when necessary."
Moon Bear did not respond but went to stand near the fireplace. He had avoided getting too wet in his rescue efforts, but his clothes were still damp. Fury left Moon Bear crouching close to the fire of his study while he went to change into dry clothes. He left everything in the bathing room. Falco was used to finding his master's clothes in various states of filth, including muddy wet clothing and boots. He threw on a clean shirt and a pair of loose trousers. He pulled on a pair of light boots and returned to the study.
"Moon Bear, I need to get word to the Emperor. I am going to need his help. You saw Li'Bann and heard what she revealed." Fury said. "I need to verify her words. Perhaps your emperor will have more reliable information for us."
"Do you propose to confront the Dannan?" Moon Bear asked.
Nicodemus paused in thought. He felt the Sith's eyes on him. "If I do not, then I am as guilty as my father of keeping secrets. If I must, I will take Siobhan to Li'Bann myself."
"Then she will know that you have renewed your Da'ark alliances." Moon Bear replied.
"Siobhan is aware of my checkered past," Nicodemus replied. "My fear is that she may not be prepared to know her family secrets."
"What message do you want my sire to relay?" Moon Bear asked.
"If the name Taalor'Rakshah is known to him and where he and Colleen Dannan may be hiding?"
"Not if Li'Bann lies?" Moon Bear wanted to know.
Nicodemus smiled. "My association with Li'Bann spans enough years that I already know she obscures the truth to suit her purposes, but she speaks the truth in what she chooses to reveal."
Moon Bear nodded silently. "A vigil should be kept until dawn to watch for dry drowning."
"Falco and Aria will be coming soon," Nicodemus replied. "I will let them know to monitor me for the ill effects of Li'Bann."
Moon Bear rose from the hearth where he sat across from his uncle and started to leave. Nicodemus caught Moon Bear's sleeve and the Sith paused. "Thank you again for coming to my aid."
Moon Bear tilted his head, his ears swiveling forward. His mouth drew up in a faint smile. "You are welcome – uncle."
Nicodemus heard the door close softly behind him and he smiled, eyes drooping to nap next to the warmth of the fire. Falco would be coming to check on him soon. The effect of the vaccine so far had given him no ill effects. But the near drowning in the dark depths of Li'Bann's mirky waters might give him trouble for the next few days. He was certain Aria would have a curative for him. The warding on his bedroom was in place and the woman he now cherished beyond his own life, slept peacefully.
When Aria came to check on Nicodemus, she sensed something beyond the vaccine. Falco had come earlier with breakfast, and Nicodemus was already up and eating. "Rom, what ails you?"
"I had a meeting with Li'Bann last evening and we did not leave on congenial terms," Fury murmured.
Aria made a displeased sound in her throat but remained silent. She monitored him and found him only slightly affected by the dank waters of the Cloutie well. She mixed a draught and handed it to him. "This will fully dispel even the smallest droplet of foul water from your lungs. I do not recommend any further contact with the lady in question."
"I am afraid that I may not be able to make that promise," Nicodemus replied. He set his plate aside and took the small glass Aria handed him. He knocked it back and made a face. "Foul stuff you give me, Aria."
"Foul for foul!" Aria quipped as she took the glass from his fingers. She closed her eyes and looked at Fury. They both felt Sunny waken from her slumber. "Should I be near in case of ill feelings?"
"No," Nicodemus replied. "I do not think there will be anything to soothe. You and your group should be on the way as soon as possible. Gaddis has assured me the mountain pass will be open and there will be Sith guards to escort you and your group to the quarantine area in Ne'Media."
"Yes, Rom," Aria picked up her things and her small box of unguents and medicinal vials and left quietly.
Sunny dressed quickly and joined Fury in his study. Falco was there with her meal and as she perched on a hassock with her tray, she could sense there was something on Fury's mind and that he was hiding something important from her. She chewed quietly and finished her meal quickly. Falco returned to take away the tray, and Nicodemus came to sit across from Sunny on the settee.
"I took a trip to the main Cloutie well of Li'Bann last night." He began. "It was not a pleasant trip, but it yielded even more unpleasant information."
Sunny was adjusting her position on the hassock when she froze and gave him her undivided attention. "Li'Bann?"
"I believe you have had contact with one of her sisters," Fury replied. "The one Bracken called up at the Thornefield Cloutie."
"That one told me to go away," Sunny said, "That they couldn't protect me from what was coming."
"And that is true," Fury said quietly. "You cannot be protected. Not from the dangers that lie waiting for you or the truth that has been hidden from you."
"What are you leading up to?" Sunny asked. She felt prickles of dread creep along her spine. "What else has been hidden from me?"
"I should preface what I am about to tell you, that Li'Bann is notorious for twisting the truth to feed her twisted desire to make things interesting for herself. She is an old Da'ark spirit, and she is as bitter and rank as the Cloutie water she dwells in." Fury rose and began to pace to the table where his decanter of favorite liquor sat. It was far too early to begin drinking and he turned his back on the beckoning deep bronze decanter. "Li'Bann and I have had a long acquaintance. I have assisted her, and she has helped me over the years – always at a price. It has never been an easy alliance between us." Fury paused and considered the best way to tell Sunny what he had learned. He decided to just tell her exactly what had transpired. "Last evening, I went to her, and she and I had counsel of sorts, and then she tried to kill me." When Sunny started to speak, he held up his hand to quiet her. "Moon Bear, always curious, followed me. He saved my life and drug my half-drowned carcass back here."
Sunny sat back, "Go on." Nicodemus felt her open up and listening but also studying the way he stood, the way he fidgeted with his tunic collar and other tells he gave to his discomfort.
"My purpose for visiting Li'Bann was to find out more about Taalor'Rakshah. Who he was, where to find him, and what he was after – other than you and your powers," Fury rejoined Sunny and sat on the couch in front of her and leaned forward his quicksilver black eyes locking with hers. He had to make sure that what he told her and what she would be able to envision would not be misinterpreted in any way. "I asked Li'Bann, who is Taalor'Rakshah, and where can I find him. If I found him would I also discover his magicker?"
Sunny reached out and laid her hands over Fury's forearms, "Show me," she whispered. He easily found the channel to establish a rapport with Sunny. From Fury's own eyes, she looked up at the dark towering mist as it swirled like a black waterspout, ever higher until the top of the column of water rippled near the top of the waterfall. "You ask much of us!"
"I need to know!" Nicodemus had never felt such anger and fear in Li'Bann as he felt the near murderous anger roiling in the water spirit. Still, he could not leave until he knew how to help Siobhan. "I cannot help the Daj Sultana if I do not know!"
Li'Bann's watery scoff, foamed down on him, the stench of rot dusting his hair and shoulders in a mist. "You cannot save the Daj Sultana from Taalor'Rakshah's magicker! They are the same!"
"What lies do you speak!" Fury roared back; this could not be true!
The dark waters of the pool sloshed like thick oil over the boulder and rocks that contained the Cloutie well. It wrapped around his legs to his knees, and he had to grab onto the nearest boulder to keep from being washed away. From the column of dark water, Li'Bann molded a human form. From the waist up she solidified an ebony gelatinous body clad in shimmering mists of water that were gossamer thin. Her sinuous body was both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. She lowered herself on her frothing column of water and brought her face close to Fury. "The Dannan's keep secrets!"
"Fiona?" He felt weak and the watery arms wrapped around his legs and slithered tighter around his hips. He slumped against the rocks as if wounded.
Li'Bann threw back her head and gurgled laughter, her rippling waves of her dark hair floated around her head like snakes. "No, you foolish man. The true Dannan!"
"Colleen? Colleen is dead!"
Li'Bann's mirth rippled from loathing to gleeful delight. "Is she?"
Fury shook his head in disbelief. This was all so incomprehensible! "Fiona, knows?"
Li'Bann threw out an arm toward Fury snaked around the rock where Fury stood and wrapped around his body like a boa constrictor. Her face constantly changed as the moonlight sparkled off the water. "You come to me, demand answers of me, question me, defy me! I should kill you!"
Fury felt the chill waters creep up around him, encircle around his neck, and slither up over his head like an embrace. "You foolish man, I do this to save you and save my kind! You will not die this night – but this is the last time I save you. Nicodemus Fury, son of Starfire – from now until perdition - you are on your own!"
"Li'Bann saved herself, and she saved you too. She must have known others were watching other than Moon Bear." Sunny said surfacing from Fury's vision. Then her face turned hard, and the bronze fire flashed at the rims of her emerald eyes. "Colleen is alive – do you think Aunt Fiona knows?"
Fury scrubbed worriedly at his face. "I do not know what I believe!"
"Who was watching that night other than Moon Bear?" Sunny asked him as she left the fire to sit before him once again. "Li'Bann knew someone was there – watching to make sure they could report back that she tried to kill you but failed because Moon Bear was there to save you."
"Right now, we need to know if Colleen is truly alive and where she is hiding," Nicodemus said. "And we need to know if Fiona knows anything about this."
"Do you think Aunt Fiona would keep something like that a secret?" Sunny asked. "I can't believe she could know!"
Nicodemus rose and began to pace the floor again. "There is only one way to know, and that is to ask." He looked over his shoulder at Sunny. "You are the only one who would know if she was being truthful."
Sunny glared at him, "You think she would lie!" she snapped at him.
"To protect you?" Nicodemus returned with equal force, "Yes; I do!"
Emotionally deflated, Sunny let her rage go and plopped down in one of the chairs by the fireplace. She dropped her head into her hands and felt hot tears sting her eyes. She rubbed them away and looked up at Nicodemus. "I understand – but as you said – I will know if she's… not being truthful."
"We are due at the arch to hand off the vials of the vaccine. Fiona will be with Tully. Only the awakened Dannan can pass through the arch." Fury told her. "If Fiona is the standing Dannan, she will pass through the arch, and then we will know."
Sunny nodded sadly. "I can't believe that Aunt Fiona would keep this secret! I just can't believe she could do it!"
"Nor can I!" He muttered.
"Li'Bann called you son of Starfire," Sunny said suddenly, "Your mother was in the Sisterhood, deeper than you've admitted to me --- how deep were you?"
Nicodemus headed to the decanter of liquor and this time did not hesitate to pour himself a drink. "Deeper than I ever wanted to be!" he looked over at Sunny and saw the disappointment in her eyes. Even he had kept secrets from her. He threw the contents of the liquor into his mouth and let it burn down his throat. "I have made alliances I am not proud of – now that I find myself deeply in love with the descendant of Annwyn Mor – I could not possibly tell you all the dark and deceitful things I have done or the moral degenerates I have helped in my lifetime! But know this: I am true to you, Siobhan! To protect you I may have to hide my activities from you but I have never and I will never lie to you." He poured himself another drink and poured Sunny a smaller portion of the brandy into another glass. He took both glasses over and held the smaller glass out to her.
She took it and stared at the contents for a moment then looked up at him through tear-bright eyes. "I believe you, Nicodemus."
He raised his glass in salute and they took a big burning hot gulp together. "To liquid courage," Nicodemus muttered.
"Slainte!" Sunny whispered and they drank in silence.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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