Capítulo 51: Chapter Fifty-One: Shadow Ribbons
The early afternoon passed pleasantly between Nicodemus and Sunny. They emerged hand in hand for the evening meal. Falco had set up the meal for them in Fury's private study. Whatever Falco knew of his employer and the Daj, he kept to himself. He came and went about his duties quickly and left them together.
"It's too bad Annwyn Mor didn't think about germ warfare," Sunny commented as they lingered over their meal.
He looked at Sunny. "You speak as if you believe past sicknesses were deliberate as well?"
She paused in sipping her tea, "Whatever sickness that came to Nu'Ada before, devastated the people. It would be hit or miss, but whoever was killed by disease, it would be a success for someone bent on causing chaos and fear. That's probably what the Ard Ri is rightly concerned about." Sunny replied. "I am surprised he ever sent his brother to Ballencoo to give testimony to the Morrigan."
"The Ard Ri rarely ventures from the palace," Nicodemus replied. "It would always fall to Rory Affaron as his military commander to do the dangerous work. I do not think he would have come to Ballencoo if he had not been curious to see you."
"Am I that much of a threat even to the king of Nu'Ada?"
Nicodemus smiled grimly. "The Affaron brothers are rightly afraid of all threats. Rory Affaron considers everyone a threat. You are a potential threat – he considers me a threat as well, but I do not think either of us wants the crown as he does."
"I wonder if he wasn't in Nu'Ada for another reason?" Sunny said. "I was an afterthought. He delivered his testimony and then before he and his escort left, he acknowledged me – thanking me for helping save the Ard Ri and his family."
"You are thinking he was there for another reason?"
"His appearance was out of character," Sunny said. "You said so yourself, the royal family hardly ever leaves the safety of the palace. Things had already been settled between the Winterborne and Affaron families. Anyone could have delivered that message. It didn't have to be a highly placed member of the royal family to come before a lower court."
Nicodemus nodded silently. "I am not sure where your thinking is taking you, but it is not sounding very good for Rory Affaron."
Sunny scoffed lightly, "I'm just thinking out loud," she said. "Things are not adding up exactly right. Maybe he was seeing someone, or had business he was checking on?"
Nicodemus frowned in thought. To his knowledge, there would have only been one person Rory Affaron would have wanted to personally check on. Whether he visited was anyone's guess.
There was movement on the balcony of the study. Sunny looked out into the trees and lifted her chin toward the stand of tall conifers, "Someone is coming."
Nicodemus rose and went to the glass doors and watched silently as the black raven landed briefly on the stone wall surrounding the balcony and croaked a greeting. He pushed the doors open wide. "Come in with your news."
The raven cocked its head to focus a black beady eye on Fury then launched from his perch on the balcony to perch on Sunny's shoulder. The missing flight feather identified the raven as none other than Danu, himself.
"Who is coming?" Sunny asked looking up at the raven.
"Moon Bear!" Danu cawed hoarsely. "Tonight!"
Nicodemus nodded and went to the door to the hallway and called for Falco. When the man arrived, Fury took him aside and murmured his requests softly in Falco's ear. Falco nodded and disappeared. Fury returned to where the raven now poked at the leftovers on the dinner plates. "Thank you for coming so quickly with your news, Danu. You and your brethren are welcome to shelter for the night where you wish."
Danu angled his black eye at Sunny. "Da'ark watch!"
"I will stay put!" Sunny replied.
Danu ruffled his black feathers, chuckled softly against Sunny's ear, then sprang off her shoulder and went out the balcony doors and was gone. Nicodemus sighed heavily. "It appears that I will have to tell you more about the Da'ark Magickers."
"Maybe you should," Sunny replied to join him where he stood near the doorway. "I think Annwyn Mor might be a founding member."
Fury nodded and went to secure the balcony doors. He glanced out to watch Danu and a few of his brethren head for the high spires of the forest trees. "I sent Falco to fetch a Da'ark textbook from my library, it belonged to my mother."
"Your mother?" Sunny repeated, "How did she come by such a book?"
Nicodemus glanced over at Sunny and shrugged his shoulders lightly. "As most marriages here in Nu'Ada, it was arranged, and as far as I could guess, it was an amicable contract. She was destined to enter the sisterhood when she came of age, but her older sister died, and her plans changed. She maintained a connection to the sisterhood, but she married my father. She bore him three sons and died in childbirth with Brianna, the last of the Fury children. We boys were sent off to attend training from various relatives and learn how to be civilized lords of the manor. I came here to Ranjai Tor, it belonged to another ne'er-do-well brother of my mother. My father highly disapproved of him. But my uncle took me under his black wing and taught me everything I needed to know to get along in this world."
Falco arrived with a large leather-bound book with the same kind of latches as the Dook Book Fiona had read from. "Here is the book you wanted from your library, Rom."
Nicodemus took the book from Falco, "Thank you, Falco. We will be expecting a guest later this evening, ask Aria to stay close to help make him comfortable."
"Of course, Rom," Falco replied. He bowed and left the room as quietly as he had arrived.
"He never questions anything that happens, does he?" Sunny asked.
Nicodemus grinned. It was boyish and full of mischief. "Falco is truly indispensable! I do not know how I would have survived if he had not been here to patch me up and throw a blanket over me when I needed rest."
Sunny shook her head in disbelief, but since Fury had spent most of his life with no wife or children who depended on him, he could take risks without having to worry about protecting anyone. Only things had changed. Now he had Sunny. Fury unlatched the book closures and glanced over at her. He flipped through the thick parchment pages and found what he was looking for. "Here it is, this will be part of explaining the relics that are part of the prophesy Gaddis and I spoke of," He went over to the couch and sat down comfortably. Sunny settled cross-legged on the large ottoman in front of him to listen.
"Four magickers brought with them four relics. The first relic was the cauldron of Magda Mor. In times of famine, the caldron would appear. When it was filled with water and placed over a cooking fire, it would fill with nourishment until all the hungry were fed. For as long as there was someone who came to the cooking pot looking for food, the cauldron would provide. Once removed from the fire, the caldron would disappear and wait for the next time it was called into service. "
"The next relic was the sword of light. The warrior magicker was called Haia Solias. He took the sword into many battles and no man could escape its justice when it was drawn from its scabbard. When Solias grew old and was on his death bed, he called his liegeman to him and told him to take the sword and throw it into the sea to be lost forever. He did not want his son given the burden of such a relic. But his liegeman disobeyed the order, and he secreted the sword away and gave it to Solias' son, Helos. The boy had not even sprouted whiskers when he rode into battle to face the great Ne'Median warrior called, Morra. As he faced Morra, he drew the sword from the scabbard and attacked. Morra recognized the sword and knew that if he surrendered to Helos the sword would not strike him down. Helos was not familiar with how the sword of Light worked and when Helos tried to kill Morra, the sword of Light turned on the boy, and the blade shattered like glass. The pieces were lost in time."
Nicodemus glanced over at Sunny, "I suspect the Shai Alomar to be one of those pieces."
Sunny only nodded and Nicodemus continued reading:
"Of course, it was Annwyn Mor, the greatest magicker of all time, who fashioned the stone of destiny. It is the stone that calls the Ard Ri to Tara'Nechtan. Just how powerful Annwyn Mor was, is still unknown. She held powers so great that no one could match her."
"The last is the Star Fire spear, born from a fallen star that came from the deepest part of the universe. When it impacted the land, it split open, and at its core was the blackest piece of metal ever seen. It was forged by Faeon Mor into two spear points set into a staff of rowan. When the first spear point emerged from Faeon's forge, it had the power to kill instantly. It was bright and shining like the sun. The second spear point when it was forged, was dark as obsidian and it could return the spark of life to the dead. Where the spear ended up, no one knows. It is said that the Star Fire spear was entrusted to the followers of the Crimson Path. The first order to harness the Star Fire was the Da'ark Brotherhood. They studied and harnessed the primeval forces of it, commanding as needed, power over the elements. Then the order of women called the 'Sisters of Star Fire' tap into the powers of the Star Fire spear. They deal mainly with the manipulation of the mind."
"The Sisters of Starfire and the Da'ark Brotherhood could never wield the Star Fire spear for when Faeon Mor forged the metal, he wove a spell into the metal – that only one with a pure heart may ever wield the spear. So, while both orders may tap into the powers of the Star Fire, none of their orders may ever wield it."
"And no one is without some kind of sin or guilt?" Sunny guessed.
"No one is willing to test their purity against it," Nicodemus replied with a wry grin touching his mouth briefly. "I suppose that also applies to the other relics as well."
"Except for the Shai Alomar," she said getting to her feet. Sunny crossed over to the doors of the balcony and gazed out for a moment. "How did Shai Alomar get to Ballencoo? When I found it and held it, it was made of metal."
"That I do not know," Nicodemus replied. "No one knows when it disappeared, but if we go by what Gaddis has said, it belonged to his ancestor Gaddis Anu, and he gifted it to his wife. What happened in between him giving it to his wife and it ending up in Arwyn, would have taken someone with great power to move metal across Ne'Media and Arwyn and live."
"Since it is in Ballencoo, and it was in Ne'Media at one time, that means there could be a way to get metal through the portal?" Sunny suggested almost to herself. She turned to face Nicodemus. "And no one has ever tried?"
"Oh, it has been attempted many times," Fury told her, "There is just no one alive to tell how spectacularly it failed."
"We know the stone of destiny is here in Nu'Ada," Sunny said. "We know that perhaps the tip of the sword of light might be the Shai'Alomar in Ballencoo but about the other relic? The cauldron?"
"Unknown," Nicodemus replied. "A magical cooking pot would never be given up!"
Sunny chuckled. "No, I guess not! No more than someone who had a magic spear that could kill with one point and raise the dead with the other would voluntarily give that up. But do you think someone is trying to reassemble the relics?" Sunny wondered, "What would happen? If someone was able to bring all the relics back together, what would happen?"
"Even if all were brought together, it would do no good. The sword of light was shattered, and its pieces lost in time." Nicodemus said a frown beetling his brows in thought.
"So really only the Shai'Alomar is the only relic with any power," Sunny said, then shook her head in confusion. "But I don't know what good it would do anyone here in Nu'Ada or Ne'Media beyond the status of possessing it."
Fury closed the book and fixed the latches in place. "We will not be solving that mystery tonight!"
Sunny gazed into the fire for a moment then got to her feet, "No, but it's still an intriguing mystery. And I think someone is after it!"
He joined her by the fire. The play of the light and shadow over her face fascinated him. He intended to redirect her attention to something more enjoyable and found himself happily engaged in wooing her to his bed! Sunny was an enthusiastic lover! Nicodemus lost himself completely as her touch set his heart pounding.
When the knock on the study door, Nicodemus brought himself up short! Sunny kissed his mouth. "I'll be waiting for you." She whispered. Fury reluctantly let her slip from his embrace and disappear into his bedroom. When he gained composure he called the visitor.
Aria entered the room. In her hands was a package she carried very carefully. "The first serum has arrived."
He went over to the desk and turned the lamp light up. Aria set the package down. "The serum is packed for travel," she told him, "Deyen, one of the volunteers from my clan made a smaller 'cooler'."
Nicodemus smiled at the ingenuity of the siren, "Is that his true name?"
"Yes," Aria replied. "It is not his trade, but he was interested in the larger cooling boxes you had ordered."
"Let Deyen know that we will need more of these smaller coolers as soon as possible," Fury told Aria. "I want to thank him properly; is he in the camp?"
"Yes Rom," She smiled with pride. "I will let him know to make his presence known to you."
"Good," Nicodemus replied. There was another knock at the door and Falco poked his head in, "You have two visitors, Rom. One is waiting outside the gates and the other is down in the entrance hall."
"Our visitor at the gates; he is Sith?" Fury asked.
Falco nodded. "Yes, Rom. The visitor in the hallway is Satao the glassmaker."
"Good!" Nicodemus told Falco. "Ask Satao to wait in the main room and have Siobhan examine the articles he brought with him." He glanced at Aria, "Take the serum into her as well.
"And the Sith?" Falco asked.
"I will go to him," Nicodemus replied and started to the door.
"Is it safe, Rom?" Falco questioned as he hurried behind Fury.
Fury had 'called' Sunny to attend to Satao. As he left Falco at the top of the stairs, Sunny joined Falco, and Aria, "Nicodemus relayed me about our visitors! He tells me this is the first of the serum."
Falco hurried down ahead of the two women and Fury greeted Satao briefly and pointed up to Sunny then turned the glass-smith over to Falco. Aria walked down the stairs with Sunny at her side, a proud smile on her face. "Yes, Roma, Satao has the first model of the 'sy-ringe' to show you. I hope all works to your liking."
Sunny could tell these people had all been working hard and she hoped everything worked as well.
Falco issued Satao into the large main room and Sunny greeted the man warmly. "I want to thank you for all your hard work Master Satao. Everyone has worked so hard on this project."
Satao smiled, held out his small bundle, and gave a small bow as Sunny took the small-wrapped packet from his hands. She carefully unfolded the layers and what lay nestled in the soft material was an exquisite glass-blown tube about the size of an ink pen barrel with a glass plunger that fit perfectly into the tube. At the end of the tube was a tiny open protrusion that had a finely turned groove. Satao leaned forward, "Rom Fury indicated that a metal collar holding the dart would need to screw onto the end of the glass tip. The jewelry smith is working on the metal collars that will hold the dart tip in place."
Aria nodded. "And here is the first batch of serum." She showed Sunny the small cooling box and Sunny fingered the small glass vials.
She grinned over at Aria. "It's all perfect!"
"Rom is with the Sith," Falco from the door. "I am concerned for his safety."
"He's safe," Sunny replied. She turned to Falco, "I believe Moon Bear will be an overnight guest. Can we accommodate him?"
Falco nodded. "I believe we can," he replied, and he looked over at Aria, "I will need your help in preparing a room for him."
Aria nodded and handed the small cooler holding the serum to Sunny. "I will see to his comfort," Aria replied. "I will return as soon as I am finished."
Once Falco and Aria were gone, Satao shuffled nervously and dipped a bow, "I must return to my kiln." Satao told Sunny. "My apprentice is due back from the glass sand pits and we will be making many more of these tubes and the vials that hold the serum."
"So, you made these vials here in the cooler as well?" Sunny asked tapping a finger on the closed lid of the cooler.
Satao beamed proudly. "Rom Fury commissioned me to create all the glass tubes, vials, and plungers."
Sunny smiled back. She could feel Nicodemus bristle at the praise she sent him. "Rom Fury has many admirable qualities." She told Satao.
Satao bid his farewells and Sunny watched him quickly leave sketching a bow to Nicodemus as they passed on the steps. Fury threw her an annoyed glare and walked into the main room, leaving the door open. He jerked his head back to the door. "My Sith nephew is debating the safety of my den!"
Sunny glanced past Nicodemus and saw the green glint of Moon Bear's eyes. She sighed heavily. "Come in Moon Bear – I do not bite!"
Moon Bear growled low in his throat and stepped closer to the open door. He took in the entire room and leveled a scowl in Sunny's direction. "It is not biting that concerns me!"
Sunny rolled her eyes and returned to the desk to admire Satao's handiwork. Nicodemus angled a look at Moon Bear where he cautiously stood by the open door. "If you decide to come in, close the door behind you."
Sunny looked over at Nicodemus as he came up to the opposite side of the desk, "This is perfect!"
Fury took the glass syringe and plunger on its padded wrap and carefully picked it up to examine the end. He nodded in satisfaction. "Looks like once Latiya arrives with the collars, we'll be ready for our first injection."
"We just need a volunteer," Sunny murmured.
"I am your volunteer!"
Both Sunny and Nicodemus turned and looked at Moon Bear, who now stood in the main room, but he had not closed the door.
"Were you ordered to take the vaccine?" Fury asked.
"No," Moon Bear answered and stepped closer. "If am to carry the cure to Ne'Media, then I should be protected as I travel back and forth between here and my homeland."
"That makes sense," Sunny replied. "Aria and her people will be traveling with you, so she should be the one to give you the dose."
Aria appeared at the study doorway with a young woman with close-cropped brown hair standing just behind her. "Rom, Latiya is here."
Fury smiled warmly at the young jewelry-smith, "Latiya, come in and let us see what you have brought!"
Latiya was familiar with Fury for she came into the room as Aria stepped to the side to give her entrance, and gave him a quick hug. "Nico, my brother sends his greetings,"
Fury turned to Sunny. ["She one of my rivals?"] Sunny asked. He returned a vehement denial. "Latiya, this is Siobhan O'Neil, first daughter of the Dannan."
Latiya turned her pale icy-grey eyes to Sunny and nodded. "You will be wanting this then, Roma." She pulled a pouch from her jacket pocket and handed it to Sunny. "Nico sent one of your quills for me to use as a guide. I made two different versions to hold the quill tight in place, without crushing it or the glass threads. Both hold a seal well when coated with purified beeswax."
Sunny pulled the tie on the small cloth pouch and emptied the contents into her hand. She knew immediately which one would work on the glass syringe Satao had made. She took the two-part collar apart, put the first collar on the tip of the glass grooved tip, and turned the collar three times then it stopped. Then Fury produced a quill needle. Sunny slid the quill into the first collar until it stopped then slid the second part of the collar on where it then screwed neatly into the grooved end of the first collar. It all fit snugly together. Sunny fit the glass plunger into the syringe. The end of the plunger was coated with a very thin layer of beeswax. Fury indicated the plunger end, "Once the beeswax is heated and all impurities are skimmed off, the plunger end is dipped so it will form a seal."
"I tested the set-up myself," Latiya replied, "I used rose water drawn up to the top line of the tube then used the plunger to squirt out the water through the quill. Everything held, and there was no leaking."
"You've done a superb job," Sunny told the jeweler. "Thank you for taking on this project, Latiya."
The young woman smiled proudly. "My brother and I are happy to be of help, Roma." She glanced at Fury. "There is nothing we would not do for Rom Fury!"
Falco arrived to show Latiya out. He did not indicate that the woman had ever been a guest of Fury's or that he even knew her. Sunny sensed that Nicodemus had never had female guests at Ranjai Tor, she was the first! If there had been any relationship it was before her time. Sunny properly thanked Latiya again and was genuinely happy to have her and her brother working on the project. She watched as Falco and Latiya left the room and the jeweler waved her farewells to Nicodemus.
Moon Bear had secreted himself in the shadows of the main room and watched the people come and go with mild interest. He was curious about his blood brother's attachment to the Daj Sultana. He could tell they were a mated pair, and both were still in courtship and mating rituals. He had never seen Fury settle down with one female before. To see him protect and defend this special female was out of character for Fury, and Moon Bear suspected magic. However, seeing them together he was beginning to think differently about the female. She was no less dangerous, but he could see she also had a deep affection for Fury.
"I'd say we're ready for the first vaccine shot," Sunny replied. "We'll sterilize this syringe and get a new quill needle ready."
Aria nodded. "I will get my supply kit and prepare to give the first of the serum." She looked around the room, "Who is to receive the first injection?"
In unison, Nicodemus and Moon Bear answered: "I am!"
Aria looked around and spotted Moon Bear as he stepped from the shadows, "Then we will need more syringes."
"We can remove the quill needle and clean the collar with the pure grain alcohol," Sunny replied. "When the wax begins to warm, we'll need to switch out with a new syringe."
"Satao and his journeyman are already done with several dozen sets of syringes and plungers," Nicodemus replied. "He's been working overtime on making vials to hold the serum."
"I will prepare to leave as soon as you say with Moon Bear," Aria said to Fury.
"We'll need to monitor you both overnight," Sunny replied looking first at Moon Bear and then at Nicodemus. "To make sure you do not have any kind of allergic reaction."
"We already know there will be no reaction," Fury replied. "But we will err on the side of precaution."
Sunny glanced over at Moon Bear where he hovered around the shadows of the study. "You're stuck with us and the hospitality of your uncle's home for one night."
Moon Bear's ears laid flat on his head for a moment, then he nodded his head curtly. Aria turned to the Sith, "Come, I will show you to your quarters, where you will rest safely for the night."
Moon Bear gave a brief bow to both Sunny and Fury and followed the siren from the study. Nicodemus gave an explosive sigh as the room cleared. "Why is he so suddenly distrustful? We were blood brothers long before we knew we were kin!"
"I don't think it's you," Sunny replied. "It's me and I must earn his trust and even then, I think he'll be suspicious of me. He's protective of you Nicodemus." She looked at the small travel cooler. "I think there's enough here to inoculate the first group of Ne'Medians, and with the second batch, we inoculate those in Fra'mora."
"The worst cases first then when they begin to show signs of recovery, that will convince others to come and take the vaccines," Nicodemus replied. "Gabriel and his family can get the vaccine from my blood."
"They'll need to know that this is not a cure – but it will help build immunity," Sunny replied. "I only hope that it's enough."
Aria returned with her kit and Falco followed with a wheeled serving cart with several covered trays and a silver bowl with steaming water. To Nicodemus, Aria nodded pleasantly at him. "Rom, I will need you to roll up your shirt sleeve."
Fury nodded and glanced toward the door and saw Moon Bear hovering just outside. "Come in, little brother – let's do this!"
Moon Bear's golden eyes were already dilated in alarm, and his ears laid flat on his head. He let a small growl rumble in his throat and his mouth drew back to expose his teeth. Aria smiled at him, "Come, come it is just a moment of discomfort and it is over. Nothing to be alarmed about."
Moon Bear glanced incredulously at Aria, but the soft rumbling growl and teeth disappeared. He came into the room. Nicodemus finished rolling his shirtsleeve up on his arm. Aria glanced once again at Moon Bear. "Watch as I give the vaccine to Rom Fury, then you will know what to expect."
Sunny was fascinated by the aura that emanated from the siren. She sent soothing waves of calm but was firm in her instructions. Sunny watched carefully as Falco lifted the towels from the trays, revealing two freshly sterilized syringes and 'needles'. Aria carefully took the collar from the prototype syringe and dropped it into the steaming bowl to sterilize it before using it.
In Aria's kit, was a bottle of grain alcohol she opened the bottle, sprinkled a small amount into the palm of her hand, and rubbed them together thoroughly to sterilize her hands. Then with a set of small tongs, she retrieved the collar from the water and set it on a small clean pad of cloth. From the small cooler Aria took a vial of serum and set it on the tray next to the syringes. She looked up at Fury, "I am now ready to administer the first vaccine."
Fury nodded silently and glanced over at Sunny. Aria quickly assembled the first syringe and attached the collar and quill needle. She removed the top of the vial and drew up the pale liquid into the syringe. She stopped at the first etched mark of the vial. She tapped the side of the syringe to make certain there were no air bubbles then took a small pad of cloth and let a few drops of alcohol drop onto the pad. Sunny was amazed! The Siren had done everything exactly as a nurse in a hospital would do! "You might feel a sting, but relax your arm and shoulder Rom Fury, that will help reduce any pain you might feel."
Nicodemus instantly let his shoulder droop as he relaxed his shoulder and arm. Aria nodded approvingly and dabbed the alcohol pad on Fury's upper arm. With the calm and confidence of a veteran nurse, Aria pinched the skin of his upper arm, administered the vaccine, and then gently massaged the spot where the needle had pierced the skin with her grain alcohol pad. Falco stepped in with a small pad of cloth and a strip that was tied snugly around Fury's upper arm. "You may remove the cloth before you ready yourself for your bath," Aria replied.
Fury examined his arm and rotated his shoulder. "It didn't hurt at all."
"I'm glad, Rom!" Aria turned to Falco, "We will need to monitor Rom Fury during the night."
"I will check every hour," Falco replied.
Aria turned to Moon Bear. "Come, we must prepare you to receive your vaccine."
Moon Bear came and sat on the chair Nicodemus had vacated. Aria examined Moon Bear's upper arm and prepared the second syringe as she had the first. She sterilized the collar in another bowl of hot water and used the grain alcohol on her hands as she prepared the second vaccine. She dabbed the small pad of cloth in the alcohol and carefully parted the fine furring on Moon Bear's upper arm. Sunny watched this procedure closely seeing that an area would not need to be shaved if the fur could be parted to expose the skin underneath.
Moon Bear made a tight fist then relaxed his entire arm as Aria injected the serum. Aria messaged the injection site then Falco once again stepped in to tie a small pad over the area. The Sith glanced over at Nicodemus, "I hardly felt the sting of the quill."
"Aria is quite good as a nurse!" Sunny cheered. "Now we monitor the both of you to make sure you don't have any reactions. In the morning, we'll see how you're both feeling and then go from there."
"Latiya and Satao should be here mid-morning with all their supplies," Nicodemus replied. "I suggest we eat and then turn in. It will be another busy day tomorrow."
"Agreed," Aria replied. "Light fare, and no wine this evening Rom,"
"I will suffer for the good of the people." He returned lightly and looked to Moon Bear. "Will you join us this evening?"
"I fed on the way here," Moon Bear replied. "I do not need food until the next moon rises."
"Very well," Nicodemus replied, he looked over at Aria, "Rooms have been prepared for my nephew?"
Aria nodded. "They have, Rom. I believe Moon Bear will be quite comfortable."
Moon Bear nodded then glanced to Fury and then to Sunny. "Until morrow, blessings upon you."
"And to thee," Nicodemus returned.
Sunny smiled at the Sith. "Sleep well, Moon Bear."
Moon Bear had his hand on the door handle when he paused and turned back to Sunny. Their eyes met, molten gold to sparkling emeralds. Whatever the Sith saw in the depths of her eyes, gave him pause. He bowed, "And thee, Sultana."
Nicodemus watched the exchange then as the Sith closed the door behind him he glanced over at Sunny. She shrugged lightly. "Well, I suppose that's better than him growling and waving a knife at me."
"Aye," Fury murmured. He flexed his arm where Aria had given him the shot. "Shall we go find what Falco has prepared?"
Sunny rose and joined Fury at the door, and they walked the short way to the dining hall where Falco had their evening meal waiting. They ate in comfortable silence, speaking occasionally, on nothing in particular.
Then something began to change in the room. Sunny felt the world begin to shift! Nicodemus sprang up from his chair and came to her side. "What is it?"
She glanced up at Fury then she leaned back in her chair and looked up into the shadowed rafters. "Something is here," she whispered. "It seems to be drawn to Moon Bear." She was seeing something that Fury could not! Even now that his Da'ark powers were back, he could not sense what was endangering his nephew. "Something is happening to him."
Fury rushed from the dining hall calling for Aria. Sunny heard a snarling scream and chills ran down her spine. She sprang from her chair and hurried out into the entrance hall. From the shadowed rafters, small shadow ribbons floated around and down to the lower chambers of the manor. Falco and Aria flew by, and she fell behind him. The ribbons sped ahead of them and disappeared as they descended the staircase. Sunny followed close behind them.
When they got to Moon Bear, he was crouched in the corner of his room eyes wide in fear. "Is he reacting to the vaccine?" Fury asked as he stepped closer to Moon Bear. Aria shook her head as she tried to reach the Sith and calm him. "I cannot tell."
Sunny joined Nicodemus and the Sith immediately sprang toward her.
"They are here!"
"It's all right, you are safe," Sunny said softly. "Tell me what's wrong."
"Da'ark!" he hissed. "All around is Da'ark!"
Sunny stepped closer and held out a hand to him. "There is no evil here," she told him. "I will not let anything happen to you."
Moon Bear reached for her hand and as she closed the space between them the young Sith laid his hand in hers. "Can you see them, can you see what I see?"
"Shadow ribbons," Sunny said. "Let me see them through your eyes."
In the space of a few heartbeats, Sunny was looking around her with the vision of the Sith! All around the room there were dancing shadows. Some of the shadows stopped and looked back at her with quicksilver glances, blinking at the radiance her aura cast throughout the room. "What is it that you seek?" she asked a shadow that seemed to be most drawn to her. It hovered closer and raised a hand toward her.
"Thou can see us with the eyes of the Sith?"
"I can," Sunny replied.
"Step into our realm," the shadow told her. "So that all can see thee."
"No!" Moon Bear growled. "The Da'ark are tricksters!"
"How can we trick the Daj Sultana?" the shadow said. "She is of light and shadow. The Daj art our kind."
Nicodemus felt his heart freeze when Sunny mentioned shadow ribbons! The realm he never wanted her to discover had come to her! He reached out to take hold of her arm, but he was prevented from getting close by a frosty shove that pushed him back toward the door. Sunny glanced around at the others in the room. She met Fury's eyes and saw that he was able to see the shadows that swirled around her and Moon Bear. There seemed to be faint ribbons of smoke forming around Fury and mingling with the shadow ribbons swirling around Sunny.
"I have been twice warned of the Da'ark presence," Sunny replied. "Tell me what you seek and perhaps I can help you."
This seemed to confuse the shadows for their movement stopped and the main shadowed figure floated closer. Sunny felt the cold slide around her like the soft brush of satin over her skin.
"We are held prisoner," the shadow told her. "The magicker keeps all of our kind prisoners to do her bidding."
"Name her," Sunny said.
"I cannot speak the magicker's name for she will know of our defection, but Taalor'Rakshah does her will!" the shadow said.
"Taalor'Rakshah?" Nicodemus repeated softly as he heard the name whispered from the shadows. That name was familiar to him, why was it so familiar? Where had he heard it?
Sunny felt the deep tickling in her scalp as the name circled her and the shadows whispered it like a wind blowing through the leaves of a forest. She then looked at the shade standing before her. "Can you show me?"
"No!" Moon Bear shouted with Nicodemus echoing the cry. "Do not travel the Da'ark trails you will be in danger!"
The shadows seemed both excited and agitated by their fear and danced and swirled in the lamplight that gave them substance.
Sunny felt the pull but also knew if she entered the netherworld, she put everyone in danger because they would be drawn in with her. She would find another way to Rakshah. The shadow retreated slightly. "Thou art part of the shadows as thou art part of the light. Call and we will come to thee."
Just as quickly as they had appeared, they were gone! Sunny felt it lift and she turned to Nicodemus. "We have a name now; Taalor'Rakshah. We can find him when the time comes."
Moon Bear growled low under his breath then rubbed his hand over the spot where Aria had administered the vaccine. "Are we all now to be connected thus to the Daj Sultana?"
Sunny glanced over at the Sith and scoffed lightly. "I sure hope not!" she quipped, "Because I felt your emotions just as clearly as I could see the Shades through your eyes."
"Perhaps that is why they were drawn to Moon Bear?" Aria suggested soothingly.
"Aria, please help my nephew settle for rest," Nicodemus replied. "Get some rest, Moon Bear. The morrow will be busy, and we all have much to do."
Falco and Aria remained with Moon Bear and Nicodemus took Sunny by the elbow and steered her from Moon Bear's room. She glanced up at him in the carpeted hallway. "The name familiar to you?"
He nodded. "It is familiar, but I cannot place where I remembered seeing it written or hearing it spoken." As they reached the upper floor and were standing in the entrance hall, he looked at her. "How long have you been able to see the shadows?"
"I think I've always been able to see them," she replied. "I always thought it was a trick of the light. Then I heard what Rainbow's children called the 'will of the whisp' in the Thornfield ruins and then when Bracken threw a calling stone into the Cloutie well, a water sprite warned me off."
Nicodemus nodded. "The exposure to the Shai'Alomar has enhanced your natural abilities."
"I suppose so," Sunny replied wearily, "It seems terrible to hold even the shadows against their will."
Nicodemus glanced over at her. "That is noble of you to be concerned for them, but also be aware that they can just as easily lie to you."
"They didn't seem to be after anything but to be released from whoever is holding them against their will." Sunny defended. "Now that I've experienced their pain of being held in thrall, I see just how wrong it was to hold Sean."
They climbed the wide set of stairs, once on the landing they turned to face each other. "And that Siobhan O'Neil is the difference between you and the Da'ark magicker."
"Since Falco will be monitoring you through the night, I should go to my room –."
"No, you will be with me," Fury told her. He took her hand and drew her close to him. "With me, Siobhan! My room is the safest place in the entire manor. Now that the shades can find you, I will keep you shielded from them and out of their reach."
"Yes, Nicodemus," Sunny murmured and she walked with him to his suite of rooms. Once behind the warded safety Fury made fortifications to the wards. He would keep everyone and everything out while Sunny was in his room. The strength of his warding was visible around the room. It was impressive!
He was with her as she bathed. He attempted to explain in his mind it was for convenience that he joined her in the bathing pool! He had tried to stay on his side, but Sunny was too tantalizing!
She lay in his arms sleeping soundly. He had dozed peacefully with her and woke feeling better than he had in decades! Her energy meshed so divinely with his, that he could not tell where he ended, and she began. It was only when he was physically away from her that he was painfully aware of how alone he had been his entire life!
Fury rose, dressed, and slipped downstairs and down to the large dining hall. Against the far wall was a secreted door behind a thick tapestry that led to the outside walls of the castle.
Following along the heights, Moon Bear tracked Fury and paused to duck into the deep shadows as Nicodemus paused to make sure he was not being followed, before entering the thick forest.
Tracking Fury would not be difficult for Moon Bear, with his night vision, he could still see him as a bright fuzzy shape as he moved through the trees. He found a tree limb that was close to the wall, and he leaped up to crouch between a parapet and then sprang to the limb of the tree. He easily made his way down to the ground and moved silently into the forest.
He moved downwind and to higher ground to follow his Nu'Adaian uncle. Fury kept a steady pace, never pausing and always moving in a direct path deeper into the forest. Moon Bear wondered where Fury's destination would be.
Then Fury stopped at the base of a large jumble of rocks that formed a great pool of water fed by a thin stream of water that poured off a ledge high overhead. Fury climbed carefully over the rocks to stand on one that jutted over the pool. He reached into his breast pocket and drew out something, he looked down at the object in his hand for a moment, then tossed it into the pool. Moon Bear heard the stone plop into the water. Nothing happened, but then the pool edges began to hiss and draw inward. A mist began to form and from the center of the pool, a tower of mist grew upward.
Moon Bear's heightened senses heard the voice in the foaming water and smelled the tang of iron and the wet rot of leaves.
"Who summons me?"
"Nicodemus Fury!"
The watery tower swirled closer to Fury, "It has been a long time since you sought us out!"
"I thought I would never again need your wisdom, Li'Bann!"
There was a burst of almost girlish laughter from the mist, and then the water of the pool grew black as the night sky and the visage of a woman formed in the waters. "Well then, ask!"
"Who is Taalor'Rakshah, where can I find him?" Fury asked. "Help me find him, it is his magicker that I seek!"
The tower of mist swirled higher until it stood higher than the top of the waterfall. "You ask much of us!"
"I need to know!" Nicodemus called up to the tower of water. "I cannot help the Daj Sultana if I do not know!"
Li'Bann chuckled, but it was not with mirth. "You cannot save the Daj Sultana from the magicker. They are the same!"
"What lies do you speak!" Fury demanded.
Li'Bann swamped Fury with the dark waters of the pool. He was nearly bowled over, but he gripped the rocks nearby to keep his footing. Li'Bann brought her watery aspect close to Fury. "There are secrets the Dannan keeps! She keeps a son secreted away!"
"Fiona!" Fury slumped again the rocks as if wounded.
Li'Bann cackled in delight. "No, you foolish man. The true Dannan!"
Fury felt fear rush into his heart. "Colleen? She is dead!"
Li'Bann laughed. "Is she?
"Colleen is alive?" Fury shook his head in disbelief. "Fiona, does she know?"
"What care I if the Dannan woman knows?" Li'Bann drew a watery column that snaked around the rock where Fury stood. 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. Li'Bann could decide anytime she wanted to drown him. A dark dank watery arm encircled his neck, her changing face inches from his. Her whisper was soft and masked even from the listening ears all around them. Nicodemus' eyes went wide as the dark waters slid up over him. Li'Bann commanded the waters, and she held Fury suspended. "Listen carefully to me Nicodemus and remember…."
Moon Bear watched in horror from his vantage point, then looked around. His hand was touching a large boulder. With a push he could send the rock tumbling into the pool, this would break the spell Fury found himself ensnared. He got behind the boulder and pushed with all his might. It shifted only slightly, he turned around and squatted on his haunches. He pressed his back into the boulder and then pushed as hard as he could. He felt his muscles burning in the effort! He pushed and pushed, then the roots of small trees and vines snapped, and the boulder moaned softly as it shifted in the dirt and began to roll. It was silent as it fell then an enormous splash echoed up through the trees and below. Moon Bear crawled to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Fury was face down in the pool of water and the pool was still as glass.
Moon Bear rushed down and picked his way over the rocks, grabbed his uncle's booted foot, and pulled him to the edge of the pool. He rolled Fury over on his back and began tugging him back up on the rocks. Moon Bear forced open Fury's mouth and he breathed air in, he waited a few seconds then he breathed air in again. This time a gurgle of water sounded. He breathed again and rolled Fury to his side where water gushed out and Fury began coughing violently, he gasped for air and coughed more. Then he looked up into Moon Bear's golden eyes. "Thank you."
"Come we need to get you home and dry." Moon Bear helped Nicodemus to his feet, and they started the trip back to Ranjai Tor.
"What did you hear, Moon Bear?" Fury asked as they trudged through the forest.
"That there is a male Dannan."
"And Fiona knows," Nicodemus whispered.
"Maybe the water witch lies to you – all those of the Da'ark, lie." Moon Bear growled.
"She has never lied to me before," Fury replied.
"Do you believe Colleen Dannan is alive?" Moon Bear asked.
Nicodemus stopped in his tracks and faced Moon Bear with fear in his quicksilver eyes. The Sith could smell the fear mixed in with the smell of the water from the Cloutie well. "I do not want to believe it!"
"Yet you know the truth." Moon Bear said. He tucked himself further under Fury's arm and got a better grip on the wet leather belt. "Come uncle, we will find out together."
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