As The Scrolls Unroll -- One

[Phalon]

Phalon drew her sword, intending to follow Scrappy into the underbrush. The snapping of twigs just beyond the opposite side of the clearing stopped her. “We’re being surrounded!” she thought, changing the course of her direction.

As Scrappy and the intruder thrashed around with enough noise enough to wake all of Tartarus, Phalon exited the clearing from the other side. She stood silently, trying to detect movement among the trees and brush. Rustling leaves directed her eyes to a thicket of brambles, and she readied her sword. Her grip on the hilt relaxed when a rabbit hopped into view, munching on the ripe berries within its reach.

“Oh! It’s just a rabbit”, she sighed with relief. “And what a cute, little bunny you are”, she offered her compliment as the rabbit froze at the sound of her voice. “Sorry to disturb your dinner; I’ll just move along and let you finish eating in peace.”

Turning back toward the clearing, she heard what started as low growl, slowly coming to a crescendo of high-pitched maniacal laughter which curdled her blood. Looking over her shoulder, she expected to see….something. Something other than the little rabbit staring at her. Something evil to match the sound of that hideous laughter, perhaps. But when the rabbit started to smile a very sharp-toothed smile, she knew evil was exactly what she stared back at in return.

It hurled itself toward her, and instinctively she blocked it with her sword, batting it from the air. She wasn’t expecting the super-rabbit speed, and the strength of the force at which it hit, knocked the sword from her hand. It lay useless on the ground behind her. In front of her at her feet, lay the motionless rabbit, momentarily stunned from the collision.

Slowly rising to its hind haunches, it twitched its whiskers and a leering smile crossed its lips as Phalon stared in disbelief. The thought of a rabbit smiling was ludicrous; that it was actually happening was gruesome. It lunged up at her again. This time she caught it with both hands mid-air, just boot’s-length distance from her face.

“Oh, no, no, no you don’t…”, Phalon said, reading its thoughts….its unbunny-like thoughts of leaving one body for another. Completely unbunny-like, and also inhuman. What in Zeus’ name was this thing?! She had a tight grasp of the back of its neck with one hand; with the other, she held its hind feet to prevent it from kicking. It continued to smile that sickening smile. “Listen….I don’t know what you are inside that bunny, but you’re going to stay there. No way, you are going to leave that furry body in exchange for mine.”

The rabbit’s sneer grew wider, and Phalon began to lose patience. She had better things to do than argue with a rabbit, not to mention it was a futile endeavor. Very simply, rabbits didn’t argue. Then again, they weren’t supposed to attack humans either. She sought to stop this nonsense once and for all. “I’m not sure how you got in there in the first place, but you didn’t choose very wisely, Bunny. Picking a cute, docile creature on the bottom of the food chain was perhaps not your best choice when looking for a body to inhabit.”

She let the her words sink in, watching the rabbit’s eyes as it dawned on him that what she said was true. The sneer faded, and in her head, Phalon heard its last thought, “I knew I should have picked that damned black wolf when I had the chance”. She twisted its neck, and threw the dead thing to the dirt in disgust.

Bending to retrieve her sword, she remembered Guru’s words. “The only way that beast could be stopped was to behead the body it inhabited.” For a moment those last moments of Guru’s life came crashing back, and Phalon envied Scrappy for not remembering all of what happened in the house. There was no hesitation this time though; her sword did not waver before it swiftly relieved the bunny-beast of its furry little head.

Entering the clearing, she found Scrappy already had returned. “I’ve brought dinner”, Phalon gleamed, holding up the rabbit by its hind feet. “It’s a good thing”, she added, smiling, “because it looks like you’ve brought a dinner guest. Hi Dixie.”

[moonglum]

Aphemenie sat on the edge of the well in the market square and surveyed the carnage surrounding her. This was madness, she thought. Surely she hadn’t been unconscious long enough for even an army to have done this. Also, if an army had done this, where were they now? She lowered her head in her hands and slowly massaged her temples. The pounding in her head was getting louder. Like fists, pummelling wood. Aphemenie looked up from her daydream. Wait a minute, it was fists pounding wood! Standing up, she looked around, listening; and then started walking slowly, towards a storehouse in a corner of the square. As she approached the building she heard sobbing, muffled at first, but growing louder as she got closer. “Who's in there,” she called out as she drew near the door. The heavy door was barred on the outside with a large beam. Aphemenie stopped in front of the storehouse and the pounding ceased. “Help me, please”. The voice sounded frightened and small. With some hesitation, she lifted the beam clear and, drawing her dagger, she slowly pulled the door open. The sight that met her eyes left her both relieved and surprised at the same time. It was a young boy. He looked to be about ten years old and his clothes, like his blonde hair, were heavily stained with blood.

written by Vox and Moonglum.

[moonglum]

The growl in his throat seemed distant and not of his own making. The fog in his mind became thicker and his vision blurred to nothing. As he toppled sideways off the bench, he felt his chest swell and something push against it from within. He screamed and …......... time stood still.

“Jerek.............Jerek, can you hear me?”

Jason opened his eyes. He felt small and vulnerable. There was fighting going on all around him but nothing moved. Bodies and blood were suspended in mid-air. His clothes and face felt sticky and his eyes hurt from the bright light. The light came from a corner of the room. He tried to look away but, he was transfixed and could only stare, as the light began to recede.

“My son, my beloved child, come to me. I love you.”

Slowly he crawled across the room, under tables, across bodies and through pools of blood. As he reached the light, he lifted his hand and she pulled him to her. With her arms wrapped around him, the light receded until, they both disappeared from the room. He blinked once, and found they were in a kind of storeroom. They sat together against a mound of straw and she held him in her arms. He remembered thinking how much bigger her smile seemed, before falling into a deep sleep.

Across the centuries, through the aeons of time, she had felt his need. She experienced his pain as her own and came, as any mother would, to his aid. She knew that some day this moment would arrive, and had prepared for it. True she had not known it would be so long in the coming, but she had waited nonetheless. After the first few centuries time became meaningless to her. She let her spirit wander the cosmos, and such wondrous sights she had seen. The birth of stars, the demise of entire galaxies. Her consciousness roamed at will, devouring every pleasure in its path. She had witnessed the rise and fall of gods, and marvelled at their folly, at their arrogance and their stupidity.
Now she heard his cry and she came. She would gladly end her existence for the sake of her child. Her youngest child. He had been but a boy of ten when she had last held him; and now, as the beast within him was given life so, thanks to her, he would be a child again. As he lay asleep in her arms, she sighed and shed a tear at the thought of never seeing him again. The thought of him never knowing his past must be the small price paid to end this curse. She gently laid him down in the straw, bent to kiss his forehead and, as her tears fell on his cheeks, she faded into his dreams.

[vox]

Aphemenie slowly walked towards the boy, who turned suddenly, startled by her presence. “It’s alright, don’t be afraid. I won’t harm you” she said, carefully re-sheathing her dagger. He recoiled as she neared him and she could see the fear in his eyes. His thoughts were coming to her, he had no idea , who he was, where he was or how he got there. “poor boy” thought Aphemenie as she took another step towards him. He did not step back this time and Aphemenie managed to reach him and to her surprise, he let her hold him in her arms. They stood like that for some time until his sobbing subsided, and then Aphemenie broke the silence.

“We must get out of here, it is not safe here for either of us”, “are you hurt? can you walk?” The boy answered and said that he was not hurt and that he could walk. With that, Aphemenie grabbed his hand, they walked to the door and she checked outside, it seemed to be deserted so they ran as quickly as they could across the market square avoiding all the dead bodies, towards the shelter of some trees and there they lay, on the ground fearing that more soldiers would arrive at any minute.

Aphemenie’s senses were extremely acute, she listened intently but could not hear anything except the boy’s thoughts. She turned to look at him, he was staring into her eyes as though he were trying to read her thoughts. There was something about his eyes, not just the sadness, that intrigued Aphemenie. She felt sure that she had seen that look before…………….

[moonglum]

The hour was late and the halls were quiet. All the guests and servants had long since retired for the night and the only sounds were the footfalls of the guards, coming from the courtyard below. Vaelan stood by the open window and watched the distant horizon slowly lighten with the coming of the dawn. He turned and looked over at the sleeping woman lying in the bed and smiled. His wife had turned out to be everything he could possibly want in a woman. A warm and generous companion, a tender and vigorous lover, a loving yet fiercely protective mother and a regal consort. As a diplomat, his professional life was one long round of peace-talks, culminating in the inevitable ball that rounded off the process. Della had been his soul-mate for twenty years now and in that time she had taken to the life and now positively revelled in it. She was the consummate hostess and the perfect partner. Her intelligence put many of the other envoys to shame, whilst her beauty outshone all the other women in a room. Vaelan walked slowly over to her bedside. Yes, she had made him very happy these last two decades; but at this moment, as he looked down at his newborn son sleeping in his cot, he thought she had really excelled herself this time.

[Phalon]

"If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all." ~ Thumper

Phalon was glad for the heavy cooking pot she’d insisted they buy at the marketplace. They’d both agreed on the knife and a couple of coarse woolen blankets, but the pot had been a point of contention. They were nearly out of coins, and when the merchant wouldn’t barter the price down further, Scrappy argued it was too expensive - not to mention it’d take up half the room in her saddlebag. But without a pot, Phalon refuted, they couldn’t cook food, or even boil water. She reminded her traveling companion that in ancient Greece, there weren’t those things Scrappy called “fast-food joints” on every corner. Scrappy relented, and reluctantly shelled out the last of their dinars into the merchant’s sweaty palm.

Without any vegetables, it couldn’t be considered the best of stews, but then again, Phalon laughed to herself, she couldn’t be considered the best of cooks. She knew plants and herbs though, and found enough in the clearing that would give the rabbit meat plenty of seasoning for it to be considered a good hearty meal to start their travels. She needed it; the wine they’d drank at the tavern that morning wasn’t settling very well on her empty stomach, and Dixie appeared to be absolutely famished. The poor woman couldn’t even wait for the stew and was busy gnawing on the extra herbs Phalon had picked to take with them on the road. Dixie seemed more interested in the herbs, actually, than she was interested in Scrappy. Very strange, Phalon thought.

Scrappy left Dixie to her nibbling, and stood next to Phalon at the fire. “Mmmm….smells good. How much longer ‘til we eat?”

Phalon poked at the stew, thinking about the rabbit that went into it. What an odd little rabbit – vicious even. She shuddered, remember that sly, dreadful smile, and its thoughts about taking over her body. It most certainly wasn’t a rabbit inside that furry creature, but what it was, Phalon wasn’t sure. What if it had traded bodies before inhabiting the rabbit? What if…?

She looked again at Dixie, who was now sitting on her haunches in an upright position, holding a bunch of herbs in her paws…..er, her hands. “Uhm, Scrappy? Have you noticed anything odd about Dixie?”

Scrappy turned her head to look at Dixie, who now was watching them, twitching her nose as if she was sniffing the air for danger. Not detecting any, she went back to nibbling herbs.

“No, not really. Why?”

“You don't see anything weird with the way she’s acting?”

“She might’ve got a bit confused coming through the portal, but she’ll be okay.”

“I don’t know….she seems more than just a little confused”, Phalon said as Dixie hopped over to a patch of clover, and began chewing on it. “Kind of….hmmmm…rabbit-like, don’t you think?”

“Huh?” Scrappy looked puzzled, and insisted, “She’s been through a lot. Just give her some time, okay?”

Dixie raised her leg, trying in vain to reach it to her head and scratch behind her ear.

“For gods’ sake, Scrappy!” she yelled in frustration, “Why can’t you see it?! She’s a damned bunny!!!”

“Phalon, you have lost your f***ing mind!” Scrappy yelled back at her. Dixie froze, and appeared as if she was going to dart off into the woods. Lowering her voice, Scrappy continued between clenched teeth, “You’re the one who’s a bit more than confused. Maybe that wine this morning went straight to your head.”

“You’re probably right”, Phalon sighed though not in the least bit convinced. She pressed her fingers hard against her temples. But the wine had given her a headache. That, in addition to the tavern brawl with the locusts, learning Guru was dead, and that he’d died by the blade of her own sword, then Letitia’s death, seeing Eurayle again, and finally the fight with the demon rabbit – it had been a long night and trying morning. Perhaps it all caught up with her, and she wasn’t thinking straight. People did not turn into bunnies. Did they? Dixie continued her attempts at reaching her ear with her leg.

“Tell you what”, Phalon said, still rubbing her temples, “the stew’s a while from being done. There are some berries I saw the other rabbit eating….uhm, I mean the rabbit….you know, not the Dixie-rabbit…” She stammered, still believing something was wrong with Dixie other than being disoriented from the trip through the portal.

Scrappy growled, and shot her a warning look.

“Oh, never-mind! I’m going to pick berries! I’ll be back in a while!”

Dixie and Scrappy needed some time alone to get reacquainted; she needed some time to clear her head. Picking berries in the woods was the perfect opportunity to give them all what they needed….except for one thing, which for the last few moments had begun to grate on Phalon’s nerves. “There!” she said, stooping to scratch behind Dixie’s ear. “All better?” she muttered without waiting for an answer before leaving the clearing.

She knew she wouldn’t get one anyway. Unless Dixie’s foot rapidly thumping the ground was her answer.

[vox]

Aphemenie shook her head to try and clear it. They must have been lying there for some time for she had awoken from a sleep. The boy lay still next to her, his eyes still closed. Apehmenie looked around once more; there was no sign of anyone in the still darkness, so she figured it would be safe to make a move. She must try and find Jason but stronger emotions were present. She could not leave the boy to fend for himself; she felt an immense duty towards him. She would have to protect him from danger, he looked so scared. Finding Jason would have to wait, her utmost thoughts were for the safety of the boy, there was no-one left here that could look after him, and she would have to take him with her.

She gently woke the boy and motioned for him to stand up, slowly they arose, her eyes scanning all around, looking out for any movement in the darkness that surrounded them. As she did so, her hands went automatically to her hips in readiness to unsheathe her daggers should they be needed. “Oh no!” she found she had only one of her daggers! What had happened to the other one? Holding onto one of the boy’s hand, they quickly went back to the storehouse to see if she had dropped it there. Nothing…………….. so the only other place she could have lost it would have been in the tavern. She did not really wish to enter the tavern again, the bloody mess that awaited them may be too much for the boy to stomach, but she could not leave him alone outside.

Aphemenie explained to the boy that they would have to go inside the tavern so that she could search for her lost dagger. The boy seemed to accept her explanation without any qualms. Quickly they walked towards the tavern door. Aphemenie pushed it open, the sight that greeted her made her stomach lurch. She managed to gain control of her stomach as the acid began rising in her throat. She took a deep breath and looked at the boy; he was just standing there staring. “Stay here by the door” she said to him, “and don’t move!” She quickly scanned the floor of the tavern; as she was bending low searching, she found it still buried in the chest of one of the roman soldiers, much to her distaste she had to pull it from his body. She quickly wiped it clean on his clothing before re-sheathing it.

Suddenly she saw a light glinting in the corner of the tavern, it was Jason’s sword!. She went to retrieve it, certain that Jason would need it when she found him. She bent to pick it up, but the hilt was burning hot and she was unable to grasp it let alone lift it from the floor.

She was not the only one who had seen the sword glistening; suddenly the boy was at her side. He was completely mesmerised by the sight of the sword. Without a single word, he went over to where the sword lay and as he put his hand on the hilt, it began to make a haunting sound as if it were singing to him, and he lifted the sword high in the air, as if it was weightless……...

[moonglum]

Everybody loved the new baby. The whole family adored him. His aunts and uncles doted on him. His brothers thought of the sport they would enjoy, teasing him. His father had a permanent smile on his face and contemplated such plans for his newborn son. Yes, they all loved this blonde-haired bundle of joy, and none more so than his mother. Della knew he was special, from the moment she first held him in her arms. True she loved all her children, but Jerek was different. He clung to her heart, just as if he were still a physical part of her. She had felt that difference the moment she saw the mark. According to tradition, his brothers had all been marked with the family crest, at birth. No such ceremony was needed in the case of the newborn, however. Jerek was born with the crest already in place.
As the years passed, Jerek grew taller; leaner and stronger than any of his brothers had been at his age. His father taught him to ride at the age of seven. At the age of eight he could out wrestle all his classmates, by nine he could wield a short sword with a prowess that astounded his fathers master-at-arms and on his tenth birthday he heard his brother call his name. There was nothing unusual in this he thought, except, Cary was not in the room. In fact Jerek knew his brother was nowhere in the house. He had seen his brother ride off towards the village an hour ago. Still, it would not be beyond Cary to try to fool him. The brothers were frequently playing tricks on one another. Jerek looked in the cupboards of his room, pulled open the door and looked out into the corridor. He froze when he heard Cary laugh. He clasped his hands over his ears and shouted 'STOP IT', when he heard all his brothers laughter echo in his head. The laughter subsided and Cary said, “Jerek, close your eyes and think only of me.” He did as his elder brother asked, and instantly, he was in a cave. Seated around a stone table were his five other brothers, each one staring at him and smiling. His eyes snapped open again. His body was still in his room, so.......... he was not, then, physically in the cave. He closed his eyes once more and looked again at the smiles on the faces of his brothers. This time he thought of Ranaar. His perspective of the scene changed, now he could see Cary but not Ranaar. He repeated the experiment, thinking of each of the others in turn. Each time his perspective changed to exclude the sibling in his thoughts.
“How do you like that for a trick, brother? Come join us, I will guide you.” Carys laughter echoed in his head, taunting him, and the ten year old Jerek felt a mixture of curiosity and fear.

[moonglum]

“How long has he been gone?” Della paced her apartment. Vaelan, her husband, would say she was worrying over nothing. Was she? Where her youngest son was concerned, she was fiercely over-protective. It was his tenth birthday this year and he would be taken from her, his introduction to court life would begin. Jerek, her blue-eyed, blonde-haired son was coming of age.
“An hour, my lady. No more.” Her page shuffled nervously and stared at his feet.
Della stopped abruptly and rounded on the boy. “By Krafus, you were told to watch him. If any harm befalls my son, I will see to it that you hang.” Della turned her head away at the look of fear in the boy’s eyes and smiled inwardly. Her page was no older than Jerek himself, but it would do no harm to teach him early the value of obeying his mistress. “Go to the stables and see to it they saddle my horse immediately. Tell them I shall be down shortly.”
“Yes, my lady.” Gregor hesitated briefly. He looked up at his mistress and said. “I am sorry, my lady.”
Della looked at the young boy and softly replied, “I know.” With a wave of her hand towards the door, she dismissed the youngster.

Jerek rode through the forest, guided by the thoughts of his brothers. He had never ventured this far before and both he and his pony were unsure of the trail. As the youngest son he was teased then dismissed by the others, who were off pursuing their own devices. Left to his lessons, Jerek had worked hard, vowing to be the best of them. For his age, he had already proved to his tutors that he was better than the younger two of his brothers and fast catching the elder ones. His fencing master was now pitting him against opponents five years older than himself, and he was besting them. However, as always with youthful success, there were the envious mutterings, taunts and threats. To his credit, Jerek weathered them well and was neither vindictive nor cruel towards his accusers. Still, Jared, his father’s captain of the guard and Jereks mentor, had made up his mind to keep an eye on the boy. This was how he came to be following Jerek through the woods, a discreet distance behind. Jared had no time for the others. Braggarts, fops and bullies. Yes, especially Cary, the eldest. He had become worse as he had grown older. Jared rounded a bend in the forest path and reined in his horse. The land on either side had obviously risen behind the trees and he found himself in a clearing, surrounded by the walls of a canyon. There was no sign of the boy or his pony. Riding on, Jared followed the tracks left by the young rider and soon came to the rock-face on the other side of the clearing. The hoof prints appeared to stop at the wall of rock. On closer inspection Jared saw a narrow cleft angled in under a rocky outcrop. The gap was just wide enough for a rider on horseback, but if a retreat was needed in a hurry, it would prove impossible to turn around. Jared decided to tether his horse outside and follow on foot.

Della spurred her horse to a faster gallop, all the time her eyes scanned the ground ahead. Her father had taught her well. She was the only girl in a household alongside three brothers and she had held fast with them all. She could ride, track, hunt; and if the need arose, defend herself expertly. She smiled, if the other women at court could see her now, they would be shocked. The mud had splashed her clothes and face; the trees had snagged her hair as she leaned hard forward following their tracks. The reins in one hand, her knees gripping her horses sides as the trail zigzagged between the trees, she saw she was not alone in her quest. At least half a dozen riders had passed this way recently. There were three sets of smaller prints, ponies no doubt. The rest were larger hoofmarks. Two sets in particular were more recent judging by the way they over-trod the others.

[Scrappy Amazon]

Scrappy could not deny that there was, indeed, something strange going on with Dixie. When Scrappy had rolled out of the bushes and discovered her prey was her former lover, she had been overjoyed, but, the joy had soon turned to fear and unease.

Scrappy scrambled to her feet pulling Dixie up with her and without thinking, smothered her in a giant embrace, but, the hug wasn’t returned. Dixie’s body stiffened as though the contact was uncomfortable and when Scrappy looked into her eyes, instead of seeing happiness, all she saw was terror, but, Scrappy didn’t want to see. She wanted what Jason had told her to be untrue and now she had all the evidence she needed right in front of her: Dixie in the flesh.

Scrappy knew the truth in the back of her head. She knew there was something wrong. She just wanted some time to try and enjoy Dixie’s presence, but, Phalon wanted her to acknowledge the truth. Thankfully, the Seer knew Scrappy needed to come to the realization on her own and decided to stop pointing out the obvious.

“Tell you what”, Phalon said, still rubbing her temples, “the stew’s a while from being done. There are some berries I saw the other rabbit eating….uhm, I mean the rabbit….you know, not the Dixie-rabbit…” She stammered.

Scrappy growled, and shot her a warning look.

“Oh, never-mind! I’m going to pick berries! I’ll be back in a while!”

Scrappy watched as Phalon headed for the woods. A huge sigh passed her lips as she again turned to Dixie.

“Hey, are you hungry?” Dixie looked at Scrappy as she spoke to her. Scrappy was almost encouraged by Dixie’s apparent interest, but was quickly disappointed again as Dixie again turned toward the underbrush and began rooting around. “I’m gonna take that as a yes.”

Scrappy sat on a log next to the fire and watched Dixie for a while. Not once did her former lover and friend even once try to make eye contact. In fact, Dixie tried her best to avoid eye contact whenever possible. Scrappy decided to take the direct approach. She stood and began slowly walking toward the blond, talking in a soothing voice the whole time.

“Hey, can we talk for a little bit?” No answer. “Ok, I’ll do the talking, you can just listen then.” Scrappy moved a little closer, until she was a few feet from Dixie who was still searching the underbrush for suitably tasty vegetation. “I missed you. I was afraid I’d never see you again. I wish I could remember what we all went through and I understand if you’re unable to talk about it. I just need to know that you’re here with me again, and not some……thing….like Phalon says. Just talk to me. Phalon thinks you’re a rabbit. Are you a rabbit?”

Dixie stopped rooting as soon as Scrappy reached an uncomfortable distance. She froze, eyes wide, ready to bolt at the least provocation. Scrappy stopped advancing and sat on the ground as close as she could get without scaring Dixie off. “I guess I’ll have to do this the hard way, for both of us.”

Scrappy slowly removed one of her gloves, laid it on the ground and waited. She waited until Dixie relaxed and became comfortable again with her close proximity. When Scrappy felt the timing was right she took her chance, and struck out with her ungloved hand like a coiled snake. Wrapping her naked fingers around the witch’s uncovered wrist, she opened the mental door and let in the flashes of images, praying that whatever had holed up inside her former lover had no idea how to use Dixie’s powers.

The Dixie creature struggled, but, Scrappy held on with everything she had, trying to sift through and make sense of the images flashing through her head:

A dark shadowy creature with his hands around Dixie’s neck, her eyes wide with terror; the real Dixie, inside, looking back, as her life drains away, and the flashes of light as the next scene appears, almost blinding Scrappy with the intensity and pain; the dark shadowy entity moving around in the house now inside Dixie’s body. Scrappy’s skin begins to crawl as she sees the horrible evil for what it is: a servant of the beast. Scrappy shedding tears now, whether from the physical pain, or, the emotional - she didn’t know.

More flashes: The scenery blurs now as Scrappy watches the Dixie-thing tumble out into the clearing where she herself had been, not a week ago. She sees the thing capture the poor rabbit and sees their auras change as the entity leaves Dixie and the rabbit enters.

Scrappy abruptly let go of Dixie’s wrist. Tears streaming down her face, she scrambled back and sat on the log close to the fire, trying to catch her breath. Dixie, Scrappy now knew as a rabbit, huddled in terror against a tree, ready to bolt at the slightest movement from Scrappy. Scrappy sat in silence for a long time, looking at Dixie.

“I can’t leave you like this. It’s not fair to either of you.” Scrappy pulled out her gun and stood. Slowly, she approached the terrified figure. “I’m sorry.” was all she managed to say through the sobs.

[EllieNeo]

ellie’s heart skipped a beat when she heard annabelle could possibly raise the dead. if annabelle could bring ava and queen eglise back to life… that would change everything…!

…ellie’s heart sank when she heard that annabelle’s power had a “limit.” it sank even more when annabelle told her she didn’t even know what that limit was. standing, she dusted herself off and looked at annabelle. annabelle stood next to her. ellie exited the hut, and annabelle and omri followed. ellie turned and looked into annabelle’s eyes. the fact that they were amber unnerved ellie a bit, but she didn’t say anything.

“let’s go talk to lauri.”


ellie walked into lauri’s hut without knocking. annabelle, in human form, followed. the inside of the hut was glowing blue. lauri sat cross-legged near the back wall, on the edge of the meditation circle. her hood was up, and her eyes were glowing brightly. ellie had never seen lauri use her power anywhere other than in the clearing. it really surprised her. she cleared her throat.

“lauri.”

the glow instantly vanished, and lauri’s hood fell from her head. her still-glowing eyes met ellie’s. she blinked, and the glow in her eyes vanished just as quickly as the glow in the hut had. she stood.

“welcome back.”

ellie simply nodded. she didn’t know what to say. for a moment, she even forgot why she had entered lauri’s hut in the first place. she saw annabelle out of the corner of her eye and remembered.

“you and annabelle need to go somewhere so you can teach her to use her powers.”

lauri blinked slowly, then shook her head.

“it is her destiny to help you save the amazons, ellie. you cannot send her away.”

ellie shook her head.

“i’m not sending her away. she needs to learn to use her powers. if she wants to help save the amazons, the best thing she could do would be to bring ava back to life. she was always our best warrior. and… lately, i’ve found myself distracted with thoughts of ava and how she died. i can’t be a very effective warrior if i’m distracted by those thoughts. and, while she’s at it, she could bring back queen eglise. cuz i’m not really queen material. so you need to take annabelle somewhere and teach her. have her bring the two of them back to life. we need them. how long should it take?”

lauri sighed.

“that depends on her. but i think you’re making a big mistake, sending us away.”

“lauri, they want you dead. they went right for you when they realized you were the sorceress. what do you think they’ll do to annabelle if they find out what her powers are?”

lauri simply shook her head. ellie cleared her throat before speaking again.

“go somewhere. athens, the port of pireaus,... memphis,… i don’t give a shit where you go, but take her and train her. i don’t want to use my authority as queen to order you to go, but i will if you argue with me.”

lauri chuckled and shook her head.

“i gave up on arguing with you years ago, ellie. i can help her to try to bring ava back to life. however, queen eglise cannot be brought back.”

ellie blinked.

“what….? why…?”

“for two reasons. in order for annabelle’s power to work, she must have access to the entire body or all the ashes. queen eglise’s head is still missing.”

ellie shook her head.

“and… the second reason…??”

“queen eglise has already been brought back to life, twice[/i]. she cannot be brought back again.”

ellie hung her head.

“damnit to hell.”

annabelle raised an eyebrow. she placed a hand on the hilt of ellie’s katana, and ellie looked at her. her voice was gentle when she spoke.

“i do… want to learn to use my power. if i can’t bring the queen back… the least i can do is bring ava back.”

ellie smiled.

“thank you.”

[moonglum]

The tunnel opened out into a rough-hewn cavern. Jerek entered and stood facing his six brothers. They were seated on a crescent-shaped stone bench, which curved around the rear wall. They were all dressed in robes of black and gold. Jerek laughed. “What games are you playing? You look foolish.” Cary watched Jerek and grinned. “Foolish, brother, I think not. Now we are complete. Come, a little closer Jerek, step into the circle.” He spread his arms and crowed, like the proud cockerel he had become. Jerek hadn’t noticed it before, but now he saw a curved line of stones reaching out from the ends of the benches and closing off a circle. Laughing again, he walked forward and stepped over the stones. As he did so the brothers began to chant and a black mist started to rise from the floor. It swirled and thickened, then slowly began to take shape until it resembled a man; a short, deformed man with a snake-like head. Jerek stood transfixed, mesmerised by this new trick his brothers had produced. He tried to laugh again and found he couldn’t speak. His throat seemed to be closing in on itself. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe and now as he saw the demon slowly turn its head towards him, he panicked. Inwardly he squirmed, trying to run away but not being able to move.
Jerek heard his brother shout, “Wait, you promised he could join us. You said no harm would come to him.” The creature turned to look at Cary and, in a deep growl, replied. “I lied!” The demon raised its hand and, with a flash of fire, Jerek watched as his brother’s skin erupted into flames and his skeleton crumbled in ashes to the ground. Jerek tried to scream along with his brothers. The blood pounded in his head, his heart felt like it would burst from his chest. He looked at his brothers and saw the fear on their faces. When the demon waved its other hand, they started to run. Another flash of fire and they froze, mid-step, petrified like statues.

As the rock closed in around the crevice, Jared began edging his way along what had become a tunnel. He could hear voices up ahead. It sounded like young Jerek had met up with his elder brother. What were they up to now, he thought. He reached a point where the tunnel divided into two passageways. In the dim light, it was difficult to be sure which route to take. Jared decided on the left fork and carried on. Soon he felt the floor of the tunnel sloping sharply upwards and, after a few hundred yards, turn to the right. A flash of light lit the air and he found himself on a ledge above a cavern. The sight that met his eyes horrified him. A black snake-like demon was reaching towards the children. Another flash of light and he saw the boys turned to stone. Only Jerek still seemed unaffected, although he too, was unmoving. Jared heart did not miss a beat as he drew his sword and leapt from the ledge. He was halfway towards the creature’s neck, when it turned and saw him.

[vox]

Aphemenie stood transfixed as the boy lifted the sword and her thoughts immediately wandered back to the scene of the pyre on top of the cliff. “Could this child be Jason?”, “Jason, is it you?” she waited for the boy to reply but he had not uttered a sound since they had left the storeroom, he seemed to have withdrawn into himself even more. “He must still be in shock from all that has happened” she thought, “it must be him, but what has happened to him, and why can he not speak?”

She had seen a ‘spark’ of something that could be interpreted as recognition when he first held the sword, but since then, nothing. Aphemenie looked into the boy's face and then said “I know you can hear me, we must leave now” With that, the pair of them left the Tavern, the boy still holding the sword which seemed so big in comparison to his size, and started to make their way through the carnage that was once a thriving community.

As they were stepping over the countless dead bodies trying to find a safe path to take, something made her freeze in her tracks. Two bodies, lay not far from each other, they stood out from the other bodies, both were blonde haired and were dressed differently from the other bodies. She cautiously walked over to examine the first one. She immediately recognised it as Fenn, and the other one as Penn. So they did catch up with her but somehow got caught up in the fight and had perished. She now faced a dilemma, should she take the boy back to her village and inform Goranje of Fenn and Penn’s demise or find somewhere else to go? She would find it extremely hard to explain what had been going on since she left, also, how would she explain the young boy whom she believed could be Jason, to Goranje, when she herself, did not know what had happened to him?

[vox]

It was patently obvious to Aphemenie that wherever the journey took them, it would be a silent one. She felt that she could not push the boy for fear of making him retreat even further into himself. Maybe if she gave it a while, he might open up to her. In the meantime she could maybe try reading his thoughts at least that may give her some clue as to what had actually happened to him. If she was to have any kind of conversation with him, albeit one sided for the time being, she would have to give him a temporary name if he agreed.

So they made their way in silence, along the dusty road, Aphemenie still not sure of what she was going to do. One thing for certain was that she was not going to allow the boy to see that she had wings for fear of scaring him, even if it meant the journey would be a long and maybe arduous one on foot.

It seemed ages since Aphemenie had eaten anything and she was beginning to feel ‘faint’ through lack of food. After they had gone some miles she motioned to the boy to rest. He looked so tired, the sheer weight of the sword and the length of time they had been walking were beginning to take their toll on him and he did not need telling twice! He found a soft piece of grass, flopped to the ground and just lay there with his eyes closed, still grasping the sword tightly to him. Aphemenie, sitting down herself watched him intently, it was not long before she realised that the boy had fallen asleep. While he was asleep Aphemenie went to gather some berries, she did not wander far from the boy, always keeping him in her sight “he may be hungry when he awakes” she thought to herself. It was strange, but she felt the same need to protect him, as she has for Jason.

She collected quite a few berries and returned to his side. He was sleeping quite deeply and he began to make noises in his sleep. As she was eating mindful to leave some for the boy, she was listening intently to him to see if she could glean any information from his ‘mutterings’ that would shed any light on where he had come from. As he lay there she thought to herself how beautiful he was, his blonde hair, his fair skin. He could almost be a child from her own village……..?

[EllieNeo]

ellie sat on ava’s bed and held ava’s urn in her hands. she sighed. omri was sound asleep on ellie’s bed, and his quiet snoring could be heard. without warning, lauri walked into the hut. she knew better than to sit on ava’s bed, so she simply stood near the door and looked at ellie. when lauri broke the silence, ellie didn’t look up at her.

“we are prepared to leave.”

ellie nodded. lauri took a step towards the bed before speaking again.

“we… need ava’s ashes.”

again, ellie simply nodded. lauri took another step towards the bed. ellie looked up at her, and her eyes were sad, yet hopeful.

“it’s her birthday.”

“i know.

“she would have been twenty-five today.”

“i know.”

ellie sighed and stood. reluctantly, she handed ava’s urn to lauri. their eyes met, and ellie slowly released the urn into lauri’s hands.

“lauri. is this gonna work…?”

lauri cradled ava’s urn carefully in her hands. she looked down at it. ellie had never let anyone else hold it, with the exception of the queen. for a long moment, she simply looked at it. when she looked up and answered ellie, it was not the response ellie had wanted to hear.

“i don’t know.”

[Awesome Aphrodite]

I had just finished packing the supplies into the saddlebags on the horse I was going to ride, a beautiful chestnut mare, when I saw Lauri emerge from Ellie’s hut. I expected Ellie to follow her, but she didn’t appear. Lauri carried what I guessed was Ava’s urn in her hands. It was a black, round container, with a flat bottom. Lauri walked up to the horse she was going to ride, which was an older, grey-coated horse, and carefully put the urn in its own compartment in one of the saddlebags. Without a word, she mounted her horse. She looked down at me, and I nodded. I mounted my horse as well. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Traya, and several other Amazons, were eying me suspiciously. Lauri rode off, and I followed her. I sincerely hoped she knew where she was going.

[moonglum]

Agrigarth had been promised the boy. Just be patient, he had been told. The Lords of Chaos were weaving their webs, pulling the threads together, one by one. This realm would soon be theirs, once they had eliminated the House of Courdes. Once they had removed that infernal meddling family, it would all belong to them. “And me?” Agrigarth had asked. “Yes, and you”, they had lied.
The boy was the key. He would soon come of age and so, Agrigarth had befriended the brothers. He had allowed them to stumble across his cave, and they were so impressed with themselves at ‘summoning up’ their very own demon. Ha, he had enjoyed that. The wait was beginning to get monotonous though. Performing parlour tricks for them and bowing to their every egotistical wish. After all, there were only so many village urchins you could turn into frogs before the novelty began to wear off.
Yes, the boy was the key. He had been born with the mark and would soon begin to realise his powers. Unlike his brothers, he was the chosen one. Now he was finally here, just a few short steps away, standing within the circle. Agrigarth reached for his prize, then a scraping of stone snatched his attention and he turned, just in time to catch a flying figure by its scrawny throat.

Della galloped into the clearing, just in time to see a man disappear into the far rock-face. She spurred her mount across the open ground and reined in her horse next to another that was tethered to the brush. Dismounting, she looked at the other horse. She recognised the tack. What was Jared, the captain of her husband’s guard, doing here? She knew something was wrong. She instinctively felt that evil dwelt here. Walking swiftly along the rock face, she soon found the crevice and slipped inside. As Della hurried along the passageway, she heard it and halted in her tracks. Her blood froze in her veins as she listened to the sounds of her children screaming. Spurred on, she ran blindly through the dark and burst into the cavern. The scene before her made her sick to her stomach. Five obscene stone caricatures of her sons stood around the edge of a stone circle. In the centre of that circle, a demonic creature was reaching one hand towards her youngest son while, in the other hand, it was swinging Jared’s limp body by his neck. She could not believe her eyes. Della screamed, “No! What is this madness?” She saw Jerek slowly begin to move his arms and legs. She marvelled at the exertion on his face, the sweat running down from his forehead. Stirring herself to movement, she began to run towards him, drawing her dagger as she went. The very air around her seemed to thicken and slow her progress, but she forced herself onwards. Flinging Jared’s body to one side, the creature raised his hand in her direction.

Jerek had been slowly bringing movement back to his limbs. He strained against the force holding him in place. Gradually he moved his arms, then his legs. His mother was crossing the cavern floor towards the beast, he had to help her. To one side he could see the crumpled body of his friend. There was a slight movement; Jerek saw the fingers of one hand twitching. Jared was still alive. The young boy felt anger boil inside him and he dug deep to conjure more courage than he realised he possessed. Turning his head back towards the beast, he saw it raise a hand in the direction of his mother. Time seemed to speed up, as Jerek flung his body between the beast and Della. “NOooo….!” The shout burst from his throat, as the blast hit him full in the chest and sent him hurtling backwards into his mother. They both hit the wall of the cavern and collapsed in a heap. As Jerek lay across his mother’s unconscious form, the beast slowly advanced towards them. “Now little one, you are mine.” It growled.

Slipping slowly towards unconsciousness himself, Jerek felt the creatures hand close on his shoulder. He felt the agonising burning cold, as the claw-like fingers covered his birthmark. His shoulder began to numb, his arm limp and lifeless. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye Jerek saw a brief flash of light and, a sword arced through the air. It was the colour of a bright sky on a clear summer’s day, with just a hint of blackness forming along its edges. The fear instilled by the demon and the awe which he felt for the blade, took the young boy’s breath away. The sword cleaved the monsters hand from its arm and Jerek was showered in green, foul smelling blood. Tearing his eyes away from the weapon, he slowly turned his head towards the sword-wielder. He looked upon a tall man, emerging from a glowing circle of shimmering light. The stranger’s long blonde hair framed a gaunt face with almost elfin-like features, but it was his eyes that held Jereks attention, they were the bluest eyes he had ever seen. Jerek fought the sleep that tried to claim him. From deep within he called on the last remaining strength he possessed and slowly climbed to his feet. He watched mesmerised, as the monster crashed his fist into the strangers head and, as the stranger reeled, the demon kicked at the lowered sword-arm. Jerek stared open-mouthed as the sword flew from the strangers grip. He hardly stopped to think before launching himself after it. The stranger staggered to one knee and Agrigarth felled him with another blow to the head, and then leapt after the boy. As darkness claimed him, the stranger watched helpless as the boy, the demon and the sword tumbled towards the open portal.

[EllieNeo]

ellie sat in the council chambers and explained who she was and why she was there to the other three amazon queens. she couldn't remember ever having spoken so much in one sitting, and it felt weird. but they had to know. though lauri was no longer around to translate, ellie noticed that ilia had taken it upon herself to do the job as ellie told her story to the queens.

when ellie finished explaining how she had gotten to greece, queen ista stood. she nodded at ellie.

“we were told that you were the chosen one. that artemis chose you to save our people, and that you were brought back in time ten years ago to do it. what we don’t understand is why.”

ellie shook her head.

“i don’t know why.”


the sun was setting. the queens were making sure every amazon was accounted for. ellie enlisted gyna’s help for this. gyna knew all the amazons in the tribe. ellie did not. at least, not until gyna took her around to them all and introduced them. by the end of the day, her head was so full of names that she thought it would explode.

every amazon was accounted for… except one. as ellie returned to her hut to go to sleep that night, the thought of who was not accounted for bothered her. janis was missing. and so were her belongings.




*reminder: dialog in blue is greek.

[moonglum]

The two figures stood on the Pinnacle and looked down into the mist. The scene below was clear to them, but hazy, like the reflections on a lake in the fog. A young boy was being shepherded away from the village by a young woman. The two figures turned to face each other; the man placed his hands on the other’s shoulders and said.
“Send me back.”
“I cannot.”
“Why?”
She thought for a moment before replying. Was she being selfish? She wanted him here with her, always. She had sought to change the past, trying to separate the beast from the man. Yes, she was being selfish; but why not? She hadn’t asked for this isolation, this loneliness. She had embraced death when it came. How could she have known that with it, death would not bring its own peace? She just wanted to be with him. Looking up into his eyes, she sighed. Her meddling had brought him to this and she knew, deep in her heart that, if she wanted to hold onto him, she must let him go.
“The demon was never in the sword, Jason. It was always inside you. It entered you in the cavern, when you were a boy. I thought I could change that. This time however, it missed its mark. It pursues young Jerek even now.”
“Send me back! I can defeat it.”
“Not while the boy has the sword. You cannot coexist long enough in the same time while he holds the sword.”
His shoulders sagged under the enormity of her words. “Then I am doomed to watch him tread the same path.”
Once again Letitia looked into those blue eyes, before replying. “There may yet be a way, my love!”

[vox]

She must have eventually drifted off to sleep herself for, when she awoke, Aphemenie shivered in the dew-laden dawn. She and the boy had somehow ended up together, huddled against the night, beneath a clump of bushes inside a small thicket. Gently she slid her arms from around the boy so as not to wake him, and stood up. Stretching her muscles, she noticed the state of her clothes and, not for the first time, remembered both she and the boy needed to find fresh water. Under ordinary circumstances, it would be so easy for her to take flight and find a river or lake, but she did not want to risk confusing the boy. The sea was out of the question, Aphemenie had decided they should head inland, northeast and away from the coast.

The boy stirred, sleepily wiped his eyes and sat up. Aphemenie handed him the berries she had saved for him, he grabbed them and hurriedly began to eat. “hey! Slow down, nobody is going to take them from you!” she said. She noticed a slight smile appear at the corners of his mouth, but it disappeared as quick as it came. She watched as he finished the berries, “do you feel able to talk to me yet?” she directed the question directly at him. He stared intently at her, opened his mouth and said in a whisper “yes, I, I think so………”

Aphemenie breathed a big sigh of relief, at last she may be able to get some answers. “What is your name?” she said, the boy replied “I think it’s Jack? I don’t really remember!”. “Okay, Jack it is then, until you remember more”. He looked at Aphemenie, grabbed her hand, held it in his and then he smiled at her, a sheepish little smile but a smile nonetheless. “Jack, do you know what happened to you?” Aphemenie asked, careful not to bombard him with too many questions at once. Jack replied “no, I don’t know how I even came to be in that storehouse”. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him but now wasn’t the time. “I expect you could do with a drink, come with me and let’s see if we can find some water”.

They walked a few miles more, when Aphemenie’s acute hearing picked up the sound of running water and they came across a river. Aphemenie said “this will do, let’s take a rest and cleanse ourselves”. With that, Jack put down the sword at the edge of the lake and plunged straight in. Aphemenie being a little bit cautious dipped her foot in first. The water was cool, not too cold, so she decided to venture further in. “Jack? Where are you?” she shouted. She scanned the length of the river as far as her eyes could see but could not see him. Suddenly there was giggle and a big splash from behind her; he playfully pushed Aphemenie under the water. They played quite happily for a while, each splashing the other and attempting to ‘get away’.

Aphemenie noticed what an accomplished swimmer Jack was, she also noticed that he had a mark on his left shoulder, a birthmark perhaps?

Aphemenie gasped! that mark! It is the same as the one she had noticed on Jason’s shoulder back on the top of the hill! Was it also in her imagination that ‘Jack’ had somehow grown a little older? His physique seemed no longer that of a young boy, but of an adolescent male. This young man that she has been frolicking in the water with, is not ‘Jack’ but in fact a younger ‘Jason’.

[moonglum]

She knew she was dreaming. The air had that misty quality only experienced during deep sleep. One of those dreams that are so vivid at the time, but only half remembered or half forgotten, upon awakening. She was standing in a white corridor, which stretched away into the distance.

“Mother!”

Della heard his cry and began running down the corridor. She felt as if her legs were wading through water. In the distance ahead, she could see figures. No matter how hard she ran though, she didn’t seem to be getting any closer to them. She felt her heart beating faster and faster, threatening to burst from her chest, until she collapsed to her knees. Her breath coming in gasps as her body shuddered with her sobbing.

“Get up!”

“Wha..”

Della looked up. A tall man with long blonde, almost white, hair stood by her side. He held out his hand.

“Get up. He needs you.”

“I can’t. Who……..who are you?”

“Get up!”

She struggled slowly to her feet, her arm finding the support of his outstretched hand. Together, they slowly walked down the corridor. As they walked and her breathing returned to normal, she found herself staring at this stranger. His hair, his blue eyes, were so familiar to her. She felt an irresistible urge to stroke that mane, to hold him in her arms. The realisation dawned slowly and as it did, her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Jerek?”

Jason smiled. “Yes, mother.”

A fleeting moment of elation escaped her lips and she started to cry. Her legs threatened to give way beneath her as she turned her head and saw they had nearly reached the end of the corridor. Ahead the stranger, the older incarnation of her son, stood next to his younger self. Behind and above them, the demon from the cavern looked down at her and laughed. And, as the white walls slowly crumbled around her, she screamed and woke up.


Della lay in bed. She was in one of the guest rooms of her home. The hour was late and the curtains were drawn against the night. Candles guttered gently in a slight draught, causing shadows of movement on the tapestries that hung from the walls. As she awoke, she took in these things, along with the facts that a woman she did not know, was standing by her bedside, and she could not feel her legs.
“Oh Mistress, you are awake. This is good news indeed. Please wait while I summon the Master, he will be overjoyed”
Della tried to speak but her throat was dry and felt constricted. It made little difference; the woman had quickly scurried from the room. Why could she not feel her legs? What had happened to Jerek? What had happened to Jared? Questions. Questions whirled around in her head………and……..then the enormity of what had happened, hit her. She had lost six of her children! She tried to scream, but the sobs that came, tore at her throat making her gag. She tore at the nightdress around her neck and reached for the water on her bed side table, knocking the pitcher over and sending it crashing to the floor. The door burst open and people came running in. An old man sat down by her bedside and grasped her hand. She struggled and tried to pull away.
“Della, calm yourself. You have awoken. Praise Krafus, you have been returned to me, my love!”
In her struggling, her eyes finally found his and recognition slowly gave birth to horror.
“Vaelan?” The name almost strangled by her throat. She opened her mouth and sucked in air. The nurse returned with fresh water and her husband held the flagon to her lips while first she gulped, and then, more gently, sipped the soothing liquid.
“Where is Jerek? What happened to the monster?” The words were ragged, but the dryness in her throat was easing a little. “What has happened to you?”
She gripped his arm and stared at his wrinkled face and grey hair. Vaelan gently patted her hand as he glanced at the others in the room. Turning his eyes back to hers, he whispered. “Calm yourself. You need to rest and gather your strength again. You have been asleep for quite a while now. The physician calls it a coma”
“ How long? How long have I slept?”
“You fell from your horse and were knocked unconscious.”
She gripped his arm harder. “How long?” The tightness of her throat prevented her shouting.
Vaelan’s shoulders slumped as he softly replied. “Twenty years ago, Della. Twenty years”.

[moonglum]

Over the next few weeks Della exercised and strengthened daily. The physicians and healers had prevented serious atrophy of her muscles by massaging them daily and forcibly exercising her arms and legs while she slept. Still, she had been very weak when she woke. The feeling gradually returned to her legs and soon she was able to sit up and eventually leave the bed altogether, albeit via a small tahtırevan. If her days were spent exercising and strengthening her body, then her nights were consumed with confusion and frustration. Everyone she spoke to was insistent that her body was found on the shores of the lake where she had been riding that morning. The lake was to the north and Della knew that she had ridden south in search of her sons. If this were true, where were her sons, and what of Jared? They told her he had been the one who found her and was now a gibbering village idiot, habitually to be found at the local tavern in his cups. She lay awake at night tossing and turning, knowing that this was all wrong. Then, when she finally did find the solace of sleep, she was haunted by that same dream. Running down that long white corridor, and the stranger who seemed so familiar, so like an older version of her beloved Jerek.

“Get up.”

“Get up, he needs you.”

She awoke sweating and he was there. Like a spectre, standing at the foot of her bed, beckoning for her to follow him!

[moonglum]

The spectre, for Della realised now that’s what the stranger was, moved slowly away from the bed towards the door. She rolled onto her side and began to swing her legs over the edge of the bed. When she looked up again the ghost had gone. Della slowly stood. She had walked around her room before, but only recently and it had been an ordeal. With some difficulty, she made it over to the door and opened it. The figure stood at the end of the hallway and beckoned to Della to follow as he turned away down the stairs. Della opened her mouth to call out and began to follow when the door to her right burst open.
“Mistress, What are you doing out of bed?” Her nurse stood in the doorway looking horrified.
“Did you see him?”
“Who, mistress?” The woman looked down the empty corridor. Her expression changing from worry to one of perplexion.
Della looked down the empty passageway and sighed. “Never mind. Just help me down the stairs.”
“The Master will not like this,” the nurse sniffed.
“I don’t care, do it!” Della snapped. Her frustration with the woman was reaching boiling point. Being dependent upon anyone stuck in her craw. She had been raised alongside her brothers to be self-reliant and she hated this. “Just do it, please.”
The nurse grasped her arm and helped Della along the corridor and then down the stairs. It was late evening, the clock had recently chimed its quarter hour before midnight, and the entrance hall was deserted. The main door however, stood ajar.
“That’s strange,” the nurse exclaimed. “I came down for some water not long ago and everything was locked up tight for the night.
“Take me outside.” Della started toward the door, forcing the woman onward. Outside the night air struck cold. The nurse asked her to wait while she returned for Della’s cloak. As she waited, Della scanned the inner bailey. The courtyard seemed empty, until she spotted the figure, over by the main gate leading to the outer bailey and the village. Della started toward the gate unaided. The nurse caught up with her and wrapped a riding cloak around her shoulders, then together they continued to the gate.
“Do you see him now, Tildy?”
“I see nobody mistress.”
“No matter, come.” Della reached the gate and they passed through. Stopping briefly, she cast around for the figure and saw him enter a tavern down the street.

[vox]

Now embarrassed, she felt her cheeks reddening or maybe it was just the heat of the sun? She did not quite know how she was going to broach this revelation to the younger ‘Jason’. What if it pushed him back and he once again began to withdraw? What if he would not accept Aphemenie’s recall of past events? Her description of his ‘older’ self, it may be all too much for his mind to process.

At this present time, Jason was too busy enjoying himself in the water and she felt it would be wrong to try to ‘push’ this information on him. She must act normally. After all, her prime objective is to protect and to ignore her own feelings. She pushed these feelings aside and swam out towards him playfully splashing as she neared him, and he retaliated similarly.

It was time she got out of the water, she was beginning to feel the cold and her skin was becoming puckered and wrinkled. She waded towards the bank where Jason had left the sword, sat down and watched as Jason was diving under the water and re-surfacing. She laughed as he re-surfaced once more, this time with a fish in his mouth!.

He too began wading back to the bank of the river, and Aphemenie could not help but notice that ‘young Jason’ was fast becoming a man and how the water rivulets running down his body were giving out luminescent colours of the rainbow in each one, and wanting to reach out and touch them, to touch him!

“What are these strange feelings?”, “I must stop these foolish thoughts and concentrate on the forthcoming journey!” she said to herself, “Still, they are nice thoughts”……..

[moonglum]

When Jason’s body had slumped to the floor of the tavern, a number of things had happened. A portal had appeared behind him; the beast had emerged from it, to give physical form to the spirit leaving his body; a young boy had followed holding a duplicate of his sword; Jason heard his mother call and slowly began crawling towards her; then time, stood still.
Letitia had cursed. All that scheming, and for what? Nought! The boy was not meant to go through the portal. Only the beast; and now Jason was crawling through the portal in the other direction. Her tampering was making the whole thing unstable. All she wanted was to be with him again. To rid him of his burden and to hold him in her arms once more. She had been surprised not to have experienced a mortal death. True, her body had died; but her essence, her spirit, had lived on. Then the realisation dawned on her. They had destroyed the gods, but evil had lived on in the form of the beast. And, for evil to exist, good must exist too. So she had survived in this form. The two needed each other as a counterpoint. They had, Jason and her, effectively created the Balance all over again. Her selfishness in wanting him had backfired because she was trying to manipulate the beast. Evil was not prepared to stand meekly by and let itself be toyed with, like a piece on a chek-board.
Damage limitation was a term Letitia had never used but, as the portal closed behind Jason, she knew what she had to do.

[Awesome Aphrodite]

As we rode through the woods, I could have sworn I heard someone following us through the trees. Since I was in human form, (it was next to impossible to stay on a horse’s back while in wolf form) I could not be sure. I kept looking up, and once, I thought I saw the glint of a weapon high in the treetops. But I still couldn’t be sure.

We rode for several hours. Soon I could smell the sea. There was a small village nestled between the sea and the woods. When we reached it, it looked abandoned... I had the sinking feeling something horrible had happened here, but I said nothing. Lauri dismounted her horse, and I followed her lead. We walked our horses into the village. I wondered where we were.

“Is this the port of Pireaus that Ellie was talking about?”

Lauri shook her head.

“No, that’s a good two days’ ride north. We are stopping here for the night, and to get supplies. There is a cave nearby that’s secluded, and we will begin your training there. Since you have the power in your blood, learning to raise the dead will not be difficult. I would not be surprised if you succeed on your first try, as your mother did. It does, however, require seclusion and concentration. This cave we are going to is the same one where your mother learned to use her power. It is a perfect training location.”

I nodded and followed Lauri. She walked up to what looked like an inn, and handed me her horse’s reigns. She told me to stay put, and walked inside. I stood, holding the two horses in place. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw the flying thing that had been watching Ellie and the others in the clearing the day we’d met. But when I looked up to confirm it, I saw nothing. I shook the thought from my head. The four people and the flying thing from the clearing were probably long gone. I chuckled at the thought that the four hadn’t even known my name.

Lauri emerged from the building, carrying a large sack. I thought I saw the sleeve of a very small article of clothing sticking out, but she stuffed it into the sack before I could get a good look. She attached the sack to the saddlebags, and then walked back behind the inn. There was a large hut behind the inn, with a stable next door. She took my horse’s reins and led the two to the stable. I stood and waited. When she emerged, she smiled at me.

“I rented that hut for the night. He tried to persuade me to leave immediately... something horrible happened here, he says. Romans... a huge battle... hardly any survivors. He gave me the hut for half price and advised me to leave early tomorrow. I am inclined to take his advice. Come on, let’s try to get to sleep. It’s almost a full days’ ride to the cave.”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I walked into the hut. It was small, but the beds looked comfortable. Deciding I had been trapped in human form too long, I transformed into my wolf form and hopped on one of the beds. I fell asleep before Lauri had even shut the door.




Note: Blue dialog is Greek.

[moonglum]

The Crow and Gibbet was not the sort of establishment that Della had frequented for many a year. In fact, it was not the sort of place any lady of court would have visited, ever. Tildy halted at the door.
“You can’t go in there, mistress. This place is full of cut-purses and murderers!”
“I can and will go in, Tildy. You can wait outside if you wish.” Della pushed the door open and stepped inside. Tildy looked around at the shadows moving in the night before rushing after her.
The inside of the tavern was cramped and the air filled with smoke. Ignoring the leers and jeers, Della looked around the room until she saw him. The spectre was standing with his back to the wall by a table in a corner of the small room. His hand was resting on the shoulder of a drunken old man who was holding court among his friends. His flagon stopped halfway to his lips as he saw the women approaching his table. The men sitting opposite him, looked over their shoulders, and then stood to allow Della and her nurse to sit down. Della looked into his rheumy eyes.
“Hello Jared.” Her gaze then moved upwards to the face of the ghost by the wall.
“Hee hee, you see him too, don’t you?” Jared slurred his words and wagged his finger in Della’s face. “Thought I was mad, they did.”
Tildy looked from the wall to Della then back to Jared. The other men at the table caught her glances and sighed as if to say ‘not this again’.
“Who are you talking about, mistress.” Tildy gripped Della’s arm.
“Quiet Tildy. Yes I see him Jared.” Della leaned forward and gripped the old man’s hand. “Jared what happened to my sons?”
“Hee hee, carried you.” Jared struggled to keep his head up.
“Where, Jared?”
“All the way there.”
“Yes, but from where?” Della inwardly cursed the holes in her memory.
“Shan’t tell you.” He put his finger to his lips. “Sshh, secret!”
“Jared, please. This is important.”
“None knows but me, hee hee.”
Della sighed. Looking up at the blond-haired ghost, she brought newfound memories to mind. She’d had time to think while she recuperated. She remembered a cave and a monster; she remembered her youngest son saving her life; she remembered the stranger, this spectre, being involved somehow. Whatever had happened there, he held the key; and he had led her to Jared. She was roused from her reverie by the old man’s snoring. He had fallen asleep, face down on the table.
“He needs sobering up,” Della said, half to herself.
“Good luck.” The men laughed at their joke.
She rounded on them, fury blazed in her eyes. “You two, carry him back to the castle and I’ll see you’re rewarded. Refuse me and I’ll see you hang.”
Della looked around the, now quiet, bar-room and holding her head up, she led the small party out of the Crow and Gibbet and into the street. As they walked back towards the castle, she kept looking over her shoulder, but she saw the ghost no more that night.

[vox]

Déjà vu For One

After a short rest on the riverbank, Aphemenie and Jack carried on their journey choosing to avoid the forest and continuing following the river. They both enjoyed the scenery so much and it seemed to Aphemenie that Jack was ‘opening up’ a little more. They talked about all the various trees and bushes, the way the clouds made peculiar shapes in the sky, the various insects and lizards that they very nearly trod upon, about everything that they could see. All the while keeping a close watch to see if they could see anyone else.

They had gotten so wrapped up in conversation that they did not notice that the river had suddenly turned into waterfall. They must have walked for miles and miles, neither of them had any idea where they were but instinctively knew that they must cross the waterfall to the other side. The only means of crossing seemed to be by way of huge rocks that went from one side to the other. Jack took hold of Aphemenie’s hand and said “hold on to me, I’ll get us safely to the other side” This seemed so silly to Aphemenie, when she could just fly them over to the other side, but she still had not shown Jack her ‘wings’ and she was enjoying his company so much, she did not want to jeopardise it. “little by little” she thought to herself.

They were halfway across, with Jack just in front of her when suddenly he disappeared! But she could still feel his hand holding her hand. But could not see either of their hands. “Jack! Where are you?” “I can feel you but I can’t see you!” She felt a sudden tug on her arm and then felt as if she were falling, spiralling down and down. Then just as quickly, she felt her feet on solid ground again. She quickly looked around; it was difficult to see anything. Aphemenie could barely distinguish Jack’s shape. It felt cold and damp, it was as if they were cloaked in a dank darkness with no way out, and she began to shiver, not through cold but through uncertainty.

“Where are we? she heard her own voice echo.

“Ssssssh!” Jack replied. He was far too busy trying to make out where they were. He didn’t know how, but he knew they were in an underground chamber, where and when were a different matter though. Images began flashing through his mind, which bore some familiarity.

Jack felt a solid wall and began feeling his way along, trying to find a way out, Aphemenie followed meekly behind, she did not care much for this environment, she was used to grass, trees and water. This was extremely alien to her, but Jack seemed quite at home, which was very disconcerting. Suddenly they were stepping through an opening in the wall into what seemed like a passageway. “At least this passageway is lit, albeit dimly” thought Aphemenie. They reached the end and found a flight of descending stone steps, they continued the downward spiral which seemed to go on forever when they found themselves in a short tunnel with a huge iron-clad wooden door at the end. They quickly reached the door and Jack swung the door inwards. They both stepped through allowing it to close behind them.

All of a sudden the door disappeared, and a solid rock wall replaced it. They were trapped!

Jack looked around for another way out, he felt sure he had been here before. They were in a large cavern with rock walls and ceiling, and in the centre of the floor stood a small stone obelisk, there was nothing else but the obelisk there! “What do we do now?” he said to himself............






My thanks go to Moonglum for allowing me to use an excerpt from The House of Whoosher.

[moonglum]

They made love under the black, star-studded night sky. They felt no cold, and neither of them wanted it to end, although they both knew it would be the last time. After all, you don’t get to cheat death too many times. Letitia was determined though, to savour these feelings till the end.
“Jason,” she whispered teasingly in his ear. The far-away look in his eyes brought her mood back to the reality of the moment, however. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, aware that a tension was slowly building between them.
“Why have you done this Letitia?” His voice, though soft, was choked and heavy with emotion.
She raised herself up on one elbow and smiled at him. “To be with you again, my love.”
“What of the people you’ve hurt along the way? What of them?”
She could hear the bitterness creeping into his voice. “They will survive, they are strong,” she replied.
“And what about me?” He turned his head to face her. “I tire of this rollercoaster of emotions. You showed me once, that not all gods were the same unfeeling beings.” He turned his gaze back to the stars. “Now, I begin to doubt that.”
She felt a stab of anger cut through her own emotions. She opened her mouth to reply, then, thinking better of it, Letitia lay her head back down. The mortal in her soul had needs, wants. Why couldn’t she have this time with him? She had the power to do this, why not? The anger rose like bile in her throat and she pushed away from him, sitting up on the edge of the bed.
“Letitia, I’m sorry.” His hand rested on her shoulder and his touch suddenly reviled her.
She jumped to her feet and rounded on him. “You ungrateful bastard.”
“Letitia, I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I have doubts, I’m conf…………..”
“No,” she screamed and waved her hand at him. A blue light engulfed his mind and he felt himself falling. Seconds later Jason hit the floor of the cavern, rolled onto his back and groaned.

[moonglum]

What was the matter with her? Why did she feel this way? She loved him, so why was she treating him this way.

Stay with me.

Letitia stared at her reflection in the glassy, mirror-like surface of the pool. Her emotions were running wild, she felt as if her actions were no longer hers to command.

Stay with me.

What was going on? He loved her, and she him. What had she done?

In the silence of your gloom
In the darkness of your dreams
You must only think of me
There can be no in between
And when your pride is on the floor
I will make you beg for more.

As she stared into the pool she saw it. Her tears clouded her eyes, but it slowly became clearer, it was there. Behind the slight rippling of the surface the serpent head stared back at her and she felt the bile rise once more. Then she heard the voice in her head ring out.

Stay with me.

You’d better hope and pray
That he makes it safe
Back to his own world
You’d better hope and pray
That he’ll wake one day
In his own world
Cos when he sleeps at night
They don’t hear his cries
In his own world
Only time will tell
If he can break the spell
Back in his own world.


(The words in italics are a variation of a lyric by Shakespeare’s Sister.)