by S L Dearing
98
Kaley sat quietly watching Chris breath as she held his hand. It was cold. His skin was so pale it had a bluish tint about it. His face was sallow and the area around his eyes was dark. She leaned back in her chair as she gently let go of his hand and began to absently twist the ring on her left hand as she thought about Alisha. She heard the door unlatch as Beverly entered the room. Kaley looked at her and smiled.
"I came to see how our boy was doing," Beverly said.
"No change."
Beverly could see the pain in Kaley's face.
"I've failed all of you, Child… I'm sorry."
Kaley frowned as she looked at Beverly. She seemed older to Kaley, and frail. Kaley reached across Chris and held out her hand. Beverly took it and moved into the light. The lines on her face were deeper and she looked tired.
"You haven't failed us, Bev. How could you think that?"
Beverly smiled and held fast to Kaley's hand.
"I knew in my gut it was Rona. I knew she would do whatever she had to to get out of that jail. I should have been watching her more closely. I should have been there for Alisha."
Tears fell down Beverly's cheek as she tried to regain some composure. Kaley squeezed Bev's hand.
"As far as Rona is concerned, Sean and Janeen had been trying for a long time to get Mom to see who she really was… how were you going to do what they hadn't been able to? And as far as Alisha is concerned, there was nothing you could have done, Bev. She made the decision. She saw more than any of us and…"
Kaley choked on her words. She was tired of crying and tired of being afraid.
"Look, Bev, no one blames you for not being able to save Alisha. It just wasn't meant to be. Eventually our family will be together again. She just went to meet them sooner than the rest of us and sooner than we would have liked."
Beverly smiled and looked at Kaley's hands as she gently ran her thumb over the girl’s delicate fingers.
"You so remind me of your father. He was a kind and practical man."
Kaley smiled and looked over at Chris. His breathing had seemed to ease and the color was returning to his fingers.
"Bev, look."
Beverly turned to see the color fill his hands and move up his arms. The bluish tint around his lips began to turn red and the dark circles around his eyes disappeared. Beverly let go of Kaley's hand and opened the door.
"Evelyn, go get Elena!! Get Sean! Hurry!!"
Bev returned to the side of Chris's bed and touched his forehead. Then she laid her hand on his chest and brought her hand to her mouth as she began to laugh.
"He's warm, Kaley! His heart is beating strongly!"
Kaley took Chris's hand and touched his face.
"Chris? Chris? Can you hear me? Please Chris, squeeze my hand if you can hear me."
"Chris, please show us you can hear us?"
Kaley held his hand loosely as she pleaded with him to squeeze. Then she looked at Bev, the hope from a few moments before starting to falter. Then Kaley saw something change in Beverly's eyes. The sparkle that she had always seen was rekindled.
"Now you see here, Christopher Andrew Stark!! You do as your sister tells you and you squeeze her hand! You hear me, Boy? You squeeze your sister's hand!"
Sean burst through the door and stood at the end of Chris's bed. Beverly, now determined, looked at Sean.
"You tell him, Sean! You tell him to do as he's told!"
Sean was confused, but looked at Chris. He immediately noticed the change in his color and then looked at Kaley. Her fragile features ready to crack. Then he turned back to Chris.
"You heard the lady, Christopher!! Do as you’re told! Do it now!!"
Kaley started to cry. There was nothing. She sat staring at her brother's face. There was no movement. Then suddenly, she felt his fingers move, only slightly then harder. Then she felt his fingers close against her hand.
"He can hear us!! He can hear us!"
Sean put his hand to his face and Beverly clapped her hands together as Elena walked into the room.
"What has happened?"
She saw everyone smiling and laughing. Then she walked over to see Chris and smiled.
"I suppose the antidote worked."
"You suppose correctly, Darlin'."
Elena stood near Chris's head, next to Beverly. She opened his eyes and looked at them and then looked at the wound in his side. It had healed into a scab. She smiled and took a vial from her pocket.
Elena uncorked the vial and tipped it over Chris's mouth and let several drops fall onto his lips.
"He will not awaken tonight, but that is good. He still needs his rest."
Kaley held Chris's hand to her lips as she cried. He was getting well. Sean laid his hand on her shoulder and she looked at him, smiling.
He smiled back and brushed her face.
"C'mon, Kid. Let him rest. You look like you could use some rest too. C'mon."
Kaley let go of Chris's hand and hesitated as she stood up.
"Don't worry, Sweetheart. We'll make sure to call if he does wake up, ok?"
Kaley nodded and allowed Sean to guide her to the door, then she stopped.
"Bev?"
Beverly turned to look at her.
"No more thinking about all that other stuff, ok?"
Beverly smiled and nodded.
"No more. Thank you, Kaley. Go get some rest now."
Kaley and Sean walked from the room. As the door closed behind them, Beverly took Elena's hand.
"Thank the gods you were here, Elena. You saved this boy."
"No, we saved this boy, all of us. Even him. Had he not wanted to live, nothing we did could have saved him."
Beverly thought to herself. It was funny how one good thing can ease the pain of the bad. They stayed watching him until a nurse came in to relieve them. Then they walked down the hall, arm-in-arm.
99
The rescue party had ridden as fast as they could in the darkness. They had made their way through Pasadena and worked their way through the hills and mountains.
They slowed to a walk so as to give the horses a rest and be mindful of the terrain. The grayness of early morning began to creep over the eastern sky and Alia marveled at the colors that reached ever further into the heavens.
They continued on until they came across a small pond. Alia ordered them all to rest and water their horses. They all gathered around the pond.
Myron and Molly walked up to Alia. Myron cleared his throat as Alia turned to look at him.
"They should be fairly close, Your Highness."
"Stop with the formalities, Myron. I was thinking the same thing."
"Maybe we should send out a scouting party, Your Highness. Just to see which direction they went."
Alia turned to Molly.
"Ok, I'll leave it to you, Molly. We'll rest here for a while. You send out a few of our men to see if they can pick up their trail."
Molly nodded and bowed as she turned and left to get volunteers to search.
"We need a real plan when we get to the castle, Alia."
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. They obviously know that we're coming, so surprise isn't an option."
"Yeah, I've also been thinking that they probably have no idea how many we are… that might work in our favor."
"What? You mean like have some of the soldiers hang back?"
"Yeah… I mean if they catch us, they may not let your soldiers live, you know?"
Alia had thought about that. She looked at the ground and put her hands on her hips. Then she looked to the east.
"Maybe we'll catch a break, Myron. Maybe we'll catch up to them."
She turned and looked at Myron. His face was grave.
"Maybe."
Before Alia could say anything else, Molly returned to let them know they were starting out. She, Jones, Tanner and several other recruits were heading to the northeast and Sam, Scott, Ian, Elian and Grant were heading southeast.
Al
ia nodded.
"Every minute we wait here they get further away, Molly. Make sure that you only go a half an hour out. That way we only lose an hour total, ok?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Molly rallied the troops and they set off in their assigned directions. A falcon watched and then flew southeast.
100
"We all want to see Chris."
Rebecca was looking at Sara over the kitchen table.
"They said one at a time, Beck."
"Ok, so one of us at a time then."
Sara looked over at her sister, unable to tell her why she was trying to keep them from seeing their brother. Then she looked at Brian and the twins. Amanda stared at her food.
"Ask Kaley when she comes down."
"He's dying, isn't he?" Amanda asked.
Sara looked over at Amanda.
"I don't know, Sweetie."
"He's not dying! Shut up!"
"Brandon!"
"Everyone keeps saying he's dying! He's not dying! He can't die!"
Amanda started to cry and covered her face. Brandon hugged her.
"I'm sorry, Amanda, I'm sorry," he said.
"What is going on in here?"
Kaley walked into the kitchen.
"We wanna see Chris."
Brian stood up.
"We wanna see him."
Kaley sat down and looked around the table and smiled.
"Ok."
They all looked at her.
"Ok. We'll go after breakfast."
Sara looked at Kaley and shook her head, but Kaley continued to smile.
"Did he…"
"He's not awake… yet. But last night he squeezed my hand. He's getting better."
Amanda sniffled and looked at Brandon.
"He's not dying?"
Brandon looked at her and then Kaley.
"No, he's not dying. He's getting better," Kaley said.
They all started to laugh and Rebecca lunged at Kaley, wrapping her arms around her sister.
"Alright, if you've finished eating, go get dressed. Maybe he'll wake up for you guys."
They all scrambled away from the table and ran up the stairs, except Sara. She looked at Kaley and smiled. Kaley smiled back.
"He's got all of his color back, Sara. It's amazing! I couldn't believe it."
"So he's really going to be alright?"
"Bev and Elena think so."
Sara frowned at the mention of Beverly's name.
"What?"
Sara shook her head and forced a smile.
"Nothing."
"No, what is it?"
Sara looked at Kaley.
"She could have saved her if she had been there, I know it… I feel it."
Kaley sighed and closed her eyes.
"Oh, Sara… there was no saving Alisha. When are you all going to understand?"
Sara looked at her sister and shook her head.
"Are you trying to say that Alisha wanted to die?"
"No! She just knew it was coming… I think about all the little things she said and did and I finally figured it out. She told her, Sara."
"Who told her?"
"The goddess."
"The goddess? Are you crazy? The goddess didn't tell her anything."
"She told Alisha through her dreams. Just enough so that she knew it was coming and what would happen if she chose to save herself. She knew she was going to die, Sara."
"Then why didn’t she stop it?"
Tears fell down Sara's red face. Kaley reached out and took her sister's hand.
"Because to save herself, she had to lose someone she loved."
"No, no…"
Kaley pulled Sara to her and held her, as her mother would have done. She smoothed her sister's hair and let her cry.
"Even if Beverly had been right there, Sara, she and Elena… they couldn't have saved her… and… and she was alright with that."
Kaley then felt herself give way to her own tears. They held each other for what seemed like forever. Then they heard footsteps on the stairs. They pulled apart and wiped their faces as they smiled at one another.
"Are you ok?"
Kaley turned around to see Brian looking at them.
"Yeah, we're fine."
Brian continued to look at them. Then he walked over to Sara and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Everything's gonna be ok… I know it."
Sara looked at Kaley and then placed her arms around him.
"Thanks, Kid."
The other children soon joined them and they set out for Healer Hall to see Chris.
101
Grant led his group through the trees and terrain, as they looked for anything that might give them a clue that their attackers had come in this direction. The sun was rising through the mist of the morning and the light made them squint slightly as they rode eastward.
"How long have we been out?"
"About 15 minutes."
Sam looked around them and then turned towards San Bernardino. Larry rode up to his son and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"They won't hurt them, Son."
Sam looked at his father and forced a smile and nodded. Scott slowed his horse and looked down.
"Hey, over here. Look at this."
He jumped off his horse and knelt down. Sam rode over and did the same. Scott picked up a small bit of cloth. It was red, the same red that Chelsea had been wearing when she was taken.
Sam smiled and took it.
"Dad, look!"
Sam ran over to Larry and Grant. Larry took the cloth and Grant nodded.
"Ok, we know they went in this direction. Let's ride back to camp and let the others know."
They all mounted their horses except Scott, who was distracted by a rustling in the brush next to him. He turned back towards the brush and leaned in, but didn't see anything. Then he turned and looked up at Elian.
"Hey, El, did you hear that?"
Elian turned his head and looked down at Scott, but before he could answer, several of the Black Hordesmen charged out of the bushes. Scott reached for his sword, but the one of the Horde soldiers sliced at him. Bright cardinal spread quickly through Scott's cut shirt and he fell.
"Aaaggh!"
"Scott!!"
Sam and Elian jumped off their horses and ran at their attackers. Swords clashed as Larry, Grant and Ian charged in to the fight.
Scott reached for his sword with his other hand and turned just in time to block another blow. Sam let his rage take over and he lunged and hacked at the Hordesman before him. Elian countered and followed.
Scott was holding his own, despite his wounded side. Then without warning he had a searing pain in his back. He looked down to see a metal point come through his shoulder. Ian saw this and lunged at the Hordesman who had struck Scott, forcing his blade into the Hordesman's throat. The soldier dropped and Ian turned and pulled the blade out of Scott's shoulder.
"Ian!!"
Elian charged at Ian and knocked him sideways. The sword aimed for Ian's heart caught him in the shoulder.
"AARRGGHH!"
Elian engaged the combatant as Sam and Larry came from the rear. The Hordesman slashed at Elian, but Elian moved and thrust upward, connecting with the Hordesman's chin, his sword gliding swiftly through his assailant's head. Elian stared into the eyes of the dying man until they were empty. Then he pulled out his weapon and let the Hordesman's body fall.
Sam was at Scott's side as Grant looked at his wound. Ian looked over at Elian.
"Thanks, El. I'm not doing so good at all this fighting stuff, am I?"
Scott groaned.
"You and me both."
"It's not like we've had any reason to practice, huh?"
They laughed at each other until Grant moved Ian’s shoulder.
"Ow, easy, Dad… Christ."
"Don't start taking the Lord's name in vain now, Ian. It's not funny, you're losing a lot of blood."
Sam looked at Grant and his fathe
r.
"Yeah, Scott's looking a little pale."
Grant turned his son over and picked him up.
"Larry, a little help please."
The men placed Ian on the horse and then turned around for Scott.
"Just help me up, I can get on my…"
"Shut your mouth, Scott."
Larry grabbed Scott and set him up on his horse. Scott sat quietly with wide eyes. Grant looked at Sam and Elian.
"Ok, let's get back to camp. Alia will probably be able to stop the bleeding… I hope."
They all mounted their horses and rode as quickly as they could for the pond. As they moved farther away, a falcon emerged from a tree. It looked down and screeched, then flew east.
102
Anne Merganser paced nervously in the main throne room. She held a small handkerchief in her hand and wrapped it around her fingers again and again. The Shape moved from his bedroom and looked over the balcony.
He stared at Anne's beauty. She was flawless. Her skin was pale and smooth, almost translucent. Her curves were round and full like an hourglass. He tilted his head as he watched her soft dark hair sway loosely across her back and those eyes, the color of blue topaz.
He glanced behind him and looked at the naked women who were lying in his bed. He smiled under his hood. They adored him and feared him, but none of them were worthy of him, none but her. He turned back to her and watched her again.
Anne stopped pacing and dropped her hands to her waist. It had been three years since she had seen her son, her Albie. She smiled as she thought about him. He was now becoming a man and she hoped she wasn't too late. She hoped he still belonged to her.
"Soon, My Dear. Soon."
Anne jumped as the Shape placed his hands on her shoulders. She felt herself quiver against his touch. She always tried to act as though she was only the doting companion, but her lust grew more and more every day. She smiled as she remembered the day he had sent Rona away. The little bitch was getting too close.
Anne turned and smiled as she looked into the darkness of the hood, her fingers gently caressing the faceless black.
