Chapter 8
Silver quickly knelt in front of Sapphire, taking her hands in his. He could feel the change in temperature in her palms, and the slightest tremor. She was bent over, her eyes squeezed shut, but whether in pain or concentration he was unsure, but clearly she was right: the Elemental child was coming, and very soon.
This fact made Silver very uneasy.
"Sapphire!" he whispered urgently. "Sapphire, are you...is it really…?"
Sapphire opened her eyes, just a bit, and Silver could see that they were glowing entirely blue. He knew then that the birth was imminent. How long would it take? He honestly had no idea about these matters - he was only a Technician. But what he did know was that Sapphire had to be isolated...these Humans couldn't witness this, it would be too much for them to know.
Morag brushed past a stunned Angus, sensing instinctively what was happening. "Here now," she said helpfully, her tone suggesting she was ready to take charge on the matter. "I can see to her. Angus, fetch some water!"
"Ah, that won't be necessary, dear lady," Alarmed, Silver stood up and blocked Morag from coming closer. "I am able to look after her myself."
"What? That's absurd!" Morag was not really a midwife, but she had at least given birth, which was certainly more than this man had done. "What would you know about childbirth, mon?"
Well actually not very much, human or otherwise, Silver admitted to himself. But what he did know was that their kind would be significantly different from a human's experience, and also the potential danger…
"You see, I'm a physician…of sorts" Silver said with as much conviction as he could muster, or pretend, rather. "I'm more than qualified to look after Sapphire. No, now please don't argue with me, it's very important that I tend to her alone, without assistance."
"But that's absurd! You can't possibly-"
"If that's what he wants," Angus pulled Morag away. He didn't much feel like being around either, remembering the chaotic scene when his son was born. Morag had had that drunken old cow of a midwife from the village, and the less he remembered of that the better. "Let's leave them to themselves."
Morag stared at Angus. "What do you want us to do, then? Go back to the village?"
"We can try to find out what is happening, or at least if the bastards are still about. We can try to find out what happened to Steel."
Morag wrung her hands, not liking the idea. "Oh, I don't want to leave milady behind like this…"
With a tremendous effort, Sapphire opened her eyes (Silver noticed that they were a normal human color again), and smiled at the Scotswoman, although it was clearly costing her some effort to do so.
"I'll be all right, Morag," she said, her voice tremulous but still strong. "Silver will take good care of me. You and Angus be careful."
Angus nodded; as they left, Silver sighed with relief and bent down again to Sapphire, taking off his frock coat. "What do I do?" he muttered nervously.
With his help, Sapphire stretched out on the bed, holding onto Silver's hand tightly as he observed her closely.
"Silver," Sapphire "You must lend me…some of your strength. I cannot do it otherwise. The energy quotient released is proportionate to the inverse-"
"Sapphire," Silver pleaded again. "I beg you, let me take you out of here. This is hardly the appropriate…Scotland, of all places!"
"I've told you before, no," She smiled at Silver reassuringly. "There are worse places than the Highland hills, for a new life to emerge. Didn't you notice how beautiful they are?"
Silver was unmoved. "Scenic or not, I detect the work of a Transient Being behind all this, in this place, this time, we cannot rule that out. They're hunting down all the survivors, one by one. We're easier pickings that way." There was a bitterness in his words.
Sapphire stared up at the stone ceiling thoughtfully, concentrated on her breathing. "Do you think that we still have a chance?"
Silver squeezed Sapphire's hand reassuringly. "I will do everything in my power to protect you...and a bit more."
"I know you would, Silver, but that's not what I meant."
Silver was confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…the War. All the battles. Do you think that it's...all over?"
"No! I mean, of course not. Not while there's still hope," Silver looked at her sternly. "Sapphire, don't you dare despair! Not in my presence, I won't allow it!"
Sapphire nodded, but suddenly convulsed, her back arching, her beautiful features twisted in pain. Silver gripped her, so that she didn't fall off the flimsy bed. At that moment Silver felt that if Steel was here, he would kill him with his bare hands, and what made that thought all the more unhappy was that he knew Sapphire also wanted Steel to be here, more than anything else.
"Sapphire!" He grasped both her hands tightly. "Please instruct me: what do I do?"
She squeezed his hands so tightly that Silver winced in pain himself.
Brace yourself, came her thought. I will need to draw your energy now. You will feel a little of what I am experiencing…
Oh dear, Silver thought, and he did brace himself, but Sapphire's instruction certainly didn't prepare him for what happened next...
Steel raced the horse as fast as he could, heedless of the dangers of riding at gallop, ducking to avoid low-hanging branches. His sole concern was with reaching the village and the inn before the soldiers did; clearly, they were all acting under the orders of the Transient Being, although how the creature had managed to gain control over the humans puzzled him. His purpose here too...what did it intend to do here? Had it traced Sapphire and him all along, even from the Bunker?
That question vanished from his mind when he saw the thick, black plumes of smoke in the air. He roughly kicked the horse in the ribs to make it go faster, and then abruptly pulled up on the reins when he reached the outskirts of the village. He stared in stunned silence at what he saw.
Half the buildings were on fire, consumed entirely or in the process of being devoured by the flames, others wrecked, their doors kicked in, and windows smashed; broken glass and timbers littered the street. There were several dead bodies lying on the ground, clearly brutally murdered. There were survivors wailing or sitting in stunned shock. The soldiers had already been through here.
Slowly, Steel urged the horse on, dreading what he might find. He didn't see anyone he recognized, neither the innkeeper nor his wife. Then he saw the inn, already its timbers were blackened and smoldering.
Sapphire!
Before he could investigate further, the horse screamed and reared up, tossing Steel roughly onto the dirt. He rolled just out of the way as the animal crashed down next to him. The human let go of the pike he had just buried in the animal's breast, drew his sword and slammed it down towards Steel's head, but found his motion frozen, the blade only an inch away from his target's face.
"What are you doing? Why did you attack me?" Steel jumped up, grabbed the frozen villager's shirt. The bearded man's mouth worked in a mix of fear and anger.
"You brought this upon us!" the man managed to spit out. "You and your woman here, and then the bastards came…attacked us! Murdered the people!"
"Sapphire, Angus and Morag Murray," Steel insisted, tightening his grip on the stunned man, forcing himself to keep a modicum of calm in his actions. "Did you see them? Where are they?"
"I warned Angus to get out-"
"Where did they go? Answer me!" Steel roared.
"There's a cave up in the hills, old hiding place. Well hidden. If he's smart he'll have taken Morag and your witch up there..."
Shouts behind them made Steel whirl around, to see that the soldiers hadn't all left the village. A shot rang out, and the man collapsed at his feet, bleeding from a new hole in his forehead. Another shot kicked up the dirt next to his feet. Unable to teleport, Steel turned and ran, picking up the dead man's claymore sword as he did so, without thinking. He hoped the wretched man had been right; although he hadn't used this faculty in many years, he ran as fast as he could into the woods, hearing the yelling behind him, forcing himself to breathe, and forcing the terrible fear he felt from overtaking him.
To be continued...
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