Fiona blinked in the brighter lights. The kitchen was well lit, but this was ridiculous. It was like they were trying to compete with the sun in luminosity.
"Everyone," Sabin said from the right side of Fiona, who was standing behind a pool table that looked out to a sea of people. "This is Fiona McFey. She is the sister to one of the women we rescued in Egypt."
Still trying to gain her bearings, Fiona looked around the room and immediately wanted to go back home. Nineteen my prize winning ass! Fiona yelled at Sabin and Lucian mentally. There were more than twenty people in the large room sitting on couches, chairs, and some that were forced to stand as she was. Some of them had slightly angry faces that were all pinned on her, while others were looking to her with sympathy.
I'm here for Umhala. I'm here to make sure another Umhala is returned home. Fiona repeated as she gulped and tried to smile at the people in the room. "H-hi," Fiona managed to get out with just a bit of a squeak as she waved to the crowd.
"You're the one that made this?" a woman with dark hair and black eyes asked holding up one of the swatches. She was sitting on a sofa next to a man with bright blue hair and facial piercings.
Fiona nodded, not wanting to squeak again. They are not monsters. They are not monsters, she had to remind herself as she continued to look upon the crowd at all the oversized, lethal, Chip and Dale models in the room.
"How?" a man on the other side of the room asked. He was tall with bright blue eyes and golden blond hair.
"Um, we gather the silk, comb it to separate out the long fibers form the short ones; it also helps to reline them. Then we," Fiona said twitting with her fingers as she looked to the man.
"Not the whole process," the man said grinning. "How do you get the," the man paused as he looked over to the blue haired man. "Mosquitoes, to supply you with their thread? This stuff is awesome!" the man congratulated with a smile. "We threw everything at it and still it stands. I want all my clothes made of this."
"Mo-squi-toes?" Fiona repeated tilting her head to the side. "Mosquitoes don't spin silk, spiders do," she said plainly confused.
"WHAT!" the blue haired pierced man demanded as he stood off the arm of the chair and glared at Sabin. "Mosquitoes? Yes, I want one!" the man shouted in horror.
"Thanks William," Sabin moaned under his breath. "Gideon, would you rather be charred beyond recognition again?" he asked of his comrade.
What is going on? Didn't he just agree to it? Fiona wondered to herself.
"No. No I wouldn't!" the man said nodding his head rapidly.
I'm confused. Why is he saying no, but nodding?
"Regardless, you're getting one," Sabin told the man gesturing for him to sit back down. When the man did, reluctantly, Sabin readdressed the room. "She needs all of our measurements and some blood…"
"That's it?" a blond with green eyes, sitting next to a man dressed all in black with dark hair and sun kissed skin, asked.
"Yes," Sabin nodded.
"What is the blood for?" a woman with black hair and silver eyes asked in a voice so depressing that the whole room cringed at hearing it.
"A, a contract," Fiona whispered clenching her heart.
Sabin looked to the small woman and nodded. "Fiona and her sister, Umhala, are going to write up a contract that will bind their work to us."
"I'm in!" a gorgeous woman with dark hair who was standing next to William beamed in delight as she raised her arm over her head. "How much do you need?" she asked offering up her wrists.
"N-not much," Fiona said shaking her head as she placed her bag upon the pool table and removed some of her items. Getting out the box containing the larger vials, "Open," she demanded of the pull tab. "I need three drops, exactly, in this one," she said placing one of the four vials on the table then moving on to the box with the smaller vials. Again she had trouble getting her shaking fingers to obey her with the pull tab. "And, if you can, fill this one up half way," Fiona said placing the smaller vial beside the larger one. "We won't need that much, but just in case you need a replacement, we won't have to prick your fingers again."
"Did you infuse these," a man with hair of browns, blacks, and golds, asked showing his swatch, "with your blood?" As soon as the last word left his lips, a piece of the ceiling fell on his head.
"Gods! Are you okay?" Fiona shouted as she watched the horror land and hit the man on the crown of his head.
The man just shrugged and repeated his question.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Fiona had to know.
"I'm fine. It happens all the time," he shrugged.
"A-all, the, time?" Fiona asked as her eyes tried to bug out of her head.
"Kane harbors the demon of Disaster," Sabin told Fiona wanting to calm her back down.
"D-disaster?" Fiona asked not looking to Sabin. "You poor man," she said in such woe just before she dug back into her bag and removed her note book. "Is it spelled with a K or a C?" she asked no one in particular.
"K," Kane offered.
"K-a-n-e," Fiona spelled out as she wrote on the first page. "Add, hood," she said then looked up to Disaster. "What was your…Oh, yeah. No, we didn't infuse the samples we gave you," Fiona said shaking her head.
"Then what can destroy it?" a familiar voice asked with a ferial growl.
Fiona looked around the full room for the owner of that voice. "Sabin?" Fiona asked tilting her head at a blond haired blue eyed man. When he nodded, Fiona examined him more closely. The woman next to him growled at the inspection. "Huh, I thought you'd be, more, I don't know," Fiona said shaking her head. "Um, the one thing I know that can cut through the cloth is something that has been forged using the seven basic elements."
"I thought there were only four?" a small woman with dark hair and a very largely rounded belly asked.
Fiona shook her head. "Most people think that, but there are seven. Well," Fiona corrected tilting her head again. "Actually there are eight, but we don't talk about that one," she said waving the issue aside.
"What are those elements," the man who was sitting next to the pregnant woman and holding her hand, asked.
"The ones she knows," Fiona said gesturing toward the pregnant woman, "are earth, air, fire, and water. The other three that people tend to forget about, are wood, metal, and lightning," Fiona explained ticking them all off on her fingers.
"They make weapons like that?" a tall man with brown-black hair and the purest blue eyes ever, asked standing next to a mousy looking woman.
Fiona nodded as she reached for the box Umhala had remembered to grab for her. Opening up the ancient box, Fiona took the dagger from it's velvet lined casing that they had recently added. "This, is one such weapon," she said as she unsheathed the dagger. "The handle and sheath were whittled form an oak tree that was struck by lightning. The dagger was forged in a fire that was kept temperate by air and plunged into a bucket of water. When it was done they buried it in the ground to solidify the spell that is woven through it," Fiona told the group as she caringly cradled the blade to her bosom. Remembering where she was and what she was supposed to be doing, she posed a question. "Does anyone have a swatch I can demonstrate on?"
The blue haired man, Gideon, threw his to the pool table where Sabin caught it and handed it to Fiona.
"Thank you," Fiona smiled to the blue man. Gently placing the dagger on the table, she folded the cloth in half at a diagonal. Picking the blade back up in her left hand, she inserted it in the fold, and with little force, was able to slice through the fabric. Intakes of breath, growls, and cheering were heard all around as they witnessed the fabric split.
"So how does the blood help?" a tall bald man who standing behind, HOLY GODS! IS THAT AN ANGEL!, asked after Fiona had placed the torn fabric and dagger on the table.
"The, the," Fiona tried to get out as she stared at the woman who had large pure white wings and was wearing a purer white gown. "Blood, counters most spells. Is she what I think she is?" Fiona asked still staring at the woman.
"Yes, I am," the beautiful burnet woman nodded her head with a smile. "What else would I be?"
"A figment of my overactive imagination?" Fiona asked herself as she passed a hand through her hair and tucking it behind her ear.
"What about bullets that can kill immortals?" the tall man next to the green eyed blond asked.
"Is he talking about the ones from the rivers of Hell?" Fiona asked looking up at Sabin. When Sabin nodded Fiona tried not to go into a full blown fit of laughter. "I recommend usquebaugh," she smiled. Everyone around the room looked puzzled by the response as Fiona laughed to herself.
"That's still not funny," Lucian piped in as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'm sorry," Fiona said shoving the laughter back down. "I still haven't had time to talk to Caillech, so I don't know if it will work or not. Sabin said that," Fiona shook her head not wanting to say, "usquebaugh" again, "the Waters of Life counter it. If you have any, we could soak the cloth in it. Again, I don't know it if will work, but it's worth a try," she shrugged.
"We don't have any more," the angel said sadly as she looked to the floor. "We used all of it and cannot acquire any more."
"It's not that hard to make you know?" Fiona smiled, not wanting to see a sad and distressed angel. "All you need is a little barley, yeast, and a whole lot of water. Oh, and a distillery wouldn't be bad either."
The burnet angel looked confused as she tilted her head to the side and asked, "What are you talking about?"
"How to make The Waters of Life," Fiona started to laugh but cut it off before she could get started again. "You," Fiona started to explain, but was cut off.
"Do not teach her how to make alcohol," the man behind her threatened with a low and mincing growl.
"Kay," Fiona squeaked as every muscle in her body tightened.
"Ignore him," the angel said patting her man's hands. "Tell me how to make it," she demanded eagerly.
Fiona shook her head violently from side to side. "No, thank you. I like where my head is. Thanks."
"But we want to know," another beautiful burnet piped in. She was standing next to a strawberry blond woman and another woman with black hair.
"Then wait until Olivia is out of the room," the bald man threatened the woman.
"You're no fun Aeron," the beautiful woman who was by William teased.
