~O~

Chapter Twelve: Tam Prope

Head pain and confusion hit Rebeka at the same time as soon as she ducked around Sten's armored back and saw what was happening in the main hall of Redcliffe Castle. The well-dressed, perfectly mannered Bann Teagan was doing…somersaults? Somehow, in this ancient hall with its massive, blazing firepit and rows of gleaming suits of armor, its ornate runner and priceless tapestries, the foolish antics seemed particularly obscene. The child that was laughing and clapping made daggers claw through her head every time she glanced at him. After a few moments, her vision seemed to shift and she once again saw the roiling purple storm, only now realizing that it was centered directly on the boy.

She couldn't help the little "Ah" that escaped her lips as understanding came to her. So this is Connor, she thought. And it seemed the demon nestling inside his brain had no manners at all. The Bann finished his ridiculous little routine and hopped—like a frog!—onto the dais at the center of the room. Rebeka nearly gaped as she saw the snotty little child-demon pat his uncle on the head, like a dog.

Elissa had an almost queasy look on her face. Rebeka glanced her way, wondering if the Warden was going to say something, but speech seemed to have fled from the red-head. It was only when a loud sniffle broke through the inane mutterings of the Bann that Rebeka finally noticed the Lady Isolde standing in the shadows at the corner of the dais. The sniffle seemed to bring Elissa back to herself, because she finally strode forward with a determined frown on her face.

The child-demon's eyes lit up. "Oh, more pawns for me to play with?" He was most certainly a demon—if the unnaturally bright eyes and maniacal behavior hadn't given it away, the layered deep and child-like voices undoubtedly would have. "Funny, when you ran off to the village to betray me, I thought it was knights you were looking for, Mother." The sneer in Connor's voice when he addressed Isolde made Alistair's expression curdle. The demon seemed to find it amusing to pretend that the real Connor still had control.

Elissa gestured off-handedly at Ser Perth and his knights. "Never fear, Connor, we brought those too."

The demon laughed. The sound sent a shiver up Rebeka's spine. "Oh, she's funnier than you ever were, Uncle," the creature cackled, and Teagan flinched and muttered something in a strangled parody of his usual voice.

"This is getting creepier by the second," Alistair muttered.

Elissa continued on, though Rebeka didn't think there was any reasoning with the insane demon-child hybrid. "Connor, what is your aim here? To save your father, or to kill him? Do you no longer care if he lives or dies?"

"Father is in no danger," the demon scoffed, his hand fluttering towards what Rebeka assumed was Eamon's general direction. "He's safe and sound, fast asleep and completely alive, just as I wanted him. And even better, with him out of the way, I can rule however I want! My soldiers are free to follow my every desire, and soon my minions will spread to the southern hills and beyond!"

Elissa's hand drifted up to clench on the hilt of the longsword strapped to her waist. "Is he fast asleep, or as good as dead?" Her voice was cold.

"He is alive, fool! It was a fair deal, and I've kept my end!" the demon yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. Elissa bared an inch of steel. That was when Isolde finally lurched out of the shadows, terror on her face.

"Please, don't hurt my son! He's not responsible for what he does," she begged. Rebeka found herself caught up in studying the patchwork of lumps and bruises that adorned the lady's fair skin.

"He hardly seems shy about hurting you," Morrigan quipped, her voice dry. Isolde's panicked sobs rang through the hall as she tried to put her own body between the warriors and her demon-child.

The room seemed to lurch underneath Rebeka as the purple haze vanished, blessedly taking the daggers stabbing at her brain along with it. "Mother?" The voice was scared, young, and demon-free. "What's…what's happening?" But no sooner had the Arlessa turned to comfort her son than the haze was back and the daggers firmly in place. The demon shoved the Arlessa so forcefully that she fell to the ground.

"Get off of me, fool woman! I told you never to touch me!" The demon rounded on the warriors standing bemused in the hall with wild eyes. "My patience is at an end, especially with that one—" he gestured angrily at Elissa. "Everyone knows it's rude to interrupt a person's games, and I know you're responsible for demolishing my army in the village!" For a moment, the demon actually sounded like a petulant little boy. Then, his demeanor stilled and he smiled a creepy little smile. "But then, let's keep things civil. Tell me why you're here, and I may just let you live."

Elissa raised an eyebrow and said, "Why, we're here to stop you, of course."

The demon child smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."

The suits of armor lining the room came to life suddenly, and Rebeka gasped as she finally heard the ringing of their minds. She hadn't been able to tell before, with so many people in the room and so much pain in her head. "Careful," she shouted. "These ones are alive!" The moment that the sound of steel crashing together rang in the room, the purple storm seemed to shudder and vanish once again, and Rebeka caught sight of the demon-boy slipping from the room before she had to dodge a mace blow from one of the guards. "Sorry" she muttered, and then slammed a rock into the back of his head and added a Sleep spell. Hopefully he'd be out for a while. She saw Elissa parrying blows from a hypnotized Teagan and sent a crackle of lightning hissing past his nose, momentarily blinding him. Elissa saw the opening and slammed the pommel of her blade into his temple. The nobleman dropped like a rock.

The fight had been short, but thankfully not bloody. Teagan and the guards slowly came to, showing no further signs of the demon's mind control to the relief of every knight and warrior in the room. Rebeka herself went to lean against a wall next to Jowan, wincing as the storm and daggers flickered on and off inside her head.

"Connor's still in there, at least in part. He's fighting the demon's control right now, but whatever it is, it's strong," she muttered to him.

"If he's still in there, then there may be a chance for us to save him," Jowan whispered. Rebeka nodded.

"If you've got any ideas, you'd better clue the others in quickly. We need to deal with this Connor thing now." If not to save the people remaining in and around Redcliffe, then at least to stop the pounding in her head.

Isolde was clinging to Elissa and Teagan in turns, her voice growing more and more desperate.

Elissa swiped her arm impatiently, snapping, "I don't see any other way, Isolde. He's an abomination."

The Arlessa simply wailed wordlessly. Teagan gathered his sister-in-law into his arms.

"He's my nephew as well as your son, my lady," he said softly. "But wouldn't this be kinder than to let him live as a slave to the demon?"

Rebeka felt Jowan stiffen next to her and eyed him. Whatever you're going to do, make it good, she willed him. Her eyes followed his dirty, bruised form as he strode over to the nobles.

"If I may…"

Isolde's eyes lit with fury, and Teagan suddenly went from holding her in his arms to holding her back as she lunged for him. "You! This is all your fault, Jowan!"

His courage wavered but held. "My lady, I summoned no demon, I swear! But… but I did poison the Arl, and that started all of this. All I want now is to make things right!"

"Listen to him, Lady Isolde." The eyes in the room all fixed suddenly on Rebeka, who met their stares with hooded blue eyes. Slowly the attention turned back to Jowan, who cleared his throat.

"I know a way to save Connor… but you may not like it. You see, the easiest way to remove a demon from this side of the Veil is to kill the host—"

"No!" the Arlessa snarled. Elissa's mouth was set in a grim line.

Jowan continued, "But the other way is to send a mage into the Fade and kill the demon there. Normally it takes mages, and a lot of lyrium. But I can do it with my… blood magic."

Alistair shouldered forward, hand on his sword. "Not an option. Blood magic is forbidden."

Isolde ignored the interruption. Her expression had changed from feral anger to something resembling childlike desperation. "So you are saying you could save my boy? My sweet Connor might live?"

Jowan sighed and let the worst of it fly. "Yes, but for the spell to work, I'd need a lot of blood. All of it, actually."

Rebeka would have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed. Then, the stabbing pain in her head returned with a vengeance and the sounds of unearthly howls echoed throughout the castle. Time was running out.

"Or, I could do it," she called out, one hand massaging her temple. She fought a pained grimace. "It's a long story, but I can go into the Fade without the bloodshed. Let me fight the demon there. It's been attacking me all day, the least I can do is pay it back with its own coin."

Elissa was glaring daggers at her. Rebeka sighed. The noble was a woman who hated surprises, especially ones from within her own command—that much was clear. But better she do this and save a child's life than keep her powers a secret any longer and cause numerous deaths.

Isolde was crying again. "Please, if you can, you must do it! For my sweet baby, please!"

"Ser Perth," Elissa barked. The knight snapped to attention. "Take your knights and clear the castle of whatever's making that racket out there. Morrigan, you take Sten and Nemesis and scour the rest of the grounds for more undead. Alistair, Jowan, you're with me." She pointed at Isolde. "Where would Connor have run off to?"

"Why, his bedroom most likely… why? What are you going to do?" The relief on her face melted back into fear.

Elissa offered no answer, except to fix Teagan with an iron hard stare. "Keep her here," she ordered. She began the march out of the hall, pausing only to grip Rebeka's arm hard enough to bruise. "We're going to make doubly sure that nothing goes wrong. Don't fail us."

Rebeka met the noble's emerald stare and grinned a small, feral grin. "Oh, I won't," she promised.

~O~

She was damn glad that she had figured out how to pop into the Fade while awake. Otherwise, things might have gotten awkward. "What possessed me to offer to do this?" Rebeka wondered aloud.

Prickles of pain danced around her form and she sighed. "Oh yeah, that's why." This demon needed to die, and quickly. Rebeka wondered about demon death as she stared around the Fade. Would the demon disappear forever, or just rematerialize later? Doesn't matter right now, I guess, she thought. She could hear the ringing of minds around her, and she noticed that the grassy walkways and lava filled courtyards surrounding her were vaguely reminiscent of Redcliffe Castle. She peered over the edge of a bridge made of bone and saw stone cairns that could have been rough representations of Redcliffe Village. Clearly, the demon didn't have good enough vision through Connor's eyes to make a better replica. Hopefully her lack of control over Connor meant she'd have an equal lack of control over the Fade.

The strongest sensation by far was the diseased sounding ringing coming from above her and to the right. That, and the prickles that were running up and down her whole body. They weren't particularly painful anymore, not now that she was in her element, but they were annoying and gave her the creeps. Rebeka was sure to control that sensation as fear-wisps began to materialize around her.

The mage jumped as a shadowy figure sprinted by. She could hear the muffled sounds of plate armor, and watched as a squad of other armored shadows trooped by. Elsewhere, other shadowy, translucent figures moved about the castle. It was eerie, and new. Rebeka didn't like new things in the Fade.

"Time to move," she told herself. She cursed and froze again as a frightened call rang out.

"Father! Father, where are you?" That was definitely Connor. But Connor should be shackled to the demon right now… right? He ran into view, nearly as solid as Rebeka herself.

"W-who are you? Have you seen Father?" the boy asked, voice echoing.

Rebeka's eyes widened and then narrowed, a smile playing across her face. "Nice try, demon." She needed only to twist her magical vision to see the ghostly tether tying the illusion to the demon. She didn't waste her time walking; it was much faster simply to swirl the Fade around herself like a cloak and travel through the very fabric of the dream-scape to the demon at the end of the tether.

The demon was waiting for her, she saw. Or rather, the demoness was waiting. Rebeka should have known it was going to be a desire demon. Only desire and pride had the kind of intelligence and energy needed to wreak the kind of havoc that Redcliffe had just been put through.

Unlike Rebeka's sometime-friend, this desire demoness looked at her without interest or curiosity. Those cloudy black eyes only held naked greed. Her body—just a little too inhuman for comfort—was purple and clothed in ruffles and jewels.

"So, you've come to play? Finally," the demoness purred.

Rebeka snorted. "Ah, so all of that brain-stabbing you were doing was simply a friendly invitation? Sorry I didn't get the message."

The demoness pouted and leaned sinuously against an obsidian pillar. Rebeka warily studied the rest of their surroundings as the demon said, "No need for the sarcasm, darling. We can be civil here, can't we?"

Rebeka was glad she could shape the Fade to her will. They were boxed into a tiny circular valley with only one narrow exit. Aside from the pillar, there were only jagged rocks thrusting from the base of the cliffs and soggy moss that sucked at her feet with each step.

"I don't see much of a chance for civility, to be honest. Not with you possessing the little mage, and all. Besides, you killed a hefty number of villagers with your… antics. Speaking of which, where is Connor?" There was some ringing here, some sort of frightened mind, but the demoness was doing something to hide it and judging from her expression, her lips were sealed on that count.

The demoness raised her pencil-thin eyebrows and sashayed forward. Those black eyes tried to look innocent, but still only seemed hungry, needy. Rebeka could almost feel another set of purple-black eyes prickling at the back of her neck but couldn't afford to turn. "I can't help my nature, Rebeka," she said, sending chills down the mage's spine. "His need was so pure, so frantic. How can I resist when the child calls to every fiber of my being? And besides, the trade was so simple, so sweet."

Rebeka backed away a step as the demon advanced, purple fire swirling around her horns and ripples of need and desire floating through the Fade around her. "Is that who you are? Some kind of… Desperate Need?"

The demon purred. "That's exactly right, darling. And I know you have desperate need as well. Let me help…" The black eyes flicked on something over Rebeka's shoulder and the mage turned despite herself. Anger and fear coiled through her at once as she saw the rusty, bloody eyes of Pride, saw his yellow grin. Rebeka slammed the walls of the canyon closed. Dust and rubble flew through the air on the heels of a magnificent boom.

"Get away, demon! It's time to end this, right now!" Rebeka gathered white fire in her hands and expelled it in a stream. The sound it made was horrific, as though the very air was ripping apart. The demon shrieked in anger and leaped, splitting into seven copies as she did. Rebeka went down under the claws of the copies—all of which felt far too real for her liking. She folded herself into the Fade and spat herself back out behind the pillar. The demon cried out once more, enraged, and whirled just in time to find the pillar flying at all seven of her. There was no time to dodge, and she found the walls of the canyon more solid than they should have been as the pillar slammed all of her into paste.

Rebeka recoiled in horror as the purple goo began to coalesce back into an inhuman form. Uncanny as the demoness had appeared before, this misshapen monster was worse. Her eyes were both on one side of a face that looked half melted, and she no longer bothered with breasts or ruffles. She flew forward, boosted by lightning, and Rebeka suddenly found her feet mired in Fade. Instead of wasting time trying to escape, she instead imagined her skin as steel and met the impact with a crash. Her metallic body didn't save her from the pain of the lightning as it coursed through her, and the steel melted back into flesh as her form convulsed with pain.

Gasping, tears streaming down her face, Rebeka lashed out with her elemental powers, drawing the spikes from the wall at blinding speed. They converged on the center of the canyon just as Rebeka shot herself upward, and she grinned as the demon found her body impaled in every direction with jagged stone spikes. She melted the canyon into a bowl of lava and kept herself suspended, tugging on the Fade to make sure she was secure. As the demoness shrieked in agony and clawed her way upwards, Rebeka compressed a nearby Fade structure into diamond-hard pebbles and shot them into the bowl. The furious screams told her that at least a few were hitting the mark.

Joy turned to pain as a coil of lava wrapped itself around her ankle and yanked her down into the pit. It was all she could do to transform the lava into snow and stagger back to her feet. She drew restoring energy from the Fade into herself. The demoness came at her now, her flesh a mass of oozing red more than purple, and Rebeka leaped forward, a dagger of ice clutched into her hand. Aided by her restoring magic and braced by the cold, her movement was lightning fast. She flinched as her ice dagger sunk to its hilt in demon-flesh.

Then, something changed. The prickling feeling started to fade. The demon's eyes went from hungry to fearful. Elation went soaring through her heart. The thrill of victory shot through her body. Pride clouded her mind.

That was all it took. One moment, Desperate Need was in desperate need of healing magic, and the next, her eyes blazed white with power and she wrenched herself free of the icy dagger that pierced her flesh. She cackled and ripped a hole in the Fade, disappearing down into a dark abyss that smelled of ash and blood and wet dog.

Then, red eyes and yellow teeth and a rusted iron crown filled her vision and she was scrambling to get away as Pride's withered hands encircled her neck. The air grew hazy with her fear and Pride's joy. Her skin turned gray as she heaved all of her power at him in dizzying waves.

Her last jolt of power was a lightning bolt, pushed up from her hands into Pride's rib cage, that lit the Fade up purple. In the millisecond that his hands were knocked free, Rebeka made her escape, opening a rift in the Fade that wrenched her back to consciousness.

Teagan and Isolde were gone from the Great Hall, but that didn't stop Rebeka flinching away from the Arlessa's tortured, endless wail coming from the second story of Redcliffe Castle.


Thanks for reading so far, it means a lot to me! And also... please review!