Alrighty, sorry it took so long to get to you guys with this chapter!
I got a lot of positive feedback for writing a sequel, so I think I will! Just keep in mind: this project, although it's only taken a few months to write, took me years to mull over and nit-pick over every little detail. I'm not guaranteeing anything special with this sequel.
Enjoy!
Chapter Thirty Six
Seth giggles with amazement as Bracken hefts his present out of the cardboard box, clapping like a retarded seal. Kendra laughs in a strangled way, covering her mouth with one hand. Seth can see the tears glimmering in her eyes. Bracken's eyebrows knit together.
In Bracken's hands is a pastel purple bike helmet, with a strip of pale feathery "mane" running down the middle. From the front of the helmet spirals a plastic white unicorn horn. Seth cackles at the sight of a unicorn bike helmet.
Kendra lays a hand on Bracken's arm, making queer noises in order to stifle her laughter. "Put it on," she gasps. "Please, Bracken, put it on."
"Do, do!" howls River-Song, rolling on the floor and smacking a piece of expensive China to the floor with her tail and batting at paintings with her flamboyant wings.
Bracken sighs, more amused than irritated, and slips on the unicorn helmet, fiddling with the straps. He grins from ear to ear as the unicorn horn waves in front of his face.
"I can't say that I've ever run across anything like this," he chuckles. "Can't say I cherish this, either. It will definitely make boring days in the law room much more interesting."
"It's about time those throne rooms got a little humor," approves Alec from his perch on Zia's shoulder. Cassandra grins at Seth from the mouth of the doorway where all the astrids had been shunned to.
"Oh, oh!" hoots Boro. "I need one!"
"I'm not sure it works for wolves," laments Chaos, but his own flanks shake with barely noticeable chuckles.
Seth looks around at the sea of smiling faces: Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma Larsen, Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson, Vanessa, Tanu, Warren, Bracken, Dale, Kendra (of course), Chaos, Fiona, Jhama and Yetta, Brach, River-Song, Boro, Thunder-Bolt, Flash-Foot, and Sand-heart. Mom hadn't been too pleased about letting that many wolves into the house, so Fiona, Boro, and Brach had all taken human form. Fiona's easily one of the most beautiful women Seth has ever seen, but he knows she's way out of his league. Thunder-Bolt and Sand-Heart watch from open windows, tails thrashing. Only Chaos had been stubborn enough to remain as a wolf.
"At least he has a sense of humor," succumbs Mom, still glowering at Bracken over the argument this morning.
"He has more than that!" growls Kendra, eyes flashing.
Chaos clears his throat. "Right." His purple eyes sweep over the crowd, turning Seth's insides to frost as he remembers the wolf's statement before he'd suggested Bracken open future-Kendra's present. "I wanted everyone to laugh for a bit before I shared this, because nobody's going to be laughing afterwards." Seth stiffens in accordance with all the wolves. They all turn to Chaos expectantly.
His cloak moves with another strange breeze. Seth shivers despite himself. Chaos looks odd and deathly all the sudden, his manner changing entirely. The way the bands on his face look, Chaos suddenly looks like a grim wolf skull. His purple eyes seem to glow, and the stripes along his fur seem to writhe like snakes of ink. The blue opal pendant stitching his cloak together gleams in the yellow lamplight.
"As many of you don't know," Chaos booms, his voice riddled with undertones a slight rasp that echoes each word, "I am not only the King of Shadows, but the Keeper of Death. Under my watchful eye, the spirits of those passed express themselves to their loved ones in slight ways most of the time; a gentle breeze to tousle the hair, a beam of sunlight to pass through thick clouds, or a pretty rainbow for the less original. Who else would Cadeliah pass her will onto?"
Seth's throat constricts, and a lump of grief rises in his throat. Kendra makes a choking noise, and Fiona goes still.
Chaos wraps his tail around his paws. "Her will is not for the ears of all; however, all those mentioned are in this room." A golden flash sparks from the kitchen, making Seth jump. The sound of rattling pots and pans echoes through the house, partnered by a wolf's yelp of surprise and the sizzle of boiling water. Chaos flattens his ears and sighs. "Well, Aladdin's in the kitchen, but it still applies."
Thunder-Bolt nuzzles Flash-Foot encouragingly, but as his eyes skim the room, the newly made papa wolf seems worried to Seth. It would really suck if the happy new family is torn apart by time-traveling biological daddy.
"For those of you that are not aware," continues Chaos, eyes ablaze, "Wolfen wills are different from regular wills. Cadeliah's will is even more different than that. She will explain further."
"She will explain?" questions Fiona crisply, held back by Boro's slender hand around her wrist. Her hands ball into fists as she glares at the striped wolf with all her Soul Bearerish rage. The enormous Soul Stone around her thin neck pulses. "Stop speaking in riddles."
Chaos clears his throat. "Fiona, your mother is scolding you about proper etiquette. It's painful. Hurting my ears. Ouch. Please, sit back down."
Fiona sinks back into the loveseat, but she doesn't look too happy about it. Bracken leans forward, eyes shining with bizarre interest. "How are Wolfen wills different?" the unicorn inquires. "I cannot see how much change can take place in a simple slip of parchment."
Boro chuckles. "For starters, there's no parchment."
Bracken looks like he's about to say more, but Chaos cuts them off with a powerful glare. "Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room." He nods at Seth's dumbstruck parents. Chaos turns to Seth's grandparents. "Er, you too, Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson." Together they shuffle out of the door, glancing at one another in confusion. Chaos raises his eyebrows, and flicks his ears. Following his beckoning, they all trample up the stairs. As she ascends, Mom shoots Seth a, "BEHAVE" glance. "Mr. and Mrs. Burgess… oh wait, that's not yet… sorry, tenses are difficult." Chaos shakes his head. "Vanessa and Warren. My, I think I'm shipping you two…" Warren goes deadly pale, and a wicked grin spreads over Vanessa's face. They file out together. Chaos shouts after them, "Rent a bedroom; you'll have fun!"
"Chaos!" exclaims Kendra, shaking her head. "You – no! You don't do that, I don't care if you know the future."
Chaos gazes at her loftily. "Sure thing, Mrs. Whatever-Unicorns-Do-Instead-of-a-Last-Name."
"You think you're so clever," chides Brach, coming to Kendra's rescue. Seth's sister just sort of stops, pausing expressions and freezing. He isn't positive she's still breathing. If Bracken's pale skin could get any lighter, it probably does.
"I am clever," growls Chaos importantly. "I have your mummy's will, boy; and even though the twins are mentioned, they are still too young for such grievous affairs. Shunt them off to bed. I've found that Kendra's new bed is very squishy…"
An old fire sparks to life in Seth's sister's eyes, and he grins as Kendra snarls, "Oh, you did not, you filthy animal."
"No," he agrees, "I didn't. And, Jesus, Bracken, don't glare at me like that."
Seth grins from ear to ear. "Alright, who's getting picked off next?" he questions, rubbing his hands together.
Chaos's eyes sweep the dispersing crowd. "Hmm. Zia, you're out" – the astrid departs with a string of colorful curses – "but none of you other bird things are. Unicorn can stay, Fairykind can stay, Little wolf can stay –"
"Who's little wolf?" breaks in Boro, cocking his head. "Is that, like, one of your nicknames?"
"No." Chaos's eyes meet Seth's. "It's the nickname the Brotherhood of the Black Moon gave Seth. For those that don't know, BBM is a group of shadow charmers that linked hand in hand for the forces of good and so forth. Blah, blah, blah. They're a little bland, in my opinion."
"Little Wolf?" exclaims Seth indignantly.
"Peace," calms Fiona. "It's considered an honor by many Nighten tribes to be titled after a wolf. Little is also used as a comparison to the person's cleverness, their sly tactics, their mischievous ways." Kendra snorts. "All of those you've shown plenty of, Seth." The Soul Bearer looks him over approvingly, making Seth blush. "You've done well."
"D'awwww," drawls River-Song in boredom. She snarls from her seat by the stairs, gnawing on something that looks suspiciously like a human skull.
Chaos's ears flick in annoyance. "Unfortunately, you're in. However, Mara, I must tick you off the list." The Native American girl rises, black hair framing her exotic features. As she turns to go, Seth hears her murmur, "I did not like you, either, Cadeliah."
"Right." Boro swallows. "Am I getting the boot, O uncle of mine?"
Chaos shakes his head, but the wolf almost looks remorseful. "Poor boy. Nah, you're sticking with us. So are you, Brachy-boy, so don't go scurrying off. Thunder-Bolt and Sand-Heart, you stay with your son. You all have something or another or whatever. Tanu, stick around. Cassandra, Alec, you too. That's everyone, I do believe."
"Explain Wolfen wills!" urges Bracken, leaning forward in his seat, eyes glittering with interest. Beside him, Kendra lounges against his shoulder. "EXPLAIN!"
"I'll let Cadeliah," evades Chaos, stepping back into the shadows of the room and flipping up the hood of his cloak. He leaves behind a little blossom the color of chocolate, closed, each fragile petal tipped with metallic gold and sky blue shimmering together. It's beautiful in an old way; an ancient sort of magnificence, like a musty old book that's been carrying its secrets for centuries that's finally ready to spill.
Fiona shakes. Her face elongates, and fur sprouts along her arms. "I cannot face my mother in this false shape," Fiona whispers as she transforms back into the graceful wolf with chocolate brown fur and the violet gem at her throat. As Fiona grows into her true form, the flower's petals peel apart and release glowing tendrils of gold and blue light.
Seth's jaw drops and his muscles tense as the beautiful flower opens to the world. The brown petals reveal a beautiful sapphire and gold center, made of billowing light. The neon strands slowly reach up to the sky, as if they're twining around something. Seth's eyes widen as the wrapping vines bind up something that appears to be a leg. The strings of light then creep up in a spidery fashion, showing the form of a proud, mighty wolf. An ethereal howl echoes through the house, and two eyes of gold and blue open on an appearing face. The vines of color go as brown as the flower petals. And Cadeliah the Mother Wolf droops to the floor on four legs.
Seth flinches away, but the figure doesn't move. Her gorgeous form is misty and unfocused, tendrils always drifting off of her body. Those bright eyes are the only constant thing, not ever wavering like the rest of her foggy body.
"What—" yelps Seth, stumbling back.
"Wolf wills are different, as previously explained," Boro grunts. "They are previously recorded documentaries from your loved one. This should be interesting, considering Cadeliah could see into the future."
"Yup," whispers Brach, creeping closer to his mother with a nostalgic look in his orangey eyes. "Different. Uh huh. Yeah."
"It is different," agrees Chaos sinisterly. "Very different. I'm going to let Cadeliah take the wheel here. Go get 'em, girl."
"Thank you, Chaos," purrs the mist with Cadeliah's voice. Seth feels like he's been punched. Her voice isn't weird and bubbly or echoing or grieved or anything; it's like it was the days she smiled and the days she laughed and the days she held Seth and the days she talked to him about how anyone could be brilliant and the days she played Zzyxx with the pups. How he misses that time! Kendra buries her head into Bracken's shirt, not even able to look at Cadeliah. Bracken cups her to him protectively. Fiona makes a croaking noise. Brach growls uncertainly. Cassandra sneezes, the sound high-pitched and so oddly hilarious Seth snorts.
Cadeliah ignores them, instead stepping towards Kendra. The mist wolf lowers her head, ears flattening. Her tail tucks between her legs, and the form solidifies until Cadeliah is a glowing wolf of brown light. "Kendra," she purrs gently. Seth blinks, remembering the prerecorded idea. "Kendra, dear, open your eyes. It's only me."
Almost painfully slow, Kendra tilts her head towards Cadeliah, glancing at the wolf fleetingly. Her green eyes swim with pain and confusion. Hurt wracks her voice. "How…?"
"I am an oracle," explains Cadeliah in amusement, stepping back and straightening, tail held high. She arches her neck melodramatically. "I am – or I suppose was – foreseeing this moment. I am responding to your questions because I can hear your questions in the past while I am looking into the – actually, the more you talk about it, the stranger it gets. Let's just drop the subject."
"I'm sorry," whispers Kendra hoarsely. A tear slips down her cheek, quickly swiped up by Bracken. "I'm so, so sorry."
Cadeliah smiles kindly, her form now clear enough that Seth can make out simple things like that. "It wasn't your fault, dear," soothes Cadeliah calmly. "All things die. I was supposed to die long ago, except I made a mistake and lost that damned Soul Stone. I still don't have it in my time. By the way, you don't hide it very well, Seth." Cadeliah's glowing eyes bore into him. "I can feel you tapping into my strength every time you harness its power for your lessons with Chaos."
Chaos cocks his head towards Seth, purple eyes narrowing sinisterly. "You cheated?" he growls sinisterly, awakening primal fear in Seth's gut and making his heart sing with fear.
"Now is really not the time, Chaos," sighs Cadeliah. She bares her white teeth at him, and Chaos surrenders with a mrffph noise. "Right. Back to business." Cadeliah's luminescent eyes sweep the crowd. "Each and every one of you gathered has something from me, something I give willingly; I trust in Chaos to give most of my belongs that are not mentioned in this hologogramy thingy to the Library for the use of the public, and designated others to be sent to museums for future use or just for a little sparkle. I love sparkle."
"I'll say," mutters Alec, eyes flashing. The dark-haired boy leans against the wall, wings tight against his back.
Cadeliah's ears twitch with displeasure. "Was that sarcasm I detected? Just for that, boy, you're going first." Alec seems a bit indifferent, having the guts to shrug. Cadeliah's eyes blaze with something akin to pride. "To you, Alec the Owl Dude, I give my finest wing sheathes."
Alec's eyes widen, becoming two brown pools of awe. Chaos bustles and pulls two queer things from a bag Seth swears wasn't there before. It looks like a pair silver cuffs each attached to a giant hoop, with a few shiny threads of metal connecting the hoop and cuff. The astrid leaps forward and snatches it up, hands trembling.
"Do you have any idea how rare –" He starts, one hand stroking the mirrorlike metal almost religiously.
"Yes, I do," chuckles Cadeliah. "Be careful about letting your girlfriend seem those. Cassandra, help him put them on."
Seth watches in fascination as Cassandra surges forward, gingerly taking the cuffs in her hands. Alec extends his wings so Cassandra has more space to work with. She snaps the hoops around where his speckled wings meet his back, and snuggly fits the cuff around his wingbone. The metallic threads span out along the bone, binding the two together. Her fingers shake slightly as Cassandra attaches the other one.
Once they're both properly fitted, Alec murmurs, "What's the command word?"
Cadeliah makes a noise that sounds like the crash of a wave against the shore. Eyes lighting up, Alec copies the noise. Shock overcomes Seth as a flood of silver rushes over his feathers, originating from the cuff and spidery threads. They seal his plumage in a platinum cover, made from gleaming metal that looks suspiciously like adamant. He makes a sound of awe as Alec gently beats the wings, and the silver casing molds to his movements in a rippling sort of motion.
"Amazing," sighs Cadeliah. "I impress myself sometimes." Her eyes twinkle. "Go take them for a test run, eh?" Alec nods ecstatically and takes off for the door. Seth hears it slam behind the astrid.
"Pricey gift," calls a vaguely familiar voice from the mouth of the kitchen. Seth looks at a proud form, immense and inky black. His golden eyes blaze with the light of a thousand exploding stars, containing the knowledge of worlds lost and memories gained.
"Aladdin," recognizes Tanu in shock.
"Daddy," whispers Flash-Foot a tad bit too quiet to hear.
"You next!" yips Cadeliah happily. Chaos rifles through the burlap sack and emerges with a golden trinket. Seth frowns. It looks somewhat like a bracelet, a bracelet with a symbol like a moon, a sun, and a star etched into the metal. "To you, Aladdin, Time-Wolf of Seven Suns, I give you my immortality band. I just invented it, so of course nobody knows anything about it." Chaos pads across the room and lays the circlet at the black wolf's feet, then creeps back into the shadows.
"This baby," continues Cadeliah, "will force the body to undergo all stages of death if the body is severely injured; in other words, you'll stop breathing and your heart will stop beating. This thing will keep you alive. You'll escape death, so you can lead a new life, over and over again. One of kind. Too complicated to repeat. Wonderful doohickey. Do you accept it?"
"Do I?" Aladdin chuckles and slips it onto one of his front paws. "Of course! I'll be the envy of Time! Nobody has one of these babies!" And with that, Flash-Foot's father disappears in a swirling vortex of gold, leaving Seth very much confused.
"There goes a very odd wolf," murmurs Cadeliah to herself, gazing after her brother. She shakes her head and refocuses on her young nephew.
"Your father loves you, very much so." Her voice is warm and sort of chocolaty. Like, if a voice had a flavor, it would be chocolate. "Flash-Foot, dear, remember that. But Aladdin isn't a patient being; he's temporal and shifting as time itself. It drives him mad to stay still. You will cross paths again, and you will always be loved, my dear, but your father isn't coming home. Best you rejoice in what you still have."
"Okay," whimpers Flash-Foot uncertainly, putting on a brave face.
"You," encourages Cadeliah, "are the most courageous little pup I've ever seen. Which is why you are next, nephew of mine." Chaos groans and sticks his head back in the bag, emerging with something small in his teeth.
Cadeliah's voice drops to a whisper. "This is the Angel Amulet. If you remember, in the mirror room, you saw a version of yourself with bluish fur and wings. That's what happens if you accept this thingy. You will become Flash-Foot the Angel Wolf. One of a kind, just like this thingy. It's a painless process, and, I swear to you, it'd be worth it. But feel free to decline my offer."
Flash-Foot hesitates, looking into Thunder-Bolt's eyes. Thunder-Bolt nods in enticement. Flash-Foot turns back to his ghostly aunt. "Yes," he confirms. "I'll have the amulet."
Chaos scurries forward and presses the silver object against the little grey pup's furry chest. It sort of melts into his skin, dissolving into nothing. The pup yelps as if he'd been shocked a few seconds after it disappears, alarming Sand-Heart. The she wolf growls and glares at Cadeliah.
"Oh, calm down," scolds Cadeliah. "It's nothing. The whole transformation thing will probably take about a week; be careful not to try flying on wings that are still too immature to carry your weight, though. Then you'll end up as a rather disgusting splatter. We wouldn't want that…"
"No," agrees Thunder-Bolt, "we wouldn't. We'll be off." Seth frowns as the wolves depart hastily. Probably just worried Cadeliah will turn their son into a ferret…
"Seth," decrees Cadeliah, turning to him. Seth feels the blood drain from his cheeks. "Your gift, I am rather proud of." Chaos begins to search through the bag, but finds it quickly. Seth's eyes go round at the sight of Vasilis, clamped firmly in the wolf's jaws.
"How—" he stammers in amazement, lunging for the blade. It responds to his touch in a tumult of red fire blooming from the hilt.
"It's not actually Vasilis," explains Cadeliah smugly, a confident smile lifting the corners of her lips. "Just a copy. I'll nick in tomorrow – in my time – and silently borrow it. Perfect imitation. Just like Vasilis, except you get to name it. I highly suggest the name Stormidigen. Why? Because."
"Thank you," whispers Seth, voice quavering. His fingers grip the familiar hilt of Vasilis, and it's as if the blade had never been gone at all. "My god, Cadeliah, thank you."
"Anytime," says Cadeliah easily. She turns to her daughter. "As for you, Fiona." The she wolf freezes in place. "I do not have anything to give you but knowledge. Well, knowledge and an immense public library. This new era will be shaped by the finesse of your carving teeth. The new world will be fashioned in the image you portray. Be good, be wise, and be kind, and never stop blowing up over unnecessary things. Even if all the world is shunning you, even if everyone you love turns their backs, I'll always be here on the other side." Her eyes swim with love, and Cadeliah takes a hesitant step forward. "You are my daughter. And I will forever love you for it."
Fiona swallows with difficulty. Her usually silky voice is rough. "I miss you, Mum."
"You shouldn't," whispers Cadeliah tenderly, "because I'm still with you. I always am. I walk in your dreams, and guard your slumber."
"She does," confirms Boro, tapping a long finger to his golden temple and nodding knowingly. "I can assure that."
Cadeliah narrows her eyes. "You, Wolf Prince, also have an intellectual gift." She settles on her legs, gazing at him testily. "There are some rules, rules that may or may not include bloodlines, that you never should break. However, I am a strong believer that love will reign supreme annnnddd also that every rule has a loophole. The trick is finding it." She winks. "Go get her, tiger."
Boro looks flustered. His golden cheeks go scarlet. Seth watches, entranced. He hadn't known wolves could blush.
"Chaos, River-Song," announces Cadeliah, already moving on. "You have a conjoined knowledgeable gift as well. Can I hear you roar?"
"No," says Chaos calmly at the same times River-Song barks, "Conjoined? With him?"
"Yes." Cadeliah sighs, rolling her eyes at River-Song's disgust. "With him. Chaos. King of Shadows. Boo hoo. Now, both of you feel abandoned. You feel alone. You turned your back on the world before the world could turn its back on you. But it doesn't have to be that way. Not anymore. As you've probably heard a million times, there's this big ol' legend about the Night Brother and the Day Sister. Blah, blah, blah. But look at each other, really look! I can see Chaos's nose on River-Song, and the shape of your eyes is exactly identical. You two are siblings. Say helllloooooooo to your older sis, Chaos!"
"No," says Chaos calmly again. River-Song grunts and shrugs. "Cool. I'm a royal. That's pretty neat."
Cadeliah blinks in astonishment. "Well, I certainly got limited enthusiasm from that one, didn't I?" she sighs tiredly. "Next up, I call Cassandra." The girl's golden hair bobs as she straightens, black eyes sparkling wildly with excitement. "Cassandra, my dear, you have a truly magnificent mind. Despite all of the scorn and dislike you've faced, your blossom has become one of the most beautiful in the orchard. And for that, I gift you the keys to my private journals."
Cassandra clasps a hand over her mouth. "That's right!" laughs Cadeliah. "Thousands upon thousands of my best works, all scratched down onto paper. It's all available to you now. Please, enjoy it."
Cassandra's curls weave crazily as she nods. "Yes! Yes ma'am!" She races up to the bag and snatches a rusted old metal key from out of under Chaos's mouth, dashing back to her spot against the wall to gawk at it. Seth wonders what on earth could possibly be entertaining by that many books.
"Good," murmurs Cadeliah. Her eyes pause on Bracken, and the unicorn tenses. "Bracken, I have something I wish to give to you, and something for both your father and your family. First off, for your family: your father's body is fine, as you might've noticed. He has no physical injury, not even a scar on him anymore. But the fact remains: he's still asleep, even after your best work. That's because it's not his body that's been maimed, not even his mind, but his spirit. The Demon King discharged his soul from his body. So, basically, the Fairy King is just wandering aimlessly right now, trying to get back but unable to. That's where my gift comes in."
Chaos steps forward, a silvery coin-like thing held gingerly in his jaws. "This," murmurs Cadeliah, "took me so long to engineer. I can't even explain the amount of effort placed into this small device. Basically, it's one of your unicorn communicators. I suppose. You could say that it's a bit like a beacon, to lead your father home. I guess. This is all just vague. I can't really explain, because then I'll confuse myself. But, pretty much, lay this on his left wrist, right overtop those life-pumping veins, and let it do its magic."
Bracken takes the coin and thanks Cadeliah fervently, not even stopping. Seth resists the urge to go "Awww" when he realizes that Kendra's just as happy for Bracken as he is for himself, if not more.
"Your gift," continues the former Soul Bearer, "is the return of your third horn. Not right now," she adds hastily. "I don't have it stuffed away in some bag collecting dust. But, ever since you gave up your horn, I've been wondering and wondering and thinking and thinking. Finally, I've come up with a solution. You can tie the horn's power to the Font of Immortality without separating your bond with the horn. So, you can walk around with the third horn at your hip, and the Font of Immortality will basically still be drawing energy from it. Chaos has the blueprints. Hard to explain. But every king needs to be at the height of his power…" Cadeliah trails off as Chaos bustles a blueprint scroll into Bracken's face.
For a second, the expression on the unicorn's face is pure and savage lust as he claims the scroll, unfurling it. But then he pauses. Then he looks at Kendra, who's gone completely blank. Then he hesitates. And then Bracken furls it back up again, sticking it in his pocket for maybe later observation. Kendra laces her fingers through his, and leans her head on the unicorn's shoulder. Behind the pair, Brach makes disgusted faces.
"Son of mine," scolds Cadeliah firmly. "That's rude."
Brach's ears flatten. "Sorry, Mum."
"Oh, please." Cadeliah snorts. "Anyhow, you're up next. Then Tanu and then Birthday Girl for last! Ooo, fun! Brach, to you I give you a free spirit. Cadeliah leans forward, closing her eyes and breathing out. Seth gawks in fascination as a storm of twisting rainbow colors comes with her breath, slowly twirling around the room until Brach breathes them in. His eyes light up for a second, and his breathing hitches.
"A free spirit," explains Cadeliah, "is a sort of happiness that never goes away. You will wander and love and wander and protect and wander and basically just wander. It's a glorious life, one I lead for the longest of times. I pass my good times onto you, Son, and for you to pass on eventually to your favorite child." Her eyes spark in excitement. "Ooooo, your daughter is so cute!"
"Focus," reminds Chaos.
"Right." Cadeliah shakes her head. She looks at Tanu with renewed interest. "I do believe on the day you first learn I am Cadeliah you ask me a question, somewhat along the lines of, 'As a beautiful, perfect, wonderful Soul Bearer such as Her Highness, wouldn't you, Cadeliah my Sole Light, have so potions tales to share with a meager beggar such as myself?'" Her eyes gleam. "No, not really. But you did ask about potions, and I never got around to it. Well, here I am!"
Chaos chucks a leather-bound book at Tanu. The Samoan catches it in surprise.
"102 Potions Every Master Should Know, by Cadeliah," gloats the she wolf. "One of my better works, might I say. Basically, there's a lot more than 102 potions in that scrappy novel." Cadeliah grins. "That small, not even half an inch thick book is actually a textbook ranging anywhere from seven hundred to a thousand pages long, I forget. It's based on a complicated spell. Looks like there's fifty, but there's not. It's chock full of helpful potions and ideas to get you out of a synch. It'll come in handy, I can assure."
"I'm sure it will," answers Tanu evenly, but Seth can see the excitement in his eyes. The Samoan immediately begins to flip through the pages, making the weirdest noises in the world as he studies things on the yellow paper.
"And finally," purrs Cadeliah, sitting down in the center of the room and wrapping her tail around her legs, "we've come to Kendra, last but certainly not least."
Kendra starts nervously, calmed only by Bracken's reassurance. Her green eyes dart around the room.
"As I understand it," thrums Cadeliah, cocking her head, "you've been silently pondering upon becoming an Eternal. Not a bad idea, honestly; immortal, plus Bracken's bound to stick around to protect you from all the assassins." Bracken looks at the blushing Kendra in surprise, leading Seth to believe that this isn't new just to him. "However, I just noted the bad side to that. Key word: assassins. That screams no-no to me. Call me crazy. But don't despair, sweetie; there are other ways to obtain immortality."
The striped wolf steps forward, with something lovely this time. Hovering gently above Chaos's black nose is a beautiful pearl. The white surface gleams with pastel shades of green and pink, roughly the size of a grapefruit.
"If you have a good memory," explains Cadeliah, "you'll remember that this was on display in the Council Room, the place I will – er, I mean I did – lie to you about the hides. It's called an Immortality Pearl, and was named by Captain Obvious. This thing… well, it doesn't give you immortality, but it slows your aging dramatically." She eyes Kendra. "It slows you down to the aging of a unicorn." Kendra's knuckles go white around Bracken's hand. "There are many legends surrounding this thing, and the others like it, but the most popular is that it's the first tear shed by a twelve-horned unicorn. Yes, Bracken, those exist. Please remember, my dear: you don't have to accept it. You might be happy with your life. Just remember all the variables, alright?" Cadeliah's glowing eyes are imploring.
"I will," whispers Kendra hoarsely. "Trust me, I will."
Cadeliah smiles tenderly. "I know you will, child. But my time has ended. Goodbye, everyone! I love you, Fiona!"
And with that, the chocolate flower lying on the ground snaps shut and withers, dying and taking the reminiscent of Cadeliah's spirit with it. Seth gawks at the dried out blossom, trying to remember the sound of her voice. Already, he can feel the memories growing foggy.
"Well," sums up Kendra, "this sure as hell is a crappy choice."
Sorry for the long chapter! Many apologies! For those of you that are interested, that is the final return of Cadeliah. She's dead now. For real. Very dead. Dead, dead, dead. Poor Fiona, right?
Personally, it'd suck to be Kendra right now. She fears being immortal because of what Lena said to her about watching those she loved grow old around her, right? But at the same time, she loves Bracken with all her heart. And Bracken; he can either reclaim all his power and risk reclaiming the standoffish unicorn attitude, or he can remain weak for the love of his life and pretty much kiss his throne goodbye. Thanks, Cadeliah. You're so helpful.
POLL: Do you have any idea that you'd like to see happen for the sequel, while it's still in the beginning stages? Any relationships, and tense scenes, any particular characters? Please share!
Ciao,
~wolfluvermh