All of the Councillors went down on one knee and after a few seconds, everyone else followed suit. The woman appeared to sense the general melancholy air and the fire around her dissipated, allowing Sophie to see her more clearly.
Her long red hair that hung to her hips was swept behind gracefully pointed ears that extended farther than any Ancient's Sophie had ever seen. She carried a quiver full of arrows on her back next to a bow. Her hand was on the sword in her belt. The armour she wore was understated and reminded Sophie of the Elves of Mirkwood. Her dragon did not appear to be aggressive, but most everyone was shooting it frightened glances.
"Well, maybe this is worth my time. Get your backsides out of the mud and tell me what I'm doing here."
Everyone scrambled to stand. Emery went to explain, but the woman's gaze snapped to Lord Cassius and she held up a finger to quiet the Councillor.
"It happened, didn't it." It wasn't a question, but Emery nodded.
The strange woman's piercing gaze found Sophie and her eyes narrowed. "You're the Moonlark, eh?"
She nodded.
"Iltaurielle. Where's the boy?"
"Keefe?"
"Is that his name? I never found out."
Lord Cassius straightened and puffed out his chest. "I am Lord Cassius, Keefe's father. I-"
"I know all about you, peacock." Iltaurielle walked over to her dragon and left her weapons hanging on hooks on her saddle. "I don't need the explanation. I'm here to help the kid. As soon as I've done that, I'll be out of your probably fake blond hair."
Her brusque manner left no room for any reply, so Sophie led her indoors to the vortinator. The Ancient took one look at it and said, "There's no chance we could take the stairs, is there?"
Sophie shrugged. "He's on floor 156, so you can if you want."
"One hundred fifty sixth floor, you say? I can get us up there easily enough." She clenched her fist and raised it above her head. Sophie shot into the air and landed on the vortinator at the floor 156. "Here we are. Which room?"
Sophie pointed.
"I see."
Sophie knocked on the door and stepped inside. Fitz was twisting the damp handkerchief in his hands, staring at the floor. He looked up when they came inside.
"Is this the person who's going to fix this?"
Iltaurielle looked at Keefe and her face became incredibly sad. Brusque manner gone, she whispered. "There is no fixing this." She walked over to him gently grasping his wrist and examining the veins. "You should have called me as soon as it happened. I can wake him, but little more. I thought I had the key to undoing such horrific damage. But it won't work on him."
"What do you mean it won't work?" Sophie's long-numb emotions rose is a swell of anger. "What do you mean it won't work?"
"I said I can wake him up. But I can't heal him. Nothing short of the Almighty God coming down and cleansing this boy's blood of the shadow will heal him! I know that isn't what you wanted to hear, but that is the hard truth." She tied her hair back, eyes haunted. "Do you want me to wake him?"
Sophie sagged against Fitz, trying not to cry as the reality of their dark situation struck her without a buffer. "Yes. I want Keefe back. I want him back, whatever it takes."
Fitz held her tightly. "Whatever you need to do, do it."
Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out the strange, haunting language this Ancient elf was using. Her Polyglot sense was turning the words over, ripping them apart and yet they made no sense, untranslatable.
When Iltaurielle stopped, she set a hand on Sophie's shoulder. "It is done. He will wake within the day. What I have done is irreversible. I will leave another single-use communicator. Use it wisely."
Sophie nodded and returned to her post in the chair by Keefe's bedside. He hadn't changed, save for subtle lines on his face forming. She didn't have the strength to send a telepathic call, but she found relief in the fact that she would have her friend back. Maybe she could start putting the pieces back together.
Others started filing into the room over the next hour. Lord Cassius apparently had important business. Councillor Oralie stood in the corner, citing the need for an Empath when he woke. Tam stayed in another corner, distubed by the abnormal shadows and high concentration of them. Biana, Dex, and Linh sat cross-legged on the floor in a circle with Fitz and Della, cheating each other in a tense round of some elven card game. Marella sat on the arm of Sophie's chair, keeping a small ball of Everblaze wrapped around one hand. The strange whispers of the yellow flame unsettled her, but Sophie knew Iltaurielle had given Marella information she didn't have.
Dex threw down his cards in defeat and muttered something. Della sighed, setting hers down, and Linh collected the center pile of the wooden coins they were using to bet. Biana shot her a look, not helping the tense atmosphere.
Oralie kept glancing between the flames being shaped in Marella's hand and the shadows forming weapons in Tam's. She twisted her hands and tried to shrink back into her corner, out of sight.
A few hours later, Alden joined them and after exchanging cheerless greetings, he joined the circle and soon won back all of the bounty from Linh, supposedly through fair play.
It had been about five hours since the strange Ancient left when the first sign came. Sophie had been occasionally giving a shallow delve into Keefe's mind whenever she felt the strength and will to risk disappointment again. She reached out and through the grey, felt a flicker of light. Like a small thing, naive, and young, taking its first steps into the world.
She quickly retreated, standing sharply.
Marella startled, nearly dropping the flame in her hand, but kept it from falling. Dex, catching the flash of light at the edge of his vision, dropped his cards and looked up. The others turned from their game. Tam stilled the shadowvapor in his hands.
"Did something happen?" Oralie murmured. She was now seated, but still tense.
"I felt something." Sophie whispered. "His mind's waking up. Slowly, but he's coming back.
There were small twitches and movement as the expression on his face changed slowly from one of utter peace to contorting in pure agony. Icy blue eyes flew open and with them Sophie's hope.
And then all hope flew from the room as a horrible, piercing scream tore from Keefe's lips. His back arched and he fell against his bed. Sophie reached out to calm him, but as soon as her finger touched his skin, he let out another agonized cry and threw himself away from her, which caused a third tortured wail.
When he could speak, the pain and fear in his voice made her sick.
"Sophie, it hurts, it hurts! Make it stop, please, make it stop!"
Teeheehee.
Review for a tidbit from the next chapter.
Shine brightly!
Ruby
