Chapter
Three: Decision to Destroy
Celina got to her feet, smiled and
walked through Drekmore's halls. The halls were dark and damp, covered with
dirt and cobwebs. She liked that kind of atmosphere. The heat outside was not
helping the humidity. The FireWall would hold for several days.
She shook her head. That cub was
clever. She had not anticipated a wall of flame. She wanted those two to suffer
which was why she didn't kill them yet. She had her plan. She knew what she
wanted to do. There were things far worse to suffer than death. In fact, death
would be considered mercy after what she put these two through.
Celina stopped by a mirror and slid
her hands down it. The glass shimmered and became a visual of Ursalia. The
mirror in Ursa's room. The woman sat down by the glass and watched with
amusement…
* * *
Buddi stirred and snuggled closer to
Ursa. She smiled, her own tiredness not getting to her. The boy felt safe with
her. After Buddi had told her what happened, Ursa had been horrified. That
dream would have frightened her; Buddi must have been scared to death. That
Celina…
Ursa growled. How dark was that
woman? How could she do such terrible things? How could she cause so much pain?
Ursa stole a gaze at her cub. He was fairly still, moving occasionally but
never away from her, always toward. He was still scared. Ursa put her hands
around his shoulders.
"No, don't let her hurt me."
Ursa jerked her attention to her
child. She hugged him closer to her and whispered,
"Baby, I'm here. You're all right."
The cub shuddered but calmed as Ursa
started to stroke his cheeks. He leaned closer to her, wrapped his arms around
her waist. Ursa pulled the disheveled comforter up and draped it over the
child. He stayed close to her. Ursa liked him close. He still was the same cub
she'd held in her arms at less than an hour old, the same cub his mother had
asked her to raise, when she was in her last minutes of life. The same cub that
she had fed, taught to walk and swing. The same child she loved. He would
always look tiny to her, always.
Ursa's first impulse was to take
Buddi back to his bed once he fell asleep. But something stopped her, something
intangible. Now she turned her lamp on, very dimly as not to wake him and
looked him over.
He was small, so little compared
with her. His clothing was still clinging to him, with cold sweat. His hair was
matted, stringy. She instinctively pushed it aside, smoothing it back. He drew
closer as she touched him and she hugged him slightly. Ursa ran her fingers
down her child' neck. Unlike the other cubs of the Glens, Buddi wasn't ticklish
so she was shocked when he moved.
He winced, let out a low moan of
pain.
Ursa turned the light up a bit. She
focused on the cub's neck. And her heart froze.
There, along the tannish fur were
blue bruises. They were quite serious bruises and had they been more severe she
would have been worried about damage to his windpipe. But what alarmed her was
that these were handprints. Pure and simple handprints. She could make out the
individual fingers.
Details of his nightmare came back
to her…he'd said Celina had choked him. Did this mean his dream was not a dream?
Did that mean Celina could enter the city any time she wished? Attack whenever
she wished?
Attack her baby whenever she
desired?
Ursa remembered Buddi saying Celina's hand had
come through the glass. Ursa took a gaze at the time, almost sunrise. Grubbi
would be awake. He was their physician. He could tend to these bruises. And
Grubbi was who she went to for advice. She had to tell him. Ursa scooped her
boy up into her arms and walked slowly to the door, clutching Buddi
protectively. She stopped by her mirror. Somehow, Celina was using this to spy.
To look in on her and her baby, on Buddi. Ursa's eyes fumed and she glared with
a look that was fully Barbic and all mother,
"You keep away from my Buddi."
And with that, she punched the
glass, cracking it, before heading out into the corridor.
* * *
"A little bit more and then you can
go, Sunni."
Sunni tried to remain still as
Grubbi rubbed some ointment on her neck. It didn't hurt but it tickled. She had
just noticed the marks on her neck when she woke up. She'd stayed with Grammi
all night. It helped but she had not gotten much sleep. In fact, she doubted if
she'd gotten an hour's worth. The Barbics knew how to heal, Sunni granted that.
The ointment Grammi had burnt but this mix of herbs didn't.
"Grubbi."
The older Barbic looked up as Ursa
walked in looking about as tired as the cub by her side. Grammi noted.
"Ursa? Buddi? You look tired."
Buddi yawned. "I am."
"What's up, Ursa?" Grubbi asked as
he finished with Sunni's neck. "You do look beat."
Ursa sighed. "Not right now, Grubbi.
Can you help Buddi here?"
"Sure," he set Sunni down and picked
Buddi up. "What's wrong?"
"His neck."
Grubbi felt an odd twang of fear.
Sunni's wounds had been second and first degree burns, on her neck. It looked
to be from a shock or something along those lines. Grubbi turned the cub's head
to get a good look. Buddi involuntarily winced. Grubbi felt himself biting down
a curse of surprise.
Those fingerprints…those were
clearly fingerprints and not Barbic either. These were too long to be Barbic or
Gummi. These were humanoid. He cursed the humans under his breath and reached
into his side drawer. He took out a small light and shined that on the wounds,
to get a better look.
"Ursa, grab some ice please."
Ursa nodded and opened the small
compartment they had in the room. She grabbed a few cubes, wrapped them in a
cloth and handed them to Grubbi. The eldest Barbic pressed gently, trying to
determine the damage. Buddi whimpered, although almost silently.
"A little ointment and pain killers
should suffice."
Ursa nodded. Grubbi dipped his
fingers into the same container he'd used for Sunni's marks and rubbed it on
Buddi's bruises, although gentler. Bruises like this hurt. As soon as he
finished, he drew a small bottle from his side table and handed it to Ursa.
"A powdering in his drink at night.
And Buddi, for you and Sunni right now."
He drew out a small bulb of a plant
and handed it to each cub. "Eat it."
The two cubs did so and immediately
felt drained. Grubbi smiled.
"Something to help you sleep. You
both need it."
Ursa and Grammi nodded. Ursa pulled
Buddi outside and down to his room. Buddi was still scared and didn't want to
sleep. But the herb was doing it for him. His eyes were drooping. Ursa finally
told him that she would take his mirror down if it bugged him. He agreed and
she did as he asked.
Then, she returned to Grubbi.
"Grubbi?"
The older Barbic smiled at his
leader and gestured her in. "Looks like you could use a dose of Tilun yourself
Ursa."
She smiled but shook her head. "Is
that what you used?"
'Yes. But something else is bugging
you right?"
She nodded. "Grubbi…Buddi ran into
my room last night. Nightmares."
Grubbi looked at her. "Ursa…he
hasn't done that in years."
She nodded in agreement. "I know."
She proceeded to tell him about what
Buddi had told her. Grubbi put a hand on her shoulder.
"You shoulder the weight well,
Ursa."
She sighed. "I just wish I knew what
else to do. But Celina never reveals herself. And an attack on Drekmore is too
risky."
Grubbi fingered her hair. "Aw, let's
take things as they come, Ursa. In the meantime, you go rest or I'll inject you
with something."
Ursa smiled. "All right I will. But
the minute Buddi's awake, you wake me."
Grubbi nodded. "Acknowledged
Fearless Leader."
* * *
Celina rose and conjured up two
mirrors. The one in Sunni's room and the one outside Buddi's door. She couldn't
enter Buddi's room directly and Ursa's mirror was cracked, which made it
useless. But Celina had her ways.
"I'll crumble your spirits, cubs."
She drew out a small vile in each hand, filled with black liquid.
"Your proud and carefree wills will
crumble and tumble into nothingness, leaving you mere shells. But first, I have
to get your guard down. And what better way to do so than to confine you until
you're bored to death? And what better way to do that, than with illness?"
She poured the jars into the glass.
The mist escaped into Ursalia and invaded the two's bodies. She smiled.
"Sweet dreams little ones."