Disappointed about the staff? Well don't be. Cuz it's back…

25. The Dead

Thorn was floating in a wooden cart. "Where am I?" she said groggily.

"Delora?"

Thorn started, glancing down over the edge of the cart.

A beautiful brown haired woman was frowning up at her. "What are you doing here, Delora?"

"Mother?" Thorn blinked.

The woman moved her hand in a flickering motion, and the wooden cart floated to the ground. "Delora. What has happened?"

"Happened?" Thorn frowned. Then the memory of the confrontation in the woods flooded back. "Asianna. Sh-she tried to kill Evin with a wooden knife." she said. "And I tried to stop her."

The woman sighed. "And you've killed yourself while doing it."

Thorn's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

"Delora, what did my staff tell you about using your energy?"

"It said that I needed the energy too."

"Exactly. If you use too much and have nothing left, your body has nothing to run on. And you die."

"So I'm…I'm dead?"

The woman shook her head. "Not for long." She reached for Thorn.

Thorn immediately scrambled back. The exhaustion she had felt from using her energy and the pain of the thorns that had dug into her hands were gone. And she didn't have any bruises from the arrow-balls that had hit her in the clearing.

"But I don't want to go back!"

Her mother stared at her. Her eyes grew soft. "But you must, Delora. You shouldn't be dead yet. Not you. I was expecting someone else to be here."

"Someone else?" Thorn questioned. "Who?"

Her mother shook her head. "You will find out soon enough. But right now, you have to go back."

Thorn shook her head. "But I don't want to. I want to stay here, wherever here is, and be with you."

Her mother smiled tenderly at her. "Delora, you can't. It isn't time for you to die. You still have a life to live. What about Evin?"

Evin? Evin…

"You love him. And if you stay here, you will never be able to make a life together. And what about all those new people you have met? Lady Alanna? George? Thom? Will you leave them all just to spend time with me?"

Thorn hesistated.

Her mother smiled. "I didn't think so. Don't worry, daughter. We will be together eventually. Just not right now."

Her mother reached out with a hand and caressed Thorn's forehead. Thorn suddenly felt incredibly sleepy.

"Mother?" she asked before you fully closed her eyes. "Who are you, that you should have such strange powers to pass on to your daughters?"

She could feel her mother smile with her eyes closed. I was the daughter of a god. Now sleep, love. And I will continue my watch for your sister…

~~~~~~~~~~~

A mouth was over hers, forcing her to take in air. But she took in so much, that she started choking and coughing.

When she was finally able to open her eyes, she found herself being held tightly to Evin's chest. Then he suddenly pushed her back, took her shoulders, and started shaking her.

"Never ever do that again! Do you understand me! Never!" Evin's eyes were wide with anxiety and his hair fell messily over his brow.

Thorn reached up and combed his hair back out of his eyes. He gently took her hand and pressed her knuckles to his lips.

"The knife?" She questioned him.

"You slowed it down with your power somehow, and I was able to knock it out of the way."

She gave a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, Evin. I didn't mean to frighten you." she said.

He sighed. "Apology accepted. But if you ever do something like that again…" He growled at her before leaning in for a kiss. Then he suddenly leaned back and pulled her hand back toward him.

"Thorn…your hands."

She frowned. "My hands?"

The pieces of cloth that Evin had wrapped around her hands had slipped off. And they were able to see what laid underneath. Absolutely nothing. The blood, the piercings, the pain. They were all gone. As a matter of fact, her body was completely pain-free. She felt as refreshed after she would have after a full night's rest.

Thorn smiled. Thank you, mother…

"No! Stop it! Get off of me!"

Evin and Thorn both started as Asianna started screaming.

Evin helped Thorn to her feet and they both turned Asianna. And stared.

The rose stem from Thorn's broken staff had somehow pulled itself off the staff…and was now winding itself around Asianna's legs. Asianna screamed and cursed, trying to pull the stem off, but it stayed firm, steadily entwining itself completely around her legs.

"Well, at least the thorns aren't digging into your skin." Thorn said aloud.

Asianna glanced up and gave Thorn a pleading look. "Stop this. Please."

"I'm not the one doing it." Thorn said uncertainly. "The stem is doing it by itself."

Asianna continued to futilely fight against the rose stem. And Thorn remembered her mother's last words to her: And I will continue my watch for your sister…

"Asianna…it's too late now." Thorn said as she realized what her mother had meant. She felt a lump form in her throat.

"Please, help me." Asianna started to cry. The rose stems continued to grow over her knees and was now spreading upward from mid-thigh. And not only that, but the two halves of her staff had somehow straightened themselves and were now growing into lean saplings on either side of Asianna, squishing her in the middle.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Thorn. I really didn't. But Torhte-- he said that if I didn't obey his orders he would kill me!" She sobbed. "And he said if I tried to help you, he would kill us both. I didn't want us to die."

Thorn shook her head helplessly. "I can't. I can't do anything. I'm sorry…"

"Please. Delora, please."

Thorn jerked when she heard Asianna use her real name. The name that Torhte had forbidden her to use, because it was too … 'delicate' for her. And so he had made her Thorn. Prickly, sharp, piercing Thorn. The only person who ever used Delora now was her mother in her dreams, or in the last case, when Thorn was dead. But then, she couldn't imagine her mother calling her anything other than Delora, so that made sense. But hearing Asianna call her that, it was just strange…

"Please, Delora, don't kill me and my unborn baby." Asianna continued to plead. "I truly did not mean to hurt you."

Thorn hesistated.

"Thorn." Evin grabbed her hand and jerked her toward him. "No, don't. Look."

She glanced at him, confused. In his hand, was a crystal. A strange looking little crystal that was glowing black.

Evin lifted the crystal and held it in front of her face. "This is my truth crystal. When a lie is told in its presence, it turns black." The crystal suddenly flashed, and the black slowly faded away to leave a bright white instead. "And when a truth is told, it glows white." Evin said. The crystal continued to shine the soft white color.

"No, no, no." Asianna said. The rose stem had now grown and curled past her waist. And where it covered her legs, it covered them completely. Thorn wasn't able to see a patch of skin anywhere the stem was. And the two saplings had grown to a height that was taller than Asianna. "He's lying! Don't trust his crystal!."

The crystal glowed black.

Thorn glanced uncertainly from her sister to Evin.

"I guess that's what it comes down to. Whether you trust me or not." Evin said. The sadness in his eyes made her heart ache.

Thorn reached up with a hand and caressed his cheek. "I do trust you. And I'm sorry for the way I acted when I saw you with Miri. I should have at least listened to your explanation."

Evin smiled at her, and the roguish smile that had so exasperated her in the past now made her smile back. He leaned down toward her and brushed his lips across her cheek. "Back at the moment when I was first captured and you were tying me with your vine, if someone had told me," he whispered in her ear, "that you were the woman that I would eventually fall in love with, I would have laughed my head off." His crystal flared and turned white. "But now, I don't find it that funny."

She smiled up at him. "That's good. Because if you had declared your love for me and then burst into mad laughter, I would have smacked you." she said with a mock growl.

Evin laughed, but before he could reply, he was interrupted by Asianna's cry of outrage.

"Get this damn plant off of me! Bitch! Get your damn--"

"There's no need for you to scream." Evin said mildly. "We're right here in front of you."

"It's over, Asianna." There was still a little sadness audible in her voice. "You made your choice. And I have to make mine." Thorn said.

The rose stem had crept up her chest and was now dangerously close to her neck. Asianna's hands were also captured by the stem, and Thorn was able to see her shoulder heave with the effort of getting free. The trees that continued to grow beside Asianna was now twice as tall as Thorn. And so thick that she would have to use both arms to wrap around one of their trunks. And they continued to grow, squishing her in the middle.

"No! No!" Asianna continued to scream, stopping only to gasp for breath.

And the stem continued to wrap around her neck, heading still upwards.

Then the trees that surrounded Asianna on either side suddenly moved. The trunks were suddenly contorting, stretching. And then they both worked together to wrap around the still screaming Asianna. They curled their trunks around each other, around Asianna, hiding her stem covered form.

"No! No! N--" The screaming came to an abrupt stop. And the trees stopped wrapping around her, finished.

And there was utter silence.

"Is it done?" Evin asked hesitantly.

No, it is not done yet, Rider.

Evin blinked. "What--who?"

"My staff…" Thorn murmured, staring at the entwined trees.

Yes, it is I. Your staff.

"And Asianna?" she asked.

I have taken care of her. I am sorry for hurting you earlier with my thorns, but I needed you to drop me onto the ground. But that doesn't matter now; I see that your mother has taken care of your injuries.

"Yes." she said dazedly.

The trees suddenly rustled, and they slowly bent over, until their branches and boughs were just above Evin and Thorn's heads.

And from somewhere within the lush, green leaves, there was the sound of crying.

Thorn blinked as the trees gently placed the baby in her arms. Asianna's baby. The baby suddenly stopped crying and blinked up at Thorn. She gurgled and waved her fists happily.

"Her baby. But--but how?"

The baby does not deserve the punishment of the mother. Take care of her, Thorn.

Thorn stared down at the baby. "Take care of her?" she repeated in disbelief. "When I couldn't even take care of her mother?"

Take care of her like you would have taken care of Asianna, if only she had had enough faith in you to come and rescue her. You did not fail Asianna. She failed you.

Evin reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Your staff is right. You didn't fail Asianna. You tried."

"What about you, staff? What are you going to do?"

I will stay here. I will remain, a marker of Asianna's grave.

"But--"

Your mother told me to watch over you. And that's what I have done. But you don't need me anymore. You have the Rider now. You will be happy.

The trees straightened back. And then there was silence.

Thorn turned to Evin. "Will you hold her for a moment?" she asked, holding out the baby.

He took her and she turned back to the entwined trees. She stepped close and placed her hand on one of their trunks. There were little cracks were the trees had entwined but left a little space between each other. And inside the space, a thorn or two was visible.

Thorn leaned close to one of the cracks. "Don't worry, Asianna. Mother will take care of you."

A.N. the story isn't over yet. One more chapter to go…