CHAPTER 41

Inside the forest the darkness was complete, but it was a welcoming darkness.  Her true sight was slowly fading now that her anger was fading. 

"I am sorry for flying off the handle like that."  She apologized.

"It was understandable, but why were you there?"

"I was forcing my gift to react so it wouldn't hang over me for days."  Sherri admitted.  "Would you like to see the cottage?  It is going to take some work to make it liveable."

"Do we have to rebuild it?"

"No, Van and Stef repaired it for when I visited in the winter.  It should only need the animals evicted, a thorough clean, and some furniture to be liveable.  We can arrange for food to be dropped off every few days."

"Sounds like a good plan."

Sherri guided Quin through the trees until they reached a small copse with a small cottage at its heart.  It had stone walls, a thatched roof, two chimneys, and an attached shelter for animals, or, in this case, Companions.

Dismounting she led Kevyn inside.  Creating a magelight they surveyed the room.  Leaves and debris hid much of the floor and they could hear small creatures scurry away at the sudden light.  The area closest to the door was obviously a kitchen area with a counter, several shelves, a lopsided table, two chairs, both in need of some care, a large fireplace with hooks and arms for pots and an abandoned nest of some forest creature.  The other end of the cottage had the book shelves and instrument rack she remembered from her youth.  A trio of chairs were gathered around the smaller fireplace.  A ladder led up to sleeping loft that occupied half the length of the building, a large bed box was visible but had no mattress.

"What do you think?"  Sherri asked.

"Very cozy."

"It is small, but it is cool in summer and warm in winter."  Sherri grimaced at the scurrying feet of mice.  "I think we need a cat."

:A good size place for a pair starting out on there own.:  Quin commented as he stuck his head in the door.

"And there is room for you two in here if the weather turns bad."  Sherri pointed out, ignoring the implication in the observation.

:Perhaps your friends will be able to visit.:  Nick suggested.  :I think I found an old garden it is very overgrown though.:

:That was there before we took over it.:  A familiar voice made everyone but Sherri jump.

"Stef!"  Sherri grinned.  Spinning about she could see his faint form by the door.  "Gods, it is good to see you."

:Is it?  I imagine it is more of a bad sign than anything.:

"Where is Van and Yfandes?"

:We are here too.:  Yfandes assured her.  :Stef got the long straw so he is the one who gets  to be at least partially visible.:

:We funnelled most of the Power you have sent up here into the protections after recharging ourselves enough to get by.:  Van explained.

"You know we have an alliance with some of the northern clans, don't you?"  Sherri asked.

:Yes, we know.:  Stef assured her.  ;We are no longer so far from the world of the living thanks to you two.  We have even gone over to see the village.:

:And the Vale.:  Yfandes added. 

The three living gentlemen waited as Sherri chatted with her long time friends.

:We should get back.:  Quin suggested.  :I do believe we all need some rest.:

:He  is quite the Companion.:  Yfandes commented appreciatively so that only Sherri heard.

Realising her lapse in manners Sherri hurried to make the introductions.  "The Companion in the doorway is Quin, the one out back is Dominick, and you have met Kevyn."

:Briefly, yes.:  Vanyel acknowledged.

Sherri paused for a second.  "Do you know how hard it is to introduce someone you can't see?  Anyways, the lovely lady you can't see is Yfandes, Stef is the higher pitched voice, Vanyel, the deeper voice."

"Pleased to meet you again."  Kevyn said slightly uncertain. 

:Thank you for watching over Sherri.:  Quin said sincerely.  :I wish I could have met you before.:

:Your father is right, you four should head back to the keep.  We will still be here in the morning, just not visible.:

"Hopefully your mother got the hint and has left."  Kevyn said as he gestured for Sherri to precede him out the door.

"I shouldn't have yelled at her."  Sherri said with obvious guilt.

:No doubt she needed to be yelled at.:  Yfandes offered.  :Perhaps it will force her out of her cycle.:

"I hope so."  Sherri swung onto Quin's back. 

~ * ~

Sherri desperately wanted a bath but she knew she would just get filthy again.  They had spent two weeks visiting with all of Sherri's acquaintances in the area, triggering two true sight attacks, before they started on the cottage.  In those two weeks Sherri's uncles had all sent word that they would be arriving within a week or so.  Sherri would dearly love to know how they had learned about her trip. 

After three days of coming out here around dawn and leaving well after sunset the cottage was starting to look liveable.  There were two barn cats now in residence and much fewer mice.

A poof followed by an explosion of dust, twigs, and soot whooshed out of the chimney, coating the clean floor.

Sherri glared up at the roof.  "I just cleaned that!"

"Sorry."  Kevyn's voice floated back to her.  "I told you to wait until we cleared the chimneys."

"Is it clear?"

"Yes, that should be it."  Kevyn called back.

Sherri took up her broom and started chasing the dirt out the door.

:You could use magic.:  Vanyel pointed out.

:I could.:  Sherri agreed.  :But doing it with my hands requires a lot less energy.:

A crash made her jump.  "Kevyn?"

"It wasn't me!"

:Sorry, I found the well.:  Nick said sheepishly.

Sherri chuckled to herself as she hurried outside to survey the damage.  Both Companions had been spending the days helping haul out garbage but today, with nothing to haul, had been relaxing, enjoying the day.

Nick stood next to the gaping hole that had once been covered by a rotting board, which now resided at the bottom of the well.

"Is everything alright?"  Kevyn called from his position on top of the roof.

:Everything is just fine.:  Nick assured them.  :However, I think the well is dry.:

Sherri kicked a rock into the hole and heard only a thump.  "It's dry.  It doesn't matter, we can use the water from the grotto."

"How bad is the mess?" 

"Bad enough."  Sherri grumbled.  "Are you coming down?"

"I better, I don't trust the roof for much longer."

:We'll be able to bring out the furniture tomorrow.:  Quin observed.

"Wonderful."

Kevyn reached the ground and swung her up in a hug.  "You look like you have just crawled through the dirt."

Sherri laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.  "I look no worse than you do."  She trailed her finger down a smear of sooty residue on his cheek.  "You are wonderful."

"So are you."  Kevyn returned the compliment.  "Are you ready for some lunch?"

"Then we can head back.  There isn't much else we can do here."  Sherri pulled away to locate the basket they had brought.  "Do you mind if we use the grotto?"  She called to the air.

:Be our guest kitten.:  Stef answered.

:We'll leave you two to your meal.:  Nick said knowingly.

"I would like to wash up first."  Kevyn gathered up the blanket they had brought and let her pick the route to the small sanctuary.  He could understand why Sherri considered this place safe.

Kevyn shook out the blanket it and set it down.  Sherri set down the basket and quickly stripped.  She slipped into the cold water with a contented sigh.

"I imagine the Havens are like this."  She commented to no one in particular.

It took only moments for Kevyn to divest himself of his clothing and join her in the water.  Many of the smooth rocks were arranged as comfortable seating around the edge of the pool allowing the couple to choose spot next to each other where they could scrub off the day's grime and relax and the cool water eased the heat of the day.

"Just a few more days."  Sherri said unnecessarily as she scrubbed her arms with a handful of sand.

"Do you have another headache?"  Kevyn asked with obvious concern.

"Slightly."  Sherri hedged.  "I keep feeling someone watching me when I am at the keep and is starting to bother me.  It doesn't even let up when I am slipping."

"You should have said something." 

"You would just worry."  Sherri pointed out.  "We couldn't have done anything about it until the cottage was ready."

"We could have discovered who is watching you.  There was no need to suffer in silence."  Kevyn scowled at the notion someone was watching Sherri constantly.  The fact that she could feel them watching was an even worse sign.

"I think it is all in my mind, I don't feel it out here, well, not often.  Most likely it is just the fact that everyone is watching me when I am in public that is making me uncomfortable.  Don't worry, love."  Sherri kissed his cheek.  "If you turn around I will scrub your back if you like."

~ * ~

Quin shook his mane as he stood up from a very satisfying roll in the tall grass.

:I must say, I am surprised to discover you are our little Sherri's father.:  Yfandes's voice made him jump.

:It was a surprise to me too.:

:You were the one with that Empath, Talia.:

:And you were the one who nearly swatted her.:  Quin retorted.  :That was another life, another time.:

:I know, I was just wondering if you knew.: 

Quin sensed more than saw the slight movement to his left.  :For a while it was like straddling two worlds, but I know it would be bad for all of us if I was to reveal myself to Talia and Dirk.:

Yfandes sighed.  :You have know idea how wonderful it is to have another Companion to talk to.:

:I imagine you are lonely.:

:Don't tell Van or Stef.  Sometimes I wish we weren't the only ones here.  They have each other and sometimes I feel like an intruder.:

:I understand completely.:  Quin assured her.  :How much longer will you remain here?:

:We have no idea, as long as we are needed here.: 

Quin could see the slight distortion in air where she stood.  :Few people would be willing to make to sacrifice to remain bound like this.:

:The bards Sherri has sent north have been a godsend.  How did she do it?:

:She told them there was a lady of the wood who longed for music and let their fertile minds take it from there.  Now they believe that by going into the woods and singing for the lady brings good luck and inspiration, and so far they seem to be right.:

Yfandes laughed at the story.  :We have all been grateful for the new music.  And the news of course.:

:Sherri misses singing with you three.:  Quin mentioned as he started ambling through the trees.

:We miss her too.  Neither had many friends in life, Van especially, and they both adore her.:

:That's obvious, they came back for her.:

A comfortable silence reigned for several minutes. 

:I admired how you taught Talia, even though you didn't have a smidgen of Empathy.:

:Necessity.  She suffered the most.:

:I watched you after you moved on, she nearly drowned you at that lake.:

Quin snorted at the memory.  :Not one of my best days.  I accused her of being infatuated with her and acted like an arrogant prick on a day she was already feeling miserable.:

:It was funny to watch, the way she kept dragging you under the water.  I believe Tantras and Rolan both enjoyed watching, after they realised she wasn't about to drown you.:

:Not that I didn't deserve it.:  Quin commented wryly.  :I have a whole new life time of knowledge to look back on those days with and every time I think about it I realise how lucky I was she didn't brain me with a rock and leave me on the road.:

:Do you Feel that?:  Yfandes tone changed suddenly.

Quin froze.  He could feel what could best be described as a coldness coming towards them.  :What is that?:

:I am not sure.  Van has gone to investigate.:  Yfandes's mind voice was coloured with concern.

As suddenly as the coldness appeared, it vanished.

:Van says he frightened whatever it was off.:  Yfandes relayed.  :It was coming from the keep.: