Disclaimer: Valdemar, Heralds, Companions etc … none of that belongs to me, it's all the property of Mercedes Lackey. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while … apart from Aline who is most definitely mine : )
A/N: Updated 23/5 – Darkwind and Elspeth are NOT married … and Bold/Italics actually work – hooray!!
Okay, on with the thank you's:
oceanmate: hehe - i hadn't realised my cliffies were that bad! oh and about the 6 chappies? kinda exagerating : ) i've got the next two or so though and i promise i will post them asap!!!
Lizai: another with the cliffies! trust me, i could do worse than i have been doing! Joey claps hands together and laughs evilly ...
Hildi-chan: yeah, i thought i'd better touch base for a while, everything was getting WAY to depressing!
lauracanski: two reviews = goodness : ) : ) that's a good question
about the killer because i never specified what happened to him, did i? well,
the killer escaped. hmm ... someone might have seen him running through the
palace - maybe i'll put that in Kero's investigation after Elspeth identifies
the killer as having posed as a serving man ...
PrettyKittyOreo: suspenseful? Joey eyes the word suspiciously is that
even a word? Lol : ) Seems i'm driving everyone mad with my apparent cliffies.
I honestly didn't mean for that to happen ... it's some kind of flaw in my
genes which means that every chapter i write has to end in a cliffy ... still,
if it keeps people coming back for more then i guess it can't be ALL bad!
Aeriel Ravenna: that's a good question about Dirk - it's actually one of
the plot points i have noted down for later! I wasn't sure whether anyone was
going to notice but i'm glad that you did. look out for the answer in one of
the later chapters - it'll be part of Kero's investigation. interesting theory
about Darkwind - i can't remember whether this is the chappie he wakes up in or
not, really should know my work better. Actually, i think you'll find my
solution to Darkwind's problem is way more basic - damn, wish i'd thought of
Karal's channeling skills now!
Queen's Own: heh - another person with the Dirk question! same
answer to you as to Aeriel Ravenna - i will explain in a later chapter. and as
for Lyra, Elspeth and Darkwind ... all together now: 'read on and find out'!!
cos i'm admitting nothing : )
This chappie is dedicated to oceanmate for a really cool review and being a new reader. hope you enjoy the chapter!
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After the Storm
By: JoeyStar
Timeframe: Set a year or so after Owlknight
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(Royal Suite)
' … Several scorch marks on one of the exterior walls, but until we received a first hand account of what happened I can't be sure what caused them.' Kero concluded. 'However, I can hazard a guess that it was some kind of mage-blast.'
It was the following day and Kerowyn and Skif had come, as they had been bid, to inform the distraught royals about the progress of their investigation. Kero had privately searched for any excuse to prevent such a meeting but had come up blank. She had plenty of experience in her years as Captain of the Skybolts relating to grieving parents and none of what she had seen spoke of a favourable outcome to the situation. Equally Skif had shone clear reluctance to do as Selenay and Daren had ordered them, though his reservations were likely to be personal rather than practical.
Since Kero had begun their report, Daren had been sitting opposite both her and Skif, his face unreadable. The queen however, had been perched in one of the window arcs, back to them, gazing out of the window. Kero hardly thought Selenay was watching the activities of the palace outside; she was simply trying to deal with the fresh grief evoked by such a delicate situation. Exactly what Kero had wanted to avoid. She would have been happy to deal with just Daren; although he too had lost a child, there was a quiet acceptance about him that Selenay lacked. After all, Daren had once been Lord-Marshal of his brother's forces in Rethwellen. He, like Kero and Skif, was used to loss.
The prince's head rose at Kero's final analysis. 'Mage-blast?' He queried intently.
As if hearing the words for the first time, Selenay also turned to regard the Heralds, her eyes wide.
Kero inclined her head slowly, wishing she had better news. 'As far as I can tell.'
'But you could be wrong, couldn't you?' Selenay demanded sharply. 'How can you be so certain? You know as much as I about magic! After all, you aren't a mage.'
Kero knew where Selenay's desperate comments were coming from, but it was still difficult not to take offence. While there was a slight possibility that the scorch marks had come from any of her three children or Darkwind for that matter, it was unlikely considering the state they had been found in. All of which raised uncomfortable questions about the origins of a mage powerful enough to strike down two Adepts.
It was this knowledge that held Kero's rather volatile temper in check. As Skif looked from one Herald to the other she took a deep breath and composed herself. 'With all due respect Selenay, I've worked with mages most of my life. My grandmother Kethryveris was an Adept – as if my uncle. Though it's true I don't have any such power of my own, I know enough to recognise the results of mage-fire.'
Even in her grief, Selenay seemed to recognise that she had been rude because her cheeks flushed slightly at the gentle reprimand. Any other Herald would have experienced the sharper side of the queen's tongue, but Kero, as she proved simply by existing, was anything but 'any other Herald'.
Feeling it would be wise to change the direction of the conversation, Kero locked eyes with Daren again. 'I'm sorry that we couldn't be of any more help. We simply can't tell for sure what happened at the moment …'
'Is there nothing you can do?' The edge of desperation in the prince's voice proved that his calm and collected persona was just a front. He was suffering as much as Selenay. Instinctively Kero shied away from their pain and sought the familiar presence of Eldan for comfort. She prayed that no such tragedy with ever befall them but knowing the average life-span of Heralds such as they, and being a realist, Kero knew this was unlikely. Especially considering they had touched the surface of a knew enemy of Valdemar.
'Perhaps with further study we could hazard a guess.' Skif ventured after a pause. When Kero looked at him, he shrugged as if to say 'what harm can it do?'
'Yes. Yes.' Daren said decisively. 'That is the best course of action.'
'We can't be sure that we'll uncover much more.' Kero cautioned, leaning forward and touching his arm. 'You have to understand that Daren. Without any first hand witnesses … there's simply nothing to go on.'
'We really need to talk to Elspeth.' Skif murmured.
Daren looked bleak. 'No,' he said bitterly, 'what we need is to catch whoever did this!'
'What we need is a miracle.' Selenay whispered brokenly, turning back to the window, her gaze becoming shuttered once more. Kero watched her, feeling furiously angry that there was nothing she could to ease her friend's pain.
Why did this have to happen? Why all three of their children?
:You've just asked the important question, Chosen.: Sayvel responded unexpectedly, for once deadly serious. :And an alarming one.:
:Alarming? Your talent for understatement is improving my love. This … oh whoever launched the attack almost succeeding in destroying the throne of Valdemar! Inside their own palace!:
Speaking the words aloud, albeit mentally, seemed to cement them and in that moment, Kero finally realised the full implications of the attack.
And despite everything that she had seen and done; first as Captain of the Skybolts and then as a Herald of Valdemar, it terrified her.
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(Healer's Collegium – Elspeth's room)
Devan regarded his patient with a sorrowful expression. The Healer was growing no younger and to see the woman he remembered as a precocious child in such a helpless situation pushed the normally mild-mannered Healer towards a definite spark of anger.
Talia was with Elspeth now, talking quietly to the younger woman and struggling, as always, to hold her gift at bay. For Talia, using her Empathy was as natural as breathing, yet while in Elspeth's presence she was quickly learning to muffle it as much as possible or else the Herald-Mage's intense emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
He knew that Talia was encouraging Elspeth to talk about what had happened, much as she had been doing since Eldan had awoken Elspeth from her grief-induced stupor. Devan prayed that this time it would work and Elspeth would begin to heal.
He leant against the doorframe and turned his ear to the conversation that was going on within.
' … feeling?' Talia was asking softly, looking intently at the other woman. Elspeth was curled up defensively in a large, plush chair that threatened to engulf her. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her swollen stomach and her curly dark hair hung in tangled waves around her face, obscuring her expression.
' …I'm alright.'
'Is there anything you want to talk about?'
Silence greeted that remark and Devan watched Talia eye the ceiling in despair. The Empath was running out of ways to help her friend.
'Elspeth? Is there anything you would like to do?'
Again there was a long silence in which Talia happened to look across at the doorway and spotted Devan. He offered her as warm a smile as he could muster and she smiled back, but they both knew they were poor attempts to mask the true horror of Elspeth's withdrawn state.
After a few more moments, Talia obviously admitted defeat because she rose and patted the silent woman on the shoulder, trying not to notice how she flinched.
'If there's anything you want you need only ask. You know that don't you kitten?'
She didn't wait for an answer but rose, crossing the room towards Devan. He opened his mouth to greet her when a soft voice drifted across the room.
'I …'
Talia spun around and was back by Elspeth's side in a flash, careful not to touch the woman this time.
'Yes love?'
There was such a long silence that Devan thought the Herald-Mage wasn't going to answer the question. But finally her voice came, little more than a whisper.
'I … want Darkwind.'
Talia smiled sympathetically. 'I know kitten, I know you do –'
'No.' Elspeth interrupted, raising her head. Her stormy eyes were huge in her pale face. 'I mean I want to see him. Now.'
It was entirely impractical. Darkwind was still in the coma that had resulted from the attack and Elspeth had little more strength than a day old kitten. But Talia was simply so relieved to hear her talking; to hear a shade of the old Elspeth returning; that she would have granted to girl anything.
She resisted the urge to cheer with difficulty. Rising, the smile she now directed at Devan was genuine. 'Can you …?'
'I'm already gone.' He promised, hurrying from the room in the direction of the isolation rooms in the Collegium. The rooms where cases with little or no hope of improvement were placed. The rooms where Lyra and Darkwind were resting.
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(Unknown)
Darkwind was cold.
That was one of the first coherent thoughts that had crossed his mind all that time ago when he had woken up inside … inside the cage.
And now it crossed his mind again.
He wondered idly how long he had been inside the cage now. Days? Weeks? Months? Strangely the thought that he might have been trapped for such an extended period of time didn't worry him as much as he felt it should have done. Though he was cold and very slightly hungry, there was nothing in the cage to worry him.
And best of all: there was no pain.
He could remember the pain. It had been all-consuming, pushing him to the edges of sanity and pulling him back again. He had honestly thought he was going to die, alone and forgotten.
But then the cage had appeared and though the pain hadn't faded, it hadn't increased either. Darkwind wasn't sure whether the cage had anything to do with his levels of pain but it was a nice thought. It made him view his surroundings as protection, rather than a prison.
At some point during his time in the cage, it had occurred to him that it would probably be wise to explore it. So he had pushed himself up from the floor and wandered the length of the cage restlessly, wincing as phantom pains stabbed through him.
It was square; that Darkwind was certain of. It was also impenetrable. He had felt compelled to attempt to break through one of the rippling dark walls and had only succeeded in bringing the pain back again. Needless to say, it was something he had never tried again.
As he sat there, staring at one of the walls of the cage, he felt he should have been missing something. He couldn't quite remember how he had ended up in the cage in the first place, but a small part of him whispered that something had happened … that there was something he needed to do … irritated and cold, Darkwind pushed the thoughts aside as easily as he did his long silver hair.
He tilted his head back and stared at the dancing roof distractedly.
After a long moment, another thought drifted to him:
The walls of his cage … were getting steadily smaller and smaller. They were closing in around him.
Strangely, Darkwind wasn't concerned.
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(Healer's Collegium – main room)
Keisha closed the door quietly behind her and surveyed the room.
At Devan's insistence, both Firesong and Silverfox had retired to their rooms – the former almost completely drained of power. She and Darian had stood helplessly by as Firesong had sought to draw his friend out of the stupor Darkwind was trapped in and both had recognised the utter confusion Firesong had displayed when he had failed. Even with the state of magic since the Mage Storms, Firesong was the most powerful Tayledras Healing-Adept alive. He certainly wasn't used to failure.
Hugging herself against the unhappy thoughts, Keisha tiptoed closer to the beds upon which Darkwind and Lyra still lay, silent and pale. Sitting between them, a hand on each bed, was Darian.
His head was bowed, dark curly hair falling forward over his face so that Keisha couldn't see his expression and for a moment she thought he might be asleep. But then he looked up and smiled wanly at her and she gave up her pretence of sneaking into the room.
It had been hard on Darian, Keisha observed as she took a seat beside him. With Firesong and Silverfox so busy with their Haven friends, Darian and Keisha had been left to fend for themselves. It definitely wasn't the way she had expected her first weeks in a new city to be spent; ignored and forgotten, and she knew how much Darian had been looking forward to it. She wondered whether this fact accounted for the defeated look he wore now when he looked at her.
'Darian … how long have you been in here?'
Darian shifted his weight in the chair and sighed. Regretfully, he released the princess and Hawkbrother's hands and ran one hand through his unruly hair. 'Long enough.'
Keisha leant forward and captured his hands in her own. 'Taking Firesong's place?'
Darian shrugged. 'I thought … I thought I might be able to help in some way … stupid really, considering how much trouble Firesong's been having.'
'Don't say that!' Keisha chided. 'You're doing what you can – all the Healer's are. But I fear there is more going on here than meets the eye.'
'What do you mean?'
Keisha glanced at Darkwind's unnaturally pale features and noted the way he almost seemed to sink into the bed. 'I'm not sure … I don't pretend to be the most experienced Healer in the world but I can listen and I've heard the other Healers talking. Keeping Princess Lyra alive is hard enough – her injuries were so severe – but no one has ever seen anything like Darkwind's condition before. Including Firesong!'
'So what you're saying is …' Darian trailed off, frowning. 'What are you saying?'
Keisha considered the question carefully. 'I think there's something … unnatural about Darkwind's state. Something beyond his physical injuries. It's almost as if his spirit has been attacked … but I don't know how.'
'You should talk to Firesong, ke'chara.' Darian suggested. He was about to say more when the door opened abruptly and they both spun around to see who the intruder was.
A pale-faced woman with dark hair was being helped into the room by Talia, and they could see Devan behind her. The woman was almost painfully thin and her hands shook as she moved but there was still something strikingly powerful about her. Unconsciously, Darian considered her through magically enhanced eyes and found that she blazed with power. He could think of only one person who matched the woman's appearance. This must be Herald-Mage Elspeth, an old friend of Firesong's and Darkwind's partner.
She moved with difficulty and not just because of her long illness. Her stomach was swollen with child and as she walked, one hand touched her abdomen reassuringly. Talia guided her over to the beds and Keisha and Darian stepped out of the way quickly, without comment.
Elspeth hardly saw them. She slumped into Darian's vacated chair and clasped her lover's hand. From there she appeared to drop into some kind of trance and after a moment, Talia stepped forward and drew Darian and Keisha back.
'Give her some time with him.' The Queen's Own whispered. Although she looked as tired and worn as always, there was a triumphant spark in her eyes.
'What happened?' Keisha asked, understandably confused. The last time she had briefly seen Elspeth, the older woman had been withdrawn and silent.
Talia and Devan shared a smile. 'She asked to come as see him.' The Healer explained. 'We're taking it as a positive sign.'
Talia drew herself up. 'Devan, can you and Keisha keep an eye on her? I should tell Selenay the good news … it's about time she had some.'
'Of course. Give her my best wishes.'
'I'll go and tell Firesong.' Darian volunteered, adding: 'he'd want to know.'
They left the room together, the rangy Hawkbrother Adept-in-training and the petite Queen's Own. Two completely different people from two very different worlds, talking quietly together as it they'd known one another for years. It was amazing how tragedy often brought out the best in people, Keisha though.
'It's a turning point.' Devan murmured, watching Elspeth and Darkwind. Keisha followed his gaze and nodded.
Yes, she thought. But towards what?
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Towards what indeed : )
Guess you'll have to read on to find out, won't you?
As always, please read and review!