Chapter Six
"She's in here." Gabriel rushed before the two as they came into the warehouse. "I didn't know what else to do but put her in bed. I wanted her to be comfortable." Sara noticed that Gabriel's were red as though he had been crying. "Sara what is it doing to her?"
"It is the Perriculum. It is a test to see if she is worthy of wearing the Witchblade." Ian spoke softly as he followed Sara into the darkened bedroom.
"A test?" Gabriel stopped at the doorway, his eyes wide. "What do you mean a test? Sara did you go through a test?"
"Yes Gabriel I did, in another time." She didn't bother to explain but instead moved to the side of the bed and pulled down the comforter. Dianna's body was almost completely cocooned in the metallic threads. Her hands seemed to be crossed over her heart and her feet were neatly secured together. Quickly she felt for a pulse and smiled to herself as she felt the steady strong beat under her fingertips. "Dianna, I know you're afraid honey." She had crouched and began whispering in the woman's ear. "I know you are terrified, but listen to my voice sweetie. You need to just relax. Don't fight it, it will only make things harder for you." As though in answer, one of the tendrils whipped out, threatening to strike Sara in the face. "Back off bitch, I'm not leaving her." She growled angrily. "She's not going to go this alone."
"This may take several hours." Ian spoke from the doorway. "I suggest we take shifts. Sara, you stay for awhile, I will relieve you in an hour or two, and then the Mythkeeper can take the next watch."
"I don't want to leave her." Gabriel whispered as he neared the bed. "I feel responsible. I showed her where it was." He looked at Sara first then at Ian. "She asked and I couldn't tell her a lie."
"It's no one's fault Gabriel." Sara took his hand gently. "If the Blade wanted her, she was going to get her, with or without your help." Glancing down, she noticed a trail of blood leading to the bed. "Gabriel? Are you hurt?"
"It's his feet." Ian knelt down and gently touched the tops of Gabriel's foot. "Come, let me tend to them." He waited for Gabriel to reluctantly leave the room, limping slightly. Ian glanced at Sara, nodding then followed the man out.
"Dianna, we're here for you." She settled next to the bed. "Do what you must baby and just know that you aren't going through this alone."
Dianna opened her eyes in another world. Carefully she stood and looked around. It was as though she were in some of the pictures she had seen in old archeologist books on Egypt. She moved carefully to one wall and began trying to interpret the hieroglyphics.
"Where am I?" She heard her voice echo in the room. "Gabriel?"
"I know you are terrified, but listen to my voice sweetie. You need to just relax. Don't fight it, it will only make things harder for you." Sara's voice seemed to echo in her mind. "Dianna, we're here for you. Do what you must baby and just know that you aren't going through this alone."
"Don't fight what?" She turned quietly in a small circle, then faced the wall again, gently running her fingers along the symbols.
"You have finally arrived." Dianna turned suddenly and came face to face with a woman with dark braided hair. "Good, we can begin." White teeth smiled against the dusky skin.
"Who are you? Why am I here?" Dianna studied the face and realized it was hers. The skin was much darker but the eyes were the same light blue as her own. "Are you me?"
"In a way." The woman grinned and took a step forward. Dianna, startled, stepped back and found herself against the wall. "Do you know why you are here?" Dianna shook her head. "You are in possession of the Witchblade, just as I am." The dark woman raised her arm, revealing a bracelet similar to the one on Dianna's wrist. "We are to determine if you are as worthy to wear her as we are."
"Who are 'we'?" Dianna felt fear rising in her throat as she spoke. "I don't understand."
"You will. Come, let us begin." The woman turned and began to walk away, pausing only long enough to see that Dianna was following. "Come, we must begin."
"Don't fight it." Dianna whispered to herself as she began to follow the woman out of the room.
Sara looked up from the sofa where she lay as Ian walked into the room. She sat up, giving him room to sit at her feet.
"Is he going to be all right in there?" She asked softly as Ian rubbed his eyes. "I mean he was really tore up about the Witchblade being on Dianna."
"He will be fine." His voice was soft yet strong as he studied Sara's face. "Do you remember a conversation we had when Dianna was young, under the Mythkeeper's window? The night we were both watching them?"
"Refresh my memory." She smiled softly as she nudged his thigh with her foot.
"You asked if Dianna were the next Wielder, would I be her protector." He softly touched her foot with his hands as he spoke. "I told you I did not know?"
"Yeah, I remember that." She found herself fighting the jealousy that had tried to take her that night. "Do you know now?"
"Yes, I do." He gazed into her eyes. "I will be her protector." He saw her look away suddenly, full of sadness. "Sara, let me finish." He could see her lips form in a slight pout as he spoke. Reaching across the space between them, he took her chin in his fingertips and turned her face, suddenly seeing the tears forming in her eyes. "I will not be the only one. She is young, untrained. She will need all of us."
"I don't understand." Tears were suddenly replaced by confusion. "What are you saying?"
"It's simple Sara. She will need all of us. I can teach her to fight. You can help with that and also help her learn to control the Witchblade by sharing your wisdom with her." He looked toward the bedroom. "And the Mythkeeper will be her heart. He doesn't know it yet, but he will not only teach her the histories and myths of the Blade, but…"
"Are you telling me he's in love with her?" Sara grinned widely. "Ian, she just got back into town? She's what, fifteen years younger than Gabriel?"
"She already knows, her heart tells her." Ian could feel Sara's eye bore through him. "Just as I wanted to be your Heart." He quickly looked away from her. "You never understood that." Taking a deep breath, he turned back to her, his eyes bright. "We must help them to find the happiness and strength that will help them."
"Ian, where have you been?" Sara moved closer to him, stroking his beard. "I haven't seen you this animated in years?"
'I was lost. I was about to break when the Princess spoke to me." He hung his head, avoiding Sara gaze. "Forgive me for the time we have lost."
"You're back. That's all that matters to me Ian. You're back." Surprising him, Sara reached out and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. "I thought I had lost you." She was both relieved and full of happiness as she felt him melt into her embrace.
Gabriel sat next to Dianna's still form. Concern filled his dark eyes as the tendrils seems to writhe over her body like millions of snakes.
"Dianna, Princess honey, I am right here. You can get through this baby. Just come back to me safe." He whispered as he watched the last of her feet being consumed by the Witchblade's cocoon. He glance at the door leading to Sara and Ian, wondering if he should call them, but decided that it was unnecessary. "Just come back to us all Dianna."
As he watched, he suddenly found himself nodding off. As his chin touched his chest, he woke himself up with a start. Wiping his eyes, he suddenly saw the scar again. He frowned as he held his hand out and stared at the rings accusingly. "Why won't you let me reach her? She needs me." As he spoke, he found his eyes growing heavy again. This time, instead of fighting, he laid his head on the bed next to her shoulder and felt sleep begin to claim him. He also felt tendrils begin to wrap themselves around his wrist and hand.
"Sleep Mythkeeper." A soft voice lulled him to a deeper slumber as more and more of his arm seemed to be encased. "Sleep."
"Quantum Leap." Dianna shrugged as she looked at the third woman with her face. This time it was a tall slender woman, probably Amazonian who now looked at Dianna with confusion. "An old television show. That's the way Sam explained how he was able to time travel and inhabit other peoples bodies to right wrongs in history."
"Television?" The woman stood straighter, almost towering Dianna by a foot.
"Never mind, you wouldn't understand." Dianna sighed deeply and put her hands on her hips. 'So far you haven't shown me anything I haven't already grasped or understood. If this is some kind of test, I think you need to go back and study more. Personally I think it is a waste of time."
"Dianna?" Gabriel's voice echoed through the trees that surrounded the two women. "Dianna where are you?"
"Gabriel?" Dianna glared at the woman standing in front of her. "What the hell is he doing here?"
"He is part of your final test." Bright teeth smiled malevolently at Dianna. "You didn't think it would be that easy to be judged worthy, did you?"
"Gabriel! Go back!" She yelled as she tried to see him through the brush. "Send him back, he doesn't belong here." Turning back she found herself alone. "Please, don't hurt him. Send him back!" She screamed as Gabriel stumbled into the clearing.
"Dianna? Where are we?" He rushed to her side, hugging her tightly as she cried. "Honey, what's wrong?"
"You shouldn't be here." She pulled away, taking several steps back. "You shouldn't be here at all."
"Baby, I only wanted to help you." He wanted to reach out to her, but crossed his arms instead as he saw the fear in her eyes. "What's wrong Princess?"
"You're my last test Gabriel, and I don't know what they meant by that." She looked up and tried to fight the tears that flowed down her cheeks. "I am so afraid for you Gabriel." Her voice was soft, full of terror.
"Honey, I'll be all right, just as you will be. If anyone is worthy to wear that beast, you are." He nodded to her wrist. "Sara and Ian are waiting for you to return."
"Us Gabriel." She insisted. "They are waiting for us. I won't go back without you."
"We'll make it back together Princess." As he started to reach for her, his eyes widened and his lips opened slightly.
"Gabriel, what's wrong?" She saw him sway then begin to fall forward. Catching him in her arms, she could see something protruding from his back. "Gabriel?" He became limp, moaning softly as his blood began to pour from the wound, staining his shirt and matting his long hair. "Gabriel, No." She whispered as she carefully laid him on the ground.
"Wielder!" The deep voice seemed to echo around and through her. Looking up she found herself staring into eyes that were dead and cold. "Get up Wielder. Face me."
"Who are you?" She stroked Gabriel's cheek then stood, the blade on her arm tingling with her anger.
"If you are truly the Wielder, you must face me." The man was tall and muscular. His eyes bore into her for a moment, then he glanced to the fallen man. "He was in the way."
"In the way?" Rage began to course through her veins as she felt the blade turn into a sword. "You couldn't have said something?"
"It wasn't necessary." Slowly he began to circle her. "It is you I will defeat. He is of no consequence."
"You bastard!" She was about to rush him, sword pointing when Gabriel's soft voice whispered to her soul.
"Never in anger Princess. You must never use the blade in anger. Promise me that." Suddenly she saw herself as a child, looking into Gabriel's younger, stern face. "You must control your anger and use the blade wisely."
"Not in anger." She looked down at Gabriel's unmoving form then at the man goading her. 'You will not defeat me." She could feel the tears rolling down her face again as she spoke, walking toward him. "I would have to fight you and I choose not too." She simply raised the sword to block his blows. "If anyone is of no consequence, it is you." She could hear Gabriel trying to crawl away. "I will not reward your barbarous acts with my anger. If Gabriel is to be taken away from me, I will accept this with a heavy heart. But I will not seek to avenge his death by taking your life."
Roaring with intense fury, the man ran toward her, his own blade high above his head, ready to deliver a death blow to the young woman. She stood tall and unmoving, staring at him. As he reached her and brought the sword down, she felt a dark, heavy mist go through her as he vanished. Looking around in surprise, she could not see him.
"Gabriel?" She felt the blade collapse on her wrist as she turned and knelt next to the man who held her heart. "Don't leave me.'
"Princess." He whispered as he tried to smile though his pain. "You did well. I'm proud of you baby." He brought up a shaky hand and touched her cheek. "You will be a fine Wielder."
"Gabriel, please, everything will be all right." Her horror increased as his hand fell to his side and his eyes became unfocused. "Gabriel?" She held his head in her lap, crying deeply. "No, don't go Gabriel. I need you."
'You must go back now." The Amazonian woman suddenly appeared again, speaking softly to Dianna. "It is finished and you have been found worthy."
"What about Gabriel?" Dianna looked up, still cradling the man's head in her arms. "He can't be gone."
"Go back Dianna, you have much to learn." The woman began walking away as Dianna began to feel disassociated.
"I can't leave Gabriel? Please! He can't be gone! Not yet!" She screamed as she rocked Gabriel in her arms and began to disappear. "NO!!!"
"She's in here." Gabriel rushed before the two as they came into the warehouse. "I didn't know what else to do but put her in bed. I wanted her to be comfortable." Sara noticed that Gabriel's were red as though he had been crying. "Sara what is it doing to her?"
"It is the Perriculum. It is a test to see if she is worthy of wearing the Witchblade." Ian spoke softly as he followed Sara into the darkened bedroom.
"A test?" Gabriel stopped at the doorway, his eyes wide. "What do you mean a test? Sara did you go through a test?"
"Yes Gabriel I did, in another time." She didn't bother to explain but instead moved to the side of the bed and pulled down the comforter. Dianna's body was almost completely cocooned in the metallic threads. Her hands seemed to be crossed over her heart and her feet were neatly secured together. Quickly she felt for a pulse and smiled to herself as she felt the steady strong beat under her fingertips. "Dianna, I know you're afraid honey." She had crouched and began whispering in the woman's ear. "I know you are terrified, but listen to my voice sweetie. You need to just relax. Don't fight it, it will only make things harder for you." As though in answer, one of the tendrils whipped out, threatening to strike Sara in the face. "Back off bitch, I'm not leaving her." She growled angrily. "She's not going to go this alone."
"This may take several hours." Ian spoke from the doorway. "I suggest we take shifts. Sara, you stay for awhile, I will relieve you in an hour or two, and then the Mythkeeper can take the next watch."
"I don't want to leave her." Gabriel whispered as he neared the bed. "I feel responsible. I showed her where it was." He looked at Sara first then at Ian. "She asked and I couldn't tell her a lie."
"It's no one's fault Gabriel." Sara took his hand gently. "If the Blade wanted her, she was going to get her, with or without your help." Glancing down, she noticed a trail of blood leading to the bed. "Gabriel? Are you hurt?"
"It's his feet." Ian knelt down and gently touched the tops of Gabriel's foot. "Come, let me tend to them." He waited for Gabriel to reluctantly leave the room, limping slightly. Ian glanced at Sara, nodding then followed the man out.
"Dianna, we're here for you." She settled next to the bed. "Do what you must baby and just know that you aren't going through this alone."
Dianna opened her eyes in another world. Carefully she stood and looked around. It was as though she were in some of the pictures she had seen in old archeologist books on Egypt. She moved carefully to one wall and began trying to interpret the hieroglyphics.
"Where am I?" She heard her voice echo in the room. "Gabriel?"
"I know you are terrified, but listen to my voice sweetie. You need to just relax. Don't fight it, it will only make things harder for you." Sara's voice seemed to echo in her mind. "Dianna, we're here for you. Do what you must baby and just know that you aren't going through this alone."
"Don't fight what?" She turned quietly in a small circle, then faced the wall again, gently running her fingers along the symbols.
"You have finally arrived." Dianna turned suddenly and came face to face with a woman with dark braided hair. "Good, we can begin." White teeth smiled against the dusky skin.
"Who are you? Why am I here?" Dianna studied the face and realized it was hers. The skin was much darker but the eyes were the same light blue as her own. "Are you me?"
"In a way." The woman grinned and took a step forward. Dianna, startled, stepped back and found herself against the wall. "Do you know why you are here?" Dianna shook her head. "You are in possession of the Witchblade, just as I am." The dark woman raised her arm, revealing a bracelet similar to the one on Dianna's wrist. "We are to determine if you are as worthy to wear her as we are."
"Who are 'we'?" Dianna felt fear rising in her throat as she spoke. "I don't understand."
"You will. Come, let us begin." The woman turned and began to walk away, pausing only long enough to see that Dianna was following. "Come, we must begin."
"Don't fight it." Dianna whispered to herself as she began to follow the woman out of the room.
Sara looked up from the sofa where she lay as Ian walked into the room. She sat up, giving him room to sit at her feet.
"Is he going to be all right in there?" She asked softly as Ian rubbed his eyes. "I mean he was really tore up about the Witchblade being on Dianna."
"He will be fine." His voice was soft yet strong as he studied Sara's face. "Do you remember a conversation we had when Dianna was young, under the Mythkeeper's window? The night we were both watching them?"
"Refresh my memory." She smiled softly as she nudged his thigh with her foot.
"You asked if Dianna were the next Wielder, would I be her protector." He softly touched her foot with his hands as he spoke. "I told you I did not know?"
"Yeah, I remember that." She found herself fighting the jealousy that had tried to take her that night. "Do you know now?"
"Yes, I do." He gazed into her eyes. "I will be her protector." He saw her look away suddenly, full of sadness. "Sara, let me finish." He could see her lips form in a slight pout as he spoke. Reaching across the space between them, he took her chin in his fingertips and turned her face, suddenly seeing the tears forming in her eyes. "I will not be the only one. She is young, untrained. She will need all of us."
"I don't understand." Tears were suddenly replaced by confusion. "What are you saying?"
"It's simple Sara. She will need all of us. I can teach her to fight. You can help with that and also help her learn to control the Witchblade by sharing your wisdom with her." He looked toward the bedroom. "And the Mythkeeper will be her heart. He doesn't know it yet, but he will not only teach her the histories and myths of the Blade, but…"
"Are you telling me he's in love with her?" Sara grinned widely. "Ian, she just got back into town? She's what, fifteen years younger than Gabriel?"
"She already knows, her heart tells her." Ian could feel Sara's eye bore through him. "Just as I wanted to be your Heart." He quickly looked away from her. "You never understood that." Taking a deep breath, he turned back to her, his eyes bright. "We must help them to find the happiness and strength that will help them."
"Ian, where have you been?" Sara moved closer to him, stroking his beard. "I haven't seen you this animated in years?"
'I was lost. I was about to break when the Princess spoke to me." He hung his head, avoiding Sara gaze. "Forgive me for the time we have lost."
"You're back. That's all that matters to me Ian. You're back." Surprising him, Sara reached out and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. "I thought I had lost you." She was both relieved and full of happiness as she felt him melt into her embrace.
Gabriel sat next to Dianna's still form. Concern filled his dark eyes as the tendrils seems to writhe over her body like millions of snakes.
"Dianna, Princess honey, I am right here. You can get through this baby. Just come back to me safe." He whispered as he watched the last of her feet being consumed by the Witchblade's cocoon. He glance at the door leading to Sara and Ian, wondering if he should call them, but decided that it was unnecessary. "Just come back to us all Dianna."
As he watched, he suddenly found himself nodding off. As his chin touched his chest, he woke himself up with a start. Wiping his eyes, he suddenly saw the scar again. He frowned as he held his hand out and stared at the rings accusingly. "Why won't you let me reach her? She needs me." As he spoke, he found his eyes growing heavy again. This time, instead of fighting, he laid his head on the bed next to her shoulder and felt sleep begin to claim him. He also felt tendrils begin to wrap themselves around his wrist and hand.
"Sleep Mythkeeper." A soft voice lulled him to a deeper slumber as more and more of his arm seemed to be encased. "Sleep."
"Quantum Leap." Dianna shrugged as she looked at the third woman with her face. This time it was a tall slender woman, probably Amazonian who now looked at Dianna with confusion. "An old television show. That's the way Sam explained how he was able to time travel and inhabit other peoples bodies to right wrongs in history."
"Television?" The woman stood straighter, almost towering Dianna by a foot.
"Never mind, you wouldn't understand." Dianna sighed deeply and put her hands on her hips. 'So far you haven't shown me anything I haven't already grasped or understood. If this is some kind of test, I think you need to go back and study more. Personally I think it is a waste of time."
"Dianna?" Gabriel's voice echoed through the trees that surrounded the two women. "Dianna where are you?"
"Gabriel?" Dianna glared at the woman standing in front of her. "What the hell is he doing here?"
"He is part of your final test." Bright teeth smiled malevolently at Dianna. "You didn't think it would be that easy to be judged worthy, did you?"
"Gabriel! Go back!" She yelled as she tried to see him through the brush. "Send him back, he doesn't belong here." Turning back she found herself alone. "Please, don't hurt him. Send him back!" She screamed as Gabriel stumbled into the clearing.
"Dianna? Where are we?" He rushed to her side, hugging her tightly as she cried. "Honey, what's wrong?"
"You shouldn't be here." She pulled away, taking several steps back. "You shouldn't be here at all."
"Baby, I only wanted to help you." He wanted to reach out to her, but crossed his arms instead as he saw the fear in her eyes. "What's wrong Princess?"
"You're my last test Gabriel, and I don't know what they meant by that." She looked up and tried to fight the tears that flowed down her cheeks. "I am so afraid for you Gabriel." Her voice was soft, full of terror.
"Honey, I'll be all right, just as you will be. If anyone is worthy to wear that beast, you are." He nodded to her wrist. "Sara and Ian are waiting for you to return."
"Us Gabriel." She insisted. "They are waiting for us. I won't go back without you."
"We'll make it back together Princess." As he started to reach for her, his eyes widened and his lips opened slightly.
"Gabriel, what's wrong?" She saw him sway then begin to fall forward. Catching him in her arms, she could see something protruding from his back. "Gabriel?" He became limp, moaning softly as his blood began to pour from the wound, staining his shirt and matting his long hair. "Gabriel, No." She whispered as she carefully laid him on the ground.
"Wielder!" The deep voice seemed to echo around and through her. Looking up she found herself staring into eyes that were dead and cold. "Get up Wielder. Face me."
"Who are you?" She stroked Gabriel's cheek then stood, the blade on her arm tingling with her anger.
"If you are truly the Wielder, you must face me." The man was tall and muscular. His eyes bore into her for a moment, then he glanced to the fallen man. "He was in the way."
"In the way?" Rage began to course through her veins as she felt the blade turn into a sword. "You couldn't have said something?"
"It wasn't necessary." Slowly he began to circle her. "It is you I will defeat. He is of no consequence."
"You bastard!" She was about to rush him, sword pointing when Gabriel's soft voice whispered to her soul.
"Never in anger Princess. You must never use the blade in anger. Promise me that." Suddenly she saw herself as a child, looking into Gabriel's younger, stern face. "You must control your anger and use the blade wisely."
"Not in anger." She looked down at Gabriel's unmoving form then at the man goading her. 'You will not defeat me." She could feel the tears rolling down her face again as she spoke, walking toward him. "I would have to fight you and I choose not too." She simply raised the sword to block his blows. "If anyone is of no consequence, it is you." She could hear Gabriel trying to crawl away. "I will not reward your barbarous acts with my anger. If Gabriel is to be taken away from me, I will accept this with a heavy heart. But I will not seek to avenge his death by taking your life."
Roaring with intense fury, the man ran toward her, his own blade high above his head, ready to deliver a death blow to the young woman. She stood tall and unmoving, staring at him. As he reached her and brought the sword down, she felt a dark, heavy mist go through her as he vanished. Looking around in surprise, she could not see him.
"Gabriel?" She felt the blade collapse on her wrist as she turned and knelt next to the man who held her heart. "Don't leave me.'
"Princess." He whispered as he tried to smile though his pain. "You did well. I'm proud of you baby." He brought up a shaky hand and touched her cheek. "You will be a fine Wielder."
"Gabriel, please, everything will be all right." Her horror increased as his hand fell to his side and his eyes became unfocused. "Gabriel?" She held his head in her lap, crying deeply. "No, don't go Gabriel. I need you."
'You must go back now." The Amazonian woman suddenly appeared again, speaking softly to Dianna. "It is finished and you have been found worthy."
"What about Gabriel?" Dianna looked up, still cradling the man's head in her arms. "He can't be gone."
"Go back Dianna, you have much to learn." The woman began walking away as Dianna began to feel disassociated.
"I can't leave Gabriel? Please! He can't be gone! Not yet!" She screamed as she rocked Gabriel in her arms and began to disappear. "NO!!!"