Robin didn't know what to expect when Nycole called her in. The Craft user had been effectively banned from the tiny bedroom to the upper apartment of the loft for two or three days now, under strict orders from the empath. Her earlier anger and sorrow had caused Nycole to bar Robin's access to Amon. The teenager hadn't seen the man in two days at least; she didn't know what to expect.
The teenager held her breath as she stepped into the room. Nycole eased the door shut behind her, cautiously, as silently as possible. Robin didn't let her breath out. The room grew as still as the grave and death its self. A bad sign.
"Robin," Nycole stopped her before the girl could approach Amon. "I wanted to warn you…."
"What?"
The empath sighed; she had to just out and admit it rather than beat around the bush. "I just…. I just don't want you to get your hopes up." Nycole ran her fingers through her hair. "He's been in and out of it, y'know?"
"Yes."
Robin's heart fell. She had hoped against hope that the quiet around Amon's room, that the soft conversation that trespassed the upstairs apartment to the flat between the man and his nurse were good signs. The girl had bit her tongue, keeping silent and trying to allow Amon to get bed rest and sleep, to heal and get better. How sad it was that Robin now found all that hope to be misplaced. The girl felt her heart cave in.
"I don't know if he's going to even live through the night at this rate, " Nycole breathed, whispering the words.
"Nycole…"
Robin jumped. Amon's voice. He sounded so weak and strained, as if it took all the effort in the world just form and speak the empath's name. The teenage witch had never heard him sound so utterly pathetic and sad.
But the telepath just turned, putting on a big, fake smile. "Yes, Amon?"
"I can picture them."
Nycole furrowed her eyebrows. "Who?"
"Mairi, and Merric, and Boudica." Amon seemed to be trying to gaze at Nycole, but his eyes just didn't seem to want to focus properly.
"Really, now?" the empath teased as she took her seat beside the bed.
"Yes." Amon closed his eyes slightly. "It's… strange." Robin could have laughed at his serious, almost skeptical mind even in that condition. "You aren't implanting any thoughts in my mind, are you. Nycole?"
"No."
Robin blinked. Such a flat, matter-of-fact and nonchalant answer. And, yet, no real curiosity from Nycole. It was almost as if the empath either didn't care, or had been expecting it from Amon. The younger girl tried to ignore this as she pulled up a chair beside the bed.
"How are you feeling?"
Amon didn't answer; he just lolled, looking to Nycole. "Go on."
The empath smiled slightly, almost coyly and devilishly. "Alright."
xxxx
They searched the entire populous of Dun Aengus that day. Boudica, Merric, and Mairi moved together, seeing every house and home, checking each and every Iceni of the village for the marks of the Praetori. The spy, the traitor, had to be somewhere within the walls of the century old fortress.
And yet, they found nothing. No clue. No trace as per who was the culprit.
Boudica slumped in the throne at the end of her table, sighing heavily and bridging her hands together. The queen thought. She had not called anyone to her table, to her side, in many years, lifetimes, perhaps. And, still, someone had known to contact Mairi and Merric, draw them to Dun Aengus while they were supposed to be hiding out from the foreign invaders. Boudica had gone through great lengths to keep her twin siblings hidden, and, still, someone knew.
But who?
It had to be someone close.
The queen watched as Merric and Mairi giggled and laughed at some joke Boudica couldn't hear from her spot at the table. The woman chuckled to herself inwardly as the young man tried to keep his sister calm. The female warrior loathed seeing anything happen to the two of them. From a political standpoint, so long as Boudica remained unwed, Merric, her younger brother, was next in line to lead their people, to rule the Iceni. Aside from that, they were important, obviously, to the gods, judging from the duel blessing and curse of Merric's dark wings. And, even more important, was the simple fact that Boudica loved and doted on her siblings.
She had to find the bastard Praetori in their midst before anything happened to them.
Boudica had to do something.
xxxx
"The queen was at a quandary," Nycole explained.
At any other time, if her concern weren't so great for Amon, Robin could have laughed. He seemed on edge, hanging on every single word the empath uttered, lingering on the story itself. And, yet Amon had always seemed so cool and composed before. Perhaps it was the fever.
"She called together the Thirteen."
The empath's eyes went wide. "How did you know that?"
"I'm not sure…." Amon answered.
Nycole nodded. "I guess I can understand that."
xxxx
Boudica's messengers streaked out from Dun Aengus at a dead gallop. They bore letters with her royal inscription, calling together the Warriors. Boudica watched, gazing out on the misty moor as riders galloped off, all carrying the banner of the Iceni. They carried not only the message of the queen, but the hope and salvation of all her people. The riders were her choicest of warriors from the village, fastest riders for miles to come, but nothing compared to the Warriors.
She hated calling upon the Thirteen. It seemed such a terrible sin. The Thirteen had been given great gifts from the gods, from Cernunnos and all the deities. They could alter the universe around them, bending the very fabric of reality to their will. The Thirteen were all powerful, as per humans were concerned. Their gifts were not to be taken lightly.
It also just felt wrong on an entirely different level. The Thirteen had been scattered to save them from the approaching onslaught of the foreigners. Boudica had given the order herself, sending all those who had once been her closest friends and confidants as far from her and one another as possible. While a few had stuck together, the vast majority had been cast to the wind for their own safety, and the protection of the whole world. Who knew what the Praetori or those invaders would do if they held the power of the Thirteen in their hands?
Boudica shuddered at the thought.
Her husband, the king, had kept the Warriors close in his day. Those days had been fun and carefree. It felt homey and comforting to have such life and energy in the great hall of Dun Aengus. Someone was always at home. There was always someone to laugh and jest with, to play simply games or to practice weaponry skills with. Ordering them to leave left Boudica's hall empty and barren, lonely and dark. They seemed to take a piece of her heart and her happiness with them.
Especially Merric and Mairi. Boudica had found their retreat the most heartbreaking. She had been so utterly close to them, loving and caring. When their parents died so many years ago, Boudica became almost a mother to the twins, taking them under her wing.
She prayed the Warriors would arrive quickly, for all their sake.
xxxx
"I knew this… this would be a tale of the Thirteen."
Amon's voice sounded labored and heavy, as though the words were weighted down by something unseen, unfelt by the girls. Robin's heart wrenched at every word the man tried to form and say.
Nycole raised an eyebrow. "You know no one does anything without a reason."
"Heh, I should have known better," the man lamented.
The empath smiled slightly. "Should I tell you a different story?"
"No," the man breathed. "I'm rather enjoying this one."
Nycole almost burst out laughing. Robin felt the juxtaposition of the empath's liveliness and Amon's deathly visage so awful, so terribly inappropriate. How could the telepath laugh at a time like that? The teenager hated the thought of Nycole's bubbly nature in those dark times. And, yet, Amon seemed eased by it, and, for that, the fire starter could not argue a single word.
The empath grew serious. "Amon, you're going to have to accept who and what you are sooner or later." She gave a small shrug. "I just figured I'd share a part of your history with you." Nycole touched her cheek tenderly. "You need to get used to this and give up this stupid faking sick."
Robin blinked at Nycole's audacity, but, under a stern glare from the empath, the girl settled. She her knuckle for a second before piping up, "It's true!"
Nycole flashed a rather pleased smile. "See. Even she agrees."
"What am I supposed to do half-dead?" Amon inquired.
Nycole shook her head. "No. You can't die. You're one of the Thirteen." She tapped her foot almost nervously. "Even if I wanted to let you just pass on, it's not in the rulebook. If you're one of the Thirteen, which you are, you've got a job to do."
"And what job is that?" The man asked.
Nycole shrugged. "To tell you the truth…."
"Yes?" Even Robin hung on Amon's question.
"I'm not even sure."
The teenage fire starter glanced across the bed to the telepath, a look of shock written on her face. "Does anyone know?"
"Yes…" Nycole trailed off, almost sadly, looking away.
Amon grew curious. "Who?"
"Kathain."
xxxx
Alright… now do you see the point behind this story? I sleepy. Nighty night.
