Death Series 5 - Unsinking, Undying

by SongOfStars

When memories are made, wounds are fresh & the roads are walked by demons waiting a long time to prey upon those who are unaware; Sherlock's life is about to take an unexpected 'turn'. Multiple pairings, see inside. (Prequel to the Death Series!) (Rated for some possible disturbing scenes such as the Titanic sinking, among other things.)

1. Chapter 1

Unsinking, Undying

Disclaimers: Still don't own much except some DVD's & coloring books.

AN: Fifth part of the Sherlock BBC Death Series, but a prequel, so watch out. This contains the main spoilers for the entire Death Series, so be sure to read at least the Death Series 1: Dance With Death first.

Will contain multiple pairings since this spans nearly three thousand years:

Sherlock/OC /Irene

Mycroft/OC /Anthea /Lady Smallwood

Sherrinford/OC

Eurus-Enola/OC /ancestral Watsons

Anderson/Donovan

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Summary: When memories are made, wounds are fresh & the roads are walked by demons waiting a long time to prey upon those who are unaware; Sherlock's life is about to take an unexpected 'turn'. Multiple pairings, see inside. (Prequel to the Death Series!)

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(1) Encounter Of Fates

10th century, B.C.

Spoken main: Greek/Spoken other: Celtic, early Welsh, native/Written main: Linear B

(Lines in bold (but without *'s) are not mine but taken from 'The Hounds Of Baskerville' episode.)

A warm wind whipped through the leaves of the trees. The sun shone down over the land, casting its mild heat through the branches. The coolness of spring tried to hang on, but the change in seasons was noticeable. New leaves had unfurled. The water was not yet warm enough to swim in for long periods but that didn't stop some from trying.

It was a wild country with no traces of civilization. No cities at all, no villages nearby. Not even a single house could be seen. The only human mark in the area were two tents sent up near the trees in front of the entrance to a small cave that could easily be barricaded. Next to the tents was a cart for horses. A large fire pit was in a small clearing in front. Several knives, spare bow strings as well as some long sharpened wood staves lay near by. It was a hunter's camp, but the occupants, both man & beast, were not there.

Three pairs of people, made up of four men & two women, stalked over the land, each on their own path going in the same direction. On the right, were the two women with one horse. One woman had a long spear in one hand & led the horse in the other, while the other woman seemed much younger & had a large black bow. On the left, were two men, one of whom also had a bow while the other younger one, who seemed about the same age as the young maid, led another horse along, leaving the last two men on the center path. Neither of them had a horse but both carried long hunting spears.

The younger man with the horse paused as the older one went ahead a few more steps, listening for something. Looking back at his companion, he pointed to a tree, indicating that the horse should be left there. He went on ahead & lay down on the crest of a ridge to look into a valley. He was soon joined by his partner & both looked down at a large bear standing in the river, drinking up the rapids as the water moved over the rocks.

The older man lifted his bow from his shoulders & began setting it up to fire an arrow to distract it so those with spears could come in to kill it. "Get ready to call the others, Xanthá."

Sherlock nodded silently, his eyes scanning down river. He suddenly put a hand on the other man's arm, the one about to guide the bow. "Father, look down there." He pointed towards a pile of rocks by the river's edge. Two cubs were fighting for rights to sit on it. One eventually tumbled down into the river with a loud splash & an angry grunt.

Siger lowered his bow. "Good eye. I did not see them." They watched as the soaking cub came out & charged at his sibling, pushing him off & now suddenly, both were in the water. Neither were happy about it & both began complaining loudly to their mother who was pointedly ignoring them. Siger laughed under breath. "Reminds me of you & Mikró." He returned down the hill to the horse, knowing full well that Sherlock was scowling at his back every inch of the way. It only made him grin wider.

"There won't be another bear for miles," Sherlock said, watching his father untie the horse from the tree.

"If we kill her now, we lose two more hunts later," Siger explained. "Never separate a mother from her young while they are dependent. She will raise them for at least another year, possible two & then we can have them all." He pulled on the horse's bridle to turn it around. "Besides, the male bears will be entering her territory hoping to have a union with her. I've seen several tracks while scouting around, yesterday. He would kill those cubs to make her want him. We find him. We kill him & then we will get four large hunts in the space of a year or two. That would feed many people for a while."

They made their way to the others. By late afternoon, all six had returned to camp & a hot meal of fish taken from the river. It was a good place for fish which was one reason why bears often showed up in the area, not only just for fish but also for water & the many berries by its edge. All they had to do was wait for the mother to take her cubs elsewhere before the male would show up. Siger was sure the male would appear within a day or two. Waiting for him was the easy part.

The nights, on the other hand, were a problem. For many years, rumours had spread among the villages in the low country & even far out to the ports by the sea of night terrors. Monsters in the dark that would enter the towns to feed on the people who lived in them. While there were various theories about exactly what was happening, all killings were the same. A ripped up body with little blood left. The lack of blood led most to believe that the dreaded vrykólakas had come upon them; an undead fiend that was once human now returned from death to devour the living. There had been attacks nearby before, then a respite for a time, after which more occurrences would befall the area. It was as if whatever was doing this was moving around & was now back again for more.

Though they were many miles away from any town, the hunting family still rotated watch during the night. Two at a time were always up, sharp wooden stakes in hand & all were ready to retreat into the small cave they had found & put up a wall if the need came. It was highly unlikely to suffer such an attack out here though as so far, it only seemed to happen in areas where people conglomerated in numbers.

Still, despite the relative safety of being isolated far away, the party kept a constant vigil in the dark, a few hours for each pair. Siger pulled his seal skin coat a little more closed around him. Summer was around the corner, but the spring nights were still cool, especially in the high lands. One of the horses nickered softly before flopping over to lie on its side, deep in sleep in the last hour before dawn.

"Wish I could sleep like that," Siger muttered softly.

"Hush," his wife ordered. "Once we get that bear & go home, you can sleep as long as you like."

"Yes, Woman," Siger sighed.

Getting that bear was easier said than done. It had finally appeared later that day, a large male bear, sniffing around for the female. He was also an older bear who was used to hunters. Even though the six of them sprung a surprise attack on him, he still managed to put up a fight. Siger ended up stuck between the bear & a large rock face, his broken bow lying useless on the ground.

His wife was closest but she was waiting for it to turn around so she could strike the throat. Another arrow sunk in, this time from his daughter's bow & the bear finally turned to growl at her. It was the fatal mistake that brought it down as his wife finally managed to hit her target with the main weapon, a very large, thick spear.

The rest of the day was spent cutting it up & preparing the meat. The skin of that bear was used as a rug for the dirt floor of the main room in a large one floor stone house set back in a hilly glade. It was almost a full day's trip from the camp they had set up back to their home. From the highest point of the property, one could see the sparkling sea but it was a long walk down to the sandy beach that took over a day. Curing the meat with salt took a few days before finally wrapping portions in skins to be delivered. The extra bear meat, along with several other game that had been killed, went to several homes in a few villages.

Spring hunting trips were always shorter than the fall ones. Most of the animals had young with them & any hunt would only take animals by themselves, usually the older ones & almost always male ones. It was mostly to replenish the stores of meat people had used during the winter. The better hunts were in the fall.

For those ones, a lot more was taken, enough for Siger & at least one of his three sons, to bring the extra all the way down to the sea ports. He usually picked one of the older ones to go with him but never Sherlock. It was easy at first to leave Sherlock with his mother & sister. Too young, was the excuse. But now, all four children were young adults ranging from late teens, for Sherlock & his sister, to late twenties, for the two oldest boys who were a year apart, both of whom had their own lives in other villages similar to Wycoller, but would always be around during hunting season to help out.

Then there was the problem Sherlock had. Like the two oldest, the young ones also were a year apart, with Sherlock being one year older than his sister & eight years younger than his oldest brother. But he was different. All three of Siger's boys were odd. In fact, there was an odd streak in the whole family showing up not just in Siger's boys but also a brother of his who tended to dress like a woman at times; but for the boys, they tended to see things from beyond. This particular strangeness seemed to manifest the most in Sherlock. Perhaps it was because he was younger & still trying to figure out what was going on. Or perhaps it was because his two older brothers often picked on him mercilessly but he would always find some way of getting back at both of them & usually at the same time.

Sherlock could glance over someone & instantly tell them all about their lives like he was some sort of seer. Some things he would bring to light were things he should not have known, yet he seemed to have some sort of unnatural sense about people. All three sons could do it. Siger & Violéta had tried to correct this by encouraging their children while young to act like the others around them & maybe try to make friends. It sort of worked. Sherlock had somehow managed to bond with another boy his age & they had become lifelong friends, so far. But mostly, it didn't work. All three of them still acted oddly, mostly in Sherlock's case.

While the older ones had learned to control their strange divining powers in public, Sherlock was still keen on showing off. In a small village, it was easy to pass off as small town business where everybody knew each other & their second cousin's cousin from their third mother on their second uncle's side, twice removed times three times over plus four, anyway. But going into places where large amounts of people were, such as the sea ports, he would easily expose himself as some sort of freak.

Siger could no longer use age as a factor in leaving Sherlock behind on these long trips. The boy was almost eighteen & was becoming quite the young man, apart from his strange problem. He had to come up with some other excuse to not bring Sherlock with him now, knowing the day would come when someone in this family would just have to blatantly tell Sherlock why. On the other hand, no one really understood why his three sons could do this. He stood on the porch of a small house he & his wife had in Wycoller, watching Sherlock enter the forest with a few other young men from the village, all carrying axes or hatchets. They were going to cut down poles to carve into staves that would help ward off the blood suckers whenever they showed up again.

His wife came out, handing over a stone mug. Siger took it, drank half of it, then sat down on the step. A light breeze rustled through the prickly leaves of the holly trees nearby. Siger sighed & asked, "What are we going to do with Xanthá?"

"Give him time," his wife said. "He's much younger than Theós & Mikró."

Siger finished his drink & set the empty mug aside. "Theós & Mikró," he sighed. "Those two have been walking the land for around twenty five years." He looked up at her. "I was expecting grandchildren by now, but neither of them have women in their lives. What are we to do with any of our sons, Violéta?"

"Well," Violéta put a hand on his shoulder. "We could find someone for our daughter, instead." They shared a look before both burst out laughing.

"I'd like to see that happen," Siger said. "But with her attitude, she'll never get married. She doesn't seem to like any of the men. What is wrong with any of the men in this area?"

"She's young, dear," Violéta said. "Besides, I heard something. There's a girl who seems to have an interest in Xanthá."

"Like that will ever happen," Siger disagreed.

"Out of our boys, Xanthá is the most grown up one when it comes to major life decisions," Violéta pointed out. "Give it some time. We might get grandchildren yet."

"I hope you're right, Woman," Siger gave up. "Xanthá & Eurus are our only chances. Mikró seems to drift a bit. He's more interested in finding the monsters than in finding a girl. Some things are more important than animals that stalk the night, you know?"

"Perhaps, Mikró wants to clear out those monsters to protect any future interests, later," Violéta said. "Rather noble thing to do."

"Maybe," Siger shrugged. "I don't understand Theós at all. He's had several women literally throw themselves at him but I don't think he has ever even known one yet. So many pretty girls in more than one village but he has refused them all. He & his friend. They are always together but both those men have yet to see a woman."

"Cásel is his eromenos," Violéta laughed. Greek wasn't Siger's first language so he took a moment to think about that. Violéta leaned down to whisper something in his ear.

"Oh," Siger nodded once as she pulled away. His oldest son preferred male lovers. How did he miss this fact until now? "Wait, he's a bit younger than Theós!"

"That's kind of how it works, Siger," Violéta said as she went inside. "Both are adults. They do what they want." Siger watched a few more people head off into the woods in search of good branches to turn into wooden staves before picking up the stone mug & following his wife inside.

Sherlock hacked off another thick branch before tossing it onto the pile to be sharpened later. The group had collected almost fifty straight poles so far, of various lengths. Most were from large straight branches while a few were also made out of the entire sapling. As they went farther into the woods, people had to drag the stakes back to the pile. Sherlock went around a large boulder to find his oldest brother busy with something other than making more poles. He thrust his axe into the side of a tree trunk & left it there as he made his way over. "Hello, Theós," Sherlock grinned widely. Sherrinford quickly unlocked his lips from his partner to glare at his little brother. Sherlock flicked up his brow. "Those are not the kinds of poles we are looking for."

"Shut up," Sherrinford ordered, face bright red.

"Get to work," Sherlock sassed back. "Both of you. It's almost sunset."

Unable to do anything about it at the moment, Sherrinford shoved by, shouldering Sherlock as he past. Cásel followed mutely as Sherrinford snarled under breath, "I'll remember this, Xanthá!"

"Ohh, I think we all will," Sherlock returned with a smug smile. Once his brother was back with the group & had started to shear some branches, Sherlock turned to the tree he had left his own tool in, only to find it gone. "Alright, where's my axe?" He glanced to the ground to see if it had fallen, but it was no where in sight. Thinking Sherrinford might have stolen it, Sherlock started back down the trail to take it back. His own axe suddenly came flying through the air almost towards him & firmly implanted itself into the tree he was just about to pass, missing his nose by a hair's breadth.

"You're lucky I wasn't trying to kill you," said a woman's voice. Sherlock looked up to see her jump off the large boulder to land in front of him. "Another step & ... oops!" She came upto him & reached around him to grab the handle of the axe & pulled it out.

"Give it back, Elizabet," Sherlock lifted a hand towards it but she stepped away. "You could hurt yourself with it."

"I think I'm more likely to hurt you," Elizabet teased, moving farther away from him.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Sherlock tried to cautiously advance on her. With both hands, she held the axe behind her back & pressed up against the boulder, forcing Sherlock to move much closer to her than he had planned. "Be careful with that. I just had it sharpened." Sherlock put his hands on either side of her, pinning her between his body & the rock. "You really should give that back."

Elizabet considered him for a moment. "When will you accept my offer to come to Thaec* with me?"

Thaec was the oldest village in the land, going back a few thousand years. It was where her older brother now lived & she often stayed in that village with him. Their parents lived elsewhere far away in a secluded hillfort village**. On occasion, she or her brother were sent into other villages on errands for their family & on one such errand a few years ago, she had run into Sherlock, literally, with her horse. She had been trying to make it up to him by befriending him ever since.

Sherlock pulled her from the rock & tried to reach around for his axe. "Not until it is safe," he said. "We really need to start back soon. We don't want to be out when it is dark."

Elizabet finally gave up. "Do you think it will work?" She asked as they started back towards the village of Wycoller. "Using wooden stakes on these creatures?"

"It seems to work elsewhere," Sherlock replied. "There have always been tales of such monsters throughout the ages in many lands, including ours. All say similar things. Stab them through the heart with a wooden stake. Put them back in their grave & seal it with stake still driven through them."

"I've heard some say they turn to ash if you do that," said Elizabet. "Why bother to put them back in a grave?"

"All legends have roots in fact," Sherlock said. "So long as the end result is the destruction of the daimōn & peace to the people, it matters not to me if they turn to ash or are destroyed through being stabbed & buried."

"If you destroy one, will you tell me how it ends?"

Sherlock looked at her as they emerged from the treeline. "If I destroy one," he nodded.

The sun set lower in the sky, casting long shadows. Everyone took a handful from the pile of stakes to bring home. The evening was spent shaving down one end of each pole into a sharp point. As night fell, doors were closed & the latches were blocked from being opened again. Windows were closed & shuttered as well.

Sherlock stayed over night with his parents & sister since it was too late to return to his own home. Sherrinford stayed in his partner's home for the night. With the heavy barricades, those inside could sleep without watch; although, freshly cut staves were leaning against every wall & next to each bed to be grabbed quickly should the moment arise.

During the summer, most people could rest easy since nights were short while days were long & hot. But that slowly changed as fall approached with longer nights. People resorted to having guards stand watch in the larger villages. Large fires were lit at night in the hopes that the light would keep the night stalkers at bay, especially during celebrations such as the harvest gathering which was usually at the end of the fall hunts & was part of the fall solstice.

Siger & Violéta returned to their main home out in the wilderness along with their four children in time for the great fall hunts. The family would be together for a few weeks during this season. It was time to stock up for the winter on not only meat supplies for themselves but also extra to sell to the surrounding settlements & even have some sent down to the ports.

Towards the end of the hunting season, the snow started falling & the weather turned cold. It was the time when some animals changed their fur colours to pure white. Eurus was hoping to find another white rabbit to finish off the winter boots she had been working on since last winter. She finally found one in the half frozen meadow. Catching it on the other hand was a different story, especially when her three brothers came to help & by 'help' that really meant messing everything up.

The very arrival of Sherlock & Mycroft caused the rabbit to spook before Eurus could shoot it. This started a very long, arduous hunt to find it again. Sherlock finally spotted the rabbit hiding behind a stump. Eurus raised her bow & aimed the arrow in the direction Sherlock was pointing.

"What are you doing?" Sherrinford asked as he walked up to them. The rabbit hopped away the moment Eurus let her now useless arrow fly.

"Evgenikós Theós Richá Nerá!" Eurus glared at him.

"She used your entire name," Sherlock said. "Better watch out. She's mad!"

Eurus retrieved her arrow & waved the sharp head in Sherrinford's face. "Do you know how hard it is to find a white rabbit? I need that thing to finish off my boots I'm making."

Sherrinford put a hand on the arrow to push it away. "Do you need help to get it?"

"I have plenty," Eurus snarled.

Regardless of her threat, the four of them were now being outdone by a single white bunny. It shot right through Sherrinford's feet, making him whirl around to see it, but it had already disappeared. Mycroft almost managed to spear it but Eurus stopped him, claiming she needed the pelt as undamaged as possible. While they were arguing & Sherrinford was still confused as to which direction the rabbit had gone, Sherlock was the only one who had kept his eyes on it. The rabbit had swerved to hide in a snowbank.

"I got it," Sherlock said though no one was listening. He moved over & tried to pounce on it & for a moment, he felt a squishy body in his hands. He had actually gotten his hands on it. But the rabbit had other ideas. It kicked wildly before slipping away to bound out on the opposite side. "Never mind."

The rabbit headed for the house. Siger had just come outside. He stood still & looked down to where the rabbit was huddled by the step. Like an eagle, he dropped down from above & grabbed the animal by the scruff. "Is this what you are all arguing about?" He held it up, the long rabbit dangling in his hand, back paws slightly crossed over each other.

All four stopped what they were doing, as if frozen in time. Sherlock still had Mycroft's face held firmly in the snow bank. Sherrinford was latched onto his arm, trying to pull Sherlock away. Eurus dropped her bow aside & took out her knife. She moved towards her father holding the stunned rabbit. Her three brothers finally got over themselves & followed.

"Let me kill it," Eurus said. "I don't want it damaged."

"Hurry up so our mother can cook it," Sherlock said, holding a piece of ice to his lip. "That treacherous animal bit my lip."

"Oh, stop whining, Xanthá," Sherrinford rolled his eyes. Sherlock jumped on him & both tipped over to the ground.

Eurus took the bunny & raised her knife. Mycroft clapped his hands over his ears as he turned away to avoid seeing the kill shot. There was a short screech. "I hate it when they scream!" Mycroft complained, lowering his hands.

"But you love eating them," Siger said.

"That, I do," Mycroft agreed.

Eurus set to work on the pelt once she had skinned it while the meat was put into a pot. While the six of them were enjoying the rabbit stew, Sherrinford asked, "Do you think you'll be finished those boots in time for the Winter Solstice festival?"

"That's the plan," Eurus said. She laughed as she watched Sherlock try to eat the hot meat while not letting it touch his injured lip.

"You should probably get some more snow for that," Siger said while others failed to hide smirks.

"As cute as rabbits are," Sherlock said. "They are also quite the menace." This earned peals of laughter around the table.

"You're just hoping it will heal before you go home, tomorrow," Mycroft said.

"Yes," Sherlock declared. "It rather hurts, after all."

"That too," Mycroft flicked up a brow.

Sherlock paused midway from lifting another cube of rabbit meat to his mouth. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me," Mycroft continued in a teasing voice. "I know what's going on. We all do." Sherlock looked at each one of his family before rolling his eyes & biting into the piece of meat. "You're hoping to see Elizabet when we get back," Mycroft said right at that moment, causing Sherlock to choke.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Sherlock snapped once he had recovered.

"Too bad," Mycroft said. "I heard someone else has an interest in her. Your loss!"

"My loss?" Sherlock retorted. "I was not with her in the first place."

"Who's fault is that?" Mycroft all but purred.

"Well, one of you better do something quick," Siger interrupted before the two middle siblings could start another fight. "We want grandchildren. So figure something out & quickly. Before we both get old & die."

"Don't look at me," Sherrinford shoved his mouth full of rabbit meat.

Siger pointedly looked at him to annoy him. He could be just as childish as the lot of them if he had to be. He glanced at his wife. "We have four of them. Hopefully, one of them will turn out all right."

"Will we be able to go to the plain of altars this winter?" Eurus asked in an attempt to change the subject before they started to harass her about men.

Her parents shared a short look before Siger said, "There has been a report of an attack in that area. It's a long trip from here to the plain & with the shorter days, it is unsafe. It's hard enough hurrying from one village to the next to deliver the meats during the day time. I'm afraid we might have to skip the entire winter festival this year." Eurus looked crestfallen. She had been wanting to show off her boots at the celebration of the Winter Solstice in the place where huge stones had been erected thousands of years ago.

"We will go for the summer festival," Violéta said. "But for the winter one, we will just do something in Wycoller. You'll still get to use your new boots."

Even though a few others had come from nearby villages, it was still a rather small gathering for the winter festival. On top of it all, it took place inside a large barn-like building that had been put up for this occasion. Watchers guarded the locked doors while everyone else gathered around the one large central bonfire, exchanging gifts of food & trinkets during the longest night of the year. It was a far cry from the event that would usually take place among the huge stone altars that one day would be called Stonehenge, but it was better than nothing.

Eurus still managed to use her pure white rabbit skin boots & even more amazingly, on the final day of the festival, which had lasted for twelve, someone took notice of them. She was sitting on a bench to the side to retie one of them when she heard a male voice address her. "Nice boots," he said, causing Eurus to look up at him.

"Thank you," Eurus replied. "I finished making them a couple months ago." She held one foot up. "Go one. Pet it."

The man did so. "Rabbit fur, no doubt."

"Yes," Eurus lowered her foot to finish tying it but he got down on one knee to tie it for her. She looked him over, noticing his light brown hair. As he finished, he stood up & met her eyes. She noticed a small scar over his left eyebrow & as for his eyes, she couldn't tell if they were pale brown, or yellow. It had to be brown. No one had yellow eyes, right? "I don't remember seeing you before," she said.

"First time passing through here," he explained. "My family come from way out in the woods. We usually go to the plain of altars, but my father is not well."

"Sorry to hear that," Eurus stood up. "I hope he is better soon. I am Moníris Eurus. Just Eurus will do."

"Tobias, of the Waldheri clan," Tobias said, taking her hand for a moment.

"Eurus!" Mycroft's voice called from the crowd. "Better hurry up before the food is gone."

"Friend of yours?" Tobias asked as he let her hand go.

"Worse," Eurus muttered. "My brother. One of them. I have three."

"I have four & a sister," Tobias said.

"Sounds like a nightmare."

"It is!" Tobias laughed in agreement. "I should get home. Perhaps someday, we will meet again."

"You can't go outside in the night!" Eurus gasped. "The vrykólakas might be out there. It has not been caught yet."

Tobias regarded her for a moment. She only thought there was one & that it could only come out at night. "My family has recently heard of the trouble. We are well equipped to defend ourselves against them."

"You think there are more than one?"

"There have been sightings of such beings all over the known lands," Tobias said. "All through the ages. That can't be just one creature."

"Perhaps you're right," Eurus admitted. Tobias quickly bowed to her before disappearing into the crowd. She went to find Mycroft, but her eyes constantly scanned the faces to see if the strange man was among them. She hoped he would not attempt to leave until sunrise but there was no sign of him in the hall. She saw Sherlock & Elizabet together on the other side of the bonfire & was about to make her way towards them.

"There you are," Siger bumped into her. He held out a plate. "Saved some treats for y ... for ... " He turned away & sneezed. "Eurus, have you been around a dog?"

"No!" Eurus took her plate so Siger could move away until his sneezing fit was over. She shook her head at her hopeless father. Even a single dog hair could drive him nuts for a while. But there was no dog in the hall at all despite his reaction. She moved away to eat, looking around once more for Tobias but he was not to be found.

When the morning came & the doors were opened, people went to their horses & carts to go their separate ways. Eurus checked over those that were leaving, but Tobias had all but disappeared into thin air.

With the festival over, there was nothing to look forward to but the dull cold dead of winter before spring. People holed up in their homes, rarely braving the harshest period outside except to care for their animals or visit those living closest to them. There weren't even any grisly murders during this time. It seemed as if everyone just wanted to half-hibernate until the worst of the season was over.

The next solstice festival, for spring, was also spent in the hall. No one dared go on longer trips except during summer now & though there was still a spring hunt, most stayed close to home or sought out small caves if they had to go far.

As Siger packed up the cart for bringing the extra meat out, Sherlock suddenly asked to go with him. Siger wanted to, but Sherlock was still a bit of a trouble maker. It was hard to explain why since he himself also did not know exactly what made Sherlock, or his other sons, act the way they did. Fortunately, he had already planned on taking Eurus. "Actually, your sister is coming with me, this time."

Slightly annoyed, Sherlock flicked up a brow. "She's younger than I am."

"Only by a year," Siger said.

"Father, I want to see the sea ports," Sherlock replied.

"Some day, you will," Siger evaded. "I promise, the ports aren't going anywhere. But Eurus is a young woman now & hopefully, she will find a man out there. Since she drove all the men away, here."

"Father!" Sherlock's eyes went wide for a moment before putting one hand to his face.

Siger blinked. "She's right behind me, isn't she?"

"Might be," Sherlock muttered out the corner of his mouth.

"Is THAT why you want me along?" Eurus snapped the moment Siger had turned around. "Well, I'm not going, now!" She marched into her parents' summer house & slammed the door.

Sherrinford leaned close to Sherlock. "That's why our father says she'll never have a union."

"Great," Siger sighed. "Eurus! It's just to look. You don't actually have to do anything."

"This is me not doing anything!" Eurus slammed the window shut as well so she wouldn't have to listen.

After a long while of pleading to her, Siger finally gave up. The girl was as stubborn as mule & she would stay mad at everyone for a while. "What am I going to do with her?" He asked his wife who told him to just leave her alone.

"I'll go," Sherrinford groaned as soon as Siger stepped outside once more.

"I want to see if there are any ocean raiders' ships out there," Sherlock tried.

"OCEAN RAIDERS?!" Siger & Sherrinford both yelped.

"By Hades!" Sherrinford groaned. "You're still thinking about that? Ever since you heard about the Sea People attacking ships in the Aegean Sea when you were like five! I thought you'd have forgotten by now." The first known attack of pirates had been in the fourteenth century B.C.. At a very young, impressionable age, Sherlock had gotten wind of fantastic stories of large ships that could not be stopped & it seemed to have stuck with him even now.

"I kind of want to maybe be one," Sherlock admitted.

"What?" Siger & Sherrinford were once again stunned.

"Do you even understand what you're saying?" Siger finally found his voice. "Those people are dangerous. They've been attacking the high seas for almost four hundred years now!"

"Not the killing & all that," Sherlock defended. "Just a big ship & being on the sea, finding new places & treasures."

"Treasures," Sherrinford clipped Sherlock over the head. "You need to kill to take & keep that stuff."

"I won't go that far," Sherlock rolled his eyes. "I just want to see them. For now. That's why I want to go with you."

Siger shared a look with his oldest son, both knowing why Sherlock should not go. Not yet & especially not after that ridiculous revelation. Siger sighed & said, "You need to pay attention to Elizabet if you know what's good for you. You're getting on well with her."

"Elizabet?" Sherlock rolled his eyes. "We are just friends."

"She won't even be that if you keep ignoring her," Siger pointed out. He got up into the seat of the cart & waited for Sherrinford to join. "Oh by the way," he went on. "Mikró is waiting for you by the celebration hall. He wants to talk to you." He noticed the disappointed look in Sherlock's eyes & reached down to put a hand on his youngest son's shoulder. "Soon, Xanthá. You will see the ports one day." At that, he switched the reins across the backs of the horses & turned them out to the main road.

Sherlock watched them go before turning towards the hall. He saw another group getting ready to leave & Elizabet was among them. He went towards her. "Where are you going?"

Elizabet took a moment before turning to look at him. "Thaec," she stated simply.

"When will you come back?"

Elizabet sighed long & low. "Xanthá? I don't think I am coming back."

"What?" Sherlock was unsure how to process this information. He was used to her going back to Thaec or even the hillfort often since she had family in both places, but she had always returned. "Why?"

"Well, I have three men back there all vying for my affections," Elizabet replied. "Strutting around like chickens with their heads cut off. But I'm thinking of choosing one to end the misery for all of us." She looked at Sherlock. She had already chosen her man, but the man was completely clueless. It was time to move on.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Sherlock said.

"Probably is," Elizabet replied. "But I can't wait around forever, you know." She stood by her white horse. The spring sun shone over her, making her olive skin glow & giving her black hair a sheen like the surface of the water. "I'm not leaving until after we have had something to eat. Perhaps stay with me until then?"

Sherlock nodded. "Mikró wants to see me, first. I will join you after." He hurried over to the celebration hall but Mycroft wasn't there. He found a smooth piece of white birch bark lying on the bench next to a pair of black minx gloves which he knew were Mycroft's riding gloves. Picking up the bark, he saw a picture was drawn on it, like a map. In Linear B, a new form of written Greek, was written 'meet me here' across the top. "Oh brother, dear. What game are you playing, now?"

The map led Sherlock through the woods to the other side where a large long glade was. The river entered at the top & divided itself to run along the trees on either side before coming together into itself once more at the other end. Sherlock found some flat rocks to cross the stream flowing along one side to find himself on the grassy island meadow. He looked around for Mycroft but all he found was a deer skin spread out with a large basket sitting in the center of it. He went to it & opened the lid to find it filled with fruits & bread. Sherlock had never been more confused in his life, so far. He stood up & turned around. He let out a short yelp of surprise as he found himself nose to nose with someone.

"How did you get here?" Sherlock asked.

Elizabet held up another white piece of bark, similar to his own but not the same one. "You left this for me."

Sherlock took her piece of bark & put it next to his own. It had originally been one piece. On hers, Mycroft had signed Sherlock's name instead, letting Elizabet think Sherlock had set all this up. He dropped the two pieces of bark next to the basket. "You said you wanted to eat before leaving," he said as he sat down on one side of the basket.

Elizabet took the opposite side & took out an apple. Sherlock took his hunting knife off his hip & reached over to take her apple. He cut it in four & tossed the core pieces aside before giving it back. "Quite a nice area here," she said as she began to eat it.

"Yes, it is," Sherlock began cutting up another apple. They both looked up at each other before falling over, laughing ridiculously. Of all things to talk about & that is what they both had come up with? This was going spectacularly. "Mikró set us up!" Sherlock finally managed to say as he sat straight again & had a piece of his cut up apple.

"I think you're right!" Elizabet gasped for air. "Sneaky brother! He's reminds me of mine."

"Try having two of them," Sherlock pulled a piece of bread out of the basket. He ripped it in half & gave her part of it. He also found a large piece of sheep's cheese & cut it in half, putting his part on his chunk of bread.

Elizabet took the other piece offered. "One brother is enough for me. Dion is older than I am & keeps trying to boss me around."

They took more fruit out of the basket along with another part of the bread to finish the cheese. Sherlock watched her as the breeze lifted her hair. "I wish you would come back."

Elizabet finished a strawberry. "What would I have to come back to?"

Sherlock looked over their picnic spread. "This. We could do this again, if you want to."

"That would be nice," Elizabet began. "What else?"

"What else?" Sherlock echoed, not understanding.

"We can't always be running off into the woods to eat," Elizabet pointed out. She moved onto her other hip to sit next to him. "What else would we do, Xanthá?"

Sherlock thought it over as he looked at her. He was close enough to kiss, or be kissed perhaps. He had never done anything like that before. "We could ... do ... " He had wanted to say 'whatever you want' but some long black thing streaked for him. He fell back onto the palms of his hands as whatever it was narrowly missed his shoulder. "Zeus, Artemis, Hades & all the rest!" Sherlock was on his feet a moment later, hunting knife out to attack whoever had shot an arrow at him.

Elizabet pulled the black arrow out of the ground. "There is another piece of bark on it." Sherlock looked down at her. "It says kiss or I will shoot again."

Not even a pissed off otter could look about as mad as Sherlock was in that moment. He threw his hunting knife aside next to the basket. "Mikró can't shoot bows very well. Perhaps we should do as he says before one of us dies."

"Do you think he'll go away if we do?"

"I hope so!" Sherlock snarled, flopping down next to her once more. "Where is he?" His eyes searched the trees until he spotted a part of Mycroft's long hair lifting in the wind from behind the trees. "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Your eyes! Close them!" Sherlock ordered. Elizabet did so & leaned in a little, expecting to be kissed. Sherlock glared in Mycroft's direction & showed him the 'katapygon' handsign, or in other words, the middle finger; though the swear word was not yet invented, the middle finger sign had been around for ages & was literally in reference to anything that had to do with the phallus. It was also very rude to do it in front of women. Mycroft leaned out from behind the tree & mouthed the words 'just do it' to his brother. Sherlock told him to 'go away' in the exact same way. He looked over at Elizabet, still with her eyes closed, waiting for her kiss. He shot another glare at Mycroft who rolled his eyes before putting his face into one hand. Good. He wasn't looking in that moment. Sherlock leaned down & finally kissed the girl. He did not expect her to grab him & pull him onto her as she lay back on the deer skin. They landed in a pile next to the basket as Sherlock's eyes went wide with surprise. He looked down at her before glancing to the trees again. Mycroft sent him a rather smug smirk before turning & walking away.

"Is he gone, yet?" Elizabet asked.

"I hate him," Sherlock grumbled, looking down at her lying in his arms under him. What of it? Might as well. He went down for another kiss.

She moved a bit to lie completely under him, spreading her legs to let him fall into place. Sherlock broke off their kiss as they gazed at each other. In a silent agreement, both suddenly understood this was going to turn into something more. The entangled pair glanced to the trees once more to make sure they were alone before sitting up to push the basket & hunting knife off the deer skin.

They found themselves kneeling in front of each other. Sherlock moved his eyes down from her face to her bosom. He put a hand out & began tugging at the leather straps holding the bodice of her dark purple linen dress closed. Purple was her favourite color, the darker, the better. He pulled it loose & she let it fall from her shoulders. Elizabet slipped out of it entirely while Sherlock cast his own clothes aside. They found themselves lying naked next to each other on the deer skin.

"I was not expecting this," Sherlock suddenly said as he moved to lay over her. There was something else about him that he had never mentioned. He had never understood physical attraction. Sherrinford had said just looking at his partner could make him jump into bed. Others had said that once one feels it, whatever 'it' was, they would just know. But nothing had ever physically drawn his attention as much as people claimed it would. Elizabet was pretty. He knew that. But he wanted something different as well, something other than what everyone seemed to go for. Whatever that was, she seemed to have it.

"Neither was I," Elizabet said. Both had to stop what they were doing as they had started laughing again. They checked the trees once more but it appeared as if they had been left to their own devices.

Sherlock ran one hand over her body, starting with her hair before heading downward. Literally everyone had seen their animals do this multiple times, year after year, & it was evident the females needed a little preparation before letting their males any where near them. But that was about all the sexual education one got in the tenth century B.C. apart from the most obvious fact that a male & female could produce offspring. Elizabet gasped suddenly as she felt his fingertips between her legs.

Sherlock pulled away. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Elizabet put a hand through his long curly hair before moving down to his chest. She began feeling him over as well. "I've never felt more right in my life." She lay back again, letting him come onto her at last after wondering if he would ever even notice her. She winced as he pushed in.

Sherlock froze above her. "Am I hurting you?"

"I think ..." Elizabet wiggled her hips a little, trying to lie more flat under him. "I think it will be fine." She pulled his head down until she could put her face into his right shoulder to hide any more resistance from him so he could do what any man would do with a woman without worrying. She had wanted him like this for ages. Her body just had to catch up to her mind. It was kind of painful at first despite the fact that he was gentle, but eventually, finally, good in the end.

They lay together for a few minutes after it was over. Their entrance into adulthood was now complete. The sun moved over the glade & shone down on part of the stream on the right side. Elizabet sat up & looked at the water in the sunspot. She stood up & stepped off the deer skin.

"I did hurt you," Sherlock said. Elizabet looked down at a place next to him. There was a dark stain on the deer skin.

"Just a little at first," Elizabet said. "My mother said all girls do that the first time. Looks like I took a bit out of you as well." Her eyes moved up to the shoulder.

Sherlock put a hand on the bite mark. "I know."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Elizabet exclaimed.

"I think I rather liked it," Sherlock pulled his hand away to look at his fingers, finding some blood. Elizabet just laughed as she led the way to the water were both rinsed off.

Once they were dressed again, they returned hand in hand to Wycoller. "So I have some issues to sort out in Thaec," Elizabet began. "I will be back in a few days." She had to turn down all the other men & when she was back, she would be moving in with Sherlock.

The moment he entered the summer house of his parents, his mother instantly knew something was different about Sherlock. "Something the matter?" Violéta asked.

Sherlock looked at her. "I'm fine."

"Oh really?" Violéta sent him that condescending all-knowing smile all parents eventually do. "Nothing to tell?"

"What is there to tell?" Sherlock asked.

"Well, Mikró said he saw you kissing Elizabet."

"I don't care what Mikró says."

Violéta looked Sherlock over. "Well, well, Xanthá Malliá! I think something a lot more than kissing just happened."

"I don't care what you think!" Sherlock rolled his eyes. Violéta gaped at him. She had expected him to deny it. Sherlock got up & went outside to the back where the shed was for the horses. His parents had two. His brothers had a third horse they shared together. He had one as well, a young mare who would most likely breed to one of the stallions in the family, some day. She was in her stall now & pushed her head into his chest when he approached. "Not so fast," Sherlock tried to keep his balance as she pushed on him. She turned her head to whinny at the stallion his brothers had in the next stall. "Easy now. You'll be introduced to the world of love, soon enough." He put a hand up onto his bitten shoulder as he leaned in close to her long fuzzy ear. "I beat you to it."

Needless to say, it was some rather shocking news that Siger returned home to. Sherlock was suddenly in a relationship with the girl who had been trying to get his attention for a long time now. There was to be a party for their joining day after the summer solstice festival.

Siger watched the pair standing together outside in the main road. "One down & ... well," he spoke to his wife but his eyes drifted over the stubborn daughter who was sitting in the window, brushing out her long black hair, oblivious to her parents at the moment. "Well, one down," he finished lamely. Violéta smacked his shoulder.

"So what is the news at the sea ports?" Violéta asked.

"The vrykólakas has been making attacks all along the northern coasts," Siger said. "I only went through two ports before backing out. They're burning out graves in the villages there. Some say fire is one way to destroy such a fiend." He fell silent.

"What aren't you saying, Siger?" Violéta asked after a long moment of silence.

Eurus finished her hair & came to join them. "There's more than one, isn't there?"

Siger glared at her. "Who told you that?"

"Tobias," Eurus said. "Of the Waldheri clan."

"That's a man's name," Siger was momentarily distracted. "Where is he?"

"No idea," Eurus shrugged. "He was only passing through for the spring festival. But he is quite sure there are more than one."

"Well, if you see him again," Siger began. "I want a word with him. He shouldn't be telling such tales & scaring people."

Eurus did not expect to see Tobias again. He had drifted through one night of her life & no one has seen or heard from him since, or even knew who she was talking about when she had asked around. He was soon forgotten as there were other things to look forward to.

For the summer solstice, many people moved to the plain of altars. Huge strange stones that seemed to be set up for the rising & setting of the sun. It could be viewed through the sarsen circle, framed between two heel stones (one of which would eventually disappear many centuries later). Flowers & gifts were left on the burial sites as well. Usually, people would be out for the very short night but for their protection, most would hide in the ancient fort of Ambre***. A few stayed out through the short night but fortunately, nothing happened. As dawn started, everyone else came out, feeling safe in the light of the sun.

The crowd was large & it was common to see faces one has never seen before. Or in some cases, have rarely seen. Eurus caught sight of him. "How fares your father?" She called out as he was walking between two of the altar stones.

"The girl with the rabbit pelt boots," Tobias turned to face her. He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. "He died, recently."

"Oh," Eurus glanced to the ground. "I am sorry to hear that."

"He was very old," Tobias said. "He had a good long life." He glanced around the area. "Everyone only comes here for the summer solstice, now."

"It's safer that way," Eurus said. "Monsters from beyond the grave can not hurt us at this time."

Tobias looked at her. "Who says?"

"Everyone."

"Alright then," Tobias sighed.

"Who is this?" Siger came to his daughter's side, casting a short smile at Tobias.

"Oh, this is the one I mentioned," Eurus said. "Tobias, of the Waldheri clan." That wiped the smile off Siger's face. Eurus added hurriedly. "His father just died."

That seemed to soften Siger a little. "Sad news to hear," he said. "I th ..." He had wanted to say he thought it was best not to tell scary stories, especially to young impressionable girls, but he sneezed so hard, he ended up sitting on the ground, with no idea how he got there.

"Father?"

"Who brought the dog?" Siger moaned.

"There's no dog," Eurus laughed at him, offering a hand to help him up.

"Yes, there is & I'm going to find the beast!" Siger looked around as if that helped. Tobias was nowhere to be seen but the man was the last thing on Siger's mind right now. Hilarious, since Tobias should have been the first & only thing he ought to have thought about.

Eurus left him with his misery & went after Tobias. She found him crossing the clearing to a far altar stone & ran after him. "My father & dogs. They make him react badly."

"I see," Tobias said. "I did not see you during the night."

"We stayed in the fort during the darkest hours," Eurus said. "Some fools stayed out here. They were fortunate."

"We are guarding the place," Tobias said. "No one will attack while we are here."

"What does that mean?"

"My clan," Tobias said. "All the Waldheri clan are here. Waldheri means commander of the army. I have taken over my father's place as I am now the oldest. We are thirty-seven strong & have faced many of the vrykólakas."

"Many? So there are more than one!" Eurus gasped. At the same time, she wondered how old he could be. He certainly was older than her, a mere girl of nearly seventeen, but it was highly unlikely he could be much older than Sherrinford, her oldest brother.

"Too many to count," Tobias said.

"Are you one of them?"

Tobias watched the sun rise a little higher. "I can never be one of them. Only among them. The Waldheri are quite capable of handling them, however." He paused, as someone came up to him.

"We are ready to go, Father."

"Father?" Eurus gasped under breath. The man looked to be the same age as Tobias. She had not expected to be heard, but both glanced in her direction.

"I have two," Tobias said as his son headed back in the direction he had come from.

"I didn't realize you are in a union," Eurus said. "I thought you were younger than ... I mean, I'm sorry."

Tobias laughed out loud. "I am much older than I look. I am also alone. My partner was killed a long time ago during a hunt."

"Oh," Eurus looked away. "Sorry. Was it a bear?"

"No, she was killed by another man at night," Tobias said. Eurus stared up at him in surprise. His story was getting stranger by the moment. "It's an unfortunate loss for my entire clan. She had a sense for the vrykólakas. I learned a lot from her."

"My father wants to know more. Perhaps you could come to Wycoller in three weeks time," Eurus said. "One of my brothers will be having a joining day celebration. You could talk to my father, then."

"What would I tell him that you don't already know?" Tobias asked before walking away, leaving her to ponder that.

Eurus watched him leave before returning to her own family. She passed Sherlock & Elizabet, who were leaning against one of the large stones. "Have either of you seen our Father?"

"He's avoiding everyone," Sherlock said. "He's been having a fit ever since we got out here. He claims there are dogs everywhere. I don't see any dogs." Eurus rolled her eyes as she left the pair alone.

"There must be another animal that bothers your father," Elizabet spoke to Sherlock once Eurus was gone. "Perhaps horses."

"I hope not horses," Sherlock said. "Our entire way of life requires horses." He pulled her closer. "What was it you wanted to tell me, Woman?"

Elizabet leaned in close. "I am with child."

Sherlock stared at her, unblinking, processing that. "Now?"

"Yes, now," Elizabet laughed. "Are you alright?"

Sherlock thought it over. "I am surprised that it is now."

"Well, it will take a while to get here," Elizabet said as Sherlock slid down the stone to sit at its base. He had his hands pressed together, fingertips under chin, as he contemplated the news. "Are you sure you're alright?" Elizabet sat down beside him.

"I will be fine," Sherlock finally said. He took her hand into his own. "Yes, I will be fine." Elizabet buried her face into his shoulder to smother her laughter.

Siger found the pair still sitting at the stone's base a few moments later. "We should start heading back."

Sherlock got up & then held out a hand to pull Elizabet up. "Have you found your dogs?" He asked. Siger just glared before turning & leading the way back to the horses. He sneezed once more. "Apparently not," Sherlock remarked to Elizabet & both ended up giggling like fools.

"I'll find them," Siger snarled as he helped Elizabet up into the cart.

Sherlock went up afterwards to sit next to her. "You will be a grandfather next year," he said, causing Siger to drop the long reins.

"It's about time," Siger finally said, picking up the driving reins once more. "After your joining day, we can start bringing some materials to the hunting cabin. We can add to it next summer so there will be room for everyone."

"We will need some helpers to move the heavier stone up there," Sherlock said.

"There will be plenty of people at your joining day," Siger said. "We'll get everything up there this year before the cold sets in & start building next summer."

The morning of the joining day for Sherlock & Elizabet dawned hot. Flowers that had been spread around the village half wilted in the heat, causing their sweet aromas to permeate the air. It was a huge event, with people turning up from all over. Any excuse for food, drink & gifts & on top of it all, the announcement of a child on the way had people practically falling over each other like puppies.

Elizabet had made a new linen dress. The top part left her shoulders bare but for a garland of flowers she wore. The dress was a deep purple. Sherlock wore his best riding clothes, a set of brown linen trousers & top. The pair was kept at the center of the village for most of the day.

With all the attention on her brother, Eurus managed to sneak away. She began slipping through the crowds, looking for Tobias. She saw many faces she had never known before, but not once did it occur to her to inquire if they knew anything about the strange man that kept flitting in & out of her life. She ended up on the outskirts of Wycoller. She walked a circle around the area, finding other men & women along the path, but not the one she was looking for. Slightly disappointed, Eurus turned back on the main road & headed back for the party.

Rounding the corner of the celebration hall, she nearly walked into someone. Startled, the man jumped a little & Eurus heard the distinct ruff sound, like a surprised dog, but there was no dog around. The man turned to look at her. It was Tobias. "You did come!" Eurus exclaimed. "I thought you had forgotten or something."

"We were ordered to be here," Tobias said. "Large gatherings like this aren't so safe, right now. But the Waldheri are all here, round about the village, to keep watch."

Eurus suddenly realized who the people on the path were. As she thought about it more, it did seem like they were patrolling the area. "It's the middle of the day," she pointed out. "We should be fine."

"You will be," Tobias said. "Since we are here. We will watch over the travellers heading home when the day is late as well; though, they may not notice us."

"Why so secretive?"

"We have to be," Tobias replied.

"Why?"

"It's just better that way," Tobias answered, without really answering at all.

"I don't remember ever seeing you in any of the nearby villages," Eurus began. "You don't live with the people, so that must mean your home is out in the wild somewhere."

"Yes, it is," Tobias said. "Way up beyond your hunting cabin. We past that on the way down here."

"You live way out in the middle of nowhere all the time?" Eurus asked incredulously.

"All the time," Tobias nodded.

"How can you stand it?" Eurus asked. "With no other people around? Sounds a bit lonely."

Tobias laughed shortly. "I come from a family of thirty-seven, remember? There are also others like us who prefer to be left alone."

"I am sorry if I bothered you," Eurus said as she turned to leave.

A hand landed on her arm. "You are no bother," Tobias assured. "We just have a different way of life & keep to ourselves as much as possible. Some people, like out there," he nodded to the party going on in the streets. "Don't like that. Don't understand it. Refuse to understand it. So, it is better to remain apart. We scare people such as these."

"You don't scare me," Eurus said.

"Only because you don't know me," Tobias pointed out. "It is better that way."

"I have definitely wronged you, somehow," Eurus stood before him. She reached out & took his hand. "Tell me what I did."

Tobias smiled at her. "You have not done anything. It has nothing to do with you, but with me."

Siger found them, then. Seeing them holding hands made his eyes light up for a moment. "You are Tobias, from the plain of altars."

Tobias let Eurus go. "Yes, I am. I hear you are to be a grandfather, soon."

"Yes & it's about time," Siger shot a dark look at his daughter who rolled her eyes. "At least one of my children has grown up." He looked back at Sherlock & Elizabet for a moment before going on. "Now we have to build upon our hunting quarters up in the highlands. The family is finally starting to grow."

"I know where it is," Tobias said. "My family have to pass near it to get down here."

Siger looked him over, considering him. He suddenly walked away & disappeared around the side of the hall. Everyone heard a loud sneeze. "Ugh! I've been doing that all day!" Siger complained. He came back, pinching his nose between the fingers on one hand. "My head is getting sore as well." He looked absolutely miserable. He sniffled a little, his eyes slightly puffy red. "You say you have to pass that place on your way here?"

"Yes."

Siger's eyes flicked to Eurus, then back to Tobias. The one man Eurus didn't seem to drive away. Yet. Could it be? He wasn't sure of this man's age, but he could not be any older than Sherrinford. "Would you & yours like some summer work? We could use a bit of help moving some materials up there so we can build next year."

Tobias looked like he wanted to laugh out loud. He knew what was aggravating this man's reactions to the lupine family, but had no intention of exposing himself to humankind. "We could certainly work something out."

"Good," Siger sucked in a breath, as if holding off another sneeze. "We will talk later. I need to ... clear my head!" He hurried away to attempt that & also to avoid the quiet glare his daughter was giving him. She knew full well that he was trying to set her up.

"I apologize for my father," Eurus said.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Tobias finally managed a slight smile but hiding his teeth. "He isn't the only one I know with a bad reaction to dogs." Eurus set her lips in a straight line. Siger's dog problems were NOT what she had apologized for. She was already hating on the day they would all set to work at getting ready to build, knowing full well that once they found out that Tobias was unattached, both her parents would not so subtly hint & push at her. Again! She wasn't the one driving men away. It was her parents' constant nagging that drove HER away.

That day came a lot sooner than Eurus would have liked & she found herself trying to avoid both her parents & Tobias as much as possible. Both families had banded together to make everything ready for building the next summer. It would take a few weeks to bring in the stone, wood & tools needed for that.

Tobias had the good sense to keep sending Siger out with either Sherrinford or Mycroft & away from the Waldheri that had come to help. The only ones not part of the process were Sherlock & Elizabet as this was for their benefit. Besides, Elizabet had other things to worry about now that she was going to have a child. She & Violéta were often together, making things for the baby & packing up more than one basket of small clothes & blankets. Unfortunately, this meant Eurus would have to join the women.

It was mostly fine. Elizabet was like the sister Eurus never had. The three of them discussed the baby, what to name it, what clothes to make next. Eurus hoped for the day when it would be her turn to have her own child, but she dared not voice that out loud right now. She simply wasn't ready for the world of men just yet. Right when that thought crossed her mind, her mother turned the conversation over to Tobias.

"Does anyone know about Tobias?" Violéta asked. "He seems like a nice young fellow." They were sitting outside on the front porch & Eurus noticed Tobias approaching nearby to place some wood on the stack. She also saw his smirk & slight head shake at the word 'young' before he walked away & remembered how he had said he was older than he appeared. But exactly how much older was anyone's guess.

"They all seem nice," Elizabet said. "He's your friend, right Eurus?"

"I only met him a couple of times," Eurus shrugged. "He is older than he appears. He has grown children."

"Oh, he's joined with someone," Violéta's face showed how disappointed she was & Eurus relished in that. She had no intention of expanding on this.

"Alone, actually," Elizabet said. "She died a long time ago." Eurus slammed her eyes shut. So much for the sisterly love thing going on.

"Oh?" Violéta was once more keenly interested. "Oh, no. The poor dear!" Eurus put one hand on her forehead, hating everybody.

"He also recently lost his father," Elizabet went on.

"How do you know any of this?" Eurus half-snapped.

Elizabet stared at her in surprise for a moment. "I've been talking with his sister," she finally answered. "They are born together, in fact. I hope I don't have two at the same time, right now." She looked at Violéta who had given birth to four children. "Is there any way to tell?"

"Not at all," Violéta shook her head. "Don't know what's what down in their legs either until they pop out. I was beginning to wonder if all I will ever have are boys, then Eurus showed up." Finally! The conversation was back to babies. Violéta explained to Elizabet about some of the things to expect, but did not mention the horrors that Sherrinford & Sherlock had caused her during their births. There was no sense in frightening the younger woman with her first child & Violéta had every intention of being with her when the birth happened in case something did go wrong & she could help.

Eurus eventually got up to stretch her legs & move away from them before they brought up Tobias or men in general again. She wandered out into the property. It had several large meadows stretching out among the woods far away to the sea. If one looked hard enough, a sparkling horizon could be seen ahead. One meadow was reserved for the piles of building materials & the lush grass in it was gone. It would grow back some day, but it was still a strange sight to see a large swath of brown among the deep green. She came across more of the Waldheri tribe & noticed several faces she had seen in the plain of altars & on the joining day of Sherlock & Elizabet.

The Waldheri women worked right along with their men. Eurus felt a strange sort of power from all of them. They were well built. Strong & Eurus also thought that they could be swift & agile if they had to be & if they needed to, Eurus just somehow knew that any one of them could kill quickly & without remorse. At the same time, there was a sort of gentleness about them. The entire tribe was odd but strangest of all, they had asked for their payment to be honey or honeycombs. That was it & lots of it.

When they told him, Siger had looked like he had received the biggest shock from every single lightening god in the world & all at once. He would have no problem getting any kind of honey, with or without the comb, even if it took a while, but the amount & the fact that it was all they wanted was beyond amazing.

Another strange thing about them was that they had stated that they would be gone for two days in the end of the month. The entire tribe quickly cleaned up the place before just suddenly leaving through the woods & vanishing. No one quite understood why but two days off was a small time to take a break.

Sherrinford, Mycroft & Sherlock decided to take that time to go down to the rivers to fish. They would be gone the same amount of time & would use the cave to hide in if they had to. Siger went with them part way to make sure they were doing what they had claimed. He had a feeling his sons wanted to follow the Waldheri but they made no objections & seemed to settle in for a good time. After reminding them to keep watch at night, Siger rode back to the hunting cabin just before sunset.

"Alright, he's gone," Mycroft watched until the horse their father was on had disappeared over the hills & far away. "Let's go."

"Are you crazy?" Sherrinford scoffed. "It's too late. We need to get ready for the night."

"We will," Mycroft said. "I had come here before, looking around. There's another cave not far from here & it's in the direction those Waldheri went. We can make it if we hurry."

They quickly packed up & followed Mycroft down around the old cave they usually used, then up onto a new trail & heading back towards the last place anyone had seen the Waldheri disappear. Once they found some of the tracks, Mycroft brought them off the trail to the other cave he had found earlier & they settled in for the night. They set up a rotation watch, starting with Sherrinford, then Mycroft, then Sherlock.

Nothing from beyond the grave came for them as it was most likely too isolated, but wolf song could be heard distantly, bouncing through the canyons. Sherlock moved around the camp as he looked up at the sky into the face of a full moon. Ignorance truly was bliss & it would be a while before he or his brothers understood just how reckless they were being this fated night. Sherlock went to the far side to look over the land.

The moonlight bathed the hills & trees in a silver glow. Looking ahead at the far crest of a hill, Sherlock could only stare as the biggest wolf he had ever seen suddenly loped up to the top of it. It was light brown, the moonlight shining off its thick fur. Testing the air, Sherlock knew he was down wind from it. What a fantastic winter coat that animal would make! Not to mention since he was the only one seeing the animal, it would be all his & something to gloat about to his brothers. Sherlock was just about to turn back for a weapon when he saw two more wolves join the large one. They were half its size. Sherlock groaned. A mother with young. So much for having something his brothers would be jealous about. He watched somewhat sadly as she took off down the opposite side with her pups following close behind. They were soon out of sight. He went back to camp, swearing to himself not to mention that wolf to anyone. Let the puppies grow up & then go & get her maybe next year.

When the dawn came, Sherlock woke up his brothers sleeping in the cave. The three of them came out & settled around a fire for breakfast. As the sun climbed higher, the last heat of summer bore down on them. The three of them got up to start packing.

Mycroft started to speak. "We should g—"

"Are you spying on the Waldheri?" Siger's voice boomed over them.

All three whipped around. "NO!"

"It's Mikró!" Sherlock defended at the exact same time Mycroft said "It's Theós!"

Meanwhile, Sherrinford pathetically said, "It's Xanthá!"

"It most certainly was not me!" Sherlock glared. "I really did want to fish!"

"It's all of you!" Siger snapped. "Now pack up & let's go home! NOW!" It wasn't often Siger turned on his children, but when he was mad, he was terrifying. His pale eyes gleamed at them & his white hair seemed to stick up in a tizzy. He watched his boys hurriedly pack up before grabbing Sherrinford by the earlobe. "What were you thinking?"

"I just want to know where they go!" Sherrinford tried to prise his father's fingers that were digging into his ear. "Ow! Ow!"

"That's not your concern!" Siger snapped. "They seem to be a quiet people who mind their own business. You ought to learn from that. Especially you, Theós! How old are you, again?"

"I'm-I'm tw—"

"How old?" Siger interrupted.

"Twen—"

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that!" Siger once more interrupted. It was clear he wasn't actually interested in an answer. Sherrinford shut up. "Now," Siger shoved Sherrinford back, finally letting go. Sherrinford clutched his painful ear as Siger went on. "Let's go home!"

Siger turned his horse to the trail & mounted it. Sherrinford, Mycroft & Sherlock suddenly realized that they would have to walk a quick pace to keep up with the horse for they had not brought any of their own horses. On top of it all, they had to carry their camping gear & fishing gear & hunting gear & well, this was absolutely perfect. The three of them scowled as Siger kicked his horse into a trot. It was all they could do to keep up.

Siger brought them through another trail that his three sons hadn't used. They went over a hill & Siger pulled up his horse. He looked down at the ground before sliding out of the saddle. Sherlock could feel his heart sink. His father had noticed the large wolf prints. Now, it would be a race to see who would get her first. "Look at the size of these paw prints!" Siger gasped.

"They are quite big," Sherlock came to his side & crouched down as well. Putting a hand out, the paw print was a bit wider than his own hand.

"They [are] the footprints of a gigantic hound!" Siger gasped, also spreading his hand over a print. Those words would stick with Sherlock for the next three thousand years. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"Look over here!" Mycroft called. He was standing on a large rock & looking down into a valley. The others went to the edge to see what had caught his attention.

Below, was a hamlet completely isolated in a deep valley. "You did it, Mikró!" Sherrinford smiled. Siger rolled his eyes. He now knew exactly who was responsible. "You found the Waldheri!"

"Good for you," Siger was anything but impressed. "Now, let's get home. I don't want you bothering these people! Understand?" After some half-hearted affirmations from all of them, Siger cast one last look at the large paw prints before getting on his horse again.

No one mentioned the incident to anyone & by the time the Waldheri returned to finish things up before the summer was over, it was as if everyone had forgotten about it. But Sherlock could not get the image of the large wolf out of his mind. He didn't tell anyone that he had actually seen the unusual animal. He was determined to get her some day before his brothers or anyone else could. He just had to wait for those pups to grow up. What a long, thick coat she would make!

The Waldheri left a few days later with several large wooden barrels of honey piled into carts. They would be back next summer to help expand the place, but for now, it was time to settle in for a long cold winter.

Sherlock's main job during that winter was to keep Elizabet warm & comfortable as much as possible. They were in their own home in one of the villages & though it was a small place, he hardly let her move until she finally snapped at him when she tried to do so much as cross the floor from the bed to the table. He resorted to trimming down the sharpest points on the ever-growing pile of stakes in the barn to keep out of her way until she settled down again. There had been a growing number of fatalities during the long winter nights; though not yet close to home, but he continued to add more to their collection until the whole thing rolled down from the hayloft & over the stall, making his mare squeal & Elizabet come running.

Both stared at the mess of stakes strewn about the barn floor. By now, they probably had the most out of all the villages. It had become an obsession for Sherlock to make as many as possible but Elizabet told him they had more than enough. He glanced at her growing belly. They had something to protect now. Looking over the disordered wooden poles, he decided to agree with her & sighed heavily as he began reorganizing them all.

Perhaps their village was too small to be bothered with, or perhaps it was the fact that the largest pile of wooden staves now resided there, but no undead fiends came near Sherlock & Elizabet's home even though there had been sightings all around. For the new pair however, the only major event in their current life happened in spring when Elizabet went into labour. Violéta, Eurus & several other women crowded around her while any man in the vicinity was cast outside. They stood around in the village square to wait. It was all they could do at the moment. They could hear her however, which worried Sherlock, for he had never dealt with human birth before, only that of animals; but both Sherrinford & Mycroft held him back. They were old enough to remember when Sherlock & Eurus were both born & knew that they had to wait it out.

Most of the day had gone by before people noticed that the home had gone silent. Eurus finally opened the door to let the others in. Sherlock went in first to find Elizabet in their bed & his mother holding a wee bairn all wrapped up in her arms. Violéta stood up & came over to him, holding the child out.

"I've never held one!" Sherlock exclaimed.

"Well, get used to it," Violéta placed it in his arms & showed him how to hold on properly. "You have finally given me a grandchild, unlike some people I won't mention." She flicked her brow at her other two sons & her daughter, before speaking to Sherlock again, "You always were the most grown up one out of the lot." She pointedly ignored the shocked glares from Mycroft & Sherrinford & the massive eye roll from Eurus.

Sherlock smiled quickly. He knew he was the favourite out of the four of them. Well, except maybe besides Eurus, but she was a girl, the only girl. Speaking of which, Sherlock wondered what exactly he was holding as he looked down at this new child. "What is it?" He asked his mother.

"You have a little girl!" Violéta grinned, eyeing the child in the hopes that she would get to hold her soon, again. "Did either of you pick a name, yet?"

"Ishtar," Sherlock said. "If she was to have a girl, Elizabet wanted to name her after her Grandmother." Ishtar was an old name from the land of kiengi, also called Sumer by the Akkadians, in Mesopotamia of which Babylonia was a part of. Elizabet's maternal side were descended from the Akkadians.

"Ohh, she is cute!" Siger reached for Ishtar & Sherlock handed her over. He looked over at Elizabet, who was moving to sit up in the bed. Siger jerked his head in her direction. "Go see her. We'll burn the stained covers."

Sherlock's eyes landed on the pile of red stained fur hides. "Did she lose the red river**** inside her?"

"She's fine," Violéta assured him. "Just a bit tired. All girls lose some during birth. It's natural."

Sherrinford & Mycroft gathered up the bloody hides. "Why are you making us burn these?" Sherrinford asked.

"That would have been so much easier than cleaning," Mycroft added. "Like what you made us do when he was born." He shot a glare at Sherlock who pointedly looked away.

"The vrykólakas is becoming more aggressive," Siger explained. "We don't want to attract it here, especially with the new child around. Several villages have turned to fire to destroy such vile fiends."

This seemed to subdue Sherrinford & Mycroft for the moment. They both turned to go outside, each carrying a few covers to burn, but ended up trying to get out the door at the same time. Their arguing made Ishtar cry, Sherlock groan loudly & both grandparents yell to keep it down ... which little Ishtar interpreted as 'cry harder' instead. Mycroft threw his pile down, grabbed Sherrinford's long hair & yanked him back out of the way so he could get out first. Fortunately, they had the good sense to continue their fight outside while the ruined hides burned on the bonfire.

The use of fire was becoming a popular choice, from destroying anything that had been touched by blood, to burning out old graves thought to be cursed. For a while, it seemed to work to drive such night stalkers away, but on occasion, another body would be found.

So far, Wycoller had been spared any attacks, but news of the bloody deaths in other villages would quickly spread each time another happened. The danger suddenly hit close to home when another killing happened near Mycroft's home. The neighbouring house near to his had been destroyed, the bodies of the entire family, parents with three children had been left in the center of the village, ripped apart. While a lot of blood stained the ground, there was still not nearly enough for the five bodies. It was as if something had drank from them.

It sent people into an uproar once everyone was over the shock of it. Checking the broken house, several stakes had been found & a few of them had bloodstained ends. This caused some confusion as to whether the stakes had been used on the attacker or perhaps the attacker had used them on their victims to rip them open to get at the blood.

Once the family was buried, the crowd gathered around one man who was making marks in the ground. It was a line through several holes as if marking a path. "I think I may have figured it out," said the man. "There have been attacks in the northern ports & through all of these villages. It looks like the vrykólakas is making its way to the southern ports. I believe it came from the north across the sea & is making a path back there. If it gets onto those boats again, it could go anywhere!"

"Do you think it's just one?" asked an older woman.

"No idea," the man shrugged. "I hope so."

Mycroft locked eyes with that woman for an intense moment. "There is evidence to suggest there are more than just one." The woman's brow twitched. Mycroft silently scanned her over. She seemed to be about twice his age, late forties to early fifties perhaps. She did not appear surprised at his suggestion of more than one of these fiends. He wondered if she had ever encountered one of them herself. Of course, she could not be one of them, sitting here in the sun.

There was something about her, though, that he could not quite figure out just yet. Mycroft decided to deal with that later as he silently left the group. He went straight for his horse & began getting it ready for riding. He didn't bother packing anything. The village where his parents usually stayed for the summers wasn't all that far. It would be a good half a day's hard riding, but he could make it before nightfall & help them secure the place in case Wycoller was attacked soon. He already had the horse moving into a trot as he stood up in the stirrup to swing one leg over its back as the animal exited the barn. He kicked it into a gallop once the hooves met the main trail.

He rode fast for several miles. The horse was used to these trails & had no problems running like the wind. It entered the forest without slowing down. Rays of sun shone through the trunks, illuminating the entrance to the well known path. Long shadows began stretch as he rode in deeper, casting the forest into a dark subdued light. As he rounded the corner, another rider came into view. Mycroft pulled hard on the reins but it was too late. His speeding horse crashed into the one that was just walking & both riders toppled to the ground. As they rolled away to either side, the horses got into a fight & it took the combined strength of both riders to get the enraged animals to separate.

Finally, Mycroft managed to pull his horse to the side & tied him to a tree. He leaned over hands on knees for a moment before rubbing above his right brow. He felt some blood there. He finally stood straight & turned to face the other man.

"What are you doing?" The man demanded. "Riding fast into a forest like that! Especially when it is getting dark & harder to see. Are you trying to get killed?" He glanced at Mycroft's bloody cut over his eye.

"I'm trying to get to Wycoller before the sun sets!" Mycroft snapped. "Or haven't you heard of the—"

"I know all about it," the other man interrupted. "You still should not ride so fast into the forest."

Mycroft scowled at him. He didn't have time for this. At the same time, the other man was right but Mycroft was too arrogant to admit it. He glared indignantly at him as the other man inspected his horse, before scanning him & the animal over, silently telling himself what he was deducing. Strong build. Seems slightly older than himself. Long wavy blond hair. Packed saddle. Has family somewhere. Possibly at least one child. Long legs on horse. Good for jumping. A hunting animal.

"My horse is injured, no thanks to you," the man stood up to glare right back at Mycroft. "Long cut on his leg." He looked at the cut over Mycroft's eye again before looking at his horse. "What kind of man travels so far without anything packed?"

Mycroft sighed heavily. "I told you, I'm in a bit of a hurry. I have a place in Wycoller where I can get anything I need. My parents are there during the summer."

"Who are you?"

Narrowing his eyes at him, Mycroft ground out, "Adriános Mikró Choráfi. Who are you?"

"That's no concern of yours," the man snapped.

It was clear that an instant hate had flared between the two men just as quickly as it had done between their steeds. "Whatever," Mycroft gave up. "I don't have time for this. Neither do you. We both have to get into our villages before the light vanishes completely beyond the trees."

The other man scoffed. "You really think that will save you?" He wrapped up his horse's leg.

"Those fiends can't see the sun," Mycroft said. "They'll be destroyed by the light. Now, I am sorry about your horse. It should be fine in a day or two, but we both need to move if we are to reach our destinations in time." He remounted & turned his horse's head towards Wycoller. He kept his horse at a trot until he had gone around several bends in the trail. The horse suddenly whinnied under breath & lifted its front feet off the ground about a hand's space. "Easy, now," Mycroft put a hand on the animal's neck as he glanced around in the shadows. Something had spooked the animal. He heard an unearthly shriek coming from back along the trail. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up.

It was the first time he had heard a call like that. His horse wanted to bolt & Mycroft leaned into the charge, giving the horse way to run. He didn't know what he was riding away from, only that he had to leave that area as soon as possible. But it was already too late for that encounter sealed the fate of his entire family.

---

(AN: Yes, I've ripped off LOTR with the black arrow & the strange call (based on the Ringwraiths) Mycroft heard in the forest.)

* This is now known as Thatcham

** This area is now known as Lordenshaws up in/near the Cheviots & is famous for its cup & ring rock carvings as well as burial mounds. I am unable to find a prehistoric name for this place. If anyone knows it, leave it in a review & I will update it. Area chosen since Sherlock had said in the Death Series 1 Ch. 29 that her parents' village wasn't too far from the Cheviots castle & for its age as well as for the burial mounds. (I nearly screwed myself over here with this "massive eye roll/lmao")

*** This is now known as Amesbury, Wiltshire.

**** The word 'bloud (archaic & obsolete spelling)/blood (modern spelling)' does not seem to exist yet so I will not use it in spoken language until later.