Author's note:

Thank you allso much for all your reviews - I really appreciate every single one of them - they make my day.

---------------------------------------------------

Cole flamed in the hut, still naked but covered in blood. It was obviously not his, because he had no injury on his body. He looked at the spot where he had left the shaman and was satisfied the old man still sat there.

"So I'm soaked now, just as you wanted me to be", Cole taunted, "I hope you don't mind it's not sweat."

Akiketuk held Cole's gaze and studied him. He didn't want to imagine what Cole had done to shed so much blood. The spirits eyes looked quieter now and they were back to blue. His moves were restrained. It looked like he had calmed down.
Maybe the herbs that were meant for humans to cleanse body and soul had had a bad influence on Cole. In fact you couldn't clean an evil spirit of evil. Maybe this was the reason he had gone ballistic before.

"So what's next?" Cole asked all business.

"Now you should wash away the remains of your old self in the virginal floods of the river." The old man answered, "there is a small waterfall nearby we usually use."

Akiketuk shuddered at the thought that Cole was going to impurify their sacred spring with the blood of his victims. He would have to do some cleansing ritual for the spring itself in the next days – if he lived to do so.

"Well that fits me", Cole said, "I felt like having a shower. Show me the way."

They left the hut and marched through the dark woods again.

Cole was amazed how the old man found his way in the dark. Maybe it was one of his powers. He figured this was a good moment to find out what the shaman knew about him and Phoebe. He caught up to Akiketuk, grabbed him at the shoulder with one hand and held his other hand over his head reading Akiketuk's mind. From what he could see, Phoebe hadn't told the tribe anything about him, good girl.

Akiketuk was a little dizzy after Cole let him go but well aware the Cole had read his mind.

They reached the waterfall and Akiketuk instructed Cole to stand under the waterfall until he called him. The water was freezing cold and Cole's body started to feel numb. Cole was ready to be angry again when slowly a peaceful feeling was spreading out through his body. He watched this feeling incredulous. He had never felt so free. The pressure of the evil cravings that had haunted him all of his life was washed away with the fleeing water. A genuine smile spread over his face. He basked in this feeling until Akiketuk called him.

It was time to start the ascent to the top of the hill. Once out of the spring the dark ambitions started to flow back slowly poisoning Cole's mind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The women were singing Indian songs accompanied with the sound of drums and rattles as Phoebe returned to the tepee.

"We thought you got lost", Inra welcomed her, "so we started singing to guide you back to us".

"A good thing you did that", Phoebe answered, "I really wasn't sure anymore which direction to turn to."

Phoebe noticed that the temperature in the tepee had risen intensely. A faint scent of flowers mingled with the smoke wavered through the air. Some of the women had pulled off some of their clothes and some had worked up a sweat already. She sat down in the circle and got rid of her jacket and her shoes and socks.

"What do we do now?" Phoebe asked. Her preparations were ready. All she could do now was wait for the unfolding of the events.

"I want to show you something", Inra said and pointed to the pots near the fire.

"The pots hold our sacred colours", she explained, "white represents the soul with its connection to the heavens and red stands for the body rooted in the world. You will use them to bind you to your man, body and soul, and him to you. It's a sacred bond that can't be broken easily."

"Somehow that's sounds very serious", Phoebe said doubtfully.

"You aren't getting cold feet Phoebe, are you? Inra bantered with her.

"Mmmh", Phoebe pouted, "I guess not. He is just too gorgeous."

Inra laughed and gave her a rattle, "Yeah we figured that out. I hope you are going to tell us some dirty things about him later. But for now we will sing some sacred songs together to strengthen and enlighten your spirit. Just go along with the rhythm. Free yourself of all thoughts, just explore your inner nature."

Phoebe allowed herself to relax and soon was hypnotized by the rhythmic beating of the drums and the dizzying rustle of the rattles. The muffled voices of the singing woman made her feel safe and the heat was intoxicating. She started to fall into a trance. Phoebe moved her body to the ancient tune that told about anticipation, excitement and love. The music became more agitated with each song and soon they danced ecstatically around the bonfire. So when the other women started to undress themselves she joined in. Whirling hair, soft skin and slippery bodies touched her as she moved between them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akiketuk gave Cole a pair of pale deer skin trousers and some moccasins. Cole put them on and they started walking in silence. They weren't very fast, because Akiketuk was moving with difficulty. Cole played with Phoebe's wedding band that was on his small finger. The moon was up high now, so they could see the path to the summit rather well.

"Does she know?" Akiketuk had figured it would be safe to ask again. Cole had changed his behaviour considerably since he had stepped out of the spring.

"Yeah, she knows", Cole answered evenly.

"Are you blackmailing her into doing it?" Akiketuk knew he was bold, but he had to figure this out before they reached the summit. If he knew what was going on, maybe he could rescue Phoebe from a grim future.

"No, it's her wish", Cole said, "we have been married before, we have a kid. I hope to see my daughter more often from now on."

That struck Akiketuk like nothing else.

So Phoebe had a child with an evil spirit. Probably she hadn't known the first time she had married him. Why would she remarry him now when she had already been rid of him apparently? Akiketuk felt that something was wrong with Phoebe when they had shook hands. Her energy had been faltering and her intentions towards the ceremony hadn't been genuine. Since she had chosen the ceremony she had to be aware of the consequences. But why would she risk it? She had to have a really good reason. Maybe it was to assure that her daughter was safe from him? A mother's love was one of the strongest that existed. Was Phoebe sacrificing herself for her daughter? Dark thoughts plagued his mind as Akiketuk climbed the last metres of the hill.

Cole and Akiketuk reached the summit of the hill the moment the first sunray flickered over the horizon. The sun coloured the clouds with pink and orange fireworks. The woods ended shortly below the summit. The top of the hill was a grassy plain. A megalith was erected at one end of the plain. In front of the megalith Phoebe and Inra were already waiting for them. They looked towards east into to rising sun.

Cole stopped breathing as he caught sight of Phoebe. She wore a very pale smooth looking leather dress that followed every one of her curves. It fell down to her ankles as she didn't wear any shoes. Her hair was open and fell in slight blond curls down her back. Phoebe turned as she heard them approach.

Cole's appearance made her gasp. He was topless showing his tanned muscular upper part of the body, his hair looked still wet and a little bit ruffled, just as she liked it. Tightly cut trousers emphasized his slim waist and long legs. She couldn't see his eyes on the distance but she was sure he was looking as intensely at her as she was at him. She could tell that by the goose pimples that ran over her body. It was now or never.

Akiketuk still held on to his lame walking forcing Cole to dribble behind him. Cole was sure he did in on purpose. Phoebe started to walk towards him, but Inra grabbed her hand.

"He has to come to you", she reminded Phoebe, who stopped but looked longingly in Coles direction.

That was when Cole could wait no longer. He stepped forward and flamed out. Only to reappear in front of Phoebe a second later. She threw herself into his arms forcefully. Their lips found each other and they kissed fervently ignoring Inra's shriek of terror.

Inra broke away from her place at the megalith and ran towards her father. She talked upsettingly to him and they slowly came towards couple.

Phoebe looked radiant with joy and Coles face showed the genuine happiness he had experienced before under the waterfall. They had stopped kissing and were now standing close to each other. Cole had his arms around Phoebe and had placed his head on top of hers. They both stood with closed eyes. Phoebe listened to the steady beat of his heart.

Akiketuk had been prepared to call the ceremony off, regardless of the consequences for him. He wasn't going to send Phoebe to hell, not even for his own or his daughter's life. But the last minutes and the interaction of the couple he had watched, had confused him and his decision had begun to falter.

He had seldom if ever married off a couple that looked so much in love. At the same time he had never married off a couple that seemed so wrong for each other. It had to be fate. Good and evil were the both forming parts of the universe, in this spirit their union made perfect sense. There was no day without a night, no life without dead. The Asians called it yin and yang, it was the ultimate principle. He was thankful that it was not his decision. It was Phoebe's to make. And Cole's.

"Are you ready?" he asked them gently.

They opened their eyes and turned to him in front of the megalith. Phoebe nodded. As Akiketuk was standing in the dawning day, the night with Cole seemed just like a very bad nightmare. The man in front of him behaved totally different from the man who had tried to kill him. Or maybe he had just played with him, otherwise he would probably be dead by now.

"Please say your vows and exchange your rings. I will then call for the good spirits to guide you on your way", he instructed.

Inra stepped forward with one of the colour pots and held it out to Phoebe. Phoebe dipped her right hand into the white colour. She turned to face Cole and put her hand gentle over his heart. It made a white imprint on his tanned skin. She gazed lovingly up into his eyes and said her vow softly.

Cole held her gaze and smiled at her fondly. Phoebe took her right hand back and raised her left hand to pull Coles wedding band from her thumb. He offered her his right hand and she slipped the ring onto his ring finger. Her hands trembled slightly as she did it. Cole smiled at her encouragingly and Akiketuk nodded approvingly at Phoebe.

Inra stepped back and changed the pots. With the other pot she approached Cole and held it to him. He looked questioning at Inra. She just nodded and motioned him to do as Phoebe had done. Phoebe had already reached up to her neck and had unfastened her dress. The dress slid down to her waist. She wasn't wearing anything under it. With only a short hesitation Cole dipped his hand into the red colour. Now it was his turn to put his hand over her heart. The red colour left an imprint on her fair skin that looked like a raw wound. Coles said his vow as Phoebe had done before.

Phoebe smiled at him with relief. He had reused some of her phrases and with that unknowingly tied himself even closer to her. Cole pulled her wedding band from his small finger and took her right hand in his left. Gingerly he slid her wedding band on her ring finger. The moment the ring found its place he felt a strong shiver run down his spine. He looked startled at Phoebe and then Akiketuk and Inra. But neither had noticed it. Phoebe put on her top again, careful not to stain the fine leather with the red colour.

The couple held hands as Akiketuk called in his own language for the spirits to watch over and protect the newly weds. He used the strongest good bringing charm he knew and chanted them several times. Since they didn't understand his language he extended the normal wedding charms for some more blessings to protect Phoebe from the evil influence of her husband.

When he had finished he extended his hand first to Phoebe then haltingly also to Cole. They shook hands and discovered that the colour had already dried, since his hand stayed unmarked. Akiketuk took the second colour pot from the ground and left the clearing without looking back with his daughter who carried the other one. Phoebe hung on to Cole closely as they watched the progress of the sunrise as a married couple.

tbc