Chapter Four

Up There

Four women stood facing a huge wall of water; the second eldest fell to her knees sobbing; her dark fall of hair covering her face. The eldest knelt down to comfort; whispering words of assurance and encouragement. The waterfall was constant and endless with only subtle changes in hues in tune with the shift in moods by the room's occupants.

The two younger women stood together; one planning, the other worrying her lip anxiously. They were extraordinary, these women. Extraordinary in every way one could imagine. Clothed in the typical white floating chiffon of Goddesses, they each had some slight difference in their appearance to set them apart; some lingering vanity they clung to; a faint reminder of their once humanity.

The elders moved as if floating, garbed in gold robes that dictated their station. None were overly concerned by the show of emotion in the women. It was understood that it took a great deal of time for the remnants of humanity to leave the soul and after body.

With the wave of a well-manicured hand, the youngest sealed the room from prying eyes. It didn't matter what realm or plane of existence they were on, personal business was personal business; especially family business.

The second eldest wailed at the injustice of life as the three women circled her in comfort. To the elders, had they been observing, this display of emotion would be seen as embarrassing and something to be frowned upon. The women didn't care.

Time had a different meaning here. It pulsed, radiated and beat without boundaries. One couldn't gauge how long the women sat there or for what purpose it served. Only the women knew what they were about, and that was perfectly okay with them. Comfort and the need to comfort was something these women had never been strangers too.

Chapter Five

Antarctica

Bianca's teeth were chattering loud enough to wake the dead. Athena lay warm and protected in a conjured bubble of heat as Wyatt frantically tried to cloak their whereabouts. Chanting, he used his finger to trace ancient runic symbols in the ice and snow of the small igloo. With the last symbol closing the cloaking circle, Bianca collapsed in a heap to the frozen floor; exhausted and weeping.

Wyatt knew he didn't have time to go to her or they would all freeze to death. He took care of proper flooring, and set about conjuring heat sources that quickly filled the small space to livable. Bianca continued to wail in her hands, not noticing that Wyatt was now tending Athena.

"That's enough Binks! Stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Shocked into quiet, Bianca looked up at him. Realizing he had her full attention, Wyatt knelt to lay Athena in her arms.

"I think she's hungry. I can't help her there."

Sniffling loudly, Bianca wiped her nose on her sleeve and then reached up to cradle her daughter against her breast; there Athena, unmarred or effected by the current events proceeded to suckle as was instinct. Bianca silently wiped the tears from her face.

"Ok. Our best line of defense is information. We need to know what happened. What brought this on?"

Wyatt sat down on a soft cushion crossing his legs beneath him. Talking more to himself than Bianca, he continued.

"Something had to have happened to Chris. Some outside influence must have gotten to him. How though?"

He looked over at Athena and met Bianca's forlorn gaze. He knew in that instant that she was teetering on the brink herself and there was no way he was going to let her fall over the edge and into her demonic self.

"Try to think Binks, when exactly did he start acting different?"

Attempting to focus, Bianca closed her eyes and let her head fall back as she concentrated. The pain in her breast usually blocked all coherent thoughts, but not this time. This time the pain was a gentle reminder that she was still alive.

"I would say it started about the same time he started spending so much time at P3."

"Ok, then that is where I'll start."

Wyatt stood immediately and was halfway through orbing when Bianca grabbed his leg. Startled, he stopped and looked down at her.

"Don't hurt him Wy," she pleaded. "He's still our Chris, no matter what." Wyatt nodded and orbed out.