Chapter 4
"Katarin, why don't you head up to bed with your sister," said Marian as she stared at her two youngest daughters, Luthvian and Katarin.
"But Mommy, I want to stay and watch the party. Please can I stay…pllleeeeeaasee," begged Katarin.
"No, you have already terrified enough people for one day. Head on up the stairs to your room, young Lady," stated Lucivar.
"But Daddy…"
"No buts, Katarin. Go up to bed with Luthvian. Now." Both Katarin and Luthvian begin walking up the stairs to the family wing as Surreal begins to descend the stairs with Shai and Tara in tow.
"Surreal!!" squealed both girls. "Uncle Daemon, why are you wearing a dress?" asked Luthvian. "And why are there two of you?" asked Katarin.
"We are not your Uncle Daemon. I am your Aunt Tara, and she is your Aunt Shai. We just look a lot like your Uncle Daemon. And who are you two?"
"I'm Luthvian," snapped the older of the two while she stepped away from them a little.
"I'm Katarin, so why are there two of you?"
"We're twins," said Shai. After that she continued down the stairs and around the girls. When she reached the ground floor she headed straight for the bar.
"Damn…girls why don't you head on up to bed. I need to talk to someone." After saying that she followed after Shai, arriving just in time to hear her berating the bartender about how to fix her drink.
"I want three fingers of Gravedigger with a couple of ice cubes, some mint leaves and a little bit of lime on the side, with a stirrer. Is that so difficult?"
"No ma'am. Let me go get some Gravedigger from the basement."
"While you are there why don't you bring up a couple of bottles I'm going to be needing them tonight."
"As you wish."
"For the sake of Darkness, Shai. You know better than to try getting rip roaring drunk right before you have to fight."
"And you forget who makes Gravedigger. And where it comes from."
"I haven't forgotten, I just chose to neglect that from this conversation. Why are you trying to get drunk tonight?"
"You basically told me I had to come but you of all people should know better that the only way I do this social thing is when I am no where near sober."
"And why is that Shai?" asked Jaenelle from behind both of them causing them both to turn around slowly.
"You know damn well why."
"Shai, be reasonable. These people have no reason to trust you other than you claim to serve Jaenelle in the capacity of her Protectorate. You have to give them the chance to gain and give that trust."
"And how do you propose I trust all these men? Tell me that Tara. Tell me how, after over a century and a half of sexual abuse by men and women, I am to be able to trust them enough for them to truly protect my Queen to my satisfaction. And that I am supposed to trust them with may possibly be my life in the future. You know what is coming. All the Queens here know what is coming, at least those in Jaenelle's First Circle do. And certainly all the Black Widows here do all they have to do is weave a tangled web. What is coming is so significant that nothing is going to be unaffected by it."
"And what is coming Shaitara?" asked Saetan.
"I'm Shai. Shaitara is when we are combined. And if you must know a war is coming. Another war between the Realms and the power available here in Kaeleer is not going to be enough to stop it."
"Jaenelle is there any way for you to stop this war like you did the last?"
Jaenelle, Tara, and Shai all say at the exact same time, "No."
"Me first," said Shai. After getting the assent of Jaenelle and Tara she continued. "Jaenelle was the correct weapon for the first war because everyone knew that war was coming, both Terreille AND Kaeleer. This time Terreille knows but only those within this hall have enough power to see it coming this time. This is a hidden war and as such it needs a hidden power to defeat it. No offense, my dear but you are still a little too public to be considered a hidden power even if you were able to regain your past power."
"No," said Jaenelle. "I will not allow this."
"You do not have the power to stop me. Not even Daemon, Tara and father could stop me. You know that. Once you could have stopped me but you chose a different path."
"Wait a minute. What are you two talking about?" asked Saetan.
"Father, think about it. If three Black Jewels can't stop me what Jewel do I wear?"
"Ebony. A single Ebony. But I thought that Jaenelle was the first to wear that Jewel."
"She was, I have never been able to wear my Jewel. I just have the depth of power of Ebony. Also, if you have never heard of me outside of a professional capacity that means Hekatah hasn't either. Which means that I can get close enough to slaughter the bitch once and for all."
"Wait I thought I had killed her along with Dorothea last time."
"You killed her body…again. But there is another way to ride out a psychic storm like the one you created."
"Jumping from one body to another forcing the previous inhabitants out to die."
"Yep, I'm thinking it took around 16 people who had to die until she had ridden out enough of the storm to be found worthy of living. The thing is even doing that will not obscure your psychic scent, for me at least. Another advantage of being a Sovereign Black Widow. She can't hide from me. But she can from all of you. But regardless of whether or not I can find her we don't have the power to kill her and all her new minions, fewer this time to be sure but still enough to be a problem."
"Wait a minute, rewind for me," asked Lucivar who had recently joined the conversation along with the vast majority of the First Circle. "Just who did she jump into? I mean you talk about her as if she is corrupting society again."
"She is. And I don't know who she is now exactly but I do know that the body is NOT female," Shai said with and evil grin, kind of like a cat eyeing it prey. "She is starting to promote the male side of things again. Anyway, I need another drink."
"Shai, don't you think you have had enough?" asked Tara. "I mean three fingers should be plenty for you to go through this evening."
"You want me to stay or not?" was all she said before she turned back to Holt who was cowering behind the bar.
"Ma'am can I get you another Gravedigger's Mojito?"
"Why yes I do believe you can, sir. Thank you."
"Since you are so obviously not listening to me anymore, Shai, I think I will ask my father to dance with me. Saetan? Shall we?"
"Of course, Lady…daughter…Tara? What should I call you?"
"Tara, please." After they had been dancing for a while Saetan began talking again.
"So is she always like that?"
"No, normally she's much better but I shouldn't have expected that with all these men around."
"Why not?"
"You know how Lucivar and Daemon were pleasure slaves?" She waited until he nodded, "So was she, back then I wasn't able to take the form of a separate body. And as such, she was normally the one inhabiting and in control of what we did. Only when there was fighting to do, did I come to the forefront."
"The reason for this being?"
"She is the dominant twin because she spent more time in the womb with Daemon and not Lucivar. Anyway, I think I should go check on her again."
"Very well, Tara. Our discussion has given me much to think about and hopefully I will be able to assuage the situation created by Dorothea and my ex-wife. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your stay here as well as the chance to get to know both of your brothers."
"Thank you for the dance, father," she said before she walked in the direction of where Jaenelle and Shai were holding court with the rest of the First Circle sitting or standing around them. As Tara approached she heard a few snippets of conversation before she sensed the slimy psychic scent that had just arrived.
Shai? You sense it?
Of course, you oaf. I'm not stupid.
Well you have been drinking a lot tonight.
No need to get snippy. Gravedigger is a creation of mine, made from a dilution of one of my poisons. I just like the taste of it, but it doesn't affect me as if it were alcohol because it is part of me.
Tara snarled at her. You could have told me that. I have been worrying about you all evening.
You could have asked.
"Well if you weren't being such a bitch tonight I might have."
"Bitch am I? What of you, Lady? What do you think all those people you killed thought about you? Hmm?"
"Shut up, Princess."
"Both of you shut up and step away from the pale bitch sitting next to you," said an unknown male voice from behind the Tara. This caused Shai to stand up and walk around to stand next to Tara blocking the man from reaching Jaenelle.
"You are going to have to go through us first," said Tara as she tied the front flaps of her dress back revealing a pair of swords hanging from her hips and a pair of leggings that went down to her knees, roughly sewn off as though done in a hurry. She drew the swords and began advancing on the Warlord who was threatening her Queen. Meanwhile Shai is shimmying her skirt up until she has full movement of her legs at which point she runs towards Tara and grabs one of her wings which then flips her upwards as she bends from her knees and pushes as well. With that much momentum behind her, Shai flips over the attacker and lands on her heeled feet behind him. He glances at her but seeing that she had no weapon he turns back to Tara who is now spinning her swords around and advancing toward him forcing him to give ground, and pushing him towards Shai, who has now taken a fighting stance, one that is completely different from the one she used before. It appears to be one used when fighting in hand-to-hand combat. When he gets within three feet of her she kicks one leg up into the air missing him entirely, but forcing her other leg to perform a drop kick on him. As he propels forwards to meet her blades, Tara sheathes both swords again and merely steps out of his way as he lands on his feet. Shai runs towards him and as she reaches him she reaches up and punctures his temples with her middle fingernails while saying, "Fuck you, bastard." She then removes her fingernails and pushes her dress back down as she calmly walks over and again resumes her seat.
"Hey, bitch, I still want the pale one sitting next to you."
"And guess what, honeydick, I didn't stab you in the temples for nothing. It just so happens that in about a minute the witchblood I injected in your system will begin to take effect and by the time you are writhing on the floor begging for release, I will give you release rather than let you end up in the hands of my father, the High Lord of Hell. Fair?"
"You BITCH!!!" he screamed. As he began to try running to kill her, his feet fell out from under him and his legs turned into limp noodles. Suddenly he curled into a tiny ball as if that might relieve the fire that was now racing along his veins now.
"Please," he whimpered.
"No, you haven't suffered enough just yet. Who do you serve?"
"mm…mer…mercenary…"
"Ahh. Well then I have no further use for you." She then closed her eyes and slipped within his inner barriers and ignited his mind like a little candle. When she reopened them she saw that his head had literally become the one light within the whole of the Hall.
"Oops. Sorry, here we go, light." The lights blared with renewed power stronger than that which had created them before.
"Hey Tara, I'm heading up to bed, come back when you are done socializing with them."
"Will do. Hey you got anything stronger than Gravedigger on you?"
"Yep, want some?"
"Hell yeah."
"You got a glass?"
"Here you go," said Tara as she created a glass with her Jewels.
"Alright," said Shai as she took the glass in her left hand and flicked out the snake's tooth beneath her right hand pointer finger. She put three drops in the glass. "Hey, Holt?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Could I have some soda water, please?"
"Of course, here you are."
Shai took the bottle of soda water and poured about a finger of it into the glass with the drops from her venom sac. She then handed it to Tara who took it tasted it and made a face.
"You asked for something stronger," Shai pointed out.
"You're right, but I think I want it a little weaker still and some ice."
"Yeah I thought you might think it was too strong, to make the Gravediggers I use one drop and a lot more water, though I use still water for that."
"Wait, so you are telling me that Gravedigger is made from your poison?" asked Daemon.
"Yes…why?"
"Well I owe you for a night from Hell itself."
"Have you ever been there?"
"Huh?"
"Have you ever been to Hell?"
"No…but…"
"Then how do you know what the nights there are like?"
"That was an expression, sister."
"Really? Then you think you can take me, right?"
"No…it just made me feel better to say it out loud."
"Well, while I want to make you feel better, using me as a scapegoat is not advisable, especially by threatening me. Just giving you fair warning."
"Well….now that we are clear…" he trailed off as he saw the look he was receiving from Shai.
"Shai, I think you are singeing the hairs on his balls. Give him a bit of a break, he's new," whispered Tara.
"Fine. I'll see you all tomorrow at practice in the morning. Good night," she said before she walked off to her bed chamber.
"You people certainly have a knack of pissing her off. Then again most of you have a cock and balls so that is not too surprising. Lucivar, could I speak with you outside please?" she asked before she walked off holding her drink without waiting to receive an answer from him. He sighed and trailed after her.