Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.
Summary: 21 Yule 1006 will see the first lunar eclipse to occur on the Winter Solstice in four hundred years. Enemies of Narnia rejoice! For the time of the Golden Age will come to an end with the spilling of royal blood and Jadis will be revived!
A/N: If you have not read the first three stories in the A Light in the Darkness main story arc (Awakening, Shadowed, and Revealed), I highly recommend you do so. However, if you want to give this one a whirl on its own, you can.
Warning: Dark Fell ceremony ahead.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Ceremony, Part One
Katerina hissed in frustration as her gloved fingers met the fabric of her undertunic instead of the hilts of her knives. Brutus was intelligent and knew very well that she fought with more than just Chrysaor thanks to their past encounters, but he had been too preoccupied with keeping his pack, especially his beta, in line to search her. Unfortunately, the Hag apparently hadn't had the same concerns...
Hags, Werewolves, and no knives. Well, I feel irked. She let out another frustrated hiss at the annoyances of the Fell Murphy kept throwing at her then turned and surveyed the room. She was going to have to improvise...some more. Studying the bones, she held back a grimace as she started to look for ones she could turn into weapons. Finding a long leg bone, which she desperately hoped was from a non-talking deer, Katerina picked up a rock and struck the middle of the bone. It took three hits (out of five tries) before the bone shattered, leaving her with a weapon...of sorts. It would puncture, but she wouldn't be able to use it to slash and it was unlikely it would hold up enough for her to use it more than once. She scanned the floor again; she needed something that would hold up a little longer (more than once would be both nice and necessary) too. She crouched and picked up the jawbone of what looked to be goat, but was most likely a Satyr judging by the size and weight. It would have to do.
She had a bad feeling that her time was running out even as she crept to the entrance. The Werewolves and Hag seemed confident she wouldn't try to run since she couldn't see any guards nor detect any other hint of someone else's presence. She stepped forward, only to press back into the shadows of the entryway just as a Hag walked into her line of sight. It wasn't Beira, the evil following this Hag didn't feel quite as old as that which had emanated from Beira. Katerina frowned at the realization that Beira wasn't solitary instead she had a true nest...that was just great, she probably really was the Matriarch of all the Hags. She tensed slightly as she saw the Hag running her talon down the blade of one of her knives. A snarl echoed from the other direction as a Werewolf stalked closer. The Hag hissed and clacked her beak, "What are you doing away from your pack, mutt?"
The Werewolf growled, "I smell her."
Katerina held her breath, but the Hag just cackled and pointed a talon-tipped finger at the Werewolf, "Foolish mutt, of course you can smell her, she's being kept here. Go back to the rest of your pack before the Matriarch catches you and turns you into ingredients for her spells."
For a moment, the Werewolf looked ready to pounce but then he disappeared back the way he had come. The Hag preened...Katerina had the feeling she was close to the bottom of the pecking order in this nest since she took such pleasure in sending the Werewolf away. The Hag drew even with her hiding place and she rushed her, swinging the jawbone at the Hag's fragile neck. The Hag fell before she knew what had hit her.
No other Fell emerged from the shadows. Katerina blew out a breath, and then crouched next to the Hag's body. She had seen one knife and hopefully the other was also stored somewhere in the Hag's robes. Her hand froze mid-reach when she heard it. Half-turning, she barely had time to aim her makeshift bone knife as the Werewolf jumped on her. He just missed taking a bite out of her face as they both fell. The light flickered then faded from the Werewolf's eyes as his bulk collapsed on top of her. She gasped as a sharp pain radiated from her shoulder even before she shoved the Werewolf off...the bone knife had punctured his throat at just the right angle to hit the vital arteries. Thank Aslan the bone hadn't shattered instead of puncturing his throat because she wouldn't have been able to put up a very secure defense if it hadn't.
She winced and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out as she reached up and across with her left hand. It was difficult to tell exactly what was wrong through her gloves and several layers of clothing, but it felt like either a muscle had torn or her shoulder blade was cracked...her shoulder also felt as though it was dislocated. The scuffle with the Werewolf had pushed her injury to the limit. Not good, not good at all. Actually, that might have been the understatement of the year. I hate Murphy. She shifted back to face the Hag and picked through the Fell's filthy robes until she found her knives. Katerina sheathed the right hand knife with only a minimum amount of awkward discomfort (clearly she needed to practice sheathing her knives with the opposite hand). It was a very good thing that she was ambidextrous as opposed to being solely right-handed...
Praying her escape and the aftermath of the fight would remain undiscovered long enough for her to get out of the Hag nest, Katerina forced herself not to run blindly down the tunnel she thought was the way out. Steady and focused, no mistakes... She stumbled to a halt as she looked up the steep incline she remembered falling down before, judging the grade she sighed as it was painfully clear that the incline was steep enough to be a true trial with one injured shoulder, not to mention the added concerns of stealth and keeping her guard up. And, if she didn't make it up, she would never hear the end of it. She managed to reach halfway up the incline when she started sliding back down. No, no, no. Her boot slipped on a slick patch and she automatically tried to steady herself with both hands. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from making a sound at the pain flaring from her shoulder.
Scrambling for footing, Katerina finally abandoned stealth in favor of digging in with the toes of her boots and running up the incline. A high bird-like shriek sounded from behind...her escape had been discovered. She didn't stop when she spotted the exit, instead she raced forward. An icy blast of wind greeted, but she only had a moment to register the fact that it was after dark already before a Werewolf tackled her. She screamed as his weight hit her injured shoulder...
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Peridan reined his horse to a stop as the General signaled for them to halt for a brief rest. And then, they all heard it. A faint echo of a scream...it was difficult to pinpoint the exact direction of the scream's origin other than it came from further up the mountain. The General looked over his shoulder and quietly spoke, "We're nearing them." Without another word, the Centaur signaled for them to resume moving, but this time he also signaled for them to move silently. Peridan hoped they would find Dame Sepphora soon, otherwise he feared the effect remaining exposed to the elements would have on the Kings. They hadn't climbed much farther when they heard a second agonized scream and then silence...a silence that was broken by his horse whinnying. Peridan had the sudden wish to be buried in one of the surrounding snow banks as they all turned to look at him and his guilty mount. That was...unfortunate. He had a feeling it would be long before the General forgave him if his horse's ill-timed whinny had caused Dame Sepphora to be lost...and even longer if his guess about the General's feelings concerning her were truly correct.
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Brutus tackled Frome before he could kill Alambiel. He slammed his beta against the mountainside, ignoring his own urge to hunt her as he smelled her pain, her weakness, even more clearly than he had heard it in her scream. "We need her alive." He dug his claws deep into Frome's shoulders and threw his rebellious beta down to the snow covered rock below. He was going to have to kill Frome if he continued to refuse to obey his orders. Too much hinged on the ceremony for him to allow a single member of his pack to endanger it.
A cackle sounded behind him and he turned to watch Beira as she stood over the wounded Alambiel, "You run so far, Lew's daughter, but you reached the end of your chain, didn't you? Kill one of my chicks in my own nest? I should just kill you, but your lifeblood must be fresh and your heart still beating for the ceremony." The Hag Matriarch tilted her head, eyeing the way Alambiel grimaced and clutched at her shoulder, then slanted a glance at Brutus. "Wounds summon the mutts too early." The Hag shook her staff and walked around Alambiel, chanting harshly before she pressed the end of her staff against the shoulder Alambiel was favoring. Brutus had experienced the painful healing spell, but it seemed to have a more painful effect on Alambiel as her back arched and she let out an agonized scream, although most of the followers of the Great Cat always seemed to be pained when dark magic was used to heal them.
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Frome snarled at Brutus as he pulled himself back onto the ledge in front of the Hag's nest, urged on by the screams and scent of pain emanating from the Centaur's mate. He reluctantly kept his head lower than the alpha's though as he carefully approached, looking for any opportunity to attack her. Frome didn't bother to hide his frustrated growl even when Beira pointed her staff at him in warning and Brutus turned on him with a snarl. "The Centaur's mate was wounded and weak. It is my right to kill her."
"It is not the right of the dead." Brutus pinned him to the ground, the claws of one hand digging through his fur to pierce his neck, as he raised the other arm to make the killing blow. And then, Brutus halted his blow as the sound of a horse whinnying reached them.
Brutus didn't look away from Frome, still using his weight to keep him pinned, but Frome heard the Centaur's mate groan in frustration while the Hag Matriarch moved to look over the edge. She hissed, "Narnians."
Brutus released Frome, "Hunt the Narnians. Kill them and stop them from reaching the ceremony before we can summon Her. If you succeed...I'll kill you quickly, once beta."
Frome's lips peeled back, showing his teeth in a gruesome smile as Brutus dragged the Centaur's mate to her feet and forced her to follow the Hag Matriarch up the trail leading to the summit. He waited as other members of the pack appeared from where they had been watching the conflict between beta and alpha and then he led them in a silent race to the Narnians...
The Narnians were not far below the Hag's nest, less than two miles...they could have ambushed the Fell but for a dumb horse whinnying. A Gryphon screamed a warning just as Frome and his brethren leapt down to the Narnians. Frome snarled as he raked a furrow of scratches deep into the haunches of an Elk before dodging its kick. The Elk snorted and caught another Werewolf on its antlers and tossed the foolish youngster over his back...and over the edge of the cliff. Frome worked with another Werewolf to force the wounded Elk to give ground until its hind hooves were slipping off the cliff edge. Relishing the chance to kill something, Frome rushed forward and tore into the Elk's throat before using his body weight to topple the Elk off the mountain. He turned and eyed the Narnians, looking for his next target. The accursed Centaur was too far away as he cut down two of Frome's brethren, but Frome would merely kill more Narnians on his way to the Centaur...which suited him. He uttered a low growl as he charged into the fray.
The Werewolves were slowly pushing the Narnians back, and the pretender kings were both fighting on foot. Frome snarled as he spotted the elder of the two fighting to protect a Satyr...with his back to him. He was completely unaware of how close to danger he was...it was perfect. Frome howled in pain as the bite of cold steel digging into his lower shoulder wrecked his stalking of the elder pretender king. He leapt away from the blade and whirled to face his attacker. The cool dark eyes meeting his did not flinch away as he snarled, "Traitor."
"Not anymore."
The dark one lunged for him, uncaring of how close they were to the edge of the cliff, not even when he nearly slid off the edge as Frome dodged his blow. He was silent and unflinching as Frome growled and snapped at him...the dark one who had once been chosen to serve Her. Frome leapt on him, allowing the sword to slash a thin line across his side as he landed heavily on his shield. He darted forward to dig his teeth into the dark one's face, but he was startled out of his attack when the pretender king pulled his shield arm free of his shield and punched him in one ear. Frome glanced around and noticed most of his brethren had been slaughtered or driven off... He shoved hard against the shield, causing the dark one's breath to leave him in a rush, and then leapt away.
The snow crunched as the pretender king surged back to his feet and chased after Frome. He snarled then altered his course slightly, going closer to the brittle snow along the edge of the cliff. His lips pulled back in a macabre imitation of a grin as the dark one chased him without hesitation or caution, ignoring the shouts of the others. He nearly fell himself as he turned and leapt for the ledge above him. Sinking his claws through snow and ice to grip the rock underneath, he climbed up quickly and then looked down. He was disappointed to see the Centaur had grabbed the dark pretender king by the back of his chainmail and prevented him from falling. Frome turned and hurried toward the place of ceremony. Should the Narnians somehow make it in time to prevent the death of the Centaur's mate, he wanted to be there to tear her heart out in front of the Centaur.
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Oreius tightened his grip on the back of King Edmund's chainmail, praying that the snow underneath him wouldn't give away. His dark colt had enough frame of mind to sheath Shafhelm before he started to pull him up. He felt the snow start to give way underneath him and tensed. Pulling the colt with him, Oreius jumped to the safety of the trail just as the snow beneath his hooves crumbled away to reveal the icy rock of the cliff. The moment they were on safe ground, and Oreius released his grip on King Edmund's chainmail, King Peter pulled his brother into a crushing embrace then whispered harshly, "What were you thinking, you bloody idiot? You could have been killed. You-"
Oreius rested his hands on both kings' shoulders and spoke softly, "Peace, Wolfsbane." He tightened his grip on his dark colt king until the colt looked up at him then continued, "How, you will stay with your brother. Side to side and back to back, do you understand?"
King Edmund nodded slowly, "Yes, General."
King Peter gave a curt nod when Oreius glanced at him, reading the unspoken command for him not to leave his brother's side if it could be helped. Oreius squeezed their shoulders one last time then looked up at the full moon, which had nearly reached its zenith. They had far less time than he had hoped... It would be a race to reach the summit before the eclipse occurred.
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Katerina Alambiel shivered they reached a flat area where a crude stone altar had been set up, stained dark with the blood of past sacrifices, the sense of evil was once again almost overwhelming her more than the cold. The Hag snatched her gloves off her hands and she suppressed the urge to flinch away from those filthy talons as the Hag traced the tips of her talons along her star-shaped scars. Ignoring her non-reaction, Beira cackled and uttered a command that was answered by more Hags and Werewolves appearing from the shadows. "Let the circle be formed and let none break it." Brutus kept her restrained, but she wasn't stupid enough to try to run in this particular situation...and she would rather face the danger, the evil, head on than to be unconscious as they worked it. Her breath formed icy clouds as she forced herself to watch Beira clutching both of her knives in one hand. She hoped Beira would not use them in the ceremony because then she would have no choice but to order the desecrated blades melted down and destroyed permanently and then wait months before Baumur got over his huff and conceded to forging her new blades.
She glanced up at the sky as the Hags forming the circle began to stamp their staffs in a rhythmic beat...the moon was just shy of its true zenith but she could see the eclipse begin to creep across the face of the moon. Still staring at the moon and the slowly encroaching eclipse, Katerina had to admit that things were looking very bleak at the moment. The evil surrounding her attempted to pull despair to the fore. She didn't close her eyes, she didn't give in. Her gaze shifted from the darkening moon to the stars, finding first Spearhead and then her namesake, Alambil, the Lady of Peace... Peace, she needed peace and courage both...she didn't know for sure anymore if she would escape death and she felt despair attempt to press down on her. A warmth from inside and without, unnoticed by the Fell around her, wrapped itself around her and she felt both peace and courage settle over her and shield her from the probing tendrils of despair and evil. There was no accompanying whisper as she had experienced in the past, but she knew without a doubt just who had brought her the peace and courage she so desperately needed, answering her prayer before she could consciously form it.
A subtle shift in the atmosphere of things dragged her attention back to the ceremony. The Hag Matriarch began to chant in a harsh voice as she swayed to the rhythmic stamping of the staffs, "Sangee lee ghetreek neelee ah seh mahshedah rajikah dahbykah. Sangee lee ghetreek ah seh tah." Brutus forced Katerina down to her knees as Beira pulled out a broken wand just as the last bit of moonlight was completely swallowed by the darkness of the eclipse. The Hag Matriarch raised an ornate dagger and her chanting reached a higher, more frenzied pitch as she swayed toward Katerina. "Ah seh tah! Ah seh tah! Jadis yyhlee Alambiel, Lew's Daughter! Yyhlee!" The dagger came down, aiming for her wrists as Beira held the wand ready to catch her blood.
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A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, so hopefully this chapter is enough to make amends from my gap between posting. The Hag's summoning spell was made up as I combined nonsense words with mangled bits and pieces of several different languages. It is supposed to translate (if anyone speaks Hag or Fell) as "Blood taken from unwilling royal prey. Blood taken (will) rise up. Rise up! Rise up! Jadis claim Alambiel, Lew's Daughter! Claim (her)!" So, any thoughts as to whether the ceremony will be interrupted or will Jadis be revived? Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this chapter.