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: There's danger in the north. Giants hunt for Narnia's Kings and General. Who will survive when hope is eclipsed?

A/N: If you have not read the first nine stories in the A Light in the Darkness main story arc (Awakened, Shadowed, Revealed, Concealed, Rekindled, Refracted, Reflected, Veiled, and Unveiled), I highly recommend you do so for the full experience. However, I have included a quick summary of the previous stories so if you want to give this one a whirl on its own, you can.

Chapter Eleven: Ill Omen

The Calormene ship bearing His Royal Highness Crown Prince Rabadash, eldest living son of the Tisroc (may he live forever), was a resplendent affair. The finest timbers formed her hull and gold foil lined her rails and the cabins appointed to the crown prince were filled with the finest silks, most beauteous tapestries evoking scenes of Calormene mythology and history from Tash's first battle to Rabadash's slaying of a thousand southern rebels when they slew the Tisroc's eldest son and attempted to remove themselves from their rightful place beneath Calormene boots, and the softest pillows. His soldiers, his slaves, and the ship's crew knew to conduct themselves with utmost propriety as Prince Rabadash wanted no ill-favored word to reach the Northern Barbarians. He had great hopes for the fruitfulness of his newest quest. The famed beauty of the eldest Barbarian Queen was too tempting for any man to miss seeing and perhaps winning for his own.

The Crown Prince's goal of winning a wife was well-known to his men but it did not stop them from fearing the demon when it appeared just before dawn on the day they were to set sail from Terebinthia's harbor. Ghostly it was, white as the goddess of death herself, and its wings stretched wide ushering ill winds and foul spirits before it. Wide dark eyes hungered for men's souls as it watched them unblinkingly from its perch upon the ship's wheel. The captain pulled the amulets of Nasreddin, Tash, and Circe out of his tunic and presented them to the demon but it never moved. For three hours it refused to move and the sun had risen before the captain resigned himself to the task of informing the Crown Prince.

It was a small mercy of Tash that Prince Rabadash was breaking his morning fast when the captain entered the cabin. He immediately went on his knees and then stretched out so his face was on the floor. "O My Master, an ill omen has come upon us. We cannot sail today."

"What mean you, O Captain of the Seas? Did my father the Tisroc (may he live forever) choose unwisely when he selected you for your experience and wisdom as though the secrets of the waves were whispered in your ear by Circe herself?"

The captain shuddered internally. "No, O My Master, your father the Tisroc (may he live forever) chose with all the wisdom Tash granted him. Yet, O My Master, a demon of ill omen by the goddess of death herself has been sent to you warning against sailing. If we were to sail under this omen, O My Master, calamity will rise from the depths of the seas to swallow all of us. For was it not the poet who said-"

"Be silent!" Prince Rabadash leapt from his cushioned pedestal, tugging on his oiled beard in agitation. "Quote not the poets to me, O Captain, but show me this demon." He snatched up his scimitar and unsheathed the etched blade.

The captain bit back a protest. Demons could not be killed and to attempt to slay one sent by the goddess of death was to invite her wroth curse. No one escaped the death goddess' curse, not when even speaking her name would bring her fatal attention on one.

Instead, he followed in the crown prince's wake and petitioned the gods that the young man would not make a foolish and deadly choice. The demon was still perched on the wheel, its head rotated around to watch their approach with the same unblinking stare as before. Prince Rabadash approached it, his face dark with anger, and he raised his scimitar. The captain raised a hand to still the cries of alarms from the men. The Crown Prince sneered. "The goddess of death sent you but Tash is the king of all gods and goddesses. I am his descendent in an unbroken line. Begone, demon, take your ill omen to the ships of our enemies!"

The demon stretched out its wings and let out a single raspy screech. The captain could almost see the ill winds fanning over the crown prince and his ship. They were doomed. The Crown Prince swore and then abruptly sheathed his sword. Stomping down the stairs, he paused before the captain. "O Captain of the Seas, inform your men to set a slave to watch the demon. When it departs we will sail for the great barbarian capital."

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Blodeuwedd twisted her head to watch the flamboyant Calormene depart the ship with his guard and all but two of his slaves following after him. The ship's crew did not wait long after his party vanished into the city before they too fled the ship. She trilled a little laugh and then flapped her wings, making the two remaining slaves hide their faces again. Satisfied, she settled down on the ship's wheel.

When the Princess Royal had requested the favor of her willingness to act as an ill omen among Calormenes, she never thought to be presented with a Calormene prince. She had only frightened and delayed slavers before now. Blodeuwedd preened her feathers. As agreed with the Mermaid carrying Queen Susan's request, she would nest here for three more days and then she would allow the Calormenes to leave . . . but the Owl decided that she would not depart until after the evening tide had gone on that final day.

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A/N: Please Read and Review!