Chapter Twenty
Alana was tired and sore. She missed Dara desperately. They were almost to the manor. Instead of stopping for meals, they just dug into the baskets and ate what was at hand. Alana laughed to herself, Vevila was most happy to be choosing her own foods. She was a lot more cautious about just assuming she knew what was what when she found out that Davy was right. Those chicken legs weren't chicken legs. She went screaming from the camp that next morning when she saw Meifen cooking up the frog legs. He and Davy had gone out early that morning to catch the critters. Alana thought they were really good eating. Chicken, frog, who cares, good is good.
Dara and Molly were both standing out on the porch to greet them. Alana jumped out of the wagon and ran to hug her. Dara greeted her with open arms. It wasn't until they had separated that Alana noticed the blood on her clothes, or that she was still wearing her infirmary outfit.
"Sorry," Dara told her. "One of the farmers sliced into his leg this morning. It was a bit of a mess."
"Is he okay?" Alana asked concerned about all that blood.
"Yes," Dara said proudly. "I was already working so was first to see him. I got the bleeding stopped right away. Celeste was very proud."
"I'm very proud of you, too," Alana told her giving her another hug.
"Hey," Kellan complained, "share!"
Dara laughed and hugged her older sister. She had so missed all of them. So had Molly, there were tears in her eyes as she listened to what Vevila was saying to her. It was so good to have everyone together again.
"This is yours," Kane thrust a staff into her hands. "Druantia made them for us. Now you have to learn how to use it. We can help you though."
Dara tested the staff. If felt really firm in her hand. She could see the wards flaring. She nodded to Meifen. She would be proud to learn its uses. Some of the sailors, as well as Jendayi and Marjani, had told her about their experiences with those slavers. It had made her feel very angry, and surprisingly vulnerable.
"So what of the raven?" Dara asked Rhoswen.
Rhoswen showed Dara her hand. She could see an imprint of the Raven. Her eyebrows rose with surprise.
"Druantia says that I will know if someone is worthy of the raven when I touch their hand." Rhoswen told her. "So now we can judge who can cross over. No one can cross without the raven."
"Good," Dara told her, "because we have a bunch of people here who want to cross over."
"How's that?" Kellan asked.
She didn't like the idea of people crossing the barrier yet. They still had so much to learn. She glanced at Meifen and noticed that his brows were furrowed in thought. He was still sitting in the wagon. He grinned at her when he caught her looking his way. She had grown really fond of the strange little Chinese man. Davy was sitting beside him. She nodded knowing that he would take care of Davy, while they took care of themselves.
"So here you are!" Caryn called from the doorway.
Caryn took in the site of the girls. It was disgraceful, and Dara standing there covered in gore. She should have known better. Three of the girls were wearing boy's trousers of all things. She had heard about their hair. That was too bad. Short hair was so unseemly, and you could do absolutely nothing with it. At least it was the younger girls with the sheared hair. It would grow back.
"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Caryn called out.
"Maybe it would be better if we all went inside," Molly suggested.
Caryn ignored her. These were her nieces. Molly might have control of the manor, and Celeste of the village of all things. But these girls belonged to her.
"If you would excuse us," Kellan told them. "We would like to bathe and change to fresher clothes."
Caryn was surprised when the six girls just marched right on past her. Her fists clenched with anger. She was going to have to get more stern with them. That arrogance wasn't to be tolerated.
Arlen was standing at the front window and was concerned about Caryn's obvious hostility towards her nieces. If it had been the boys returning, Caryn would have greeted them with arms wide open. She would have let them catch up on the news and get sorted out. Kellan had behaved very graciously towards his wife's obvious animosity.
They practically ran to the bathing house. They felt so sticky, and smelled a little strong. Kellan didn't see how Meifen could stand them. They had the room to themselves, which was probably lucky for any of the other patients.
"Ohh," Rhoswen sunk to her chin in the hot fragrant water. "I so missed this."
Alana immediately attacked her hair. She had never gone so long without washing it before. Alana noticed Kellan was doing likewise.
"There are definite benefits to shorter hair," Rhoswen commented.
She simply dunked her head into the water, and then lathered it up. Kane was doing the same. Vevila was struggling with the snarls. She gave up and just let it be. She floated back and let the peace of the room fill her.
"So how's it been with auntie here?" Kellan asked Dara.
"Mainly," Dara answered. "I've been too busy to be bothered by her. Molly's had her busy doing laundry. Did you notice how she kept her hands hidden? They're raw from the unaccustomed work. Hagan is staying with Stefan. Poor Uncle Arlen would dearly love to, but Aunt Caryn won't have it."
"She's a mess you know?" Rhoswen told them. "Torn out of the world she had created for herself. It's not just about us. Hagan and Brody have gifts that our aunt just can't deal with."
"I know," Kellan commented. "I don't want to cause her more agitation, but she just can't continue to think she can step into mama's shoes. Frankly, we've outgrown the need for her. As long as we have each other, we can manage."
"We also have Uncle Stefan," Dara told them. "He's a very sweet man and non-intrusive. He will do his thing, and allow us to do ours."
"And Meifen," Kane told her. "I wish you had been with us on this trip. Meifen is amazing. He even got Vevila to eat beetles and frogs."
"He tricked me," Vevila complained.
"No, he didn't," Kane argued. "You never asked. You just ate what you thought was chicken, and you must admit, the beetle barley was pretty good."
"Davy sure liked it," Vevila said grudgingly.
"Meifen said we weren't to make you feel bad about not knowing how to use the staff," Rhoswen told Dara. "He told us just like we don't have to learn how to heal, you do not have to learn the staff. We will have to learn a little healing, but just enough probably to heal simple wounds. Nothing like what you are doing."
"I have every intention of learning how to use the staff," Dara told her. "You should see what those slavers did to their captors. No way am I not going to learn how to stop that from happening. I'd love to bash those men's heads in."
Molly entered the room bringing in their robes. They had been in such a hurry to get clean, that they hadn't thought to bring in extra clothes.
"I've moved you to a larger room," Molly told them. "Terah is there with the babies, but there is space enough for all of you. Your aunt and uncle are on the top floor with a smaller room all to themselves."
"Oh, thank you," Kellan told her sincerely.
"Just a word of advice," Molly stalled a minute, "it would be best to deal with your aunt right up front. It will save you all a lot of misery later. She has not been acting very rational. It would be best to think of a strategy before leaving this room. I don't trust her not to do something rash—like picking up another hammer."
"Oh!" Alana said surprised. She had thought they could deal with it when they returned to the house.
"Your right," Kellan nodded. "She needs to know right up front that she will not be living with us at the house, nor will she be regaining any authority over us."
"I thought as much," Molly smiled. "You are a lot stronger than when you left. A lot more united and confident—good job!"
"Thanks," Kellan appreciated her support. Dealing with their aunt was going to be hard.
"Your Uncle Arlen is aware that yo
ur aunt is behaving poorly." Molly told them. "He will support you and your decisions."
"That will make it easier," Rhoswen sighed. "I'll just float here a while and see if I can learn of the best strategy in dealing with her."
"I'd like to do that, too," Kellan told them. "Just float and think about things."
Molly went out to do her other choirs. She knew the girls would be fine. They were a lot stronger and had more willpower than just a few weeks ago. Terah was also less of a pawn where Caryn was concerned. She had grown fiercely protective of Haley and would do what was in her best interest.
They finished up and returned to their room. They were pleased to see blue berry muffins sitting on the table with a large pitcher of milk.
"Milk!" Vevila exclaimed. "We haven't had milk in a long time."
"Notice the berries," Alana pointed out. "They're cut. They are from the forest. One of the girls picked them. That is so huge—to know they are using the forest, just as we all planned."
"So what did you see?" Kellan asked Rhoswen.
"Not a lot," Rhoswen was disappointed. "No more than makes sense anyway. We can sneak off and just move back into the house, or we can confront her here, preferably without an audience."
"Same thoughts as I had," Dara said. "I don't think we can sneak home though. It's still locked."
"Oh! I did have a revelation about that," Rhoswen told them. They looked on eagerly. "It will take the combined efforts of our magic. Mama created the lock to recognize our magical signatures. I don't think it will be important how we do it, or the order, as long as we work it out together. That's why neither Uncle Stefan, nor Celeste could unlock the house."
"I like that!" Kellan said happily. "It means that we are supposed to have control of the house, that mama trusted us with it and the magic found inside."
"It sounds like a test," Dara considered. "To show what we have learned. I think we should figure out how best to use our gifts as demonstration."
"I would like that," Vevila told them. "If mama and papa are watching, they will see how much we have learned."
Rhoswen frowned. Something was wrong. She noticed that Alana also looked up sharply—listening.
"Someone is moving energy," Alana frowned. "It's not right. It feels tainted—dark."
"Someone is using death magic," Rhoswen paused. "Someone has just killed to perform a magical act."
"They are close by," Alana rose to pull on some clothes.
The others hurriedly followed suit. They each grabbed their staffs and followed Alana into the hallway. She walked as if in a daze, following the trail of unrest. She led them to the stairway which led to the cellars. She went through the normal workrooms to an area they had never seen before. Kellan ignited a magical globe. The room was covered with dust and old cobwebs. It had been left unused for a very long time. They could see a trail of footprints leading to the back wall.
"The taint is coming from there," Alana pointed past the footprints.
Dara could see very old magical wards outlining the far wall. She didn't recognize there inscriptions.
"We need to link," Dara sent. "You need to see this."
From thought to action, they found themselves in link. They could see the inscriptions through Dara's gift. None of them knew what they were, but they knew they felt dark. Not like anything their mother or father had delved in.
Kellan could see a lever and pressed against it. The wall moved away. No one was in the room they had just opened, but it wasn't empty either. There were cages along the walls. Some were empty, but many were filled with small type animals. Most of them held cats, rabbits, and various types of birds. One particular cage held an old and dear friend—Cally-cat.
"Look," Alana rushed to Cally's cage.
"No, don't," Dara called out.
Alana drew her hand back abruptly. She had been about to open Cally's cage and take her out. Dara sent them her view of the cages. There were not only wards to lock the cages. There were alarms to notify someone if any were being tampered with.
"Cally," Alana called softly. The cat did not stir.
"He's breathing as if asleep," Dara told them, "a very deep sleep. He seems to be in some kind of trance.
"How do we get him out?" Kane asked worriedly.
"I think I can get him," Alana frowned. "I can camouflage my touch to blend with the rest of the room. That should prevent the alarms from activating."
"Be careful," Dara whispered.
Alana closed her eyes and opened her mind to the room. She shivered. She pushed the aura of the room away from her consciousness.
:You only need this one lock,: Dara sent to her. :The key is in the center of the triangle.:
They watched with concern as Alana reached up and pressed where Dara had indicated. The door sprang open. She reached into the cage and drew out the cat. She then shut the door and reactivated the lock.
:I have to leave here, now.: Alana shoved Cally into Vevila's arms and ran from the room.
They found her just outside the room huddled down on the floor tightly hugging herself. Vevila started to touch her, but Dara pulled her back.
"She needs to remove the taint of the room from her senses," Dara explained.
Kane felt around in her special pocket. She found the Annie doll that her mother had made for her a very long time ago. It went everywhere with her. She squatted down and pressed it into Alana's lap.
"This has all the energy of our mama and papa's love," Kane told her. "Feel it, absorb it. It always helps me when I'm scared."
Alana heard what Kane was saying. She remembered Kane's doll even though she had not seen it in years. She had thought that Kane had gotten rid of it years ago. Indeed, she could feel the loving aura of their mother and fathers presence. She let that love fill her senses and her heart, pushing out the foul stench of that room. She felt the tears flood her closed eyes, but pulled them back. Now was not the time. Alana stood and pulled Kane into a heartfelt hug.
"Okay, already," Kane pulled back, removing her doll from Alana and putting her back into her pocket. No one was supposed to know that she still had that old thing. Now, they all knew.
"I'm going to want to borrow her!" Kellan told Kane.
Kane looked up sharply to see if Kellan was making fun of her. She was surprised to see tears in all her sister's eyes.
"So tell us," Dara told Alana.
"Grandmother Sadie used that room," Alana told them. "When Caryn was around eleven, Sadie would demand for her to lure animals to her. Then Sadie would sacrifice them for her magical experiments." Alana shivered. "To be asked such a thing, and to watch them be put to death would be unbearable. Caryn had renounced magic until she found her world falling apart. It was she who reopened the room and performed some type of rite."
"What did she do?" Kellan asked.
"I don't know," Alana closed her eyes, "but there's more. There are the bones of a child in that room—a girl child. We have to be very careful when we help Davy to make sure we—never—accidently search for him. We don't want to find—his bones."
"If we were to find his bones," Vevila said with concern. "What would happen to him?"
"Let's not find out!" Kellan's jaw tightened.
"I'm going to remove our footprints," Kane told them.
Surprised, they peered around the door to see Kane lightly dusting out their foot prints.
"She has done something to hurt Celeste," Rhoswen told them. "Wait," she called when they started rushing out. "We have to unlock the house first."
"Why?" Kane asked anxiously.
"There's something in the house that we need to free Celeste," Rhoswen told them. "Caryn used death magic to initiate her magic. We don't have the tools with us to fight that!"
"What is at the house?" Alana asked.
"I don't know," Rhoswen answered anxiously.
"Let's get out of here." Alana whispered. "We will return for the bones of the girl when our fight is finished."
; They didn't return to their room, but to the stable. Meifen already had their wagon ready for them.
"Davy is with Molly," he told them. "I felt the stir of darkness and knew you would also."
They climbed into the wagon and quietly rode toward their home. The moon was full and they had no problem seeing the way in front of them. For once, Kingdom was also being very quiet. He too, seemed to know that something in the night had stirred. He didn't even pause at the barrier but continued onward.
A figure up on the upper floor peered out into the darkness. She saw the girls make a stealthy escape. She had expected as much. They were too sensitive not to notice the change in energy. It would make sense that they would return home. In the morning she would go to collect them. The house would be open, and all would be hers.
They had totally forgotten about their original plan to make an impression when opening the house. Now, they just wanted to do it as quickly as possible.
They unharnessed Kingdom as soon as they arrived. Meifen wanted him free in case they were attacked. They were worried because Caryn could cross the barrier. Alana carefully placed Cally-cat on the lawn chair. He was still sleeping deeply.
"Can we wake him?" Alana asked Meifen.
"That would not be wise," Meifen told her. "Caryn could possibly see through his eyes. It would be best to let him sleep."
"Oh," Alana said appalled.
"Where do we begin?" Kellan asked feeling overwhelmed.
Rhoswen knew they had to play to their strongest magical gifts. She relaxed and let her intuitive nature stir.
"I think Vevila should sing the song that our mama sang long ago when we were scared of the lightning storms," Rhoswen suggested. "I could feel the power rouse when mama sang it. How much stronger if Vevila was to sing it? Do you remember?"
"Yes," Vevila remembered vividly. "Should I start now?"
"Not yet," Rhoswen continued. "Alana, what does the property want?"
"I don't know why," Alana told them. "But there has always been an unbalance in the energy flow since that old bell fell from the belfry. It has since felt rather—raw—unsettled."
"Your great-grand father built that from the old castle," Meifen told them. "He told me so a very long time ago. There may be more to the belfry than just a bell."
"We have to repair it," Rhoswen told them. "I remember seeing the bell by the back porch."
"I will stay here," Meifen told them. "I will watch for your aunt's creatures."
"Creatures?" Kellan asked.
"She can control animals," Meifen reminded them.
"She's also roused something," Alana nodded, "something very dark. I can feel it stirring."
"That is so," Meifen confirmed.
They started walking toward the back of the house. They rolled the bell out of the brush. It was very heavy and had a cracked side.
"I can mend that," Dara told them. "I should be able to send energy into the crack and pull it together. I may need to borrow some energy though."
"It's yours," Kellan told her.
Dara used her skirt to rub the grit and grass from the bell. She sent a spark of energy along the rip to further clean away the dirt and debris.
"I need Kane to push the crack together," Dara told them. "Start at the top. I'll melt it together as you press.
Kane placed her hands on both sides of the bell and pressed. She borrowed strength from the link. They cringed with the sound of the bending metal. Dara hurriedly added energy to the edge of the rip.
"Stop, Kane," she blinked as she studied the fracture. "This isn't working. It just thins out the metal. We need Stefan. He's a blacksmith. He would know how to repair it."
They looked at her surprised. Dara had been working with their uncle. They had gotten to know Meifen—she had gotten to know Stefan.
"Is there something else we can do to unlock the house?" Kellan asked Rhoswen.
"Alana has to answer that," Rhoswen told her. "She can feel the land."
Alana closed her eyes to again question the land.
"It's the bell," she told them, "or the rift. I think the bell will be easier don't you?"
"Let's carry the bell to the forge," Kellan sighed with resignation. "If he is there, we can ask for his help."
Kellan released some of the gravity bonds from around the bell and gently shoved it ahead of them.
"Sure beats carrying it," Dara stated.
They walked to the newest building and called out. No one was there. Kellan let the earth's bond reattached to the bell and carefully lowered it back down.
"Isn't Hagan supposed to be staying here, too?" Kane asked.
"He was," Dara answered. "I know that Stefan wasn't at the manor. I don't know where he would be."
"You link with him all the time," Alana suggested, "can we call him? We can at least knock."
"You talk," Kellan said to Dara.
"By the way," Dara told them. "He likes to be called Stefan, not Uncle Stefan."
"That feels a little awkward," Alana frowned.
Dara just shrugged and knocked. He seemed a bit preoccupied. Dara knocked a little harder.
:Yes,: he answered distractedly. :I'm a little busy right now.:
Dara sent him a flood of thoughts showing him what they had learned and what they needed to do.
:I will be right there,: he told them.
"What else do we need to do?" Kellan asked. "What is the whole picture?"
"Dara will work with Stefan to repair the bell." Rhoswen described for them. "Kellan and Kane will be raising the bell back up into the tower—Dara will need to guide you. Once the bell is in place, Vevila will sing. I don't know what else from there."
"What about you?" Dara asked concerned.
"I am doing it," Rhoswen answered.
They paced around while they were waiting. They tried to figure out just what their aunt had done. Dara was frustrated because she couldn't see anything. She couldn't find Hagan or Celeste. She couldn't even find Stefan.
Kane walked out front for a while to sit with Meifen. She told him what they were doing. He was a very calming presence. She got restless with the calm and paced back to her sisters.
They jumped when Stefan walked around the corner. He did not at first see them and almost walked over the top of Rhoswen. It was Kane's shiny blond head which let him see that they were sitting in the grass.
"Let's get that bell fixed," he told them and led the way to the forge.
"It's cold," Kane told him. "We would have started it going, but couldn't figure out how."
Before her words were even finished he had the forge glowing hot. It wasn't a typical forge, only a Fire Master could operate it.
They watched curiously as he repaired the bell. Where Dara had been trying to use the metal of the bell to repair the crack, he added metal. They watched silently. He turned to them as the bell cooled.
"Even if you had been successful," he told Dara. "It would have sounded off. I think that would not have corrected the problem with the lands energy."
"Where were you?" Dara asked him. "I couldn't find you."
He paused and studied his nieces. He sighed. It was not only their right to know. They needed to know.
"Caryn took control of Hagan," he told them. "I followed him to Celeste's house. When she opened the door he threw something into her face. I tackled him at the door and was treated to the same foul dust. It must have been something that Caryn had prepared. It immobilized me. I could hear him carrying her away. He used her own carriage to take her. They are somewhere on this side. I heard Keegan's door open and close."
"How did she take control of Hagan?" Kellan asked.
"He's her son," Rhoswen said. "She's had him and Brody tied for a very long time—in fact since birth. It must have made her crazy to learn that Brody had broken loose."
"They were born with the raven same as us," Vevila asked feeling scared. "How come she could do that?"
"A mother has her own magic," Rhoswen answ
ered.
"I thought she had denounced magic," Alana frowned. "She sure seemed shy of it around us."
"She would need to be," Stefan told them. "As soon as she used any magic, you would feel the taint. She's very good—and very dark."
"We will get Celeste back!" Kane declared.
"Let's finish this!" Dara stood up.
Dara led the way to the old tower. Kellan pushed the bell along with her staff.
"That's handy," Stefan told her respectfully. She grinned shyly up at him. He regretted his time away from his nieces. They were really very sweet—if you didn't cross them.
Most of the tower was gone. There was enough of the mounting bracket to place the bell. The first storm to come along would take it out, but it would do for now. Dara showed Kane and Kellan where the brackets were.
Kellan kept the bell liberated as Kane moved it into place. Kellan was very proud of Kane. She was learning how to control her gift. Kellan thought that the wagon incident had scared her. She was definitely being more careful. She flinched thinking the same for herself. She didn't want to be flinging things to the stars.
"Sing Vevila, sing," Rhoswen called out.
Don't be scared little baby girl,
It's only a little light,
It's only a little noise,
Both mama and papa are here.
Tomorrow will shine as bright as before,
The energy from this night,
Will honor some of natures call,
Both mama and papa are here.
Vevila almost panicked when she ran out of words, but then she knew she must write her own.
The power in nature is of the most pure,
With it we will begin again,
Bonded by sisterhood, the power is ours.
Both mama and papa are near.
As Vevila sang she could feel the power of nature ringing through the link. She could feel it lightly touch her and then return to the earth only to come up again through Kane and migrate upwards to Kellan and Rhoswen. She watched the power surge outward to the little baby Haley, and return to touch Dara and Alana, and then on to Stefan. She watched it touch Meifen as he guarded them, and then onward to Celeste as she slept. The energy circled the land and finished on that old bell.
Even as they all watched, a raven grabbed the tong and rang the bell. The bell sounded pure. The raven then cawed and flew away. They all stared speechless as the house was lit from every room on every floor. The door swung open inviting them in. Alana picked up Cally-cat and they walked through the doorway joyfully.
"Breathe deeply," Alana called out. "We are truly home."
Return to Toc