Bound By Blood (26 page)

             
Once he was
gone,
an uncomfortable silence
fell
. It did not last
,
once it was realized that
Daŕ
ēus
had taken
Samanthŕa’s
sisters with him as well.

             
Dĩas
was enraged. He began to yell. “You said nothing of the others! Nothing!”
H
e screamed
into the darkness and even though Daŕ
ēus was gone, by power, he could hear him.

             
He also heard
Chymeŕah
laugh
and
then to,
disappeared.
Kaléé
,
however
,
stayed to enjoy the show and her thoughts shouted loudly as to why.
How could she resist
?
She had been waiting for a millennium
,
it seemed
,
for this particular prophecy to unfold
, f
or the night in which the Father of the Blood would rise again and set things right.

             
She had been dying to see
Dĩas
’ reaction when after all his efforts failed,
for
he could not prevent what was set in motion by the Goddess herself.

             
"
Bless the Goddess
."

             
Daŕ
ēus could hear her chant over and over. And before he closed his eyes to these visions, he saw the
Vlachŕa
smile
as she watched
Dĩas
throw a temper tantrum
of
rage
.
This, of course, made Daŕ
ēus smile.

~
Chapter 8
~

The Brothers

***

Mysterious are they,
not of
time
,

Moving through shadow
and the turbulence of dream.

Seven are they, who
shift
against rhyme
,

Waiting for
prophecy to set
them
free.

~

"And these are the signs . . ."

~

Seven stars shining bright,

These are the beacons of our
night.

These are the luminance of such eyes . . .

Dream with purpose now for
you
are mine
.

Almost time
now
. It's
almost time.

***

             
A
new night had come
;
three
still
but
very full
moons hung high amidst a glistening sheet
of illusory stars
. Their blinking glow
overlooked
the mysterious
Realm
of Chymeŕah.
Her
region
was nestled deep
within
an exterior of crystal divinity. The soils were rich
, black,
and the rocks burst
ing from it bore
clear stones of many transparent colors.
Some believed these crystals were the same as those the
NORSŔAH
tended, but they were not
.
They reached surreal heights of a hundred feet or more, channeling
energy that
merged with her extraordinary powers
. They were crystals of dream, crystals of power, of the very essence of Chymeŕah. They were whatever she needed them t
o be
and right now, they created a
realm
that reflected the whims of her daughters
.

             
Her
castle was built o
nto a mountain of
that
crystal, bordering an
a
methyst
o
cean
.
I
ts
shimmering
façade of
smooth fair marble towered
underneath a
profound
rosy
atmosphere
.
It was warm here and the season never changed
,
for Chymeŕah loathed the cold.
The crystals and various rocks helped repel the changing of seasons while their energy created a firmament of comfortable temperatures.

             
Some assumed Chymeŕah
favored the dark
and all that of darkness. Many accused her
of being made of chaos, repulsed by
all things of order and rule. Perhaps they imagined her here, within her mysterious
realm
, lounging with things of fright and of horror. But that simply was not true. Chymeŕah was as unpredictable with her tastes as she was
in behavior.

             
Inside
her home, inside
one of the chambers,
glossy
marble floors reflected
the many
things
around them as
if they were
clear
, tranquil waters
. Dark
, ancient
wood created mirrors and plush lounging chairs
that
filled a
very large and fairy tale
-
like
space. A
bed
big enough to sleep a dozen
was
plush
with
unfathomabl
y
cloud
-
like cushions.
Here
,
the seven sisters were gathered
about
in
transparent evening robes
, sparkling with
Fãe
ŕé
dust and
the detailed Sephŕel
embroidery
woven
upon various
fl
u
ttering colors
. They appeared pampered and adorn like goddesses giggling about in their
sheer, soft chemises.
All things were dream-like in the
realm
of Chymeŕah, when it came to the
daughters
of Chymeŕah. It was rare that they all be gathered here at once. So the queen of this
realm
would make sure all
the
treasures
of TEŔAH
would be laid at their feet.

             
Samanthŕa
had
no interest in treasures so she let the minds of her sisters' shape and mold their surroundings into what they wanted. The Priestess had
been awake for some
time, learning what little her sisters could remember
, which wa
s hardly anything but
hazy memories,
a
bout
why she was at her mother
’
s. She didn’t know what she expected
,
exactly
,
when she found herself here. She thought that maybe it was some hopeful illusion to convince her that she was anywhere other than
Dĩas’
dungeons. Or maybe she thought
that the G
iant she faintly remembered
Kaléé
naming
Daŕ
ēus
,
had kidnapped her
and
she
was in truth a
prisoner
in
some frightful lair.

             
The sisters’ exaggerated
chatter
came to an abrupt silence when they
heard horses approach
the
castle
. Each of them flew up from where they sat
or lounged
and skidded
over the smooth
, slick
floor
to the balcony pillars, peeking out.

             
Sliding to the colonnade and its smooth railings,
“It’s them
,
”
Morrgãyne
announced as seven very dark shadowy warriors rode up towards the long flight of stairs leading into the castle.
The stairs themselves were almost as many as the steps of a pyramid.

             
Chymeŕah’s
realm
was swimming in her magic and protection spells. One could enter by magic but no further than the portal which had brought them here. From there one had to journey forward by horse,
wagon,
or carriage. It kept unexpected visitors from just appearing when she least expected it. It prevented an enemy’s dagger taking her by surprise.
Having visitors make such a jou
r
ney
,
and then physically walking so many stairs, gave Chymeŕah a thrill that pampered her ego
, as well as serving a purpose
. If one wanted to visit her then she w
ish
ed them to have to work for the honor of it.

             
“Hush
,
”
Sameŕald
told her
sister
abruptly. “Look
!
”
her voice shrilled.
She almost rebelled against her own order to
Morrgãyne
. “That’s
him
,
Samanthŕa
, the one on the end.
That is the one I told you of.
Isn’t
he the most delicious thing you'
ve ever seen?”
She jerked Samanthŕa by her arm
,
nearly bruising her.
“Look, do you see him?”

             
Samanthŕa
shook her head
and tore
away
as
Sameŕald
pointed out the one who had mystified her. The other sisters did the same
, each exclaiming over their heart’s captor
until their voices simply faded.
Samanthŕa
ignored them. She had no interest in the others. She was only concerned with the one called
Daŕ
ēus
.

             
Unlike
her silly Vii sisters, it was not because she was falling over herself like some lustful
mortal
wench on the verge of dark forbidden passion. It was because this man frightened her. She had fallen under his power and experienced
firsthand
how much control that power could have over her. She had seen his rage in the
tavern
and at the
Beal-Tene
celebration. She knew how lethal he was when angered. Her senses had also tasted of his essence
and it
had invoked the first signs of her
A
wakening.

             
That was bad enough,
she
fum
ed.

             
Her list of reasons went on, as well. Why, h
e had invaded her dreams. There was no doubt about that. Before, when they were just dreams, she thought they were like any Vii
’
s
, m
erely flashes of the one who was destined to
A
waken
her
.

             
Now
Samanthŕa
knew it was something more than that. Since he was Father of the Blood, it was
implausible
that
h
e
should be
her
A
wakener. It was
very
possible though
,
that he
had been
using her through her dreams. Was he using her title to free himself from the
prison he claimed
he’d been
placed in?

             
Samanthŕa
was uneasy around things she didn’t know or understand. She also wasn’t comfortable being around someone who had such surreal power and strength. She naturally resisted those who had to
o
much control
,
especially when that control was a threat to her.
Daŕ
ēus
, as far as she could tell
,
was nothing more than a threat.