Kindred Spirit Lodge Presents
Dark Ember
by Nessa, Aria, & Killian
Parts 26 thru Conclusion -- February 2004
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(Part 26 by Nessa) --
The shore on the northern side of Denmark was ominous with it’s craggy cliffs and pounding surf. Caitlin and Nessa would not have to choose where exactly to find harbor since there was only one possible place. Once they were on solid ground, Caitlin thought her tracking skills might be sorely challenged. She was used to judging from forest floor and foliage. This rock and sparse vegetation offered little in the way of signs. But one thing was obvious to both warriors as they stood side by side, facing the cliffs… there was no way to go but up. Caitlin pulled her fur cape together in front and shivered while thoughts of Killian scaling the rocky cliff-side alone and in a less than rational state brought cold fear to her heart.
Nessa could sense the trepidation. She was also afraid for Killian. She feared for the Lady Aria who began this journey to spare her friends at no small cost to herself, Nessa was sure. She turned to Caitlin. “Remember that Killian’s mission is sanctioned by the Great Power behind all things. The fearweight tide is as much a friend as it is an enemy. It may be what keeps her going when others would fall, do`caraid” she said through the icy wind drifting between them.
Caitlin was not unaware or unappreciative of the Gaelic term Nessa reserved for special friends. She was glad the Celtic warrior stayed instead of attempting to stop Killian on her own. Nessa was respecting Caitlin’s right and Killian’s process. “Alright, Nessa” she said through the billowing steam of her own breath, “Are we ready for this climb?”
Nessa tossed a pack stuffed with rope, hooks, small picks and some dried venison and biscuits at the tracker. Caitlin reached out a gloved hand to catch it. They walked together to the most likely spot for beginning their climb. Each one knew they needed the other and each one wondered how successful the ones who climbed before them were. The cliffs were treacherous in many places. One could easily see why the treasure of the Gundestrup Cauldren would be hidden here. Anyone sane would weigh the risk and walk away. But as was known in the bones of them all… Dalton was not sane.
*****
Killian was familiar with climbing. As an Amazon, she learned the skill of scaling trees and deftly stepping through the tree-tops. But there were definitely differences here. The gloves she had to wear to keep her fingers from freezing and bleeding from the rough rock were bulky as were the rabbit-fur lined boots she had. Going was slow… and cold. The Amazon ascended to a natural shelf. She pulled herself onto it and lay flat and still for a moment’s rest. Her dark brown eyes skimmed across the small space and saw signs of a fire still warm, and something else. She jumped to her feet and picked it up. It was a pale lavender remnant of one of Aria’s favorite scarves.
Just beyond the little fire ring was a still figure. Killian knew, even in the darkness the person who lay there was dead. She kneeled down and saw the weather-beaten face of one of the sailors she didn’t hire, but who must have slipped away after hearing her tell where she wanted to go. The poor greedy man was slit from solar plexus to throat, eyes staring blindly at the moon. Dalton would, of course, eliminate any competitors for the treasure of the Viking prize. Even with this clear evidence of Dalton’s brutality, the young Amazon did not have a grasp on the reality of the danger she was in.
Dalton and Aria couldn’t be far. The psychic pulled in a deep lungful of icy air, closed her eyes and released her breath slowly. Her mind played it out. There they were, sleeping in a cave somewhere above. One of Aria’s wrists was bound to a ring somehow pounded into the stone floor. She was naked under the fur she shared with Dalton. Killian’s heart thundered a renewal of furious energy, blasting aside the fatigue and delirium that threatened to stop her here where she could kindle the dying fire and rest in warmth. Again, the fearweight tide compelled her, drove her to grasp the nearest hand-hold and push upward toward the satisfaction of killing the hated Dane and releasing the friend she held so dear.
Slowly and laboriously, each foot and hand found it’s hold. The wind howled like a lone wolf through the dark. But Killian was as intensely focused as only one carrying an emotional tidal wave could be.
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(Part 27 by Aria) --
Dalton and Aria couldn’t be far. The psychic pulled in a deep lungful of icy air, closed her eyes and released her breath slowly. Her mind played it out. There they were, sleeping in a cave somewhere above. One of Aria’s wrists was bound to a ring somehow pounded into the stone floor. She was naked under the fur she shared with Dalton. Killian’s heart thundered a renewal of furious energy, blasting aside the fatigue and delirium that threatened to stop her here where she could kindle the dying fire and rest in warmth.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Earlier...
{{{{BAM}}}}
“Dalton that is hardly necessary.”
{{{{BAM}}}}
“Where am I going to go for God’s sake…?”
{{{BAM}}}}
“Dalton…please”
The Dane surprised even herself as she drove the ring into the cave’s frozen ground. It took several dead on hard hits, but Dalton was finally satisfied, Aria would not be going anywhere tonight.
“I have no use of you tonight Milady, but that does not mean you free to wander about,” Dalton said huffing from the extreme calisthenics.
“Take your clothes off and give me your right arm,” the mad Dane told Aria as she unfolded the furs and began to set up a makeshift campsite.
“You’re chaining me to the floor!?” Aria asked incredulously.
The dark haired woman did not dignify Aria’s question with an answer, instead, she continued methodically adding small pieces of wood to the modest fire, then retrieved an extra dagger from her satchel, removed her boots and merely held out her hand.
“Dalton, I am not ready to sleep. I want to wash up, have some food and unwind a bit... and oh yeah, there is NO WAY am I sleeping in chains.” Aria barked now visibly annoyed.
“How can someone as smart as you be so naive?”
Aria had no idea what that meant, but the tone of this pompous behemoth sent her to the entrance of rage.
“Dalton I have had all I am about to take from you… this started with me keeping tris and the others safe and have grown into this fucking power struggle. Quite frankly I’m over it.”
The Dane smiled, not a good smile mind you, but one that came from a very dark place, “Aria I am not chaining you to the floor for any other reason than I CAN. I can do anything, anytime, I want to, you stupid wench. Your freedom is GONE. Your needs, your wants, GONE. You exist only because I allow you to; NOW TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES AND GIVE ME YOUR ARM!”
Aria stood there with her mouth hanging open. She could not move. No one had ever dared to talk to her like this and she was as stunned as she was angry, yet she remained still.
“Allowing you the freedom of some movement is a GIFT Aria. Accept it graciously or lay writhing in pain… it matters little to me.”
The blonde woman’s mind raced… she knew could not outrun Dalton, she could not win in hand-to-hand battle, and she could not survive in this God forsaken place without her…
Aria removed her clothes and raised her arm.
Dalton attached a heavy metal clamp that locked around the Lady’s wrist, from the clamp hung a heavy chain which Dalton locked around the ring. Lowering herself to the bed made of animals skins; Dalton yanked the chain bringing the Lady to her knees.
“This is the beginning of your new life Aria; if you embrace it and work very hard, it will bring you contentment and peace of mind… do you understand?”
Feeling the weight of the manacle and knowing she needed Dalton to survive this nightmare, the Lady could only nod her head.
“Good, now sleep. Tomorrow I will select a new name for you… Aria is fit for a Princess, not a slave.
The Lady was glad to be facing away from Dalton as she cringed at the words she was hearing. New name - slave - freedom gone... Aria could feel her identity being stripped from her. The need to escape this insanity battled with her panic until the Lady finally found respite in memories of good times with Killian and eventually, blessed sleep.
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(Part 28 by Nessa) --
Dalton watched the Lady Aria undress as ordered even after little outbursts and protests. She was so pleased. Aria’s nakedness made her seem so vulnerable. The Dane would make sure Aria knew who she belonged to. She would make her sleep chained and naked for the rest of her life. Yes, once she had the Gundestrupkelden, shining gold and glittering jeweled in her hand, she could command much. She could own much more land. She could keep Aria and Aria would bow her head in delicious fear at every order. She would strip when told. She would hang from ceiling beams, bed posts, and wall rings for as long as Dalton wished it. She would lie down or bend over or get on her knees when Dalton snapped a command. She would take her whippings and cry but she would take them. She would lay in waiting for her master’s footsteps resolved to not cry or whimper but would inevitably be compliant to avoid a worse punishment.
The mad Dane was dreaming of Aria serving her and her friends fine wine and fruit while naked breasts jiggled with each movement. She thought of how she planned to fuck her in front of those friends, allowing them to masturbate while watching but never to touch her property. No other would ever touch her slave. Dalton moved the fur cover down until the sleeping Aria’s back and buttocks were exposed. “It’s time your lessons started” she said breathlessly. She raised a hand and brought it down hard on the beautiful round ass that she owned.
Aria bucked as she awoke in shock at the beating her ass was getting. A wrist was secured to the ring in the floor. She was face down and naked. She heard Dalton speaking harshly to her with each slap to her ass. The Dane was ordering her to say something. “Wait, why?” was all she could cry out. The slaps were burning and relentless. All of the writhing of that beautiful body did not help. In fact it seemed to re-fuel the Dane.
“I said you will obey me!” Dalton yelled. “Say you will obey me! I have all night. I will be your master!” The Dane stopped long enough to unfasten her breeches and pull them down around her knees. She pressed a hand down between Aria’s shoulders and held her there, listening to the cries of her captive. “Well? Are you going to obey me?”
It was hideously obvious to Aria that Dalton had reached a peak in the cycle of madness that plagued her life and the lives of those around her. Reasoning with her was like speaking a foreign language at this point and giving her what she wanted was galling. To say she would obey… that she would consent to enslavement was going to take much more than Dalton the sadistic Dane had yet shown her. She decided to say nothing, at least nothing comprehensible. Her cries and sobs were beyond her control.
Suddenly the blows stopped. Dalton lay on top of Aria’s full length, pressing her hot mound down hard on the blonde’s sore ass. The Dane held Aria’s other wrist down with one hand and gripped her by the hair with the other. She began to rock hard against her captive’s hot, swollen ass while she spoke in her ear. “I take what is mine, I make forlove sig med elske.” Dalton began to speak her own language in her passion. Each time she pressed herself against Aria she got closer to the ecstasy she longed for.
Aria’s only choice was to wait it out. But something was uncharacteristically soft in Dalton’s voice. The softness and the pain were working on her own lower passions. Dalton kept talking and Aria got more and more excited. Even the rough floor under the fur she lay on served to bring a raw animal sense to it. Then, Aria heard words she understood from the smatterings of conversations she heard from Dalton and from the times the mad Dane talked in her sleep: “Det rager behage min skoer hjerte.” Her best interpretation was something like, “Please don’t break my heart.”
Aria was stunned. All passion left her, replaced by a compassion she always kept beneath the contempt she held for the mad Dane. She held still and listened while Dalton continued her whisperings. She could feel the cum from Dalton running down the inside of her ass cheeks and down onto her own folds. Something about the blending caused Aria to quake with her own intense climax. This seemed to be what brought on the pinnacle of lust for Dalton. Aria felt Dalton shudder for several minutes and then roll off her to fall into a soft, easy slumber beside her.
The beautiful blonde knew she would somehow escape from Dalton. She couldn’t know when or how just yet But she did understand at last that she would not kill the Dane. Nor could she allow anyone else to kill her. Her friends were coming. That was clear. How would she prevent what she thought was inevitable?
____****____
(Part 29 by Killian) --
Killian willed her arm up, as pain gripped her shoulder again. She grasped the icy handhold and hoisted herself up, moving only on the fuel the fearweight tide gave her at this point. Her mind raced and swirled with the wind around her, threatening to pitch her off the side of this godforsaken craggy peak once and for all.
‘I won’t have it,’ Killian thought to herself as she fevered on, the rape of Aria playing fresh, and angrily hot in her mind. The young psychic found a ledge and rolled up on it. The memory of her own rape crashed upon her, as if it had just occurred.
‘Caitlin.’ Killian thought as she pulled off her pack, and dropped it on the frozen ground. She knew enough to fall on the pack as her legs gave out from under her, and braced her back against the stony wall. The healer pulled her soft bearskin cloak close as she shivered, this time from deep inside her.
‘I can never tell Caitlin what happened that day during our forced separation. She can never know. Especially now.’
The tears burned hot as she convulsed, forgetting for the moment her mission of killing Dalton, while being crushed with the knowing of Aria’s rape, and Tris’ many rapes, and then her own, at the hands of Slaide, the henchwoman for the warlord Tantalas.
*****
Slowly the trained warrior eased up to the mass of brush that grew at the edge of the clearing. Slaide caught sight of a small foot sticking out from under a prickly ground branch. "Ow!" She heard it as plain as day. Some little wench was caught in the brush, probably here to spy.
Slaide drew her sword and walked to the brush. She began to hack away at it. "Here bitch, let me help you outta there." Slashing the brush would have been one thing but Slaide was out for blood. She never meant to be chivalrous and wouldn't know how if she did. She was murderous instead and liked herself immensely. This bitch would die in a tangle of ground brush as Slaide's blade slashed.
Slaide got a look at a pretty set of wide brown eyes. She stopped thrusting her sword and took in the rest of the wench. ‘Ooooh. A cutie!’ Slaide decided she would have a little piece of this wench and make it worth her while to have to be nursemaid to a campfire.
Slaide reached one well-muscled arm in and grabbed the wench's arm. She pulled up and freed the sweet looker from the tangle of viney branches. Nothing could have allowed her to believe that this little one would be hard to handle until she felt the stabbing pain from a knee in her gut.
Killian used the time that it took the thug to pitch forward with the blow to her stomach. She drew her leg back and up again to smash clean in the face of the surprised creep. She watched with satisfaction as the woman's body did a full arch backward and landed hard.
She turned and broke into her best sprint but found that her right foot was not cooperating. It was in fact, undergoing some serious pain. The ankle was twisted. It gave under her weight and she went down.
"Oh, sweet Artemis' left tit!" Killian screamed at her foot as she lay on the ground. The fiery lass knew she was in for it bad. Now she wished she hadn't been in such a need to help that she went out on her own. Dammit, Nessa and Lady Ally were out there, and Killian was gonna have their back, if it was the last thing she did.
Killian didn't believe anyone in the Lodge really knew just how skilled she was as a tracker, and staff wielder. But, this time she was impetuous, that was for sure, and now this blond bitch is waking up, and getting ready to pounce.
Killian rolled quickly and lifted her staff just in time to catch the beautiful brown eyed bitch in the stomach. She dropped to the ground with a loud squeal.
‘Hades’, thought Killian, ‘now the rest of the Banshees will soon know this cretin is down. Ok, lass, think. Horses, get to a horse’.
Killian, using her staff as a crutch moved as fast as she could to the horse. She heard the Bitch stir behind her. ‘Dammit, lass, move your rump or I’ll whip it so hard you won't sit for a month!’ Killian heard Caitlin's voice distinctly in her head, and smiled. Goddess she missed Caitlin, and damned if she was gonna let some Banshee Bitch lay a finger on her.
Up, into the saddle Killian managed with her good leg. Grabbing the reins, Killian was off.
She never saw the body coming as it dove down from the trees, taking her to the ground, and knocking her senseless in the process.
*****
Killian was covered in blood, and sweating from her struggling. She could hear a river nearby, and figured to get to it, and get in it and go down stream, so she couldn't be tracked. She ran as fast as her little legs could take her. But the tall Slaide was more familiar with these parts than Killian, and she was in hot pursuit.
Killian reached the river, and was just about to jump in when her feet were yanked out from under her. The tall bitch had her whip coiled around Killian’s feet, and pulled hard.
"Oh no, you don't get away from Slaide, you little cunt. You are so gonna pay."
(Killian was so into escaping, she totally forgot the nearly broken ankle she was running on. Until the whip coiled and pulled her in. Then the lass nearly screamed with pain.)
"So, this is how it is going to be is it?” Slaide stood over the feisty wench. "That's fine with me, bitch." She drew her dagger before Killian could get a kick in with her good foot. She dove on top of the scrambling little body. Holding the sharp blade to Killian’s throat, she whispered. "Do you think I won't slice your throat, bitch? You might be feisty and full of liquid fire, but are you stupid?" Slaide pressed the blade enough to draw a tiny trickle of blood. "I'll ask again, slut. Are you stupid too?"
Killian was pissed. She wanted to kill this beast. But no... She was not stupid. She knew this one would kill her in an instant. "No... I am not stupid."
"Good. Let's go.” Slaide stood bringing Killian up by her hair. She kept the knife in place at her throat. The wench re-injured her ankle in trying to escape so that she could barely walk at all now. Slaide called for Neach. "She needs a crutch. Help the bitch while I keep my dagger at her pretty little neck."
Neach complied reluctantly. She was still wiping blood from the cuts the girl made her give to herself. She couldn't figure out how she did that. Neach thought the banshee should just be killed. She put one brutish arm around the little waist and held the wench to her side. Neach half carried Killian back to the tent while Slaide held her at dagger point.
Once inside, Killian was tied spread-eagled between two posts. Slaide checked the knots. This little one would go nowhere now. Slaide felt a kind of liking for the bitch. Maybe it was the way she fought. She would take her time in fucking her. She wanted to make this wench beg for it. However, that would be later. Now all she wanted to do was whip her. She wanted to hear her scream.
The dagger was useful and plenty sharp. Killian’s clothes were cut, torn and shredded from her body. Slaide looked with deep appreciation at the sweet young flesh before her. "Ooooh you are a pretty one." She reached for a breast and squeezed gently. She liked the feel of that. Flashing her gaze to Neach, she said, "Quit ogling and get my strap!" Again, the punch-drunk warrior complied.
Killian braced herself. She knew there was no way out of this one. In the back of her mind, she knew that the kindred would be looking for her. However, the Lodge had to be defended and a lot of fighting must be taking place by now. When would any of them have time to find her? All thought was interrupted by the blinding sting of the strap slamming into her backside. She held her voice as long as she could but then lost all control. She threw her head back to face the gods and screamed.
The sound was music to the sadistic Slaide. Every slash of the strap brought the girl's body to stiffening and a quivering that drove the passion up in the warrior. She whipped hard. She covered every inch of that beautiful back and sweet round ass with welts that would remain for days. Slaide stopped because the screaming and the shaking stopped. The bitch finally weakened. She was beyond the pain.
Slaide walked up to Killian’s limp form. She grabbed a handful of hair and pulled back enough to bring the wench's face up. Slaide put her own face nose to nose with Killian and growled. "Your ass is mine, your cunt is mine, and your tits are mine." She tipped her head slightly and kissed Killian fully. It was an unexpected kiss to both women. Unexpected because it was not harsh. It was exploring, hot, and passionate as a kiss one would expect from an ardent lover.
Slaide pulled away breathless. The throbbing in her sex increased by the second. She shot a look to the witnessing Neach. "Get out!"
"But... Slaide you ought to let me watch" Neach whined.
Slaide flashed a murderous glare at the stupid warrior. "Get... the fuck... out... NOW!"
Slaide watched the tent flap close after the complaining Neach left, then turned to look again at her captive. This little beauty was really something. She took her whipping well. Would she take what was soon to come as well?
Killian hung limp. The strapping was harsh. She lost strength from the pain of it. Her ankle felt like it was on fire. She rolled her head up to look at her tormentor. She saw dark brown eyes in a face that was really quite pretty except for the scar that ran down her cheek.
Slaide wanted to play. She bent down low and took one very pretty nipple into her mouth. She rolled her tongue around it slowly then pulled away gently as she sucked. The nipple popped out of her mouth as she moved back. Ooh. It stood straight out now. She would have to treat the other one the same. This time though, when she took the nipple in her mouth, her arms went around the pretty naked wench. Her hands were rough. The girl shivered and cried when Slaide squeezed those red-hot ass cheeks. She decided to keep it up. The wench's skin must be burning.
She untied Killian’s wrist and pushed her backward. The wench landed hard on her sore backside. Feet still tied, Killian lay open to Slaide.
Slaide got to her knees between those spread legs and opened her britches. She was shaking from the excitement this woman gave her. Still, she wanted Killian to want this fucking. She leaned over and lay full onto the girl. She held her wrists while she kissed her. She pushed the phallus she wore against the sweet young cunt. She moved up and down slowly to get the thing rubbing at a good rhythm on Killian’s clit.
Slaide's mouth was brushing soft kisses against Killian’s face and mouth as she rocked against her. "Yes?" she whispered. Again in a mingle of kisses and humping, "Yes? Hmmm?"
Killian’s mouth moved as if to form a word. Her answer was instead, a wad of spit that landed dead center on Slaide’s face.
Slaide drove that phallus into the beautiful captive. "Bitch!" She pushed and grunted as she watched Killian’s face show pain. She tried to be slow but her need overwhelmed her. She lifted her upper body and held herself up on her elbows. Slaide rode Killian hard and fast. She heard Killian cry out in agony and still she rode. She felt the girl collapse beneath her. She came with the force of a titan rocking back and forth on that sweet bound body.
Killian knew her friends were coming. She reached deep within herself for the strength to hold on long enough for them to appear.
*****
Slaide pulled herself up from her captive at the sound of ruckus outside. "What the..." Standing at the opening of the tent was a tall Warrior with rage in her gray eyes.
*****
Killian shook herself as she remembered those penetrating gray eyes boring into her. “Goddess help me!” Killian cried out into the wind. She thought she heard a voice respond. “Tell me child, I am listening.” Fresh tears burst from Killian as if from a broken damn, as her heavy heart poured out what she knew she could never speak of again to a mortal soul.
*****
I saw Nessa's face, filled with fury, and my own eyes closed briefly in prayer, thanking Artemis that she got here before my throat was slit. My body hurt terribly, but I wasn’t thinking about that now. Right now, I wanted to create a distraction, so Nessa could act.
"Hey Bitch!” I shouted. "You fuck like a one legged Centaur.” I didn't know where that came from, but it worked. Slaide looked at me, wounded from my words. I almost felt bad for her, almost.
Just then, Nessa body tackled her to the ground. I couldn't see what she was doing, but I could hear fist hitting jaw, and bone shattering. There was grunting, and swearing, then silence in the tent. Nessa stood up holding a knife covered in blood. Her eyes had that haze I had seen many times before, in many warriors. She looked at my body, and slid her eyes back up to meet mine. I met her gaze, and consented right then and there. Maybe I wanted the feeling of Slaide’s rape to be off me. Maybe I was grateful that Nessa had just saved my life. I don't know. All I know is I needed her to take me, and she needed to be taking.
She cut my legs free and tucked the knife, not bothering to wipe it clean. Her gaze was hot as iron in the coals, and it burned right through me. She opened her britches, pulled herself out, and was on top of me and in me, fucking me hard and deep. Her lips grabbed mine and consumed me with both passion and rage. I knew she wanted to whip me, and I thought maybe I would let her one day, but right now, I rose to meet her raging thrusts with my own. I would purge what had happened to me here.
Nessa grabbed my welted ass and I screamed into her mouth as I came and came again. She kept up the fucking, taking me past what I thought was my limit, to aching new heights. I let go and wailed and screamed, all the while she had my mouth as hers, claiming me back to myself again and again.
Her orgasm pealed out of her with blinding force, pulling me into a final body crashing release of my own. I was finally purged, and spent. She pulled off me, and turned away as she put herself back together again. When she turned back, she was Nessa, my friend, and today, my savior. She looked at me, troubled by her behavior. I took the cover from the bed, and wrapped myself in it, allowing her to help me get up. When I was close to her, I hugged her with everything I had left.
"Thank you, Nessa. I needed you, this.” I started crying as I shook and started to pass out. She picked me up and held me in her arms.
"I've got ye, lass. I've got ye."
She carried me out of the tent as I lay my head on her shoulder.
*****
Killian settled back against the rock, feeling almost light for the first time since taking on the fearweight tide from Tris. She took off her gloves and held her hands together in prayer thanking Grace for giving her this chance to purge this most secret of burdens. For once, Killian slept until dawn, in peace.
____****____
(Part 30 by Nessa) --
The two following warriors reached the ledge where the old pirate lay frozen in death. Caitlin saw signs of Killian having been there but it was not Killian who killed the poor fool. It was Dalton. It looked as if Killian stirred the fire and took some still warm but not hot coals to carry against her. She probably put them in the pouch she kept at her breast. Caitlin was grateful the lass was thinking about her own survival.
Together, Caitlin and Nessa tossed the stiff body to the chasm below. Nessa pulled wood chips and kindling from her pack to start another fire. They needed rest. They would carry on at first light. Both of them praying that Killian found a place to rest in safety.
“How far ahead would you say the lass is?” Nessa ventured.
“Not far” Caitlin answered as she looked upward at the steep slope before them. “She may be a good climber and determined but not even a force such as a fearweight tide can keep her going without rest. I think we will gain on her before she reaches Dalton” she said hopefully.
“You know, Caitlin, there will be more bandits and treasure hunters looking for what Dalton seeks,” Nessa said flatly. “Killian is in more danger than she is bargaining for and so are we.”
“I have been thinking about that. My hope is that she IS bargaining for that danger, especially now that she has seen that poor creature we tossed over the edge.”
“You aren’t thinking she will come to her senses and turn back are you?” Nessa squinted through the cold. “Because it won’t make a difference to her at all. She has been taken, my friend. The fearweight tide has taken control.” Nessa struck flint against flint and watched the spark light the small pile of kindling.
They sat in silence, hovering closely to the small fire. They ate dried venison and biscuits, exchanging very little in the way of words or eye contact. Nessa offered first watch and stirred the coals while Caitlin hunkered her tall frame into the down and doe skin bedroll.
The Celt watched and listened but it was her own visions and her own thoughts that held her attention up on that rocky ledge on the Northern cliffs of Denmark. The wind was calming down and the chill seemed to lessen. In the silence of the night her inner thoughts rolled out like a scroll. Nessa’s heart throbbed with the old and the new aches of her life. Watching Caitlin breathe, she envisioned how Killian must look waking up beside the beautiful trader. That same longing for the Amazon lass visited her now. Never had there been one such as Killian to fill the emptiness inside her. Killian’s very presence healed her wounded past. She fell to remembering the time she found the young Amazon in the tent of Slaide, the warlord, Tantalas’ second.
Nessa was remembering the entire event at the same time Killian purged to the Goddess less than fifty feet above them. But her eyes never left the only living human who made the difference between the Celt and happiness with Killian. Tears ran hot down Nessa’s face. What stopped her from drawing her dagger and removing Caitlin in one swift toss to the brain? She wondered this as she sat in the shadow of the ledge. One toss and she could blame it on pirates. She allowed her head to drop forward. Slowly, Nessa the Celtic warrior drew her dagger from it’s sheath and slowly she lifted it high for the toss. Then, in one lightning flash if a moment, she tossed hard and sure.
The dagger penetrated and splintered bone, causing the surprised pirate to fall across Caitlin’s prone body. Caitlin was up and out of the bedroll in seconds. She saw the gruesome corpse, eyes wide with shock, and the hilt of Nessa’s dagger protruding from his forehead. She drew her own sword from the sheath where it lay.
Together, the two warriors chopped at fingers and hands from the few pirates still trying to get up onto the ledge. Cries of terror ripped through the cold silent night as the pirates fell to the craggy rocks below.
____****____
(Part 31 by Nessa) --
Killian stood up, still wavering through sleep. The screams of men alarmed her to wakefulness. It was not lost on her that others were after the Gundestrup Cauldron. These were screams of death and fear. They started out close but faded as if the screamers were falling. The psychic closed her eyes and settled herself for a look. Caitlin and Nessa! They were close and apparently not thinking about reasoning with bloodthirsty treasure hunters. A smile spread across the Amazon’s face. She reveled in the sounds of terror below her. She thought of Dalton and how she was going to hear just those kinds of sounds peeling out of the Dane soon, very soon.
Deep within herself, Killian did battle between the woman of bright hope, who loved life immeasurably, and the new woman created in the darkness of the fearweight tide. This new Killian felt a sense of power in her hatred for Dalton and she liked it. This new Killian had a taste for the suffering of her enemies. This new Killian was looking forward to tearing the skin from an agonized Dalton. She was going to enjoy it.
Quickly, the crazed Amazon resumed her climb with a new fervor. Killian was resourceful and clever. She understood how difficult it would be to track anyone on the cliff-side. Caitlin would be assuming that anyone in a hurry would climb straight up. Killian stepped from the ledge she was on and made her way in a slow, laborious climb taking a sideways direction. She thought her darling, Caitlin and her good friend, Nessa might even pass her as they climbed to the ridge. So much better for her. She already had a bead on Aria and Dalton and it was not where the others thought they were. This was when the Amazon loved her psychic gift most. She could know from the start what others had to find out by trial and error.
*****
Caitlin leaned against the wall of the ledge she shared with Nessa. The precarious space afforded little room between them. One thoughtless step would send either of them to the doom of the pirates. But then as Caitlin kneeled down and pulled the dagger from the scull of the pirate who nearly killed her, she thought Nessa was never one to be thoughtless in her actions. She used the shirt of the dead man to wipe the blood from the blade. “Again I am in your debt, Nessa” she said as she handed the dagger over hilt first.
“It was only circumstance” Nessa replied. “You’d have done the same for me.”
“I see. It is just that we are on the same team, right? We have the same cause. Otherwise it wouldn’t have mattered?”
“Yes, we are on the same team, but it is not the same cause!”
“What can that possibly mean, Nessa?”
Nessa’s voice got softer. “It means that you are worried and that makes you angry and anger makes you want to punish the lass.” The Celt sheathed her sword and wrapped her fur cape close. “I just want to keep her from harm.”
Caitlin was astonished. “You surprise me, Nessa. I would have thought you would know that Killian would not love one as shallow as that.” Caitlin spoke as she coiled rope for the climb. “I am worried and I am angry. But my motive is deeper than that. I don’t know much about this fearweight tide thing, but I know that it is changing Killian. I know it is driving her. I want to stop her before she does something her soul could never come back from.”
Nessa paused from the pack she was tying. “I am deeply sorry to have misjudged you, Caitlin. It’s just that... I”
“Can’t stop loving her or wanting her.” Caitlin finished for the faltering Celt. “How bloody blind do you think I am?” Caitlin heaved the hook at the end of the coiled rope and felt it catch solidly above them. She pulled hardy to test it then began the climb, leaving Nessa to do what she would do.
____****____
(Part 32 by Killian) --
Deep within herself, Killian did battle between the woman of bright hope, who loved life immeasurably, and the new woman created in the darkness of the
Fearweight Tide. This new Killian felt a sense of power in her hatred for Dalton and she liked it. This new Killian had a taste for the suffering of her enemies. This new Killian was looking forward to tearing the skin from an agonized Dalton. She was going to enjoy it.
'The darkness of the Fearweight Tide is trying to consume my spirit. I feel it, yet I can not seem to stop it from taking me.' Killian climbed on in a sideways angle up the craggy peak. The wind finally took its leave, and Killian thanked Grace.
"Grace," She suddenly pleaded, "Would you have me do this? Would you have me shred Dalton like the living piece of evil flesh that she is?" There came no calming answer, only pressure from deep inside, from the Fearweight Tide consuming her. "Of course you need to shred her skin from bone, Killian. And more, you must remember what she did to Tris. Here, let me help you feel it again."
Killian screamed aloud, through a mouth covered with glove, for she knew this drill. The Fearweight Tide would not spare her on this quest for vengeance. She felt the red hot poker on her thigh, branding her with Dalton's Crest, just as if Dalton herself was there doing the deed. Killian felt all of Tris' terror, which mingled with her pain, and now Killian's pain added to that.
"This is why you must not only kill her, Killian, but make her suffer as well." The Fearweight Tide gained close to total control of Killian, and it worked her mercilessly for that last little speck she withheld as her own.
"Killian, think of Aria" whispered the hateful voice. "What is Dalton doing to her right now? What will she be doing to her for the rest of her life if you don't end it? If Dalton is allowed to live, she will terrorize all that Aria loves, until all are dead, or worse. If you let that happen, it will be all on you, Killian. Do you understand? This is all up to you now. None of the others understand what you understand... that Dalton wants to own Aria to her core. She will destroy all that inhibits that endeavor."
Killian felt herself rocking, as if deep in trance. She had fought valiantly inside herself to hold on, 'but to what end?' She now questioned. 'Isn't Dalton evil incarnate? Aren't I being called to stop her and strip her of her life, and her very skin? YES! That is my calling! She will never hurt anyone I love again. And I will enjoy stripping her of her skin, as I prepare her to roast on a spit of her own juices. Death she will have, but not until she has suffered two-fold the suffering she has wrought on the innocents that I hold so dear to me.' Killian's eyes glazed over. The full weight of the Fearweight Tide was upon her now. She was consumed.
'I have your psychic scent Dalton. I know where you are right now, I will hunt you down, and I will do unspeakable things to you. You will live just long enough to regret the path you have chosen in this life. Then I will slowly end your stinking miserable existence. You will know incomprehensible pain. You know I am coming, and you know the end is near. You are not smart enough to truly fear me, so you will be completely unprepared for my arrival. This, you wretched excuse for a Noble-Woman, will prove to be the biggest mistake of your life.'
Killian moved now, gripped completely in the fever of the Tide. She could do nothing else but follow it's call, and pray somewhere deep inside, that somehow she could be stopped from herself. She knew she was no longer able. She pushed on as if driven by a flame on her heels coming from the very depths of hell.
____****____
(Part 33 by Aria) --
"Killian, think of Aria" whispered the hateful voice. "What is Dalton doing to her right now? What will she be doing to her for the rest of her life if you don't end it? If Dalton is allowed to live, she will terrorize all that Aria loves, until all are dead, or worse. If you let that happen, it will be all on you, Killian. Do you understand? This is all up to you now. None of the others understand what you understand... that Dalton wants to own Aria to her core. She will destroy all that inhibits that endeavor."
Dalton felt that now familiar pull in the back of her neck…. “That bitch is thinking hard about me again” the Dane whispered to the sleeping Aria.
With her finger lightly tracing the chain that bound Aria ever close she did not like to admit to herself she felt slightly intimidated by the psychic woman. The Dane pondered how one so small could cause so much trouble. Grinning malevolently, she thought after she finished breaking the Lady down… she just might have to teach that little bitch some manners too.
Aria stirred as Dalton pulled her closer, “fear not, my love… no one will take you from me… and live to enjoy their conquest” the Dane gently assured the Lady as she joined her once again in sleep.
____****____
(Part 34 by Nessa) --
Dalton was certain of her own knowledge of these caves. But the cave that held the Cauldron she sought was beyond what she knew. It was further in… deeper into the mountain. It was from an old sikre skatten (Treasure Guardian) whose tongue was loosened with a stein of Danish beer and loosened further with the breaking of fingers that Dalton extracted the map. It was a bit difficult, of course, for the old sikre to draw a map with broken fingers so Dalton had to take down direction while the old man screamed.
The Dane carried out her plans very well thus far. If it wasn’t for that damned psychic Amazon woman who would take her most precious treasure from her, she could feel more at ease now that they were so close. Aria slept beside her, naked and warm. No. No little bitch would rob her of Aria. Dalton was sure of herself and her ability to stop the one who dogged them. After all, she was just one small Amazon. Dalton was tired, very tired. She closed her eyes and loosened her hold on wakefulness, a mistake she may not live to regret.
While Dalton bolstered her own prowess and abilities to stop Killian, the young Amazon was already at the cave entrance where she could see the light flickering on the stone wall from the fire where her friend lay asleep in the arms of the deadly Dalton.
Yes, Dalton was known for her treachery, for her evil deeds. It was clear to all that Dalton was driven by insanity and lust. Few ever wanted to deal with the imperious mercenary. But Killian had something driving her that was far more dangerous. She carried the burden of the Fearweight Tide which gathered inside her like toxic sand at the bottom of an hour-glass. She was filling with it. She was becoming it.
Slowly, Killian stepped inside the cave. There they were. At last. The flames of the fire hid a full view. She would step aside to get a better visual. She would throw her dagger into the Dane’s knee. She wanted only to wound… at first. It was good that her friend was shackled to the floor. Aria would surely try to stop Killian from carrying out her plans to the fullest. Ever the savior of this hideous, murdering bitch.
Just before the young Amazon moved, her eyes caught sight of something in the wavering heat above the flames. A figure in the robes of the Druids. Killian heard a voice in her mind. “See what you would be killing, child. Be sure of your motives.” The figure extended a hand and motioned as if inviting Killian to look inside a door opened above the flames. It was Daltons dream and more… Daltons life there in the flames, playing out as if on a stage. The psychic was mesmerized.
Killian saw a young girl, orphaned by war and bonded to brothel keepers who cared little for a child’s heart and even less for the small body, except for the gold it brought. She was such a fighter she had to be manacled to the post in the barn where a bed of straw was a home and a torture chamber. Killian watched unspeakable things done to the child. She saw how the young mind became fragmented just to cope with the rapes and the beatings and the starvation. She saw the child begin to talk to herself… making plans to escape. She saw the desire to kill grow in Dalton the child. She saw the killing of Dalton’s soul and the birth of a rage so consuming that only her madness could get her through it.
Killian looked at the sweet face of the Druid in the fire. The voice returned. “You will be free now.” The psychic’s hatred of Dalton dissolved in the face of this truth. The Fearweight Tide lifted as if by some Grace presiding over a rite of passage. She held only pity and respect for skills of survival this creature must have. She saw too, what Aria must see to be so protective of one so cruel.
Just standing there now. No malice, no fury, Killian watched fearlessly as Dalton jumped up from the furs she lay on. Murder gleamed from the Dane’s slate eyes. Killian stood still. She was looking upon a wounded child. Slowly, she bent down and laid her dagger on the floor. Next, her staff and then her bow and quiver of arrows. She lifted her hands to her heart, crossing them one over the other in a gesture of warm emotion. Then she extended her open arms and said, “My Lord, Dalton… I come in peace.”
Aria woke when she felt Dalton jump up. The scene was most astonishing. She looked back and forth between the two enemies in disbelief of Killian’s action and Dalton’s stunned lack of action.
____****____
(Part 35 by Aria) --
Just standing there now. No malice, no fury, Killian watched fearlessly as Dalton jumped up from the furs she lay on. Murder gleamed from the Dane’s slate eyes. Killian stood still. She was looking upon a wounded child. Slowly, she bent down and laid her dagger on the floor. Next, her staff and then her bow and quiver of arrows. She lifted her hands to her heart, crossing them one over the other in a gesture of warm emotion. Then she extended her open arms and said, “My Lord, Dalton… I come in peace.”
“By the Gods Killian what are you doing here?” Aria said holding back her tears as she started to rise. Dalton having other plans, thrust the Lady back to the ground with a swift kick to the small of her back, “you are NOT to address her…keep silent girl.”
Killian winced as Dalton’s boot made contact with Aria’s back and she heard the Lady’s breath expel abruptly. The Psychic wanted to run to Aria, she wanted to wrap her arms around the Lady’s naked body to comfort her then flee this place, yet she remained still and stood her ground.
“Let us see, shall we?” Dalton asked in a dangerously melodic tone as she approached Killian slowly. “You followed me across an ocean… you have scaled a mountain… you’ve managed to elude your entire little entourage and -- oh yes, and you are armed to the tits. So my dear woman, how ever am I to believe you come in peace?”
“Lord Dalton, have I not laid my weapons at my feet, do I not stand before you unarmed?” Killian asked in a soft tone.
“Yes you have and you do. Why is that?” the Dane asked suspiciously.
“I must confess, I originated my journey with the sole purpose of ending your life, because --
“And now?” Dalton waved her hand and cut Killian off.
“Now, my Lord… now, I feel only compassion and pity towards you.”
Aria dropped her head in despair at the word ‘pity’… she knew this was about to get ugly, her thoughts consumed with how she could get to Killian before Dalton did.
“You pity me.” Dalton asked incredulously.
Aria groaned.
“My powers allowed me to see your… your humblebeginnings Lord Dalton; they helped me to see the impetus behind who you are today,” Killian said in honest sincerity.
“I see dear… how very kind of you”, dripped from Dalton’s lips as her heart beat wildly in her chest.
Aria knew the Dane’s controlled tone far too well. There was an eerie calm to Dalton’s voice, but Aria knew it only masked her true insanity. The Lady no longer believed this tone; it proceeded too many nights of pain and humiliation. Aria knew this tone to be the sound of madness.
“Killian, is it?” Dalton asked with a smile upon her face and warmth in her words.
“Yes my Lord, it is” replied Killian, responding slightly to the at once majestic and kind Dalton.
“Come warm yourself by the fire dear, you must be chilled to the bone,” Dalton offered, hanging on by a thread.
“KILLIAN NO…. RUN!”
____****____
(Part 36 by Nessa) --
Dalton stood braced to pounce if this little sprite of an Amazon decided to act on her friend’s unwise advice. But the girl merely glanced at the Horrified Aria and said, “I cannot run, Aria. I have come too far to see what I have seen.” Killian glanced back at the Dane and held her eye to eye, psyche to psyche. “My running away would never soften the horror lived by a child.”
Aria, manacled to the floor from one of her wrists, could do nothing but shake her head in wonder. “Why do you speak in riddles now? Stop the cryptic dung, Killy. Get the hell out of here!”
Dalton swallowed. She hated the sense of fear she had when her eyes met the eyes of this one small woman. She spoke softly. “I did tell Aria that she should not underestimate you. But she worries so.” Dalton said as if honey coated her tongue. “Did you come to kill me, Killian?”
“Yes”
“You had the chance, but you didn’t… why?”
Killian was not a fool. She could see Dalton inching closer as she spoke. There were no weapons to throw so she would have to get hold of the Amazon to hurt her. Killian stepped back, her eyes never leaving Daltons and said, “I will show you why.” The psychic gathered focus between the Dane and herself. She played out the script of what she saw earlier while Dalton slept.
Aria watched Dalton stop moving. She could feel the energy, the struggle from Dalton and the immense understanding and love from Killian. She couldn’t see what Dalton was seeing and she could not know what happened to change Killian. All she knew was that Dalton was too dangerous for Killy, her sweet Killy, to be fucking around with as if she were Gabrielle on a heal-with-love kick.
Suddenly, it was all too much for Dalton. She jerked herself back from the psychic hold and the visions it contained. She lunged toward Killian, grabbing her two upper arms and lifting the smaller woman up to meet her eye to eye. “You think you can make the idioten (idiot) of me little aurtig? (Bitch) You think you will see me hen til hensmuldrene (crumble into dust) with these memories?” The Dane shook Killian fiercely as she screamed.
Aria knew that when Dalton fell into speaking Danish to one who did not understand, she was out of control. She felt a fear for Killian that she never even felt for herself. Just before Dalton back-handed Killian she saw something in the psychic’s glance that threw a picture into her own brain. It was Caitlin and Nessa and they were Close!
Aria screamed loud and hard. “Nessa, Caitlin we are in a cave! Here, here! Dalton is killing Killian Hurry!” Dalton flashed a murderous glare at Aria and hit Killian again, sending her reeling across the cave unconscious. The Dane followed in a rage. Then she heard something from Aria that brought her to a halt.
“Touch her just one more time, Dalton and if Caitlin and Nessa don’t kill you, I will. I will kill you in your sleep. I will find a way. It won’t matter to me how long it takes. They are on their way and you know it. Make a choice now.” Aria’s speech was slow, voice steady.
“You are serious, Elsker?” (Darling)
“As a heart attack.” Aria leveled her gaze like a weapon. She watched while Dalton gathered furs and weapons and stuffed food in the pack. She was close to disbelief that it was probably not the threat but rather the change in voice tone and manner that turned the tide in Dalton’s insanity. It did not make her sane it merely switched something inside her that caused her to go from rage to urgency. Killian lay unconscious on the stone floor but she was breathing.
Dalton heard falling rock as the two pursuing warriors climbed down toward the cave they passed when Killian side-stepped on the mountainside. She unfastened the manacle at Aria’s wrist and dragged her to one of the four inner cave entrances that branched off from the main entrance where they camped. Aria kept her mouth shut at this point. So far, everyone was still alive.
____****____
(Part 37 by Nessa) --
Dalton did appreciate Aria’s silence since it kept the lover of Killian and the red-haired warrior from knowing which cave entrance to follow. However, the blonde was going to recognize Dalton’s next move and she would not be so silent then. Besides, if Aria knew Dalton was hurting Killian any more, she would keep her promise to kill the Dane at first opportunity and when least expected. Dalton trusted Aria to keep her word.
Suddenly the Dane stopped dragging Aria. She pulled the captive’s clothes and boots from the pack she carried. With one strong hand she pushed Aria’s naked body against the rough stone cave wall. There was no light here. But there was plenty to feel in the dark. Pressing her body hard against Aria’s smaller one, Dalton pinched and squeezed Aria’s breasts whispering warning to be silent.
Aria felt Dalton’s hot breath in her ear, telling of unspeakable punishments to come. “You are mit kvinde (my woman), Aria. You have been very bad. I regret that I must put you to sleep for the rest of the journey into the treasure mines. But you must not be able to remember anything. Now you must dress.” Aria remained quiet while Dalton helped her with her clothes. She wondered vaguely what Dalton meant by putting her to sleep. But she was so grateful to be putting something on her bare body in the icy cave that anything beyond getting warm would have to wait. The blonde scarcely felt the slightest trace of regret before she was blindsided by a blow to the side of her head that knocked her clean out.
Now Dalton could get to Killian and Aria would not have to know. The Psychic would still be unconscious even if the warriors who sought her found her. The Dane smiled when she felt the slight weight of her beloved Aria slump forward into her arms. Gently she wrapped her prize in a blanket of pelts and laid her on the floor at her feet. “I’ll be with you in a moment Elsker (darling).” The madness she lived in was as dark and cold as the air around her in this cave. It was comfortable here to one who knew little else. Dalton hated Killian for her pity and her pathetic understanding. But more… she hated her for seeing the whole being, for showing them both the events so heinous as to fragment a child’s mind into a woman’s madness. She leaned against the stone wall and dropped her eyelids. Through the silent passages of the psychic realm she reached the unconscious Amazon and set the stage for torture.
*****
They heard Aria’s screams. Caitlin and Nessa slipped and caught hold and leaped then slipped again in their reckless scramble to get to where the cries were coming from. They had indeed climbed passed the quarry as Killian surmised they would. The down ward angle they now had to forge was untested as were their skills at this sort of thing. But they had sheer nerve, courage and motive propelling them. They could never allow the mad Dane to keep Aria and now the added incentive stoked the fire that burned deep within both… the ever abiding love for Killian. The words “Dalton is killing Killian, hurry!” rang through the crisp morning air and though that is where the screaming stopped the words vibrated inside the hearts of both women.
At last they leapt, one after the other onto the ledge that faced the main cave opening where they heard Aria’s cries. In unison two very serious, very anxious warriors drew swords and entered the cave mouth. It was barely lit inside from a small fire in the center. Caitlin stepped to the left and Nessa to the right in a slow arc. The silence was maddening. Nessa’s boot touched something as she stepped. She crouched down to get a look. Her heart sank and tears rose all at the same time. Killian was unconscious but she was alive. “Kat-leen!” she screeched. “Over here!”
Caitlin nearly flew at the sound of Nessa’s call. As their eyes became more adjusted to the dim light, it became more apparent that there were no others in this part of the cave. Caitlin gathered Killian up and carried her to the fire which Nessa was already fueling further with kindling she found rather handy by the fire. She shot a look at Caitlin and said, “Too bad the bitch didn’t leave Aria behind in her haste.”
“It was probably due to Aria that Killian still lives” Caitlin said as she rocked the Amazon in her arms. “She has a knot on her head, do you think she is okay, Ness?”
Nessa got up and walked over to look at Killian. She kneeled beside the two women and felt the love between them even while one was in the land of unknowing. As much as she would not have this bother her, it did, but she was determined not to show it. Nessa lifted Killian’s eyelids. Her pupils were not dilated and her pulse was strong. “She is knocked out but I don’t think there is damage, Caitlin.” She watched the concern fade only slightly from Caitlin’s blue eyes and knew in her heart that Caitlin was the one who could not lose Killian again and remain whole in her mind. Yes, Nessa would always be able to go on one way or the other. Still, the thought was small comfort to the Celt.
Suddenly the Amazon’s body stiffened. She let out a scream that pierced through the air and shot through each warrior’s heart. Warmth spread and became sticky on Killian’s back where Caitlin held her. Caitlin lifted Killian to a sitting position where they looked and saw a streak of blood running from the top of the girl’s right shoulder to the top of her left hip as if an invisible whip lashed mightily upon the girl.
“What is this?” cried Caitlin.
Nessa thought for a moment and said. “I think it must be Dalton. She is kinetic. She can hurt Killian… even kill her from wherever she is.” Just then another scream and another whip lash marked a bloody streak making a perfect X over Killian’s back.
Caitlin stood With Killian in her arms “Do something Druid!” she screamed at Nessa.
“Get her out into the cold. Dalton is no match for Killian as long as she is awake. We have to wake her up… quickly.”
Once out on the ledge, another scream pierced the cold air. But fresh snow was falling and Caitlin put her lover down onto a soft layer of it. Together the two warriors scooped handfuls of snow up and washed face, hands and temples with it. Somehow Caitlin knew to pull Killian’s boots from her and pack snow on her feet. She was immediately rewarded with a yelp and a curse from her lover. “Centaur dung, Caitlin! What in Hades name are you doing?”
Killian was drawn from a rack where she was spread-eagled, naked and hearing Dalton’s dreadful laughter after even more dreadful whip lashes into an icy cold mountain-side where her feet were even more icy cold. Yes… It was better than the whipping. But better still was the smiling faces of her beloved Caitlin and her dear Nessa there to meet her. But damn, her back was hurting. Dalton meant to kill her. But now that she was awake she had more choices. After all of this, Killian could have closed her eyes, sauntered back into the psychic realms where she was royalty by comparison and sliced the big bad dangerous Dane to ribbons.
But then Killian had to think of what it was that made her royalty in those sacred realms. It was the compassion she earned through the rite of carrying the Fearweight Tide. It was in choosing not to kill when she could have done it. She would go back but not to kill Dalton. “Help me get inside by the fire you two. I have some work to do but I need to be warm to do it.” She flashed a bright smile at the one who had her heart then reached out for Nessa’s hand and said, “Thank you dear friend.” Nessa bowed fist to heart.
Once warm and sitting comfortably, Killian closed her eyes and slipped like the snakes of wisdom through the realms. Dalton was running scared. It was easy to see. The unexpected loss of her victim chilled her. Aria was tossed over her shoulder. Killian appeared as a bright light in the dark tunnel before the astonished Dalton. She simply stood there. The Dane could not pass.
“Out of my way, bitch.” Dalton was insane but she was not stupid. This was not an unconscious Killian. This one was the one who could best her and she knew it. “What do you want from me?” The question fell from her like a mudslide. She knew exactly what Killian wanted. “But you must understand, my friend. Aria belongs to me. She is mine. She wants to be with me.” Dalton faltered.
“You have come a long way to get the treasure you seek, Dalton. Aria will not share it with you. Put her down and I will let you pass. Oh, and by the way, you should know that Caitlin and Nessa are a bit miffed about the injuries to my back. I pointed out which cave entrance you went through. I could not stop them… they are on there way. Make up your mind, Dane.” Killian spoke in even tones. She could see Dalton struggling with what to do. She could not go back nor could she pass with Aria.
Dalton realized very quickly that if she lived to get the Gundestrup Cauldron, she could go back for Aria another time. It galled her sorely. Her hatred for the Amazon psychic grew proportionately with every inch as she lowered her precious Aria to the tunnel floor. She stood tall as if to display pride while feeling utterly defeated and rasped, “So… let me pass, Amazon. And keep those damn warriors away.”
“Come forward” Killian whispered. She watched while Dalton kissed Aria’s lips and spoke farewells then allowed the Dane to step forward about five feet or so. Suddenly, Killian was between Dalton and Aria. The Dane turned in surprise. Killian only smiled. “Go now and do what you will do, hurry. The passage that you will need to confuse my warriors is not far from here. Once they come upon Aria, they will bring her back to me anyway. See their torches flickering, Dalton? Go now.”
Reluctantly as a mother panther leaving a cub to save the rest, Dalton moved off toward the next tunnel. She ached that she left Aria. She hated Killian all the more for this new ache. But the cauldron waited. Riches beyond belief would be hers. Then she would buy the services of the best psychics and mystics on the planet. She would get her Aria back and get that psychic too.
____****____
(Epilogue by Nessa) --
Caitlin applied compresses of some herbal mixture to Killian’s raw wounds. Nessa concocted the mixture from her little bag of mystery herbs. The Amazon would carry scars of this whipping from Dalton as long as she lived. Nessa assured Caitlin they would fade in time and would not be so horrible as to disfigure the lass. But Nessa would not be looking at Killian’s bare back as closely nor as often as Caitlin. Nor was Caitlin a Druid with the Druid’s spiritual sense of forgiveness. Nor was she a psychic who traveled passages of the mind to gain love and understanding of one so cruel and malignant as Dalton. Caitlin would not be letting go of this episode in their lives so easily. She would be choking down the bile of rage each time she drew the shirt from the shoulders of her lover seeing the scars… no matter how faint. She would have to seek counsel from others who knew Killian… not a prospect she relished.
Caitlin glanced across the small fire and watched Nessa dressing some of Aria’s wounds. The beautiful blonde was a mass of bruises and small lacerations where the skin burst from one or another vicious blow. Apparently, the sadistic Dane stopped short of injuring organs or breaking bones. Excluding the occasional groan that comes with the wince of pain from one woman or the other, and the crackling of the fire, the silence in the cave throbbed with unspoken fears and other emotions. Both Nessa and Caitlin shared the concern over what to do next. Supplies were low, it was not getting warmer outside and then there was the more puzzling problem of how to get down to the port below with two injured women who, while able to walk or ride, could hardly be expected to scale a frozen cliff-side. The prospect was unsound.
Nessa was tying a bandage around Aria’s upper arm and had to lift it at the elbow to do it. Aria’s shirt fell open enough to reveal a good portion of her left breast. Nessa was not so good at hiding her curiosity, though she said nothing. This was not a fresh scar. It was an unmistakable “D” branded on this dear friend. Aria saw the frown and waited for scornful or pitying speech but she got neither. She wasn’t sure if it was because Nessa was being respectful or what but the chance to find out was stolen from the moment by the sound of a voice with a Scottish dialect they all loved and respected.
“Ahoy down there! Caitlin, Nessa ye Celtic scallywags, ye better be answering me soon. We canna’ take another day a this.”
Nessa and Caitlin shot a glance to each other loaded with mutual relief. Killian managed to smile and Aria broke into howling laughter. The two warriors ran to the outer ledge of the cave and both yelled “HO. Right here Klancy!” Nessa held onto Caitlin’s strong wrist and leaned out as far as she could to see upward while Caitlin braced herself against the edge of the cave opening. The Celt was blessed with the sight of Klancy, Sirius and Ikarias peering over the ridge some fifty feet above them.
“Ah, but ye are a bonnie sight. Is there anyone injured, Ness?” Klancy called.
“Yes and we can’t climb without help”
“Well then, help is here. Dalton, Ness… is she gone?”
“Yes… for now.” Nessa was not going to allow any more ambiguity surrounding Dalton’s state of being or not being.
“Stand back now, caraid. There’ll be some crumblin’ stones fallin’ yer way.”
Caitlin pulled Nessa in quickly. They both stood listening and watching while rocks fell and the sounds of grunts came closer. Suddenly, a rather large set of black boots followed by a muscular but sleek body dressed in black landed on the ledge just in front of them. Sirius bowed as low as space would allow. “At your service friends.” They all clapped hands on shoulders while exchanging mutual joy at their meeting. Then, Sirius looked beyond into the darkened cave, asking almost hopefully, “Who’s first?” Simultaneously, Nessa and Caitlin opened and arm into the cave.
Aria sat straight up when she saw the way those dark warrior braids moved when the dark Lord Sirius walked. She looked square into those smoldering eyes until her vision was blurred by her own tears. She felt herself being lifted and cradled lovingly by those strong arms. Aria saw the faint hint of a smile on the Lord’s mouth just before it melted onto her own with the warmest kiss she had felt in a very long time. Tenderness was something so remote to the battered blonde after her trek over sea and land and mountainside under the brutal hold of Dalton, fresh tears of gratitude rolled from the Lady.
Then as if her mind was being read, she heard Sirius whisper in her ear, “But you do not wish me to kill her.”
Aria could not speak. She allowed the waiting warriors to tie her to Sirius’ back like a papoose. She heard Sirius yell, “Ho, up there… PULL.” In stark astonishment Nessa and Caitlin watched while the two tied together women were drawn upward by a thick rope. Neither of them questioned the strength of Klancy or Ikarias and yet each wondered privately if they could be part of such a magnificent duo. Within minutes the rope was dangling back in front of them. Caitlin helped Killian to the ledge where Nessa padded the lass’ wounded back with furs before tying her to Caitlin’s back.
Nessa waited until she saw them well on their way up before she turned back into the cave to gather whatever gear they had left. She felt a chilling sense, like some great brooding dragon left in the old cave. She shook off the feeling of dread and walked to the cave entrance where the rope awaited her.
When Nessa saw the ridge where they were all gathered, understanding flashed into her brain. Of course! The rope was tied to a saddle on none other than her beloved mare, Tuttle. Aria was sitting against a tree laughing with her dear friend, Ikarias whose hand she didn’t seem to want to let go of until Sirius brought Renaissance and helped her mount and then jumped up behind. Flame was there too and most capable of carrying both Killian and Caitlin. Ikarias had her own beautiful mount and of course, Klancy’s own Bracken was there.
As they rode the trail that wound down the mountain, Klancy filled them in on how Dagger and Tris came back to the Lodge and told them the whole story. “Dinna’ ye think you could ha trusted us to help, Ness? It seems to me that this whole thing might ha been done a wee bit different. I’ve been sailing the K7 Clipper for many a year now. I coulda’ got ye here faster.”
“I thought that if any one of the three of you knew that Dalton had taken Aria, Then one of you would have killed the Dane for sure. It seemed that it had to be something Aria wanted” Nessa explained.
“What do I look like to ye? Ye think ye canna’ talk about things to me or any of us?”
“Of course. There just wasn’t time old friend.”
“Well It’s a damn good thing I dinna’ think that way when I found the slower and saner way up here” replied the Scot.
The road down the mountain was peaceful and the voyage home on the Clipper was smooth. The sight of the Kindred Spirit Lodge was as welcome as all homes ought to be.
Just one alone was left in the caves of Denmark.
Just one alone seethed in the darkness of her own mind.
Just one alone...
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The End - 'Dark Ember' - by Nessa, Aria, Dagger, & Killian