Kindred Spirit Lodge Presents
Caitlin
by Killian & Nessa
October 25th~December 3rd, 2002
Parts 1~~12
____****____
Killian slept fitfully. She was filled with disturbing dreams. Darkness, caves. Collars. Chains. Pick axes, and bullwhips. Sweet smell of bader root. Bader root. Killian smelled, in her sleep, the musty scent of the herb. used mainly for treating very bad pain, such as a broken limb. Is somebody hurt? Killian shifted in her slumber. No. It is also used to erase bad memories. All memories. It can be misused to make you forget all memories.
Killian awoke in a cold sweat. Caitlin. Caitlin is alive. Somewhere. I know it. She is alive.
Killian sat with herself for a few minutes. Nessa. I have to tell Nessa. She will know what to do. Aria, Klancy. Talk to them. They will help if they can.
Oh my Caitlin. You are alive. I knew you didn't go and die on me, you big tough jerk. Where are you. Come to me my love. Come to me.
*******
Nessa woke sitting straight up in bed. She felt anxiety; urgency; someone calling through her dreams. Killian! Without concern for the sensibilities of the lass, Nessa shot to the door, pulled it wide open and stood there as naked as the day she was born.
The glazed-over look was a clue that Killian wasn’t affected in the least by the sight of a red-haired, gray-eyed, six foot, naked Celt blinking back at her. Neither woman questioned what woke the Celt or how she knew that Killian was at her door.
Nessa could see that the lass was distressed and beyond the mere waking state. She already experienced the psychic strength of the young medium at a time when it was most needed. She thought that whatever it was that drove the lass to her door needed investigation. The Celt reached out and curled a large hand around Killian’s upper arm and pulled her inside the room. Nessa guided the still silent Killian to the large chair by the hearth. She waited until the lass was sitting, then went for a robe.
Nessa had the fire built and roaring with the room warming nicely before either of them spoke. She looked at the flame reflected in Killian’s fixed eyes. “Tell me what you see lass.”
Killian’s gaze shifted to meet Nessa’s. “A dark place, Nessa. It is small and dark. Someone is on a sleeping mat in a corner of the room… Gaia, oh sweet Gaia… It’s my Caitlin!” Killian stood as if to run. Nessa held her at the shoulders.
“Wait Lass! Where would you go in such a hurry?”
“She’s alive, Nessa. We have to find her. She is reaching for me!” Killian’s eyes filled with tears. They were shining now and clear. She dropped back down in the chair but continued to look up at Nessa with a plea for help that the warrior couldn’t deny.
Nessa kneeled down beside the seated woman to be close and at eye level. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Of course I’ll help you lass.” She lifted a curled finger and brushed tears from the face she loved with all her heart. “Talk to me now and tell me all you know. We have to get a direction… a picture of the surroundings… language… “ She stopped when she saw that look cross over the beautiful face again.
“Persia. She thinks she is in Persia for Gaia’s sake!” Killian winced and said, “They’re drugging her to keep her captive. She is losing hold of her thoughts. I’m losing her!” Killian shook her head then and said. “She’s gone Nessa.”
“It’s enough to get us started lass.” The Celt stood. She’d been to Persia. She thought it strange and barbaric. She looked down Killian. “Go pack up some things lass. We’ll be heading out for the closest port and the fastest clipper. I’ll ready Flame and Tuttle.” She watched Killian head for the door, stop and turn.
“Tell the Kindred Nessa. We don’t want them to worry.”
“I’ll tell them lass. Don’t be surprised if we are not alone on the trip.” Nessa smiled knowing full well that some of the Lodgers would want to help out.
____****____
Nessa stood motionless, staring at the closed door to her chambers. She just watched Killian go through that door on her way to prepare for the rescue of the love of her life. The Celt felt a tearing in her heart. Part of her hoped that she would never have to face this while another part wanted only the best in joy for the woman who would have her heart throughout time… Killian.
The warrior fought back the tears that would have their day… just not this day. She dressed quickly, pulling on her boots on the way to the door. She had to find Klancy and see if Shasa was in before she packed for the journey.
Taking the stairs in leaps, Nessa hit the landing on a run. She spied Klancy sitting by the big hearth in the lounge. She slowed to a near stop as she noticed that the Highlander had an unusual slump in her manner. She was staring at the fire, long legs stretched out before her.
Nessa approached as casually as she could. She stood quietly before the pensive warrior, waiting for her notice. She was rewarded with a half-hearted smile.
“Hey Ness, you lost?”
Nessa dropped to the chair beside Klancy. “No, not now but I might be if I don’t get your help.”
Klancy’s brow drew up in questioning. “What can I do for you friend?”
“It’s Caitlin. She’s in Persia. Killian sees her with the sight of a priestess, Klance. She is needing to be rescued…” Nessa took a breath.
“Hold up Ness” Klancy never questioned the validity of such things. It was one of the things Nessa appreciated about the Courtly One. “You have to cross an ocean to get to Persia.”
“I know Captain.”
Realization blossomed in the Highlander. A light came into her eyes. “The Clipper will take a couple of days to get readied. Better go pull the sailor out of whatever bed she’s in. We’ll need her.”
“Aye, aye Captain” Nessa said as she stood. “Perhaps we need a scribe for the recording of the journey. I’ll ask DJ.”
Nessa and Klancy left the lounge simultaneously. Nessa would ready the horses for the trip down the mountain to the port and Klancy would gather Kindred. Nessa noticed a familiar spring in the step of her friend. She guessed they all needed a bit of adventure.
The Celt struggled within herself to lighten her own heavy heart.
*******
The trip down the mountainside was uneventful. The Kindred were all pretty animated and in good spirits at the double prospects of new adventure and finding the near-legend, Caitlin. Aria was very happy for her best friend and knew she would have to keep a close eye out. Killy was changing and she was a very intense psychic.
The company of Kindred set sail aboard the Clitoris Clipper. She was a sleek and shiny vessel whose Captain had a pride in her that shined in the warrior’s manner. Klancy was at home on her ship. She and Shasa pored over navigation maps in her cabin. They marked the route to Persia in no time.
Nessa stabled Tuttle and Flame in the hold built for this. If there was a need for more horses they would secure them in Persia. Jan the fae was most helpful in soothing the beasts who were hardly at home on the water. She cast a bit of calming dust in their stalls and sang sweet songs to them.
The Kindred were quick to assume tasks on the Clipper. Some even had experience in sailing before and felt comfortable with what was at hand. Nessa wished she felt the same. For the first two days she spent her time at the side of the historian. Both women had their heads over the side heaving until there was nothing to heave and then heaving nothing. Killian and Aria brought water and comfort to the two sea-sick women.
The Seventh day out, stomachs and most everything else seemed to settle. Nessa spent much of her time in the company of the Captain and Shasa, discussing ways of dealing with possible scenario’s according to what Killian would be “seeing” next. These things happened on the edge of time and space. There was no determining much of anything until it happened. All agreed that battle readiness was essential.
The Celt spent the rest of her time busying her hands and mind with ropes and sails and anything else that would keep her from thinking about Killian. Nessa knew that Caitlin would reappear sometime. She knew because Killian knew. The lass never let go of hope.
Nessa cried at night when she was alone on her bunk. Jan and her beloved Shasa both gave her healing attention and helped to ease the ache in her heart by easing the ache in her sex. Shasa was sensitive to the Celt’s pain but knew also that talking about it now was not helpful.
Killian stood on the deck much of the time, just looking at the horizon. She was very excited and caught up in the reality of what was happening. When she closed her eyes she saw her beloved, drugged and bruised but somehow aware that she had gotten through to Killian. They exchanged thoughts but Killian was not yet clear on exactly where Caitlin was being held or why. She was sure she would know when they reached the shores of the faraway land. But for now, she was glad that she didn’t know. It might be too much for her with so much more time to wait.
____****____
Caitlin felt hope again. Killian found her! Her bruises were not as painful now that she had contact with her beloved. Her thoughts were less scattered, even with the effects of the bader root. The warrior felt like she could plan again. Life mattered now in a way that was worth the fighting she had to do to keep it.
Caitlin pulled herself up as far as she could manage. The heavy scraping of the chain that held her was testament to the difficulty her captors had in keeping her captive when she wasn’t drugged. They had to allow the bader root to wear off if she was to be at her fighting best. She was so often challenged by the most brutal of fighters. She had to be kept strong and healthy. They fed her from the far end of the cell by putting the tray on the floor and pushing it toward her with a long staff. The tiny darts soaked in the powerful tranquilizer were the only way they could ever have gotten close enough to get the stuff in her. Caitlin was a pit fighter of the highest merit. Keeping her fighting was lucrative indeed.
The double edged sword of the whole thing was that she just got stronger and more dangerous with fighting and winning. She already killed three contenders with a skillful blow to heart or head and it seemed that to give her too much drug was to provide the opposition with a weakened match.
Caitlin smiled to herself in this realization. Three long years of this and she was now presenting her masters with a real dilemma. They would lose her one way or another. She was determined. But she needed help. Someone would have to find and destroy all the bader root on the premises.
She thought again of how her thoughts of Killian brought her right to the young Amazon. It was wonderful! Kil must have developed that ability by the grace of Artemis. Caitlin breathed in deeply.” Killian my Killian! I have missed you so much!! My love for you was never lost.” Tears stung the warrior’s eyes. She wept in gratitude. This misery was going to end and she would see her Killian again.
Caitlin didn’t know how her love was crossing the ocean or what help she had. She couldn’t have guessed what Killian had been through these three years. She couldn’t know that there was another who loved her as much she, herself. The pit fighter knew only that Killian was coming and light was entering her life once more.
____****____
Nessa was learning to move with the motion of the ship. She finally got her “sea legs” as Shasa said she would. There was a lull in the activity on the Clipper. It was mid day and a good wind was up. It seemed to be a good time for everyone to catch some sleep or work on projects left for later. The Celt leaned against the rail at the side of the clipper. Killian came to mind as Nessa knew she would at the first mental relaxation.
Nessa recalled her first acquaintance with Killian. The young lass was a fun-lover for sure. She did seem to get in trouble a lot in those days. Nessa thought of the sequence of events between then and now. Killian was feisty from the beginning. Nessa loved those small, quick gestures and mischievous expressions that were so charming. Yet it was the Celt who first recognized a woman in the lass when others were still thinking of her as a child.
She had a depth and a sadness that drew the Celt. They had some gentle chats at first but then they shared much more. That was when Nessa learned of Caitlin and soon realized that no amount of affection or punishment would sway the lass from her love of the missing warrior. Killian was steadfast in her heart and in her belief that Caitlin would one day return. Now that the warrior had indeed returned through Killian’s psychic passages, Nessa was forced to grieve the loss, once again, for something… for someone, she never really had.
The tall Irish Lord looked out on the horizon. She couldn’t seem to lift her shoulders quite straight. She stood nearly hunching as if to further protect her already broken heart.
******
Down in her cabin, Killian sifted through scrolls of herb lore. She knew it was bader root that restricted the mind and body of her lover. She was sure that Caitlin was in Persia. Now if she could get the specific location of where bader root grew in the arid land, she might be able to narrow the guesses as to their exact destination. Ah! She found the right scroll. The root was grown mainly near the coastal areas where an abundance of water could be found. The potent herb grew on the banks of the little streams and outlets that ran to the sea. It was a start.
Caitlin’s face appeared in Killian’s mind. Heart pounding joy hit her. The beautiful warrior was not dead! She was fighting the effects of a mind-numbing drug. She was bruised and chained in semi-darkness. She was sunken into a deep loneliness that had threatened to sap the strength from her heart… but she was alive! Killian’s own heart sang. Just then, the image of her beloved faded, replaced by a pair of grief-tortured gray eyes. Nessa.
Killian could feel the Celt aching. She knew this was hard for her friend, perhaps too hard. She wanted to say something, but what that might be evaded the lass. Words would never quite do between them. She so truly and dearly did love the fierce warrior, the fluid shaman, the steady walker between the worlds, the lover and the friend.
Killian headed topside. She reached the deck and spotted Nessa at the railing.
Killian thought the Celt appeared smaller somehow. She walked close.
“Nessa, my Nessa” she whispered. She watched that strong,
body-built-for-battle stiffen and slowly turn to face her. Their eyes met.
Suddenly a call from the crow’s nest rang through them both. “Land Ahoy!”
Seven figures walked down the gangplank of the clipper. The sunrise cast a brilliant rose color against the sky. Klancy, DJ, Nessa, Shasa, Killian, Alison and Jan the fae stepped single file onto the pier of a village, whose name none of the group could pronounce, in the mysterious land of Persia. Klancy commissioned Lord Kit to stay in command of the Clipper along with the remaining Kindred. She wanted the ship to be ready for a fast departure when the time came.
DJ interpreted some of the written words posted around the small port and surmised that the name of the place was something that sounded like Samawa. After considerable signing and gesturing the party found a guide less than fluent in English but at least communication was manageable. The guide was a young boy of about 12 called Pushti. He was very useful in haggling with the horse trader when the party sought to buy the six horses they were sure to need. Pushti was curious as to why six horses were purchased instead of the five needed to carry these strange fighting women. After all, they had two horses with them already.
Shasa helped to resolve the issue with a skilled display of illusion. She pulled scarves and doves out of nowhere it seemed to the astonished boy. She was animated as only she could be in her slight-of-hand moves. When she finally pulled a gold coin out of Pushti’s own cap and presented it to him for his services, he decided that it didn’t matter how many horses the strangers had, they paid well and they were entertaining in the bargain.
Killian asked if there was an apothecary as she needed some medicines and herbs. Pushti shook his head and said they would have to travel several miles inland to the city of Mohammera. The latest psychic message she received from Caitlin was that the warrior was being used to fight. “Pit fighter” is what she said. Killian raised her brow as if the boy said something that struck a chord in her. “Mohammera! Isn’t that where they have those pit fights?”
“Oh yes missus.” Pushti nodded. “Mohammera is the only place in my country that puts on the pit shows” he confirmed.
The entire party seemed to let out a breath held in unified hope. This was better than they hoped for, just having landed here this morning. They would stock the saddle bags and be riding toward Mohammera to find the arena of pit fighting, and Caitlin.
The road to Mohammera was marked well. Nessa was a bit uncomfortable in a land so barren of trees. There were those strange looking things called palms but they hardly qualified in Nessa’s mind. Jan was feeling exactly the same. She thought that no faery would ever choose to live here and she said as much. In fact, she said so much, that Lady Alison pulled up beside the little fae, reached a beautifully muscled arm around that tiny waist and lifted her off the saddle where she sat. It was a surprised lass who landed straddling wide in front of the Gentle Warrior. Alison spent the largest part of the afternoon keeping that sweet faery mouth too busy to chatter.
Killian knew that Nessa was avoiding eye contact. She decided that the Celt needed to stay back for now. She hated that her beloved friend was in so much pain. Moreover, she hated that she was the instrument of emotional torture in Nessa’s heart. Tears welled up as she rode astride the rich black Friesian, a gift from the Irish warrior. She just let those tears well and fall. She did not deny her special love for the lord nor did she deny her own pain for the change their relationship had already begun to undergo. She sent a silent “thanks” to Artemis for Shasa and her ability to soothe Nessa with her own special attentions.
Klancy saw it all. She pulled up beside her tearful friend and laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve grown up a great deal since Caitlin was lost Kil. She’ll be reuniting with the beautiful woman she always knew you really were. Caitlin is very lucky lass.” The stately manner of the warrior seemed somehow inconsistent with the softness of character she now displayed to her young friend. “And lass, Nessa is going to be just fine… in time.” She flashed a smile and dropped a wink at a grateful Killian before she turned her horse back to canter behind with DJ.
____****____
The City of Mohammera appeared to be many things to the visiting Lodgers. It was large and replete with colorful marketplaces and characters. Acrobats leaped and danced with astonishing dexterity to the music of a hypnotic sound. The music was created by a single man with some kind of reed or tube which he fed his breath to, while pressing and releasing little openings on the stem with his fingers. Baskets and sheer veils of every color hung at the sides of booths which lined the streets. Vendors called out prices and descriptions of exotic wares while haggling voices chattered all around the small party as they wound through the crowded streets.
Fascination with the strange wonder of this place would have distracted most who were new to it. Yet not one of the seven lost their sense of purpose. In fact, had they not been so intent on looking ahead, they may have been aware of the small figure, shadowing close behind.
DJ kept her focus on signs and posters and anything else that bore the strange symbols that made up the language. She was actually hoping for pictures. Anything that might display fighting figures. Klancy suggested that they hold off from getting another guide to avoid suspicion of their intent. Now the problem was to locate the pit and where the fighters were kept. Without interpretation, this presented a road-block. The slender historian did find a poster with a picture and some symbols but had no idea what it read.
The seven rescuers stood huddled together poring over the little poster as if concentration would bring it to life and they could learn Caitlin’s whereabouts. Killian knew what the place looked like from the inside because she saw it through Caitlin’s psychic imaging. But that did nothing to help them now. It was getting dark and they would have to find a place to stay soon.
Jan stood beside Alison her small hand inside that of the Gentle Warrior’s. She felt a presence before she saw it and shot a look with a message to Nessa. The Celt looked beyond and behind the faery just as they all picked up on the energy and turned to face a veiled figure standing a few paces away. The twilight cast an eerie shade onto the glittering veil, lending mystery to the silent intruder. Then she spoke. “So, you think that picture is going to talk to you? Or maybe you could use the help of somebody who knows what the Hades they are doing.”
“Aria!” Killian jumped into her friend’s ready embrace. The rest of the women just stood in surprised silence for a moment. Then, Nessa threw her hands up and rolled her eyes. All but Klancy breathed in relief. She spoke with a kind of irate dignity, “When I give an order for you or anyone to stay in protection of my ship, I have to trust that it will be done. Your disobedience is a clear usurping of my authority. You might be putting us all in further danger. Why didn’t you use that beautiful head dear lady?”
Aria expected this and came prepared. “The question is, my dear Captain, why didn’t YOU use my beautiful head?”
“What?”
There is a way that certain warriors have of saying, what? The word is honed and has a point on it; it comes out of their mouths like a dagger coming out of it’s sheath. Aria felt it pierce her and make her sag. She swallowed and held her gaze on Klancy’s face. She forged ahead. “Klancy, in my life before I came to the Lodge, I was an assassin. I have traveled much and learned the names and languages of many countries… this one included. If you had bothered to ask me what skills I might bring to this expedition instead of leaving me to wonder and worry and waste my talents… I might not have to be standing here explaining why you need me. Now come along, I know an inn that will welcome strangers and we can plot all through the night.” She smiled at how she could see the truth of her words registering in the Highlander.
Klancy smiled back. There was just a trace sarcasm in her voice. “Ah yes. I agree that you are useful.” She raked her eyes over the gorgeous woman as she bowed low. “However, it might have occurred to you to speak up. Please try to pay attention to important details like that.” Klancy stood tall and said. “Lead the way.”
It was a sting but a small one. Aria accepted it with grace and a slight bow toward the stalwart warrior. She shot her Killian a glance as the rest of the women took turns embracing her. She saw a mixture of joy and sadness in those big brown eyes. She glanced at the Celt who had that same blend in her eyes. Aria felt for them both. But Shasa was now circling those sweet arms around her. That little slut pulled her in so tight she could feel their breasts mashing together. This was going to be an adventure she was going to remember.
____****____
Klancy sat quietly listening to Aria read from the poster DJ found. Apparently they did well to find these quarters for the night, since the next pit fight would not take place until the following afternoon. This gave them time to plan a strategy and get some rest. The courtly warrior stayed seated by the open window of the large quarters. She was actually glad that Aria showed up, even though she would have preferred to have known of her usefulness before they left the clipper.
The Captain knew that the ship was left in the best of hands. Lord Kit was ever watchful and resourceful in battle if that is what it came to. Jude was steady and well trained for any circumstance. Lou, Lorry, dagger, rach, sarah and savay, while not battle trained, were fierce in loyalty and brave of heart. Klancy relaxed and turned her focus on planning with this small but diverse liberation party.
Killian could sense the nearness of the woman who held the largest part of her hopes and dreams for the better part of three years and held her heart for six. That very heart was thudding now with anticipation. With the sudden movement from not having Caitlin to having Caitlin again, Killian’s entire reality shifted. Everything seemed fresh again. Life contained a vibrancy that she didn’t even realize she missed until it came back. Her only unhappiness was the heartache growing in silence inside her dear Nessa.
Nessa could see the new and beautiful aura surrounding Killian. There was a brightness in her eyes and a lightness in her step that the Celt would never have wanted to deny her. She wondered if she would be able to watch while those beautiful eyes looked adoringly at another. Could she sleep while another held her, made love to her? Nessa couldn’t help a certain rage at a fate that led her to love only to deny her full access. That rage smoldered, deepening the darkness already bountiful within her.
The painful tension between Killian and Nessa was hardly missed by the rest of the women on this quest. It was difficult to display either joy for the one or sorrow for the other. But plans were made now, and they were each committed to freeing the warrior, Caitlin or to die in the attempt. Whatever happened after that would be very nearly anti-climactic.
*******
Caitlin struggled to keep her hold on clear thought. The drug was hard to fight. She pulled herself to standing against the stone wall of the cell she had known as home for… how long? Chain clinked and scraped as she moved. She pulled in a breath and held it while she asked Nemesine for clarity. Ah, there. She felt for Killian along the psychic passages so unfamiliar and so tentative. She was here! Caitlin swallowed to keep the emotion from rising too far up and erasing Killian’s presence. She heard her own mind calling out to her love through the psychic tunnel. “Killian! The drug. Destroy it while I fight. Replace it, fool them.” She knew her lover heard and understood. She was slipping back to blackness quickly now. “Killian, I love you!” she managed before she slid down to the cold floor and drifted to emptiness.
Finding and replacing the powerful bader root was a part of the plan that would make all the difference in getting the captive warrior out. Caitlin was going to have to be conscious for the finale.
____****____
Shasa slipped quietly down the dark hallway toward the commode room. She thought these Persians were at least somewhat advanced to have the privy indoors. She stopped just short of a little open side room when she heard voices. Normally, the Celtic sailor kept the business of a stranger at a respectful distance, but these were not strangers. She held her silence there in the dark.
Shasa knew Nessa had that detection sense that most warriors had. She often wondered if it was born in them or if they had it built into them during early rearing. She wondered why this warrior wasn’t using it now. Who was with her, distracting her? Shasa heard a gasp. Killian. She recognized the voice but not the tone.
The sailor stepped forward in time to see Nessa grab the sobbing lass close. The tall woman was rough. She shook Killian from the shoulders, then drew her in tight. Their faces were close. Shasa knew that look in her warrior… it came from a feral part of the Irishwoman’s being. It was that haze that had a life of it’s own. Add inconsolable grief and the anger it entailed and get the hell out of the way.
Killian was clearly caught in her misery of caring for her friend and wanting only her Caitlin. Nessa glared into the eyes she fell into almost daily for over a year now. She let out a growling sound and slammed her mouth down onto Killian’s… hurting, taking, hungering for something unreachable. Killian could barely struggle under Nessa’s force. But she did moan in pain and protest.
Shasa stepped into view. It felt like stepping into a bottomless canyon. She had to risk it. “Nessa, NO!” She stayed still and watched Nessa pull her head up and away from the bruising kiss. Those gray eyes shot into the sailor. Shasa saw a wounded wild thing. “Ness, you can’t, you love her” she whispered.
Time and space hung frozen for what seemed forever to Shasa. But then Nessa’s
face lost that granite hardness. She let go of Killian and stood back.
Blood smeared and trickled from Killian’s lip where the teeth of this animal
ground into it. Nessa was horrified. “I… I… couldn’t stop. Killian I
couldn’t.”
Killian just stood relieved. She pulled a scarf from her pocket and wiped her already swollen mouth before she turned without a look or a word to either sailor or warrior and walked back to the sleeping quarters. Dawn was breaking. Killian would deal with her feelings about this later. Right now, Nessa was vital to the success of their plan. The young Amazon cloaked her anger and pain with solid focus on the action they would soon be taking to release and retrieve the love of her life, Caitlin.
********
The silence of the early dawn was slowly replaced by a barking dog and the sound of cart wheels bumping down the rocky streets. Soon the air was humming with the activity of the new day. Alison, Jan and Aria headed for the compound just outside the pit arena. That was where the bader root was most likely kept. One well placed aim and a hefty push of breath through Alison’s blow pipe, brought an unsuspecting guard slumping to the ground and out of the world forever.
The little gypsy faery stared wide eyed at the dead man while Alison divested the corpse of it’s clothing. Uh… Gentle Warrior huh? Yeah… gentle and deadly. Jan was astonished. Aria saw and grabbed the little fae. “Listen my spritely friend, this is deadly business and the sides are clearly defined. It is not as civilized as the wild forest. You have to accept this now or go back.” She held the sweet face gently in her hands. “Understand?”
“Yes Lady” Jan caught the intense reality that Aria projected. The assassin dropped her hands from Jan’s face and helped Alison put the guard’s clothes on. “What about clothes for the other warriors?” Jan queried.
Alison adjusted the guards turban and answered softly. “They’ll have to do their own killing little one.” The warrior said this in a matter of fact manner. No callousness, just fact.
The three edged to a side entrance of the compound. They moved between structures, peeking through windows looking for a clue to the whereabouts of the herb they sought. They spotted a table filled with darts and vials and jars of herbs in one of the buildings. That was it!
Alison turned to the fae, handed her the bag of vials that contained the mixture of the dummy herb and said, “Your up little darling.” She reached down with both hands and took Jan by the waist, lifting her up and through the window. She let the sweetling down gently onto the floor of the hut, knowing that Jan needed no further instruction. Aria and Alison stood warily outside that window while the light footed faery exchanged the mixtures.
Alison wondered silently if Nessa, Klancy and Shasa had the horses outside the compound in readiness yet. She didn’t want to worry about the Celt but Nessa looked awful this morning when they checked their plan.
As Alison wondered about the Celt, Aria wondered about her Killian. Her young friend’s mouth seemed to have swollen overnight but she would not speak of it. Aria bristled inside but knew it was not the time for an outburst. Killian and DJ were probably at the arena by now, awaiting the appearance of the once lost, Caitlin.
____****____
Klancy, Nessa and Shasa had the eight horses tied to a hitching post just outside the compound. Shasa tied each set of reins in a Celtic sailor’s knot so that they could be released in one quick pull and have sacred meaning as well. Klancy gave the sailor a thumbs up for her cleverness. They smiled at one another then both looked at the silent Celt. She was pulling her sword and sheath from the brace where it was kept on Tuttle’s saddle. Beside it was another sword. Nessa pulled this one out too.
“How many swords can ye wield at one time my friend?” Klancy asked.
“It’s not for me. Killian wants it. It belongs to Caitlin.” Nessa’s answered without looking at her friends.
Klancy threw a glance at Shasa who looked back in silent agreement. They both knew the turmoil building in their friend. They would stay close to Nessa.
The three walked quickly to the side entrance of the compound where the faery waited. Jan blinked into full sight when she heard them coming. “How does she do that?” Shasa said to no one in particular. But the faery heard and sent a glittering wink to the sailor. Shasa stored the invitation for the long ocean trip home.
There was no one around the compound to speak of. Bored guards stood at the entrance to a single hut across the way. Cheers and hoots and roaring from the pit arena was heard loud and clear. The events were underway. The rescue party spread out between structures and waited. Suddenly those two guards stood at alert when two extremely tall and muscular men emerged from the tunnel entrance that led up from the fighting pit into the compound.
“They look dangerous.” Whispered Jan from her place beside Aria.
“Yes, they are dangerous… but dumb.” Aria winked down at the fae.
Aria hoped DJ and Killian were in place and safe in that cheering crowd. She knew, of course, that Killian would be more steady in this plan than any one of them. Her whole happiness was at stake. The assassin wished they didn’t have to wait until Caitlin was finished with the pit fight to make their move. But Killian felt that the effects of the bader root on her warrior prevented the clarity of thought it would take to give heads up through the psychic realm. Aria also figured that Killian wanted to be present to look straight at Caitlin to let the fighter know that they were there and in place.
The bader root was wearing off nicely. Caitlin felt that by the time she got to the pit, She would be ready to kill for these bastards and live one more day. An image of Killian, her beloved, appeared in that place where reality and hope entwined. Her heart gave a thump in her chest. “I am here. Look for me. The dart will come without the drug. Pretend.” That was all. Her Killian was HERE at last. Caitlin had no chance to respond before the heavy door to her cell scraped open.
Each of the hidden Kindred had her own inner responses to the figure that emerged, chained and shackled between the two burly goons. But none would differ on the fact that this was a powerful fighter. Chains attached to opposite sides of a waist shackle was held at the end and pulled tight by the goons, creating an opposing force that held the warrior between them. They began the walk to the pit.
Aria whispered, “Now that is dangerous.”
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DJ led the way up the stone tiers that circled the fighting pit. The crowd was buzzing with the excitement of the up-coming fight between the Grecian Wild Warrior and the Hairless Hun. The historian heard side bets happening all around. From what she gathered the Wild Warrior was the favorite. She thought “She’s our favorite too, and we’re taking her.” She felt a fluttering in her stomach at the thought of just how rash and bold this whole endeavor was.
Killian wanted to sit far enough up to see the entire pit, yet not so far that she couldn’t see her warrior’s face when it appeared. Her heart was pounding hard enough to drive nails. Nearly three years passed since she saw that strong, beautiful face in any place but her dreams.
It had been so hard, so impossible at first, to carry on with her life. Killian often wondered if she really did carry on with it or if it was all just a pretense, getting through one day after another by inventing hope where there was none… to give her reason to live. Grief and the pain of not knowing whether Caitlin was dead or alive or what happened to the trader, twisted her perception of everything.
Killian’s memory of her last night with Caitlin was really the only thing that remained clear and unchanged. Life with Caitlin was everything Killian wanted and needed. Not even the option of living among her tribal sisters was appealing by comparison. They were traveling the mountain area’s hunting and gathering pelts for trading in the mountain villages. This was their way of life and one the young Amazon thrived in for nearly three years.
Caitlin had a habit of rising before the sun to check the parameters of their camp, leaving her beloved Killy sleeping in a precious bundle. She would often return with handfuls of pine nuts and berries to tempt the sleepy Amazon into waking.
Killian awoke alone. No sound of munching on pine nuts or the odor of sweet berries met her. She rose to an empty camp and an eerie feeling. She waited for a time not knowing which direction to go in search of Caitlin. But she knew that something was wrong. She wandered the parameters for hours, expanding her search in a spiral as she was taught by the Amazons. Then when she came upon Caitlin’s horse, Dancer, alone and dying in anguish on the forest floor, her mind seemed to cave in. It was all she could do to pick up the sword, dropped by the missing warrior and strike the beast loose from suffering.
Now as she sat there with DJ, staring down at that horrible looking pit where Caitlin had been forced to kill to survive, for so long, Killian wondered what changes must have occurred within her beloved warrior. She realized that her own changes were perceptible to those who spent time with her. How much more marked would they be to Caitlin who knew only a young, love stricken girl who needed the belt from time to time and who made love with volcanic heat.
Killian felt DJ’s warm touch on her arm. She watched as two half naked muscle men struggled to keep one lone figure suspended between them. The cheering crowd was on it’s feet and the two women Kindred rose with them. A thick mane of dark hair cascaded down the fighter’s shoulders. It was wild and covered half her face but Killian knew it was Caitlin. She was more muscular than Killian remembered but the carriage and the stance were Caitlin.
The goons tossed away the ends of chain they each held and scurried. But Caitlin stood still. She had done this more times than she could count. She shook her head to clear the hair from her eyes. Killian sucked in a breath. Caitlin was ragged, hard faced and as magnificent as Killian remembered.
Another roar from the crowd heralded the entrance of a man the size of a small whale. Killian didn’t want to think about what this mountain of a man could do. She understood that Caitlin would have to think about it very soon. She held her gaze on Caitlin’s eyes and focused her mind. The huge man was still raising his fists to the crowd and turning to see them. But Caitlin stood quiet and still. Suddenly she lifted her head. Eyes the color of the ocean on a bright day were staring right into Killian.
The moment of recognition was intense for Killian and Caitlin. Everything that ever held any meaning for either of them was wrapped up in that mutual gaze. Killian had to break it. She nodded as a signal, turned away with DJ and disappeared into the crowd. The two women threaded through the crowd and down the tiers. They had to get to the compound before this fight ended. Nessa and the other Kindred would be waiting.
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The spaces between the huts in the compound were narrow. Killian and DJ made their way forward slowly. They didn’t know where they would meet up with the others, they couldn’t plan that. The two women had to get off those tiers and into the compound before the fight was over. They knew that as soon as Caitlin dispatched her opponent, she would be shot with a treated dart to subdue her enough to return her to the compound. But of course the dart would be treated with a different herb, one that would have no effect on the warrior. Caitlin would be faking a stupor until something obvious happened to alert her to the presence of help.
DJ wanted to find a position on a roof. Her bow and quiver of arrows slung neatly at her back, she motioned to her companion that she found a way up and would be departing for now. Killian watched the historian climb nimbly up the hut side and then disappear over the top. She resumed her own way quietly toward what looked like an entrance to the inner yard of the compound. Just then a hand shot out folding neatly around her mouth and jerked her back. One strong arm reached around her waist and twisted her till she stood staring into a pair of gray eyes. The sound of scraping steel met her ears as Nessa pulled the sword from it’s place in her belt and held it between them whispering, “Caitlin’s weapon lass… she’ll be needing it.”
Killian took the sword from Nessa. Her eyes stayed glued to the Celt’s for enough time to see that whatever happened between them that morning, was secondary to the task before them now. Nessa turned and motioned the way with a finger and a nod of the head. Together they scurried toward the entrance to the yard and together they stood just back from the entrance and waited.
The roaring of the crowd signaled the end of the fight in the pit. Every one of the Kindred kept an edgy silence in readiness. Alison pulled a vial from a pouch at her waist. She turned the small cork out and carefully dipped her darts into the solution that the faery brought back from the herb room. It was extract of bader root. She knew she would need to make these shots good. After the battle began she would have to put darts away. The fighting would be too close and Kindred might get in the way. She was as good with a sword as any of these lazy goons anyway.
The gates to the pit tunnel opened. The two burly guards held a drooping Caitlin between them as they half dragged the apparently drugged pit fighter toward the middle of the compound. As quick and silent as a breath, first one dart and then another hit their mark in the necks of those two goons. Caitlin felt the grip on her arms relax and release as each man fell to his knees. She lifted her hanging head high and stood tall. Guards were pouring out of their quarters.
Caitlin saw other women warriors now engaging the astonished guards. She saw what looked like a king’s courtesan twirling and kicking with amazing accuracy while an archer drew a bead from the roof and dropped an advancing man as he ran. She saw a small elfin-like creature gathering flitting and darting around a guard, confusing and frustrating him to distraction. Then she turned to see the woman she had held onto in her dreams for three years standing six paces in front of her.
They stood looking into one another for no more than a few seconds. But in that time an eternity of love, bliss, sorrow and grief rushed between them. Killian’s eyes filled with the sight of her beautiful warrior at last, then with practical coolness she lifted the sword she had been keeping since she found it on the forest floor the day she lost Caitlin and tossed it through the space between them.
Caitlin caught her sword by the hilt. She gazed upon it as if it were a long lost friend. It felt like a living thing in her hand. The guards were rushing in on her now as if they forgot who she was. Something snapped in the warrior. Sword in hand, and Killian by her side, Caitlin remembered fully who she was and moreover she remembered what happened. She threw back her beautiful head and bleated out a battle cry that stunned the advancing guards.
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Caitlin caught her sword by the hilt. She gazed upon it as if it were a long lost friend. It felt like a living thing in her hand. The guards were rushing in on her now as if they forgot who she was. Something snapped in the warrior. Sword in hand, and Killian by her side, Caitlin remembered fully who she was and moreover she remembered what happened. She threw back her beautiful head and bleated out a battle cry that stunned the advancing guards.
Caitlin knew them all. Their mustached faces and black turbans were what she woke up to every day. She had her food shoved toward her from their safe distance. They drugged her for everything. They stripped her each week while she lay chained in a bader root stupor. They tossed water on her and called it a bath. They let her loose in an enclosed pen and stood neatly behind the fencing to watch as she took exercise, only to shoot the drug in her again when they needed to take her back to her cell. Each of these routines was riddled with insults from their filthy mouths.
Caitlin would escape, she would run fast and hard with these friends. But not before she wreaked the havoc her captors feared all along. The once peaceful trader was also a warrior. Coupling her battle skills with sudden fury for vengeance resulted in bloody mutilation and death.
The Kindred fought with skill. They may have come through victorious even without Caitlin’s titan rage at this enemy. They may have chosen to leave a few of the injured compound masters alive to tell the tale.
But the fact was, Caitlin was a tsunami in disguise. Grief and hatred rose up in her like lava, and none could run fast enough to escape her scalding fury. Her abilities to fight and kill had been unmatched in the pit for three years of captivity. They were unmatched now. The warrior wielded that sword in retribution until every enemy heart had it’s last beat. The compound was strewn with blood and lifeless bodies. She stood in the center of it all, staring down at an upturned face that had no body.
Suddenly, Caitlin felt a strong hand on her arm. She turned her head and met the gaze of a Druid. “We’ll need to be taking flight, Caitlin. There are horses and a waiting ship to bear us to our home.” Nessa spoke evenly.
The spell of shock was erased. Caitlin saw Killian running toward her She dropped her sword and opened her arms for the one who never lost faith. Their bodies seemed to blend in that embrace. All time, all tears and all sorrow was shrunken to nothing in this moment. This would have to be enough. The urgency to get out of Mohammera with the keenest speed gripped them all.
Klancy led the way to the horses. There was as yet, no sign of anything amiss from outside the compound. Caitlin mounted behind Killian on the black Friesian. All nine of the brave women rode through the back streets of Mohammera on a full gallop.
The sense of success was exhilarating for all but one in the party. Nessa could feel a dark weight dropping heavily within her. Shasa stayed close to her warrior knowing the Celts need. Klancy bore down in the lead. She felt they had been too long away from the Clitoris Clipper. Aria fought the urge to sing out a victory cry while sizing up this mystery of a warrior who had her Killy’s heart. DJ silently calculated distance and speed. She thought it would take half a day of steady riding to get to the Clipper. Alison brought up the rear, keeping a watch on the horizon behind the fleeing group. The sensitive young fae fought off images of gore and death. Lives lived and then *poof*… gone. Once again, the faery wondered how sacredness of being/Be-ing, could have slipped so easily from human awareness.
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Nine figures astride eight horses moved with an easy lope against a purple evening in the desert. The sun was low. They all wanted to be at the ship by dark but it looked like that may not happen. Caitlin held her arms all the way around Killian, rocking in the saddle with her. She was aware of the tension somewhere deep in the girl. She thought everyone must be a bit shaken. She brought her face to the side of Killian’s and said. “They won’t get us. I’ll kill anyone who comes near you.”
Killian could have felt some comfort in those words, but the edge in her warrior’s voice disturbed her. She didn’t have time to think about it. Klancy held up a graceful hand in signal for a halt. The Captain leaned forward in her saddle and shaded her eyes from the setting sun. “Rider up ahead, coming toward us. Stand ready Kindred!” she ordered. She heard steel scraping against scabbards in unison. Then as the rider came closer, Klancy raised her brow in surprise. “Jude!”
Jude reigned in at a sliding stop in front of the astonished assembly. The regal looking warrior let her eyes graze over the group, stopping briefly on Caitlin, then back to Klancy. “Captain, there has been trouble. Just before dawn, it was dagger’s watch. We heard her whistle the attack alarm. We barely got up in time. Port bandits, I think. They were hoping to take us but Lord Kit led the battle on deck. Lou took out at least three of them and the rest of us held our own. We fought a bloody fight but lost not one.” Jude pulled in a breath, then continued. “Kit thought it best that we pull up anchor. We found an old pier where we can board Tuttle and Flame.” Klancy clapped a hand on Jude’s shoulder. “Well done warrior. Lead the way.”
Nessa thought it was a good tactic to move away from the expected route. They still didn’t know if they were being followed. Jude’s coming was timely and the clipper gone from port was even better. They would be further up the coast and the ensuing enemy would be averted. These thoughts helped the Celt to stay focused. She was managing to keep her eyes averted from the couple on the Friesian mare. The reality of Caitlin and Killian together was already slicing into her heart, she would not choose to see it if she didn’t have to.
Golden light gave way to silver as night eased down on the cantering band of Kindred. Their pace slowed enough to keep the horses from exhaustion but Klancy resisted the urge to call a halt. She thought they would rest once they were safe onboard. At last… the weary group crested one more rise and sucked in a collective breath of gratitude at the sight of the beautiful Clipper with her masts shimmering in the moonlight, waiting patiently like the lady she was.
Lord Kit had the gang plank lowered and secured to the pier as soon as she heard rach call out “Riders ahoy!” The riding Kindred leaped from their saddles once they reached the plank. All the horses but Tuttle and Flame were released to graze beyond the beach. A flurry of activity to raise the plank and pull up anchor followed as soon as the last of the Kindred boarded. They set sail toward home.
When the Clipper was well away from the shores of Persia, all but one of the entire company gathered around the woman they crossed half an ocean to rescue. There was plenty of back slapping and hugging. Tears of gratitude and relief spilled from more than one Kindred. Well wishes and congratulations went to Killian and Caitlin who stood arm in arm as part of this loving clan.
Caitlin was just a little overwhelmed by this reception. She thought Killian did well to surround herself with such family. They all seemed to really care about her happiness. Caitlin stood in silence while the attention went to Killian. She felt little hairs rise on the back of her neck. She sensed someone or something. It was as if a hurricane touched her, full of noise and random force. She turned her head and cast her eyes up to the helm where they met and locked onto Nessa the Celt.
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Conclusion - 'Caitlin' - Parts 13~21