Bound By Blood (34 page)

             
She looked at him oddly
, shivered,
and left the room.
It was pointless to say anything else. In the case that he
was
not joking, she did not want to test his warning. If he
was
joking, she did not wish to make
a
further fool of herself than she had already.

             
But, she did not resist the chance to
mumble
once she left the room
, “And
if you do, I’ll
cut your bloody head off, G
iant.”
That made her smile. "I'll be the last unwilling thing you ever drag off to you
Realm
."

~
Chapter 10
~

St
a
phãyn

***

Dearest Brother,

What have you done?

Are these the deeds your sorrow has spun?

Look to the moon…

Tangled there in her mystical loom.

Why do you surrender to such misery and gloom?

My dearest brother
,
love for you
is stronger than this pain…

Speak to me, m
y beautiful
and immortal
St
a
phãyn
.

***

             
T
o her misfortune, no sooner did she return to her room
,
she found
that Dĩas
had
sent her more of the herbs which would control her
A
wakening. With
them,
he sent a message telling her that
Daŕ
ēus
was dangerous
and to a
void him at all costs. When it was safe, he would explain
,
but until then, not
to
fall for any plots of her mother
’
s. He also told her to strengthen the dose of the potion three fold. Since
Daŕ
ēus
’
s
power had triggered it, then it was imperative
she
get it under control
now
, especially with her sisters experiencing theirs.
His message caused
her
to become even more up
set as the sack of herbs fell to the floor by her feet and his letter fluttered not far behind.

             
He refused to talk to her before, no matter how many times she called out to him but he sent her this, these dark
herbs, which
caused her such distress? It seemed awfully shallow and
conniving
to her.

             
Still, Samanthŕa
had a fight on her hands within herself
.
D
espite
all
of
Dĩas
’
persuasions
concerning his suspicion or hatred of
Daŕ
ēus
, s
he had already made up her mind to control her
A
wakening.
Only now, she knew the battle to do so would be even more treacherous.

             
Her sisters
however,
were the only reasons she had
made such a grave decision
and
they
were reason
s
enough
,
since she cared
very
little
for
her own fate
at this point
.
If her efforts failed, and the herbs destroyed her, then at least it would be by her own hand and not Evils'. And at least her title and powers would revert to her family and
not
Evil. And at least then, her sisters would be safe from a curse brought forth by
Samanthŕa's own destiny.

             
Shaking but sure, kneeling by the fire in her room, s
he took the
foul smelling
potion,
mixed and
drank
it . . .
then spoke the words which would ignite its purpose inside her like a flame.

             
“Bring forth the soulless hunter who preys upon the beast.

Bring forth the swift darkness that dissipates its release.

Dagger dark,

B
lood be still,

F
eel my nature,

K
now thy kill.

Destroy thy self,

B
east be still.

Sleep thy life,

D
elay thy will.

Herbs devour and prevent what’s to come.

Sleep thy true nature, nature be done.”

             
She
stood wavering, stumbling towards her bed. She fell back onto her covers
as
the
beast inside
roared in pain. Imprints of its claws and spirit raked patterns underneath her flesh. She nearly passed out as she fought the urge to throw up
the poisonous brew
. Her body trembled and revolted. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She looked as though she were having seizures. The pain
of it
was excruciating
and
worse
than ever before
. She began to sweat as
the
war went on inside her
,
between her true nature and the death of its rebirth.

             
Hours passed while she suffered in this way.
It was more difficult
now
because instead of preventing the first signs of her Awakening, she was trying to cease what had already begun
,
no
thanks to Daŕ
ēus.

             
In all her misery, s
he finally gained enough strength to stand. Her
hands were trembling. Her blurred vision raced
forward as her door opened. A servant
wearing white robes and a golden blindfold of thick lace
brought
forth
yet another message.
Samanthŕa
could hardly look at it.

             
"Are you ill Priestess" The woman sniffed the air, using senses empowered by Chymeŕah. "I sense distress."

             
"No," Samanthŕa said trying to steady her voice. Her hands held the message shaking profusely.
If it was from
Dĩas
,
after what she was now suffering,
she would scream.
Quickly, s
he dismissed the servant a
nd
stumbled to her vanity. She nearly knocked it ov
er as she parted the scroll noticing
Chymeŕah’s
seal.

             
"Dear Goddess,
no
." Her eyes filled with liquid horror.
I
t was concerning
Samanthŕa’s
brother
St
a
phãyn
.
It seemed
he
had renounced his bloodline
and
his immortality. He was nowhere to be found.
Her mother had left for
Dĩas
’
realm
.
Samanthŕa was nowhere to be found . . . she was with Daŕ
ēus. There w
as no time to look. Chymeŕah had to rush away. No time for anything but this note.

             
The scroll fell to the floor
and so did
Samanthŕa
. Her body was now
trembling
like her hands. Her heart was crying
--
no
,
screaming
--
out in pain. Worry sw
e
lled her thoughts. Now was
not
the best time for her to receive bad news
,
or such shocking news a
s
that
. The herbs still waged
their
hostilities inside her. She was weak, in
torture
and now
emotional
ly broken.

             
Once she could collect her thoughts, she rose, but barely. No one
c
ould find
St
a
phãyn
but her
.
If he was found, he could die
.
Dĩas
might kill him for his offence, son or not. Evil would
certainly
kill him to claim the powers which he had renounced
,
which she as High Priestess possessed
temporarily
. With any luck, he would allow her to give them back. She prayed he would rethink what he had done.

             
She dressed
though doing so was a challenge s
ince the potion was moving through her three times stronger than ever before. She
’d
thought she could handle it
,
but in her thinking she
had
underestimated everything
. She played a dangerous game with her body.
Everything she chose seemed dangerous.

             
The black kirtle she put on burned against her sensitive skin. Her boots felt binding and caused her feet to throb
within
them. She couldn’t even do anything with her hair
,
for the slightest touch against her scalp made her want to fall and cry in agony.

             
Despite the sickness and pain, she left
Chymeŕah’s
palace
in search of her brother. She was thankful she was in
Chymeŕah’s
realm
and thankful that it was not
Dĩas
’
. She didn’t have the energy or strength to take him on right now.

             
She didn’t have to worry about Evil or any attacks
by it,
since it was daytime. The only thing she made sure to do was to dim herself so that any
Phãegen
who m
ight
not be used to her kind wouldn’t be frightened.
             

             
The village was busy as always.
Phãegens
were scurrying about trying to accomplish their daily routines, trad
ing
, buying, gossiping. Farmers were bringing in their fresh crops. She expected the ordinary and that’s what she noticed, nothing more and nothing less. Her mind was on
St
a
phãyn
and focusing on the only thing left between them, their withering bond.

             
She came to the
T
avern,
which she had no intention of entering. T
hose memories of t
he last time she was here were still fresh in her mind.
St
a
phãyn
was not inside
, or so her painful senses said,
so it didn’t matter. What did matter was that he was somewhere on the premises.

             
She felt him stir, his thoughts, his soul’s essence
,
from one of the rooms kept in the back
portion
known as the Inn, rooms
that
lodged only
Phãegens
. This was smart of him
,
since her kind would not have thought to look there. They would no doubt be searching the immortal lairs
underneath
the
T
avern
,
not
above it.

             
She hurried to the back entrance and went inside. She kept her cloak
’
s hood pulled over her face while she walked the
crooked
wooden floors of the establishment. She passed each door, raising her hand inconspicuously
,
until she felt him. Fighting the sickness of the herbs,
still
she felt him.