Authors: Thomas McDermott
“”Monsieur D’Aumont. Is everything alright?” She was trying to be as feminine as possible, but that was an art form she had never learned in the monastery. She was copying the behavior of Celine and almost immediately recognized that this was a mistake. He was used to such feminine wiles. What he would be unprepared for was a woman who was intelligent and honest with no agendas to hide. She was simply seeking the truth.
“Oh yes, just fine. I’m trying to get warm.” He did not remove his gaze from the fire which crackled gaily and filled the corner of the room with the softest golden glow.
“It’s a shame Rene had to leave. You would have really liked him. Such a clever man you know? There is not a locked door in the world that can keep him out.” She too watched the fire as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
“Oh yes, I know.” Marcel realized his misstep.
“Oh?” Nyoirin continued to watch the dance of the flames before her. “Did he tell you himself?” She remained perfectly still, hoping that his good nature would win out. She believed his conscious would not let him keep the secrets of this house from her.
“Well, not exactly. But I learned many interesting things about him in the short time he was here. He seemed like a very friendly sort of man.” Marcel lowered his face.
“Oh yes, he is a very friendly sort of man. He can make friends anywhere he goes. He‘ll be practically famous once he hits Paris!” She forced herself to laugh and spoke about him in the present even though she knew from Marcel’s behavior that Rene was dead. “Yes, I’m sure he will be expecting us along any day now. Skyfire and I are going to Paris and follow Rene’s example. If he left here, it was for a very good reason.” She smiled even though it was killing her and said: “Rene is so impulsive. Always acting on a whim. But not to worry. I can pick up his scent in a minute and we’ll be on his trail in no time. We’ll surprise him before the sun goes down again.” She watched her host very carefully. .”I should probably go change into my clothes. These things are much too binding for me. We will be leaving within the hour. “ She turned without warning and walked toward the staircase.
“Nyoirin wait!” Marcel whispered loudly. The satin whispers ceased. He walked toward her slowly and purposefully and Nyoirin could see the pain in his eyes. For the first time it occurred to her that Marcel might be Celine’s prisoner, or even slave. “Meet me in the stables in half an hour and be absolutely sure no one sees you. Use those skills you have to keep this discreet.” She could hear the panic in his normally calm voice. She nodded slowly and walked up the dazzling stairway without looking back. She moved through the hall and stopped at Skyfire’s room. He was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed and watching the snow melt. He turned to look at her and immediately knew something was very wrong Nyoirin climbed in bed with him and whispered to him about her secret meeting with Marcel. She warned him to keep an eye on Celine and even to keep her busy until the meeting was over. She left out the part about Rene being dead. She needed Skyfire to remain focused because as powerful as Celine was, Nyoirin was pretty sure that a huge jolt of lightning would at least knock her off her feet long enough for them to escape. She kissed him quickly and went to her room to find more suitable clothes for the cold wet weather. She took her sword and tuck it in the waist of her skirt so that only the handle stuck out She oh on a heavy fur coat and quietly sneaked out of the house. Once she knew Celine was busy in the big kitchen arguing with one of the cooks about how the pheasant was supposed to be prepared, she took her leave She went out of the small unpretentious door at the top of the stairs so she wouldn’t be seen through one of the many windows at the rear of the house. She quickly maneuvered around the forest of trees that were on both sides of the house; She was lost in a white wood and for a moment she did wish they could all live together like a family, happily, forever. She continued on her stealthy path and walked on until she had reached the river where the wind was cold and whipping against her fair cheeks. She did not mind the cold. It cleared her head in a way nothing else could have. She had already become too warm and too comfortable in the large house and welcomed the return to the elements. She found the stable and snuck in the rear without anyone taking notice. She hid in one of the stalls where Celine’s white mare was eating hay. Part of Nyoirin’s training had much to do with horses as samurai fought many battles upon their great beasts. She spoke secretly to the mare who allowed the stranger to pet her lovely face. She waited for about ten minutes when she was Marcel come into the stables and make up some talk for the horseman to do outside. Soon they were all alone and Nyoirin came out of her hiding place. Marcel almost jumped out of his skin.
“Oh Ma Cherie! You have given me a start!” He tried his best to smile. He was so jumpy for someone normally so composed. “Are you sure no one saw you?”
“Absolutely. I know how to cover my tracks.” She was sure of herself in a way Marcel had never seen in a woman and knew that Celine would always see her as some sort of competition as well as an enemy. Here was a woman, like Celine who would never bow to anyone else’s will but her own. In this way they were very similar, but Marcel knew that this woman before him would never kill thoughtlessly the way Celine had over and over again.
“We don’t have time. Celine is very clever and cannot be underestimated.”
“Yes. I know that about her.” Nyoirin stood by his side wishing that things could be different and that they could be friends. She liked him very much and even more so now that he seemed willing to help her.
“What you don’t know is that she means to kill you. She’s already killed your friend Rene. He was eavesdropping on us in the cavern beneath the house. She lost her temper and killed him.” He looked afraid and kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure she wasn’t standing right behind him. He was obviously terrified of her.
“I knew he was dead. He would have never left us without saying goodbye. He was a true friend.” And then Nyoirin looked puzzled. “Why did she kill him?” She needed as much information about her opponent as possible. She would grieve for Rene later, in her own way.
“She’s going to kill you all. She is still waiting for a fourth to come. She was hoping you were all together so she has to bide her time until you are all together.” Marcel was whimpering rapidly, feverishly in her ear. “You see, she was locked up in the hillside by her own people because she drank the waters. She said she only drank the waters to follow the thieves through time and extract her revenge. She believes the time has come.”
“We didn’t lock her up in a hill. Why should she kill us? Obviously the gods could care less about revenge.” Nyoirin found all of this ridiculous.
“Because she is mad. Being locked up in a cave for a thousand years with only the waters to sustain her have transformed her into something else. She honestly believes that she is the gods’ instrument of justice. Now she thinks that she is a goddess and like a god she believes she has the power to take any life when the mood strikes her. We mean nothing to her. We are her playthings.” His voice became even more hurried and raspy. “She killed my wife and children just to gain access to the waters. I would have given her the whole spring if I knew then what I know now. She will kill me if she knew we had this conversation. You and Skyfire have to get away now before she tries to kill you too.” His eyes contained a world of sorrow.
“Let her try.” Nyoirin was not afraid in the least. “You forget I am a trained assassin. I’ll kill her first and then we can be done with it. She did kill my friend and I have the ancient right of avenging his death.” She opened her strange coat of animal hide that Marcel had never seen before. Underneath the coat he could see the handle of her sword.
“You don’t understand. She has unimaginable powers. She drank the waters for so long that they did something to her. She killed Rene simply by losing her temper. He was ripped apart from the inside. I can still smell his blood all over me.” He looked as if he were going to start crying. Nyoirin reached out to him to steady him.
“What do you mean? She never touched him?” She could not quite believe what she was hearing. One of the horses whinnied and they both looked around cautiously. Noreen listened with her trained hears and when she was certain they were still alone, she spoke.
“There must be a way to catch her off guard. You said she killed him by getting angry at him? How do you mean?”
“That’s just it. Her power is raw and uncontained. Over the past few years she has been practicing trying to control it, but it has to do with her emotions. Once she was very angry at one of our maids and the woman started bleeding from the eyes and ears. She died that night in bed.” He was becoming more agitated as he spoke of Celine and he was sure now that they had already spent too much time together. Celine was far too suspicious of everyone to think that they just happened to be missing from the house at the same time.
“Well, I will just have to attack when she least expects it. We must keep up this game and pretend the best we can that we are happy to be your guests. We must act as if nothing wrong. Can you do that Marcel? Can you fool Celine? Our lives depend on it.”
“Of course.” Marcel looked directly at her with his dark eyes and she realized how handsome he was. It was a different kind of beauty she had experienced in the east and even with her Native lover, this was a true French nobleman and his features spoke loudly of centuries of careful breeding. It was a tragedy that his family who was most likely beautiful as well had to become a sacrifice to Celine’s grand delusions. “Of course, you know I was in love with her once. I found her in the cave and I thought I was rescuing a helpless lost soul which made me love her even more. That woman did not exist. I cannot kill her though. I have planned it meticulously a hundred times in my mind but I know I cannot be the one to stop her. I am so glad you found your way back to us. I just want this curse to be over.” He suddenly leaned forward as if his last breath had cost him too much. He was pale and exhausted. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek innocently and warmly. “I do so wish that things could be different.”
“Oh they will be Marcel. Very soon this will all be over and we can live as a family.” She smiled at him and made a motion for him to leave.
“Give me a little time to get back to the house. I don’t want her to know that we were both gone at the same time.” He voiced his fears before he left. He stopped once to turn around a wave a timid little gesture to the beautiful woman in the shelter of the stables. Skyfire was certainly lucky to have someone like that to love. Any man would be proud to know the love of such a creature. Her loyalty was evident in the way she was fearlessly planning to avenge the death of her fiend. Nyoirin walked quietly and slowly back to the house. Something was wrong but she couldn’t quite place her finger on it. She stopped to smell the wind. Nothing unusual and her ears picked up nothing out of the ordinary. In the white expanse before her, she noticed one thing. At the top of one of the sturdy old trees was a black bird that appeared to be staring right at her. She knew from her lessons that black birds carry messages between this world and the next. Rene must be warning her. She would watch her back more carefully.
Inside the house, Skyfire walked aimlessly down the marble stairs in a state of half dress. He would never become accustomed to the clothing of the Europeans. He preferred to wear as little as possible so his entire body could breathe. He felt that he was suffocating an this attire and could only manage to get the underclothing and a pair of pants on before giving up. One of the maids coming up the stairs with a pile of neatly folded linen gasped when she saw the house guest in such a state. Of all the strange thing she had encountered in this house, this man and his odd friend were the strangest. It was like having savages over for dinner. She did not understand what her employers would have to do with such people. Still, it was not her place to know and she quickly disappeared into on of the galleries to finish her work in peace. Skyfire barely noticed the woman. He was interested only in Celine. What was she up to? He tried to remember ancient Rome and all of the campaigns to conquer the Celtic barbarians and their pagan ways. He remembered Celine screaming curses at him in a language he didn’t understand and he and his friends only laughed at the mad woman on the hill. They had all underestimated this witch. She had been waiting for this moment when they all returned to punish them for stealing her sacred waters. The theft had occurred under her watch and it was up to her to make things right. He could appreciate that. What he could not tolerate was deception and betrayal. He had seen enough of that with these odd white people. She was trying to trap them but she was not smart enough. He walked into the large from with the impossible windows and found the table laden with all sorts of breads and eggs and meats. He was hungry and he did have to pretend everything was normal. This would be the easy part. He sat himself down and began filling his plate with the opulent cuisine. One of the servants came in and asked if he required anything. He dismissed her quietly and said that he had everything he could possibly need. The water was there in great pitchers just waiting for him. He drank and drank and felt the rush that always came with it. It was like drinking liquid sunlight.
“Ah, I’m glad you’ve come out of your room Skyfire. There’s no sense in stewing over something you have no control over. Rene left of his own accord. We must respect his wishes” Celine walked behind him and brushed her flawless breasts against his shoulder. “I’m so glad you and Nyoirin are going to stay with us. You see, we have been so lonely in our little secret.” She did not move away from him and her hands began to lightly play with his neck. He could feel her breath and it was hot like fire. One of his hands was on the carving knife and he grabbed it swiftly while snatching her wrist with his free hand. He jumped up from the table and moved behind her, wrenching her arm along her back. He held the knife to her throat and let the blade push against her windpipe.