Sorcerer Stabber Orphen Fan Fiction ❯ It's in the Family ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own any of the characters in SSO.

This is set after Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Revenge. This is based off the Anime only and the English ADV versions at that. Warning Spoilers!

Chapter 12*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"We're going!" Cleo shouted, trying to end the discussion. `Be honest,' she thought, `call it what it is: one of our usual fights.' This had been going on since just after breakfast; even Leki had abandoned the pair as hopeless, and sought out Alik.

"No…we'll wait a few more days."

"Why?"

"Don't argue with me. We're going to wait a few more days. Hartia is still trying to get something out of the trolls." Orphen growled out, frustrated by the numerous delays they'd encountered. Especially since, as she'd jokingly predicted, once they'd some trouble on their hands, in the form of some local thugs, the little pains just showed up. He'd be damned if let her know that, though.

"I'm not arguing with you. I'm pointing out that they don't remember. Volcan's being Volcan, but Dortin wants to help. He just can't remember. You're not going to get anything out of them. Let's get this over with."

"Cleo…" Orphen started warningly.

"You said we need the information quickly. Let's get this done now. I don't want to have this looming over me anymore. Or over Alik."

"I already said he's staying here."

"And I've already said he's going. Majic, Alik and I will stay outside while you go in…but we're going with you."

"I don't want Alik to go. I thought I made that clear."

"Abundantly, but where is he safer? With us or here?"

"Hartia can stay and protect him."

"He doesn't feel as safe with Hartia. He doesn't know Hartia as well as you, me or even Majic. Besides, we're going to have two of the three Wolven with us. Orphen, do you really want Alik to possibly face… the demon without us?"

"Fine. He can come, but I don't like it." He said, exasperated. He turned away, left the room, and stomped down the stairs.

Cleo smiled at the role reversal and followed at a more leisurely pace. As she walked, she thought, `I don't really like him going either, but it's necessary. I won't leave him and he'd probably follow if we did leave him behind.'

When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, everyone was gathered in the foyer. Majic, per her instructions, already had a pack ready with a lunch and blankets. Of course, he was also digging through it, probably re-checking picnic items and making sure nothing had been snitched. Leki was chasing Alik, effectively distracting the boy. Although he was grateful to be off library duty, she knew Alik was still nervous about the upcoming excursion. Orphen and Hartia were talking in a corner. Knowing them, she figured they were talking battle strategy, to keep everyone safe. Her mother and sister were also in the room, ready to see them off.

As soon as he became aware that everyone was present, Orphen cleared his throat to try to get everyone's attention. When he was ignored, he decided to use another tactic. Without raising his hands to cast, he chanted "Sword of Light." Everyone in the room froze, looking at him. "Finally. Now that I have your attention, what are the ground rules for this outing?" Orphen said, looking at Alik first.

"I stay with Cleo and do whatever she says." Alik muttered.

Orphen raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"I don't repeat what happened last time. I keep my dagger in its sheath since this is my last chance." Alik glumly repeated what Orphen had told him earlier that morning when the possibility of his going with them had come up.

Orphen's gaze then went to Cleo.

"I watch over Alik, protect and…and I quote `Stay the hell out of trouble.'" Cleo answered sarcastically, after a quick glance at Alik, who was trying to get to Mairabella's cookies in the pack. Majic was playing a slight game of keep away with him and, although Majic was paying attention, Alik was not.

"Too bad your memory doesn't always work that well. So, yes I said that. Now, you do it."

"Yes sir! Anymore order's sir." Cleo snapped back.

Orphen chose to ignore her and then looked at Leki, who jumped up on Cleo's head and yipped, as Cleo answered for him, "He says his job is me, he's supposed to stay this close at all times. And when did you tell him that, Orphen?"

With a sly grin, "My secret. Next."

"I stay with Cleo and Alik. I'm to cast shield spells and make sure Leki calls the Wolven quickly, if necessary." Majic said. "At the first opportunity, I'm to teleport Cleo, Alik, Leki and myself away from the threat."

"Right. Hartia and I will take out any threats and the Wolven, Polikapi, will be available as needed."

"Why do we always get the hard job?" Hartia quipped, fiddling with the collar on his new navy blue button down shirt.

"And you think watching over Cleo is easy Master Hartia!?! I'll trade you," Majic whined. He grinned, thinking, `At least Mariabella finally got him out of those stuffy robes. He was sticking out like a sore thumb and the Shrimpman costume was worse.'

"Hey, I resent that remark!" Cleo yelled indignantly, reaching out to pound Majic, who dodged and hid behind Orphen.

"No, you resemble that remark." Mariabella said, even as Orphen and Majic both thought it.

"Let's just go." Orphen said, ignoring Cleo's vexed glare at her sister. `Unless you've decided to be reasonable and wait a few days.' Orphen thought, watching her as she turned to the door and left. `Didn't think so.'

After the others had filed out, Orphen stayed behind a moment. He turned back to Tistiny and Mariabella to give them their instructions. "Please stay near the house. Policarpos has been instructed to stay here but he won't leave the property."

"We will. And although, I doubt you need the reminder, you be careful, too."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hundreds of miles away, Garik sat crouched in the scrying room of his underground base, watching his prey and her protectors leave the blank area that signified Wolven blockage of his scrying. Scoffing, he thought, `What boring activity are they doing today? Are they shopping? Or are they finally going to check out the gift I left for her? Just a token of our time together.' He watched for a few more moments before a flash reflected in the orb attracted his attention.

He looked over his shoulder to see the new arrivals; the first was another demon, smaller than Garik, with a single horn on the left side of his head and a scar going from the stump of his right horn, across his face and nose, ending at the base of his left jaw. The other visitor was a human, dressed in armor. Armor adorned with the emblem of the Tower of Fang. "Oh…" Garik said with a sneer, turning back to the orb. "It's about time. I trust you have useful news."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Everyone set out for the walk to Garik's former lair. Even as slowly as Cleo was walking, they were approaching the clearing where the entrance was in about an hour. Hartia and Orphen signaled the others to wait at the edge of the clearing. They walked into the clearing with one of the adult Wolven to make sure everything was safe.

Everything was quiet but it was not exactly the same as the last time Orphen had visited the area, several days prior. Along the center of the clearing there was a slight rise, which blocked the view of the base of the cliff from where they arrived. When they reached the top of the rise, they could see near the cliff wall, where a humanoid figure stood motionless.

"Who's that? Is that one of the …?" Hartia said, tensing and surveying the surrounding area.

"No." Orphen said also on the alert, "Not a Wolven…although, Leki dresses like…" Orphen trailed off, as they cautiously started down the rise to get closer to the figure. Not only was the figure human and dressed exactly like Orphen, he was very dead.

Orphen and Hartia shared a look and hurried to the body, which was being held upright by a pole in a fashion similar to a scarecrow. Once there, they immediately started to bring the body down realizing that this was not something their companions needed to see.

"This wasn't here four days ago. I know, I checked. If we weren't certain the bastard was watching before, we are now. Let's get him down before they see."

As they shifted the body, they saw the cause of death. The chest had a large hole ripped out of it, leaving a gaping, empty cavity. Sharing a glance, they both realized that the boy, who looked to be about Majic's age, had had his heart ripped out.

"At least I can protect them from this." Orphen muttered, as they were wrestling with the pole the body was tied to.

"Don't start that crap." Hartia said, stopping as he read Orphen's expression. "It's not your fault. Surely, you now realize we were all manipulated by a master. He watched us and knew exactly how to hurt you. And her."

"I know. But… it still… God, Hartia, what did they go through?"

"You can't push them to talk. Give them time. She's already promised that she'll come to you when she's ready. I suspect Alik will go to her when he's ready. He might even trigger her."

"I know…it just doesn't make it any easier."

"When is anything worthwhile ever easy?"

"You know, you sound exactly like Childman when you talk like that."

"Well, I guess. It's true isn't it?"

"Yeah…he'd be proud of you."

"And you. Now…let's get him…"

They froze when they heard someone approaching. That, coupled with Majic calling Cleo's name in exasperation, prompted them to look up and see Cleo walking over the rise, with Leki perched on her shoulder.

She'd instructed Majic and Alik to stay behind, after there was a longer than expected delay in receiving the all clear signal from Orphen. She'd been worried about this. She wasn't getting any sort of buzz, indicating the demon was anywhere near, but she was still concerned. Something didn't seem right, almost like it was too easy. Like Garik wanted them there. She'd gotten about halfway across the clearing and to the top of the rise, when she caught a glimpse of what, or rather, who Orphen and Hartia were taking down. She stopped a moment, closing her eyes, and pushing the memories back.

She started walking again, absently skirting the edge of the crater created by the blast from demon's spell during their confrontation just a few weeks before. She tried to focus on the scene unfolding before her without letting it overwhelm her, thinking, `I forced myself to come here, even knowing he'd do something like this. Oh God…I was afraid of this. It's Erin… I-I can't…'

Cleo lost her nerve, grabbed her stomach, turned, and ran to the bushes. Leki growled, but reluctantly jumped off her shoulder to follow behind her. She collapsed to her hands and knees, heaving, as she lost the remains of her breakfast all over the bushes. Orphen ran over to her muttering, "We should never have come here, damn it."

When he reached her, he realized just how far she gotten from Majic, Alik and him. Although he still wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders, he expressed his worry over her separation from the others the only way he knew how. "Damn it, Cleo! You were supposed to stay with Majic and Alik. Where's Leki? And where are the others? Over 20 feet away. Didn't you think…"

Right behind them, Orphen heard Hartia clear his throat, bringing to Orphen's attention the fact that he wasn't helping. He noticed Cleo's trembling, instead of abating at his presence, was increasing. He also became aware of just how close Leki really was when the pup jumped up on his shoulder, showing his displeasure at Orphen's actions by growling and nipping lightly at his ear.

Cleo whispered, "Sorry. I wasn't thinking. Again. It was a…"

"…shock for all of us. I shouldn't have shouted." Orphen continued, moving to put his other arm around her. Leki was still growling steadily. Cleo looked up at Orphen, or, more accurately, Leki questioningly, then tensed.

The only noise in the clearing was the rustle of leaves from a slight breeze. There was a slight whistle and Cleo reacted before she even thought. Twisting in Orphen's arms, she pushed both Orphen and Leki to the ground as she drew her dagger. Using her dagger, she blocked one of the ninja stars that might have struck Orphen. The other two passed by harmlessly, missing Orphen and Leki, because they were on the ground and Hartia because Polikapi had appeared and shielded him.

"Get out of here! You thieving scum!" The attacker shouted, charging at them from out of the nearby brush, with his sword drawn. He got close enough to recognize whom he was attacking and stopped abruptly, his eyes widening in shock. He first lowered, then sheathed his sword, muttering, "What the hell is she doing here …and with a huge wolf, no less?"

As shocked as Orphen was to realize someone had snuck up on them, he was more surprised at Cleo's reflexes. And he felt a rising anger at her for not following orders and putting herself at risk. Again. And for his sorry hide.

Across the clearing, Alik had latched onto Majic and was trying to get him to get go back to Orphen and Cleo. "I wanna check on Cleo! I can't let anything…Let me go to her, to them, please!!"

Majic whispered in Alik's ear, "Relax. Orphen will protect her and he's not being aggressive anymore." In a thought, Majic added, `Please don't let me be wrong. Please let it really be him.'

Hartia, in a casting stance and never taking his eyes off the attacker, shouted to Majic, "Get away. Use Polikapi as a shield between you and him." The action Hartia suggested was already in process as Majic pulled Alik back towards the shelter of the brush. Polikapi moved between the attacker and the others to obscure Alik and Majic from sight.

The attacker, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, was dressed all in black and had a mask over his face, so that only a pair of piercing blue eyes was showing. After registering Hartia's preparedness and the change in the attacker, Orphen disarmed Cleo.

"We had an agreement, Cleo Everlasting! You're supposed to be taking it easy, damn it!"

"Cleo…is it really you?" the attacker exclaimed. If possible, his eyes grew even larger and round with surprise and he dropped a handful of ninja stars on the ground in shock.

When the attacker spoke up, Alik froze and whispered, "Devon? No, not again. He's dead, he can't come back. That means he-he's…Majic?"

"It's okay." Majic said comfortingly. Weighing his options, Majic decided to trust in the Wolven's protection and hurried closer to the Wolven. He also positioned the Wolven between himself and the others. Alik was shaking and buried his face into Majic's chest. "We'll wait over here with Polikapi. Until we're called."

Alik looked up at Majic, "Could it be real? Could it be him?"

"I don't know Alik. I'm hoping for the best." Alik nodded.

Meanwhile, Cleo answered the attacker's question with another. "Do I know you?"

"Of course you do, it is I," he said, ripping off the mask and revealing a handsome face with blonde, almost white, hair. "Devon Enduring."

Hartia's eyes widened in shock, `Enduring? Enduring! Alik's brother? If I wasn't living this, I'd think I was a character in one of those badly written trashy romance stories Erris reads.' He lowered his arms knowing he likely wouldn't be casting on the newest arrival. `Oh, great. How much you want to bet, he's the Hunter that Azalie was referring to at the Tower. What in the hell is he doing here? Crap! All alone, unprotected, and…son of a bitch…untrained, since Azalie said he was there for training. What the hell was she thinking?'

Orphen and Hartia exchanged looks, Hartia understood Orphen's silent message of `it's okay to stand down but to remain alert.' Almost imperceptibly, Hartia nodded, but allowed his eyes to shift over towards Majic and Alik. Sensing Orphen's approval, Hartia moved between the two groups. In response to his Alpha's silent message, Leki moved to sit near Polikapi to wait and watch.

Cleo looked surprised, but didn't really react. She was stunned. Part of her wanted to fling herself at a friend she'd thought lost forever, but the other part was hesitant. `Is this be a trick? I don't think so.' she thought. "I-I thought you were dead. How'd you…? Everyone else was killed…"

Now slightly unsure, Devon continued, "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." He said, trying to keep things light. Especially considering the shock he'd had when he first entered the clearing, to see his friend trussed up like that. He thought, `Leave it to Cleo to be unimpressed when someone returns from the dead.' Aloud, he explained, "Cleo, it's me. I escaped, and I came back to rescue the others." He gestured behind him and looked down sadly, "I was too late."

Feeling sure he really was Devon, especially after that silly "exaggerated" line, Cleo whispered to Orphen. "He's Alik's older brother. It's not an illusion, he's real. No buzz." She flung herself at Devon, giving him a quick tight hug, before stepping back.

As Orphen was registering those shocks, he received yet another one when Devon spoke up again.

"So, how has my pretty-but-annoying little fiancée been doing?" Devon asked trying to pull her back into his arms.

Orphen and Cleo responded simultaneously, staring at him in disbelief.

"Devon!!!" Cleo cried, as she pushed away avoiding the embrace.

"Fiancée?!?" Orphen snarled, glaring at the intruder.

`Fiancee!' Hartia thought, `Oh, I am so staying out of this. Poor Orphen.' He added, choking in his effort to suppress the urge to laugh, `that settles it. It's a bad plot out of a romance novel…but at least those have happy endings.'

"Oh, gee, she must have forgotten to tell you. My sweet girl is so forgetful. We've been engaged for years."

"Devon, shut up!" Cleo said in exasperation.

"Cleo, what the hell is he talking about?" Orphen demanded, focusing on her.

"Not now, we'll talk about it later." Cleo shot back at Orphen before turning to Devon. "Devon, what are you doing here?"

"There's a lot of reasons, but I don't want to go into them here. Let's get you home. We'll discuss everything there." Devon reached out to grab Cleo and pull her back towards him, away from Orphen.

In unison, Orphen and Cleo both exclaimed, "That's it!"

Fed up with the intruder's manhandling of Cleo, even as he ignored his own, Orphen pulled her behind him and cast, "Sword of Light!"

Cleo shouted at him, "Stop it! Don't you remember my father's letter?!?" She frantically moved back in front of Orphen, just in time to reflect the spell as it came back at him.

As it touched Cleo, the spell was reflected back to Devon and went back and forth between the two of them. Alarmed, Orphen realized the spell was gaining strength as it volleyed back and forth between the two Hunters. While Devon was able to maintain his position, the force of the spell was pushing Cleo back a few inches each time it connected.

Orphen yelled "Move it!" to Hartia. Majic, hearing the commotion, acted on the second part of his orders and `ported Alik to the far side of the clearing, next to a pair of saddled horses. Polikapi and Leki, also moving out of the line of fire, bounded after them, knowing they hadn't `ported far.

Once everyone was clear, Orphen grabbed Cleo just after the spell bounced off her and `ported them away before the spell came back again.

With nothing to stop it, the spell slammed against the cliff, creating a huge crater. It took several minutes for the dust to settle enough for the combatants to see one another again.

While waiting for the dust to settle, Orphen honestly wasn't sure who was clinging to whom more. After the teleport he was so dizzy he could barely stand. It was beginning to worry him; this was the third teleport he had ended up dizzy afterwards. The other two were easily explained; he'd been weakened. This time, they'd been resting for a couple of weeks, but he teleported from the ruins home and around town with no ill effects the only difference was…. `Oh, shit…that makes sense, but that would be bad, very bad.' When he heard Cleo starting to speak, he turned his attention back to the situation unfolding in front of him.

As soon as she could see him again, Cleo shouted at Devon, "I'm not a rope in a game of tug-of-war. Now, I told you I'd never marry you when I was six. You put lizards down my shirt and pushed me in mud puddles. And we won't even discuss dances or boarding school. Besides, why the heck didn't you ever tell me?!?" Cleo started to advance on him only to find herself pulled tightly against Orphen's chest.

"Tell you what?" Devon threw back somewhat surprised by the unusual change in the direction of the conversation took, but then that was Cleo. "That I love you and you're going to be my wife and bear my children?"

"About Hunters!" Cleo hissed, ignoring Devon's last question and Orphen's growl behind her.

"How'd you hear about…?" Devon asked. Shaking his head he continued without waiting for her response, "Never mind, it isn't, and never will be, your concern. You're just a female, even if you are resistant to spells. Now, don't forget, I took your to first dance…."

"What do you mean, `just a female'?!? Besides, you promptly ditched me for Nerilissa. That is not open for discussion; unless you want me to repeat what happened afterwards," Cleo growled, glaring at Devon. She struggled against Orphen's grasp in an effort to get to Devon and complete her threat. In a near silent hiss, she focused some of her ferocity at Orphen, "Let go. You're being just as much of a problem. I can handle him."

"No." Orphen growled back in her ear, so softly she almost didn't hear. "Deal with it."

Devon continued, nonplussed, "Now, wait a minute. Calm down, Cleo. You know, I wasn't the only one."

"Gee! Thanks for nothing!"

"By the way," now addressing Orphen, "Get your hands off my fiancée." Before Orphen could respond, Cleo started in on Devon again.

"Devon, get over it! Father tore up that contract when I was five. He said I'd have my own choice and you're not it." She put her hand on Orphen's arm and gave a light squeeze. He replied with a squeeze, before releasing her. "Now, to more important matters. Why are you dressed up as comic book bad guy?"

On the other side of the clearing, Alik had been waiting by an exhausted Majic until he couldn't wait any longer. He was worried about Majc's condition, even though he said he was only tired. Alik decided he had to get help and hurried back into the clearing, towards the sounds of the voices, with Leki trailing at his heels. Once he got a clear look at Devon and heard Cleo shout his brother's name, he started running towards Devon, who was speaking.

"I am not! This is my Official Hunter's Uniform." Devon said, puffing up proudly, although it quickly dissipated. "I told you, I came here looking to rescue Erin, Al…and the others. Also, I'm working for the Tower on Hunter business, tracking a dangerous renegade sorcerer, Krylancelo. I found Erin's body with his heart ripped out and I found…"

From behind Devon, Hartia's voice came, interrupting Devon, "Hold on…what are you doing here?"

Devon turned towards the voice as Alik threw himself into Devon's arms. "Alik? Alik!! Oh, thank God! You're alive." Devon said reverently, as he clutched Alik to him like a drowning man grabbing a rope. His mind in a whirl, all Devon managed to choke out was a strangled, "How?"

"Orphen rescued us." Alik answered, pointing Orphen out. Now comfortably settled in his brother's arms, Alik looked back, remembering why he'd initially disobeyed and come back across the clearing. He saw that Majic had caught up and was now standing next to Hartia, smiling weakly, with Leki settling between his feet. Majic mouthed, `I'm fine, just tired.'

Devon looked up at the gathered group, and said, "I-I don't even know how to begin to thank you. When I returned, I-I lost all hope after I saw Erin, but before I could…I had …I needed to search…the cave for…"

"Not here, not now." Cleo cut Devon off, shaking her head.

"Oh, God, no." Devon exclaimed, looking down at Alik and thinking she didn't want to discuss it in front of him.

"Leave it."

"How did you escape?" Alik asked quietly, before anyone else could say anything, "Erin never said."

Grateful to leave the subject of the current contents of the cave for the moment, Devon answered, "It was all Erin's idea. The monster took us in shifts, asking questions and drawing blood. For some reason that day, he put me back into the cell and took the others. I was feverish, but I remember Erin telling me he'd picked and jammed the lock on our cell, so it wouldn't catch again. He told me to get out, get to the Tower of Fang, and bring back help. Also, he told me…"

"This is not the place to have this discussion." Hartia interjected, "Although, I did want to ask for a clarification. You went into the cave today?" Devon nodded. Hartia and Orphen shared a glance that promised Devon was going to be thoroughly questioned, later. "Let's get back to Mari…er, the Everlastings."

"Look, I'm taking her back the quick way since our walking wounded have overdone it. Orphen said since Cleo was sagging against him. "Devon," Orphen said the name with distain, but continued more gently, "What do you want to do about Erin?"

"I…I have a pair of horses at the edge of the clearing she and Alik can use. As for Erin, I'll take him home."

"Do you want a pyre here or there? Keep in mind, there's a spell on his body."

"Here. There's no one there to mourn him." Devon said sadly thinking, `Or Alik and me, back home.' He looked up and continued, "Although, he does have a sister and I'll still have to tell her that his remains have been recovered. I'm sure she's already heard of their deaths in the bandit attack, but I think she'd prefer not to know exactly what happened. I looked for her some, but once I was well…my priority had to be getting back here to…um…you know. She's somewhere near the Tower, from what Erin said, and I'll go back and find her once I finish my Hunt."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They held a small brief ceremony, which ended with Orphen and Hartia casting intense fire and then ice spells on the body. Once the ashes were collected and turned over to Devon, Orphen walked up to where Cleo was sitting on one of the blankets they had brought with them. Alik was sitting comfortably in her lap.

As he approached, he overheard, Alik say, "I know I should be sad, but…Erin's safe now. Safe from him. He can't be hurt anymore."

"No, he can't, Alik. But you're safe, too. Not only do you have Orphen and me, you also have Devon, since he's back. He got away…and where did he come as soon as he was well? To find you."

"But …" Alik looked over at the cave and Cleo knew who he was thinking about.

Leaning close to his ear, so the others couldn't hear, she whispered, "You're thinking about Bastian, right?"

He nodded.

"We won't leave him in there. I promise." Alik simply turned and hugged her tightly. After a few moments, to lighten the mood, Cleo teased him, saying, "Air, Alik." As expected, Alik broke into a fit of giggles.

While he was giggling, Cleo became aware of a familiar shadow over them. She glanced up as Orphen reached down to pull them to their feet, announcing, "Cleo, Alik, and I are using Devon's horses to go back to the house." He turned to Devon and asked, "You do know where the Everlasting mansion is?"

Devon's eyes narrowed, before he answered with an abrupt, "Yes." He really didn't like the proprietary way this sorcerer was handling everything, especially Cleo. She was his fiancée and nothing would change that. So, her father may have cancelled the betrothal when they were younger, but Devon's father had always said it was a mistake. That eventually, when tempers had cooled, it would be reinstated or he could just woo her. Now that he'd finally caught up to her, after she'd graduated from boarding school and started traveling around the continent, he wasn't going to let her be taken away by some evil-looking, lecherous sorcerer.

He glanced down to his side where Alik was now clinging to him and inwardly sighed, first things first. Alik needed him and, to be honest, he needed Alik. The stark loneliness and despair he'd felt when he saw the remains of a boy in the cave still hadn't fully left him. He shuddered slightly and hugged Alik. This was his brother and, after thinking he'd lost him, he knew his romantic issues would have to wait.

"I'm taking Alik." Devon announced, when Orphen reached over to Alik to lift him up onto the horse.

Orphen paused and nodded, looking at Alik, who smiled and hugged his brother. Orphen felt conflicted. He really didn't like leaving Alik with the stranger, but if they were blood relations, how could he object? He watched, feeling slightly lost, as Devon picked Alik up and put him on the horse.

Cleo, sensing Orphen's tension, came up behind him, grasping his elbow in support. She whispered, so quietly he could barely hear, "You know, Alik won't stop needing you…but, right now, he needs his brother, too."

Devon grimaced when he saw where Cleo was standing, but that quickly switched to a smirk when he remembered that the sorcerer said he was going to try to get Cleo on a horse. Barely suppressing his laughter, he muttered to an oblivious Orphen, "Good luck. You're going to need it."

Once Orphen was sure that Alik would be settled and content with Devon, he walked over to the other horse and looked back at Cleo. He'd told her, well, everyone actually, that they'd be riding a horse back. `Why didn't she follow me?' He asked himself. "Cleo, come on."

"Um…can't we just walk back? I feel fine. Really."

"We've got the horse available, get over here."

"No."

"Look, I don't need another argument. This trip turned out quite differently from what I expected and we must get back to re-group. Now, you're coming with me." He said in a no-nonsense tone, walking back to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

Pulling her hand free and stepping away from Orphen, she snapped back defiantly, "I don't like horses."

Orphen stopped, rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation, especially when he saw Devon on the horse with Alik, laughing. He realized Devon had known. With a growl, he stalked towards Cleo. "I don't care, you're not walking back, so you're getting on that horse."

"Cleo, I can't believe you're still afraid of horses." Devon said, laughingly.

"I am not afraid! And that's another topic you can't discuss Devon!" Cleo shouted back. Quickly, she turned towards Orphen and continued, "I have an agreement with horses; I don't ride them and they don't throw me."

"You mean you don't know how to ride a horse." Orphen sighed with frustration, "Cleo that's not a problem, I'll be controlling the horse."

"I can too ride." Cleo admitted proudly, "I-I just don't choose to." She shuffled her feet slightly and added, "It's also been a while." She looked up and glared over at Devon, with a look that promised pain and Devon's smile faltered.

Orphen, smirked thinking `Gotcha!' and he raised an eyebrow to convey the challenge. `Cleo, we're going to have a long talk about dances, horses and fiancées. There's more than meets the eye here and I don't like you having secrets from me.'

As he expected, Cleo walked up to him, expertly mounted the horse and settled in the saddle. However, the horse began prancing nervously as it picked up on her tension. Before the situation could escalate, Orphen jumped up behind her and took the reins. He also glanced over at Devon who's face had gone from grinning to shocked, then pissed. Orphen smirked back at him, nodded his head, and said, "Let's go." He directed the horse towards where Hartia and Majic were waiting.

After he was sure Devon wouldn't be able to hear, he whispered to Cleo, grinning as he used some of her phrasing from earlier, "You know, horses can sense your fear. If you'd calmed down, it wouldn't have been a problem."

"I'm not afraid!" She hissed back.

"Yeah, right." He taunted, "You're just shaking from cold in the middle of a sunny afternoon." Orphen said, ending with a bit of an `ooof' in the word `afternoon' when she elbowed him slightly in the stomach.

"I don't like horses. My dad taught me to ride and I continued in school. I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Another thing you don't want to talk about. Is there any…"

"Stop right there. I said right now. We'll talk about it later when we're alone and off this… this…"

"Get used to it. There will be times when we can't rent or use carts and need to travel faster than on foot. And I'll hold you to that promise, before we sleep."

"That's fine. Tonight or whenever, but you can't laugh. I still don't like riding this walking, smelling fertilizer generator." Orphen chuckled slightly at her description of the horse, even more curious then before she'd said anything. "But I'll try to deal with it," she groused as she looked over Orphen's shoulder back at Alik and Devon.

"They'll be fine. Who was it that told me Alik needs his brother?" Orphen whispered. By this time, they were close enough for Hartia and Majic to hear them. Orphen raised his slightly to them, "'Port back to the mansion and let them know we're on our way back."

Hartia picked up on Orphen's unspoken instructions, `Brief them, prepare them.' He watched as Orphen turned the horse towards the mansion and spurred it into a trot and Devon moved to follow. Hartia also saw the elder Wolven come out of the brush and fall in step near the horses, carefully staying down wind of them. A faint "Wheee! Faster, faster!" could be heard as Alik cheered the speed the horse was going. Hartia shook his head thinking things just got a lot more complicated.

"If we can teleport back to the mansion from here, why didn't Master just `port Cleo and Alik again?" Majic mused aloud.

"We talked about this before. It takes a lot of energy to `port multiple people or for multiple `ports. That and he probably wanted to give Devon some time alone with Alik. Oh…and Majic, I have to know. Cleo and Devon weren't really engaged, were they?"

"The simple answer is yes, but…we …err… they never got along, Well, not like that, anyway. We were all friends, but Cleo and Devon were…um, let's just say their personalities were, and are still, so alike they were constantly in competition over every little thing, or fighting. Constantly. The unusual part is Cleo usually beat the crap out of Devon." Majic continued, grinning broadly, "Much to Devon's chagrin."

"There's nothing unusual about that." Hartia replied, amused. "Let's put it another way; I wouldn't want to face her in a battle…even with magic."

"I'm with you there. I've seen her fight."

"Well, we'd better get back to the mansion…" Hartia trailed off when he saw the blanket, with the scattered remains of the picnic, mostly uneaten, still sitting there from when everyone else had left. "Why did we get left with the mess?!?" Hartia groused. He heard a giggle and a spell chanted.

"Away." Majic hurriedly cast, to get out of picking up the camp. Even though he knew he'd get it from Master Hartia later, he just couldn't resist. `Besides, I need to be the one to break the news of Devon's return and confirmation of Erin's and Bastian's deaths.'

Hartia watched the purple flash heralding Majic's departure. "That's it! That apprentice has gotten entirely too cheeky. He's going to be doing KP for a month." Hartia paused to laugh, "But in the same situation, I'd have done the same thing. Besides, I think I have the easier job."

He looked down and saw Leki hadn't left with the others. Chuckling, he picked up the pup and asked, "Are you my watch dog?" Leki growled slightly at the word `dog' but yipped in a rather unmistakable, `yes'.

"Then let's beat your mistress home." Hartia said. He started picking up the mess and paused, "But, let's also give Majic some time to pass on the news." He took his time, carefully cleaning up the residue and folding the blankets. Once completed, he said to Leki, "Let's get home." Just before he chanted the spell, he paused, thinking, `Why did I?… well…it is home, now. Hmmm… I never thought I call some place other than the Tower, home.' He smiled and chanted, "Away."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hartia arrived at the mansion to find Majic sitting on the front steps, awaiting everyone's arrival and looking a bit shell shocked. Whispering, Hartia said, "Make yourself useful, pup. Check on Mariabella for me, please." With a quick yip, Leki leapt down and slipped through the open door behind Majic, and trotted off in search of Mariabella. Hartia walked up close to Majic and decided to gauge his emotional state with a simple question.

"Where are Mariabella and Tistiny?"

"Mobilizing for the returning troops and a bit in shock from the news." Majic answered in a monotone, very unlike his usual tone of voice, which set off alarm bells in Hartia's head.

"Are you okay?" Hartia asked.

"Not really. This is …I mean… people are dying. People I know. It's…it's sinking in… I-I mean, this hasn't…"

"Listen to me, Majic. This hasn't been something you've ever encountered before. That should tell you how good your Master is, if you'd ever doubted. Right now, we are at the start of a war. Unfortunately, casualties happen, on both sides. We're still finding out what happened in the first skirmish. We got caught by surprise and were unprepared, in spite of Lai's repeated attempts to warn the Elders." Hartia paused, thinking how much worse things might have been if Azalie hadn't spurred him into taking action. "So, we are getting a plan together and preparing to counter, but that takes time, precious time. Something I'm beginning to think we're running out of."

"Thank you. My Masters are the best. I couldn't have asked for, or chosen better teachers. I better get to work on those copies and the translations. I almost have a copy ready for Stephanie. As you said, time is short."

Hartia grinned when as he realized the pep talk had worked and ruffled Majic's hair as he teasingly added in Master tone, "That's very good. However, your flattery is not going to get you out of trouble for leaving me with the mess to clean up. I thought you understood this lesson; apprentices do the clean up, not the Masters."

"Um…the last thing you said before I left was that we needed to get back so I hurried back." Majic said, grinning weakly, "I was just following orders."

"Nice try, but no dice…"

Before Hartia could continue, a child's voice was heard, calling, "Faster, faster. Come on, bro, we can beat them!" announcing the arrival of the horses.

Hartia could see the determination on the faces of the older riders and the sheer glee on Alik's face. Hartia couldn't really see Cleo since, somewhere along the ride, she'd moved behind Orphen, and her face was buried in his back, arms tightly wrapped around his chest in a death grip.

Orphen, seeing Hartia and Majic waiting on the steps, said something to Cleo and Hartia heard her shriek, "No!!!" even as she leaned forward with Orphen, and they sped up, pulling away from Devon and Alik. As soon as they were close enough, Orphen called out, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, we're just waiting for you slow pokes!" Hartia shouted back as he saw a wave of relief wash over Orphen's face, followed quickly by a smirk of triumph,, as Orphen stopped the horse just in front of the house. Polikapi did not approach the house; he simply faded into the brush at the edge of the grounds.

"Cleo, we're home. You can release the death grip now." When she didn't respond, he added, "Unless you want to stay on the horse for a while longer, but I'm getting off."

Cleo immediately let go of Orphen, but didn't really move to dismount. Hartia decided it was a perfect opportunity to annoy someone and he wasn't going to waste it. He walked up beside the horse and put up both arms in a catching motion, "May I be of assistance?"

Cleo grinned, seeing the teasing glint in his eye, and played along. "Thank you, kind sir." Holding her hands out, she leaned into his waiting arms. Hartia lifted her from the horse and put her feet firmly on the ground.

As he was bringing her to the ground and close to him, he could feel her shaking and he whispered in her ear, "Are you okay?" Inwardly wincing, `Didn't I just go through this with Majic? I could really, really get tired of that question.'

"I'm fine. Now that I'm away from that beast."

"Really? Which one?" Hartia asked, looking up at Orphen, who was still sitting on the horse.

"Hartia!!" Orphen said warningly, but was interrupted by the arrival of Alik before he could continue.

"Cleo, Cleo, Cleo," Alik chanted after Devon let him down off the horse and he ran to her. "That was fun and I can't believe you `n Orphen won. One second you were just behind us and the next, woosh!, you were ahead of us. Devon said it was cause you had a fresher horse and wants a rematch. Can we? Can we please?"

"Those two are welcome to race all they want. I'm not getting on that horse or any other again. And neither are you, if they're racing."

"Jeez, Cleo, we need to talk later. You're really getting off on this parental power trip." Devon stopped short when he saw Tistiny and Mariabella rush out of the house towards them, followed by Leki, who promptly jumped into Cleo's arms.

"Get off that horse right now, young man, and come over here." Tistiny demanded.

"And hurry." Mariabella added.

"Yes, ma'am." Devon sheepishly responded. He and Orphen dismounted their horses at the same time, in almost the manner. Once they were off the horses, two servants stepped up and took the reins to the lead the horses to the stables.

As soon as Devon was solidly on his feet, Tistiny and Mariabella hurried up to him and hugged him tightly. Tistiny whispered in his ear, "Welcome back. Next time let extended family know. Even sick, you could have written us."

"I'm sorry. I hope it won't be an issue again, but I promise I will keep you updated, Mrs. Everlasting."

"Stop right there, you're an adult now." Tistiny chastised.

"That's debatable." Cleo muttered under her breath. Hartia grinned and Orphen coughed to hide his laughter.

"Call me Tistiny, understand? Although, I don't think I've gotten that point across to everyone yet." As she surveyed all four men, she added, "Let's take this inside. We have tea…and coffee. Along with a few snacks, so we can get caught up on the latest developments and decide what to do next."

Mariabella chimed in with, "Cleo, I heard you were on a horse again, I'm sorry I missed it. But the evidence is in the air." She said as she waived her hand in front of her face. "Although, I bet the smell is better than…"

"Sister, you don't want to finish that statement." Cleo hissed and Leki growled, picking up on Cleo's ire.

"Okay…but Mother has already had a bath drawn in your room, in case you're interested." Mariabella said, to pacify her sister.

"Thank you, Mother. Come on, Alik."

"Why me? I had a bath."

"That was last night and you've been walking all day and riding a horse. I'm surprised my mom will even let us into the house without being hosed down." She turned towards Majic when he failed to stifle a chortle and glared. "Do it and you'll find out first hand what happened afterwards."

"Not a word. My lips are sealed."

"Keep them that way." Cleo said and Leki barked, as they started to go into the house, stopping when Devon called out.

"Since when did you pick up a pet? I thought you hated dogs."

Alik answered, "He's not a dog…he's a Wolven."

"Yeah, right. That fleabag's no Deep Dragon."

"Devon, I've had quite enough of you today. If you know what's good for you, you'll drop it."

Orphen thought, `How in the hell did he know the alternate name for a Wolven?'

Hartia raised he eyebrows in surprise at the book knowledge their new acquaintance possessed, even if his common sense left a lot to be desired. One didn't lightly piss off that pup and his mistress. Hartia was inhaling to respond when Alik spoke up.

"Don't call him that. He is too a Wolven. I've seen him do the blasts Dad told us about."

"Alik, come on. Ignore him. Besides, the faster you bathe, the faster you can get back downstairs. Can't you smell Mariabella's cookies?"

"But I don't wanna." Alik whined as Cleo leveled a glare at him. Orphen cleared his throat, supporting Cleo, and Alik wilted, muttering a quiet, "Yes, sir."

Devon was surprised at Alik's acceptance of Orphen as his father figure. Accepting Cleo as a mother figure was easy for Devon to envision, but… that. No way in hell. It was going to be him and Cleo raising Alik, period. End of story. He watched Cleo enter the house with Alik, thinking there was only one thing he'd have trouble with: her.

"Come on, let's get inside. She's right; I just pulled some shortbread cookies out of the oven and they are in the downstairs sitting room with everything else." Mariabella said, trying again to move everyone inside.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few minutes later, everyone was seated around the sitting room. Tistiny broke the silence that had settled over the group, "Now that young ears are temporarily out of the way, what is our next step?"

"I need to… um…" Devon paused to take a deep breath, "I need to go back to the cave."

Majic quietly said, "Bastian. Bastian's still in there, isn't he?"

Devon simply nodded.

"We'll all go." Hartia said.

"No. Not all of us." Orphen interjected, with a meaningful glance towards the ceiling.

"No way is either of them going in that cave. It was… I-I can't put it into words." Devon stated, even as his voice trailed off to almost a whisper. "I can't let Alik go back into that. And Cleo has no business anywhere near that hellhole."

Everyone in the room nodded, and once again silence enveloped the room.

"And then?" Mariabella asked, "After that you're all coming back here, right?"

"No… I-I need to take them back home. I-I want to… to, no, need to, put them near their parents. It's the least I can do." Devon said softly. In a thought, `I'm alive because of Erin. Did that happen because I escaped? I-I can't go down that path again, not now. I have to focus on the future, on Alik, on Cleo.'

"Admirable. You know, your father would be proud of you." Tistiny said as she stood. "However, you will not be leaving until tomorrow at the earliest. You need rest. Let me show you to your room."

Orphen and Hartia both started to protest, wanting to get back to the cave as quickly as possible, but were silenced by a glance from Tistiny. She looked over her shoulder and mouthed, `later,' leaving the room with Devon.

As she left, Tistiny thought, `I need to take this opportunity to get him to talk, away from the others. Especially the two men who are basically strangers to him. Devon needs it. He looks like the guilt is weighing heavily on him. Just like Cleo and Alik, survivor's guilt. I just hope they don't do something foolhardy, but… I think he's the one most on edge. Cleo and Alik seem to be responding to support, time, and distance.'

Back in the sitting room, they heard a familiar excited shout come from upstairs, "Devon! Are you going to share my room?"

They heard Tistiny's voice replying and Alik again, "Okay, but let me show you my room, first." The voices faded away.

"I guess we now know who the Hunter at the Tower was…er …is." Hartia said.

"But why did they let him leave?" Majic asked.

"Damn good question, Majic. One I suggest the Tower liaison get answered, as soon as possible. Although, I suspect I know the answer, if his personality is anything like someone else's."

"It is." Mariabella confirmed.

Hartia thought quickly and decided to distract Orphen and Majic for a bit, "Krylancelo, did you not teach your apprentice that they clean up messes, not the Master."

Majic blanched as Orphen arched an eyebrow and said "Oh?"

While Orphen's attention was elsewhere and Majic was stammering a reply, Hartia leaned over to Mariabella, placing a hand on top of hers, which were folded in her lap, "Tea when I return?"

"Definitely. Or would you prefer coffee?"

"Either, as long as we can talk."

"I'll be waiting." She replied, turning her hand over to squeeze Hartia's as Majic, who'd apparently gotten his punishment, whined, "Awww, man."

Just then, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, and Cleo's voice called out, "Come on, Alik. Let your brother get settled. You don't have to show him everything right now. Save some for later."

Hartia, quickly left Mariabella and moved to the couch across from her as Alik, Cleo, and Leki entered. Orphen noticed that Cleo's hair was damp only at the tips, indicating she had just freshened up, rather than having a full bath. She was saying, "Mom's finally showing Devon his room since someone didn't want to let him out of his room. That, and Devon's grousing that he didn't get his old room."

"Old room?" Mariabella echoed. "Oh, yeah. That's the room where Orph… oh. No wonder he's grousing. Even after that summer, he still hasn't given up, has he?"

"No." Cleo growled. "And I don't want to discuss that."

"Touchy." Mariabella said teasingly. "I seem to remember, when we were younger, you were quite flattered by his attention and persistence."

"Mariabella…I'd hardly call what I did being flattered by the attention." Cleo said settling on the couch in the empty space next to Mariabella.

"True. Although the tart incident was memorable."

"Tart?" Alik asked. "I remember hearing …um…" Alik swallowed slightly before continuing, "Dad and Mom teasing Devon about tarts sometimes at the dinner table, usually over dessert. What happened?"

After Alik asked his question, Hartia started giggling and Orphen looked like he was suppressing laughter. "Da…er" Cleo started, stopping before she cursed in front of Alik, "That meddling doctor! Did he just tell you the story or show …um…nevermind."

"Yes, to both questions." Orphen said. Thinking, `So, that was Devon in the picture. I don't know how I feel about the history they have, but… she's made it pretty clear where she stands. Still, I want to talk to her about it. We probably should get back on the more important topics, but…I can do at least a little more teasing.'

"You look good in blue." Orphen said, and Cleo blushed, realizing he really had seen the picture. Grinning, he added, "And red."

Cleo was still blushing when Alik, frustrated to be left out of the topic, piped in, "No one tells me anything! There's this story and the one with you and the horse! Devon couldn't stop laughing about it the whole way home. That's why we lost." Alik ended with a growl crossing his arms in a very familiar stance.

Hartia looked from Alik to Orphen, who was trying not to laugh himself, when Cleo spoke up, "I thought you were only training him to use a dagger, not how to be arrogant. That's a Sorcerer trait, not Hunter."

"Now wait a minute!" Hartia protested mock indignantly, "I-I… um…I have a comeback for that. Um… a little help here." Hartia said pleadingly, looking at Orphen and Majic.

Majic whispered, "I'm not arrogant."

With a look of triumph, Hartia seized on that idea, "Majic isn't arrogant! So you can't say all sorcerers!"

Majic seeing Cleo's glare about to be focused on him, decided quickly on a diversion tactic, "Um…I'm scheduled for those lessons with…" He paused, glancing at the scowl building on Orphen's face, "Hartia next week."

Orphen decided to come to his apprentice's rescue, "And that display of the Hunters earlier today wasn't arrogant?"

"Which Hunter? The one who attacked us or the untrained one that jumped in front of the spell." Hartia added, wincing right after he said it, as that was one of the topics up for discussion for after the youngest was in bed.

Mariabella, seeing things were about to really escalate, decided to diffuse things, and cleared her throat as Cleo was in mid-screech at Hartia. "Um…so Alik, you want to hear about those two stories? I don't have a problem telling you and I saw both. Which do you want to hear first? Horse or tart?"

"Mariabella! That's not fair!" Cleo cried.

"And your point?" Mariabella replied, grinning, as she heard Alik's request being chanted.

"The horse, the horse, the horse!"

"Figures." Cleo muttered. "I'll go dust the library," she groused, even as she knew she wasn't going to miss this for the world, anticipating the reactions the story was going to get. Privately, she had to admit, that part was funny.

"Don't you want to make sure I get it right?"

"Not particularly. You told it enough at school to have your facts straight. I swear, you must have rehearsed it."

Majic whispered to Alik, "You know it's good if she'd rather dust the library, her least favorite chore, instead of hear it again."

In reaction to Majic's comment, Alik's eyes got really big. "Wow! Come on Mariabella, what happened?"

"Let me give you a bit of background first. This happened while we were all at boarding school. Now, you may not believe this but at the time, Cleo was quite the accomplished horsewoman, quite the competitive horsewoman. She had just beaten Devon. Again. And he was not taking it well. So…being a glutton for punishment, he decided to challenge her again. Well…her horse was being shod, so she declined, and Devon countered, saying they could just go for a ride. That she could use one of the school's horses and that since she'd be on an unfamiliar horse, they wouldn't race. Since Cleo wanted to ride anyway, she agreed. Now, here's where it gets interesting. The Stable Master had just gotten in several new half-broken horses. Including the one Devon saddled up for Cleo to ride."

Hartia interrupted, "This is interesting? It sounds dangerous."

Mariabella shot Hartia a look, but continued like he hadn't said anything. "He'd told her to meet him in the corral, so he could bring her the alternate horse. He handed her the reins and walked off to get his horse."

"Ever the gentleman." Cleo growled.

"No interruptions." Mariabella chided, "I was walking by with a few friends…well…okay, half the school, since Devon sent me a note stating I needed to be there. Actually, he sent everyone the same note. We arrived just as Cleo mounted the horse. She did great for a while. It was doing it's level best to buck her off, and she hung on like glue. You know, I may have to ask Devon about that, if he really did put glue on the saddle but… back to the story. Eventually, she …um, I think she steered it near the fence on purpose. Either way, the landing was the same."

"Okay…I still haven't heard the punch line." Orphen said, slightly upset that Mariabella was making light of something so dangerous and frightening for Cleo.

Majic added with a slight grin, "Wait for it, Master. Your patience will be rewarded."

"MAJIC!!! You and Mariabella are so in trouble. You don't have to finish that part. Just that I beat the crap out of Devon afterwards."

"Crap is a very good word, Cleo." Mariabella said, giggling. "And threats won't work. I know you won't hurt us."

Hartia catching on, groaned thinking, `Oh, if what I think happened. That's not going to be pretty, and Devon lived through it? Amazing.'

"Now, if I may finish, the punch line, as you put it, is that Cleo was bucked off the horse and went careening over the fence and found the softest place to land. She landed face first into a wheelbarrow full of … well, since you used the word earlier…horse crap."

"Ewwww…she fell into horse shit!" Alik cried.

"Alik! Watch your mouth, or I'll wash it out with soap." Cleo said.

Majic smirked, "Well, we all know you did afterwards."

"She did indeed. Although she spit it out immediately, I still think she set a record that day for the number of consecutive times someone brushed their teeth."

"She got it in her mouth! Gross!" Alik said between giggles.

"You have no idea." Cleo said with her teeth clenched.

Orphen had been trying to control his laughter, but as he started to lose the battle, he choked out, "You were right, Majic. The wait was worth it!" He glanced over to Cleo to see her flushed. Whether by embarrassment, anger, or amusement, he wasn't certain, but it was enough to send him over the edge as he started to laugh as hard as Hartia, who was on the floor holding his stomach.

"Well… finish it, Mariabella," Cleo hissed, hiding her smile, since all the laughter in room was contagious. Besides she'd never seen Orphen laugh so hard before, and was kind of enjoying seeing the uninhibited mirth on his face.

"There's more!?!" Hartia gasped, "I don't know if I can take any more."

"Fine…we can stop there. If you don't want to know what happened to Devon afterwards." Mariabella answered.

"Keep laughing and I'll arrange a demonstration of what happened next. Mariabella's already volunteered." Cleo threatened.

"Give us a minute." Orphen cajoled.

Mariabella answered, "No, I don't think I will. Cleo dug herself out of the latest mess she'd landed herself in."

Everyone groaned at Mariabella's choice of words, and Cleo muttered, "I knew you practiced that"

Mariabella just grinned slyly and continued on, "Devon, by this time, looked like you, Hartia. Although, he was rolling on the ground laughing. Unfortunately, that made him in the perfect position for a gift from Cleo. She took the wheelbarrow over to him and dumped the entire load on top of him. She was nice enough to warn him just before she did anything. Of course, that meant he rolled on his back to face her, just as she overturned the wheelbarrow, and its contents, on him."

"Ick! She didn't." Alik looked over at Cleo in disbelief.

"I did…and I don't think Mariabella is finished quite yet. Are you?"

"Oh, no…" Mariabella replied, with laughter in her voice as Hartia, Majic, and Orphen had dissolved into another fit of laughter.

Orphen was thinking, `That's my girl. She um…gave as good as she got and I doubt she left it at just getting even. But that isn't enough to make you that scared of horses. There has to be more to it and I intend to get the rest later.'

Hartia said as he returned to the couch next to Orphen, "Remind me never to make you that mad!"

Mariabella cleared her throat, "If I may continue, after Devon's turn at digging himself out of his mess, Cleo proceeded to punch, kick and spit at him. She ensured that each action did two things. One, she filled any open orifice. Mostly his mouth and shirt, was …um, filled with the refuse from the wheelbarrow, and two, that with each hit, he fell back into the pile. So, he was coated, head to toe, front and back. Didn't you even pull his shoes off and load them up?"

There wasn't a dry eye in the room, even Cleo had succumbed to laughter and she nodded confirming what Mariabella said.

Everyone was calming down after that welcomed bout of humor, when footsteps were heard on the stairs, signaling Tistiny and Devon were returning. As they entered, Mariabella and Cleo noticed that everyone, including Devon, looked like they'd been crying for one reason or another. Seeing that, Cleo moved from her spot next to Alik to the center of the other couch, between Orphen and Hartia.

Seeing Devon, Alik patted the now empty seat next to him as Tistiny chided the group, "I brought out all this tea, coffee, and treats and no one is eating." She picked up each cup and saucer and handed one them out, starting with Cleo.

"These are Mariabella's special cookies. The ones I told you about. Try one." Alik handed a cookie to Devon and put one in his own mouth, which was quickly followed by a big swallow of his milk.

Cleo had just finished taking a deep drink of her tea and Devon was chewing on the cookie Alik had all but shoved in Devon's mouth, when Alik decided to ask his brother a particular question. "Big brother, what does horse shit taste like?"

Devon spewed the cookie all over the snickering audience and choked slightly as what Alik said sunk in. "Um…I guess that story came out while I was upstairs. Let's just say I wouldn't recommend eating horse shit, Alik."

"Alik…" Cleo said warningly as she stood up and glaring at Devon, "What did I just say?"

"Um…I forgot. Sorry." Alik replied sheepishly.

"Cleo, chill…it's okay. He just surprised me." Devon defended, as he reached over to ruffle Alik's hair.

"That's not my point. It's the language. He shouldn't use it and he was warned earlier."

"It's not like you didn't use it when you were that age."

Tistiny winced, she was afraid of this.

"Yeah… and when I got caught, I was punished. So were you. What did your mother do to you when you said a similar word in front of her?"

Devon muttered, "No sweets for a week. There was the one time I went for a whole month, because of you. But, jeez, Cleo, cut him a break…he used the word accurately. Besides, I'm his brother. I'll decide if and when he needs to be punished."

Tistiny interrupted, by saying, "We can discuss punishments later. For now, we have more urgent problems facing us."

Mariabella agreed with her mother and continued, "Yes, what is our next move?" looking at the sorcerers three.

Taking the hint, Majic said, "I'm almost finished with the copy of the rubbings for Stephanie. That's going to need to go to Alenhatan."

"Rubbings? What are you talking about? What does that have to do with anything?" Devon inquired. Absently moving Alik, who'd suddenly dozed off, to lean against Mariabella. He did keep his hand lightly on Alik's shoulder, almost as if he was holding on to reassure himself that Alik was really there.

"We've found out that the demon was sealed in some Heavenly One's ruins near here. They've been destroyed, but not before we got a copy of many of the writings there. We're working to translate those to see if they hold a clue to the way, or ways to defeat him." Majic replied carefully, wording his response.

"What's to research and translate? I find him and hack him to bits. No problem."

"If only." Cleo muttered, shuddering.

"And where is he?" Orphen prodded, surreptitiously slipping an arm behind Cleo.

"I don't know. Can't you sorcerers see him? That's how my dad always said you sorcerers found people. You had someone who just saw things."

"Yeah…that's Lai. He's been seeing things for months, but nothing as specific as a location, unfortunately. However, so far, everything he's seen has come true, but his visions still don't tell us where the demon is now or even where he was. Only the destruction he's going to cause if he' not stopped." Hartia patiently explained.

"That's a big help." Devon said sarcastically, "You only have one? And not a very reliable information source, at that. One of the Hunter rules, always have a back up."

"Seers are rare, extremely rare. There is usually only one per generation. The emergence of a new seer often heralds the death of the old one."

"Man, that must suck. Your replacement shows up and you're dead. But, I guess since they're a seer, they must see it coming."

"Devon!" Cleo exclaimed, "Lai is our friend. Show some tact and shut up about things you don't know anything about. Like sorcerers, sorcerous runes, or seers."

"Oh, and like you do."

"I can read some runes and am learning more. I've traveled with a sorcerer…er…" With a sheepish glance at Majic, she amended, "two sorcerers, for years, have sorcerer friends, and have actually had tea with a seer." Cleo said smugly, and gave Devon a look that practically screamed `top that.'

"Okay…so you're a sorceress wannbe."

"No…I'm a Hunter."

"You wish!" Devon scoffed, "You just want to be one because I am. You never could stand me being more important than you."

"It's not that! I'm a Hunter. Or how else would you explain the spell reflection?"

"Obviously, that's just because you traveled with that sorcerer, who doesn't know how to handle you! You can have that for protection and not be a Hunter!"

Cleo clenched her fists as she prepared to launch her next volley at Devon when Tistiny spoke up. "Enough! Your bickering stops now. I would have thought you could have grown out of this. Both of you. Now calm down and drink your tea," Tistiny urged. Cleo grudgingly picked up her cup and drained it.

"Um… back to the rubbings. I'll just `port them over to Steph." Hartia said.

"You can't…" Cleo yawned and Tistiny smiled, "H-he's watching. You'll make her a target if you do."

"Shit. She's right, again."

"Hartia! Language."

"He's asleep."

"I don't care…and you never tried to play asleep in front of Childman."

"Not that it ever worked. Fine…I'll watch my language."

"Thank," she yawned again, "you."

Devon interrupted, "Look, I don't have time for this. I have something I have to do if I am going to leave for the Ongoing's in the morning. Can we just drop this topic and move on?"

Hartia's eyes widened in surprise at Erin's and Bastian's surname, but he quickly suppressed it.

"That's an idea," Cleo yawned again and leaned slightly on Orphen, her eyelids drooping as she was having difficulties keeping them open, "Send Shrimpy with Devon, they can deliver them… on …the…" Cleo's voice faded off into a light snore.

Tistiny looked on with a slight smile as she stood up and said, "Finally. Orphen, Devon pick them up and let's get them upstairs for their…um …arranged nap. So you can get out of here and back."

Tistiny motioned to the door for Orphen and Devon, who were carrying the sleepers, to head up to Cleo's room. Once they were out of the room, Tistiny turned back to Mariabella before following them and said, "Horses."

"It's been done already, Mother."

Hartia and Majic watched the empty doorway, confusion plainly showing on their faces. "As Mother is explaining to the other two right now, she drugged their tea and milk to give you time to get to the cave and back. So you'd better head on out to the horses."

Majic and Hartia simply nodded, stood, and headed out of the house, mentally preparing themselves for whatever they might find.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tistiny opened the door to Cleo's bedroom, allowing all four to enter. Orphen placed Cleo on the bed first, and Devon put Alik right next to her.

Orphen looked at Tistiny and asked, "You drugged them right? How long do we have?"

Tistiny grinned at how quickly he caught on, "I administered the sleeping herbs as prescribed by the doctor to allow them approximately three hours of sleep." With a pointed glance at Orphen, she added, "Sleep without dreams."

"Thank you." Devon said to Tistiny. Then he glared at the man he now considered his rival, who was still standing on Cleo's side of the bed, "If you're coming, let's go."

Tistiny watched them leave and shook her head. "Come back safe, all of you." She looked back at Cleo and Alik, thinking, `I hope I did the right thing. If what Devon said was true, we're all going to need it. Rested, you should be able to help Orphen and Majic, if I can't. And I know I can sic Mariabella on Hartia. I've got an idea now of what happened. You're your father's daughter, brave beyond words. Nothing I can say will stop you from the course you're on, and, after my talk with Devon, I understand. I'll pray for you all, I fear you'll need every bit of it.'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I know, I know …it's about darn time I updated. Between, vacations, moves, school, completely opposing work schedules and a plot issue from …well, you know where, it just took forever to get this chapter completed. I won't say I'll be able to update quickly but I will do my best. Please do not be surprised if it's a month or more. I'm a perfectionist and really go over everything with a fine tooth-comb, it may take time but you get a better story for it.

Also, since I've introduced a new character here, Devon's an original character he was never in the series/manga/novels.

Again, I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to follow my story despite infrequent updated. As always, if you include your E-mail or sign-in under your profile, I will respond personally. I also want to do a general thank you for each of you who reviewed, multiple times even, to motivate me to update. In case you don't know who you are…my thanks to: Christina, deivlgirl, and falcony32.