A Dragon's Tale Ch. 42

Sarah swallowed.

She could feel her eye getting watery. How could he... how could anyone...?

"I should stop now." Lady Ekthros said, eyeing the girl's distraught countenance.

"No, please finish." Sarah swallowed hard, not wanting to believe it but needing to hear it anyway.

"Okay, but this is maybe the worst of all." Lady Ekthros opened her mouth, but hesitated. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

Sarah swallowed hard, but nodded anyway.

"Well, according to my eyewitness, the girl who died in Arcanum was Elizabeth Borden."

"Ethan told me that, but he also said he got her back."

"Yes but did he say how?"

Sarah shook her head.

"Let me tell you what I know and you can draw your own conclusion. Ethan visited a mining camp after leaving Arcanum, and Lady Borden wasn't with them then, but Hailey was. Then he visited a necromancer's camp. The next time anyone saw him, he had Lady Borden with him despite the fact that she had died, but Hailey has never been seen again."

"Oh." The innkeeper's daughter said as the full force of what had just been said hit her. "But that would mean..."

"It would mean that Ethan Ejder -- reputed to be a prophet of Illuminar -- sought out a necromancer and possibly used the dark arts to bring Beth back to life. That requires a living sacrifice for it to work, but who could he have used since his crew is so small? Perhaps someone who hasn't been seen since he departed for the necromancer's camp? Perhaps someone who assassinated the man he defeated under suspicious circumstances?"

Sarah sucked in her breath as she realized the implication. "The slave; Hailey."

"I'm not saying he did." The other woman said. "But someone must've been sacrificed if he used a necromancer's resurrection spell, which as you know can't be done without the most horrific and painful kind of murder possible."

"Pulling a living person's deep mana out of his body." Sarah's lip trembled.

It was reputed to be the most horrible way to die ever devised, but it was absolutely necessary for a necromancer's resurrection spell. A life for a life; that was the only way that men who weren't servants of Illuminar could raise the dead, and even then it didn't always work, and could only be done a short time after the person died.

That made something occur to Sarah.

"Wait, what about him raising that dead woman in The Arena, and summoning lightning? Could someone who wasn't a servant of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- possibly do such a thing."

"You make a good point." Lady Ekthros grimaced. "However, how much do you know about illusion magic?"

"Almost nothing, other than it exists and can create illusions.

"I asked a few mages who specialize in illusion magic if the appearance of lighting could be replicated. Every single one of them was able to produce a convincing illusion of lightning. It takes planning and intent though; it can't happen on accident."

Sarah covered her mouth again, scarcely able to believe what she was hearing. "And if he didn't strike someone dead with lightning, and it was only an illusion, then he didn't need to raise... it was all an act?"

"It seems that way." Lady Ekthros replied.

She felt like her entire world had been turned upside down.

It all made perfect sense

It painted a picture of Ethan that made him look like nothing less than an agent of darkness, perhaps a follower of Saidow himself and certainly an enemy of Illuminar.

Her stomach clenched and her eyes got watery.

It couldn't be...

Yet, it seemed to be...

She blinked several times as she felt her breath start to come in short, ragged gasps. Suddenly she had this feeling of blind panic that made it hard to think straight. It was like her brain was lost in a sea of emotion and she was barely hanging onto a piece of driftwood. It was like she was being tossed in a stormy sea and only barely keeping her head above water.

It wasn't quite fear -- thank Illuminar otherwise her problem might manifest -- but her chest felt tight and she could feel her breath getting shorter.

"Sarah? Sarah, calm down you're hyperventilating." Lady Ekthros said, moving closer and wrapping her arms around her.

It took several minutes for the innkeeper's daughter to calm down; for the blind panic to slowly subside with Lady Ekthros's soothing words. She couldn't even remember what the words were, just that what she said was comforting. She did remember the auburn haired woman looking at her with fierce concentration, like she was trying to learn something extra while comforting her.

The thing that finally helped her fully calm down was remembering Gabriella's visit in a dream, and the angel's promise that 'it will all be okay in the end; if it's not okay, it's not the end'. She wasn't okay right now; not remotely. But since she wasn't okay, it wasn't the end.

"I'm okay." Sarah finally said as she slowly regained the ability to breathe and speak normally.

"That's part of why I didn't want to tell you." The other woman said. "It's a lot to take in."

"Yes, but I'm glad that..." She panted slightly, trying to fully regain control of herself. "Thank you for telling me everything."

Despite everything she'd just heard, she would be okay. Gabriella had said she would be and angels never lie. She went over that dream in her head, remembering every detail as she tried to hold onto that hope.

Lady Ekthros didn't respond.

Sarah looked at her and the other woman had a strange expression on her face.

"What?" The innkeeper's daughter asked.

"I... I don't want to tell a lie of omission; I didn't quite tell youeverything." The other woman bit her lip, and she had spoken with great reluctance.

"What else is there?" Sarah asked, scarcely able to believe that there could be more.

"I don't want to say because it's... it's even less confirmed than everything else." She grimaced like she wished she hadn't spoken at all.

"Please tell me? Please?"

"After what you just went through because of what I said..." Lady Ekthros shook her head. "I'd rather not put you through anything more."

"But now that I know there's more, I'll constantly be worried about what it is." She countered. "I'm sure whatever I'll imagine is worse than the truth. Please tell me."

Lady Ekthros hesitated.

"Please." Sarah trembled slightly, worrying that the other woman wouldn't agree.

After the longest several seconds of her young life, Lady Ekthros finally did speak. "Okay, but remember I have no solid evidence for this, and only a few scattered reports that are still unsubstantiated."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

The amber haired woman took a deep breath, then spoke. "I've had people talk to those that Ethan interacted with. It seems that sometimes when he wanted them to do something, they would have a dream that involved an angel."

"Wh... What?" Sarah felt her heart sink so far and so fast that it was probably below ground level already.

"Yeah, the person that Ethan is trying to influence will sometimes have a dream about an angel, who usually says something about life getting harder, but it will all be okay if that person holds on. Then Ethan 'miraculously' turns up and makes the person's life better, and the person thinks it's divine providence."

"But... I..." Sarah couldn't breathe.

Her chest felt tight.

No.

No it wasn't possible.

It...

But...

Lady Ekthros looked at her and her face fell. "Oh no, you had one of those dreams, didn't you?"

Sarah nodded mutely as her eyes welled up with tears. "But why? What could he possibly want with me?"

"You're very strong Sarah, or at least can be sometimes." Lady Ekthros replied. "He might want you to help him, or to take your power, or perhaps something more nefarious. He might even have tried to compel you to make you attracted to him to make it easier for him."

Sarah's throat felt tight.

Her eyes were leaking, coating her cheeks in saltwater and she couldn't make them stop.

No.

Not Ethan.

Not the only man who...

She screwed her eyes shut, remembering the flutter in her heart that he always caused. Could that have been compulsion just like he did to his wives? It had come on rather suddenly, and she'd never felt those feelings for a man before. Had he been compelling her? Had he really just wanted to use her for her abilities; for her problem? Was that all she was to him? Could she even trust her feelings for him?

"If it helps, I think he needs sustained eye contact to compel someone, so if you've never..." Lady Ekthros trailed off as Sarah looked at her wide-eyed.

"Oh." Lady Ekthros grimaced. "If you already have, then..." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Sarah had never felt like this before.

Ever.

She felt like she was breaking in half; like she had already been broken in half. Like her heart had cracked and a piece of it had fallen out, never to be repaired.

"I... I don't know who I could ever trust." She managed to get out as she tried in vain to fight back the tears. "If not even Ethan is..." She swallowed, then looked up into Lady Ekthros's dark grey eyes.

They were hauntingly beautiful.

At that moment -- no doubt because some cloud or other had shifted outside on this cloudy day -- a ray of sunshine shone in through the tiny barred window into the small cell and landed on Lady Ekthros's face. Something about the other woman's face softened. She already had a look of sympathy on her face, but suddenly it seemed to be a little deeper.

A little more genuine.

Maybe a lot more genuine.

Sarah noticed that Lady Ekthros's eyes seemed to become a slightly lighter gray for a few moments. Like some of the color that had been sapped from them partially returned. Instead of being dark gray, they were a medium-dark gray for a short time, though still far darker than the usual shade of gray someone's eyes might be.

"Who could I ever trust?" Sarah asked, her voice cracking as she did so.

"There's not many good men here, but there are some." The other woman said, and something about her voice seemed softer, kinder, and more caring. "I only know of one that I'd trust."

"Lord Delmar?"

"No." She shook her head. "Well sort of, but not for the reason you might expect. I was thinking of someone else."

"Who?"

The corners of Lady Ekthros's mouth pulled upwards slightly, though only momentarily, and there was a bit of sadness in her eyes. "If you ever find yourself in trouble and can make it to Arcanum, go to the Great Temple of Illuminar and ask for Luminar Kossel. He's a good man, he would help you, and I would trust him. Other than that..."

She shook her head.

The ray of sunlight coming through the window disappeared, assuredly covered by a cloud outside. Lady Ekthros's eyes darkened again, becoming fully dark grey once more. Something about her face then changed, becoming harder and more... more... something. More like the Lady Ekthros she'd spent all this time with.

"What about Selene?" Sarah finally asked, wanting to know the answer but dreading it too. If Selene wasn't a good person then... she didn't know what she'd do."

"Well, did she meet Ethan before she met you?"

Sarah nodded.

"And she spoke well of him?"

Sarah nodded again.

"Then she might be deceived, or being compelled."

"But how could he do that to Selene?" Sarah asked, thinking about how wonderful her friend was.

"The Book of Lights says: 'don't be misled: even Saidow's minions masquerade as angels of light'." Lady Ekthros replied. "Who knows why evil men do what they do."

A curious kind of calm came over Sarah.

She had been so conflicted about Ethan because she thought he was a good man. But he wasn't. He wasn't and that made everything clearer. She would marry Rindrin, and could do so without any regret in her heart. At least, that's what she told herself. Her heart still ached at the news, but the rest of her...

She clenched her fist.

She almost wished that the Brazilian woman hadn't intervened when she had attacked Ethan, and she felt shocked at that thought. But if he had done what Lady Ekthros said he'd done, then he deserved it and more. She shuddered when she thought of what he'd done and how much she had liked him. Still, at least she learned of his true nature before she'd been hurt.

But Selene...

"Thank you." Sarah said after several moments. "That was really hard to hear, but I'm glad I know the truth now."

"You're welcome Sarah." Lady Ekthros replied, then looked down a bit guiltily. "So, I have a confession to make."

"Oh?"

"I went to your inn partially to meet you."

Sarah blinked.

"I was in the area and heard that Ethan had visited you." Lady Ekthros continued. "I knew the rumors of course, and I wanted to make sure. I confess that when I arrived, I was more worried about making sure you weren't used against Lord Delmar than I was about helping you. I didn't realize that I really wanted to help you until I got to know you a bit better. So, I'm sorry for misleading you; please forgive me?"

The auburn haired woman looked at her, and Sarah could see hope and bit of vulnerability in her eyes.

"Of course I forgive you." She replied.

"Thank you."

Sarah smiled at the other woman and gave her a hug, so incredibly grateful to have learned what Ethan was really like. Her heart still hurt though. She still wanted him to be who everyone thought she was. He wasn't but she wanted him to be.

She really did.

* * *

Ethan's jaw was hanging open by the time that Kendra and Selene had finished explaining what they'd discovered about Selene's new telepathic abilities. They had congregated below decks to get out of the rain, though it had slowed to barely a drizzle by the late afternoon.

"How much does a semester cost?" Ethan managed to get out when she'd finished.

"Come again?" Selene asked.

"At your school for gifted youngsters in upstate New York." He looked her up and down and then whistled. "Charles Francis Xavier, you're a lot cuter than the comics make you out to be."

Selene chuckled.

"Or the movies; Patrick Stewart has nothing on you." He laughed.

"I don't know, that voice..." She laughed with him.

As usual when he made an Earth reference, everyone else look confused.

"It's an--" He started to say, but all his wives interrupted in unison.

"--an Earth thing."

"I feel like I'm missing so much." Alana shook her head. "Is this how you two feel when we talk about things in the Ten Kingdoms that--"

"Yes!" The two Earthlings finished before she did.

"What's telepathy like?!" Beth exclaimed at the caramel-haired beauty.

"Um, so far like feeling other people's moods." Selene replied. "I haven't tried to do anything else with it yet."

"Would you?!" Beth said immediately. "You can try it on me! I wouldn't mind, and I don't have any deep dark secrets."

"Yes." Selene said in a mock-mad scientist voice while wiggling her fingers like she was handling a marionette. "You shall be my slave! Muhahahaha!"

Everyone laughed, the Brazilian woman hardest of all.

Ethan cocked his head to one side. This wasn't like her. She was never this cheerful, or at least hadn't been in a long time. It was good to see, but definitely unusual.

Hmm.

At first he thought that a really cheerful person might be nearby and influencing her mood, but then he remembered that Selene now had some mental defenses so other people's moods shouldn't affect her now.

"Selene, you seem abnormally happy, even for a girl who just realized that she's psychic." He pointed out as he leaned on the wall of the Argo's lower deck. "What has you in such a good mood?"

"I'm finally not useless!" Selene exclaimed, then froze.

"What do you mean?" He asked, recognizing that she'd probably said a lot more in her jubilation than she might have otherwise.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." She replied quickly.

Too quickly.

Everyone was looking at her.

He scrutinized her. "Selene, I'm not exactly going to pin you to the wall and tickle you until you tell us, but a blind man could see that you've been really out of sorts for quite a while now. Is that why? Did you feel useless?"

"You could tell?" The Brazilian woman grimaced.

"Yes." Alana nodded. "In fact, I think most of us have asked you about it at one point or another."

The caramel haired beauty inclined her head in concession.

"So what is it Selene?" Ethan asked again. "What'sreally eating you?"

She swallowed and suddenly her eyes looked a little hurt. Well, not 'hurt' exactly, but something close to it.

"Hey it's okay." Taloni said. "I promise we won't judge."

"It's that." Selene inclined her head towards Taloni. "You all are so incredible. You all have this amazing and diverse set of skills and abilities and you can actuallydo something useful and helpful around here. I can't. I don't know jack-shit, and I keep trying to learn, but I can't get anything right and I'm so far behind that I feel like I'll never catch up."

It seemed like once she started, she couldn't stop herself.

"And you all have these amazing personalities too. You're such fun and interesting people, and the only thing I've done with my life is train and study. I'm basically a cookie-cutter, a dime-a-doze, 'type A' personality who could barely hold a conversation if someone asked me to describe myself because there's nothing to me. I basically don't evenhave a personality; I'mthat boring. I'mthat useless, and--"

She stopped, then looked down at the floor. Her shoulders were hunched, and despite being the tallest member of the group -- even taller than Ethan by an inch -- she seemed to resemble the shortest in stature, if not actual height.

Everyone looked at her for a moment before Kendra spoke up. "I knew you were struggling with this a bit, but you should've heard the conversation after you left the room right after I tried on my dress for the first time."

"Why?" The dejected woman asked.

"Because we spent a minute talking about how we all admire you and wished we could be a bit more like you." The dragon huntress replied.

Selene looked at her, mouth agape. She worked it for a few seconds, then cocked her head to one side. "Why?"

"For starters, the way your train." Alana said. "I remember talking to Beth about that during those first two days you were with us before we rendezvoused with Ethan after he was captured. You trained all day, every day, for several days in a row, and we were impressed by that."

"We still are." The blonde agreed. "You must've broken your fingers five times, but you never quit. You had Anthiel patch you up and kept working. I've never seen anyone work that hard and we were both impressed, and you haven't let up since then."

"I admire how you always want to help." Tee piped up. "You always help clean up after meals, and offer to help make them, and you were always offering to help Mirella in Gralden. You care about helping people, and I think that's really wonderful."

"I admire how sharp you are." Rachel said. "Your advice about talking to the wood elves in Nalatia was nothing short of brilliant. I've spent my entire life at court and you framed the legal case better than I ever could have."

"And you don't give up." Kendra added. "How many times have you struggled with something in the Ten Kingdoms, and just kept working on it no matter what, even if you felt like you were getting nowhere. That's a brilliant quality to have."

"My wives are all correct, but that's not what I admire most about you." Ethan said.

Selene glanced at him, not quite meeting his eye but looking a bit hopeful.

"I admire how you always want to help people who are hurting." He said. "Don't think it escaped my notice that you were pushing harder than anyone to get out of Gralden so we could get here and help the people at the mine. Let's face it, you're drop dead gorgeous and could've had your pick of men on Earth. You could've married a wealthy guy and had a life of ease. But you didn't, did you?"