Kiss the Darkness Ch. 08

Anna thought about what Malcolm had said. She knew that he was right. If they did nothing, mother and child would die. At least calling on the witch would give them a fighting chance. While she wasn't keen on the idea she did agree that it might be the only option they had left. "Go then." She told her husband. "Bring the witch here, and make haste. We've precious little time left."

Malcolm nodded, saddled a horse and then rode off in the direction of the black swamp, and the witch Niobe. He never made it to the swamp. As he'd explained to his wife, he'd rode maybe thirty minutes from the farm when he came upon the old hag, walking up the road towards him. He'd never actually seen her in person but he knew her the moment he saw her on the road. She was wearing a brown cloak that partcially concealed her moss and dirt covered gown. Her head was covered by a stained quoif. Grey wisps of hair hung around her sunken face. She carried a leather bag at her side, the strap lay across her chest as it was slung over her left shoulder.

"Good day Sir." She smiled at Malcolm as he slowed the horse and watched her carefully. The old woman walked to a stump near the side of the road and slowly seated herself on it. She took out a canteen and sipped from its contents. "You'll have to pardon this old woman." She said to him. "I fear me old bones can only carrying me so far before they be needing a rest. Tis been a long journey from me home but I hope I've not come to late."

"Too late?" Malcolm asked her. "I'm sorry mistress but I know not what you mean."

She gave him a sly smile. "Why, for the birth of course!"

Malcolm looked at her, shocked. "How...how did you know?"

"Oh, what doesn't an old woman know these days? I hear things. In the wind, from the birds and the animals. Ye kin even hear the plants and trees speak if ya have an ear fer it."

"And you came all this way for the birth then?"

"Aye." She nodded. "Heard you would be needing my help. That is the case is it not?"

"It is." He agreed. "The Lady is poorly off Ma'am. My wife and the nurse is all a fret. We don't think she can survive it."

"Then I've come at the right time."

"Indeed you have Mistress. We need your assistance greatly. There be no time to spare."

"Then best get me there with haste." Niobe told him. "Help me up onto your beast and take me to the mother. She'll not die this day. Not if I can help it."

As Malcolm and Niobe rode up to the house a terrible storm began to shake the land. The blackened sky was ripped apart by a great burst of lightning. Thunder roared angrily over the hill side. Heavy drops of rain began to beat down upon them and a fierce gale blasted past them.

"Tis an ill wind that blows tonight." Malcolm said as he held his hat in place. He did his best to shield the old woman from the storm with his cloak. Each gust of wind threatening to blow them over.

Niobe looked up to the sky. She placed her hand over her eyes and crinkled her nose. "The Gods are not pleased." She told him. "A child born here this night is special. He has a special purpose, one set forth by the Gods themselves. He must be saved for his death would curse us all."

"He?" Malcolm asked in surprise, his voice loud as he attempted to yell over the deafening storm.

"Yes he." The old woman yelled back. "Ar'gas's son and heir. I've been waiting on the birth of this child for a century. Come, we have much to do."

They entered the house and at once Niobe went to the birthing room. Malcolm stayed behind, seated at the kitchen table as he prayed to the Gods to save mother and child. As soon as Niobe entered the room Nan looked up. She furrowed her brow as she scowled at the woman. "Pray, who allowed you access to this house, witch?"

Niobe chuckled. "The Gods themselves hath sent me, good nurse. And luck be to mother and babe that I came. We've no time left to squabble though. The lives of these two are in grave danger."

"Can you save them, Mistress?" Anna asked her.

"Well, let me see." Niobe walked to the bed side and Ismey looked up at her though tear filled eyes. Her face was a mask of pain and fear.

"Save my child." She whispered through gasps and whimpers. "Please, I beg of you. I don't care for my own life, but do not let my baby die."

Niobe looked to the young mother with love and compassion as she lay her hand upon the woman's brow. "Shh child." She spoke softly, soothingly. "There be no talk like that. In the morn'in you will be cradling your child in your arms and singing to him sweet hymns."

Ismey smiled some but then another round of contractions hit her hard and she wailed in agony as her body lurched and waves of pain shot through her.

"Hmm." Niobe looked distressed suddenly. "There an evil at work here. Something I've not seen before. This darkness, it's sucking the life out of this poor child."

Anna began to cry. "Is there nothin' you kin do Mistress?"

"Let me speak to the child's spirit." Niobe pulled the blanket back and lifted Ismey's night dress. She looked at her swollen belly, whispering something softly to it that the other women could not hear. She gently lay her hands on the belly, feeling the life inside of it. She closed her eyes and concentrated. "Sith a-nis beag." She whispered. A few moments passed. Anna held her breath as she waited. Niobe opened her eyes suddenly and they were wide with surprise. "Not one." She whispered. "Two."

"Two?" Both Anna and Nan spoke at the same time. Shocked and dumbfounded.

"How can there be two?" Nan gasped. "I examined her myself. I swear to you I heard but one heart beat."

Niobe narrowed her eyes as she turned and looked directly at Nan. "Tis no normal child this woman carries. The second of the two, she is strong, powerful, and a darkness surrounds her. She let herself be known to me now but she's kept hidden, feeding on the other."

"Can he be saved?" Nan asked. "The weaker child, can you save him?"

Niobe nodded as she covered Ismey up once again. "Aye, but we have to be quick. His energy is fading. The other one has a strong hold on him."

Niobe turned and picked up the bag that she'd dropped on the floor. Inside were many bottles and concoctions. Herbs, and potions she used in her spell work. She took a small glass vial and uncorked the lid then brought the mixture to Ismey's mouth and told her to drink.

"What is that?" Nan asked, growing a bit concerned. "What's that there you're giving to her?"

"Aligane." Niobe answered. "A bit of mandrake, swamp vine, and a touch of monks mead just to relax her."

Nan watched carefully as Niobe fed Ismey the liquid. She didn't trust the woman but she knew of her skill in creating natural remedies. Niobe was sought after by many in the village when prayer and medicine had failed them. She had saved many lives but there was always a price to pay. Niobe did nothing out of kindness and Nan wondered if she even had a heart. The fact that she had shown up at just the right moment told Nan that the woman was after something though she couldn't imagine what it was that they had which she would want. They were penniless.

'"Drink it all down now." Niobe whispered soothingly. Ismey did as she was told and within minutes she began to drift off. Her eyes became heavy and her breathing slowed. "She'll be fine." Niobe told Nan when she saw the worried look on the nurses face. "Would not serve me any to have her die now. Not I nor you can nurse her child and it's imperative that he survive."

"Children..." Nan corrected her. "You said there were two."

"Aye." Niobe nodded. "There are two." She looked again to the mother. Ismey was calm now and breathing softly as though in a deep sleep, peaceful and at rest. Niobe placed her hand on the woman's head and smiled. "I believe the draft I gave her has taken hold." She pulled back the blanket once more and using a knife that she took from the pocket of her apron, pressed the blade against Ismey's belly. When Ismey made so sound or movement Niobe looked to the other women in the room and nodded to them. "Tis time."

"What do we do now?" Nan asked.

"Fetch me fresh water." Niobe told her. "Clean rags, a needle and thread, and spirits. The strongest you have."

Nan nodded. She and Anna left at once to gather the things the old woman has asked for. While they were gone Niobe reached once more into her bag and pulled out a glass jar. She opened it and stuck two fingers inside, scooping up a thick, blackish substance that she then spread out over the bottom half of Ismey's belly. The stench of the stuff was pungent and somewhat nauseating. Niobe held her breath as she rubbed it into Ismey's skin. When Anna and Nan returned to the room they were knocked back by the smell.

"What in Gods name is that?" Anna gasped. "It smells putrid like rotten horncarp eggs!"

Niobe laughed some. "Nothing so disgusting. Tis rot wood, marrow, and elder berries. Mixed into a balm to help ease the ladies suffering."

"What exactly does it do?" Nan raised an eye brow as she watched the old woman.

"It relaxes the muscles, numbs the flesh, and slows the bleeding. It will also aide in keeping out infection."

Nan's eyes went wide suddenly. "You can't possibly mean...No. I can't allow this. The procedure you're suggesting is too risky. It almost always ends in death for the mother."

Niobe looked to her and frowned. "Better she die anyway? If we do nothing that is what will happen. These children can not be born on their own. Such is always the case when a human and a Draveil mate. To this day no half breed child has survived. Is this the fate you wish of these babes?"

Nan sighed. "Of course not. But, can you do it, and do it safely?"

"Aye." Niobe nodded. "If Ye stay out of my way and do only as I tell ya. Ye be a good midwife, but in this situation you have no experience, and I have sat at the side of many Draveil births. They are hard and they are brutal. Even Draveil women are brought to the brink of death when their babes come into this world. I've no time for the silliness of emotion. Ye will aide me or ye will leave this room."

Nan nodded. "We'll do as you say. Just save them, please."

"Then stand back." Niobe warned her. "Your human heart can not take what is to come next."

Nan Stood in the back of the room watching. Niobe took a knife, slender, with a long sliver blade, from her bag and poured the spirits over the blade to sterilize it further. When the first cut came Nan closed her eyes and sighed. Anna couldn't bear the sight and promptly left the room. As promised, the potion given to Ismey allowed her to withstand the procedure without pain.

Niobe cut deeper. Blood poured from the wound and she used the clean rags to mop it up quickly. The black goo on Ismey's belly did seem to help control the bleeding some, but there was still so much blood. Nan couldn't imagine how Ismey could possibly survive.

"Quit your worrying and fetch the water. Pour it into a clean bowl."

Nan did as instructed. She waited at the bedside, biting her lip as she fought against her need to protest but, of course, her protests came too late. Niobe pushed the skin and muscles apart and reached her hands deep into the cavity. "Make ready." She whispered.

Nan nodded and watched as the old woman began to pull something out from within her mistresses body. At first it looked like a glob of flesh and blood. A purplish chord was attached and as Niobe held the thing in her hands it began to move. Nan watched as the feet and bottom came out first, and then the head, which Niobe cradled in her hand. She laid the child in Nan's arms then cut the chord and tied it off with a piece of twine.

Nan looked down at the child in her arms. A daughter, the third of Ismey's families girls born with Nan in attendance. Her midwife skills kicked in and she quickly brought the child to the water to clean it and clear it's throat. The babe began and wail and cry, stretching her tiny limbs in distress, but once she touched the warm water she calmed and relaxed some. The babe opened her eyes and looked up at the woman who held her. The eyes were bright violet, like the child's father, but that wasn't all. She had the distinct look of the Draveil and Nan's heart sank. There was no way to hide this child's true origins, they would surely be found out.

"Another candle!" Niobe called out. "I'm losing the light."

Anna came in with the candle and sat it down on the table next to the bed. When Nan had cleaned the infant she wrapped it in a clean blanket then turned at looked to Anna.

"Give me the child." Anna smiled, her eyes full of love and wonder.

Nan hesitated, looking at the child, then slowly she handed it to Anna.

Still smiling, Anna took the child. She pushed back the blanket around her tiny face and her smile faded as she gasped.

"Tis a child, Anna!" Nan whispered to her. "No matter what form she holds, she's still a baby."

Anna nodded. "Yes Milady." Her hands were shaking but she clutched the child to her chest and left the room."

"Nurse!" Niobe cried. "Nurse, I need your help."

Nan turned at once to see what the old woman wanted. Niobe had pulled the second child from the cavity and was holding it in her hands but something was not right. The child's color was off, even for a Draveil. It was not moving and Nan saw why. The Chord had wrapped itself around the child's neck and was choking him. Nan worked at once to undo the chord then gave the child a sharp slap on the bottom. When he made no noise nor movement she slapped him again and at once the child began to wail. Nan gave a sigh of relief as Niobe placed the child in her arms and cut the chord.

Nan put the second of the children in the water and cleaned him up as she had the first. The boy opened his eyes and looked up at her. The same violet eyes stared up at her. The child had a head of black hair but he was fair and beautiful. Nan smiled as she looked at the boy. It was like holding an angel. Whatever demon traits the father passed on were lost of this child, save for his eyes and hair. His over all look was primarily human.

Nan wrapped the child in a blanket and took him out of the room to the kitchen where she sat with him near the fire.

Anna looked at the boy and smiled though her smile was not shared with the female child. "Twins." She spoke softly. "Yet so different. One a beautiful angel, the other a beast. Are we cursed?"

"Nay." Nan answered her softly. "The Draveil seem beautiful and enchanting, but when the mask is ripped away, what lies beneath is monstrous."

"So, the face they show to us is but a glamour?"

Nan nodded. "Just an enchantment to make them look more human." She turned her head and looked at Anna, noticing the way she held the female infant, loosely and apart from her as though she were holding a dangerous animal. "Do not let the looks of such creatures harden your heart to them. Lord Ar'gas was a kind and very loving man. He wanted peace with human kind though there were those on both sides who opposed him, he never stopped believing in that dream. The Draveil are much like us in the case of morality. There are good men and there are evil men, it depends on what's in the heart of the person, not on what race they were born."

Anna looked to the small child in her arms and though she understood what Nan had said to her, she still could not bring herself to feel anything but disgust for the child. When she looked at her, she did not see a baby, she saw a demon. She realized in that moment that when others saw the child they too would think the same. Good or evil, the child would have a difficult life for no where that she went would she ever be accepted or treated with anything but contempt. She looked to Nan and sighed heavily. "What will we do Milady? We can not hide this child for long. When word gets out that a demon child resides here they will come for her, and for us. How can we ever keep her safe?"

"You can not." The voice came from behind and both women turned to see Niobe emerging from the back room. "You can hide her, for a while. But the truth will eventually come out. Men will come and they will take both children, and they will be killed. I've foreseen these events. King Guillame will stop at nothing to ensure that all Draveil are wiped from this world and the existence of these children will be made known to him. You can not escape that fate."

"Then what are we to do?" Nan asked, narrowing her eyes. "I will not let any harm come to these children, nor to my mistress. Tell me what I must do."

"You do nothing." Niobe told her. She wiped her hands on her apron then walked to the fire and squatted down before it, letting the warmth of the flames illuminate her gray and wrinkled features. "I've closed the wound on the mother and gave her a simple healing potion. She will sleep for a day or two. I've left a jar on her night table. The liquid inside will nourish the boy and help him to grow strong. Feed it to him thrice daily. As for the mother, she will heal in time but the birth has weakened her. She will never bear another child and she will remain sickly the rest of her life. See to it that she is well cared for and she will live to see her son grow into a fine young man."

"And what of the girl?" Nan asked. "What is to become of her? If what you say is true and we can not keep her safe from Guillame's wrath, what must be done?"

The old woman stood then and turned to face Nan. "The safety and survival of that boy is imperative. With the girl here, his life will be in danger, as will hers. I've done as I have promised. Mother and children will live. The price I ask now is that of the female infant. You will give her to me. Tell the mother nothing of her existence. She need only concern herself with the boy. I will leave this place with the girl and all of you shall remain safe...for now. That is what is important."

Nan glared at the old hag. "Never!" She hissed. "I will never give that child to you. It is unthinkable!"

Anna cradled the child against her chest protectively as she took a step back. "What will you do with the child if we give her to you?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"Anna!" Nan scolded. "It is not an option!"

"Then you choose death!" Niobe sneered. "You can not hide the child. You can not conceal her true form. You know nothing of the magical arts or what it would take to keep that child safe. These things I can do for her. I will see to it that no harm comes to the child, I will teach her to use her powers, and how to move among the humans as one of them. If she remains here, with you, her powers will grow and she will become a force to be reckoned with. She will draw energy and power from her brother and he will die for she is the stronger of the two and he will not be able to resist her.

You're only hope to keep that boy safe is by separating them. That is the only chance he has for survival. When a Draveil woman carries twins, the stronger of them devours the other in the womb and absorbs their strength and power. Being part human is the only thing that has saved him but as the girls powers grow she will absorb his life force and thus become Ar'gas's only surviving heir. This can not be allowed to happened. If this child were to rise to power this world would be cast into an enteral darkness and the age of man would come to an end. The only chance you have to keep this from happening is to ensure that Ar'gas son lives so that he can one day achieve the peace between both races that his father worked so hard for."

Nan considered what Niobe had told her. She couldn't, in good conscience, just hand the child over to a witch! But on the other hand, how could she possibly keep her mistress and the children safe? Short of locking the female infant away in a tower for the rest of her life, there was no way that she could conceal the child's true parentage. What kind of life would the girl have? Nan did not know how to help the girl. She had no knowledge of magic or even what powers the Draveil had, and she was certain that Ismey did not either. Ismey had been seduced by the handsome image of Ar'gas. That was who and what she had fallen in love with and he was careful never to show his true form to her though Nan had seen it once by mistake.