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Tears of the Phoenix	By : serialcabbit78 Category: S through Z > Valdemar Series Views: 1397 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do NOT own ANY of the rights to the Valdemar Series, those all belong to Mercedes Lackey, who has given me the inspiration. I make no profit from this or any writing.

Chapter List
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Luna woke to birdsong and the soft conversation between Stefen and Cody.   Stefen had given the child a bath and apparently found clothing to put on him. Luna rubbed her eyes as she tried to make her brain focus.
“Good morning, my maiden fair,” Stefen’s sweet tenor voice greeted her, causing Luna to giggle. “When I woke up, I saw two new packs; there are some clothes for you, with boots mind you. Diapers and clothes for Cody, something tells me we may need more though.”

Luna nodded absently and rose, stretching like a cat. She quietly padded off into the trees, causing Cody to cry out and reach for her. Stefen soothed the child quietly, allowing her to slip away to tend to her needs. Coming back, she stopped at the pump to wash her hands she heard Cody say something to Stefen made her giggle.
“Are you friends with the ghost? Did the ghost send you to take us away?” Cody asked simply. For such a young child, he could speak quite clearly. “Did the bad men hurt you?”

“Cody, that’s not polite to ask, do you want Stefen to think you have no manners?” Luna chuckled. She reached over and patted the child’s curly head. “How do you know about the ghost anyway?”

“Saw him. He didn’t have the look of the bad men; he looked more like an angel.” Cody reached for a handful of berries and ate them.
Stefen looked at the little boy in his arms. There was something beyond strange going on, for there was no way that two innocent children should have ever been allowed to wander freely in any forest, let alone the Sorrows. Any child could have become prey for any number of animals or anything that roamed.    He had no doubts that Vanyel’s spirit would never allow a child come to harm, but it didn’t make any sense that people in the village would have allowed the things that had been happening to go on. When he and Vanyel had been here over a decade ago, the troops were just starting to march though the Pass. He remembered that harrowing ride though the forest on Yfandis, the pain and fear he felt.    Here he was, ten years later, sitting in the very same woods, feeling the same dread they’d felt that night. True this was midsummer and it had been winter, something felt distinctly similar.

“Luna, you said that the men who entered your village tried to erase the history, what did you mean by that? Did they try to influence people, coerce them into believing things, or did they burn texts and written histories here?” Stefen asked. “If what I’m suspecting is true, then you’re going to be someone the King will definitely need to talk to. Assuming anyone else survived last night, we’re going to need to really look at things. The Heralds that have been coming through here have never seemed to notice things were not what they should be.”

“They started with teaching most of the young things that contradicted things they’d been raised to believe. Only certain children were allowed to be educated. Anyone who objected was punished, and people were made to fear thinking differently.” Luna looked off into the distance, absently eating some fruit. “As for the Heralds, the men did something that made them think things were normal. I don’t know what they did or how they did it. It really unsettled the forest though. After they’d leave we’d have bad wind storms, it was like he was disturbed by the deception.”

“Knowing Vanyel like I did, he did not like lies. He hated it when people lied to him, and he somehow always knew it. He refused to lie as well. I remember one time he told me something, and I knew that he was telling me the absolute truth.” Stefen remembered a memory that still made him ache at the pain in Vanyel’s voice. “Vanyel once told me he’d never had a partner who let him inside their mind. I took him at his word, and I never felt that he tried to deceive me. Two of his friends, well they kind of let a secret slip, and I think he felt like maybe he’d lied to me.”

“Stefen, I may be a child, and yes I’m quite innocent in many ways, but I do know the ways of man and maid. In your case, it would be same, even if your partners are male. I think what you are trying to say is this, yes they laid together, but he never considered them lovers?” Luna’s eyes sparkled as if she was Seeing again. “In that case, he didn’t lie, as the relationship you shared with him and the one he shared with them were in some ways the same, but at the same time different. You saw it more as an extremely comfortable friendship.”

“You’d probably never believe me if I told you just who his friends were.” Stefen chuckled, the memory of the first time he’d seen Starwind and Moondance fresh in his mind’s eye. He’d nearly wet himself in shock and fear. “Just imagine this, you are this skinny kid, scared for your lover and these men come in, looking like something from a legend, big wicked birds on their shoulders. Havens you could FEEL their power.”
Luna watched Stefen as he talked, smiling at the light in his eyes as he relived his memory. She sighed as a breath of wind stirred, sending a few flower petals though the air. She could sense that working though the happier memories of Vanyel was helping Stefen, but she’d allow him to direct the path they walked. This was the very first time in her life that she felt safe, she felt secure enough to drop the shields she firmly kept around her. She closed her eyes, trying to sense her surroundings, and sighed.
“I think we should go inside. It’s quite pretty now, but I believe we may be in store for a rather nasty storm. They always happen after someone really angered him. Surya assures me that Mel will behave inside.” Luna stood and began to pack up the few things and moved towards the station. The winds began to pick up just as she and Stefen settled everything inside. “Well, there won’t be much privacy, but at least it’s safe.”

“Honestly, I’d rather do away with a bit of privacy to avoid hail hitting me.” Stefen said with a chuckle. “Not only that, I’d rather give up a bit of privacy to prevent you needing a Healer…”

A loud peal of thunder drowned out Stefen’s voice, and caused all three to flinch. Cody whimpered softly as the wind began howling, thunder making the whole building shake.   Luna began working to build a fire and Stefen then noticed that she had the tiniest spark of a certain gift. He knew it wasn’t much at all because it was obvious it took her a try or two, or she was trying to hide that particular gift.

“What do you mean these storms happen when he’s been angered? You told me when things happened around here, the storms come.” Stefen couldn’t figure out exactly what she meant. “I haven’t exactly heard that in the reports.”

“Well, when the Heralds have come through, they tend to keep the reports simple, and the Guard is the one who handles it when bodies are found.” Luna shuddered. “I think it has to do with the energies Vanyel uses to protect this area.   I’ve felt his anger several times, most of the time it had nothing to do with our village. The bad men there seemed to think they could avoid dealing with him, or they mask their intents, so he doesn’t know. The last time I knew of him being anywhere near as mad as he was last night was when I was five.   It was late in the winter, and we never really found out exactly what had happened, just that the Guard found bodies encased in walls of ice, bodies impaled on branches. Within a day, we had a massive thunder storm and with hail and swirling winds. Even more bodies were found after that.”

Stefen listen to the storm as he pulled Luna and Cody close, he wrapped his cloak around himself and tucked it around all three of them. He watched the flames in the fireplace dance and gutter in the wind currents that blew down the chimney. He could tell the storm was fierce, but he was willing to bet that outside of where they were, it would be devastating.   He decided to distract them all with a story.

“I think before the storm distracted us, I was telling you about when I met some very good friends of Van’s. He’d been hurt in a fight with a servant of Master Dark, someone who was trying to target his family. Unfortunately not only was he hurt, but his mother and I was as well. I wasn’t hurt as bad as they were, but I didn’t know I was affected until later. His Aunt Savil gave us instructions to get him in bed, but not to touch the magic blade that had struck Van. I don’t know how long she was gone, but I was just sitting next to him, I never heard the door open until someone touched my shoulder. I had heard stories of the Hawkbrothers, just like any other child. There was no mistaking that these two men were indeed them.   They were so exotic; their outfits were this lovely green color, their hair absolutely silvery white, and the most incredible blue eyes, even more incredible than yours.” Stefen chuckled softly. “They asked me to move, and I knocked over my chair trying to get out of the way. If it wasn’t such a stressful moment, it would have been funny. I think Savil thought I was either going to faint or wet myself one, if not both. I would have been hurt when I fell over that chair and one of the guys had to catch me.”

“I’ve heard stories about them; they do well for the forests they live in. They try to keep the magical energies and beasts from harming ordinary people, and the other way around. The wolf told me stories about them and that’s how I figured that the Brothers would not do what the stories said.” Luna’s eyes closed and she shifted to a more comfortable position when a particularly loud crash of thunder shook them. “I think I am glad to be where I am right now instead of the village. I don’t think there will be much left. What were their names, the brothers that is?”

“Starwind and Moondance, when I first met them, as I said I was more worried for Van than anything else. They came and destroyed the magic blade then pulled me into a healing with his aunt. They were quite polite and nice, and even more so when I got to know them. There are more stories to share, but they are not fit for polite company.” Stefen blushed a scarlet as bright as the tunic he wore, and he laughed nervously.

“I don’t mind, and it’s obviously a happier memory you have of Vanyel and his friends. He hurt most of his life over a lost love, and I think he would want you to remember him with love and he’d understand the tears too.” Luna said softly. The storm was still in full fury, with hail drumming on the roof and walls. “Besides, unless you’ve ever been locked in a cage and had to watch men old enough to have fathered your parents take girls my age to bed, there wouldn’t be much to shock you either.”

Stefen shook his head and tightened his embrace on Luna. “I’ve seen plenty of horrors myself, but that, that is beyond revolting. Why would they… how would they…?” Stefen felt his own eyes filling with tears. He’d seen rape first hand, and the after effects. He’d walked Vanyel through a brutal serial rape, all the while trying to keep a tight grip on his own sanity. True he’d had the Kyree and Yfandis, but it was something he never wanted to have to handle ever again. It wasn’t that he thought he couldn’t, it was just he knew he’d want to protect the next person with his very life.

“They wanted all the girls to know what we were in for.   Those who went willingly into the marriage or to bed well they were gentler with them, those who fought…” Luna shuddered sharply, and the hail outside seemed to increase in fury. “Some reason, that night the house we were in just fell apart. The walls on two sides fell and the cages opened. Most of the girls stayed put, but I ran into the woods. I didn’t look back either. I don’t know how long or how far I ran, but I found another clearing, by a stream, and stopped. I know I fell asleep, but when I woke up, there was a cloak wrapped around me. All I had on was that shift dress you found me in. They killed the healer when she told them I’d not yet reached womanhood.” Luna trembled and shook her head. “You saw my body, I’m a child still. All they wanted to know was if I’d gotten my rags yet.”

“Luna, to me it doesn’t matter if you never have your rags or if you start tomorrow. I told you, women do not interest me.” Stefen sighed. He knew exactly what Luna was talking about, and he had a clear idea of why the men were so interested in the girls. “What did they do with babies?”

“Killed them, they did something to them, and if something wasn’t what they thought it should be, they killed them.   They wanted me because they said I had some kind of potential and it would be likely that I would pass it on to my kids.   They knew I have something different than anyone else in my village. You’d think they would want me to be healthy and thriving, instead of cowed and starving.” Luna got up and rather stiffly walked over to a bucket they’d deemed to use in the event they could not go outside. Stefen focused his attention in on Cody, seeing the baby sleeping soundly in spite of the storm. He checked the diaper and gently changed him without waking him.   When he turned back, she was facing the fire, wiping tears from her face.
“Luna, I think you are a very brave girl. You’ve put up with things that would have made most flee in terror, and you’ve done it without losing yourself.   Maybe it’s the fact that you’ve had help, or maybe it’s your gifts, but you are one strong lady.” The awe and pride was clear in Stefen’s voice.

: That’s what I’ve told her, she maintained her sanity though many horrible things. She simply wasn’t old enough for me to choose, but when I felt what Vanyel was sending you, I knew it was time to act. : Surya spoke to the both of them. : And Luna, the wolf you speak of. He’s not a wolf, he’s a Kyree. :
“Aren’t they those magical creatures from the Pelegirs, the ones who look like some cross between a big cat and a wolf?” Luna asked, turning to Surya. “I think one I spoke to was named Aroo or something like that.”

“Aroon, his name is Aroon. He’s a FarRanger for the Hot Springs Clan. He helped Vanyel and I years ago.” Stefen chuckled. “I can understand how you would hear that though. The first time I saw him it was an experience, and I was already frightened out of my mind.”

Luna listened half to Stefen and to the sounds outside. The storm sounded as if it was moving away, and birdsong was starting up. Stefen got up and moved over to their bucket, and Luna growled at something Surya said to her.

“Surya, now see here, you may be my Companion and my mentor; but surely you must realize how foolish it would be to go tromping through the woods for a pee. You and Mel could probably manage it, but we’d be mud up to our noses!” Luna scolded sharply. “And had you not decided to call my attention to what he’s doing, I wouldn’t have known!”

: You were looking right at him, and don’t you deny it. I’m sure the poor man doesn’t want a little girl spying on him. : Surya back grumbled at her.

“Looking in that direction, yes, but not at him. I don’t even remember what I was thinking when you interrupted me.” Luna sighed. “Oh, I was thinking of going to the door to look outside, but oh my. I’m sorry.   I didn’t even think about that Stefen.”

Stefen had been rather amused by the little argument between Luna and her Companion. He shrugged made use of the bucket anyway.   He noticed that both Luna and Surya seemed to be in a closed conversation, and sighed softly. He figured when he finished, he’d take the bucket out to empty and take Mel out with him.

“Luna, honestly, don’t worry about it. Growing up like I did, you get used to not having much privacy, especially when your privy is an alley. You learn to get creative on where you deposit your leavings though, so no one steps in them. That’s the great thing that separates horses from Companions, they’re smart enough to get into an out of the way spot, horses just drop where they stand.” He reached to open the door, blinking in the sudden brightness that flooded the room. “Luna, would you grab Mel’s lead and bring her with you, let’s go out and see what mess we have to clean up!”
Luna smiled and led Mel out with her, Surya leading them all out into the clearing.   There were several limbs and twigs littering the ground, and off to one side, a huge tree lay on its side, torn completely out of the ground. Luna examined the tree, Cody ran over and touched the tree and let out a blood curdling scream. Luna hastily grabbed the child as she noticed a foot peeking out from beneath the trunk. He hoped the little one had not seen that.

“Oona, why that tree mad, who hurt it?” Cody’s normally brown eyes were nearly all pupil. “Is the ghost mad at us?”
“No, Cody, the spirit is not mad at us. He is mad at the people who hurt us and those we love. He’s mad because those people hurt people like us.” Luna trailed of, unsure how to explain to the child why Vanyel was a ghost.

“The ghost, he was like you, wasn’t he. He had the spirit horse like Surya, and the man taking care of us, he was his friend.” Cody looked up at Luna; his tender age belied the wisdom his heart held. “He won’t hurt me because I can do things, will he?”

Luna sighed and cuddled Cody tightly. She’d been trying to keep an eye on him since he started talking. She had known of her gifts from an early age and had seen Vanyel in her dreams since she was Cody’s age. There were several times she would hide with him, and use a touch of Empathy on him and the normal baby babble became clear and coherent speech. He shared things with her that chilled her to the core, and she had feared his safety when she escaped two nights ago. She’d been afraid to tell anyone, including Vanyel about it but she had the feeling Vanyel knew already and had made sure that Cody ran straight for them last night.

“No Cody, I’m sure Vanyel would never hurt you, especially because of the things you can do. You are an innocent baby; you are nothing like those men. You are nothing like your father either.” Luna hugged Cody tightly. “I won’t let anyone hurt you either.”

: He doesn’t only have Heraldic Gifts, Luna. He’s got one those bastards wanted to exploit. Look, I’m sorry if I seem overly protective of you, I know you’ve seen way more than you should have. Vanyel and Yfandis both have had choice words with me about what happened inside, and Yfandis gently let me know that Stefen is more likened to a sister for you than a man. : Surya said softly. : I was able to MindCall Aroon, and he said for you to tell Stefen you all are to meet him at the site in two days. There are some friends coming to pay respects to Vanyel then. They know Stefen hasn’t been back since Van stopped him from killing himself. :

Luna tickled Cody’s tummy and set him back down on the ground to run and play. Cody ran off to Surya and reached up to her. She gently lowered herself onto the ground to let the little boy pet her.

: He’s so cute, Luna. I do believe that the friends Aroon mentioned will be pleased to take him. His Gifts are more to their expertise than our current Heralds. If only Vanyel hadn’t had to go, but well, none of us would be here if he hadn’t. :

“Stefen, Surya said to tell you that we’re supposed to go to some site in two days. I am not sure what she means, but she said that Aroon is bringing some friends to pay their respects, that they come every year.” Luna stepped over to Stefen, who was staring off into the distance, a lost look in his eyes. “Surya said we’re all to go, and I don’t mind being there for you. She has also said she’s sorry for the scene earlier, she realizes you are more like a sister for me.”

“Yes, I know the place, and I am glad you will be there with me. It will be the first time I’ve been there since I found the only remains they left.” He pulled something from his pocket, blackened, cracked and had a bit of tarnished and burned silver. “I buried Yfandis’s hair, it felt right, but I kept this. I know he’d want me to have it. Several months after we Life bonded, I gave him this. It was a beautiful piece of Amber set in silver. I earned it from a gem merchant who asked for my talents at a showcase he held.   I’d wanted it for Vanyel, and the merchant told me it was made to be a Mage Focus.”

Luna pulled Stefen into her arms, and sank to the ground with him as his knees gave out. His thin frame shook with sobs, she rocked him gently, letting him just cry.   She gently brushed her fingers through his hair, and just projected comfort and peace with her Empathy.   She knew this was a deep wound that could never heal over, it would always be painful.

“Sometimes it’s easier to dry your tears with love, Stefen. I know he asked you if you were okay with being alone until he calls you back here when it’s time. That’s why Jisa was afraid, isn’t it. She thought that Vanyel was calling you to come home?” Luna’s eyes were unfocused, and she could feel something she couldn’t explain. “The King knew it was different though, that you had a mission if someone didn’t come to be sure I lived for Surya to Choose.”

“Bright Havens, Luna, I sure hope your gift settles down with age. You’re going to scandalize half the kingdom blurting stuff like that out.” Stefen was startled out of his tears, giving a weak chuckle. “Yes, King Treven pulled me aside and said he hadn’t a Herald to spare, and not many who would be willing to tramp through what some refer to ‘Hell’s Own Forest’. It’s not Vanyel they’re afraid of, it’s those that keep pissing him off. Yes we get regular reports about the things you’ve told me, just not the storms. She had the same dreams I had, about you. We just weren’t too sure what to make of them. Many others thought I would try to kill myself again, and they barely allowed me a knife. Well, they had to allow that else I wouldn’t be able to fight or to hunt.”

Luna chuckled but continued to hold Stefen. Cody toddled over and tugged on Stefen’s arm, an uncomfortable look on his little face.   A light sniff of the air told both of them what had the poor child upset. Stefen chuckled and stood, scooping Cody up in his arms.
“Come on, little one. Let’s go get changed.” Stefen carried the child off into the station, leaving Luna alone with Surya and Mel. A soft breeze made the light twigs and leaves dance and caused Mel to shy a little.
“I almost wish I was still living, I would have taken Cody on myself, but I know some very good friends of mine come up to leave a tribute every year. They didn’t come this past winter, but I know they are coming soon. Please tell Cody he will be safe, I know about the horror stories parents have told children.” Vanyel’s voice whispered into her mind, softly as the breeze. “Starwind and Moondance will be happy to take him, I think Brightstar will enjoy having a little brother.”
Luna simply nodded, she wasn’t quite sure what to say. She knew that was something about Cody that defied her understanding. The night the hut the girls had been locked in had simply fallen apart and the cages they’d been locked up in opened. She knew it didn’t have the ‘feel’ of Vanyel to it, it was something else. She looked into the focus of the breeze, seeing a slowly whirling vortex, barely stirring anything heavier than leaves.
“There’s something about Cody, I don’t understand it. I’ve been able to touch him with one of my Gifts and he can speak clearly to me. I’ve noticed it more since he is with us now, I don’t understand it.” She sighed and stood. “How can I make a child who doesn’t have a good grasp on words to talk like he does?”

“You have a fairly strong Empathy Gift, Luna. It’s not nearly as strong as Jisa, but you are quite strong. You instinctively knew to use it with him, it’s what makes you be able to understand him. Because you used it on him in front of Stefen, it makes him be able to understand him too. That different feeling you have gotten from him, unfortunately, is a Mage gift. If I hadn’t been the last, had this Leareth hadn’t decided to wipe out all Herald-Mages, he’d have been like me. Since there are no living Herald-Mages, he’s going to have to be trained by the Tayledras. So, in a way he will be carried off by the Hawkbrothers, and be made a member of the K’Treva clan. Oh, you are right about him, little Moonbeam. He is Shay’a’chern. I knew I was different when I was just a little older than he is, but my father thought to keep me very well sheltered. Cody will be with my friends, who will raise him to accept who he is, with no prejudice.”

“Thanks for talking to Surya, I think she sees me as a sheltered child, and not the child who has seen things no child should.   Earlier, I wasn’t even thinking about the slops bucket by the door when Stefen went for it. I was focused on something else and it didn’t even occur to me until she called me out.” She sighed “I mean I saw him, and well I knew what he was going to do, but…”

“You weren’t trying to see what he was doing. She didn’t exactly understand what Shay’a’chern is, to her he is a man, you are a young girl and men shouldn’t relieve themselves in full view of a girl. It didn’t occur to her that you both have gained a degree of trust with each other and that he is absolutely no threat to you. I just told her that he would be more like a sister to you than a man, that his interest in you would be little more than that.” Vanyel’s voice sounded a bit exasperated. “I finally had to tell her that in some ways, Stefen is my stallion. I think I scandalized her just a touch on that part because she told me that stallions don’t generally breed together.”

: They don’t, well not that I have seen. Is that what they mean by Saych? : Surya sounded a touch confused. : Wait, he’s THAT Stefen? I humbly apologize, Herald-Mage Vanyel. Guess you weren’t the only one ever to be sheltered so tightly you couldn’t see past your own nose. :

“Surya, I’m sure before I get where you are taking me, there will probably be more to scandalize you.   Considering I don’t know much about riding, I’m sure Stef will have to help me with more than just my hair.” Luna chuckled. “When should we leave for the pass?”

“It shouldn’t take that long, if you leave in the morning.   Riding a Companion is different than a mule or a horse, their strides are easier and you could try riding side saddle for a bit. Surya will tell you all you need to know, just ask her.” Vanyel smiled as Cody raced over to the dancing leaves. For several seconds, the leaves just gently swirled and danced on the breeze, and then they could all see Vanyel, with Yfandis to his back.

Cody looked up, seeing the ghostly man standing before them. He seemed to intently study the scene before him. For several moments, it seemed as if a silent conversation was happening, though Luna suspected it was more images than words.   Then Vanyel shifted his gaze to Stefen, and Luna felt the love and pride.   She hastily brought up her shielding, giving them a touch of privacy and moved to lift Cody in her arms and step away. Stefen stopped her.

“Would you please stop trying to walk away like this? I get you want to give us space, but you shielding yourself is quite enough. Go get some supplies and fix some food if you feel you must do something, but please stay outside.” Stefen chuckled. “He’s just telling me a few things I need to tell the King, and those things coming from a child, no matter how well she’s gifted won’t go over well with Counsel.”
Luna nodded and moved to do as Stefen asked when Cody reached for the man. Stefen took the child as easily as if he’d been dealing with little ones all his life. Once Luna had moved away to start a meal when Vanyel spoke again.

“I truly hope that we’re not going to terrorize both of them when my friends take him in. I know Luna doesn’t believe the Hawkbrother stories, and this one is far too young to understand them, but it is true that they’ll be taking him.” Vanyel smiled at the child. “I don’t know how they did not see his abilities, those men in the village. They were Leareth’s, there is no doubt to that. They should have killed him, but they didn’t. I’m thinking he had only potential, but whatever they did the night they rounded up the girls, it freed his Mage gift. The only ones who can train him are the Tayledras and when they take one in this young, they become Tayledras, never leaving the clan.”

Without warning, something quite large, furry and very ferocious looking bolted into the clearing. It skidded to a stop in front of Stef, panting harshly. Cody flinched and buried his face in Stefen’s neck, despite whispered assurances that it was all indeed ok.

Luna raced over to the Kyree, bringing a clean pail of water. They allowed the creature to catch its breath and take a drink of water. Then it looked up at the humans, and gave a very canine grin.
: Change of plans, Singer. The living White Sister and I feel that it would not be wise to bring you to that place. I have the feeling Vanyel would agree. I am called Kawe*, of the Hot Springs clan, FarRanger with Aroon. : Luna noticed that the Kyree seemed younger than Aroon, and unlike Aroon was full male. : Aroon will be bringing the visitors here, and yes he has told them of the child. They are quite interested in helping him. I will be staying here until they leave though. :

Vanyel had a rather shocked look on his face, but then smiled.

“I agree, Kawe. It will be better for all.”

*Kawe –the Cherokee word for Coffee
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Tears of the Phoenix