Pursued (42 page)

Merrick opened his mouth to reply but Elise beat him to it.

“I have no excuse.” Stepping out from behind Merrick, her chin lifted high, she spoke in a calm, clear voice, meeting the eyes of each Elder in turn. “I am ignorant of your ways,” she continued, “But I know that ignorance is no excuse for wrongdoing. I sought the
skrillix
plant to cure a…a sickness that we both suffer from.” She nodded at Merrick. “However, I know now that I should have come to you, Elders, and begged humbly for a branch, instead of taking without asking.”

The Elders murmured among themselves approvingly, Merrick thought. He was tempted to be irritated with Elise for not letting him do most of the talking, but she seemed to be doing quite well so far—was it because of her training and the job she did back on Earth? Merrick didn’t know much about it but it seemed to involve arguing the law before some kind of official on behalf of abused children—in which case, she was uniquely suited for this—perhaps he should just keep his mouth shut and let her talk.

“You speak well for yourself, outsider,” the Elder with the glowing eyes remarked. “Yet your mouth may be dripping with lies as a sweetflower drips nectar.”

“I will swear any oath you deem necessary that I am telling you the truth,” Elise said steadily. “But if you choose not to believe me and decide I am worthy of punishment or death, then I have a request to make of you, wise Elders.”

“A request?” The pointy-eared Elder frowned. “You are hardly in the position to request anything, outsider.”

“But we will hear you anyway,” said the Elder with glowing eyes. “Speak, human girl-child.”

Elise nodded gratefully. “I request that whatever punishments you decide to hand out should fall on me and me alone. Merrick is blameless in all of this.”

“Elise!” Merrick began angrily, but she kept on talking.

“He has already been punished once for my sins,” she continued. “I wish to formally absolve him of all guilt and take the responsibility for my actions all upon myself. It was no one else’s fault that I acted as I did—the blame should fall entirely on me.”

“Elise, no!” Merrick took her by the shoulders and spun her around. “Fucking stop talking like that
now.”

“No,” she said calmly. “No, Merrick, I won’t. It’s true—I’m not going to let you take any more of my punishments.”

“And what if they decide to hand out a punishment that might kill you?” he demanded. “Do you
want
to die?”

“No, of course not—that would drag you down with me,” she said. “But I also don’t want you paying any more for my mistakes.”

“Enough!” The beast-mouthed Elder roared and they both turned to face him. “Your sentiments are noble,” he growled, looking at Elise. “But your words are lies.”

“No, I swear it!” She shook her head frantically. “I told you—”

“You said that you acted on your own and no one else should be blamed,” the Elder with glowing eyes said. “Yet there is one here who claims he was with you—in fact, he claims that the fault is entirely his, just as you claim the fault is entirely yours.”

“What?” Elise looked at Merrick. “Merrick, you never—”

“It is not the Kindred warrior,” the Elder with pointed ears said. “It is another.”

“Well then,
who?”
Elise asked, clearly confused.

“It is this one—Brillem of the
Billibs
.”

* * * * *

Elise stared in wonder as the Elder with glowing eyes reached down behind the table and lifted a pale blue miniature pony in her hands. Gently, she placed the little creature upon the rigid leaf table where it pranced and nodded its head up and down, as though acknowledging Elise.

“Did you say
Brillem
?” she asked, nodding at the little pony. “His name is Brillem?” The name seemed to be pronounced with an almost neighing sound, which made sense, she supposed.

“Indeed I did,” the Elder with glowing eyes said. The pony/
billib
neighed loudly and then snorted three times. “Yes, child of the forest, you will have your say,” the Elder told him.

“But…but…” Elise shook her head disbelievingly. “It…he can
talk?”

“Of course he can.” The Elder with pointed ears frowned. “All living things have a voice—you simply have to have the ears to hear them.”

Elise rounded on Merrick. “Did you know this? That the
billibs
are a sentient species with language and everything?”

He shook his head. “Hell, no. They mostly keep to the Deep Blue so we don’t seem them much around the villages.”

“It does not signify if you understand this one or not.” The Elder with pointed ears nodded at the pony. “He is here to speak on your behalf and we are here to listen to him.”

“But I’ve had a shot of translation bacteria,” Elise said, frowning. “Why can’t
I
understand what he says?”

“
Billib
language is much more about thought transmission than mouth sounds,” the Elder with the beast-mouth growled. “You might be taught to understand their language if you were willing to open yourself—but there is no time now.”

“Brillem wishes to speak for you,” the Elder with glowing eyes said. “He says it was he who led you into our homeland and took you to the sacred
skrillix.
He knew it was wrong but he says your need was great and he owed you a debt. Apparently you saved him from a
xenox?”

“Well, I don’t know if I
saved
him, exactly,” Elise said. “Merrick did most of the fighting.”

The pony pranced and neighed.

“Brillem says that you sheltered him with your body and refused to give him up though you were facing certain death,” the Elder with glowing eyes said softly. “Such courage we admire.”

“I…thank you.” Elise bowed her head. “But I can’t claim to be very courageous. I was scared to death. And I didn’t know that the pony…er, Brillem, was a sentient creature. I thought he was just a helpless little animal. No offense, Brillem,” she added to the pony.

“Yet you would have given your life for his, though he is a different species than your own, and you did not even know he was sentient.” The Elder with pointed ears nodded. “I hear the truth in your words.”

“And I see the truth in your eyes,” the Elder with glowing eyes said. Both of them looked at the Elder with the beast-mouth. “Well, brother, what judgment will you pronounce?” the Elder with pointed ears asked.

The Elder with the beast-mouth frowned—or at least, Elise
thought
he did. It was really hard to tell when he had a muzzle like an animal. “You came into our lands and committed sacrilege and blasphemy,” he growled at Elise. “You claim ignorance of our ways, yet ignorance is no excuse for wrong doing as you yourself have said.”

“Yes.” She nodded, hear heart galloping in her chest. Oh God, what were they going to do to her? And would she be able to protect Merrick and Brillem from whatever fate lay in store for her?

“You and your companion have already been punished once for your crime of wearing the sacred color,” the Elder continued. “And you were led to take the
skrillix
in error by one who should have known better.” He nodded at Brillem who neighed softly and bowed his head.

“Oh, please don’t hurt him!” Elise begged. “Please let the punishment fall on me and me alone.”

“Girl-child, you must be silent while judgment is being pronounced!” the Elder with the pointed ears snapped.

“I’m sorry,” Elise whispered contritely. “Please forgive me.”

“No more interruptions,” the Elder with the animal mouth growled. “As I was saying, you were led to the plant in error and one punishment has already been given to you—or rather, to your companion.” He nodded at Merrick who was standing tensely behind Elise. “Now…I am given to understand that you badly need the branch you stole.”

Reaching below the table, he lifted the
skrillix
branch that Elise had broken off the vine and laid it carefully upon the table beside the
billib.
Though it was somewhat wilted, the red berries still looked plump and fresh and the thorns still looked sharp and deadly. Elise noticed that Brillem, who was still standing on the table, was careful to stay well back from them.

“We
do
need it,” Merrick rumbled. “Our very lives depend on it.”

The Elder with the beast-mouth nodded. “The berries of the
skrillix
are legendary for their healing powers. As are its thorns—though for quite a different reason.”

“It is not called the ‘pain vine’ for no reason,” the Elder with glowing eyes said.

“Indeed.” The Elder with the animal mouth nodded. “Hear then, my judgment. Human girl-child, you must prick your finger on a thorn of the branch you stole and let three droplets of blood fall into our cup of honesty.” He nodded at a strangely carved, blue wooden cup the Elder with pointed ears was now holding out. It was filled with a dark red liquid that looked like some kind of wine to Elise. “We Elders will drink of your blood mixed with the juice of the sharing fern, which allows the transfer of visions and emotions. In so doing, we will share your pain for we do not give punishments that we cannot withstand ourselves.”

“Four drops,” Merrick growled.

“What?” The beast-mouthed Elder frowned.

“Let her give four drops. I want to share the pain as well,” Merrick said. “I won’t let Elise go through something like this without me.”

The Elders whispered briefly and then the Elder with the beast-mouth nodded. “Very well. We respect your wish to share the pain of the female you love, Kindred.”

“Thank you.” Merrick nodded at them gravely.

“You are welcome, outsider.” The Elder with glowing eyes nodded back. “Now allow my brother Elder to finish, please.”

Merrick nodded again, silently.

“As I was saying,” the Elder with the animal mouth continued in his low, rough voice. “You will share your deepest pain with us, human girl-child. And when it is over, we will allow you to take the branch you stole back with you to heal your hurts. Is that clear?”

“Yes. Only…” Elise frowned. She thought she remembered something Merrick had said about the thorns of the
skrillix—
something about them causing hallucinations? She couldn’t quite bring it to mind but it bothered her. “Forgive me, but what do you mean by my deepest pain? Is the poison in the thorn going to make me feel like I’m on fire or I can’t breathe or what? I’m not afraid,” she added hastily, lifting her chin. “I just…I want to know what to expect.”

“Oh no, girl-child. The venom of the thorn does not give you physical pain,” the Elder with glowing eyes said. “It causes you to relive your deepest emotional pain from the past. Only by sharing your pain and shame with us can you be worthy to receive the healing powers of the
skrillix.
”

“Oh,” Elise whispered faintly. “Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say. He heart was suddenly pounding in her ears and her hands felt cold and numb.
The deepest pain from my past. The vault…it’s going to be just like the AllFather all over again. Only this time everyone will see it.
Merrick
will see it.

“Is this a problem for you?” the Elder with the beast-mouth asked sharply. “Do you wish us to revoke the judgment? I can give you leave to go now but if you do not prick your finger and share your pain we cannot give you the branch. And I promise you, outsider, we will
not
allow you to steal another.” His muzzle wrinkled into a threatening snarl that would have been scary if Elise hadn’t already been frightened to death by something else entirely.

“Elise, baby…” Merrick put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off.

“Don’t.”

He looked up at the Elders angrily. “You don’t know what you’re asking. You don’t know the pain in Elise’s past. You can’t expect her to bring up all that shit and share it with everyone here—it’s fucking monstrous of you to even ask.”

“We sympathize with your concern, but our judgment remains unchanged,” the Elder with the beast-mouth growled. “The hour grows late and the twilight fades—make your choice, human!”

Elise took a deep breath. This was going to be the end of her—the end of the vault. After the AllFather had violated her mind she had somehow managed to cram everything back in place and lock the door again, but she knew she couldn’t do it twice. This time everything was coming out and she would have to deal with it—deal with memories and emotions she’d been rigorously suppressing for over a decade. If she had been given a choice between this and death, she would have picked death with no hesitation at all.

But it’s not just my death I’d be choosing,
she thought, her eyes flickering up to Merrick’s concerned face.
I’d be killing Merrick too. And I love him too much to do that.

As the words whispered in her head, she knew they were true. She didn’t just care for the big Kindred, she loved him—loved him with all her heart. And she would do whatever it took to save him—even throw open the doors of the vault. Still, her soul cringed with shame when she thought about what he and all of the Elders were about to witness. What would he think of her when this was all over? How would he feel?

It probably won’t matter,
Elise thought numbly.
Because chances are I’ll be such a basket case I won’t care how anyone feels about me after this is over. I’ll just want to die.

“Elise, you don’t have to—” Merrick began but she shook her head.

“No, don’t try to talk me out of it. This is something I have to do, Merrick.” Walking slowly, as if in a trance, she approached the long table and held out her hand. “I’m ready.”

“Very well.” The Elder with pointed ears nodded at the
skrillix
branch. “Simply prick your finger and let the drops of blood fall into the cup of honesty.”

Feeling like she was drowning, Elise reached for the branch. “No!” Merrick shouted, but it was too late—one of the long, cruel thorns pierced the tender pad of her index finger and she felt the venom of the pain vine enter her system. Numbly, she held her hand over the blue carved cup and allowed exactly four drops of blood to fall into its deep red contents.