Chapter Forty: Truths Revealed

 Sean looked frightened as she stepped closer to him, and she took his hands in hers and looked into his light brown eyes. "Let's find out the truth, shall we?"

 He did not have time to protest or resist, he was standing with her in the center of a grey turgid swirling mist. He looked around seeing only Sunny. "Where are we?"

 "We stand outside time," Sunny told him. She fastened her gaze on Sean. "We're going to observe the events that took place, and we will all know the truth of Alyssum Mack."

 Sunny turned toward her right shoulder and stretched out her hand to the mist, like a revolving door the mist swirled around them then slowed to show an evening in the past. 

 A young woman in a bright green paisley shawl, black full skirt, and white blouse ran through the woods. She wore no shoes, and her hair was pulled back into a loose bun. She was running toward a small encampment. 

 Sunny and Sean watched the scene develop. Sean stepped toward the young woman, "It is her! I've seen photographs of my grandmum – it's her!"

 The young woman was of medium build, and full of vibrant spirit. She had warm golden-brown eyes and golden-brown skin that was flushed from her sprint through the forest. She stopped suddenly, ducked behind a large oak tree, and flattened herself against the rough bark. With one hand, she reached up and yanked her hair free of the pins holding her long dark brown hair in the neat bun and she shook it free so that it spilled around her shoulders. With her other hand, she reached up and tore her blouse from her shoulder.

 Sean gasped and took a step backward, his eyes riveted to Alyssum.

 Then she turned and without hesitation, she laid her cheek against the oak and stood there frozen. Sunny had no idea what she was about to do and when she raked her face hard against the bark of the tree Sunny's hand went up to her face in horror. Alyssum leaned back from the tree, her cheek badly scraped and bleeding.

 Sean choked back a sob as he watched Alyssum smile triumphantly as her fingers came away stained with blood.

 Alyssum turned back to the encampment, poised to make a run into the camp. She then pushed herself from the tree and ran toward the bright spark of the campfire. As she ran, she managed to trip on a fallen log and fell. She cried out in pain and that brought the head up in alert of the lone man sitting close to the fire.

 Sunny knew instantly this was Nicodemus Fury. He was as Fiona described, a prince! It was incredible to see the man in his youthful prime. There was a power in him that was both fascinating and frightening. The Nicodemus Fury she knew in the present time seemed older, but no less frightening and far more fascinating!

 Nicodemus stood his hand instantly drawing the short knife at his hip. Alyssum lifted her head from the fern and brush. She winced as she struggled to her knees, she had hurt herself in the fall and the tears of pain were real. "Nico! Nico, please help me!"

 He slid the blade back into the sheath and hurried over to Alyssum. "What are you doing out here?" Fury asked as he pulled her to her feet.

 She buried her face into his chest and wept, "I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to!"

 Sean turned away in disgust, "I don't want to see any more!"

 "No, you will see exactly what happened," Sunny said coldly, and she moved closer to see just how manipulative Alyssum had been. She was surprised that Nicodemus could so easily be duped.

 Fury eased Alyssum back and looked down at her, his black gaze slid from the torn blouse to the purpling graze on her cheek. "How did this happen?" he asked indicating the bruise and the cut.

 Alyssum allowed herself to be helped to the fire and sat down, where she dissolved into tears once again. Nicodemus stood looking down at her. Sunny wondered if he was at all suspicious.

 "I refused him!" Alyssum declared looking up through a fresh batch of tears. "He was a mad dog!"

 Sunny winced at the derogatory remark and looked over at Sean. He was watching Alyssum's performance and was horrified by what he was seeing.

  "Doyle did this?" Nicodemus asked. When Alyssum did not answer, he went down on a knee in front of her, took her by the arms, and gave her a shake, "Doyle did this to you?"

 "I have to get away from him, Nico! Please help me get away!" She pleaded and tried to lean into his embrace. Nicodemus got to his feet and walked to the other side of the small encampment. He frowned at her where she sat by the fire still sobbing and hugging herself.

  "Did you not report this to your father?" He asked her.

 "They will not help me!" Alyssum declared, "They want me to stay with him and be his wife! But I cannot! I hate him! He will kill me if I do not get away!"

 "What do you expect me to do?" Nicodemus asked. "You cannot stay here."

 "Help me get back to Nu'Ada!" Alyssum cried. She was not going to lose the opportunity to get Fury on her side. "If I go back, he will make me submit to him!"

 "I will take you back to your people," Nicodemus told her. "You will be safe with your people."

 "No!" She got to her feet; her golden-brown eyes were blazing as she looked around her. "I have to get to Nu'Ada! You have it in your power to get me there! Blood-bind me to you!" 

 Nicodemus stepped back. "I cannot do that! You need to go home to your people."

 "If you try to send me back, I will tell them you did this to me!" She pointed to her face.

 "Then you have been lying to me!" Nicodemus snarled and he stepped toward her. She turned away and moved from the fire. She was thinking wildly but nothing was coming to her – then; she heard dogs baying and men's voices in the distance. She looked over at Fury and smiled slightly.

 "You will be sorry!" 

 The sounds of the hounds and men got closer and then several men broke into the camp. Alyssum immediately ran to her brother, "Ansel! Oh, Ansel!" She fell into his arms weeping. 

 "How is it my sister is in your camp?" Ansel demanded

 "She came here on her own," Nicodemus replied.

 "Alyssum is newly married to the chieftain of the Wolfe Clan. There is no reason for her to have come to you!" Ansel said.

 "How did she come by these wounds!" Asked a woman who had come to help.

 "Self-inflicted," Nicodemus said flatly. 

 Sunny watched with interest Alyssum's reaction and even Sean stepped closer to see the outcome.

 There was a commotion from behind the group of men. They turned and stepped back as Connor Doyle came into the campsite. He came up to Ansel and looked down at Alyssum where she stood in the protective circle of her brothers' arms. His eyes slid to the graze on her cheek her torn blouse. He turned away and looked at Nicodemus, "Self-inflicted you say?"

 "Unless it is as she says, and you did this," Fury said.

 Connor looked over his shoulder at Alyssum. "You say I have done this to you?"

 Alyssum began to sob and after a moment she went slack, and Ansel caught her. "She has fainted!"

 Connor looked to his men and quickly ordered Ansel and everyone away from the camp. "Take her and go back to the camp. I will be there shortly."

 No one hesitated but immediately melted into the forest and away. Connor waited until no one was near then he turned terrible golden-brown eyes on Nicodemus. "She has betrayed me and mine, Nico."

  "Aye," Nicodemus answered. "She asked that I take her back to Nu'Ada."

 The two men sat across the fire from each other. They stared into the flames of the fire for a long moment. Then Connor looked up, "She wanted another, but the arrangement between our families was made long ago. If my people find out they will surely kill her, and I will be stripped of my title as chieftain. I cannot let that happen."

  "Then we let the story stand as Alyssum has told it," Nicodemus said. "We will meet on the dueling grounds and come what may, it will stand."

 Connor nodded. "I will banish her – that is all that I can do. Banish her and her family will not suffer, and I keep my position as chieftain."

 "Unless you lose the fight," Nicodemus told him. "I am the better fighter."

  Connor scoffed lightly. "That is true, you are the better fighter, but I have my tricks."

 Nicodemus smiled. "A drink before you go?"

 Connor nodded, "Aye, a toast for tomorrow."

  Nicodemus brought out a skin and handed it to Connor. He pulled the cap from the skin and lifted it, the stream of wine streaming out in a neat arc into his open mouth. Then he swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and passed the wine skin to Nicodemus who followed suit and drank from the skin. He returned the cap to the skin and leaned it against the log he sat on. 

 "Take care of your business tonight Connor," Nicodemus advised, "As I will my own. Come what may, you will have secured your rights as chieftain and named a regent – if necessary."

 Connor nodded again then got to his feet with Nicodemus doing the same. Connor came around the campfire to stand before Fury and they clasped each other's forearm. Doyle turned and disappeared into the night. Nicodemus returned to his seat by the fire and proceeded to drain the wineskin.

 Sunny turned away from the scene and looked over at Sean, "So now you know the truth."

 Sean's haunted eyes looked over at Nicodemus then looked over at the way Doyle had disappeared. "I want to see what happened to my grandma."

 Sunny nodded; they were standing in the Wolfe Clan encampment.

 The meeting tent was open, and the lamp lights were glowing from inside. Two soldiers stood outside the tent and allowed no one in but a few men and women. Sunny and Sean passed unseen into the meeting and stood to one side where they could watch everything as it happened.

 The Mack family stood across from Connor Doyle and his family, which were three brothers, and an uncle who stood behind Connor. He rested his hand gently on Connor's shoulder. They all stood before a panel of tribal elders. 

 The elders sat behind a table silently. Then a grey-bearded man rose and turned to the tent opening, "Bring her in!" he called.

 Alyssum was brought in by two Wolfe soldiers. When they had delivered her before the elders, they turned and went out. The tent flaps were secured, and the guards took up their long spears and crossed them before the opening.

 Connor stepped out and looked first at Alyssum where she stood, then turned and faced the elders. "I divorce this woman and banish her forever from the Wolfe clan."

 Alyssum's mother began to weep, and Ansel put his arm around her shoulders. Tobias Mack stood silent next to his wife. The elders looked first to Alyssum and then to Connor, "As chieftain this is your right, do you wish to add a comment before we bind this contract?"

 Connor gave a curt shake of his head and looked to Alyssum's family, "You are welcome to remain in my tribe. Whatever happens tomorrow evening, your family will remain a part of my tribe."

 "We understand you meet on the battlefield with Fury, this will satisfy the offense and quell any gossip." Said elder Gaynor. "Once a victor is called this matter is spoken of no more!"

 "Agreed," Connor said.

 Gaynor then looked over at the Mack family. "It is with great sadness that I must also tell you that from henceforth, no one carrying the Mack name will be allowed to ever enter Nu'Ada." 

 A new round of sobs began among the chorus of "agreed" following around the tent, only Alyssum remained silent. She kept her eyes straight ahead and looked at no one. Sunny could not feel sorry for the woman, she knew the evil the woman would continue to weave even as an old woman.

 The elders met together at the front of the tent in quiet counsel. Then they came to a decision. They sat down at the table and Elder Gaynor looked first to Connor and then to Alyssum, "It is decided that you, Alyssum Mack, daughter of Tobias and Alissa Mack, will be banished from the Wolf clan. You will take nothing with you and your name will be struck from the rolls. You are no more!" 

 Each elder echoed the same word, "Aye!" Then they filed out leaving Alyssum, her family, Connor, and his brothers in the tent. Tobias approached Connor, "What will happen tomorrow night?"

 "Fury and I will meet, and we will fight. Whoever wins; this stain on our families will be over."

 Tobias looked at Alyssum and his face crumbled into great sadness and anger. "Can we not avoid this? Fury is a skilled fighter."

 Connor sighed and clasped Tobias Mack on the shoulder. "Either way, our families will be unstained and without fault."

 "And Fury?" Tobias whispered, and Connor silenced him with a hand on his shoulder.

 "Fury can take care of himself," Connor told him.

 Tobias nodded silently and then he left the tent with his wife, sons, and Alyssum following behind. Suddenly she stopped and faced Connor, "Just send me back to Nu'Ada! Blood-bind me to anyone! Anyone at all! Just let me go!" 

 Connor opened his mouth to speak but then turned his back to her and motioned her away. The two guards silently took her firmly in hand and half-carried her from the tent. Once it was quiet, Connor turned to his brothers, "Whatever comes tomorrow evening, never go after Fury, and you will let Alyssum go without harm and the Mack family will be in our clan."

 Both brothers nodded silently, and the scene began to dissolve into the grey mist. Sean turned to Sunny, "What happened?"

 "They fought," Sunny told him, "Nicodemus killed Connor Doyle in the fight, and as the elders said; your grandmother was banished forever from the clan."

 Sean buried his face in his hands. When he looked up next, he was standing in the road with Sunny standing before him. 

 Sean slumped to the stone bench surrounding the fountain. "Nicodemus sacrificed his reputation to save Connor Doyle the embarrassment of losing his tribe." 

 Several men from the Wolfe clan appeared pushing Sean's car toward them. One young boy barely sixteen was in the car steering while seven well-muscled men pushed the car along. When they topped the hill, they let the boy behind the wheel steer down the other side and then roll into the parking area on the side of Cluny's tavern. 

 Sunny took hold of Sean's arm and shook it to pull him from his stupor, "Come on Sean, you need to get started on the serum."

 He looked up at her looking into her eyes. "The serum, right." He pulled up his tee shirt and scrubbed his face, wiping away his tears. "Everything I have is in the boot, I'll need to draw your blood into something sterile, I should have something in the kit."

 Sean took the car keys from the ignition, went to the trunk, and opened it. Inside there was a yellow milk crate with a collection of medical items in sealed packages. Sitting next to the spare tire was a large red bag with multiple zippered pockets and soft-sided pouches. Sean pulled it out and set it down on the road then pulled the crate out and set it next to the bag. He squatted down next to the bag and ran a hand over it. "I have just about everything here – what I don't have I'll have to improvise."

 "What do you need?" Sunny asked.

 "I'll need a centrifuge," Sean said then looked up at Sunny, "Something we can use to spin the tubes of blood to separate red blood from plasma."

 "Something like a spinning wheel," Sunny murmured.

 "What about one of those spinner top toys," Sean said, "I remember having one as a child, you used the plunger to make it spin and it made whistling sounds the faster it spun."

 "We'll put Cassie or Lucy on finding something that will work," Sunny replied then pointed to the medical bag. "How many syringes and needles do you have?" 

 Sean pulled open the medical kit and rummaged through it for a bit then he came up with seven packages of syringes and needles.

 "You can sterilize them and reuse them," Sunny told him.

 "I'll have to type your blood, some of these people will all have different blood types," Sean said as he paused in going through his medical kit.

 "Siobhan is a first daughter," Tully told him.

 Sean paused in his task and looked over at Tully then back to Sunny, "What does that even mean?"

 "A universal donor," Sunny told him, "I'm a universal donor."

 He nodded silently and came up with a handful of sealed packages of blood collection tubes with goldenrod yellow plastic tops. He unzipped another pocket and pulled out a handful of vacutainers. Each one had a small plastic tube attached to a small needle and a light blue wing. He looked up at Sunny, "These tubes have the agent already in them to help separate red blood from the plasma. I might have more in the crate, I'll keep looking."

 Sunny turned away from him as she spotted Nicodemus approaching. She left Sean and went over to him. Being blood-bound, he already knew what they had seen. Sunny looked at him with different eyes she did not say anything to him. 

 Nicodemus studied Sunny as she watched Sean go through the crate. There was something in her demeanor and a fire in the depths of her eyes that frightened him. He had seen it all before; a long time ago. "One thing at a time." That phrase echoed in both their thoughts, and he nodded silently to himself as he held onto the task at hand.

 "I have the word out that anyone even feeling unwell is to return to Ballencoo. The Thorne clan is already gone, but the Wolfe clan is coming back. Lucy got to her people and the word has gone out to the Thorne, Wolfe, and Badger clans to return if they can. She and Cassie are already having their sick moved to the field tents, they are trying to keep families together."

 "Good," Sunny murmured.

 Nicodemus frowned at Sean then met Sunny's dark green eyes, "What is he going to do?"

 "He is going to create a blood serum from my blood, to inject into those who are the sickest," Sunny said. "I've recovered from the sickness, so my blood carries the cure. When Aunt Fiona recovers fully, her blood may carry the cure too."

 "We are working against time; others will fall ill in Nu'Ada," Nicodemus said softly, "How will we be able to make sure the cures reach them? Can you trust him to do the right thing when we leave?"

 Sunny looked over her shoulder at Sean, "He understands what needs to be done – if I must convince him to do what is right; I will."

 Nicodemus took hold of her arm to make her look up at him. "You have him in thrall?"

 Sunny blinked as if to clear her eyes and she frowned in thought as she realized what he had said. "I will do what I must to save lives."

 Nicodemus drew in a deep breath and held it for several heartbeats before he began to breathe again. "I turned away from the powers that you seem to possess naturally. Your abilities may be from a realm that I gave up long ago. I do not know if I can give you the tools you need to control them."

 An odd look crossed over Sunny's features then she smiled knowingly at Nicodemus, "You are the one," Sunny told him. 

 "You sound certain of that," Fury said with an uncertain smile tugging his lips.

 She regarded him for a moment longer then nodded. "Yes, quite certain."

 He watched her return to where Sean was still sorting through the medical equipment in the trunk of his car. Tully stepped over to Fury and gave him a worried look. "You look as troubled as I feel."

 "I am." Nicodemus agreed. "It just became far more complicated than I ever thought it could be!"

 "We must be in a sterile place!" Sean said his voice raising, "I can't just tap a vein and draw off your blood like a beer tap!"

 Sunny's face grew pink in frustration. She turned away and stalked off a few paces. It was Lucy and Cassie who stepped in to help Sean by providing a place to set up his medical station. "We have a tent that has been cleaned and disinfected. You can take all your equipment there," Lucy told Sean. "We will help you as much as we can."

 "Aye, we are fair nurses," Cassie said proudly and took hold of Sunny's hands, "We will make sure McConnell has all the help he needs."

 Sunny looked thankfully at Lucy and Cassie, then looked over at Sean. "I will need to know how to do this -- so I can administer it to those who are sick in Nu'Ada."

 "I don't know if I can--" Sean started.

 "You will show me," Sunny said and cut him off from finishing his sentence. "I can learn quickly!"

 Cassie and Lucy helped pack up everything in Sean's car into several crates and baskets and they led Sean toward the medical tent. Sunny started to follow but stopped and looked back to where Nicodemus and Tully still stood talking. Both men fell silent when she came up. "As soon as I have given my blood, we can leave. Somehow I need to know how to do this in Nu'Ada."

 Nicodemus watched as Cassie and Lucy led Sean into the medical tent. "We will find a solution, Siobhan."

 Tully looked into the sky at the growing twilight. The full moon was slowly climbing, "You'll be the last to cross. Do not tarry long."

 Sunny gave Tully a quick hug and headed to the medical tent. Nicodemus heard a bark and Shanley bounded up to stand next to Fury. Tully nodded at the wolfhound, "You taking him with you?"

 "Yes," Fury replied, "Until he transforms, he will stay with Sunny."

 "Take care of her," Tully said. "Keep her away from the Da'ark. You know how dangerous and seductive it can be."

 Nicodemus nodded. He did know all too well! He would not let anything happen to Sunny! He and Tully parted company and he went to the medical tent where Sunny had entered.