Chapter Sixty-Three: Da'ark vs. Da'ark

Sunny and Fury silently crawled into the apothecary's window and crouched behind the worktable. Sunny scanned the rafters for the Watcher, but it appeared they were alone. Fury could hear voices coming from the kitchen and he pointed silently. They could not speak to each other in any form for fear Colleen would hear.

 Fiona was pleading for Colleen to leave and never return to Arwyn. Colleen shouted back and Sunny felt her anger rise in her head. She wanted to confront Colleen, but Fury laid a hand over her arm and squeezed lightly. 

 Fury spotted the open panel where they both had secreted themselves behind the worktable. He caught Sunny's attention and stabbed a finger at the open panel. Sunny swiveled around and scowled. Colleen already had the dagger, but she was still enjoying her dominance over Tully and Fiona! Sunny was not sure what she was going to do, but she had to do something! Anything to stop the pain Colleen was inflicting on Fiona and Tully!

Sunny got to her feet, "I'm going to try and draw Colleen outside. You get to Tully and Aunt Fiona. Get them out of here any way you can!" Sunny whispered. "Use whatever Da'ark magic you have to get both of them as far away from here as you can! Don't go back to the arch. I'll get Colleen to the arch."

 Even before he could find fault in her plan, she slipped outside the window and ran around to the back of the cottage. Fury cursed under his breath, slipped out of the apothecary, and shrank into the shadows of the darkened hall.

 "Colleen!" Sunny stood in the backyard of Laurel Cottage near the area where the woods began. "Colleen, Come out here!"

 Sunny heard the woman's rageful scream. The kitchen door was wrenched open, and Colleen stood glaring out into the darkness. "I told you what would happen if you followed me here!"

 "I didn't listen!" Sunny called back to her. "If you want me to take the dagger into Nu'Ada let's go!"

 Colleen did not hesitate, she came out of the house and walked into the backyard, still carrying the bloodied meat cleaver clenched in her hand. That was when Fury came into the kitchen and saw why Colleen was not concerned with leaving Tully or Fiona unattended. Tully was waiting for Fury with a large butcher knife in his meaty hand. "You want some of this you bloody Da'ark bastard!"

 "Tully you are in her thrall!" Fury growled at the blacksmith. "Fight it!"

 "I do not think I can," Tully answered. "I have my orders." He stabbed at the air between Fury and himself and Nicodemus stayed well away from the blacksmith. He glanced over at Fiona where she sat passively gazing at a spot of blood on the tablecloth.

 "Listen to me," Fury said, "Sunny is out there trying to save you and Fiona from that witch! You can at least try to fight off the thrall – she's not that strong while she is here in Arwyn!"

 The butcher knife wavered, and the silver shine of the thrall began to diminish from Tully's eyes. "She is still strong," he whispered, "She did something to us."

 "What?" Fury felt his heart freeze over. "What did she do?"

 "She is still strong," Tully said wincing in pain as he reached up to touch his ear which was still oozing blood. "She did something to us, and I do not know how long we can fight it."

 "You have got to fight it Tully!" Fury growled. "Help me, Tully, and fight!"

 Tully let the butcher knife fall from his hand, and it clattered to the kitchen floor. He reached out to Fury, "Get us out of here, away from her! I can think better if I'm out of here!"

 Nicodemus kicked the butcher knife out into the hall with the heel of his boot and laid a hand on Fiona's shoulder. "She still has control of Fiona, but it is weakening," he reached over and took hold of Tully's hand he exerted his own powers of control. "Since I do not know what Colleen has done, I need control! I promise to release you when this is all over."

 Tully began struggling under Fury's Da'ark magic, and then he let the thrall take over, but he held on to the anger, "You are using the Da'ark again! You have let it take you and you will not be able to resist it taking you over this time!"

 "If I can save Sunny, you, and Fiona from Colleen, I will do whatever I must do, now come with me!" Fury hissed.

 Tully tried to resist, but as Colleen's control waned, Fury's powers seized him. He was too weak to fight it. He turned to Fiona and helped her to her feet. She started to protest, but when she looked up into Tully's face she smiled. They followed Fury out the front door of Laurel Cottage, hurried into the woods, and found Bracken waiting for them. "I hide knife!"

 Fury frowned at the Watcher, "Are you still in her thrall, Watcher?"

 "She tries but not working good," Bracken told him then looked at Fiona and Tully, "You not thrall me!"

 "No," Fury told him, "I need you to help Siobhan!"

 Bracken glanced at Tully and Fiona, "Witch works most on Fiona."

 Fury nodded. "Stay here with them, I have to get back to Siobhan."

 "I stay," Bracken said, "I watch."

 Colleen put her hands on her hips and glared at Sunny as they faced one another in the yard of Laurel Cottage. "Li'Bann helped you get here, did she? Who else did she help?"

 "She wants her freedom, just like the others in the Shadowlands," Sunny said. "You have manipulated them all to your will for decades!"

 "You can't trust anyone in the Shadowlands," Colleen replied. "Not even those who tell you they want to help. Li'Bann whines constantly about having her throne – she never had a throne! A Sidhe, nothing more."

 "They want to be free of you!" Sunny said.

 "I have to say you've been a great disappointment!" Colleen told Sunny, "You have been led about like a lovesick schoolgirl, just like Skye when she was a teenager! Completely taken in by a Fury! I've never quite understood what women found so attractive."

 "What are you talking about?" Sunny demanded. "I am not --,"

 "You stink of it!" Colleen snapped, "The stench of Fury is all over you!"

 Sunny nearly laughed. It was the blood-binding Colleen was picking up on! Not at all what she was thinking. Colleen continued to look at Sunny in abject disgust. She glanced up into the trees, "Watcher!" Colleen called suddenly, "Watcher! Come down here to me!"

 Fury cursed under his breath. Colleen was summoning the Watcher! When the creature popped up in the tree, Nicodemus wondered if Colleen still had control over the Watcher.

 Bracken scrabbled down the side of a tree and went bounding past Sunny to Colleen's side. Colleen looked down at the Watcher and smiled indulgently at the creature. Sunny felt her heart sink, the Watcher was in thrall like all the others! "I here!" he said.

 "Did you put the dagger where I told you?" Colleen asked Bracken, she threw a triumphant smile at Sunny.

 "I hide in rose bush at Arch!" Bracken announced.

 Everyone heard, including Sunny and Nicodemus where he had secreted himself in the underbrush behind Sunny.

 "Good!" Colleen said. "Now, where are the others?"

 Bracken reached up and twisted his long brown fingers into the folds of Colleen's skirt. He looked beseechingly up at her with large brown eyes, "You not burn home grove if I am telling?"

 "I said I would not -- if you cooperated," Colleen said and she brushed his hand away and he scrambled back away from her, "They hide in ruins. Far away from the arch." He muttered.

 Colleen chuckled, pleased with Bracken's information. "Good, now all we need to do is for my granddaughter to keep her promise and move the dagger into Nu'Ada."

 "You didn't exactly keep your word," Sunny accused. "You injured Tully and are controlling him, Aunt Fiona, and Bracken with your thrall!"

 Colleen waved Bracken away from her, "Time to go! Make sure no one is following!"

 Bracken growled low in his throat and showed all his fangs, but he obediently loped off into the forest. Colleen snapped her fingers, and a pale greenish ball of light formed ahead of her to light the trail. Sunny had no choice but to follow. If Bracken had told the truth and Tully and Fiona were at the ruins, Nicodemus would be with them, and they were all safe -- for now.

 Nicodemus returned to Fiona and Tully, both still under his control. He was going to try to explain to them what was happening, but looking at their faces, he decided it was better to have them follow him to the arch. He used the orb moss to light the way. He spotted the dark looming arch before him, he put the moss in his pocket, and they all were plunged into darkness. From the opposite trail, Colleen and Sunny appeared. Bracken immediately took to the trees and disappeared.

 Colleen paused on the trail and when Sunny stopped next to her, she grabbed her arm and hauled her up in front of her as a shield. Her hands bit into Sunny's tender flesh. "Do you think you're going to stop me?" she called out to where Fury stood at the arch.

 "I will do whatever I must to stop you!" Fury said, his voice carried in the stillness of the forest.

 "You aren't powerful enough," Colleen said, "Even with diminished powers, I still can command the Da'ark better than you ever could!"

 "That may be true," Fury replied. "But you must be stopped!"

 Colleen laughed at him. "You'll only burn yourself up if you try to stop me! You can't control Skye and the blacksmith in your thrall."

 "Let Siobhan go," Nicodemus replied. "Leave the dagger and go!"

 "Poor, pitiful old man," Colleen said. "You might have once held the Da'ark magic of the Crimson Palace, but no more! It will eat you up, and you'll have nothing!"

 "So be it! I will have done something worthwhile in my life --- stopped you!" Fury flung back. He began to move his hands to weave the shadow ribbons around him.

 Sunny watched in fascination as he pulled from the darkness around the forest, the shadows that lurked everywhere! He felt the surge of power seep into his body, and he prepared to launch his attack. Colleen was a dirty fighter, she shoved Sunny out in front of her and she fell on the path. The shadows began to seep up from the ground to wrap themselves around Sunny. She struggled to stand but they slithered like snakes around her body and tightened around her throat, keeping her on her knees. They whispered in her ears. Sunny listened, they were in so much pain! They did as they were ordered, but with each twist around her body, the ribbons groaned in agony.

 Nicodemus launched his attack toward Colleen, and she repelled most of the thick ribbons of darkness away, a few broke through and slammed into her, the force sliding her backward, physically pushing her away from Sunny as if there was an invisible hand shoving her backward. Sunny felt the ribbons loosen around her and she could breathe again!

 Colleen formed her attack and sent it driving into Fury full force and he was sent flying back into the dirt. It was the moment Colleen had been waiting for! The control Fury had imposed on Fiona fell away. Fiona looked down and found a paring knife in her skirt pocket.

"You know what to do, Skye!" Colleen called out.

The thrall fell over Fiona the quicksilver gleam clouded her eyes and they began to shine like a feral animal. She tightened her grip on the knife. He was going to take Sunny! Nicodemus looked over his shoulder. "No Fiona, fight her!"

Colleen laughed. "Oh, you silly, silly old woman!" she reached down and grabbed Sunny by the hair and pulled her up. She shook her like a ragdoll. "Look at how she adores him! There has even been physical contact between them!"

"Lies!" Nicodemus shouted. "She is lying to you, Fiona!"

"How could you even dare to seduce her! You said you were going to protect her!" Fiona hissed angrily.

"With my life!" Nicodemus shouted. "I will protect her with my life, Fiona!"

"There is nothing more pitiful than an old fool!" Colleen flung and urged the ribbons to encircle Sunny's throat, slowly cutting off her airflow. "How will you keep Fiona from plunging her knife into your heart and keep your lover from smothering to death!"

Fiona ran toward Fury, the knife poised high to strike him in the heart. Sunny reached out and broke the hold the shadow ribbons had on her and flung them toward Fiona. "No!"

Sunny felt the shadows' agony, but she had to stop Fiona and save Nicodemus! Everything began to dissolve into shadows. Fury moved to avoid Fiona's strike, but Tully was now under Colleen's thrall and was holding him.

Fiona was restrained only for a moment. She reached him and struck not his heart, but the blade sliced a hot burning trail down his side. Sunny screamed in horror as she saw the welling blood wash over Fiona's hand.

"No!" Sunny commanded and Fiona sagged to the ground. Tully's arms dropped away from Nicodemus. He was free! Tully rushed toward where Fiona had fallen. He gathered her up in his against him and rocked her in his arms as she lay unconscious. Colleen pointed at Fury who had crashed down to one knee, one hand pressed hard against his side where the knife had dug deepest.

 Colleen was gleeful, she stepped past Sunny and came to gloat at Fury in his pain. "Tell me now, was it worth it? Fiona has struck you a killing blow, and you see who remains faithful even against his kin!"

 Colleen watched as Fury slumped against the fallen log where Sunny had been sketching weeks ago with Shanley at her feet. Then suddenly Sunny was free! The shadow ribbons slid around her, but she was not being restrained. Colleen spun around, "Watcher! Fetch the knife and bring it to me!"

 "Knife here in stones of the wall!" Bracken called. "Sticker thorns bite!"

 With a growl of frustration, Colleen stomped away from Nicodemus and went to where Bracken was pointing. "Where is it!" she demanded.

Bracken kept Colleen busy trying to locate the dagger, pointing into the thickest snarl of rose canes next to the arch. Sunny ran to Fury, the shadow ribbons still clinging to her but not restraining her. She laid a hand against his cheek, "Nicodemus!"

 He moaned softly and she thanked heaven he was still alive! She directed the shadow ribbons at her wrists to slide to form a tourniquet against the deepest part of the knife wound. Fury pressed something in Sunny's hand. "From the Watcher – here."

 Sunny looked down at the Shai'Alomar. Sunny took it and stuck it in the waistband of her skirt, "Come on Rom Baro, get on your feet!"