When Alec, Nettle, and the twins got back from the family reunion, they were almost instantly re-joined by a very eager-looking Corrander the moment they stepped foot into the horizon realm.

"Nettle! I am glad to see that you are home! I have so much to tell you of what Ian will go through when his Fae-self awakens!" he exclaims, taking her arm lightly and keeping step with her.

Nettle feels her joyful spirits immediately grow heavy. She really doesn't want to address this issue for at least a few more years, but at the same time she doesn't want to burst Corrander's bubble.

Even so, he detects the look of reluctance in her eyes, and his face falls. "What is it?" he asks quickly.

Nettle sighs. "It's been a long day, Corrander. We were hoping to get in a nice soak in the mineral baths before bed. I have a lot to tell you, too�boy do I ever�but�as uncharacteristic as it is for me, could we wait until tomorrow?"

Corrander raises his eyebrows and studies her, and then finally nods. "All right�but now you have piqued my curiosity and I will find it difficult to sleep." he smiles. Suddenly his smile turns sinister. "Unless I conjure another illusion of Balador to lay beside me�"

Nettle can feel his longing coming off of him in waves, and she feels bad for him. She reaches up and pats his shoulder. "Don't worry, Corrander�we'll go back once the twins stop breast-feeding-how does that sound?"

Corrander's eyes open wide in excitement. "And how long will that be, then?"

Nettle smiles. "From what I've read, they're ready to stop when they're about a year old or so."

Corrander's smile droops again. "Eight more months??" he cries incredulously. He takes a deep breath and then exhales. "All right, all right�mustn't seem too eager�too lost without her�too unable to sleep the whole night through alone�too-"

"Jesus, Corrander, I get the picture already!" Nettle exclaims exasperatedly. "I just don't want to wear out our welcome, you know? I know Balador's excited to meet Sarah-- along with the rest of the place-- but let's give them a little break, OK?"

Corrander sighs again and nods wistfully, and the group comes to a stop outside Alec and Nettle's room. "I�suppose you are right. I will be in my room�alone�" he says melodramatically, and then turns sharply and walks down the hallway with his head held proudly upright. Nettle brings a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles.

- The Gideons enjoy a relaxed rest of their evening-- parents and babies having fun together in the mineral bath�and a bit later on just the parents! Finally everyone is sleeping peacefully.

Nettle begins to dream. Images flash through her mind-- her parents�Alec's parents�at one point she's Olive Oil and Alec is Bluto and they're making-out, and then the parents come in and catch them and start commenting on "Bluto's" very large penis, at which point Nettle is so embarrassed that she somehow wills the dream to change.

And then she's back in the memory Alec extracted from her mom, except this time SHE is her mom-- standing in her grandma's bedroom, staring at her grandma laying on the floor. A feeling of dread fills her stomach because she knows what's going to happen next. She proceeds to re-live the entire memory-- with herself playing her mother-- and screams when the ugly Fae-creature stabs her grandmother. She sees the creature turn to her�recognizing her in some way. She sees its huge, ugly grin, and hears its sickening words.
"Do you have any children, little whoreling? Do you? Better hope you don't, cause they're next if you do!!"

And then Nettle screams again, but this time she screams not only in her dream, but in real life, too, and sits bolt upright in bed-- sweat covering her body. Her eyes fly fearfully to the twins' cribs, but there is no hulking monster looming over them with a jaggedy sword. The twins stir and make little cries in their sleep, but then-- mercifully-- go back to sleep as if nothing had happened.
Nettle flops back onto the bed and covers her face with her hands, and then rolls onto her side and cries-- still covering her face.
Alec awakens and sits up, his gun out. He blinks to see Nettle crying, and so puts the gun away. He leans on his elbow and shakes her a bit. "Nettle? Nettle love why are you crying?" he asks a look of concern on his face.

Nettle jumps a little when Alec shakes her, and then moves her hands away from her face and quickly throws her arms around Alec, hugging him tightly.
"B-b-bad�very bad dream�" she gets out between tears. "�that monster�wants to kill the b-b-babies�" she cries. "�do you th-think he knows ab-b-bout them??" she stammers, still crying.

Suddenly the door bursts open, and Corrander rushes in holding his black sword, only wearing some sort of silky pajama-bottom-looking pants. His face is tight with worry. He quickly surveys the room, and then-- seeing no danger-- looks down at Alec and Nettle and lowers his sword.
"Is there a problem in here, or did I interrupt something?" he asks, trying to calm his heart-rate.

"No, just a nightmare, Corrander. I can handle it," Alec says. He looks back to Nettle. "Don't worry love, the babies are well-protected, and besides he can't come here to the horizon realm. They are completely safe." Alec takes Nettle into his arms and strokes her hair.
"Hush now love all is safe�"

Corrander's brow furrows. "'He?' Who are you referring to, Alec?"

Nettle peers up through hair damp with perspiration. "I�I'll t-tell you t-tomorrow, OK?" she stammers, still trying to get a hold of her fears.

Corrander surveys the scene and nods, and then backs back out of the room, muttering about REALLY not being able to sleep now! He shuts the door softly behind him and pads back to his room.

Nettle lays gratefully in Alec's comforting arms, feeling herself grow more and more calm as he speaks to her until she finally nods and says that she feels better, and yes, she'll be able to fall back to sleep.
She waits until Alec is sleeping again, and then reaches over and sets the alarm for just before sunrise.

It seems like she's only asleep for a second when the alarm goes off. Instinctively, her hand flies over and smacks it off, and then she lays still as Alec stirs. She gently reaches over and strokes his hair.
"Go back to sleep, baby�go back to sleep�" she murmurs, and waits until Alec's breathing is regular again before slipping out of the bed.

Comically, the babies are both laying on their stomachs and peering at her through the bars of their cribs, as if waiting for her to wake up, too! She has to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, but then the sight of their faces flashes her back to her dream, and a tiny stream of panic clenches her belly.
She moves quickly to the cribs, lifting Simone out first and carrying her to the changing-table. She strips off Simone's sleeper and lightly-soiled diaper, cleans her up, and then wraps her naked daughter in a white baby-blanket and lays her in her carrier.
Then she moves over to Ian and lifts him out of his crib, lips tightening to keep from crying when she sees his face looking at her almost with concern, and carries him to the table to take off his sleeper and diaper and clean him up, and wraps him in another white blanket. She lays him in his carrier, grabs her draw-string bag of foci, and then picks up both carriers and moves quickly to the door-- opening it silently and disappearing in to the hallway, and then closing it again just as silently.

She tip-toes across the hallway and unlocks the door to her worship-room, and then opens the door and walks inside. Setting the twins down, she shuts the door and quickly takes all her clothing off. She finds her white robe and puts it on, and then opens the door, picks up the twins, and hurries back out, and locks the door behind her. Looking both ways and seeing no one, she hurries silently down the hall and out of the palace.

She crosses the front of the palace and heads over to the garden. Walking purposefully through the small grove of trees, she finds a place where she believes she will not be disturbed.
The babies have been very quiet through all of this, as if knowing their mother is trying not to wake anyone up. They're not quite hungry yet, and their soiled diapers are off, and their mother is taking them somewhere interesting, so they're content and just look around with wide, baby-eyes as she carries them.
Just outside of the tree-cover she finally stops and sets down the carriers. She lifts the babies out and lays them on the soft, green grass side-by-side, and then opens their blankets and spreads the blankets out. She gives a little sigh of relief when Ian doesn't do his cherub-fountain-routine!
Ian and Simone both make little happy-squawks once they're free of the restrictive blankets, and wave their hands and feet in the air-- enjoying the warm current of air passing across their bare skin.

Nettle gives a gentle smile, and then unties the ropes around her waist and set them reverently to the side, and steps out of her robe. She folds the robe and sets it down on top of the belts, and then kneels down naked in front of her babies.

The sky in the horizon realm is just starting to pinken-- mimicking the sky in the mortal realm-- and Nettle knows it's time to begin.

She looks up at the sky, takes her athame out of her foci-bag, and holds her arms up in an invocation of the goddess-- keeping them slightly rounded and her palms facing towards her head with the athame cupped in one of them. Then she closes her eyes and concentrates, and when she's ready she slowly moves her hands together and holds the athame above her head in both hands. Leaning forward, she holds the athame point-out and begins to draw a circle around herself and the twins-- completely encompassing all of them. She exhales steadily and hums until the point is back where it started, and then she draws a pentagram and circles it in the air at the starting/stopping point. Energy hums low all around her as the life-ward is conjured into being.

Nettle-- deep into trance now-- puts the athame back and pulls out a stick of sage incense. She lights it, and her face takes on a look of concentration. She holds the stick at the same point where the athame started, and then takes a deep breath, and moves the incense around the same circle. Humming and exhaling steadily and evenly, she imagines a sphere of white light surrounding the three of them�a sphere that will keep out any unwanted spirits.
When the incense makes it all the way around the circle, Nettle again draws a pentagram and circles it, and a second ward hums into life around them. Nettle sticks the bottom of the incense stick into the earth so it can continue to burn, and then lifts her arms back up into the goddess-invoking position.

"Great Goddess and Mother�Great God and Father�thy servant Nettle comes before thee with her two precious babies Ian and Simone-- thy gifts to her. The forces of darkness and destruction creep ever nearer, but in this time of need comes hope and faith in thee. I, Nettle, again come before thee to ask for thy blessing, but not for myself-- for the lives of my babies. I feel a threat to their lives, and I answer that threat with the power of the Goddess and the God which I hold inside of me. I answer that threat with the magick that courses through my veins, which comes directly from thee."

Nettle-- as if controlled by some invisible force-- speaks these words, and then reaches into her foci-bag and brings out a very sharp, curved dagger with a white handle. She holds her hands up to the sky-- the dagger clasped tightly in one hand and the other hand open and outstretched-- and then begins to carve a pentagram into the palm of the outstretched hand-- large enough to fill the palm. Red blood begin to seep from the cuts and run down her arms, falling in drops on her thighs and on the grass. She has a look of complete calm and concentration on her face.

Simone looks up at this-- not able to see exactly what her mother is doing-- but entranced by the energy all around her, and hushed by her mother's demeanor. She waves her arms as she watches.
Ian's eyes are wide and his little forehead wrinkled, but he, too, stays silent and watches curiously, kicking his feet a little.

When the pentagram is complete, she switches the dagger to the cut hand, and begins to cut a pentagram into the palm of her other hand. She has a look on her face that is almost ecstatic-- mouth open in an almost-smile, and eyes wide and glittering.
When the pentagram is completed, she bring the hand holding the dagger down and lets the dagger slide out of her slick grasp and onto the grass, and then brings both hands back up to the sky and closes her eyes, letting her head fall back and feeling the drops of blood spatter down lightly on her face.

"Spirit and Life�in my blood infuse,
a shield of power�strength never will it lose,
protect my babes from ill will and harm,
and if any DARE attack, their mother do alarm!"

Nettle's words become more and more forceful and intense until she's almost growling with ferocity by the end.
She feels almost dizzy with energy as she draws magick into herself and lets it build and build-- inhaling little bursts of air without exhaling-- and then finally�like an orgasm of power�she quickly brings her hands down and places them gently but firmly on her babies' tummies-- head still thrown back-- and exhales forcefully, directing all the magick into the blood spilling out onto Ian and Simone's pink skin. She continues to murmur the blessing as she draws power from above and all around her, creating a kind of ward within the blood that she wills to be absorbed into the babies' skin to protect them from any harmful intent from those creatures both living and of spirit. She moves her hands all across their skin from their heads to their feet, forcing the blood to continue to flow freely from her and not coagulate.

The babies are both a little frightened of the look in their mother's eyes and her behavior, and both start to cry. The crying breaks through Nettle's meditation just enough that she's able to alter her touch to a more soothing, familiar one, and lets her head fall forward a little so she can make eye-contact with her children to let them know it's OK.
Ian and Simone see that their mother is there, and feel the difference in her touch and the warmth of her blood on their skin, and both start to calm down a little. But Nettle still looks so scary and intimidating with blood streaked across her face and down her breasts and thighs that the babies still aren't quite sure what to make of this, and start whimpering a little.

"Spirit and Life�in my blood infuse�
a shield of power�strength never will it lose�
protect my babes from ill will and harm�
and if any dare attack�their mother do alarm�"

Her voice is now a light whisper as she feels the last of the power flow out of her through her blood, and then she slumps onto her side as the loss of blood causes her to become dizzy and faint.

Corrander-- still excited to talk to Nettle about what he learned, and to find out what SHE learned-- awakens early and comes out into the hallway, stretching. The door to Alec and Nettle's bedroom is still closed, much to his chagrin, but he pretty much expected it. The babies have been sleeping all through the night regularly now. Still�they SHOULD be awake soon.

Corrander decides to make some fresh orange juice, and so he puts on a light robe, grabs a bowl from the kitchen, and walks outside to the garden to pick some oranges from the trees. He hears the sound of babies wailing and starts to run in the direction of the crying. He sees something on the grass between the trees, and quickens his pace. As he bursts from the trees, his stomach lurches in horror and he drops the bowl. There before him is Nettle laying naked and covered in blood-- he's praying she's only unconscious-- and the two babies, also naked and covered in blood, both wailing at the top of their lungs.

Corrander rushes forward�and feels like he's run into a brick wall. Dazedly he stares up at the sky. How did he end up on his back?? He picks himself up as quickly as he can-- head spinning-- and then reaches his hand out tentatively. He almost hears the buzz of energy before he feels it repel his hand back with a little shock.
"What manner of sorcery is this??" he cries in fear and frustration.
He looks all around him in desperation for a moment, realizes there's nothing he can think of to do, and then turns and runs back into the palace.

Again he throws open the door to Alec and Nettle's room, and rushes over to the bed, grabbing Alec roughly by the shoulders.
"Wake, Alec�wake!!" he cries.

Alec sits up and looks at Corrander, his gun out. "Crikeys! What is it??" He says leaping out of bed in only his bikini briefs. "Where's Nettle?" he asks, his mind already scanning for her�sensing her just past the garden, past the little grove of trees. "Corrander?"

"Come with me quickly! Nettle's been hurt�blood everywhere�the babies�some kind of magick�COME!" he practically yanks Alec out of the bedroom after him.

Alec's eyes widen and he nods, following Corrander-- his gun still out.

Sarah picks up her dolly and a dolly brush and walks out to the garden towards the trees. Humming a little song and brushing her dolly's hair, Sarah sees the prone form of Nettle in the clearing and the two babies wailing and crying. She walks up to one of the trees and stops just at the edge of the circle Nettle cast. She looks up as if looking at the circle and steps right through. She sits between the two babies and kisses their foreheads.
"It's ok Ian and Simone! Mommy's alright�" she says looking at Nettle. Sarah brushes the dolly's hair and hums to keep the babies soothed.

Alec runs towards Nettle and suddenly falls as if he has hit a brick wall.
"What the?? Sarah? Sarah what's going on?"

Sarah looks over to Corrander and Alec and then back to her dolly.
"It's ok, Uncie Alec and Uncie Corrander. Auntie Nettle did a protection-thing on the babies and forgot to heal herself�but she's healing now and she'll be ok!" she says giving them the ok sign. "She'll have a headache like daddy gets when he plays to many video games�"

Corrander stares at Sarah. "A protection-spell?? What matter of protection-spell involves all of this blood?? Is is only Nettle's blood??" he demands. He indicates the circle of Nettle and the babies with his hands. "What IS all of this??" he asks incredulously.

Sarah nods, "It's Auntie Nettle's blood. She gets carried away sometimes, and it's a good thing I'm here," she says nodding enthusiastically. "I'm supposed to yell at her when she wakes up about using so much."

Alec looks at Nettle and then back to Sarah, "Can you take down this circle, Sarah? So I can help Nettle?"

"Uh-uh, Uncie Alec. I need it up for just a teensie tiny more time," she says. "The babies are ok too! See? They were just scared but," she says turning to the two babies, "You're not scared now are you?"

Ian and Simone-- happy to see the familiar faces of their father and great-uncle, and to feel the calming presence of Sarah-- laugh and smile, doing froggy-kicks on their backs and waving their arms...not seeming to notice the blood drying all over their skin. The backdrop of red all over their faces make Ian's blue eyes and Simone's green ones seem especially vivid, and there are little trails of light skin down their cheeks where their tears ran.

Corrander folds his arms and begins to pace. "For a species that finds its blood so useful, it is amazing how much of it it is willing to shed with the slightest provocation!" he mutters. He quickly stops and holds out his hand. "I meant warfare, Sarah...not what Nettle did..." he quickly amends, and then goes back to pacing.

After a few more seconds Nettle starts to stir. Her body feels very weak and her head aches. She tries to push up, but her arms give out. She concentrates, and then slowly pushes herself up to a sitting-position-- hair shielding her face-- and her hand moves to her head. After another second she quickly looks up and her hand moves to her chest as she takes in breath quickly. "Oh! Sarah! You scared me!" she breathes. "Oh...I'm sorry you had to find us like this...I--" she glances around and sees Alec and Corrander and feels a pang of embarrassment mixed with fear. She gives them a sheepish look.

Alec looks at her with concern, "Nettle are you alright are--" He says as he moves forward but still finds the circle there. "Would you please take this damn thing down!" he says through gritted teeth.

Sarah shakes her head, "I have to talk to Auntie Nettle!" Sarah says. She folds her arms as if she is waiting for the men to leave.
Alec blinks, "You've got to be kidding me Sarah."
Sarah gives him a look that means she is serious and then closes her eyes. "I have to talk to Auntie Nettle."

Nettle tries to brush more hair out of her face, wincing a little when her hair sticks to the blood on her skin. "I'm really, really sorry you two had to find me like this...I'll explain..." she says, sounding penitent. She wants to shield her nakedness from certain people present, but doesn't want to get blood on her robe, so she exhales and just sits there feeling embarrassed.

Corrander balls up his hands into fists-- feeling Alec's frustration-- and then lets out a exasperated-noise and throws his hands up. "Come, Alec. It is probably the 'wise-Sarah' who wants a word with her, and I believe she means it when she says she will not bring this...this shield-thing down until she is done." He looks around and finds his bowl on the ground and picks it up. He gives Alec a look of understood frustration, and then puts his arm around his shoulders. "Let us go pick some oranges to make juice...and you can explain to me what the hell Nettle thinks she was doing, hmm?"

"Sure. I'll try at least," He says as he and Corrander walk away towards the orange trees. He throws one last look at Nettle and Sarah and then turns to see what Corrander just said.

Sarah turns to Nettle and sits back down. "They were going to yell at you. I could tell," she says.

Nettle glances at the men and then at the babies and winces. "This doesn't look very good, does it." She looks down at the blood covering her chest, arms, thighs...hands...and winces again. She puts her hands together so Sarah doesn't have to see the wounds, and sighs. "I got up early-- I meant to do this and get back into the palace before anyone woke up, but...looks like I overdid it. I was so...into what I was doing that I forgot to monitor my blood-loss and strength-loss..." she shakes her head, thinking to herself how foolish she was, and then glances at the babies in amazement.
"Thanks for watching over the twins. Look at them! Look how calm and happy they are!"

Sarah stands up and puts her hands to her hips. She then begins to shake a finger at Nettle, "Now you be careful, Auntie Nettle! You scared the babies and Uncie Alec and Uncie Corrander." She says scoldingly. "Maybe next time I won't be around and bad things could happen!" she says. She suddenly smiles and hands Nettle her dolly, "See it's you Auntie Nettle!"

During her little scolding, Nettle leans back and looks at Sarah with wide eyes, and then looks down at the doll and takes it from Sarah. It's got light blonde hair and green eyes.
"Very funny, Sarah!" She gives a little smirk and holds the doll carefully so she doesn't get too much blood on it. "I scared the babies?" She looks at the twins and holds the doll up. "See? It's Mommy!" She smiles and lowers the doll. "Sorry, my babies. Mommy didn't mean to scare you." she says softly. She expected they might not react well to the ritual, but the ends justified the means. She can detect warding softly emanating from them, and wills it to keep its strength after the blood is cleaned off of their skin.

"Alright!" Sarah says taking the doll back. She turns and walks out of the circle. "Breakfast time!" she squeals and runs towards the palace laughing the entire way.

Nettle watches Sarah run away and smiles, shaking her head. She gives a little sigh, and then realizes she doesn't trust herself to lift the baby-carriers just yet, so she calls to the men. She tucks her legs up to her chest and wraps her arms around them. Glancing around her, she sees that Sarah brought the wards down, herself, and waits for the men to return.

Corrander turns. "I believe it is safe for us to return now," he tells Alec, and turns back in the direction of Nettle's little ritual set-up.

Alec nods and walks towards Nettle and the babies. When he finally gets to her he folds his arms and looks at her. "I hope Sarah didn't yell at you too severely." he says with a raised eyebrow. "I want some left for me."

Corrander nods and folds his arms. "And when Alec is done, I will take what is left of you." he says with his head raised arrogantly. "Speaking of what is left of you..." He pulls off his robe and tosses it to Nettle so he is standing in his black, silky pajama-bottoms.

Nettle eeps, and holds her legs even tighter to her chest, and then reaches up and catches the robe, quickly draping it around herself. "My, don't you two look nice in your...sleeping apparel!" she grins, but when the men don't smile back, she gets a nervous look on her face again.
"All right...fine...go ahead." she sighs, preparing to be blasted.

"Nettle love, you need to be more careful right?" he says wrapping up Simone in her blanket, putting her in her carrier, and picking it up. "And I hope you've learned from this." he says calmly. "If you plan on doing a ritual such as this let either I or Corrander know...right?"

Nettle blows a piece of hair out of her face frustratedly. "I was extra-quiet so I WOULDN'T let you know! How would you have reacted had I told you my plans for cutting up my hands and smearing the blood all over our children?" She gives Alec a little smirk.

"You are insane, Nettle!" Corrander exhales. "Why even DO such a thing??" He walks over and wraps up Ian in his blanket and sets him in his carrier-- picking it up in one hand while holding the bowl of oranges in the crook of his other arm.

Nettle stands shakily-- almost falling-- and then gets up and wraps Corrander's robe tightly around herself with an arrogant sniff. Then she bends and picks up her robe, ropes, bag, and dagger and follows after the men.
"I am Verbena. We use the power of our blood to work magick, and it is very ancient and powerful magick, Corrander." she says as if talking to a little child.

Corrander turns and glares at her. "I understand blood-magick DEAR niece, but--" and Corrander starts muttering Welsh curses.

Nettle smirks and raises her eyebrows, keeping her eyes straight ahead. She can't wait to tell Veil about this! Er...maybe not...she might get yelled at for the fainting-bit. Ah well! She'll tell her, anyway! She hopes Veil comes back soon...

Alec walks back to the palace and heads straight for the bathroom next to their bedroom. He gets out washcloths and some soap and proceeds to give Simone a bath while Corrander kneels on the bathroom floor beside him and sets Ian in the other end of the tub. Simone loves the bath and splashes the water all the while Alec tries to get the blood off. Corrander flinches when the twins kick water at him, but then laughs good-naturedly and goes back to scrubbing Ian.
When Alec's finished, he towels Simone off and puts some clothes on her and puts her in her baby carrier. He walks into their bedroom and sets her down as Corrander lifts the dripping, laughing Ian from the bathwater to dry him off.
"Your turn, Nettle." Alec announces.

Nettle stands with some clean lingerie tucked under one arm. "I'm sorry, Alec. I really am. I just couldn't give Corrander the satisfaction of apologizing in front of him. He had this snooty look on his face that was pissing me off." She leans up and kisses him carefully. "I'm sorry I scared everyone. I really thought me and the twins would be back in bed before anyone knew it."

"That's alright love. Now as long as you're not going to cut up anymore I am hitting the bed," he says as he hops in bed. "I didn't much sleep last night. You were tossing--" he yawns, "--and turning all night."

Nettle raises her eyebrow at Alec as he gets into bed so quickly, and then sighs. She's really sleepy, and still somewhat weak from her ordeal, but someone has to feed the twins, and it's always her. She gives a pouty frown. "Well just make sure the twins are OK while I take a shower then!"
She waves at Simone-- not wanting to pick her up and get her bloody again-- and then opens the door to the bathroom from she and Alec's room.

"Ah Nettle. Ian is all cleaned up." Corrander announces.

"Thanks, Corrander. It looks like Alec's going back to sleep-- could you put Ian into a diaper and sleeper and help Alec watch them for a minute? I'll be right out." Nettle asks, sounding frazzled.

Corrander nods. "Of course�" He's trying not to stare at her blood-stained features with too much concern, so he hurriedly walks through the door into the bedroom, and Nettle shuts it behind him.

She lets the robe fall from her body and stares at herself. She gives a little smirk. She looks�pretty cool. She'd definitely give Carrie from the movie "Carrie" a run for her money! She's getting really sticky and uncomfortable, though, so she walks over and turns on the shower and lets it run for a moment, and then walks back in front of the mirror.
She still has a very young-looking face and body�maybe TOO young-looking in the body-department, she thinks with a tiny scowl. She stands sideways and wonders what everyone would do if she used her powers to�enhance things. Hmmm.
The fog from the hot shower obscures the mirror, so she finally snaps out of her fantasizing and gets into the shower.

A half-hour later-- having to scrub her light-colored hair and skin for a long time to get all the blood out of it-- she emerges in the short, green satin nightgown that Alec bought for her when they first met.

Corrander's sitting on the edge of the bed, rocking the carriers and murmuring to the babies.
"Ah Nettle! You no longer look like a mass-murderer!" he comments with a smirk.

Nettle smirks back. "Thanks. Here's your robe back�if you want it back!" She tosses him his robe, and he catches it.
"What am I going to do with these two�I really need to get more sleep�" she sighs, looking overwhelmed.

As if being prodded by the servants of discord, both babies look up at Nettle and start crying for their breakfast.

Nettle closes her eyes and puts a hand to her forehead.

Corrander quickly stands, glancing behind him, but Alec is still sleeping. "There are bottles in the�refrigerator�" he says, still having trouble with that word, "�so I will warm them up and feed the babies. Tania and Jacob are just getting up, so there will be plenty of people to look after them. Go to bed, Nettle."
He walks up to her and takes her arm, gently escorting her over to the bed and forcing her to sit. He then hands her a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice that he'd set on the night-stand and makes sure she drinks it all.

She reluctantly slides under the covers and watches Corrander. "Thanks�I really needed some help�" she yawns. She looks at the ivy-leafed bracelet around her wrist that Veil gave her, and traces her finger over the very realistic carvings-spinning the bracelet around a little.

Corrander laughs and bends down, smoothing her wet hair from her forehead. "You look like one of the twins when they play with their anklets. You know�I never knew I had a paternal bone in my body, but I am finding it easier and easier to take care of helpless creatures."

Nettle scowls and smacks at his hand, which makes him laugh harder.
He bends and quickly kisses her forehead, and then hurries over to the twins before she can smack at him again. He lifts the carriers and hurries from the room, turning off the light and shutting the door behind him.

Nettle watches him go-- keeping the scowl on her face-- and then once the door shuts, her face relaxes into a soft smile. He's a good uncle, she decides. A little irritating and condescending at times, but still�a good�uncle�
Nettle drifts off into sleep, still holding her bracelet in her hand.

She finds herself back in the mineral bath with her little family. Alec is sitting with his back against the side of the pool and his arms folded behind his head with his sunglasses on, smiling contentedly. She's holding both of the babies-- each one in the crook of each of her arms-- and she smiles back at Alec.
Suddenly the babies start wriggling-- both trying to slip out of her arms-- and she looks up at Alec in panic, but he continues to sit there unconcerned and smiling as if nothing were wrong. The babies are so strong and slippery!! She screams "help!!" as loud as she can, but no sound comes out of her mouth.
Suddenly the babies slide through her arms and under the water, and then start swimming around like marine-creatures. She panics, plunging her arms into the water and trying to catch them, but they each swim in a different direction, and always seem to be just beyond her reach as she goes to grab them. She starts crying and panicking even more-- even though the babies seem to be just fine-- and then feels something hot around her wrist. She looks down and sees that her bracelet is glowing, so she grabs it in her other hand and tries to pry it off, but the minute she touches it the scene around her instantly melts away.

She feels herself floating unsupported in the center of a vast tower that stretches to infinity when she looks both up and down. The inside of the tower is round and made of old but well-kept dark gray stone. Lining the walls are countless windows-- each a different size, but all big enough to fit through if she wanted to-- and when she wills herself to float forward and look through the windows, she can see that each looks out onto a different scene with different people, places, times of days, centuries, fashions�it's like having a million TV screens all around her!

'What is all of this??' she wonders to herself. She can tell that she's not in a dream anymore�she feels�almost awake�yet this situation definitely feels dream-like all the same.
She looks down and sees the bracelet still glowing around her wrist, and instinctively reaches up to make sure her amulet is still on, as well. The second she touches it there's a bright white flash and the feeling of her body being yanked at a high speed through space. She seems to shoot straight upwards, and then suddenly she stops with a stomach-clenching jolt and feels herself positioned uncertainly between windows. Then before she can think, one of the windows sucks her through it.

The next thing she knows she's laying in a green field of brightly-colored flowers. The sky is purple with white clouds moving unnaturally fast overhead, and there's a white castle nearby. She lifts her head a little and sees that she's not alone. Some distance away a woman and man stand. The woman's back is to her and the man is facing towards her and talking to the woman. The woman is wearing a diaphanous white gown that blows and flows around her as if in slow-motion. The woman's hair, too, is long and white and flows around her as if she's underwater. The man she's talking to is dressed like an ancient Egyptian�LOOKS like an ancient Egyptian, too. He has long, black hair and tan skin. Nettle lays still and watches this. She so desires to hear what they're talking about�and suddenly she can hear them! But they're not speaking in English. Nettle sighs in frustration, but continues to listen intently. And then suddenly she CAN understand them!

"I know you have much to do, but�if you could search for them? Or at least ask your gods about them! I do not know if they concern themselves with what the Fae do, but perhaps�since they are gods�" the woman asks hopefully.

The man nods and takes the woman's arms. "I will ask them if there is anything they can tell me, and I promise-- I will also search and ask around for them. Do not worry, Ell�I am sure they are fine." he smiles reassuringly.

The woman nods her head and suddenly pulls the man in and hugs him tightly. "My daughter�she looks just like me-- same face-- except that her hair is a light yellow and her eyes green. You would know her if you saw her. My son's hair is almost as white as mine and he has blue eyes and�and�" the woman breaks down into tears, and the man pulls her close and holds her, rubbing her back.

"It does you no good to work yourself up like this, Ellowyndriel. I will search for them until my gods tell me where I am to go next." the man murmurs gently.

Nettle's head pops up in the middle of the flowers and she stares at the couple with her mouth open.

"And also�my husband�I�I have no idea�what happened�" The woman falls into weeping, and the man continues to hold her for a while until the crying finally tapers off.

"I must go now, Ell. Keep your spirits up. Your people need you." The man tells her, and then leans forward and the two kiss.

Nettle's forehead wrinkles in concern and disapproval, and she looks down. Who is this man, and why is Corrander's mother kissing him???
After another minute she looks back up, and the man is walking away from Ellowyndriel across the field, and then disappears.
Ellowyndriel turns, and Nettle can see the tear-trails down her cheeks. Ellowyndriel walks slowly-- hair and gown blowing around her-- trailing her fingertips across the heads of the flowers and looking very sad. She turns and faces the direction where the man disappeared so her back is to Nettle again, and suddenly a light rain starts to fall. As the drops fall, they each sing a moaning, sad song.

Nettle glances at the flowers. There's something wrong�their colors are running�ah! They're made of crepe paper! The sunlight filtering through them makes an affect similar to the stained-glass flowers back home! As she touches a flower and thinks this, suddenly all the flowers in the field turn into stained-glass flowers. She makes a little noise of surprise and delight.

Ellowyndriel quickly looks down at the flowers, and then bends and holds one in her hand. "I didn't do this�" she says in a quiet voice, and then suddenly twirls around to face Nettle.

Nettle looks up quickly and sees Ellowyndriel glaring at her with glowing red eyes, and suddenly Ellowyndriel is wearing a full suit of shining silver armor and has her hair pulled back into a ponytail. In her hands is a large sword.

"Who is there!?!?" Ellowyndriel shouts.

Nettle stumbles to her feet-- hair also blowing around her face slowly-- and discovers that she's wearing a long deep blue silk Medieval-looking gown.

Ellowyndriel almost drops her sword in surprise, and her eyes instantly change to a bright purple that flickers with blue.
"G-gwendolyn�?" she barely gets out, stunned.

Nettle brushes the hair out of her face, holding it back so she can see. It's getting in her way-- she can't seem to control the floating-affect-- and then suddenly it stops floating and falls neatly down her back.

Ellowyndriel's eyes fill with tears when she sees the amulet around Nettle's neck, but then when her eyes move up to Nettle's face they narrow, and in an instant the sword is back up. Inky black runs through the purple-blue of her eyes until the irises are completely black, and she raises the sword above her head.
"Where is Gwendolyn, and why do you have my amulet??" she hisses.

Nettle's mouth opens wordlessly. Ellowyndriel looks so frightful!! It reminds her of when Corrander did that trick to make himself look more majestic and intimidating. She stumbles backwards, hand clasping the amulet, and then Ellowyndriel lets out a battle-cry and runs at her!

"Give�me�THAT�AMULET!!!" she screams, and just before she reaches Nettle, she swings the sword, and then the scene seems to move extremely slowly.

Nettle watches the sword slowly arcing down towards her-- too terrified to do anything-- and then she hears a high little voice in her ear. She can't tell if it's male or female.
"Hey there! Just learning how to use that, hmm?" it laughs. "Well you have a lot to learn. This is Ellowyndriel's dream, and because she spends so much of her time here, she's perfected everything to be just the way she wants it, so she wasn't too pleased when you altered the flowers-- or popped in wearing that amulet and looking like her daughter! She's obsessed with finding her kids, you know! Very bad luck for you, but seeing as how you're in a bit of a bind and I just happened to be nearby, I'll help get you out of it�THIS time! Of course, what lesson should be easy? I think you'll find this one to be particularly�hard? Petrifying, almost!"
The voice giggles, Nettle sees the sword finally speed up and slash through her, but she doesn't feel anything, and then her eyes fly open and she's laying on her bed back in the horizon realm.

But something's wrong. She can't move! She can't BREATHE!! She can move her mouth and eyes, but that's all! She lays there with her eyes wide open, struggling to move and breathe, and then just when she thinks she's going to pass out, panic bursts through her and she channels Life, breaking the force that was clenching her lungs, and she intakes a deep breath of air with a loud gasp. With her next breath she's able to make an airy-sounding shriek. "ALEC!!!"

Alec wakes with a start and turns to see Nettle laying there stiff as a board but her eyes are moving wildly around the room and then to his face. "Nettle?" He says shaking her. "Nettle! Nettle what's wrong??" He says. He closes his eyes and establishes the mind link.

Nettle is gasping out words, but then gratefully switches to using the mind-link when she feels Alec touch her mind.
"Get Corrander...I think I've been hit by Fae-magick..." she thinks panickedly.

Alec throws the sheets off of him and runs to Corrander's room. He knocks on the door.
"Corrander, I think Nettle got hit with some Fae magic! We need your help!" he says as he runs back to their bedroom.

Corrander is sitting in the kitchen, and raises his eyebrows bemusedly as he watches Alec run to his door and knock. Then the smile is wiped off his face when he hears Alec's words, and he quickly stands and picks up Ian's baby carrier. Tania and Sarah are playing with Simone out in the garden, but he insisted he watch over Ian.
He hurries down the hall just a few steps after Alec, and runs into the bedroom. He sets the baby-carrier on the bed and rushes to Nettle's side.
"What is going on here today? A constant state of emergency??" he asks incredulously, and then takes a good look at Nettle. "What happened? What Fae was here?"

Nettle's eyes shift up to Corrander. "I...dreamed...of...your mother...but...I was...really there...in...her dream..." Nettle barely gets out in gasps.

Corrander's eyes narrow. "How could you really be there? You could NOT really be there! And what does that have to do with this??" he motions to her.

Nettle closes her eyes in frustration. It's so hard to talk! It's like she's on one of those breath-machines!
'Alec...can you connect Corrander to us before I feel the desire to throttle him??' she thinks to Alec.

Alec reaches over and touches Corrander on the forehead and he becomes connected to the both of them. "There now help her, Corrander, don't just question ok!"

Corrander blinks quickly when he's suddenly hearing voices in his head. Then he narrows his eyes at Alec. "I have to know what happened if I am going to know how to fix it!" he says out loud, and then blinks again and tries thinking it through the mind-link instead.

'OK, OK...' Nettle thinks back. 'This bracelet Veil gave me-- I think it gives me the power to navigate through the realm of dreams, or something. I could tell that I was looking in on a dream, and not actually in one of my dreams, but then I touched the amulet, and suddenly I was in your mom's dream!!'

Corrander looks down quickly at the amulet, but there's nothing different about it. He looks back at Nettle's face and gives her a disbelieving look.
'OK then, tell me what you saw.'

Nettle closes her eyes, and sends the images from the dream through the mind-link to Alec and Corrander.
Corrander's mouth falls open and he clutches the bedcovers to steady himself as he finds himself in the dream he knows so well-- the one his mother described to him in great detail as her 'private place' that she goes to when she wants to escape from her sorrows by sleeping for long stretches. He sees the palace-- his home-- and that mummy-fellow talking to his mother, and then when the sword slashes down, it's so clear in his mind that he falls back, landing in a sprawl on the floor.
He lays there blinking for a moment, and then quickly crawls over to the side of the bed.
"And you say you cannot move?? How are you breathing and moving your eyes and mouth?" he says out loud, his face pale as marble.

'I panicked and used Magick to free my lungs,' Nettle thinks back, watching him with wide, hopeful eyes.

Corrander brings his hands to his mouth and stares at Nettle for a second. "Can you...do that to the rest of your body?" he asks in a worried voice.

Nettle narrows her eyes. 'It's all I can do to keep breathing, Corrander!! Come on-- help me!'

Corrander glances from Alec to Nettle with regret in his eyes. "It...may wear off in time if you are able to move your eyes and mouth-- that is a very good sign. Perhaps you could...free yourself if you concentrated hard enough..." he stalls.

"DAMNIT CORRANDER!!" Nettle shouts through the link, and Corrander winces.

Alec looks at Corrander, 'Is there anything you can do? Maybe some fae magick? Or should I get Tania?' he think through the mind link looking back and forth between Corrander and Nettle.

Corrander sighs, and switches back to thinking through the mind-link. 'You were cut by Mother's sword-- maybe just your spirit was cut...I do not know...I couldn't tell...but...her sword is a very powerful chimera. It...causes people to become petrified. As far as I know the effect is irreversible--'

'AAAAAAAAHHH!!!' Nettle screams through the mind-link.

'--hold on now, Nettle. You were able to break through part of it! I am optimistic you will be able to shrug off the effects!' he thinks quickly.

'Well fucking try to break the spell, yourself!' Nettle thinks back.

Corrander's lips thin and he places his hand over Nettle's heart. 'I have combined Glamour with the power of the sword before...perhaps I could do something...I am optimistic that you will be fine...see? Your skin is still soft flesh. Only what is inside is petrified, it would seem...'

"HURRY!!" Nettle shrieks out loud, and Ian glances over at his mother, and then instantly starts bawling.

Corrander closes his eyes-- trying to block out Ian's cries-- and slowly massages Nettle's skin above her heart, murmuring to himself. "Heart is free...blood is free...infuse the tissue...release..."

Ian looks at Corrander and gives a short, mad squawk, and then starts wailing again.

Corrander exhales in frustration and reaches his free hand over to Ian.
"Ian...please quiet down...I'm trying to concentr--"
The second Corrander lays his hand on Ian's belly, a jolt of Glamour shoots through Corrander and infuses every inch of Nettle's body. Nettle feels a sensation like a thousand tiny cracks opening throughout her body, and then the flowing of sudden warmth and she sits straight up in bed and exhales forcefully.

Corrander seems to be held motionless between Nettle and Ian for a moment, and then he falls backwards and lays looking up at the ceiling, stunned.

"Corrander?" Alec says bending down, "Corrander what's the matter?" He says. He looks up at Nettle, "You ok?"

Nettle nods quickly, taking deep breaths and holding her chest. "Fine...I'm fine...what was that??" she asks, looking at Alec with big eyes, and then at Corrander.

Corrander lays there for a moment, and then looks up at Alec. He glances down at his hands, then up at Ian resting happily in his baby-carrier on the bed, and then sits up slowly.
"I did not do that...I never learned that cantrip...I...it is far too...HE is far too..." Corrander staggers to his feet, glances at Ian again-- almost in fear-- and then stumbles out of the bedroom and down the hallway to his bedroom. A second later Nettle and Alec hear Corrander's door shut.

Nettle looks fearfully at Ian-- not sure what just happened-- and Ian looks back at her and claps his hands on his lap, giving her a big gummy baby-smile. He makes happy-noises, and then starts tugging at the blanket tucked around his legs, intent on that now.

Nettle's lips are tight with worry and confusion, and she just looks at Alec for a moment. "Did Ian do that?" she almost whispers.

"I think so...my god that boy has a kick to him!" he says."I could feel the power flowing through Corrander..." he says. He turns to Nettle, "You sure you're ok?" he says grabbing some pants and putting them on.

Nettle nods slowly and distractedly. "Yeah...I think...but I don't want to go back to sleep for a long time...you...you go ahead and...and take Ian...I'm just going to sit here a minute." She looks up at Alec. "Alec...the amulet took me into Ellowyndriel's dream! She's dreaming in Arcadia, I'm dreaming in the horizon realm, and somehow...somehow I made it to the place where the Fae in Arcadia dream...but if she ever sees me again she's going to attack me! Jesus-- I didn't even have time to explain to her!"

Alec thinks a moment. "Hmmm...maybe you should try to research the amulet a bit before it goes off again. See if you can find anything in the library." He gives her a hug and kisses her on the forehead.
"I love you, Nettle be careful, right?"
He picks up Ian's baby carrier. "I'll take Ian for a swim and then maybe outside to play�" he says. "If you need anything," he says tapping his temple. "Let me know," and he walks out to the hallway and towards the baths.

Nettle wordlessly watches him go, and then stares at the bracelet. She has the sudden urge to pull off the bracelet and amulet and throw them across the room, but knows that would be stupid. Suddenly she wishes so badly that Veil were here so she could talk to her about what just happened!! She stands and grabs her cell phone from the dresser, and then practically runs from the palace to the entrance of the chantry.
She quickly bows her head to Dalthania as she steps into the chantry, and then opens up her phone.
"Veil," she says into the receiver, and the phone immediately dials Veil's cell phone number. The phone rings...and rings...and rings...and Nettle feels her stomach fall. Veil's still not out of the pocket-realm. Finally a recording comes on telling Nettle that the user is not responding and may be out of their calling-range.
Nettle gives a sarcastic laugh. "I'LL say!" she mutters under her breath, and then bows to Dalthania and mopes back into the horizon realm, bottom lip trembling.

Corrander is sitting on the floor of his room with his back to the bed, knees drawn up close to his chest and hands holding his head, elbows resting on his knees. He hears a knock at his door, and glances towards it.
"Come in..." he calls weakly, and Nettle steps into the room, dressed for the day.

"Hey..." she says just as weakly, and then shuts the door behind her and walks over and sits beside Corrander on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.
The two sit like that in silence for a minute.

"Wow, huh?" Nettle asks.
Corrander nods his head. "Wow..."
The two fall silent again.
Corrander glances over at the amulet. Glamour still pulsates from it as strongly as ever. "It is an interesting thing to learn-- that when we Fae dream in Arcadia, we are...somehow in a realm outside of Arcadia. Perhaps that is what is known as the Deep Dreaming."
Nettle nods. "That could be it. Alec suggested I see what books we have on it in the library before I try that again."

Now Corrander turns to her so he can see her while he talks. "You really saw her, you know. You did not know about Amon, nor the place with purple skies and paper flowers."

Nettle also turns so she's facing Corrander more. "Yeah, and what was up with that? What was with her hugging and kissing him??"

Corrander sighs. "I will try to explain. My parents were never affectionate or loving to one another. Mother tried repeatedly to repair their relationship, but Father always ruined things. They finally reconciled and were on the path to reconstructing their marriage when Father was killed. Anyhow, long, long before that reconciliation, Mother was sent to seek revenge for our freehold in Caernarfon being destroyed and the balefire being extinguished. Apparently the creatures who did it also destroyed a village where Amon was living, so Amon joined Mother's cause."
Corrander sighs again in embarrassment. "Mother...fell in love with the Mummy-- ah, Amon, that is. He was a Mummy."

"A Mummy?? What the hell?" Nettle laughs.

Corrander gives her a patient look. "A Mummy is another type of magickal creature. Perhaps you SHOULD spend a little more time in the library. ANYHOW, for one reason or another she fell in love with him, and tried to seduce him a number of times, but he made amulets to protect himself from her. Even so, the two became good friends. The two made some kind of amulets-- they both loved making amulets, as you can tell-- to be able to communicate with one another when both in the human realm. I guess Amon was constantly on some sort of secret quests for his gods, and when he wasn't doing that, he was laying comatose in his sarcophagus...rejuvenating, or something silly like that...so Mother had to have a way to find out if it was a good time to come visit. Blah-blah-blah..." Corrander waves his hand in the air from side to side as if leading an invisible choir.

"Well...why did this Amon not like your mother? He seemed very friendly with her in the dream, not to mention your mom's hot!" Nettle protests.

Corrander raises his eyebrow at Nettle. "I will kindly ask you NOT to refer to my mother as 'hot,' thank you very much." He takes a breath. "Amon was a very honorable man with a noble quest. He was doing all these quests in order that the gods return his wife to him. So you see, he was in love with his wife and had no eyes for Mother. She respected that, but was still secretly in love with him. Only in her dreams does she get the affection and treatment from Amon that she craved in real life."

"Aaaah..." Nettle nods in understanding. "Well...so she reconciled with your father. Why is she still dreaming of Amon??"

Corrander shakes his head. "Who knows, who knows...maybe she cannot control her dreams, maybe she is lonely...it is no crime to allow yourself to have love when you think you will never see your true love again!!" Corrander's voice suddenly gets loud and impassioned.

Nettle blinks. "Whoah...calm down, there, Corrander..." She holds her hands up, and then rubs her hands down his arm repeatedly, like an animal-handler trying to calm an animal.

Corrander clears his throat and looks embarrassed. "I am sorry."
The two fall silent for a moment.
"Nettle, I want for you to go back and try to speak with her. Not right away-- definitely do some research-- but when you do go back, I will give you some key-words to tell Mother quickly so she will calm down and listen to you. Once she believes who you are, and believes that I am living with you, she will be filled with such joy! I have been fearing for her life, Nettle...fearing that when I finally return, I will find that she faded away-- gone from existence. But if she knows I am alive, and you tell her of the prophecy, she will suddenly be renewed with life and happiness again. If only I could bring Gwendolyn back, as well..."

This suddenly reminds Nettle of something, and she grabs Corrander's arm excitedly.
"Oh goddess-- I have to tell you about Mom!!" she cries.

Corrander raises his eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Mom can see Fae!! She can see a Changeling's Fae-nature! She didn't know what she was seeing-- she saw Cabbie parked across the street and freaked-out when she saw what he looks like as a Fae! All these years she thought she was crazy because she could see these things that no one else could see! Me and Alec sat her down and talked to her about it-- explained about her heritage and everything-- and she actually calmed down and was relieved to hear that she wasn't crazy, and that we could see Fae, too!"

Corrander's face lights up. "Wonderful, Nettle!! Perhaps now I could meet her!"

Nettle laughs. "We'll see-- maybe. I told her you were Ian's Guardian, so she knows a little bit about you." Nettle's face suddenly turns serious. "Corrander...she had a dark memory that has been terrorizing her for many years. It was too painful for her to tell us about, so Alec and I went into her memories and found it. Remember that hideous Fae-creature-thing who Gwendolyn killed?"

Corrander nods his head slowly. "Yes...the Red Cap."

"Red Cap?" Nettle asks.

"Yes-- that is the type of Fae he is. Do not worry-- I will teach you all of this. Go on." Corrander prompts.

Nettle nods. "Anyhow, he�is still alive�somewhere. He�killed my grandmother."

Corrander clenches his hands into fists and jumps up. "Where?? When?? How??"

Nettle quickly gets up, as well, and grabs Corrander's arm to stop him from charging off.
"When Mom was 17, living back in the eastern United States�and he was carrying some ugly, jaggedy sword."

Corrander begins to pace, his mind racing. "Of course, of course�he was not killed by cold iron�" He turns to Nettle. "Where did he come from? Did you see?"

"He opened up a slit in the air and stepped out through it. When he wanted to leave he opened another slit and disappeared into it." Nettle answers quickly. "Typical of a man, eh?" she smirks.

"This is not the time to be crass, Nettle," Corrander scolds, and then resumes pacing. Then he stops again.
"Why did he kill your grandmother?"

"He said something about her snooping around his castle�he said she wasn't the first of the 'whore's children'-as he called them-to try it." Nettle answers.

"'Whore's children'�he was referring to my sister�he HAD to have been referring to my sister. So then Gwendolyn's descendants found out about him, found out where his 'castle' is, and have been trying to infiltrate it!" he says with clear pride in his voice. "But neither your mother nor yourself were ever told about this?" he asks Nettle.

She shakes her head. "No�Mom ran away from home after Grandma's funeral�however, there IS a book I am in search of. Grandma was Verbena like me, and she kept a Book of Shadows-- which is where Verbena write all their knowledge and secrets. I bet it's written in there!"

"Where is the book now?" Corrander asks eagerly.

"Mom thinks it's back east with Grandma's coven. She gave me their names and phone numbers-- at least what they were over 30-35 years ago. I'm going to start calling them once me and Alec's parents have gone back home."

Corrander hugs Nettle tightly. "Why did you insist on waiting until today to tell me all of this??" he chastises her happily. "Do you not see?? Gwendolyn was not killed with cold iron, either! She must still live!!"

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