The first thing Amber did was to make sure her father received all the letters she'd sent him over the past year. After giving birth to Cliodhna, she'd spent all her free time writing long letters to the woman her daughter would one day become. Letters detailing everything the pack had done since being dropped in France-- the Nazi compounds, the time machines, all the missions they'd had to use the time machine to complete, who Cliodhna's father really was, how Amber had met him, the circumstances behind Cliodhna's conception and secret birth, all that Amber had learned from talking to Markova in his dream, and that Markova must never find out about his daughter. She had also painstakingly copied down the history of the rise and fall of Rome, the Celts, and the shared history of Rome and the British Isles from some of Amon's books in his library. Amber sighed a huge sigh of relief when she discovered that all the letters were accounted for, and then helped her father to bundle and hide them in a fire-proof box under the floorboards of the kitchen.
Cliodhna's childhood seemed to pass so fast! Amber's compulsion to drink nearly tapered off to nothing-- as did her interest in men, much to everyone's confusion. The caern joked with her that perhaps she was holding a flame for the father of her child-- they not knowing who he was-- and she would always blush and yell a few choice oaths at them with a wave of her fist that sent them into fresh gales of laughter. But the caern loved Cliodhna immediately, and they were all extremely protective of her and the other Kinfold/ Garou children born to the caern. Even so, Amber was always at her side, and was even more protective than the caern. Ahuru's words were always echoing in her ears...that one day Cliodhna would play an important role...and Amber knew she had to see her daughter grow to womanhood.
Once Cliodhna was old enough, she was trained to fight-- just like any Garou child-- but her grandfather saw quickly that she'd inherited the McPhearson wit and memory...or so he assumed it was from the McPhearson line...and began training her a little in the bardic skills. But Amber noticed that Cliodhna got bored quickly when it came to practicing the flute or guitar or voice, and hated sitting during the long lessons of the history and lore of the land. What Cliodhna loved to do was sit with her tribe-uncles and listen to them plan out battle-strategies. At first they let her sit and listen because she was so quiet and didn't disturb them. But then one day she spoke up timidly with a suggestion that amazed them all-- and which actually worked when they tried it-- and after that they started asking her what she thought after every plan. She was taught to play chess, and soon enough there was no one who could beat her-- she was almost savant-like in her ability to play! Everyone was amazed with the little protegy, and Amber watched her in silent contemplation as she remembered what she'd learned about Markova's mortal years, and how he'd become a brilliant general at a young age.
Cliodhna's status amoung the Garou rose during her teen-years as she joined in many battles. She was a fierce, determined, and skilled fighter, but not being a Garou, she was smaller and more vulnerable than her fellow warriors. However, the Garou saw her ability to dodge and duck-- which she got from her mother-- and get in and out of places a normal Garou wouldn't be able to, so she was often given tasks like scouting, infiltrating, and snatching. But she was really able to shine while strategizing her own missions and giving orders confidentally, and before she enterered her 20s, she was commanding her own packs.
But every chance she got, Amber sat her daughter down for hours at a time to tell her about the Nazi compound with the time machine and the missions they'd had to complete using the time machine. She taught her about Amon-- who Cliodhna wanted badly to meet. Regarding who Cliodhna's father was, Amber told her that during the mission to stop Markova from taking over Thebes, there had been a big festival where Amber had gotten drunk-- as usual-- and had slept with a Roman soldier, and that man was Cliodhna's father. She said she didn't even know the soldier's name, but that he'd been destroyed with the rest of the Romans when the new Mummy Amon had gone on his rampage to avenge Issa's death. Amber blamed General Markova for the Roman soldiers' deaths, and Claudia agreed with her mother, much to Amber's relief.
Cliodhna had an almost fanatical interest in hearing about Markova, and that made Amber's job easier because Amber had been planning on talking Cliodhna's ear off about him. She gave Cliodhna a good base of knowledge about the histories of Rome and the British Isles, and then told her everything she knew about Markova, from his mortal years as a Roman cannibal-general, to his present years as a sleeping malfaen who wanted to force the world into peace. She told Cliodhna about how she'd entered Markova's dream, and how he'd tried to win her over to his side using logic and persuasion. She told Cliodhna how Markova couldn't see the death and decay he brought to the earth with every step. She instilled in Cliodhna her hatred for powerful institutions who try to take over smaller, peace-loving places. And finally, she told Cliodhna that Amon's father had revealed to her that Cliodhna would have an important role in the battle against Markova, and this fired a fierce pride in Cliodhna, and made her pay special attention when Amber told her about Markova's strategies.
Cliodhna entered her 20s during the turbulent 1960s. The war in Northern Ireland had always been a problem, but in the 60s it began to rage. The caern started taking an interest in the war, and unanimously supported the IRA. It was time to get the English off their island of Ireland once and for all, just as the Romans had been driven from Great Britain. Cliodhna was one of the most obsessed supporters of the IRA in the caern, but Amber was able to keep her near home by reminding her of Ahuru's prophesy, and Cliodhna was still able to help the IRA down in central Ireland. But by the time Cliodhna turned 30, she was able to convince her mother to let her go to Northern Ireland. She assured her mother that this mysterious Ahuru-- or maybe even Amon-- would be watching over her to keep her safe, and that Amber had taught her everything she needed to know about Markova. Amber finally admitted that her daughter was right, but it was an emotional parting when Cliodhna finally left her side after 30 years of them being inseperable.
The years started passing by, and Cliodhna was an infamous leader in the IRA. Amber's only consolation was that Cliodhna rarely needed to fight with the soldiers. Her mental and leadership abilities were too valuable to the IRA to put her in the line of fire, however, Cliodhna always insisted on performing the most important sneak-in-and-get-out missions, herself, and she was undoubtably the best at what she did. Amber was proud of her, but lived everyday in fear that she'd be told of her daughter's untimely death. There was one important tidbit of information that she had neglected to tell Cliodhna about Ahuru's prophesy: Cliodhna's important role would only come to pass after her death.
With no Cliodhna around to occupy Amber's time, Amber soon fell back into her love of drinking, and in no time at all she was back to being the way everyone remembered her before she'd been sent off to war. Her sex-life was dusted off and brought back into existence, but it wasn't as fun as she had remembered it being. She didn't want to admit to herself that Markova had ruined all other men's skills for her, but he had. More years crept by, and finally she couldn't stand it anymore. She had to see Markova one more time and see if he'd go for a roll in the hay! She believed it would be her last chance at great, satisfying sex, and she couldn't be bothered to see the risks, plus whenever she heard or mentioned Markova's name, there was this annoying ache somewhere in her chest that she wanted to be rid of. Besides, the secret of her daughter's identity was unreachable...she'd had many years to learn how to lock it away unpenetrably...so it didn't matter what happened to her own self, she thought.
Amber entered her room and locked the door behind her. She sat in meditation for a few minutes, and when she was ready, she reached out her mind to Markova's and then entered his dream. In most cases, one cannot walk into another's dream so easily, but she had a connection to Markova through their child, so she was able to do this. Amber opened her eyes and found herself in the same Roman camp that she'd encountered the first time she entered Markova's dream, except that now the army was in a time of peace. Soldiers walked about making light conversation and eating, and there was an air of ease and relaxation in the camp. Amber concentrated on her appearance for a moment. She made her hair redder and elegantly swept up, she made her rather plain face painted attractively in the Egyptian style that Markova had first seen her with, and she dressed herself in a white, form-fitting gauzy Egyptian gown. Almost as an afterthought, she made her age appear 35 years younger and firmed up her breasts. Smiling and brushing her hands off in satisfaction, she looked out across the camp.
In the middle of the camp were two noticibly larger tents-- one with the door-flaps tied open, and the other with two guards posted in front of it. Amber found it odd that one of the guards was standing with his face to the tent, but she shrugged and started making her way to the tent with the guards. As she approached the tent, she saw many other things that struck her as odd-- some of the soldiers were speaking backwards to each other, and the horse nearest to the tents was covered with stripes of many colors. She wondered what this meant as she stepped up to the guards.
The guard facing her ordered her to halt, and asked her business. She told him that Markova had sent for her, and the guard chuckled and commented that must be one of the many women who Markova liked to summon to his tent. Amber grew a little angry at this, and-- putting her hands on her hips-- asked just how many women Markova had summoned to his tent. The guard rubbed his chin for a second, thinking, and then replied that Markova actually hadn't sent for a woman in quite some time. Amber looked a little surprised, but opened the tent-flap and entered.
As she stepped inside, she felt a warm breeze blowing around her, and suddenly she noticed that she was standing outside on a tropical island. The island was so small that she guessed that if she stood at one end, she could throw a rock across to the other side and it would land in the water. She turned and saw a cabana made of bamboo with a man laying in a hammock in front of it. She approached the man cautiously until she realized that it was Markova...completely naked and asleep. Amber grinned and came to his side. Leaning over, she whispered "Markova..." into his ear. He shifted a little, putting a hand on his chest. She whispered again with a little more breath, "Markova..." He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.
He asked her why she'd come back to his dream-- hadn't he given the pack everything they'd dreamed of? He seemed a little annoyed. Amber wondered for a second if she'd made a mistake, but smiled and told him "not...everything." He asked her what she meant, and she told him that it had been 35 years since last she'd seen him, and as much as she'd tried to hide her own feelings from herself by keeping busy and distracted, they'd continued to resurface until she couldn't keep herself from him anymore. Markova squinted his eyes at her and told her she was a fool, and asked her why she hadn't joined him yet-- why had her friends insisted on fighting against him? Suddenly she realized that now she was completely naked, as well. With a wave of his hand he made a second hammock appear just behind her. She sat on it, and eased herself into laying on her side facing Markova.
Markova got up on one elbow and continued staring at her. He told her that her precious Gaia had certain rules that she'd set for her Garou, so why did the Garou feel that obeying her rules didn't make them slaves, but to obey his rules would? Amber opened her mouth for a second-- thinking how to answer his question-- when suddenly the two hammocks merged into one and Markova was laying pressed against her. She looked at him in surprise, and he took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. She returned his kiss with a carnal hunger that surprised even her, and the two became lovers, once again.
When Amber awoke, she was laying next to Markova with her head on his chest and his arm around her back. They were resting under bearskins back in his tent in the Roman camp. He opened his eyes and watched her for a moment before speaking. He asked her what was going on in her land during this time, and she told him about the war in Northern Ireland. As she desribed the fighting that had gone on for decades, Markova grew agited until he finally made an angry sound. He asked if she could now see the logic behind his plan? That at one time men had done great and wonderful things, and had told one another, "by the gods, look at what men can do!" But now men are only entrenched in war and bloodshed, and they tell one another, "by the gods, how can men do this?"
Markova lifted himself to look down at Amber, and again asked her why she wouldn't join him. She looked up at him-- their lips so close that she could feel his energy running through her. She moved her face closer to his and whispered that she had seen the destruction he left behind with his every step-- destruction that he couldn't see-- and that concerned her. She expected him to kiss her, but instead he growled at her not to come to him again-- that she would be joining him soon enough, anyway, and suddenly everything went black and she felt like she was falling. Gasping, she opened her eyes and found herself laying on the floor of her room. Markova had, again, thrust her from his dream.
She felt physically and emotionally drained, but his final words had been like ice-water flung in her face. She would never again act like a simpering fool and gush all over that man! She would never again let herself be that vulnerable. She didn't have any idea what he meant by her joining him soon enough, but muttered that it would be over her dead body. She heard a raven caw outside her window, and unthinkingly made a sign warding against evil and then shuddered. She glanced in her mirror to made sure she didn't look too frightful, and then made her way out to the pub where she drank the night away with friends and family.
The caern noticed an immediate change in Amber. She wasn't as quick to laugh, and she'd stopped purifying the alcohol from her blood after a drinking-binge-- which resulted in her getting into bar-fights more and more frequently. Finally her father couldn't stand watching her ruining her life any longer, and when she again began to provoke a patron of the pub, her father grabbed her by the hair and pulled her outside-- Amber kicking and screaming. It had rained heavily during the day, and there was an old washtub filled with cold rainwater just outside. Amber was pushed to her knees, and her father forcefully dunked her head into the water and held it there for a moment. When he lifted her head, she screamed such a string of profanity that people nearby stopped walking and stared with raised eyebrows. Down again went her head into the cold water, and up it came with her spluttering and gasping for breath. After a few more dunks, Amber was finally sobering up, and she slumped against the wall crying and coughing-- head hung down with her wet hair hanging in her face.
Her father squatted next to her and lifted her hair, looking down at her with a gentle smile. He told her that the caern was very concerned about her, and had come to the conclusion that she needed to go up north and see her daughter again-- that this might put the spark of life back into her. She nodded, still crying and coughing a little, and her father helped her to her feet. She saw that her mother was standing outside with her arms folded, lit by the open door. She walked to her mother, and her mother wordlessly put her arm around Amber's shoulders and helped her to her room and into bed.
Amber had never been to Northern Ireland before, and Cliodhna was excited to show her all its beauty. Mother and daughter again roamed green hills and slept under the stars, as if they hadn't been apart for almost 6 years. Amber was very proud of Cliodhna-- she'd become a skilled and respected leader of Garou, Kinfold, and Men, alike, if not also a little arrogant and hardened by fighting and death. Cliodhna was especially energized about the upcoming assault In Belfast that she would lead the IRA in, and knew her mother would be so proud of her when it went off without a hitch. Years of careful strategizing had gone into this, and if they were successful, everything would change. The judges who sat on their version of the Supreme Court were all Protestants who were loyal to the Queen and had no tollerance when sentencing captured IRA members. Many of Cliodhna's friends and former army-members had been put to death by the judges' sentencing.
However, over years of careful maneuvering, the men who were next in line to become supreme judges were all IRA-sympathizers. The plan was to wait until the current judges were in one of their monthly planning-meetings, infiltrate the courthouse, and assassinate them all. Cliodhna had carefully chosen the men who would sneak into the courthouse-- the rest of the army would hide in various places to provide back-up in case it was needed.
The day finally came, and everyone was in position. Cliodhna, Amber, and the other leaders sat in a hotel room facing the main square and the courthouse, intercom radios buzzing with IRA voices talking back and forth to each other. Soldiers with hidden machine guns sat in outdoor cafes enjoying tea, or walked the streets non-challently, or window shopped-- their people were everywhere. Finally 3 o'clock rolled around, and Cliodhna sat motionless with binoculars pressed to her eyes. She whispered the order to her men, and painstakingly they one-by-one entered the courthouse-- some by the main doors pretending to have business there, some were actual employees at the courthouse, and some snuck in from the roof or back doors. Cliodhna listened as each confirmed their success, and then waited expressionlessly for the next part of the plan to begin.
One of her men inside turned on his intercom so the leaders could hear everything that was going on as they sat in the hotel. Cliodhna and those around her heard the quiet breathing of the man as he and his fellow soldiers crept towards the judges' chambers where they were conferencing. She knew that men were positioning themselves at the ends of the hallway, pretending to be lawyers talking about upcoming cases and various other ruses, while a small group prepared to slip quickly into the chambers and do their work as fast as possible.
Finally the small group slipped into the chambers and locked the doors behind them. Amber heard the muffled sound of guns fitted with silencers going off, the frightened cries of the judges, thuds as their bodies hit the floor, and furniture being overturned. Then she heard faint shouting, and suddenly loud gunshots going off. She looked out the window and saw policemen running towards the courthouse, and Cliodhna swore in sharp sylibles next to her. The soldier with the intercom whispered in a desperate tone that one of the judges must have pushed a security button before they'd had the chance to kill them all, and suddenly there was gunfire all around. The soldiers positioned around the square whipped out their machine guns and started firing at the police officers running towards the courthouse, and the next thing Amber knew there was a small war going on in the square.
Cliodhna started raging, asking the other leaders why their men who worked in the courthouse hadn't reported any security buttons in the judges' chambers, but the other leaders' faces were white and looked as surprised as Cliodhna felt. Cliodhna whispered into the intercom, "are they all dead?" The soldier on the other end replied in a shaking voice that there were two who were still moving, and then there was more gunfire and the soldier let out a grunt and fell silent. Cliodhna turned to the other leaders and told them that the small group must all be dead, and that now courthouse security would be grabbing the two judges who still lived and quickly escorting them out of the courthouse via the secret underground tunnels. The reason the IRA had chosen this particular hotel to hole up in was because there were also secret tunnels running from the hotel to connect with the other tunnels beneath the square.
Cliodhna jumped up, threw on her black leather trenchcoat, grabbed a machine gun and tucked it under the trench. Amber asked her what she thought she was doing, and Cliodhna responded impatiently that she was going to finish the job. Amber saw the look in her eyes and knew she couldn't stop her, so she grabbed a handgun and followed her daughter out of the room while sticking the gun down the front of her pants. The hotel was in an uproar, so no one noticed the two ladies hurrying by. Amber was amazed at how quick and stealthy Cliodhna was in slipping around corners and down stairways unnoticed, and was glad she had enough skill, herself, that she wasn't hampering her daughter.
Soon they were hurrying through the underground tunnels, hugging the walls. They stopped from time to time to listen, and at one point they heard voices coming towards them. Amber created a Safe Cave and pulled Cliodhna into it just as a group of police with guns rushed past them. When the coast was clear, the two popped back out and went forward again. They heard different voices approaching slowly, and pressed themselves against the wall, listening. Then one of the voices groaned in pain, and another voice responded, addressing the first as "judge." Cliodhna turned to Amber with a grim look on her face and nodded. They pulled out their guns and advanced on the voices.
Turning a corner, the women saw before them four men and two women dressed in guard uniforms helping two men-- one in his 40s and the other in his 60s-- who Cliodhna recognized as the judges. No one in the group noticed Cliodhna or Amber, and before Amber could blink, Cliodhna had raised her machine gun and began spraying the group with gunfire. The judges were her main targets, and they went down quickly in sprays of blood. Two of the guards were hit heavily and also fell to the ground-- one died with his eyes open in surprise, and the other lay on the ground with her face contorted in pain. Amber lifted her handgun when she saw one of the remaining 4 guards turn to Cliodhna and raise his pistol, and Amber quickly shot him between the eyes.
Claudia again mowed a straight line of machine gun spray across the group, but this time two of the larger guards dropped to their stomachs and were missed. The other two flew backwards and lay dead on the ground, blood speckling the walls and pooling on the floor. Amber watched the two survivers, and as they reached down to grab their guns she shifted into Crinos, hoping this would cause the guards to run. Instead, they grinned back at her and also shifted into Crinos! Cliodhna began firing into the Garou and they both roared in pain, but within seconds their wounds began to close. Then one of the first guards to be hit slowly got to her feet and also shifted into Crinos.
Amber pushed Cliodhna behind her and told her to run, but Cliodhna refused to leave her mother. "Cliodhna, get out o' here!" Amber growled, and her daughter took a tentative step backwards. The Garou started at the mention of Cliodhna's name. "Cliodhna McPhearson, herself...what a prize we have here," the female rasped in pleasure, "but first we have ta rid ourselves o' her hairy bodyguard." The Garou dropped the guns they had been holding and reached behind their backs, unholstering a new set of large, shiny handguns and pointing them at Amber.
Cliodhna let out a yell and sprayed the three Garou with her machine gun, causing their shots to go wild, but Amber still let out a yelp of pain. She'd been hit in the arm, and as she and her daughter looked at the wound, they saw blood sizzling and dripping from it. "Silver bullets..." Amber groaned. She picked up Cliodhna in her left arm and began running in the direction of the hotel, firing back at the Garou with her right, injured arm. Not many of her shots hit their targets under the circumstances, but it kept the Garou from having a free shot.
Squeezing the trigger again, she heard nothing but a click-- she was out of ammo. Amber threw her gun back at the persuing Garou and then began running as fast as she could, holding Cliodhna against her chest. She felt a bullet slam into her lower back, and cried out in agony. Dodging and ducking the best she could, she surprised the Garou with how quick and evasive she was, but in tunnels like these Amber was very limited in what she could do. Between breaths she whispered to Cliodhna how much she loved her, but that it was her time to die. Cliodhna tightened her grip on her mother and ordered her to stop talking like that-- not to give up-- with tears filling her eyes.
Amber felt another bullet hit her in the leg, and she stumbled and dropped Cliodhna. "Run, girl...RUN!" Amber ordered between clenched teeth as she picked herself up-- her eyes locking on Cliodhna's, overcoming her daughter's resistance with Persuasion-- and Cliodhna finally obeyed her mother and ran, and Amber turned to face the Garou. "Mother Gaia..." she murmered as more silver bullets hit her and she went down on her knees. Through a mouthful of blood she smiled and thought, "Markova, it looks like ye were wrong."
More bullets pumped into her and she finally fell forward, cheek resting on the cold floor. She saw the feet of the Garou as they ran past her to go after her daughter, but she was paralyzed and losing consciousness quickly. Then she noticed something odd-- an inky oily blackness was creeping over the walls, floor, and ceiling towards the Garou. They stopped and stared at it and began howling in fear and confusion. She watched as the black patch oozed until it completely surrounded them, and then suddenly it splashed in on them-- coating them completely-- and then there was a strong sucking noise and both blackness and Garou were completely gone. Amber's eyes closed and everything went dark as her body released her soul.
But where was she now? She heard the sound of waves crashing and opened her eyes. Her back was resting against an enormous tree, and she was sitting on the back of gigantic turtle shell surrounded by water. As she looked around, suddenly Turtle's head come up out of the water and turned to peer back at her. He looked older than the last time she saw him. "Of you I am very proud." he said in his slow, deep voice. "Rest here and wait for your friends."
Amber was filled with happiness to be back with Turtle! "Which friends, Turtle? Who's coming?" she asked in a dazed voice. Suddenly pictures flicked through her mind of Marie-Claire, Sanki, Totenmachen, Elsibeta...all the Tallons of the Shell pack. "Where am I now-- am I dead?"
"Yes," Turtle replied, head bobbing slowly from side to side. "You will not be with me for very much longer."
"Why not? What's going ta happen to me next?"
"You will pass on," Turtle smiled. "Someone will wait for you."
