As their ship finally nears Clay, Ahuru suddenly turns to the group with a worried look on his face. "Something is wrong. Things are happening out-of-order according to Fate...Markova sent Cassius back...something happened that fulfilled a point in Markova's line of Fate." The group looks around worriedly at one another, finally asking Ahuru if he knows what has happened, but Ahuru only shakes his head and says that he does not. And on this disconcerting note, the Ulysses finally docks, and the boarding plank is lowered so the cohort may disembark.
As they look around, they notice that there aren't many Wraiths here at all. Cliodhna nods to Ray, telling him that this is his Kingdom to be in charge of talking with, and Ray nods and heads down the plank first. He approaches the harbormaster and asks where the Serpent can be found, and the harbormaster immediately nods and begins giving directions in his thick Australlian accent. Apparently they're supposed to go straight out of the city, and then once they've reached the desert, turn left and keep going. Friday suddenly runs up next to Ray and says that he's been here before, so he'll lead the cohort out of the city to the desert. Ray thanks Friday, and the group sets out.
They follow Friday through the city until they reach the desert, and then turn left and continue out. They walk and walk for what seems like hours-- and probably is-- and soon it begins to grow dark, and the group can see the lights from a small encampment somewhere far ahead of them. Ray decides to use his connection with Serpent to try to find him since they don't seem to be going anywhere where Serpent would be. Ray sits and meditates for a time, and suddenly a huge Wraith-snake appears and says that it will lead the group to Serpent.
The cohort follows the snake until they pass the small encampment they'd seen earlier, and after a while longer of walking, it's now pitch-black, and the snake tells them to make camp for the night. When Ray asks how far until they reach Serpent, the snake tells him that they will reach Serpent when he wants to be found. Ray suggests that they make some kind of circle of protection around the camp, and begins to draw a snake in the dirt in a circle around their camp. Cliodhna thinks for a moment, and then smiles. She had just learned a new level of dreamwalking that she was excited to try out, and this seemed the perfect occasion! She walks over to where Ray is bent over with his stick, and asks if he'd like a REAL snake to encircle their camp? Ray straightens up in surprise, and Cliodhna closes her eyes, and suddenly-- where Ray's drawn snake once was-- is...a real snake! A HUGE real snake! Cliodhna adds corpus to the illusion, and suddenly everyone can not only see, but hear and touch the snake, too! Even the Wraith-snake is fooled, and begins trying to curl around the Phantasm-snake!
The group starts deciding who's going to take each watch, and when Memnon volunteers for first watch, Cliodhna smiles mischieviously at him and asks if he'd like some company. Memnon grins back, "oh yeah!" Once they're alone as they others fall asleep, Cliodhna begins to tell Memnon about how her mother had visited her in her recent dream, and had told her many things about Markova...GOOD things. Memnon narrows his eyes and asks WHAT good things? Cliodhna tells Memnon about her dream, and as their watch nears its end, she tells him about how her mother had died when she blew the horn, and that his mother Sanki had actually died months before that, and Markova had come and re-righted time-- bringing both mothers back to life! Memnon's mouth falls open in surprise, and it takes him a moment to regain his composure.
Just then Brianna and Ahuru approach them to take over the next watch. Cliodhna is concerned that Memnon might think she was being fooled by her mother or Markova, so she asks Ahuru to verify the truth of the story. She re-tells eveything to Ahuru and Brianna, and Ahuru nods and says that it was all true. Cliodhna feel great relief at these words, and asks if they didn't now believe that Markova had some good in him? And to Cliodhna's surprise, they actually admit that he might! Well, that was good enough for her for now. Ahuru stops Memnon to talk to him for a moment, and Cliodhna walks over to where she and Memnon had made their bed...when her Shadow starts to speak again.
It seems rather triumphant that Cliodhna had gotten Ahuru and Brianna to admit that Markova might be good, and Cliodhna readily agrees with it. After a minute of rather painless bantering with her Shadow, Memnon finally comes over to her, and her Shadow suddenly snapps quiet. She and Memnon snuggle together on the ground, and soon fall asleep.
Cliodhna finds herself in a dream where she and Memnon are teenagers at one of the reunions-- both dressed in the attire of warriors-- only this time they have admitted their liking for one another and Cliodhna is staying put! They run up to where the adults are chatting, and see both sets of parents there-- Markova and Amber...Sanki and Two-Feathers-- and Cliodhna smiles and feels at peace.
Suddenly the happy, festive mood is interrupted as...a spectre comes running towards them! Cliodhna and Memnon draw their weapons and stand waiting, but as the spectre is about to reach them, Markova looks over as if annoyed, and with a flick of his hand sends the spectre yelping and scampering back into the woods. Cliodhna lets out a high-pitched yell and goes charging at the spectre, followed closely behind by Memnon who is changing into Crinos...when suddenly the spectre disappears-- everything disappears-- and Cliodhna finds herself standing before Ray in some empty space, back in her Wraithly attire!
Cliodhna folds her arms and narrows her eyes, asking WHY Ray had just interrupted her dream and tried to ruin it by sending in a spectre...and then completely dissolved the dream just when she and Memnon were having fun hunting the spectre?? She continues her rant by telling him that these dreams are the only peace she has-- the only moments when she's without fear and worry! Ray apologizes and says that he just wanted to see what Markova would do if confronted by a spectre in the dream. Cliodhna rolls her eyes and lets out her breath in frustration, telling him that of COURSE Markova wouldn't suddenly try to lead the spectre in one of her dreams! Ray shrugs and apologizes again, and suddenly Friday appears in the dream...with Brianna on his arm??
Cliodhna and Ray look closer, and then they can tell it's not BRIANNA-Brianna, just another one of Friday's dream-Briannas! Cliodhna tries to stifle a laugh, and then pretends to be stern as she reprimands Friday and tells him to get rid of that before the REAL Brianna sees her! Friday tries to protest, but Cliodhna stands fast, so he finally makes the dream-Brianna disappear. Cliodhna asks what Friday's doing in her dream now, and he says that he just wanted to see if she was asleep because he had a sudden idea.
Cliodhna asks what it is, and he asks what if they were able to make Markova and Ahuru or Amon come to a truce? Suddenly the scenary changes, and the three Wraiths are standing in the bar-area of Cliodhna's grandparents' tavern-- her parents standing behind the bar, laughing and making drinks for the patrons! Cliodhna looks at the unrealistic vision, and turns to Friday with hurt eyes. "What are ye talking about, Friday?" she asks. "Why did ye bring us here?" Friday continues to try to explain his idea, saying that perhaps there's a way that a truce could be made that would satisfy both leaders of the prophesies...then Markova and Amber could come to the Shadowlands and live in peace with everyone! Cliodhna tries not to get choked-up at that thought, but she still can't see how a truce could be reached, and Friday isn't really sure, himself. He just had that thought, and felt it was important to tell Cliodhna about it. She thanks him for coming to tell her, and says she'll think about how it could happen since Friday seems so adament that it could be possible.
Then Cliodhna suddenly gets a thought, and asks Friday and Ray if they've heard of the Lady of Sorrows-- also called "Little Mother" in Russia? Ray gets an excited look on his face, and says that he has just done some research on her. He explains the Russian fairy tale about her-- how she lives in a hut on fowls' legs, is called Baba Yaga, and eats little children...unless they come to her without fear and call her "Little Mother." Then he further explains that she's REALLY a very low-generation Vampire, and is extremely powerful and nasty. Cliodhna soaks in all this information excitedly, and tells Ray and Friday that this is the woman who tricked her father into feeding the flesh of his enemies to his soldiers! The woman who is responsible for who her father became...fooled into believing in a dream that wasn't true! She says that the must find this creature and destroy her, and then maybe her father will fall from her power and turn back into his old self and be saved!
Cliodhna's excitement and determination is contageous, and suddenly Ray and Friday are nodding about the plan sounding good to them, too. Ray gets the idea that maybe if they dream up the Lady of Sorrows, they could watch her fight and get an idea what they're up against! Cliodhna doesn't see how this could be a bad idea, and so Ray conjures up the book he had been reading about her, shows them the picture of her that an artist had drawn, and in moments the drawing has come to life right in front of them! All of them step back and give a start, but soon realize the flaw in Ray's plan. This is just an artists' rendering of her, and since they don't know anything about her fighting-style, they have nothing to fuel the illusion with. They pat Ray on the back and tell him that it was a good idea, and Ray makes the illusion disappear.
Cliodhna suddenly asks if she can borrow that book that Ray's holding, and he says sure and hands it to her. She tells them that she's going to read this book until she wakes up, asks them not to disturb her dream anymore, and runs up the stairs to her bedroom, closing the door. Friday looks at Ray with a naughty grin on his face, and suddenly the bar has turned into a disco filled with skimpily-dressed women! He asks Ray if he'd like to party with him, but Ray shakes his head and says their watch is coming up soon, so they better prepare to be woken up. Friday looks disappointed, but decides to stay at the disco until his dream is interrupted by Ahuru and Brianna waking them up.
The day finally dawns, and the cohort prepares to follow the snake again into the desert. Every so often they pass a village, and are noticed by some of the dwellers. At last they hear the sound of rushing water and discover an oasis with a waterfall! The group stops as Ray drinks of the water, and then bends to mix the water and dirt together to form clay. He then stands in the clay, and mentally calls out to the Great Serpent.
The group notices as a gigantic serpent suddenly slips over the top of the waterfall and slides into the water, gliding under the water until it reaches where Ray's standing. It's huge head emerges to rest right in front of Ray's, and the cohort looks on with surprise and apprehension. They're even more worried when they see both Ray and the snake slide their tongues out of their mouths, and then bite one another's tongues! Ray's face contorts in pain for a moment, and Cliodhna wonders if she should move to interfere, but holds herself still. Tongues clasped like that, the two are motionless for a time before the Serpent finally releases Ray's tongue and slides back beneath the water.
Ray says that the Serpent told him that they are to immediately fetter back to New York because there's a battle brewing, and that they need to be able to hold New York from the spectres for 2 days, and then help will arrive. The cohort looks to Ahuru for confirmation, and when he nods and says that they must leave immediately, they each quickly concentrate, and one by one they pop back to their respective fetters in New York City.
Cliodhna feels herself settle, and then looks around to see that she is, indeed, in the Irish pub in New York, and breathes a sigh of relief. Now to find the others! Cliodhna knows that Brianna, Memnon, and Ahuru all have fetters in the Met, so she runs there as fast as she can. She finds Brianna outside the Met looking worried. When she asks her what's wrong, Brianna says that all the Amenti inside look very hostile. Cliodhna narrows her eyes-- this could only mean one thing: Ahura's back. She tells Brianna that she's going in-- she has to find Memnon, and with any luck, Ahura! Brianna nods, and both women go invisible and run into the Met-- Brianna suddenly desperate to find Ahuru.
The women run inside, and Cliodhna follows as Brianna leads them to where one of Ahuru's fetters are. Suddenly they see Ahuru and Memnon running in their direction, and they quickly become visible again. "Mem-- what's wrong!?" Cliodhna cries, and both men shout, "RUN!" at the same time. This time Cliodhna knows enough to run when they say run, but before she can leap Memnon grabs her and slings her over his shoulder, continuing to run. Cliodhna watches behind Memnon as a huge Oriental dragon comes undulating down the hall towards them, and she clutches Memnon's back in fear.
The four burst out the Met followed by a throng of shrieking Amenti, but as the dragon bursts out of the opening, it flies off into the sky and disappears from view. Memnon finally puts Cliodhna down, and Cliodhna asks Ahuru what just happened. Ahuru shakes his head and says he's not sure, but it looks like Qin-Shang is actually helping New York by sending his forces to fight Markova's! Cliodhna asks if Ahura is in back in the Met, and Ahuru nods and says that she is. Cliodhna turns as if to march back in and take her on, herself, but Ahuru quickly places his hand on her shoulder and tells her that it is not her time nor place to fight Ahura right now. If Cliodhna tries to, she will surely die. Cliodhna looks very frustrated at this, but swears that when the time and place are right, she'll be ready.
The group isn't sure where Ray is, but they know that he'll be able to find them if they can find New York's army. At this point Little Italy is very close, so they decide to run there first and find out what's going on. As they arrive at Lucky's restaurant, they see Tony and the guys out front. Tony tells them that Lucky and the other Renegade leaders-- including John Collins-- have finally come to a truce, and have decided to band together to fight the spectres! The leaders are all in a secret place, but the Italians and Irish are fighting together! Cliodhna is ecstatic! Tony lets them know the city's condition: the spectres have been pushing hard from the west, and Daniel, himself, has taken Central Park. Stygians ships have surrounded the harbor so that no New York ships can get in or out, so New York is trying to hold their position and keep the spectres from pushing any further east.
Cliodhna listens to everything, and then thanks Tony for the information and says they're off to see Paul immediately. The group hurries as fast as they can to the Twin Towers and go up to see Paul, and Cliodhna puts on her leadership mask before she enters. William greets them warmly, and when Cliodhna asks about his leg, he says that the Doomslayers were able to fix it up almost as good as new! Cliodhna and the others express their joy at this good news, and tell him they're glad to see him looking so well!
Then Paul greets them with great relief to have them back at last, and asks them how their trip was. They explain about their great success with Wire, and how Wire is sending so many ships, and Paul looks genuinely excited and pleased at this. They relate how they bargained with Ivory in order to get their aid-- that now all of Harlem belongs to the Queen-- and Paul nods that this seems reasonable. They tell him about their trip to Jade, and how they discovered that Qin-Shang is actually a Malfean, and how they were held prisoner by him until a narrow escape. Paul looks extremely surprised and worried at this news, but that seems to explain why there have been so many Jadian-esque spectre-creatures in the city recently. They also tell Paul about Clay, and how the Serpent couldn't offer any men because there were hardly any Wraiths there to begin with, but that the Serpent offered the news that if they can just hold the city for 2 days, help will arrive. Paul nods in relief when he hears that help is so close, and says he hopes they'll be able to make it the 2 days.
Finally Cliodhna smiles and says that the best news of all is that Amon has been made leader of the Amenti! Paul asks what the Amenti's orders are, and Cliodhna's smile falters as she realizes...she has no idea! And she's not about to tell Paul that the reason she doesn't know is that she was killed during the coup! She tells him that she will attempt to contact Amon through the dreamworld and find out, and Paul says to let him know the minute she knows their plans. She bows her head and says she will. Paul then tells the group that their orders are to move all the men to Little Italy, and they will make their stand there. Cliodhna nods crisply, and the group is dismissed to set about their task.
The group makes its way to where the men are, and when Cliodhna flies up to give them their orders, the army immediately recognizes their once-leader and cheers, following her and the cohort to Little Italy to set up their formations. But...where is Ray??
Ray fettered back to Susan, of course, in great worry about her welfare after all the time that had passed, and all the danger he thought she was in. He finds that he and she are sitting at Susan's desk at work, when suddenly a guy walks over to Susan, smiling and holding flowers. The two make light conversation, and Ray starts getting angry. It's obvious that Susan has moved on, and is with this guy now! Ray's Shadow starts tormenting him, tempting him to kill the guy, or at least kill Susan so they can finally be together. Ray fights his Shadow the best he can, but he's already fueled with angst from finding this situation, and is only barely able to resist his Shadow's suggestions. The Shadow even offers to take Ray over and do the deed, itself, so Ray doesn't have to do it!
Ray is still able to hold strong, but not strong enough. Using his Wraithly powers, he makes the power to the building go out so Susan and this guy can't keep staring into each others' eyes. Unfortunately, this backfires as the team leader announces that because the power to the computers is out, everyone gets the rest of the day off work, and Susan's new man suggests that he and Susan go catch that movie they've been talking about wanting to see, and Susan agrees excitedly!
Ray follows the two like a soul in pergatory, and with every step his Shadow dogs him with horrible ideas for what THEY could do to this guy...AND Susan! Ray starts listening to his Shadow, but still-- despite it all-- he cannot do anything to hurt Susan.
As Susan and the guy get into the guy's car, the guy goes to start the engine, and Ray-- in a panic-- causes the key to break off in the ignition. This buys him some time to think while a locksmith is called, but by the time the car is fixed, Ray STILL has no idea what he's going to do, and all he can do is ride in the car as it pulls out and heads for the movie theatre.
As the car's going along, suddenly Ray is ripped from the car, only to find himself face-to-face with Longtooth! The two battle for a time when suddenly Longtooth looks up as if hearing silent orders from somewhere, and tells Ray that unfortunately he has to leave, but he'll see him soon...and then Longtooth disappears. Ray decides he better get back to Susan and see what's going on, but chooses to walk there so he can have time to think. By the time he reaches Susan's apartment, hours have passed, and Susan and the guy have returned from the movie. It appears that they've also eaten dinner there...and are...in...the bedroom!!
Ray walks to the bedroom with heavy feet, but he can't stop himself. He HAS to know if they're doing what he fears they're doing. When he enters the room, all his nightmares are confirmed. The guy is on top of Susan, and they're engaged in...sex. Ray can't let this go on any longer, and he suddenly runs and jumps into the guy's body, intending to make him stop and jump off of Susan, but the second he enters the guy's body, he can suddenly feel...everything...as if he were alive again. The pleasure is so strong compared to the muted sensations of the Shadowlands that Ray is stunned into insensability. His Shadow immediately sees its chance, and takes over Ray's body, forcing Ray to enjoy and be tormented by what he's unwittingly doing. Luckily Ray's able to wrest control back of his body quickly, but he's so traumatized by what has just happened to him that he makes the guy's body jump off of Susan, and then just go running naked out of the room...the apartment...and down the street.
The guy/Ray continues running until suddenly he finds himself in a very bad part of town. A gang of Black and Latin men stop and stare at this naked White guy running through their neighborhood, and quickly get in front of him, stopping him-- allowing them to surround him. The leader asks him what he thinks he's doing, and Ray answers that he's just minding his own business, trying to get out of here. The men shake their heads and laugh, and suddenly one of the men flips out a switchblade and points it at Ray.
Ray becomes outraged-- and his Shadow's whispers only add to the fuel-- and he uses his powers to suddenly rip the switchblade out of the man's hand, and turn the blade around, stabbing the man in the neck. Immediately the rest of the gang-members pull out their guns and shoot Ray. As Ray flies out of the dead boyfriend's body, Susan comes running into view, clutching a long jacket around her and screaming when she sees her boyfriend get killed. The gangmembers see her-- a beautiful young White girl wearing nothing but a jacket-- and smile as they turn to her. Ray, again, feels the anger well up within him when he realizes what these gangmembers want to do to Susan. He uses his powers for the last time to seize control of one of the gangmembers, and forces him to shoot his two remaining friends in the heads, and then himself in the mouth. Ray is, again, thrown from the body the moment it dies, and he hears police sirens begin to wail, getting closer and closer. He watches as Susan falls to her knees beside the body of her boyfriend, holding it in her arms, weeping. Even Ray's Shadow is incredulous at Ray's barberism, telling him that its way was so such simpler...so painless. Now look at Susan, crying with a broken heart! The Shadow tells Ray that he's even more heartless and cruel than IT!
Ray-- horrified at what he's done-- going running off into the night, back into New York City. It's not long before he finds the cohort standing in a group, talking about how the men should be organized. He runs up to the group looking miserable...panicked...horrified...frightened...Cliodhna asks him what's wrong, and immediately Ahuru and Brianna's Fatalism-signs begins to swirl as they read what's happened to him. Brianna gasps and puts her hands to her mouth, and Ahuru's eyes widen as he looks alarmed. Cliodhna looks from one to the other in fear, and then turns to Ray with her eyes narrowing and walks towards him, asking him if he somehow compromised their mission. Brianna quickly comes to her side and leads her away a few steps, telling her everything that Ray did. Cliodhna looks over Brianna's shoulder at Ray in surprise, but not horror. She-- unlike the others-- can comletely understand Ray's thinking and motivation...and she's not entirely unsure that she wouldn't have done the same thing were she in his place.
Cliodhna walks over to Ray, who's looking so miserable that she thinks he may do something rash, and places her hand on his shoulder, leaning in and telling him that she understands his mind and heart, and she most-likely would have done something similar in his place. Ray looks at her with deadened eyes, so Cliodhna turns to Ahuru and whispers, "I had a dream recently where I saw Ray walkin' an' talkin' happily with a...a Jadian woman. It looked like they were in love in me dream...is this a real woman? She looked so familiar!" Ahuru looks down at Cliodhna and nods, saying that yes, she is a real woman, and that if Ray could finally get himself to come to the conclusion that Susan is no longer his concern, he and this Jadian woman could have a wonderful future together.
Cliodhna asks Ahuru if she can put Ray to sleep and give him her dream so he could see this woman, and after a moment of consideration, Ahuru tells her yes. Cliodhna looks at Ray, and suddenly Ray's eyes droop, and he falls unconscious-- Memnon quickly catching him before he can fall, and laying him down on the ground carefully. Cliodhna sits on the ground and begins her meditation, and soon she's connected to Ray's mind and feeding him the dream of he and the Jadian woman. Ahuru soon appears next to Cliodhna in the dreamland, and watches everything carefully. The Jadian woman holds Ray's arm affectionately and tries to laugh, flirt and make small-talk with him, but now Ray is being played by the real Ray, and the real Ray wants nothing to do with her. The woman looks hurt, and asks Ray what's wrong-- they seemed to be getting along so well! Ray says that she shouldn't want anything to do with him...he only hurts people, and is a danger to himself and others. The woman laughs and says that she's had to hurt people in her time, and she understands danger and isn't afraid of it, but although Ray allows her to continue holding his arm and leading him down the hall, he is stiff and cold and unreceptive.
Ahuru finally ends the dream and tells Cliodhna that it isn't going to work. He turns to Ray and tells Ray how disappointed he is in him-- that Susan had found a good man who would treat her like a queen all the days of her life, and Ray had taken that all from her. Would he continue to stalk her and destroy all the men she tried to allow into her life in the future? Ray wordlessly and shamefully shakes his head no, and dropped his eyes to stare at the ground. Ahuru sighs and tells the group that Ray is so close to Oblivionating that he has no choice but to use one of the Amenti's forbidden arts. He tells Ray to look up, and with one stare of Ahuru's eyes, he sends Ray into a Harrowing.
In Ray's Harrowing, he's at a really good concert with Susan. The show's just letting out, and Susan's bugging him to take her home because she's tired of being there. Suddenly the lead singer of the band comes up to Ray and asks how Ray liked the show. Ray says that he really liked the show, and the two start talking about which songs they particularly liked. Susan rolls her eyes and tugs on Ray's sleeve, telling him that she wants to go NOW. Ray gives her a frustrated look, and tells her that they can go in a minute-- he wants to finish speaking with the lead singer. Susan gives a huff and says she'll be in the bathroom, and then turns on her heel and walks off.
Ray and the lead singer start talking about what they like to do in their spare time, and soon discover that both are into role-playing games! Then a beautiful Oriental girl walks over, and the lead singer introduces her to Ray, telling Ray that this is the drummer in the band. The two make their pleasantries, and the lead singer tells the drummer that Ray's into role-playing games, too, and the girl's eyes light up and she tells Ray how cool that is to find out! The lead singer tells Ray to come with them to an after-show party, and they'll play Ray's favorite songs there! The drummer nods her head, telling him she'd really like him to come, and Ray says that he'd love to come.
Just then Susan returns looking angrier than ever, telling Ray that they...are...leaving...NOW! The lead singer looks at Susan in surprise, and leans in to Ray telling him that he shouldn't let her treat him like that-- he should come to the party. Ray says that he's Susan's ride, so he has to take her home. The lead singer whispers that he should call Susan a cab. Ray looks over at Susan and asks her if he can call her a cab-- he's decided that he wants to go to the party with the band. Susan looks outraged, but rather than cause a scene, she says, "fine!" and flounces out of the room.
Suddenly Ray finds himself laying on the ground with the members of his cohort looking down at him in concern. Ahuru continues to hold Ray's eyes, and suddenly Ray can no longer remember loving Susan. He can remember the times they hung out and did stuff together, but she was...only a friend. Ray blinks his eyes and looks at everyone in momentary confusion as they help him to his feet. Ahuru murmurs, "I only did this because we were about to lose you, Ray. You will now be at peace. We need you more than ever now, and cannot afford to lose you. Susan was a friend, nothing more. Your heart is free to find love." Ray looks at Ahuru as if mezmerized and nods his head. "She was just a friend..."
Wraith Side-Story 15: "Amon's Confessions"