The Veiled One

Chapter Twenty : No one should die on an empty stomach

Well, that gets my attention. I try to bolt upright, but it's impossible with Sibyl covering most of my body, so I really only succeed in craning my neck. As I curse and rub the sore spot with my free hand, I see Mor kneeling on the ground in front of the sofa.

"There you are," he says, a grim smile breaking out across his face. Sibyl, miraculously, is still sleeping.

"What do you mean, Lisentia's about to attack?"

"Agor went out early this morning to scout the Paladine Meadows and see if we could have the advantage there, but somehow, Lisentia was already there. She's made camp far at the other end of the meadows, and it looks like it's a big camp. But the worst part is all the weapons and armor Agor saw. She's prepared to engage us whenever we arrive. I don't know if she saw Agor, but we have to make our plans and we have to make them now. There's no time, Sylas, none at all."

I let the information filter through me for a minute. If I were Grim Volker, I'd already have come up with about ten thousand different solutions to this problem. As it is, I can't think of anything beyond the way my left arm is completely numb, with pins and needles only starting to return.

"I understand," I reply, stalling for time to think of something, anything, to tell the rest of the gods. "Just... let me wake Sibyl and dress, and we'll all be there."

Mor nods once, briskly, then frowns.

"What?" I ask, noticing the look on his face.

"Well, it's just that... Why are you two sleeping out here and not in your bedroom?"

"I'll explain later," I promise, then watch as Mor fades away into smoke. I turn to my wife and gently shake her shoulder, pushing aside her hair so that I can whisper close to the skin of her neck.

"Sibyl? Sibyl, wake up, love. We've got business to attend to."

"Does this business involve me vanishing your clothing?" she murmurs sleepily. Damn. Even while semi-conscious, she still manages to make my pulse race.

"Another time," I grin before growing serious once more. "I don't know how to say this. Lisentia's set up camp in the Paladine Meadows."

This makes Sibyl bolt upright much like it did for me. She turns to face me, her aquamarine eyes wild and her hair still snarled from sleep.

"What? When? How do you know all this? Where's Endor?"

"Hey, hey, calm down," I soothe her, clasping her wrists together and pressing kisses to their insides. "Mor just came here to tell me everything. We've got to meet in the war room as soon as we can. I have to get dressed. Can you wake Endor and explain the situation to him?"

Sibyl nods, her fingernails creeping up to her mouth. She starts to bite at them, but distractedly, as if she doesn't even know she's doing it.

We rise from the couch on unsteady legs, then make our way to the bedroom. Endor is still sleeping soundly in the bed, his hair flung out across the pillow and his nightshirt crumpled from tossing and turning. His expression is peaceful, like he's been having good dreams, which is a comforting thought right now.

While I slip into the bathroom and strip out of my clothes, I can hear Sibyl's voice murmuring to Endor in soothing tones. Then, very clearly over the sloshing of the water as I scrub my face, "I'll kill her myself! Leo taught me how to use a bow and arrow!"

I smile to myself as I wash up and comb my hair. I'm out in record time and redressing in the clothes I've been wearing since my rebirth. But there's no time to change that. After a split second's thought, I add a special accessory: my sword. I emerge from the bathroom while still strapping it on, and at the sight of it, Endor nods, like he knows how serious things have become.