For a rest day, yesterday turned out to be anything but. It had started normally enough with me visiting Kerily to see if she had any further problems with the dresses and then doing a little shopping to replace my stocks of fresh fruit, cakes/pastries, and art materials. About mid-afternoon I'd then ridden out to the pool to make the most of the afternoon sun. My stalker had appeared about 3 hours later, whilst I was exercising. I ignored her for about 15 minutes, completing the routine I was performing, and then went swimming. She waited until I was well out into the pool before making her move, swooping down and grabbing the sword before making off back towards town or at least that's where I thought she'd gone.
By the time I'd left the pool dried off, dressed, and recovered my horse there was no sign of her. I needed a means of tracking her quickly. Random had once hinted that the pattern could be used this way but he was out of commission and I wasn't his favorite person at present. I pulled out the trump deck and for want of anyone else called Llewella not expecting an answer. She answered about a minute later surprised by my call. I garbled and explanation and was then forced to explain what had happened slowly. Llewella explain that there were four ways to use the pattern to solve my current problem although one of these was beyond my current ability. This left either concentrating on the sword and shadow walking after it, a variant of the ability I'd used when looking for supplies which had led me to the Velvet Rest in Tullbranich, or using the pattern as a looking glass either to look directly for the sword or to look for disruptions to the shadow that indicated she'd left it. The last two relied on variant methods of building a representation of the pattern as I'd done both as a physical defense and a defense against magic. As with these two pattern abilities the key was in manipulating key segments of the pattern construct. Llewella had suggested checking for shadow disruptions first as the shadow had a large reality quotient due to the continued use by both members of the family and students from the Courts. She suspected that I was dealing with a young Chaosite, who'd either underestimated my abilities, didn't realize I was an Amberite, or was just cocky and didn't care what I could or could not do as they were sure they could take me. What ever happened Llewella advised me to be careful.
I took me a frustrating hour to build the pattern frame work in the manner Llewella had indicated. It was like building a 3d puzzle coated with 'Slick', I'd get half a dozen pieces assembled but when I tried to insert the locking piece they all slipped out of my grip. Having done it, though I could see why Llewella had suggested it, for in the direction of the town I could see frayed edges to the shadow, as if somebody had run through a paper screen. She had obviously run, and run fast either not caring if she was being followed or unaware she could be tracked. I climbed into the saddle and rode in the direction of the tear.
It took 3/4 of an hour of shadow walking before the ragged tears stopped and I'd crossed perhaps a two dozen shadows. I had no idea of how much effort it had cost whoever it was I was following but I was certainly feeling the effort of not only assembling the pattern in the first place but of maintaining it, and of manipulating shadow at the same time. I folded the pattern construct and focused on the feel of my sword, closing my eyes and nudging the horse forward as I did so. I rode for about 10 minutes before a solitary building appeared on the road ahead, the pull of the sword growing with each soft pad of the horse's hooves on the road.
Tying her up to the hitching post outside I went in. There were a couple of locals sat a one of the tables, and a barman slouched against the bar. He looked up as I walked in. The girl I was looking for was in the room at the top of the stairs on the left. She'd come in a little over an hour ago ragged and exhausted, paid for a room with a strange silver coin, and then crashed out. I withdrew my mind and left him to return to his daydreaming.
She'd had the sense to lock the door, which meant the sound of my breaking it down woke her, although her reactions were slowed by her exhausted state. Mine weren't much better but they were enough. Realizing she was cornered she went reptilian on me, then tried a stunning power word. For a split second I couldn't move, and had it not been for my years of martial arts training her attack would have been successful. As it was all I could do was block and roll taking her with me. It proved enough. She landed badly colliding with a chest, which knocked the wind out of her. I grabbed her head, looked her in the eye and drove in before she could recover. Frantically she tried to go primal but after my experience with Isla I knew how to cut that mental circuit. Paralyzing her I installed compulsions preventing her from either going primal, fleeing, attacking me, or shapeshifting from anything but human form until I said otherwise, then relinquished control and picked up my sword.
"Well now Miss Palrity Delaman what am I to do with you? You steal my sword and force me to chase you across shadow. Then rather than have the decency to explain yourself you try and take my throat out with one of your little razor talons. Were I one of your peers or even one of my aunts or uncles you wouldn't be sitting there now, at least not with your head on your shoulders, so the least you can do is explain yourself."
She sat there and looked at me with venom in her eyes, visibly shaking as she fought against the compulsions.
"You won't break them. I've had a very good teacher, and I only managed to break one of hers because she set it so that I could. Your psyche is not strong enough to break them no matter how much you pour your hatred into it. When you're ready to talk I shall be downstairs."
So I went downstairs and waited, ordering food and herbal tea. An hour later she still hadn't appeared and I needed a rest. I took the other room and went to sleep. I suppose it was about 4 hours later when there was a knocking at my door. It took me several minutes to wake up enough to grant entry. A rather dispirited Palrity entered. I gestured for her to sit and waited.
"I am not going to apologize for reclaiming what is ours from a thief."
"So it's not your's then. And two wrongs make a right do they? And the proof you have that it belongs to your family is?"
"It's not yours. It's ours. It was my grandfathers. An Amberite pig cheated him out of it then killed him. I'll have it back. You're dead Amberite pig."
I burst out laughing. She was so funny sitting there in her rumpled clothes, suffering under the compulsions I'd put there. "You'd so love to try and kill me again wouldn't you?" She tried to conceal it but her whole being lit up at the thought. " I'll tell you what. We'll go down stairs, and outside where you can't wreck anything, then you can slip out of those clothes you hate wearing so much, and in the form you hate as much as you hate Amber you can attempt to tan my hide. But if you fail the sword remains mine and I'll give you an experience you won't forget in a while, and your first boyfriend you'll find a major letdown."
Now it was her turn to laugh. I slipped out of bed. "Are you coming?"
Suffice to say the contest was very one sided, even when I allowed her to change to her demon for, minus the razor sharp talons. I then implanted the same engram Fiona had once used on me, except the key to stopping it was to acknowledge that the sword was mine, at least for the duration of my life time. Given she had no idea of what to expect she handled her first orgasm remarkably well. She seemed to enjoy both the second and third but by the fourth the sensation was starting to wear thin. By number six she had that pleading look, and I was beginning to feel sorry for her . At 8 I'd had enough and stopped it. "You have a stubborn streak nearly as broad as my own. You'd rather die in agony than admit you're in the wrong, so I'm going to cut you a break. The engram stays. You try anything again, and it'll start up all on its own and next time I won't stop it. Now I'm going to go and get dressed then I'm taking you back to Neraveraine. If you want to join me of an evening you're welcome to do so. Otherwise..."
So it was we arrived back, about an hour ago just as the sun crested the hills to the East. In an hour I shall have to make my way to school for the start of another week. What this brings we'll have to wait and see.
After the excitement at the beginning of the week the rest has been something of an anti-climax. I've made steady progress all week and now have greater confidence in my drawing ability. So far the highlight of the week has been the completion of both dresses by Kerily although she thinks the styles are scandelous and obscene. I'm almost tempted to wear one into school just to see what would happen. Outside of school its been quiet as well and I've seen nothing of Palrity. I've also made a little more progress wall running but haven't been able to translate this into anything more than bouncing of a tree - I'm obviously missing something somewhere.
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| Supporting Cast - Cordelia | The Keep of the Thirteenth Hour |