A Death in the Family. Part I

Without a moment's hesitation his eyes glanced to the onyx ring set with a silver wheel, delicate looking spokes radiating in all directions.. One of his Spikards. 'Find her, conjugate necessary coordinates, initiate teleport sequence,' he thought to it, supplementing the ring with the fragments of his own sorcery spell.

'Initiating teleport in 3...2...1...' The Ring responded.

The was a small burst of light and a whoosh of air as he appeared near his twin. He anxiously whirled around to examine the welfare of his beloved sister, the Ring not extrapolating the fact that it was Sand he was checking upon. He was immediately relieved to see that she was unharmed.. His first instincts were that one of those filthy animals had broken their way into Corilaine and were even now seiging their home for some continuation of their unending malice.

Her eyes were wide, and her heart shaped face bleached white with fear. She motioned to a doorway (not her own) in a near panic.

"What is it.." And then it occured to him, "Where is the boy? Is it him? Is he alright?"

So normally cool and calculating she stood almost frozen. He finally dashed to her, and shook her. "Sand.. answer me! Where is Jayson?"

She sucked in a deep breath, and then answered him with preternaturally calm judging from her expression. "He ran to your tower to get you. Hurry Brother, please.."

"What is it," he demanded his own unease growing by the second, because he was unaware of what was happening, and because never had he seen Sand like this. His shrewd, logical sister, always so in control.. so panic striken.. "What's wrong.." He started to fire another volley of questions when it suddenly occured to him where she was standing, trying to get him to follow. Meloni's bedroom. Her seperate bedroom, but also the same that Jayson had taken to sleep in more often than his own. His future wife's room.

When they had made the announcement offical, Sand had insisted that Meloni move into Castle Tilaine. Sand had excepted his son's choice of bride good naturedly, ignoring the fact that Jayson had no intention of stopping his laying up with Meloni even for propriety's sake. But she still managed to ensure a certain amount of control over the boy, in this case it was by keeping her Heir and his future wife under her roof. Sand had actually acquired a fondness for the lass. But then, even introverted Delwin knew that one way to control a man was to control his mate. At times, he even wondered if Sand were not excessive, except Jayson's instincts invariably led him to mischief.. and to Amber.

He himself liked Meloni. She was a sweet woman, despite that fact that she was a little anxious to be the Princess of Corilaine. She doted on Jayson, and that was fine by him. One more layer to shield him from the responsibility of authority.

He shoved his way past Sand and into the room. There on the bed, covered only by a sheet lay Meloni, writhing in pain. Stray peices of Jayson's clothes lay next to the bed, and it was unmade. They must have slept in. He moved quickly and decisively to the side of her bed and sat down next to her.

"She's sick.." Sand called from the doorway, uselessly. He ignored the obvious.

Meloni's eyes were like dark sunken wells, her soft brown doe-like eyes staring at him wildly. She let out restrained moan.

"Meloni.." he called her name trying to ascertain how lucid she was. "It's me, Delwin. What's wrong.."

She looked at him as if through a haze, and quickly gave him a happy and warm smile. It gave him the shudders, because he could sense the agony coming off her in waves. "Delwin.." she murmured, "so happy..."

He turned to the doorway. "Sand, get my black bag. Medicial supplies. Have the surgery prepared." She stared at him uncomprehending. "SAND! Do it now!"

She started slightly, and nodded briskly, dashing away. The Spikard, obeying his unspoken command, started to send his senses reeling along a dozen different levels of perception. He could feel his twin tapping into trump energy. Good, she was trumping to the infirmary to get his medical bag. Sand was starting to snap out of it.

He returned his immediate preception back to Meloni. He pulled the sheet aside, for once not allowing a women's nudity or natural beauty to let him become withdrawn of hesitate.

He wasn't a young man anymore, but Bley's patient instruction came back to him. This was business, he thought to himself, I am not Delwin, now I am the magician. The magician can not allow the natural or supernatural world to distract him from his efforts. He must be whole and complete and sure of himself and what he does. There is no room for weakness, he is detached from what he does, or what is done to him. There is only him, and the task before him.. everything else is illusion. His concentration was complete.

He placed one hand above and to the right of her left breast. His other hand went for her throat.

He could feel her heart pounding louder than a drum and faster than a racehorse with his hand. The Spikard upon the hand at her throat gave him her pulse quite precisely. Dangerously fast, and her blood pressure was rocketing.

Also possible signs of internal hemmoraging, it added succinctly, I am continuing to analyze.

"Meloni.. talk to me. What happened?" He shook her gently to get her attention, and with another hand conjured a could moist cloth which he dabbed at her head. Her brow was fevered.

Her dried lips part as she struggled to speak, and he put the cloth in her mouth for just a second to give her some moisture. "Took some medicine.." she answered weakily.

"Medicine? Medicine for what?" She didn't answer. He sucked in a breath and took a firm tone. Medicine for what Meloni? I need to know.."

He was about to place his hand on her forehead and get the answer for himself when she said softly, "So I would have his baby."

He almost lost his professional magician's composure right there and then. His eyes darted about. "Where is it Meloni? Where is the medicine that you took.. Please tell me right now!"

'High levels of the following herbal reagents are in her system', the Onyx Spikard offered, listing a parade of incredients that sounded more like a raid on someone's spice garden..

Of all the Eleven, the Onyx had the closest to true sentience.
'I do not believe that any of the dosage taken should assisted in her goal. Though there is physiological evidence to suggest recent mating within the last 8 hours, plus or minus-'

'ENOUGH!' Delwin's mind thundered at the Ring. The Onyx fell silent.

Meloni gestured weakily to a small jar on her dresser. Delwin made no effort to cross the room and examine it, taking for franted the Onyx's analysis. A hodge podge of stuff that amount to natural hallucinagenic's that in small doses was relatively harmless and useless. He was more than a competant alchemist in his own right, rivaling his red-head brother in that particular field. He knew exactly what the damned herbwife.. or rather some trice damned hedge witch *thought* they were trying to accomplish with this mixture. Meloni had gone to some uneducated amatuer for a useless mixture of weeds.

In larger does, it was a fairly deadly poison. As useful as a fertility drug as a glass of water.

Why so desperate to get pregnant? Wasn't she just about to get married?

"Can't you just use a regeneration spell on her?" Sand interupted his desperate train of thought, appearing in the doorway with his bag. She quickly threw it across the room.

Without a thought, he used the Onyx to catch it telekinetically and to keep from dropping it. "She going to go into cardiac arrest any second.. this is a poison."

"Oh.. bloody hell.. how?" He didn't answer her, as he rummaged through his bag. "Why?" she asked confusedly.

There was no time to answer as shouting voices came down the hall. "MELONI!" came Jayson's anguished shout.

Delwin heard but did not allow himself to be swayed as he began to fill a hypodermic with a drug that should slow down her raging heart. 'Prepare a two person teleport,' he thought to the Onyx, '..with significant additional mass. Target destination will have to be from my memory, possibly extrapolated to a new shadow based off of conceptualized sample. I need a significantly lower time differential from this point. I will que you when I am ready.'

'Checking offered sample.. scanning..' responded the Onyx.

Unconciously he covered Meloni's naked form back up, and tied a rubber cord around her wrist. Oh, Meloni.. this poor child.. you're dying.

As if in response to his thoughts, her big brown eyes opened up and she looked dreamily at him. "Can I see Jayson Delwin? Pleeeze? I want to tell him the news.."

"Shh.. not right now Meloni.." he said, sliding the needle in her arm. "Wait till you're feeling better.." He was trying to cut her off.
"I want to tell him that we're having a baby!" She cried out.
A low gasp came from Sand. He couldn't see her, but he could only imagine her look of dismay.

Jayson was closer now, and Sand moved in the hallway to intercept him. Delwin could hear Dayelin's voice mixed in with theirs. "No, I want to see her!' He was demanding. Dayelin was trying to reason with him, while Sand was trying in vain to order him away.

'Progress?'
'Almost' responded the Onyx. Scanning Shadows was not an instant task.
'Coordinate with the Pearl. Assign to Pearl the following task, locate the following materials,' he mentally described a length of IV tubing and a solution from their infirmary. 'Teleport those materials to me now.' The Onyx was too busy, but for such a simple task, he told it to tell Sand's Spikard to do the task for him. It was easier and quicker than trying to explain all that to Sand, and having her do it. Woe to him should she discover that he could exert such an influence however, but he was confident she'd never notice under the circumstances. Jayson's anguished cries more than justified the risk.

Just as the materials arrived, Jayson burst past them, psuhing and clawing his way into the room. Tears rolled down his face, as Dayelin tried pull him back.. "I want to see her!" With a heave he practically pulled both his mother and he Consort off their feet. They were hanging on to him like a charging bull.

Damn! thought Delwin. I can barely concentrate!
"She's going to be fine, Jayson.." he said trying to sound soothing. It wasn't affective as he prepared the IV and conjured a spear-like pole whcih he jabbed through the mattress to hang it from.

"I WANT TO SEE MY WIFE!" he screamed at his uncle, his hysteria was evident. In a mortal it was tragic, in a child of the Unicorn it was dangerous.

'Got it,' stated the Onyx.
"Sister, sedate him." He hoped she wouldn't counter his order. The boy was out of his mind with grief, and even if he did get calmed down, he was capable of a half dozen desperate acts. From trumping Meloni, to appealing to outside of Corilaine for help.

Fortunately, his sister, regaining a measure of her old self complied. "Dayelin, hold him.. Jasyon, my son, you need to calm down and give us a chance." She moved matter-of-factly to the satchel. Dayelin slid in front of Jasyon to try to hold him off. The tall sidhe's arms wrapped around the Prince's chest struggling to hold him.

"What are you doing to her?!" he demanded fearfully.
"They're trying to help her Jayson,, and you're not letting them.." Dayelin breathed trying to maintain his hold.

"Remember, he doesn't have the constitution of say.. Eric.. 200 cc's ought to do it" Delwin muttered under his breath

"I may not be a surgeon, but I am a psychiatrist," she muttered under breath. A small squirt got the air out of the second hypodermic. "Yes son, I know you're upset," the pity and concern quite sincere in her voice. She grasped his sleeve and tore it open. "But you're making it difficult, and you need to relax and.." She sank the hypodermic in his arm and shot Jayson full of tranquilizer. She grabbed a chair, and pushed it towards Jayson. Finally she tenderly brushed the brown hair from his forehead and with a touch of her own mind she commanded him, <> Her son tottered towards the chair. Sighing, she glanced at Dayelin, "Hold him still for a few moments, it should start to take affect in about three minutes."

Meanwhile, by use of the Onyx, Delwin levitated the mattress with Meloni off the ground and about waist high. "Sand, I need to get her to a slow time Shadow, she's slipping away every moment." He waited only as she nodded.

'Prepare to initiate teleport sequence. I need immediate extraction back to this point, after leaving the woman. Maintain levitation at destination.'

'Even with immediate steps, with this much time differential you should still lose approximately three hours relative to this point.' the Ring answered.

'Accepted', he replied..

'Initiating teleport in 3..2..1'

He appeared on a cool arid world, majestic and beautiful under sheltering skies. It was also quite barren, except for distant mountains and rolling hills. Barren except for a floating mattress with a dying woman.

He stepped back.

'Initiating return sequence in 3..2..1'

He returned to the bedroom. He could tell it was no mid afternoon instead of late morning. Jayson was gone, as were his sister and her lover.

He walked out, and to Sand's drawing room where he hoped to find them. He was not disappointed.

She sat looking miserable in her favorite cushioned high back chair. Dayelin stood behind it, and hand on her shoulder which she patted absently. At his entrance she rose quickly and walked to him, the Sidhe following..

"Jayson?" he asked simply.

"Out like a light, he has not yet risen. Meloni?"

He sighed, "I have her in a spot where I have a little time to make some preparations. Not a lot, but I can take a breather and think this out."

"Care for a drink?" offered Dayelin.

Delwin shook his head. "Just juice, I want my wits about me.. No, give me a small shot in that."

"Brother, is what I heard correct?" Sand said after a silent moment.
Delwin paused before replying. "She was taking herbs in order to become more fertile in hopes of concieving. What she took is poisonous in large doses, which is exactly what occured. She is suffering a heart attack at the moment. Possibly hemmoraghing. I could cast a purification, which I most likely something *will* have to do.. but then still there is her current condition. The purification under conditions such as this are likely to throw her into another shock. I just don't know if she can take it." He slammed a fist into his palm. "It's not that any one condition is insolvable. I *CAN* do something about everything, but the damned problem is that she is nearly on the brink of death now. If she were an Amberite, of even Sidhe, I could take the chance much more comfortably that she'd pull through with a little luck.. But she is human, mortal, and frail. At least right now she is..." And so he explained to the both of them. He carefully outlined his options, and took suggestions from his sister on how best to proceed.

There was brief discussion if they should rouse Jayson. Let him decide, and be part of it. It was Dayelin who was the chief proponet of this point, feeling that Jayson should not be denied a role in this. However the twins were of a different mind. They were the doctors, and she was the patient. It would be one thing if Jayson had the magical skill and actual medical knowledge, but he had neither. They would let him awaken, and hear whatever news there was to hear as it was available. Sand asked Dayelin to stay with the boy.. they did argree he should not be alone.

Delwin meditated for a few hours after getting a bite to eat. He made his preparations.

He returned to the world where he had left Meloni behind, she remained there, floating still. Only seconds had passed.

Through the Onyx he cast a purification, to remove all the traces of poison from her system. Meloni lurched on the suspended mattress, her heart seizing up from the strain. The combination of the poison, the affect of the shot he had given her subjectively only a few minutes ago, and now this sudden surge of magic throughout her physiology weakened her further.

He'd expected this to happen. He prepared a spell in advance, to channel his own life force into hers.. To hopefully augment her enough to get through the next several minutes untill the drugs could stabilize her. Should that happen, he'd made arrangements to teleport to a modern emergency room in a more advanced shadow and get her checked in and prepare a suitable cover story.

The Onyx began to drain him slowly, and he felt his own strengthing ebbing and flowing into her. Full lips parted as she struggled to gasp for breath. He touched her psychically and tried to calm her raging heart. It began to work.. for a moment, and then her heart abruptly stopped. Confused, he cast about for the reason before he tried to restart it. Wasn't she getting enough strength?

'No,' the Onyx replied, 'Since there were three soul forces linked it was necessary to divide between the two receipients. There were no instructions to the contrary.'

'Three lives?' He queried.

'The unborn fetus. Approximately one and a half months.'

Oh no.. No.. this can not be.. Delwin's eyes grew wet. Damn it.. Damn this girl! She was already pregnant!

And so the War with Death was waged. Man and Spikard, struggled to coax mother and child back from Oblivion. Every attempt to correct one problem only taxed Meloni in some other respect. No matter how he attempted to supplement the cost with his own strength or that of the Spikard's, the girls body still had to do the actual work. Like building sandcastles, the tides swept them away. Seconds turned to minutes, which turned to hours.

Some wars are never won.
After composing himself, he covered her gently, doing what he could to see to it that she looked like herself. Tired and weak, he took his nephew's bride, never to be the Princess of Corilaine, to their home. There would be a funeral soon.

Delwin, as usual, kept his own council. He never did speak of his discovery. That would be too far cruel. Better to say nothing, and bear the secret alone. Much kinder to spare Jayson that terrible truth. For a few months, he kept closer to his Tower, coming out less. He'd ventured out to be a part of what transpired in this, his own world. Feeling the young woman's life slide through his fingers made him recall why he'd retreated to quiet chambers within himself.

Dayelin kept watch over the household, cancelling whatever matters might send him travelling again. At no other time in the recent history of Corilaine did the Queen's Consort exert more authority than at that time. A strange time, indeed, for his lover could be a jealous woman, both in her affection and in her authority. Dayelin had ever been the solicitous one, the advisor, the guest. But Sand did not seem to care much what happened. He knew better than anyone them that it was only temporary. As a Sidhe, he was older than the immortal twins, and he knew what time could do when given a chance. In the meantime, he rolled up his sleeves, and for the first time in a long time started making some decisions regarding what happened in Castle Tilaine. He was correct, as usual, and it was not long when Sand snapped out of her spell, and without criticism, but nevertheless firmly took possession of her home. Jayson, now he was another matter altogether. His mood was bleak despair lasting for months, and even after that only rose to a placcid melancholy. While the Sidhe Maker knew that Time could work miracles, he also knew what depths sorrow could take a man. He would sometimes stare up in concern at the young Prince's window, alarmed that one day he should seem him leap from it. But that concern was what he kept to himself.

Jayson blamed himself, and would suffer none to argue otherwise. To him, Meloni could have only sought to get with child because she feared her Prince's own reputation for infidelity and rappacious appetites. She had killed herself accidently trying to secure a love that she'd already had... and he was left behind guilt stricken, sobbing with his head on the floor, thinking that Meloni had never really believed that he'd loved her back.

He would not lift his eyes to another woman for well over a year.
His love, he considered, was a blighted thing.
But that was plain for all to see.
What did the Prince of Corilaine keep to himself?

SO IS CONCLUDED 'DEATH IN THE FAMILY' I OF III