valarltd | Grief while multiple

It's been noisy in here for a while now.

Last night we got the news that one of our oldest friends had been murdered.

The D-Man, frequent commenter, occasional antagonist, writing partner of nearly 30 years and regular fixture, is gone. He's the dark haired one.

Friend is a difficult term when there's more than one of us in here.

A loud wail came from the upper reaches of the Obsidian Tower, followed by a tremendous crash. To say Zara was taking the news badly would be an understatement. A second crash made the men standing in the courtyard jump back. The large jar shattered on the flagstones and a blackened pink thing lay in the middle of the debris.

"Her heart. She always said she had one, but kept it in a jar on the shelf," Nick said, edging a little away from it.

Michelino glowered as a very loud crash, wood this time, followed by numerous smaller ones, made David wince. "That was a book case. Right down the stairs."

"What's going to give out first?" Nick asked. "Her vocal cords, her energy or her supply of breakables?"

More shattering, more shrieking, and a loud ringing as a bronze scrying dish joined the heart on the flagstones spurred Michelino to action. "David, see to Hester. She's going to be hurting, although less dramatically." He looked at Nick. "Drive and see to Cat. I wouldn't do this when we're behind the wheel, but she's not giving me a choice."

He stroded to the walkway, an ordinary psychologist no more but a sorcerer in his own right, white and blue robes bright in the darkness. Nick kept one physical eye on the road, the other on his passenger who was experiencing a lot of psychic fall-out from the battle in his head. The third eye watched the drama unfold. David had not yet obeyed Michelino's order, and stood, smoking and watching.

"Zara!" Michelino bellowed, slamming his staff into the stone of the walkway. "Zara beht Ellanya!"'

She emerged from the tower and blew past Michelino in a blast of night-dark wind. She seized David by the lapels. "Make the world burn for me, Butcher! I want havoc rained down on that city. I want fire from the sky and no survivors in any of the miserable countries on this globe!"

David blew out a stream of smoke. "For your homophobic nightmare of a brother? I think not." He evaporated out of her hands and reappeared at Hester's bedside. Zara was left grasping air.

"You didn't know he could do that, did you?" Michelino said softly. "Zara, come to bed."

She snarled at him and hurled a fireball but the spell was weak. A ward of ice enclosed it easily, shunting it off to the side. Michelino stepped closer.

"Sleep. You are distressed. Don't make me cage you and force you into unconsciousness."

She stood for a moment and then fell to her knees with her face in her hands, the keening coming from her barely recognizable as human. Michelino stooped beside her and helped her to her feet.

"Sleep, my lady. You need to sleep." His best soothing voice kept her still long enough for him to make the teleport.

Zara raised her face and blinked. She pulled out of Michelino's arms and lashed at his face. He caught her hand.

"Zara, bed." The blue ward encased her and dropped her on the wide black canopied bed.

She struggled. "Why should I?"

"Because morning is wiser than evening and all of this will not bring him back." Michelino expanded the ward around her bed. "Do I need to cordon the whole tower?"

She shook her head, clearly at the end of her energy, her rage burned out. She lay on her side and stared at the wall.

~~~

In the car, Cat looked out the window at the railyard and the cranes. "She can't cry, can she?" she asked wiping away tears. "These aren't my feelings."

"No, she can't. 'Witches don't cry. They only leak grains of sand,' she'd say." Nick reached over and took her hand.

"So much fury and so broken-hearted," Cat whispered.

~~~

Hester lay curled on her bed, in much the same position as Zara. Her bed was canopied too, but not the shades of black and green. David pushed aside a curtain of rainbow pastels and sat on the edge.

Her big eyes were red-rimmed and wet. Her pillow, soaked through. "David, is it true what Zara was yelling?"

He stroked her long red hair, always red. "You heard the phone call, same as we all did. We'll go home and take care of himself tonight. It will be all right, dearheart."

She sniffled. "How can it be all right when my shalafi is gone? How can it ever be all right again?"

David stroked her more. "Because life continues. And I doubt he'll be gone long. A life cut short tends to cycle through the Cauldron quickly. We have Richard to love and care for. He'll need us both in the coming days."

He sat by her side and let her cry herself to sleep. Sometimes tears were the only answer.

~~~
Nick focused on getting back on the highway.
"Denn die Todten reiten schnell," he whispered, the only appropriate epitaph. "It won't be long, Zara. you'll have your twin back."

One last dance, love, through the dark. We are old now, not as old as I will become, but old enough that I am the crone. I can waltz you to the door, but you have to go first. We'll be along soon.