Darkness & Light: Book 2: Shatter Our Hope

12 - Tiber

He and Kieran and Dax are training, learning how to fight without magick. Tiber swings his blade, bringing down his sword on Dax's.  Tiber smiles at Dax as he parries the sword's blow. They dance around each other, and Kieran watches them from the sidelines.

Kieran claps when Tiber wins the fight with Dax, and Dax sighs, walking over to the sidelines and picking a water bottle up from a table. The dirt floor below Tiber's boots is dusty and dust hangs in the air from the fight.

Tiber coughs, then follows Dax's lead, going over to the table and downing a glass of water. Kieran hums as he watches the boys silently drink.

Just then, as Tiber is about to try and fight Dax once more, the back door to the house opens. Out comes Corvo, Emmeranne, and Indari.

"Indari," Kieran says, rising.

Tiber turns, looking on as Kieran walks up to Indari. They talk softly, before Kieran follows her into the house. Corvo looks at him, and Tiber nods at him.

Dax looks at them. "Where's Hayley?"

"She and Lilith are talking in the study," says Corvo.

Tiber sets down his sword and walks toward the door. But Emmeranne grabs his arm, causing him to look at her. She looks a bit nervous.

"Uh, Tiber? There's a bit more to this than we'd thought," she says. "Drecca is missing, but there's something wrong with Hayley."

"Something is wrong with her?" Tiber asks, his heart skipping a beat.

"Yes," she says. "I could sense it from the moment we met. I think she's dying, Tiber."

"What?! No, she isn't. She's not dying."

"How the hells would she be dying?" Dax asks.

"She's been poisoned by Poppy and Donovan," says Emmeranne.  "There is nothing that can be done to help, or so we'd thought...." She looks at Corvo.

"We found a way to help Hayley," he says.  "But if we do this, it might have some... unintended affects."

Dax frowns.  "What kind of affects?"

"The kind that will likely sever her from Aldrea," he says.

"And what would happen to Aldrea, then?" Tiber asks.

".... not sure," says Emmeranne. "But .... I think they would be two people, not just one."

"I thought this thing that was done to her and Aldrea couldn't be undone, though," says Dax.

"That's what we'd thought," says Corvo.  "But this particular spell would cleave them, and then, they would both be alive as two different people."

"But that choice has already been a choice, one that she rejected," says Tiber.

"Yeah, but that was before the poison was introduced to her body," Corvo explains.  "She may not realize it at the moment, but Hayley is in danger.  She needs to be healed, and that healing process will separate the two sisters. But now, we need to gather some ingredients to help."

"And if he's still alive, we need Drecca."

"Why do you need him?" Tiber asks.

"Because he will be her anchor to this world."

"Why can't I be the one who anchors her?" Tiber asks them, frowning.

The siblings exchange looks. Then, Emmeranne says, "You must anchor Aldrea, and he will do the same with Hayley"

"But why must it be Tiber and Drecca who anchor them? Can anyone do it?" Dax wonders, tapping his chin.

"No, it must be someone they have links to, like emotional ties to each other," Emmeranne explains.

"Alright, so, where do we find Drecca?" Dax asks.

"We don't know that. But Lilith and Hayley are trying to find him."

"How much time do we have?" Tiber asks, looking at them.

"Not much time, we must find him as soon as we can." Corvo looks at his sister.  "We might have an idea for how to track him. Emmeranne has scrying abilities."

"What is scrying?" Dax asks them.

"It's a magical way to track people," Tiber explains.

"Oh."

Tiber looks at them. "Okay. Well, let's scry for Drecca."