Everyone had grown up, or had left him behind. Shane Blackthorn batted angrily at a tall weed and then scowled. That was a mistake. Elves never give their positions away by a sudden movement. He peeked back around the tree trunk and then he smiled. Corrinne and Arista hadn't seen it; they were just sitting over there in the garden talking, and he could have thrown a rock and they would have never seen where it came from. Not that he would. They were, after all, just girls. "Dumb girls!"

He eased off between the trees as Da had shown him, looking all around, watching where he placed each foot, avoiding twigs and branches that might go POP and tell an orc where he was hiding. Da had spent a whole winter hiding from orcs by himself when he was a boy. Alright, Da had been sixteen, and Shane was only half of that, but that shouldn't matter. Should it? NO! He was going to do it to! He'd live out here in the woods, and when he was bigger, he would march back into Camelot and ask to be Blackhawke's squire. He'd show them!

Thinking about Blackhawke made him stop and scowl again. Another one gone. They all either left or grew up overnight on him. Even Travis and dumb Logan. They left. And Kylan. Shane started moving again. When Da had said he had to help Uncle Corwin and that the children of Castle Amber were coming to stay until the trouble was over, Shane had been excited. Kylan was almost more a brother than cousin. He'd know what was going on and they would wait up on the wall for Da and Uncle Corwin to come back. But when Kylan finally rode into Camelot, he'd aged six years! Shane had slipped back into the woods outside the walls, not even greeting his cousin until today when he saw him talking in the firehall with Arista.

Arista. She was another girl. He tried to play with her the way his older sister Astra had played with him when he was little. And all Ari ever did was cry! He would never hurt her, but she was a girl, and maybe he shouldn't have floated her so much. He sighed, then concentrated on where he was walking again. He wouldn't have to worry about that now. He would stay out here until he had killed an orc. That would show them. He smiled. He was going to show them all he was a great warrior. It was in his blood. He ran off and chased some lightning bugs until he felt tired.

8/99


In The Blood - Part II

Something tickled his nose. He swiped once at it, shifting his head so it nestled by his arm as he pulled his blanket closer. But when it tickled again, he slowly opened his eyes. Someone was here.

"Da?"

A low laugh came from a tall cloaked figure who suddenly stepped into the clearing Shane had come to think of as his own. The boy sat up, one hand reaching under the blanket for his sling. The height of the stranger screamed "Sithryn" to Shane's mind, and the voice... "Uncle Yarrow? Is that you?" His hidden hand now closed over two stones. If it was his wicked great-uncle, he was up to no good. Ma said so.

The stranger stepped closer, now at the very edge of Shane's small campfire. "Not Yarrow, Shanevethallion. But just as much kin as he." Now he came into full view, throwing back his hood so the boy had a clear view of his face. It could have been Yarrow: the face was a copy of the Sithryn who had once tried to steal Shane. But, an old scar running from his right ear to just below the chin marred the elf's looks. Besides, it didn't FEEL like Yarrow!

Another laugh came across the fire. "So like your father. And yet so different! Boy, I am your Uncle Ashevathallion. Yarrow is my twin, but unlike him, I mean neither you or your father harm. May I sit by your fire, traveler?"

The words were formal, in the Sithryn tongue. Wayfarer's Peace! Da had taught him this, that it was a sign of peace between strangers. He scrambled to his feet, then bowed to his great uncle.

"Be welcome to my fire, stranger. May we spend this night by it in friendship, and part by dawn's light in peace."

Ashe grinned and nodded. "So let it be!" He seemed to flow into a cross-legged seat by the fire, then handed a piece of wayfarer's bread to Shane as the boy passed him the water bottle. He took a sip and passed it back. "Ianno has been teaching you the ways of the Sithryn. I am glad. I had feared, for a time, he would shut his heart off from his soul. Tell me, little one, what brings you to sleep out here in the woods alone?" He smiled, and in that smile Shane saw his Da's. His heart suddenly felt happy. If he had been older and wiser, he would have realized he was no longer lonely.

"I'm exploring! It's boring back there!" He waved his hand back towards the walls of Camelot. "Besides, there's no one there to explore with! They're all dumb girls, or dumb O`Donnells... or they grew up without me! So I came out here! I'm Sithryn from Da, and Darkwinds from my other ma. I'm almost all elf! I don't need nobody!" He stuck out his chin defiantly. "I'm a Blackthorn. It's in my blood!"

Ashe nodded as the boy finally ran out of breath. "And what of the others? What of your mother, your sister, and the boys? You may not need them. But they may need you!" He pointed to Shane's other hand, the one that had lain outside the blanket, clenched tightly against Shane's chest. "What is that in your hand?" Shane moved the hand behind his back. "Nothin'!"

"Would you put lies between us already, Shane?," Ashe chided the boy gently. "Show me." He smiled encouragingly as the boy slowly drew his arm back around and opened the fist. A stone lay there upon Shane's berry-stained palm. "It's a toadstone. My Ma left it for me. She said if she lies to me, the stone will make warts grow all over her face. Is that true?"

"Hmm. Could be a very strong talisman. Depends on who fashioned it for her."

"She said Lady Wenn. She didn't see me watching her, but she knew I was there! That's not good, right? An elf shouldn't be seen until he wants to be! Da told me!" Ashe's eyes twinkled in the firelight. "Mothers always seem to know these things. Lady Wenn, hmm? If what I have heard is true, it is very powerful magic you hold in your hand there. Seems to me that your Ma must love you very much, to risk losing her beauty like that to set your heart at ease, heh?" He watched the boy as the words sank in." She must be very sad, and very worried about you, Shane. Don't you think?" Shane nodded. His answer, when it came was so low only an elf could have heard the murmur. "Yes... "

"Then, in the morning, perhaps you might journey home, and speak with her, and let her know you are all right?" Again a nod. And then: "But she doesn't understand! I have to be here! The forest... it... it... "

"Calls to you? Aye, Shanevethallion, the call echoes in your blood as it does in all elves." The boy turned and rubbed at his eyes, unwilling to let a warrior see him weep. "What will I do?"

"That, Shane is why I have come here to share your fire this night. I have an offer for you."

"And you have a decision to make."

8/99


In The Blood - Part III

"A decision?" Shane's head tilted slightly to the left as he set his hand to his chin, leaning his arm against his knee. His eyes blinked once in the firelight. "About what?" Ashe motioned the boy to move closer. "Come... and see." He stood up, then took long strides out the firelit clearing until he reached a spot lit by moonlight. He smiled as the boy stopped beside him; Ian's stripling was already tall enough that Ashe would not have to crouch to show him what was needed. "Watch," he whispered. And reaching out, he gathered moon beams in his hand, and wove... A sudden gasp from the boy told him he had Shane's full attention. Good! Perhaps this would go as well as he'd hoped.

Ashe concentrated, weaving strands of silver light into a mirror, the working coupled with that thrill through his whole being at the beauty of what he was drawing from to fashion his magic. No matter how many times he did this, the song that coursed through his soul never ceased to amaze him. "Look, Shane! These are some of the possible futures you face. Which think you is the one you will have?" He held the moon mirror firmly at the edges, then tilted it so the boy might see its surface, silver reflection illuminating his face. Again only a gasp of awe in reply as Shane looked:

... Kylan's face... older... laughing as he splashed water at Shane at their favorite spot up by Castle Amber...
... Arista sitting at the dinner table, laughing as she told Da and Ma something she had seen or done...
... Conn and Calen... so close they were almost one soul, giggling at their older brother after their first Mindspeak to him...
... a bright lit firehall... Ma smiling as she wiped away a tear and Da standing tall beside her as he took his Squire's Oath...
... the same hall ... as he knelt again, this time to be made a knight...
... Ashe... sitting cross-legged by a stream, a patient expression on his face as he explained some working to Shane...

The boy smiled. Then Ashe whirled the mirror... and showed him the other side:

... Corinne, exploding in flash of fire as he raged at her ...
... Travis, a look of hate and fear on his face as he clutched the frog that had once been Logan O'Donnell in his hands and ran screaming away...
... Arista and the twins... turning their faces from him ...
... Ma weeping... Da gesturing sternly for him to leave their home...
... Yarrow, laughing and clapping him on the back as he stared at a crumpled body before him, Deathkiss in his hands, blood dripping down on the form that Shane frantically shut his eyes so as not to see as his uncle bent over to turn the head...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Shane... look... it's not there!"
He opened his eyes. Ashe murmured something to himself in Sithryn and brought his hands together, the moonlight seeming to pop like a bubble as he did. One hand that a moment ago held the stuff of light in its fingers reached out to gently rub his grand nephew on the head. "I did not know it would be so bad. I am sorry, blood of my blood. But these are your futures. Choose."

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In The Blood - Part IV

"Choose"

Ashe's voice was a whisper, but yet the word boomed loud as thunder in Shane Blackthorn's ears. "How? How do I choose? I don't want to be like Yarrow... I don't want to kill... kill... " His voice choked on the last word. Ashe now crouched down to gently grasp the boy by the shoulders. "Look you, my nephew! Everything is a choice! From when we choose to rise in the morn to when we go abed at night. We try to make the right choices, if we are good people. What is the choice you must make? What do you think you SHOULD do, to be the man you saw in the first vision?" He waited as Shane stood, face downwards, his fingers trembling slightly.

The two stayed in the stance for long seconds, until finally Shane looked up at his grand-uncle. "I should go home, shouldn't I? " He gave a rueful smile as the sound of the spoken words confirmed the decision. Ashe nodded. "Aye, you should. You need your family, Shane. Their love for you will help you make other decisions, and help shape you." He ruffled the boy's hair. "Now, back to bed with you. You have a trip home to make, hey?" He started to steer the lad back to the campsite, but Shane suddenly pulled away to stand and look at him with wondering eyes."I saw you! You were teaching me! Are you going to teach me how to do that? How to make things out of moonlight?"

"If you want, yes."

"Show me... please?"

"Alright, then. Stand quietly... and look... really LOOK into the moonlight. It is silver, but it is also many other colors, if you know where to look. Do you see them?"

Shane's face furrowed with concentration, then he shook his head.

Ashe chuckled."Look again. Still your soul, and look! Hm. Long and long ago, some say the gods gathered together, and looking at this world they fashioned, they parceled it out amongst the races. The mountains and the wealth thereof, they gave unto the dwarves. The land and seas they gave to men to walk and sail and farm and fish. The air they gave to the birds to soar. And then, there was nothing left for the elves. The gods spoke among themselves, but the elves were wiser, for they took the light." Ashe's voice was a low murmur, almost an incantation now.

"They took the light, to mold and weave, to dance and sing, to breathe and smile in. He smiled as a soft shape began to appear in Shane's upturned palms. "To make, and fashion, with the stuff of their souls. Oh, nobly done, Shane!"

There in Shane's hands rested a small white bird, feathers of sheer gossamer light on light. The boy smiled shyly, then lifting his arms he tossed the bird into the night air. Two sets of eyes watched as the small figure beat its tiny wings... and then as it streaked downward to plunge into the moonlit ground like a raindrop into the sea.

Ashe nodded. "Needs a little work on the wings, but nobly done, still. You'll get better."

"You will teach me?"

"Aye lad, I will. But first, you have a trip to make on the morrow, neh?"

The two moved off into the night. And one last strand of feathered moonlight twirled slowly to the ground.

8/99


In The Blood - Part V

"Shane is safe. He is on his way home"

Just that. No salutation, no signature. A simple note, on plain parchment, with good news. And written in the graceful flowing script of the Sithryn elven race.

Ian stood under a wall sconce, reading the note once more by torchlight as he leaned against the wall. There were only three... no, make that four now who spoke the tongue on this plane. And of those four, Shane was still too young to have written this. That left two others. Yarrowvathallion would never have written such a note to Ian. Especially after he had been wounded by Blackhawke the other eve in the frenzied search for Arista. That left only one. And Skye had confirmed it tonight in the firehall with a simple question: Ashe. Ashevathallion. Yarrow's twin. And the other member of that triad of souls so closely entwined they seemed to shut everyone else out.

Ian shook his head, and crumpled the note into his fist. Only one small boy had ever come between them, a half-elven bastard sired on one Midsummer's Night in deceit and revenge. And because of that boy, that triad was now forever sundered. Rowan was gone on to the Summerlands. Yarrow was still seeking his revenge on Ian. And Ashe, the uncle who had taken Ian under his wing and shown him the first lessons of magic and the Ways of Life, the uncle who had put down his sword and refused to continue the war against humans, Ashe had vanished. Although Ian occasionally could sense his favorite uncle's soul somewhere in the world, he had not seen or spoken with the elf for over twenty years.

"Has it been that long, truly, nephew? You have been amongst the humans for that long? To me, it seems you were but a child in Rowan's arms a few days ago." Out of the shadows where the walls met stepped a tall figure, clad in the green and blue colors of the Silver Rose, cloak held by a large silver brooch in the likeness of the flower the House was named after. The face, once perfection, now marked by a scar; the voice, once melodious, now rough. Ian watched as his uncle walked towards him. That, at least, was still the same. Ashe still walked with all the inherent grace and presence of the Sithryn. He came closer, then stopped only a foot away, close enough for his nephew to take in the extent of damage from that day when Ian's whole world collapsed around him. He looked until his shame at what he had done made him turn away. "No wonder you have stayed away .Uncle, I am sorry. I truly did not... "

"Saaaa. Hush. It was not your fault. You could not have known, none of us could, save for the one who planned it." Ian turned back. "And does Grandfather agree? Or does he still name me Kin-Slayer, and curse my name each sunset as he told me he would? Ah! Nevermind, Uncle. I see it in your eyes. You may have forgiven me. But he hasn't. Neither has Yarrow. He still seeks `tsi im `tsi. The Sithryn have turned their back on me."

"My father still will not speak your name, Ianno. But, he does not curse it, has not for many days. I think he has sorrow over what he has done, but pride... "Ashe shrugged. "Well, you know of Sithryn pride. Pride will not allow him to admit he was wrong. His own words hold his heart hostage, and he has not the humility to set himself free." He took a step back, giving Ian a closer inspection. "Your years have been hard on you as well. I see scars, not just on your body, but on your spirit... And I see a healing. You are part of a triad now yourself, Sithryn and human mixed with dragons soul. You have been blessed."

Ian nodded slowly. "Aye, with a brother, Corwin, and a soul mate, Skye. And children. I have children, Uncle! Shane, I take it, you have met. And two other sons, and three daughters. I am rich in my family."

"Yes, yes you are." Then Ashe stepped forwards once more, and set his hand on Ian's shoulders. "Are you too rich to add a roving uncle to your trove? I would stay awhile, and teach your children of what they carry in their soul and blood. May I?"

No words were spoken. Ian simply threw his arms around his uncle, that gesture being the only answer needed between the two. Then the younger man stood back, and in a clear precise voice recited words in Sithryn that the older had taught him so many years ago in a glade bathed in sunlight:

"Be welcomed to my home and hearth. Be welcomed to my soul, oh my kinsman."

8/99