Chapter One

The warm, glorious summer sun was shooting off a superb array of colors: many shades of blues, some mingled greens, and pinks and purples were most prominent, blending in a wondrous display. However, this arduous performance was wasted on those holed up in the Larkin household.

Thin and beautiful Jeri Lackey had collapsed on the beach, the strain of having retained a terrible secret for so long having broken her; she had given in and let it burst forth, and now, the entire truth was ready to pour forth.

Frantic, cloaked, eloquent Anthro paced around, wringing his hands and muttering words of assurance to himself. The man had battled an amazing past and struggled through more than most will ever dream of facing.

And then there was Makeda Saevyer, who completed the group of surprise guests. She was elderly, but very strong. However, all present feared that her strength was ebbing away, quicker than wanted or expected; a fierce blow to the stomach by a knife had knocked her unconscious. She had stopped bleeding as profusely as when the wound was fresh, but medical attention was still required immediately.

Kyara Larkin stood next to Jeri Lackey, gripping her hand and whispering soft words of assurance and sorrow. Even though she had just received a huge shock, she had quickly put that to one side to help the sobbing Jeri.

The last person in the household was Adriano Larkin, Kyara’s son. Kyara had sent her eldest son, Ket Thompson, out to fetch the doctor, and Adriano was in Ket’s bedroom.

Ket and the doctor were at the house fairly quickly. When they came in, the doctor looked about almost eagerly. For a long time, it had been reputed that Kyara and her adopted son were magical.

“Who are – ?” began the doctor but, for the first time Ket had ever seen, Kyara cut him off sharply.

“Relatives,” she turned shortly. “Come, Doctor; do not pester them with questions. Answers may be provided once you treat the actual patient. This way, in my bedroom.” She pointed and the doctor began walking towards the door. She quickly glanced at Jeri, who had stemmed her tears momentarily, and then turned towards Ket. “Go to your room, Ket,” ordered Kyara in a low voice. “Go there and watch Adriano.”

“But – ” he began to protest, feeling both hurt and confused. He wanted to listen to Jeri’s story and make sure Makeda was all right.

“Go, Ket. Please don’t question me.”

Ket sighed, his shoulders sagging. Even though he wanted to stay in all of the excitement, he knew he had to listen to what Kyara told him to do. Her voice was gentle but firm, and Ket trusted her judgment.

He turned around and strolled into his bedroom, where Adriano was, looking fascinated by Ket’s toy box. The older boy hadn’t used it for many years, despite the fact that it was in his room. The disuse was probably due to the fact that he had spent very little time in this home over the past three years.

“How are you, Adriano?” murmured Ket, reaching out instinctively for the baby’s dark hair. He placed a hand on top of Adriano’s head, wondering whether or not he had inherited the power of calming down a being simply by placing his hand on their head.

Outside of Ket’s bedroom was a whole other ordeal. The doctor was tending to Makeda Saevyer, and Kyara was tending to Jeri Lackey.

“You’re Miss Lackey, aren’t you?”

Jeri nodded, wiping away her tears. She took several deep breaths, trying to compose herself. “Y-yes, I am.”

“Do you feel comfortable talking to me, or would you rather tell Mrs. Saevyer?”

Jeri seemed to hesitate, slowly shrugging. “Frankly…it isn’t easy to talk to anybody about this, especially M-Makeda.”

“Why’s that?” whispered Kyara. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to; I’m here to help, though. I heard some of what you said…and, well, while I cannot say truthfully I know how you feel, I do know that you are being very strong by surviving all of this.”

“I know that they’ll have to be…well…” Jeri shook her head, leaving the empty space there for Kyara to imagine. “I know that that’s going to have to happen, but I cannot stand that thought. I know it must happen, but I—I don’t want it to happen!”

“You say ‘they’,” noted Kyara. “Do you have…do you have more than one?”

“I had five,” explained Jeri. “Maybe I ought to start from the beginning…I mean – sorry to be so blunt, but – if you told anybody, it would not matter…” She sighed heavily. “I was captured when I was fourteen-years-old. At first, it was just basic torture – well, basic for Manumos. Magical spells to make me go insane. They didn’t really work, obviously, because I’m mainly sane now…” Jeri laughed wryly, but instantly quelled it. She glanced around at the bedroom door. “I must let Makeda know. She deserves to know. It was my fault, after all…my fault that her son died.”

Kyara was stunned by this information, but quickly recovered. “Makeda’s ill and there’s a doctor with her. He’s, uh, uninformed about these events. He’s merely a human.”

Jeri gave Kyara a long, scrutinizing look. After a few moments, she observed, “You’re not human, are you?”

If this remark had come from anyone else, or had been given at any other time, she might have felt insulted. Instead, Kyara felt a smile form. “No,” replied she, “I suppose I’m not.”

“We knew it,” whispered Jeri. “Makeda, me, and Yokani – Yokani Vim, that is; he’s our friend on the High Council. You’ve got Miringa blood. What is it you’re good at making? Wooden figurines? Yes, well, I suppose part of that is due to an innate ability for haiyakala.”

“But…Ket told me that that was the hardest type of magic to learn,” recalled Kyara quizzically. “Let’s not concentrate on that now, though. We can talk about it in front of Ket, because it concerns him, I think. I—I think you ought to continue you story. Ket might get impatience, and I figured that you would not want to tell it in front of him.”

“Thank you,” whispered Jeri. “He is so young, it seems. He should not have to know of these horrors…” She laughed mirthlessly. “I say this, but he is only a year junior the age I was when I had Rukaron…” She paused, lost in memories. “Yes, well, anyways, back to my tale.” She sighed heavily, and then opened her mouth to begin the long oppressed secret of Jeri Lackey.

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Here is Book Five! I put a map of Ket-Ket's world up on DeviantArt, so you can look at it if you want.

Sorry this is up a day later than I said. FictionPress wasn't working yesterday.

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