ADULT: Meeting Of Minds - Parts 17 & 18 of 24+
Dana Short (DanaShort@aol.com)
Mon, 17 May 2004 01:22:38 EDT
This story may be concidered PG-13 due to both the situation, and=20
the occasional use of profanity (Chapter 11) when a char was upset.
Please direct flames/comments to DanaShort@aol.com=20
Please note the story title in the subject line, or your message will=20
be lost to my SPAM filter.
Since I keep breaking up chapters, and since I will be breaking up=20
the next chapter as well, here are 2 small chapters to show I am=20
trying to keep each part to the same size (~30kb) as possible.
Legal Disclaimer: See first post, or visit the URL below for full=20
disclaimer. Just let it be known I don't own this universe.=20
Archive only according to rules mentioned in full disclaimer.=20
I hope you enjoy the story.
Fully formatted text of Chapters 1-18 available at:=20
http://www.DanaShort.com/HL-MOM.htm
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Chapter Seventeen
A Meeting
Sue awoke as Adam pulled the RV off the highway, slowing down as he=20
took the ramp for the 430 south.
=20
Looking down at her watch, she saw the time was after ten. Another=20
look outside the window showed a Motel 6, with a glowing =E2=80=9CVacancy=
=E2=80=9D=20
sign, the glowing rates offering a room for the price of $37.99 a=20
night.
=E2=80=9CWhere are we?=E2=80=9D she asked Adam sleepily.
=E2=80=9CLittle Rock. West side. I was looking for a decent place to stay,=
=20
but this was the first Vacancy sign I saw.=E2=80=9D
Sue looked over her shoulder. Patrick was asleep stretched out on=20
the couch, snoring softly. Cassandra=E2=80=99s green eyes were looking at=20
her in the dark, seeming to glow softly, like a cat=E2=80=99s. The faint=20
light from under the bedroom door was the only sign of Sally.
=E2=80=9COk. I assume we=E2=80=99ll be moving on in the morning?=E2=80=9D S=
ue asked.
=E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s the plan. I was going to recommend a seven am wakeu=
p call=20
for everyone.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s fine.=E2=80=9D She said.
Cassandra spoke up softly, so as not to wake Patrick, =E2=80=9CDo you think=20
we can get adjoining rooms?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI doubt it,=E2=80=9D Sue replied, looking back at the motel, =E2=
=80=9CMost likely=20
all they have are standard doubles and queens. No adjoining suites. =20
We might be able to get rooms next to one another. Why?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CThe Youngling. I don=E2=80=99t think it is good to leave him alone=
. Too=20
much chance for the Curse to do something unpleasant.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99ll room with him,=E2=80=9D Adam volunteered. =E2=80=9CIf=
they don=E2=80=99t have a double=20
twin, I=E2=80=99ll sleep here in the Motor Coach. He can have the front or=20
the back. Makes me no difference.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CLet=E2=80=99s see what they have available.=E2=80=9D Sue put in,=20=
=E2=80=9CBefore we start=20
making final arrangements. But thanks, Adam. I appreciate it.=E2=80=9D
Adam pulled off the highway, and the second change in speed finally=20
woke Patrick up. =E2=80=9CHuh?=E2=80=9D he said, as he rolled off the couch=
to land=20
on the floor with a soft flump-splat-thunk as he hit the linoleum.
The bedroom door opened, and Sally looked out, book in hand. Seeing=20
Patrick on the floor, she asked him, =E2=80=9CPatrick, are you ok?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m not dead.=E2=80=9D Was his only reply.=20
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The front desk informed them that they had four rooms left. One,=20
with two Queen beds, two with single queen beds, and a final one with=20
two twin beds.
Adam and Patrick took the double queen, while Sue insisted Cassandra=20
and Sally take the other two with single queens, taking the double=20
twin bed room for herself.
It was only minor mayhem for everyone to collect luggage from the RV,=20
or in Sue and Patrick=E2=80=99s case from the trunk of her car behind the=20
RV. Sue herself collected the Laptop, and her large suitcase. =20
Patrick gathered his one bag, and followed Adam, who was toting a=20
newly acquired nylon expandable duffle bag himself.
Sue found her room, dumped her bags on the first bed, slid the=20
security bolt home, and the curtains closed.
She then headed for the bathroom, stripping off her clothes as she=20
went, pausing only to wrap her hair tightly before sliding into the=20
shower.
She stood under the warm spray for quite a while, before shutting off=20
the water, drying off with a towel, and opening her bag to get her=20
sleep shirt and a fresh pair of panties out.
Putting her hair into a lose braid, she turned down the covers on the=20
second bed, shut off the light in the bathroom, called the front desk=20
to leave a seven AM wake up call, as Adam had recommended, and=20
climbed into bed, shutting off the light. It had been a long day,=20
and sleep was not long in coming.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sue was again in the shapeless place that was at the same time=20
anywhere, and nowhere.
She stood in the midst of the =E2=80=98endless room=E2=80=99, the wall visib=
le a=20
short distance away, smooth and formless, stretching into darkness=20
above, to the left, and the right. In the center was a closed door.
Sue approached the door and knocked on it.
After her third knock, the door opened a crack, and Eadgils peeked=20
out at her. =E2=80=9CWhat do you want?=E2=80=9D he asked.
=E2=80=9CTo apologize.=E2=80=9D She said.
=E2=80=9CApologize for what?=E2=80=9D he asked.
=E2=80=9CFor being such a bitch.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9COk. I=E2=80=99m listening.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m sorry I was so mad at you. I know this hasn=E2=80=99t=20=
exactly been easy=20
for you either, as you knew perfectly well, when you lost your head,=20
that was it. No more innings. Instead, you find yourself here. =20
Stuck with me. And all I did was bitch at you about it. I know this=20
wasn=E2=80=99t your fault. I know you have done your best to help give me a=
t=20
least a fighting chance. And I=E2=80=99m sorry. Please forgive me.=E2=80=
=9D
Eadgils looked at The Girl. There were tears brimming in her eyes,=20
and he could feel her sincerity in his very soul. Although all=20
things considered, it was more likely it was her soul he was=20
feeling. Whichever it was, she was sincere about the apology.
He opened the door the rest of the way, and strode on out. =E2=80=9CApology=
=20
accepted, and offered back to you in turn. I=E2=80=99m sure it isn=E2=80=
=99t easy=20
for you either, having your entire life disrupted by the ghost of a=20
dead man. I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused you.=E2=80=9D
Sue hugged him. When she stepped back, they were again in the =E2=80=9Cdojo=
=20
of the mind=E2=80=9D, and she stood before him in a plain white gi, her=20
katana held loosely in her right hand. =E2=80=9CWant to spar, Teacher?=E2=
=80=9D she=20
asked, for the first time awarding him that honor, one which after a=20
day with Patrick in her care she now truly understood.
That one question meant more to Eadgils than the apology which had=20
preceded it, and they both knew it.
He pulled his ancient sword, and they began to spar.
As they fought, Sue started to tell him about her day, =E2=80=9CAdam showed=20
up today.=E2=80=9D She started.
=E2=80=9CDeath?=E2=80=9D Eadgils said, missing a block, and getting sliced c=
lean=20
through the neck with a decapitating blow by the blade of Sue=E2=80=99s=20
Katana, the blade passing bloodlessly, but painfully through his=20
throat, leaving a line to mark its passage which gradually faded.
=E2=80=9CHe is not Death. Whatever he is or was, he is different now.=E2=
=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99ll believe that when I see it.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CYour student believes it.=E2=80=9D Sue retorted.=E2=80=99
=E2=80=9CWho, you?=E2=80=9D Eadgils asked, scoring a slice on her leg as her=
=20
attention wavered slightly.
=E2=80=9CNo, Cassandra.=E2=80=9D Sue replied, again taking advantage of his=20=
momentary=20
shock to swing her blade through his neck again, gaining yet=20
another =E2=80=98Kill=E2=80=99.
=E2=80=9CCassandra lives?=E2=80=9D he asked, his blade dropping to the mat f=
rom=20
nerveless fingers.
=E2=80=9CCassandra lives. Apparently in Scotland. She is coming along to=20
L.A. with Patrick, myself, Adam, and Cassandra=E2=80=99s Watcher.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CCassandra? How is she? I thought she was dead long ago.=E2=80=9D=20=
Eadgils=20
said, sitting down on the soft slope of the hillside under the=20
shining afternoon sun, white fluffy clouds drifting through the=20
perfect blue sky above, as slight breezes chased each other amongst=20
the fragrant and colorful flowers scattered about amongst the emerald=20
grasses.
=E2=80=9CShe is fine. She bought me a Motor Home today.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CShe what?=E2=80=9D Eadgils asked.
Sue proceeded to reiterate to him the entire day=E2=80=99s events, starting=20
with the early morning call from Joe and Mike, and running on through=20
breakfast and the fight with Cassandra, through Cassandra=E2=80=99s fight=20
with the Finance Manager, and their subsequent departure from=20
Memphis, and arrival in Little Rock.
=E2=80=9CYou beat Cassandra?=E2=80=9D Eadgils asked again, the Dojo returnin=
g around=20
them as he stood up and bent over to retrieve his sword from where it=20
had fallen.
=E2=80=9CYes. With a move you taught me. I tried one Adam taught me, but i=
t=20
didn=E2=80=99t work, she had seen it before, big surprise. But she was=20
distracted enough by my tossing my Bowie knife at her for me to sink=20
the stiletto into her heart. End-Game.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m proud of you.=E2=80=9D Eadgils said honestly. =E2=80=
=9CPerhaps you don=E2=80=99t need=20
me anymore after all.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CNo, Ed. I think I may always need you, which is good, since it=20
looks like I=E2=80=99ll always have you. One thing troubles me though.=E2=
=80=9D
=E2=80=9CWhat=E2=80=99s that, Sue?=E2=80=9D Eadgils asked, bringing his swor=
d to a ready=20
position, and starting another round of full contact combat practice=20
with her.
=E2=80=9CNo one felt your quickening in mine today.=E2=80=9D She said.
Again Eadgils faltered, and again Sue took advantage of his=20
distraction and automatically sliced his neck in what would be a=20
killing blow, were he not already dead.
=E2=80=9CWhat do you mean no one felt me?=E2=80=9D he asked.
=E2=80=9CI mean that when I compared the strength of both my quickening and=20
Patrick=E2=80=99s, they were miniscule compared to Cassandra=E2=80=99s or Ad=
am=E2=80=99s. =20
Heck, they were significantly smaller than that Douglas idiot. Which=20
makes sense if he had six heads under his belt as he claimed. But my=20
quickening should be a lot stronger than Patrick=E2=80=99s, not just=20
marginally. Shouldn=E2=80=99t it?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CYes, it should.=E2=80=9D Eadgils said, swinging back into motion.
Sue and Eadgils sparred on for what felt again like years, much as=20
they had that first night.
At some indefinable point, the feel of the landscape subtly shifted,=20
but neither one specifically noticed it. It wasn=E2=80=99t until the power=20
of a Quickening washed over both of then at once that either one=20
noticed anything was happening.
Eadgils caught sight of something, or someone moving behind Sue. A=20
familiar shape, and the sight of it again froze Eadgils, much as the=20
mention of its name earlier did.
And as before, sensing his distraction, Sue went for the end-all neck=20
shot. But even as she began her swing, a voice rang out in the=20
Dojo =E2=80=9CNo!=E2=80=9D
Sue=E2=80=99s blade followed through its course even as Cassandra=E2=80=99s=20=
scream=20
echoed around her, her blade again slicing bloodlessly through=20
Eadgils=E2=80=99s neck.
Sue was suddenly knocked off her feet as Cassandra=E2=80=99s body impacted=20
hers, and together they fell into Eadgils frozen form, all three of=20
them toppling to the mat.
Cassandra, in a panic looked at Sue, and cried, =E2=80=9CYou killed him! =20
Why?=E2=80=9D
Eadgils finally spoke, saying =E2=80=9CCassandra?=E2=80=9D
Suddenly she whirled her head around, to look at the form she had=20
previously been deliberately avoiding, the headless body of her=20
ancient teacher and lover. Only it wasn=E2=80=99t headless. Unlike the las=
t=20
time, when in Savannah she had seen the still, dead form of her=20
teacher, this time he looked entirely whole and alive.
=E2=80=9CEadgils?=E2=80=9D she asked questioningly.
=E2=80=9CYes, Cassi.=E2=80=9D He replied, reaching out and tenderly cupping=20=
the side=20
of her head.
=E2=80=9CI - I thought you were dead!=E2=80=9D she sobbed.
=E2=80=9CI am.=E2=80=9D Eadgils replied, softly. =E2=80=9CAnd I thought you=
were long gone=20
as well.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI, I had heard you got killed by, by Methos. Three thousand years=20
ago. You challenged him, and lost. I heard about it. And then, I=20
had the chance to finally take his head, and avenge you, and I, I let=20
him go, because Duncan asked me to.=E2=80=9D Cassandra was almost incoherent=
=20
as she sobbed, her head buried against Eadgils=E2=80=99s chest as he held he=
r=20
reassuringly.
=E2=80=9CHush, Cassi. It=E2=80=99ll be all right.=E2=80=9D He soothed, stro=
king her dark=20
hair.
It was night, and the stars above were shining brightly, the moon=20
glowing hugely behind faint wispy clouds, just above some distant=20
peaks. A campfire was burning between Sue, and Eadgils and=20
Cassandra. Crickets chirped, and in the distance, a wolf howled=20
faintly.
=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s ok Cassi=E2=80=9D Eadgils repeated softly over the occ=
asional crackle-
pop of pitch exploding in the fire as the logs burned.
=E2=80=9CThen, the other night, I felt you. And, I knew, I knew something=20
was wrong. I had to come. I had to. And I saw you. I actually saw=20
you this time. And I saw your body.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s all right. Calm down.=E2=80=9D Eadgils soothed, huggi=
ng her=20
again. =E2=80=9CTake a deep breath, ok? It=E2=80=99ll be ok.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CNo, it won=E2=80=99t. Because I found your watcher. I like her. =20=
She has a=20
student. Did you know she has a student already? And she died for=20
you. I liked her. But then, tonight. I felt you again. Like I did=20
before.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m here, Cassi. I=E2=80=99m not going anywhere.=E2=80=9D=20=
Eadgils said, again=20
stroking her hair.
=E2=80=9CAnd then, I found you. In the Gym. With your watcher. And she ha=
d=20
her sword. I saw her sword. And your neck. She killed you!=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CNo Cassi, she didn=E2=80=99t kill me. I=E2=80=99m already dead, I=20=
died in=20
Savannah. You were right, you saw my body. But we were wrong. It=20
wasn=E2=80=99t the end. I=E2=80=99m here, now. With Sue.=E2=80=9D Eadgils=20=
said softly.
=E2=80=9CNo! I thought you might have been. I even thought she might have=20
taken your head. I was ready to avenge you, if I had to. But no. =20
She is but a Youngling, without a single head to her credit, other=20
than her own.=E2=80=9D Cassandra explained.
=E2=80=9CPerhaps that is it. Perhaps no one can feel me because she didn=
=E2=80=99t=20
beat me. Sue didn=E2=80=99t take my head, Cassi. She died her First Death=20
trying to save my neck. Somehow though, she got my quickening. All=20
of it.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CBut, How?=E2=80=9D Cassandra asked.
=E2=80=9CI, honestly, don=E2=80=99t, know.=E2=80=9D Eadgils said slowly, as=20=
a bell began to=20
ring distantly, like the opening of a race, or a fire bell.
Cassandra looked around as the nighttime hillside faded into=20
grayness, and her teacher faded with it.
Eadgils watched as Cassandra, Sue, and the hillside faded away,=20
leaving only the bell, ringing ever louder.
Reaching out, Eadgils finally got his hand on the receiver of the=20
ringing phone. =E2=80=9CHello?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CHello, this is Tom Bodett, and I=E2=80=99d like to tell you that yo=
u've just=20
won a million dollars! Well, not really. But it is time for you to=20
get up." Came the voice from the other end. =20
Eadgils swung out of bed, brushing Sue=E2=80=99s hair out of his face, and=20
looked around the room.
The memories of the last day, reinforced by Sue=E2=80=99s retelling settled=20
in his mind, and he knew he had to meet everyone, including=20
Adam/Death and Cassi out front by the motor home at eight.
He went to Sue=E2=80=99s suitcase and pulled the bottles of Shampoo and=20
Conditioner out, along with a set of clothes, and padded barefoot=20
into the bathroom for a shower.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Forty minutes later, Eadgils headed down stairs, laptop case over his=20
shoulder, and Sue=E2=80=99s repacked suitcase thumping down the stairs behin=
d=20
him.
Passing through the lobby without pausing, he headed out to the RV. =20
When he was half way across the parking lot, he felt the telltale=20
tingling of another quickening. The door on the RV banged open, and=20
a sleepy looking Adam stumbled down the stairs, looking around. Upon=20
only seeing Sue=E2=80=99s form approaching, he looked alarmed, and started=20
searching around frantically for someone.
Suddenly he called out, =E2=80=9CSue! No! Gods, no!=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CWhat is it?=E2=80=9D Eadgils called, confused.
=E2=80=9CPlease, tell me you didn=E2=80=99t kill Cassandra last night!=E2=
=80=9D Adam said,=20
taking a step backwards towards the door to the R.V.
=E2=80=9CCassandra? No. I didn=E2=80=99t kill Cassandra last night.=E2=80=
=9D He replied. =20
Suddenly, Eadgils felt a second tingling on his mind, this time from=20
behind. Turning his head, he saw Cassi!
=E2=80=9CCassi!=E2=80=9D he called out, dropping the handle of Sue=E2=80=99s=
suitcase, and=20
ran back the way he=E2=80=99d come, laptop banging at his side.
Cassandra just stood there, just outside the lobby of the motel,=20
looking at the scene before her in shock. A closer look at her face=20
showed she had been crying.
Eadgils finally got to Cassi, and grabbed her in a tight hug, almost=20
knocking her off her feet. =E2=80=9CCassi!=E2=80=9D he cried, =E2=80=9CIt i=
s so good to see=20
you again!=E2=80=9D
Cassandra looked at him, then whispered, =E2=80=9CEadgils?=E2=80=9D
Eadgils nodded, and said, =E2=80=9CWas that you last night, in Sue=E2=80=99s=
mind?=E2=80=9D
Cassandra=E2=80=99s eyes widened, and she nodded again. =E2=80=9CThat was S=
ue=E2=80=99s=20
dream?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CWe don=E2=80=99t know. It=E2=80=99s anywhere, and nowhere. Things=
are different=20
there. But what or where it is, I don=E2=80=99t believe either one of us ha=
s=20
figured out.=E2=80=9D
Adam had walked warily over to join them, and now looked at Eadgils=20
with a quizzical expression, then suddenly his face fell. =E2=80=9CNo!=E2=
=80=9D he=20
almost sobbed.
=E2=80=9CWhat is it Methos?=E2=80=9D Cassandra asked, forgetting herself for=
a moment.
=E2=80=9CNo. Please, this is even worse than I thought.=E2=80=9D Adam said,=
reaching=20
out and gently grasping Eadgils=E2=80=99s chin, turning Sue=E2=80=99s head t=
o look=20
into her eyes. =E2=80=9CPlease, tell me you didn=E2=80=99t Channel him some=
how?=E2=80=9D=20
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=20
Chapter Eighteen
Early Morning History Class
=E2=80=9CWhat do you mean, channel?=E2=80=9D Cassandra said, looking at Adam=
in=20
confusion.
=E2=80=9COnce before, a long time ago. I had two friends. Immortals. They=20
both knew me, but they did not know one another.=E2=80=9D Adam began.
=E2=80=9CEuclopities had known me since just after I left the Horsemen. We=20
had been friends for around a thousand years by that point. Rojor on=20
the other hand was a newly Quickened Immortal. Less than thirty=20
winters in his life and not a head to his name at that time. He was=20
almost a student to me, since the mentor he had been studying under=20
had lost his head the year before. I lived along the ocean at the=20
time. My home was a reed shack, located atop some bluffs overlooking=20
the sea. I was out one day when they both decided to visit. I=20
still don=E2=80=99t know what happened in my absence, but I believe Rojor=20
concluded that Euclopities had taken Homer=E2=80=99s head, which he had. I=20
returned to find them engaged in combat, and there was nothing I=20
could do other than watch.
=E2=80=9CRojor and Euclopities fought alongside the edge of the cliff, it wa=
s=20
a sight to see, the wind blowing inland, and the waves crashing below=20
them. Then, all of a sudden the ground they were standing on gave=20
way. And as they tumbled towards the waves, Rojor apparently got in=20
a final telling swing against Euclopities. There were three=20
separate splashes in the water below, the smallest of them caused by=20
a lone head.
=E2=80=9CI never saw a sign of the Quickening. Not a flash, not a spark=20
even. Over an hour passed, before Rojor heaved his body ashore at=20
the base of the cliffs. I made my way to him, but when he spoke to=20
me, it was in Greek, not the Dutch which he had always spoken, and he=20
addressed me as though he were Euclopities, not Rojor.=E2=80=9D
Eadgils felt a cold chill run through his whole body, as Methos/Adam=20
regaled him with his tale. The parallels to him and Sue were=20
glaringly obvious.
=E2=80=9CAre you saying that somehow the older immortal replaced the young=20
one?=E2=80=9D Cassandra asked, with a glance at Eadgils.
=E2=80=9CNo, although that was what I also thought at first. Rojor truly=20
believed himself to be Euclopities. And yet, at the same time, he=20
knew things only Rojor had known before.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI know the feeling,=E2=80=9D Eadgils said.
=E2=80=9CGods, I had hoped I was wrong. I am so sorry to hear that.=E2=80=
=9D Adam=20
said, his face falling.
=E2=80=9CWhy? What more is there to the story that you haven=E2=80=99t told=20=
us,=20
Methos?=E2=80=9D Cassandra asked sternly.
=E2=80=9CFor that first day, all I could tell was that Rojor had somehow=20
obtained quite literally all that was Euclopities. All his skills,=20
his talents, his knowledge, his memories, even his personalities. It=20
was like the percentage of Rojor which was left had been diluted=20
almost out of existence by the sum of Euclopities. But the next=20
day, things had changed. It was more like Euclopities had faded.=20
Even his Quickening was no longer there. He felt no stronger than he=20
had before.=E2=80=9D
Again, Cassandra looked at Eadgils appraisingly, then turned back to=20
Adam, =E2=80=9CContinue.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CWell, we spoke long that day, and he told of his experience, how he=
=20
was quite literally possessed by the ghost of the man he had bested.=20
He was concerned that this was normal. I assured him it was not. He=20
named the process, based on the one used by the spiritualists to=20
contact the dead, he called it =E2=80=98Leiden=E2=80=99, =E2=80=98Leiden de=20=
geest van=20
Euclopities=E2=80=99 as he said, which translates into English as channeling=
=20
the spirit of Euclopities, or simply Channeling. It was as if he had=20
been possessed by the spirit of the dead, and his people had many=20
stories about this happening. He was frightened.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CSue is still here, but so am I=E2=80=9D Eadgils said, truly acknowl=
edging=20
the situation to Adam for the first time.
At that statement, Adam=E2=80=99s face fell even more, until he looked like=20
he would cry, =E2=80=9CThat was exactly what I most feared.=E2=80=9D He cont=
inued,=20
shaking his head.
=E2=80=9CFor that second day, Rojor was fine, shaken by his experience, but=20
otherwise fine. It was after the dawn of the third day that he=20
started to truly lose his mind. He awoke the next day, his=20
Quickening, like yours, again showing the presence of Euclopities.=20
But more than that, he was cursing in Greek. When I asked him how he=20
was, he looked at me as if I were a stranger, and attacked me with=20
bare fists. I fought him off, and knocked him out. When he revived,=20
he was rational again, but once more acted as though he was=20
Euclopities. Throughout that day he would pause, as though hearing=20
voices only he could here. I didn=E2=80=99t know what to make of it. Late=20
that afternoon, he started answering the silent voices, arguing with=20
himself in a dozen languages, but mostly Dutch.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CHe must have been hard to deal with like that,=E2=80=9D Cassandra s=
aid, =E2=80=9CDid=20
he get better?=E2=80=9D
A tear actually formed at Adam=E2=80=99s eye, and started to run down his=20
cheek as he shook his head. =E2=80=9CNo. Worse. The next day, he awoke=20
before Dawn, screaming in Dutch about the ghosts. =E2=80=98Ik moet de geeste=
n=20
in mijn hoofd vrijgeven! De geesten ontkom!=E2=80=99 he screamed, waking me=20
from my sleep. He grasped a rock from the earth from outside my=20
house, and pounded his head until he died, screaming all the time=20
about the ghost in his head, =E2=80=98De geesten in mijn hoofd!=E2=80=99
=E2=80=9CWhen he revived, he was if anything worse. He tried to take my=20
sword, but I fought him off. Somewhere, he got a stick though, and=20
he shoved it in his head, killing himself again. I pulled it out,=20
and he revived, to resume screaming and fighting. He had truly gone=20
mad, screaming over and over again in Dutch =E2=80=98Verhuur hen uit mijn=20
hoofd! Krijg hen uit mijn hoofd!=E2=80=99 I tied him up, and gagged him so h=
e=20
couldn=E2=80=99t scream any more or hurt himself again. His eyes were wild.=
=20
I kept him like that for almost three days, for three days I cared=20
for a genuine madman, screaming over and over about the ghosts in his=20
head, and pleading for me to somehow let them out. It was the fifth=20
morning after the fight that was the worst though. I awoke early,=20
again before dawn, but it was to silence for a change. I looked over=20
at Rojor=E2=80=99s pallet, but it was empty.
=E2=80=9CI climbed out of bed, and retrieved my sword. I could feel Rojor=
=E2=80=99s=20
Quickening at the cliff, outside the hut. I went out into the early=20
pre-dawn light, and there I found him. Somehow he had freed himself=20
from the bindings I had tied him with the night before. He must of=20
climbed down the cliff to the sea below, because he now held=20
Euclopities bronze blade in his hands. He looked at me with wild=20
eyes, and said the longest and most coherent thing he had said in=20
days, he said it in Dutch, and delivered it in a calm monotone. He=20
said. =E2=80=98Ik moet u doden om de geesten. enig je ziel kan doden de=20
geesten in mijn hoofd te doden. Ik moet u mijn vriend doden. Dood=20
alstublieft de geesten, alstublieft doodt mij.=E2=80=99
=E2=80=9CRoughly translated, he said that to kill the ghosts in his head, he=
=20
had to have my soul, to kill me. He then asked me to kill the ghosts,=20
and to kill him. Before I could respond, he attacked. It was one of=20
the hardest fights of my life, either before or since. You may have=20
heard of someone who fights like a madman, well Rojor genuinely did=20
so. He kept on long after he should have collapsed from his injuries.=20
He came close to taking my head several times. It was only the rising=20
sun which saved me, its first rays striking him in the eyes, and=20
making him pause just long enough. Long enough for me to take his=20
head.=E2=80=9D
Adam looked at Eadgils, and a second tear fell down his cheek,=20
following the track of the first, and he said, =E2=80=9CThat was my=20
experience with one Immortal Channeling another one. Pain, Madness,=20
and the end of a friend and a student, at my own hand. Taking his=20
head was the hardest thing I ever did, but what made it worse was=20
what he said, even as I began my swing. =E2=80=98Bedankt.=E2=80=99 It meant,=
Thank=20
you.=E2=80=9D=20
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=20
To be continued in part one of Chapter Nineteen - "On The Road To Yellow,=20
By Another Name", Comming 5-21
=20