Chinook, Audience House, Mid October

    Niculai watched as Gretta unwrapped the old tome Annik had brought with her. The almost amused look on Gretta's face was no surprise. She often looked vaguely amused by those around her. Probably came from the universe giving her a heads up about what was going to happen. He had heard that Seers never knew when something was going to happen, only that it was going to. Nic figured that had to be why Gretta, like every Seer, looked like she knew something that no one else did. Nic was fairly certain he'd be amused in those circumstances. Or at least he hoped so, Mother knew there wasn't much to be amused by in the current situation.

    Nic watched Gretta closely as she unwrapped the tome. The cover had no title. Instead there was an ornate design that made people vaguely queasy if they looked at it for too long. Odd that I hadn't noticed that before, Niculai thought to himself. You'd think that would be one of the first things that someone would notice. But he hadn't noticed the design on the cover. In fact if he'd been asked he would have said that the books hard cover was completely blank.

    "Do you know what it is?" Nic asked.

    Gretta glanced at him, a smile on her lips before answering. "Yes, my Lord, I do. And I'm very curious as to how you got your hands on it."

     Nic wasn't overly surprised that Greta knew what the book was. Hell, she'd probably known long before he'd called her to meet him. She was the Seer after all. Niculai filled Gretta in on the whole situation with Annik. The only thing he left out was how he felt about her. Nic wasn't ready to even admit his feelings to himself, not yet. So telling someone else was a total no go. Besides odds were that Gretta already knew what was going on in his heart as well.

    "Next obvious question is do you know what to do with it?"

    Nic knew that she had heard the hit of hope in his voice. He hadn't wanted to admit, not even to himself, that Gretta might not be able to help him with the hot potato that Annik had dropped into his life. He was having a hard enough time admitting how often his thoughts had strayed to her since he'd met her. He'd even dreamed about Annik and wild horses wouldn't have gotten him to admit that. Not even to himself.

    Nic looked into Gretta's brown eyes and wondered if he was actually seeing small creases around her eyes or if it was merely he knew she was around seven hundred years old. Most Anvidai died between seven and eight hundred years old. Nic wasn't looking forward to Gretta's loss. She had always been there after all. Nic knew that his father, Daavi, had depended on Gretta's advice and counsel as well.

    I hope that it's only my awareness of her age that I'm seeing. Not signs of her age that I'm seeing, Nic said to himself. I wonder if another Seer has been born yet. Nic had no intention of asking though. Generally the Walkers only find a new Seer in their number in the final decades of whoever was the current Seer. Generally only long enough for the old Seer to teach the new Seer everything they needed to know to handle the dual abilities of magic and foresight. Nic was again thankful that he'd never shown either an ability for magic or any kind of foresight. I would much rather fight in the terrible winter weather that we have here than either of those in the most comfortable of settings.

    "This is the Corrupter's Dark Tome." Gretta paused for a moment before continuing. Clearly wanting to make sure she used the correct words in what she was about to tell him. "Not a copy of the the dark tome but THE Dark Tome." The capitals were clearly heard.

    Niculai' was stunned, his mind a complete blank. For what seemed to be days, all Nic could do was stare at Gretta in open astonishment. Was this really the original dark tome? The book used by the Corrupter and her people to explain the why and what-fores of being one of the Undying? The book originally used by the Corrupter to create the Undying? He'd always thought that the book was just a myth. Never in his wildest dreams, or would that have been nightmares, had he expected to see that particular book. The Undying guarded it more closely than most governments did national secrets. Considering how dangerous just a copy of that particular book was the security made sense. The Siblings had never in all the centuries since their founding had never managed to even get a copy and here he had the original.

    Nic wasn't sure how he should take this piece of news. What the hell was he going to do. How did you protect people from something this dangerous. Surely the Corrupter had a way to find the damned thing. After all she had written the thing hadn't she? All the legends about her said that she had.

    "Is it safe to be around this thing?" Nic asked, a bit annoyed at the faint quaver in his voice.

    There was good reason for the quaver to be there, handling a copy of this book was on par with trying to juggle nuclear bombs. Considering how much damage the copies could inflict, just how dangerous was the original. It was bad enough when I'd thought that this was just a copy of that legendary book, Nic thought to himself as he tried to recover from Gretta's bombshell. To find out that this IS that very mythical book is almost more than I can process.

    The look that Gretta gave Niculai was full of both compassion and understanding. She knew and understood both the quaver in his voice and the annoyance at it. Her next comment made it obvious that she was also tracking his thoughts. Not by reading his thoughts, although Nic was fairly certain that she could. No, Gretta had known him his whole life as well as having centuries of experience observing people. So her ability to read him was perfectly logical. If not annoying.

    "The Tome is safe to be around if it is kept silk wrapped and out of the hands of the gullible," Gretta said. "What you have to understand is that contrary to what the Corrupter would like everyone to think. She didn't actually write the book. She stole it. Who and what she stole it from? We have no clue. But stolen it was."

    For the second time in as many minutes Nic was completely stunned. Everything he had ever learned said that the Corrupter had written the book back before recorded history.Either that of the Anvidai or the Humans. After all if she hadn't written it, than who had. And where had it come from. For that matter how had Gretta learned this when no one else knew it. Nic just wasn't sure how to take this information. It was practically a tenet of the Anvidai faith that the original Dark Tome was written by the Corrupter.

    "But how do you know this?" Niculai asked, stammering. "Who else knows? Is this common knowledge in the Walkers? Why wasn't anyone else told." Nic was quickly going from confused to angry. His well-known temper starting to come forward.

    Gretta looked at Nic for a long moment before speaking. "Sit with me and let me tell you a story."

    The traditional words spoken before a learning story had an interesting affect on Niculai. For all that the Anvidai were a modern people and used technology readily. They used stories to teach their own culture. Nic felt his body relaxing and his anger ebbing. The change was caused not only by her words but by how she said them. The tone and inflection of her words as well as her posture. The Walkers after all were the keepers of the whole of Anvidai history. And the lesson stories was the means of teaching that history to their people. It was how it had always been done and probably always would be. Niculai was unconsciously reacting to what he heard and saw from Gretta.

    The story that followed was one that Nic had never heard before. And if Gretta was telling the truth it was unlikely that anyone, other than a very few of the highest Walker's, ever had. Apparently the only reason anyone not a Seer had ever been told was to make sure that the story wasn't lost to time. After all since there was only ever one fully trained Seer in the Anvidai at any time. Having the current Seer die before their replacement was born much less trained was a very real possibility. So to keep that from happening the Walkers, very wisely, made sure that anything the Seer knew was not only written down but was kept in the living memory of specially picked Walker's too.

       The story told of how the Mother had created the Anvidai and how her twin sister had seethed with jealousy. This wasn't anything new but Nic knew better than to interrupt. Just because a story started out in a familiar spot didn't mean it stayed familiar. Sure enough the story quickly fell into the unknown. It went on to tell how the Corrupter had sought a way to destroy her twin's creation. And before too long a way had been found. The way to destroy the thing that the Mother had created was found in the very tome that was in Gretta's lap.

    The Tome however didn't belong to the Corrupter. It had belonged to an entity that tradition called the Knowing. Although in later generations the Sages decided that maybe a better name would be Librarian. Whatever the entity was called, they had either possessed or written the Tome in the beginning times. The Corrupter was concerned that the true owner of the book would reclaim it so she used her magics to hide it. But in order to be successful she had to hide the book from her own senses as well as those of any other entities. As a result there is no way for the Corrupter to find the book magically now. Which meant as long as the book was out of physical sight then it was invisible to them.

    Apparently the Corrupter hadn't used the Ahshee to hid the Tome, the way an Anvidai would have. What had been used the tale hadn't said but whatever it was not even the Corrupter could sense it. Niculai had never heard of a magic that couldn't be sensed and tracked by the caster. The fact that the spell couldn't be sensed did answer the question of why the Tome, along with Annik and her mother, hadn't been found earlier. Something that Nic had been curious about. He'd been wondering if Annik was a trap if an unwitting one. This actually put Niculai at ease, getting rid of one of his many concerns regarding her and that book of hers.

     "So we don't have to do anything to keep the Tome safe?" Nic asked in an incredulous voice.

     "Other than making sure that the Tome is kept silk wrapped and away from anyone? No I don't think that we need to take any special actions. The Corrupter has already done the work for us when she hide the book from it's real owner. If you wish to take further safety precautions than by all means do so."

     Niculai was silent for a while. He wondered if he should bring up the mysterious real owner of this problematic book Maybe they could just return the thing and get it out of his problem list altogether. He was fairly certain that it wasn't going to be that easy. But hey, you never know and wouldn't that be a great way to spike the Corrupter's plans. And the Ashen War-Kin liked nothing more than to ruin the plans of the Corrupter and her Undying followers. Nic was starting to think it would be a great idea after all. With that thought Nic decided to ask after all. What was the worst that could happen. Gretta would say no that was the worst.

     "About the original owner," Nic started, voice hopeful. "Is there any chance that we can return the Tome? I mean it wouldn't hurt to get any entity that could create this kind of thing on our side by returning a stolen item."

    Gretta looked sorry as she answered. "I'm afraid that returning the Tome isn't really an option. And even if we could return it, the Knowing is truly neutral and wouldn't take any side in any conflict." Gretta paused as if weighing her words before she spoke them. "The Knowing isn't anything that can help us in any way in the war with the Undying. He stays out of all conflicts unless they affect hm or his directly."

    "What about destroying the damned thing. I mean if we can't give it back and we don't want the Corrupter to get her hands on it again. Maybe we should just burn it or something."

    "Unfortunately destroying the tome is even less of an option than returning it. There is no physical way for us to destroy it. It's immune to anything that we could do to it," Gretta's voice was almost apologetic as she responded to him. "All we can do is keep it wrapped in silk and away from anyone who might be tempted to try and use the thing. I have no idea how the young lady you told me about or her mother managed to stay uncorrupted. You say that the young lady was told stories from it her whole life?"

    "That's what Annik said to me at least and I have no reason not to believe her."

    "Astounding."

Outside Chinook, War-Kin Manor, Mid October

    Annik was looking around the room she'd slept in. The thing was absolutely palatial, with light pink and lavender tulle wallpaper that Annik was fairly certain was silk. Annik thought yet again that this was the finest room she'd ever seen in her life. It was better than anything she'd ever seen on T.V. even in the movies. Annik wondered what her mother would have thought of this place. The thought brought back all of her sadness at the loss. Her mother would never see this wonderful place.

    Annik felt the tears starting again. Annik's sorrow had been and still was a never ending stream. Drowning any joy she might have felt at the beauty of the building around her. It even buried the fear that bubbled underneath Annik's conscious mind. Hiding the thoughts about her future and what she was apparently going to become. Thoughts that terrified her nonetheless. The fear was an added complication to an already stressful situation. Annik so wished that her mother was here to talk to which only made her cry even more.

    There was a familiar scratching at her door. It was actually calming to hear that sound while she was so sad in this unfamiliar room. The sound of Wiket gently scratching at her door brought a small sad smile to Annik's lips. Nonetheless she hurried a bit. There was absolutely no reason to let the cat damage the beautiful door to the room she was staying in. Nor could she allow the racket that would follow if she didn't answer. After all she was just a guest of these people and it would be beyond rude to allow Wiket to damage anything here.

    Letting Wiket in Annik wondered why her landlord was so insistent that she keep the cat. After all he'd only known her for about a year. The kindness surprised her to no end. Annik never expected kindness from anyone. It wasn't that she was distrustful or expected people to be cruel or anything. It was just that moving so often throughout her life meant that she was always the stranger. Annik knew that she had little experience with having or being a friend. In her whole life the only friend she'd ever had was her mother.

    Wiket walked in like she owned the place when Annik opened the door. Typical of cat Wiket was comfortable any place she happened to find herself. Jumping up onto a four poster bed big enough to sleep a family of four. Wiket looked over at Annik and meowed. Demanding attention right now. Clearly not intending to take any answer beyond Annik coming over and doing as required. Annik gave a rueful little laugh, not really happy but thankful the cat was there. Wiket made her feel less alone and she was going to go with it. After all, sometimes it's easier to just go along with what you're told. Even if it is a cat doing the telling.

    Curled up on the huge bed Annik felt grief take her over again. All around her the beautiful room got blurry. The hated tears were back again. The sorrow was so overwhelming that even the strangeness that had happened to her over the last twenty-four hours was completely lost to her grief. All Annik could feel was the aching emptiness. Not even the chainsaw purr from Wiket really registered on Annik. Only the soul racking loss of her mother had any reality right now.

      Annik wanted to howl out her sorrow. Scream from the mountains that the most wonderful person in the world was gone and only she had noticed. The fact that only she grieved was almost as upsetting to Annik as the death itself. And somehow that made the whole thing even worse. Only Wiket seemed to share her loss and that just made Annik even sadder. People should be mourned by more than just a daughter and a cat for Gods sake. But like Annik, Ingretta had not had any friends that she had ever learned about.

    Along with Annik's sorrow was the fear that it would never end. That she would be drowning in tears for the rest of her life. She'd never felt anything like the crushing pain that filled her. There was nothing that she could compare it too. Before Annik had only had the small disappointments that many children have growing up. Nothing like the overwhelming sorrow that had filled her since her mother's death. Never had she been so alone, so caught in her own head and emotions.

    The only good thing about the sadness as far as Annik could tell was that it kept her from freaking out about everything that she had learned about her mother. And by extension about herself. For the first time since her mothers death Annik felt something other than sorrow. The new emotion that filled her blood and bones was new. An emotion that she hadn't really had any experience with.

    The only times she'd ever been angry had been at her mother was over childish things. Bedtime, what was for dinner, that kind of thing. For the first time in her life Annik felt true anger. The kind that adds metal to your bones and jet fuel to your blood. Her mother had lied to her. For her whole life she had lied to her. And if what Nic said was right, her mother had risked her life as well. Not telling her about her coming change to adulthood. All to keep the lie alive.

    The conflicting emotions were tearing her apart. Part of her wanted to scream at her mother in anger. The rest of her just wanted to scream. It was so very hard to explain to anyone. How could they understand. It wasn't like Doctor Phil had done an episode on this kind of thing. Oprah had never had someone like her mother on to explain why they lied to their only child for decades. For Christs sake how was she supposed to take this news.

   Last night Annik had been far to shell shocked to really take in the implications of the news that she wasn't a human. To terrified of the stranger in front of her to really think about what everything he was saying really meant. Today however, today she was starting to actually think about what his news meant for her. Both now and in the future. Starting to think about the lies her mother had told her for her whole life. And not really liking where her thoughts were taking her. It felt all wrong to harbor these kinds of feeling towards her gentle mother. A woman who had done everything for her child. Well, everything except tell her the truth.

    Annik could even understand her mother not telling her anything while she'd been a child. But once she'd grown, how could her mother continued to keep that kind of secret. It felt like a betrayal, like her mother hadn't trusted her to know the truth. Which, in turn, felt like a betrayal of her mothers memory. The never ending cycle made Annik feel like she was caught in a blender. Getting chopped up into smaller and smaller pieces. Until she felt like she'd been pureed into a paste. All that was needed now was bread to spread her onto.

    The anger still felt wrong to Annik no matter how justified it was. She knew that her mother had sacrificed much to keep her safe. But damn it all why hadn't her mother trusted her. That was the only reason that Annik could think of for the lies. That her mother hadn't trusted her to know what she was. Hadn't trusted her to keep it secret from her friends. Not that Annik had ever had any friends.

    And boy didn't the revelation put a different light on how they had always stayed away from people. Annik had always assumed, without being told of course, that the reason from all the moving and staying separate was because her mother had been afraid of her father finding her. And that might even be true but it sure wasn't the only reason now was it.

     Suddenly Annik felt a sharp pain on her hand. She looked down in shock at the cat. Her spinning thoughts completely stalled by what had just happened. Wiket had just bitten her. Right on the thumb, hard. The cat had never bitten her before. Not even when she'd drowned the poor thing in tears. Or when she'd held the poor thing so tightly Annik wondered how the cat had continued to breath. Never had the cat so much as complained much less taken a hunk out of her.

     Looking down at the cat Annik had the unmistakable feeling that the cat was disgusted with her. Why would that be. Was it that she'd finally gotten tired of the water works? Or was it something else. Was it her anger at her mom? But somehow neither of those felt right. It hadn't been until Annik had gotten mad at herself for being angry at her mom that Wiket had bitten her. Could that be it? Wow, that was some major anthropomorphizing going on there. Cat's don't think like people no matter what all those pet owners liked to think. Just in case though Annik decided to try to stop getting down on herself for how she felt. Not that she thought that was going to work but she could at least try.