Chapter the Thirty-second: Resolution.

The farmhouse became our headquarters. It was a place Bran liked, very much. The site was a crossing of many Ley Lines, a sure sign that the site was significantly protected. Iysla liked it too, the defence of the site would be unhindered by the landscape.

There were many rooms in the farmhouse as well. We all, I considered us a unit now, moved in.

Maggie, Sara and I shared one bedroom. Amy had her own bedroom next to ours.

At first, Aileen had a bit of bother with the idea of having two women sleeping together in the sexual way that Karen and Jennifer desired, but then Aiden took her to see them and she soon saw the relationship was as committed as a 'normal' one. Susan and Jon also set up their quarters in the annexe's rooms. Jon was not so happy to have Susan in such proximity to danger but realised that it was not an issue for discussion. Susan herself, seemed to have an innate ability to see the inner workings of the biological systems around her and found the life of a farm to be joyously enlivening. Besides, her newly-released power over him was stronger than the other way round and when she wanted something, he usually found himself a reason to agree.

Jacqueline and Angela took the large bedroom in the middle of the house, next to Aileen and Aiden's. On finding out about their relationship to poor Bernard and Devlin; Jacqueline effectively grovelled at Aileen's feet: asking for forgiveness for her involvement with their demise. Aileen, demonstrating her magnificent ability to say and do just the right thing, reminded Jacqueline of the real cause of the young men's deaths and that she was in essence, as far as Aileen was concerned, still a nun. It was Aileen herself, she said, who wished to receive forgiveness for her sins. Indeed, it was Aileen who brought out her family bible at the dinner table and asked Jacqueline to read for her. The poor woman was completely unable to do so, her eyes would not stop their crying.

Eventually Aileen led her, one finger tracing the words and Jacqui sobbed the verses from memory. Weeping, they fell into an embrace.

I had my own task to perform in an attempt in order to restore my spirits.

In our room, I sat in the middle of the large old bed. Sara sat beside me on my left, her legs outstretched and resting against mine. Maggie sat, with me between her legs from the side, arms around my chest, right foot on Sara's lap.

Amy was knelt on her knees at my feet. She held Valerie's jar, peering at it.

"Call for her body Danny." Amy said softly, hoping this feat was possible.

I issued the request and it was almost immediately responded to by a Sidhe voice. She would be fetched.

Amy had to move quickly to Sara's side as a rent appeared from the Sidhe realm and Valerie's sweet body was laid on the duvet cover at my feet. Her body was gently swaddled in fine chiffon. I could tell that the fragrance of Iysla was around her and that my huntress had been the one responsible for tending to the body so carefully. The delicate braids in her hair carried small flower heads and the golden hue in her face gave her the appearance of sleep. I caught a sob in my throat at the beauty of her, Sara and Amy too, sighed.

Maggie murmured a quiet "Oh," as her mind remembered the last awful time she had seen Valerie. The depression in the cloth covering Val's chest bore witness to her wound.

Bran had given me direction as to how to proceed and I carefully lifted her so that her head lay in my lap. I bent down to rest my lips on hers and felt the cold chill of her cadaver flesh. With my eyes tight closed in silent prayer to enable me to do this right, I hefted the jar onto her belly and carefully began to unscrew the lid. My words of prayer and command began to hum around all of us, resonating in the close confines of the room.

Valerie emerged from behind the seal. Not her physical being but everything that was Valerie. All her gorgeous essence spilled from the bottle and fell over the dead body underneath. Playful sparkles and sensuous streamers of desire, intelligence and innocence all flowed from their prison into her dead form.

The last vestige of Valerie dripped out of the jar and I placed it to the side and set about closing her up.

The emergence of her living being was something like a body rising from the bottom of a lake and breaking surface. One moment she was still and dead and then suddenly the face became animated and the flesh was alive.

Amy laughed, the rest of us sighed and then laughed too. It was fine.

We spent long minutes watching Valerie come back to us. At first she was groggy, like a sleeper but slowly regained more and more of herself. She knew it had been a long time but couldn't remember anything outside the curious, empty dreams she had had. She fair fell upon Amy. The need that Amy had had to see her best friend and lover again was repaid by Valerie with cheerful exuberance. Amy had been smoothing Valerie's soft hair and clear skin of Valerie's face and as Val's eyes began to take in more and more, she leaned in to kiss her gently.

"Hello Val." she whispered.

"Hi, you look glad to see me!"

That wasn't really the time for re-introductions and we all fell into a soft and gentle group caress, allowing our clothing and our inhibitions (if we had any left for each other) to fall away.

The noise of our mutual lovemaking eventually brought the others into the room and although the word 'orgy' doesn't quite capture the sweet mixture we were engaged in, I guess it gives the general idea.

By the morning, Amy and Valerie once again were the queens of that mischievously predatory sexual conduct I had loved so much before. The day was declared one to be set aside for nihilistic pleasures and we gleefully set about the 'work.' After food and drink and gentle chats and conversations between friends we fell more and more towards the carnal pleasures we wanted. By dusk of that day we began to gravitate once more towards the bedroom and set about the search for pleasures amongst us all. Valerie and Amy displayed a flair as ringmasters, giving quite inventive instructions for the pleasuring of the others. Even Susan allowed herself to be gently tugged into an orgasm by Amy's skilled fingers and Val's tongue. Valerie convinced Jon that it was a good idea to take his 'wife' from behind as they helped. I was reminded of the expression 'Spraying the Baby's head" and they both found the image to be stimulating. Susan gleefully pulled his over-rampant cock into her blossoming vagina as Jennifer and Karen set to massaging the couple, rocking together alongside us.

Not one person was left untouched by any other. Even Aileen and Aiden; the former beet red in the face, the latter sporting a bulge that boded well for his own late night exercise, came up to the side of the giant bed and received gentle kisses from us. They would not stay, Aiden explaining that youngsters like us didn't want 'old wrinklies' like them spoiling the view. We giggled at the imagery and they both hurried back to the privacy of their room.

The entrance of Angela and Jacqueline was met with an unconscious intake of breath. It was not intended with any sort of disdain but rather everyone wondered what they would think, after all their horrific experience, of the sort of sexual jamboree going on in front of them. For the first time, we felt almost a sense of embarrassment. They had been left alone in their room and had slept through most of the day. Now they waited at the threshold to the room apparently unsure what was happening.

I stood, wrapping the bedsheet toga-like about me and walked carefully to them.

I took both their hands in mine.

"We would very much like to welcome you into our group, our family. You, both of you, honour us with your presence." I smiled at them both, making sure I looked directly in their eyes and not at their bodies; they were no longer objects to be treated like meat.