Chapter 23

The first rays of sunlight, usually missed by most the morning after the festival opening, shown brightly upon Michael and Tera as they ran smoothly up the ancient lane making their way out of town.

Michael had risen early, the gray hued light of dawn just becoming visible and filtering into the room.

Lying on his back he stared up at the ornate 17th century ceiling. It's latticed woodwork and deep rich colors reflected its age as well as the craftsmanship which wrought it.

Valerie was curled around him on his right. Her hair splayed out like an auburn blanket on his chest, her leg over his, it's weight noticed for the sensual interplay between skin and muscle more than its weight. Her soft even breaths settled warmly on his skin, providing a unique contrast to the cool air of the stone walled room.

Tera stretched on his left, her body tensing, muscles shifting and pulling taught. She lay on her back, her leg covering his calf to shin, arm intertwined with his.

Tera's body was a few degree's warmer than Valerie's, he felt the soothing effects of it wherever there bodies touched.

Michael lay still between them. It was oddly comforting to be surrounded by them, to be able to feel the subtle differences in their bodies, to simply let the sensations and energies that they provided wash over him.

"Good morning," Tera whispered.

She had shifted to her side, her hand lying gently on his abdomen. He could feel her eyes on him even thought the soft light of dawn precluded his looking into them.

"Good morning," he said with a smile.

Shifting he moved through the spare inches that separated them and found her lips. Warm and moist they joined with his in a soft intimate coupling that lasted only a second.

"I feel like a run, care to join me?" Michael asked as he smoothly began disentangling himself from Valerie.

"Yes, a run sounds just right," Tera responded, as she slid lithely out of bed.

Michael followed her, standing and stretching his arms over his head, he wondered at how good he felt.

Yesterday had been a chaotic day, hell the last two days had both held more than their share of strange bits. But now, in this instant he felt ... good, better than he perhaps ever had. Just another strange part of a trip filled with odd feelings.

Tera stood before him, stretching out her own muscles, reveling in the simple act of feeling her body move. She watched as Michael's dark silhouette moved before her. The faint light obscured the details, but she watched with rapt attention as he moved his body, sloughing off the last kinks of sleep.

A hungry energy passed between them there in the darkness. It connected them, urging both to move towards the other, to loose themselves within its embrace.

Michael felt himself begin to stir, a low growl issuing from his throat as he rolled his neck, a smile once again on his lips.

Tera felt the familiar flush of moisture between her legs that always happened when she was close to Michael. She heard and felt the need coming from him.

'Soon, ' she thought as her hand bridged the gap between them, lying lightly on his chest for a moment. She felt his heartbeat quicken at the touch. Smiled knowing that it was she who made it so.

Pulling back her hand she moved away from him, a shadow, one moment solid the next simply an after image of movement and empty space.

The light in the bathroom came on and the water began to softly run in the background as she got ready for the run.

Michael turned to the window. The light coming up quicker now, he could see the first pale pink streaks beating back the gray of dawn. He glanced to his side. Valerie slept curled in the spot he and Tera had just vacated. Snuggled into the warmth from their bodies that lingered after their departure.

"Your turn," Tera said breaking him from his reverie.

"I'll just be a sec," he said, turning and sliding by her, looking forward to meeting the dawn on the hoof.

...

Sims watched the sleeping girl on the monitors. It had been a long night.

She had not given them any trouble when he and the nurse went in to get the blood samples.

"Elise," he said softly under his breath.

The initial work up's had been sent out to London, he had also sent a complete set to his contacts up at Credenhill. It had meant calling in a favor or two but finding out as much as they could about this woman and who she worked for could be vitally important to heading off anything else they had planned.

"She is quite an enigma," Nigel's sleepy voice said from behind him.

Without turning Sims answered, "yes, there does seem to be something ... unique about her. Hopefully we will get the intel back on her early, maybe having some knowledge about her will convince her to open up."

Nigel had slept fitfully in the security room, but at least sleep had come.

"Why don't you go get some coffee, it is probably going to be another long day." Nigel said as he walked towards the barracks to take a quick shower.

Sims looked at Elise one more time, noting how her breath came in quick shallow gulps.

'Odd for someone as they sleep, ' he thought to himself as he left the room, hoping that his mates up north had been able to come up with some information on this strange young woman.

...

Michael and Tera set a steady pace down the lane from the castle. The morning was cool but not cold. The sun had finally banished the gray blanket of dawn and the world was now bathed in warm hues of umber and pink as they made their way through town.

Their pace slowed a bit as they passed the site of the explosion.

The antique shop was in ruins; yellow tape surrounded the ancient building, providing a grotesque boundary to the destruction which lay within its perimeter.

The truck had been removed. Deep gashes from its twisting somersault crisscrossed the ancient stone pavers, some of them being dislodged completely.

Michael's hand moved out from his side and found Tera's. He grasped it lightly as they jogged on, lending a bit of support, and taking some for himself.

In minutes they were beyond the town and picked up they're pace, following a well-traveled path off the main road that lead through a small stand of oaks towards the escarpment.

"Neither you or Valerie have mentioned moving in with me," Michael stated as they crested a small hill, coming out of the copse of trees as they ran on through an open meadow.

Tera looked at him out of the corner of her eye as they ran. She was actually surprised this hadn't come up sooner.

"We haven't been ignoring the offer Michael, we simply needed some time to work out how each of us felt about it. Valerie and I have talked about it, I am sure that sometime in the next few days the three of us will have a chance to sit down and figure something out." Tera said as she picked up the pace a bit, leaving Michael a few lengths back until he adjusted to her faster stride.

"Fair enough, as I said at dinner, I only want you to be happy, I hope you both can be ... with me." He said, lengthening his own stride and pulling ahead of Tera.

Smiling she watched him for a moment, his long languid stride, the muscles in his legs stretching and compressing as he moved over the ground.

She had seen many men run, both for the simple joy of it as well as for their lives.

Tera had never seen anyone move with grace and ease Michael did. It was as if he became part of the place. Like watching an animal on its home turf, confident, secure and most importantly, connected on many levels both to himself and his surroundings.

They pulled up at the base of the high escarpment.

Both were covered in a light sheen of sweat that even the cool north wind could not get the best of. Both were breathing deeply, enjoying the exertion of the run.

The path continued up the rocky side of the limestone wall. Winding its way like a pale serpent to the jagged top and the smooth plateau above.

"Shall we?" Michael asked with a smile, as he started up setting an even pace.

Tera followed behind him as they made their way up the path. The higher they went the smaller the path became until they were forced to stop running altogether and walk the final fifty feet to the top.

Cresting the edge they were treated to a wonderful view of the plain beyond.

Rolling hills as far as the eye could see provided an interesting perspective of the places majestic size and scope.

"It's beautiful," Tera said as she slid her arm around Michaels, intertwining her fingers with his.

"It all seems so familiar," Michael said as he turned, pulling Tera along with him.

The town and castle could be seen in the distance. The morning was clear, the air crisp and bracing in a way that you only experience in the fall. Trees still held their fall colors here and there, dotting the landscape with a multitude of earth toned hues from browns and reds to mesmerizing golds and bronzes.

The castle broke the landscape. Sitting atop its defensible hill, it stood, a stalwart sentinel in the morning sun. The colorful tents of rich greens and purples laid out before it like a tapestry haphazardly thrown at its base.

The town was coming to life below them, cars and trucks moving out and through the tight lanes, bringing people from their homes, doted along the landscape, to the festival grounds.

It was a simple but powerful view. One that captured Michael for a few moments. His connection to the place deepening with each passing heartbeat.

"I love you," Michael said turning towards Tera and pulling her into a soft embrace.

He held her there, the world slowing for a moment, only the two of them and their love for each other present.

It was Michael who felt the shift first.

His grip on Tera tightened as he shifted her in his arms, his motion gently pushing her behind him as he turned.

It started as brief nudge against his consciousness, then quickly grew to a full-fledged assault, someone was trying to get into his mind.

By reflex his defenses kicked in, his mind cloaked in unseen mail. He willed it to surround Tera's consciousness as well as he completed his turn to meet whomever was the source.

"Forgive me for intruding," the man said. There was no accent noticeable, which in it's self was noticeable.

Tall, covered in a mud brown hiking cloak, the stranger could be 30 or 300.

There was an aura of feral danger coming off him in waves that was not missed by either Michael or Tera as they stood their ground in front of this unknown being.

There was a long pause; Michael noted how the man's hand flexed around his walking stick.

How his shoes were military style boots that glistened from the dew that clung to their slick surface.

That whatever his intention, there was not a positive intent behind it.

The moment broke as the stranger spoke again.

"I best be on my way, much to do, perhaps we shall meet again at the festival, good day to you both," he said with a slight bow and then he was gone, moving off with purposeful strides along the cliff face.

"We should get back," Tera said with a slight quiver in her voice as she pulled at Michael's hand, urging him towards the path.

"Yes, it is about time," Michael said. There was venom in Michael's words that Tera had not heard before.

As they started back down the path, Tera hoped she would never hear it again.

...

"Going for a run with Tera, won't be long. Love you. M"

Valerie read the note with a smile, a picture forming in her head of her mates running through dawn that gave her comfort.

'Running this early, sheesh, ' Valerie thought to herself as she stretched languidly within the warm confines of the bed.

She had slept wonderfully, slipping quickly into an enfolding sleep that found her refreshed as the bright morning light bathed the room in a golden glow.

Lying there she could feel and smell and sense her lovers.

The warmth that lingered where they had lain.

The scent of Michael, strong and masculine in the sheets.

Tera's deep musk joined and mingled with it.

The after images of their energies gently flowing around her.

Stretching, her legs parted widely under the heavy down comforter, moving from the latent warmth to the cold spots outside its range. Her hands slipping over her head, gently caressing the inlaid forms in the dark cherry headboard.

The events of the day yesterday played through her mind.

The explosion, the fear and pain, Ian's speech.

She allowed all of them to simply find their own spaces within her. Valerie found a balance within the memories, which allowed her to move beyond them, accepting the possibilities the new day held.

Valerie's hands slid from beneath the pillows. They lingered at her breasts, encircling them, feeling their weight. Fingertips found her nipples already hard, giving them a slight pinch she moaned softly envisioning the fingers were Michael's and Tera's.

Her hands slid lower, down over her warm thighs, the skin soft and supple as it traveled under her palms.

Valerie's fingertips found her center, gathering the moisture there that was almost a constant now, she playfully pulled herself open, giving her lips a gentle pinch as her warm pink center was opened to the air.

Another moan issued from her, this time a deeper more needy thing as her fingers played over clit, a drop of clear warm nectar slipped from within her folds, traveling slowly down her flesh to excite her rear.

The slow circles her fingers ran around her insistent tip brought forth the searched for sweet release.

Valerie's body moved fluidly under the blankets as the warm ripples of her pleasure made their way through her body.

Lying there afterwards, the glow of passion on her brow, she smiled at the easy release, hoping it was one of many the day may hold.

Slipping from the bed she stretched one more time and then the shower called, it promised to be an interesting day.

...

"Her name is Elise Capron," Sims began as he scanned through the email he just received from one of his mates back at Credenhill.

"Seemingly and orphan, 18 years old. The record is spotty at best. She shows up for the first time at age 12 in the government orphan's record. No parents named, nothing about where she came from or how she got into the system. She was shuffled around for a year, tried to get placed but her age was a factor. Final entry is from five years ago when social services transferred her to an orphanage in Cornwall." Sims shook his head as he finished, how could one young woman fall through so many cracks in the system.

"Well, it gives us a place to start. Give the information to one of our reference people and have them hit the ground in Cornwall see what they can dig up." Nigel said.

"Will do," Sims said with a pause before continuing.

"What are we going to do with her Nigel, she seems ... not all there? I know she was working for the opposition but she seems different somehow."

"I'm not quite sure. We will hang onto her until after the festival then we can decide. Not to worry Sims we aren't going to hurt her. I get the same feeling as you do; there is something different about this young lady. Lets get a hound on the trail and see what breaks loose from the brush," Nigel finished.

Sims picked up the phone to relay the information back to London, he watched as Elise slowly and deliberately ate her breakfast, seemingly lost, but strangely compelling.

Nigel glanced once more at the monitor before heading out to the morning briefing, two more teams had arrived and it would be a busy day keeping track of everyone as the festivals activities got underway.

...

Ian sat at his desk, the embers of a dying fire warming the hearth as he put the finishing touches to the letter he had started before dawn.

His evening with Millie had provided far more than physical release or the comforting closeness of his one true love.

It provided another step towards his destiny. Another piece of the puzzle put into place. The puzzle of a lifetime of struggle and doubt; now the grander picture clearer, only a few more pieces to place.

His signature, committed to paper with his usual classical flourish let lay another piece.

Rising, Ian turned and looked out the window of his study, the sun was low in the eastern sky. The day promised to be interesting, much to do, and little time to do it.

Placing the carefully folded letter into an envelope and writing a name on the front, Ian placed it within his safe and spun the dial.

His hand wistfully strayed to the plume of the old scribes pen that he favored, thoughts drifting to all the times he had used it. All of the signatures and notes that down through the years cataloged and marked his life.

Turning from the room he headed for the kitchen. 'Time for the day to begin, ' he thought as he closed the door to his study.

"Ah, Michael, do you have a minute?" Ian asked as Michael and Tera came into the kitchen.

The run back from the escarpment had been quiet.

Both Michael and Tera had an odd sense of foreboding since encountering the stranger on the cliffs.

"I'll go shower up," Tera said, leaning in and giving Michael a quick kiss on the cheek before retreating for the back stairs, leaving the two men alone.

"You two are up and around early, I hope that yesterdays events haven't taken too much out of you all," Nigel said in an amiable tone as he fixed himself a cup of coffee.

Michael watched the mans easy practiced motions for a moment before answering.

"Actually I feel really good, better than I should actually. When we first got here it took me awhile to get used to the ... feel of the place. But this morning I feel better than I think I ever had," Michael finished opening the refrigerator and grabbing the orange juice.

"Nogardshire is an interesting place, it effects some people more than others. How are Tera and Valerie holding up?" Nigel asked as he handed Michael a glass.

"Tera is doing well, we talked a bit on our run this morning, she seems to be fine. As for Valerie, I don't think there is too much that could keep her down for long." Michael said.

Ian regarded Michael for a moment, stretching out his senses, picking up Michaels overwhelming love for his niece and for Tera. There was also confusion, fear and an indirect sense of rage that surprised Ian.

"Hopefully today will be light and easy. There are tournaments and games, good food and laughter. It should help everyone to continue getting past yesterdays unpleasant events." Ian finished as he placed his coffee cup in the sink.