Mercy Chapter 9

“Yes, dear. Now, what are you going to do about your new friend, here?”

Faith turned to the animal, and said, “You could go home, now.”

“Home is with you.” She heard from the hellhound.

Faith concentrated, and first her wings turned back into their tattoo form, then the staff did the same forming on her right forearm, and finally a glow surrounded the hellhound and a moment later Faith had a new tattoo, this one on her left forearm.

Then she noticed something else, and she said, “Look, Mrs. Carson. There’s writing below the tattoo of the hellhound. But I cant read it.”

Mrs. Carson had a look and said, “I can, dear. It says ‘fidelis’. That means ‘loyal’.. People have often used a translation of that word as the name of their pet - ‘Fido’.”

“Fido, huh. I hope he likes the name. In the meantime, am I in trouble for leaving the school grounds?”

“Not this time, dear. Arwen came to me after you left, and explained why you had to go. And I had your friend Erica put a scrying spell on you, so we saw everything. I’m ... very proud of how you handled yourself. Showing forgiveness to that young man was ... well done.”

“Thanks. It just seemed ... right.”

“It was. Are you ready to come back to the school now? Talia will be anxious for your return, since she met me as I was arriving. It was all I could do to keep her from coming back blasting.”

“Yea. I’m ... really tired.”

“Well, lean on me.”

The two of them made it back to the school grounds, and headed for the medical building so Faith could be checked out.

Then Faith stumbled, and blacked out ...

Faith found herself in a large, warm house, and after a moment, recognised it from the dream she had the other day. But unlike that dream, the place wasn’t on fire, and she could smell something like bread being baked.

She went towards the smell, and entering a kitchen found the older woman she had seen in the previous dream.

“Just give me a moment, dear.” The woman said, and pulled out of the oven a pan filled with what looked to Faith like miniature loaves.

“There” The old woman said. “The panis can cool, while we talk.”

“Who are you? What am I doing here?” Faith asked.

“You can call me Ava, if you like dear. As for what you’re doing here, I have a gift to give you.”

“Gift?” Faith asked.

“Yes. Come, I’ll show you.”

The two of them walked to a room, and Ava opened the door.

Inside the room, Faith saw a young woman who seemed chained to a large book.

“Hello. I’ve been waiting for you.” the young woman said.

Faith recognized her voice, and said, “You were the one who told me to pick the staff, weren't you?”

“Yes. The guardians of the Book of the People have always preferred the staff.”

“This is book Brand was looking for?”

“Yes. But he never would have been able to have it. The Book only recognizes one who acts with mercy, as you did. That’s why you’re here now.”

“So I am supposed to guard this book?”

“Yes, but much more. The time has come at last where one of our people can come out of the shadows and act as beacon of hope, a defender of the innocent. To in part make up for what our people became - warriors without virtue”

“How can I do any of that? I’ve been like this for a couple of days!”

“Don’t worry. You have time to learn.”

“A year, if Brand holds to his word.”

“You can accomplish a lot in a year. Look how far you’ve come already.”

“So what do I do.”

“Take my hand.”

Faith took the girl’s hand.

Then the girl asked, “Will you take the book of the People? It has great power, but it is a great responsibility as well.”

“I will.” Faith replied.

Then the chain connecting the girl to the book vanished, and the girl sighed.

“Thank you. I can rest, now.” she said.

The girl began to fade, and Faith yelled, “Wait! I have so many questions!”

“The Book will have the answers you need” the girl whispered, and then she vanished.

Faith turned to the older woman and asked, “What do I do now?’

“Return to your world. I will be able to hold this space for you until your own power is strong enough to take over.”

Then Faith woke up, and realized she was laying in a bed in the medical building.

She groaned, and Talia came over.

“Back with us?” Talia asked.

“How ... how long was I out?”

“Just under an hour. But long enough to worry us silly.”

Then Arwen came into the room, and said, “You have two new tattoos since I saw you last.”

“Two?” I have Fido on my arm here, but ...”

“You have one on the small of your back as well. Wanna see?”

Faith nodded.

Arwen helped Faith up, and then produced a small mirror while Faith looked in the room’s large mirror. On the small of her back was a tattoo of a book being read by two fairy-size women with wings like Faith’s.

Faith smiled, and said, “Cool.”

Arwen said, “I’ve been studying about your tattoos, and I think they operate like a summoning spell. The items in the tattoos are stored until you call on them, and when you want them to, they will return to tattoo form. But this ... book, and your wings are a little different. See, the power for spells is called essence. As a magic-user, you have what’s called a well of essence to draw from to use for spells. But I think your wings are like an extra well - they store essence, and they also pull in essence to replenish what’s used.”

“So it’s kinda like having an extra fuel tank on a car?” Faith asked.

“Yes, but if you let them, they will also act like having your own gas station to refuel your tank whenever you need it.”

“And the book?”

“That I’m less sure of, but I think it is a real spell book -with spells you could learn to use, and reuse. But it might be capable of a lot more than that. You’re going to have to figure a lot of this out for yourself.”

“I guess I got a lot to learn, then.”

“Yeah. We’ll be seeing a lot of you at the magic building.”

“Well, thanks, Arwen.”

“Anytime.”

Talia said, “You look beat, Faith. Maybe you should stay here overnight?”

“No. I think I want my own bed, given the choice.”

“I’ll check with the doctor for you.”

“Thank you so much, Talia. You’ve been a fantastic friend to me.”

“Well, you saved my life today, don’t forget.’

“But you wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place if you hadn’t been my friend.”

“True. But I think you’re worth it.”

Faith smiled.

The doctor came in, gave her a quick check and cleared her to go back to her dorm, so she and Talia walked home together.

That night, Faith dreamed. In her dream, she was facing Brand again, but he was totally different. No longer consumed by hate and vengeance, he seemed free, and happy. He took her by the hand, and they flew into the sky together, as their people must have done for centuries before disaster struck.

They danced in the sky together, and then landed beside a bed.

At that moment, Faith realized they were both naked, and very much aroused. She reached out for him, and he for her, and a slow exploration of each other began. Faith was by now quite wet down below, and he was about to enter her ...

Faith woke up crying ...

To Be continued ...