Stepping out, they were greeted by an absolutely magical sight. They had come out onto a cliff that stretched on for an eternity, jagged and beautiful with bright green grass covering the hills. The water was a deep, dark blue and as they turned, they found an enormous castle not too far in the distance behind them, broken and fractured.
Lifting her brows, she looked to daemon who smiled but he didn't speak, instead he clutched her hand and pulled her along while the others straggled along behind, staring around in wonder.
She had never seen a place that was so perfectly green, never seen water so beautifully dark and she wanted to stay there for a time and simply admire it.
How could the creators want to bring down something that was so lovely? She didn't know, but it was beautiful.
The castle would have been magnificent when it was standing and she was fascinated by the destruction, which didn't make a whole lot of sense as the destruction had blown out in the direction of land, leading her to think that the attackers had been on the water.
She didn't know how that would be possible, but she let it go for the time being.
They found access to the castle from a wall that had been exploded outwards and they climbed over the boulders, dropping down into a cobbled yard that had been damaged by fire though it appeared to have been a training yard.
A skittering sound had them all spinning sharply, and the fluffy white animal froze, his long face as surprised as they were.
"Sheep," Daemon said in shock, and she snorted her amusement.
"Shoo home," Uzo said but her attention had turned to Jagum, whose eyes were very intent on the sheep.
"You're not allowed to eat him," she snapped, slapping the giant cat's arm. He looked down at her, looking offended and hurt but she knew he wanted to eat the poor thing. He didn't try and deny he had been thinking about it either.
They had a few moments of amusement while Uzo tried to get the sheep to leave, the sheep was unimpressed by him and his antics.
Finally giving up, he threw up his arms and returned to them, looking irritated by his failure.
"I don't think you can get stubborn animals to do what you want," she said and smirked as Daemon looked at her, knowing she was talking about him.
"Very funny, go on and find yourself a banshee," he snapped and she grinned, stalking away from him.
It was not hard to find her as she glowed a bright green and Etani saw her through the remains of a window once she had entered the castle itself, or at least what was left of it.
Hurrying to catch up with the dangerous creature, she made sure she made enough noise that she wouldn't startle the woman.
But as she came across the banshee, she found the banshee had stopped to wait for her, looking curious.
She had knee length white hair that flowed around her in a constant cloud, her dress was beautiful in a solid black with a large white belt over her stomach that protected her from breasts to groin. She had a crown that floated several inches above her head and large shoulder guards.
She looked like a warrior Queen, a shawl drifting eerily behind her as she moved. Her arms seemed to be too long for her and her fingers were three times too long, giving her an even creepier look but she had a soft face, gentle and with a soft smile. Her eyes were white and glowed gently in the dim light. Etani hadn't expected her to look so soft and gentle, she had expected a monster.
"Hello, I'm sorry to bother you," Etani said warily, ready to cover her ears in an instant if the need arise.
"I don't get visitors often," the woman said gently, her voice sounding weirdly far away as though she were speaking from the other end of the hall.
The banshee were not physically capable of hurting you, they were ghosts in that sense, but their scream could kill and they were rumoured to use them for seemingly no reason.
"I suppose people are wary," Etani said slowly, unsure of how to respond to the idea of a lonely banshee.
"Wary of me? Why?" the banshee asked, sounding almost hurt.
"Well…. you're a banshee," Etani said and the woman looked shocked by the news.
"Pardon?" she demanded and Etani took a step back. The retreat had the woman looking confused, glancing down at herself as though confused by something.
"Why do you fear me child?" she asked.
"Banshee kill," Etani said and the woman's pale brows lifted.
"I have no interest in killing you. I have killed no one," she said
Etani frowned, tilting her head in her confusion, trying to piece it together.
"But banshee kill all the time," she said slowly but then she frowned, trying to think of a single case in which she had actually heard of a banshee killing that wasn't herself. "Your scream can kill," she said slowly, not entirely sure.
"My scream only warns of death, I cannot kill," the woman said slowly, patient while Etani tried to wrap her brain around the new concept.
"I…" Etani was lost for words, staring at the beautiful, ghostly figure who floated back in her direction, her hair, dress and shawl shifting slowly in her wake.
"Why did you come here, strange girl?" the banshee asked and as she got closer, Etani realised she was older than she first appeared. She had small creases at the corners of her eyes and laugh lines.
"I came to ask for your magic," she said slowly and the banshee laughed gently.
"Whatever for?"
"So I can stop this world from being destroyed," she said, still lost in her wondering over the banshee and reprocessing everything she knew.
"I see, well I will give you my magic under one condition, you ensure we banshee are no longer feared," the banshee said and Etani smiled, nodding.
"You have a deal, banshee," Etani said.
"Medb," the banshee said and Etani frowned, recalling the name from somewhere but unable to place it.
"Thank you Mebd, I'll be sure it is known," Etani agreed and Mebd smiled warmly.
Etani didn't expect to feel the kiss, but the pressure was like a whisper of silk on her lips and a soft chill washed through her, catching at her throat and again her vocal cords burned though this time it was joined with her lungs burning, both changing and expanding to allow this new change.
She sucked in air and found she could take in more air than she remembered, but she wasn't going to complain.
"You're welcome young one," the Banshee said gently, her long fingers tender on Etani's cheek before she smiled and started own the hall, leaving her alone with the tingling feeling of silk on her skin.
Relief washed through her as she realised she had gotten so near to the end of her journey and she hurried to leave the broken castle, her relief bubbling out of her.
Joining the others, she threw herself into Daemon's arms and hugged him tightly to her, his surprise lasting only a second before he was hugging her back tightly.
"We're so close," she breathed and he nodded, his jaw against the top of her head.
"Three more and we can go home," he murmured.
It sounded wonderful, the thought of going home so long as it was with him and the thought startled her.
"Let's go, we have to find Dominick," he said and she nodded.