The Snake Charmer: Part II - When Darkness Falls
THE SNAKE CHARMER
PART 2 - When Darkness Falls
In his magnificent canopy bed, dressed in folds of black taffeta trimmed in ruby, black and silver lace, separated from the world by thin veils that moved gently in the breeze, the Tigrina shifted restlessly. He was doing his best to fall asleep, because he had to look representative in the morning, but after the encounter with Pellaz, there was little chance of a good rest. Caeru anxiously made a mental list of the duties awaiting him the following day: There were several meetings scheduled, mostly concerning an approaching celebration he had to prepare. He really couldn´t afford to look overly tired; it was enough that he would have to cover a few bruises.
Despite of his physical exhaustion, Rue´s eyes were willfully refusing to close. They were aimlessly looking at nothing in particular, sliding over the inside of the canopy. Its inside was lined with ruby silk, and a panel of jet lace peeped through the full length taffeta drapes. Around him, selection of pillows in velvet and silk with jewelled and lace trimmings were arranged to his taste. He had to place them on their spots himself after Pellaz had left him alone in tears, too ashamed to allow his servants to attend him. The bed should have been a place where every desire came true. It had been carefully designed for that very purpose. Instead, it was a place where he slept alone, but for the occasional mistreatment. Still, it offered some comfort, as it was also the only place where he could cry unseen.
Sleep did not come easily once self-pity took over. Soon, Caeru knew, he would begin to question his sanity in ever coming here and reminiscence of his life before Immanion, which never brought anything good. Better to prevent it. Decidedly, he sat up and leaned to reach at the bedside table. Its drawer held a collection of things that usually worked for putting himself to sleep. Caeru swiftly eliminated the lengthy methods such as reading a book and pulled out a bottle. With any luck, there was still some residue alcohol in his blood after the party; in combination with this, it would possibly send him into the land of dreams rather sooner than later. There was just enough alcohol left to be emptied with several large gulps. Then he laid himself down again and decidedly pressed his eyelids together.
Outside, the darkness on the balcony seemed impenetrable, as one of the little drifting clouds had come to a halt in front of the crescent Moon, completely covering it. Not a single eye could notice that something, or possibly someone, folded out of the darkness and back into it. Shadows licking every move he made, enshrouding the Earth where he walked, the har passed through the open balcony door. The curtains did not even move, or not more than the gentle breeze could have caused.
Nightfall knew his target, and had watched for several weeks to learn the Tigrina's habits. He waited until he was sure that the Tigrina was alone, and weakened by one of the Tigron's rare and violent visits before he slipped into Caeru's chambers. He was silent as a shadow and cloaked in them like if they were a second skin, resembling nothing so much as a particularly dark spot in a candle lit room. He arranged the sharp, sedative filled claw on his right index finger; a single prick and Caeru would be in such deep sleep that Nightfall could smuggle him out of Immanion without problems. He had to be sure that his victim wouldn´t unexpectedly wake up, not only because he could start screaming and spoil his plan, but mainly to assure his safety on the shadowpaths. They could do horrible things to innocent hara who weren´t used to walking them; better to keep Rue´s mind locked away.
As he approached the bed cautiously, the Tigrina stirred and let out a silent sigh.
“…Pell?”
The intruder guessed that Caeru was probably just dreaming, but there was the slightest possibility that he had somehow felt his presence in the room - after all, the Tigrina was no unskilled aralid - and mistaken him for the Tigron, nurturing silly hopes that Pellaz would return and make it better. He couldn´t risk anything.
Nightfall went from shadow to har in the span of a breath and dived into the enormous bed without unnecessarily upsetting its curtains. Simultaneously, the thick, sleek ropes of his black hair wound around Rue´s neck and arms, effectively gagging him and pinning him to the bed as Nightfall pierced Caeru´s skin lightly, which dosed him with the sedative. It would take a moment to start working; the Tigrina was a powerful har, for all his delicateness.
At first, Caeru found it impossible to summon any kind of power, because his bedazzled, sleepy senses needed a moment to realize what was happening. The bigger part of his mind was simply refusing to believe that he was being attacked in his own guarded rooms, but he did try to pull the hair away from his neck reflexively - only to find it burned his hands like ropes of fire. As he fought the induced sleep and the lack of air in his lungs, thinking clearly enough to launch a mind attack became completely impossible. It was like trying to run with your feet stuck in a swamp, only in his case the black mud was clinging to his consciousness, pulling him out of his body and rendering him effectively useless.
The attacker watched the pale har with detached curiosity, like a scientist watching a rat in a cage, interested in the outcome of the experiment. Seeing those cold golden orbs, diagonally slit like a beast´s eyes, Caeru mobilized his strength and managed to knock over the vase on his bedside table, but it only topped over without breaking. The noise it produced was not nearly enough for anyhar outside the rooms to hear, much less consider it a sign.
"Do stop struggling, I'd prefer not to damage you", Nightfall spoke in his mind.
Caeru´s body froze at that, as if on command, only his blue eyes were unblinkingly staring at his kidnapper. Huge, frightened, accusing.
"Don't look so surprised", Nightfall said as he waited for the pupils to enlarge and lose focus. "You and I are going on a little journey together. A very important har has paid me to keep you out of the Tigron's reach for a while", he explained. "Don't worry, I won't kill you in your sleep, you're more valuable alive."
Rue heard the words coming from a faraway tunnel, bouncing off the walls and spilling out in the blankness of his mind like lost marbles. It took a while for them to sink in. By then, he was too far gone to still panic. The har was swimming away into the shadows, the snakes wrapped around Caeru´s limbs slithering after him. His last thought was that he cannot possibly be taken anywhere in his nightgown.
Caeru was left on the bed while Nightfall gathered a few things suitable for the road and some jewelry that could be sold, after which he hefted Caeru over his shoulder. He dragged the har and his travel bag out onto the balcony, where they both melted into shadows, leaving no trace or sign.