Chapter Sixty-Six: Revelations

In Arwyn

Colleen formed her attack and sent it driving into Fury full force and he was sent skidding back into the stones of the arch! It was the moment Colleen had been waiting for! The control Fury had over the shadow ribbons wrapped around Sunny tightened once again. They slithered around her throat and began to smother her.

"Use your powers!" Fury shouted. "Sunny, free yourself!"

Colleen laughed. "Pitiful isn't! She would rather die than harm the trash of the Shadowlands!"

"They are not trash!" Sunny gasped. "They are creatures with thoughts and feelings!"

"Oh, boo-hoo!" Colleen said sarcastically, "What rubbish!"

Fury felt his connection to Sunny weakening! She was suffocating! "Sunny listen to me! You cannot have shadows without light!" 

Colleen began to laugh. "Yes! Go ahead and create a brilliant light, girl! Feed the shadows, and watch how they will grow stronger, betray you, and you will die!"

"No!" Fury shouted, "She is a liar!"

"Oh-ho! You are a fine one to be calling me a liar!" Colleen shouted at Nicodemus. "You have been deceiving everyone your whole life! First when you arranged Reyanna's defection, and then when you abandoned her!"

"I did not abandon Reyanna," Fury said. "You abandoned Reyanna. She ran to the Sisterhood and embraced them. You broke your promise to Reyanna!"

"She seems to be doing well enough now," Colleen replied with a dismissive flip of her hand, "If she continues to cooperate with me, she'll remain Queen of the Shadowlands."

"What promise?" Fiona asked. Fury's thrall had slipped on both Tully and Fiona. Colleen smiled at Fiona.

"Reyanna and I had plans you and Mother never knew about! I sought out the Sisterhood and Reyanna followed me. I knew what I wanted, and it wasn't the geis! Reyanna was not talented or strong enough to resist the Shadows. When I left, she grew bitter and angry. It's her fault she suffers for it!"

Fiona was conflicted by the news of Reyanna. She was not sure who to trust. She had seen how Fury had manipulated them all. She could not trust him! "You promised to protect Sunny! You promised!"

Colleen laughed. "Oh, you silly, silly old woman!" She reached down, grabbed Sunny's hair, and pulled her up bringing the shadow ribbons with her. She shook her like a ragdoll. "Take a good look at your precious little girl! The stench of him is all over her!"

Fiona was horrified. She felt her outrage surge up around her. "How could you seduce her! You were to protect her!" Fiona hissed angrily.

"With my life!" Nicodemus shouted. "I will protect her with my life, Fiona!"

"There is nothing more pitiful than an old fool!" Colleen flung and urged the ribbons to encircle Sunny's throat, slowly cutting off her airflow. She shook Sunny again. The knife Fury had slipped into Sunny's sleeve clattered into the dirt. Colleen kicked it away toward Fiona. "Pick it up, Fiona!"

Fiona spotted the knife and rushed over. She gripped the hilt tightly and turned fierce eyes on Fury.

"How will you keep Fiona from plunging her knife into your heart and keep your lover from smothering to death!"

Fiona ran toward Fury, the knife poised high to strike him in the heart. Nicodemus sent everything he had toward Sunny. Colleen lost control and Sunny broke free! She ran to Nicodemus! She had to stop Fiona! Everything began to dissolve into shadows. Fury pulled Sunny to him and swiveled around to take Fiona's strike. The blade sliced a hot burning trail down his side where she plunged it deep. Sunny screamed in horror as she saw the welling blood wash over Fiona's hand. "No!" Sunny cried, clutching Nicodemus to her, "No!"

Fiona staggered back, the knife still clutched in her hand. She looked down at her bloodied hand then dropped it and sank to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Fury went down with Sunny. He held Sunny close and pressed his free hand hard against his side where the knife had dug deepest. Colleen was gleeful, she came to gloat at Fury in his pain. "Tell me now, was it worth it? Fiona has struck you a killing blow!"

Colleen spun around, looking for the Watcher, "Fetch the knife!"

"Knife is in thorns!" Bracken called.

With a growl of frustration, Colleen stomped from Nicodemus and Sunny to where Bracken was pointing. "Where is it!" she demanded.

Sunny laid a hand against Fury's cheek, "Nicodemus!"

He moaned softly and she thanked heaven he was alive! She directed the shadow ribbons that clung to her to form a tourniquet against the deepest part of the knife wound. "You are free, get away from her while you still can!" 

"I'm not leaving you!" Sunny told him, she looked over at Fiona and Tully, both were in Colleen's thrall. She was not certain of the Watcher either, "We have to get out of here – together!"

Sunny struggled to get Fury on his feet. Once standing, he gathered her close. He felt a surge of power flow from Sunny into his core of energy. It was a joyous feeling! 

Colleen's attention suddenly returned to Sunny. She was holding the dagger in her hand triumphantly, then she started to laugh. "Oh my! Fiona, you will want to witness this! Do you see what I see?"

Fiona's head came up, she looked in horror at Sunny and Nicodemus. "No!" she screamed, "No!"