Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
That was not a stone. Boreus knew, had seen that before, on the end of a tawse used to bloody the woman he loved. She'd nearly died that day; he was under no illusions about that.
But Theria had also been banished for her crimes. So why was there the tooth of an Eater beneath the window of the Bastion? Was it a message? Had someone else violated Beyond? And if so, who was it?
He wasn't going to solve it now; he would need the Highest, and they weren't here. They were likely asleep; after all, it was the middle of the night.
"We should return home." Boreus told his loves, taking Autumn by the hand. "We will return in the morning and inform the Highest of this."
"Of what?" Auster peered at the small, dark thing. "Why does this bother you so much ?"
"Because that is the tooth of a Dream Eater,” Boreus said bluntly. "They were banished beyond, and it should not be here."
"Mother," Autumn said, swaying slightly, face pale. "She—she was banished from the Mountain."
Boreus nodded, pulling her into his arms. "If Theria is back, the Highest will handle it."
"I will leave it to them, and gladly." Autumn said in a shaking voice.
"Autumn?" Auster sounded concerned.
Boreus just held her closer. "I will tell you the story once we are away from here."
He took them back home, back to safety, a place that could be defended, and told Auster what had happened between Theria and Autumn and why Theria had been banished in the first place.
Auster was appropriately horrified, pulling Autumn to him reflexively and holding her close. "I swear it, love, you will be safe with us."
"I know," she smiled up at Auster. "I believe I am safe here."
They slept soon after, or at least Auster did. Autumn kept being awoken by nightmares of what her mother had done, and Boreus didn't blame her for that.
So the two of them spent the night awake and in the living room, so that they wouldn’t wake Auster. Talking, trying to figure out how to convey what they'd seen to the Highest.
Boreus had no doubt that they would take it seriously; Light had banished Theria and would not take kindly to her return. If indeed that was what had occurred.
Autumn gave him a shaking smile. "It's going to be alright, love. The Highest will find her; there is no place on the Mountain that can hide from Light."
"I don't worry about that," Boreus said carefully. "I worry about you, love."
"She won't touch me while I have you with me,” Autumn said. "I know that."
"That means, until we solve this, that you go nowhere without us." Boreus cupped her cheek. "Promise me, Autumn, go nowhere without us."
"I promise," she kissed him gently. "I will go nowhere without you."
"Do you think you could sleep?"
Autumn nodded hesitantly. "I can try," she said bravely. "If nothing else, I can cuddle with you."
He took them back to bed, tucking Autumn in and climbing in next to her to pull her close and tuck her under his chin.
* * *
They woke early the next morning, had breakfast, and headed for the Bastion. The Highest wouldn't be there, not yet, but the three of them would wait until they arrived.
The Bastion was crowded when they arrived, petitions to the Highest on a level Boreus hadn't seen before. It was odd that they should all appear now, but that was just the way of things at times.
They would simply have to wait for their turn. There was no sense in alarming the residents of the Mountain with their news, so they would wait until the petitions were complete and then they would take the news to the Highest.
It didn't happen that day. Or the next. There was a seemingly unending flow of petitions to the Highest, and there was no break in that flow that would allow Boreus to inform them of what he'd seen.
A week went by, and Boreus knew he couldn’t afford to wait any longer. Autumn was getting maybe two hours of sleep a night, vicious nightmares crowding her mind no matter how he tried to reassure her he would never let anything or anyone harm her.
She trusted him, trusted them, but the nightmares still plagued her, and Boreus was far too aware that she was going to begin using her reserves to power through if they didn't find Theria soon.
Or at least inform the Highest that she was back on the Mountain.
So the next morning, before the petitioners could gather and destroy his chances of actually getting to air his problem, he walked through the throne room to where they entered from and waited.
Light was first in, nearly bowling him over and stopping short. "North Wind?"
Boreus bowed, "My Highest, I have news of the gravest urgency."
Light nodded, looking at Intellect and then back at Boreus. "I know you do not exaggerate, North Wind; tell me what news you have."
"I believe Theria has returned to the Mountain,” he said as bluntly as possible. "There was an Eater tooth outside the Bastion, outside the window where I thought I'd seen motion that should not be there."
Light looked startled, and then fiercely angry. "We will handle this, North Wind. You will guard Autumn, and we will see to Theria. If she has indeed returned to the Mountain, we will see her removed again."
"Yes, Highest, with my life." Boreus bowed to them. "I will return and ensure she is safe."
They dismissed him, and Boreus went back to their home on the rise, back to where the people he loved were curled up together on the sofa, talking in soft voices that stopped as soon as he walked through the door
They both looked up and smiled at him, and Boreus smiled back, heart full of love for them.
"The Highest will take care of it," Boreus said, going to sit with them on the sofa. "All we have to do is stay together, and we'll be safe."