Outside Chinook, War-Kin Manor, Mid October

   Niculai was glad, that yet again, Annik had proven how adaptable she really was. Thinking about how she had handled herself made him smile.She had just seen her first crawler. Something that her culture told her was some kind of a hideous monster. Nothing could be further from the truth of course. But that didn't change how Humans usually thought about crawlers when seeing one for the very first time. After all crawlers, to use the Human term, looked like monsters.

    Long and thin, a crawlers body looked eerily like that of an emaciated Human. In fact they looked Human enough to trigger the uncanny valley effect. When entities look close to but not quite like other humans it creeps Humans out so much that they assume that what they are looking at is a monster. Even if that wasn't a factor, Annik had seen an unknown creature, a monster. And was still able to see it as nonthreatening fairly quickly. Much faster than he had thought possible actually.

    Niculai was walking down the hallway towards the library. He had just walked Annik back to her room. He had suggested that she take a long hot bath. Stopping, Niculai turned toward his Sibling who had called out his name, smiling as he did so. Pyetr was the Ashen War-Kin's Weaver, or spell caster. It was Pyetr's job to cast the Ahshee that kept the War-Kin mansion hidden from not only the Undying but the everyone else as well. Pyetr was an unusually powerful Weaver, one powerful enough to be able to cast a permanent ahshee. Something that only one Weaver every couple of generations was able to do. An Anvidai generation mind you, not a Human one.

    The only ability was rarer was the ability to foresee the future. Which Niculai was glad was one that his Sibling didn't have. Those gifted with foresight usually felt cursed rather than blessed. Especially since they tended to only see tragedies and disasters. Thankfully there was only ever one Weaver with foresight at a time. The current "lucky" holder of that ability was Gretta. And thank the Mother that it was her curse to bare and not Pyetr's. The poor Sibling had enough baggage to carry as it was.

    Niculai was very glad that he had none of the abilities of a Weaver. Being the War Prince was bad enough. But having control of that kind of power was more than Niculai wanted to contemplate. He didn't envy Pyetr in the slightest. Due to the power that flowed through Pyetr's body and mind he had to always stay in control of himself. There was no day's off from the rigid discipline for Pyetr. Just once, long ago, when he was very young and just coming into his powers. Pyetr lost control of himself and the results were terrible. Niculai knew that Pyetr was never going to allow that to ever happen again. Niculai waited for his Sibling to catch up to him and they walked into the library together.

    Nicolai looked over at the most private of his Siblings as Pyetr sat in one of the chairs before the fireplace. Pyetr never let anyone truly into his life, did he. Pyetr always kept a barrier between himself and the rest of the world. Sure, they were Siblings and cared for each other but Pyetr always kept most of himself and his thoughts private. Nic was certain that Pyetr's drive for privacy had more to do with whatever it was that had happened when Pyetr had been young and still learning to control his Weaving. Something that Pyetr refused to talk about to anyone, ever.

    All that Niculai had ever learned from his father's records was that Pyetr had somehow lost control of a Weave and that many had died, Human, Anvidai and Lushidai. There had also been a footnote that it was suspected that at least one and maybe more than one Shifter had also been killed. But since it was impossible to tell a Shifter when they were in Human form no one was certain. Someone or something stopped the spell from doing more damage. But even with the Weave being stopped, the damage that had been done had been horrific. Who or what it was wasn't mentioned even in his father's private records, but Nic had a theory that he was willing to place money on. Nic was certain that it had been the Mother herself that had broken the Weave.

    Usually signs that one was a Weaver's would start to show about a year before their change. But they wouldn't be able to use them until after they had gone through their Tempering. Pyetr's abilities had shown up when Pyetr was very young, well before his Tempering into adulthood. In fact Pyetr had started to come into his power younger than anyone ever had before. The poor guy hadn't even been in his teens when his ability to Weave had started to show. And there had been no weak slow start for Pyetr. No, his abilities had sprung forth fully formed almost from day one. Nic had to admit that was probably a good thing. Not the starting out so strong from the get go. The not getting any stronger after they showed up was the good thing. If that had been the weak version? Nic didn't want to think about how strong the guy would have been. It was enough to give just about anyone nightmares. Niculai was certain that Pyetr had bad dreams as a result.

    "How may I help you my lord," Pyetr was as usual formal.

    "I need your opinion on an item. It was brought to us by our new guest." Nic stated, moving over to his safe to get the tome.

    He no longer tried to get Pyetr to relax the formality. Nic had no interest in continuing to fight a battle that his sibling didn't even acknowledge was going on. Pyetr was Pyetr and wasn't going to change anytime soon, if at all.

    "I also need your opinion on our new guest. Is she going to be a risk to either the War-Kin or our people?" Nic continued as he sat back down with the silk wrapped package in his hands.

    Everyone had seen Annik at breakfast. And even if they hadn't there was no way they could of missed her screaming down the rafters. She was the only new face in the manor as well as the only one who had screamed there in recorded history. Not that there hadn't been fights or arguments in the manor. If you got that many hard-headed fighters n one area there would always be fights and disagreements. There just hadn't been any actual screaming. Shouting, yelling, fistfights yes but no terror or screaming.  That had been why everyone had come running when they had heard it. Screaming might have meant that an intruder was in the manor after all. Not that anyone would have gotten very far considering the kind of fire power that the Siblings carried even when at home and supposedly safe.

    Niculai had secured the tome before escorting Annik to bed the night before. After wrapping the book in silk securely, he had placed it in the wall safe in the library. It wouldn't do to let just anyone access to the book. Especially if this book was what he thought it was. No, it was best to keep the tome safe and out of peoples hands until he knew for sure whether it was actually one of the Corrupter's tomes instead of just a copy. Over the centuries the Siblings had captured many copies of the Corrupter's tomes. An original however had never been seen, much less captured. If it was one of the originals? Then the danger to his people was bad enough to make Nic's blood run cold. The Corrupter's original tomes had been known to taint generally innocent people that came into contact with it.

    The danger to Annik was more immediate, she had grown up with this book after all. Had been read stories from it for her whole life. if Annik had been corrupted than Niculai needed to know, and know now. The danger to those who lived in the manor and environs was not something to be risked. What would happen to his people if the War-Kin were lost wasn't to be thought about. Although Nic was certain that Annik was innocent of any corruption he still needed to have Pyetr check both her and the book out, just in case. Anything less would be a failure of epic proportions on his part. Because it wouldn't be the first time that the corrupter had placed a seeming innocent into a clan only to have them turn out to be anything but. Often killing the majority of a clan before they are found out and destroyed. That was why, even now, a stranger to a clan's territory was always checked out by the clan's Weaver. The Weavers had ways to know if someone was flying false colors and actually a follower of the Corrupter.

    "Please tell me what this is," Nic asked, handing the silk wrapped tome over to Pyetr. "I have an idea but pray that it isn't what I think it is. Afterwards I need you to give me your opinion of our new guest."

    Niculai hoped that he wasn't wrong about Annik. The last thing he wanted to know was that she was a danger to either himself, the War-Kin or any of his people. He had felt a closeness with Annik that he really didn't understand and truly prayed was real. And not something artificially induced by an outside force for good or ill. Honestly though, if it was a spell of some kind he could imagine that it would be cause for any reason other than to harm his people. Damn it all he really liked Annik. He just didn't want her to be a plant by the corrupter or any of her ilk.

    Pyetr nodded his head while taking the silk wrapped package from Nic's hands. Pyetr didn't bother to speak before slowly and carefully opening the silk wrappings that encased the tome. Goddess knew that Pyetr was a man of few words. So much so that not only had Niculai not expected a response but he would of been actively surprised if he had received one. Pyetr was well known to be the Sibling that stood alone. Not that he was standoffish, not at all. He just wasn't outgoing and boisterous like the rest of the Siblings generally were.

    No matter what the old book was Niculai hadn't expected Pyetr's reaction when he completely uncovered the old tome. Pyetr's normally pale, for an Anvidai, skin had gone ghost while in shock. Made even paler by his red hair. His hands started to shake and for a moment Nic was certain that he was going to drop the whole package, silk wrapping and all. Pyetr's pale skin had a vaguely green tint as if he was about to be sick. And his vibrant green eyes were opened up so wide in shock that Nic wondered for a moment if they were going to pop right out of his head. Niculai had never seen the unflappable Sibling look so stunned and frightened in all the years that they had known each other.

   For what seemed like and eternity, but was probably just a couple of moments, all Niculai could do was stare at his Sibling, equally stunned. Not because of what the Sibling had said, Pyetr hadn't said a thing. No, it was how he looked that had so stunned Niculai. Pyetr's mouth hung open in shock and there was a slight tremor in his hands. He carefully moved the unwrapped silk tome away from his body towards the small table next to where he was seated. Niculai was certain that Pyetr was completely unaware of his actions. Nic watched as Pyetr carefully put the tome onto the table, recovering it loosely with the silk cloth. Taking care to not touch the book with any bare flesh as he did so.

    For several minutes after putting the tome down Pyetr just stared at Niculai with a stunned look on his face. He had to clear his throat several times before he could speak. Nic had no problem at all reading the shock and concern on Pyetr's face. Nic knew that the tome had shaken his Sibling to the core. He had never seen Pyetr looking so disturbed in his life. Nic got up and walked to his desk. He was going to give the Sibling some space to gather himself. The best thing he could do right now was to order some calming tea. On second thought, Nic decided that this called for something stronger than tea or coffee. No, what Pyetr needs right now is a stiff drink, Nic told himself as he rerouted for the drink cart on the other side of his desk.

    "Here you go my Sibling," Niculai said handing Pyetr a strong drink. As a rule Pyetr didn't drink any alcohol at all. But considering the look on his face Nic was certain that he wouldn't mind. Hell, right now he probably won't even notice, Nic thought to himself. And considering how my teetotaler of a Sibling just tossed back that double shot of vodka, I think I'm right about that.

     Whether or not Pyetr realized what he had just drunk was neither here nor there. The booze had the desired affect, color started to come back into Pyetr's face. It was a few minutes more before Pyetr looked like he would be able to talk about whatever it was that had upset him. This book must be much worse than I thought it was. Is it possible that it's not a copy of one of the Dark Tomes? could this actually be one of the original Dark Tomes? With every fiber of his body Niculai hoped not. He didn't however have much faith that the universe was going to go the way he wanted.

Outside Chinook, Library of the Manor and Audience House, Mid October

    Niculai stared at the door that his Sibling had just walked out of. He was hard pressed to know what to do. Over the last hour and a half he and Pyetr had tried to come up with some idea or plan to keep the cursed book out of the Corrupter's hands. Or to be more specific the hands of her followers in the Undying society. The two of them had come up with a total of zero plans. No they hadn't even gotten as far as an idea that might become a plan. They had gotten absolutely nowhere on what to do with the, literally, damned book that had fallen into their keeping.

     The only action that either of them could think of was to consult with Gretta, the head of the Weavers. Not only did the Weavers perform any and all magic that the Anvidai needed. They also maintained the religious life of the Anvidai. If anyone would have a clue about what to do about the hot potato the newest resident of the Manor had dropped in their lap, it would be them. After all this couldn't be the only thing of the Corrupter's making that had fallen into their hands, could it?

    "Not bloody likely," Nic said to himself, reaching for the phone. "After all, we've been around for as long as those short lived Human's have."

    A one phone call later and Nic had an appointment with Gretta, the only Weaver that came even close to the power that Pyetr wielded. Pyetr might be more powerful but Gretta had centuries more practice and knowledge in it's uses.And in cases like this skill and practice were much more important than raw power. After all sometimes you needed a jeweler not a sledgehammer. And Gretta was the most knowledgeable and skill Weaver that Nic had ever heard of. He was fairly certain that future generations were going to be telling stories about her exploits.

    Nic was going to have to hustle if he was going to get to the Audience House in time for the meeting. He may be the War Prince and the absolute ruler of his race. Manners as well as intelligence advised that he not be late to a meeting that he had requested. Gretta was highly respected and not just as a Weaver. She was very knowledgeable about not only the art of the magic that the Anvidai Weavers used. Not only a master of the history of her order but the Undying Society in general, but the Corrupter specifically. Of all of the Weavers, Gretta was the best choice for help with the Tome. Besides Gretta was a kind and gentle female and didn't deserve to be disrespected by being late.

    In less than an hour Nic was walking through the front door of the Audience house where he met with any members of the Anvidai. It didn't matter what your rank was or whether you were Anvidai or Lushidai. If you wanted to meet with the War Prince, the Audience House was where it happened. There was no way that he was going to let most of the DeNeam come to the Manor and since he didn't want those stuffed shirts that, he couldn't let anyone else meet him there either.

     Niculai could have gotten there almost instantly if he had dematerialized. But he didn't feel that would be safe while he was carrying the Tome. Mother in the Mist only knew what would happen if he tried to dematerialize while carrying that. Not an experiment that Nic had any intention of trying. With his luck he'd turn inside out or something equally disturbing. At the very least traveling in an incorporate form while carrying something as evil as the Tome could, and probably would, open him up to the evil that resided in the Tome. And if this really is one of the original Dark Tomes instead of a copy then I would be opening myself up to the direct influence of the Corrupter herself. Not something anyone can do and stay sane. No, the decision to drive instead of dematerializing was not only the best one he could make but the only one possible.

     Nic wondered if Gretta was already there as he pulled into the drive way that lead to the garage next to the audience house. He didn't mind waiting if she wasn't of course. Niculai was just hoping that this wouldn't take to much time. He really wanted to get out into the field tonight and if this meeting took to long he wouldn't be able to. Sometimes Nic wished that he didn't have to juggle being War Prince with his duty of protecting the race from the Undying Society. Niculai knew that holding audiences and hearing the problems and joys of his people was protecting them. He just preferred a more physical form of protection. At the end of the day Niculai knew that he was more a fighter than a diplomat at the best of times and these were definitely not the best of times.

     Niculai barely noticed the waiting room he walked into. He took no notice of the silk wallpaper or the murals framed with ornately carved wooden panels. The carved wood matched the carving that graced the trim on both the windows and the door frames. The receptionist sat at a desk placed near the closed pocket doors that lead into the room that had once been the formal dining room back when this had actually been a residence. The only other furniture in the foyer would have fit into any high-end waiting room. There was no one sitting in any of the chairs in the waiting room since there were no appointments scheduled for today, at least not with him. Nic neither knew nor cared if any of the council had any appointments today or any other day.

    Nic nodded to the young receptionist as he passed her. She was still a little nervous whenever he was around. Normally Nic would have taken the time to see how the night was going but not tonight. Tonight he had an important meeting with Gretta to get to. It wasn't fair to keep the older Anvidai waiting. Especially since he had been the one to ask for the meeting. So there was going to be no reassuring the receptionist before hand. And the Mother alone knew if he was going to be up to reassuring anyone afterwards.

    Thankfully no one told Nic about any fires that needed putting out tonight. But it was still early. The council could still come up with something to annoy him if they wanted to. Ever since they had figured out that he was trying to get rid of the council altogether they had been almost literally blowing up his phone with various problems. It had gotten so bad that he had gotten another phone number for important  business and had passed his old phone over to one of the staff at the Manor to take messages and let him know if anything that actually required his attention came up. At least he didn't have to deal with the majority of the BS that came out of the Grand Council on a regular basis.

    Nic had asked Gretta to meet him at the audience house because not only was the whole building shielded but it also had a few of heavily shielded individual rooms as well. Pyetr had laid all of the shields for the Audience house, both on the individual rooms and the building as a whole. Some days Nic wondered why he had individually shielded rooms. Days like today, however, reminded him why he'd asked Pyetr to shield certain rooms in addition to the protections placed on the whole building.

    Unlike the Manor the "spells" on the Audience house didn't stop people from knowing the complex of buildings were there. Rather the shields just made sure no one noticed anything unusual about the place. Anyone that looked at the Audience house that wasn't a member of the Race only saw an old home in fair but not spectacular condition. Nothing that would attract attention Nor would the neighbors notice any unusual traffic coming and going from the place. After all the young of either the Anvidai or Lushidai couldn't dematerialize. Nor Lushidai could adults.

     Nic wasn't looking forward to his meeting with Gretta. Not because he didn't like her but because Gretta had insights into people that could be very disconcerting. All Weavers could cast what some called magic but Gretta was in a class of her own. She was one of the rare Weavers that could see the future to some degree. These were called Weaving Seers or just Seer if talking to or about a specific individual. Gretta was the only Seer currently alive in fact and as far as Niculai knew no others had been found. That she was the only Weaver that could see the future to any degree wasn't in and of itself unusual. Only once or twice in Anvidai history had there been more than one Weaving Seer alive at a time. Generally in fact there had been no Weaving Seers at all. No, the unusual part of all of this was that Gretta either hadn't seen the discovery of the Tome or hadn't mentioned it to himself or even the War-Kin's Weaver Pyetr. Niculai wasn't sure which of those he was hoping it was either.

    Nic knew what he was going to see when he walked into the specially shielded room that he'd asked Gretta to meet him in. The decor was Louis the fifteenth revival furniture from the mid nineteenth century. Definitely not Nic's style but it put the older council members at their ease. Which made them much easier to deal with generally speaking. Sitting in front of the ornate desk on an equally ornate chair was Gretta. The light shined off the golden threads in her pale almost white hair almost making it glow. Niculai knew that Gretta was approaching old age but like all Anvidai looked to be no more than her late twenties to early thirties. Her petite frame often made others think that she was weak. Gretta was on the small side for an Anvidai. She was rail thin and stood only five foot nine inches tall.  Niculai however knew that she was deceptively strong. All Anvidai females were far stronger than they looked, but even for that group Gretta stood out as strong for her build.

   Nic watched the older Anvidai as he approached. It crossed his mind that Gretta knew why he had asked her to meet him. Considering that he not only requested the Audience house but further asked Gretta to wait for him in one the room with the heaviest addition shielding no doubt clued the incredibly intelligent Anvidai that something special was needed. Nic was certain nonetheless that Gretta knew exactly why he had called her. She was A Seer as well as a Weaver and the often knew what was coming even if they rarely told anyone what they saw. The reason that was usually given was that telling people what they saw often changed the future and rarely for the better.

    As soon as Nic entered the room Gretta started to stand. Niculai waved for Gretta to stay seated before she could do more than move her hands to the arms of the chair to stand. The room Nic entered had originally been a bedroom. The en-suite bathroom was also a clue. Directly across from the door was a large old fashioned desk. Next to the desk was a fireplace that had two comfortable chairs in front of it. The chairs were angled in such a way that they faced each other without blocking the heat from the fireplace when it was in use. Gretta sat in the chair on the right. The one closest to the dark stained old wooden desk.

    Nic knew that Gretta had only sat in the more comfortable fireside chair in case he had been late to the meeting for any reason. Because of her motion to stand, Nic knew that Gretta had planned on moving to the less comfortable visitors chair at the desk. Not that he planned on letting that happen. Nic knew that many of the clan heads used various rooms in the Audience House for meetings with people that weren't actually part of their individual clan. Even if he thought the decision of the Clan Heads to do so was a stupid one. Although there was an upside. As long as the Clan Heads had their meetings here, Nic had a really good idea of who was meeting with who. At least between the Clans.

    As soon as Nic sat down he knew he had Gretta's undivided attention. In fact Nic was fairly certain the he'd had her full focus from the moment he'd started to walk into the room. Gretta's complete attention was a bit disconcerting. She had a way of looking at you that made one think that she could see into your soul. Thankfully for Nic's peace of mind Gretta, like Anthony, had been one of his parent's closest friends kept him from wanting to squirm under her gaze. Gretta's bright brown eyes never left him while Nic crossed the room to sit across from her.

   "Thank you for coming Gretta. I know you are very busy," Nic paused before continuing. "Pyetr says that you are the only one that can answer the questions I have about this thing." Niculai raised the silk covered book that he'd carried in with him.

    Gretta cocked an eyebrow, curiosity plain on her face. Still Gretta didn't say anything. She was clearly waiting for Niculai to continue. Obviously willing to wait until he was ready to ask his questions and tell her what he needed from her. Niculai was glad that he was dealing with Gretta instead of the hidebound Weavers that had been plaguing him. The more he modernized Anvidai laws, the more annoyed the DeNeam aristocrats became. The more the various DeNeam felt the need to share their annoyance with him. And since many of the Weavers were from the DeNeam he had been having more and more trouble with many of them as well.

    The Weavers were supposed to stay out of politics. Unfortunately too many of the high ranking Weavers thought first of their rank as DeNeam instead of their duty to the Anvidai people as a whole. Gretta however, just like Anthony, had purer blood than most of the DeNeam could claim. She, unlike many of the other Weavers, only thought about the Anvidai and Lushidai peoples. And being the only Seer that the Weavers had gave her even more influence in their councils than Gretta would have had if she had just been another Weaver no matter how high her birth rank. The Weavers as a group tended to only follow the "stay out of politics" rule when it suited them. Yet another thing that annoyed Niculai about the DeNeam.

     Niculai mentally shook himself. Now wasn't the time to worry about the DeNeam and all of their machinations. He had other things to think about right now. There was this hot potato of a tome to worry about for one thing. There were also a couple of other things that were on his plate right now. But the silk wrapped book in his lap was the reason he was here. Gretta was the best person to give him advice and for once Niculai had no problems asking for help. Even if normally he wouldn't have asked for help from anyone. This didn't apply to his Siblings in the War-Kin of course. But asking advice from anyone else was a rare occurrence.

   "What can you tell me about this?" Nic asked handing Gretta the silk wrapped package.

    Gretta solemnly took the bundle from Nic. Resting it on her lap Gretta just looked at the bundle. For what seemed to be hours but was actually no more than a minute Gretta made no move to open it. Nic realized that he was holding his breath in anticipation of Gretta's reaction to what he had handed her. Gods, Nic thought to himself, This is ridiculous. I'm acting like a schoolboy waiting in the principles office to see if I'm in trouble. Nic had to force himself to breath repeatedly. For some reason he would start to hold his breath almost immediately. Nic quit having to think about his breathing as soon as Gretta started to open the silk wrapping the book.