Blue Forest Banshee by PlaidDragon
Part 2
Duo was not returned to his home. Instead, the male Banshees, cousins all, took him to the gathering hall. It seemed that everyone in the Clan was there, adults and children, but there were empty spaces. Places where this mother or that father should have been; places where children huddled alone or in groups, with no adult to comfort them.
In the Matriarch's chair, a female sat, elbow resting on the arm of the chair, her hand covering her eyes. Her other arm was wrapped from hand to elbow in a stark bandage, supported by a sling. Her clothing was stained and torn.
"We found Duo," said one of the males. "Shall we take him to Shar?" The Matriarch looked up wearily.
"No. She's in no condition to worry about him." She looked down at Duo. "You saw it," she said shortly. "You know what it is."
Duo knew what she was talking about. He nodded hesitantly.
"It is now confirmed. You are the Deathscythe." She sat back with a sigh, plainly not enjoying her task. "It has begun, and there is nothing else to be done. We have lost fourteen adults and three children; the Humans were destroyed, but for one who ran before causing any trouble. We allowed him to run."
Duo's heart sank; seventeen of his kin, dead. His fear increased, if such a thing was possible. Caz and Shar; where were they? What had happened to the adults who loved him?
As if reading his thought, the Matriarch shook her head. "Caz is dead, shot through the heart by one of the Human weapons. Shar was grievously wounded; she may yet survive."
Duo sat down suddenly on the floor, tears burning his face.
::He took them... He took Caz... Just like the ones I saw... No, oh no...::
"Duo, you cannot stay here any longer."
He heard the words, understood them all right, but they made no sense. Couldn't stay where? Here, in the Clanhold? Where else would he stay? His aunt... If she was hurt, she needed him. He would take care of her. She took care of him for years; he could take care of her now. She was all he had. He wouldn't leave her.
"You will have to leave."
Duo looked up, uncomprehending.
She looked away from his purple eyes. "I'm sorry Duo. We cannot allow you to remain within the Clanhold. You are the Summoner. It has been decided that you must leave."
"Leave?" he echoed faintly. "But... Why? To go where?" He'd never been away from the Clanhold, even to the Human town.
"Where you go is none of our concern."
He still didn't understand. "But this is my home... I've never been anywhere else... I haven't done anything wrong!" He looked around the large room; no one met his eyes. "Why?!"
"Yeah, I'd like to know that myself!" demanded a male voice behind him.
Duo looked over his shoulder and saw Teal, his aunt's most persistent admirer, storming down the aisle.
"What are you thinking of -- sending a child away like this!" he growled angrily. "He can't take care of himself in their world. He can barely take care of himself here!"
"He's the Deathscythe!" snapped one of the males. "It came here; he saw it! It came to see him!"
"He has to go!" agreed another. "Seventeen dead, Teal," he reminded.
"And how in the hell was that Duo's fault?!" He grabbed Duo's hand, pulling him to his feet, arm around his shoulders. "He's all Shar has left! Send him away and what does she have to live for?!"
The Matriarch raised one eyebrow at him. "You, I would think. Or do you plan to disappear again as soon as the dust settles?"
Teal's dark green eyes narrowed; he tightened his arm around Duo. "With all due respect, Madam, you don't order my coming and going."
"If you care for him so much," began a female with a small child clinging to her leg, "then go with him! Shar won't miss either of you!"
Teal glared at her.
"Vagabond!" she hissed.
"Teal!"
The Banshee turned at that frantic cry. Supported by two agitated females, Duo's aunt stumbled down the aisle.
"She wouldn't stay in bed!" cried one of the females.
"Shar! What in the --" Teal met them, scooping her up in his arms.
Duo stared in horror. Her clothing was soaked with blood, most of it her own. Thick bandages wrapped her neck. He took a step, then another, then ran to meet her.
"Shar! Shar, what happened?" She reached for him and he grabbed her hand.
"One of the Humans tried to cut her throat," said the Matriarch grimly.
Teal knelt, still holding her, so that she could see Duo. She touched his face, wiping at his tears even as her own made tracks in the blood on her face. Her lips moved silently.
"She can't speak," explained Teal softly. "Tova thinks her voice will come back, in time. The Humans tried to silence her, Duo, because she killed two of them."
"I'm sorry," whispered Duo miserably. "I saw them in the woods, but I had to go around... I'm sorry, Shar. It's my fault." But she pressed her fingertips to his lips.
"No," said Teal firmly. "It's not your fault. You didn't cause this. They're being foolish and superstitious." Shar looked up at him. "They want to send him away," he whispered. "They've got it into their heads that he's the Deathscythe." Her eyes widened and she tried to shake her head. Teal stopped her. "No, love. I'll do my best," he promised, "but..." She gripped Duo's hand. "Damn it." Teal bent his head, brushing his lips against her hair.
"He has to go," said the Matriarch firmly, getting to her feet. "He's seen Death, and it won't end here."
"That's ridiculous!" cried Teal. "It's superstitious crap! It's no better than the stories the Humans tell about us!"
The Matriarch glared down at them. "He goes. Tonight. I will not have him in this settlement. He's not one of us, really. Danc made a mistake. I'm sorry for her son, but he's not welcome here. He is a danger to us all. He goes tonight. No more discussion." She walked slowly from the room.
Shar began to sob. Teal wrapped her in his arms. "Shhh. Love, please; you'll hurt yourself. I'll help him; tell him what to expect, where to go. Please, Shar..."
Oddly, Duo's tears had dried, his fear stiffening into a derisive stubbornness. The Matriarch had called him a mistake. Then he would go. He wouldn't stay where he wasn't wanted, where he was shunned and whispered about. Hell if he would!
"I'll go," he said tonelessly. He looked down at his aunt. "Don't cry, Aunt Shar. I'll go, since they're so afraid of me. But you have to get well." He squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead. "I love you."
Duo followed as Teal carried Shar back to the infirmary, but he didn't go in. Teal was back in a few minutes.
"Duo, I'll help you get started. I'll take you to the highway." He glanced down at the boy scrambling to keep up with his angry strides. "If it wasn't for Shar, I'd go with you."
"I know," said Duo breathlessly. "But she needs you to help her get well."
"Yes, she does. And I want to be with her. Shit! If she was able to travel, I'd take her, and we'd all go! To hell with those idiots!"
"What - What did Matriarch mean -- that I'm the Deathscythe? What is that?"
"Superstition! Pure old-world superstition! They're as bad as the Humans! Passing on old tales, keeping old fears alive! Well, fuck them! Fuck them all!" He spun about and grabbed Duo up in his arms, carrying him as if he were a small child. "The Deathscythe is the messenger of Death. He -- she -- it -- chooses Death's victims, points them out. It's supposed to be a harbinger." He gave a bark of grim laughter. "Did you know that Banshees are considered by Humans to be harbingers of death? Supposedly, when they hear a Banshee's scream, it means someone is going to die. That's why they're afraid of us. And now these idiots want to make you their scapegoat."
Duo hung onto Teal, trying to absorb his words and to make sense of everything.
::Oh, god, I don't want to leave, I don't want to be all alone, I want to stay, I want Shar, I want Caz... Caz is dead. How can he be dead; he was so strong...::
A flutter of darkness, blacker than the night around them. Duo stiffened with a gasp, and Teal stopped.
"Over there," Duo breathed, pointing.
"I don't see anything," Teal whispered back. "What did you see?"
"Him. My father..."
"Death? You can see him?"
Duo nodded numbly.
"Shit..." He set Duo on his feet, keeping hold of his hand. "Is he... Is he here to take someone?"
The shadow with its burning purple eyes didn't move.
"I -- I don't know. He's just looking at us."
"Ask him."
Duo stared at Teal. "Ask him?"
"Yeah. Ask him if anyone else is going to die tonight."
Duo swallowed, and took a step away from Teal. "Father..? Have -- have you come for -- for someone?" For an interminable time nothing happened. Then the glowing purple eyes shifted left, then right. "I think he said 'no'." He glanced back at Teal, recognising the intensity in his expression. He turned quickly. "Shar isn't going to die tonight, is she?" he asked anxiously. "Please say no; please."
~She will not die tonight...~
"Thank you..." Duo sighed in relief. He felt a need to explain, then wondered what in the world was happening to him. Half his family was gone. He was being kicked out of the only home he knew. He had no idea where he was going to go or what would happen to him in the outer world, but still he needed to explain to a purple-eyed shadow that his aunt was important to him.
"I -- I love her," he said in a small voice. "She's -- she always tries to be good to me." The shadow nodded its understanding. A moment later it melted and vanished.
"What? What did it say?" demanded Teal.
"He said not tonight... He's gone now." Duo stared at the empty darkness.
::My father is Death... I just don't understand...::
"Shit... Come on, Duo; before somebody has another hissy fit."
"Hissy fit... What's that?" His life was in ruins; what did it matter any longer what anyone else did? They'd already thrown him out like trash. But what was Teal talking about..?
"Figure of speech. Hissy fit, tantrum, losing your religion; Human expressions. You'll learn them. Listen, I won't have a lot of time, and there's stuff you need to know."
Teal knew about Humans and their world. Teal was a rarity among Banshees, a wanderer, and a vagabond. He had traveled the world, lived among Humans, as well as with other magical races. Duo could remember the excitement in Caz and Shar whenever Teal returned from a wander. At some point, he realised that Teal loved his aunt, but he just couldn't stay in one place.
They stopped briefly at the cottage where Teal lived when he was home. The older Banshee pulled out a cylindrical bag and measured it against Duo.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Duffel bag," said Teal crisply. "You need something to put your stuff in."
"My... stuff..." He followed Teal out, still trying to get his head around the concept of his possessions going into a bag. Because he was taking them with him when he left. Leaving. Going away. Wandering.
He swallowed. The emptiness within expanded to fill his being.
"Teal! How -- how am I going to live? I've never even talked to a Human before!" He caught up to the Banshee. "How does their magic work? Where do I go to learn it?"
Teal turned and once again scooped him up in his arms. "Duo, don't make yourself hysterical. Regular Humans don't have 'magic'; they have 'technology'. They build things -- machines - to make magic for them. Only the Witches and Wizards have real magic. I'll tell you what I can; it'll take a couple of hours to walk to the highway."