Chapter 28

"It is all right," Arhyvhynne whispered to him. She held him gently and then pushed away the hair which had fallen in his face. Just as her sister had done. Arhyvhynne was as beautiful as she was innocent and her sapphire eyes shone with an inner light.

As Uriel felt himself beginning to stir, he used the pretense of wiping his eyes to move back a bit. "I know how this must look. The night before we get to Bhel'Ehzz and all. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to apologize. I've just been… I don't know. I just haven't been myself lately."

"Since just before MidSummer?"

He nodded and decided to tell her what had been going on. At least partially. "I started studying The Black Lodge. I'm not sure why. It just sort of happened." The High Witch's reaction was one of bewilderment with a touch of disapproval, though she wanted to understand. Uriel sat down on the ground and Arhyvhynne joined him. "It was as exciting as it was frightening. There was such incredible power. At times it even controlled me." He began to get lost in his own words as exhaustion from his emotional battles finally took their toll upon him. He rambled on about his feelings, the obsession and the fear. He went so far as to tell her about his failed first attempt at summoning a spiritual entity. Uriel relived the event to the extent that he became overwrought as he retold it. Arhyvhynne tried to comfort him and was finally able to quiet him, getting him to lie down with his head in her lap. She turned out the lantern and ran her hands softly through his damp hair. Within minutes he was asleep.

It had been a rough emotional night for Uriel, but Arhyvhynne's feelings had not been spared either. She had been to the peaks and the valleys as well. Uriel's apology and his confiding in her had gladdened her heart though she was disheartened over his involvement with The Black Lodge. But there was one thing that the High Witch could not discount. One thought took precedence over all the others: Eyrmysse. Though Uriel had been careful not to mention her name even once, Arhyvhynne knew that her sister was at the heart of the matter. And it disturbed her more than she wanted it to.