Angie Lofthouse

         "Lilies," Brierly had said with a wistful smile, so Tiann went out for lilies. She jogged home in the warm spring sunshine instead of porting, and saw by chance the old woman standing in the path.

         She was old and shriveled as a pale, rotting apple.  Tiann had never seen anyone so old. She hesitated in front of her, torn between curiosity and common sense.  Finally, she smiled and gave a polite nod.  "Hello, Mother.  Do you need any help?"

         The old woman fixed Tiann in a stare the pale, cold blue of the sky in winter.  Tiann shivered despite the sun.  "Yes," the old woman said.  "You can help me.  I have something for you."

         "For me?"

         The old woman held up a gold medallion on a chain, upon which was engraved some sort of serpent with wings and claws and the head of a rooster, complete with cockscomb.  A small blood red gem formed the serpent's eye.

         "What is that?"

         "The cockatrice," the old woman whispered reverently.  "Take it."

         "Oh, no.  I couldn't take that from you."

         "You must take it.  It's yours.  I cannot keep it."  Her voice filled with urgency.

         "But I... I have nothing to give you in return."

         "You have those."  The old woman pointed at the lilies.

         "Those are for my sister's wedding."  Tiann hesitated.  "But I'm sure that Brierly wouldn't mind if I gave one to you." 

         She held out a flower, and the old woman took it from her.  She closed her eyes and pressed the lily to her cheek.  "So lovely," she murmured, and Tiann smiled.

         After a moment, she held out the medallion again.  Tiann reached out reluctantly, and the old woman pressed the medallion into her hand.  "You must be brave," she said, and Tiann shuddered with sudden apprehension.

         "Why?"

         But the old woman didn't answer.  She cradled the lily against her cheek and shambled away down the path.  Tiann looked at the medallion in her hand.  The ruby eye of the cockatrice glinted in the sun.  She slipped the chain over her head and the medallion thumped against her chest.

         She didn't have time now to jog home.  She found the nearest portal just off the path, and stepped out onto the shimmering blue surface.  The old woman was nowhere in sight.  Probably she had already ported somewhere else, but Tiann couldn't shake the feeling that she had simply disappeared.  "I am letting my imagination run away with me," she said aloud.  Then she clutched Brierly's lilies to her chest and whispered, "Home."

         "What's a cockatrice anyway?" she asked her friend Dalin as they waited for the wedding party on the sprawling lawn outside the temple.

         "It's a mythical beast."  He shrugged and handed her the medallion.  "That's the strangest thing I ever heard."

         "Yes."  She slipped it back over her neck and out of sight beneath her bridesmaid gown.  "Very strange."  She rested her hand on the bouquet of lilies at her side.  "You don't think anything could happen, do you?"  But Dalin didn't hear.  He nudged her arm. "Here they come."

         Brierly emerged from the temple hand in hand with her beloved Peter. Behind the newlyweds came their parents and the High Priest.  A cheer rose from the assembled guests, none louder than Tiann.  Her nameless anxiety fled at the joy on Brierly's face.  Of course nothing could happen.

         She stepped forward to hand Brierly her lilies.  Brierly held out her arms to embrace her, and a sharp crack split the air.  Tiann stopped dead.  A scarlet stain blossomed across the front of Brierly's wedding gown as she fell.  Peter lunged to catch her.  Someone screamed—Tiann's mother.  More cracks in the air, and Mother fell, too.

         Tiann couldn't move, couldn't think.  Men with painted faces and gleaming black weapons appeared out of nowhere, as if they had portals all their own.  People ran and screamed and fell around her.  A painted man ran toward her with a long, shining knife, but still she couldn't move.  He had a symbol tattooed on his cheek and trailing down his neck.  A golden tattoo.  She opened her mouth, but couldn't scream, couldn't breathe.

         Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away.  It was Dalin.  "Run.  Get to the portal."  He dragged her away, stumbling across the grass.  As they reached the portal, a thunderous roar shook the earth.  Tiann turned back.

         Red and orange flames engulfed the temple.  It wasn't possible.  It couldn't be happening.  In a panic, Tiann started to run back—back to Brierly, to her parents.  This couldn't be real.  Dalin caught her around the waist.

         "No, Tiann!  We've got to get away from here."  He pushed her onto the portal, but he did not follow.  The man with the golden tattoo was upon them.  He slashed at Dalin with his cruel knife.

         Tiann screamed and could not stop.  The portal opened.

         Alone, she curled into a ball on the ground, and pressed her fists against her eyes to shut out the images behind them.  It had to be a nightmare or a hallucination, a mistake.

         She had heard the rumors, of course, of such attacks on other temples, but those were far away and almost unreal, like something that happened on another world.  Not in Plum Valley.  Not to her sister, her family, her friends.  For a moment she saw again the man's painted face and glittering tattoo.  It snapped clearly into focus in her brain—a tattoo in the shape of a cockatrice.  She moaned.

         "Why are you crying?"

         Tiann looked up, startled.  A young man stood over her.  He held out his hand to raise her up.  He had skin tanned bronze by the sun and golden hair that hung past his shoulders.  His eyes were as green as the trees behind him.

         Trees?  The rational part of her brain clicked on again suddenly, like a light in a dark room.  The portal should have taken her home by default, but she stood in a forest that she did not recognize.  "Where am I?"

         "What?"

         "Where is the portal?"

         "I can't understand you.  What did you say?"

         Only then did she realize he had spoken in the sacred language of the temple, though with an odd accent.  She had understood it as easily as anything.  Wouldn't her mother be pleased?  Her mother.  She buried her face in her hands again.

         "Come with me," the young man said.  "Let me help you.  Do you understand me?"

         "Yes," she whispered in the sacred tongue.  "Why are you speaking the sacred language?"

         He raised an eyebrow.  "It is the only language I know to speak.  There's nothing particularly sacred about it."  A smile flickered, then died on his lips.

         Tiann began to shake with a violent trembling.  The temple language was an ancient tongue.  There was no portal in sight.  She should be home, but home was a nightmare, and the young man standing before her an impossible vision.  "Wh...who are you?  Where am I?"

         He reached out toward her, but did not touch her.  "Don't be frightened.  You are safe here.  You are in the forest of Shemad, the king.  I am Jade, his son."

         Kings, princes?  She had fallen into a fairytale.  Bitter laughter stuck in her throat.  "Jade, I want to go home."

         "Where is that?"

         "Plum Valley."

         "I don't know that place.  How did you come to be here?"

         I came through a portal.  But that didn't make sense.  A portal would have taken her home.  "I don't know."  Her voice quavered.  "I just don't know.  I was outside the temple.  We were attacked.  Dalin pulled me to the portal."  She stopped.  He must think her mad.  Perhaps he was right.

         "What is your name?"

         "Tiann.  Tiann Woodland."

         "Will you come with me, Tiann Woodland?"  She hesitated, noticing for the first time the bow and quiver of arrows he had slung across his back.

         "Why do you carry those weapons?"

         "I was hunting."

         "Hunting animals?"  She felt queasy.

         "You didn't think I was hunting people, did you?"

         Tiann winced.  Jade shook his head.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... Actually, I was hunting the cockatrice."

         Tiann stumbled.  "Like this?"  She pulled the medallion out from under her dress.

         Jade cupped the medallion in his hand.  "Yes.  Like that."  He let the medallion drop, and his eyes were troubled.

         "But it isn't real."

         "Oh, it's real.  Rare maybe, but real."

         "Why do you hunt it?"

         "It is the symbol of my father's house."  It didn't seem like an answer to Tiann, but he didn't say anymore.  He had grown pensive and unreadable.

         She didn't want to go with him.  She had never had cause before to mistrust strangers, but the world had slipped sideways, and all sorts of horrifying and unbelievable possibilities had become a reality.  And it had all begun with the cockatrice.

         Her head spun and bile rose in her throat.  She had to lean against a tree to stay upright.

         "You aren't well.  You can't stay out here."

         No she couldn't.  She looked at him.  His eyes were kind, his face lined with concern.  He held out his hand.  "You will be my honored guest in the house of the king, Tiann Woodland."

         She took his hand and let him support her for a moment until she felt steady on her feet again.

         He didn't speak as he led her through the forest.  She was grateful.  A blessed numbness settled over her.  She focused her attention on the soft, green moss that covered the forest floor, the golden light shining down through the leaves, the choir of birds and unseen animals chittering and scuffling through the trees.  The air smelled of springtime, clean and new, untouched by time.

         "Here we are," Jade said.  They emerged from the trees on the foothills above a sheltered valley.  A lake stretched between the mountains and filled the opposite end of the valley—the western end, she guessed, as the sun was already low in the sky above the lake.

         Dwellings dotted the valley, widely scattered near the foothills, but clustered close together on the lake shore.

         The king's house sat on a bench overlooking the valley.  It was built of stone and polished wooden columns carved with images of the cockatrice and other symbols she couldn't decipher at first glance.  Jade led her into a spacious entry hall.  The setting sun cast a yellow light through the tall, empty windows carved into the walls.

         Jade beckoned to a young woman.  "Dira, this is my guest, Tiann."

         Dira bobbed her head.  "Yes, my lord."

         "Dira will show you where you can wash and rest.  I will come for you at meal time."

         "Thank you."  A cold lump formed in her stomach as she watched him walk away.

         "Miss?"  Dira watched her expectantly.  "This way, please."

         Dira led her through a curtained doorway.  The room held a narrow wooden bed, a seat of wicker, and a small fireplace in which several clay jars heated over glowing coals.  A large wooden tub sat in the middle of the room.

         Dira at once began filling the tub with water from the jars.  Tiann sat down on the bed.  "Was this for someone else?"

         "Oh, no.  The lady Shoshana told me to expect you."

         "Who?"

         "Shoshana.  The princess."

         "But, how...?"  She stopped.  Maybe this princess had been with Jade before he had spoken to her.  Or maybe not.  She didn't even want to know.

         "There you are."  Dira poured the last of the jars into the tub.  "I have left you something suitable to wear, a dress of Shoshana's."

         "Thank you, Dira."

         "Of course, my lady."  She dipped her head and disappeared through the curtains.  Tiann bathed and dressed in a kind of stupor.  She thought only of what an odd place she had come to, where they spoke the sacred language and had servants and kings.  Where they carried weapons and hunted the forests for mythological beasts.  She did not allow the other thoughts—the painful ones—to worm their way in.

         When she was dressed in a simple, unadorned gown of pale pink, Dira reappeared to comb her hair and braid it down her back.  "You look lovely," Dira said.  Tiann hung her head.  Her mother had told her that just before they left for the wedding.

         Dira left her, and Jade came in to escort her to supper.  "Are you feeling better?"

         "Yes."  She took his proffered arm.  "I thank you for your kindness."

         He led her into a large hall, empty except for three people seated at a low table on a dais.  On the wall behind the table hung a golden shield with the emblem of the cockatrice.  "Father," Jade said.  "This is Tiann Woodland of Plum Valley.  Tiann, my father Shemad, the king."

         Tiann bowed, unsure of the proper expression of respect.  "I am deeply indebted to you for your kindness."

         "The king's house is always open to those in need," the king said.  He looked very much like Jade, though his hair had gone white and his eyes were gray.  On his right sat a young man identical to Jade in every respect.

         "My twin brother, Jordan."  Tiann smiled, but Jordan only nodded without any expression.  "And this is my sister, Shoshana."

         Shoshana, who had known she was coming.  She had long black hair, pale blue eyes and skin as creamy white as one of Brierly's lilies.  To Tiann's surprise, Shoshana stood up and embraced her.  "I am sorry for your pain," she whispered in Tiann's ear.  Then aloud, "Please sit and join us."

         Tiann sat on a low wicker seat like the one in her bedroom.  Several servants brought in food on large round platters, small wheat cakes, dried fruits, cheese and bread and fresh milk.

         She had hardly begun to eat when the king said, "Are you a sorceress?"

         "Father!" Jade protested, but the king held up a hand to silence him.

         "No, sir," Tiann said.  "I am not a sorceress."

         "These portals you spoke of – they are not magic?"

         "No.  Not at all.  They're more like doorways.  You just get on and tell it which doorway to open and there you are."  She stopped.  "Where I come from, it's not considered magic."  She looked down at the table.

         "This medallion you wear—where did you get it?"

         She looked up at the king again.  "I met an old woman on the path.  She gave it to me.  I wouldn't have taken it from her, but she insisted that I have it."

         "Perhaps you found your cockatrice after all, Jade," Jordan said.  Jade glared.  For a moment, the twins' eyes locked in some unspoken tension.

         "I found someone in pain, and offered my help.  Do you disapprove?"

         "No.  I do not disapprove of kindness."

         The king slapped his hand against the table, and Tiann jumped.  "We do not disapprove.  I am only trying to find out where she came from and why she is here."

         "She is here to help us," Shoshana said softly.  Everyone turned to stare at her.

         "Help us how?" Jordan said.

         Shoshana looked directly at Tiann.  "Only she can discover that."

         "I don't understand," Tiann whispered.

         Shoshana turned calmly back to her meal.  "How she got here is not important."

         Tiann dropped her hands into her lap and stared down at her plate.  Jade patted her shoulder.

         "Very well," the king said.  He did not question her further.  The conversation turned to other matters.  Tiann spoke little.  She ate, but the food turned to dust in her throat. 

         At the end of the meal, Jade took her up to a balcony overlooking the valley.  The sun had set and the stars had come out.  They, at least, were familiar.

         "I must apologize for my father.  I did not want him to upset you."

         "He had the right to ask.  I wish I had the answers."  She leaned against the railing, looking out across the lake.  "Do you believe what your sister said?  That I'm here to help you?"

         "I always believe what Shoshana says."  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  "Tiann, I don't know you yet, but I'm glad you're here."  He opened his eyes and reached toward her.  "I'm glad you're here."

         Tiann took his hand, but her heart was heavy.

         Later, lying in the narrow bed, all her numbness and circumspect barriers melted away, and silent tears ran unchecked down her cheeks.  She tried to breath through her mouth without sniffling.  She didn't want to bring Dira or someone else running to her room in the middle of the night.  But moments later, the curtains rustled and someone knelt beside her bed.

         "Tiann."  It was Shoshana.  Tiann sat up and let Shoshana take her in her arms and wipe the tears from her face.  "You must not grieve for the unborn," she said.

         "Unborn?"

         "Your sister and the others.  They will not be born for many hundreds of generations."

         A sob escaped her throat that was almost a laugh.  "Then neither will I, but here I am."

         "Yes.  Here you are.  I think you were sent here for a purpose."

         "You knew I was coming.  You know why I'm here."

         "I knew that you were coming, and that you were in pain.  I know that you will help us."

         "How do you know that?  Are you some kind of prophetess?"

         "Prophetess?  You might call me that.  I see things.  I know things.  I have learned to trust what I have been given."

         "Jade trusts you, and the rest of your family."

         "Yes, and you must trust me, too, when I tell you that you are needed with us."

         "But why?  What am I supposed to do?"

         "Only you can discover your purpose here."

         "You won't tell me?"

         "I can't tell you.  I don't know.  I don't see everything."

         Shoshana kissed Tiann's forehead.  "Sleep now.  Be comforted.  Do not weep for the future.  The future is not yet written."

         Tiann lay on her back and stared at the ceiling she couldn't see in the dark.  The future.  It was the only explanation she could think of for the language and customs she had stumbled into.  But how could she have traveled from the future?  The portals could theoretically move through time, but it didn't work in practice, not that she'd ever heard.

         She closed her eyes and let thoughts swirl inside her head.  It all came back to the cockatrice—the medallion, the tattoo, the shield in the hall.  Jade hunted the cockatrice and found her instead.

         The image of the cockatrice rose in her mind, golden and sinuous, writhing in an intricate dance.  It flapped its wings and clacked its beak and fixed her in its shining red eyes.  "What do you want from me?" she whispered, but the beast gave no response.

         Jade took her into the forest again the next day to search for the portal at the king's request.

         "He wants to send me away?"

         "No.  He wants to know more about these magic doorways and if they pose a threat to his kingdom.  You said you were attacked after all."

         "I'm not sure we'll find anything.  I didn't see a portal yesterday, though I was hardly in the right frame of mind for searching."  She wanted to add that a portal didn't just appear.  Someone had to build it.  But she didn't mind searching.  The forest was cool and fragrant, and Jade's company pleasant.

         "Are you very close to your brother?" Tiann asked.  "My sister, Brierly—we weren't twins, but we've always been very close."

         Jade sat down on an old stump, and leaned on his bow.  "We were close as children.  We did everything together."

         "But not anymore?"

         Jade sighed.  "No.  Not anymore.  It's just that now my father must choose one of us as his heir.  He doesn't know which one of us to choose.  It has become... awkward... between us." 

         "Does it matter?  Will you be banished or something if you're not chosen?"

         "No."  He stood and turned his back to her.  "But it matters to me."

         "I'm sorry."  She stepped up behind him.  "I didn't mean to offend you.  It's just so strange to me.  Where I come from, we have no kings at all."

         Jade turned around.  "It must be chaos."

         "No.  It is beautiful and peaceful and safe."  She stopped.  "At least it was."  Her voice dropped to a whisper.  "Something has gone terribly wrong."  Grief stabbed through her chest.  She buried her face in her hands.  Then Jade's arms were around her, holding her tight until the pain subsided and she could breathe again.

         "You see, Tiann," he said when she stepped away, "we have safety and peace here because of our king.  I want to preserve that peace, to uphold all that my father has accomplished."

         "But Jordan doesn't?"

         "Jordan is a good man.  He is strong and brave.  But he is not bold.  He is too timid.  He would make a weak king."  He fell silent.

         After a moment, Tiann spoke.  "I'm sure you would make a fine king, Jade."  He smiled and squeezed her hand.

         "Let's keep looking.  Over there is where I found you."  He pointed and she followed.

         She recognized the spot where she had lain.  If there was a portal, it should be nearby.  She didn't expect to find anything, but just behind a large pine she spotted a shimmer of blue.

         "Here it is."  She scraped off the dirt and moss to reveal the portal, barely large enough for one person.  No wonder she had missed it yesterday.  Who had put it here?  If Shoshana was right, who could have built a portal here so long ago?

         Jade stood behind her.  "Could anyone else come through it?"

         "It's so small.  I don't think so.  The portal I came through had lots of people on it, and I was the only one who ended up here."

         She stood up and put her hand over the cockatrice medallion.  "I wonder if it would take me home."

         "Wait."  He grabbed her arm. 

         She gasped.  A creature had come out of the trees around the portal.  A cockatrice.  It looked just as it had in her dream, a feathered serpent with a rooster's head, all golden and sinuous with blood-red eyes.

         Jade drew his bow.  "No."  She held out her arm to stop him.  "Don't shoot it.  It's so beautiful."  She took a step toward it with her hands outstretched.

         "Take care," Jade said.  "It's dangerous."

         "That's something else we don't have where I come from," she whispered.  "Dangerous animals."

         She knelt down, reaching for the cockatrice.  Its head swayed hypnotically.  She held as still as if she'd been turned to stone.  The cockatrice stepped toward her, hissing and clacking its beak.  She heard Jade shift behind her.  Still, she did not move.

         The cockatrice came closer, close enough to touch.  She held her breath.  It poked its head against her hand.  Jade sucked in his breath.  Slowly, slowly, Tiann ran her hand down its feathered head and along its smooth, serpentine back.

         With a hiss the cockatrice flapped its golden wings and landed on her shoulder.  Its claws dug into her firmly, but not painfully. It draped its snake tail across the back of her neck and over her other shoulder.  Her heart rattled in her chest.  She stood up and carefully turned around.

         Jade's mouth hung open, his bow held slack in his hand.  With his other, he reached for the cockatrice.  It spat and snapped at his fingers.  His eyes shone as fierce and green as his name.  "This is perfect.  Perfect.  Now my father's choice will be clear."

         His gaze slid from the cockatrice to Tiann's face.  "Come and show my father."

         A cold flutter of nervous excitement settled in her gut.  She glanced down at the portal, then back at Jade.  What would she find if she went home?  Nothing but grief and terror?  She found she was trembling again.  Perhaps she had found her purpose.  The cockatrice folded its neck back and tucked its head under its wing.  Together she and Jade made their way back to the palace.

         They found King Shemad and Jordan together in the great hall deep in conversation.  "Father, I have found the golden cockatrice," Jade announced.  They looked up, their conversation suspended.  Tiann ran her hand along the cockatrice's tail just to reassure herself that it was actually there.

         "Incredible," Jordan said.  He came closer.  "How did you catch it?"

         "I didn't.  It just... came to me."

         "And you claim you're not a sorceress?" the king said, but he was smiling.  "I never hoped to see one alive.  Well done."

         Shoshana came running in, breathless.  "I heard—oh!  You found it."  Her eyes were shining.

         "Yes," Jade stepped forward.  "The cockatrice has come to me as it came to your father's father so long ago."

         "It looks like it has come to your friend," Jordan said quietly.

         Jade scowled at his brother.  An uncomfortable silence ensued.  Jordan and the king exchanged glances.  Tiann bit her lip.  "I think you know what you should do," Jade said.  "Father?"

         The king turned his back and stared at the golden shield.  The cockatrice tightened its grip on Tiann's shoulder.  She glanced over at Jade, but his face was unreadable.  At last the king faced them again.

         "I have already made my decision."

         Jordan spoke.  "Father, perhaps—"

         "No, Jordan.  My decision stands."  He faced Jade.  "Jordan will be my heir."

         "Jordan?"  Jade's voice shook with fury.  "How can that be?  How can you ignore this?"  He pointed at Tiann and the cockatrice.

         "Your cockatrice is impressive, but it has no bearing on my choice.  I have made the right decision."  He put his hand on Jade's shoulder.  "I love you my son.  I wish your mother could see what a fine and courageous young man you have become.  You have much to offer the kingdom.  But not as the king."

         Jade pushed his father away.  "You are a fool."

         "Jade, please—" Jordan started, but Jade pushed past him and strode from the room without a backward glance.

         Tiann started to go after him, but Shoshana caught her arm.  "Let him go.  He'll be back."  Her pale blue eyes were rimmed with tears.  Jordan frowned at the floor.  The king sat at the high table, scowling.  Tiann stood there in the midst of the family with the cockatrice's claws sinking into her shoulder.  She didn't know what to say or what to do or where to go.

         The king sighed.  "Jordan, send runners to all the villages.  In two weeks time I will present you to the people and hold a feast in your honor."

         "Yes, Father."  Jordan bowed and left.  The king stood.  He stared for a long moment at the cockatrice, but Tiann could not meet his gaze.

         When he was gone, she turned to Shoshana.  "Jordan doesn't seem pleased."

         "He loves his brother.  He doesn't want this conflict between them."

         "Did your father make the right decision?"

         "My Father is a wise man."

         "What about Jade?"

         "I don't know.  I fear his anger and his pride could have consequences for us all."

         Together they walked out onto the balcony.  Storm clouds gathered out over the lake and distant thunder rumbled.  "But Jade has been so kind to me, so..."  She trailed off, embarrassed.

         "Remember, Tiann.  More may be handed down through the ages than just a language."

         "What do you mean?"  The wind had picked up and Tiann shivered in the sudden cold.

         "The cockatrice has come to you.  That is a powerful gift, I think.  You must be brave."

         Tiann started.   The old woman had told her that as well.  "I don't feel brave."

         Shoshana smiled mildly.  "No one with a cockatrice sitting on her shoulder can claim she is not brave.  Come; let's find a place to keep your pet.

         But the cockatrice would not leave Tiann's shoulder until she finally returned to her room.  Then it fluttered off and perched on a bedpost.

         The storm had arrived and rain fell in sheets.  Dira came in to cover the window with some kind of animal hide.  She glanced warily at the cockatrice, but did not speak of it.  She built a fire, brought in dinner on a tray, and left her alone.

         It was dark with only the small fire for light.  The rain pounded relentlessly.  She ate her dinner and watched the cockatrice scurry about the room, hunting for mice in the shadows.

         She wished Shoshana would come to see her.  Or Jade.  Where had he gone?  She lay back on the bed and watched the flicker of the flames on the ceiling.  The cockatrice found a meal, curled up on the end of the bed, and went to sleep.

         She couldn't sleep herself.  She wondered if Jade had come back yet, and if he would come to her.  She thought about the appearance of the cockatrice and Shoshana's fear.  Nothing made sense anymore. She wished she could talk it over with Brierly.

         When the fire had burned to embers and the storm had rumbled off over the mountains, Jade came into her room.  He was damp from the rain.  "Are you all right?" she asked.

         "Yes.  Come with me, quickly.  Bring the cockatrice."

         "Where are we going?"

         "I can't explain now.  Just follow me."

         She smoothed out her rumpled dress and wrapped herself in a thick wool cloak that Dira had hung near the door.  She hesitated to pick up the cockatrice, but she didn't have to.  It stood up and clacked its beak as soon as she approached.  Its red eyes gleamed like the embers of the fire.  It bobbed its head, weaving its neck a few times before it perched on her shoulder again.

         Jade led her out of the palace.  Outside, the night was cold and dripping, alive with the crisp scent of rain.  Stars winked through the ragged ends of the storm clouds.  He led her down toward the village.  She stumbled now and again in the dark, but Jade did not let her fall.

         The path led to a secluded grove of trees where a group of men sat around a crackling bonfire.  "Jade, what is this?"

         "My supporters.  This is why you are here."

         She hung back, but Jade pulled her forward.  The cockatrice hissed and spit, and all the men turned to look.  The firelight cast harsh shadows on their faces.  She stepped back.  She would have run from the ugly darkness on those faces, but Jade's grip was too tight to break free.

         "The mistress of the cockatrice," he said, dragging her to the head of the circle.

         "What are you talking about?"  But Jade did not hear her over the cheering of the men.  They whooped and slapped the ground until Jade held up his arms for silence.

         "She came to me.  She brought the cockatrice to me.  She has come to make me king."  Tiann's mouth went dry.  "My father will not see it, but you have seen it.  You know who is truly meant to be king."  Tiann opened her mouth, but could not speak.

         A foreboding silence settled over them.  The heat from the bonfire stung her face.  The men stared up at Jade with worshipful expressions.  Indeed, his gold hair and tanned skin glowed in the firelight.  He was beautiful.  Beautiful and dangerous as the cockatrice itself.

         "Tonight we swear an oath as the brotherhood of the cockatrice.  We will reveal this brotherhood to no man outside of this circle.  Bring me the sacrifice."

         One of the men handed Jade an animal in a cage, some sort of weasel.  As soon as Jade lifted it from the cage, the cockatrice screamed and bored its claws more deeply into her shoulder.

         Jade held the weasel up by the scruff of the neck.  "As we shed the blood of the weasel, enemy to the cockatrice, so we will shed the blood of those who oppose us."

         In one deft movement, he drew out a knife and slit the weasel's throat.  Tiann gasped and turned away.  She had a sudden, horrifying image of Dalin cut down before her eyes.  The cockatrice flew from her shoulder.  She didn't see where it went.

         "We will begin with the king and his heir," Jade said.  Tiann stared in disbelief.  Jade had drained the weasel's blood into a shallow bowl, which he held out in front of him.   "Now we make our oath.  By the blood of the weasel, by the cockatrice and its mistress."

         "No," Tiann whispered, but Jade did not stop.

         "We will subdue our enemies under our feet.  We will show them no mercy.  We will remain loyal to the brotherhood for all eternity.  Anyone who reveals what was done here this night will suffer the fate of our enemies.  We will drink their blood."  He tipped the bowl to his lips and drank.

         Tiann's throat clenched.  One by one all the men drank from the bowl and swore their oaths to Jade.  With ash-blackened sticks they drew the image of the cockatrice across their cheeks.  In the crude rendering Tiann saw again the shining tattoo on the man who had killed Dalin.

         More can be handed down than just a language.

         Someone in the circle beat out a rhythm on a hollow drum, and the men began to chant.  If they used the sacred language, she didn't understand it.  She didn't want to understand it.  The words hung like a black pall over her soul.

         Jade did not join the chanting.  He stood apart form the circle, listening.  "Jade," Tiann said quietly, "don't do this."  She had to struggle to keep her voice even.  "You can't do this."

         "Don't be frightened."  He stroked her cheek, and she flinched.  "No harm will come to you."

         "It already has."  The crackle of the bonfire had become the roar of the burning temple; the bowl full of blood splashed across Brierly's lilies.  Her stomach tightened.  "I want no part of this."

         "But you are a part of this.  The most important part."  He took her by the shoulders.  "It will be glorious, Tiann.  You and your cockatrice will rule by my side." 

         "No."  She tried to step back, but he pulled her in closer.  This could not be the same young man who had helped her to her feet as she wept in the forest.  His eyes were cruel and hungry.  He kissed her fiercely and would not let her turn away.

         She heard a hiss and Jade jumped back with a cry.  The cockatrice was on him.  Its claws left a gash in his arm.  It landed on the ground between them, its wings spread wide.

         Jade's men stopped chanting and stood.  Many had spears or bows at the ready.  For a moment there was no sound but the hissing and spitting of the cockatrice.

         Someone stepped out of the trees and into the circle of firelight.  It was Jordan.  "Go back," Tiann cried.  "They'll kill you."

         "Will you, Jade?"  Jordan continued toward his brother, perfectly calm.  He carried no weapon that Tiann could see.  "You'll have to kill your friend there, too.  And Shoshana and the palace guards."

         Tiann hadn't noticed them before, but Shoshana and the guards stood at the edge of the trees.  There weren't so many as Jade's men, she thought.  "It would be hard to do all that in secret, wouldn't it?" Jordan said.

         "If you would refuse the throne, I wouldn't have to," Jade said.  "You know you've never wanted it."

         "It doesn't matter what I want.  It doesn't matter what you want.  What matters is that we trust our father and abide by his decision."

         "But the cockatrice—"

         "The cockatrice came to me tonight and led me here.  Do you think it was trying to lead me to my death?"  He stepped closer, close enough to touch.  "I don't want to be your enemy, Jade.  If I am to be king, I need you by my side."

         Jade didn't answer.  The two of them stood unmoving.  Smoke from the bonfire drifted between Tiann and the twins.  They looked like ghosts, obscure ghosts from the dim past.  Yet she felt the weight of her future resting on the outcome of this moment.  The cockatrice stood in front of her, weaving its head back and forth from one brother to the next.  Jade's men shifted and murmured.

         "Surrender," Jordan said.  Then louder, "Surrender, all of you, in the name of the king, and we will show you mercy."

         He turned around to face the men.  Jade pulled out his bloodstained knife.  Tiann moved almost without thinking and grabbed Jade's arm as he lunged forward to strike.

         With a wordless roar, he slashed her across the chest.  She fell.  The cockatrice screamed.  Pain seared through her.  Jade stood over her with his mouth open and eyes wide, as if surprised at what he had done.

         She heard the hiss and thud of arrows and Jade fell, brought down by the palace guards.  Tiann closed her eyes.  Each breath was agony.  A commotion arose, but sounded distant to her ears.  She couldn't tell if it was Jade's men and the guards, or the attack on her sister's wedding.  The sounds of both mingled in her memory.

         A weight settled on her, and she felt the smooth skin of the cockatrice against her neck.  The pain lessened somewhat.  The noise subsided.  She thought she might be dying, and wondered suddenly if she'd end up in heaven-past or heaven-future.

         Someone spoke her name, stroked her hair.  She opened her eyes.  Shoshana was there, cradling Tiann's head in her lap.  "You must not die," she said.  "Not here."  She bowed her head until her hair brushed Tiann's cheeks, and she whispered words in a language older and more sacred than even the temple tongue.

         Warmth filled her, and light expanded until the darkness that covered her soul was driven away.  The cockatrice stirred.  Its soft feathers brushed against her chest.  She could breath again.  Shoshana helped her sit up.  The gash was still there ugly and raw, but it did not bleed.  It did not hurt.

         She became aware of her surroundings.  Most of the brotherhood of the cockatrice had surrendered to the guards.  Dawn had just begun to brush the sky.  Beside her, Jordan held the body of his brother and wept.

         Tiann laid her hand on the back of the cockatrice in her lap.  "Shoshana, I want to go home."

         Both Jordan and Shoshana accompanied her through the forest to the portal.  She wore her own dress again, which Dira had cleaned and mended.  The cockatrice rode once more upon her shoulder.

         When they reached the spot where the portal lay, the cockatrice flew off and vanished into the trees.  Tiann sighed.  Sadness tightened her chest.  She brushed the dirt and moss from the tiny portal, and turned to face Jordan and Shoshana.

         Jordan bowed solemnly.  "You saved my kingdom and my life.  I promise you this:  the brotherhood of the cockatrice will not arise again as long as I or any of my descendants remain."

         Tiann nodded her thanks.  Jordan's eyes were heavy with sorrow.  Shoshana touched the medallion around Tiann's neck.  "If this brought you here, it will take you home again."

         "What will I find there?"

         "The future is not yet written." 

         They embraced, and with a deep breath Tiann stepped onto the portal.  She closed her eyes, wrapped her hand around the medallion, and whispered, "Home."

         She stepped off the portal and onto the temple lawn.  The temple itself still stood solid and reassuring.  She slipped the cockatrice medallion off her neck and held it in her hand.  She would not use it again.  She dropped it onto the portal.  It lay there for a minute, glittering in the sun, and then it was gone.

         Her heart leapt when she turned around and saw Dalin loping toward her, holding the lilies.  "Where did you disappear to?  It's nearly time."  He thrust the lilies into her arms.

         Tears crowded her eyes, she was so ridiculously happy to see him alive.  "What's wrong?" he asked.

         It took a minute for her brain to wrap itself around normal speech instead of the sacred language.  "Dalin," she whispered.  "You would die for me."

         His cheeks went red.  "Why do you say that?"

         "It's a long story," she said and brushed the tears from her cheeks.  She reached for him.  He took her hand and held it tight and didn't let go.

         They walked together toward the temple as Brierly and her beloved Peter emerged.  A cheer went up from the crowd.  Tiann stopped.  She held her breath and counted the seconds.  No men appeared with their weapons and shining knives.  Brierly beckoned to her.  Dalin squeezed her hand.  "Go on."

         She took a step forward.  Then another.  Then she broke into a run.  She swept Brierly into an embrace so tight it took her breath away.  "Tiann," she gasped and laughed.  Tiann handed her the lilies, and Brierly kissed her cheek.  "They're beautiful.  They're perfect.  Thank you."

         As Brierly moved on to greet her guests, Tiann spotted the old woman standing near the temple with a golden cockatrice on her arm.  She recognized her at once.  Shoshana.  Tiann stepped toward her.  Shoshana raised her arm and the cockatrice rose into the sky.  Tiann watched it spiral upward until it disappeared into the sun.  When she looked down, blinking, Shoshana was gone.

         "Goodbye," Tiann whispered, "and thank you."  Then she ran to join the wedding celebration.

 

Copyright 2006, Angie Lofthouse

Angie Lofthouse is a stay-home mom of five children (four sons and one princess, er, daughter).  Her fiction has appeared in NFG, Irreantum, Amazing Journeys, Alien Skin and the anthology Unparalleled Journeys.  She is an editor at The Sword Review.  To learn more about her, visit her website: < angie.lofthouse.us >.