Skuld: making your mind up

A/N lol. Thanks for the reviews, could do with a few more though!
sheherazade - I was hoping no one would notice that, LOL, I promise Cheryl baker is not going to pop up in this fic ever.


Chapter 5

The magpie flapped steadily towards a dark and deserted looking house, the dusk only serving to make the place seem more eerie and unpleasant.
Arriving at the only window with a trace of light he tapped on the grubby pane to deliver his message.
Inside, the two men who had previously been bowing and scraping to a figure he couldn’t make out turned to the window, wands drawn. Sorrow croaked loudly in indignation tapping again to come in. The younger man came up to let him in, and roughly removed the letter tied to his leg. He read it swiftly and tossed it carelessly into the dying embers of the fire.
“What’s this? I thought you would know better than to be traced here, do I need to punish you to remind you of how important secrecy is?” the voice seemed to come from a large chair, but the speaker wasn’t visible.
“No master, it is the girl , that damn bird seems to able to find me anywhere.”
“Are you completely sure we can trust her? Is she loyal to your lord?”
“Yes master, she will do anything I ask of her, a fool like all women for the right promises” the man laughed harshly, “ perhaps she would even sleep with worm tail if I asked her to”
The smaller, older wizard rubbed his hands together in a silent moment of reverie,
“Ha, don’t get excited, rat, I wouldn’t sully any possession of mine by lending it to you!”
“I don’t want your dirty half breed anyway…”the other wizard hissed under his breath
“Enough!” the voice came again icy and commanding, “no more interruptions, no more correspondence, our plans must continue undetected, now leave me, go to your duties!”
Sorrow hopped up and down on the table anxious to leave, he didn’t like any of these men, and the enormous snake in the corner was defiantly looking at him as if he was a suitable next meal,
“get out bird, before I hex you, or feed you to the serpent” the younger man gestured sharply at him, in a fit of madness Sorrow flew up and pecked him hard on the fingers before slipping out the window, into the night sky and away.



Many miles away, Mia sat lay corpse like on her bed, her eyes closed and breathing steady. The darkness had flowed under the door and had now reached the small candle which sat on the beside table. As the jet blackness reached the small flame it hissed and guttered, then as the tiny light went out Mia stiffened and inhaled deeply, taking in candle smoke and blackness.
The candle immediately reignited as she waved her hand across the wick, she coughed and sat up slowly. “mmm, drink then some rest” downing a glass of water she curled up and drifted off the silent sleep.