Chapter 2239

Daniel looked at Grace and she sheathed her dagger. She stepped toward the man."You'll speak to Daniel and me. Everyone else, head back to the inn. We'll join you shortly."

When no one moved, Grace barked."Now!"

Mark Meadows was surprised when Grace and Daniel came back inside with Kevin Kelly. He gave them a private room and left them alone. Kevin was sweating and kept glancing at Grace.

"Really, I would rather speak alone. This doesn'tinvolve the Night fae."

"She's a member of my adventuring party. If itinvolves me, it involves her. Speak."

"Ah, yes. Okay. Fine. Ah, do you remembermeeting me before? Here is in this room?"

"Yes. Of course."

"You remember you mentioned your parents,and I asked you for your full name?"

"Yes."

"It startled me. I knew your parents. I was partof the team sent by the king to help establish your parent's presence out by the Wilds. I was in charge of logistics. Carts, horses, supplies, all of that. I helped with the building of the home not far from the Wilds in that strange little ho vel of a town built by, well, built by the not-so-nice people of the Realm. They built an outpost of sorts to harbour themselves. Thieves, criminals, murderers. You get the idea.

"It was a strange place for your parents to go,especially with a child. They had a story about building a new apothecary out there. But I never believed it. I asked myself, why would the king be so interested in that? But the money was good. Very, very good. Too good in hindsight."

Daniel couldn't believe his ears. Here was a man who was involved in his parents heading out to the Wilds."Go on," he urged, eager to hear the details.

Kevin pulled out a handkerchief and wiped at his brow."Sorry, this is difficult. I've never told a soul. And seeing you that evening and knowing

who you were, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I had to speak to you tonight, if for anything to help with my guilt and shame."

"Yes, yes," said Grace."Guilt and shame. Finishyour story."

"I was there. The night the orcs attacked. It washorrible. So horrible."Kevin paused and Daniel could see his hands were shaking."Before that happened, your parents went into the Wilds with a party of adventurers. They were gone for two weeks. You were put in the care of a woman who was like a nanny to you, really."

Daniel had a flash of memory of an elderly kind woman, with grey hair and a children's song floated through his head for a moment. He nodded.

"She loved you and sang to you all the time.Silly songs about talking animals. I still remember most of them. Your parents came back alone. I could see they were hurt and shaken but I was merely the quartermaster for the expedition. No one confided in me. All I knew was that we were to prepare to evacuate

immediately. You wouldn't stop crying because your mother wouldn't spend time with you. But she was badly hurt, Daniel. Your father started to make a healing potion, but he was so flustered he ruined the batch. He was so angry!

"You cried and cried and kept trying to getsomething from your father. You wore him down and he handed it to you. I was there. I saw it. It was a black stone shaped like an egg. So completely black!It shone but with a red hue. Your father placed it in your hands, and you immediately stopped crying. You sat on the dirt floor holding the e gg smiling. You even spoke to it. A strange conversation.

"That's when the orcs attacked. They came in alarge wave and overwhelmed the outpost defences in a matter of moments. They were so angry!Driven!They descended on the little home your parents had. But just before they broke through,I swear I saw something enter the room and crouch behind you. A shadowy figure. It reached past you and snatched the egg from you. You started crying immediately. A long heart-breaking wail!I can still hear it. The figure hesitated and gave you back the egg and then scooped you up and fled with you both.

"The orcs came through the door then. I won'ttell you what happened to your parents or the nanny. They died. I should have, too. I woke much later, covered in blood with a nasty scalp wound. They must've thought me dead. But I survived and over several days I fled east away from the Wilds. I came back to Acron and Mark took care of me until I was well. He reported what happened to the king. I took my money and built my new business as a merchant.

"I'm so sorry, Daniel. I thought you dead. Whenyou walked into the restaurant and told me your name, I almost fainted in shock. I had to rush out and gather my wits. But now, I'm glad I got to tell you what happened. I'm so sorry!"

Kevin bowed his head, and his shoulders shook. He wiped at his eyes and pulled out his handkerchief and wiped at his nose.

Daniel sat back and stared at Grace, who stared back.

Grace tapped the man's knee."What did this figure look like? The man who took Daniel and the egg?"

"You won't believe me. It was as if I couldn't seehim. He was nothing but shadow, impossible to focus on."

"Did he say anything?"

"No, not a word."

Grace looked at Daniel."Does any of this sound familiar?"

Daniel shook his head."I have no memory of that. I remember orcs attacking. The mention of the nanny gave me a quick flash of memory. I think I remember her. The singing at least, and her grey hair. But nothing else. My memories start with me walking into Acron and starting a life here. It's strange I remember nothing else, isn't it?"

"It is," declared Grace."We'll figure that outlater."She turned to Kevin."Thank you for sharing this. It has been helpful."

"I'm glad. I'm sorry I didn't say anything thatnight you were in the restaurant. It was such a shock. I had thought you dead all these years!"

Grace rose and then sat down again."Wait, you said the egg was black. Completely black. Are you sure?"

"Oh yes!I will never forget it! It was so beautiful,like it was made of glass. If it weren't for the red glow, I swear I couldn't really look at it. It was the purest of black."

"All over? No white? It didn't gradually shiftfrom black to white?"

"Oh no,I would remember that. Is thatimportant?"

"Yes."

"Grace? What is it?" asked Daniel, watching her.

"I'll explain later. Kevin, thank you. Youshouldn't let this bother you anymore. Daniel is fine and under my protection. Do you have a wife?"

"Yes, and two children . A boy and a girl."

Grace pressed two platinum pieces into his palm."Excellent. Go home. Buy them gifts. Tell

no one else about this, okay? It's not safe for others to know. It's not safe for you to tell others. Okay?"

He nodded and opened his hand and stared at the wealth Grace had given him."This is too..."

"It's not enough, actually. Take care. Stay quiet.Come, Daniel."

She rose and Daniel followed her out into the night.

Back in the inn, Grace detailed to the others what Kevin had told Daniel and her.

"And you believe him?" asked Jason.

"Yes,I do," answered Grace."It lines up with a lotof things. We know the king sent the Davies into the Wilds to recover the egg. Why they were chosen is still a mystery. Something to do with their craft, I suppose. What we know now is that they were successful, but they were followed out. The adventurers with them likely died in the effort.

"No sooner do they get out of the Wilds then

orcs from the Wilds attack to recover the egg. I have no doubt of that. Then this dark figure appears and tries to take the e gg from Daniel here who was, I imagine, in the middle of a conversation with the female phoenix. He starts crying, and this figure decides to take Daniel with the e gg to keep him quiet. After that, who knows, but Daniel appears here in Acron seven years ago with no memories of what happened to him. Then years later Eric shows up dead with the egg. Notice anything strange there about the egg, Daniel?"

"The colour he described was wrong. The egg Itook from Eric was black and white, not just black all over. Black at the base and white at the top."

Amy and Jasmine nodded their heads."Yup, that's what we saw in Daniel's farmhouse. Black and white."

"Isn't that interesting," declared Grace, beamingat them all.

"How so?" asked Brian.

"The egg Daniel's parents took from the Wilds

was black all over. I am fairly certain it imprinted on Daniel, and we know Daniel seems to have powers from the female phoenix. But later when he recovered the egg from Eric it was black and white."

"So not the same egg?" asked Brian.

"Oh no, it's the same egg. We know the blackand white egg contains the female phoenix. It must be the same."

"So, what happened to change the colour?"

"Exactly!What happened?"

Brian looked around at the others and saw the same blank stares, except for Bitty, who looked thoughtful. "Bitty?"

"It was changed somehow," she answered."Somewhere. Like at Yanwey."

"Exactly!"declared a triumphant Grace."Whatever happened at Yanwey changed theegg. We know a couple of things. One, the male phoenix is missing. Two, the female egg didn't react to Daniel at all. But it should have! It

should have recognised him and the power inside him, but it didn't!So, what's going on inside that damn fucking egg?"

"Do you know?" asked Brian.

"Fuck no,I don't. But we're getting closer to thetruth!"

Grace looked triumphant at the others, but they just looked back uncertain.

THE NEXT MORNING, Daniel and his circle rose with the dawn and untangled themselves from the two beds they had pushed together. Using magic, they heated water and washed each other, taking their time and expressing their love. It was a common routine now, but the first time they had been able to do this in the comfort of an inn, instead of in a shallow creek in the woods.

They at e greasy eggs and bacon with toast in the inn's common room. The coffee was cheap and watery, but none of them minded. Their thoughts were on something else. They had one more thing to do in Acron.

"Are you sure about this, Amber?" asked Amy,with Jasmine looking equally concerned beside her.

"Yes! Of course, I am!I need to talk to her.Especially now. Honestly, it's all I've been thinking about all the way here. I couldn't care less about some damn egg. But my mother? And what happened to her? That I need to know."

"I'm going with you, Amber," declared Daniel,and shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth.

Amber shook her head."No, you are not. I won't have our spell caster within a hundred miles of my mother. She's a witch, remember?"

"Well, too bad, Amber," said Amy."Daniel is partof our circle. He goes where we go. Right Jasmine?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely. Come on. Let's get thisover with. Grace wants to leave for the Wilds and is graciously allowing us this time."