Chapter 77About Hidden Heraldry

Silence fell over us like a velvet blanket, yet the other people in the pub continued like nothing had happened. I just couldn't fathom it. It wasn't just that she had drained her parents, but that she had felt them completely. Their souls laid bare to someone else, more than they themselves ever saw. Part of me wished that someone knew what we were talking about, scream something, panic or flee. But no one knew. Life just went on even when my heart stopped for a moment.

"Amy?" Valerie's voice was filled with care.

I blinked. "Yes. Eh... Sorry. The whole image just played in my mind."

Valerie smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry."

I stood up and gave her a hug. "Don't be. I asked and I'm glad I know." Well, not entirely glad, but it's good to know where some things come from.

Valerie accepted the hug gladly. "Thanks."

We just stayed there for a moment, holding each other. We both shared the pain, both shared the experience. That moment we were one in experience. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, in fact it was very nice for both of us to feel that there was someone else who felt what we had felt. To know, truly know. Slowly we released one another again and I noticed tears in Valerie's eyes. She smiled though, a thankful, open smile. As I sat back I fumbled a little with one of the coasters. My body didn't know exactly know what to do.

Valerie dried her tears and was staring at something. "What is that?"

I had no idea what she was staring at, I looked at my hand and didn't see anything special. "What is what?"

She pointed. "That bracelet, where did you get it?"

"My grandmother, why do you ask?" I didn't know what fascinated her so much about it.

That bracelet had been so snugly present on my wrist that I had completely forgotten about it. It had just been there, with me through everything I'd been through. The moonstone still kept it's blue, deep sheen to it, welcoming and open like the ocean. The white gold always felt as warm as my skin. Just there, never bothering, always supporting.

Valerie kept staring. "I've seen it before. I'm sure I have..." She looked thoughtful. "Can I see it?"

I held my wrist close so she could see. She peered into the depths of the moonstone and kept looking for a minute or so.

She looked up and smiled. "I knew it, here, deep in the stone you can see something. If you hold it up to the light it's quite clear at some angles. But it's very deep in the stone."

I took my arm back and gazed into the stone. What did she see in there? I stared and stared, moving it softly, seeing the glints in the stone change as I changed the angle. Then, finally I saw it. Deep within the stone, almost like an imperfection but much to clear to be ignored once you saw it. An almost three-dimensional drawing of a coat of arms. It was very detailed though hard to see. Like a picture in the clouds it was just dependant on how you looked at it, but unlike clouds it was incredibly fine in detail once you saw it.

"Get me a pen and paper please?" I softly spoke, still staring at the image.

She walked to the bar and got a pen and paper. It wasn't much but it was enough. I put the paper on the table and slowly took the pen in my right hand. I kept staring, memorizing each and every line. Slowly I created on paper what was embedded in my bracelet.

A shield with an eagle, open wings and head to the side, mostly stylized. No lines on the shield itself. On top some ribbons flowing out and up next to a knight's helmet looking to the left. Supporting the shield were two stags, their front hooves holding the side of the shield, standing as if they were on a hill. There was a sort of scroll thing underneath the coat of arms, but I couldn't read it.

It was so odd, knowing it was there made it clear as day. But losing your glance for a second meant you would have to look for it again. Also, I knew this bracelet was old, but the coat of arms wasn't just etched into the stone or something. It was in the stone. Not like those glass blocks with three-dimensional images done by lasers. This was more subtle. As if cracks in the stone, little imperfections, made the image clear only with the right light and the right angle. The drawing was done.

So how did Valerie know?

"Why did you look for it??" I asked her softly.

"I'm sure I saw something a while back. That bracelet must be very old." She looked at my drawing in thought. "You know, you did that very well. It's quite detailed. But about the bracelet, maybe in a dream or something. I'm very sure I've seen it, I knew what to look for. But I'm not sure anymore what."

A thought entered my mind. "In your dreams the past few days?"

"In my dreams?" She looked surprised.

I nodded. "Yeah, you seemed drugged like that kid we saw in the circle. I wouldn't be surprised if you dreamed."

Valerie looked at me."Maybe then. It's hard to tell. I can't get hold of the memory that's reminding me."

And I knew this was an odd sensation for us. Usually our memory was better than just good. Things we didn't even know we'd remember were recorded in our minds. So not remembering something must be an awfully unfamiliar feeling for her. I felt sorry for her.

"Let's go." I wanted to breathe the fresh air, walk home.

Valerie nodded. "So, what else did I miss?"

I had almost forgotten, all the things she'd missed in the time she was... away. I started to tell her about me and Khuna and what had happened. All the way up until the one that mattered most.

"Isabel, gone?" She asked me quietly.

"I think she's hidden, not dead." I spoke gravely.

She nodded. "Makes an eerie kind of sense I guess."

"Shall we go home?" I asked, hinting strongly that is what I wanted.

"No.", said Valerie, "I know where to go."

"Where?" We stepped outside.

She smiled. "An old friend."