Chairiste's skin shivered softly in the chill night air, but the girl took no notice. She lay awake in the darkness, as she had lain awake every night this past week; alone for the first time in her young life.

Cyndele

Curled up on her side, Chairiste stared unblinkingly at the empty space beside her. The space that, until now, had never been empty, should never have been empty as long as this. One hand absently reached out to stroke the spot where long black hair, identical to hers, should have fanned out across the bedroll.

"Cyndele, sister, twin... where are you..." She whispered into the night.

Her sister wasn't dead. She would have known without a doubt if her twin had died. Some foul magic had transported Cyndele so far away that the bond that existed between them was thinner than spider-silk, and tauter than a bowstring.

‘I'll find you.’ She promised silently.

Chairiste's eyes shone in the pale light and her jaw tightened. She would continue to search. She had to find Cyndele. She must. One small tear glistened on her cheek and the girl closed her eyes. She whispered a small prayer to Fatale; if any harm should come to her sister, she would see that those responsible paid dearly.

Or she would die trying.

Far from her sister, somewhere in Arkane, Cyndele lay on her side, her good eye glowing with a dark rage at this ill-treatment. Her arms were twisted and tied behind her back and her head was throbbing painfully. The room was pitch black and sealed so tightly that even the light of the moons could not enter. Cyndele blinked, stabs of pain shooting through her swollen eye with the movement. Holding her breath, she refused to cry. She'd not give that satisfaction to her kidnapper.

Chairiste?

Growling low in her throat, Cyndele offered a sullen prayer to Devion, not expecting an answer. No, she would have to trust in herself, in her sister, to survive this thing. The gods would not interfere. But what of Chairiste? What had happened to her? Was she being held in the same way?

‘Chairiste, Sister... Where are you? Are you well?’ She wondered.

***

Cautiously, Cyndele touched the thin thread that bound them together and attempted to communicate with her twin. She could feel her sister, barely. Alone, somewhere, and far away. Cyndele tried to reassure her sister that all would be well, but despite her best efforts, she failed. A single tear escaped from the corner of her good eye and trickled down her face.

‘Please, find me Sister...’ She begged silently

The door creaked open and a shaft of light shone over Cyndele's huddled form. Her one gray eye was bruised and swollen shut, but her green eye was clear and glared up at her captor with all the rage she possessed. The tall, gaunt form of her brother stood over her, laughing at her helplessness. His cackle was not that of a sane man.

"How does it feel to be alone, runt? Daddy's not going to save you this time, and your little bitch sister doesn't even know how to breath without you there to hold her hand." He leaned in close, his breath sour with whiskey as he whispered harshly. "I'll have my fun with her after I'm done with you."

Cyndele bit her lip to keep from whimpering as despair rose within her. Korwin's face darkened as she remained silent.

"Stupid bitch! Speak, whelp!" He screamed angrily and kicked her sharply in the side. A loud crack resounded in the room as a rib broke under his assault.

Korwin...

Korwin grabbed Cyndele's raven black hair and yanked on it violently, pulling the girl to her feet. She stood limply on legs that could barely hold her weight. Pain exploded in her chest and light danced behind Cyndele's closed eyes, but she remained silent.

"Just as I thought.. Can't say anything without your sister to speak for you, can you?" Korwin taunted her. He let her go in disgust and she fell bonelessly to the floor, unable to use her hands to break the fall. Her head smacked the cold stone floor.

Find me....

As Cyndele faded into unconsciousness she continued to reach out to her sister, using the pain and blood to strengthen their bond. Her sister felt the touch, and screamed in silent agony as her ribs and head exploded with shared pain. She stumbled to the side of the road and collapsed in the dust, heaving dryly. Before it faded, she followed the pain back to it's source.

Cyndele!!

The mental touch of her twin was all too brief before it faded into blackness. Chairiste knelt, holding her head. Her vision darkened dangerously and she almost joined her sister in unconsciousness, but her rage fed her. As the stars cleared from her vision and the pain receded, Chairiste's anger grew.

Korwin...

Her eyes narrowed, glowing ferally as she growled softly. Memories of their older brother flooded back: a tall, thin man, with dark hair and half-elven features. He had rarely spoken to them.. Always keeping himself distant and aloof, his eyes like cold flames. Korwin had always been jealous of them... envious of the closeness they had with their father.

Chairiste thought of their Lord Father, the BlackRobe Vizier, Kregor, and shook her head. Their Lord Father would kill his own son without hesitation for his acts against the family, but Chairiste wanted to save the revenge for her own hands. She snarled. She would tell her Lord Father only after he was dealt with. The traitor would die, but that death would be _hers_ to mete out!

"I’m coming, Cyndele..." She promised aloud.

She stood, taking a few quick bites of her rations and a sip of water, and started moving again, following Cyndele's thread of pain and blood east, across the ocean, to Arkane.

Oblivious to the danger that was quickly approaching him, Korwin slammed the heavy iron door angrily as he left the tiny cell where his sister, Cyndele, lay bleeding. He punched the cold stone wall next to the door and cried out in rage.

The girl had always been stubborn, arrogant. He could _feel_ her unshakable confidence even now, mocking him. Fuming, Korwin climbed the staircase up to the ground floor of his new home.

She'd lose her attitude soon enough. He'd teach her to respect him before he killed her. After that, he'd teach the same lesson to his other sister, but without her twin, Chairiste would be that much easier to break. Smiling cruelly with anticipation, he stepped outside, into the streets of Arkane.

Parts of the city still burned from the attacks from Verminasia and the Marauders and a residue of blood and pain coursed through the city. Korwin licked his lips, reveling in the pulse of power that he now drew from, channeling most of it to be used later against his sisters.

With a small tendril of power, he struck out at a stray cat, killing it. He grinned evilly as he thought of what his magic would do to the arrogant whelps who had stolen his parents’ respect away. The animal's corpse sizzled in the street at Korwin's feet, and the acrid smell of burning blood filled his nostrils.

He would teach his sisters, indeed. They were helpless brats, and they would both grovel at his feet before he let them die.

And after them, it was only a matter of time before he was powerful enough to take his parents, who had cast him out of his rightful home in the Black Tower for "wasting" his talents on witchery instead of magecraft. He would show them what a warlock could do...

Licking a trace of his sister's blood from his fingers, Korwin's eyes gleamed with an insane light, and his smile broadened. Still completely unaware of the nearness of his other sister, he strutted proudly through the devastated strets of Arkane.

The sound of water, dripping endlessly, woke his prisoner. Cyndele moved her head painfully towards the sound of water. Her dry tongue filled her mouth, choking her. Carefully, Cyndele rolled onto her stomach and lifted herself on her hands and knees. She crawled towards the sound of water, every movement making her dizzy and nauseous with pain. No matter how putrid and dirty it was.. Water..

‘I can't take this much longer.. Sister.. Where are you?’ She thought, hating to admit the weakness.

Salty tears slipped down Cyndele's face as she pushed it under the dripping water. The tears, blood and water mixed on her lips and she drank gratefully. She had barely drunk enough when her keen ears picked up movement on the stairs outside her prison. Cyndele dropped to the floor in the corner, curling into a fetal position.

The door creaked open slowly, much slower than Korwin had ever opened it. A shadow fell across the doorway and Cyndele peer painfully into the light. The form in the doorway was not her brother.. It was her twin!!!

"Chairiste.." She barely managed to croak. Cyndele raised herself up and crawled towards her sister. She collapsed halfway across the room, darkness overtaking her as Chairiste rushed to her side.

Kneeling beside Cyndele, Chairiste took her twin’s battered face in her hands. Tears flowed freely down her face when she saw the damage done. Her twin's shallow breath rattled in her chest and blood had stained her ruined clothing. Her face, unrecognizable, was covered in cuts and bruises and her left eye was completely swollen shut. Blood had dried on her face and matted her hair.

"Oh Cyndele... I should have been here with you! It should have been me!" Chairiste whispered to her sister’s prone form.

She could see nothing of Cyndele's proud spirit, her joyous laughter and mischievous ways in this broken, weak body. Praying to Lord Fatale for mercy, she extended her hands and tried to heal what she could. Chairiste poured as much of her energy into her twin as she could afford, and soon she could see the swelling going down and Cyndele's breathing sounded easier. The weak spark in her mind that was Cyndele fluttered, growing ever so slightly stronger.

A sound in the doorway interrupted her. She rose slowly, turning to face the man that she had once called brother. Her fury ignited inside her, emanating from her like a searing heat, and the pleased smile on Korwin's face faltered.

Lord Fatale, grant your servant your aid...

Without thinking, Chairiste extended a part of her mind through their bond, and with it clasped Cyndele's spirit gently, merging it with her own. Her legs buckled, bringing her down to one knee. All of her twin's pain, all of her rage and despair, and all of her memories, flooded through her.

Korwin's eyes lit, and his smile returned. "Having problems, are we?" He took a few steps forwards, into the room. "Look at this.. Quite the little reunion, isn't it... Sisters." He smirked.

Cyndele was roused by the gentle touch of her sister's mind, and her soul fled her broken body to join her sister's. They snarled angrily and glared at the scum before them.

Chairiste/Cyndele looked up at the man standing before them, their eyes blazing with mingled pain and fury. They bared their teeth, snarling--a low, feral sound that echoed in their mind. The smell of blood filled their nostrils - Sister's blood - they growled silently.

They rose to their feet, standing before the empty body that had housed one of them moments before - had they cared to notice. Their attention was focused on the man.

Korwin watched the change in Chairiste with growing panic. Her eyes became alien, and for the first time, they both appeared green. His face paled as she rose, her hands curled into claws and her body rigid. Her teeth were bared, like a wild animal's.

Blood. She/they hungered for it.

Death... She/they promised.

The force of their pain, their rage, burned and writhed within them, and their mind thirsted for revenge. Unknowing, untrained, their young will gathered all of that power and all of their energy, and flung it at Korwin.

Helpless against the strength of the pain he had caused and the will of his siblings, Korwin fell to his knees. His mouth opened in a silent scream of agony as blood seeped from the corners of his eyes and ears and dripped from his nose. Cyndele/Chairiste smiled vengefully and poured still more power into him. The man gasped for air, choking.

She's gone mad! He thought frantically before every nerve in his body began screaming in pain and his vision turned dark, dark red, and then black.

And his blood began to boil.

Korwin began shaking uncontrollably and a red mist surrounded him. He screamed his finally breath and died in an explosion of flesh and blood. Cyndele/Chairiste stood facing the now empty doorway breathing heavily and smiling. Both their bodies were covered in gore.

It's done, Sister. He has paid.

They turned, looking down upon the empty body that had housed Cyndele.

Time.

One became two, and Cyndele's soul once again entered its own body. Their union remained only in their minds. Chairiste looked down on her sister, who had fallen into a pain-filled sleep.

"I will take care of you, Cyndele." Chairiste said as she knelt beside her.

Taking her sister's pain into herself with the last of her energy, Chairiste collapsed and both twins slept, together at last.