Chapter 1
The final soulful note of the bagpipe lingered in the air long after the piper's breath had left the instrument. Its full rich tone reverberated off the ancient stone monoliths, wrapping those few in attendance within its comforting and sorrowful embrace.
A light rain swirled in the air, blown by the cool wind that gently caressed the emerald green plain. No one noticed the cool clammy feel of the morning. It could not compete with cloaking sorrow that enveloped those gathered to witness the last journey of a man who lived well. Whose absence would be felt by those who knew him.
"Ian was my friend for more years than I care to remember."
Nigel began as the final note from the bagpipe finally became lost in the breeze.
Standing before the entrance to the ancient burial mound, ringed by nine, thirty-foot slabs of time-weathered limestone, Nigel looked weary. His left arm, in a sling was crossed over his chest. His right hand gripped the handle of an oak cane that steadied him, required due to the cast on his right leg. His hand flexed on the cane, gripping it tightly, his knuckles turning white under the pressure as he continued.
"I have spent the better part of my life, the best part of my life, at Ian's side. Through good times and bad, through danger and joy we tried to do what we felt was right. Tried to make the world a better place."
"Ian left this world better than he found it. He was a man of numerous talents. His most endearing and important was his ability to bring joy to those around him."
"Across the world there are testaments to his desire to help humanity. They are too numerous and wide spread to even begin to list. Suffice it to say that wherever Ian went he tried to help those he encountered."
"My life and the lives of those who knew him will be smaller with his passing. For all of his accomplishments, on this day I simply mourn the loss of my friend."
Nigel looked down at Ian's body, covered by a white burial cloth. The silk shifted in the wind, the golden figure of a dragon emblazoned upon it moved as if it were about to take wing.
'How did it come to this mate,' Nigel thought as he slowly moved aside to stand a moment next to Millie.
Millie placed a light hand on Nigel's shoulder, giving him a brief kiss on the cheek before stepping to the moss covered granite door of the chamber.
She paused here, not looking at the white-cloaked form before her, but instead letting her eyes travel over the few people in attendance. Valerie was weeping softly as she stood next to Michael.
Ian's death, his sacrifice, had caused her so much pain. Millie's heart went out to her niece, but she knew that Michael and Tera would take care of her, that she would, with the passage of time, come to grips with the pain, understand the sacrifice her uncle had made.
Michael had his arm wrapped around Valerie's shoulder, holding her close to him. His gaze was fixed on the horizon. His strong rugged features seemed older. As if what he had gone through in the last few days had changed him. Becoming more intense, more focused, more comfortable in his own skin. He exuded a calm powerful presence that was the counter point to the pain she found in his eyes.
'So much for one person to take on,' Millie thought as she took a deep breath closing her eyes.
"Ian is the love of my life." Millie began.
"He encompasses the best most noble things about us as a race. I have seen Ian in the middle of crisis stop everything he was doing to comfort a child and help them find their mother."
"I have seen him laugh as he was caught in an unexpected rain storm."
"I have felt his tears flow hot against my skin when faced with a horror found too late to stop."
"Ian was my best friend, my lover, my confidant, my playmate, my foil. Never have I encountered a man so completely and utterly whole. I will carry him with me always and look forward to the moment that we will be reunited."
"Do not mourn his passing, it is not what he would want. Better that we should live our lives by his example. Ian always found the joy in every moment, every challenge. He lived his life with love and passion. If all of us who knew him do the same, then we shall, with every moment we refuse to let slip by unnoticed, honor him and keep his spirit alive."
Millie's hand came to gently rest upon Ian's forehead beneath the cloth. She stayed there for a long moment, which drew out as the wind began to pick up. Her countenance was one of stoic strength. Few noticed the way her hand trembled as it lay upon on her fallen one.
"I love you."
She whispered, the words caught and taken by the breeze as she took a step back and then walked to Valerie's side.
Valerie's sobs increased as she moved from Michael into Millie's arms. The women holding onto each other, feeling the others loss along with their own.
Michael shifted his head to place a light kiss on Tera's cheek as his hand slid within hers. They walked slowly towards the body, splitting up to stand at the back corners of the rough-hewn litter which held Ian's remains.
Nigel walked over to Valerie and Millie, lending his presence and strength to both as two older men detached themselves from the crowd, moving to the front of the litter.
A single note issued from the bagpipe, as the four bearers lifted their charge gently, and walked towards the dark rectangle before them. Michael looked down at the body, the silk moving like liquid between the breeze and the motion of the litter.
His eyes came to rest on the form of the golden dragon as they carried Ian into the earth to rest with those who had preceded him down through the ages.
As they penetrated the shadowy interior of the crypt, Michael found himself brought back to his moment of revelation a few days prior under the maze. ............... The smile on Michael's face faded a bit as his hand slipped from the golden scales.
'A psychotic break, that must be it', Michael thought as he stared into the depths of the emerald eyes that regarded him with a mixture of concern and happiness.
Sitting down hard on the cool stone at the edge of the lake Michael ran his fingers through his hair shaking his head.
'The funeral, it must have been at the funeral, I just lost it completely, I'm in a hospital ward somewhere in restraints.'
