Chapter 24

Skjor and The Silver Hand

A/N: I am back to write a couple more chapters for this because I feel I have let you guys down but I am going to try and write a few as soon as possible – Bexaday

Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls series

Aela's POV

Karliah has been acting strange the entire way towards Gallows Rock, I can feel it in the air around her, and her wolf is restless and my brow creases with worry and my wolf whines. I slow down and I can barely hear her steps behind me as I track the trail left by Skjor. I pause my tracking as I tilt my head back to hear Karliah, sometimes her steps are so silent I find myself being completely unable to hear Karliah and my heart beats hard in my throat when it happens because I will not lose her again, not now.

I turn around to find Karliah's orbs already burning into mine and my wolf whines as Karliah stops slightly behind me but she hasn't said a word since we left Jorrvaskr. I place my hand on her cheek and yet her posture still seems stiff and she locks eyes with mine for a couple of seconds and as I go to open my mouth she turns tilts her head out of my hand and walks past me. I frown at the dismissal and I whirl back round to see her retreating form. What is going on with her?! She knows we have to do this, no matter how she feels about him. Skjor is still a valued member of the Companions and a dear Shield Brother, even after everything I struggle to hold the anger and hatred in my heart. My wolf let loose a whine and it vibrates in my chest and I follow her and I am about to shout out to her when the ruin which can only be Gallows Rocks appears on the horizon. I pull my bow off my back and I look back to Karliah only to watch the last stages of her Change. By Yismir!

"Karliah what are you thinking! They will have sliver blades!" I exclaim at her and her ears flicker towards me before going flat on her skull and she charges forwards and my wolf scratches at the surface as I clench my jaw as I watch Karliah's form disappear into the ruins. I take in a deep breath as I run over to the ruin. That's when I hear the screams of the dying Sliver Hand, I smile as adrenaline begins to pump around my system as I enter the ruin only to be splattered with blood as Karliah rips a Sliver Hand in half and I stand there in shock at the act of violence.

This is not like her. I know she is angry for what Skjor did but this; this is an anger I didn't know she had. Even after the Revenant… Why hasn't she told me how angry she was? I shake my head and my wolf forces me to the side causing an arrow to miss me by mere inches and I grasp an arrow from my quiver and I roll as another arrow goes soaring where my head was and I pull my bowstring taunt and I let it fly and it buries itself into the Sliver Hand's throat. I turn as I place another arrow on my bow and I pull the string taunt.

"Kill the Companions!" One of the Sliver Hand yells and I turn to face them, determined to bury this arrow in their heart and I snarl and my lips curl as I pull the bowstring as taunt as possible and just before I let the arrow fly I see the dark mass which can only be Karliah and I see another Sliver Hand storming at her with his great sword glinting in the moonlight and I let the arrow fly into the chink in his armour and he goes down a few feet before Karliah. I stand and holster my bow and I take in Karliah's carnage around me, it is almost like she lost complete control, all that remains of the Sliver Hand are some entrails and bloody piles of flesh. I turn round and I begin to walk only to bump into a muscular torso and I look up as Karliah's head comes to my level and blood glitters on her muzzle in the sun and her sliver orbs meet mine and I can see the anger in those eyes.

"Why didn't you try to explain to me how angry you were instead of ignoring me?" I say to her and she looks away from me as her body begins to shudder as her fur falls out and I can hear the cracking of her bones and before I know it she is right in front of me, nude as if the moon gave birth to her. My eyes track down her body and my mouth goes dry and I can feel lust beginning to grow in the pit of my stomach and I cannot tear my eyes away from her and she pants and my eyes are glued to her chest watching it rise and fall rapidly. I hand on my chin forces my eyes to meet her silver ones and with it she gives me a half smile as the glow in her eyes only seems intensified under the moons gaze.

"I am sorry, I just feel bad because for you he means a lot to you and I do not want to cause an argument with you over how I feel" Karliah says and begins to redress herself and without uttering another word. And by the time I manage to comprehend what she has said she has begun to walk towards the aged doors of Gallows Rock. I know Karliah feels as if she was doing something selfless but she cannot shut me out like that, not after everything that has happened in such a short space of time. But on the other hand I know what she is saying; by Sithis it confuses me too. In a way Skjor is still my friend, my Shield Brother, but also maybe if he hadn't forced me to kiss him, maybe the Revenant Sasha would have never happened, he tried to drive us apart.

But he didn't succeed.

Well, I don't think he did but still sometimes it feels like he still has some influence over our relationship, at least from Karliah's side. I sigh as I hear the door open to Gallows Rock and I follow behind her and it is almost pitch black inside and I almost walk into Karliah and I only manage to not walk into her due to her meeting my gaze and I can just make out her smile as she draws her bow off her back and she crouches and I copy her and I strain my ears to hear her steps, why is she so quiet when she walks? I am not sure whether it is this place that makes all the more noticeable as this place just feels… eerie, like we shouldn't be here.

I reach out my hand to touch Karliah to grab her attention but there is nothing but empty space in the place she once stood, my eyes dart around in the darkness to find her and almost as if she knew I was looking her eyes meet mine for a second before turning back around and I follow her lead throughout the cavern.

We seem to walk through this place with no trouble, and the hairs on the back of my neck rise as we enter deeper into the cavern and we reach a series of downward stairs and I grab the back of Karliah's armour as my wolf lets out a small growl in caution and Karliah tenses and she turns slowly to me,

"What's wrong?" Karliah says and I place my hand on her shoulder,

"Can you not feel it? Something doesn't feel right here" I say to her and her brows scrunch slightly,

"I can feel something but I am not sure what it is, its best we be wary then" Karliah says and I nod at her words as she turns back around begins to head down the stairs and I follow her,

"We better be cautious, they don't call their leader the Skinner for no reason" I say and Karliah nods as we continue down the stairs and we reach a large heavy oak door and Karliah goes to open it but I place my hand on the door before she even has the chance to open it and I hold it shut before placing my finger across my lips and I place my ear to the door and I can hear muffled voices, and there seems to be quite a few.

"Sliver Hand" I whisper to her and Karliah's eyes seem to sharpen and she steps back from the door and she holds an arrow into her bow and slowly pull my sword from the scabbard and I adjust my shield on my arm and I meet Karliah's eyes and she nods at me and I pull the door open and before I can make it around the corner her arrow has flown from her bow and I hear the gurgle and thump of a dying body hitting the floor. My wolf snarls as I turn round the corner and five of the Silver Hand rush towards us and I split to the right as an arrow goes soaring past the place I was just stood.

"Companions! Kill them!" The Skinner yells and my wolf brushes to the surface and I lunge with my sword as a Silver Hand comes running at me and they deflect my blow with their shield before using that momentum to slice through me and I spin around them and I drag my sword through their stomach, cutting them almost into two, he grunts as blood pours out of his cut but he doesn't stop his attack and he lunges clumsily and I smile. This fight is already won. I knock his blade to the side and I slide my blade through his upper torso, straight into his heart and I can hear him gasp as my blade sinks through him and with a single jerk my blade comes sliding out of him and he falls to the floor.

"Aela! Duck!" Karliah says and on instinct I obey and I look up as a blade goes sailing through the air, where my body would have been, I bash my shield up into the blade, in an attempt to disarm them and I let out a growl as adrenaline pumps in my veins and as I bash my shield up I hear their blade hit the ground somewhere around me and I roll over and stand up to find this Silver Hand already has another weapon ready and they strike and I barely have time to react properly and I jump back from their dagger and I feel a sting and I know they have cut me slightly and that's when I feel the silver burn, By Sithis no. I grit my teeth before raising my shield arm to touch the wound and then my wolf snarls as I look deep into the black pits of the Silver Hands eyes.

"Ah I told you they would bleed easier than the other one did" My eyes go wide and anger burns through me, they must mean Skjor.

No.

He can't be dead; he can't have been murdered by them. My wolf rises to the service and my vision goes blue-black and my canine teeth become elongated, that's when I hear another body drop to the ground from Karliah's arrows. I snarl as I charge at this Silver Hand and he makes a wide arc with his dagger and I deflect its blow with so much force that he drops his dagger and I bash him in the face with my shield and he staggers and I keep on going towards him and I slash him with the back of shield and he staggers to the right and that's when I bury my sword in his belly and his eyes go wide and the meet mine and I knock him off my blade with my shield and he falls to the ground.

I turn around to see the rest of the Silver Hand dead and I my eyes lock onto Karliah as she brings her sword down into an arc and cutting clean through a Silver Hand and he falls to the ground. My eyes then move to find Skjor. I walk away from Karliah and I walk behind the Altar on shaky legs and that when I see him, just splayed on the floor like a common bandit.

He's not breathing.

I rush over to him and that when I see the huge wound running through his midsection and I look into his face and it is deathly pale, and his eyes are open. My wolf whines and I fall back away from him. I cannot believe it, they killed him. No. Anger and bile rises in my throat and I have to swallow to make sure I am not sick, I sit back fully and I place my head inbetween my legs as I take in deep breaths.

I just cannot believe he is gone. He was so strong and we all relied on him, even Kodlak did. That's when I feel a hand on my shoulder and it tightens and I lean against her leg,

"I am sorry Aela, I know he meant a lot to you" Karliah says softly and a single tear escapes my eye and I brush it away before standing. I will not cry over him, it isn't what he would have wanted. Even if our friendship all went sour towards the end, I still cared about him, and I feel responsible for what happened to him, me and Karliah practically forced him to leave Whiterun just because there seemed to be no other alternative.

"I caused this to happen Lia if-" I begin to say when Lia grabs me tightly by the shoulder,

"Neither you or I could have predicted this would have happened Aela, it isn't our fault" Karliah says and I avoid her gaze as I nod slightly, that's when I feel her hand on my chin and I look into her eyes,

"Hey, I mean it. I never wished this happened, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. We had no clue this is what would happen" Karliah says and I smile slightly at her and I nod. I guess there is truth in her words, we didn't have a clue this would happen,

"We have to avenge him, to restore respect and peace to Skjor and the Companions" I say and Karliah's eyes go solid silver and her jaw clenches and she gives a tight nod and I know this isn't what she thought but I cannot let this go unpunished!

"Okay, if that is what you want to do then we can do it, just tell me what to do" Karliah says and I smile, this is more than I expected from Karliah, I could understand if she just refused to help but for this I am truly grateful she is mine.

"Look around and see if you can find anything to do with the Silver Hand's location or maps or just something that we can start with" I say and Karliah nods and begins searching and I look back down at Skjor's body and I kneel as I close his eyes and I rest my hand on his armour as I make a silent vow to avenge him.

"I think I have found something" Karliah says and I stand up and she hands me a book and a map, and I smile. We will avenge you Skjor, despite everything that has ever happened we will.

For the Companions we will.

A/N: I am really sorry it has taken this long. I have just been dealing with some personal stuff and its been pretty hard to do anything other than concentrate on everything that isn't my writing. But I hope you enjoyed the chapter - Bexaday