“Send the queen to me or you shall all die,” Layton said loudly once again, this time with venom in his voice.
Jerddin took a step forward and replied, “We have pledged to protect the kingdom and the king and queen with our lives.”
“Very well, you will get your wish,” Layton answered as he raised his laser pistol at Jerddin and fired.
A bolt of light hit Jerddin in the chest and exploded tearing him apart, his smoldering remains falling to the ground. Andrew and Sauron began to move forward and the armed men with the enemy raised their weapons. Raven frantically yelled for them to stop. He had wanted no confrontation with this deadly enemy but that was too late. He also knew that they would be slaughtered with the weapons these people possessed. He was desperate to find a solution before they were all dead.
Layton asked once again forcefully, “Send the queen or you will all die, I promise she will not be harmed.”
They could not run for he would hunt them down, they could not fight for the weapons they possessed were too powerful. It seemed to Raven that they would all die here. What a fool he had been to think he could handle this situation. Thinking he could deal with the enemy his ancestors could not, and they knew the enemy better than he.
Rebekka turned to him at that instant and said unemotionally, “I have to go to him.”
“No,” Raven said.
But Rebekka shook her head and looked him in the eye, “We will all die and you know it if I do not go, and what will that accomplish?”
Before he could answer she turned and walked down toward the enemy before Raven could stop her. His world seemed to stop at that moment and everything became a blur until it registered that Master Fields was shaking him and yelling in his face.
“What are you doing, man, don’t let her go!”
Raven pushed Master Fields aside and heard Sauron ask, “Sire, what should we do?”
“Nothing,” Raven answered. “We can do nothing now so hold your ground all of you, I command it.”
This last statement was said with anger so everyone just watched as Rebekka walked closer toward the enemy and the young woman, Elise, met her halfway. She stopped, greeted Rebekka and placed something in her hand and then both of them vanished.
Master Fields and Sauron were stunned and speechless, while Raven, Andrew and Lorriel were surprised but not confused by what had taken place. Knowing of Lorriel’s ability to time shift and also knowing the enemy could not get here without a time shifter all made sense to them. But they had not expected Rebekka to be taken somewhere by the time shifting woman.
Now Raven’s foreboding turned into mourning, he knew that there was no way he could determine where Rebekka had been taken unless Layton Teal volunteered that information and that was unlikely. They could search forever and not find her. He knew now the enemy’s evil heart had planned this all along. He did not want Rebekka dead, he wanted her as a hostage to bargain with in order to get what he wanted.
The enemy now spoke, “I need some information from you concerning some people I am looking for. I know you can tell me what I need to know for I have seen several things that have told me so. I want you to tell me all you know about the people who made the armor and swords the king and the other young man is wearing. If you do, I will return your queen to you and leave this place.”
Raven did not answer him a word, so much so that Master Fields spoke to Raven again in urgency, “Why do you not tell them of the ancients, what harm can it do? That was many years ago so what does it matter?”
Layton Teal interrupted their conversation with another challenge. “I know you recognized my speech, although it is different from yours, you have heard it before or know of it. I also have seen the knife the king is wearing. I remember that knife very well for it has my initials on its handle. I will give you three days to think it over and collect any information you may have on the ones I seek. You will come back here and tell me all you know about them. If you do I will give you back your queen. If you do not come back in three days I will destroy this whole kingdom and find out what I want anyway from others. I will be waiting here.”
With that Layton Teal turned his back on Raven and his friends to show the conversation was over.
“Come on, let us go,” Raven said to those with him as he turned to head north back over the knoll where their horses were staked.
Andrew and Lorriel followed but Master Fields and Sauron hesitated for a little bit before following. After they topped the hill and were back at the horses Sauron and Master Fields confronted Raven.
“Why,” Sauron asked, “did you not tell him what he wanted to know?”
Before Raven could answer, everyone was talking at once.
Finally Andrew yelled for everyone to quiet down and spoke, “The king can not tell this wicked man anything about the ancients. He is more powerful than any army we might bring against him.”
Master Fields nodded, “Poor Jerddin, all he wanted to do was to protect the queen.”
Then turning to Raven once again, said, “Why did you let her go?”
Raven sighed, feeling the whole weight of the world on his shoulders, everyone was quiet and awaiting his answer.
“I did not want her to go, God as my witness, but if I had not, we would all be dead and what good would that do the kingdom? You all saw what he did to Jerddin. If he wanted to kill Rebekka, he could have and there would have been nothing we could have done about it. No, he wanted her out of the way and he is also using her as a bargaining tool to get what he wants.”
“Why not give him what he wants,” asked Sauron?
Raven paused to think, but decided the only answer to give Master Fields and Sauron was the truth.
“Our ancestors, the ancients know this enemy very well. He has found a way to travel in time just as they did and wants to destroy them.
“What?” Sauron said. “Are you saying this man is a time traveler? That is only in fairy tales and the things dreams are made of.”
Raven looked at Sauron and said, “This is no joke, you saw what he did to Jerddin, and how Rebekka disappeared. Can you explain that?”
Sauron was silent so Raven continued, “The ancients found a way to flee this evil man’s presence. They came from a few thousand years in our future and fled a thousand years into our past. If we tell the enemy what he wants to know he will find the ancients and destroy them, and if that happens what will become of our kingdom? You see the ancients began our kingdom, if they are destroyed the kingdom will never be.”
Raven paused to see how this information was being absorbed by Master Fields and Sauron. He could see their minds at work, but also saw the difficulty they were having with such concepts.
Master Fields now spoke, “We must find Rebekka and rescue her before we can deal with this evil man.”
Raven looked sadly at Master Fields and spoke even more distraught, “We can not find her, she has been taken somewhere in time, probably the far future. The young woman you saw was the time traveler. She took Rebekka and disappeared. She will have to return, though, so Layton Teal can leave this time to travel to another, for without her he cannot travel anywhere. I believe when she returns she will bring Rebekka back with her.”
Everyone was silent so Raven took charge once again. “We must go back to your castle, Sauron, and devise a plan in the next three days to save us all if that is possible.”
They mounted their horses and Master Fields led the extra horse Jerddin had rode upon, a grim reminder that a good man had lost his life trying to protect the kingdom and the queen.
As Raven rode along side of Andrew he kept thinking about what had happened. It was all his fault that Jerddin had died. Why did he not think to hide the armor of the ancients and not bring it along to their meeting with the enemy. And the knife, he thought as he drew it out of its sheath. There boldly inlaid in the handle was the initials “LT” for Layton Teal. He wanted to cast it away so angr
y was he with himself, but instead put it back in its sheath.
He then thought of Rebekka and a tear came to his eye, everything had happened so fast and now she was gone. That was his fault to, he should not have asked her to listen to Layton Teal’s thoughts. He knew it would be dangerous, but he had no idea Layton would guess who the listener was. Again he had underestimated this evil man, resulting in others being hurt. He kept thinking of all the different ways he should have done things.
He glanced over at Lorriel and saw that she was silently grieving as well, her face was tear streaked and she just stared strait ahead. He knew she was thinking the same thing he was, if Layton was so quick to kill Jerddin, what torture had he devised for Rebekka? Raven could not think of that for his anger and hatred of Layton would cloud his reasoning. He had to figure out a way to get her back and save the kingdom too! This scenario played over and over in Raven’s mind as they all headed back to the Crestlaw castle in silence.
Layton Teal was disappointed that the warrior mentioned in the Wickshield histories was not Uriah. But this second development was just as pleasing. If he could determine exactly where the rebels had gone then he could surprise them and overcome them before they had warning. He doubted that they could stop him even if they knew he was coming. But it was better that they did not know or suspect his arrival for that would make his task easier.
It was hard to wait after all these years to finally get the vengeance his soul required to be at rest. But he was close now, he could feel it. He was almost certain now that those he sought were in the past. How far he did not know. It was better to let the information come to him than go jumping about time trying to find them, he had wasted enough of his years already.
He wondered how much these simple people knew about him or the reason he had asked about the ones who had made their armor. They did not seem to see a paradox at all when he had claimed the knife the king wore had belonged to him. These things evidently were far beyond their capabilities of understanding. Layton paused here in his thinking, or perhaps they knew much more than they revealed. He almost laughed at the absurd notion that these people who lived thousands of years in his past could comprehend any of the events that had led up to their meeting. Time travel was a concept that had not even been conceived until his lifetime and to think that these people could even consider it was ludicrous.
Layton liked everything in neat little packages, but there were a few things that were out of place. The main one was the woman, the queen of Glenfair they called her. How was it possible that someone would have such strong telepathic capabilities here at this time in history? And what of the king who was to have defeated the Wickshields with almost supernatural quickness and reflexes? When he had realized that Uriah was not the one who had fought that noted battle in history, he had just passed it off to the growing embellishment of stories created to cover an embarrassing loss to an inferior force. But now he was not so sure after experiencing the power of the woman’s mind. Surely no single person could rival the genetically engineered combat abilities of Uriah. Although these questions nagged at Layton Teal, he pushed them aside with the truth that these people did not matter at all to him. He cared nothing for their world or the time in which they lived, he only wanted the information they could give him to effect his revenge on those who had betrayed him.
His thoughts turned to the woman and he almost wished he could talk with her to learn more just to satisfy his curiosity. There also was the possibility of great disaster in sending her back to his time with Elise. That had not been part of his original plan, but a quick decision. He had told Elise to take her somewhere in time and then return here in four days. When she had asked him where he merely said, back to her own time would be fine. He smirked to himself of the affect that would have on the queen seeing his future, a place filled with machines and flying vehicles and androids. But it also was a danger, for if Elise did not return for him he would be stranded in time here until he died. The only reason this did not worry him was because she was too young to think up such an idea, but merely did what he told her to do. Of her obedience he had not much doubt, but he was worried about what kind of influence this woman would have on her. He realized now that he should have told the girl to take the woman four days into the future to the same place they were now. That would have been simple with no room for error. But he knew Elise would return in four days. She had never given him any reason to believe she would not to do as he wished. The things he had given her, she would lose without him, and she had become quite demanding. With the fulfillment of her wishes came also a greater appetite for things and possessions of wealth and importance. She craved the attention she garnished in his shadow. No she would return, he was certain. If not, well his time had become taxing and boring. He had conquered everything he wanted. He was in absolute power and all he had to do was keep that power. He missed something to challenge him and if left here, this new kingdom and the Wickshield one would be a whole new task to occupy his final days.
He thought of his boring existence in his time and realized for the first time that his pursuit of the these traitors was not solely for revenge. This was one of the few challenges left to him; to find out where his people had gone, and how they had hid their disappearance so completely from him. Never in all his life had he been so fooled by anyone, especially Merry and Uriah. He knew now that their plan would have been foolproof if he had not come here and sought out the warrior mentioned briefly in some forgotten Wickshield writings.
He was a patient man, in three more days they would return and tell him what he wanted to know, and in four he would have his revenge.
Then a thought hit him, Why not just leave those alone who had fled his presence to somewhere in the far past? They could not form a rebellion against him, nor influence anyone in his time. They only wanted a life free from the reach of his iron fist. Why could he not let them be?
He knew the answer, just as he was destined to be the ruler of his time, his nature would not allow him to be defeated even by the act of fleeing. Besides they had hurt him in this subtle betrayal and the code he lived by demanded they pay dearly. He could live no other way than to be ruthless in his dealings with those who opposed him. One thing that Layton admired about the traitors, they had given up all the advancement of his time to live in a world without technology to pamper them. He could never do that by choice, but they had done just that, for all traces of their advancement had vanished from history.
A little while, he told himself, and you will have finished the greatest challenge of your life.
As Raven, Master Fields and the Crestlaws entered the courtyard of the Crestlaw castle, a woman came out quickly to greet them. At first Raven thought it was Sauron’s wife but then saw that it was his mother, whom he called in public, Aunt Jessica. And behind her came little Edward.
Raven dismounted and hugged his mother, picked up little Edward and asked, “Why are you here, I thought you would be at the castle?”
She looked him in the eye and then looked down a little ashamed, “I came here because I could not be with you during the other crisis the kingdom faced. I felt so helpless then and I felt the same sitting in the castle the day after you left, so I brought Edward here with me to find you. Please do not be angry with me for coming. Mostell is taking care of things back at the castle.”
“I cannot be angry with you, for this concerns you as much as anyone else.”
Jessica looked around and asked, “Where is Rebekka?”
Little Edward echoed her question, “Where is mommy daddy?”
Raven did not know what to say but felt a soft hand on his shoulder and saw Lorriel out of the corner of his eye.
Before he could say anything Lorriel spoke, “My favorite little nephew, how are you. Come with me and I will read you a story.”
Little Edward squealed with delight and leaped from his father into Lorriel’s arms, for he loved his aunt dearly and he so enjoyed he
r company. His question for the moment forgotten.
As Raven watched Lorriel and Edward go into the castle he was thankful for her wise intervention. He then took his mother’s hand and said, “Come we must talk.” They walked silently into the hall of the Crestlaw castle and sat down in a private place to talk.
“What we feared has come to pass, the enemy is here. Jerddin is dead and Rebekka has been taken hostage by him.”
With that tears came to Raven’s eyes. “I could not stop him from taking her, the weapons they have our armor would not stop. Jerddin, may God have mercy on his soul, was burned to ashes in front of our eyes so quickly that he did not even cry out.”
“Can you rescue her?” his mother asked seeing the pain in Raven’s eyes.
“No,” he replied. “The enemy came here with a time shifter. She took Rebekka to somewhere in time, probably the future, we do not know where.”
Now there was fear mirrored in his mother’s eyes when she asked, “What does he want so badly that he has taken the queen hostage in order to get?”
“He wants to know where and when the ancients lived so he can go there and destroy them.”
“Does he know that we can give him that information?” she asked.
“Sadly yes,” Raven answered, “he recognized the alloy of the sword and armor I wore, and he also saw the knife.” With that Raven drew it and showed his mother the initials “LT” inlaid in its handle.
“The enemies name is Layton Teal, and this was his knife. He knows we can tell him what he wants to know about the ancients. I am afraid I have failed and it is my fault Jerddin is dead and Rebekka is gone.”
The King's Ancestors Page 12