The Realm of the Drells

by Kenneth Zeigler

  “Please, I just need time to get it right,” cried Keira, wincing in pain. “Time is not a luxury you can afford right now. Hear me, Keira, you must go out and make right that which you have done.”

  “How?” she asked.

  “You shall return to York and assist four drell assassins in the task of destroying the device which stole souls from our masters. You shall help them in eliminating those who have opposed us. You shall be serving our masters, taking your orders directly from them.”

  “A lump formed in Keira’s throat. “You mean they’ll be appearing to me, commanding me?”

  “Exactly,” replied Victoria. “You’ve done it before, and you’ve gained some favor in their eyes. However, I advise you to follow their every command, for they are not as forgiving as I. Then again, I think you already know that. Serve them well, and you shall be deemed worthy to remain within the sisterhood. Should you fail, you might find yourself wishing that you could be granted the mercy of joining Debbie and Leslie in their fate. There are far worse places to be sentenced to than the realm of the drells. Do we have an understanding?”

  Keira fought her tears. She could not display the weakness that Victoria so hated. “Yes mistress.”

  Victoria released the girl’s arm. A slight smile came to her ruby lips. “Good, you will need to get some sleep, you will be departing in the morning.”

  Even as David and his mother prepared for the journey back to California, the first of the new patients were arriving for their treatment on the FENS instrument. Tomorrow the treatments would actually begin; the treatments that would bring them home. Today they were being processed, receiving high resolution EEG scans and some blood work. To say the least, the staff was very busy.

  It had been a particularly busy morning for David as well. So many tests. CAT scans? He didn’t think there were any cats in his brain. But after all he had been through, who knew?

  David had recovered enough strength to wheel himself about. He was happy to see little Gwen wheeled past him on her way to room 122. The rescue was coming together. If only he could stay long enough to see Debbie return. Still his mother was insistent that they leave as soon as possible. At least Dr. Griego, who seemed to get a bit more traction with his mom than Dr. Wilson, had convinced her to delay their departure until tomorrow.

  David had wheeled down to the nurse’s station and was about to head on back to his room when he noticed a pretty blond about his age. He wasn’t quite sure as to why she had attracted his attention but he felt as if something was very wrong about her. It was more than just the fact that most young ladies her age didn’t wear long black dresses with an abundance of jewelry on such a warm day. It was something far deeper than that. He’d never felt such a strange feeling this side of his reality. He tried to be inconspicuous. She approached the nurse’s station.

  “It is very important that I talk to Dr. John Wilson,” she announced.

  “Dr. Wilson is a very busy man,” said the nurse, barely glancing at the young woman. “Do you have an appointment?”

  “I don’t but I think he’ll want to talk to me,” insisted the young woman. “My name is Keira Parker.”

  David felt an intense chill run up his back. Keira Parker? Debbie had talked about this one. So had Leslie.

  “Miss Parker, if you care to leave a message and a number where you can be reached I’ll see to it that Dr. Wilson or one of his associates gets your message,” said the nurse who seemed to have other priorities.

  “I think he’ll want to see me,” insisted Keira. “It’s about Debbie Langmuir.”

  “As I’ve already told you, he is very busy,” insisted the nurse. “Leave a message.”

  David knew who this girl was alright, though he might well have wished that he didn’t. It became clear that Keira would not be taking no for an answer, as the debate became more heated. It was time to step in. “Keira,” he said, approaching her.

  He had drawn Keira’s attention. She quickly disengaged from her debate with the nurse and approached David.

  “Yes,” said Keira, “do I know you?”

  “Probably not,” replied David, “but I know you. You’re not going to get into see Dr. Wilson that way, but maybe I can help you.”

  Then David felt it. It was like someone was trying to open the door into his mind. He wasn’t even sure how he knew, but he did. He slammed the door in her face. Once again he was not sure how he’d done it, but her startled expression spoke of his success.

  “Sorry,” said David.

  For a moment Keira seemed caught off guard. “How did you do that?”

  “Trade secret,” said David. “You want to see Dr. Wilson or not?”

  “Yes,” confirmed Keira.

  “I suspect that he will want to see you too,” confirmed David. He pointed to a chair. “If you could just wait there for a few minutes I’ll get Dr. Wilson or at least someone that can take you to him.”

  “You still haven’t told me who you are,” said Keira.

  “No, I haven’t,” said David. “Just wait.”

  David wheeled himself back down the hall as fast as he could, hoping to run into one of the members of the team. He ran into Ron almost immediately. “Doctor Griego, you won’t believe who I just ran into out there at the nurse’s station, Keira Parker, Debbie’s Keira Parker.”

  That stopped Ron in his tracks. “Keira Parker, are you sure?”

  “Positive,” said David. “She tried to look into my thoughts, I could feel it, but I slammed the door on her. She claims that she needs to see Dr. Wilson, that it was important.”

  Ron looked toward the end of the hall, toward the nurse’s station. “She didn’t say why?”

  “No,” said David. “Don’t trust her, doctor. She’s up to something.”

  Ron seemed puzzled. “And you know this because?”

  “I don’t know,” admitted David. “I just do. I’d like to be there when you meet with her, when Dr. Wilson meets with her.”

  “I don’t know about that,” said Ron.

  “Is your Aunt Sybil here?” asked David.

  “No, she’s at my house resting,” replied Ron.

  “Then you’re going to need me,” insisted David. “Just trust me on this one.”

  Ron hesitated. “OK, come with me.”

  The two headed out to meet with Keira. They found her right where David had left her.

  “That was quick,” said Keira, looking over at David.

  “Keira, this is Dr. Griego, Dr. Wilson’s assistant. Dr. Griego, this is Keira Parker.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” said Ron.

  “Nothing good I hope,” joked Keira.

  Ron hesitated on that one. He had a comeback line. In the end he decided that the best thing to say was to say nothing. “I’ll take you to Dr. Wilson.”

  Chapter 20

  It took a little bit of fast talking on Ron’s part to convince Dr. Wilson to allow David to sit in on the meeting between the FENS team and Keira, but in the end the doctor agreed. Keira had insisted upon speaking to the entire team. She would say nothing unless it was said to everyone at once. For someone fresh out of high school she seemed both bold and crafty. Wilson had agreed Now Connie, Wilson, and Ron gathered around the conference table at the institute opposite Keira. David sat in his wheelchair in the corner not far from Keira.

  Keira began by handing Wilson a letter. What made it unusual was that it had a wax seal rather than any sort of glue. Wilson took the envelope and opened it. For nearly a minute he focused upon the one-page letter.

  Then Wilson looked back toward Keira. “You are a member of this Sisterhood of Twilight?”

  “I am,” confirmed Keira. “You might say that I am a junior member of the coven. But I have been given the authority to negotiate on their behalf.”

  “No preset conditions?” confirmed Wilson.

  “None,” replied Keira. “We are prepared to bargain with you on good faith.”

  “Well do
n’t keep us in suspense,” urged Connie. “What does it say?”

  Wilson handed Connie the letter. “It is from one Victoria Barda, high priestess of the Sisterhood of Twilight.” Wilson turned to Keira. “I assume that means that she is in charge of this Sisterhood of Twilight, the whole organization.”

  “It does,” replied Keira. “Our organization serves the drells.”

  “By procuring souls for them,” deduced Ron.

  “That is one of our functions,” confirmed Keira. “And before we go any further, yes, I delivered the souls of both Debbie and Leslie to them. I have delivered others as well.”

  “It’s monstrous,” gasped Connie.

  She was surprised when Keira smile slightly. “That would depend upon your point of view, wouldn’t it? To the drells it is a matter of survival. For the members of the coven it is also a matter of survival. Don’t be so quick to judge.”

  “So, there’s going to be a meeting tonight at midnight,” continued Connie, handing the letter over to Ron. “There is going to be a representative of the drells present.”

  “Yes,” confirmed Keira. “There will be three parties involved in the negotiations. We wish to avoid an out and out war. We have all lost one of our own in this battle. Perhaps the time has come for a confrontation at the negotiations table rather than the battlefield. Mistress Barda feels that we can come to a settlement that will be acceptable to all parties concerned. The drells feel likewise. There doesn’t need to be any further killing.”

  “We’re not just going to allow the drells to hold onto all of those innocent young people,” said Wilson.

  “As I said, all things are negotiable,” repeated Keira. “We have no preset conditions.”

  “So you might release them, all of them,” deduced Ron.

  “We might,” confirmed Keira. “We will need some assurances from you, of course, some concessions on your part, but we are willing to discuss it. Perhaps we can work together rather than against each other. There might be other solutions to our problems, their needs. We might arrive at a solution that is mutually beneficial. We have more to offer you than you might realize. All we wish is a guarantee of our safety.”

  “You’ll have it,” said Wilson. “But tell me, what might you want in return for the souls of the children?”

  “I’m not prepared to discuss that here and now,” said Keira. “I am here this afternoon to set up the meeting, and assure you of our sincerity, nothing more. Even the time and location are negotiable.”

  “I think there should be four parties at this meeting of yours,” said David, breaking his silence.”

  Keira turned to face David. “Really? Who is this fourth party?” Then she realized the answer to her own question. “But of course. I should have realized it sooner. The children whose souls have been harvested.”

  “That’s a nice way to put it,” said David, “considering the terrible things the drells have put us through.”

  “David, this isn’t the time,” objected Wilson.

  “No,” said Keira, smiling broadly, “it is. You should attend, indeed, I insist. You need to have a say in this thing. You will be welcome.”

  David nodded but said nothing more.

  It took less than half an hour to work out the details of the meeting. It would be held at ten rather than midnight as the drells had suggested, and it would be held in the FENS lab, not in the conference room. With the details worked out Keira departed. The group looked about at each other.

  “There has to be a catch,” complained Ron.

  “Maybe not,” said Connie. “From what David told us yesterday, the drells are dying. They might want us to help them solve this genetic deterioration problem of theirs. Perhaps we could help them come up with an alternative to human blood in exchange for the children. And then there is the issue of digging tunnels. Certainly we have machines we could trade with them that would do a faster and better job than a pick and a shovel. They might have other advanced technologies to trade as well. These are aliens, the first aliens we’ve encountered. They might be able to advance out technology by centuries.”

  “Have you forgotten what they tried to do to you, do to us?” said Ron. “Then there are all of those children they’ve victimized over the centuries. Are we just going to forgive them? Do you really think they’re going to change?”

  “I don’t trust them,” admitted David. “Keira was being deceptive. I think we’re being led into a trap.”

  “I’m not so sure that I trust them either,” said Wilson. “They killed my daughter, they killed Karl. However, I think we need to hear what they have to say tonight. But we need to be prepared in the event that there is trouble.”

  “We’ll be ready,” vowed Connie.

  “You said something curious about an hour back,” said Ron, looking to David. “You said something about shutting the door to your mind to Keira. What did you mean by that?”

  “It has to do with the drells,” said David. “They have the ability to look into your mind. They can even force you to do things you don’t want you to do. These sisters of twilight do too. I think the drells must have taught them. My father found that out during his encounter with this Marella character at the Bargo Carnival. He was barely able to resist her will and destroy the crystal ball. Well, when I met Keira at the nurse’s station she tried to scan me. I caught her before she was able to learn anything and I shut her out. That’s all.”

  “How do you shut one of these witches or a drell out of your mind?” asked Wilson.

  “I don’t know how to explain it,” admitted David. “I just do it. I can feel when they begin to probe and I shut them out. Keira really isn’t all that good at it anyway, at least not yet.” David paused. “Well, like you said Dr. Wilson, I need to get some rest if I want to be up to the meeting tonight.”

  “You really sure you want to be there,” asked Wilson. “It might be dangerous.”

  “All the more reason,” said David. “Thanks for letting me sit in.”

  David wheeled out of the conference room and down the hall. Ron looked toward Dr. Wilson.

  “Doctor, does it seem to you that David knows a few things he shouldn’t know?” Ron asked.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” confirmed Connie.

  “That makes three of us,” said Wilson, “and no I have no idea why. But despite the risks I think I want him here, though it goes against virtually all of my professional ethics. I think we might well need him tonight.”

  It was just before nine when Sybil, Dr. Wilson, Ron, and Connie met in the FENS lab. As before, Sybil was dressed in her robe and held her staff in hand. A pair of tables and been placed within the room, one for the drells and Keira and one for the FENS team. The one for the FENS team had a ring of Iridium chalk drawn about it.

  “Have you seen David?” Sybil asked.

  “The last time I checked he was sound asleep in his room,” said Ron. “He’s been sleeping for hours. Would you like me to go down and see if he’s up?”

  “No,” said Wilson, “let him sleep. It might be better for him if he sits this one out.”

  “I will need to speak to him later,” noted Sybil. “What he said to you this afternoon about shutting the door on Keira is most curious.”

  “Can someone actually do that?” asked Ron.

  “Yes, dear,” confirmed Sybil. “I can. I’m just surprised that David thinks he can. But first things first.” Sybil pulled out a small bottle of what appeared to be oil. She proceeded to spread it across everyone’s forehead. “This should make it more difficult for the drells to enter your mind. My boss sent it to me today by special courier. Now remember, avoid prolonged direct eye contact.”

  A moment later David entered the room. To say the least all were amazed to find him on crutches rather than in his wheel chair. “I hope I’m not late,” he said as he sat his crutches aside and slowly walked the several steps to a chair at the table.

  “Careful, David,” warned Dr. Wilso
n, “don’t overdo it.”

  “I’m feeling much stronger this evening,” said David.

  Ron and Wilson looked at each other incredulously. This sort of recovery was almost unheard of. Almost? Still they kept their opinions to themselves for the moment.

  “You seem to have a full house this evening,” noted David. “Every room in the wing is full.”

  “Yes,” confirmed Wilson, “we have 49 of your compatriots here now. Many more will arrive tomorrow. One way or another we start bringing them back early tomorrow morning.”

  David nodded.

  Sybil sat at David’s side and started a conversation with him even as the others retreated to the control room. It was Ron who gave voice to what everyone else was surely thinking.

  “Atrophied limbs do not come back to use that quickly,” Ron objected. “There is something very wrong here.”

  “I agree,” Wilson said, “but I don’t know what we are going to do about it. He’s here and I think he needs to stay. Call it a hunch if you will, but I think we might need him before the night is through.”

  Ron nodded. “I think there’s something here we’re missing. Perhaps the act of having one’s silver thread, as my aunt calls it, stretched so far between worlds, changes that person, somehow it increases the power of their mind, perhaps even their body.”

  “Conjecture,” interjected Connie. “Claudia wasn’t affected.”

  “Not that we know,” observed Ron. “Then again, she was only over there for a couple days. It might take more time than that.”

  “We’ll have time to cover this all later,” said Connie. “Right now I want to get FENS on line. I want to have all of our options open in case there is trouble.”

  It was twenty minutes to ten when Keira was escorted to the FENS lab by security. She walked right on in and sat down at a chair at the far table.

  “Would you like for me to hang around?” asked Carlos to Dr. Wilson.

  “I think so,” said Wilson. “Just outside the door if you would. I don’t want our guests to be aware of your presence. It might send the wrong message. But I’d like you to be ready.” Wilson hesitated. “I don’t want this to sound too personal.”