“I will, tell Dad I love him too, bye.”
As Anna hung up, a noise behind her caused her to turn around quickly.
"Hello, how are you?" Emrys stood in the doorway of her kitchen smiling in an odd way.
Py stopped his after-dinner paw licking to look up, seeing Emrys, he hissed and arched his back, moving in the sideways fashion of a cat who is ready to fight.
Anna's face brightened with joy as she rushed across the room and into his arms, "Emrys! I was so worried! You told me you'd be back before Dad was out of surgery - I didn't know what to think!” Anna buried her face into his chest, breathing him in, oddly his typically woodsy scent was different, more acrid somehow, but it didn't matter — he was with her again!
"I'm sorry … darling. I… had things to do, but here I am now." He pushed her away slightly.
"I need to show you something." Emrys said, as he reached out to hold her arm tightly.
"Umm, all right, and my Dad is going to be okay, thanks for asking." Anna was confused at Emrys unusually abrupt behaviour, and she noticed that Py was still in anger mode; eyes wide, growling deep in his throat, back arched and glaring threateningly at Emrys.
"Something's not right …" Anna began as she looked up into Emrys' unsmiling eyes, "You're hurting my arm!" She tried to pull away, but he held tightly onto her upper arm as he backed Anna into the twisting mist of a portal that he'd opened behind her.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Nivane's Revenge
When Anna woke, she was shackled to a damp rock wall in a shadowy cell. Her ankles and wrists were bound by thick iron cuffs that were attached to a chain and bolted to the wall above her head.
Deep breath, Anna tried to still her erratic heart beat so she could think.
Looking around the nearly dark cell, it was clear she was in a cavern of some sort. Why? Anna heard a choked sob … and realised it had come from her own throat, Emrys…he had done this to her? Why? It made no sense - Anna loved him, and he knew it. If he'd wanted to hurt her he could have done so many times without going to this much trouble. Again…why?
What happened?
Anna tested the chains that bound her, rattling the heavy links. The chains were heavy, and the cuffs were cutting in to her wrists where they gripped her securely. No luck, the chains were driven into the rock firmly, and too far above her head to facilitate any attempt at loosening them.
Emrys… again her thoughts came back to him. Think. She'd come home from the hospital, and had been distraught that Emrys had not shown up as he'd promised. She'd spoken with her mother…and then Emrys had appeared. Think Anna - there must be something, some reason why he’d done this to her.
Anna remembered being overjoyed at seeing Emrys, but she now recalled he hadn't acted as happy to see her in return, unusual to say the least. Anna tilted her head so she could see the ring Emrys had kissed upon her finger…her eyes filled with tears, what had happened?
Again, she took a deep breath, she had to control the hysteria that threatened to erupt from her chest at any moment. Think, Anna!
She wilfully stilled her pounding heart to again try and remember all that had transpired when Emrys had appeared in her apartment. He hadn't seemed the same as before, there was none of the playful flirting or heated looks…in fact he'd pushed her away! He'd even smelled funny, and what about Py? He'd never acted like that with Emrys before, had he? Once he'd been sort of annoyed with Emrys in her dream-cabin, but he'd never been ready to attack him like she'd seen in her apartment. Why…what would have caused such a reaction in Py?
"Well, my little dove…I see you've awakened from your beauty sleep." A scratchy voice rasped from the cell doorway.
Anna squinted her eyes trying to see who was speaking to her, "Where am I? Where’s Emrys? Why am I chained here…who are you?" Anna asked, her voice quavering with fear.
A low chuckle that was closer than before, "So many questions from such a pretty little dove! Your Emrys is probably trying to find you right now…my guess is he will be here at any moment. Don't you worry, little dove, your 'knight in shining armour' will come, don't you worry!"
Anna swallowed, nauseated with terror, "Who are you?" She whispered dreading the answer.
"Me? Oh I am an old friend of your Merlin Emrys, my dear. I hope he spoke well of me - I was his first love after all - I am Nivane of course." With that she waved her hand, igniting the torches on the wall in the cell.
Anna gasped, she hadn't known what to expect, before her stood what she could only imagine as a witch from the scariest Hans Christian Anderson fairytale. The old woman was bent and leaning heavily on a crooked cane that she gripped with blue veined, gnarled, claw-like fingers. Her hair hung in limp, greasy strands that sprouted erratically on her nearly bald head. But it was her face that was the stuff of nightmares; her eyes were whitish and more malevolent and cruel than any Anna had ever seen before. The sallow flesh on her face hung in layers of deep wrinkles surrounding thin lips that were slowly spreading into an evil grin, revealing long yellowed teeth set in gapping gums.
"Had a good long look, my beauty?" Nivane cackled, "I once was as pretty as you, maybe prettier. I certainly knew how to use it better than you at least.” She shuffled closer.
Anna tried to move away from her hand as it reached toward her face, Nivane gripped Anna's jaw painfully, her long yellowed fingernails digging into her cheek, as she turned Anna's head towards her, “Yes, you are lovely, my dear! Such lovely skin too, you must stay well out of the sunshine to keep such a flawless complexion.” Nivane squeezed her jaw, gouging her skin intentionally with her sharp nails before pushing her face away sharply and letting go.
"I will leave you to wait for your Knight, he will be here soon, so don't you go anywhere.” Nivane giggled insanely at the joke as she departed the cell, shuffling down the tunnel the way she'd come.
Anna's face burned where Nivane's nails had scraped her skin, and her heart was pounding so hard that she feared she would faint. All that kept her shaking knees from buckling under her was the heavy chain that held her wrists over her head. She could feel her tears as they dripped down her cheeks, scalding the scratches Nivane’s nails had left as they fell. Her tears were not from pain or the fear that had numbed her thoughts; but from a broken heart — why had Emrys turned her over to someone as evil as Nivane?
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hard Decisions
Emrys thoughts were on Anna. It was hard to imagine the time of day where she was; fifteen hundred years in the future. He'd figured her father's surgery must’ve finished by now, which meant he'd broken a promise to her.
"Anna…” Emrys turned towards Blaise, "I need to talk with her before I go. We both know how fickle the Sidhe can be. I've met Queen Aine before, although my memories are a bit vague, I recall she can be mercurial at best; she is as any Royal, vain and subject to whatever whim takes her."
Emrys began to pace as he considered the best way to approach the Queen. What Emrys remembered caused him deep concern, if Queen Aine decided she'd like to keep him in her dimension, he'd be powerless to stop her. The time he'd spent in Fairy had been fascinating, but because there was no one to return to in his dimension, time hadn't been of major concern. He now recalled over two years had lapsed in his home dimension during what had felt like a week in Fairy.
He wished he could remember more of his time there, it would’ve particularly helpful to him now.
What he did recall was that his memory had been intentionally 'obscured' by Queen Aine, and he remembered why. If she hadn't reduced his memories to a manageable degree, he would have suffered the same fate as the villagers who'd faded away from apathy due to exposure from Tylwythen deg Grymuster. The extreme comparison between Fairy and mundane planes like Earth was so disheartening to humans, that they simply couldn't readjust, and most simply choose to quit living in their human plane as a result. Even with his subdued memories, Emrys had suffered a year long depression that had been, even for him
, difficult to recover from. If it hadn’t been for the Sidhe potion Queen Aine had given him, which as a side affect, had also granted him extraordinarily long life span, he’d have perished in the same manner as the unfortunate Caerfyrddin victims of the Sidhe power contamination.
"What about Cath Bodva? Will you allow her to return to Fairy without you?" Blaise asked interrupting Emrys thoughts as Cath continued to wander around the glade.
Emrys rubbed his jaw as he considered their best options, "If Cath goes back to Fairy without me, there is no telling what she may say to Aine. It would be a risk, Blaise and I'm not getting a sense of too much goodwill towards us or the humans of this realm from her.”
"My thoughts exactly, what do you propose?"
"If you are up for it, I would like for you to accompany Cath back to my crannog and wait for me. There should be enough in my workroom to keep her entertained for the amount of time I'd be away." This was a risk too as fairies could be deceitful and tricky, even with the metaphysical hobble he'd placed on Cath to prevent her from leaving the dimension.
"You warded her from leaving, didn't you?" Blaise asked wearily as he considered the job he was facing.
"Of course, she can't leave this plane without me removing it wilfully." Which meant Cath couldn't even trick him into releasing the ward without his wilful consent.
"I'll have to pass her ward onto you, Blaise. Are you able to handle it?" Emrys asked quietly knowing the experience could be exhausting even for a young man.
"Yes, I may be old but I can still handle the likes of a fairy!" He replied with bravado as he patted Emrys shoulder reassuringly.
Emrys was grateful, even if he could have an hour with Anna, it would be enough to explain what he had to do and the risks. She deserved to know and he needed to see her before he left; she occupied a major portion of his heart and mind…and he hoped his future.
"Thank you, Blaise. I’ll talk with Cath, it would be best to get her to agree without coercion. I will still ward her of course, but it would be easier on you if she goes with you of her own free will."
Blaise nodded gratefully. No one wanted to have to deal with an obstinate fairy in the best of circumstances.
"The cave, we must explore the cave before we leave this place, Emrys." Blaise reminded him, "The dark druids have a stronghold somewhere here and they must be brought to justice for their part in fracturing the membrane between this dimension and the Sidhe power source."
Emrys considered their options before he spoke, "Yes, of course, and Anyon’s children are still missing. We are no closer to finding if they are victims of the dark druids or have been abducted by another source.” The gruesome fact that dark incantations sometimes called for a sacrifice of innocents had him very worried.
"Did we bring rags for torches?" Emrys asked as he considered the option of sending the soldiers to accompany Anyon in exploring the cave for evidence of both the children and of the druids dark work.
Blaise nodded, reading Emrys train of thought,"Yes, I am sure it can be arranged - I think six swordsmen with Anyon and Cador should be sufficient to search the area." Blaise motioned for the captain of the company to join them as Emrys moved away to speak with Cath.
Oddly, the usually wilful and difficult fairy was complacent about remaining with Blaise until Emrys return. Cath readily agreed to his conditions and would accompany Blaise back to the crannog and await Emrys arrival.
After warding Cath to guarantee her attachment to Blaise in the Earthly plane, and a brief private talk with them both, Emrys began searching for the thinnest membrane to transgress between his current dimension and Anna's.
Finally locating the nearest portal, he wove the calculations that would utilise the small sample of Anna's dream tapestry that he'd kept with him. He programmed the portal to take him directly to her current location, where ever that was within any realm, time or dimension.
Emrys smiled, for what ever small amount of time they had remaining, he was excited to see her again if only briefly.
Cath smiled inwardly. Fools. Yes, she'd agreed to accompany Blaise. Although she was clearly warded from leaving the dimension and returning to Fairy, she could move comfortably about in this one.
Merlin's absence would give her time to secure her gift — a simple act of altering the children's' atomic structure enough so they could be stored comfortably within her enchanted pouch. She'd have to leave her treasured bow and quiver behind, but it was a small price to pay to acquire such a gift for her Queens pleasure.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Anna Missing
The portal opened, but was far weaker than it should have been. Very odd; Emrys had materialised in Anna's empty apartment.
Py didn’t greet him as he’d have normally, and seemed agitated about something. His fur ruffled and his eyes wide with some feline kind of anger, he puffed and growled scratching at a spot on the floor.
"Where is she, Py?" Emrys puzzled, as he searched the apartment, touching the cold coffee pot on his way past. Why would his calculations bring him here? The portal should have opened wherever Anna was, even if she'd been moving, such as on a train or in a taxi.
Go over all the factors, search for a tell-tale error in his programming. Emrys photographic mind rehearsed his calculations again; they were … flawless of course. He pulled the fragment of tapestry from his pocket, yes … it was Anna's and contained enough of her DNA to make a strong link, his calculations and opened a portal where her essence was strongest and most recent. But she was not here.
Emrys scratched his head. Think. Py was now circling his legs, yowling loudly. Emrys bent down to pick him up, scratching his neck as he thought about the puzzle, Emrys fingers happened on another oddity, Py's velvet ribbon was still intact — but his bell was missing. How long had it been gone? It could be a serious problem if it had been lost in another dimension, Emrys thought as he became even more concerned.
He let the cat jump from his arms, watching as Py began pawing again at the same spot on the living room carpet. Emrys bent down to examine the area, but was nothing visible to his eye that gave a clue as to Py’s odd behaviour.
Only one frightening prospect remained; someone from another dimension had managed to find enough DNA to locate Anna and had taken her.
Emrys heart began to pound, and his stomach twisted in fear for Anna’s safety.
One option left to him; he'd have to use the Charm of Making to weave an image of what had recently happened in the apartment. It was an uncomfortable and dangerous use for the charm, but he needed to know where to begin searching as quickly as possible.
Emrys took Py into Anna's bathroom and leaving him with his food, water and litter box, closed him in for his own protection.
Emrys only thought was finding Anna before any serious harm came to her by Nivane or whomever had taken her. He darkened the room as much as he could, covering the window with blankets, and searched through Anna's cabinets to find talc, which he puffed into the air using the small container to create as dense a cloud as possible in the room. Before it completely settled, Emrys planted his feet wide apart and raising his arms, began the Charm of Making to create a visual reenactment of recent events in the apartment;
"Anál nathrach, orth’ bháis’s bethad, do chél dénmha ddelwedd olaf yn ymddangos!"
A moving image, similar to that of a very old silent movie, flickered for a moment, Emrys reinforced the too vague image again;
"Anál nathrach, orth’ bháis’s bethad, do chél dénmha ddelwedd olaf yn ymddangos!"
The moving image that materialised was inexplicable. It showed himself appearing in Anna's apartment, and Anna rushing forward and into his arms — wait. The clothing ‘he’ was wearing was unusual, and the expression on his face was even more unusual; there was no love in his eyes as Anna came toward him. His expression was cold, and he'd pushed her away as she’d tried to hold him. Finally the scene showed a portal opening over the spot where Py had scratched, and 'Emrys' h
olding Anna's arm, as he pushed her back into it.
As the image began to drift away with the settling talc, he had one final fading scene of Py glaring at Emrys in fury. In all their days together, Py had never looked at Emrys like that. This left only one conclusion; someone had used the Charm of Making to create a double of him, and there was only one person he knew that could wield the charm in such a manner, and it had been he that had taught her - Nivane.
Emrys skin crawled with the sickening thought, of all the evil that could have come for Anna, Nivane was by far the worst.
He paced in the small space of the apartment, only one way to get to Nivane's heavily warded realm. Emrys would have to reenter the dreamweavers room and cast from the urn that was basically a private line that led directly to Nivane.
Time was now more crucial than ever, Emrys had a sinking feeling he knew what Nivane and her dark druids may have planned for Anna, and if he didn't find her quickly, he'd be too late.
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