RIDERS OF TUATHA by Bert McKenzie Copyright 2010
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real person alive or dead is coincidental and unintentional.
CHAPTER XIX
"Where is your gun, Clarissa?" the fat man asked the woman.
"My gun?" she repeated.
"Yes, you're never without it . Where is it now?" He seemed to be taunting her, as he slowly circled her in the tiny living room. The woman carefully kept facing him.
"Perhaps I left it downstairs," she suggested, trying to get an excuse to follow the others into the basement.
"But you always keep it in your purse," Tony said. He stood with his back to the door, forcing her to look toward the bright sunlight shining in from the west window. He knew that Clarissa had sensitive eyes and could not stare into the brightness without squinting. Yet this woman didn't flinch as she stood, looking at him, the late afternoon sun beating in on her face. "Why don't you look in your purse?" Tony asked.
"Well . . . my purse . . ." Clarissa said as she glanced nervously around.
"It's there on the table." On the low, coffee table sat an old hat box, round and pink. Clarissa reached for it.
"It's just as I thought," Tony said, interrupting her movements. He reached behind himself and produced a small, black handbag. He held it out, dangling it by a long, leather strap."Do you know what this is?"
The woman had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "My gun?" she said with an uncharacteristic crooked smile.
"No, it's your purse." He carefully opened the metal clasp and reached inside, removing a small, black hand gun. "This is your gun. Do you know what a gun is?" The woman shook her head but kept smiling. "It's a weapon and it's about to end you life. I don't know what you are, or how you've taken over the body of my assistant, but it is the last mistake you'll ever make.
Just then a shot rang out from below. Almost instantaneously the body of the woman expanded and filled out, transforming itself into a tall, blond man in unusual clothing. The only thing that remained from before was the lopsided grin. Rood glanced down at himself and then looked back at the fat man. " It appears that your assistant has just died," he said.
"Well, it appears that you're about to do the same." The fat man raised the small weapon, pointing at Rood's face. Before he could pull the trigger there was a loud, splintering crash behind him as the front door of the house caved in. Tony turned to see what caused the commotion and beheld what appeared to be a giant, white horse standing in the open doorway. The man moved to bring the gun to bare on the animal, and at the same time Rood drew his sword. Neither of the two men were able to move as quickly as the unicorn, however. Sensing the danger and threat in the fat man, Firebrand ducked his head down and charged forward. His golden horn struck Tony in the chest and acting like a sword, passed through his body. Firebrand pulled back, gently shaking his head and tossing the lifeless corpse easily from him.
Rood reached out to pat the animal's side. "Many thanks, my friend," he said. "Your arrival was at a most appropriate time." He then heard the sounds of someone coming up the stairway in the adjoining hall. Rood held his sword in readiness to attack and flattened himself against the nearby wall. The person stopped just at the top of the stairs on the other side of the wall from Rood, apparently deciding if he should enter the quiet room. Rood silently counted to three, then jumped out swinging his sword in attack.
Akuta jumped out of the stairwell at the same time swinging his own weapon. The two blades struck each other with a resounding ring as the two elves came face to face. Rood began to laugh at the situation and fell back a step or two. "I shall never understand your jests!" Akuta exclaimed as he slowly returned his blade to its sheath. "I was prepared to kill you and you find humor in this."
"Can you not see the duality?" Rood asked as he tried to control his laughter. "I was prepared to kill you as well."
Akuta looked at his friend in stunned surprise. "Oh yes, now I see the humor," he said in his most sarcastic tone. "You were going to kill me. What fun. I am sorry I interrupted your game."
"Where are the others?" Rood asked as he sobered up. "Was anyone injured?"
"They are physically well, but I fear they have suffered gravely from mental anguish," Akuta told him. "They have found the remains of their friend. He was tortured and died in great pain. The one they called Lars had removed his intestines while he was still alive."
"And Robin?" Rood asked.
"He is not here," Akuta said. "But there is a good deal of our blood on the floor. He was held prisoner for a time and also tortured."
As they spoke Scott and Alex came up the steps to join them. "Are you well, my lord?" Rood asked, seeing the odd look in Scott's eyes.
Scott nodded, then seemed to slowly come back to life. He reached under his tunic and removed the homing crystal still hanging from its thin silver chain. "Here," he said, holding the rose colored stone out to Rood. "Akuta and I are going after Robin, but I have a feeling we're going to need help, a lot of it. Return as quickly as you can with the rest of the guard."
"But my lord," Rood protested. "I cannot leave you here alone."
"And what am I, mashed greenberries?" Akuta said as he stepped forward. This elicited a laugh from Alex.
"I mean that I cannot relinquish my responsibility for the king's consort," Rood explained defensively.
"You aren't," Scott told him. "We'll be okay, but we'll need help and you're the only one who can get it. You've been through the barrier once already, and the men will follow you. You'll have to find Elnar and get him to re-establish the gateway."
"But once we return to this world, where can we find you? Shall we meet you at your dwelling?" Rood asked as he took the dangling talisman from Scott.
"No, we're going directly to the place where they've taken Robin. Jennifer will be able to give you directions. As soon as you get back to this world, head for the Blanc Institute."
"The Blanc Institute," Rood repeated.
"Yes, it's a research facility located south of town at the old airbase. Jennifer can tell you how to get there. Now go quickly and we'll see you there."
Rood reached out his hand to clasp Scott's wrist. "Be careful, my lord," he said.
"I will," Scott replied.
"Good fortune," he said to Akuta and gave a half wave to Alex and Firebrand. Stepping back the fairy clasped the crystal in his right hand and tapped it firmly with the fingers of his left. As his friends looked on, he seemed to grow transparent and rapidly faded from view. In a moment he was gone.
"If this is a dream, it's getting weirder by the minute," Alex murmured.
"Come on," Scott said to Akuta. "We've got quite a ride ahead of us." He turned to his red headed friend. "Alex, we'll drop you off at my place so you can get your car and go home. Thanks for all the help."
"You're not getting rid of me that easily," Alex replied. "I want explanations, Quartermain. And I stick with you until I get them."
"Then come on," Scott said as he led Firebrand out of the house. "I don't have time to waste." As they emerged Scott saw a police car pulling up in front. He wasn't sure if it was due to neighbors calling about the disturbance that had just taken place, or if they had traced Troy's murder. Whatever the case, there wasn't time to stick around. Akuta jumped up and pulled Scott and Alex quickly onto the unicorn. A word from Scott was all it took and the mythical beast vanished from sight, taking his three riders with him. Before the police could even get out of their car, the unicorn and his passengers were already rounding the corner at the end of the block.
"What are you doing?" Jennifer asked as she saw Melcot pulling out the rope. "I thought you said that rope was what maintained the gateway."
"It must be closed," he said stoically.
"But they'll be trapped in our world," Jennifer cried, and then another thought occurred to her. "And how am I going to get home?" she asked.
"You are home," Caseldra told her. "Stay with me, please."
Tears welled in Jennifer's eyes. She was overcome by the urge to cry and began to sob uncontrollably. Part of it was because of all that she had been through, the explosion, the rape, and finally seeing her friend's head in a basket. But part of her tears were from relief, the feeling of security, knowing she was safe and loved. She fell into Caseldra's arms, continuing to sob.
Rowana finally came to urge the two girls to their feet. "We must return to the castle," she said. "If Scott is successful that is where he and his party shall go." The group of elfin guards had already mounted the unicorns and were preparing to depart. Caseldra and Jennifer mounted a sturdy young stallion and the group headed up the ravine at a flying gallop. Jennifer gasped and closed her eyes in fear as she saw the speed at which the animals were approaching what appeared to be a dead end to the narrow box canyon. Surprisingly enough she felt little change in speed, only the steep angle of her mount. Taking a moment of courage she opened her eyes a crack to steal a peek, then quickly closed them. The silver hoofed creatures seemed to be literally galloping up the almost vertical face of the cliff. In a few minutes the incline of the ride changed again and the animals slowed to a halt.
The company all dismounted and switched to a group of ordinary horses. "What now?" Jennifer asked as she dropped from the back of the magnificent creature.
"The unicorns live in these high plains. Without their leader they shall go no farther," Caseldra explained. "We must ride the horses on to the castle."
Once remounted the company moved off again to a furious gallop. They came down a winding trail through a narrow mountain pass. As they rounded a stone wall, Jennifer got her first glimpse of the Palace of Esbereth. It scintillated in the early morning sun like a rich jewel dropped in the mountain cleft. There was no need for blindfolds as the blinding reflections that protected the passage to the main gate did not reach this area. This mountain pass was not as guarded as the main entrance to Esbereth. They approached through a narrow gate in the castle wall and had to ride in single file. Once inside the courtyard the group headed toward the stables located next to the white tower.
As they rode up, Rood came out of the tower at a dead run. Jennifer couldn't believe her eyes. They had just left him in her carriage house. She turned to Caseldra. "Time in your world is not the same as time in ours," Caseldra reminded her. "Although we just left him, he may have much to tell."
Rood came directly to Jennifer. "Know you of a place in your land called the Blanket Institution? It is south of your village."
She thought for a minute trying to come up with a textile company, but was unsuccessful. "The only thing south of town is the old airbase," she told him.
"Yes, Scott used that word. He said that is where our king is to be found. We are to ride there with our army."
"The Blanc Institute!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Yes, of course. It's some kind of private hospital or something."
"We must go there," Rood said. "Where is Elnar?"
"He has long since returned to the castle, my lord," one of the younger guards answered.
Rood turned to head back into the tower. "Let me accompany you," Caseldra called as she ran after him.
"What about me?" Jennifer asked no one in particular as she watched her two friends head across the courtyard.
"You shall come with me," Rowana said to her. The girl had appeared at Jennifer's side. "You must be in need of refreshment and rest. I fear all too soon we must ride again."
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" the short, stocky man asked his companion. They were in the men's room so they could talk in privacy without fear of being overheard.
"If you think I'm going to let that crazy man kill one of the most important finds in the history of humanity, you're in for a big surprise," the thin, wiry looking man in the lab coat responded.
"Yes, but going public with this. You know you'll lose your job, your security clearance, and be sued for breach of contract. And that's only the good stuff."
"Yes, but with what I know, I won't have any problems. Why, just think of what Time and Newsweek will do with this." The scientist then grew serious and looked intensely at his partner. "Promise me, you'll keep him alive."
"Dave, I don't know," the short man hedged.
"Just don't let Blanc do anything. My going public isn't worth anything if I get back and our alien's already dead."
"I'll try," the little man finally agreed.
"Great. I'll be back in a couple of hours," Dave said as he headed out the door. The stocky little man looked in the mirror and shook his head. He knew what would happen if Blanc found out about their little conspiracy.
"The king is in there?" Akuta asked. They were hiding in a low drainage ditch not far from the gates to the institute. The entire complex was fenced around in high chain link with barbed wire coiled at the top. They obviously didn't want anyone getting in or out.
"What goes on in there, anyway?" Alex asked. "It looks more like a prison than anything else."
"They supposedly do a lot of top secret work for the government," Scott answered. "Medical and psychological research. Troy once applied for a job there about two years ago, but he couldn't get the security clearance because of his sexual orientation."
"How dumb," Alex said. "So what do we do now?"
"I don't know," Scott admitted.
"We wait for an opportunity," Akuta said.
"So can't you just magically pop over the fence or have someone beam you in or something?" Alex asked.
"It doesn't work that way," Scott said.
"So are you guys like from another planet?" Alex persisted.
"They're from another dimension," Scott answered.
"Does he always answer your questions for you?" Alex asked again, looking at Akuta and indicating Scott.
The fairy smiled. "He knows the words of your world to describe what I cannot," he said. They looked at each other in silence for a while. Then Akuta spoke again. "May I ask you a question, my lord?"
"Anything," Alex replied.
"Are you a reversal?"
Alex didn't understand the reference. Scott came to his assistance. "He means are you gay?"
"Oh," Alex blushed slightly. "Yes I am."
"I thought as much," the guard said. "There seem to be so very many of you in this world."
"In his world," Scott explained, "gays are pretty rare, but surprisingly enough there is very little prejudice or homophobia."
"That's amazing," Alex said. "It sounds like an ideal place to live. Just how rare are . . . reversals in your world?"
"Our king is a reversal," Akuta answered. He looked down at the grass. "Aside from he, there may be only one other that I know of who has coupled with a man."
"You?" Alex asked in surprise.
"Yes," the fairy answered quietly. "But I never thought I was a reversal. And yet I did enjoy the physical act."
"Honey, that doesn't make you're gay," Alex told him. "Have you ever had sex with a woman?" he asked.
"Yes," Akuta admitted shyly.
"Well, which did you like better?"
"They were both enjoyable to me, but somehow the actions with the man, although intriguing, were more mechanical. It was just physical without any emotional joining. It was very unfulfilling." The fairy seemed genuinely confused and concerned.
"But do you want to do it again, with a man I mean?" Alex asked him.
"I would be willing to try with a different partner," Akuta said.
Alex reached out and took the big man's hand. "If we get out of this in one piece," he said, "maybe we could get together and you could try it with me."
Their conversation was cut short as they heard a car approaching. A beat-up looking Toyota pulled up to the gate from inside the complex. It stopped as the driver spoke to the security guard. "This may be our chance," Scott whispered. "If we can stop that car we might be able to force the driver to sneak us back inside."
"There are trees down this road where it turns. We shall be hidden from the guard there. Let us go," Akuta advised. The three of them rose and sprinted for the nearby bushes where Firebrand was waiting. They quickly mounted and headed at breakneck speed for the little copse of trees. Once arriving they jumped down. "My lord," Akuta said as he addressed Alex. "Please stay here with Firebrand. The others may arrive at any time and you can tell them where we have gone. Scott and I shall attempt to enter the fortress."
"I don't like this," Alex said as they heard the car approaching. He quickly reached up and kissed Akuta on the cheek. He then ducked back behind the trees as the big unicorn followed him.