Yeah, I did it ahead of schedule. Go me. This is definitely a good thing. As per usual, I will complain that my school load is heavy, but I'll make due. But I can bitch about it, which is fun too. Anyway, don't know when the next instalment will be out, but it will be out eventually. I'd also like to say that I haven't really been getting any feedback, and I'd really like some. You can send it to either Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I check both, so you should get a response.
This disclaimer. I do so love writing this thing. I don't know them. Honestly, I don't. The events described herein aren't real. The members of Nsync, to the best of my knowledge, aren't associated with the Fey or an oracle. Of course I could be wrong. If you are too young, or it's illegal in your area, I'd leave. Or not. I've warned you. If homosexual themes offend you, I'd leave as well.
Onto the story now. Please e-mail me and let me know what you thought of it. I'd appreciate the feedback. Until next time, Rune
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jason sat quietly in a chair. His hand was pressed tightly on his side in a protective fashion. The bullet that Erin had fired had only grazed his side. It had been the fall to the floor and the shock that had knocked him out. The blood loss was minimal, but he wasn't paying attention to that. He was paying attention to the scene that was unfolding before him.
Cody was ranting incoherently with Deana and Sean trying to calm him down while talking over him to make plans about what to do about Chris. Justin sat red eyed on the couch with Lance trying to comfort him. Josh was silent and Joey was pacing almost as much as Cody.
"I'm going after him," Cody said. "Deana you can get me there."
"But we don't know where he is," Deana pointed out.
"I can track him. I know I can."
"This shouldn't have happened," Joey fumed. He looked at Jason. "You should have told us. You knew this was going to happen. If you weren't so busy manipulating people in this game of yours, you'd have been able to stop this. If you'd been more human, you would have prevented this." The look that crossed Joey's eyes said that he knew he shouldn't have said what he just had, but also that he was too angry to take it back.
"Enough," Jason said. It was the closest that he'd come to raising his voice since they'd met him a few days before. The room fell silent. He stood very carefully and deliberately slow, but with almost inhuman grace. "Cody, you will not be going after Chris until I say so. Mara is going to use him as bait and if you go fumbling after him she will be able to dispose of you. As Deana pointed out, we don't know where he is right now. What we do know is that he's with Mara. And you are completely unprepared to deal with a full blooded Fay."
"But if I follow him we'll at least know where he is," Cody said pleadingly.
"I didn't ask for your opinion on the matter," the Oracle said firmly. "You will do as I say, Cody. You don't have to like it, but you will do it. Rest assured that we will get Chris back, but you will be of no use to him if Mara gets her hands on you."
Tension filled the room as Jason turned his gaze to Joey. "Let's get this out of the way right now. I do not know what will happen. I know what MIGHT happen. I know every possible future for every living creature that I look at. You are correct in assuming that I knew that Chris would be kidnapped. What you have failed to realize is that I also knew he would be sitting on that couch tomorrow with his coffee. Or that he is going to be crushed be a tree tomorrow as he walks outside. It just so happened that none of those will happen because he was kidnapped. I know what might happen Joseph, not what will." The room seemed to become very cold all of a sudden. "As for my being inhuman I apologize for it. However, since I've never truly been allowed to be human, you'll have to forgive me. I have been the Oracle for ten years. Not Jason the Oracle. Simply the Oracle. For the ten years preceding that I was the Oracle to be. Not Jason. I have never been just Jason. I have always been the Oracle. Perhaps I do have an inability to relate properly to normal people. But that's because I never have been normal, and I never will be."
"I..." Joey started to say.
"Don't," Jason told him. The Oracle took a deep breath and winced at the pain in his side. "Deana I want you to go to the sanctuary and retrieve a few things for me. In my quarters there are two wooden boxes." He held his hands apart about a foot. "One is about this size and is a very dark brown. The other is much smaller then that and is of a lighter coloured wood. Both of them will be reasonably light. They're on a shelf behind one of the tapestries on the northern wall. Bring both of them back. Also bring back five handguns from the armoury. I believe the Captain of the guard kept a few there. It's going to take you some time to get there. You can only jump into one room and it is the furthest from my chambers."
Deana nodded. "I'll change and then go immediately." The tiny bodyguard quickly vanished upstairs.
"The rest of you amuse yourselves for the rest of the night. Tomorrow Cody and Sean will be showing you four how to shoot. I suggest you learn quickly."
"Shooting?" Lance asked.
"Mara is going to be stopped. I need a hundred years and an army that numbers in the thousands to do so. What I have is less then ten people and a handful of days." Jason sighed. "I don't like it any more then you do."
"What about Sheryl," Justin asked. It was the first thing he'd said since the attack.
"I'm sorry Justin," Jason said with sympathy in his voice. "She's one of Mara's minions."
"Oh," was all he said before lapsing into silence.
Deana came back downstairs a few minutes later. She had changed from her nightshirt into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. "I'll be back as soon as I can." She closed her eyes and disappeared. The usual popping sound followed her exit.
"It's going to be a long couple of days," Jason said. He walked over to where he'd set the book from the temple. He picked it up and walked into the kitchen. "Get some rest if you can."
"Are you still reading that book?" Josh asked. He had come downstairs after realizing that he wasn't going to get any sleep. It was almost dawn when he walked into the kitchen to find Jason sitting at the table making notes.
"Yes," was all the other man said. He didn't even look up from the book as he said it.
"Maybe you should try to sleep," Josh suggested. He had noticed the dark lines that were forming under the Oracle's eyes. "You might be able to think about it more clearly if you've had some rest."
"I unfortunately don't have time to sleep," Jason replied. He looked up from the book and the weariness was clearly etched on his face. "I have to find out where Mara's going and what she's up to, and this book has the answer in it somewhere."
Josh got a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. He handed it to Jason. "At least take a short break then. A couple of minutes, it might let you see something you've missed."
The Oracle gratefully accepted the water and leaned back in his chair. "Thanks."
"No problem." A silence fell over the two for a few moments until Josh broke it. "I want to apologize for what Joey said to you. He's normally not like that."
Jason waved his hand dismissively. "I know he isn't usually like that. He was just experiencing the residual effects of being controlled by an empath. I reacted like I did because I was tired and angry. As well as annoyed."
"Empath?" Josh asked.
"The man with the red hair, Kyle. He manipulated Joey's emotions. It's an effective attack, but it has side effects for the person being controlled." Jason drained the last of the water from the glass and set it aside. "If I get the time, I'll explain it to him."
"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Josh said.
"Probably," Jason said.
Silence wrapped around the room as both men were lost in their thoughts. Again it was Josh that broke the silence. The Oracle seemed capable of silence for long periods of time.
"What's the Moving day?" The singer asked.
"Hmm?" Jason said as he slid out of his thoughts.
"The Moving day." Josh prompted. "You mentioned it when you first got here."
"Oh, it's a day that affects the Fey," The Oracle explained. "It happens once a year when the sun and moon align properly. In our histories, these days had dramatic effects on the True Fey, their powers became greatly diminished during these times. The Fey have their power greatly increased, and the Half Fey become horny."
"That's certainly a poetic way of putting it," Josh replied dryly. "But why call it the Moving day?"
"The True Fey always moved around during these times," Jason told him. "It was called the Moving day because it was the day that the True Fey moved from one part of the world to another to hide for that time. The Fey followed them around as well to act as protectors, or possibly destroyers. The Half Fey were always to busy procreating to do anything."
"So that's why our bodyguards were a touch amorous?"
"Pretty much. The urge that the Moving day puts on the Fey is impossible to ignore."
"Then how come you weren't overcome by it?"
"The Sanctuary is enchanted so that the urge is spread over the course of a year," the Oracle told him. "Apparently the Ancestors thought that it wasn't befitting for the Oracle to be out of commission once a year because he spent the entire day getting laid. As long as I'm inside the Sanctuary the Moving day doesn't really have effect on me."
"Didn't you feel it when you came here?"
"The effects were waning. Just the usual hormones racing around in my blood." Jason grinned for a moment before his eyes snapped shut. He shook his head and muttered, "the Heart of the Fey," under his breath.
"What?"
The Oracle didn't respond right away. He was busily flipping through the book. He'd scan a few lines down each page and then turn to the next one. He was half way through the book before he started reading a full page. "Josh, find me a map with the Atlantic ocean on it."
Josh left the other man in the kitchen and went in search of an atlas. He came back several minutes later triumphantly. He'd found the book on a shelf in the study. He was very pleased with himself for some reason. Jason was where he'd left him, only now he was scribbling down the odd number.
"Found it," Josh said. He flipped through the pages until he found the Atlantic Ocean. He laid the book down in front of Jason.
"Thanks," Jason replied. He finished writing a long string of numbers down and started to place dots on the map. When he'd finished he started connecting them. All the while he was muttering, 'please', under his breath.
Josh watched with interest as Jason finished connecting the dots. A large space was created by the lines in the middle of the ocean. He didn't say anything when Jason leaned back in his chair and sighed. He was about to ask when Jason slammed his hands down on the table.
"Fuck," the Oracle swore loudly.
"What?"
"I know what she's going to do."
Chris came to slowly. It was the gentle rocking of the floor that lulled him back to awareness. He didn't like it. His head hurt and his body wasn't really all that pleased about it either. He didn't remember being tossed around during the fight, but he hurt. A lot.
"So glad to have you with us," a cold female voice said.
After some effort, Chris got his eyes to open enough to see who was speaking to him. It was a very determined looking woman. She wore a no-nonsense pants suit. Her dark hair was pulled back into a bun. The look she levelled at him told him that she didn't like him.
"Let me guess," Chris said as he pulled himself into a kneeling position. "You're Mara."
"Very good human," the woman sneered.
"I do try," Chris said dryly. "I don't suppose you'll tell me why you've kidnapped me."
A smile crossed Mara's lips. It didn't touch her eyes. "Of course. Come with me, and see the doom of your species."
Chris followed the woman from the small cabin. They went up a small flight of stairs and stood on the deck of a small yacht. The lights of the yacht clearly outlined six people. One of which stood at the prow with his arms up stretched. He recognized the others as the ones that had been at the cottage. He immediately recognized Sheryl. He spat at her when they got close enough.
"I'm going to get you for what you did to Justin," he told her in a level voice.
Sheryl looked ready to attack him until Mara stepped between them. "We need him for the time being," she told the younger woman. "He'll suffer enough later." She turned her attention back to Chris. "I would advise you not do that again."
He sniffed loudly. "I might even listen to your advice."
"I don't care either way," Mara said dismissively. She pointed out into the darkness. "See the statues?"
He peered into the darkness that stretched out over the water. He could dimly see four statues. He knew by the fact he could see them that they must be huge.
"Do you know what they are?"
"Let me guess," Chris said as he rolled his eyes. "The doom of my species."
"Sarcasm isn't a strong point of your kind," Mara snapped. "But you are correct." She walked to the man at the prow of the boat. She spoke with him for a few moments before returning to Chris' side. "Watch."
Chris didn't have to wait long to see what he was supposed to be watching for. The statues began to glow slightly. In the new light he could make out some of their features. Two were of men, and the other two were of women. They formed a loose half circle, each of them facing toward the boat, but looking at something beyond. The light around each of them brightened until it was painful to watch. He turned his back to them and saw something that took his breath away.
The surface of the water was churning madly. Now and then a large air bubble would break the surface. This continued for several minutes until a stone broke the surface. At least that's what he thought it was. Very quickly he realized the stone was actually the peak of a building. The building was joined by several others. The boat rocked slightly as the water poured off the emerging buildings. In less then ten minutes an entire island had risen above the waves.
"Welcome human," Mara said. "To Atlantis."
TBC
So what did you think? Likes? Dislikes? Let me know.
Rune