Tuatha's Children By Bert McKenzie Copyright 2011
Chapter 6
The back of the cabinet opened and Willow stepped out, finding himself stepping out of a closet into a room in an old house. "Welcome to my home," Jennifer said as she closed the closet door behind him. "Well actually it used to be Scott's home, but he gave it to me when he moved to Tuatha. Now we all kind of use it whenever we come here."
"I see," Willow said, not really understanding any of it.
"Now that you are here," Robin said, turning to the boy, "where think you your father would go?"
"Well, if he came back here," Willow thought for a moment, "he was probably looking for either me or my mom. He probably doesn't know she is dead. I'd say he is in Kansas City."
"How get we to this Kansas City?" Robin asked Scott.
"Well we can't get there on horses," Scott replied. "It's a couple of states over. I guess we're going to have to find the nearest airport and fly."
Robin nodded. "The big metal birds again. Good, I like those. They are fast and fun."
"And expensive," Willow said. "Did you bring money?"
"We have a trust fund," Scott replied with a look of concern on his face. "But I'm afraid that is running low."
"I brought this," Robin said, holding out a leather bag. "We shall have to find a way to convert it to your, what you call it, money?"
"Is that gold?" Willow asked.
Scott shook his head. "No, jewels from the treasury."
"Let me make a call. I think I can help with that," Willow said. They went downstairs to the drawing room and Willow picked up the phone from the desk. It was an old style push button desk phone. Willow shook his head as he pulled a card out of his pocket. "This is like the first desk phones they made with push buttons. It's practically an antique." He punched the buttons and waited for a moment. Soon a voice answered on the end of the line. "I'd like to speak with Craig Langston," he said. "Tell him Willow Granger is calling." In a few moments he was connected with the older man. "I'm in...where am I?" he asked.
"Waterford, Illinois," Scott said quickly.
"Waterford, Illinois. No, Jeff isn't with me. He stayed in Tuatha. It's a long story, but the fact is we're trying to find my father and we think he came back here. We need to get a bunch of us to Kansas City. You think you can arrange that?" They made arrangements over the phone and Willow finally told the group, "He can have tickets waiting for us at the airport, but we have to have photo IDs. Got any idea how to get that done." Everyone was crestfallen. "Hang on," Willow said and spoke to his friend a bit more. "It's going to take a little time, but he can have that arranged by tomorrow afternoon," Willow replied.
"This will take too long," Robin complained.
"Okay, then we rent a car," Scott said and looked around at the group, "maybe a van."
Willow spoke into the phone again. "Who's got a current driver's license?" he asked the group. They all mumbled and looked around. He spoke back into the phone and then hung up. "Craig works for Jeff. He's going to have a van ready for us at Enterprise. We can pick it up in an hour. But I guess I'll have to be the one driving since I'm the only one with a license."
"I like this not," Robin grumbled.
"You want to ride a horse to Kansas City? We'll meet you there in a couple of days," Willow replied. "Meanwhile, I've still got Jeff's credit cards, so we'll go shopping and get you guys some modern clothes. We can be in Kansas City in about 8 hours."
Rood went out to the garage where he found Akuta and Melcot waiting with a number of the guards. They had opened a large tunnel from the other world, apparently connecting to the back wall of the garage and had a couple of horses standing by. Rood instructed Akuta, Melcot and Rowana to wait in the house with Jennifer and Caseldra while he, Sharon, Robin, Scott, and Willow drove to Kansas City. In about twenty minutes a cab pulled up and Scott and Willow jumped in. An hour later they were pulling up in front of the old Victorian house in a nice, late model Ford minivan. They took their purchases into the house and in a short time the others, more contemporarily dressed, piled into the van and they drove off, heading for the highway south.
Rayel wasn't sure what to do next. He found the trailer where they had lived, but the trailer court had grown even seedier in the time since he had lived there. He spoke to a few people but no one remembered him or his wife. He finally spoke with the manager of the trailer court who looked through back records and finally told him that the woman he was married to remarried, and then died. The man she married moved on and the manager had no idea what happened to the boy who lived with them. That was all he could tell. Rayel thanked him and took the two boys he had with him and headed back toward the bus station. "Are we going home now?" Raven asked, his hopes growing.
"No, we are going to speak with Sarah in St. Louis." Rayel carefully counted the last of the money had had stashed away. He hoped it would pay for tickets for the three of them to St. Louis. "You stay here," he told the boys as he walked up to talk with the cashier.
"Roon, this is getting bad," Raven said.
"I know," his friend agreed. "The guy is crazy. I think we need to find a way back home."
"But how?" Raven asked.
"Well, if we go west we will eventually come to mountains. That's what Scott said. I'm sure if we find mountains, one of them will have a cave that might have a tunnel back to our world, kind of like the ones in the Crystal Mountains that got us here."
That made sense to Raven. "So how do we convince him to take us west to the mountains?"
"We won't be able to," Roon said. "We'll have to run away from him and take our chances. Now while he's busy talking to that man in the glass room. Let's go." He and Raven got up and slipped out the main doors of the bus depot. Then they ran as fast as they could down the sidewalk. They came to a cross street and dashed across, narrowly avoiding the speeding vehicles that made loud screeching noises, trying to avoid them not to mention the bleating noises, like sick goats bellowing. On the other side of the street, they kept running.
Rayel found he only had enough money for one adult ticket to St. Louis. He turned to the boys, but they were no longer there. He looked around and checked in the restroom, but there was no sign of them. He stepped out the door and looked down the street in both directions, but didn't see anything of the two youths. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't just abandon them, but he had to talk to Sarah. Maybe she would have an answer, and they could come back together to find the boys. He ran to the cashier and bought the ticket to St. Louis, just making it onto the bus as the vehicle was about to pull out of the depot.
"This is where I grew up, at least till I was about 13," Willow said as he pulled the van into the parking lot of the trailer park.
"These are really odd shaped houses," Rood remarked.
"They're trailers," Sharon corrected him. "They have wheels underneath so they can be moved to different locations."
"A house on wheels! Moved you to different locations?" Robin asked as they climbed out of the van.
"No, we never went anywhere," Willow answered and headed toward the trailer marked 'Office.'
Robin and Rood both looked like they didn't understand. Scott just shook his head and followed Willow. Soon Robin, Scott and Willow were crammed into the office. Sharon and Rood waited outside.
"You're the second person to ask about the Grangers," the manager said as he leaned back in his desk chair. "You cops? The boy wanted for something?"
"I am the boy," Willow answered which brought the manager to sit upright.
"That so? Well, damn, you grew up."
"Yeah, now like I said, was anyone asking about..."
"Yeah, some guy was in here yesterday. Seemed pretty upset that your ma was dead. He asked where you were, but I said I didn't know."
"Did he say where he was going?" Willow asked excitedly.
"Did he have two small boys with him?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, I think there were two kids waiting outside for him," the man said. "I don't know where he went from here."
The three of them quickly stepped outside. "We are on the right track," Scott said as they rejoined Rood and Sharon.
Just then a cab pulled up and a man got out. He was well built and quite handsome. His hair was brown with streaks of grey in it. "Willow!" he called. They all turned and looked at him.
"Craig," Willow shouted and ran to hug the man as the cab pulled away.
"What's this about?" Craig asked his young friend.
Robin stepped over to the pair and bluntly asked, "Who are you?"
Craig Langston took a step back and looked at the tall fairy. Willow quickly made introductions to diffuse the tense situation. "Craig this is Robin, the king of the fairies. And these are his friends and guards, Scott, Sharon and Rood."
Craig started to laugh and then looked at the serious expressions on their faces. He realized the boy wasn't kidding. "I'm Craig Langston. I work for Jeff Smythe. I manage his holdings and pretty much run things for him here in this world." Craig stuck his hand out and Scott stepped forward to quickly shake it.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Langston," he said. "Willow has explained that you arranged for the rented van and were willing to fly us here if we had IDs, which we don't."
"Willow," Robin interrupted their discussion. "Know you where your father may go from here."
Willow thought a minute and as he opened his mouth, Craig spoke up at the same time. They both said, "St. Louis."
Everyone looked astounded at the newcomer. "Willow's grandmother lived there. I know the whole story," Craig explained. "I'm sure Rel would have gone there, looking for Sarah."
"They think he kidnapped Robin's son," Willow explained.
"The prince of the fairies? Why would he do that? And I'll drive." The entire group climbed back into the van, Craig taking the keys from Willow.
Rayel sat by the graveside of Sarah Brewster. He shook his head, tears in his eyes. Now what was he to do? He lost the children in Kansas City and hoped he could find them again once he talked with Sarah to find out where his son was. But Sarah was dead and no one seemed to have any idea what became of Willow. One neighbor told him the boy had lived with Sarah after his mother died, but that he disappeared after Sarah passed on. She directed Rayel to the cemetery, but all it was, was an empty field with memorial stones. His mother-in-law's body may be buried beneath the earth there, but what good would that do him? All he could think of was to return to Kansas City and find the children. Then maybe he could return to Tuatha somehow.
"Is that a portable radio?" Scott asked as Craig spoke into the blue tooth earpiece he wore.
"Cell phone," he said as he finished his call. "We have a private jet waiting at the airport. We'll get there in no time."
He drove across town to the smaller airport and pulled into the parking area. He then led the group to the hanger where a man was finishing the pre-flight check on the private plane. "You rented this?" Sharon asked, appreciatively eyeing the little craft as the pilot pulled down the door that doubled as a stairway into the cabin.
"Yeah," Craig said, ushering them into the plane. "Jeff has plenty of money. He can afford to help his friends find Willow's dad and the missing kids."
"I thank you for your help," Robin said graciously as they strapped in and the plane began to roll out onto the runway.
While they crossed the state of Missouri, Robin and Scott explained the situation to Craig. Scott said he was sure the boys just tagged along, but was concerned that they didn't return home and Rayel seemed to have taken them along on his adventure. In a short time they were landing at a small commercial airport just outside of St. Louis. There was another rented van waiting for them and Craig grabbed the keys and drove out of the airport. Willow guided him directly to Sarah's old townhouse. They parked in front and Willow and Craig got out. Craig told the others to wait, as he didn't want to overwhelm anyone who could give them information. Scott had his hands full trying to convince Robin to wait in the van as the two went up and rang the bell. There was no answer, but an older woman looked out the windows of the building next door. Willow noticed and waived to her. She had a shocked look on her face and the two quickly crossed over to her door.
Old Mrs. Peterson came to the door. She looked ancient despite her shock of dyed red hair, just as Willow remembered her. "Willow?" she asked as she opened her door.
"Yes, Mrs. Peterson. How are you?" he asked.
"Oh my goodness child, come in," she urged.
"Oh we can't, I'm sorry. We're in a real hurry. We're trying to find..."
"Your father," the woman said, shocking the two men at her door. "Yes, he was here earlier, asking about you and about your grandmother. I don't know where he might be now. I told him that she passed on and even gave him directions to the cemetery."
"Thank you, Mrs. Peterson," Willow said and the two dashed back to the van, leaving the old woman standing in her doorway, shocked and surprised.
Willow guided Craig to Memorial Park and they pulled up, just as a man was closing the gates. Craig jumped out and spoke to him. At first he just shook his head and seemed pretty grumpy as viewed from inside the van. But then Craig handed him something and he finally nodded and pulled the gate open. As Craig climbed back in the van they heard him shout, "You got five minutes. If you aren't out by then I'm calling the cops."
Willow directed the van down the narrow lanes between the gravestones. "It's just down this row," Willow said, pointing in the direction of his grandmother's grave. Craig pulled the van to a stop and they all climbed out. Willow began walking between the markers, heading directly to where he remembered Sarah's grave. Suddenly he saw a man sitting beside a stone marker. He walked forward, but Craig held his hand up, stopping the others. "Dad?" Willow said.
Rayel looked up in surprise and saw the boy standing in front of him. This wasn't the son, he remembered. His son was only a small boy, no bigger than Roon or Raven. This was a grown man. He looked closely, and then saw the familiar features in the man's face, and the bright blue eyes. "Willow?" he asked as he slowly stood. Then he realized the passage of time. This was indeed his son. "Willow!" he shouted and the two ran to each other, hugging together fiercely. As they did so, the others then stepped forward to surround them.
"I apologize for interrupting your reunion," Robin said bluntly. Rayel looked up, then stepped back from his son, a look of panic on his face.
"Dad, what happened to the kids that were with you?" Willow asked.
Rayel looked around as if he planned to run, but Rood was standing directly behind him and reached out to grab him by the arm. Craig stepped up and taking hold of his other arm, the two men held him in place.
"They...they followed me here," Rayel said, looking down at the ground.
"Were be they now?" Robin asked, anger rising in his voice.
"We were in Kansas City. I was trying to buy bus tickets to come here. They ran away. I looked for them but could not find them."
"Speaks he the truth?" Rood asked.
"Look into my eyes," Robin said. The man refused to look up. "Look into my eyes!" Robin repeated using the magic of command. It was a power he held as king of Tuatha. Rayel couldn't refuse no matter how hard he tried. His head snapped up and he made direct eye contact with Robin. "Think of my son and his friend." The two stared into each other's eyes for a minute. Then Robin looked at Scott.
"They ran away in Kansas City, as he said. But he looked not for them."
"Shall I slay him?" Rood asked calmly.
"NO!" Willow shouted.
"No, we shall take him with us in the search." They all quickly climbed back into the van, dragging Rayel with them. The vehicle was beginning to get rather crowded. Craig quickly turned down a lane and headed back to the gate. He waved at the caretaker as he drove through and the man quickly pulled the gates closed behind him.
"Now what?" Scott asked, despair washing over him. "How will we ever find the boys in that big city?"
"I think we need someone who is really good at tracking," Craig suggested.
"No!" Willow said.
"Who?" Robin asked at the same time.
"Jeff could find them by smell, if he was here."
"But he'll be a vampire again," Willow said sadly.
"It's only for a little while. He comes over, finds the boys and you all go home."
"How will we get him here?" Robin asked.
"I assume you left people at whatever entrance you have to our world, back in Waterford?" Craig asked.
"Yes," Robin replied. "Several of my palace guards remain there."
"I need you to call them. Have them cross over and explain the situation to Jeff. If you can get him to a phone, I'll talk to him. Tell him we're on our way there now. We'll take him with us back to Kansas City."
"Will we fly again to the gateway?" Rood asked excitedly.
"No, we're driving," Craig informed them. By the time we got a plane in the air and landed, we could be there just about as fast by car. St. Louis is on the Illinois border and we really aren't that far away. But getting back to Kansas City is another matter." He passed his cell phone over to Scott. The little hand held device seemed bewildering. Craig took it back and asked for the number. Scott gave it to him, he dialed it, then handed the cell phone back. Scott slowly put it to his ear as if he thought it might bite.
"Well that was good," Jeff remarked as he and Alex sat back, relaxing at the dinner table. "But to be honest, I think I'd kill for a steak." Alex gave him a nervous look. "It's just an expression, you know." Jeff said. "I may not be a vampire, but vegetarianism is a bit of a stretch for me. I know Willow eats this diet and does very well, but I always did enjoy meat, in my old life. I'd really like to try it again."
Alex laughed with him. "A nice slab of ribs does sound good. I wonder what they would do if we tried to barbeque something around here." He leaned over rather conspiratorially and asked, "Ever eaten unicorn."
Jeff looked a bit shocked. "You serious? They actually have unicorns?"
Alex laughed and then thought for a moment. "Actually I guess it would be like eating a friend. I grew rather close to Firebrand. He's the head stallion of the herd." Jeff just shook his head in amazement.
"So tell me about this land of the dead and how your buddy rescued you after you died," Jeff said. "I never knew anyone who came back from the dead."
Alex gave him a curious look. "What about you."
"Yeah, well, vampires don't count. It's not like we really die. We just kind of change from one way of life to another."
"Without a heartbeat or body temperature," Alex supplied.
"Well, yeah, there is that. But getting back to your story..."
Alex relayed the entire story of his death from AIDS. "There is really very little to tell after that," he said. "I remember lying in the Halls of Healing trying very hard to breathe. Then it was like I went to sleep. I had these really confusing dreams about talking to two big guys and trying to ferry a little boat across a stretch of ocean. Then the next thing I knew, I was waking up in Akuta's arms. We were standing in a crowd and there was this big fire, like one of their state funerals here. Akuta filled me in on all the details. After that, we had to make a trip back to the human world. We stayed for about a day, then came back here and have been here ever since. I was told by Elnar, the Keeper of Magic, that I can never go back to the human world again, or I will die."
"That is some tale," Jeff said, shaking his head in amazement.
"So now let's hear your story," Alex suggested.
"Well, I was born in 1800. My father hated me. He caught me kissing another man and back then being gay was definitely not accepted. My father was the one who made a bargain with a vampire to kill me. But instead the vampire turned me. When my father found out, he had me buried in a casket, chained in a crypt. I was unable to get out, so I more or less slept there for many years. I finally was released accidentally by a grave robber in 1955. I can tell you, there was quite a bit of culture shock coming from 1823 to 1955."
"Yeah, I bet about as much as coming from Los Angeles into this medieval backwoods land. But I still love it."
"Yeah, it has its appeal."
Alex agreed. "Yeah, like being alive."
"There is that."