PROLOGUE

A dark cast spread over the Dwarven lord's face as he looked to his bride. "This realm is more fragile than I had hoped. Events advance more quickly than we had planned. We have weeks now instead of years. Our preparations will be for naught if we can not adapt. I am afraid that we may have no choice but to take the children to the tracks."
His bride simply smiled..."What of the parents? We've only just begun to remove them, and only the ones with no Sidhe blood. It would be complicated to kill them all at once: worse still if we were followed."
"Impossible! They do not yet have the skill, and can not be allowed to gain it. The time for caution is past. We have to advance the timetable. You know what to do. I will be waiting for you. Do not fail me, my love."
The dark elf's eyes flashed dangerously for a moment, and then it passed. Her only response was, "Never," and she watched him disappear into the woods behind their house towards the track




The End Of The World

Jayme lugged the last of the bags and equipment out of the car and up to the chalet that he and his friends had rented for the weekend. He zipped his jacket against the biting cold and cursed himself for agreeing to drive all the way up to this God forsaken corner of Maine for this little get away. He had tried to beg off, but Nessa’s mother had been insistent that they go take a break away from the city. He had dismissed as hype all the talk on the news of serious and imminent threats being made that the government had become aware of. Nessa’s mom, however, was adamant that they get away. At any rate, it was Jenna’s reminder that it would be a perfect evening to cast a circle and have a little celebration that had won him over. Jenna was a Wiccan and had been helping Jayme to learn more about the craft. He had been a dabbler for years and he had wanted to learn more. Jenna had reminded him that it would be a full moon, and that the location was irresistible for a little nature worship. He consoled himself with the thought that he would blame her if he didn’t have a good time.
Not really wanting to be social, he decided to check out the location that Jenna had raved about. He left the children in the capable hands of Nessa, Terry, and Miranda and slipped out the back towards the water.
Walking down the hill, he let his mind wander. Thinking of nothing in particular, he let the feel of the place wash over him. There was really something almost palpable in the air that wrapped him up like a cloak, improving his mood. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something down at the water. It seemed almost to be glowing, and he figured it to be a reflection of the light and decided to go down and take in the view. The sun was setting earlier these days, and he decided to take in a spectacle.
Arriving lakeside he was, indeed, greeted with a spectacular lightshow on the water. The sun wasn't yet low in the sky, but the reflection of the light seemed almost amplified. He assumed it to be a side effect of all the snow around the edges. He found a nice little clearing on the shore that fairly glowed with the reflection itself and made a mental note to bring Jenna and Marissa down here. It would be a perfect place for the circle. It actually "felt" like a place for a circle. He took it for a sign and perched himself on a rock by the water to watch the sunset. He was not disappointed.
Jayme's reverie was disturbed by a hail of snowballs pelting him from behind. Peter and Jenna had apparently arrived while he was down at the lake and had led the children on an expedition to retrieve him. Jayme dove to grab a handful of snow and return fire, but as he poked his head above the rock to sight his target he saw Jenna's daughter, Reina, standing there looking down at him with a snowball in hand and wisely surrendered. He allowed himself to be led back to the chalet where cooking duties awaited and never looked back at the clearing which still glowed, even now that the sun had set.
The party found their way back easily in the moonlight, and found Tara and Marissa pulling into the driveway along with Tara's daughter Cara upon their arrival. Peter gave Jayme a knowing glance and with unspoken agreement they went directly to the car instead of going up to the chalet. There would be plenty of luggage to unload with this group, and the girls would certainly not be carrying it all in.
"Where's Nero?" Peter called out, asking after Marissa's missing husband. Jayme had not really expected him to come, but he remained silent and let Marissa answer.
"He couldn't come. He had something come up last minute, so he stayed home to take care of it." Marissa looked surreptitiously at Jayme, knowing full well that he knew better, and seemed relieved by his silence. Nero simply didn't like children much, and crowds less, but Marissa was reluctant to paint her husband in a negative light and figured that it wasn't really anyone's business anyway. Jayme agreed, she assumed, as he simply gave hugs and kisses all around and proceeded to take the first of several loads of baggage up to the chalet.
With everything safely inside, including the slightly soggy children wrapped in blankets in front of the television, Jayme started on dinner. Peter started working on a fire in the huge stone fireplace in the common room. Happily relinquishing the children into the capable hands of Cara, Nessa and Tara joined Jayme in the kitchen. They were the only two in the house he permitted into the kitchen during meal preparation. They saw this less as the privilege that he intended and more as a guarantee that they would be saddled with cooking duty along with him for the duration, but accepted it for the upside of never having to do the dishes. Jayme owned a catering business, and was a bit of a pain in the ass in the kitchen, but his meals were worth enduring his little tantrums. Everyone in the house knew that the kitchen was his domain, and they left him to it.
The sound of raised voices in the den caught the attention of all of the parents in the house immediately. Each wondered if it was their child giving Cara a hard time and moved to offer assistance. As they arrived in the room to see the situation neatly handled already by Cara, the converging throng moved to disperse when the sudden piercing sound of the Emergency Alert System coming from the television shocked everyone into silence.
Thinking quickly, Cara ushered all of the little ones out of the room, promising hot chocolate in the kitchen. She overcame the mild objections by telling them that the television was broken, and that the adults would get it fixed right away. Tara cast Cara a thankful glance and returned her attention to the broadcast. An annoyingly calm mechanical voice instructed everyone in the broadcast area not to panic, but to remain in their homes for the time being. The information was incomplete, and homogenized for public consumption, but the story seemed to be that an explosive device of unknown size had gone off in Boston. Furthermore, communication with the city was at the current time cut off. A quick check of the cell phones to home confirmed that. Controlled panic filled the room as the urge to freak out battled with the desire not to alarm the children. Marissa was particularly silent, and nobody wanted to say a word to upset her any more about the fact that her husband was not safe with them, but rather back home in the city.
Everyone frantically dialed everyone they knew in an attempt to get more information. For the most part, nobody was getting in touch with anyone. As the feeling of unease steadily grew, it reached a boiling point when Tara finally reached her cousin in Connecticut who mentioned the mushroom cloud. When the bulletin switched to information about radiation countermeasures, silence returned.
The immediate instinct to run was immediately overtaken by the knowledge that there was nowhere to run, at least without any more information than they had. They had a chalet that slept fifteen and food for at least a week. Without knowing which direction might take them towards safety, they obeyed the bulletins telling them to stay inside. Cara, sensing trouble without knowing the specifics, took charge of the children and threw a movie into the player for them. The adults, by unspoken consensus moved to the kitchen where the radio was and turned it on while they considered their next move.
Nobody wanted to speak for fear of sounding stupid. The unfolding events were so far beyond any of their experience that it was difficult to know what to do next. Terry spoke up first.
"We need to stick together. We have no idea what is coming, but people are going to get crazy. We have a pretty good sized mob going here, so our best bet for protection is to stay together."
These were the best of friends huddled around the radio in the kitchen, and it hadn't really occurred to any of them that they might split up, but Terry felt it needed to be said. His comments opened another can of worms, however.
"Do you really think it could get that bad? I mean, I'm sure the government won't let that kind of craziness happen," Miranda asked in response to her husband, "Don't you think that's a little paranoid?"
Tara rolled her eyes, but tempered her response. "A bomb just blew Boston all to hell. Nothing is paranoid at this point. We haven't said it yet, but we don't even know if that was the only bomb." And there it was. The elephant in the room was no longer unmentioned. Had the war started? Had cooler heads failed to prevail and all hell broken loose? It seemed like the only explanation.
Jayme, feeling like he had to exert some sort of control if only because they were in the kitchen, spoke up next. "Here's what we have to do. First and foremost we need to keep the kids safe. For the moment, that is here. They are going to know something is going on soon. Cara already does. We need to make sure they are ok. We also have to take turns by the radio so that we don't miss anything important if they ever deign to say something important. Beyond that, we play it by ear. Pete, you need to finish that fire. We need to be warm, and we may lose power at some point." Realizing that he had just started giving orders, he stopped for a second and sheepishly looked around for a reaction. Peter let him off of the hook.
"Good idea. We'll probably need more wood by tomorrow, though, if we keep it going all night. I didn't think to get any more while I was outside earlier. Do you think we can go outside?"
"Better sooner rather than later." Terry said, "If we are going to be facing radiation danger or anything, it will get worse as the winds spread it. I'll go get some wood."
Encouraged by his friends' reaction, Jayme jumped back in. "I'll go with you. Nessa and Tara can finish dinner, we still need to eat, and the rest of you should probably have damage control duty with the kids."
"I'm coming with you for wood," Marissa said, with a tone that made argument inadvisable at best, "I don't have any kids here, and I need to get some air."
Sensitive to the fact that she had probably just lost her husband, nobody spoke a word in protest. They all knew she would have kicked their ass if they had tried anyway. Marissa was the sweetest, most bubbly individual you could meet, and all of her friends loved her dearly, but you didn't want to cross her. Plans in place, there was nothing left to do but to get to it.
As soon as they got outside, Terry turned and went down to the driveway. Jayme knew that he was probably going to get the pistol that he kept in his truck, but decided that it was better not to mention that to Marissa. He doubted that it would make her feel any better, and he didn't want a big argument over whether or not they should have a gun in the house. At any other time, Jayme would probably have been on the other side of that argument, but things had changed quite a bit in the last few hours.
Walking around the porch towards the stairs, Jayme glanced down towards the water. The same glow he had attributed to the sunlight on the water was there on the shore. Curiosity mixed with concern as he stared down at the phenomenon. "Marissa, do you see that, too?" he asked, placing a hand on her arm as she walked by him, "Down by the water. Do you see that?"
Marissa turned without a sound and followed his stare down to the lake. Her face scrunched up into a curious expression, almost like she was deciding what to say. "It's a full moon. It looks like a powerful night," she began, and after a quizzical look from Jayme she continued," Isn't that why we were going to draw a circle tonight? I think that Mother Nature is a little pissed off with someone tossing around bombs and is showing off a bit herself."
Jayme stood there silent for a second. He knew that Marissa was very serious about her beliefs, probably a little more so than he was himself, but he found that leap hard to make. He quickly did an assessment of her emotional state and had an internal debate on whether or not arguing spirituality would be a good decision at this point. He decided that pragmatism could intersect spiritual curiosity and suggested that they look for firewood down there so that they could check out the lights at the same time. Marissa seemed satisfied.
"Terry!" Jayme yelled into the driveway, "We're going to gather wood out back so we can check out that light by the water."
Terry's response was immediate and sharp. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't see any lights anywhere, and if there are any lights, they are probably people out scavenging. Show me what you are talking about."
"I doubt we already have bands of roving scavengers out here in this remote corner of the world." said Jayme, "It's probably just a reflection of the full moon on the snow or water. Marissa wants to pray, though, and I am going to go with her. Look for yourself. It doesn't look like a flashlight or a fire," and he pointed down at the direction of the shore.
Terry looked down at the lake and seemed to see nothing. "Are you talking about the reflection off of the lake? You had me worried for a minute."
Jayme considered arguing another second, as Terry was clearly not seeing the same phenomenon, but decided to just let it go. "Sorry, I didn't think about how it would sound when I said it. Don't worry, though, we're just going down for a minute. We'll get some wood for the fireplace, and I'll see what I can do to help calm Marissa down about Nero." With a knowing glance, he followed down the path after Marissa, who had already started walking.
Marissa had quite a head start. By the time Jayme caught up with her, she was at the clearing on the water. She had already drawn a circle in the sand and was standing in it. The image was eerie. The entire area was glowing. There was no way to describe it away as a trick of the light. In fact, the light continued across the water in what looked like railroad tracks, but in a completely different direction from the reflection of the full moon. Even more strange was that feeling he had experienced from before of safety and peace. Was this really a manifestation of nature as Marissa believed? It took him exactly three seconds to grab his cell phone and call Jenna up at the house. "Come down here to where you guys found me earlier at the lake."
Panic in her voice, Jenna yelled back, "Is everything ok? What happened?"
"Everything is fine. It's beautiful. Marissa and I are casting a circle and you have got to come down for this. It's incredible. I don't know if it's her grief or some reaction to the bomb, or the full moon, or whatever...you know I don't know my lore very well, but the Gods are definitely out tonight! Look out the window."
"That's great. But you just scared the hell out of me! I..." and the phone went dead for a second as she looked out the window "is that you?"
"If you are talking about the faint glow down at the beach which is definitely not moonlight, then yes."
"Faint glow? Are you kidding? Are you safe? I'll be right down." and she hung up the phone.
A little confused, Jayme looked back at the circle and Marissa. He understood Jenna's confusion. The "glow" was now about five times brighter than it had been and fairly shooting out across the lake. At this point, all disbelief left him and he tried to enjoy the sensations. He approached the circle, entered and resealed it, and grabbed Marissa's hand. "Jenna is coming, what do you want to do?"
Before Marissa could answer, a loud noise, followed by Jenna screaming turned both of their heads around. They saw her running down the hill, followed closely behind by all of the children. Jayme immediately ran up to meet her, squatting down to pick his son up as he asked her, “What the hell is happening?”
Jenna took a breath and answered. “The others are right behind me. Some people were banging on the door. Terry looked out the window and said it was a bunch of kids with guns and stuff. I got the kids together and came down here to get you guys. I heard what sounded like a gunshot when I was leaving out the back door. Terry yelled that it was ok, but I don’t know what is going on.”
Jayme hugged his son, Reardon, and looked back up the hill at the house. The desire to go back and help warred with the urge to keep his son safe. Luckily, he saw the others appear out the back door as he struggled with his decision. They were running down quickly, and Jayme and Jenna had to move back down the hill toward Marissa in order to avoid being trampled. Arriving at the beach, Jayme turned around to see what was happening. He saw his friends coming down the hill, and back toward the chalet, he saw a group of people leaving out the back door. He turned to Marissa, who seemed almost oblivious to everything going on. She was chanting something, eyes closed. Jayme could not believe that she was just standing there. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and spoke to him.
"Do you recognize this?" she asked, cryptically, with a smile on her face, "do you know what this is?" She pointed at the tracks of light shooting out across the water. Jayme was still dumbfounded and could not answer.
“These have to be the Sidhe tracks. There’s power here!” Marissa said, excited.
“Unless that power can stop bullets, honey, it’s time to go. There are people with guns coming down the hill.” Jayme pointed up at the people chasing their friends just as they arrived on the beach.
Marissa didn’t answer, but didn’t move either. Instead, she closed her eyes again and whispered something under her breath. A second later, the lights on the beach got brighter than they had seen them and engulfed the group. The light disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Jayme looked around to see that the people chasing them were gone. Gone, also, were the beach, the chalet, and everything else recognizable. Instead of the snowy mountain in Maine, they were in the middle of a forest somewhere that they did not recognize. There were no landmarks that were even remotely recognizable, and the weather was more like late May than December. More than that, the very air seemed to tingle with energy, and Jayme had that same sense of familiarity and safety that he had felt back at the beach. Something very strange was going on. Jayme looked over at Marissa and asked, “What the hell did you do?”





Far From Home

Marissa looked around at her friends, all of whom were looking at her with questioning stares. “I didn’t do anything!” she yelled, her face a mixture of confusion and fear. “I was trying to do a protection spell. I just said some words I read in a book that I remembered. With all of the energy floating around I thought it might work. I was getting ready to run like hell with the rest of you. I don’t know what happened.”
Before she could say anything else, a light flashed again right beside the adults where the children were huddled together by a tree. Everyone turned quickly toward the flash, but in an instant it was over. When it subsided, the children were gone.
The friends scattered, looking around and calling the children at the top of their lungs. Terry, a dangerous look on his face, turned back to Marissa. “Another protection spell? What are you doing?”
“I didn’t do that!” Marissa was still yelling, nearly hysterical now, “I didn’t do anything. That just happened. I was talking to you guys!” Terry seemed unconvinced and walked away rather than hitting her as he looked like he might.
Jayme came back and looked right at Marissa. “If that wasn’t you then what the hell was it? Where are the kids? Where are we for that matter? What is going on here?”
“You know what I think. As crazy as it may sound to you, I think those were the Sidhe tracks. I don’t know what happened to the kids, but I know where I think we are.” Marissa looked at Jayme with an expression that dared him to find another explanation.
“What does that mean?” Peter asked, looking around, “Where are we? How did we get here? What are you guys talking about? Are we still even in Maine? It seems a little warm for New England.”
Jayme shook his head, “I don't think so. Or if we are, it's...well I don't know how to describe it. I don't even know what "it" is. If those were the Sidhe tracks like Marissa thinks, and if we actually traveled on them, well, we're a long way from home."
Nessa turned around and punched the nearest tree. Her face was deep crimson and her expression was more dangerous than any of them had ever seen. "I don't give a damn where we are, and I don't give a damn how we got here. I want my baby, and I am not going to stand here another minute talking about it. We need to find her. Follow me, don't, I don't care, but I'm looking for Bella!" With that she stormed off into the woods without looking back. Reluctant to separate, the others followed.
Almost by instinct, they spread out a bit in order to cover more territory while still moving in the same direction. Pete caught up with Nessa and whispered quietly to her as they moved along. Terry and Miranda moved off a little to the left and consoled each other as they looked for their son. Tara moved off to the right, and Marissa, seeming to want to keep her distance from Terry for the time being, followed along with her. Jayme and Jenna stayed behind them all a bit, wanting to keep them all in sight as well as to discuss their situation.
"Do you think we're really where I think we are?" began Jayme, reluctant to sound stupid, but unable to find an intelligent way to discuss the faerie Otherworld, "Tir na nOg? Is that right? I don't know a lot about the lore, but if those were Sidhe tracks..." his words faded off as he found he couldn't complete the sentence.
"Well, you and I both know that wherever we are, it isn't Earth. For all I know we could both be unconscious on the ground by the lake at the chalet and all that glowing shit was just radioactive waste. Assuming that is not the case, however, it's too incredible to imagine. If the kids weren't missing this would be amazing. Problem is, if this is a magical journey, and they disappeared by some magical means, then our wandering around in the forest is probably not doing a damn bit of good. We ought to be trying something else."
"Like what? We don't know how anything works here. I just feel so helpless." He stopped there in order to keep control, or at least the impression of it. Control was the one thing he didn't feel like he had.
"I don't know, hon, but there is a reason we crossed over here. You and Marissa and I were able to see the tracks, and obviously we somehow used them, so maybe we can do other things. Can't you feel the energy all around this place? Maybe magic doesn't work the same way here, but it has to work some way. The three of us are the only ones in our group who even believe that, never mind have any experience in trying to use magic. We have to do something." Her voice was almost pleading.
Jayme looked up ahead and saw that the others had already gained a lot of ground. He could barely see them in the distance. He looked back at Jenna, debating in his mind. Finally he said, "If we stop now, we will lose the others. What do you want to do?"
Jenna sighed, looked up ahead at the others, and said, "If we can find the kids, we can find them again. If we can't, what else matters? We know what direction they are going. Once they realize they can't see us, they'll double back. We need to see what we can do, maybe try a spell or something."
Jayme stopped walking, nodded his head, and sat down on a rock. He wasn't sure what the hell he was doing, but if he was going to call himself a witch, he should at least be willing to try to use magic when he was knee deep in magic central. Jenna grabbed a stick to draw a circle, but Jayme stopped her, "I don't think we need that. It just doesn't feel right. If this is the Otherworld, then we're not exactly dealing with the standard Wiccan traditions. I think this is more... natural." Jenna stopped and just nodded, listening.
Jayme continued, trying to ignore an itchy feeling along his back behind his shoulder blades. "Close your eyes, and see what you feel. You said you felt magical energy all around you, so try and touch it. Try and use it. I'll do the same." He closed his eyes, but all he could feel was his itching back. It was driving him insane. He reached around to scratch but couldn't seem to get the spots. Finally, peeking to see if Jenna still had her eyes closed, he moved to scratch his back on the nearest tree. He had discarded his winter jacket five minutes after arriving, so all he was wearing was a pink t-shirt he had bought at last years pride parade. The t-shirt almost immediately shredded upon contact with the tree. Jayme yelped with surprise, though he wasn't hurt at all. He jumped up as his shirt fell away in shreds. Jenna opened her eyes and gasped with surprise. Jayme felt all of a sudden off balance, but at least the itching had stopped. Jenna pointed at him in surprise and almost screamed.
"What, have you never seen a shirtless man before?" he joked, still trying to get his balance.
Jenna finally found her voice and answered, just a little sarcastically now that she had gotten control of herself, "Sure, but none of them had giant butterfly wings growing out of their backs."
Jayme turned around in surprise, almost falling over until a gust of wind from behind steadied him. He turned his head as far around as he could to see, just before he passed out from shock, that the wind had come from the beating of a giant pair of wings on his back.






Changes

Peter debated back and forth with himself whether or not to speak. Nessa, on her best day, was a bit volatile. Lost in an alien wilderness having just lost her child, well, that sort of put her off the chart by a mile. She was his best friend in the world, so he wouldn't abandon her, but he didn't want to get hurt either. He looked over at her and was amazed at how angry and focused she was. Her face was reddening to a degree that he had never seen, and he could almost see the steam rising off of her. He wanted to say something to calm her down, but there really wasn't much to say. Following along, he let himself get lost in thought replaying the day's events and trying to make some sense of them.
Jayme had said something about the Sidhe. Was he really talking about faeries and elves and that stuff? Peter's mother was a witch like Jayme and Jenna and he had heard stories his whole life about all things magical. He never really believed in it all, and she had never pressured him to take up the craft. His father probably had something to do with that. In his current situation, however, he was scrambling to remember anything at all he could remember from his childhood and from his conversations with Jayme. First and foremost, however, he decided that if this was somehow the other side of the faerie tracks, he didn't want to be caught by any of the natives until he had a better idea about what was going on.
Peter's mother had told him that nobody could travel the tracks without a guide from the other side. She had also said that you had to be connected to the realm by blood. If she was right, and he knew he was making a stretch, then either one of their friends was one of the "fair folk", or they had been deliberately brought by someone on this side. Since he had known everyone at the chalet for years, he ruled out the former and focused on the latter. If they had been taken, then two things were true: the children were taken and not lost, and somebody knew they were here. With that thought, he started to sweat a little. Looking down at himself, he realized that he was sweating a lot. It had suddenly gotten much warmer than it had been only moments before. He looked up for Nessa for a moment and realized that she didn't just appear to have steam rising from her, but that she was actually radiating heat from her body. He called out to her, but she didn't seem to hear him. As he moved to catch up with her, he was nearly overwhelmed with the heat. Fearing for her safety, however, he kept pushing on towards her hazy form.
Nessa turned around at that moment, as if realizing that she had lost something, and saw Peter almost collapsed over a rock. Irritated at his inability to keep up, but not wanting to go on without him, she moved back towards him. It seemed to her that it had gotten very misty all of a sudden, and wondered if it meant anything. Another second and she realized that the mist was smoke and she looked around in panic to spot the fire. She didn't see the source of the smoke immediately as she was looking around at the surrounding forest. It took her nearly a full minute to realize that it was her clothes that were smoldering. She took her shirt and pants off without a second thought and threw them down on the ground. She looked around for something to put them out, but they seemed to stop smoking as soon as they touched the damp moss on the ground. Confused, she looked around again to see what could have caught her clothes on fire. Not seeing anything, she reached down to get them and put them back on.
Peter watched this scene with bewilderment. His throat was so dry that he could barely whisper, never mind yell to her. He watched her toss her clothes to the ground with a snort of amusement. Even in the strangest and direst of circumstances, some things were just funny. He watched as she reached down for the clothes again, disappointed in only a slightly lecherous way, and tried to get up to join her. Right before his eyes, however, he saw her clothes go up in flames as she touched them. She jumped back, startled, and fell onto the ground. As she fell, her shoes caught fire as well, right on her feet. Peter found, strangely, that resting on the rock was helping more than it should. Leaning on the rock was almost like taking a drink of cool water. Seeing Nessa on fire, however, he decided to think about that later. He felt strong enough to bolt over to where she was laying on the ground so that he could try to get the burning footwear off of her before she was hurt any more. He arrived just in time to see her entire body burst into flames.
He screamed at her, "Roll around! Put the fire out on the ground! Hurry, honey, you've gotta get the fire out!"
Nessa opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. She looked around her at the fire that seemed to be burning her with curiosity. She didn't feel a thing. She stood up, still on fire, much to the chagrin of Peter, who was still screaming for her to get down and roll. The fire felt good to her, right even. She closed her eyes again and let the feeling of the fire envelop her. She let her anger and frustration over Bella's disappearance flow through her, unconsciously willing the flames higher. Somewhere on the edge of her consciousness she heard Peter screaming at her, so she opened her eyes, ready to tell him it was all right.
Her eyes open, all she could see was fire. She turned toward the sound of Peter's voice only to hear him scream, this time in pain. This broke her out of her complacency and she instinctively willed the fire away. All at once, she was no longer on fire, and the flames immediately around her died down. She spotted Peter, hastily tearing off a smoking t-shirt. He looked up at her in amazement, seeing that she did not have a mark on her. She was not burned in the least. A thousand things passed through his mind at that moment, but being the smartass that he was, all he could say was, " You know...if you wanted me to get naked, all you had to do was ask." Nessa smiled weakly right before she passed out.


Tara didn't feel much like talking, but Marissa made it difficult to avoid. She wasn't completely certain that their little trip wasn’t Marissa's fault yet, but had no real evidence to support her suspicions. She was more concerned at that moment with finding her daughter and the other children. She looked around as she walked. All she could see was trees and rocks and a forest that she had never seen. She felt helpless and frustrated and resisted the urge to lash out at Marissa with that frustration. She remembered that Marissa’s husband had been back in Boston when the bombs went off, and that she was probably in a world of hurt at the moment. Though not exceptionally sympathetic with her daughter missing, Tara nonetheless looked over to see how Marissa was doing.
Marissa walked silently beside Tara, head down. It was hard to read her expression, but she looked to Tara like she might burst into tears at any moment. Tara struggled with what to say. She decided just to keep quiet and continued looking for her daughter as they walked.
Tara sniffed the air and the hairs on the back of her neck began to stick up. She wasn’t sure why, but she got an overwhelming sense of danger. She stopped walking and looked around for the source, finally realizing that what she was smelling was smoke. She looked to her left and the generalized feeling of danger quickly became panic. She saw fire, lots of it, moving rapidly in their direction. Marissa saw it as well and snapped out of her moping quickly, for which Tara was grateful. Tara pointed to a clearing on their right, and they both moved in that direction wordlessly. Tara looked around to figure out where the fire was coming from but was unable to find the source. She was consumed with fear for her daughter, for her friends, and for herself. The fire seemed to have taken a life of its own, and what had been an open clearing just moments before was now almost completely surrounded by the flames. Tara began to cough uncontrollably, panic and smoke making her light headed and dizzy. She looked back at Marissa, who had a crazed look on her face as well. Tara was losing it, and yelled over to Marissa between fits of coughing, “Okay, witch-girl, now would be a good time for a little magic. You got anything that can save our butts here?” Tara didn’t believe in magic for a second, but the events of the last hour made the request seem just a little less ridiculous.
“Maybe,” Marissa said, reaching down to the small velvet bag hanging around her neck. It had been a present from her husband, and she felt herself begin to tear up as she touched it, “I can try.” She allowed herself to cry, thinking to herself as she did that emotions were powerful and that she could use that. She grabbed the bag and thought about her husband, using the feeling to touch the energy in the air she had been talking about before. She looked over to see that Tara had passed out from the smoke. She leaned down and touched Tara with her other hand and smiled as she thought about Nero. With a flash of light, they disappeared.


Terry held onto Miranda’s hand tightly. Reasonable or not, he had just watched his son disappear from right in front of him and he wasn’t about to let the same thing happen to his wife. He kept his pistol in his other hand. Somehow it gave him a measure of security in the middle of the onslaught of insanity they were suffering. He walked with a purpose, head literally swinging from side to side as he looked for his son. He virtually dragged Miranda behind him as he pressed on. Miranda stayed silent, following along after her husband. She was scared out of her wits for her son and struggled to make some sense of what was happening. She wasn’t certain that splitting up from their friends had been the best move, but she knew that saying anything to Terry would be like talking to a wall. Terry was a man of action. He decided on a plan and proceeded full speed ahead without a second thought. Miranda decided just to keep her eyes open for anything that would help. She kept a mental note of the direction they were traveling as well so that they could at least try to find their friends again at some point.
From out of the corner of her eye, Miranda spotted the fire. She stopped dead to get Terry’s attention and turned back to get a better look. “Terry, the forest’s on fire!” she said when he turned to find out why she wasn’t moving. “Do you think something happened to the others? It’s coming from where we left them.”
Terry saw the fire then and tried to see any of his friends. He was torn between the desire to keep looking for his son and concern for the others. He had to admit to himself that he really had no idea where he was going, and no indication that this might even be the right direction to look. Before he could decide what to do, however, he spotted something that made his decision a little easier. Terry motioned to Miranda to be quiet and pulled her down close to the ground. Miranda gave him a questioning look and he pointed down the hill to a clearing. Miranda squinted in the sunlight to see that there were about a dozen men moving around in the clearing. Looking more closely, she could see that they were all wearing leather armor and carrying swords. Panic rose in her chest and Terry could see it in her face. He put his hand on her back to reassure her, and whispered, “I don’t think they saw us. They are heading down in the direction we came from. We have to get back to the others and warn them. Maybe we can come up with a way to defend ourselves.” He looked down at his gun and smiled, “One way or another, if they had anything to do with the kids disappearing, I’m going to get it out of them.”
Miranda got a chill. Sword-toting soldiers were an escalation of the weirdness that was more than she could take. She couldn’t even think about it any more. She looked up at her husband with a desperate but brave face and said, “Well, let’s go, then. I have to do something or I’ll just start screaming.” Terry nodded and they moved as quietly as they could back along the path the way they had come.
As they proceeded, the fire became more of a concern. Miranda began to be really worried that their friends were caught in it. Already the line of flames had moved around behind them, cutting off any escape they might have made along their original route. Smoke was making it hard to see very far in front of them at all. She guided her husband along, having made note of several landmark points when they passed the first time. Before long, she heard what she was sure was Jayme’s voice and breathed a sigh of relief that she had gotten the directions right. She grabbed Terry’s hand a little more tightly as they rounded the large boulder at the edge of the clearing. Neither of them was prepared for what they saw.
Jayme was standing there with his shirt off, talking to Jenna. Jayme had a giant pair of wings attached to his back that were flapping with no apparent coordination at all. Jenna had her eyes closed and was holding on to the necklace her mother had given her, which appeared to be glowing faintly. Jenna’s feet were about a foot off of the ground and she seemed to be floating higher and higher. The scene was so ridiculous that Miranda might have burst out laughing save for the armed pursuers and the raging forest fire. At that point Miranda resigned herself to the fact that somehow the absurd was becoming more commonplace than the commonplace and that she was just along for the ride. Jayme turned as they approached and smiled broadly, genuinely glad to see them. Terry looked at Jayme without blinking and said, “Nice wings,” then moved past him to climb on top of the boulder to get a better view of the surroundings and try to spot the armed men they had seen.
Jayme looked at Terry with a puzzled expression, and then said to Miranda, “We’ve been trying to tap into the magic in this place. It seems to be working somewhat. I wasn’t exactly trying for the whole butterfly effect, but I am hoping Jenna has more luck.”
Miranda just nodded, unable to even form a response to the mounting absurdity at that point. She began to tell Jayme about the men they had seen coming in their direction. She was especially concerned that Jenna kept going higher and higher up in the air and that her necklace seemed to grow brighter and brighter. It was not exactly inconspicuous. She tried to get Jenna’s attention, “Jenna!” she called out, but got no response. Jenna did not seem to even notice Miranda or, indeed, anyone else in the clearing.
Miranda felt what seemed like an electric charge in the air and looked up at Jenna to see her pointing in the direction of the fire as it made its approach. In just a second, thunder cracked above their heads, and the skies opened up. It started pouring down rain over the forest. Miranda looked up at Jenna. She had been thinking of something a little more defensive, but at least it looked like the fire was going out. If those guys caught up with them, however, it could be a matter of falling out of the frying pan and into the fire.
With that thought, it became a moot point. As Jenna lowered down towards the ground, her necklace still glowed a bright blue, the clearing filled with the very people Miranda and Terry had been running from. Terry wheeled around, gun drawn, amazed at how quickly they had arrived and how silently they had approached. Jayme stepped in front of Terry with his wings spread, and said, "Let's see who they are. We can't take them by force."
Terry stared Jayme down for a second, but put the gun down. When they both turned around, he saw the entire group down on one knee in front of Jenna, weapons sheathed. Each of the weapons had a gem on it identical to the one around Jenna's neck. They were all glowing the same way that hers was. Jenna opened her eyes as the last of the rain doused the fire and began to dissipate and nearly fell with surprise. Before she could say a word, the man in front of her began to speak, "Greetings, mistress. We have been waiting for you for a long time."
Jenna looked up in surprise at Jayme, whose eyes confirmed that he had no better explanation than she did. All she could say was, "Ummm... Thank you."





Reunion

Peter looked up at the sky and saw the clouds gathering that were not there even a moment ago. Given the fact that the flames were gaining purchase again in the area that Nessa had just put out, he was grateful for the possibility of rain. Maybe this world had its own fire suppression system built in. If people could just burst into flames at random, well maybe it needed it. He looked down at Nessa and saw her start to come to as the rain started to fall. He saw his discarded shirt on the rock beside him and reached for it. The top was almost completely gone. The sleeves were burned off and there were holes all over it. He figured it was better than nothing at that point, however, so he handed it to Nessa. She slipped it on and stood up. All the important parts were covered, but just barely. With the rain soaking her, there was very little left to the imagination. Pretending not to notice, he just smiled and started to laugh. "Well, now what?" was all he could say before they both burst out laughing.
"Let's go find the others," she finally choked out. "We need to figure out what the hell is going on here." She looked back in the direction from which they came and started to walk down the hill. She didn't even look back, knowing that he was following.
As they walked down the hill, Peter noticed that the rain seemed to be letting up. Looking up, he saw a strange flash of what he had originally thought to be lightning. This was different, however, more like a constant beacon of blue light directed at the clouds above the fire. Following it to its source, he noticed that it was coming from the woods directly ahead, right where they had left their friends. "You're sure this is the right direction?" he asked, knowing that it was, but needing confirmation.
"Of course," she answered, shortly, "Why?"
Pete pointed up at the now fading blue lightshow and gave her a look of concern.
Nessa didn't miss a beat. She kept on walking, saying almost casually, "Well, dear, I did just catch on fire and half of the forest along with me. It stands to reason that maybe one of us found out that they could put it out."
Peter knew that tone. He recognized the stoic nonchalance in her voice that gave the impression to everyone around that nothing could surprise or faze her. The two of them had been best friends for a long time, and he had seen her go through everything in the past several years. He had seen her go through heartbreak and pain. He had watched her endure callous cruelty and betrayal over the years from people she had let past her defenses and trusted. Seeing her now, he figured she had to be hanging by a thread beneath that icy facade. He had seen her lash out before when that facade had cracked and her control dissipated. He allowed himself a quick chuckle as he pictured a particularly stupid ex of hers sitting dumbly in the hospital emergency room with a broken arm and a confused look on his face. He sobered quickly. Given recent events, it seemed that her incendiary nature had taken a more literal turn. He doubted that things would end with a simple broken arm when she broke next time.
It didn't matter, he decided. He had always been there for her to help pick up the pieces. He wasn't going to change that now just because the pieces were likely to be a bit more charred. Peter stopped short and looked up as he felt Nessa's hand grab his arm. She put her fingers to her lips to tell him to keep quiet and pointed toward the clearing up ahead. Through the dissipating smoke, he was able to see a group of about a dozen men. They moved quickly, but with a grace that was almost like dancing. It would have been beautiful if he didn't have the distinct impression that they were dangerous.
Peter and Nessa snuck behind the nearest tree, not wanting to be seen. He pulled his hand back as he touched the tree. It was like touching metal shavings, and was sharp as hell. He turned to warn Nessa not to touch the tree, but saw her moving right out into the open again and towards the men. She had something clutched in her right hand. Looking more closely, he realized that it was pink, and shredded. He ran up to her side to get her to take cover and saw that what she was holding was what was left of the t-shirt that Jayme had been wearing.
Knowing that it was a lost cause, Peter stopped trying to prevent her advance and looked around on the ground for something he could use as a weapon. If that shirt was any indication, then those people up ahead did not mean them well.
"There is no blood on the shirt." Nessa whispered matter-of-factly, "That means that he may still be alive." Her hand flashed and the t-shirt caught fire. She casually discarded the shirt and Peter watched it fall to the ground, smoldering in the newly wet moss. Peter almost felt pity for the men up ahead as he watched Nessa stride confidently into the clearing. Almost.
Peter jogged to catch up to her, just slightly encouraged by the fact that he heard no screams of pain and saw no evidence of a new inferno burning. He was not prepared for what he saw as he rounded the bend. The band of attackers was kneeling at Jenna's feet, offering no threat. Terry stood close by, gun in hand. Jayme stood motionless, shirtless, next to Miranda. He had a giant pair of wings on his back which, given the circumstances, seemed only slightly odd.
"So, Jenna's a princess, I'm a human fireball, and Jayme's a giant fairy." Nessa said sardonically as Peter came up alongside. "Yep, I guess that kind of fits." Despite himself, Peter burst out laughing.




Family Ties

Virtually ignoring the men that had been such a concern for them all just moments ago, the six friends converged on each other and exchanged hugs. Barely half an hour had passed since they had split up, but clearly quite a bit had happened. As the group began to exchange jibes on wardrobe changes and catch each other up on the past half hour, an all-but-forgotten voice interrupted the scene.
"Lady Jenna, we should talk," came the lilting, almost sing-song voice of the man that appeared to be the leader of the group of armed men. As the group turned to look, he removed his helm to reveal a head of long, blond hair and, to nobody's surprise at this juncture, pointed ears.
"How do you know my name?" asked Jenna as she moved to meet the man addressing her, "And why are you calling me "Lady" like that?"
"He can't know you all that well, obviously." Jayme laughed. He was met with a deadly stare from Jenna that silenced him quickly.
Seeming not to hear or see the exchange, the man continued, "Your family is concerned for your safety. They sent us to aid you and bring you back to J'Danaan."
"Ok, back up a second." was Jenna's incredulous response. "Why don't we start with your name, and move on to what you mean by my "family." As far as I know, I left them back on Earth, with the exception of Reina." With the mention of her daughter's name she felt a twinge of pain which she quickly swallowed for the sake of the current situation.
"Forgive me Lady. My name is Nerian, and I command this guard." He pointed at the group of men behind him before continuing, "I, we all, serve the court of J'Danaan. We were sent by your grandmother, the Queen, to bring you and your friends to safety. There are representatives from all of their families already en route to our kingdom." He seemed satisfied with his answer, but Jenna was considerably less than satisfied.
"My grandmother? Queen?" stuttered Jenna, "You must have me confused with someone else. Both of my grandmothers are dead, and neither of them were queens as far as I know. Hell, the only queen I even know is Jayme over there." She smiled and looked over at his direction to make sure that her words had hit their mark. The look on Jayme's face assured her that they had. "That was for the "Lady" comment, honey."
"Point taken," deadpanned Jayme, "But I am more interested to hear what he means by saying that all of our families are on their way. Does he mean the kids? Do they have them?"
Nerian raised his arm as he continued, "We have not yet located your heirs, though many members of the court are searching. I do not know the specifics of your families' journeys to the other realm, but I can tell you that the royal family has been scrying nearly constantly since your arrival to keep track of you all." He paused briefly, making eye contact with Jenna, "And whether or not you believe that you are a member of the royal family, I could not have found you if you were not. That stone you wear around your neck is tied by magic to your family alone." He pulled out his sword and pointed to a blue jewel embedded in the hilt, "The stones in our swords are linked, they allowed us to find you."
"All that means is that I have the stone," Jenna said. She suddenly had the thought that these people might not be quite as happy to see them once this whole mistaken identity business was sorted out, but she continued anyway. She could not allow for the possibility within her reasoning that he could be right.
"You misunderstand, Lady," Nerian responded, almost embarrassed, "for if you were not, indeed, a member of the family, the magic would have killed you the moment you arrived in our land. There is no mistake."
Unconvinced, but preferring not to be dead, Jenna simply nodded and let it go for the moment. Worst case scenario, she figured, they could sort it out later with the family present to appeal to, and if they did have a way to search for the kids, she wanted to go to them anyway. "Let's go, then. If they want to help us find the kids, then we should let them."
Jayme's voice interrupted her before she could continue. "We need to find Marissa and Tara first. They have no way of knowing where we are going, and could be hurt from the fire."
Jenna blushed bright red, "I almost forgot all about them. I can't believe it. We have to find them."
Nerian said calmly, "I do not think they were injured. We did not see them, but I felt a flash of magic from that direction," he pointed toward the area Marissa and Tara had been searching, "right before the fire was quenched. Perhaps one of them used magic for protection, or to get away. Transport magic is complicated and difficult without the tracks, but it can be done."
"I'll go search the area. They could be hurt or worse. I wonder if these wings are more than decorative." Jayme said as he began to flap his wings, using muscles he never knew he had. He quickly lifted off of the ground and shot straight up into the air. He briefly heard the shouts of his friends trying to prevent his departure as he lifted off, but was quickly out of range. When he finally started to figure out how to control his flight, he was high above the forest. He could see, off to the East, what looked like structures built into the very landscape. It was almost as if the hills and trees had grown buildings right out of them. He could not see in any detail, and was amazed that he could make out any detail at all at that distance, but was reluctant to investigate, as it was in the opposite direction from his intended purpose with this flight. He got his bearings and tried descending back down towards the forest. He moved in the direction he had last seen Marissa and Tara traveling. He noted briefly to himself that while he seemed to have the hang of flying, he wasn't as sure about landing. One thing at a time however, and he moved in closer. He was concentrating on controlling himself and not hitting anything that he barely got to enjoy the fact that he was flying. As he searched the charred ground, he spotted something laying on a rock in an area almost completely surrounded by charred brush. He went lower to see better and found the ground rushing up to meet him. He had not gauged his speed very well. He reached down to try and reach what he now could see was Tara's purse as he rushed by, but was unsuccessful. His forward progress was only halted by his slamming into the ground inelegantly. He tumbled a few times, grateful that the others were not there to see him, and finally rolled to a halt flat on his back, his wings folded flat beneath him. "Got to work on the landings." he laughed to himself, and quickly managed to get himself upright. He walked over to the purse on the rock.
As he reached down and touched the purse, he felt what was like a jolt of electricity and his eyes went blurry from the shock. He tried to clear his vision, but as he looked around he felt the strange tingle of magic and saw what looked like another scene overlaying his natural vision. He saw Tara and Marissa, though they looked like ghosts as the scene unfolded. He could not hear them, though they looked like they were speaking. He saw Tara collapse and Marissa run to her side, tossing the purse onto the rock where he had found it. He saw Marissa pull something out of her own purse, clutch it to her chest, and then they both disappeared in a flash of light. After that, the vision ended, and he was back in reality. Not quite sure how, he knew that he had somehow seen what had happened to them. He didn't know the extent of Tara's injuries, but he knew that Marissa had somehow gotten them away from the fire. Relieved, but very confused, he ran back down the hill. He decided that he didn't want to hurt anyone with another botched landing, least of all himself. He just wanted to get to his friends as quickly as possible to tell them what had happened. He wasn't sure exactly what it was that had happened, but maybe that hot little elf guy, Nerian, would have some idea. He briefly allowed himself an inappropriate fantasy as he ran to rejoin his friends.
Peter spotted him first, running down the hill towards them. He seemed to be carrying a purse, wings flapping in a particularly ungraceful manner as he ran. "Well, he doesn't seem to be hurt," He began, snickering, "in fact, it seems he found time to do a little shopping. Me, I don't think it matches his pants."
The group began to laugh, all but the guard from J'Danaan, who seemed not to get the joke. As Jayme arrived in the clearing to their laughter he sensed that it was at his expense, but didn't really want to find out what it was all about. He cuffed Peter on the back of the head, divining correctly the source of whatever joke had been made, and left it at that. Peter's cries of indignation were just insincere enough that he knew he had doled out retribution appropriately.
"Well, what happened?" asked Terry, still clutching his gun like a security blanket. "You scared the hell out of us, taking off alone like that. If you didn't look bruised enough from what I can only assume was not a soft landing, I would hit you myself now."
Jayme looked down at his arms and chest and saw the bruises rising. He had barely noticed it with the adrenaline of his vision and his run back to them. He even discovered, much to his chagrin, his new wings appeared to have nerves as well. It was one of the strangest things he had had to wrap his brain around in a while as he realized that some of the aches and pains he was feeling were coming from his wings. He just sighed and looked up at the expectant faces of his friends. "I think I know what happened to them. They aren't there any more, but I think they got out safely. I think that Marissa was able to teleport them away somehow."
"How do you know?" asked Jenna, curious and concerned at the same time.
"This is going to sound strange," Jayme began, pausing to gauge what their response might be but deciding it was no weirder than anything else that was happening, "but I saw it in a vision when I touched Tara's purse." Only then did he realize that he was carrying a purse on his shoulder and suspect the source of their laughter upon his arrival. He grinned, knowing now that Peter had certainly deserved his smack on the head and probably more.
"What did you see?" asked Nerian, clearly taking the news as if it were nothing, "How did they get away?" Jayme quickly met his eyes and looked away with embarrassment, hoping that Nerian did not have the ability to read his thoughts at that particular moment.
"It was strange, but I saw Marissa pull something out of her purse and cast a spell. There was a flash of light, and they both disappeared." Jayme offered shyly, hoping they would not all think him crazy. Nerian seemed unfazed.
"Your friend must be very talented. As I said, it is difficult and complicated magic to teleport like that here. Has she been here before?"
"I don't see how she could have. I think it was more a matter of desperation and dumb luck and desperation. She has studied magic back home for years and years," answered Jayme. Nerian was unconvinced, but remained silent.
"Well, it seems like the best thing to do now is to go with Nerian." Jenna interjected, wanting to be sensitive but really curious now to meet this woman who claimed to be her Grandmother. "If they can help us find the kids, they can help us find Marissa and Tara, wherever they are as well."
"Not to be the voice of doom, but it could very well be that whoever has the kids has them as well." Nessa chimed in, "Maybe Marissa had nothing to do with their disappearance. Either way, I guess the only thing we can do is go to this J'Danaan place. Maybe they'll have some clothes there. It's getting a little breezy in this t-shirt."
"Of course," Nerian added, "you will want for nothing upon your arrival." With that, he made a hand motion to his guard and they separated into two groups. Five of them moved ahead of the group and started moving along the trail to the east. "The others will follow behind us for protection. If we leave now, we can be to J'Danaan within a couple hours."
The group slowly moved to follow without another word. Jayme tripped over a rock because he had been looking a little too hard at Nerian's backside instead of where he was going. Nerian quickly turned and offered his arm to help Jayme up. "Careful, oracle, you are already bruised enough for one day." Jayme met his eyes and blushed a scarlet red.
"Thanks." was all Jayme could say, accepting the help getting back to his feet. He quickly decided that he would never be able to handle this trip on foot and started to flap his aching wings, "I think I saw it from above. I think I will take the high road. I need to get a hang of this flying thing." Before anyone could object, he took off again, leaving Nerian looking up with an amused grin.
"That boy is unbelievable!" said Nessa, a grin on her face. Beneath the grin, however, her thoughts were on her daughter and what she intended to do to whoever it was that had Bella when she found them.







Hidden Dangers

Jayme knew immediately that he had probably made a mistake. His wings did hurt, along with the rest of him now that his adrenaline rush had completely worn off. Not willing to admit this to anyone, however, he continued on toward the settlement he had spotted earlier. It was the only place he could see that was close enough to be what he was looking for. He took advantage of the opportunity to practice with the wings. He tried several times until he got the hang of slowing down and stopping midair by beating them in the opposite direction. He also realized that if he got some height and pointed himself in the right direction that he could glide for quite a while without having to keep beating them. This was much less tiring. He wished he had figured that out sooner, however, because he was feeling pretty wasted. Not about to admit defeat, however, he pressed on towards his goal. Before long, however, he realized just how far away it was, and had to admit that he was going to have to rest. He had quite a head start on the group, however, so he figured that if he didn't kill himself on the landing that he could get a few minutes rest and take off again with nobody any more the wiser.
Jayme let himself glide for a good ten minutes, just about exhausting his momentum, then beat his wings backwards to bring himself upright. He was just above the treetops when he got vertical, then realized that he was starting to drop quickly. He frantically beat his wings at this point, trying to get his altitude back, but it just propelled him forward. He did manage to slow his fall a bit, but as he slammed, bottom first, onto the ground, he realized that he still had a long way to go with the landings. "At least that bruise won't show." he said, to nobody in particular, as he got back slowly to his feet. He walked over to a rock by the side of the path and sat down, shifting his weight to find a position that did not hurt.
After a few minutes, he felt rested, but was not quite ready to fly again. He decided to see if he could give himself another vision. He decided that if he was going to be here for a while, it would be a good idea to find out the extent of what he could do. He pulled Tara's purse off of his shoulder, realizing all at once how completely foolish he must look carrying the thing. Given his current location, however, he figured that his choice of accessories should probably not be high on his list of things to worry about.
He thought about everything he had read about magic in the last couple years and closed his eyes, holding on to the purse. He took deep breaths and tried to sense the magickal energy that Jenna had talked about and he had sensed before. He tried to relax and reach out with his mind like it said in all of the books. At first, nothing happened. He was getting frustrated and feeling kind of foolish, but was not about to give up so quickly. He pulled up the memory of the vision he had had before, and tried to see if he could make it continue. He tried to search for them with his mind and felt a sort of mental tug. He relaxed and tried to follow where his mind wanted to go. He opened his eyes to see if he had succeeded in invoking a vision. He immediately knew that he was seeing someplace else.
It was a dark place, and looking around it seemed to be some type of cave or tunnel. It looked like there were torches in holders on the wall that gave the only light. He saw a figure move in the shadows but could not see it in any detail. From the darkness, he heard a voice. He noted absently that it was an improvement already over his last vision.
"You should not have come here," came the disembodied voice. It was deep and menacing, definitely male. "I should kill you both right now."
"Please, NO!" came a female voice which he immediately recognized as Marissa's, though he could not make out her figure in the darkness. "I had no idea what I was doing! I didn't mean to come here!" Jayme turned to see the man in the shadows move towards the corner of the cave, just out of view. He stopped abruptly and turned to stare right at Jayme. It was eerie. In the torch light, all he could see was a pair of malevolent eyes reflecting the flames. Jayme wasn't sure how this vision business worked, and did not know if he could be seen or not. He was not sure what to do next, but then the voice spoke again.
"So, the young oracle has found you," he began, then he addressed Jayme directly, "Come, then, oracle. Come find your friends and children. Come, try and save them. Come to your death!" With that, there was a bright flash of light and the vision dissipated.
"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed Jayme. He lost control of himself. Somebody had his friends...his son! Somebody knew who he was and was deliberately taunting him. He was in a blind rage. He felt energy welling up inside of him and instinctively, he touched it. It flared to life inside of him and suffused his entire body. He opened his eyes and lashed out, pushing all of the energy outward with the full force of his rage and frustration. He tried to get back somehow to the cave in his vision, taking hold of the energy and sending out his mind in search of that place again. He couldn't find it. He could sense something, but it felt like he kept slamming against a wall, and that the wall was closing in on him. From somewhere beyond that wall he could hear laughter taunting him, feeding his anger.
Suddenly, though, joining the laughter was another voice. Starting as a whisper, it grew in volume and intensity, "Jayme! Please!" It was another male voice, but it was calmer, gentler, even as it was screaming for him, "Jayme! Come back! Please!"
Jayme felt tired; exhausted beyond belief. He could no longer hear the evil laughter in his mind, but he felt lost. He could feel the energy draining from him quickly. He could feel himself fading.
"Jayme!" said the second voice, insistent and urgent, "You are in danger! Follow me back!"
Jayme felt drained, lost and helpless as he tried desperately to find his way back to his body. He began to panic, feeling like he would be lost forever. Distantly, he sensed a touch. Whoever was calling him was with his body, was holding him. He tried to follow the sensation, find the voice.
"Jayme!" it called, "Come back! Follow my voice!" Jayme, sensing that he didn't have much time, tried with everything he had left to follow the voice back. He thought of his son, knowing that if he didn't make it back then nobody would be able to find Reardon. He focused the last of his will on his body, and opened his eyes.
Nerian's face was looking down at him, his hands holding Jayme's face. "Welcome back," he said. "You had me scared that you would not make it. This is not your day to die...remember that."
Jayme looked up at the beautiful man that just saved his life. He smiled weakly back at him before he lost consciousness.




Miranda's Secret

Nerian stood quickly and turned to his men, waiting on the path behind him. "Get help from the court. We are close enough now, be quick!" They nodded, almost in unison, and disappeared up the trail towards J'Danaan.
The rest of the group came rushing into the clearing. Nerian had run ahead of them when they saw the lightshow Jayme had been putting on in the distance. Nerian turned to them as they arrived and called frantically, "I've sent for help, but he is very weak." He looked at Miranda and then back at Jayme, "Lady Miranda, you must help him!"
Miranda, who was a nurse, was already on her way to his side. "I don't know how much I can do. What happened to him?" She felt for his pulse and gave him a cursory examination, "He's very weak, probably dehydrated, and I can't wake him up. What happened?" She looked up at Nerian with a questioning glance.
"I am not completely certain, but I believe that he attempted to find your children. I think that he ran into something...someone...dangerous when he did. I was able to touch his mind...to help him return...but I cannot heal his body. You must help him!" Nerian stared with expectation at Miranda.
"I'm a nurse, not a magician!" yelled Miranda in frustration.
Nerian looked down at Miranda and handed her a skin filled with water. He whispered in her ear, "You are both, Lady. You can help him." He opened the skin and poured a little of the water into her cupped hand.
Miranda felt her hands tingle at the touch of the water. "What...what is this? Is it some kind of magic water?" she asked, looking back at Nerian.
"It is merely water," he said, softly, "The magic is in you." With that, he moved to Jayme's side and took his hand.
Miranda stared dumbly for a second, but then was overcome with the weight of Jayme's need. She was not sure what she was doing, but she had to try something. She looked down at her tingling hand and stared at it for a moment, concentrating. She felt the tingling increase and figured she was on the right track. Knowing at the very least that he was dehydrated, she put the water to his lips and dribbled a little in his mouth. She was pleased to see him begin to swallow. That was a good sign. She reached for the skin of water beside her, and her jaw dropped in surprise. When she reached for it, the water had flowed up the mouth of the skin and out into the air towards her. Moving mostly on reflex, she cupped her hands and watched the water flow directly into them. Her whole body was tingling now. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She stayed focused, though, sensing that Jayme was not out of danger. She tried to make the tingling sensation concentrate in her hands where the water was and was both excited and surprised to see that it did exactly that. It seemed that as she accomplished this, the water started to glow slightly. It was a subtle green glow, but it was there. Taking her surroundings and the events of the past hour or so into account she figured that meant that she had managed to do something magickal to it. She hoped for Jayme's sake that it was something good. Nerian seemed to have confidence, though, that she could do this, so she suspended her disbelief long enough to try and save Jayme's life.
She went to pour some more water into Jayme's mouth, but the water moved of its own accord, as if in response to her thoughts. It flowed from her hands and split in two, some pouring down into his mouth and some pouring onto his bare chest. As she watched, Jayme's cuts and bruises healed themselves in response to the touch of the water. She stared in amazement as the water seemed to simply wash away all evidence of his injuries. She noticed, also, that color was coming back to his cheeks, and that his breathing was getting more regular. She wasn't sure exactly what she had done, but it seemed to be working. Suddenly, Jayme opened his eyes and looked up at her. Seeing this, Nerian leaned over and gave her a great big hug. "You did it, Lady. I knew that you could." He then got up and brushed himself off, trying to look nonchalant. He turned and looked at the rest of the group, who had been watching this all unfold in amazement. "He will recover now. He is out of danger."
Terry moved to Miranda's side and helped Jayme up. He looked at Miranda with a worried expression, "Are you ok, baby? Did it hurt you?"
Miranda almost laughed out loud, "Hurt me? Did you see what I just did?" She looked over at Jayme, who was still getting his bearings, "I just healed him. I don't know how, really, but I just healed him!"
"You did?" Jayme asked, finally fully awake and participating in the conversation, "Well, thanks, honey. That's pretty cool! Ummm....why am I all wet?"
"Well, it was, ah, part of the process. I'm still not sure what happened. Nerian gave me some water and told me I could heal you, and I did. I don't know how he knew, but he was right. He was very worried about you. It was cute." She gave Jayme a knowing look that made him blush a bright crimson. "He saved your life as much as I did."
"Guess I really messed up with that little stunt. He probably thinks I'm a complete idiot." said Jayme, looking over to see Nerian in conversation with Jenna, Nessa, and Peter.
"No, I don't think that's what he is thinking at all," whispered Miranda, right into Jayme's ear. Jayme recognized Miranda's yenta voice. It had coaxed him into many a blind date over the last couple years. Jayme blushed profusely as he turned to give her as dirty a look as he could muster through his embarrassment.
"I...I should go thank him." he said, unable to will his feet to move in that direction.
Terry broke the impasse, grabbing Jayme by the arm and dragging him in that direction, "I think we all should go over there and talk about exactly what happened to you. Come along, chicken-shit." Miranda stifled a laugh and followed along.
As they walked up alongside Nerian and the others, Jayme managed to muster some sense of composure and walk unaided. He walked over to Nerian and put his hand on his shoulder. Nerian turned to look at him. "I owe you my life, buddy. Thank you." Jayme said, barely above a whisper. Jayme heard his answer directly inside his head. Nerian did not speak a word.
"I told you before. Today is not your day to die. We've barely had a chance to know each other." The voice was soft inside his head, like a gentle touch, and something about the way he said the word "know" sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine. Jayme just smiled and blushed some more.
Nessa rescued him from his discomfort, though from the evil little smile on her face Jayme knew that she did it with some reluctance. She loved to see him squirm. "Well, I would like to hear just what it was he saved you from. What the hell happened to you?"
Jayme thought for a minute about his experience with the man in the cave. He shivered with the memory of that chilling voice and the taunting laughter. Seeing all eyes on him, and feeling Nerian's calming touch on his arm and in his mind, he composed himself and began to tell the story. "I stopped here for a rest. I could see that you guys were a ways back on the trail, so I figured I had time. I tried to get another vision from Tara's purse, and I did. They are in some kind of a cave...maybe a tunnel...and they have been captured. It was dark, so I didn't see clearly, but I heard Marissa's voice. I also heard the man who has them. He has the kids, too."
"Did you see them? Are they hurt?" asked Terry, frantic.
"No. I didn't see them. This man sensed me, though, and talked right to me. He told me he had them. He dared me to come looking for them. He said he was going to kill me. He called me "oracle" for some reason. He really hated me for some reason." Jayme started to shake, feeling his own rage rising. "He has my son and my friends. I think the feeling is mutual."
"What did he say? Where is he?" Terry was nearly screaming at this point. Jayme looked helplessly at him.
"I don't know!" he yelled. "He taunted me, told me to come looking for them and he would kill me, then he did something and I was back here! I tried to get back. I burned up all the energy I could find and tried to get back there, but he trapped me somehow. He did something that left me floating around away from my body. I almost didn't get back." He looked over at Nerian, putting his own hand on top of the one Nerian had placed on his arm. "He found me and got me back. Then I guess Miranda healed me from there. I don't know anything else, just that they are in danger from some crazy man and we have to do something!"
The expression on Terry's face make it clear that he was not happy with his answer, but he remained silent. He couldn't really blame the messenger. "Well, now what do we do? How do we find them?" Terry was fingering his gun in a way that made Jayme very uneasy. Miranda, following Jayme's eyes to the gun, reached over and touched Terry's hand.
"Why don't you put that away for now. Save it for the people who did this. You don't want to shoot anyone here, do you?" Miranda's voice had a calming effect on Terry. He looked around at his friends, then down to the gun, and tucked it away in his waistband.
"Sorry." was all he said. Then he walked away from the group and Miranda followed, talking softly to him.
Nessa was quick to speak up next, looking directly at Nerian, "Do you know who this man is that has our children? Do you know what's going on? Please, tell us what you know." She was calm, yet pleading with her request, but the undertone of threat was definitely there. Jayme shifted to stand between them, but Nerian waved him off.
"I understand your pain. I do not know all of what is happening. I have some knowledge of the story, and I can make some guesses. I will tell you what I know."






Secrets Revealed

Nerian convinced them to walk as they talked. "The first thing you must know is that time passes differently on the two worlds. For us, here, it has been barely two years since your families left to chase the renegade Dwarf Lord Neromiel."
Looking around at the confused faces, he backed up. "Neromiel is a prince of the dwarves who was inciting war here in our realm, amassing supporters in secret first from among the giants and dark race, and then in the other kingdoms. A team of representatives from all of the kingdoms formed to gather intelligence and stop his rise. We have had peace here for long into memory and it was difficult to believe that he would be able to create any coalition of consequence. We were wrong in that, however. He was smart, and had grown powerful in his use of magic. From what we were able to determine, he had a huge following among the dwarves, a fair number of followers in both the giant and dark kingdoms. More than that, it seems that he had been able to place operatives in all of the other kingdoms to spy and garner support. We have found many of them since his departure for the other world, but many remain unrevealed even now. As I said, it has been barely two years for us." Nerian raised his hand as if to ward off any questions before he finished, and continued, "When our people found him, they tried to take him captive. There was a huge battle. Neromiel managed to escape by taking the tracks to the other world. Not knowing what to do, they opted to follow him. From there, it is difficult to tell. None but one had returned, one more returned today. We have been able to make contact intermittently, and have means to monitor them when conditions are right, but information has been scarce. We do know that many from the group are dead, killed by Neromiel."
"Is this Neromiel the one who has our kids?" asked Jayme.
"I cannot be sure, but I believe so. Months ago we received word that he had returned to our world. Today, when we sensed the destruction happening on the other world, we feared that it was some plan of his to prevent anyone following him. We feared the last of those that chased him across worlds would never return. When we sensed your arrival, we hoped that your families would follow. That has not happened. Months now have passed on the other world. I fear they are lost forever."
"This is just too much. What does this have to do with us? Why don't we know anything about any of this?" Jenna's head was spinning as she rattled off questions. "Why does he want our kids?"
"I can't say for sure. I can only guess about his motivations. It has to have something to do with who you are and the forces you and your children represent. The original group that crossed over was comprised of representatives of almost all of the kingdoms. There were six in all. They were led by Shirann, from the court of N'Dessan, the fire wielders." Nerian looked at Nessa to catch her eye, "Your mother. She was a master tracker, and relentless in a hunt. She would not let Neromiel escape, no matter what the cost. She knew she might never return from the other world, but did not hesitate to go after him. Along with her went Mikal, Lady Miranda's father and heir to the throne of N'Messaal, the water kingdom. He was a powerful healer, in addition to his formidable fighting skills. He would have followed Shirann anywhere. They were betrothed." Miranda's jaw dropped with this revelation. She looked at Nerian, and then at Nessa, her mind reeling. Nerian smiled, anticipating the question, "Yes, I believe you two are sisters. From what I can tell, Shirann and Mikal were together for years on the other world. Lady Nessa was born first, then years later Shirann became pregnant with Lady Miranda. Neromiel killed Mikal not long after, and Shirann realized that he was hunting them even as they were hunting him. When Lady Miranda was born, she placed her with another family close by but not close enough to be hurt if she were to be attacked. Things were going very badly for them. Neromiel had arrived months before them, and had time to set himself up and go into hiding. We believe that he had help precede him. From what we were told when the oracle, Cappel, returned, Neromiel had another dwarf woman there helping him. Getting that information cost Girok the giant his life, and his wife, Taara, was severely wounded."
"Wait a minute. You're going a little too fast," Jayme interrupted. "The man who has our kids called me "oracle" when he spoke to me. What does that mean?"
"Oracle is used to refer to the people of J'Irann. He recognized you as one of them probably by your ability to find him. Cappel, the one remaining member of the original travelers that returned before today, is your father." Now it was Jayme's turn to have his world turned upside down. He had always sensed somehow that his father was not his real father, but it was something that was never discussed in his family. His mother had been very tight-lipped on the subject. When his parents died in a car crash last year, he figured that he would never know for sure. He loved his father more than anything, and figured that it didn't really matter. He felt Nerian touch his mind again,"Let me finish. We can talk later and I will answer your questions as well as I can." Jayme nodded, indicating that he should continue.
"Who are the others you mentioned?" asked Terry, looking for his connection to all of this.
"Girok and Taara were married, and also part of the team. They were from the kingdom of T'Kriel, the divided earth kingdom. Girok was from the giants, and Taara the dark ones. They are your parents." Nerian looked directly at Terry. "More than that, Taara is one of your friends. The one now lost along with the dwarf woman, Marissa. When her husband, Girok was killed by Neromiel, she was severely wounded. She had been stripped magically of her memory, and she almost lost her life. She was pregnant and dying. Shirann put her into a suspended state of healing, and placed her son," he looked at Terry, "with another family until she could be healed. Unfortunately, it took nearly twenty years on the other world for her to heal. By the time her body recovered, she was pregnant, confused, and still had no memory of who she was. You were nearly grown by the standards on that world, and had only memories of your new family. Shirann continued to keep an eye on you, but left you where you were with no knowledge of your real mother." Terry remained silent, simply taking it in. It all seemed so incredible.
"You said there were six," whispered Jenna. "I suppose my mother was the last." She had a sad expression on her face, remembering her mother's death just months before. She now wondered whether her death had really been an accident.
"Jiara, from J'Danaan, the air kingdom. She was my sister. We did not know that she was pregnant when she made the journey. I would have gone myself had we known." Nerian looked away, then, his expression one of loss and sadness.
Jayme put his hand on his arm, trying to reach out to touch his mind in the way that Nerian had been able to, "I can listen as well as question...we will talk when we can. Be happy now at meeting your niece. I will help you with the mourning later."
Nerian looked up at him and smiled. He turned to Jenna and extended his arms. Welcome, Niece. I was not to tell you until you met the Queen, but what is done is done." He embraced her, trying to ease her confusion and sorrow with the love of family. He had not meant to tell them all that he had. It was supposed to come from Cappel when they arrived, but he felt that they needed to know their enemy rather than remain in confusion. Consequences be what they may, he did not regret his decision.
"Look!" yelled Terry, pointing at the path ahead of them. Coming down the path was the guard members Nerian had sent for help, followed by a Tall man in a black cloak and a short woman wearing leather armor and carrying a large satchel.
Looking closely at the taller man, Jayme's jaw dropped. It was like looking into a mirror. The man resembled him so closely that it was uncanny. Jayme walked up the path to meet him and without preamble said, "Cappel, I presume?"
The man looked him in the eyes, smiled and said, "Yes. My son." Then he reached out to hug him.






J'Danaan

Jayme abruptly pulled away from the embrace. He looked Cappel directly in the eyes and said, "You look a lot like me. You may even be my father, but I don't know you." Cappel's face did not change expression, but something in his eyes flashed briefly. If his son's words had hurt him, he was not allowing it to show.
"We were told that you required a healer." Cappel said, looking Jayme up and down, "It appears that your injuries were over estimated." With that, he gave Nerian a look of disapproval. Jayme quickly stepped between then and addressed his father.
"They were not. Nerian and Miranda saved my life. Your healer would not have arrived in time. Thanks for coming, though." If Cappel recognized the sarcasm in Jayme's voice, he did not give any indication.
Jenna decided that she didn't want to watch any more of the pissing match between father and son and interrupted, "Is this J'Danaan place close? We can all catch up when we get there, right?" She looked at Cappel and he lowered his eyes.
"Indeed, Lady Jenna. I am sure you are anxious to meet your grandmother. She is certainly wanting to meet you." Cappel then turned and moved back the way he had come.
"Thank you," Jayme whispered to Jenna as he moved to follow.
"You are going to have to talk to him some time. From what Nerian says, he's probably the only one who can tell us the whole story of what is going on here."
"I know. It's just so weird. Of course, what about this entire day doesn't fall into the category of weird? I'm not even sure if 'weird' can cover it."
"Well..."Jenna started with a smirk, "In the last three hours we have come all the way to some strange world of elves and dwarves and had our entire world turned upside down...yet somehow you have already managed to find a boyfriend...sounds about right."
Jayme blushed and stuttered back, "I do not have a boyfriend!...I just met him...I...I...he's an elf for pete's sake!"
Jenna laughed out loud, looking over at Nerian and back to Jayme, and whispered in his ear, "News flash, honey...so are you!" She gave Jayme a quick hug and moved up to talk to Miranda and Nessa, who were walking together.
Jayme thought about them for a minute. It had to be really strange for them, too, finding out that they were sisters. They had been close friends for years, though. At least they already knew each other. How was he supposed to deal with another father now? He was pulled from this train of thought by a touch on his arm. He knew without looking that it was Nerian.
"Are you well?" Nerian asked, walking beside him but not removing his hand from Jayme's arm.
"I will be. This is all so strange." Jayme fought back tears and quickly regained his composure.
Nerian's touch in his mind was like a gentle caress, calming him down, "We can talk about anything you want to. I will help you in any way that I can."
Jayme reached out to answer without speaking, enjoying the privacy of the conversation, "Can you talk like this to everyone? Can the others hear us when we are speaking like this?"
Nerian blushed a bright red, but answered, "I can send my mind out much in the way that you can, but my magic is not as strong as yours will be. I can use it to track people, as well as to anticipate an opponent’s moves in combat. Speaking mind to mind is more difficult with most people. I can usually only do it with members of my family, and with people with whom I am....intimate." Still blushing, Nerian looked quickly at Jayme, and continued before he could answer, "It is probably easier with you because of your own abilities."
Jayme thought for a second, and asked another question, "How did you know you could speak with me like this?"
Nerian paused for a moment, as if debating himself, then continued with a sigh, "I have a confession to make. Earlier, when you were returning to us after having your first vision, I was searching for you with my mind. I was able to make contact. I was able to see the things you were thinking about...the thoughts of me..." Jayme blushed brightly now, but Nerian pushed on in order to finish before he could say anything, "I...I did not pull away right away, I...I watched for a minute. Because I was the...subject...you probably did not sense my presence. I am truly sorry for the invasion. It was accidental. I am ashamed of myself."
Jayme fought to find something to say. He was mortified to find that Nerian knew about his little fantasy. He was dumbfounded, "No, please forgive me...I had no idea....I would never have...I would never have wanted to offend you."
Nerian stopped him with a touch, moving his hand to his shoulder in a half-embrace, “Offended? Believe me when I say that I am not offended. I was actually rather pleased."
Jayme's comment was interrupted by a voice from behind. Neither of them had heard Peter's approach. "Nerian?" he said, at almost a whisper, "Can I ask you something? I am sorry if I am interrupting something." He looked at Jayme, who saw the look on Peter's face and nodded, giving permission to continue.
"We can finish this later...when we are alone." Nerian briefly touched Jayme's mind before turning to answer Peter.
"You never mentioned me when you were talking before. Do you know anything about me? Do I belong here? Did I come here by mistake?"
Nerian's expression turned somber. He looked at Peter's questioning face and said, "You did not come here by mistake. You are a bit of a mystery, to be sure, but you are obviously a dwarf, and of this land."
By the expression on his face, it was clear that this was not exactly obvious to Peter. His expression was blank. Nerian, wanting to ease his mind somehow, continued, "We don't know much about you. None of the original travelers were dwarves, but that was because it was so confusing at the time and nobody knew where anyone's loyalties lay. The belief was that the dwarves sent someone on their own after Neromiel, and that you are the child of that agent. When Shirann became aware of your interaction with her children, and the children of the others that came with her, she was cautious. She watched you closely for years with no indication of any ill intent from you. After a while, she began to see you as one of the group, and even protected you at different junctures, fearing what would happen if Neromiel was able to discover and corrupt you." Nerian looked around, and continued in a whisper, "Be wary. Not everyone is convinced of your sincerity. Be careful not to give them any cause to worry."
Peter nodded, not sure what to say. It seemed that Nerian had no other information for him, but he was far from satisfied. He moved to the side and walked by himself for a minute. Suddenly he wondered if that would look suspicious and looked around to see if anyone was watching him. Thinking about it made his head hurt. How did he know what he was supposed to do or how he was supposed to act? A little depressed, he walked a little quicker to catch up with Nessa. If nothing else, he knew she trusted him and would protect him if it came down to it. He joined the conversation as casually as he could, not wanting to drag the others down with his mood.
Within a few minutes, they saw what had to be the entrance to J'Danaan. The trees seemed to grow together, with virtually no space between them, forming a wall that extended up to the treetops. It was broken only along the width of the trail by a giant gate made of what looked like hammered silver. It was very ornate, covered with carvings of trees and flowers. It was beautiful. Before the group even arrived, the gate swung open and they were met by no fewer than a hundred men and women all dressed like Nerian and his guard. Cappel turned and addressed the group, "Welcome to J'Danaan. It is time for us to meet the Queen." With that, they were directed by those assembled at the gate to a courtyard. At the head of the square, surrounded by a throng of people, all dressed elegantly in long robes and lots of jewelry, was what undoubtedly had to be the Queen. She had a small circlet of silver on her head, adorned with small silver leaves and a tasteful smattering of jewels. She had long, blonde hair, and looked absolutely beautiful. Though she looked slightly older, there was no mistaking the family resemblance. She looked just like Jenna.
Jenna stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't know what to do. She was curious, and a bit scared. She didn't know what the protocol was for meeting a queen, much less a long, lost grandmother of a queen. Jayme, clearly unconcerned, took control. He put one arm through Jenna's and gently pulled her forward toward her grandmother. Nobody stopped their advance, in fact, the crowds separated to accommodate their progress. Nerian moved to walk beside them as an escort. Cappel followed closely behind with the healer woman who had accompanied him. The rest of their group followed them, Peter bringing up the rear.
As they got closer to the raised area where the Queen was seated, Jayme kneeled down in the manner he had seen Nerian and his guard do for Jenna. Jenna looked down at him and whispered playfully, "You seem to have that kneeling stuff down pat, you big sissy."
Jayme came back without a thought, "Shut up and curtsey or something, you little bitch."
Jenna laughed and remembered herself. She did the best curtsey she could manage sans skirt and stood back up to face her grandmother. The Queen motioned with her hand and Jayme and Nerian rose as well. The Queen rose from her seat and walked toward the three of them. Without a word, she reached out and hugged Jenna. The weight of the day, combined with a feeling of shared sorrow over her mother's recent death, was too much for Jenna. She hugged back, almost frantically, and burst out in tears.






Underground

Tara opened her eyes and almost cried. She looked up to see her daughter's face looking down at her. Tara quickly got to her feet and hugged Cara as hard as she could. When she was finally convinced that her daughter was real, and not about to disappear again, she looked around at her surroundings.
She saw the rest of the children and sighed with relief. Bella was sitting on the floor, little Reina asleep in her arms. Jason and Reardon were playing half-heartedly over by a wall. When they saw her awake, they came running over to give her hugs. Reardon spoke first, "Auntie Tara, we thought you were dead...well, Jason said you were dead and Reina started crying, but Cara said you were just sleeping and I believed her, but Jason still thought you were dead."
Reardon paused to take a breath and Tara interrupted him before he could blow a gasket, "Hush , child. I'm fine. You should listen to Cara, she's a smart girl." She looked over at her daughter again and smiled.
Tara looked closely at their prison. They were either underground or in some type of cave. The walls were stone, and the only light came from two torches hung on the walls. The door looked like it was carved right out of the stone walls. There was a little window near the top with three metal bars set into it. Looking out the window, she could see a torch-lit hallway, also carved out of stone. She did not see anyone outside.
Tara sat down on the floor. She felt very strange all of a sudden. It felt like someone else was inside her mind, trying to get out. She took a couple of deep breaths and tried to calm herself down.
Cara looked at her worriedly and asked, "Are you ok, Mom? You don't look so good."
"I'm fine." she said, more abruptly than she had intended. She smiled and quickly softened her tone, "I just feel strange, like I'm trying to remember something, but I can't. It's driving me crazy."
"Mom, where are we? What's going on? Some man came to the door right after you just appeared there on the ground." Cara looked down at the ground and started to shiver, "I...I heard someone screaming outside down the hall. Mom...it sounded like Marissa. He knew I could hear her and he laughed. He told me not to worry about her any more. He said she was beyond all help. Mom...I think he killed her. I've been just waiting and worrying, thinking you or one of us was next..." She hugged her mother and the weight of having to hold it together for the sake of the children just broke her. She started to cry uncontrollably in her mother's arms.
At that moment, holding her crying child close, something broke inside of Tara. Memories came flooding over her; memories that had been lost for nearly forty years. Still clinging to her child, Tara remembered who she was. She knew who was holding them, and she knew how to escape. Taara was back, and she was pissed off and ready to kick some ass.
Taara reached down and touched the onyx ring on her right hand. Feeling the strength of her family's magic pouring through it, she smiled. She toyed with the idea of breaking down the cell door and hunting that renegade dwarf down right then and there. A flash of her husband Girok, bloodied and dying, crossed her mind and set her blood boiling. The children were first priority, however...revenge could wait a little longer.
Before she could do anything, she had to figure out how he got them in the first place. She couldn't have him taking them back once they escaped. She looked down at her daughter and whispered something under her breath, calling up the needed magic. Briefly, the bracelet on Cara's left arm started to glow. Without a warning, Taara reached down and removed it from her daughter. Frowning deeply, she repeated the process with each of the children, removing a pair of earrings from little Reina, a necklace from Bella, and rings from the two boys. She was seething with rage as she remembered last Christmas and the one who had given the children these things. Her mind began to put together pieces of a puzzle. She wondered in amazement how Shirann could have missed the signs. Taara swore to return once the children were safe to make sure that particular score was settled. That bastard Neromiel had a lot to answer for.
Taara gathered the jewelry up and placed it in her pocket. She might need those later. Now that they posed no more danger to the children, she was free to get them out of there. She called all of the children to her and told them to stand in a circle and hold hands. Cara put her hand in her mothers, and touched the ring as she did. Taara felt the ring flash with recognition and family magic. Cara looked at her mother with surprise, but Taara just smiled at her and said, "Later, baby, we can talk. Right now, we have to get out of here." Cara was curious, but was not about to argue with the idea of getting out of that place. When the kids were all together in a circle, Taara concentrated on her ring and called upon her magic once more. She thought of home, long though she had been away, and in a flash they were gone.





T'Kriel

The moment they appeared, Taara knew she was home. T'Kriel Izande, the city of her birth and the stronghold of her family. She looked around at the courtyard where they stood, memories washing over her. She allowed herself a moment of nostalgia before coming back to her senses. Where was her family? They should have sensed her arrival and come immediately to meet her. Where was anyone for that matter. The courtyard was deserted, and she was immediately wary once more. Reardon broke the silence, "Auntie Tara! You're magic! You teleported us away! Do something else." Taara laughed. She knew that the boy was obsessed with magic and super heroes. He always had a comic book or some toy relating to them in his hands. He wasn't scared at all any more. He thought she was some kind of super hero and now it was all an adventure for him. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, cherishing the innocence of youth.
"Yes, child, I am magic. We all are. That's why that bad man wanted to take you away from us. I will tell you about it in a little bit, but right now we need to move away from here. Let's go see if we can find something to eat."
All of the children seemed to agree with that idea, so Taara led them off in search of the kitchens, looking around warily as they went. The children walked in silent amazement at the city around them. Great towers rose in all directions, surrounding them in a beautiful display of carved stone and marble. The entire courtyard was paved with onyx, interrupted only by giant circles of emerald and amethyst set in a pattern. It was beautiful, and the children ooohed and aaahed at each new thing they saw. Taara laughed to see the children smile again. She allowed herself a moment of happiness before she stopped short, sensing that they were not alone.
She turned quickly to scan the courtyard, looking for danger. It seemed impossible that Neromiel could have breached the walls of her home, but she prepared herself nonetheless. Off to the left, coming from the residences, she spotted three figures. At first she could not make them out, but she soon relaxed. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her life. At last, a sign that she was not alone. She spotted a tall figure, dressed in leather armor, nearly 9 feet tall and carrying a sword at his hip. Beside him was a much shorter man, thick and muscled, also dressed in leather, with an axe and wearing a silver jeweled circlet on his head. Next to him was a slightly taller woman with black skin, wearing a black cloak, lined in green, and carrying a bow. At the sight of Taara, they all came running to her side.
The children were scared, so she quickly turned to calm them down. "Don't worry kids, they are friends...family." And, trusting in Taara, they all relaxed.
Taara turned to greet them, raising her arms, "Cathain, Ribok, Shaaree...well met. It is good to see you again."
The giant spoke first, his voice fairly singing with excitement, "Taara. We could not have hoped to see you. We were told you had...forgotten yourself, and were captured by Cathain's brother."
"I had, and I was." Taara answered, "I am not so easily kept once captured, however. My memory is restored." She looked directly at Cathain, then, "Your brother has much to answer for...along with his little bitch of a bride."
"More than you know, Lady." the dwarf, Cathain, answered, his voice nearly growling with menace, "He has not been back long, but long enough to wreak considerable havoc."
"Where is my family? The rest of T'Kriel Izande? Save Sharee here, I have seen none of my people. What has happened?"
"We are safe, cousin." began Sharee. "The pretender had agents within our walls. Traitors to their blood, they will pay with their lives. The water supply has been tainted, poisoned by those agents. We have left the city for the time being and reside with Ribok's people, your husband's people. The protections still hold, and the city is undefiled. We will reclaim the city once Neromiel is put down. We should go there now and have their oracle contact Cappel in J'Danaan. We need to let them know you are safe."
"I nearly poisoned the children," Taara said in horror, "I was leading them to the kitchens for food and drink. How did you know we were coming?"
"We did not. We were on our way to the tracks to join Cappel and the others in J'Danaan when Sharee sensed your