The Fenimeldiyaan: Stolen Time - Chapter 10

The four of them materialised on the dock, a little way off from where the younger version of Gerald was standing.

“In two minutes, Elsa will be approaching from over there”.  Gremeldah pointed to a narrow alley leading away from the dockland area.  “We have to intercept her afore she gets to Gerald, then I’ll take her place and let him throw me off the dock instead”.

“No” Andreas countered.  “If he injures ye, ye might not be able to construct a breathing shield around yerself when ye go under the water.  If anything happens to ye, the rest of us would be stuck here in this time-stream.  I’ll do it”.

“Yer concern for me health be most touching” Gremeldah sneered.  “Alright, have it yer way.  Twill be one less Carpathian in existence and that would be no loss to me”.

“As ye say, me dear”.  Andreas gave a smug grin and a sly wink before transforming himself into Elsa Silvereye.

David and Merlin hurried off towards the alley.

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Merlin glanced over at David as the two of them hurried down the street. “Never thought I’d be going into the past,” David muttered. “I’ve done everything. Travelled between worlds, travelled through time … this is like some bizarre Doctor Who or Back to the Future thing.”

Merlin looked at him blankly and David made a negative gesture. “It’s nothing. Just stuff from my past,” he said. Then he pointed. “There she is. I’d know that red hair anywhere.”

The two waited in the alleyway until the thief approached. David lunged out, wrapping his arm around her arms, pinning them to her side. With his other hand, he clapped a hand over her mouth and pulled her back. “It’s alright,” he whispered. “We’re here to help you and your husband.”

Elsa struggled, yanking her mouth out of his grasp. “Let go of me! Please! Let go!”

“Elsa, we’re just trying to help you!” David said, struggling. She was as hard to hold as a greased pig. She knew just how to struggle to escape his grasp, squirming desperately. “Please, don’t fight us!”

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” the thief snarled. Without warning, there was a sharp stinging sensation in David’s wrist and he jerked back instinctively. Elsa’s knife flashed again towards his other hand and he jumped away. The instant he released her, Elsa shot off towards the docks.

Merlin went to cast a spell and cursed. “Sorcery wards,” he said. “Blast it! Why did you let her go?!”

  

David had wrapped his fingers around his injured wrist. “Oh gee,” he said. “I don’t know. Maybe because she stabbed my wrist!”

The two of them started after Elsa, but shadows shot out from the end of the alleyway, slamming them both into the wall. “Trap,” Merlin said through gritted teeth.

“No kidding,” David snapped, hitting at the shadows in vain. “Hopefully Andreas can think on his feet.”

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Elsa slammed into her double, sending Andreas staggering. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” she snapped at him. “Stay out of this.”

Once she’d knocked him aside, shadows shot out, wrapping around Andreas. He tugged away from them, but he was too late to stop Elsa from reaching Gerald. The tears on the young thief’s cheeks indicated that nothing good was going to happen.

Gerald faced his wife with blank eyes. She stood in front of him, her eyes cast downwards, the knife dropping to the ground with a sharp clatter. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, raising her gaze to him. “I wish I could have done something to stop this.”

Gerald said nothing. His eyes, normally clear, were completely smothered by black darkness. His grip whitened on the rock he held in his hand and he raised it above her. She made no move to avoid the rock as it slammed into her forehead with a sickening crunch, and she collapsed to the dock, limp as a rag doll. Gerald toed her into the water, his face expressionless.

By that time, Andreas had reached them, taking on his true form once again. Gerald met his eyes, and the darkness retreated, horror replacing his blank expression. “What’ve I done?” he whispered before jumping into the water.

He surfaced a moment later, holding Elsa in his arms. Andreas pulled them both onto the docks, and Gerald sat down, cradling her to him. Her silver eyes were open but unseeing. She hadn’t drowned at all — the blow to the skull had been the end of her.

Gerald cradled her to his chest, tears rolling down his cheeks. Andreas reached towards him, trying to lay a soothing hand on his shoulder, but the mercenary jerked away, reaching for his belt. Before Andreas could even move, Gerald had stabbed himself in the heart with a knife and fell beside his wife.

David and Merlin ran up, freed from the shadows. Pain was etched on David’s face, and Merlin knelt down beside Elsa and Gerald. He laid his hand on her neck, and grimaced. “We’re in deeper trouble than we thought,” he mumbled.

“Why?” David questioned.

Merlin stood up. “These aren’t the future versions of Elsa and Gerald,” he said.

“How do ye know?” Andreas asked.

Merlin motioned to Elsa. “She’s with child still. Five months. Which means that she cannot be the future version — it’s the present version, pregnant still with Leanora.”

“How does that even work?” David demanded in frustration. “What does it even mean?”

Merlin bit his lip. “It means that Set gets his hands on the present version of Gerald,” he said. “Which means that while we were here, Set must have tracked the others down and … captured them.”

“All of them?” David said.

Merlin shrugged miserably. “I thought I felt someone fighting against the wards I’ve placed around Lana’s room,” he said softly. “I think Set is attacking now.”

David looked at Andreas, taking a deep breath. “We failed,” he said, looking at the bodies of the two they had come to save. “What do we do now?”

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The attack had been swift, and there was nothing those in the shop could have done about it. Set slowed and immobilised everyone inside, aside from Terra and the Lightshields. Terra had attempted to fight, but Set’s men had quickly overpowered and knocked him unconscious.

Once Set had finished with Terra, he turned to Caratacuus and Parsivaal. “Stay out of my world,” he seethed in a fury, raising his hand as if to strike them both.

“Leave them alone!” Joseph yelled, shoving forward with his hands. The bright light slammed into Set and sent him staggering backwards. The dark wizard’s flesh sizzled and seared under the barrage and his soldiers jumped on Joseph, beating at the boy and dragging him down to the ground.

“Please, stop!” Ilise cried, instinctively stepping towards her brother.

Set shoved the girl against the wall, pressing his hand against her throat. “I’m going to take great pleasure in ending both of you,” he snarled, pushing her down. While his men secured her and Joseph, he produced the temporal prison from his pocket and drew everyone in, aside from the Lightshield siblings.

When he had gone, he failed to notice Princess Olivia Drenlin creep out from one of the other rooms. The little girl had been hiding with Lana, and she came out once they’d all gone. She held her book to her chest and sat down heavily, tears falling down her cheeks. Why did everyone always leave her alone? She didn’t see the light rest on her shoulder.

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Inside the temporal prison, Morgan looked up when the large amount of people were deposited inside. Fitz, Caratacuus, Parsivaal, Gerald, and Terra were deposited roughly into the empty space.

It was River who made the first move and she tackle-hugged Caratacuus. Morgan went towards them but stopped. “What the devil is going on?” he demanded. “Caratacuus? What are you doing here?”

Angel cocked her head, eyeing the assembled group. “Something unprecedented, I assume,” she said dryly.

Lorelei glared at her. “This is no joking matter,” she snapped.

Angel shrugged. “I’m aware.”

“Maybe we should let them explain?” Apollo interrupted.

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Under cover of her invisibility spell, Gremeldah stood paralysed with shock.  The mission had been a total disaster and no doubt everyone would blame her.  The ensuing conversations barely registered on her consciousness as she wallowed in self-pity, wishing that she had never decided to visit Vordelle. 

“Gremeldah!  Ye have to take us back straight away!”  The irritating Carpathian Spy Master stood in front of her, speaking in an urgent tone.

“What good would that do?” she demanded, banishing the invisibility spell and glaring at him.  “Tis like Set knew what we were intending, even afore we did it.  We can’t win against an opponent who knows everything in advance.  And ye don’t need to remind me how he came by that knowledge”.

“I ain’t in the business of apportioning blame” Andreas told her.  “Besides, I didn’t expect us to get it right first time”.

“Ye what?”  Gremeldah exploded with anger.  “Ye guilt-tripped me into helping ye, then ye deliberately set us up to fail!  Ye sure ye ain’t working for Set?”

Andreas grimaced.  “Twill soon be a moot point unless ye take us back.  I don’t need to remind ye of the consequences should we get stuck here in the wrong time-stream”.

Gremeldah sighed, hating to admit that he was right.  “What d’ye expect me to do with Gerald and Elsa?  Their essences will have already departed for the Beyond”.

“Tis simple”.  Andreas gave a half-smile.  “Ye send them back to the point afore we arrived here.  Make sure they be in the correct place and time for our second attempt”. 

“I’ve never done that afore” Gremeldah admitted.  “I ain’t even sure if it be possible”.

“Tis possible” he assured her.  “Me granddaughter has done it.  Call up the equations and I’ll help ye identify Gerald’s and Elsa’s time-streams.  His be black and hers be red with a silver streak”.

Gremeldah took a deep breath before materialising the temporal interface.  She had expected it to look different due to the additional branches in the time-streams caused by their failed mission, but she was not prepared for the mess of tangled streams which swirled around in chaos.

“That be Elsa”.  Andreas spoke in an annoyingly calm tone and jabbed a finger towards one of the tangled ribbons.  “And that one be Gerald”.

Gremeldah pulled out the indicated ribbons.  “If this goes wrong …”

“They be dead already”.  Andreas stroked his moustache.  “Anything else can only be an improvement.  Go on, take them back.  Ye be a Master Chronomage.  Have confidence in yer abilities”.

Handling the two ribbons as if they were live serpents about to bite her, Gremeldah manipulated the equations until she reached the correct time-index for each one.  They were further apart than they ought to be but she inserted the ribbons and hoped for the best.

“Ye did it!”  Andreas pointed to where the bodies had previously lain on the dock.  Only bloody outlines remained. 

She staggered, almost collapsing after the effort of manipulating the ribbons and the equations.  Andreas steadied her and sent out comforting emanations. 

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A little while later, the four time-travellers arrived back at the empty shop. 

Gremeldah slumped to the floor, overcome with exhaustion.  David sat beside her, knowing that there were no words of comfort which he could offer. 

“Very strange” Merlin remarked.  “The slow-time envelope is still in place, but there’s no sign of Lana.  How could she vanish without Set breaching it?”

Despite her tiredness, Gremeldah sat upright.  “Slow-time envelopes be tricky things.  They don’t follow the usual laws of space and time.  Given that ye’d set additional sorcery wards around the room, twould seem that the energy released from Set breaking them caused the envelope to empty itself”.

“So what happened to Lana?” Merlin asked.  “Are you saying that Set hasn’t got her?”

“I ain’t sure” Gremeldah confessed.  “Depends on whether he were able to catch her afore the envelope emptied.  If he didn’t, she would have been ejected randomly.  She could be anywhere in space and time”.

“If that be the case, then Set will have as much trouble finding her as we will” Andreas commented.

It was only then that they noticed the little girl by his side. 

“How comes she didn’t get taken?” David asked.

Andreas put his arm around Olivia and smiled at her.  “Cause she be quiet, clever and brave.  She knew she couldn’t do anything against Set and his soldiers, so she found somewhere to hide”.

“How can hiding be brave?” Gremeldah questioned. 

“She managed to evade capture” Andreas explained.  “What she saw could help us.  Not only that, but she has a passenger”.  He gestured to the tiny spark which adorned her right shoulder.

“Apollo” Merlin stated.  “Well, part of him, at least.  Maybe things aren’t as bleak as I first thought”.

“Let’s get some rest” Andreas suggested.  “And something to eat.  We need to replenish our strength for the next attempt”.

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Caratacuus gave one of his trademark half-smiles, still holding River in his arms.  “Set has expanded upon the knowledge which he gained from the Virian Chronomage.  Tis mere conjecture on my part, but I believe that he must have travelled forwards in time and found out about our plans.  He then adjusted his own plans to compensate”.

“But you’re powerful sorcerers!” Morgan protested.  “Surely you must have sensed him coming?”

“Sadly not”.  The Malvanian’s calm voice carried a tinge of regret.  “Instead of translocating in the usual way, he inserted himself and his soldiers directly into our time-stream.  Without a Chronomage present, we had no prior warning”.

“I presume you speak of the green-haired sorceress who was helping Set to construct this temporal prison?” Lorelei enquired.

“She was tricked into helping Set” Caratacuus explained.  “Once she realised what she had done, she became consumed by guilt.  Andreas had the hardest job convincing her that she could redeem herself.  Tis what she be doing now, trying to revert the time-streams to their proper course and undo everything which Set has done”.

Angel frowned.  “How can you trust her?  She might still be working for Set”.

“Not so” Caratacuus countered.  “Andreas tested her thoroughly.  Tis understandable that you may not trust her, but you can trust Andreas at least.  You have history with him”.

“True” Angel conceded.  “But he’s only one man, working with a woman who’s already proved herself unreliable.  How can he hope to defeat Set and all his minions?”

“We have to give him a helping hand”.  Parsivaal spoke for the first time.  “Scratch the walls a little.  Chip away at our prison”.  He took the glass globe from inside his robes and threw it. 

They heard no impact, but a few minutes later, the globe sailed through the air and landed back in Parsivaal’s hand.  Inside it was some of the white misty substance from which their prison had been constructed.

A disembodied voice spoke.  “Welcome, Set, though I know you by a different name.  You cannot create by causing destruction.  Though you try to smother the light, twill always find the gaps in your darkness.  Darkness and light always exist side by side.  If you try to remove one, you will remove both.  Wind turns grey and the Goddess smiles.  You will never be the right size”.

Gerald grimaced.  “I hate riddles.  I hope Set ties himself up in knots trying to figure that one out”.

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Olivia moved closer to Andreas, obviously trying to draw comfort from somewhere. Her spectacles were askew on her face. The light on her shoulder made its slow way to Andreas before briefly entering his mind. “Forgive me,” Apollo said. His voice was weak and distant. “I did not anticipate that Set would be able to find us here. He caught us all by surprise and we were unable to properly defend ourselves.”

“It weren’t yer fault,” Andreas assured him.

Apollo’s telepathic response had bitterness mixed in. “But it was, partially. We were all to blame. We let our guard down and he took them all. Now that he possesses the Lightshield siblings, I think … I don’t know what we can do. Once he sacrifices them, it will be over. Completely.” A sigh followed. “I narrowly escaped. Set almost managed to drain me entirely. I was able to latch on to the inherent light in Olivia as well as … another.”

“Another?” Andreas questioned.

“Forgive me, but it’s better that it’s unknown,” he admitted. “I have a small plan to break at least the Lightshields out. If it doesn’t work … then I’m at a loss.” He returned to Olivia’s shoulder, the little girl still hugging Andreas.

David chewed disconsolately on a piece of jerky they’d found in Fitz and Leanora’s supplies. There were also several pieces of stale bread. Although both Merlin and David ate in a bored way, Olivia devoured the food. It was obvious that she hadn’t eaten for some time. “What do we do now?” Merlin asked finally, tearing his gaze away from the door where his niece had gone missing. He hated thinking of her, lost somewhere in time and space, dying from a poison that had been inflicted on her because of him.

Andreas looked up at the sorcerer. “We try again,” he said simply.

“Try again?” David’s eyebrows shot up. “What can we do differently?”

“We tried to make it so Elsa didn’t reach the docks,” Andreas said, breathing in a herbal cigarette. “But it didn’t work. She wanted to, for some reason. So now we’ve got to try it in a different vein.”

“Gerald,” Merlin guessed.

Andreas nodded. “Gerald. We can stop him from reaching the docks.”

“And if he isn’t there, then he can’t kill Elsa,” David said, realisation dawning. “It’s a solid plan.”

“It don’t take into account why Elsa wanted to go,” Gremeldah pointed out.

“True.” Andreas breathed slowly again. “But we’ll just have to give it a go, eh? See what happens.”

“Ye be mad,” Gremeldah huffed.

Andreas smiled a little. “Maybe.”

David finished eating and stood, brushing crumbs off of himself. “There’s no use waiting around,” he said. “We may as well get going.”

“Agreed.” Merlin stood as well, hiding his anxieties. Everything seemed to be going wrong. He hoped they could figure out a way to stop this.

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Joseph tugged at the knots with his fingers, trying in vain to untie the ropes keeping him tied to Ilise. They were bound, back-to-back, in the highest tower prison. There was no one else in the cell, yet he could feel the shadows lurking around the corners, waiting for them to escape. “I’m sorry, Ilise,” he whispered. “I failed you, and everyone else.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Ilise insisted, squirming. “You haven’t failed anyone, least of all me. We’re still alive, aren’t we?”

“For perhaps another hour, if even that long,” Joseph said gloomily.

Ilise bit down on her lip. “Joseph, please. Don’t give up. I can’t stand the fact that you’re giving up!” she cried.

He bowed his head a little. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to,” he said.

The siblings fell silent. Ilise was shaking, either crying or just plain terrified. Joseph wished he could put his arms around her and comfort her, but he couldn’t even really move at all. Closing his eyes, he prayed for a miracle. They needed it.

The door opened, the rusty hinges squeaking. Joseph, his back to the door, craned his neck to try and see whoever had come in. It was Ilise who spoke first, her voice trembling. “Who … who are you?”

“Relax,” a feminine voice said. “I’m not going to hurt you. In fact, I’m here to rescue you.”

The young woman, only about Ilise’s age, knelt beside them and started slicing through their bonds. Her thick, curly brown hair fell around her in waves. “Almost got it,” she muttered, and a moment later, the ropes fell away. Both the Lightshields stood as the young woman sheathed her knife. Dark brown eyes met Joseph’s gaze frankly. “Finished staring?” she asked.

Joseph blushed and nodded. “Forgive me, I don’t think I know your name …?”

The girl gave a wan smile. “A few weeks ago, I was someone important,” she said with a trace of bitterness. “Now, I’m nothing, robbed of my family, my friends. All I have left is the desire for revenge … to make things right. I will not let Set win.”

Ilise’s eyes were widening at the girl’s honest and brutal speech. Finally, she saw that she was upsetting Ilise, and she smiled bitterly. “I’m sorry. You’ve lost as much as I have,” she said quietly.

Joseph interrupted her once more. “That light inside of you … it’s Apollo. He’s keeping the shadows away. But who are you?”

The girl raised her chin. “I am Regina Smith,” she said. “Daughter of the hero of Colnia, David Smith. Now, are we escaping or not?”

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Set was growing weary of waiting. It was time to enact his plan. Retrieving the temporal prison from his pocket, he manipulated the equations until it released only Gerald Hunt. He smirked at the obviously-surprised Gerald. “Welcome back,” he said. “Would you like to say hello to your wife?”

Gerald spotted Elsa, asleep on the bed behind him, and hurried to her. He stroked her forehead tenderly, remembering the terrible image of him killing her. “Elsa, me love,” he whispered. Then he spun on Set and hurled the jar at him. “For ye, from the Fenian goddess.”

Set caught the jar, and the message repeated itself. For a moment, Set looked startled, then vaguely horrified. However, he quickly rearranged his features and tossed aside the jar. “An excellent trick,” he said. “Which foolish old man came up with that? It matters not. Nothing will change. I will triumph.”

“That be what ye think,” Gerald replied. He was determined to remain calm.

Set smirked. “Yes. That is what I think. Now … I grow tired of the two of you.”

Gerald ignored him, instead kneeling beside Leanora. The girl’s eyes flicked open to rest on him. “Father?” she mumbled.

He gently brushed a lock of her hair back. “Aye. Rest, me dear. Me friends will fix ye.”

She drifted back into unconsciousness. Set stepped forward. Shadows shot forward from his hands, slamming into Gerald and piercing his head. They entered his mind, twisting it, changing it. “Time for the image Jezebel showed you to come to pass,” he sneered, before manipulating the equations and sending both Elsa and Gerald into the past.

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Lana groaned in a low voice. Everything still hurt. She forced her eyes open and found herself in an alleyway, staring up at the night sky. It seemed oddly peaceful. However, the pain in her abdomen continued to ruin the effect. Where was she? Why was she there? She couldn’t remember. “Uncle Emrys?” Although she intended to call out, her voice was little more than a whisper.

Where had everyone gone?

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“Ye be bringing the child?”  Gremeldah gave Andreas a disapproving glare.

“Aye” he confirmed, keeping a protective arm around Olivia’s shoulders.  “Tis better than leaving her here alone and she’ll be useful on the mission”.

Gremeldah sighed and rolled her eyes.  “Typical Carpathian!  Only interested in people if they can be useful to ye.  Ye’d best not blame me if anything happens to her.  This one be on ye”.

He inclined his head.  “As ye say.  She be under protection of the Inner Circle Alliance, on account of the close friendship betwixt meself and her mother”.

“I don’t need to know about yer dirty little liaisons” Gremeldah admonished.  “Let’s just get on with the mission”.

Andreas gestured to the temporal interface.  “There.  See Gerald’s time-stream?  We have to get to him afore he disembarks from that boat”.  He moved his hand over to where Elsa’s red and silver ribbon flowed.  “I also need to have a word with Elsa afore the mission.  Can ye put me in that inn with her and construct a slow-time envelope around us?”

Gremeldah delivered a venomous Virian curse at the little Spy Master.  “Since when did I become yer slave?”

Andreas held up his hands in defeat and backed away from the glowing interface.  “Suit yerself.  Only don’t expect the Inner Circle Alliance or the Vyrdigaan Order to come to yer rescue when Set catches up with ye.  We’ll be too busy trying to prevent him from invading the Fenian Galaxy.  Have ye considered why he hasn’t found ye yet?”

A shiver ran through Gremeldah.  “What d’ye mean?  Set ain’t interested in me anymore”.

“Not so, me dear”.  Andreas’s thin lips twisted into a sly grin and he wagged a finger at her.  “Quite the opposite.  He be sore about the fact that ye helped Merlin and the Colnians.  Set be an expert score-keeper.  No good deed goes unpunished.  If it hadn’t been for the protective wards which Merlin, meself and the Vyrdigaan mages placed around ye, he’d have found ye and tortured ye”.

“Ye be making threats now, eh?” Gremeldah growled.  “If I don’t do yer bidding, ye’ll sell me out to Set?”

Andreas shook his head slowly, letting out a huge sigh.  “Ye misunderstand me.  The only threat be from Set.  Ye’ve seen the evidence for yerself.  Six hundred nightmare visions of the future, with Set dominating in every one of them.  Fighting him would take up all our resources and there’d be nothing left over to protect ye with.  Do I need to elaborate?”

“Alright, I’ll do it”.  Gremeldah spoke in a sulky tone and returned her attention to the equations.  She picked out the sparkly black and grey ribbon which belonged to Andreas and deposited it alongside the red and silver one.  The little Spy Master vanished.