The Fenimeldiyaan: Displaced Time - Chapter 2

Rachel and Apollo stared at each other after their captor’s evident glee. At auction. It could mean only one thing — they had blundered into the hands of slavers. Judging from how River’s face had lost all colour and she sniffled, Apollo knew that she was as aware of the situation as he and Rachel were.

He took a deep yet shaky breath. Apollo had never been the best at talking himself out of a situation, but he knew that he would have to now. “Forgive me,” he said, affording his voice as much dignity and arrogance as he could while lying on the floor wrapped in a net. “But there might be a better way of making money off of us rather than selling us for auction.”

Rachel shot him a look that clearly read: What are you doing? He ignored her and kept going on, “There’s a man named Andreas Cesario. We are under the protection of the Inner Circle, and they would be willing to hand over your price, particularly for the young Queen.”

The man shook his head. “There be no man named Andreas Cesario.”

A cold hand clutched Apollo’s heart. “You’re joking. He’s a Carpathian. He teaches at the Donovan Institute and —”

“There be no Carpathian named Andreas Cesario,” their captor said flatly. “It was a good effort, but one that be in vain.”

“You can’t sell us!” Rachel found her voice. “It’s … it’s … it’s just wrong! It’s inhumane! We’re not merchandise, we’re people! It’s just disgusting.”

“Tis business,” their captor replied.

Throughout the entire conversation, Apollo had squeezed his eyes shut and was trying to break through the wards of the nets just for a moment. He kept sending Morgan two words. “Slaves. Past. Slaves. Past.”

-------------------------------------------------------

Morgan was still sitting with Andreas and Anwyn, nursing his disappointment over their inability to find any assistance in searching for their missing friends. As he sat there, waiting, a sudden pain spiked in his head and he doubled over.

Andreas grabbed his friend’s arm. “Morgan, me friend, what be the matter?”

“I don’t know. It’s like I just had someone jab a knife into my skull,” Morgan stammered, pressing a hand to his forehead. “It was intense.”

Andreas put his hands on the side of Morgan’s head and commenced the mind merge, hoping to discover what was plaguing his friend. When he pulled away, Morgan looked up hopefully. “What is it?” he asked. “What was the pain?”

“It were Apollo,” Andreas replied. “He were communicating with ye. He only transmitted two words. ‘Slaves’ and ‘past’.”

“What does it mean?” Morgan asked.

--------------------------

The female interpreter tapped the bars of the cell in an attempt to get Gerald’s attention.  She had been analysing their conversation and had picked up on several important points.  “Citizen Hunt … Gerald!  I understand you.  You too, Citizen Vold”.  She delivered the words in a halting manner, finding it difficult to contort her mouth and tongue around the unfamiliar sounds.  “I am Ekedryna Drelnikova, a Communications Officer from Cyad Headquarters in Milgramcyad, here on secondment.  Things will go better for you both if you co-operate and answer my questions”.

Gerald realised that Veerna had stopped swearing and was staring at the female interpreter.  He caught the final part of the woman’s speech.

“Didn’t take you long to figure it out, did it, Dreenie?” Veerna spoke in a sarcastic mocking tone.  “I wonder why you asked for more time to study our language.  Gerry, I believe she’s got an agenda of her own.  What do you think?”

“Aye, she got a handle on our language in a very short time” Gerald agreed.  “What about him though?  Can he understand us?”  He gestured to the male interpreter, who appeared to be typing something on his computer tablet.

“He is Communications Officer Maas Lowenstern” Ekedryna explained, glancing over at her colleague.  “You are being held at Correctional School Number 452, within the Varicharenzo wilderness on Planet Mondias.  It is standard procedure for all unauthorised visitors to be processed at the nearest Correctional School to their place of entry.  Comrade Governor Rinakov found it most unusual that the two of you would have chosen to arrive in such a desolate place”.

“I didn’t choose to arrive there!” Gerald protested.  “Twas an accident.  I were supposed to be going home with me wife, back to Vordelle.  I were hoping to be able to contact me friends in the Fenian Galaxy and ask them to get me home”.  He turned and glared at Veerna.  “Only she tells me that they ain’t been born yet!”

“It’s true!” Veerna insisted.  “We’ve been sent back in time, into the prime of the Cyad Confederacy.  In our time, what Dreenie and her friend would call the future, the Cyad Confederacy has been reduced to the status of a whipped dog, cowering and licking its wounds”.

“Stop!” Ekedryna gasped in horror.  “Such talk could get you executed.  Some of our more progressive scientists believe that time-travel is possible, but for the most part, their theories are regarded as little more than fairy tales, the products of wishful thinking and flawed logic.  I have to report to Comrade Governor Rinakov in one hour, to detail my efforts so far.  I’ll explain that you came here by accident and only wish to return to your home-worlds.  Let us hope that he will be merciful in his treatment of you”.

“Or I could rip his head off” Veerna suggested.  “He had better hope that I’ll be merciful with him.  Chances of that are slim to none”.  She launched into a fresh tirade of colourful Voldinian swear-words while Ekedryna went over and conferred with Maas.

-------------------------

Andreas fiddled with his long tail of hair.  “Only sending two words must mean that something be blocking or draining Apollo’s powers.  Also, he could be transmitting from a very long distance.  The implication of slaves be obvious.  He’s been captured by slavers.  But past could mean any number of things, depending on context”.

“We need more intel afore we can act” Anwyn stated.  “We don’t know if Queen River be with Apollo or if she’s been sent elsewhere.  Slaves in the plural means he ain’t alone, but we can’t assume that the Queen be with him.  Also, we don’t know if that were the entire message.  The transmission might have gotten cut off afore he could send it all”.

“Given that Set had been messing around in time, I’d lay odds that Apollo has ended up somewhere in the past” Andreas theorised.  “Jezebel had no idea what she were doing.  She were too full of anger to act in any logical manner”.

“Can’t you do that thing with Apollo’s time-stream?” Morgan asked.  “Like what Mazia does?”

Andreas gave one of his trademark sly grins.  “I can try.  I’ll need to link with ye again to see if I can get any hint of a location.  If Anni joins in with us, twill strengthen the link”.

Morgan grimaced.  “Both of you inside my head at the same time?  Ugh!  And what about Gerald?  Is there a chance that he’s ended up at the same place as Apollo?”

“Unlikely” Andreas shook his head.  “Two separate events.  What Jezebel did happened independently from the destruction of the slow-time envelope holding Gerald”.

“Gerald and River both be resourceful” Anwyn pointed out.  “They’ll find a way to get a message through to us.  Meantime, we can only respond to what we’ve been given.  Let’s concentrate on tracing Apollo first.  If we can find him, mayhap he’ll be able to help us find Gerald and River”.

Morgan squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists.  He shivered when the two minds entered his, searching for the thin trail left by the brief contact with Apollo.  Anwyn ripped through the dark corners of his mind, like the mental equivalent of a thief burgling a house.  Andreas’s search had a gentler touch to it, but after a while, he too began digging around in a more ruthless manner.

“Trail be decaying already” Andreas commented after they had broken from the mind merge. 

He drew the familiar rectangle in the air and materialised the glowing cog wheel symbols, along with the ever-changing equations.  The display made Morgan feel nauseous and restless, even more so when Andreas plunged his hands in and plucked out a thin white ribbon.  Its glow seemed muted and it cut out altogether in some places, making the trail harder to follow.

Andreas appeared exhausted by the effort.  Still tugging on the ribbon of light, he collapsed into Anwyn’s arms.  “Yttria” he panted, no longer able to maintain the connection.  The temporal interface window winked out of existence.

“What’s Yttria?” Morgan asked, relieved to be alone inside his head again. 

“Another Fenian world” Anwyn explained.  “In the past, many regions of it were controlled by the Cyad Confederacy, along with a few rogue Carpathian cartels.  In more recent times, the word be that Yttria has reclaimed its former independence, but tis a mess.  I’ve been there and seen for meself.  So has Andreas.  We’ve got friends over there”.

“We should start off by going to present-day Yttria” Andreas suggested.  “I don’t know if Elsa, Elaine and Daren want to come along for the ride.  Elsa ain’t talking to me, so mayhap ye could pass on the message, Morgan?”

Morgan sighed.  “I’ll try, but Elsa’s not exactly my greatest fan either.  It’s only fair that we give them the chance to come along though”.

---------------------------------

Morgan walked towards the others’ rooms, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. He’d avoided Elsa’s company for as long as he could, but it seemed that could no longer be true. Also, he was greatly disturbed by the fact that his cousin had fallen into the hands of slavers. If Jezebel had sent Apollo and River into the past, with slavers, who knew where Gerald had ended up? Elsa wasn’t going to be happy about the delay in finding him, even for Apollo.

He knocked on the door, and Elaine opened it. The girl’s face was wreathed in a smile and she pulled him in. “You’re back!” she said. “Any news?”

“Some,” Morgan said, finding Elsa leaning against the end of the bed. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he couldn’t help but notice the puffy redness around her eyes. “Not all of it good. Apollo’s been kidnapped by slavers.”

“Oh!” Elaine put a hand over her mouth. “But he’s alright?”

“If he’s been taken by a slaver, then they won’t injure him,” Daren put in, wrapping his arm around Elaine’s shoulders comfortingly. “He’d lose value that way.”

Morgan cringed. They were talking about Apollo like he was a piece of meat up for sale. “The only problem is, Andreas thinks Set’s meddling has sent Apollo into the past,” he went on.

“And without the Chronomages, we’ve hit a wall,” Elaine groaned.

“Not quite,” Morgan said. “Andreas says he’s in the past version of Yttria, a world here in the Fenian Galaxy. He wants us to head to the current version.”

“Why?” Elsa said bluntly.

Morgan grimaced. “To … to scope it out, I think. See what lays ahead.”

“And what about Gerald?” she went on hotly. “Any word from him?”

Morgan’s cheeks reddened. “He’s not related to me,” he told her flatly. “Apollo sent me the transmission. If Gerald’s trying to communicate with anyone, it would be you! When we get Apollo back, I know he’ll help us search for Gerald,” he added in a lame attempt to cover up his fiery temper.

Elsa stared at the floor. “Everyone seems concerned about all the missing people except for Gerald,” she whispered.

Morgan reached out and touched her arm. “Andreas is extremely concerned,” he said softly. “He’ll find Gerald, I know he will. And Apollo as well. All will be well, you’ll see.”

Elsa simply tugged her arm from his grasp and turned her back on him. Sighing, Morgan turned to the others. “We’re to go to Yttria. Andreas wants to know who will accompany us.”

“We will, of course,” Elaine said, quickly speaking over her husband’s suggestion that she remain behind. “Apollo is my friend. I will help to bring him back home.”

Daren sighed. “Oh, very well.”

Morgan continued looking at Elsa, although her back was turned. When she didn’t answer, he said softly, “Elsa?”

“If you think I’m leaving this in his incapable hands, he’s got another thing coming,” Elsa retorted, spinning back around to face him. “Of course I’m coming. Apollo is my friend.”

“Alright, then I guess we’d better go,” Morgan said awkwardly.

“Give me a minute,” Elsa requested as the others left.

It was only when they had all departed that Elsa let herself fall back down to her knees, one hand on her growing stomach, the other clutching the end of the bed. “Gerald, where are you?” she whispered, tears escaping and sliding down her cheeks. She felt nothing from him, nothing from their link. It was as if he had disappeared for good.

Forcing her emotions back under control, Elsa stood, grabbed her dagger, and went off after the others.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rachel pulled at the net in a vain attempt to unwrap herself. When that failed, she looked up at their captor again, her face pale aside from the red in her cheeks. “If we’re so valuable, why leave us to freeze on this floor?” she demanded, looking over at River. The young girl was shivering, and not just from fear. Corttann was usually much warmer than the climate of their current habitat.

Apollo opened his eyes, abandoning his effort to communicate with Morgan. He had no idea if he’d been successful or not. He struggled not to think that Rachel was probably the one who was worth the most of the three of them. On top of her apparent importance, she was also stunningly beautiful.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, Apollo once more addressed their captor. “There is nothing we can do to convince you to release us?” he asked with a hint of desperation.

Rachel took a more cynical approach that was beginning to annoy Apollo. “And what happens to us now?” she demanded of Gyul.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gerald wrapped his fingers around the bars of his cell, giving them a jerk. “That won’t work,” Veerna told him helpfully. “Unless you have the strength of an elephant, Gerry, those bars are sticking there.”

Gerald scowled at her. “Ye be a most unhelpful prisoner,” he snapped.

She smiled innocently. “Did I hear you correctly? Some lucky girl’s caught your heart?” She moved closer to the bars of her own cell. “Well, well, that’s a pity. I could’ve gotten used to a hunk like you.”

Gerald had long-since abandoned trying to figure out what Veerna meant when she was complimenting him. “I don’t know what ye be talking about,” he muttered.

“Oh, whatever,” Veerna said tiredly. “I want to get out of here, how about you?”

Gerald raised an eyebrow. “I thought ye were just telling me there were no way out?” he said.

“When did I ever say that?” Veerna grinned maliciously at him. “I just said that you couldn’t pull down the bars of the cell. Hey, Dreenie! C’mon over here! I have something I want to ask you.”

Ekedryna came over with an aggrieved look. “I was discussing something with —”

She got no further. Veerna lunged through the bars, grabbing the translator around the neck and whirling her around, her forearm pressed against Ekedryna’s throat. “Tell Maas that they’re going to release us, or I snap your neck,” she snarled in Ekedryna’s ear.

Gerald had been shocked into silence, but he found his voice. “Oi! That ain’t the way!” he protested.

“Shut it, Gerald. Are you with me or not?” she snapped. Ignoring him for the time being, she turned back to her prisoner. “Well?”

--------------------------

Gyul bowed his head slightly and smiled at Rachel.  “Tis gratifying that you see the situation so clearly, Lady Andric.  As for your present accommodations, tis only temporary.  My employees placed you in this warehouse for security reasons, but you will be moved to one of my safe houses shortly.  Tis in process of being properly warded.  Then we can dispense with those dampening nets and replace them with something a little less restrictive”.

He frowned and looked towards the door.  “If you will excuse me, I have a visitor.  One of my more troublesome clients.  No need to worry, he can’t afford quality merchandise like yourselves.  He only buys my low-value stock”.

He smiled again before translocating away.

-------------------------

Outside the warehouse, a hooded figure waited.  Gyul materialised in front of the man, sighing inwardly at the interruption.  “Yozev Kandlin, such a pleasure”.  His weary tone of voice indicated the exact opposite.  “Have you come to divest me of more of my bottom shelf merchandise?”

Yozev pushed back his hood and shook his head.  “Not today, Citizen Khrychyt.  I have a problem and I require your assistance in dealing with it”.

“You always have problems” Gyul observed.  “In your rather gruesome line of work, it goes with the territory.  I suppose someone has tipped off the State Medical Ethics Council.  Had to happen sooner or later.  You knew the risks, so it can’t have come as much of a shock to you”.

“Tis far worse than that” Yozev pronounced.  “An old enemy of mine from the Vyrdigaan Order has resurfaced.  I had hoped that the latest report of his passing would turn out to be true, but sadly he is still very much alive.  You recall Judaas Fendor?”

“You want me to take on the might of an Ascended Master?”  Gyul’s words came out in a harsh screech.  “You expect me to put my life at risk to settle an old score for you?  Even if you could afford to pay the requisite danger money, I simply don’t have sufficient power at my command.  Judaas Fendor could disintegrate me with a single thought”.

Yozev’s thin lips curved into a grotesque parody of a smile.  “Perhaps you won’t have to take him on by yourself.  Within that warehouse, I detect three strong energy signatures of the sort which can only come from powerful sorcerers.  Surely if you took strength from them, you would have more than enough power to blast Fendor out of existence?”

“I would not risk damaging such valuable merchandise” Gyul asserted.  “Even the child would fetch more than you could earn in a lifetime of practising State Law at your grimy little Bureau.  Or indeed from peddling your pseudo-scientific fake cures for incurable illnesses.  Now go away!  I have important business to take care of.  You will have to find someone else to dispose of your enemy!”

He sent a warning blast towards Yozev, who made a hasty retreat, his black cloak flapping wildly and his spindly limbs flailing.

------------------------------

Maas raised his head and stared at Veerna.  His pale eyes emitted a dazzling beam of light and the Voldinian froze, her hands still squeezing at Ekedryna’s neck.  He then closed his eyes and went into a trance, projecting telepathically.  “Operative White Blaze reporting from 452, calling Operative Grey Shadow.  There be two subjects in the holding cells who will be of interest to you.  Suggest you take a look via remote viewing”.

A moment later, a transparent ghostly figure appeared next to him.  Gerald could not help laughing at the newcomer’s eccentric appearance.  A grey fur trapper’s hat adorned his head, below which hung greyish black hair.  The tall fair-skinned man wore a green velvet cloak, an orange tie-dye shirt and yellow pyjama trousers.  On his feet were red boots with stacked heels and pointed toes. 

“Thank you, Maas” the colourful and inaccurately named Grey Shadow acknowledged, inclining his head and giving a faint smile.  He then addressed the two prisoners, speaking in their language.  “Greetings, Fitzgerald Hunt and Veerna Vold.  I be Selonicus Linderies, a representative of the Symanic Alliance.  My colleague Maas also works for the Alliance.  For reasons of security, I cannot fully materialise here yet, but please be assured that I be on your side and working to liberate you, along with many other innocent citizens who have been wrongfully detained and incarcerated by the Cyad”.

“So ye belong to some sort of resistance movement?” Gerald enquired.

Veerna tried to speak but the immobilising spell prevented her.

“Exactly” Selonicus confirmed, smiling again.  “The Symanic Alliance consists of operatives from Viria, Malvania, Varathusia and Sartoria.  We be dedicated to liberating prisoners and our eventual aim be to overthrow the Cyad altogether”.

“Varathusia, eh?” Gerald mused.  “Would ye happen to know any Carpathians?  Like the Cesario family, for example?”

“Not in this lifetime”.  Selonicus frowned.  “The Cesario family was one of the Founding Families of the Carpathian Movement, but their line died out long ago.  Unless you believe the rumours that a few of their number went into exile and changed their names.  Nothing has ever been confirmed”.

Gerald’s face screwed up in confusion.  “Veerna said that they ain’t been born yet and ye be telling me that they all died ages ago.  One of ye must be lying!”

“Not necessarily” Selonicus countered.  “I know little of Chronomancy but I can detect vestiges in you which suggest that you have come here from a future time.  Therefore tis very likely that both myself and Veerna be correct.  The branch of the Cesarios whom you know may not have been born yet, while the branch that I once knew be in the Beyond”.

“Chronomancy!”  Gerald sighed and rolled his eyes.  “Now we be getting somewhere.  Aye, twas a Chronomage who got us into this mess back home.  And an old enemy of mine who sent us here”.

“I see”.  Selonicus scratched his straggly beard.  “I can’t guarantee to return you to where you belong, but I promise that our Alliance will get you out of this prison and back into civilised society.  In the meantime, I suggest you make a good show of co-operating with your captors.  When they’ve finished with their interrogations, you’ll be put to work doing menial tasks, along with an unhealthy dose of Cyad indoctrination.  Maas will make sure that you don’t come to any serious harm.  He be a sorcerer like myself”.

Maas nodded and smiled at Gerald.  Gerald took a good look at the man, noticing for the first time that the Losinthan’s white hair was far longer than the regulation military buzz-cut and his uniform bore none of the red star insignia associated with the Cyad.  “I will also do my best to ensure that Citizen Vold stays out of trouble, but tis by no means guaranteed”.

“I will be in touch soon” Selonicus stated as his transparent figure dissolved.

Maas extricated Ekedryna from Veerna’s stranglehold and cancelled the immobilising spell.  He used a light touch of sorcery to heal the bruises on the young interpreter’s neck and a banishing spell to make her forget the appearance of Selonicus and the ensuing conversation.

“Comrade Drelnikova, I suggest you report to Comrade Governor Rinakov that we have made satisfactory progress.  You should mention that they be off-worlders and as such need not be considered any threat to the Cyad Confederacy.  Go now!”

Ekedryna nodded in acknowledgment and scuttled away in a great hurry.

--------------------------

“A clothing store?  Really?”  Elsa rolled her eyes and sighed at Andreas.  “How can a bunch of tailors and shop assistants help get Apollo back?”

“Kendric and Katya be our operatives in this city” Anwyn explained.  “They don’t have any powers of sorcery but they be highly trained in observation.  They report to us of anything suspicious going on here”.

“What city are we in?” Daren asked.

“Marangram” Andreas answered.  “Tis one of the major cities on Yttria.  We’ll check things out here first, then go on to the capital, Kashmir”.

Anwyn entered the store and greeted the middle-aged woman who stood behind the counter.

Out of curiosity, Elsa followed her inside, along with Elaine, while Andreas, Morgan and Daren waited outside.

“I wish they wouldn’t do that!” Elsa complained, on hearing Anwyn and Katya having a rapid conversation in an unfamiliar language.  “It’s like they’re trying to hide something from us”.

“Perhaps Katya doesn’t speak our language” Elaine suggested.  “I don’t suppose many people outside Meldin would know it.  Like how we didn’t know any Fenian languages before we met Andreas and Anwyn”.

“Aye, ye be right” Anwyn affirmed, having finished her discussion with Katya.  “Apart from their native Yttrian dialect and the People’s Language, Katya and her family only know basic Varathusian that they learned from us.  Anyways, they ain’t seen any evidence of off-worlders around, but they’ll let us know if they do”.

--------------------------

When they exited the store, Andreas and Morgan were in another mind merge, while Daren kept a lookout. 

“No temporal anomalies in the whole of Marangram” Andreas reported after breaking from the mind merge.  “And nothing to suggest that Apollo has ever been here”.

“What if he’s not in the capital either?” Elsa asked.  “How many more cities will we have to visit?”

“As many as it takes” Morgan retorted.  “You’d search the whole Fenian Galaxy to find Gerald, you know you would.  And finding Apollo is our best hope of finding Gerald and Queen River”.

---------------------------

The slavers returned not long after their captor had left, securing Rachel, Apollo, and River before removing them from the warehouse. They were taken to the “safe house” and the nets were removed, only to be replaced by collars. The restrictive collars prevented them from using sorcery, and they were taken to individual rooms before being left alone.

Apollo went into Rachel’s room to find her sitting on her bed. Her red cloak was folded on the bed beside her, and she looked up when he came in, twirling one of her curls around her finger. “Oh. Hello,” she said. “Shouldn’t you be with the little girl?”

“River? She’s fine. A little upset, but fine. She hardly knows me,” he admitted. “It’s my cousin she likes, not me.”

Rachel turned to him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re in even deeper trouble than I am. Your friends in the future, stranded with a girl who can’t speak, and getting sold into slavery.”

“Far as I’m concerned, we’re in the same mess,” Apollo said with a sigh, tugging at his collar. “I have faith, though. Morgan and the others will find me. I won’t be sent into slavery.”

Rachel raised her eyebrows. “I wish I had your faith,” she said. “None of my friends have the ability to travel through time. I’m afraid that I’m not getting out of here anytime soon. My only hope is that my buyer underestimates me and I can put him to sleep.”

Apollo met her gaze firmly. “When I’m rescued, I’ll make sure they find you as well,” he assured her. “Nobody deserves this. Did you hear him talking about us? Merchandise. Stock! Like we’re pieces of meat at a butcher’s!”

Rachel sighed, laying down on the bed. “I don’t like it any more than you do,” she replied. “But you’ll forgive me for not believing that until I see it.”

Apollo shrugged. “You will see it,” he told her.

Rachel smiled somewhat. “I’d like to believe that. I really would.”

Apollo went to leave. “I should check on River,” he said.

“Go on,” Rachel told him, and he left the room.