~ First Storm ~
by Erin G.
© 2006
Author's Note: This is a sequel the Autumn Night, and you'll need to read that story to understand this one.
Please send feedback to: ErinG@xenafiction.net
Chapter 5
"Why haven't they been apprehended?" demanded the angry voice of Callamad. "It's been four days and still they elude you!"
Amaran and Calirica sat amidst the other nineteen Lords. Neither betrayed what they might be thinking. It was the Lord Arcane Warder that answered Callamad. "It takes time to mobilize all of our assets. I now have over two hundred Trackers searching for them as well nearly one thousand vampires. Lord Amaran has his entire network of eight thousand informants in the hunt as well. This effort is larger then any other hunt has been since we came to this World. Rest assured, we will find them."
"I suggest, Calirica, that you do not rest at all until you DO find them," growled Callamad.
"Might other assets be brought into the hunt?" wondered the Lord Chairman.
Calirica tried to suppress a frown as she replied "We have nearly ten thousand in the hunt already. We could add perhaps a few hundred more, but I do not see any great benefit there. More then likely it will be my Trackers that locate, and capture them."
"What about outside aid?"
Amaran eyes betrayed a hint of frustration, "Council Members, please, give us a reasonable amount of time. We'll bring them to you, if you give us the time to do it."
The Chairman nodded. "Very well, you may have more time. Be warned though that the Council demands results. Failure to deliver this Child to us would result in grave consequences for you and our Lord Arcane Warder."
<><><><>
Again invited to Caliricas' tower, Amaran exploded when safely inside, "ARE THEY LOSING THEIR MINDS? Why are they obsessed with this woman? Even if Drazan and these two women manage to get to an Ancients' home they'll likely be killed by the Ancient, or even turned over to us! And what is this 'outside aid' they're talking about, and why did my skin crawl when they mentioned it?"
Calirica turned away from him before she spoke, "They threatened me. They actually threatened ME! You may not be far off fact in questioning their sanity. You don't know what they were suggesting? Outside aid, doesn't mean getting other elves to help us. It means contacting real Outsiders."
Amaran paled, "You're not serious!"
"Too serious. They're thinking of having me summon Devourers."
"Goddess protect us…they really are insane. You can't control those!" Amaran breathed.
"Not easily and not well. They would find their prey though. Find it and devour it."
"Along with anything that gets in its way!" Amaran protested.
"That too, unless I can control them somewhat."
"You wouldn't really summon one?" Amaran asked fearfully.
"I am uncertain, and can only hope they do not order me too do so."
"But you know what could happen! It would risk our entire existence! Don't you think the Fairy Elf Goddess would notice if you summoned a demon to her World?"
"Perhaps…" Calirica allowed. "If I were to disobey that kind of order from the Council, they would vote to replace me with Ventra. Would you like that bloodsucking bitch to be our Arcane Warder? She would summon a Devourer without a thought, and it's not possible that she could control one. I've seen her wards. They're sloppy, haphazard, poorly constructed creations. True she has considerable power, but she lacks the discipline to control it properly. At least if I summoned one, I would stand a fair chance of controlling it. If it only went after the three that we seek, it's doubtful The Goddess would even notice."
"And if She does notice?" Amaran hissed.
"Then you and I, and perhaps the entire vampire community would suffer her vengeance."
<><><><>
I was smiling again. I'd woken in the morning in a new berth on a different train. For the first time in five days I actually felt good. Drazan had judged it safe enough for all of us to hunt last night. Lenési had informed me that everything went well and at Drazan's advice she'd actually fed twice. Perhaps that was the reason for the slight buzz I felt, or perhaps I was just so very delighted to be alive.
We all were settling in for a ten-day journey. This time our tiny room had a bed big enough for two to share (barely), as well as a second bunk above for one more person. The room even had it's own minuscule lavatory and shower - a welcome change from the last train. At the moment Noria was asleep and Drazan sat as if frozen staring at a map. An attempt at starting a conversation with him had been ignored.
Nési, you awake?
"Of course." Her thoughts we're far more energetic and upbeat then they had been since starting this journey. I could almost see her sunny smile, and bright silvery eyes.
What's gotten you in such a good mood?
There was laughter now. "I feel good, Rheda. No, I feel wonderful."
Last nights prey was…um…good?
"Yes, both of them were delicious! I never used to do that you know. Feeding more then once in a night I mean. It does make one more alert and it feels soooo good in the morning as well."
I winced slightly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you cringe. You did ask though."
Yes, I suppose I did. When will you need to feed again?
"Hopefully not for six or eight weeks. However, if we have to expend a lot of energy for some reason…well…it will be sooner."
You really like it, don't you… It wasn't really a question.
"Yes I do. Very much so. I've always enjoyed it more than Noria. I chose to be a vampire though and she had it forced on her. It's only natural that I'd find it more pleasant then she."
Why did you choose to be vampire? Where you, uh, seduced?
"No. I was…courted. My Mistress wanted a protégé that she could mold into someone like herself. I was twenty-one when I first met her, and very young and innocent at that time."
When did you learn she was a vampire?
"She told me after about a year."
Did she…I mean…did she bite you right away?
"Do you mean like Noria bit you? No. Our people were different back then. Now there is an intense paranoia running though our culture, warping it into something that I don't think is very healthy. We fear too much, mistrust too much, and love far too little. My Mistress knew me, trusted me, and never saw me as her prey."
She wanted to make you her fledgling though? Where you under her control?
"She didn't want to control me. She wanted to nurture me and teach me. It was a relationship of respect, trust, and love. She never used her powers over me."
You loved her?
"As a mentor, as a friend, and even in some ways as a mother. She was a great woman. When, after four years, she finally gave me an option of joining the fold, I did not hesitate at all. I wanted to be a vampire. I wanted to be like her. I had witnessed her hunting, and feeding. I saw her great gentleness with her prey, and her true respect for all life. She was very open and honest with me by showing me exactly what a vampire's life is like."
Do you think I would have chosen to be a vampire, had I been shown all of that?
"No, Rheda, I don't believe you would have. Had my Mistress been alive to know what I did to you, she would have been devastated."
It was my choice. You're not to blame.
Lenési thoughts became filled with pain, "Noria and I share the blame. We used you for our benefit without really considering the consequences. We gave you no time, and no knowledge of what our lives are like, we just…used you."
I sighed heavily and shook my head. Nési, if I want to hear a scathing evocation of your so-called sins against me, I'll ask Drazan - he does it better. What I'd really like to hear is more about your mentor.
"As you wish my gentle friend."
Chapter 6
Eight long days crept past without incident. We left our berth seldom, and either Drazan of Noria brought the food to our berth from one of the seven entertainment cars. For the most part I was confined, and quickly grew to hate my rolling prison. After I begged for five days, Noria and Drazan consented to a middle-of-the-night meal in the dining car. The several restaurants and bars were always open, but Drazan had determined that 4:00 am was the time very few people still awake and thus it would be the safest.
When I saw the menu I almost yelled in frustration at my two companions. I'd been eating some form of barely cook red meat for the last five days, and the menu I held went on for three-dozen pages! Goddess, they had Earth food from every region! I quickly paged through all of the elf vegan food.
Noria started to recommend, "Wouldn't you like to try some-"
"No." I interrupted.
"Well you could try-"
"No." I interrupted again.
"Then how about-"
"No."
"You could at least let me finish!" Noria laughed.
I looked up at her, "Look, I know your culinary knowledge is about a thousand times greater then mine, but this time I'm not going to get anything I can't pronounce and have no idea what it is anyway."
Noria pretended to be miffed. "Fine…fine…order beer and pizza if you want to."
Lenési, is there anything that you'd like?
"Indulge yourself, Rheda. Don't worry about me…remember I'll probably enjoy everything you do anyway."
When the waitress arrived, she bowed, and spoke a long phrase in a dialect of high elvish I didn't understand. Not again! She focused on me first. I had no choice be to speak in common elvish and hope that I didn't sound likes a backward idiot. "Is everything on the menu available this late?"
She smoothly switched to common elvish, "Of course, and if there is something you desire that's not on the menu, I can have our chefs prepare it for you."
I stuck my tongue out at Noria and responded, "Well, to start I'd like a small sausage, pepperoni and cheese thin crust pizza, and-"
Now the waitress interrupted me, "May I make a suggestion?"
I nodded, and tried not to sigh. Why can't anyone just let me order what I want? Is this an annoying elf trait that I wasn't aware off?
"The thin crust is nice, but why don't you go for the deep dish Chicago style? It's soooo much better, and if you add fire roasted red peppers, honey bacon, and silver mushrooms, along with extra idali cheese, you will have something you'll remember the rest of your life."
My eyes widened in amazement. Could I have found a pizza soulmate? "That sounds wonderful!"
"How about some deep fried cheese bread with marinara dipping sauce to go with that?"
"I think I'm in heaven!" I laughed.
She winked at me. "I'll assume that's a hearty yes to the cheese bread! I'm going to guess that you'd like an ale as well? We've so many varieties available that I've lost count, but if you ask me the ales from the Ferimna Mountain region are the best. The forest elves up there have crafted something really special - the best ale on the planet."
"Sure…why not," I agreed.
After the waitress took Noria's and Drazan's order, Noria looked at me and rolled her eyes, "You had to do it, didn't you? Of the endless variety of delights on this menu, you had to order pizza and beer."
When our food arrived I laughed again. The pizza would feed four people at least. "That's a small pizza?" I asked starring at the massive pie before me.
"Pizza should never be made small," she replied lightly.
The tankard of beer was at least a liter, and a second platter was piled high with deep fried bread. This would be a real feast! I bit into a batter dipped deep fat fried breadstick, and a string of hot gooey cheese trailed from my mouth. I picked up another and trust it at Noria. "Wanna bite?" I asked.
She recoiled as if from a knife. "No…thank you."
"Awe…come on…give it a chance. It's soooo good."
Noria made a face and opened her mouth to take a small bite. Her face contorted as she chewed.
"Good, huh?"
She quickly swallowed, and took a gulp of wine. "Good doesn't even begin to describe it," she replied with a forced smile.
"Okay, how about you, Drazan?"
He wasn't even looking. "Thank you, Rheda, but I've had pizza before, and those grease soaked things pretending to be bread do not appeal to me."
"But they're supposed to be grease soaked! You two just don't know good food when you see it." I sighed, and dug into my pizza. Nearly an hour later I was still finishing my last piece. Drazan and Noria had finished their meals and were now watching me with a mixture of fascination and horror.
"I cannot believe she ate that whole pie."
"Oh, I can," Noria answered. "I once saw her eat a gallon of ice cream in one sitting. The girl has an unquenchable appetite."
I raised an eyebrow and replied sweetly, "For some things."
<><><><>
Unfortunately, beyond the one pleasant nocturnal pizza binge, this endless train trip was grating on all of our nerves. We'd just pulled out of a station a few minutes ago, and the train had just now gotten up to speed. Across the whole planet passenger trains were seen as delightfully archaically wonderful contraptions, the one we rode in now was no exception. It had a steam engine - a real live breathing machine of fire, steam, oil, and smoke. That was part of the allure for many - it actually took time to travel from point to point. With the public transport portal, one could magically travel across the planet in the wink of an eye, but so many elves preferred this form of travel to the former. A tight web of tracks wove a net across the globe, and nearly every town was connected. There were thousands of trains at any one time rolling the rails. Still, traveling half way around the planet this way with three people in a tiny room was something other than pleasant though.
Noria stood and stretched her legs. "Should it be this easy? Maybe they aren't even looking for us?" she wondered.
Could that be true? Could we be running for no reason at all?
"They are looking, Noria. Looking hard." Drazan murmured.
"How do you know?" she demanded.
"I've sensed nearly a dozen Tracker wards already."
"And you didn't think that important enough to tell us?" Noria snapped.
"It served no purpose to inform you. They were far enough away that they couldn't have detected us."
"Next time-" Noria began.
"Shhhh!" Drazan hissed, slicing the air with his hand. His head snapped around to face toward the rear of the train. His eyes narrowed and he spoke quietly and rapidly, "There is a Tracker on this train. They're weaving a detection ward right now." He was on his feet and out the door before anyone else had a chance to speak.
I looked at Noria, "What do we do now?" I whispered franticly.
"Nothing…we can't do anything. Drazan will take care of the Tracker. Hopefully."
Hopefully? "We can't just sit here and-"
"There is nothing for us do to. Neither you or I can tell a Tracker from any other person on this train."
"Courage, Rheda. You must stay calm."
Noria reached out and took my hand. "We'll be okay. You just have to trust Drazan."
Minutes crept by each one more agonized then the last. Were we going to be captured just sitting here doing nothing? We have to do something…run…hide…
Suddenly the door opened and Drazan quickly entered. He rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand and muttered, "I'm way too old to be doing this kind of thing anymore."
"Well?" Noria asked softly.
"The Tracker has been taken care of," Drazan replied simply.
My curiosity got the better of me and I asked, "What did you do?"
He fixed me with an intent stare, "Do you really want all of the details?"
Surprising myself, I replied with a firm, "Yes."
"She hadn't completed her spell when I found her. Luckily she had her own private berth and was alone. When I entered she was truly surprised to see me, and quite unprepared for a physical confrontation. She is now food for the scavengers outside."
"You…threw her off the train?"
"No," he replied in an eerily matter-of-fact tone, "first I broke her neck, then I threw her off of the train. It's fortunate that the windows in these rooms all open. And it's even more fortunate that the Lords Council still rely too heavily on magic to find people. As a former Lords Council member, I would think that their Arcane Warder should be severely chastised for sending her Trackers after us without more protection."
"Rheda, may I take over?"
Yes.
"Drazan, it's Lenési now. Are you certain that the Tracker was alone?"
"Reasonably certain. I saw no evidence of a second person staying in the room."
"Could anyone have seen you?"
"Nobody saw me enter or leave her room. I disposed of all of her luggage as well."
"What about a familiar?" Lenési wondered. "Could someone else's familiar have been watching?
Drazan scowled, "Yes, that is possible. That person would also need to be on this train. Are you suggesting that the Tracker was bait to lure us out of hiding?"
"Would that be a tactic that the Lord Arcane Warder would use?"
"No…I do not think so. Her Trackers are very valuable commodities. They are extremely hard to replace, and certainly worth protecting. I find it hard to believe Calirica would risk one like that."
"And yet she did," Noria noted, "if the Tracker really was alone that is…"
"Indeed she did," Drazan murmured thoughtfully. "This is troubling. I know Calirica. She no fool, and would not waste resources like this."
"What do you suggest we do?" Lenési asked.
"Nothing at the moment. The next stop isn't for two more days. We were going to change trains then anyway."
"We just act as if nothing happened?" Noria asked doubtfully.
"There is little we can do I'm afraid," Drazan admitted. "Unless you want to jump off of the train?"
That didn't sound like a good idea to any of us.
Again, the miles crawled by…we were still free, but would it last? Lenési seemed to want to stay in control of our body, so I forced myself to rest. It wasn't long before I felt the increasingly familiar phantom arms around me, holding me close, and coaxing me to sleep.
<><><><>
Calirica's normally refined and beautiful face was now twisted with rage. She'd forced calm over her features during the most recent Lords Council meeting, but now in her own lair, she allowed her fury to show. The Council had voted to relieve her of her duties as Arcane Warder. Citing her failure to capture the three fugitives as cause for her removal, but it was her great reluctance to summon an Outsider that was probably the real reason. They were meeting now to elect her replacement. Her status as a member of the Lords Council was also in doubt. Failure was never an option in this increasingly vicious Council, and Callamad had managed to poison the last traces of cooperation from nearly all of them.
A servant entered and bowed to her. The young vampire trembled as she saw Calirica's anger. She spoke quickly, "Mistress, Lord Amaran requests an audience with you."
"Show him in."
With another bob of her head, the young vampire backed out of the room. Moments later Amaran entered and closed the door behind him. Calirica only looked at him after he'd sat opposite of her. "Well?"
"Ventra is now our Lord Arcane Warder."
Calirica closed her eyes and forced herself not to react. "And my status?"
"Undecided. They've deferred debate on you until after the fugitives are dealt with."
"How nice of them," Calirica remarked acidly.
"There's more."
The former Lord Arcane Warder opened her eyes and stared at her friend. "What else have those fools done?"
"They've turned over control of the your Trackers to Ventra as well."
"WHAT?" Calirica yelled leaping to her feet. "They don't have that authority! Newly elected Warders ALWAYS train their own Trackers! Those vampires swore allegiance to me, not the Council! I personally turned over thirty of them! Do you have any idea how hard it was to find over two hundred Fairy Elves willing to become Trackers? It took me almost a century to gather all of mine!"
"I know, but that's what they voted to do. They all belong to Ventra now."
"That violates our most important laws governing the procedures of the Council! They can't just cast away all semblance of legality and act this way! I'll protest this immediately!"
"No," Amaran warned, "You can't. If you call them out to protest their actions now, you will lose your seat on the Council."
Calirica began pacing around the room. Her manner was not unlike that of a caged tiger. "I don't care what they voted to do, my Trackers are loyal to me. They won't serve Ventra."
"They will. The Council has ordered them too."
Calirica clenched her teeth, and whirled around to face her friend, "And where does your allegiance rest? With them, or with me?"
Amaran stiffened. "You know I can't oppose them."
"I'm not asking you to do so. I'm asking, on your honor, if I can still trust you."
Amaran bowed his head in silence for a moment before slowly replying in a low voice, "I will not break our trust. Nor will I break my oath to the Council."
"And if the Council no longer follows their own laws - the laws we all swore to uphold? What becomes of your oath then? Amaran your oath was to the Council as an institution, it was not to the other Lords."
Amaran slowly stood. "I'm sorry. I know you wish my support, but if were to give it now, I would be cast away by the Council, my influence lost, my power reduced to nothing. I'll not betray you to them, but I can't be your ally as I have been either."
Calirica's eyes narrowed. "Then I will assume you to be a rival, instead of a friend."
"Assume what you wish. I've told you where I stand."
"Rivals," she coldly began "are not welcome in my home." She raised her hand palm outward, and quickly closed it into a fist. Light flared around her fist, and Amaran vanished in a swirl of light - teleported well are from Calirica's tower.
The former Lord Arcane Warder quickly called for her head attendant.
Moments later a tall woman strode into the room, "Yes, Mistress?"
Calirica fixed the woman with a penetrating look. A 'young' vampire of one hundred and three years, Thraya has been turned in hopes she would become a fine Tracker. Her lack of the proper level of magical talent had ended that idea rather quickly. Instead she had become Calirica's personal attendant and most trusted messenger. Calirica was rather fond of the woman, and her hard eyes softened slightly when she'd entered.
"Thraya, we have much work to do. Much work indeed…"
Chapter 7
We were finally approaching the last train station we'd have to go through. For me, the two days since Drazan had killed the Tracker had been excruciating. Nerves were frayed, and tempers were barely held in check. Even Lenési had yelled at me once. Over the last two hours, the train had been rolling through a city toward the largest train station on the planet. This station was a hub for the whole area, and we had no choice but to pass through it. There would be Trackers at this station, and vampires, and police, and who know what else. I didn't see how we could possibly avoid them all. When I'd spoken of that, I'd been told to be silent by Drazan. Even Lenési didn't want to hear my fears.
Finally Drazan spoke to us as we neared our destination. "I don't think we can avoid detection here. There will be a huge number of people in this station, and that may be the key to our escape. There will likely be several Trackers on the platforms looking for us. Whatever happens you MUST stay close to me. If I deem it impossible for us to escape here, I will teleport us away."
"Why not do that right now?" Noria asked quietly.
"Because teleporting is magically very noisy. A skilled Tracker could detect my teleport spell from many hundreds of miles away. They would see where we went. I've been presuming that there have been Trackers within several hundred miles of us for our entire journey. That's why I never teleported us."
"So how are we going to sneak past everyone this time." I asked.
"We're not going to sneak at all. We're simply going to walk to our next train…which leaves twenty-two minutes after this one arrives in about ninety minutes."
"You have a plan, right?" I asked again.
"I always have a plan. This is what I intend to do…"
<><><><>
"Do you understand?" Drazan asked a few minutes later.
"This is crazy!" Noria protested. "They're not that stupid! This will never work!"
"It's not stupidity. They are simply trapped in a certain way of thinking. It's not something they will expect, and it will take them time to adapt. By then, with a good amount of luck, we will be on our next train heading out of the station."
Lenési, do you think this will work? I certainly didn't think it would.
"Stranger things have happened… We'll just have to wait and see. I've always wondered how I would have looked as a man…"
That's not very funny!
<><><><>
Drazan, Noria and I slowly walked toward our car's exit. We were queued in a long line of people shuffling down a too narrow hallway. Lenési was in control of our body, but I was painfully aware of what was happening around us. Both Noria and Drazan had suggesting that I sleep through this, but I'd refused. Nearing the exit we passed a highly polish chrome panel and I was again force to look at my reflection.
Instead of a rather common looking (or so I thought) young woman, I saw a rather homely looking person whose gender was a bit unclear. My shoulder length hair was now no more then and inch in length, and instead of my normal dark chocolate brown it had been bleached to nearly white. Noria had carefully sliced our thin bed sheets and tightly wrapped a long strip around my torso, painful crushing my breasts again my body. Noria underwent the same torture…er…disguising. At least I was able to keep a little hair - Noria shaved her head completely. Drazan as well shaved his head and mustache; he then dressed in Noria's clothes. Noria and I had rummaged between what we'd brought with us to find clothing that made us look as far off our normal appearance as possible. We were truly a peculiar looking trio, but I still couldn't help thinking that we were far more conspicuous this way.
We were holding hands, Drazan in the front, then Noria, and finally me.
When we were next in line to exit, Drazan turned to us and whispered, "Showtime."
We stepped out onto the platform amidst an enormous mass of people. Incredible noise filled the air, shouting, conversations, laughter, children crying, the squeal of metal, and the hiss of steam, all adding to an endless host of other sounds. The ceiling seemed impossibly high above our heads. Great steel arches spanned the cavernous station. Outside light filtered in through windows set in the high ceiling, only to be dimmed by the haze of steam and smoke rising from the engines. The platform was packed with people, waiting to depart, and trying to exit the station. The oddest part of all, beyond anything else in the station, was the people. Half of them glowed…blue?
Lenési, why is everyone glowing?
Her thoughts were filled with tension as well as nervous laughter. "Since I'm controlling our body, you can see this too… Drazan has weaved a disguise spell! But it's not focused on us…instead he's created a large area effect. Half the people here will be detected as magically disguised in some way! Oh my Goddess, this is better then I expected! Any vampire will see the blue glow, as well as almost any Fairy Elf!"
We weaved our way through the throng of blue people. I kept furtively peering around me, trying to spot anyone following us. It was impossible to tell though, there were just too many people moving in every direction. Before long our next train was in sight, and nobody had given us a second look.
Suddenly we came upon a group of people trying to erect barricades blocking access to the trains. They were dressed in blue and black uniforms, with red stripe on their left forearm. Drazan boldly approached one and demanded and a high nasally voice, "What are you doing? My wife and son and I have tickets for this train!"
A pair of very tall elves looked at Drazan, then down at us. Their expressions shifted into ones of disgust. They turned to each other.
"What are we supposed to do?" growled one.
"How should I know? I'm no bloody Tracker! Sure, the ones they want are here, but half these shdaco people are disguised! They didn't tell us this could happen!" complained the second.
Drazan persisted in a shrill whiny voice, "I don't care what your problem is, but we paid full price for our tickets months ago! If you don't let us through, we'll lodge a protest with your management! I'll go to your supervisor. I'll sue the company. I'll-"
"They're not glowing, and they're obviously not the ones they are looking for, so let them through!" snarled the first one. "Lets corral the disguised ones, and someone else can sort them out!"
"Shouldn't we wait for instructions?" the second elf nervously asked.
A third person approached, dressed like the first two, "What's the hold up? Why aren't these barricades in place?" she demanded of the pair of men.
"We're getting it done! But do we hold everyone back, or just those disguised ones?"
"Bloody fucking hell!" the woman swore. "What idiot is in charge of this circus? Weren't you given any instructions?"
"Not for this!" one of the men replied gesturing to the host of blue hued people.
"You know the ones we want - the man and the two women? You have descriptions don't you?"
Both men nodded, "We all were given detailed descriptions but-"
"So, if they aren't disguised and they don't match the description, let them go about their business!"
"But we were told that the Trackers wanted us to-"
The woman stepped up to the man. Her face only an inch from his, she roared, "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU WERE TOLD! YOU WILL OBEY ME OR I WILL DENOUCE YOU TO THE ARCANE WARDER HERSELF. IS THAT CLEAR?"
Though she was several inches shorten then the man, he wilted before her. His partner gestured to us and several other people, "Come on, you may pass. You as well…and you…"
His voice faded into the din as we passed and stepped up onto our train. In a few moments we'd found our berth. Sitting in silence, nobody dared make a sound until the train slowly pulled out of the station.
Noria was the first to speak, "I can't believe we made it through that! You were right about them falling for a simple bit of misdirection, and again trusting their magic too much. Where were all the Trackers though? I though you said there would be several of them? Why didn't the find us?"
Drazan shook his head in wonder. "They did. I sensed at least seven Trackers, and I could feel their detection wards all around us. They had to know where we were, even before we stepped off of the train."
"So why didn't they capture us?"
"That…is very good question." Drazan answered slowly.
Lenési murmured, "The two men and the woman at the barricade, they were all vampires. Surely knew we were as well."
"Oh…that's certain," His face was creased with worry.
"They let us go." Noria whispered. "Why? Could they simply be following us? Perhaps they want to see where we're going?"
"No. That is not a rational thing for them to do. If we were captured, they would interrogate us and learn every detail of our plans."
"Maybe they thought for some reason that we could resist their interrogation?" Lenési wondered.
Drazan smiled grimly, "Believe me when I tell you that we would not be able to resist their spells. They would force themselves into our minds and rip every secret, every thought, every memory from us."
"Is that really allowed by the Lords Council?" Noria asked shaking her head.
"No," Drazan firmly replied, "Actually it's not. They would do it anyway. I know Callamad all too well. He would gladly order our interrogation. Calirica, Ventra, or possibly Callamad himself would weave the spells. In the end they would know ever last detail of our lives."
"So now what?" Lenési asked. "Do we continue as planned?"
Drazan turned to stare out of the window. The cityscape inched by outside the window, and the minutes of silence continued. Lenési and Noria shared a long look, but neither said a word. Finally Drazan turned back. "No. We can't do that. The actions of the Trackers are very troubling, and quite at odds with their normal methods. I don't know what their plan is, but I'd rather not give them any more time to carry it out. I think we should teleport as close to our destination as possible. Then we'll travel to the Ancient's home on foot as we had planned."
"They'll be able to follow though. They'll know exactly where we went." Lenési protested.
"They know our location already, and they won't be able to teleport to our exact location."
"Why not?" Lenési demanded.
"Unless they've actually been to the place I'll be taking us, they can't teleport to it. You must have previously visited a place to be able to teleport to it."
"That's not exactly true," Noria reminded him. "Some Fairy Elves are able to teleport places they've never been."
"True…but they are very few of those around."
"Can anyone associated with the Lords Council do it?" Noria persisted.
"One at least that I know of. The Arcane Warder, Lord Calirica has that ability, but I am very doubtful she'd follow us like that. She has her Trackers and other minions - she wouldn't risk her own safety."
"You knew this all along? Why didn't we just teleport from the start?"
"Although they won't be able to teleport to our exact location, they can get close. There's a transport portal in a town twelve miles from where I'm taking us. Within minutes of our arriving there will be dozens of Trackers, and many other people following us. It will only take them a few minutes to reach our arrival point using line-of-sight teleporting. However, after we arrive from my initial teleport, I'll use line-of-sight teleporting as well to penetrate the Ancient's anti-teleportation ward. The ward extends outward from a location centered on her home, and the farther away from the origin, the weaker it becomes. I should be able to penetrate her ward by ten or maybe even fifteen miles."
"The Ancient will sense that, won't she?" Lenési asked.
"Of course, but it's not our intention to sneak into her lair. We want her to help us, remember?"
"Won't the Tracker's be able to line-of-sight teleport and penetrate her ward too?"
"Maybe a bit, but not nearly as far as I can. Though I've weakened in my old age, I still have considerable power. Most of the Lords on the Council could equal my abilities in this, but they wont even consider exposing themselves like that. Always keep in mind that the Lords, for all their power and arrogance are terrified of the Ancients. They won't want to get anywhere near one."
"So this gives us…what? A ten to fifteen mile head start? That's a big advantage then!" noted Noria.
"Yes, but they'll also have the help of people that live in the area. Woodsmen, hunters, climbers, explorers, they all know the area. I don't. Once on the ground, I know where we need to go, but not the fastest way to get there. I didn't want to turn this into a chase through the wild country where they will have a definite advantage in speed. That was why I didn't teleport us from the start. Perhaps in hindsight that would have been the safest option, but I didn't and here we are."
"Do we have a choice?"
"No, not now. Gather your gear now. I want to be walking as soon as we hit the ground after my final teleport."
<><><><>
Calirica sat unmoving as the other Lords of the Council arrived. It was her first meeting since Ventra had assumed the role of Arcane Warder - and was put in charge of capturing the three fugitives.
When all were seated then Chairman began without preamble, "Ventra, what news do you bring us?"
Calirica eyes flicked to the woman who had replaced her. Same arrogant smile, Calirica noted. I wonder how long it will last?
"There has been good progress in locating them. We traced them to the Plaza Station in Ellide. They were nearly captured on a train platform, but-"
"Nearly captured? Do you mean they've evaded capture again?" demanded Callamad.
"I am not to blame for this! I was forced to use Calirica's Tracker's in this operation. They preformed far below what I expected of them. I am staggered by their gross incompetence. They lack discipline, training in proper communications, and even the magical skills necessary to correctly perform detection triangulation! There were twelve Trackers present at Plaza Station and yet they couldn't correctly locate three people in a small area. It should have taken no more then two Trackers to do that, yet twelve of Calirica's supposedly highly trained Trackers were not able to perform a relatively simple task!"
"Calirica, explain yourself! Why haven't your Trackers received proper training?" the Chairman asked angrily.
"I believe this operation was scripted by my esteemed colleague, Lord Ventra. If they did not perform as she expected, I would look at her role in it. However, if you'd like my report of what happened in Plaza Station, I will give it."
"Proceed." Callamad growled.
"When the trio of fugitives were detected entering the station, I went there - merely as an observer mind you. What I witnessed was chaos. Let me preface this by stating that although she used my Trackers, she had replaced the three Prefect Trackers with three of her own. She also used her own agents. What I saw at Plaza Station were the Trackers not being properly deployed - that was the job of the Prefect Tracker in charge. When it appeared that roughly half the people were disguised - a ploy that should have been expected, the Prefect Tracker on the scene didn't seem to react fast enough to counter this event. Everyone should have been detained, and yet some people that were not magically disguised were allowed to board trains and leave. This was the first critical mistake. The second was in not seeing the magical disguise for what it was - a ruse. The enchantment was spread far too thin to have the power to alter anyones' appearance. It was merely a false trapping to confuse, and I must say it did indeed confuse Ventra's people long enough for the fugitives to escape."
Ventra nearly came out of her seat when she retorted, "A handful, less then fifty, people were allowed through the barricades. My people reacted well, and quickly. IF the Trackers had located the fugitives soon enough, this wouldn't have happened."
"Yes," Calirica replied in a light voice, "but isn't that you're responsibility now?"
Ventra's eyes flared in barely controlled anger.
My, my, that was far too easy, Calirica thought. Time to provoke her a little more…
Calirica began to speak, but Ventra wasn't listening. She had bowed her head, and her focus was elsewhere. After a moment Ventra looked up triumphantly. "I've just received word from my Trackers that Drazan has teleported! Now we have them! My people are teleporting and moving in as we speak!"
Calirica suppressed the urge to react in frustration. Drazan, you idiot, I had everything planned! All I needed was a little more time!
Continued...
Anyone reading this? Bard's crave feedback... ErinG@xenafiction.net