Gate Ways

Gate Ways

Icy Retreat – series part 3-

Justin silently cursed and looked down at the unconscious female he was supporting. This wasn’t going to turn out good if they were caught standing here in the snow. Silently exhaling he bent down and caught her under the knees with his free arm and lifted her, against him. He would just have to take her somewhere to hide her, before returning to see if his family got out safely. He was about to dart away from the hole in the wall, when he was forced to stop, by the people running towards his location.

“They're not here!” One of them loudly growled as they all came to a stop near the cherry blossom tree just on the other side of the wall.

“Well, that answered one question.” Justin breathed to himself and was about to move again but had to dart behind one of the snow-covered bushes that grew along this side of the wall. The intruders were beginning to climb over the wall, eager to stop his family from getting too far, but someone stopped them, by jerking them back with unseen energy.

“What do you mean they're not here?” A gruff deep voice growled, he recognized that voice, it belonged to the warrior chief of the Ugora clan.

He was a large brute of a Viking nightwalker if ever he saw one. The man was constantly trying to find new ways to climb the ladder of society. He hated the fact that the Dwarf’s ruled the empire at the moment. This couldn’t possibly get worse. He glanced at the limp form in his arms and hated her right now. If she hadn’t gone through the barrier that wiped away her magical disguise, none of this would be happening. They wouldn’t even have known that a Star seed had returned to their realm, but of course, the stubborn little chit just had to follow him and stick her nose in where it didn’t belong. Now the whole realm would be in chaos, trying to get a hold of her. To top it off he had the unfortunate luck of having to protect her, despite just wanting to drop her where they were and let the cards unfold as they might. However, he couldn’t think of a worse future than if the Nightwalkers were to take control of the magical empire. All other races would become cattle for them only to be drained of all their lifeblood, not to mention that the nightwalkers would then reopen the gateways and enter into the other realms of existence just to dominate them as well. There would be nothing left to save. The barrier would be brought down, and the magic of this realm would leak back into the realm of the non-magic. The realm of ignorant humans, who didn’t believe in magic. Which ironically would ensure their demise, by these people, since they wouldn’t know how to fight them. The reality of vampires would no longer be fiction in their world.

“Well, you have caused quite the dilemma. You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?” he whispered to the unconscious girl.

“They couldn’t have gotten far. Over the wall and pursue them.” The chief angrily ordered his men, and with that, they were all streaming over the wall in a hurry. Justin pressed his back tighter against the wall and slid further behind the bush, to mask the scent of their presence, by the natural scent of the exotic bush. It didn’t hurt the nightwalkers, not like, vervain did, but it did muffle their senses to the point of being that of a normal human.

He waited several minutes after they stopped coming over the wall, and realized that their leader had stayed within, most likely with his strongest warriors. “Of course,” he lipped; he should have known that they would be taking up residency in his home.

They always wanted to live there, especially since it was known to be the point of one of the gateways. What they didn’t know was that once Jane and Lewis had come through that gateway it had vanished and wouldn’t reappear until a new era of leadership was established. Which meant that somebody was going to have to gain possession of the girl he currently had in his arms. After a moment of analyzing the situation, listening to the silence that fell over the winter scene. He silently moved out from behind the bush and shot off toward the city. He knew the alleyways better than most street urchins and had a better chance of remaining undetected by traveling through them.

Normally he would have gone to the wolf tavern, to his best friend, but even they couldn’t be completely trusted with the knowledge of the star seed. He would have to go to the most unlikely place, within the least aggressive race clusters to hide her, until she woke up. Then maybe they could dye her hair and make her look different, so it would be harder to tell who she was. The only place he could think of was the herbology shop, that was down in fairy town. His thoughts temporarily went to the fact that most people thought fairies were tiny little magical creatures, but in all reality, they were the same size as any human being. They simply enjoyed shrinking themselves down to cause some harmless mischief and occasionally it can provide them with safety, from less desirable entities.

Darting into an ally that bordered Fairy Town, he cautiously moved through it, making sure to avoid stepping on any loose objects, that may have been laying around. When he came to the other end of it, he stuck his head out to look around the corners, before darting across the cobblestone road, toward what looked like a park. Anyone who lived in this realm under his father’s leadership knew that looks could be deceiving and if you go to the right location, one would; find themselves standing under an arching gateway that led into the location of fairies. Looking around one last time to make sure that he hadn’t been seen, he quickly stepped through the invisible arch, coming out on the other side. Despite it still being extremely early in the morning, the Fairy community was bustling with activity. Some darted around in the air, playing tag or chasing down a romantic interest in a flirty game of cat and mouse. Their customs of courting were childlike and rather strange, but he couldn’t help wishing for that kind of freedom when he witnessed it. However, right now he was focused on one thing only, and the delightful intrigues, he usually liked, carried no barring's on what he was doing.

Even though he felt like this was the safest location to be, he still exercised extreme caution, while traveling towards the herb shop. Ducking around a thistle tree he leaned against the backside of it and lowered Jane’s feet to the ground, so he could knock on the rough bark.

“How, can we be of assistance to you?” A young woman said pouring out of the tiny birdhouse that was level with his face. “Oh, Justin.” The girl squealed and threw her arms around his neck before realizing that he had an unconscious girl leaning heavily against him. “I thought you had grown bored with our rendezvous.” She teased.

“Um…. Boring is something you are not, but that isn’t why I’m here.” He softly said smiling at her, as he shifted, Jane slightly to get her attention on the girl. “We need your help.” He whispered glancing around to make sure that nobody was nearby.

“I thought there was a shift in the barrier. Why did you bring a Star Seed here?” She asked a little nervous, “You know that everyone is going to be after her and they won't be afraid to resort to violence.” She quietly hissed. “We can’t help you.” She quickly said and tried to go back inside, but he gently caught her elbow.

“Please, Lorale, only until she wakes up.” He pleaded, giving her a look, that he had learned long ago, would sway her to his cause. “Please.”

“Fine, but hurry up and come inside, before someone sees us.” She whispered leaning in close enough for only him to hear. He nodded and hooked his arms under her legs once again, as Lorale waved her hand and shrank them to the size they needed to be, to fit into the tiny birdhouse. “Lay her on the couch, while you explain this to me.” She added once they were inside.

He quickly moved to place her on the couch, then followed Lorale into the kitchen. The place seemed huge compared to what it appeared; it would be on the outside. This was the first time he had been in her house, and he whistled at how extravagant it was. Carved stairways lead up and down through the tree trunk which made the place a lot bigger than you would think. When he entered the kitchen, she was spinning around and placing a mug of berry juice on the counter island, with a small platter of cinnamon buns, and pushed them toward him.

“Eat, drink and elaborate.” She casually told him.

He hesitantly looked at the two items, remembering the warning about accepting fairy treats, but he mentally convinced himself that she would never play such dirty tricks on him and picked up one of the buns to take a bite. He kept his gaze on her to see if there was a shift in her features, just encase he was wrong, but there wasn’t even the slightest shift so, he enjoyed the treat while explaining to her why he had brought the girl here.

“Honestly, Justin I can’t determine if you are completely stupid, or just gullible.” She purred leaning forward to rest her chin in her hands, a smirk on her face. “We fairies, have desires to rule the empire as well, Cute, little innocent Justin, we have been watching your family close, for this time to come.” She started to explain, as she walked her fingers across the Island toward his hand.

“Shit,” He breathed, feeling dizzy all of a sudden as his thoughts grew foggy. “What have you done?” He asked stumbling backward, causing the platter and half-drunk mug of juice to crash to the floor, as hit the wall with his back.

“What fairies do.” She purred and walked around the island. “Do you honestly think that a fairy would hold regular dalliances with a mere human? Oh, so naive, you are.”

“Don’t do this Lorale.” His voice sounded distant to his ears as he struggled to breathe. His head was growing lighter by the second and he couldn’t get his body to move as she pressed against him and toyed with his curls on the back of his head. “Mumsy, planned it all out, from the very beginning. The ancient Oak told us that the star seed would enter through your family's gate, and since we are not a violent people, we had to exercise cunning and strategy. You, being the playboy that you are, made it so easy.”

“You won’t get away with it.” he swallowed, his eyes growing heavy and his body losing all strength to stand, so he began to slide down the wall as darkness toyed with his vision. “So, this is how you are going to kill me?” He whispered before finishing the slide down the wall into a sitting position.

“Kill you, heavens no, we’re not murderers. You will wake back up in a day or two, with a splitting headache, but you will still be very much alive, and we will be on our way to the seat of power with the star seed. By the time you catch up to us, you will be dropping to your knees to pay your respects to the Empress of the magical realm.” She giggled, as he lost all consciousness.

“Good work daughter.” Magnolia, the elected leader of the fairy community, said as she glided out of the shadows. “He was such a lovely lad, but none of that matters now. Help me get the star seed out into the carriage, the people are ready to move.”

“Can we keep him as a pet, he was rather good at what he did.” Lorale pouted.

“Don’t be silly girl, we won't have time for you to play with a pet, once we make it to the seat of power, you can keep him for your entertainment, if you still wish to do so. He won’t be able to refuse you then.” Her mother fluttered around stuffing herbs and berries into satchels. They might need those items on the road, should they come across some problems.

“Until then my pet.” Lorale kissed, Justin’s forehead running her finger along his jaw, and then abruptly stood up and hurried into the front room, where the girl was still laying on the couch. “Forgive me, but I can’t have you waking up to soon.” She smoothly stated. Casting a sleeping spell on the girl, that would last at least another 48 hours. “Mother!” She called out looking around. The girl wasn’t all that big, but she didn’t want to have to try and carry her alone. “How exactly are we going to move her?”

“Must I figure out everything?” Her mother grumbled and fluttered to the door, leaving the area, “Well, come on child. Once we leave the house and break the enchantment, the girl will return to her normal size, and we can both lift her into the carriage.”

“But won’t that bring Justin back to his normal size too?” Lorale asked following her mother out of the house.

“Yes, but he will simply be laying in the park, and it won't hurt him at all, or affect the strength of the magic you placed on him.” Her mother explained and pulled out a wand. Giving it a wave, she vanished the treehouse from sight. “See simple as that.”

“What if he gets sick and dies, mother? We don’t kill people, it's not in our nature.” Lorale questioned as they worked together to lift the girl into a carriage that pulled up upon their exit.

“He will be fine, in fact, our scouts already reported that his wolf friends are sniffing him out as we speak, that is why we cannot delay any longer.” Her mother rolled her eyes. Without another word, Lorale quickly finished helping with the lifting of the girl and then climbed into the passenger seat of the cart, while her mother took up the reins.

Justin

“Hey, Justin…...” Some called to him from the distance, while his face was being tapped. The darkness in his head began to fade as he came out of the spell-induced coma. “Justin….” He heard his name again and more tapping of hands on his cheeks. His eyes fluttered open, and his vision was blurry, but he was sure he was looking at Dominic Wolf. “You with us, friend?”

“Yeah, yeah, just stop hitting me.” Justin groaned sluggishly knocking his hand away. “Gads, it’s cold out here.” he groaned resting his hands on his chest.

“Yeah, man you are a human, sleeping in two feet of snow, what did you expect? And what are you doing in the park anyway?” Dominic questioned resting his arm on his hide-covered knee. “The fairies have packed up and disappeared, no telling how long.”

“What….” Justin breathed trying to remember what had happened. “What do you mean?”

“Ah, shit…. Man, you went and played with that fairy girl again didn’t you. I warned you not to accept the food they offered.” Dominic shook his head and stood up clasping his wrist with Justin's to pull him up with him. “I told you so many times, that your playboy lifestyle was going to end up with you, hurt or dead.”

“I, I’m not dead, am I.” Justin tried to sound smug, but with his head throbbing that wasn’t how he sounded. “My, head feels like it’s going to explode.” He added pressing his palm to his forehead to try and ease the pain. He was a bit wobbly on his feet and his body felt stiff, but he managed to keep his balance. “Wait…. What are you doing here anyway?” He asked looking around through squinted eyes trying to get the blurry images, of warriors to focus. “Where are you all going, dressed like fighters?”

Dominic sighed and glanced at his group, he didn’t think it would be wise to tell Justin anything about the star seed, yet at the same time, he hated keeping it from him. His people came before his friends though and that is what kept him silent about what they were doing.

“Listen, Justin, we’re going to get you back to the Inn, where my mother can brew you up some Yukatat root, tea. That should help clear your head up, and then you can tell us what happened. That landed you half-buried in snow, in the park.” Dominic calmly said laying a hand on Justin’s shoulder to guide him towards the Wolf Tavern Inn.

If his head wasn’t so fuzzy, their suspicious behavior would have stood out to Justin, but as it was, he was vaguely aware of it and decided that it wasn’t the most important thing to think about it. There was something he was sure he was forgetting but couldn’t place it. Why were his memories so fuzzy? He felt it was very important so, he should be able to recall it easier.

“Wait…. Wait, wait,” He broke out and twisted away from his friend and headed back toward where he was found. There was something he remembered bringing there and he couldn’t leave without it. But what was it? “No, no there is something…… Gads what is it?” He growled pressing his palms to his temples.

“We didn’t see anything else here, man.” Dominic calmly said sharing a look with his men that had come to a stop. “Maybe you were hit over the head and dropped here. We heard your home was attacked by the Ugora tribe. They might have dropped you here leaving you here for dead on their way to wherever they were going.” He tried to reason with Justin, all though he had a pretty good idea of what the guy sensed he was missing.

“No, they didn’t get to me. I know that much, but there is something, something important…. I brought it here, I can’t leave without it.” Justin stammered dropping to his knees to search through the deep snow. “Where is it!” He shouted shoving the white powder away from where he had dropped to his knees. When he found nothing in that area, he moved to another one just a short distance away, growing more frantic with each move.

“Justin! There is nothing here, man.” Dominic finally walked over to him and took a firm hold on his arm to pull him up out of the snow. “I don’t know what you are looking for, but it's not here!”

“Then where is it!?,” Justin shouted jerking his arm away. “This can’t be happening….” His voice lowered and he plopped down in the snow to run his hands through his hair.

“Listen, my friend, once you have some of my mother’s brew, you’ll be able to think more clearly and will remember, what it is you are looking for and then we can help you. But you can’t stay out here in the cold much longer.” Dominic tried reasoning once again.

“This is my fault…... I thought it would be safe…… I was wrong.” Justin wasn’t even finishing his sentences as he tried to run things through his mind once again.

“We’ll figure it out, come.” His friend told him, helping him stand once again and started leading him back toward the tavern. This time Justin didn’t fight against it, he knew that he needed to clear his thoughts, so, that he could figure out what was going on and how he could fix it.

Jane

Jane woke up to the rattling of a wheeled cage, her head throbbing. Groaning she pushed herself up and looked around to get a better idea as to what was going on. She saw a bunch of people she didn’t know traveling on horseback around her and she was in a golden cage. She rapidly twisted around in every direction to see if she could find Justin, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“He didn’t…...” She breathed and staggered to her knees to take a hold of the bars. She couldn’t believe this, did Justin hate her so much that he sold her to the highest bidder? “Justin!” She screamed hoping that she was wrong.

“Oh, look Mumsy, she’s awake. Such a frightened little mouse.” A girl with long auburn curls and piercing green eyes smirked as she turned on the bench to face her. Frightened, Jane scrambled back frantically looking around for some kind of escape.

“Now, now Lorale, we don’t want the poor girl to fear us. She is far more useful to us if she knows we will harm her.” The older woman chided and clicked her tongue.

“Where is Justin?” Jane asked pretending that she hadn’t heard the soft-spoken comment.

“He didn’t want to be hassled by you anymore and brought you to us. He was amply rewarded of course, and we only put you in the cage for your, own safety. It’s very cold out here and you hardly looked dressed for such weather. So, we put you in a temperature-regulated area, to keep you warm and comfortable.” The girl named Lorale smiled a forced smile. “Justin is a cad, and we only took you on to keep you safe from him.”

“What are you talking about?” Jane asked eyeing the girl suspiciously.

“Please, you can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed him fornicating with all the illegible maidens.” Lorale sighed, shaking her head, as she turned back around in her seat.

“Who he may or may not be fornicating with, is of no concern to me, since I am only his sister.” Jane boldly stated, “What, have you done with him?”

“Done with him?!,” The woman driving acted somewhat surprised by her questions. “We’ve done nothing to him, except help him remove you out of the line for his inheritance. He asked for our help, and we simply did a favor for him. We would never hurt a curl on his head, his family has been a very kind and generous noble house, and he always treated us fairly.”

“My apologies.” Jane politely stated, even though she doubted what the woman said was true. At least, she didn’t believe the part that claimed to have done nothing to Justin. “Fine if I am not a prisoner, then stop and let me out to ride up there with you.” Jane slyly pressed, wanting to be sure that she, was a prisoner and that they weren’t telling her the truth.

“There is no room up here child and you would freeze before we get to our destination. I can’t have that on my conscious, but we will stop soon and Lorale can ride with you to keep you company if you are feeling lonely.” The woman carefully explained, hoping that would be enough to suffice, Jane’s insistence on the matter.

“It would be my pleasure, we can talk about all our romantic adventures, I can probably even enlighten you on a few pleasurable things that occur.” Lorale excitedly said clasping her hands as if she was completely up for girl time with Jane.

“No, thank you. I have no interest in discussing your romantic deviance, any more than I have an interest in remaining cooped up in this cage.” Jane stated in a passive-aggressive manner. “Now, let me out of here right now!” She raised her voice and jerked on the bars.

“You’re quite an aggressive child, I couldn’t possibly let you out now, you might hurt yourself or one of my children. My word you really should calm yourself down and compose yourself in the way a young noble girl should be composed.” The woman clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“Come, Mother, She’s probably just a little cranky. She did wake up on the hard wooden floor of this rickety old cage. Wouldn’t you be cranky if it had happened to you? I mean we did neglect to provide her with the creature comforts that a girl of her standing is most likely accustomed to.” Lorale smiled her fake smile, that just got under Jane’s skin.

“I suppose that is understandable, I must apologize, you see we were in quite a hurry to get to safety, given the very bad being that will be hunting for you. We just wanted to spirit you away before they became aware of your location. We will fix the discomfort for future traveling.” The older woman promised.

“See, all is well, we’ll be stopping around noon, and I will personally make sure that the appropriate comfort, be afforded you, and I will be honored to keep you company, maybe we can even hang curtains around the bars so, it doesn’t seem quite like a gilded cage.” Lorale smugly stated and then focused ahead of them, which told Jane that she would get no more communication out of them.

Justin

Justin’s body didn’t feel any lighter as he sat at the table in the backroom of Wolf Tavern Inn, he was on his fourth mug of the root tea now. All though, his mind was clear and he could recall everything, he couldn’t seem to keep it to himself, as he poured out all his secrets to the wolves against his will.

“Truth tea?” He breathed when it finally dawned on him as to why he was spilling out all his dark secrets. Normally he was very good at keeping secrets buried, but he just couldn’t stop himself now. It was the only possibility. “Why? I trusted you.”

“It was the only way, my friend. The wolves have lived under Dwarven rule for far too long. I had to do it for my people. No harm will come to your family, or the star seed, I promise you that.” Dominic apologized and it was a sincere apology, but that didn’t change the fact that he had betrayed Justin’s trust, in a very unforgivable way.

“You bastard!” Justin growled pushing himself up in a sluggish and somewhat clumsy manner as he reached for his sword. “She isn’t just a Star Seed, she is a living being with emotions, and she can feel pain just like any of us!” He roared and tried to leave, but his feet wouldn’t do what he wanted them to do, and he stumbled back hitting hard into the wall behind him.

“Justin, we won’t hurt her,” Dominic promised once again, as he got up to calm his friend down. Justin pushed him away and tried to use the wall to get out of there, but two of the wolves captured his arms, causing him to lose his footing. “Keep him sedated, until you receive word from us, do not harm him or allow harm to come to him.” Dominic used his authority for the first time in his life. Since he was their Alpha, they could not disobey this order.

“What will you do, son?” His mother softly asked as she waved one of the females over to inject the struggling Justin with a sedative.

“I will go find the star seed and journey to the seat of power, where our clan will become the new ruling power, what else do you think I would do. You have all loudly voiced your desire to gain this power, even though we are not suited to be domesticated, and I have already committed the most unforgivable act of our kind, by betraying our friends who have treated us fairly all these years.” Dominic growled in disgust. Yes, he was the leader of the pack, but he was also bound to the pack as a whole, and it was his duty to do whatever he could to make their lives easier. “Because none of you are happy in the life we have been gifted.” He shamed them for their greed, before storming out of the room, dressed for battle.

Justin’s vision went black once again as something was injected into his arm. He felt his head go light and his blood grow warm as if flowed through his veins. (This will not hold me for long.) He silently vowed as he fell unconscious once again.

It was several hours later when Justin managed to fight his way back to the conscious world and he found himself laying sprawled out on a leather couch in the den. A large fire crackled and danced in the hearth. Someone had been in there not too long ago, to put fresh wood into the flames, judging by the strength of the flames. He softly grunted, pushing himself up into a sitting position, his head still spinning, but at least he could move, with some effort.

Slowly standing up and exhaling he looked around the room, he was alone. They thought he would stay under for quite a bit longer, to leave him unguarded. Thankfully, he had caught on to the use of the truth tea, before he spilled the beans about his adventures in his earlier youth, which helped him build up an immunity to their herbs. He had come to regret some of the things that he had put himself through in his younger days, but there were no regrets now, he could see why his path had led him that way.

“I’m coming….” He breathed and pushed off the couch, sending his body into the wooden wall so, he could use it to help him make his way out of the place. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen.” He whispered trying to slow the spinning of his head as he came to a brief stop. He felt his stomach twisting and vile was threatening to rise, but he held it down and willed himself to keep moving, there would be plenty of time to get sick, once he had escaped the confines, he was currently residing in.

This whole experience was making him more determined than ever to get Jane to the emperor, to reestablish his reign. So, far he was sure that none of the three factions, he had encountered up to this point deserved to wear the crown of power. He silently stopped, pressing his back against the wall near the only door he had seen thus far when he heard the conversation taking place inside the other room.

“Shouldn’t there be a guard on him?” A boy, who had not yet reached puberty asked, while he cut up some green peppers for a stew that was simmering on the stove.

“The sedative we gave him would knock our kind out for a day or two, and he merely human, I don’t believe a guard is necessary at this time. No harm is coming to him, and should a threat arrive, it would have to come through the entire tavern first. So, don’t worry child, the adults know what they are doing.” The kid's mother warmly said as she got some wooden dishes down out of the cabinet.

“They are playing cards,” The boy pointed out in disbelief. “How is that doing as they must do?”

“If they acted out of character then, hidden enemies would be suspicious and would surely find the young lord here. I think it is best for everything to seem normal to the public. Now, stop asking questions about things you have yet to learn and put those peppers into the pot, while I fetch the meat for the stew.” His mother ended the conversation.

Justin pressed himself closer to the wall as the woman fluttered through the door and down the hall in the opposite direction, that he had come from. Taking a deep silent breath, he rolled around the corner of the door and used the wall to help him towards the back door. The boy gasped and dropped the peppers on the floor when he noticed Justin making his escape. Justin simply looked at the kid and pressed his finger to his lips, before quietly staggering out the door. He just verily managed to shut it before the woman returned to the kitchen.

“Goodness, child what happened?” The woman chided upon seeing the mess on the floor.

“Nothing mother, I just accidentally dropped the plate that's all.” The boy quickly lied and bent down to clean up the mess.

“Thanks, kid,” Justin whispered and clumsily made his way into the shadows of the deepening night.