Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 10:19:32 -0500 (EST)
From: Rune Therain <mist_dark@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Harbingers: part 9

And here is part 9.  I think with the addition of this one I should mention
that withdrawal is a horrible thing, I haven't even seen my ICQ in over two
months.  It's awful.  Once I have the internet I'll put a bit more thought
into these notes, I do them before I send them off, and since I have to use
a disk and all that stuff I lose some of the creativity.

Thanks to everyone who's reading this and a special thanks to those that
take the time to e-mail me with comments, you guys are a great help.  I
appreciate it a lot.  Please let me know what you think of the story.
Mist_dark@yahoo.ca or Mist_dark@hotmail.com

This story is in now way supposed to reflect the sexuality of the members
of the group Nsync.  If they're gay it's not my business, but since we're
dealing with fictional characters it's allowed within the grounds of my
story.  If you're too young, or it's illegal in your area to read this,
please leave.  If homosexual themes offend you, leave as well.  Parts of
this story are based off the RPG Rifts, all trademarks belong to Kevin
Siembieda and Palladium books.

Until next time,
Rune


PART NINE



	Joey stared deeply into the bowl of water that sat before him.  He
sat cross-legged in his room in the castle.  To cut down on the
distractions he'd shut the windows to block out the light.  The surface of
the water reflected the candles, but nothing else.  At least nothing that
anyone else would have been able to see.

	To a psychic eye the water was alive with a number of visions.
They flicked across the water like someone was channel surfing.  Which, in
a sense, is what Joey was doing.  He was finding images and discarding them
as quickly as they formed.  Looking for one in particular.

	"Where are you?"  He whispered.  "I know you're out there."

	The images flashing across the water stopped on one.  Clouds raced
across a gray sky, but did so without the aid of any wind.  The clouds
moved over the reddish sand of a desert.  On a sandy hill stood a lone
figure.  Concentrating on the figure Joey moved the image closer.  The
figure had its back to him and he couldn't force the image to turn around
so that he could see the face.

	"Its taken you a while Joseph," Evelyn said.  "I expected you a
while ago."

	"I've been trying," Joey said.  "But I'm still not very good at
this scrying stuff."

	"This connection is too difficult to maintain this way.  Let's
converse more directly."  She reached out her hand toward Joey.  He took it
mentally and with a jerk he was yanked into the image, leaving his body
behind.


	He wasn't standing on the desert hill like he'd seen Evelyn doing.
Instead he was standing inside the cottage that she'd lived in before he
and Chris had arrived.  It was exactly like they'd left it, as if it hadn't
been empty for the last five years.  Evelyn was moving around the kitchen
preparing tea.

	"Are we back in Canada?"  Joey asked.

	"Not really," Evelyn said.  "We're inside my mind actually.  I like
this cottage and thought since I can't physically go there, at least I can
live there in my mind."

	"So none of this is real?"

	"Yes and no," Evelyn said as she set the tea down on the table.
"It's real to me because I want it to be that way, and it's real to you
because you're visiting my mind and I've more control here.  But it's an
illusion of memories.  Nothing more."  She sighed and took a sip of her
tea.  "But it's comforting in it's own way."

	"What happened to you?"  Joey asked.  He took the cup she offered
and set it in front of him.  "After the battle I mean.  The last thing I
heard from you was when you told me to go help Josh.  Chris and Lance said
something about you fighting an Acolyte, but other then that I don't know
what happened."

	Evelyn laughed warmly.  "You always were curious Joseph, though
Christopher was more curious then you were."  She took another sip of tea
and set the cup down.  "I did fight the Blue Acolyte.  And I guess I won,
sort of.  At some point she severed the cord that binds my mind completely
to my body.  So when I collapsed after the battle my mind let go of my
body.  I don't know where to find it."

	"So your body is out there somewhere and you're taking a mental
vacation?"  Joey asked.

	"In a manner of speaking, yes."  Evelyn sighed and looked around
the cottage.  The walls shimmered and vanished.  They were replaced by the
walls of Selvar's castle.  The table and teacups vanished with the walls.
"I travel through my life.  Calling up long dead memories.  In some cases
they're painful, and others are far more joyful, but they're all I have
left."

	"If you found your body," Joey asked.  "Could you fix the
connection?"

	"Possibly.  I've never had a situation to test the theory," Evelyn
admitted.  "It's never been an issue before."

	"So I can scry your body for you, go get it and then you can back
to the world of the bodyful.  It shouldn't be that hard."  A confused look
crossed Joey's face.  "But will I have to find you again?"

	"I can tag along," Evelyn said.  "If you don't mind the company of
course."

	"How?"

	She tapped his temple.  "Up here of course."













	"How can you possibly serve her?"  Justin asked Richard after
they'd left Yesena on the floor above.

	"For the same reason you stay with your friend," Richard replied
calmly.  "It's more then companionship.  You love him and I love her."

	"You love her?"  Justin said.  The wonderment was apparent on his
voice.  "How can you love her?"

	"I don't know.  I just do."  Richard had led them down past the
main floor and into the cellars beneath the mansion.  "I don't enjoy what
she does, but I do love her.  She bound me as her servant and I'll do
anything she asks of me.  But she didn't need to bond me for me to do
that."

	"You would serve her even without the bond?"  Pyre asked.

	"With my life."  Richard laughed nervously.  He obviously didn't
like the fact he was escorting Pyre and Justin by himself.  "Love will make
you do strange things."

	Richard stopped in front of a large steel door.  He pulled a key
from one a pocket in his pants, which was interesting, because the pants
were skintight.  He unlocked the door and turned to Pyre.

	"Your friend is inside with another person Yesena captured.  You
can take both of them out of here.  Your friend has been hurt.  Don't seek
to revenge him tonight or at least one of us is going to die.  More likely
only one of us would live to see another day."  Turning sharply on his heel
Richard walked quickly back the way they had come and disappeared around a
corner.

	"That was strange," Justin said.  "I wonder why he left so
quickly."

	"Probably to make sure we didn't kill him when we saw what the
master did to Josh," Pyre told him.  "Let's get this over with.  I don't
want to spend any more time here then we have to."

	"Gottcha," Justin said.  He pushed the door open and sucked in a
sharp breath at the smell that came out of the room.  The smell of blood
was mingled with the smell of burned flesh.  "JOSH!"

	JC was held to the wall spread-eagle by manacles around his wrists
and ankles.  The injuries on his naked body were clearly visible.  Burns
covered most of his chest and a large portion of his arms and legs.  What
skin that wasn't burned was covered in lacerations.  In some places the
lacerations overlapped with the burns.  Blood covered his neck and lower
jaw from a wound around his mouth.  It looked like parts of his lips had
been ripped off.

	Next to JC hung a red haired woman in the same position.  She'd
faired worse then JC had.  Burns covered her naked body, and most of them
were second to third degree.  The lacerations were deeper then the ones
that JC had.  Her flesh was discoloured by the multiple bruises that
covered her body.  A nasty cut was surrounded by a huge, purple bruise
covered her left eye.

	Justin ran across the room to help his friend.  He ripped the
manacles from the wall and threw them behind him.  Being careful to touch
as few of JC's wounds as possible, Justin took him in his arms and turned
to look Pyre.  Rage was etched on his face.  "She's going to pay for this,"
he whispered harshly.

	"Yes she will," Pyre said.  His voice was calm, but Justin could
see the anger that danced in his lover's eyes.  "But not tonight.  We've
got to get them out of here."  Pyre removed the woman's bonds and took her
carefully into his arms.  "Let's leave and get these two some medical
attention."











	The waking world slowly returned to Chris.  Groggily he looked
around the room.  He was laying next to Mala.  "So she's a blonde," Chris
murmured quietly.  He stared at her a moment before he realized she was
naked.  With a start he noticed he was also naked.  Suddenly the events
before he fell asleep came rushing back to him.

	The Gemini had been talking to them one minute and then the next he
couldn't think about anything but Mala and how attractive she was.  He
remembered kissing her and then having sex.  It wasn't an act of love; it
was an act of pure animalistic need.  He'd never feel that sort of force
before.  He remembered clearly the first four orgasms that he'd had.  After
that it sort of blurred.

	Mala stirred next to him and opened his eyes.  She looked at him
with confusion for a moment.  She sat upright as realization swept into her
eyes.  "Did we?"

	Chris nodded.  "Yeah.  Several times."

	She sighed and began gathering her clothing.  "I was hoping that
the first time we slept together would be more...romantic.  This isn't what
I'd had in mind."

	Chris arched an eyebrow.  "Pardon?"

	"You're cute Chris.  And funny in your own way."  The blonde pulled
on her jumpsuit.  "And I've always fond men in distress very attractive.
But there's more to you."  She shrugged and tied her mask on.  "And I
wasn't sure we'd make love, but a girl has to have dreams."

	Chris blushed as he pulled on his own clothing.  When he'd finished
he noticed a black outline on the floor.  It was an imprint of Mala's body.
He started laughing.  He kept laughing until tears rolled down his face.

	"Care to share?"  Mala asked with a smile on her lips.

	He pointed to the outline.  "Gives a whole new meaning to the term
`in the heat of the moment'."  He wiped a tear from his face and sighed.
"So what do we do now?  We've lost the Gemini, and he probably didn't hang
around."

	Mala shrugged.  "I guess I get you home.  Wherever that is for
you."

	"England," Chris told her.  At least that's as close a place I can
call home.  Though I guess Canada sort of counts, but England is definitely
closer."

	"Just a little," Mala agreed.  "Ship would probably be the fastest
way to get around Africa.  And a pair of good horses should get us to the
coast.  Ever ridden a horse?"

	"Not in a long time," Chris admitted.  "I can do it, but it'll be
an experience."

	The building shook violently sending the pair of them to the floor.
Mala cautiously got to her feet when the shaking had stopped.  Chris
remained sprawled on the floor in surprise.  The floor shook again and
Mala's feet were swept out from underneath her by a chair.  Parts of the
ceiling were starting to be shaken loose by the vibrations.  A beam fell
and pinned the doors shut.

	"OUT!" Mala shouted.  She crawled to the window and used the wall
to support herself as she stood.  She kicked the window open.  After
securing one end of her rope to a sturdy beam she tossed the other end out
the open window.  "Chris.  Climb down before this thing comes down around
us completely."

	Chris nodded and worked his way to the window.  Mala helped him out
the window and he repelled down the two stories until he touched the
ground.  The ground itself was shaking so violently that the nearby trees
were being uprooted.  Chris let go of the rope and stepped away from the
building to avoid being hit by any of the falling pieces of mortar.

	Mala slipped out the window and was halfway down the second story
when the rope snapped.  She fell a couple of feet before catching herself
on a window ledge.  The thief hung there for a few seconds.  She down and
then to her left and right.  Pulling her legs upward, Mala placed her feet
firmly against the wall.  Simultaneously she let go of the ledge and pushed
away from the wall with her legs.  She arched backward and twisted her body
so that she was facing away from the building.  The instant her feet
touched the ground she performed six perfect forward summersaults and came
to her feet.  Without waiting for a response she grabbed Chris' hand and
ran away from the rapidly collapsing building.  The quake had mostly
subsided so they could move without fear of being hit by any falling trees.

	"You didn't say curse bringers could cause earthquakes," Chris said
as he and Mala caught their breath.

	"They can't," Mala said.  "And they can't make it snow either."

	The earthquake had completely subsided and in the calm it had begun
to snow.  Large fluffy flakes floated downward from evening sky.  The air
was too warm for the snow to last long, but it was still there.

	"What the hell is happening?"  Chris asked.

	"I don't know.  It's almost like nature's out of control," Mala
said.

	Chris began muttering colourful oaths under his breath.  "The
Balance."

	"What?"

	"The Guardians," Chris said.  "One of them is dead and everything's
going nuts."

	"The who?"  Mala asked.

	"It's a long story," Chris said.  "But we can't take a boat to
England."

	"Why not?"  Confusion was clear on her face under her mask.

	"If it's snowing in Africa can you imagine what the open ocean is
going to be like.  We'll probably be shipwrecked.  It's probably not safe
on land either, but I'm more comfortable on land."

	"I'll take your word on this one," Mala sighed.  "Now all we have
to do is find two good horses that aren't diseased ridden.  And preferably
not pay a fortune for them."












	The rush of magic vanished from around Lance.  He blinked a few
times to clear the flashing spots from his eyes.  He was now standing in
the middle of a Grecian temple.  Countless white pillars rose from the
floor to support the ceiling.  The walls were carved with various reliefs
of men and women in various daily activities.  Some were harvesting grain
while others were making pottery or plowing the fields.  Others were
lounged on couches while servants feed them.  The floor itself was made of
the same white marble that made up the pillars and ceiling.  There didn't
seem to be a light source, but the temple was lit almost to a blinding hue.

	"Welcome," came a female voice.  A woman floated toward Lance,
bearing a lit candle.  She was dressed in a simple white gown the covered
her feet, but left her arms bare.  Her auburn hair fell in waves around her
shoulders.  Pale brown eyes complimented her pale skin perfectly.  She
carried a spindle in her right hand.  Everything about her spoke of
gentleness.

	"Who are you?"  Lance asked calmly.  He stopped cradling the scythe
in his arms and leaned on it as if it were a staff.

	"Is my name truly important Seeker?"  The woman asked with a faint
smile on her face.

	"Pardon?"  Lance asked.  "What did you call me?"

	"Why the Seeker of course," the woman told him.  "You've come here
and I am to guide you on your quest."

	"What quest?"

	"Your quest to find the new Guardian."  The woman smiled gently.
"I will show you everything that you are supposed to see and then you will
know what to do."

	"Okay," Lance said.  "Came I please have a name to call you by?"

	"If you insist," the woman smiled.  " Clotho."

	"Aren't you?....."  Lance asked.

	The woman smiled again and nodded.  "I am.  But that has no baring
on your quest.  Come.  We have little time."

	She raised her candle to her lips and blew gently.  The flame
flickered for a moment and then flared toward Lance.  The flames wrapped
themselves around him, but didn't burn.  There wasn't any heat.

	When the flames cleared he was standing on the arctic tundra.
Directly off to his left there was a small rocky hill.  Other then that the
land was featureless as far as the eye could see.  A bitter wind swept
wisps of snow along the land.  Once again Lance was thankful for the
enchantments on his robe that warded against the elements.

	"What's suppose to happen here?"  Lance asked Celestia.

	"Look into the den Lance.  It'll become apparent."

	Lance walked carefully over to the small hill where the den was
located.  He wasn't affected by the cold of the land, but he still had some
difficulty walking over the snow.

	The den belonged to a family of arctic foxes.  Inside were four
pups.  They were wrapped around each other for warmth.  It took Lance a
moment to realize that there were four of them, the white of their fur
coats blended into each other's so perfectly.  None of the pups acknowledge
Lance's presence.  One of them lifted its head and gave a small cry of
hunger.  It looked around and then buried its head back in the bodies of
its siblings.

	With a start Lance realized that the other pups were dead and that
the one in the den wouldn't last much longer without its mother's
attention.  He stood and walked around the den.  On the other side was the
torn carcass of the vixen.  She appeared to have been dead for about a
week.

	"There's more to see Lance," Clotho said.  She gently led Lance
away from the den and back into the flames of her candle.

	This time they were standing in the center of a jungle clearing.
Without saying a word Clotho moved to her right and entered the trees with
Lance close on her heels.  The woman walked as if she knew every nitch of
the jungle.  She never tripped over any of the roots that kept grabbing at
Lance's legs.

	The roar of a waterfall entered Lance's ears and gradually grew
louder as they got closer to a river.  They stepped out of the trees and
onto the bank of a river.  The river continued for a few hundred yards
before disappearing over the edge of a cliff.  Clotho tapped Lance's
shoulder and pointed to the center of the river upstream.

	Five figures were bobbing in the water.  The larger of them was
near a boat.  As the current swept them closer to him, Lance could see that
they were humanoid cats.  The larger one was male and was pulling the boat
after him as he swam toward one of the smaller ones.  Because of the
markings on their fur it was apparent that the felines were related.  The
father got caught the first of the cubs and picked it up and put it inside
the boat.  Dragging the boat after him he repeated the process with each of
his other offspring.

Another feline appeared on the opposite bank, this one was female and was
the mother of the cubs in the boat.  She paced them down the river calling
encouragements to the father and trying to keep her children calm.  They
were less then two hundred yards from the falls when the father had caught
the last of the cubs.  He swam to a group of rocks that was sticking out of
the water.  Bracing the boat against his back he placed his feet on the
rocks and leaned backward.  He pulled a rope from inside the boat and threw
it to his mate on shore.  She easily caught it and began to pull the boat
toward her.

	The father pushed the boat and lost his balance.  He fell into the
water and grabbed onto the rocks to keep the current from sweeping him
away.  One of the cubs cried out and tried to reach for him.  The father
shook his head and gave the boat a final heave before the current ripped
the rocks from his grasp.  Before the mother could pull the boat to shore
her mate had been swept over the falls.


TBC


What do you think?  Anything you want to see?  Or not see?  Questions?
Comments?  You can reach me at Mist_dark@yahoo.ca or Mist_dark@hotmail.com

Rune