Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:58:13 EDT
From: BertMcK@aol.com
Subject: Crystal Throne/Riders of Tuatha 19

RIDERS OF TUATHA
by Bert McKenzie
Copyright 2010

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to any real
person alive or dead is coincidental and unintentional.

CHAPTER XIX

     "Where is your gun, Clarissa?" the fat man asked the woman.

     "My gun?" she repeated.

     "Yes, you're never without it . Where is it now?"  He seemed to be
taunting her, as he slowly circled her in the tiny living room.  The woman
carefully kept facing him.

     "Perhaps I left it downstairs," she suggested, trying to get an excuse
to follow the others into the basement.

     "But you always keep it in your purse," Tony said.  He stood with his
back to the door, forcing her to look toward the bright sunlight shining in
from the west window.  He knew that Clarissa had sensitive eyes and could
not stare into the brightness without squinting.  Yet this woman didn't
flinch as she stood, looking at him, the late afternoon sun beating in on
her face.  "Why don't you look in your purse?" Tony asked.

     "Well . . . my purse . . ." Clarissa said as she glanced nervously
around.

     "It's there on the table."  On the low, coffee table sat an old hat
box, round and pink.  Clarissa reached for it.

     "It's just as I thought," Tony said, interrupting her movements.  He
reached behind himself and produced a small, black handbag.  He held it
out, dangling it by a long, leather strap."Do you know what this is?"

     The woman had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.  "My gun?"
she said with an uncharacteristic crooked smile.

     "No, it's your purse."  He carefully opened the metal clasp and
reached inside, removing a small, black hand gun.  "This is your gun.  Do
you know what a gun is?"  The woman shook her head but kept smiling.  "It's
a weapon and it's about to end you life.  I don't know what you are, or how
you've taken over the body of my assistant, but it is the last mistake
you'll ever make.

     Just then a shot rang out from below.  Almost instantaneously the body
of the woman expanded and filled out, transforming itself into a tall,
blond man in unusual clothing.  The only thing that remained from before
was the lopsided grin.  Rood glanced down at himself and then looked back
at the fat man. " It appears that your assistant has just died," he said.

     "Well, it appears that you're about to do the same."  The fat man
raised the small weapon, pointing at Rood's face.  Before he could pull the
trigger there was a loud, splintering crash behind him as the front door of
the house caved in.  Tony turned to see what caused the commotion and
beheld what appeared to be a giant, white horse standing in the open
doorway.  The man moved to bring the gun to bare on the animal, and at the
same time Rood drew his sword.  Neither of the two men were able to move as
quickly as the unicorn, however.  Sensing the danger and threat in the fat
man, Firebrand ducked his head down and charged forward.  His golden horn
struck Tony in the chest and acting like a sword, passed through his body.
Firebrand pulled back, gently shaking his head and tossing the lifeless
corpse easily from him.

     Rood reached out to pat the animal's side.  "Many thanks, my friend,"
he said.  "Your arrival was at a most appropriate time."  He then heard the
sounds of someone coming up the stairway in the adjoining hall.  Rood held
his sword in readiness to attack and flattened himself against the nearby
wall.  The person stopped just at the top of the stairs on the other side
of the wall from Rood, apparently deciding if he should enter the quiet
room.  Rood silently counted to three, then jumped out swinging his sword
in attack.

     Akuta jumped out of the stairwell at the same time swinging his own
weapon.  The two blades struck each other with a resounding ring as the two
elves came face to face.  Rood began to laugh at the situation and fell
back a step or two.  "I shall never understand your jests!" Akuta exclaimed
as he slowly returned his blade to its sheath.  "I was prepared to kill you
and you find humor in this."

     "Can you not see the duality?" Rood asked as he tried to control his
laughter.  "I was prepared to kill you as well."

     Akuta looked at his friend in stunned surprise.  "Oh yes, now I see
the humor," he said in his most sarcastic tone.  "You were going to kill
me.  What fun.  I am sorry I interrupted your game."

     "Where are the others?" Rood asked as he sobered up.  "Was anyone
injured?"

     "They are physically well, but I fear they have suffered gravely from
mental anguish," Akuta told him.  "They have found the remains of their
friend.  He was tortured and died in great pain.  The one they called Lars
had removed his intestines while he was still alive."

     "And Robin?" Rood asked.

     "He is not here," Akuta said.  "But there is a good deal of our blood
on the floor.  He was held prisoner for a time and also tortured."

     As they spoke Scott and Alex came up the steps to join them.  "Are you
well, my lord?"  Rood asked, seeing the odd look in Scott's eyes.

     Scott nodded, then seemed to slowly come back to life.  He reached
under his tunic and removed the homing crystal still hanging from its thin
silver chain.  "Here," he said, holding the rose colored stone out to Rood.
"Akuta and I are going after Robin, but I have a feeling we're going to
need help, a lot of it.  Return as quickly as you can with the rest of the
guard."

     "But my lord," Rood protested.  "I cannot leave you here alone."

     "And what am I, mashed greenberries?" Akuta said as he stepped
forward.  This elicited a laugh from Alex.

     "I mean that I cannot relinquish my responsibility for the king's
consort," Rood explained defensively.

     "You aren't," Scott told him.  "We'll be okay, but we'll need help and
you're the only one who can get it.  You've been through the barrier once
already, and the men will follow you.  You'll have to find Elnar and get
him to re-establish the gateway."

     "But once we return to this world, where can we find you?  Shall we
meet you at your dwelling?" Rood asked as he took the dangling talisman
from Scott.

     "No, we're going directly to the place where they've taken Robin.
Jennifer will be able to give you directions.  As soon as you get back to
this world, head for the Blanc Institute."

     "The Blanc Institute," Rood repeated.

     "Yes, it's a research facility located south of town at the old
airbase.  Jennifer can tell you how to get there.  Now go quickly and we'll
see you there."

     Rood reached out his hand to clasp Scott's wrist.  "Be careful, my
lord," he said.

     "I will," Scott replied.

     "Good fortune," he said to Akuta and gave a half wave to Alex and
Firebrand.  Stepping back the fairy clasped the crystal in his right hand
and tapped it firmly with the fingers of his left.  As his friends looked
on, he seemed to grow transparent and rapidly faded from view.  In a moment
he was gone.

     "If this is a dream, it's getting weirder by the minute," Alex
murmured.

     "Come on," Scott said to Akuta. "We've got quite a ride ahead of us."
He turned to his red headed friend.  "Alex, we'll drop you off at my place
so you can get your car and go home.  Thanks for all the help."

     "You're not getting rid of me that easily," Alex replied.  "I want
explanations, Quartermain.  And I stick with you until I get them."

     "Then come on," Scott said as he led Firebrand out of the house.  "I
don't have time to waste."  As they emerged Scott saw a police car pulling
up in front.  He wasn't sure if it was due to neighbors calling about the
disturbance that had just taken place, or if they had traced Troy's murder.
Whatever the case, there wasn't time to stick around.  Akuta jumped up and
pulled Scott and Alex quickly onto the unicorn.  A word from Scott was all
it took and the mythical beast vanished from sight, taking his three riders
with him.  Before the police could even get out of their car, the unicorn
and his passengers were already rounding the corner at the end of the
block.

                               * * *

     "What are you doing?" Jennifer asked as she saw Melcot pulling out the
rope.  "I thought you said that rope was what maintained the gateway."

     "It must be closed," he said stoically.

     "But they'll be trapped in our world," Jennifer cried, and then
another thought occurred to her.  "And how am I going to get home?" she
asked.

     "You are home," Caseldra told her.  "Stay with me, please."

     Tears welled in Jennifer's eyes.  She was overcome by the urge to cry
and began to sob uncontrollably.  Part of it was because of all that she
had been through, the explosion, the rape, and finally seeing her friend's
head in a basket.  But part of her tears were from relief, the feeling of
security, knowing she was safe and loved.  She fell into Caseldra's arms,
continuing to sob.

     Rowana finally came to urge the two girls to their feet.  "We must
return to the castle," she said.  "If Scott is successful that is where he
and his party shall go."  The group of elfin guards had already mounted the
unicorns and were preparing to depart.  Caseldra and Jennifer mounted a
sturdy young stallion and the group headed up the ravine at a flying
gallop.  Jennifer gasped and closed her eyes in fear as she saw the speed
at which the animals were approaching what appeared to be a dead end to the
narrow box canyon.  Surprisingly enough she felt little change in speed,
only the steep angle of her mount.  Taking a moment of courage she opened
her eyes a crack to steal a peek, then quickly closed them.  The silver
hoofed creatures seemed to be literally galloping up the almost vertical
face of the cliff.  In a few minutes the incline of the ride changed again
and the animals slowed to a halt.

     The company all dismounted and switched to a group of ordinary horses.
"What now?"  Jennifer asked as she dropped from the back of the magnificent
creature.

     "The unicorns live in these high plains.  Without their leader they
shall go no farther," Caseldra explained.  "We must ride the horses on to
the castle."

     Once remounted the company moved off again to a furious gallop.  They
came down a winding trail through a narrow mountain pass.  As they rounded
a stone wall, Jennifer got her first glimpse of the Palace of Esbereth.  It
scintillated in the early morning sun like a rich jewel dropped in the
mountain cleft.  There was no need for blindfolds as the blinding
reflections that protected the passage to the main gate did not reach this
area.  This mountain pass was not as guarded as the main entrance to
Esbereth.  They approached through a narrow gate in the castle wall and had
to ride in single file.  Once inside the courtyard the group headed toward
the stables located next to the white tower.

     As they rode up, Rood came out of the tower at a dead run.  Jennifer
couldn't believe her eyes.  They had just left him in her carriage house.
She turned to Caseldra.  "Time in your world is not the same as time in
ours," Caseldra reminded her.  "Although we just left him, he may have much
to tell."

     Rood came directly to Jennifer.  "Know you of a place in your land
called the Blanket Institution?  It is south of your village."

     She thought for a minute trying to come up with a textile company, but
was unsuccessful.  "The only thing south of town is the old airbase," she
told him.

     "Yes, Scott used that word.  He said that is where our king is to be
found.  We are to ride there with our army."

     "The Blanc Institute!" she suddenly exclaimed.  "Yes, of course.  It's
some kind of private hospital or something."

     "We must go there," Rood said.  "Where is Elnar?"

     "He has long since returned to the castle, my lord," one of the
younger guards answered.

     Rood turned to head back into the tower.  "Let me accompany you,"
Caseldra called as she ran after him.

     "What about me?" Jennifer asked no one in particular as she watched
her two friends head across the courtyard.

     "You shall come with me," Rowana said to her.  The girl had appeared
at Jennifer's side.  "You must be in need of refreshment and rest.  I fear
all too soon we must ride again."

                               * * *

     "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" the short, stocky man asked
his companion.  They were in the men's room so they could talk in privacy
without fear of being overheard.

     "If you think I'm going to let that crazy man kill one of the most
important finds in the history of humanity, you're in for a big surprise,"
the thin, wiry looking man in the lab coat responded.

     "Yes, but going public with this.  You know you'll lose your job, your
security clearance, and be sued for breach of contract.  And that's only
the good stuff."

     "Yes, but with what I know, I won't have any problems.  Why, just
think of what Time and Newsweek will do with this."  The scientist then
grew serious and looked intensely at his partner.  "Promise me, you'll keep
him alive."

     "Dave, I don't know," the short man hedged.

     "Just don't let Blanc do anything.  My going public isn't worth
anything if I get back and our alien's already dead."

     "I'll try," the little man finally agreed.

     "Great. I'll be back in a couple of hours," Dave said as he headed out
the door.  The stocky little man looked in the mirror and shook his head.
He knew what would happen if Blanc found out about their little conspiracy.

                               * * *

     "The king is in there?" Akuta asked.  They were hiding in a low
drainage ditch not far from the gates to the institute.  The entire complex
was fenced around in high chain link with barbed wire coiled at the top.
They obviously didn't want anyone getting in or out.

     "What goes on in there, anyway?" Alex asked.  "It looks more like a
prison than anything else."

     "They supposedly do a lot of top secret work for the government,"
Scott answered.  "Medical and psychological research.  Troy once applied
for a job there about two years ago, but he couldn't get the security
clearance because of his sexual orientation."

     "How dumb," Alex said.  "So what do we do now?"

     "I don't know," Scott admitted.

     "We wait for an opportunity," Akuta said.

     "So can't you just magically pop over the fence or have someone beam
you in or something?" Alex asked.

     "It doesn't work that way," Scott said.

     "So are you guys like from another planet?" Alex persisted.

     "They're from another dimension," Scott answered.

     "Does he always answer your questions for you?" Alex asked again,
looking at Akuta and indicating Scott.

     The fairy smiled.  "He knows the words of your world to describe what
I cannot," he said.  They looked at each other in silence for a while.
Then Akuta spoke again.  "May I ask you a question, my lord?"

     "Anything," Alex replied.

     "Are you a reversal?"

     Alex didn't understand the reference.  Scott came to his assistance.
"He means are you gay?"

     "Oh," Alex blushed slightly. "Yes I am."

     "I thought as much," the guard said.  "There seem to be so very many
of you in this world."

     "In his world," Scott explained, "gays are pretty rare, but
surprisingly enough there is very little prejudice or homophobia."

     "That's amazing," Alex said.  "It sounds like an ideal place to live.
Just how rare are . . .  reversals in your world?"

     "Our king is a reversal," Akuta answered.  He looked down at the
grass.  "Aside from he, there may be only one other that I know of who has
coupled with a man."

     "You?" Alex asked in surprise.

     "Yes," the fairy answered quietly.  "But I never thought I was a
reversal.  And yet I did enjoy the physical act."

     "Honey, that doesn't make you're gay," Alex told him.  "Have you ever
had sex with a woman?" he asked.

     "Yes," Akuta admitted shyly.

     "Well, which did you like better?"

     "They were both enjoyable to me, but somehow the actions with the man,
although intriguing, were more mechanical.  It was just physical without
any emotional joining.  It was very unfulfilling." The fairy seemed
genuinely confused and concerned.

     "But do you want to do it again, with a man I mean?" Alex asked him.

     "I would be willing to try with a different partner," Akuta said.

     Alex reached out and took the big man's hand.  "If we get out of this
in one piece," he said, "maybe we could get together and you could try it
with me."

     Their conversation was cut short as they heard a car approaching.  A
beat-up looking Toyota pulled up to the gate from inside the complex.  It
stopped as the driver spoke to the security guard.  "This may be our
chance," Scott whispered.  "If we can stop that car we might be able to
force the driver to sneak us back inside."

     "There are trees down this road where it turns.  We shall be hidden
from the guard there.  Let us go," Akuta advised.  The three of them rose
and sprinted for the nearby bushes where Firebrand was waiting.  They
quickly mounted and headed at breakneck speed for the little copse of
trees.  Once arriving they jumped down.  "My lord," Akuta said as he
addressed Alex.  "Please stay here with Firebrand.  The others may arrive
at any time and you can tell them where we have gone.  Scott and I shall
attempt to enter the fortress."

     "I don't like this," Alex said as they heard the car approaching.  He
quickly reached up and kissed Akuta on the cheek.  He then ducked back
behind the trees as the big unicorn followed him.