by Joni Parker
But her heart sank when she realized the pier was empty and Ecstasy was gone. His little red ship was nowhere to be seen. Abandoned! Backing away, she ran inland, confused and unsure where to go, until she found a bench where she could sit down and think.
***
Inside the underground offices, the lights and the air conditioning kicked on, but there was only auxiliary power—enough for life support—no computers.
The doors to the hallway from Admiral Collins’ office remained locked, but a hole had been kicked through the wall to allow access. The Admiral climbed out of it to the elevator. He pushed a button, but nothing happened.
Captain Wells came up next to him. “Admiral Collins, the lifts don’t work on auxiliary power. There are people trapped inside.” He put his ear to the metal doors and heard pounding. He pounded back.
Admiral Collins strolled calmly to the stairs. He pushed against the door, but it wouldn’t open. He slammed his fist against it in frustration. “These doors are supposed to be open.”
“Admiral, they just got power back to the mobile antenna.” The Marine Sergeant climbed out of the hole in the wall and held up his mobile.
“Give it to me.” Admiral Collins took the phone and called Security. “This is Admiral Collins. I’m ordering you to unlock all the doors and get the power turned on.” He paused to listen. “What do you mean you can’t do anything? I can’t get out.” He pushed on the door. “What? What do you mean the girl’s gone? How did she get out?” He slammed his hand against the door. “Blast! Get after her!” His face turned red and sweat ran off his brow. He turned to Captain Wells and handed him the phone. “I’ll be in my office. When you get this door open, let me know.” He climbed through the hole in the wall.
***
Alex strolled away from the river. There were too many policemen and guards around—someone would notice her eventually. A young couple sauntered by and she heard them talking about a lake. Her first thought was of Rosella, the Sea Sprite of Avalon, so she turned in the direction the couple had come from.
A short distance away, she found a park where dozens of people milled around a large lake. It was getting dark outside and street lamps on top of tall poles lit the cement walkways. Alex didn’t know if she could get in touch with the Sea Sprite, but had talked to her once before when she was in the mortal world. It was her only hope.
Near the lake, she closed her eyes to Elfspeak. She envisioned the beautiful red-haired mermaid. “Rosella, Sea Sprite of Avalon, may I speak?” Alex asked in Elfspeak. She held her breath and hoped for a response.
“Who are you?” a soft female voice replied. The scent of roses grew strong.
Alex opened her eyes and saw the Sea Sprite, a mermaid with iridescent fish scales and long red hair, floating above the middle of the lake in a fogbank. “I’m the Black Elf. We spoke before. You helped Tap find me.”
“You left with him.”
“I did, but I came back to help some other people. I spoke to King Sidin about you and he remembered you well.”
“Did he?” Her eyes fluttered and she sat up straighter.
“He wants you in Eledon. He misses you.”
“I miss him, too. I miss everyone. It’s so lonely here without King Arthur. He died, you know.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Why don’t you come back with me? You can help me find an entry point.”
“I can’t use your entry point. I can only use one at sea.” She flapped her fish tail.
“Well, can you help me find my entry point? I can ask the King to give you one at sea.”
“Would you?”
“I would. Please help me.”
“Use your key.”
“What key?” Alex had left the Keys of Eledon with Lord Odin. When she looked up, the Sea Sprite was gone. She’d hoped for more; the results were disappointing. Her head and shoulders drooped, but after a few steps, a rough hand with dirty fingernails grabbed at her cloak pin.
“Let go!” She screamed at a man. This was the key she needed—the Key of Arethus that had been made into a cloak pin. She grabbed his hand and struggled to loosen his grip, but her cloak ripped and the pin was gone. The man took off running, but Alex caught him easily when his baggy pants fell to his knees.
They tumbled into the bushes; his smell—sweat combined with urine—overwhelmed her senses. She choked on her vomit as he twisted out of her grasp. She spun and kicked him in the stomach. He fell, scrambling to his feet and brandishing a knife.
“It’s mine, girlie. Go away or I’ll run this through your gut.” The man jabbed at her.
Grimacing, Alex raised her right hand and hit him with her blue light squarely in his chest. He fell back into the bushes and didn’t move.
Alex kicked his foot, but he remained motionless. He was dead and she could only feel disgust. Holding her breath so she wouldn’t smell him, she pried his hand open and retrieved her pin. As she stepped out of the bushes, she straightened her clothes. Even though the park was crowded, no one seemed to notice the activity. She took several deep breaths as she left the area and slowed her breathing.
As she passed by a sign for the park, she examined the cloak pin, finding no visible damage. This key had been lost until a few months ago, when it was found lodged in a tree. Her grandparents made it into a cloak pin for her twentieth birthday. Her fingers slid over the surface; it was shaped like an Arethus tree with spreading branches, a sturdy trunk, and a ball of roots that penetrated deep into the soil. She’d used this key to open Lord Arethus’ crypt to release him, many years before.
“Lord Arethus, can you hear me?” Alex asked in Elfspeak.
“Keeper of the Keys, is that you?”
She gasped when he answered so quickly, causing some mortals to turn and stare at her. Moving away, she continued in Elfspeak. “I don’t know how to get back to Eledon. I thought you could help me. I came to London in the mortal world to help some people, but they arrested me for no reason, so I escaped.”
“How did you get there?”
“The Wizard Ecstasy brought me in his ship, but he’s disappeared. Help me, Lord Arethus. Please!”
“The only remaining entry point in the mortal world remains in Glastonbury.”
“Glastonbury? At the abbey? Is it far from here?”
“Not far—be safe.”
“Lord Arethus? Arethus?” He was gone. Glastonbury was her new destination. She recalled her escape from the village nearly four years ago. It was near the western shores, so she turned around in a circle, trying to determine which way was west.
As she ran ahead, a woman stood staring at a placard that looked like a map. The woman turned to her as she came up. “I’m completely lost. Do you know where Buckingham Palace is? My sister and I want to go there tomorrow.”
Alex stared at the map and saw the palace. “It’s here.” Alex pointed to it. “Have you ever heard of a place called Glastonbury?” The woman shook her head and left. Alex searched for the village on the map, but didn’t find it. However, she recalled that all maps were oriented to the north, so west had to be to her left. She turned and ran across the street.
***
At the underground offices, Admiral Teller sat in the dark, waiting for a change in the situation, but lost his patience. As soon as his mobile phone started working, he called Security and canceled Operation Lockdown.
With a screwdriver, he removed the pin from the door hinges and pushed through the opening. The elevators were still out, so he went to the stairwell, which had been opened by a security guard using a crowbar. The Admiral climbed up the stairs to the next floor, limping on his bad knee.
At the next level, he found Collins’ office in shambles; two guards were using crowbars and hammers to pull the door off the frame. Now, partially open, the men stopped and stood at attention, as the Admiral stepped into the office through the hole in the wall.
“Collins,” Admiral Teller said as he stepped in.
“Attention on de
ck!” The uniformed men and women in the room snapped to attention.
“Carry on. What the bloody hell happened here? I want a complete explanation.” Admiral Teller stood with his hands on his hips.
Collins hesitated and turned to the others in the room. “Leave us.” He jerked his head to the side.
Once everyone was gone, Admiral Teller turned to him. “Collins, how are we going to explain this? Everything will have to be replaced.”
“Admiral, it was that girl. She got angry when we tried to take her to the clinic.”
“Why were we sending her to a clinic? Wasn’t she going home to bring back more of our sailors?”
“You don’t honestly believe that crock of shit, do you? The only way we were going to get any of our sailors back was to hold her for ransom. I was going to use that wizard to get a message back to those people holding our sailors.”
“She seemed perfectly willing to do it.” Teller shrugged.
Collins shook his head. “And it wasn’t a good idea to have Scotland Yard here. She got suspicious.”
“We didn’t have a choice. As soon as the Ministry was informed, they sent Tyler to investigate this as if it was some outlandish terrorist plot.” Admiral Teller paced the floor. “What did you do, Collins? She’s the only one who knows how to get our sailors back. We’ve got to find her.” He took a few steps forward and stopped. “How am I going to explain this?” He ran his hand over his head and felt his bald spot. “This is why I’m losing my hair.” He paced again and mumbled, “A rogue Elf in a tempest.” Then he chuckled. “The Ministry’s not going to believe this. Wait until they see the bill. And they thought the exercise was expensive. Ha!”
***
Alex had been on the streets for a while—the maps on the sidewalk provided little assistance, not extending beyond a few blocks and without any mention of Glastonbury. She was also hungry, smelling food from the stores along the street, but she had no money, only a card that was supposed to have money in it. She couldn’t find the secret pocket where the money was hidden.
Ahead of her, three men were fighting in an alley—two of them were large and appeared to be goons in suits too small for them and a smaller man in a tan sport coat and jeans with blond hair who looked familiar. It was Jeffrey! She ran forward.
Jeffrey threw a wild punch, hitting one of the goons in the face. The other goon grabbed him, while the other punched him in his stomach. Jeffrey doubled over and his knees gave way.
Alex raised her hand and shot a beam of blue light at the goon closest to her. Once he fell, the second goon threw Jeffrey against the wall and pulled a gun from his pocket. She struck him in the chest with another blast of blue light.
Jeffrey slid down the wall, barely conscious—his nose and mouth dripping blood.
Alex shook him, but he only moaned. She placed her hands on his head and said in Elfspeak, “Heal.” The soft glow of a blue light lit his face and he blinked.
He rubbed his head and sat up. “Alex, what are you doing here?”
“Come on, Jeffrey. We’ve got to get out of here.” She helped him to his feet, brushing off the back of his jacket as he shook his head to clear the cobwebs.
“Thanks. Let’s go to the police.” Jeffrey grimaced.
“I strongly disagree. We have to go west.”
“What’s west?”
“Glastonbury and the arch to get us home.”
“That’s probably miles from here.”
“We’d better get going then.”
Chapter 14
GLASTONBURY
Alex and Jeffrey ran several more blocks before they stopped.
“Do you really think the arch is still there?” Jeffrey asked.
“Lord Arethus told me it was the only one left. Let’s go.”
They ran on in silence, but neither had a clue if they were running west. The buildings appeared similar and what few signs they found were unfamiliar. And in spite of her words, Alex wasn’t confident the arch was still there.
From behind, a speeding car drove up and squealed to a stop. Jeffrey pushed Alex down the alley and the car took off, spinning its wheels. When they exited at the other end, the car slammed on its brakes.
“Who’s that?” Alex pointed at the car.
“I think that’s Blackjack…they called him a gangster…like a pirate. He thinks I was trying to take his girl. She came up and kissed me.”
“You and your women!” Alex shook her head.
“I didn’t do anything.” Jeffrey held up his hands, his eyes wide.
The car window rolled down, revealing the face of a man who smiled at them with gold teeth. He pointed a gun out the window.
“Get down!” Jeffrey grabbed Alex to push her to the ground.
Instead, Alex raised her hands and shot two beams of blue light at the car, flipping it in the air, landing on the passenger side. A door opened; Alex shot her blue light at the bottom of the car and it burst into flames. Screams came from within.
Jeffrey’s jaw dropped. “I don’t know how you did that, but run!” He tugged on her arm and they ran, staying in the alleys until they reached a small park on the corner of a street. Alex found a spigot for water and took a long drink. Jeffrey did the same. They took a short break before they ran again, now the only ones on the street.
“Alex, what happened at the building?” Jeffrey turned to her.
“That Admiral Collins told me he was going to send me to a clinic to be examined by somebody because I was delusional and violent. A man put these metal handcuffs on me, but I broke free. Then I went to look for Ecstasy’s ship, but it was gone, so I ran away. What about you?” She took a deep breath.
“After I left you, they gave me my identity papers and this card with money and I was free to go. They just told me not to tell anyone where I came from or how I got there. I could only say that I’m a tourist from America. I went to this casino with some other blokes and we were having a great time. Then this guy came in with this girl. She was so beautiful I couldn’t stop staring at her. My friends told me to stay away from her, so I did. But when I cashed out my chips, she came up and kissed me.”
“For no reason?”
“None. I didn’t do anything, I swear. Next thing I knew, these two blokes picked me up and took me outside. Thanks for showing up when you did.” He wiped his brow. “Someone told me that the building had been shut down for a security alert. I figured it was because of you.”
“What made you think that?”
“Lucky guess.”
“How did those guys take you down? I thought you knew how to fight better than that.”
“They were bigger than me, in case you didn’t notice.”
She held up her card. “How do you get money out of this? I don’t see any pockets anywhere.” She turned it over.
“It’s a computer chip, see that?” He pointed to the gold chip on the front. “You put it in a machine and you can pay for things.”
“Really? What kind of machine? Oh, by the way, where did Ecstasy go?”
“On the way to the casino, he said something about getting a decent lunch and left.” He waved her over to a bench.
Alex sighed. “How are we going to find Glastonbury?”
Jeffrey pulled out a mobile phone from his jacket pocket. “I bought one of these cheap and they showed me how to use it.” He turned it on and pressed the app for maps. “It’s supposed to be easy.” A light shone from the face of the phone and a holographic image of a beautiful blond woman appeared. She spoke in a pleasant voice, “Welcome to Locatormaps. What city are you looking for?”
Stunned, Alex and Jeffrey looked at each other. Jeffrey cleared his throat and said, “Yes, where’s Glastonbury?”
The woman turned to her left and pointed to a dot on a map. “Glastonbury is a village with a population of nearly thirty-five thousand, located in the county of Somerset. It’s one hundred thirty-two miles or two hundred twelve kilometers west of London.”
Alex sat with her mouth open and reached out to touch the image. Her hand went through the woman’s face.
“Where would you like to stay in Glastonbury?” the woman asked. “I can find accommodations for you.”
“How can we get there from here?” Alex looked at Jeffrey with hope.
“Will you be going by plane, car, or coach?” the woman asked.
Confused, Alex looked at Jeffrey and shrugged. He said, “Coach?”
“A coach leaves the Victoria Coach Station in London at 1730 hours each day and arrives in Glastonbury at 2140. Tickets are available for eighteen pounds seventy each.”
“Great. Where’s Victoria Coach Station?”
“Based on your current GPS, this is your route.” She waved her hand and a route map appeared, clearly marking the way. “Do you need any other assistance?”
“Not right now. Thank you,” Jeffrey said.
“The route map will be available on the screen of your mobile. Just press the app to revive it. Thank you for using Locatormaps. Safe journey.” The woman waved and disappeared, but the route map remained on the face of the phone.
“Thank you,” Alex said. “We should’ve asked for her name.”
“I don’t think she was real.” Jeffrey shook his head.
“She had to be real; she talked to us.”
“I’m pretty sure she wasn’t real, but I don’t know how she did that.” He turned the phone over. “I guess we’d better get moving.”
As they stood up, Alex pointed to a small store, no larger than a doorway, with lights on. “I’m hungry, are you?”
Jeffrey saw the store and nodded, pulling out the plastic card from his pocket. “I’ll use my card. I told you—I’ve got extra money on it. Too bad, those two blokes came around. I could’ve won more.”
