Chapter 4

King Allan sipped his mulled wine and stared into space, thinking. Two places where his weary soul could find peace nowadays was either the chapel in the castle keep or his throne room. He was in the latter, sitting on his throne. Two servants stood nearby to assist their king should he need anything.

Suddenly, a man walked into the throne room. Coming to stand before the king, he bowed, but appeared to be highly agitated the entire time, and then finally spoke.

"Your highness, two visitors request your attention concerning an emergency!"

Curious, Allan nodded for the man to continue.

"Mariel, the governess of your children, and their guards, Wallace and Thom!" the man said. The trio paraded in, their airs also visibly shaken.

"What brings the three of you here?" Allan forced himself to ask. He had a feeling that whatever the news was, it was something dire. But what had happened?

Mariel stepped forward. He could tell she had been crying; her eyes were puffy and red, and her cherubim-like cheeks were tear-stained. "M-my Lord, I bring you terrible tidings…"

"Mother of God…" He found himself thinking even before the rest of the words came spilling out of her mouth.

"… Prince Tristan -- has b-been kidnapped!"

The sound of the goblet clattering to the floor echoed throughout the room as it slipped from the king's hand.

"Wha --? Kidnapped? But how --?"

"Morrigan's also gone!" she sobbed.

"I was standing guard by the prince's room all night, sire." Wallace said, massaging his forehead in distress. "But not once did anyone come that way!"

"I can say the same for Princess Morrigan. She was quiet all night. I saw her leave but only once yesterday morn – you know how she stays to herself now, your highness." Thom put in. "I only noticed she was gone when the servant girl told me she discovered her missing when she went into her room to awake her for breakfast."

Mariel and Wallace shared a nervous glance between themselves. "Sire, please forgive me. I do not wish to offend you, but… I saw Morrigan." Pausing, the fair-haired man put his palms to his face. "But it was such a hellish sight! One I wish would be wiped from my memory forever! I thought that I had heard some strange sounds from inside the prince's room last night, so I went to go see if everything was all right. I had barely opened the door, but I saw Morrigan inside – before my very eyes, she changed into a spider, then climbed upon the back of a goshawk that flew out the window. The bird – it closed the window behind them before flying away. I immediately made the sign of the cross and fell to the floor. I don't know how long I was out before Thom awoke me."

Mariel nodded in agreement. "Aye, your majesty! I too saw the very same bird around the castle grounds several times earlier!"

For King Allan, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. He fell to his knees, both hands over his face in an attempt to conceal the tears that streamed down his face. So many unanswered questions – had Morrigan really kidnapped Tristan? If so, exactly why? How had she become bewitched in the first place? Why must his daughter revel in wickedness?

Queens, New York City, the present

Tristan remained curled up in one corner of a couch and wiped his wet face with the back of his shirtsleeve. The sleeping drug had since worn off, and he had awakened to find himself in this strange house and made to put on bizarre-looking clothing. His little hands balled into fists, Tristan buried his face in soft dark brown fur and began to cry again. The fur belonged to Tao's dog Jess, a female Doberman pinscher-mix who was mainly dark brown-furred, with reddish-brown fur covering her muzzle, underbelly, and paws. Jess whimpered her sympathies to the small boy. Suddenly, the mix's semi-pricked ears perked up as she caught the sound of Tao arguing passionately with his new houseguests.

"And I say it's wrong! I wasn't told the entire truth about this situation!" Tao shouted at Slade, who shot Gyles an irritated look as the bigger henchman walked into the living room carrying a load of food he had just pilfered from Tao's refrigerator in his arms.

"You just had to go and open yer big gob, didn't you, Gyles?"

Taking a huge bite from a turkey leg, Gyles scowled back at the Chinese man. "Just shut up, you lil' old goat! No one gives a damn if you think this is wrong or not! We're just doin' this for the money, which ain't half bad by the way!"

Her hackles rising, Jess began growling at the pair. As she jumped off the couch, her growls became aggressive barks. The two criminals backed away from the big dog nervously.

"Jess -- down," Tao said sharply. Jess stopped barking and complied with her master's command, but still growled warnings deep within her throat. Tao turned his attention back to Slade and Gyles.

"I refuse to be a part of this! Now you two get out of my house, or I'll call the police!"

"That was a bold move." Tao thought to himself. What was he supposed to tell the cops? That two time-traveling hoods had kidnapped a little boy who was also from a different time and place in a power-grabbing plot by some strange woman? He had to admit that he found himself a little – okay, very much – stunned by the revelation when he had first actually learned of it. Then again, this was New York City, and stranger things had occurred before. Case in point, a few months ago, Tao thought he had seen big bat-winged creatures flying around Manhattan one night.

"Ooo! The police! We're so scared!" Slade mocked Tao, fanning himself for further effect. "Hell's bells, I don't see why yer so hot! We ain't goin' to kill the child or nothin', an' there's to be no ransom! Look, you promised you'd let us stay with you! Keep your word now, matey, or you can just talk to Lady Morrigan." He said the last two words as though the name would invoke a curse upon whomever he uttered it to.

"Morals are just lost on you, aren't they?" Tao asked dryly. Slade responded by rolling his eyes. "Forcefully taking a child away from his family for God knows how long your nutty boss wants

-- that's not right. I mean, you carried him around doped up in a bag! You're lucky I don't get C.P.S.!"

"Oh no you don't." said Gyles, setting the food down on a coffee table and getting in Tao's face. "I got a better idea – get the hell out!"

"You're kicking me out of my own home?!"

"Damn right, you slant-eyed dog! Or do you want me to just work you over?"

Again, Jess came to her master's defense. She bared her fangs and snarled at Gyles, but this time the blonde man ignored the canine. Slade went to aid his friend, keeping a weary eye on Jess at the same time. The dog's threats would prove to be unnecessary, however.

"Come on then, Gyles, let's kick him out!"

"Oh yeah?" Tao replied. "Well, here's a little parting gift for you, my friends..."

As one of Gyles' big fists came flying at him, Tao ducked under the strike and went for Gyles' still extended left forearm. Finding his target, the pressure point, the resourceful man squeezed hard. Gyles hollered in pain and backed off, clutching his aching arm, Slade doing likewise but still threatening Tao. Before turning to leave, the Chinese-American man stopped to get his jacket, then turned to Tristan and Jess, kindly saying, "Do not fear, child. Jess, watch him."

Wicklow, England

As Lady Morrigan ended her conversation with Slade, the surface of the scrying pool she was using to communicate with him rippled for a moment, then calm finally returned to its' glassy surface. She was in a little hovel that she had accidentally discovered earlier in a wilder part of Wicklow's forest that superstitious locals said was supposed to be haunted.

After Tao had left to seek help, Slade had quickly reported to Morrigan about Tao's change of heart. In turn, she informed Slade to take care of Tao anyway he and Gyles could short of killing him – for now. She didn't need those buffoons getting law enforcement involved. The seemingly competent Tao had proved useless in the long the run. What was it with warriors and their ilk with all of their ridiculous "honor" business? Their precious honor typically was what eventually got them into trouble anyways. No matter, Tao couldn't really hurt her plans. She decided to pay her father a visit.

Continuing to gloat silently to herself, she cast a teleportation spell, and in five minutes, found herself back in Castle Wicklow, this time in a corridor near the throne room. She had decided not to use Rappleye to go to the castle, as some of the people there had already figured out the bird's connection to her, and others had no doubt been warned about Rappleye. She performed one final incantation, this time a shape-shifting spell. Becoming a spider once again, Morrigan made her way inside the throne room. Here, the air was tense. The king, Wallace, Thom, plus other esteemed and trusted courtiers and guards discussed the dreadful situation at hand.

"Your majesty," one began, "Mayhap once we find Morrigan, we might be able to discover where the prince is being held..."

King Allan sighed, his face a storm cloud. "But finding her is our biggest problem. If she can change her shape, then it will very hard to seek her out. I-I can't believe this – my daughter has kidnapped her own brother, the crown prince!" he roared, slamming his fists down on the tabletop.

"Sire, since she can use magick, why not fight fire with fire? I know of several good magi who would be more then willing to aid us," said a slight but quick-looking young man sitting six chairs away from the king. Everyone looked in his direction as he continued speaking. "The best man for the job would be Sir Eldon the White. He is experienced with many types of magick."

King Allan thoughtfully stroked his bearded jaw. "I have heard of this Eldon, Roger. I know that the church looks down upon mortals trafficking with mages and the like, but in this case I think I'll make an exception. Anyways, I have no quarrel with any of the magi around here." Standing, he motioned to one man sitting at the very end of the table. "Gordon, fetch the royal messenger. Roger, I wish you to go with him to Eldon the White's dwelling, in case Morrigan decides to show up and attack them."

Both men dutifully saluted their king and were off. If spiders could laugh, Morrigan would have been rolling in the aisles, especially at King Allan. Wait until he finally got what was in store for him. Then the whole kingdom would be hers, with no annoying kings or male heirs in her way.