Chapter 21

"No... No... No... " Jay stared straight ahead, repeating his denial over and over again, his body rocking gently as he sat in the corner of the side ward.

"How long has he been like this?" Tai San asked Patch as they observed the stricken young man from the doorway.

"Ever since we told him," the young doctor pushed his spectacles up on his nose and shrugged, "He won't eat, won't drink... Won't even see his daughters."

"I wish that I knew him better. Everything has been so busy since Lex became City Leader that I never really had time to get to know him while Ebony was still with us."

"Maybe it's better that you don't know him as well as most. We all got to know him as the Techno General: cool, calm, strong, decisive. You met him after all that was gone and he was just Jay: nice guy, might be a good leader, trustworthy and willing to take on Ebony!"

"And in a coma for most of the first year in which I knew him!"

--

"Who have you left with Jack?" Cat asked as Lex cradled baby Micah in his arms.

"Hm? Oh. Sal. She knows: she could hear us clearly. I've explained the situation with Jetta to her and she knows what to look out for. She'll let us know if anything happens. Pride seems happy enough with the explanation that she would rather be looking after someone else for a change rather than everyone looking after her. She's remembered him, by the way. Did I tell you?"

"No, but it doesn't surprise me. Are you sure she will be able to cope if anything goes drastically wrong?"

"She's better prepared than anyone else in the mall and Tai San was needed here. Plus I wanted to see this chap. It's not everyday you find out you're a great-uncle at the age of 20!"

"Yes, well..." Cat looked down and Aeryn smiled.

"So while we're all here, together," Lex continued, pulling faces at the tiny child in his arms as he spoke, "Why don't you tell me exactly how I ended up with a niece only one year younger than myself?"

Cat and Aeryn looked at each other and Aeryn shrugged.

"Not long after you were born," Cat began, "I got myself in a bit of trouble at uni. I ended up pregnant and our parents were furious! The let me have the baby, but then give it up for adoption as soon as it was born. When Aeryn was born, I wasn't even allowed to see her. Her life and her name were the only things I was allowed to give my own daughter! It was after that that I started using the skills I had learnt amongst the old books: I used fire-scrying to see my daughter and watch her grow; I could watch her new family feed her and bathe her and take her out to show her off to their friends. I was half mad with jealousy and I used my scrying skills more and more. As I grew more focussed, I became better and better. Eventually, I could widen the view and I see where these people, who had my daughter, lived. It was a nice, quiet suburb: a pretty house with a tidy front lawn and a large garden. They were near the beach, but they were over the other side of the island.

I was a medical student and only had the money our parents gave me to survive on. We weren't a rich family, but our parents had always said that we were their responsibility until we had finished all our schooling and they supported me entirely through university. I didn't even have a Saturday job! I had spent much of my savings on the course I was doing and other necessities and had little money of my own left. Enough to take me to the other side of the island, then, hopefully support me and my baby for a while anyway. I looked for a way to save money and I found the spell: Aevum Liberatio. It would stop time for me: I didn't have to worry about eating, sleeping, anything! I could put all my money into taking care of my daughter.

I thought no further ahead than how to get my daughter back and get her away from those people. I cast the spell as best I could and was amazed to find it had worked exactly as planned. I packed up my old camping gear and some other useful things, as well as all my magical instruments and a few choice books. Then, one night, as you so clearly remember, I left, while our parents were out and you were asleep upstairs. I caught a late bus halfway across the island, then walked or hitched the rest of the way.

It took me a whole week to find my daughter and in that time I didn't eat or sleep at all. Once I found her, I had to wait for a good time to take her. I couldn't risk being caught and taken home without her. I used my scrying abilities to watch Aeryn and the couple looking after her and, about a week after I arrived, I heard the woman on the phone: her usual baby-sitter had let her down and she was ordering a replacement from an agency. It was the perfect chance. I waited for half an hour, then I went down and knocked on the door. I made some excuse about allowing too much time for traffic and thus turning up being early, then they left me with my daughter and went out. By the time the real baby-sitter arrived, I was gone. I left a note saying I was Aeryn's mother and I had taken her, along with my reasons for doing so and an apology for any pain I may have caused. I never looked back to find out what they thought of the note.

Perhaps I should have done. Or maybe I should have looked a little further ahead. With everyone looking out for me, I soon found that there was nowhere to run. I could either keep my daughter with me and be caught and taken to prison, or give her up and hide in the mountains. With no need for food and water, or sleep, I could survive indefinitely. So, I gave her up. Aeryn was returned to the couple looking after her, in whose family crypt we buried my late son-in-law, and I remained hidden, spending all my time studying magic and honing my skills.

As the years passed, Aeryn became, in looks, more like my sister than my daughter. When it was time for her to go to high school, her foster-parents found her a place in a boarding school in the city. I managed to make contact with her when she started dabbling in magic herself and eventually we found a way to meet. Blood will out, Lex. My daughter barely knew me, yet she followed the same path as I and, through he use of her powers, found me and knew me. Meetings, however, became gradually more difficult and Aeryn and I agreed that we could no longer continue with both the magic I was teaching her and contact in any other way. The agreement was that I would leave the city, never to return, and, when Aeryn's time in the school was finished, she would come and find me. As it happened, the virus hit before Aeryn finished her schooling and everything changed. She did come looking for me but, as you know, she has no way of contacting me or looking for me and so could not find me. I could see her, when I was scrying, but never did catch up with her until now. The rest you know."

"You stole Aeryn!" Lex exclaimed in disbelief.

"Well, what would you have done: she was my daughter!"

"Mum only did what she thought was right at the time!" Aeryn interjected, getting up to take Micah from his great-uncle's arms, "Besides, what does that matter now?"

"I guess it doesn't," Lex conceded, "but that doesn't mean Tai San's not gonna want to know!"

"We can tell her once she's finished with Jay, or at least stops for a break," Cat stood up and walked over to the desk, picking up a book once she got there, "Right now we need to concentrate on finding a way to bring Jetta back to normality."

"Are you sure she'll find her way back okay?" Aeryn asked, her brow creasing into worry lines.

"Oh yes," Cat nodded, confidently, "the spell would be designed to do just that. It's what happens after she returns to the mall that is less predictable. Besides, her captors will be taking care to protect their investment and it wouldn't be a good idea to let them know we know what they're up to."

--

Jetta stumbled, slowly, through the city. Her face hurt and her head was pounding. Her limbs were stiff and she felt as if she hadn't moved in weeks. The only thing she could think about was getting back to the mall and finding out what was going on.

--

Zed held one of the players steady while Angie cleaned a jagged gash in the player's forehead: a blow gained during one of the "games". As he concentrated on holding his charge steady, he looked across the room to where Paul sat by his sister's bedside. Jon walked over to his deaf friend and, as Zed watched, placed a hand on Paul's shoulder, drawing his attention away from Patsy, and made a few signs with his hands. Zed could barely make the signs out, but, from the time he had spent in the search party with Paul, he guessed that Jon was asking him if he wanted something to drink. Paul nodded and Jon disappeared, reappearing a few moments later with a glass of water. Zed smiled: his supposition had been right.

When the worst of this is over, Zed thought, and all the searchers are home, it would be useful to learn more of Paul's signs. The young man had been a good source of knowledge and information during their previous journey, but without a pen and paper, communication would have been very difficult, if not impossible!

The player struggled again, taking Zed's attention back to his current task. It was a young girl of about 6. She looked familiar, but Zed couldn't match a name to the pale face before him. Once she was well again, maybe, then she would be able to tell him herself who she was.