Chapter 99
Paris, the grove
By the time Ellie and Derrick had reappeared within the grove, Duncan had been filled in on Grace's adventures… and John's decision to be the means by which the lost immortals might be found. He'd logged onto his email and read Katya's report of the raid in California. The Highlander realized that despite his best hopes to the contrary… a state of war likely existed between Watchers and immortals… a war he'd desperately hoped to avoid.
"How are we supposed to follow that signal?" Duncan muttered to Grace.
"Your friend Dawson's daughter was going to coordinate the efforts of some friends of her father's and some people who worked for her husband." Swiftly she began telling him what she knew about the other faction of Watchers… the ones out of power in this organization… the ones who were trying to stop this operation… whatever it was… in their own way.
She was still talking when Duncan glanced up to see Ellie and Derrick return. Ellie looked pale again… as if her strength were being leached out of her somehow. Duncan was worried. He noted that a few strands of her hair were gray. Was she aging?
Duncan shook his head. Ellie was still an enigma. "How's Joe?" he asked… anxious to know how his friend was doing.
"Holding his own for the moment," Ellie whispered as she wavered a bit… and then sat down in a chair. She shook as if she were weary beyond comprehension. As Duncan watched she closed her eyes and a soft smile played over her features… as if she were being held or caressed. She sighed and opened her eyes. Lifting one arm she pointed. "Methos is there… in that direction."
Duncan glanced through the window and then down at his scattered maps. Orienting one of Paris and one of Europe in the direction she pointed with the help of his compass… he grabbed a marker and drew a line across each of them.
Derrick cleared his throat. "Grace? Amy said to give you this." He held out a cell phone. "She'll call when they know something."
Duncan snatched it. He pulled up the menu and high-lighted "AMY" on the phone and punched for it to automatically dial.
"Hello? Grace?"
"No… this is Duncan MacLeod… Joe's friend. How is he?"
There was a pause on the other end. "Then Grace is with you?"
"Yes."
"Tell her John's on the move. The signal indicates they are moving him eastward. Burt's people are following."
"And Joe?"
Another pause. "Tell Grace the lab indicated it wasn't poison… it was a caustic agent. Horribly debilitating… but not deadly if we get it flushed from his system in time. It's just… his age might not give us the time it may take."
Duncan slowly pulled the map of Europe over and stared at it... and the slightly southeastern line he'd drawn. Slowly he ran a finger along the line and tapped it thoughtfully. Perhaps between the two… they'd find the place. "Call me back, when your people know more." Ringing off, he told Grace what Amy had said. He glanced at Ellie… she still seemed elsewhere at the moment.
"Duncan?"
The Highlander glanced over at Derrick.
"Is that your laptop?"
Duncan nodded.
"May I?" The boy reached for it as Duncan watched him. He wanted to talk to Derrick… he wanted to know what the boy knew. Duncan wanted to ask about the two symbols he'd recently seen within the juxtaposition of several of the pages. He wanted to know about Derrick's reasons for carrying the sword with him. He wanted to know everything the boy knew. But recalling Derrick's intent fascination with the information on the disc… Duncan merely nodded.
Derrick picked up the laptop as well as the one he'd used all these years. Settling on the sleeping bag on the floor… his long legs splayed out before him, he cabled the two computers together and began running both programs… swiftly merging the two sets of positions. As they merged… Derrick leaned back and shrugged out of the coat he'd donned and laid it to one side… wrapped about the great sword. Then he focused his attention on the programs running, and stared intently at both screens.
"What is it with you men and that computer?" Amanda laughed. She was leaning on the counter sipping a cup of instant coffee that Grace had managed to scrounge up.
Cory was just emerging from the other room where he'd changed into Derrick's spare shirt, discarding the jacket he'd pulled off of one of the Watchers. He raked his fingers through his hair. "Okay… now I'm fed, watered, and dressed. Now who's going to explain to me what the hell is going on!"
Amanda spit coffee out in a snort. She rolled her eyes. "Let's you and I take a walk and see if I can answer your questions." She slipped an arm through his as the two of them left, descending the stone stairs. She blew Duncan a kiss as she left… then wiggled her fingers.
"Ellie?" Duncan turned to Eleanor. "The symbols written inside the cover ofLes Miserables… what do you know about them?"
For a moment… Ellie did not react. Then she looked at him with a smile. "They are the writing of the early immortals. Methos knew them. He taught them to me."
Duncan sat beside her. "I traced them on Amanda's hand and sparks flew."
Ellie's eyes opened wide. "No! You mustn't do that… not unless you're both ready. It can be dangerous!"
"Explain!" he demanded.
Ellie sighed and nodded. "They are the symbols by which two immortals are joined and united as one. But they are dangerous Duncan. If used too soon or without true understanding… misery, jealousy, and despair can follow in their wake. Once joined… you are always so… even if you wish it were not."
"You and Methos?"
"Yes… but it took almost twelve hundred years for us to be ready… both of us. But if it sparked between you and Amanda… then it was not just for us. Maybe we are to show the way for others. Show what may be possible."
"You're saying Amanda and I could…" Duncan's voice trailed away thoughtfully. "We have to be certain we both want this."
Ellie nodded. "Tracing them on one another is the beginning. Eventually…" she raised one hand to her neck where Duncan noticed for the first time two faint scars, "you carve them on one another."
Duncan stared at the door. "Alisaunne… Nestor. That's why he cut her… and himself. That's why she dreams of him."
Eleanor's expression changed from contentment to horror. "When he cut her… he marked her? He cut himself?" She raised her hands to her mouth. "That explains so much. He knew! Somehow… he knew!" Ellie rose to rush out, stumbling as she did so. She absently rubbed a hand over her head, then shook her head as though attempting to clear it of something. Letting out a ragged breath she turned to stare at Duncan. "Methos!" she breathed as her eyes went wide. She collapsed into Duncan's arms and began thrashing as though in some fit.
"Ellie!" Derrick cried… her distress the first thing that broke the boy's reverie. Casting aside the computers… he jumped up and pulled Ellie from Duncan's arms. Derrick collapsed still holding her. "It's happening again!"
Ellie's eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed… and her fingers began to spasm back and forth.
Grace knelt to feel the immortal woman… and paled. She glanced up at Duncan and grasped one of his hands. "She needs more than I have… I fear. Help her Duncan."
"How?"
"Just relax… and let her draw strength from you. Her connection with Methos is draining her somehow. We need her. To find them all, we need her."
Duncan's hand was placed on Ellie's chest. He felt a slight pull… as if some part of him was being drained. For one moment he resisted… but the look of concern in Grace's eyes made him relax… and he let go.
"One," he seemed to hear. "We are all one…"
Duncan smiled and stared as Ellie's face once more glowed with health. The strands of gray seemed to darken. She sighed audibly and curled up in Derrick's encircling arms. Duncan sat back on his heels and stared at Grace. "Did you hear it too?"
Grace smiled. "We are all one… Each of us is a part of the whole. Our immortality links us to one another in some way I don't yet fathom. I heard it earlier."
Duncan stared at the door. "Alisaunne!" he thought. "She's linked to Nestor somehow… in a way that might never be broken." He rose with worry to stare down from the landing to the figures below.
Alisaunne still sat by the spring… humming. Amanda and Cory paced about and Duncan could hear Amanda's voice cheerfully attempting to explain everything to her friend.
Somehow… Duncan had to forge this group and the ones in other parts of the world into a unified whole. He had to find a way for all of them to work together… not just his friends… but also his enemies. It was as Grace and Amanda had told him… it was his destiny. One he'd been prepared for by his father… Ian MacLeod… one he'd instinctively turned to over the centuries as he made friends with other immortals. His lifelong imperative to protect the clan… coursed through his veins like a great cry of triumph.
"Where before there was mistrust… and only the game," he muttered. "Now we have a loosely knit community. What more might be possible?" He turned back to observe Derrick rocking Ellie in his arms. The boy stared at him sadly. If they lost Ellie and Methos… would they still find their way through this? Or would the secrets that the two of them had unlocked with their commitment to one another be lost for another thousand years?
Duncan MacLeod felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had to end this war… and save their lost companions. "Now and always… we were always one," Duncan whispered. "We were and always will be one."
As if she'd heard him… Alisaunne looked up at him with a smile.
Darkness and light... friend and enemy… war and peace… life and death. It was a part of each of them… and a balance between them had to be struck. Without balance… then chaos and the imperative of the game tobethe one… tobeone… would overwhelm them all.
Duncan could not help but wonder how long the light quickening of the Ancient One that Alisaunne had taken in the church… would protect her from Nestor. How long before the ancient darkness threatened them all once more. He shook his head. He could not worry about Nestor right now. Amanda had told him that Phillip and the others were guarding him. Duncan had to focus on the Watchers… and what they had planned… and trust that Phillip would be watching over Nestor… and keeping him contained.
Turning back into the room, Duncan crossed to the table to lean on it… and stare at the maps. What was there along the line he'd drawn? He pulled out his PPC and began to mark the additional coordinates that Katya had sent days ago. The answers had to lie in those.
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Near the border of France and Italy
The petrol gauge indicated he was dangerously low in fuel. Phillip pulled into the next service station and up to the pump. He handed a wad of bills to Keith. "Go inside… be ready to pay so we can leave."
As he watched Keith approach the cashier, Phillip's mind churned. He'd originally planned on going to Rome and then from there taking the children back to Athens where they'd be safe. While Phillip knew they weren'treallychildren… he still felt protective.
But Keith's comments about Eleanor and Derrick worried him. If Methos was a captive somewhere… then Eleanor might retreat to the darkness that had once been so much a part of her… and if she did… what would happen then? He needed to find her… and he needed to find Methos.
They'd been so busy this morning… he'd hadn't checked his email. Nor had he reported to Katya the results of his raid on the Taranto facility. That Duncan was also in contact with Katya, he knew… but he'd not been in contact with the Highlander in the past twenty-four hours. Nor was he certain where he was.
They'd all been circumspect about their locations… fearing the Watchers might somehow trace them. Katya had sent all the coordinates and suggested they check out the ones in their area. Since one pair was the facility in Taranto he'd already discovered… Phillip hadn't paid too much attention to the others at the time. Now… he needed to.
The tank filled… Phillip shut the pump off and climbed into the passenger seat. He wanted to use Keith's hand-held. Keith's was a more powerful version of the proliferating PPC's. He fired it up even as Keith approached… noted Phillip's location and slipped behind the wheel.
"We still headin' for Paris?" the young immortal asked as he turned on the ignition.
Phillip nodded. He was punching in code on the keyboard. He needed those other coordinates! "For the moment!" he said curtly. "For the moment."
For a moment he worried about Valeraine, alone and watching over Nick. But the girl immortal was older than she looked… and far more mature than she appeared. If anyone could handle Nick… she could… and likely better than any of the rest of them.
Resolutely, Phillip pulled up his coded emails… and began to read.