Disclaimer: The characters within are used without permission for the sheer non profit enjoyment of fans of the Gabriel Knight genre.
Part 10
"Hold here a moment." Kail whispered harshly, leaning against a tree. His breath came in gasps, rasping against his dry throat. The storm had lessened, the lightning had moved off but the rain was still present and beat upon them relentlessly.
"Are you alright?" Alia looked concerned though Kail couldn't help but notice that she was radiant in the darkness. Her rain soaked blouse was clinging to her fit body, long hair stuck to pale skin, bright eyes shining against the black of the storm. Strange evening....
"Sure..." He nodded, tilting his head as he regarded her. Despite her ragged appearance, she was no worse the wear. There was no sign of fatigue in her eyes and indeed her body was tensed for action. "What about you?" He asked timidly.
"I'm fine." She smiled, stepping over to cup his face in her hand. "But you look exhausted. Perhaps we can rest a few moments?"
He shook his head. "No..." He glanced over his shoulder, grimacing as he peered through the trees. "I don't think it would be wise to do so... We have no idea how far behind us they might be."
"True..." She frowned gripping the hilt of her sword. "But we're in a much better position... we could fight?" More an offer than a statement and he felt compelled to kiss her at that moment—to subdue the growing affection with physical contact. He shook it off.
"Hmm..." He bit his lip and looked around the trees. "I'm wondering if it wouldn't be wise... We're in more danger now than ever before. If we do escape and get back to Munich, the Baron is more than capable of simply having us hunted down. It may be that we need to end whatever his plans are tonight. Here."
"My thoughts exactly." There was an edge to her voice, almost frightening in its determination. He looked at her and smiled.
"This won't be easy."
"That's why I'm excited." She thrust the point of her sword in the ground and leaned against a tree, stretching her arms.
"Alright then..." He drew his own blade and straightened, pursing his lips before turning in the direction that they had come. "Take a position my dear... But remember that we want the Baron alive... at least until we can determine what's going on..."
She chuckled wryly but nodded, sliding gracefully aside the trail behind some trees, staring intently upon the path, eyes wide for better visibility in the near black of night. He whispered a quick prayer and took the opposite side, wondering just how many they were up against and wondering if even the talisman could protect him from what was to come... With a certain nod, he clasped faith over his heart and crouched in the bushes.
Darkness lay over the room like thick wool and Gabriel basked in the comfort of his bed. Thoughts drifted about back to his studio in the bookstore... how the hell did he sleep in that bed for so long? A smile perked at the edges of his lips as sighed in memory. Gone now were the days of squalor—monetary stress had disappeared along with his constant longing to succeed...
Success was something that Gabriel Knight always longed for thought far beyond his reach. A dream nothing more—a way to pass the time and lie to himself that one day all the bills will be gone and life will have a meaning. How quickly it really did change.
Change. More of that crap. He was going to make himself puke thinking about how much it offended him that everything he was had turned itself around and become something entirely different. From nothing to the world's responsibility dropped on his shoulders. The purpose he always sought. Perhaps the curse had something to do with his constant feeling that there was something else... For now he felt right if not happy.
Happiness should have been his. He was an international celebrity. The Voodoo murders had phenomenal success as did the sequel. He was invited to exclusive parties, a benefit of his birth right and rank now that the Ritter name had been restored and the estates set in order. His holdings were growing. Gabriel Knight was now a man of high esteem.
He sighed and rolled over, thrusting an arm under his pillow with his eyes tightly shut. There was a solace in his old life... There was something to be said about not having an appointment book. Not having a set schedule of people and places that you were bound to visit and meet. Events shaped around him and he felt naked and unprepared. 'This is what you always wanted.' He told himself but the terse reply made him frown. 'But why was I left unscathed while my world crumbled into this shining beacon of success?'
Sure, he felt more responsible. He kept his appointments, he made deadlines, the payroll was signed on time. A level of maturity that he really wasn't interested in had settled over him. Right next to that change... He flipped over on his back and put his hands behind his head, eyes probing the blackness. Success, fame, financial well being. Sure... It's all great. But then there was the hunting....
....and his current case, if it could be so called. The ring still unable to be destroyed and this strange old man trying to warn him of some impending danger and eventually dying practically in his arms. The strange young woman.... Another case running away without him. More answers than questions and little time remaining—or so it seemed. And what about the car wreck? What was that all about?
Questions churned in his mind, robbing him of another thirty minutes of sleep—seeping into an hour. Then a strange thought almost incomprehensible. A green hill grass blowing in a gentle breeze. What about the rabbit? He heard his mind ask and then he sighed. What the hell am I thinking...? The question danced with a light reverb on his lips.....
A sharp rapping forced his eyes wide and he bolted up in his bed. Someone knocking at the door, he ran his hands through his hair, trying to ignore it a moment. Insistance. "Damnit," He muttered pulling himself free of the blankets and throwing on his robe. "Who's there?" He called out, striding over to the door clumsily, the darkness hampering his movements. He fumbled for the light switch and cursed as the bright bulb filled the room, forcing his eyes to squint.
He opened the door and his eyes widened, just a moment as a hand rapidly clasped his throat and pushed him back in. A strangled cry barely louder than a gasp escaped his constricted throat as the door slid quietly shut.... A terse shove as his body stumbled back, tripping on the carpet and falling back on the bed. A moment passed and thoughts crossed his mind but before he could react, a heavy foot planted itself on his chest, securing him to the mattress. "Good evening Mr. Knight." The voice was familiar but he couldn't place it.... "Am I interrupting something?"
"Just a decent night's rest." He muttered. "Who are you?"
"From the car? Did you get injured in the crash?"
Realization dawned on his face. "What was that all about? You almost got us killed!"
"Me?" She quirked a brow. "You're the one who screamed to stop the car. What was that all about? What did you see?"
"I don't know!" He tapped her foot. "Can you get off my chest now please?"
She stepped back and he pulled himself up on the bed. "What's going on? Can you enlighten me now?"
"My name is Alia." She ran a hand through her hair and paced away. "Kail and I came here to find... to find you—rather I should say that we came looking for the Shattenjäger."
"When was this? Who the hell is Kail?"
"Kail is your ancestor. He was the Shattenjäger for a short time. As far as when we got here, that was only a few months ago."
"When you say you got here, you mean Germany?"
She smirked. "No, I mean this time." He looked at her as though she were insane. "I can't believe that you don't find this plausible after some of the situations that you've dealt with."
Gabriel looked down and shook his head. "Kail was the old man... He died in my arms."
Alia bit her lip and looked down. "Humans are creatures of their time. Souls can't be disjointed without preparation—eternity is a difficult concept to grasp when you've been conditioned since you were young to believe that you will die."
"He died... of old age?"
"Yes. Kail arrived with me and was younger than you are now."
"My God..." Gabriel put his head in his hand. "What was he trying to warn us about?"
"The people that he and I fought in the past are after you now."
"That much I gathered. Why now though? Why not when Wolfgang was Shattenjager or even earlier?"
"Because the threat resurfaced when you reclaimed the talisman." She reached into her pocket and withdrew the golden Shattenjager medallion. "And now is the time that we end the threat once and for all."
"What the—"
"I took it from Kail when we arrived. He had no idea." She looked down at it. "I have to leave it... to our child."
"You're..."
"Yes, I'm carrying Kail's son." She smiled sadly. "I wish he could've known."
"I'm terribly confused." Gabriel's brow furrowed in thought. "Can you tell me what's going on now? About everything."
"Of course." She set the talisman back in her pocket. "The cult of Ali Nocht will want to retrieve the ring you hold and free the Maliphrae. They go under a variety of guises from law enforcement to established merchants. The idea is to cover up their objective with some societal role that makes them seem as though they are on the side of the righteous."
"I see. So we could be dealing with... police?"
"Perhaps." She nodded. "And chances are that the ordeal will take place close to here if not in the castle itself."
"What do they need?"
"Two things. The ring and the blood of... someone like me."
"Someone like you? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Let's not get into that right now."
"Like hell!" He stood from the bed. "I won't go into this with a variable. I want to know everything that's going on."
She looked down. "I'm... an immortal."
"Okay... and?" Gabriel waved his hand for her to continue.
"And what? The fact that I'm an immortal should be enough for you. That's why they need me... They need my blood so that they can enact the ritual to free the Maliphrae from the ring and allow it to exist without a host."
"We've been trying to destroy the ring for a while now. If you don't know how, we're dead in the water."
"With two talisman's here, we have the ability." She glanced at the window. "If we focus the power of the talismans along with what power I have and finally align it on a lunar event like the full moon, then we should be able to destroy it and the Maliphrae."
"Not banish it?"
"No, destroy it completely."
"Okay, this plan I like." Gabriel thought a moment. "But that's a lot to make sure of... And what about you? You've got to get back to Kail's time or I won't be born... the talisman won't be there to lose."
"I'm aware of this fact and I'm not sacrificing my life for the destruction of the thing, just making sure that we have the added push we need to destroy the thing."
"Great... What will we need personnel-wise? Will we need Mosely?"
"I think we should do this alone... You and I."
Gabriel looked her in the eye and sat motionless in her gaze. She was an odd woman—he wondered if that thought might not stem from his knowledge that she wasn't technically human. Finally, he nodded and looked away. "Alright. When's the next full moon?" He approached a calendar on the wall and let out an irritated sigh.
"What's wrong?" She walked up beside him.
"It's tomorrow night."