"My goodness Dermott, I haven't seen you in ages, what's it been? 8 years?"
'It's been about that my old friend'

"What have you been up to?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt" said Sinbad. "But how do you two know each other, and how can you speak with Dermott?"

"Oh, I'm sorry" apologised the man. "I didn't see you there. My names Denzel, and Dermott and I are old friends. I knew him before he got turned into a hawk, and when he did I practised incredibly hard until we created a telepathic link between us. I guess it's easier if you already have a link. Talking telepaths, where's firefly, is she here?"

"Firefly?" asked Sinbad, feeling completely left out.

'Yeah, we were just on our way to find her'

"You mean Maeve? Why do you call her firefly?"

"Firefly was my nickname for her when we were younger. Dermott, Maeve and I all grew up here and were very close. When she was younger, Maeve had an incredible fiery temper, I don't know about now…"

"Oh yeah" grinned Sinbad as he thought about it. "She still does"

"Anyway, that's where the name comes from" smiled Denzel before his face suddenly darkened. "Wait a minute, she's here? Who's she with?"

"No one" admitted Sinbad. "She went off to think alone"

"We have to hurry" stated Denzel as he started walking in the direction they were headed.

'What's wrong my friend?' asked Dermott.

'It's Yassil Dermott, he's returned'

"Who's Yassil?" asked Sinbad, drawing Denzel to stop.

"You heard us?" he asked.

"Well, yes" shrugged Sinbad. "You're avoiding the question. I demand to know who Yassil is, and what he has to do with Maeve"

"Dermott, who is this arrogant, self-confident jerk anyway?"

'Oh I'm sorry Denzel laughs Dermott. This is captain Sinbad, Maeve and I joined his crew with Master Dim Dim before he got…well…taken away by a daemon'

"The Sinbad?" questioned Denzel.

"Yes" stated Sinbad proudly. Denzel just raised his eyebrow and looked at him strangely, almost like he was checking him out.

"Captain Sinbad eh" he said slowly. "So…what is Maeve to you?"

Sinbad opened his mouth to answer but Dermott got their first.

'Let's not start this now; we don't have time to revel in the huge book that is the relationship of Maeve and Sinbad, we have to find Maeve'

"But who is this 'Yassil'?" queried Sinbad.

'All you need to know' stated Dermott. 'Is that if he finds Maeve, she is history'

"Why didn't you say so?" yelled Sinbad as he started running to the path he'd seen her take earlier that day. "Dermott, try to reach her telepathically" he called to the hawk as he ran down the path, praying to Allah he wasn't too late.

Meanwhile, Maeve had stopped crying and had started looking around the rest of the house. Smiling as she thought back to different parts of her childhood before coming out into what was her garden again. She was looking at the old flag stone path that Dermott and herself had helped there father lay when she noticed two feet in front of her. She looked up and saw a man that she never expected to see again, or at least she had hoped that she'd never see him again as long as she lived.

"I told you you'd live to regret it" snarled the man before Maeve was knocked out from behind.