Chapter 15
Chris and Claire came to a halt. A pretty blonde-haired woman wearing a flowing pink dress had just stepped into their path. Before either startled Redfield could get out the first syllable she held her out like a traffic cop.
" Stop! "
" Who are you? " Claire gasped, almost breathless from all the running. She silently prayed all this exercise wouldn't hurt the baby. She'd heard horror tales of miscarriages brought on by a surplus of strenuous exercise.
" We're kinda in a hurry here." Chris snapped with all the sweetness of distilled vinegar. How was Alan faring in his battle against Wesker? A lot better than what I would be, that's what. At least he has a fighting chance. Though he still didn't quite feel entirely comfortable with the distance they'd procured thus far, he allowed himself to pause a moment to catch his breath; clutching Crystal tightly to his chest as if she were still alive. He hadn't expected to run into anyone, and his mind buzzed with a multitude of questions he never lent voice. Whoever she was, this woman was the least of his worries for the time being. His brain was on overload already and felt like it might explode with too many more added bits of information.
Crystal was dead.
Little Crystal.
God, it was too horrible to be true. All he could think about was his daughter and how he was going to explain this devastating tragedy to Jill and Seth; if he ever saw them again.
Poor Crystal.
" My name is Angelique." The woman announced as if she'd been asked. This was followed by a dry smile, which vaporized the instant she noticed the dead girl in Chris's arms. " I believe I can help you. What you seek is the Hylen."
Claire squinted, not sure she'd heard right. " The Hy-what? " This woman seemed too clean and well-kept to have been on the island long. Indeed, she looked as though she'd just walked away from an elegant dinner party specially for nobles. Radiant, even. This was odd.
Chris's reaction was less pleasant. " No, what I seek is revenge. And a way to find my teammates and get off this accursed island. You can keep this so-called Hylen. I've got enough on my plate."
Angelique seemed disappointed. " Oh, forgive me, how terribly rude I've been. This should be a group affair." Before either sibling had time to come up with a reply to that, Angelique waved her hand in the air in an exaggerated circle. " Ladith Tranjeh! "
For a fleeting moment, the air shimmered, like ripples in a lake; as if there were a tear in the fabric of reality. Two seconds later, and this was accompanied by a blinding emerald flash. And there they stood. Forming a confused, shifty circle around the initial trio were Alan, Seth, Alexis, Spade, Rob, and Jill.
For a precious half-a-second they just stood there, collecting their bearings and coming to terms with yet another strange phenomenon which had whisked them through the folds of space.
How the hell did she do that?! Was the first thought on Chris's mind, followed swiftly by uh-oh.
Jill was the first to cry out. " Crystal! " Being the maternal person she was, that was the first thing that mattered. Not that she'd become accustomed to just teleporting somewhere without a moment's notice, but her kids came first. Always. Breaking the circle, she ran over to stand by her husband and child; an icy chill of dread tearing it's way down her spine and aiding the efforts of her physical injuries.
" Crystal? " Her energetic green eyes urgently swept the limp form in Chris's arms as she tried to determine her daughter's condition. " Is she...is she...? "
Chris hung his head shamefully, like a sinner cast before the gates of Heaven. This was the moment he'd been dreading. God, how was he going to put this? It already wrenched his heart enough seeing her like this.
" I'm...I'm sorry, Jill." His voice cracked, and Jill choked into tears, " I couldn't...I...Wesker...Wesker broke her neck. She's gone." His face was an ashen tomb devoid of all color and life.
This was too much for Jill. A terrible, heart-rending cry of pure undiluted melancholy ripped it's way up through her throat and escaped her mouth in one earsplitting, terrible scream. Her legs turned to jelly and she crumpled to the ground like a delicate newborn fawn which had lost it's footing.
" No...not Crystal. Oh my baby! My baby! " It wasn't fair! This couldn't be happening! This...none of this was right. She barely noticed the rest of the circle standing around in wide-eyed shock and horror. She was so young...how could he kill a child? An innocent child! Doesn't he have even a shred of a fucking conscience?! That bloody sonuvabitch!
" Wesker." Chris's eyes burned once again with the all-consuming rage. His lower lip curled up dangerously in a feral sneer. This death he couldn't bear. Wesker would pay for this. If Chris had to hunt him down himself--and risk his own life in the process--then so be it. He would avenge his daughter as well as the S.T.A.R.S. members of long ago and any other unfortunate soul who'd ever been a victim to Wesker's cruelty.
He shut his eyes. It was becoming a real chore for him not to glare at Alan. Though he consciously knew it was not the younger Wesker's fault, a part of him still blamed him for not being able to get there faster. If only Alan had arrived a couple minutes sooner than he did...minutes. Minutes had made the difference between life and death. And it certainly wasn't helping matters that Alan resembled his child-murdering dad.
Claire almost said something, then bit back her forthcoming words. This was between her brother and his wife. What was she going to say anyway? 'At least she's not suffering anymore'? That sounded just plain corny and insincere when said out loud. And, most likely, it was not the kind of thing Jill would be wanting to hear. Poor Jill. Her heart went out to her sister-in-law. We have to do something about Wesker. For real this time. He was a threat to everyone, especially her unborn son or daughter. It was getting to the point where not even Alan was going to be safe before long.
" God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Alexis condoled, her voice so low it was almost a whisper. Tears slid down the fine skin of her cheeks and settled at the end of her chin before falling silently to the ground. She could scarcely believe it herself. He'd done it. Wesker'd finally done it. She had always thought that somehow, someway, they'd be able to protect the children when the time came. From both hers and Alan's parents. She'd been wrong. They all had.
Seth bit his lip until it almost bled. I had a sister? I didn't know! Why can't I remember? This is...this is awful. Scratch that. This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me. Which, granted, isn't saying much considering I can't remember 99.5% of the stuff that's ever happened to me. This bites. I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go back home to my own time and have all of this erased from my memory. Like it never happened. Seeing his parents' grief stung like a dagger through his gut. His eyes welled with crocodile tears.
Alan looked the way he felt: sick. He stood very still, like a statue poised over a grave. " Chris, Jill, I swear Wesker will pay for this." He declared in a firm, unwavering voice, clenching his fists tightly in anger.
They chose not to answer.
Spade looked upon the scene with muted interest. Her father had killed a child. It came as no surprise; she'd heard him talking about wanting to do that for a long time now. However, being here now and actually witnessing not only the death, but the ramifications it had on the parties involved, filled her with a certain sense of...she couldn't quite put her finger on it. All she knew was that she was strangely numb to it all. Am I supposed to feel...sad? Sorry? Isn't that how people are supposed to feel? She hadn't known the kid. What consequence was it to her? Whereas most people were being all ah, poor little girl, Spade found herself detached and indifferent. The scary truth was that feeling that way bothered her only slightly.
A sad sigh escaped Rob's lips. He hadn't a clue as to what was happening with the magical teleporting and all, or who Wesker and half the people here were, all he knew was that it broke his heart to see a family like this.
Everyone was so caught up in the Redfield tragedy that they barely noticed that there were some people present whom they did not readily recognize, or that one member of the gang was missing.
Angelique stood back, watching it happen as if from afar. Once the formalities were over, she could address the group. She did not have long to wait.
" How'd we...? " Alan started.
" Who's that? " Alexis's eyes fell on Rob.
" Who are you? " Claire prodded Seth.
That was her cue. Now Angelique broke in. " Hear me out. It was I who assembled you here. My name is Angelique and I am a white witch."
" You look more blonde to me." Seth threw wryly, unsure what to think of a woman who made such a bold claim.
" A witch?! " Several of the group gasped at once.
Sixteen eyes turned on Angelique. She was the honored speaker at the podium.
" Are you saying you caused us to...appear here? " Alexis asked, wincing at the discomfort caused by her arm. For awhile there it had stopped hurting. Now it decided to be a royal bitch and kick in again.
" Yes. It was I who summoned you. I excluded the one called Wesker because I am aware that he has no friends here."
" That's the biggest understatement of all time." Chris grumped.
Angelique gave a disheartened nod in the direction of the Redfields, a wounded expression engraved upon her alabaster features. " I am sorry for your loss. Now before I continue on--and believe me, I will answer all your questions--it appears some of you have some catching up to do. I believe introductions are in order? "
Claire blinked. " You got that right. Who's he? " She pointed again to Seth. Something about his looks, the way he carried himself...it all seemed so familiar. Like an old acquaintance from the past with a face but no name.
Seth was incredulous. " Me? Okay, since we seem to be subscribing to the ideas of witches and the sort, suddenly telling the truth doesn't feel so insane. Whether or not you choose to believe me or not, I am Seth Redfield. I'm from the future. And before you even ask it, no: I don't know how I ended up here other than the fact that it involved a very psychedelic portal, and no, I don't remember much about my own time. I sorta have amnesia in the details department there." After his little speech, the dark-haired young Redfield scanned the crowd; in particular, his parents.
The only thing that would have shocked Chris more was if his daughter suddenly started breathing again. He gazed at Seth in wide-eyed wonder. " You're my....son? Seth? "
Seth nodded, pinning his father's astounded gaze. " That's right. I'm sixteen years old right now. My past-self is only five." He awarded Alexis a half-smile. " Alexis and Alan filled me in. I guess they saved my child-self and--bam--before any of us knew it, here I am while my kid-self probably traveled to the future."
Spade cocked her head to one side, not quite sure what to believe anymore. " You're Chris's son? Wow." Her eyes traveled up his legs, to his torso, then finally met his face. " I thought you'd be...taller."
Just the slightest inkling of a frown made itself known at the edges of Seth's lips. " Hey! I'm plenty tall. And I'm not even finished growing yet, Wesker-girl."
Spade snorted. " Wesker-girl? My name is Spade! Or didn't Alan tell you that? " She cast a playful eye to her brother, making it clear that she was only having fun.
Alan's frown subsided slightly. " Actually I told him you were going to an all-girls catholic school in Guatemala." He teased.
Through her curtain of tears, Jill looked up and for the first time took notice of Seth. There he was. The young man claiming to be her son. She wouldn't have believed him if not for his friendly fudge-brown eyes, his fresh-yet-at-the-same-time-strikingly-familiar face, the diction with which he spoke...all down to the special inflections in his voice. They were all her agents.
This really was Seth. Time had done it's work, but she recognized him just the same. The way any mother would recognize her child. There was just a certain right feel to it.
She thought he looked very handsome. He wasn't quite as tall as his father yet, but he was right; he still had a few more years to grow. As it stood now he wasn't exactly the posterboy for short--he was only a few inches below Alan.
She couldn't believe it. Magic, witches, talking zombies, and now her son from the future? What kind of crazy wacko place was the world turning into?!
This was insane.
This was impossible.
This was...happening.
It was much to real to be a dream, and, no, she hadn't eaten and colorful mushrooms lately. And after everything else she'd been through....sure, why not? She was aware she should probably meet his gaze; say something. Give her son some indication that she acknowledged his presence.
But no. Instead, she buried her face between her hands and resumed crying. While knowing that her son was alive gave her extreme pleasure, little Crystal's death was just too much to bear.
Okay, so maybe she needs some...time. Seth thought in response to his mother's actions. Not that he blamed her. This was a lot for anyone to absorb.
Now, people deal with grief and stressful situations in a variety different ways. Seth's way was to point out the positive and be thankful at least for the little things. The few little things that still made life worth living. Without warning, he threw an arm each around the necks of a startled Alan and Alexis and pulled them close to his sides in a massive friendship hug.
" Yep, it's really me. And these are my best buds in any time or space, Alan and Alexis! " In spite of the total lack of happiness he was feeling, he managed to pull off a dry half-smile.
Alan couldn't even pretend to smile. " Um...yeah. Feelings mutual." He pulled away with ease. Sure sucks to be a Wesker right now. He just couldn't feel comfortable around the brother of the child murdered by his father. Right now the Redfields were the last people he wanted to see.
Alexis gave Seth a warm pat on the back with the delicate hand of her good arm. " Aw, that's really sweet of you Seth." She cuddled up to him a bit, realized what she was doing, and drew back. An awkward look overcame her fine Ashford features. She turned away.
Only to almost bump noses with Spade.
Alexis's cobalt eyes lit up in mild surprise. " Oh. Hi Spade. How did you get here? I mean, to the island. "
Spade twisted her cherry-red lips into an expression which was hard to decipher. " Came with my father." The words were swift and to the point.
Alexis stifled the urge to blink. " I see." Gee is it just me, or did the temperature just drop several degrees?
Alexis had no love for Wesker. The one time they'd met he'd tried to murder her, saying she wasn't good enough for his son. He was a dangerous sociopath and she would do well to stay as far off his radar as possible.
As for Spade, well, Alexis didn't really know quite what to make of her yet. She'd only seen her a few times before in Africa and there had never been much interaction between them. She recalled that Alan's knowledge of his sister was limited as well, because he'd been largely out of contact with his sister for the past six years or so. A person could change a lot in that time. This may not be the same Spade Alan remembered.
Alexis found herself wary of her. She didn't know why--just a feeling.
" I'm Rob." Rob announced before anyone had the chance to ask, " That's all that's important right now. I helped Jill after she was attacked." He nodded towards Chris. " I believe Chris and I have already met."
Chris turned his head away with a scowl deep enough to sink the Titanic. " Yeah. Thanks for your help." He said, and it may as well have been a robot talking for all the emotion he put into those five simple words.
But given the circumstances--after all, the guy's daughter had just died--Rob didn't take offense. This hadn't been a good day for any of them.
Angelique strode over to stand in the center of the irregular circle; her long blonde hair glistening with a magical aura. " Alright," She declared, her voice loud and clear, " You probably have a lot more to catch up on, but for the moment none of that is important. You've..."
" Hey! " Claire interrupted. Someone was missing. Someone like her husband. " Where's Steve? " A concerned frown marred her features. If Steve wasn't here, where was he? The island was not a safe place, even for someone with super-healing abilities. Especially not when Wesker was out there somewhere.
At this, everyone exchanged blank glances. Spade actually shrugged. She'd never seen the man before in her life, how was she to know?
" Yeah, where is Steve? " Chris echoed.
Angelique frowned. " I'm sorry, I thought I'd called you all here. But if I couldn't call this person it mean's they're either beyond my range, inside an area shielded from my magic, or...." She trailed off, letting the others pick it up on their own.
" So he could be...." Claire's voice almost cracked. No. He couldn't be. He's alive. Have to believe in that... He just had to be alright. They'd seen enough misery already.
Angelique shook her head slowly, but a resilient spark of hope still dwelled within her eyes. " He might be, but not necessarily. Look, I didn't take all the risks of gathering you all here with me now just to make idle conversation and have a social event. I know you're all very devastated by the child's death. You're miserable and you want to get off this nightmarish island as soon as possible. But you have to know the truth. You have to know what's at stake. Your lives as well as the lives of countless billions now hang in the balance."
" You know what's going on with this island? " Chris asked, shifting the weight of his dead daughter to a more comfortable position.
Angelique nodded. Time for the next phase. Time for a little demonstration. " Yes. First thing you need to know...magic is real." Suddenly the witch was aglow with a luminous white aura of energy. Then, in the time it takes for a bolt of lightning to hurl across the sky, there was a blazing flash and the next thing any of them knew Angelique was gone. In her place, sitting upright on it's haunches upon the carpet of moss and pine, and twitching it's cute little whiskers excitedly, was a squirrel. A squirrel with fur as white as fresh milk and eyes as red as blood. As awed gasps racked the gathering, the Angelique-squirrel darted up Claire's pants, climbed her shirt, and leapt into her hands.
" Ah!" Was Claire's startled reply, " I....I don't believe this! This is crazy! " Her hands were shaking so much she would've dropped the furry forest critter if not for it's firm grip. It's fur was a pleasant touch; nice and soft against her skin. More like rabbit-fur than squirrel-fur. The tail was perfectly bushy. Tiny feet tickled her palms. She half expected it to bite her, but it didn't. Instead it just sat there calmly, staring up at her with those fiery red eyes.
" Whoa! That's awesome! " Seth declared, and the general company shared his opinion. This was not some lame parlor trick. Astounding as it was, as unbelievable and insane as it was, only real magic could transform a woman into a squirrel. This was quite a revelation. But given all the odd things that had been happening to them ever since the freak storm hit yesterday, it was surprising easy to believe.
The Angelique-squirrel jumped out of Claire's hand and scrambled over close to the spot it had stood. Another flash of light which lasted the duration of a nano-second, and it transformed back into the fair Angelique.
" See? " She smiled, " No mirrors. This is the real McCoy." The smile vanished. " Now we don't have a lot of time so I have to make this quick. Listen and I will tell you a story. No matter how incredible it sounds, you have to believe that I'm telling the truth."
" You just turned into a squirrel." Alan breathed, still reeling with the discovery, " I think you have our undivided attention."
Angelique went on, " Hundreds of years ago on this very island stood the fortress of a very powerful, very evil sorceress named Veronica. Her ultimate goal was world domination where she would reign as Queen and everyone else would be subjected to torture, humility, slavery, and extreme poverty at her dispense. What makes this different from the usual evil-villain-trying-to-rule-the-world case was that Veronica actually had the power to do it. She was the best of the best: the most powerful magical being in the world. As such, it only stands to reason that most magic-users however noble or brave didn't dare to oppose her. There was one exception. A band of 14 white witches, myself included, took it upon ourselves to stop her. We conjured up all our mystical energies, focused them into one channel, and were thus able to create the Hylen; a magical staff of unequaled power born from the essence of the purest light on earth. It's soul purpose was to defeat Veronica. Sadly, our actions did not escape the sharp eye of one of Veronica's spies and the sorceress caught onto us. During that time, she went about separating us from one another and killing us off one by one. Each witch she slaughtered served only to increase her power. At last only my sister and I remained to guard the Hylen. Veronica caught us by surprise one night as we were devising a plan to use it against her. My sister managed to escape while I fought the deranged sorceress. But..." Angelique shook her head sadly, " well...I'll just put it this way...take one of those tiny sports cars and set it loose on the freeway. Now run it head-on with a semi going 70 mph. That's me versus Veronica."
Alexis was impressed. " Wow. Talk about unevenly matched."
Angelique sighed." She's got free access to powers I can't even invoke."
" Let me guess: you lost." Spade inferred.
Angelique nodded a sad 'yes'. " I lost. I never got to hold on to the Hylen long enough to use it. I thought for sure I was going to die right there that very night. But Veronica was in a fairly good mood about having murdered her only real opposition and gaining such a powerful mystical relic as the Hylen. She would have loved to extract it's powers for herself, but like I said, the Hylen was forged from the essence of the purest light on earth. It could only be used against evil, not for it. Which rendered it useless in her hands. Yet at the same time, it was also indestructible. Not to be outdone, Veronica managed to magically separate it into five pieces which she scattered throughout the fabric of time and space. She may not be able to destroy it, but she could at least keep people from using it against her. You see it takes an incredible amount of magic to time-travel so that cuts back on potential salvage teams right away, and she further sealed the deal by adding a little charm to the spell which prevents any magic-users other than herself from ever being able to access the proper dimensions with which within the pieces are hidden. She spared my life...probably figured that the humility of being among the last of my kind would be enough to discourage me from ever rising against her again. She was wrong. It was not long after that that I met up with another powerful sorceress long thought dead from her habit of living in secrecy. Together we devised a trap for Veronica. 150 years ago we managed to magically bind her inside an ornate gold-washed teacup...."
" Whoa there, time out. Time out! " Alexis called, eyes brimming with wild excitement, " You imprisoned Veronica inside a teacup 150 years ago? "
" That's correct." Angelique agreed.
Alexis was taken aback. Her mouth fell open in a little 'o'. " I had an ancestor named Veronica who was presented a gold teacup at around the same time! "
All eyes shifted swiftly to her.
" Veronica had the surname Ashford. That sound familiar to you? " Angelique pressed.
" Familiar?! That's my last name! You mean to say that this sorceress Veronica was my ancestor? " My ancestor Veronica was an evil sorceress?!
" Indeed." Angelique agreed, now unable to take her gaze off the young Ashford.
" Seems evil runs in your family." Spade chuckled, her remark aimed at Alexis.
Any other time Alexis would have met this jest with the reply that the Weskers were not known for their hospitality, but at the present moment she was just too astonished with the fact that her great great great great grandmother was an evil sorceress who had tried to rule the world. So that's where Mom gets it. Who'd have guessed?
" But that's impossible! " Chris cut in, " Veronica is dead! I snooped all over their Rockfort and Antarctic bases and all the notes, papers, and diaries I found said so! She couldn't be alive after 150 years! "
Angelique gave a wane smile. " If only that were true. I'm over 150 years old and I'm still alive. Likewise, Veronica has been around much longer than a mere 150 years. In fact, it would take centuries to accumulate the type of power she had. Witches and sorceresses...we don't age the same way you mortals do. I'm 232 years old and I can expect to live at least another six hundred. But Veronica...she's so powerful she's staved off aging permanently. In other words, she's immortal."
" Now that's not fair." Spade observed. Alexis had her back turned, so she never noticed the jealous look Spade sent her way. Neither did anyone else, apparently.
" What exactly is the difference between a witch and a sorcerer...er, sorceress...whatever." Claire asked.
" Mostly in rites, beliefs, and spiritual customs." Angelique answered, " And in magic. A sorcerer is more powerful than a warlock or witch. But it takes them many times longer to attain that power and they have to work much harder at it."
" Wait a second. Rewind to the part where Veronica was trapped inside the teacup, because I think my brain jumped off the bandwagon there." Seth announced, wiping a hand across his temple. The jungle-humidity was really starting to set in. He arched his back against a tree while he waited.
" Yes, the teacup." Angelique went on, " There she should have stayed for all eternity. We magically re-enforced that cup to make it unbreakable. Then we took the all the magical essence away from her infant son so that he could lead a normal life. I don't know how it is that she managed to pull free after so long. But yesterday...the moment she broke free, I felt it...."
" A disturbance in the force? " Alan mused.
The good witch laughed at the Star Wars reference. " Yes, something like that. More like a shudder in the ether. Anyone fine-tuned to vibrational frequencies, or familiar at all with earth-forces and magic would have felt it."
" A.k.a. not us." Chris added wryly. He looked so much older than thirty-three right then. " So she would be the one responsible for the freak-storm yesterday and the lightning bolt that sent us all off to places we didn't want to be? "
" None other." Angelique wrinkled her nose in distaste, " She always was a showoff. Oh look at me! I'm a badass sorceress! Fear me. No, better yet, kneel down and worship me, vermin! "
" Okay, so big bad Veronica Ashford's free and wants to rule the world..." Claire started.
" Actually, this time it's much worse than that."
" Worse than that? " Jill finally spoke up for the first time since finding out about Crystal, " How does it get any worse than that?! " She threw her hands up into the air for effect. This day was just getting worse and worse.
Angelique stared down at the ground. " Mass destruction. I'm talking on a global scale. Veronica succeeds at midnight tonight and she will unleash catastrophic natural disasters that will kill over ¾ of life on earth. A literal 'Doom's Day'. Tsunamis as tall as mountains. Hurricanes the size of continents. Earthquakes. Floods. Storms of fire and ice. Tornados so powerful science doesn't yet have a class for them. Devastating plagues. All at once. Lasting for weeks."
Alan blinked. " I don't get it. Why does Veronica want to do this? What could she possibly gain? "
" She wants to start the world anew, a world with her own creatures, plants, and landforms. Call it playing God. Oh sure--she'll keep a couple million people alive, but only as subjects to worship, serve, and fear her."
" Why midnight tonight? I mean, if she only got free yesterday...don't you think that's moving kinda fast? " Alan pointed out.
" Yeah," Seth agreed, " What, no time to raise the mojo or gather the dark juice? "
" The spell has to be performed at midnight on a night when all nine planets are aligned." Angelique announced matter-of-factly, " That's the only thing holding her back. Believe me, Veronica already has all the dark juice she needs."
" Planetary alignment." Rob's voice was serious and quiet, " That's tonight."
" Coincidence much? " Spade observed.
" Actually, I believe it was predestiny." Angelique stated sadly.
" Great! Predestiny kicking in when you don't want or ask for it! " Seth beamed with false cheer, " Darn! And that's always happening to me. What are the odds? "
" They're all against us, that's what." Chris returned darkly. He turned to Angelique. " You mean to say that somehow even while she was in teacup-land Veronica had this type of power? If that's the case, why didn't she free herself sooner? I mean, planetary alignments are rare, but not so rare that you have to wait centuries to see one."
Angelique shrugged. " I don't know. While imprisoned Veronica was powerless. The only ones who could have arranged this were her previous acolytes. All I know for a fact is that this awakening was preordained. A couple decades ago I had heard rumors of a prophecy relating to it, but I was never able to locate it. My source died quickly and under mysterious circumstances before I could get more out of him."
" As sources often do." Rob agreed.
" I'm more worried about how we're going to stop Miss Ashford." Chris scowled. He looked to Angelique expectantly. " That is why you gathered us here. Right? There's something we can do to stop her? "
" This island....Majika Island...is her place of power. Here the walls separating time, reality, and even alternate dimensions are weak. Even weaker since her arrival. Yes, there is a chance we can stop her. But we must hurry. If Veronica finds out you people are here she'll send every magical 'pet' she has after you. She doesn't want anyone getting ahold of the Hylen, the only thing that can stop her."
" Yeah because that worked such wonders for you last time." Chris muttered gloomily.
" Last time I didn't get the chance to use it! " Angelique threw, sounding almost offended, " If I were to have it again I swear history will not repeat."
" And how are we going to get it again? " Spade asked, " I mean, if Veronica hid the pieces throughout the fabric of time...."
" And here the fabric of time is weak." Angelique stated simply. " I may not be able to time-travel personally thanks to Veronica's hex on the magically inclined, but I have just enough power to generate time-portals that will pull a random few of you into them. Once inside, you will have exactly eight hours to find and retrieve a piece of the magic staff. You can't miss it, it's a very beautiful wood as white as snow with tiny magical carvings of gold forming special runes in it. The tip has a small garnet orb the color of old red wine. Once the eight hours are up, my spell will end and you'll be magicked back here with or without the piece, so please, keep the sight-seeing to a minimum."
" That sounds very nice and all," Alan said, " but why randomly? Can't we pick and choose who goes where? "
" I'm afraid not. That would require a witch of a higher level. Suffice to say, I don't have that much power, so it has to be random. Sorry."
Now Spade was really excited. " Do you know what time-eras they'll be? "
Angelique shook her head. " No. All I know is that Veronica most likely has a charm on the spell that varies depending upon the user. She doesn't want anyone to succeed, so I'm guessing that it's a worse-case scenario for that particular person. For example, say you're afraid of heights. Then the time-shifter might throw you to a high mountain range in a time before aircraft were invented so your chances would be slim. I'm not going to lie to you: it's not without it's risks. But we need to win this fight, and we can't do that without the Hylen. Are you in? "
