Chapter 28: Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My
After decanting the pilfered blood into several bottles which they stowed away in their bags they closed all the curtains in the house and set to work. The dust rose in clouds under the onslaught of dusters, brushes and the old vacuum cleaner Emily pulled from a cupboard in one corner of the small kitchen.
"Do Earthlings do anything for themselves?" Serana asked, smiling and quirking an eyebrow as Emily plugged in the vacuum.
"Unless it's something fun, not unless they can help it," Emily replied. The vacuum had evidently seen better days as for all the noise it made it didn't seem to be lifting much dust. They started in the living room, gradually turning it back into a liveable space. Emily sorted through the newspapers, glancing at the headlines. The cliff-notes of her findings showed that the US was now being led by a dingbat with bad hair, Britain was still in the halfway house between leaving and remaining and there'd been another royal wedding. She dumped all but the most recent in the wastepaper basket, resolving to check through them for more clues concerning this lethargy mentioned on the news while they were in Norway.
Once the living room was cleaned they moved on to the kitchen and the small bathroom and from there to Emily's room.
"Sorry about the mess," she said as she pulled the duvet off the bed and dumped it straight into the wash basket, "I'm afraid I never was one for housework."
"And apparently none of that's changed since you came to Nirn," Serana joked. Emily laughed as, between them, they got the sheets and pillow cases stripped from the bed. The surfaces were dusted, the floors swept and clean linens put on the bed. By the time they were done the clock in the hallway chimed midday. They collapsed back on the bed.
"Place has probably never been so tidy," Emily smiled as she rolled over, "Thanks for the help."
"It'll certainly make a good base camp for us while we're here," Serana replied, "You said something earlier about looking through those newspapers. Did you find anything?"
"Apparently it started a week or two ago, around the time we would have come through the portal. Perhaps a bit after," Emily replied.
"That surely can't be a coincidence," said Serana. Emily shook her head.
"That's what I thought," she replied, "And there's something else. Two strange shadowy shapes were seen flying over the village of Beddgelert."
"Where's that?" Serana asked.
"It's in Wales, that's North of here, about two hundred and fifty miles away," Emily replied, "Might be nothing, might be just another loch ness monster. But we'd best be sure."
"They could be dragons," Serana replied.
"Unlikely," Emily replied. Then she paused, "But I can't say it's impossible."
"Where should we go first?" Serana asked.
"Glastonbury, it's a lot nearer," Emily replied, "Then we'll go up towards Beddgelert. The best route's through the city of Birmingham."
As midday gave way to afternoon they had a look around the house for anything that might be useful in refilling their supply of arrows. Paintbrushes and a set of wooden stakes used for gardening recovered from the adjoining garage were repurposed. They fletched them with a collection of feathers Emily had gathered on her walks down by the seaside and with a few pulled from the old cushions on the sofa. A collection of flint pebbles from similar walks near the cliffs at Dover were sharpened to a keen edge and affixed to the tips of the wooden shafts.
"Okay, that should do it," Emily said as she tipped the last of the handmade arrows into the quiver, "We'd better make these last and use our magic wherever we can. With any luck, we won't have to fight until we find Miraak."
"I still don't feel right without my dagger," Serana replied, touching the place at her hip where her scabbard once rested, "You're sure we can't take a couple of these knives with us?" She gestured to the knife block where several knives of different sorts and sizes resided.
"I'm certain, police would be on our tail before we got out of Porlock," Emily replied, "No Earthlings carry blades unless they're out to kill someone. With the bow and arrows they might just think we're off to a comic book convention or a fancy dress party."
"Alright, magic and arrows it is then," Serana said ruefully.
"And speaking of fancy dress, we'd better see about those disguises I mentioned earlier," said Serana.
"What did you have in mind?" Serana asked.
Emily led Serana over to the closet that stood in one corner of her room. It was an old fashioned wooden affair, intricately carved and looked as though it had seen a fair amount of wear. Emily pulled open the doors and began to rummage through the clothes suspended from metal hooks lined up along the wooden bar at the top of the interior.
"I'm thinking our best bet would be to dress up as a couple of goths," Emily said as she pulled out an odd looking piece of attire that looked to be corset and black lace top combined into one item of clothing. The cord that in a functioning corset would have been used to tighten the garment looked to be simply for show here. Despite her inability to blush Emily gave a good impression of doing so as she looked at the top. "One of my cringier phases when I was a teenager," she said, "I thought I was sooo "goffik" when I wore this crap."
"Phases?" Serana asked.
"I don't know about Nirn teens but Earthling teens go through a few…stages in growing up," Emily explained, "One of them is particular fashion trends. Emo, goth, punk." She counted them off on her fingers, "I think I must've gone through all three at some point. I wore this stuff when I was about fifteen." She looked appraisingly at the black pants adorned with numerous buckles and chains which seemed to serve as little function as the corset. "Thankfully I haven't grown all that much since then so these should still fit."
"And if you think so little of these clothes, why do you think we should wear them?" Serana asked.
"Because one of the things that some goths like to do is where colour contacts in their eyes to make them appear red and some like to wear prosthetic fangs," Emily explained.
"So they'll think nothing of us if they do happen to spot our…differences from mortals," Serana finished.
"Precisely," Emily replied, "My only concern is finding you something to wear. You're…quite a bit taller than me after all."
The trousers, it was true, would not fit the vampiress and the long sleeved tops looked more like three-quarter length sleeved on her but Emily found her a black T-shirt with the name of a band often liked by those in the goth scene emblazoned across the front. It was a little short in the body but would pass well enough for a midriff bearing top. She also found a black skirt and to complete the look they each put on a black choker. Serana looked at herself in the mirror.
"Not the look I would have chosen," she conceded. She turned to the Earthling who had since applied some black eyeliner and lipstick that she found in an old makeup bag hanging in the wardrobe.
"Can't believe I used to dress like this," she muttered as she put away the makeup, "But it will disguise us at least."
"My own mother wouldn't recognise me," Serana replied. She tugged at the band T-shirt. After a few moments she noticed her companion had gone oddly silent.
"Is something the matter?" she asked. A moment's pause. "Are you thinking about your parents?" Emily nodded.
"Where do they live?" Serana asked, "Perhaps we could visit them tonight?" Emily shook her head.
"Miraak comes first," she said, "My parents live just outside Weston-Super-Mare. That would be too far out of our way. Maybe when we go up towards Beddgelert. Maybe." She took her phone out of her pocket. "I thought about phoning them earlier," she continued, "But I think it would be better if I spoke to them face to face." Serana rested a hand on the Earthling's shoulder. Emily looked up at her.
"I'm alright, really," she said, giving Serana what she hoped to be a reassuring smile, "Come on, there's still a few things we have to pack."
As night fell Emily led Serana towards the adjoining garage. It was a short squat building, huddled between the house and the white wooden fence. She pushed open the weatherbeaten old door. The pale moonlight fell across the sleek curved metal of the bonnet and reflected off the windscreen. The car was a small model, modest in appearance and blue in colour.
"I take it this is how we'll be travelling tonight?" Serana asked, running her hand over the bonnet.
"This is how," Emily replied as she opened the garage door. They got into the car. Emily took out a small key and put it into a slot at the base of the steering wheel. She turned the key. There was a shudder, a whir. Then silence. She tried again with much the same result. She swore softly under her breath.
"Something wrong?" Serana asked.
"The battery must be flat," Emily replied, "Hang on a second." She got out and made her way around to the front of the car. Serana watched from the passenger seat as she opened the bonnet. Serana got out of the car and followed the earthling around to the front.
"You have a plan?" she asked.
"Maybe," Emily replied, "That's the battery there." She pointed to a black box with two knobs, one red and one black, situated on top. "It needs a good jolt of electricity. I think I might be able to jumpstart it with my magic."
"You be careful," Serana cautioned, "I don't want you burning yourself to a crisp." Emily smiled.
"I'll be careful," she replied as she retrieved two cables from the boot of the car. Each were tipped with clamps at either end. She unscrewed the knobs on the battery and clamped one end of each cable to them. She then lay the other ends flat on the concrete floor of the garage and took a step back. She readied lightning on her palms and directed it at the ends of the cables lying on the ground, aiming for the metal clamps. Sparks erupted from the clamps attached to the car battery and Emily slackened up on the power emanating from her finger tips.
After several minutes she stopped and unhooked the clamps, screwing the battery caps back on.
"Okay, here goes nothing," she said as she stored the jumper cables back in the boot. The tips of the metal clamps were noticeably blackened and she had her doubts on whether the same trick would work again. They got back in the car and Emily turned the key. This time the engine roared into life. Emily flicked on the lights and guided the car out of the garage and onto the road.
"Alright, Glastonbury, here we come," she said.
"How long before you'll have to charge it up again like that?" Serana asked.
"Hopefully never," Emily replied, "Now that it's going, driving it will charge it up. Lucky I must've stopped for petrol though before I took off for Norway."
They drove out of Porlock Weir and took the road that led them away from the coast. Due to the lateness of the hour, there was little traffic on the roads until they reached the A39. Two lanes wide with a barred section in between to separate the traffic took them past country houses. Many were separated from the road by high wooden fences. It brought them through the small coastal town of Minehead. They passed by row upon row of red and white brick houses, each with a sizeable garden.
"All these human settlements you've taken me to," mused Serana as she looked out of the window, "They're all very built up. Are there any cottages? Like ours?"
"As a matter of fact there is," Emily replied, "Out in the forest not far from here there's a little cottage. Quite a bit smaller than ours actually. And a good bit more overgrown. I used to go there during the holidays." Emily paused for a moment. "With Maylene. She liked to paint, you see. Said the woods inspired her."
"Do you…still have feelings for her?" Serana asked tentatively. Emily shook her head.
"No, no, just…pleasant memories," Emily replied, "Y'know, from before she showed her true colours. When everything looked like it was going to turn out rosy." She took a right onto the main road that led out of Minehead.
It was a little before midnight when they entered the town limits of Glastonbury. Emily parked the car near the town centre. In the distance they could see the Tor, a lofty hill on which stood the ruin of St Michael's tower. The stonework that made it up was sound but it was only partially rebuilt and possessed no roof. Emily pressed the button on the key fob, locking the door.
"Alright, let's have a look around," said Emily as she stowed the keys in her pocket.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Serana asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Emily replied, looking around at the empty streets, at the signs swinging and creaking faintly in the breeze. She scratched her head.
"Let's see if we can find someone," she continued, "Maybe they can tell us more about this lethargy." Serana looked around.
"I hope you know where to look," she replied, "The whole place looks pretty deserted."
"We'll need to head into the centre of town," said Emily. She checked her watch. "There'll still be some pubs open. There'll be people in there alright. Kicking out time's not for another hour."
Serana followed the Earthling down a street much wider than the rest. The houses here stood poker straight, not like the sloping affairs seen in Porlock Weir and other coastal villages. They were built of sturdy looking brick and many of them were whitewashed. The streets were lit by lanterns set at the top of lofty iron poles. These lanterns, however, possessed no candle and instead burned with a steady orange glow which gave out more light than any candle Serana had ever known. They saw cars and vans parked at the side of the road, the lamplight glimmering on their bonnets and windscreens. In the distance they heard the bells of St John the Baptist's church chime midnight.
Emily led Serana to a two storey whitewashed building like its neighbours. It had red rimmed windows and two sets of doors. One was evidently the entrance with a small semi-circular window situated just above it while the other looked more like a set of barn doors, made from black wooden slats. The pub's name was emblazoned in gold above this door. Emily pushed the smaller of the two doors open. Inside the atmosphere was warm but, Emily noticed, a good deal quieter than expected. At one end of the room was a long wooden bar lined with various pulleys to dispense the various varieties of liquor. Hanging above were row upon row of glasses positioned for ease of access by the bartender. Behind the bar were several coolers, each lit from the inside and lined with cans and bottles of various shapes and sizes. A small television situated to one side of the bar displayed a live footage of a football match but Emily quickly realised that none of the patrons were paying attention. A goal was scored onscreen but not so much as a single cheer was raised among the pensive crowd.
"Odd," Emily said quietly under her breath as they took a seat at the bar. The barman was the only one who seemed to have any life in him. He was a cleanshaven man in his middle thirties with thick curly hair.
"A pint of bitter please," said Emily once she'd got the man's attention, "And…" Here she turned to Serana.
"Just an ale," Serana added.
"That'll be seven pounds, thirty," replied the bartender as Emily pulled a ten pound note out of her pocket and handed it across the bar. The man took the note and rang it through the till, handing back the change before pulling two glasses down from the rack above the bar.
"Seems rather quiet in here tonight," Emily said, trying to sound casual as she looked around at the full bar.
"Quiet ain't the word for it," said the bartender as he filled the first of the glasses with the amber fluid and passed it along to Serana. "Eerie is more like it."
"How so?" Emily asked.
"Haven't you noticed?" asked the bartender, "The big game's being broadcast tonight and no one seems to care. See him over there?" He pointed to a heavyset man with a bald head. Emily glanced over in the man's direction. He seemed to be mouthing something under his breath but there was only him at the table and Emily could see no sign of a phone or any similar device.
"He's one of my regulars," continued the barman, "Never misses a match. Tonight it's a league match between the Bristol Rovers and the Wycombe Wanderers. Usually it doesn't matter to him whether it's a live match, a re-run or archived footage. He goes mental for it. And just look at him tonight. Look at them all." He gestured to several of the other patrons who were likewise still. Some were staring into their pint glasses as though the answers to life's greatest questions resided there. Others were doing as the bald man was, mouthing words not even Emily and Serana could catch.
"When did all this start?" Serana asked.
"A couple of weeks ago or thereabouts," replied the bartender, "I tell you, it's got something to do with this lethargy they've been going on about just lately."
"Lethargy?" Emily asked, feigning ignorance.
"Come on, you must have heard about it, it's been all over the news," replied the bartender.
"I'm afraid we've been out of the country for the past month," Emily replied, "We're only just back. What's causing it?"
"That's just it, they don't know," said the barman.
There was a scraping of chairs as two men got up and beckoned to a third before sloping out of the bar, leaving one of the tables empty. The bartender turned from this momentary disturbance back to the two women.
"It just started all of a sudden, there was no warning," he explained, "They just sit there staring into space or mumbling to themselves."
"What do they mumble?" Emily asked.
"What difference does it make what they mumble?" asked the bartender.
"Well, it might give some clue or other, do they not mumble anything in particular?" Emily asked by means of a reply.
"I…well, I can only say what I heard old Hopkins muttering last night when he was in with his wife," said the barman after some thought, scratching at his chin, "Normally they fight like a couple of strays but that night they were so quiet. Except he…what was it he was saying?" He thought for a moment.
"Me rack," he said, "Our eyes were blinded and now through him we see. Or something like that anyway."
"Miraak?" Emily repeated, "You're sure that's what he said?" The man nodded.
"Yes, at least, I think so," he replied, "They murmur it so quiet. But I'm almost certain that's what he said. I reckon it's the name of some new hallucinogen. It would certainly explain their odd behaviour."
"Have the police done anything about it?" Emily asked. The man shook his head.
"Apart from a few spot drug tests, no," he replied, "But either they get them tested too late or this new drug doesn't show up in their tests because they all come back negative."
"Do they know where exactly this all started?" Emily asked. The barman shook his head.
"Not really," he replied, "The first case was reported up near the Tor. A gang of youths. Probably going up there to do this…Miraak stuff. I'm afraid that's all I can say."
"Well, thanks for telling us all the same," said Emily as she took a draught from the pint glass.
"I hope whatever it is passes soon," he said, "It hasn't been great for business I can tell you." With that he returned to cleaning the pint glasses.
"What do you think?" Emily asked quietly of Serana.
"I think…we should go check out this Tor," Serana replied, "Where is it?"
"On the edge of town, the big hill we saw from where we parked the car," said Emily.
"Right, let's go while we've still got the moonlight on our side," Serana replied, downing the last of the pint and setting the empty glass down on the bar. Emily nodded and followed suit.
They left the bar and retraced their steps back towards the car.
Emily hesitated, something catching the corner of her eye as she pulled the keys from her pocket.
"What is it?" Serana asked. Emily looked around. She shook her head.
"Nothing," she replied, "I just thought I saw something. Must've just been a cat or something." But as she got into the car and put the key into the ignition she couldn't shake the notion that someone or something was watching them.
They drove out of the town centre and followed a long winding road that brought them up out of Glastonbury. Ahead of them, silhouetted against the light of the full moon, was the Tor and the ruins of St Michael's Tower. The hill on which the tower was built had a ridged appearance and a dirt track led up it to the tower.
Emily and Serana parked the car in a car park at the foot of the hill and made the rest of the journey on foot. As they reached the summit they heard the church bells below chime one. As they drew near to the tower Emily came to a halt. She had visited the tower on several occasions and so she was familiar with the single stone structure towering high into the sky. What she was not familiar with was the webbed structure that spread out from the archway that made up the entrance. It snaked from here around the building and sent several tendrils of stone down to the earth at the foot of the tower. As Emily's eyes adjusted to the sight she spotted several hunched figures working away at the base of the structure and caught the strains of the whispered mantra.
"Here at his tower he has claimed," they intoned, "Now we continue to claim in his name. Miraak."
"It's just like the stones on Solstheim," said Serana, looking up at the structure. Emily hurried over to one of the figures. He wore a university jacket and tracksuit bottoms. His face was gaunt and Emily could only guess at how long he'd toiled at the stone. Just like those on Solstheim, he was oblivious to the presence of the two vampiresses.
"You know what you have to do, right?" Serana asked. Emily nodded.
"Yes, let's just hope it works here," she replied. Then she drew herself up, staring straight at the heart of the webbed structure.
GOL
Just as it had done on Solstheim, yellow tendrils of light erupted from her mouth, encircling the stone. It glowed with a sickly yellow light, growing brighter by the second as it spewed out from the cracks in the stonework. There was a rumbling in the earth below them and the stone structure trembled before shattering into hundreds of shards. The people working at the stone took several shaking steps back from the rubble, looking all around them. They looked at the two strangers before them.
She's here!
"Are you alright?" Emily asked of the dazed crowd forming around them. One woman nodded, rubbing at her head as though a lingering headache still plagued her.
"You should all get back to town," Emily continued, "It's gone midnight."
Before anyone could reply there was a loud rumble overhead as of an encroaching storm but when they looked up there was not a cloud in the sky. What they did see, however, sent a chill down there spine. It was a large single green eye surrounded by an inky blackness far darker than the night sky. It did not belong to the demon of fate but to another. Several of the helpless crowd pointed up in a mixture of fear and awe. Emily drew closer to Serana as a wind picked up. The crowd stood in stupefaction and then the eye spoke.
"Laat Dovahkiin," it said in a voice that echoed and seemed to shake the very hill on which they stood, "Horvutah Laat Dovahkiin." Emily felt a presence permeate the space around her. It was heavy, stifling and the crowd shook as it passed through each one of them. Then, as they watched, they stepped forwards in a single movement, their eyes glowing green and bright.
"Laat Dovahkiin." It began as a whisper, a murmur, but grew in volume until all the crowd were chanting it. They took a step back as the crowd advanced. Their eyes darted from left to right along the length of the crowd. There must have been at least twenty, maybe thirty of them. With a sinking feeling Emily realised they were closing in from all sides. It would be mere seconds until they were overwhelmed.
Emily grabbed a hold of Serana's hand, wheeling around so that the hill and the path they had come up by lay before them. Then she shouted. The force of her shout caused those before her to bend double like blades of grass before a gale. Taking advantage of this they plunged off through the parting in the crowd and raced off down the hill.
Once ponderously slow the crowd now gave chase with full vigour, following the retreating vampiresses. A cry of, 'Laat Dovahkiin," followed them down the hill to the car park. The crowd were little more than thirty feet behind them when they reached the car. Emily fumbled in her pockets for the keys. They were quickly closing in and Serana readied lightning upon her palms in preparation, ready to leap atop the vehicle to a place of relative safety and haul the Earthling up after her. But then Emily found the key and unlocked the car. They piled in and Emily jammed the key into the ignition. The engine roared into life and Serana had barely enough time to close the door before the little car was hurtling off down the road towards the town.
"Bloody hell," said Emily as she looked briefly over her shoulder at the receding crowd, "It was never like this on Solstheim."
"He's got more influence over the people here," Serana replied, gripping the door tightly in one hand, "He's on the same plane of existence as them."
"In other words, who knows what he's capable of here," said Emily as she took a shaky turn off the main road, nearly clipping a lamppost in her haste. They drove back towards the town centre.
"We can't stay here," she said as they rounded the next bend, "It'll only be a matter of time before…" She stopped and in the same instant she slammed on the brakes, almost causing Serana to hit her head off the dashboard. They stared ahead of them. Standing in the road were scores of people. Emily recognised the bald man from the bar among their numbers.
"Oh no," said Emily quietly. The engine still thrummed as she looked around. "What do we do?"
"I don't know," Serana replied, "Drive through them. Let them dive out of the way when they realise we're not stopping."
"We can't do that," said Emily, "You saw how they were at the tower? They're not in control of themselves. Miraak's not going to care if one or two of them get squished. These are innocent people."
"Then how are we going to escape?" Serana demanded of her companion. Emily looked around but no simple answer sprung to mind.
Suddenly they heard a thud. It was followed by another and another.
"What was that?" Emily asked. Serana shook her head. Mingled with the thuds came shouts and roars, squeals and stampings. A mingled cacophony was coming up the main street. Hurriedly Serana and Emily piled out of the car as one of the crowds began to hurriedly disperse. Shouts and screams went up from the crowd, several of whom seemed to have regained themselves in response to the fear that now gripped them. A loud trumpet punctuated the night air. Emily's eyes widened as she recognised the sound.
"That…that was an elephant," she said in disbelief.
"A what?" said Serana.
"A baldy mammoth," Emily replied. Then, mingled with a second trumpet came a deep throaty roar and several rounds of high pitched yelping. "They…they must have escaped from a zoo. Miraak's got the animals under his control too. That means lions."
"And tigers?" added Serana.
"And bears," Emily gulped, "Oh my."
And then they saw it, large and grey, a great bull elephant broke through the crowds, flanked by several lions and the graceful long necks of two giraffes. But sitting astride the bull elephant's neck was not Miraak but the strange old man they had encountered in the taxi no more than two days previous. His loud Hawaiian shirt showed up plainly atop his great grey steed and he hollered over the crowd as he caught sight of them.
"Well, if it isn't me two favourite vampires," he cried. Emily and Serana stood transfixed as he steered his wild charge toward them. "Ye wouldn't be needing a hand, would ye?" he asked as he neared them. The lions, all wild eyes and teeth circled them and Emily and Serana backed closer together.
"Down boys," cried the man and the lions retreated. Then he reached down and seized Emily by the scruff of her jacket, pulling her up alongside him. Next Serana scrambled up after her.
"Where to?" he asked jovially as though he were merely taking them on a jaunt into town.
"Anywhere but here," Emily replied breathlessly.
"Anywhere but here it is," said the man, "Onwards. Come on, grey beauty. Onward. We've got places to go and things to do. Can't waste any more time hanging around here. Onward." And with that the bull elephant gave a loud trumpeting call and plunged off down the main street. Crowds dove out of its way in a panic, cowering in doorways and diving through any window that offered to escape it and its wild entourage as it left the town of Glastonbury behind.