Chapter 29: Unbound
Emily and Serana looked over at the man sitting quite calmly astride the neck of the great bull elephant. He swung his legs idly as he turned from the road ahead to look back at them.
"Dude, how on earth did you know we're vampires?" said Emily in disbelief, "And….and.." She looked down at the wild animals cavorting about the legs of the elephant, "Where did you get all these animals? Just who are you?" The old man laughed, a much more youthful laugh than his outward appearance described.
"Dude?" he laughed, "I love it." He slapped his knee as his laughter dissolved into repressed chuckles. "You may call me Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness, at your service." Here he bowed gracefully from his seated position. This moment of distinguished calm was short-lived however as a grin spread across his face. "As for the animals?" he continued, "I appropriated them from some place called Longleat. They were just sittin' around, not doin' anything interesting. They were callin' to me. Sheo, Uncle Sheo, they said, take us on an adventure. We tire of sitting here."
"You're a Daedric Prince?" said Emily, a note of disbelief evident.
"Ha, did ya never hear the saying, don't judge an Elytra by its ichor?" Sheogorath replied, "I am that, immortal."
"But how did you get here?" Serana asked, "We're here because another of your brethren couldn't come here and take care of his own business."
"Ya mean Hermy?" chuckled Sheogorath, "That oozin' old blob always was too smart for his own good. He was so busy overthinking things that he overlooked the most simple solution of all. Just follow you through the portal as I did." He looked around. "And on that note, you might want to get better sentries guarding that thing. It was far too easy to slip past them. Far too easy."
"But how did you?" Emily asked, "There was no one with us when we emerged in the Norwegian mountains."
"That's what you thought, Emily," said Sheogorath, "When you're a Daedric Prince you needn't trouble yourself with anything so inconvenient as a physical form. Now," he turned back to the road, "If that be all the questions you have, we should be on our way." With that he urged the elephant on. By now they had left Glastonbury behind and were now pushing out in a North-easterly direction. The road they were travelling took them out past farmland and a patchwork of fields stretching as far as the eye could see. Cars coming in the opposite direction were a frequent sight, braking hard and skidding to a halt when they caught sight of the Mad god's menagerie. They cowered in their cars, watching as the lions with their sharp teeth and flashing eyes sloped past the windows, followed by the yelping spotted hides of hyenas and the long graceful legs of the giraffes.
"Well, at least we know what Miraak's up to now?" said Emily.
"If only we knew where he was," Serana replied. Emily looked at her in puzzlement.
"Glastonbury," she said, "Sera, you saw that eye."
"Which is exactly why I'm pretty sure that's exactly where he wasn't," Serana replied calmly.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to explain that bit to me," said Emily.
"That eye was a physical manifestation of a scrying spell, that is, a spell to allow you to see goings on from a great distance away," Serana explained.
"Then, that begs the question as to why he didn't just show up himself," Emily replied.
"Perhaps he's scared of us," suggested Serana.
"Wishful thinking there, I'm afraid," Emily replied, "He's got forbidden knowledge at his back. What has he to fear?"
"Then, perhaps he simply wanted to avoid getting his hands dirty," said Serana, "It would hardly be the first time a necromancer or conjurer got his followers to do his bidding."
"So, we need to find where exactly he's operating from," said Emily.
"We probably had our best bet tonight," said Serana, "Though with the amount of people he had under his control, we weren't facing the best odds."
"I guess we're back to square one again," said Emily, leaning back with a sigh of exasperation as she turned her gaze to the sky.
"Not quite," said Serana. Emily turned her gaze back towards her vampiric companion. "He had to be somewhere reasonably close by," Serana continued, "Even for a powerful mage, it's difficult to cast such a spell over long distances. He's not going to want to waste his energies on that."
"So, if you were to hazard a guess at distance?" Emily prompted.
"I think he's somewhere in the southwest of England," said Serana, pulling out a map Emily had given her during their foray through her home in Porlock Weir, "Or possibly Wales, likely no further North than Birmingham or any further east than Oxford." She pointed to the two locations on the map.
"Then we'd better regroup and start searching again tonight," said Emily, glancing at her watch, "We only have another three hours of night left."
The elephant had carried them far. On their left were fields and in the distance a wooded area lay nestled but on their right these gave way to rolling green hills. Hedges grew thick and wild at the sides of the roads, partially obscuring any signage. Ahead, some distance down the road, Emily could make out the lights which signified a large village. Like many villages in England, the tallest structure was that of a church, silhouetted plainly against the gradually lightening sky.
"Any idea where we are?" Serana asked.
"Yes, actually," said Emily, craning her neck to see, "That's Winscombe over there. And I know where we can shelter for the day. That's where my parents live."
As the lights drew nearer Emily heard a faint droning. It was coming from somewhere above them. Emily looked up into the star studded skies. Then in the distance she heard the long wailing cry of a siren.
"Something wrong?" asked Sheogorath as he noticed both Emily and Serana looking anxiously around.
"I think the police have found us," said Emily. Then a light pierced through the night, falling upon them and the elephant. Emily looked up, blinking into the bright search light of a helicopter, its rotors rhythmically beating the air as it hovered overhead.
"You're on the run?" said Sheogorath, a twinkle in his eye, "Marvellous." He threw back his head and laughed. "I'll admit, you do know how to have a good time. I may have to mark this place down on me list of favourite holiday destinations." All at once he stood up.
"I think this is our stop," he announced, "I'll be seeing you."
"Hold on, where are you going?" Emily asked as she too got to her feet. The droning of the helicopter almost drowned out her question to the mad god.
"Who knows?" Sheogorath said, "I might go to Cheddar gorge, I hear the cheese there is die for. And you damn well might when you go chasing it down that gorge. Or maybe I'll go run for president. I think I'd be pretty good at it. Anyway, ta-ta, immortals, see you later." With that he leapt down from the back of the elephant and out of sight.
"I think we'd better go too," shouted Emily as the droning grew louder and the bright searchlight swept over them again. They leapt down off the elephant, dropping into the road. They could still hear the sirens, drawing ever nearer as they looked around. The trees and hedges were shaking under the onslaught of the helicopter's presence. Leaves cascaded down in showers around them. The animals were now milling around without the mad god's influence. The giraffes were retreating from the cacophony of sound. The lions were watching them with interest, tails lashing and one of the elephants, unnerved by the lions and the human machinery encroaching upon them, gave a loud trumpet.
"Come on," said Emily, grasping Serana's hand, "This way." They ran off the road and almost immediately found themselves skidding down a steep slope into a ditch. A moment later they fetched up on the far side and ran out into the fields. Ahead of them lay the lights of Winscombe. The grass around them bent double under the force of the winds whipped up by the helicopter and once more the searchlight found them, the light nearly blinding them. Emily shielded her eyes with her other hand.
"I think it's time we disappeared," Serana shouted to her.
"Right," Emily shouted back. The next moment they vanished from sight and the searchlight faltered in its search. The only thing that marked their path was the grass parting before them.
By the time they reached the far side of the field the searchlights had fallen behind and the helicopter was now circling over the field. They could faintly hear people calling out to one another mingled with the sounds of the animals. Several of the smaller of the mad god's menagerie had strayed out into the fields and were either grazing or simply milling about, exploring their new habitat. The police had evidently called for backup and a few braver souls had taken their police dogs and were now searching the field.
Emily climbed up over the metal gate and landed on the far side. They found themselves standing at the side of a narrow country lane which led down into Winscombe. A sign, pointing the way to the centre of the village sat half hidden by dense foliage. They shimmered back into view as they headed off down the road.
"How far is it to your parents' house?" Serana asked, glancing anxiously at the sky.
"Not far," Emily replied, "Once you see the church, we're almost there." As there were no footpaths they kept to the grassy verge. The road took them past several large houses, varying from red brick to white pebbledash. Some were reinforced with wooden beams while others were not. Unlike in Tamriel, there seemed to be no unified style of architecture. Several people stood at their doorways, clad in their night things, watching the police helicopter hovering over the field. Emily and Serana hurried on down the road before any of the bystanders could think to question them on the curious circumstances.
At last they spotted the church tower over the high mossy walls covered in trailing ivy that lined the road on one side.
"It's just down here," said Emily as she led Serana down towards a row of red brick houses. She stopped outside one with a small neatly kept garden. Tall hedges grew on either side of the small pale green picket gate. It creaked slightly as Emily pushed it open and they moved up the stone paved path towards the front door. It was wooden and there was a black metal door knocker placed squarely in the middle of the top half. Emily took a deep breath.
"Are you alright?" Serana asked.
"Yeah, I'm just," Emily replied, "Just a little nervous is all. I knew I should have rung them first." She took another lungful of air she did not need and reached up, rapping the wrought iron knocker. Immediately a loud barking set up on the far side of the door and she heard hard nailed feet tramping up and down the hallway.
"Ernest," said Emily and the barking on the far side redoubled.
"Who could that be at this time of night?" Emily heard a voice she recognised to be her mother's at the top of the stairs.
"I don't know, love," replied another, gruffer voice, "Don't worry, I'll go have a look. It's probably just old Luca. Bet that dog of his has got out again. I told him before, he needs to mend that gaping great hole in his fence."
The door opened and Emily's father stood in the doorway, wearing a set of striped pyjamas over his portly frame and a pair of slippers. Emily's mothers stood at the top of the stairs, wearing a powder pink dressing gown that looked as though it had been thrown on in a hurry. Ernest, a large St Bernard dog with sagging jowls and drooping eyelids, wagged his tail at Emily, snuffled her hand before plodding back inside. They looked much as Emily remembered them. Perhaps her father now had a few more grey hairs in his bushy beard but other than that they were unchanged. As soon as their eyes locked her father froze. His eyes were wide and he was making odd shapes with his mouth like a fish out of water.
"Emily?" he managed to stammer out at last, "Is that really you?"
"Who is it, George?" came her mother's voice as she hurried down the stairs. She, likewise, came to a halt just behind her husband when she caught sight of Emily.
"Hi mum, hi dad," said Emily hesitantly. She felt as though she should have been running into their arms, glad to be home at last but something held her back.
"Emily, where have you been?" her mother asked, "We thought you were dead. We had the police up and down the country searching for you. What…what happened?"
"It's a long story, mum," Emily replied, "Is it alright if we come inside?" She gestured towards Serana. Emily's parents shifted their attention from their daughter to the stranger standing a couple of feet behind.
"Who is this?" her mother asked. Her father, for now at least, seemed to have lost the power of speech.
"This is my friend, Serana," Emily replied.
"Your…friend?" her mother echoed. Then she seemed to catch herself on. "Yes, yes, come inside, both of you." Emily and Serana followed Emily's parents into a small sitting room. The carpet covering the floor was covered in a busy floral pattern, as were the sofa and matching armchair. A TV cabinet stood in one corner. There were numerous photos surrounding it of several family members. Serana reckoned she had a good idea of who the young blonde in several of the photos was. Ernest was curled up in one corner of the room, watching with lazy eyes as they all filed in. George sat down heavily in the armchair while his wife perched on the edge of the arm of the chair. She had wavy blonde that stuck up in several places which, along with the nightdress she wore under the dressing gown, suggested that she was not long awake. Emily and Serana stood uneasily in the doorway for a moment. Then Serana rested her hand gently on Emily's arm and they moved over to the sofa where they sat down.
"It all started when I went to Norway," began Emily, "I needed some time to think."
"Yes, we heard from Maylene shortly after you left," Emily's mother began, "Did you have another fight? She-."
"Barbara," said her father gently who had found his voice at last, "Let her speak. I'm sure she'll explain everything."
"I'll try but… well, what I'm about to say, I didn't believe it at first either," Emily continued. Her parents exchanged anxious looks at these words.
"I went to another world, there was a stone archway in Norway," Emily explained, "I was sketching it then on the way back I walked through it. There was a shimmering light and then I was standing on a mountainside but something was different. I found my way to a small village called Dragon Bridge. It wasn't until another day or two when I realised I wasn't on Earth anymore." Her parents were both looking at her in disbelief. Her father shook his head.
"Emily, what are you talking about?" he asked, "A-another world?"
"Emily, have you been taking drugs?" Barbara asked, "I told you before, George, that girl was a bad influence. What else do you expect from anyone hanging around that…that festival?"
"Mum, I haven't been taking any drugs, this has nothing to do with Maylene," Emily replied, her voice going up an octave, "And I went to that festival too if you remember." She lowered her voice again as she continued. "I didn't believe it either at first. I mean, another world, it's unheard of. But Serana, Serana's from this world, from Tamriel."
"Emily, you, you have lost it, this, George, are you hearing this, this is absolutely absurd," said her mother, her hands balled into fists in her dressing gown, "Look at you, you're so pale, have you been ill? This woman has obviously turned your head." She gestured to Serana who was looking uneasily between Emily's parents and the Earthling who was staring at her mother with disbelief to rival hers.
"Mother, no one has turned my head, if you'd just listen," said Emily, standing up, "I did go to another world. I learnt to do magic and I'm not ill. I'm….I'm…." She faltered. Both her parents were looking at her as though she had two heads. "I'm a vampire." At these words her mother put her head in her hands.
"Emily," she said quietly, "I don't know what's happened but tomorrow we'll get you down to a doctor and you," she pointed to Serana, "You can leave. Just…get out."
"Leave Serana alone," said Emily, taking a step towards her mother, "Mother, I'm telling you the truth. If you don't believe me, check my pulse." Slowly her mother got up. Her hands were shaking a little as she pressed two fingers to Emily's neck. For a moment she hesitated. Then she withdrew, a look of horror on her face as she felt for the arm of the arm chair as if for support, sitting down quickly.
"Emily, how did this happen?" asked her father.
"Well, we had to go to a place known as the Soul Cairn," said Emily hesitantly, "And only vampires can go there without giving up a piece of their soul so I became a vampire to go there."
"But why did you go to this…Soul Cairn?" asked her father.
"We had to retrieve an item known as an Elder Scroll from Serana's mother so we could find the location of a legendary bow," Emily explained.
"It was to stop my father," Serana added, "To stop him from blotting out the sun." Emily's mother shook her head.
"Emily, this…this is unbelievable," she said, getting up once more from the armchair, "There must be a pulse there and I just didn't feel it, it was so faint. That would explain this…fantasy world your mind has conjured up."
"Mother, you can check for a pulse as much as you want," Emily replied, "It isn't there. I don't need to breathe either and…I have fangs." Emily's mother looked into her face, at her pale skin and red eyes. Then she looked past her to Serana.
"Is she a vampire too?" she asked.
"Yes," Emily replied.
"Did she turn you then?" she asked. Emily nodded.
"Why?" her mother asked.
"Because it was the only way," Emily explained, "I consented to it."
"But…but vampires kill people, they drink their blood," said her mother, "They…" Her voice faltered as she looked into her daughter's face. She turned away.
"This…this is too much to take in, I can't accept this," Emily heard her say as Emily's father got to his feet, resting a hand on his wife's shoulders. She shook it off. Emily stood there for a moment. She felt her eyes stinging as they welled up with tears and her lower lip trembled. Then she turned and fled from the room. Serana got up and followed her.
The door to the kitchen stood ajar and Emily stood with her hands braced on either side of the sink. Her shoulders were shaking and she was drawing ragged breaths. Serana crossed the room silently yet Emily heard her.
"Sera," she heard her say, her voice shaking as she turned to face the vampiress. Serana was not sure how to respond. She felt a knot forming in her own throat as she regarded the Earthling. They moved simultaneously, Emily reaching out to the elder vampiress and Serana taking her in her arms. Emily buried her head in Serana's neck, harsh sobs racking her body.
"I'm sorry," she heard Serana say, "I'm sorry, Em."
"Don't apologise," Emily managed to choke out in response, "Please, Sera, don't. It isn't your fault."
"But I turned you," said Serana, "If we'd only soul trapped…"
"I told you before, I don't regret what happened," Emily replied, holding Serana tightly. She choked back another sob. "You helped me survive in a world I felt I didn't have a chance in."
"By killing you," Serana replied.
"I'm undead, Sera, not dead," said Emily, looking up into Serana's eyes. Serana rolled her eyes.
"Em, don't go debating the classification of life and unlife with me," she said. Emily gave her a watery smile as Serana reached up to cup the side of her face, wiping away a stray tear with her thumb. Emily's smile widened a little as she put her arms back around Serana.
"I love you, I really do," she said as Serana held her tightly.
"What about your parents?" Serana asked. Emily took a deep breath.
"I don't know," she said, "All I can hope is that they'll come around. When I came out it…well, it took them a while to come to terms with it." She felt something wet against her palm and looked down to see Ernest snuffling his great wet nose into her hand. He looked up at her, wagging his tail slowly. Emily ruffled his long chestnut fur and he leant into her hand, drooling slightly. Serana put out her hand for the dog to sniff. He snuffled his black shiny nose into her hand and she rubbed at his neck.
"You big softy," said Emily as she wiped away the last of her tears, kneeling to put her arms around the big St Bernard as she had done so on many occasions before.
"Are you ready to go back in?" Serana asked gently. Emily stood up.
"Yeah," she said, taking a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm ready."
When they re-entered the sitting room they found Emily's parents much as they left them. Emily's mother was quiet and pale-looking. Her father sat with one hand resting on her shoulder. The television in the corner had been switched on, presumably to fill the silence that followed Emily leaving the room. Emily and Serana sat down on the sofa where the awkward silence continued. Emily felt Serana slip her hand into Emily's and she gave her fingers a grateful squeeze. Ernest came plodding in, planting himself squarely between Emily and Serana where he sat, thumping his tail against the carpet.
The television was displaying a news channel. The story currently playing was recounting the blood bank robbery that had taken place the previous night. Two sketches flashed up on the screen.
"Is that…you?" Emily's mother asked quietly. Emily nodded. She gulped nervously.
"Yes, yes, it is," she replied.
"You stole from a blood bank?" her father asked.
"Dad, we had to," Emily explained, "Believe me, it wasn't an easy choice for us to make. But the alternatives were…well, worse."
"You mean feeding off of others," said her mother. Emily nodded.
Then the news story changed to a breaking news update.
"Zookeepers are on the scene now to recapture the animals that escaped from Longleat Animal Sanctuary following the appearance of a man in his mid to late sixties," said the anchor-woman, "Police are investigating the footage taken from a camera on board a police helicopter shortly after the animals stampeded through Glastonbury which appears to show two women accompanying the man. It is unknown who these three suspects are at the present time but police continue to search the local area." The footage, taken from the air, showed the animals advancing along the road in the direction of Winscombe. Three figures could clearly be seen atop the elephant's back.
"And this? Was this you too?" Emily's mother asked.
"Yes, but it wasn't our plan to come here by elephant," Emily said quickly, "It's part of the long story I mentioned. We came here to stop an evil dragonborn mage from enslaving the human race. We were investigating in Glastonbury when we were attacked by some of the people he enslaved. That lethargy they were reporting on the news, that was all part of it."
"And how exactly did you come to be on the back of an elephant?" her father asked, his voice calm but his eyes showing the struggle to come to terms with all this new information.
"The man the news mentioned, his name is Sheogorath, he followed us from this other world," Emily explained, "We didn't even know until tonight when he showed up on the elephant and rescued us from Miraak's followers."
"Miraak?" said her father.
"The evil dragonborn mage," said Emily.
"But why are you caught up in all of this?" asked her mother, "Why are you pursuing this man? He's obviously dangerous." And here, Emily decided, was the cherry on top of weird things she'd had to explain that night.
"Because I'm dragonborn too," she said, "It means I have the soul of a dragon. How, I can't begin to understand but I do. And Miraak doesn't want another dragonborn on the scene. He's already tried to kill me twice. That's why we need to stay here. Just for one day. Vampires can't go out by day." She knew there was a lot more to be explained but right now she didn't feel as though she had the strength to.
"Please, mum," said Emily. Emily's mother sighed.
"Yes, yes, of course you can stay," she said. She looked uncertainly at Serana and then at her husband.
"It'll be alright, Barbara," said Emily's father gently.
"But George," Emily's mother began.
"She's still our little girl, Bar," he replied. At these words Emily wanted to get up and hug her father but she waited to see if her mother would say anything more. Her mother nodded and met her daughter's gaze briefly.
"Your room is just as you left it," she said.
"Thank you, mum," said Emily gratefully.
She got up and Serana took one uncertain look at Emily's parents before following her from the room.
Emily's bedroom lay at the top of the stairs. It was a small room with mauve wallpaper. A bed with purple sheets and duvet stood against the back wall. In one corner was a wicker basket filled to the brim and overflowing with cuddly toys Emily had amassed during her childhood but had never had the heart or the inclination to throw out. The other corner was home to a bookshelf groaning under the weight of scores of books. Emily crossed the room to the window where she pulled the curtains shut, compensating for the lack of light by turning on the bedside lamp. Serana sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sorry about what my mum said about you," said Emily as she sat down next to her. Serana smiled.
"Don't worry about it," she said, slipping an arm around Emily, "If I remember right, my mother didn't give you the warmest of welcomes either." Emily leaned into the embrace.
"So, do you want to get some rest?" Serana asked, gesturing towards the bed, "Or is there anything more you'd like to say to your parents?"
"I'm afraid we're more or less confined to barracks now," said Emily, "This house is a suntrap. There are plenty of windows in each room to let the sunlight in and many of them don't have curtains."
"I guess we'll get some rest then," said Serana, leaning back on the bed. She looked at the posters that lined the walls. They were of various groups of people. Some held instruments similar in appearance to a lute.
"Are these the Earthling equivalent of bards?" she asked, gesturing towards the posters.
"Yeah, when I was growing up I was mad about music," Emily replied, "That's why I used to go to the Glastonbury festival." She lay back on the bed. Even though she had not slept there in years, the springs in the mattress yielding beneath her back were familiar, as was the smell of the pillowcase and the sheets. Through the floorboards she heard her parents talking and Ernest padding about on the wooden floor of the hallway. It all sounded so familiar and yet…everything was different. She rolled over, nestling up against the vampiress and feeling the familiar embrace as she looped one arm about her. No matter what happened, she decided, she knew where she belonged.