Chapter 12

George shook Urien awake.

"Wake up, wake up." he insisted

"Huh?" Urien tried to focus his eyes.

"I have an idea. I think that I know how we can force them to give us back Barnabas and the others."

"Huh?" Urien was not fully awake yet.

"If I were to destroy the egg, they would not like that. If I were to try to melt it or drop it in acid. That would be a way of forcing their hand. I still got a gun with me."

Urien opened his eyes. "They might not be affected by bullets."

"Then I will use silver bullets and Holy water. I might be able to bargain for the missing people in exchange of not destroying the egg."

"It is risky"

"Yes, but it might work. Nothing else does. I will need your help to reload the guns."

"You and me against all of them?"

"I learned a few things from Angelique and I can use them."

"It is very dangerous."

"Yes. It is. But are you willing to abandon Barnabas without doing anything to help?'

"They are so strong, so powerful..."

"But not so powerful that they can't be defeated. We have to dare. We can't give up without a fight."

"But..."

"You don't care about Barnabas at all? He gave you a home, and now you refuse to help him?"

"I only said that it would not be easy."

"We have to dare!" George's eyes blazed "We got to try! We can't do any less."

Urien gulped. He wanted to refuse, to talk George out of this mad attempt, but he was ashamed to do so... Because he did care about Barnabas, and if this could bring him back... He owed everything he was to Barnabas, how could he abandon him now?

"They are cowards, each and every one." George continued "But we don't have to be. Let's show them the stuff that we are made of. God, if our forefathers had been anything like them, we would still be an English colony. But we can do better than that."

George's eyes blazed and pierced Urien, daring him to deny it, daring him to proclaim himself a coward. And Urien could nt.

He gulped. "What do I have to do?"

"He is taking it very bad." Tammy told Julia "I swear that I didn't intend the meeting to come out as it did. It got out of control."

Julia sighed. It was not up to her to criticize Tammy's actions. She herself had given up after the notes were gone. She had to admit too, that after she had seen how easily Barnabas had been taken away, she had been scared, and was thinking of Gretchen, her little daughter.

There was a time when she would have braved all dangers to come to Barnabas' aid. But that was before she had a child of her own to protect and care for.

Did having a family made cowards of people? Or did bravery come more easily to those who did not have other, conflicting responsibilities?

Perhaps if there was something that she could do, something that she could try, then she'd be doing it. But now, it was easier to just give up.

She had to think of Gretchen, who needed her mother desperately.

"What else can we do?' Tammy said, again, impotently.

"What else, indeed?"

"I hope no one asks where I got all this silver." George said. "It is for melting into bullets. Nothing else will do."

"Where did you get it?"

"Took out a bank loan. I will have to repay it later, If I am around to repay it."

"And you think that the silver will do the trick?'

"It has to."

This did not reassure Urien in the least. But he would not dream of backing out now. He owed it to Barnabas, as George had said.

A knock at the door interrupted them.

George growled. "All right, I will see how it is You keep the fire going."

It was Howard Nelson at the door.

"What do you want?" George asked harshly.

"I thought you may need help."

"You plan to give me a talk as to how I am hurting myself? I have had quite a bit of those already."

"Is it true that Megan and Angelique refused to help?"

"Yes."

"And you are going to try for it all alone."

"And what if I am?"

"That's where you need my help. I don't think that you have planned it properly. My expertise should come handy for this."

"You really want to help?" George said with surprise. "Not just lecture?"

Howard sighed. "I know how it is when people look away from what is happening. I have no right to do that. I want to be involved. I need to be involved. Did you think that I would abandon you?"

"Julia did."

"Julia felt herself beaten when the notes disappeared. And she is responsible for a little baby. You can't ask her to drop her child and risk her life. The childless should not pass judgment on those who have children to protect." Howard said severely "By the way, this is too long a conversation to be held at the door. Aren't you going to invite me in?"

George invited him in, and showed him his plans.

Howard considered it. "Kind of desperate, isn't it?"

"It is all I got."

"I would like to think this through. We may need better weapons than silver bullets. Angelique left several things behind, didn't she?"

"Yes, she did."

"I would like to see what they are, and if there is something of hers that we can use." he looked at Urien. "Are you including him in this?"

"Yes."

"Will it be wise? It is not for children, you know"

"I am not a child." Urien said "And Barnabas is my father now."

"Still..."

"I have to be there. I am old enough to fight for what is right."

Howard sighed. Urien was only slightly older than he had been when he had been drawn into the maw of the Holocaust. True, he had had no choice about it, and he had grown up in a hurry... And Urien had also grown up in a hurry..."

"All right, then. It is going to be the three of us. Now let's see what Angelique left behind."

They found Kira's knife. "This may be useful " Howard remarked. They found the wax that she used to make dolls, and the some pins. They found scraps of clothing, and some incised earthenware jars.

"I think that the knife is the best we got." Howard commented. "Not only it is sharp enough to be used as a weapon, if needs be, but also it has great magical power. How did you get it?"

George told Kira's story as completely as he could. Howard nodded sagely. "Yes, it is exactly what we need."

They were determined to do it. After a couple of hours they had decided on a plan of action. Much to their surprise Frances had come to join them, insisting that she had to be on it, too. Howard had tried to convince her not to, but she had been stubborn, and he was not wholly displeased by it. He would have thought less of her if she had not volunteered, even if he shuddered when he thought of the dangers.

Urien hugged himself. A feeling of doom hung above him, and eh wanted to back off, but despised himself for it. Brant believed it would work, and so did Howard. He had to believe, too. They would get Barnabas back.

George felt a twinge of guilt about involving Urien in this. What if it failed? What would Barnabas say about putting Urien on the firing line?

But when they got him back it would not matter.