Hello again my friends and welcome back to the Whale Pit. I appreciate all your comments and lovely reviews: Darev (Always appreciate your comments...so insightful); Nemrut (Good suggestions); Lost Prince (Hugs to you and your mom); Nightroad (Good insight...keep it up); Starwin (Hehe...pointy rocks of pointyness. Let the reader torture continue...); Magnafreak326 (Yes, poor Irma indeed. Just wait...); Cartoonloverfan101 (Thanks for the compliment); Wolfgurl211 (Thank you for continuing to read); XV-Dragon (Thanks for catching the Kadma thing); AJ (Hehe...quite the rant. It made me smile, so thank you); Shocklance (Think you can take the next chapter, eh? Guess we'll see. Grin); Philip Gipson (The Fairy-Cade sounds interesting. I hope you will write a story or two and incorporate your ideas); and DayDreamer9 (Twisted little author, aren't I...Grin).
I thank you all for your reviews...they make me feel good.
Now for the obligatory warning you all knew was coming:
**WARNING!! THIS CHAPTER MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME READERS. DISCRETION IS ADVISED!!**
Now without further ado, may I present:
Chapter 12
Anna Lair hummed to herself as she ran the vacuum across the living room floor. Yan Lin and Hay Lin had just departed, and reported that Irma seemed to be feeling a little better. Anna didn't know what was wrong with her only daughter, and she wished the girl would let her in. Part of her hurt to know that Irma would sooner talk to her friends than her own mother, but if those friends could help her daughter, then Mrs. Lair was all for it.
Anna felt unusually light after hearing a good report from her daughter's closest friend, and she wanted to visit with Irma as soon as possible. She finished the vacuuming quickly, then climbed the stairs to the upper level. Mrs. Lair stopped short of Irma's room when she heard the telltale sound of running water.
Taking a bath again, Anna thought. What was it with her daughter's obsession with water, anyway? She seemed unusually fascinated by the life-giving liquid, and Anna was not at all certain it was normal. Nevertheless, she preferred to live with someone who took too many baths than not enough.
Anna approached Irma's bedroom door and knocked softly.
"Irma?" she called.
Receiving no answer, Anna knocked a little louder.
"Irma?"
Still nothing. No sound of movement at all. In fact, all Mrs. Lair could hear was running water. Concerned, the middle-aged woman pulled the door key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock.
But the door wasn't locked.
Anna's breath caught in her throat and her eyes narrowed in concern. Then she remembered she hadn't locked the door after the Lin's had left. The woman sighed and returned the key to her pocket. She tried knocking one last time.
"Irma, please answer me. Are you in there?"
Anna immediately felt silly. Of course Irma was in there. Where else would she be? Despite Tom's insistence that the girl needed to learn responsibility, Anna trusted her daughter. No way would she try to sneak out while her mother was vacuuming.
But mother still wanted to visit with daughter, so Anna turned the knob and carefully opened the door. The first thing she noticed was that the room was clean and well-organized. Everything seemed to be in its place, and there was nothing on the floor that didn't belong there. A light breeze accompanied the sun that streamed through the open window, and outside, a single bird was chirping. Everything was as it should be...except that there was no Irma.
This didn't alarm Anna. Her daughter was most likely in the bathroom getting ready for her bath. Turning towards the sound of water, Mrs. Lair stopped short. The door was wide open, and the tub was overflowing.
Moving quickly, Anna sloshed to the tub and turned the faucet off. The room was plunged into silence, except for the occasional sound of sloshing water. The mess in the bathroom should have concerned Mrs. Lair; in fact it should have made her angry. But Anna's attentions were elsewhere. Where was her daughter?
She moved swiftly back into the bedroom. Standing in the middle, she turned this way and that, searching for her child.
"Irma!" she called. "Irma, answer me!"
But there was no reply.
Then she saw it as if for the first time.
The open window.
With a soft cry, Anna raced to the opening. Resting her hands heavily on the wooden windowsill, Mrs. Lair craned her neck first left then right. She looked all around, but saw no sign of her daughter.
"IRMA!!!"
Again there was no answer. What had happened? Could Irma have climbed out the window to escape her bedroom prison? Or had something more sinister befallen the teenager? She couldn't believe Irma would choose to sneak out, and panic began to form in her chest.
Pushing herself away from the window, Anna Lair raced to the phone in the kitchen and dialed the police station.
--
Ten minutes after a frantic phone call, three patrol cars screeched to a halt outside the Lair home. Sergeant Tom Lair alighted from one car almost before it had come to a complete stop. He raced across the lawn and caught his waiting wife in a bear hug.
"Tom, oh, Tom. Something's happened to her...I just know it."
"Shh...don't talk like that. We have to think now, not react."
"But what if she's been taken? What am I going to do without my daughter?"
Tom hugged his sobbing wife close and rubbed her back in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.
"What if she's lying in a gutter somewhere right now, hurt or worse? Oh, Tom, we have to find her...we have to find her!"
"We'll find her, Anna, we'll find her. Have you called her friends? The neighbors? Asked around the neighborhood?"
Anna shook her head and sniffled. "I just called you. It was all I could think of to do."
"And you did the right thing," Tom soothed. "Where's Chris?"
"He's been playing at Bobby Beckett's house all day. He doesn't know what's going on"
Tom nodded. "I think we should keep it that way for now. I need to deploy the officers, but I'll be right back. Stay right here."
Anna nodded and disengaged from her husband. Tom turned back to the patrolmen, waiting impatiently in his driveway.
"Lewis, Garvy, canvas the neighborhood. I want you to start talking to people, see if anyone saw anything."
Two young patrolmen nodded and set off in opposite directions.
"Jenkins, look around outside my house. Pay particular attention to the area around my daughter's bedroom. See if you can find anything that might give us a clue as to what happened."
A silver-haired officer adjusted his glasses and nodded purposefully.
"Michaelson, please come with me. I need you to check Irma's bedroom. Maybe there's something that can help us."
"Yes, sir," the female officer responded. "Lead on."
Tom held up one finger and turned back to his still-sobbing wife.
"Anna, when did you see her last? What was she doing?"
Anna wiped her eyes. "Hay Lin and Yan Lin came over for a visit about an hour ago, so I let them have some time with Irma. After they left, I started vacuuming downstairs. When I finished, I could hear the bath water running in her room. I knocked, but she didn't answer, and then, I-I noticed the open window, and...and..."
Anna covered her face with her hands. Tom immediately took that beautiful face in his strong hands and turned her eyes to look into his.
"We're going to find her, Anna. I promise, we're going to find her." He caught his wife in another hug and held her briefly.
"I know this may be hard for you right now, but I need you to call Irma's friends. One of them may know where she is. Can you do that?"
Anna nodded and dried more tears with the back of her hand. "Yes, I can do that."
Tom smiled kindly. "Good. Thank you. Let me know what you find out. Carla and I are going to check her bedroom as well as the rest of the house. I've sent Paul and Steve to canvas the neighborhood, and Mel is checking around outside. If Irma was taken, and her abductor left any signs at all, we're going to find them."
Anna smiled bravely and wiped the rest of her tears. "I guess I'll go make those phone calls, then."
Tom cupped Anna's cheek in his hand and smiled back. Then he nodded to Officer Michaelson and they followed Mrs. Lair into the house.
--
Irma awoke, her mind a haze of fog. Her head pounded unmercifully, and her limbs felt heavy. Her mouth was dry.
The teenager groaned and tried to sit up. She was pushed roughly back down. With a grunt, Irma opened her eyes...and immediately wished she hadn't.
Standing over her, leering, was Frost the Hunter. Right behind him stood the pseudo-child, Miranda. Her slightly pointed teeth showed through her evil grin. Glancing over her shoulder, Irma saw Raythor leaning on his sword and glaring. Gargoyle towered behind him, while the evil Tracker stood off to her left with Sniffer. Crimson completed the group to Irma's right.
Completed surrounded by the Knights of Vengeance, Irma let her head fall back to the hard ground and groaned again.
"Don't you people ever get tired of this?" she moaned.
"We never get tired of torturing Guardians," Frost sneered. "I'm gonna make you bleed."
"Yeah, that should prove your manliness. Beating up a teenage girl. Is that how you want people to remember the mighty Frost?"
Frost laughed softly. "I don't really care what anyone thinks of me. The only opinion that matters is yours...and I know what you think of me. You fear me, Guardian; and that's good enough for me."
"Then what are you waiting for, you ugly brute?" Irma challenged. "Hit me, already. Beat the crap out of me. I'm still not calling my friends. It didn't work last time and it won't work now."
The Knights laughed derisively. "Oh we don't want you to call your friends this time, Guardian," Raythor sneered. "We only want one thing...to show you the meaning of pain. You're gonna scream for us, and you're gonna bleed for us. Those things you won't be able to help...so you will give us what we want."
Irma swallowed and knew the former palace guard was right. She still remembered the pounding fists, the cutting knives, the cracking whips. She wouldn't be able to help bleeding...or screaming. She wasn't a Guardian now...she was just Irma Lair, teenager extraordinaire. She wouldn't have enhanced strength or endurance to help her endure the punishment she knew was coming.
But she refused to cry...at least, not yet.
She felt herself being dragged roughly to her feet as Frost grabbed the front of her shirt in his meaty hands. Her spat in her face, then moved his left hand to close around her tender throat. He lifted the young girl off the ground, laughing at her choking noises and pathetic attempts to free herself. The big Knight tossed his captive into the air, then punched her in the face with his fist. Irma cried out and tumbled through the air, landing heavily on her left side. She skidded through the dirt, the tiny rocks scraping the exposed flesh on her arms. Dazed and hurt, Irma lay still, trying to get her bearings.
Frost's booted foot lashed out and connected solidly with Irma's stomach. Her breath flew from her lungs and she heard a sickening crack. Then she felt herself dragged up by her hair. Unable to cry out, Irma could only gasp in fear as she was forced to her knees. Raythor held her arms firmly, while Tracker brandished his chain.
Irma's eyes slid fearfully to her left and she barely caught the flash of movement as Tracker's chain lashed towards her. It caught her on the left arm and Irma winced in pain. It was then that Miranda stepped forward and began cutting the young Guardian with her trademark silver knife. A dozen shallow cuts soon covered Irma's exposed arms.
As her breath began to return, Irma gasped shallowly. She knew at least one rib was broken, though it was probably more, and her jaw felt out of place. She was, indeed, bleeding as the Knights has prophesied, and she knew it was just a matter of time before she was sobbing, broken, on the ground.
Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Something had wrapped itself around her throat and was squeezing the life out of her. Irma's eyes bulged as she struggled to free her arms from Raythor's powerful grip.
But her struggles were in vain, and she felt herself black out.
--
Taranee and Will arrived back on Earth. The two friends parted ways and Taranee began the trek home. She couldn't shake a feeling of dread as she trudged the familiar lamp-lit streets. Something felt very, very wrong, but she didn't know what. Suddenly, a voice burst into her head.
Taranee...please help me.
The Fire Guardian stopped dead in her tracks and listened closely. The voice had been so faint, as if spoken across a bad phone connection. Taranee couldn't make out the speaker, but she knew it had to be one of the Guardians, or one of the Council. After all, no one else could communicate with her telepathically.
The young girl contacted Will.
Will, can you hear me?
Of course I can hear you. Did you miss me or something?
Will this is serious. Someone just contacted me telepathically with a plea for help. Was it you?
No it wasn't me. Hold on a sec, I'm getting a phone call.
Thirty seconds passed as Taranee waited for her friend. She was about to try contacting someone else, when Will's voice came through.
Quick, I need an excuse as to why I haven't been answering my cell phone all day! My mom's going nuts on me.
Taranee's mind spun. How long had someone been calling Will?
Taranee!
The voice sounded again, but still the young Fire Witch could barely hear it. What she did know was that it sounded frightened. Taranee tried to focus on the problems at hand. One: Will needed an excuse. Two: they had to find out who that voice belonged to and render quick assistance.
Tell your mom we were spelunking.
What's that?
Just tell her!
Another minute passed as Taranee waited impatiently.
Okay, she seemed to buy that, T. Nice one. But we have a problem. Irma's missing, and no one knows where she is. She talked with Hay Lin and Yan Lin earlier this morning, but she hasn't been seen since.
Taranee's blood froze. That voice had to belong to Irma...who else could it be? But why was it so faint? Even if Irma were on Meridian, the telepathic link should have been solid.
Will, I think that telepathic voice belongs to Irma. It's really faint, but if she's missing then she has to be in trouble.
Can you make contact?
I'll try.
Taranee closed her eyes and reached out with her mind.
Irma, is that you? Can you hear me?
Taranee, please, I need help.
Where are you?
I don't know.
Can you describe it?
I can't...I can't...
Irma, please you have to try.
The connection was suddenly severed by a loud scream. A scream so full of agony it actually registered in Taranee's mind. The Guardian winced and clapped her hands over her ears. She gritted her teeth and willed the awful sound to stop. It seemed to last forever but finally it subsided. Taranee had never heard such a primal scream...and it frightened her.
As the last of the cacophony died out, Taranee released her ears and let out a relieved breath. She swallowed hard and tried to reconnect to her friend.
Irma? Are you still there?
Only silence greeted her attempts.
Irma?
Still nothing.
Will, I contacted Irma for a second, but we got cut off. She's in serious trouble, and doesn't know where she is. I...I heard her scream, and I think she may be...Will, we have to find her, quickly.
Silence prevailed for a few seconds, and for a moment, Taranee thought her telepathy must be off. Then Will's quiet voice broke in.
I think we both know what's happened, T. The Knights of Vengeance have to be involved. They took Irma and they're torturing her again.
Taranee closed her eyes again and took a moment to realize the implications of Will's thoughts. They had killed Irma last time...what would they do for an encore? The only comfort Taranee could derive was that at least Nerissa wasn't involved this time.
Then a thought struck her. Will, how would the Knights get to Earth?
Several seconds passed. I don't know. Maybe they stole Blunk's tooth or something. All I know is I can feel that they're involved. I don't know how I know...I just do.
I agree with you, but where would they have taken her?
I don't know, T. I called Hay Lin and it went straight to voice mail. Can you see if you can contact her?
I'll give it a shot.
Taranee shifted her focus to the smallest Guardian.
Hay Lin, can you hear me?
I hear you, Taranee.
Where are you? Why aren't you answering your cell phone?
Taranee could almost hear the sigh in Hay Lin's voice. I'm at Irma's house getting the third degree from her dad. Since Grandma and I were the last ones to see her, he wants to know everything we talked about. I never knew my grandma could lie so good.
Hay Lin, Irma's in trouble. Will thinks she's been taken by the KOV.
The KOV? Oh not again!
Can you get away? We need to Guardian-up and find her.
Give me a second.
Several minutes passed. Then Hay Lin's concerned voice sounded in Taranee's head. Okay, I faked a puking attack and they let me go. Guess they figured the stress was too much for me.
Under different circumstances, Taranee would have enjoyed that visual. Now she was too worried to even think about it.
We're going to meet at Shell Cave as soon as possible.
I'm already on my way.
Alright, we'll see you there.
Taranee?
Yeah?
What's going on? How do you and Will know that Irma's been taken by the KOV?
Taranee gritted her teeth. This was something she was hoping Hay Lin wouldn't ask.
Hay Lin, Irma contacted me telepathically and said she needed help. She was trying to describe where she is, when we got cut off.
Cut off? Cut off by what?
Taranee swallowed. By a scream, Hay Lin. By a scream.
Irma's scream?!
Yes.
I'm coming as fast as I can.
Come faster.
--
Irma came to and knew nothing but pain. She coughed violently, causing her broken ribs to scream with agony. She noticed she was on her hands and knees, and she brought her left hand up to her throat. She could feel deep grooves in the tender flesh, and she knew she had come very close to dying.
Irma continued to cough and her ribs continued to scream. Suddenly, she felt her throat constrict again as something hot wrapped around her flesh. She fell to the ground and clawed at the object around her neck. She could vaguely hear the Knights laughing as Tracker tightened the chain around the Young Guardian's throat.
Mercifully, Irma blacked out again.
--
Will, Taranee, and Hay Lin arrived at Shell Cave in record time. Quickly, Will transformed herself and her friends into Guardians and created a fold to Candracar. As the three friends stepped through, they were immediately joined by Cornelia.
"Taranee contacted me and filled me in. Where do we start?"
"With the Oracle," Will answered. "Let's see if he can locate Irma somehow."
The Guardians trooped into the Fortress and found the Oracle and Halinor waiting for them.
"I've been trying to contact Irma, but have found no success," Halinor said.
"I have also met with frustration," the Oracle said. "The Guardian is in danger. I can feel her pain."
"But where is she?" Hay Lin asked, a little stronger than she meant to.
The Oracle shook his bald head. "I do not know, young Guardian."
"Well I doubt she's on Earth," Cornelia said. "If the KOV found a way to get there, then they have a way to get back to Meridian. I think they would take her there so there's no chance of getting caught by some stray Earthling."
"I agree with Cornelia," Hay Lin said.
Taranee was pensive. "Maybe, but if the KOV got to Earth, what's to say it wasn't a one-way trip? The KOV aren't the brightest crayons in the box, so getting caught may not be something that actually occurred to them. And if it did, they probably don't care."
"Ooo, I agree with Taranee," Hay Lin said.
"Well I agree with Cornelia," Will piped up. "I doubt Irma's still on Earth, and I think the first place we should check is their last-known lair."
"You mean the cave that collapsed?" Halinor asked.
"Only part of that cave collapsed," Will explained. "Taranee hit it on the head when she said the Knights aren't very bright. I doubt they would think to find a new lair when they already have a perfectly good one at hand."
"But they must know we know by now," Taranee said. "Wouldn't they think that cave would be the first place we would look?"
"Maybe," Will answered. "But what else do we have to go on right now?"
"Good point," Taranee conceded.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Hay Lin piped up, pounding her fist into her hand. "Let's go get our friend and kick some evil butt in the process."
--
For the third time, Irma awoke from her near-death experience. Tracker seemed to be a master at choking his victims to the very brink of death, only to allow them to awaken and experience it all over again. Irma's nose was bleeding, and her throat was raw. Her ribs screamed in agony from all the coughing, and she was starting to spit-up blood.
She felt herself pushed face-first into the ground, as a great booted foot placed itself in her lower back. Too weak to resist, Irma could only groan in pain as her blood-covered lips ate some dirt. She was vaguely aware of her arms being forced over her head, and her shirt being pulled off.
Then Tracker's chain connected with the young Guardian's back. Irma screamed in pain as the chain connected again and again, leaving great welts in her skin. The beating seemed to last an eternity, and just as Irma felt herself about to black out again, the torture suddenly ceased.
Not that Irma was complaining, but she did wonder why the Knights had stopped. Painfully, she pushed herself to her knees and raised her head. Her vision bleary, she blinked several times to clear it.
And couldn't believe what she saw.
Standing over her, blocking the light of the moon, was none other than her nemesis, Nerissa.
Irma's eyes widened, and her breathing accelerated. Her heartbeat quickened, and she felt tears beginning to well up in her pain-filled eyes.
It can't be. Not her!
"No...no. You can't be here. You're dead...you're dead!"
The old hag smiled blissfully and knelt in front of her captive. She took Irma's chin in her hand.
"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," the witch cooed. "As you can see, I am very much alive."
Irma wanted to struggle, to rip her chin from the hag's hand, but fear and pain held her helplessly frozen.
"But you were buried alive by Elyon, under tons of snow. How is it possible that you lived?"
Nerissa stroked her prisoner's chin in a motherly fashion. "Because, dearheart, I am Nerissa, and I am eternal. Nothing can kill me, not even Queen Elyon of Meridian. She has been dealt with, and now I can move on to the next blissful step of my vengeance...you."
Irma wanted so badly to be strong and to put on a brave face in front of her enemy, but her emotions betrayed her and she let out a strangled sob. "Why are you doing this? What did I do?"
Nerissa frowned and lowered her brows. Releasing Irma's chin, the old hag slapped the young Guardian hard across the mouth. Irma cried out as she tasted blood.
"You were born!" Nerissa spat as she stood up. "You stood up to me when you shouldn't have been able to even stand. You defied me when you should have been broken and hopeless. You gave your friends time to thwart my most perfect plan because you refused to yield to your rightful mistress. Now you're going to pay for your insolence!"
With that, Nerissa's foot lashed out, catching Irma under the chin. The teenager fell onto her back with a cry of pain. Dizzy and disoriented, the young girl never saw it coming...
...but she felt it.
White-hot lightning snaked from Nerissa's fingers, striking Irma in the stomach. The Guardian screamed and writhed in agony as the tendrils licked at her exposed flesh.
For what seemed an eternity, the merciless torture continued, and all the while Nerissa taunted her victim. Irma had already passed out many times from the pain, only to be forcibly awoken to experience the burning agony anew. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold out any longer...so she reached out with her mind.
Taranee...please help me
Irma wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she was hoping for an immediate answer. When one didn't come, she tried again.
Taranee!
Still there was no answer and Irma resigned herself to the fact that her friend simply couldn't hear her. Perhaps it was the mountain of pain, or perhaps she simply wasn't strong enough. But something prevented Taranee from hearing her cries for help.
Again, wicked tendrils flashed out and burned the young girl. Irma was hoarse from screaming, but still the lightning ripped another from her throat. Then she heard it...
Irma, is that you? Can you hear me?
Irma was certain it was Taranee and not a figment of her imagination. An overwhelming sense of urgency filled her breast.
Taranee, please, I need help.
Where are you?
Irma looked around and tried to register any landmarks that may help her friends find her. Unfortunately, all she could see through her hazy vision was desert.
I don't know.
Can you describe it?
The young Water Witch was about to respond when another flash of lightning caught her in the stomach. She screamed again and again. Irma fought to stay conscious when the attack finally ceased, but she knew it was a losing battle. The smell of her burning flesh and the raw sight of it assaulted Irma's senses. She was vaguely aware of Nerissa striding towards her, and the teenager struggled to get Taranee the information her friend needed.
But she couldn't think...the pain was too great.
I can't...I can't...
Then Nerissa reached her captive and stretched forth her hand. Irma trembled with agony and terror. The old witch said nothing, merely placed her hand on Irma's chest.
Irma, please you have to try.
"I have been toying with you, Guardian. Until now, I have not used my powers to their fullest. I wanted you to suffer like I suffered for decades. Your affinity with water makes you most vulnerable to my beautiful lightning. Your screams have been sweet music to my ears. But all good things must come to an end...so this is where you die."
With that, the awful lightning snaked across the young Guardian's chest, searing the tender flesh beneath Nerissa's hand. The old witch laughed with glee at the Guardian's screams. Irma's mouth eventually became a silent O as the bolts took even her voice away.
Then...only silence.
--
Thank you all for reading Chapter 12. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind, please let me know what y'all think. Your comments are greatly appreciated.
Thanks again. Cheers!