Episode Sixty-Nine
"Thing of Evil"
They watch as a non existent wind billows her white dress. Her red hair wafts on a breeze that does not occur. She smiles at them but Taylor glares back.
Reese leans towards Ashlee. "Is that ..."
Ashlee nods. "Alia."
Reese frowns. "Why Alia?"
"Dunes." Ashlee gestures with her hand, not looking away from the supposed woman before them.
"How thematic," Reese says dryly.
"What do you want?" Taylor calls out causing the other two to jump.
"Is that it?" Alia says back. Not loudly but they can hear her clearly anyway. "No, 'It's good to see you again'?"
"Technically I never met the form you're assuming," Taylor replies. "And as for you, it's never good to see you. What do you want?"
"You assume much," Alia says, walking a bit along the lip of the dune. "What makes you think there is something I want?"
Taylor arches his eyebrow. "So your presence here has no meaning, it's just to be annoying?"
Alia cocks her head and considers him. "You're all business now, aren't you?" She seems disappointed. "You used to be so much more fun."
"Sorry, but we don't have time for this." Taylor turns away from her and motions the other two to follow. "We have a world to save."
"Maybe that's why I'm here," Alia calls back.
Taylor doesn't even stop or turn. "To stop us?"
"To warn you."
Taylor does stop. He laughs without mirth. "Warn us. Right," He turns towards Alia. "Since you've been all about the warning before."
"More like threatening," Ashlee concurs.
Alia becomes more serious. "You should leave the desert."
Taylor rolls his eyes. "Why would I want to do that?" He crosses his arms across his chest.
"Precedence?" Alia indicates herself as she speaks. "You haven't had such good luck with deserts, why should this be different?"
Taylor glares at her hard at the mention of the previous occurrence. "I'll be fine," He says firmly. "We all will."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Alia says. "It has begun."
Reese looks at her in concern. "What has?"
"I can't give you all the answers, can I?" Alia replies with a smile.
Ashlee throws her a look. "Have you given us any?"
"Just know this before you go charging onto destiny," Alia says with more seriousness than before. "The desert is a dangerous place. Very unpredictable. You never know what you'll come across."
"We know that, thank you," Taylor responds.
"Can we be going now?" Ashlee asks, turning to Taylor. He nods.
They turn away from the woman on the Dune but her next words stop them in place again. "All of you may go in, but not all of you are leaving."
Taylor looks back over his shoulder. "Not if I can help it."
Alia smiles to herself as she watches the three disappear from sight. "This time, you can't."
Meanwhile, in Tibet
Mallard of Nine watches as the Ancient Ones glide through their temple. He looks over to Marisol of Nine who leads the children of Lhartse towards the inner sanctum to complete their conversion into Followers of the Way. In this moment of peace, he takes the opportunity to observe.
He looks over at the Representative of the South as she glides along by the tapestries. The Female. Like the other Ancient Ones, she still hasn't gained full corporeality and is mostly a glowing shape with limited tactility. But he can tell certain things about her. Her beauty would be classified as dangerous, of that Mallard is certain. It is she who seems the softest, the most hopeful.
The East and the West float off to one side. The East radiates his powerful nature and the West shimmers with youthful energy. They lean with a tendency towards rash violence and retribution. Mallard isn't certain who all will be left to serve the Ancient Ones should those two have their way.
That is why he hopes for the North to maintain his Older, wise command over the group of Four. But something inside Mallard tells him this may not last much longer.
The Representative of the North gazes out at the mountains around them. "It is time for us to begin the Culling."
To Be Continued...
