Chpt 40
Holy crap, 40 chapters now. Have they been worth it? That is the question. Just for the plain and simple fact that doing this keeps me from totally flipping my lid sometimes, I think so. Since I don't really have any friends outside of the ones I talk to on FB (most of which I've met through the FF world), I have written this so that, in small ways, each of my OC's grow to almost be my friends; allowing me to get out ideas and thoughts that otherwise would rot away in the cobwebs of my mind, and I have a shit ton of cobwebs to be sure. Anyway, here's hoping that other people like what I'm doing so far.
And so nobody gets their undies in a twist, I don't own anything CM-no titles, no CM characters…just a dead horse worth of debt and my OC's.
"The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for." (Bob Marley)
"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature." (Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey)
"Only a true best friend can protect you from your immortal enemies." (Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy)
"It gives me strength to have somebody to fight for; I can never fight for myself, but, for others, I can kill." (Emilie Autumn, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls)
Hotch wasn't sure of what to make of this newest bit of information. Mehmed could tell that he was having problems digesting the idea.
"I am not like him, if that's what you are worried about. I have nothing in common with that….that devil."
"How….? I don't even know what questions to begin to ask."
"That's good Master Hotchner; you will see more things to test your incredulity later, better save the questions for when you've seen all the world has to test you with. Perhaps then I will be able to answer you properly."
"Now, Mehmed….what should we do first? I know there will need to be some intelligence gathering done."
"Yes. I need for you to go to that café; you know the one….in the heart of the old quarter of the city. The one owned by the Boras. I've been having Savas Bora keeping his ear to the streets as you would say."
"Alright, then that is where I will start; I want to see his wife Nesrin anyway, I heard she is expecting their first child…."
"A son at that." Mehmed smiled as he thought about the idea of being able to continue the Crescent Guard for yet another generation.
"Yes, there are too few sons being born lately."
"And that is why the daughters have started being recruited; although, in some cases, one of the daughters would be more dangerous than 100 of my men. So I suppose that is the trade-off. Now be on your way, but pack accordingly."
"Am I ever unprepared?"
"Bissalama."
"Shokrun." Alecta turned to walk out of the room, 'Come Aaron, we have to get ready."
She took off down the hall, not running this time, but at a brisk pace nonetheless. Hotch followed her to her room; she walked behind the changing screen and got out of the sari and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt; then she pulled on an uber comfortable pair of hiking boots. Braiding her hair she stepped out from behind the screen.
"Aaron, are those shoes fairly comfortable?"
"Why?"
Alecta arched an eyebrow at him, 'Yes, pretty much so."
"You're sure?"
"Lex…."
"Fine, I had to ask. Where we are going, I don't know what is in store for us, and we may be on our feet for a while and I just want to make sure you are prepared."
"I think I am alright."
"Ok then." With that she walked out of her room and made her way back down the stairs. This time they didn't go to the room that was built behind the fireplace. They made their way to a room that, for sake of argument was an armory of sorts. Alecta grabbed a bag and shoved two high powered flashlights into it as well as a stake and three boxes of silver ammunition; next she went over to a cabinet, opening the doors and grabbed several talisman and a few religious medallions. After making sure they were packed she grabbed a few lighters and a couple boxes of matches. Then she packed a few small rags.
"Rags?"
"You never know…." She kept packing things. There were a couple of squirt bottles with lids.
Seeing Hotch's questioning face, 'Gasoline….for emergencies." Then she packed a load of first aid items.
Walking over to yet another cabinet, she grabbed a sawed-off shotgun and handed it to Hotch along with a few boxes of his own ammo, 'Don't miss."
"Do I ever?"
"Now, more than ever, every bullet counts. These damned things aren't so easy to come by." She continued to pack some more gear; she grabbed a small bible and a small version of the Quran.
"You never know what you will be running into."
"What, no travel size of the Egyptian Book of the Dead?"
"Smart ass, I wrote it. I don't need to carry that one around. I have the words memorized."
"Wrote….What?"
"No time. We have to go and talk to Savas and Nesrin. And sundown starts around say, 7 PM in these parts this time of year."
"When has it mattered to that stranger what time of day it was?"
"Touché. And thank you for not mentioning his name out loud. You're learning. It's dangerous enough in daylight, but it's even worse at night. I don't want to be caught out there then. I don't mind fighting them so bad as long as I have chance at seeing them coming."
Hotch watched her as she ticked off items on her fingertips to make sure she remembered everything.
"Ooh! I almost jinxed the whole damned thing." She reached over and grabbed two vampire hunting kits and some prayer beads. "I think we're ready."
"All of this just to go to a café and talk to some friends?"
"It's not so much the visit with old friends as it is what we are talking about. That bastard has eyes and ears everywhere in this city, at least as many as we have. He will know we are after him…."
"I haven't even seen him yet; although we have seen some of his friends."
"Well, all that means is that papa bear isn't too far behind. Likely he is only stirring up trouble somewhere else to divide our attention. I hate his welcoming committee, they're even creepier than he is….they make my skin crawl."
"They're worse than him?"
"Yes. Come with me.' Hotch follows her out of the armory going towards the door. 'You see, our 'friend'…he's always been evil, well at least since his teen years. Most of the people that he recruits as his minions; they used to be normal people, like a librarian. I even knew of him once to turn a school teacher of an elementary class. She had time to get around to some of the children. She killed some of them, and turned others. That was a hard case. What are you supposed to do in that situation? These were innocent children, somebody's son or daughter, and they were like five or six. But, they had to be treated like all the rest of their kind. It was a time of great sorrow; children dying that way….and then the families were too scared to have more for a long time. Some families died out for lack of children to carry them on. In one generation entire families were wiped out due to fear. So you see, the fact that so many of his kind were normal people with normal lives, and he turns them into these….monsters….it disturbs me that there is never any trace of the person you once knew."
They walked until they got to the street, Alecta hailed a cab, giving the driver the address.
"Are you sure about taking a cab?" Hotch whispered to her.
"I'm not walking half way across Istanbul to get to a café. Besides, with what we have in the bag….we're safe." She looked at him mischievously.
The drive to the café took 30 minutes. Alecta paid the driver and sent him on his way with a hope that he would have safe journeys. They checked out a few little vendors that were close to the café, selling fabric and dishes; all sorts of things that could catch your eye.
"If we weren't here on business, you'd be my pack mule right about now." Alecta assured him.
"Well, I am toting the bag,' he reminded her.
"It could be worse. Let's go see a man about some lunch."
Alecta and Aaron walked into the café. It was dimly lit; after being in the bright sun of Istanbul, it seemed even more so. But it was cool inside and it looked quite comfortable; divans along the walls, all sorts of cushions as well to make the patron more at ease. The free standing tables were of a native wood and carved by local craftsmen; the seat covers were created from local textiles. This place was every inch your stereotypical Middle Eastern café.
There was a very pregnant woman, roughly the same stature as Alecta, wandering around attending to the guests of the establishment. When she looked up and saw Alecta, her face lit up exquisitely.
"My sister!" the lady came over quickly to envelope Alecta into a tight hug. 'Yalla Savas, we have a visitor."
"My dear we run a café, everyone is a…..Is it really you? We haven't seen you since you had the twins, years ago."
"Hello Savas, I missed you, too."
"Sit, eat a while. When the patrons clear out we will talk of other things."
With that the man went blustering back into the kitchen barking orders at the cooks to make their best dishes. Nesrin showed them to what had to be the best seat in the house. There was a bank of divans, cushions of all colors and patterns, a long table in front of it, a silken table cloth with a simple pattern on it.
"Sit, sit. I will get you some drink." Nesrin took off as fast as a pregnant woman can waddle and grabbed a tray with a pitcher and some cups on it. Hotch went to help her and got scolded.
"No, sit. You are a guest." Nesrin wouldn't relinquish the tray.
"You better do as she says. If she wasn't expecting you'd be worse for wear."
Hotch went back to his seat. Savas came out of the kitchen, seeing his wife carrying the tray.
"Sit wife, I will bring the tray. I have told her to take some days off to rest; the baby is due most any day…."
"Women have been having babies for a long time my dear….I'm not the first one."
"But you are my wife, you should rest."
Nesrin sat next to Alecta, rolling her eyes.
"Aaron was like that. So, I feel your pain."
The small group sat and ate for a while; Aaron couldn't remember when he'd had so much food, and it was all wonderful. And the tea was just right.
"I'd offer you some Rakiya, but…under the circumstances…."
"Savas, it's alright. We will have some together another day."
"Undoubtedly." The man agreed.
As soon as the last patron decided to leave, Savas Bora jumped up and locked the door, flipping the closed sign around and pulled the shade down on the door before coming back to the table.
"Now, what is it that you would like to know?"
"Has there been any 'activity' lately?"
"I should say so. He's had nearly 600 years to build on his hatred and desire for you…in equal measures. It seems as though you're hard to get out of the system. You know how he is. He either wants you with him, controlled by him, or dead; and not necessarily in that order.' Looking at Hotch, 'And he'd have no problems going through you to get her."
"I am not afraid of him. I have seen him. I have faced him. And quite frankly, I'm not impressed."
"Hmmmm. We'll see about you yet Master Aaron. I hope when the time comes that your actions are as sure as your words."
"Is that a threat?"
"No merely….."
"Boys; pissing contest later, please. Savas, Aaron is quite good at what he does. Aaron, don't provoke Savas. You're good, but not now. Please behave, both of you."
"Fine. Master Aaron, I am not making threats; rather I am trying to be sure of you….if you understand? As of late, we've had problems with traitors and the like. I am Alecta's friend; I would be failing if I did not test you somehow."
"It's quite alright. I would have done the exact same thing."
"Yes, I know. I heard about your aim.' Savas gave Hotch a grin that was accompanied by a mischievously arched eyebrow.
The four talked for a little while longer, Nesrin seemed almost too quiet.
"Nes, what seems to be bothering you?" Alecta came to ask.
"Have you been told who shot at you in Russia?"
"No, why do you ask?"
"I happen to know who it was. I must beg of you, don't be angry at your friends; they didn't keep it from you out of spite. But you were under a great stress for weeks and you did give birth. I'm sure they kept it from you out of respect for your situation at the time…."
"Nesrin….who was it?"
Nesrin took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, 'It was Yuri and his brother, Sergei."
"Are you certain?" Alecta looked puzzled. 'Why would he do something like that?"
"I am quite sure, yes. Immogene saw them from the scope on her rifle. She is the one that killed Sergei, and she meant to kill Yuri, but was only able to wing him a bit….he got away and they haven't seen him since."
"Istvan? Impatiev? What has happened to them?"
"Istvan was run down by a car. He was seriously injured, but he is alive and was released not so very long ago….."
"My old man?"
"That is another matter…."
"Savas!"
"It seems as though he was attacked, beat about the head. Whoever did it tried to burn down the Tea Room with him and some of his men in it. Impatiev was rendered unconscious; one of his men was able to drag him just to the door before succumbing to smoke inhalation. Some of the men from the neighborhood saw what was happening and pulled Impatiev out of the building. They have moved his location. He is no longer in hospital. But he is still unresponsive."
"W-where did they take him?"
"When you are able to make your way back to the fort….."
Everyone stopped and looked up; there was a visitor in the café with them.
"Michael?"
"Get them out of here. Now." Michael spoke to Savas and Nesrin to get them to move Alecta and Hotch out of the café.
"Go child, into the kitchen….come. Master Aaron. Come now. No time to argue."
Nesrin stood, grabbing a Saracen sword from wherever it had been lodged under the table, taking a fighting stance. Savas ushered Alecta and Aaron into the kitchen barking orders as he came through the door. Every available employee in the room dropped their dishes and grabbed for their weapons, surrounding Alecta and Aaron.
"Savas….."
"No. You stay here child, stay quiet; we will deal with this."
With that the man went back out into the dining room of the café, grabbing a sword as he went, shutting the door to the kitchen. Alecta made to go after him, but her path was blocked by two of Savas' men.
"Let me pass."
"M'lady, we have orders."
Alecta was furious. Suddenly, there was the sound of furniture being thrown about; tables and chairs over turned…..dishes crashing…the clank of weapons…..yelling…..then quiet. It was suddenly so quiet.
Alecta finally managed to push free of Savas' men and charged through the door, Aaron by her side; Alecta opened the door to the dining room carefully…..
"NO!" she went running into the room; Savas was lying maybe five feet from the door, he had such bad cuts across his chest and abdomen that it was a wonder that his insides didn't fall out altogether. Alecta knelt down beside him, trying to see how bad his wounds really were.
"Nesrin,' Savas whispered, unable to speak louder. "Nesrin and the baby….go to them."
Alecta merely nodded her head, not an argument escaped her then. She crawled over to where they had located Nesrin and found her mortally wounded but still alive as of yet with a knife sticking out of her chest.
"I'm sor…."
"Don't you dare…."Nesrin grabbed Alecta's hand as tightly as her weakened state would allow her. "Don't you ever apologize; you are the one that saved the Empire to begin with."
Alecta could only shake her head, no words would come out.
"Now look, I don't have long left this I know. But the baby…you need to take my baby."
Again, all Alecta could do was nod, any voice she had was too choked with tears to make it out. One of the men from the kitchen had gotten a pot of hot water and some towels, among other things to begin to help out. Meanwhile two more men made their way up the stairs to the family's apartment which was above the café and began collecting baby care items that Nesrin had collected in anticipation for the birth. The men began cramming a few diapers and a couple changes of clothing, etc. into the bag for the baby. Before exiting the room the men grabbed a baby sling that Nesrin had made herself, figuring that wherever Alecta and Aaron had to go that the sling would make carrying the baby easier.
It only took a few minutes to deliver the child, he was in great distress as you can imagine, and was more than ready to be born. If Nesrin had been uninjured the birth might have gone smoother, but nobody would ever know for sure.
"Nesrin, what would you like to name your son?"
Nesrin was fading so fast now, unable to keep her focus on anything much.
"Nesrin!" Alecta got her attention, if only for a moment, 'What are we naming the baby?"
"Call him…..' the woman was having trouble drawing a breath, 'call him….Umut."
"Of course I will." Alecta held the baby close enough to Nesrin that she could kiss the boy's chubby little cheek. Nesrin stroked his hair and began gasping and then she was gone. One of Savas' men took the baby from Alecta just as she gathered Nesrin in her arms and hugged the woman's now lifeless body, rocking back and forth; another one of the men got Hotch and pulled him back into the kitchen. The only thing Hotch could hear was Alecta wailing about her dead friend, and then some sort of prayer to guard the woman's soul. Another one of the men was finally able to pull Alecta away only to have her latch onto Savas who was already gone.
It took two men to pull her away from Savas. One of them had to half drag her into the kitchen; her grief was so heavy that she could barely stand on her own two feet. Her eyes were blurry with tears, some of which hadn't been able to fall yet. Her nose was completely stopped up….if Hotch thought she looked pale and worn out before….
Looking up, Alecta saw Michael yet again.
She was furious, her anger taking over now and she began to beat on his chest in fury that some of her dearest friends were dead. "Where were you?"
"I was there, I swear to you. But there was little that could be done. He had help."
Knowing what Michael said was the truth, Alecta could only nod her head. Michael held his arms open and she fell into them crying as if the world would end in the next five minutes.
Over her sobs Michael began speaking to Hotch. "You will need to follow me. I will lead you as far as I can." Turning to the men that had been in the kitchen, 'Some of you need to move that." With a nod of his head, Michael indicated that the men needed to move the large silver food preparation table away from the wall; it blocked a door that lead to the catacombs.
"Come with me." Michael ordered. He lead, Alecta right behind him, still quiet….not having said a word since she saw her friends die, Hotch was behind her as they went through the door. Michael gave orders to the men that were left in the café to take care of things. No sooner had Michael lead Alecta and Aaron down the steps into the beginning of the catacombs than the door had been shut and locked. The men then began to douse the whole place in gasoline, including the bodies.
When Alecta had heard the lock click behind them, she turned and looked at the door, the pain on her face becoming even more pronounced; she knew what had to happen to make sure that the souls of her dearly departed friends weren't corrupted. She knew this had to happen if they were to ever rest in peace. But that didn't make it hurt any less.
"Come now girl, don't give up now." Michael urged her.
Turning to him in a voice that sounded more sure than her tears would lead you to believe, 'I have no intention of giving up. On the contrary my friend. I will not stop until his blood is in my hands." With that she turned and grabbed the bag that Hotch had been carrying, rifling through it for one of the flashlights.
"Keep up, we haven't got all day." She began leading the way through the catacombs then.
Hotch watched her as he began to walk. Michael, carrying the baby, Umut, just smiled as he walked by Hotch's side.
"You seem pleased with yourself."
"I am. I knew that making her believe that I thought she was giving up would snap her out of it. You're welcome."
"Her friends just died, right in front of her…."
"And there will be more to come unless she puts that aside and finishes this. If we're lucky she will have time to properly mourn them later. But we need her head in this now."
The group of three….and a half….walked around the catacombs for the better part of an hour, nearly two before they came to a great cavernous room.
"This is where I must leave you I am afraid."
"What a minute…."
"Aaron, I have things I must attend to; I am not leaving you hear for sport. Besides, Alecta knows the way. She was here when they built these ruins. Darling I will meet you at the fortress later then."
Alecta went to him and hugged him, as she let go of him he vanished.
"Come on Aaron, we have to keep moving."
By now Alecta was carrying the child in the baby sling, walking ahead of Hotch. After two more hours of walking, they came to yet another cavernous room…..this one was a welcomed sight after all the narrow passageways they had been down just prior. Hotch felt like he could breathe again at least for the moment.
"What was this place?"
"Well, about 3,000 years ago it was a center of worship for some of the local pagans. Then Christianity took over and they built an early church over that. Then Islam became all the rage, and the old church was burned beyond all recognition. There were other areas of the city that suffered the same fate…."
"Why not Sophia?"
"Hagia Sophia is special. It was THE center piece of the whole place. When the nation of Islam took over the first instinct was to burn it down, like they did everything else. But they decided that a larger impact would be made to convert it to their purposes. The sight of dearest Sophia in the hands of the Muslims would send a strong message to everyone else. This was a minor church, servicing this end of the city, there wasn't much special about it. This particular area would have been the nave." She continued walking, "Now, I'm entering the chancel."
There was area more built up than the rest, 'This was where the altar stood, and this," continuing a few more feet, 'would have been the sanctuary."
Alecta looked around, seeing an old partially crumbling statue of Jesus, she sat at his feet, the baby still in the sling, one of her arms supporting the baby's weight as she got situated.
"What are you doing?" Aaron was concerned.
"We've been walking for four hours, or very nearly four hours. You're carrying that bag. I'm toting a baby. I don't care what is chasing us. We're resting here."
"Are you sure that is such a good idea?"
"Look we're at the feet of Christ, without actually standing next to God, you're in one of the safest spots in all of Istanbul. It's not my fault it just so happens to be underground. The people left their church, but the church never left them. Cop a squat.' She took out her cell phone, 'I'm setting the alarm for an hour. If we doze off that will give us time to get some rest and be on our way."
At the foot of the Christ statue she was able to set things up to give the baby almost a sort of crib. It wasn't much just some of the rubble that she was able to stack together and make a rim around the baby so he wouldn't be able to roll off. With the blankets he was wrapped in and the sling on top of that, he was actually quite comfortable. And even if the baby had been able to roll off, he wouldn't be hurt much. She sat herself, back against the pedestal to the Christ statue, arms folded (hiding the dagger behind one of them), chin resting against her chest….her knees were pulled up near to her chest; she looked uncomfortable as hell, but Hotch let it go. She was in no mood to be trifled with right now. Hotch found a spot near her that was as uncomfortable as any he'd ever slept on, but he didn't want to get to carried away sleeping; there was far too much at risk.
Hotch jolted awake when the alarm sounded. Alecta was already up and was going through some of the rubble around them.
"What are you doing?"
"Seeing if your Christian brethren left us anything useful at all. So far, I've come up with a few rocks and a hell of a lot of dust from a crumbling Empire, but nothing more useful than that. Damn it."
She paced back and forth, rubbing her temples, 'Come with me and bring the baby." Alecta grabbed the bag Hotch had previously been carrying and lead the way through the rest of the old church, down yet another set of stairs to an even older vault.
"Are we descending into hell?"
"I'm not Dante and this isn't The Divine Comedy. This isn't hell; it's not even purgatory. I've seen hell. There are more people there and it's hotter….though I would have made a fortune on that cold water racket if the boss hadn't shot me down on it. No this isn't hell darling. This is a burial chamber of sorts. It's one of the older parts of the catacombs."
"Why are we here?"
"It nears dusk; we have to wake the travellers."
"Who are they and why must we wake them?"
"They are seven strangers that travelled these parts once and either died or were murdered during their travels. For whatever the reasons, their remains were brought back here and buried. I think because of the anonymity of the place and the safety that offered. I dunno….It's been ages since I last had to wake them. I just hope I still got it."
"What do you mean you hope you still got it?"
"Look I can explain things a little better later. For now, all I can tell you is that, when you become a mortal human being, you lose a lot of the power you once held. Beyond that the story gets a little sketchy and frankly we don't have time right now. We are literally burning daylight as we speak. So, if you will allow me to wake the travellers..."
With that Alecta placed the baby down and walked over to a sarcophagus, 'Will you help me shove the lid? It's old and set in its ways."
Hotch dropped the bag next to the baby and did as she asked, 'Who might this fellow be?"
"From what I am to gather, he was John De Mowbray, he was born sometime in 1340 and was slain on his way to the Holy Land. He was killed somewhere close to Istanbul, generally speaking and was originally buried in a local convent. Yes, a convent. It was only for safe keeping until he could be moved to somewhere more suitable. If it wasn't out of concern for the safety of his soul, he wouldn't have been allowed on convent grounds. I mean he is a man after all."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What you haven't heard? If it has tires or testicles it's going to give you problems…..Tell me you've heard this."
"Is that how you really feel?"
"Generally speaking…Yes. But, every so often I get taught a valuable lesson." With that she winks at Hotch and gestures for him to move aside which he does.
Alecta grabs for her dagger and drags it across one of her palms and then the other, opening wounds on them. Hotch had to admit that, for a man that had been dead for nearly 700 years, the body in the sarcophagus was in extremely good shape. In truth, there were no signs of decomposition at all.
"This had better work or I'm going to be so PISSED." She climbed into the sarcophagus, straddling the body in it, placing her bleeding palms on a bit of chest that she exposed, leaning forward and whispered something into the left ear of the man. Then she sat up and shook her head, leaning back over and breathing into the mouth of the man under her. Then she climbed out and stood next to Hotch.
"Now what?" He asked looking at her.
Reaching for a bottle of God knows what in the bag, and pulling the cork out, taking a swig and spitting it out, 'Now we wait."
It was the briefest of moments; Hotch heard breathing coming from the box. Stepping closer he saw the man's chest rising and falling slowly.
"Come on boy! We ain't got all day. Get your ass up. Shake the dust from your bones and let's get on with it! And Aaron, you might want to step back. He's not going to be a ray of sunshine when he comes up out of there."
Hotch stepped back over to where she was standing near the baby and the bag. In another moment or two the man in the box sat up, placing a hand on either side of the sarcophagus and getting his legs under himself to stand up.
Apparently the first thing he saw was Hotch, because he was furious at being woken from his rest….that and he likely figured that if he had been woken then that meant there was trouble, and the likely suspect was the man in front of him, and he made the effort to after Hotch.
Alecta stepped between them, 'Down boy, none of that now."
Upon seeing her, Resurrected John knelt to one knee, 'M'lady forgive me? I am at your service."
"No time for this just now. Help me wake the others."
With that Alecta and John set about waking the other six travellers in much the same fashion.
After the last one was brought to life, Alecta took a small bottle of whiskey, and two rags. She soaked the rags in the whiskey and had Hotch help her apply them to her hands. After that was done she took the bottle and tipped it up, drinking some of the leftover whiskey.
"God bless you, wherever you are Savas, my friend." Then she poured a dash out onto the earth.
John stepped forward, pulling at the sleeve of his tunic as if to straighten a wrinkle, 'M'lady, not that I'm not grateful for the chance to stretch my legs…But…What are we doing here?"
Alecta looked at John and the rest; they all had questioning looks on their faces.
"Really? You've been in that box for nearly 700 years and the first question you ask is why I woke you up?' Seeing that John wasn't wavering, 'Fine. An enemy of the empire has come back."
"Enemie of the….Oh! What does he want now?"
"Same as always. Me. He wants me; dead or alive….as long as I'm under his control, he doesn't much care."
"Well, I wish him luck with that."
Hotch slipped up with a question of his own, 'Why's that?"
"Well, Sir, nobody has been able to really control this one for the better part of 8,000 years; most especially not for the last 2,000."
Mamoru started laughing, and then seeing the look Alecta shot him, he tried to make it sound as though he was coughing.
"Did we inhale some dust my dear?"
"Something like that."
"Lex, you do know that when we get back to the fortress….."
"I will answer as many of your questions as I can, Aaron. I promise. But you have to promise me something in return."
The travellers just watched the exchange with some amusement.
"What would that be?"
"I know that somethings are going to be hard to understand. And there may even be some ways that you feel I might have lied to you. And, perhaps you'd be right in one way or other. But please believe me when I say that doing that was never my intention. When I met you, I was of the belief that I had left most of this…..the strange 'diplomat' and some of this BS….behind. I never thought in a million years I would ever have to explain all of it or that it would be staring me in the face like this.
Don't get angry with me like you did….."
"I won't, I swear it."
"Ok,'Alecta said this as barely a whisper as if she was trying to decide if he was being honest.
"So, what are you calling yourself these days?" Athos questioned her.
"Well, my mother, Rachel named me Alecta."
"Very apt; she chose wisely. Don't you think so Mahaan?"
"Unceasing anger…..too true Aubrey my friend."
"Ok, let's get the introductions over with. Aaron Hotchner, these are the travellers. John, I've told you about. The others are Ajeet Jaipal, Mahaan Paramjit, Aubrey Du Vallon, Mamoru, Athos, and Osiris…or at least that's what he's always told me to call him. Ajeet and Mahaan are from what is referred to these days as the Punjab district of India. Aubrey is French. Mamoru, is Japanese. Athos is Greek, duh. And Osiris was originally from Egypt, though I would have thought that was self-explanatory as well. Guys, this is my friend Aaron Hotchner. We work together….."
"Is that what they are calling it these days?"
"Aubrey!"
"Wait, what are these days?' Athos had the good sense to ask.
"Currently it's the year 2013, after Christ, for those of you who have been in the box longer than some of the rest."
"Good lord," Athos sat down on a taller pile of rubble. 'What have I missed since I've been away?"
"Too much. Athos, if we all get out of this in one piece, I will get you up to date with everything; but for the time being Aaron and I need help getting back to the fortress. I wouldn't ask for myself, you boys know that. But I have to consider Aaron's safety and the safety of this little baby."
Alecta held Umut up to the fellows so they could see him.
"Cute little guy; where are his parents?" Ajeet wanted to know.
Alecta just shook her head negatively.
"Oh, they didn't make it."
Mamoru stood and swore that they would do the job; the rest agreed and began getting the group assembled and ready to go. The travellers were rather relaxed while they made their way out of the rest of the catacombs. But when they got to the exit they were going to use, the men became all business. Mamoru took the lead, hand on his weapon as he made the exit looking around. It was after 5 P.M.; very likely it was closer to 6. They had maybe an hour at best to make it back to the fortress; an hour to make that trip? Even if they were able to take a direct route, that would be a daunting trip to make….they had to maneuver through the all the traffic that Istanbul had to offer. And there was no guarantee that they would get to take the direct route.
After making his initial exit, Mamoru held the door open for the others; two more of the travellers came out and then aided Alecta and Hotch in exiting the catacombs. After Hotch and Alecta made it out the other four men came out behind them. As they walked down the street, Mamoru stayed in the front, eyes scanning the crowds and the roof-lines. Two men flanked the right side, two men flanked the left, and there were two more that were bringing up the rear. Each man kept their eyes moving, alert to anything that seemed off at all.
"I dare one of those street urchins to come and try to sell us something." Hotch mumbled to Alecta.
Alecta snickered, 'Yeah really. I feel like I should just throw money at them to keep them from approaching too closely."
As they made their way towards the market square, the travellers began getting agitated. There were so many people. People haggling over the prices of the goods being bought, some shop keepers were getting ready to close up shop for the day. There were children kicking soccer balls around, dogs chasing cats. Life was going on as they continued to scan for signs of disturbance.
As they neared the center of the square, Mamoru stopped, holding one arm up to signal to the others that they needed to do so as well, his other hand gripped the pommel of his sword.
"Aubrey, I need you, Athos and Osiris to take them; go by the alley way and head for the fortress."
"Ajeet, I'm not leaving the four of you here that way."
"M'lady, I'm sorry but you don't have a choice. The two of you have that little one to think of. You can't protect him and fight, too."
"Hotch, hold the baby. Apparently Ajeet forgets who he's talking to."
Alecta removed two hidden blades from a disguised scabbard that was strapped to Mahaan's back. Mahaan had weapons of his own.
Hotch looked around, it seemed as though the square had become deserted in a matter of moments. You couldn't hear the dogs barking as they chased cats, and the children that were laughing and kicking the soccer ball were gone. Most of the shops had been closed up, somehow it seemed as though time had stood still, everything seemed frozen; it suddenly seemed to be near dusk. And they were surrounded by 15 of the creatures.
"Aaron, do you have the gift I gave you before we left?" Alecta winked at him.
"Yes, I believe that I do."
Since none of the creatures had advanced on them, the group began to move again.
"What do you think they're trying to prove?" Athos wondered out loud.
"Don't try to figure them out, just go." Osiris commanded.
The group began moving again, breaking into a run.
"Into the Souq, we will have some cover there." Mahaan ordered.
Without a second thought, they all ran into the area of the souq and kept running. They were covered for sure, some of the awnings of the shops hovering overhead as well as the roof of part of the building itself.
Coming to the end of the souq, "Look, the fortress, if we run for it…we might just make it." John was trying to sound hopeful.
The stood there, taking a few deep breaths, gathering the where withal to move forward. Ajeet was strapping the baby to her back so her hands would be free to run as fast as possible….or swing a weapon if the need arose.
"Are we ready?" Mamoru asked.
"Yes,' Ajeet answered as he fastened the last strap to secure the baby.
"Alright then…Osiris, you and Athos stick close to our girl here. We run and we don't look back, unless the situation necessitates it."
"Go!"
They all started running. They could hear the creatures coming after them, but staying true to the plan nobody dared look back.
"I just hope Simon has a plan." Alecta stated as she ran.
"Would you expect any less of him?" Aubrey questioned.
"No."
Even at the fastest pace they could run, the fortress was nearly a mile away, and there were going to be obstacles. There were things hunting them, people walking the streets, animals, cars, etc. This was going to prove problematic at best.
"A couple of us will take the lead to create a path for you and the boy. You just try to stay on your feet, alright."
"Do it."
The plan worked, there was only once when Alecta faltered and that was when she had to hurdle a bench that was nearby; she landed wrong, nearly twisting her ankle. If it hadn't been for Hotch catching her, she would have taken a nasty tumble.
"Just a few more feet,' Athos called out, 'run for it."
The creatures were still hot on their heels. One reached out to try to grab Alecta by her left arm.
"Not today my friend!" Ajeet used a silver bladed dagger to take a swing at the creature and that was enough to throw it off balance and allow her the extra second to keep running. As she did so she saw one of the creatures take Athos. Alecta's head whipped around, trying to see what was going on.
"Go M'lady. Keep going. Athos can take care of himself." Aubrey urged her.
She knew that under normal circumstances Aubrey would be right. But there were way more of these creatures than there were of Athos. Hotch was really worried that Alecta would give up the chase to help the man out. Just as she was about to do just that, there was a flash. Radar had made an impromptu appearance. Taking only a second to wink at Alecta, he wrapped his arms around Athos, and then the flash happened again and they were gone.
"Go girl go!" John yelled.
They finally reached the fortress, running around to the front gate which began to close as they arrived. As it began to shut the creatures fought for a way in past the heavy doors.
The group didn't stop running until they entered that large entry foyer from earlier.
All of them were out of breath; Alecta, with the baby still strapped to her back was leaning over trying to catch her breath.
"Those bastards will pay. I didn't care for that at all. I haven't ever cared much for running track."
The Sultan came forward to help them get the baby out of the sling attached to her back.
"Mehmed, good to see you again."
"Stop being droll, you are about to miss evening prayers."
After freeing Alecta from the baby sling, she took off up the stairs at a break neck speed, heading for the battlements. Hotch followed her. He had questions and he wasn't letting her out of his sight until he got answers. Once they got up to the battlements, Alecta kept going at a brisk pace until she got to her spot.
Without even turning to Hotch, 'That is one of my favorite sights in the entire city."
The muezzin stepped out onto the balcony, and looked to his left; seeing Alecta standing there he bowed his head slightly. She smiled one of those genuine smiles that seemed to light up her face and she bowed to him in return. The muezzin turned to his work then. As soon as he opened his mouth the most beautiful sound came out. This went on for several minutes. At the end of the call, the muezzin turned back to Alecta, bowed to her again, and smiled. They stared at each other for a few short minutes. They had apparently communicated some thought to one another because the man seemed to nod his head in agreement to something unspoken.
Hotch began to turn to go back into the fortress, but Alecta grabbed his arm.
"Wait!"
"What?"
"You're gonna miss it."
"What am I going to miss?"
"Just watch,' she pointed to the horizon over the Bosphorus strait. The sun was about to set, and the colors that it cast onto the buildings in the surrounding area were some of the most brilliant he'd ever seen. The reds seemed redder; the golds had more gold to them. The green in the leaves of the trees seemed greener. The light bounced off of the water like silver.
"I have always loved this town at sunset."
"It is something else,' Hotch watched her watching the sunset. She was completely in love.
"It would be ever so much more impressive without that damned bridge marring the view." She began to grumble. "Let's get inside. It'll be dark soon and as beautiful as Istanbul at night is, it is equally dangerous. Besides, dinner will be getting served soon."
At the thought of the dinner that would be served Alecta's eyes lit up.
Hotch followed her back through the fortress. She stopped by her room to check on the babies. They were in a pen that had been created on the floor with piles of pillows and blankets and surrounded by the women that had been assigned to take care of them. And Umut had been added to the group.
"How is he doing?" Alecta asked
"He has had his bath and a bottle, now he is just getting to know his new friends." Yildiz replied in her melodious voice. The babies were wiggling as much as newborns could on the pillows, learning the way to flail their arms and legs.
Alecta leaned over and lifted up Umut and kissed him on his newborn chubby cheek, stroking his hair.
"You will have your father in you….and your mother. Your father was a brave warrior. He fought for us for centuries. And your mother was one of the most intelligent women I have ever met. You will be a great man, as long as we can keep you out of his hands." Alecta held him for a moment longer, squeezing him gently. Then she picked her own children up and cuddled them for a moment before she turned and went behind the changing screen and changed into another sari. This one was a brilliant deep purple with silver accents; it was a two piece. The top just did cover the good parts, the sleeves were capped. And the skirt to it wrapped and hung from just at her hips to her ankles; there was a net wrap that matched and went with it. As far as shoes, she was barefoot. After pulling her hair back into a quick sloppy braid, she joined Hotch and they went downstairs to the dining hall. As the children all came down, Sofie and Jack were giggling about something that they had gotten into.
"Are you having fun playing baby."
"Oh, mommy yes!" Sofie squealed with delight as she began to tell her mother about all the things they had seen on their little exploratory trek through the fortress. Alecta leaned over and picked Sofie up, resting the child on her left hip; then standing near a chair Emma was standing on, she lifted that child onto her right hip. Both little girls jumped all over babbling about the adventures they'd been on that day; although Emma was, as usual, quieter than Sofie. Emma sat on her mother's hip twirling one of Alecta's curls around her little finger as she and Sofie were reiterating each other's thoughts about the funny wall they found.
"Mommy, it had faces on it."
"What did they say?"
"Nuffin mommy, itsa wall."
"But mommy, there was boys faces and girls faces. And they were tall like Agent Barbie and Miss Embly, and the boys were tall like the Agent Man."
"Which Agent Man?"
"All of 'em."
"Ooh! And mommy the libary…..the libary!"
"What about the library?"
"It was so pretty."
"And the books, the smells of the books Mommy!"
That was Emma getting excited over the library, starting to squeal as hard as Sofie.
And that was how the conversation went as Hotch and Alecta lead the children out to the dining room.
There was a long table that was extremely long, divans on either side of it with pillows to bolster them, set with the most delicate China they had ever seen with a floral pattern that seemed to burst forth with vibrant colors. The table cloth was silken and had a metallic filigree design woven throughout it; candelabras lined the table every few feet. Those candelabras were of the finest silver and had actual gemstones draped through them for a dramatic effect.
"Mama,' Sasha spoke as she saw her mother coming into the room.
"Yes, Sasha?"
"That library mother, I have never seen one like it. All the books and they smelled so wonderful."
"You teach your kids to smell books?"
"Among other things. You can read a book; your imagination will use the words to take you to anywhere in the world. But that is only half of the story. With the older books, the smells that come from the pages tell you where the book was before it met you; you get two trips in one. Sometimes a book becomes your best friend."
"Like Jack and his love for 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'?"
"Exactly like that."
"He brought it with him you know, he will want you to read to him from it sometime while we are here."
"I'd love nothing more. I've missed him."
"You have no idea how much he's missed you."
As they got seated at the table, Sophie sat between Aaron and her mother.
"Sophie, can I sit next to your mother?"
"You made Mommy get upset. You can sit next to Mommy when I think you can behave a little bit." With that she scrunched her nose up a little bit and nodded her head for finality.
"Daddy, you got told." Jack, captain obvious was able to work in.
"Yeah, I kind of deserved it."
People came rushing from the kitchen of the fortress, bringing silver dishes of all shapes and sizes sitting them on the table in front of the guests. It was all so beautiful; nearly so beautiful you hated to eat everything and ruin the presentation.
The Sultan stood and gave a speech about having the right friends around you and the strength to fight against dark days and that he hoped that his guests enjoyed his hospitality as much as he enjoyed meeting them. With that he held up his glass and ended his speech before setting down to eat with the others.
During the dinner there was a small collection of musicians that had taken up residence a few feet from the table. They were playing their various drums, notably the Dholak and the Mridagam; as well they had a few Sitar players sitting there.
"Your Majesty?"
"My dear, I remember how much you used to love the music." Sultan Mehmed smiled knowingly at Alecta, and she looked to her plate rather sheepishly.
"No fair." At her remark, the Sultan merely chuckled as he raised his drink to his lips.
Leaning over to Alecta, beyond Sofie, 'What was that about?" Hotch was curious as to what could be so bad that Alecta would blush so profusely; he could count the times he'd seen that happen on one hand.
"It's nothing, honest."
"Sure it is." Hotch smiled at her.
Everyone ate and talked and had a great time. Alecta had risen from her seat at the table and walked over and sat near the musicians. She had initially just sat on her knees, but was now resting full weight sitting on her calves, legs folded up under her, engrossed in whatever they were playing.
One sitar player winked at her and began playing a different note and the other musicians followed suit.
"Dirty pool old man." Alecta claimed from her seat nearby.
Although you could not hear the player laughing, you could see the laughter clearly written on his face as he shook his head in reaction to whatever she had said to him.
Alecta's position was further compounded when Yildiz came and sat with the players and began singing; her angelic voice hitting the right note every time.
It was only a matter of time before Alecta was on her feet dancing away with the music. The Sultan was clapping and having a good time.
The muezzin, whose name was actually Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi, shook his head.
"What is so funny?" Reid asked the gentleman.
"It's a joke that goes back centuries. She was so in love with the sound of the music that once she started to dance she could not stop. Once she went for several days before she gave out. Goddess of war that she is, she could never resist music, she loved it so."
"How is that funny? It seems sort of cruel actually."
"Maybe in a way it is, perhaps you are right. But, the way she is….she is so….she is always ready for battle, always so sure of herself in the field of battle. But when it comes to the quiet times, to personal times, she's not so much. She relies quite a bit on smoke and mirrors I think you would say to make everyone think she is always in control or always confident in her powers. When the music plays is the one time that she forgets all of that and just…..IS."
Hotch had heard part of the conversation, his ears perked up listening in from his seat. He was getting just enough bits of information to keep his questions piling up.
He heard Bilal mention to Reid that during times of war, Alecta…..well, the old her….was a force to be reckoned with.
…"She would fight for days on end. Of course, being a goddess, she had no need for sleep or food or any of that. The men in the armies that were fighting, some of the ones following her into battle would fight 'til they dropped to keep up with her…
Sometimes, depending on how hard the battle had been, it didn't matter which side started playing music….just so long as it made her stop. Usually the side to start playing first was the opposing side. And that little trick was found out by mistake.
It happened the way most great discoveries do. It was late one night, campfires going. The soldiers were trying to get something to eat, to get some rest…..so many of them were on the verge of collapse. And the music could be heard to float from the camp of the opposition. They were trying anything they could to lift their own spirits. Alecta eventually heard the sounds of the music as it drifted to her and ceased her fighting. She sat on the ground at first, just listening. She had never heard a more mournful and beautiful sound. It was some song about missing home and missing the one that you loved most. Over time other music got played, singing was added. Armies on both sides began to notice how she changed when the music played. It got to the point they were so desperate that the musicians would play so hard for so long that they would be the ones dropping from exhaustion."
Rossi was up walking around, talking with Rachel, Alecta's mother, stretching their legs after dinner.
Pen was eating a little, she was worried about eating so very much and what she would be able to keep down; although it seems as though the Sultan had anticipated a problem and had something specially made for her.
"It will settle the stomach, madam. One of my wives use to have some when she was unwell." With that said the Sultan winked at Pen and turned away to see to his other guests.
Pen decided to try it at least, it couldn't hurt; and she felt bad enough already. She could only move up from there.
Derek was eating the dish in front of him, loving the fact that the food was so perfectly spiced and everything was so delicious.
JJ and Emily were tasting off of each other's plates, happy with the foods they had tried so far. Will was helping Henry with some of his food to make sure if he was able to handle some of it or not.
Reid was busy talking to Bilal, learning more. Hotch was studying Alecta and keeping one ear on the conversation.
Rachel, Alecta's daughter had jumped up to join her mother; the two seemed to be having a blast.
Suddenly, the door to the dining hall blew open, nearly blowing off of its hinges; a very tall, dark haired, brooding man came through the now open door. He saw that he was near Rossi, so he grabbed him, jerking him by the arm causing Mrs. King to stumble a bit before catching her balance.
The musicians stopped dead in the middle of the note they were playing. Alecta and her daughter spun to face the menace that had interfered with their dinner.
Alecta grew angry. The fury washed over her so quickly it was like she was possessed.
"Let the old man go."
"Come and get him."
"I'll tell you only once more. Let. The. Old. Man. Go. NOW!"
"Or what?"
"That old man belongs to me. Let him go and we can forget this ever happened. Final offer."
"What are you going to do? You can't kill a God."
Alecta laughed right in the face of the man that had grabbed Rossi. This man had to be every inch as big as Kong, and she laughed in his face.
"You poor delusional bastard. I've done it before….More than once…..And I can do it again. Now, let the old man go or I'll have to lose my temper."
"You're bound in your bones. What are you going to do to me from there? The only way that you will ever be able to do any harm to me is if you are returned to your natural state."
"Then why don't you do the honors? Release me of this human form and then maybe we can have some fun." Alecta had begun to walk slowly around the man, dragging one fingernail across the back of his shoulders, brushing the length of his hair accidently as she went.
"I'm not stupid….."
"And yet you contradict yourself. You've barged in here, disrupting our meal, unannounced, uninvited…..and you have assaulted my old man. Need I remind you what happened the last time our paths crossed?"
The man shoved Rossi back into the room; Alecta was there to steady him on his feet.
"I'm not afraid of you, you know that. You're just some old dusty stone-age Babylonian war Goddess….."
"It was the Bronze age….and it was Mesopotamia. If you're going to tell a story, get your facts straight."
Alecta was really starting to get pissed off, her voice was a dead give-away. Hotch was grateful for just a split second that it wasn't aimed at him.
"Whatever, the point is….I'm not afraid of you. You're just a washed up has-been trapped in a mortal body because you couldn't cut it in our world anymore."
Walking dangerously closer to the man, to the point she would have been eye to eye with him if their sizes had been more equal, 'Well then, if I'm such a washed up has-been please explain to me why it is that there are people in this world that still fear me; as opposed to you who have become a footnote, a curiosity in some old history book in a junior high school child's locker?"
Alecta stood her ground, not giving an inch. The larger man stared down at her. He must have seen something in her eyes that gave away just how close he was to her raising hell on him because he turned around and left almost as suddenly as he came.
Turning to Rossi, sounding more like the Alecta that the team knew, 'Are you alright? Did he hurt you at all?"
"No."
"You're sure?"
"I promise."
The Sultan was sitting quietly; he began to give instructions for the dishes to be taken away. And then he spoke to everyone in the room.
"I am having the liberty of having refreshments in the gallery. I will have Alecta bring you with her momentarily." Alecta nodded to him as he gave her the order to bring the others.
Yildiz agreed to take the children back to Alecta's room. Of course Sofie and Emma argued. They wanted to be allowed to go with their mother. Although Sofie was usually the problem child when it came to having melt downs, Emma was giving her a run for her money just now.
Alecta took them to the side and spoke to them.
"Look, you need to go with Yildiz back to the room. I promise I will tell you what you want to know later, but right now I have to go talk with the Sultan and we need to figure some things out. Please don't be like this. After the Sultan let us come to his house and he was so nice to us…."
Sofie sort of crinkled her face a bit as if she was weighing other options, Emma glared at Alecta. They both decided and answered almost in unison.
"Ok Mommy." Then they walked over to the Sultan and hugged him and told everybody goodnight.
Alecta smiled as the children walked away. Sasha, Eva, Rachel, and Oleg were allowed to stay with the adults because they were all older and not as easily talked down. Alecta knew enough to pick her battles.
Everyone made their way to the gallery that the Sultan had spoken of; Alecta took the team the back way through some of the secret passages of the fortress, and they beat the Sultan by just a few moments.
"Are you ready child? This is going to open all things up…."
"We don't have a choice. They are getting sucked into this; it's only fair they know what they are getting themselves into."
The Sultan nodded his agreement and opened the large double doors of the gallery, flicking the light switch, illuminating the room in a soft glow.
Everyone walked into the room. The ceiling had to be nearly 40ft high in this room, and it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000-10,000sq ft. with the ceiling being so high there were multiple levels; stairs climbed the walls and lead to these different floors of the room. There were shelves lining some walls containing artifacts. There were portraits on the walls depicting various people, places, and events. There were some artifacts that were on pedestals, surrounded by glass cases. It looked every inch like a museum.
"What is this place?" Eva asked her mother.
"My dear, this is the condensed version of my life."
Reid had gone off looking at some of the artifacts on his own, reserving his questions for when he had no explanation that suited him. Suddenly he spoke up.
"This is a bronze from about 1350 BC….Middle Eastern…"
"Syria actually. But you should see this figurine. It's the oldest likeness of me that anyone has ever found. It's made from wood.' Looking at Rossi and smiling, 'Acacia wood as it goes."
Rossi looked at her and smiled back, remembering his questions about that during an earlier conversation.
"I mean, it's not completely intact. I missing the little spear…no, it was a sword I was carrying….it was beautiful. The pommel of the sword was bronze, and the blade was made out of iron, and it was rather intricate work for basic equipment that they had back then."
"How long ago was that?"
"I don't know, Spencer, maybe 6,000 years….."
"Mother, what is this?"
Oleg was looking at an old painting.
The Sultan spoke up, 'That is from the Renaissance. An 'unknown' artist painted that."
"Mom, it looks remarkably like you." Rachel stated.
Alecta wasn't paying attention anymore. She had grabbed a glass of wine and was walking over to a window with it in her hand; she had stuck her right index finger into the wine, just past the tip ever so slightly and was twirling her finger in the wine, creating little ripples in it. She seemed lost in thought. But the Sultan knew better.
"My dear, it looks like your mother because it is. That painter painted the image from memory. You see, he was like us….well, like me. He had lived for centuries. He knew your mother from before…."
"Before what?" Rachel asked indignantly.
"Before I became mortal like the rest of you,' Alecta spoke from her spot at the window.
"Darling girl what are you up to now?"
"Just thinking."
"That's usually cause for alarm."
"If that bastard could just barge in here the way he did he's staying somewhere close by."
"You don't think he's here in Istanbul do you?" Selim asked with an edge to his voice.
"No, he wouldn't be so stupid as to make landfall in my city. Not after what happened the last time."
With that Alecta went back to stirring her wine with her finger.
"Give me that,' Mehmed took the wine from her. "There will be no sinking of ships until we know for sure what's going on."
"Fuddy duddy." Alecta walked away from the window. Bayezit walked over to the window, looking out over the mouth of the Bosphorus, where it opened onto the Black Sea.
"Too late old man, there are already three ships down."
Taking her by the arms, and giving her a slight shake, 'Why would you do that girl?"
"It was a warning. If he harms my city there will be consequences. Perhaps after last time he will remember."
"Momma, what does all of this mean?" Rachel was getting a little worried and maybe a touch pissed off at not receiving any answers.
Alecta looked up into the abyss that lead, eventually, to the ceiling. She took a deep breath, letting it out.
"Please, sit, I have a story to tell. But do pay attention, it is long and the night grows shorter."
Post AN: So that is finally Chapter 40. I'm sure there was a cut-off point before this, but I wasn't sure exactly where to try that. Anyway, this is it. Next chapter, is the 'magic circle'; Alecta will finally answer the questions, telling her story…perhaps meet a few new people…we will have to see what falls out.