18
Dwight was driving Prudence back to Haven PD, when Laverne's voice came out of his police radio. "Hey, Chief."
Dwight picked it up. "Go ahead, Laverne."
"We got a call from the Gull. Stan was en route to get Crocker when one of the servers said she saw two guys stuffing him in the back of a blue sedan. Said she couldn't get a full plate number, they took off too fast. But she did say it had Carolina plates."
Dwight pounded the steering wheel. "Dammit!" he swore.
"What does that mean, Dwight?" Prudence asked. "Someone has harmed Duke?" she questioned, her voice gaining an edge.
"Somebody's taken him, Prue. Somebody bad. Somebody really bad," Dwight said, dialing Audrey's phone.
"We're too late-William's already grabbed Duke," he said grimly when she answered the phone.
Prudence gasped. "William? You said he was gone!"
"There was an unsecured thinny, and he found it," Dwight explained. "He probably took Duke to use as a bargaining chip in exchange for Audrey. He wants to turn her back into Mara again."
"He must not be allowed to do so," Prudence said.
"Well, I agree, Prudence, but what can we do against him?" Dwight said. "If we try to hurt him, we hurt Audrey. They're-joined, somehow, or they were before."
Prue thought for a moment.
"Take me back to Duke's ship," she said. "There are some things there that I need."
"William might there with him."
"I take it William does not know that I have returned either," Prue replied.
"That's right, he doesn't," Dwight answered. "What can you do against him, Prue? Is your Trouble like Duke's?"
"I have explained to you how my Trouble works," Prue said.
"No, no, I mean, can you affect him?"
"I don't understand. How do you mean affect? William and Mara created the Troubles, they cannot be controlled by them."
"No, when Duke still had all those Troubles bottled up inside him, he affected Mara with them," Dwight informed her.
"Do tell," Prue murmured thoughtfully, flexing the hand she'd inflicted the cut upon the previous evening.
Dwight paused at a stop sign, and Prue rolled down the passenger window, seeing a dog. She whistled at it, and the dog looked toward the sound, wagging its tail.
Prudence removed her glasses, gazing at the dog, who panted happily and walked away. She pulled off the cloak and set the glasses down on the passenger seat before looking back up at Dwight.
"I guess you've absorbed that Trouble," he smiled.
"Yes, it would seem so," she replied, and then sobered. "I am sorry," she said.
"Prudence, you've done nothing to be sorry for," Dwight replied, puzzled.
"No, I am sorry for the action I must take," Prue answered sadly, and placed her hand on Dwight's arm.
Dwight's eyes grew instantly heavy, as though he'd been awake for days on end. He still had enough sense to put the truck in park before they had an accident.
"What did-you do?" he slurred.
"It will only last for an hour or so," Prudence said apologetically. "It is an old Trouble I absorbed before my incarceration in the box. It causes deep, heavy sleep. You will not be harmed, and will wake in a hour."
"An hour...might be...too late," Dwight sighed as his eyes closed and his head dropped forward.
Prue gently brushed her hand over Dwight's hair, and climbed out of the truck, setting off in the direction of the pier, chanting as she walked. A few more steps, and she vanished from sight.
A few seconds later, she reappeared at the pier where The Cape Rouge was moored, and went on board.
She set to work, swiftly, gathering the items she needed, thrusting them into a pillowcase she had scrounged up from her bed.
There was a noise, and Prudence whirled around, a knife at the ready.
Nathan was there, his gun drawn.
"Whoa, easy, easy," he said. "Prudence, are you all right? Where's Dwight? He was supposed to take you to the police station."
"Dwight is well. Sleeping, but well. William has taken Duke," Prue said. "I must try to get him back. Do not try to stop me-I do not wish to hurt you but I will if I must."
"Prudence?" Charlotte called, and then stepped forward. "Prudence, is it really you?"
Prudence appeared to be at a loss momentarily, and then regained her senses.
"Charlotte?" she questioned, her eyes wide as Charlotte came forward, smiling, before the two women embraced. Prue held her out at arm's length.
"Duke was right-you look not a day older than the last I saw you," Prudence said.
"Nor do you," Charlotte smiled. "Prudence, we want to help you."
"William has-"
"William has Duke as a hostage, we know," Charlotte said. "But Prue, you can't just randomly attack and hope you get him. People could be hurt. Audrey could be hurt as well. We don't know if she and William still share that bond. If they do-"
"Then he just might be able to turn her back into Mara again," Nathan uttered, holding Audrey's hand tighter in his own.
"William on his own is bad enough. If he can summon her again, there will be no end to the suffering in Haven," Prudence said matter-of-fact. "They hurt dozens, if not hundreds, before, even my own. Or do you not remember watching Josiah die of that illness they inflicted? All my medicines, all my magic, for naught," she went on, tears sparking at her eyes.
"Duke reminds me a lot of Josiah," Charlotte replied. "But slow down, Prudence. Let us help you. Don't fly off the handle into battle," she urged gently. "Remember what happened to Isiah when you tried to take William on alone."
"Wha-who's Isiah?" Nathan asked.
Prudence was silent a long moment. "He was-my love," she said softly. "He was my life."
"Prudence and Isiah Mason were lovers, before she met Daniel," Charlotte explained. "She thought he was lost at sea, and married Daniel. Isiah returned after five years of being held captive by the Spanish to find Prudence married with a family."
"We tried to forget our love; but we could not," Prudence continued the story. "I had even given him a daughter named Sarah, but she died of fever before her first birthday. A punishment of fate brought on by our infidelity, no doubt," Prue said quietly.
"But the day he died, Isiah and I were-together-in the forest, when William came upon us. He told Isiah that he and Mara knew that I was the keeper of the portal, and they wanted the key. Isiah said they would have me over his dead body," she went on. "And then-William put his hand on him, and Isiah was dead," she finished. "I escaped them that time. But they sought me out eventually."
She looked to Charlotte. "Dwight has told me that Duke was able to affect Mara," she said, glancing at Audrey, who nodded. She'd hoped that Prue wouldn't find that out, fearing what might happen if she did.
"He-split us," Audrey told her. "I was separated from Mara. But I was dying outside of her, and Charlotte joined us together again."
"And when I did-Mara died, in effect," Charlotte said gently. "That is why Duke released those Troubles, because she'd altered his Trouble to do so if she did."
Prudence frowned, thinking over Charlotte's statement.
"Just because he could affect Mara, I do not know if it means that he can affect William," she answered at length. "Duke cares for Audrey. Love is one of the most powerful tools in magic. I believe it factored into his ability to do that to her. However, I do not think that will be the case here. Does anyone here love William?"
"I'd love to see him dead," Nathan remarked.
"So your answer is no, then," Prudence half-smiled. "I do not love him either. And I do not know if I could affect him now. But," Prudence continued, "I may be able to find where he has taken Duke."
"How do you mean?" Audrey asked.
"I showed Duke the events that led to my imprisonment in the box the previous evening."
"And in order to to do that, you touched his blood, and he made contact with yours," Charlotte replied.
Prue nodded. "Yes."
"Which means-?" Nathan prodded.
"Which means that Prudence may be able to track down where William has taken Duke," Charlotte told them. "In order for her to be able to show him the past, he linked up psychically with her. They may still have that bond, if he were the last person whose blood she touched."
"No, there was a woman this morning, Marjorie Dane. I took her Trouble. But Duke is my kinsman-the pull should still be strong. However, this still does not explain why Audrey recognized the key to the portal."
"I think she may have some small access to random pockets of Mara's memories," Charlotte said, a small sad smile on her face. "But she isn't there, Prudence."
"Who knows a child better than a mother," Prudence remarked, touching Charlotte's shoulder gently. "We must talk after this is over with."
"Well, if you can find Duke, please, Prudence, try to do so now," Nathan said, anxious to start the hunt.
"There are some things you must know about William," Prudence replied. "He is quite cunning."
"We know, believe me," Nathan retorted.
"And he has no remorse about inflicting injury or death to achieve what he desires."
"Aware of that too," Nathan grumbled. "He actually Troubled a four-month-old baby."
"Monster," Prudence growled. "Very well-I shall find him."
She took a small sachet from her skirts, opening it to remove the key, and unlocked the strongbox, retrieving a smooth spherical object from the chest.
"You're going to find him with a crystal ball," Nathan said dubiously.
"You live in this town and you question me?" Prudence asked gently, a smile curling her lips. Nathan returned it shyly.
Prudence's face grew somber, and held the crystal toward the sunlight, the refraction casting rainbows over the room, which began to shift and change shape, and Audrey saw Duke in a room, tied and gagged to a chair.
"Where are they, Prudence?" Charlotte asked.
Prudence was not listening. Instead, her eyes were focused on the image of Duke in the chair, his eyes half closed, the side of his face bruised and purple.
"Duke," she whispered.
Duke's eyes flew open, looking around him to see if someone were there.
"Can he hear us?" Nathan asked.
"Nffan?" Duke mumbled through his gag.
"We are coming," Prudence reassured. "Show me where you are," she coaxed.
Duke struggled with the ropes that held him, but they were tied securely.
"Show me in your mind, Duke," Prue said gently. "Focus on it clearly. Be calm, there is nothing to be afraid of," she soothed. "We will be there soon."
The image changed, a tumble of dense woods, an old house, and just beyond it, a huge rock that stood in the middle of the woods, overgrown with moss and vines.
They could see William instructing his goons while they pulled the forest debris from the stone. Even from here, they could see the carving of the Guard emblem in the stone.
"The Axiom," Charlotte gasped.
"Of course he would be there," Prudence said grimly.
Audrey began to think on an idea that she'd been germinating all morning. Duke had told her that Prue feared Mara was pretending to be Audrey, using her as a 'Trojan horse', she'd said.
What if we can get William by doing the same in reverse? she thought.
"Then let's give William what he wants-Mara," Audrey said.
"Have you gone crazy?" Nathan asked, agog.
"If Mara could pretend to be me, why couldn't I pretend to be her?" Audrey said, and began to tell them her idea.
"It's too risky," Nathan said when she finished.
"I concur," Prue put in. "However, it is the best plan."
"Well-what if he touches her again?"
"I will be there too, Nathan," Charlotte replied. "If he thinks I've cured Mara, all his attention will be focused on us, and you can get Duke free."
"What about Prudence?"
"She's our ace in the hole," Audrey said. "He doesn't know she's back."
She smoothed Nathan's hair. "I'm not going anywhere."
"You hope," Nathan mumbled.
"We all hope," Charlotte said.
"It's not much, but it's all we have. So let's go to the Axiom," Audrey sighed. She hoped that Charlotte was right, that Mara was truly gone. She sincerely hoped she was right.