Destiny Scorns

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  Sidney wasn't going to the shop any more given that she was a few weeks due and Gorham being Gorham did not permit her to go to the shop anymore. He was being overprotective but everyone knew that he was only worried given that this was going to be his first child.

 

  After the incident at the festival, Jared made his headquarters at Gorham's castle. He oversaw all the on goings of the castle and kept a close watch on the visitors coming to the castle. When one of them seemed strange or suspicious, then they would be pulled aside to be questioned. The new security routines were being undertaken in all the castles.

  One person was referred to Jared. The former watched him keenly. `What is your business in this castle?'

  `I'm here to deliver news to Miss Sidney Storm.'

  `These days her title changed to Mrs.'

  `I wasn't aware.'

  `No doubt,' he watched him for a few more seconds. `What is the message that you want to tell Mrs. Storm?'

  `It is private as it's from her brother.'

  `Victor? Victor Raymond?'

  `So you do know?'

  `Yes I do.' Jared stood up. `Follow me, please.' He led the stranger to Gorham's office and then explained things to Gorham. He was asked to call Sidney to meet him in the library but for the mean time, they were left alone.

  `Why is this message very important?' Gorham asked.

  `It is about her mother.'

  `Madison?' This surprised the man.

  `Yes, it's about Madison.' The door opened and the man looked up to see Sidney looking a bit larger than she had been almost fifty years ago. He saw the reaction from her and knew that she hadn't forgotten. `Before you say anything else, I should let you know that I'm not here to hurt you.'

  `Why should I believe you? You were one off the people who tortured me!' She didn't step further into the room. Gorham started to stand up defensively but he waited for everything to play out.

  `I was trying to infiltrate Madison's camp, I had to do as I was told.'

  `Why infiltrate Madison's camp?'

  `Henry doesn't give us much reason as to why we do some things.'

  `Henry?'

  `Yes. Henry was planting me as a mole in Madison's Island and when Wendy was pulled away from her training, Madison knew that her time was coming short. She started afresh to look for you and found out that you are here.'

  `Where's Victor?'

  `They are on their way but we can get moving if you so wish.' The man stared at her.

  Whatever decision she was going to make now he was going to be part of it.

  `What do you mean by `they are on their way'?'

  `Victor is coming with Wendy and two others to delay Madison at least until you can get away.'

  `I'm not going anywhere. Not like this anyway,' she said and moved to Gorham.

  He took over from her. `They are all wizards? The people coming?'

  `Yes, including me.'

  `And Madison is so powerful as to require five people to try to delay her but not kill her?'

  `No,' the man looked at Gorham. `It only requires one person to kill her but she won't be coming alone. That is why Victor couldn't come alone either.'

  Gorham went back to his seat. `I think that we should head to the council hall.'

  `You aren't thinking of asking the council for help, are you?'

  `No, but the queen's weapon is now kept there and you can operate it.'

  `Theoretically, yes.' Sidney stared at him. `You aren't thinking that I should take on my mother on my own.'

  `Whatever she saw was that she dies before one of her female descendant...'

  `That doesn't mean that I get to kill her, Gorham.'

  `If you stay here then she is sure to find you and if we go to the council hall, your chances rise higher.'

  Sidney looked away. `I'm scared.'

  `Scared of your mother?'

  `No, scared of dying.'

  `I won't let that happen.' He went to take her hand.

  `I'm sorry to interrupt,' the man said. `Wendy and the others have arrived.'

  `How do you know?'

  `She is from the Izanami clan so she must have been sensing for wizards,' Sidney said instead. `It's a two way connection. They sense her too.'

  `So if Madison is already here then she must know that Wendy is here too.' Sidney nodded. Gorham went to her and pulled her to stand up. `We have to get going then.' The three of them left the castle and headed to the council hall where they were to acquire the queen's weapon. ~~~~~~~~~~~

 

  `How many?' Victor asked anxiously. Wendy was trying to figure out the number of wizards in Tyrone. They had let her be for some time but she was taking too long.

  Wendy looked up at him calmly then she stood up. `Sixteen,' she paused and looked at their shocked faces. `That is including you which means that there are thirteen potential enemies and they are all within the city.'

  `You could tell where they are?' Victor was shocked.

  `I've been practicing,' she shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. `The very bad news is that they are concentrated in one central point. The council hall.' `Why is that bad news?' Amber asked.

  Victor was the one who answered it with a question. `Why would they be concentrated if they are still looking for Sidney?'

  `My guess is that they have found her and Steven must have also been captured.'

  `But you said there are thirteen potential enemies?'

  `Yes.' She put on her belt with the sheath and the sword back onto her waist. `We should get going or we will be too late.'

  `But Madison needs to perform the ritual before killing her?' Amber asked but she had already mounted her horse like the others.

  `Not in this case,' Victor started riding. The others kept up with him. `She had already performed the ritual forty five years ago.'

  Wendy was still feeling a bit jealous but like everything else she had to wait for an explanation after they survived the ordeal. It felt nice to ride into the city again but it was even more special because they were not being stopped. `Why didn't they stop us?' she asked after they were through the gate.

  Victor smiled for the first time at the question. `They think that you are Diane!' Wendy seemed confused. `Your hair, it turned back to white when we crossed over.'

  She smiled. `Since I'm now royalty, can't we move a little faster?' She kicked the horse harder and broke out of the group. People had to look at her hair once and know that they ought to step out of the way. As they could see the council hall ahead of them she felt something happening. She turned round and could see that the others were paving the way for her. They were in some sort of attack from Madison's forces.

  `Go inside,' Victor shouted at her. The others spread out and went round the hall after she was safely inside. She unsheathed her sword and walked cautiously through the corridor. Leave it for Madison's ego not to put guards inside the building. She walked into the hall and the first thing she saw was Madison concentrating on focusing a blast which seemed bluish but had a mixture of white and red on a woman who didn't seem to be doing anything about it but was somehow stopping the blast. Behind the woman was a man who Wendy could recognize as Gorham lying on the floor.

  Wendy walked into the room and from the corner of her eyes could see Steven's body. He must have tried to save the woman whose name Wendy assumed was Sidney.

  `Madison, stop this!' Wendy commanded. The former didn't even look at her but seemed to add more force in her blast. Wendy could see that Sidney was weakening. `Stop this or I swear, I'll kill you.'

  `After I'm done with her there's nothing that anyone can do to stop me. Not even you, Wendy Summer.'

  Wendy looked around and saw the queen's weapon lying on the floor but it was far away. `Hold out your hand and it will come to you,' a voice in her head said. The second she did that the
weapon literally flew into her hand and as she aimed for Madison, some sixth sense in her made the former turn around and tried to defend herself against the blast. She managed it but as a result, the connection with Sidney had been broken.

  `You know what Wendy, I actually thought that we could be friends but I can see that you have been poisoned like the rest.' the weapon didn't lower from the latter's hand. `If you knew of a way that you could live as long as Victor, wouldn't you take it.'

  `But it's not the same case, is it?'

  `We all want something, Wendy. Even you. See yourself aging and Victor remaining the same. You want to live as long as he will, don't you?'

  `I don't see how my age and Victor's relate to the matter at hand.'

  `But you do. Remember when you can and you commented that Victor was too old? You want to be with him yet he will look the same as you age and get wrinkles. You think that he will love you then? When your beauty has faded away?'

  Wendy was thoughtful about that statement that she didn't realize that she had lowered her weapon a few inches.

  `I will teach you how,' Madison said. She waited.

  Wendy looked at Sidney who had collapsed on the ground. `Not at the expense of the lives of others.' She raised it up again. She was about to blast it again but Madison waved her hand and the weapon fell away from her hand. The former then made a series of motions with her hands and pointed to Wendy in the stance that she had found the former in. Wendy dived out of the way. She slid to a halt but Madison was trying again by the time she got to her feet. This time she didn't step out of the way, instead she copied the same motions as Madison. From the way that she had seen the smoke being manipulated around Madison's body she was quite able to see how she was manipulating the environment.

  The mixture of blue, white and red blast came from both of them. Neither of them saw Victor stepping into the room. At the moment they were too focused on each other to notice.

  `You think that if you kill me, Victor will see you as anything other than the person who killed his mother?' Madison tried again to get into her head.

  Victor thought of clarifying that but thought better to let Wendy make her own decision. `I gave you a chance to stop what you were doing but you opted instead to attack me. I think he would understand if I told him that.'

  `No matter what he says, he always sees me as his mother. Just because Sidney here is the last sibling he has...'

  Wendy relaxed for a moment and Victor wanted to shout to her to concentrate. `Sidney is Victor's sister?' She suddenly smiled. `I'm sorry Madison, but I think that your time is up.'

  `What?' she asked but could feel the blast getting closer and closer to her. She tried to move away but was not fast enough. The blast pushed her to the wall and she hit it hard before she fell down again. She raised herself and sat up. Her eyes looked around the room and they met with Sidney's before she felt a prick on her neck. That was the end of Madison.

  Wendy watched as the former's head slid from her neck and fell to the ground. She was about to turn but she saw the white-like-smoke come from Madison's dead body. It separated in two and one traveled towards Sidney who was kneeling next to Gorham. He was finally waking up from whatever knock out that he had received.

  Wendy turned in time to see the other surrounding Victor before it thinned out again.

  Victor walked to Wendy, `That was amazing!'

  `What? Chopping off your mother's head?'

  `Killing her. You should know how many people have tried to do that.'

  `I guess, a lot.'

  Victor's attention suddenly diverted away from Wendy and to Sidney. She was grabbing her belly and was bent over as if she was in pain. Victor hurried to her side but it took Wendy a bit longer than that for her to remember that they were only siblings. `What's wrong?'

  `The baby- the power's too much for him.' She looked at Victor, her face full of worry. `I'm going to lose the baby.'

  `No, you won't,' he said but he didn't seem convinced. He looked questioningly at Wendy as if expecting her to do something.

  She quickly thought of something. `We need to get her to a comfortable place...' `Gorham's castle,' when he said that he could see Gorham waking up.

  `Where are the others?'

  `Outside, they were guarding the hall.'

  `Well, I'll need their help getting Sidney and Gorham to the carriage. I'll need you to go back to the other universe and bring Dr Ryan here.'

  `Your father won't...'

  `Just tell him that I sent you. He'll do as I ask.'

  `But you also have to go back.'

  `Not right away. Listen to me Victor. I need you to be the one who goes back because I know that you will hurry. She is almost due and I doubt that anybody in our world can deliver this baby well.'

  `The council...?'

  `I will stay with the others just in case of anything. Now go and tell the others to come and help me,' Victor stood up unsure of what to do. `I'll take care of her. I promise.'