Druid's Future

Chapter 10

Allysia woke to the sound of hoof beats on what sounded like cobble
stones. She found herself tied to the back of a horse without her
weapons and surrounded by the four men that attacked her at the subway
station. She felt like her head was going to burst and her stomache
ached with hunger as well as from the position she had been tossed on
the horse's back. How long had she been unconscious and how far they had
travelled was beyond her range of thinking right now. Her mind was still
a little fuzzy. It was possible they had kept her drugged so she
wouldn't know where they were headed and therefore when she finally
camed to, they would be far from any interference and far from help. 
The four men that attacked her did not say a word.  They weren't even
aware their prisoner was now awake.  Allysia craned her neck to try to
get some clue as to where they were.  A sign just barely hidden from
view was briefly lit up by lights from a passing car.  You are now
entering Mount Shasta National Forest.  Mount Shasta? That was in
California. How did they get here?  What day was it?  Or more
appropriate what night?  How long had they been travelling?  By her
stomache's recognition, it was only a few hours from when she had been
attached.  But that was impossible.  No one could travel through time
and space in just a few hours. At least not any more. The thought left
her chilled.

The horses plodded along at an even pase. Since her capture, the four
had consulted the Dark One as to the travel arrangements for the key.
The Dark One knew that travelling through the corridors of time would
soon exhaust much of the Seekers magic that the Dark One enchanted them
with, so he arranged for them to travel partially to their destination
with the rest being carried out by horseback. Another reason was because
if magic was used too often, the Druid could detect it.  Even from the
great distances they were both facing, power could travel through the
wind and be felt by those who were listening.  So the Dark One planned
while his men took the key to a safe place from the enemy.

The leader of the four Seekers signalled to halt. It was nearly dawn.
They would not have much time to prepare the prisoner. One of the
Seekers came over to the horse that Allysia was swung over on and hauled
her off like a sack of meal. He carried her over to where the others
were setting up camp. Though the Seekers appearance and physical nature
had been drastically altered, they still had some memories of being
human and the needs of a prisoner, human or elf might have. A couple of
blankets were spread on the ground to give warmth. The mountains weren't
that warm this time of year. They knew that their master wanted the
prisoner alive. Packs of food were also available as well as fresh
water. Allysia appreciated all three. After she had eaten and taken care
of some other personal needs, the Seekers tied her hands and feet. They
were not about to lose their prisoner that day or any other day.
Allysia, however, didn't care at this time. She was exhausted and soon
fell sound asleep. The Seekers just for precaution sat on all sides of
her with their backs to the forest. They thought by facing the prisoner,
they would know if she tried to escape. As the Seekers watched, and the
sun climbed above the horizon, a strangeness came over the four men.
They became sleepy and they bowed their heads until they rested on their
knees. A weakness came over them as if all the energy was being drained
from them as the sun rose higher. Soon, the men did not move at all, and
they appeared to have turned to stone; their power was gone. Allysia did
not see any of this. 

That night, after the sun was way below the horizon, the Seekers roughly
woke Allysia from her slumber and motioned her to mount her horse. Two
of the Seekers dismantled the camp while a third went to a small stream
to fill a cantine with water. The fourth tied Allysia to her mount and
took the reigns and mounted his horse. It was clear that she would not
have the opportunity to escape at night with one of them holding her
horse. The leader then signaled to the others that it was time to leave.
They rode on for many more miles at a quick pace. Where they were
headed, Allysia couldn't be sure.  After several hours went by, Allysia,
again was hungry.  She hadn't eaten when they woke her up at the
campsite. She had been hungry then, too, but it had been apparent that
the men that held her prisoner weren't interested in eating anything.
They were trying to make for some unknown destination. This did not
comfort Allysia nor did it help her strength.  Without food, she would
soon grow weak, then she wouldn't be able to escape even if she tried. 
Maybe if she tried to reason with them, try to talk them into giving her
something to eat, maybe she would be able to keep her strength up to try
to escape, later. She had to try.

"Please," she pleaded. "I need something to eat. I can't travel this
way." 

The small caravan of horses slowed. and then stopped. The leader had
heard her.  He signaled to one of the other men. One of them rode to
Allysia's side and got down. He took a long length of rope and tied her
feet to the stirrups of her saddle. These men knew what they were doing.
He then reached up and untied her hands and handed her some bread from
his saddle bag. It wasn't much but it would do for now. The man got up
on his horse and the column started moving again. The man that handed
her the bread stayed abreast with her and fed her as they moved
forward.  Water came to wash down the bread as well as chunks of cheese
and meat. To Allysia, that meal was fit for a king even though it was
served on horseback. The food did her good and she could feel her energy
returning as well as her curiosity and even her anger. Why had she been
kidnapped? Was this her ex-husband's idea? Months after they got
married, even after the trouble that began in their marriage, Allysia
found out what had happened to Barry's first wife.  Her body had been
found dead at the botton of a canyon.  There had been know known cause
of death. Somehow Allysia knew that Barry had murdered his first wife.
She couldn't prove it but she feared for her life. That was one of the
reasons she bought the bow and got the license. Was this his way of
getting even because of the will? It certainly looked that way but there
was something that was unnerving about those four men. They rarely spoke
a word and when they did, it was in a language that Allysia didn't
recognized. They seemed somehow unreal to her.  Allysia watched as they
traveled. They passed close to a large structure on their left. It was
hidden among the trees but all could tell it was there. For some reason
the men tried as quickly as they could to ride away from that area. It
was apparent that something in that dark structure spooked the men.
Allysia on the other hand felt something different coming from that
area. Something familiar, yet alien.

They rode on slowly. The ground was becoming increasingly more rocky and
harder to find a clear path. The horses would stumble almost toppling
their riders. Then the light was slowing changing and daylight was
approaching, again. This part of the journey had left everyone on edge.
The men were rougher with their prisoner than they had been before. 
Something had caused them to be put on their guard more then ever. 
Allysia made a hasty meal for herself and started to settle down for the
day. It was apparent that they weren't going to continue on to where
ever they were headed. The men, though, were still acting a little
jumpy. They were still too close to that dark structure even though they
had riden four hours from the area. The four men settled around Allysia
as they did before but this time Allysia wasn't ready to sleep. After
riding past that structure, something seemed to happen that hadn't
happened in a long time. The structure seemed to give Allysia hope and
even strength. Her energy level had taken a boost for the better.  Also,
something else within was starting to come alive, again. This, however,
frightened her and she tried to keep it under control. The men had also
seemed to sense that something else was different and they tied her
securely in a way that would be nearly impossible for anyone to break
loose. They were frightened but of what?

Allysia couldn't sleep. The ground was covered with rocks and the
weather that morning had a bitter chill to it. Even if the sun would
warm her to sleep, her heart wasn't in it to appreciate it. As the sun
rose, the men sat there staring into empty space, unaware that their
prisoner was increasingly uncomfortable. It was then that Allysia
noticed the change. Something was wrong with the men. They hadn't moved
after the sun had come up. In fact they were as still as statues. They
didn't even appear to be breathing.

Allysia tried to move herself closer to one of the men. they indeed were
still as stone, unmoving in their sentry duty. These men were far
different than Allysia imagined.  They weren't real in the same sense of
the word.  Allysia tried to reach out and touch one of the men but her
hands were still bound.  However, she was able to touch the man with her
face. When she did touch one of them, it surprised her.  They felt like
flesh and blood but they were cold to the touch as if they had been dead
for a long time.  That wasn't all that she found out from that brief
touch.  She felt something evil had been done to the men to cause them
to be in the state they were in.  They were no longer human.  Some evil
force had changed them into something evil to be used for his own
purpose. Some evil force or man was behind her kidnapping, not Barry. 
Fear began to replace the anger and the curiosity. Why would someone
want to kidnap her and for what purpose?  Then a realization and
determination took over. Here was an opportunity.  Now was the chance
that Allysia was waiting for. If the four men were helpless in sunlight,
she could escape. Maybe she could even get help from that place they
passed. It seemed absurd that anyone would believe her but she had to
try.

Allysia did her best to get up on her knees and search the men for
something she could use to cut her bonds. One of the men had a knife;
the same one that fed her earlier.  Luckaly for her only the flesh was
effected and not their clothing as well.  The knife proved to be some
help. It wasn't as sharp as she hoped but it was better than nothing. It
took her an hour to cut the ropes but she was soon free. After freeing
herself, she still felt a little dizzy but that wasn't about to stop
her. To make sure she wasn't followed, she untied the horses one by one
and sent each off in a different direction so as to confuse the trail.
Then she gathered up the rest of the food and the last horse and headed
back from whence they came.  Before they could come after her, they
would have to get their horses and by the time they did that, she
hopefully, would be far enough away that she would not be able to be
located.  Allysia laughed to herself at how easily she had made her
eascape, however, she wasn't safe yet. She had to find her way back to
that structure so she could contact someone for help.  She didn't know
how far they had ridden. She didn't even know what time it was when she
did see it. For a while, Allysia concentrated on following the trail. It
had gotten steadily rockier. After turning around a bend, she realized
that she was no longer following the same trail. Somehow she turned east
and then back north. She was headed in the wrong direction.

'At least the men that kidnapped her won't find me so easily,' she
thought.  Still, she would have to try to keep the sun on her left at
least for a few more hours. The morning had not progressed very far and
at least this way she could judge how much time had passed.  As she
traveled farther and the road became less trechurous, her thoughts
turned back to the four men that sat frozen somewhere behind her under
the watchful eye of the sun. She still could not fathom the reason why
they had kidnapped her. Who and what were those men? It was obvious they
were not ordinary men for ordinary men did not react to the rising of
the sun in the manner that they did. 'I'll have to figure them out
later', she thought. 'First, I must get as far from them as possible.'

Allysia rode on for another hour aware that the sun was passing into the
southern sky and slowly it would soon be in the west. She had to pick up
the pace if she was going to find that strange structure that she saw
somewhere within those mountains. Suddenly somewhere on her right she
heard the sound of shooting.  Maybe it came from somewhere near the
structure. Maybe she was finally reaching safety and help. It wasn't
long before she came upon two men hunting deer.  Poaching more like it
for deer season had not opened yet and these men did not look like
official hunters, plus she noticed that there were beer cans and other
liquor bottles that littered the area where the men were standing. 
Allysia did not want to approach these men but circumstances caused her
to do so. When she headed in the direction of the shooting, she found
the trail that the horses had made before she escaped and now she could
see that the trail led right through the men's camp.  If she was going
to find that structure, she would have to pass through.  Maybe, if she
ignored them and tried to keep the horse quiet, they would not notice
her.  She was about to approach when one of the men spotted her. She
tried to bring her horse around but the one closest to her was too fast.
He grabbed her horse's bridal and would not let go.

"Where do you think your going?" asked one of the men. Allysia could
smell the liquor on the man's breath from where she was.

"Maybe she came to keep us company," said the other. "You know how the
boss is sometimes. Maybe he changed his mind. Come on, we won't hurt
yeh. We just want to have a little fun." 

"If you please, sir, let go of my horse," stated Allysia. She did not
want anything to do with these men.

"What's the matter, girlie?" asked the one holding her horse. "Don't you
want to play? Why don't yeah come down from there and give ol' Jake a
kiss."

Allysia tried to get her horse to move forward but the man called Jake
had too firm a hold on the bridal. The man moved his left hand closer
and started rubbing her thigh in an obscene manner. He was trying to
coax her into his arms but Allysia wasn't buying.  Every minute those
men kept her there brought her closer to being recaptured when the sun
finally went down. She would have to try something desparate. Allysia
felt at her side and found the knife that she still had. Then with
lightning quickness, she brought it down on the man's hand nearly
driving it into her own leg beneath

"Ooowww!" screamed the man from pain and surprise as he jerked his hand
away. "No one does that to Jake McGuire and gets away with it. Come back
here! Stop her, Joe!" Allysia reigned in her horse and made for the
trees trying to stay on the trail that would lead her to safety. The
other man, Joe, took aim and fired.

"Not that way yah fool!"

"I was trying to shoot the horse!" the other shouted back.

"Come on, man. If we don't catch her she might tell someone we'd been
poachin'."

The two men headed for their vehicle in pursuit of the girl but she
already disappeared. Allysia felt the hot metal enter her right side
from the back as she road away. It tore at her flesh and the force from
the shot caused her horse to rear up nearly toppling her off. The shot
had passed through her and grazed the horse's neck frightening him. She
tried to bring him under control but to no avail. It was all she could
do to try to keep him on the trail. It must have been at least an hour
until finally the horse tired and slowed to a walk. When Allysia finally
had the horse under control, again, she was totally lost. Allysia
stopped to get her bearings and to check for the trail. She put her
hands to her side in discust and felt something wet and sticky. Pulling
her hand away she saw the blood that was soaking through her clothes.
Slowly she felt it running down her leg and she knew then that she would
have to get help soon. One of the two drunken men had done this to her
but she could not blame them because they were drunk. They probably
would not remember tomorrow. As she stared at the blood on her hand, she
became aware that the horse was also suffering some kind of discomfort.
Then she saw the reason. Her horse had bolted not because of the gun but
because the bullet that hit her also grazed him. Now she really needed
help. Though the horse would survive it's ordeal, Allysia may not be so
lucky. She could feel the blood running down her side and down her leg.
She knew as she lost more blood, she would become weaker. The best thing
she could do was to head in the direction that she thought was right and
hoped that she would find help.

Allysia rode on, ever aware that the sun was beginning to set.  Allysia
traveled as best she could aware that time was slipping past and also
aware that she was loosing her life's blood. Her body was starting to
chill as well as a fever had set in.  At that point she wasn't even
aware of her horse and where it was going.  All she hoped was that it
would carry her to a place of safety. Then slowly, in front of her, a
structure rose as if from the earth. Dark and frightening it was in the
fading light.  It appeared to be a castle straight out of a fairy tale.
Allysia was slumped over her horse's neck trying to stay on as she urged
the animal forward. As she got closer, she could distinguish a glow
coming from what appeared to be the main gate. She rode forward and
hoped that they would not shut the gate before she got there. She coaxed
her horse to go faster and tried her best to hang on. As she rode toward
the gate, she was aware of the dizziness trying to over take her. She
fought to stay alert and as she rode through the gate, she was aware of
two figures standing in the yard.

"Help, me," she gasp, then slipped from her horse. The two men that were
in the yard ran to the woman to try to catch her before she hit the
ground. 

End of Part 10