Reunion

Note: all characters are over 18, as established in previous chapters.

*****

Master of Elements: Chapter 9 - Reunion

"One cannot make a slave of a free person, for a free person is free even in a prison." Plato

By the time Brigit and Matsu returned from the hospital with Athena and Freya I had completed a hasty packing for all of us. All we needed to do was stop off at Athena's flat so she could pick up a change of clothes and then we could return to Agrafa. I had made a point of keeping our hotel rooms there reserved on our enforced return to Athens, under the assumption that we might need them again. Money, of course, was no object thanks to our now deceased benefactor.

The thought that every hour wasted was the equivalent of a day to Jenny in her captivity gnawed at me. It was tempting to just re-enter the Aether world at once, here in Athens, but I realised that had the devastating attack that had been made against us happened in a crowded city rather than a wooded hillside, the death toll of innocent victims would have been horrific. I simply couldn't take that risk.

When the girls arrived, despite my desire for haste, I couldn't help but notice that something unusual must have happened. Their return was later than I expected and they were all looking thoughtful, and also, with the exception of Matsu, a little bedraggled as if they had been caught in a sudden downpour. Naturally the Asian girl was as dry as when she had left, but then as she absolute control over water so that didn't surprise me. In response to my question as to what had occurred, Athena explained.

"Following your text, Freya and I met Brigit and Matsu at the hospital entrance. We quickly went and checked on Jenny but there was no change there; she is still in a coma. Then we took a taxi back here, but about half way we found the road blocked and closed off by the emergency services. It seemed there was a house fire. The police, fire service and ambulances we all in attendance and our taxi driver was about to turn round and find an alternative route, when I sensed something ... it was very powerful and emotional." She winced at the memory and stopped speaking.

"What was it Athena?" I asked softly.

"Terror ... a woman's terror, not so much for herself but for her child, who was going to die with her. They were trapped in the burning building and she thought the fire fighters wouldn't reach them in time. I soon knew she was right. I searched the minds of the nearest ones and they didn't yet realise that anyone was in the building. They wouldn't be able to save those two lives ... but I knew we could. So I told the driver to stop the car and we got out. Then I gave my sisters their instructions ..."

"Yes, Athena really took charge. It was magnificent," said Matsu, admiringly.

"Yeah ... It was kind of hot, actually," added Freya.

"You think everything's hot," snorted Brigit. Freya stuck her tongue out at the redhead in response.

It was clear the girls were in a good mood, so I could guess how this story ended, but I still wanted to hear the rest. "Didn't the police try to stop you," I asked.

"I dealt with that first," Athena explained. "I affected the minds of everyone around so they would see us but just consider us unimportant and ignore what we were doing. It was similar in some ways to be effect I used to get passers-by to disregard the forest glade when we travelled to the Aether world."

"Wow, mass mind control; that's impressive. How did you know how to do that?" I asked.

"I have no idea. I just knew I needed to do it and so I did."

I gazed at Athena for a moment, then at the others, sitting casually in chairs or on the bed in an expensive but otherwise normal Athens hotel room. Just how powerful could they be, in they really needed or wanted to do something? I realised none of us knew. Perhaps part of my role was to make sure we didn't find out.

Athena was still speaking. "The firefighters were trying to stop the flames spreading to neighbouring buildings so I asked Matsu to give them a hand with that while Brigit and Freya dealt with the rescue itself."

"Yes," cut in the Chinese girl. "The firefighters were using water hoses, so I made sure every drop went where it was most effective. It was a good thing that Athena had done her illusion otherwise onlookers might have been surprised to see the streams of water go round corners and flow uphill." She giggled at her own comment. It was clear she was proud of her contribution. "Also there were clouds around, so I made them rain to dampen down the area."

"Your certainly did," said Brigit, "We all got soaked!" Matsu just grinned.

"So what of the trapped people?" I asked.

"I went straight inside the burning building for a look round," said Brigit, almost casually. I had seen her completely engulfed in flame and yet entirely unharmed, but it was still an extraordinary thought that she could do something like that. "And I quickly realised that they had to be behind one particular closed door on the upper floor - the fire was taking time to burn through the barrier it presented. However, I had to get out again before I could do anything to help. I may be immune to flame and heat, but I still need to breath and what air there was left was becoming thick with smoke."

"Which is where I came in," added Freya. "Once Brigit had reported back, I realised we needed a clean air corridor. So I pushed fresh air in through the front door and drove the smoke out of whatever gaps it could find."

Brigit nodded. "The only trouble with that was all the fresh oxygen was going to make the fire burn all the fiercer, so I went back inside and commanded the flames away from the path up the stairs to the room where the woman and child were. Then, while Freya kept the air coming and I pushed the flames back, Matsu and Athena were able to enter the building and get to the trapped people."

"We found them unconscious, from smoke inhalation I guess," Athena explained, "So Matsu carried the child out - she was a girl aged about five or six - while Brigit and I between us got the woman out. We took them to the ambulances, handed them over and then left the emergency services to do the rest. We didn't get any thanks of course, because no one really registered any of what we did. I'm sorry we were delayed Chris. I know we should be thinking of Jenny, but it seemed the right thing to do."

I stepped forward and gave her a hug. "Don't be ridiculous. You all did brilliantly and you certainly get my thanks. Two people are alive today because of you four; Jenny would be the first to say you did the right thing. I am in awe of you all ... but, Athena, I can see something is still on your mind."

"Chris, we have all be focussed on fighting the Creature - me more than most, all the way back to first meeting Gwydion - but this business tonight has made me realise we could do a lot of good in other ways. We have such power, almost like superheroes. We could do a lot of good in the world after ... well, after we win."

"Flame Girl!" cried Brigit, striking a pose with one arm upraised and the other on her hip. A small burst of fire shot from one finger for a moment before vanishing. "I think I'd look good in a latex cat suit. Perhaps black with a red flame motive on front ..."

I also thought Brigit would look very appealing in a latex cat suit, but that was an idea to save for another time. "Ladies," I said, "You have done an amazing thing, but I think we need to put thoughts of the future aside and concentrate on what we need to do next; which is to rescue Jenny."

In truth, I had no idea whether if we won against our enemy we would even retain any of our powers. The records of past battles against the Creature were silent on what happened to the Master and Mistresses of Elements afterward - other than that on the most recent occasion they had all ended up dead. I was more interested in finding a way to avoid the latter fate than worrying about what happened afterward. Still, the girls took my point and we were soon on our way back to Agrafa.

*****

Jennifer Kitaka, Mistress of Earth, former student nurse, proud Ugandan, sincere Christian and scared but resolute 18-year-old, had not lost hope. She had found solace in the thought that her beloved Master and her brave sisters would come and rescue her. Nor did she let the apparent delay in that happening get her down. She understood that time moved differently here than on Earth and so that fact she had to wait didn't mean she had been abandoned. And at bottom she had her faith. She was sure she was doing God's work and so God would protect her.

But for all that she was having a bewildering time. She had spent the first three months imprisoned in what she came to think of as 'the glass box', although it was made of some kind of solid force rather than anything as mundane as glass. This was somehow suspended 300 metres in the air above the roof of her enemy's fortress.

She understood why her enemy had done this. She could not have been imprisoned by any conventional prison walls; stone, metal, indeed any type of physical material was hers to command - which was why it wasn't actually a glass box - but by suspending her high in the air she was well separated from the element she controlled and so her powers were contained.

She suffered no physical discomfort because although she had the appearance of having a body, the same goddess-like form as before in fact, in reality only her mind was here. She didn't need to eat, drink, sleep or even breathe to survive, nor did she feel the cold of her lofty prison. However, there was still great danger to her sanity. Trapped alone and friendless and totally exposed for all to see, it would have been easy to suffer a mental collapse. Jenny coped by retreating within herself, nurturing her thoughts of her friends, her God and most of all her dear Master, who she was sure was coming to save her. In that way she kept hope alive.

The only visitor she received in this period was the Creature itself who came to converse with her at irregular intervals. For whatever reasons of its own, it came in the form of a tawny eagle, a bird she knew from her homeland. Jenny guessed the image had been taken from her own mind and doubtless it could have appeared as any manner it found desirable; the communication was entirely mental and needed no tongue or vocal cords. But the bird of prey was impressive and, Jenny judged, somewhat larger than a real one.

She knew the risks of talking to her enemy, but in her solitude it was the only thing to break the monotony. She took it as a challenge to try to find out something of use to her and her comrades, while revealing nothing that the Creature couldn't already read from her surface thoughts. It was doubtful that this did any good, but the idea comforted her. The conversations themselves were rambling, odd and seemingly pointless. Jenny's best guess was that she was being tested in some way. Still, it gave her something to puzzle about when the Creature was not there.

However, on one point the Creature was crystal clear. It always called her Kitaka. Jenny had explained that was her family name and her given first name was Jennifer, but the Creature had said: "I had no interest in your human name. You are the goddess Kitaka, and so I address you by your true name."

"I'm no goddess," Jenny had insisted, "I have a human mother and father and was born an ordinary girl; nothing special at all, until my Master found me and showed me my powers. Anyway, there is only one God and He has no peers or rivals."

"There are many powers in the multiverse. If the term 'goddess' offends your human sensibilities, then think of them as angels, demons, spirits or ghosts or whatever else suits your taste. The fact remains, always have Athena, Brigit, Freya, Kitaka, Matsu and their accused allies arisen to oppose and thwart me, conjured by those miserable priests long ago. And so you are Kitaka and always have been."

Jenny didn't believe that and the Creature could not be trusted to tell anything resembling truth, but it was something else to consider while she spent yet more months in this airy prison. Only, as it turned out, she didn't have to. Suddenly, with no warning, everything changed - and got even more bewildering.

*****

After the attack on the hillside, when we were lucky that medical help had arrived in time, I was reluctant to go off somewhere remote for our next trip into the Aether world, but when we arrived at the hotel in the mountainous but beautiful region of Agrafa in central Greece, I found we didn't need to. The place was practically deserted. There were no guests other than us and most of the staff had quit. Only the distraught owner and a couple of others remained.

I used the diamond on my amulet and its power of mind influencing to calm the owner, whose first name was Vassilis. I gathered that he couldn't explain why, but everyone had been plagued by feelings of unease, escalating recently into fear. The guests had got out first but he soon had staff resigning in droves as well. He was no happier than anyone else, but had stayed because his whole life's savings were sunk into this hotel. I told him that my friends and I were here to drive the fear away and that if he wanted to go and leave us to look after the place we would do our best to make sure it came to no harm. I promised to let him know when it was safe to return.

Poor Vassilis; he was only too eager to accept my offer and was gone, with his two remaining staff members, within an hour. I was far from sure that I could live up to my promise he would get his hotel back in one piece - there was every chance it would become a battlefield - but at least he was safe and the girls and I had the run of the place, which was helpful.

We wasted little time, finding a storeroom that had not too much structure above to collapse on us, nor a basement below to fall into, and which had a stout lockable door and small windows. Once ready, we assembled inside and the girls erected the same sort of elemental barriers we had used last time, although we dispensed with the illusion that there was no one here, that being superfluous in the circumstances. Then Athena once more used her access to the power of Aether to move us mentally to another dimension, leaving our comatose bodies resting, hopefully safe in the locked storeroom.

Athena took us to the fortress we had captured on our last visit. There was some risk in that, as our enemy surely knew about it by now and might have taken steps to reclaim it. I half expected to walk straight into a fight, but nothing of the sort happened. We found the fortress garrisoned by a sort of voluntary militia of villagers, armed with simple spears and weapons recovered from the defeated garrison - or at least that was how our minds interpreted what we were seeing. I had to remind myself that the villagers were actually wholly alien, albeit friendly, beings and the other human appearing trappings around us were in truth equally unearthly.

Our hosts were delighted that "the gods" had returned and hastened to make us welcome. I gathered that they were as surprised as I was that no attempt had been made to retake the castle. Rumour had it that their overlord had been busy on other matters, although exactly what was unknown.

They had used their time to redecorate the place in honour of us. The 'harem room' Jenny had made for us last time had been carefully preserved, and the main hall was now enlivened by full length portraits of me and the five Mistresses of Elements. I thought they captured the likenesses of the girls very well, but in my opinion failed to fully reflect my noble bearing, although Brigit insisted it was an exact likeness of my appearance on this plane. However, I was filled with sadness at the sight of the portrait of Jenny in all her dark beauty; it was an all too vivid reminder of what we had lost.

The Creature might not have tried to retake the fortress but it was clearly being watched. We had been present scarcely more than a couple of hours, which would have only been about five minutes on Earth, when a message arrived from our enemy. I had just sat down with the girls to discuss what we should do next, when one of the villagers hurried in to report that a large bird of evil appearance was heading for the main tower.

We hastened to the top of that tower from where we could see this beast for ourselves. It was winged sure enough but it was no bird. Its body and head were those of a woman, although it had scaled legs and clawed feet. Athena recognised it immediately: "It's a harpy, a monster from Greek mythology, and not a very nice one judging by the stories about it," she said coolly. "If that is how our minds are interpreting this beast, I think we can assume it will be malevolent."

"Shall I blast it with a ball of fire, Chris?" Brigit asked.

"No, I don't think this is an attack or the enemy would either have sent more of its servants or come itself. This thing has a human head so I'm guessing it can talk. I think it's a messenger."

"What sort of message would our enemy want to send us?" Matsu queried.

"Who knows? Threats, lies, a challenge to combat perhaps," I replied. "All I'm sure of is that we shouldn't trust anything it says."

"I might be able to help there," said Athena, "unless it is very strong minded. I'll try to read its thoughts and find out its true intent."

The harpy circled the tower a couple of times and then landed on the battlements. Up close it was an ugly and disgusting creature to look at and smelt even worse. However she, for the thing seemed to be female, spoke courteously enough, which only made me more suspicious.

"Greetings, godly visitors to the Overlord's dominion. My master knows you have come with evil intentions, futile as these may be. He is gracious enough to forgive your foolishness, because he wishes you to share in the joy that will soon be felt throughout this world."

"Evil intentions ..." muttered Freya angrily, "Your master has tried to kill me three times so far."

The harpy ignored her. "Further, the Overlord's bride wishes to personally extend an invitation to you all to attend her wedding. The Overlord will marry the goddess Kitaka in five days' time. The bride hopes that her goddess friends will attend what she refers to as a 'bridal party' in two days' time. Knowing that you may distrust this invitation, the Overlord has graciously consented to allow this event to take place close to here with whatever safeguards you propose."

For a moment, like the others, I was at a loss. We were all staring at the hideous messenger, trying to process this bizarre statement. Whatever I had been expecting, it wasn't this. However, thinking quickly, I seized on a sudden hope. While this was most likely some weird ploy of our enemy, perhaps trying to throw us off balance, there was just a chance that this was a message from Jenny. During the time I had spent with her in Egypt I had come to respect that young lady's quick wit and courage. I had to believe there was a chance she would find a way to help us.

"We accept," I said decisively. "I'll have a large tent assembled and furnished on the plain below the castle. Bring the goddess here with whatever guards your Overlord deems necessary but no more than 300 of them. You are right to assume that we don't trust you and I don't want this used as cover for an attack."

It was hard to be sure from her inhuman features, but I got the impression that the harpy was surprised by my ready acceptance. However, she simply said "Your terms are acceptable," and then flew away, presumably to deliver my response.

I turned to Athena. "Did you get anything from her?"

"It was less sure of itself than it appeared and your answer confused it even more," the Mistress of Aether replied.