Cities of Power

Authors note: This storyline has very little sex in it so if you are looking for a stroke piece this won't be it. Thank you very much to Paul who has volunteered to edit for me as I attempt to finish off this series. Enjoy! ~Ellie

*****

"You better have a bloody good reason for waking me up in the middle of the night!" Edge grumbled as he walked into Mica's room trailed by Venn. The warriors had returned from their search to report back and have their bikes seen to by Mica.

"The sun was up hours ago," Mica rolled his eyes. "Where did you get your bike fixed?" Mica looked at Edge with a serious expression.

"Bandit village where we found you," Edge frowned. "You woke me up to complain about shoddy workmanship?"

"Did you see who fixed it?" Mica asked as his mind tried to match what he knew with what was staring him in the face.

"Yeah, I spoke with him a few times. He was a tall guy, but pretty average otherwise, had a fairly forgettable face. At first he said he couldn't do it, then, when it looked like I'd be stranded there until we could get the part from you and have him install it, he miraculously found that he could replicate the piece needed." Edge shrugged. "He just wanted to get a better trade from me, I'm sure."

"Yet he never even charged you for the work. You thought he forgot," Sirrus said, walking in behind where the friends stood in the corner of Mica's workshop.

"Like they were trying to get rid of you?" Mica asked, but nodded, answering his own question as he thought through the information. "They didn't want you staying in the village any longer than you had to, but the treaty with Phoenix made them obliged to let you stay until your bike was repaired."

"That could be true, I guess. We left as soon as the bike was fixed," Edge agreed. "Could just be that they remembered that I was with the warriors that took you from their village. If that were the case, they would have no love for me being there."

"We rode straight from Judah's village and intercepted Venn and Talon as they came up from the south," Sirrus said, as if that somehow mattered to the conversation.

"They were coming to assist you?" Mica asked, his voice rising in pitch as he realised he was right but had no real proof aside of a mark on a piece of metal.

"Yeah, we got word to them," Edge grumbled, wondering why he was being interrogated by his friends.

"I think I know where my missing brother is," Mica chuckled, wondering why he hadn't considered the possibility before. Judah was an odd man who seemed always to be playing games and hedging his bets towards what he called the coming of the new age.

"In the bandit village?" Sirrus asked. "We were there for three days and we never saw him or your sister."

"No, not in the village, as such. Trust me, if Flint is where I think he is, Trix is with him. She would never have gone alone," Mica said, as Sirrus began to pace the room. Mica's workshop and rooms had become the meeting place for the four warriors of the air clan.

"Fancy seeing all of you here," Talon said as he joined the group. "At least I always know where to find you."

"Don't look at me," Edge said grumpily. "I was having a fine dream until I was summoned by the drama queen, who doesn't like anyone else working on our bikes, to be interrogated about the accident. On a lighter note, it seems he thinks he knows where his brother and sister might be hiding, though, so there is that."

"When will the bikes be ready? We'll leave as soon as we can ride," Talon said in a rush of words. The idea that Trix was still free and on the run trying to get to him was the one thing that kept him sane. He had almost given up hope that she had outwitted the Pegasus mystics and remained free.

"Wait, this won't be as easy as riding into a village and demanding her return," Mica said thoughtfully. "But I bet I could get maybe one of you in there if you are willing to trust me and do exactly as I say."

"Maybe we should let the apprentices continue their work and discuss this further back at Mica's place," Sirrus said, looking around furtively. There had been a few problems since their return. Factions were rising in each of the four clans at the news of the treatment of the quorum that had gone to Pegasus. Rumours and theories had caused tension within the ranks of the freemen, as well as the ruling families. Even as the thirteen warriors continued to work together to find the girl that Glow had betrayed, their clans warred with each other on different levels.

"If they are close to Phoenix, how it is they haven't been found? News of a talented blacksmith travels like wildfire, and you have said he was the best of your brothers when working with steel or iron," Sirrus attempted to puzzle out why the girl and her brother had not been found when so many people searched for them. "It is as if they have disappeared off the face of the earth completely." Like Talon, he had lost the hope of finding her before the mystics of Pegasus.

"That's it exactly, isn't it," Mica said, still wondering why he hadn't considered it before. "It's as if they have disappeared off the face of the earth. But what if they were somewhere else, somewhere where the mystics' power couldn't penetrate."

"There is no such place," Sirrus said. "Those few Elementals with mystic power here in our city have tried time and again to find them and failed. They have scoured the land for caves and ridges that might shield them and found none."

"What if I said there could be a place guarded by talismans that block the sight of mystics?" Mica asked as he considered the possibility that Judah found them and imprisoned them within his fortress of caves and tunnels below small hills that surrounded the bandit village.

"I would again say that there is no such place," Sirrus said definitively. "But I have been wrong before, and would be more than happy to be proven so in this case."

Talon followed his friends as they walked and talked, listening to the conversation and trying to quell the seed of hope that once again bloomed in his belly. He had all but conceded that Pegasus had found her first and had her imprisoned in their city.

"Can you start from the beginning?" Talon asked carefully as they entered Mica's rooms, finding them empty. He wanted to believe Mica more than anything, but now that he'd had some time to process what he said his doubt began to creep in again.

"I was saving this for a happier time," Mica said, going to his room. "I need it now, though, to explain how it is I know what I know." He continued to talk as he retrieved an item from the cupboard in his room and walked back to where the four big warriors had begun to make themselves comfortable in the small space. "I made it for you to give to the princess, assuming you plan to bring her here." He walked toward Talon, unwrapping the gold arm band matching his own that signalled he was a freeman, only this one was embossed with two hawks twined together within a heart. It was smaller and daintier, but it was still a band of freedom which she would need in this city not having been born to a ruling family.

"Why give this to me now?" Talon asked, amazed at the beauty of the gift but saddened by the fact that he had no idea where she was or even if she was alive at all. The mystics had found no trace of her life essence in the world to show where she might be.

"To prove my point," Mica said. "Any artisan who has pride in their work will sign what they make. Some might call it ego, but for most of us it's about reputation and not wanting other lesser work to be attributed to us. I could walk around this city and point out every stone Mason has chiselled, be it a block in a wall or a touch stone, because I know his style and his mark. You know who paints the landscapes that decorate your walls because the artist has an individual style and, in most cases, signs them."

"Okay, so you sign your pretty pieces," Venn said. "What does that have to do with finding the unicorn?"

"I sign every piece I put on your bikes, not just the pretty pieces you have given the women you want to bed," Mica rolled his eyes. He turned the piece over in Talon's hand and pointed at what first appeared to be scratching on the surface of the golden armband but was a star like flower.

"This," he said, pulling a metal plate attached to a smooth perfectly formed rod from his leather apron, "Is the piece I took off Edge's bike, and this is Flint's mark." Mica pointed to a deep etching of a small stylised flame.

"So, they are in the village!" Sirrus exclaimed, then frowned. "They can't be though. I went through there with the mystic stone and picked up nothing. We were there for days; we should have seen or heard something, found something, but nothing."

"They aren't in the village, as such, but close by," Mica said carefully. "And you did find something, well... I found it, but you brought it to me." Once again he considered the enigmatic Judah and what he had to gain by allowing Flint to make the piece for the bike which alerted Mica to where they were. He must have known that he would leave his mark on it.

Mica sat down and began to explain that there was a hidden place close to Judah's village where he guessed Flint and Trix were possibly hiding, or being held prisoner. He answered all Sirrus's questions cagily, not giving away the exact location, though he wasn't sure why he seemed unable to voice the words that would tell his friends where it was exactly.

The friends pondered why Judah would do this and what his agenda was. The consensus was that they would have to tread carefully, because once she came out of that place she would be vulnerable to the mystics again, and that if Judah was, indeed, helping them, then she may be safer there than in Phoenix where the factions were dangerous at the moment.

"If everything Mica says is true, then maybe she is far safer where she is then. Even here, with all of us to protect her," Sirrus mused, "there is a risk, and if no one knows where she is at present then leaving her where she is might be for the best."

"By the sounds of it most people in his village wouldn't even know they were there and be able to have their thoughts leeched by mystics," Edge shuddered at the memory of being in Pegasus and having his mind rifled through.

"I need to know for sure," Talon said. "I can't just sit here and hope you are right and that she is safe where she is. I need to know."

"The apprentices have been with me for months now, and have improved with the tutoring I have given them. Mason could run the workshop and schedule. We'll go, just the two of us, and be back in a few days once we have confirmed that she is safe and happy. Flint will be looking after her, it's not like she is alone," Mica said, sounding worried. He couldn't help feeling like Judah had another agenda that had little to do with Talon and Trix's love affair and the baby she would have.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Sirrus said thoughtfully. "I have to admit, Mica is right. Judah won't let us all into his sanctuary, but he has already let Mica in once, and might let Talon in, if just to prove that Trix is unharmed."

"So we're just supposed to sit here and do nothing?" Venn asked testily.

"No, I think you should go out and split up as well. As long as it looks like we continue to search the Mystics won't bother tracking us as closely. Mica can take my bike. I trust him to look after it like it was his own." Sirrus said. "I'll stay at here and help our fathers keep the clan from imploding."

"Will the bikes be fixed by the morning?" Talon asked, eager to make a move, believing Mica's reasoning now and allowing the hope to once again flare brightly within his chest. He wanted to deal with his reason for returning home and leave to find the woman he loved as soon as possible.

"Your bikes are fine. They just need a recharge and a service, which should be just about done," Mica shrugged. "I fixed Edge's this morning, which is how I found this," he held up the steel rod and plate.

"We'll leave in the morning," Talon said. "Sirrus and I have some family business to attend to this afternoon."

"We do?" Sirrus looked confused.

"Our parents have made some decisions they would like to discuss with us," Talon said. "I was coming to find you before all of this happened." Despite his eagerness to leave, his duty to family and his allegiance to his father had never been stronger than since receiving his support after the rescue to search for the woman he loved rather than allowing Pegasus to interfere in the making of the new world and tilt it to their favour, particularly as his unborn son seemed to be at the heart of this prophecy and the Mystics fear for the future.

"I'll be back tonight to make a plan," Talon got to his feet and indicated Sirrus should follow him.

*****

"It seems it's time for a family reunion," Judah said pleasantly during their evening meal. "Mica should be here shortly."

"Mica is coming here?" Trix asked incredulously. "How did he know we were here?"

"Your brother sent him a message. Didn't you, Flint?" Judah chuckled at the look of surprise that briefly touched the young man's face.

"You knew? You wanted Mica to find my mark?" Flint asked, confused by the man who had kept them virtual prisoners inside his fortress, even though he treated them as honoured guests in every other way.

"Of course, I have been honest about my interest being in your brothers and yourself rather than your sister, pretty though she may be," Judah spoke as if to a simpleton. "I find it hard to believe you are the son of Hammer and Jewel that is named in the prophecy, so I would like to meet all of your brothers. The Hawk will rescue his unicorn and you or Mica will return to your village with me to seek out the eldest who stands beside your father as heir apparent."

"What if Mica doesn't want to go back? What if I don't, for that matter?" Flint asked.

"That would mean I change my plans, but if you are the one prophesised, your destiny will draw you back there, regardless of your desires right now," Judah chuckled. "Men who seek to out run their destiny are always disappointed to find that they were running toward it the whole time."

Flint remained silent and thoughtful. He had learnt that Judah had a way of knowing things he shouldn't. He had a way of looking inside his head to his deepest feelings and played on them. Rather than being disgusted by Flint's desire for his sister, he had, in fact, encouraged it, leaving them to share the same room and talking to him about his feelings for her both directly and indirectly as if trying to gauge if he would ever act on them. Judah was also very interested in how Flint felt about the fact that Trix loved the father of her baby and believed he would eventually come for her. Flint had a suspicion that the dreams were Judah's doing, even though he denied it, and they had stopped once Trix had confronted him and asked him for help.

He felt uncomfortable in this so-called haven. It was too easy to forget why they had come here and that Trix loved him as a brother and never thought of him otherwise, which was as it should be, despite the feelings for her that still clung to him even though the dreams had stopped. He continued to tell himself those feelings were not his own.

"What is your destiny, Judah?" Trix asked, tilting her head, having heard enough of Flint's destiny and knowing that the bluntness and seeming honesty of Judah made Flint uncomfortable.

"Not all of us are lucky enough to know our destinies, so we must make them for ourselves. Great prophecies are written about a mere few, and fewer still with any detail. You and the Hawk have been named in the beginning of the new days, but it is one of your brothers who will change the world," Judah said adamantly. "The babe within you is of no consequence to me, nor will it be to any who currently hunt you once they realise the error of their interpretation."

There was a large grating noise at the edge of the garden in which they sat again for the evening meal, and all three turned towards the sound at the far end.

"Mica?" Trix said, as if not believing what she had been told and the vision of her brother coming from the underground tunnel. She got up and started to move toward the vision. "Mica!" she exclaimed and started to run. Her eyes were so firmly fixed on Mica that she hadn't noticed a second man emerging from the tunnel until she had reached Mica as he had jogged toward her and swept her up into his arms.

"Princess, I think you've finally grown!" he chuckled. "I have brought you a prince," he turned with her still in his arms and a hearty laugh. "I told you she would be here. I look forward to a special reward when we get home."

"Talon!" Trix squeaked in surprise, and wriggled out of Mica's arms, throwing herself at the man she loved and wrapping her arms about his neck.

"You're here and you're safe," Talon said, as if he couldn't quite believe that she was real, his arms locked around her as he held her tightly and kissed her. The pair were completely oblivious of the reactions of Judah and Flint as they greeted Mica and their guide, Samael.

"I have had half the warriors of Phoenix out searching the country side for you. I thought the mystics had found you first when we hadn't found any sign of you anywhere!" he breathed all of his worries out as he spoke.

"You've been looking for me?" she asked, feeling both guilty that she had left without word and then stayed hidden for so long.

"I would have ridden to the ends of the earth if I had been told you were there," he said, and kissed her again. "I told you I would come for you. Why didn't you wait?"

"It's a long story," she said, "I don't want to talk about it now' I just want to be here with you. I wasn't sure I would see you again or that you would look for me at all when you found I was gone and here you are, thanks to Flint and Mica." She turned in the circle of Talon's arms to look at her brothers. "Thank you," she smiled. "I can't believe you brought him here to me. Thank you!"

"You must be Flint," Talon stepped forward, loosening his arms from Trix to extend one in greeting. "I owe you a debt for allowing us to discover your whereabouts. Anything that is within my power to give is yours, you need only ask."

Flint grunted and looked at the extended hand for a long time, sizing up the man who would take Trix from him. He finally took the hand briefly, but the expression on his face said that he was less than impressed with the man who had abandoned Trix to her fate.

"Give him a chance, Flint, he's a good guy. He had no idea what was happening to Trix once he left to finish the mission, just as you had no idea what had detained him," Mica cut through the tension between the two men and slapped his brother on the back. "Samael promised us food and drink, we'll all feel better after we have eaten and talked about why Judah agreed to hide you here."

"I have made no secret of why I have decided to become involved in this issue," Judah said in his usual abrupt way. "The Hawk and the Unicorn are merely the catalyst to a bigger event. The sons of Hammer and Jewel are the key to the future, and I am prepared to assist the one who will lead the new dawn and bring back what was once lost."

"The sons of Hammer and Jewel?" Mica asked curiously. He knew of the prophecy but had not heard it in full. "Spar and Opal?" he immediately got the connection.

"You were always the cleverest man I knew," Judah said with a smile. "I had always believed it would be you, which is why I made a place for you here where you were welcome and could be protected when the time was at hand, but then the unicorn brought me another, who has a mist shrouded future line. I need to seek out the others and see their paths to know which is the son of prophecy and destiny."