Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:31:33 EDT
From: BertMcK@aol.com
Subject: Crystal Throne/The Riders of Tuatha 16

RIDERS OF TUATHA
by Bert McKenzie
Copyright 2010

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to any real
person alive or dead is coincidental and unintentional.

CHAPTER XVI

     Robin was jarred from his meditation by the electric whine of
equipment.  Some kind of machinery was being used on the other side of the
curtain.  He could also hear voices speaking softly, but he was so weak
from thirst that he was unable to focus his attention on the conversation.
He then heard the sound of water under pressure.  Someone was spraying
something in the other part of the room.  Robin crawled over to the bars
closest to the curtain and inhaled deeply.  He could smell the moisture,
mixed with the acrid smell of blood and death.  The sounds finally died
away.

     He sat in the quiet for a time, and finally dozed off into a fitful
slumber.  Upon waking he realized how weak he must really be to have fallen
asleep.  His body was trying its best to conserve energy in any way it
could.  What had awakened him was the sound of voices just on the other
side of the curtain.  Some sort of argument was taking place, but he was
just too tired to care.  Suddenly, the heavy fabric was pulled back, and
Tony waddled up to the cage accompanied by a thin little man in a rumpled
brown suit.  "Did I lie?  Here is the proof, doctor," the fat man said as
he indicated the cage and its occupant.

     The thin man stood and stared at Robin for a short time, and then
began to reach toward the bars.  "I wouldn't advise that, doctor.  He's
incredibly strong.  Lars got his arm broken in two places when he did
that."

     "This is preposterous," the little doctor objected.  "You starve a man
half to death, use a little blue makeup on some wounds and try to pawn him
off as an alien.  And you really think I'm going to pay you for him,
without proof, or an opportunity to examine him?"

     "You want proof?" Tony waddled back to the workbench and picked up a
long, iron rod.  "Examine this, if you please."

     "Pig iron," the doctor said as he looked at it.  "So?"

     "Just ordinary metal.  You don't see anything special or different
about it?" the fat man persisted.  "Then just watch."  He reached the metal
rod through the bars and pushed it forward to touch Robin.  As it came in
contact with his side, the metal made a sizzling sound and burned a dark
bluish-brown mark on the exposed skin.  The fairy gasped and tried to pull
away.  Tony withdrew the rod, holding the end up for the doctor to examine.
It smelled slightly of burning flesh, but was cool to the touch.

     "Is this a trick?" the little man asked as he looked closely at the
metal.

     "You tell me, doctor," Tony said and waddled back to the workbench,
picking up a wooden pool cue.  He returned to the cage.

     "What are those other striped burn marks?" the doctor asked.

     "That's where he came in contact with the bars," Tony explained.  "Now
look at this."  He stuck the pool cue through the cage and used it to push
back Robin's long, golden locks, revealing a pointed ear.  "And when he
bleeds, it's blue."

     "Alright," the doctor said.  "But how am I going to transport him."

     "If you have something to knock him out, my people will deliver him."

     "You can't expect me to use drugs on him.  We have no idea what the
reaction might be."

     "Well, then I guess we'll just have to kill him first and then
transport him," Tony said dispassionately.

     The doctor stood for a minute in pensive thought.  "Okay, I guess we
can risk it."  He reached for his bag that he had placed on the floor when
he first arrived.  The man filled a needle from a small vial.  He then
walked to the far side of the cage.  Robin turned, keeping a wary eye on
him.  Meanwhile, Tony again picked up the iron rod and silently slipped it
through the bars.  He reached out and touched the metal to Robin's bare
back.  The fairy cried out and turned quickly to get away from the source
of the pain.  Tony laughed and backed him into a corner with the metal rod.
He again pushed it out, touching Robin's side.  As the fairy cried out and
struggled to back away, the doctor reached in between the bars and shoved
the needle into the exposed flesh of Robin's hip.  He quickly pushed the
plunger, then withdrew the empty syringe.  Tony pulled the bar out and
watched. Robin turned to look at the doctor, then felt himself becoming
numb.  He crumpled to the concrete as consciousness fled him.

     "Does he understand English?" the doctor asked as they cautiously
removed the body from the cage.

     "I don't know," Tony said.  "Lars seemed to think so, but he hasn't
spoken."

     The doctor leaned down to check his alien.  "He's barely breathing.  I
hope I didn't do any permanent damage."

     "What have you got to keep him in?"

     "We have a metal holding tank," the doctor replied.

     "What kind of metal?" Tony asked.

     "Stainless steel," came the answer.  "Do you think it will hurt him?"

     "Who knows?"

                         * * *

     As the company rode down the back streets, Scott tried to think of the
quickest way to the old fairgrounds that would avoid the most traffic.
They had encountered one car already and almost had a crisis on their
hands.  The unicorns thought the automobile was a strange and hostile
beast.  They were all prepared to attack, heads lowered and gleaming horns
pointed in a defensive position.  It took all of Rowana's and Rood's
persuasion to call off the attack.  Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as
they saw the unicorns step back and allow the car to go on its way.

     As they turned down Third Street in hopes of crossing to the more
rural side of town, they ran right into the end of the parade.  A number of
people cheered as they rode up.  "Great, what do we do now?" Jennifer
asked.

     "It looks like we don't have a lot of choice," Scott admitted.  "I
guess we follow the parade."  Rowana tried her best to explain the
situation to Firebrand as she rode up to join Scott.  With the true
patience that only a Tuathan creature can demonstrate, Firebrand nodded his
long neck, turned to whinny at the rest of his herd, and dropped into place
behind a small group of fake Arabs riding on ponies.  At first the sight of
the unicorns seemed to make the ponies very nervous.  They shied away with
a great deal of noise and became very hard to control.  One man in a long
burnoose was tossed to the ground by his undersized mount.

     "Firebrand, can you not calm them?" Rowana asked.  The big animal made
several whinnies as if talking in a horse language.

     "Whatever he said, that must have done the trick," Scott replied to
the girl at his side.  The ponies seemed to settle down and ignore the
group following them.  "I didn't know horses could talk."

     "Didn't you ever see Mr. Ed?" Jennifer called from behind.

     "They are not horses," Rowana corrected him.  "And there are many
abilities that unicorns have which may surprise you."

     The parade continued without a hitch, winding its painfully slow
course through the downtown streets.  The crowd really seemed to like their
delegation, bursting into applause as the armored Tuathans passed by on
their unusual mounts.  Scott and Jennifer waved to the crowds as they rode
along, like any good parade delegates.  However, the real fairies continued
to sit stoically and ignore the onlookers.  "It wouldn't hurt you to
smile," Jennifer said to Caseldra sitting in front of her on her mount.

     "This is an embarrassment," Caseldra replied.  "We wish not to be the
center of such a spectacle."

     "Nevertheless, you ought to try to blend in and look human," Jennifer
whispered.  Caseldra self consciously raised a hand and waved at the crowd.
Rood followed her, and soon the entire group was smiling and waving like
old Tournament of Roses troopers.

     The parade eventually wound its way out of town and onto the county
fairgrounds.  Brightly colored tents were erected all around the lake that
bordered the area on the south.  Cables snaked along the ground on the
north, supplying electricity to a number of booths and trailers that were
selling a variety of food items.  Booths were also erected to sell various
arts and crafts, along with a small stage on the waterfront for
entertainment.  The parade broke up at the edge of the fairgrounds, a group
of security men in khaki uniforms directing the dissembling crowd.  The
various floats were pulled up on the west side of the gathering to be
judged for contest.  The horses were loaded into carriers and trailers, or
tethered in a small pasture area to the east.  Many of the paraders
wandered off to either find their own tents and booths if they were
vendors, or to view the rest of the fairgrounds if they were just costumed
spectators.

     As Scott and his group rode up to where the security men were
directing traffic, they were stopped by a lanky man in the traditional
beige shirt of the rented cops.  "You got trailers to load them horses in?"
he asked.

     "No.  Can we just leave them with the other horses over their?" Scott
asked, indicating the pastured animals.

     "Did you buy a pasture permit?" the man asked.

     "Can we get one now?" Scott responded.

     "Sorry," the man said.  "You'll have to ride 'em back to where you
left your trailers."

     "What trailers?" Rood asked in confusion.

     "How'd you get the horses to the start of the parade?" the security
man asked.

     Firebrand made an angry snort and stamped his feet.  Scott patted him
gently on the neck to apologize.  "These are not horses.  They are
unicorns," Rowana said proudly.  "And we rode them all the way from our
land."

     "Right," the man said skeptically.  "Well it looks like you'll just
have to ride them all the way back to your land if you don't have a pasture
permit."

     "What's the problem here?" a short, dumpy man asked as he walked up.
He too was dressed in the khaki security uniform.

     "No pasture permit," the original guard said by way of explanation.

     "Don't need one.  They're part of the Greek exhibit on the west end,"
the security man explained.

     "Greek exhibit?" Jennifer asked.

     "I was wondering when you'd get here," a familiar voice said.  They
turned to see Alex leaning against a nearby tree.  "Come on, you're late,"
he said and walked over to beside Firebrand and Scott.  "Can I get a lift,
big boy?" Scott reached down and offered his hand to Alex.  The red head
grasped it firmly and lightly jumped up and onto the big animal, to sit
directly behind Scott.  They headed off, down one of the aisles between the
tents and booths in the direction Alex indicated.

     "Thanks," Scott said to his old friend.

     "No prob.  These animals will really draw us a crowd anyway," Alex
said.  "Hey, how do you ride this guy without any reins?"

     "He understands me.  I just tell him where to go," Scott explained.

     "Okay, trade secret," Alex said as he reached around Scott's waist to
firmly grasp his chest, and scooted his body as close as possible.

     "Alex, not so tight," Scott protested.

     "You don't want me to fall off, do you?  I've never ridden bare back
before . . . on a horse that is," came the playful answer.

     As they rode along Jennifer spoke quietly to Caseldra.  "Firebrand
seemed actually upset that the security man called him a horse," she
mentioned.

     "Well of course," the girl replied.  "It would be like calling you a
monkey because you resemble one."

     "Thanks, but does he understand English, too?" the human asked in
amazement.

     "Akuta thought it best that at least Firebrand be able to understand
you.  The chrism of communication worked well on his ears."

      They arrived at the Greek exhibit in a few minutes.  It was a very
small circus tent, erected at the end of the concourse just beside the
floats.  At the tent opening was a large gateway constructed out of
plywood.  It was painted and decorated with glitter and displayed the name
"Mount Olympus" in block letters.  A man in a Greek tunic stood next to the
gateway collecting money from people who wanted to go inside the tent.

     Alex directed Scott and his group to a shady area just behind the
tent.  "You can leave your . . . unicorns here," he suggested as he hopped
down.  "But I don't know how we can tether them so they won't wander off,
without bridles."

     "They will stay here if Firebrand tells them to," Rowana said as she
jumped down.

     "Who's Firebrand?" Alex asked, looking around at the men as they
dismounted.

     "Their leader," Rowana answered, indicating the big animal with the
golden horn and hooves.

     "Fine, you talk to the nice horsey and see if he'll convince his
friends to stick around," Alex chided.  He suddenly jumped and cried out.
The unicorn that Jennifer and Caseldra had ridden was standing behind him.
She ducked her head down and gently jabbed him in the backside with her
sharp, silver horn.  The men all laughed and the other unicorns whinnied
softly.  "These things are dangerous," Alex said as he rubbed his sore hip.
"What did you stick them on with?"  He reached up toward the animal's
forehead, but she quickly shied away from him, and Firebrand stepped
forward menacingly.

     "Can she understand English too?" Jennifer whispered to Caseldra.

     "I think not so," the girl answered.  "But it is obvious your friend
is part fool.  I think she likes him not."

     "The feeling's mutual," Jennifer added as she patted the female
unicorn.

     "Come on in and see our version of heaven," Alex said as he pulled
Scott toward the rear entrance to the tent.

     "Go with him, my lord," Rood suggested as he saw Scott hesitating.
"We shall search for the booth we need."

     "I don't think that's a very good idea," Scott protested.

     "You heard your big friend," Alex said as he tugged on Scott's hand.
Rood snapped his fingers and motioned to two of the younger guards.  They
immediately sprang forward and followed Scott and Alex into the tent.

     "Now we shall find this fortune telling place," Rood said.  He gave
quick instructions to the assembled guards and they all quickly paired up
and headed in different directions.  Rowana and Melcot went off together,
as did Jennifer and Caseldra.  Rood and Akuta were left alone.  "May we
accompany each other, my lord?" Rood asked his friend.

     "If you so command, my captain," Akuta replied stiffly.

     Rood looked truly crest fallen for a moment.  He dropped to one knee
and held out his right hand.  "Forgive me, my lord.  It was a cruel jest
for which I am truly sorry."

     Akuta looked down at his friend and tried to flame his anger, but the
look of repentance on Rood's face was so comical, he could not help but
smile.  He extended his own arm, grasping his friend's wrist.  "You are
forgiven, lord."  He pulled the captain up to his feet.

     They began to walk along the concourse between the rows of tents and
booths.  As they did so they observed the many colorful and unusual
costumes decorating the people they passed.

     "My friend," Rood finally said, breaking the silence.  "About the jest
of last eve, you truly hated it that much?"

     "What would you have me say?" Akuta asked.

     "The truth," Rood persisted.

     "I found it not humorous," the blond guard admitted.  "But yet, I took
physical pleasure in the action."  They walked on in silence for a time.
"Think you that I am a reversal?"  Akuta finally asked as he stared at the
ground.

     "Would you wish to couple so again?" Rood questioned.

     "Not with that one!" Akuta said vehemently.

     "I wonder not," Rood agreed with a laugh.

                               * * *

     "The Palace of Hecate" the sign read over the tent.  It was a small,
dark blue, canvas structure with glittery yellow stars painted all over it.
An old woman dressed like a gypsy with bright colors and too much jewelry
was having an argument with a tall man in street clothes.  He handed her a
wicker basket and she reached into a deep pocket to pull out a wad of green
bills.  The man quickly turned and almost knocked Jennifer over as he
bumped into her.  She noticed the cast on his arm.  "What are you staring
at?" the woman asked gruffly.

     "Do you tell fortunes?" Jennifer asked timidly.

     "That's what I'm here for, deary," the woman said, her tone quickly
changing to a sugary syrup.

     "We'd like to have our's told, please," the girl requested.

     "Come in, my dears," the woman said, holding the canvas flap out of
the way.  The two girls stepped inside.

     "I shall stay here and watch.  You must find Rood," Faylar told his
young companion.  The other fairy turned and sprinted back in the direction
from which they had come.

     Inside the tent the air was hot and stuffy.  The old woman placed the
wicker basket she had received on the floor in the corner.  She motioned
the two girls to sit at a low, circular table in the center of the room,
and she quickly joined them.  She removed a black, velvet cloth from the
object in the center of the table and gazed deeply into it.  It was a large
crystal ball.  She asked them if they had any specific questions.

     Jennifer felt very uncomfortable, the ball reminding her of the one
she had seen so few days before at her shop.  "We're looking for . . ."

     "A friend," the woman finished as she waved her hands over the globe,
her bracelets clanking and clattering on her arms.  "I can see your friend
in the mist," the woman said.  Jennifer and Caseldra both leaned closer and
peered into the glass.  "He is in good health and tells you he is enjoying
his trip very much."

     "No, that is wrong," Caseldra said as she corrected the old woman
while staring raptly at the crystal.

     "What?" the woman said as she jerked her head up to look at the small
girl.

     "I can see him, and he is in pain," Caseldra continued.

     "Listen, sister.  Who's giving this show anyway?" the old lady said.

     "Jennifer, he was taken by evil people and he says we are equally in
danger," the fairy continued.

     "Okay, that's enough!" the woman cried as she quickly covered the
globe with the black cloth.  "Get out of here!"

     "Jennifer, he said to look in the basket!" Caseldra said as she slowly
stood, her eyes still fixed on a blank spot in the air in front of her.

     "What basket?" her friend asked.

     "Lyle!" the old woman shrieked as she made a grab for the wicker
basked on the floor of the tent.

     "There!" Caseldra cried, pointing to it as the old woman snatched it
up.

     "Lyle!" she shrieked again as Jennifer grabbed at it and tried to
wrestle it from her grasp.  A tall man dressed in a black robe entered the
rear of the tent and quickly took in the struggle between Jennifer and the
old lady. "Lyle, she's trying to steal our purchase!" the woman shouted.
The old lady let go of the basket as the man stepped forward, raising his
hand as if to strike the girl.

     "Touch her and die," a voice said quite calmly.  Just inside the
doorway of the tent stood Rood and Akuta, gleaming golden swords drawn and
poised.  The old woman was being held by Caseldra, a silver dagger at her
throat.  "Jennifer, what is in the basket?" Rood asked.

     The girl sat it on the table and removed the wicker lid.  Inside, a
round object was wrapped in stained brown rags.  She pulled the rags back
and looked down, then fell to the ground unconscious.  A severed head lay
in the basket, looking up from one eye.  The other eye socket was dark and
empty.  "It is her friend, Troy," Caseldra said.