Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:55:49 EDT
From: BertMcK@aol.com
Subject: Crystal Throne/Riders of Tuatha 18

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 XVIII

     "Scott, Frank dropped me off here in time to see a whole shit load of
those horses and people go in there.  Now I know they wouldn't all fit.
What is going on?" Alex was obviously confused by what he had just
witnessed.

     "It's really a little difficult to explain," Scott began.

     "My lord," Rood interrupted.  "I just saw two of the black and white
mechanical wagons pass on the road.  I suspect your civil guards have
arrived to question us."

     "What?" Alex asked, not understanding.

     "The cops!" Scott said.  "It's too late.  Now we'll never get to the
post office."

     Rood quickly vaulted onto Firebrand's back and reached his hand down
for Scott.  "Be quick.  Firebrand knows a trick of two."  Scott grasped the
offered hand and was pulled up onto the beast behind his friend.  Akuta
hopped up behind Scott and reached down to offer a hand to Alex.  The red
headed human shrugged his shoulders, grabbed hold and was pulled up onto
the unicorn's rump.  Firebrand was a large animal, bigger than the average
horse, but even so, four people piled onto his back was quite a crowd.
They all had to squeeze close together and hold tightly to each other to
avoid being tossed off.  The unicorn turned easily and took a few running
steps across the back yard, leaped to sail effortlessly over the old iron
fence, alighting delicately in the alley.  Scott gave the general
directions and they headed up the narrow, concrete drive toward the north.

     "This is incredible," Alex marveled as he tightly gripped Akuta.
"Four people on this horse and he cleared that fence like it wasn't even
there."  Firebrand jounced his hips as he galloped up the alley, almost
unseating the human who had to grab even tighter to Akuta.

     "Firebrand will not even notice our weight.  It is only you two humans
that he feels.  And I would not advise calling him a horse again," Akuta
cautioned.

     "You two humans?" Alex repeated.

     "Don't ask," Scott called over his shoulder.

     In a matter of minutes they arrived at the north post office.  As
Firebrand trotted up to the door, the four passengers slid to the ground.
The two elves hopped lightly down, Scott slid off easily, and Alex landed
unceremoniously on his backside on the concrete steps.  Scott had a feeling
that Firebrand was partly responsible for his old friend's less than
graceful dismount, and the animal turned to make a humorous sound as he
looked at the red head, sprawled on the cement.  Akuta asked the unicorn to
please wait for them, but keep out of sight.  The big animal nodded its
head and was gone in the wink of an eye.  "Where did he go?" Alex asked.

     "Trade secret," Scott said, and they all headed into the red brick
building.

     Just off the lobby was a room that had two walls covered with post
boxes.  Scott noticed with some disappointment that the windows were
already closed, steel doors rolled down from above to cover up the
openings.  "Which is the box?" Scott asked Rood as he looked at the walls.

     The blond guard closed his eyes and called up the poltarin of the post
boxes.  He walked to the wall, stooped down, opened his eyes and pointed.
"This is the one."

     Scott knelt beside it and peered into the tiny glass window.  "There's
something inside," he said excitedly.  "Can you open it?  It's a simple
combination lock."

     Akuta reached down and tried to open the box.  Nothing happened.
"This metal is not iron, but it contains much of it.  I cannot work the
lock," he admitted.

     "They're steel," Alex said.

     "And steel is an iron alloy with carbon," Scott added.  "What are we
going to do now?"  he asked as he slumped onto the floor.

     "I hear people moving and talking on the other side of this wall,"
Rood said.  "Can we not get one of them to open this for us?"

     "Get a post office worker's attention when the window is closed?
Dream on," Scott said.

     "Hey, you want to get one of those guys out here?" Alex asked.  "No
prob."  He walked over to the large window under the sign that read
"PACKAGE PICK UP" and leaned against a small button.  A shrill electric
bell began to ring.

     "They're closed, Alex," Scott said as he got back to his feet.  A
small sign over the button read "Mon-Fri, 8-4; Sat 8-12."

     Alex continued to hammer on the button, holding it and releasing it
for a second, then pushing on it again.  The sound was extremely annoying.
"You want service?  You ask for it," Alex said cheerfully.

     In another minute they heard a bolt being drawn and the steel window
raised up.  A big, burly looking man in a blue work shirt looked out at
Alex.  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, then gave
Alex a closer look.  The man took in the Greek costume and muttered,
"Damned fairy."  He reached up to pull the window back down.

     Rood quickly stepped to the counter, reaching up and catching the
man's hand.  "He is human.  I am a fairy.  And I did not like the way you
said that," he calmly told the man.  "Now you will open a box for us."

     "Get out of my face!" the man growled and reached again for the
window.

     A sudden inspiration caught the Tuathan.  He smiled a crooked grin.
"Yes, it is your face, is it not?"  The man felt an instant of vertigo,
blinked and looked into a mirror image of himself.  To the other three
standing in the lobby it looked as if the postal worker and Rood had
instantly changed places, their friend now standing behind the counter.

     "What the . . ." the image of Rood said in astonished surprise as the
big postal worker easily vaulted through the opening.  The metal window
slammed down and a variety of noises could be heard.  Other voices called
to each other, and a scuffle ensued.  In a few minutes a door opened and
Rood was tossed out into the lobby by three other men.  "Get out of here
before we call the cops, weirdo," one of the men said.  "Breaking into a
post office is a federal offense."

     "But, Jack, it's me!  Tom!" Rood shouted.

     "Look," the man said to Scott and his friends.  "I don't know how you
fruitcakes know my name, but you better get your friend out of here."  He
turned and slammed the door behind him.

     "What's going on here?  What did you do to my clothes?" Rood demanded
as he looked down at his tunic.

     "It's the changeling magic," Akuta said.  He quickly drew his sword
and pointed it at the image of Rood.  "Be quiet or we shall have to slay
you."  The tall, blond captain lapsed into silence, his mouth hanging open.

     "Why are they acting so strange?  What's going on?" Alex asked.

     "Just come one," Scott said as he and Akuta forced them all outside.
Once out of the building, Akuta pushed the captain down to sit on the
steps, and they waited.  In less than a minute the big postal worker came
out of the doors and joined them.  He gave a sharp whistle and Firebrand
leaped to their side.  The worker handed a card to Scott as he jumped up
onto the unicorn, Scott and Akuta quickly joined him.  "Come on, Alex,"
Scott said as his friend stood, looking on in confusion.

     "Are we just going to leave him," Alex asked, indicating Rood who was
still sitting on the steps.

     "Why not?" the postal worker said as he looked down from the back of
the unicorn.  As Alex watched his image seemed to shimmer, and he suddenly
became Rood, dressed as before in the chain mail, tunic and blue cape.
Alex turned to look at the man on the steps.  It was the big postal worker.
Not understanding, Alex just shook his head in wonder and took Akuta's
offered hand.

     "This is a notice that the rental of the post box is due," Scott said,
looking at the card Rood had given him.  "It's got a street address on it.
Let's go."  He gave directions to Firebrand and they galloped off.  The big
unicorn sensed the excitement and urgency in Scott's voice and redoubled
his speed.  They seemed to fairly fly down the streets as Scott instructed
him.  One time a small car seemed to be headed for a collision with them,
but Firebrand just gave a light leap and gracefully sailed over its roof,
landing safely behind it and continuing on without missing a beat.  Alex
still clung tightly to Akuta, but this time he noticed that the ride seemed
much smoother, and he didn't feel quite so in danger of falling off.

                               * * *

     Robin slowly regained consciousness.  The room seemed to be spinning
and continued to do so for quite some time.  He was firmly strapped down to
a table of some sort, the cool air of the room moving over his naked body,
in contrast to the warmth of the metal to which he was fastened.  Raising
his head, he could see the walls of a white room surrounding him, with a
huge, bright light in the center of the ceiling.  It glared down on his
body like a giant sun, bathing him in light.  A small metal table stood
nearby holding a variety of unusual tools and devices.  Robin tugged on the
bonds that held his wrists and ankles firmly to the surface.  They seemed
to be some type of strong cloth, tough as leather, and must have been
fastened just out of sight.  Concentrating with all his might on the bonds,
he whispered an opening spell.  Nothing happened.  Robin could not
understand it.  Just then he heard a door opening, and dropped his head to
feign unconsciousness.

     "The x-rays were totally ruined.  I can't understand it.  It's almost
as if he were highly radioactive and fogging the film.  But the geiger
counter doesn't show any readings at all," a man's voice said.

     "What about the blood sample?" another voice asked.

     "It's pretty weird.  In an analysis, it seems to be made of most of
the same things as human blood.  The big difference is the lack of iron.
This seems to account somehow for the unusual color as well.  If he were
human he'd be dead of anemia and iron deficiency.  But where he lacks the
iron, his blood is composed of high amounts of trace silver.  Meanwhile,
the red . . .  I mean the blue cells seem to be transferring oxygen somehow
without any color change noticeable in normal human hemoglobin.  It's
almost as if the platelets don't take in oxygen at all, but they must."

     "Maybe he doesn't need oxygen to live," the second voice suggested.

     "Then why the lungs?  After all, he is breathing," the first said.

     "No, I mean maybe his planet breathes methane or something."

     "I don't think so.  If he did, he probably couldn't survive in our
nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere."

     "What about his physical condition?" the second voice asked.

     "Aside from the superficial lacerations and contusions, and one or two
rather severe burns, he seems quite well.  Of course he was severely
dehydrated, but we fixed that.  Once the drug wears off, he should be quite
a healthy specimen."

     The second voice sounded worried.  "Dr. Blanc is going to be furious
about the x-rays.  Did you check the equipment?"

     "Of course . . . you don't think . . ."

     "I certainly do.  He's probably going to have our living specimen put
to sleep so we can do an autopsy."

     "But that's crazy!" the first voice protested.  "We may never have
another chance to study a real live extraterrestrial."

     "Blanc says if we got one, there must be others.  And he's the boss;
it's his institute."  The voices receded and a door closed.  Robin opened
his eyes and again looked around.  He did not understand everything that
was said.  Many of the big words were foreign to him.  But he could tell
his life was in grave danger.

                               * * *

     "That must be the girl Jennifer talked about," Scott said as they
watched from a concealed spot in a large clump of bushes.  The house was
located across from a small city park which provided the group ample cover.
A thin, harsh looking woman was packing a car.  It looked like she and the
tall man with the broken arm were moving out.

     "So these are the people who killed Troy?" Alex asked as he caught on.
"Why don't we call the police?"

     "They might still have Robin," Scott whispered back.

     "So what are we going to do?  Storm the place?" Alex asked as he
looked at the two elfin guards, their hands clutching their sword hilts.
"I don't think that's very smart."

     "You got a better idea?" Scott said impatiently.

     "Can he do that trick with anybody?" Alex questioned, indicating Rood.

     "If you mean the changeling magic, yes," Rood said.

     "Okay then, no prob.  Just be ready."  Alex jumped out of their cover
and headed down the block.  He crossed the street and walked slowly back
toward the car.  The man and woman had both just stepped back into the
house when Alex reached the car.  He furtively looked around and then
reached into the open trunk.

     "What is he about?" Akuta asked in astonishment.  "He shall be
caught."

     Just then the harsh looking woman came out of the house with a
suitcase.  "What are you doing?" she shouted as she spotted Alex.  He
looked up and saw her, grabbed a bag out of the open trunk and turned to
run across the street.  "Lars!" she shouted and dropped her suitcase to
give chase.

     "I think I know what he has in mind," Rood said as Alex headed into
the park and directly toward their hiding place.  The woman was gaining on
him, following close behind.  Alex dived into the bushes and ran right past
his friends.  They ducked back as the woman headed into the brush as well.
Rood sprang out in front of her, causing her to crash into him.  Akuta
jumped out behind and grabbed her.  She immediately began to fight like a
caged animal, kicking back at Akuta with her heels.  Rood reached out to
grab her face, forcing her to make eye contact with him.  In an instant,
the two exchanged places, Akuta holding the struggling image of his
captain.

     "She is strong.  I shall not be able to hold her long," Akuta said as
he grappled with the tall, blond elf.

     Alex sprang up and swung his fist as hard as he could, connecting with
the captain's chin and decking him.  "I've always wanted to do that to
someone," he said as he rubbed his sore knuckles.

     Scott grabbed Rood in the woman's body and said, "Struggle."

     "Okay, party's over.  Let her go," a strange voice growled.  It was
the man with the cast.  He held a gun aimed at Scott, who quickly complied.

     Rood reached down to pick up the bag Alex had stolen, then turned and
headed out of the bushes.  "Bring them," he ordered.

     "You heard the lady," Lars said, waving the gun barrel to indicate
they should follow her.  Akuta bent down and lifted the unconscious body
from the ground and draped it over his shoulder.  They all filed into the
house across the street.

     As they entered the house Scott had a strange feeling.  He knew that
Robin had been there, but he was equally sure that he was now gone.  As
they stood in the small living room a tremendously fat man came through a
door.  "What is this?" he asked, looking at the four unusually dressed
captives.

     "This one tried to steal our things from the back of the mechanical
wagon," the woman said.

     "The back of the what?" the fat man asked.

     "Tony, look!" Lars exclaimed.  "It's another one of them!"  He was
pulling back on the hair of the unconscious body and indicating the pointed
ear.

     "So that explains it," Tony said.  "They've come for their friend."
The fat man laughed.  "To bad. You're a little late, fellows."  The fat man
laughed again.  "Lars, take them downstairs and kill them."

     "You don't want to sell them to the scientist?" Lars asked.

     "No, I don't think so.  One is a valuable rarity, but a crowd becomes
just so much excess."

     Lars headed toward the hall, waving his gun.  "Let's go," he said.
The three started after him, followed by the woman.

     "Clarissa, where are you going?" Tony asked.  The woman ignored him
until he raised his voice.  "Clarissa?"

     She turned as if surprised that he was addressing her.  "I'm going
with them," she said.

     "No, you stay here," Tony instructed.

     "But . . ."

     "I said you stay," the fat man ordered firmly.  The others filed down
the narrow stairs and into the basement.  They were instantly assaulted by
the strong smell of death.  Scott looked over at a wooden table and saw a
pale, decapitated and horribly mutilated body chained to it.  His stomach
churned as he realized it was the remains of his friend.  "Put him down,"
Lars ordered, indicating Rood's body.  Akuta dropped it roughly on the
cement floor.

     "You won't get away with this," Scott said, still looking at Troy's
body chained to the table.

     "So you can talk," Lars said.  "I think we will.  The house is going
to blow up shortly after we leave, taking all the evidence with it."

     "Where is our king?" Akuta asked.

     "Your king?" Lars said in surprise.  "Tony sold the other one to the
Blanc Institute.  By now they've probably cut him into little blue slices."

     Akuta took a step toward Lars, reaching for his sword, but Scott and
Alex held him back.  Just then the unconscious body on the floor groaned
and started to come around.  "Good, now that he's awake, I think I'll start
on him."  The captain slowly stood, shaking his head to clear it, and
looked at Lars.  The big man pointed his gun at the dazed man and giggled.

     "Lars, what is this?" the captain asked.  "Give me the gun."  He took
a step toward the thug.  Lars giggled and raised the gun to point it
directly at the elf's head, cocking the trigger.  "Lars, no!" the tall
fairy pleaded.  The man with the cast, laughed with glee, and pulled the
trigger.

     A bright red flower of blood exploded in the middle of the victim's
forehead.  Almost instantaneously the body seemed to shrink in size and
form and become the woman they called Clarissa.  She collapsed in death to
the floor.  Lars froze in stunned shock for an instant, but it was enough
to allow Akuta to react.  He drew his sword and swung.  The hand holding
the gun flew through the air as Lars screamed in pain.  Drawing the golden,
bejeweled sword, Scott said, "This is for Troy," and plunged the sharp
blade into the big man's chest.  He stood over the two bodies, looking down
in anger.

     Akuta walked to the table and glanced at the mutilated form chained
there.  He dropped to his knees and made the gestures of Tuathan prayer.
"Return soon," he muttered.

     Alex walked to his side and put his arm around the blond guard.  "I
hope we find your king," he said.