Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search
swiss replica watches replica watches uk Replica Rolex DateJust Watches

Elf Academy 3: The Enemy Within  by Fiondil

67: Showdown at Winterdark Tarn

Finlay might not have been able to pick up Meriwether’s trace if the other agent hadn’t stopped along the way. Not knowing anything about the geography of the area he had no idea how far this Winterdark Tarn was from Wiseman, only that it was north. Everything bad was always north. Why was that? Finlay shook his head at the stupidity of the thought and checked the GPS. Ah, Meriwether had stopped at his apartment. Finlay pulled over and parked on the street facing the entrance to the apartment parking lot. He had two cars in front of him so it was unlikely Meriwether would see him, but he could see just fine.

Five minutes later, Meriwether came out, now dressed in a white parka and black ski pants. He threw a bag into the trunk of his car and then he was on his way. Finlay let him get three blocks before he pulled out, humming softly to himself as he followed the beeping of the GPS tracer to the north.

****

Finrod glanced around at the others in the van. “I think I am not dressed correctly for this party,” he said with a smile and several people chuckled.

Glorfindel threw him an amused look. “I figured you’d want to be more appropriately attired, so I had Darren throw together some clothes for you. You can change when we get there. Damn!”

“What?”

Glorfindel snarled an oath. “Nothing. Just that I’m low on fuel. We’ll have to stop at the next gas station or we’ll never make it to the resort. Who’s closest to the door? Dan? As soon as I stop, hop out and fill up. You have your credit card? I’ll reimburse you.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Elladan said.

Glorfindel turned right onto a street and drove three more blocks before they found the station. He pulled in and turned off the engine, unlocking the gas cap as Elladan got out. Three minutes later, he was back in. “We’re good. Let’s go,” he said and Glorfindel was already turning over the engine and pulling out before the older son of Elrond could properly close the door. Elrohir had to grab hold of his brother to keep him from falling out.

“Cut across to Oakdale,” Vorondur suggested. “You won’t have to backtrack.”

Glorfindel nodded and did as the ellon suggested. Five minutes later they were pulling onto the James Dalton Highway and heading north.

****

Alex glanced at the dashboard clock. He had a little more than an hour to get to Mt. Horace and up to the tarn. He’d been tempted to call the Elves for reinforcements, but in the end decided not to. It would take too much time and he suspected that they would have wanted him to wait for them and he couldn’t, not when Felicity’s life was on the line. Time was something of a rare commodity at the moment. He had stopped at his place just long enough to change into more appropriate clothes for walking mountain trails in the winter and grab all and any weapons on hand.

He was not far now. He’d seen one billboard sign about ten miles back touting the Mt. Horace Resort. There should be a second coming up and just beyond would be the turn-off. There. The resort was still another twenty or so minutes further on and now he was forced to slow down or he would destroy the undercarriage. This road was unpaved and he felt every bump and hole along the way.

Time. He was running out of time. “Just get me there,” he whispered. “I’ll do the rest.” Even Alex could not have said to whom that prayer had been addressed. It could as easily have been directed at the car as at God or the Force or whatever. Finally, he turned a final bend and the trees that had lined the road fell away and the resort was directly ahead. He turned into the visitor parking lot and opened the trunk, unzipping the bag and pulling out a couple of guns, checking the safeties and the magazines, shoving several into his coat pocket. Along with the guns he brought out snowshoes. He headed around the resort to the funicular, stopping at the window to purchase a ticket that would allow him access. The price of the funicular was part of the package for resort patrons, but others had to pay a token fee.

There were three people climbing in. He raced to it and reached it in time, settling himself into the back car which would end up being the first to reach the top. He pulled out his phone to check the time. It was almost 11:30. How long had it taken them to reach the tarn when he accompanied Zach, Derek and the Lord children there? He couldn’t remember, and that had been in the Fall when the trail was still open.

“C’mon, c’mon,” he whispered to himself, mentally urging the funicular to move faster than it was. It was not a long trip but for Alex every second was too precious to waste.

Finally, they reached the top. Alex was out of the car before it was properly stopped. He quickly pulled on the snowshoes and then loped toward the trail.

“Hey, Mister!” he heard someone shout. “That trail is closed.”

He ignored the man’s protests and continued on, checking the time. Twenty-three minutes till noon. Twenty-three minutes to reach the tarn. “Just get me there,” he said again as he set off at a pace that hopefully would not tire him before he reached his destination. “I’m coming, Felicity. Stay alive, girl. I’m coming.”

****

“What the hell?!” Glorfindel exclaimed in disbelief as he came over a hill, slamming on the brakes, the van skidding almost sideways before it stopped. Several people shouted in surprise as they hastened to grab onto something. There was the sound of other tires squealing and looking out the back window, the Elves could see Barahir’s car fishtailing, stopping only two feet from the van, the looks of horror on the faces of those in the car almost comical, but there was nothing funny about the situation at all. It was a few seconds before Barahir and the others with him had collected themselves enough to get out to see what was going on.

In the van, Glorfindel was cursing a blue streak and everyone was eyeing him warily.

“What is the matter, gwador?” Finrod asked quietly, giving Glorfindel a concerned look.

Glorfindel stopped swearing long enough to stare at Finrod in obvious disbelief. He pointed out the window. “You don’t see the caribou standing in the middle of the road?”

Everyone in the back craned their necks to look out the front window. The road was perfectly empty.

“Ah, Loren, are you sure you’re okay?” Elladan asked, giving Vorondur a ‘what do I do now’ look. Vorondur mouthed ‘keep him talking’.

“I’m perfectly fine,” Glorfindel said through gritted teeth. “Do not tell me you don’t see it.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you I don’t see it,” Elladan shot back, “but the truth is, there’s nothing there. The road is completely empty. So, unless you’re hallucinating or having us on, I suggest you get moving or we’ll be late for the party.”

“But it’s right there!” Glorfindel practically wailed and then, snarling an oath that even caused Finrod to flinch, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, stomping over to the caribou that apparently only he could see. Everyone else piled out as well, wanting a better view of Glorfindel remonstrating to empty air.

“I don’t know what your game is, Oromë, but get the hell off the road or I swear I’ll run you down!”

“Oromë?” several of them whispered to one another, their expressions now more troubled than concerned.

Finrod joined Glorfindel and to everyone’s surprise he bowed and then spoke in a tone that most of them recognized as what Laurendil always referred to as Finrod’s ‘King of Nargothrond voice’. “Lord Oromë, I am sure you have your reasons but time is short and there are lives at stake. Please do not make matters worse than they are with your… tomfoolery.”

Even Glorfindel goggled at Finrod. “Tomfoolery? Where did you pick that word up from?”

Finrod cast him a quick look. “Bookstores are amazing places for picking up all sorts of useless information.”

“Yeah, I see that, but do you see him?”

“No, though I have no doubt that you do.” Then he turned away and headed back to the van. “Shall we see if even a Vala can survive being run over by your van?”

Laughter suddenly filled the air, coming from nowhere and everywhere. Finrod stopped and looked around. Elrohir and Elladan actually lunged toward the van at the same time intent on retrieving weapons but Prince Legolas stopped them, shaking his head in amusement at the almost frightened looks on the Twins’ faces. There was a shimmer of multicolored light and then the Elves were staring into the amused eyes of the Hunter of Arda, Lord of Forests. He stood almost ten feet tall, dressed in a sleeveless leather jerkin and suede pants tucked into knee-high leather boots. The Valaróma, his hunting horn, was draped casually over his left shoulder and in his right hand he held a spear that was easily twelve feet long, the shaft carved with runes that seemed to shift when they looked at it.

“Run me over, will you?” Oromë said with a chuckle. “I’d like to see you try.”

“You’re holding us up,” Glorfindel nearly screamed. “Lives are at stake and you’re playing your stupid games.”

Oromë looked down at Glorfindel with an expression none of them could easily interpret. “You need to arrive at the right time, child. Not a minute earlier or later.” He paused, his eyes unfocusing slightly and then he nodded. “You can go now.” With that he turned toward the West and started loping away, fading into the fabric of the universe before he had taken a half-dozen steps. Everyone stood gaping at the spot where the Vala had disappeared.

“Get back in the van,” Glorfindel said softly without looking at anyone and the tone alerted the others and they complied without hesitation.

Vorondur, braver than most, stayed where he was. “Steady, Loren. Stay focused. Don’t let your anger rule you. Too much is at stake.”

Glorfindel turned to look at him, but Vorondur never flinched from what he saw in Glorfindel’s eyes, what others tended to refer to as the ‘light of Mandos’. After an interminable moment, Glorfindel nodded. “Let’s get going,” he said softly, the light in his eyes now banked, his anger now under control as he climbed back into the van. Barahir and those with him got back into the car and then they were on their way once again.

****

Finlay pulled into the resort parking lot right next to Meriwether’s car. Whistling a merry tune, he climbed out and opened the back to get at his weapons stashed safely in the cooler. He made his selection, shoving a couple of magazines into a pocket. Locking the jeep, he loped around the resort building, spying the funicular in the distance. He ignored the ticket window — he couldn’t see anyone there anyway — and headed straight for the funicular where he found a man sitting in a small hut. The man came out.

“Ticket, please.”

“Sure, mate. Here you are,” Finlay said and then pulled out one of the guns and aimed it directly at the man’s head.

The man froze in disbelief. “What the—?”

“Now, you can either live and let me up the mountain or I shoot you and I still go up. It’s your choice.” Finlay’s voice was calm and conversational.

“B-but you need a ticket,” the man whispered in horror, his body shaking with more than cold. “I can’t let anyone up without a ticket.”

“Honestly, Edward, pulling a gun on someone. Shame on you.”

Both Finlay and the funicular operator jumped, giving yells of surprise. Finlay started to bring his gun around but Glorfindel grabbed his arm and held him in place. Finlay found himself looking into Glorfindel’s eyes, glittering with the light of stars and something else, something darker, something dangerous.

“Where the hell did you come from?” Finlay yelled.

Glorfindel ignored him as he pushed Finlay’s arm down and then turned to the operator. “I’m afraid we have to commandeer the funicular. Everyone climb aboard.”

“It would be faster if we just climbed the mountain,” Prince Legolas said, staring up the steep slope.

“Well you can go and try,” Glorfindel said, “but you’ll have to climb a gorge to do it.”

“Ah, yes, I see,” Legolas said and without another word he climbed into one of the cars. The others did the same.

Glorfindel turned to Finlay. “I thought I told you not to go up there alone.”

“So sue me. C’mon. We’re wasting time.”

“Edward, there is no way you can keep up with us and no one is going to stay with you.”

“You worry about yourself, Mr. Almighty Elf, and I’ll take care of myself.”

“Fine. Climb in.” Glorfindel turned to the operator. “Get us going.”

“But you need tickets!”

“This guy is unbelievable,” Finlay said. “Should I just shoot him and get it over with?”

Glorfindel sighed. “I probably should let you, but I dread the paperwork afterwards.” Then he grabbed the poor man by the lapels of his jacket. “Forget the tickets, my friend. Lives are on the line and you’re wasting my time and you’re making me angry and you do not want to do that. Terrible things happen to Mortals when I get angry.” He glanced at the Twins. “Tell him.”

“Oh, yes, terrible things,” Elladan said somewhat laconically. He looked at his brother. “Remember that time in Versailles, some of Louis’ courtiers managed to piss Loren off big time. They had to rebuild an entire wing of the palace after Loren got through with them.”

“Yeah, great fun,” Elrohir said with a fond smile on his face.

Glorfindel smiled evilly at the poor Mortal, who gulped. “I’ll start ’er up,” he whispered.

“Good man,” Glorfindel said jovially, clapping a hand on the man’s shoulder before climbing into the first car where Finrod and Finlay were sitting. The operator stumbled over to the winch and seconds later the funicular was moving. Glorfindel waved at the man staring up at them, white-faced and shaking. “Now see? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he called out cheerfully. Then he turned to Finlay, his expression less cheerful. “Would you really have shot the poor man?”

Finlay grinned and showed him the gun. “Safety’s on and there’s no magazine. I figured the fear of possibly dying would be a good motivator.”

“Yeah, I see that,” Glorfindel said and fell silent.

It was several more minutes before the funicular arrived at the top. Everyone leapt out. Prince Legolas ran to the head of the trail and pressed a hand to the trunk of a tree.

“What do the trees say, Liam?” Glorfindel asked.

“Two have come this way,” Prince Legolas answered, his eyes closed as he listened to the trees. “The dark one and the one with stars in his eyes.”

“The dark one must be Farrell and the other has to be Alex,” Elrohir ventured.

“Two, but there should be at least three,” Glorfindel muttered. “Felicity should be with Farrell. Why do the trees only mention two?”

“The only way to find out is to go to the tarn and ask,” Finrod said. He glanced up at the sky, already beginning to darken toward night. “It must be nearly noon now. We must go.”

“Yes, let’s go,” Glorfindel said. “Liam, you, Dan and Roy take point. Bela, you and Thad, watch our backs. Farrell had help. I can’t believe he’s here alone. Finlay, I’m afraid you’re on your own.”

“Like I said, you just worry about yourself. I’ll be fine. Now go and rescue that cute chick, oh and Meriwether, of course.”

“Edward, you’re a married man,” Glorfindel drawled, giving him a knowing look.

“Doesn’t mean I’m blind or dead,” Finlay shot back. “Get going.”

Glorfindel nodded. “Move out!” he called and the Elves began running silently on top of the snow, disappearing up the trail. Finlay stood there gaping for a long moment before he pulled himself together and followed.

****

The closer Alex came to the tarn, the sicker he felt, remembering the last time, remembering his death. Only the knowledge that Felicity was there and in trouble forced him on. He tried not to hurry, not wanting to get there all winded and useless, but even so, by the time he reached the crest of the trail and the tarn was just around the bend, he was sweating and gasping for breath. He pulled out his phone and checked the time: 12:08.

“You’re late.”

Alex looked up to see Farrell standing near the tarn, his feet apart and his hands clasped behind his back.

“Traffic,” Alex rejoined as he bent down to loosen the straps on the snowshoes and stepped out of them. He looked around. There was no one else there. “Where’s Felicity? What have you done with her?” He moved closer so as to confront Farrell directly, but stopped when there were about four feet between them. Behind Farrell the tarn sat frozen and menacing. Alex studiously refused to look at it.

“Oh, she’s safe enough,” Farrell said. “For now.”

“Farrell, if so much as one strand of her hair’s been mussed, so help me, I’ll—”

“You’ll what? Kill me?” Farrell sneered. “Big words. But if I don’t report in within a certain amount of time, your girlfriend suffers the consequences.”

“Then why this? What do you want, Farrell?”

“I want you dead, and Elwood. Where is he? Where is that bastard hiding?”

“And you think I’m going to tell you and then let you kill me? In your dreams.”

“You had one assignment: to take Elwood out and you couldn’t do it,” Farrell exclaimed, ignoring Alex’s words. “The great Artemus Gordon Meriwether couldn’t pull the trigger.”

“My orders were very specific, Farrell: to check out the situation and report back. That termination order was a fake and you know it. You admitted it. So, why the histrionics? You’re acting like a damn prima donna!”

“You bastard!” Farrell lunged at him and, half-expecting such a move, Alex side-stepped him and delivered a chop, but Farrell ducked in time so it did not land true. Farrell stumbled past Alex and then faced him so now Alex’s back was to the tarn. “You think you know the truth, don’t you, boy? You and your Elf-friends. You think you know what’s going on, but you don’t.”

“So why don’t you tell me,” Alex said, his eyes flicking about, gauging the situation. He could feel the malevolence radiating from the tarn behind him and he had to force himself not to get sick from the oily, filthy feeling that stole over him, staining his spirit. “Maddie never sent you, did she? It was Dolan. Who’s she working for?”

“Don’t know what you mean,” Farrell replied with a shrug.

“Who arranged for your escape?”

“Friends,” Farrell said with an evil grin. “I might let you live long enough to meet them. Maybe once you have, you’ll join us.”

“Not going to happen,” Alex said firmly.

Farrell shrugged. “Your loss then.”

“Where’s Felicity, Farrell? She’s not involved with this. It’s just between you and me. Let her go.”

“She’s a sweet little morsel, isn’t she?” Farrell said with a salacious look. “If you join with me, I’ll let you have her for yourself… after my friends have had a go at her.”

Alex felt the blood drain from his face at the implications of Farrell’s words. “Did you—?”

“No, she’s… untouched… for now, but that could change very quickly.”

“I don’t get it,” Alex said, throwing up his hands in mock frustration. “First, you want to kill me, and now you’re trying to recruit me. What’s the deal here, Farrell?”

“Oh, I still want to kill you,” Farrell whispered, taking a few steps forward. Alex automatically stepped back, wanting to keep the distance between them, all the while aware of the tarn behind him… waiting. “But I was told that if I could convince you to join us, I should let you live.”

“And who’s us?” Alex enquired.

Farrell put a finger to his lips. “Shh… that would be telling.”

Alex felt shivers crawl up and down his spine. It wasn’t exactly fear, but it came pretty damn close as he stared at the other man grinning at him, his eyes glittering and somehow dead at the same time. “You’re insane,” he whispered.

“Join us,” Farrell said in a hoarse whisper, inching closer, forcing Alex to retreat.

“No.”

“You will anyway, one way or another,” Farrell said, giving him a benign look. “You have no choice.”

“No.”

“Then die!” Farrell screamed and lunged at Alex who grabbed him and twisted him around, meaning to push him away, but they were on the very edge of the tarn and in a move born of desperation, Farrell refused to let go of his hold on Alex and the two of them hit the frozen surface of the tarn together, breaking the ice and plunging into the dark waters. Almost immediately, the ice reformed, leaving no trace that the two men had ever been there.





<< Back

Next >>

Leave Review
Home     Search     Chapter List