The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 30

"While Gwen was being examined by Section 6, we were already on our way to rescue her," Cassie said, taking up the story again. "Unfortunately, the storm seriously slowed us down. Flooded streets and downed power lines blocked our way and sheets of rain meant Bella was sometimes driving almost blind."

-----------------------

TransWorld Building, Magnolia Prominade, 2000

Despite the delays, we eventually arrived at the TransWorld office building, the Agency's front in Willow Creek.

"Alright, Cas," Bella said as we marched through the doors into the empty lobby. "I need you to be perfectly clear... you stay behind me. You do what I tell you, when I tell you, without question. I'm serious."

"OK," I said.

"Remember your self-defense training and you'll be fine," she added with a gentler smile. "Also, don't be afraid to use your powers... take any advantage you can get." 

"Umm, well, you see..." I hesitated. "I only really know the one spell... you know, to set things on fire." 

"In my experience, hostiles find things bursting to flames very distracting," Bella said.

"Selvadorada, '98," Felix laughed. "Operation Tree Frog, wasn't it?"

"Hey, they were dumb enough to leave those fuel barrels out in the open," Bella smiled.

"Yeah, your mom was really cool," Felix smiled. "Plus, those cut-off jean shorts... mmm, cheeky."

"Stepmom," I whispered, blushing.

"Agent Light, go get Bridges." Bella rolled her eyes. 

Felix headed off toward the elevators and, I presume, Director Bridges's office. Meanwhile, Bella led me to a nondescript door that opened into a stairwell. 

"What's with that guy?" I asked. "Wait, are you and he...?"

"Felix? In his dreams," Bella chuckled. "Honestly, not even there. He's a Protector drone. As I understand it, that means he's genetically male but functionally asexual. The whole locker room humor thing is his way to trying to assimilate into our culture. I've never really decided if it's funny how wrong he gets it or sad how right he gets it. That aside, Felix is a good agent. I trust him." 

"Did... did Section 6 have something to do with... with my mom?" The idea had occurred to me on the drive over.

"Yes," Bella said softly, as she continued to lead us down. "Doctor Key, the head of Section 6, issued a containment order on her just like he did on Gwen. He made up some excuse... some petty infraction. I tried to warn her, but she wasn't going to be scared off by him. She also wasn't going to just submit... not Vickie. She actually shouted Agent Hand down and walked away... only to be hit by that car. I... I couldn't save her.

"I've never been able to prove Key was directly responsible for her death," Bella sighed. "The driver of the car was a civilian. No connection to the Agency or the Settlers. Maybe it was just an accident, maybe it wasn't. Either way, if Key hadn't trumped up a containment order, she never would have been there."

"OK." I took a deep breath, feeling the anger building inside me. "OK... and this Key guy has Gwen."

"Yes," Bella said.

"No," I snarled. "Hell, no."

"Good," Bella nodded. "Now, keep your head and put that anger to work. It gets harder from here."

-----------------------

They knew we were there.

"Senior Researcher," Agent Hand said. "Agent Goth and Operative 4398 have been sighted in the building, along with a female juvenile we believe to be Cassandra Goth. Operative 4398 appears to be attempting to contact Director Bridges. Operative 6791 will intercept him."

"And Agent Goth?" Doctor Key mused.

"She and the juvenile have entered the records room," Agent Hand replied. "Operative 6529 will intercept her. She will not disturb you, sir."

"Guard the door," Doctor Key ordered. "You should not underestimate our Bella."

-----------------------

OK, I'll be honest. Until that night, I'd always thought of Bella as either an overprotective tyrant or a gold digger who used her big... um, chest... squeezed into the smallest, tightest red minidress she could legally wear, to get what she wanted. 

Even with her having told me she worked for the Agency, the idea that she was a government trained assassin just didn't fit with my image of her. 

The Section 6 guards never stood a chance. 

Neither did the security doors.

It turns out, my stepmom was a freaking super-spy.

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 29

"A lot of fuss, over a storm," Gwen said.

She stood for a moment, in the doorway, looking at everyone.

"Are you OK?" Cassie asked.

"I'm fine." Gwen smiled sadly. "I'm embarrassed and I'm sorry for the way I acted."

"It's alright," Mariah smiled back. "Family stuff can be... complicated."

"Was it just a storm?" Miranda put in. "Or did Lucius really call it up?"

"I honestly don't know," Gwen admitted, taking her seat again. "That night, it didn't matter. The belief that he could was enough to motivate Bella to act, and I'm glad she did. My time with Section 6 was... uncomfortable."

----------------------

Section 6 Research Lab, 2000

Agent Hand brought me to an office building on Magnolia Prominade, and to what I gathered to be a hidden facility under that building. 

I was given what I now know was a quick and indifferent medical examination. All I knew at the time was that I was stripped, given a simple shift and then weighed, measured, poked, prodded and stuck with needles. I was cold and afraid, but I held onto the hope that at least Cas was safe.

When they were finished, I was placed in a cold, bare cell and left alone.

For better or worse, I wasn't left alone for long.

"Ms. Gwenivar Silveroak, I must say it is rare and special honor to be in the company of one of the renowned Guardians of Glimmerbrook," he said. "You may refer to me as Doctor Key."

"Unusual name for a svartalf," I replied.

"Svartalf." Key seemed amused. "It's been a long time since I heard that particular name for my species. Here we are more commonly called aliens or Settlers. Some even, accurately in my view, call us Colonists."

"Where am I? Why am I here? What do you want from me?" I asked.

"Three excellent questions, Ms. Silveroak. I commend you," Key smiled. "You are in the custody of Section 6, a division of the Strategic Intelligence and Multinational Security Agency dedicated to monitoring and containing extraordinary threats to peace and stability. 

"As a powerful psychokinetic active you are, indeed, an extraordinary threat," Key continued. "The fact that you caused a dangerous interdimensional breach is the official cause of your containment in this facility. Incidentally, you will find your psychokinetic abilities severely limited while you are within the containment cell. We have been dealing with your kind for decades. We are very capable of restraining you.

"However, the most interesting question is your last," Key smiled. "What do I want from you? I believe you, Ms. Silveroak, are the answer that I have been seeking for years. It is you, not I, who will truly be the key that unlocks this world for my people."

"As I am sure you are aware, neither of our peoples are native to this dimension." Key took on a lecturing tone. "We have both come here from other realms. We established the Colony here decades ago, using our wormhole generators to bridge the realms. However, our wormhole generators cannot, yet, create a stable wormhole inside a planetary gravity well. Our interdimensional travel requires the use of spacecraft, and so carries with it all the considerable risks of space flight. 

"What we achieve with technology, you alfar achieve with your psychokinetic abilities... what you primitively call magic," Key explained. "We have observed that certain powerful Psychokinetic Actives are able to create wormholes between this world and your own native realm. 

"Most critical to my research, however, is the existence of the Glimmerbrook Portal... a stable wormhole," Key continued as he walked over to a strange arch within his laboratory.  "The very wormhole your people used when you, yourselves, colonized this realm centuries ago.

"Unfortunately, as you can no doubt perceive, our own attempts to create such a stable wormhole to our home dimension continue to be unsuccessful."

"You, Ms. Silveroak, are one of the Guardians of this Portal. Indeed, if my information is correct, you are the last Guardian," Key said, returning to my cell. "Your particular psychokinetic abilities allow you to maintain and control the Portal. I believe, if I can understand these abilities, I can create my own stable wormhole to my home dimension, opening a path for my people."

"You want my help?" I said, shocked. "You've got a strange way of asking."

"You misunderstand, Ms. Silveroak," Key said coldly. "I am not asking for your help. Your cooperation would simplify matters, perhaps, but it is ultimately unnecessary. I have been collecting and studying members of your species for decades, and I have rigorously documented the genetic basis of alfar psychokinetic abilities. 

"Once I have mapped your psychokinetic connection to the Glimmerbrook wormhole, I will extract from you the necessary genetic codes and graft them into an engineered hybrid. I will, in effect, create my own Guardian to stabilize this wormhole.

Key's expression turned rapturous. "With a stable wormhole to our home dimension, we will at last be able to bring through a Birth-Queen and sufficient Protectors to secure our colony."

"You're talking about an invasion," I said, stunned.

"Spare me your moral outrage," Key snapped. "I'm sure the Natives considered the arrival of the alfar and the formation of your so-called First Empire to be an invasion. We will bring peace and stability to this world."

"You're crazy!" I shouted.

"As I said," Key sneered, "your cooperation would simplify matters, perhaps, but it is ultimately unnecessary."

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 28

"I had fully expected to come home that night to listen to Bella shouting," Cassie said. "I'd just thought she was going to be shouting at me."

-------------------

"I want to know who authorized the containment order," Bella demanded into her phone.

"Of course, Key signed the order," Bella shouted a moment later. "Who gave Section 6 clearance to interfere in my op?! 

"No, not tomorrow. Now!" Bella continued. "Well, if you don't want to wake up tomorrow assigned to a listening post in the Arctic, you find out. No, you won't call me back. When I say now, I mean NOW!

"Damn it," Bella snarled, hanging up.

"Who?" Felix asked.

"Councilor Friend," Bella sighed.

"Damn it," Felix groaned. "Hand said he was acting on orders from the Leadership."

"Bella, what's going on?" I demanded.

So, she told me.

-------------------

"Wait, so you're not a sales rep for TransWorld?" I said, shocked. "You're a spy... for the Agency... and he's an alien?!"

"We prefer the term Settler," Felix said.

"Aliens have infiltrated the Agency," I continued. 

"We work in collaboration with our Agency partners," Felix clarified, "to promote peace and stability."

"...and they have an entire division that hunts witches?" I pressed on, undeterred.

"Section 6 monitors and contains all kinds of extraordinary threats," Felix said.

"... and these witch-hunting aliens have abducted my girlfriend?!" I shouted.

"Yeah," Felix sighed. "That's about right."

"Girlfriend?" Bella blinked.

"Kind of... maybe," I said. "I mean, I was going to ask her... if we hadn't been interrupted by an alien abduction!" 

"I checked on Alexander," Edwards said into the uncomfortable silence. "He's in bed. I've called Mr. Brown and told him at least some of what's happened. He's on his way now, but this storm blowing in is getting bad quickly. It might take him a while."

The rain had started while Felix was bringing me home. Now it was a full thunderstorm.

"The greatest weather-witch in the world," I breathed, not really sure why I said it.

"What?" Bella asked sharply.

"This man Gwen met this morning," I said. "She said he was a friend and she wanted him to help us with... a thing... but he wouldn't. She said he was the greatest weather-witch in the world. I just thought..."

"His name... did she say his name?" Bella pressed.

"Lucius..." I started.

"Tempest," Bella gasped. "She said he was a friend?"

"Yeah, but I think... from something she said, I think he might be her father," I said. "Is that possible?"

"We were so focused on the damage she might do by accident," Bella said to Felix. "We never considered what someone might do on purpose to protect her."

"It can't be him," Felix said. "He's... he's a myth."

"What are you talking about?" I said.

"Lucius Tempest is an ancient and powerful witch," Bella said. "The old druids called him Taranis the Thunderer... a mythological hero."

"Gwen said something to him about being the hero of some war," I said. "She said he destroyed Lord Sloth's fleet..."

"Lord Sloth's invasion fleet pursued Princess Cordelia after the fall of the House of Thebe," Edwards, who was something of a history buff, put in. "The fleet was destroyed by..."

"... a hurricane," Bella finished.

Outside, the storm raged.

"What are you planning?" Felix asked.

"That might just be an early winter storm blowing in off the sea," Bella said. "But, if the legends are even half true, Taranis has the power to single-handedly destroy all of Willow Creek, and the Agency just abducted his kid! We can't wait for the Committee to rescind the containment order. We need to get Gwen back tonight."

"I'm going with you," I said. "It's my fault they took her."

"Cas, it's not your fault," Bella said. "The Agency has been worried about Gwen since she arrived. She's a very powerful witch and they were concerned of what she might do if she lost control of her powers."

"...and she did just cause a dimensional breach," Felix put in.

"But that's what I mean," I said. "She didn't cause the breach. I did."

"Cas, it would take a powerful Psychokinetic Active to cause this kind of breach," Felix said. "You're a psychic sensitive but you're not an Active."

With a deep breath I stood up and called fire into the fireplace.

"You... you're..." Felix stammered before turning to Bella. "She an Active! You faked her test results."

"Of course I faked her test results!" Bella snapped. "I wasn't letting Key or Section 6 anywhere near my daughter!"

"I'm going with you," I insisted.

"Right," Bella said. "Felix, you're going to Director Bridges. Tell her everything... emphasis on the 'we just pissed off the Lord of Storms' part. We need her to back me up. Edwards, hold down the fort. Look after Alexander and bring Doug up to speed when he gets here. I'm going to Key's lab and getting Gwen."

"I said I'm going with you," I repeated.

"Go upstairs," Bella told me. Before I could object, she continued, "Get changed into something that you can move in and that won't give an opponent a way to get a grip on you. Meet me at the door in five minutes or I leave without you."

Author's Note

For the uninitiated, Princess Cordelia Thebe is a well-established historical figure in Sims lore... noted for her love of music, her furniture and her many pirate boyfriends. Her unnamed kingdom was destroyed in the otherwise largely unexplained Great Sloth Invasion. 

Me being me, I've put my own spin on this... transforming a semi-comedic invasion by Sloths into a more serious invasion by "Lord Sloth" and his armies. What can I say, I like putting my own spin on Sims lore.

Lucius Tempest is my own original character.

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 27

"We'd done it," Cassie smiled. "We healed the breach and restored the balance between worlds. All in all, a great night's work... but the night wasn't over."

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Duplantier House, Willow Creek, 2000

"I knew you could do it," Gwen smiled at me.

God, I would have wrestled Temperance myself, for that smile.

"You were amazing," Molly said to Carmilla.

"You were pretty amazing too, Mol," Carmilla said. "I mean, going to LaCroix's was your idea. We never would have done it without that."

"Carmilla, I... I have something I want to tell you," Molly stammered. "I mean... I..."

"What is it, Mol?" Carmilla smiled.

"I... well," Molly continued to stammer. "Oh, screw it!"

I don't know which of us was more shocked when Molly suddenly leaned in and kissed her... Carmilla or me. All things considered, it was actually a pretty romantic moment.

"Well, I... wow... umm," Carmilla stammered.

"I think we should leave these two alone," Gwen smiled at me. "Don't you think."

"Yeah," I smiled back. "Night guys."

"Night," Molly said dreamily.

"So, I have something I want to tell you, too," I said as Gwen and I walked back toward my house.

"You do?" Gwen asked sweetly. At least, I think it was a question.

"I... um... oh God," I sighed. "You know, after today, Bella is probably going to ground me until I graduate... from college! So, I might not see you again outside of school..."

"That would be too bad," Gwen smiled.

"So, you see..." I started, taking her hands.

"Yes," Gwen said.

"I... I..."

Yeah, I pretty much forgot how words worked at this point. I wondered, maybe Molly had it right. Maybe words weren't important.

Unfortunately, this was not our moment. 

"Excuse me, miss," a voice interrupted us. "I'm sorry, I seem to have gotten turned around. Is this the Pendula View cemetery?"

I remember thinking tourists as I stepped over to give the man directions.

"Yes, it..." I started, just as I saw the gun in his hand. "Gwen! Run!"

No one was more shocked than me when it wasn't a bullet but a wave of energy that struck me.

Everything went black. 

What I know about the next moments comes from what Gwen told me.

"What have you done to her, svartalf?!" she demanded.

"She is unharmed," he replied. "Merely unconscious. It is you, Gwenivar Silveroak, I am interested in. By the authority of the Leadership, you will come with me. Now."

"Hand," another man shouted, rushing up. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" 

"Operative 4398, or should I call you Agent Light," Agent Hand's voice dripped with contempt. "I am obeying my orders."

"What orders?" Agent Light demanded. "This is Goth's op, and she's hasn't given you any orders."

"The situation is out of control," Agent Hand replied coldly. "While you and Agent Goth have been 'observing' there has been a significant interdimensional breech. My orders, which come directly from the Senior Researcher himself, are to contain the Active responsible."

"Not happening," Agent Light snarled.

"No," Gwen said. "I'm responsible for the breach. I'll go with him."

"Ms. Silveroak..." Light began.

"Please," Gwen said, looking into his eyes. "Please, just look after Cas."

Turning, she let Agent Hand take her into Containment.

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 26

"I've faced my share of challenges, both mortal and otherworldly, in my life," Cassie sighed. "I think of that night, the day after Halloween... the night of All Hallows... as the first. I would face dangers and threats I never imagined. I went into it with such confidence."

-----------------------

Duplantier House, Willow Creek, 2000

That confidence got us through the door.

I'd always thought of Duplantier House as a bright, fussy, elegant, antique house... very reflective of Carmilla's warm, friendly, old-fashioned Gramma D. That night, it couldn't have been more different. 

Everything looked the same, but at the same time everything looked sinister. Shadows, dark and full of menace, lurked in the corners and reached out with greedy fingers. Pictures, windows into a frozen past, looked down on us. The very air we breathed felt charged with fear. 

Even sturdy, practical Molly could obviously feel it.

We all laughed nervously. All but Gwen. I still shudder to think what Gwen must have felt, with her sensitivity.

It was brave Carmilla who led us into her house. It would take more than the spirits of the Netherworld to get her to back down. 

We headed up to the seance room and took our places around the table.

The lights went out the moment we sat down, because of course they did. Everyone jumped and I'm not ashamed to say several of us, me included, actually let out girly screams. The temperature dropped, the wind howled outside, and a wicked laugh echoed through the house.

"Clear your minds," I said, struggling to banish my own fear. 

We began the ceremony, as Maman Brigitte had taught us.

"Feel the moon upon the water."

The cold, silvery energy of the Netherworld flowed around me. Fear, met with courage.

"Feel the sun upon the grass."

The warm, golden strength of Willow Creek flowed through me. Patient, solid strength.

"Feel the wind, the breath of the world, upon you."

The wind, rattling against the window, brushed against my cheek like a lover's caress.

"All in harmony. All in balance." 

The lights flickered, as if struggling to come back on.

The lights came back on fully. The wind outside fell silent.

"Is that it?" Molly whispered. "Did we do it?"

"We did it," Carmilla said confidently.

Gwen said nothing.

"Something is not right," I breathed.

"Ghost!" Molly shrieked. 

Dear, sturdy Molly who felt so left out because she had the psychic sensitivity of a brick, finally saw a ghost. Talk about 'be careful what you wish for.'

We freaked, leaping up and trying to run about in the tiny space of the seance room. 

Only Gwen kept her seat. She would later tell me that she'd been so overwhelmed by the waves of oppressive terror, rolling off the ghost like cold mist, that she couldn't move. Hopeless despair threatened to crush her.

"It's the dark spirit!" Carmilla cried.

She was right. It was the dark and terrible spirit Maman Brigitte had warned us about. What had she said? A spirit full of wrath, setting her will against the balance for the sake of...

... jealous rage.

"Everyone back in the circle, quick!" I shouted. 

Looking back, I'm shocked that they actually moved instantly to reform the circle.

"By wind and water and earth, I call you," I called. "By sun and moon, I call you. For balance and harmony, I call you.

"Brunhilda, lost in longing, I call you," I chanted. "Brunhilda, sister of rage, I call you. Brunhilda, I call you!"

And poor Brunhilda, withered away from longing, answered my call.

The wrathful ghost stormed from the room, the withered form of her sister following behind her.

Naturally, we weren't going to miss this.

"Temperance, dear sister." Brunhilda's voice was a raspy whisper. "You must stop this."

"Never," Temperance raged in sepulchral tones. "And don't you dare call me sister. You are not my sister. You're just the spawn of father's selfish lust... a grasping little backstairs slut who dared to steal my man!"

"We each have done the other wrong, Temperance," Brunhilda admitted. "Still, I cannot allow you to do more harm in your rage."

Howling with fury, Temperance launched herself at the withered Brunhilda.

"Why are they fighting?" Gwen asked.

"It's Temperance and Brunhilda," Carmilla said. "Remember... Guidry was engaged to Temperance, but he had an affair with Brunhilda. Temperance was consumed anger and jealousy. She died and her spirit killed Guidry, and poor Brunhilda just wasted away..."

"Yes, I remember that," Gwen said, "but why are they fighting? If they both loved him, and he loved both of them, couldn't they just have shared Guidry?"

"Well... could you share someone you loved with someone else?" Carmilla asked.

"I think so," Gwen said. "Yes, I think could."

"Oh... maybe we can talk more about that later," Carmilla suggested.

I did my very best to ignore the unsettling conversion going on behind me. I had finally reached a place where I could handle the idea of being attracted to Gwen. It would take me a bit longer to come to terms with her ideas about ethical non-monogamy. 

Really, that night, watching a vengeful and jealous ghost and her skeletally withered half-sister fight was much easier for me deal with.

In fairly short order, Brunhilda come out on top, just as I had hoped. It represented a kind of balance, in itself, I guess. 

Their fight over, and both spirits faded from view, I led my friends back into the seance room to attempt the ceremony again.

"Feel the moon upon the water. Feel the sun upon the grass. Feel the wind, the breath of the world, upon you. 

"All in harmony. All in balance." 

This time, it was.