Gates of Avalon: The Horn and the Sword

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Katherine Stuart was at the lowest point of her life. She had just recently fallen deeply in love with the most wonderful man she had even met. The best part of that was that he loved her, too. But, this morning she was watching her whole life fall apart. Her lover, Les Koenig, was just now walking out the door. The two of them had been halfway preparing for a time like this, but neither one of them had really believed that it would come.
The Lady in her dreams had told Kat that it would be so. And she also told her that when it did, she would have to move very fast, if she wanted to live. She was thinking of that Lady when she turned around, and saw that Lady standing in the room with her. She went completely white with shock.
"You're...you're real," Kat said.
"Yes. Quite." The Lady's voice was fairly low, and very musical. At her words, Kat blushed.
"No, I mean, you're really here." The Lady laughed, and that was even better than her voice.
"Ah, forgive me," she said. "I can see why Les loves you so."
"You know Les? But he never spoke of you."
"Well. That is because he does not remember me as yet. But he shall, and soon too. But there is great peril between then and now, and he may not survive it." She paused as Kat gasped and started to speak. The Lady watched her imperiously until she had quieted.
"Katherine. There is great peril approaching you. And it is coming within moments. You must take only what you must have to live. For if you are to survive, you must quit this place within five minutes." Kat started to speak, but the Lady raised her hand. "You will hear the full story ere the end, but not today. Flee, my child, flee..." Her words faded and she went with them. In a moment, nothing was left of her visitor but the memory of her words.
Kat didn't even think, she just turned and grabbed a jacket and her purse and left. Since she couldn't find the keys to the condo, she simply closed the door on her way out. She ran down the hallway, not once looking back. The elevator took a long time to come. Kat looked at her watch.
Flee, my child. Flee.
She turned abruptly and chose the stairs. The door had hardly closed behind her, when another door opened in the hallway, and one of their neighbors came over to their door. Teresa Stanton was a young engineer that worked for a consulting firm in Seattle. She lived alone, and rarely visited her neighbors. If she had kept to that practice, she would have lived to see the next day.
As it was, Teresa knocked on the door, and hearing no answer tried the knob. When it opened for her, she walked in, calling hello to Les and Kat, both of whom were long gone. She was still standing there, wondering why they had left the door open, and what she was going to do about it, when they got there. The ones that the Lady had warned Kat about. They were not amused by Teresa's explanation.
Kat reached the lobby level, and took the elevator down to the garage. She got to her car quickly, started it, and drove out of the building. She made it to the freeway before she remembered that Les was going to call if there was no problem, and now there would be no way that he could reach her.
She thought about it for a minute, then changed her plans. She thought that she would see for herself what had happened at the dojo. She worked her way through town, got to 1-90 and went on over to Bellevue. She shook her head about the traffic, and turned her thoughts to the problem at the dojo. She had only been to the dojo a couple of times with Les. Kat had met Sensei Martin Davis both at the dojo, and when Les brought him home with him for dinner one night.
Kat had returned from a day at one of the galleries that showed her work, to find the two of them sitting around the kitchen drinking beer and talking while the meal was cooking. Les had introduced her to his friend, and urged the two of them to get out of his way while he finished dinner. Martin had proved to be utterly charming, and Kat found herself thinking that if she weren't already in love with Les, she would certainly have a go at Martin.
Needless to say, she was concerned about what had happened to the place. She pulled up near the dojo, put the car in park, and started to cry. The building was a charred husk of what it used to be. She got out and rushed over to the students milling around near one of the police cars. A few of them were shouting angrily, others were crying.
She walked over and asked one of the students what had happened. He told her about the bomb, and about the way that Martin had saved everyone. And the way that he had faced his death. The shock of his death was enough to stop her tears.
"Was Les here? Does he know?" The student she was talking to looked at her scornfully.
"Yeah, he was here. The police say that he was the one who planted the bomb. I just can't figure out how he could have done this."
"He couldn't have! He just wouldn't!" Kat grabbed his collar, and shook him. "Les Koenig would never harm anyone who did not harm him first. And he would never, never hurt Martin!
"He was with me all night, he didn't plant any bomb!" Several of the other students heard this, and came over to ask more questions. Kat answered what she could, realizing that they didn't really want to believe this of the person who was second only to Martin himself in their sight. She was going to tell the captain in charge of the police inspection, what she knew of Les Koenig's alibi, when she saw the man watching her.
He could have been a secret service agent by the way he looked. Immaculate suit, dark wire-rimmed glasses, earplug in one ear. Kat sincerely doubted that he was an agent of the government. From the feeling she got looking at him, she thought that he just might be behind this whole mess. She heard the Lady's voice again. Flee, child.... Flee.
Kat mumbled some excuse to the students around her, and slipped away through the crowd. She managed to get in her car and out on the street without seeing the man again. When she was about a mile away from there, she began to relax.
Kat felt very torn. On the one hand, she believed in Les and all that he stood for. She believed in the dreams. She believed in the Lady who had perhaps saved her life. But she doubted. All her life she was raised to respect the police. It was stupid, but it was one of those things that popped up at the worst moment. So now she was doubting the innocence of her love.
She was grieving for Martin, too, remembering the calm quiet man when he’d come to have dinner with them during the holidays. She had to take what she had discovered as a warning, though, and get out of town. Assuming that Les was innocent (he had to be), someone was going to great lengths to blame him for killing his best friend. Kat was hit with a wave of shock. She remembered that this had been the day that Les was to have taught the morning class. That meant that the bomb had been intended for Les, and not Martin!
Suddenly, she felt much more serious about getting out of town. She began watching her rear-view mirror for cars that might be trailing her. She felt completely lost and alone in the world, now that she was cut off from Les. Kat felt that she must have cried nearly all the way to Portland.
Perhaps that was why she failed to notice the car that appeared behind her from time to time.
Kat was feeling better once she was on the road. By the time she made it down to Centralia she even felt like she needed something to eat. Besides, it would give her a chance to wash her face. When that was accomplished, she would stop and give Debbi a call. Debbi Willis had been Kat's roommate in college, and the two of them had remained fairly close over the years. Kat was thinking that if anyone knew how to get through this mess it would be Debbi.
Kat pulled off the freeway at the Centralia exit, and followed the road around to the West toward the Golden Arches. She parked her car by the side entrance, and went inside. Her first stop was the lady's room to wash her face. She really didn't want the whole world to know that she'd been crying. Her mother hadn't raised her daughter to run around in public looking like some kind of crazy woman. Thinking of her mother made her smile.
She finished her business in the restroom, and paused before walking out the door. Looking at herself in the mirror, she realized that she still had a very crazed look about her. She looked hunted. I guess that's appropriate, she thought. Just on the outside chance that it might help, she stopped to run a comb through her hair. Once that was done, she felt more in control of her world. Amazing how the little things can help a person to reorient themselves.
Kat opened the door and started to walk out. Then stopped. There were two men just coming in from the parking lot where she had parked. One of them was the man she had seen watching her at the dojo this morning. The other was dressed just like him, and had the same dangerous look. She closed the door to a mere slit, and waited. They hadn't seen her, luckily. She couldn't think of why they might be following her, only that they were.
As Kat watched through the door, the two men went toward the front of the store. She decided that there might never be another chance. She slipped quietly and quickly out of the restroom and out the door. Luckily for her, her car was somewhat concealed from view. She made it to the car, got in and was driving away before the men inside ever thought to check the restrooms. Once again, Kat had escaped danger by the narrowest of margins.
Either destiny favored her, or it was saving her for something very special.
Kat was on the road again, and heading south. She wasn't sure, but she thought that she had lost the men that were following her. All she could think of now, was how nice it would be to get to Portland, and see Debbi. The two of them would settle back with a glass of wine, or two, and talk. Kat new that she would probably end up crying on Debbi's shoulder, but if you couldn't lean on a friend, what good were they?
She didn't stop until she needed to get gas for her Datsun. She pulled off the freeway around Battle Ground, Washington, and drove into the Texaco station there. She topped off her tank, paid the clerk, and was on her way again within about five minutes. She took the by-pass freeway that would take her to the east of Portland proper, but would leave her closer to Debbi's place. When she got to the immense bridge over the Columbia River, she had to stop the car on the side of the road.
Kat was beset by a fit of shivering that made it very difficult to steer her car. She couldn't escape the feeling that there was no turning back once she crossed this river. That whatever she had become involved in would sweep away the world that she had known all these years. It took her several long minutes before she was under control enough to get back on the road.
Her radio was acting up again, she thought sullenly. Just when she got a decent station tuned in, something with jazz or classic rock, the reception would go...funny. Suddenly, she'd be hearing an announcer speaking in some foreign language she didn't know, but she strongly suspected that it was Russian. Then she would start the search for music all over again. Kat noticed something peculiar about this phenomenon. It seemed to happen about every seven miles, as though she were passing through waves of interference. She shrugged it off as unimportant, even when her car began acting strangely at about the same intervals.
On one particular occasion, her Nissan nearly stalled out in the middle of the road. When she became frightened that another car might rear-end her while she fought with her car, she looked around to see that everyone around her was having the same problem. Kat began to have that fear sensation again. It was the same feeling that a field mouse gets when the unseen shadow of an owl passes just overhead. It was the feeling that something dangerous is very near. Perhaps ready to end her life even as she became aware of it. But then it passed, and the sun came out again.
Almost simultaneously, her car started, and everything was normal again. Kat looked around her once more, and saw that the other cars were also under their own power. It was almost like a dream that they had all shared. The drivers of all the cars that had been affected looked around as if to say 'did you see what I saw?'
Kat forgot all about these strange occurrences by the time she got into the outskirts of Portland. When she got to Debbi's house, all she was aware of, was that she was very tired, and she needed a friend to make her feel safe again. She looked at her watch, and stared stupidly for quite a while. It was now barely seven hours since Les had walked out of the condo, and her world had changed forever.
"Kat! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Well...Debbi. It's kinda like this..."
"This sounds like it's going to be a long story. Come on in and have a sit." Kat followed her friend inside to sit down on the couch in the living room. Debbi came and sat on the chair next to the couch where they could easily see each other, yet still be close enough to touch.
Kat told her friend Debbi about everything that had been happening, though she did leave out the dreams of the Lady. Some inner sense warned her not to speak of these. Debbi was especially fascinated by the news that Kat had been so involved with a famous author. She was, of course, shocked to hear that someone was trying to kill them. Debbi tried to tell Kat that this might just be an elaborate scheme to get rid of her, after all, the man is an author.
Kat then told her about going to the dojo where Les was supposed to have been teaching that last morning. Debbi was fairly well convinced by that, but said that she still didn't understand why Les hadn't taken her with him if they were both in danger.
"I think that he's going to try to fight them," said Kat. "I know that he took his fighting gear, all his weapons. He was afraid that his enemies would kill me if I were with him, while he could probably get away from them if he was alone. Les told me that he couldn't see them going after me if I managed to get out of town without being caught. So I started driving, and here I am."
"Here you are," echoed Debbi. "Well, of course you're welcome to stay with me for as long as you want. I've got a spare bedroom, and its got a fairly decent bed, so you should be able to get some sleep. You look like you're about to fall down from lack of it, so why don't you go rest. I'll call you when dinner's ready."
"Thanks, Debbi. I think you're the best friend I've ever had, 'specially now when I'm in trouble."
"No you don't!" Debbi cried. "Don't you dare get all mushy on me now. Next thing you know, I'll be crying too, and dinner will never get fixed. Go take your nap, and you'll feel better. I'll wake you up for chow time." Kat nodded her thanks and surprised herself with a yawn. She allowed herself to be led to the back bedroom to lay down on the soft bed for a short nap.
Kat was asleep almost as soon as Debbi closed the door behind her. She began to dream of Les and the trouble he was having getting up into the mountains. She saw him walking out of a small grocery store with a man right behind him. Les was walking funny, as though he were very angry and just barely containing it. Suddenly he turned and struck the man's wrist. The gun that he'd been holding on Les was clearly visible now as it went off.
Kat saw every movement that Les made in the clear, slow motion of a dream. She saw Les break the man's wrist then, forcing him to drop the gun, then saw him break the guy's nose. Then she watched in horror as Les turned away from the man, giving him the chance to plant a knife in Les Koenig's back. She wanted to scream as she watched him die in the dusty road.
Then her dream changed, and she found herself standing in a cool glade, surrounded by the oldest trees that she had ever seen. The Lady was there, and she told Kat not to be afraid. While some of her dream was true, the outcome was not.
"Les Koenig lives still, those that are chasing him have not the skill to defeat him. Do not fear, child. I am watching for you both. Sleep now and rest gently." Her voice was soothing, and Kat found herself slipping into a dreamless state in which she felt as though there were gentle arms surrounding her, keeping her safe from harm.
Debbi took the next two days off from work. She worked as the assistant manager of one of the major department stores downtown. It wasn't easy for her to get away like this on such short notice, but she told Kat that it was worth it. If nothing else, Kat's visit gave her just the excuse that she needed to take a couple of days off.
"Everyone seems to think that when you get into management you get lots of time off. Hah! That just means that you don't get paid overtime for all the extra time you put in. And pretty soon, you forget what a day off even feels like."
"Well, I'll try to get some terrorists to chase me every six months or so, so you can have a day off," Kat said. They both laughed.
They spent those two days shopping and sight seeing around the city. Kat had such a good time, that she almost forgot the reason that she was here. But at night, the dreams would return, filling her mind with half-truths about what was happening to Les. Each time, the Lady would come and tell her not to fear, that Les was alright. This went on for several days, even after Debbi went back to work. But, by then Kat was able to sleep through most of the dreams without screaming to wake her host.
After Debbi went back to work, Kat spent most of her time sitting around the apartment watching TV or reading. Finally, she found herself so bored that she just had to get out on her own. That was her first mistake. Her second, was to take a walk, instead of taking the car.
She was walking through a residential street not far from Debbi's, when she noticed a van driving slowly behind her. She didn't even have time to call for help before three men jumped out of the side door. One held the door open, the other two grabbed Kat's arms and forced her into the van. It happened so quickly that no one seemed to notice anything amiss.
Katherine Stewart had been taken by the enemy, and no one knew where she had gone or when. When Debbi got home from work that night, she found an empty apartment. She thought that Kat had decided to leave suddenly, and didn't worry until she found all of Kat's things where they had been left. She called the police the next day to report Kat as missing, but by then it was far too late. In this, Debbi was very fortunate. The drow would not have hesitated to kill her. Kat was the one they wanted alive, not Debbi.
All the same, Debbi was not to learn what happened to her friend. Kat was in terrible danger, but all Debbi could do for her now, was worry.
Kat struggled for all she was worth, but to no avail. The men holding her were much stronger than her, and escape was out of the question. Still, she fought until one of the men grew weary of the struggle and pressed a knife against her throat. Kat went absolutely still.
"Good. Very good."
"Wha...what do you want from me?"
"We, or rather, my employer wants the pleasure of your company, Miss Stewart." Kat gasped quietly as the man mentioned her name. "We are very interested in a friend of yours, a Mister Les Koenig. He has caused us some slight difficulties, and we want to know about him. My...employer wishes to know everything that you know about this man."
"Know about him? What can I say? We went to bed a few times, and the bum threw me out. Is that what you want to know?" Kat was trying desperately to show that she wasn't afraid of them, even though she was terrified. The man chuckled, and shook his head slowly.
"No. That's not it," he said. "You see, we know that the two of you have been very much in love for the last few months. We have done our homework, you see. You can lie to me now, but you will find it very hard to lie to my master. He will see the truth in your heart as easily as you see this knife." Kat watched with sick fascination as he turned the blade so that it caught the light. The reflection flickered in her eyes.
"Now, be a good girl. You don't give us any trouble, and I won't hurt you...yet. My employer told me to bring you back alive, but he didn't say anything about what condition you should be in when you got there."
Kat swallowed hard, then decided that she had better keep her mouth shut. The man nodded once, then told the others to let her go. Kat straightened her clothes and sat in the small seat they had provided her.
It was a long trip back to Seattle.