Nordel(Will)

Nordel at Night




“Ran, those two fellas are still in my parlor.” Nelly paced the kitchen floor holding the receiver up to her ear, “I’m not one to complain but if they want to stay any longer they’re going to have to take a room. I can’t get them to say a word. It’s as if they are in a trance or somethin’. Maybe they have to store up their energy from the fight, I don’t know.”

“Nelly,” cooed the voice on the other end of the line, “just let them be. I’ll come over in a bit and have a talk with them.”

Nelly seemed satisfied with her friends answer and hung up the phone to resume her cleaning. Other than the two men in the parlor she still had two rooms being used by some families that were waiting on their homes to be repaired. Life in the little community seemed to be back to normal after the horrible raids a few weeks back. Officer Riddles had been removed from his duties without a word of explanation which left plenty of rumors floating around. The new patrolman was a man in his thirties with a cheery disposition that suited the town just fine.

A tap on the kitchen door stirred Nelly from her thoughts; her dear friend had arrived just as she had promised. “Where are they?” Nelly showed her to the parlor and indicated a young man sitting on a chair next to an older man sitting on the couch. Ran walked confidently over to the two while Nelly hid in the doorway.
“For goodness sakes, Nelly!” Ran burst out with laughter causing Nelly to jump. “These are nothin’ but holograms. Haven’t you been in here at all?” Nelly cautiously inched her way into the room still uncertain of the situation. “And looky here, they left you some money too. You silly old girl.”

Finally seeing that there was no threat, Nelly burst into laughter as well. “I just thought they needed to meditate or somethin’ after that fight of theirs. How was I to know?” Ran reached down and retrieved the little device lying on the floor that was projecting the images; instantly the forms disappeared.


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After traveling several days Will finally arrived at the mouth of the river that would take him to his father. Placing two fingers in his mouth he released a shrill whistle and then took a seat on a weathered log to wait. Just as the sun began to set over the horizon a small craft emerged from the mist, a lone hooded figure operating the ore stood in the stern. No words were spoken as young Will stepped into the little ferry taking a seat on a wooden plank in the middle of the boat. Silently the craft retreated into the mist slicing through the black water with little effort.

Will was greeted by his cousin on the far shore with a warm embrace. “How did you know I was coming?”

The blond haired elf reached down with his long slender hand and patted an orange tabby cat that was sitting contentedly at his feet. The cat purred loudly. “Come, William, your father awaits you.” Will’s smile quickly faded as a knot of apprehension formed in the pit of his stomach. “Relax; he’s happy to have you here, as are the rest of us. It’s been a long time coming.”

At a loss for words, Will followed his cousin into Nordel. There was no preparing himself for the sight that greeted him. It was simple yet beautiful all at once. Nothing sat on the beautiful fern covered forest floor, instead all of the structures were in the large trees connected by rope bridges and accessible by ground with ladders and rope. Will looked around but could find no trace of the other elves; they melded so well into their surroundings that he could be looking right at somebody and not even see them. His cousin did a bird call and without warning the forest became alive as the inhabitants emerged from the trees and brush.

The younglings ran up to Will full of questions and curiosity for he was the closest thing to a human they had ever seen. Will patiently answered their questions until they were fairly satisfied. Scanning the area he searched the ethereal faces for his father not even sure if he would recognize him if he saw him.

The crowd parted to allow a slender figure to pass. He had long brown hair flowing like silk down his back that was held in place by a delicate ornate head piece. His almond shaped eyes were the same dark brown color as Will’s and he knew without a doubt that this must be his father.

“Welcome, son.” he embraced Will with surprisingly strong arms. “I have waited a long time for you to join us. Come, you must be tired and hungry from your travels.” Will followed his father up a ladder that led to a large structure surrounded by a wooden platform on all sides. Will took a moment to view the area from his new vantage point. The beauty of the place took his breathe away as he watched the forest floor come to life with fire flies and lanterns. The paths along the tree tops were being lighted by torches and from the various houses a warm orange glow was being emitted through tiny round windows as families sat down for dinner.

Ducking inside the humble abode, Will was startled to find several other elves inside. “These are some of your cousins” his father gestured to the lot before him. A heavenly figure emerged from a side room that Will presumed was the kitchen. “And this is your sister, Emarl.” Will starred at the girl whom he had never met, trying to register his father’s words. She had the same dark brown hair as his father but her eyes were the color of new grass sprouting up after a long winter’s sleep.

“Dinner is ready,” her voice was light and feathery reminding Will of a butterfly. He followed the others into a larger structure off to the right of the main house where he found a long wooden table that sat a couple of inches above the floor and was lined with a variety of foods. Taking a seat on a large pillow as the others did he watched silently as Emarl walked around the room filling the goblets with wine. After this was done she took a seat at the table next to her father who raised his goblet to make a toast.

“Words can not express how grateful I am tonight to have my son once more under my roof. Let us give thanks to the forces that have brought this to pass.” A ‘here, here’ was emitted as the goblets were raised in the air. With the formalities over they proceeded to eat the wonderful food that had been prepared.

Will found the small talk amongst his cousins amusing, he had never known that elves had such witty humor. In fact there was very little he knew of his elven heritage other than how to shoot a bow and he owed that to his cousin Lith who was often sent to patrol close to the humans towns..

“So, William, what brings you to Nordel?” Will felt the many eyes watching him as the conversation suddenly took a serious tone.

“Umm, Father,” he cleared his throat, “I would feel more comfortable discussing that matter with you in private.” No more was said of the matter for elves are not a prying sort of creature. After the meal was over, the cousins bid their farewell and retreated to their own lodgings. Emarl busied herself with the clean up allowing her father and Will time to be alone.

Vial Two ( Magdalena)

Brandy quietly surveyed her surroundings looking for the slightest indication that someone other then Bishop knew that she was in this deserted cemetery in Paraguay.
Stepping slowly as she continued her vigilance she deftly made her way toward the center of the property. There she would find the mausoleums that were her true target this night.

Recently while the focus of the world’s attention was shifted toward the Pope’s demise an Infernal had entered the Vatican uninvited and made off with one of the world’s foremost supernatural weapons. For centuries the citadel in which the Pope resides had been the repository for any and all supernatural objects that came into the church’s possession. Throughout all of recorded history one collection of objects has been hinted at and feared by all who have knowledge of its existence. It is written that whoever shall hold the six ‘Bottles of Nigh’ and recite the correct prayer shall release onto this plane and bind into service the Satan himself. The legends state that the six bottles each contain a fraction of his former Celestial might that was released by each of six blows he suffered during the rebellion in heaven.

Three times have the bottles been united but each time without knowledge of the appropriate prayer. The first time it is said two lesser demons were released onto our plane. The result was the introduction of the vampyre and lycanthrope races into the human lexicon. The second time of ‘unification’ resulted in a lesser demon that entered our plane and became the councilor for one of the great families of Western Europe during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. The most recent episode resulted in the releasing onto this plane of a water elemental that wreaked havoc in the eastern hemisphere of our planet killing hundreds of thousands before it was trapped in a nearby fissure caused by the subduction of a regional tectonic plate.

The Magdalena had again been sent out to retrieve one of the ‘essence’ vials that had been so recently stolen from the Vatican. The first she had caught up with in Tunisia formerly under the possession of Lilith herself. She hadn’t been much of a challenge for Brandy. Her lilin on the other hand would have been more then a mouthful. This second vial was said to be carried by the former sovereign of a small eastern European enclave. Long since dead he was a known consort to Lilith and was long in both age and tooth.

Stopping she fixed her attention on the first granite structure just on the edge of visibility in front of her. It was neither sight nor sound that drew her attention but rather her god ‘gifted’ six sense triggered in the presence of one of the Infernal or those touched by them.

Drawing from the years of training already at her disposal Brandy crouched slightly and pressed forward, now using the tombstones as cover. Reaching over her shoulder she carefully drew her sword from its scabbard slowly so as not to announce her presence to any unseen assailants. Her weapon of choice on this mission was the fabled sword Excalibur her trusted Spear of Destiny sitting this one out. Also at hand she carried twin 9mm Beretta’s equipped to fire capsules of holy water. From previous experience she knew that a single well placed head shot would decapitate an undead as easily as did the sword.
Straightening to her full six foot two inch frame she found a measure of cover behind a large centuries old tombstone. Peering around the slab of marble she saw that one of the mausoleums had been torn open the former occupant lying stiffly on the dewy ground. Nothing seemed to be moving or making any noises so Brandy cautiously moved on.

Brandy also noticed the stench. In her dealings with the undead she had come to the conclusion, accurately, that the undead had a particular odor that was similar no matter what the manner of creature, whether vampire, wraith, ghost it didn’t seem to matter. They always had this odor that was reminiscent of frankincense, rotting flesh and rose petals.

After registering the smell her eyes did start picking up, at a mausoleum farther in the fog, some movement. Stealing herself she slowly began to advance using what cover she could from the tombstones. Hoping that she could sneak close enough to finish the battle with a single well placed blow from her enchanted sword. She unfortunately found out that scenario was not to be as she finally broke cover from her granite and marble protectors.

Rising up before her were two wraiths that had been lying in wait as part of some type of infernal claymore, the pair hidden and commanded to appear only if someone set foot within a given area or within a certain distance of a set point. Either way she now had two wraiths to fight and hoped that neither would lay a claw on her, knowing that should they do so they would sap part of her life essence adding it to their own. In the process aging her and strengthening the undead pair.

Carefully stepping back she allowed them to fully materialize, knowing that in their fully ephemeral state even Excalibur would not be able to touch them. The secret to fighting wraiths was patience. The only time they were corporeal was at the moment they were attempting to strike their target. This meant that to beat them a body must present itself as a target and at the last minute dodge an attack countering with an attack of their own. Now in their more substantial form Excalibur could do quite a bit of damage, perhaps felling the infernal creatures in a single blow. Brandy had thus far never been that lucky but she certainly hoped at this point luck was on her side and if not then God’s fortune.

Another oddity about the wraith was that they emitted a low mournful moan, but only when they were not in their ephemeral state. In previous battles with these creatures Brandy had made note that they were their most corporeal when they moaned and thus telegraphed their state. These two seemed to be a matched pair…male and female, perhaps even a husband and wife during life.

Slowly the two wraiths circled attempting to flank their quarry. Fortunately Brady recognized the logic behind their movements and rather then stepping back defensively she moved to her right directly into the path of one of the wraiths. Her blow caught the creature bemoaning its hideous fate and quickly dispatched it to the peace it had never known, forcing it back into the world from which it had been called into service.

The second wraith proved to be a bit more formidable then the first but never the less was also sent back to its plane of origin, by Brandy who then took a minute to lean forward on her sword and catch her breath. By this time she was not able to see anything nor was she able to detect their scent on the softly swirling breeze of the cemetery.

Meanwhile in his observation room secreted far beneath the Vatican Bishop is watching Brandy with extreme interest. The “Vials” are far and away the deadliest supernatural weapons currently known to the Knights of Malta organization. He has supreme confidence in the Magdalena’s ability to retrieve the items she is tasked to get, however he is aware that as long as a human being is breathing they are capable of doing anything. That includes casting off years of training and doing the unexpected.

Brandy could feel a buzzing at the edge of her consciousness, the tell tale sign that she was being monitored by Bishop. She had never been taught what the feeling was, so she had never volunteered that she felt it.

Finished with her brief respite she ventured deeper still into the ground fog saturated cemetery. With cautious steps she approached the largest mausoleums at the very center of the property. The ‘monitoring’ buzz in her head was quickly supplanted by the sixth sense alarm that she was in the proximity of one of the Infernal. The strength of the alert made it an almost palpable to her physically indicating that her true quarry was very near.
Unbeknownst to Brandy her presence had been detected also and her target had shifted into one of his more transient forms.

Approaching the structure ahead Brandy saw above the steel door, oddly enough hanging barely by one hinge, the seal the signified that this was the resting place of former members of her order. As she made for the entry she felt as if the very fog was clutching at her, whispering to her. Stopping she reached out with her senses to try and find the source of the sensations. Slowly the ground fog Brandy stood amidst twirled and twined around her legs, easily moving across her midriff until her entire body was wrapped in its ethereal embrace. Sensing the attack Brandy tried to step out of her undead lover’s embrace only to find that the fog was solidifying into something far more substantial.

With her range of motion waning Brandy dropped her sword and drew her pistols. When her attacker had finished solidifying into the form of a vampire clutching her to its chest, it was unaware that Brandy held at the ready pistol aimed at its crotch and just below the left armpit. Triggering both weapons simultaneously the holy water capsules didn’t penetrate very far before releasing their twin payloads of blessed liquid.

The vampire screamed like a thing undead, which it was, and releasing its hold on Brandy leapt atop the nearby mausoleum growling as the pain ebbed to a low agony. In the two target areas the missing tissue amounted to roughly a third of the total makeup of the creature. As he checked his wounds he found, to his dismay that they were not healing over and in fact were starting to spread to the formerly unaffected parts of his anatomy.

“The water has been infused with ultraviolet power nanites constructed out of pure silver. They’ll be done in about three and a half minutes.” She finished glancing at a chronograph in her left gauntlet. Quickly Brandy holstered her two firearms and retrieved Excalibur.

“You will not win.” The creature said well over half way eaten away by its holy viral infection.

“This game is never won, Count. That is why there have been so many Magdalena’s.” she replied gesturing to the front door of the structure atop which the Count was perched.

As the last portions of his body melted away a crystal vial containing an icor colored liquid fell down the roof rolling until it hit the edge of the roof. Tumbling through the air Brandy caught the bottle and tucked it into a pouch on the inside of her waist sash.

Moving Day(Will)

After tossing and turning for several hours, Will finally got out of bed, accepting the fact that he would be unable to sleep. Quietly he slipped from his room first checking on his mother then to get a cold glass of water. Starring out the little kitchen window he felt very small and alone. Deciding to put the hours to good use, he retrieved a duffle bag from inside the hall closet and returned to his room to begin packing. Grabbing a pen and some paper from his desk, he scribbled some notes in regards to his mum’s care. He felt guilty about leaving her but he knew that Nelly would take good care of the sick woman. His biggest concern was the reception he would receive upon his arrival in Nordel. His father’s people had left long ago to the isolated land in the east in order to separate themselves from the humans. Much to the dismay of Will and his mother, his father left as well leaving behind an aging wife and a young son.

Will threw his belongings into the bag with more force than was necessary. He tried hard to understand his father but most of the time he just felt anger and resentment towards him. He blamed him for his mother’s frail health and for the deplorable living conditions they had been forced to live in over the years. His mum had tried to explain to Will why his father had to go but to a young boy there was no reason good enough for abandoning them.

With the rising of the sun, Will left the little apartment for work. He would inform Mr. Trumper of his plans and see what insight the old man might be able to offer. As usual he found the owner of the vegetable stand arranging the display of produce on the sidewalk. Clearing his throat to announce his arrival Will got straight to the point “Mr. Trumper, may I speak to you in private for a moment?”

Placing the remaining lettuce in the designated bin, the stocky man escorted Will inside to his office at the back of the store leaving a young sales clerk in charge of the store. “What can I do for you, William?”

Will rehashed his visit with Nelly the previous night. When he had finished he looked imploringly at the old man whom he considered his father in all sense of the word. “Do you think I should go?”

The old man rubbed his chin in thought, “I think Nelly’s right. It’s time you mend things between you and your father. Besides he might have some knowledge about this island that you’ll be going to.” Will wasn’t surprised by the answer. He graciously thanked the gentleman for his help over the years and after a fatherly embrace they parted company.

Will had his mother settled in her new room by the time the sun was going down. He left a list of instructions and her medicines sitting on the chest o’ drawers. Giving his mum one last kiss on the forehead he slipped quietly from the room to join Nelly in the kitchen as the parlor was still occupied by a few guests who had stayed on after the raid a few weeks back.

“She’ll be fine, Will, don’t worry about a thing. Just go and do what you need to do.” She placed a cup of tea in front of the young man. Dear Nelly felt that all the world’s problems could be settled over tea.

“I’ll send word once I’ve arrived in Nordel and again when I leave. Do let me know if you need me to return home.” Glancing up at the ceiling he added mater-of-factly, “she mostly sleeps and when she is awake she talks nonsense; every now and then the light will return to her eyes and she’ll remember where she is – that’s the real her.”

Nelly patted his hand sympathetically, “she would have wanted you to do this. You need to make amends with your father and start living for you.” Finishing his tea, he left the comfort of the bed ‘n’ breakfast. He would begin his journey at first light.

Will(Will,Nelly)

Will couldn’t believe that only a few weeks had passed since he had seen Alex off on the private fishing boat heading for Antipode Island; he felt like months had gone by since he last saw the green eyed, auburn haired girl. Some mornings he would lie in bed trying to find motivation to get up, but since her departure he couldn’t think of any reason to rise. There were moments in the day when he felt as though he were suffocating from the girl’s absence. When and how she had become such a major part of his life he didn’t know, but what he did know is that he had to have her back in it.

He had managed to avoid going to Nelly’s Bed ‘n’ Breakfast but this morning he could find no way around it. Loading the van as usual, he made a mental note to go there last. As his work day drew to a close, he began to regret his decision to go to the B&B last for it had foreshadowed his entire day causing him to sulk more than usual. He parked the delivery van out front and slowly walked the path to the familiar kitchen door. Nelly greeted him in her customary cheery way, one look at the boy and she knew that he was in need of a cup of tea and a story.

“Please, Miss Nelly, I just want to go home.” He forced the words out around the lump in his throat. Of course Nelly couldn’t let the young man leave in such a distraught state and in the end she got her way. Taking a seat at the little kitchen table Will released an audible sigh and rested his head in his hands. The concerned older woman brought over two cups of steaming tea and took a seat across the table from her heart-broken guest.

“Will, before Alex left she asked me to answer your questions and to fill you in on some things that she neglected to tell you.” Taking a sip of tea she studied the boy’s reaction and as she had expected anger clouded his face.

“How could she leave us like that? Why now? Doesn’t she care at all what happens to us?” Rising from the chair he began to pace the room while venting his frustrations that had been locked up for so long. “My father was right – never get mixed up with a human. Why didn’t I listen to him?” Nelly sat quietly allowing the young man to fume. Finally exhausting himself, he sank back down into his chair. “Why did she leave me, Nelly?”

Nelly fought the tears that stung at her eyes, how well she knew the agony of loosing somebody you care about. Taking another sip of tea to steal her nerves she began her story, “A long time ago there was a little girl named Alexandra Fields…” She told the story from beginning to end only pausing from time to time to take a sip of tea or water to wet her mouth. When she finally finished the two of them sat in silence, Nelly for having talked so long and Will to ponder what he had been told.

“Why didn’t she tell me all of this?” asked Will standing up to stretch his legs.

“Fear, embarrassment, shame, - who knows? The point is you know now, so what are you going to do about it?” Nelly began removing items from the refrigerator for dinner.

“What can I do? I can’t go with her, I’ve got Mum to care for. Besides, father would never approve of me running after some human like a love sick puppy.” He munched on a carrot that he had absentmindedly picked up from the chopping block.

“Good idea, Will.” Nelly was smiling like a fool at the baffled young man.

“What’s a good idea?”

“To go and see your father, of course.”

“I can’t do that, he doesn’t like to be bothered with human affairs. Who will look after Mum?”

“He’s your father, Will, he’ll know what to do. And besides, you’re not all together human, now are you?” Ignoring the boy’s discomfort she continued on. “ We can move your mother in here. I would be able to tend to her just fine and the company would be wonderful. I’ve been so lonesome now that everybody’s gone back to their homes.”

Will looked in awe of the short woman. "How does she do it?" He wondered. She always seemed to know what people needed to hear, you just had to sift through all the other stuff she said.

“Fine, you win, Nelly.” She smiled triumphantly at the boy. “I’ll start moving Mum in tomorrow. Once she’s settled I’ll pay a visit to Nordel to see father.”

Nelly gave the boy a bear hug before he left the house. “What a grand adventure you’re about to embark on,” muttered Nelly to herself as she closed and locked the door before returning to her dinner preparations.

Past Meets Present

Alex was awake, showered and dressed before the sun came up. She was surprised to still hear hushed voices emitting from the dining room. Wondering if Nelly had slept at all she quietly made her way down the stairs. She knew that nothing would be open at this hour so she decided to have a cup of coffee with her hostess and whoever else might be in the kitchen. She passed a small group of men sitting at the large dining room table who were going over cleanup plans while eating eggs, bacon, and hash browns. She waved a hand in response to their greeting and entered the well lit kitchen where she found Nelly bustling about making biscuits and other breakfast foods.

“Mornin’, Nelly” taking her usual seat, Nelly quickly brought over a cup of coffee and sat down with her cup in hand. “Did you get any sleep?”

“I tried but I just couldn’t, my mind kept going back to that poor Mr. Quint. You know I’ve said all along that he was a nice fellow, just misunderstood.” Alex smiled at this remark for she had heard the exact opposite come out of Nelly’s mouth. “He’s just trying to make this world a better place. I think if he had a good woman in his life he would be in a much better shape. How about you?” Alex spit her coffee out across the table. “You’re right; you and Will are much better suited for each other. I’m sure somebody will come to mind…” Alex didn’t bother answering but allowed the widow to prattle on; she found the endless chatter amusing.

Giving her thanks for the early morning coffee, Alex headed out the door in the direction of Trumper’s. After she left the upper end of town she stepped into a completely different looking environment then what usually greeted her. Smoke spiraled up from smoldering fires, glass and debris littered the street, and the usual traffic flow was non-existent. A few police cars and fire trucks were still on hand finishing up business. Already some of the shop owners and early risers of the community were beginning repairs. Although devastating, the raid would probably bring the neighborhood even closer together.

She found Will helping Mr. Trumper clean up the ruined produce. Without asking, she grabbed a broom and dust pan and started sweeping up the leafy mess on the walk that used to be a display of lettuce and cabbage. The owner looked up and smiled in appreciation. The place was cleaned up and ready for business by its usual opening time. Mr. Trumper sent the two young people away to get a bite to eat.

Strolling into Al’s Diner which had remarkably escaped damage thanks to a mysterious young man named Stan; they took a seat at a booth by the window. After placing their order and some polite chit-chat Alex began to disclose the conversation she had with the two “heroes” back at Nelly’s. “When I asked them if they knew anything about a box or key that their friend might have left in my bags they shook their heads no but suggested I check with the local lock smith. You don’t know where I could find him do you?”

“Yeah, that would be Mr. Keys. I can take you by there when I make deliveries. Did they say what they wanted with this old man?”

“No, just said he was a friend of theirs who was missing and they were trying to retrace his steps. The only reason they linked me and him together was because dear Miss. Nelly made an offhand remark that I was a real cowgirl type, complete with saddle bags and boots. Seems this guy they’re looking for is the one who returned my things but they didn’t know anything about a box.”

“Could be they weren’t telling the whole truth, just like you weren’t” remarked Will before taking another bite of egg. Alex looked out the window at a loss for words. She had disclosed bits and pieces of her past to her new friend but had left out little details like she was born in 1886 or that she had some nightmarish encounters in the forest that he loved so much.

After breakfast they returned to the produce stand to pack up the van for deliveries. Mr. Trumper was determined to run business as usual. They were in the neighborhood of the Hotel Grande when Will directed Alex to the locksmith a few doors down and agreed to meet her there after he finished delivering to the hotel.

The little store smelled of metal and the constant hum came from a machine sitting at the end of the counter. Keys of various shapes, sizes, and colors hung from hooks that lined the walls. In the center of the store were two short aisles containing door knobs and locks. “Can I help you?” A slight man with large glasses came out of a back room. He was bald with a thin moustache lining his even thinner lips.

“I was wondering if you could tell me anything about this,” she produced the key from its hiding spot beneath her shirt and slipped the cord over her head handing it to the clerk.

Walking over to the counter he brought forth a magnifying class and studied the ornate key for a few moments. “Yes, I know this key. A fellow came in here a few years back with a bar of gold and wanted me to make a key out of it. I told him that pure gold would be too soft but offered to put a gold plate on it. Where did you get this?”

“A gift.” she said offhandedly. “Can you tell me the name of this man?”

“Can’t forget it – Jake Small. Strange fellow, wore boots with spurs on them and a big cowboy hat – looked like something out of a western.”

Alex felt her knees go weak and she heard a hight pitched ringing in her ears, the room spiraled around her and she collapsed onto the concrete floor.

“Alex!” Will ran into the store where he found the girl laying on the floor the clerk knelling next to her patting her cheeks. “What happened?”

“No idea, I was talking to her and the next thing I know she fainted.”

The fog began to clear and she could hear the two men talking above her. Slowly the blackness began to leave and her senses began to function again. She could feel the cold hard floor beneath her and smell the metal of the keys and there was a familiar scent as well – tomatoes and onions. “Will?” She opened her eyes and the blurry faces before her began to clear.

“I’m here.” Came the familiar voice, “just take it easy.” She sat still for a few more moments and then with the aid of the men got back to her feet. “What happened?”

Alex thought for a moment until she remembered what happened, her heart began to thump loudly in her chest. “Small, Jake Small, where is he? What did he say?”

Will looked puzzled as did Mr. Keys but the little man quickly spoke up registering the urgency in the girl’s voice. “Last I heard he was going to Antipodes Island. Said something about trying to stay out of trouble. But that was a few years back, who knows where he is now.”

Retrieving the key from the counter she place it around her neck once more. Thanking the clerk she quickly left the shop, her mind reeling from the news.

“Alex, what’s going on?” Will pulled her to a stop on the sidewalk.

“How do I get to Antipodes Island?” her eyes had turned into a cloudy gray color and she had a crazed look on her face.

“By ship, of course, but what is this about?”concern causing his deep voice to sound husky.

“I’ll explain later. Where’s the docks, I’ve got to get passage on a ship.” She looked around the street in the hopes that the ship yard would be in view.

“Listen, how about I take you back to Nelly’s?” before she could protest Will continued with his plan. “I’ll take care of getting you a ship; I’ve got connections that I can call on.”

Alex reluctantly agreed and rode in silence, while Will stole worried glances at her. Once she was dropped off at the bed ‘n’ breakfast she took the steps two at a time to her room ignoring the greetings that assaulted her upon entering the still busy establishment. Sensing that something was amiss, Nelly excused herself from her crowded parlor and followed the girl to her room. “Come in, Nelly, I know it’s you.” Nelly entered the room to find Alex hastily packing her belongings.

“Are you leaving us, dear?”

“I’m afraid so, Nelly. I just received some disturbing news in regards to some old business of mine and I need to follow up on it.”

“Well, you’ll need some luggage if you’re going to take all of this with you.” The kind lady quickly left the room and soon returned with a suitcase. “Here, this should do.”

Alex tried to decline the offer but Nelly wouldn’t here of it and began placing clothes into the piece of luggage. Reaching into her saddle bag she retrieved the little pouch of gold, “Here, I think there’s enough in there to settle up the bill and then some.”

Offended, the little round woman pushed the money bag away, “Get that out of my face, I’ll not have one shilling from you.” Not wishing to hurt the woman’s feelings she did as she was told.

“Nelly, I’m afraid I’m leaving Will with a lot of questions, if he should ask…”the girl looked down at her boots struggling with the guilt that tugged at her conscience.

“Of course, dear, I’ll explain everything to him once you’re gone. Are you sure you want to leave everything behind to pursue your ‘buisness’?”

It was an innocent question but Alex knew what "everything" was referring to and didn’t wish to answer, much less think about what she would be leaving behind. Nelly quietly left the room so that Alex could be alone with her thoughts. The usually cheery woman walked slowly to her own room, tears running unchecked down her cheeks.