"Just your two lady friends," Inarus said. "You give me them and I'll give you... well, what's left of your friend."
"Never," Doubar growled. "Give him to us or..."
"Agreed," Cerys interjected. "A trade?" She looked at Bryn, who nodded. "We agree. Release Doubar from your spell." Doubar found himself suddenly freed and he rushed to his brother.
"Take that carcass and leave," Inarus commanded. As Doubar lifted his brother's lifeless body, Cerys felt a wave of déjà vu. The vision had come to life before her eyes. She felt helpless for an instant. There had to be some way to prevent all that she had seen. A realization sparked in her eyes. Her hand went to the tiny pouch at her waist and she drew out a tiny crimson vial.
She stepped to Firouz and pressed the vial to his palm as she whispered, "Take this. Put it with 20 parts water. Stir it until it turns clear and give it to him. He must drink all of it." Firouz looked down at the tiny vial then shoved it under his belt. He gave her a tiny smile. An instant later, magic cages sprung up around Bryn and Cerys, trapping them where they stood and rendering their powers useless.
"I have kept my half of the deal," Inarus said. "And assured that you will keep yours. Now leave." Firouz looked at Cerys but she just shook her head. He turned and followed Doubar. Rongar glared at Inarus and nodded to the two women before he also followed. "I have you all to myself now," he said, looking from Bryn to Cerys and back. "But things are not quite ready. We mustn't rush matters." At that, he slipped out a shadowed doorway.
Cerys looked at Bryn, standing trapped in the magical cage and dropped to the ground, pounding her fists angrily on the dirt floor. "How can I stop this?" she cried. "Everything I do just makes it come true."
Bryn thought of Sinbad's beaten body as he crumpled to the floor and hated what she was about to say. "Maybe you shouldn't fight fate." Cerys looked at her with such contempt she had to continue. "Fate gave me another chance. Somehow, I know I should be dead but fate had other plans. Maybe I could've fought it and tried to change something and maybe I'd still remember my childhood and my life but, maybe I would've also lost this chance. I have so much that I don't think I possibly could've had if my life weren't so... bizarre." She laughed as she thought about the state her life was in.
"If I could've changed fate, I never would've lost you to begin with," Cerys said sadly. "You never would've forgotten me."
Bryn pressed one hand against the cage that held her. "I won't forget you again."
Cerys smiled sadly. "You won't get a chance if he kills us."
"We'll get out of this," Bryn said, feeling a sudden rush of confidence though she couldn't say why. She just pictured Sinbad and knew she couldn't disappoint him. "We have to."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The men stopped at the edge of the forest. "We can't leave without Bryn and we'll never find our way out of here without Cerys," Firouz said, reasoning aloud. "We have to go back for them." Rongar began to pace slowly, placing each step precisely, just to keep his mind from roaming to the two women they had abandoned.
Doubar gently eased Sinbad's still body to the springy grass and looked up at Firouz with pleading eyes. "You have to do something," he said sadly.
Firouz looked from Doubar's wide eyes to Sinbad's battered face and back to Doubar before saying, "I'll see what I can do." He knelt beside Sinbad and took one look at his face then mumbled, "His jaw's broken." Doubar heard this and cringed. He absently stroked his brother's hair while Firouz carefully stripped off the tattered shirt. He prodded Sinbad's bruised, swollen chest and said, "His ribs are broken too." Then he noticed Sinbad's right arm.
White bone punctured the skin just below his elbow. Firouz noted this with tears in his eyes. "They broke his arm," he whispered. "He'll probably never be able to use a sword again." Doubar rose slowly and as Firouz looked at his eyes, a chill went through him. He had known Doubar for years but when he saw the cold vengeance in his eyes, he felt fear like never before.
"Bastards," he heard Doubar hiss. Doubar turned but Firouz jumped up and in an instant, stood at his side.
"Nearly every bone in his body is broken," Firouz mumbled, absently. He thought for a moment but could think of nothing to say to ease the harsh vengeance Doubar felt. Then his hand felt the tiny vial under his belt. He fingered for a moment before remembering what it was. He drew it out and held it up, staring at the crimson liquid inside. He didn't notice Doubar watching him expectantly.
"What is it?" Doubar queried, nodding towards the vial.
Firouz shrugged, "Something Cerys gave me." He twirled the vial between two fingers as he continued. "I think it's meant to heal him."
Doubar felt a light of hope in his heart as he stared at the tiny glass vial. "What do we do with it?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bryn watched Inarus intently as he placed tall, white candles around the dank room. Cerys absently traced an intricate pattern with her finger against the magic barrier. She started when she heard Bryn's voice query, "What do you plan to do with us?"
Their steady gazes bored into Inarus as he stared at the caged women. "I plan to use you to gain immortality," he stated. "I have the power to see the present. You are a medium; you can contact the past. You are a prophet; you can see the future. No one person possesses all these gifts, but if I did, I could live forever."
"The circle of time," Cerys said softly. "View the future and use the past to alter the present." Inarus only nodded and smiled thinly before turning and leaving. "So, he won't leave us dead, only powerless..."
"I won't give up my powers easily," Bryn said, rising to her feet. "Let him try to take them. I'll find a way to escape and to stop him." The fire of determination lit in her eyes as she looked expectantly at Cerys.
"Alright," Cerys sighed, reluctantly standing. "We'll stop this creep and then figure out if we can change fate." Cerys again saw the still form on the bed; then, she pictured Sinbad's warm blue eyes and easy smile. "That will not be his fate," she whispered.
Bryn heard this and smiled. Sinbad's charm had worked on Cerys too. 'It never fails,' she thought. She lifted her wrist to gaze at the wide rainbow bracelet there. She knew Sinbad lived. It would have told her if he had died. She kept that thought in mind as she circled her cell, searching out any weakness in the glowing barrier.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Firouz had taken a small bowl out of his knapsack and carefully mixed the contents of the vial with twenty parts water. He gazed at the dark red liquid and remembered Cerys' words...
"Stir it until it turns clear..."
'How could this ever turn clear?' he wondered, but he stirred despite his doubts and his eyes widened when the liquid darkened to black. He stirred a bit more vigorously and it began to lighten but not to red, to blue. The blue faded, and the liquid paled until at last, it turned clear. Firouz grew nervous then. What if it didn't work? What if Cerys had given him a poison? Could they really trust her with Sinbad's life? He looked to Rongar, who still paced, and Doubar, who gently cradled his brother in his massive arms. They had no other choice.
Firouz stood and went to Doubar and Sinbad. He knelt and sent up a silent prayer. He tipped back Sinbad's head against Doubar shoulder and pressed the rim of the bowl to his swollen, bleeding lips. He poured a bit of the liquid into his mouth and stroked his throat, helping him to swallow. It took patience and gentle urging but finally the bowl was empty. Sinbad remained unconscious. Then and only then did hopelessness set in.
"Did she say how long it would take?" Doubar pleaded. Firouz shook his head and turned to repack his knapsack. Doubar eased Sinbad off his shoulder and began pacing only a few feet from Rongar. Only a few minutes later, all three turned as one when they heard a gentle moan.
They rushed to Sinbad's side and gasped collectively. His wounds had completely healed and he stirred as one waking from a pleasant sleep. He yawned and sat with his eyes still mostly closed. His hands absently smoothed his hair before his eyes snapped open and he noted with surprise the stunned looks on his friends' faces. "What?" he said, then he noticed the forest around them and the fact that he only wore his pants and boots and he altered his question. "What happened? Was I dreaming?" Doubar embraced him affectionately while Firouz explained the deal Cerys and Bryn had made with Inarus and the vial that Cerys had slipped into his hand as he left.
Sinbad made a quick scan of the area and spotted his sword. He jumped up and grabbed it, saying, "Well, we'd better go get them."
"Are you sure you're up to it?" Firouz asked.
"Firouz is right," Doubar chimed in. "After what you've been through, maybe you should wait for us here."
"Not in this lifetime," Sinbad quipped. He sheathed his sword and made an encompassing gesture as he said, "Which way?" Doubar only rolled his eyes at his brother's unlimited energy.
Firouz mumbled, "How much caffeine was in that stuff?" Then he shrugged and said, "That way." Sinbad eagerly dashed off in the direction Firouz had indicated, leaving the others to follow in his wake.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Inarus finally had the candles placed just so and he stood before the two glowing cages. Then he began to chant. A slow, rhythmic incantation echoed through the dungeon and Bryn and Cerys felt their breath catch in their throats. A chill ran through them both until they heard a crash from the stairwell and Inarus stopped his chanting and ordered his guards to make sure he wasn't interrupted again.
The guards ran to the stairs and met a very fired-up Sinbad, followed by Doubar, Rongar, and Firouz. Inarus growled when he saw the group. "We had a deal," he roared.
"I don't remember agreeing to anything," Sinbad hissed as he flung off one guard and challenged Inarus. Inarus pulled a sword from somewhere in the folds of his cloak, then he flung the cloak to the ground. He chased Sinbad valiantly through the dungeon but soon he was panting and gasping for breath. As he tired, the cages around Bryn and Cerys weakened.
The two women watched as the red magic faltered and blinked and then went out. They were free. More of Inarus' cohorts stepped out of the shadows and occupied the crew while Sinbad and Inarus battled it out. Cerys shrunk into the shadows to avoid the battle. She didn't emerge until Inarus kicked Sinbad squarely in the chest, sending him crashing into a wall and stunning him just long enough for Inarus to unsheathe his dagger and raise it. He held the point and released it in a perfect arch towards Sinbad's unprotected back.
Cerys saw this and leapt towards him. She dove and fell against him, knocking him aside but placing herself directly in the dagger's path. Inarus watched the blade slide into her chest and screamed, "No!" He had destroyed his own carefully-laid plans. Everyone stopped at the echoing sound of his cry and saw him glaring at Sinbad and Cerys. Inarus and his guards used the distraction to make their getaway. The crew watched silently as Sinbad gathered Cerys into his arms.
"Why?" he whispered.
"Because you would've been missed," she offered with a smile. "I've done all I could. It's out of my hands now," she said. With that, her gray eyes closed.
Bryn heard those words echoing through her mind. "I've done all I could. It's out of my hands..." 'Does she mean for me to try to stop her vision from becoming reality?' Bryn wondered. 'I'll do all I can,' she thought, hoping Cerys would hear that thought.
Firouz gently touched Cerys' throat and said, "She's still alive."
Sinbad looked at him with pleading, tear-filled eyes. "You have to help her," he whispered.
Firouz nodded. "I'll try." Sinbad lifted Cerys' motionless body and followed as Firouz used his compass to guide them through the forest and back to the village of Tearon. They went to Cerys' home. Sinbad lowered her gently to the bed and Firouz herded everyone out so he could concentrate his efforts on helping their new friend.
Rongar paced some more, finding it difficult to keep a handle on the stress of this adventure. Bryn stood at the window, staring at the distant village and wondering of it in any way resembled the Moonlit Isle that Cerys had told her about. Sinbad paced for a while and finally went to stand at the window beside Bryn.
"She can't die because of me," he said softly. "It isn't right."
Bryn shook her head. "No, she can't die because she'll be missed," she said, echoing Cerys' earlier explanation. She had tears in her eyes as she said, "I know why she did this." Sinbad looked at her expectantly and she continued. "She knew when something happened to me and she did nothing. This time, she knew and she saw a chance for redemption."
Firouz slipped silently into the room and Bryn turned to him eagerly. "There's nothing more I can do," he said sadly. Bryn's heart fell as she passed him and entered the room. Rongar, Doubar and Firouz followed. Sinbad stood at the door, apart from the others, as a spectator might. He noted with slight concern that from where he stood, he couldn't see Cerys' face.
"It was worst than I thought," Firouz stated. Bryn heard those words and her head rose from Cerys' face to scan the scene around her. "I'm sorry," Firouz said. Bryn choked back a cry as she realized it was just as Cerys had said. Only Sinbad stood outside the scene and the one she should have tried to save had been herself.
Bryn felt suddenly queasy and left the room in a rush of air. She brushed Sinbad on her way out, as he stood with glazed eyes. "We... we should... take care of the body... before we go," he said haltingly. Without another word, he turned and retreated to the forest outside. Doubar loyally followed. Firouz and Rongar exchanged glances over the bed before Firouz also left.
Rongar alone, covered Cerys' body with a blanket of soft dark blue flannel and carried it to the small clearing behind her home. He dug a deep grave and then lifted her body. He couldn't help feeling regret and tinge of pain at the loss of one so young and innocent. He also felt his friend's loss. Bryn had found a friend only to have her quickly snatched away. He lowered Cerys' body gently into the grave and stood in silence for a moment to mourn her passing before he filled the hole around her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As Tearon slipped off into the distance, Bryn watched it vanish with a sweet longing in her heart. Sinbad had watched her from a distance and finally crossed the deck to stand at her side. "I already miss her," Bryn whispered. "I knew her for two days and I can see her face everywhere I look. Makes me wonder how I ever forgot her."
"I'm sorry," Sinbad said softly. "If it helps any, I miss her too and I barely knew her." Bryn slipped one arm through Sinbad's and linked elbows with him.
"She gave us two of the greatest gifts in all the world," Bryn said, in voice distant as she remembered the events of the past two days. "She gave me a piece of my past and she gave you a future."
Sinbad nodded and a slight smile curved the corners of his lips. "I'd say we were both blessed."
THE END