Chapter 17 Final Escape author: Overlord - red , Temptress - orange
Their eyes met as the temptress kneeled down to Thenna's level.. taking her delicate and beautiful face in her hand... she pulled Henos closer to her.. slipping her arm around his waist..."Tell me, my dearest Thenna. What do you know."
As Thenna spoke, the temptress tenderly caressed her face. Henos watched this with amazement. His sister threw him a confusing glance... she didn't know what to make of it herself. Neither of them had been treated this way by an adult. After Thenna finished explaining, the temptress turned to Henos and gave him a light kiss on his cheek.
They set off down the long hallway.. Thenna showing them where to go. Once outside, they all felt a sense of relief. But what should they do now? The temptress didn't want to be caught out her after dark... it wouldn't be safe once Kendra realized they were gone.
"Thenna... you taught some magic weren't you?"
"Only a little, why?"
"Do you think you could get us home? I remember what you did in the labyrinth.. I felt it. Do you have enough strength to get all of us home?"
Thenna thought carefully.. she had brought her mother back into the labyrinth after that other lady had sent her out. She looked deep into her mothers eyes...
"I don't know if I can do it or not, but I'll try."
"Do you remember where home is?"
She couldn't exactly remember what it looked like, but she did have a sense of comfort thinking about it. Thenna turned to both of them and asked for them to concentrate on home..
... a tingling sensation rushed through their bodies.. the light of day was fading in and out.
The temptress was the first to open her eyes.. it was the children's old nursery. She pulled both of them close.. hugging them tightly.
"How clever my children have become."
She stood up quickly and called to the chambermaid. This room would do no good for them.. only cribs and baby stuff.. they'd grown a little too much for those now.. a smile crossed her lips.
"For tonight.. you will both sleep in my room. I will watch over you."
She led them out of the room and down to the first floor of the castle. Food and bathing was in order.. sleep would come soon enough.
"There will be clothes for you tomorrow.. we shall scavenge what we can for tonight.
After dinner and baths.. the temptress put the children to bed. They drifted off quickly from their exhaustion. She locked the door to the room and retreated to the balcony to think. Her mind drifted back in time... going over everything that had happened.. she closed her eyes and listened to the night....
Outside the catacombs, the overlord shifted back to normal time. He was in deep thought. It had been a disturbing confrontation. Not only had she been much more furious and powerful than he expected, there had also been another presence in the neighborhood, one that he recognized but yet could not trace. And the damned voices kept whispering to him from within his head, where no sound should enter except the sound received by his artificial ears. He was now 'dreaming' while awake and he didn't like it at all. Were his systems deficient in any way?
He shook the thoughts off and concentrated on the trail. Up til now he could quite clearly smell out the Temptress and the two kids. They had left the catacombs this way, but suddenly the trail ended. Did they have a means of transport? He sensed nothing mechanical having been present here recently.
Quickly he called for one of the idle thopters that were still waiting near the forced entrance to the vaults. Within seconds the sleek dark form sank down from the sky and beamed the man-machine aboard. With a thundering roar the machine rocketed into the sky, higher and higher, aiming a full sensor sweep over the entire area.
No trail. Well, let's see if the Temptress maybe just went home.