Author:
Audience Rating:
Publication:
Character Age:
Other Keywords:
Permission:
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 14: London
Richard Smythe, the leader of the Dark Forces, fumed as he sat at his desk in his plush office on the thirty seventh floor of The Gherkin. He fumed because he was listening to one of his more intelligent minions, a human female in a smart, gray suit dress, stand in front of him and ever so carefully give a status report of the recent battle on the train. The minion finished her report by mentioning that the dragon requested some healing and quickly left the office without even asking for permission to leave. She kept her wits about her as she noticed the man's darkening mood and thereby kept her life.
Richard held an old, wooden pencil, recently snapped in half, in his left hand, and a small, decorative glass paperweight in his right that he threw against the far wall, leaving a dent in the plaster.
"They took out my dragon! Those bloody bitches took out my dragon!" he shouted. Then, much more quietly as he regained his composure, "They destroyed the Eye of the Illuminati, defeated a small force of trolls and goblins and stopped a full-grown dragon. I'm through playing games."
He buzzed his personal assistant, an older woman also dressed nicely in a sky blue suit dress, and told her to arrange a special midnight council for that same evening. He wanted to accelerate his plans for taking over the UK. With that out of the way, he sat back in his black leather chair and took several deep breaths to calm himself. He still had to plan a welcome for the new trio on their visit to London. If he had his way, their stay would be quite unpleasant and short.
The girls had long since climbed back into the passenger car of the train, using magic to minimize any drama of course, with the only real trouble being Ash as he jumped up on Dani and singed her jeans. The girl fended off her hot, invisible companion, magically mended her jeans and she and her sisters soon found themselves sitting in their seats and whispering excitedly about their recent battle.
The train pulled into King's Cross Station without fanfare or any trouble, and when it finally stopped, excitement turned to apprehension. The girls gathered their things with Ash in tow and left the train, heading for the nearby entrance to the London Underground, a large subway system that went by the nickname of the Tube.
The Tube consisted of an extensive network of underground railways that transported people all around the large city. At a modest cost, a passenger could quickly ride to a stop nearest their intended destination without getting stuck in traffic in the streets above. It had its own share of problems but it generally served the city well.
The girls bought tickets, went through the turnstiles and rode the long escalator down to the railway platforms, making sure to keep Ash surrounded so no one would trip over him. Dani and Pat ignored the long series of adverts placed on the wall along the escalator but Simone seemed fascinated by the bold colors and brash subjects. She even squealed once and would've made even more of a fuss if Dani hadn't shot her a sudden fierce glare. They couldn't afford to do anything that would draw attention to themselves. The fetch already felt several pairs of eyes watching them, and at least one of those pairs of eyes felt like it was most unfriendly.
When they reached the bottom of the escalator, they stepped off and Dani quietly cast a spell, pulling water vapor with her through the tunnels across to their departure platform. When they arrived, she mentally contacted her sisters.
'We're going to skip two trains so follow my lead.'
The twins nodded and a serious game of cat and mouse began.
With a second spell, the temperature dropped from uncomfortably warm to chilly cool, and the strong breeze that had been blowing through the tunnel noticeably calmed, carrying with it a dense fog that arrived just before the next train. Dani took advantage of the fog, removing Ash's invisibility spell and changing his shape into that of a human with the appearance of an older teenage boy. With the way he'd been growing, he had enough mass to be half a head taller than Dani and he had an impressive physique. The fetch outdid herself. She added a simple outfit consisting of a gray tee shirt, shorts and trainers with ankle socks, all in special heat-resistant materials, and declared him finished. She couldn't change his basic nature. He still radiated a lot of heat but he'd pass as human.
Pat and Simone couldn't wait to see him properly but they had to wait a little while after getting rid of the thick fog.
Passengers complained as they filed into the cars of the train. The train left the station, pulling the dissipating fog with it and drawing some stowaways both in and behind the last car.
Ash and the girls noticed the unwanted attention that the train received. They'd been standing back against the tiled wall of the platform. They weren't exactly invisible but they appeared to blend in perfectly, with their clothes, skin and hair changing colors and patterns to exactly match the dirty, cream colored tiles on the wall behind them. Dani called it the chameleon spell. Her intuition informed her that the Dark Forces would now most likely detect invisibility so she used fog and the chameleon spell instead.
Nothing and no one seemed to notice them but the four of them remained perfectly still according to Dani's instructions. The next train arrived and they watched as several more dodgy looking humanoids boarded it. The decision to watch and wait for the third train proved a good one.
The fetch watched for the right moment, when none of the few people in the area looked her way, and removed the chameleon spell. She herded Ash and her sisters to a bench at the far end of the platform and went to work, using another spell to make a few more modifications. With Ash standing to provide some cover, she first concentrated on Simone's face and hair and then changed the color of her short-sleeved top to a powder blue. After finishing with the younger twin, Pat gasped. Simone looked exactly like Kate. Dani worked on Pat next, making her look like Emma with a gray top, and for her third try, she made herself look like Jenna with a green top.
"Camouflage and psychological warfare," Dani said, flashing her sisters a wicked smile. The Dark Forces would be looking for girls dressed in white tops with their true faces, not the faces of the dead trio. According to Dani's intuition, only the commanding trio of the Dark Forces would have any idea of what the dead trio looked like. When they finally faced each other in battle, Dani hoped their appearance would create an advantage by unnerving the dark trio.
"Me feel funny," Ash said suddenly after hearing Dani speak. Then he looked confused. "My voice. Where my voice?"
Dani giggled.
"Sorry, Ash. You look human now so you'll sound more like a human. But don't worry. I've memorized the template for your original form so I can change you back. For now, just try to get used to your new look and new voice. We don't want to talk much anyway. Someone might overhear us."
Ash nodded and accepted his new form. He didn't like it but he understood the importance of the mission.
The next train pulled up to the platform just at that moment — great timing. The four of them took the Victoria line down to Warren Street station and crossed over to the Northern line, ending up at Tottenham Court Road station, very near the British Museum. They told their Mum that they'd visit the museum and they didn't want to lie. Besides, they wanted to keep the Dark Forces busy looking for them all round the city in the hopes of tiring them out a little.
Ash and the girls rode the long escalator up to the station and emerged on New Oxford Street. They walked a couple blocks along Great Russell Street and soon found themselves at the museum, paying the entrance fee and having a good long look around.
The huge room just inside the entrance impressed all of them with the curved glass ceiling and round white structure in the middle. Simone wanted to explore the round structure but Dani insisted on skipping it. They didn't have time. There were several key exhibits that she felt were a must so they moved to an adjacent room to start with the Egyptian exhibit.
The Rosetta Stone, along with lots of Egyptian and Greek sculptures in the same wing gave them lots to talk about but sadly, they didn't have time to see any more. Dani feared that they'd lose track of time in the huge museum so she bought a guide book in the gift shop on the way out and she and her sisters headed towards the Tube to reach their final destination. The Dark Forces wouldn't wait forever.
The trio didn't make it to the next Tube station right away. Simone saw a flyer for the Cartoon Museum and begged to go.
"Please, Dani! It's just over a block on Little Russell Street. It's practically on the way."
"We don't have time!" Dani hissed.
"We could use a little humor before we get into it with the dark side."
"Dark Forces," Pat corrected, clearly out of sync with her twin.
"You know what I mean!" Simone said. She came close to crying and Dani gave in. The oldest sister noticed that their synchronization weakened when one or more of the girls became upset. The British Museum was grand but too serious and stuffy. They needed some comedy relief.
They did end up enjoying themselves for a good hour as they walked round the Cartoon Museum together. The museum was much smaller and less impressive than the British Museum but it had its own charm and a much lighter atmosphere. As they looked at the cartoons, even Pat giggled several times, covering her mouth in embarrassment each time. When one found something funny and giggled, they all eventually started giggling. By the time they left, they were in perfect sync.
The cartoons helped elevate their mood and they marched with a lighter step on to Holden Station, riding the Central line to Bank Station and switching over to the eastern split of the Northern line. They continued down to London Bridge Station, their final stop, and left the station in the direction of the River Thames. As soon as they reached the area near London Bridge City Pier, they walked across the gangplank and hunkered down on the pier to review their plans for the coming battle.
The floating pier gave the trio easy access to a great supply of water and elemental water magic. So far, everything was moving according to plan.
The four of them were pleased with how well everything was going, but after Pat and Simone took some time to have a good look west at the nearest bridge, they became a little confused.
"That's London Bridge?" asked Simone. "It doesn't look very impressive."
Pat nodded in agreement until Dani tapped the twins on the shoulder and pointed down river. "I think you're confusing London Bridge with Tower Bridge."
The three of them looked over at Tower Bridge, with its two sturdy towers connected by a pair of horizontal walkways, and sighed.
"That's better," Simone and Pat said. Dani had the same thought but decided not to add her voice.
They chose the pier on the south side of the river as their battleground so they had the River Thames between them and The Gherkin. During their planning back home in Norton, the golem girls didn't seem to think it mattered since the Dark Forces would likely be spread out on both sides of the river but they agreed for symbolic reasons if nothing else. One side would represent the dark and the other side, light.
Dani raised a finger to her lips and made a shushing sound to remind Ash not to talk and give themselves away. They weren't alone on the pier. Several people stood at the railing, looking and pointing at all of the sights in the area.
The disguised salamander knew the girl's gesture and gave a slight nod to acknowledge it.
'Remember,' the girl then said telepathically to her sisters. 'We cut off the head and the body dies.'
'Right,' Pat and Simone sent back together.
'We need to hit fast and hard,' Dani continued. 'We stop the dark trio and the Dark Forces will be vulnerable to anarchy. There can't be much loyalty to the three men if what Wanda said is accurate. We do that and we win.'
"Time to get their attention," all three girls said aloud, getting a funny look from Ash who wasn't in on the telepathic conversation.
Richard sat at his desk, quietly fuming... again. The messenger woman was back with nothing good to report. She sensed an approaching verbal storm again and quickly left before the thunder rolled out of Richard's mouth.
"You sneaky little twats!" he shouted. "What are you playing at? Where are you?"
A blast of water suddenly sprayed against his office window, startling him. He whipped his head around and watched as drops of water connected to form little rivulets. The rivulets twisted and turned on the window to spell out words, two or three at a time.
"WE'RE WAITING!"
"Waiting?" the man said. "Where?"
"LONDON BRIDGE..."
Richard sighed. "Which London Bridge?" He didn't believe they'd refer to the proper bridge in spite of any sign posts.
"IS SO NOT..."
"Such reprehensible grammar these days. It's just as well that I plan to destroy all the schools."
"FALLING DOWN..."
"London Bridge is falling down? Or not if I correctly read their bad grammar."
"FALLING DOWN..."
Richard scowled.
"FALLING DOWN..."
"Please. Please don't finish the song." He tried to ignore the rest of the message. He knew what the words meant, or thought he did. But he couldn't look away.
"LONDON BRIDGE..."
"IS SO NOT..."
"FALLING DOWN..."
"Just finish it!" the man shouted, at the end of his patience.
"MY FAIR WANKER."
The message finished with a crude but obvious representation of the distinctive Tower Bridge and then ended. The water resumed its normal behavior of running down the window and began to evaporate in the midday heat.
"Droll," Richard said without humor. "Very droll."
He buzzed his personal assistant.
"Yes, Mister Smythe?"
"Miss Jones, please inform all of my... associates that they're to converge at Tower Bridge in ten minutes."
"Yes, Mister Smythe."
He opened a drawer in his desk, grabbed his mobile and quickly stood up, speed dialing his favorite verbal punching bag as he did so.
"Ray? It's begun. Get in here. Now. And don't forget Peter this time. I'm in no mood for mistakes."
He hung up and paced in front of his desk, thinking about the message from the girls. He knew that the song didn't actually refer to Tower Bridge — it actually referred to much older bridges that were long since destroyed — but most people associated the two anyway. He figured that the girls would get it wrong, thinking they had an inferior education because of their bad grammar. And that's exactly what the girls wanted him to think.
Ash and the three girls stood at the west end of the London Bridge City Pier, enjoying the early afternoon sun. They scanned the area on the far side of the river down near Tower Bridge. A few mundane citizens still remained on the pier, though most seemed to have gotten nervous and left when they started seeing impossible sights flying overhead. The only others on the pier were a mother and her young daughter who stood at the opposite end, looking down river at Tower Bridge, and one older gentleman who sat on a bench whilst snacking on a packet of crisps.
"I'm sensing movement," Pat said aloud, earning a smirk from Dani.
'Maintain verbal silence!' the older girl shouted telepathically. 'Mental communication only until this battle is over! You got that, soldier?!'
'Yes, Ma'am!' Pat and Simone both replied and smiled.
'Remember. Keep that water magic ready. I'll wait until they're close to the river and then let 'em have it. We don't know exactly what they look like but we have a verbal description of one of them from Emma and we know to look for three men together. My far vision spell is active so I should be able to spot them.'
'Right,' the twins said.
The girls managed to stay calm — only pretending to be afraid to reduce suspicion — as they saw all various members of the Dark Forces strut about in broad daylight, daring anyone to stop them. The Dark Forces were brazen though they did hide what weapons they carried. They didn't want to force the police to get in the way.
Battle-scarred men in black leather were bad enough but there were worse things. Orcs, dark elves and evil dwarves, all wearing dark sunglasses, walked among the cowering mundane citizens. Even trolls and a few giants who towered over the trolls wandered the streets. Then there were the creatures. Griffins and wyverns flew overhead with giant snakes and enormous centipedes slithering about the alleys. The dark army covered every square inch of the area around Tower Bridge and came up empty.
Richard and the other two members of his trio stood in the shadows near the entrance to the Tube's Tower Hill Station, across from the Tower of London. They knew better than to get near the River Thames. The girls would gain an advantage, however small, with all of the water in the large river and they weren't taking any chances. Too many things had gone wrong since killing Jenna's trio.
"Where are those girls?!" Richard said, gritting his teeth and barely suppressing the urge to kill something. The only two living, breathing beings near him at that moment were the members of his trio and he couldn't kill them without seriously handicapping himself.
"I don't know," Ray replied.
"I wasn't talking to you, you arse. Just keep my magic ready."
"Yes, sir."
"I can't see anything from here. We need to get a better view."
The evil trio moved towards the west side of the Tower of London, away from Tower Bridge and significantly closer to London Bridge. The leader didn't trust the girls so he thought he'd stay well clear of Tower Bridge. Even so, he had Peter and Ray lead the way. When they came within view of the river, Richard briefly stopped, letting the other two men continue forward. He felt like he was being watched and he didn't like it. It was more of a prey reaction and he wasn't prey. He was the predator here.
The leader looked all round him and mentally chastised himself for being nervous. He continued on but still hung well back from Peter and Ray.
Dani perked up suddenly, surprising her sisters. She stood up and leaned against the railing, staring down river.
'Do you hear that?' she asked the twins.
'Hear what?' they replied. 'We only hear you and normal city background noise.'
'I definitely heard another voice in my head. It sounded familiar somehow but it can wait. I think I have the trio and they're in a great position near the river. Listen to this….'
Dani described the three men that came into view in front of the Tower of London. Two of them were fairly close to the river and the third followed at a fair distance. One of the two men in front fit Emma's description but it was the feeling that she got from her intuition that told her they were the ones. The twins agreed. It was only a matter of when to trigger the trap as the three men moved ever closer to the water.
'Troll at three o'clock!' Pat and Simone mentally shouted after looking over at the south river bank.
Dani moved back with her sisters, pretending to cringe in fear. She made sure to face the troll so it could see that she looked nothing like her true self.
The troll gave her a casual glance and kept walking, disappearing back into the building that stood nearest the pier on the south bank.
'All clear,' the twins said.
'Right,' Dani said, looking back to check on the evil trio. 'They obviously haven't spotted us yet so they're expanding their search area. Keep building up that magic in the river near the men. I've waited as long as I dare. I'm flying over to it now. I'll need to be closer to pull this off.'
'Wait!' Pat and Simone said. 'What about invisibility?'
'I suspect that would attract attention faster than if I simply flew. I'm sure they expect us to try an invisibility spell so they probably have some magic that detects it. I bet I'd show up like a flare at night. They'd swarm me in seconds.'
'There must be some way to sneak up on them. What about going under water?'
'That might work but we didn't plan for it. They could have serpents in the river. Remember the one in Askern Lake?'
The twins shivered.
'Look. I can't swim nearly as fast as I can fly. I probably wouldn't be fast enough. But they won't expect me to be bold enough to be visible when I fly over near them. I'll have the element of surprise. Besides, I want them to see Jenna's face. Remember?'
The twins nodded and finally agreed to let their older sister get on with the original plan.
After a quick look around to see that there were no cruise vessels about on the river, Dani looked at her sisters and gave a very short, slow nod and then marched to the east side of the pier to get as close as possible to the evil trio. She considered creating a distraction for the mother and daughter who stubbornly stood nearby but shrugged her shoulders instead and magically launched herself into the air. She was a girl with a plan and she wasn't going to let herself fail.
The little girl immediately pointed and shouted, "Look, Mummy! That girl is flying!"
The mother saw the flying girl and gasped. She'd finally seen too much. She grabbed her daughter by the hand and pulled her by the hand back up the gangplank, with the daughter crying out, "I wanna fly too! Please, Mummy!"
The woman and girl were almost immediately followed by the old man. He didn't see Dani fly away but he finished his crisps and decided to go get something else to eat. Ash and the twins soon stood alone on the pier, watching the brave teen fly out over the river.
"Be careful, Dani," Simone whispered with Pat and Ash nodding agreement.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
