Entwined Fates

Ch. 6 it's a small small world

A scent of spoiled meat and excrement filled my nose as I regained consciousness. The back of my neck was throbbing from whatever hit me. Opening my eyes, the first thing I noticed was my hands tied behind the back of the chair I was sitting in; it was laughable to a witch. The second thing I noticed, was that my magic decided not to work at that very crucial moment.

~So much for being a witch.~

Finally, looking around, I took note of my surroundings. I couldn't actually see much because of how dark it was, but I picked up some things. To my left were multiple ceiling to floor windows; some were broken while others were boarded up. Outside were wooden planks similar to those of a pier. I heard the crashing of waves against the rocks.

To the right there was old machinery littered with rust and dead fish.

~Explains the shitty smell~

There was a moan behind me and I remembered Duncan and Sam. It was bewildering as to why they were taken with me. My only guess was that they were going to be used against me.

" Hey, are you okay? " I said frantically when there was no follow-up.

"Ugh, my head feels like I was smacked by a brick"

Duncan's voice echoed gently through the building. I nearly cried at the response.

"God it smells terrible in here"

" Well, at least you're okay."

" Tell that to my nose."

Duncan's sarcasm helped me relax to a degree. My focus shifted to Sam since he was still unconscious. What was worse is that I actually saw him get knocked out, which didn't help ease my mind.

"Sam, Sam wake up"

He didn't respond when I urgently needed him to. I tried to knock my chair against his but they were welded to the floor.

~who the hell welds chairs to the ground!

"Duncan, I need you to knock Sam on the head to wake him up. I'm not at a good angle."

"Need I remind you... my head.. hurts like a break.... has crashed into my skull?"

" Yeah, so is mine, but we have to make sure Sam's okay. So do it"

" Yes Lady Palpatine"

There was shuffling behind me and then a noise like the sound of two bowling balls hitting each other.

"f**k, I think that's where I got hit!"

After Duncan's loud exclaimation, a softer groan could be heard.

"Sam!"

It had taken him a few minutes but he finally said something.

" What happened?"

" If it's not obvious yet, I'm pretty sure we've been kidn*pped by a homeless person and they plan to kill us for their enjoyment."

" Glad to know you are still the same Duncan, even in this situation."

There were a few clanking noises as Sam struggled to free his hands.

"Any ideas as to why we were taken?"

Sam was the logical one, so he asked the logical questions, but I didn't know how to answer. My biggest concern was that they were taken because of me and that stupid calamity vision. I didn't want to involve them in my witch mess and somehow they ended up involved anyway.

" I think it was because of me."

Duncan spoke barely in a whisper. What he said didn't make any sense and I was about to tell him that, when a loud scrapping noise stopped me. In the far right corner there was light trickling in from a doorway that had just opened. Walking in was the blind man from before, following behind him with a familiar face from a not-so distant dream. They both stopped in front of us and he lifted his head so I could see more clearly. The golden eyes were other worldly and convinced me it was the dream boy.

"You! " my voice called out before I could stop myself. Sam didn't miss a beat with a follow-up question.

" You know him Tide?"

" Know is a very strong word, more like encountered once."

It wasn't a lie, because I really didn't know the guy. Examining him closer, I noticed he was doing well to mask his emotions, but I could see the confusion in his eyes.

~Does he not remember? How are you going to make out with someone, albeit through a dream, and not remember?~

The idea of that being the case made me angry; more angry than I should've been towards a stranger. I had a feeling he was a bad guy, but I wasn't expecting that reaction. Breaking through my storm of angry thoughts was a gruff Russian accent.

"Welcome, tonight marks the beginning of the end."

As the echoes died down, I realized the voice came from the blind man. He was staring at something right behind me, which was odd since he was blind.

"Viktor, why have you called upon us? Do you realize what time it is here?"

An angry shrill female voice came from behind me. The unexpected presence caused me to tilt my head back to see who spoke.

"Are complaints the only thing you know, Veronica? It's unbefitting of someone in your position."

The voice that asked the question was smooth like velvet. After going back as far as I could, I saw three large projections. I couldn't make out the faces due to my angle, but I knew the projections were magic. The female voice from before came out of the left projection.

"How dare you? If you weren't half way across the world, I would personally end you."

"SILENCE!" Roared out from the center projection. A shudder travelled down my spine as well as shut the other figures up.

"You snivelling children need to learn to respect your elders. Please, continue Viktor."

The ocean waves could be heard with the quietness lingering in the air. The blind man, now Viktor, stood stunned by the booming voice. Looking closely, I made out a small grimace

~I wonder if loud noises affect him?~

The boy next to him elbowed him.

"Viktor, speak!"

"Right, as m'lady has requested, we have captured the girl as well as her friends."

A cold sweat matted my back and it became really hard to breathe when reality rushed in. I heard the shifts of turning as the boys were probably looking at me. Viktor continued.

" We've managed to obtain the allegiance of several small communities wishing for omission of harm. Going forward, Gavin will be explaining and communicating with you all as to what happens next."

~His name is Gavin? I can't say it's my favorite name. ~

Gavin stepped forward, placing his hands behind his back in a military fashion. I couldn't help but study his features. He wore simple clothes, a white tee and black cargo pants. From what I could tell, everything fit him quite nicely. My brow furrowed the longer I stared at him.

~ Is this really the guy from my dream? Well, his dream. There's something off that I can't explain.~

"The next!" he was cut off by the owner of the shrill voice, Victoria.

"Before you continue, why are the prisoners awake? Even a fool should know not to give out important details in front of conscious hostages. Is the alchemist association slipping up?"

~Alchemist?~

At the question of his intelligence and the remark about his association, Gavins' face twisted. I didn't know much about them, but I heard rumors of a militia-type organization who took advantage of any resource they could come by. My parents didn't like to talk about it but I recall our community getting assistance from them a couple of times.

It didn't take him long to return to a calmer state with a forced smile.

"You needn't worry about that. We've been given devices by our benefactor that keep everything disclosed from those not recognized in its system."

~He must be lying, I can hear them just fine. Great, not only is Dreamboy a bad guy, he's also a liar. But his voice is different. I'm starting to question my dream memory!~

"Fine get on with it" was huffed out, and Gavin smiled victoriously.

"As I was about to say, Stage two is to find and collect the stones, gems to be exact, in the locations you presently are in. Our benefactor gave you all the tools you'll need to find them. The sooner the better. Once they are found, you must bring them to the association where you'll be debriefed on what to do next."

Too much information was being relayed at once and my list of concerns was only growing. I heard three signs of agreement before silence fell upon the warehouse again. Gavin looked over at me, more like glaring, before coming over and crouching down in front of me. Even though his eyes were golden, I did not feel the same effects as before, making me more confused. His face was smug and all I wanted to do was get away from him. Something said he wasn't dangerous magic wise, but he definitely wasn't likable. He started to raise his hand and for a moment I thought he was going to hit me.

"Get away from her!"

The boys' shouts almost sounded feral. I'd never heard them so angry, but the one in front of me only chuckled and stood up.

"Such fierce protectors. What are you gonna do? You can't even escape from your chains. I could just..."

He grabbed a fist full of my hair, causing me to cry out as he yanked my head up.

"Take advantage of her right here."

I heard the harsh clanking sounds as both Sam and Duncan strained against their bindings. My vision blurred slightly when a tear escaped my left eye. He looked down at my face, a cruel smile playing at his lips like he enjoyed seeing my pain.

" All this work for a bunch of loser nobodies"

" That's enough. m'lady said don't do anything rash and as I see your hands near your pants, rash is all you know."

I felt the relief in my head when he finally let go. His attention shifted. Gavin left my side to glare up at Viktor. The height difference was comical and if I weren't trying to process what almost happened; I would've laughed.

"Viktor, since when do YOU order ME around?"

Uneffected by his shouting, the giant of a man grabbed Gavin by his neck and slammed him into the ground. Everything shook around us while dust and dirt flew into the air from the impact. All I could do was gawk and from the sounds of Sam and Duncan froze too. Viktors effortlessly held Gavin to the floor, leaning in extremely close.

"You think you have power; you have none. Your father will hear of this once we are back."

Viktor released him, then came over to us.

" I apologize on his behalf, he has anger issues to put bluntly."

His large hand gently patted my head before stalking off out the door, leaving Gavin still on the ground. There was pure hatred in his eyes when he turned toward me, then walked out too, slamming the door closed. My voice was caught in my throat, not knowing where to even begin.

"f**k!"

I jumped at Duncans' rage,

" Why the f**k can't I break these chains? That bastard doesn't deserve to live!"

His breathing was ragged, letting his anger get the best of him. I felt responsible for it. It was my fault we were even here and I just wanted to cry. Never in my life have I been threatened to that degree nor was it possible for anyone to go through with it. I choked back a sob trying to calm down.

"Are you okay, Tide?"

Sam's cool voice was tainted with his own anger as he restrained himself. I just nodded but I could feel his gaze, knowing he had another question, the question, I feared. There was no point in hiding it anyway. After all, there was only one "girl" present. I took a deep breath to sooth my chaotic heart. It never crossed my mind at how difficult it was to tell the truth after so many years of friendship; it'd be a lie to say I wasn't scared.

"I'm sorry" were the first words that spilled out of my mouth. When the boys said nothing, I continued

"I haven't been the most honest friend. It's not that I didn't want to, I was just scared. Scared to lose you both after all these years together, but now I've put you both in danger. Of course, I didn't think this would happen in a million years, but please don't hate me for it."

" Calm down Tide, and just tell us. Its like you said to me earlier, there's nothing that will turn us against you."

"I'm a full-blooded witch and was told about some bad things that were going to happen and that I'm involved somehow and now we're here."

If I had to place a theme for the night, it would be silence because it once again surrounded us. I held my breath and waited for something to break the silence. I wasn't expecting chuckling to be it. Both Sam and Duncan were laughing without a care in the world.

"Is that what you were worried about? I think I got you beat in that department."

Duncan's jovialness was baffling but infectious.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since we're sharing secrets and we all seem to be involved, there's no point in hiding my stuff anymore."

Just then the tightness around my wrist vanished and my hands were free. I got up confused when I turned around to face them. Duncan was smugly smiling and nodded at me to look down behind his chair. Surprise did not begin to describe what I felt when I saw his hands. Black sharpened nails on elongated fingers replaced the normal human hand I was used to. There was what looked like fur forming in patching all around his wrist.

"That explains why you always smelled like a dog."

"Shut up Sam, how can you even see what's happening?"

" You're not the only one with a sensitive nose."

Their daily bickering brought me back to my senses and made my eyes roll. My heart was light, however, knowing I wasn't the only one keeping secrets. The dreams now make sense once I put the pieces together, and I didn't feel nearly as bad. Soon a thought formulated in my mind though.

" If I go based off your dreams, that means you're a wolf Duncan, but what are you Sam? You bit me, so I figured, vampire, but you're not dead."

He looked at me like I was crazy.

"I don't recall seeing you in any.."

His voice trailed off and eyes widened in what I could only perceive as horror mixed with anger. I imagine if he could use his hands he'd be smacking his head with it. A lengthy sigh escaped his lips resigned to the fact given.

"It's a complicated story but you are correct, I am a vampire and I am not dead. I'll have to explain that later."

" On a side note, what were you doing snooping in our dreams hm, trying to see some things you're supposed to, scandalous" Duncan chirped in

"No, I was just curious if I could do it I wasn't expecting to get ambushed by a bunch of wolves, then nearly assaulted twice."

Realization finally hit Duncan's features as he put two and two together. His face turned beet red and was the cutest I had ever seen him.

" That's what you get for breaking into peoples dreams"

" As much as I would love to know what happened, is there a way to free us? Whoever these people are already knew about us since Duncan and I have chains instead of rope."

" That shouldn't matter. In my case, I can usually break out of chains due to the wolf's strength, but they won't budge."

Moving to the other side, I crouched to examine the chains closer. At first glance they seemed like normal chains, so I didn't understand what the problem was until I touched them. There was a hum at my fingertips letting me know magic was involved. The spell wasn't difficult, but the problem was my own magic acting wonky.

"Looks like the chains are spelled"

" Can you break it?"

" I can try, but my magic hasn't been the most reliable lately."

I concentrated on slowing my breathing and envisioning what I wanted. There were many different ways to break a spell. It mainly depended on who cast it in the first place and how it was being broken. Most of the time, I relied on my instincts to cast and maybe that lack of structure was causing my magic to fail. I thought about the chains and then the aura of the spell wrapped around them.

~If I could just find a weak spot, I wouldn't have to cast an actual and instead just poor my magic into it, simple enough~

Or so I thought. Whoever cast the spell was way more advanced than me and I couldn't find a single opening. I was frustrated at my lack of skill. If I had managed to get to the compound I could've got more training, no offense to my parents; they just took things too slow.

~Fine! Come on magic, give me anything that'll get rid of these chains.~

I suppressed a giggle as the magic rushed forward, filling my mental image with white. A word was whispered and repeated in my head. Instincts told me to grab both sets of chains before speaking the word.

"Scigliere"

As soon as I said it, the magic left my body through my hands. I was flung back by the force once it was released. The chains were glowing bright white before slowly dripping to the floor. There were shouts of joy when Sam and Duncan sprang up and came over to me. My eyes were still glued to what was left of the chains as the magic moved to the chair and began dissolving it. The boys followed my gaze and Duncan broke my stupor with a long whistle, watching the chairs turn to puddles of metal.

"Did you mean to do that?"

"No, I only focused on the chains."

Two hands reached down to help me up. I decided I could worry about it later. My magic was telling me to run and that was what I was going to do. I pulled the boys towards one of the shattered windows, hoping to get a head start on the enemy. I was correct about the pier but nothing looked familiar. There was a lush forest surrounding us which resembled anything except home, but it was the only option available to us. The wind was shaking the trees menacingly as we approached. There was something enchanted about the forest but there was no time to ponder and Duncan started shoving me forward.

" We need to go right now! Those things are coming."

Out the corner of my eye I saw fast movements headed in our direction. We dashed into the forest without looking back. The gurgling howls of those black creatures behind us. Snapped branches mixed in with the sounds of our harsh breathing, I almost tripped several times on the large roots at our feet.

" Sam, can you run faster than that?"

Duncan shouted when he looked back. The growls weren't subsiding and were gradually getting closer.

"Yeah"

"I'm gonna shift, Tide you need to get on my back without stopping or we're dead."

I was not the athlete of our group and it was showing, I was slowing us down. I was determined to escape though and just nodded my head in agreement. At that. Duncan sped up slightly, disappearing from my vision. Moments passed and if it weren't for the adrenaline pumping through my veins I would've given up already. Soon there was thumping to the right side of me and a massive gray wolf was running along with me. It could easily surpass me with the strength of its legs but kept pace with me. It looked over and nodded towards me, a silent signal for me to get on.

As I began reaching for him, a large blackened claw came smashing down between us. Duncan let out a snarl, glaring back at the shadowy mass that caught up with us. I made the mistake of checking behind me, getting a good eyeful of its face. My blood went icy seeing only glowing white orbs and a grotesque mouth as it let out a screech and reached for me. I just barely dodged, a stinging pain formed on the back of my arm. Duncan ran faster, his large form bounding for a tree before using it to leap off and tackle the shadow. They went tumbling and I heard a yelp. I didn't know how to help, my magic was to unpredictable.

Even though that shadow was the only one that caught up, the others weren't far behind. The windings of the forest were becoming wilder the deeper in we went. My heart was pounding, my lungs burned like hell and I didn't know how much longer I was going to last, the forest seemed endless. Sam was staying in front to make sure I was still behind him.

~Come on, body, one step, two steps, don't stop, we can't stop. Those things are more terrifying than the captors themselves.~

I did everything to keep going but my legs were starting to get sluggish. Each step was heavier than the last and I knew I was slowing down.

"Tide! Watch out"

Sam's voice shouted at me. I turned my head to the right and saw another creature bounding towards me at full speed. It's mouth was snapping open and closed and was just about to reach me until I was harshly thrust forward. My hands brushed something soft and I took whatever strength I had to latch onto it. A howl rang out and by the relief on Sam's face I knew it was Duncans. Everything was a blur after that. I focused on staying on Duncan's back, his every stride threatening to throw me off if I loosen my grip. Sam was keeping up. He used the large trees to his advantage, repelling off them for large leaps.

Although the growling was still behind us, I saw hope as lights appeared in front of us. The closer we were to them, the more ferocious the shadow creatures were trying to catch us. However, they were too late as we broke through to the edge of the town. The lights were blinding after traveling so long in the dark. Dirt and trees gave way to cobblestone and small ruts and stalls. Duncan stopped further before noticing those things weren't following us anymore. They stood convulsing and growling on the outskirts where the light didn't reach.

"Come on", Sam said, pointing for us to go further in. Duncan turned to move but I felt the need to look back again. Out of the shadows came a hooded figure. The only recognizable features were a tall build like 5'll and the golden eyes that I've come to know. He just watched before going back into the shadows and my gut told me that wasn't the last I'd see of him.

Looking ahead, I noticed Sam had stopped when he turned the corner, a bizarre expression was on his face. Once Duncan joined him, I understood why. At first, the street resembled a Chinese town of some sort, but what stood out were the various non-human beings roaming the streets.

"Where the hell are we?!"