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"You a friend of uh… Miss. Maxwell?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Why? Has something happened to her?"
"Nope, just curious. It's about three days worth of hiking up that road there. It's shorter if you have a snowmobile."
"Can't I drive up there?"
"No and you haven't got chains on this car even if you could."
"Oh. Is there a faster way up there?"
"By boat. There's a beach access staircase up there. It's one hell of a climb on the knees, but if you can make it, more power to you."
"Where can I get a boat up there?"
"I'll take you up there. I just have to go call Earl to watch the store."
"That would be wonderful. Thank you."
About two hours later, Emerald and Bob pulled up along the shore near the beach access staircase.
"We're here. Just let me pull along side the beach here."
Emerald sensed Lynda before Lynda sensed her.
* Thank the gods Pierson is not around. * She thought.
She still couldn't believe Lynda was one of her kind, but then Emerald remembered that she knew Lynda was a pre-immortal. Emerald climbed up the staircase, arrived at Lynda's dining room sliding doors, and knocked softly.
Lynda suddenly felt a presence. She didn't want to believe that Adam had come after her.
* Run Lynda run! * Lynda thought as she decided whether or not to flee.
She had gotten used to Adam's signal but this one she did not recognize. She grabbed her gun from the small pouch under her sofa, just in case she needed a quick get away. Lynda had been trying to use some of her time to prove and accept to herself that she was indeed immortal, but she was having a hard time. The curtains were drawn and Lynda couldn't see Emerald. Once again she took a familiar stance, behind the curtain in her robe and slippers. She pulled back a bit of the curtain and saw Emerald. Then she quickly pulled back the curtain and unlocked the sliding door to let her in. Lynda was surprised to see Emerald.
"Hi Em! It's good to see you. I'm sorry this place is a little messy," Emerald looked around and the place was spotless ad she gave Lynda a hug.
"Hey Lyn, how are you doing?"
"I've seen better days. You're one of them too?"
"Yes, I am and I'm glad that we both are. I hear you aren't adjusting to well and I know immortality is a hard thing to accept. I have to tell you, I couldn't accept my new life at first either. I was in such terrible denial. I came up with another personality to deal with it all. It helps me to fight and since I am still here today, it's worked so far. When I couldn't deal with all the blood and chopping off heads, Emmy came alive. Emmy can take anyone and anything on, and it helps me while I'm training."
"Ah and the name of this little birdie, that told you, I assume is Adam Pierson?"
"Yes, Lyn. You do know him? I wasn't sure when he called. I didn't want to get you in more trouble."
"Yeah, he's a pest that won't go away. He's the one who compromised my set up in Seacouver, Em, I'm moving out and setting myself up in a whole new town. I liked it there."
"I took some personal time to come help you. Now, I know you don't want to do this, but you need a teacher and a sword now, Lyn."
"Damn it! I wish everyone would stop trying to help me! I don't want any help and I don't need any. I'll make it just fine!"
"Lynda just take a few deep breaths and calm down."
"I don't want to become some alternate personality that flips on and off like a switch, I want me."
"Well if that is what you want then, follow that creed, be you, but you have to find out who you are first."
"I am so tired Em, I was so tired of dying of cancer, getting sicker, living, and now I find that my life has just begun forever."
"Lyn trust me. The training will get you in shape, but you have to want to go through the routines. It takes a lot of discipline to conquer Mt. Everest."
"Em, don't you get it? I don't want to be in whatever this is. I don't want to climb any mountain."
"Damn it Lyn… You need to get laid," Emerald said to throw Lynda off her thought path and lighten the mood a little.
Lynda laughed, "What does me getting laid have to do with any of this?"
"Absolutely nothing, I got you to laugh."
"Well, I guess I could claim being a virgin for eternity now…"
"Maybe, maybe not. Listen, if you still want to end it all, I'd be honored to have your head if you want me to, but I'd rather not since we are such good friends."
"Whoa, take my head? Take my head where," Lynda asked, suddenly frightened, backing away from her.
"By the stroke of a sword, your head is released from your body, and your quickening power is released to the winner."
There is that word Adam mentioned, quickening. Now, Lynda was really confused.
"Let me guess, you haven't been told all the rules of the game yet, have you?"
"What game, what rules? I don't understand."
"When two of us face each other we fight to the death. One of the two will kill the other permanently. The winner takes the quickening power that is released from the one who lost the battle."
"So the only permanent way for me to die is to lose my head?"
"Yes."
"Wonderful, well that's just great," Lynda said sarcastically, "Now everyone is after me and my head."
"Not all Immortals fight. Some stay on Holy Ground or hide from others in the game. Sometimes they end up dead too."
"What exactly is holy ground again?"
"A church, cemetery, or consecrated ground. No one can fight on holy ground, but some evil immortals have."
"Adam told me to go to a church or cemetery, but he didn't tell me it wasn't so safe there."
Lynda wondered if there was more that Adam had been keeping from her, important things she needed to know.
* Maybe he was keeping it from you to have your head all to himself. He only cared enough to get you well enough to make sure your head was his. * Lynda thought.
Her mind was throwing ideas in her head that didn't seem so far fetched. What if Adam had used her to keep her head for himself? She became sickened at the thought.
"As a matter of fact darling, you're on holy ground here. Bob, the gas station attendant, told me you had the ground blessed by an Indian Shaman and you are near other sacred ground up here. Maybe you should just stay up here."
"Yeah, I did. I'm glad I had him do that. At least I know here, no one can rightfully fight me. Do I get anything if I win this game?"
"Yes, but no one knows what it is."
"So Immortals all over the world are fighting each other for heads and quickenings, just to gain a prize that none of them know what it is?"
"Yeah that's about it. In the end, there can be only one winner. The last one gets the prize. Some think that the prize is to rule over the world, other Immortals think it's the ability to have children, and a very few think it is the ability to become mortal and age gracefully like they were meant to."
"Oh well. It all seems like senseless violence to me. Is there an upside to this horrible life?"
"The more quickenings you get, the stronger you become. You heal faster as well. You see things change and how time goes by, what new things mortals develop to try and live longer. The downside is, you could lose your head, your mortal and immortal friends die of old age or are killed by other immortals. Oh and you can't have children of your own."
"Adam said something about not having children, I'll still hope for the best. What happens if someone notices I don't age or I get killed?"
"Then you'll have to disappear for a while. If you end up in the morgue, I suppose Adam or I will come get you. You may have to leave on your own, so get out as fast and as cleanly as possible."
"Is there anything else I should know?"
"Yes, once a challenge is made and another immortal comes around, the new player has to wait his or her turn. They can't interfere, but sometimes there are those that cheat and use guns. Also, if a challenge is made you can run if you don't want to fight, but eventually they will find you, trust me."
"Just great, speaking from experience there Em? Then I guess I'll spend my life running. Maybe one last death, I'll think about it. Thanks for everything, Em. I do in some small way appreciate it."
"Gee thanks. I want you to take this," Emerald pulled out her sword from her red leather trench coat and passed it to Lynda, "I want you to keep this awhile… Just… Just to get used to having a sword. Then I will take you sword shopping later when you think you are ready."
"I… I… I will take it for now, but I won't use it."
"Fair enough. Now I'm going take you out to lunch and I won't take no for an answer. I'm buying."
"Well then I guess I am going to lunch. Let me get dressed, and I can clean up around here later," Lynda said thinking of the dust bunnies still living in her bedroom.
"Lynda, it's fine."
"I haven't tackled the upstairs yet. I'll be right back. I'll take your luggage up to the guest room."
Lynda went upstairs and dropped off Emerald's luggage on the guest room bed. Then she went to her room, pulled on a black sweat suit, a pair of boot socks, and her snow boots. Akamu got up from his spot and barked at Emerald as if she was a danger to Lynda. Lynda came downstairs lickety-split to calm Akamu down and introduce the two to each other.
"Is this your new pet?"
"Yeah, Adam gave him to me. His name is Akamu," Lynda said as she came over to pick him up, "Akamu, she's a friend."
Then suddenly, he stopped barking as Lynda picked him up to put his little coat, booties, and leash on.
"That's an unusual name."
"It's Hawaiian for Adam, because he gave him to me. I was going to call him Adam, but it would have been confusing."
"He's definitely cute and he's been a good watch dog."
Lynda hooks his leash on and puts her parka on, "How did you get up here anyhow?"
"By boat. Bob brought me to the beach access."
"And god, you climbed up that staircase with all that luggage? Wow. Bob should have just sent me a message by one of his birds, to let me know you were here. I could have come and brought you up here. He's got homing pigeons."
"Well, next time I'm up here…"
Lynda locked up and they went down the beach access stair case to the beach where Bob was waiting to take them to town Lynda put Akamu inside her parka and Bob brought them back to Bob's gas station. Then they took Emerald's rental car back to the main road.
It was an hour and a half drive to Port McNeill for lunch. Lynda directed Emerald to a nearby restaurant she spotted on the water's edge. They had the best-fried fish and chips in town, as far as she remembered. Emerald parked and Lynda got Akamu out of the back seat. She put him on a leash, locked, and closed the car door. Emerald automatically locked the doors and then they took a slow walk along the dock to the end to the restaurant. Emerald held open the door for Lynda as they entered the building. The hostess greeted them.
"Welcome to Hidden Cove Lodge, would you like indoor or outdoor dining?"
"Indoors is fine, it's too cold out," said Emerald.
"You can tie the dog to the chair," then the hostess seated the two ladies and gave them menus.
Kiana was at a table nearby and by accident Emerald spotted her out of the corner of her eye.
"Someone will be following you. Don't look now, but that woman over there is following me. I don't know why but I try to ignore her. She had never done anything to me, but it's like having a stalker."
"What? Now I'm going to be tailed like some kind of criminal? I feel like a poor elephant in a pen at the zoo. I am too paranoid as it is, I can just see it now. Oh the headaches!"
"Lyn, take it easy. She hasn't hurt me."
"I thought we were supposed to be kept a secret."
"Well I haven't seen her do anything but follow me. Sometimes I see her when I am in a battle."
"Think of all the shopping," Lynda said, trying to change the subject and thinking of things she had to buy since she was going to be here for a while.
"Yeah, that is what I do best," Emerald laughed.
"So, if you don't mind, just exactly how old are you," Lynda whispered low.
"Hmmm, not counting this year, well I'm about seven-hundred and thirty four years old," she said as she bent forward and whispered in Lynda's ear.
"Oh My God, Em. You don't look a day over twenty-eight!"
"It's all the plastic surgery," she laughed trying to cover up Lynda's surprise, "I really like looking twenty-eight forever."
"I'll be twenty-three forever. Twenty-three, fat, dumb, and depressed forever. What a joy."
"Trust me, with a little training you'll look great and feel better too."
"Do you think we could start training today?"
"Sure. I've got a spare sword in my trunk. We could practice in your back yard."
"Great."
Night came and Adam called Joe from his Jeep Cherokee to figure out a plan to get Kelley away from Lynda so that he could talk with her.
"Adam, she isn't stupid. She'll figure it out."
"I know. Is MacLeod in town?"
"No. He's gone to visit Amanda in Tahiti."
"Is Kiana here too."
"Yes, watching Mrs. Emerald Montgomery."
"Listen Joe, I'm going to have to get rid of Kiana and Kelley for a while. Just long enough to get to Lynda and talk to her."
"Geez, be careful, will ya."
"As always."
Adam got off the line and dug around in his car for his medical bag. He carefully filled a couple of syringes with a sedative and put the caps back on. He grabbed a small bottle of chloroform and some gauze. He placed the items in his right pocket and put a black ski mask in his left pocket. Adam went into the motel building and found Kelley's room. He said a silent prayer in thanks for no security cameras. To his luck, Kiana happened to be in the room. Adam put on the mask, took the bottle of chloroform out of his pocket, and soaked a little of it into a couple pieces of gauze. He knocked on the door softly and waited for someone to answer.
Kiana moved into Kelley's room when she arrived to save money and so that they could compare notes over take out dinner. Kelly had ordered dinner and hit the shower. Kiana had to answer the door, since Kelley was in the shower. She opened the door thinking it was the delivery boy, considering there was no eyehole on the door. Adam sprang into action the second she opened the door, just before she could scream. He held her tightly as she took big breaths from her nose, became weaker by the minute. Once she was out, he shuts the door behind him, and drags her over to the closet. Adam laid her out across the floor of the closet, administered one of the sedatives.
Kelley finished her shower, dressed in a robe, and put her hair up. Adam waited for her on the other side of the door like a predator about to strike on it's pray. She came out; Adam sprang into action again, this time from behind. His arm going around her neck while the other feds her nose chloroformed gauze. She took a little longer than Kiana, but she went too. Adam laid her next to Kiana in the closet and administered the other sedative in her leg. He noticed her leg was uncovered and remembered she always had good-looking legs to the hip. He had to resist the urge to touch her leg softly in remembrance of their time together.
* Let it go. * Adam thought as he closed the sliding closet door and left the room.
Adam headed for Lynda's place, preparing for the verbal battle he may encounter. He hoped that by showing up at her place she won't run with Emerald there, since it was his fault she ran in the first place. He didn't want this to turn into another 'Cassandra event,' where Lynda would end up mad and chasing after him for revenge. At least she didn't have a Boy Scout protecting her.
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