Chapter Eight: ABDUCTION

"Let me take that."

Altair reached for the bale of hay that hung by its twine from Rigel's shackled hands.

"Will you cut that out? There's nothing wrong with my body--it's the magic that these things are hurting." He spun from his brother's outstretched arms and tossed the heavy bale to the top of the stack. Rigel paused for a moment, and then turned back to Altair, the expression on his face had softened from bitter to mournful. "I'm sorry, Altair. You only want to help, I know. Why don't you climb up and stack the bales that I toss to you?"

Altair searched his twin's face, his own pain and sadness written in his gaze. "I didn't mean to be obnoxious. I'm just worried." He lowered his eyes to the glowing rings that encircled his brother's wrists. "Do they hurt?"

Rigel slung another bale as Altair scrambled to the top of the pile. "Yeah, Altair. They hurt. But they hurt worse inside than they do on the outside." He went about his work mechanically, and strengthened the continual touch that he and Aury had held onto since the night before. He felt her intense sorrow, her fear, flow back along the strand of magic that connected them, and tried in vain to comfort her soul with his own troubled thoughts.

Clairvoyant's head appeared in the trap door of the loft, his face lined with worry and exhaustion. "The Queen slept in the Princess's room last night after they took you away. I just finished a turn watching over King Yrren. He's totally irrational. There's no talking to him at all any more." He hefted himself through the trap, grabbed a bale of hay, and tossed it to Altair as he spoke.

"I know about the Queen," Rigel replied. "And I'm not surprised about the King." He nodded his dark head toward the heavy bale in the young mage's grasp. "You don't have to do that. We're almost finished here."

A bittersweet smile played upon Clairvoyant's lips. "Actually, it feels good to strain something beside my powers for a change." The muscles in his lean forearms bulged as he hefted the bale to the top of the pile and Altair arranged it neatly alongside the others.

Annoyance pierced Rigel's mind from the direction of the palace, and he responded telepathically, "Are you all right, starshine? What's wrong?"

"I wish they'd stop nagging me to eat. I'm just not hungry." Aury's aggravation flooded his thoughts, and he tried to soothe her.

"You really should try to eat something. Just to make them happy. If you do, they'll leave you alone."

"If I do, I know I'll get sick. My stomach says it couldn't handle food right now."

Rigel could feel the tears that accompanied her reply. Aury didn't have the heart to get out of bed, and he could see her small body in his mind, curled on its side under the satiny covers. Sympathy washed through him as he took in her emotions, and he did his best to return a comforting warmth.

The last bale was on the stack. He leaned against the hay, arms wrapped around his chest to stem the pain of body and soul. Rigel raised his troubled gaze to Voy, and saw his own worry reflected in his friend's expression. The young wizard regarded him with a desire to help that shone as a visible aura around him.

"She can't eat, and they won't leave her alone." Rigel sighed in frustration. "I know they're all just worried over her. Her mother's heart is breaking for us--I can feel it right through Aury. But they're only upsetting her worse." He searched the seer's face, seeking some way-- any way--to easy Aury's pain. "Can you tell them, Voy?"

"She'll have to eat something eventually. You can't get to her fast enough to help her now. She's going to need plenty of strength . . . when the time comes." The intense blue of his eyes darkened to midnight, and a billion stars of prophecy appeared in their depths.

A knot of fear tied itself in his heart as Rigel stared into that enchanted starlight. He held up his fettered wrists. "This is what he wanted, isn't it?"

"Who?" Altair peered down from the hay stack, his fear-filled gaze darting from Rigel to Clairvoyant and back.

The dark twin shuddered and shrugged his broad shoulders. "Whoever."

Clairvoyant leaned against the hay beside Rigel and touched a finger to one of the restraints. The circlet sparked and hummed as the contact was made. "Precisely what he wanted. There's nothing that can stop him now. He's cut off Aury's best defense. You."

Rigel could feel Auria listening. He felt an echo of the fear that persuaded her to attempt to swallow a little breakfast. Rigel didn't relax his mind's touch until he knew she had taken the second bite. He held her soul in a protective embrace as he contemplated the apprentice wizard's words. "Voy, maybe you should stay with her. I know they won't leave her alone. Queen Aleia's been there all morning. But I'd feel better if you were there, too."

Clairvoyant sank into the hay, hugging his knees against his chest. His troubled eyes revealed the intensity of his emotions. They hinted of helplessness, of forced inaction, the frustration of not being able to find the missing pieces to the puzzle that endangered them all. "I'll stay with her as much as I can, Rigel. They've been running me ragged with other things, though. Poor Clarion's exhausted. Instead of resting during my shift with the King, he worked right through trying to break the barrier of magic shielding Auria's attacker."

Rigel ran his hands through his unruly raven hair. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the bales of hay. "I understand. Are you still teaching classes, too?"

"Not today. They cancelled this morning's session after what happened last night. Poseidon has offered to take over the review for tomorrow, though. I think he's going through Clarion's notes right now, in fact."

Rigel's countenance darkened at the mention of the wizard's nephew. "I know he's been helpful, and everything, but I can't help wondering about him. Why would he show up now?"

Clairvoyant shrugged, "He's been away. I don't think it's any more than a coincidence, Rigel. Do you really distrust him so much?"

Rigel lowered himself into the hay beside the young mage. "I guess I don't trust anyone right now." He clinked the restraining bracelets together and they sent out a shower of sparks.

Voy laid a comforting hand on his arm. "No one can blame you for that, my friend."

A soft shower of timothy dust sprinkled Rigel's black hair, and he looked upward.

"Rigel." Altair's voice drifted down from the top of the stack of hay. He was laying on his stomach, looking over the edge at the two boys below him. "How can I help?" His eyes were clouded with worry.

The affection on Altair's face sent a wave of warmth through Rigel. "Just stay alert, Altair," he replied, gratitude clear in his voice and the mental tones that colored it. "Maybe you can hang out with Aury's sisters, keep an eye on them. We don't know if--whoever this is--is going to stop at Aury."

Clairvoyant tightened his grip on Rigel's forearm and then slid his hand to the glowing restraint that burned on the boy's wrist. "They're terrible." He attempted to soothe the pain with a cool psychic touch. "I promise, Rigel, that once these things are off, I won't stop until I've managed to reverse any damage they've done to you."

"Just what can they do to him?" Altair asked as he slid from the stack and joined the boys on the loft floor.

"Different people have different reactions," the young sorcerer explained, "But generally they stop anyone from manifesting their powers in the physical realm. They prevent teleportation, moving objects around or manipulating them--anything that affects matter. In this case, who knows how much permanent damage can be done. A young person's powers are constantly developing and growing. These restraints might stop that growth, send it off in unexpected directions, maybe even prevent Rigel from developing to his full potential."

"So Rigel's powers could be damaged forever?" Altair's mouth twitched at the corners with worry.

"Not if I can help it," Voy replied. "I'm going to do my best, Rigel. No one has ever tried to reverse the effects of the restraints as far as I know. But there's a first time for everything. And they won't effect your mind powers at all--just prevent you from bringing them into the physical."

Clairvoyant stood and stretched his tired muscles. "For now, I think I should go and get some rest." He grasped hands with Rigel as the younger boy rose from the hay beside him. "I'll check in on Aury first. As things develop, I promise to keep you posted."

Rigel nodded and thanked him, as the three youngsters climbed down the ladder from the loft.

"The strength of your spirit will see you through, Rigel." Voy's words followed his body into nothingness.


***


Rigel pushed back his half eaten dinner. He had felt the worried stares of his family throughout the entire meal. They would watch him when they thought he didn't notice, and when he glanced up they would be looking at their plates. It was distracting. The boy's dark gaze darted to his father in time to catch the StableMaster looking away. Zale's forehead was furrowed with a permanent frown, and Rigel wondered if the bloodshot streaks in his eyes were from crying.

"Listen, I'm sorry I've caused all this trouble. . . . "

"You haven't caused any of it, son," Raven spoke softly from her seat on Rigel's left. "You're only a victim--you and the Princess both."

Rigel's spirit contracted in dismay over his mother's pained expression. "If nothing else good comes of this, at least people are starting to believe Aury and me now." He rubbed the irritated skin under the restraining bracelets. He could feel his father's gaze drawn to the movement, and turned to catch the frightened expression on the man's face. "Voy says he's going to try to reverse any damage they do."

Zale showed no sign that the words had relieved his fears. "It was a horrible thing to do to a child. I still can't believe King Yrren could be so cruel." The StableMaster shoved his chair back in anger and looked away.

To Rigel's surprise, he found himself defending the King of Chimopotamia. "He's not himself, Pa. Clairvoyant says he's being influenced, and he isn't thinking straight. I know he's never liked me, but he wouldn't go this far normally."

The man was clearly startled by his young son's attitude, and said so. "You're being pretty understanding, considering these things may damage you for the rest of your life."

Rigel shrugged. "It won't do either Aury or me any good right now to hate the King. He's not the one to blame. He needs help as much as the rest of us. As far as these go," he raised his wrists, and heard his mother's gasp when she saw that they were swollen and inflamed under the bracelets, "Voy promised to help fix what they damage."

"You trust him so?" Zale asked skeptically. "He's not much older than you."

Rigel managed a smile as he replied, "Pa, Clairvoyant's not restricted by age . . . or anything else, I don't think. He's different from the rest of us. Normal rules don't apply to him. Yeah, I trust him."

His son's words seemed to satisfy the horseman, for he nodded and rose from his seat. When Rigel stood to help his mother clear the table, Zale placed a hand on his arm.

"I'll do this tonight. I want to talk with your mother, anyway. Why don't you just go out for some air. Take a rest."

The boy agreed and left the kitchen, disquieted by the special treatment. He had no desire to be coddled, or to be the object of his family's sympathy, yet he could not help but appreciate their concern. The overpowering emotions he felt from those around him were confusing, and he stretched his troubled thoughts along the magic thread that anchored his heart to another.

"Aury, this whole thing stinks."

Her reply drifted back, filled with the same frustrations that plagued his own mind. "You're telling me. I wish I could shake these guards for a while. I can't even sneeze without one of them rushing over to make sure I'm all right."

"At least they're on their toes," Rigel replied as he sank to the bench under the ancient elm. Primrose hopped to his lap, muttering a concerned, "Brrt?" He stroked her soft fur, drawing comfort from the sound and feel of the rumbling purr that rose from her throat. The cat pushed her rosy face into his, and kneaded his chest with velvet paws.

"Prim knows something's wrong," he sent to his soul mate, projecting an image of the cat in his lap.

"They know more of our feelings than we do sometimes. I'm glad she's there for you."

"She's a pal," the boy thought back with a chuckle as his pet began to wash his chin with her sandpaper tongue.

Sudden terror shot into Rigel's mind. The Princess's scream pierced his spirit with an icy blade of horror.

"Rigel! Rigel help me!"

The cry cut off in a strangled gasp. Aury's thoughts were gone. The boy leapt up, dumping the cat to the ground, and frantically groped the darkness for his bond-friend's mind. She was nowhere.

"Aury! Starshine! Where are you?"

For the first time in eleven years, he was totally alone. Rigel let forth a wrenching scream and tried to teleport himself to her room.

Searing pain coursed through him from the bracelets on his wrists. It twisted his soul and knocked him to his knees. For an instant the boy thought his heart had stopped, stabbed through by the violent magic of the restraints. He could hear footsteps running across the yard--his mother's voice crying out to him. The youngster struggled to his feet and began to race toward the palace, his mind a dark jumble, his eyes seeing nothing but the image of Aury's terrified face.

"Aury!" he shouted as he ran, unaware of his family as they followed in panic. His legs drove like pistons into the cloud covered surface, propelling him onto the cobblestones and to the side door of the great golden castle. He ignored the firey streaks that pulsed like molten lava through his veins, as he continued to search the empty night for Auria's mind.

Chaos reigned in the royal household. The Princess's agonizing scream had assaulted every ear within range. Rigel shouldered his way past scurrying servants. He raced by Clairvoyant on the stairs, and never heard the mage call his name. The boy sprinted along the landing at the summit, avoiding the hands of the guards that grabbed for him, and raced up the next flight to Auria's bedroom.

"She's gone! Aury's gone!" Tears blurred his vision as he burst through the huge double doors into the heir to the throne's chambers.

Yrren shouted orders with frantic fury, his form surrounded by the pale gray aura of fear. Clarion knelt upon the bedroom floor, bent over a pair of unconscious soldiers. He shook them gently and muttered incantations to wake them, to no avail. Aleia, sobbing, clutched her daughter's pillow. She spun to face the terrified boy as he ran to the side of Aury's bed.

"Rigel! Rigel, she's been taken!" Aleia dropped the pillow and pulled him into her trembling arms.

He gave the woman a brief, intense hug and pushed abruptly away. Like a caged panther, he paced the room with wild, uncontrolled strides.

"Aury!" Rigel's mind and voice echoed into the night, and he turned eyes that were black pools of fear to the face of the King. "I can't find her, Your Majesty. I can't reach her mind." His legs carried him back and forth across the room in time with the frantic pounding of his heart. Trembling hands raked through his hair as he muttered her name again and again.

Clairvoyant burst into the room. His powers, usually held under tight control, formed an inferno of glowing energy around him. The aura flamed with searing fury, radiating raw magic that threatened to destroy whatever challenged it. "Nothing. There's nothing anywhere that gives a clue." His voice shook with frustration, and he slammed a fist into the wall. Servants backed away in fear as the apprentice's emotions flooded the room with crimson anger. "I can't find anything. Where is she . . . where is she!?"