Maeve awakened and stayed in a half-dreamy state for awhile before forcing herself to get up. She couldn’t help but smile at her memories of last night.
Why in the world she had suddenly decided to sleep with Sinbad, she didn’t know, but she was glad she did. It must have been the wine talking, after all, they had had an awful lot to drink. But they sobered up pretty quickly after Sinbad carried Maeve into the room and laid her on the bed. At that moment they had realized that there was no way of denying what was about to happen, so they allowed themselves to succomb to the temptation.
Every wonderful moment of last night was engraved into Maeve’s memory so that she could recall them at any time she wished. The best part had been when Maeve finally realized that she loved Sinbad completely and unconditionally.
When they had stopped because of their sheer exhaustion, Maeve had rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat, memorizing the rhythm and noticing that, for some odd reason, their hearts were beating in the same rhythm. She was too tired to try to interpret the meaning of this, so she had just fallen asleep in his arms and slept peacefully (for the first time in weeks) for the entire night.
Even during the throws of passion of the night before, they had never once said, “I love you.” Even at a time like that, they were as stubborn as ever. When they had awakened earlier that morning, Maeve had practically begged Sinbad to stay with her, hoping that, if she could lie in his arms for only a few hours more, she would gather the courage to tell him of her deepest feelings.
That time did not come, however, because Sinbad chose to leave. He wanted desperately to stay with her, but he knew that she might not be able to bear the burden if the crew were to find out what had happened between the two lovers.
No, this must remain only between them, others must not hear of it yet. So he had painfully wrenched himself from her arms and gone back to his own cabin to spend that rest of the night.
After reliving these memories and realizing that Sinbad was probably right in leaving, Maeve realized that she had now lost what little courage she had gained and would still be unable to tell Sinbad how much she loved him. *If only he had stayed a little while longer...* she thought. Then Maeve forced herself to push such thoughts aside as she dressed and got ready for the day ahead of her.
Maeve was leisurely reading one of her magic books up on deck when suddenly she sensed a storm and decided that she should try to stop it. She went below and was in her cabin for almost three hours after first sensing the storm, trying to reverse whatever spell was causing it. The spell being used to create the storm was a very complex and difficult one. Maeve knew that it was a spell that would take quite a bit of time since there were many elements involved in the making of it. But after three hours with no luck, she realized that time was running out and there was no way the crew could survive the storm if they were to stay on the Nomad.
Maeve opened the door to come up on deck. Sinbad's eyes instinctively went right to her, and he was glad to see her. The enchanting sorceress had locked herself away in her cabin nearly three hours ago, and Sinbad found himself getting bored on deck without her to watch. He was so glad to see her that he didn't notice her stumble a bit as she walked over to him. He didn't even notice that the smile she gave him was a forced one or that she looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep in days. What he did notice was that Maeve had to lean on the rail next to Sinbad just to keep herself standing.
“Maeve, what's wrong?” he asked. Now he also saw that Maeve looked pale.
“Black magic. Someone's taking a lot of time and effort to brew up a storm the likes of which we've never seen. I sensed it three hours ago. I thought I might be going crazy, but I asked Dermott and he felt it too.” Sinbad began to turn pale at the mention of this, for he too had felt something about the time that Maeve went down below, but he thought he had just imagined it. After all, he was just a simple sailor, and what did he know about magic? But he realized that what he had sensed was real, for Maeve was rarely wrong about these things.
“We'll need to get to safety...” Sinbad began talking to himself.
“Sinbad,” Maeve said, breaking his chain of thought. “Just take me to the nearest island and leave me there.”
“What!?” Sinbad exclaimed, “You can’t be serious. I’m not just going to leave you on some deserted island.”
“Sinbad, just listen to me. What I sensed earlier is a familiar presence, and it only wants me. If you leave me at the island, then you and the ... others can leave... and will... be... safe...” Maeve's three hours of constant spell casting had finally caught up to her. Her knees buckled and she would have fallen to the deck had Sinbad not been there to catch her.
“FIROUZ!!!” he shouted, “GET OVER HERE NOW!!!!!”
While Firouz was on his way over to the couple, Sinbad looked down and was a little shocked to see that Maeve was still conscious. He looked into her eyes and saw the exhaustion and fear that were there, but she quickly turned her head.
“Sinbad... take me to the island... and... leave me there... please......” Maeve pleaded.
“Alright Maeve, I'll take you there,” he said. As he saw her eyes close and Maeve allowed her exhaustion to seep in, he added, “But you're not going to go alone.”
Rongar and Firouz took Maeve down below to her cabin while Sinbad checked his maps and told the rest of the crew that they were going to change course and head toward a tiny island that was nearby. At first a few of them were frightened because there were rumors of an evil man who'd built his fortress there. Rumors also said that the man practiced black magic. Sinbad didn't care about any of this. He just wanted to get Maeve and the Nomad where they would be safe.
Sinbad looked at the sky. Three hours ago it had been a perfect blue without even a hint of a cloud. Now clouds were quickly appearing and the sky was taking on a color that was more gray than blue. Sinbad hoped that they would be able to make it to the island before the storm began.
When they reached the island, Sinbad pulled Maeve aside to talk to her.
Sinbad tried to say something but Maeve interrupted him. “I can’t believe you talked me into letting you come,” she said, “I shouldn’t have let you come here with me.”
“Oh? And what would you have done, Maeve? Would you have locked us up on the Nomad and dragged the longboat up on shore all by yourself?” Sinbad asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“If I really wanted to, I probably could,” Maeve replied with only the slightest hint of forced sincerity in her otherwise playful voice. “I would sooner swim from the Nomad to the island than I would see you hurt, though,” she added with a smile.
“That’s nice to know,” he said with a smile. “Maeve, have you felt anything else since we arrived?”
“The presence I felt earlier has grown stronger... He's definitely here on this island. He's reversed the spell, so there will not be a storm.”
“Well, this is just lovely,” Sinbad began.
“Don't get too excited. There's more,” Maeve said.
“Great,” Sinbad said sarcastically.
“He knows that we're here. And he’s much more powerful and evil than Rumina or Turok.”
“Wonderful. And we're on his island!? Well, this is certainly going to be---”
“Sinbad!” Maeve interrupted and pointed behind him. A figure was misting onto the beach directly behind Sinbad. Everyone turned to watch as the figure became clear. It was a man about Sinbad's height and build with short, almost black hair. He was wearing a black satin shirt and black leather pants, tucked into a pair of black boots. A strange black stone hung around his neck.
Sinbad turned away from the man briefly to look over at Maeve. She had turned very pale and was beginning to tremble. He stepped over beside her and she was thankful for his closeness.
“Ah, my dearest Maeve, how nice to see you again! Why, you look even more lovely than you did when last we met. Have you missed me as much as I’ve missed you?” the man said.
When Maeve didn't answer, Sinbad said, “Who are you and how do you know Maeve?"
“I am Tallan. Maeve and I used to be ... acquainted ... several years ago. I fell in love and tried to win her favor. She refused me every time. I even asked her to marry me once, but she said no.”
“Smart woman,” Sinbad muttered. Tallan chose to ignore the comment for the moment, but he made a mental note not to forget about it.
“Anyway, I created that little storm to lure you all here. Originally I had hoped that all of you except Maeve would die in the storm, but it was just dumb luck that you all decided to come along,” Tallan paused and cast a lustful glance toward Maeve. “You will make a beautiful bride, my dear. And with you as my wife, I'll control the powers of the dark and the light. I'll be able to rule the entire world. And we will have sons to carry on my reign.”
“I hate to have to disappoint you, Tallan,” Sinbad said, “but Maeve is a part of my crew, and my friend, and I believe that that gives me more claim on her than you have.”
“Maeve WILL become my wife!”
“Not in this lifetime!”
Tallan raised a hand to zap Sinbad, but Dermott flew forward and tried to scratch Tallan's arm. Tallan flung the hawk through the air. Dermott's flight was ended when he was slammed up against a nearby tree and fell to the ground, unconscious.
“Dermott!!!” Maeve screamed and turned to run to him.
“Take one more step toward your brother and I'll kill your sailor friends,” Tallan warned. This stopped Maeve in her tracks, and she realized that there was nothing she could do.
Tallan stepped forward and around her so that she had her back to him.
“We'll make such a lovely couple,” he whispered into her ear. Maeve tried to turn around to face him, but Tallan pulled her up against him and put his dagger to her throat.
“Time to take a little trip,” he said.
Tallan misted the entire crew into his fortress, with the men in a cage at one end of the dungeon-room, Dermott hanging from the ceiling in a cage, and Maeve free for the moment.
“You see, my dear, there is nothing that you can do. You have no choice but to obey.” Tallan gestured to Maeve's captive friends, “Or else they will suffer the consequences.”
Maeve was trying to think of an argument for this, but Tallan moved forward and kissed her before she could say anything. At first Maeve was too stunned to do anything, then she began to resist, but Tallan had his arms around her and he pulled her even closer. Finally Maeve was able to break free, and she didn't waste any time in hitting Tallan in the stomach. The sorcerer bent over in pain for a moment, but the moment was short-lived as he straightened and sent a bolt of black magic flying into Maeve, which had so much force that it knocked her against the wall.
Maeve hadn't even had a chance to get up before Tallan was advancing on her again. He stopped and smiled evilly as he saw the fear that came into Maeve's eyes. With a wave of his hand and a single, barely uttered word, Tallan summoned a dozen guards.
“Chain her!” he ordered. “If she resists, kill the bird.”
Maeve allowed herself to be chained because she knew that if she resisted, her brother would die. She was more than a little surprised when she felt a sudden drain on her energy. It took all of Maeve's concentration just to remain standing, but even that wasn't enough, and her knees buckled, putting all of Maeve's weight on her arms. She barely managed to pull herself back up into a standing position.
“Oh, wonderful!” Tallan exclaimed. “You’ve discovered one of my secrets. Nice little toys, aren’t they? The longer I allow you to stay in those chains, the more of your power you will lose. And you should know that your power is being transferred to me through this,” Tallan said, pointing at the black stone that hung around his neck. “I'll give you some time and then I'll return. I hope you'll take the opportunity to consider my proposal,” he said coldly and then left the room. As if the cages and shackles weren't enough, he slammed shut a heavy iron door behind him.
“Maeve,” Sinbad said, “Are you alright?”
“Oh, I’m just fine. Great. In fact, I’ve never been better!” she said sarcastically.
“Okay.....” Sinbad said, trying to think of something to say that Maeve could not react so badly to.
“I'm sorry, Sinbad, it's just that this is, well, frustrating. Maybe I should just marry him. Then he would let you all go.....”
“NO!” Sinbad said with such determination that it startled Maeve and the others, “You giving up your life and your freedom is not an option. Don't even consider it.”
“You're right. That would be too easy. We're just going to have to do this the hard way.”
*Sister...* Maeve heard Dermott's voice say in her mind.
*Brother! You're alright!*
*Yes. I am fine. But what about you?*
*Well, I've been better,* Maeve answered sarcastically.
*Are those chains magic?* Dermott asked.
*Yes. They are draining my powers and, in fact, my life right out of me.*
*You have to get out of them.*
*I kind of figured that part out on my own, brother.*