Cloudy Skies - Part 7

Maeve watched carefully every time the group had to even round a corner while working their way through the maze of corridors. She did not have nearly as much trouble as she had thought she would, though. She had expected Tallan to be checking in on her every ten or twenty minutes, as usual, and when he found that she was missing from her room he would have been furious, which surely would have led to yet another of the beatings that she had come to know so well. She really had become quite familiar with them over the last month. Tallan had this method of torturing her that caused as much pain as possible without allowing her to pass out. Up until the birth of her child, the pain had been the only way she knew that she was really alive, that this was really happening to her. Occasionally she would pray that this was all just a bad dream, that she would wake up screaming and Sinbad would rush in, ready to comfort her and listen to her tale. Then the pain would come again, and she could not deny the truth of it all.

Maeve and the guys reached Maeve's room without any problem whatsoever, much to their surprise. They had all prepared themselves for a long, bloody battle with legions of guards and a barrage of dark magic, but they had now reached their destination without so much as a scratch.

*This is too easy,* Maeve thought. However, she thanked whatever powers were watching over her and continued on her way, hoping that her luck would hold out for at least a little while longer. She entered her room, hoping for a clue as to where to go from there. She was almost surprised when she once again heard her brother's voice, loud and clear, coming from very nearby.

*Maeve, we're right here!* Dermott nearly shouted. He had been so excited when he saw his sister enter her room that he almost fell off his perch.

*Where, Dermott? Which wall are you behind?*

*Turn to you left,* Dermott said and Maeve did as told. *Now turn again,* and again Maeve obeyed. *There. You're looking almost directly at us. Sinbad is about to have a heart attack, he's yelling at the top of his lungs.*

*Stand back from the wall. Here goes nothing.* Maeve formed a large fireball in her right hand and prepared to throw it.

"Maeve, are you sure you know what you're doing? Is that the right wall?" Firouz asked.

"I'm sure it's the right wall, and yes, I know what I'm doing. It's only been a month, Firouz, I can still throw a fireball just as well as I always have!"

"That's what I'm worried about," Doubar muttered.

"I heard that!" Maeve yelled and then threw the fireball with all her strength, praying to herself that it would be enough. A large hole was blown into the wall, and dust and debris flew everywhere. Dermott flew through the opening and landed on Maeve's arm for a moment before lifting himself into the air again and landing on a table nearby. *I missed you too, brother.*

Everyone waited in silence as they heard a coughing noise come from within the newly exposed room. A lone figure emerged from the shadows, stumbling over the scattered bricks and squinting to see through the dust in the air.

"Sinbad!!!"

Doubar rushed forward and gathered his little brother into a bear hug while the others looked on. When they pulled apart, Sinbad saw Maeve and hurried over to her.

"Maeve, are you-"

"I'm fine, Sinbad."

"No, you're not. Look at you, look at what he's done to you!" Sinbad let his hand glide gently over a badly bruised cheek and then down to take Maeve's hands which were only beginning to heal.

"Me, look at your hands!" Maeve exclaimed, noticing how they seemed to have been beaten against something hard and rough. They had obviously been torn open again and again, but Maeve was at a loss as to why this would have happened.

"Maeve, I did that to myself, not Tallan. I've watched what he's done to you, though. That man deserves to die, and I'm going to carry out the sentence," Sinbad said determinedly as he let go of Maeve's hands.

"Sinbad, wait," Maeve said as she made her way over to Firouz, who was still holding her baby. She took the little boy from him and went back to where Sinbad stood. "I want you to meet my child. Tallan's child. If you're wondering how I'm a mother so soon--"

"Maeve, I already know. I witnessed the whole thing myself."

"You... you did?" Maeve asked nervously.

"Yes. What he did to you was wrong, and I'm going to make sure that he pays for it."

Suddenly Maeve's face paled in fear as a figure with an evil grin misted into the room. "Is that so, sailor?" Tallan asked.

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Cloudy Skies - Part 8