The Star Maidens Curse (A Dark Adventure)

The Star Maidens curse Chapter 6 - The Manor

Stolen by the Brotherhood Chapter 6 - The Manor

Chapter 4—The Manor

"It didn't work!" Fionn yelled. "The vortex has thrown us to Bavaria, and we're still on Earth."

My eyes flew open in alarm. Still on Earth? What had they expected?

Although after seeing the vortex thing they conjured up, I was a lot more ready to accept that what I had previously believed to be impossible was actually quite possible.

"Bavaria, Germany?" I whimpered, hoping I hadn't misunderstood.

How could we have possibly travelled to a different country? I still had no idea, but as far from home as Germany was, it was still a lot closer than wherever the brothers had expected to end up. It meant I still had hope of making an escape and getting back home somehow, although I didn't fancy my chances of bagging a free flight home based on this story. I'd be much more likely to bag a free stay in some sort of asylum.

Seeing my calculating thoughts and mistaking them for fear, Cillian clasped me more tightly, bringing my mind back to the problem at hand – getting away from the brothers.

"Try to stay calm. Trust me, everything will be fine," Cillian said reassuringly.

It didn't do anything to reassure me. My confusion at what exactly had just happened was taking over everything else, including the need for reassurance. How could I have travelled so far in such a short time? At least I hadn't ended up wherever the brothers meant to take me. That thought was far more reassuring than Cillian's touch.

"Dammit!" Fionn muttered as he looked around, looking almost as confused as I felt.

I felt a brief smugness. Yeah, how do you like being confused about where you are and how you got there, I thought to myself. The smugness didn't last long as Fionn's confusion was replaced with angry acceptance.

"It's taken us back to the manor, hasn't it," Fionn went on as he tried to make sense of what had happened. "The Gatemen must have done something and prevented any of us from leaving Earth."

"No way." Torin said. His voice was cold, and he gave a single shake of his head to emphasise his refusal to believe the Gatemen had somehow stopped him from taking me wherever he had been planning on taking me. "Those bastards don't have that kind of power."

He didn't have any explanation for what had happened, though; if he did, he kept it to himself.

I only half listened to them bickering amongst themselves as I gazed at the landscape in front of me. Birds fluttered across a blue lake. Snow-capped mountains rose majestically in the distance, grazing the pristine sky. I inhaled the pungent aroma of sun-kissed soil, the faint perfume of trees, and the passing sound of cow bells carried by the breeze.

Enchanted by the pastoral beauty, I envisioned the landscape transformed by my paints into another piece of art. The Gatemen, whoever these mysterious entities were, had prevented us from slipping into another world. And while this place was entirely new for me, at least I was still on Earth. The relief I felt at knowing that the brothers weren't completely infallible gave me a tiny flicker of hope.

But I was still far from home. A pang of sorrow overwhelmed me as I thought of Donte and my family. Would I ever see them again? Would I become a face on a milk carton or a news report and vanish into an unsolved case file?

The severity of my situation was at odds with my beautiful surroundings. I couldn't fail to notice the serenity of the place; what sort of artist would I be if I didn't see such a thing? But I knew I had to be careful not to let the beauty of the place distract me. The danger was far from over, although it occurred to me that if Cillian and his brothers hadn't been successful in taking me to their destination, they might consider releasing me if they realised that their plans for me had been foiled. I felt the flicker of hope inside of me grow a little.