Finding Meridian Ch. 18

Thanks Dawn and Meadow for suggestions. I know there was a delay and I felt instead of keeping everyone waiting I would break the arrival at the island and the meeting into separate chapters. I wanted to thank everyone for reading. Don't forget to vote. I appreciate the following!

Enjoy,

Meridian

Transit and Trouble

~~~~~~~

Meridian checked the plane making sure parachutes were in a hidden compartment. Extra guns were locked and loaded in various places. She could feel the hairs on her neck and the intuition that dire things were coming. Drake and Alex noticed her face become stern as if she was itching to shoot something or someone.

"What's wrong Meridian?" Drake asked as they settled in for takeoff.

"Something is going to happen. Everyone stay locked and loaded. I'd love to let everyone rest but I need you wide awake." Meridian could feel a fury of fire run down her spine and she felt an odd vibration.

Telepathically she tried talking to Alex, "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, what's going on? You're on edge and acting real funny."

"I feel like fire is running down my spine and I am feeling an odd vibration. Something is going to happen in approximately one hour into the flight. I can't see what it is but I have us prepared. I just hate feeling like this. We need to give Drake the timeframe. I'm going to take a tour around the plane after takeoff. I want to see if I can figure out what I'm feeling."

"I'll get Drake the message."

"Hello Marisa, it's good to see you. Come sit for a second so we can chat." Meridian motioned to Marisa. They had worked together years ago; they had their own coded language they shared.

"What a delight to see that my Queen is safe after all. I had your favorite chocolates brought with us. Please let me know of anything else you require." Marisa was giving her a knowing look.

Meridian grabbed her hand to hold it and using a finger traced the number three in her palm without anyone noticing. "Let me get you drinks. I found you the number one vodka you like. Is that adequate?"

"Yes it is. Thank you Marisa, be sure to get our other Queen and soon to be King gets a drink and a box of chocolates."

Marisa grabbed the boxes of chocolates and drinks. She leaned close to Drake whispering in his ear. "The chocolates are to die for. Our countdown is one hour." Marisa moved back and Drake nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Marisa gave Meridian her drink and box of chocolates.

"Thank you Marisa. Sit and have a drink with us."

They chatted for about thirty minutes and then Meridian went searching the plane. She decided to follow the vibration she felt. As she moved to an overhead panel she grabbed an angled mirror and saw the bomb. Thirty minutes left on it. If she wouldn't have contacted the pilot to change the flight path they would have been over water when everything happened.

Meridian came out and grabbed Marisa's hand tracing a zero under it. "Marisa, you should go change into something more comfortable. Clothes are in the closet." Marisa changed in record time and hurried out.

Meridian pulled Alex in with her as they changed into combat gear with a Kevlar vest underneath.

"Can you hear me?" Meridian asked telepathically.

"Yes, you found something?" Alex was almost holding her breath.

"No, we're just wearing a Kevlar vest as a fashion statement. Yes! A bomb, we'll be exiting the plane with hidden parachutes. I prepared for this. Everything had auto parachutes and transponders and trackers. We'll be fine but we need to keep an eye out. I say we bail out as soon as Drake changes."

"Deal! He'll never want to fly again you know." Alex said laughing.

They walked into the other room. "Drake, there is a change of clothing sitting out for you. Best change now." The rage in her eyes told him he needed to hurry.

Drake nodded and came back a few minutes later. Just then a copilot came out and quickly pulled a gun. Meridian swiftly snatched the pistol from under the chocolates and shot the man twice in the chest. She quickly went to check the pilot and found he was dead. She set autopilot and went to get everyone off the plane.

"Time to exit this death trap. I've got the plane heading for an open field. The pilot is dead, we are set on autopilot but it won't last long." Meridian threw parachutes at each of them. "Everyone ready?"

"No, but I'm not staying here." Alex said.

Meridian tossed the luggage out and watched as everyone jumped. She saw a shadow from the edge of her view and heard a sound just as she was clipped in the arm by a bullet. She shot back and jumped.

After they all were on the ground they regrouped. Drake looked at Meridian, "You've been hit."

"The chant is supposed to keep me from dying but obviously not bleeding." Meridian grabbed one of the bags and pulled out a packet of gunpowder sprinkling it on the wound.

Alex tilted her head to the side, "Do you commonly carry gunpowder with you? Do you store it next to the vibrator?"

"I never take a vibrator on a plane. Haven't you seen all the horror stories of it vibrating and security blowing up your luggage?" Meridian teased as they laughed.

"I could feed you to heal you but we would be linked." Drake said as he heard Meridian cussing from the pain of the gunpowder.

"It's not that bad. If it were urgent I would consider it but this is just a flesh wound."

Meridian was relieved she had purposely sent the majority of guns and ammo with Marcus. They gathered the luggage and used a tracker to find a road. It was time for them to find the second plane with an Irish contact she had set up just in case this happened but they needed to get to Denver. They started walking across a field in Kansas. Meridian still felt like her spine was hot.

As she turned she heard Alex yell, "NO!" as Alex jumped in front of Meridian.

Alex fell as the bullet hit her lower abdomen, just below the Kevlar. Meridian could hardly see the blur of Drake attacking Marisa and killing her. Meridian's vision distorted and she felt ill until she finally threw up. She turned her attention to Alex who was doubled over bleeding and who had started to throw up.

Drake came over and pulled Alex close to check her wound. When he got close he smelled it, "Poison, she put poison in the drinks." Drake put pressure on her wound until the bleeding slowed but he still worried about her pregnancy and how well the chant to keep them from dying would work. If he had no choice later he would give her blood.

"We shouldn't be able to be killed but we might be able to be weakened. Alex sweetie, how are you doing?" Meridian asked checking the wound.

"Like I've been shot! Bitch shot me. What is this? Pick on Alex week? Do you think we could stop the drama train soon? I'd like to just sit back and be pregnant."

Meridian laughed, "You jumped in front of me sweetie. You should've let me take the bullet. Let's just hope the meeting goes well and we can all just relax and be pregnant."

"Well now you owe me. I hurt but we need to get moving." Alex went to stand but got dizzy.

Drake grabbed her and carried her so she didn't have to walk. An hour later they made it to a main road and got a ride to town where they rented a car. It seemed to take forever. Finally they made it to the private airstrip in Denver when she saw all the armed gunmen come out. She would notice that burly figure anywhere.

Meridian got out of the car and ran over to an older Irish man, "O'Brien, how I've missed you! You have no idea how much this means to me."

"You know to call me Teague! Now introduce me to your friends." Teague was an older gray haired burly Irish man that made you think twice about messing with him. His presence was large and very intimidating.

"Drake this is Teague O'Brien. He'll get us to the island safely." Drake shook hands with him.

"And Teague this is one of my long lost sisters Alex."

"Lass you're a mirror image. Let's hope she has a better disposition!" Meridian punched him in the arm.

Alex was trying to stand without feeling so dizzy. Teague went to hug Alex when she cried out.

"Lass, you've been shot. I'll get you fixed up while the rest of the men load the plane." Teague laid her in the back of the Hummer and checked out her wound and dressed it. "I can't stitch it or take it out here."

"We have a doctor on the island that will take care of it." Meridian ran her hand over her sister's hair lovingly.

"Then she'll be fine. I have some pain killers." Teague started to pull some out of a bag when Alex stopped him.

"I'm pregnant, I don't know if I can take them." Teague gave her a look of concern.

"The shot's low, you're not having any cramping are you?" Teague ran his hand on her stomach to see if he felt any cramping.

"No, I think I'll be fine. It just hurts." Teague carried her onto the plane as they got ready for takeoff. He secured her in a seat.

"How's the wife, Teague?" Meridian asked him.

"Keeping me in line as always. I love her but it's nice to get away." Teague said giving her a handsome yet devilish Irish grin.

"Well someone has to! I'm surprised she hasn't gone stark raving mad just living with you!"

"A guy needs to hang with his mates once in a while. What else can I say?"

"It would be better if she didn't have to bail you out of jail due to the fights from drinking."

Teague let out a low laugh. "Why don't you guys get some rest, I'll let you know when we land." Drake looked at Meridian and she shook her head to imply it was fine to trust him.

~~~~~~

After traveling Marcus, Logan, Trinity and Connor finally made it to the airport.

Logan felt a searing pain and felt Alex was in pain. Marcus looked at him, "What's wrong?"

"Something happened, Alex is hurt." Logan's face was etched with worry. Logan grabbed his cell to see the local news and saw the announcement of a plane crash. "The plane crashed."

Trinity closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel Alex and Meridian and then she felt Drake.

"They're alive. Don't worry." Trinity said opening her eyes. "Really Logan, she's sleeping. Meridian just has a flesh wound."

"Meridian got hurt? Why didn't I feel it?" Marcus said with concern.

"Because if she got shot she acts like it's a paper cut. She has a huge pain tolerance." Connor said acting like he wasn't concerned. "Really Marcus if she was hurt bad you'd know. Trinity would know. They are alive so that's all that matters."

Marcus looked at Trinity, "So can you give us the background of this island?"

"The island is located north of Sweden. It's not just an island. It is the country of Merdesa. You knew my dead husband was rich but he was also in line for the throne. After his death, I inherited the throne and rule the country as queen. My sisters are considered queens by my side now. Once any of you are married to them, you will be considered Kings and rule with us. I made a decision to share the throne with his brother, Douglas, because he is much better at the laws than I am. He will not lose his status when we arrive. I know all the Kings and Queens seem excessive but I get the feeling we won't live there forever." Marcus noticed Trinity became very cold when she mentioned her dead husband. Her attitude changed from fun and festive to stern and cold.

~~~~~~

Meridian was getting stir crazy after waking up. She hated long flights. This one was over twenty hours. Teague looked at her, "You know pacing is not going to speed this up. It's like hitting the elevator button continually."

"You know I hate long flights." Meridian turned and noticed Alex was shivering.

Alex started complaining as Meridian pulled her into her arms. "Stop bitching at me. You're shot and cold. Let me take care of you!" She wrapped her in the blanket and pulled her close.

She wondered how long it had been since she cared about others. She would find a way out of the horrible premonitions and to not let turn into an all out war at the meeting. She gritted her teeth letting her Ice Queen persona take over. She had never lost a battle before and damn it she wouldn't lose this one.

~~~~~~

Meridian fell into a trance. It took a few minutes for her eyes to focus. The plane was underwater. She was trapped behind a door and under water. She pulled Alex into her arms as she looked for Drake. She saw Teague and all his men were dead. It had to be the chant that kept them alive. Human's don't breath underwater.

Seeing his dead body she grabbed his arm and looked at his watch 19:25. This was her deadline. She fought to get the door open and finally Drake was able to move it. As they surfaced she felt the bullets hit her. She shielded Alex's body with hers. She felt strong hands pull her out of the water and shackle them beneath a boats deck. She saw a set of evil eyes she hadn't seen in years. She screamed as she felt herself being shaken awake.

~~~~~~

Teague was shaking Meridian. "Wake up, what did you see?" He noticed the change in her eye color and knew when they looked like thunderstorms there was one on its way.

Meridian grabbed his watch to look at the time, "17:02, we have time. We can figure it out and stop it from happening."

"Ok my lucky four leaf clover. What did you see that we need to know?"

"At 19:25 we will be underwater and you will be dead. We need to alter course. Take the long way home." Meridian was gasping for air. She felt her lungs were burning.

"Teague, I can't lose you on this. Not like this." Meridian was doing her best to lock away the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Don't worry lass. Let me talk to the pilot and we'll figure something out. I never thought I'd see you cry though." Teague gave her another hug before he went to talk to the pilot.

"I'm pregnant, I get a get out of jail free card."

Teague's first in command came over to make an introduction. "I apologize for the delay; we did not get introduced during the mayhem. Reardan O'Brien, pleasure to meet you Queen Meridian."

"Please just call me Meridian. There will be enough annoying royal court coming in the near future. How do you know Teague?" Meridian stared at him.

Meridian stared at the tall dark and handsome Irishman. He was one handsome stocky man who had to be at least six foot three. His looks were different than the common Irishman. It was those emerald green eyes and odd raven hair that made her want to...Shit, what was she thinking. Meridian shook her head.

"We've worked together for years but to be completely honest..." Reardan put his lips next to her ear, "I insisted on coming to meet this amazing Queen that my father talks about." Reardan hadn't noticed that Meridian was holding Alex until he saw a small figure in her arms stir.

"Reardan, this is my sister Alex. We're triplets to answer your question before you ask." She smirked as Reardan's eyes glazed over and slightly glowed.

Reardon looked at the two as if he had seen heaven. "I apologize for staring but you two are a sight for sore eyes." His eyes roamed over Alex, "Lass, you were shot?"

Alex's tired eyes were having difficulty focusing. "Yes, at least it feels like I have been." She saw the dark figure loom over her and she let out a gasp as he grabbed her up into his arms.

"Meridian, I'm going to check her wound and we will be back. I couldn't allow you to fade away on my watch little Alex." Reardan carried her back to another room in the plane.

Teague was smirking as he came up to Meridian. "I wondered how long it would take my son to make his introductions. Don't worry, he will care for Alex. The lass looks a wee bit weak so he's going to check on her. Reardan will take good care of her. I'd have him look at your wound but it looks as if you've gone old school on us with the gunpowder." Teague handed Meridian and Drake a drink.

"She's had a rough time lately so I'm overly protective." Meridian interjected.

"Lass, you have been alone so long and then you find two sisters that are your mirror images. You have every right to be overly possessive. You're her sister, you have years to make up for by being demanding and overly protective." Teague said with a chuckle. "Last time I saw you there was a new recruit you took under your wing and shot one of my men? Marisa was it?"

Meridian's face turned cold, "That was years ago and just a flesh wound. She sold us out and caused the plane crash. Drake handled it."

"Don't worry, sisters are different. Family is different. It's nice to see you have some now. Not that you aren't considered part of mine."

"I consider you family too. Who is the first one to call you on your shit?" Meridian glared at him.

"Lass that would be me now." Reardan came out carrying a sleeping Alex. He grabbed a blanket and sat down while holding her and covering her up. He looked over at Meridian "your answer is no, I'm going to keep an eye on her. I can keep an eye on her vitals from here." Reardan motioned for Teague to throw him a pillow and he propped it under Alex.

"Reardan handles our medical. She's in even better hands with him than me." Teague said laughing while winking at Meridian.

"Reardan, I don't want you to get your hopes up. She's pregnant and he intends to have her as his mate."

"There's no ring on her finger and she's not mated yet. When either has occurred I'll back off. Until then, what's wrong with chivalry?" Reardan gave her a sly grin as he checked Alex's pulse with his large hand.

"It's a long forgotten art only known by few. It needs to be revived." Meridian said as she smiled.

"What am I? Some crass bastard tossed to the side?" Teague bellowed at them.

Meridian chuckled, "I was not including you. You, my warrior, are a rare person as is your son." Meridian stared at him, "You have changed the flight path correct? If not it's time to change the flight plan."

Teague went to check with the pilot again and nodded to Meridian. Meridian finally relaxed and dozed off.

~~~~~~

She was back in the ancient hall but it was disserted. She turned to stare at the man from her former premonition. She looked like a small child standing near him.

"What do I call you?"

"Zeus."

"As in the god of Olympus type Zeus with thunderbolts? What happened to the beard?"

"Out of all of the people I come to, you are the only one whose main concern is me shaving."

"It's been a rough month. I'm running low on what to converse about."

"Do you remember the visions of battle and the vision of your sisters and their mates being dead?"

"Yes, how can I forget that?"

"I told you to trust me. I can help make them believe but no matter what we do there will be a battle. It is imperative that everyone unites and fights the common enemy. You will see thunder in the night when I am ready to speak in front of everyone. I can help convince them to unite and the need for the Triadic Council. I hope to convince everyone to avoid individual meetings. You will need to spend that time preparing for battle." He touched her cheek. "As my granddaughters they need each of you to survive."

"We are relatives of Zeus? I mean you? Never mind, that was a stupid question. So we are related to gods?"

"With the powers that each of you have it makes you part god. You will need to watch how you use your powers. Remember, you were born first so you inherently are like Atropos. Inherently you bring death. You must not let it overpower you. Alex is inherently like Lachesis. She will need to be careful. She can determine how long someone lives and their fate. She may wish for people to live a life longer or have a fate they should not. Trinity is inherently like Clotho; she is responsible for birth and spinning the thread of life. She must remember not every child should be born."

"I will guide each of you. I can help unite you but you must heed every warning I give you." His hand went to her stomach, "Your children were not supposed to be."