Master of Elements Ch. 08: Grief and Solace

"Oh my god," said Brigit, catching on, "you think the enemy has taken Jenny's mind and left her body in a coma?"

"Yes," I replied, "that's why it stopped its attack. It had no need to try and kill us. All six of us are needed to beat it and so removing one is enough. We no longer present a danger and can be eliminated later at any time that suits it. Perhaps it is working to some plan or timetable of its own that we don't understand."

Matsu had a look of horror on her face. "Is ... is Jenny dead?" she whispered.

"No, I don't think so. I imagine if her mind had been destroyed her body would have died too and it's not like she is on life support on anything, just unconscious. My guess is the Creature retreated back to the Aether world when it ended the attack on us, took Jenny with it and she's imprisoned there."

Matsu's terrified expression continued and it was not surprising. The idea of Jenny in the claws of that monster was only marginally less horrific than her death. And as a scientist she could also do the maths, just as I had. "When we were there before," she said slowly, the implication sinking in, "15 minutes here equated to about six hours there. If you are right and it's been a week here since she was taken that would seem like about five and a half months to her."

"My god Chris! What do we do?" Brigit asked, deeply upset by this revelation. We were all wondering if Jenny would think we had abandoned her.

"You two go and tell Athena and Freya my idea, then bring them back here with you. I'll pack for all of us while you're gone. We're going back to the Aether world and we're going to rescue Jenny - whatever it takes."

"Yes Master," said Matsu solemnly, "we must get our sister back, whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes," Brigit echoed, her voice grim.

They made this phrase sound like a declaration of war and perhaps it was. Yet my mood was oddly improved. Naturally, I was terrified of what Jenny might be suffering but for the first time in a week I was also absolutely certain I knew what we should do. We would go and rescue Jenny or die in the attempt. And if our enemy wanted a fight, it was going to get it.

*****

Author's note: Apologies the pace of my writing had slowed a little recently - real world stuff has intervened. However, the story of the Master and Mistresses of Elements and their enemy will be continued soon.