'But hasn't Doc found them all with his compulsory testing?'

'Heaven's no!' Taliesin laughed at this. 'There are many underground tribes - like your own and Neraida's - the world over. And I intend to seek out each and every one of them.'

'So it was you who returned Jenny to us,' Tory deduced.

'Aye, as it was I, Teo, who assisted Brian to bury her.' This explained how Taliesin knew of Jenny's fate and where to find her.

'And what of Rhiannon?' It seemed to Tory that they'd passed right over that subject. 'Surely you don't expect me to leave her to Doc's discretion.'

'What choice do you have?' Taliesin decided to fill her in on a few simple facts. 'If you steal her back, she becomes a security risk, as she will still be loyal to your foe. Even if you manage to remove the NERGUZ-I-NUEN, Rhiannon may not be herself for weeks. Plus, it will take time for her to then re-establish her own psychic shield, making her fair game for anyone with psychokinetic ability - which, by the way, Doc now has. The strength of your psychic shield, and those of your kin whom Rhun has so carefully trained, is the only thing that prevents Doc from finding you at will.'

Tory took a deep breath, already considering another way round the problem. 'The NERGUZ ... tell me, who designed the damn thing? Perhaps they could tell us a way of re-programming the module without the activation word?'

'Gibal, Enki's chief technologist and son, was the creator of the NERGUZ. He disappeared shortly after Inanna stole the prototype.' Taliesin regretfully squelched yet another glimmer of hope. 'Maelgwn is attempting to rescue Gibal from Shamash and his sister as we speak. His first attempt was unsuccessful, I'm sorry to say.'

'I know he was captured and tortured.' Tory relieved the Merlin of having to break the news.

'Maelgwn told you about it?' Taliesin seemed astonished.

'Not exactly.' She found the Merlin's reaction off-putting. 'I saw the end result of Inanna's torment in a dream I had. I didn't feel right asking Maelgwn to recount the events of the nightmare he'd been through.'

Her eyes narrowed as she folded her arms. 'What do you know of it?'

'Only what I heard through the grapevine really ...'

Taliesin adopted a more official tone of voice, 'which was that Maelgwn was very ... disturbed at the time of his rescue. But his condition has completely righted itself since then. He would not have been reassigned the task of rescuing Gibal were that not the case.'

Although Tory knew there was something the Merlin wasn't telling her, she had enough to worry about at present and so let it pass. 'Okay then, if Gibal is not the answer we shall think of another.'

'Tory, please.' Taliesin was exasperated by her insistence. 'I have thought -'

'... this thing well through!' Tory finished the sentence for him, having heard it a hundred times in the past. 'Well, think again. This is not the Dark Ages, my friend. Gone are the days of sacrificing one's children for the greater cause of king and country. I am not prepared to waste one second of my daughter's happiness on some intergalactic war! Be damned if I will leave Rhiannon's fate in the lap of the Gods.'

Taliesin watched Tory depart down the hill towards town and she vanished before she'd gone ten paces. 'Ah Tory. One fine day you're going realise we're on the same side. And then maybe, just maybe, you'll learn to trust me.'

18.

THE FALSE PROPHET.

Walter received Patrick's files, as promised, and after sifting carefully through the reports could find nothing suspicious, apart from the apparent speed of his friend's decline in health. True, it was not unknown for AIDS to take its toll swiftly, yet Cadfan still felt that something wasn't quite right.

Doc Alexander sent a limousine to take Walter to the airport. It surprised Walter that Doc hadn't postponed their trip to Alaska. He thought the crisis situation in the Middle East would be keeping Doc very busy.

Apparently not.

Cadfan had foreseen this explosion over the Middle East in a vision and had publicly pinpointed two thousand and twenty as the year. How many times must I be proven right before the higher authorities sit up and take notice? Or even better, take steps to avoid the disasters in the first place!

But, perhaps Doc Alexander had noticed? And this was why the prominent diplomat was going out of his way to befriend him. After all, Doc had been working towards a peaceful resolution to the terrorist threats.

Perhaps Doc was frustrated with the politicians also and was letting Walter know the ICA was on his side.

Walter shook his head as he read a newspaper article about the huge number of fatalities that Iraq had sustained, and it was estimated that the initial death toll would be doubled in coming years due to radioactive fallout. The terrorist outfit who had, albeit unwittingly, instigated their homeland's destruction, were named in the press as the Unken. Cadfan hoped that, if the terrorist group had survived, they would not seek vengeance for failing in their attempt to hit an American target.

Walter noted that the Iraqi President and many of his top officials had been in Geneva at the time of the holocaust. The Iraqi President had expressed grievous disappointment that terrorism was still resorted to by fanatics in this day and age - a time of international peace - and he urged the culprits to cease their activities and surrender themselves before any more damage was done. The Iraqi officials then immediately set about rallying support for their cause from within the United Nations.

'How very fortunate they were there.' Walter wondered if the press were getting the full story, and decided that he must be cautious about trusting Doc.

He also decided that if an association with Doc could help to avert any more loss of life, he would not close his mind to the possibility of working with the ICA.

Cadfan's vehicle was granted access to the runway and drove up to stop alongside a large, and rather luxurious, private jet. ICA officials guided him between transports, explaining that Doc Alexander had been delayed and would join him presently.

'I do understand that Mr Alexander might have a lot on his plate this morning,' Cadfan assured them as he climbed the stairs to the cabin where the hostess escorted him to a seat.

Thirty minutes later, another limousine pulled up beside the jet, and Doc and his entourage filed out onto the tarmac. The young woman who accompanied Doc Alexander up the stairs seemed rather familiar to Walter, though he didn't place her until they'd been introduced.

'Walter Cadfan, I'd like you to meet Rhiannon Thurlow.' Doc did the honours, having apologised for their tardiness.

'We've met.' Rhiannon took hold of Cadfan's outstretched hand. 'At my father's funeral,' she reminded him as he appeared disbelieving.

'Yes, I remember.' Walter wondered what she was doing in Doc Alexander's company. 'It's wonderful to see you again, my dear.' He covered his concern in case the girl was on some important errand for her mother.

'You know each other. Splendid!' Doc kissed Rhiannon's cheek. 'You must excuse me, I have a few calls I need to make.' Doc headed further down the plane to conduct his business.

'So what takes you to Alaska?' Cadfan seated himself once more, and Rhiannon took a seat alongside him.

'Oh, my interest is strictly personal,' she grinned.

'Mine too. Do you know one of the patients there?'

This made Rhiannon giggle. 'No. I meant, where Doc goes, I go. I love him enough to take an interest in his work, and be of help where I can.'

Love! The word resounded in Cadfan's brain.

'Forgive me, I didn't realise.'

'It all happened rather suddenly,' she assured him, patting the healer's hand. 'We only really met a few days ago, but we hit it off immediately ... sometimes love is like that.' She winked at him, and Cadfan took this to mean that all was not as she was telling him, but he couldn't be completely sure.

As their conversation progressed he noticed something lacking in the girl's demeanour - Rhiannon smiled and addressed him politely, yet she'd lost all her spark, and from the sound of it, her individuality as well. Rhiannon seemed content to be a mere extension of her new boyfriend when Cadfan knew damn well that the daughter of Tory Alexander would never be so complacent. He had to figure that this obvious flaw in her character was intended to get him thinking - which it certainly had. Rhiannon's aura was perfectly intact, though perhaps dulled slightly, but this could have been due to the stress of her mission. 'Well, as long as you're happy, that's all that counts,' he told her. 'How does your mother feel about your new romance?'

'Does it matter?'

She was quite short with him, and Walter guessed that Rhiannon didn't want her mother mentioned amongst present company. 'Forgive me -' he began sincerely.

'No, forgive me,' she cut in, 'but that's a touchy subject at present, so please let's just change it. Tell me about you, Walter.' Rhiannon took hold of Cadfan's hand with both her own, and he noticed the mark on her inner right wrist.

'Oh, don't worry. I'm not a junkie,' she hastened to tell him. 'I just scratched the top off a mosquito bite. It's nothing,' she smiled, clutching his hand tighter as if in anticipation. 'Please can we talk about your work, it's so much more interesting.'

Back on the Goddess at Watarrka, Tory was greeted warmly by her kin. She was offered food and drink in the wake of her ordeal, but declined.

'What I desire most of all is some time to think,'

and she urged them all to go about their normal routine - except Ray. 'Can we talk?' Tory held out her hand to him, which he accepted after a moment's hesitation.

Next thing Ray knew, he was standing on the highest ridge of King's Canyon, overlooking the plains, now blooming where once had been the scrub of the red centre. It was late in the evening and all the tourists had departed.

'We have a very difficult decision to make,' Tory said, a deep, uneasy breath making the unstable state of her emotions obvious. 'But there is much to consider, so I hope that you will hear me out -'

'This concerns Rhiannon, I presume.' Ray couldn't see how there could be any doubt as to what they must do.

'It concerns the whole of humanity,' she told him gravely. 'Please, Ray. You are my only hope of rescuing her without condemning everyone else in the process.'

Her words, so passionate and heartfelt, subdued his anger. 'What is it you need me to do?'

Tory told him of the army of immortals that Doc was secretly amassing at the ICA clinic in Alaska and of the NERGUZ-I-NUEN that was being used to control the will of these soldiers, including Rhiannon.

Once he was made aware of how Doc's brainwashing device operated, Ray conceded that it would be difficult to rescue his love - if indeed Rhiannon still had any recollection of their relationship. He had always thought the Agency was capable of just about anything, but Ray had not imagined in his wildest dreams the full extent of Doc's connections and aspirations.

'So, let me see if I have this straight ... you expect me to design and build a device to remove a brainwashing weapon invented by some advanced alien civilisation?' Ray appeared to be a mite daunted. 'The amount of faith you have in me is scary.'

'We're all frightened, Ray.' Tory approached him to cup her hand over the swelling on his cheekbone. 'Even Rhun.'

'We had a fight.' Ray gently pulled away, ashamed of the fact in retrospect. 'But I guess you know that.'

Tory nodded to confirm that she did. 'Rhun is on your side, Ray. He always was, and always will be. He could be your greatest ally if you'd only let him.'

Ray raised a hand to his wounded jaw, seeming a little doubtful about that.

'You don't believe me?' That much was plainly obvious. 'Well, allow me to enlighten you as to why I can be so sure. My son was King of Gwynedd for half a century and for forty-five of those years you were his champion and chief adviser. All in all, your friendship spanned some sixty-six years.' Tory gave half a laugh as she recalled Bryce and Rhun as youngsters. 'The two of you were joined at the hip, sworn blood brothers. Before Rhun had even begun his reign, the two of you had saved the fate of Britain several times over.'

'I'm sorry ...' He found the tale hard to swallow.

'But are you sure you've got the right guy? I mean, a knight in shining armour, Tory, is really not me.'

'Oh, you don't think so?' Tory knew he was severely underestimating his abilities, and that had to stop.

'Well, how about I let you judge for yourself?'

'What do you mean?' He became rather anxious as he watched her take up a position behind him.

'Relax, Ray, I'm not taking you anywhere. Not physically anyway.' She placed the palms of her hands against his temples. 'I'm just going to give you a glimpse of the you that I have come to know.'

Her mind wandered back to the very first time she'd met Bryce. He'd been all of five years old then, and just another orphan aimlessly roaming the village at Aberffraw. I am going to be a knight, he'd told her with zeal, and the recollection still brought a smile to her face.

Over the twenty years that she trained Bryce and Rhun, there was many a memory of their steadfast friendship, their combined triumphs and the punishments they'd endured together for their mischief.

The second great battle of Arwystli was still clear in her memory - Tory and Bryce had fought off Saxon and demon that dark day. But of the many private moments she and Bryce had shared over the years, none was so dear to Tory as the day they had parted. This was the only time Tory had ever seen Bryce weep. Down on one knee before her, he'd begged her not to go. I cannot stand that I shall not see thee again.

But Bryce, thee will, she had vowed. I shall go on and on, and thee shall incarnate. And even though thee may not recognise me, I shall know thee ... and I will find thee again, I swear it.

The young knight had startled her with a parting kiss.

Tears were streaming down Ray's face as his eyes opened. It felt as if Tory had reached into the deepest recesses of his mind where sleep-time visions are stored and never consciously recalled. He had seen these images interwoven in his dreams, and had thought them nothing more than flights of fancy.

After giving him a moment to recover, Tory said, 'You asked me that first day we met on Faial why I was helping you ... well, now you know.'

Ray sniffled, wiping away the tears that had formed around the rim of his glasses. 'I must be a great disappointment to you this time round.'

'Hardly ... you just fight with your intellect these days, rather than your fists. A fortunate thing in this instance, wouldn't you say?'

Ray exhaled heavily with what might have been a laugh. If only he could feel as confident in his abilities as Tory obviously was! 'So, I gather you've got hold of one of these modules?'

Tory winced. 'Not as yet. But, I thought perhaps we should take another look at the information on the hard-drive we stole from Doc. It might give us some clue as to where the manufacture is taking place.'

'Well, if this is our only means to get Rhiannon back, let's get on with it.' Ray grabbed Tory's hand and caught a ride back to base.

Even when decoded, a lot of the information on Doc's hard drive hadn't made sense to Floyd, though he'd learned that Ray's monitoring system for the fusion reactor was in use. He'd also discovered the nature of the glitch that the ICA had wanted Ray to design into the storage units on the power grid - it was a shutdown and/or self-destruct option that, if installed, could have been triggered from the host station in New Mexico, or alternatively, from the reactor station in space. Still, there were many fine details that continued to elude them, because code words were used for any subject Doc wished to keep secret and these were the key to unlocking the layers.

The events of the last few days, however, had provided a few clues as to the true meaning of Doc's perplexing codes.

'Aha!' Floyd was suddenly enlightened, smiling as he slowly shook his head. 'It's so obvious now.'

'What is?' Rhun returned from fetching himself a glass of water and a coffee for Floyd.

'Radiation detectors,' he explained, and then read a quote from the screen: 'To be worn on the wrist or forehead.' He slapped his knee with the back of his hand. 'Sounds an awful lot like your NERGUZ-I-NUEN, no?'

'That's it, Floyd! You've cracked one of the key words.' Rhun sat down where he could view the screen.

'What else does the document have to say about the module?'

'Not much. This is just a memo to his accountant, justifying the outlay of funds to the manufacturer, one Radtec Trading Company. Still, I can probably track down their whereabouts via Doc's financial records.'

Floyd set about digging deeper, but could find no mention of Radtec Trading among Doc's accounts.

'Either Radtec is a pseudo name, or it's been replaced by a dummy company in his books.'

As the pages of Doc's financial records flipped past on the screen, Rhun noticed a peculiarity. 'Stop!' he requested. 'Go back a couple of screens.'

Floyd complied. 'What is it you're after?' he asked, as the page Rhun wanted appeared on the screen.

'What's that icon there?' Rhun pointed to a yellow, smiley face. The tiny symbol was set at the end of a record detailing payment to a company with an Asian name that Rhun couldn't pronounce.

'Ah yes,' Floyd said warily. 'Doc has these icons scattered throughout his files, but they're booby-trapped.' He double clicked on the symbol and then pressed the controlshift keys to show Rhun what he meant.