Everyone Goes Home (Mathew's Castle)

Everyone Goes Home (Mathew's Castle)
(combined threads from previous site)
(OOC: Continuation of Everywhere Else, Tia Learns Unwanted Lessons (Mathew's Castle))

MATTHEW

Matthew MacIntosh sat in the large carved wooden chair on the raised dais at the back of the main room in his castle. He was about to have a lot of visitors who he would have to decide the fate of their future. He sat back in the chair and accepted a goblet of wine from the servant whose job it was to make sure he was happy. He nodded to the Grand Sire Elf, Tal'mac who sat in a smaller wooden chair three feet to his left.

The large double doors at the other end of the Great Hall opened and the crowd was marched forward surrounded by his Elite Shadow Hunters. Kurthra the Head of his Elite Shadow Hunters, lead the way. The group was stopped about seven feet from the bottom step of the raised platform. All of the Shadow Hunters went to one knee. The other "guest" just stood there looking at them. Looking closer Matthew did notice four of the new comers take a knee. He knew the two youngest were Alec, a Shadow Hunter and Liam, a young boy who Damir had said he was training. The two older men were Tamir and a Wizard named Frank Cole.

"You may rise," he stated. "Kurthra you will introduce my guest, please."

Kurthra stepped off to the side. The rest of the Elite guard, motioned for all the ones between them to form a straight line. Kurthra said, adding a short bow, "My Lord Matthew, these first four are from the Hogwarts School of Wizardry. This is Brennan, Marco, Tia, her Elf Moon and Luke." He made sure to point each of them out as he said their names. "This wizard it Frank. Alec, a loyal Shadow Hunter is next and the Elf beside him is Rub'ik. The young man is Liam and you know Lord Tamir." Kurthra again turned toward Matthew and bowed again. "They await your pleasure, Lord Matthew."

Matthew rubbed his chin and took another sip of his goblet then handed it to the waiting servant, whose only job was to hold it and keep it filled. "Thank you Kurthra. You all have been brought here today, because you were found on Lord Markus' island. From what I understand you were all being held against your will." He was surprised when the four who had originally gone to one knee, dropped to two knees and shook their heads. "Kurthra, was I wrong in my information?"

"These four are claiming loyalty to Lord Damir."

"Ah, Alec you may rise. You are a Shadow Hunter, now one of my Elite guard. You may take your place with them." Alec rose bowed and started walking toward the other guards, looking over his shoulder at Liam. "Lord Tamir, you may rise and take your place to the right of the dais." Tamir rose and slowly walked to stand at the right corner at the bottom of the raised platform. He left the other two kneeling for the moment.

"I have discussed this situation with Grand Sire Tal'mac and we have jointly come to a decision about some of you. Brennan, Marco, Tia and Luke are to be returned to Hogwarts where they will be checked by the medical unit there and then be allowed to do whatever their peers deem necessary and correct. Moon and Rub'ik you will be taken to a comfortable room where Lord Tal'mac will join you shortly when he is finished assisting me here. Liam I will also be returning you to the school. Frank Cole you will be returned to your personal Island, where I have been assured you will receive medical care and any other care required." Matthew looked at the group. "I will now give each of you a moment to talk before you are taken away."

TIA


Tia started backing up as she recognized the man sitting in the huge chair. She glanced over at Fixer as she said in a whisper, “He was at Shadow Lounge? The one that promised he would chat with me later? Fixer, he is the one that changed in the Forbidden Forest. He is the one that wants Gabriel.” She was scared as she could feel that what was happening was staged. Tia knew if it was not for Tal’mac being there the man would be handling thing very differently. She smiled at the ancient elf that Marco had a hard time looking at. “Landon, need you and Cliff to get to Gabriel and Nathalie. Be careful husband, please.” Tia felt her words to Landon knowing he felt them.

Alec shook his head as he said, “Sire, she remembers Shadow Lounge and what she saw there. We might be having more company soon. Lord Damir really messed with Tia’s head. She feels the calmness you and Tal’mac are trying to show is neither of your true feelings towards each other.” Alec prayed that things were not about to get worse. Even he could feel the tension between the two sitting in the chairs.

A Shadow Hunter grabbed the girl using her own shadow. “You will call them off!” He grabbed hold of her mind and forced her to her knees. “Call them off or watch your friends die.”

Tia felt something grab her and tried to fight the unseen assailant’s hold. Shaking her head as she said, “Get out of my head! I remember your Master and have no intention of being conned into trusting the wolf that destroyed the gentle man my second cousin Gabriel once was. Your master already tried at Shadow Lounge to use me and Luke as a hold over Fixer, Neo and my cousin Gab. I am not ever giving him a second shot.”

Tia was scared as the voice in her head said, “Strike now. These are the wolves that made your cousin fear being around you. Free your cousin by killing his maker. Now Pet before he can turn them as he did Gabriel and Alec!” The pain was extreme. Tia tried to understand but was too far from the man.

Marco froze as he watched Tia’s own shadow attack her. His eyes went between Uncle Tal’mac and Alec.

The young man shook his head saying, “It not me Professor! I am not that powerful. Sir Kurthra, I don’t even think you are that powerful? Could we have an untrained Shadow Master near and not know?”

Luke was shaken as he realized, “Bren, somebody hates the man sitting on the dais. Tia is being used as a Puppet. He wants Matthew dead and by Tia’s hand. Her shadow is another matter, I think?” Luke wished that Landon was here. He glanced at Moon, “Is there any way you can help her Moon? She is so scared and hopefully Landon and Cliff are safely away.”

Luke suddenly cringed as he thought of one that was that powerful, “Protector? Tommy? But why hurt Tia?”

Bren glanced at Fixer hoping the man was enough of his old self to help Tia

TAMIR



Tamir tried to make himself look small, at the corner of the dais. His brain was telling him he had to act. Matthew had to die. His brother had said so, that much he remembered. He didn't remember why, just that he had to kill Matthew, even if it meant giving up his own life.

When Tia started to act up and the Shadow Hunter tried to get her under control, Tamir had an idea. He would use the girl if he could



He kept concentrating. It felt invigorating to use his mind and try and control the girl. His brother had always told him to use his powers sparingly, but his brother was not here at the moment. Tamir closed his eyes and used every bit of his mental energy to try and give the girl the strength to break away from the Shadow Hunter. He knew he had the ability to break the mental control the Shadow Hunter had on Tia, which allowed him to use the girls shadow for attacking her. It had just been so long since he had used the strength.



Tamir tried to not chuckle out loud when he heard the young Shadow Hunter try and make the others believe it was not him. He looked at Tia and concentrated, willing her to break free and kill Matthew.



Tamir heard the boy Luke mentally scream about the Protector, know to them as Tommy. The wizard worked for the Dark entity trapped behind a wall of a cave in the Forbidden Forest. The Clan was worried about this being, but not at the moment. Matthew and Markus' both had systems set up so the Dark One could not tell what was going on with the Clan. Someday the Clan and the Dark One would meet in battle, but not soon. Tamir turned back to Tia and continued to concentrate.

TAL'MAC



Tal'mac sat quietly with his hands folded in his lap. He had learned a long time ago, if Humans or Wizards thought he was weak, they would do and say things around him which would give him information. That information he could use to have things happen the way he wanted them to happen. He knew all of the people being marched into the room. He gave a small nod to Rub'ik and Moon. Since they were here he could now get them away. He didn't fool himself he wouldn't have difficulty. Moon took her protection of Tia very seriously and Rub'ik would fight leaving his blood brother Alec. The boy was now part of the Elite Guard of the MacIntosh Clan so Rub'ik could not stay with him. The elf would do what Tal'mac said, but would also try and figure out a way of leaving for good. Tal'mac closed his eyes for a moment.



Good everyone was sorted out. Getting the Hogwarts wizards back to the school was paramount. The medical team was waiting for them. Darik was also there to act as a go between Tal'mac and the wizards. The elves would be returning with him and Frank Cole would be returning to his island. His Head Elf, Punta was waiting outside the door of the Main Hall. They had decided between them that Frank Cole would probably not go willingly, since they knew Damir would be using his infernal mind warping machine on him. Punta was going to be the one to force Cole to return to his island so he could be debriefed and helped to understand what had happened to him.




Tal'mac was not surprised Tia recognized Matthew. The man was Grand Master of the MacIntosh Clan but he still liked doing some things for himself. Tal'mac had to make sure Cole left soon or Matthew might decide to see how far he could push the mercenary.

He had blocked all thought leaving the island from the wizards. He did allow Tia the brief connection with Landon her husband. It would help her nerves.



Tal'mac sat quietly and listened to the banter. When Tamir joined in is eyes came up but he didn't move his body. There was hate in Tamir for Matthew, but it was a surface hate, like someone had tried to convince him to hate the Alpha, but had not quite succeeded.



Tal'mac needed to shut this whole thing down. He just wasn't sure how to go about it without letting some of the people in the room know it. Looking over at Tamir, he sent out a mental mind bolt and watched with satisfaction as the Werewolf sunk to his knees and then fell to the floor. He sent out one more just to make sure he stayed down. Tal'mac turned his eyes to the main room and smiled. "If we are done for now Grand Alpha, I would like to take my two elves to another room and check them out. I will be happy also to make sure the others get to their destination, since it appears Tamir is having some sort of medical problem. I have arranged for an elf to take Frank Cole to his island also." Tal'mac was not about to tell this werewolf that Cole had five elves on his island who were permanent residents there to help him.

COLE



Cole had dropped to two knees and bowed his head as soon as he realized who was sitting on the raised platform. He was nervous. Would Lord Damir think he had left of his own free will? Would he think he was going to give his allegiance to someone else? He had to do what Lord Matthew said because the man was the head Alfa and Cole was not sure Lord Damir would understand that when he was allowed to return to the castle.



Cole was confused. The girl Tia and the boy Alex were talking as if he had done something in his other life, the life Lord Damir said was evil, to help them. It sounded like they had thought of him as a friend and protector of some type. He didn't remember the time they were talking about. Lord Damir had said he had helped Cole by taking away the bad memories.



Cole watched as one of the Shadow Hunter's forced Tia's shadow to become solid enough to attack her. It was interesting. He had been told about Shadow Hunters and some of the things they could do, but he had never seen it done before.



Cole knew it would probably get him beaten to talk without being given permission, but he had to make Lord Matthew understand. "Please Lord Matthew you must send me back to my Lord Damir. He has not given me permission to leave. He is the one who knows the truths of the world."



Cole watched in horror as Lord Tamir sunk to his knees holding his head as if in pain. When he jerked the second time, Cole almost put his head on the stone floor. Someone was mentally hurting Lord Tamir and he was afraid that pain would be turned on him. He did bow a little lower though, hoping whoever sent to mental pain would realize he was willing to comply with anything asked of him.



Cole dropped his head to the stone floor. The important looking elf standing on the dais had called at least one other elf to assist him in taking Cole to another island. Pictures of a beautiful island flashed through his mind. He saw five elves standing in a line and a whole lot of men standing behind him. Sharp pains ran through his skull. These were images Lord Damir had said were false and were part of the evil life Cole had lead before Lord Damir had told him the truth. He put his arms out in front of him and pressed his forehead painfully to the stone floor. "Please Lord Matthew, don't let them take me away.... they will kill me.... Lord Damir said they are evil and will try and brain wash me to think your ways are wrong. Please," he pleaded.

TAL'MAC



Tal'mac jumped down from the dais and walked up to Frank Cole. The human was his friend, a friend who had been tortured and brainwashed by Lord Damir. The machine used on him had been shut down and locked away from anyone to use. The technician had been convinced to make sure the mind-altering machine, on Damir's island never could be used again. The elves had made him a very nice deal to get him to comply with this.

Tal'mac looked toward the back of the room and signaled one of the Shadow Hunters guarding the double entry doors. Within moments Punta, Frank Cole's head elf on his home island of Perdition, walked forward bowed to Tal'mac and then stood off to the side of Frank Cole. The elves eyes were hard and emotionally blank, but Tal'mac could feel the anger and worry in them for the man who was not prostate on the floor. "Punta, you will take Master Frank to his island
and give him comfort. You know from the past what must be done. If you need assistance contact me immediately."

Tal'mac turned to Rubik and Moon. "You will go with Punta and offer any help you can. I will come to the island and talk with you or I will let you know where to meet me."

Moon and Rubik both shook their heads. Tal'mac turned a stern look toward them and said, "This is not something you can refuse to do." He turned toward Moon. "Mistress Tia will be returning to the school where she will await your arrival and you can resume your duties as her protector." Tal'mac angled toward Rubik. "Master Alec will be given two options. I will inform you of his decision. Only one of the options will allow you to be with him." Tal'mac knew if Alec elected to stay with Matthew the elf would not be allowed on the island and he would ensure Rubik followed that mandate. "Now go both of you."

Tal'mac watched as the three elves surrounded Frank Cole and he was effortlessly floated off the floor and turned on his back. His arms were now rigidly at his side and his legs were together. The look of horror on the man's face made Tal'mac inwardly cringe. This time was going to take longer to bring the man back to his true self.

Turning to the other five he needed to worry about at the present he said, "Master Brennan, you will go with the elves to the Isle of Perdition. If I remember correctly you have some human problems to take care of there before you can return to the outside world." Tal'mac held up his hand when the young man looked at the others and started to shake his head. "I have arranged with Lord Matthew to make sure all of you are safe. You can either go voluntarily where I say or be forced there." Tal'mac nodded and smiled when Brennan walked toward where Cole was being held weightless off the stone floor. The human never took his eyes off his friends.

Frank Cole was floated out the door. Punta was in the lead, followed by a screaming Frank Cole, then by Brennan, still looking at his friends and finally by Rubik and Moon. When the doors closed Tal'mac turned back to the look at Marco, Tia, Luke and Liam. He was undecided on what to do with Alec at the moment. The man/boy was a Shadow Hunter and although he was officially a student at the school he was still an established member of the Clan. "Master Marco, Master Luke, Master Liam and Mistress Tia you will now be returned to the school. I would suggest you keep what has happened to you over the last Fortnight, between the four of you. When the Core and Caretakers find out, and I know they will, please have them get in contact with me. The Elvin community is on top of this situation but I will be happy to discuss what I can with any human interested."

Tal'mac again signaled another Shadow Hunter. "They are ready to go. Please use the port key I have established." He turned back to Marco. "Master Marco, please destroy the port key when you have arrived at your destination. It is not directly to the school for obvious reasons but I still do not think it should be active." Receiving a small bow from Marco, Tal'mac smiled and watched as the four were lead out of the room.

There was one human left who Tal'mac felt he had to be concerned with, Alec. He was a student at the school but he was also an established Shadow Hunter. Lord Matthew had not mentioned him when Tal'mac was originally told about who would be rescued and returned to the castle. Tal'mac walked over and stood in front of the Shadow Hunter. He looked at Lord Matthew, silently asking if he could talk with the man. Receiving a nod he asked, "Alec, technique you are still a student at the school, and I made a promise to a couple people I would return everyone who had been taken. You are also officially a Shadow Hunter. What I need to know is where would you like to be? I will arrange for you to go or stay. It is totally your decision."

When Alec started to turn toward Lord Matthew, Tal'mac raised his hand and held the man's head so he couldn't look anywhere but into his eyes. "This is your decision Alec, no one elses."

ALEC

Alec was scared as the old elf ordered Rub'ik to follow another elf. He glanced at his blood brother but said nothing. "I already got Damir interested in Rub'ik as well as the Clan now knowing about our bond. I can't risk Matthew getting curious especially since I have hidden the fact that I have yet to change since Matthew bite me when he was trying to drive home his point with Deputy Headmaster Greene."

Alec did understand though especially getting Tia, Luke and Liam safe. He was worried about the Unknown Shadow Master but only due to the unseen threat he seem to be to Tia. "Landon is already going to kill me for what he would consider my betrayal. I gave Damir the coin and gave Damir a heads-up about Plan B. I was trying to stop a blood bath as the Core coming would have just gotten them all killed or enslaved."

Alec shook his head admitting at least to himself that it was only Rosa he had wanted to protect. Alec knew Rosa would have come and it was bad enough what he had to do to keep Rosa from being targeted cause of her Animagus potential. He smiled as he knew that he loved her for her nature. She was gentle and kind who did not care if he had a werewolf gene. "I won't let them destroy her gentleness. As long Matthew still thinks he activated my gene, and I send Kurthra reports Rosa is safe. I just pray that I won't be ordered to turn another or kill cause I almost blow my cover when Damir's men came to the school. I really need to work on this spy work cause it almost risked Matthew and Damir finding out that thanks to my blood bond with Rub'ik I will never change."

Alec knew if Matthew ever found out then Rosa would be grabbed and used as insurance that Alec would still use his Shadow Magic as Matthew and Markus ordered. As it was Alec was playing a very dangerous game but it was a game that others had played a lot longer and so far they were still breathing.

Alec smiled as he thought, "If I am here tonight and don't change? Rub'ik and the others saved me from the fate Matthew planned for me. I go to the school. I am just scared as both Matthew and Markus have used my elder brother Bill and the love I feel for Rosa to obey and not go rogue like Gabriel Lupin. Can you figure out a way that will keep Bill and especially Rosa from Matthew's and Markus' wrath?"

He said aloud, "Since I was sent to Hogwarts by Grand Alpha Matthew when he chatted with Deputy Headmaster Green. I will return to the school. I guess you will still want her watched Sire?" His last orders were to insure Liam and him stayed close to the Core. He inwardly feared that the attack scheduled for tonight was still on.

MATTHEW



Matthew glanced over at the Grand Sire Elf, as the people were being led into the room. He knew Tal'mac knew each and every one of them. Over the past couple of hours they had talked and worked out an agreement on how to handle the new captives. Matthew had lost a couple of points but had gained a couple during their discussion. He was not going to be able to have a one on one discussion with the young girl Tia, but he would be allowed to keep Alec and Liam on his island if he wished. The two boys could give him a lot of information about the outside world.



Matthew chuckled. "It is good to see you again also young lady. There are a lot of things in this world I want that at the moment I will probably not get. We will have our talk sometime in the future. I greatly look forward to the exchange." Matthew's eyes darted to Tal'mac, letting him know their agreement had a finite point in time. It was interesting Cole did not move from where he was bent over on the floor. Damir must have really done a job on his mind. From past experience Matthew knew Frank Cole, aka Fixer, was a strong willed person.



Matthew looked around. When he captured the Elf's eyes he received a shake of his head. Tal'mac looked toward Tamir, who was definitely trying to make himself smaller and make it look like he was innocent of anything going on.



When Tamir sunk to his knees in pain, Matthew's thoughts were confirmed. At least the Elf had not killed him.



Their agreement included Tal'mac actually doing the sending of the people to where they needed to go. This way the Elvin community and the wizarding community could not say he did anything wrong.

When Frank Cole started begging to be sent back to Damir, Matthew relaxed back in his chair. He wondered if Damir had been able to totally turn the wizard this time. The last time Cole had been returned to his island, the man had changed back. To this day, Matthew was still trying to find out what method had been used, but the Isle of Perdition was closed down tighter than a wine barrel. Tal'mac reacted exactly like he thought the Elf would, taking charge of the situation.



Matthew noticed how gentle the elves were being with Frank Cole. He also realized Moon did not want to leave Tia and Rubik did not want to leave Alec. This was two pieces of information he would keep tucked away. Somewhere along the line, he knew it would be useful to either have a talk and control Tia and Alec. Tal'mac had a firm hold on the situation. The Elf had always come across to Matthew as weak, but these elves and people had respect for him. He was going to have to give the Elf some greater thought. He wanted to try and keep peace between the werewolves and the elves. He was not sure how much power the elves had, but he was beginning to think they had not shown even a small percentage of it to the outside world.





Matthew had been hoping Tal'mac would forget about the Portkey which had been extablished between the castle and somewhere in Hogsmeade. He had plans to use it himself to set up a couple more hidden points. The one he had set up in the Forbidden Forest needed to be moved on a regular basis because of the creatures there. They would find them and someone would try and use it. Only three creatures had been able to return to their own area. The others had been captured, questions and used in the training exercises of the pups.



At first Matthew shook his head. At the look from Tal'mac he inwardly cringed. The Elf was going to insist. When he thought about it he realized it might not be such a bad idea, having one of his Elite Shadow Hunters stationed at the school. Yes the pup would be considered a student, but there were ways to assist him to find out information about the school and the surrounding area. The Pup could even be used to run errands in the Forbidden Forest. He would have to make sure Damir did not get his hands on him again, but with what he had planned for the werewolf, Damir was going to be pretty busy just staying alive. Matthew chuckled and nodded his head. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Elf knew he had future plans for Alec. It was going to be a fun game of cat and mouse to see how much he could use the pup.