14(S2E1)-Not Again... Yes Again.

14

(Season 2 Episode 1)

Not Again… Yes Again.

Mel threw open the giant, double doors to the council room storming inside.  “This is insane!”

His voice echoed in the ancient and large stone auditorium.  All eyes were on the small man as he walked into the center of the room.  Delegates from all races of magic looked on, as well as the High Three.

The High Three were those who governed over all that is fantasy.  Vince Delgato, the oldest living vampire, Aodan the Celtic High Druid, and finally Drum, the Nex Guild Master.

Aodan stood out of his chair and turned to Drum.  “What is the meaning of this, Drum? Your son’s Interruption is an outrage!”

Drum frowned hard.  His son had always made things difficult.  “Mel, you have no place in the guild and no place here.  You know this.”

“I beg your pardon, your highness, but fuck you,” Mel yelled back as he made it to the center of the room.

Delgato snickered, still relaxed in his chair.

 Aodan’s head swiveled to give Delgato a hard eye.  “This is not funny.”

Delgato shrugged as if to disagree, but said nothing.

“This is a witch hunt!” Mel bored ahead and pointed at Aodan.  “You’re just doing this to try to get revenge for your daughter!  Cathleen died because of you and your stupid ways!”

“I have heard enough!” A muscular, clean shaven man stepped forward.  His hard lined body and face were covered in tattoos of animals and plants.  He stepped into the middle.  “You don’t know what you speak of, dwarf!”

“Screw you mick.  You’re really buying into your old man’s garbage?” Mel snapped back.

“You have a big mouth for such a little body.”  Seamus’s gruff voice mocked.

“You look like a dirty dick.” Mel wasted no time and the room was appalled at the language.

“Enough of this!” Drum yelled, trying to restore order.  “You are misinformed, son.”

Mel scoffed.  “I stopped being you’re son a long time ago.”

Drum seemed honesty hurt by the remark but forged ahead.  “The murder that the Rognaithe is accused of is not Cathleen’s, nor does it have anything to do with the events that transpired in the spiral five years ago.”

Mel stopped for a second, confused.  “What?  Then who did he kill?”

“Last night,” Seamus broke in.  “Three wards were murdered on a routine search and seizure of illegal spell books, one other was badly hurt.  The survivor said there was no mistaking the culprit.  It was the Rognaithe.”

Mel scowled.  “That’s impossible.  Zachariah isn’t magical and he sure as hell doesn’t have any powers.  He is human.  How would a human kill three wards?”

Seasmus’ grin widened.  “When I get him, I ask for you.”

“Wait, you’re charged with bringing him back?!” Mel turned to the High Three.  “You can’t send him!  He’ll kill Zachariah!”

The Celtic High smiled.  “True, but given the fact that three wards fell to this Rognaithe, we must send the best.  Seamus is chief of the wards and the only one equipped to deal with Zachariah.”

Mel threw his hands into the air.  “Zachariah is a fat loser!  Are you all stupid?!”

The room gasped collectively at the insult.

Aodan’s jaw worked.  “How dare you!  You who are not even welcome in these hallowed halls nor in the City of Avalon!  Guards, I want him-”

“Wait,” the quiet and almost purring voice of the vampire Delgato somehow broke through the screaming of Aodan and silenced the room.  “I nominate Mel to be Zachariah’s advocate.”

Aodan spun his hard and weathered face, going rigid.  “Are you insane?”

Delgato shrugged.  “Zachariah will need defense in the trial and I don’t think anyone else here would defend him after killing three wards and all.  It’s only right.”

Aodan’s eyes narrowed.  “We will vote on that.  I say nay.”

“Yay.”  Delgato said with a disconnected voice.

Aodan turned to Drum.

Drum looked to Mel who, with a frown and a growl, spoke.  “If I ever meant anything to you, give me this.”

Drum took a deep breath. “Yay.”

Aodan shook his head in frustration.  “Fine.  Mel is his advocate but to advocate for him, he must be here.  Seamus, go and bring the Rognaithe before this council and the judgment of all creatures of fantasy.

Seamus nodded and turned but Mel caught the waist of his pants.  He turned and looked at Mel’s hand then at Mel.

“He better be in one piece.” Mel said.

Seamus chuckled, his gruff voice making it sound evil.  Then he pulled himself away and marched out of the room without a second look.

****

Zachariah had changed almost every aspect of himself.

His hair he had cut short and flat to his head instead of the long and curly pony tail.  He had traded in his fedora for a baseball cap and just recently he had closeted his Hawaiian button ups in exchange for polo shirts.

That was the price of love.

Mary locked the door to the Stevenson’s house and Zachariah caught her around the hips.  As she did so, she made a noise of pleasure.  “With that done we have the rest of the night to ourselves.”

Zachariah’s tone was heavy with insinuation.  They had finished the Stevenson’s house early.  It was just one of the houses Mary cleaned on the side to supplement her husband’s income.  This had made perfect cover for her and Zachariah’s affair as she had hired him to help.

It should be mentioned at this point to avoid confusion that Zachariah was not Mary’s husband.

She had been married to another man named Jim for almost five years.

Zachariah had entered the equation two years ago when he had seen her at a get-together among old high school friends.  There had been something about her that had drawn him in.  Right away, he could feel that she felt the same and before he knew it he was in deep.

“And where are we going to go?” She asked coyly.

“Come to my place.” Zachariah answered as she spun around in his arms.

She raised an eyebrow.  “My husband is expecting me, you know I can’t.”

Zachariah frowned.  “I’m still not sure what you are doing with him.”

Zach was eager for their relationship to be over and to have her to himself.  He had even moved into the rural countryside area, which he hated, to be closer to her.

“Exactly, how will we support ourselves?  You are a dishwasher Zach we have talked about this.”  The desperation for this conversation to be over was obvious in the tone of her answer.

Zachariah broke away and rolled his eyes.  “Come on, Mary.  I’m about to start my new job next week, and then no more food service.  We can finally be together.”

She turned and walked across the dark front yard toward the car.  The Stevensons lived in the same rural area and were on vacation.  There was no one but the two lovers and the night sky.

At least that they knew about.

“You know it’s not that simple.” Mary said as she went in her pocket for her keys.

Zachariah’s eyes narrowed, “Why not?  You love me, right?”

She turned toward him with anger in her eyes.  “Of course I do.”

“Then what the hell is the problem?”  Zachariah asked, his voice becoming louder.

“Currently,” A gruff third voice shattered their reality of solitude. “I am.”

They both turned to see a man.  He was white and a touch shorter then Zachariah.  He was bald with hard sharp features and dark brown eyes.  He wore a muscle shirt and was stacked with muscle upon muscle.  On his wrists and the back of his hands were heavy metal braces.

He was covered head to toe in tattoos.

“You have got to be kidding me.” A look of realization washed over Zachariah’s face.

Mary turned toward Zach with a look of confusion.  “You know who this is?”

Zachariah ignored her.  “I’m done with all that shit!  No more trolls or ninjas or wyvern sacrifices!  You need to find someone else!”

The druid smiled.  “I see. Shall I take that as resisting?”

Zachariah looked confused.  “Wait, what exactly am I resisting?”

“Arrest.” The druid answered as he stepped forward.

“That is a cop?” Mary asked, skeptical.

Zachariah continued to ignore her.  “Arrest?  For what crime?!”

The druid frowned.  “The murder of three of my kinsmen.”

Zachariah found a woman who likes him?  That sounds fishy.  And I think anyone who followed last season knows he isn’t capable of straight up murder!  So has he been framed?  Mind controlled?  Is he about to get his ass kicked? (yes)

Find out of the next episode of…

Stranger Things: Zachariah’s Trial.