Ch. 2: Interlude – All the World's a Stage…

Disclaimer: See Prologue

Private Railcar, Black River Railroad train stopped 30 miles west of Lawrence, Kansas – CSA; June 12, 1880

Mina Devlin had gone to sleep after an annoying day of listening to the train's Engineers try to explain how it was going to take at least a day and a half to fix whatever it was that caused the train to breakdown in the middle of nowhere. The day had been particularly sweltering and nightfall had done little to alleviate that. Tired, sweaty and annoyed, the Rail Baroness finally retired to her bed after a less than stellar meal.

The black haired witch awoke with a startled gasp in the middle of the night. She quickly became panicked as soon as Mina realized that so wasn't able to move or even speak. Her eyes darted about the darkened room frantically but found nothing out of place despite all evidence to the contrary. A mirthless feminine chuckle that still managed to sound like silver bells filled the space along with the scent of lilies. Light slowly flickered to into existence accompanied by the slight sound of bird song and running water then three figures – all ethereally beautiful females – appeared with a rippling effect at the foot of her bed.

Each of the new arrivals had honey blonde hair, crystal clear blue eyes, pointed ears and wore gossamer gowns of a fabric so sheer that it was almost see through. The central figure, obviously the leader, had an additional adornment – a wreath of lilies worn like a crown upon her head. This woman looked upon her with contempt as she silently directed one of her companions toward the vanity and the other to move to Mina's side.

"Mina Devlin, many are the sins that you committed along the path that brought you to this place but only two are what brought us here this night. The first being your pact with the one called the Cackler. Thanks to you and your Black Circle of allies, the fiend will eventually succeed in finding his quarry and use them to resurrect Her! For centuries, the forces of Darkness gained power and influence with the goal of eventually freeing their Masters but never dared to leave the shadows to call attention to themselves. That changed just before the start of your Civil War and has accelerated at a steady pace ever since thanks in part to each of those imprisoned Masters working through human Servitors – a situation that will be made worse once She returns and regains her full strength.

"If left unchecked, She will bring Hell to Earth. The Balance (or as close to it as possible) must be maintained if your race or the planet will survive. That brings us to your latest sin – the child growing in your womb. I was given the task of keeping the Cackler from finding the girl child he sought through indirect means – the Queens have long forbidden our kind from direct interference in Mortal affairs unless the Balance was truly threatened. It is poetic that your most recent sin has provided me the means to take a more straightforward course of action.

"I really should thank you for being such an utterly predictable mortal and taking the bait – I believe that is the expression. From the confused look you are giving me, you have yet to puzzle it out. Until this moment, I was only allowed to take circumspect actions and used that mandate to my advantage. A gentle nudge here, an overheard whisper there and a minor compulsion or two and the stage was set; all I had to do was watch the play unfold as I knew it would then make my Entrance my act out the pivotal scene before the curtain falls and the Intermission begins. It was a stroke of luck, really, that allowed another of my plans to be interwoven with our current production.

"You see, Underhill is just another part of what you call the Hunting Grounds and that means that the Fae are not bound to just this reality but can move freely among all of them. It is inevitable that we take lovers from the mortals we find wherever our paths take us. On a parallel Earth to this one I found that two colonies belonging to a race of our half-mortal descendants were in danger of being destroyed by a power wizard and self-styled Dark Lord. The Matriarch of one colony hid it behind impenetrable wards in the hopes of waiting the arrogant fool out while her sister (the Matriarch of the other) wanted to find a safe haven for all of their people.

"Being only half-mortal, I was not bound by the Royal Mandate and able to directly assist. Posing as an Oracle, I gave the Matriarch a ritual that would open a safe portal through the Hunting Grounds/Underhill to this world. Others of my kind assured that they would survive and prosper once they arrived here. I only checked on them occasionally after that but imagine my delight when a brief glimpse of the future showed that the pregnant granddaughter of the original Matriarch would provide the male lead for latest play. Of course, I was once more limited to subtle manipulations. Naturally, over a millennium of existence means such things (in the end) are child's play.

"Under my skilled hands, young Harlan Black – whom you know as James Charles – followed in both his uncle's and blood-adopted grandfather's footsteps and joined the Texas Rangers. His naturally strong mystical abilities and attraction to dark aligned females provided the opportunity to advance the plot as they say. A female dhampire owed me a favor and was more than willing to engage in a sordid encounter with our Hero that saw him transferred over to the Ranger's infamous Regimental Band and a successful undercover assignment. More subconscious nudges in the right direction and Harlan and your Morgan Lash cross paths.

"I knew that our Hero's and Heroine's magic would call out to the other. How could it not as they – along with the Cackler and his prize – come from far flung root of the same Familial Tree? One ancient bloodline stretched across a multitude of parallel worlds. Magic itself would draw the children for those varied branched together whenever they crossed because they would produce powerful Champions. Not that you will remember any of this after we retrieve what we came for.

"You see, to balance Her rebirth and counter whatever plans She enacts then He must also returned to the lands of the living. Just as the girl child will become Her vessel then so to must the boy child that took root in your womb from Harlan's stolen seed become His vessel. But that will never happen if you are allowed to carry it to term. It is a shame that the transfer will leave you unable to have more children."

Mina tried to thrash as the implications of those last statements but it was a wasted effort. The lily crowned woman held out a hand and magic begin to swirl around the room until it entered the trapped witch. Her womb started to swell as the arcane energy forced the fetus to experience an accelerated gestation. The woman that had been standing by her side placed both hands atop Devlin's womb and began to chant. Tears flowed from her eyes while she watched as golden energy flowed from area those hands rested on her body then into the strangers. The light faded slowly and with it her belly flattened while the stranger's grew. Just as the last of the golden energy faded, the Rail Baroness felt a twisting in her nether region and blood trickled from it.

"We are done here. Let us take our leave of this place," the leader stated as her companions resumed the places they originally occupied. Unfortunately, the now distraught witch failed to notice that the third member was holding the vials of semen Mina had hidden away. She barely registered that the trio of intruders vanished and the room returned to darkness.

*HTR*

Unknown Location; same day

The Lily-Crowned woman rippled into existence before a set of crumbling ruins on an island that had until minutes before been submerged beneath the waves. A baby slept peacefully cradled in her arms. Among the ruins were several stone crypts. Just as the Reckoners had their Harrowed minions and other Servitors, so too did their enemies – though the Fae, as Keepers of the Balance, rarely used them. This was a special situation and it required a special kind of individual.

Stone scraping across stone drew her attention to one of the crypts as its lid fell to the ground with a thud. A desiccated corpse dressed in chainmail armor arose from the tomb then shuffled in the woman's direction. Each step it took got steadier and it seemed to absorb the ambient magic in the air. By the time he reached her, his body looked like a more pallid version of how he'd appeared in life.

"Why hast thou disturbed my rightfully earned Eternal Rest," the undead knight rasped questioningly.

"You – and the rest of your brethren, eventually – are needed. The Bastard Brat is close to resurrecting his whore of a mother. This world has changed during your long rest; beings of great evil seek to break free of their prisons and turn this world into their vision of Hell. Their ultimate goal will be reached faster if She is allowed to run amok and thus destroying the Balance for all time," the woman replied.

The knight nodded while his face darkened at the news. With a gesture toward the sleeping child, he inquired, "And the child?"

"Just as a descendant will be used as the vessel for Her spirit, so too shall your Liege be reborn through this boy. You will take up the role Ector once played and raise this child – Caliburn Drake – as your own. Prepare him for what is to come. You will learn about this time while you teach him all he needs to know both of the ways of this time and those of the time you lived.

"A special place has been prepared for you where the border between Underhill and this plane is thinnest by my kin. They shall meet you on the other side of the portal I will open. We shall not meet again until it is time to give your charge his final legacy," the honey blonde explained whiled the child was placed into the knight's armored arms.

A few seconds later, a mystical vortex opened off to the knight's right. He strode through it with purpose as his tiny ward continued to sleep without a backward glance.

"Fair thee well Tristen," the woman sighed when the portal closed.

The Lily-crowned woman glided across the island until she came to a small pond. She continued to move forward until she reached the center of the pond. A gleaming sword that radiated power and authority materialized in the air before her. She wrapped the slender fingers of one hand around the hilt, brought the sword to her face in a salute, kissed the cross guard then raised the blade to the sky. Her face held a regal but serene expression as – starting with her feet – her body changed into water and merged with the pond. Had anyone witnessed the scene, the last thing that they'd see would be the extended arm followed by the shining sword dip beneath the surface.

Five minutes later, the heavy fog that had kept the island hidden was gone and the island itself had settled once more beneath the waves.

*HTR*

Private Railcar, Black River Railroad train stopped 30 miles west of Lawrence, Kansas – CSA; June 12, 1880

Mina woke with a mournful cry and quickly threw herself from the bed. The pain between her thighs and the blood soaked sheets were all the clues need to realize she'd had a miscarriage. It was the residual magic in the air that bespoke the tragedy wasn't natural. Her eye swept the room until the landed out the vanity; the draw of which was open and showed signs of being searched. From there, they focused on a handmade cloth doll that wasn't there when she went to bed.

The doll had a lock of dark hair atop its simple head and a rather wicked looking need thrust into the region where the womb would be.

"The Baron will pay for this," she spat while black energy danced along her fingers.

AN: This chapter didn't come out the way I expected. It practically wrote itself the second my fingers hit the keyboard. I always intended for this chapter to show what was happening in the Deadlands 'verse and never planned to let Mina keep the baby conceived at that end of the prologue. My first thought was to have the Family Magic somehow alert Lily or her mother about it then have them confront Mina.

I recently reread The Cackler graphic novel so that information was dancing around my brain. As the words started to form on the page, the plan was quickly scrapped for what ended up as the chapter. For what was essentially a filler chapter, I actually like how it turned out. For reader's familiar with the setting and the graphic novel, I hope they enjoyed how I handled things.

AN 2: It's my goal to upload at least a chapter a week – more if the muse is strong. That being said, I hope to have the next actual chapter up by the end of this weekend. I've already started on it… twice because that chapter will cover the meeting mentioned at the end of the last chapter, the events of the Quidditch World Cup Final and setting up the Hogwarts part of the story. That brings me to the bit of House Keeping that I'm still trying to resolve; namely the third girl for Harry. The real problem is puzzling out how she will fit in for this story but the next story that will take place completely in Deadlands and the role she will be plugged into.

Part of me thinks using Daphne Greengrass as a Dixie Cousins character from The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. would be funny. Another part of me says to scrap a second HP girl and either use and original DL character or one of the new DL females I found while flipping through some Deadlands Reloaded supplements.