Untitled Crossover Prologue

This is the prologue and the first chapter of the untitled crossover. The later parts are further down in the journal, or can be found in my memories.

Prologue

Kris had left Arda rather hurriedly, taking his cousin with him. He’d had to leave behind his new wife, Calyna, but he had promised to return to her after seeing Lia to safety. Then, he and Caly could chose their next move together. So, Kris brought Lia safely back to Mithgar, and to the Avagon Sea, then left her to find her own way back to the Vale. Then, he returned to Arda, and Calyna.

She was waiting for him when he returned to Arda. “Did you get Cordelia safely back?” she asked.

“I accompanied her as far as the Avagon. She can get passage to Pellar, and some will get her an escort to the Vale. Mithgar is her home, our home, and she will be safe there. What about you? Did you recover the Anachron?”

“Yes. We still don’t know who took it, though. He just vanished. Like he opened a portal or something.”

“Hmm . . .” Kris said. He had an idea who it might have been, but did not say anything. “What else happened?”

“Not much. The Anachron is safe in Minas Tirith. We are trying to decide what to do with it. The Heralds and the Mages will tend to it. I think they plan to split it up again. Ayala will guard one piece; Tolar will guard another; and Eldarion and Lunea will guard the third.”

“Has Eldarion agreed to serve as High King until the Heir of Luthan arrives?”

“Yes, and he is betrothed to Lunea.”

“A Herald and a Mage. Their child . . . if they have one . . . would have very strong powers. Although the child of Eldarion and Mordel also stands to inherit powers. Mordel is, after all, a witch.”

“The child of Eldarion and Mordel may be the only heir. According to Edric, Mages are unable to have children. There will be no legitimate heir unless a miracle occurs.”

“But miracles do occur, solis,” Kris said. He did not say anything more of what the Force was telling him. There would be an heir, a legitimate heir.

“Do you sense anything?” Calyna asked.

“No. Not really. This is not one of my skills. I am not a seer, but anyone trained in the Force with see glimpses of the future, but we are trained not to trust them.”

“What did you sense, though?” Calyna asked again.

“Nothing. However, even if they do have a child, their child could be evil. Especially considering how much power he would have. I do not wish to stay on this world, and see it come under the rule of evil.”

Calyna did not say anything, for a few moments. She walked a short distance away, and would not look at him. “I might need to stay here,” she said at last. “The Council liked how things are done on Mithgar, with the High King having an Elven advisor. I have been asked to serve as Eldarion’s advisor.”

“I assume that was because of your ties to Edric,” Kris said. “Are you going to accept?”

“I don’t know yet. I want to stay with you, and if you want to leave . . .”

“We are leaving then. If you want to take some time to say goodbye, you can do so, but I will not return to Gondor. Or anywhere else in this world. I will wait here until you are ready to leave, and then we can go through the portal to Mithgar. From there, we can go to where we will live. There is a portal in Drearwood, that I would like to follow.”

“I can leave now,” Calyna said. “The only people I would need to say goodbye to are Edric, and Ayon, Aine, and Tamitha. But something tells me I will see them again.”

“Are you sure this is the choice you wish to make, Caly?” Kris asked.

“Yes. I can see no other choice.” She looked back once more, then joined Kris, leaving her home behind to follow her husband to a new world.

_______________________________

Chapter One

Five years had passed since Calyna had followed Kris through the portal. Their journey through Mithgar had been uneventful, though long. They had spent a few days in Arden and then entered Drearwood and the portal.

The world they came to was called Earth, and they settled there, making a life for themselves. Kris had ID made for them, saying that their names were Gabriel and Callie Johnson. Then, he found work and found a place for them to live. Calyna had also wanted to find a job, but Kris would not allow her, saying there were no jobs on this world she could do. She was not happy about this, but listened to his reasoning.

A year after they had come to this world, they began to talk about starting a family. They had been a couple for about two years by that point. Then, one day, Kris got a letter with a new job offer. He told Calyna that he was going to take a new job, but he would tell her nothing. Then he left.

After that, Kris was gone a lot. He wrote to Calyna almost every other week, and the letters always came from a different place. He called her often, but would never tell her where he was. He also never talked about what he was doing. Instead he mainly asked about her and what she was doing. He came home briefly every few months and that was all the time they spent together anymore.

~*~

It had been a long day. Kris knew that he had to call Calyna. He was overdue to talk to her. The last few times though, she had been asking questions. Unable to put it off any longer, he picked up the phone and dialed the number.

She answered after two rings. “Hello.”

“Hi, Calyna. I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier. I’ve had a busy day.”

“Where are you?” she asked.

“A motel somewhere,” he replied. In truth, he was in the apartment he used between his business trips and his trips to see Calyna.

“What city are you in?”

“That’s not important.”

“Well, I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I’ve been reading in the news about a lot of murders, and I did some research. They seem to be the work of the same person.”

“Oh,” Kris said. “I don’t see why you’re concerned about that.”

“I had a dream about them,” she replied.

“Maybe it was just because you’d been reading the news. You couldn’t convict anyone based on dreams. I know enough about how the law works on this world to know that.”

“Well, it feels important. I think it’s connected to Arda in some way. Some of what I saw would indicate that. But then I saw other people who weren’t human, but I don’t know what they were. They were . . . different ones. And the killings were connected, and the same symbol was left the site of every crime.”

“If it will make you feel better, I will contact that ministry of magic, and see if they knew anything.”

“Thank you . . . I would appreciate that.”

~*~

A few days later, Kris called Calyna again. “I spoke to the Ministry. I just got back from a meeting with them. They don’t know anything.”

“Oh. Where are you now?”

“In a motel somewhere.”

“You always say that. Where are you exactly?”

“That is not important right now.” In truth, he was still in his apartment. He had never left, and he also had never talked to anyone from the Ministry. Instead, he had contacted his coworkers.

~*~

That night, Kris had a strange dream. He stood once again on the hill outside Moria where he and Calyna had kissed for the first time. The Council tent stood nearby, flying the standards of the allies. In the center flew the banner of the Elven King. That shouldn’t be there, Kris thought. The standard now flew only above the coffin shared by Luthan and Elfarran. The allies fought in memory of their dead King, but they did not fly his standard.

Kris looked around, but could find no sign of the battle that had taken place recently. The armies were there, but seemed at rest, as if it was a time of peace. He looked for the people that his memory told him should be there, and gradually began to find them. Draco was talking to the Mages, Kazushe, Lunea, and Momo, while Annabella stood nearby. Sil was heading away from the others toward a stream. Some people from the armies were training, and the Wanderer was among them. Derek stood near the edge of camp, watching the armies. He made no attempt to hide his presence, as Kris remembered him doing.

Then his attention was drawn to the Council tent. Someone had just exited the tent. There was a strong aura of power around this person. An instinctive power that was still in the early stages. It was a sense that Kris had only gotten from Luthan. Then a woman exited the tent, and Kris recognized her as Elfarran. A few moments later, Derek joined the two and spoke a few words with them.

Kris was unable to watch anymore, as a familiar voice from behind him drew his attention.

“Kris . . .”

He turned around to see Calyna standing behind him, looking as she had six years before. He was not surprised to see her, as he remembered this moment. However, he could not say the same thing he had said in the talk as he remembered it, so he remained silent.

Calyna looked out over the armies. “Good view from up here, but this isn’t the way I remember it,” she said. She touched the Nauglaron, and said, “I have this to Edric, so he could keep it safe until I was ready to use it.”

Kris looked toward the tent and said, “They were not here before.” He turned back to Calyna. “What do you remember?”

“That it was different,” she replied. “Do you notice that Lothiniel is not here?”

“Yes. And I don’t think Derek is a traitor now. He’s acting different. This may seem like a strange question, but what is the last thing you remember before finding yourself here?”

“I was at home, and I had just gone to bed,” Calyna said.

Kris’ attention was focused on the scene below. “Let’s hurry and see if we can find out what’s going on.” As he spoke those words a memory came to him of his previous reluctance to leave this spot. Then he had held Calyna in his arms and said, “I wish we could stay here, like this.” Now, he had made no move to even touch her, and they were married. After a moment of thought, he reached out for her hand and they walked to the camp, hand in hand.

Derek looked up at their approach. “Took you long enough to get down here,” he said. “Did you two finally get around to admitting your feelings for each other?”

“Maybe,” Kris said. “There a reason you wanted to know?”

“I thought I’d ask, that’s all,” Derek said. “I wanted to know what kept the leader from the decision making process.”

Kris turned to Luthan, hoping for more of an explanation.

“I wondered if you have give any thought to what you, Derek, and Cordelia will do now that much of this threat has been dealt with.”

Kris considered for a moment, then asked, “Can I talk to you alone?” He released Calyna’s hand and told her, “Maybe you should talk to your sister for a little while.”

Calyna and Elfarran walked away, already talking quietly to each other. Kris suspected he knew some of what they would talk about, considering the conversation that Calyna had had with Annabella.

“I’m going to train with the army,” Derek announced.

“It’s debatable whether you need to,” Kris said. Whatever was going on here, he sensed that in this universe, Derek was not a traitor. And Cordelia, wherever she was, was not a prisoner of the Orcs. Was it also possible that Joich had not come to Arda? If so, Kris could avoid being once again forced into the hardest decision of his life.

“It is not real,” Luthan said. “You needed to see something, and this was the only way to reach you. This is the war as it should have gone. Those of us who died in the service of good were brought here. We can reach out to the survivors from here as well. You were brought to this time and place because it is special for you and Calyna.”

“What happened to make this universe?” Kris asked.

“I never sent Elfarran away. Instead, we all went to Minas Tirith and I was able to help my father resist Wormtongue’s possession of him. Calyna and Elfarran made up their earlier quarrel and Calyna traveled with us to Gondolin. There, the White Council met and it was revealed that Calyna and Elfarran were the granddaughters of Mithrandir. Derek revealed that he had been sent with you under the orders of Minitar, but he said he would be on our side now. He and Cordelia have been a couple since that night and are very devoted to each other. Seeing this, you asked Derek to oversee the rest of Cordelia’s training. You and Calyna have been gradually falling for each other since we left Gondolin. The Imperials have been defeated and we just turned our attention to the Orcs who have been driven from Moria.”

“I wish it had happened that way,” Kris said quietly.

“Many who know of this path do,” Luthan replied. “The price we paid for victory was lower here.”

“Why are you showing this to me now?” Kris asked.

“Two roads lie ahead of you now. That is true at any decision point, but you are at a big one. One road leads to the light; the other, to the dark. Be careful who you trust and don’t trust.”

“Do you mean I’m trusting someone I shouldn’t or not trusting someone I should?”

“You have to figure that out yourself, Kristian. And you need Calyna. Send for her, and have her come to where you are. She can keep you on the right path, and a world as good as this one can come into being. My heir will soon come into his power.”

“Your heir? But you had no descendants.”

“I meant the heir of my power.” With that, Kris found himself back in his apartment.

~*~

The next morning, Kris called Calyna, and asked her to meet him, so they could begin looking into the murders. He said that he had a contact in Washington D.C. who could help them find their next lead.

He met her at the airport, having gotten there ahead of her. They found a motel room, and then, went to the meeting.

Calyna thought there was something familiar about the contact, and eventually recognized her as Lothiniel. Lothiniel’s face lit up when she saw Kris, and Calyna moved closer to her husband’s side. It had been obvious back on Arda that Lothiniel had had a crush on Kris, and it seemed some of those feelings still lingered.

“So what exactly did you need to meet with me about?” Lothiniel asked. A glance that Calyna could not read passed between her and Kris.

Calyna brought out a drawing of the symbol that she had seen in her dreams of the murders. “Do you know this symbol?” she asked.

“No,” Lothiniel said. “It looks vaguely familiar, but I cannot place it.”

“It has been found at several crime scenes, and I think the crimes have something to do with Arda. Kris suggested that we meet with you, although how he knew you were here I have no idea . . .”

“I work for an organization that investigates things like this,” Lothiniel said. “But I will speak only to Kris. If he will come to my apartment with me. Maybe you would enjoy seeing some of the city, as I’m sure you have never been here. The three of us can meet later, or Kris can meet you back at your motel.”

Calyna hesitated. She knew that Lothiniel had once had feelings for Kris, and she did not know what his feelings for her were. She did not want to lose him, although sometimes, as little as they saw each other, she wondered if she was losing him anyway. Now, though, she was afraid that he would choose Lothiniel over her. However, if there was a chance that Lothiniel could give Kris useful information, it was necessary for the greater good. “Okay, should we meet here in a while then?” she asked.

“Let’s meet in two hours for dinner,” Kris suggested. “There are some good restaurants in that area that I have been to when I have been here on business. I can give you directions to one, and you can meet us there later.”

Calyna smiled at Kris and said, “Just remember, you and Lothiniel aren’t on a date, and you’re not available anyway.” She kissed him. “Expect more when we get back to our motel,” she whispered.

“Something to look forward to,” he answered absently. As Calyna walked away, Kris turned to Lothiniel. “You do realize that I am with her . . . now.”

“The kiss made it pretty obvious. A girl can wish, though.”

“Just warn me if you meet someone who grants wishes.”

“I’m sure I could find a vengeance demon if I wanted to,” she joked.

“A what?”

“Nevermind.”

~*~

A few minutes later, Kris and Lothiniel arrived at her apartment. He had been there before a few times, but this time was different, as he knew he would seeing Calyna as soon as he left Lothiniel. Her presence in the city changed everything.

“Do you want a drink?” she asked, gesturing for him to sit down.

“No thanks,” he said. “What do you know about the murders, that I can tell Calyna?”

“They’ve been happening for a few years now, which she probably already knows. They might be the work of a serial killer, because the m.o. is the same?”

“What about a connection between the victims?”

“Well, they’re all British. As you already know, since you spoke to the Ministry of Magic . . .” she smiled. “That was a good idea, by the way. Although, I think Calyna may have also been in contact with the Ministry, according to something I heard. So, she may know that much as well.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her that. What’s the next step?” Kris asked.

“We’re all getting ready to do what we can for our respective sides. The pieces are all in place now.” She stopped talking and closed the distance between them. Without giving him a chance to speak, she kissed him.

He put his hand on her shoulder, and gently pushed her away. “I thought we agreed there would be none of that.”

“I love you! All that I have done, I did for you. Why did you have to bring her here? We could have been together, like before . . .”

Uncomfortable silence fell between them. “I thought we agreed not to mention that,” Kris said at last.

Lothiniel nodded. After a few moments she said, “Go to California.”

“California’s a big state.”

“L.A. You need to find a detective agency there. Someone who works for this agency is tied into this . . . case.”

He nodded, understanding what she meant by that.

~*~

The next morning, Kris and Calyna woke up in each other’s arms. This was something that they had been allowed very rarely.

“I missed this,” Kris said.

“What?’ Calyna asked sleepily.

“You. Spending time with you. Our time together has always been too short.” He kissed her.

She returned the kiss, until they both needed to break away for air. “As much as I would like to continue this, we have a lot to get done today.”

Kris sighed. “I know.”

“I’m going to take a shower,” she said, getting up.

Kris watched her, then reached for the phone, and dialed Lothiniel’s number.

“Hello.”

“It’s me. I’m about to tell her where we need to go.”

“Is taking her with you a good idea?” Lothiniel asked.

“If she doesn’t reveal too much about the case, yeah,” Kris said. “I think I can insure she doesn’t give too much information, though.”

“That’s good. You know how much to tell her, right?”

“Yeah. I have to trust your judgment on all this.”

“I’m glad someone trusts me. Not many people would have . . . the way I failed in my assignment as advisor to Eldarion and Lunea.”

“Well, anyway, I assume we’re following the standard procedure, right?”

“Yes,” Lothiniel replied. “I will see you soon.”

“Good bye,” he said, and hung up the phone.

Kris sat lost in thought for a while, until he drawn back by the sound of Calyna’s voice.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s nothing, love,” he replied. “I need to get ready now.” Kris looked at Calyna, making no move to get ready. “You look beautiful,” he said. “I love you, Calyna.”

“I love you too,” she replied. “Just don’t hide from me. You trusted me at Moria. Trust me now if something upsets you.”

“I don’t mean to shut you out, Calyna. I need to get ready.” This time he stood up and walked away.

Calyna watched him go. She had seen the look on his face, and it bothered her. There was something familiar about it. Something that reminded her of . . . someone else. She was afraid that he was going to leave her . . . or that she would lose him in some other way. This was the most time they had spent together recently, and he seemed almost distant at times, but at other times he seemed normal. She was still thinking about all this when Kris returned.

An awkward silence fell between the two, until Calyna broke it. “What happened when you talked to Lothiniel?”

“What do you mean?” Kris asked.

Calyna realized she had said the wrong thing. “I meant, what did Lothiniel tell you about the murders?”

“The victims are all British.”

“Are they connected in any other way?”

“Not as far as I know. She did give me a suggestion of where to go.”

“Where does she want you to go?” Calyna asked warily.

“Los Angeles. She says there’s a detective agency there that . . . can help us.”

Calyna hesitated. She didn’t really want to go someplace that Lothiniel had suggested. She had no doubt that Lothiniel was capable of sending them into a trap. During the brief meeting, Calyna had sensed something secretive in Lothiniel, something that had not been there back on Arda. However, that was there only lead and maybe someone from this detective agency could give them a better lead. “Go ahead and see if you can get a flight to Los Angeles.”

Kris nodded. “I’ll make the call.”

Untitled Crossover Part Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Calyna had taken leave of the others as soon as she could. There was something she needed to do now that she was back in Minas Tirith. She walked through the city until she reached the Hall of Kings.

The Hall of Kings was where all the Kings of Minas Tirith had been buried, as well as the Stewards when there had been no kings. Calyna wondered briefly why they didn’t run out of room when there had been so many kings.

She entered the hall and stopped by the first coffin she came to. The coffin was made of glass and covered with gifts. A spell had been cast on it, so that the two buried there still appeared as they had when they died over thirty years before. Luthan and Elfarran, joined in death as they should have been in life. This coffin had a chamber all to itself, separated by a door from the rulers of Gondor. Luthan had been the ruler of all Arda.

A moment later, Calyna heard someone else enter the chamber. She turned to see Lia standing in the doorway. “You can come in.”

“I’m sorry,” Lia said. “I didn’t know anyone would be here. I should have guessed you would come to see your sister. You don’t need me here. I’m sorry.” She turned to go.

“You are my sister also.”

“No, I am not. I have no family. My mother was killed five years ago. My father and brother have been dead since I was a child. My aunt was murdered by her lover, and my cousin follows the path of his father. You are not my sister. You are my cousin’s wife, that is all.”

“Kristian once considered you his sister. By extension that makes you my sister as well . . . Are you okay?”

Lia did not answer that. Instead she looked at the coffin. “Your real sister was braver than me. She had the courage to die for her love.”

“It takes more courage to live,” Calyna said. “People like Luthan and Elfarran are called star-crossed lovers. They die for or because of their love, and usually the both commit suicide. People like to read or watch those stories, but no one would want to live one.”

“It’s so poetic, though. To die for love or a belief or ideals. It’s better than being drawing to the Dark Side by a connection you can’t break. I will become evil too. I had the same training that Kristian and Derek had. Both of them became evil.”

“You are not them. You can still choose your own destiny.”

“No one chooses their own destiny. We are all puppets to the will of prophecy. Kris followed Lothiniel to the Dark Side because of prophecy. Derek was a traitor because of prophecy. There is only one other option left to me. Only one way I can escape becoming evil. I just had to return the gift I wanted to give to Luthan.” Lia walked to the coffin and left a rose-shaped pendent among the other gifts. Then she turned and ran out of the hall.

Calyna watched her go, then turned back to the coffin. She remembered finding Elfarran’s body outside the city that morning. She had not been able to save her sister, but maybe she could save someone else. Calyna left the Hall of Kings and went in search of someone who could help Lia.