Amru
Chapter 1: Ring of Yellow
Full Summary: When the Sanctuary is broken into by a young woman, Magnus is confronted with a situation that potentially will change her team forever. It is a desperate race to save a society she has always been fascinated with, but never was able to study.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not even close. All for fun and the enjoyment of creating an entire new race.
Warning: New characters.
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With the recent travesty befalling Imperial Russia, concerning the loss of the Tsar and his family, my curiosity has once again been sparked by the Amurian nation. Although they have been elusive in any type of study- only agreeing to meet with me once, being very brief and vague in all their answers and absolutely avoiding capture no matter the method- I will admit to having an uncheck desire to know these people. What I can infer is that they are strong and powerful, potentially many in number and that their society rivals that of any culture. They, without a doubt, are the most evolved and powerful abnormals I have ever come across. I fear that I can not even begin to guess the depth of who they are . . . .
Helen Magnus, private journal entry, dated the 19 of July, 1918
Magnus was tired. And her head hurt. Although headaches were not uncommon to her, this one was particularly bad. The spots she was seeing proved it. Letting the pen drop to the desk, she gently tried to massage the tension from her forehead. Without success, she allowed her head to drop to her desk, carefully cradled in her arms. The throbbing in the back of her skull journeyed down the rest of her body, causing every joint and muscle to flare in pain. A low moan escaped her and Magnus debated whether she should actually try to walk to her room or if the floor beneath her desk would be comfortable enough for the night.
A gentle nock roused her from her sleep and the footsteps told her that Ashley was coming to check on her.
"Mom? Mom?" Ashley placed her hand lightly on Magnus' shoulder. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
Magnus did not want to move, but allowed her daughter to help lift her out of the chair with complaint. Maybe tomorrow she should just sleep. The thought of spending an entire day in bed, with her head wrapped in a chilled towel and ice eased the pain that the walk was going to cause. Maybe she would wrap whole body in one big frozen blanket. Cold, dark. It was going to be wonderful. Magnus grimed as she remembered that they had not turned the lights off.
"Turn off the lights," Magnus mumbled into Ashley's shoulder. She could sense the grin coming from her daughter, who knew her all too well.
"Naw, I'll get them later. You need to go to bed."
Unable and unwilling to fight her, Magnus continued her stumbling walk toward her bedroom. Just one more hallway and two more doors and there would be her bed. Comfortable, inviting and just waiting for her arrival.
With the impending nap on her mind Magnus barely noticed the shift in the air when they reached the last hallway. Something was different. There was a presence in her house. It was the same gut wrenching feeling liked she was being watched. Magnus lifted her head off of Ashley's shoulder and looked down both sides of the hallway. Nothing. Nope. Maybe she was wrong.
"Mom what's up?" A concerned daughter looked at her as Magnus frowned.
"I thought I sensed something, but," With a tilt of her head Magnus took a deep breath, then a shorter one. "Someone is here."
"Yeah, me, Will, Henry . . . ."
"No." Magnus pulled herself away from Ashley and even as the world spun, she forced herself to concentrate. "There's someone here. Someone else."
Ashley instinctively reached for her gun and tensed when her hand didn't find it. With a deep breath she turned around and took off. "Stay here, I'm going to get Henry and Will." With a look over her shoulder, she yelled, "Get to bed, we'll take care of it!"
Magnus waited until Ashley had turned the corner, before turning around as fast as she was able and quickly walked the other way. Her head still throbbed and threaten to stop her, but she knew that she had to get back to her office. Maybe there was an aspirin hiding somewhere. It would be just enough to hold her exploding head at bay.
Although the walk back was miserable, Magnus nearly sprinted the last few steps. The presence was getting closer. It was a horrible feeling, knowing someone was in your house and you did not know whom much less their intentions. Her house was secured for this and Ashley would be back any second with backup.
Magnus jerked back when she reached her office. The door was slightly ajar and the lights where off. For a second she wondered if Ashley had run back to turn them off, but had not been any time. She had not passed Magnus in the hall and this was the quickest path here.
Calming the rising concern, Magnus cautiously pushed open the door and peered into the black. From the dark she could tell that the curtains had been pulled over the windows. The air was colder. As she pushed the door, a gush of cold raced into the hallway and the fog in her head cleared a little. Without a word, she crossed the threshold.
Even when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, it appeared her office was empty. Maybe the headache was worse than she thought.
A gush of wind blew the curtains aside and a flash of light consumed the room. There she was, the stranger in the house, sitting on the corner of Magnus' desk. Bright eyes shinning in the darkness.
When the curtain settled, it left enough light in the room for Magnus to inspect her uninvited guest. She seemed young, perhaps Ashley's age. There was an air of knowledge about her and of power. No distinguishing marks that Magnus could see. Her hair was pale, almost white blond, cut just above her shoulders in a jagged, almost choppy way. The ends were black.
It was her eyes, however, that entranced Magnus. They were unusually large and at first glance were the palest of blue, but as Magnus took a step closer, she realized that they were a soft grey, with a ring of yellow around the outside of the iris.
Her lips upturned in a knowing grin, "Have I passed your inspection, Helen Magnus?"
Without betraying her surprise, Magnus took one more step forward and stopped, "Who are you and what are you doing in my home?"
The girl gracefully slid off the desk and bowed. "My name is Annalene Amurious and I am in desperate need of your help."
It took Magnus a long second to gather where she had heard that name before. Amurious, it was very familiar. She knew that she should know it, but it had been years.
When she failed to respond, Annalene took another step forward, "I believe many, many years ago you met with one of my people and were greatly disappointed with the lack of answers to the questions you had."
Magnus frantically searched her memory. What abnormal had been elusive? What society was it? Years flooded by and she looked at Annalene in shock when she remembered.
"You are an Amru," Magnus breathed, barely able to register what was happening. The throb in her skull threatened to overwhelm her, but this was far too important to let her headache win. The Amru had avoided her for almost a century. "Amurious . . . . you must be part of the ruling, leading family."
"Not part of, am." Annalene gestured to the couches. "It is impetrative I tell you what has happened."
Before Magnus could respond, her office was flooded in light and was filled with people. Henry came at her from behind, throwing her onto the couch, shielding her with his body.
Ashley had her gun aimed straight for Annalene's head and the steel determination on her face, told Magnus that if Annalene moved at all, her daughter would kill her. Will was only a second behind and his own gun focused on Annalene.
Throughout all of this Annalene betrayed no surprise. She calmly waited for the room to settle. Magnus pushed Henry aside and tried to stand, but he held her back, his super human strength refusing to give.
"Helen, she's dangerous." Henry breathed into Magnus' ear. Fear caused his voice to quiver and she could tell he was afraid.
"No need to whisper, I can hear you." Annalene shook her head slightly, "And you two can put your weapons down. If I wanted to harm Magnus I would have done so long before you arrived."
"How'd you know we were coming?" Ashley demanded, tightening the grip on her gun.
Laughter danced in her eyes, but Annalene remained outwardly stoic, "I could hear you coming. I was alerted with your cries when you discovered your friend in the medical room."
Magnus looked toward Ashley in concern, "What happened to who?"
"This person," Ashley spit out the words, "tied up Bigfoot and left him unconscious downstairs. We found him tied to the medical bed."
"I did not want to hurt him, but this was important and had to be on my terms." Annalene's gaze never wavered from Ashley.
"Not the best way to start out a conversation," Will remarked, bring up his other hand to steady his gun.
"Ironically the conversation has already started," Annalene turned toward Magnus and Henry, "I'm sorry about your friend, but I had no choice. I did not seriously injure him and would not have hurt him."
With one last look toward the armed pair, Annalene walked over to where Henry still had Magnus. She tilted her head and starred at Henry, "It has been a long time since I have meet one of your kind. Perhaps we should talk later."
Henry glared, "Like hell."
With a small sigh, she easily brushed Henry's hands away and helped Magnus up. "Now if you all are done, Magnus and I have business to discuss."
Magnus turned toward Ashley and Will. With a severe frown, Will put his gun away and elbowed Ashley to do the same.
"Are you sure, I could still shoot her. I won't kill her, promise."
"I am very sure," Magnus replied. "Aside from a slight . . . incident, Annalene has done nothing to demonstrate that she's dangerous. Besides, we always welcome abnormals."
"So what type of abnormal are you?" Will asked, completely putting his weapon away.
Annalene stiffened. "Magnus and I have matters to discuss. Perhaps, then, I will answer some of your questions. Not before."
"Annalene, this is my team. You can tell them now, or I will be telling them later. You can trust them." Magnus gestured for Annalene to sit. "They will do everything they can to help you."
"Is shooting me considered helpful?"
"If I had wanted to shoot you, I would've." Ashley bit back, settling herself on the arm of the couch. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood today."
"Ashley!" Magnus glared at her daughter.
"It's alright, Magnus, I very much doubt she could have hit me." Annalene pulled one of the antique chairs close to the fire.
Before Ashley could jump to respond, Magnus put a silencing hand on her arm and leaned in toward Annalene, "So what is so urgent that you felt the need to break into my home?"
A look of pain passed over Annalene's face and her eyes filled with tears that she quickly brushed away. "My family was murdered three days ago, my father and twin brother. They were on a routine trip in Russia, visiting many of the city hubs for my kind of . . . abnormals, when they were found dead in an old meeting hall. The blood was still pouring from them."
Will leaned in, "How did they die?"
Annalene took a shaky breath, "Their necks were slashed to the spine. The attackers took trophies. Our doctor's say they were still alive when their eyes were gouged out." Annalene's hand clenched tight and the blood drained from her face.
"Magnus, I need your help. I need your protection for my people."
Magnus frowned; every rumor and story she had heard painted the Amru as self-sufficient. What enemy had done this? "Who did this? How can I protect you?"
"I don't know yet, who did this. I am the last remaining person in a family that has ruled for hundreds of years. I'm it. Key placeholders in my society are being killed and we don't know why. Our numbers have been dwindling for years, we'll never be the nation we once were, but I fear a greater attack is coming. This is one of the safest places for our kind. The bodies of their bodyguards still have not been found. "
"Are you thinking war?" Will asked.
Annalene pushed herself out of the chair, "I do not know. If it comes to that, I believe we would win, but at great cost." She stopped her pacing and starred at Magnus, "If our secret is exposed, we are dead."
"What secret?" Ashley asked, her curiosity overtaking her distrust.
Annalene rested her chin in her palm and focused her gaze on the wall. Magnus could see her weighing the options, deciding which path was best. It was not an easy place to be.
With a determined look, Annalene turned toward Ashley. "We are what you would call Were-Leopards, with the ability to change to what human's calls an Amru Leopard at will." Annalene fell back into her chair and ran her hand through her hair. "We tend not to change much anymore, and until now we have not shared our secrets, but my people are dying. I no longer have any choices"
"This is what I propose. Combine our resources, your connections and my money and influence to resolve what is happening. In return I will stay here. In effect become a test animal for you. I'll answer what questions you have, in full and in truth and you can run any medical test you would like. I will even join your team, if you wish. I will protect you."
Magnus frowned. As much as she would jump at the chance, something just was not right. "You make it sound like a prison. We would always take you as our guest, but test animal is very serve and I do not need a bodyguard."
Annalene leaned forward, intense and very still, "No one in the history of my people has allowed themselves to be examined by one who was not our own. It is desperate. My father and brother are dead. My people are being killed. I am offering you a chance that may never come again Helen. I require your protection and you greatly desire expanding your knowledge. There are no favors in this, nothing is owed. It is a fair trade."
Without a second thought Magnus knew that this was an opportunity she could not give up. With a smile, she said, "Welcome to the Sanctuary."