Fan Fiction #33

"Nymphetamine"

Disclaimer- Pendergast belongs to Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The plot and Siggy Francesca, however, are mine. Hands off.

"Laid to the river midsummer, I waved a 'V' of black swans on with hope to the grave. And though Red September with skies fire-paved, I begged you appear like a thorn for the holy ones. Cold was my soul, untold was the pain

I faced when you left me a rose in the rain... So I swore to the razor that never, enchained would your dark nails of faith be pushed through my veins again." Cradle of Filth's "Nymphetamine"

Chapter 1

Pale silver blue eyes slowly fluttered open, taking in every detail of where he was in a single blink. He was on an overstuffed sofa, a pillow under his head and a thick blanket thrown over him. There was a wooden ceiling fan above his head, slowly spinning, its lights were on but still very dim. He lifted his head up; saw an entertainment center with a 24 inch TV and numerous pictures on the shelves surrounding it. There were four windows in the room, their blinds down but opened slightly to allow airflow.

A door shut with a bang somewhere near by. The sound hurt his ears and sent a vibration through him that brought a feeling of nausea to his sensitive stomach.

"You're awake," The voice was soft, feminine and very close.

He swung his feet over the edge of the sofa, sitting up and taking a look at the person that had entered the room. But he hadn't prepared himself for the shifting of the earth beneath him.

Two small hands latched onto his shoulders and pushed him supine. "Not so fast, I think you hit your head and you might puke if you move too fast." The voice told him gently. "Can you tell me your name? What year it is? That sort of thing?"

He looked up at the owner of the voice and those small hands. It was a girl, probably in her late teens, with large sad green eyes, a heart-shaped face and shoulder-length dark red hair. She wore a black quarter-sleeved shirt and faded plaid pajama pants; her feet were bare, the toes looking exactly like her long, thin fingers but much smaller.

"Where did you find me?" He asked.

The girl's eyes lost their sadness and emptied completely to something he couldn't read. "Answer my questions and I'll answer yours; quid pro quo."

He blinked, it had been a long time since he'd heard that expression and never from someone other than his brother. "My name is Pendergast, it's the year 2007."

She nodded. "I found you outside, my brother said I had to watch over you but he didn't say why."

Pendergast cocked an eyebrow. "That's not very wise of him to leave you alone with someone he doesn't even know."

"I can handle myself just fine." She said and her expression didn't change. "Pendergast what?"

"Aloysius Pendergast," He told her.

She smiled slowly, as if she wasn't used to the action. "I'm Sidney Francesca, my friends call me Siggy."

Pendergast held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Francesca."

"Siggy." She stressed.

He offered up a shy smile. "Siggy,"

Of course, she already knew his name. Actually, she knew everything about Pendergast that had been released in every novel in the series by Preston & Child; two of her favorite authors and Aloysius Pendergast was her favorite character. But still, she hadn't meant to bring him out of the book; The Wheel of Darkness. When she had put the book beneath her head as she had lain down to nap, she had only meant to see the book's events in her dreaming mind but her magic was still barely under her control.

When the pages of the book had suddenly gone blank and FBI Special Agent Pendergast had appeared on her couch, she had dashed to her room in fear and confusion. But after a few minutes she had returned, her own curious nature having got the better of her. He had been seemingly asleep and she'd stepped out on her front porch to phone her older brother for advice. JD had told her to make something up to tell the Agent and that the spell would wear off eventually. She was thankful that only the Agent had appeared, she didn't know what she would have done if anyone else had appeared with him. It was a good thing her dad was away on business; he still wasn't used to her magic and she didn't think he ever would be.

"Where am I?" Pendergast asked, she sat cross-legged on the ottoman, facing him with her clasped hands holding up her chin.

"Waterville Maine; seventeen miles from the state capital."

He nodded; it had been a long time since she'd had anyone's full attention. He didn't look like how she would have expected, she had always pictured a man in his thirties, with softened but angular features. Pendergast looked worn down, fatigued and a little older than he mom. His features were harsh though still angular, his lips thinner than she would have guess. He was still very attractive in an older gentleman sort of way.

"What's the date?" He asked.

"June 12th," Siggy told him. "Anything else you want to know?"

He ran his hand through his white blonde hair. "Where are your parents? How old are you? Where did your brother go?"

"Uh..." It had been a very long time since anyone other than her dad, brother or two closes friends had asked her so many things. "My dad's away on something for his job, mom doesn't live with me. I'm eighteen and I don't know where JD went."

"JD is your brother?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's twenty-six." She ran her own hand through her hair distractedly. The truth was that JD lived in another state and Siggy hoped that the spell wore off before Pendergast would figure out the truth. Of course, she doubted he would reach the conclusion that she had magical powers; that was too far-fetched for even for the great FBI agent.

"When do you think he'll return?"

Siggy shrugged. "I don't know." She told him.

The agent stood fluidly, towering a good foot and a half over her. She looked up, appreciating his lean form and the sense of the strength of his movements.

"I should leave now." He told her. "I don't feel it's proper for me to be here alone with you."

Siggy hopped to her feet, trying to head him off as he moved to the door. "You can't leave!" She said. "JD will think I'm irresponsible and he won't trust me ever again with anything important."

He sidestepped her, laying his hand on the doorknob but at that very moment, the doorframe began to glow and a small symbol appeared in the middle of the wood. Pendergast jumped back, pushing her behind him protectively. She saw his hand go to where she supposed his gun was; he flinched when he realized the gun wasn't there.

"What has just happened?" He asked.

"It's... a spell..." She said.

Pendergast turned to her, his face bewildered. "A spell...Do you mean some kind of magic is prevent us from leaving?"

"Yeah," Siggy turned the doorknob. "But I can leave."

"Why can't I?"

She fidgeted under his intense gaze. "Because I don't want...I don't know. The magic doesn't want you to, I guess."

He arched his brows in confusion. "The magic doesn't want me to...or you don't. Is that it Siggy?"

She nodded her confession. "Yeah," She pushed past him and ran up the stairs to her room. After a moment of indecision, Pendergast followed her.

The door to her room was closed and he tapped his hand against the wood but entered without waiting for her to reply. She was lying face down on her bed, her head pillowed on her arms and two semi-fat cats sitting to either side of her. He quickly took in the room, bookshelves, two bureaus and a small TV. The room was painted a beige color and there were posters on every wall, it was nice and cool in her room compared to the muggy temperature on the first floor.

"Siggy?" He asked, leaning against the doorframe. "What's wrong? Are you afraid of the magic on the front door?"

He saw her shake her head. "Then what is wrong?"

"It's my magic on the door, my magic that brought you here."

He sat down beside her on the edge of the bed. "Siggy, I don't understand what you're saying about this magic. You're the reason the spell is on the door?"

"Yeah, but not on purpose." She turned onto her side and he saw the slight glimmer of tears on her pale cheeks. "I...can do magic and stuff... I can bring things to life if I want to... Like I did you..."

The arching of his brows seemed to be a habitual expression. Siggy got of her bed, her movements only half as fluid as the agent's and crossed to her bookshelf where she began pulling some of them free. When she came back to his side she carried eight books, all of them thick looking; they probably had over four hundred pages each. She sat each book down in front of him, gesturing for him to look at each of the novels. He picked up the largest paperback, Brimstone, and began reading the cover flap and saw his name. He looked at each of the books, reading each little excerpt. His name was on all of them; he was a character in novels.

"How"? He asked finally.

Siggy sat down beside him, perhaps a little too close, their shoulders touching slightly but Pendergast didn't really mind.

"I put the book under my pillow so I could dream it." She said. "When I woke up, the pages were blank and you were sleeping on the couch."

She turned, reaching behind him and under her pillow; her hand came out with a thick book. The Wheel of Darkness was embossed on the cover in gold print; he read the flap of this book as well. The rest of the book was blank like Siggy had said it would be.

Pendergast looked up at her, handing back the book. "I didn't mean to," She murmured. "I'm not even really sure how I did it..."

He was dumbfounded, at a lost for words and explanations. "Is this the first time it has happened?"

Siggy shook her head and then nodded. "Small scale stuff; never like bringing anything to life before."

Pendergast gave her a look she wasn't all that familiar with. "What kind of small stuff?"

She gave him an uncertain smile.

Author's Note- I don't know if there will be another chapter yet. This story is really just an experiment so no promises. Plus my laptop will be gone most of the summer for repairs. –Gadget.