Title: Distortion
Fandom: Angelique
Character/Pairing[s]: Clavis/Julious, mentions of others.
Theme/Prompt: #5 'Sense'
Rating: PG-15 for safety's sake.
Warnings: Some male/male situations, mild horror of the supernatural persuasion, violence and language.
Summary: Part of the Deadwalk AU and immediately follows on from 'Echo'. There's something in the air.

Notes: Grargh. So not punctual. Anyway, RL is RL. Reviews make it go faster and I also need to know what people are thinking by now. Please?

The small group sat about in silence for a moment whilst Luva gathered himself to speak. The expression on the librarian's face was uncertain and his complexion was a little bit pale, as if he couldn't quite come to terms with his own findings. Pastha, noting this, laid a comforting hand on his boyfriend's shoulders and glanced across at Sara. His girlfriend shook her head a little, countenance solemn.

'It's probably worse than we thought,' she began, and Clavis' heart sank, but he knew that what was to come next was to be heard by the whole group.

Wait,' he said, and everyone turned to look at him. He laid a hand against the cell phone in his pocket.

'Wouldn't it be better if everyone were here to listen to this?' He asked softly. Sara paused, considering.

'Yes, I think so too,' Luva put in, brow furrowed. 'This way, if everyone hears the same version, it will be easier to prevent any misunderstandings.' Pastha looked as though he wanted to protest, and when Clavis turned to him, he asked,

'What about the kids? I mean Angelique, Marcel and Zephel are in school, Randy's got class now-'

'This is sorta bigger than school right now,' Sara said firmly, in a tone that brooked no argument as she commandeered Clavis' phone from him.

'Julious is back at our apartment,' the fortune-teller said. 'Since everyone knows where that is, and it is closer, I suggest we meet everyone there. When Sara has finished with my phone, I'll tell him we're coming over. '

A couple of hours later and almost everyone was gathered and seated somehow in the living room of Clavis and Julious' small apartment, with the exception of Pastha, Luva and the psychics. Sara was holding Luva's hand, squeezing occasionally to encourage him to start speaking although her expression was set in the same unhappy frown. Clavis traded a glance with Julious, who was sat at the tiny dining table, and laid a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder as the librarian's explanation into what he'd found in his research began.

'Right,' he began uncertainly. 'We all know that the night one month ago in which Rosalia disappeared and Lumiale-' He swallowed. The gentle artist was a close a friend to him as the others. 'Pastha took some strange readings from the Observatory – strange patterns in the stars that were either previously unrecorded or just plain unseen.'

Taking a deep breath, he seemed to take heart now that he was in his area of expertise no matter how uncomfortable the information he was about to reveal.

'Well, I had a good look around – in and out of the Collection – and one of the volumes of the Cosmos Codex is missing.'

'Which?' asked Clavis, tersely. 'And for how long?'

Luva's mouth set in a grim line. 'The Rule and Hierarchy.'

'The what?!' Oscar almost-shouted. 'How the fuck did he get a hold of that? When did you notice this?'

'What's that one about, Luva?' Angelique asked, her tone confused. Marcel nodded.

'I don't remember which one that was,' he put in; his own voice was troubled but no less puzzled. 'The Cosmos Codex is the really forbidden one, right?'

Clavis' hand tightened on Julious' shoulder until his lover gave a soft, almost silent noise indicating that it was becoming painful. He released his grip almost absently, but continued to stare at Luva in utter shock and horror. He wasn't the only one. Pastha's eyes were showing white all around the pupil as he stepped forward to stand in front of his lovers.

'How long?' He practically hissed. Sara looked as though she was trying not to flinch, but Luva looked him straight in the eyes and swallowed nervously.

'Since…the last time we saw Arios as he used to be before Leviath.' Angelique muffled an exclamation; when Clavis looked over, she had turned her face into Marcel's shoulder with the younger boy's arms around her. Randy was staring determinedly down at the floor, eyes a little too bright. Zephel's reaction was a lot more hostile however. Spitting out an expletive, he didn't shrink back from Olivie's sharp warning look but stared defiantly back. He started to say something, angrily straightening from where he was leaned against the doorjamb but stopped as Randy held his forearm in what looked to be a vice-like grip. He bit back his words with obvious difficulty, but leaned back, wrenching his arm away from the other.

'Is Ernst aware of this?' Julious' soft question turned their attention back to the missing book of forbidden and ancient magic. At the mention of the Archivist, Luva's face went paler still, taking on a greyish tinge; Sara bit her lip, her eyes suddenly full of tears.

'What is it?'

'Ernst… I called him – at work, at his house – but there wasn't an answer. Finally, I asked someone I have a passing acquaintance with at his office to try and get in touch with him for me. But he said that he hadn't seen Ernst for a couple of months.'

There was a collective gasp of shock around the room, varying in degrees of intensity but they were all reeling. The Archivist was a friend, Luva's mentor, and on more than one occasion, a great help to them all when they had been trying to find their place in the City, struggling in the hostile sectors of Deadwalk amongst the predators in varied forms. Technically, the Institute of Research into the Arcane was supposed to be neutral and spare with giving away information that could inevitably lead to destruction and the end of the world, but Leviath's influence was everywhere these days and everyone was mostly looking out for his or her (or even it's) own in the interest of maintaining their existence.

'And this friend?' demanded Oscar hotly. 'They didn't think to investigate where he was after he didn't turn up for work?'

Shaking his head minutely, Luva said disconsolately, 'No. Apparently he'd put in for leave. Just to visit relatives; it's no secret he's from way out of town. Anyway, after two weeks, some people were starting to get concerned but the department managers shut them up.'

'Payoffs in the Institute,' muttered Randy, his tone disgusted but at the same time, resigned.

'Right,' said Pastha. 'That bastard's got people everywhere, but we were naïve enough to think that we had a completely neutral system in the Institute. And the cops aren't going to do anything about a guy that the mob want as badly as one of the chief Archivists.'

Clavis looked expectantly back to Luva. It looked like he was ready to continue, and Pastha had returned to his previous seat, although he still looked as though he would jump up at any time. Sara was dividing her worried glances between the pair of them; her other hand was now on Pastha's shoulder, making soothing motions. With a glance at his side, the librarian took a deep, steadying breath and continued.

'In answer to Marcel and Angelique's query, the Rule deals with the history of the first Queen and her Aide and the uprising of the demons from UrCosmos, the underworld, or Hell. I believe that Arios found something in that book which led him to believe he could summon and subdue one of the demons that the Queen and her Aide imprisoned in one of the lesser, undeveloped Cosmos all those aeons ago. A key of some kind.'

'Wait a minute,' Olivie said suddenly, panicked. 'Didn't they both use their blood in the Seals for each demon? That's what I heard from Ernst…'

Luva nodded reluctantly. Angelique gasped anew, her hand against her mouth. Tears leaked out of her wide, shocked eyes.

'Rosalia,' Zephel bit out harshly. Oscar clenched his fist on the tabletop, staring down at the grain of the wood hard.

'The use of one of the Keys would undoubtedly weaken the Seal of a great demon or let loose a lesser,' Luva continued unhappily. Julious hissed in sudden understanding, and Clavis felt the sharp urge to close his eyes against the influx of emotions this new revelation was causing. The dreams of something dark and evil pursuing him across the City suddenly made new sense, and he felt more helpless against them now than ever. Dimly he was aware that Luva was still speaking and forced himself to focus.

'The dwindling of the Queen's power so rapidly, means that now there is no one to occupy the Throne at the moment, obviously otherwise She would never allow this city to exist. Since each Power is unique, the Seals on the other demons are presumably safe for now.'

'Before, you thought that Rosalia and I were-' Angelique began, blinking. 'All that power?' She squeaked, awed and frightened. Sara crossed the room to her and knelt beside her on the opposite side to Marcel.

'Yes,' she said kindly. 'Both the Queen and the Aide held Power in equal amounts but used it in different ways to help nurture the Cosmos. But now it could merely be that the Power has turned into something different – something that still helps but in a less obvious manner.' The golden-haired girl looked up at her and offered a tentative smile, nodding. Sara laid a hand on her head and continued.

'The position was never hereditary; this was ruled specifically for the benefit of the Seals so that without the Power, the blood of the First Queen and her Aide's line was rendered useless to anyone with malicious intent in that area.'

Randy frowned. 'So then… assuming that Arios used Rosalia… He only had Power to work with, so how did he manage to bring Leviath across.'

'That was something I asked Ernst to work on,' put in Luva. 'Though you know him, he was probably already working on it in secret, waiting for something like this to happen. He believed that the girls had a direct line back to the First Queen and the Aide, or their families.'

'I take it that genealogy of Royal lineage is documented carefully in case of this situation then?'

Pastha nodded, letting out a breath in a low whistle. 'Yeah, and I bet Ernst's superiors were onto him as well. Only certain people are allowed to know about the Lineage and they're kept an eye on.' He swore under his breath, shaking his head in disgust and disbelief.

'Digging out the corruption from the Institute is something we need to work on,' said Julious quietly. Clavis nodded in silent agreement, but then added for him, 'But after we depose Leviath.'

There were various forms of agreement and assent from around the room.

'And Lumiale as well,' said Olivie, looking over at Oscar, who returned his gaze steadily.

'Yeah,' the flame-haired man muttered darkly. 'After I take the payment from this demon's hide,' he added, so quietly that only those at the table, Clavis, Julious and Randy, could overhear him.

Pastha cocked his head to one side, looking as if he had a question that he had been holding in for some time. 'Clavis, about those goons earlier, you think they might be related to this?'

The fortune-teller almost started. He'd all but forgotten about the strange men outside of the Observatory with their changed auras. He recounted what he'd felt for the benefit of the rest of the group who had not been present.

'Yeah, I heard those rumours too,' nodded Olivie, frowning a little. 'They changed regular goons into guys that packed some spectacular superhuman muscle. The tales I've been hearing are pretty recent though.'

'What were they after?' Sara asked Pastha curiously. The astronomer shrugged.

'Dunno, never spoke with them. My gem of a receptionist sent them off packing. Which reminds me, I need to thank her properly for that, with wonderful suspicions like these,' he added, not a little sarcastically.

'I asked Julious if he might look into it, but if it's bigger than we think-'

'I'll help,' interrupted Oscar abruptly. When all eyes turned to him, he shrugged. 'At the moment, I'm not helping. I… need to do something,' he said and there was something urgent in the way he stressed that last. Julious nodded his thanks, reaching up for a moment to briefly squeeze Clavis' hand that was still on his shoulder.

'I know some people, regulars at the club, who are usually on top of things in the rumour mill,' Olivie revealed, turning to Oscar. 'If you come this evening, a few of the group should be there. I'll make introductions and leave you to it, if you think you can do that. They're open and friendly enough with strangers.'

'Amazing they've lasted long in this city then,' commented Zephel. Randy looked at him sharply, about to say something, but before he could, Sara intervened.

'He has a point,' she said, biting her lip, a sure sign that she was more anxious than usual. 'How can you be sure they're not working for Leviath?'

'I think you all know Charlie Wong, am I right?' asked Olivie. 'He deals in the shadier side of the market for arcane, relics and information on the occult side of things. He knows what's bad for business when he sees it and he saw what was gonna happen with Leviath in charge at the beginning. 'Course I don't think he knows everything that's going on, but arcane drugs? That's something he'd have some facts on, for sure.' The nightclub owner shrugged casually.

'I assume that, with him being a businessman, there'd be a charge?'

'Yeah, usually,' said Olivie confidently. 'But he owes me more than a few favours. I don't think he'd even count this as one if I tell him what exactly is going on right now.'

'True, the end of the human world would put a crimp in business,' remarked Pastha dryly. Luva took a deep breath and made for the door.

'I'll keep on looking for more information on this demon. I know I can trust at least one person at the Institute right now, and he may have names of people he knows we might be able to rely on. It's just a matter of keeping it quiet from Leviath that we actually know something,' he said, as he opened it and stepped into the hall. Sara followed him, but Pastha lingered in the doorway for a moment, beckoning to Clavis. The fortune-teller obliged, walking over to see what he wanted. He was surprised when Pastha, after pulling him outside by the elbow, shut the door, lowered his voice and said in an apologetic tone,

'What I was saying earlier in the office before Sara rang, do you remember?' At Clavis' somewhat bemused nod, he continued, 'Now really isn't the time, but I don't think there ever will be one, not for this. Sara told me that you didn't know, but back in college, Arios and Julious were… something of an item.' Pastha's eyes were nervous and, strangely, guilty as he said this but Clavis paid him no heed. He was sure he had gone pale, could feel the blood rushing from his face. There was no way-

'You're sure-' He began, equally as hushed, but his tone was cool, even icy. Pastha grimaced, but nodded.

'I thought you'd know, or he'd tell you, but…' He trailed off, looking down but not before Clavis saw his expression.

'I take it that it was not a mutual break-up,' he surmised, carefully watching the other. Pastha nodded.

'Arios was in deep with his interest in training, but Sara tells me he was quite in love with Julious. When Julious wanted to do something more mundane, he didn't like it, resented the time Julious was taking in his studies. Didn't take it very well when Julious broke it off, from what I hear.'

Clavis was silent for a moment and then, 'I could have heard this from Julious when he was ready to tell me himself,' he said, the underlying question clear in that statement. The astronomer shrugged minutely.

'Up until I told you just now, you were the only person in the room that didn't know.'

Clavis went very still, barely even breathing as he tried to get his mind to fully register what the other had just revealed.

'Clavis?' Julious called his name and Clavis made very sure of his expression before he turned slightly in his lover's direction, although judging by the look on Pastha's face, he hadn't been very successful. The astronomer's face was a mixture of guilt, sympathy and wariness as he looked back at the psychic. He visibly hesitated before placing a hand solidly on Clavis' shoulder.

'Just… talk with him about it. It might be that he couldn't face telling you himself, not with,' he made an expansive gesture, 'all this going on. I've known him only a little while longer than you, but I know he's not a bad guy.'

'I'll see you around,' he added, raising his voice to a more normal level. 'I'll look for irregularities up above,' he pointed. 'And I'll see if I can find something in the records.' With that, he turned on his heel and left, a last expressive look at Clavis before the door shut behind him. Carefully schooling his expression so he showed as little as normal, he walked back over to the dining table and sat on Oscar's other side, opposite Julious, as the others began talking enthusiastically about the different research methods they would be using in their quest to bring Leviath down.

He watched, not really listening, but thinking hard.

Whew. That turned out to be a bit of a behemoth of a chapter by my usual word count, but I got it updated. Kinda later than I mentioned at the bottom of the last chapter but, hey, never mind.

I'm planning on getting out a one-shot detailing the night of this mysterious ritual (woooo), which, since it doesn't fall in order with the rest of this story, will be posted separately. It will be titled, 'Backtrack', so watch out for it if you're keeping abreast of 'Deadwalk'. This will likely be out between the next chapter of the current timeline and the one after that, since the plight of Lumiale is a big part of those.

Reviews are more than appreciated and keep me motivated to update faster, in fact.