~~~8~~~
"I said help her walk around, not practically drag her by her hair." Tammy stood hands on hips glaring at her brothers as though they had lost their minds.
"What do you want us to do? She won't walk." Her older brother griped.
"Gee I wonder why." Pulling out a crimson velvet bag, Tammy pulled at the cord keeping the bag closed. "Here put this crystal in her right hand and make sure she doesn't drop it. The bloodstone should draw out most of the Trilite, or at least I hope it does."
"Are you sure that we want her coherent for this?" Tammy also had the same thought, but one never knew how the Elders would handle.
"Well we sure don't want her dead." Tammy sneered. "Are you scared of a girl?" Both of her brothers bristled at the insult. It was miraculous that after twenty years they could still be provoked into doing what she wanted.
~~~*~~~
The fire continued to burn around him, as he listened to the murmured words coming from the old woman's mouth. Escape wasn't an option this time. He had tried his restraints, and found that they wouldn't budge. Even if he were to break through then what? There were too many humans, gypsy but human all the same surrounding the fire that it was without doubt that someone would get hurt.
He hadn't heard Conner's cries in some time. He didn't even know if his son was still in the building. To add to his distress there had been no sign of Cordelia. He hoped she was still back at the retreat, out of harms way. She had to know by now that something was wrong, hopefully she had contacted Wesley by this time. But the chances of that were slim.
"Angelus do you know who stands before you?" The other voices ceased as the old crone before him spoke.
"The Romany tribe." Angel licked at his dry lips, as he struggled to raise his head.
"Yes. The tribe who had been proud to bring you pain and suffering over the last eighty-six years. The same tribe that out precious Janna once belonged, until you snuffed her life without a second thought." The voice was now laced with anger, making Angel cringe at the painful memory.
Angel knew that Angelus had been thrilled that it had been his hands to take the life of one of Romany. A woman who belonged to the same tribe that had lessened his godliness to some sniveling freak. Once Jenny's lifeless body hit the floor, Angelus had stood above the body, angry that it was over so soon. It had been his intention to make her suffer for hours, days. To know the smidgen of anguish that he had to endure since the cursing.
"Nothing to say?" The low cackle brought him back to the present. "You're not going to defend yourself? Tell us that it was Angelus not you that brought this pain upon us once again?"
"No."
"Good. But we know the truth don't we?" The words were confusing. The voice held so much hatred, but the words weren't blaming. "We begin."
The crowed started murmuring. Angel felt all hope disappear. So this was it. This was how his existence ended. Funny he had thought he'd go out with a bang, not some chained puppy. But he supposed it was oddly fitting, to die as defenseless as his victims had.
"Wait." Angel wheezed, the smoke irritating his dead lungs. "My son. Please I need to know...he needs his Mother."
"Darla wasn't fit it pee on." The crass words were barked.
"Not Darla. Though she gave birth to Conner, it's been Cordelia who has raised him. Please my son needs her." Angel used any strength he had to look up at the woman standing outside the flames.
"He will be taken care of." The older woman's eyes softened. Angel knew this was the only promise he would extract from the woman.
A large pillow was brought to her, as four other members gathered by her side. All held an orb in their hands. Angel let his head drop, as he fought the tears swimming in his eyes. Silently he said goodbye to the ones he loved. To his small family at the hotel, who had filled his life with stability. To old friends on the Hellmouth that had made him learn that he wanted to follow the path of redemption. Mostly he prayed that Conner would grow to know how much he was loved by his father. He was thankful that he had been able to tell Cordelia of his feelings, that he loved her and would've done anything to make things work out between them.
"ANGEL!" The cry echoed off the walls. His gut squeezing painfully at the sound of Cordelia's hysterical cry. Lifting his head up as much as he could, his vision blurring slightly as he tried to focus on Cordelia. She stood about twenty feet from the circle of fire, her eyes wide in fright as she assessed the situation.
"Cordelia no, stay where you are." His voice cracked as he read her mind. "I don't want you to see this." Her head shook denying his request, clearly looking at him as though he had lost his mind. "I mean it Cordy, please? I don't want for you to see this."
He was almost relieved when two rather large males flanked Cordelia's sides, both taking a firm hold of her. Now if she'd just turn her head away, he'd feel better. He meant what he'd said, he didn't want her to witness whatever the gypsy's had in mind for him. The memories she should carry through the rest of her life shouldn't be the ones of his death, but of the special times they had shared. He remembered how hard it had been on her after Doyle's death, and didn't want to cause her a smidgen of that pain.
The chanting grew louder as the orbs in the sitting gypsy's hands started to pulsate with light. Angel could feel something starting to shift inside and all around him. Cordelia must have sensed it as well because she became frantic lashing out at the men at her side.
As the pressure grew, Angel growled out, not able to hold onto his human mask. Making one last ditch effort to break out of his chains, Angel looked back in Cordelia's direction, sick to see that she was brushing off her captors and heading toward him.
The flames grew, blocking out his view, but he knew his seer and nothing would stop her if she thought she had a chance to free him of this fate. "CORDY NO!" As his words died on his tongue there was a blinding flash that threw him backwards, knocking him out instantly.
Cordelia was preparing to throw herself through the flames when a force tossed her in the air and ten feet back. Landing on top of some woman with a grunt, she tried to roll of the dazed female beneath her. Staggering to her feet, her head swung toward where she had last seen Angel, only to see a billowing cloud of smoke.
"Angel? ANGEL!?" Pushing her way through the crowd, the grayish cloud started to vanish. Her eyes anxiously searched for any sign of Angel. Suddenly a large cheer went up, as Angel's form could be seen lying on the floor, blood pouring from a large gash on his hairline. He slowly rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself unassisted into a kneeling position.
Not waiting another second, Cordelia raced to him throwing herself into his waiting arms. They held onto one another wordlessly as tears fell from both their eyes. "Shh, I'm okay see." Lifting her face from the crook of his neck, he placed kisses randomly on her lips cheeks and forehead.
"I think there's a little guy who'd like to see his parents." Angel's hold tightened around Cordelia as a voice interrupted them.
Dr Seliva stood a few feet away, Conner cradled in her arms. "You! You're behind this!" Cordelia's voice was full of venom as she wiggled her way out of Angel's arms and advanced on the doctor. Gently taking Conner from the other woman, Cordelia backed away, not letting her eyes leave the woman. "I knew we should have checked your credentials better."
Angel took his son from Cordelia, there were no words to explain the happiness of being able to hold his son again.
"We couldn't let things continue on as they were." Dr Saliva shrugged.
"What? Kidnap Conner and Angel." Narrowing her hazel eyes, Cordelia had never felt such anger before. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you but you're so fired."
A whisper of a smile teased the doctor's lips. "Kind of expected that. But let me explain. I'm sure you already know that we are just a few members of the Romany tribe." A big duh was on Cordelia's lips. "So I wont even insult you by going over our relationship with Angelus-."
"Angel." Cordelia corrected.
"Fine, Angel. Right before Janna's death she contacted me. We talked about the curse. Though we both agreed the original concept was understandable, our ancestors wanted to make Angel suffer. They never thought he'd actually start fighting for the innocent. Janna also said that she believed that Angel would always suffer, that he'd always make himself remember, with or without the clause. She begged me to talk to my father, who was head elder at the time, into taking away the happiness clause. That with Angel working so closely with humans sooner or later there was going to be that one moment..."
"That was four years ago!" Angel rested his hand on Cordelia's back, signaling her to let the woman speak.
"My father was very ill, and after his death there was alot on my shoulders. As you can see I still very young, and this position wasn't supposed to be mine for many years. But when Conner came, and can I tell you what a shock that was, I knew Janna was right. To stop from having Angelus appear again, and keep Angel fighting for the Powers, the clause had to go."
"But why go to all this trouble?" Angel finally spoke up, his gut feeling was that the doctor was speaking the truth. But his past experiences with gypsies wasn't all that shiny.
"I'm sure you would've just jumped into the circle of fire had we asked." Dr Saliva notched a brow. "And honestly we hadn't planed on Miss Chase coming."
"But once you knew I came you could've left Conner with me, he could've been hurt here."
"Honestly we didn't know that. I'm sure you can imagine that not every clan member was happy about my decision, in fact there were several that made death threats against Angelus, I mean Angel and Conner. I wanted to have him here, if anything happened we would've released Angel immediately so he could protect his child."
"Not that I'm saying that I don't believe all this-." Angel started off slowly until Cordelia interrupted. "I am."
"BUT why? Gypsies in general aren't really know for their forgiving nature."
"Basically more use to us with a soul than you are as Angelus." Dr Saliva answered honestly. "Nothing has been forgiven, Janna's death is still fresh in all our hearts. But we have seen the destruction your happiness can cause, and didn't want a repeat."
"So my soul...?"
"Is permanent. Don't disappoint us."
"I said help her walk around, not practically drag her by her hair." Tammy stood hands on hips glaring at her brothers as though they had lost their minds.
"What do you want us to do? She won't walk." Her older brother griped.
"Gee I wonder why." Pulling out a crimson velvet bag, Tammy pulled at the cord keeping the bag closed. "Here put this crystal in her right hand and make sure she doesn't drop it. The bloodstone should draw out most of the Trilite, or at least I hope it does."
"Are you sure that we want her coherent for this?" Tammy also had the same thought, but one never knew how the Elders would handle.
"Well we sure don't want her dead." Tammy sneered. "Are you scared of a girl?" Both of her brothers bristled at the insult. It was miraculous that after twenty years they could still be provoked into doing what she wanted.
~~~*~~~
The fire continued to burn around him, as he listened to the murmured words coming from the old woman's mouth. Escape wasn't an option this time. He had tried his restraints, and found that they wouldn't budge. Even if he were to break through then what? There were too many humans, gypsy but human all the same surrounding the fire that it was without doubt that someone would get hurt.
He hadn't heard Conner's cries in some time. He didn't even know if his son was still in the building. To add to his distress there had been no sign of Cordelia. He hoped she was still back at the retreat, out of harms way. She had to know by now that something was wrong, hopefully she had contacted Wesley by this time. But the chances of that were slim.
"Angelus do you know who stands before you?" The other voices ceased as the old crone before him spoke.
"The Romany tribe." Angel licked at his dry lips, as he struggled to raise his head.
"Yes. The tribe who had been proud to bring you pain and suffering over the last eighty-six years. The same tribe that out precious Janna once belonged, until you snuffed her life without a second thought." The voice was now laced with anger, making Angel cringe at the painful memory.
Angel knew that Angelus had been thrilled that it had been his hands to take the life of one of Romany. A woman who belonged to the same tribe that had lessened his godliness to some sniveling freak. Once Jenny's lifeless body hit the floor, Angelus had stood above the body, angry that it was over so soon. It had been his intention to make her suffer for hours, days. To know the smidgen of anguish that he had to endure since the cursing.
"Nothing to say?" The low cackle brought him back to the present. "You're not going to defend yourself? Tell us that it was Angelus not you that brought this pain upon us once again?"
"No."
"Good. But we know the truth don't we?" The words were confusing. The voice held so much hatred, but the words weren't blaming. "We begin."
The crowed started murmuring. Angel felt all hope disappear. So this was it. This was how his existence ended. Funny he had thought he'd go out with a bang, not some chained puppy. But he supposed it was oddly fitting, to die as defenseless as his victims had.
"Wait." Angel wheezed, the smoke irritating his dead lungs. "My son. Please I need to know...he needs his Mother."
"Darla wasn't fit it pee on." The crass words were barked.
"Not Darla. Though she gave birth to Conner, it's been Cordelia who has raised him. Please my son needs her." Angel used any strength he had to look up at the woman standing outside the flames.
"He will be taken care of." The older woman's eyes softened. Angel knew this was the only promise he would extract from the woman.
A large pillow was brought to her, as four other members gathered by her side. All held an orb in their hands. Angel let his head drop, as he fought the tears swimming in his eyes. Silently he said goodbye to the ones he loved. To his small family at the hotel, who had filled his life with stability. To old friends on the Hellmouth that had made him learn that he wanted to follow the path of redemption. Mostly he prayed that Conner would grow to know how much he was loved by his father. He was thankful that he had been able to tell Cordelia of his feelings, that he loved her and would've done anything to make things work out between them.
"ANGEL!" The cry echoed off the walls. His gut squeezing painfully at the sound of Cordelia's hysterical cry. Lifting his head up as much as he could, his vision blurring slightly as he tried to focus on Cordelia. She stood about twenty feet from the circle of fire, her eyes wide in fright as she assessed the situation.
"Cordelia no, stay where you are." His voice cracked as he read her mind. "I don't want you to see this." Her head shook denying his request, clearly looking at him as though he had lost his mind. "I mean it Cordy, please? I don't want for you to see this."
He was almost relieved when two rather large males flanked Cordelia's sides, both taking a firm hold of her. Now if she'd just turn her head away, he'd feel better. He meant what he'd said, he didn't want her to witness whatever the gypsy's had in mind for him. The memories she should carry through the rest of her life shouldn't be the ones of his death, but of the special times they had shared. He remembered how hard it had been on her after Doyle's death, and didn't want to cause her a smidgen of that pain.
The chanting grew louder as the orbs in the sitting gypsy's hands started to pulsate with light. Angel could feel something starting to shift inside and all around him. Cordelia must have sensed it as well because she became frantic lashing out at the men at her side.
As the pressure grew, Angel growled out, not able to hold onto his human mask. Making one last ditch effort to break out of his chains, Angel looked back in Cordelia's direction, sick to see that she was brushing off her captors and heading toward him.
The flames grew, blocking out his view, but he knew his seer and nothing would stop her if she thought she had a chance to free him of this fate. "CORDY NO!" As his words died on his tongue there was a blinding flash that threw him backwards, knocking him out instantly.
Cordelia was preparing to throw herself through the flames when a force tossed her in the air and ten feet back. Landing on top of some woman with a grunt, she tried to roll of the dazed female beneath her. Staggering to her feet, her head swung toward where she had last seen Angel, only to see a billowing cloud of smoke.
"Angel? ANGEL!?" Pushing her way through the crowd, the grayish cloud started to vanish. Her eyes anxiously searched for any sign of Angel. Suddenly a large cheer went up, as Angel's form could be seen lying on the floor, blood pouring from a large gash on his hairline. He slowly rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself unassisted into a kneeling position.
Not waiting another second, Cordelia raced to him throwing herself into his waiting arms. They held onto one another wordlessly as tears fell from both their eyes. "Shh, I'm okay see." Lifting her face from the crook of his neck, he placed kisses randomly on her lips cheeks and forehead.
"I think there's a little guy who'd like to see his parents." Angel's hold tightened around Cordelia as a voice interrupted them.
Dr Seliva stood a few feet away, Conner cradled in her arms. "You! You're behind this!" Cordelia's voice was full of venom as she wiggled her way out of Angel's arms and advanced on the doctor. Gently taking Conner from the other woman, Cordelia backed away, not letting her eyes leave the woman. "I knew we should have checked your credentials better."
Angel took his son from Cordelia, there were no words to explain the happiness of being able to hold his son again.
"We couldn't let things continue on as they were." Dr Saliva shrugged.
"What? Kidnap Conner and Angel." Narrowing her hazel eyes, Cordelia had never felt such anger before. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you but you're so fired."
A whisper of a smile teased the doctor's lips. "Kind of expected that. But let me explain. I'm sure you already know that we are just a few members of the Romany tribe." A big duh was on Cordelia's lips. "So I wont even insult you by going over our relationship with Angelus-."
"Angel." Cordelia corrected.
"Fine, Angel. Right before Janna's death she contacted me. We talked about the curse. Though we both agreed the original concept was understandable, our ancestors wanted to make Angel suffer. They never thought he'd actually start fighting for the innocent. Janna also said that she believed that Angel would always suffer, that he'd always make himself remember, with or without the clause. She begged me to talk to my father, who was head elder at the time, into taking away the happiness clause. That with Angel working so closely with humans sooner or later there was going to be that one moment..."
"That was four years ago!" Angel rested his hand on Cordelia's back, signaling her to let the woman speak.
"My father was very ill, and after his death there was alot on my shoulders. As you can see I still very young, and this position wasn't supposed to be mine for many years. But when Conner came, and can I tell you what a shock that was, I knew Janna was right. To stop from having Angelus appear again, and keep Angel fighting for the Powers, the clause had to go."
"But why go to all this trouble?" Angel finally spoke up, his gut feeling was that the doctor was speaking the truth. But his past experiences with gypsies wasn't all that shiny.
"I'm sure you would've just jumped into the circle of fire had we asked." Dr Saliva notched a brow. "And honestly we hadn't planed on Miss Chase coming."
"But once you knew I came you could've left Conner with me, he could've been hurt here."
"Honestly we didn't know that. I'm sure you can imagine that not every clan member was happy about my decision, in fact there were several that made death threats against Angelus, I mean Angel and Conner. I wanted to have him here, if anything happened we would've released Angel immediately so he could protect his child."
"Not that I'm saying that I don't believe all this-." Angel started off slowly until Cordelia interrupted. "I am."
"BUT why? Gypsies in general aren't really know for their forgiving nature."
"Basically more use to us with a soul than you are as Angelus." Dr Saliva answered honestly. "Nothing has been forgiven, Janna's death is still fresh in all our hearts. But we have seen the destruction your happiness can cause, and didn't want a repeat."
"So my soul...?"
"Is permanent. Don't disappoint us."