Protected
Chapter Five
Threats
A flow of open books surrounded Connor and Mercy like an ocean. She held one large, leather-bound text, reading the Latin written words.
"Okay. This spell should bring out the Galrok."
"How will you know who the light goes to?"
"The reflecting glass will show where the colored orb goes."
"I don't know about helping you with all this mojo junk."
Mercy whipped her head up, her eyes a darkened blue, glaring daggers. Connor met eyes, and his own brown ones lowered, giving up.
"It's not junk. Besides, I need another person to channel the power."
Connor resigned, "What do you need?"
Mercy beamed at him, making Connor feel like it was all worth it.
"Some paint, white and black. Candles, they have to be white, also. Matches, some nymph dust, powdered vampire's bones, and garlic."
Connor raised an eyebrow, "You think we have all of that just laying around?"
"Yeah."
Connor pulled the candles and ingredients out of a cabinet. "Who has nymph dust? It's not in our cabinet. We can't go to a store."
"It's in my bag, Connor."
Connor rolled his eyes, disappearing into the basement, returning with the paint.
"Okay," Mercy instructed, "Make one white circle intertwined with one black circle. They have to be large enough to stand in."
Connor did as he was told. Mercy placed the candles around the two wet circles and stood in the white circle, mixing the ingredients together.
"Connor, stand in the black circle."
"Are you sure I can help? I'm a demon. Won't it mess up the flow in finding a demon?"
Mercy tilted her head. "A demon? You? No. You're not a demon. Why would you think that?"
"Our demon violence spell. I tried to hit Angelus and I couldn't."
"Well, you're definitely not a demon. I can tell. Lorne, obviously, and I knew Cordelia was Brachen the moment I saw her. Well, I wasn't sure what kind of demon she was, but I knew. You aren't a demon. It's not in your aura. These things mix into the aura, making each thing a distinct color. Witches have a slight green added to it. Demons have some red. Vampires have some orange. Humans vary from blue to yellow to pink. Just no orange, red, or green to it. You, my dear Connor, are blue, white, and a slight touch of orange to it. Must be your parental structure. But you're definitely not evil. I've studied this kind of thing."
Connor's mouth dropped open. "But, I always thought, how..."
"The spell must be knackered. Now, can we please move on?"
Connor nodded, reluctantly. She cupped the compound in one hand and reached out for Connor's palm. She interlocked their fingers and sparks shot through both of them.
"Close your eyes. Just relax."
Connor's eyes fluttered shut and Mercy took a deep breath, reciting the spell from memory.
"With this plea I cry
Reveal the demon with this scry
Sunlight, Innocent, Protection
Darkness, Evil, Entropy
Find the..."
"Magicking again?"
Connor started to open his eyes, but Mercy squeezed it in a silent call for him to keep them closed.
"Find the place in which this Master hides."
She blew into her palm and the particles rained on them. The flames surged and power threw Mercy back. She opened her eyes as did Connor and she turned to the mirror. Nicholas Wyndam-Pryce advanced to her, but Connor broke out of the circle. Mercy, suddenly remembering what Connor has told her, shouted out,
"Demon violence is allowed
Break down the barrier now!"
Electricty shot through the room. Mercy watched the green orb fly around the room and down the hall. Connor stepped in front of Nicholas.
"I think you should leave."
"It's her addiction. She's managed to pull everything over your eyes, playing helpless, just like that worthless brother of hers."
"You have no idea what you're talking about!"
Mercy kept her concentration, despite the fear that ran through her everytime Nicholas's voice sounded. The green orb hadn't left the hotel yet. It flew to Cordelia and hit her stomach.
"The baby's the Galrok! Of course. Oh, goodness, it's Cordelia!"
The image disappeared while a look of confusion flickered across Cordy's face, her eyes flashing white. Mercy whirled and saw her dad getting out a knife.
"PAN PROTECTORATE!"
She waved her hand and a barrier flew up when Nicholas tried to slash Connor with the knife. Connor seemed surprised, but used it to his advantage. He kicked the knife away from Nicholas just as Wesley and Fred hurried into the room, Gunn and Angel close behind.
"Father!"
Connor had grabbed him and pushed him to Wesley.
"Get out of here!"
"You have no right to tell me what to do, Son."
Wesley's eyes narrowed and he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
"This is not your house. I'm not some little poof like I was before. I will not let you order me around."
"You think your safe now. Oh, you have friends. A vampire, an anamoly, a demon, a crazy girl and a street kid. They're not worth anything. And they'll still desert you. You and your sister. I have never been more ashamed of my childen. A boy who was fired from the Watcher's Council and a witch girl. You're nothing, Wesley. You can't care for your sister. She's out of control. Just give her to me, so we don't have to go to court about this. I don't wish to smear our family's name any farther than you've already done."
Wesley almost snorted. He wanted to punch his father, but that would be letting himself into the abyss of darkness he'd been trying to crawl his way out of since Lilah's death. He resisted, simply pushing his father out of the hotel.
"I will keep Mercy from you. I will protect her from you. You will not continue to pursue this. If you do, we will crush you. Angel Investigations help the helpless. That pretty much covers Mercy."
Wesley shut the door, locking it. Fred stood behind him, a sympathetic look on her face. Wesley's head lulled down and he skulked slowly down the stairs. Fred moved to him, wrapping her arms around him, comforting him. He found himself burying his head into her long, silky hair, strawberry scented shampoo wafting into his nose. It relaxed him considerably, making him feel like everything was okay. He kissed her shoulder before pulling away, looking at Mercy. Connor was muttering a thanks for the protective shield Mercy had put up. Mercy didn't seem interested.
"I, uh, I found out who the Master is."
"You did?"
"Connor and I performed a ritual before Father came in."
"You saw the light?" Connor asked quietly.
"Yeah. This is going to be hard to believe, but it hit Cordelia in the stomach. I think the baby is controlling Cordelia's free will. That means the baby is the Galrok."
"Cordelia's not pregnant, Mercy." Fred stated, gently, not wanting to embarrass the young girl. Connor's eyes had widened.
"You're lying!"
Mercy whirled to meet him.
"What?"
"The baby isn't a demon! Cordelia isn't evil!"
Mercy suddenly understood. Connor was the father. And he wasn't a Galrok.
"I know what I saw, Connor."
"No! You don't."
"I don't know how. You're not a demon, so it's not you. It must not be yours. I can't figure that out!"
"You're crazy. You have no idea what you are even talking about!"
"The rain of fire." Angel cut in.
"What?" Connor muttered.
"You and Cordelia...during the rain of fire. It must have done something to make the baby Galrok. Or her return from being a higher power. Something has messed it up."
Connor shook his head.
"You're just jealous, Angel. Cordy's not evil. The baby is not evil. I AM NOT EVIL!"
Connor flung the door open and ran into the night, weaponless and upset.
Mercy sighed. "I didn't know Connor was the father. I thought you all already knew Cordelia was pregnant. I was just trying to tell you what I had discovered."
"You did nothing wrong, Sweet Cheeks. He's just angry." Lorne comforted from the chair. Mercy nodded slowly.
"We'll have to handle this delicately. Cordelia can't know that we know. She'll kill us all in a heartbeat."
No one realized that Angel had disappeared as well.
Mercy said suddenly, after a few moments of silence, "I'm going to go find Connor."
"But..." Wesley stalled.
"I'll leave you with ingredients to mix in a potion that will rid the baby of the demoness. The baby shouldn't be harmed, unless it's not really a baby at all. If it's only the Galrok, it'll be gone. I've got to go find Connor. He needs to understand that the baby's evilness isn't his fault."
Gunn handed her a stake. "Do you know how to use it?"
She let out a small grunt.
"I'll come with you, Mercy." Wesley offered.
"No. I need to find him alone."
"You don't know your way around the city."
"I'll manage."
"Be careful."
Mercy pocketed the stake and slid into the dark midnight sky.
Chapter Five
Threats
A flow of open books surrounded Connor and Mercy like an ocean. She held one large, leather-bound text, reading the Latin written words.
"Okay. This spell should bring out the Galrok."
"How will you know who the light goes to?"
"The reflecting glass will show where the colored orb goes."
"I don't know about helping you with all this mojo junk."
Mercy whipped her head up, her eyes a darkened blue, glaring daggers. Connor met eyes, and his own brown ones lowered, giving up.
"It's not junk. Besides, I need another person to channel the power."
Connor resigned, "What do you need?"
Mercy beamed at him, making Connor feel like it was all worth it.
"Some paint, white and black. Candles, they have to be white, also. Matches, some nymph dust, powdered vampire's bones, and garlic."
Connor raised an eyebrow, "You think we have all of that just laying around?"
"Yeah."
Connor pulled the candles and ingredients out of a cabinet. "Who has nymph dust? It's not in our cabinet. We can't go to a store."
"It's in my bag, Connor."
Connor rolled his eyes, disappearing into the basement, returning with the paint.
"Okay," Mercy instructed, "Make one white circle intertwined with one black circle. They have to be large enough to stand in."
Connor did as he was told. Mercy placed the candles around the two wet circles and stood in the white circle, mixing the ingredients together.
"Connor, stand in the black circle."
"Are you sure I can help? I'm a demon. Won't it mess up the flow in finding a demon?"
Mercy tilted her head. "A demon? You? No. You're not a demon. Why would you think that?"
"Our demon violence spell. I tried to hit Angelus and I couldn't."
"Well, you're definitely not a demon. I can tell. Lorne, obviously, and I knew Cordelia was Brachen the moment I saw her. Well, I wasn't sure what kind of demon she was, but I knew. You aren't a demon. It's not in your aura. These things mix into the aura, making each thing a distinct color. Witches have a slight green added to it. Demons have some red. Vampires have some orange. Humans vary from blue to yellow to pink. Just no orange, red, or green to it. You, my dear Connor, are blue, white, and a slight touch of orange to it. Must be your parental structure. But you're definitely not evil. I've studied this kind of thing."
Connor's mouth dropped open. "But, I always thought, how..."
"The spell must be knackered. Now, can we please move on?"
Connor nodded, reluctantly. She cupped the compound in one hand and reached out for Connor's palm. She interlocked their fingers and sparks shot through both of them.
"Close your eyes. Just relax."
Connor's eyes fluttered shut and Mercy took a deep breath, reciting the spell from memory.
"With this plea I cry
Reveal the demon with this scry
Sunlight, Innocent, Protection
Darkness, Evil, Entropy
Find the..."
"Magicking again?"
Connor started to open his eyes, but Mercy squeezed it in a silent call for him to keep them closed.
"Find the place in which this Master hides."
She blew into her palm and the particles rained on them. The flames surged and power threw Mercy back. She opened her eyes as did Connor and she turned to the mirror. Nicholas Wyndam-Pryce advanced to her, but Connor broke out of the circle. Mercy, suddenly remembering what Connor has told her, shouted out,
"Demon violence is allowed
Break down the barrier now!"
Electricty shot through the room. Mercy watched the green orb fly around the room and down the hall. Connor stepped in front of Nicholas.
"I think you should leave."
"It's her addiction. She's managed to pull everything over your eyes, playing helpless, just like that worthless brother of hers."
"You have no idea what you're talking about!"
Mercy kept her concentration, despite the fear that ran through her everytime Nicholas's voice sounded. The green orb hadn't left the hotel yet. It flew to Cordelia and hit her stomach.
"The baby's the Galrok! Of course. Oh, goodness, it's Cordelia!"
The image disappeared while a look of confusion flickered across Cordy's face, her eyes flashing white. Mercy whirled and saw her dad getting out a knife.
"PAN PROTECTORATE!"
She waved her hand and a barrier flew up when Nicholas tried to slash Connor with the knife. Connor seemed surprised, but used it to his advantage. He kicked the knife away from Nicholas just as Wesley and Fred hurried into the room, Gunn and Angel close behind.
"Father!"
Connor had grabbed him and pushed him to Wesley.
"Get out of here!"
"You have no right to tell me what to do, Son."
Wesley's eyes narrowed and he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
"This is not your house. I'm not some little poof like I was before. I will not let you order me around."
"You think your safe now. Oh, you have friends. A vampire, an anamoly, a demon, a crazy girl and a street kid. They're not worth anything. And they'll still desert you. You and your sister. I have never been more ashamed of my childen. A boy who was fired from the Watcher's Council and a witch girl. You're nothing, Wesley. You can't care for your sister. She's out of control. Just give her to me, so we don't have to go to court about this. I don't wish to smear our family's name any farther than you've already done."
Wesley almost snorted. He wanted to punch his father, but that would be letting himself into the abyss of darkness he'd been trying to crawl his way out of since Lilah's death. He resisted, simply pushing his father out of the hotel.
"I will keep Mercy from you. I will protect her from you. You will not continue to pursue this. If you do, we will crush you. Angel Investigations help the helpless. That pretty much covers Mercy."
Wesley shut the door, locking it. Fred stood behind him, a sympathetic look on her face. Wesley's head lulled down and he skulked slowly down the stairs. Fred moved to him, wrapping her arms around him, comforting him. He found himself burying his head into her long, silky hair, strawberry scented shampoo wafting into his nose. It relaxed him considerably, making him feel like everything was okay. He kissed her shoulder before pulling away, looking at Mercy. Connor was muttering a thanks for the protective shield Mercy had put up. Mercy didn't seem interested.
"I, uh, I found out who the Master is."
"You did?"
"Connor and I performed a ritual before Father came in."
"You saw the light?" Connor asked quietly.
"Yeah. This is going to be hard to believe, but it hit Cordelia in the stomach. I think the baby is controlling Cordelia's free will. That means the baby is the Galrok."
"Cordelia's not pregnant, Mercy." Fred stated, gently, not wanting to embarrass the young girl. Connor's eyes had widened.
"You're lying!"
Mercy whirled to meet him.
"What?"
"The baby isn't a demon! Cordelia isn't evil!"
Mercy suddenly understood. Connor was the father. And he wasn't a Galrok.
"I know what I saw, Connor."
"No! You don't."
"I don't know how. You're not a demon, so it's not you. It must not be yours. I can't figure that out!"
"You're crazy. You have no idea what you are even talking about!"
"The rain of fire." Angel cut in.
"What?" Connor muttered.
"You and Cordelia...during the rain of fire. It must have done something to make the baby Galrok. Or her return from being a higher power. Something has messed it up."
Connor shook his head.
"You're just jealous, Angel. Cordy's not evil. The baby is not evil. I AM NOT EVIL!"
Connor flung the door open and ran into the night, weaponless and upset.
Mercy sighed. "I didn't know Connor was the father. I thought you all already knew Cordelia was pregnant. I was just trying to tell you what I had discovered."
"You did nothing wrong, Sweet Cheeks. He's just angry." Lorne comforted from the chair. Mercy nodded slowly.
"We'll have to handle this delicately. Cordelia can't know that we know. She'll kill us all in a heartbeat."
No one realized that Angel had disappeared as well.
Mercy said suddenly, after a few moments of silence, "I'm going to go find Connor."
"But..." Wesley stalled.
"I'll leave you with ingredients to mix in a potion that will rid the baby of the demoness. The baby shouldn't be harmed, unless it's not really a baby at all. If it's only the Galrok, it'll be gone. I've got to go find Connor. He needs to understand that the baby's evilness isn't his fault."
Gunn handed her a stake. "Do you know how to use it?"
She let out a small grunt.
"I'll come with you, Mercy." Wesley offered.
"No. I need to find him alone."
"You don't know your way around the city."
"I'll manage."
"Be careful."
Mercy pocketed the stake and slid into the dark midnight sky.