The usual disclaimers. The story is mine. The characters are not.
***
The characters belong to Top cow and TNT as do all their toys and appliances, including the Witchblade.
*warnings*
***
blood *but not copious amounts*
swearing
Tenebrous
Part 2
chapter 4
*********************************************************
Now that Sara was here and his legs were out of danger, Gabriel had a moment to ponder the ramifications of what Ian had last said to him. Nottingham knew the Tome had been opened.
Gabriel had hidden it before leaving to show Sara what he'd translated so far but unfortunately, he hadn't locked it. If Ian had been monitoring his flat, he could know how to release the outer casing. It was still in the book form it became after the Witchblade touched it and it was unlocked. That was not good.
He had two hopes to prevent disaster. One was to escape from the assassin, get the key, lock the Tome and dispose of the key, swallow it maybe. No, that wouldn't work. For some reason he doubted Nottingham would have any qualms about cutting him open to get it.
The other possibility was to get Sara to touch the Tome with the blade. He surmised that it would go back to its sealed, impregnable state. His mood lightened. Yes, if the touch of the blade transformed the Tome, it would be perfect. The only problem being that he had not shown Sara how to open the outer casing and that it was highly unlikely that the assassin would leave the room to allow Gabriel's little plan to work out. His mood darkened once again.
"There has been a slight mishap, Lady Sara. Your boy here, has let something slip." He paused to study his captive's reaction but Gabriel seemed lost in thought. For someone with a knife at his throat he had an amazing amount of cheek to be daydreaming, Ian surmised. "He has caused unwanted attention from sources that mean you harm."
The assassin's statements registered in the back of Gabriel's mind. "He'd let something slip?" He was about to protest when he realized he must have. He just didn't know how.
"I have snuffed that fire," Nottingham continued. "Lamentably, it may have started another, more dangerous one. This puts me in a very precarious position."
"Oh really? I'm profoundly concerned for you," Sara rejoined caustically. "Does tying up my friend and playing dress-up with him make you feel better?"
Sara herself felt horrible. Her friend's life was at stake because he tried to help her. She loathed speculating how much Gabriel had already suffered.
Ian maintained his quiescent facade. Inwardly he was torn between delighting in Lady Sara's heated retorts and wincing at her perception of the situation. "I believe Gabriel knows what would make me feel better." Ian stared pointedly at his captive.
Without thinking Gabriel blurted, "A tidy flat?" Bad answer. The assassin pressed the knife beneath Gabriel's jaw and forced it up until the young man was facing him fully, drawing blood in the process.
"Stop!" Sara screamed and took a step closer. The Witchblade reacted immediately, extending into a sword.
"Do not come closer Sara, or I will kill him," The assassin stated coolly.
"Tell me what you want Ian," Sara pleaded.
Gabriel had frozen, afraid to breathe. Nottingham's eyes bore into his. His neck felt warm, wet and he wondered if the assassin was going to kill him anyway.
The assassin didn't move, his eyes still trained on Gabriel's face as if mentally willing him to acquiesce. "I want to protect you, Sara."
"Gabriel isn't a threat, Nottingham. Let him go." Sara's voice was quavering.
Nottingham released the blade's pressure on the young man's exposed throat slightly. "No, he is not. He is at the center of it at the moment, though. I need him to tell me where the tome is. I must see it to assure my master that all is well." He turned the knife slightly to allow Gabriel to speak. "Tell me," he whispered.
At those two words. Gabriel's mind, which had been racing through and weighing various possibilities, scenarios, outcomes and escapes, suddenly went blank. A dull buzzing filled his ears and the assassin's face seemed ridiculously vivid and vague at the same time although every hair was distinctly clear, as if he was seeing it through a magnifying lens.
He was dimly aware of a sharp pain in his neck and an unintelligible scream that seemed very far away. It felt like he was under water. He gasped, drawing in breath and blinked. Sara was quite a bit closer than he'd remembered. The Witchblade was within striking distance.
"He doesn't have to die, Sara," Ian Nottingham soothed while still holding the knife to Gabriel's throat.
Gabriel was still trying to figure out what had just happened. He realized he was shaking. "How embarrassing," he thought.
Still wielding the Witchblade menacingly, Sara narrowed tear filled eyes at Gabriel. "Dammit Gabe! Tell him! TELL him!"
"NOW!" Sara barked. Her enraged and frantic eyes met his soft, confused ones. "Your life is more important to me," she insisted. "I can take care of myself."
"Kitchen. Count Chocula," he murmured, his lashes veiling dilated pupils. He felt exhausted, defeated, yet detached. The tremors running through his slender frame were tiring him. He wished they would stop.
Although Gabriel's hiding place didn't surprise Sara, the assassin was stunned. The boy's habits and way of thinking were inscrutable. Nottingham had surreptitiously led Gabriel on a wild goose chase, in order to thoroughly search his place for the Tome's hiding spot. After searching every surface and object for hidden compartments to no avail, he gave into the urge to move a hideous doll slightly, so that it did not block one of the minute cameras he'd laboriously placed.
When he played back the video, which was now obstructed by a full view of the dolls behind, he saw Gabriel staring directly at the doll for twenty minutes, as if he was expecting it to make a move on it's own. It was disturbing.
"I will kill you, Nottingham, if you-" Sara threatened. She didn't want to leave Gabriel alone with the lethal man.
"Just bring it to me, Sara. If you cooperate, he will live. I am a man of my word."
Ian Nottingham should have been relieved, but the sun would rise soon. The events and revelations between now and the time he would have to report to his master would determine his path or demise.
The boy lay quiescent on his lap, aside from the faint tremors. Despite his bravado for most of the night, he had succumbed to shock, with a little help from lack of oxygen but not much blood loss. Despite Sara's obvious affection for the boy, he was a poor choice of ally in Ian's mind, as he would never survive any serious combat situation.
Still, Ian couldn't help but wonder if the Witchblade was somewhat responsible for Gabriel's sudden state. There was no sudden blow or substantial blood loss to account for his condition. Up till now the boy had been amazingly resilient. He knew the Witchblade affected Sara, occasionally even himself and Irons if It chose.
Briefly he wondered if Gabriel was more significant than he'd earlier surmised. If the blade was to blame for the boy's state, he hoped it would release him soon. He needed the boy to open the outer encasement. As if on cue, the boy chose that moment to speak.
"You didn't say you were taking it to Irons," Gabriel stated calmly. "And I'm not a boy, I'm a man." Ian's eyes widened in astonishment just as Sara appeared with the Tome.
Sara mistook the cause of Ian's dismay. "Um, yeah. It's pretty impressive, I guess," Sara stated, placing the artifact in front of Ian.
"Why did you just say that?" Ian demanded, suddenly suspicious that the b-Gabriel was telepathic.
"Well, you looked impressed! God Nottingham, you are such a freak," Sara complained peevishly.
Getting no response from Gabriel, Ian decided to drop the subject. With his free hand, Ian procured a second knife from his boot and slit the rope binding Gabriel's wrists. He sincerely hoped the boy was through being difficult. The assassin was running out of time. "Open it, " he commanded Gabriel.
Gabriel looked to Sara. "Do it Gabe," she urged him gently.
Reluctantly, he obeyed. His deft fingers slid in slow patterns across the surfaces of the Tome. As they did, thin grooves and rectangular holes became visible. Panels became evident and Gabriel carefully slid them into place. Slowly the box began to appear more like a book. He turned it over carefully and as he slid the last piece concealing the pages into place, there was a faint click. A part of the books' cover had receded revealing the depression of a complex symbol surrounded by raised simpler ones. It was a lock demanding a key. *Noting the nature of the symbols, the assassin smiled broadly, obviously very pleased.*
Gabriel remembered how disappointed he'd been when he'd first unlocked the encasing. Where the ridges of the pages should have been he'd felt smooth surface, as if the pages had fused together seamlessly. As he'd contemplated how to unlock the next part of the puzzle, the phone rang. It was Sara. Her 'psychic hotline' bracelet was excited.
Unfortunately, now it was the tome in its readable form. Some part of him screamed for him to do something but it felt like some force had taken the will to fight out of him.
Gabriel looked up at Sara with sorrowful eyes. He'd meant to help her. Instead, he'd unlocked a weapon against her.
She gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Gabriel. I can handle Irons."
Sara's gaze went from warm and reassuring to frozen steel as she flicked it to Nottingham. *The assassin savored her ferocity with glee* "OK Nottingham. You got what you wanted, now let him go." Sara addressed the smiling assassin who was still holding a knife to Gabriel's throat.
Ian eyed the wielder with pleasure before responding. "Hand the Tome to Sara, Gabriel."
Gabriel blinked. "Huh?"
Sara's eyebrows flew up. She shot the assassin a confused look as she accepted the tome.
"I said I wanted to protect you, Lady Sara," Ian stated calmly, as if this explained everything.
The assassin pulled the knife away from Gabriel's bloodied neck. He cupped the young man's cheek and whispered; "You and I are very fortunate. However, if you decide to research anything else you discover in the Tome, warn me before hunting down rare translations."
Comprehension and confusion warred in Gabriel's wide eyes. Nottingham stared intently into them, stressing his point; " I cannot lie to my master. I can only avoid obtaining certain information, even then, only to a point. Do not force me to betray Sara." With that, he slid Gabriel off his lap and strode towards the door. Before rounding the shelving unit, he spun back around to face the two shell-shocked people in the room.
"You may keep the collar, Gabriel, I still say it's a good look for you," Ian purred, while leering salaciously at Sara before disappearing around the corner.
tbc
*********************************************************
p.s. Gabriel isn't telapathic. Nottingham was just being paranoid. He keeps referring to Gabriel as a boy. This would probably start to annoy a guy who's in his twenties. It was just a coincidence that it worked out the way it did.
***
The characters belong to Top cow and TNT as do all their toys and appliances, including the Witchblade.
*warnings*
***
blood *but not copious amounts*
swearing
Tenebrous
Part 2
chapter 4
*********************************************************
Now that Sara was here and his legs were out of danger, Gabriel had a moment to ponder the ramifications of what Ian had last said to him. Nottingham knew the Tome had been opened.
Gabriel had hidden it before leaving to show Sara what he'd translated so far but unfortunately, he hadn't locked it. If Ian had been monitoring his flat, he could know how to release the outer casing. It was still in the book form it became after the Witchblade touched it and it was unlocked. That was not good.
He had two hopes to prevent disaster. One was to escape from the assassin, get the key, lock the Tome and dispose of the key, swallow it maybe. No, that wouldn't work. For some reason he doubted Nottingham would have any qualms about cutting him open to get it.
The other possibility was to get Sara to touch the Tome with the blade. He surmised that it would go back to its sealed, impregnable state. His mood lightened. Yes, if the touch of the blade transformed the Tome, it would be perfect. The only problem being that he had not shown Sara how to open the outer casing and that it was highly unlikely that the assassin would leave the room to allow Gabriel's little plan to work out. His mood darkened once again.
"There has been a slight mishap, Lady Sara. Your boy here, has let something slip." He paused to study his captive's reaction but Gabriel seemed lost in thought. For someone with a knife at his throat he had an amazing amount of cheek to be daydreaming, Ian surmised. "He has caused unwanted attention from sources that mean you harm."
The assassin's statements registered in the back of Gabriel's mind. "He'd let something slip?" He was about to protest when he realized he must have. He just didn't know how.
"I have snuffed that fire," Nottingham continued. "Lamentably, it may have started another, more dangerous one. This puts me in a very precarious position."
"Oh really? I'm profoundly concerned for you," Sara rejoined caustically. "Does tying up my friend and playing dress-up with him make you feel better?"
Sara herself felt horrible. Her friend's life was at stake because he tried to help her. She loathed speculating how much Gabriel had already suffered.
Ian maintained his quiescent facade. Inwardly he was torn between delighting in Lady Sara's heated retorts and wincing at her perception of the situation. "I believe Gabriel knows what would make me feel better." Ian stared pointedly at his captive.
Without thinking Gabriel blurted, "A tidy flat?" Bad answer. The assassin pressed the knife beneath Gabriel's jaw and forced it up until the young man was facing him fully, drawing blood in the process.
"Stop!" Sara screamed and took a step closer. The Witchblade reacted immediately, extending into a sword.
"Do not come closer Sara, or I will kill him," The assassin stated coolly.
"Tell me what you want Ian," Sara pleaded.
Gabriel had frozen, afraid to breathe. Nottingham's eyes bore into his. His neck felt warm, wet and he wondered if the assassin was going to kill him anyway.
The assassin didn't move, his eyes still trained on Gabriel's face as if mentally willing him to acquiesce. "I want to protect you, Sara."
"Gabriel isn't a threat, Nottingham. Let him go." Sara's voice was quavering.
Nottingham released the blade's pressure on the young man's exposed throat slightly. "No, he is not. He is at the center of it at the moment, though. I need him to tell me where the tome is. I must see it to assure my master that all is well." He turned the knife slightly to allow Gabriel to speak. "Tell me," he whispered.
At those two words. Gabriel's mind, which had been racing through and weighing various possibilities, scenarios, outcomes and escapes, suddenly went blank. A dull buzzing filled his ears and the assassin's face seemed ridiculously vivid and vague at the same time although every hair was distinctly clear, as if he was seeing it through a magnifying lens.
He was dimly aware of a sharp pain in his neck and an unintelligible scream that seemed very far away. It felt like he was under water. He gasped, drawing in breath and blinked. Sara was quite a bit closer than he'd remembered. The Witchblade was within striking distance.
"He doesn't have to die, Sara," Ian Nottingham soothed while still holding the knife to Gabriel's throat.
Gabriel was still trying to figure out what had just happened. He realized he was shaking. "How embarrassing," he thought.
Still wielding the Witchblade menacingly, Sara narrowed tear filled eyes at Gabriel. "Dammit Gabe! Tell him! TELL him!"
"NOW!" Sara barked. Her enraged and frantic eyes met his soft, confused ones. "Your life is more important to me," she insisted. "I can take care of myself."
"Kitchen. Count Chocula," he murmured, his lashes veiling dilated pupils. He felt exhausted, defeated, yet detached. The tremors running through his slender frame were tiring him. He wished they would stop.
Although Gabriel's hiding place didn't surprise Sara, the assassin was stunned. The boy's habits and way of thinking were inscrutable. Nottingham had surreptitiously led Gabriel on a wild goose chase, in order to thoroughly search his place for the Tome's hiding spot. After searching every surface and object for hidden compartments to no avail, he gave into the urge to move a hideous doll slightly, so that it did not block one of the minute cameras he'd laboriously placed.
When he played back the video, which was now obstructed by a full view of the dolls behind, he saw Gabriel staring directly at the doll for twenty minutes, as if he was expecting it to make a move on it's own. It was disturbing.
"I will kill you, Nottingham, if you-" Sara threatened. She didn't want to leave Gabriel alone with the lethal man.
"Just bring it to me, Sara. If you cooperate, he will live. I am a man of my word."
Ian Nottingham should have been relieved, but the sun would rise soon. The events and revelations between now and the time he would have to report to his master would determine his path or demise.
The boy lay quiescent on his lap, aside from the faint tremors. Despite his bravado for most of the night, he had succumbed to shock, with a little help from lack of oxygen but not much blood loss. Despite Sara's obvious affection for the boy, he was a poor choice of ally in Ian's mind, as he would never survive any serious combat situation.
Still, Ian couldn't help but wonder if the Witchblade was somewhat responsible for Gabriel's sudden state. There was no sudden blow or substantial blood loss to account for his condition. Up till now the boy had been amazingly resilient. He knew the Witchblade affected Sara, occasionally even himself and Irons if It chose.
Briefly he wondered if Gabriel was more significant than he'd earlier surmised. If the blade was to blame for the boy's state, he hoped it would release him soon. He needed the boy to open the outer encasement. As if on cue, the boy chose that moment to speak.
"You didn't say you were taking it to Irons," Gabriel stated calmly. "And I'm not a boy, I'm a man." Ian's eyes widened in astonishment just as Sara appeared with the Tome.
Sara mistook the cause of Ian's dismay. "Um, yeah. It's pretty impressive, I guess," Sara stated, placing the artifact in front of Ian.
"Why did you just say that?" Ian demanded, suddenly suspicious that the b-Gabriel was telepathic.
"Well, you looked impressed! God Nottingham, you are such a freak," Sara complained peevishly.
Getting no response from Gabriel, Ian decided to drop the subject. With his free hand, Ian procured a second knife from his boot and slit the rope binding Gabriel's wrists. He sincerely hoped the boy was through being difficult. The assassin was running out of time. "Open it, " he commanded Gabriel.
Gabriel looked to Sara. "Do it Gabe," she urged him gently.
Reluctantly, he obeyed. His deft fingers slid in slow patterns across the surfaces of the Tome. As they did, thin grooves and rectangular holes became visible. Panels became evident and Gabriel carefully slid them into place. Slowly the box began to appear more like a book. He turned it over carefully and as he slid the last piece concealing the pages into place, there was a faint click. A part of the books' cover had receded revealing the depression of a complex symbol surrounded by raised simpler ones. It was a lock demanding a key. *Noting the nature of the symbols, the assassin smiled broadly, obviously very pleased.*
Gabriel remembered how disappointed he'd been when he'd first unlocked the encasing. Where the ridges of the pages should have been he'd felt smooth surface, as if the pages had fused together seamlessly. As he'd contemplated how to unlock the next part of the puzzle, the phone rang. It was Sara. Her 'psychic hotline' bracelet was excited.
Unfortunately, now it was the tome in its readable form. Some part of him screamed for him to do something but it felt like some force had taken the will to fight out of him.
Gabriel looked up at Sara with sorrowful eyes. He'd meant to help her. Instead, he'd unlocked a weapon against her.
She gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Gabriel. I can handle Irons."
Sara's gaze went from warm and reassuring to frozen steel as she flicked it to Nottingham. *The assassin savored her ferocity with glee* "OK Nottingham. You got what you wanted, now let him go." Sara addressed the smiling assassin who was still holding a knife to Gabriel's throat.
Ian eyed the wielder with pleasure before responding. "Hand the Tome to Sara, Gabriel."
Gabriel blinked. "Huh?"
Sara's eyebrows flew up. She shot the assassin a confused look as she accepted the tome.
"I said I wanted to protect you, Lady Sara," Ian stated calmly, as if this explained everything.
The assassin pulled the knife away from Gabriel's bloodied neck. He cupped the young man's cheek and whispered; "You and I are very fortunate. However, if you decide to research anything else you discover in the Tome, warn me before hunting down rare translations."
Comprehension and confusion warred in Gabriel's wide eyes. Nottingham stared intently into them, stressing his point; " I cannot lie to my master. I can only avoid obtaining certain information, even then, only to a point. Do not force me to betray Sara." With that, he slid Gabriel off his lap and strode towards the door. Before rounding the shelving unit, he spun back around to face the two shell-shocked people in the room.
"You may keep the collar, Gabriel, I still say it's a good look for you," Ian purred, while leering salaciously at Sara before disappearing around the corner.
tbc
*********************************************************
p.s. Gabriel isn't telapathic. Nottingham was just being paranoid. He keeps referring to Gabriel as a boy. This would probably start to annoy a guy who's in his twenties. It was just a coincidence that it worked out the way it did.