The Angel's Knight #19 - Dreams, Portents, and Visions
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Los Angeles, October 15, 2017
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This place has a kitchen big enough to feed an army. Well, from what I understand that might be exactly what it's for. Feeding an army composed mostly of former street kids who fight to rid the world of demons. Yeah, I kinda hoped it was a really silly dream, too, but I woke up, pinched myself a few times, and it still stayed real.
Okay, so I'm standing in a big kitchen with at least a dozen separate fridges. Where are they keeping the good stuff? I could use something with an excessive amount of calories, right now. I haven't exactly eaten gourmet food ever since waking up in the hospital, but I do have the feeling I am something of a chocolate addict. At least I think that's what I'm craving right now. Some sandwiches would probably do it, too. With lots of cheese and salami.
Checking the first fridge without much success (Bags of blood? Why would anyone keep bags of blood in their fridge?) my mind strays back to the nightmare that woke me up a few minutes ago. I don't remember much, but it can't have been cozy. I was drenched in sweat and the sheet was ripped in two. Well, considering the kind of day I had yesterday, I guess some nightmares were to be expected.
I glance at the clocks hanging on the wall. Sun's due to rise any minute now. New day dawning and all that; maybe this one will be a little less strange than the last. Somehow I doubt it. The way my luck has been running I will probably find out my parents were really aliens from outer space and I'm here on Earth as the spearhead of an invasion. Or maybe I'm the lost princess of the underground kingdom of something-or-other.
The second fridge holds nothing but yogurts, most of them appear to be of the diet kind. The only yogurt I remember eating was that stuff they gave me at the hospital. I hated it. Maybe I'll get luckier with the next fridge.
My mind keeps straying to that Angel guy. Okay, so the most obvious reason for that would be his handsomeness, but somehow it's more than that. I remember that feeling as we touched hands, like a current running through my entire body. It's as if I remember that feeling from somewhere. As if I remember him from somewhere.
The third fridge finally holds something that looks like a somewhat normal selection. There are several chocolate bars, as well as everything you need to fix yourself a good sandwich or ten. Managing to forget my deep thoughts for a while, I submerge myself in the art of sandwich making. Do people have to learn how to do that or is it something of a survival trait? Like genetic memory or something. See bread, butter, salami, and cheese, you know how to make a sandwich.
I've finished my third sandwich when there is a noise behind me.
"Is someone here?" a voice asks.
I turn around to a truly strange sight. There is a ... person, I guess, standing in the kitchen. Hard to say, seeing as her entire body is covered by some kind of wide robe. Except the head, that is. That one's covered with some kind of shiny mask. Judging by the voice there is a woman somewhere in there, but you definitely can't tell from the looks of it.
"Uh ... hi?" Not the most original of greetings, but I'm feeling kind of stumped right now. Not ideal conditions for originality.
"Hello. Do I ... do I know you? I am sorry, but I can't really see you."
"Oh, you ... sorry, I ... my name is Diana. I'm..."
"Oh, so you are the girl that has this entire place in an uproar then. I should have known things would turn out weird when I saw you in that vision of mine."
Okay, what? Vision? I'm beginning to suspect that I've just walked into a seriously insane person here. More insane than all the other things around here.
"Excuse me?" I manage to ask.
"Sorry, getting ahead of myself. I'm Cordelia. I'm ... well, I guess you could call me the resident wise woman or something. I get visions from the Powers That Be so Angel and the guys can predict where the next big evil will be coming from."
Again, what?
"I saw you in a vision two nights ago, just before you walked into Anne's shelter apparently. They said you would be coming here. Typically, they neglected the details, of course, such as you being a new Slayer, but that's the Powers for you. No regard for us poor mortals."
She makes it sound like a joke, but there is bitterness in her voice. The robe around her constantly moves, almost as if she is extremely uncomfortable and fidgeting beneath it.
"Would you mind grabbing me a yogurt from the fridge? It's the second from the left."
I just nod, not sure what else to do right now. Get the masked robe lady a yogurt, why not? I just know I seriously jinxed myself earlier by merely entertaining the thought that this day could not get any stranger than the last. I did revise my opinion immediately, doesn't that give me some brownie points here?
Masked robe lady, or Cordelia, has found a chair and sat down, though she seems even more uncomfortable now than she was earlier. I slowly put the yogurt down in front of her, somehow weary of touching her.
A spoon. She's going to need a spoon if she wants to eat that yogurt. Okay, in a kitchen the size of a football stadium, where would one keep the spoons?
"Spoons are in the big cupboard next to the door. Third drawer from the top."
No, I'm not going to credit her knowing what I was looking for to some kind of spooky power. She probably figured that, me being a friendly person, I was going to get her a spoon and told me where to find them. That's all. I'm not going to start coming up with weird explanations for everything. Sometime things are just mundane and simple.
At least I hope they sometimes are. My track record so far isn't very encouraging in that regard.
I put the spoon down on top of the yogurt and mumble something along the lines of "dinner's ready". Cordelia's right hand finds it after a few tries, then pulls it directly in front of her as her right hand begins fiddling with something on her neck. A few moments later she takes off the shiny mask, carefully putting it on the chair besides her.
Wow, she's ... well, I'm not sure what I expected, but certainly not someone who barely looks older than me. She's twenty at the utmost. But her voice sounded so ... not exactly old, but ... jaded? Like she's seen everything and still managed to keep some of her humor through it all. Long brown hair is sticking to her face in unruly looks and she brushes them back to begin eating her yogurt.
Her eyes turn toward me and I can't stifle a gasp. They're completely blank. Milky white orbs with no pupils to be seen. She said she was blind, but seeing her eyes like this ... I really don't need this when I was just planning to eat some sandwiches and candy bars.
"What do you think of our little madhouse so far?" Cordelia asks casually. "Met everyone yet?"
"M-most of them, I guess," I mumble, not really sure how to make conversation with someone who is staring at me with huge, milky white eyes. "They seem ... nice."
"Most of them are. Some of Gunn's kids can be jerks at times, but he usually whips them into shape pretty quickly. If Faith doesn't give them her patented death stare first. I had one of those once, but it's kinda hard now."
She's making fun of it, but the humor doesn't quite reach her voice.
"I really wanted to meet you yesterday," Cordelia continues between spoonfuls of yogurt, "but apparently the guys thought you had enough scares for one day without meeting me on top of everything else. You feeling a little better now?"
"Maybe. I ... I'm not really sure. I managed to get some sleep, but I had some really weird dreams."
She frowns. "Weird dreams? Hmm. I don't know whether Wesley or Faith got around to telling you that, but a Slayer's dreams are usually weird on purpose. Sometimes they even tell the future."
I give her a look of disbelief and then realize she can't see it.
"Now you're kidding me, right? I'm not even safe from the weirdness in my dreams?"
"Does that really surprise you, kid? What did you dream about?"
How does she get off calling me kid? She can't be more than two or three years older than me. Still, there is something about her that makes her seem older than she looks. Maybe it's the blindness? I don't think I ever met a blind person before, so it's hard to tell.
"I don't actually remember," I finally say, mostly to break the silence. "Woke up drenched in sweat and in need of new bed sheets." I pause for a moment, considering what I just said. "Because I ripped them. Not because I ... you know."
"I'll back you up on that, even if they question me under torture." Cordelia winks at me and I catch myself chuckling. God, I think I really needed a bit of a laugh, even if it was at my own expense.
My thoughts turn back to that dream I had. I don't remember anything except a few flashing images, like stills from a movie. Maybe talking about them will help me make sense of them, even if the person I'm talking to is a total stranger and potentially insane.
"I think I saw that guy I met last night, Angel."
"You met Angel? What did you think of our fearless leader?"
"Isn't he ... isn't he a little young to be the leader of all this? I mean he can't be more than..."
Cordelia interrupts me by exploding into giggles. For a moment she even seems to forget her constant fidgeting.
"What's so amusing?"
"I ... I guess no one told you about Angel yet," she sputters between laughs. "Angel and young? Oh please!"
"I ... what are you laughing about? Tara said he was special, but he can't be older than..."
Cordelia calms down and manages to take some deep breaths again. "Angel is old enough to be your grandfather several times removed, Diana. He's really well-preserved."
Suddenly things click together in my mind. His cold hands. That weird tingling. His comments on how 'his kind' can feel the Slayer's presence. The blood bags in the fridge. Oh my God!
"He's ... he's a v-vampire?"
"You figured that out a lot faster than some other Slayer I could name. Yes, Angel is a vampire. But don't worry; he's a very special kind of vampire. One of a kind, actually."
"H-how?"
"Long story short? Once upon a time he snacked on the wrong girl and was cursed with a soul. Basically he's a human guy who's stuck in the body of a vampire. And he remembers everything he did when he was a soulless bastard, too. So now he's helping the people he once killed and hunts down vampires and other demons."
I am so jinxed! This day has barely even begun and already I'm being told stuff even weirder than everything I heard yesterday. A vampire with a soul? What's next? Werewolves as house pets? God, I should have just stayed in bed.
"I ... I think I'll go," I tell Cordelia, looking for the door. "I need some more sleep." Where was the door in this giant kitchen?
"I hope I didn't freak you out too bad. I just thought it would be better for you to know now rather than find out in the midst of..."
Her voice suddenly trails off and I turn to look at her, just in time to see her convulsing. She slides off the stool and before I can think about it I'm there, trying to catch her. Her robe slips open and I catch a flash of nude skin, lots of nude skin, and then my hands are touching hers.
The world vanishes in a flash of light.
Next thing I know I'm looking down on some sort of ... I don't even know what to call it. A big ball of light, hovering in mid-air. I'm looking down as if from some great height and realize I'm standing on something that looks like a tower, for lack of a better word. It's a cobbled-together patchwork of steel and planks, looking as if it might collapse any second now. People are screaming around me.
Something explodes forth from the glowing ball of light, a huge shape with leathery wings. A dragon? Okay, now I really have seen everything. The creature quickly vanishes over the horizon and I wonder whether it was ever really here at all. Maybe I'm imagining all this. Please let me be imagining all this!
Someone else is up on the tower with me. I turn around and see two people standing there, neither of whom I've seen before. They're feeling familiar, though. One is a girl, no older than fifteen, dressed in some kind of gown. Tears are streaming down her face. The other is maybe five or six years older, dressed in more contemporary clothing, and she seems to be telling the girl something. I can't hear her over the roar of the energy ball.
Suddenly the woman starts running, running right toward me. Is she crazy? I'm standing right at the edge of this cobbled-together platform and there is a big ball of energy beneath me. Is she trying to kill us both or...
She barrels right through me as if I'm not even here and jumps, a beautiful swan dive that sends her tumbling down into the big ball of light. I turn around in time to see her hit it, her body swallowed up by the lightning.
My perspective suddenly shifts and I seem to be hovering right beside the blonde woman as she falls through the light. I can see her face, contorted with pain, but there is also a strange look of peace in her eyes. As if she is accepting this, as if she wants this. It only last a heartbeat and then her body continues to fall towards the ground below. I don't even need to look to know that it's lifeless.
The energy in front of me ripples and wavers. I squint and see that there is something still in there, something that wasn't there before. Among the glaring white light there is a ghostly shape now, almost like the outline of a person. A person that very much resembles the woman who just jumped to her death right before my eyes.
"What the hell is going on here?" I wonder whether I really spoke these words out loud. And if I did, could anyone here hear me? I'm hovering in mid-air, something I'm pretty sure I can't do, so this is probably not real. Maybe if I just start ignoring it things will go back to normal?
The ghost shape inside the ball of energy smiles broadly and the light around her seems to constrict, seems to collapse in on itself. I watch as the ghost wraps the light around herself like a coat, like a caterpillar weaving itself a cocoon. The ghost's smile grows even broader.
A moment later the light fades and I find myself back in the huge kitchen, cradling a mostly nude woman in my arms. Her milky white eyes are looking up at me.
"You were there, weren't you?" she asks me, wonder in her voice. "You saw it, too."
"What? What did I just see?"
She slowly gets up and I steady her until she is safely back on her feet. Reaching for the chair, she quickly slips the shiny mask back over her head, breathing a sigh of relief once it clicks shut.
"Welcome to my world, Diana," she says sadly. "I got the feeling you are here for more reasons than us needing another Slayer."
Somehow that does not make me feel any better.
TO BE CONTINUED
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Los Angeles, October 15, 2017
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This place has a kitchen big enough to feed an army. Well, from what I understand that might be exactly what it's for. Feeding an army composed mostly of former street kids who fight to rid the world of demons. Yeah, I kinda hoped it was a really silly dream, too, but I woke up, pinched myself a few times, and it still stayed real.
Okay, so I'm standing in a big kitchen with at least a dozen separate fridges. Where are they keeping the good stuff? I could use something with an excessive amount of calories, right now. I haven't exactly eaten gourmet food ever since waking up in the hospital, but I do have the feeling I am something of a chocolate addict. At least I think that's what I'm craving right now. Some sandwiches would probably do it, too. With lots of cheese and salami.
Checking the first fridge without much success (Bags of blood? Why would anyone keep bags of blood in their fridge?) my mind strays back to the nightmare that woke me up a few minutes ago. I don't remember much, but it can't have been cozy. I was drenched in sweat and the sheet was ripped in two. Well, considering the kind of day I had yesterday, I guess some nightmares were to be expected.
I glance at the clocks hanging on the wall. Sun's due to rise any minute now. New day dawning and all that; maybe this one will be a little less strange than the last. Somehow I doubt it. The way my luck has been running I will probably find out my parents were really aliens from outer space and I'm here on Earth as the spearhead of an invasion. Or maybe I'm the lost princess of the underground kingdom of something-or-other.
The second fridge holds nothing but yogurts, most of them appear to be of the diet kind. The only yogurt I remember eating was that stuff they gave me at the hospital. I hated it. Maybe I'll get luckier with the next fridge.
My mind keeps straying to that Angel guy. Okay, so the most obvious reason for that would be his handsomeness, but somehow it's more than that. I remember that feeling as we touched hands, like a current running through my entire body. It's as if I remember that feeling from somewhere. As if I remember him from somewhere.
The third fridge finally holds something that looks like a somewhat normal selection. There are several chocolate bars, as well as everything you need to fix yourself a good sandwich or ten. Managing to forget my deep thoughts for a while, I submerge myself in the art of sandwich making. Do people have to learn how to do that or is it something of a survival trait? Like genetic memory or something. See bread, butter, salami, and cheese, you know how to make a sandwich.
I've finished my third sandwich when there is a noise behind me.
"Is someone here?" a voice asks.
I turn around to a truly strange sight. There is a ... person, I guess, standing in the kitchen. Hard to say, seeing as her entire body is covered by some kind of wide robe. Except the head, that is. That one's covered with some kind of shiny mask. Judging by the voice there is a woman somewhere in there, but you definitely can't tell from the looks of it.
"Uh ... hi?" Not the most original of greetings, but I'm feeling kind of stumped right now. Not ideal conditions for originality.
"Hello. Do I ... do I know you? I am sorry, but I can't really see you."
"Oh, you ... sorry, I ... my name is Diana. I'm..."
"Oh, so you are the girl that has this entire place in an uproar then. I should have known things would turn out weird when I saw you in that vision of mine."
Okay, what? Vision? I'm beginning to suspect that I've just walked into a seriously insane person here. More insane than all the other things around here.
"Excuse me?" I manage to ask.
"Sorry, getting ahead of myself. I'm Cordelia. I'm ... well, I guess you could call me the resident wise woman or something. I get visions from the Powers That Be so Angel and the guys can predict where the next big evil will be coming from."
Again, what?
"I saw you in a vision two nights ago, just before you walked into Anne's shelter apparently. They said you would be coming here. Typically, they neglected the details, of course, such as you being a new Slayer, but that's the Powers for you. No regard for us poor mortals."
She makes it sound like a joke, but there is bitterness in her voice. The robe around her constantly moves, almost as if she is extremely uncomfortable and fidgeting beneath it.
"Would you mind grabbing me a yogurt from the fridge? It's the second from the left."
I just nod, not sure what else to do right now. Get the masked robe lady a yogurt, why not? I just know I seriously jinxed myself earlier by merely entertaining the thought that this day could not get any stranger than the last. I did revise my opinion immediately, doesn't that give me some brownie points here?
Masked robe lady, or Cordelia, has found a chair and sat down, though she seems even more uncomfortable now than she was earlier. I slowly put the yogurt down in front of her, somehow weary of touching her.
A spoon. She's going to need a spoon if she wants to eat that yogurt. Okay, in a kitchen the size of a football stadium, where would one keep the spoons?
"Spoons are in the big cupboard next to the door. Third drawer from the top."
No, I'm not going to credit her knowing what I was looking for to some kind of spooky power. She probably figured that, me being a friendly person, I was going to get her a spoon and told me where to find them. That's all. I'm not going to start coming up with weird explanations for everything. Sometime things are just mundane and simple.
At least I hope they sometimes are. My track record so far isn't very encouraging in that regard.
I put the spoon down on top of the yogurt and mumble something along the lines of "dinner's ready". Cordelia's right hand finds it after a few tries, then pulls it directly in front of her as her right hand begins fiddling with something on her neck. A few moments later she takes off the shiny mask, carefully putting it on the chair besides her.
Wow, she's ... well, I'm not sure what I expected, but certainly not someone who barely looks older than me. She's twenty at the utmost. But her voice sounded so ... not exactly old, but ... jaded? Like she's seen everything and still managed to keep some of her humor through it all. Long brown hair is sticking to her face in unruly looks and she brushes them back to begin eating her yogurt.
Her eyes turn toward me and I can't stifle a gasp. They're completely blank. Milky white orbs with no pupils to be seen. She said she was blind, but seeing her eyes like this ... I really don't need this when I was just planning to eat some sandwiches and candy bars.
"What do you think of our little madhouse so far?" Cordelia asks casually. "Met everyone yet?"
"M-most of them, I guess," I mumble, not really sure how to make conversation with someone who is staring at me with huge, milky white eyes. "They seem ... nice."
"Most of them are. Some of Gunn's kids can be jerks at times, but he usually whips them into shape pretty quickly. If Faith doesn't give them her patented death stare first. I had one of those once, but it's kinda hard now."
She's making fun of it, but the humor doesn't quite reach her voice.
"I really wanted to meet you yesterday," Cordelia continues between spoonfuls of yogurt, "but apparently the guys thought you had enough scares for one day without meeting me on top of everything else. You feeling a little better now?"
"Maybe. I ... I'm not really sure. I managed to get some sleep, but I had some really weird dreams."
She frowns. "Weird dreams? Hmm. I don't know whether Wesley or Faith got around to telling you that, but a Slayer's dreams are usually weird on purpose. Sometimes they even tell the future."
I give her a look of disbelief and then realize she can't see it.
"Now you're kidding me, right? I'm not even safe from the weirdness in my dreams?"
"Does that really surprise you, kid? What did you dream about?"
How does she get off calling me kid? She can't be more than two or three years older than me. Still, there is something about her that makes her seem older than she looks. Maybe it's the blindness? I don't think I ever met a blind person before, so it's hard to tell.
"I don't actually remember," I finally say, mostly to break the silence. "Woke up drenched in sweat and in need of new bed sheets." I pause for a moment, considering what I just said. "Because I ripped them. Not because I ... you know."
"I'll back you up on that, even if they question me under torture." Cordelia winks at me and I catch myself chuckling. God, I think I really needed a bit of a laugh, even if it was at my own expense.
My thoughts turn back to that dream I had. I don't remember anything except a few flashing images, like stills from a movie. Maybe talking about them will help me make sense of them, even if the person I'm talking to is a total stranger and potentially insane.
"I think I saw that guy I met last night, Angel."
"You met Angel? What did you think of our fearless leader?"
"Isn't he ... isn't he a little young to be the leader of all this? I mean he can't be more than..."
Cordelia interrupts me by exploding into giggles. For a moment she even seems to forget her constant fidgeting.
"What's so amusing?"
"I ... I guess no one told you about Angel yet," she sputters between laughs. "Angel and young? Oh please!"
"I ... what are you laughing about? Tara said he was special, but he can't be older than..."
Cordelia calms down and manages to take some deep breaths again. "Angel is old enough to be your grandfather several times removed, Diana. He's really well-preserved."
Suddenly things click together in my mind. His cold hands. That weird tingling. His comments on how 'his kind' can feel the Slayer's presence. The blood bags in the fridge. Oh my God!
"He's ... he's a v-vampire?"
"You figured that out a lot faster than some other Slayer I could name. Yes, Angel is a vampire. But don't worry; he's a very special kind of vampire. One of a kind, actually."
"H-how?"
"Long story short? Once upon a time he snacked on the wrong girl and was cursed with a soul. Basically he's a human guy who's stuck in the body of a vampire. And he remembers everything he did when he was a soulless bastard, too. So now he's helping the people he once killed and hunts down vampires and other demons."
I am so jinxed! This day has barely even begun and already I'm being told stuff even weirder than everything I heard yesterday. A vampire with a soul? What's next? Werewolves as house pets? God, I should have just stayed in bed.
"I ... I think I'll go," I tell Cordelia, looking for the door. "I need some more sleep." Where was the door in this giant kitchen?
"I hope I didn't freak you out too bad. I just thought it would be better for you to know now rather than find out in the midst of..."
Her voice suddenly trails off and I turn to look at her, just in time to see her convulsing. She slides off the stool and before I can think about it I'm there, trying to catch her. Her robe slips open and I catch a flash of nude skin, lots of nude skin, and then my hands are touching hers.
The world vanishes in a flash of light.
Next thing I know I'm looking down on some sort of ... I don't even know what to call it. A big ball of light, hovering in mid-air. I'm looking down as if from some great height and realize I'm standing on something that looks like a tower, for lack of a better word. It's a cobbled-together patchwork of steel and planks, looking as if it might collapse any second now. People are screaming around me.
Something explodes forth from the glowing ball of light, a huge shape with leathery wings. A dragon? Okay, now I really have seen everything. The creature quickly vanishes over the horizon and I wonder whether it was ever really here at all. Maybe I'm imagining all this. Please let me be imagining all this!
Someone else is up on the tower with me. I turn around and see two people standing there, neither of whom I've seen before. They're feeling familiar, though. One is a girl, no older than fifteen, dressed in some kind of gown. Tears are streaming down her face. The other is maybe five or six years older, dressed in more contemporary clothing, and she seems to be telling the girl something. I can't hear her over the roar of the energy ball.
Suddenly the woman starts running, running right toward me. Is she crazy? I'm standing right at the edge of this cobbled-together platform and there is a big ball of energy beneath me. Is she trying to kill us both or...
She barrels right through me as if I'm not even here and jumps, a beautiful swan dive that sends her tumbling down into the big ball of light. I turn around in time to see her hit it, her body swallowed up by the lightning.
My perspective suddenly shifts and I seem to be hovering right beside the blonde woman as she falls through the light. I can see her face, contorted with pain, but there is also a strange look of peace in her eyes. As if she is accepting this, as if she wants this. It only last a heartbeat and then her body continues to fall towards the ground below. I don't even need to look to know that it's lifeless.
The energy in front of me ripples and wavers. I squint and see that there is something still in there, something that wasn't there before. Among the glaring white light there is a ghostly shape now, almost like the outline of a person. A person that very much resembles the woman who just jumped to her death right before my eyes.
"What the hell is going on here?" I wonder whether I really spoke these words out loud. And if I did, could anyone here hear me? I'm hovering in mid-air, something I'm pretty sure I can't do, so this is probably not real. Maybe if I just start ignoring it things will go back to normal?
The ghost shape inside the ball of energy smiles broadly and the light around her seems to constrict, seems to collapse in on itself. I watch as the ghost wraps the light around herself like a coat, like a caterpillar weaving itself a cocoon. The ghost's smile grows even broader.
A moment later the light fades and I find myself back in the huge kitchen, cradling a mostly nude woman in my arms. Her milky white eyes are looking up at me.
"You were there, weren't you?" she asks me, wonder in her voice. "You saw it, too."
"What? What did I just see?"
She slowly gets up and I steady her until she is safely back on her feet. Reaching for the chair, she quickly slips the shiny mask back over her head, breathing a sigh of relief once it clicks shut.
"Welcome to my world, Diana," she says sadly. "I got the feeling you are here for more reasons than us needing another Slayer."
Somehow that does not make me feel any better.
TO BE CONTINUED
