Claire stood in the shadows outside the building, hoping he would
follow her. But as minutes turned to hours, she knew he wouldn't come.
Had always known but refused to admit it. He had a soul, she didn't. He
wanted to help humans, she could care less about them.
Too much time had passed, they'd both seen too much horror, felt too much
pain. She stood there alone and angry. Angry at him for rejecting her
offer, angry for letting her leave, but most of all, angry at herself. What
did she need world domination for? Was she really so deluded as to think
she could achieve it.
With the Ta-Ley, it was certainly possible, but Liam would never allow it
without a fight. Could she really take his life?
Sighing in frustration, she stared up at the lighted windows. She'd lost
him again.
Wesley had numerous books both ancient and recent opened, looking for any clue as to how to send the Ta-Ley to a peaceful rest. Their slaughtered bodies had been in limbo, wandering the Ghost Roads, a place where displaced souls traveled unsure of their destination. To send them back would be as bad, if not worse, as being stuck on earth. Here on Earth, they could at least function and pretend to be humans. But without the threat of subjection, it might become to tempting for some Ta-Ley to resist using their unique abilities. A thing which Enfi insisted was dishonorable and would not happen. Cordelia pointed out to her that given the right motivation; the Ta-Ley would do so, as Enfi had already demonstrated twice. Angel also had volumes open and was reading while Cordelia searched the net. They'd been searching for days, and this particular searching session had been going for 6 hours straight. Enfi, meanwhile, had been continuing her search for her brother.
"This screen is giving me a headache." Cordelia started to complain before declaring "No wait, it's not the screen!" and began shaking, hands clutched to her head as a vision assailed her.
She toppled out of her chair but Angel was there in a flash to catch her.
"It's him!" she wheezed. "It's Tnar!"
Her eyes filled with dread.
"And Claire's found him."
All three rushed out of the building, jumping into Angel's convertible.
"This is no good!" Cordelia yelled as yet another vision hit her. She'd barely had time to recover from the first one. "Angel, we've got trouble. Real trouble."
"What is it?" he demanded as he barreled through traffic to the freeway. Tnar had made his way of Los Angeles and was hitchhiking his way towards Sunnydale.
"It seems Claire has called in the Ta-Ley to search this area. Most of them have made it here, we're talking over two hundred of them with more coming."
"Well, we've still got Enfi on our side.I hope." Wesley offered. "Perhaps she can convince the others that Claire alone is no threat to them. Perhaps their as eager to end this as Enfi is."
"How do we know she's not a threat?" Cordelia asked.
"What?" Both men said at the same time.
"Claire never said she didn't know how to send them back. Assuming she knows how to send them back, what's to stop her from doing that?"
"If she sent them all, there'd be no point to this whole thing." Wesley argued.
"True."Angel added. "But she would only have to send one or two, and the others would tow the line."
"All we need to focus on right now is getting Tnar. Without him, the plan is useless." Wesely said.
Cordelia shook her head. " True. But as long as Claire can make good on her threat to send them back to the Ghost Roads, the Ta-Ley will have an avid interest in keeping Tnar in Claire's custody."
"Even though he's one of their own?" Wesley asked.
"Let's just hope that Enfi's proclaimed sense of honor among her people is well deserved. If they can see the overall picture, they may risk losing a few of them to save the whole, not only of their tribe, but of the earth on which Tnar ..and we..live."
"This is a mess." Cordelia moaned. To which Angel could only nod his agreement. "Boy can you pick 'em" She went on to add. Angel started to nod in agreement but paused mid-way through. "hey." he protested mildly.
"Well she has a point." Wesley said.
"Thank You" Cordelia said
"No she doesn't" Angel argued at the same time.
They waited while the light was red. Angel took the moment to half way turn towards his other two passengers.
"Who have I picked that has tried to feed me to a monster?" Angel pointedly asked Cordy.
"who have you picked that hasn't turned you into a monster?" Cordelia countered, blithely ignoring the jab at the time during highschool when Cordelia's college frat boyfriend had tried to sacrifice her to a hideous monster demon.
Angel turned back around to brood for a moment at the obvious meaning of Cordelia's comment. There had been Darla, his sire, then Buffy who had unleashed his inner demon accidentally when they had...and then there was the girl who had put the Bliss in his drink making him a little too happy, and Claire who had only brought out the best him in.
"Claire's different."
"Yeah, sure. She just wants you to rule the world as a vampire. Big difference there."
"Children please." Wesley chided trying to be patient. "The matter at hand please."
The light turned green. Angel floored it, not bothering to stop for the next red light.or any of the ones after that.
Jay's side hurt from his hard running. When he'd realized that the considerate driver who had given him a lift was Ta-Ley, he'd been overjoyed..for about 2 seconds. Then as the realization that the Ta-Ley couldn't be alive, couldn't be here, dawned on him, he became confused. Were these the un-dead who'd been searching for him? How were they alive? How was this possible? All these thoughts assailed him inside of 2 seconds totaling 4 seconds that he was actually in the car. Then he was out again, quick as a flash, pounding the pavement as fast and furious as he could. He couldn't hear any heavy breathing or any footsteps but that was not surprising. The dead don't breathe and the Ta-Ley have always been light of footfall. But it also didn't give him any indication of how close he was following. Jay ran fullspeed but on the stretch of open highway, there wasn't anywhere to hide. Tears of fear and frustration poured down Jay's old yet child-like face as his legs refused to run anymore and his side objected in pain. Slowing to a stop, he almost immediately felt the vise-like grip of the Ta- Ley around his arm.
"Come, Tnar." He recognized the Ta-Ley as one of the elders of his tribe. Submitting, he followed meekly back to the car. Another car had joined them on the side of the road. He had expected to get into the car that had picked him up, a white Ford Mercury with a dented fender but was instead led to the second car. A top-of-the-line Camaro, light blue. Two more Ta-Ley were inside in the front seat. Both sat rigid and straight faced, neither moving from their positions. The window on the right side of the back seat rolled down slowly, reminding Jay of the old gangster movies he had seen. A beautiful face appeared, draped in long bronze hair, a dark yellow scarf wrapped around her neck. She smiled demurely.
"Welcome." She said simply.
Jay was escorted roughly to the left-side of the car. As he got in, the woman shifted slightly, revealing long pale legs underneath a short black leather skirt. She faced him, with the same serene smile but Jay could feel the death in her. She was as the other Ta-Ley. Dead, yet preserved. But with a difference. His eyes must have shown what he had just realized because the woman laughed lightly, her face changing into a ridged forhead with feral yellow eyes and sharp teeth glistening.
"I've waited a long time to finally meet you T'nar."
Somehow, of all the surprises he'd had recently, that this woman knew his true name wasn't one of them.
Angel pulled his black convertible onto the shoulder of the road.
"They were here. And not long ago either."Angel fumed. He banged the steering wheel angrily.
"Now where are they heading?" Wesley asked the obvious question.
"A vision would be nice right about now Cordy." Angel muttered.
Cordelia, though adverse to the idea of the blinding the pain, had been thinking the same thing. For the first time, she actually wanted a vision to come but she was pain free.
Claire gazed at her new prize. After all the years spent searching, here he was live and in the flesh. She giggled, the sound startling Jay. She watched as his eyes grew even bigger. His fear heightened, he undoubtedly had envisioned his captor as being more gruff and stoic, not giggling. She couldn't help but laugh outright at the thought. She could smell Jay's unease. Best of all, Gwain wasn't here to spoil the moment with his foolish scheming and plans.
"What am I going to do with you?" She said. "That is what you're wondering isn't it?" Jay nodded.
"It's simple really. I intend to take control of this wretched place. Perhaps the whole world someday but I'm not so stupid to think it could happen immediately. But soon enough for someone who has eternity. It's a nice plan, don't you think."
She paused, giving him a weighty stare. Jay realized she was expecting an honest reply. It was amazing how difficult it was to keep a steady voice underneath the passionate stare of her feral eyes.
"I think it's the most preposterous thing I've ever heard of."
He's voice might be unsteady, but his will wasn't. And he was beginning to get upset about the way he was being treated. The Ta-Ley don't take well to being hunted. It was time to show these pests just what happened when you pushed a Ta-Ley to far. By nature, they were peaceable to a fault, trusting beyond reason, and very mild mannered. The mode suited them well. Ta-Ley anger was a thing not easily unleashed, unseen for centuries, but Tnar had had about enough. Inside himself, he felt the powers gathering.
Reviews welcome! I have this story written already from a few years back and am just posting it pieces at a time. Should I finish with the posting ? Is this story good? Is it stupid? Should I finish?
Does anyone care one way or the other?
Wesley had numerous books both ancient and recent opened, looking for any clue as to how to send the Ta-Ley to a peaceful rest. Their slaughtered bodies had been in limbo, wandering the Ghost Roads, a place where displaced souls traveled unsure of their destination. To send them back would be as bad, if not worse, as being stuck on earth. Here on Earth, they could at least function and pretend to be humans. But without the threat of subjection, it might become to tempting for some Ta-Ley to resist using their unique abilities. A thing which Enfi insisted was dishonorable and would not happen. Cordelia pointed out to her that given the right motivation; the Ta-Ley would do so, as Enfi had already demonstrated twice. Angel also had volumes open and was reading while Cordelia searched the net. They'd been searching for days, and this particular searching session had been going for 6 hours straight. Enfi, meanwhile, had been continuing her search for her brother.
"This screen is giving me a headache." Cordelia started to complain before declaring "No wait, it's not the screen!" and began shaking, hands clutched to her head as a vision assailed her.
She toppled out of her chair but Angel was there in a flash to catch her.
"It's him!" she wheezed. "It's Tnar!"
Her eyes filled with dread.
"And Claire's found him."
All three rushed out of the building, jumping into Angel's convertible.
"This is no good!" Cordelia yelled as yet another vision hit her. She'd barely had time to recover from the first one. "Angel, we've got trouble. Real trouble."
"What is it?" he demanded as he barreled through traffic to the freeway. Tnar had made his way of Los Angeles and was hitchhiking his way towards Sunnydale.
"It seems Claire has called in the Ta-Ley to search this area. Most of them have made it here, we're talking over two hundred of them with more coming."
"Well, we've still got Enfi on our side.I hope." Wesley offered. "Perhaps she can convince the others that Claire alone is no threat to them. Perhaps their as eager to end this as Enfi is."
"How do we know she's not a threat?" Cordelia asked.
"What?" Both men said at the same time.
"Claire never said she didn't know how to send them back. Assuming she knows how to send them back, what's to stop her from doing that?"
"If she sent them all, there'd be no point to this whole thing." Wesley argued.
"True."Angel added. "But she would only have to send one or two, and the others would tow the line."
"All we need to focus on right now is getting Tnar. Without him, the plan is useless." Wesely said.
Cordelia shook her head. " True. But as long as Claire can make good on her threat to send them back to the Ghost Roads, the Ta-Ley will have an avid interest in keeping Tnar in Claire's custody."
"Even though he's one of their own?" Wesley asked.
"Let's just hope that Enfi's proclaimed sense of honor among her people is well deserved. If they can see the overall picture, they may risk losing a few of them to save the whole, not only of their tribe, but of the earth on which Tnar ..and we..live."
"This is a mess." Cordelia moaned. To which Angel could only nod his agreement. "Boy can you pick 'em" She went on to add. Angel started to nod in agreement but paused mid-way through. "hey." he protested mildly.
"Well she has a point." Wesley said.
"Thank You" Cordelia said
"No she doesn't" Angel argued at the same time.
They waited while the light was red. Angel took the moment to half way turn towards his other two passengers.
"Who have I picked that has tried to feed me to a monster?" Angel pointedly asked Cordy.
"who have you picked that hasn't turned you into a monster?" Cordelia countered, blithely ignoring the jab at the time during highschool when Cordelia's college frat boyfriend had tried to sacrifice her to a hideous monster demon.
Angel turned back around to brood for a moment at the obvious meaning of Cordelia's comment. There had been Darla, his sire, then Buffy who had unleashed his inner demon accidentally when they had...and then there was the girl who had put the Bliss in his drink making him a little too happy, and Claire who had only brought out the best him in.
"Claire's different."
"Yeah, sure. She just wants you to rule the world as a vampire. Big difference there."
"Children please." Wesley chided trying to be patient. "The matter at hand please."
The light turned green. Angel floored it, not bothering to stop for the next red light.or any of the ones after that.
Jay's side hurt from his hard running. When he'd realized that the considerate driver who had given him a lift was Ta-Ley, he'd been overjoyed..for about 2 seconds. Then as the realization that the Ta-Ley couldn't be alive, couldn't be here, dawned on him, he became confused. Were these the un-dead who'd been searching for him? How were they alive? How was this possible? All these thoughts assailed him inside of 2 seconds totaling 4 seconds that he was actually in the car. Then he was out again, quick as a flash, pounding the pavement as fast and furious as he could. He couldn't hear any heavy breathing or any footsteps but that was not surprising. The dead don't breathe and the Ta-Ley have always been light of footfall. But it also didn't give him any indication of how close he was following. Jay ran fullspeed but on the stretch of open highway, there wasn't anywhere to hide. Tears of fear and frustration poured down Jay's old yet child-like face as his legs refused to run anymore and his side objected in pain. Slowing to a stop, he almost immediately felt the vise-like grip of the Ta- Ley around his arm.
"Come, Tnar." He recognized the Ta-Ley as one of the elders of his tribe. Submitting, he followed meekly back to the car. Another car had joined them on the side of the road. He had expected to get into the car that had picked him up, a white Ford Mercury with a dented fender but was instead led to the second car. A top-of-the-line Camaro, light blue. Two more Ta-Ley were inside in the front seat. Both sat rigid and straight faced, neither moving from their positions. The window on the right side of the back seat rolled down slowly, reminding Jay of the old gangster movies he had seen. A beautiful face appeared, draped in long bronze hair, a dark yellow scarf wrapped around her neck. She smiled demurely.
"Welcome." She said simply.
Jay was escorted roughly to the left-side of the car. As he got in, the woman shifted slightly, revealing long pale legs underneath a short black leather skirt. She faced him, with the same serene smile but Jay could feel the death in her. She was as the other Ta-Ley. Dead, yet preserved. But with a difference. His eyes must have shown what he had just realized because the woman laughed lightly, her face changing into a ridged forhead with feral yellow eyes and sharp teeth glistening.
"I've waited a long time to finally meet you T'nar."
Somehow, of all the surprises he'd had recently, that this woman knew his true name wasn't one of them.
Angel pulled his black convertible onto the shoulder of the road.
"They were here. And not long ago either."Angel fumed. He banged the steering wheel angrily.
"Now where are they heading?" Wesley asked the obvious question.
"A vision would be nice right about now Cordy." Angel muttered.
Cordelia, though adverse to the idea of the blinding the pain, had been thinking the same thing. For the first time, she actually wanted a vision to come but she was pain free.
Claire gazed at her new prize. After all the years spent searching, here he was live and in the flesh. She giggled, the sound startling Jay. She watched as his eyes grew even bigger. His fear heightened, he undoubtedly had envisioned his captor as being more gruff and stoic, not giggling. She couldn't help but laugh outright at the thought. She could smell Jay's unease. Best of all, Gwain wasn't here to spoil the moment with his foolish scheming and plans.
"What am I going to do with you?" She said. "That is what you're wondering isn't it?" Jay nodded.
"It's simple really. I intend to take control of this wretched place. Perhaps the whole world someday but I'm not so stupid to think it could happen immediately. But soon enough for someone who has eternity. It's a nice plan, don't you think."
She paused, giving him a weighty stare. Jay realized she was expecting an honest reply. It was amazing how difficult it was to keep a steady voice underneath the passionate stare of her feral eyes.
"I think it's the most preposterous thing I've ever heard of."
He's voice might be unsteady, but his will wasn't. And he was beginning to get upset about the way he was being treated. The Ta-Ley don't take well to being hunted. It was time to show these pests just what happened when you pushed a Ta-Ley to far. By nature, they were peaceable to a fault, trusting beyond reason, and very mild mannered. The mode suited them well. Ta-Ley anger was a thing not easily unleashed, unseen for centuries, but Tnar had had about enough. Inside himself, he felt the powers gathering.
Reviews welcome! I have this story written already from a few years back and am just posting it pieces at a time. Should I finish with the posting ? Is this story good? Is it stupid? Should I finish?
Does anyone care one way or the other?