A/N: Wonderful; the sun seems to shine a little brighter whenever I get your reviews. No, wait; I hate the sunlight! Anyhows, I find it fun to address the people who review, so I think I'm going to make it a chapter-y thing. Uh, as for the rating change....well, I'm very cautious. See for yourself why I changed it.
Clez: Usually I don't give out my secrets, but I think I'll make an exception. To put italics in, just write whatever you're writing and save the document as a web page (if you're using Microsoft Word, which I am).
Heidi: Yes, I was lazy, and named Jesse after the particular London airport. Hate me if you must.
Quinita: Ouch. I'm rather proud of Jesse's "strange" company.
Graymoon74: I'll take that as a compliment; I live to be sneaky, so I can steal the candy from the kitchen...
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CHAPTER 6
[Text from the book Skinner took out]
Spells by the Syrem are almost always deadly; their power is immense, to the point of infinite. Others have tried this spell but failed; it requires the patience, power and will of a Syrem to do so. The spell is one of the most secret, most powerful. The children captured will be made to grow faster, compressing years into a matter of days. Once grown, the children will have inherited their parent's best traits, be they powers or not. The children, depending on the Syrem's wishes, can either help, or destroy those who sired them.
Vicky looked up from the book and looked at all those who had gathered around the seats located near her, grimness wiping away her wacky demeanor.
"This was what I was afraid of," Sloane said quietly, finally breaking the silence that had descended upon the room like London's early morning fog. "This is the same one."
"Same one what?" Tom demanded. Jesse's expression darkened as Sierra and Vicky glanced at each other. "Lady Heathrow, please. Understand. The children are important as hell to us."
"I know," Jesse said. "I know the feeling, Mr. Sawyer. I know it very well."
"Madam, no offense intended," Jekyll said, "But I don't think you have children." Vicky had wanted to stop him and had reached out to do so, but was too late. He had already said the worst thing he could have said. Sierra nearly dropped her book and Sloane took a step away from her friend. Jesse slammed the book she was holding on the table so hard it jumped, fury blazing in her dark eyes.
She merely held that stance for a while, glaring at everyone in general. Her friends knew better than to try and tell her to calm down; it would only end up in bloody noses. Jesse didn't looked strong, but those muscles of hers were formidable. She pivoted on her heel and stormed out of the room, pushing Crow aside as they reached the door at the same time.
"Jekyll," Crow said, quiet danger in his voice, "You shouldn't have done that. Of all the things you shouldn't have done, it was that."
Jesse went out of the library via the back door and leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath to calm herself. The cold night air chilled her, but she found it oddly comforting, in a way. She ran a hand through her luscious hair, shaking her head to try to clear it. She closed her eyes and rested the back of her head against the red brick, but the tranquil state of that was quickly shattered when Allan opened the door and joined her.
They stood in silence for a few moments, before Allan finally spoke. "What happened?"
Jesse kept her eyes closed. "She was adopted, barely a year old when I first got her. Six months later, she went missing. I searched the normal world before I stumbled upon the magicks. When I was making inquiries I met Vicky, Sierra and Sloane. They taught me all I know, and then some. I found out that Layne was taken and used in the spell we found. When we finally got to her, a few weeks later, she was sixteen and hated me with a passion. If you ask Crow, he'll remember...his son was there, too."
She swallowed and fought back tears, struggling to clear her mind of the memories of her sweet little Layne, smiling with barely enough teeth to cover the huge mouth. Whenever Layne smiled, it would be so big that one eye would almost close while the other sparkled. The adorable way the baby would concentrate filled her mind's eye, and Jesse found herself remembering the tongue that stuck out whenever Layne was doing something. Allan didn't say a word, keeping silent out of respect and sympathy.
"We fought," she finally continued. "And...I was forced to kill her."
"I'm sorry," Allan said. "I can't imagine how painful it must have been."
"Yeah." Jesse swallowed again and opened her eyes, looking down at the dirt. She paused, and when she spoke again the determination and authority was back in her voice. "That's why I want to help. I can't bear to see others go through what I and Crow had to go through. It's hard, knowing that you failed the children in some way, even through you know you didn't, not really."
Allan nodded. "I know."
"I guess so," Jesse said, pushing herself off the wall and opening the door. "Which is why we need to do a locator spell now."
Allan followed Jesse back inside, steeling himself against the welcome gush of warm air. "A locator spell?"
"It's a spell that'll help us locate the magicks or the people," Jesse explained, striding through the many rows of ancient texts. "Do you have something of your grandson?"
"Yes." Allan produced a lock of hair, bunched up and neatly tied with cord. When Allan was born, his father had snipped off a bit of his hair as a baby, and Allan didn't see the need to forgo the practice with his son and grandson. "Will this do?"
Jesse took it from him and nodded. "It will."
They pulled open the doors to the private rooms and entered. All those present and their heads turned to look at the arrivals. Jesse wasted no time in giving out orders.
"We're going to do a locator spell. Sierra, get the books. Sloane, clear the floor. Crow, materials. Vicky, take care of the symbols. Lady and gentlemen, please move out. We're going to look for your children."
The League hesitated while Jesse's friends rushed to get what Jesse had ordered them to. At a subtle nod from Allan, Tom was the first to move to the side, and the others trusted his judgement and followed.
"I need something of your children's," Jesse told them. Sierra climbed up the ladder that lined the walls with supernatural grace and pulled out a thick book. Sloane pushed the large, heavy table and chairs out of the way, leaving a big space in the middle of the room. Crow disappeared again, and returned shortly, laden with candles and chalk. He passed one of the latter to Vicky, who proceeded to draw arcane symbols around a circle she made with red rock, taken from the pouch at her waist. Vicky kept muttering to herself, revising the order of the symbols so she wouldn't get it wrong.
Mina and Dorian managed to give Jesse a brooch that they had wanted to give Lucy the morning she went missing. Nemo surrendered an ornate disk he found in his pocket; Ajit had craved it a year back. Skinner pulled out a cross on a chain, one that he had given Lizzy. She never wore it save at her mother's funeral. Jekyll thought for a while and finally came up with coin. Noah loved playing with coins, and Jekyll was always near to make sure he didn't choke himself. Tom dug around in his pockets. Finally, he produced a red ribbon, the same kind that Alice used to secure her pigtails. How it got there, he didn't know, but he was thankful it was there in the first place.
Vicky finished her drawing with a triumphant grin and a four point figure in the middle of the circle. The ends of the inside figure touched the ends of the circle's insides. "Done," she declared. "We can start." Jesse nodded her thanks to the League members as she moved off to join her friends around the circle.
Jesse placed the items belonging to the children at her feet, and stood in middle of the four-point figure as Sierra handed her the book, and the rest too up postitions around the circle. Crow had lighted the candles and they burned softly, located between the friends. Jesse began to read from the book, ignoring the world around her, focusing on the spell.
"In this place I call upon the kris'en'tren, the Finder of all Things. Their children have these parents lost, taken from them by some means they cannot fathom. I ask the Finder, look for these children, for they are young and have only innocence to guide them."
Orange light began to glow around Jesse, and it quickly spread to the rest of her friends. As she ended the stanza, the light began to become more liquid-like, as if it were water in the form of light. It swirled around Jesse, becoming a pillar.
"Finder, I beseech thee, bring these children back to their rightful parents,
Find them by any means. To aid thee in thy search, I have brought items
Of the children. Find them, I beseech thee. Find them, bring them back."
The light began to brighten, but kept its translucent and watery appearance. It swirled even higher up around Jesse, encompassing her in its power. Dorian could literally feel the power ebbing from the light, a wave of massive proportions. Vicky spread her wings.
"For this cause so rightly served, I present my only help to the Finder,
My wings, so that thee shalt be able to find what has been lost."
Skinner backed up against the wall. This is getting scary. The column around Jesse swirled faster, brighter this time as Jesse spread her arms and lifted them up, to rein in the power and control it. Next, it was Sierra's turn. Her eyes turned feral yellow.
"I help the Finder, with these eyes and senses so bestowed. I beseech
thee, Finder, search for what is lost, bring it back to the ones it has been
given."
The power around Jesse whirled like a tornado, and Allan covered his eyes with a hand to stop himself from going blind just as Crow started his part.
"Finder, I offer thee my courage and my strength. That which was been lost
Will be repaid in full to thee, for thy help. I ask thee, find what these people
So lost, in their ignorance and pride."
Tom looked a little indignant at the last line, but he kept quiet. There was no knowing what would happen to the spell should he speak. He crossed his arms over his chest and Sloane started, teeth lengthening into fangs, her eyes a blood-red.
"Finder, to aid thee in thy search, I offer immortality, so that thou may search
For as long until the Lost is found."
The column rose to its zenith, a little over five feet below the ceiling. A whirlwind of noise filled the room, and loose papers and suchlike lifted off the tables and swirled around the full-blown tornado.
"Finder, I call upon thee!" Jesse yelled over the howling of winds. "Search for those who have been lost! Bring them back! I command thee! Bring them home, find them so we may do so! Finder! I command thee!"
Four more of the same last line were shouted.
"I command thee, fly over the mountains, over the seas, find that which has been lost! I command thee do as I say!"
"I command thee, look for those lost with eyes and senses; find them, bring them back! I command thee, do as I say!"
"I command thee, with this courage I lend, find, look for the lost, redeem them from the ignorance and pride! I command thee, do as I say!"
"I command thee, with the mighty power of immortality, locate the Lost, find them and let us know! I command thee, do as I say!"
The last line packed so much power and authority that both Allan and Nemo were surprised. They had known that Jesse was a natural leader, but they didn't know that she had this much power in her. The column shot up like a fountain, hitting the white ceiling and exploding all over it. Tendrils of its powerful light raced across the ceiling, meaning to outdo each other in both splendor and speed as they disappeared through tiny cracks.
Jekyll jerked his face away from the light and everyone held a hand up to their eyes. Finally, the light receded and Jesse stepped out of the circle.
"We just need to wait," she said. "It could take a few hours. I suggest you go home, rest for the night. If there's no word from the Finder, come back in the morning. If there is, I'll send word to your places."
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LONDON, ENGLAND
LIBRARY OF MYSTIC AND WICCAN TEXTS
PRIVATE ROOMS
(THE NEXT DAY)
Mina and Dorian met Skinner, Tom, Allan, Nemo and Jekyll outside the privates room in the library. Jesse had not sent word that night, and all of them — Skinner especially — looked as if they had not gotten enough sleep. Together they entered the room.
What they saw shocked them to the bone.
Blood was splattered everywhere, the tables and chairs violently upturned. Crow was at the back of one table that rested on it side, near the door; it seemed as if he had used it for shelter. The back of his head was caved in, gray brain matter spilling on the floor with a pool of dark red blood. Mina immediately felt her vampiric senses threaten to take over.
Jesse was at the other end of the room, within the four-sided figure Vicky had drawn the night before. A sword was skewered through her belly, her eyes open in a shocked death-mask, suggesting a quick death.
Tom swore. Jesse and company had been their only chance at finding the children. "Where's Sierra, Vicky and Sloane?"
"Look for them," Allan ordered, already moving away from the group. "Find them. Be careful; whatever got to them may still be here." The League members scoured the place, and Nemo found Sierra, dead, shoved behind on of the bookshelves. Something had clawed its way through her, ruining the wonderful face. An eyeball rested nearby. Mina soon realized that the pile of dust she stood in was Sloane. Well, what was left of her, anyway. A single shaft of sunlight that shone in from an overhead window previously covered had killed the vampiress.
Jekyll and Skinner looked around for Vicky. Already Skinner had feelings for the Aseyewrn. Romantic feelings he hadn't felt since Hannah had passed away. A soft moan drew them to a stack of papers and ripped book bindings, all resting in a pile under a fell bookshelf. Something white stuck out at an odd angle. Skinner and Jekyll set out to lift the bookshelf.
"I think I found something!" Skinner declared, and the rest of the League hurried over and started to help. Nemo and Allan pulled Sierra's corpse out of its place and put it with Crow's and Jesse's in the middle of the room. All three of them had been slaughtered. Skinner finally managed to clear the top of the stack.
Vicky's face, bruised and bleeding, looked up at him.
"Oh god, it's Vicky!" Skinner renewed his efforts. When the seven of them finally got her out, Jekyll realized that one of her wings was at an odd angle because it was broken. Dorian helped Tom pull Vicky's legs out from the mess, and they angled her so that her broken body cleared the pile. Skinner held her head in his arms, cradling it and turning it whenever Jekyll or Mina told him to.
besides having a broken wing, Vicky's lip was cut, and most of her body was bruised and bleeding. Her belly was torn up, and by the looks of her pale face, she had lost a lot of blood.
"She has a bullet in her shoulder," Jekyll told them. "And at the rate that she's losing blood...She'll die if we don't get her to a hospital." He took off his other coat to stem the main source of bleeding.
"Which one?" Dorian remarked. "All of them specialize in humans."
Mina shot him a withering look. Nemo immediately offered the Natuilus.
"Problem is," Tom interjected. "I don't think they know how to treat the Aseyewrrn." Mina's gaze rambled over the room when she finally spotted something on one of the blood-stained shelves.
She pointed. It was a medical book, focusing mainly on non-humans. "Take that. We need a stretcher."
Nemo nodded and whipped out his new fangled device that let him communicate the Nautilus. He called it the Comlink. He ordered up a stretcher and some medics.
After that, all they could do was wait and hope.
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A/N: Right. Sorry this chapter took so long; I sprained my ankle and as it is, I can't move. Well, I can, but barely. Anyhow. It's longer so I made it up to you, in a way. See ya soon, hopefully the next one will be up.