A
Eruchin, ú-dano i faelas a hyn, an uben tanatha le faelas
(Show them no mercy for you shall receive none.)
-Aragorn Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
These are the names I have picked for new OC's.
Jazz and Mr. McKenzie – submitted by Salem.
Marcus, Amber, and Lori – submitted by Cindy
Dakota and Crecy – submitted by Crecy
Laurel – submitted by Songbreeze1125
Alandra and Damon – submitted by Alandra
Also, William created by me for my crush. (Uh. . .anyone out there who actually /knows/ him, plz don't tell him or anyone else about that. I'd never hear the end of it.)
Thanks to the Reviewers:
Mika1620: thank you v. v. much for the review. This update was unbelievably slow, but I hope you like it.
Alandra: gasp There was a WHOLE day of Charmed? WHAT?!?! And are you telling me that I MISSED it?!?! gags, falls over, and starts hyperventilating So, what was it like? grabs Alandra by the collar and starts shaking her Tell me!! You must tell me!!! okay, calm now for the sake of carrying on my commentary You read the WHOLE story over again? Wow. Not even I have done that. pats Alandra on the back They're still playing reruns on Charmed! Aaaaargh! So, what's this website on Celtic names? I doubt I'll use any in this story, but you never know, it could be handy in the future.
Roos: Arwen means 'lady', or at least just –wen does. But –wen is a suffix. I suppose that the literal translation for "Arwen" could be 'noble lady', however, this one website I found said that the translation for arwen was just 'lady.' So I bought that. And no, I cannot see you, though you can see me. pouts You're offering to be silent, eh? Well, you see, muses are supposed to be neither seen nor heard. But I have a unique muse. Lol. Thanks for the many ideas. I'll consider them when I get to that point in the story. Well. . .Angel might be an Empath or she might not be. I like the idea of her going with Eomer and his bunch, but having her raped doesn't sound too appealing. Well, anywayz, you're awesome, Roos, reviewing EVERY chapter. everyone applauds Roos
Nikki: Boromir's fate is already decided, all that's left is for me to write it out. And no – I won't tell you what it is either. . . you'll just have to wait it out. Wow, I'm surprised. I sorta expected your review to be in all caps, seeing who anxious you were for Angel to go back to ME. And also, you were the 100th reviewer!!! grins stupidly
ElvenWitch13: Sorry it took so long for me to update, but things have been getting really hectic lately. I'm so caught up in schoolwork and outside of school activities that I was even amazed at myself for writing a 12 page long chapter. Cliffies are so fun snickers Fun for the author, if not the readers. And thanks for your support and constant reviews.
Salem: Thank you for your contributions, I agree, Jazz is a sweet name. I'm using it along with one other (see above). Thanks v. v. much. Seraphina was pretty too, but I didn't because I think it would be a lil bit too fancy for my purposes.
Cindy: Wait – you have a son? Wow, I thought that it was all kids who were reading my story. But that's cool. And thanks for the names, especially Lori. I love it!
Mia: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you decided to keep on reading this.
Crecy: Ms. McMath. That's so cool. . . and weird. Dakota will be used also, and in my opinion, it sounds like a hot name for a hott hott hott guy. giggles What? Doesn't it sound like a hott name to you? Your name will be in here too, only, would it be pronounced cre-SEE or what?
Songbreeze1125: Well, it would have taken about another week or so to get to that part, and I felt like I was running behind in deadlines, so it was either that or nothing. Yes, Comet is a filthy cowardly backstabber. Lol. I bet you didn't see that coming.
Lady Light: I was a bit surprised at myself for making Comet a traitor. I had vague ideas about her being their familiar and then betraying them, but I didn't really think I would actually write about it. Yup. . . a bitch. Lol. I never thought of it that way until you mentioned it.
Soccer-Bitch: Thank you for the supportive reviews as always. Hope that this update was quick.
Chapter 11
Belthazor Returns
Something was seriously wrong. Adrian tried to laugh at himself for thinking so, but it came out a humorless croak. 'It's only a dump mutt,' he told himself repeatedly. 'Nothing but a missing dog that probably isn't even missing.' Adrian wondered whether his long years of fighting evil were turning him paranoid. Every little thing he took as a potential threat that usually ended up getting him and his sisters nearly killed. Now, it was to the point where he couldn't even have a family pet go missing without him jumping to conclusions.
But his instincts told him otherwise. Adrian did not trust his instincts readily, not like Kendall, who seemed to possess some sort of sixth sense that had saved their lives several times in the past.
After almost a half hour of looking, Kendall called off the search.
"We have more important issues to worry about," she said, and Adrian realized the sense in her reasoning. He also heard the unspoken statement. They needed to get Angelyn back to Middle-Earth – she had already stayed too long.
Despite Angel's protests, Kendall ushered her quickly back into the dining room and literally shoved her into a chair. The older sister lifted the frying pan off the stove. The scrambled eggs were well done, and slightly burnt black around the fringes. Adrian and Wyatt sat down as well.
"But Kendall," objected Angel. "Who knows where she is? She could be out freezing in the streets for all we know!"
Kendall was surprised at how easily Angel had forgotten Comet's attitude toward her so fast. She stuffed a large chunk of egg into her mouth, stifling further protests. "Chill and eat," she said. "We'll take care of it once you're safely back in Middle-Earth."
'Safely,' thought Angel sourly as she was forced to suffer the indignity of having pieces of the egg hanging out of her mouth. If having Belthazor after her 24/7 was considered safe, she didn't want to think about what dangerous was. She swigged a long gulp of orange juice and quickly consumed her breakfast.
A small pile of dirty dishes were piled in the sink soon after, forgotten and unimportant at the moment. Piper came downstairs, smiling, and sat down at the table. She was already changed out of her night gown and looked bright and alert. "Good morning," she greeted, more out of habit than anything. Then she sensed the stressed atmosphere. "What's wrong?"
Angel swallowed the egg and blurted out, "Comet's missing."
Piper seemed thrown off for a few moments, but quickly regained her composure. "I'm sure she'll turn up sooner or later. We can scry for her after all."
Her younger niece was a bit annoyed at Piper's lack of concern, but she bowed her head and bounded upstairs to gather her things. Meanwhile, Kendall sighed and prepared to open the time portal again.
By the time she came back downstairs with the shoulder bag, Kendall was in the middle of the incantation, and Leo was there too, who had probably just orbed down from Up There. There was a bright swirl of blue-white lights and Paige and Allan appeared, closely followed by their teenaged daughter, Amber. Amber was tall for her age, with a light build and honey blonde hair like her father. She flashed a dimpled smile at Angel. "Hi Angel."
Angel laughed, and for a moment all her fears and worries about returning to Middle-earth were forgotten. She ran over to give her cousin a hug. It had been a long time since she had seen Amber last. The sixteen year old was her favorite cousin, and a close friend before Angel left for New York.
Amber returned the embrace, and whispered in her ear, "Good luck, Angel."
"Thanks," the other girl replied gratefully.
The doorbell sounded, and Leo ran to get it. Kendall finished the spell, and the door materialized before her. She opened it, to reveal the Golden Woods– in the middle of a heavy downpour. The grin was wiped off of Angel's face as she stared at the rain rolling off the silver barked trunks and golden leaves. "Aw, shit."
Leo came back with Darryl and his wife Laurel, both of who were smiling broadly. Laurel was almost a head shorter than her husband, and her close-cropped brown hair framed rosy cheeks. Her complexion was a light olive brown, complemented by large hazel eyes.
"We thought we might as well see you off," said Laurel good-naturedly. She gaped in awe at the time gate. "Whoa."
"This is how you're going back to the past?" asked Darryl.
"Convenient, isn't it?" said Piper dryly. "Though that must have been some spell Kendall whipped up."
Her niece smiled at the compliment.
Angel gave one last look at her family and friends, then stepped through the gateway of time. Kendall smiled vaguely as she watched her sister diminish into a shadow among the trees. A breeze and spray blew in through the doorframe, through a time gap of thousands of years.
"Good luck, little sis," she whispered.
Angel heaved a great sigh and trudged through the rainy forest, her small bag slung over one shoulder. She peered between the silvery sheets of rain, straining her memory in an attempt to find some familiar landmark that might help her find her way back to the others. She moaned mentally when her memory banks came up with. . . nothing. Great. Now she could spend a few hours trying to find her way, and chances were she'd be soaking wet by then.
She scowled, though there was no one around to see it. She stood for a moment, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She reasoned that if the portal had opened in the same place as last time, then maybe if she could retrace her steps. . . Angel started walking straight ahead.
She adjusted her visor so that it could shield her eyes more from the stinging rain. She hoped fervently that the water wasn't soaking through her shoulder bag.
Angel lost track of time. The woods seemed to look identical no matter where she was, the pelting rain and trees merging into one hazed blur before her. How long had she been wandering? An hour? Two hours?
Angel shook her head. She had no idea. It seemed like ages, but in reality she knew it couldn't be. She shivered from the chill seeping into her skin.
She stopped for a moment to take into account her present situation. She was lost – yes she had to admit that much – and she was soaking, her bag was likely drenched as well. There really wasn't much to do but hope that she might somehow stumble upon an Elf or someone who could guide her back.
The young witch hung her head in despair. She listened to the sound of the rain splattering on the trees and forest floor, the smell of fresh earth pungent and strong. Then a strange tingling crept up her spine, uncomfortable but not unfamiliar. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She shuddered, and this time not from the cold. As a witch, she had been taught to recognize those feelings. Going against one's instincts wasn't not wise. Even so, she was not the best person at trusting her sixth sense, as weak as it was. No, that was Kendall's forte, not hers.
Angel froze as goosebumps formed on her arms and neck. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Then, out of nowhere, a streak of black appeared at her side. Angel didn't even have time to react before she was felt a powerful iron grip on her shoulders, seizing her roughly by the shoulders. Before she knew what had happened, she was flung backwards. She smashed into a tree nearly 50 feet away and fell down into a crumpled heap.
The witch raised her head slowly, painfully, trying to block the stinging flare running up and down her the length of her back. She opened her eyes and saw the red and black streaked face of Belthazor staring down at her, only ten yards away with a half-smile that turned her blood cold twisting his demonic features.
He conjured an energy ball to his fingertips and held it up before her. Angel watched the white-hot ball sizzling like lightning sparks in horror and anticipation. Her mind screamed at her to run, but her feet were frozen as though paralyzed. She watched the energy ball, knowing that she was helpless, that she could do nothing but wait for the Angel of Death. But then something jerked her out of her almost hypnotic state, and she flung her hands out to reflect the attack as Belthazor threw it at her. The energy ball ricocheted off an invisible wall in front of her. Belthazor dodged it with a quick sidestep and the attack hit a mallorn behind him. The tree exploded on impact, shattering into millions of shards of bard, wood, and leaves.
Belthazor did not turn to watch the tree shatter, but he was well aware of his situation now. His plan to wait for the right moment to attack the youngest Charmed One had been abandoned when he found out about the vanquishing of the Rowe warlocks. News traveled like wildfire among the demonic community, and Belthazor had ears everywhere. As soon as he found out that the Charmed Ones now possessed the powers of the Rowe brothers, he knew that his best chance to destroy them now was to attack before they learned to control their new abilities. Once they did, there was little chance he would be able to take care of them on his own, and he was loath to seek the aid of another. Not only that, but the Source was furious with him already, believing that Belthazor's hesitation had lost them the perfect opportunity to strike.
He circled Angel like a wolf, but at the same time he was ready to shimmer if need be. For the first time since he had been assigned to this task, he felt a ripple of uncertainty. Angel was unpredictable and dangerous now. He did not know the extent of her abilities, and he doubted that even she knew herself.
Angel climbed to her feet, using the tree behind her for support. Quickly, she searched the demon's face for clues as to what he was planning to do next, but his unperturbed façade showed nothing but a calm ruthlessness. As soon as Belthazor started approaching her, she held up her hands, summoning all the magic she had and having not quite made up her mind yet whether she should throw a fireball or explode. . . and gasped at what happened next.
Streaks of yellow-orange fire danced on the trunk of one of the trees behind Belthazor. It twisted and curled its way up the trunk like a living snake of flame, then leapt to the mallorn at its left. The blazing serpents jumped from tree to tree until a ring of mallorns were alight, with Angel and Belthazor at the center of the inferno. Then the circle of trees shattered, sending bits and pieces of burning twigs and wood flying in every direction. Angel dropped to the ground instinctively, shielding her face with her arms as best as she could. She felt sharp stings on her hands and arms and heard giant boughs crashing down around her.
Dust and soil choked the air in great flurries, obscuring her vision and suffocating her. In panic she tried to draw breath, only to find herself coughing on a mouthful of debris. The ash and smoke scorched her throat, tearing at her vocal cords, clogging her nostrils and depriving her of air. The coughs came in violent fits as the fire burned up more and more air.
Her attack, at least, had not missed its target completely. Belthazor roared in blind rage and excruciating pain as he felt the full force of the witch's exploding power and fire. The fire wound up his torso for a few agonizing seconds before the heavy rain extinguished it. The exploding power opened a wide wound on his shoulder and halfway down his back. Blood flowed freely from the injury. Belthazor knew without having to look that he was in trouble. He would not be able to stay and fight in this condition, he knew that.
When the crackling of fiery chaos had died down somewhat, Angel lifted her head. The rain had put out most of the fire, and what it hadn't lay smoking and glowing faintly. She felt lightheaded and dizzy from lack of air, but now that the fire was gone, and the smoke and debris in the air had been dissipated by the rain, she could breathe a bit. Angel panted heavily like a dog, ignoring the sharp acrid smell of burnt wood, not really aware of anything for a while but breathing. Her eyes stung and watered at the smoke, and a fresh bout of coughing overtook her. Her throat felt raw and seared, as if she had swallowed some of the fire itself. Then she got to her feet slowly, brushing off ash and mud and swept her surroundings in a single gaze. Fallen tree limbs were strewn everywhere. The ground around her was scorched black, and everything within a 10 yard radius of her had been either flattened, burnt, or exploded.
But by some small miracle, the bag she had brought from home lay on the blackened earth, intact, and almost untouched. Angel ran over and picked it up. She inspected its contents to see that nothing was disturbed before slinging it over her shoulder. The young witch marveled at how it could have survived the fire, but decided not to spend any more time on the matter. Just as well that it had.
She sighed and looked up, trying to determine what to do now when she caught sight of Haldir standing not 20 feet in front of her, staring at Angel and the destruction around her, a clear look of questioning on his fair face.
Can someone tell me about how college works? Like, what kind of classes people take, where they eat lunch, what time classes are over, how many days a week they have class, when they have after-school sports, and stuff like that. Cuz I'm still in middle school and I have no clue. So, if someone could answer those questions, that would be really helpful since chances are I'll have to know something about college to write the scenes where Kendall and Adrian are at school.
Thanks to my Reviewers:
shortsandshirts: you should really watch some more Charmed! It's an awesome show, though a bit confusing if you don't know what's going on. Yes, and I love the LOTR fandom too. Legolas is my fave character, not so much Haldir though.
Songbreeze1125: Our spring break was about 2-3 weeks ago, and yes it was awesome.
Latin4ever93: Too bad, this chapter is below average length, but I had fun writing it. Thank you for the suggestion, but I have decided that this will be neither a Legolas or Haldir romance. 'Tis still gonna be a romance though.
Roos: I should do more cliffies if they are this much fun! Yes, evil author. Gollum: she'ssss wickedsss. We hatesssss her. . . stranglessss her, yesss, wringssss her neck, yess. We hatessss cliffiessss. . . Well, thanks for reading as always. You are awesum!!!
Lady Light: blushes thank you! Since you're willing to read anything I write, maybe you'll be willing to read an original kind of romance.
Alandra: Oh c'mon, did you really think I'd give up after only 11 chapters? "I love the way that you manage to go between the two worlds and still have the story making sense." blushes then bows thank you! It's something I picked up from reading Brian Jacques' Redwall series. It's a very useful tactic though. Lol. Also, Alandra, as you know, I named an OC after you, so I hope you don't mind being Adrian's girlfriend. And one last thing, what channel is the next whole day of Charmed on? I don't have cable though, but if it's on WB20 like it normally is, then I might get to watch it! :)
Lady Fae: Thank you very much for the college information! It'll help with my next few scenes!!
Xoulblade: Oh, I see. . . you mean flirting! What /will/ Haldir say to Angel's wildfire? Too bad she's physically unable to answer his questions. Convenient, isn't it? Borri's fate is already decided, all that's left to do is for me to write it out. But thanks for reading and reviewing! I was starting to think you had stopped reading.
Soccer-Bitch: Thank you for your luvly review as always. As you will find out soon enough, Haldir didn't see quite as much as Angel feared.
Salem: If Mr. McKenzie is boring in real life, I could make him a boring teacher in this story! Lol. I have a lot in store for Jazz. I'd like to tell you now, but that would be giving it away too soon, wouldn't it?
Nikki: Thank you for the tips! I don't quite understand number three though, so if you could explain a bit, that would be great. This shall (I've been dying for a chance to use that word) be neither a Legomance or a Haldir romance. But chances are good that it will be a romance of some kind.
ElvenWitch13: Uh yeah, maybe I'll ask Audrey to ask her sister about college over AIM or something. Mr. Platinum Blonde is hot, but nothing like Legolas. swoon Thanks for the review! BTW, does your Elven name mean 'jewel of silver' or something close to that?
Z21: Thanks for the e-mail. It will help me lots writing some of the next scenes! hugs Uh. . . could you clarify some of the things that you said that don't make sense? I do plan on explaining some stuff later on, but maybe I overlooked something. Thanks for reviewing!
Crecy: You and Dakota will show up sooner or later. Dakota will play a pretty important role in the story (mainly cuz I think he's hott!). "If people flame you I beat them with a phone." Thanks for the offer, but so far there's no need to do so. But flames will come sooner or later (I'm a very optimistic person.), and I might need you then.
Mia: Dangerous, definitely. Sweet, maybe. Innocent. . . well. . . she /has/ murdered hundreds of demons. And Angel is 18. I would have made her older, but then she would have been in college and I didn't want that.
"There is a fell voice on the air."
-Legolas from the FOTR movie.