DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters are the creations of Joss Whedon and copyright of 20th Century Fox and Mutant Enemy, Inc. Nemesis is an original character from my Watchtower Gargoyles series. Briarley and Prophecy are original characters from my Witchhaven County series.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter contains major spoilers from the final episode of Angel.

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A Promise of Tomorrow
Chapter 6: The Song of Time

By Shadow's Mirror

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The five figures on the rooftop moved into a circle. The atmosphere became tense as their moods shifted and they focused on what they were there to do.

The hooded woman raised her head and began to sing, her beautiful voice filling the air with magic so powerful that it could almost be felt, tasted, smelt and seen, not only heard. The song was wordless. The tune, an ever shifting cascade of notes and rhythms that seemed almost impossible to follow. But that was part of its magic. Within moments, the vampire and the siren had joined the song, their voices rising in perfect counterpoint and entwining effortlessly with the woman's. It took a moment more for the spell to catch Sweet, but then his voice also rose into the clear night air.

As the magic surged through the music, Lorne found himself spellbound. He wanted to sing, but his voice was stolen by the mix of beauty, awe and magic swirling within and around him. As his own gift kicked in, images began flooding his mind more rapidly than he could ever hope to follow. Gasping at the unexpected assault on his senses, Lorne closed his eyes and tried desperately to focus on the song and what he needed to do.

Suddenly, everything went still and quiet. The music was still there, but now it seemed to be coming from a great distance. Confused, Lorne opened his eyes again. It didn't help. In fact, the sight that greeted him only succeeded in making him even more bewildered.

He wasn't on the rooftop anymore. Actually, Lorne had the feeling that he wasn't even in L.A. anymore! He was standing in the middle of a grassy plain, with nothing but green grass stretching out as far as the eye could see in every direction. Except one. Right in front of him lay the only other thing in sight.

It was a river. Lorne could tell that it was no ordinary river though. The deep blue colour and crystal clearness of the water hinted at it having mystical qualities, but what really gave it away was the song it was singing as it ran merrily by. Lorne knew what he was looking at as soon as he heard its voice.

The song of the River of Time was unmistakable.

Lorne took the few steps needed to reach the river's bank. He gazed into the water, unsure of why he was there or what he was supposed to do, but knowing beyond any doubt that this was where he was meant to be. The magical song being carried on the breeze called to him and his power responded to it, just as it responded to the voice of the river. As he gazed into its clear blue heart, the river began to glow with a soft silvery light and images began to form in the air above it.

At first, it was just a jumble of images from a long-forgotten past, but then the scene became more familiar. At least, it was familiar to Lorne because he'd seen it before. It was the same place, the same people, that he glimpsed on the (thankfully) rare occasions when he heard Angel sing.

Sunnydale.

Lorne watched in silence as a blonde girl danced in front of the stage where the demon from the rooftop, Sweet, was standing. One moment she was dancing as though she was out of control, but then Spike simply stepped in and caught her, stopping her movements. Lorne realised then what he was seeing. This was the moment that Sweet had been talking about when he had first appeared. The moment when Spike had done something completely out of character for one of his kind.

A vampire had saved a Slayer. It was unheard of! It was preposterous! It wasn't the first time it had happened. Lorne grinned. Trust Spike and Angel to both have done the unthinkable.

The scene in the image shifted again and Lorne frowned slightly as he tried to work out what he was seeing. It looked like a dark alley, but there were none of the garbage bins or piles of litter that he was used to seeing in such places. Then a man stumbled into view. He was dressed in clothes that had been the height of fashion in England back in the days of Queen Victoria. Lorne nodded to himself. This was probably a scene from Briarley's past. He was surely old enough to have existed back then.

Mist began creeping into view and Lorne frowned again. It seemed to be spreading rather quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. It had to be magic. When a figure stepped out of the swirling mist, Lorne knew his original guess had been mistaken. Briarley wasn't the one standing there. It was Nemesis!

Lorne could see her speaking, but he couldn't hear a sound. Whatever she was saying though, the Siren's words had an impressive effect on the man. Within moments, he was down on his knees, apparently begging for mercy. The look of smug satisfaction on Nemesis's face was more than a little disconcerting. Lorne was glad when the image shifted again.

A large house was on fire. Smoke billowed from the windows, accompanied by licking flames and sparks that soon had the outside of the building smoldering as well. The front door of the house was a blazing inferno, but suddenly a figure burst through the flames! Briarley ran out of the fire, slightly singed but apparently otherwise unharmed. He was carrying a large black bundle. The vampire looked back at the fire for a moment then turned away; pain and sorrow clear on his face. He knelt down, carefully unwrapping the bundle he had brought safely out of the burning house. When he was done he smiled down at the small face looking up at him. His black jacket had apparently been an effective shield against the heat, for the mist-grey cat that had been wrapped in it seemed to be unharmed.

Before Lorne could make out anything more, the scene changed again and his heart began to thump. He knew this scene. He had lived through it earlier that night. As the gun was raised, Lorne heard the shot ring out through his mind. He shuddered, but kept watching. The scene would be played out soon.

When the image began to fade a few minutes later, Lorne sighed with relief. His sigh quickly became a gasp though as new images began to flash rapidly in the air over the river. These images were more recent. In fact, they had all happened at the same time as the scene from Lorne's past!

Lorne watched in silent shock as he saw for the first time exactly what had happened that night. Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria came as no revelation, but then Wesley's scene began.

As he learned of his friend's fate, Lorne sank to his knees, stunned and grieving. As much as he hated to admit it to himself though, he couldn't feel surprised by what had happened.

Ever since Fred's death, Lorne had sensed that Wesley would not take long to follow her. The ex-Watcher had been living a sort of half-life since that dreadful night. His obsession with Illyria had not been good for him and, ultimately, it would have been sure to have cost him his sanity. In fact, there had been times when Lorne had wondered if that price had not already been paid.

He didn't have long to linger on such thoughts. The images continued to shift and Lorne stirred when he realised what they were now showing. Determination flooded through him and he hauled himself to his feet again, his ruby eyes gleaming as he studied the battle between his friends and the forces summoned by the Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart. Things weren't looking good.

As he watched his friends fight, horribly outnumbered by their enemies, Lorne felt incredibly frustrated. He wanted to help them, but he had no idea how. The song-spell had apparently gone… exactly as intended!

Lorne's eyes widened as the music in the air became louder, its message suddenly clear. The song-spell began to mix with the music of the river and, as the two tunes entwined, the images began to slow down. But that wasn't all. As the two songs became one, Lorne's gift spoke to him. Suddenly, he knew exactly what he had to do.

It was time to save his friends.

With his gaze fixed on the images shimmering in the air above the River of Time, Lorne began to sing.

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To be continued…