Chapter 7
Sophie had made a quick stop by her flat to pick up a bag, in case she had to hide what she was taking from the Council library. She had a very bad feeling about this mission. She just knew something was going to go horribly wrong.
Better safe than sorry, she thought, gathering her passport, toothbrush, and a change of clothes. Just in case I have to leave London in a hurry, she thought. As a last minute thought, she picked up a very old picture - one of her, age fifteen, with Chris, Max, and Uncle Gustav, outside the house in Luxembourg.
They'd grown apart long ago. Even Uncle Gustav, who was now a fellow Watcher. He wasn't really her uncle at all, not in a biological sense, but had been her guardian since her parents' death when she was 7. Her best friends during her teenage years had been his nephews Chris and Max, who had lived with Gustav until they graduated from high school.
Now, aside from seeing Gustav once in a while at a Watchers' meeting, she didn't have any contact with them at all. Chris, eschewing the magical world, had concentrated on his guitar playing and was now on the road with his band. Their first album had been quite well received in Europe. Max had gone the other way. He'd become obsessed with vampire hunting, and when he'd finally realized he was never going to destroy Lucard, he'd turned his sights to destroying other vampires. Maximillon Townsend, rogue vampire hunter, was well-known for taking dangerous chances. One of these days, he was going to get himself killed.
Now, Sophie. Concentrate on the now, she reminded herself. The past wasn't important. All that was important was finding the cure for this elf, and getting it to Wesley.
Grabbing her now-packed bag, she stepped out into the street, locking the door behind her. She chided herself for being so paranoid as she realized that in her mind, she thought she'd never be back here again. Crazy. She wasn't psychic, so why was she so unnerved by her prediction?
She shook off her doubts and headed over to Watcher Headquarters. She had research to do.
****
Watcher Headquarters was much more crowded than she'd anticipated. What were all these people doing here before dawn? Had Travers called a meeting of some kind? She spotted a number of senior Watchers, people from all corners of the world. Something big was going on, something the head of the Council wasn't sharing with the junior Watchers.
That didn't matter, not really. What did matter was getting to the library and getting that book. All she had to do is head up one more floor and...
"Sophie!" a familiar voice called out from a nearby room.
"Uncle Gustav." She smiled, hoping that he didn't see through her insincerity. "What are you doing in London?"
"Oh, you know." He shrugged. "Watcher business." He grabbed her arms, turning her around to face him. "How are you?"
"Good." She nodded. "Just heading up to the library for a little research." There, she'd covered her tracks. But while he was here, maybe she could find out about the secret meeting. "Uncle Gustav, is there something going on?"
"What do you mean?" he asked innocently. Of course she knew something was going on. Sophie wasn't stupid. In fact, she was smarter than most of the Council put together. The plan was going to end badly, he knew it. He only hoped that there were enough of them around afterwards to make it right. If there weren't... someone would need to lead the way. Someone like Sophie. "I always liked the Council's Library. Very thorough. They have a complete copy of Seamus Gevarter's work, you know. He was always one of my favorites."
Sophie merely stared. What was he talking about? Who was Seamus Gevarter, and why was Uncle Gustav making it a point of mentioning it now?
"I must be off. Meeting, you know." He patted Sophie's arm, before pulling her in for a hug.
As Sophie hugged him back, she had a very bad feeling about what was going on. It was almost like Gustav was saying goodbye.
"I'm very proud of you. Take care of yourself," he said, before disappearing into a throng of people.
"Uncle Gustav!" she called after him, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Weird. That was just plain weird. She shrugged. Uncle Gustav could take care of himself, she reminded herself. No matter what was going on, he'd be fine. She just needed to find the book of poisons and cures, and figure out who Seamus Gevarter was and why Uncle Gustav had made a point of mentioning him.
Sophie headed into the library, which was nearly deserted. Curious, considering the hour. Should be prime researching time, which gave credence to her idea that many of the other Watchers were up to something she didn't know about.
A Watcher was hanging out in the secure section, where she knew the book on poisons was located, so she decided to research the Gevarter issue.
"Gevarter, Gevarter," she muttered to herself, poking through a dusty bookshelf. "Aha! Seamus Gevarter. Apocalyptic Beasts. Prophecies on the Ending of the World, Rain of Fire and other signs of the Apocalypse." She read the episode titles softly aloud. This Gevarter guy seemed to be heavily into the end of the world. He had nearly a dozen books there. She would never have time to read them all.
Did she take them with her? She'd decide later. She grabbed all of the books, setting them down on a table near her bag, then checked out the secure section. No one was there - in fact, she was the only person in the library. Perfect time for a rebel junior Watcher to sneak a peak at one of the Council's most valued books.
She'd just found the book when a voice interrupted her. "The Library is closing!" announced a Watcher from the doorway. "Miss, please get your things and leave."
Damn. She hadn't even opened the book, let alone found the cure for Legolas's poison. She needed more time.
"You need to leave now," he insisted. "No one else can be in the building during the meeting."
What was this meeting? Most of the senior Watchers were there, as well as a fair number of junior Watchers -- primarily the Council's yes-men lackeys. But what could they be talking about that was so important they would clear the whole building for fear of being overheard?
In that moment, she made her decision. Stealing from the Council could get her membership revoked, but leaving the book behind could condemn a good man to death. She covertly grabbed the book and headed back to her table. In for a penny, in for a pound. She slipped the poison book in her bag while the librarian wasn't looking, then added the Gevarter texts. Her bag weighed a ton, but she had all the information she needed -- if she could get out of the building with it.
Outside the library, the halls were nearly deserted. What was going on? The Door to the inner sanctums of the Council was closed, she noted as she walked by. That must be where the meeting was held. Uncle Gustav was closeted away in there with a bunch of other Watchers. But why were they in such a hurry to get her out of the library?
She'd have to come back to that, she realized with regret. The strange inner workings of the Watcher's Council weren't her problem at the moment. She had other things to worry about.
She didn't encounter anyone else while leaving the building, and was nearly to her car when a noise behind her made her turn around. She looked back a the building, uncertain as to exactly what she had heard.
Then the building exploded into flames.
Sophie had made a quick stop by her flat to pick up a bag, in case she had to hide what she was taking from the Council library. She had a very bad feeling about this mission. She just knew something was going to go horribly wrong.
Better safe than sorry, she thought, gathering her passport, toothbrush, and a change of clothes. Just in case I have to leave London in a hurry, she thought. As a last minute thought, she picked up a very old picture - one of her, age fifteen, with Chris, Max, and Uncle Gustav, outside the house in Luxembourg.
They'd grown apart long ago. Even Uncle Gustav, who was now a fellow Watcher. He wasn't really her uncle at all, not in a biological sense, but had been her guardian since her parents' death when she was 7. Her best friends during her teenage years had been his nephews Chris and Max, who had lived with Gustav until they graduated from high school.
Now, aside from seeing Gustav once in a while at a Watchers' meeting, she didn't have any contact with them at all. Chris, eschewing the magical world, had concentrated on his guitar playing and was now on the road with his band. Their first album had been quite well received in Europe. Max had gone the other way. He'd become obsessed with vampire hunting, and when he'd finally realized he was never going to destroy Lucard, he'd turned his sights to destroying other vampires. Maximillon Townsend, rogue vampire hunter, was well-known for taking dangerous chances. One of these days, he was going to get himself killed.
Now, Sophie. Concentrate on the now, she reminded herself. The past wasn't important. All that was important was finding the cure for this elf, and getting it to Wesley.
Grabbing her now-packed bag, she stepped out into the street, locking the door behind her. She chided herself for being so paranoid as she realized that in her mind, she thought she'd never be back here again. Crazy. She wasn't psychic, so why was she so unnerved by her prediction?
She shook off her doubts and headed over to Watcher Headquarters. She had research to do.
****
Watcher Headquarters was much more crowded than she'd anticipated. What were all these people doing here before dawn? Had Travers called a meeting of some kind? She spotted a number of senior Watchers, people from all corners of the world. Something big was going on, something the head of the Council wasn't sharing with the junior Watchers.
That didn't matter, not really. What did matter was getting to the library and getting that book. All she had to do is head up one more floor and...
"Sophie!" a familiar voice called out from a nearby room.
"Uncle Gustav." She smiled, hoping that he didn't see through her insincerity. "What are you doing in London?"
"Oh, you know." He shrugged. "Watcher business." He grabbed her arms, turning her around to face him. "How are you?"
"Good." She nodded. "Just heading up to the library for a little research." There, she'd covered her tracks. But while he was here, maybe she could find out about the secret meeting. "Uncle Gustav, is there something going on?"
"What do you mean?" he asked innocently. Of course she knew something was going on. Sophie wasn't stupid. In fact, she was smarter than most of the Council put together. The plan was going to end badly, he knew it. He only hoped that there were enough of them around afterwards to make it right. If there weren't... someone would need to lead the way. Someone like Sophie. "I always liked the Council's Library. Very thorough. They have a complete copy of Seamus Gevarter's work, you know. He was always one of my favorites."
Sophie merely stared. What was he talking about? Who was Seamus Gevarter, and why was Uncle Gustav making it a point of mentioning it now?
"I must be off. Meeting, you know." He patted Sophie's arm, before pulling her in for a hug.
As Sophie hugged him back, she had a very bad feeling about what was going on. It was almost like Gustav was saying goodbye.
"I'm very proud of you. Take care of yourself," he said, before disappearing into a throng of people.
"Uncle Gustav!" she called after him, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Weird. That was just plain weird. She shrugged. Uncle Gustav could take care of himself, she reminded herself. No matter what was going on, he'd be fine. She just needed to find the book of poisons and cures, and figure out who Seamus Gevarter was and why Uncle Gustav had made a point of mentioning him.
Sophie headed into the library, which was nearly deserted. Curious, considering the hour. Should be prime researching time, which gave credence to her idea that many of the other Watchers were up to something she didn't know about.
A Watcher was hanging out in the secure section, where she knew the book on poisons was located, so she decided to research the Gevarter issue.
"Gevarter, Gevarter," she muttered to herself, poking through a dusty bookshelf. "Aha! Seamus Gevarter. Apocalyptic Beasts. Prophecies on the Ending of the World, Rain of Fire and other signs of the Apocalypse." She read the episode titles softly aloud. This Gevarter guy seemed to be heavily into the end of the world. He had nearly a dozen books there. She would never have time to read them all.
Did she take them with her? She'd decide later. She grabbed all of the books, setting them down on a table near her bag, then checked out the secure section. No one was there - in fact, she was the only person in the library. Perfect time for a rebel junior Watcher to sneak a peak at one of the Council's most valued books.
She'd just found the book when a voice interrupted her. "The Library is closing!" announced a Watcher from the doorway. "Miss, please get your things and leave."
Damn. She hadn't even opened the book, let alone found the cure for Legolas's poison. She needed more time.
"You need to leave now," he insisted. "No one else can be in the building during the meeting."
What was this meeting? Most of the senior Watchers were there, as well as a fair number of junior Watchers -- primarily the Council's yes-men lackeys. But what could they be talking about that was so important they would clear the whole building for fear of being overheard?
In that moment, she made her decision. Stealing from the Council could get her membership revoked, but leaving the book behind could condemn a good man to death. She covertly grabbed the book and headed back to her table. In for a penny, in for a pound. She slipped the poison book in her bag while the librarian wasn't looking, then added the Gevarter texts. Her bag weighed a ton, but she had all the information she needed -- if she could get out of the building with it.
Outside the library, the halls were nearly deserted. What was going on? The Door to the inner sanctums of the Council was closed, she noted as she walked by. That must be where the meeting was held. Uncle Gustav was closeted away in there with a bunch of other Watchers. But why were they in such a hurry to get her out of the library?
She'd have to come back to that, she realized with regret. The strange inner workings of the Watcher's Council weren't her problem at the moment. She had other things to worry about.
She didn't encounter anyone else while leaving the building, and was nearly to her car when a noise behind her made her turn around. She looked back a the building, uncertain as to exactly what she had heard.
Then the building exploded into flames.