Crypt Raider
Chapter 5
By Verbosity
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer:
Well, I own, nothing, except the plot. All
characters
are the properties of their respective owners, who are
not
me...I make no profit, nor do I dig into anyone else's, at least
not
that I know of, so don't sue.
*******************************************
"Here is your room Mr. Harris." The butler said as he opened the door.
"Thanks Hillary, and it's just Xander. Mr. Harris makes me think of my father, and I'd rather not."
"Very well."
Xander moved past Hillary and got his first look into the room. Whoa! Summed up his thoughts on the matter. Finely worked wood panels wrapped the walls of the room and the soft light of the lamps shone on their dark finish. A couple windows broke the one of the walls, and long sweeping drapes blocked any view of the outside. Several plush carpets interrupted the smooth expanse of the hardwood floor, in particular, one next to the bed and another in front of a stone fireplace. The veined and highly polished surface of the marble reflected the flames currently dancing in the hearth. The bed was huge, he could lay crossways on it and barely stick over the ends, and judging from the fine quality of the blankets it was probably really comfortable. In fact, given his current state, the bed was looking very seductive indeed.
"The washroom is there, and is stocked with everything you should need. Judging from Lady Crofts, requests, particularly after arriving home subsequent to one of her adventures, I've taken the liberty of drawing you a bath." Hillary gestured to the other doorway in the room, through which Xander could make out tiling. "If you have any other needs, I will be readily available. Goodnight, Xander."
"Goodnight, Hillary. And thanks again." Xander turned away from the outer door as it closed behind the butler. He looked longingly at the bed for a moment, and then turned toward the washroom. Drawing on his knowledge of Englishness from Giles, the bath was probably a subtle hint.
Hillary had met Lara and himself at the door when they arrived. Bryce was still asleep in his trailer, being sane enough not to be awake at five-thirty in the morning. Introductions aside, Xander had been witness to a rather restrained case of English style mother-hennery, as Hillary fussed over Lara.
"I'm quite alright, Hillary. Just a few bruises this time." Mock exasperation was in her voice, and there was clear affection in her features as she spoke to the man. "Is Xander's room ready for him?"
"Certainly, I've put him in the Hambly room. Your bath is waiting for you, so you'd best go straight up before it's cold."
"Bless you, Hillary, you're a Godsend." Turning briefly to Xander she said, "I'll see you when we've both had a few hours sleep. Goodnight, Xander." She had disappeared up the stairway ahead of them, as Hillary had guided Xander to his room.
Tossing his bag onto the bed he made his way to the washroom. Stopping in the doorway, he goggled again; the room was three quarters as big as the bedroom. There was a great abundance of light colored tile, and a number of plants sat about in various corners. A large raised bathtub dominated one corner of the room while sunlight streamed in through windows of that rippily glass that allows light through but you can't actually see anything in.
A moment later the words, "Jacuzzi tub!" Echoed in the bathroom.
* * *
Consciousness returned languidly accompanied by an awareness of being extremely comfortable in spite of several aches and pains. Stretching lazily Lara flipped off the sheets and comforter covering her. She glanced at the clock. One-thirty in the afternoon. Lying back, she turned her thoughts toward her guest in the room down the hall, and pondered the picture that was Alexander Harris.
Alexander. She'd always liked that name, though for some reason he hadn't explained, Alexander preferred to be called Xander. Ah, well, it was his name; she'd let him do whatever he wished to it.
He hadn't talked much about himself yesterday on the plane. Mostly he had spoken of his friends: Buffy, Willow, Giles, Dawn, and Anya. He had mentioned others in passing, but those people had taken the bulk of his words. Yet from what she knew of him already, learned in the last couple days, she couldn't see him sitting on the sidelines during the events he had described.
Either he was very modest, or he didn't think of his contributions as important. Lara was leaning toward the second. The signs were in his behavior; the self-deprecating sense of humor, the drive he had to protect his friends, the way the words had poured out of him with just a little encouragement spoke of little receptive audience, and when she had asked about his family, he had deflected the question with a far too practiced skill. It rang alarm bells in her head.
She wasn't certain, of course, but as long as he was here, she could provide a willing and friendly ear.
Which brought her to getting him home. Turning her head to stare in the direction of the vault she had deposited the statue in before she went to sleep, she frowned. The information Renaldis had come up with had been specific about how it worked, or at least how its previous possessors had used it. The summoning rituals always required a blood sacrifice. She looked at the healing cut on her finger. Something that small shouldn't have triggered it, but it may have been enough to create a connection between her version of the statue and the one from Xander's world. When the one in his world was destroyed…
Shaking her head, Lara cut off the train of thought. Useless speculating until she had more information. The mechanics of spell weaving and inter-dimensional travel were not her field of study. A slight grin crossed her features at the thought. If they were specifically anyone's.
Her stomach chose that moment to remind her that she hadn't had anything to eat since dinner on the flight from New York. Rolling out of bed she padded toward the washroom to prepare for the day.
* * *
Lara entered the kitchen, to find Bryce and Hillary both there: Hillary finishing putting together something on the counter and Bryce sitting at the table eating.
"Good afternoon, Lara." Was Hillary's good-natured greeting.
"Muurmphf." Bryce's was muffled by his current mouthful of food.
"Good afternoon, Hillary." She leaned down next to Bryce, and whispered into his ear, "It works better if you don't have something in your mouth when you speak."
Giving her a "look", Bryce gestured behind himself, toward the lab. "I talked to Ranaldis. He said everything indicates that the statue creates some sort of inter-dimensional transfer effect. But that unless you did some sort of ritual sacrifice it shouldn't have been a problem. So he doesn't know where the American came from."
"Already ahead of you there, Bryce. I'll talk to Renaldis later and fill him in on the details; I've a few questions that need to be answered."
Hillary, finishing up at the counter, moved to the table and set a plate of food down in front of where Lara had seated herself. "So you've managed to determine where Xander is from?"
"That's an odd sort of name." Bryce took another bite of his sandwich.
"Short for Alexander, and the story of where he came from is a rather interesting one." Lara proceeded to relate to them and edited version of what Xander had told her. Telling only the bare facts and leaving out any emotional content he had shared, inadvertently or not, with her.
Hillary and Bryce were both a bit taken back and sat, silent, thinking it over. Digging into her food, Lara let them cogitate. Bryce was the first to break the silence.
"If it wasn't for you bringing him here I'd say he was completely off his trolley." He looked at Lara, questioning.
"No, as far as I can tell, he's quite sane."
"I think that's even more frightening." Hillary said. "On several levels."
"So our task in this merry little adventure is to find out what happened, and…" Bryce said.
"Get him home." Lara finished.
Hillary looked at her questioningly. "To play devil's advocate for a moment, but what if we can't?"
Sighing, Lara set down her fork. "I've been avoiding that particular thought. I feel somewhat responsible for his predicament; I believe I played some part in the statue's activation."
"Come on, Hillary, have you ever known Lara to not be able to do something she put her mind to?"
"Once or twice, but in general no." Hillary smiled. "But it's too early for pessimism. I'm sure everything will turn out for the best; it always does." He gave Lara's shoulder a squeeze. "More immediately, you need to finish eating. Keep your energy up. I believe I feel another bout of your globe hopping coming on. Which means I'll need to make certain your travel packages are all in order."
"Probably not a bad idea. I doubt the solution to this problem will be as simple as the statue in the vault."
As Hillary exited the kitchen Lara's attention returned to her plate. Momentarily, she became aware of Bryce watching her. Meeting his eyes with a raised eyebrow, she simply looked back at him, waiting.
"Lara…" he trailed off.
"Whatever it is, just spill it out."
"It's not really a completely formed idea. It's just… You may find the thought ridiculous."
She did occasionally find his ideas odd or inane, but she valued him far too much to every truly make fun of what he thought. Bryce was far too sensitive for her to do that, as she might with some of her more robust friends. He was family to her, and she may not agree with his thoughts, but she did want to hear them. "You know I won't make fun of your ideas. Just tell me."
"You say that, to Xander, we're fictional." He paused. "What does that mean for us exactly? If his universe is actually the real one…"
Lara considered him for a moment. "Are you concerned about not really existing? That this all was not just thought up in someone's head?"
"I guess so."
"I don't believe you need to worry about that. I think we're all equally real. Who's to say there aren't many universes? If I were God I certainly wouldn't feel like stopping at just one. After all, there are so many possibilities for existence to explore. No, Bryce. You are quite real."
A sound from the hall prompted them to turn toward the door and a moment later Xander poked his head into the kitchen.
"This place is incredible, Lara. I got lost somewhere back that a way and so far I've wandered through a pool room, a museum, a gym, and a library…and you would be Bryce right?"
Bryce had an odd expression on his face as he glanced from Lara to Xander. "Yes, that would be me."
"Cool. You think I might get a look at that seven foot tall robot sometime?"
"Simon? Certainly." His face began to light up as he started in on one of his favorite subjects. "Actually I was just going to…"
"Ah, first things first, boys. I need you to talk with Rambaldis, Xander. And we'll see if he can't be any help in getting you home. Then you can go to Bryce's lab."
Xander's stomach chose that moment to do an imitation of a tiger's rumble. Lara smiled as Xander looked embarrassed.
Remembering his appetite on the plane, she said, "But, even before that, I believe we need to find you something to eat, before your stomach turns cannibal."
