Okay, this chappie will be shorter than usual but only 'cos I have a soddin' GCSE English essay in for tomorrow and I haven't started the damn thing yet. I'm trying to update regularly as I can but if I am delayed then blame my school. Now, for any Yu Yu Hakusho fans out there I have started a new fic called 'Accept No Substitutes'. I am actually quite proud of it if I do say so myself but I need reviews so if anyone is interested then there you are.
EAE: Hsss... Get on with it dumbass.
Down! Now for all my wonderful reviewers:
empath89: I know what you mean. I'm sorry if you find this chapter a little lame. Thankyou for reviewing! Have a cyber cookie!
Insane Troll Logic: Yeah,I liked her too. Of course, this raises the question of why I would kill her... but I HAD to! Here's the next chapter. Can I just say a REALLY big thank you for reviewing every single chapter since I first started? THANK YOU!
ka-mia2286: Aw, really? You mean it?glompsHeh heh, sorry. I'm just HAPPY! And sugar high...
Beff: Meep! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! Here's the next chapter!
ezrajade: Your wish is my command! As long as I agree with it...
Lady Hawke: Okay, you flatter me WAY too much, seriously, I'm not that great. But thank you. I try and avoid cliched storylines where people can literally predict the whole story with their eyes closed but I can't resist chucking a few good ol' punch ups in there.
Please review. I'm sure you don't enjoy having bags of flour and water tipped over your heads.
EAE: snigger
Here's the next chapter!
EAE: Duh...
Shut up.
Chapter 6
Angel had reached two definite conclusions about what he was doing. One, it was possibly the fifth stupidest thing he had ever done in his entire life/lively death which, for him, was saying quite a bit.
Secondly, he was lost.
Admittedly Kaeden seemed to know exactly where he was going but Angel's survival instincts (his undead ones anyway) were screaming at him that following a man who could potentially blow his head off, had kidnapped or maimed most of his friends and who was, he was pretty sure, not entirely stable was something usually attributed to those tragic heroes in Hollywood movies who generally ended up getting their heads bitten off and their spleens ripped out (or taken captive and held in a gloomy but sufficiently non-mind-corrupting little room until the tall dashing main character and the beautiful not-too-deadly heroine turned up and freed him after all the nasty little men had been bopped extremely non-violently on the head and tied up to be handed over to the authorities so everyone could cheer and ride off into the sunlight etc. etc. depending on how high the rating was. These sorts of films could just scrape a 12A with a 'caution' label on them.).
Not that this bothered him unduly of course as he had the advantage of being, in a film, one of the monsters that traditionally did the biting. Not too mention that being a vampire he was right at home around this sort of terrain. He may have a soul but crumbling into itty bitty bits of loosely compressed carbon molecules was not high on his list of priorities. Catching up with the alarmingly fast warlock whilst trying to keep a safe eye on his friends was, however, and said warlock was not making matters any easier.
"Hey!" Cordelia had managed to catch up it seemed. It was lucky that the tunnels were lit, admittedly with only one feeble torch every fifty metres or so but it was enough. Oz had the same happy gift of excellent night vision so he had no trouble keeping up with the souled vampire. The actress on the other hand was wearing high heels and an intensely focused 'I am NOT happy' look that made Angel groan mentally as she grabbed hold of his arm. Rather than slowing, he pulled her along with him, taking most of her weight as he focused on the fleeting black form of the warlock pelting ahead of them.
Both Oz and Angel tried not to wince at the indignant shrieks from the actress.
"Put me down right now Mister! What the heck is going on? Where's the creepy guy? Where's Doyle? You do realise this is a trap don't you?"
"Yes Cordy," muttered Angel distractedly as he pushed his legs further, willing the ground to close between them and Kaeden. If they got lost down here he didn't know how long it would be before they could find their way out. The scents down here were as confusing as if they were in a rabbit warren, crisscrossing and looping through the tunnels. It would take an extremely sensitive nose to get them out of here after a while. Their scent was strong now but faded after a while. They would just have to hurry.
The fates seemed not to agree with this plan however. As he rounded the corner only his lightning reflexes saved him from colliding with the rigid figure standing in what appeared to be a wide open doorway. The frame was thick and made of steel and, Angel noted with a curiously detached interest, no longer attached to the door. The door appeared to be imbedded in the far wall of the tunnel, stuck into the compacted earth like a credit card stuck into a particularly awkward cash machine.
Angel motioned for Oz and Cordelia to stay back as he approached the motionless warlock, wary for any signs of trickery. He stopped dead as the unmistakeable metallic tang of blood reached his nostrils. His eyes narrowed and he walked warily forward to look past Kaeden, getting a clear view of the larger corridor.
A small figure lay limp on the cold earth, a deep scarlet stain blossoming over a tattered white robe. Soft russet tresses trailed over the ground, framing the figure's stark white features. Angel saw with a strange pang in his heart that it was a young woman, delicate as a snowdrop cut brutally by spring's late frost.
Kaeden moved beside him. Angel glanced quickly in the warlock's direction but Kaeden may as well have been in a trance. He walked slowly forward, his calm, confident stride gone to be replaced by strange jerky movements, his face blank. Angel sensed another behind him and looked around to see Oz staring at the girl as well.
Oz felt his throat constrict at the sight of the small redhead lying in a pool of her own blood. For a moment there he had thought that it was his Willow, so innocent and frail was the figure, so reminiscent of his own love. Even though this girl was not his Willow she seemed so like her… his swallowed hard, a pain forming in his chest.
Angel did not take his eyes off Kaeden's back as the warlock stood silently over the small girl, looking down at her. The vampire could not see his face. Suddenly the girl sighed, turning her head slowly towards them. Eyelids delicate as a butterfly's wing flutter weakly open and Angel found himself under the scrutiny of a pair of deep, misted emerald eyes. Her gaze travelled over him and settled on Oz for a moment. Oz met her gaze, his own sorrowful green eyes telling her all she wanted to know.
She blinked at the werewolf before lifting her head and smiling faintly at the figure above her.
"Brother…"
Angel jerked in shock. This small, frail girl was Kaeden's sister? Cold understanding filled him as everything clicked hollowly into place. Kaeden could not have betrayed his cult without their help because he had needed to get his sister out. And here she lay in her own lifeblood.
"Mishka."
Kaeden dropped to his knees and smiled gently at her. Angel was taken aback at the amount of human emotion that he had never seen on the strange warlock's face. His dark eyes softened and sparkled faintly, strong arms gently lifting his tiny sister to his chest, cradling her in his protective embrace.
Soft russet hair brushed his cheek as she smiled up at him, a strange light in her eyes.
"Brother… guess what?"
He reached up a trembling hand to brush a strand of red silk behind her ear, a cold thrill running down his spine at the frigidness of her milky white skin. She looked so… happy. He smiled inwardly even as his world crumbled slowly around him. He never could understand her.
"What is it Mishka?"
She coughed softly and his heart lurched. His dark eyes were drawn to the deep gash in her side, ruby liquid still seeping, almost reluctantly from the thin body. A knife… someone had stabbed her…
"I remembered."
He looked back to her face, confused. She looked past him, smiling, her dim eyes fixed on something only she could see. A single crystal welled up and spilled down over her hollow cheeks.
"Don't you remember it? I couldn't before… but now…"
Oz turned away, allowing the two their privacy, walking slowly back to where Cordy stood, a respectful distance away. Angel backed away a little but did not take his eyes from the two. He was startled as a voice permeated the chill air. He could not describe it, soft but clear, gentle but ringing with an infallible strength, sweet and bitter, haunting and soothing. This voice would have enthralled a choir of angels.
"Even though I leave,
Will I go on believing,
That this time is real…
Her voice was growing softer now, the syllables fading…
Am I lost in this feeling?
A tear slid softly down Kaeden's cheek to fall to the girl's brow…
Like a child passing through…
Emerald eyed dimmed…
Never knowing the reason…
A soft smile spread over the young angel's features, eyes drifting closed…
I am home…
Her smile… so sure… so safe…
I know the way…
Tiny fingers closed over her brother's wrist, a feather's touch…
I am home
Whispering now, the words falling lightly from icy lips…
Feeling…
Her finger's grew limp on his arm…
So… far…
Eyes opened once more, fixing her brother with a gentle gaze of pure love…
Away…
The last word was no more than a sigh in the still air.
Mishka, the young angel fallen to earth, sang to her very last breath.
Her brother gazed down at her still, ethereal features, her lips parted in a final smile to him.
Kaeden brought his fingers up to her face, brushing his fingers gently over his little sister's eyelids, closing them for the last time. The air that had seemed completely still, began to hum. It was as though some great turbine had started deep within the underground lair, the air seemed to thicken around them. Oz felt the wolf in him stirring and beside him a low growl emanated from Angel's throat.
Dark energy was gathering in a malignant swarm around them and Angel felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He suppressed his demonic side, exchanging a glance with the taciturn werewolf beside him. one could, with some pratice, dechiper the meanings being the two beings' short exchange.
What do you think?
Oz tilted his head back towards the doorway, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Run?
Angel nodded once. The two backtracked swiftly, Angel grabbing Cordelia on the way, dragging her back out of harm's way. Not a moment too soon. An anguished howl rent the supercharged air as Kaeden threw his head back, a cry of such sorrow and agony torn from his throat that Angel wanted to cover his ears. A single bright tear coursed down the pale skin of the warlock's face and he lifted a hand to his cheek, brushing the tear away, watching as the water droplet trickled gently down his hand. Slowly, the grief stricken features hardened. Trembling hands clenched themselved into fists. The warlock raised his head, pitch black eyes glowing chillingly in the gloom before turning to a deep, all-encompassing crimson. The crimson of her hair. Of her blood.
"Zariel."
I'm sorry it's this short. there will be Doyle in the next chapter, I promise. Please review! I know it was mushy and soppy but come on! Humour me here.