Author's Notes: So, here we are, only days before DragonCon and I'm trying very hard not to have a meltdown as I put some last minute details into place. No, it's nothing out of the ordinary, just things that happen with every trip I take as I think of last-minute things that need to be done. At least most of my vacation prep for work has been handled … pretty much everything is done except changing my voice mail and that will be done before I leave on Wednesday. I've started packing (given I'll be getting home at seven pm on Wednesday, you bet I've started packing!). So, in this chapter, the rug gets yanked out from under Anne; Milady makes her move; and the San Francisco Legacy House becomes Ground Zero for yet another battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. The chapter title comes from Derek de Lint's narration at the beginning of each episode in season one, 'from the beginning of time, mankind has existed between the world of light and the world of darkness. Our secret society has been here forever, protecting others from the creatures that inhabit the shadows and the light, known only to the initiated by our true name: the Legacy.' (And how scary is it that even after twenty years, I still remember that?)
Chapter Six
The Shadows and the Night
Angel Island
San Francisco, CA
Three Weeks Later
Over the next few weeks, much against her will at first, Anne began settling in with the rest of Kat's unusual family. She still didn't think very much of Rachel Corrigan … how such a shrill woman managed to raise a sensible, kind young woman like Kat, Anne would never know. And as for Corrigan accusing her of 'pretending' to go to Kat's aid … well, the less said about that, the better. Anne stared at her in astonishment before walking away, shaking her head. Anne understood about the desire to protect your child (witness how far she went to protect Justinian from anyone who might want to hurt him because of either of his parents), but she hoped she never became like Corrigan … and shut down Boyle the first time he tried to make excuses for her and tell her that 'Rachel has been through a lot.' Yeah? Who hadn't? As for Boyle himself, he was okay … according to Alex, he was a real hot-head in the past. Anne could see that … hot-headed and reckless, yeah, she could definitely see that.
Alex Moreau … she was an interesting person. Like Kat herself, Alex had a form of clairvoyance. Anne already knew about her feelings for the mysterious Derek Rayne. She learned that Alex regarded Boyle as a younger brother … he and this priest whom she and Kat sometimes talked about. She had a teenaged niece … it made Anne ache to hear the love in Alex's voice when she spoke of the girl. This girl was Alex's niece, but she loved her as much as Anne loved Justinian. Did she like Alex? She wasn't sure. She did know that she would far rather spend time with the psychic than she would with Kat's mother. Then again, she would rather return to the Cardinal's employ willingly rather than spend time with the shrill Dr. Corrigan. And really, she felt sorry for the woman's patients. Talk about a lousy psychiatrist!
After she pointed out the de Winter symbol to Nick Boyle, she found herself helping even more and was drawn even more into the family. But what was really stunning was just how much she enjoyed it. Over the next few weeks, she became more and more absorbed in the cataloging of the item. She told Athos that she didn't want to be the Cardinal's creature any more … and the woman she was becoming while working with Boyle, Kat and the others was not the Cardinal's creature. She wasn't the girl who had fallen headlong in love with Athos, either … but that was also okay. She liked the woman she was becoming, when she stopped and thought about it.
If only the nightmares would stop. Every night she fell asleep in her own room, she was awakened by horrific nightmares … usually about Athos, about hurting him as badly as he hurt her. But Kat's words resonated in her mind and in her heart, and she was starting to accept that she hurt him just as deeply. That made the nightmares all the more shattering, as every night, she awoke from those nightmares, gasping out her husband's name. She told him that they were bound together, and the nightmares proved her right.
After each nightmare, she went to the library. She wasn't sure why she found solace there, but when she returned to sleep (under the table, on the stairs, on top of the table), nightmares never troubled her. There were no visions of Athos stripped to the waist, blood running down his torso as hellfire burned behind him … nor were there the taunting whispers from what sounded like her own voice as she watched in horror, never able to reach her husband in time to save him from the fire that consumed him. And that was worth the neck pain she experienced in the morning.
That all came to an end about six weeks after her departure from Montreal and arrival in San Francisco. One day, she would learn not to be fooled by the way a day started … this particular day started out brilliantly, even joyfully. For the first time she'd stayed with Kat's odd little family, she slept all through the night, no nightmares. Maybe that should have been a clue of how badly things were about to go pear-shaped. She wanted to blame Rachel Corrigan, but that would have been way too easy. And truthfully, the psychiatrist had a point … if anyone was strong enough to face down the evil that was within John Francis de Winter's key, it was Kat.
Unfortunately, she was also wrong. Kat was one of the strongest people Anne ever met, but not even she was a match for the determined evil that was lengthening her hold on this house. In the days leading up to that final assault, odd things began to happen around the house. Items began to go missing … only to turn up in another part of the house where people usually didn't go. But what really upset Kat was the trashing of one of the other rooms … as it happened, the same room where her priest-friend slept in the past, after the new house was completed. For the first time since she'd met the young anthropologist, Kat was actually in tears.
The girl's mother didn't help (again) when she accused Anne of moving things. Considering she didn't know where half the rooms in the house were, Anne didn't even bother dignifying that with a response. Neither Boyle nor Alex paid her any attention, and Kat actually stormed out of the house after tearing into her mother. Mention was made of a time when Kat was missing and her mother accused the late Derek of having a hand in it. Or something. Anne was a little unclear on the details, but she actually felt a bit sorry for Corrigan, especially after seeing the woman's obvious horror when Kat threw that incident in her face. Apparently, it was something that was rarely mentioned.
Kat left the house, infuriated to the point of ignoring Boyle when he tried to intercede on her mother's behalf … and when she returned, she was even less herself than when she left.
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Kat Corrigan loved her mother, but she had no illusions about her. Too many times while she was growing up, Kat was the adult in the relationship. That changed somewhat when she turned twelve (and she still shuddered when she thought about her behavior during that time period. Dear God, she had turned into such a brat) … but from the time her father and brother died until Derek's death, Kat was often the adult when it came to her relationship with her mother. And yes, even now, losing Derek hurt desperately.
Maybe that was why she threw Connor and her father's return back in her mother's face after Mom accused Anne of setting up the confrontation with Ryder just so she could come to Kat's rescue. Not that she behaved any better at the time, but in her own defense, she was nine years old and saw her mother kissing a man who wasn't her father … at Christmas time, no less. But … Derek hadn't deserved that. Not after the way he protected and took care of her, not after all the times he'd been there for both her and her mother.
She drove around the island aimlessly before heading to the ferry to take her into the city, seeing Derek wherever she went. Patrick Corrigan was her father, her daddy, and as she grew up, she began to realize that she was very much her father's daughter, while Connor (who would forever be twelve years old) was more their mother's son. Yes, Patrick Corrigan was her father, was her daddy … but Derek Rayne had been a father figure to her as well, and she loved him almost as fiercely as she loved her daddy. In the days and weeks after Derek's death, every time she'd hurt Derek, every time she'd been ungrateful, passed through her mind.
After leaving the ferry, she continued to drive around San Francisco, seeking to ease the pain in her heart. Something about Anne reminded her of Derek, in the same way that seeing pictures of Alex's niece Sylvie reminded her of Alex herself, and that broke her heart. Not because she wished that Anne wasn't Derek's child, but because she wished that she was. It had always seemed so unfair that Derek, who was a good father to them all, never had any children of his own, aside from one who died. She wanted Anne to be Derek's child … and that made her heart ache all over again, because if Anne was Derek's daughter, she would never know the wonderful man who sired her. She gave a low, choked laugh as she realized her travels brought her to the Winston Rayne Hall of Antiquities. It figured. This was where Derek's presence always seemed strongest to her, just as she could still close her eyes and see Philip in the library.
Running her fingers lightly over the de Winter key, Kat headed into the Hall, and then toward the wing that housed the Derek Rayne Foundation. She'd spent very little time here as a child, in those four years between their first encounter with the Legacy and Derek's death. And now, she was its director. Then again, while she'd majored in anthropology in college, she had a minor in Art History. She smiled to herself … a smile which died as she came face to face with a mirror sitting just to the right of the door to her Foundation's offices. Not because she had an issue with mirrors (in the back of her mind, she heard her child-self telling Philip 'a mirror can turn everything around'), but because this mirror wasn't supposed to be where it was. She shook her head, muttering under her breath about people who needed to leave things where they were, because this didn't belong here.
She knew her staff better than that. She knew they wouldn't move things randomly, which made her mistake even worse. Kat picked up the mirror (which was far lighter than it should have been … another warning sign) … and gasped as a hand reached through the mirror to grasp the key around her neck. That was even before she saw the image of a woman appearing in the mirror … the same woman she'd seen the first time she met Anne, the same woman who Kat warned off during their ferry ride from Angel Island to San Francisco.
She smiled coldly and Kat felt as though she was frozen in place. She thought of the nightmares Anne began experiencing on her first night in the House and realized this woman was the reason for those nightmares. Dammit, she should have put the pieces together sooner, but she got caught up in what seemed like the greater battle … getting Anne to forgive her husband. The woman's lips moved and though she knew that she wasn't speaking English, that was what Kat heard now in her mind. English, rather than the French at their first meeting. Oh, that didn't bode well at all! It meant that the shade had grown stronger in the last few weeks. Did Anne's nightmares give her strength? Oh, she wished she'd phoned Philip like she intended!
'So … this is the little girl who tried to take my child's place in her father's heart. Oh, this will give me even greater pleasure. For so long, I have watched my child struggle, struggle as everything was given to you. And so, little Katherine Corrigan, I will take and what I take will be given to my child. I will take and take and take, until there is nothing left of Rachel Corrigan's daughter. You aren't strong enough to fight me … as I told you at our first meeting, and now, your anger with your mother has further weakened you. So easy to manipulate, she is. Not like Derek or me. I will win my bet with him and you will help me do it. Stupid little girl, you truly thought you could beat Milady de Winter at her own game?'
Milady de Winter … wife of Athos. Well, well, well … hadn't she just stumbled into a centuries old feud! While Kat had some measure of compassion for Milady when she first read of the Musketeers, that compassion was quickly vanishing due to the pure malice and hatred coming off in waves from this woman. She thought briefly of Cora Jennings and her indirect ancestress who was innocent in the beginning but chose evil for the sake of revenge, before returning her attention to the battle for her body and soul. Giving up wasn't an option, because she saw what her captor intended to do. Somehow, this woman was Anne's many-times great-grandmother and she intended to draw Anne to her side. Anne told her a little of her life prior to San Francisco, and Kat sensed that her captor intended for Anne to pick up where she left off as Milady. To take and take and take, and destroy anyone who got in her way or refused to be what she demanded them to be. Maybe she would lose this fight … but Kat wouldn't stop fighting.
Yes, she was Rachel Corrigan's daughter … but she was also Patrick Corrigan's daughter, and she was raised in part by Derek Rayne. If Anne truly was Derek's child, as this woman just implied, then Kat owed it to Derek to fight for his daughter. And even if Anne wasn't Derek's child, then Kat would still fight for her, because Anne was her friend … just the same as she would fight for Nick, Philip and Alex, just as she still fought for her mother. She would likely lose this first battle, but one thing Kat learned in the Legacy … one battle does not constitute a war. And she would not give up one inch without a fight.
She closed her eyes and drew upon every memory of Derek she had from those four years he was in her life to give her strength: her small hand tucked into his as he led her through the Legacy House for the first time; Derek sweeping her up into his arms to confront the demon wearing her brother's face; too many memories to name, but at the center of them all was the feeling of being safe when Derek was there. Derek makes me feel safe, she told her mother once. She clung to that memory, to that feeling. Sometimes, victories came in the guise of defeats. She wasn't strong enough to defeat Milady … but she could drain the shade's energy. Derek sacrificed himself to save the world … she could make this sacrifice to help to save his daughter.
When Katherine Corrigan opened her eyes again, they were black, rather than blue, and her smile was malicious, rather than kind. But Kat still fought on.
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He felt it … the moment his surrogate daughter lost her battle with his ancestress. He felt it, and did everything he could not to despair. There was no reason to despair, he reminded himself, not yet. Kat was powerful, yes … but more than that, she was tenacious. 'Give up' was not part of Kat's vocabulary. There was also Nick and Alex to consider. He wondered briefly if Nick would ever forgive him for not foreseeing Milady's attack against Kat, then realized if Nick blamed anyone, it would be himself for agreeing to Rachel's suggestion that Kat wear the key.
Derek Rayne rubbed at his face, sending up every prayer he could think of in Dutch, English, and Latin (as poor as that was). Even now, Kat was on her way back to the House, possessed by the vengeful spirit of Milady de Winter … and he had no way of warning anyone. John de Winter manifested himself in Derek's secret room, looking curiously serene. As Derek turned to face his ancestor, the young man smiled and said, 'The battle is nearly won!' The former precept gawped at his ancestor, who repeated, 'The battle is nearly won! Even as my mother thinks she has won, she has in fact lost!'
From his lips to God's ears, but how exactly how John come to that conclusion? John merely beamed at him, explaining, 'Here, Katherine is on her home ground and among people she loves, among people who love her. The deck is stacked against my mother, and Katherine will be chipping away at her control, even as my mother thinks she's won. All your daughter, all our daughter, must do is choose.' All? That was the crucial point, yes? Anne had to choose. But John wasn't finished, pointing out, 'My mother will go too far. She will go too far, she will overreach, and when she does … Anne will make her choice.'
Derek had the Sight, as did Kat and Alex, but he hadn't seen any such thing. On the other hand, there were many things he didn't See. That was one of the curses of the Sight … he only saw glimpses, rather than the whole picture. He thought a bit ruefully of his father's oft-repeated adage of 'faith has need of the whole truth.' And now that he thought about it, that was a rather foolish thing to say. The whole truth negated the need for faith. And his father hadn't had faith when he opened the sepulcher in Peru, leading to his own death, so many years earlier.
When all was said and done, Derek Rayne didn't know how to have faith, not even in his own daughter. What he could have faith in was Kat's tenacity and determination, and hope that those traits of his surrogate daughter would be enough to save both her and his biological daughter. He had to have faith, because he could take no action without imperiling the souls of both daughters. John whispered, only seconds before the door imploded inward, 'She comes. I must go!' Before Derek had a chance to question what he intended to do, the young man disappeared.
And Kat was calling, "Hello, my family … I have returned!" But it wasn't Kat's voice. It was much darker than the voice of his beloved child. Derek Rayne didn't know how to have faith. He didn't even know how to pray. All he'd ever done was fight, leaving most of the prayers to his sister and to Philip. But now, he couldn't fight … he could only pray. Pray that the daughter of his heart found the strength to hollow out Milady's victory … pray that the daughter of his blood found the strength to do the impossible, and forgive.
TBC
Additional Author's Notes: One thing that drove the PTL community I was part of while the show was airing absolutely hat-stand was that silliness about faith having need of the whole truth. Nooo … that kinda negates the point of having faith (oh, and can you imagine what Aramis would say to that? Heh-that could be fun!). Then again, Winston Rayne was not all that bright. Open a sepulcher that contains the spirit of a fallen angel? No, definitely not the sharpest crayon in the carton. Also, I can't take credit for Anne's dismissal of Rachel's abilities as a psychiatrist … the credit for that goes to Helen Shaver, who played Rachel. In 1998, I toured the stage where PTL was filmed in Vancouver along with a friend and met Helen and Robbi Chong (Alex). They were rehearsing a scene and Helen said in this mock-whining voice, 'I'm a lousy psychiatrist and even worse ghostbuster.' She had the crew (and us) laughing hysterically. As to the next update … I'm leaving on Thursday for Atlanta, so I very much doubt if I'll have the chance to update again before I leave … but this I can tell you. Next chapter, it's Milady vs. Milady (just as soon as I figure out how to start it)!
