SMOKE AND ASHES
Belle has survived an attack of a particularly vicious shadow creature and learned, from Mr. Gold, that she is an Empath. Acknowledging this, Belle realizes that much of her adolescence, when she was haunted by fears and feelings, was the emergence of her Empathy Talent.
As for the ever difficult Mr. Gold, astonished that Belle survived her confrontation with the shadow creature (by thinking happy thoughts, no less), he is beginning to widen his views on exactly what an Empath might be capable of.
The Attack
Chapter 7
+ + + Late Afternoon Confessions
It was late in the afternoon and Belle had gone to stand by the counter, his counter.
Gold was so engrossed in reviewing his sales and recording his new inventory, that he didn't notice her at first. He startled when he looked up and saw her standing by him.
"Miss Belle! I didn't hear you come up. Is there a problem?"
"No. I was just wondering something," her blue eyes were guileless and wide with curiosity.
He was immediately on high alert, suspicious, too many years of being approached by guileless, curious, beautiful women who wanted something from him. He waited until she expanded.
"Everyone who comes in here sells you something or they buy something," Belle stated.
"That's why I'm in business," he reminded her gently. What was she getting at?
"But no one just wanders in here to look around, to browse."
Ah, it was about The House. "I told you, this House is not ordinary. People don't notice it unless there is something the House can do for them. How many times did you walk by this place before you noticed it?"
Belle considered. "I don't know. I know I would have told you that I knew every building in downtown Asheville, but I know I hadn't noticed this building until I was desperate to sell my mother's necklace."
"But when the time was right, when you needed it, you found this place."
"When did you find it?" she asked curiously.
All right, now she was going after him. He remained quiet for a moment, reluctant, considering. "I was in a bad place," he began. "I was offered a choice of staying where I was or coming here."
"And you chose coming here?" she asked.
"It wasn't really much of a choice. The House welcomed me and I was able to make a home here."
"Were the others here when you came here?"
He shook his head. "No, actually not. The House was empty. At that time, the building was a one story warehouse and I lived in one cold, dark corner. The only part of that original living space is my back room."
"Really?!" Belle was astonished. "The building changes! How does that happen?"
He gave a short laugh, "It changes to fit the needs of the times. When things started getting bad here . . . when the shadows and the darkness first began pressing on me, The House decided that I needed help. One morning I left for breakfast and when I came back there was a second floor and a sign in the window 'Room for Rent.' By the afternoon a young woman had come by, seen the sign and joined me here to help me deal with the shadows."
He got quiet for a moment. "After a time things quieted down and the woman left for. . . other. . . interests. The House returned to what it had been. But then, after a while, history repeated. I went out for breakfast, came back and the House had a second story and the sign in the window said "Rooms for Rent." Jefferson wandered by. He was higher than a kite. I gave him a job and uh. . . things went from there with him. Then Regina came. She'd just left a bad home situation and gotten a job with the mayor's office and was really tight for money. They were the only ones for awhile. Then the House decided we needed more help and our numbers increased to seven, then it was nine and, most recently, thirteen, a full coven."
"So how long have you been here?"
He looked at her, his brow furrowing, "I think . . . it's been at least, I guess . . . eighty years or more."
Belle gaped at him; she was truly astonished. The man looked like he might be in his fifties, but that would mean that he must be at least . . . she shook her head. No, it couldn't be. "How old are you?" she couldn't stop herself from asking.
"I don't know exactly," he evaded her question.
"How about approximately?" She was standing very close to him and he could smell her warm, sensual perfume.
It took him a moment to realize that she wasn't wearing any perfume, warm, sensual or otherwise.
"Uhmm. . ." he hesitated.
"Do you not know?"
"Not exactly. I remember growing up on a little sheep farm in the Highlands. I never knew my mother and my father was in and out, mostly out, which was not bad thing. I learned to herd sheep, shear them, clean and card wool and a couple of spinster aunts taught me to spin wool. And that was my life growing up."
Belle was standing, leaning on the counter, her eyes bright and interested. "Then what happened?"
"I . . . I started to be able to do things," he said simply.
For a moment, Belle didn't make any response. Very softly she asked, "And people got scared of you?"
He stood still a moment before he nodded. "Yeah."
There was another long moment and he added, "And there was also this girl. A beautiful girl. I remember she had long black hair, unusual in my part of the world. I had wanted to court her, but her family had more than I did," he gave a derisive laugh. "Every family had more than I did."
Gold paused again, recalling something that had happened long, long ago. "I wasn't considered a good match for her." He took a deep breath, "So I decided the best thing for me to do would be to go out into the world and make my fortune. I had this idea that I would ride back into town and be able to impress her with my new-found wealth and sweep her off her feet."
Belle was smiling. "What happened?" She had reached out and taken his hand.
"I went out into the world, signed on aboard a ship, sailed the world. I learned a lot, about the ways of the world . . . and about my powers." He stopped for a moment. "I did well. I had amassed a modest fortune by the time I decided to return to my birthplace."
There was a long pause. "When I got there it was different. I mean, really different. It was much, much smaller than I remembered. The streets were laid out the same, but the houses were different. The places I had remembered as grand. . . they had decayed. There were new houses. My old homestead was deserted and had nearly disappeared into the ground."
"And the girl, the girl that you wanted to impress?" Belle pressured him.
"No one knew the girl that I had been working so hard to impress. I finally found her . . . in the graveyard. It was at that moment that I realized that I had apparently been away for more than the span of an ordinary life. I understood then, for the first time, just how different I was."
"What did you do?" Belle had not released his hand.
"I went back out to my old homestead and took a few things from it, then torched the remainder of the structure to the ground. Then I left, never looking back, and went back out into the world," he shrugged and put his hand on top of hers.
"And from there you eventually went to 'a bad place?'" she said sadly.
He nodded, "I had unwittingly come to the attention of some very powerful forces who had decided that I might be a threat to them. They had discovered some of my weaknesses, rendered me powerless and I was taken to the bad place. I stayed there a long time."
He sighed, "And then I came here."
She stood quietly, just holding his hand, "And then you came here," she repeated.
They stood a moment. He glanced into her eyes her bright blue eyes that radiated comfort and concern and then he focused his gaze on her hand. It was so soft. She had never done hard work before. He wondered if she were soft and smooth like that all over . . . soft and smooth . . . all over. And she smelled like vanilla and roses and honey – would she taste as good as she smelled?
He blinked and swallowed. Best not go in that direction he told himself.
"Miss Belle, I believe it is quitting time for you," he finally managed to say, breaking the quiet spell that had been woven unwittingly around them.
She removed her hand. "Of course, sir. I'll see you for breakfast then."
He nodded in agreed, "The shop is closed tomorrow, so we can go someplace special."
Belle considered. He looked so lonely, so vulnerable. What had happened to him? What was the bad place? She had wanted to ask but had sensed that he hadn't wanted to talk about it.
And his hands holding hers had been so warm. She could feel the strength in his long clever fingers, his hands, used to hard work. She wondered what if would feel like to have those strong fingers trace along her body, touching her, perhaps moving along in slow, leisurely circles, teasing . . . stimulating . . . arousing . . . .
She stopped herself. No, no, she shouldn't be thinking like that. He was much older.
Much, much older.
Certainly more experienced than she was.
He probably knew a lot of . . . stuff.
No, no, no! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!
He was her landlord, her employer, and what? her teacher?
She shouldn't be thinking like that about him.
She gave him a quick, little smile and went on upstairs to her room. She began to consider what she might have for supper. There was still some sliced cheese and ham. She had mustard and bread. Maybe she could find some fruit. She rummaged through the few cans that she had in the cupboard. There was some fruit cocktail that she had picked up. That would do. Maybe she could make some hot tea again. That would make for a nice meal. She had pulled out all her ingredients and was about to begin to make her sandwich when there was a tap on the door.
She went to the door and opened it against the chain. "You forgot this. Your salary. . . " he added by way of explanation and Mr. Gold handed her a plain ivory envelope through the gap. She apologized for her forgetfulness and took the envelope.
"Did you want to come in?" she asked hopefully.
Yes. Oh lord, yes, yes, yes. He wanted to come in and do things with her. . . for her . . . to her. "No, I have some things to attend to. Maybe another time." And he left.
Belle closed the door again and tore open the envelope. He had paid her in cash and she counted two hundred sixty dollars in twenties. She shook her head. Absolutely too generous by far. She took out twenty to take to Rosetta's Kitchen to donate for their Everybody Eats fund and she hid the rest of the money in several places around her apartment. Then she went back to her bland supper plans. She had gotten out two pieces of bread when there was another knock on the door.
Maybe he had reconsidered coming in!
She bounded over to the door.
She heard someone, "Lacey?" they were calling her.
It was Ruby with Emma on her heels.
"Ruby? Emma?" Belle let them in.
"We come bearing pizza!" Emma announced and flourished two large boxes.
"And beer," Ruby held up a six pack. Ruby was wearing another tee shirt over some sweatpants. This one said The Chocolate Fetish, Asheville, NC.
"We thought we'd drop by and give you a welcome to the building," Emma told her. Emma was wearing jeans and a tank top.
"Yeah, you've been cooped up with creepy Mr. Gold now for three days," Ruby said, flopping down on one end of the sofa in the living room. "We figured you could use a dose of normal."
Belle was a bit embarrassed by her lack of furnishings and started to pick up one of the chairs from the little table set off in one corner of her kitchen to bring into the living room area.
"No problem," Emma waved her off and sat on the floor.
"Lacey, we know you came off the streets. It's nothing to feel embarrassed about," Ruby reassured her and gestured for Belle to sit on the sofa next to her.
"Gold pulled me off the street," Emma told her. "And Jefferson and Jones and Milah and Mary Margaret. The rest of us he rescued from badass situations."
"Like me," explained Ruby.
"He. . ." Belle hesitated, "He. . . He told me that everyone who lives here is different. That we have a mission, a purpose."
"Scared the hell out of you, didn't he?" Ruby said laughing. She glanced at Emma.
"We all can do things that a lot of people can't," Emma admitted.
"But then he clammed up and wouldn't talk anymore," Belle shared.
"Yeah," Ruby shrugged. "That sounds like him."
"You think you're ready to hear?" Emma asked.
"I don't know," Belle answered honestly. "I know I never met anyone else who could do anything like what I do."
"From what I hear, you still haven't. You're pretty unique," Ruby told her. "I am too. I'm a shapeshifter."
Belle looked puzzled.
"I can change into different animals. Actually I can change into any object that has a reasonably similar size to my body, but I usually go with a wolf," Ruby explained.
"Really?" Belle wasn't sure what to make of this.
"Yeah, I don't get much mileage out of changing myself into a copy machine. A wolf works better. I've only known one other shapeshifter and that was my grandmother. I guess it runs in my family," Ruby explained.
"How . . . how did you find out you were a . . . what you are?" Belle asked.
"I was in high school and I was being chased by some bullies, that's another story by the way, and I ducked under a house. I was angry and scared and wished I could get them and bite them or something and when they tried to follow me under the house, they started screaming that there was a monster under the house. I turned around to look but didn't see anything. It took me a little while to realize that I was the monster. I had spontaneously shifted into a wolf. I ran home in that shape and my Granny recognized me for me and helped me change back."
"Wow," Belle was amazed. "Do you have to be scared or mad to change?"
"For the longest time that was the only time I could change, but when I got here, well, I had run away from home and was with this biker gang. Anyway I got in way over my head and Gold rescued me. He offered me a place to stay and da da . . . " Ruby opened her hands, "here I am. He started training me to change at will and helped me change into other things besides a wolf."
Belle shook her head. This woman seemed so nice and . . . sane. "You know this is really hard to accept," Belle told the two women.
"But you do accept it because you have your own Talent," Emma told her knowingly.
"Maybe," Belle said. She got up for a moment to get out some of her mismatched very slightly chipped plates, a Lenox Classic Rose, a Royal Albert Old Country Rose and a Rosenthal Midnight Rose and then, distributing the plates for the pizza, sat down again with the women in her little living room.
"Tell me about yourself, Emma," Belle asked the other woman while picking out a slice of pizza for herself.
Emma popped a beer. "Oh, I came here from the streets. I'm an orphan and had been a ward of the state all my life. I was one tough momma. But I didn't made good decisions. I was dumb enough to break into Gold's shop to steal something of value. Arrogant bastard was waiting for me and gave me a choice of jail or a job."
"You took the job?" Belle asked.
"You betcha. I thought I'd be able to weasel my way out of it, but . . . well, nobody breaks a deal with Mr. Gold. I had no idea I had any Talent until he began pressing me."
"What happened?" Belle was fascinated.
"I didn't believe him. I used to call my telepathic skills my 'super power,' and I'd convinced myself that I just had really good "people reading" skills. I had totally ignored my other abilities."
"So?"
"He kept pushing me, putting me into these unreal situations and I kept trying to ignore him."
Belle had to smile at this, "He's pretty hard to ignore."
"Got that right. I think he got tired of me whining and putting forth these weak-ass rational explanations. He took me out to the roof, threw a freakin' fireball at my head which would have cooked me if I hadn't blocked it."
"Oh my!" Belle was alarmed.
"I guess he figured the only way I would learn to swim was if he threw me into the deep end of the pool. He was right. I blocked it." Emma was on her second piece of pizza.
"That would have been so sudden. How did you manage?" Belle was concerned.
Emma pulled back and scrutinized Belle, "Oh yeah, I totally see your Empathy thingy coming in to play." She got very quiet. "I . . . I . . . started crying, like I hadn't done in . . . ever. And he petted me like I was his three year old daughter who'd fallen and gotten a bad boo-boo on her knee."
"And you recovered?" Belle asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. I was back at his door asking for more training the next day," Emma admitted.
"So what are your 'other skills'?" Belle asked her.
"Well, I'm a Water Elemental but I can also do some Fire magic and just a bit of Air."
Belle nodded, as if she understood what Emma had just told her.
"Now, what do you think of Mr. Gold?" Ruby asked Belle.
"He's interesting. Dark, intense," with soft brown eyes, a hard body and killer fashion sense.
Emma nodded knowingly. "Oh dearie dear, you've fallen under one of his magic spells."
"Really?" Belle asked, believing what the pretty blonde had just told her. Could he cast spells? She hadn't thought of that. He did keep a wand in the shop.
"Yeah," Ruby told her. "You actually think he's a nice guy."
"He has been nice to me," Belle told them. "He gave me a job and a place to stay."
"Oh, come on now," Emma took a swig of her beer. "Don't tell me that you haven't been looking over your shoulder, half expecting him to be some kind of middleman for a sex trafficking ring? You must have had the passing thought that you'd wake up in a box on your way to outer Aboo-Aboo. Who else offers jobs to pretty girls with no references, no family, completely down on their luck?"
Belle looked down at her plate. "Yeah, I guess I did have my doubts," she admitted.
"You'd be a trusting fool if you hadn't had doubts," Ruby assured her. "We all did when we first came here. That's why Emma and I decided that, at the first opportunity, we'd go and talk with any new recruits. Try to answer any questions." Ruby took bite of her pizza.
"Plus he told us to go talk with you," Emma shared taking another swig of beer. "You got any questions?"
"Tell me. . . tell me about Mr. Gold," Belle finally asked.
"What's to tell? He runs this place. He teaches us to use our talents," Ruby answered.
Emma took a bite of the pizza. "'Teach' is a generous term. Remember. . . fireball. . . head. . . "
Ruby waved her off. "He only did that with you, Emma, and only because you were so stubborn. He took me step by step teaching me more about shifting. Sweet as pie."
"What?!" Emma exclaimed. "You always said how much he weirded you out because he could change one limb at a time."
"Well yeah," Ruby agreed. "But he was still very patient."
Belle digested this, "So Mr. Gold can shapeshift and throw fireballs?" she asked.
"At least. And much more. I mean, he's taught Jefferson who uses air, Emma who uses water, Ashley who uses fire and Regina who is mostly earth," Ruby told her.
"He told me that he was an Elemental Master," Belle told them.
"At least," Ruby confirmed.
"What does that mean? An Elemental Master?" Belle asked them.
"He can manage air, water, earth and fire energies. Most Elementals can just do one or, at the most, two elements," Emma explained. "A few of us, like Regina and myself can manage two elements well and a little of a third." At Belle's confused expression, Emma continued, "He can use the energies around him and change them into weapons or tools, make things do things."
Belle tried to digest this. "OK, then. How about his personal life? I mean has he had, does he have a wife or a girlfriend or children or anyone?"
Ruby shook her head, "I've known Gold for more than three years and I've never known him to go out with anyone, if you don't count the occasional evening meal out to grill a girl over her 'progress.' Now Milah keeps hitting on him," Ruby continued. "She's had the pee purple hots for the man ever since she moved in but he's not given her the time of day."
"I don't think she's really after him," Emma told them. "She once got drunk and told me that he gave her the heebies but she thought he was worth going after because of his . . . his power. She thought that being his girl would put her in a position of prominence and prestige."
"Get out!" Ruby said. "I thought she actually liked him."
"Nah, she really likes Killian Jones," Emma said. "He lives next to Jefferson on the third floor," she added for Belle's benefit.
"Well, both of those guys are pretty hot," Ruby shared.
"I've met Mr. Jefferson," Belle told them. "He took me out for supper the other evening."
"Ah, he can be such a sweet heart. Of course, he's a bit touched in the head, so watch yourself around him," Ruby gave her a heads-up.
"A bit touched?" Belle was curious.
"He had a drug problem for a while," Emma answered. "Pretty sure he's clean now. Gold trusts him and that says something."
"Mr. Gold. . . he really does help people?" Belle asked.
"For his own ends," Emma told her.
"He said we have a mission?" Belle asked.
"Well, yeah. I'm not sure how much to share. . . " Emma was hesitant. She was about to start talking when there was a loud alarm that went off.
"Fire alarm?" Belle asked, jumping to her feet.
"No!" Emma answered her as she and Ruby were both springing up and heading towards the door.
"Attack alarm! On the roof," Ruby shouted back. By now, both women were out of the apartment running towards the staircase. They ran up the stairs. Belle peeked out of her apartment and, after a moment, she followed them. She heard other people above her, charging up the stairs and, with trepidation, she timidly began to go up the stairs.
Emma briefly stopped and called down, "Lacey, you better stay there. You've not been trained for this," and then she was off.
Belle hesitated but she wasn't going to miss out on this. She had not even been aware that they could get on the roof much less that there would be attacks on The House. She'd thought The House was safe. She hoped it wasn't another one of those bocans or, even worse, a whole bunch of them. She crept up the stairs and, at the top of the stairwell, she found a door that was standing open. As she stepped through it she came out on the roof but then she promptly pulled back into the doorway, her mouth opening in amazement at the sight that greeted her.
There were small dark shadowy shapes, twenty, fifty, maybe a hundred, a lot, all dropping down on the people on the roof. She could make out Emma, Ashley and the dark-haired woman who'd called Gold 'a dick.' They were all throwing fireballs at the shadows. There was a giant grey wolf snapping at them and biting them into two (or more) pieces. Another pretty dark-haired woman seemed to be directing mini-lightning bolts at them. Jefferson seemed to be just standing there, but as Belle watched, he would direct his attention at one of the shadows and the thing would begin swirling around and finally dissipate in a cloud of dust. There was another tall dark-haired man who was snagging them with a long silver sword blade that glinted in the minimal moon and street light of the evening. When he would touch one with the blade the shadow would explode into dust.
It might have worked if there were only fifty of the shadow creatures, but the numbers of the little dark cloud attackers seemed to be multiplying and the creatures began to surround the combatants, first pulling down the woman who was throwing lightning bolts. The tall dark-haired man with the blade rushed over to help her, stabbing his way through the shadow creatures that surrounded the woman like cotton balls but then going down himself as the creatures seemed to swallow him up. Then Ashley went down and then . . . Jefferson. The shadow creatures shifted to focus their energies on the great wolf; Emma and the other woman weren't able to fire-ball them for fear of hitting their wolf-ally.
Belle suddenly became aware that Gold was standing next to her, watching the carnage. She turned to him, "There are too many of them! Can you help them?"
He glanced down at her and then turned his attention back to the beleaguered tenants, fighting a losing battle, overwhelmed by superior numbers.
Belle heard him sigh and then he stepped out onto the roof. She watched as he held out his palm and a fireball appeared. And then the fireball grew and grew, growing many times as large as anything any of the women had thrown.
"Close your eyes," he told Belle and she did, but even with her eyes closed it was like someone had set off a flashbomb. She could see the light behind her eyelids.
After a moment, when there were no further sounds, she flickered her eyes opened. Emma, Ruby, Ashley, Jefferson and the others that she didn't know where all scattered around on the roof, some lying flat, some sitting up. They appeared stunned, not moving or moving slowly. There were no more of the shadow creatures.
Gold was standing with his arms folded. He didn't look happy.
"Everyone, down to the Map Room. Now," he said brusquely and then he turned and left.
A.N. Thank you, thank you, thank you all you wonderful reviewers (for your support, your insights and your ideas): Robin4, thedoctorsgirl42, RoxyMoron, Jewelzy, Guest (e-mail at lunch), emospritelet, Guest (other person), RaFire, Tee-Cup, orthankg1, cynicsquest, cheesyteal'c, juju0268, Guest (something worse), karolprado, Chauchi, MyraValhallah, Grace5231973, Aletta-Feather, mockorangeflower, spacecats, deweymay, Ehann (Guest), Erik'sTrueAngel, Wondermorena, VinterNatt
Anne Andrews (guest) (I thought Belle would have to be a Jane Austin fan - I've given serious consideration to writing Pride and Prejudice as a Rumbelle romance, but it may be a little audacious, even for me – it's one of about four stories I have on the back burner)
NEXT: Gold debriefs Belle after the attack
Belle reveals a vulnerability
Gold considers his own weaknesses