Encounters
The Calm Before the storm, part 2
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters and this story. No profit is being made.
Note: In case I forgot to mention it, this story takes place approximately four months after 'The Journey'. By my estimation, I believe that would be January of 1997.
vvvvv
David Xanatos strolled into his kitchen at eight to find… no one. That's odd, Owen's always here before me. Probably wanted a jump start on his work today.
Shrugging, he started to make himself a sandwich. He opened the fridge and frowned. There was no butter. "Fox," he asked, hearing his wife's footsteps, "Where's the butter?"
"Good morning, David." David turned around with a grin and regarded his wife. "Good morning, Fox." He said, winking at her. "Much better," Fox smirked, coming over to give him a kiss. "You're not looking hard enough. Check the top shelf."
"Thanks. Where's Alex?" he spread a generous amount of butter on the whole-wheat slice.
"Sleeping, amazingly." Fox said. Leaning forward, she clasped her hands under her chin. "By the way, has Owen told you about the new gargoyle?"
David stopped buttering his bread and stared at his wife expectantly. Fox smirked. "I guess not." "What new gargoyle?" David forgot his breakfast and sat next to his wife. "Wouldn't you love to know."
"Fox…"
"She's standing in the middle of the courtyard with Angela." Fox smiled. "I was walking with Alex and I just happened to notice. You just might want to ask Owen who she is."
"Believe me, I will."
vvvvvv
Sunlight filtered through the widows on the huge double doors opposite Kristi's bed. The hybrid groaned and sat up in confusion. Where on earth… Suddenly all her memories from the previous night came flooding back: meeting the clan, talking to Mr. Burnett.
"The mysterious Mr. Burnett," she murmured to herself, stretching and looking at her watch which said 11:30 AM. Getting out of bed, she shuffled to the bathroom to wash her face. I wonder if he's come to check on me already.
Kristi couldn't help smiling thinking of the blond man. He's a trickster alright, she thought as she picked out a formfitting T-shirt and a matching jacket and pants. I don't know why he's here but I'm glad he is. There's something oddly comforting about him.
Tying her hair back with a white ruffle, she wondered idly how Den was doing. She shuffled over to the large double doors and realized that she didn't have a key. Raising an eyebrow, she touched the lock and chanted:
"Although a key I am without
I beg you, doors, please let me out."
Kristi's eyes sparkled as the doors parted willingly. She stepped onto a balcony overlooking the courtyard where she saw her friend's stone form next to Angela's. Smiling, she turned to go back inside, the doors closing by themselves when she re-entered the room.
"Now," the hybrid said aloud. "How am I supposed to find Mr. Burnett?" At that moment there was a knock on the door.
Speak of the fairy…
She opened the door to find the blond man outside. "Good morning, Ms. Johnson. I trust you slept well."
"You trust correctly." Kristi grinned. "I was just wondering how to contact you; I am starving. Have you spoken with Mr. Xanatos yet?" Owen's expression remained nonchalant, but Ms. Johnson's apparent good mood almost made up for the terrible nightmares about the Unseelies he'd experienced during his two hour sleep.
"I have spoken with Mr. and Mrs. Xanatos who both assure you of your welcome here."
"That's a relief." They turned a corner.
"Mr. Xanatos is in a business meeting; however we are meeting Mrs. Xanatos for lunch." Kristi grinned. "Sounds good to me."
vvvvvvv
Castle Wavryn stood atop the hill, the silhouetted forms of gargoyles gracing the starry heavens. A young Hudson stood looking at them, a worried expression on his face. Something was off tonight, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "My love?" He jumped and looked into the apologetic face of his dark blue mate.
"I am sorry to interrupt you, but the Leader is waiting." Hudson sighed. "Tis very well you reminded me. Come, let's…"
He trailed off as he noticed the sudden silence that blanketed the castle. Casting his eyes upward, he saw his brothers and sisters freeze in the air, unmoving. "What the…" he turned to his love and let out a horrified yell when he saw her stone form crumble into dust.
"No!" he dropped to his knees, gathering up what was left of the dust, tears streaming down his face. He didn't notice the howling wind or the massive cloud that blocked out the stars and the still frozen forms of his brothers and sisters.
Suddenly, he heard a disembodied female voice proclaiming "Young warrior of Wavryn, the time is near at hand."
Looking up, he saw a menacing purple light slowly moving toward him. And although he willed every muscle in his body to move, it didn't obey him. The fingers of light continued to reach out to him, inching toward him slowly while he knelt helplessly, his mouth open in a silent scream…
vvvvvvv
Fox Xanatos smiled down at her eight month old baby. Alexander smiled back and pulled her hair. "Ouch!" she gently removed his hand and gave the now laughing baby a mock glare. "So it's funny, huh?"
Alex laughed louder and soon his mother joined in, tickling his tummy. That was how Owen and Kristi found them two minutes later when they entered the dining room. The sight of the laughing baby gave Kristi an unexpected pang of homesickness.
Even though her sister wasn't a baby anymore, the sight made her remember the way she used to spoil Kimbra when she was that small. Shaking her head, she pushed her memories of home to the back of her mind as Owen cleared his throat. "Mrs. Xanatos?"
Fox looked up, throwing Owen an irritated look which he either didn't see or didn't acknowledge. Kristi strongly suspected the latter and hid a smile as Owen introduced her to the red haired woman.
"Mrs. Xanatos, this is Kristienne Johnson of the B.V.I clan." Fox gave Kristi an unexpectedly welcoming smile that put the hybrid completely at ease.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Xanatos. Den and I really appreciate your letting us stay here." Fox shook her head dismissively. "No trouble at all. And you can call me Fox."
"Fox it is then," Kristi grinned. She surveyed the spread on the table and her stomach rumbled loudly. Fox shook her head. "Eat, honey, before your stomach starts growling at me." Kristi let go of any tension she might have had, gave a soft laugh and sat gracefully across the table from her hostess.
"If you'll excuse me, I should be getting back to work." Kristi looked up at Owen in surprise. She'd almost forgotten he was there. "Aren't you staying?"
"Mr. Xanatos just paged; his meeting has finished. I'm picking him up." Kristi nodded, returning her attention to the food. "Don't get lost."
Owen gave an almost imperceptible smile and left the room. Fox studied his retreating figure with an interested look on her face. There was something… odd about Owen today, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
Shrugging it off, she turned to observe her guest who was really getting into the meal. She hadn't expected her to be so… young. An unexpected wave of sympathy welled inside of her.
"When's the last time you ate?" Kristi looked at Fox sheepishly. "Yesterday morning." Fox frowned.
"I don't like the idea of leaving Den alone for too long. We heard about the Quarrymen." Kristi explained quietly.
Alex stared at Kristi and gurgled. The hybrid stopped eating and smiled. She extended her hands. "May I?" At Fox's nod she lifted Alex out of his mother's arms. "Hi, baby, I'm Kristi." Alex gurgled. Kristi laughed. "I'm pleased to meet you."
Fox couldn't help smiling as Kristi and Alex continued their 'conversation'. The girl obviously had a way with children. She received a sudden mental picture of Kristi in a field tickling a baby girl.
What the…
She blinked, but the image was gone as soon as it had appeared. She regarded the hybrid with her head tilted to one side. That's interesting.
Out loud she said, "You have a sister?" Startled emerald eyes flashed her way. Kristi looked puzzled, and then her lips curled into an apologetic half smile.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I can't control my thought projections. I try to, but so far I haven't been having much luck." Fox heard the halting tone in Kristi's voice and decided not to press the matter. She had many questions but there would be time for that later.
For now, she was content to just watch the hybrid play with Alex.
vvvvvvv
Young Hudson tried in vain to escape from the fingers of purple light; his legs wouldn't move, he could hardly breathe. No! he thought. Not now! Not…
He was interrupted by the sound of stone shattering and the roars of his clan awakening from their daylong slumber. Placing his hand over his heart, he tried to slow down his frantic breathing. He felt a hand on his shoulder and tensed.
Goliath's calm voice made him relax instantly. "Aye lad, 'tis but a disturbing dream. Nothin' ta trouble yuirself about." Hudson's eyes tried to reassure the lavender gargoyle but he had no way of knowing the expression of terror his face had held earlier.
He abruptly turned away. "I'll be taking a glide before patrol, lad."
A pause.
Then "Of course, my friend."
Watching the older gargoyle glide into the dusky sky, Goliath frowned. Something wasn't right.
vvvvvvv
"Now, dealing with the Unseelies is always tricky," Kristi was saying. She and Owen were going over a rough draft of how they could possibly deal with the impending attack with the clan and the Xanatoses. "They don't usually like to draw attention to themselves, so we're assuming that they aren't planning a large scale attack."
"On the other hand," said Owen, "We have no idea what lengths they might be willing to go to to capture Ms. Johnson. Coming out of hiding at all is uncharacteristic for them."
Brooklyn frowned. "Is there any way for us to know when they're coming?"
Fox looked at her dozing baby. "The wards…" she said softly. She shuddered, remembering how close she'd come to losing Alex the last time.
"Mrs. Xanatos is correct. The wards that I placed to protect Alexander are still there. They should warn us of any fey activity, Unseelie or otherwise."
Kristi glanced at Owen then made eye contact with both Goliath and Xanatos in turn. "Unfortunately, the Unseelies aren't going to run away when alarms sound. Which gives us the problem of what to do when they arrive."
The clans' mind went back to what had happened the last time the fey decided to 'visit' the castle. None of them felt like going through that experience again. Kristi watched the discomfort play out on their faces.
Sighing, she got up from her chair. She hated this whole situation. From what Owen and Mr. Xanatos had told her, this clan had been tampered with too much by the fey. It was surprising that they'd agreed to help her at all.
What am I doing here? she thought to herself, not for the first time. I can't ask them to go through more hell on my account. She locked eyes with Denice. Maybe I should just…
"No."
Everyone turned to regard Denice with as puzzled look on their faces, but she ignored them. Her eyes bored into Kristi's. "You are not surrendering yourself to them."
Kristi gave a slight frown. When had Den become so good at reading her? She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Owen.
"I agree. Surrender to the Unseelies is out of the question." It was not often that the flat Owen Burnett was so emphatic about something and the puzzled eyes moved from Denice to the majordomo but he didn't care.
Something unpleasant had formed inside him when the honey gargoyle brought up the whole issue of surrender. Ms. Johnson couldn't surrender to the Unseelies. There was no telling what they would do with a unique hybrid like her. Maddoc had been trying to produce someone like her for centuries now and he would probably use her to achieve… whatever he wanted to achieve. No, she absolutely, positively could not fall into his hands.
Kristi regarded Mr. Burnett with an unreadable expression. His face reveled nothing but those eyes… She saw fear, concern and, ultimately, determination. There was also a flicker of something else that she couldn't identify. But the clan was speaking, echoing Den and Mr. Burnett. Kristi smiled in spite of herself and tore her eyes away from the majordomo's.
"O.k., then," she said, voice businesslike. "Mr. Xanatos has generously offered the services of his Iron Clan robots and I have trick or two up my sleeve but…" Kristi paused, but only for a moment. "This isn't going to be easy for any of us. No matter what the Unseelies have in store."
Angela stepped forward. "We understand. Don't worry about us." Kristi shot the young female a grateful smile. The rest of the clan were nodding in agreement.
Suddenly, she felt something… strange. The hairs on the back of her neck began to rise. The metal of her amethyst bracelet felt ice cold against her skin.
"I…" she started, at the same time Broadway asked "Where'd Hudson go?"
Denice's sharp eyes were on her once more. "Kristi? You okay?"
The hybrid smiled and prayed it didn't look forced. "I'm fine." What she really wanted to say was, Someone just walked on my grave.
vvvvvv
Elisa Maza drove towards the Aerie and sighed. She'd finally finished her paperwork, but it had taken all of last night and most of today. She was tired but she had to see Goliath. Thinking of the lavender gargoyle brought a smile to her face.
They'd started developing the romantic aspect of their relationship cautiously over the last few months and she couldn't have been happier. Goliath treated her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. She knew he had been disappointed last night when she'd called to say she couldn't come to see him; so she'd determined that, tired or not, she had to see him tonight.
Elisa didn't know what it was that made her look out of her window just then, but she did. Whoa! Is that Hudson? She thought to herself. Frowning, she glanced at her watch. That was odd. Hudson wasn't usually outside at 2 A. M.
She started wondering why, but her tired mind couldn't concentrate. I'll ask Goliath when I get there. A smile crept on her face again at the prospect of seeing him.
vvvvvvv
Kristi tossed and turned in the still unfamiliar bed; she simply couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She trusted the magic alarms to warn them about any fey activity but the pesky feeling would not go away.
Maybe you're just nervous. She sighed. Repeating that to herself for the umpteenth time wasn't helping. Closing her eyes, she tried to think calming thoughts. An image of Owen Burnett came to her mind but was gone before she could think about what that meant. Gradually, Kristi began to drift off to sleep.
Had she been awake, she would have heard the strange, whining noise coming from the direction of the bathroom. She would have discovered the amethyst jewelry glowing in the dark. And she would have sensed, if only briefly, the presence of someone else in the room.
vvvvvvv
Elisa rested her head against Goliath's shoulder and sighed. After all that paperwork and the news about an impending attack on the castle she needed a moment to rest. Her eyes started to close but she forced herself to keep awake, to focus on what Goliath was saying.
"And I am worried for the safety of our home. I know we have defeated the fey before but…" A small snore made him pause. "Elisa?"
"Hmm?"
"You are tired."
"No, I'm listening."
"I heard you snore."
"You're imagining things." Goliath smiled at her stubbornness, one of the many things he admired about her. He saw her struggle to keep her eyes open and cupped her chin.
"Perhaps you should sleep here for today."
"I'll drive home." The lavender gargoyle made a sound in his throat.
"Not in your condition."
"You can glide me home." Goliath shook his head.
"It will be dawn shortly." Elisa's head slumped and the soft snores started again. Goliath frowned. He hoped she hadn't been overworking herself. He picked her up gently and went in search of one of the empty bedrooms.
Three minutes later, he had laid her down and was watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She was so peaceful when she slept and he felt an immense surge of gratitude that this wonderful woman reciprocated his feelings.
They'd been through so much together- Demona, the World Tour, the Quarrymen- that he hoped they'd be able to defeat this latest challenge. "Sleep well, my Elisa." He brushed two talons across her eyebrow and left.
vvvvvvv
Hudson noticed the coming dawn with a start and swore to himself. He'd lost track of time; he knew he couldn't make it back to the castle. Landing in the courtyard at Belvedere Castle he tried to find a safe place to rest.
"That will be unnecessary." Hudson froze. That voice… He turned slowly to find two tall women in black cloaks staring at him.
"Who-"
"That is irrelevant." The woman on the left smiled without mirth. "The time has come. This is why you have been chosen."
Hudson opened his mouth to say something, but the rising sun cut off his reply. The woman on the right folded her arms and glanced at her companion. "I fail to see why our mistress would find this mortal to be of significance, Coris. He is old, and blind in one eye." He voice was deep and the accent was heavy, a mixture between Asian, Irish, and something unidentifiable.
The blonde shrugged. "I confess to being puzzled as well, Racene." Her voice was low, melodic and strangely disembodied. "However, although our Lady might not always explain everything I have always had faith in her."
"As have I."
Coris sighed. "I know it has not been easy, these years without her guidance. You and I have lead this rebellion on our own long enough. If Maddoc had not interfered…"
"Maddoc was bound to remember the pact he made with our Lady sooner or later. She was forced to go into hiding." Racene interrupted. "Now that she has reappeared, we have finally entered the third phase of our plan."
Smiling, Coris rested her hand on Hudson's shoulder. "With Lady Milena released, Maddoc will have no choice but to acknowledge the division in his Court." The gargoyle started to shimmer.
"One step at a time, Coris." Said Racene. The trio shimmered one last time and vanished.