In the Closet
Author's Note: After a very long wait (granted not as long as some fics have been waiting), there's another chapter, though I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this anymore. At different points in time, this chapter was a struggle to write—I'd figure out one section only to not know what the next section was even supposed to be. I'm pretty content with how it turned out. It's of decent length, but not enough for as long as you've been waiting I'm sure. At 6 in the morning after having not slept, I received a review from someone on Fortress of Shadows—which I haven't worked on in three years. I started looking at it again and got the crazy urge to write. Fortress of Shadows was 2 computers ago; somewhere I have the beginnings of the next chapter, but I have to find it. So I started looking at other stories and by 7:30 this morning, this chapter was done and I let myself fall asleep. Now, here it is from me to you. Let me know if I've lost my touch or not after all this time, please? Reviews let me know whether or not I'm doing what I want—making people happy with my writing. Cheers.
Disclaimer: The characters in question belong to Diane Duane. I own only the plot.
Chapter 5: In a Bind
Nita's eyes were still closed when she realized she wasn't alone in the room. She could hear the click of fingers on a keyboard. She cracked an eye open and stared at her alarm. It wasn't even set to go off for another seven minutes and she had intended to press snooze at least a couple of times. She rolled over and, yawning, let her eyes adjust to the morning light, several hours brighter than the pre-dawn glow she'd gone to sleep in.
Seated on the floor in front of Nita's desk, Spot in her lap, was Dairine. Nita sat up, not quite sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. "Uh, runt? What are you doing there?"
"Just working on something. Waiting for you to wake up. I brought you breakfast." Dairine picked up a plate Nita hadn't noticed behind her with buttered toast on it and a mug of coffee.
"Your typing could wake the dead. Are you trying to bruise Spot? Can you bruise Spot?" She gratefully took a swig of the coffee; it was a little strong. "Thanks for the fuel but…why?" Taking a bite of the toast, she pushed the covers aside and padded over to her dresser, tugging on a pair of jeans from the floor and rummaging around for a t-shirt.
Dairine set Spot up on Nita's desk, standing. She didn't want Nita to be looking down at her while she asked this. "Neets, how have you managed to work with a partner all this time?"
"What?"
Dairine stamped her foot impatiently. "Kit. Your wizarding partner and whatever else you're denying. How have you two managed to work together all this time?" She started pacing the room impatiently. "Roshaun and I can't seem to agree on anything. We argue, and I stand there and yell at him and he just sits there with this look on his face until I shut up, and then he tells me I'm wrong!" She took a few deep breaths and met her sister's eyes. She asked, quite calmly, "How have you gone all this time without killing Kit?"
Nita stared at her sister for a moment, trying her best not to burst out laughing. It was a failed effort. "I swear...I'm not making fun of you, Dari." She leaned against the dresser to hold herself up. "Do you know how many times I've wanted to strangle Kit? For doing something? For saying something? For not doing something? All the time. But you know what? At the end of the day, when all the dust settles and I'm waiting for the next terror to start, I'm glad I had him watching my back, and that I know he'll be watching out for me again, and that I'm doing the same for him. We're a team. We're a unit. We work better together than we ever could alone. We fight, a lot, but we get answers we wouldn't get otherwise if we weren't bouncing off of each other. Sometimes things have to bounce kind of hard; sometimes they don't bounce back." She shrugged and pulled the manual out of her otherspace pocket, handling it like an old friend. "Wizardry, Kit, me, Life. In my head that's all bound together irrevocably. I can't imagine my life anymore without Wizardry and fighting on the side of Life. And I can't imagine my wizardry or even my day-to-day life without Kit. Working with a partner is just a whole different level from trying to go it alone."
She glared at her older sister and Spot scuttled out of her lap and under the desk to safety. "That's it? I come to you for help and that's all you've got? What sort of advice is that?"
Crossing back to the bed for another swig of coffee, Nita shrugged. "It's all the advice I've got, kid. I'm sorry, Dari, but it's true. Things don't always go smoothly with Kit and me. We've hit our speed bumps, but when we need each other, we're there. We make it work. I think you guys need to step away from your problem for a little bit, reevaluate it—"
"Been there. Done that. We're running out of time."
She began to hunt for her sneakers, "What about an outside prospective? Asking the advice of another wizard?"
"We don't completely trust the other wizards on Wellakh; the political situation is too unstable for us to let them know just how bad things are. I know we're all supposed to be on the same side, but…I'm not taking that risk. Spot, get over here."
Spot, scooted a little closer to her, and, recognizing that her temperament had calmed, climbed back in her lap.
"What about making contact with someone who understands water?"
"Understands water?"
"Try contacting Sree. Or maybe that Christmas tree. What was his name?"
"Filif. I don't see what you're getting at…"
Nita sighed. "Your problem on Wellakh—your first problem anyway—is water. The planet needs it and it's not getting any. You want an outside prospective that would be biased towards somebody that knows water. Filif feeds on water and sunlight and Sree lives in water every day of her life. They might be able to think of something that you two can't—or that you two wouldn't come up with for a long while."
Dairine nods, not quite looking convinced. "Anything else?"
Nita shook her head. "That's all I've got, short of turning the problem inside out and wearing your notebooks around as paper hats." She grabbed her bag, toast in her mouth and mug in her hand, "I've got to get going. I won't be home right after school—Kit and I have to take care of some things." She started down the stairs, "And close the door when you leave."
She stared at the mirror. "Why can't you come up with anything better?"
Her reflection just scowled back, and then grinned.
Dairine came barreling through the front door, dropping her backpack as she skidded to a halt. "Roshaun! Roshaun!" She growled. "Where are you?" She stormed into the kitchen; here she was with a brilliant idea and he must be off buying lollipops. Sugar addict.
She grabbed a banana from the fridge, only just barely noticing there was a note on the counter. "Dairine, if you're reading this, you forgot where you're supposed to be right now. I'm there. I'm sure I'll see you in about 10 minutes." Crap. She'd forgotten and now she was standing here looking like an idiot. Transit spell or walk? No sense in botching up the spell while she's annoyed; better run.
Nita met Kit over by his locker after last period. She saw that he was staring at a picture of Ponch he held in his left hand, backpack over one shoulder. Nita took his right hand and gave it a squeeze. "Hey there."
"Hi, Neets."
She kept his hand in hers. "Are you ready to go?"
He nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready. We should be able to catch a bus uptown if we hurry." He slipped the photo in his back pocket and slammed his locker shut. He was ready. He could do this.
The two young wizards made their way down the hallway and to the bus stop in silence, boarding the local bus and choosing a bench near the back, away from most of the other passengers. Thanks for coming with me, I need this.
She turned her head and looked at him, smiling. Anytime. You know it. She squeezed his hand again and realized a little embarrassedly that she'd been holding his hand since she got to his locker and hadn't let go. She didn't let go now, but turned her head to stare out the window, watching the familiar buildings pass by.
He tried to turn his mind to other things, wondering what was waiting on Mars for them that had Johnny O'Driscall so damn spooked that he wanted them to stay away. Maybe there was a whole civilization on the far side of Mars just waiting for them…
As the bus ground to a halt for the third time, Nita nudged him with her elbow, letting go. "C'mon. This is the stop."
Shaking his head, Kit got out and Nita followed, walking the three remaining blocks to the animal shelter and heading inside. At the front desk was a rather bright, perky girl in cyan jacket. "Welcome to the Humane Society. Are you here to save a four legged furry friend today?"
Kit winced. She was too peppy. Far too peppy. "Yeah, uh, I'm interested in a dog."
"Did you have anything in particular in mind?"
It took all his strength of will not to roll his eyes. What's wrong with her? I'm here for a dog, not a jacket. "I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for, but I'd like to see who you have."
The girl cocked her head to the side. "Who?"
"What animals you have," Nita corrected. You want me to keep her out here while you talk to them?
He gave a single nod. "May I go see them?"
She frowned, as though not sure she ought to let him back there alone. "It's my first day…"
"Your first day? Wow, I'd never have guessed," Nita said, trying to sound sincere. "Do you like it here so far?"
The girl nodded cheerily. "Oh yes, I'm very excited to be helping to place poor animals in good homes!"
Nita nodded, trying to pretend to be interested. "Very noble work. How did you get started here?" How's it going, Kit?
They're so scared of me, Neets. I don't understand it. Kit broke his mind connection with Nita, concentrating on the dogs in front of him. A Labrador mix of some sort, a bandaged Chihuahua, a boxer, a retriever, a skinnier than usual greyhound…they all stared back at him. He knelt by the Chihuahua's cage and the dog backed up. He spoke softly in the Speech. "I'm not going to hurt you. What happened?"
The Chihuahua just growled at him and opened his mouth as if to bark.
"I'm not going to hurt you. If you tell me what happened, maybe I can help."
His response came from a Great Dane he had somehow missed at first in the corner. He wondered how he could have missed a dog that size. One of you burned him with smoke sticks. Burned fur off. Skin too.
Kit almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, except…he did know that there were people that cruel out there. His hands curled in involuntary fists and he took a moment to calm himself. Let me help you. I'm a wizard. I can heal you. He reached his hand out to the Chihuahua through the fencing, letting the dog get close to him, sniffing him.
Friend?
Kit nodded. Friend. He peeled back the bandages and could tell they hadn't been changed nearly recently enough. The dog was lucky if it hadn't gotten an infection yet. What's your name?
Ajax.
Healing had never become his specialty; he wished Nita was here to do this, but she needed to keep distracting the girl at the desk. He pulled out his manual and flipped to a healing spell that would mend the flesh and purge whatever toxins had entered the creature. He read the spell as quickly as he could without tripping over the words, the feeling of the world listening in surrounded him as the tension mounted until the spell released him. The Chihuahua would probably have those scars forever, but they weren't open wounds now. He was going to be alright.
The dog didn't say anything in response, but tentatively licked his hand, the appreciation more than evident.
Kit sincerely wanted to take them all home. The thought of any of these animals being kept here longer than necessary (or worse not being kept) was terrible.
She's coming, Kit.
He could hear the footsteps. "I'm not sure I should have let you back here by yourself."
By the time girl from the desk had entered the room where the dogs were kept, Kit had tossed the old bandages in his backpack and hoped the girl wouldn't notice they were missing. She didn't.
She frowned at the cage as though she weren't sure about something, but she didn't ask about the bandages. Instead, she wiped away the frown and asked, "Have you found your special four-legged furry friend yet?"
Kit looked at the dogs again. He could spend a week and not feel as though he knew them well enough to pick only one. And none of them would ever be Ponch. Ponch had been his dog. Now, Ponch belonged to the universe—or universes. He looked at the faces. The lab mutt and retriever would find good homes with kids. The boxer too—maybe with an athlete? Boxers had a lot of energy. The Chihuahua needed somewhere quiet and peaceful to learn to trust people again. The greyhound needed a decent meal in her. But that Dane…the blue Dane, not exactly a puppy, but still with plenty of years left to him…this was his dog. The dog he could see letting him stay in his room, sleeping at the foot of his bed. What's your name?
"Excuse me, have you made your decision?"
Abernathy.
Kit nodded. It fit. "Yes. I want the Great Dane there, in the corner."
Ten minutes later, huffing and puffing more than she would have liked to be, Dairine was pounding on Tom and Carl's front door. She was none too pleased to see Roshaun's smug face as he opened the door. "Find my note?" he asked, innocently.
"Just had to take care of a few things. Tom and Carl in?"
Roshaun stepped aside and let her in, only just keeping himself from grinning as he followed her back into the living room where the Senior wizards were waiting.
"Can I get you something to drink, Dairine? A soda? Water? Some oxygen maybe?"
Dairine nodded, plopping down in one of the chairs. "Water, please." She caught a few more breaths while Carl went to get her a glass. "Since when did I become as out of shape as Nita?"
Your shape looks fine to me, Roshaun offered.
Dairine glared at him.
Roshaun shrugged. "It's not as though I said it aloud…" He returned his attention to Tom. "At any rate, we were in the midst of discussing our proposal for that temporary world gate when you knocked, Dhairine. We don't think it's an unreasonable energy request; it is more efficient that repeatedly having to open gates between here and Wellakh. We are both needed on Wellakh; the Aethyrs threw Dhairine in my path for a reason. She is part of the answer to Wellakh's water problem."
"While I was there, my status changed from On Sabbatical to Active again," Dairine offered. "I'm supposed to be there. I just can't be there twenty-four seven." She stared at him for a moment. "And you're wrong. The Powers threw you in my path. After all, you landed in my backyard before I landed in yours."
Roshaun dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand as Carl returned with a glass over water for Dairine. "Details. For the purposes of maintaining an appearance of normalcy in this world, Dhairine cannot at this time return to Wellakh with me indefinitely until these problems are resolved, and it is not reasonable to assume that I could resolve them from here. I must be able to maintain order on my planet as best I can. A Timeslide is out of the question since Wellakh lies beyond your temporal-spatial jurisdiction."
Dairine took a sip and absently patted Monty. She looked at her Seniors evenly. "We need this."
"And you need approval to do it in some way other than a blank check spell."
Roshaun nodded and Dairine said, "If we don't have another choice, we'll do it. But I don't think it's an unreasonable thing to ask for compared to the number of transit spells we'd have to be doing to manage this without getting me kicked out of school or my dad jailed if the police think he's chopped me up and hid me in the backyard."
Tom sighed. "It's hard to be a wizard here than in other worlds in that way, and that's not something that easily fixed. Even if you were to consider a permanent relocation there are a lot of hoops that would have to be jumped through on this end to maintain something plausible."
Dairine frowned. Permanent relocation? No one said anything about permanent relocation. The thought had crossed her mind that maybe she was done with the way things were run here…and wasn't it anybody's dream with half a brain to get to remake the political structure of a whole planet? Make it work right? That's a lifetime's work…It's crazy to think about right now.
"Dairine, drifting off on us?"
"We're not that boring, are we?"
She shook her head, "No, Carl, Tom. Sorry about that. Just thinking."
Roshaun looked at her, head only slightly tilted. I caught some of that. Not sure what it was.
Dairine glared at him and turned to the Senior wizards. "Isn't it supposed to get more difficult for someone to read your mind, and less likely for them to accidentally eavesdrop?"
Carl chuckled and looked at Dairine and Roshaun. "If he's hearing you at this stage it's probably not an accident."
"Are you insinuating that I'd purposefully try to eavesdrop on her private thoughts?"
Holding up his hands in an I-have-no-weapons sort of gesture, Tom replied, "Nothing of the sort."
"Nita told me that she and Kit hardly ever hear each other anymore unless they're trying to communicate that way. From what I understand it's common at the beginning of wizarding partnerships. We've been at this for a little while."
Tom shook his head. "It's really only been a few months—that's not a long time in the grand scheme of things."
Roshaun's voice was tight. "A lifetime isn't much in the grand scheme of things."
Carl sighed. "Hear us out. At the beginning of a wizarding partnership, you hear each other think—a lot. It's before you know each other well, and sometimes, being able to call up the other person's mind so quickly—even accidentally—might save your life. You aren't new to this partnership, but you are in a new relationship with each other."
"Certain boundaries have been crossed—mental, emotional, physical—and those things do change the relationships between people. With those boundaries crossed, certain gateways of communication open up again, which is why you're hearing each other more now—deliberately or not—as things settle into your new relationship." He took a sip of his Coke before continuing. "These new intimacies—"
Dairine turned pink and even Roshaun couldn't quite keep his composure. "We're not—"
"Intimacy isn't that. That may be one element of it but there's so many others—confiding in someone, trusting them ultimately—"
"—wiping the spit from their face when they've been sick, facing whatever is coming together without knowing what's coming."
A strange expression passed over Dhairine's face then, and it wasn't one Roshaun was familiar with seeing on her before. After they'd said goodbye to Tom and Carl and the Senior had promised to see what theycould do about the gate, they were walking home and Roshaun finally asked about that expression. It had been confusion.
"You can't tell me what they described doesn't sound like Nita and Kit. If they were any closer they'd be surgically joined at the hip." She made a disgusted face and added, "Or non-surgically joined at the hip by some other means."
Roshaun chuckled at her reaction and pressed the button to cross the street—he was learning that cars wouldn't just stop for him because he was there.
Dairine shook her head. "We're not going that way. We've got somebody else to see first."
Tom kicked his shoes off just as Annie and Monty started barking at him. "No, I will not take you for a walk. If you want to go walking, walk yourselves, you know the way out." He touseled their heads affectionately but didn't budge from the couch.
Carl snickered, sticking his head around the corner. "They like you—they don't want to go out alone."
The man on the couch frowned. "We're missing one."
No sooner had he said that than there was a bark at the door.
"I'll get it, I'm already up. He must have gotten out like you said to…" Carl opened the door and laughed. "We've got another one."
Tom's voice called out from inside the house. "Another what?"
"Callahan girl."
Tom slipped his shoes back on. If he was going to have to get up anyway, he might as well let the dogs out into the yard. "Did she bring a boy too?"
Carl laughed again, "Two of them." He winked at Kit and mouthed "Let go of the leash."
As Kit let go, Abernathy joined Annie, Monty, and the little dog as they raced to the backdoor, nearly knocking Tom over in the process.
Carl let his laughter out then as he led the two young wizards into the living room to find out the latest reason for their visit.