All Along the Watchtower
Chapter 4 - When Angels Come Calling
Harry sat back tiredly. It was an exhausting day following Karen, Fleur and their friend Penny around London in the morning and Paris in the late afternoon. The three forced him to follow around each and every shop with limitless stamina. Harry could tell they enjoyed themselves but it got old quick for him even if he did enjoy Karen's company a touch more than he should have.
Harry opened his eyes and thought of going to his room. The room was midnight blue and white with a hint of silver; the colours of his favourite Quidditch team the Tornados. His new home was much smaller and much more modern but Harry found himself missing the aged wood smell of his old home. The flat was a touch bare, with steel rafter in plain sight and the brickwork showing candidly along the unpainted walls.
The living room was simply decorated and its main feature was a magnificent black granite fireplace beneath a flat screen mounted on the wall and various muggle devices connected to it in alcoves burrowed under the floating hearth, both which faced a U shaped couch. The entire area was sunk two feet into the hardwood flooring and a slight step was needed to get into the kitchen and other areas. All around the room were small frames containing pictures of the Blackwood family with a few of Harry with them and some conservative paintings.
Harry learned over the day that Karen was a full-fledged Assassin like her brother, one of the Harpies. She only went to Beuxbatons because a few other Harpies also went. They were granted leave to protect various important Veela who were blessed with human magic but the program was entirely optional. Karen was in her room talking to John, her boyfriend, not that Harry needed reminding of the tall, straight laced Lieutenant.
Kaden wasn't around but Harry didn't question his absence. Kaden liked being alone, Harry was much the same, both where lonely people underneath and liked solitude. That understanding founded their friendship or so Harry always thought. It certainly wasn't Kaden's winning personality.
Harry stood and stretched, the TV was boring so he turned it off. He took the opportunity and found himself at Karen's bedroom, stopping to knock the door lightly. "Mind if I come in?"
The door opened itself and Harry found Karen lying on yellow sheeted bed with a mobile phone to her ear. He took the hint and stood in the doorway for her to finish, the room was mainly pale yellow. Her bed was at the far end of the room with a desk off to one side, a door to her walk in wardrobe was on one wall and on the opposite side of the room a door to her en-suite bathroom. Karen refused to share a bathroom with two guys.
Harry heard a quick "Bye" and Karen her threw her phone away, it hit the wall and fell away in pieces. "Problem?" Harry he asked and took a seat at the desk, not bothered by the anger. Karen broke things when she was angry, he would fix it when she calmed down.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Karen accused; looking at him with a sharp ice blue stare.
Harry held his hands up in surrender. "What are you on about 'Kay?"
Karen narrowed her eyes, "About Kaden completely humiliating the freaking Veela Princess!"
"She's a Princess? I thought she was a cheerleader for the Bulgaria Quidditch team?" Harry said, wincing slightly.
Karen shook her head. "Danielle is a Princess, the Princess, like heir to the bloody throne, not a cheerleader! She was at the World Cup for a reason but god knows Kaden done his best to screw it up for her! It doesn't matter; I need to know what she said to him."
Harry cast his mind back. "I don't know, Rossi was introducing me to the guys and then Kaden got pissed off and wasn't very nice to her."
"So the Fairy Tale continues?" Karen asked, getting up and going to her wardrobe.
"That actually happens all the time?"
"Sadly enough it does." Karen said as she sifted through her jackets.
"Why?" Harry asked. "Kaden doesn't stay with girls; he usually rubs it in their face that much they end up hating him..."
Karen pointed to a picture frame on her dresser. "That's why."
Harry got up and moved over to the dresser, picking up the silver framed photograph. He took a moment to look at the picture and it was Kaden with a girl. He looked younger, his hair was slightly blonder and longer but that would make sense since it looked as though he was in a country with decent weather, his sunburnt face confirmed it.
The girl was beautiful, not the ethereal Veela beauty but a natural beauty few he knew possessed. Her hair was thick, curling a touch at the tips and the deepest of browns, almost black. Harry never saw Kaden smile so freely. Harry watched as Karen hastily wiped away a tear.
"He loved her you know?"
Harry nodded.
"No I mean he really loved her, that crazy you know they'll be together forever kind of love even when we were still so young. He still does." Karen said as Harry passed her the picture. Karen looked at it with glistening ice blue eyes and sat on her bed.
Harry put an arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder with tears freely running down her cheeks. "It's okay, it's only me." Harry whispered, placing a light kiss on the top of her head.
Karen sniffed as her tears seeped through his shirt. "Allie was my best friend. We started the Academy at the same time. When they met there was this spark between them, literally, he even smiled at her." Karen smiled through the tears as the memories washed over her. "When we were little Kaden was quiet, like Connor is. He got even worse after mum died; he only talked to Connor and me for years after. He didn't speak a word to dad until he was six and a half and that was only to tell him to leave, that we didn't need him and Pepsi would look after us." She managed a laugh; Kaden loved that little House Elf. "When they first met she wouldn't leave him alone, I loved her for that. She never gave up on him. She convinced him that despite everything he could be as normal as everyone else. It was always there, anyone could see it and Allison filled that hole inside of him. It was the year before he went to Hogwarts they got together. For months he worked to get on one of the squads and became a Reaper. Connor was their Captain at the time. It wasn't until a month later during Kaden's fourth mission Commander Lyle was killed by vampires and Connor got his job. Most of the squad was massacred except Connor and John. Everyone thought he was dead but me, I knew he was still alive. I didn't feel him die and Allie believed me. We convinced Connor too."
Harry's understood, he could feel James, however distantly at the edges of his perception. He always could.
"It took Connor more than a month to get clearance for the rescue. The Council eventually gave a go, so long as it was off the books and volunteer only. Me, John, Allie, Lauren, Richie, Jaden, Paul and Rossi went in and Ollie was our only tech. When we found him..." Karen's lip quivered at the thought Kaden's broken body, drenched in his own blood. "They tried to turn him but when it didn't take they fed on him over and over again. We managed to get him out before it killed him but-" Karen sniffed gently.
"You don't have to tell me." Harry said but he wanted her too, in the past day he was realising just how little he knew about his best friend.
Karen wiped at her eyes. "No, it'll make me feel better." She took deep breath. "It took a while but once Kaden was better we all went out to celebrate. After Kaden and Allie went off and they were attacked by about eight of the Vampires who escaped us that night. They killed Allie." She sniffed and paused for a moment to collect herself. "Kaden was out of it for three days. He was lucky to be alive, the bastards didn't even try to turn him again; they left them for dead after watching Allie die. When I told Kaden I think he knew. I watched him as he sat in a daze for days and refused to go to her funeral. I don't think he wanted her to be gone. It was like a part of him died when she did. Sometimes I think that's why he sleeps around, because he feels alone without her."
Harry nodded and she continued.
"When Kaden recovered he found the vampires and slaughtered them. All of them, not just the ones that attacked them, even the human familiars and anyone who got in his way. Connor managed to catch up with him before he got himself killed. The Council grounded him for a long time and Kaden in his infinite wisdom thought it would be a great idea to sleep with the Princess Danielle Isabella Martineau. Danielle is a nice girl, not a spoiled little royal at all and I always got along with her when she joined us at the Academy. She had a thing for Kaden, I knew she did. She even volunteered for the rescue to save him but I said no, she would have been a liability back then. He took advantage in the worst way possible and he still treats her terribly."
Harry nodded in understanding that did sound very like Kaden.
"Every summer for the last four years he has come back to her, pissed her around and I don't blame her for going off at him and saying what I think she did. But she crossed a line. I love my brother Harry but there is a part of him even I will never know and I would never ask him to let go of." Karen got up and replaced the picture on her dresser and picked up her jacket. "Come on, we need to go out."
Harry stood and followed her to the elevator in the living room, "Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
Kaden was having a bad day.
First off, he was out with Rossi and Mark the night before and drank that much by morning his head felt like it was about to explode.
Secondly, he woke up in some random girl's bed that very morning and was lucky enough to find she still stayed with her parents.
Thirdly, when falling to sleep in his very comfortable new bed he remembered to pick up Harry and take him to Adam. So after forcing himself to have a quick shower and something to eat he went to pick up his best friend. After a relatively quiet goodbye they left and were on their way.
Due to his hungover state Kaden ended up apparating a good mile away from his Father's office. After a few hours of chit chat Kaden was refreshed and in a good enough mood to put up with his squad. Not that they weren't a great, but they could be mighty annoying when sporting a hangover so he let Rossi introduce Harry to the Reapers while he drifted over to the weapon rack to check on his equipment.
When he attempted to find his prized piece of equipment, namely his gunblade Thunder, it wasn't there. The assault rifle handle and beautiful azure crystal blade wasn't on the rack but he knew exactly who took it. He quietly made his way over to her and snatched it back and angrily reprimanded her for even touching it. Beneath the simmering anger, he wondered why Danielle took it. It was his last gift from Allie, before it happened and Danielle knew that.
It was a promise they would never leave each other again after he was taken. Kaden gave her a similar gift, a lighter and shorter blade which fused jade at her touch. They were going to quit the Order and have a normal life but it happened. He could remember it as clear as day, a sound which echoed his every nightmare. He didn't get the chance to tell her he loved her, to watch her last bittersweet moments as she faded away.
Kaden would have given anything for that.
One snap and it was over, she fell to the ground lifeless with her head at a horribly unnatural angle. Kaden wasn't even sure what happened after that. He woke up three days later, alone.
He was still alone.
It didn't matter how many girls he slept with, most of the time he was drunk and couldn't remember. Or like that night with Danielle when he lay awake all night. He always thought of her. Why she left him and why he could never feel whole again.
The answer was simple but he would never admit it to anyone but her grave, he still loved her. After four years and tens of girls, the sad and bitter truth was that he loved her as much as he did the day she died. He brought a bottle to his lips, the semi-warm lager slipped down his throat, doing nothing to stem the tide of thought.
He threw the empty bottle away and got another from the six-pack at his side. Taking a quick gulp of the liquid he wished Connor was there. He missed his brother's direct way of thinking and because warm beer tastes shit; cold beer isn't much better but the company would've been nice. Non-judgemental, someone who would just listen and nod, not like what was in front of him.
Allison Stevens
Loved Daughter, Sister and Friend.
"She will walk the lowest dungeon to the highest tower but she will never walk alone."
1988-2003
The more Kaden red the black granite, the more he wanted to demolish it or even on really shit days he wanted his own grey stone next to it. Not that he was suicidal but after nailing a Princess for the hundredth time of his life he wanted to feel something. Anything to unlatch himself from the fragments of a forever never meant to be. He wanted to feel something other than the hollow, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach; almost like he betrayed her.
He wondered. She left me. I loved her and she left. Hell, sometimes I think I love- wait, that didn't come out right, I like Danielle a lot. Kaden just couldn't handle the sickening, hollow feeling; so he avoided her when she started the whole I love you trail. He drinks a lot, swears a lot and cheats on her more times a year than he can count; he often wondered why she put up with him.
Kaden could almost predict what would happen that night. He'd ditch boys; they would welcome Harry into the fold without him. He would finish the rest of his beer, go into Glasgow, get stupidly drunk, start a fight with some idiot and being too drunk gets his ass kicked. He'll then go to her door at one or two in the morning, say sorry. She will scream at him in incomprehensible French before he gave her back the necklace, she patches him up, they have sex, she falls asleep muttering I love you under her breath and he stays up all night thinking.
He took a long drink, hoping he could finish it quickly. Looking ahead his eyes fixed on the stone and after reading it again he saw red and his temper took over. He threw the bottle hard at the black granite. Much to his luck the bottle hit a translucent blue shield and shunted off, shattering in the distance, an Imperturbable Charm. Kaden laughed in frustration as his eyes close and he felt a single tear escape his eye and slide down his cheek as someone settled next to him and took his hand.
Kaden smiled.
"There are much better ways to get my attention Kaden." A sing-song voice said.
"I know but it's a bit cold for stripping, figured I'd settle for a classic." Kaden said with a grin as his eyes opened and he was greeted with a curtain of brunette tresses.
She laughed. "It would have been funny and I like that gravestone."
"Never the most thoughtful me, you should know that."
She slapped his hand. "I know, it's your curse, just like mine is to wear these clichéd white clothes."
"It was your choice beautiful, either that or I suffer alone for the rest of my days."
"All for one hour a month to make sure you don't go crazy, can't even space the hours." She muttered. "How have you been?"
"Allie you're my heavenly guardian, you know exactly how I've been!"
"I know," Allie pouted and kicked his leg playfully. "I like to hear it, being all seeing isn't as fun as it says on the tin." She finished quietly, after four years she still wasn't used to the rules which bound her.
Kaden turned his head and kissed her hair. "You know I didn't mean it like that, I would just rather talk about something else, something not me, how have you been?"
"Bored," Allison deadpanned, "Unless you want to know about Paul's porn, how flexible Mark's latest girl is, Ollie's rather interesting hobby or the details of Karen and John's se-"
"-okay…okay…I get it! God my ears are burning over here!" Kaden exclaimed, cringing. "So what do you want to know?"
"I want to know what you're playing at." Allie said, letting go of his hand and standing, perching on her gravestone.
"C'mon Allie, it was just a bit of fun. I haven't gone anywhere near Penny, the girl isn't even sixteen."
Allie looked aghast. "You were horrible to her and you know it! That was her little sister!"
Kaden smirked, "I know I think I deserve a fucking Oscar." Kaden winced as he looked up at Allie; her face was twisted in disgust. "Don't look at me like that. It was a harmless joke; she even hit me a few times for it!"
"She can't do half the damage I can." Allie said, glowering at him and lowering her eyes pointedly.
Kaden recoiled. "Okay, I'll be nice when I go see Dan tonight."
"What if I don't want you to see her again?" Allie asked with a frown.
Kaden got up. "I don't know if you noticed but I'm almost nineteen, sex is kinda essential if I don't want to implode, stresses of the job and whatnot."
"I can get rid of it better than she can." Allie said pulling him between her legs.
Kaden smiled despite himself. Allie wasn't the most creative when jealous but they had never done it before, not that he hadn't been tempted. A graveyard wasn't a place he would ever take a girl's virtue. "I know you can but you're not always here. And as much as I want to wait around for this every month, sometimes I need to blow off a little steam."
"I know," Allie mumbled against his shoulder. "That's why you have to move on, I can't always be here and I won't be here forever."
"Don't say that," Kaden said quietly, almost fearfully. "I need you to be here, knowing I can see you and talk to you stops me from doing anything stupid."
"Promise me you'll try and stop treating Danielle so badly or I will smite you!"
"Smite?" Kaden asked with a quickly summoned grin, "Is that kinky?"
Allie slapped his chest playfully. "Shut-up, I shan't be propositioned by a mere Elemental! Certainly not on top of my gravestone!"
"Allison Stevens."
"Yes, Kaden Andrew Blackwood?"
"Shut up while you're ahead..."
Karen apparated herself and Harry to a secluded cemetery about ten miles outside Glasgow, in the shadow of the Campsie Fells. It was the place most of Elementals who died for the Academy were buried. They walked up the gravel road, into a car park where Kaden's Nissan was parked. The green and deep blue car was glowing softly in the moonlight. When they reached it Karen placed her hand on the door, it popped open and she settled into the passenger seat.
She looked up at Harry, "What are you waiting for? Go get him; it's the seventh row down the path."
"You aren't coming?"
"I have my reasons." Karen replied sadly, looking away as her eyes glistened with moisture.
Harry took her hand. "Will you be okay?"
"I'll be fine, go, Kaden needs you more than me."
Harry got up and followed the path, he saw Kaden long before he got to the rows of graves. "Bad day mate?"
"It turned out okay; think I had an epiphany or something." Kaden said brightly and they started to his car.
"Really?" Harry asked confusedly, he wasn't sure Kaden knew the meaning of the word.
"Yeah, I know what the word means. Try not to faint." Kaden deadpanned. "Karen thought I would get drunk and brood all day." His sister was usually right, but it was a special time of the month.
"She was worried about you Kaden." Harry said as they reached the gate. He didn't answer and Kaden walked up to his sister and enveloped her in his arms. He sat on the edge of the car and waited for Karen to calm down.
Kaden let his sister cry. He knew she never went to see Allie's grave but a song sounded from his pocket, his ringtone. "I have to answer this okay?"
She nodded and moved over to Harry clamping onto his side for comfort instead.
Kaden answered, "What's up Rossi?"
"We have a code blue; my phone just got the message."
"Who's on guard tonight?" Kaden asked praying he was right that morning.
"That'd be the Harps and Wolves, boss. The Talons just got off."
"Do you know if-"
Rossi knew exactly what he was thinking. "-sorry boss, all I know is four Wolves are down and two are injured including Jaden. He thinks its Erebus. They've kicked in the lock-down and are discussing the terms of our surrender."
"Surrender my ass." Kaden didn't hesitate as he ordered his XO. "I want you and the Reapers at my flat in twenty, full silver loadout. Put the word out to the Ravens and Talons. Round up the boys, we're going vampire hunting tonight."