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Chapter Eight - That Which Cannot Be Saved
Over the next several days Nicholas found that, try as he might, he couldn't get the image of the young Exorcist out of his mind. She plagued his thoughts and kept his concentration shaky at best. And of course this fact irritated the young Noah to an extent that he wouldn't have imagined possible. Nicholas had always prided himself on his ability to keep his emotions in check but that didn't seem possible at this given moment in time.
"That's it," the young man muttered to himself as he once again felt his thoughts begin to wander. The Musician had been attempting to clear his mind by playing the piano but this proved to be an impossible task. No matter what song he chose, the moment Nicholas placed his fingers to the keys, he imagined a violin accompaniment.
And a young woman with the face of an angel standing beside him.
"Timcanpy!"
The little golem appeared at his master's side in a matter of seconds. It wasn't often that the Musician used his full name and the little creature knew the signs of stress and irritation when he heard them.
"Record." With this hastily given order Nicholas began speaking to the golem although the words coming from his mouth were in no way directed at his little companion.
No, they were for the woman whose face had began to haunt his dreams. The Exorcist who thought that she could save him.
"I need you to deliver this message to the Exorcist named Lyssa," Nicholas said, a degree calmer now that his message had been recorded by the golem. He had never had this much difficulty maintaining his calm but there was just something about the woman that set him on edge. Some feeling that he couldn't explain but was none the less plagued by. "And make absolutely certain that Marian doesn't see you."
With a nod Timcanpy launched into the air and quickly departed the Ark, bound for the hiding place of the group of Exorcists. He was equipped with a tracking device of the Musician's design which allowed him to locate anyone whom he had previously came into contact with. Which was vital for tracking down the elusive group from the Black Order since Cross was so adept at hiding.
Had to keep the debt collectors at bay.
Nicholas watched as the golem flew off and then the young man returned to his piano, musing to himself as he absently struck random notes. He needed to have a word with the Exorcist but, now that he'd sent the summons, the Musician found himself wondering if she would actually show.
And would she bring the others along with her or would she come along as he had requested?
"I guess that's something that I'm just going to have to wait to find out the answer to," Nicholas thought to himself as he began to play the lullaby. He needed to play something soothing and this song seemed perfect for the situation.
For his part Timcanpy made haste to the location that the trio of Exorcists was currently calling home lest he chance making his master even more irritated. Luckily for the little golem it wasn't overly difficult to find them however Timcanpy soon found out that the woman named Lyssa wasn't with the rest of the group. Cross and Maria had taken up residense at a rather nice looking inn but the younger Exorcist was no where to be seen. So, with a shrug of his little wings, Timcanpy moved on to track the girl.
The little golem found the young woman waiting tables at a local tavern and looking as though she'd very much like to strangle someone. Or at the very least break something.
"You again?" she muttered as her gaze fell upon the little golden creature that she knew belonged to the Musician. "Does he have you spying on us again?"
With a shake of his small body, which was meant as an answer in the negative, Timcanpy flew up to the young woman and pulled on the apron that she wore.
"What?" Lyssa asked as she gazed at the golem, confused by his actions.
Timcanpy continued to pull.
"Fine," Lyssa said with a sigh. It was obvious that the little creature wanted her to follow him and who was she to refuse. Maybe he had something important to impart.
Untying the apron that she wore the young woman walked over to the man who had hired her for the day and told him that she had an emergency and needed to leave. Lyssa knew that Master Cross would be furious that she hadn't finished out the day but some things were just more important than working off debts that weren't even hers.
For his part the man who had hired her was very understanding and gave her the wages that she had earned.
Lyssa thanked him sincerely and then quickly turned and fled from the restaurant. She was very curious about the little golem's motives for tracking her down and wanted to find out exactly what was going on as soon as possible.
The minute the two of them were out of sight of anyone Timcanpy paused and played back the message that the Musician had recorded.
"A meeting…" Lyssa repeated, gazing at the little golem with confused brown eyes. "What could he possibly have to discuss… with me?"
In response to this question Timcanpy pulled on a strand of Lyssa's chestnut hair, seemingly trying to pull her along.
"Okay fine," Lyssa said with a sigh. If the Noah wanted to meet with her this badly then she supposed that she would humor him. Besides, it didn't appear that his little golem was going to give her much of a choice in the matter. He seemed incapable of taking no for an answer.
"I just have to go back to my room and change," Lyssa said, refusing to go to any kind of meeting with the Noah dressed as she was currently.
No one that she would have to see more than once in her life would ever see her in a dress. She had always been a tomboy at heart and didn't particularly like the way her body looked in a dress; in her opinion she was too skinny to make it look good. So therefore she just avoided dressing as a girl as much as possible.
With this thought in mind the young Exorcist made her way back to the inn where she and the others were staying. No one was around, for which Lyssa was grateful for, and the young woman slipped quietly into her room. She wasn't really certain where Master Cross and Maria were but was just happy that they weren't around.
She wanted to keep this particular meeting a secret from them if at all possible as they probably wouldn't understand or approve.
The young woman quickly changed into trousers and a pale blue blouse before pulling on her Exorcist's coat and leaving the room.
"Lyssa dear…"
Lyssa stopped short, her breath catching in her throat, as she heard the sound of Maria calling out to her. There was a questioning tone in her voice and Lyssa slowly turned to face her friend.
Maria opened her mouth to ask the question but stopped the moment she saw the pleading look in Lyssa's brown eyes. It was in that moment that she realized where the young girl was going.
"Just be careful," she whispered as she turned and walked away.
"Thank you," Lyssa said in an equally quiet voice as she continued on her way. She was a little upset that she had been spotted leaving for this little meeting but knew that Maria would keep the secret.
The young woman just hoped that this day didn't come back to haunt her later.
"Please," she whispered as she gazed up at the sky. "Don't let this be the worst mistake that I've ever made in my life."
Now were she to tell anyone that she planned to meet a Noah, Lyssa was certain that they would proclaim it a mistake but she wasn't so sure about that. There was something in that young man's eyes that seemed to almost be begging for help.
And as much as she might want to Lyssa found herself completely unable to ignore this silent plea.
She wanted to do everything that she could to save Nicholas from this world that he seemed to be trapped in. And she was certain that he was trapped whether he realized this fact or not.
"I hope you're not leading me into a trap," Lyssa muttered to the little golden creature that she was following along behind.
Lyssa was somewhat wary as she made her way into the clearing, following along behind Timcanpy. The recorded message had stated that the golem knew the location where they would meet but the young Exorcist's senses were in overdrive as she approached. The sun was just beginning to set and her searching gaze suddenly fell upon a figure standing beneath a large tree. The young woman's breath caught as she gazed upon the Noah of Praise. Nicholas was dressed in a tuxedo, complete with top hat, and Lyssa was forced to admit that he made for a very striking picture standing there with the sunset in the background. The fading rays seemed to make his mahogany hair shine and she couldn't help but stare briefly.
She had realized that he was handsome, she had eyes after all, but there was something about the sunset behind him that seemed to accentuate his good looks. Or perhaps it was just that she was allowing herself to look for the first time.
"Welcome," Nicholas said in a subdued voice as he watched Timcanpy and Lyssa enter the clearing. He could tell that the girl was nervous by the way she absently fingered the pendant that hung around her neck and this caused him to grin.
If only she knew what she were getting herself into.
"So why exactly did you insist upon this meeting?" Lyssa asked, deciding not to waste any time. After all she would only have a limited amount of time before Master Cross realized that she wasn't in her room and if he caught the two of them alone together then there would be hell to pay later.
A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about what his reaction would be should this little meeting come to his attention.
It didn't bear thinking on.
And she couldn't ask Maria to cover for her over something like that. Although she knew that her friend would do it in a heartbeat.
"Tim…"
The little golem immediately flew toward his master, pausing when he was hovering halfway between the Noah and the Exorcist. Timcanpy opened his mouth and began to play back the recording from the night that he had followed the Exorcists to Italy.
Lyssa gasped, not having realized that the little creature was capable of recording her words. They weren't something that she'd intended for the Noah to hear and she found herself slightly mortified.
"So you think that you can save me huh?" Nicholas asked as he took a step toward the young Exorcist. His gray eyes were focused intently on her, wishing to judge her reaction to this accusation.
Would she shrink away from him or would she stand up for the words that she had spoken that night? Would she still maintain this desire to save him?
"Yes," Lyssa said, her voice wavering only slightly as she gazed directly into the stormy eyes of the Noah.
Nicholas was completely taken aback by the conviction that he heard in her voice, as well as by the fact that she was looking him directly in the eyes. He'd often been told that his gaze was intense and even among his surrogate family few could look him in the eyes for any length of time but this little slip of a woman was doing just that.
The Noah of Praise saw in her a strength that few possessed and he was intrigued by it. Stepping forward he reached out and, after a moment's hesitation, touched her chin with the tips of his gloved fingers.
There was a fire burning in her chocolate colored eyes that the Musician had never seen in the eyes of another.
But there wasn't a chance.
"I cannot be saved," the young man growled as he pulled his hand back and made a move to step away from the Exorcist.
Acting on pure instinct Lyssa reached out and seized the young man by the arm, preventing him from fleeing. "Everyone can be saved."
For the briefest of moments Nicholas was lost in the look in her eyes. But then the moment was broken by the voice that screamed out in the back of his mind. "I can't…" he growled as he pulled away from the Exorcist.
"I don't believe that," Lyssa said, her voice containing a note of irritation as she watched the young man pace back and forth.
Nicholas wasn't sure which was more annoying, her assertion that he needed to be saved or her refusal to acknowledge the fact that he was beyond help. The Noah genes that coursed through his body weren't something that he could get rid of and that was just the way that things were.
"Why do you even care?" the young Noah demanded as he once again turned to face the chestnut haired Exorcist.
"Because when I look in your eyes I see someone haunted," Lyssa replied in a quiet voice, not certain what made her tell him the truth.
Once again Nicholas was forced to recall the day when Mana had told him that he couldn't hide his emotions because his eyes betrayed him. Was this young woman really seeing something in him that he couldn't even see in himself?
"That's just stupid," the young man stated but his voice was softer this time and his eyes had lost some of their harshness as he gazed at Lyssa.
"I don't think so," Lyssa said, noticing the subtle changes in the young Noah and taking them as a good sign. "And neither does your little golden friend. He thinks that you can be saved as well."
At this point in the conversation Nicholas focused his gaze on the little golem that was hovering between the two of them. It was impossible to judge emotions, because Timcanpy didn't have a face, but the Musician was certain that on the inside he was smirking right now.
"You planned all of this didn't you?" he accused, focusing his gaze on the little golden creature.
As though in reply to this accusation from his master Timcanpy hovered over to the spot where Lyssa was standing and perched on top of her hair.
"Traitor…" Nicholas muttered.
"Don't blame him," Lyssa said, raising a hand to lightly touch the little golem that was perched on top of her hair. "You're the one who sent him to follow us so it's your own fault."
Nicholas gaped at the young woman… had she really just told him off?
He had no experience with things like this, having always been fawned over by members of the opposite sex.
There was definitely something different about this woman; probably had something to do with the time that she'd been in contact with Cross.
Whatever the cause Nicholas found himself determined to figure the girl out, no matter what it took.
"So you want to save me," Nicholas whispered as he walked toward the young woman and casually brushed a lock of hair away from her face. "We shall see how you fair against that which cannot be saved."
Seeming to take this as a challenge on his part Lyssa gazed at the young Noah, determination shining bright in her brown eyes. "We shall see."
A/N - and here's the end of yet another chapter of Nicholas and Lyssa's story. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. And I offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has previously submitted reviews for this story. You guys are awesome! The music has ended for now but rest assured that it will continue.