Faith blinked, considering the question. What did the Door of Heaven do? "I have absolutely no idea. But she thought the Watcher would know, and she seemed to think that having it would make her unstoppable."
"I don't think I like that idea." Tanya's voice was soft. "Did we finish that spare bedroom in the downstairs? The one with the little water-closet? We can't just send Lorrie back out there…"
"The dresser still looks like a refugee from a ship-wreck, and there's no sheets on the bed yet. We left the scimitar and spear in the closet, but took the crossbow out of that little bathroom. If something's in there with you, you're too close for a crossbow to do any good at all. Floors and window are sound… umm… no curtains." Faith considered the situation. They'd been inspecting the rooms one by one, checking for weak floorboards, loose or drafty windows, and holes in the wall, as well as collecting and cataloging weapons. Fixing up old furniture was a lot farther down on the list.
"There are clean sheets in the hall, and I happen to know that the couch is not comfortable to sleep on." Tanya looked as if she'd already started making plans for the girl's future. "She can help get the room straightened up, and this way we can be sure that it's to her taste."
Tanya went walking into the room, clearly intending to get Lorrie settled into the half finished room. Faith smiled, having learned by now that Tanya seemed to enjoy having someone around to fuss over. Maybe she and Lorrie could go pick up her stuff tomorrow, or maybe Tanya and the car with trunk space should go?
Where was Mort? She'd heard him slam the door behind him, everyone had heard that. But then, why hadn't he come downstairs? Slowly, Faith made her way towards the third floor, still holding the sword, just in case. As she stepped onto the third floor, her skin felt prickly, sort of like a gathering of powerful energy. Moving faster, she headed towards the door. If anything had happened to Mort…
Faith skidded to a halt, trying to figure out why Mort was staring out the opened door. "Hey there, remember the scary giant and the evil vamp? What are you doing, making faces at them?"
There was something in Mort's voice, as if he was seeing something that didn't make sense. "Faith? Come over here and look through the door. Tell me what you see, because… I think I must have got hit on the head at some point."
Moving closer, Faith could see little glowing runes all over the door. She recognized Sumerian, Etruscan, and Greek, but there were more that were unfamiliar to her. She'd noticed that the door wasn't smooth, but for some reason, she'd never really paid any attention to the details of it. She definitely would have taken a closer look if it had been glowing. "Mort? What do you see?"
He just shook his head, and gestured. A gust of wind came into the hallway, thick with salt, and fish, and that big city blend. But there wasn't any large city close enough to smell…
Faith moved closer, standing right behind him. Looking over his shoulder, she saw what looked like a metal balcony overlooking an expanse of ocean. Beyond that was a towering mass of sparkling skyscrapers. "Oh my God… that's New York. How did you open Tanya's door and get a view of New York?"
Mort just shook his head, seemingly fascinated by the view. "I just… the giant roared, and I opened the door, and…" He gestured, his hand sweeping over the view of everything. "There it was."
"Did you say anything, touch anything else?" Faith was trying to make sense of this, but her mind kept returning to the image of New York. "Is that… where are we looking from anyhow?"
"Statue of Liberty."
Faith gently pried his fingers from the edge of the door, and slowly closed it. The glowing lights seemed to shimmer and crawl over the surface, and then the door was normal again, although there were still glowing markings all over the frame. "That is just too damn weird."
"That's got to be the Door of Heaven." His voice was still low, as if his mind wasn't entirely focused on here and now. "That roar… it reminded me of Sabertooth, and then I was thinking of the last time I saw him. That was at the Statue of Liberty."
Faith felt herself shudder, and reached out, locking the door. "Let's just leave that be for now. Maybe we should talk to Tanya about that."
"How do we explain that? Hey, Tanya, remember that door for the ghosts to skedaddle away through? I just opened it up to the freaking Statue of Liberty! That just… it shouldn't be possible. The distances… how could it do that?" Mort shook his head, rubbing his fingertips as if they had gone numb.
"Well, maybe it's magic?" Faith understood where he was coming from. The idea… it gave her the creeps.
"No wonder the vampire wanted it. If it can open up to somewhere halfway up the eastern seacoast, how far can it reach? Can you step through, just like a normal door? It's damn near teleportation…" Mort's voice was hoarse as he spoke, no doubt lost in the images of what could be done with a door that could go anywhere.
Faith grew cold as the implications sank in. "She's right… with something like that, she'd be unstoppable."
End part 29.
"I don't think I like that idea." Tanya's voice was soft. "Did we finish that spare bedroom in the downstairs? The one with the little water-closet? We can't just send Lorrie back out there…"
"The dresser still looks like a refugee from a ship-wreck, and there's no sheets on the bed yet. We left the scimitar and spear in the closet, but took the crossbow out of that little bathroom. If something's in there with you, you're too close for a crossbow to do any good at all. Floors and window are sound… umm… no curtains." Faith considered the situation. They'd been inspecting the rooms one by one, checking for weak floorboards, loose or drafty windows, and holes in the wall, as well as collecting and cataloging weapons. Fixing up old furniture was a lot farther down on the list.
"There are clean sheets in the hall, and I happen to know that the couch is not comfortable to sleep on." Tanya looked as if she'd already started making plans for the girl's future. "She can help get the room straightened up, and this way we can be sure that it's to her taste."
Tanya went walking into the room, clearly intending to get Lorrie settled into the half finished room. Faith smiled, having learned by now that Tanya seemed to enjoy having someone around to fuss over. Maybe she and Lorrie could go pick up her stuff tomorrow, or maybe Tanya and the car with trunk space should go?
Where was Mort? She'd heard him slam the door behind him, everyone had heard that. But then, why hadn't he come downstairs? Slowly, Faith made her way towards the third floor, still holding the sword, just in case. As she stepped onto the third floor, her skin felt prickly, sort of like a gathering of powerful energy. Moving faster, she headed towards the door. If anything had happened to Mort…
Faith skidded to a halt, trying to figure out why Mort was staring out the opened door. "Hey there, remember the scary giant and the evil vamp? What are you doing, making faces at them?"
There was something in Mort's voice, as if he was seeing something that didn't make sense. "Faith? Come over here and look through the door. Tell me what you see, because… I think I must have got hit on the head at some point."
Moving closer, Faith could see little glowing runes all over the door. She recognized Sumerian, Etruscan, and Greek, but there were more that were unfamiliar to her. She'd noticed that the door wasn't smooth, but for some reason, she'd never really paid any attention to the details of it. She definitely would have taken a closer look if it had been glowing. "Mort? What do you see?"
He just shook his head, and gestured. A gust of wind came into the hallway, thick with salt, and fish, and that big city blend. But there wasn't any large city close enough to smell…
Faith moved closer, standing right behind him. Looking over his shoulder, she saw what looked like a metal balcony overlooking an expanse of ocean. Beyond that was a towering mass of sparkling skyscrapers. "Oh my God… that's New York. How did you open Tanya's door and get a view of New York?"
Mort just shook his head, seemingly fascinated by the view. "I just… the giant roared, and I opened the door, and…" He gestured, his hand sweeping over the view of everything. "There it was."
"Did you say anything, touch anything else?" Faith was trying to make sense of this, but her mind kept returning to the image of New York. "Is that… where are we looking from anyhow?"
"Statue of Liberty."
Faith gently pried his fingers from the edge of the door, and slowly closed it. The glowing lights seemed to shimmer and crawl over the surface, and then the door was normal again, although there were still glowing markings all over the frame. "That is just too damn weird."
"That's got to be the Door of Heaven." His voice was still low, as if his mind wasn't entirely focused on here and now. "That roar… it reminded me of Sabertooth, and then I was thinking of the last time I saw him. That was at the Statue of Liberty."
Faith felt herself shudder, and reached out, locking the door. "Let's just leave that be for now. Maybe we should talk to Tanya about that."
"How do we explain that? Hey, Tanya, remember that door for the ghosts to skedaddle away through? I just opened it up to the freaking Statue of Liberty! That just… it shouldn't be possible. The distances… how could it do that?" Mort shook his head, rubbing his fingertips as if they had gone numb.
"Well, maybe it's magic?" Faith understood where he was coming from. The idea… it gave her the creeps.
"No wonder the vampire wanted it. If it can open up to somewhere halfway up the eastern seacoast, how far can it reach? Can you step through, just like a normal door? It's damn near teleportation…" Mort's voice was hoarse as he spoke, no doubt lost in the images of what could be done with a door that could go anywhere.
Faith grew cold as the implications sank in. "She's right… with something like that, she'd be unstoppable."
End part 29.