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xp_logsWhile Manuel is undergoing the cleansing ritual in London, there are some unexpected consequences back on Muir...
Shadows Fall: Angelo - Angelo is called on to comfort his little sister, and things take a turn for the disturbing...
There was a soft tapping at the door of the room Angelo and Paige were sharing (since Moira had good-humouredly said they'd end up in the same bed any way and this reduced the cold feet factor, not to mention potential embarrassment with early-morning wakeup calls), and Amanda's voice, quiet but urgent: "Ange? You there?" Another soft knock, and a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob.
Frowning, he glanced at Paige, who shrugged, and made his way to the door, opening it quickly. "Amanda? What's wrong?"
It was a most woebegone witch that met his eyes, standing shivering in the hallway wearing not much more than a black camisole and matching shorts, eyes big and scared in her pale face. "I had a nightmare," she almost whimpered. "About… about that night, at the Hellfire Club. There were hands…" Another sob escaped, and she buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking slightly.
He stepped forward to wrap his arms around her carefully. "Oh, little sis. It's okay, you're safe now..."
"I'm sorry... you were asleep and I'm being a bother... But it was so real, and I couldn't make it stop..." Amanda's arms came round to wrap almost desperately around his waist. "Can you... Can you come stay with me? Like you did before? Just until I sleep?" she asked, voice muffled against his bare chest. "If Paige don't mind?"
He glanced back through the open door, unwilling to detach himself from a clearly distressed Amanda, and had a brief signalled conversation with Paige that ended with him nodding and closing the door. "Sure. Till you fall asleep."
Amanda's room was the next one down - again, Moira's doing - so it didn't take long to get the shivering girl back there. Since she was unwilling to let him go, Angelo ended up sitting beside her on the bed, with her arms wrapped around his waist and her head on his shoulder, practically burying her face in his neck. "It seemed so real," she repeated, shuddering. "Alphonso was there, watching everything, and there were these men, with masks, and they... they..."
All he could do was repeat, "It wasn't real. You're not there, and they aren't here."
"But what if it was? What if it wasn't a dream, it was my memory coming back? What if that's what they did?" She was shivering almost violently now. "The things they did... I'm scared that if it's true, no-one will want to touch me ever again."
"If that's what they did, it's on their heads, not yours", he tried to reassure her. "If anybody would react like that, they're not worth knowing."
"Manuel... Manuel won't. Touch me, that is. I think it's because he knows, thinks there's something dirty about me..." Amanda shifted slightly, the strap of her camisole sliding off her shoulder. Her deathgrip around his waist loosened, her hands relaxing and brushing his sides, apparently by accident.
He barely noticed, for the moment at least. "Manuel's not himself right now, Amanda. You know that. He barely knows who he is, let alone what was done to you."
"He knows enough to blame himself - he told me that himself. He thinks it's all his fault I got hurt. If he knew what happened... he'd never come near me again, and I couldn't handle that. It's been hard enough this last month..." Seeking warmth, Amanda snuggled closer until she was practically sitting in Angelo's lap. "All this time, not being able to love, and now I do, it kills me that he isn't himself any more..."
Angelo wrapped his arms around her, holding her to give her the comfort she clearly needed. "Don't give up hope yet. He might still come back."
"Come back from where? I've seen inside his head, Ange, there's nothing left but fragments. Manuel de la Rocha's dead, and there's nothing left but this person who looks like him but isn't him at all." Amanda sighed softly, the gust of breath tickling Angelo's neck. "Maybe I should let him go. Get the link taken away, let him be free to make his own life, without me and my hassles in it. Before he starts hating me for what I couldn't do." Her shoulders slumped, one hand dropping limply to rest barely touching his backside, and other on his leg. "I'm tired of ending up alone, Ange. It keeps happening."
He shifted forward unobtrusively, away from the hand on his backside. It was almost certainly innocent, he knew, but all the same. "Do youlove the person he is now? Or could you? And you're not alone."
"I don’t know. Maybe. It’s just hard, especially when him trying to remember anything makes him sick." Unobtrusive or not, the shift was noticed, and Amanda stiffened and pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself. "And I am alone. You have Paige, Angie has Doug, Kitty has Jamie… Even Moira and Nate are like a couple of teenagers, all over each other, not to mention Alison and that git Haroun… It’s a great joke, isn’t it? Tough girl lets herself love, and now she’s lost it."
"Even if you lose Manuel, which you might not have yet, that doesn't make you alone", he reminded her, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "I promised you that, didn't I?"
"It’s not what I mean, Ange. It’s all right for you – you’ve got Paige waiting in that bed for you. Me? I’ve got a bunch of scars and a heedful of magic and a history that either scares them away or gets them hurt." Yanking her hand away from his, she stood, arms still wrapped around herself defensively and shoulders hunched. "Who am I bloody kidding? I’m just a freak, even to you lot."
"You are not a freak to me", he told her firmly, getting up and moving to her side. "You know damn well my history's not much better, and you've seen my scars."
"I'm sorry, I'm being stupid - that dream really bothered me, and I think something's wrong with Manuel..." She gave him a half-shrug, the one that said everything wasn't fine, but she was going to pretend it was. "Go on back to Paige - you don't need all this." Then with an almost-bashful look up at him. "Can I have a goodnight hug first?"
He knew that shrug, and frowned. "I said I'll stay until you sleep, and if you still want me to... of course you can have a hug."
Amanda stepped into the offered hug, her skin icy against his, one arm looping around his neck. "Love you, big brother," she murmured, pressing a kiss against his cheek.
He hugged her back willingly, this being nothing unusual. "Love you too, little sis."
"No kiss goodnight?" she asked with a small pout and the extra-cute look.
He chuckled, and dutifully bent down to kiss her cheek in return.
She shifted in his arms, pressing up against him in ways little sisters should definitely not touch their big brothers, and turning her head so the kiss landed on her mouth and not her cheek. With her hand on the back of his neck he couldn't pull back as she deepened the kiss, the tongue stud expertly applied.
He yelped slightly in shock, but was unable to keep from responding for a moment, both in terms of returning the kiss and... other physical responses. Finally, he reached up to pull her hand away, stepping back firmly. His eyes were wide as he stared at her. "Amanda... what...?"
"My goodnight kiss," she replied innocently, but the smile on her face was anything but, and wasn't there just the faintest hint of red about her eyes? "You can't say you didn't enjoy it now, 'big brother', not with that sort of reaction." She took a step towards him, and he backed away, knees contacting with the edge of the bed and forcing him to sit. Still with that predatory smile, Amanda advanced on him, movements slow and sexy. "And tell the truth - haven't you always wondered what it'd be like? Just a little bit?"
He scooted back across the bed, trying to maintain the distance between them without taking his eyes off her. "Wondering's not the same as wanting! I can't help..."
"But you can help," she told him, still with that lazy, somehow cruel smile on her face. "You could help me a whole lot, Angelo. Paige wouldn't have to know - it would be our little secret. Because that's what we're good at, isn't it? Sharing secrets?" Angelo's back hit the stone of the wall on the other side of the bed, and the smile grew wider. "You're running out of places to run, 'big brother'. Why not accept the inevitable?"
He shot a quick look at the door, trying to judge if he could reach it before she did. "It's not inevitable. An' you're not yourself, you wouldn't be doin' this if you were. You're not even talkin' like you."
She caught his glance at the door and wagged her finger at him. "Uh-uh, no running away, Angelo. Even if it’s what you’re best at. I think you would be better off staying right here. Can’t have you spoiling my playtime too soon, can we?" The reddish glow intensified in her eyes as she gestured, the bed sheets snaking up to wrap around him – wrists, legs, around his waist… Not tight, and somehow sensual, and impossible to struggle out of. "And you finally noticed that, did you? Took you long enough. That street accent is so hard on the throat. I thought I’d go for a change." Another gesture, and the camisole and shorts were replaced by a pair of tight leather pants and something that could have been considered a corset, if it had been worn under anything else. "Abracadabra," she said with a wink and a grin. "Stay put, ‘big brother’. I’ll be back to finish with you later."
He glared at her, yanking at the sheets although he suspected it wouldn't do much good. "Go see Nathan, why don't you?" He'll do somethin' about this.
"You know, I think I will. But not yet – I’ve got someone else in mind first…" Blowing him a kiss, Amanda opened the door. "Oh, and don’t bother calling for help – these old castles, the walls are so very thick. And the locks tend to stick as well. Try not to miss me too much while I’m gone, hmm?" And with that, she was gone, the unmistakeable sound of a lock turning clearly audible in the suddenly quiet room.
Angelo shot another deadly look at the door, still struggling against the constricting sheets. Sincerely hoping Nathan's telepathy was back up to scratch, he "shouted", NATHAN! HELP!
Shadows Fall: Moira. While Nathan is responding to Angelo's mental call for help, Moira gets a visitor.
Moira frowned, half way out of bed when Nathan bolted for the door. He'd given her a quick "Stay here" and, well, after everything she didn't want to disagree with him. On top of that, her stomach was unsettled and she was having a rough time keeping whatever she had eaten down. But still, she needed to be up and alert in case this was something of an emergency.
Nathan had only been gone a minute or two when there came a feeble tapping on the door. "Moira?" came Amanda's voice, sounding small and lost. "Are you there?"
"Aye, I'm 'ere, lass. Door's open." Reaching over, she grabbed the silk robe that her cousin had bought her for Christmas. Padding over, she reached the door right as Amanda poked her head in. "Everythin' all right?"
"Where's Nate?" the girl asked, peering around cautiously, keeping the door between Moira and herself.
She looked liked she'd hadn't been sleeping very well, Moira realized. "Actually, I'm nay sure. 'e bolted out o' 'ere pretty fast a few minutes ago. Less, probably. Somethin' 'appened an' 'e 'ad ta check it out. Everythin' okay?"
"It is now." With that, Amanda stepped around the door, closing it behind her and leaning back against it. There was a click as it locked itself. "I needed to talk to you about some things." She definitely wasn't dressed for bed, the leather pants tight enough to look painted on, and the bodice barely covering what it was supposed to. "I can't keep pretending any more. It isn't fair on you."
Things had certainly taken a turn for the bizarre. Moira frowned and crossed her arms, wondering if that light sound had been the lock on her door. "Wha' on eart' are ye talkin' 'bout, gloamin'?" she asked, watching her a bit warily. Something was not right, that was for certain, and she didn't know if it had anything to do with the reason that Nathan had to leave in a hurry.
"After Vegas, Nate and I... you really didn't think that whole trip was about father-daughter bonding, did you? Well, there was bonding, but not the sort you can come home and tell stories about. 'Who I Did On My Summer Vacation'..." Amanda giggled, a nasty, cruel sound. "Had to happen eventually, especially now you're pregnant. You can't really think he's happy about that, can you? He's terrified out of his mind." Pushing herself away from the door, she advanced towards Moira. "Face, it 'Mum', why do you think he's so attached to me?"
A second before she opened her mouth to say _something_ cruel back, she clamped it shut, fingers digging deeply into her muscles of her arms. "Why on eart' would ye say somethin' like tha', Amanda?" she breathed, glaring at her. "Ye know perfectly well tha' Nathan would never touch ye like tha' an' nay jus' for me sake. Wit' th' link, I would 'ave known." Oh yes, something was wrong and very off. As Amanda advanced, Moira stood her ground, waiting to see what came next. And she sounded so off.
"Links can be blocked," Amanda pointed out, still with that malicious smile. "You think you're the expert on links? Try fucking an empath sometime." A flicker of something, irritation almost, crossed her face as Moira refused to back down, and she tried another tack. "And I've decided I don't need your training any more. It's not doing me a bit of good - I'm just as addicted to the power as I ever was. 'Though, to be fair, it's not like you've really had that good a track record for helping the children you consider yours. Me, Marie-Ange... Kevin..."
There was a slight bit of recoil at that last one but she quickly steeled herself. "I've been through fuckin' 'ell th' last few days, _luv_," she said quietly but with a barely controlled rage. "I've 'ad me 'ead messed wit' enough. An' I saw 'ow Jamie's alter-ego acted...last time I checked, ye 'ad an accent."
"Now that's the pot calling the kettle black..." Amanda seemed amused that she'd finally scored a hit. "Have you tried talking like that all the time? It's a right pain in the vocal chords, if you get wot I mean..." This last was said in an exaggerated, clearly-imitated version of Amanda's accent. "But if you don't want me messing with your head, I suppose I could mess with other things..." A lit cigarette appeared suddenly in her hand, and she pushed Moira hard back towards a chair with the other. "You're such an annoying busy-body, you know that? Always in my face, wanting to know what's wrong, the whole mother act. You think that's appreciated?"
The chair rocked back slightly as Moira was shoved into it, sudden flash backs of Mistra dancing before her eyes. Gripping the back of the chair with one hand, she cradled her other over her stomach as she started to get back up. "As a matter o' fact, I do know tha' 'tis appreciated. I'm nay sure wha's goin' on 'ere, but yer nay th' Amanda who curled up on me lap jus' a wee while ago lookin' for some comfort. I'm powerless, nay stupid."
"No, you're not. Not like Angelo - talk about clueless. He still doesn't realise it's not..." The girl caught herself, and pushed down on Moira's shoulder to ensure she stayed down. A harsh-sounding word and a gesture, and the sash of Moira's robe snaked around the chair, binding her to it. "Comfortable? Not that it matters..." In a parody of the affectionate gesture she sometimes used, she ran her fingers along Moira's face. "Poor little powerless human. How can you stand it?"
If this was still Amanda's body -- because God knows it could not be -- she would still need to be careful. Unfortunately, she could not just sit there and do nothing. Not when the cigarette was still lit and getting closer. When Amanda, or whoever, stepped in to touch her face, she had closed the gap between them. Moira didn't baulk at the caress, simply glared up at her. "Wha'? Dinnae realize tha' yer nay Amanda? Played this game lon' enough ta fool most, aye? Tell ye a secret...I stand it because it doesnae affect me. An' I'm smarter than ye are."
With that, her leg which had thankfully been left untouched by the binding sash, snaked out and caught Amanda around the knee caps and yanked, sending her tumbling backwards. Hopefully to the floor but if not, space was just as good.
Amanda did indeed stumble backwards, but caught herself before hitting the floor, floating in mid-air before pulling herself upright again. "That," she hissed, and there was no pretence at play, or at being Amanda – her eyes were glowing red now. "That wasn't very clever. I was only going to tease you a bit... now I'm going to hurt you."
"Bloody unlikely," Moira spat and then opened the link as wide as she possibly could. #NATHAN!# "I'd start runnin', if I were ye."
Shadows Fall: Nathan. Nathan returns and the mystery is revealed. The Askani are most unhappy about the situation.
Amanda looked up at Nathan's approach, eyes still glowing that eerie red. "Uh-oh, Daddy's home," she said with a nasty giggle as she crossed to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway. Gesturing, she slammed the door behind her, locking the doctor inside. "I suppose you're going to spoil all my fun now?" Placing her hands on her hips in such a way that pushed her breasts forward in the skimpy black bodice, she cocked her head at him enquiringly. "I think I need a spanking, I've been very bad."
Nathan stopped, staring incredulously at her. "Amanda," he said in disbelief, still reeling over what he'd found out from Angelo and what Moira was filling him in about via the link. "What the hell are you doing? What's gotten into you?" He advanced on her, noticing but not giving a damn about her clothing or her deliberately provocative posture.
"Nothing's gotten into me, maybe that's the problem?" she suggested, mock innocently. Her accent had smoothed into something almost New England-ish. "Angelo was too much of a little boy to play - do you think you're man enough to handle me, Nate? I won't tell Moira, it'll be our little secret, like New Mexico..." There was a cruel cast to her face that he'd never seen before, an enjoyment in what she was doing, and it was almost as if the shadows were clumping together around her, wrapping her in darkness.
Nathan stopped, raising an eyebrow as the Askani started to murmur at him, low but urgent. The accent. Like Manuel, after... "I knocked you out once," he said very flatly. Whatever was going on, he somehow doubted sweet reason was going to be much help. "I can sure as hell do it again while I figure out whatever's wrong with you."
"Ooh, bad Daddy. It's not nice to threaten little girls..." Amanda's tone was just as playful, but her face had hardened. "And do you really think I'll let you do that again? You won't find it half as easy - do you really want to risk messing things up in here?" She tapped her forehead meaningfully. "Magic leaves its marks, you know, and there has been an awful lot of magic lately. Things are a bit... delicate. You wouldn't want to push too hard, in the wrong place. Something might go boom, and you'll end up with nothing more than a vegetable." A cruel smile crossed her face. "Another one to the collection."
Nathan leaned a little closer. "Then I don't do it telepathically," he said coldly. Whatever was going on, he thought dimly, this wasn't... quite Amanda. Something had shifted to an extent that stress couldn't explain. "Knock you out quickly, angst about raising a hand to you later. Unless you want to tell me what's going on."
"Are you sure you don't want to guess?" Amanda teased mockingly. "You're such a spoilsport." Nathan moved a little closer, and she waved her finger at him warningly, the shielding spell springing up around her. "Uh-uh, not if you're going to get all physical on he... me. Still, that wouldn't be anything new - you like this face all bruised and battered, don't you? Gives you an excuse to be all growly and protective."
Nathan caught the slip. "Who are you?" he demanded. When she didn't answer, he narrowed his eyes, his perceptions kicking downwards several levels, and lashed out with one of the Askani techniques. Her shield shattered instantly. "Who," he repeated in a growl, advancing on her, "are you?"
"The snake in your midst," she taunted, her voice no longer even vaguely resembling Amanda's. "The one pulling the strings of this delightful little puppet. Yet another failure on your hands. You looked for me in all the wrong places, never once suspecting I was where I had been all along..." She kissed her fingers and waved them mockingly in his direction. "You can refer to me as 'Your Majesty'."
Selene. Nathan's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed again. Something shifted in his mind, the Askani roaring forward in that composite self and pushing into the forefront, melding with his thoughts in a way they rarely did. The firebird effect flared into life, wings unfolding around him.
"Shall we remove you, then?"
"It depends on how much damage you want to do to this rather adorable little body I'm in. You all seem terribly fond of it." Selene looked unphased by the pyrotechnics, although she had a sudden feeling that things weren't going as they were intended, on either end... The amount of energy Cable was exuding 'though... tempting. So very tempting. She'd never tried absorbing the psychic energies of an entire people before. "Then again, she is already damaged," she went on, nonchalantly, buffing the nails of her borrowed form on the front of her blouse before looking up with a wicked gleam to her eyes. "Shall we dance, 'old man'?"
Nathan felt a dim flicker of startlement as the Askani lowered his shields and just stood there, waiting. But then understanding hit him, as the patterns inside his mind shifted, reshaping themselves into spikes and spirals... traps. "You're not leaving this place," he/they said, utterly calm. "If we have to pull you into his mind and deal with you there, we will."
"Oh, I think I am," Selene replied, before a warning tug on the link Amanda shared with Manuel told her she really ought to be focussing her attention on the boy. He was, after all, her doorway to the pair of them. "So sorry to cut this short, Daddy dearest, but I really must run." All trace of banter left her voice as she stared Nathan and the Askani down. "We'll just have to take this up another time, won't we? All of us." And with that, she was gone, back down the link and into Manuel's mind, where the coven were preparing to finish the ritual.
Amanda blinked, swaying on her feet as the red light left her eyes. "What the bloody hell...?" she murmured, looking down at herself. She'd been getting ready for bed, tried nudging Manuel down the link, and then... She couldn't remember. And she felt so cold, and tired, like she'd been using a lot of magic, and there was something in her head, the psychic equivalent of waking up with a horrible taste in your mouth... Focussing on Nathan, she frowned at the firebird still enveloping him. "Nate? 'S somethin' wrong?" Behind her there was a click as the lock on Moira's door finally unlatched.
The link. She'd retreated down the link. Nathan went ashen. "Amanda?" he said with some difficulty, focusing on her. "Are you... are you all right?" Romany. He had to figure out a way to get in touch with Romany, if he could, if disaster hadn't struck there already...
"'M cold," she replied through chattering teeth. "An' what the fuck am I wearin'?" Her head was aching now too, and the link felt, the link... She reached for it, and backed away again with a cry of revulsion, grabbing at her head as the room abruptly tilted. She was on the other end of the link, holding her back, stopping her from helping him. "Manuel... that bitch has him. I can't..." Amanda stumbled to her knees, still clutching at her head, which felt like it was threatening to burst. Something was wrong...
Nathan's jaw clenched as Askani whispered to him. He reached out and shielded Amanda, not caring whether or not she objected to him blocking the link. Whatever Romany was doing with Manuel, they didn't need Selene jumping back to Amanda in the middle of it. "Breathe," he said, harshly but gently, reaching down to guide her back to lean against the wall as Moira finally emerged. #Look after her,# he sent. #I've got to try the phones, see if I can't get through to someone at Romany's, or Pete...#
Amanda whimpered as the link suddenly went dead, the pain receding. "I should've known," she whispered, not really aware of
Nathan or Moira's hands supporting her, remembering only the sick feeling of triumph coming down the link. "She was there, all along, and I should've known, should've felt..." It was cold, so cold, and she couldn't feel her legs, couldn't feel anything except Selene's touch in her mind, toxic and heavy with evil. Teeth chattering, shivering almost violently, she slid down the wall as Moira came to support her.
Nathan went for the nearest phone, rapidly calling up the number out of his memory. The firebird-effect was oddly slow to fade as the Askani retreated a little, and his hands were shaking as he dialed. Be all right, damn it... he thought desperately.
There was the sound of the phone dialling, abruptly cut off in a swirl of static, as had happened frequently as the storms had rolled in. Nathan was about to hang up on the dead line when a voice, young, male, abruptly cut in. "Um, hello? This is Muir Island, isn't it? I need to speak to a Moira Mactaggart or a Nathan Dayspring rather urgently, I'm afraid. And could someone do me a dreadful favour and turn on a computer screen? BT is a bit of a bastard to hack into."
Nathan dropped the phone on the table, not hanging it up, and turned to the laptop sitting on the desk, opening it and switching it on without another word.
"Ah, that's much better," came the voice, sounding much clearer than before, albeit slightly tinny through the laptop's speakers. "I don't normally use telephone lines - far too limited. Would I be right in assuming I have one of the people I asked for? This computer doesn't have a webcam built in, so I can't see you. I'm Colin, by the way. One of Homily's people."
"This is Nathan." Calmly. No shouting at the disembodied voice coming through the computer. "I'm assuming by the fact that you called me as I was trying to call Romany that you're already aware of what's happening."
"Oh, yes, of course..." Colin sounded a little abashed. "It looks like things might have gotten a bit out of hand with the cleansing ritual being done on Manuel - we've only just managed to get through the door. Romany told me to call you, because of this link thing. Is Amanda all right?"
A little out of hand. The Askani snarled and the firebird roared back into life around him before he could stop it, an errant wing knocking furniture over. Wrestling it and them back under control was... not the easiest thing to do, but it needed to be done, so he did it. Only then did he answer Colin, rather glad that the other man couldn't see him.
"She is not all right," he said as calmly as he could. "Selene was in control of her body and fled back down the link. Is Manuel all right?"
"We think so, yes. Hang on a minute..." There was a long pause, and then Romany's voice came through the speakers, sounding more worn and tired than Nathan could remember hearing before.
"Nathan? Romany. Manuel will be fine, I think... it's hard to tell. Selene gave us more of a fight than we expected. His powers... she used his powers against us, but we got her in the end, with a bit of help."
Got her as in 'ding-dong, the witch is dead?' Nathan wanted to ask, but didn't. "She was here," he said tightly. "In Amanda. Didn't do any physical damage to anyone, but she had some time to amuse herself before I got to her." He took a deep breath. "She fled back down the link, I felt it - I'm not sure whether it was because of what you were doing with Manuel, or the fact that the Askani were threatening to have at her." Or both, maybe. "Amanda's pretty badly shaken up." And that was an understatement.
"Oh bloody hell..." Romany's voice faded, then came back a little stronger. "I can't talk long, Nathan, I just don't have it in me. We tried to shield the link, but obviously not well enough... I'll be there tomorrow, as soon as I can. In the meantime, tell Miora to treat her like she would for shock?" There was another pause, and then: "You probably should keep her locked up, just in case. Take the amulet from her as well - she won't be able to do any magic that way." There came a noise that was disturbingly like a sob, and Romany added: "I'm so sorry, Nathan. She blindsided us completely. I should have warned you, but we thought we had things under control..."
"Romany." He took a deep breath, then shook his head. "Take care of yourselves and Manuel. I'll hold the fort here, and see you tomorrow."
Shadows Fall: Angelo - Angelo is called on to comfort his little sister, and things take a turn for the disturbing...
There was a soft tapping at the door of the room Angelo and Paige were sharing (since Moira had good-humouredly said they'd end up in the same bed any way and this reduced the cold feet factor, not to mention potential embarrassment with early-morning wakeup calls), and Amanda's voice, quiet but urgent: "Ange? You there?" Another soft knock, and a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob.
Frowning, he glanced at Paige, who shrugged, and made his way to the door, opening it quickly. "Amanda? What's wrong?"
It was a most woebegone witch that met his eyes, standing shivering in the hallway wearing not much more than a black camisole and matching shorts, eyes big and scared in her pale face. "I had a nightmare," she almost whimpered. "About… about that night, at the Hellfire Club. There were hands…" Another sob escaped, and she buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking slightly.
He stepped forward to wrap his arms around her carefully. "Oh, little sis. It's okay, you're safe now..."
"I'm sorry... you were asleep and I'm being a bother... But it was so real, and I couldn't make it stop..." Amanda's arms came round to wrap almost desperately around his waist. "Can you... Can you come stay with me? Like you did before? Just until I sleep?" she asked, voice muffled against his bare chest. "If Paige don't mind?"
He glanced back through the open door, unwilling to detach himself from a clearly distressed Amanda, and had a brief signalled conversation with Paige that ended with him nodding and closing the door. "Sure. Till you fall asleep."
Amanda's room was the next one down - again, Moira's doing - so it didn't take long to get the shivering girl back there. Since she was unwilling to let him go, Angelo ended up sitting beside her on the bed, with her arms wrapped around his waist and her head on his shoulder, practically burying her face in his neck. "It seemed so real," she repeated, shuddering. "Alphonso was there, watching everything, and there were these men, with masks, and they... they..."
All he could do was repeat, "It wasn't real. You're not there, and they aren't here."
"But what if it was? What if it wasn't a dream, it was my memory coming back? What if that's what they did?" She was shivering almost violently now. "The things they did... I'm scared that if it's true, no-one will want to touch me ever again."
"If that's what they did, it's on their heads, not yours", he tried to reassure her. "If anybody would react like that, they're not worth knowing."
"Manuel... Manuel won't. Touch me, that is. I think it's because he knows, thinks there's something dirty about me..." Amanda shifted slightly, the strap of her camisole sliding off her shoulder. Her deathgrip around his waist loosened, her hands relaxing and brushing his sides, apparently by accident.
He barely noticed, for the moment at least. "Manuel's not himself right now, Amanda. You know that. He barely knows who he is, let alone what was done to you."
"He knows enough to blame himself - he told me that himself. He thinks it's all his fault I got hurt. If he knew what happened... he'd never come near me again, and I couldn't handle that. It's been hard enough this last month..." Seeking warmth, Amanda snuggled closer until she was practically sitting in Angelo's lap. "All this time, not being able to love, and now I do, it kills me that he isn't himself any more..."
Angelo wrapped his arms around her, holding her to give her the comfort she clearly needed. "Don't give up hope yet. He might still come back."
"Come back from where? I've seen inside his head, Ange, there's nothing left but fragments. Manuel de la Rocha's dead, and there's nothing left but this person who looks like him but isn't him at all." Amanda sighed softly, the gust of breath tickling Angelo's neck. "Maybe I should let him go. Get the link taken away, let him be free to make his own life, without me and my hassles in it. Before he starts hating me for what I couldn't do." Her shoulders slumped, one hand dropping limply to rest barely touching his backside, and other on his leg. "I'm tired of ending up alone, Ange. It keeps happening."
He shifted forward unobtrusively, away from the hand on his backside. It was almost certainly innocent, he knew, but all the same. "Do youlove the person he is now? Or could you? And you're not alone."
"I don’t know. Maybe. It’s just hard, especially when him trying to remember anything makes him sick." Unobtrusive or not, the shift was noticed, and Amanda stiffened and pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself. "And I am alone. You have Paige, Angie has Doug, Kitty has Jamie… Even Moira and Nate are like a couple of teenagers, all over each other, not to mention Alison and that git Haroun… It’s a great joke, isn’t it? Tough girl lets herself love, and now she’s lost it."
"Even if you lose Manuel, which you might not have yet, that doesn't make you alone", he reminded her, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "I promised you that, didn't I?"
"It’s not what I mean, Ange. It’s all right for you – you’ve got Paige waiting in that bed for you. Me? I’ve got a bunch of scars and a heedful of magic and a history that either scares them away or gets them hurt." Yanking her hand away from his, she stood, arms still wrapped around herself defensively and shoulders hunched. "Who am I bloody kidding? I’m just a freak, even to you lot."
"You are not a freak to me", he told her firmly, getting up and moving to her side. "You know damn well my history's not much better, and you've seen my scars."
"I'm sorry, I'm being stupid - that dream really bothered me, and I think something's wrong with Manuel..." She gave him a half-shrug, the one that said everything wasn't fine, but she was going to pretend it was. "Go on back to Paige - you don't need all this." Then with an almost-bashful look up at him. "Can I have a goodnight hug first?"
He knew that shrug, and frowned. "I said I'll stay until you sleep, and if you still want me to... of course you can have a hug."
Amanda stepped into the offered hug, her skin icy against his, one arm looping around his neck. "Love you, big brother," she murmured, pressing a kiss against his cheek.
He hugged her back willingly, this being nothing unusual. "Love you too, little sis."
"No kiss goodnight?" she asked with a small pout and the extra-cute look.
He chuckled, and dutifully bent down to kiss her cheek in return.
She shifted in his arms, pressing up against him in ways little sisters should definitely not touch their big brothers, and turning her head so the kiss landed on her mouth and not her cheek. With her hand on the back of his neck he couldn't pull back as she deepened the kiss, the tongue stud expertly applied.
He yelped slightly in shock, but was unable to keep from responding for a moment, both in terms of returning the kiss and... other physical responses. Finally, he reached up to pull her hand away, stepping back firmly. His eyes were wide as he stared at her. "Amanda... what...?"
"My goodnight kiss," she replied innocently, but the smile on her face was anything but, and wasn't there just the faintest hint of red about her eyes? "You can't say you didn't enjoy it now, 'big brother', not with that sort of reaction." She took a step towards him, and he backed away, knees contacting with the edge of the bed and forcing him to sit. Still with that predatory smile, Amanda advanced on him, movements slow and sexy. "And tell the truth - haven't you always wondered what it'd be like? Just a little bit?"
He scooted back across the bed, trying to maintain the distance between them without taking his eyes off her. "Wondering's not the same as wanting! I can't help..."
"But you can help," she told him, still with that lazy, somehow cruel smile on her face. "You could help me a whole lot, Angelo. Paige wouldn't have to know - it would be our little secret. Because that's what we're good at, isn't it? Sharing secrets?" Angelo's back hit the stone of the wall on the other side of the bed, and the smile grew wider. "You're running out of places to run, 'big brother'. Why not accept the inevitable?"
He shot a quick look at the door, trying to judge if he could reach it before she did. "It's not inevitable. An' you're not yourself, you wouldn't be doin' this if you were. You're not even talkin' like you."
She caught his glance at the door and wagged her finger at him. "Uh-uh, no running away, Angelo. Even if it’s what you’re best at. I think you would be better off staying right here. Can’t have you spoiling my playtime too soon, can we?" The reddish glow intensified in her eyes as she gestured, the bed sheets snaking up to wrap around him – wrists, legs, around his waist… Not tight, and somehow sensual, and impossible to struggle out of. "And you finally noticed that, did you? Took you long enough. That street accent is so hard on the throat. I thought I’d go for a change." Another gesture, and the camisole and shorts were replaced by a pair of tight leather pants and something that could have been considered a corset, if it had been worn under anything else. "Abracadabra," she said with a wink and a grin. "Stay put, ‘big brother’. I’ll be back to finish with you later."
He glared at her, yanking at the sheets although he suspected it wouldn't do much good. "Go see Nathan, why don't you?" He'll do somethin' about this.
"You know, I think I will. But not yet – I’ve got someone else in mind first…" Blowing him a kiss, Amanda opened the door. "Oh, and don’t bother calling for help – these old castles, the walls are so very thick. And the locks tend to stick as well. Try not to miss me too much while I’m gone, hmm?" And with that, she was gone, the unmistakeable sound of a lock turning clearly audible in the suddenly quiet room.
Angelo shot another deadly look at the door, still struggling against the constricting sheets. Sincerely hoping Nathan's telepathy was back up to scratch, he "shouted", NATHAN! HELP!
Shadows Fall: Moira. While Nathan is responding to Angelo's mental call for help, Moira gets a visitor.
Moira frowned, half way out of bed when Nathan bolted for the door. He'd given her a quick "Stay here" and, well, after everything she didn't want to disagree with him. On top of that, her stomach was unsettled and she was having a rough time keeping whatever she had eaten down. But still, she needed to be up and alert in case this was something of an emergency.
Nathan had only been gone a minute or two when there came a feeble tapping on the door. "Moira?" came Amanda's voice, sounding small and lost. "Are you there?"
"Aye, I'm 'ere, lass. Door's open." Reaching over, she grabbed the silk robe that her cousin had bought her for Christmas. Padding over, she reached the door right as Amanda poked her head in. "Everythin' all right?"
"Where's Nate?" the girl asked, peering around cautiously, keeping the door between Moira and herself.
She looked liked she'd hadn't been sleeping very well, Moira realized. "Actually, I'm nay sure. 'e bolted out o' 'ere pretty fast a few minutes ago. Less, probably. Somethin' 'appened an' 'e 'ad ta check it out. Everythin' okay?"
"It is now." With that, Amanda stepped around the door, closing it behind her and leaning back against it. There was a click as it locked itself. "I needed to talk to you about some things." She definitely wasn't dressed for bed, the leather pants tight enough to look painted on, and the bodice barely covering what it was supposed to. "I can't keep pretending any more. It isn't fair on you."
Things had certainly taken a turn for the bizarre. Moira frowned and crossed her arms, wondering if that light sound had been the lock on her door. "Wha' on eart' are ye talkin' 'bout, gloamin'?" she asked, watching her a bit warily. Something was not right, that was for certain, and she didn't know if it had anything to do with the reason that Nathan had to leave in a hurry.
"After Vegas, Nate and I... you really didn't think that whole trip was about father-daughter bonding, did you? Well, there was bonding, but not the sort you can come home and tell stories about. 'Who I Did On My Summer Vacation'..." Amanda giggled, a nasty, cruel sound. "Had to happen eventually, especially now you're pregnant. You can't really think he's happy about that, can you? He's terrified out of his mind." Pushing herself away from the door, she advanced towards Moira. "Face, it 'Mum', why do you think he's so attached to me?"
A second before she opened her mouth to say _something_ cruel back, she clamped it shut, fingers digging deeply into her muscles of her arms. "Why on eart' would ye say somethin' like tha', Amanda?" she breathed, glaring at her. "Ye know perfectly well tha' Nathan would never touch ye like tha' an' nay jus' for me sake. Wit' th' link, I would 'ave known." Oh yes, something was wrong and very off. As Amanda advanced, Moira stood her ground, waiting to see what came next. And she sounded so off.
"Links can be blocked," Amanda pointed out, still with that malicious smile. "You think you're the expert on links? Try fucking an empath sometime." A flicker of something, irritation almost, crossed her face as Moira refused to back down, and she tried another tack. "And I've decided I don't need your training any more. It's not doing me a bit of good - I'm just as addicted to the power as I ever was. 'Though, to be fair, it's not like you've really had that good a track record for helping the children you consider yours. Me, Marie-Ange... Kevin..."
There was a slight bit of recoil at that last one but she quickly steeled herself. "I've been through fuckin' 'ell th' last few days, _luv_," she said quietly but with a barely controlled rage. "I've 'ad me 'ead messed wit' enough. An' I saw 'ow Jamie's alter-ego acted...last time I checked, ye 'ad an accent."
"Now that's the pot calling the kettle black..." Amanda seemed amused that she'd finally scored a hit. "Have you tried talking like that all the time? It's a right pain in the vocal chords, if you get wot I mean..." This last was said in an exaggerated, clearly-imitated version of Amanda's accent. "But if you don't want me messing with your head, I suppose I could mess with other things..." A lit cigarette appeared suddenly in her hand, and she pushed Moira hard back towards a chair with the other. "You're such an annoying busy-body, you know that? Always in my face, wanting to know what's wrong, the whole mother act. You think that's appreciated?"
The chair rocked back slightly as Moira was shoved into it, sudden flash backs of Mistra dancing before her eyes. Gripping the back of the chair with one hand, she cradled her other over her stomach as she started to get back up. "As a matter o' fact, I do know tha' 'tis appreciated. I'm nay sure wha's goin' on 'ere, but yer nay th' Amanda who curled up on me lap jus' a wee while ago lookin' for some comfort. I'm powerless, nay stupid."
"No, you're not. Not like Angelo - talk about clueless. He still doesn't realise it's not..." The girl caught herself, and pushed down on Moira's shoulder to ensure she stayed down. A harsh-sounding word and a gesture, and the sash of Moira's robe snaked around the chair, binding her to it. "Comfortable? Not that it matters..." In a parody of the affectionate gesture she sometimes used, she ran her fingers along Moira's face. "Poor little powerless human. How can you stand it?"
If this was still Amanda's body -- because God knows it could not be -- she would still need to be careful. Unfortunately, she could not just sit there and do nothing. Not when the cigarette was still lit and getting closer. When Amanda, or whoever, stepped in to touch her face, she had closed the gap between them. Moira didn't baulk at the caress, simply glared up at her. "Wha'? Dinnae realize tha' yer nay Amanda? Played this game lon' enough ta fool most, aye? Tell ye a secret...I stand it because it doesnae affect me. An' I'm smarter than ye are."
With that, her leg which had thankfully been left untouched by the binding sash, snaked out and caught Amanda around the knee caps and yanked, sending her tumbling backwards. Hopefully to the floor but if not, space was just as good.
Amanda did indeed stumble backwards, but caught herself before hitting the floor, floating in mid-air before pulling herself upright again. "That," she hissed, and there was no pretence at play, or at being Amanda – her eyes were glowing red now. "That wasn't very clever. I was only going to tease you a bit... now I'm going to hurt you."
"Bloody unlikely," Moira spat and then opened the link as wide as she possibly could. #NATHAN!# "I'd start runnin', if I were ye."
Shadows Fall: Nathan. Nathan returns and the mystery is revealed. The Askani are most unhappy about the situation.
Amanda looked up at Nathan's approach, eyes still glowing that eerie red. "Uh-oh, Daddy's home," she said with a nasty giggle as she crossed to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway. Gesturing, she slammed the door behind her, locking the doctor inside. "I suppose you're going to spoil all my fun now?" Placing her hands on her hips in such a way that pushed her breasts forward in the skimpy black bodice, she cocked her head at him enquiringly. "I think I need a spanking, I've been very bad."
Nathan stopped, staring incredulously at her. "Amanda," he said in disbelief, still reeling over what he'd found out from Angelo and what Moira was filling him in about via the link. "What the hell are you doing? What's gotten into you?" He advanced on her, noticing but not giving a damn about her clothing or her deliberately provocative posture.
"Nothing's gotten into me, maybe that's the problem?" she suggested, mock innocently. Her accent had smoothed into something almost New England-ish. "Angelo was too much of a little boy to play - do you think you're man enough to handle me, Nate? I won't tell Moira, it'll be our little secret, like New Mexico..." There was a cruel cast to her face that he'd never seen before, an enjoyment in what she was doing, and it was almost as if the shadows were clumping together around her, wrapping her in darkness.
Nathan stopped, raising an eyebrow as the Askani started to murmur at him, low but urgent. The accent. Like Manuel, after... "I knocked you out once," he said very flatly. Whatever was going on, he somehow doubted sweet reason was going to be much help. "I can sure as hell do it again while I figure out whatever's wrong with you."
"Ooh, bad Daddy. It's not nice to threaten little girls..." Amanda's tone was just as playful, but her face had hardened. "And do you really think I'll let you do that again? You won't find it half as easy - do you really want to risk messing things up in here?" She tapped her forehead meaningfully. "Magic leaves its marks, you know, and there has been an awful lot of magic lately. Things are a bit... delicate. You wouldn't want to push too hard, in the wrong place. Something might go boom, and you'll end up with nothing more than a vegetable." A cruel smile crossed her face. "Another one to the collection."
Nathan leaned a little closer. "Then I don't do it telepathically," he said coldly. Whatever was going on, he thought dimly, this wasn't... quite Amanda. Something had shifted to an extent that stress couldn't explain. "Knock you out quickly, angst about raising a hand to you later. Unless you want to tell me what's going on."
"Are you sure you don't want to guess?" Amanda teased mockingly. "You're such a spoilsport." Nathan moved a little closer, and she waved her finger at him warningly, the shielding spell springing up around her. "Uh-uh, not if you're going to get all physical on he... me. Still, that wouldn't be anything new - you like this face all bruised and battered, don't you? Gives you an excuse to be all growly and protective."
Nathan caught the slip. "Who are you?" he demanded. When she didn't answer, he narrowed his eyes, his perceptions kicking downwards several levels, and lashed out with one of the Askani techniques. Her shield shattered instantly. "Who," he repeated in a growl, advancing on her, "are you?"
"The snake in your midst," she taunted, her voice no longer even vaguely resembling Amanda's. "The one pulling the strings of this delightful little puppet. Yet another failure on your hands. You looked for me in all the wrong places, never once suspecting I was where I had been all along..." She kissed her fingers and waved them mockingly in his direction. "You can refer to me as 'Your Majesty'."
Selene. Nathan's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed again. Something shifted in his mind, the Askani roaring forward in that composite self and pushing into the forefront, melding with his thoughts in a way they rarely did. The firebird effect flared into life, wings unfolding around him.
"Shall we remove you, then?"
"It depends on how much damage you want to do to this rather adorable little body I'm in. You all seem terribly fond of it." Selene looked unphased by the pyrotechnics, although she had a sudden feeling that things weren't going as they were intended, on either end... The amount of energy Cable was exuding 'though... tempting. So very tempting. She'd never tried absorbing the psychic energies of an entire people before. "Then again, she is already damaged," she went on, nonchalantly, buffing the nails of her borrowed form on the front of her blouse before looking up with a wicked gleam to her eyes. "Shall we dance, 'old man'?"
Nathan felt a dim flicker of startlement as the Askani lowered his shields and just stood there, waiting. But then understanding hit him, as the patterns inside his mind shifted, reshaping themselves into spikes and spirals... traps. "You're not leaving this place," he/they said, utterly calm. "If we have to pull you into his mind and deal with you there, we will."
"Oh, I think I am," Selene replied, before a warning tug on the link Amanda shared with Manuel told her she really ought to be focussing her attention on the boy. He was, after all, her doorway to the pair of them. "So sorry to cut this short, Daddy dearest, but I really must run." All trace of banter left her voice as she stared Nathan and the Askani down. "We'll just have to take this up another time, won't we? All of us." And with that, she was gone, back down the link and into Manuel's mind, where the coven were preparing to finish the ritual.
Amanda blinked, swaying on her feet as the red light left her eyes. "What the bloody hell...?" she murmured, looking down at herself. She'd been getting ready for bed, tried nudging Manuel down the link, and then... She couldn't remember. And she felt so cold, and tired, like she'd been using a lot of magic, and there was something in her head, the psychic equivalent of waking up with a horrible taste in your mouth... Focussing on Nathan, she frowned at the firebird still enveloping him. "Nate? 'S somethin' wrong?" Behind her there was a click as the lock on Moira's door finally unlatched.
The link. She'd retreated down the link. Nathan went ashen. "Amanda?" he said with some difficulty, focusing on her. "Are you... are you all right?" Romany. He had to figure out a way to get in touch with Romany, if he could, if disaster hadn't struck there already...
"'M cold," she replied through chattering teeth. "An' what the fuck am I wearin'?" Her head was aching now too, and the link felt, the link... She reached for it, and backed away again with a cry of revulsion, grabbing at her head as the room abruptly tilted. She was on the other end of the link, holding her back, stopping her from helping him. "Manuel... that bitch has him. I can't..." Amanda stumbled to her knees, still clutching at her head, which felt like it was threatening to burst. Something was wrong...
Nathan's jaw clenched as Askani whispered to him. He reached out and shielded Amanda, not caring whether or not she objected to him blocking the link. Whatever Romany was doing with Manuel, they didn't need Selene jumping back to Amanda in the middle of it. "Breathe," he said, harshly but gently, reaching down to guide her back to lean against the wall as Moira finally emerged. #Look after her,# he sent. #I've got to try the phones, see if I can't get through to someone at Romany's, or Pete...#
Amanda whimpered as the link suddenly went dead, the pain receding. "I should've known," she whispered, not really aware of
Nathan or Moira's hands supporting her, remembering only the sick feeling of triumph coming down the link. "She was there, all along, and I should've known, should've felt..." It was cold, so cold, and she couldn't feel her legs, couldn't feel anything except Selene's touch in her mind, toxic and heavy with evil. Teeth chattering, shivering almost violently, she slid down the wall as Moira came to support her.
Nathan went for the nearest phone, rapidly calling up the number out of his memory. The firebird-effect was oddly slow to fade as the Askani retreated a little, and his hands were shaking as he dialed. Be all right, damn it... he thought desperately.
There was the sound of the phone dialling, abruptly cut off in a swirl of static, as had happened frequently as the storms had rolled in. Nathan was about to hang up on the dead line when a voice, young, male, abruptly cut in. "Um, hello? This is Muir Island, isn't it? I need to speak to a Moira Mactaggart or a Nathan Dayspring rather urgently, I'm afraid. And could someone do me a dreadful favour and turn on a computer screen? BT is a bit of a bastard to hack into."
Nathan dropped the phone on the table, not hanging it up, and turned to the laptop sitting on the desk, opening it and switching it on without another word.
"Ah, that's much better," came the voice, sounding much clearer than before, albeit slightly tinny through the laptop's speakers. "I don't normally use telephone lines - far too limited. Would I be right in assuming I have one of the people I asked for? This computer doesn't have a webcam built in, so I can't see you. I'm Colin, by the way. One of Homily's people."
"This is Nathan." Calmly. No shouting at the disembodied voice coming through the computer. "I'm assuming by the fact that you called me as I was trying to call Romany that you're already aware of what's happening."
"Oh, yes, of course..." Colin sounded a little abashed. "It looks like things might have gotten a bit out of hand with the cleansing ritual being done on Manuel - we've only just managed to get through the door. Romany told me to call you, because of this link thing. Is Amanda all right?"
A little out of hand. The Askani snarled and the firebird roared back into life around him before he could stop it, an errant wing knocking furniture over. Wrestling it and them back under control was... not the easiest thing to do, but it needed to be done, so he did it. Only then did he answer Colin, rather glad that the other man couldn't see him.
"She is not all right," he said as calmly as he could. "Selene was in control of her body and fled back down the link. Is Manuel all right?"
"We think so, yes. Hang on a minute..." There was a long pause, and then Romany's voice came through the speakers, sounding more worn and tired than Nathan could remember hearing before.
"Nathan? Romany. Manuel will be fine, I think... it's hard to tell. Selene gave us more of a fight than we expected. His powers... she used his powers against us, but we got her in the end, with a bit of help."
Got her as in 'ding-dong, the witch is dead?' Nathan wanted to ask, but didn't. "She was here," he said tightly. "In Amanda. Didn't do any physical damage to anyone, but she had some time to amuse herself before I got to her." He took a deep breath. "She fled back down the link, I felt it - I'm not sure whether it was because of what you were doing with Manuel, or the fact that the Askani were threatening to have at her." Or both, maybe. "Amanda's pretty badly shaken up." And that was an understatement.
"Oh bloody hell..." Romany's voice faded, then came back a little stronger. "I can't talk long, Nathan, I just don't have it in me. We tried to shield the link, but obviously not well enough... I'll be there tomorrow, as soon as I can. In the meantime, tell Miora to treat her like she would for shock?" There was another pause, and then: "You probably should keep her locked up, just in case. Take the amulet from her as well - she won't be able to do any magic that way." There came a noise that was disturbingly like a sob, and Romany added: "I'm so sorry, Nathan. She blindsided us completely. I should have warned you, but we thought we had things under control..."
"Romany." He took a deep breath, then shook his head. "Take care of yourselves and Manuel. I'll hold the fort here, and see you tomorrow."
