((This is a continuation of Revealations from a Certain Point of View. Please read it first to understand the background.))
Chapter 1: Gathering Forces
New Orleans in late May was already steamy and sultry, making Leena's blouse stick to her within moments of stepping outside the airport. The old city had been reborn after Hurricane Katrina, twenty years ago, but parts of it still retained the charm for which it had been known for. She had lived here for a time, according to her mother Jasmina, on a houseboat tied up at one of the many marinas along the Mississippi's banks. Leena had no memories of it, herself, only the details written by her mother's hand in the journal that had led her here.
Movement caught her eye, someone standing beside a car waving at her. Leena hid a frown as she recognized who was there to meet her; Sarah had been with Jasmina for several years now as a secretary and head of household. Putting a false smile on her face Leena walked over to greet the older woman. "Sarah, I didn't know Mother was in town as well."
"She isn't, Ms Leena. I was asked to make sure of the arrangements for your stay here in New Orleans." Sarah replied, ever efficient and business-like. Even in the sticky weather, Sarah's suit was sharply pressed and unruffled as she opened the back door of the car. "Please, let us retire to the hotel for now. Your mother has set everything up for you."
Leena sighed inwardly, but slid into the car. It was easier than arguing in public with Sarah. Wryly Leena had to wonder how old she'd have to be before Jasmina and Sarah stopped treating her like a child. Then again, when one was over a hundred years old, and the other a young-looking fifty, it might take a long time.
***
"Da, I'm twenty-five years old! Wha' makes ya thin' ye can still butt inta m'lovelife?!" Jhelian Tahalshia shouted, flipping her red-gold hair back out of her face as her dark brown eyes glared at her father.
Blackthorne Tahalshia slouched against a bookcase in the study, one hand resting in his pocket, not the most upstanding image of paternal authority, but the grey at his temples had been well-earned dealing with his headstrong daughter. "He's a werewolf. Werewolves eat people." his crisp British accent adding to the bluntness. "We've had this discussion before, young lady, and my answer is still no."
Jhelian's eyes flashed, for a moment the very image of her mother, complete to the hot Irish temper. "So what?! Jus' because he gets furry e'ery full moon means he's a murd'rur?" Like her mother, the angrier she got, the stronger the Irish in her voice. "He's a Martel! They've gotta huntin' ground full o' deer they go nuts on! They dinna eat -people-." At her feet, traces of magick started to slowly gather, pale flashes of light outlining the beginnings of a swirling cloud.
"See, this is why your mother has me talking to you," Blackthorne replied conversationally, pulling a pouch out of his pocket and calmly rolling up a cigarrette. "The two of you would blow the Manor apart from sheer temper tantrums." He nodded towards his daughter's feet as he lit the rollup, sucking in the calming nicotine.
When she was sixteen, being told she was having a temper tantrum often caused a blowout. Jhelian had matured a bit since then. "Fine." she spat, trying for the icy coldness her mother could inject into the word. Blackthorne managed not to show his amusement as his daughter dissapated the magick with a wave of her hand before turning and stalking out the door.
He shook his head as his wife slipped in the other door. "She's only getting more like you daily, Teamhair-chev," he commented absently, his eyes sliding over the still-trim figure of Teamhair NicIomhair-Tahalshia. Yes, the red-gold hair was going silver, but she had fought against all other signs of age as hard as she could. "She's been hot for that Martel boy since high school."
"Weel, she kin jus' stay hot fer him, 'cause Victor's no more wantin' them t'gether than we are." Teamhair retorted. "I'm still hopin' she'll fin' som'one else ta set her cap on. Ye'd thin' she'd o' found a nice boy a' college, bu' brin' 'er back here, righ' when Victor's boy's back from Europe, an' they're pantin' fer each other 'gain." Even after twenty-seven years in America, Teamhair's accent was as thick as ever. "A' least SeanEric's behavin'..."
"That simply means we've not found out what he's done lately," Blackthorne replied dryly. Jhelian was her mother's daughter. SeanEric was damn near a clone of Blackthorne himself, which meant not a woman in three states was safe. "Since I had the talk with Jhelian, you can do the honors with our son."
"As ye wish, then..." Teamhair sighed. "I'll try ta catch 'im b'fore they leave fer that show in N'Orlins t'night. Hard ta b'lieve th' babes are doin' so weel wit' th' band."
***
"Yes, I want to know when the band arrives," Alexander Zand spoke into his phone. "The 'Tahalshian Magick' has the potential to become a very hot property. I want you there from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave the building, do you understand me? I especially want information on Jhelian Tahalshia, whatever you can get me." He frowned, turning in his chair to look over the London skyline. "No. Do not approach them yet. I will tell you when. Now do your job, and I will contact you later." The phone was hung up with finality, as Alexander rose to stand by the glass window. The reflection showed an Oriental man with carefully styled silver hair brushing the collar of his Armani suit. If one looked at the hair and his eyes, they would think him in his forties, or even his fifties, but Alexander was barely thirty. It was not years that made him seem older, however.
You should go to NewOrleans yourself. the voice whispered in his mind. Alexander frowned at his reflection. "I am needed here, to run the business you and my father left me, Otamio."
The Tahalshia girl is more important. the demon Otamio insisted. The past twenty years had been a constant battle between possessed and possessor, and it annoyed Otamio that this human of his bloodline was stronger than any before him. He had never been able to take full control of the body, and it rankled that those teims he did have control were brief. You must win her to your cause, if you wish to survive this Cycle. Or... you could simply give in and take a wife..
"As you have so often suggested?" Alex interrupted, turning away from the reflection angrily. "So you can continue to body-hop from generation to generation as you have with myself, my father, my grandfather? No. I think not."
Fool! The Bargain made by your ancestor demands a child of your blood! Otamio shouted, surging forward, once again attempting to wrest control from this stupid child of Zand. Alexander cried out, falling to the floor as the demon and his human host fought, the body shaking and shuddering as if suffering a seizure. After several minutes, Zand rose to his feet and picked up the phone.
"Prepare my plane, we're leaving for America within the hour. Make all preparations immediately." Otamio would have only a few hours control.. hopefully it would be long enough. "I have business in New Orleans."
Revelations: Cycle's End
Moderator: LadyTevar
Revelations: Cycle's End
Last edited by LadyTevar on 2006-05-25 09:00pm, edited 1 time in total.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
-
Ford Prefect
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 8254
- Joined: 2005-05-16 04:08am
- Location: The real number domain
((Disclaimer: YES, the names are different. It -could- be because the author screwed up in the first part, and only just discovered that fact. But it's -probably- because a certain 100 year old vampiress didn't care to check her facts. 
Don't worry, the difference will be noted in future chapters.))
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter Two: The Usual Suspects
The cloud of magick warned the Tahalshia cousins that Jhelian was joining them in the Manor's garage. SeanEric brushed his black hair out of his green eyes and looked over to Shadrick with a grin every inch the image of his father Blackthorne. "Pay up."
Shadrick snorted and passed over a twenty before tightening the straps holding the drum set onto the trailer. Unlike SeanEric, who was every inch the jock, Shadrick was the living image of every bishi-hunting anime-girl's dream. Tall, wiry, pale of skin, dark of hair and eyes, it was a constant joke between the two cousins over who got the most fangirls since the band had started.
As Jhelian stormed into the garage, Shadrick's sister Elizabeth stopped her for a hug. Like her brother, she was nearly ethereal, blond haired like her mother, dark eyed like her father Nitram, and like her father seemingly not all there. "It's ok, Jhelly," Elizabeth whispered. "Don't be mad at them, they love you." Out of the six Tahalshia cousins, only Elizabeth could say something that cliche and mean it whole-heartedly. In school she was thought of as 'special', despite getting some of the best grades in her classes. Those who tried teasing her learned early on that her cousins and brother did not like people making Elizabeth cry.
"Are we ready to go now?" Aeron asked, popping up from the other side of the truck. "It's still an hour to New Orleans, you know. I want to get things set up and do a sound check before we go out to eat." Aeron was the odd one out, the geeky computer chick of the family, like her father Philedelphia. But it made her a wizard of keyboards and soundboards, so despite herself she had been pulled into this crazy band idea. She blamed her twin, Jayden.
"Give me just a minute more, sis," Jayden replied, slamming the hood down on the car. Where Aeron was petite, Jayden was large, a head taller than SeanEric or Shadrick. It was one of the running jokes in the family, since Philedelphia was the shortest of his generation, that his son be the tallest of them all. Both twins were surprisingly average otherwise; brown of hair and eyes, or would be if Aeron didn't have a love affair with bright hair dyes. "The truck's ready to go.. I've got the fuelcell working properly for once." What his sister was to computers, Jayden was to mechanics. Their father often joked that he'd raised a perfect pair: Hardware and Software.
"Yeah, we're ready," Jhelian replied, hugging Elizabeth back and stepping forward. Her brown eyes raked over her cousins, stopping on the wicked grin her brother SeanEric still wore as he pocketed the twenty. "Oh wipe tha grin off yer face b'fore I tell mum an' da 'bout that vampire that nearly got ye at the last gig." It was one of the hazards of living in an area with such a high supernatural population. This vampiress had found the hard way that Tahalshian Magick was more than just the name of the band. Still, it wiped the smile off SeanEric's face, as his cousins all turned to him smirking.
"Ok.. ok.. I'll try thinkin' with the head on me shoulders this time, ok?" he protested, opening the truck's door for Elizabeth. "Lets just go now, ok?"
***
"Ok.. now do it again."
Ryou Hotoro sighed, setting himself back in the basic posture, his kendo blade held steadily before him. His father sat to one side, the dark eyes watching him critically. "Begin." the elder Hotoro commanded, and Ryou once again moved through the attacks and parries he'd been taught from the time he was old enough to hold a blade. He tried to keep his mind empty, allowing his body to move as it had been trained. These movements should be second nature by now, his body acting and reacting on trained instinct, but something kept getting in the...
"Stop." The voice did not need to shout to reveal Ryu Hotoro's displeasure. The elder Hotoro cracked his neck, causing a shock of black hair liberally salted with white to fall over his eyes. "What is wrong, Ryou. Something has been bothering you for several days now. It's been showing at every practice."
Ryou bowed respectfully to his father before walking to the edge of the mat and kneeling. "I am sorry, father. It ... it is the dream again, about the red-haired girl. It's like something bad is going to happen." Bright blue eyes, the gift of his long-dead mother, stared out of a younger version of his father's face. "You know something ... you've always known something about her. When are you going to tell me the truth, father?"
The elder Hotoro looked away. He had raised his son alone, although he had been offered a family to join. He had trained him in every martial arts he knew, made sure his son was schooled, even sending him to college in Tokyo. Yet the past still haunted him, things left undone, that Ryou would have to finish for him. Ryu grimaced, unthinkingly muttering aloud "Twenty-five years...."
"I am not waiting twenty more years, father," Ryou replied, misunderstanding. He rose and bowed to the mat before stepping off it, respecting the ancient customs as he'd been taught as he put away the practice sword. "You have moved me from one end of the world to the other, you have taught me everything you know, but you never tell me why," he continued bitterly, opening the blinds over the window to reveal the street outside the dojo. "I've watched the red-haired girl grow up in my dreams, and you refuse to even let me give her a name. What is it you fear?"
The elder warrior rose slowly to his feet, slightly favoring his right leg. "That... is something I hoped you would never find out." Ryu admitted. "Something that I hoped wouldn't come to pass." He sighed heavily, looking around the dojo that had been home and business for the last six years. Twenty-five years since Ryou's birth, since Isle Voletta, since Tevar and Cassy, Blackthorne and Seth. Twenty-five years since Lazlo Zand had nearly severed his leg. Was Ryou ready? "Fight me."
"What?!" Ryou exclaimed, turning to stare at his father. "Now? What will that prove?" the young man shouted. "Why does it always come down to fighting? Why can't you just answer my questions for once."
"Beat me, and the answers are all yours." Ryu retorted, bowing to the mat before stepping onto it. "Nothing held back." He stretched, hearing far more popping sounds than just the customary crick in his neck. He shook his arms, twisting, loosening up. "Even the name of your red-haired girl."
As his father expected, Ryou took the bait. "Nothing held back?" he repeated, suspiciously as he bowed again to the mat, taking his place opposite the elder Hotoro.
Ryu grinned, something that he did very rarely. "No holding back..." as he bowed to his son as a worthy opponent.
Don't worry, the difference will be noted in future chapters.))+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter Two: The Usual Suspects
The cloud of magick warned the Tahalshia cousins that Jhelian was joining them in the Manor's garage. SeanEric brushed his black hair out of his green eyes and looked over to Shadrick with a grin every inch the image of his father Blackthorne. "Pay up."
Shadrick snorted and passed over a twenty before tightening the straps holding the drum set onto the trailer. Unlike SeanEric, who was every inch the jock, Shadrick was the living image of every bishi-hunting anime-girl's dream. Tall, wiry, pale of skin, dark of hair and eyes, it was a constant joke between the two cousins over who got the most fangirls since the band had started.
As Jhelian stormed into the garage, Shadrick's sister Elizabeth stopped her for a hug. Like her brother, she was nearly ethereal, blond haired like her mother, dark eyed like her father Nitram, and like her father seemingly not all there. "It's ok, Jhelly," Elizabeth whispered. "Don't be mad at them, they love you." Out of the six Tahalshia cousins, only Elizabeth could say something that cliche and mean it whole-heartedly. In school she was thought of as 'special', despite getting some of the best grades in her classes. Those who tried teasing her learned early on that her cousins and brother did not like people making Elizabeth cry.
"Are we ready to go now?" Aeron asked, popping up from the other side of the truck. "It's still an hour to New Orleans, you know. I want to get things set up and do a sound check before we go out to eat." Aeron was the odd one out, the geeky computer chick of the family, like her father Philedelphia. But it made her a wizard of keyboards and soundboards, so despite herself she had been pulled into this crazy band idea. She blamed her twin, Jayden.
"Give me just a minute more, sis," Jayden replied, slamming the hood down on the car. Where Aeron was petite, Jayden was large, a head taller than SeanEric or Shadrick. It was one of the running jokes in the family, since Philedelphia was the shortest of his generation, that his son be the tallest of them all. Both twins were surprisingly average otherwise; brown of hair and eyes, or would be if Aeron didn't have a love affair with bright hair dyes. "The truck's ready to go.. I've got the fuelcell working properly for once." What his sister was to computers, Jayden was to mechanics. Their father often joked that he'd raised a perfect pair: Hardware and Software.
"Yeah, we're ready," Jhelian replied, hugging Elizabeth back and stepping forward. Her brown eyes raked over her cousins, stopping on the wicked grin her brother SeanEric still wore as he pocketed the twenty. "Oh wipe tha grin off yer face b'fore I tell mum an' da 'bout that vampire that nearly got ye at the last gig." It was one of the hazards of living in an area with such a high supernatural population. This vampiress had found the hard way that Tahalshian Magick was more than just the name of the band. Still, it wiped the smile off SeanEric's face, as his cousins all turned to him smirking.
"Ok.. ok.. I'll try thinkin' with the head on me shoulders this time, ok?" he protested, opening the truck's door for Elizabeth. "Lets just go now, ok?"
***
"Ok.. now do it again."
Ryou Hotoro sighed, setting himself back in the basic posture, his kendo blade held steadily before him. His father sat to one side, the dark eyes watching him critically. "Begin." the elder Hotoro commanded, and Ryou once again moved through the attacks and parries he'd been taught from the time he was old enough to hold a blade. He tried to keep his mind empty, allowing his body to move as it had been trained. These movements should be second nature by now, his body acting and reacting on trained instinct, but something kept getting in the...
"Stop." The voice did not need to shout to reveal Ryu Hotoro's displeasure. The elder Hotoro cracked his neck, causing a shock of black hair liberally salted with white to fall over his eyes. "What is wrong, Ryou. Something has been bothering you for several days now. It's been showing at every practice."
Ryou bowed respectfully to his father before walking to the edge of the mat and kneeling. "I am sorry, father. It ... it is the dream again, about the red-haired girl. It's like something bad is going to happen." Bright blue eyes, the gift of his long-dead mother, stared out of a younger version of his father's face. "You know something ... you've always known something about her. When are you going to tell me the truth, father?"
The elder Hotoro looked away. He had raised his son alone, although he had been offered a family to join. He had trained him in every martial arts he knew, made sure his son was schooled, even sending him to college in Tokyo. Yet the past still haunted him, things left undone, that Ryou would have to finish for him. Ryu grimaced, unthinkingly muttering aloud "Twenty-five years...."
"I am not waiting twenty more years, father," Ryou replied, misunderstanding. He rose and bowed to the mat before stepping off it, respecting the ancient customs as he'd been taught as he put away the practice sword. "You have moved me from one end of the world to the other, you have taught me everything you know, but you never tell me why," he continued bitterly, opening the blinds over the window to reveal the street outside the dojo. "I've watched the red-haired girl grow up in my dreams, and you refuse to even let me give her a name. What is it you fear?"
The elder warrior rose slowly to his feet, slightly favoring his right leg. "That... is something I hoped you would never find out." Ryu admitted. "Something that I hoped wouldn't come to pass." He sighed heavily, looking around the dojo that had been home and business for the last six years. Twenty-five years since Ryou's birth, since Isle Voletta, since Tevar and Cassy, Blackthorne and Seth. Twenty-five years since Lazlo Zand had nearly severed his leg. Was Ryou ready? "Fight me."
"What?!" Ryou exclaimed, turning to stare at his father. "Now? What will that prove?" the young man shouted. "Why does it always come down to fighting? Why can't you just answer my questions for once."
"Beat me, and the answers are all yours." Ryu retorted, bowing to the mat before stepping onto it. "Nothing held back." He stretched, hearing far more popping sounds than just the customary crick in his neck. He shook his arms, twisting, loosening up. "Even the name of your red-haired girl."
As his father expected, Ryou took the bait. "Nothing held back?" he repeated, suspiciously as he bowed again to the mat, taking his place opposite the elder Hotoro.
Ryu grinned, something that he did very rarely. "No holding back..." as he bowed to his son as a worthy opponent.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
-
Ford Prefect
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 8254
- Joined: 2005-05-16 04:08am
- Location: The real number domain
The boy's full name is Sean Eric Volemack Tahalshia. It just devolved into "Sean-Eric" over repeated shouts from his mother over his latest mischief. And there was a LOT of mischief for a young boy who doesn't need a wand to cast magic to find and drag his cousins Shadrick and Jayden into.Ford Prefect wrote:SeanEric? I've never heard of such a name. However, this chapter does promise sevre asskicking next time round, so I'm looking forward to it.
Just to make something clear:
SeanEric & Jhelian are children of Blackthorne & Teamhair (or so Jhelian thinks)
Elizabeth & Shadrick are the children of Nitram (one by each wife, both deceased)
Jayden & Aeron are Philedelphia's twins (by ex-girlfriend, long gone)
Black and Phil are brothers, both British Citizens. Nitram is their 3rd cousin, once removed, born in Isle Voletta, Louisianna, USA.
Second: Don't expect much out of the Ryu/Ryou fight. Everything I've tried to write about it so far has been utter shite.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
Chapter Three: All Roads Lead....
Ryu hit the mat hard, barely having time to roll to one side before Ryou's foot snapped down onto the mat where he had been. Both men, older and younger, had bruises on their face and bodies from the rapid exchange of blows and falls they had taken and given. Outside the window, a gaggle of spectators had gathered to watch the match, wide-eyed at the intensity and ability the two men had shown.
The elder Hotoro feinted a kick to Ryou's legs, rolling instead to rise to his feet, only to find Ryou's fist a bare inch from his face. "Stay down, father..." Ryou said. "That was your fifth fall, while you have only thrown me twice. I've won Best of Three... Best of Five.. and now Best of Seven. Yield gracefully."
"Tsck..." Ryu spat, slowly raising his hand to wipe the blood away from his split lip. "Young pup... looks like you finally lived up to your barking. Turn and bow to your audience, now."
"Audience?" Ryou asked, blinking in surprise, before turning to see the crowd of people gathered. "Uhhh.... wow..." he said, stunned, one hand lifting to scratch the back of his head nervously. "How long have they been here," he asked as his father stepped to the edge of the mat and bowed.
"You were too lost to the battle to notice," Ryu commented, rising from the bow, then stepping off the mat to close the blinds. "That kind of focus is both a help, and a hinderance."
Ryou frowned, making his own bow belatedly to the crowd, then to the mat before he too stepped off. "That doesn't mean I still didn't just beat you five out of seven falls." he pointed out unnecessarily. "Do I pass your test, now?"
The elder Hotoro walked deeper into the dojo, not answering the question. He needed to wash off, get something to ease the aches of the battle.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Ryou called from behind him, following him back and up the stairs to the apartment above. "You made the challenge, now I want the answers I fought for."
"Give me time, pup," Ryu answered. "Wash off, first, and then we'll sit and talk over dinner."
Ryou's blue eyes rolled, annoyed at the continued delay. "Tsck... fine. But then you're telling me everything. No holding back... remember?"
"No holding back..." Ryu retorted, dabbing at the split on his lip. "At least I didn't try that with swords...."
***
The private jet was in the air flying over the Atlantic by the time Otamio felt Alex's presence stirring inside him. He rose from his chair, taking the glass of brandy with him as he walked back into the bedroom so he could have some privacy. It did not look well to the hired help for the boss to be arguing with himself publically. Setting the drink down in a holder meant just for that reason, he bent slightly to look at his reflection in the mirror. "I feel you waking, Alexander. Would you like to know where we are?"
You bastard. Alexander's mental voice shouted from within, the mirror showing him as a faint overlay visible only to Otamio's eyes. You have us on the jet, don't you. It will do no good, you won't be able to hold control long enough to get to Louisianna, we both know it.
"Perhaps... perhaps not." Otamio replied to the reflection in the mirror. "We will be in America, either way. You could be stubborn, and turn the jet back home, or you could check up on some of the business you do have in New York... which is our first stop after all." Otamio did not enjoy having to cajole and manipulate to get his way. Always before, he had full control of the host body and the human soul was absorbed or overwhelmed, trapped back in the mind as a toy Otamio could play with when he got bored. When he had fled to Alexander's body twenty-five years ago he had been too weak to take control immediately, and it had cost him.
Alexander was silent for a long moment, his thoughts as well-guarded as Otamio's own. You are determined that I meet this Jhelian Tahalshia, sure that she is the key to the battle between Hotoro and Zand. What do you hope to gain of it, demon. There's always a reason for everything you do.
The human had learned far too well, Otamio thought. Somehow the battle for control had made him far more dangerous, to Otamio, and possibly to the Hotoro family if Otamio could prove them a threat. "Indeed. There is a very good reason." the demon answered his reflection. "For the first time, the Hotoro clan gave birth not just to the twins... but to a child by another woman as well. The pattern of the Cycle is cracking, possiblilities are opening up."
This Tahalshia woman is Hotoro's daughter? Alexander replied, surprised, but his mind quickly went beyond it. Do you mean to use her against Hotoro, then? he asked, sounding out the demon. Or are you once again thinking of using my body to get a child? One with both Hotoro and Zand bloodlines merged?
"That is something you will have to discover, once we meet her, isn't it." Otamio replied cannily. "I intend to make my way to Louisianna, one way or another. I would prefer to do so without the constant need to steal the body from your possession. It only weakens both of us."
Alexander was silent for a long time. Otamio could feel him thinking, but not read the pattern or direction of his thoughts. Very well, demon. Alexander said at last. Let us go meet her. Then ... we shall discuss this matter further.
****
"I believe that is all that we need to discuss right now, Ms. Leena," Sarah said, concluding the details of what arrangements had been made to make sure Leena would be as comfortable as possible during her stay in Louisianna. An expense account of several thousand dollars, with more as needed; the houseboat now fully in Leena's name, complete with a crew of 4 to keep it running; and several phone numbers to call if there was need of help. "Your mother has also made arrangements to make sure you are not ... bothered ... by anyone."
That caused Leena to blink, looking up from the papers she'd been handed to sign. The hotel room, one of newer buildings that had been constructed on higher ground after Katrina, was blessedly cool after the steamy stickiness outside, but after two hours of listening to Sarah, Leena had been wishing to simply escape. "What do you mean.. not bothered."
Sarah had the grace to look flustered. Even after six years with Jasmina, three of those as a ghouled servant, she was still uneasy with the supernatural. "Ms. Zand wishes you to wear this necklace, everytime you go out." the older woman said, handing over a jewelry box. "She has contacted the family in charge of New Orleans, and they have agreed to keep you safe from the others in the city, but they needed something to mark you as untouchable."
Leena opened the jewelry box, pulling out a necklace with a stylized kanji, set into a circle with a design she recognized. "This is the trademark of Zand Industries," Leena said as she fingered the silver necklace. "This kanji... it's my name."
"Yes. And the silver will help guard you as well," Sarah recited, just as she was told by Jasmina. "Any of the families seeing that necklace will know not to harm you, on pain of final death from the head of the family."
Lenna looked again at the necklace, and shivered a little. She was still getting used to the idea of her own mother being inhuman. The truth that there were entire families out in the world, as well as werewolves and witches and demons, was getting far too creepy. "I ... see." Shakily, she took out the necklace and slipped it around her neck, fastening it securely. "Is that all, Sarah, I'd like to actually explore the city for a bit, while I'm here."
"Oh, yes, of course, Ms. Leena..." Sarah replied, rising to her feet, her business suit still crisp and pressed. "Would you like me to fetch the car for you?"
"No, I'm thinking of just walking this part of town for now," Leena answered. "If I have need of anything, I will contact you ... unless you'll be returning to my mother soon?" Please, let her go back to mother, I don't want to be watched over like a baby chick this whole trip.
"I will be returning on the evening flight," Sarah answered stiffly. "Ms. Zand said she would have need of me in the morning."
Leena smiled, rising to her feet. "Please give my love to my mother ... I'll call her as often as I can." Leena promised. "And please don't worry too much yourself, Sarah, although I know you will."
Sarah uncharacteristically blushed, clearing her throat before she spoke. "Please take care of yourself, Ms. Leena. There are things out there ... worse than Vampires."
***
Ryu spoke as they ate, starting with the moment he had walked into the Symposium nightclub on Isle Voletta over twenty-five years ago. Ryou listened intently as Ryu spoke of his friendship with Seth Omsford, his relationships with Teamhair NicIomhair and Ryou's mother Cassy.
Ryu's voice dropped as he revealed the Demon Otamio and the history of the Hotoro and Zand families. He spoke of his sister, Lina, lost and then found under Otamio's control. He spoke of the woman, Jasmina bint Esau, who haunted his steps after Ryou's birth.
He told Ryou of his twin's death, and Cassy's disappearance. Then he haltingly told how he had left Ryou with Teamhair while he went to face Otamio for the final battle, and how he had left the demon to die.
"But, the bastard is alive still... the Cycle is not over." Ryu finished, sighing heavily. "Lazlo Zand had a son, even as I do. Otamio has possessed him, undoubtably, and that is why I have trained you as hard as I have."
Ryou's blue eyes half-hooded, absorbing and memorizing the tale. "I understand... but there is one thing you have left out, father." His eyes bored into Ryu's demanding the truth. "The red-haired girl. Who is she, and why has she haunted my dreams."
"Well... uh.. that's.. rather hard to explain," Ryu replied, blushing heavily, his hand going to the back of his head in embarrassment. "You see... Teamhair and I... we... uh... well..."
"You had sex with her? Before or after you married my mother?" Ryou asked bluntly.
"Before!" Ryu protested. "It wasn't supposed to happen. We didn't want it to happen. It just..." out of frying pan, into fire. "... resulted in you having a half-sister that she named Jhelian, who everyone thinks is actually the true child of Blackthorne Tahalshia, who Teamhair married."
Ryou blinked. And blinked again. "All this time, I've had a LIVING Sister?! And you never Told ME!?! You lying, dirty rotten old coot!"
Outside the dojo, people looked up towards the second story as the sounds of a fight broke out again.
Ryu hit the mat hard, barely having time to roll to one side before Ryou's foot snapped down onto the mat where he had been. Both men, older and younger, had bruises on their face and bodies from the rapid exchange of blows and falls they had taken and given. Outside the window, a gaggle of spectators had gathered to watch the match, wide-eyed at the intensity and ability the two men had shown.
The elder Hotoro feinted a kick to Ryou's legs, rolling instead to rise to his feet, only to find Ryou's fist a bare inch from his face. "Stay down, father..." Ryou said. "That was your fifth fall, while you have only thrown me twice. I've won Best of Three... Best of Five.. and now Best of Seven. Yield gracefully."
"Tsck..." Ryu spat, slowly raising his hand to wipe the blood away from his split lip. "Young pup... looks like you finally lived up to your barking. Turn and bow to your audience, now."
"Audience?" Ryou asked, blinking in surprise, before turning to see the crowd of people gathered. "Uhhh.... wow..." he said, stunned, one hand lifting to scratch the back of his head nervously. "How long have they been here," he asked as his father stepped to the edge of the mat and bowed.
"You were too lost to the battle to notice," Ryu commented, rising from the bow, then stepping off the mat to close the blinds. "That kind of focus is both a help, and a hinderance."
Ryou frowned, making his own bow belatedly to the crowd, then to the mat before he too stepped off. "That doesn't mean I still didn't just beat you five out of seven falls." he pointed out unnecessarily. "Do I pass your test, now?"
The elder Hotoro walked deeper into the dojo, not answering the question. He needed to wash off, get something to ease the aches of the battle.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Ryou called from behind him, following him back and up the stairs to the apartment above. "You made the challenge, now I want the answers I fought for."
"Give me time, pup," Ryu answered. "Wash off, first, and then we'll sit and talk over dinner."
Ryou's blue eyes rolled, annoyed at the continued delay. "Tsck... fine. But then you're telling me everything. No holding back... remember?"
"No holding back..." Ryu retorted, dabbing at the split on his lip. "At least I didn't try that with swords...."
***
The private jet was in the air flying over the Atlantic by the time Otamio felt Alex's presence stirring inside him. He rose from his chair, taking the glass of brandy with him as he walked back into the bedroom so he could have some privacy. It did not look well to the hired help for the boss to be arguing with himself publically. Setting the drink down in a holder meant just for that reason, he bent slightly to look at his reflection in the mirror. "I feel you waking, Alexander. Would you like to know where we are?"
You bastard. Alexander's mental voice shouted from within, the mirror showing him as a faint overlay visible only to Otamio's eyes. You have us on the jet, don't you. It will do no good, you won't be able to hold control long enough to get to Louisianna, we both know it.
"Perhaps... perhaps not." Otamio replied to the reflection in the mirror. "We will be in America, either way. You could be stubborn, and turn the jet back home, or you could check up on some of the business you do have in New York... which is our first stop after all." Otamio did not enjoy having to cajole and manipulate to get his way. Always before, he had full control of the host body and the human soul was absorbed or overwhelmed, trapped back in the mind as a toy Otamio could play with when he got bored. When he had fled to Alexander's body twenty-five years ago he had been too weak to take control immediately, and it had cost him.
Alexander was silent for a long moment, his thoughts as well-guarded as Otamio's own. You are determined that I meet this Jhelian Tahalshia, sure that she is the key to the battle between Hotoro and Zand. What do you hope to gain of it, demon. There's always a reason for everything you do.
The human had learned far too well, Otamio thought. Somehow the battle for control had made him far more dangerous, to Otamio, and possibly to the Hotoro family if Otamio could prove them a threat. "Indeed. There is a very good reason." the demon answered his reflection. "For the first time, the Hotoro clan gave birth not just to the twins... but to a child by another woman as well. The pattern of the Cycle is cracking, possiblilities are opening up."
This Tahalshia woman is Hotoro's daughter? Alexander replied, surprised, but his mind quickly went beyond it. Do you mean to use her against Hotoro, then? he asked, sounding out the demon. Or are you once again thinking of using my body to get a child? One with both Hotoro and Zand bloodlines merged?
"That is something you will have to discover, once we meet her, isn't it." Otamio replied cannily. "I intend to make my way to Louisianna, one way or another. I would prefer to do so without the constant need to steal the body from your possession. It only weakens both of us."
Alexander was silent for a long time. Otamio could feel him thinking, but not read the pattern or direction of his thoughts. Very well, demon. Alexander said at last. Let us go meet her. Then ... we shall discuss this matter further.
****
"I believe that is all that we need to discuss right now, Ms. Leena," Sarah said, concluding the details of what arrangements had been made to make sure Leena would be as comfortable as possible during her stay in Louisianna. An expense account of several thousand dollars, with more as needed; the houseboat now fully in Leena's name, complete with a crew of 4 to keep it running; and several phone numbers to call if there was need of help. "Your mother has also made arrangements to make sure you are not ... bothered ... by anyone."
That caused Leena to blink, looking up from the papers she'd been handed to sign. The hotel room, one of newer buildings that had been constructed on higher ground after Katrina, was blessedly cool after the steamy stickiness outside, but after two hours of listening to Sarah, Leena had been wishing to simply escape. "What do you mean.. not bothered."
Sarah had the grace to look flustered. Even after six years with Jasmina, three of those as a ghouled servant, she was still uneasy with the supernatural. "Ms. Zand wishes you to wear this necklace, everytime you go out." the older woman said, handing over a jewelry box. "She has contacted the family in charge of New Orleans, and they have agreed to keep you safe from the others in the city, but they needed something to mark you as untouchable."
Leena opened the jewelry box, pulling out a necklace with a stylized kanji, set into a circle with a design she recognized. "This is the trademark of Zand Industries," Leena said as she fingered the silver necklace. "This kanji... it's my name."
"Yes. And the silver will help guard you as well," Sarah recited, just as she was told by Jasmina. "Any of the families seeing that necklace will know not to harm you, on pain of final death from the head of the family."
Lenna looked again at the necklace, and shivered a little. She was still getting used to the idea of her own mother being inhuman. The truth that there were entire families out in the world, as well as werewolves and witches and demons, was getting far too creepy. "I ... see." Shakily, she took out the necklace and slipped it around her neck, fastening it securely. "Is that all, Sarah, I'd like to actually explore the city for a bit, while I'm here."
"Oh, yes, of course, Ms. Leena..." Sarah replied, rising to her feet, her business suit still crisp and pressed. "Would you like me to fetch the car for you?"
"No, I'm thinking of just walking this part of town for now," Leena answered. "If I have need of anything, I will contact you ... unless you'll be returning to my mother soon?" Please, let her go back to mother, I don't want to be watched over like a baby chick this whole trip.
"I will be returning on the evening flight," Sarah answered stiffly. "Ms. Zand said she would have need of me in the morning."
Leena smiled, rising to her feet. "Please give my love to my mother ... I'll call her as often as I can." Leena promised. "And please don't worry too much yourself, Sarah, although I know you will."
Sarah uncharacteristically blushed, clearing her throat before she spoke. "Please take care of yourself, Ms. Leena. There are things out there ... worse than Vampires."
***
Ryu spoke as they ate, starting with the moment he had walked into the Symposium nightclub on Isle Voletta over twenty-five years ago. Ryou listened intently as Ryu spoke of his friendship with Seth Omsford, his relationships with Teamhair NicIomhair and Ryou's mother Cassy.
Ryu's voice dropped as he revealed the Demon Otamio and the history of the Hotoro and Zand families. He spoke of his sister, Lina, lost and then found under Otamio's control. He spoke of the woman, Jasmina bint Esau, who haunted his steps after Ryou's birth.
He told Ryou of his twin's death, and Cassy's disappearance. Then he haltingly told how he had left Ryou with Teamhair while he went to face Otamio for the final battle, and how he had left the demon to die.
"But, the bastard is alive still... the Cycle is not over." Ryu finished, sighing heavily. "Lazlo Zand had a son, even as I do. Otamio has possessed him, undoubtably, and that is why I have trained you as hard as I have."
Ryou's blue eyes half-hooded, absorbing and memorizing the tale. "I understand... but there is one thing you have left out, father." His eyes bored into Ryu's demanding the truth. "The red-haired girl. Who is she, and why has she haunted my dreams."
"Well... uh.. that's.. rather hard to explain," Ryu replied, blushing heavily, his hand going to the back of his head in embarrassment. "You see... Teamhair and I... we... uh... well..."
"You had sex with her? Before or after you married my mother?" Ryou asked bluntly.
"Before!" Ryu protested. "It wasn't supposed to happen. We didn't want it to happen. It just..." out of frying pan, into fire. "... resulted in you having a half-sister that she named Jhelian, who everyone thinks is actually the true child of Blackthorne Tahalshia, who Teamhair married."
Ryou blinked. And blinked again. "All this time, I've had a LIVING Sister?! And you never Told ME!?! You lying, dirty rotten old coot!"
Outside the dojo, people looked up towards the second story as the sounds of a fight broke out again.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
-
Ford Prefect
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 8254
- Joined: 2005-05-16 04:08am
- Location: The real number domain
Chapter Four: The Calm Before ...
SeanEric was up on stage, singing and prancing his heart out as the rest of Tahalshia Magick jammed the last chorus of their practice set as they tested that all was ready for the night.
"Ooooh baby wee'll be
At the driiive-in, In the old man's Ford
Behind the bushes... 'til I'm screaming fer MORE MORE MORE!
Down the basement... Lock that cellar door
And baaby... Talk dirty to meeeee
Yeahyeahyeahyee-ahh... Talk dirty to meeeee..
Yeah baby....... Talk dirty to me!"
The rocking cover of the song, now 40 years old, came to a close in a rousing crash of drums, cymbols, and guitar riffs, drawing applause from the nightclub's workers as they set up YoMama's for the coming evening. "Ok! That's it," Jayden called, his eyes and fingers moving over the soundboard cleverly built into his synth-set. As he jumped and ran over to discuss settings with the nightclub's soundman, the rest of the Tahalshia cousins took five on the small stage in Yo Mama's gothically decorated upstairs. Gargoyles hung from the ceiling under red lights that would be the main light for the evening. Couches spawled around for the dancers to relax with their date .. or someone elses. It was garish as hell, as it was supposed to be to contrast the nice, white-light and angels bar on the first floor.
Aeron stepped from behind her drumset to swallow some bottled water, restarting a familiar argument. "I still say we need to start playing newer songs." For tonight's gig, her hair was striped neon red and purple.
Elizabeth sighed, sitting down at her keyboard, dressed in a pale ivory dress that fluttered around her and accented her pale skin and eyes. "But I like the old songs," she said softly, her fingers silently moving overtop of the ivory keys.
"Everything old is new again," Shadrick added with a grin. "These songs just needed a bit of polish, and we're bringing in the dancers, so it works. Don't mess with what works." He set down his bass, the tight leather pants and loose, open shirt only emphasizing his lean frame and gothic looks.
"'Don't mess with what works'," Aeron mocked him. "If we're wanting more than just to play here in New Orleans, we need to do more... get our own stuff together."
"We donna need ta get big," Jhelian answered sharply. Like Elizabeth, she was in a dress, this one a darker gold that set off her reddish hair without clashing. It was cut a bit more daringly than Elizabeth's, meant for movement and showing off as Jhelian played her guitar on stage. "Gettin' big means far too many eyes on us... and then how would we be explainin' some of our better FX tricks, hmm?"
Elizabeth looked up from her keyboard and smiled wistfully. "It's fun, making the smoke and lights move like that. And people never even suspect it's real...."
"Ya do a great job, Liz," SeanEric said, toweling himself off. Lead singer, lead guitar, he was their posterchild, a devilish grin and bright green eyes that made the club girls swoon. Already he had his eye on one of the girls behind the bar and had been flirting with her long-distance with every song they'd practiced. "But as much as I hate agreein' with my sister, she's right. We get too big for our britches, and we're askin' fer hunters an' who knows what else."
"Vampires," Elizabeth helpfully added, which made everyone grin at SeanEric again.
"I'm never livin' that one down, am I..." he complained. "Come on... how was I ta know she was a fang girl?"
"... are we teasing SeanEric about his lovebite again?" Jayden asked as he rejoined the band onstage, catching the towel SeanEric threw at him.
"Aeron wants new songs," Elizabeth singsonged, still playing silently on the keyboard. "But I think we just need to play the old songs tonight. Tomorrow, Jhelian will sing " 'A Rhyu". She has to ... it's important she sings it tomorrow only."
All the Tahalshians turned and looked at Elizabeth then, watching her as she dreamily played silent songs, before looking warily at each other. Finally Jhelian spoke. "Liz... why'm I needin' ta sing that one t'morrow?" she asked cautiously.
"Because," Elizabeth answered softly, seeing things only she could. "He'll be here to listen......"
****
"Socks, socks... shirts..." Ryou muttered to himself as he stuffed clothing into a bag. His room was ransacked from his frantic packing. Ever since his father had told him about his sister, he'd been gathering his belongings, sorting through them for the things he most needed to take with him that would fit on the back of his bike.
"Tsck... look at this mess," Ryu said from the doorway, kicking things out of his way as he limped inside. His face was still bruised from the earlier fight. "What do you think you're doing, hmm?"
"I'm going to meet my sister," Ryou retorted. "You know, the one you never told me about?" He brushed past the elder Hotoru, grabbing toiletries from the small bathroom. The mirror briefly reflected him, a young man of obvious Japanese descent, but for the vivid blue eyes under rumbled black hair that always needed brushed out of them.
"So you're just going to go? Leave everything behind?" Ryu asked, leaning against the doorframe to watch him.
"Yep."
"How will you get there?"
"It's only a few hours drive."
"Going to take the bike?"
"Yep."
"Then I guess you don't need these plane tickets for the flight for New Orleans... do you."
"Ye.... wait." Ryou whirled, staring at his father. "What?"
With a knowing smirk, Ryu held up the plane tickets he'd ordered online. "It leaves in two hours." Ryou reached for them, but Ryu pulled them back away from him. "Finish packing, and then we shall go to the airport."
Ryou's arm rose, his hand scratching the back of his head. "I was going to tell you goodbye before I left..."
"Sure you were. That's why I'm going with you."
"Yea... Wait. WHAT?"
***
Leena strolled along the historic buildings of the French Quarter, simply absorbing in the atmosphere. Most of New Orleans had been rebuilt on higher ground after Katrina, but this section of the town had been lovingly restored to glory. Here and there were small plaques, with a dark line drawn across them and the legend "High water mark -- Katrina 2005."
Yet despite the sticky weather, people were out walking just like she was, peeking in the shop windows, pausing to listen to the musicians who sat on the corners with a hat or an open instrument case. The air was filled with the sounds of soulful blues, of hiphop rappers, of snappy jazz, and Leena simply walked amongst it, bemused by the laid-back attitude of the residents towards herself and the other obvious tourists milling about. Smiles greeted her, with nods of acknowledgement and welcome, the young rappers flirting briefly as she threw money in their hat before moving on.
A banging noise interrupted her thoughts, and she paused, seeing someone nailing up an advert to a pole. A slight breeze caught the signs he was holding under his arm, and she saw a word she recognized. Intrigued, she stepped over to read the sign as the man left to plaster another advert on down.
"Yo Mama's presents
Two nights of the best oldies rock around
Tahalshia Magick"
It couldn't be. There couldn't be more than one family with that name. The poster showed a group of six young men and women, all of them sharing a family resemblance in the sharp cheekbones of their face. They were standing in front of a great wrought iron gate, with a large planation house in the background. The picture was in color, showing the various shades of brown-haired men, but it was the red-haired woman off to the side who drew Leena's eyes.
The woman's eyes were dark brown. They were Leena's own eyes.
She skimmed the rest of the poster, getting the address of the club. They would take the stage in two hours. Leena would have to rush to get ready. She went to the corner and waved for a taxi back to the hotel. It was time to meet her half-sister.
SeanEric was up on stage, singing and prancing his heart out as the rest of Tahalshia Magick jammed the last chorus of their practice set as they tested that all was ready for the night.
"Ooooh baby wee'll be
At the driiive-in, In the old man's Ford
Behind the bushes... 'til I'm screaming fer MORE MORE MORE!
Down the basement... Lock that cellar door
And baaby... Talk dirty to meeeee
Yeahyeahyeahyee-ahh... Talk dirty to meeeee..
Yeah baby....... Talk dirty to me!"
The rocking cover of the song, now 40 years old, came to a close in a rousing crash of drums, cymbols, and guitar riffs, drawing applause from the nightclub's workers as they set up YoMama's for the coming evening. "Ok! That's it," Jayden called, his eyes and fingers moving over the soundboard cleverly built into his synth-set. As he jumped and ran over to discuss settings with the nightclub's soundman, the rest of the Tahalshia cousins took five on the small stage in Yo Mama's gothically decorated upstairs. Gargoyles hung from the ceiling under red lights that would be the main light for the evening. Couches spawled around for the dancers to relax with their date .. or someone elses. It was garish as hell, as it was supposed to be to contrast the nice, white-light and angels bar on the first floor.
Aeron stepped from behind her drumset to swallow some bottled water, restarting a familiar argument. "I still say we need to start playing newer songs." For tonight's gig, her hair was striped neon red and purple.
Elizabeth sighed, sitting down at her keyboard, dressed in a pale ivory dress that fluttered around her and accented her pale skin and eyes. "But I like the old songs," she said softly, her fingers silently moving overtop of the ivory keys.
"Everything old is new again," Shadrick added with a grin. "These songs just needed a bit of polish, and we're bringing in the dancers, so it works. Don't mess with what works." He set down his bass, the tight leather pants and loose, open shirt only emphasizing his lean frame and gothic looks.
"'Don't mess with what works'," Aeron mocked him. "If we're wanting more than just to play here in New Orleans, we need to do more... get our own stuff together."
"We donna need ta get big," Jhelian answered sharply. Like Elizabeth, she was in a dress, this one a darker gold that set off her reddish hair without clashing. It was cut a bit more daringly than Elizabeth's, meant for movement and showing off as Jhelian played her guitar on stage. "Gettin' big means far too many eyes on us... and then how would we be explainin' some of our better FX tricks, hmm?"
Elizabeth looked up from her keyboard and smiled wistfully. "It's fun, making the smoke and lights move like that. And people never even suspect it's real...."
"Ya do a great job, Liz," SeanEric said, toweling himself off. Lead singer, lead guitar, he was their posterchild, a devilish grin and bright green eyes that made the club girls swoon. Already he had his eye on one of the girls behind the bar and had been flirting with her long-distance with every song they'd practiced. "But as much as I hate agreein' with my sister, she's right. We get too big for our britches, and we're askin' fer hunters an' who knows what else."
"Vampires," Elizabeth helpfully added, which made everyone grin at SeanEric again.
"I'm never livin' that one down, am I..." he complained. "Come on... how was I ta know she was a fang girl?"
"... are we teasing SeanEric about his lovebite again?" Jayden asked as he rejoined the band onstage, catching the towel SeanEric threw at him.
"Aeron wants new songs," Elizabeth singsonged, still playing silently on the keyboard. "But I think we just need to play the old songs tonight. Tomorrow, Jhelian will sing " 'A Rhyu". She has to ... it's important she sings it tomorrow only."
All the Tahalshians turned and looked at Elizabeth then, watching her as she dreamily played silent songs, before looking warily at each other. Finally Jhelian spoke. "Liz... why'm I needin' ta sing that one t'morrow?" she asked cautiously.
"Because," Elizabeth answered softly, seeing things only she could. "He'll be here to listen......"
****
"Socks, socks... shirts..." Ryou muttered to himself as he stuffed clothing into a bag. His room was ransacked from his frantic packing. Ever since his father had told him about his sister, he'd been gathering his belongings, sorting through them for the things he most needed to take with him that would fit on the back of his bike.
"Tsck... look at this mess," Ryu said from the doorway, kicking things out of his way as he limped inside. His face was still bruised from the earlier fight. "What do you think you're doing, hmm?"
"I'm going to meet my sister," Ryou retorted. "You know, the one you never told me about?" He brushed past the elder Hotoru, grabbing toiletries from the small bathroom. The mirror briefly reflected him, a young man of obvious Japanese descent, but for the vivid blue eyes under rumbled black hair that always needed brushed out of them.
"So you're just going to go? Leave everything behind?" Ryu asked, leaning against the doorframe to watch him.
"Yep."
"How will you get there?"
"It's only a few hours drive."
"Going to take the bike?"
"Yep."
"Then I guess you don't need these plane tickets for the flight for New Orleans... do you."
"Ye.... wait." Ryou whirled, staring at his father. "What?"
With a knowing smirk, Ryu held up the plane tickets he'd ordered online. "It leaves in two hours." Ryou reached for them, but Ryu pulled them back away from him. "Finish packing, and then we shall go to the airport."
Ryou's arm rose, his hand scratching the back of his head. "I was going to tell you goodbye before I left..."
"Sure you were. That's why I'm going with you."
"Yea... Wait. WHAT?"
***
Leena strolled along the historic buildings of the French Quarter, simply absorbing in the atmosphere. Most of New Orleans had been rebuilt on higher ground after Katrina, but this section of the town had been lovingly restored to glory. Here and there were small plaques, with a dark line drawn across them and the legend "High water mark -- Katrina 2005."
Yet despite the sticky weather, people were out walking just like she was, peeking in the shop windows, pausing to listen to the musicians who sat on the corners with a hat or an open instrument case. The air was filled with the sounds of soulful blues, of hiphop rappers, of snappy jazz, and Leena simply walked amongst it, bemused by the laid-back attitude of the residents towards herself and the other obvious tourists milling about. Smiles greeted her, with nods of acknowledgement and welcome, the young rappers flirting briefly as she threw money in their hat before moving on.
A banging noise interrupted her thoughts, and she paused, seeing someone nailing up an advert to a pole. A slight breeze caught the signs he was holding under his arm, and she saw a word she recognized. Intrigued, she stepped over to read the sign as the man left to plaster another advert on down.
"Yo Mama's presents
Two nights of the best oldies rock around
Tahalshia Magick"
It couldn't be. There couldn't be more than one family with that name. The poster showed a group of six young men and women, all of them sharing a family resemblance in the sharp cheekbones of their face. They were standing in front of a great wrought iron gate, with a large planation house in the background. The picture was in color, showing the various shades of brown-haired men, but it was the red-haired woman off to the side who drew Leena's eyes.
The woman's eyes were dark brown. They were Leena's own eyes.
She skimmed the rest of the poster, getting the address of the club. They would take the stage in two hours. Leena would have to rush to get ready. She went to the corner and waved for a taxi back to the hotel. It was time to meet her half-sister.
Last edited by LadyTevar on 2006-05-26 09:49am, edited 1 time in total.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
-
Darth Yoshi
- Metroid
- Posts: 7342
- Joined: 2002-07-04 10:00pm
- Location: Seattle
- Contact:
Ooh, things are picking up.
BTW, shouldn't it say revelations in the title? Unless you meant to spell it that way, in which case I'll shut up now.
BTW, shouldn't it say revelations in the title? Unless you meant to spell it that way, in which case I'll shut up now.
Lore Monkey | the Pichu-master™
Secularism—since AD 80
Av: Elika; Prince of Persia
... I have a Typo Daemon infestation.Darth Yoshi wrote:Ooh, things are picking up.
BTW, shouldn't it say revelations in the title? Unless you meant to spell it that way, in which case I'll shut up now.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
-
Ford Prefect
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 8254
- Joined: 2005-05-16 04:08am
- Location: The real number domain
Chapter Five: Out of the Frying Pan....
((Suggested Music: FaithNoMore, Nickleback, Evervesence, songs from the 1980s-2000s. This is a classic rock coverband with male & female leads, after all.))
Even hurrying to get ready and dressed for a hot evening at a nightclub, Leena still didn't get into YoMama's until after Tahalshian Magick had taken the stage. The sultry heat of the Lousianna night did little to deter the club-goers, dressed like Leena in short skirts and low-cut tops, decorated with gold and silver chains and bracelets. Even the silver charm Leena now wore did not attract too much attention amid the crowd. The line to get in was been long, and several conversations Leena had overheard centered around who was cuter, Shadrick or SeanEric. If the various young men were interested in any of the female Tahalshias, they were quiet about the fact while in line, laughing and joking with their friends or their dates, with the few dropping admiring looks in her direction noted and ignored. She had other business tonight.
Once inside the majority of the people did not even slow to look at the lower bar with its white and gold decor. Leena followed the flow, hearing the music pounding upstairs long before she entered the glowing red gothic archetiture of the upper bar. The crowd was gathered on the small dance floor by the stage, dancing wildly to the heart-pounding rythym as SeanEric and Shadrick traded lyrics across the stage.
"It's so cool
It's so hip
It's alright
It's so groovy
It's outta sight
You can touch it
Smell it
Taste it so sweet
But it makes no difference cuz it knocks you off your feet!"
The crowd joined in, some swaying to the beat as they sang with SeanEric "You want it all but you can't have it.... It's in your face but you can't grab it..."
The dance floor was packed, too packed for Leena to try to get closer at this point. She looked around at the couches, mostly empty with everyone dancing, and started making her way through the crowd towards one. Eventually the band would have a break, and she could try to talk to Jhelian then. She watched her half-sister up on the stage, a golden-garbed gypsy with red-gold hair seeming to have the time of her life strumming out the power chords to the classic song as the guys got the crowd rowdier.
"What Is IT?
IT'S IT!
What is it?!
IT'S IT!
What its it...
You want it all but you can't have it....
It's in your face but you can't grab it!"
Leena was so intent on watching SeanEric and Jhelian duel with their guitars on stage she did not notice an older man who was sitting in the back, watching and recording the performance. Nor did she notice when he caught her on tape by accident, the light in the club reflecting briefly off the charm around her neck, causing the man to pause and watch her curiously as she found a clear place to sit.
The song was winding down, the dualing guitars going silent, the pulsing drums fading to silence, and even the crowd hushing as a spotlight shown gently upon the blonde at the keyboard as she delicately picked out the ending melody on the piano as it slowed to a quiet arrapegio and stopped. There was a pause for the audience to cheer, then Elizabeth flicked a couple switches and started playing again, the piano enhanced, digitized. Jhelian and SeanEric joined in with Shadrick's strong bass building the foundation as Aeron banged out the rythym on the drums and Jayden gave the music a techno jazz. Shadrick stepped up to the mic and started crooning the next song.
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure, of walking in your shoes"
Jayden and SeanEric chanted the background as the girls played the melody, as yet to sing a word themselves.
"(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)"
The chorus rocked out, all six suddenly signing in perfect harmony as Shadrick lead them
"Iiiiii've (become so numb)
I can't feel you there
(Become so tired,) so much more aware
Iiii'm (becoming this), all I want to do
Is be more like me (and be less like you!)"
***
This was Shadrick's song, an open plea to his father Nitram. Like many of the songs the Tahalshian Magick sang, the honest emotion behind the lyrics is what made them powerful and enchanting to the young twenty-somethings dancing frantically out on the floor. For the crowd out on the floor, the song was rebelling against the plans made by parents, the expectations to follow set path. For Shadrick, it was a cry for Nitram not to force him into assuming the mantle of Tahalshia Family Elder, of shouldering the burden of Shadow's avatar. Either way, it was a favorite.
SeanEric, on the other hand, had no problems with his father, other than a vague feeling that he was in a race to catch up to everything his old man had done. Which is why his favorite passtime while on stage was crowd-watching, especially for lovely young women that he could spent time with during the intermission. Oh course.. that's how he wound up with the Vampiress... but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. A flash of silver caught his eye, shining momentarily from a necklace dangling entincingly upon a lovely set of breasts. As he played and sang, his mind catelogued the features... nice rack in a tank top covered by a sheer blouse, tight skirt over a shapely behind, strong legs ... oo.. Asian, with shoulder-length black hair. She was sitting alone on one of the couches, watching the stage intently.
Too intently, actually. The little voice in the back of his head tha this father called the 'suspicious bastard node' was starting to wonder why she was staring at them so closely. As the song headed for the ending chorus, his fingers paused over the guitar strings, moving in a sharp little gesture that activated a certain little spell. "Does anyone else see that little Asian lass in blue back by the couch?" he asked his cousins and sibling, speaking telepathically to all of them at once.
As the song died and they sequed into the next, one by one the rest of the Tahalshians bespoke him, using their own little tricks to activate the same spell, joining the six so they could speak as clearly as if talking aloud. Now that he'd pointed her out, everyone was curious about her. "She's harmless," Elizabeth finally bespoke them all. "But the Vampire who is approaching her is not. He's hunting..."
"Bugger that!" SeanEric's reply wasn't supposed to be shared, but at least it didn't break into the song at the time. There were muted chuckles from the rest of the Tahalshias, and some mild teasing about his tendancy to enjoy riding to the rescue of damsels in distress. "Can you spare me then, or are you going to let him get her," he finally bespoke them all. The plan was built quickly, as the song came to a close.
***
"Hey, new here?"
Leena turned, startled to actually be able to hear someone talking over the music. A tall, pale young man was standing by her elbow, smiling at her as he held a glass of some mixed drink to her. "Oh... no thanks," she replied, shaking her head to get her message across in case she wasn't speaking loud enough.
"Oh no.. please, enjoy it," the young man said, and Leena felt ... something. It was like something brushed inside her head, trying to urge her to take the glass out of his hand. She frowned, shaking her head again, and the young man now frowned slightly.
"Are you sure...?" he asked, and again Leena felt a slight brush inside her mind, even as she wondered slightly why it seemed like his voice and his lips weren't quite matching up. As the young man leaned closer, Leena backed across the couch, something telling her she didn't want him any closer.
"Come with me..." this time the young man's lips did not move as his voice echoed oddly in her head. As if in a dream, Leena found herself rising from the couch and following him as he walked towards the back, towards the restrooms down a half-hidden hallway. Absently she noticed that Elizabeth and Jhelian were finally singing, a slow haunting song that blended their alto and soprano voices into one nearly seemless whole.
"I'm so tired of being here
Suprresed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone..."
She shouldn't be following this man. Leena didn't know where he was taking her. They had passed the restrooms, turning into an alcove that she would never have known was there if she hadn't been lead there, half-hidden behind a large potten plant. The young man was drawing her closer to him, guiding her into the darkness, as Elizabeth and Jhelian sang the chorus of the song.
"These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just to real
There's just to much that time cannot erase...
When you cry
I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you scream,
I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your had through all of these years
And you still have all of me...."
"stop..." Leena tried to say, to whisper as the young man grinned wickedly at her, his eyeteeth lengthening into fangs. This wasn't supposed to happen, this was a vampire, they weren't supposed to touch her with the charm on, mother said so....
"I'm thinkin' the lass just told ya no." The voice could be heard strongly over the music in the background, and a hand clamped down on the vampire's shoulder to spin him around into a solid fist to the solar plexus. The vampire crumpled over the fist, and SeanEric threw his upper arm up into a solid jab to the lower jaw, jerking the vampire's head backwards with a snap.
The odd dreamlike state Leena had been in was fading as she watched the vampire stagger from the blow, SeanEric casually following it up with a solid right hook to the jaw that had the vampire bounce off the wall. SeanEric sidestepped tidily as the vampire fell to his knees, following up with a brutal kick to the ribcage. Leena wasn't sure if she heard something crack over the music in the background or not, but the vampire collapsed on the floor.
"Hallo... you're going to be ok now," SeanEric said, offering Leena his hand gallantly. "Let's get you back out to th' show, now, shall we? I'd hate ta think a lassie would have to miss such a fine party over the likes of this." Another hard kick was delievered to the vampire to make sure it stayed down for the moment.
Leena took his hand, shivering as he helped her step over the prone vampire. "Th... thank you...." SeanEric grinned at her, and Leena suddenly realized why all the girls in the line had been so infatuated with him. It was magnetic, electric, the full attention he'd been giving the crowd suddenly focused on her alone.
"You're very welcome, lass. I always enjoy the chance to rescue damsels in distress," he answered, tucking her hand in his elbow to lead her back out into the club. "I'm SeanEric, by the by... what's your name?" His other hand, hidden from her sight, made a few specific gestures.
As they walked back into the noise of the club, a root climbed out of the planter, wiggling like a snake over the body of the vampire. When it reached the center of his back, it stabbed brutally straight through the vampire's heart. As the vampire's body shriveled and flaked into ash, the root vanished back into the planter from which it had been summoned.
((Suggested Music: FaithNoMore, Nickleback, Evervesence, songs from the 1980s-2000s. This is a classic rock coverband with male & female leads, after all.))
Even hurrying to get ready and dressed for a hot evening at a nightclub, Leena still didn't get into YoMama's until after Tahalshian Magick had taken the stage. The sultry heat of the Lousianna night did little to deter the club-goers, dressed like Leena in short skirts and low-cut tops, decorated with gold and silver chains and bracelets. Even the silver charm Leena now wore did not attract too much attention amid the crowd. The line to get in was been long, and several conversations Leena had overheard centered around who was cuter, Shadrick or SeanEric. If the various young men were interested in any of the female Tahalshias, they were quiet about the fact while in line, laughing and joking with their friends or their dates, with the few dropping admiring looks in her direction noted and ignored. She had other business tonight.
Once inside the majority of the people did not even slow to look at the lower bar with its white and gold decor. Leena followed the flow, hearing the music pounding upstairs long before she entered the glowing red gothic archetiture of the upper bar. The crowd was gathered on the small dance floor by the stage, dancing wildly to the heart-pounding rythym as SeanEric and Shadrick traded lyrics across the stage.
"It's so cool
It's so hip
It's alright
It's so groovy
It's outta sight
You can touch it
Smell it
Taste it so sweet
But it makes no difference cuz it knocks you off your feet!"
The crowd joined in, some swaying to the beat as they sang with SeanEric "You want it all but you can't have it.... It's in your face but you can't grab it..."
The dance floor was packed, too packed for Leena to try to get closer at this point. She looked around at the couches, mostly empty with everyone dancing, and started making her way through the crowd towards one. Eventually the band would have a break, and she could try to talk to Jhelian then. She watched her half-sister up on the stage, a golden-garbed gypsy with red-gold hair seeming to have the time of her life strumming out the power chords to the classic song as the guys got the crowd rowdier.
"What Is IT?
IT'S IT!
What is it?!
IT'S IT!
What its it...
You want it all but you can't have it....
It's in your face but you can't grab it!"
Leena was so intent on watching SeanEric and Jhelian duel with their guitars on stage she did not notice an older man who was sitting in the back, watching and recording the performance. Nor did she notice when he caught her on tape by accident, the light in the club reflecting briefly off the charm around her neck, causing the man to pause and watch her curiously as she found a clear place to sit.
The song was winding down, the dualing guitars going silent, the pulsing drums fading to silence, and even the crowd hushing as a spotlight shown gently upon the blonde at the keyboard as she delicately picked out the ending melody on the piano as it slowed to a quiet arrapegio and stopped. There was a pause for the audience to cheer, then Elizabeth flicked a couple switches and started playing again, the piano enhanced, digitized. Jhelian and SeanEric joined in with Shadrick's strong bass building the foundation as Aeron banged out the rythym on the drums and Jayden gave the music a techno jazz. Shadrick stepped up to the mic and started crooning the next song.
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure, of walking in your shoes"
Jayden and SeanEric chanted the background as the girls played the melody, as yet to sing a word themselves.
"(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)"
The chorus rocked out, all six suddenly signing in perfect harmony as Shadrick lead them
"Iiiiii've (become so numb)
I can't feel you there
(Become so tired,) so much more aware
Iiii'm (becoming this), all I want to do
Is be more like me (and be less like you!)"
***
This was Shadrick's song, an open plea to his father Nitram. Like many of the songs the Tahalshian Magick sang, the honest emotion behind the lyrics is what made them powerful and enchanting to the young twenty-somethings dancing frantically out on the floor. For the crowd out on the floor, the song was rebelling against the plans made by parents, the expectations to follow set path. For Shadrick, it was a cry for Nitram not to force him into assuming the mantle of Tahalshia Family Elder, of shouldering the burden of Shadow's avatar. Either way, it was a favorite.
SeanEric, on the other hand, had no problems with his father, other than a vague feeling that he was in a race to catch up to everything his old man had done. Which is why his favorite passtime while on stage was crowd-watching, especially for lovely young women that he could spent time with during the intermission. Oh course.. that's how he wound up with the Vampiress... but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. A flash of silver caught his eye, shining momentarily from a necklace dangling entincingly upon a lovely set of breasts. As he played and sang, his mind catelogued the features... nice rack in a tank top covered by a sheer blouse, tight skirt over a shapely behind, strong legs ... oo.. Asian, with shoulder-length black hair. She was sitting alone on one of the couches, watching the stage intently.
Too intently, actually. The little voice in the back of his head tha this father called the 'suspicious bastard node' was starting to wonder why she was staring at them so closely. As the song headed for the ending chorus, his fingers paused over the guitar strings, moving in a sharp little gesture that activated a certain little spell. "Does anyone else see that little Asian lass in blue back by the couch?" he asked his cousins and sibling, speaking telepathically to all of them at once.
As the song died and they sequed into the next, one by one the rest of the Tahalshians bespoke him, using their own little tricks to activate the same spell, joining the six so they could speak as clearly as if talking aloud. Now that he'd pointed her out, everyone was curious about her. "She's harmless," Elizabeth finally bespoke them all. "But the Vampire who is approaching her is not. He's hunting..."
"Bugger that!" SeanEric's reply wasn't supposed to be shared, but at least it didn't break into the song at the time. There were muted chuckles from the rest of the Tahalshias, and some mild teasing about his tendancy to enjoy riding to the rescue of damsels in distress. "Can you spare me then, or are you going to let him get her," he finally bespoke them all. The plan was built quickly, as the song came to a close.
***
"Hey, new here?"
Leena turned, startled to actually be able to hear someone talking over the music. A tall, pale young man was standing by her elbow, smiling at her as he held a glass of some mixed drink to her. "Oh... no thanks," she replied, shaking her head to get her message across in case she wasn't speaking loud enough.
"Oh no.. please, enjoy it," the young man said, and Leena felt ... something. It was like something brushed inside her head, trying to urge her to take the glass out of his hand. She frowned, shaking her head again, and the young man now frowned slightly.
"Are you sure...?" he asked, and again Leena felt a slight brush inside her mind, even as she wondered slightly why it seemed like his voice and his lips weren't quite matching up. As the young man leaned closer, Leena backed across the couch, something telling her she didn't want him any closer.
"Come with me..." this time the young man's lips did not move as his voice echoed oddly in her head. As if in a dream, Leena found herself rising from the couch and following him as he walked towards the back, towards the restrooms down a half-hidden hallway. Absently she noticed that Elizabeth and Jhelian were finally singing, a slow haunting song that blended their alto and soprano voices into one nearly seemless whole.
"I'm so tired of being here
Suprresed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone..."
She shouldn't be following this man. Leena didn't know where he was taking her. They had passed the restrooms, turning into an alcove that she would never have known was there if she hadn't been lead there, half-hidden behind a large potten plant. The young man was drawing her closer to him, guiding her into the darkness, as Elizabeth and Jhelian sang the chorus of the song.
"These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just to real
There's just to much that time cannot erase...
When you cry
I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you scream,
I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your had through all of these years
And you still have all of me...."
"stop..." Leena tried to say, to whisper as the young man grinned wickedly at her, his eyeteeth lengthening into fangs. This wasn't supposed to happen, this was a vampire, they weren't supposed to touch her with the charm on, mother said so....
"I'm thinkin' the lass just told ya no." The voice could be heard strongly over the music in the background, and a hand clamped down on the vampire's shoulder to spin him around into a solid fist to the solar plexus. The vampire crumpled over the fist, and SeanEric threw his upper arm up into a solid jab to the lower jaw, jerking the vampire's head backwards with a snap.
The odd dreamlike state Leena had been in was fading as she watched the vampire stagger from the blow, SeanEric casually following it up with a solid right hook to the jaw that had the vampire bounce off the wall. SeanEric sidestepped tidily as the vampire fell to his knees, following up with a brutal kick to the ribcage. Leena wasn't sure if she heard something crack over the music in the background or not, but the vampire collapsed on the floor.
"Hallo... you're going to be ok now," SeanEric said, offering Leena his hand gallantly. "Let's get you back out to th' show, now, shall we? I'd hate ta think a lassie would have to miss such a fine party over the likes of this." Another hard kick was delievered to the vampire to make sure it stayed down for the moment.
Leena took his hand, shivering as he helped her step over the prone vampire. "Th... thank you...." SeanEric grinned at her, and Leena suddenly realized why all the girls in the line had been so infatuated with him. It was magnetic, electric, the full attention he'd been giving the crowd suddenly focused on her alone.
"You're very welcome, lass. I always enjoy the chance to rescue damsels in distress," he answered, tucking her hand in his elbow to lead her back out into the club. "I'm SeanEric, by the by... what's your name?" His other hand, hidden from her sight, made a few specific gestures.
As they walked back into the noise of the club, a root climbed out of the planter, wiggling like a snake over the body of the vampire. When it reached the center of his back, it stabbed brutally straight through the vampire's heart. As the vampire's body shriveled and flaked into ash, the root vanished back into the planter from which it had been summoned.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
Chapter Six: Ties that Bind
Ryu sat crosslegged on the floor of the hotel room, mediating, his breathing sure and regular as he sought the peace he'd so often been denied. A strand of his greying black hair fell into his eyes, but he ignored it, seeking the center of himself where all things could be possi..
*CRASH*
"Uh... Sorry father," Ryou's apologitic voice came from the bathroom. "I hope I didn't disturb you."
"No more than usual, Ryou," the elder Hotoro answered wryly, taking deep breaths to stop his heart from racing. Honestly, after twenty-five years, he should know by now that his son could and would drop something just at the moment Ryu was close to reaching that inner peace so often spoken of. "tsck..." he spat, rising to his feet with only a mild hitch in his leg from the old wound. "What did you drop this time... the shampoo? the cologne I saw you hiding in the bottom of your bag?"
"Funny, father.. very funny. It was the shampoo." Ryou answered, emerging from the bathroom fresh from the shower, his wet hair slicked down. It was the only time his short black hair would behave and stay out of his eyes. Like father, like son, in so very many ways. Only Ryou's brillant blue eyes and the reddish birthmark that resembled a dragon crawling up his right arm set him apart. At the moment he was wrapping that arm with athetic tape to once again hide the mark from view. "So, are you going to contact the Tahalshias so we can meet my sister?"
Ryu shook his head, "So eager to see her ... if she's as much like her mother as I think she is you'll be asking me when you can get away." Ryu had fond memories of Teamhair NicIomhair ... and less than fond memories of her temper.
"You were the one that made me wait twenty-five years," Ryou retorted. "So, yes, I'm wanting to meet her, and see if she's been dreaming of me like I've been dreaming of her."
"Fine, fine... let me get a shower, then I'll call the Manor." Ryu snorted, moving by his protesting son. "... if I can remember the phone number... shouldn't have changed, nothing ever changes in Voletta it seems.." Ryu shut the bathroom door before Ryou could make another sound.
***
*RingRing*
*RingRing*
"Tahalshia Manor, this is Nitram. If you're wanting to speak to my daughter Elizabeth, press 1. If you're wanting to speak to Blackthorne's daughter Jhelian, press 2... and god help you. If you're wanting to speak to the twins, press 3. If you're female and wanting SeanEric or Shadrick, press 4 and get in line. If you're actually wanting to speak to an adult, press 9."
On the other end of the line, Ryu had to smirk as he pressed nine.
*RingRing*
Teamhair was in the kitchen and the closest to the 'adult phone' as Nitram termed it, and she set down her rolling pin to pick it up."Hallo?"
For a long moment, Ryu couldn't speak. "... hiya Tev. Been a while."
"......... Ryu?" Teamhair asked, half in shock at hearing his voice again. "T'is tha really ye?"
"Tsck... yeah... it's me. ... How're you and Black doing?" Ryu ignored Ryou's pacing as he spoke. The boy could wait for the adults to catch up, he was young and had time.
"Weel, nowe, if this isna a fine s'prise," Teamhair retorted. "T'is twenty years since ye've last shown hide nor hair o' yerself 'round here, an' nowe yer callin' me up like all was weel? Not a word in TWENTY YEARS... but fer now. A fine friend ye are, then, goin' off wit'out a word lik' that, not e'en so much as a g'bye, nice knowin' ye...."
Ryu winced as the rant started, suddenly holding the phone at the end of his reach and still hearing Teamhair clearly. Ryou's eyes were wide as he also heard the invectives thrown his father's way, some of them he was sure weren't in English. After nearly five minutes he took matters into his own hands and took the phone away from his father. "Umm... Auntie Tev?"
The rant stopped dead as Teamhair was caught off guard. "... who's this, then?"
Ryou had no idea why he called her that.. it just seemed right. "Ryou." He sent his father a glare. "Little Ryou, I think my father is trying to pantomine."
"Mary mother-o-god..." Teamhair breathed, one hand going out to try to find a chair to sink into. Thanks to the Manor's magic, one of the kitchen chairs scuttered over to slip itself under her hand so she could sit. "Ryou... t'is ye yerself, then? My God... I've no see ye since ye were four..."
This was news to Ryou. "I... I'm sorry, Auntie Tev, I ... don't remember."
A low growl from Teamhair. "Well... blame that on yer father then. I'd been babysittin' ye longside me own babes all tha' time, til he up an' left wit ye. Dinnae e'en say a word o' goodbye, jis' left a letter sayin' 'Thanks fer e'erything, gotta go'. Bloody sassenach... tell 'em ta get his arse ta th' Manor so I can learn 'em some manners."
Ryou's blue eyes were narrowed as he stared at his father. "Oh.. yes... I'm blaming a lot of things on him. He only just now told me about my sister."
Another long pause from Teamhair. "Som'how I'm guessin' yer no' talking 'bout yer twin." she finally answered with a sigh. "So... yer wantin' ta meet her 'gain, I'm thinkin'."
"Again?" Ryou asked, then realized what she'd meant by babysitting. "I... I didn't even know I'd met her the first time!" he exclaimed, again looking to his father in shock at all that had been hidden from him. Ryu looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "Where is she? Can I talk to her? I've been seeing her in my dreams all my life!"
"In yer dreams?" Teamhair repeated, and a small part of her that had spent far too long near her husband Blackthorne sincerely hoped it hadn't been -those- kind of dreams. "Weel... if she'd dreamt o' ye, she's ne'er said.... Bu' where're ye righ' nowe... Voletta or N'awleans? Cause all th' bairns are there in N'awleans fer a gig t'night"
"A gig?" Ryou asked, confused and a little hurt that Jhelian may not have dreamed of him as well. "What's a gig?"
"They're a band, Ryou-luv. They're playin' t'night at Yo Mama's in th' Quarter a' 8'oclock." Teamhair explained, her voice softening. "P'haps if ye see them, ye'll r'call playin' wit' them when ye were small. A' least they've seen ye in pictures from th' time. I'll warn 'em yer comin', so they'll be 'spectin' ye. If ye still hav' tha' birthmark, they'll know it. Nowe, be a dear an' han' me back ta yer father, would ye nowe?" Teamhair's voice was overly sweet. "We've a lot ta catch up on."
Ryou eyes his father with a nasty grin. "Of course, Auntie Tev. I'm sure he'll be happy to talk to you again." Ignoring his father's frantic handwaving and 'no i'm not here' looks, he pointedly handed the receiver over. "Here, father. Have fun."
The last thing Ryou saw as he headed out for dinner was his father holding the phone at arm's reach as Teamhair reamed him verbally for the last twenty years.
***
There. See her now? Otamio asked Alexander as they viewed the recording of last night's Tahalshian Magick concert. The young Asian walking in front of the camera?
Alexander's grey eyes narrowed, pausing the recording to get a good look at the young woman. "Her necklace... kanji over the Zand trademark." The shared body was once again on a plane, heading south to New Orleans, only an hour away from landing. "What of her, Otamio."
Read the kanji. It's her name. Otamio replied, unable to hide his excitement. Two of the children in the same place? The cycle was drawing them together, it was the only answer. But was Jasmina there as well, that was the question. Otamio smiled to himself. He would not mind meeting his old lover again.
Alexander puzzled it out, sounding out the possible translations. "Lina?" he finally asked, confused.
Leena Zand. The daughter of Hotoro that your father and I adopted alongside our lover Jasmina, after fooling Ryu into believing she was dead.. Otamio corrected. Or have you forgotten her and your dear step-mother?
"I have not forgotten," Alexander snarled. "Your old lover is a constant pain, sticking her nose into my business matters, unable to be content with what I have given her and my sister." He looked again at the image, then deliberately starting it again. "So what is she doing there..." he asked as he let the recording continue and allowing himself to be drawn in by the enchanting figure of Jhelian Tahalshia as she played and sang on stage, losing himself in the sound of her voice as she took center stage.
Focus, fool. Where did SeanEric go just now?
"What?" Alexander frowned, rewinding the tape, watching more carefully. "He's left the stage... but the camera didn't follow him." he muttered, setting the recording to speed forward before pausing on SeanEric's reappearance on the dance floor. "It's her again..."
Yes. Dancing with Jhelian's own brother, and both of them seeming to enjoy themselves. Otamio added, having spotted them during the first viewing. Does that answer your question, Alex? She's there to make contact with the Tahalshias. Perhaps she will even try to use her kinship to Jhelian to lure them over to Jasmina.
"Damn interferring bitch," Alexander snarled, rising to his feet to pace, his mind racing at the thought of his step-mother's meddling. "Why did you wed her in the first place, you blasted demon. Couldn't you or my father keep it in your pants?"
Jasmina had her uses, in bed and out. Otamio answered coldly. Her talents suited my purpose and she got what she most desired out of it... a family. Had I not ordered your foster mother Lina to take you away, you would have grown up as Jasmina's puppet as well.
"Would it have been better than being your puppet? Or would she have found a way to rid me of you." Alexander snidely retorted.
Otamio did not dignify that with an answer. We are approaching New Orleans. Are you sure you wish to go to the show tonight, and not wait until the morning to meet them privately?
"You ask this now, after pointing out my adopted sister already contacting them for whatever purpose of her own? Go back to the corner you hide in, Otamio, and let me deal with this matter myself."
Otamio did not answer, drawing himself back into a corner to horde his strength. He had his own plans for tonight, and he would need the strength to claim the body for his own. Silently he watched the recording as Alexander played through it once more. Two Children of Hotoro, or would Leena now be a Child of Zand?... and if there were two... where was the third?
Ryu sat crosslegged on the floor of the hotel room, mediating, his breathing sure and regular as he sought the peace he'd so often been denied. A strand of his greying black hair fell into his eyes, but he ignored it, seeking the center of himself where all things could be possi..
*CRASH*
"Uh... Sorry father," Ryou's apologitic voice came from the bathroom. "I hope I didn't disturb you."
"No more than usual, Ryou," the elder Hotoro answered wryly, taking deep breaths to stop his heart from racing. Honestly, after twenty-five years, he should know by now that his son could and would drop something just at the moment Ryu was close to reaching that inner peace so often spoken of. "tsck..." he spat, rising to his feet with only a mild hitch in his leg from the old wound. "What did you drop this time... the shampoo? the cologne I saw you hiding in the bottom of your bag?"
"Funny, father.. very funny. It was the shampoo." Ryou answered, emerging from the bathroom fresh from the shower, his wet hair slicked down. It was the only time his short black hair would behave and stay out of his eyes. Like father, like son, in so very many ways. Only Ryou's brillant blue eyes and the reddish birthmark that resembled a dragon crawling up his right arm set him apart. At the moment he was wrapping that arm with athetic tape to once again hide the mark from view. "So, are you going to contact the Tahalshias so we can meet my sister?"
Ryu shook his head, "So eager to see her ... if she's as much like her mother as I think she is you'll be asking me when you can get away." Ryu had fond memories of Teamhair NicIomhair ... and less than fond memories of her temper.
"You were the one that made me wait twenty-five years," Ryou retorted. "So, yes, I'm wanting to meet her, and see if she's been dreaming of me like I've been dreaming of her."
"Fine, fine... let me get a shower, then I'll call the Manor." Ryu snorted, moving by his protesting son. "... if I can remember the phone number... shouldn't have changed, nothing ever changes in Voletta it seems.." Ryu shut the bathroom door before Ryou could make another sound.
***
*RingRing*
*RingRing*
"Tahalshia Manor, this is Nitram. If you're wanting to speak to my daughter Elizabeth, press 1. If you're wanting to speak to Blackthorne's daughter Jhelian, press 2... and god help you. If you're wanting to speak to the twins, press 3. If you're female and wanting SeanEric or Shadrick, press 4 and get in line. If you're actually wanting to speak to an adult, press 9."
On the other end of the line, Ryu had to smirk as he pressed nine.
*RingRing*
Teamhair was in the kitchen and the closest to the 'adult phone' as Nitram termed it, and she set down her rolling pin to pick it up."Hallo?"
For a long moment, Ryu couldn't speak. "... hiya Tev. Been a while."
"......... Ryu?" Teamhair asked, half in shock at hearing his voice again. "T'is tha really ye?"
"Tsck... yeah... it's me. ... How're you and Black doing?" Ryu ignored Ryou's pacing as he spoke. The boy could wait for the adults to catch up, he was young and had time.
"Weel, nowe, if this isna a fine s'prise," Teamhair retorted. "T'is twenty years since ye've last shown hide nor hair o' yerself 'round here, an' nowe yer callin' me up like all was weel? Not a word in TWENTY YEARS... but fer now. A fine friend ye are, then, goin' off wit'out a word lik' that, not e'en so much as a g'bye, nice knowin' ye...."
Ryu winced as the rant started, suddenly holding the phone at the end of his reach and still hearing Teamhair clearly. Ryou's eyes were wide as he also heard the invectives thrown his father's way, some of them he was sure weren't in English. After nearly five minutes he took matters into his own hands and took the phone away from his father. "Umm... Auntie Tev?"
The rant stopped dead as Teamhair was caught off guard. "... who's this, then?"
Ryou had no idea why he called her that.. it just seemed right. "Ryou." He sent his father a glare. "Little Ryou, I think my father is trying to pantomine."
"Mary mother-o-god..." Teamhair breathed, one hand going out to try to find a chair to sink into. Thanks to the Manor's magic, one of the kitchen chairs scuttered over to slip itself under her hand so she could sit. "Ryou... t'is ye yerself, then? My God... I've no see ye since ye were four..."
This was news to Ryou. "I... I'm sorry, Auntie Tev, I ... don't remember."
A low growl from Teamhair. "Well... blame that on yer father then. I'd been babysittin' ye longside me own babes all tha' time, til he up an' left wit ye. Dinnae e'en say a word o' goodbye, jis' left a letter sayin' 'Thanks fer e'erything, gotta go'. Bloody sassenach... tell 'em ta get his arse ta th' Manor so I can learn 'em some manners."
Ryou's blue eyes were narrowed as he stared at his father. "Oh.. yes... I'm blaming a lot of things on him. He only just now told me about my sister."
Another long pause from Teamhair. "Som'how I'm guessin' yer no' talking 'bout yer twin." she finally answered with a sigh. "So... yer wantin' ta meet her 'gain, I'm thinkin'."
"Again?" Ryou asked, then realized what she'd meant by babysitting. "I... I didn't even know I'd met her the first time!" he exclaimed, again looking to his father in shock at all that had been hidden from him. Ryu looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "Where is she? Can I talk to her? I've been seeing her in my dreams all my life!"
"In yer dreams?" Teamhair repeated, and a small part of her that had spent far too long near her husband Blackthorne sincerely hoped it hadn't been -those- kind of dreams. "Weel... if she'd dreamt o' ye, she's ne'er said.... Bu' where're ye righ' nowe... Voletta or N'awleans? Cause all th' bairns are there in N'awleans fer a gig t'night"
"A gig?" Ryou asked, confused and a little hurt that Jhelian may not have dreamed of him as well. "What's a gig?"
"They're a band, Ryou-luv. They're playin' t'night at Yo Mama's in th' Quarter a' 8'oclock." Teamhair explained, her voice softening. "P'haps if ye see them, ye'll r'call playin' wit' them when ye were small. A' least they've seen ye in pictures from th' time. I'll warn 'em yer comin', so they'll be 'spectin' ye. If ye still hav' tha' birthmark, they'll know it. Nowe, be a dear an' han' me back ta yer father, would ye nowe?" Teamhair's voice was overly sweet. "We've a lot ta catch up on."
Ryou eyes his father with a nasty grin. "Of course, Auntie Tev. I'm sure he'll be happy to talk to you again." Ignoring his father's frantic handwaving and 'no i'm not here' looks, he pointedly handed the receiver over. "Here, father. Have fun."
The last thing Ryou saw as he headed out for dinner was his father holding the phone at arm's reach as Teamhair reamed him verbally for the last twenty years.
***
There. See her now? Otamio asked Alexander as they viewed the recording of last night's Tahalshian Magick concert. The young Asian walking in front of the camera?
Alexander's grey eyes narrowed, pausing the recording to get a good look at the young woman. "Her necklace... kanji over the Zand trademark." The shared body was once again on a plane, heading south to New Orleans, only an hour away from landing. "What of her, Otamio."
Read the kanji. It's her name. Otamio replied, unable to hide his excitement. Two of the children in the same place? The cycle was drawing them together, it was the only answer. But was Jasmina there as well, that was the question. Otamio smiled to himself. He would not mind meeting his old lover again.
Alexander puzzled it out, sounding out the possible translations. "Lina?" he finally asked, confused.
Leena Zand. The daughter of Hotoro that your father and I adopted alongside our lover Jasmina, after fooling Ryu into believing she was dead.. Otamio corrected. Or have you forgotten her and your dear step-mother?
"I have not forgotten," Alexander snarled. "Your old lover is a constant pain, sticking her nose into my business matters, unable to be content with what I have given her and my sister." He looked again at the image, then deliberately starting it again. "So what is she doing there..." he asked as he let the recording continue and allowing himself to be drawn in by the enchanting figure of Jhelian Tahalshia as she played and sang on stage, losing himself in the sound of her voice as she took center stage.
Focus, fool. Where did SeanEric go just now?
"What?" Alexander frowned, rewinding the tape, watching more carefully. "He's left the stage... but the camera didn't follow him." he muttered, setting the recording to speed forward before pausing on SeanEric's reappearance on the dance floor. "It's her again..."
Yes. Dancing with Jhelian's own brother, and both of them seeming to enjoy themselves. Otamio added, having spotted them during the first viewing. Does that answer your question, Alex? She's there to make contact with the Tahalshias. Perhaps she will even try to use her kinship to Jhelian to lure them over to Jasmina.
"Damn interferring bitch," Alexander snarled, rising to his feet to pace, his mind racing at the thought of his step-mother's meddling. "Why did you wed her in the first place, you blasted demon. Couldn't you or my father keep it in your pants?"
Jasmina had her uses, in bed and out. Otamio answered coldly. Her talents suited my purpose and she got what she most desired out of it... a family. Had I not ordered your foster mother Lina to take you away, you would have grown up as Jasmina's puppet as well.
"Would it have been better than being your puppet? Or would she have found a way to rid me of you." Alexander snidely retorted.
Otamio did not dignify that with an answer. We are approaching New Orleans. Are you sure you wish to go to the show tonight, and not wait until the morning to meet them privately?
"You ask this now, after pointing out my adopted sister already contacting them for whatever purpose of her own? Go back to the corner you hide in, Otamio, and let me deal with this matter myself."
Otamio did not answer, drawing himself back into a corner to horde his strength. He had his own plans for tonight, and he would need the strength to claim the body for his own. Silently he watched the recording as Alexander played through it once more. Two Children of Hotoro, or would Leena now be a Child of Zand?... and if there were two... where was the third?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
-
Ford Prefect
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 8254
- Joined: 2005-05-16 04:08am
- Location: The real number domain
Chapter Seven: Storm Rising
Leena had been walking on air since last night. SeanEric had danced with her, had gotten back on stage and sang to her, had taken her out to this little cafe that she'd have never found on her own after the show and fed her an early breakfast. Then he had escorted her to the marina as the sun rose over the city and said goodbye to her there on the docks in front of her houseboat, doing no more than dropping an intimate and gallant kiss onto her hand.
Only now that the sun was slowly lowering in the sky and she was getting ready for Tahalshian Magick's second appearance did she realize that not once did she get to speak to Jhelian ... or to any of the other band members. They had politely introduced themselves, then left her and SeanEric to themselves all night. But what a night! She and SeanEric had talked for hours, he sharing stories of growing up amongst the Tahalshia clan, she of her life as the only child. They'd found mutual interests in classes they'd taken in college, and enough differences to make interesting debates on current events.
Yet ... somehow ... she'd never mentioned her connection to Jhelian. She didn't know why, but she held that back from him. She felt that some of his stories had parts taken out of them, little missing details on how he'd gotten into the girls locker room without being seen, for instance. Was he holding back something as well?
Leena shook her head, taking in a deep breath. It did not matter. Tonight she would speak to Jhelian about their father.
***
"We shouldn't tease SeanEric about Leena," Elizabeth suddenly stated. "She's very important, and she's going to be family."
That one statement stopped all conversation at the table where the Tahalshian cousins were eating dinner before the show. SeanEric had been the butt of many a tease up til this point, protesting that he had been a gentlemen the night before, while getting ribbed mercilessly by everyone but Elizabeth. It should have been an amusing sight: forks half-raised to mouths, looks of shock on everyone's faces, and SeanEric blushing highly.
Elizabeth calmly took a sip of her drink, giving her cousins and brother time to recover themselves. It still took several seconds before any of them actually spoke to her. "Sis... what did you see," Shadrick finally asked the question they all wanted to know.
Elizabeth paused, her dark eyes unfocusing. When she spoke, it was in a childish singsong voice. "Connecting threads... forming a circle. A cycle long past the need for closure. Three children of different mothers, facing one of the Darkness. One shall fall, and one shall falter, and one shall be the two entwined."
The five cousins looked at each other uneasily as Elizabeth suddenly shivered, then took another drink from her glass, her dark eyes once again clear. "SeanEric needs to watch over Leena," she said in her normal voice. "There's going to be trouble tonight."
***
Ryou sighed, looking at the line stretching out in front of Yo Mamas. "Tsch... it's going to take an Hour to get in," he muttered to himself as he waited to cross the street. The night was hot and steamy, not that much different from what he was used to in Carolina. Still, the weather meant several lovely women wearing tight tanktops and short skirts as they waited in line to get inside the air-conditioned club. "I could really get to like this town..." Ryou muttered, watching one dark-haired Asian girl walk to the head of the line and converse with the bouncer. She wore a silver necklace around her neck that dangled down over her cleavage...
"That kind of focus is both a help and a hinderance," his father's voice said at his back.
"Wha!!" Ryou yelped, turning suddenly to stare at the older Hotoro, who had somehow snuck up behind him. "What... what are you doing here? I thought you were at the hotel!"
"Tevar finally finished yelling at me," Ryu answered, looking at the line waiting to get inside just as his son had done. "Tsck.. it's going to take an hour to get inside. Ah well, at least the scenery is nice, right?" he said, giving his son a wide grin.
"You are a dirty old man, father..." Ryou sighed, following him across the street to join in with the crowd of twenty-somethings. The next hour was sheer torture, as his father seemed to enjoy embarrassing him by chatting up the young ladies in front and behind him. It was going to be a long wait, and he passed the time watching the cars slowly driving by, admiring how many of them had lovely ladies driving with their windows open or the tops down on their convertables. He could really get to like New Orleans...
That is when the limo pulled to the side of the road, parking in front of the club's entrance. As Ryou watched the chauffeur, his arm started to burn, shooting up the dragon-shaped birthmark. He gasped, clutching his arm to his stomach, rubbing it through the wraps he used to keep it covered. Impossibly, there seemed to be glints of light shining from underneath the cloth.
His son's distress caught Ryu's attention, and he turned from the girls he'd been chatting with to see what was wrong. The faint glow made his breath catch in his throat. "no... impossible..." he muttered, glancing around and noticing the limo parked a few feet away. Ryu's dark eyes widened as a young man with immaculately cut hair of pure silver got out of the limo and started for the door. "no. it can't be..." he muttered, half a prayer as he watched the silver-haired man step onto the sidewalk and stride imperiously towards the door. "Otamio."
***
Alexander had been impatient since the plane had landed. He'd forced himself to rest, then to eat before calling the limo to drigve him to the French Quarter. It did not help his mood that Otamio was unusally quiet inside his head. That worried him, more than the thought of that bitch Jasmina's daughter moving in on Tahalshian Magick. The demon had to be planning something, and Alexander had to be prepared for the eventual fight that would take place when it happened.
The limo pulled up to YoMama's, and the sight of the line both pleased and annoyed him. It meant that Tahalshian Magick could fill the club, but it also meant that he would have to deal with the press of people inside. If his people got things right, he should be expected by the management, and they would have a private place for him to watch the show.
As he emerged from the air conditioned limo into the sticky Lousianna night, he felt Otamio twist inside him, like a snake coiling to strike. It was enough to make him pause in his steps, covering his actions by looking down the line of people gathered.
Hotoro. He's here. Otamio whispered inside Alexander's mind. Can you not feel him?
Alexander bit back the words, trying to merely think them as his gray eyes scanned the crowd. Otamio watched through his eyes, searching faces intently. There was a knot of girls, surrounding two men, one young holding his arm as if pained, the other...
Alexander frowned, meeting the eyes of the old Asian man. The man had stepped protectively in front of the younger, staring Alexander down, a look of determination and hate in his eyes. Ryu.... Otamio hissed inside his mind. Time has been unkind to him.... Alexander noted the grey in the man's hair, the wrinkles on his face... and the near-perfect fighting stance he'd dropped into. Then his eyes went to the younger man behind Ryu, the demon's vison allowing him to see the glowing light hidden by the wrappings on the young man's arm.
A tug on his arm distracted him, and Alexander's glare bored into his chauffeur. The man recoiled, meekly motioning towards the door. Alexander nodded sharply, turning to walk inside. What are you doing?! Otamio shouted. Hotoro is here, both of them! It is too soon, we must have time to plan for...
"Shut up," Alexander whispered, striding into the air-conditioned club, leaving the father and son outside. "You have wanted this for decades ... or are you afraid of an old man with a bad leg?" Ignoring Otamio's anger for the moment, Alexander made nice with the owner of Yo Mama's, falling into the professional shell that he'd cultured as head of Zand Industries.
Tell him not to let them in... Otamio insisted in the back of his mind, and fumed when he was ignored. He couldn't risk taking over the body right now, too many witnesses, too many questions should Alexander fight back and force the body into a seizure. Sooner or later, the Hotoros would be inside the club. Ryu would make contact with his daughter... but would he know to speak to Leena? Otamio couldn't allow that to happen. There had to be a way to keep them apart. He had to gain control of the body as soon as possible.
Leena had been walking on air since last night. SeanEric had danced with her, had gotten back on stage and sang to her, had taken her out to this little cafe that she'd have never found on her own after the show and fed her an early breakfast. Then he had escorted her to the marina as the sun rose over the city and said goodbye to her there on the docks in front of her houseboat, doing no more than dropping an intimate and gallant kiss onto her hand.
Only now that the sun was slowly lowering in the sky and she was getting ready for Tahalshian Magick's second appearance did she realize that not once did she get to speak to Jhelian ... or to any of the other band members. They had politely introduced themselves, then left her and SeanEric to themselves all night. But what a night! She and SeanEric had talked for hours, he sharing stories of growing up amongst the Tahalshia clan, she of her life as the only child. They'd found mutual interests in classes they'd taken in college, and enough differences to make interesting debates on current events.
Yet ... somehow ... she'd never mentioned her connection to Jhelian. She didn't know why, but she held that back from him. She felt that some of his stories had parts taken out of them, little missing details on how he'd gotten into the girls locker room without being seen, for instance. Was he holding back something as well?
Leena shook her head, taking in a deep breath. It did not matter. Tonight she would speak to Jhelian about their father.
***
"We shouldn't tease SeanEric about Leena," Elizabeth suddenly stated. "She's very important, and she's going to be family."
That one statement stopped all conversation at the table where the Tahalshian cousins were eating dinner before the show. SeanEric had been the butt of many a tease up til this point, protesting that he had been a gentlemen the night before, while getting ribbed mercilessly by everyone but Elizabeth. It should have been an amusing sight: forks half-raised to mouths, looks of shock on everyone's faces, and SeanEric blushing highly.
Elizabeth calmly took a sip of her drink, giving her cousins and brother time to recover themselves. It still took several seconds before any of them actually spoke to her. "Sis... what did you see," Shadrick finally asked the question they all wanted to know.
Elizabeth paused, her dark eyes unfocusing. When she spoke, it was in a childish singsong voice. "Connecting threads... forming a circle. A cycle long past the need for closure. Three children of different mothers, facing one of the Darkness. One shall fall, and one shall falter, and one shall be the two entwined."
The five cousins looked at each other uneasily as Elizabeth suddenly shivered, then took another drink from her glass, her dark eyes once again clear. "SeanEric needs to watch over Leena," she said in her normal voice. "There's going to be trouble tonight."
***
Ryou sighed, looking at the line stretching out in front of Yo Mamas. "Tsch... it's going to take an Hour to get in," he muttered to himself as he waited to cross the street. The night was hot and steamy, not that much different from what he was used to in Carolina. Still, the weather meant several lovely women wearing tight tanktops and short skirts as they waited in line to get inside the air-conditioned club. "I could really get to like this town..." Ryou muttered, watching one dark-haired Asian girl walk to the head of the line and converse with the bouncer. She wore a silver necklace around her neck that dangled down over her cleavage...
"That kind of focus is both a help and a hinderance," his father's voice said at his back.
"Wha!!" Ryou yelped, turning suddenly to stare at the older Hotoro, who had somehow snuck up behind him. "What... what are you doing here? I thought you were at the hotel!"
"Tevar finally finished yelling at me," Ryu answered, looking at the line waiting to get inside just as his son had done. "Tsck.. it's going to take an hour to get inside. Ah well, at least the scenery is nice, right?" he said, giving his son a wide grin.
"You are a dirty old man, father..." Ryou sighed, following him across the street to join in with the crowd of twenty-somethings. The next hour was sheer torture, as his father seemed to enjoy embarrassing him by chatting up the young ladies in front and behind him. It was going to be a long wait, and he passed the time watching the cars slowly driving by, admiring how many of them had lovely ladies driving with their windows open or the tops down on their convertables. He could really get to like New Orleans...
That is when the limo pulled to the side of the road, parking in front of the club's entrance. As Ryou watched the chauffeur, his arm started to burn, shooting up the dragon-shaped birthmark. He gasped, clutching his arm to his stomach, rubbing it through the wraps he used to keep it covered. Impossibly, there seemed to be glints of light shining from underneath the cloth.
His son's distress caught Ryu's attention, and he turned from the girls he'd been chatting with to see what was wrong. The faint glow made his breath catch in his throat. "no... impossible..." he muttered, glancing around and noticing the limo parked a few feet away. Ryu's dark eyes widened as a young man with immaculately cut hair of pure silver got out of the limo and started for the door. "no. it can't be..." he muttered, half a prayer as he watched the silver-haired man step onto the sidewalk and stride imperiously towards the door. "Otamio."
***
Alexander had been impatient since the plane had landed. He'd forced himself to rest, then to eat before calling the limo to drigve him to the French Quarter. It did not help his mood that Otamio was unusally quiet inside his head. That worried him, more than the thought of that bitch Jasmina's daughter moving in on Tahalshian Magick. The demon had to be planning something, and Alexander had to be prepared for the eventual fight that would take place when it happened.
The limo pulled up to YoMama's, and the sight of the line both pleased and annoyed him. It meant that Tahalshian Magick could fill the club, but it also meant that he would have to deal with the press of people inside. If his people got things right, he should be expected by the management, and they would have a private place for him to watch the show.
As he emerged from the air conditioned limo into the sticky Lousianna night, he felt Otamio twist inside him, like a snake coiling to strike. It was enough to make him pause in his steps, covering his actions by looking down the line of people gathered.
Hotoro. He's here. Otamio whispered inside Alexander's mind. Can you not feel him?
Alexander bit back the words, trying to merely think them as his gray eyes scanned the crowd. Otamio watched through his eyes, searching faces intently. There was a knot of girls, surrounding two men, one young holding his arm as if pained, the other...
Alexander frowned, meeting the eyes of the old Asian man. The man had stepped protectively in front of the younger, staring Alexander down, a look of determination and hate in his eyes. Ryu.... Otamio hissed inside his mind. Time has been unkind to him.... Alexander noted the grey in the man's hair, the wrinkles on his face... and the near-perfect fighting stance he'd dropped into. Then his eyes went to the younger man behind Ryu, the demon's vison allowing him to see the glowing light hidden by the wrappings on the young man's arm.
A tug on his arm distracted him, and Alexander's glare bored into his chauffeur. The man recoiled, meekly motioning towards the door. Alexander nodded sharply, turning to walk inside. What are you doing?! Otamio shouted. Hotoro is here, both of them! It is too soon, we must have time to plan for...
"Shut up," Alexander whispered, striding into the air-conditioned club, leaving the father and son outside. "You have wanted this for decades ... or are you afraid of an old man with a bad leg?" Ignoring Otamio's anger for the moment, Alexander made nice with the owner of Yo Mama's, falling into the professional shell that he'd cultured as head of Zand Industries.
Tell him not to let them in... Otamio insisted in the back of his mind, and fumed when he was ignored. He couldn't risk taking over the body right now, too many witnesses, too many questions should Alexander fight back and force the body into a seizure. Sooner or later, the Hotoros would be inside the club. Ryu would make contact with his daughter... but would he know to speak to Leena? Otamio couldn't allow that to happen. There had to be a way to keep them apart. He had to gain control of the body as soon as possible.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
Give me about a week or so... this next chapter will be tricky.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
-
Ford Prefect
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 8254
- Joined: 2005-05-16 04:08am
- Location: The real number domain
Chapter 8: Into the Fire
Leena had only to mention her name to the bouncer at the door, and she was let through into the club. As he'd promised, SeanEric had left word for her to be allowed inside and escorted to join him and his cousins backstage before the show. As the door to the green room opened, Leena found herself the center of six equally intense stares as all the Tahalshias stop what they're doing and turn to face her.
"Leena, m' dear! You came after all!" SeanEric said, the only one smiling as he crossed the room to meet her. The rest of the Tahalshias seemed to be exchanging silent conversations, glancing at each other behind SeanEric's back as he tried to guide Leena over to a seat. It made her feel very uncomfortable... as if they were inspecting her, judging her... and wondering why she should be allowed back here with them.
"I ... if I'm intruding, maybe I could wait..." she started to say, but was overwhelmed by SeanEric's overly boisterous reply.
"Oh no, lass.. you're fine. Jus' ignore my family, here... they're not used to me bringin' ladies back here wit' us."
At that, the cousins all looked at each other, as if sharing a private joke at SeanEric's expense. To Leena's confusion, SeanEric turned to glare at only one of them, his cousin Jayden. "It's ok, Leena," Jhelian spoke aloud, giving the asian woman a companionable smile. "We're jus' curious b'cause he's been pacin' like a cat, wonderin' if ye'd show."
"She's right," the one named Shadrick chimed in, smirking. "You're the first one he's ever introduced to the family, actually."
"Thank you so very much," SeanEric retorted, giving them both a glare, before turning back to Leena apologetically. "Fergive them... they like ta pick on me so much they ferget their manners..."
"I'm sorry... I don't mean to cause problems" Leena said, blushing slightly, still feeling like private conversations were being held between the cousins. Glances were exchanged, lips would twist in a smile or a smirk, and SeanEric again sent sharp looks to one of them as if they'd said something he didn't like. "I can leave.. if it's bothering your family..." She started to rise, unnerved by the silent conversations, the odd looks, the sheer oddness she felt in the air.
All the Tahalshias suddenly jerked their eyes towards Elizabeth as if shocked. The etheral blonde rose from her seat, crossing over to look more carefully at Leena, and even SeanEric moved out of her way. "Yes... I see now. That's why you're here." Leena sank back into the chair under Elizabeth's oddly distant gaze, all color leaving her face as Elizabeth turned to Jhelian and announced "It's all about your father."
***
Otamio watched passively through Alexander's eyes as the manager of Yo Mamas made him welcome. The boy was an annoyance, one that Otamio wished he had the power to rid himself of. Circumstances were moving too quickly. Hotoro was here, there was no time to stand around and make small talk with yes-men. Damn the boy... had Otamio full control of the body, he could have tracked both of Hotoro's brats from the start. He may have even been able to kill the Tahalshia girl at some point, removing a player from this little game. Now... now all three of Hotoro's brats were about to meet, and Otamio had no way to interfere because he was trapped inside his own stubborn son.
His son... who was now approaching the green room where the Tahalshian Magick were waiting to step out onstage. As the manager knocked on the door to announce him, Otamio faded back further into his own pocket, banking his anger and frustration. For now, all he could do was watch and wait for a moment Alexander would be alone.
***
"Father... stop ignoring me and tell me what is going on," Ryou finally said bluntly, absently rubbing his arm as he followed the elder Hotoro inside the club. The burning sensation was gone, yet it still felt strange, as if it wasn't quite his arm anymore. For the last fifteen minutes Ryu had been tense, snapping at his son everytime Ryou had tried to talk to him. At one point Ryou was sure his father was about to turn around and leave.
"Did you forget what I told you already?" Ryu snarled, pushing his way through the crowded ground floor of Yo Mamas, trying to get upstairs as quickly as possible. "Part of you recognized him, at least." Upstairs, he had to find Jhelian, that was the only reason Otamio could be here. The posters were all over town, announcing when the band would be there. "The demon's after Jhelian," he muttered aloud, causing a couple people to give him weird looks.
"Demon...?" Ryou repeated, then he connected the dots. A sudden lunge, and he caught his father by the arm, forcing Ryu to stop. "Wait a minute ... the silver-haried man... that's Otamio?" Ryou asked once he'd pulled his father out of the main press. The noise of the crowd made it a little hard to speak, forcing him to talk louder than he wanted. "You think he's here for my sister? Why now?"
"He knew Tev was pregnant," Ryu answered angrily, forcing Ryou to lean closer to hear clearly. "He knew the child was mine, despite her public claims. Now, she's out in public, outside her parent's protection, and posters announcing the fact are plastered all over town." Ryu's fists were clenched, and he glared upstairs where he could almost feel Otamio waiting for them. "If he gets to her first, he'll kill her... or worse. We have to stop him." The elder Hotoro stared down his son. "If you do not think you can do this, stay out of my way."
***
It was an odd little group Alexander faced as he was ushered into the green room. It was almost as if the manager's knock had interrupted an important conversation. His grey eyes trailed over each of their faces, mentally attaching names to them, and came to rest upon the one he had not expected to see. "Leena."
At her name his step-sister started, seeming to turn a little paler than she had been before. "I... do I know you?" she asked, looking like a frightened deer.
Alexander's eyebrow raised, and he snorted. "You should, although the last time we met you were still a babe in my dear stepmother's arms." The shocked look on Leena's face told the story clearly. "I see. Your mother has been keeping secrets again, hasn't she. Did she even mention me to you?"
"Not ta be rude or an'thing ... but yer upsettin' the lass. Nowe, tell us who ye are, or get th' bloody hell out."
Alexander turned, meeting the bright green eyes of "... SeanEric, is it?" he asked calmly, weighing him up as the younger man stepped protectively in front of Leena. "My apologies... I had not expected to meet family here, estranged as we are. I am Alexander Zand, head of Zand Industries." He heard Leena gasp in shock but continued smoothly. "Leena is my adopted sister, her mother Jasmina takes care of most of the Stateside business."
The Tahalshias all exchanged glances at this information, almost as if they were speaking privately to each other. Alexander's eyes narrowed, watching their faces, feeling like he was missing something vital. Perhaps Otamio would snidely clue him in afterwards, as he so often enjoyed pointing out things Alexander missed. One thing was clear from the exchange of glances ... Jhelian and Elizabeth had the final say. The two women gave each other a final glance, then Jhelian faced him. "We dinna have much time b'fore the show, Mr Zand, but I'll be mor'n happy to talk a spell wit' you while the rest finish setting up outside. Jayden, Aeron, doublecheck th' soundboards. SeanEric, why dinna ye tak' Leena out an' find her a nice place ta watch th' show from, hmm?"
The cousins obeyed, almost as if they already knew what they were supposed to do, and the words were for Alexander's benefit. He had to hide a smirk as SeanEric walked protectively between himself and Leena. "We will have to talk more later, Leena ... now that you're no longer behind your mother's skirts," he said, more to annoy SeanEric than his stepsister. It left him alone with Jhelian, Elizabeth and ... Alexander frowned. There should be one of the men in here ... Shadrick. He had not seen him leave, so he should still be in the green room with them. Yet there was no sign of him....
"Ye wanted to speak to us?" Jhelian interrupted, and Alexander focused on the matter at hand.
"Yes, I was hoping to offer Tahalshian Magick a contract with our recording studio..." Alexander replied, starting his pitch.
***
In the back of Alexander's mind, Otamio fumed impotently. His high-handed son had already lost this round, it was clear from how the Tahalshias had protected Leena that they had already found common ground. The one called Shadrick was still in the room, hiding by means even Otamio's demonic sight couldn't trace. That alone unnerved him, and Alexander's blindness to the danger infuriated him. The Irish singer had been more than human... why should her offspring not be so as well? Pictures had not done justice to how closely Jhelian resembled her mother, with only the brown eyes to show her Hotoro blood. It was like time had reversed twenty-five years and he was once again facing Teamhair NicIomhair.
He should have killed her when he had the chance. Now, trapped in his son's mind, surrounded by three enemies of unknown power, all Otamio could do was wait.
Leena had only to mention her name to the bouncer at the door, and she was let through into the club. As he'd promised, SeanEric had left word for her to be allowed inside and escorted to join him and his cousins backstage before the show. As the door to the green room opened, Leena found herself the center of six equally intense stares as all the Tahalshias stop what they're doing and turn to face her.
"Leena, m' dear! You came after all!" SeanEric said, the only one smiling as he crossed the room to meet her. The rest of the Tahalshias seemed to be exchanging silent conversations, glancing at each other behind SeanEric's back as he tried to guide Leena over to a seat. It made her feel very uncomfortable... as if they were inspecting her, judging her... and wondering why she should be allowed back here with them.
"I ... if I'm intruding, maybe I could wait..." she started to say, but was overwhelmed by SeanEric's overly boisterous reply.
"Oh no, lass.. you're fine. Jus' ignore my family, here... they're not used to me bringin' ladies back here wit' us."
At that, the cousins all looked at each other, as if sharing a private joke at SeanEric's expense. To Leena's confusion, SeanEric turned to glare at only one of them, his cousin Jayden. "It's ok, Leena," Jhelian spoke aloud, giving the asian woman a companionable smile. "We're jus' curious b'cause he's been pacin' like a cat, wonderin' if ye'd show."
"She's right," the one named Shadrick chimed in, smirking. "You're the first one he's ever introduced to the family, actually."
"Thank you so very much," SeanEric retorted, giving them both a glare, before turning back to Leena apologetically. "Fergive them... they like ta pick on me so much they ferget their manners..."
"I'm sorry... I don't mean to cause problems" Leena said, blushing slightly, still feeling like private conversations were being held between the cousins. Glances were exchanged, lips would twist in a smile or a smirk, and SeanEric again sent sharp looks to one of them as if they'd said something he didn't like. "I can leave.. if it's bothering your family..." She started to rise, unnerved by the silent conversations, the odd looks, the sheer oddness she felt in the air.
All the Tahalshias suddenly jerked their eyes towards Elizabeth as if shocked. The etheral blonde rose from her seat, crossing over to look more carefully at Leena, and even SeanEric moved out of her way. "Yes... I see now. That's why you're here." Leena sank back into the chair under Elizabeth's oddly distant gaze, all color leaving her face as Elizabeth turned to Jhelian and announced "It's all about your father."
***
Otamio watched passively through Alexander's eyes as the manager of Yo Mamas made him welcome. The boy was an annoyance, one that Otamio wished he had the power to rid himself of. Circumstances were moving too quickly. Hotoro was here, there was no time to stand around and make small talk with yes-men. Damn the boy... had Otamio full control of the body, he could have tracked both of Hotoro's brats from the start. He may have even been able to kill the Tahalshia girl at some point, removing a player from this little game. Now... now all three of Hotoro's brats were about to meet, and Otamio had no way to interfere because he was trapped inside his own stubborn son.
His son... who was now approaching the green room where the Tahalshian Magick were waiting to step out onstage. As the manager knocked on the door to announce him, Otamio faded back further into his own pocket, banking his anger and frustration. For now, all he could do was watch and wait for a moment Alexander would be alone.
***
"Father... stop ignoring me and tell me what is going on," Ryou finally said bluntly, absently rubbing his arm as he followed the elder Hotoro inside the club. The burning sensation was gone, yet it still felt strange, as if it wasn't quite his arm anymore. For the last fifteen minutes Ryu had been tense, snapping at his son everytime Ryou had tried to talk to him. At one point Ryou was sure his father was about to turn around and leave.
"Did you forget what I told you already?" Ryu snarled, pushing his way through the crowded ground floor of Yo Mamas, trying to get upstairs as quickly as possible. "Part of you recognized him, at least." Upstairs, he had to find Jhelian, that was the only reason Otamio could be here. The posters were all over town, announcing when the band would be there. "The demon's after Jhelian," he muttered aloud, causing a couple people to give him weird looks.
"Demon...?" Ryou repeated, then he connected the dots. A sudden lunge, and he caught his father by the arm, forcing Ryu to stop. "Wait a minute ... the silver-haried man... that's Otamio?" Ryou asked once he'd pulled his father out of the main press. The noise of the crowd made it a little hard to speak, forcing him to talk louder than he wanted. "You think he's here for my sister? Why now?"
"He knew Tev was pregnant," Ryu answered angrily, forcing Ryou to lean closer to hear clearly. "He knew the child was mine, despite her public claims. Now, she's out in public, outside her parent's protection, and posters announcing the fact are plastered all over town." Ryu's fists were clenched, and he glared upstairs where he could almost feel Otamio waiting for them. "If he gets to her first, he'll kill her... or worse. We have to stop him." The elder Hotoro stared down his son. "If you do not think you can do this, stay out of my way."
***
It was an odd little group Alexander faced as he was ushered into the green room. It was almost as if the manager's knock had interrupted an important conversation. His grey eyes trailed over each of their faces, mentally attaching names to them, and came to rest upon the one he had not expected to see. "Leena."
At her name his step-sister started, seeming to turn a little paler than she had been before. "I... do I know you?" she asked, looking like a frightened deer.
Alexander's eyebrow raised, and he snorted. "You should, although the last time we met you were still a babe in my dear stepmother's arms." The shocked look on Leena's face told the story clearly. "I see. Your mother has been keeping secrets again, hasn't she. Did she even mention me to you?"
"Not ta be rude or an'thing ... but yer upsettin' the lass. Nowe, tell us who ye are, or get th' bloody hell out."
Alexander turned, meeting the bright green eyes of "... SeanEric, is it?" he asked calmly, weighing him up as the younger man stepped protectively in front of Leena. "My apologies... I had not expected to meet family here, estranged as we are. I am Alexander Zand, head of Zand Industries." He heard Leena gasp in shock but continued smoothly. "Leena is my adopted sister, her mother Jasmina takes care of most of the Stateside business."
The Tahalshias all exchanged glances at this information, almost as if they were speaking privately to each other. Alexander's eyes narrowed, watching their faces, feeling like he was missing something vital. Perhaps Otamio would snidely clue him in afterwards, as he so often enjoyed pointing out things Alexander missed. One thing was clear from the exchange of glances ... Jhelian and Elizabeth had the final say. The two women gave each other a final glance, then Jhelian faced him. "We dinna have much time b'fore the show, Mr Zand, but I'll be mor'n happy to talk a spell wit' you while the rest finish setting up outside. Jayden, Aeron, doublecheck th' soundboards. SeanEric, why dinna ye tak' Leena out an' find her a nice place ta watch th' show from, hmm?"
The cousins obeyed, almost as if they already knew what they were supposed to do, and the words were for Alexander's benefit. He had to hide a smirk as SeanEric walked protectively between himself and Leena. "We will have to talk more later, Leena ... now that you're no longer behind your mother's skirts," he said, more to annoy SeanEric than his stepsister. It left him alone with Jhelian, Elizabeth and ... Alexander frowned. There should be one of the men in here ... Shadrick. He had not seen him leave, so he should still be in the green room with them. Yet there was no sign of him....
"Ye wanted to speak to us?" Jhelian interrupted, and Alexander focused on the matter at hand.
"Yes, I was hoping to offer Tahalshian Magick a contract with our recording studio..." Alexander replied, starting his pitch.
***
In the back of Alexander's mind, Otamio fumed impotently. His high-handed son had already lost this round, it was clear from how the Tahalshias had protected Leena that they had already found common ground. The one called Shadrick was still in the room, hiding by means even Otamio's demonic sight couldn't trace. That alone unnerved him, and Alexander's blindness to the danger infuriated him. The Irish singer had been more than human... why should her offspring not be so as well? Pictures had not done justice to how closely Jhelian resembled her mother, with only the brown eyes to show her Hotoro blood. It was like time had reversed twenty-five years and he was once again facing Teamhair NicIomhair.
He should have killed her when he had the chance. Now, trapped in his son's mind, surrounded by three enemies of unknown power, all Otamio could do was wait.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
