Kindred Spirits 6.1
Jun. 2nd, 2020 07:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartKindred Spirits
by Soledad
Rating: Teens and above, for some canon-compliant violence.
Author’s note: I’ve taken some creative freedom considering the lifestyle of Coptic nuns. After all, the one appearing in “Poltergeist: the Legacy” was supposed to be an Anchorite, too, which didn’t hinder her in going to San Francisco just like that.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Part Six
With deliberate slowness, to give Vicki the chance to notice him, Henry entered her living room. He shouldn’t have been surprised that she could feel his presence. Sharing blood did enable people to do that, even if only one of them was a vampire.
Vicki was sitting on the couch, not doing anything in particular. Vampire vision being what it was – meaning that he could actually see colours in the darkness, as long as there was at least some light, which was always the case in a big city – made possible for him to see the redness of her eyes and the tracks of dried tears on her cheeks.
“Victoria, I am sorry,” he said quietly.
“Don’t be,” Vicki replied. Her voice lacked any emotion, save for exhaustion. “You were right, you know. I mean, whom was I kidding? I ran a sword through you and took your blood, while you were begging me not to do it. How does that make me any better than Mendoza was? You told me right then and there that you’d never forgive me; it’s okay. I understand that. But did you really have to discuss it in front of complete strangers?”
Henry sighed. “Unfortunately, I did. I had to mollify them, Vicki, because we do need Professor Martin’s help. There is no telling how long it will take Astaroth to collect enough strength here to tear the door between our world and his wide open and allow his legions to pour into this dimension. When that happens, we’ll be completely powerless!”
“But the professor won’t?”
“Apparently not. I’m still not sure I can believe everything he says about himself; some of it just sounds too fantastic. But he’s extremely old and powerful. And he has a past connection to the amulet that might help us bring Astaroth down.”
“Might?” Vicki echoed.
“I’m not sure it alone will be enough,” Henry confessed. “I asked Bettie – Doctor Sagara – to seek out a different kind of aid. She used to work for an institution that has fought the forces of darkness for millennia… in one form or another. She still has the connections. I hope she can find somebody to help us; because it’s said that only True Faith can force a demon as powerful as Astaroth back to Hell where he’s come from.”
“You mean one has to be really religious?” Vicki asked doubtfully.
“Yes, but that isn’t enough, or else I could do it on my own. In earlier times, various religions – Christianity among them – knew ways to battle demons and other evil creatures. There were… rituals for that sort of thing, but only those of unwavering faith could perform them and live to tell the tale. Such people were consecrated to fight such battles. Unfortunately, most of those secrets have been long forgotten. Even in my lifetime, there were but legends that people whispered to each other with their hands held before their mouths. The Spanish Inquisition saw to it.”
“Is that why Father Cascioli failed?”
“Most likely. The words of the ritual aren’t enough to overpower a demon. One needs to have the strength and the knowledge to perform it properly. Raymond was plagued by doubt about his own worth and strength,” Henry stared into the darkness, his soul heavy with guilt. “I shouldn’t have insisted on his helping us. If he’s lost forever, it will be my fault,” he turned to Vicki. “So I really have no right to deny your forgiveness. You meant no harm; and, unlike me, you haven’t endangered anyone but yourself.”
“But you’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”
“I wasn’t mad at you,” Henry corrected. “I was saddened because I knew that you’d taint yourself with dark magic, and that could have unforeseen consequences. And yes, I did feel betrayed by your actions; although I also realized that you were doing this to save me. I still cannot condone the way you chose.”
“I didn’t see any other way to save both you and the world,” Vicki said. “I still don’t.”
“Perhaps there wasn’t any other way,” Henry allowed. “But I don’t really believe that evil means can lead to good things in the long run.”
“And that leaves us… where exactly?” Vicki asked.
Henry sighed. “I don’t know. At the moment it means that we have to put together everything we have to deal with Astaroth. For that, I’ll have to make that copy of the amulet as quickly as I can. But I can’t go home and work on it in peace, knowing that you’re alone and unprotected. Won’t you come back with me? At least until this crisis is over?”
“It depends. Is Batgirl still hovering next door?”
“Yes, but you don’t need to worry about her. Her Sire’s promised to put her in torpor.”
“In what?”
“Vampire coma. Similar to the state I am in during daytime; only that she won’t wake up any time soon. Perhaps for years to come.”
“And you believe that the professor will honestly do that?”
“Yes. What Phoebe was about to do is heavily frowned upon in… err… civilized Kindred society. Besides, the professor has a very old bone to pick with Astaroth, if I understood it correctly.”
“How old?”
“Thirteen thousand years, give or take a few centuries,” Henry said with a grim smile. “Unless he was lying through his fangs, in which case we’re in serious trouble.”
“Do you think he was lying? Can you even tell by another vampire?”
“Not by such an old and powerful one. But no, I don’t think he was lying. Firstly, he had no reason to lie to me, and secondly, Bettie has known him for as long as she’s known me, so…” he shrugged. “I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“All right,” Vicki said after a moment of consideration. “Then I’ll go back with you… for now.”
“I am relieved. Where is Coreen, by the way? We should collect her on our way, too.”
“Don’t worry about Coreen, she’s in good hands. Besides, I doubt you could persuade her to come with us. She’s really pissed at Batgirl & Co.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the meantime Coreen was in very good hands indeed. More accurately, she was safely ensconced in a huge, overstuffed, old-fashioned armchair in Dr. Sagara’s library, browsing the demon database on her laptop. The old lady even logged in for her with a special password that allowed access to more… sensitive entries that were protected from the casual browsers. It was probably risky, but it was also the best way to keep the girl occupied and (hopefully) out of trouble.
Dr. Sagara herself was talking on Skype to her old friend, Mother Verena. The fact that – despite her predictions – they were actually dealing with Astaroth seemed to concern the nun extremely.
“I have consulted His Holiness Pope Shenouda about the matter,” she said, “and he gave me temporary dispensation from my vow of stability. For exactly as long as we need to exorcise the demon. If it is indeed Astaroth, the exorcism cannot be performed by a civilian.”
“Why would you need a papal dispensation?” Dr. Sagara frowned. “You’re still a member of the Legacy and have always moved around quite freely, despite being a nun.”
“Yes, but I’m a Coptic nun now; a member of the Holy Order of Anchorites,” the nun reminded her. “Granted we’re no longer walled up in our cells, but we are a strictly clausured order. Neither of us leaves the area of the parish where we serve; not even to see the doctor – unless we need an operation in a hospital, and even for that we must ask for a dispensation.”
“But why?” Dr. Sagara was used to her friend being very active and mobile, even during her two decades as Benedictine. That she would accept such restrictions seemed unreasonable.
“That is the price for the knowledge I’ve won by converting to the Order and being consecrated for the task I’ve taken upon myself,” the nun replied seriously. “The ancient ones went to the desert to fight demons. We do it in the solitude of our cell; and there do we hone our senses to detect them. We cannot afford any distractions.”
“But you did get a dispensation…”
“Yes. His Holiness takes the mission of fighting evil very seriously. I’ll board the first plane tomorrow. Try to keep the others from summoning the demon until my arrival.”
“Trying is the key word here,” Dr. Sagara said dryly.
“Appeal to Professor Martin’s common sense,” the nun suggested. “Considering who – and what – he is, he can be reasonable. And he is old enough to rein in his Childer.”
“One would think so, yes…”
“What happened?”
“Nothing I’d discuss via Skype. I’ll fill you in as soon as you arrive. I only wish I could do something useful in the meantime.”
“You can,” the nun said seriously. “You can pray and hope that God is willing to listen.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fortunately for Dr. Sagara Henry – as a deeply religious person himself – knew to value such spiritual help as had been offered to them, and declared himself willing to wait. He had enough to do to occupy himself anyway, having to make that copy of Inanna’s amulet, so that the professor may swap it with the genuine item on the next day.
“It’s a good thing that I liked to visit the royal blacksmith’s forge as a boy,” he commented. “Not many people know in these days how to work with cast iron. Not in a city like this, at least.”
“But how are you going to do it?” Vicki asked. “You’ll need an actual forge for that, won’t you?”
“I know an artisan who makes sculptures from scrap iron,” Henry explained. “I’ve… persuaded him to lend me his forge for tonight.”
“You can do it in one night?” Prue found that hard to believe.
Henry gave her a cheeky smile. “Easily. If there’s one thing in which my kind is superior to even yours, it is speed. Besides, I’ve made the casts already. Several of them, in fact, just in case.”
“Do you always keep lots of clay in your pantry?” Vicki asked. “Not that there would be much else, of course…”
“Not as a rule, no. But I ordered some two nights ago; and not just for the casts. I’ll need to simulate the dirt, too, the original item has gathered in all those millennia under the earth.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“By burning the clay into the finer tears of the material. Luckily, Miss Halliwell’s photos are very detailed.”
“All that in one night’s work?”
“Certainly. I don’t have the luxury of continuing my work after sunrise, do I?”
“Not according to what I’ve learned about you,” Vicki allowed. “All right, I think we should leave you to your… creative efforts.”
“And we ought to go to the airport,” Prue said. “Piper is due to arrive within the hour.”
by Soledad
Rating: Teens and above, for some canon-compliant violence.
Author’s note: I’ve taken some creative freedom considering the lifestyle of Coptic nuns. After all, the one appearing in “Poltergeist: the Legacy” was supposed to be an Anchorite, too, which didn’t hinder her in going to San Francisco just like that.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Part Six
With deliberate slowness, to give Vicki the chance to notice him, Henry entered her living room. He shouldn’t have been surprised that she could feel his presence. Sharing blood did enable people to do that, even if only one of them was a vampire.
Vicki was sitting on the couch, not doing anything in particular. Vampire vision being what it was – meaning that he could actually see colours in the darkness, as long as there was at least some light, which was always the case in a big city – made possible for him to see the redness of her eyes and the tracks of dried tears on her cheeks.
“Victoria, I am sorry,” he said quietly.
“Don’t be,” Vicki replied. Her voice lacked any emotion, save for exhaustion. “You were right, you know. I mean, whom was I kidding? I ran a sword through you and took your blood, while you were begging me not to do it. How does that make me any better than Mendoza was? You told me right then and there that you’d never forgive me; it’s okay. I understand that. But did you really have to discuss it in front of complete strangers?”
Henry sighed. “Unfortunately, I did. I had to mollify them, Vicki, because we do need Professor Martin’s help. There is no telling how long it will take Astaroth to collect enough strength here to tear the door between our world and his wide open and allow his legions to pour into this dimension. When that happens, we’ll be completely powerless!”
“But the professor won’t?”
“Apparently not. I’m still not sure I can believe everything he says about himself; some of it just sounds too fantastic. But he’s extremely old and powerful. And he has a past connection to the amulet that might help us bring Astaroth down.”
“Might?” Vicki echoed.
“I’m not sure it alone will be enough,” Henry confessed. “I asked Bettie – Doctor Sagara – to seek out a different kind of aid. She used to work for an institution that has fought the forces of darkness for millennia… in one form or another. She still has the connections. I hope she can find somebody to help us; because it’s said that only True Faith can force a demon as powerful as Astaroth back to Hell where he’s come from.”
“You mean one has to be really religious?” Vicki asked doubtfully.
“Yes, but that isn’t enough, or else I could do it on my own. In earlier times, various religions – Christianity among them – knew ways to battle demons and other evil creatures. There were… rituals for that sort of thing, but only those of unwavering faith could perform them and live to tell the tale. Such people were consecrated to fight such battles. Unfortunately, most of those secrets have been long forgotten. Even in my lifetime, there were but legends that people whispered to each other with their hands held before their mouths. The Spanish Inquisition saw to it.”
“Is that why Father Cascioli failed?”
“Most likely. The words of the ritual aren’t enough to overpower a demon. One needs to have the strength and the knowledge to perform it properly. Raymond was plagued by doubt about his own worth and strength,” Henry stared into the darkness, his soul heavy with guilt. “I shouldn’t have insisted on his helping us. If he’s lost forever, it will be my fault,” he turned to Vicki. “So I really have no right to deny your forgiveness. You meant no harm; and, unlike me, you haven’t endangered anyone but yourself.”
“But you’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”
“I wasn’t mad at you,” Henry corrected. “I was saddened because I knew that you’d taint yourself with dark magic, and that could have unforeseen consequences. And yes, I did feel betrayed by your actions; although I also realized that you were doing this to save me. I still cannot condone the way you chose.”
“I didn’t see any other way to save both you and the world,” Vicki said. “I still don’t.”
“Perhaps there wasn’t any other way,” Henry allowed. “But I don’t really believe that evil means can lead to good things in the long run.”
“And that leaves us… where exactly?” Vicki asked.
Henry sighed. “I don’t know. At the moment it means that we have to put together everything we have to deal with Astaroth. For that, I’ll have to make that copy of the amulet as quickly as I can. But I can’t go home and work on it in peace, knowing that you’re alone and unprotected. Won’t you come back with me? At least until this crisis is over?”
“It depends. Is Batgirl still hovering next door?”
“Yes, but you don’t need to worry about her. Her Sire’s promised to put her in torpor.”
“In what?”
“Vampire coma. Similar to the state I am in during daytime; only that she won’t wake up any time soon. Perhaps for years to come.”
“And you believe that the professor will honestly do that?”
“Yes. What Phoebe was about to do is heavily frowned upon in… err… civilized Kindred society. Besides, the professor has a very old bone to pick with Astaroth, if I understood it correctly.”
“How old?”
“Thirteen thousand years, give or take a few centuries,” Henry said with a grim smile. “Unless he was lying through his fangs, in which case we’re in serious trouble.”
“Do you think he was lying? Can you even tell by another vampire?”
“Not by such an old and powerful one. But no, I don’t think he was lying. Firstly, he had no reason to lie to me, and secondly, Bettie has known him for as long as she’s known me, so…” he shrugged. “I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“All right,” Vicki said after a moment of consideration. “Then I’ll go back with you… for now.”
“I am relieved. Where is Coreen, by the way? We should collect her on our way, too.”
“Don’t worry about Coreen, she’s in good hands. Besides, I doubt you could persuade her to come with us. She’s really pissed at Batgirl & Co.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the meantime Coreen was in very good hands indeed. More accurately, she was safely ensconced in a huge, overstuffed, old-fashioned armchair in Dr. Sagara’s library, browsing the demon database on her laptop. The old lady even logged in for her with a special password that allowed access to more… sensitive entries that were protected from the casual browsers. It was probably risky, but it was also the best way to keep the girl occupied and (hopefully) out of trouble.
Dr. Sagara herself was talking on Skype to her old friend, Mother Verena. The fact that – despite her predictions – they were actually dealing with Astaroth seemed to concern the nun extremely.
“I have consulted His Holiness Pope Shenouda about the matter,” she said, “and he gave me temporary dispensation from my vow of stability. For exactly as long as we need to exorcise the demon. If it is indeed Astaroth, the exorcism cannot be performed by a civilian.”
“Why would you need a papal dispensation?” Dr. Sagara frowned. “You’re still a member of the Legacy and have always moved around quite freely, despite being a nun.”
“Yes, but I’m a Coptic nun now; a member of the Holy Order of Anchorites,” the nun reminded her. “Granted we’re no longer walled up in our cells, but we are a strictly clausured order. Neither of us leaves the area of the parish where we serve; not even to see the doctor – unless we need an operation in a hospital, and even for that we must ask for a dispensation.”
“But why?” Dr. Sagara was used to her friend being very active and mobile, even during her two decades as Benedictine. That she would accept such restrictions seemed unreasonable.
“That is the price for the knowledge I’ve won by converting to the Order and being consecrated for the task I’ve taken upon myself,” the nun replied seriously. “The ancient ones went to the desert to fight demons. We do it in the solitude of our cell; and there do we hone our senses to detect them. We cannot afford any distractions.”
“But you did get a dispensation…”
“Yes. His Holiness takes the mission of fighting evil very seriously. I’ll board the first plane tomorrow. Try to keep the others from summoning the demon until my arrival.”
“Trying is the key word here,” Dr. Sagara said dryly.
“Appeal to Professor Martin’s common sense,” the nun suggested. “Considering who – and what – he is, he can be reasonable. And he is old enough to rein in his Childer.”
“One would think so, yes…”
“What happened?”
“Nothing I’d discuss via Skype. I’ll fill you in as soon as you arrive. I only wish I could do something useful in the meantime.”
“You can,” the nun said seriously. “You can pray and hope that God is willing to listen.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fortunately for Dr. Sagara Henry – as a deeply religious person himself – knew to value such spiritual help as had been offered to them, and declared himself willing to wait. He had enough to do to occupy himself anyway, having to make that copy of Inanna’s amulet, so that the professor may swap it with the genuine item on the next day.
“It’s a good thing that I liked to visit the royal blacksmith’s forge as a boy,” he commented. “Not many people know in these days how to work with cast iron. Not in a city like this, at least.”
“But how are you going to do it?” Vicki asked. “You’ll need an actual forge for that, won’t you?”
“I know an artisan who makes sculptures from scrap iron,” Henry explained. “I’ve… persuaded him to lend me his forge for tonight.”
“You can do it in one night?” Prue found that hard to believe.
Henry gave her a cheeky smile. “Easily. If there’s one thing in which my kind is superior to even yours, it is speed. Besides, I’ve made the casts already. Several of them, in fact, just in case.”
“Do you always keep lots of clay in your pantry?” Vicki asked. “Not that there would be much else, of course…”
“Not as a rule, no. But I ordered some two nights ago; and not just for the casts. I’ll need to simulate the dirt, too, the original item has gathered in all those millennia under the earth.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“By burning the clay into the finer tears of the material. Luckily, Miss Halliwell’s photos are very detailed.”
“All that in one night’s work?”
“Certainly. I don’t have the luxury of continuing my work after sunrise, do I?”
“Not according to what I’ve learned about you,” Vicki allowed. “All right, I think we should leave you to your… creative efforts.”
“And we ought to go to the airport,” Prue said. “Piper is due to arrive within the hour.”
