ADULT: Meeting Of Minds - Parts 3 & 4 of 22+
Dana Short (DanaShort@aol.com)
Mon, 12 Apr 2004 05:06:13 EDT
This story may be concidered PG-13 due to both the situation, and=20
the occasional use of profanity (Chapter 11) when a char was upset.
Please direct flames/comments to DanaShort@aol.com=20
Please note the story title in the subject line, or your message will=20
be lost to my SPAM filter.
Note: I am being foolish perhaps. I have decided to go ahead and do=20
2 chapters each time, unless I fail to keep up on the other end. Then=20
I may cut back to one chapter, but that will still be fine, as the=20
length of the chapters tends to grow in this story.
So, with no further delay, here are Chapters 3 and 4. Followed by=20
Chapters 5 and 6. After that, we'll see.
Legal Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the concept behind Immortals, nor any=20
of the pre-existing characters which appear in this story. These are=20
owned by Panzer/Davis, or whoever may of purchased/licensed them from=20
their creators. Other characters from other universes owned by other=20
companies may of wandered through as well, and again their appearance=20
does not in any way imply ownership of them on my part. There is no=20
copyright infringement intended. As far as the people I created,=20
others are free to use them, I lay no claim of ownership to them=20
either, I do however ask that you return them in the condition they=20
were found, no added romantic/emotional entanglements or missing body=20
parts (especially heads), please. I will allow anyone to archive=20
this story for free, as long as it is made available for free, the=20
origional Disclaimer is included, that other than removing Prefaces=20
and Author=E2=80=99s Notes & re-attaching the parts the story is unmodified,=
=20
and I am notified in advance of it=E2=80=99s addition to the archive, and th=
e=20
archive=E2=80=99s location. I hope you enjoy the story.
Fully formatted text available at: www.DanaShort.com\HL-MOM.htm
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Chapter 3
Reflection on Reflections.
Turning onto the street, he headed away from Savannah and towards=20
Atlanta. Somewhere there he could find a hotel where he could stop=20
to sleep and regroup.
Three hours, and almost two hundred miles later, as the first crack=20
of dawn began to show in his rearview mirror, he turned off of=20
Highway 75, and headed for a Motel 6, its glowing sign proclaiming a=20
Vacancy, and a $29.99 nightly rate.
Pulling into the parking lot, he got out of the car, pulling the=20
jacket on, ostensibly against the damp chill early morning, but in=20
reality to cover the blood. As it was, there was nothing to be done=20
about the blood on the black jeans, but at lest the jacket would=20
cover the bloodstained shredded top.
Approaching the window, he tapped to get the attention of the sleepy=20
attendant.
=E2=80=9CUh, can I help you?=E2=80=9D she asked, her muffled voice coming ou=
t from=20
behind the thick security glass.
=E2=80=9CYes, I need a room. I was trying to get to Atlanta, but I am just=20
too tired to go on.=E2=80=9D Eadgils responded.
=E2=80=9COk, Smoking, or non-smoking? Just fill out this card=E2=80=9D she=20=
said,=20
sliding the registration out through the glass.
=E2=80=9CNon-smoking, please. What is check-out time?=E2=80=9D=20
=E2=80=9CEleven AM. If you want to stay longer than that, I=E2=80=99m afrai=
d I=E2=80=99ll=20
have to charge you for two days.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CLets make it two days then.=E2=80=9D He replied. =E2=80=9CI doubt=20=
if I will be=20
ready to resume driving in just five or six hours.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CProbably not. I wish I could give you an extended check out, but w=
e=20
are a new location and frankly the manager is a jerk about things=20
like that.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI understand. Uh, for the room charge, would cash be ok?=E2=80=9D=20=
Eadgils=20
asked, waving three $20 bills. =20
=E2=80=9CUh, sure. You will be in room 2152. That is around back, on the=20
second floor. Just head out the door, and go all the way around to=20
your left. Take the first set of stairs on the back, and it will be=20
the sixth room, I believe.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CThanks=E2=80=9D, Eadgils said, retrieving the change and the keycar=
ds, along=20
with a little map and the printout of the registration.
=E2=80=9CHave a nice night.=E2=80=9D The girl at the counter called out as E=
adgils=20
turned to head back to the car.
Ten minutes later, He had the laptop, Katana, knives, and the small=20
bag of Sue=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9CEmergency Supplies=E2=80=9D from the trunk tra=
nsferred into his=20
room.
He was finally able to settle down for a few moments, and gather his=20
thoughts. Up until this time, he had been operating, not so much=20
on =E2=80=9CAuto-Pilot=E2=80=9D, but certainly in =E2=80=9CCrisis Mode=E2=
=80=9D. Now he finally had=20
a chance to evaluate the situation without the urgency of dealing=20
with the immediate situation. He hadn=E2=80=99t really had a chance to do s=
o=20
on the drive out here, having been hyper-alert in order to avoid the=20
complications of a police stop, or any sort of traffic accident. For=20
the last two hours, he also really had been fighting exhaustion, as=20
well. Thus, he had been unable, or unwilling, to allow his mind to=20
dwell on the circumstances of the situation. His focus had been=20
entirely on getting through.
First things first though. He set the =E2=80=9CDo Not Disturb=E2=80=9D sign=
on the=20
outside of the door, and closed and double locked the door, sliding=20
on the security chain, before moving the room=E2=80=99s chair up against the=
=20
door, and placing the one of the two plastic cups upside down at the=20
top of the chair, leaning against the door. He then filled the other=20
glass half-way, and balanced it on top of the empty glass, with a=20
sheet of paper in between. The idea was that anyone actually opening=20
the door would disturb the chair, and topple the glasses; the water=20
hitting the paper would make enough sound to wake him.
Not as secure as an electronic system, or even squeaky boards and=20
threads strung with bells, but it was ample for the situation.
Pulling the curtains closed, he left the Katana on the dresser beside=20
the TV, and carried Sue=E2=80=99s Emergency Supply bag into the small=20
bathroom.
Finally, he stood there, contemplating his reflection in the mirror. =20
This was really the first time he got a truly good look at The Girl. =20
She was 19, as he had known, but she looked like she could be=20
anywhere from 16 to mid 20s, depending on her expression. In the=20
back of his mind were actual makeup tricks which he knew could make=20
her appear as young as possibly 14, or as old as 30, depending on how=20
it was applied and how she dressed.
She had long, dark hair, currently a matted mess, from the bloody=20
water it had soaked in several hours earlier, and its lack of care=20
since then. It was pulled back, however in a messy pony-tail, which=20
reached a bit more than half-way down her back. Again from the back=20
of his mind filtered out the information that untied, it would reach=20
a bit past her waist, but not quite to her hips, in the back stopping=20
just above her butt. It was longer than her instructors in physical=20
combat had liked it at the Academy, but she had been growing it out=20
all her life, and couldn=E2=80=99t bear to cut it. They had warned her abou=
t=20
the dangers of long hair in combat, but had let it go at that,=20
although not without a few painful demonstrations of how it could be=20
grabbed at any time and used as a tool to somewhat control her and=20
her head.
Her eyes were a light green, her mouth full, and her nose rather=20
small. He knew she thought her ears stuck out too far, but as far as=20
he could see, they were perfect for her face, and added with her=20
other features made her on the cute side of fetching, just short of=20
gorgeous.
Her body was slender and athletic, but with plenty of curves. Again=20
the information filtered out as he took in her frame. 5=E2=80=996, and 130=20
pounds. Looking over the wide, full breasts he knew they were a 34C,=20
while the narrow waist was 26 inches, to her hip=E2=80=99s 35 inches.
Her legs were long and athletic, well toned from lots of running. =20
All in all a very pretty girl in the fresh faced girl next door look=20
as it was called these days.
But how could he be her. It didn=E2=80=99t make any sense. He had been=20
around for almost 4,000 years, and never in all that time had he=20
heard of one Immortal somehow coming to possess another one. Such a=20
thing should not be possible, and yet it had happened. Oh, if only=20
Darius was still around. A sudden piece of information popped into=20
his mind that Darius had been killed by Hunters. That was something=20
he hadn=E2=80=99t known. He had always wondered how it came to be that=20
Darius could lose his head on Holy Ground. Much like his own=20
situation, such a thing just didn=E2=80=99t happen. Oh, some Immortals woul=
d=20
occasionally break the one-on-one rule, but the proscription against=20
fighting on Holy Ground - there was the rumor about Vesuvius as well=20
to consider. It was said a fight had occurred on Holy Ground there,=20
and rather than stop when they felt the warning they had continued to=20
battle until the mountain itself exploded. He himself had once=20
started a fight on Holy Ground, some forgotten shrine to some obscure=20
roman god stolen from the Greeks. He had met some merchant who=20
wanted his head, and wouldn=E2=80=99t be dissuaded. Even the pain as they=20
drew swords did not deter him. After the first two blows, both=20
fighters had found themselves on the ground with massive headaches. =20
Apparently that pain was the second warning a pair of Immortals would=20
get for violating The Rule, the first being the ringing in the ears=20
at the first drawing of weapons. The rumor went on that any attempt=20
to continue combat without moving would result in some cataclysm,=20
which would certainly stop the fight. He had never wanted to test=20
that theory, the headache that one time had been enough of a lesson=20
to last literally thousands of years.
So now he knew the truth about the death of Father Darius. He also=20
now knew the Hunters responsible for that were supposedly dead=20
themselves, executed by the watchers. Well, the Hunters responsible=20
for him were dead as well. But in both cases, there must be more to=20
it. Someone still in the Watchers must be associated with the=20
Hunters. Otherwise how could they have found him. =20
His mind again offered up a memory. Of Sue getting the page=20
requesting her status/location an hour before his attack, and then=20
the second, even more suspicious page, demanding her to report to HQ=20
immediately before the hunters showed up. Granted, if they were=20
trying to get her out of the way, their timing was a bit off, however=20
the more likely possibility was that they were trying to simply flush=20
her out so they could kill her. But the identities or motivations of=20
the other parties involved in his death and Sue=E2=80=99s Quickening didn=
=E2=80=99t=20
really help him to answer the bigger question, namely how he could=20
have ended up in her body?
Over the years, he had taken hundreds of Quickenings. Literally so=20
many he could not count them all. One blurred into another, after so=20
many. Oh, he could recall individual ones, but as far as providing a=20
full accounting, no. One might as well ask a Mortal how many days=20
they had worked two years before. They could possibly figure it out=20
with the help of a journal, or a calendar, but off the top of their=20
heads, an educated guess would be all most people could come up with.
Of those, he had on occasion had strong ones, ones which had impacted=20
him in some way. After he fought Toshio, for example, his repertoire=20
included several new moves, including many he had not seen in the=20
fight, they just came to him. Also, after taking an Immortal=E2=80=99s head=
,=20
learning to speak a language spoken by that particular Immortal was=20
usually much easier.
On one occasion, he had suddenly acquired a new appreciation for=20
music. Or an almost rabid distaste for the Vikings, who before he=20
could really not of cared less about, as long as they left him=20
alone. =20
He knew of course about Darius=E2=80=99s Quickening, wherein he took the hea=
d=20
of the Defender of Pairs, a holy man, and abruptly resigned from his=20
position as General to become a priest himself. A Light Quickening,=20
as Darius had called it himself, describing the event as a true=20
awakening, realizing how evil he had been his whole life, how much=20
pain he had caused, and feeling a great need to atone for his actions.
He had also heard of Dark Quickenings, wherein a otherwise decent=20
Immortal took someone=E2=80=99s head, and promptly switched from being a=20
passive participant to a more active participant in the =E2=80=9CGame=E2=80=
=9D,=20
actually seeking out other Immortals, and challenging them until=20
someone took the new Headhunter=E2=80=99s own head. But it usually stopped=20
there. It wasn=E2=80=99t like there was some overpowering force passing fro=
m=20
Immortal to Immortal through the quickening... The Quickening.
Suddenly, another memory jumped vividly to the forefront of his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 2002, Watcher Academy, Outside Paris, France...
Sue sat in the class, listening to the discussion about the=20
Quickening. Fortunately, this class was in English, not in French,=20
as some of them were. If it hadn=E2=80=99t been for her lifelong awareness=20
of the subjects being taught, coupled with her already acquired first-
hand experience with the procedure involved in Immortals and the=20
Watching thereof, she would have been lost several times.
This time, however, she had another problem in following the class. =20
A handsome young researcher named Adam Pierson, who was =E2=80=9CAuditing=
=E2=80=9D=20
the class. Adam was apparently the Watcher assigned to the Methos=20
Chronicles. Why he was sitting in on a class about the nature of=20
Quickenings she was not sure. But she certainly didn=E2=80=99t mind, as he=20
was so easy on the eyes. Especially when he looked up at her and=20
smiled. =20
Or maybe she did mind, she realized she had totally spaced on what=20
the instructor was saying. Refocusing her attention and trying to=20
ignore the hunk next to her, she tried to catch up.
=E2=80=9CNow, we know from the environmental effects that the Quickening is=20
some sort of electromagnetic phenomenon. It will cause many of the=20
same destructive results as a lightning strike in many cases. While=20
the brunt of the energy does discharge from the dead Immortal to the=20
survivor, it definitely makes for a hazardous area to be in during=20
the event.
=E2=80=9COften times any electronics in the area will simply overload and=20
short out. It is also not unknown for any combustible material,=20
including wood to ignite, or even explode. Pressure changes will=20
almost always shatter any near-by glass, and St. Elmo=E2=80=99s Fire will=20
cover just about everything in the neighborhood.
=E2=80=9CThis is one of the reasons you never want to get too close to your=20
subjects, especially when they are fighting. While the urge is to=20
get a blow-by-blow description of the combat for the chronicle, the=20
reality is that any Watcher who gets too close, will likely get=20
shocked, or even killed by the Quickening.=E2=80=9D
One of the students in the front raised his hand.
=E2=80=9CYes, Stephen?=E2=80=9D the instructor asked.
=E2=80=9CUh, do you mean some watchers have been hit by Quickenings?=E2=80=
=9D
=E2=80=9CSome have. Most didn=E2=80=99t survive. Those who did were usuall=
y burnt. =20
As far as we could tell from the post-mortems on their bodies, they=20
were killed the same as if they had been hit by lighting.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CUh, did the ones who survived, uh, did they get any power or=20
whatever from it? I don=E2=80=99t mean like super-powers so they could see=20
through walls or anything, but like I heard that Immortals get some=20
sort of power from Quickenings.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CPower. Well, the Quickenings defiantly include power. The strengt=
h=20
of a quickening, for example, is a factor of the accumulated age of=20
the given Immortal, AND the cumulative strength of all the=20
Quickenings which that particular Immortal has collected over his=20
life. So the quickening of a thousand year Immortal may be=20
equivalent to that of a two hundred year old one who has killed=20
several others of his kind or even of a thirty year Immortal who has=20
bested a fifteen hundred year old one.
=E2=80=9COne thing we do know, is there is a loss of the quickening with=20
every transfer. Energy is lost creating the violent displays,=20
shorting out electronics, lighting the sky, fusing the sand into=20
glass, whatever. So that same thirty year old if he lost his head=20
would not put on quite as good of a show as the original fifteen=20
hundred year old Immortal did when he fell.=E2=80=9D
Another student raised her hand from where she sat on the other side=20
of Adam. =20
=E2=80=9CYes Yvette?=E2=80=9D
With a flirtatious glance at Adam, she asked =E2=80=9CSo what if Methos was=20
around, and lost his head. I mean, he is supposedly like five=20
thousand years old, and was a head hunter for a long time. What kind=20
of quickening would he have?=E2=80=9D
Adam sent the instructor an apologetic glance and buried his face in=20
his arms on his desk, to hide his expression.
The instructor answered. =E2=80=9CWell, again, since the Quickening is a=20
function of both age, and accumulated other quickening, it would be=20
quite a show. Adam, Methos is really your project, what would you=20
say?=E2=80=9D
Adam unburied his head, took a breath, and said in a oddly accented=20
voice, =E2=80=9CWell, the lack of just such a display is the reason I believ=
e=20
Methos may still be out there somewhere, likely hiding on Holy=20
Ground. I mean, any Immortal who successfully beat him, would have=20
set off a show so big it would have been recorded SOMEWHERE, unless=20
it was out in the middle of nowhere. But even then, when they lost=20
their own head, the big show would have happened again, although to a=20
lesser extent, unless it was also an old, or powerful Immortal=20
involved.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CThank you Adam. Now as far as other power, beyond electrical, we=20
don=E2=80=99t really know. We have seen that Quickenings can affect the=20
personalities of our subjects, but to what extent we can=E2=80=99t say.=E2=
=80=9D
A third student, somewhere behind Sue apparently raised their hand at=20
this point, because the Instructor sighed, and said =E2=80=9CYes, Je=C3=A2n?=
=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CEst la perte, pardon, Is ze lost of energy from ze medua of ze=20
transmission?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CYou mean is it a factor of how far away the other Immortal is, and=20
what is around them? I believe so. I do know that the further away=20
a victor is from the body of the loser, the less of the quickening=20
actually reaches them. Unfortunately, due to Father Darius, we also=20
now know that in the case where there is no other Immortal nearby the=20
energy will entirely dissipate environmentally. And as far as=20
environmental conditions, we do know that the more metal in an area,=20
the more it seems to distract, or divert the quickening away from the=20
remaining immortal.=E2=80=9D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was suddenly struck by two entirely unrelated realizations. =20
First, the condition of the alley, where he had lost his head, so to=20
speak, was unlike the area of any previous quickening he had=20
encountered. There was no shattered glass, no smoldering fire,=20
nothing to indicate a great release of energy. But also, unlike any=20
quickening he knew of, both participants were within inches of one=20
another, laying totally still, and more importantly, both were partly=20
submerged in dirty water. Water which could have acted as a sort of=20
conductor, it was certainly a better one than the air which was the=20
usual medium of exchange for an Immortal=E2=80=99s quickening. In such a=20
case, perhaps what happened was almost like a phone cable connecting=20
two computers, allowing an almost perfect exchange of information, as=20
opposed to a wireless connection, where damaged and lost packets have=20
to be sent over and over before they arrived properly. The water may=20
have allowed his entire quickening to flow directly into The Girl. =20
That was how he was here. But if that was the case, then where was=20
The Girl?
The other realization was almost more important, at least it was to=20
him. After almost 4,000 years, Death still lived. Now he had a=20
name; Adam Pierson. More importantly, Death was associated with the=20
Watchers. Which was where the Hunters came from. The Hunters who=20
killed Darius, and who, after over 3,700 years, had finally finished=20
the job Death had started one clear spring day killing Eadgils, last=20
speaker of the Flornlef tribe. For surely he was dead, however alive=20
he thought he was. He had lost his head.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
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=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=20
Chapter Four
What Strange Realms Are These We Find Within
Rather than spend more time dwelling on such morbid considerations as=20
the validity of his death, he decided to get a quick shower, followed=20
by some much needed sleep.
Stripping off his bloody clothes, he tied the shirt up in the plastic=20
liner from the trashcan, and tossed it next to Sue=E2=80=99s Emergency kit,=20
while hanging the pants over the side of the shower stall. He then=20
removed the sports bra, underwear, and socks, until naked.=20
Stepping into the shower, he paused first to adjust the temperature=20
to something neither chilling, nor burning. A quick sluice of his=20
body, and he bent over and lifted the now sopping wet jeans up under=20
the spray. He watched the reddish-brown water draining off them for=20
a few moments, before draping the pants over one arm, and using both=20
hands to open the little blue packet of complementary soap, tossing=20
the wet paper back over the top of the stall to land somewhere on the=20
floor of the bathroom.
=20
A few moments spent massaging the soap with his hands, and he then=20
ran the soap over the outside of the pants a few times to lather them=20
somewhat, before again placing them under the stream of water to=20
rinse the soap, and hopefully the rest of the blood, or at least the=20
worst of the blood, off them.
Futilely coiling them to wring them out, then letting water soak in=20
again and repeating the squeegee process a second time, and he was=20
done and ready to drape the tops of the pants over the top of the=20
stall, so they=E2=80=99d be out of the way.
Part of his mind cringed, as he again lathered the soap up, only this=20
time working the soap into his equally blood-soaked hair. =20
There was a lot of hair, he realized, as he belatedly and painfully=20
pulled the sopping scrunchie out, and tossed it after the soap=20
wrapper.
However, after a few moments, he felt he had done as good a job as=20
possible of getting the worst of the blood out. A final rinse, and=20
sluice of his entire body, and he turned off the shower and stepped=20
out, right on the cold, wet scrunchie.
=E2=80=9CBlech=E2=80=9D he said, bending over and plucking the dripping elas=
tic cloth=20
from between his toes, then tossing it on the sink and grabbing a=20
towel from the rack by the door.
A quick over-all with the painfully rough towel, and he dropped it to=20
the floor before grabbing a second one, with which he automatically=20
wrapped his hair, before noticing he had done so.
A quick check of the Emergency kit turned up a small bottle of=20
shampoo, one of conditioner, a brush, two more scrunchies, a really=20
large t-shirt, a spare sports bra, two pairs of panties, and a roll=20
containing another pair of black jeans, and a dark maroon top.
Selecting one of the pairs of panties, and the oversized t-shirt, he=20
quickly and again, almost automatically dressed for bed. He then=20
unwrapped his hair, gave it a vigorous rub with a third towel, then=20
swiftly brushed it out, and tied it, still damp, into a loose braid=20
before turning to the bed.
Just before laying down on the bed he turned back to the dresser, and=20
picked the Katana up to carry over to lay at the right side of the=20
bed on the floor. He then finally turned off the lights, and in the=20
gloom broken slightly by the sunrise trying to peek through the=20
closed curtains, he went to sleep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
He was walking in a long hallway. Along the sides were doors. As=20
far as he could see to the front, the hallway stretched on for=20
hundreds of doors before ending at a distant wall, but to his rear=20
there was just one door, but it, unlike all the ones on the sides of=20
the hall, was only partly closed.
Slowly, after a glance along the hallway, he opened the door and=20
looked inside.
Beyond the door was darkness. With a lighted area in the immediate=20
vicinity, the rest of the room seemed to stretch on forever.
=20
In the brightest part of the light amid the gloom there was a table,=20
and two chairs.
Eadgils stepped through the door, and approached the table. As he=20
got closer, he noticed The Girl. She was sitting in one of the=20
chairs, watching him approach. A glance down confirmed he was back=20
in his own body.
=E2=80=9CUh, hello.=E2=80=9D He said to The Girl.
=E2=80=9CMy name is Sue. Why do you call me The Girl all the time?=E2=80=
=9D she=20
asked, watching as he sat down across the table from her.
=E2=80=9CUm, because that was how I named you when I first noticed you six=20
months ago? Since I didn=E2=80=99t know your name, I had to call you=20
something. By now, it is a force of habit. Sorry.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s ok. Tell me, do you know what=E2=80=99s going on? Am=
I dead?=E2=80=9D she=20
asked.
=E2=80=9CNo, I think I=E2=80=99m dead. You, my dear, are quite alive, I hop=
e.=E2=80=9D He=20
responded.
=E2=80=9CBut how? The last thing I remember was being shot in the stomach=20
while trying to help you get away from the Hunters. After that,=20
things are so weird. Nothing makes sense. What is going on?=E2=80=9D=20
=E2=80=9CWell, as best as I can figure, you died. I lost my head. You got=20
my Quickening, all of it, for a change. And then, you woke up.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CBut, ho-how could I wake up? I=E2=80=99m not an Immortal. I had a=
family. =20
Immortals never have families.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CNot quite true. All Immortals are either Foundlings, or=20
Changelings, you must have been a Changeling. You know what that is,=20
don=E2=80=99t you?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CA Changeling? Isn=E2=80=99t that where some fairy or elf steals a=20=
child and=20
replaces it with one of their own in the fairy tales?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CIn essence. Although while I have seen a lot of things, both good=20
and evil, I have never seen an elf or a fairy. No, most changelings=20
are switched by normal humans, for normal human reasons, whatever=20
they may be.=E2=80=9D He replied, and suddenly a pair of memories floated to=
=20
the top of both their minds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 21st, 1682, Rhode Island...
Eadgils watched as the young girl leaned over the mangled body of the=20
older man, moaning in pain from the multiple broken bones and torn=20
organs caused by the crash of his wagon. Eadgils knew as well as=20
everyone else there that he was watching the poor souls last moments=20
on this earth.
As the girl reached out though, she said =E2=80=9CHold still Master Warner.=20=
=20
It=E2=80=99ll be all right.=E2=80=9D
Suddenly, from her hands what looked for all the world like a=20
Quickening shot out, and surged through the man=E2=80=99s body.
Even as the onlookers watched in shock, currents of electricity=20
seemed to stitch together his wounds, and bend his bones back into=20
position. As the girl collapsed over his torso, the man sat up, and=20
looked around with amazement.
=E2=80=9CWitchcraft!=E2=80=9D someone called from the watching crowd.
Master Warner looked down at the body of the unconscious girl=20
stretched out over his own, and a sudden look of revulsion crossed=20
his face. He leapt to his feet, letting her small form thunk into=20
the mud where he had previously lain.
=E2=80=9CGet the Parson=E2=80=9D he growled, while reaching for a rope. =20
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 22nd, 1682, Rhode Island...
Eadgils watched helplessly as the so called =E2=80=9CJudge=E2=80=9D passes=20
sentence. =E2=80=9CMary-Elizabeth, by your own admission, and the testimony=20
of witnesses, you are hereby found guilty of the crime of Witchcraft,=20
and consorting with the devil. For these crimes, you are to be=20
sentenced to death by blooding, sentence to be carried out=20
immediately, in the name of God.=E2=80=9D
There was nothing that he could do as they dragged the poor girl to a=20
post encircled by brush, and shackled her down. Her screams echoed=20
off the church behind them as the Parson first sliced her chest=20
deeply, just below the neck, causing her blood to pour out onto the=20
brush at her feet, which he then lit with a torch, causing flames to=20
rise up and consume her, as dark foul smelling smoke climbed to the=20
heavens from the bonfire at her feet. Mercifully, she did not last=20
long, whether it was blood loss, or inhalation scorching her lungs=20
and she passed out, or perhaps died. The fire burned out and all=20
that was left was her charred corpse, still hanging from the smoking=20
remnants of the post to which she had been shackled.
The townsfolk prayed for her soul, despite it=E2=80=99s obvious damnation,=20
and removed her body to bury it outside the churchyard, on un-
consecrated ground, as befitted a witch.
Eadgils waited around for 3 days, hoping not to feel a stirring of a=20
quickening from the girls grave, and when he did not, he headed out=20
of town, to the east, to catch a ship back to Europe, away from this=20
wretched place. He=E2=80=99d had enough of the New World for a while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=E2=80=9CWha-what was that?=E2=80=9D Sue asked, looking at Eadgils in alarm.
=E2=80=9CThat, my dear was a memory you just dredged up. Happens all the=20
time. Anyhow, as I was saying, you must have been a Changeling,=20
someone for some reason swapped you with the original Sue Danning in=20
the hospital, or shortly after you were born. That is the only=20
explanation.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CBut, who? My mom, she died giving birth to me. It almost killed m=
y=20
Dad. Everyone said that if it hadn=E2=80=99t been for having to take care o=
f=20
me, that he might have just slipped away and followed her. But who=20
would want to do that to him?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t know Sue, but someone must of. If you really want=20=
to know,=20
you can try and check with the Hospital. It could have been a nurse,=20
or a Doctor, it could have been almost anyone. It doesn=E2=80=99t matter. =20
What does is that you were not really your father=E2=80=99s biological=20
daughter. Oh, he raised you, and in every sense was your father, but=20
you I=E2=80=99m afraid were not the fruit of his loins. Couldn=E2=80=99t ha=
ve been.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CThis makes no sense. How can I be Immortal? I=E2=80=99m a Watcher=
. They=20
check all candidates for Immortality, even ones who grew up more or=20
less in the Society, like I did. How could I pass the tests? I=20
remember them, when they cut my thumb during the Initiation, before=20
they gave me my Tattoo. Wouldn=E2=80=99t the test of shown?=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CNo, I don=E2=80=99t think so. I think that test is more to see if=20=
you are a=20
mortal, sort of the old =E2=80=98Cut them and see if they heal=E2=80=99 type=
of=20
test. Granted, not as extreme as the other, =E2=80=98Kill them and see if=20
they stay dead=E2=80=99 test, but along the same lines. The thing is though=
,=20
that before you are killed for the first time, there really is=20
nothing to differentiate an Immortal from a normal Mortal. At that=20
time, you were essentially still Mortal. I wonder though how Death=20
passed that test.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CDeath? You mean Adam? He can=E2=80=99t be an Immortal! And even=20=
if he=20
was, he can=E2=80=99t be Death! I mean, I know they look the same, but I=
=E2=80=99ve=20
known Adam for years. I remember when he was with Alexia. He took=20
almost a whole year off, traveled around the world, just to make a=20
dying woman happy. That is not the act of someone like the Death you=20
remember.=E2=80=9D Sue rebutted.
=E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t know. You don=E2=80=99t know. But when you meet h=
im next time,=20
watch your head. If he is Death, he is one of the oldest Head=20
Hunters ever. No wonder he is looking for Methos. Imagine if he=20
could kill that one. That alone might give him enough of an edge to=20
win the Game. Pray that he does not, for whatever the Prize, there=20
is enough to believe that it would give him the power to rule the=20
world, and a world ruled by Death is one no one would WANT to live=20
in.=E2=80=9D
With that, Eadgils rose from the table, and headed back to the door=20
he had come from, stepping through, and pulling it closed behind him.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=20
To be continued in Chapter Five - "The Morning After"