Fic: RFJ 1: Magician/Bateleur, part 2/4

[beccaelizabeth]

Ripper
Fools Journey
1
Magician/Bateleur

Part: 2/4

Rating: I'm aiming for a tone much like Buffy or Angel, which are 15 to 18 rated in the UK.
Pairing(s): None. Yet.
Spoilers: Post Chosen, post Not Fade Away. Refers to earlier series canon.
Second in my Fool's Journey series, the rest in memories here

Summary: Rupert Giles, Andrew Wells, and a situation in a dark house.

23500 words total, 7500 words this part

Disclaimer: Joss told us to "Write fan fic."
So they're still his toys, but he seems to not mind us playing with them.
No money, no harm.

Thanks to pinkdormouse for beta.

Author's notes and warnings:
Once upon a time, there was to be a series called Ripper.
It would star Giles, and it would be about ghosts.
Well, I'm still waiting.
In the meantime, I figured I'd write it myself.
Since ghosts are a central feature, character death is going to happen throughout the series. But that doesn't always remove them from the story. So sometimes the warning is character death, and sometimes it is more character transformation.

I used Tarot cards as inspiration for the 22 episodes, hence 'Fools Journey'. The Fool is card 0. Card 1 of the Major Arcana is The Magician, also known as the Bateleur.

Part 1/4 here

*** *** ***


“You are Giles, yes? Giles the Watcher? Giles who had the book. It has to be you!” The demon girl hissed angrily from between pointed teeth.

Andrew came in the room behind her, and reached out to put his hand on her shoulder.

“Una, calm down. Magic is hard. There's a bunch of different things that could...”

Una dodged aside and turned, batting his hand away hard. Andrew flinched, pulled his arm back to his chest. Una turned and strode to beside Giles, moving quicker than humans could.

“Tell me! Tell him!” Una said, gesturing at Andrew. “Tell us what you did to the others like me. Tell us what you did to my mother!”

Giles sat there a moment, looking as blank as he felt.

It was, of course, possible he had done something to her mother. She could have been a demon, after all. But since he couldn't quite place her species, he couldn't really remember.

“Don't pretend you don't know. 1980 was my lifetime ago, but you would have been my age. You remember. It was January, sometime just after New Year. That's when they found me. And that is when she disappeared. Because of you. Because you threw her out!”

“1980?” Giles asked, trying to remember. He would have been a Watcher then, yes, but only just. His Ripper days, recovering his health, finishing his education, that all took most of the 70s. By 1980 he was sworn in, but on probation, closely supervised. Mostly he worked in the old archives, conserving artefacts of dubious worth, or copying over old texts. His fellow Watchers would never have allowed him to fight demons then. They'd never have trusted him to stay on the right side. Only his Father's standing had gained Rupert a second chance at all.

“Of course.” Giles said.

Una's brief satisfaction gave way to puzzlement as he continued.

“My Father was never formally in the field, but in any situation where our oath applied he did what was necessary. He found something in Bath... I've read about it, many times. He banished the last of the Dreegugze here.”

“Dreegugze,” Una breathed, staring at him intently. “Dreegugze... that's me? That's...”

“That's great!” Andrew enthused from the corner by the door. “Una, that's the key. We can look things up now, we can find out about...”

“No! Not enough! He is key! His blood! Need the blood! Need...” Una raised her hand, fingers spread and claws gleaming.

Giles leaned back and prepared to kick at her, awkward and encumbered as that would be. He noticed Andrew, across the room, had his hands inside his jacket, reaching for something. But neither move could be completed before her first strike, whistling down and...

...hitting the wall above him. Where Una leaned, teeth gritted, glaring at him, her other hand raised but held quite still.

Giles froze too. She could be at his throat in a heartbeat. Force wouldn't work. He tried to call to mind a spell, perhaps the one he'd used to restrain Willow the other year. Without the power of the coven behind it any binding would be weak, but it only needed a word. He might, perhaps, have time for a word.

Andrew had pulled something half out his pocket, a long stick, stake or wand. He looked shocked, frightened. He gulped, then spoke tentatively.

“Una? ...Honey? Could you... back up, a little? Maybe?”

Una stayed tense above him, not blinking, but her hand quivered, a little.

“I mean, Mr Giles...” Her hand moved down just a bit. Andrew hurried on. “He isn't going anywhere. He'll be here whenever we need him. We can just... go and read...”

Una moved, and Andrew pulled the wand, but she spun away from both of them and pounded her fist into the wall. She left quite a dent. She slumped there for a moment, then turned back to face the room. Giles saw Andrew cross his arms, pushing his coat closed and hiding the now drawn wand. But Una wasn't looking at him.

“No. I've done the reading. The portal was opened and sealed by Giles. By his blood. So his blood should open it. I don't understand why it wouldn't work.” She sighed, then narrowed her eyes. “Okay, so this Giles is only half the same. Maybe we need more of it.”

Andrew grinned crookedly. “If there's one thing I have learned, it is that plans made by bad guys in movies are just not good ideas.”

Una looked at him, puzzled, then half grinned back. “Pirates of the Caribbean. Curse of the Black Pearl.”

“And that time, with the right blood, only a little bit was needed. I think it'll be the same now,” Andrew assured her.

“But we tried that...”

“No. Not... exactly. I, uh...” Andrew sighed, and fiddled under his coat, then brought his arm out and pulled the coat sleeve up. The shirt cuff wasn't done up, and the bandage was visible beneath it.

“Andrew!”

“I thought you were trying to protect me! Come on. I can't figure things right if you keep half of it from me.”

“You said you'd get it for me!” Una whined.

“I know. I will, I swear, whatever you need. Just... first, you've got to tell me everything. We'll go back to the book, you'll tell me how you knew it was Giles, and I'll sort it all out. I promise you. Everything will be fine.” Andrew held his hand out to her, smiling hesitantly. “Okay?”

Una paused a moment, then reached out, crossed the room and took his hand. He swept her into a hug, and she cuddled up to him.

Giles considered trying to trap them both there, but then they turned to go. Alone he'd have another chance to get himself out of here. He let them leave with only a glare.

Andrew glanced back at him, face in that slightly desperate stretched grin he got whenever he got caught at something and started worrying about punishments.

Giles had definite ideas about that. For later. First he had to get out of here.

But when Andrew returned just a couple of minutes later, all Giles had managed to do was kick the blankets down the bed and get himself crouched against the headboard, arms still in the handcuffs, still spread across the bed.

Andrew was carrying the bowl again, still part filled with fresh looking blood. And also a fresh, slightly larger, knife. He placed them on the bedside cabinet, then went back to close the door.

“Andrew...” Giles began, voice filled with disapproval.

“I know, Giles. Blood magic bad. Especially unwilling blood. So I promise, I won't take your blood unless you let me.”

“You just promised her you'd get it for her,” Giles pointed out skeptically.

“And if you let me, then that all works out.” Andrew said with slightly forced brightness, coming back to stand beside Giles. He didn't reach for the bowl yet. He just put his hands in his pockets and fiddled with whatever was in there, bit his lip and looked nervous. “So, uh, can I?” He winced in anticipation.

“Andrew, so far you have kidnapped me, drugged me, and chained me to a bed. None of which leaves me inclined to help you. And all of which rather stretches the concept of 'willing', even if I say the words. Especially since if I don't that demon girl will just take it. Probably with her claws through my neck.”

“I would never let that happen, Giles. I know, this all looks bad. Especially with the thing with her mother and your father, and the blood... I didn't know about that part. She got that part from her spirit quest.” Andrew shrugged and started pacing, two steps either way in the small room. “I can double check the books, but the meet the ancestors thing was all just her vision. She only told me the part where they were from another dimension. I figured maybe they'd fallen through a portal, or she had. That happens sometimes. And those kinds of demons aren't, like, invading, just stuck. I thought, get the book, do the window spell, find out what her world was like. But then I couldn't get the book, and you brought a sword, and I know Una had a bat but I couldn't let you hurt her...” He stopped and turned to face Giles. “But I won't let her hurt you.”

“You'll do that part all yourself, will you?”

Andrew looked at his feet, and said in a small voice, “This wasn't the plan.”

“Not your plan, perhaps. I rather think it was hers. Andrew, you've done everything she's wanted so far. Do you really think you can stop her on your own? Even with a wand?”

“Wand? Oh! You mean...” Andrew pulled the long stick out of his inside jacket pocket. This close Giles could see the holes in it. “It's a flute. Or a pipe, cause you don't play it sideways. It's Chinese. A dong xiao.” Andrew pronounced carefully. Giles was pretty sure he still got the vowel sounds wrong. “It sounds a bit silly, but the sideways ones are called dizi, so...” Andrew shrugged.

“Magical?”

“A little. It's better than pan pipes, and a lot smaller than the didgeridoo. Plus, there's this martial arts book I found, that tells you how to use it to kill people with. Or, uh, demons, of course.” Andrew shifted awkwardly. “I'm, ah, not... brilliant on it yet. But it's kind of like what I played in band, so I figure I'll learn.”

“But it works like the pipes, yes? Only on demons?”

“Well, I can only do demons,” Andrew said. “Music works better on them than words anyway. It's about focusing and translating intent. No having to learn every single demon language. You decide what you want, and you play this the right way, and then the demon it's aimed at wants that stuff too.”

“And you're using it on your girlfriend,” Giles muttered, disgusted.

“No!” Andrew objected. “No way! Magic and girlfriends don't mix, not ever. Or else there's shouting, and badness, and it's just not worth it, even for costumes. Plus, I haven't used it with Una. I couldn't.”

“Because if it worked, she would be just another demon.”

“If it works it just means the magic is strong enough. That doesn't mean anything, like, moral. But... If I work it... If I use magic on her... Then it's over.” Andrew looked down, turned the flute around in his fingers. “Me and her... Being her Watcher...” He sighed, then looked up at Giles again. “It's all about trust. They have to trust us. To know what they need, to get it for them. But not to... be their remote control guy. Not to run them like robots. If we ever do that, just zap their minds and do stuff to them, instead of for them... Well, it would be wrong. And the whole point is to not be wrong any more, so...” Andrew shrugged. “So I can't do that.”

This time Giles looked down.

“But I can't let you get hurt either. So I don't have many options. I mean, there isn't much I can think of... Giles, could you... Help?” Andrew finished in a very small voice.

Giles looked up, over at him, then down at the chains. He gestured at them, as much as he could.

“Get me out of these, and I'll help you.”

Andrew looked hopeful for a moment, but his face fell as Giles continued.

“We'll get her contained, then contact the Council. I'm sure with their help...”

Andrew shook his head, started to speak, then shut his mouth, turned and walked out of the room.

He was only gone a few seconds, probably just across the hall, though Giles couldn't see much past the door.

When he returned, Andrew had an awkward armful of things he tried to keep balanced, including Giles' coat and boots, and some folders full of paper. He had to concentrate to swing the door closed behind him. He brought it all over and dumped it on the end of the bed.

“I need you to see something,” Andrew said, going through the long coat's many pockets. “Not metaphor see, so...” He pulled out Giles' glasses. “You're going to need these. Here, I'll have to...” Andrew opened the glasses and turned them around, holding them out towards Giles.

Giles, reluctantly, ducked his head to help get them on. They weren't settled right, so Andrew started fiddling with them, but Giles pulled back, leaving the glasses quite noticeably crooked.

Andrew twitched a little, reaching to fix them, but then turned away and picked his papers up instead. He arranged them to his liking, then held the first out for Giles to see.

It was a printout of an email, with a digital photo attached. One of Andrew's usual reports to the Council upon retrieving a Slayer.

“This was Una,” Andrew said, pointing to the girl on the left. “I found her,” he continued, pointing at himself on the right, “When the Council sent me to get Beatrice.” He indicated the girl in the middle.

Giles was reading the email.

“Beatrice had found Una?”

“Yeah. Out hunting. They got in a fight with some demons, great big furry ones, with six limbs. Iuratez we think. I thought later maybe they were why Una started changing, but nothing in their profile indicated they were infectious, or possessing demons, or likely to use magic. And they look nothing like what Una is becoming.”

“You reported two Slayers. You didn't know what she was?”

“Bea told me they were both Slayers. She told Una the same thing. Bea had heard from the Watchers already, Una didn't know about them. They're both strong, and fast, and they started changing at about the right time. We didn't find out until later that Una changed slowly, not all at once. It was an easy mistake to make.”

Giles studied the girls. There was very little difference between them. Both dark haired, with dark eyes and a Mediterranean tan. Una was a few inches shorter than the other girl, but she could have been her little sister. There was no trace of demon about her.

“You can see that, right? I didn't ignore anything, there just wasn't anything to see yet.”

Giles nodded, and Andrew, relieved, changed to the second piece of paper.

“We got back to England and the girls went to a halfway house with the other newbies. They did the tour and got the leaflets and all that. Nobody got assigned a Watcher yet, so I sort of stuck around a while to help out. But then this happened.”

Another email, and pictures, this time a set of closeups of Una's shoulders.

“She couldn't see them, but her roommate noticed.”

Scales, just appearing, in a thin band across her upper back.

“There was also hair loss, but that didn't really show up yet. She had a lot of hair to start with.”

“So, that was when the Council realised what she was?”

Andrew put the papers down between them and started spreading them out. More photos, more emails, some pages scanned from textbooks.

“First I did research. I remembered a time from your Watcher diaries, from Sunnydale? Buffy got infected with an aspect of the demon. That time turned out to be telepathy, but I figured scales could be the same principle. I tried to narrow down what she might have had contact with, cross reference demons native to where she'd been with any that might have an effect like this. Other Watchers helped, or tried to help. I thought... I thought it would be like that time. That we'd find a cure. So I told Una it would be okay.” He pushed the papers more neatly into line, then looked up at Giles, his eyes pleading. “I promised her, Giles. I said I'd help her.”

“That you'd get whatever she needed,” Giles replied. His voice gave away nothing. But he could not entirely disapprove.

“I was her Watcher. I mean, not officially, but I found her and I brought her there. It felt like I was her Watcher.”

Giles nodded slowly, and Andrew looked glad.

Then sad. He looked down and found a particular paper.

“Plus there was the part where... nobody else would do it.”

Andrew held up another letter for inspection, this one typed on Council headed paper.

“To Andrew Wells, Watcher in Training (suspended)...” Giles read out.

“That's not the important part,” Andrew interrupted hastily. He looked at the letter again, and folded it so only the center third showed.

Giles read it with a slight frown.

“No further aid... No Council resources to be squandered on non-humans... No tribunal for non-humans...” Giles raised an eyebrow.

“Bea and the other girls, they thought Una should get a tribunal. She Chose, just like the rest of the Slayers. She took the same oath. She should have the same rules. I mean, all Slayers are part demon anyway. Una's just different parts. But the Council tried to say it was like with vampyrs. Like if a Watcher or Slayer got turned into a vampyr. They don't count any more. Only, even new Slayers know what happens after that, and nobody wanted Una to get staked. Well, nobody at the house, anyway. So they helped, hid what we were doing, and we ran. We got out of London and we just hid and tried to figure out what to do next.”

“This,” Giles stated, moving his hands so his chains clinked against the bedposts.

Andrew nodded, and started shuffling the papers back together. “We can't go back to the Council. They'd kill her. And... I've tried all the things I knew how to do. I need help, Giles.” He looked away and smiled crookedly. “I know you're thinking you know what kind. You sent me to therapy, and that was... good, actually. We worked out some stuff. But this isn't crazy. This isn't stupid. Or... not totally. This is... Being a Watcher. Doing it right.” He looked back at Giles, at the chains. “Sometimes, that means doing the hard things, the bad things, because they save more than they hurt. Only... I'm not sure, right now, if I... If I alone can save her. So, Watcher to Watcher, I am asking for your help. Please?” Andrew finished, looking Giles in the eyes. His eyes were wet, and he looked very tired.

Rupert looked back at him, and considered.

“Watcher to Watcher... I can help. But only as a Watcher should.”

“If that means she dies because she's a demon...”

“No. It means... Andrew, to care for your Slayer is admirable. I understand. She came to you, she chose you, and even if the Council don't approve you chose her in return. Buffy and I... Well, I understand. But the first duty of a Watcher is not to their Slayer, however much we would like it to be. It is to the world. We are sworn to protect this world. The Slayer is...”

“A weapon,” Andrew said. “A lot of the old Watchers say that.”

Giles shook his head. “A partner. Una... you said, she Chose, and she took the oath. The same as we did. So I can no more risk the whole world to save her, than I would risk it to save myself. However much I might want to.”

“You'd risk it for Buffy,” Andrew said in a small voice.

“I would not. I did not.” Giles chose his phrasing carefully, since Andrew was not among those who knew the details of Buffy's most recent death. “If I believed my Slayer were in hell, I would not use magic to break in and save her. It would be in breach of both our duties. And she would be the first to die to seal such a breach. So this, this window, or portal... To access a hell dimension to, what, let your Slayer in? It doesn't make sense, Andrew. Not for a Watcher, and not for a Slayer.”

“She just wants to find her family. What she is. Maybe a place to fit in. It's not... a bad thing...” Andrew trailed off and started tracing patterns on the bedspread.

“Your motives don't seem bad,” Giles agreed gently. “Good intentions...”

“Road to hell,” Andrew mumbled, then sniffed.

“Take these off, then we'll go... explain to her,” Giles said.

But Andrew shook his head again.

“She really isn't in an explaining kind of mood,” Andrew said. “Plus, she's in there with the portal spell. Everything is drawn, all the words said. It just needs some of your blood. If we go explain, and she hits you, and you, like, bleed on the floor... Well, then the spell would work.” Andrew sounded slightly too cheerful about that. “But, you don't want it to do that. And also, there would be hitting. I was trying to make it so there wouldn't be any.”

“The portal spell is active?” Giles asked. He had noticed the power was still present – with everything still trembling it was hard to ignore – but he had hopes it was unformed magic, not as yet a portal.

“There's a fuzzy bit in the air. Inside is dark and outside is glowing.”

“So the portal is formed, just not open.”

Andrew shrugged. “Yeah, maybe. But, window. I checked the spell, it isn't for going through.”

“Andrew, in case it escaped your notice, you can actually climb through windows.” Giles nodded towards the window in the bedroom, currently closed but easily slid open. “It simply takes more work. If the other side don't know what you're doing, if they're taken unawares, then it is possible to briefly view them. But if they know...”

“Una wouldn't tell anybody!”

“From the sounds of it, Una was the one that was told.”

“Oh. With the spirit quest, when they told her about you. Or, Giles the Watcher. A dad who is a Watcher, that must be so cool.”

“Andrew, focus. We have to contain this, get the portal fully closed again. We should call the Council and get some Slayers here, just in case...”

“No. No Council, no Slayers, no plans that have Una getting slain. Una is a Slayer, if anything goes wrong she can handle it.”

Giles tried to clean his glasses, but of course got brought up short by the chains.

“There has to be something else we can do. You brought stuff. You had another book in here...” Andrew started emptying the pockets on the long coat Giles had brought. Salt, herbs, a couple of talismanic stones. And, finally, the small book labeled Doors.

“Be careful with that, it's one of a kind,” Giles objected.

“Hand written. Looks like a regular lined notebook. A modern one, I could get one like this at the newsagents right now. Is it yours? It doesn't look like your writing.”

“It was left with me. It belonged to... someone I knew.”

Andrew had taken the book over to the window, where the light was best, and was flicking through it. He found the title page.

“'Rituals of Janus, a new compendium. By Ethan Rayne.' Huh. Do I know that name? Was there something... From Sunnydale. A bad guy... Are these evil spells?”

“No. At least, not inherently. Janus is... Well, he is a two faced god. His gifts tend to be double edged.”

“Also, involving knives. And blood.” Andrew read, then looked at Giles meaningfully.

“These are not spells I would use lightly. They are rituals of last resort. Done carefully, with proper training and attention to detail, there is a chance – a fairly good chance – that all those involved survive.”

“And a chance they don't?”

“All magic has costs. And consequences,” Giles said. He paused, and Andrew looked at the book more doubtfully. “As I said, not to be used lightly.”

Andrew paused on a particular page, angling it to catch the light. “Is this like the spells at your place?” He looked up, then came over to show Giles the page. The two faces of Janus looked out from the page, and the drawing of the door as it needed to be between them.

“Yes. Janus is, among other things, a god of doors. In that case he protects against magic, and magical creatures.”

“Great! We set this up here...”

“Unfortunately that would take several months. One per room to be protected, with rituals at every quarter. It is a very thorough, very long lasting spell, requiring minimal maintenance. That always means a lot of initial investment.”

Andrew's face had fallen. Giles hesitated slightly, considering the wisdom of his next words, but the boy would find it soon enough on his own.

“Try five pages further on. There's a more powerful, temporary spell that might serve.”

“'To Close the Gates'. Gates, like portals? Would this work on the portal?”

“I had that hope. Ideally, Ralamborn's would have the proper ritual of closure, but if that failed and we needed something in a hurry... Blood magic is volatile, but powerful. And even if it does not work on the portal directly, it can close the doors around it, seal this house, and so contain the damage.”

“So, we need blood... Check.” Andrew said, pointing at the bowl, and continuing to read. “Doesn't mention any herbs... or precious stones... Or amulets. Giles, all this needs is some words. Latin, but... Anyone could do this. Why isn't this in all the books?”

“They could do this, if they were willing to risk their lives in so doing.”

“Ah. That... Would cut down the popularity.”

“Indeed. Finding one mage who wouldn't rather do things safe and slow is difficult. Finding two?”

“Two... These spells take two? Like Two Face in Batman, always with the twin sidekicks. Gods should have better themes. More original, you know?”

“Janus is...” Considerably older than Batman, but Giles winced slightly and kept himself on topic with an effort. “Janus is very specific in his requirements.”

“But we fit them, right? I mean, we don't have to be identical.”

“No. We fit quite well enough.” One youth, one older man. Actually the usual representation of the god. Time was he would have had to look for a statue with two young faces. “We could use this spell. But I still do not believe we should. There are more resources available...”

“To other people. In this room there's just you and me. So we have to try something we can work. This... This would mean whatever happens in here doesn't risk the world. With this up, we could help Una, show her what her family are like.” Andrew looked up and saw Giles' frown. “Or, we could talk her out of it,” he corrected himself lamely.

“Dreegugze are not peaceful demons. My Father wasn't in the habit of risking his life for sheer speciesism.”

“Una definitely isn't peaceful,” Andrew agreed. “But she is good. Maybe her family are like that. Or, at least, she'll say that, if we just talk to her.”

Giles opened his mouth to argue, then shook his head. “We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.” He looked at the book, the bowl, the blood. He sighed. “First, we make sure nothing escapes here.”

“Right.” Andrew said, getting up and getting the knife.

“Andrew... You do realise, that includes us.”

Andrew paused, knife in hand. Giles elucidated.

“Two casters speak the spell together, and in so doing close and lock the gates. To open them again, they speak the unlocking spell.”

Andrew put the knife down and hurriedly turned pages.

“That too is in the book. But we have to speak it together. Just one or the other of us won't do.”

“So neither of us can drop it and run away, or go get anyone. Can anyone get in?”

“No. Once the barrier is up, there will be just you and me... and Una... to deal with whatever happens.”

“And if one of us dies?”

“Then the barrier remains. Not forever. Perhaps only until the end of the natural lifespan of the caster.”

“...Oh. That would be... A long time.” Andrew raised his eyebrows. “And we definitely don't have enough doritos. So you know I'd have to keep you safe.”

“Yes, as I would have to protect you.”

“So it's all good.” Andrew picked up the knife and put down the book, then picked up the first aid supplies to clean the blade with. “I get some of your blood – after you say I can – and...”

“Take it to your girlfriend?”

“Giles!” Andrew looked at him, looking wounded. “Come on! Don't you trust me? I mean, okay, yeah, there's the thing with the tranq gun. I did kind of shoot you in the back. And there's the chains... But if I just wanted to cut you then I would have by now!”

“Unless some form of consent were necessary for the spell. If I am meant to trust you then I think a good first step would be for you to let me out of these handcuffs.”

“And have you go phone the Council? You're being all untrusty, maybe it's because you're thinking of doing the sneaky things. No, I think you stay there until we get the spell put up. You can talk from over here as long as I get your blood, the spell says so.”

“So we reach something of an impasse – I'm not about to let you near me with that knife. If we must do this spell, I'll cut myself. Even if I trust your intentions, I do not think you're that good with a blade.”

“But you are. If you get the knife, you could throw it, or stab me, or stab Una.”

“Yes I could. You'll just have to trust me.”

“Well... you'll have to trust me first.” Andrew said, going to cross his arms, then remembering the knife. He ended up with one arm crossed over his chest, elbow resting on hand, knife waving in front of his face petulantly.

Giles tried not to glare. Glaring would, at this moment, be counterproductive. It also never quite looked right with his glasses on wonky.

He just stared at Andrew. Who stared back.

Andrew blinked first.

He lowered the knife and bit his lip.

“I could promise you. I mean I promised Una, and I promised you, and that's kind of the way I got stuck already. So you know I keep my promises.”

Giles still looked sceptical.

“Or, I could swear properly. Like, an oath. A formal oath, maybe to a god.” Now Andrew had the idea, it was of course running away with him. “I could swear to mighty Thor. He's a god in lots of places, not just comics. He's in charge of promises, and also lightning, so if I break my word I'd probably get struck down. And it wouldn't be like on Highlander because I'm not an Immortal, I'd just get fried. So if I swear to Thor, will you believe me?”

“That would be a serious oath,” Giles agreed.

“Great!” Andrew said. “So we need an oath ring.” He started going through his pockets with his free hand.

“Andrew, I hardly think...”

“Just wait one second...” Andrew told him, then dashed out the door, leaving it gaping open.

Giles tensed up, expecting the demon girl to come in again, but he only heard the noises of a hasty search. Drawers were opened, heavy things moved, and Andrew muttered to himself. Then there was a brief silence, followed by a few thumping sounds.

Andrew came in, brandishing a small silver object triumphantly.

“Okay, so I didn't have an actual ring. But I found a hammer for an action figure, one of the big ones, and Thor has a sacred hammer so that seemed right, so I kind of bent it around, and...”

“Yes, Andrew, I'm sure it's adequate.” Privately Giles believed that the sacred oath rings of Thor were actually consecrated items kept in temples and tended to by priests. But considering the reverence Andrew kept his action figures in, it probably worked out much the same in his mind.

Andrew's eyes fairly glowed with enthusiasm as he held the ring aloft before him. “I, Andrew Wells, hereby swear by Almighty Thor...” he paused briefly, having obviously not quite thought this far. “I shall aid Rupert Giles in his current quest, as Rupert Giles shall aid me.” He lowered the ring and held it out towards Giles. “Your turn.” He looked at how Giles was bound, then came up and put the ring in his hand, keeping hold of it too. He looked up at Giles expectantly.

Giles kept an eye on the door, still worried the noise would attract the wrong attention. He added his promise rather absently. “I'll help you if you'll help me. And get these handcuffs off.” He looked at Andrew again, who looked a little disappointed. “I swear by Thor, alright? Now...”

Andrew lowered the ring, looked around for somewhere to put it, put the knife down and got his key chain out.

Giles continued in a lowered voice. “Could we perhaps hurry this up? Una seemed... quite eager to continue.”

“Oh, she is. But she got hungry, I guess. She isn't on this floor, so she's probably downstairs in the kitchen.”

“Probably? But if we seal the house with Una outside...”

“Then you get to close the portal.” Andrew shrugged. He had fastened the newly made promise ring to his key chain, looped through two key rings. One of them was a silver circle covered in chevrons, the other a curious branching design that looked a bit like a blue W in a circle of small dots. Next to them were several with pictures of actors in, and one that looked like an ivy leaf from that Lord of the Rings film. The whole bunch looked like they weighed enough to make a decent weapon. Andrew dropped them back in their pocket, then pulled the other end of the key chain out, the one with the actual keys. He looked at Giles' hands, and at the bedside cabinet, with the bowl and knife. Then he went back around the bed to the far side, and unlocked Giles' right hand.

The first thing Giles did was readjust his glasses, and then glare at Andrew, mildly. “I am actually left handed you know,” Giles grumbled a little, bringing his right wrist around to where he could rub it, and swinging his feet down off the bed on the side with the cabinet.

“I know. So I'm staying over here until the blood part is done. Okay?”

Giles looked back at him for a moment, then nodded. Then he looked at the door, now behind him. “Close that again, will you?”

Andrew went to do so, and Giles turned his attention to the knife.

It looked clean enough, but having supplies to hand Giles cleaned it again, just to be on the safe side. Not that infection would be the primary threat to his life in the near future, but one always had to act as if there would be a long term, if one wished to avoid nasty surprises.

The knife was also sharp enough, either new or well maintained, a kitchen utensil meant for slicing meat. Giles held the flat against the meat of his arm and considered how best to do this. In the end he decided that even on a short chain as it was, his left hand had better fine control. He held the knife there, after hitching up his right sleeve.

“Do we have to use this bowl?” he asked. He looked down at the small pool of blood still in it. Such powerful stuff. Life and death in liquid form. Adding his own to Andrew's... was not appealing.

“It is the good bowl. I could get, like, Tupperware, but then we'd have to mix the blood up anyway, to do the spell,” Andrew said apologetically.

Giles sighed, grit his teeth, and cut himself.

Bleeding sufficiently didn't take long. Stopping the bleeding one handed, however...

“Andrew, pass me the gauze pad,” Giles said.

Andrew came around the bed cautiously, hesitant.

“Sometime before I lose a whole pint would be nice,” Giles griped.

Andrew skirted around the edge of the room to the opposite side of the cabinet, and held the gauze out at arm's length. Giles just sighed and held his injured arm out to be tended to, which to his credit the boy did swiftly and correctly, albeit keeping one eye on the knife Giles still held.

The knife blade kept clanging into the bedpost or the handcuff chain, making little metallic melodies. Giles tried to concentrate on that, rather than the familiar stinging in his arm, or the too bright red he'd dripped everywhere.

As soon as the bandage was on, Andrew snatched up the bowl and backed away.

Giles tensed, switched hands with the knife, ready to try to throw it should Andrew break for the door. But instead the boy turned and put the bowl on the window sill.

“The blood goes on both sides, right? Is it in symbols, or do I just, like, dab?”

Giles hesitated a moment more, then put the knife down on the cabinet, wiped his hand on the bedspread to try and keep from smudging anything, and picked up the book. Even so, as he flicked through he left little red-brown smears on the edges of it. He sighed and tried to ignore them. Not like it was the first time.

“No particular symbols are needed for this spell,” Giles confirmed. He read through the Latin portion, committing it to memory.

Andrew used a finger to dab blood down each side of the window frame. He came back over making a moue of distaste, finger held away from himself, until he could put the bowl down and pick up a wipe from the first aid tin.

“Okay, so now there's just chanting.”

“You understand the spell?” Giles asked.

“Yeah.” Andrew nodded, then paused. “Well, okay, not understand, as such. But I can say it, and it says what it will do in English, so... I don't need to be able to translate, do I? You know I'm better at demon languages.”

“Yes. Well... As long as you understand the intent. We offer our living blood to Janus, and ask him to bar the way. We repeat the chant three times, once each separately and once together, confirming our wish, and then Janus will grant our request. Or possibly condemn us on the spot for not being ritually pure, but experience suggests those warnings are slightly overstated by the old priesthood.”

“So it's safe then.”

“As safe as it can be,” Giles said.

Andrew somehow took this as reassurance. He held out a hand for the book, and after one last read through Giles handed it to him.

Andrew backed away and stood next to the window again.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” Giles nodded. “You say it like this.”

Giles mentally translated the Latin as he spoke.

“Janus, doorkeeper of the gods, hear us. Accept this our offering, our living blood, in our time of need. Close these gates, please. Bar and lock them.”

Andrew listened intently, then repeated, near enough correctly. “Janus, doorkeeper of the gods, hear us,” he said, and now Giles felt that waiting stillness that signified they did indeed have something's attention. “Accept this our offering, our living blood,” Andrew said, and Giles became conscious of what flowed in his veins, the slow beat of it, getting faster. "In our time of need. Close these gates please." The power of the portal spell still trembled around them, but between them there was an altogether different feeling, one that made the shaking house irrelevant. A deity was listening. “Bar and lock them.” Lock them in together.

Giles drew breath to join Andrew for the final supplication, and now the two of them spoke in unison, as if practiced.

“Janus, doorkeeper of the gods, hear us.” The stillness grew deeper, and the world dropped away from significance. “Accept this our offering, our living blood, in our time of need.” Giles felt faint, and Andrew looked pale, their blood rushing in their ears. “Close these gates, please. Bar and lock them.” The final syllable dropped into place, and finally the god answered them.

The blood glowed, briefly crimson, then spread into laser thin lines up both sides of the window. Lines that burned brighter, until with a flash the window was covered in a sheet of red, glowing intensely for one moment, then settling down to a barely noticeable tint.

Andrew reached out and poked at it. His finger went flat at the end some time before he touched anything physical, the red light pushing back at him.

“It's solid. I mean, really tough. Like leaning on the wall.” Andrew turned to face Giles with a grin. “This should work great!”

“Yes... well...” Giles tried to plaster on a smile of his own. “Now that's accomplished... the keys?”

“Oh, right. No problem.” Andrew came over and got the handcuff keys out again, finally freeing Giles.

Giles took a brief moment to rub his wrist, but he moved on quickly. He started to gather his supplies together, then stood and pulled on his boots. “We should go downstairs, check the main door there. With luck this barrier will apply to all the ways in or out of the building, but if read more strictly it might only have covered the windows.”

“Oh. You could have said that first,” Andrew griped. He was packing his first aid tin away again. He also wiped down the knife.

“The windows needed doing, and if as you say the portal is intended to be a window, well, we might get extremely lucky and find the spell has sealed that too.”

“You think?”

Giles stood up and swung his coat on, putting things away swiftly then patting his pockets to check what he still had with him. He looked around to see Andrew still looking at him hopefully.

“Hmm? Oh. Well, no, I don't expect so. It seems unlikely to be that easy.” Giles picked up the little book again, flicked through it, pausing once more at the warnings. He did a rough calculation and frowned. “Come on. Better hurry. You'll have to show me the way, I was unconscious on the way up.”

“Yeah, of course,” Andrew agreed, picking up the bowl of blood and bringing it with him as he left. “This way.”

As Andrew headed for the door, Giles stepped back and quietly picked up the knife again.

The layout of the house turned out to be very simple. Four rooms along a corridor, with stairs at the end. And at the end of the stairs, the front door, right next to the living room.

A long corridor led back past the stairs, presumably to the kitchen Andrew had mentioned.

There were noises coming from back there. Some of them resembled blocked drains, others feeding time at a pet shop.

Giles walked as softly as he could.

Andrew tested the front door, but could touch it without meeting any barrier. He looked back in the direction of the noise, then turned back to the door and, very, very carefully turned the handle. He pulled it open just a crack.

Outside there were traffic noises, quiet and intermittent on this less busy residential road. The daylight came in, grey but clear.

Andrew looked through the gap, holding the bowl of blood behind the door. Then he poked a finger through it, slowly.

“Nothing. Nothing there,” he reported back, quietly. He swung the door closed quickly and dabbed some blood on the frame, then started the spell.

Giles looked around for a phone, thought about pushing past Andrew and making a run for it, but right then the noises from the kitchen tailed off.

Giles said his line as quickly as he was able.

When they started the last chant together there was once again that sense of the world dropping away, of only their blood and their word having meaning, and the deity listening. They raced to complete their offering, their request, and again the spell glowed brightly as the god granted them this favour. The ruby light settled in across the door, and it was done. Sealed. For better or worse, they were locked in.

Giles blinked and took a deep breath, slightly dizzy. Gradually he became aware of the wider world again.

And the demon girl, standing almost beside him.

*** *** ***

Part 3/4 here
Part 4/4 here

Comments

[beccaelizabeth]

Rupert looked back at him, and considered.

*** *** ***

“Watcher to Watcher... I can help. But only as a Watcher should.”



(is where the break would go if I put one in)

[anne_d]

This is getting very exciting.

Andrew and his oath to Thor, and his promise ring - it's just so Andrew.

[beccaelizabeth]

:-D <-- big grin when you said that

I was a bit worried I'd got carried away with cute
but yeah, I think Andrew would go there


thanks
:)

[anne_d]

It made me wonder if there will be consequences - I mean, there are always consequences to using magic, but what if Andrew's oath woke Thor up or something?

I'm looking forward to part 3.

[beccaelizabeth]

Giles wasn't thinking of it as magic, though Andrew was.
Magic always has consequences.



If Thor is awake, one has to wonder what he thinks about his press...

[(Anonymous)]

Excellent Giles voice. When you write lines like:

“Andrew, so far you have kidnapped me, drugged me, and chained me to a bed. None of which leaves me inclined to help you. And all of which rather stretches the concept of 'willing', even if I say the words. Especially since if I don't that demon girl will just take it. Probably with her claws through my neck.”

I can hear them in Giles voice exactly.

If he used the flute on her, if the magic works, it doesn't mean anything moral. Hmmmmm. Is Andrew trying hard to say this isn't like what they did to Katrina? He's trying so hard - trying to be her Watcher while loving her. While she's changing.

And now they're all locked in together by means of a Janus spell? Well, I hope Giles knows what he's doing.

Plus - the whole action figure thing? Too too funny!

[beccaelizabeth]

I'm so glad the voice is right :)

And the action figure bit was funny :)
I worried it would be a bit cute and not fit, but I think it kept the story going too.


The Katrina thing is very much in Andrew's mind, but I couldn't decide how much of it Giles was picking up on. Probably not much, I reckon, for he was absent from that bit of canon and the Scoobies figured that for Warren's bad.

The 'moral' bit was meant to be about demons not necessarily being evil, but I didn't want Andrew to be particularly clear about it. His flashes of clarity tend to be filtered through quoteage, or very rare.

I hope Giles knows what he's doing
You and him both...