Disclaimer: See part 1. Other Info: See part 1
part 5
Hearing the cool threat in her voice, Blair became defensive of his partner. "And what's THAT supposed to mean?"
"If you haven't noticed, I'm not having a happy day." She turned the same effective stare on the anthropologist. "Besides, we're on holy ground, and I've no wish to destroy my Karma that quickly after so long."
The partners looked quizzically at each other then back to Nikya.
"When?" Jim asked.
"Later." She pushed the glasses back into place. "I promise."
Blair noticed the man behind them, approaching slowly and with determination. His stance was protective as he closed the distance between them. "Nixia?" He started in a refined tone. "Everything okay over here?" When she didn't answer immediately, he continued in Gaelic. "Are these the two?"
"Aye," Dakota replied, a slight smile to her friend. Looking back at her two confused colleagues, she spoke in plain English. "Everything's fine, Adam. Tell Charles I'll be along as soon as possible." Then added her own private reply in Gaelic. "I'll bring them with me."
He kissed her cheek and turned to walk away. "We'll be waiting."
Jim watched the man all the way back to the dissipating crowd. A face in that crowd caught his eye, triggering memories and taking him to another place. A smell seemed to hit him, taking him further away from reality. Then suddenly, it was all gone, and the only thing present was the hand on his shoulder and the sound of his friend's concerned voice.
"JIM..." Sandburg said in a forceful whisper, calling his friend back from the edge. "Jim, was that Conner?"
"No." Jim answered, and turned his head to his partner. "Different voice."
"You need to get in the car." Nikya said in a tone almost as low as Blair's.
"Or what?"
"Or I explain nothing..." And she depressed the lever with her foot, then turned the swivel seat sideways, allowing Sandburg entry to the back seat.
~~~~~
She didn't remove the glasses until they were at the house. In the short drive to the wake, Dakota hadn't said a word. She didn't think she had the strength to find any. As they walked towards the large home, Nikya tried to control the emotion tremors that threatened to bring her to her knees. She stopped abruptly at the base of the porch steps, glancing quickly up at the Victorian mansion. When she turned her face to the two men, everything she wanted to say seemed to be welling up in her eyes.
Blair's caring nature made him instinctively reach out, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Nikya..."
"Nixia..." a woman said, taking the detective into an embrace for a moment. The two women shared a couple murmurs, the one then continuing into the house.
"NIK'see'ah?" Jim questioned, receiving only a raised eyebrow at his pronunciation. "What are we doing here?"
"This is Easton West. Home of Charles Easton Haverford. The Sixth." she said in a shaky voice.
"Councilman Haverford?" and Jim saw her nod. "He and Elise were close." It was a statement, not a question. The partners had seen Haverford at the center of the mourners grave side, Dakota immediately behind him.
"Engaged, but their romance was kept extremely quiet." She removed her gloves and went on. "Elise didn't want to take the chance of being too popular too quickly. We're very private people. For most, that would conjure up the term recluse or eccentric. For us, though, it means we live another day..." She sighed after that cryptic comment, then looked toward the door. "I can't keep them waiting, and Charles will be looking for me. I'll explain more later, I promise. Just go with me here."
It was all Jim and Blair could do, realizing there was no other immediate way to get the answers they wanted. Nixia-Nikya-whatever led them into the house, then to the library. Sitting behind the desk, Charles Haverford the Sixth looked small and fragile, not at all the picture of power his press made him out to be. The odd thought of how he would feel should Nik be killed in the same manner as Elise D'Ornier caused Jim to stop in his tracks. It took Blair a good shove to get the big man going again. Light through a bit of stained glass scattered in iridescence over her as Nik stopped next to the desk, bending towards the man behind it. In an effort to avoid staring, Jim turned first to check his partner. Receiving a nod, he finished a 360-degree turn looking for any quickly- descending lawyers.
"Charles. This is..."
"I know who they are, Nix. I've seen them on the TV often enough." Charles' voice had enough whiskey to it to take his political edge off, but not enough to lighten the dark attitude. "Your Captain Banks has some high opinions of you two. You're welcome in my home..."
"Well, good. 'Cause Jim and I got married last week and Blair and I are fooling around behind his back..."
Charles laughed. For the first time since they'd told him of Elise's death, he laughed. At the time they'd told him, he couldn't really believe it. They'd been through so many false alarms and tense situations. Then one day Elise just went to the mall.
And she didn't come back.
Charles stood and extended his hand to the two men. "You've got to keep your eye on this one..." The sadness in his eyes belied the humored tone of the comment.
Coming out of shock as he shook hands, Jim's reply was full of honesty. "Don't I know it."
"Nik's always had a strange sense of humor." Charles said, pouring himself another drink from the bottle on the desk. "Then again, she's had quite a long time to cultivate it..." He gave them a single laugh, then a weak smile, and sat back down.
As Haverford and Dakota continued in quiet tones, Jim surveyed the room, trying very hard to not follow the semi-private conversation. His initial shock at the scene hadn't worn off, and he still felt the headache intruding on his senses. "Aspirin..." he said out loud.
Blair's hand tapped him on the shoulder and the large man looked down. "I could really use some aspirin. Maybe we both could. Nik?"
She turned to them, walking back around the desk and deftly removing the bottle without Charles' awareness. "Let me guess. You need aspirin?" And she smiled as the two men nodded.
"Unless you've got a great acupressure point for this?" Blair asked and followed her out of the room.
"I know several, but" she said with a sigh, "I just don't trust my hands..." Blair nodded, understanding more clearly that Nikya was trying very hard to deal with her emotions while maintaining a strong facade. He wondered who the facade was really for: Haverford, Jim and him, or herself.
The three made their way to a less crowded part of the house, a small parlor where only a few people were sitting and talking.
After handing them the aspirin, Nikya removed a leather bound book from the folds of her long coat. *Amazing what the magic can do.* she thought to herself, smiling as she handed the book to Sandburg. "Here. Have a look at this."
Blair took the tome and gingerly leafed through it. He didn't know all of it, but he knew enough. A little Latin, some Greek, Hebrew, French, Gaelic, Sanskrit, and a smattering of mixed hieroglyphics. Even though he didn't read all of it, there were large portions he could. As he paged through, Jim stood over his shoulder looking at the pictures and reading what sections he could. After a few pages, the detective pulled up a chair and sat next to his partner. Between the two of them, they decoded enough.
Enough to doubt their readings, but enough to be just frightened the book was true.
If what they'd put together was correct, Elise D'Ornier had been alive for some five hundred years. Born in 1433, she'd died for the first time only 26 years later. The rest of the story seemed to document the rest of her years in great detail - where she lived, her names, her marriages, and a few more deaths. The pictures were all varied by the artist's talents, but the face and figure remained exactly the same. Every picture was the exact likeness of the victim they'd found in the mall parking lot.
Blair reached up and turned on the small reading lamp, letting them view the yellowed pages better. In less cramped script, but similar encryption, the last part of the volume revealed details of Elise's current "life." Everything that made up her living for at least the last three years. There, before them, was a written record of what Dakota had told them. *But then,* Jim thought. *That could mean she wrote it or read it instead of actually knowing the woman.* A slight shiver went through him then.
It was well into evening by the time they finished reading. In the hours they missed, Nikya had seen to a very drunken Charles. Wrestling him up the stairs to a bed wasn't hard. Finding a room without a liquor bottle in it was, though. She'd seen to the last of the guests, then cleaned up what she could, and only a close few friends were left now. Dakota didn't mind the duty. It actually helped keep her mind off the day. Having done as much as she dared, Nik grabbed a bottle of water and checked on her two partners. They were discussing the reading. Not wanting to disrupt them, Nik took one last walk through the main rooms. As she returned to the small room, she heard the last two guests walking up behind her. Nik turned around, finding comfort in two sad smiles, then a strong pair of arms.
He heard her talking with two men just on the other side of the doorway. His senses suddenly turned up the dial, catching a word or two and amplifying the familiar accent. As it registered, Jim suddenly looked up, the light seemingly playing tricks with the shadows.
"What?" Blair questioned, noticing the direction of Jim's stare. "Something going on?"
The buzzing in his head had come back. Not as strong, but enough to jar another of Jim's senses. He took a deep breath then looked through to the other room, his eyes bringing the two men into focus. The one he recognized as Adam, from the funeral. But the other... *It can't be.* Jim didn't trust what he was seeing; couldn't trust his own eyes. He had to get closer.
"Nash?" Jim questioned almost with reverence in his voice. "Russell Nash." His hand came out, and he crossed the room to the man.
"Captain Ellison...Jim." They shook hands firmly, smiles on both their faces. "It's good to see you. Nixia mentioned you at dinner the other night..."
"The other night..." The stunned detective repeated as Nash's voice jarred the pieces into place. "You're Conner." Jim looked from Dakota to Nash and back again, still not sure his deduction was correct.
Blair walked out of the room, still reading the book, but knowing he needed to be with his partner. He'd found a rather interesting section. While the anthropologist in him had mentally marked a couple places that warranted extra attention, it was the investigator in him that had returned him to one particular section. One word on one brittle, yellow, crinkled page. One word.
Nixia.
"Uh, Jim."
The detective just looked down at his partner, who had been so engrossed in reading that he hadn't heard the last exchange.
Knowing by the looks on the four faces that the book was temporarily not a pressing issue, Sandburg cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm missing something, right?" Blair saw the big guy smile.
"Blair Sandburg, this is Russell Nash. He was a civilian instructor for the Army." Looking at the man, Jim had to place a hand on Nash's shoulder just to affirm he was really there. "Before I went to Peru, Nash was an instructor in ancient weapons, survival techniques, and hand-to-hand combat." At the memories, Jim took a deep breath and sighed. "When I ,uh - when I came back, I asked around. But as far as anyone knew - Russell Nash was dead."
"Assumed dead..." he corrected.
"Don't you mean presumed'?" Sandburg questioned.
"No. Assumed." And he smiled, his light eyes smiling with him. "You go off to save the world, and if you just happen to need a couple years to recover, they assume you're dead."
"Right. Uh...Jim. Could we uh...could I see you in the other room?"
Before the two could turn away, Dakota's voice stopped them.
"If it's about chapter 4, then maybe we should find a better place to talk." and as Jim and Blair turned around, she finished. "All of us."
~~~~~
Ellison pulled his truck into an empty spot across the street from Nik's SS. Sandburg still had the book in his hand and, using a flashlight, had read some of it to Jim as they'd headed to Nik's place. As they sat there, though, waiting to follow Nash and Adam up to Nikya's place, Blair shook his head.
"It's weird, man." Even though he felt slightly uncomfortable, Blair was bouncing. "What's going on, here? If I'm dreaming, pinch me or something."
"Well, Chief," Jim started, his sight focused on the balcony a couple stories up where Dakota stood watching their vehicle. "If you're dreaming, then I'm dreaming too... although I don't know if dream is the word for this. Especially if we're sharing the same visions..." Another look up at Nik and Jim punched his partner in the shoulder.
"Hey!" Blair threw an indignant look at his smiling partner. "What was that for?"
"You said to pinch you," smiling mischievously, "...or something."
"What do you think?" Blair asked as they crossed the street.
"I think.." and the detective stopped at the door, lowering his voice. "I think we'd best tread lightly, Chief."
~~~~~
Several hours and an equal number of emptied wine bottles later, Jim was still not fully convinced. Always open to new ideas, Blair was only slightly skeptical. Ellison watched his partner as the young man walked around Dakota's place, taking in the layout and examining every piece of the furniture and decor.
The building, an old warehouse, had been sectioned off decades before. Nikya's studio was nearly the entire top floor on the south end of the block. Several rooms had been built in one section, but the rest of the space was open, serving at once as living room, den, and what appeared to be a staging or practicing area. Just off this area was a gourmet kitchen and dining area. The walls were cluttered with things. One wall held a multitude of weapons - new and old - and a large, tool-laden workbench for tending them. While another wall held shelves of pottery, figurines, statuary, and even some metal objects, the wall adjacent to the bedrooms served as a portrait gallery, with three massive oil paintings next to each other surrounded by pictures of every other shape and size. Setting the "living room" apart from the rest of the space were a number of display cases - filled with even more stuff - set around the perimeter of a large oriental rug. There was no rhyme or reason to the collectibles, with so many different time periods put together it resembled Sandburg's favorite artifact room at Rainier. In addition, several large cases sat next to the patio doors - each a continuation of the accumulation, but including books. Something not in any of the other glass cabinetry.
The anthropologist had gravitated there and seemed to be studying a set of leather bound volumes. Jim was still swimming through the information of the evening. "Okay," he started, setting his wine glass on the coffee table. "Let me see if I can get this straight. Elise D'Ornier was one of these Immortals, people who go around chasing each other with swords because the only way an Immortal can die is to have their head cut off." He stopped and took a deep breath, watching the three people nodding in agreement. "And there are more...all waiting for the time of this Gathering, to fight until only one is left and that person will win the Prize - whatever that may be..."
"Right. Basically." Nik said, downing the last of her wine. "Don't just chase each other, though. You'd be surprised the number of 'em that lead normal lives. Don't even search out a good boxing match."
"Don't forget the Watchers." came Blair's voice as he wandered back to the books. "The ones who record all the activities of all the Immortals they know. Like the original Big Brothers..."
Nash, Adam, and Nik laughed at that. Blair just shook his head.
"I never thought of it that way, but the kid's got a point." Adam chuckled through the comment, finishing his wine and setting the empty glass on the table.
*Who's HE to call ME kid?*
"Provided we buy this..." and Jim had to shake his head to focus the words. "Where do YOU fit in, Miss Chapter Four?"
"Oooh...uuuuh."
Jim smiled at the woman's obvious unease. "That's not an answer, detective." Jim turned his attention to Nash who was just sitting there smiling. "Do YOU have one?"
"Hey, JIM!" a startled voice came from across the room. "You've gotta see this. I MEAN it!"
"Hold that thought." Ellison watched his partner at the glass cases across the room.
The kid was fairly drooling over the contents. "What's up, Chief?"
"Man...It's an original Burton monograph." Blair said in an excited hush, then watched Jim shrug in indifference. "BURTON! MY Burton... It's one of the more in-depth SENTINEL pieces. One I've only been able to get on microfiche - and an incomplete copy at that. I'd kill to get a look."
"You don't have to kill, just ask. It's not a problem." Dakota said as her hand came down on Sandburg's shoulder. By the look on the kid's face, he was scared out of his skin by her sudden appearance. Jim, though, didn't flinch, even though she was certain he hadn't seen her approach. Sure, they were all a little tipsy, but that never affected her skills before. "What's your pleasure?"
"Fourth one from the left. Burton..." Blair's hands began to itch as Nikya handed the book to him.
"Holy Grail time, Chief?" The look on his partner's face said it all to Jim, who was laughing as the young man plopped himself down right where he stood and opened the book.
"Amazing." he whispered reverently. "Jim, there are pages in here - NOTES! Jim these are research observations....revisions..."
"Burton's notes, I believe." Nikya said, turning away. "Damn man was obsessed with his Sentinels...Six books in a row about them. Complete dullard at parties."
Blair shot up off the floor, the book secured against his body as he grabbed Dakota's arm and spun her around to face him. "He was a brilliant man, completely misunderstood and cruelly dismissed by a generation of scientists ruled by restrictive governments that still believed FIRE was right up there on the Periodic Table of Elements!"
Jim didn't even try to rein in his friend. He was proud of Blair's academics and more than confident in his Shaman's knowledge of Sentinels and their history. Besides, he was enjoying the confrontation.
"I'm not doubting he was a great anthropologist, Sandburg." She said half- heartedly. "I'm just saying that he was so obsessed with this one topic that NO ONE wanted to socialize with him at parties and social gatherings. Talk about your type A personalities. He never really talked about anything else..."
"Wait a minute." Blair said in a skeptical voice. "You're saying you DON'T believe his research?" He watched her nod emphatically. "Then your skepticism to valid research should be doubled at UN-validated journals."
"Point taken, Sandburg." Nash said as he walked towards them, his hands fumbling with the Watcher Chronicle. "It's obvious that you believe in Burton's research, but not the journal. Perhaps you've got something invested?"
"Not much." He said with a quick glance to his friend. "It's only the basis of my Doctoral project - pretty much MY life's work."
Stepping back from them, Nikya turned and headed back to the sitting area. Over her shoulder, she said plainly. "Keep the book, then. I'm certain you'll find it very useful." She cast a look to Adam and shrugged an apology.
Blair bounced, Jim's hand on his shoulder unable to control or restrain it. "I'll return it when I'm done. It might be a while, though."
"Really," she said with a smile to him. "Keep it. It was a gift, but I'm certain he'd appreciate you having it. You share an academic obsession..." Her smile, she found, was happily returned by Adam who added a slight nod.
Blair was speechless, immediately returning to his spot on the floor to peruse the rest of the pages while Jim walked back to the group.
"That nice gesture aside." The detective started. "I asked a question, and I would like an answer. I want to know where you fit into all this?" He heard her take a deep breath, her heart beating faster as she stood to face him. "It's obvious you know more than you're letting on. Like Chapter Four..." he threw at her, but she didn't shirk or flinch. "Now, you seem to put a lot of weight into the chronicle. Are you a Watcher, then? Is that what brought you here? Are you even really a detective?"
"My name is Nixia, and I was born around BC 650 in an area of Gaul - what is now France - and I'm an Immortal."
As much as Jim wanted to believe her, it was too fantastic. He shook his head and smiled as he pushed past her. "Okay. I think it's time to call it a night. We'll get together tomorrow and talk this over when we ALL feel a little better."
"Better?" Nik said with some excitement. "I'm fine. Hell, I'm IMMORTAL!" As Jim passed by her, she snatched his gun from the holster at the small of his back. Before he could turn around, she'd cocked and fired it.
"NOOOoooo!"