Date: Tue, 3 Jan 1995 22:27:42 EST
Subject: Fluff: The Joshua Chronicals, part 6a
Dear Friends: at long last, my search for haunted antiques continues!
It is important to remember that the events in this tale take place
_before_ the Hallowe'en party, let alone the Winterfest... time is
strange in the CotN universe, no? :-) I hope some of you still remember
this story and are still with us! Sincerely, Joshua Trevallion (the
Baron's breather lover, in case you've forgotten that, too...)
_________
Joshua nervously tapped his in flight magazine against the arm rest. From
the Lieutenant's accounts, his upcoming visit with Daniel promised to be
interesting if not outright dangerous. Surely the report of Daniel destroying
the local University campus bar over an insult was an exaggeration, wasn't
it?
Frankly, based on Joshua's experiences, he wasn't sure. In any case,
David said Daniel would be able to help and when asked by telephone,
he readily agreed to meet Josh.
However, Josh also had the meeting with his friend Alexandria to look
forward to, and he knew she wasn't one of the CotN. Unless someone had
gone and turned her into a vampire lately. Alex (and he smiled whenever
he thought of the name, and how different this Alex was from the one at
home) was one of the few connections with the gay community that Joshua
had kept up after meeting Gideon. They'd been good friends for too long
for him to simply drop her just because he happened to be living with a
vampire. If she wondered why she never got an invitation to come visit,
she never said so.
So, lunch and estate sale-shopping with Alex, and dinner with this
mysterious Daniel Morrissey. David hadn't said whether or not Daniel was
one of the CotN. If he was, he'd never been at one of the parties Josh
had attended.
The parties. Joshua thought about those as the plane bumped down in
Minneapolis. His first had been the Yule party at Oakwoods, by all
accounts a decorous affair. The house had maintained no permanent
structural damage, and the only really bad incident had been when Evan
had pulled a gun on Santa. The leftover Twinkies had not even been much
of a disposal problem, with six youngsters of the Nameless Ones in the
house. The spring equinox at Tamazin's had been livelier, what with a
fairy war, Gideon's amnesia, and Phoebe's antics. The handfasting had
been lovely, but a rift in the fabric of time and space and evil
doppelgangers had marred it somewhat. Josh preferred not to think about
the party he had (or not) just attended at Corvus' Raven Tower (or not).
Saving the world with a serving tray and Evian water... (or not).
He waited his turn to disembark from the plane. At first, he thought Alex
had forgotten about him. Scanning the lounge for a familiar face, he saw
only strangers. But then, he saw her. Or rather, he saw her arms waving.
Or, at least he thought it must be her arms, what with the abundance of
costume jewelry hanging from the wrists. She was bouncing up and down on
her tip toes, frantic to be seen above the heads of the people in front of
her. He couldn't help but laugh at her exuberance. Ah, Alex, he thought
to himself with a fond smile, you haven't changed.
"Joshua!" Alex shouted, as she pushed past two tired business men holding
cards with names on them. As she bounded across the distance to greet
him, Joshua noticed with some dismay she was as fashion-impaired as ever.
She was wearing unlaced combat boots and a mid-calf, bright purple billowy
skirt. Over that was an over-sized, black knit sweater and a studded
black leather jacket. As always, the jangle of earrings, necklaces and
bracelets accompanied her wherever she went. She stopped abruptly when she
neared him and held out her arms for a hug. As Joshua leaned in to hug
her, he smelled the strong aroma of patchouli oil.
"Alex," he said, breaking the hug, "good to see you."
"Goddess," she said, grabbing the carry on luggage he'd let drop to his
feet, "we have a lot to catch up on, Joshua. Come on, I'm parked just
outside of baggage claim downstairs. Oh," she added, lightly slapping
something against his chest. He caught it, and looked down to find the
classified section of a newspaper in his hands. "I've circled the good
estate states, see if you approve."
"Is this going to be another one of your whirlwind tours or do I get a
second to breathe?" He asked with a smile playing on his lips.
"Honey," she said, pointing a finger at him, "you'll have plenty of time
to breathe in the car." Though he laughed, she added, "okay, if you like
I'll take you to lunch and you can catch me up on your life...especially,"
she wagged her eyebrows at him, "...your love life."
Joshua smiled again. "Love life?" he bantered back. "What makes you
think I have one?"
Alex stopped in her tracks. "If I spent all that time coaching you on
the finer art of flirting, and you've gone and blown that
relationship..." she shook her finger at him, setting the
conglomeration of jewelry jingling again. "You're teasing me, aren't
you?" she demanded.
"Think, dearheart, how was the last solstice card I sent you signed?" He
asked.
"Josh and Gideon," she admitted. "Is his name really Gideon?"
They had battled their way to her car by now, and Joshua put his luggage
in the trunk.
"It really is," he replied. At her imploring look, as he slid into the
passenger seat he began to tell her more details. Omitting one.
* * * * * *
From the widow of Ruby's Cafe, they could see the sun setting on the
snow covered park. The honking of the geese that favored the park could
almost be heard through the glass. Joshua smiled wistfully out the
window. Catching up with Alex made him feel a part of a larger community
again. Plus, more importantly, he'd gotten all the latest gossip about
their old college buddies. He felt he could just sit there all day
reminiscing. Alex gave a final poke at her lunch.
"Well," she said, "so, you're here on business, then?"
"Yes," he agreed and told her about the strange request of Ms. Sims-Jones.
Laughing, Alex shook her head. "She sounds like one of those
`eccentric' types."
"You could say that again," Joshua smiled back.
"Well, I think in that paper I handed you there might just be
something that would fit the bill. Do you still have it?"
The paper! Joshua had almost forgotten all about it. Fishing in
his pockets, he recovered the somewhat crumpled newspaper. Alex reached
across the table and snatched it from him. He would have felt offended if
it were anyone else but Alex. Her enthusiasm often got the better of her.
Luckily, on her, it was charming.
He watched as her ringed finger expertly traced a line down one of
the columns in the classified section. How she could distinguish anything
amoung those tiny advertisements he would never know.
"Here," she exclaimed, waving the column in his face for a second,
"it's the weirdest thing. I've never seen an estate sale that starts
AFTER the sun goes down before. Not only that," she continued, after
peering at the ad again, "it's in the historic Lowry neighborhood... the
house is bound to be ritzy."
"Mmmmmmm," Joshua considered it. Minneapolis was many things.. but
the home of one of the kindred? Taking a long sip of his coffee, he
searched his memory for some reference of a Midwestern vampire.
"Do you suppose it's some vampire who lives there?"
"What?!" He nearly choked on his coffee.
She gave him a quizzical look. "I was joking, you know."
"Oh," he said, trying to regain his composure, "I knew that."
"Sure you did," she said suspiciously. "Do you believe in vampires,
Joshua?"
He blushed nervously. "I guess I believe in the possibility of
anything, really. I mean, come on Alex, aren't you a witch of some kind?"
"People have said that about me," she grinned, relaxing. "But, I
don't know... magic is different some how. Vampires seem so... I don't
know, fairy tale-ish."
"Well, there are witches in fairy tales, too."
Chewing on her lower lip, she thought about that. "Okay. Good
point. I suppose if there are vampires they've been distorted by myth,
too. Anyway, vampires or not, this estate sale is probably your best bet
for magical curiosities in town. Shall we?"
Without another word, they headed out to the car. It surprised
Joshua that the Lowry Hill neighborhood was not that far from the
restaurant. Looking out the window, he watched the beautiful old mansions
role past the window. He couldn't help but wonder how many of them were
still single home dwellings. It saddened him to see so many of these
beautiful old houses converted into office spaces and apartments. The
bump of the car against the curb, brought him back from his reverie. He
looked over at Alex who was grinning broadly. "oops," she said. With a
shrug she added, "in Paris they do it all the time."
He sighed, she was incorrigible.
Stepping out of the car, Joshua looked up at the house. It was
certainly the kind of house a vampire might favor. It was a two story
sprawling thing in Gothic revival style. The main part of the house was
framed by two torrents. It looked like a castle, or even, he thought as
they strolled up the walk, a church.
"Cool digs, huh?" Alex whispered in his ear.
"I'd say," he murmured as they approached the heavy oaken door.
"That's odd," Alex said, as if thinking out loud, "no numbers.
Either we beat the crowd, or most people shied away from an evening sale.
Either way, it's kinda creepy." She tried the door and found it open.
"Well," she said, turning back to Josh with a mischievous grin, "I hope
this is the right place, or we're about to commit breaking and entering."
"No," Joshua said with a strange sense of foreboding, "this is the
right place. I can feel it."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought I was suppose to be the witch."
He shrugged, "sometimes I just get these feelings."
She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Nothing personal," she said,
trying to sound light, "but my spider-senses are tingling, too. 's,
okay?"
"Sure," he said, as they walked through the door.
The interior was less forbidding. The foray opened up to a dark
wood staircase with a library to one side and a living room, or more
likely, a "parlor" to the other. Joshua almost laughed at himself. Part
of him had been expecting something out of the movie Dracula, with big
cobwebs draping everything. Instead, the furnishings were nicely
polished. The whole place had a light and airy feel. Still, the hairs on
the back of his neck prickled. There was something lurking just below the
bright and shiny surface pervading the atmosphere of the place. Something
that felt sinister and dark.
As they moved into the living room, Joshua noticed with a practiced
eye the conspicuous lack of mirrors. Similarly, the parlor could have
stepped straight out of the early 1800s. Right down to the way in which
the pictures hung from wires of the railing. Even the most knowledgeable
historian usually leaves some tell-tale anachronistic touch. For
instance, there wasn't even a telephone as far as he could see. Any
doubts before this was a vampire's home evaporated.
"Whoa," he heard Alex say as she let go of his hand. "This place is
fabulous!"
Joshua found himself wondering back towards the library. If this
was a vampire's house maybe he or she had some magical books that might
appeal to Ms. Sims-Jones. He nodded to the white-haired gentleman sitting
behind a card table in the corner of the library. On a whim Joshua walked
over to him
"Are you a relative?" Joshua asked politely.
"No, no, I'm a Trustee volunteer. The owner of the house left
everything to the church. I guess he had no living relatives to speak of."
The man clucked his tongue, "it's sad when that happens. Very sad."
"Mmmm, yes," Joshua agreed, not knowing what to say.
"Well," the man said, brightening up, "if you need any help just let
me know."
"Thank you," Joshua said as he walked away. The library was a book
lovers fantasy. The bookcases themselves must be worth a fortune, Joshua
thought, unable to stop himself from appraising the antiques. They were
wall to ceiling. Fashioned from some dark wood, perhaps cherry, with
etched glass doors, they were works of art. On the floor was an enormous
Persian rug. Joshua resisted the urge to pick up the edge of it, to see
if it was the real McCoy. Considering the rest of the place, he didn't
doubt it was. In the center of the library was a sitting table, on it was
what looked for all the world like a genuine Tiffany lamp. This place,
Joshua marveled, belonged in a museum.
Moving along the bookshelves, Joshua peered at the titles through
the glass. There were so many valuable first editions, that he had to
continually remind himself that his mission here was to look for magical
items. Never before had he been so tempted by Ms. Sims-Jones' blank
check.
He was fingering through the first volume of the Encyclopedia
Britannica's 11th edition, when Alex tugged on his elbow.
"I think I found something for you." She said.
"Oh," he sighed wistfully, "all of this is so wonderful. How could
he stand to leave it all behind?"
"Death does that to a person," she said, "You know what they say,
`you can't take it with you'."
"Oh," he chided himself for forgetting she didn't know, "right. Of
course." Though her words gave him an idea. Perhaps the vampire who
lived here had died. The likelihood of that seemed rare, but sometimes it
did happen. Perhaps he had met some sort of violent end... or, Joshua
thought sadly, just walked out into the sun one day.
"Anyway," she said, pressing something into his palm, "check it out."
The instant his skin contacted it, he knew she was right. There was
an aura of magic about the piece. Looking down he noticed a very ornate
incense burner. Turning it over in his hands, he could see a shifting
pattern of animals carved into it in relief. In the center was a bear-
breasted woman with many arms. It didn't take an anthropologist to
recognize the goddess Kali. Kali, Gideon had once told him, was associated
with blood and sacrifice. She was a dark, destructive goddess.
"It comes with these," Alex said, holding up a bag of incense
sticks. They were thick and heavy looking. "I'm no expert," she said,
"but they look hand-made. And they smell like...well, they smell like
blood."
Shaking his head, Joshua thought how dangerous this tool might be.
Still, it was perfect for Ms. Sims-Jones. If only, he sighed, these
things came with instruction books. "Okay," he said,"let's take it."
"Okay, good. Then, we can get out of here?"
"Are you nervous about something, Alex?" He asked. His early
feelings had disappeared as soon as he realized this house belonged to a
vampire. Besides, he hadn't even seen the rest of the place.
"This place gives me the creeps. Also, there's this guy skulking
around upstairs where I found this. He all but wrestled me for that scary
thing, " she whispered, pointing at the incense burner. "If it wasn't for
you, I'd've let him have it."
"Okay," Joshua sighed, "but let me finish looking though the books and
take a quick peek
upstairs before we go. I don't want to miss out on anything valuable."
"Fine," Alex grumbled wandering off.
As much as the news that there was someone creeping around upstairs
unnerved Joshua, he couldn't bear to leave just yet. He was confident
that he'd seen the last of that mystery man from New York. No doubt this
guy was just some over-zealous estate saler. Estate sales often brought
out the frantic antique collectors.
The last of his worries faded when he saw a book he'd been hoping to
find. It was almost hidden amoung the other ancient, dusty tomes. It had
no title and was obviously self- bound. He pulled it out gingerly.
Opening the first page, he saw the scrawl of hand writing and what looked
like an astrological chart dating 1675. He couldn't believe his luck.
Just as he'd hoped, it was the vampire's Grimore... his book of spells.
The suspicion that the vampire was dead was confirmed by the
presence of this book. If he had simply moved on, he would've taken this
with him. Joshua turned over a few more pages. Chemical formulas and
latin phrases filled the book. This was certainly a find. He wondered if
he shouldn't show it to Gideon before giving it to Ms. Sims-Jones. The
spells might still be worth something.
His admiration of the Grimore was broken by the sound of a piercing
scream.
___________
Hope we didn't leave you hanging.... *wicked laugh*
Shared fluff produced by:
Lyda Morehouse
David Hodnett
Marcus Coagulus
and the fluffmaster
fraser@vax.library.utoronto.ca
who will pass along kudos....