This is a crisis I knew had to come
Destroying the balance I'd kept
Turning around to the next set of lies
Wondering what will come next.
--Joy Division, "Passover"
Alex struggled with Derek's weight, lowering him as carefully as she could to the floor. "Nick, I need some help in here!" she called when Derek remained unresponsive. "C'mon, Teach, don't do this to me -- what happened to Philip?" she urged, trying to get through whatever horror had Derek in its grip.
Nick scrambled into the kitchen in time to see Derek shudder and roll away from Alex, then sit up unsteadily. "What the hell happened?" Nick asked as Derek rubbed a hand over his face and Alex watched him with great concern.
"He had a vision, said something about Philip, then collapsed," Alex explained, reaching out to Derek. "You okay, Derek?"
"Someone has him," Derek whispered, his voice strained. "He was in a library and someone came up behind him -- I felt an arm around my neck and then it went dark . . . he fought and -- and they drugged him!" He shook his head and said, "I -- he never saw who it was . . ."
"He was going to the university library -- that must be where he was attacked," Alex said, helping Derek stand. "But I think they'd be closed by now . . ."
"We've got to find out where he is," Derek said urgently, looking from Alex to Nick.
"I don't think we can get away with breaking in," Nick said quietly, although both Alex and Derek could see how upset he was about the news. "What about Frank -- can he get us in before the morning?"
Derek frowned thoughtfully, then said, "I'll call him. Alex, you call the university library and see if they're still open. If they are, see if you can get someone to wait for us."
Just then, Rachel entered the kitchen, asking, "Is everyone all right?" She took one look at Derek's face and added, "Forget I asked -- what's wrong? Kat said something about trouble, and-- what is it?"
"Someone's got Philip," Alex said softly. "We're going to see what we can do to find out who. We might need your skills, Rachel, Derek says he's been drugged..."
"Okay -- you want me to stay here or come with you?"
"Stay here," Derek said quickly. When Nick and Alex looked at him in surprise, he said, "I don't think it was anything more than a tranquilizer so he shouldn't need immediate treatment. However, I want you here with Kat, just in case it's some kind of diversionary plan. As a matter of fact, Nick, maybe you should stay here with them."
"But I'd be a lot more help with you if we find out who's got Philip," Nick protested.
Knowing arguing would just make them later, Alex walked over to the phone and called the university, hoping that by the time she was done, the matter would be settled. She could see that even now, Derek wasn't very steady, and thought perhaps she should suggest *he* stay behind with Rachel and Kat, but knew he'd never agree to that.
Derek sat down in one of the chairs and looked up at Nick, his worry visible in his expression no matter how he tried to hide it. "I know you'd be more help with us, Nick, I'm just worried about . . ." He stopped mid-sentence and Nick saw his eyes go blank again for a moment, then he blinked and refocused on Nick.
"What was that?" Nick asked, restraining the urge to hug Derek close -- being unable to comfort his lover was killing him, but . . .
"I think -- Rachel, I think you and Kat will be safe here by yourselves. I'm not sure why, but the danger is definitely not here," Derek said softly, looking past Nick to where Rachel stood, now working on the hot chocolate and tea that had been forgotten in the commotion.
"You sure?" she asked, unsure about Derek's mental state at the moment. He nodded an answer, then looked over at Alex.
"Anything helpful?"
"The head reference librarian says he's got to work late tonight anyway, so he'll be there to open the doors for us when we arrive. Guess donations to the university always help, don't they," Alex answered. "So, all three of us are going, right?"
Derek sighed and nodded, then said, "Yes, all three of us. We'll take the chopper to the Explorer on the mainland -- it's faster that way. Nick, why don't you go warm up the chopper and I'll call Frank. He might be able to help . . ."
Nick nodded and headed for the door, pausing by Rachel on the way out. "Sorry -- you know where the other movies are if Kat wants to see any more."
Rachel looked back at him and said, "I don't know -- it's pretty close to her bedtime. Although with all of this going on, I'll never get her to sleep . . ."
"You two be *careful*," Nick said, suddenly very serious. Rachel nodded, then he headed out to get his coat and keys. A moment later, Kat walked into the kitchen and hugged her mother.
"Kat? It's okay, Honey, Nick and Alex and Derek are going to go find Philip and everything'll be all right," Rachel said, scooping her daughter up into her arms for a moment. She hugged Kat, then put her back down, groaning, "You're getting too tall for that, young lady."
"Well, Frank is in a meeting but he'll be there as soon as he can," Derek said, putting the phone down and turning back to see Alex sipping at some barely brewed herbal tea, and Rachel and Kat stirring hot chocolates. He walked to Kat and knelt before her, asking, "Kat, did you see anything specific or was it just a feeling?"
Kat thought for a moment, then shook her head. Derek nodded and was about to stand when she grabbed his hand and said, "Wait! I did see something. It was blue and gold -- it made me think of Senephra . . ."
Derek frowned, wondering what the Ka spirit of an Egyptian princess could have to do with Philip's kidnapping, then something hit him and all of the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Was it a pendant? Like a beetle with wings?" he asked quietly. Alex had already walked past them and was in the living room getting her coat on, so she didn't hear any of the discussion, and Rachel wasn't paying all that much attention to them, but he leaned closer to Kat all the same.
Kat nodded and said, "It was -- the wings were all blue stone . . ."
Derek nodded and said, "Thank you, Kat, that might be very helpful," then he stood and took a sip of the hot chocolate Rachel handed him. "Mine was supposed to be coffee, but this is good, too."
"Doesn't sound like there's time to wait for coffee," Rachel said quietly.
"Derek, be careful, please?"
"I will," he answered, although his thoughts were whirling so quickly he wasn't even sure what he had just agreed to. He walked out to Alex, who was holding his coat and scarf, waiting for him. "Ready?"
She nodded, then asked, "Did Kat see anything that might help us figure out who's got him?"
"I don't know," he answered quietly, looking at his coat as he fastened it and thereby avoiding letting her see his face. "Come on, we've got to hurry."
She followed him out, a vague feeling of unease washing over her. Something was not right.
The helicopter flight was short, but long enough for Derek to lose himself in thought. A lapis winged scarab pendant -- not an entirely unique Egyptian artifact, but it would depend on what the inscription was on the flat side of the beetle itself. He had a terrible sinking feeling that he knew this artifact -- and its owner -- quite well . . .
. . . It was 1977 and he and Arkadi had been together for four years now. Now that he was no longer a student (although he was planning on attending graduate school in the fall) they no longer had to hide their relationship, and he had been spending a lot of time in Arkadi's company. They had gone out to dinner and come back to Arkadi's home for a night of intense sex, Arkadi tormenting Derek nearly to the breaking point before he finally allowed him to come. Derek couldn't believe how good it felt to give up all control to someone else, to literally put his life in someone else's hands -- someone he trusted to never do something to truly hurt him.
Arkadi had left him lying semi-conscious on the bed after he untied him and made sure their activities had caused no real damage, then headed for the bathroom to shower. "I'll be back soon, Derek -- if you want to join me, you know where I am," he purred in Derek's ear before he left.
Derek groaned and turned his head to watch his lover disappear into the bathroom, then said, "I don't even think I can *stand* and you want me in the shower?" He laughed softly and added, "What are you, some kind of incubus?"
Arkadi's laugh floated out to Derek and he smiled slyly -- maybe his lover *was* an incubus -- he never seemed tired after these sessions, while Derek was sometimes exhausted beyond the ability to move. But then again, it was glorious sex, so who cared what his lover was?
He rolled over slowly, settling comfortably on Arkadi's side of the bed, smelling his scent on the pillow and revelling in the afterglow, when the candlelight glinted off an object on the nightstand.
Curiosity aroused, he pushed himself upright and looked at the item, realizing it was an Egyptian winged scarab pendant, gold with wings inlaid with lapis lazuli. His blood suddenly ran cold but he forced himself to think before reacting -- perhaps it was a replica or-- He turned the pendant over and looked at the heiroglyphic inscription: a prayer for protection against evil beings. But . . .
He heard the water stop and the sounds of brisk towelling in the bathroom, nearly threw the pendant back on the table but stopped himself. Where a moment ago his blood was ice, now it was fire. Fury made his pulse thunder in his ears and he forgot all about the wonderful heaviness in his limbs. When Arkadi came out of the bathroom, he was standing, holding the pendant up by its chain. "You *lied* to me!" he growled at his lover.
"What?" Arkadi asked, then the movement of the pendant caught his eye, the flickering candles reflecting in the gold. "Oh, come *on*, Derek," he said, advancing on his lover. This was a problem . . .
"You told me someone had stolen it when they broke into the storeroom! You didn't tell me *you* were the thief!" Derek continued, raising the pendant up when Arkadi grabbed for it.
"It was pretty -- I wanted to . . . I wanted to give it to you," Arkadi said softly _Oh, that sounded convincing,_ he immediately thought as Derek's expression grew angrier.
"You *stole* it! What else have you stolen?!"
"Derek, stop. I'll put it back, okay?" Arkadi said, trying the part of the desperate lover now. It was too soon, and he hadn't found anything of true use yet!
"Damn it, Victor, this isn't something you can just undo by returning it! You lied to me about it," Derek said, his voice slightly less steady. Arkadi took another step closer and he backed up, realizing he was out of room.
"Derek, I'm sorry," Arkadi was saying. "Come on -- I need you!" Another step closer and Derek gasped as Arkadi finally succeeded in grabbing his wrist, closing his hand and digging his fingers into the pressure point. The pendant tumbled from nerveless fingers and he noted its location then looked back at Derek. And smiled.
He was no longer taller than his lover, but he was more solid than Derek's slender build and he knew how to use that to his advantage. He brought his free hand up to close around Derek's throat, then pushed Derek backwards so that they both fell on the bed, Arkadi on top trapping him.
Derek gasped in horror as Arkadi brought him down, tried to struggle to no avail as the hand around his throat tightened. A knee forced its way between his legs and he was suddenly all too aware that they were both naked.
Arkadi smiled down at him and kissed him brutally, breaking the kiss the instant he felt Derek beginning to respond. Lightheaded, Derek moaned, and then the hand about his throat released him too.
"My sweet angel, you know I *own* you, body and soul. Forget the fucking scarab -- I'll put it back tomorrow -- but know that if you don't let it drop, we are *through*."
"Victor . . . you *lied* to me," Derek whispered, the anger fading now and pain settling in. "The kind of relationship we have -- I -- *need* to know I can trust you!"
"And now you never will, is that it?" Arkadi asked angrily. "And you've *never* lied to me?"
"You're not the one who ends up tied down and helpless . . ." Derek answered, immediately aware it had been the wrong thing to say.
Arkadi's hand fastened on his throat again and squeezed much harder this time. He leaned right into Derek's face and hissed, "Right now I could choke the life out of you, and you would come as I did it, Derek. I could take those candles on the nightstand and pour their melted wax on your inner thighs and you would be as hard as a marble herm. I could throw you on your stomach and ram into you dry, and you'd spread your legs and impale yourself on me. You *belong* to me -- you wear my collar, you are my slave. And you loveit.
"But, if you're going to damn me for one little human failing, then we *are* through."
Suddenly he rolled off Derek and stood. And the smile he gave his lover -- his ex-lover -- chilled the younger man to his soul. "And know this, Derek, you will *never* find another lover like me. There is no one in this world who understands your needs the way I do -- you can search to the ends of the earth, my angel, but you will never find someone who can satisfy you like I can. Now, get your things and get *out*."
Trembling, realizing that Arkadi's words could be taken as an actual curse, Derek grabbed up his belongings, threw on the barest minimum of clothes to be legal, and fled the house; not looking at Arkadi at all in fear of actually *seeing* what he could have sworn he had glimpsed out of the corner of his eye: in the flickering candlelight, he thought Arkadi's shadow had wings . . .
"Didn't you hear me, Derek? I said we're here!" Nick's voice filtered through the memories. Derek shook his head to clear the cobwebs and looked around. "Come on, we've got to hurry!"
Rapidly remembering where he was and what they were doing, Derek wasted no time climbing out of the helicopter and heading for the Ford Explorer. Nick shook his head and followed, taking the keys from his Precept when they reached the vehicle.
"No, I don't think you're driving right now -- if you space out again you'll wreck the car," Nick explained when Derek frowned at him. "You sure you're okay?"
Derek nodded, climbing into the passenger seat while Alex climbed into the seat behind him. "Sorry -- I was . . . lost in thought."
"You sure as hell were -- good thing you weren't playing copilot."
"Sorry."
As Nick guided the Explorer out into traffic, Alex asked from the back seat, "Did you pick anything up?"
"No, I didn't. Hopefully we'll get something from the library where he was taken," he answered, although part of his mind was terrified to think of *what* he might pick up. _Philip, please be strong!_ he thought, hoping to will his strength to his friend.
A short while later they arrived at the University of San Francisco and parked, then ran to the library, arriving only a few minutes after the normal closing time. After a minute or two, the door opened, and a woman asked them, "Yes, may I help you?"
Alex nodded and said, "Yes. I'm Alexandra Moreau -- I spoke on the phone to the head reference librarian, Mr. Morrison. He--"
"Yes, he told me you would be coming. He's my boss -- I'm the reference library assistant, Persephone Marino. Please, come in." Once they were inside, she continued, "The library isn't open to anyone other than students and people connected to the university, but I understand that your Foundation has made donations to us, so . . ." She trailed off, realizing she was wasting time and said, "Please, follow me, I'll bring you to Mr. Morrison."
A moment later, Alex was shaking the head librarian's hand and thanking him for letting them in after hours. He nodded and said, "It's the least I could do -- Father Callaghan disappears, possibly right out of our library, and no one even notices. Ms. Moreau, Dr. Rayne, Mr. Boyle, if there's *anything* we can do to help, please let me know. Follow me, I'll bring you to the table he'd been using."
Derek nodded, then as they were following asked, "Did you block the area from other patrons after his disappearance?"
"I'm afraid we didn't -- not until after Ms. Moreau called and we realized he hadn't signed out of the building. I'm sorry."
"That's all right -- you did the best you could," Derek said, frustrated by the skill of the kidnapper. "There should be one other person coming as soon as he can -- Detective Frank Karmak of the SFPD. Could you make sure he's brought to us as soon as he arrives?"
"Yes, of course," Morrison said, stopping at a table that was empty except for a legal pad, a pencil, and two old books. "This was where he was working -- he had a print-out of the books we have, but I don't see it anywhere. Dr. Rayne, I've got to get some work done, but I'll be nearby -- if you need me, I should be in hearing range. If the detective arrives, I'll bring him to you." Derek nodded his thanks, and Morrison hurried off, then Derek looked at the pad and frowned -- there was nothing written on it. He had been hoping that perhaps there was some clue, but after rubbing a finger gently over its surface decided that even the previous page (which was missing) hadn't been written on hard enough to leave an impression.
He looked at the labels on the books, then turned to look at the stacks, locating the shelves where those books would have come from. While Alex and Nick looked around for signs of a struggle or anything that Philip may have dropped, Derek made a beeline for the shelf the two books had been pulled from. Remembering his vision, he reached up to the top shelf, letting intuition guide his hand. He pulled down the first book he touched, glancing quickly at the cover and frowning. _Angels in Art,_ he thought. _It makes sense -- if we can't find any clues in writing, perhaps some older artwork might help . . ._ He flipped the book open to a random page, smiled humourlessly when he realized it was a Dore engraving of the War in Heaven, then stepped back involuntarily as something fell out of the book.
Hands suddenly trembling, he replaced the book on the shelf, then dropped to one knee to pick up the item before anyone else saw him. He straightened and looked at it, realizing it was a matchbook cover of thin black card, with iridescent pewter lettering declaring that it had come from The Power Exchange Mainstation on Otis Street. He opened the matchbook cover and found a piece of yellow legal paper, folded so many times that it was smaller than the matchbook. He put the matchbook down on one of the shelves and took a few steps down an aisle where neither Nick or Alex could see him, then unfolded the sheet of paper. The only thing on the sheet was an address, written in Arkadi's neat, powerful handwriting. Derek nodded to himself, memorizing the address and already planning the drive, then folded the paper back up and stuck it into his pocket.
A moment later, Nick went to report their lack of success at finding any clues, but after a quick search of the area, realized he couldn't find Derek anywhere. "Oh shit," he muttered, looking around the area where Philip's books had come from, "Alex, now we're missing Derek, too!"
"We-- what?!" Alex said, rounding the corner. "You're kidding . . ."
"No, I'm not. God, I *hate* it when he does this!" Nick said, looking at the shelf again in hopes that he could find *some* clue. "Hey, what's this?" He pulled the matchbook out from where Derek had put it and held it up for Alex to see. "Think this is where he went?"
"Maybe he got slowed down by Mr. Morrison or ran into Frank," she said hopefully, "We've got to get out to the Explorer before he does!" She paused long enough to grab Philip's pencil and pad, then followed Nick down to the librarian's office, just in time to hear him say he hadn't seen Derek leave, either.
"That's all right, Mr. Morrison," Nick said reassuringly, "He's a bit impulsive -- tends to rush off like this on his own quite a bit. If it's okay, we're going to see if we can stop him -- when Detective Karmak shows up, can you show him where we were, and tell him we'll call him as soon as we can?"
"Yes, of course," the librarian answered, although Nick and Alex were already rushing to the main entrance. When they got outside there was no sign of the detective's car, and when they got to where the Explorer had been parked, Alex heard Nick muttering some very choice phrases about Derek's impulsiveness and sneakiness.
"You're getting rusty," she observed, "I thought SEALs were supposed to be able to find even the best sneaks . . ."
"That's not funny," he muttered, kicking a pebble viciously. Now that they had been stopped dead in their tracks he had time to think, and to worry. "There is something seriously not right going on here, Alex. Why the hell would he run off like that and leave us here?!"
"I don't know," she answered, "But you're right. There *is* something funny going on. I can't tell what it is, but I'm getting a really creepy feeling about this whole thing."
"Wonderful. Well, I guess we go back to the library and wait for Frank, so he can drive us to this Power Exchange place," Nick sighed. "Either that, or we walk..."
"We'd better wait for Frank."
To be continued in part 11
Poltergeist: The Legacy is (c) 1997 MGM/UA and Trilogy Entertainment. This
story is not intended to infringe on these copyrights.
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