Date: Wed, 9 Mar 1994 17:16:00 MST Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Wendy Milner Subject: HL Fiction - The Quick and the Dead (continued) The Quick and the Dead Wendy L. Milner (Continued) "Darius," Ana said sitting up in the bed. Robert pulled himself from sleep. Her word made no sense to him. "What?" "Darius," she repeated, "We're going to Paris." She was already out of bed and starting to dress. "Why Paris?" he asked as he willed himself awake. "That's where Darius is," she sounded impatient. "Don't you think you ought to call and see when we can catch a plane? It's not like we can drive there, you know?" "You call. I'm going to pack." Robert sat up. The clock said eight thirty. At least he had gotten a few hours sleep. He picked up the phone and punched the number for the airline. He'd done it enough that he didn't even have to look up their number any more. "I want to book a flight from Las Vegas to Paris," he said when the reservations operator came online. Two hours later they were on the first leg of the journey. Ana seemed better, but was still lost in her own thoughts. During their long lay over in San Francisco, Robert got her to at least nibble on the sandwiches laid out in the first class lounge. She mostly stared out the window at the planes landing and taking off. Robert watched the news on the television. There was a short piece on the strange weather in Las Vegas that had caused a power outage for a few minutes. Some time during the storm, two men had fought and killed each other. Neither had been identified by the police as yet. The overseas flight took off on schedule. Robert tried to get Ana to eat any one of the meals served during the flight, but she barely picked at the food. He managed to catch a few hours sleep. He suspected that she had just stared out the window the entire time. They landed and cleared customs without anyone asking what was in their over sized duffle bag. Once in the rental car, they took the swords from the bag. Robert took his knife and attached the sheath to his belt. His sword went between the seats. Ana managed to again hide her sword in clothing that should never have been able to hide its length. Ana directed him along the streets. At times she was confused and complained that Paris had changed in the last fifty years since she had been there, still, she managed to get them to an old church which was her destination. She was eager to leave the car, but stopped half way across the street. Cars beeped at her. Robert took her by the elbow and propelled her along. "He's not here," she said. "You said it's been fifty years since you were here. He could have moved in that time." "You don't understand. Darius has been in this church for a couple hundred years. He built it. He wouldn't leave it." "Let's go inside and ask." Ana was reluctant to enter the church. There was no feeling that an immortal was inside. Yet there was something there. That same something that had come for her in Las Vegas. Now she was strong and aware of herself. She knew she was in the right place, and it scared her like nothing she had ever felt before. The stone church was quiet. Wooden chairs were set up for a service later in the day. Ana walked to the front row and sat down. She was sure now that Darius was gone. Gone from this church and possible gone from life as well. Darius had been one of the strong forces in her life. She had known him forever it seemed. Long enough, anyway, that it never occurred to her that he could die. No immortal would kill him. Besides, he never left the church grounds. Whatever reason had drawn him away must have been compelling. Robert looked around the church and saw no one. He took a seat at the end of the aisle a few rows back from Ana. She looked deflated. Only a few minutes before it was as if she were coming to the anticipated end of her trip. Now she was lost again. Most of two hours was gone as a few people came, said their prayers and left again. Robert stood up and stretched. He wanted a hotel room, a bath and a real bed. His muscles ached from inactivity. He walked towards her to see if she was ready to leave yet. She seemed more in a trance than anything else. He turned back to his seat as a man came into the church. How was this guy different from all the honest people who came to church to pray? Robert had to put it down to his eyes. He was a carnivore among the sheep. He was a hunter looking for prey, and Ana would be his prey. Robert took a couple of steps into the aisle and stopped. There was no reason this guy had to interrupt Ana right now. Besides, she had told him that holy ground was sacred to the immortals, none would fight there. He might be overstepping his bounds by intercepting this immortal, but he felt he had to do it. "This has nothing to do with you," the immortal said. "Just leave her be," Robert said, "This is holy ground, you know?" The immortal gave a bit of a smile that Robert found chilling. "I don't mean her any harm. I just want to talk with her." "Later," Robert said. He stood in the path, blocking the way to Ana. The immortal fished in his pocket, came out with a card wallet and handed Robert a card. "Ask her to come see me." Robert took the card without looking at it and nodded. The immortal turned and left the church. Robert looked over at Ana who still held her quiet posture. Either she hadn't felt the presence of the immortal, or her faith in the unbreakable rule of holy ground was strong enough that she hadn't bothered to take notice of him. Another hour past before Ana stirred. Robert went over to her and helped her to her feet. They started out of the church. "Who was he?" she asked. Robert didn't bother to ask what she meant. He would have preferred that she not have another confrontation so soon. Still, he handed the business card to her. She glanced it over and put it into her own pocket. She nodded to herself. "I need to talk to him," she said. "Later. First we are going to find a hotel. You need to sleep." "I'm fine." "You can barely walk by yourself. You need to eat and to sleep. Then you can face this other one." Ana wanted to argue but found he was right. Just the walk to the car made her tired. Since killing Jared, she had been up almost constantly. The driving force was quiet for the moment. She should take a little time for herself to recoup her energies before going on. "Alright," she said. A small hotel close by the church. Ana pulled her French language from the recesses of her mind. They had a room on the second floor. Unpacking and showering took a little time. Robert could see a cafe from the room. They walked there for lunch. Ana felt better, but agreed with Robert that she would try to nap before meeting with the immortal. She surprised herself by actually sleeping for several hours. She woke hungry again. They visited the cafe a second time. "I know you don't want me to go," Ana said, "But I have to." "I'll drive then." "You don't need to come. He could mean what he said, and just want to talk." "Doesn't matter. I'd rather be with you than waiting around here." "Alright." They got directions to the address on the card. It was right on the river. Even with the directions, it took them awhile to find the place. Not a house or office by the river, but a barge on the river itself. Ana pointed it out as they drove by. She didn't see an address, but rather felt the presence of the immortal. They parked and walked up the gangway onto the barge. He opened the door as they approached and invited them in. "I am Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod," he said. "I am Ana," Ana said. For a moment they stood facing each other, sizing each other up. Ana had vague memories of him from others. A strong caring individual, a true friend or a fearsome enemy. He would not be one to take her head without cause, and she wasn't about to give him cause. She could feel the energy surrounding him. She wanted to be part of it. Suddenly she felt like a cat going into heat. She wanted to rub against him, to entice him, to bring him into herself. She wanted to yowl in some primitive form of communication. It had been years since she had made love to an immortal. That most basic form of connection was the closest one could come to taking a quickening without actually doing so. Instead the essence seemed to merge, making one immortal from two for a short time. He must have felt it as well. His face was slightly flushed and he back up a step. "Something to drink?" he asked, "Brandy?" "Yes," she said composing herself. She was here to talk. Besides she already had some one to share her bed. Robert might not understand what had just happened, but he looked very uncomfortable. They both followed MacLeod further into the room and took seats when he motioned them to do so. Once seated with a drink in her hand, Ana went directly to the business at hand. "Where is Darius?" she asked. She thought she already had the answer, but she wanted confirmation. The look that crossed MacLeod's face told her she was right. "He was killed about nine months ago." It took a moment for the timing to sink in. Nine months was when the first urge to head east had come. "What made him leave holy ground?" she asked. "He was killed on holy ground." The venom in his voice set the hairs on Robert's neck on end. "Who?" Ana asked. "It's been taken care of." That would mean the person responsible was dead. Still she couldn't imagine any immortal killing on holy ground. "Who would dare do such a thing?" "It was a mortal." "Why? No mortal would even know how." "They know. They call themselves the Watchers, but not all of them just watch. Some of them hunt us and even try to kill us." The man with the axe came to mind. "Do they wear a tatoo, here?" she tapped her wrist. "A mortal came after me with an axe not too long ago." "That would have been one of them. They have files on us going back centuries. They say their mission is to watch, to observe and not interfere, to record. Or so they say." Ana took a long drink of the brandy. This was unexpected. In all her long years, she had never suspected that she was being watched. Oh, there were always the times when she had been in one place for too long. The neighbors or a noisy reporter would try to dig something up on her past. Still, it was nothing organized. She felt defiled. To have unknown mortals tracking her violated her privacy. "What happened to Darius? Was anyone there for him?" She left unasked if any immortal had been close enough to receive his quickening. "He was alone," MacLeod said bitterly. Everything he had been was lost. Ana stood up and went to the small round window looking out on the river. She couldn't believe that Darius was gone. And in such a way. He had been a warrior long before he had been a priest. He should have gone out with a sword in his hand. He might have turned away from violence. He might have tried to bring peace into the world. But he was always the warrior. He should have died liked one. "Nine months ago," she said, "Half way around the world." She paused, what could she say. "I felt something call to me." She spaced her words carefully. "I was sure it was the gathering. Nothing was so compelling. I tried to put it off. I tried to tell myself it would go away. Instead it got stronger till I had no choice but to follow that pull. I've met two immortals since then. Neither felt what I felt." She looked back at him. MacLeod shook his head negatively. He had not felt it either. "I think now that it was Darius calling me. He died with no one to take his quickening. He is lost some where between worlds. He needs a resting place." MacLeod shook his head. "He is dead. There is no more." His voice was flat with denial. "No. Where do we go when we die? Mortals believe in heaven and hell. Some believe in nothing. But it is always belief never fact. We know we go on. We take a life and we receive their energy, their power, their quickening. We know that when we die we will merge with another immortal. That is fact. We may loose ourselves, our identity, but we do go on in the image of the one who has taken our quickening. We feel this with ever life we take. You have had your share, Duncan MacLeod, you know this to be true. So what happens when there is no one there to receive the quickening? Where is Darius now? His essence is still here, floating like a wraith in search of a body. His quickening is scouting for a place to be." MacLeod shook his head again. "What ever Darius was, is gone. Nothing remains for you to find." "Then what brought me here? Why, nine months ago, did I feel that I had to come? Why has that feeling increased to the point that I had no choice but come?" "Why you? I was here when he died," he was angry now, "If he was going to call out to anyone, why not me?" "I don't know. Perhaps because I knew him longest. I remember him as a gangly teenager already destined to be the great warrior, but right then worried more about getting his first new sword. I remember his first death and the change that came over him at the realization that he couldn't die as a mortal could. I remember his confusion when he returned from Paris after turning his army back. I saw the change in him that spanned centuries. I knew him and he knew me. Maybe he reached out for me because he knew I'd still be there for him." MacLeod set his glass down on the table. He looked her over again, realizing how old she must be. Never had Darius talked of her. They had shared stories of the world, but he had not mentioned her name. Still, he believed her to be telling the truth. She had no reason to lie. "Darius is still here. Not in any form we can recognize. We have to be there for him." "How? What can we do?" "I don't know. Wait and see what happens. Darius will tell us if we will only listen." She could see that he didn't believe her. "I am older than you, I think. Take what I say on faith. I am not completely crazy." He started to say some thing. She held her hand up. "Thank you for the brandy. We are staying at the hotel by the church." Robert was already standing. He didn't understand half of what was said, and knew that a lot of things had gone by unsaid. They had a frame of reference of which he knew little. He was truly in an alien world when it came to things immortal. His love for Ana would keep him close regardless of his understanding. "Now what?" he asked when they reached the car. "Now we wait," she said, "Don't worry. We will have time to learn Paris again. It can be a nice city." As long as she didn't go into a depression again he wouldn't worry. Each morning before they went exploring the city, Ana spent an hour in the church. Robert stopped going with her after a few days. She would sit and appear to pray. On the second day, they met the priest who had taken over the church. The priest didn't live there, he had two churches he looked after. Darius' church was likely to be closed. It had too few parishners to keep it open. The priest didn't understand how it had stayed open as long as it had. Since he had taken over, the cost of operating the church was far greater than what was taken in the offering. Ana knew where the extra money had come from. The charitable donations of many who knew Darius were always generous. Without Darius, there was no reason for them to keep the church open. It would be sad to see the church used for other purposes, but change was always happening around her. She couldn't stop progress just because she didn't like what was happening to the world. They spent most of the day wandering around Paris, being tourists, visiting places Ana remembered, sampling food and beverages, or just walking hand in hand. Towards evening, they would find a new restaurant and spend a leisurely couple of hours over a dinner. Then Ana would return to the church. In the evening, they would find amusement at the theatre, disco, or again just walking along the river. Robert would have been happy except that he knew eventually things would change again. MacLeod woke abruptly. His sword was in his hand before he was completely awake. An immortal was nearby, he thought. He pulled his pants on and went to investigate. The barge was empty. No one was there. Had there ever been some one nearby? He didn't know. There was no one on the warf. He went back inside and dressed properly. He didn't think he would be able to sleep again. It was nearly dawn anyway. Whatever had woken him was gone now. Still, he kept his sword within reach. He had an odd feeling that what ever it was would be back. Ana went to the church earlier than usual, leaving Robert still in bed. The sun wasn't even up as she left the hotel. She walked towards the church, but didn't enter. The time was close, she thought. She walked into the garden and sat down on the stone bench, ignoring the cold. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and cleared her mind. The energy was there, building slowly around her. Soon, she thought. He wasn't hungry, he couldn't settle enough to read, he certainly couldn't get back to sleep. MacLeod put on his coat and went out for a walk. He was half way to the church before he realized that was where he was headed. He shrugged and continued on. He couldn't believe that Darius was still around in any form. He believed there was some order to the universe even if he didn't know what that order was. There had to be a reason for everything. But not everything had to make sense. Darius' death had set events in motion that could not be stopped. The Watches and hunters were now known to many of the immortals. Many of those mortals were now dead. But so was Darius. He was gone forever. Ana felt him coming when he was still blocks away. She waited for him to join her. "You felt it too," she said when he sat down beside her. "I couldn't sleep," MacLeod said. "And how many immortals would you say were here now? Two or three?" He didn't answer. Ana was content to wait. MacLeod wasn't. He stood up and headed for the church. Ana joined him. The door to Darius' inner sanctum was locked. "There is nothing here," he said, but even as he did, they both heard a woman's cry from behind the locked door. It was a solid door, but the lock had been placed only recently and was inferior to the original structure. The lock split with the force of MacLeod's kick. They rushed through to find a young woman on the floor. Blood covered the rug on which she lay. Her hair was plastered to her face with sweat. Her breathing was labored. Her swollen belly told the reason for her distress. "I'll call an ambulance," MacLeod said. "There's no time," Ana said. The woman cried out again. She opened her eyes to see them and tried to crawl away. "You take it easy," Ana said, "It will be alright." She knew what she said was a lie. The blood of the floor was not just the water discharge the came before birth. It was the thick blood that came directly from the mother. The woman tried to talk, her words slurred and were not completely French. She was frightened. The church would save her. Her people did not believe her. They said the child came from the devil himself. They would kill the child. She stopped talking as another contraction racked her body. Her scream ended abruptly. "She's not breathing," Ana said. MacLeod positioned her head and blew into her mouth. "Nothing," Ana said. She felt for a pulse and got nothing. MacLeod sat back on his heels. Ana felt a kick under her hand. "The baby is still alive." She ripped the rest of the dress off the woman. The belly rippled again. "She may be dead, but this kid isn't." As she held her hand on the belly, she could have sworn she felt an electrical charge. "We can possibly save the child. Give me your sword." MacLeod held back. "Now, damn it! In another minute they will both be dead." The sword came out slowly. Ana grabbed it and sliced once through the belly of the dead woman. It wasn't the first time she had delivered a baby of a woman already dead, but it was the first with such a tool. The sharp blade went through the tissue with no resistence. Ana went lightly with a second cut. Blood poured forth from the wound. Ana tossed the sword aside. She reached inside the woman and found the baby. As she brought the baby into the light, the foundation of the church rocked. She pinched off the umbilical cord, picked up the sword once more and cut it. The woman was already dead. The child could receive nothing from her now. A ball of lightening exploded within the confines of the room. Ana held onto the child even as she was thrown across the floor. The child cried out. Ana felt a hand on her arm. MacLeod, sword in hand, was trying to help her up. She struggled to her feet. She let him guide her out of the disintegrating building. They were covered with dust. Ana took off her sweater and bundled the baby against the cold. Together they watched as the church finished its own destruction. Soon only a ruin of rubble stood where for hundreds of years Darius had held his court. "We need to get that one to a hospital," MacLeod said. "He'll be alright." "Don't say it." "Why not? Haven't you ever wondered where we come from? We are all orphans, are we not? At least this one won't be turned away from his home." She held the baby against her. "I'll take care of him." -- Wendy \|/ /\ -O- /**\ /|\ /****\ /\ / \ /**\ Here there be dragons / /\ / \ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\/\/\ /\ / / \ / \ / \/\/ \/ \ /\/ \/\ /\ /\/ / / \/ \ / / \/ /\ \ / \ \ / \/ / / \/ \/ \ / \ \ / / \/ \/\ \ / \ / / \ __/__/_______/___/__\___\__________________________________________________ Wendy Milner HPDesk: wendy_milner@hp4000 Hewlett-Packard Co. HP-UX: wendy@fc.hp.com Mail Stop 102 Telnet: 229-2182 3404 E. Harmony Rd. AT&T: (303) 229-2182 Fort Collins, CO, 80525 FAX: 229-3526 =========================================================================