Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 22:03:15 EST Reply-To: the dungeon of souls Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: the dungeon of souls Subject: Unwelcome Inheritance, Act II part 6 ============================================================================ Okay, put down the swords. :) I know it's been a while, but life is a terribly complicated thing at times. But I'm back!! There are three parts left, and these three are the dramatic conclusion. ;) My most sincere apologies to everyone who has waitted patiently for this, and to everyone who I promised "Uh, yeah, it's in the mail..." And now, without further ado... Part Six, of "Unwelcome Inheritance." -C.D. Kane ============================================================================ Unwelcome Inheritance Act II, part 6 by Caile Donachaidh Kane comments&flames to Shae also slept, but far more restlessly than her lover. She kept drifting in and out of a dream that she could not quite grasp. At last she slept deeper; her breathing slowed but her pulse quickened. She saw as if through a fogged up window, everything was hazy, unclear. But the voices were *very* clear, crisp, distinct. She tried to take a step forward, and found she couldn't... but by concentrating on it, she moved forward. What an odd feeling... The feeling was forgotten when she realised who was speaking. It was Elisabeth and Darius. Elisabeth was telling him about *her* death. He was very interested, he'd never seen an immortal killed by mortals before. "I'm quite curious," he was saying. "Tell me, what *exactly* happened?" "Nothing... not really," Elisabeth answered. Shae struggled to see her face, and couldn't make out her expression. "Was there a Quickening?" Darius asked. Elisabeth was silent. "Please, tell me, this is very important!" "It was very... *strange*," Elisabeth said at last. "The body... it *glowed* for a moment, like a firefly, then what looked like... *lightning* came from it. It made a... *ball* in the air above the body, and, after another moment, it *exploded* and *vanished* into thin air." "You saw a *ball* of *energy*??!!" he asked eagerly. "Energy?" Elisabeth repeated, apparently confused. "No, I just saw the lightning ball." "WHERE DID IT GO??" he demanded. "It disappeared into the air, I told you, Father, that's all I know." "No, no, it must have gone *somewhere*, somewhere... or *no-where*..." She realised with a start that Darius had not spoken -- she was hearing his thoughts! Incredible! She heard Elisabeth begin to cry. "I'm sorry, mistress," came Darius' voice again, "I did not mean to press you. It is a very important matter to me, however." "Yes, I know.. They seemed to be walking from her now, she could make out blurry figures moving away. But she still caught Darius' faint words: "Ashe will be greatly missed." Shae sat bolt upright in bed, reaching for Duncan. He wasn't there. The shock had knocked the wind out of her, she found herself gasping for breath, she wondered if she'd even be able to walk if she stood. Ashe! But... something is not right here... where is Duncan?! She got out of bed shakily, weakly, and stumbled to the living room. He slept peacefully on the couch, why had he left her? She put her hand on his shoulder, and he woke before she could shake him, sitting up sharply with his hand clamping around her wrist. "Oh, it's you, sorry, habit," he apologised hastily. He looked closer at her pale, drawn face. "What's wrong?" Her lower lip trembled, how could she begin? "Why.. why did you leave me??" "I was looking over some papers, I fell asleep... Shae, what's wrong??" "I had a dream," she whispered. He pulled her down into his lap, and she curled into his arms, rocking back and forth as she related her dream. "It's okay, it's okay," he said softly, trying to comfort her. It was probably more of a shock to her, than it was to him. And finding the connection in a dream... It reminded him of what other Immortals called "Quickening nightmares." Sometimes the things from a very powerful Quickening would come back to you in a dream, especially if it was some outstanding kind of event. He himself had had a couple. "There's one thing I don't see, Duncan," she was saying, "And that, I guess, is the scary part... If I'm Ashe, and Ashe is dead, then how was I able to witness that conversation??" "It's got to have something to do with Ashe's Quickening. What was Darius' thought? The one that you heard?" "'It must have gone *somewhere*, somewhere... or *no-where*...' What do you think that means?" Duncan's mind was whirling, his thoughts were moving faster than he could comprehend them. "You couldn't *see* clearly, but you could *hear* clearly, and you could hear Darius' thoughts when no-one was talking... How did you *feel*?" Shae thought on it, it was so hard to describe! "Like... like a *compressed* *force*." "What?!" "It *wasn't* like a usual dream, where you still actually feel your body and see with your eyes. I couldn't walk, I had no feet. No body." "A compressed force," Duncan repeated. He could hear Darius say it: "*Somewhere*... or *no-where*." "Where *is* no-where?" he asked aloud. Is it possible? Where is no-where? Why, it could be anywhere! Quickening nightmares... "Shae, darling, I think you *were* the Quickening." Her mouth opened in mute surprise, then she shut it and stood up slowly. "How?" she said simply. Duncan frowned a moment. "Quickening is knowledge and power. It takes the form of electrical energy -- it's really what keeps us alive, this energy. When you take a head, the energy is released into the Immortal who took the head -- it *knows* where to go. What if... Ashe's Quickening knew where it had to go, but the proper vessel was not there? Where would it go?" he got up as well, he was on to something, he could feel it. "Darius was right when he said 'no-where', the Quickening, Ashe's knowledge and power, just waited for the person to come along, so that it could enter." "What exactly are you saying? The Quickening *waited* for *me*? When did it come to me, then?" "When you died, probably. How did you die?" he asked bluntly. "A car accident. Why?" "I was killed in battle, Shae, I was run through by a broadsword. A fairly clean cut way to die, no pun intended. When I... revived, it was just like waking up from a very deep sleep. The *first* *time* always is. How was it for you?" Shae looked shocked. "Nothing like that. Nothing like that at all. I was lying there, smashed to pieces, I guess, and it was like I could *feel* my bones knitting, like there was electricity in my blood. I *knew* something strange was happening." Duncan shook his head in amazement. "The *first* time is *never* like that. Only after, when you've got your Quickening in you, does it feel that way. Like everything is just popping back into place, right?" "Yes, exactly. So... what does it mean?" "It means, it *seems* like it means, that you recieved a Quickening at the point of death, which caused you to become an instant ancient Immortal. If I took your head right now, I'd probably get a Quickening from hell." Shae was silent, but her fingertips went to her throat. "I still don't see how it could have happened," she said finally. He took a deep breath. "I'll tell you again -- Quickening is knowledge and power. It *knows* where to go. And there is an element of predestination in all this -- you're either born with the potential to become immortal or you're not. Whether or not it's random or not is another story, because it certainly seems like *you* were *chosen*." "Unless I wasn't born to be immortal, and Ashe's Quickening changed that." He shook his head. "Not possible. Quickening can't go to mortals. It's never happened. No, like I said, there is a certain amount of fate involved here. It's all meant to be, in some way or another." "It just doesn't seem possible." "The very reason that we are alive today should teach us not to think of *anything* as impossible." "A very persuasive argument. But..." "Yes?" "Now what? You've established a somewhat sound theory, but what am I supposed to *do*?" Duncan shrugged. "I called Fitz, he should be here sometime tomorrow." He glanced at the clock. "Today, rather. Anyway, he may be able to help a answer that question. Right now, I think some sleep is in order, that is, if you *can* sleep after all of this." She gave him a tired smile. "I would like nothing better than to sleep forever." ******************************************************************************** ********* further parts will be forthcoming =========================================================================