Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 21:04:33 EDT Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: the dungeon of souls Subject: "Unwelcome Inheritance" Act I, part 8 "Unwelcome Inheritance" by Caile Donachaidh Kane Act I, part 8 comments to _Part 8_ Richie lay flat on his back on the centre mat, groaning softly. His sword was by his side. Shae stood over him, smiling. "It's harder than it looks, isn't it?" He sat up. "Ugh." He shook his head and glared at her. "How do you do it? How do you and Mac make it look so damn easy?" "I imagine it's because I've been doing this for eighteen years, and Duncan's been doing it for 400." "Well, yeah, but besides that?" She sat down on the mat beside him, and looked at the sword in her hand, turning the blade this way and that so it caught the light and flashed. "It's mostly practise," she said after a long minute. "Ever since I was three years old, I've had a sword almost constantly in my hand. I work five hours a day on average, sometimes more." Richie ogled. "Didn't you go to school?" She laughed. "Yes, but I was up at 5 am practising before I left at 7:30. And as soon as I got home, I"d run straight to the salon." She paused and looked down at the sword again. "You have to love it. The sound of a blade slicing through the air, of metal against metal... To me, that is the most beautiful sound on earth." Shae brought her head up sharply then, and Richie looked searchingly around himself. Duncan stepped out of the elevator, closing the grille with a clang. "She's right, you know," he said, crossing over to them. He offered his hand to Shae, who accepted it and allowed him to help her up. "Get showered and changed," he said to her. "We're going to see a friend." She nodded. "Did you call my mother?" "Yes, your collection should be here in two days at most. She said she'd get the swords from Fitz as well as the one she had. Come on, or we'll be late." They left the gym, still unthinkingly hand in hand. Richie stared after them for a moment, shaking his head. "Wouldn't you know it," he muttered to himself. * * * * * * * * * "Shae, this is Joe Dawson. Joe, this is Shae Taylor." Joe crossed the room slowly, to give Shae a hearty handshake and smile. Duncan had filled her in on the Watchers on the way over, and the thought of meeting one frightened her a little. But she looked deep in his eyes and saw nothing but kindness there. She smiled back. "Joe, we need a favour," Duncan began. Joe shrugged. "What kind of favour?" "Access to your files." "That's a pretty big favour, MacLeod. Why?" Duncan thought over his answer and grinned. "A research paper. Shae is doing her thesis on immortality." Joe laughed, then became sober. "You realise that it's against policy, against all of our rules to give you any information." "In that case, you shouldn't even be having this conversation," Duncan retorted. Shae was silent. She had no idea what Duncan was getting at, but thought he'd explain in due course. Duncan glanced over at Shae. Her face was expressionless. "C'mon, Joe," he prompted. "Why?" Joe repeated. "What exactly do you want?" "Every immortal that was before my time. That may have had contact with Darius." Joe gave a low, sliding whistle, like someone who was driving past a particularly terrible accident. "That certainly opens up the field. That's everyone between 5 or 10 and 1600 AD." Duncan nodded. "That sounds about right." "What exactly are you looking for? You realise that's some 15 *centuries* worth of material." "I don't really know what I'm looking for. I just think... I'll know it when I find it." Joe thought a moment. "It's against my better judgement, but I'll give it to you. All our hard copy is in the back." Duncan followed Joe to the back room, leaving Shae to muse over this new approach. What ancient immortals had to do with her was a mystery. Duncan came back then, with a large bundle of manila folders, paper corners and edges sticking out at all angles. "You ready?" he asked. She nodded. "Then let's go." "Where'd Joe go?" "He's fiddling with his computer. C'mon." She followed him obediently out to the car. As the finally got in, she finally asked the question that had been bothering her. "What is this supposed to accomplish? I mean, what do these files have to do with me?" Duncan looked down at the papers. "You spoke of the visions as an 'advanced form of deja vu.' And deja vu is usuaslly associated with reincarnation. And from the vision you had the other day, I would assume that you have some link to Darius." He shrugged. "It's probably nothing. After all, the chances of an immortal being reincarnated as another one is pretty low." "It's not the *worst* idea I've ever heard. But you're right, it *is* rather far fetched." "Yeah." He paused a moment and started the car. "But you know, the odd thing is that Darius was kind of psychic." "Kind of psychic?" she repeated incredulously. "He had dreams. Alot of the time, they came true." "I've only had the one vision associated with Darius," she pointed out. "Honestly, this is getting more absurd by the minute." Duncan pulled away from the curb, and looked over at her with a challenging expression. "Do you have a better idea?" "First, I'd like to know where you got this one. Are you sure you're not jumping to conclusions?" "I _don't_ _know_ where it came from. It's just a feeling I have that Darius will lead to some sort of answer. You said yourself that you're from an ancient family. Maybe... you're distantly related to an immortal or something. I don't know." "Let's not argue, all right?" "I'm sorry. Do you want to just go home and have a cup of tea?" Shae gave him a weary smile. "That may prove dangerous, recalling my last experience with tea, but... it sounds lovely." ************ are we there yet?? further parts will be forthcoming =========================================================================