Haven (18) “Most of my kind calls me Methos.” “I thought so.” The old man seemed as surprised by this as she did. “Your name is in the song several times.” “Well, I am very old. The world knows me rather well. What may surprise you, though, is that if you listen carefully, the world sings out your name as well.” Methos took Jill’s hand and began walking again. “I would like you to come somewhere with me. Many things are happening tonight that you should witness.” “Like what?” “Your part in all that is happening has been small, and you have many questions. I thought you might like to see how it all ends.” “What’s going to happen?” “Many things.” * * * * * * * As the sun sank again, Mark again took up his hunt for Grace. Before she had gotten too far away from him the previous night, Mark had made a thorough search through her thoughts, and he thought that he might know where she was going. He was almost sure that he had more information about her destination than she did, since had had also been using his mental abilities to keep track of Amanda. He moved, cat-like, toward the motel on the other side of the city. All the while his mind ran a thousand different directions. He had only recently become aware of how many things his mind was capable. This maturity of Mark’s mind inevitably brought thoughts of his mortality. Molly had not understood what he had tried to explain to her about aging. In the two weeks that he had been alive, blood had made him grow into the man that he was. Such a rapid ascent into manhood had given Mark an acute awareness of the aging process. He somehow knew that each victim he took aged him some, and brought him one step closer to death. He had toyed with the idea of killing a vampire to see how their blood affected him. That was when he had met Methos. Met, Mark decided, was probably the wrong word. He had talked to Methos in his day-sleep, and the little man had told him that ingesting vampire blood was probably a bad idea. Mark, at first, did not know if he should believe him, but Methos said he had been a friend of Mark’s mother. He had told Mark many things about Angelique, including the fact that she had left Haven. When Mark awoke again to pursue Grace, he had decided that he would live his life as his mother had, without the drinking of blood. He wished now, though, that Methos had stayed longer to help him with the rest of his decisions. Finally, he approached the motel where Martin and Amanda were hiding with the human girl. He knew that the two vampires were gone, but he was here for other reasons. He also knew that Grace would come here to kill Martin, and he planned on stopping that from happening. He was aware that Martin had always treated his mother with kindness, and he would do what he could to stop Grace before she harmed him. Staring from a crouched position, Mark felt a familiar tugging at his mind. He immediately looked over his shoulder and saw a dark shadow of someone standing behind him. “Who is there?” he asked hastily. “Calm down, man, it’s just me.” Amanda stepped into the light, revealing herself. “Why are you so jumpy?” “I don’t know,” he answered rather sheepishly. “I’ve never been very good at knowing my feelings.” Amanda sat down casually beside him. “I know what you mean. Maybe with a hundred more years under my belt I’ll get it.” “What does that mean?” Mark asked, totally baffled. “Never mind,” she said. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself, Mark?” “I don’t know much about myself. What do you want to know?” “Well, how old are you? I wasn’t really clear on that before.” Mark’s face grew very solemn and sincere. “I will tell you if you will not get upset with me.” “Why would I get upset with you?” Amanda leaned toward him with interest. “I don’t know, but the last person I told was very upset.” He seemed to become nervous and sad at once. “I promise I won’t be upset at all,” she said. When she smiled at him it seemed to ease his anxiety some. “I was born from my mother two weeks ago. I have only been alive for that time. Before that I did not exist.” He tried to be as clear as possible to avoid confusion. “Who was your mother?” Amanda had pulled pieces of Angelique’s strange story from Martin’s mind, and she had a feeling that Mark was about to become much more interesting. “I don’t remember much about her, but her name is Angelique, and she was very nice to me.” Swollen red tears pooled in his eyes as he spoke. Amanda watched in awe as one great red stream rolled down his face. It was the first time she had ever really seen a vampire cry. She saw his face flush with embarrassment, and he turned away. Her hand moved instinctively to his back to comfort him. Mark turned his face back toward her. In his eyes was that fierce wildness that she had seen on that first night they had met. Without actually willing it to do so, Amanda’s hand moved to the back of his neck and drew his face toward her own. After what seemed an eternity her lips met his, and she was surprised at the heat that resided in his face. She fought down the initial instinct to fang his lips to get at the rush of blood that lay beneath. Mark showed no such restraint. A splash of blood fell across both their tongues and quickly disappeared as they drew each other nearer. Eventually, both of them were standing in the alley across from the hotel. The intimacy they shared was of the kind undead seldom experience. The excitement of such a moment was not lost on either of them. Amanda place her hands over Mark’s and led them to explore areas he would have been too shy or inexperienced to find on his own. Since birth, Mark had been a quick study, though, and Amanda’s hands were soon free from the burden of guidance. A few moments later she wondered if any instruction had been necessary at all. When their clothes became heavy with crimson perspiration, they discarded the sticky garments and lost themselves in a frenzy of lust only partially driven by blood. * * * * * * * “You’re sure this is the place?” Dom shot an unsure look at his darkly clad partner. “The proprietor of this establishment says that Martin Azarius paid a week in advance for room number twelve.” Jack’s tone was haughty, and Dom decided to stop asking questions of that nature. “What do we do when Grace gets here? I’m still not clear on how we are supposed to stop her.” Jack rounded quickly on Dom. “How does someone so utterly daft manage to get the rank of Observer, First-Class?” For a moment Dom wanted to show him how he had become a First-Class Cleaner, but he maintained his calm. Jack continued. “If we kill Martin, then the demon will lose its purpose. Then, one of two things will happen. Either, we will have to subdue Grace and take her with us, or the demon with abandon the body.” “All right, Mr. Star-Class, can I run a little scenario by you, and get your response?” “Please, astonish me with your wit.” “What if we kill Martin, assuming that is Grace’s goal, and the Jumper takes Martin’s body, and then wants to kill us?” “That is why we have this.” Jack held aloft a small, square, metal device. “What is it?” Dom asked, unimpressed. “It’s a damper. It works on the same principle as a damp room, only more concentrated. It should kill the Jumper once it’s released from corporeal form.” “Neat,” Dom sounded genuinely impressed. “How do we know it works?” “We don’t. This will be the field test.” “Great,” Dom sighed. “Glad to know we have a solid plan.” * * * * * * * Grace stared down at the mangled body bleeding in the snow. After a moment of letting her adrenaline settle, she crouched over the bloody mass and smiled. “I don’t suppose you know where I can find Martin Azarius, do you?” “Fuck you,” came the gurgling reply. “I’ve done you the favor of letting you live this long,” Grace said cheerily. “The least you could do is tell me what I want to know.” She waited a long time for a response. “Which part…” the voice struggled, “…of fuck you didn’t I make clear?” Grace sighed and retrieved a Render-stained knife from her bag. “That’s quite a mouth you’ve got on you, Jenny. But, the truth is I already know where he is. I was just keeping you alive for kicks.” She jammed the blade into Jenny’s stomach, stood, and walked away. Jenny jerked once and fell still. * * * * * * * “Any luck yet?” Sarah asked anxiously. Seamus only looked at her and shook his head. “Do you have any idea why you can’t find him?” “He’s moving. Really fast.” Seamus had been trying to pinpoint Martin’s location for Sarah all evening. “Can you read any of his thoughts? Maybe find out where he’s going.” “I can give it a try.” Seamus sat down on the sidewalk and tried to focus his attention on Martin. Not where he was, only what he was thinking. Sarah watched with interest. Before he had even been sitting down ten seconds Seamus bolted to his feet and opened his eyes. “He’s looking for me.” “Let him find you, then.” “Don’t worry, he’s on his way.” The two of them waited for several minutes before Martin appeared at the far end of the street on which they stood. He raced toward them at full speed. When he had come face to face with Seamus, Sarah grabbed him by the collar. “You have some things to answer for,” she told him threateningly. He immediately knocked her arm aside. “Later,” he said, then turned to Seamus. “Abby is ill. She may die. I felt the need to get your opinion before I took any action. She says you’re her uncle.” Martin’s implication had not been lost on Seamus or Sarah. He had come to find Seamus before giving Abby any of his blood and bringing her into undeath. “Where is she?” Seamus asked, suddenly desperate. “Sunny Land Motel. Come on, I’ll take you.” Martin bolted into the night with Seamus and Sarah close behind. * * * * * * * “Let’s see,” said Methos climbing the stairs to the roof of an apartment building. “I believe I have filled you in on most of the story to this point. Once we reach the roof, you can watch the rest for yourself.” He stopped on the top step and opened the door to the roof. “Exciting, isn’t it?” “Yes, very,” Jill sounded unsure of how excited she was. “Whatever happened to Jenny?” “I’m afraid she had an unfortunate run-in with Grace.” Methos led Jill to the edge of the roof overlooking the Sunny Land Motel. “We should be able to see everything from here,” he said. “Hey,” Jill said pointing down at the alley across from the motel. “What’s that moving in that alley over there?” “Oh my. Everything indeed,” Methos said, quickly directing Jill’s attention back to the motel. “Everything is about to come together now.” “I wish we could have done something to help Jenny.” Jill suddenly thought back to that alley she had first seen Jenny in. She felt that she owed the vampire more than she had given her. “Jenny’s fate was written out long before either you or I were created. Don’t fret over it too much. Jenny has always been a strong one. Death may have a problem getting her to stay put.” Methos thrust out a finger toward the motel. “Watch and listen. Thos are the two men from the Organization.”
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