#but yeah just going to the map and zooming in on franks windows I See What You're Seeing! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

strainingfororiginality · 8 years ago

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4.5 - Knowledge

He knocked once and waited, leaning up against the frame as he placed his head close to the wood surface of the door, listening to the movements ensuing within. He could have just put himself directly within the apartment, but that would have been pretty rude and he didn’t want to interrupt what they had been doing when he first looked in on them. Considering what he was about to ask of his old friend, he needed to approach this delicately, to say the very least.

If it hadn’t been for his preternatural hearing, he wouldn’t have heard the hushed whispers inside the apartment’s bedroom and he wouldn’t have heard the shuffling of two pairs of hurried feet across the concrete floor. He most definitely wouldn’t have heard someone open the closet and step within. As he tapped his spotted fingers on the door, he patiently waited for the woman to crack the entrance open, leaving the chain on as she squinted at him through the sliver of an opening.

He could see the salt and pepper of her long raven black hair covering half of her dark-skinned face as she looked at him with her dark brown, investigative eyes.

"Yes? Can I help you?" She asked and Michael smiled at her. He had already heard her cocking the gun as she walked towards the door and he’d even heard her gently push the nuzzle of the barrel quietly against the wood on the other side a second before she opened the door to greet him.

"Hi, Barb." He smirked at her, trying his hardest to be pleasant. “I’m here to see Frank.” That was the name his old friend was going by right now and she looked at him accusingly, with growing concern.

"Sorry." She lied. “Frank’s not here right now. What can I do ya for?”

"Hmmm." Michael shifted his stance, staring down to the older woman as he tilted his head to the left. “How about Barqan then? Is he here?” When her eyes widened, he placed a hand on the frame, squeezing it, the wood creaked and began to buckle under his grip. His hand was not far from the chain and her eyes fluttered to it, understanding his threat easily. He could just push it through, but there was no need for any violence. These were friends.

"That is … if you can coax him out of the closet." He chuckled lowly and then tapped the spot on the door, exactly where she held the gun on the other side as he grinned wider. “And I’d really prefer it if you didn’t try to shoot me. That wouldn’t end very well for you, child.”

This statement shocked her and she paused for a brief moment as she sized him up before he heard her lower the weapon on the other side, conceding to his request as his words sunk in. "Alright then. Who should I say is calling?"

Michael grinned even wider, showing her his overdeveloped canines and he raised an eyebrow, answering with a name that caused the women to hold her breath for a moment as her mouth dropped agape.

“Tell him it’s Hinon."

Dutch’s phone chirped and as she fumbled it out of her pocket, she looked at the text message on the screen, even though from the chime alone, she already knew what it would say. As she leapt up from the dinner table, Fet furrowed his brows as he watched his wife bolt from the room in a full sprint.

"Dutch?!?" He called, swinging around to see that she was completely gone and her meal only half eaten. “What is it?!?” He screamed out to her, receiving no response. Assuming it to be some lady issue, he went back to shoveling the cheesy taco into his mouth before she reappeared at the door, her face painted with awe.

"Come on, love! Come! Have a look!" She waved at him aggressively to follow her and he begrudgingly left his plate as he wadded up his napkin, dropping it onto the table next to his plate.

"But da food’s gonna get cold! And … I love Taco Tuesday." He complained as he turned to face her, but the large grin on her face won the argument and she pulled him down the hallway and into her office, pushing him in front of her to sit down in her desk chair.

"You see that! SEE!" Pointing frantically to the map on the screen, she nodded to herself as she gripped his large shoulder in her hand. “I knew it! I bloody KNEW IT!”

"Yup. Look at dat." Fet shrugged. “It’s a circle.”

"No … um … actually, it’s an ellipse … but, check it out ..." Reaching over him, she jiggled the mouse, maximizing a window behind the digital map and he stared, confused at the bouncing lines across the screen as she clicked on a ‘play’ icon.

"Ok." He stared at the lines in silence for a few seconds. “Uh … Neat?”

"Ugh. Don’t you recognize it?!" She spun the chair around so that he was facing her and his wide eyes answered her question without words. “It’s her, love. That’s Dawn.”

Fet’s mouth fell open as he twisted back around and clicked on the map again. "Are you sure? I mean, dat’s--"

"It’s the exact same signal. Same peaks, same content, same fucking frequencies." She clapped her hands loudly, very pleased with her own findings. “Hot damn. It’s the same damn signal. It’s just … um …” She clicked back to the waterfall graph and her smile faded a little bit. “It’s just … well … ten times stronger than it was before, but … nonetheless … I’m positive it was her.”

"Was?" Fet asked, squinting at the graph. “What do you mean was?”

"Well … I’ve been continuously scanning for it for a while. It was never constant, but something big happened and it popped up." She slapped him on the shoulder as she leaned over, tapping the screen on the white ellipse. “It’s her. I’m sure of it. But … ” Dutch cleared her throat carefully and Fet turned to look at his concerned wife’s face.

"But what?" He pressed.

"Well …" She sighed. “This particular signal only occurred when …” There was a pause as she considered her words carefully. “When she was near the Master, love.”

Turning back to the screen, Fet cleared his own throat carefully as the reality of what she was trying to imply sunk in. "But … what does dat even mean? You sayin’ da Master’s still alive? No, I don’t believ--"

"No. I don’t think he could have survived the hell that Q wrought down on him on that day but …" She bit her lip as she took a sharp breath in. “Do you remember what Q said? That last morning?” She waited for Fet to remember and answer, and when he didn’t immediately, she spoke quickly, concern mounting in her tone. “That there were other Ancients coming … More like his father?” As the words escaped her lips, goosebumps riddled their arms and she heard Fet breathe out dramatically as he recalled and recited Q’s words exactly.

"Yeah … Except far more powerful and far more ruthless …"

"Exactly." They both stared in silence at the screen, struggling to internalize what it might actually mean.

"We shouldn’t jump ta any conclusions, yeah?" He shook his head, denying her words. “One thing at a time, k?” Dutch nodded meekly. “So, right now … Where is she?” He asked as he attempted to move the mouse to zoom out and get a better idea of where the map was centered.

"Downtown Philadelphia."

Giving herself up to EL was very different than surrendering to Hathų. When the native woman had stepped forward, she had only taken control of her voice and her arms. It was not intrusive, but rather timid and careful. If she would have described it succinctly using a single word, it had been polite.

Hathų had kept her own mind distant from Dawn and because of that she had retained control. When EL stepped forward, it was as if their minds had interlaced and he was in absolute control of her. As disturbing as it was, it felt like putting on an old glove and she realized that everything he had said to her, about always being around, about speaking with her, about being Mrs. Weaver … was truth.

But, because of this mental interlacing, it worked both directions. She could immediately read his most open thoughts clearly and the obvious intentions that rippled along his conscious mind as he began to pummel the Nazi savagely. His intention was to kill him.

What are you doing?!? She had asked and he had ignored her, just hitting him again instead.

No. This wasn’t the plan … was it? He was going to just kill him?! What about the Lumen? What about Heaven?!

"Hello Thomas." He purred through her delicate vocal cords and another strike landed on the Shiny Man’s jaw sending him crumpling to the ground as his bone cracked under the force of their shared might. She could hear a menacing and low vibration carried along with her voice as he controlled it. It was almost an electrical crackle.

Stop.

She commanded and she tried to reach out for control.

Don’t do that.

She demanded and he ignored again, reaching down for the man and she felt the thought arc cross the archangel’s mind. He was going to rip the strigoi’s head completely off. She tried to push EL out of the way but he remained in place. Solid.

"We’re actually hoping we can all be useful to each other."

"How so, My Lord?" The Shiny Man had asked desperately and she felt her own desperation climaxing. He would be dead in seconds and suddenly, instead of pushing EL away, she forced herself into him farther, burrowing beyond just the surface of his mind. It was an uncomfortable thing and she felt as if it was a vicious violation, but she heard whispers of voices echoing everywhere. Some were his voice but most were others and then entire memories started to leak through.

Someone else, she had never heard before, calm and gentle. Delicate and soothing.

"You don’t need to do this, Brother. I can still help you. Please, little one … “ The voice pled, laced with more need and sadness than she had ever heard before. Even after all of her own nights of sorrow and grief, this man’s melancholy surpassed all that she’d ever heard. “You aren’t alone. You’ve never been alone."

Those words … those fucking words. How often had she heard those words?

Underneath her soul, she felt EL tense at the memory as it reverberated through their shared subconscious. Something about this instant caused him discomfort and she felt him shove the recollection away and as it faded quickly, she reached out for the very next instance lingering in his mind. Another voice came forward, its tone was heavy, angry, frantic, and riddled with its own special agony.

"I won’t do it! Do not make me do this! BROTHER!"

Another light and feminine tone screamed back and the volume of it was deafening and she felt EL cringe again at the resurfacing of another memory.

"There is no choice!" It begged in the darkness … she begged. “The Nexus must be preserved … at any cost ...”

A second longer and the Shiny Man would be missing his head. She could sense her arms beginning to flex as she reached for the Nazi’s temple and she pushed further one more time as she felt EL’s discomfort increase substantially. She was intruding into him the same as he did to her and the next words that leaked out were his.

"She wasn’t made for you, you little shit." He hissed with an anger so loud it flooded everything around her. “She was made for me.”

"How so, My Lord?" The Nazi asked, staring up as EL stepped back instantly, thrusting her completely out of his mind as quickly as he could and she was back in full control.

"Well, that was rude." The archangel said from the side, standing beside the broken strigoi as he shook his head at her. “I wasn’t going to hurt him … much.”

Barb opened the door and he stepped through, resting his staff on the wall next to the exit. It made him nervous to have it so close when he needed to discuss more sensitive matters. Raphael’s exact control over the item had always been confusing.

Though his purple-eyed younger brother claimed he’d given up all claim of it, Michael would often still feel The Traveler’s divinity surging through the thing each and every time he used it. Where Michael’s divinity was golden and smelled of angelica, Raphael’s had a distinctive blue hue and it carried the scent and taste of eucalyptus.

Cringing at the taste left in his mouth from traveling just this far with it, he opted to leave it there as he entered the living area, taking a seat on the couch as he listened to the Iroquoian woman talking to her Djinn, coaxing him out of his hiding place.

"Hinon? Don’t be ridiculous, woman. There is no way he would be--" As Barqan rounded the corner of the bedroom, locking eyes with the archangel, his sentence fell short. “Michael.” The Black King stopped in his tracks as Barb came up behind him and he waved her off. “Leave us. Take a walk, please.” He asked of the woman and though she seemed nervous about it.

"I need a smoke anyways. It was nice to meet you, Thunderer." She nodded towards the archangel as she complied without argument, grabbing her coat. Before she made it out, she turned back to look at Michael carefully before she left. "You know. I always thought you'd be taller."

"What is it?" Barqan queried. “Why are you here? What has happened?”

"I come with a request, old friend." Michael leaned forward. “I ...” His words trailed off as his eyes floated down to the ground, attempting to discern and isolate the feeling that had just begun to well within the pit of his stomach as nausea swept across him. It had been a number of years since he’d felt anything like this and his skin flushed with color as he felt something … pulling from him.

Though it was not nearly as intense, it was the same overall sensation, just as it had been that night nearly thirty years ago, when he’d felt the agony of Dawn’s divinity being sucked away from her … while he pulled it from her.

Barqan tilted his head to the right and looked at the strange expression gracing Michael’s frozen face. It was one he’d never seen on any archangel’s face before and he immediately pressed. "What is wrong?"

The Governor had no words as he flinched at the gravity of the feeling. He felt as if he was being torn in half, nearly incapable of taking a full breath before the vertigo of the feeling ceased all at once. Taking a deep breath in, he looked up into the worried Djinn’s face and shook his head. "It’s nothing."

"That was most definitely not nothing, Michael." Barqan told him.

"Regardless … I am here to discuss something ..." He looked back towards the staff and considered checking on his progeny, but when the Black King pressed again, the archangel decided to keep to the task at hand.

"Michael, what was tha--"

"I need a child from your fallen brethren." Quickly and succinctly, he demanded as he locked eyes with the horrified Djinn.

"What?" Barqan coughed. “What do you mean you need a child?” The Black King gulped. “For what purpose?”

"I’m sorry, old friend. But, there must be a reckoning." He said simply. “Gabriel demands the right to extinguish the … newly sparked abomination.”

"Newly sparked Abomination? No, that is not possible. None of our children have sparked. We prevent that." Barqan’s eyes grew wide. “Wait … it was your child, wasn’t it? The little woman from--”

"It makes no difference who’s child it was, Black King." Michael sighed dramatically. “This is sadly not up for debate--”

Barqan interrupted. "And what … kind of reckoning?! Extinguish?! Why do you--"

Michael halted his companion’s desperate argument, repeating his last sentence again with more force. "This is not up for debate. Either you provide a child to me, or I will find one. Now that I know they are here, do you think you can stop me?"

Barqan stared at him in silent horror.

EL trailed behind both of them closely. Thomas walked ahead and she kept no less than five feet between them as he guided her through Downtown Philadelphia quickly, away from the deserted commercial real estate and into the industrial area. While he could try to run again, the archangel was certain he wouldn’t. From all the stories that he’d heard from hell. From all the people that he’d sent EL’s way, he knew this man had always been a coward and it was very clear that he wouldn’t get far.

"You hid it out here?" She questioned and he nodded his head.

"Do you think I should have kept it in my hotel room safe, little one?" EL knew how much she hated Thomas calling her that and he could feel as her body tensed with growing annoyance, but she said nothing, as usual. She had always been too quiet, in his opinion. If it was him, he would have demanded respect from this pathetic creature through pain.

If he was in a better mood, he might have even urged her to force the bastard not to use the nickname anymore, but he walked silently, considering everything that had just happened very carefully.

He had control and for the first time since he fell, he was here, in physical form … on Earth. Through her body, he felt humanity and life all around him again. Through her body, he felt connected again. Through her body, he felt whole. He could have tried to hold on, fought her for command over the powerful shell, but he pulled back for three reasons and he mulled these over while they walked, because all three were all equally concerning to him.

First.

If he had held on, he would have lost her trust entirely and this frightened him. Not that it would happen, but that he somehow cared how she would feel about it. Satan’s previous statements resonated in his mind now and he sneered at the thought of the demon’s words having volition.

He knew what his goal was, right? Yes. Of course he did … the goal was to get out of his self-imposed prison. But if that was the truth, had he not just had the opportunity? No, he told himself, there was no way of knowing if she could have ousted him or not given enough motivation. No, he urged himself, he needed to play it safe. He had no idea how much power she could actually draw upon and he needed her to relinquish control to him indefinitely.

Second.

He drew himself back after he heard those words ricochet within his mind. She had pulled memories out of him, and as painful as those were to revisit, he had shrugged it off. But the next words that she played in his inquisitive mind concerned him the most. Yes, it was his voice, but he was quite certain he’d never uttered those words before.

"She wasn’t made for you, you little shit. She was made for me."

The day she was born, he knew she was quite different than all of her predecessors. Beyond just her disease, he knew she was different in a very, very important way. She was Demiarc, as all of her forefathers had been. But she was also a prophet. She could also see the future and he knew he’d never uttered those words before and now he also knew that one day he would.

"This way, my dear." Thomas ushered them into an empty factory.

And, most importantly, third.

While he was at the helm, he felt the Nexus again … all around him. Surging and chittering and humming and … he was home. It was intoxicating and she hadn’t learned how to hear it quite yet.

At the same time, this confused him because he knew his brother had closed it off from Earth as well as Hell as much as he could and in that fragile and tender moment when he was reaching down to rip the Nazi’s head off, he felt the subtlest of changes begin. He felt that fucking purple bastard opening up again and he ripped himself back as quickly as he could, nearly stumbling all the way back into Hell. This would complicate things greatly and he spoke for the first time in several minutes.

"We need to hurry up." He rushed. Something was changing and it was now more important than ever to get to the Lumen.

She was obviously displeased with him but the nervousness in his voice was clear and rather than afford him any kind of attention, she questioned Thomas instead. "How much further?"

"We are almost there, my dear." He assured her in his thick german accent. “Patience, mein kleiner stern.”

She noticed Fet standing idly at the door while she threw clothes into her bag. When he made no movement, she eventually swung around to see what the hell he was doing and she saw the guiltiest look she’d ever seen on her husband’s face to date.

"What is it, love?" She swung back around and went for her underwear drawer next. “We don’t have time for this. You should be packing already. We don’t know how long she’ll be there.” She looked down at her folded undies and grabbed a handful without counting, shrugging in her mind. Yup, I’m sure that’ll be enough.

"Uh …Dutch?" He hesitated from the door again and she turned to face him, his hands fiddling with a stack of papers as he gave her the most fake smile as puppy-like innocent washed over him. “I gotta confession ta make.”

The seriousness of the moment sunk in and she turned to face him fully, stopping all movement. Terrible scenarios raced through her mind as her subconscious lurched forward, grasping at straws over what he might suddenly confess to her. Her heart sank with regret.

"What?" This was the only word that she could manage and he shuffled forward carefully, waving the papers towards her but she found herself unable to move. “What … what is that?”

"Uh …" He looked down and the guilt spread even further. “I kept dis from you. I …” He sighed heavily. “I kept dis from her too. At first, I just … I thought it was crazy, ya know?”

"What are they, Vasily?" She rarely used his first name and he finally walked over and shoved the papers into her hands. As she looked down, she recognized the scribbles on the pages as the Professor’s handwriting. “These are the Professor’s notes?”

"Yeah." He stroked his beard nervously. “Dey were in Q’s bag. I … I kept them from you. I’m sorry.”

Dutch smiled as relief washed over her. She was very nearly certain he was about to confess some love between him and the maid, but this was fine. This was no big deal, right? "No worries, eh? It’s just Abe’s old notes, yeah? It doesn’t matter."

"Uh …" Fet struggled again as he looked down at the worn papers. “Yeah, but … you should read dem.”

"Why bother?" Her eyebrows raised significantly. “It's just pointless shit from the Lumen, right? There wasn’t a damn thing in that bloody book that helped us out in the end.”

"But da Professor’s notes …" He pointed again at the pages she wrestled within her grasp. “He believed it. And he was usually right ...”

"Believed what, love?" My god, this was like pulling teeth. The big man usually wasn’t this hesitant with anything. He was normally extremely straightforward. “Come on, we really gotta get going.”

"How familiar are you with da Bible?"

The area was deserted and it reminded her distinctly of her factory, having been left in a rush as well. She could smell death emanating from all around them and as he led her into the bowels of the building, it was only getting stronger. Eventually, the smell of the decaying flesh overwhelmed his repugnant stench of ammonia that had almost made her gag blocks earlier.

"Don’t try anything with me." She warned and he giggled, dismissing her threatening tone.

"But why would I try a thing? I find your offer most enticing." They came to a door and he produced a key from a chain around his neck. As the lock clicked, he opened it wide to reveal a staircase within. Stepping back, he waved a hand downwards, offering her entrance first but she stared at him with squinted eyes.

"You first." She spat.

"Very well. Here." He handed her the key on the chain. “Please lock the door behind you.” At first she hesitated as old fear began to brew within her chest, her heart beginning to race as she remembered all those cold nights in the German’s “company”. It wasn’t until she heard EL’s voice from behind that she snapped back into reality.

"He can’t hurt you anymore." He assured her. “Even without my help, you’re more than he can manage now.” His voice was calming. “You’re more than most can manage.”

Shuffling down the steps ahead of her, she heard Thomas call out from below and she finally complied, stepping through and pulling the door shut, locking it and putting the chain around her own neck before proceeding downwards. At least this way, he wasn’t going to be able to run or lock her in.

As she breached the room below, she could see that he had been living there for quite some time and it was not entirely unlike her own safe room, in her factory.

He was messing with the bricks in the far wall, pulling them out and stacking them into a careful pile on the ground. Working quickly, he edged them out one at a time and she stood behind him, waiting and watching.

"Why didn’t you die with it?" She finally asked as she crossed her arms over her breasts. “How did you survive the bomb?”

"I could ask you the same." He chuckled as he turned around, seeing that his joke was ill-timed, he went back to dislodging the stones from the wall. “It was very fortuitous. I was …” He paused briefly. “Away at the time …”

"I thought you never left your precious Master’s side …" She might have pressed the issue further as it was obvious Thomas was keeping something to himself, but EL walked into view, passing her on the right as he looked into the hole that the Shiny Man was creating in the thick wall.

"It was not my choice to be away." He stated as he worked diligently.

"He tasted you." EL sneered towards the minion as he explained, never moving his eyes from the dark vacant space as he was eager to see what was within. “He was forsaken by his Master. Your blood freed him from its control.” The archangel chuckled, as this gave him some degree of pleasure. “Quite simply … He fell from strigoi grace.”

"What do you mean? He isn’t like the others anymore?" She asked, finally acknowledging EL again and Thomas spun around, seemingly confused for a moment as he assumed she was speaking to him.

"How could you know that ..." He questioned, but his words trailed off as she answered with a simple raised eyebrow. “He has told you this, hasn’t he?” Thomas looked around the room quickly, becoming nervous before returning to his act of tearing down the wall. “He is here, isn’t he?”

"Tell him to hurry." EL pressed again. She had never seen him so nervous. “You should have let me kill him. This would have been much faster if--”

"Faster?!" She questioned swiftly, interrupting his sentence mid-flow as her arms dramatically fell to her sides with anger and she stepped forward toward the archangel. “Kill him?! How would that have helped anything?! I’m not physic! We would have never found this place!”

Thomas spun around, concerned by the content of her words, but he returned to the task at hand without uttering anything in reply while the single-sided argument ensued behind him.

EL smiled wickedly and she felt the goosebump rise across her spotted flesh as he stepped forward to her, closing all gap between them while he looked down, tilting her chin up towards him so that she could see directly into his rainbow irises.

"You still need to learn to trust me. Think about it carefully, Aurora." She hated when he talked down to her. “If that monstrosity died.” He purred. “Where exactly do you think his soul would go?”

As the clever realization spread across her face, her furrowed brows relaxed fully and her mouth opened slightly causing his smile to widen further.

"I could have ripped the answer out of his soul with my bare hands." She tried to step back, but his grip flew to her shoulders, holding her in place as he continued. “And I would have been able to pay him back for every … single … ounce of blood he whipped out of you.”

"I would offer you to join me, but there really isn’t much room, my dear." Thomas chortled as he crawled and wiggled his way into the hole that he had made in the wall, just big enough for a body. “I will be back. One moment, please.”

Staring up into his rainbow eyes, she shook her head. "You should have told me your plan."

"I didn’t think--"

"And here it is!" Thomas screamed from behind the wall, shoving a burlap sack out and waving it at her dramatically to retrieve it from his grasp. “Please.”

As she took the sack, she stood back and allowed the strigoi to crawl out while she pulled the material away to undercover the silver book within. It was just as she remembered it. The look, the smell, and the feeling. Even now, in her hands, she could feel the vibrations that pulsed through it. All those times, the Professor sitting on the table, with it cracked open and Quintus sitting next to him as they peered within and she had kept her distance. She began to crack open the book and EL spoke abruptly.

"There’s no time for that yet. Get to the roof." He rushed again. “Now.”

"What?" She looked up as Thomas finished pulling himself out of the wall, standing beside her as he brushed the debris from his suit. “No time for what?”

EL cocked his head to the right in annoyance and sighed, tapping his watchless right wrist to express the need for growing urgency.

Fuck it. Fine. She wasn’t sure what exactly the point was. It wasn’t daytime, and there was no way she could see the Sun Pages right now. That was the point of all of this, wasn’t it? Something was hidden in the text which was somehow important to EL. He’d been less than forthcoming with the specifics.

As she demanded roof access, she allowed Thomas to lead the way and as soon as they hit the rooftop, she could see the archangel standing near the far ledge with his back to her, looking out at the distant horizon as the moon loomed close to it.

"Here." He patted the roof side and she set the Lumen down on the lip of the building, collapsing onto her knees in front of it. “Come on. Open it. The first third are the Sun Pages.”

"I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry all the sudden." She questioned as the book creaked open and Thomas watched silently from behind. “There isn’t any sun.”

"I know … We’ve only got minutes left. The back third. Hurry."

He rushed, pointing to the pages and as she turned the book to somewhere in the last third of it, she watched with wide eyes as the page within started to illuminate with silver arabic letterings, completely overcoming the inked words, as the light from the moon absorbed into it.

"What is that?!" Thomas asked from behind, peering over her shoulder and she looked up at EL, who was now smiling.

"The Moon Pages. The story of the Fallen Djinn." He waved his hand over the book quickly, urging her to flick the page to the next. “Next.” She flicked. “Next.” She flicked again. “Keep going.”

When he saw the page he wanted, he nodded and laughed, looking back to the horizon quickly before pointing to a symbol in the middle of it. Most of the other pages had been covered with lengthy text, but this one was just riddled with ten symbols and a chill ran over her skin as the swirls and delicate curves of them reminded her of her own mark.

"That one." He pointed down to her boot. “Your knife. Get it. Quickly.”

"My knife?" She questioned as she retrieved the bowie knife from its leather cradle, hidden in the ankle holster underneath her pant leg. “What the fuck for?”

EL turned to Thomas, who was still staring down wide-eyed at the discovery and he smiled.

"I guess he’ll be useful after all."

Standing, she turned to face Thomas with the knife drawn in her hand and the German’s eyes only grew larger as he took a step back, interpreting her action as possibly hostile. "I already told you I’m not going to kill him." She said towards the angel and she heard EL laugh. He was clearly in a better mood now.

"No, silly bean. Give him the knife. You need carve that into your skin. And hurry. The text will gone when the moon sets. And we can’t wait another day."

"Wait what?" Dawn gasped as she turned to her raven-haired companion. “Into my … my skin?”

"Yup. Unfortunately, it's only temporary. You’ll heal very quickly. We’ll have to get you a more … permanent solution, but for now …" He pointed to the knife. “Hurry.”

"Why?" She questioned. “Why all the rush now?”

"Because … they can see you."

"What is it?" Looking down at the symbol, she was desperate to know, but EL grew frustrated at the hesitation as he tried to rush her along. “What does it do?”

"It is Obfuscation. It will keep you hidden from all prying eyes. Please. I promise all answers to any questions, but right now, my Golden Dawn. Time’s short."

"Ok." She thrust the knife’s handle toward Thomas as she lifted up her sleeve, exposing the top of her arm to him. “Cut it into me.” As she turned back to the book, pointed.

"Cut it into you?" Thomas gulped at the command, “Are you certain, Fräulein?”

"Yes. Do it." She sighed at his hesitation. “You didn’t have a problem with hurting me before.” As he brought the knife up, she closed her eyes and the metal cut into her skin. Fuck, she hated knives. She felt herself flinch at the sensation but she calmed her body as she heard her dhampir’s voice cut through and dull the increasing pain:

"I was drawn to the warrior that you so obviously are."

"No. You cannot ask this of me." Barqan stood and walked to the window as anger overcame him. “Why did you not just burn the divinity from her when she was born like all the others?!” Barqan spat. “How could you have allowed her to spark to begin with?!”

"If you wish to blame anyone, then blame the Prince of Snakes, of whom you are so very fond." Michael sneered.

"It is unlike you, Golden One to deflect blame? It is unlike you to be so cowar--"

"Careful, Djinn. Don’t assume that mine and my children haven’t suffered and don’t continue to suffer … everyday." Michael stood slowly as he warned. “I don’t do this out of cowardice or love. I’m offering you this choice out of practicality.”

Barqan laughed as he spun to face the golden-haired angel. "Practicality, brother? Is that what you tell yourself so that you can sleep at night?" Michael smirked at the statement, as they both knew neither of them slept.

"If we do not provide one to my brother … if my progeny is found out, then I fall. If I fall, Black King …" He watched as Barqan’s defensive stance began to relax. “Then there will be no one protecting your kind here.”

"They have survived for millenia without your great protection, My Governor." The Djinn returned to the couch and Michael could already see that practicality was prevailing in the Black King’s mind, even if his words had yet to convey it fully.

"Perhaps so." Michael agreed. “But if I fall, there’s no doubt in my mind that The Traveler and The Messenger will rip all of the secrets from my mind.” Michael looked down on the seated man as the Black King put his hand up to his head in defeat. “And with the Staff and Trumpet back in their employ, there’s no where on Earth or Heaven for you and your kind to hide.”

Barqan stared quietly at the table as he considered this most impossible decision, sighing as sadness overcame him. "You cannot ask me to do this …" He looked up into the powerful green irises as tears welled up in his black eyes. “After what I told you about Sathariel … how can you ask this of me?”

"It’s because of Sathariel that I know I must." Michael said coldly before he turned and started to walk back towards the door to retrieve the staff. “Chose, Barqan. A single child or all of your children.”

As he reached for the silver instrument, preparing himself to for the journey back to Heaven, he reached out to check on Dawn, knowing there was only a single person in existence who could possibly have made him feel as he did on the couch. Extending himself, Michael gasped, loud enough for Barqan to take note, looking up from his sadness.

"What is it now?" He stood as he saw another surprised look encompass Michael’s face.

"I …" The archangel trailed off as he reach out again and still, it was the same result. Nothing.

"What is it, Michael?!" Barqan stammered again and the Governor looked up, finally meeting his friends eyes as his desperation was beginning to boil.

"I can’t see her … Barqan. I can’t … " Michael was nearly at a loss for breath as he choked the words out. “She’s … gone.”

Oh fuck.

#quinlan fanfic #mr. quinlan fanfic #the strain fanfic #quintus sertorius fanfic #quintus densus #an insatiable ache #chapter 4 #part 5

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theworstbob · 8 years ago

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yellin’ at songs, 3.11.2017

after a rather rough week on the hot 100, bob! doesn’t know what he’s fighting for or why he has to scream

27) "Tunnel Vision," by Kodak Black

There’s this song, if you’ll permit me a second to discuss something I like, by Frank Turner called “Recovery,” and it has one of my all-time favorite lyrics: “Broken people can get better if they really want to/At least, that’s what I have to tell myself if I am hoping to survive.” To tie this to Kodak Black, we must first go on another tangent: Casey Affleck took home an Oscar for his performance in Manchester by the Sea. Casey Affleck settled two sexual harassment lawsuits out of court. These two facts co-exist, and while I'm in the camp that thinks maybe we should not be giving our highest honors to horrible people, I am also in the camp that suggests that flawed people should still be allowed to find themselves and make great art. I supported Michael Vick in his comeback to the NFL; should I not do the same for Casey Affleck? Vick went to jail, Affleck settled with the victims. When do we forgive someone for their crimes? That isn’t a question with an answer. What I need to see, though, is some act of contrition, of a debt being paid to society on the part of the offender. There needs to be a sign, just a subtle little glimmer, that broken people can get better, if they really want to. I don’t get that here. I don’t even get a sense this dude’s aware he’s broken. When the second line of the first verse of your song is, "I can get any girl I want, any girl I want" -- hell, when the line "I need me a lil' baby who gon' listen" is repeated in the chorus -- I am disinclined to believe there is any contrition on the artist's end, and I, as a human being and not a court of law, am under no obligation to afford anyone the benefit of the doubt. I’m not listening to this dude again.

41) "How Would You Feel (Paean)," Ed Sheeran

The best thing I can say for this song is, a lot of people learned a new word because of its title! It's nice that our boy is committed to expanding vocabularies! But yeah, this is an Ed Sheeran Ballad, it sure is. Again, like Bruno Mars last week, cheesy Ed Sheeran is always a threat to appear at any given time, but unlike Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran has yet to add a new dimension to his schmaltz. There is a valiant attempt at a Falsetto Moment, and I appreciate the gumption it took to go for it, but this is the sort of thing I was afraid of when I decided to undertake this silly project, the whole "Ed Sheeran is going to release the same ballad as he ever has" of it all. We’ve got at least two more down the pipeline, too, most likely. :/

44) "Love," by Lana del Rey

...Man, this is a rough week, innit? Might could be I'm just thrown off by the lack of breezy stoner jams on the occasion of the 3.11 chart. This one, though, this is... I'm trying to find the right word here, but the only one coming to mind is "boring," and there's not a lot of critical value in that word. But! I mean! There are thousands of songs about being young and in love, and none of them make that feeling sound as lifeless. I think I'm missing something. I never fucked with Lana del Rey because, before I started this chart, I didn't have to, and I never felt like I was missing much. Right now tho? I wish I’d been a little more into her. ‘Cuz like I’m kinda aware I think that Lana del Rey has some sort of persona thing going, and if that’s correct, understanding what that is is likely key to understanding what is supposed to work about this song. Right now I just kinda hear a version of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Maps” where everything is worse.

46) "Draco," by Future 49) "Mask Off," by Future 54) "Rent Money," by Future 91) "Super Trapper," by Future 99) "Zoom," by Future

Hey! I actually listened to the AAA release which litters the Hot 100 this week! That's a timesave, right there! Future is actually the most I've ever liked Future. With a lot of his other stuff, it kinda feels like he's going through the motions, bleakness here, despair there, trap beat, we did it, but here, I dunno, maybe it's the fact there hasn't been anything new from Future in a year, but there's a different energy on this album, I found myself enjoying it all the way through. I've actually been putting off HNDRXX simply because I want a little more time with Future, so I guess I lied in the last meandering sentence, I do know, it really is the fact there hasn't been a new Future release in a year. Still, I endorse Future. As far as these songs, I agree with the nation’s enjoyment of them. My favorite ("POA") is missing, which, enh, but "Draco" and "Rent Money" are clear highlights, and the other three are pleasant, and keep close these kind words for Future as we steel ourselves for three more Future albums before the solstice.

52) "Heavy," by Linkin Park ft./Kiiara

fucking christ I take no issues with the song on its own, the song's actually really good. I see this is a Julia Michaels joint! She is dope at this songwriting thing. I take issue with the fact that it's being delivered by Linkin Park. I just, I think that, it's hard t -- I keep imagining some 14-year-old, they're in their older brother's car, they're driving to a Shake Shack because that's what you do on a summer night, and this song comes on the radio, and it intrigues the 14-year-old. "Who is this?" they ask their brother. "Look at the fucking ticker, ya putz, this bit is clearly set in 2017. Use Shazam," the brother says, so the 14-year-old looks, and they see the name scroll across: Linkin Park. Intrigued, they go home and research Linkin Park, and they see Linkin Park has been around for over twenty years! "Incredible!" the 14-year-old says, elated to have discovered a band with such a deep back catalogue, and they're going to start with the first single: "One Step Closer." Do you understand what I'm getting at, here? Do you understand the dystopian future I am laying out before you? Our nation's #teens are in danger of discovering nu-metal. Say what you will about Ko[backwards R]n, but they have never stopped making the same shitty music they were making in 2001, and thus they are STAYING in 2001 where they BELONG, only to be visited by people already in their fanbase. The youngest living Ko[backwards R]n fan is 29, and that’s how we need it to stay. Linkin Park should be a whisper on the lips of those who have always believed. They shouldn't be chilling on Top 40 radio with Future and Selena Gomez. They should not be dueting with starlets, they should be inquiring as to Amy Lee’s availability. This is reckless endangerment of a nation’s youth. An actual living #teen may enjoy this song, and two months later they’ll have just discovered Staind and be watching the "It's Been a While" video while leaving the comment, "I was born in the wrong era," because they just heard the Hybrid Theory remix album and crAWLING WAS THEIR FAVORITE FIRST BETSY DEVOS NOW THIS HOW COULD WE LET DOWN OUR NATION'S YOUTH LIKE THIS FUCKING GODDAMNIT

56) "Something Just Like This," by The Chainsmokers ft./Coldplay

There is a tiny, faint drum fill I'm not 100% sure I didn't imagine at the 1:50 mark of this song. There was something of value in this song, which, given what this song is, I will gladly take. "I've been reading books of old/The legends and the myths" Classic literature! I'm glad Coldplay's taking time out of their busy schedule to broaden their horizons. "Achilles and his gold/Hercules and his gifts" Ah, and they're sitting down with some Greek mythology, too! How learned of Coldplay! The word "gold" doesn't appear on the Wikipedia page for Achilles, so I'm not sure what Coldplay is reading, but I'm glad they're reading it! "Spiderman's co Ah, yes, of course. Those classic tomes, the Spiderman comics! Nearly lost to time, they were, when the most recent reboot only made $750m at the box office! HOO BOY it says a lot about the week that was that this was probably only my fourth-least-favorite song. Always knew there'd be weeks like this.

Should I even do a Top 20 this week? There's only one new song. ...I'ma do a Top 20. It's routine. It's what we have, together. 20) "My Old Man," by Zac Brown Band (2.25) 19) "Castle on the Hill," by Ed Sheeran (1.28) 18) "Call Casting," by Migos (2.18) 17) "Running Back," by Wale ft./Lil Wayne (2.11) 16) "I'm Better," by Missy Elliott ft./Lamb (2.18) 15) "Way Down We Go," by Kaleo (1.14) 14) "Everyday," Ariana Grande ft./Future (3.4) 13) "Light," by Big Sean ft./Jeremih (2.25) 12) "Draco," by Future (3.11) 11) "Guys My Age," by Hey Violet (2.11) 10) "Good Drank," by 2 Chainz ft./Gucci Mane & Quavo (2.11) 9) "Yeah Boy," Kelsea Ballerini (3.4) 8) "It Ain't Me," Kygo x Selena Gomez (3.4) 7) "Now & Later," by Sage the Gemini (2.25) 6) "Shape of You," by Ed Sheeran (1.28) 5) "That's What I Like," by Bruno Mars (3.4) 4) "Despacito," by Luis Fonsi ft./Daddy Yankee (2.4) 3) "Issues," by Julia Michaels (2.11) 2) "iSpy," by KYLE ft./Lil Yachty (1.14) 1) "Run Up," by Major Lazer ft./PARTYNEXTDOOR & Nicki Minaj (2.18) swear to ra if my favorite song of my year with this project is a major lazer song that didn’t even spend multiple weeks on the chart i’ma throw a stool through my window. should i rerank? i feel i should rerank. “iSpy” is dope and “Issues” is dope and people have heard those songs. i -- ah fuck this wretched week.

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