09-Aug-2003
Title: Abhorsen 1/?
Rating: Uncertain, PG now, likely R later.
Author: Elemental
Genre: Fusion. Action/Fantasy/Drama eventual Angst
Archive: GW Addiction
Pairing: 1+2, 5+2/2+5, 1+2+5, 3+4/4+3. (That's the MOST complicated I've ever done my pairings!)
Warnings: Can't think of any right now, except this is going to be a LONG one folks... .
Blurb/Notes: A Fusion fic, GW/ Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trillogy.
These are italics.
Basics: Duo's a Necromancer who puts down the dead instead of raising them, the Abhorsen. Heero is a free magic spirit bound to serve the Abhorsen's bloodline. Quatre is a Clayr with a slight... .deficiency. Wufei is a King who's a little to stubborn and stuck up for his own good. Trowa is a descendant of Nicolas, the Once Darkened One, and both Free Magic and Charter Magic flow through his veins.
They all have to work together to save both Anclestierre and The Old Kingdom.
If they don't kill each other first.
History is much like an Endless Waltz.
The three beats of War, Peace, and Revolution
continue on forever.
-Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz
Though his hands were shaking, Duo gratefully accepted the steaming mug of tea from the Colonel and drank deeply. He ignored the heat and let the liquid burn his tongue in order to warm his stomach and hands, still numb from the journey into death. He watched as a pair of soldiers carefully tied the last wind flute to the barbed wire that surrounded the Perimeter and crossing point. Duo could see they were trying to listen to what sound the flutes would make as the wind blew through them, making them twirl in the fading light. He knew they would hear nothing; the song the flutes played was for the dead alone.
"Is that the last of them?"
Duo looked up to the owner of the hand on his shoulder and saw Colonel Haden looking at him, concerned. Blinking owlishly, Duo gripped the mug tighter to hide the tremble in his hands and looked out into the field. "What?"
"Is that the last of them, those wind flutes you fixed up?"
Duo nodded, draining the last of the mug and wishing he had more, "Yeah, that's the end of them. Seven by seven by seven, or twenty one. Your dead will stay dead, at least until you get another idiot General down here without a Charter-Damned clue as to what's going on."
The Colonel had the grace to flush, slightly, "Ah yes, well, I did apologize, and I mean it. Problem is that the further from the wall you get, the less they're willing to believe the Charter exists. It's easier for 'em to believe we're all cracked than to think that the dead don't like to stay dead and that people can go 'round with magic."
'That's all fine and well," came a voice from Duo that wasn't actually his own, "but my master is drenched, cold, exhausted and hungry from cleaning up your mess for the last two days, and he wasn't in great shape before then. Do I have to tell you to get him inside and in front of a fire, now that the dead are no longer a threat for the next ten minutes, or can you figure that out for yourself?"
"Heero!" Duo admonished the white cat draped around his neck, "That was rude."
The cat yawned, making the small bell on his collar tinkle quietly, and then nipped lightly at the boy's earlobe, his nearest target. "It was necessary. And it's true. Or did you plan on staying up another twenty-four hours?"
The Colonel could feel the boy was trembling underneath his hand, and wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. It was easy to forget that someone like the Abhorsen was human too. Tugging on his shoulder, Colonel Haden pulled him inside headquarters, and his lounge. The boy sat down easily with a gentle push, and the Colonel watched as he leaned close to the fire, his familiar, or whatever he wanted to call that infernal cat, unwrapping from his neck and hopping onto the back of the couch, stalking towards Haden with a forceful air.
Ignoring the cat, Haden poured another mug of tea for the Abhorsen, hoping it would warm the pale boy. It was hard to think of him as the Abhorsen, he was so very young. He looked to be sixteen, perhaps seventeen at the most. But his strange violet eyes and solid stare made his seem ancient, startlingly so. Then again, things were always different over the wall.
He pressed the tea, this time almost entirely milk and sugar, into the Abhorsen's hands, along with a package of saltines, just to hold him over until he could order a full service from the mess. The Abhorsen stared at the tea for a moment, then smiled weakly. "Thanks. I'll never get used to drinking tea in a mug. At home, it's always these delicate little things."
Haden laughed, perhaps a little too loudly, and clapped the boy across the back, signaling to a snooping soldier to approach even as he grinned at the violet-eyed teen. "Yes well, those things don't hold enough for a good drink around here. 'Sides, these last longer. Don't break if you look at 'em wrong." He turned back to the soldier, who was sweating nervously from being caught snooping where he shouldn't have been, and the grin broadened, "You go to the mess and bring back a service, some soup and fresh bread and whatever's warm. Two, no, three servings," he added, casting a glance back at the cat.
"I'm partial to fish," called the cat. "If you have those sardine things, I'd be mindful not to kill you in your sleep one day."
The soldier blanched and fled to follow his orders while the cat purred quietly, ignoring the half-hearted glare Duo sent his way. Haden scrutinized the Abhorsen for a few moments as the teen drained his mug, then stepped forward, grabbing the first aid box from his desk and kneeling down in front of the pale teen, "Abhorsen, your hands."
Duo looked at his hands and muttered in surprise. The cuts he'd gotten from carving the flutes were raw and swollen; the deepest one across his palm was still bleeding sluggishly through the strip of material he'd bound it with. Haden pulled the mug from his hands and moved to wrap them with gauze, but Duo pulled away. He shook his head, a tiny smile on his lips, though it didn't really reach his eyes, "Don't bother with that stuff boss, I can't handle the bells if my hands are wrapped. Don't worry, once I cross the wall I'll find a charter stone and heal them."
"And then you'll pass out in the middle of God-knows-where. You must sleep my master. Or do you expect me to carry you back home? Must I do everything myself?"
The Colonel watched the white cat pounce into the Abhorsen's lap and begin to lick at the wounds, causing the teen to flinch though he did nothing to stop the cat. Haden saw why as the smaller nicks began to disappear, and the blood began to clot on the largest cut. Thinking of something, he questioned the Abhorsen, "Why did you hurt your hands so badly? The last Abhorsen made the flutes without a problem, but this is the second set you've made, and you always cut up your hands."
Duo smiled without humor, scratching Heero behind the ears as thanks for healing his hands. "I've never been any good at whittling, that's all. I know the spells and the principal to making a wind flute, but that doesn't mean it's easy. And I never had anyone to teach me."
"What do you mean? I thought-"
Before the Colonel could finish, he was interrupted by a flurry of knocking at the door. Opening it sent a young soldier tumbling inside, catching himself before he completely fell on his face and managing to give the Colonel some form of salute before breaking into a rushed "Message for the Abhorsen sir!"
Standing, Duo moved towards the soldier who couldn't have been nineteen, fresh out of recruitment. The soldier saluted Duo, though it wasn't necessary, and handed the teen the message in the form of a small, red, sparrowhawk.
The Colonel made to speak but Duo hushed him, lightly stroking the bird's head and speaking clearly, "I am the Abhorsen, Duo Maxwell. Speak your message."
The bird's head twitched as charter magic bloomed around it, swirling around Duo and brushing across the silver mark across his forehead, before it spoke in a worried, female voice, "Abhorsen! We're under attack. there's so many dead. they've broken the charter stone. We can't stop them, and the fog. Please, help us. Ganel Village. We're trying to find water. Please-" The bird chirped and began to preen its wings, happy the message had been delivered.
The Colonel, forcing himself to sound relaxed, tucked his thumbs into his belt loops and leaned back onto his heels, looking at the strange little bird. "Care to tell me what that was about? Or was I just imagining that bird was talking?"
The Abhorsen shook his head and the Colonel noticed the trembling was gone, replaced with the steal resolve he was used to seeing. Holding the bird lightly, Duo answered, "It's charter magic. The message is impressed onto the egg, and the hatching is sped up through magic. The bird is full size in hours, and will deliver the message to whomever it's meant for." Duo stepped outside, Heero jumping up to his shoulder quickly to avoid the mud and wet of the base pathways. Tossing the bird into the air, he watched it fly over the way before he turned back to the Colonel. "Thank you for the tea, but I have to leave right away."
"You can't leave!" Haden surprised even himself with the force of his outburst, but he pressed on, "You haven't eaten yet. You haven't slept for the last seventy-two hours, and like your cat said, I don't know when you slept before you got here. You've been carving all day and fighting the dead all night, you need to rest before you go anywhere!"
The Abhorsen shook his head, already heading for the gate that would lead him through the perimeter and to the wall. "I can't rest, not until I find that village and stop the dead. It's my duty."
"I won't let you pass."
Duo chuckled, "Colonel, I'd almost say you sound petulant. Please," he added, eyes soft, "Don't make me force my way through. I don't want to harm you or your men, but I must go."
The Colonel shook his head. "I really can't stop you, can I?"
The cat around Duo's neck sighed loudly, "Now you know what I put up with. Just let us through already, we're loosing light as it is."
The Colonel stopped at the observation platform and barked out orders. "I want a crossing garrison assembled now. The Abhorsen is leaving."
Soldiers scrambled to follow the orders and the Colonel watched with a calm eye. Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, Duo turned to see the soldier from before at his side, holding out a large basket. "I-I h-h-heard you w-were leaving before you c-c-c-could eat. Cook made you a b-b-b-ba-b-b- Cook made you lunch." He glanced nervously at the white cat draped around the Abhorsen's neck and added "T-there's some sardine tins t-there too."
Duo gripped the soldier's arm warmly and smiled. "Thanks, that'll help me out a lot. Thank you, and thank the cook for me, ok?"
The soldier nodded and scurried off, leaving Duo with the basket, stomach growling loudly at the prospect of food. Ignoring it, he approached the group of soldiers lined up in front of the Colonel and nodded. At that, the Colonel barked another order and they moved forward, the soldiers surrounding the Colonel and Duo as a kind of wedge. They didn't expect any sort of attack with the sun so clear overhead and no wind from the north to carry the magic across the wall, but there were rules to follow.
As such the group stopped just before the Wall, forming two lines, one on either side of the two in the centre. The Colonel gripped Duo's forearm and shook his hand firmly. "Take care of yourself."
Duo nodded, but didn't reply. Leaving the group, he walked towards the wall and the now-destroyed gate that once stood as an entrance, now only wooden shards and rusted hinges proving it existed at all. Stepping through to the Old Kingdom, he increased his pace, breathing the crisp fall air, welcome after the dank humidity of a late spring in Ancelstierre.
The change in weather wasn't the only difference between the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre, Duo thought. They don't have paperwings for one. He smiled and lightly patted the nose of his paperwing, a craft that flew with magic. It was shaped like a slim canoe, with hawk wings, made of hundreds of sheets of laminated paper. The green eyes painted on the front were partially sentient, the result of a thousand charter spells all bound together. Painted in the colours of the Abhorsen, blue and silver, it was Duo's main source of transportation throughout the Old Kingdom.
Unloading the basket into the back seat, he carefully strapped his sword and bells into their carriers along the inside of the craft, and climbed into the front seat, Heero still wrapped around his neck. Breathing deeply to begin the stream or charter magic needed to pilot the craft, Duo instead yawned, his exhaustion quickly catching up to him.
Heero batted at his ear, "You should have stayed there the night."
Duo ignored him, choosing instead to continue the breath, and began to whistle, charter marks for wind and flight and direction flowing out through his lips and catching the air, surrounding the paperwing even as he called in more winds to give them lift. The aircraft leapt into the air, balanced upon the Charter-called winds and its own inherent magic, and turned southeast, towards the Red Lake and the village of Ganel.
"At least stop for the night when it grows dark," a voice said into Duo's ear over the rushing wind, "you know well how much this thing hates the dark anyway, and getting to the village won't help them if you're too tired to even wield the bells properly! Don't be stupid!"
Duo pursed his lips, but finally nodded. "We'll set down for the night once we've lost our light, ok? The farther we go now, the quicker we'll reach the village tomorrow."
"Good."
Neither spoke of the fact that the village had come under attack this morning, or even earlier, for the messenger-bird to reach them. Neither wanted to mention the fact that it would likely matter very little when they arrived at the village, because, most likely, everyone would already be dead.
But neither mentioned this to the other, and so on they flew.
"Ah. Let me get this straight."
The voice was crisp and clear throughout the great hall,-delete and Quatre inwardly winced at the speaker's tone, but outwardly he met the dark eyes with his own calm blue ones and waited for the king to finish.
"The Clayr have finally 'seen' what Anclestierre is trying to do behind our backs. Or more specifically, you've seen the result of what they're going to do if I don't somehow stop them, from whatever it is they're doing. You know it means the destruction of our world and theirs as well most likely, if they're not stopped. And the only advice your people have to give me is that I leave with you in a paperwing to a village off of the Red Lake. In the hope I'll find whatever or whoever I need to fix the problem I don't know about yet."
Quatre nodded, expression firm. "Yes, my lord."
His Royal Highness, King Wufei or the Old Kingdom, sat back in his throne and massaged his temples, suppressing a groan. He stared again at the messenger the Clayr had sent, a thin, young testament to their kind. His hair was a golden blond, eyes cobalt blue. While most Clayr had deeply toned golden brown skin, he was pale and a little sunburnt in the face. Instead of the white robes and moonstone jewelry his people were famed for wearing, he wore sensible clothing fit for an expedition, brown leggings and a grey tunic, a pale pink shirt underneath.
He looked impossibly young. Fourteen, fifteen at the most. True, Wufei himself was only seventeen, but still.
And yet, a message from the Clayr could not be ignored, or even postponed for a time, and it was a wise ruler who knew when to trust advice from greater sources, so his father had once said. Straightening, he motioned to a footman who scurried towards the podium. Wufei frowned, but the footman didn't even see it as he knelt down in front of the king. Royalty or no, the black-haired teen hated this kind of bowing and scraping reverence that the palace staff used towards him. And he'd yet to find a way to make them stop.
Ignoring the footman's mannerisms for the moment, Wufei stood, nodding to the Clayr as he spoke, "I'll be leaving with the Clayr messenger within the hour. Inform Lord Cavin that I wish to speak with him as soon as possible. Have Matilde meet me in my chambers."
"Yes m'lord, right away m'lord."
The footman left quickly, and Wufei walked towards the blonde, cursing his own height when he realized the Clayr could meet his eyes easily. Extending his hand to clasp the messenger's firmly (he certainly wasn't weak, which was a bonus if he had to be traveling with the boy) Wufei gave a small smile he hoped would be considered 'reassuring'. "If we're to travel together, you might as well call me Wufei. 'your Highness' and 'my lord' get tiresome quickly."
"Yes m- Alright, Wufei."
Quirking an eyebrow, Wufei continued, "Do you have a name, or will you be 'that Clayr messenger' for the whole trip?"
The blonde seemed to relax and even smiled in return as he responded. "My name is Quatre Winner. Quatre Raberba Winner. Thank you. for believing me."
Wufei led them out of the great hall and through the door beside his podium, into the halls of the castle. "What's not to believe? If the Clayr saw it, that means it's most likely going to happen. Not definitely, but it's the most likely outcome. I personally don't want anything happening to my country while it's under my rule. I certainly don't want to go down in history as the one who destroyed the Old Kingdom, after all."
Quatre chuckled at that as they turned past a pair of guards and entered a set of rooms that were obviously Wufei's. Standing by the bedside and packing a rucksack was an older woman, the grey just beginning to show at the temples of her severe hairstyle. Pointedly ignoring the prattling man behind her she tucked tunics and leggings into the pack with practiced ease. Turning when she heard Wufei cough, she nodded and gave the slightest hint of a curtsy with a practiced "Your Majesty" before she turned back and continued to pack.
The older man broke off his litany and bowed deeply before stalking towards his king, argument ready on his lips as he stopped before the two.
"My lord I hear you plan to leave with this-"
"Don't even bother, Cavin. I'm leaving,-delete with the Clayr messenger. I'm leaving you in charge. Don't kill anything while I'm gone."
"B- but! Your Majesty! You just can't leave! Plans must be laid, an escort assigned, duties shifted."
"I'll take no escort and I'm leaving in the hour. I leave the running of this kingdom in your capable hands. Don't say you can't handle it, since you've done it before. I trust you. Now, is there anything actually life-threatening you need my presence for, or can I see what Matilda's doing now?"
Quatre watched as the older man seemed to deflate, and smiled at the good-natured sigh that followed, "Oh, there's no reasoning with you. Go, and be safe, for goodness sake! You're supposed to be king but all you ever seem to do is run off."
Wufei smiled and surprised the blond Clayr when he joked back at the man, "Yes, but I run well."
The two chuckled, and Cavin bowed to the kind again before leaving, nodding to Quatre as he left. Wufei stepped forward and looked over the woman's shoulder as she tied the flap of the rucksack down. "What have you packed of me, Matilde.?"
They quickly went through the packed bag, Wufei happy the woman had packed light and efficiently, though he expected no less. The castle staff was used to his 'excursions' outside, often taken without informing his lords, and they quietly enjoyed the slight havoc Lord Cavin could create when he realized the King had left again. Now though, on such an official absence, they could find little reason to grin. The Clayr rarely left their glacier home to deliver good news, after all.
Everything was seen to, and true to his word, Quatre and the king were on the castle roof, loading the Clayr's paperwing for their journey, within the hour. Once loaded, Quatre offered to let Wufei pilot but he declined, choosing rather to allow Quatre, who he said had a better idea of where they were going, to lead them.
Whistling down the wind, they headed towards Ganel Village.
Duo had been forced to eat once they made camp, and fell asleep before his head hit the ground. Now, the glow of morning reaching even through the thicker trees of the woods ahead, he prepared to move forward on foot.
Laying a hand on the nose of the paperwing, he called forth the charter marks for protection and distraction and stealth, and laid them over the craft's body, where the marks shimmered and disappeared, taking the craft with them. Now no one would know the paperwing was even there, unless they walked directly into it, which wasn't likely in such an abandoned area.
Turning towards the woods again he heard a whistle and looked up to see a second paperwing, this one in the red and gold of royalty, approach from the north. It quickly drew closer and landed in the clearing, the two occupants wasting no time to climb out.
There was no doubt the first teen was the king, his angular features and black hair and eyes a trademark of the royal family at the moment. His companion was unknown to Duo, but he held the blond hair and blue eyes of the Clayr, even without their brown skin and moonstone jewelry. Striding towards the pair, he saw Wufei tense, and then relax as he recognized the auburn-haired boy. Duo bowed quickly, then straightened. "Your majesty, what the hell are you doing here?"
Wufei ignored the comment. "Hello, Abhorsen." He bowed back, then raised an eyebrow, "I'm here because the Clayr have sent me. This is Clayr Quatre Raberba Winner. Quatre, this is the Abhorsen, Duo Maxwell." They shook hands and Quatre jumped as another voice joined the group.
"If you plan to ignore me, I can always claw out your eyes when you sleep." The white cat seemed to grin as Duo picked him up and laid him over his shoulder.
"Quatre, well met. This is Heero."
The pale boy was even whiter than before, "He's.but. he's Free Magic! How can you? How can he?!" he stepped back from the pair.
"Easy boy." Duo put a calming hand on the blonde's shoulder. "He's a Free Magic spirit, yes, but look at his collar. Feel it."
Tentatively, the blond reached his hand out towards the white creature, who thankfully was staying completely still. Placing his fingers on the red leather of the collar, he thought he heard a bell jingle before he fell into the Charter, a swirling pool of warmth and light, the marks welcoming him home like an old friend. Regretfully, he pulled away and staggered for a moment before regaining his balance. The cat was still smiling at him, but he knew as long as it wore the collar he would be safe.
"He is bound to me and my family, he will not harm you, Clayr Quatre."
The blonde shook his head, already ignoring the cat. "Just Quatre is fine. You are heading to Ganel Village, correct? We are as well. We should go together."
Duo shook his head, "I get the feeling the Clayr 'saw' something I don't know about yet. You can explain it on the way. But let's hide your paperwing first, shall we?" He stepped forward towards the craft, but Wufei beat him to it, casting the spell for concealment and making the red and gold craft disappear. Duo shrugged, happy not to waste his own power when it was far from normal strength, and led the way through the woods that surrounded the village on three sides, with the Red Lake protecting its fourth.
They walked for some time, following the faint trail that wound through the trees. The woods were dark, sunlight piercing through branches to forge shafts of golden light, only to disappear into the darkness before ever touching the ground. Duo could sense death nearby, strong and recent. It made him shudder, Heero's warmth doing little against his neck. He knew the cat could feel it too; the wrongness of the area was almost palatable.
Carefully, speaking so that only Heero could hear as Wufei and Quatre walked slightly ahead, Duo whispered, "I can sense the Charter Stone, or what's left of it. They didn't have a chance."
Heero grunted in agreement.
Watching the pair in front of him, he suppressed a sigh. He much preferred to work alone, or with Heero. And working with a Clayr-child and a spoiled King were not on his list of fun things to do with an afternoon.
And considering what Quatre had told him, it looked like he would have to baby-sit the pair while dragging them through the Old Kingdom- and Gods forbid if something happened to the king in that time!
Quatre's pace had noticeably slowed. "I think. something's wrong. And someone is watching us."
The three stopped and Duo noted gratefully that Wufei took up position opposite the blond Clayr with Duo. It looked like he might not have to worry about the king quite so much, though it still remained to be seen if he could wield the sword he drew from his back (ignoring the twin blades at his sides for some reason). The steel glinted in the light, and Duo could see Charter Marks flash along its surface.
"Where?" Wufei's voice was low. Another point for the king, Duo thought, even as he cast around for their watcher, drawing his sword and running a hand along the bell bandolier across his chest.
Quatre shook his head. "I can't tell. there's something wrong, something cold, only different."
"The Charter Stone ahead has been broken. That's what's interfering with your empathy." Heero's hair was on end as he waited by Duo's feet. Wufei flinched away from the Clayr at the cat's pronouncement, but didn't have time for a comment before Duo felt a surge of Free Magic to his left and turned, meeting a descending blade with his own..
It was a human, most likely recently dead or only tainted with a dead spirit to do another's bidding, because his form was whole and he looked alive, the smell of necromancy and Free Magic the only reason Duo thought different. He had probably belonged to the village, he thought distractedly as he fought the attacker's advances.
He was incredibly fast with the sword he used, forcing Duo to simply meet the attacks rather that forge his own. The attacker's sword was unspelled, and when it met with the braided teen's weapon sparks flew, singing his rugged clothing, though he did not notice.
When Duo met his eyes he was surprised at the hatred that was there, buried underneath a calm clarity. There was something very strange about his attacker, that was certain.
Quickly, he retreated back, gaining space between him and the teen attacking him (for he looked Duo's own age, perhaps a year or two more) and called out to Wufei, who had been waiting, unable to interrupt the battle without risking injury to the Abhorsen.
Wufei stepped forward at the call and released the Charter Spell he'd been holding onto, watching as it slammed into the dead thing, the Abhorsen rolling out of the way at the last second, his hand to his chest.
Briefly Wufei worried if the Abhorsen had been hurt, but instead quickly returned his attention back to the dead being as he saw the Abhorsen remove a bell from the bandolier across his chest.
The creature should have been killed, or at least slowed, by the Charter spell, but instead it flipped back up onto its feet and jumped over Wufei's head, flipping far above the reach of his sword, landing and racing towards the blond Clayr, who stood with his own twin shotels, spelled so brightly they shone. The only problem was that Quatre was shaking so badly both watchers doubted he would survive the onslaught.
Duo moved to ring the bell in his hand but staggered as his raised arm was raked from behind with an ear-splitting "TSEEEEEEER" and the bell sounded clumsily, causing everyone to flinch as power rolled over them like a blanket, almost smothering before Duo silenced it.
He didn't drop the bell, but it was a near thing as he clutched his bleeding arm to his chest. The bird turned quickly and came at him again, this time aiming for his face. Dodging out of the way, he could see Wufei was racing towards Quatre as the blonde staggered underneath the blows raining down on him.
Using his sword, Duo drew two quick Charter marks in the air between him and the bird then sent them out, knocking the creature from the sky and onto the ground. It immediately leapt up to fly again, but Heero was faster, and landed on the bird with a heavy thump, knocking it back and pinning it to the ground.
Turning back to the battle, Duo watched as Wufei flew back from the pair, winded and ill from the Free Magic blast the teen had sent into his chest. He'd knocked the shotels from Quatre's hands and had raised his sword for the killing blow when Duo rang the bell in his hand, the clear, deep sound of Saraneth filling the woods with its voice, and freezing the dead creature to the spot.
Duo completed the figure-eight ring he had learned through ease of practice and bound the creature to his will, slipping Saraneth, the Binder, back into its pouch as he drew Kibeth, the Walker. This was all done with one hand; the other held his sword towards the creature, who Duo wanted a closer look at before sending him beyond the Seventh Gate.
He fought against Saraneth's hold, muscles straining so hard Duo would have worried he would hurt himself if he wasn't already dead. It wasn't of any use, Saraneth's, and Duo's, wills were strong, and the creature was held firmly, forced to drop his sword and kneel as Duo approached.
Quatre was suppressing a scream, or several, and was crawling away from the bound teen as fast as he possibly could. Duo returned his attention to his attacker, knowing Wufei would look after Quatre, or at least keep him from hurting himself, while he dealt with the problem at hand.
The teen's auburn hair covered one eye, but the other frantically searched the clearing, looking from Duo's face to his bells, to the sword firmly pressed to his neck, to the blonde scurrying away from him, to the bird laying in a crumpled heap in the grass, and back to Duo again. There was terror in his face, even as he fought to hide it.
And still he said nothing.
Duo was used to the dead begging, bribing, anything in an attempt to remain in Life. Such silence, even during the attack, was unnatural. Using his sword, he carefully lifted the fringe of hair that covered the teen's forehead and half of his face, to find a Charter Mark, still blazing and bright, between his brows.
Wufei was at his side, "Your cat is with Quatre, not that that's helping any, but at least he isn't moving anymore. Why haven't you killed him yet?"
Duo shook his head and tentatively laid two fingers over the boy's Charter Mark, keeping his sword pressed against his throat - just in case.
It was the Charter, pure and whole. An untainted mark. Its warmth surrounded Duo and welcomed him as an old friend, but even then he could sense the outer core of Free Magic this teen possessed. Worse, he was bound- not by Saraneth, or not wholly by Saraneth, but by something Duo equally recognized.
When he removed his fingers Wufei shifted into his line of sight, arms crossed over his chest. "Well?"
Rather than answer, Duo replaced Kibeth and withdrew another bell, watching as the teen's eye widened in fear. He was afraid of Duo, and the bells. Not because he was dead, or possessed, but because he had seen a necromancer use them, recently. And Duo had a sinking suspicion that the teen hadn't only seen the necromancer use them.
Dyrim was the Speaker, a tricky bell. The cold metal felt jumpy in Duo's hand, even as he sheathed his sword and held the clapper firmly against the side of the bell, refusing to allow it to sound without his guidance. He forced himself to calm, to ignore Wufei's questioning voice or Quatre's heavy breathing, until he was certain of his hold, both on the bell and his will.
He swung it, counterclockwise over his head and into the ever-familiar figure eight pattern, this time moving from right to left as Dyrim sounded, a raucous, clattering melody, wrapping the listeners with its spell even as Duo forced it to focus solely on the teen in front of him.
He felt the binding break before the flash of light blinded him and he quickly silenced Dyrim, slipping the bell back into its leather carrier on his chest. A spoken Charter mark and the teen fell forward, freed from Saraneth. He immediately pushed past Duo too fast for the teen to even register the movement, and stopped to sweep the bird into his arms, cradling it to his chest defensively. Wufei had already taken the boy's sword, but the boy produced small, silver throwing knives Duo had no doubt he could use. Rather than risk another battle, Duo held up his hand, choosing his words carefully.
"I'm not a necromancer, calm down." Duo inwardly winced at how foolish the words were, considering what the teen had likely been through. "I'm the Abhorsen, Duo Maxwell. Your village sent for me."
"How - " The teen's visible eye widened and he sputtered as he worked his mouth "I can speak again. how? How do I know you're the Abhorsen?"
Duo fought the urge to grin. The teen wasn't easily distracted, even by the return of his voice. "Well, for starters, I'm wearing his clothes, so I think he'd miss them if it weren't for the fact they're mine so I don't. And I took the binding the other necromancer placed on you off, so you can speak again. And I'm walking around with the king and one of the Clayr, which I doubt a normal necromancer would do."
The green eye narrowed. "He doesn't look much like a king. And he certainly doesn't look like a Clayr."
Duo chuckled, "Yes, well."
"You're not dead yet. I stress the word yet. Since we haven't killed you, and you were expecting the Abhorsen to come, either lead us to your village or stand aside. Or I will lose my temper."
"Well, he talks like a king." The teen stood, sheathing his knives as he did so. Wufei in turn sheathed his own sword, regretfully handing back the smaller weapon he'd relieved from the boy. All three turned towards the frantic Clayr.
"S-stay away from him! He's an abomination! Can't you sense it?! The Free Magic- he's covered in it! Get away from him!"
The auburn haired boy shook his head, the bird in his arms stirring. Now that Duo could actually look at it closer, he could tell it was Free Magic as well, similar to Heero, but different at the same time. He placed the bird (already recovered from Heero's attack) on his shoulder and stepped forward towards Quatre, whose cries and frantic movements only grew louder and more pronounced. The blonde tried to move away, but Heero was sitting on his chest, and try as he might, he could not move the cat or move farther back himself. Which only made his cries the louder.
Duo stopped the approaching teen with a hand on his shoulder, the one without the strange bird perched on it, but the boy shook his head, "He can sense my Free Magic. A few can. I can help him, so it doesn't hurt him, but I have to get close. Don't worry, I won't harm him."
It seemed to be a large sentence for the boy, and he lapsed back into silence even as he drew nearer to the frightened Clayr. Duo glanced at Wufei, who stood angled to the group, charter spell ready to throw at the teen if he tried to harm Quatre in some way.
Quatre, eyes white and face even paler, was now whimpering in pain. Faintly, Duo thought he heard the brown-haired boy murmur "easy, little one" but it was too faint to be certain. Looking carefully, he watched as their former attacker placed his hands on Quatre's shoulders, and then his temples. There was a flair of Charter Magic, and the burnt, acrid smell of Free Magic, and the Clayr opened his eyes clearly once again, looking up into the face of his uni-banged savior. or possibly attacker. He wasn't sure.
What he was sure about was that the pain was gone, and he said as much before he keeled over in a dead faint.
The teen, sweat glistening on his forehead, staggered a few steps away and collapsed in a heap, knees drawn up to his forehead as he fought the racking shudders that shook his lithe frame.
Cautiously, Duo approached, trying not to gag as the waves of free magic rolled off of the teen, the metallic stench raising bile in his throat. But even as he approached the smell began to fade and by the time he stood next to the hunched teen, it was barely noticeable.
Tentatively, he laid his hand on the shoulder of the shaking boy, "Hey, are you alright?"
The bird was the one to answer, running his beak through sweat soaked bangs to comfort, Duo supposed, as the teen below him fought to calm his breathing.
"He'll be fine in a few minutes. It's been a trying week."
Duo thought he heard a chuckle, or perhaps a sob, from the teen, but it was too quiet to be certain and the sound wasn't repeated. Looking at the bird, he saw a band of silver charter marks around its leg, shining brightly against the dark skin. Carefully, he reached out to touch it, quickly finding the charter, more marks than he ever knew existed flashing before his eyes. Pulling back, he avoided the bird's knowing eyes and offered the teen a hand up, which he took hesitantly.
Standing, the teen stood a few inches taller than Duo, but his head was bowed and he refused to look Duo in the eye. He's as taut as a coiled spring, Duo thought, and laid a hand on the teen's arm, only to have him flinch away. But he didn't move from where he was standing, and he still refused to meet Duo's eyes.
Wufei stalked forward, one of his twin daggers drawn, their Charter Spells glowing faintly. Again, the other teen flinched away, but did not move. Duo watched in interest as the teen's hands clenched into fists, but still he held his spot.
I think he's waiting for us to do something, Duo thought to himself. But what?
"What are you?" Wufei's voice was angry, his eyes hard. He ignored the bird on the teen's shoulder, even as it grew larger and more threatening, and focused on the thing that had attacked him. The Abhorsen had checked the charter mark he bore, currently hidden under a fall of brown hair, but there was no denying the Free Magic stench that the teen held. Was it even human, Charter Mark or not?
Duo laid a placating hand on the King's shoulder, but it was ignored. Instead, Wufei pressed his dagger into the teen's throat and forced him to look up into their faces, his green eyes flat and emotionless.
Duo could see despair in the teen's expression, and total surrender in his eyes. He wondered if Wufei saw it too, but doubted it as the King repeated his question, impatient for an answer. Absently, Duo wondered why the bird hadn't attacked yet, unless it had less of a connection with its master than Heero did with Duo, which was possible.
The teen still did not really meet their eyes, staring past them as he answered Wufei's question, voice flat. "I have no name. The people in the village called me Trowa. Trowa Barton. If you must call me something, call me that. As to what I am, I do not know."
"Your Charter Mark is clean, so you cannot be a Free Magic sorcerer, but still you reek of its power. Perhaps you have simply learned a way to control the Charter as well, or to manipulate your mark?"
"I am not a sorcerer!" The last words were said with venom, anger, making Duo want to step back, even though the anger was directed at Wufei. Now, Trowa met their eyes. "I'm no sorcerer. If I was, I could have stopped them when they attacked.."
"So you are from the attacked village? Where is it? Can-"
Wufei interrupted "How do we know you weren't the one who attacked them?"
The result of that statement was instantaneous. The smell of Free Magic billowed, making the pair gag, and Trowa was suddenly past WuFei's blade and pressed against him, one of his own daggers against the King's throat, drawing blood, as he held Wufei's arm and dagger away from his body. "How dare you? How dare you?."
Duo had seen enough. "Shut up, both of you. Trowa, let the king" he stressed the word "go. Wufei, get off your bloody horse and stuff it. Trowa; now, if you don't mind."
Trowa pushed the King back where he landed with a thump, sputtering angrily. Duo didn't even let him begin. "Wufei, can it. Trowa, your village, if you please. Did anyone survive?"
Trowa was silently shaking his head as Wufei stopped sputtering and rose to his feet, confused. "Can what?"
Duo sighed. "Oh for the love of..It means 'shut up'. It's an Ancelstierran phrase, ignore it. Why don't you pick up Quatre, since I'll doubt he'll be coming to any time soon and I don't want him left alone."
"And leave myself open to attack from this, this abomination?! And why are you using Ancelstierran anyway?"
Duo walked away and leaned his head against the nearest tree trunk, lightly thumping it to accent his words. "Why (thump), why did I agree (thump) to go with them? (Thump) This would be so much easier alone."
"And with me, of course." Heero hopped onto his shoulder and lightly dug his claws into Duo's unprotected neck, making the teen yelp. "Turn around, Abhorsen. And do your duty."
Duo did turn, and found Wufei an interesting shade of red, somewhere between anger and embarrassment. Looking to where the King was staring, he saw Trowa re-settling the still-comatose Quatre on his back, leaving, Duo noticed with no little amusement, himself completely open to attack.
Trowa walked passed Wufei without a word, but stopped at Duo's side. His expression was unreadable, but he looked up to the sky, and a bird screeched. "Shouka will watch for attack. This way."
Duo did not smirk at Wufei as he followed Trowa's lead, and he was fairly proud of his self restraint at that. Heero however, wrapped around his master's neck, was in a perfect position to do so. And smirk he did, gloating all the way to Ganel Village.
//End Chapter One
(:./elemental/abhorsen)
