Acquainted With The Night

Part One

 

          “I’m not so sure this is a good idea Blaise.  We’re not even sure what this spell will do and if Thierry finds out we did it in his house…”

          The long, dark-haired girl tossed her head and pinned her blonde companion with a hard glare.  “Thea, we’re witches, we’re supposed to do spells, its natural.  Besides, we aren’t going to blow up the house or hurt anyone so it’ll be okay.  Now come on.”

          Together they set up the candles in the quest room Thea was staying in and used the salt to draw a pentagram on the wooden floor.  Careful not to disturb the lines they each stepped inside so that they were opposite each other.  Very slowly they reached out and grasped each other’s hands before closing their eyes.

          In unison they chanted the spell:

          “Blood calls to blood, from the past to the future.

           Dark warrior we summon, to aid us in our time.

 

           Travel to us with haste, for our need is great.

           Come to us now, and be one with the night.”

 

          The window flew open and a strong wind circled the room, the salt pentagram glowed brightly and the house shook violently.

………………….

          Duo grabbed onto the first thing he could, which happened to be an already irritated Heero, when the Academy started shaking.  Unfortunately the impulsive action also knocked both of them off balance causing them to land, hard, on Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa who had been sitting watching the animated argument between the two pilots.

          Duo’s violet eyes were blinded as a bright light surrousned them and he could faintly hear Heero’s shout.

          “Omae wo Kororsu!”

…………………..

          Thierry could smell magic in the air the second his house started shaking and, covering the steps two at a time he made his way to the quest quarters, noting absently that Hanah, Delos, Ash, Quinn, Rashel and Maggie had also followed suit.

          A bright light glowed under the crack of Thea’s door and without thinking he tried to tug it open but it wouldn’t budge.  Dimly he was aware of Quinn and Ash joining him and together they managed to somehow wretch it open.

          Squinting his eyes he looked at the center of the room where Thea lifted up on end by the force of the wind, and eyes closed.  As if in a trance the two stepped back three steps at the same time and in the name mechanical way.

          The area between was so bright that he had no choice but to look away.  When he looked back five boys were lying in a heap on top of the pentagram and both witches had sat down in exhaustion.  Trying to keep his voice calm Thierry said the first thing that came to mind, “What the Hell is going on here?”

…………………

          Duo struggled to sit up but stopped and eyed the man in the doorway as soon as he’d spoken.  Taking in his surroundings and the unusual room they were in, he whistled between his teeth.  “That’s a good question.”

………………….

          Thea looked from the braided boy in black to the blond vampire in the doorway and back, her mouth suddenly gone dry.  “Well, uh, Thierry we were… we were trying a-a new spell that we hoped would bring us a great ally from the future to help during the final battle… and, um,…”

          Blaise stood up, hands on hips and faced Thierry with a defiant gaze.  “We were trying to help Circle Daybreak’s cause but instead of a dark warrior of witch’s blood we ended up with five children!”

          “Omae wo korosu!”

          Thea spun and her eyes widened as the dark-haired, blue-eyes boy stood holding a gun trained on Blaise.

…………….

          Without thinking Duo stepped in front of Heero, between the dark-haired girl and the gun.  “No Heero.”

          Heero growled and cocked the trigger.

          Duo folded his arms over his chest and met Heero’s glare.  “Think Heero.  Killing anyone right now would be a bad idea, considering I think that the girl you’re about to shoot may have been in whatever it was that brought us here and if so, may be the only person to send us back.”  He grinned broadly, “’Sides, you wouldn’t shoot little ‘ole me, would you?”

          Heero’s eyes narrowed, “Maybe I’ll let her live and just kill you…”

          Quatre put a hand on Heero’s arm and gently pushed the unresisting limb down.  “Please.  Let’s just hear them out… then we’ll see what needs to be done, if anything.”

          “Hn.”

          Duo turned and smiled reassuringly at the pale blonde.  “Don’t worry about Heero, we’ve got him well trained.”  With a cocky grin he turned to his friend, “You’re such a good boy aren’t you Heero?”  He cooed the words like he was talking to a dog.

          As Heero lunged he danced backward out of the way as the other three restrained him.

          Without a care to Heero’s intentions Duo swung back to the blonde, “So care to explain what’s going on?”

…………

          Somehow Thea managed to croak out her story even as far as telling them the spell.  Thierry tossed her a disapproving look while the braided boy who’d introduced himself as Duo, wore an intrigued expression.

          It was the latter who spoke first.  “But in order for the spell to have worked, at least one of us has to be one of yours, you or Blaise’s, descendents.

          Blaise’s dark eyebrow rose, “But we called for a warrior.”

          Duo frowned as he looked at his four friends.  “And you got the best the future has to offer.  We’re…”

          The boy named Heero clamped a hand over his mouth, hard enough to leave bruises, despite the black glove he was wearing.  His cold cobalt eyes darted over them.  “We can’t trust them yet.  This could be a trick.”

          Duo pulled away wearing an exasperated expression, “Heero!  OZ already knows who we are and what we look like!”  He paused.  “Besides we’re talking witches, vampires, werewolves and shapeshifters here.  Not OZ soldiers, the Queen of the world, Preventers or Mecha.”

          All four of the other boys eyed him strangely but it was the blond, Quatre who spoke.  “Duo, you don’t really believe that do you?”

…………………..

          For a moment he stared back into Quatre’s big blue eyes.  Do I believe in this?  But he already knew the answer to that because as always he followed his heart and in his heart he knew it was true and he wasn’t afraid of that.  “Yes, Quatre.  I believe what she told us.  I believe about the Night World and I believe that witches, vampires, and everything else really do exist.”

          “You’re crazy!”  Wufei sputtered.

          “Baka!”  Was Heero’s reply.  Both Trowa and Quatre remained silent.

          Duo stood and looked out the still open window before turning back to his friends, leaning on the sill.  He met their eyes with a level, serious gaze.  His violet eyes dared them to argue.  “No, I’m not crazy.  Wufei and Heero… well you can’t be their descendents, right.  That leaves Trowa, Quatre and me.  I don’t think Trowa’s from their blood line either, it doesn’t feel right.  So that leaves Quatre and me, and I think I’m it.”

          “Why’s that?”  Trowa asked quietly sitting in a relaxed position next to Quatre.

          “I don’t lie, remember.”

          Quatre blinked, “O-kay.”

          Duo shook his head in frustration, “Quatre, THINK about it.  What do I call myself sometimes?”

          “Shinigami, the God of death.”

          “Right… I don’t lie Quatre.  I asked for help and I got him… he told me he couldn’t help most but I was special… different…”

          Quatre’s eyes rounded in worry.  “I knew you were working too hard.  Duo listen, when we get back we’ll take a vacation, alright?”

          Duo’s heart sunk, and he laughed bitterly.  “Well I should have known you wouldn’t believe me.  Guess I’ll have to prove it to you.”

          The voice in the back of his mind, the one who’d been there when he was nine seemed to agree and Duo let that which was Shinigami come forward.

……………………..

          Thea’s breath caught in her throat as Duo’s violet eyes glowed red and a strange almost dark aura surrounded him.  His eyes turned towards her.  “Greetings Thea Harman, daughter of Hellewise, daughter of Hecate, mother of all witches.  You know what I am do you not?”

          It was Blaise’s shocked exclamation that brought the unusual event to reality.  “Death!”

          Thea found it hard to relate the smiling Duo to the menace of the creature before her.  It was a surprise to hear herself speaking.  “He really is the one.  He’s one of us, a witch.”

          Death laughed, “And your great-grandson.  He would have been a Harman, had he been born a girl.  Unfortunately he knows nothing of his heritage because his parents were killed shortly after his birth.  But as you said in your spell.  Blood calls to blood.  His heart knows the truth even if his mind was never told.”  The glowing eyes dimmed.  “But I must go.  For me to take control of him like this, it drains him of energy badly.  Just remember you wanted a Dark warrior of witch blood and you got your wish, you got Death’s living partner.”

          With that the glow was gone, as was the aura.  Duo stood perfectly still, wearing a small smile, eyes glassy.  “Believe me now.”  It came out like a croak just before he collapsed into a limp heap.

……………….

          Without really realizing it Heero crossed the small space between them, catching Duo’s prone body before it even touched the ground.  Turning his eyes to Thea he simply said, “He’s a witch.”  No indication as to whether it was a statement or a question.

          She nodded her golden head as she knelt beside him, brown eyes full of concern, “Yes and the violet eyes also prove it.  They’re a trademark in the Harman family.”

          Heero looked down at his best friend’s face and felt his heart pound a little faster.  “Baka!”

……………….

          Heero eyed the group before him alertly but solemnly.  They had placed Duo on a bed upstairs and had sat starring resolutely at each other since.

          Next to him Quatre cleared his throat, “So, um, I believe you all know who we are would I be too bold to also ask your names in return.”

          Heero kept his expression neutral but he knew that if Thea or even Blaise were down with them instead of Duo things would be going a lot easier.

          A girl with reddish-brown hair and dark brown eyes, short in statue smiled.  “Sorry.  I’m Maggie Neely, I’m just human.”  She patted the guys next to her on the arm.  “This is Delos Redfern, he’s lamia or a vampire who can have children.  Next to him is his cousin Ash Redfern.”  This applied to a dangerous looking blond.  Next she pointed at a blond man who looked nineteen but unhumanly beautiful and a blonde girl with a light pink birthmark on her cheek.  “That’s Thierry and Hanah, this is Thierry’s house and he’s a vampire, a Lord of the NightWorld, Hanah’s an old soul.  Then there’s Quinn a made vampire, like Thierry but not as old and his soulmate Rashel who is a vampire hunter but she only kills the bad ones.”  This was in reference to a dark-haired couple.

          “Old soul?”  He found himself ask.

          This time Hanah nodded and answered him.  “My soul has been reborn on Earth for quite some time.  It’s best looked at as reincarnation.”

          “So I’m NOT the only one.”  The whispered comment drew everyone’s attention to Quatre as well as if he had screamed.

          Trowa’s eyebrow rose, “What do you mean?”

          Quatre smiled sadly and not for the first time his eyes looked older.  “Just what I said.  I remember things, know things I shouldn’t know.  I’ve know for a while… but thought it best kept to myself.”

          Hanah nodded in agreement.  “How far can you remember back?”  She said gently.

…………………

          Quatre shook his head, focusing on a place on the far wall.  “You don’t want to know.”

          A warm hand folded over his own and he looked up into Hanah’s eyes.  “You can tell me.  I’ll listen…”

          Quatre let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.  “I remember a time when Dragons ruled.”