Time: Sunday evening, October 27. After the conclusion of the Conclave.
When the languidity spread again through Jim Ellison's system late Sunday evening, he was ready for it, this time understanding it represented the call to the spirit world. [This better the hell not happen when I'm at work,] Jim thought morosely as he climbed the spiral stairs to the upper level's mediation space. [And again Blair is out!] Grumbling to himself, Jim prepared as he had the night before when this happened - stripping, the bandana, the candles, the drum music...
The jungle came alive to his spirit vision, lush and ripe, filling his senses with sounds and smell... BLOOD??? The stench of blood filled his nostrils and the Sentinel gasped sharply, whirling around. He was alone in the jungle but for the birds and insects who played a descant to his own harsh breathing. Hastily he dialed that sense down, needing to locate the blood.
And his black jaguar guide was nowhere to be seen. Jim remembered the last vision, the one he'd shared with Julian Luna, then on the phone with "Golden", Thorne Severan, the Kindred who'd helped him in the vision. In that one, the jaguar was separate from him. But now...
[Jaguar...] Jim breathed, panicking as he started off in the general direction of the Temple. All he could think of was that his animal guide might be dead, which could mean he would be too in the near future! Or perhaps it only meant that he would lose his Sentinel abilities...
He stopped abruptly. So often he'd wished that his special powers would just go away, simplifying his life. He didn't want to be special, didn't want to have to keep hiding what he was. In fact, if it weren't for Blair, he'd have chucked it all long ago. But Incacha, shaman of the Chopek, had asked if he would accept the responsibilities of being Sentinel, and Jim had chosen. He could not lay that down again. How could he lose his powers, then? Moreover, he couldn't help but think, would Julian Luna still want him to become Kindred someday if he didn't have his special sensory and psychic powers? Luna had spoken of fate and destiny, that Jim and Blair had been drawn to San Francisco for a purpose... possibly to become Kindred.
His heart hammering in his chest from sheer fear, Jim plunged ahead to find what he would find, no matter what that was. But he never would have expected to come across a dead raven in his path.
Stunned, Jim knelt beside the Raven. It lay in a pool of its own blood, which trailed freely from its neck. [F...Frank?] Jim knew the Raven represented Detective Frank Kouhanek, the only other mortal he knew of besides himself and Blair who knew of the Kindred and was under Julian Luna's protection. If this was another future projection like last night's, then this awful murder hadn't happened yet. So there still might be time to stop it.
A wolf howl interrupted his musings. Looking up, the Sentinel saw, deeper in the jungle, two wolves running side by side away from him. Using Sentinel sight he recognized Scarred Wolf - Cash. The other wolf, reddish-brown, ran beside him. Watching, he realized they did not run from anything but ran for the sheer pleasure of running free. Jim found himself smiling, but his expression changed when he thought again of the Raven. [Those wolves... did they kill the raven?]
But to his astonishment, the dead Raven at his feet had disappeared.
Blair unlocked the door of the apartment, dumping keys and coat on the floor, going straight for the kitchen where he set his bag of groceries on the counter. All the while he muttered to himself, centering, for he already knew that Jim was having another vision - it's what hastened his arrival back home from his errands. [Coming, Jim, love,] he thought as he quickly tossed perishables in the fridge and frozen stuff in the freezer.
Blair headed upstairs to the meditation space at a dead-run, unheeding of anything in the material world in his need to get on the spirit-plane with Jim. Blair threw himself down, panting hard. He paused, trying to calm himself, to center his focus. His hand brushed against Jim's leg - with an unusual inner shock, suddenly the Guide was in the other world with his Sentinel... and in his own Spirit-form of the timber wolf.
Jim gaped one last time at the spot on the jungle floor where the Raven had been, then heard a rustling. Quickly turning and assuming a defensive crouch, Jim was stunned to see Blair's spirit wolf bounding toward him. [Chief, er, Wolf... I saw the Raven here, but it was dead.. now it's gone. And my jaguar's gone...]
The timber-wolf padded over to rub his head against Jim's leg in greeting, panting, smiling a wolfish smile up at the Sentinel. But at Jim's news, Timber barked once in surprise. [Dead!? The Raven is dead? Oh my gods! Frank!] The wolf then whimpered, [And your jaguar's gone? We've got to find it Jim!] The wolf's muzzle waved in the air for a moment, then the animal bounded off as Blair commanded, [Follow me! This way!]
The Sentinel didn't even get to pat the wolf's head before it disappeared into the jungle. [Wait, Timber, wait for me...] He followed the way the wolf had gone, moving deeper into the jungle.
Blair-Wolf paused once, turning to bark at Jim, and bounded off once again [We're almost there. I can smell Jaguar up ahead... and something else...] Timber shook his head as he ran, confused by the scents he smelled.
[Blood, I smell blood again,] Jim responded, feeling suddenly sick. As if he knew what he would find. But Jaguar couldn't be dead if Jim was alive... could he? Jim continued on, though dread followed his steps.
Timber stopped dead in his tracks as they entered the jungle clearing, the temple looming before them. He growled deep in his throat at what he saw, but didn't move.
The Sentinel moved silently around the wolf into the clearing before the Temple. There, before the entrance, lay the jaguar, alive but... yes, as Jim approached he could smell the blood thick in his nostrils, hear the large cat's whimpers. Stunned, he dropped to his knees at the animal guide's side. There was a large gash in the jaguar's neck, blood still seeping from it. But this was the Spirit Plane, and all might not be as it seemed. Still, Jim put his hand to the animal's neck to try to stop the blood. [Jaguar,] he called to his animal guide. [Jaguar, don't leave me... who did this?]
For a bad moment, Jim wonders if this had anything to do with Julian Luna's "tasting" Jim last night. But that was a past event, and last night's vision was about the future. And Luna had only made a small cut in his wrist to taste his blood. Did this all mean that something about his involvement with Kindred was going to be interfering with his role as a Sentinel? Had he been wrong to trust Luna?
Timber whimpered as he nudged at the Jaguar's still form with his muzzle. Then he looked at Jim questioningly. [What happened to him, Jim?]
Abruptly a low, menacing growl startled Wolf and Sentinel who looked up to see a Stranger Wolf, one of those with green-gold eyes, snarling at them from a few feet away. [He's mine now!] the Stranger seemed to grumble at them, advancing. There was blood on its muzzle and long white fangs... Stunned, Jim looked down at the jaguar, realizing that this Stranger had bitten Jaguar! To his continued horror, the Jaguar seemed faded to a darkish gray.
Timber turned to snarl at the Stranger Wolf, trying to stand guard over Jaguar.
A weird wolf-cackle seemed to erupt from the Stranger, then to their further shock, Jaguar pulled out from under Jim's hand and with a burst of energy ran into the underbrush and was gone into the jungle. Startled, Timber and Sentinel fell back.
Stranger Wolf snarled at them again. [He is no longer yours, Sentinel!] Then he disappeared altogether.
Panicking, Jim started into the jungle. [Timber, we have to find Jaguar... help me find Jaguar...]
With a yip, Timber followed, hot on Jim's heels. [Coming, Jim!] The wolf was unable to clearly scent Jim's Spirit-animal, but he followed Jim anyway, hoping the Sentinel will find Jaguar.
Timber and Sentinel ran in the direction Jaguar had gone. On and on they ran, searching, the Shaman-Wolf using his Guide ways, the Sentinel using his senses.
The Sentinel tried to track Jaguar by the bloodscent, but the animal guide must have been too far away. He and Timber searched for what seemed like hours, even to tracking back to the now-abandoned Temple, but to no avail. Jaguar was gone.
[Timber, what am I going to do without Jaguar?] Despondent, Jim sank to the ground, crossing his legs, his head in his hands.
The timber wolf stopped to nuzzle his friend. He licked Jim's face, his muzzle cold against the Sentinel's skin.
Shuddering, Jim hugged the wolf, feeling helpless. Timber huddled in the Sentinel's arms, as Blair's calm voice said, [We tried, Jim. We won't give up. We'll find him, somehow... but right now... we need to go back home... back to the real world. You have to come with me, Jim. Concentrate with me, Jim.]
Jim focused on the wolf, nodding. Listening to the calm Guide voice in his mind, he closed his eyes.
[Follow me, Jim... you know where to go. You can feel the pull of it on us, even here. Our souls are being called back to our mortal bodies... follow that call, Jim. Follow it with me... feel the flow...] Blair's voice was steady in Jim's mind, a Guiding beacon.
With a sigh, Jim followed his Guide back, and awoke back in his body. Slumping forward, he took a deep shuddering breath, regaining his sense of the real physical world.
Blair woke to find himself lying on his side. He stayed there for a moment, catching his breath. "Oh man!" he groaned.
At first Jim wasn't aware of more than himself as his senses tried to realign in the wake of the trauma of losing his spirit animal in the spirit plane. He shook his head, blinked, shivered, suddenly feeling cold.
With effort, Blair pushed himself up off the floor and crawled over to take Jim into his arms, hugging him... needing this badly.
The sudden contact with a warm body as his arms filled with Guide shocked Jim back into himself somewhat. "Chief..." he got out hoarsely. "The jaguar..."
"I know... I know..." muttered Blair, miserable.
Then Jim realized, and another shock hit him. What he had seen, what they had witnessed in the spirit plane... hadn't happened yet. Like the vision of the Kindred wolves at the Conclave, this was precognitive. "Something is going to happen to me, something to take away the jaguar," Jim gasped, then looked down at Blair in his arms. "This hasn't happened yet!"
Blair looked up at Jim... his eyes wide. "Are you sure?"
Jim ran fingers down the side of Blair's face, using touch as usual to anchor himself. "The last vision was last night - Julian told me that tonight all the Kindred primogen would be meeting at the mansion for what he called a Conclave. Tonight. But I saw it last night."
"Oh." Blair pondered this as he lay in Jim's arms.
The Sentinel smiled briefly, touching his lover. "I don't think I've lost Jaguar yet, love... I've got all my senses, at least. So I'm pretty sure this hasn't happened."
"Good." Blair was still very uneasy about the Spirit Walk and what it had showed them.
Jim's face went suddenly blank. "Oh, my God, I forgot... the Raven!!"
"Frank... he's going to die, isn't he?" asked Blair sadly. "I hope that part of the vision is wrong..."
The Sentinel's expression darkened. "It hasn't happened yet. Maybe there's still time..." Hastily he kissed Blair on the cheek then uncurled and stood, releasing him. He trotted down the spiral stairs, Blair following, then arrowed over to the phone by the kitchen.
"What are you gonna do, man? Who are you calling?"
"Shh, Chief," Jim said, dialing. "Going to call a Raven." But when he called Frank's apartment, there was no answer. "Damn... Frank isn't home... and I don't know Sonny's number. I'd call Julian, but.. the Conclave."
Just then the phone rang, causing Jim to jump severely. He cast a glance at his partner, then answered it. "Ellison."
"Hey, Jim, it's Frank," came the voice on the other end.
Blank shock spread over the Sentinel's face. "Frank! Are you all right?"
"Um, yeah... what the hell kinda question is that, Ellison?"
"Frank?!" Blair exclaimed. He controlled himself and stood as close to Jim as he could, trying to listen in.
Jim retorted, "Don't tell me you're calling in sick tomorrow, Kouhanek..." He put a finger over Blair's lips, but leaned down so Blair could listen on the receiver.
There was a pause, then Frank Kouhanek replied, "Well, not exactly sick... But I have to take a two week leave of absence for a.. .er... a medical problem."
The Sentinel paused, too. He didn't know whether to tell Frank about the vision - the matter-of-fact detective would think he was crazy. But on the other hand his life might be at stake, no WAS at stake... "Frank, I have to tell you something strange..."
Blair pulled back to look at Jim... a bit worried. He listened closely.
Calling from his temporary room in the Camera della Luna, Frank considered that he'd got something that HAS to be even stranger, but he didn't have a go-ahead to tell Ellison about THIS particular thing. So he played dumb. "Yeah? My whole life is strange, as it is..."
Jim took a deep breath. "Your life is in grave danger." He considered quickly that he had to tell Frank SOMETHING to explain what he knows. "I'm, ah, sorta psychic, I know these things. I don't know when, but you, ah, could die."
Blair threw his hands up in the air, turning away to mutter under his breath, "Oh yeah, well-done, Jim. Very good. Very subtle." The whole thing still unnerved him.
Another pause. [Well, yeah, I *am* going to die,] Frank thought of his scheduled Embrace for tomorrow night. "Yeah?" Frank responded finally. "I'll... be all right, Jim, nothing to worry about." He didn't want to admit how this freaked him out. How could Ellison have known anything?
Jim ignored Blair's reaction for a moment. "Perhaps you should tell Luna... I've been right on about these things, unfortunately. Or I could call him."
"NO," Frank hastily answered. "Don't call Julian. Jim, thanks for the warning, but I'm going to be all right. Really. But please don't call Julian."
"O-kay..." Jim murmured, exchanging a puzzled glance with Blair. "I won't. You sure you're going to be okay, Frank?"
Frank closed his eyes, thinking about what he had to face tomorrow night. [Turn back from the Light, Cash said. That's all I have to do...] "Yeah. I'll be fine. Thanks. Oh, by the way, I called to ask if you could manage my paperwork for me..."
"Sure," Jim replied absently. [I did all I could do,] he thought, but he still wondered if he should call Julian Luna.
"Hey, great!" Frank laughed nervously. "Sorry to do that to you, man. This, ah, just came up. I'll see you in a couple weeks, then."
"Right, couple weeks." Jim suddenly felt very tired. "Night, Frank."
After hanging up the phone, Jim collected Blair into his arms, holding him close against the fears that threaten to haunt him. Dead raven. Bloody jaguar, then missing jaguar. Stranger Wolf.
"Are you going to call Julian about the vision?" Blair asked a few minutes later. They'd settled on the couch to snuggle, each lost in their own thoughts.
Petting his lover gently, Jim smiled down at him. "Can't. They're in the Conclave this evening, both Luna and Severan. I don't think I need to right now... we warned Frank and the rest was about me. Clearly I need to stay away from Nick Knight, but that's going to be tricky in the department. Maybe if I just stay on guard around him... I don't know."
"Jim, I really think you should..."
"Chief, I'm getting to be a pest... it'll be all right. Nothing bad's happened yet, has it?" Jim disentangled himself from his lover, rising then holding out a hand to help his lover up as well. "I'll try calling tomorrow."
Blair shrugged, trusting Jim to know what's best.
The End
