Meetings in Strange Places V: The Enemy of My Enemy is Hard to Predict
[After this.]
Roger is talking. It’s been over a week, and he is still talking.
“...Of course, upon my return, I presented my superiors with a full report of my success. It was said to be the most auspicious first mission in the history of the Watchers Council....”
Fortunately, Wesley has a lifetime’s experience in tuning his father’s voice down to an accusatory drone.
Angel, meanwhile, has spent the last week longing for a sharpened stake.
“...Little did I know that my second mission would herald an even greater triumph....”
”GAH!!” Angel yells. “Nine DAYS, and we’re only up to your SECOND mission?”
Roger glares, “I had thought, given the length of our journey, that a full account would pass the time most effectively.”
“It took you five hours to tell us about your first day at the Academy! At least they beat you up.”
Roger huffs, “I should have known a ruffian such as like yourself would have no appreci--.”
“Who are you calling a ‘ruffian’!?”
”Excuse me--, Wesley interrupts (for he’s-lost-count how many times). “But I believe that is what we’ve been looking for?”
Angel and Roger manage to stop glowering at each other long enough to look where Wesley is pointing. Roger squints, then gives a grunt of triumph. “Indeed, yes! You see? The Pillar of Diomedes.”
Angel looks skyward. “You know what? I don’t even care that he’s right. Just don’t let that be a mirage.”
The last twenty minutes pass quickly. The Pillar is a tall, dark line, nearly fifty feet high, rising up from the pale gray landscape. As they come near to it, Wesley can see its fine-lined surface, as if the pillar were wrought from weathered basalt.
“Father. You still haven’t fully explained the importance of this place.”
“Because I shouldn’t have to. If you had read the Testament of Kolanus in your sixteenth year--as I distinctly remember having recommended to you--you would now recall that the Pillar of Diomedes is one of the foremost structures in the whole of Geburah.”
“The Testament of Kolanus says no such thing!”
“...Wesley. Must you interrupt everything I say?”
Wesley sighs. “No, Father.”
“Very well. The Pillar is vitally important in several respects, but foremost among them is the protection it confers on the Threshold Stone. An artifact of untold age, reputed to have the power to shepherd a soul safely across the passage from life to death. Or even, it is said, the other way. As you can imagine, the Council considers the safety of the Stone to be of utmost importance. If the Stone went missing, if it fell into undeserving hands, the consequences might be--almost certainly would be--disastrous.”
They are close enough now to see it. Angel has lost count of how many ancient artifacts he’s seen over the centuries, but this one is different. The way it glows. He can feel the demon stir deep within him, trying to make him walk away from it. Even Angelus doesn’t want anything to do with this, a thing too wondrous for any one person to possess.
Yet they cannot help but be drawn closer to it, until they have entered the chamber in the heart of the Pillar and stand, almost hovering over the lapis-colored, silk pillow on which the Stone rests. None of them can take his eyes off of it.
“The loss of the Stone would be incalculable. Under no circumstances will the Council tolerate its removal from this cradle. Such an act would be unthinkable. Even if one were to try stealing it and then fail in the attempt, the most extreme sanction would instantly fall on the would-be thief’s head. He would not only risk disgrace, but banishment to the very worst of the hell dimensions. And worse, should he succeed in stealing it, the Council would muster all its resources to find him, and thereby render his life and soul forfeit.”
Roger falls silent. Then leans forward and picks up the Stone. “Here.”
Wesley is stunned. “...But you said--.”
“I know what I said, boy! Now take it!”
“I... don’t understand.”
“It will protect you. The spell of precognition. What I saw--. It was much more than they realized.” Roger’s face grows stern. “Wesley, you must take this.”
Wesley eyes him suspiciously. “Father, what did you see?”
“Dammit, this is no time to argue! I have taken the Stone from its resting place. The act is done. There’s no point in hesitating now.”
Slowly Wesley puts his hand out. Roger places the Stone in his hands.
“Why?”
“Because I--. I--,” Roger stammers, then steadies himself. “Your mother. She was beside herself when she heard what happened to you.”
Wesley cannot even begin to decipher the shifting look in his father’s eyes. “She was upset?”
“Wesley, I--. She. Yes, she would have things put right again. So, of course, we must see it done.”
His father blurs for a moment, but Wesley quickly blinks away any show of the emotion passing through him.
Angel is perfectly still, unable to believe what he’s seeing. Then, finally, Wesley nods.
“Yes, Father. We must see it done right. For her sake.”