New Fanfic: The Stone of Asphallys
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except the O/C, That pleasure goes to Tanya Huff.
Synopsis: I don't want to say much... I can't think of anything to say that won't give it away.
Thanks: I'd like to thank Cindy for betaing, you did an amazing job. Thankyou!
Rating: PG
Please be kind when you comment, oh but do comment!
The Stone of Asphallys
Chapter One
"Vicki, your six o'clock is here," Coreen shouted from the other room.
"Send her in," Vicki replied wearily. It had been a long and tiring week, and this was her last appointment before she could look forward to a case free weekend at her apartment with bad movies and even worse Chinese.
Vicki looked up as a young woman in her late teens/ early twenties walked into her office. Her pale skin and blood red lips were offset by black combat trousers, a black vest and a pair of Doc Martens. Raven hair completed the overall look and tumbled down the length of her back.
Vicki chuckled silently to herself. God, this girl looks like she stepped right out of the pages of Snow White.
She continued to stare as the girl sat down in the chair opposite her desk, and assumed a casual posture.
"How can I help you, Miss…?"
"My name is Adonica Rayne, Miss Nelson, and I need to find somebody. Fast." The girl's voice contained an air of confidence and urgency, despite her apparent youth.
Vicki found that she was immediately impressed by the girl and responded quickly. "Well, that's what I'm good at. So, who do you need to find?"
"A man named Henry Fitzroy," The reply was blunt and to the point.
"Henry Fitzroy?" Vicki was momentarily shocked but quickly regained her composure. We don't know why she needs to see him yet, so just calm down and get the facts straight first.
"Do you have a picture of this guy? Any thing I can go on?"
"Actually I do have something for you. Or should I say, you have something." The sarcasm in the girl's voice was plainly evident.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Vicki didn't appreciate Adonica's tone of voice, and didn't care in the least whether she sounded rude or unprofessional.
The girl sat forward in her chair and her eyes settled on a spot just below the cuff of Vicki's sleeve."I was referring to the bite marks on your wrist. They're from Henry."
"Alright, now hold on a minute…" Vicki immediately felt cornered, and attempted to stall for time.
The steeliness of the girl's gaze never wavered. "Miss Nelson, I'm going to find him anyway, so you might as well just help me and make things easier. For both of us."
Vicki refused to be intimidated. "I don't know any Henry Fitzroy, but for $500 dollars a day I would be willing to…" Her voice caught in her throat as the unmistakable sensation of cold metal made contact with her skin. She gingerly raised a hand to her throat and her fingers curled around a pair of scissors that were seemingly poised in midair. The girl remained seated with a melancholy smile on her face.
"I wanted to do this the easy way Miss Nelson, but I don't have much time. I need to know where he lives, now!" The sense of urgency returned full force, and for just a moment, Vicki was certain that the girl's resolve wavered slightly. As if she hated to rely on such tactics to get the information she needed, yet felt that the ends would ultimately justify the means.
"How… how are you doing this?" Vicki couldn't seem to make her mouth form the words correctly.
"Another time Miss Nelson. I promise that as soon as I've seen Henry, I will tell you all I can." The resolve wavered a little more. "Please Miss Nelson?"
Vicki decided that perhaps the girl's intentions were not geared towards violence and destruction-which was hard to do, considering the scissors weren't going anywhere-and told her unwillingly: "He lives in the high rises at the other end of town. Top floor." She prayed that her gamble would pay off and that she would have enough time to warn Henry before the girl found him.
A small sigh of relief escaped the girl's lips. "Thank you."
She stood up and the scissors bounced harmlessly to the floor. Walking briskly towards the front door, she turned around and said over her shoulder: "Miss Nelson, you're a good friend. Henry is lucky to have someone like you looking after him."
The moment she was out of the office, Vicki rushed to the phone and dialed Henry's all-too- familiar number. It was seven minute until sunrise; at least Henry would have time to get the message before the girl got there.
*******
As Henry took his first breath of the evening, he heard the familiar beep of his answering machine. He sighed, thinking it was probably Vicki asking him to meet her at some bar to watch a cheating spouse. He got out of bed and went to listen to the message, which was from Vicki, but it was anything but mundane or entirely expected.
"Henry, something weird just happened. A girl who called herself Adonica Rayne was just in my office, and she said she needed to talk to you urgently, but that's not the weird part! She put scissors to my neck without actually holding them, and I'm sorry, but I had to give her your address. Thankfully she let me go, and I called you as soon as she left to warn you before she got there. Please let me know when you get this."
Henry laughed despite himself as he envisioned the meeting between Vicki and his old friend Adonica, and he wished he could have been there to see it. He had to admit that Vicki sounded remarkably calm about the whole thing-not many people who had come face to face with Adonica could lay claim to that. The fact that she had had to use force to obtain the information concerning his whereabouts from Vicki was sobering, and he found himself wondering just what was so urgent that she had to see him immediately about. A quick glance at his watch indicated that she should be here any moment.
******
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on his door and he immediately sensed Adonica's presence. Using his vampire speed, the door was opened before she could knock again.
"Adonica."
He took in her appearance with equal speed, and it was apparent that something was wrong; her normally pale skin was ghostly, the flesh around her eyes was tired and tear stained, and her swollen lips were a deep, almost painful looking blood red. The once-familiar innocent blue depths of her eyes were gone, and had been replaced by twin bloodshot orbs.
"What happened Adonica?" There was no denying that something drastic had recently occurred in her life. Her appearance alone confirmed that suspicion.
"Can we go inside Henry?" She asked weakly.
Henry moved his arm from the door and guided her inside, shutting the door behind her. He moved towards the couch and sank down on the cushions, then patted the seat next to him. She obliged gratefully and sat down wearily next to him. Fresh tears began to spill down her pale cheeks, and Henry pulled her into a firm embrace and held her as she began to weep, her frail frame shuddering as she sobbed loudly.
They sat there together while she wept, neither one saying a word. When the tears finally stopped, Adonica pulled back from Henry and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Henry," she began, her voice barely above a whisper, "something terrible has happened."
He tenderly stroked her cheek and gently moved a strand of her hair from her face. "Tell me."
"Lucas walked" she replied simply.
"What?" Henry was overcome with shock and grief. "Why?"
"Henry, my mum was murdered, and Lucas simply couldn't bear the pain of her loss, so he walked into the sun the very next day."
The tears threatened again, and Henry attempted to remain calm for her sake. "How did Sara die?"
"She was doing her job-she was guarding the stone."
Henry's grief and shock was overcome by panic. "The stone? Who has it now?"
The stone in question was the Stone of Asphallys, which contained within its depths the power to control both this world and the next-otherwise known as the underworld-and Adonica's family had been entrusted with its safe keeping for generations. Ever since the stone was first discovered, one member of each successive generation was charged with guarding the stone at all costs, which in the case of her mother, Sara, included her very life. Adonica's family had been chosen for this task because the female line had natural witch abilities which manifested themselves in many different forms. Adonica's ability was telekinesis; her mother's had been teleportation.
"I have the stone Henry, and it's in a safe place. For now." The listlessness in her voice indicated that she was beyond exhausted.
"You need to sleep." It was as much a statement as it was a request.
His questions could wait until tomorrow, but right now she needed to rest. Henry lifted Adonica up and moved into his bedroom, then placed her on his bed and removed her boots. The minute he left the room his sensitive hearing detected that her heart beat had slipped into a methodical slow rhythm. She was sleeping.