8
:: December 23, 1999 ::
:: Manaus, Brazil ::
The trio sat outside a small cafe that sat nestled just off a busy street that spiraled through Manaus, looking very much like tourists from their style of dress. In front of them were a cluster of bolos de milho and coffee cups with their twisting vine etches nearly scratched off, the coffee odd for the time of day - already late morning, the famous Brazilian humidity had already descended on the city like an overpowering cloak, clinging stubbornly to hair and clothing alike. The heat though made the young woman of the group look positively radiant - beneath her wide-brimmed straw hat, white-blonde hair fell in silken sheets over her pale shoulders, some of it spilling like liquid onto the simple vibrant green sundress she wore. She sat quietly, her hands in her lap and her face inscrutable behind the sunglasses she wore, surrounded by an energy that bespoke of an overabundance of life.
The two men looked considerably less comfortable despite their cotton shirts and khakis. The younger of the two, a man in his late twenties, cursed the heat every so often, calling out for one of the waiters to “bring more water, goddamn it - can’t you see we’re fucking boiling here?” The other man, much older than either of the two if his graying mustache and hair were any indication, only frowned at the young man’s antics and often offered an apology for the hassled waiter.
“A beer’d be better,” the man groused, slamming the glass back on the table.
“So would courtesy,” came the reprimand. He ignored the scowl he received, turning back to the girl. “You’ll have to explain your reasons for wanting him here.”
The young woman smiled, kind and gentle and warm. “He may be crude, but he is efficient.”
The older man raised an eyebrow as the other scoffed and muttered, “Faerie bitch.”
Aurora, the Lady of the Summer and Queen Titania’s daughter, turned and gave him a stern look long enough for the man to duck his head, grumbling out something that probably was not an apology. The older man sighed, sitting back in his chair. “He won’t approve. It’s far too conspicuous for Summer and Winter to act so closely together.”
“I assure you - it won’t be a problem,” Aurora soothed.
He frowned. “Why would anyone in Summer want to work so closely with the enemy?” He cast a disapproving glance at the other man. “And vice versa. I’d usually trust your judgment, Aurora, but this is just unnecessary.”
Aurora waved her hand, easily dismissing the question. “You of all people should know that this quest of ours will unite even the most ancient of enemies. If by chance you fail, it will not be long before the two courts themselves fall into discord. Whether the balance is upset beyond repair or if the Queens themselves are defeated by the Outsiders, it will not matter - you are looking for fighters, yes? Who better than the Winter Knight?”
The young man grinned, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, a look of unabashed arrogance crossing his shrewd face.
The older man grimaced. “I would hope that we didn’t appear that desperate, Aurora.” He had the faint impression that her green eyes were shimmering with sweet laughter behind the dark shades; he still didn’t know why she wore them - as a faerie, she was lacking a soul and therefore there was no risk of a soulgaze.
Aurora smiled softly at the older man. “You all have stretched yourselves too thin. How much longer can you keep this up before you collapse in exhaustion? This isn’t the Edwardian era anymore and you aren’t the same boy who began this journey before the first mortal World War.” She looked around at their surroundings and the Brazilians going about their daily lives, speaking in their rapid-fire Portuguese. “The world is changing day by day - humans are spiraling out of control, influenced by magic they cannot see and therefore do not believe in. Soon, this war will be upon them and what of it?”
She put her hand out, gently resting it on his forearm - the touch was unnaturally warm. “Long ago, you all made the decision to do whatever it took to live. Well now, I’m making that decision as well - if we must join forces with...less than desirable characters-”
“-then we lose what we are truly fighting for.” Gray brows drew together sternly - the same look a grandfather may have given a headstrong and disobedient child. “He will not allow it and neither shall I.”
Aurora’s face went carefully and completely blank, although a clenched jaw showed that she was less than pleased by this mortal’s brush-off. But it vanished nearly immediately and she sat back in the chair, shaking her head. “Understandable, but what would you have them do instead? I know of your intention to bring those from other worlds to the scene of battle.”
A frown. “How could you possibly-?”
She cut him off with a wave of her hand. “What I’m saying is that you are bringing the unknown to Chicago. And what makes you so entirely sure that the city you’ve replicated will be where the battle takes place?” Again, her smile was benign, understanding. “We have no seers on our side that I know of.”
“Please,” the young man scoffed. “They have no fucking clue.”
Both Aurora and the older man gave him unappreciative frowns and the young man only scowled, reaching for a slice of the bolo. Aurora looked back at her other companion and admitted, “Is it true?”
“You’ve been part of this for decades, Aurora. You should know.”
She sighed. “You all keep so much to yourself. Especially him. Do you honestly believe that he tells us everything that he does? What makes him so sure that these events will take place exactly as he says?” Her tone was serious now, a warm concern breaching all of her doubts. “When you see your friends fall to circumstance and age, doesn’t it concern you that maybe this is all for nothing? For all we know, we’re the very pawns that we’ve sought not to be.”
The young man’s oily and condescending smile was grating, and the other man only shook his head. “With the world believing us gone, both of us have researched this more thoroughly and easily we could if we had the public’s eye on us.” He reached for a glass of water, the rattle of ice adding to the sounds of the sweltering outdoor cafe. “Believe me when I say that his suspicions are well-founded. Including his suspicions about you.”
The Winter Knight raised an eyebrow as Aurora stiffened so minutely, it was nearly unnoticeable. “I don’t understand.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” the older man said - there was a tinge of regret and sadness in his eyes. “But this meeting confirmed it - I had hoped he was wrong.”
“I have never spoken a lie to you. How could you begin to doubt me now, after so many years?” She sounded hurt.
He focused his gaze on her, ignoring the snort of derision from the rude man sitting across from him. Of course she wouldn’t see it - no one would have seen it unless they were looking and had worked so closely with her over seventy years. It had only been because of an off-hand comment made by his friend a year or so ago, noting that Aurora’s personality had become more eccentric, more careless. He had been surprised by the curious statement until he realized that it was true.
Her suggestion that they work alongside Winter’s notoriously depraved mortal champion settled it. Years ago, Aurora would have been the first to shoot down any idea of Summer and Winter working together. But while he had doubted his friend’s claim at first, with the Unseelie Incursion that summer in Wisconsin and Aurora’s subsequent reaction to it, he couldn’t help but see that the Summer Lady’s loyalties were no longer as true as they had once been.
“Do you honestly think she’d betray us?”
“Not outright.” His friend, and still the driving force behind their crusade after ninety years, had said. The recent hits to their number had physically taken a toll on him - he had recalled that he had never seen his friend look so weary. “She is Titania’s daughter after all, and a Fae besides. But if she is being influenced by forces we cannot see...”
“You think she’s behind it then.”
“Not explicitly. But the vampire courts are stronger than they should be - there’s discord amongst the White Court ever since Maggie’s death. Outsiders are appearing more frequently than they had been at the beginning of the century...” He had trailed off, troubled - a side he showed rarely, even to him. “These events...I believe we’re running out of time.”
Now, he could see what his friend meant. They had lost Justin the same way - influenced by the black magic that they had tried to stop.
Aurora must have taken his silence for answer. She removed her sunglasses to reveal cat-like green eyes, and turned that otherworldly glare towards him. “Then I suppose I will withdraw my assistance.” Her voice had lost its welcoming warmth - the heat that remained was scalding. “But you should ask yourself if you or he are completely immune to that darkness. One of you humans said it best: that if you gave into the void for too long, the void beings to look back through you.” Her green eyes flashed. “He has been staring into it for a very, very long time.”
She rose to her feet, her long dress cascading into place and simply vanished like a mirage, unconcerned if passersby saw her vanish.
The Winter Knight grinned. “Those faeries can be a bitch to deal with, but I’d totally hit it.”
He gave him a disapproving frown as the other man waved down a waiter to order “some kind of alcohol - you know what that is, right?”, trying not to show how much her words had unsettled him. It was true, some of it - his friend held secrets close to his heart and for awhile now, he had thought that this mission to protect the worlds and become an obsession...a dangerous obsession. There were things he did not say, actions that made him and David concerned about the motives. He had always been so very serious about magic, but maybe Aurora was on to something...
Doubt was a terrible thing.
He shook his head to clear those thoughts. No. If he doubted his friend now, it truly would tear the small remnants of their group asunder. Finishing off his coffee, he pushed his chair back. The younger man watched him with eyes that glinted terribly in the winter heat. “Going so soon?”
“I’ll leave you to your vices, Mr. Slate. I have important work to do.”
“Sure you do. Give the others my sincerest regards.” Sarcasm dripped from the words.
The void begins to look back through you.
He gave a short nod of his head before turning on his heel and departing.
:: Manaus, Brazil ::
The trio sat outside a small cafe that sat nestled just off a busy street that spiraled through Manaus, looking very much like tourists from their style of dress. In front of them were a cluster of bolos de milho and coffee cups with their twisting vine etches nearly scratched off, the coffee odd for the time of day - already late morning, the famous Brazilian humidity had already descended on the city like an overpowering cloak, clinging stubbornly to hair and clothing alike. The heat though made the young woman of the group look positively radiant - beneath her wide-brimmed straw hat, white-blonde hair fell in silken sheets over her pale shoulders, some of it spilling like liquid onto the simple vibrant green sundress she wore. She sat quietly, her hands in her lap and her face inscrutable behind the sunglasses she wore, surrounded by an energy that bespoke of an overabundance of life.
The two men looked considerably less comfortable despite their cotton shirts and khakis. The younger of the two, a man in his late twenties, cursed the heat every so often, calling out for one of the waiters to “bring more water, goddamn it - can’t you see we’re fucking boiling here?” The other man, much older than either of the two if his graying mustache and hair were any indication, only frowned at the young man’s antics and often offered an apology for the hassled waiter.
“A beer’d be better,” the man groused, slamming the glass back on the table.
“So would courtesy,” came the reprimand. He ignored the scowl he received, turning back to the girl. “You’ll have to explain your reasons for wanting him here.”
The young woman smiled, kind and gentle and warm. “He may be crude, but he is efficient.”
The older man raised an eyebrow as the other scoffed and muttered, “Faerie bitch.”
Aurora, the Lady of the Summer and Queen Titania’s daughter, turned and gave him a stern look long enough for the man to duck his head, grumbling out something that probably was not an apology. The older man sighed, sitting back in his chair. “He won’t approve. It’s far too conspicuous for Summer and Winter to act so closely together.”
“I assure you - it won’t be a problem,” Aurora soothed.
He frowned. “Why would anyone in Summer want to work so closely with the enemy?” He cast a disapproving glance at the other man. “And vice versa. I’d usually trust your judgment, Aurora, but this is just unnecessary.”
Aurora waved her hand, easily dismissing the question. “You of all people should know that this quest of ours will unite even the most ancient of enemies. If by chance you fail, it will not be long before the two courts themselves fall into discord. Whether the balance is upset beyond repair or if the Queens themselves are defeated by the Outsiders, it will not matter - you are looking for fighters, yes? Who better than the Winter Knight?”
The young man grinned, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, a look of unabashed arrogance crossing his shrewd face.
The older man grimaced. “I would hope that we didn’t appear that desperate, Aurora.” He had the faint impression that her green eyes were shimmering with sweet laughter behind the dark shades; he still didn’t know why she wore them - as a faerie, she was lacking a soul and therefore there was no risk of a soulgaze.
Aurora smiled softly at the older man. “You all have stretched yourselves too thin. How much longer can you keep this up before you collapse in exhaustion? This isn’t the Edwardian era anymore and you aren’t the same boy who began this journey before the first mortal World War.” She looked around at their surroundings and the Brazilians going about their daily lives, speaking in their rapid-fire Portuguese. “The world is changing day by day - humans are spiraling out of control, influenced by magic they cannot see and therefore do not believe in. Soon, this war will be upon them and what of it?”
She put her hand out, gently resting it on his forearm - the touch was unnaturally warm. “Long ago, you all made the decision to do whatever it took to live. Well now, I’m making that decision as well - if we must join forces with...less than desirable characters-”
“-then we lose what we are truly fighting for.” Gray brows drew together sternly - the same look a grandfather may have given a headstrong and disobedient child. “He will not allow it and neither shall I.”
Aurora’s face went carefully and completely blank, although a clenched jaw showed that she was less than pleased by this mortal’s brush-off. But it vanished nearly immediately and she sat back in the chair, shaking her head. “Understandable, but what would you have them do instead? I know of your intention to bring those from other worlds to the scene of battle.”
A frown. “How could you possibly-?”
She cut him off with a wave of her hand. “What I’m saying is that you are bringing the unknown to Chicago. And what makes you so entirely sure that the city you’ve replicated will be where the battle takes place?” Again, her smile was benign, understanding. “We have no seers on our side that I know of.”
“Please,” the young man scoffed. “They have no fucking clue.”
Both Aurora and the older man gave him unappreciative frowns and the young man only scowled, reaching for a slice of the bolo. Aurora looked back at her other companion and admitted, “Is it true?”
“You’ve been part of this for decades, Aurora. You should know.”
She sighed. “You all keep so much to yourself. Especially him. Do you honestly believe that he tells us everything that he does? What makes him so sure that these events will take place exactly as he says?” Her tone was serious now, a warm concern breaching all of her doubts. “When you see your friends fall to circumstance and age, doesn’t it concern you that maybe this is all for nothing? For all we know, we’re the very pawns that we’ve sought not to be.”
The young man’s oily and condescending smile was grating, and the other man only shook his head. “With the world believing us gone, both of us have researched this more thoroughly and easily we could if we had the public’s eye on us.” He reached for a glass of water, the rattle of ice adding to the sounds of the sweltering outdoor cafe. “Believe me when I say that his suspicions are well-founded. Including his suspicions about you.”
The Winter Knight raised an eyebrow as Aurora stiffened so minutely, it was nearly unnoticeable. “I don’t understand.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” the older man said - there was a tinge of regret and sadness in his eyes. “But this meeting confirmed it - I had hoped he was wrong.”
“I have never spoken a lie to you. How could you begin to doubt me now, after so many years?” She sounded hurt.
He focused his gaze on her, ignoring the snort of derision from the rude man sitting across from him. Of course she wouldn’t see it - no one would have seen it unless they were looking and had worked so closely with her over seventy years. It had only been because of an off-hand comment made by his friend a year or so ago, noting that Aurora’s personality had become more eccentric, more careless. He had been surprised by the curious statement until he realized that it was true.
Her suggestion that they work alongside Winter’s notoriously depraved mortal champion settled it. Years ago, Aurora would have been the first to shoot down any idea of Summer and Winter working together. But while he had doubted his friend’s claim at first, with the Unseelie Incursion that summer in Wisconsin and Aurora’s subsequent reaction to it, he couldn’t help but see that the Summer Lady’s loyalties were no longer as true as they had once been.
“Do you honestly think she’d betray us?”
“Not outright.” His friend, and still the driving force behind their crusade after ninety years, had said. The recent hits to their number had physically taken a toll on him - he had recalled that he had never seen his friend look so weary. “She is Titania’s daughter after all, and a Fae besides. But if she is being influenced by forces we cannot see...”
“You think she’s behind it then.”
“Not explicitly. But the vampire courts are stronger than they should be - there’s discord amongst the White Court ever since Maggie’s death. Outsiders are appearing more frequently than they had been at the beginning of the century...” He had trailed off, troubled - a side he showed rarely, even to him. “These events...I believe we’re running out of time.”
Now, he could see what his friend meant. They had lost Justin the same way - influenced by the black magic that they had tried to stop.
Aurora must have taken his silence for answer. She removed her sunglasses to reveal cat-like green eyes, and turned that otherworldly glare towards him. “Then I suppose I will withdraw my assistance.” Her voice had lost its welcoming warmth - the heat that remained was scalding. “But you should ask yourself if you or he are completely immune to that darkness. One of you humans said it best: that if you gave into the void for too long, the void beings to look back through you.” Her green eyes flashed. “He has been staring into it for a very, very long time.”
She rose to her feet, her long dress cascading into place and simply vanished like a mirage, unconcerned if passersby saw her vanish.
The Winter Knight grinned. “Those faeries can be a bitch to deal with, but I’d totally hit it.”
He gave him a disapproving frown as the other man waved down a waiter to order “some kind of alcohol - you know what that is, right?”, trying not to show how much her words had unsettled him. It was true, some of it - his friend held secrets close to his heart and for awhile now, he had thought that this mission to protect the worlds and become an obsession...a dangerous obsession. There were things he did not say, actions that made him and David concerned about the motives. He had always been so very serious about magic, but maybe Aurora was on to something...
Doubt was a terrible thing.
He shook his head to clear those thoughts. No. If he doubted his friend now, it truly would tear the small remnants of their group asunder. Finishing off his coffee, he pushed his chair back. The younger man watched him with eyes that glinted terribly in the winter heat. “Going so soon?”
“I’ll leave you to your vices, Mr. Slate. I have important work to do.”
“Sure you do. Give the others my sincerest regards.” Sarcasm dripped from the words.
The void begins to look back through you.
He gave a short nod of his head before turning on his heel and departing.