Angel and Liam - Chapter 36 - Gifts From the Past
Story Title : Angel and Liam; Beginnings
Chapter Title Chapter 36 - Gifts From the Past
Chapter Summary: After snatching Liam from the stoop of Nathan’s flat, Odin hides him from the dark wizards.
Main Characters Odin, Liam
Rating PG13
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The man in the rough hewn cloak sped through an unending maze of caverns, sealing each entrance as he passed. On and on he went, holding his living bundle closely as if he was afraid Liam might be snatched suddenly away. Darkness settled more deeply with each step he took and with it came a calmness Liam hadn’t felt before. This man was taking him into the depths of the sweet earth.
Cold and damp to the bone, Liam shivered, hoping his destination was close. He should have taken the sheepskin on his way out of the flat.
Twilight gave way to pitch black; the ephemeral to ebony, yet this darkness didn’t slow his captor. When Liam had given up on a journey’s end… it ended. Stopping abruptly, still cradled in those strong arms, Liam was gently laid on the freezing cold earth…. and left alone.
Without a sound, the man stepped away, leaving him in complete darkness. What had once seemed a wonderful adventure into the unknown depths of the earth now set him on edge. Surely he would not have been brought here to be imprisoned......or would he? What he had tried to do to Nathan and Cody was definitely worthy of Azkaban, and since those walls could not contain him, a more appropriate prison would have been found. Was this it?
Struck by a momentary dizziness as he got to his feet, Liam lunged forward. He hoped to hit something solid to arrest his fall, yet found nothing. He knew he would hit the ground hard this time.
Strong arms grabbed him, arresting his descent. “My brother, stand quietly for just a moment.” He knew this voice. It was Odin.
A match was struck and a torch lit, reflecting eerily across his captor’s face. “There are five more torches. You will light them.”
Liam was more than happy to comply. Yet he wouldn’t use his special magic, just in case the dark spirits were lurking. A normal wizarding spell would do. “Incendio.”
He was confused. Every torch should have ignited and he didn’t even get a spark.
Odin handed him the torch, “There is no magic down here. This will suffice.”
Each torch was lit, revealing vast expanses of earth, lying below his feet and stretching in all directions as far as the eye could see, the earthen walls reaching into the heavens. Without magic he would have no chance of finding his way out. He would be trapped here forever if Odin wished it.
Odin sat atop a huge burlap blanket as he rifled through his rucksack. “Come sit.”
Liam took his place directly across from Odin. “Is this prison?”
“If you make it one.”
What did that mean? “Can I go home?”
“That is up to you, but not now. Your trail is warm.”
“Did they follow us?”
“It is possible. Yet the scent grows too cold underground and they would be lost in the upper caverns. You are safe.”
“Then why do I need to stay here? I hafta get home.”
“Remus would have taken you immediately, yet I would not allow it. I altered the scent in the flat as you stepped out the door. The dark wizards will not recognize you when they next encounter you. I was able to alter the scent as we traveled as well. But I would not allow Remus to take you directly home, to give them any inkling you may live in that neighbourhood. They would indeed kill everyone in hopes that they may kill you.”
“You are safe as long as you stay here. And when the time is right, I will get you back home….Ah here they are.” Two tiny red stained wooden boxes were laid out on the burlap.
“Are you sure?”
“You must not think you are the only one who I have allowed to see this place. There was one other.”
“Who.. Remus?”
“Patience brother, I am telling this story. This place had been known only to me until I invited a young traveler to take refuge here. And just as I carried you through the passages, his traveling companion was held close. A young child was strapped tightly to him, using the very blanket we sit upon.”
“The fire of youth shone through that young man as he talked of chivalry and family and honour. I dubbed him Sir Justin. In the ensuing months, we waited here for word from the brothers as they watched for any sign he had been tracked. ”
“He would not even walk into the upper caverns for fear the protection would not be as strong where the earth cover was thinner. For he knew the protection was in the earth itself."
"It was during this time that we became brothers.”
“As the all clear was sounded, Sir Justin delivered the boy to a couple who would care for him, immediately returning here to me. These boxes were given to me in trust; given with the understanding I would deliver them to the child just before his seventeenth birthday. Take them. They are yours.”
Liam placed a box in the palm of his hand, slowly running fingertips along the top and sides. A lump painfully grew in his throat. He wished Odin would turn away so he could open this in private. Odin was the last person he wanted to see him cry.
“My brother, there is no use trying to open them today. They will stay sealed until it is time.”
“Time? What time?”
“He did not tell me; only that you would know what to do when the time came. I have something else to show you.” Standing up he extended his hand to Liam. “Come.”
“Grab a torch.”
They walked along one wall, the red-brown earthy surface giving way to brightly coloured etchings. Reds, greens and ocher literally danced across the wall. “This is your uncle’s work. Come closer.” Odin’s fingertips ran along the designs. “He left these to me, but he gave you an even greater gift.”
Reaching higher on the wall, Odin’s fingers found the etching of a knight’s coat of arms. “He willed you his gift of art.”
“Huh?”
“As he passed, he told me he willed you his gift of art; planted the seed inside you.”
“I can’t draw.”
“Seeds need to be watered.” He laid his palm against the knight’s coat of arms. “I placed him in his beloved earth, and here he resides.”
Heart pounding through his chest, Liam raced forward, slapping his palms and forehead flat against the wall. “Uncle Justin?”
“Only an hour, brother; it is near dusk. I must get you home.”
“They won’t find me?”
“We will leave through the back passages.”
Face against the wall, Liam literally breathed in its dust. “Don’t make me leave you again,” he silently cried.
One by one, Odin extinguished the torches, throwing the room into jet black. “Time,” he laid a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Everything is packed.”
“Just a minute longer.”
“Come back whenever you want to visit him. Do not enter through the front caverns. Use the back door. Come, I will show you the way. Pay attention and hold on tight. We don’t want to get separated.”
"What you learned today must be kept between just you and me. No one else knows I met your uncle and that he hid below the earth. Only the three of us have seen the caverns. I trust you to keep them secret as well."
Arms tightly around each other they raced through cavern after cavern, darkness lifting with each step they took. Finally they entered what seemed to be a storeroom, boxes stacked to the ceiling.
“Where are we?”
“Knockturn Alley. You must finish your trip alone. Find your way to the joke shop and floo back…. Here,” he placed the rucksack on Liam’s shoulder. “Everything inside is yours.”
“Thank you Odin.”
“And you my brother. Remember, it is up to you to keep everyone in that house safe. You are a man now. And as a man, you must learn when to lead and when to follow.”
“Go in peace.” Odin laid his hands on Liam’s shoulders. And with that, he turned back towards the caverns, leaving Liam to find his way home.
Why was the entrance in Knockturn Alley? Would anyone there notice this wayward Hufflepuff ?
@@@
Jeans floured in dust, Liam unthinkingly straightened his clothes; stopping when he realized he might just blend in better as he was.
He cast his eyes upwards, hoping to find a trap door or entrance from the shop above. The merchandise stored here must be extremely dangerous or valuable. The shopkeeper must have been worried others may find his stash as there were no stairs, only boxes stacked to the ceiling.
He mounted the boxes, climbed to their summit and pried a few boards loose. He cautiously peeked out, praying he was alone.
Peering around, he realized he had arrived just below an open area. Robed merchants lurked in the shadows in what seemed to be the ruins of a shop, its walls crumbled into rubble. Batwing doors hung from rusty hinges nailed into the façade; the only standing remnant of what once existed here. He must be at the alley’s darkest edge.
This was definitely a place the dark wizards would congregate. The enemy may indeed be mingling here, laying in wait.
Grabbing the nearest box, he swung himself to the surface and jumped to his feet. Under his weight, the boards sank down atop the nails, sealing the entrance.
One by one, the wizards turned towards him, eying him with great interest.
Holding the palm of one hand up at eye level, he turned three coins between his fingers… flashing them.
At the sight of the three gleaming coins, the air flowed with the inarticulate sound of greed. Surely someone would come forward, claim to be the owner of the box and complete the sale.
A black cloaked figure stepped from the shadows and clumped slowly toward him. He pushed back his hood enough to peer out, his eyes measuring the young intruder. “The price is ten galleons,” he croaked in a voice like fingernails on a blackboard.
Eyes narrowed in contempt, Liam turned back to the store room. “Then I shall return it.”
The merchant caught Liam’s wrist. “I’ll take four,” he hissed grudgingly. Bony cold fingers resembling gnarled tree branches held his wrist tightly.
Liam paused, his eyes traveling to the face under the hood. His skin grey, tight and weather beaten, the man looked like a skeleton wrapped tightly in worn leather. Yet Liam knew that face. He had seen it before, but where? No time to reflect on that now. He marked that face in his mind, as a man marks a page of interest in a book, hoping to return later for a closer read.
“Four it is,” Liam spat. He wrenched his wrist free and tossed the coins.
The others watched silently as the wizard dropped to the ground to retrieve them.
“If you care to do business with me in the future, you will learn a bit of respect,” Liam arrogantly stated. “How dare you touch me! Your karma is good today. You are fortunate I am in a good mood.”
With that, Liam whipped around and strutted away, every eye following him.
As he stepped from the alley, the atmosphere behind him shifted back again.
Heart pounding through his chest, he congratulated himself. Then he turned the corner and bolted towards the joke shop.
@@@
Links to all Chapters
Or Click on the "Angel and Liam" tag to display all chapters.
Chapter Listing
Chapter Title Chapter 36 - Gifts From the Past
Chapter Summary: After snatching Liam from the stoop of Nathan’s flat, Odin hides him from the dark wizards.
Main Characters Odin, Liam
Rating PG13
@@@
The man in the rough hewn cloak sped through an unending maze of caverns, sealing each entrance as he passed. On and on he went, holding his living bundle closely as if he was afraid Liam might be snatched suddenly away. Darkness settled more deeply with each step he took and with it came a calmness Liam hadn’t felt before. This man was taking him into the depths of the sweet earth.
Cold and damp to the bone, Liam shivered, hoping his destination was close. He should have taken the sheepskin on his way out of the flat.
Twilight gave way to pitch black; the ephemeral to ebony, yet this darkness didn’t slow his captor. When Liam had given up on a journey’s end… it ended. Stopping abruptly, still cradled in those strong arms, Liam was gently laid on the freezing cold earth…. and left alone.
Without a sound, the man stepped away, leaving him in complete darkness. What had once seemed a wonderful adventure into the unknown depths of the earth now set him on edge. Surely he would not have been brought here to be imprisoned......or would he? What he had tried to do to Nathan and Cody was definitely worthy of Azkaban, and since those walls could not contain him, a more appropriate prison would have been found. Was this it?
Struck by a momentary dizziness as he got to his feet, Liam lunged forward. He hoped to hit something solid to arrest his fall, yet found nothing. He knew he would hit the ground hard this time.
Strong arms grabbed him, arresting his descent. “My brother, stand quietly for just a moment.” He knew this voice. It was Odin.
A match was struck and a torch lit, reflecting eerily across his captor’s face. “There are five more torches. You will light them.”
Liam was more than happy to comply. Yet he wouldn’t use his special magic, just in case the dark spirits were lurking. A normal wizarding spell would do. “Incendio.”
He was confused. Every torch should have ignited and he didn’t even get a spark.
Odin handed him the torch, “There is no magic down here. This will suffice.”
Each torch was lit, revealing vast expanses of earth, lying below his feet and stretching in all directions as far as the eye could see, the earthen walls reaching into the heavens. Without magic he would have no chance of finding his way out. He would be trapped here forever if Odin wished it.
Odin sat atop a huge burlap blanket as he rifled through his rucksack. “Come sit.”
Liam took his place directly across from Odin. “Is this prison?”
“If you make it one.”
What did that mean? “Can I go home?”
“That is up to you, but not now. Your trail is warm.”
“Did they follow us?”
“It is possible. Yet the scent grows too cold underground and they would be lost in the upper caverns. You are safe.”
“Then why do I need to stay here? I hafta get home.”
“Remus would have taken you immediately, yet I would not allow it. I altered the scent in the flat as you stepped out the door. The dark wizards will not recognize you when they next encounter you. I was able to alter the scent as we traveled as well. But I would not allow Remus to take you directly home, to give them any inkling you may live in that neighbourhood. They would indeed kill everyone in hopes that they may kill you.”
“You are safe as long as you stay here. And when the time is right, I will get you back home….Ah here they are.” Two tiny red stained wooden boxes were laid out on the burlap.
“Are you sure?”
“You must not think you are the only one who I have allowed to see this place. There was one other.”
“Who.. Remus?”
“Patience brother, I am telling this story. This place had been known only to me until I invited a young traveler to take refuge here. And just as I carried you through the passages, his traveling companion was held close. A young child was strapped tightly to him, using the very blanket we sit upon.”
“The fire of youth shone through that young man as he talked of chivalry and family and honour. I dubbed him Sir Justin. In the ensuing months, we waited here for word from the brothers as they watched for any sign he had been tracked. ”
“He would not even walk into the upper caverns for fear the protection would not be as strong where the earth cover was thinner. For he knew the protection was in the earth itself."
"It was during this time that we became brothers.”
“As the all clear was sounded, Sir Justin delivered the boy to a couple who would care for him, immediately returning here to me. These boxes were given to me in trust; given with the understanding I would deliver them to the child just before his seventeenth birthday. Take them. They are yours.”
Liam placed a box in the palm of his hand, slowly running fingertips along the top and sides. A lump painfully grew in his throat. He wished Odin would turn away so he could open this in private. Odin was the last person he wanted to see him cry.
“My brother, there is no use trying to open them today. They will stay sealed until it is time.”
“Time? What time?”
“He did not tell me; only that you would know what to do when the time came. I have something else to show you.” Standing up he extended his hand to Liam. “Come.”
“Grab a torch.”
They walked along one wall, the red-brown earthy surface giving way to brightly coloured etchings. Reds, greens and ocher literally danced across the wall. “This is your uncle’s work. Come closer.” Odin’s fingertips ran along the designs. “He left these to me, but he gave you an even greater gift.”
Reaching higher on the wall, Odin’s fingers found the etching of a knight’s coat of arms. “He willed you his gift of art.”
“Huh?”
“As he passed, he told me he willed you his gift of art; planted the seed inside you.”
“I can’t draw.”
“Seeds need to be watered.” He laid his palm against the knight’s coat of arms. “I placed him in his beloved earth, and here he resides.”
Heart pounding through his chest, Liam raced forward, slapping his palms and forehead flat against the wall. “Uncle Justin?”
“Only an hour, brother; it is near dusk. I must get you home.”
“They won’t find me?”
“We will leave through the back passages.”
Face against the wall, Liam literally breathed in its dust. “Don’t make me leave you again,” he silently cried.
One by one, Odin extinguished the torches, throwing the room into jet black. “Time,” he laid a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Everything is packed.”
“Just a minute longer.”
“Come back whenever you want to visit him. Do not enter through the front caverns. Use the back door. Come, I will show you the way. Pay attention and hold on tight. We don’t want to get separated.”
"What you learned today must be kept between just you and me. No one else knows I met your uncle and that he hid below the earth. Only the three of us have seen the caverns. I trust you to keep them secret as well."
Arms tightly around each other they raced through cavern after cavern, darkness lifting with each step they took. Finally they entered what seemed to be a storeroom, boxes stacked to the ceiling.
“Where are we?”
“Knockturn Alley. You must finish your trip alone. Find your way to the joke shop and floo back…. Here,” he placed the rucksack on Liam’s shoulder. “Everything inside is yours.”
“Thank you Odin.”
“And you my brother. Remember, it is up to you to keep everyone in that house safe. You are a man now. And as a man, you must learn when to lead and when to follow.”
“Go in peace.” Odin laid his hands on Liam’s shoulders. And with that, he turned back towards the caverns, leaving Liam to find his way home.
Why was the entrance in Knockturn Alley? Would anyone there notice this wayward Hufflepuff ?
@@@
Jeans floured in dust, Liam unthinkingly straightened his clothes; stopping when he realized he might just blend in better as he was.
He cast his eyes upwards, hoping to find a trap door or entrance from the shop above. The merchandise stored here must be extremely dangerous or valuable. The shopkeeper must have been worried others may find his stash as there were no stairs, only boxes stacked to the ceiling.
He mounted the boxes, climbed to their summit and pried a few boards loose. He cautiously peeked out, praying he was alone.
Peering around, he realized he had arrived just below an open area. Robed merchants lurked in the shadows in what seemed to be the ruins of a shop, its walls crumbled into rubble. Batwing doors hung from rusty hinges nailed into the façade; the only standing remnant of what once existed here. He must be at the alley’s darkest edge.
This was definitely a place the dark wizards would congregate. The enemy may indeed be mingling here, laying in wait.
Grabbing the nearest box, he swung himself to the surface and jumped to his feet. Under his weight, the boards sank down atop the nails, sealing the entrance.
One by one, the wizards turned towards him, eying him with great interest.
Holding the palm of one hand up at eye level, he turned three coins between his fingers… flashing them.
At the sight of the three gleaming coins, the air flowed with the inarticulate sound of greed. Surely someone would come forward, claim to be the owner of the box and complete the sale.
A black cloaked figure stepped from the shadows and clumped slowly toward him. He pushed back his hood enough to peer out, his eyes measuring the young intruder. “The price is ten galleons,” he croaked in a voice like fingernails on a blackboard.
Eyes narrowed in contempt, Liam turned back to the store room. “Then I shall return it.”
The merchant caught Liam’s wrist. “I’ll take four,” he hissed grudgingly. Bony cold fingers resembling gnarled tree branches held his wrist tightly.
Liam paused, his eyes traveling to the face under the hood. His skin grey, tight and weather beaten, the man looked like a skeleton wrapped tightly in worn leather. Yet Liam knew that face. He had seen it before, but where? No time to reflect on that now. He marked that face in his mind, as a man marks a page of interest in a book, hoping to return later for a closer read.
“Four it is,” Liam spat. He wrenched his wrist free and tossed the coins.
The others watched silently as the wizard dropped to the ground to retrieve them.
“If you care to do business with me in the future, you will learn a bit of respect,” Liam arrogantly stated. “How dare you touch me! Your karma is good today. You are fortunate I am in a good mood.”
With that, Liam whipped around and strutted away, every eye following him.
As he stepped from the alley, the atmosphere behind him shifted back again.
Heart pounding through his chest, he congratulated himself. Then he turned the corner and bolted towards the joke shop.
@@@
Links to all Chapters
Or Click on the "Angel and Liam" tag to display all chapters.
Chapter Listing