NaNoWriMo! (con't)
Nov. 3rd, 2003 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrNot doing too bad, so far. I've finally caught up with me own schedule, plus a little extra. It's obviously not as polished as I'd like, but there's time for that later (as we all know). So for your pleasure/pain:
Impossible Wish
Prologue
"It didn't have to end this way, Ornias. Why couldn't you just cooperate? It would have saved your life."
"I'm not dead yet." Ornias snarled up at the speaker. Blood poured from wounds scattered across his body, but most profusely from the hole in his left side. Gritting his teeth to hold back a cry of pain, he rose slowly to his feet. "I'll take you with me if it's the last thing I do."
"Where is your stone? Tell me and perhaps I'll save you."
"I'm beyond saving, and I wouldn't let your foul hands touch me where it a possibility. I would rather die."
"Then die," the speaker surged forward, long claws ripping a new wound in Ornias' already battered body. Hate filled eyes stared up at him as Ornias slowly crumbled to the ground. Kneeling, the figure wiped his claws off on the clothing of the dead man. Rising with easy fluidity he turned - and stopped.
"W,w,who are you? What-what have you done? Felix, oh god Felix!!" The woman rushed forward despite her bulging stomach, collapsing next to the still body on the floor. Her eyes streamed with tears as she examined him.
Behind her the man stared in silence, his face revealing nothing. "You are his lover?"
The woman turned, her expression as fierce and angry as Ornias' had been only moments ago. "I was his wife."
"Then you are aware of what he was?" the man moved closer, looming over the woman.
"Why did you kill him?"
"He chose to die. If he had simply given me the stone, it would not have been a problem." His voice was condescending, cold.
"Why should he give it to you? You're just another piece of scum envious of his greatness. What makes you think you have any right to it?" her eyes were hard, hands buried in the bloody fabric of her husband's shirt, gripping it in anger and agitation.
"Where is the stone?" The man stepped closer, kneeling to be at eye level. Hair so dark it was indistinguishable from the shadows in the room flowed over his shoulders and around his face. Pale skin and burning red eyes only made him look darker. "Give me the stone, or I'll not hesitate to kill you as well."
"You would kill a woman and her unborn child?" her tone was incredulous; she gaped at him a moment before her anger returned stronger than ever.
"I will do whatever is necessary to prevent that stone falling into hands that should not hold it. Give it to me if you love your child."
The woman's face froze, rage flickering across it before she broke down into tears. "Here, take it." Reaching up she wrenched a necklace from around her throat. The silver chain snapped and she all but tossed the heavy pendant at the dark, expressionless man. "You will pay for this demon, if it's the last thing I do before I perish from this earth I will see you dead."
"I can see why you and your husband got along so well. But never will there come a day when I fall victim to a sniveling human. Be grateful that I allow you to live - consider it a parting gift to your husband." The demon vanished.
On the floor, the woman's face twisted again in hatred and bitterness as she stared at the corpse of her husband, who in death had reverted to his demon form. The body would have to be burned. Tears dry and stale on her cheeks, she rose heavily to her feet. Her heavy skirts dragged on the floor, slippered feet smeared with blood from the damp spots on the carpet. Quietly she left, closing the study door behind her.
~*~*~*~
"This isn't right! What have you done?" Simon turned to glare at the man beside him, who only shook his head in confusion.
"I have no idea, Simon. My spell was perfect, your demon should be here - I have no idea what this is." Frustration clouded his features as he stared at the demon trapped within the spell cage. It was a beautiful demon; the jewels and silks with which it was adorned stated that someone thought this demon valuable indeed. His skin was rich and dark, flawless and smooth, eyes so deep a blue they appeared almost violet in the flickering light of the basement torches. The demon's hair was pale, nearly white but with the faintest tinges of gold.
"Then why isn't he here! We were so close, how did you manage to mess it up?" Simon raged, launching spell books across the room as he stalked to his friend. He grabbed the shorter man by his collar, dragging him close. "That was are only chance. You've ruined everything. We can't cast that spell ever again - it will only work once. How did you screw it up? I thought you were the best there was, Gareth."
Gareth shoved Simon away, straightening his high collar before addressing the furious man, "I did not mess the spell. My spell was perfect, they always are. This little demon here must have slipped into the binding instead of the demon we wanted."
"I don't care. The point is that I've lost my only chance to restore my family's greatness. Get out." He turned away, stalking to the stairs that would take him back up into the mansion."
"What of this creature here?"
"Kill it. Keep it. Do whatever you want. But don't expect me to pay you. I don't pay for failures." Simon was gone.
Gareth smiled in pleasure, "Who needs payment when I have you, my lovely little demon. Perhaps this night has not been a complete waste, though I would have preferred the bigger fish were attempting to snare. However, you will make sufficient compensation, I think"
The trapped demon only stared back at him, his cries of fear and anger soundless within the confines of the spell cage.
Impossible Wish
Chapter One
"I'm not going."
"The hell you're not. It's his funeral, Neil. You'll go if I have to drag you there myself."
"Then get ready to start dragging, because I'm not going!" Neil struggled to keep from shouting, glaring at his brother across the wide office desk. He glanced idly at the clock hanging on the wall to his left - they'd been arguing for nearly an hour. He forced back a groan.
His brother rose to his feet, tossing the pen he'd been toying with to the desktop. He braced his hands on the desk, leaning over it to stare back at the younger boy. "This attitude of yours is getting out of hand - like it or not you're going to that funeral. The man may have been an ass, but he did raise us. The very least you can do is attend his funeral."
"I'm not going. I have an important lecture to attend that day. If I miss it my grade is going to go hell. It's not something I can just make up." He shifted impatiently, swinging his book bag down and switching it to his right shoulder. Dark green eyes stared furiously at eyes the color of steel.
Steel eyes stared unwaveringly back,"Don't give me that. You know damn good and well a funeral won't be held against you. I expect to see you there, Neil. If I have to track you down and forcibly drag you out to the estate, you'll regret it. Do you understand me?" Pushing himself up off the desk, the man angrily adjusted his dark grey suit, straightening his emerald green tie before forcing himself to sit back down. He reclined back, crossing his arms and frowning darkly.
"Unfortunately, yes." Neil's voice was flat.
"Goddammit, you'll be there or so help me…" he reached out a hand to retrieve the pen he'd discarded earlier, toying with it before simply gripping it tightly in a fist.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got to go." With a snort Neil turned away, book bag thumping against his back, sneakers silent on the thick carpet. He stomped into the outer office, slamming the door behind him. Pointedly ignoring the muffled shouts of outrage from the other side of the door, he gripped the strap of his book bag and continued walking, past the wide reception desk and toward the hallway and elevators. The receptionist looked up as he walked by, shaking her head ruefully. "Have a good day, Neil."
"Yeah, thanks Eliza. You too." Neil didn't bother to look at her as he replied, still stomping as he made for the elevators. Mashing the down button, he shuffled impatiently as he waited. Finally one the elevators chimed and he stalked inside. Punching the button marked lobby, he then threw himself against the back wall, glowering out at the office as the doors slid shut. He muttered aloud as the elevator descended, his angry words filling the small space and only making him madder. He stared angrily at the numbers above the door when the elevator abruptly halted, the door opening to let in whoever had stopped it at the eleventh floor.
Neil's rage showed plainly on his face as he stared at the newcomer, who stopped and then backed away, "Umm, I'll just wait for the next one." Neil said nothing, merely allowed the doors to once again slide shut and the elevator to continue it's descent.
The elevator reached the lobby, chiming softly as the doors slid open. Neil threw himself out of it, not noticing the person in front of him until he sent the figure sprawling. His temper increased until he noticed whom it was he'd knocked to the ground. "Oh, sorry Sheridan."
"…No worries." The soft voice of the young man was in strong contrast to Neil's anger roughened voice. Gold eyes stared up at him, "I don't suppose you've seen my dad?"
"Here," Neil reached out a hand, helping the shorter man to his feet. "I think your dad is still up there, I saw him walking around before I met with my brother."
"Ah, thanks. Talk to you later." Smoothing his gold-blonde hair back into order, Sheridan resettled his own bag and entered the elevator just vacated by Neil.
"Yeah." Neil waved absently as he turned to leave. The lobby doors slid open as he approached, and he exited the building, barely noticing the cold, biting wind as he walked. Glowering at everything in his path, he continued in silence for several long minutes.
"-eil. Neil! Neil!"
"What?" Startled, he looked up and around, until his gaze finally fell upon a familiar woman. "Damn it Bethany, not you too. What now?" Neil heaved an aggravated sigh as he waited for his sister to catch up with him.
"Is that any way to talk to your sister? Be a good little brother and look happy to see me. I'm guessing your chat with Darrell was as successful as ever?" The woman mock frowned as she spoke, her teasing grin making it hard for Neil to continue seething.
"Whatever. You know how he is," was the disgruntled reply.
Bethany laughed, "I know how you both are. I hope you come, I'll need you to help alleviate the boredom and scare off the more annoying relatives." She resumed walking, her dark auburn hair bobbing from the high ponytail in which she'd put it.
Neil walked along side her, "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you've convinced Rose to go with you, so you'll hardly need me."
"Of course Rose is coming with me. But she's hardly the scary type. I still need you for that." Bethany winked at her brother.
He snorted in disbelief, "Oh, whatever. Just get them into her shop, that'll scare anyone. What are you doing here anyway? Weren't you going to the factory today?"
"You and that store. You're the only one that's scared of it. Yeah, I'm headed to the factory now. I would have gone this morning, but I got held up at a meeting. After that I had lunch with Rosemary, and that ran longer than I thought it would…"
Neil rolled his eyes, though a smile was slowly replacing his scowl, "Sure it did. You and Rose act like you never spend all your time together. I mean really, you two are never apart. I wonder what would happen if you were forced to go a day without seeing each other."
"What's wrong with spending time with my best friend?" Bethany laughed softly.
"Not a thing, I just think it's funny," Neil smirked at his sister.
"Hmph. Brat." She reached over to tousle her brother's hair, the tight, auburn curls a few shades lighter than her own. "Did you want to come to the factory with me? I only need to test the samples for the new line; it shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Darrell said they were having problems with one of the flavors and were making some minutes changes. He wants me to double check them before we begin mass production in two weeks."
Neil shrugged, "Sure, why not. I really don't want to study anyway."
"Excellent. After that you can come with me to Rosemary's shop." She grinned evilly before suddenly increasing her stride to a run, chunky boots clomping on the dirty sidewalk.
Behind her Neil cried out in surprise, "Bethany! Damn it, I'm NOT going to that creepy old store. Get back here now!" Grinning despite himself, Neil took off after his sister, chasing her the remaining distance to the factory.
~*~*~*~
"Ah, Bethany. We were beginning to worry you weren't coming today. Oh, you've brought Neil along as well. Always a pleasure to see you both. How is Darrell doing? He sounded a little stressed on the phone this morning."
"Hello Rufus," Bethany smiled warmly at the older man, "You now how he is, the words "play" and "relax" are nowhere in his vocabulary. He's doing all right though. I'm told you wound up making some changes to the recipe?"
"Yes, the samples are in the office." Rufus turned and led the way through the large building. His dark suit went well with his silver-tinged black hair, a dark figure against the cheerful blue paint and furniture decorating the offices of the factory.
Neil trailed along behind his sister and Rufus, his gaze wandering to examine offices and rooms he knew by heart. The factory was old, familiar territory. The offices where he used to play, the time he accidentally wandered onto the Floor itself. The smell he loathed, having grown up surrounded by it in this place. Shaking his head, Neil increased his pace to catch up with his sister and the man who ran the factory.
"So what changes were made exactly? My brother said something about the flavors not working so well…" she queried gently.
"Yes - the raspberry has been giving us trouble. It comes out a little too bitter, and we can't add more sugar without ruining the chocolates completely. We were playing with the composition, but so far nothing has really worked. This is our latest attempt, and it still is unsatisfactory." Reaching his office desk, Rufus lifted a tray. It was covered with four neat rows of white chocolate, varying in shape from simple squares to hearts and flowers, each set on a piece of colored waxed paper. "Here - samples of the orange, lemon, raspberry, and chocolate."
Gingerly Bethany reached for a heart shaped chocolate, resting on a piece of reddish-pink paper. She bit into it, grimacing slightly as she chewed, "Hmm, I see what you mean. The raspberry liquor we're using isn't working out too well. I wonder if we should consider switching to a different company for some of our liquors. Hmm…well, nothing is set in stone at this point. If you can't fix it by the end of the week, just abandon the raspberry and go with the strawberry. We'll just wait and use the raspberry in the summer."
Rufus nodded, his expression serious. "Yes, ma'am. And the others?"
"The orange is really good, but the lemon is…kind of weak?" Neil's voice was thoughtful as he finished off a piece of chocolate. He looked at Rufus.
Rufus stared back, nodding. "You think so? I will mention that at the meeting we are holding later. I think they were concerned the tang of the lemon would overpower the chocolate. "
Bethany hummed as she sampled a piece of the last row of chocolate, "Yes, I agree with his assessment. There really isn't much to the lemon. But this last one is divine. I still love plain white chocolate the best."
Rufus laughed, "Yes, I figured that one would have your full approval. Very well then, I'll tell the boys what you've both said. Thank you for stopping by."
"Oh please, you know we always enjoy coming by. It's almost a shame you run this place so well you don't need us anymore. But I guess that's what we pay you for." Bethany laughed as the trio left the office, walking leisurely back the way they had come sooner. "I would stay longer, but I still have several errands to run and I'm pretty sure Neil is dodging his studies."
"Hey! You're the one that dragged me here." Neil glared playfully at his sister. "You'd better be nice, Beth, considering where else you're making me go."
Gently swatting her brother upside the head, Bethany made a face, "Oh, stop it. You over react every time I mention the blasted store. Honestly, you're pathetic. Now let's get moving, before it gets any colder."
Rufus shook his head, laughing at the exchange as he opened the door for them. "Have a good day you two. Stop by later this week and I'll have a new raspberry sample ready."
Bethany waved, smiling. "Can do, Rufus. Tell your wife I said hello, and enjoy the rest of your day."
"The same to you." Rufus waved and closed the door.
Outside, Neil took a deep breath of the city air. The cold wind added an almost fresh taste to the otherwise stale air, blowing away the lingering scent of chocolate. Digging into his pocket, he pulled free a pack of gum. Unwrapping a stick, he sighed gratefully as mint washed away the lingering taste of chocolate.
"Alright, do we walk or ride?" Bethany put her hands on her hips, gazing up at the darkening sky. "It's wicked cold out here, you can't tell it's nearly spring at all. Those clouds don't look too promising."
"Then I guess we should probably ride." Neil pulled his leather jacket more securely around his slender form, shoving his hands into the deep pockets. "Funny, it didn't seem this cold when we were walking to the factory."
"That's because you were too buy being angry. You wouldn't notice a hurricane if it came while you were pissed off," her voice was dry.
"Oh, whatever. Grab a taxi already." Neil stuck his tongue out.
Bethany chuckled, moving to the curb to signal a cab.
~*~*~*~
A few minutes later the two siblings were standing in front of a small store, the front worn and unremarkable. Made from faded red brick, a wide picture window took up most of the store front, painted with lavish images of dragons, fairies and other fantastical creatures. The door was to the right of the massive window, a single image on the window that was the upper half of the door - an image of a monster, or maybe a demon, staring mischievously at all who entered the odd shop.
The wooden sign above the window read "Magic For Sale" in simplified cursive, written with dark blue paint. Neil groaned, "Man, this store gives me the creeps. Why can't you have someone normal for a friend?"
"Why does it creep you out? It's just a junk shop, nothing in there bites."
"Says you. I still say that damned bookcase was out to get me last time." Neil grumbled.
"That was your own fault. Honestly, I don't know why you're so jumpy when you're here." Bethany rolled her eyes, latching onto her brother's wrist and dragging him along as she approached the shop door.
Neil replied acidly, holding back. "Maybe it's my demon blood acting up. The powers of good must dwell within and all that."
"Oh, shut up. We both know grandpa is nuts, don't blame his stupid stories for your scaredy-cat behavior." Securing her grip, Bethany braced herself and yanked her brother forward, sending him stumbling into her with an annoyed grunt. "Now move it, I'm standing outside in this frigid weather debating the reasons for your idiocy.
"Yeah, Yeah." Pushing away from his sister, Neil straightened and shook his wrist free. With heavy motions he opened the door, glaring until Bethany entered the shop first. He rolled his eyes as she cried a greeting to her best friend, as if they had not just had lunch together only an hour or so ago. Heaving a sigh, he stepped inside and allowed the door to close behind him. Bells fastened to the top jingled loudly in the store, a biting sound in the dusty quiet of the small space.
Impossible Wish
Chapter Two
"Neil! You actually came inside, I'm so proud of you!"
"Oh, be quiet. You're not funny at all, Rose." Neil stood in the doorway, as if poised to flee at the slightest hint of something strange.
At the counter, the woman called Rosemary giggled quietly. She shared an amused look with Bethany, who only shook her head in amusement. "Come on in, sweetie. Nothing in here is going to hurt you. Except for the bookcase." She giggled again, dark brown hair falling softly into her face.
Neil snorted, but moved deeper into the shop. As the girls settled into yet another conversation, he sighed and began to slowly explore the shop. It seemed no matter how many times he visited the shop, there was always something new. The last time he'd noticed an odd looking book on the topmost shelf of an old bookcase. His curiosity had resulted in most of the bookcase toppling onto his unsuspecting person. Recalling the incident, Neil glared resentfully at the bookcase across the room.
Pointedly avoiding that half of the small shop, he instead stopped in front of a massive chest of drawers. There were several sections, large, deep drawers at the bottom, and slightly smaller ones on the next section up, smaller still in the third section. The very top section was actually two rows of smaller drawers, about ten of them to equal just one of the massive drawers at the bottom. Idly Neil began to rifle through them, half listening to the conversation on the other side of the room.
"Any luck at all? You sounded so hopeful on the phone…" Bethany's vibrant voice was soft.
Rosemary's voice could only be described as 'perky' even when she was upset, as she seemed to be now, "No - I had thought so, but it just flopped. I really am starting to wonder if mama sold it after all."
"Please don't say that. You said she was so careful with her records, surely it would be noted…"
Rosemary sighed, "You're right. I'm just getting depressed. I was so sure…"
Neil's attention broke away from the conversation as he discovered something in one of the medium sized drawers. He frowned, examining the piece of wood sticking up - it looked like the bottom of the drawer had come loose, except that there was something beneath the panel of wood. "What the…" he muttered softly, "A secret compartment? I wonder what this is."
Reaching in, he lifted out the item. Unwrapping the old oilskin that had been used to protect it, he dropped the cloth to the floor and turned the old book over and over in his hands, running his fingers across the smooth leather, tracing the strange pattern stamped across the front and back. The book was in near perfect condition, fastened shut by only a knotted bit of leather cord, looped around a small knob on the front cover.
Moving to sit on the floor, Neil untied the cord and flipped the book open. He gaped at the images that met his eyes as he skimmed through the pages. Each image was more beautiful than the last, sketches of people, flowers, animals, buildings…it went on and on, sketches done with utmost care in what looked like pencil, a few in ink. "Amazing…I wonder who drew these…" Shifting, Neil made to stand, only to clip his shoulder on the drawer he'd left open. "Ouch!"
"Neil, are you okay?" Rosemary called out, distracted laughter in her voice.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Glaring at the drawer, Neil grabbed it and slammed it shut. But the sound of something rattling around inside made him pause, and he slowly reopened the drawer. The fake bottom had come completely loose, and Neil absently lifted it out. Seeing nothing, he reach his hand, running it across the bottom of drawer.
His finger touched something soft, velvet he realized a moment later. Grasping the object, he withdrew it. If his sister had been there, she would have accused him of pouting. It was a plain, rectangular box, small in size and covered in rich, black velvet.
"Neil, what are you doing?"
Neil looked up, "Nothing of import. I just found some weird stuff in this dresser."
Rosemary raised her eyebrows, "Oh, really? That dresser is supposed to be empty - it's not anything suspicious is it? I had a couple of really sketchy kids in here last week, I keep expecting to find a stash of something in here somewhere."
"No, there was a secret compartment. Here, look." Neil grabbed his finds and made his way to the counter, depositing the sketchbook in front of the two women. They exclaimed in excitement, crying in delight every time they turned the page. After several minutes of examination, Rosemary examined the inside of the front and back covers, finally crying in triumph as she located what she sought, "Ah-ha! I thought so - this belonged to great, great grandmother Rachel. Mama said she was something of an artist - though I would say this is a bit more than "something." I wonder why this was stashed in the dresser…I can't believe you found this! See, good things can happen in hear."
"Yeah, yeah. I also found this, though it cost me a chunk of shoulder." To emphasize the point, Neil rubbed his sore shoulder as he lifted the velvet box.
"What's in it?" Rosemary's asked with curiosity. "Something else of great, great grandma's?"
"Dunno…" Neil shrugged, opening the box. The tiny hinges creaked faintly as they moved, revealing white satin and a dark gleam. Neil frowned in disappointment. "It's just a stupid earring - there's not even two of them."
"What?" Rosemary's jaw dropped, and she turned to gape at an equally dumbfounded Bethany. "Let me see that," she took the box as Neil held it out, her hands almost shaking. "Oh my god, this is really it…"
Bethany only shook her head in wonder, still speechless.
Resting on a bed of snow-white satin was a drop earring of medium size, the teardrop hanging from fine, black beads. The teardrop itself was carved from a black diamond, and seemed to be flawless in appearance. It was intended for pierced ears, and once on it would dangle a good two inches.
Shaking his head at the two women, who still were gaping at each other for some reason beyond Neil's understanding, he reached out and lifted the earring out of the box. He was surprised - it was decently heavy for something so small, though as earrings went it was rather large. It would be noticed, at any rate. He held it up to the light, amazed at the colors that seemed to shimmer in and out. He hadn't known black diamonds did that.
"So what's so special about this old thing?" He cocked an eyebrow at his sister and Rosemary.
Rosemary shook herself, as if waking from a stupor. "It's an old heirloom I thought had been lost for good. I'm just surprised it was here in the shop, I figured mama had sold it during one of her tirades." She looked at the other woman briefly, seemingly satisfied by the minute nod Bethany sent her.
Neil did not notice the exchange, still entranced by the play of colors within the dark, glimmering diamond. Bethany smirked, once again shaking her head in amazement. "C'mere real quick."
"Huh? What for?" Neil moved to stand in front of his sister, frowning when she took the earring from him.
Reaching up, she worked a minute to remove the emerald studs in each of his ears. Setting them on the counter, she lifted the heavy drop earring, fastening it in place on his right ear. "There, it's perfect. You look positively sexy, really."
Neil glared, "Yeah, right. This is for chicks, not guys." He made a face, but did not reach up to remove the earring.
"I think it looks good on you. Keep it for a little while, if you like."
"Whatever." Neil spun on his heal, intending to go back to his exploring. A brief wave of dizziness overtook him however, and instead he found himself sitting awkwardly on the floor.
"Neil! Are you okay?" Bethany crouched beside him, arm around his shoulders as she helped him stand.
He knocked her hands away, disgust in his voice, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tripped or something." Irritably he brushed non-existent dust from his clothes before moving back to the dresser to retrieve the book bag he'd left there. "Are we going soon?"
"Actually, you may want to just go without me. Will you be okay by yourself? I don't want you falling like that again."
Making a face at his sister, he lifted his book bag and looped it over his left shoulder. "I'll be fine. I told you, I just tripped or something. I'm going back to my apartment. Call me if you need me, unless it's to drag me in here again. I swear, every time I'm in here something tries to get me." His hand moved to touch the earring that still felt strange, dangling heavily from his right ear. "I'm probably going to die in my sleep tonight from this thing."
"Hey, I'm not forcing you to wear it. But somehow I seriously doubt you're going to be 'eaten alive' or anything else. More likely you'll just fall asleep reading yet another book."
"Yeah, yeah. At least that's better than wasting all my time in an office, too busy to even stop and read something other than another report."
"Leave your brother alone, you know how he is," Bethany frowned reproachfully.
Neil only shrugged, "Whatever. Thanks for dragging me here for another attempt at my life. Bye Rose, same time, same place next week?"
"Of course, sweetie." She giggled again, "You know I always look forward to trying to kill you."
"Yeah. Later then. G'night Beth."
Neil let himself out the shop, hitting the street and once again taking a deep breath. A faint wave of dizziness washed over him, but resolutely he ignored it and turned in the direction of his apartment. Halfway there another wave hit him, and he frowned in growing anger. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He glared unseeing at the crossing light, waiting for it to change as he rubbed his forehead. "I must be more tired than I thought." He muttered to himself, ignoring the handful of people staring at him.
Dropping his head, Neil was briefly startled by the feel of something cold and hard against his cheek before he recalled the earring. Strange, he hadn't noticed it all once leaving the store. Reaching up slowly with one hand, his fingers lightly stroked the teardrop shaped earring. It was ice cold, or perhaps he was simply too warm. The biting wind from earlier seemed to have moved on, leaving a motionless cold to blanket the city.
The light changed, and Neil moved forward with the crowd across the street. Annoyed at the jostling he returned shove for shove, ignoring the glares sent his way. Finally breaking away on the opposite side of the street he increased his pace, moving as quickly toward the subway station as he could.
The waves of dizziness continued to hit him, though none were as strong as the first one. Groaning he collapsed into the nearest available seat and lay his head back against the window as the subway pulled out of the station. People gazed at him with mixed expressions. Neil closed his eyes and willed them away.
He sat motionless for three stops, finally lifting his head and slowly dragging himself to his feet as the subway slowed and stopped a fourth time. Clambering out, he made his uncertain way out of the station and up to the street. Several more minutes had him near stumbling into his apartment building. The doorman looked at him in alarm, "Mr. DeMarius! Are you okay? You look terrible." Rushing to the young man's side, he caught him just as Neil collapsed to the floor.
~*~*~*~
Neil slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the light and quickly shutting them again. Groaning he tried again, opening his eyes slowly to allow them to adjust to the painful light.
His bedroom. "Ugh, what am I doing here?"
"Causing trouble, like always" said a dry voice.
Neil jerked his head around to glare at the unwelcome figure seated in an overstuffed chair by the window, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Darrell frowned, rising gracefully from the seat and stalking over to the bed. "That's what I'd like to know. I got a frantic call from your building manager telling me you collapsed in the lobby. You're lucky I haven't called Beth."
Slowly Neil sat up, his hand going to his head, "Damn, my head feels like it was beat against a wall for an hour straight. I know you're mad at me, but was that necessary?" He fell back onto the bed with another groan. "And could you please stop making the room move?" Cracking an eye open, Neil's frowned at the expression on his brother's face. "What did I do this time?"
"What's wrong with you? You were fine in my office earlier, and now you're all pale and shaky."
Neil sounded grumpy, "How the hell should I know? I was in the shop with Rose and Beth, we found this stupid thing," he pointed to the earring laying dark against his pale green pillow case, "and the next thing I know I feel really dizzy. It wasn't that bad at first, it just got bad later."
"Earring? What's that got to do with anything? You haven't been skipping meals or anything, have you? I really shouldn't have let you get your own apartment." Darrell stood over the bed, his dark red curls so much like Neil's own. Only their eyes differed, steel grey to dark green.
"Nothing, I was just relating my schedule of events. No mother, I don't skip meals. And if I'd lived with you much longer, we'd both be dead. Now would please shut up, you're making my head hurt even more."
Darrell's face pinched with anger, "I can see you're as bratty as ever, which means there can't be too much wrong with you. The next time you collapse remind me to just leave you there." He left the bed, stalking across the room to the door. "There's some take out on the table for you, if it's not too difficult for you to move your poor, aching head from that bed."
Neil covered his face with his hands, sighing into them, "Darrell, wait. I didn't-"
"Just shut up and come eat before it gets much colder," Darrell exited the room, leaving the door open.
Forcing himself up, Neil waited a few moments before lifting himself up off the bed, walking slowly across the room and out into the short hallway, crossing the living room to the small kitchen and dining area. His brother was already seated at the small table, opening various containers and setting them out on the table. The smell of Chinese food wafted across the small area, and Neil breathed it in, smiling slightly. "Mmm, that smells good."
"It damn well better, it took long enough to get here," Darrell groused as he began heaping his plate with rice, noodles and chicken."
Looking out the window, Neil started at how dark it was. "What time is it? It was only around 5:30 when I left the shop."
"Around nine or so, you've been out for a while. Sit. Eat. Now."
Neil fell into a chair, quickly filling his plate with fried rice and sweet and sour pork. Lifting his chopsticks he started to rapidly devour the meal. "Damn. What the hell is wrong with me?"
"I've got a list. I'll have Eliza type it up, you can pick it up at lunch tomorrow."
"Shut up."
They ate in silence for several minutes, methodically demolishing the contents of the half dozen or so containers of Chinese food scattered across the table. At last dropping his chopsticks to his plate, Darrell turned his sharp gaze on his younger brother, "So you really have no idea why you just collapsed? If this is a ploy to get out of the funeral, I'll beat you senseless and drag you to it anyway."
"Stop your bitching. I'll go to the thrice-damned funeral. I really have no clue why I got so dizzy - and that's all it was, nothing else. The food seems to be helping."
"Good. But collapse again and I'll call Beth in to take care of you."
Neil grimaced, "Look, I know we don't always get along but sending the anti-nurse after me is a little too cruel. I said I'd go to the funeral, there's no need to result to threats of cruelty."
Darrell's laugher was sharp, barking. He smiled briefly as he rose, "It looks like you'll live. Do dishes since I got dinner. And call me immediately if you start to feel dizzy again. Don't forget to lock up." Lifting his long coat from where he'd tossed it over the couch, Darrell waved soundlessly to his brother before turning and exiting the apartment. Neil listened as he used his spare key to lock the door, and shook his head. Moving slowly, he headed for the door, securing the dead bolt before turning and collapsing onto the couch.
Reaching for the remote, he flipped idly through the channels before settling for an old movie he'd seen at least a dozen times. Every now and then he would unconsciously reach up to lightly stroke the black teardrop dangling from his right ear, still ice cold to the touch.
Impossible Wish
Prologue
"It didn't have to end this way, Ornias. Why couldn't you just cooperate? It would have saved your life."
"I'm not dead yet." Ornias snarled up at the speaker. Blood poured from wounds scattered across his body, but most profusely from the hole in his left side. Gritting his teeth to hold back a cry of pain, he rose slowly to his feet. "I'll take you with me if it's the last thing I do."
"Where is your stone? Tell me and perhaps I'll save you."
"I'm beyond saving, and I wouldn't let your foul hands touch me where it a possibility. I would rather die."
"Then die," the speaker surged forward, long claws ripping a new wound in Ornias' already battered body. Hate filled eyes stared up at him as Ornias slowly crumbled to the ground. Kneeling, the figure wiped his claws off on the clothing of the dead man. Rising with easy fluidity he turned - and stopped.
"W,w,who are you? What-what have you done? Felix, oh god Felix!!" The woman rushed forward despite her bulging stomach, collapsing next to the still body on the floor. Her eyes streamed with tears as she examined him.
Behind her the man stared in silence, his face revealing nothing. "You are his lover?"
The woman turned, her expression as fierce and angry as Ornias' had been only moments ago. "I was his wife."
"Then you are aware of what he was?" the man moved closer, looming over the woman.
"Why did you kill him?"
"He chose to die. If he had simply given me the stone, it would not have been a problem." His voice was condescending, cold.
"Why should he give it to you? You're just another piece of scum envious of his greatness. What makes you think you have any right to it?" her eyes were hard, hands buried in the bloody fabric of her husband's shirt, gripping it in anger and agitation.
"Where is the stone?" The man stepped closer, kneeling to be at eye level. Hair so dark it was indistinguishable from the shadows in the room flowed over his shoulders and around his face. Pale skin and burning red eyes only made him look darker. "Give me the stone, or I'll not hesitate to kill you as well."
"You would kill a woman and her unborn child?" her tone was incredulous; she gaped at him a moment before her anger returned stronger than ever.
"I will do whatever is necessary to prevent that stone falling into hands that should not hold it. Give it to me if you love your child."
The woman's face froze, rage flickering across it before she broke down into tears. "Here, take it." Reaching up she wrenched a necklace from around her throat. The silver chain snapped and she all but tossed the heavy pendant at the dark, expressionless man. "You will pay for this demon, if it's the last thing I do before I perish from this earth I will see you dead."
"I can see why you and your husband got along so well. But never will there come a day when I fall victim to a sniveling human. Be grateful that I allow you to live - consider it a parting gift to your husband." The demon vanished.
On the floor, the woman's face twisted again in hatred and bitterness as she stared at the corpse of her husband, who in death had reverted to his demon form. The body would have to be burned. Tears dry and stale on her cheeks, she rose heavily to her feet. Her heavy skirts dragged on the floor, slippered feet smeared with blood from the damp spots on the carpet. Quietly she left, closing the study door behind her.
~*~*~*~
"This isn't right! What have you done?" Simon turned to glare at the man beside him, who only shook his head in confusion.
"I have no idea, Simon. My spell was perfect, your demon should be here - I have no idea what this is." Frustration clouded his features as he stared at the demon trapped within the spell cage. It was a beautiful demon; the jewels and silks with which it was adorned stated that someone thought this demon valuable indeed. His skin was rich and dark, flawless and smooth, eyes so deep a blue they appeared almost violet in the flickering light of the basement torches. The demon's hair was pale, nearly white but with the faintest tinges of gold.
"Then why isn't he here! We were so close, how did you manage to mess it up?" Simon raged, launching spell books across the room as he stalked to his friend. He grabbed the shorter man by his collar, dragging him close. "That was are only chance. You've ruined everything. We can't cast that spell ever again - it will only work once. How did you screw it up? I thought you were the best there was, Gareth."
Gareth shoved Simon away, straightening his high collar before addressing the furious man, "I did not mess the spell. My spell was perfect, they always are. This little demon here must have slipped into the binding instead of the demon we wanted."
"I don't care. The point is that I've lost my only chance to restore my family's greatness. Get out." He turned away, stalking to the stairs that would take him back up into the mansion."
"What of this creature here?"
"Kill it. Keep it. Do whatever you want. But don't expect me to pay you. I don't pay for failures." Simon was gone.
Gareth smiled in pleasure, "Who needs payment when I have you, my lovely little demon. Perhaps this night has not been a complete waste, though I would have preferred the bigger fish were attempting to snare. However, you will make sufficient compensation, I think"
The trapped demon only stared back at him, his cries of fear and anger soundless within the confines of the spell cage.
Impossible Wish
Chapter One
"I'm not going."
"The hell you're not. It's his funeral, Neil. You'll go if I have to drag you there myself."
"Then get ready to start dragging, because I'm not going!" Neil struggled to keep from shouting, glaring at his brother across the wide office desk. He glanced idly at the clock hanging on the wall to his left - they'd been arguing for nearly an hour. He forced back a groan.
His brother rose to his feet, tossing the pen he'd been toying with to the desktop. He braced his hands on the desk, leaning over it to stare back at the younger boy. "This attitude of yours is getting out of hand - like it or not you're going to that funeral. The man may have been an ass, but he did raise us. The very least you can do is attend his funeral."
"I'm not going. I have an important lecture to attend that day. If I miss it my grade is going to go hell. It's not something I can just make up." He shifted impatiently, swinging his book bag down and switching it to his right shoulder. Dark green eyes stared furiously at eyes the color of steel.
Steel eyes stared unwaveringly back,"Don't give me that. You know damn good and well a funeral won't be held against you. I expect to see you there, Neil. If I have to track you down and forcibly drag you out to the estate, you'll regret it. Do you understand me?" Pushing himself up off the desk, the man angrily adjusted his dark grey suit, straightening his emerald green tie before forcing himself to sit back down. He reclined back, crossing his arms and frowning darkly.
"Unfortunately, yes." Neil's voice was flat.
"Goddammit, you'll be there or so help me…" he reached out a hand to retrieve the pen he'd discarded earlier, toying with it before simply gripping it tightly in a fist.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got to go." With a snort Neil turned away, book bag thumping against his back, sneakers silent on the thick carpet. He stomped into the outer office, slamming the door behind him. Pointedly ignoring the muffled shouts of outrage from the other side of the door, he gripped the strap of his book bag and continued walking, past the wide reception desk and toward the hallway and elevators. The receptionist looked up as he walked by, shaking her head ruefully. "Have a good day, Neil."
"Yeah, thanks Eliza. You too." Neil didn't bother to look at her as he replied, still stomping as he made for the elevators. Mashing the down button, he shuffled impatiently as he waited. Finally one the elevators chimed and he stalked inside. Punching the button marked lobby, he then threw himself against the back wall, glowering out at the office as the doors slid shut. He muttered aloud as the elevator descended, his angry words filling the small space and only making him madder. He stared angrily at the numbers above the door when the elevator abruptly halted, the door opening to let in whoever had stopped it at the eleventh floor.
Neil's rage showed plainly on his face as he stared at the newcomer, who stopped and then backed away, "Umm, I'll just wait for the next one." Neil said nothing, merely allowed the doors to once again slide shut and the elevator to continue it's descent.
The elevator reached the lobby, chiming softly as the doors slid open. Neil threw himself out of it, not noticing the person in front of him until he sent the figure sprawling. His temper increased until he noticed whom it was he'd knocked to the ground. "Oh, sorry Sheridan."
"…No worries." The soft voice of the young man was in strong contrast to Neil's anger roughened voice. Gold eyes stared up at him, "I don't suppose you've seen my dad?"
"Here," Neil reached out a hand, helping the shorter man to his feet. "I think your dad is still up there, I saw him walking around before I met with my brother."
"Ah, thanks. Talk to you later." Smoothing his gold-blonde hair back into order, Sheridan resettled his own bag and entered the elevator just vacated by Neil.
"Yeah." Neil waved absently as he turned to leave. The lobby doors slid open as he approached, and he exited the building, barely noticing the cold, biting wind as he walked. Glowering at everything in his path, he continued in silence for several long minutes.
"-eil. Neil! Neil!"
"What?" Startled, he looked up and around, until his gaze finally fell upon a familiar woman. "Damn it Bethany, not you too. What now?" Neil heaved an aggravated sigh as he waited for his sister to catch up with him.
"Is that any way to talk to your sister? Be a good little brother and look happy to see me. I'm guessing your chat with Darrell was as successful as ever?" The woman mock frowned as she spoke, her teasing grin making it hard for Neil to continue seething.
"Whatever. You know how he is," was the disgruntled reply.
Bethany laughed, "I know how you both are. I hope you come, I'll need you to help alleviate the boredom and scare off the more annoying relatives." She resumed walking, her dark auburn hair bobbing from the high ponytail in which she'd put it.
Neil walked along side her, "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you've convinced Rose to go with you, so you'll hardly need me."
"Of course Rose is coming with me. But she's hardly the scary type. I still need you for that." Bethany winked at her brother.
He snorted in disbelief, "Oh, whatever. Just get them into her shop, that'll scare anyone. What are you doing here anyway? Weren't you going to the factory today?"
"You and that store. You're the only one that's scared of it. Yeah, I'm headed to the factory now. I would have gone this morning, but I got held up at a meeting. After that I had lunch with Rosemary, and that ran longer than I thought it would…"
Neil rolled his eyes, though a smile was slowly replacing his scowl, "Sure it did. You and Rose act like you never spend all your time together. I mean really, you two are never apart. I wonder what would happen if you were forced to go a day without seeing each other."
"What's wrong with spending time with my best friend?" Bethany laughed softly.
"Not a thing, I just think it's funny," Neil smirked at his sister.
"Hmph. Brat." She reached over to tousle her brother's hair, the tight, auburn curls a few shades lighter than her own. "Did you want to come to the factory with me? I only need to test the samples for the new line; it shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Darrell said they were having problems with one of the flavors and were making some minutes changes. He wants me to double check them before we begin mass production in two weeks."
Neil shrugged, "Sure, why not. I really don't want to study anyway."
"Excellent. After that you can come with me to Rosemary's shop." She grinned evilly before suddenly increasing her stride to a run, chunky boots clomping on the dirty sidewalk.
Behind her Neil cried out in surprise, "Bethany! Damn it, I'm NOT going to that creepy old store. Get back here now!" Grinning despite himself, Neil took off after his sister, chasing her the remaining distance to the factory.
~*~*~*~
"Ah, Bethany. We were beginning to worry you weren't coming today. Oh, you've brought Neil along as well. Always a pleasure to see you both. How is Darrell doing? He sounded a little stressed on the phone this morning."
"Hello Rufus," Bethany smiled warmly at the older man, "You now how he is, the words "play" and "relax" are nowhere in his vocabulary. He's doing all right though. I'm told you wound up making some changes to the recipe?"
"Yes, the samples are in the office." Rufus turned and led the way through the large building. His dark suit went well with his silver-tinged black hair, a dark figure against the cheerful blue paint and furniture decorating the offices of the factory.
Neil trailed along behind his sister and Rufus, his gaze wandering to examine offices and rooms he knew by heart. The factory was old, familiar territory. The offices where he used to play, the time he accidentally wandered onto the Floor itself. The smell he loathed, having grown up surrounded by it in this place. Shaking his head, Neil increased his pace to catch up with his sister and the man who ran the factory.
"So what changes were made exactly? My brother said something about the flavors not working so well…" she queried gently.
"Yes - the raspberry has been giving us trouble. It comes out a little too bitter, and we can't add more sugar without ruining the chocolates completely. We were playing with the composition, but so far nothing has really worked. This is our latest attempt, and it still is unsatisfactory." Reaching his office desk, Rufus lifted a tray. It was covered with four neat rows of white chocolate, varying in shape from simple squares to hearts and flowers, each set on a piece of colored waxed paper. "Here - samples of the orange, lemon, raspberry, and chocolate."
Gingerly Bethany reached for a heart shaped chocolate, resting on a piece of reddish-pink paper. She bit into it, grimacing slightly as she chewed, "Hmm, I see what you mean. The raspberry liquor we're using isn't working out too well. I wonder if we should consider switching to a different company for some of our liquors. Hmm…well, nothing is set in stone at this point. If you can't fix it by the end of the week, just abandon the raspberry and go with the strawberry. We'll just wait and use the raspberry in the summer."
Rufus nodded, his expression serious. "Yes, ma'am. And the others?"
"The orange is really good, but the lemon is…kind of weak?" Neil's voice was thoughtful as he finished off a piece of chocolate. He looked at Rufus.
Rufus stared back, nodding. "You think so? I will mention that at the meeting we are holding later. I think they were concerned the tang of the lemon would overpower the chocolate. "
Bethany hummed as she sampled a piece of the last row of chocolate, "Yes, I agree with his assessment. There really isn't much to the lemon. But this last one is divine. I still love plain white chocolate the best."
Rufus laughed, "Yes, I figured that one would have your full approval. Very well then, I'll tell the boys what you've both said. Thank you for stopping by."
"Oh please, you know we always enjoy coming by. It's almost a shame you run this place so well you don't need us anymore. But I guess that's what we pay you for." Bethany laughed as the trio left the office, walking leisurely back the way they had come sooner. "I would stay longer, but I still have several errands to run and I'm pretty sure Neil is dodging his studies."
"Hey! You're the one that dragged me here." Neil glared playfully at his sister. "You'd better be nice, Beth, considering where else you're making me go."
Gently swatting her brother upside the head, Bethany made a face, "Oh, stop it. You over react every time I mention the blasted store. Honestly, you're pathetic. Now let's get moving, before it gets any colder."
Rufus shook his head, laughing at the exchange as he opened the door for them. "Have a good day you two. Stop by later this week and I'll have a new raspberry sample ready."
Bethany waved, smiling. "Can do, Rufus. Tell your wife I said hello, and enjoy the rest of your day."
"The same to you." Rufus waved and closed the door.
Outside, Neil took a deep breath of the city air. The cold wind added an almost fresh taste to the otherwise stale air, blowing away the lingering scent of chocolate. Digging into his pocket, he pulled free a pack of gum. Unwrapping a stick, he sighed gratefully as mint washed away the lingering taste of chocolate.
"Alright, do we walk or ride?" Bethany put her hands on her hips, gazing up at the darkening sky. "It's wicked cold out here, you can't tell it's nearly spring at all. Those clouds don't look too promising."
"Then I guess we should probably ride." Neil pulled his leather jacket more securely around his slender form, shoving his hands into the deep pockets. "Funny, it didn't seem this cold when we were walking to the factory."
"That's because you were too buy being angry. You wouldn't notice a hurricane if it came while you were pissed off," her voice was dry.
"Oh, whatever. Grab a taxi already." Neil stuck his tongue out.
Bethany chuckled, moving to the curb to signal a cab.
~*~*~*~
A few minutes later the two siblings were standing in front of a small store, the front worn and unremarkable. Made from faded red brick, a wide picture window took up most of the store front, painted with lavish images of dragons, fairies and other fantastical creatures. The door was to the right of the massive window, a single image on the window that was the upper half of the door - an image of a monster, or maybe a demon, staring mischievously at all who entered the odd shop.
The wooden sign above the window read "Magic For Sale" in simplified cursive, written with dark blue paint. Neil groaned, "Man, this store gives me the creeps. Why can't you have someone normal for a friend?"
"Why does it creep you out? It's just a junk shop, nothing in there bites."
"Says you. I still say that damned bookcase was out to get me last time." Neil grumbled.
"That was your own fault. Honestly, I don't know why you're so jumpy when you're here." Bethany rolled her eyes, latching onto her brother's wrist and dragging him along as she approached the shop door.
Neil replied acidly, holding back. "Maybe it's my demon blood acting up. The powers of good must dwell within and all that."
"Oh, shut up. We both know grandpa is nuts, don't blame his stupid stories for your scaredy-cat behavior." Securing her grip, Bethany braced herself and yanked her brother forward, sending him stumbling into her with an annoyed grunt. "Now move it, I'm standing outside in this frigid weather debating the reasons for your idiocy.
"Yeah, Yeah." Pushing away from his sister, Neil straightened and shook his wrist free. With heavy motions he opened the door, glaring until Bethany entered the shop first. He rolled his eyes as she cried a greeting to her best friend, as if they had not just had lunch together only an hour or so ago. Heaving a sigh, he stepped inside and allowed the door to close behind him. Bells fastened to the top jingled loudly in the store, a biting sound in the dusty quiet of the small space.
Impossible Wish
Chapter Two
"Neil! You actually came inside, I'm so proud of you!"
"Oh, be quiet. You're not funny at all, Rose." Neil stood in the doorway, as if poised to flee at the slightest hint of something strange.
At the counter, the woman called Rosemary giggled quietly. She shared an amused look with Bethany, who only shook her head in amusement. "Come on in, sweetie. Nothing in here is going to hurt you. Except for the bookcase." She giggled again, dark brown hair falling softly into her face.
Neil snorted, but moved deeper into the shop. As the girls settled into yet another conversation, he sighed and began to slowly explore the shop. It seemed no matter how many times he visited the shop, there was always something new. The last time he'd noticed an odd looking book on the topmost shelf of an old bookcase. His curiosity had resulted in most of the bookcase toppling onto his unsuspecting person. Recalling the incident, Neil glared resentfully at the bookcase across the room.
Pointedly avoiding that half of the small shop, he instead stopped in front of a massive chest of drawers. There were several sections, large, deep drawers at the bottom, and slightly smaller ones on the next section up, smaller still in the third section. The very top section was actually two rows of smaller drawers, about ten of them to equal just one of the massive drawers at the bottom. Idly Neil began to rifle through them, half listening to the conversation on the other side of the room.
"Any luck at all? You sounded so hopeful on the phone…" Bethany's vibrant voice was soft.
Rosemary's voice could only be described as 'perky' even when she was upset, as she seemed to be now, "No - I had thought so, but it just flopped. I really am starting to wonder if mama sold it after all."
"Please don't say that. You said she was so careful with her records, surely it would be noted…"
Rosemary sighed, "You're right. I'm just getting depressed. I was so sure…"
Neil's attention broke away from the conversation as he discovered something in one of the medium sized drawers. He frowned, examining the piece of wood sticking up - it looked like the bottom of the drawer had come loose, except that there was something beneath the panel of wood. "What the…" he muttered softly, "A secret compartment? I wonder what this is."
Reaching in, he lifted out the item. Unwrapping the old oilskin that had been used to protect it, he dropped the cloth to the floor and turned the old book over and over in his hands, running his fingers across the smooth leather, tracing the strange pattern stamped across the front and back. The book was in near perfect condition, fastened shut by only a knotted bit of leather cord, looped around a small knob on the front cover.
Moving to sit on the floor, Neil untied the cord and flipped the book open. He gaped at the images that met his eyes as he skimmed through the pages. Each image was more beautiful than the last, sketches of people, flowers, animals, buildings…it went on and on, sketches done with utmost care in what looked like pencil, a few in ink. "Amazing…I wonder who drew these…" Shifting, Neil made to stand, only to clip his shoulder on the drawer he'd left open. "Ouch!"
"Neil, are you okay?" Rosemary called out, distracted laughter in her voice.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Glaring at the drawer, Neil grabbed it and slammed it shut. But the sound of something rattling around inside made him pause, and he slowly reopened the drawer. The fake bottom had come completely loose, and Neil absently lifted it out. Seeing nothing, he reach his hand, running it across the bottom of drawer.
His finger touched something soft, velvet he realized a moment later. Grasping the object, he withdrew it. If his sister had been there, she would have accused him of pouting. It was a plain, rectangular box, small in size and covered in rich, black velvet.
"Neil, what are you doing?"
Neil looked up, "Nothing of import. I just found some weird stuff in this dresser."
Rosemary raised her eyebrows, "Oh, really? That dresser is supposed to be empty - it's not anything suspicious is it? I had a couple of really sketchy kids in here last week, I keep expecting to find a stash of something in here somewhere."
"No, there was a secret compartment. Here, look." Neil grabbed his finds and made his way to the counter, depositing the sketchbook in front of the two women. They exclaimed in excitement, crying in delight every time they turned the page. After several minutes of examination, Rosemary examined the inside of the front and back covers, finally crying in triumph as she located what she sought, "Ah-ha! I thought so - this belonged to great, great grandmother Rachel. Mama said she was something of an artist - though I would say this is a bit more than "something." I wonder why this was stashed in the dresser…I can't believe you found this! See, good things can happen in hear."
"Yeah, yeah. I also found this, though it cost me a chunk of shoulder." To emphasize the point, Neil rubbed his sore shoulder as he lifted the velvet box.
"What's in it?" Rosemary's asked with curiosity. "Something else of great, great grandma's?"
"Dunno…" Neil shrugged, opening the box. The tiny hinges creaked faintly as they moved, revealing white satin and a dark gleam. Neil frowned in disappointment. "It's just a stupid earring - there's not even two of them."
"What?" Rosemary's jaw dropped, and she turned to gape at an equally dumbfounded Bethany. "Let me see that," she took the box as Neil held it out, her hands almost shaking. "Oh my god, this is really it…"
Bethany only shook her head in wonder, still speechless.
Resting on a bed of snow-white satin was a drop earring of medium size, the teardrop hanging from fine, black beads. The teardrop itself was carved from a black diamond, and seemed to be flawless in appearance. It was intended for pierced ears, and once on it would dangle a good two inches.
Shaking his head at the two women, who still were gaping at each other for some reason beyond Neil's understanding, he reached out and lifted the earring out of the box. He was surprised - it was decently heavy for something so small, though as earrings went it was rather large. It would be noticed, at any rate. He held it up to the light, amazed at the colors that seemed to shimmer in and out. He hadn't known black diamonds did that.
"So what's so special about this old thing?" He cocked an eyebrow at his sister and Rosemary.
Rosemary shook herself, as if waking from a stupor. "It's an old heirloom I thought had been lost for good. I'm just surprised it was here in the shop, I figured mama had sold it during one of her tirades." She looked at the other woman briefly, seemingly satisfied by the minute nod Bethany sent her.
Neil did not notice the exchange, still entranced by the play of colors within the dark, glimmering diamond. Bethany smirked, once again shaking her head in amazement. "C'mere real quick."
"Huh? What for?" Neil moved to stand in front of his sister, frowning when she took the earring from him.
Reaching up, she worked a minute to remove the emerald studs in each of his ears. Setting them on the counter, she lifted the heavy drop earring, fastening it in place on his right ear. "There, it's perfect. You look positively sexy, really."
Neil glared, "Yeah, right. This is for chicks, not guys." He made a face, but did not reach up to remove the earring.
"I think it looks good on you. Keep it for a little while, if you like."
"Whatever." Neil spun on his heal, intending to go back to his exploring. A brief wave of dizziness overtook him however, and instead he found himself sitting awkwardly on the floor.
"Neil! Are you okay?" Bethany crouched beside him, arm around his shoulders as she helped him stand.
He knocked her hands away, disgust in his voice, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tripped or something." Irritably he brushed non-existent dust from his clothes before moving back to the dresser to retrieve the book bag he'd left there. "Are we going soon?"
"Actually, you may want to just go without me. Will you be okay by yourself? I don't want you falling like that again."
Making a face at his sister, he lifted his book bag and looped it over his left shoulder. "I'll be fine. I told you, I just tripped or something. I'm going back to my apartment. Call me if you need me, unless it's to drag me in here again. I swear, every time I'm in here something tries to get me." His hand moved to touch the earring that still felt strange, dangling heavily from his right ear. "I'm probably going to die in my sleep tonight from this thing."
"Hey, I'm not forcing you to wear it. But somehow I seriously doubt you're going to be 'eaten alive' or anything else. More likely you'll just fall asleep reading yet another book."
"Yeah, yeah. At least that's better than wasting all my time in an office, too busy to even stop and read something other than another report."
"Leave your brother alone, you know how he is," Bethany frowned reproachfully.
Neil only shrugged, "Whatever. Thanks for dragging me here for another attempt at my life. Bye Rose, same time, same place next week?"
"Of course, sweetie." She giggled again, "You know I always look forward to trying to kill you."
"Yeah. Later then. G'night Beth."
Neil let himself out the shop, hitting the street and once again taking a deep breath. A faint wave of dizziness washed over him, but resolutely he ignored it and turned in the direction of his apartment. Halfway there another wave hit him, and he frowned in growing anger. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He glared unseeing at the crossing light, waiting for it to change as he rubbed his forehead. "I must be more tired than I thought." He muttered to himself, ignoring the handful of people staring at him.
Dropping his head, Neil was briefly startled by the feel of something cold and hard against his cheek before he recalled the earring. Strange, he hadn't noticed it all once leaving the store. Reaching up slowly with one hand, his fingers lightly stroked the teardrop shaped earring. It was ice cold, or perhaps he was simply too warm. The biting wind from earlier seemed to have moved on, leaving a motionless cold to blanket the city.
The light changed, and Neil moved forward with the crowd across the street. Annoyed at the jostling he returned shove for shove, ignoring the glares sent his way. Finally breaking away on the opposite side of the street he increased his pace, moving as quickly toward the subway station as he could.
The waves of dizziness continued to hit him, though none were as strong as the first one. Groaning he collapsed into the nearest available seat and lay his head back against the window as the subway pulled out of the station. People gazed at him with mixed expressions. Neil closed his eyes and willed them away.
He sat motionless for three stops, finally lifting his head and slowly dragging himself to his feet as the subway slowed and stopped a fourth time. Clambering out, he made his uncertain way out of the station and up to the street. Several more minutes had him near stumbling into his apartment building. The doorman looked at him in alarm, "Mr. DeMarius! Are you okay? You look terrible." Rushing to the young man's side, he caught him just as Neil collapsed to the floor.
~*~*~*~
Neil slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the light and quickly shutting them again. Groaning he tried again, opening his eyes slowly to allow them to adjust to the painful light.
His bedroom. "Ugh, what am I doing here?"
"Causing trouble, like always" said a dry voice.
Neil jerked his head around to glare at the unwelcome figure seated in an overstuffed chair by the window, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Darrell frowned, rising gracefully from the seat and stalking over to the bed. "That's what I'd like to know. I got a frantic call from your building manager telling me you collapsed in the lobby. You're lucky I haven't called Beth."
Slowly Neil sat up, his hand going to his head, "Damn, my head feels like it was beat against a wall for an hour straight. I know you're mad at me, but was that necessary?" He fell back onto the bed with another groan. "And could you please stop making the room move?" Cracking an eye open, Neil's frowned at the expression on his brother's face. "What did I do this time?"
"What's wrong with you? You were fine in my office earlier, and now you're all pale and shaky."
Neil sounded grumpy, "How the hell should I know? I was in the shop with Rose and Beth, we found this stupid thing," he pointed to the earring laying dark against his pale green pillow case, "and the next thing I know I feel really dizzy. It wasn't that bad at first, it just got bad later."
"Earring? What's that got to do with anything? You haven't been skipping meals or anything, have you? I really shouldn't have let you get your own apartment." Darrell stood over the bed, his dark red curls so much like Neil's own. Only their eyes differed, steel grey to dark green.
"Nothing, I was just relating my schedule of events. No mother, I don't skip meals. And if I'd lived with you much longer, we'd both be dead. Now would please shut up, you're making my head hurt even more."
Darrell's face pinched with anger, "I can see you're as bratty as ever, which means there can't be too much wrong with you. The next time you collapse remind me to just leave you there." He left the bed, stalking across the room to the door. "There's some take out on the table for you, if it's not too difficult for you to move your poor, aching head from that bed."
Neil covered his face with his hands, sighing into them, "Darrell, wait. I didn't-"
"Just shut up and come eat before it gets much colder," Darrell exited the room, leaving the door open.
Forcing himself up, Neil waited a few moments before lifting himself up off the bed, walking slowly across the room and out into the short hallway, crossing the living room to the small kitchen and dining area. His brother was already seated at the small table, opening various containers and setting them out on the table. The smell of Chinese food wafted across the small area, and Neil breathed it in, smiling slightly. "Mmm, that smells good."
"It damn well better, it took long enough to get here," Darrell groused as he began heaping his plate with rice, noodles and chicken."
Looking out the window, Neil started at how dark it was. "What time is it? It was only around 5:30 when I left the shop."
"Around nine or so, you've been out for a while. Sit. Eat. Now."
Neil fell into a chair, quickly filling his plate with fried rice and sweet and sour pork. Lifting his chopsticks he started to rapidly devour the meal. "Damn. What the hell is wrong with me?"
"I've got a list. I'll have Eliza type it up, you can pick it up at lunch tomorrow."
"Shut up."
They ate in silence for several minutes, methodically demolishing the contents of the half dozen or so containers of Chinese food scattered across the table. At last dropping his chopsticks to his plate, Darrell turned his sharp gaze on his younger brother, "So you really have no idea why you just collapsed? If this is a ploy to get out of the funeral, I'll beat you senseless and drag you to it anyway."
"Stop your bitching. I'll go to the thrice-damned funeral. I really have no clue why I got so dizzy - and that's all it was, nothing else. The food seems to be helping."
"Good. But collapse again and I'll call Beth in to take care of you."
Neil grimaced, "Look, I know we don't always get along but sending the anti-nurse after me is a little too cruel. I said I'd go to the funeral, there's no need to result to threats of cruelty."
Darrell's laugher was sharp, barking. He smiled briefly as he rose, "It looks like you'll live. Do dishes since I got dinner. And call me immediately if you start to feel dizzy again. Don't forget to lock up." Lifting his long coat from where he'd tossed it over the couch, Darrell waved soundlessly to his brother before turning and exiting the apartment. Neil listened as he used his spare key to lock the door, and shook his head. Moving slowly, he headed for the door, securing the dead bolt before turning and collapsing onto the couch.
Reaching for the remote, he flipped idly through the channels before settling for an old movie he'd seen at least a dozen times. Every now and then he would unconsciously reach up to lightly stroke the black teardrop dangling from his right ear, still ice cold to the touch.
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Date: 2003-11-04 05:20 am (UTC)Hey now! You started it! I was minding my own business about to turn my computer off for the night when my friends page update starts flashing. And who am I to ignore my friends? ;)
Have a good sleep!
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Date: 2003-11-04 03:10 pm (UTC)Fair enough - though I hadn't expected anyone to read it until this morning. Which reminds me I need to get crackin' on the next part.
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Date: 2003-11-05 03:33 am (UTC)sweeeet! she bought it! now who to distract next... ;)
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Date: 2003-11-05 04:43 am (UTC)Keep up the smartass remarks and I'm going to start beating you like I beat all my other friends. There are good reasons people think I have a propensity for violence...
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Date: 2003-11-05 04:53 am (UTC)*runs for life*