Immortal Cascade 05 Immortal Endgame
Page 49
"I think I'll be safe enough without it, and it's such a pain to take on trips. Miles of paperwork." She started walking toward the terminal again, but Megan caught hold of her arm.
"Wait a bloody minute! What about never knowing when the challenge is going to come? What about being prepared? Didn't your encounter with Ventriss teach you anything?"
Dee ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Pajara, it isn't what you think." Damn it, she was going to have to tell her.
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Blair glanced at his watch, then toward the entrance from the garage. "We're going to be late. We'll miss our plane." Jim chuckled softly. "What? What's so funny?"
"You, Chief. I've never seen you obsess over being late for anything."
The anthropologist shifted his backpack higher on his shoulder. "Yeah, well, I've never gone on a romantic vacation before, okay? I'm a little nervous. I mean, twenty-four hour togetherness is going to be something new for us." He sighed. "At least I checked the bags so we can go straight to the gate."
"I'm sure you'll manage just fine, and--" he gazed out the glass doors, "they're crossing the skybridge now."
Blair gazed up at the Sentinel, frowning. "What about you? Will you and Megan be okay? What if you zone? Will she be able to pull you out of it?" He couldn't help the stab of guilt he felt. Things still weren't back to normal between them, and he was beginning to doubt they ever would be.
"Sandburg--" His name was turned into a growl. "Connor and I will be fine. I hate to admit it, but she seems to be growing on me." His expression seemed to indicate he meant like a fungus, but Blair wisely didn't comment.
A blast of cold air hit the two men as the door opened and Dee and Megan entered. "Everything all set?" Dee asked, walking over to Blair and hooking her arm through his.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Bags are checked, so we need to head to the gate."
"You got everything?" Jim asked. "Cause if so, Connor and I are going to take off. Jags are on in half an hour."
Megan's smile reminded Blair of a crocodile's. "Oh, no, Jim, I told Dee I'd go to the gate with her. Come on, the plane leaves soon. It'll be fun."
Jim rolled his eyes, but followed the trio toward the security checkpoint. Dee and Blair passed quickly through the x-ray and the metal detector, but Jim and Megan had to show their badges and wait until the guards received clearance from their supervisor to let them onto the concourse with their weapons. Finally they headed toward the gate.
"I don't see why we had to come with you. We took so long back there that you'll only have five minutes before you board," Ellison grumbled.
Megan punched him lightly in the arm. "Don't be such a spoilsport."
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They reached the gate to find that the boarding process had already begun. "Let's wait until the line goes down a bit. I hate getting on the plane and just sitting," Dee said. She observed them for a moment, wondering if she was doing the right thing. Megan had her hands in her pockets, a barely contained grin on her face. Ellison kept checking his watch and rocking back and forth on his heels like a runner at the starting line. Her lover was digging in his backpack for his ticket, and the sight of him with his unruly curls spilling around his face and his glasses sliding down his nose did incredible things to her insides. Goddess, she wanted him, wanted this so much...
When the line had dwindled to a few stragglers, Dee reached into her pocket and pulled out the envelope holding the tickets and the auto and condo reservations. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in front of Ellison. Grabbing hold of his hand, she placed the folder in it. "Happy Holidays, Jim," Diandra said softly, then stepped back.
Jim dropped his gaze to the tickets, then looked back up at her. "What is this?"
"That is a trip to the beautiful, peaceful island of Kauai for the two people who could use it the most--you and Blair." She knew this was the right thing to do, the only thing she could do, to try and fix what she had nearly broken.
She felt Blair stiffen beside her as he inhaled sharply. "Dee!"
She held her hand up to forestall any protests. "I've already made arrangements with Captain Banks. You have the week off with his blessings. And yes, it's my suitcase, but it's filled with your clothes, Jim. All I ask is that you try and repair the damage I did."
Ellison looked at the tickets again, and then at her, his expression slightly stunned. "I don't know what to say, Diandra. I...thanks."
The Immortal turned to Blair and, taking his hand, led him a few feet away, giving them the illusion of privacy. Once there, Blair let loose in a hushed whisper. "Dee, what are you doing? This was our trip! We planned this together. I thought you wanted to go with me--"
"I did and I do, Lobo. Now is just not the time. Jim needs the time to work through whatever feelings he had for Lia, and you need the time to reconnect with him, Guide to Sentinel."
For a moment he looked like a kicked puppy, then the hurt in his eyes turned to terror. "You will be here when I get back won't you? You're not going to run out on me again, right?" His fingers clutched at her arm, telegraphing his fear.
She captured his face in her hands, lifting his chin so his eyes met hers. The pain she saw there cut her deeply, and she understood his fear. He'd just gotten her back, and now it felt like she was pushing him away once again. "I promise you I will be here. I will always be here for you." Tilting her head down, she kissed him tenderly. When they finally parted, she whispered, "I love you, Lobo."
"I love you, angel." Blair hugged her tightly, then reluctantly let go as the gate attendant announced the last boarding call.
Dee watched as he made his way down the jetway behind Jim. This was the right thing to do. They needed this time together, without distractions, to work things out. Moving to look out the window at the plane, she could see Blair taking his seat by the window, Jim settling in beside him. As the plane began to move away from the terminal, Dee felt Megan's hand come to rest on her shoulder.
"Come on, Dee. Let's go back to my place. We've got a lot of packing to do."
The Immortal gave her friend a grin. "Is it too late to call the plane back? I've changed my mind; I think we should be the ones going to Hawaii."
As the two women began to walk back through the terminal, Megan laughed. "Well, you know, if we get me all moved in the next couple of days, I wouldn't complain if you wanted to treat me to a trip to the beach."
Hmm, now that was an idea....
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"I am Jan-Michel LaFollet, a Watcher who has lost both of his Immortals in a short amount of time. But I have a new Immortal to Watch -- John Wyatt." I snap off the mini-recorder to look over at my traveling companion and the urn sitting in his lap. "Mr. Pierson, are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'm sure. Now finish your Chronicle entry on yourself, we've a plane to Paris to catch."
Snapping the recorder back on, I finish my entry. "I've been assigned to follow this new Immortal, who was brought to the attention of the Watchers after mysteriously showing up in Cascade, Washington. He seems to have been taken under the wing of an Immortal the local Watchers do not recognize. Mr. Wyatt and his Teacher are apparently traveling to Paris, France. I am using the cover of visiting the Watcher Archives with Historian Adam Pierson to see if we can find a record of this Teacher and to keep an eye on Wyatt." I close off the entry and turn to face my new Teacher. "Pierson, where is it you said you were going to take Eolia's ashes?"
I watch as Adam Pierson lovingly caresses the ceramic urn cradled in his lap, his sharp, drawn features softening in the light of the fading sun shining through the windows looking out over the airport departure area. "Home. I'm taking her home."
His voice is soft, tinged with grief and loneliness, a feeling I'm becoming all too familiar with, having lost two good frien
ds in just over three months. "And just where on Earth might that be?" Okay, I'm curious. Besides, while Lee had been able to tell me most of her life's story before she was killed by Bradley Ventriss, she didn't recall where her 'home' was.
"You can't come with me, LaFollet. You haven't the travel passes to get you into the area."
"Damn it!" Yes, I'm a little angry with my new Teacher. And his conciliatory tone just doesn't set well with me right now. I'm hurting too much, playing that damn 'What-If' game in my head. What if I'd told Lee how I felt about her before she got tangled up with Ellison? What if I hadn't tried to follow the Immortal who had attacked Diandra Pallas? What if Azir hadn't died in Seattle? Sighing, I push away the thoughts crowding my head. "Don't you think I have a right to know?"
I try to keep my tone low, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to myself, or to this strange man who has become both my Teacher and my new Watcher Mentor. But something makes the man change his mind.
"The former Soviet State of Georgia. The Celtoi, Eolia's tribe, were from that area. It's where I first ran into them anyway, many, many years ago. Besides, the Greek authorities wouldn't give me permission to scatter her ashes where they really belong."
"And where would that be?"
He chuckles, a sad laugh, but the first time I've seen him relax since he arrived in Cascade. "Where she and I were married, and lived off and on for a while. Mycinia, but it's called something else today."
Eolia was married to Pierson? What else did she not think to tell me when I begged for her life's story? Was Pierson merely her first husband in a long life, or was he her Teacher? If that's correct, Lee told me the legendary Methos had trained her! Is Pierson that Immortal? The one who was reportedly part of the truth behind the Christian belief of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? What kind of Immortal has Pallas hooked me up with? Just how old is Adam Pierson, anyway? I sink back into the chair with the feeling that my training as an Immortal is going to be one very long and strange trip indeed. Then again, maybe I'll enjoy the ride -- if I can keep my head.
Finis