Nature or Nurture Ch. 65-67

Not an ugly old geezer like you, anyway.'

Mr Quesnet, it's truly better to think of him as a man than a supernatural master, claps his hands twice without dismissing the red power. The power does change its nature and it grows, Lord Douglas has no idea of magic, he is going to get hit big time and he will not even see it coming!

'Kill him, Bosie!' a voice breaks through the crackle of power. 'Do it now, Bosie, he's going to hit you with magic!'

At the same time, the door opens, and two more brutish looking guards storm in, swords at the ready, dead eyes making them more menacing in this case.

Adison now feels the time has come to act herself, there is no-one coming to their aid, that much is clear, and Lord Douglas cannot fight off two thugs and an evil mage all by himself. Concentrating is hard with a head already spinning with loss of power, but Vincent will help her once she has set him free.

She lays a hand on Samson's bare skin and follows her sight inside his body, where she can see his blood flow. Steeling herself, she now wills the particles in it to move about faster and faster, until she feels the grip on her body loosen, and she can take hold of her gun.

Vincent is watching the Master gather power and approach him, intent on some intimacy that is supposed to initiate his possession, no doubt. The creature has not stirred as of yet, and Vincent wonders whether it will come to his rescue this time.

As the old version of the man he admired and followed slavishly, embraces him and touches Vincent's lips with his own, Vincent for no apparent reason is reminded of their night with Lukas. Lukas caressed the scar on his temple, and because that always triggered the creature to surface, and Vincent knew Lukas and Adison wanted him to be dominant, Vincent made a conscious decision to react to the touch on his scar.

What if the same applies here? What if he just needs to do what the creature would do to stop this from happening, not waiting for it to come to his rescue, but to save himself?

Before the Master can do more than touch his lips, a voice rings out in a rather droll challenge: Bosie!

He has broken the spell of immobility, and he forces the Master to take a few steps back from Vincent with his beautiful blade. But Bosie cannot see magic, has no idea what it can do, the Master is now planning to hit his young friend with everything his stolen power can do to a defenceless human.

Mr Grey tries to urge Bosie to kill the evil mage, but of course the poor boy has no idea his life's in danger, he can only see a frail old man looking at him in anger, making rather exaggerated and ridiculous gestures.

Then the guards storm in, and Bosie knows what to do, he charges.

The old man seems to be in doubt whether to finish the young man from behind, or to leave him to the guards and continue his greatest wish and re-start the ritual to take Vincent's body.

But whatever he decides, it is not going to happen, for at the very moment Bosie turns to attack the first guard storming in, the familiar sound of a gun going off rips through the room and the Master gets hit. The impact nearly floors him, but he doesn't seem to suffer much damage otherwise. The gun fires again, and again, in such rapid succession that Vincent knows it is Mr Grey doing the shooting with his innovative weapon.

Knowing that the gun will probably not be able to really harm the Master, Vincent waits until he has heard the six shots Mr Grey's gun can fire, the old man staggering at every impact. But he doesn't even lose his balance or try to wreak revenge on Mr Grey, he merely starts to gather his sickly red power around him once more, and advance on Vincent in a gesture of loving.

Vincent does not try to move, he stays rock-still until he can feel the feeble arms on his shoulder and the colourless, dried-out lips are reaching out to touch his own. It's probably not going to work, but still Vincent wants to give it a try before he goes for his sword, and just before that hideous face touches his own he slowly takes hold of the skinny neck with both his hands, intense hate suddenly overruling his usual calm, and he wrings it with all the physical strength contained in his superbly trained body.

It doesn't budge, of course, if the Master were as feeble as he looks he would not have taken on so many opponents by himself.

How can such a dried-out husk resist the force that cleaved a gytrash's huge head in two equal parts?

How can his windpipe not collapse under two of his hands, when one was enough to crush the armour of the vampire lord and break his neck in one effort?

An anger alien to Vincent himself threatens to take over from him, realizing all the time that this rage will only open him to the Master's spell. And indeed after his first shock at having Vincent break his spell and move, the old man is pleased, very pleased.

He sounds positively gleeful, velvet voice instantly gone, as he cackles, 'Good, you didn't lose your anger after all! I'm so glad to see that, it will serve me perfectly when my little missus tries to resist me, as you certainly know she will.'

That sends Vincent totally over the edge of reason, until he realizes what he is doing. No-one can dominate Adison without her consent, this is the Master trying to feed his rage.

To oppose it, he pictures that first night, when Adison received him in her arms naked, bleeding and screaming in primeval rage and fear. He feels her fearless touch on his skin as if she is caressing him right now, light as a feather but still able to move the agony of the lightning setting all his nerves on fire to the background, until he can only feel her loving touch and see her fearless face. The memory of that lovely face promising him belonging, and relief from pain, and all the love she has to give, softens him up instantly, and he just stands there, reminiscing the moment that turned his life around for good.

As it happens, Adison has just witnessed Lord Douglas taking out the two armed guards with some of the best swordplay she has ever seen, catching a blade and scoring a hit in one fluid move, then disappearing into thin air before the other man's sword strikes. The young Lord's shiny steel sword retaliates swiftly, as he lands behind the strong but slow guard and delivers a crippling blow to the man's sword-arm.

He does not need assistance, but Vincent might.

Mr Grey has emptied his gun on Mr Quesnet, but to no avail, the old man still advances on Adison's beloved, spell ready to try to take over his mind. But now Vincent is moving, and he does his very best to break his former master's neck with brute force. Not only does that not work at all, this man is hard to kill, it even seems to please the evil mage, who laughs at Vincent and apparently manages to make him totally lose it.

Adison now understands how this spell works, Mr Quesnet tried love first, apparently he though Vincent must have some love left for him, or maybe he thought his former servant was easily fooled into thinking his Master's love was real.

But rage is a much easier emotion to work with, people lose their mind and their connection to themselves, and can be much more easily possessed.

Shooting the old man will not kill him, but it will distract him from what he is doing, apparently Mr Grey is thinking the same, for he has picked up a heavy ornament and is moving towards the man who used to rule him completely.

But that is not good enough, this man needs to die, and Adison suspects boiling his blood will not work. They have only one kind of weapon that can possibly hurt him, and Vincent has one on his very belt, but he seems to be slipping away now, his rage is gone completely and he is standing as if lost in a dream. It is happening, she must hurry or be forced to kill the love of her life with an evil sorcerer trying to find a place inside his body.

And ignoring the trembling of her legs and the headache that is worsening with every stride, Adison rushes to Vincent's side and fumbles under his lovely black coat for the handle of his large, heavy sword.

Neither of the men notices her at first, Vincent is lost in his memories, and the Master is wondering how his chance to take over the body he covets slipped away from him again. Suppressing a rage of his own, he prepares to try again, there is the little missus coming towards him, how did she get free of Samson?

Never mind, if he breaks something of hers, an arm, nothing dangerous, her baby may have a truly powerful talent, it will probably be enough to send her lover back into a rage. That fool Heathcliff was always too fond of his women, he chose one before and stuck to her all her life, then went raving mad when she died in childbirth, it will be his downfall once again.

Just as Adison has found the hilt of the sword, and has a hold on it, she feels herself pulled away from Vincent, very roughly, but with little physical strength. Had she not overextended her magic power, she could have resisted that feeble pull easily, but as it is, she stumbles and nearly falls, taking a few steps towards the old man to regain her balance.

He is trying to get a hold of her, but wants to keep a firm hold on his filthy power as well, he still hasn't given up on Vincent, who still seems miles away, but is clearly himself.

The old geezer pulls her in with a nasty look, he's not planning anything nice, but then, neither is she. The sword is really too long and too heavy for someone her size, but she's not trying to impress Vincent with a perfect move.

She's trying to save their future, and that thought helps her to take a firm grip on the plain hilt, and aim the point as she has been taught, first by their hired swordsmaster, then by Vincent himself.

Just before Mr Quesnet tries to pull her in, Adison makes a half turn and buries the sword in his chest as far as she can, which sadly is not very far, since she is nearly unconscious with reaction-sickness, and that sword really is too long and too heavy for a normal person to handle, let alone a small woman.

The old man looks at the sword sticking out of his chest, laughs scornfully, and says, 'You fool, you cannot kill me with a sword!'

But even as he speaks those words, it is obvious the strike is certainly doing damage to the ageing warlock.

The sickly red power winks out, and as the sword's weight pulls it out of the wound and causes it to drop to the ground with a clang, blood spurts out of the wound, and out of the old man's mouth.

His surprise at having been dealt a deadly blow soon turns to a final fit of rage, and muttering under his breath, he stumbles towards Vincent, intent on either killing him or cursing him with his final breath.

But Vincent is no longer spelled, or lost in memory, and he merely steps aside and catches Adison as she sags, finally overcome by the overspending of her power. The old man drops to the ground and lies there, life ebbing away from him in a steady crimson stream from the wound in his chest. Mr Grey stands over the body, undoubtedly eager to make sure this is really the end of his cruel master, before his own end will follow.

But no-one sees, for Vincent has taken Adison to one of the throne-like chairs, to revive her with some of his power. And as he is making the connection to her mind to fill her reserves, he can feel someone standing over him, and he looks up to see Victor almost carrying Mina, who is alive but not doing well either. Two ladies who need a recharge, this is turning out to be a very strange day indeed.

Since neither of the two can really wait, Vincent decides to just test Melissa's conviction, that he cannot run out of power himself. Adison still in his one arm, he opens the other for Mina, who needs little assistance to release his collar, then lies against his chest and chooses a nice place to carefully insert her fangs and latch on to his vein.

As soon as Mina is safely in his arms, he connects with Adison's mind to transfer power to her as quickly as he can, and though she does not regain consciousness straight away, she does take the power. As always, a little sting heralds Mina's bite, but this time, as Mina starts to suck and the bliss washes over him, Adison sits up straight and gasps with the force of it, then lies back against his chest, and merely seems to enjoy the feeling of intense pleasure a vampire's sucking causes the donor to feel.

The three-way connection lasts until Mina lets go of Vincent's throat and licks the punctures clean and dry, thanking Vincent for his gift with their usual, deep kiss. But Adison feels whatever he feels now, and in her heat she wants a kiss, too, and gets it.

Of course the strong taste of Vincent's blood in Mina's mouth is a bit of a shock, but Adison is still pretty out of it, and somehow it fits the entire experience. She merely lies back against Vincent, and enjoys his solid presence until things start to move around them.

Looking around, Vincent can see Father Nicholas bent over Hercules, who is lying on the floor like a dead thing. A quick check shows Samson in a similar state.

Mr Grey is still kneeling where the Master finally died, the old man's corpse indeed falling to dust. But Mr Grey is still there, alive!

Lord Douglas is looking about him dazedly, one of the guards he fought is obviously dead with his body covered in blood and wounds, the other looks like Hercules and Samson, knocked out by the death of his possessor.

As Bosie spots Vincent looking at him, he comes towards him, obviously worried about Adison lying still on his swordsmaster's chest.

'She will be all right soon,' Vincent tells him, 'she overextended herself saving Mina and me, but she will be much better in a few minutes. Can you take care of Mr Grey for a moment? He seems rather distraught.'

Bosie whistles through his teeth.

'Is that Dorian Grey? He looks my father's age! He did know my name, though, so I suppose I must believe you.'

And he bends over the kneeling man and talks to him softly, getting Mr Grey to stand up and look around the room.

Mina and Victor have secured the room, and pronounce Simson and the severely wounded guard dead, and the other two alive but catatonic. As soon as Adison sits up, Mina joins the two of them and she says softly, 'Thanks once more for saving my skin, big guy.

I used to be the strongest girl around, but nowadays everyone seems able to floor me with a flick of magic. You pulled me back again, Adison, I felt your power, too, thank you. Next time you'll have to leave me with Catherine, so she can protect me from evil mages.'

Her sarcasm reflects her feelings exactly, she did not like being put out of action like that, being fast and strong kind of compensates for being unable to go out by day, or eat normal food, or have children, it is hard to lose that as well. But she will have her strength back.

'Mina,' Adison says, 'it's a trick they used, they severed your connection to the ley-lines, the lack of power putting you out instantly. We'll find a way to ward you against it ever happening again. You will be safe from this trick, I promise. Besides, with Mr Quesnet's demise, everyone who knows it may very well be dead.'

'Are you sure? I'd like that, I feel like a terrific burden to you, and dreadfully useless.'

'Mina!'

By now, Victor has joined them, too, and he exclaims in protest.

'I cannot live without you, how can you be useless, my love?'

He takes her away to comfort each other, and by now Adison feels strong enough for the two of them to check on Lord Douglas, and Mr Grey, and Father Nicholas. In that order, for Father Nicholas' failure to tell them what he was planning to do feels like betrayal, and Adison doesn't feel like talking to him at all, except to get an explanation how the head of the witch-hunters can practise magic.

Lord Douglas and Mr Grey seem fine, they are actually discussing what happened rather composedly, but as they near, Mr Grey exclaims, 'Vincent, Mrs Heathcliff, the Master is dead, and I'm still alive! How can that be? I feel better than I have in a long time, actually since I stopped abusing people, can you explain that?'

'I have a theory Mr Grey, but I cannot talk about it now. I want to know how Lord Douglas is doing, he fought two men at the same time in his first battle, he may have been hurt himself. Are you well, my Lord?'

'I may have a cut or two, nothing serious I think, for I feel fine. I didn't recognize Dorian at all, he looks old and worn, will you explain to me what happened, and how this is all possible?'

'I will try, but first I will see whether Father Nicholas needs help.'

The Father is obviously upset, but why? He got rid of Mr Quesnet, the evil Master who sowed chaos all over the city at the cost of innocents for decades, maybe even half a century. He should be rejoicing.

'Mrs Heathcliff, you have judged me and found me wanting.'

Well, such insight must be rewarded.

'You are right, Father Nicholas. I saw you practise magic right in front of me, and yet you are the leader of an institution that condemns those who use their innate talents. I feel betrayed. We could have cleared up this mess with no risk to ourselves if it hadn't been for your witch-hunters, and now one of us nearly died, and my beloved husband risked having his mind wiped for good. You are so right I judge you.'

As she speaks, she can feel Vincent's arms close around her, and a calm voice says, 'I'm all right, love, and so is Mina. It's over, Adison, from this day on we can live our lives in peace.'

That is true, but still Adison is very angry at Father Nicholas for endangering so many of them. But before she demands answers from him, she plans to try the depossession ritual on Hercules and his nameless colleague.

They have not died, but they are not exactly alive either, they just lie on the ground and stare into the distance, very disconcerting to watch.

From the comfort of Vincent's arms she calls out, 'Father Nicholas!'

'Mrs Heathcliff?'

'If I try to free the minds of these men, will I be tried and burned for being a witch?'

'You're very hard on me, Mrs Heathcliff, but I understand. May I watch? It pains me to see men alive but without soul. I promise I will never tell anyone what I saw happen in here, not even Father Frederick.'

Reluctantly, Vincent lets his beloved go, and he holds up one of the men so Adison can face him. She takes hold of his face with both hands, looks him in the eye and speaks the formula, then kisses his forehead. No power is taken from her, and nothing happens. It seems there is nothing left to save, as Mr Quesnet so proudly told them. But wait.

Using sight, she tries again but without the formula, and this time she can see a huge barrier in a mind otherwise empty of everything.

Mr Quesnet did not have talent, he did not know why his spell worked against vampires, he thought his possession was total, the mind wiped completely, but Vincent started remembering things after a few months. Maybe there is something left behind that barrier. But the Chinese masters cannot follow her there, and to do that alone would be folly.

'The formula doesn't work, but I have some hope Mr Quesnet was deluding himself. He didn't know everything. I think these men may have some semblance of their self hidden away, but I cannot free it without some help.

I need Lukas, and an anchor. But not here, and not with the witch-hunters so close. Make me an offer, Father Nicholas.'

'I can have them taken to your practice. Or I can have them taken to the slums, to one of the charities. We have a private room there, and my witch-hunters avoid the place since there is always work to do.'

'Can't you can book them as patients, Adison?' Vincent asks, 'I'd rather have you safely from view, and Lukas is a regular visitor to our place. I see no reason for anyone to suspect magic use. Neither of us has a visible talent after all.'