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The Summons Chapter 6 And lonely for way too long. And I could tell that when he made his move, You weren't feeling all that strong. So I bit my tongue 'cause I saw it coming, The way you danced so close to him. Two steps forward, and three steps back When a heart is on the mend. Did you really think last night would last forever? Did you really think that guy hung the moon? Right now you hate yourself 'cause you knew better, But there's no use crying over spilled perfume. "Oh, yeah," Val muttered after the door shut behind Filia and Xellos. "Entertainment's just crawlin' out of the woodwork, can'tcha tell?" He stood still, just concentrating on breathing slowly until he was certain he wasn't about to lose his temper. Xellos was up to something. And Filia was so desperate for a mate who wouldn't die on her that she had herself deliberately blinded to that possibility. I'm not like you. "Do you think it's any easier for me?" he snapped, looking at a photograph of them taken at Stone Mountain several years ago. Briefly, it crossed his mind to curse L-sama for bringing him back, but the thought died a guilty death even before it fully formed. Easy or not, it might not have changed the fact that Filia would still be here, and she needed him. She wasn't naïve or foolish, but there was a part of her that never stopped trying to right wrongs. That was what took her to Europe, helping people out of occupied areas, and even taking part in raids on death and POW camps. A part of her never ceased to be a priestess, striving to heal and to cure, even without her powers. Time and time again, the field of medicine drew her back -- drew them both back, he'd admit. But it would put her in the line of fire, a line which she was blinded to in her compassion. No, she would never have lived this long, although as lovely as she was, he knew she might have wound up living longer than she would have liked. The thought made him almost physically ill with both rage and fear, bringing him right back again to what had him worked up in such a state. Why did he feel like he was watching Filia fall, and couldn't make a move or do a thing to catch her before she hit rock bottom? Maybe he'd worked in the field of science too long, but he loathed the fact that there was no logical reason he could find for Xellos' actions. If it wasn't confounding enough on all its own that he seemed to be appearing just now out of the blue to woo her, Val knew he had to have been the one to send him those documents. He had a sick feeling that Xellos was setting him up for something, and Filia was merely a pawn in the game. If that was the case, he'd get dressed and go out there and confront that Mazoku, powers be damned, and if he was doing all this just to hurt Filia, he'd... A sudden thought stopped his anxious pacing cold. He didn't even know where they'd gone. Candlelight, violins, and fine, aged wine. It relaxed Filia enough that she was unable to suppress a giggle as a thought surfaced. "Something amuses you?" Xellos asked from across the table. His glasses were tucked away. He would keep his eyes averted from the waiter, and in the muted lighting, the difference between his eyes and anyone else's was not immediately apparent. Filia smiled. "All this. It feels like I'm in a fairy tale of sorts." He chuckled quietly. "I see. And I suppose you've cast me in the role of the dashing prince charming?" "Well, isn't that what you are?" "Here I always thought the Prince Charmings were supposed to fall madly in love with the Cinderellas," he said. Pop. Filia felt her lighthearted mood deflate at his words. "They don't have to," she replied lamely. "Oh, my dear Miss Filia, I've upset you. How terribly rude of me." He still sounded far too cheerful. "It's a pity, I must say. You have this capacity for far more love than I could ever stomach, yet you're willing to settle for a loveless romance." She stared at him, feeling as though he'd plunged a knife into her heart, and was twisting it cruelly. Determined not to make a scene, she averted her eyes, trying not to cry. "But even so, it's an age-old truth that nature abhors a vacuum." It was such an odd comment, virtually a non sequitur, that Filia raised narrowed, damp eyes to his face again, studying him in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" A smirk tugged his lips and he raised a finger. "Sore wa himitsu desu." "You and your secrets," she muttered, picking up her fork and poking at her food, her appetite gone. "Tell me what it is you like so much about the tale of Cinderella," he said. She glared at him. "Why? Have you run out of material with which you could use to ridicule me?" His gaze was calm and steady. "No," he said simply. Filia hesitated, then took another bite, chewing and swallowing before continuing. "It's not even exactly all Cinderella stories," she admitted quietly. "I just rather have a fondness of the Rodgers and Hammerstein version especially, mainly for the songs." "You have a favorite, I take it?" "So many grand ones in that movie. I love The King and I; the score is astounding, but Cinderella is just special. Yes, I have a favorite." "What is it?" She sipped her wine, watching him. If she wanted to learn how to live with a Mazoku, to be content, she supposed she would have to get used to the insensitive comments, the little barbs. This was her supper; although he could intake solid food, it provided him with no nourishment. She supposed she had no right to deprive him of his dinner either. "It's the one she sings after the ball's announced, and her step-family keeps her hopping with chores and duties, ordering her around." "Why do you like that so much? How does it go?" "You'll hear it tonight." "This is true, but tell me anyway." "I like it because, well, I'd forgotten why, until the other day." She felt slightly chilled. She hadn't wanted to remember the temple. "But it always struck a chord with me nevertheless." He watched her expectantly, and she sipped her wine. "I'm as mild and as meek as a mouse," she recited -- not singing, it was so impolite at a dinner table now, but merely with a lilting cadence to her tone -- "when I hear a command, I obey. But I know of a spot in my house where no one can stand in my way. In my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whatever I want to be. On the wings of my fancy, I can fly anywhere and the world will open its arms to me." Xellos smiled faintly. "I can certainly see the appeal such a song would have to you, Miss Filia. But perhaps you should bear in mind another song." "Which one would that be?" "Impossible, for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage," he quoted. Filia frowned, feeling hot tears sting her eyes. "If you're trying to pull me down again," she said, her voice husky. "You've got the wrong song for that." "Filia, why do you think that's what I'm doing?" he replied calmly. She ignored him, and jumped ahead to a further point in the song. "But the world is full of zanies and fools who don't believe in sensible rules, and won't believe what sensible people say. And because these daft and dewy-eyed dopes keep building up impossible hopes, impossible things are happening every day!" She sniffled, and sipped her wine. "See?" He made an amused sound. "I was never arguing with you, Miss Filia." "Yeah, right," she muttered ungraciously under her breath. "While I'm hardly as familiar with the production as you," Xellos said as if she hadn't spoke, "I did do some checking into it. I must admit that I'm most looking forward to the 'Stepsisters Lament' number." Filia smiled slightly. "It's an amusing song." "Oh, no doubt." He sipped his own wine and gestured to her place. "How was your dinner, Miss Filia?" "It's excellent," she replied, although her appetite was not as it was before. "Good, good. We should be leaving within the next twenty minutes, so you know," he informed her. "It wouldn't do to arrive late." "No, it wouldn't," she agreed, and sighed, looking to her plate. "What is it? Are you still hungry?" "No, it's just..." She looked at him. "I'm sorry for being temperamental." "Miss Filia." He smiled, reaching out across the table to pat her arm. "I wouldn't have you being any other way." "I have worried about you," she admitted after a few moments. "Oh? In what way?" "You're not quite like Val or I; you're your own power, are you not?" "Quite." "With all the magic of the old days gone, leaving us with just these..." She gestured vaguely. "These sorry excuses that claim to be magic, I wasn't sure how well you would do." He grew still, watching her. "Why do you say that?" There was something in his tone that disturbed her. "Well, aren't you a magical being?" "No more so than you." His answer was quick, then he hesitated. "It is true that I am not a corporeal being. These clothes, this suit is of my own energy, for example. Let's just say I had made survival into something of an art form." He stood, and extended his hand to her. "Come. This is turning to a conversation which might be better continued in the limousine." For a few minutes, Val considered trying to call around to various restaurants to locate them before the sheer futility of it hit him. There were literally hundreds of posh establishments, and Val had no idea what name Xellos had used to make the reservations. That was just assuming they were even still in New York. Who was to say Xellos hadn't whisked her away to some other location? Maybe he wasn't even ever going to bring her back. In a sudden fit of impotent worry, he kicked the side of her chair, toppling it over, and barely caught it before it collided with the bookcase. Val tried calling her cell phone, only to be rewarded with a ringing across the apartment, revealing it was still tucked away in her purse. So much for that idea. The thought of losing Filia scared him more than it angered him. He needed her in his life, every bit as much as she needed him. She was all he had. All he ever really had, and all he ever would. She was his. When he noticed the thought that settled into his mind, it knocked the wind out of him as cleanly as a solid punch to the solar plexus. He wasn't behaving like a concerned son, or a worried brother. He might live and work with humans, and act like them, but nothing would ever change the fact that under it all, he was a Dragon. And Xellos was invading his territory. His breathing was labored as he tried to rein in the flood of adrenaline surging through him. Every instinct screamed at him to go out, to search for them, to find them, to take Filia back, to protect her from whatever Xellos was planning. But he couldn't! He didn't know where they were, and unlike the old days, it was no longer anywhere near as easy to find someone. And Xellos, he could have taken her to any distant corner of the world within a matter of minutes, where Val would be reduced to plane-hopping and hours of traveling, hours that could get him there far too late. And even then, what could he do? His Dragon form was gone. He could no longer access the spells which could have dealt the level of damage he needed to stand a chance. Yet, by all appearances, Xellos still had full control of his powers, damn him! Val stalked through the apartment, clenching and unclenching his hands, trying to contain the dragonrage roiling inside him before he exploded. Mazoku hadn't existed for centuries, except for him. Of all the bad luck. But there was a way to harm a Mazoku, wasn't there? Something that didn't require spells. A dark smile twisted his features. Yes. There was. His eyes darted around the apartment as he mulled over what was available. The best thing that came to mind wasn't anything he knew where to-- Wait, he did. Tony's wife, he was fairly certain she had a bunch of the episodes taped. Val ducked into the spare bedroom, and rooted through his duffle bag for the small tape recorder he used sometimes while going through notes and reports. He flipped the miniature cassette over to the blank side, and grabbed the phone. Hopefully, Tony would be home, and awake. Filia snuggled close to Xellos once they were settled inside the limousine. "I'm glad it was you." "Hmm?" "I'm glad it was you who survived -- if anyone did, I'd have wanted it to be you." Xellos chuckled. "A far cry from the tune you used to sing. I trust you recall what you called me when we first met?" Filia blushed but laughed quietly. "Oh, yes, and have I ever apologized for that?" "As a matter of fact, no. I've been called many things over the millennia, but nothing has ever gotten under my skin like that." She felt him turn his head, and she looked up to meet his eyes. "Although I suspect it had more to do with who was saying it than what was said." Filia smiled slightly. "I apologize, Mister Xellos." "Don't worry too much about it. My opinion of you, as I recall, wasn't exactly the most stellar at first either. I thought you to be nothing more than just another one of their brainwashed, high-and-mighty drones." He smiled slightly. "When I realized you weren't, I couldn't figure out why, and that fascinated me." "Is that why you kept coming around and shadowing me?" "At first. Later, it was because everything was disappearing, and you seemed to be as determined as I to remain in spite of the odds. And it was far less lonely, knowing you were out there too, another relic, as I." "Xellos," she whispered, laying her head on his shoulder. "I won't deny there's probably going to be times when you'll upset me greatly, but I realized something tonight." "What's that?" "That was your dinner, wasn't it?" He chuckled quietly. "Perhaps." "I'll remember that. I'll never push you away, or tell you to leave, or leave you. I can be happy like this, I will be happy like this, and we need each other." "That's always been the biggest mystery about you, Miss Filia," he said quietly. "What is?" "Your ability to be so selfless, whereas the others were the epitome of selfish. One has to wonder where you learned that." "I don't see it as being selfless. I see it as doing what's right." "Have you ever heard of missing the forest for the trees?" Filia blinked and looked up at him again. "Well, yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" "Sore wa himitsu desu." Before Filia could rail into him for sidestepping her question, the limousine stopped. "Ah, we're here." "Thanks, Tony. I owe you one," Val said as he finished rewinding the tape and pocketed the recorder. "You have no idea. You're just lucky my wife wasn't here. Do you know how much she'd light into me for blasting it this loud and getting the kids wound up? I still haven't gotten them into bed." "I'm sorry," Val said contritely. "You're a sick, sick, sick puppy. That song goes against the Geneva conventions." "That's what I'm counting on." He paused, pressing his ear to the phone. "What's that?" "That? That's my punishment for doing this. You need to get you a three year old girl who fancies herself to be Britany Spears so I can get revenge. She's now going to be singing that song nonstop until she falls asleep." Sure enough, Val could make out the words as he concentrated, although it was difficult, with the child's high-pitched voice, and youthful lisp. "--soon shall be making another run! The Love Boat! Promises something for every--" "Oh, man. Yes, I owe you big, and I won't forget it." "I'll see to it you don't. Why don't you just take out a restraining order on this guy, if he's following around your sister?" "Not enough evidence to warrant one yet," Val lied. "I thought some legal revenge might be in order--" "Legal? Blasting The Love Boat theme into the phone the next time he calls is cruel and unusual punishment." "We'll let a judge decide," he replied, laughing. "But either it will get him to back off, or step up with what he's doing enough that I can get that order." "You think this guy had anything to do with that gang jumping her?" Val was quiet for a moment. "You know, it's entirely possible." "In that case, use that song freely and in good health." "I plan to. I'll see you in a few days. Did I give you the fax number?" "Yeah. I've got it here. I'll send up the reports when I get in tomorrow." "Thanks again, Tony. Bye." Val hung up the phone and leaned on the desk, crossing his arms. It didn't solve the problem of actually finding them, but now, he had a potentially feasible weapon to use. Whoever thought such a show -- campy even before it was old enough to be a rerun -- would ever come in handy? It was growing more difficult. Fortunately, there was a couple not too far away who were apparently in a bit of a spat. It wasn't much, but Xellos would take what he could get. He only hoped that the other side of things were progressing as he thought they might. He glanced over at Filia, who was quietly humming along with the music, her gaze held captive by the events on the stage. It was expensive, but hopefully, it would be worth it. He idly wondered if she would figure it out, but he doubted it. Filia could blind herself into seeing only what she was determined to see, he knew. He remained still, conserving his energy. The next step planned would be draining, and the last thing he wanted was to alert Filia to that. She would discover everything in due time. Xellos smirked in amusement. Whoever would have thought his existence would lead up to this? But Filia was important; so much of the ancient world had fallen. Long ago, he would have killed someone for suggesting what he was now doing, but...that was then. He could afford it now. Or rather, he couldn't not afford it. It was nearing the end. He glanced over to Filia and smirked faintly, seeing her lips moving in silent imitation of the lines and lyrics. "You say good-bye, away you fly, but on your lips you'll keep a kiss. All your life you'll dream of this lovely, lovely night." Besides, he supposed, doing it as he was would certainly ensure a lasting memory.
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to be continued...
Chapter Seven