Dark Knight's Heir - Chapter eight
Oct. 21st, 2009 11:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mangacat201Dark Knight's Heir
Author: Mangacat
Pairing: Jared/Jensen, others
Rating: R - NC-17
Parts: 8/20+
Word Count: 2600/60k+
Disclaimer: I totally wanna own them... cough sadly that's not possible, nor is getting paid for this. I'll have fun and they're not going to get hurt … much. Promise.
Warnings: Erm, m/m sex, violence, language, gore (i.e. epic battle of the good against the bad), het sex (OMG), character death (minor).
Masterpost
They followed the black cat down a dark corridor that was barely lit by blue-flickering torches. And since the light was not nearly good enough to see your own feet, let alone the floor, tracking that black cat that was their guide was, all in all, an altogether remarkable feat. Jensen of course strode on like nothing was bothering him, heedless of the darkness that seemed to be more than shadows from knee length down, with the eerie feeling of green eyes flitting over them now and then. Jared was glad that he had never really been afraid of the dark, although he was seriously reconsidering that one right now. He hoped that they would reach the place wherever Jeff was really soon, because he wanted to get this done and over with. And he wanted to meet the man that was obviously in charge of this place. He had been the one person in the room that had every other in his line of sight; he’d exuded the kind of charisma one associated with leadership. If you worked as a drone in a seriously boring business for longer than a year, you developed an eye for those in charge, whether or not they had the official title. Jared still wasn't quite clear on how this seemingly colourful patchwork group had come to work together, but he was sure that someone here was pulling strings, otherwise they wouldn't be organised as well.
Before he could take his musings any further, however, they reached an entryway of stone that led into what he could only describe as a laboratory. The walls were so high that he wouldn't have been able to reach them even with his fingertips. And every wall from bottom to the very top was lined with thick wooden shelves littered with jars and glasses and sparkling stones in a myriad colours. There was a work bench that lined the far end of the room, and that was also littered with tools like scales, and mortars and what looked like little sacks neatly closed and ordered in a row. Jared walked through after a nod from Jensen, who stayed in the doorway, leaning against the cool stone, probably because there was no other surface on the walls to actually lean on.
He stopped in the middle of the room and let his gaze sweep over the contents once more before looking over his shoulder at Jensen with a raised eyebrow. Jensen just copied the move and nodded to the other end of the room. When Jared turned back again, he came face to back with a dark haired man hunched slightly over the workbench. He started in surprise, because he hadn't seen any other entrance than the one he had actually come through, and it was as if the man had appeared before him out of thin air. By now, that actually wouldn't have surprised him one bit. Still, he was kind of taken aback when the man – Jeff he was sure – straightened and shot a swift look over his shoulder before turning back to measure some powder on a set of really delicate scales.
“Jared... I have to say, you clean up nicely. But your family is famous for being handsome bastards. I hope Jensen helped you make yourself at home?”
“I...uhm, yeah, I think so.”
Jeff didn't turn, but he beckoned him to his side with one finger, and Jared found himself following as if he'd received an order. He walked up to the workbench to stand beside the older man and looked around expectantly. He really had no idea what this was all about, since Jensen had been very close mouthed towards his questions about Jeff. His gaze followed Jeff’s fingers as he worked with the scales. Those fingers were stained dark with what Jared could see were fine marks that seemed to swirl on his skin like waves. They were different from his or Jensen's - much closer to each other. .They seemed to lead up all the way to his neck, and apparently even further up under his hairline. Only his face down to the jawline was still clear, or at least that was all that was clear from those parts of exposed skin Jared could make out. Jeff caught his gaze and chuckled darkly.
“You want to know where else those are heading?”
Jared blushed for being caught out staring, but he shook his head mutely. Somehow his brain refused to get a word in edgewise right now, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that Jeff seemed to be hitting on him, although in a way that was so far from serious that he really couldn't figure out what it was all about. He settled for the interpretation that the other man was yanking his chain and using it to unsettle him and gauge his reaction. Jared decided that he wouldn't let himself be manipulated like that and chose attack over flight. He cocked his hip sideways against the workbench, crossed his arms in what he knew to be a sexy sprawl and met Jeff's eyes defiantly, head on. He recognized the mirth in the other man's gaze and put in a slight frown for good measure. Jeff didn't acknowledge the silent bout of communication they had just shared; instead, he turned back to his instruments and powders to do whatever he'd been doing.
“I know that you're bound to have a rocky start here, since you haven’t really been trained for this, and you probably have a hard time believing most of the things that you’ve been confronted with lately... but just because you don't believe in it doesn't mean it won't kill you. This is why Jensen was sent to bring you here, and this is why you'll learn how to fight, no matter whether you want to or not. If you don't want to take part in this fight, there's really nothing much we can do to stop you from leaving, but I won't have you killed through ignorance, understood?”
Jared pondered the question for a moment, but he couldn't really disagree since to all intents and purposes he would be dead now, had Jensen not been there. Still, he wasn't going to lie down and roll over just like that, letting other people – people that inspired trust somehow, even though he really didn't know them – decide what had to happen with his life.
“I well, I guess I have to thank you for watching out for me, but what the hell is it that you people actually do?”
Jeff chuckled and sent him a sideways glance that implied he'd been waiting for that question.
“Well, a patriotic hero would tell you we're fighting the good fight. Actually it's a bit more complicated than that. Each member of our group has their own reason for being here, for getting here in the first place. And trust me, they're all good ones. Essentially, we’re all about not letting this town sink down and become a mere demon stronghold. There are groups like ours all over the world, but while the other side has one hell of a lot of organisational skills, we remain scattered and boundless. Still, it's been some two thousand years since the last big impact, and they haven't managed to take over the world yet, have they? So, it's just like that for all of us, we get dragged in through birthright, through our skills, or by accident, and we decide,... and then we fight. I'm sorry that you won't have much of a choice, but – after all – it's in your blood.”
“How? I mean, I know what Jensen told me about the Van Helsing family, but that all doesn't sound like it connects to me. I'm just a regular home-grown
Jeff frowned but didn't look up from whatever powder he was grinding to near dust-like quality. He just picked up a bit between his fingers and lifted it to his eyes as if to examine it.
“Is that so...?”
With a sharp turn, he lifted his hand and blew whatever was between his fingers into Jared's face. Before he had time to think, even to catch so much as a breath, his right hand opened, palm up and fingers spread, and before his eyes, the particles were surrounded with little chunks of ice that seemed to draw out of thin air. His breath condensed in front of him for a moment, an image that unsettled him more than anything else, making him drop his hand in shock. As if his gesture was the only thing that kept the little crystals afloat, they instantly fell down, rustling down his pants and scattering on the floor.
“So, you just guessed then, in a fraction of a second, that if you breathed in any of that it could liquefy your lungs within minutes, and that little display just now was a mere sleight of hand?”
Jared was too busy staring down at the floor in shock to register completely what Jeff was saying. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that Jensen had taken a hefty step into the room, hovering as if in indecision, and he guessed that meant this was deadly serious. He swallowed around the lump in his throat that once again reminded him of everything he had seen and done in the last two days, and there was really no imagination over-active enough to explain all that away. He still didn't know what to make of it all, but there was one thing he had to think of before he ran headlong into this thing.
“What about my family? My parents, my fiancé?”
“Your dear ones have been guarded for quite some time now. Since we found out they'd found you, I had someone from the group we know in
Jeff looked at Jared inquisitively, as if he was expecting him to blow up in his face, but frankly the emotional roller-coaster of the last hours had drained Jared's urge to rage and throw a tantrum quite a bit. He knew that, either way, whatever was out there, he wouldn't stand a chance in this world that had sucked him in if he didn't learn more about it. Additionally, he had no illusions about these people letting him out just like that (never mind that the actual 'getting-out'-part would be the biggest obstacle in and of itself.) He just had to deal with that for now.
“Alright, I'll stay and learn, for now. Even if it's only because I need to know more about this whole thing than just little titbits of information thrown at me like bread crumbs for the pigeons.”
Jeff's eyes lit up and he nodded.
“That's the best we can expect for now. It'll take a while to explain everything, but Jensen will be your guide and the one to turn to. A visit to the Archive is in order soon, I think,” he said over his shoulder in Jensen's direction. “But for today, you should rest, get to know the others, maybe watch a session and get yourself ready for some education. That clear?”
Jared nodded, not entirely satisfied with the obvious dismissal, but determined to get to the bottom of this and soon. When Jeff turned back to his work, he regarded the audience as finished and made his way over to Jensen, who hovered anxiously in the doorway. He cast a last glance over his shoulder on the figure hunched over the workbench, and then he was out in the corridor again, bathed in blue-flickering torchlight.
“So, what did he mean, watch a session?”
Jensen threw him a sideways glance as they walked down the corridor towards wherever the others were right now.
“Well, it's not like we spend all our time hanging around in here whining about our lives, or out on the streets chucking hell spawn down the drain. You have to keep in shape, and therefore we train. I usually spar with Chris, and he'll be there as well helping with your training sessions.”
Jared thought back to the first meeting they'd had the day before and what that would mean if he met the guy in fighting range. He shuddered reflexively.
“But... why would I have to do that, you said that I got the knowledge and skills through that... connection thing. Shouldn't I be fine with that?”
Jensen's face stayed suspiciously blank, but a light blush crept onto his cheeks again, and Jared wondered what made him react that way whenever they stumbled upon the topic.
“I told you it's not as easy as that. You might have that knowledge and skills, but we have all acquired them through hard work and studies, so if you take a short cut like that, it's got a price, one way or the other. Even if you know how to fight with a sword maybe, your body and most of your mind doesn't and instinctive reactions like with Jeff back there will only get you so far before you get killed. You have to become familiar with all the knowledge in your head by reviewing the material and testing your physical capabilities in a fight.”
Jared tugged his sleeve back a bit to examine the Marks on his skin as if they would turn into a language and give up their secrets.
“And what does that mean?”
“Essentially, it means that you have to do it at least once before you'll have conscious knowledge about it, but I can't guarantee what you got from me, so your knowledge could be fragmented, and you'll have to study yourself to fill up the blanks. Ordinarily, things aren't done like that, it's kind of cheating your way through, and it might prove to be to your disadvantage entirely. Still, your case is special, since you do need to learn all these things and learn them fast. With that accident, it became my task, but if we ever had any choice on the matter... well, that's really not up for debate now, so you'll just have to wait and see how the training goes. I can tell you one thing though, it doesn't matter a scrap about the sore muscles you're going to have. Either way, we'll get you ready for the new upper world you're going to encounter in the near future. As for today, you just get to watch, to get a taste of what you'll be doing soon enough.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-21 09:45 pm (UTC)MEAHAHAHAHb next one is my (first) BIG coup!
So, Jeff tried to kill him yet? ;)
*hugs* B
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-21 09:49 pm (UTC)Cat
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-21 09:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-22 03:01 am (UTC)Can't wait for more.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-22 07:57 am (UTC)Cat
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-22 07:12 am (UTC)A new chapter!
I'm looking forward to reading it as soon as I am home again :)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-22 10:47 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-22 11:33 am (UTC)Cat
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-23 02:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-23 06:55 pm (UTC)Cat
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-23 10:09 pm (UTC)I am eagerly waiting for more :)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-24 07:33 am (UTC)Cat
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-16 05:48 pm (UTC)Wonderful chapter..best line: Jared was glad that he had never really been afraid of the dark, although he was seriously reconsidering that one right now.
That so made me giggle!!! And Jared showin some powers... yummy!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-16 07:18 pm (UTC)Cat