by Carol Roi
Dee did a series of standing side kicks. "He's not stupid. I'm sure he knows I'm involved in some way, shape, or form."
"Well, he didn't get anything from me. I feel like I'm still in the dark here. Were you ever going to tell me what was going on between you and Lee Eolia? Or that she was immortal?" Her words were hard, accusing.
"It wasn't any of your business, Pajara."
Setting her mug down, Megan got to her feet, her hands clenched at her sides. "Wasn't any of my business? She could have taken your bloody head yesterday afternoon, and you're telling me it's none of my business! Why the hell is it Sandy's business, not mine? I'm your Companion for Christ's sake, not him!"
Sighing, Dee interrupted her kata to face the other woman. "Blair's a Watcher. Immortals are his business, as they are mine. You are neither a Watcher, nor immortal. It didn't concern you."
Megan flushed bright red. "So I'm only your Companion, your *partner* when it suits you, when it doesn't have to do with Immortals, is that it? So what if I happen to have a stake in this partnership thing too, so what if it would hurt me if you went off one day and lost your head because I wasn't there to assist you?"
"Pajara, that's not going to happen, and you can't interfere in the Game, that's the whole point--"
"The fuck it isn't! Don't lie to me! The only reason Ventriss beat Lee was because he cheated, because he shot her. Tell me that can't happen to you!"
Dee frowned, feeling the first stirrings of anger. "I'm not going to tell you it can't happen, but Lee lost her head because she lost her temper. Judging by the battleground, she played with him, toyed with him until he was able to turn the fight to his advantage. I don't know how he got the gun past her, but he did. The point is it shouldn't have gotten that far. You disarm your opponent, you take their head, you live to fight another day."
"Is that what you did?" Megan spat between clenched teeth.
"Yes."
"While he was still recovering from the effects of a Quickening? I've asked Sandy questions; I know living through that kind of fireworks takes a hell of a lot out of you. So you took his head while he was down, unable to fight back. You executed him."
Dee narrowed her eyes. "Yes. He didn't play by the rules. I couldn't let him kill anyone else, not you, not Blair, not Jim. And that's where he was headed. You didn't hear his message. You don't know what he was going to do. I did. I took care of the threat to my family. It wasn't the first time I've done it, and it probably won't be the last."
"What if all he wanted to do was take Eolia out, then get the hell out of Cascade? Dee, you played judge, jury and executioner with him. How can I even know you're the same person I've come to care about?"
Folding her arms across her chest, Dee looked away from Megan for a long moment, then said sharply, "You're right. You don't know me. I'm 2,800 years old. The part of me you think you know would fit on the head of a pin. The oldest, strongest, basest part of me is a warrior to the core. I live in your world of laws and lawyers, but your laws don't apply, can't apply to Immortal versus Immortal. Sometimes we have to dispense justice on our own kind because you can't. And that can get violent and messy. I am a part of the Game whether I like it or not. And it is something I have to do alone, no matter how much you want to help."
She let her breath out slowly, willing the ire to fade. She didn't want to be angry at Megan. She was angry at herself. If she had been more on the ball, if she had been paying more attention to Lee, considered her as the wild card she was, then Lia would still be alive, and they wouldn't be residing in hell right now.
Megan's hand on her shoulder was gentle, but Dee was in no mood to be touched. She whirled toward the other woman, barely pulling her blow. Megan's eyes widened, but she managed to block the punch, then threw one of her own. Dee ducked and kicked. The companion kicked back, and they traversed the length of the studio, joined in full speed, full contact sparring.
After a few minutes, Megan stepped out of the battle, holding her stomach, gesturing she wanted a breather. She bent over, resting her hands on her knees, gulping air. She gazed up at Dee, her flashing eyes indicating the argument wasn't over. "So what am I supposed to do? Run around after you and clean up your messes? Smooth things over with the authorities?"
Dee bounced in place, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "I never asked you to lie for me, Pajara. You're free to tell Banks whatever you want."
"Oh, yeah, right. That just guarantees I'm gonna have to make up some lie, because he sure as hell isn't going to believe what really happened last night. And if I did tell him the truth, and by some miracle he believed me, I've forced you into disappearing." Shaking her head, she went after the Immortal again, her punches quickly blocked. "You've made me a bloody accessory after the fact!"
Shrugging, Diandra aimed a kick at Megan's head. "Sorry. I'm not holding you here against your will. You're free to end this partnership anytime you like." The other woman froze at her words, and Dee hastily aborted her kick to keep from injuring her. "Pajara?"
Megan ran a shaking hand over her face. "Is it that easy for you? You can just take off any time, forget about what we've started here, leave me behind? Because I thought we had a commitment to this champion/companion thing--"
Dee realized her words had deeply hurt her partner. "No, Pajara, I am committed. It's just--you didn't know the whole story when you agreed to be my companion. Now that you know what I am, have seen part of my dark side, I figure you ought to get a chance to back out, seeing as this is not what you signed on for."
Shaking her head, Megan replied, "No, it's not, but it's too late now. I'm here for the duration."
Diandra held out her hand to the other woman, and when she took it, Dee pulled her into a tight embrace. She was about to speak when the phone rang.
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Joe Dawson settled back on his couch facing his visitor, and couldn't help but wonder why the man known to most as Adam Pierson had decided to accept the invitation to spend the holiday at a Watcher's home. Christmas was often a time of loneliness for many, and those who had lived through as many years as Adam had, well over 5,000 according to the man himself, the holiday only served to emphasize how few friends he really had in the world. "Adam? What's the story between you and Eolia? And before you try to tell me there isn't one, don't forget, I saw the way you treated her at my bar the other night."
Methos, AKA Adam Pierson, smiled wearily at his friend as he sipped the bottled microbrew beer he'd been given. "We have a little history together, that's all."
"From the smile on your face, it must have been a good history."
"It was, until she got tired of me one night and stabbed me through the heart." Adam chuckled over the memory. "It would have been easier for her to confront me in the city center, announce to the citizens she was divorcing me, but no... Not Eolia. She had to do things her way."
Listening to the tone of the man's voice, Joe could tell that no matter what else had happened between the two Immortals, Methos still carried some feelings for the woman known as Lee Eolia. "So? Now that you know where she is, you just going to let her slip through your fingers?"
"She's grieving, Joe. Even I have some scruples. Besides, she's interested in the detective she danced the tango with." He took another pull on the cold bottle in his hand.
"Uh, huh. It's never easy for Immortals, is it?" Joe had seen what losing Tessa had done to Duncan MacLeod, what losing Alexa had nearly done to Adam. It was rare that two Immortals would hook up for as long as Lee Eolia and Azir el'Sadih had.
"No, it's not. But the love is worth it, Joe." Picking up the TV remote from the coffee table he gestured towards the television with it. "Mind?"
"Go ahead, Adam. Everything's ready, we're just waiting for Duncan to show up." The smells emanating from the kitchen, where Joe had worked on a simple, but hearty, Christmas dinner, were enticing and if MacLeod didn't show up soon, Joe was
determined to start the meal without the man.
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Adam clicked on the television and started to flip through the channels, only to stop and turn the volume down when Joe's phone rang. He'd managed to stop on a local station that was actually broadcasting news. Interested, Adam slowly brought the volume back up and scooted his chair closer to the appliance to better hear the newscast without interfering with Joe's conversation.
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Joe reached over and picked up the ringing phone. It was his secure line, the one that only rang when some Immortal had lost his or her head and one of the field agents were reporting in. "Dawson."
"Joe? Two down last night, fairly quick, and Diandra did something I've never seen her do." The woman's voice was almost fearful.
Sitting up straighter on his couch, the Regional Director for Watchers, Incorporated flipped on a recorder and started the tape. "Judy? I'm recording, give me your report."
The woman's voice shook at first, slowly becoming stronger as she related the previous night's events. "Diandra had taken two people up as her guests, I didn't recognize either of them, but I feel that one might have been Immortal. Anyway, last night I witnessed one of the guests, a woman who'd left the night before under strange circumstances, return. I couldn't see directly into Pallas' apartment, but something happened in there, I'm pretty sure of that. This woman left about an hour later. She walked out to where her companion was waiting and she shot him, point blank range. Gods, I've never seen anything like that, Joe!"
Joe tried to maintain his professional detachment, but something inside was screaming that maybe Diandra was dead, as well as LaFollet. Eolia was a wild card, one with a hell of a temper according to the download he'd received from the East Coast Manager, and no one was really sure what her state of mind was since losing her husband. "Judy, calm down. Take a deep breath and just let the story flow. We can always clean up the record later."
"You're right, okay. This woman, with dark auburn hair, shot her companion, pulled him out of sight and took off. I waited, wondering what was happening, and about two hours later, Diandra comes out of her home, looking like she's on the warpath again." Judy's voice quaked, and Joe recalled the last time that her Immortal had gone hunting. "Anyway, I followed her and witnessed the first of two Quickening storms. The woman who had left Diandra's place was dead. An unknown Immortal man was standing over her, absorbing the Quickening, which told me the unknown female had been Immortal herself. I wasn't aware that there were more immortals here in Cascade other than Diandra."
"At least two more, Judy. But it didn't look like they were a threat to Diandra, and you know she can take care of herself." Good Lord, Joe thought to himself, Eolia and LaFollet dead?
Judy continued, interrupting her boss's thoughts. "After the first Q-Storm was over, Diandra walked up to the survivor and, after she disarmed him, she simply executed him. She's never done anything like that before, I know, I've been pouring over her Chronicles all night, looking to see if she had."
That didn't sound like the Diandra that Joe knew either. "Judy, as soon as you can email your report to me. Along with any pictures that you might have gotten of the other two Immortals--"
"My GOD! That's HER! The Immortal from last night!" Diandra Pallas' Watcher nearly screamed into the phone, "Joe! Turn your TV to Channel 11 out of Cascade, they're showing her picture! The lady Immortal from last night! Oh, my God."
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Adam halfway listened to Joe's conversation, wondering which Immortal, or was it two, had lost their head last night. He wondered if he knew them. Sighing, he flipped through the channels again, not in the mood to watch American football or any of the many movies being shown. He'd just passed one station, the one with the news on it, when his mind screamed to return to it as he realized he saw someone he knew on the screen.
There, staring out of the picture tube, was Lee Eolia. He turned up the sound just as Joe asked him to change the channel to number 35. "Already there."
"Following up on the story that broke late last night, Channel 11 News has discovered the name of the female victim of the most bizarre murder in Cascade's history. Police officials have identified the woman, pictured here on your screens, as Lee Eolia. Ms. Eolia was the president of WindHawk Securities International, based out of Rochester, New York. Her death comes just over three months after her husband, one Azir El'Sadih, was found murdered in a back alley in Seattle. Preliminary reports indicate that both may have been the victims of an assassin with unusual methods. As we get more details on this strange case, we'll pass them on to you. Now, in other news, the blackout that struck last night has crews from King County Power totally baffled--"
"Judy, I'll call you back later." Joe hung up the phone and glanced over at Methos, who appeared to be in shock. "Adam? I'm sorry...."
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Methos came out of the Clan Chief's tent/hut, satisfied with the deal he'd just struck with the man for eight more horses, and nearly got run over by a fast moving girl child. Deftly moving aside, he watched as the child entered the tent, her wild red hair flying in the afternoon breeze of the Steppes.
"Eol! Watch your manners!" The Clan Chief called into the tent after the child, then turned to face the man who had promised four bags of gold in exchange for his horses. "Methos, I must apologize for my daughter; she's usually not that wild."
"Quite all right, Sceolan. Children will be children."
Sceolan nodded and then looked towards the east, where the winds were blowing. "It's the winds. Every time they blow in from that direction, Eolia gets as wild as them."
Methos nodded, not really understanding what the Clan Chief was saying, but he didn't want to offend the man who supplied such high quality horses. "I should go see to my friends." He clasped the huge, red-haired man's arm in a warrior's hand shake.
"You and your men are more than welcome to join my family this evening."
Several hours later, Methos and Kronos got into one of their increasingly frequent arguments.
"Methos, she's one of us! I say we take her now, and all the horses!"
"NO! She's too young! The Celtoi are one of the few Horse Tribes that will deal with us, and that child is the Chief's daughter! You want to have this whole tribe rise up against us?"
Kronos smiled sickeningly. "Like they could stop us?"
Backhanding the man to the ground, Methos drew his sword and rested it under his friend's chin, pricking the soft flesh of the exposed throat. "No, but I might. I've seen the way the Celtoi fight, they like to behead their victims, much like us. Or didn't you notice the 'ball' that the other children were playing with?" The warrior on the ground paled a bit. "So you did notice that it was a human skull. Good. The child is off limits, is that understood?" Kronos nodded, accepting the defeat and the orders. Turning his attention back to the Celtoi encampment, Methos spotted the Chief's young daughter and mentally wished her luck.
Oh, damn. Why Eolia? Joe, who took her out? I want their name."
"I can't do that! You know that, Methos!"
"I'll find out on my own then." He stood up from his chair and began pacing the living room. "I didn't save her from Kronos only to have her cut down later in life. She was a natural fighter; she shouldn't have been taken so easily." Adam was concerned. Eolia had been one of his wives, his best and brightest of Students, and she was gone. Another of his Students who had fallen in the Game; maybe he wasn't such a good Teacher. Then a sickening thought occurred to him. "It was Diandra who killed Eolia, wasn't it?"
"No. It wasn't Dee! She took the man's head right after he'd taken Eolia's Quickening, basically executing him. It's over, Methos!"
Adam Pierson stopped dead in his tracks, sinking
into a different chair, letting the shock and grief flow through him like a cleansing fire. After he felt he had his emotions under some semblance of control, he looked over at Joe sitting on the couch. "Do you happen to have Dee's phone number? I'd like to call her, find out what happened." He tried to ignore the tingle in his mind that meant immortal nearby, knowing it could only be one person.
Joe nodded and handed the cordless phone over to the Immortal Archivist, along with his address book. "It's listed under Diandra's first name."
"Thanks, Joe." Finding the listing, he quickly dialed the number as the older Watcher stood up to enter the kitchen, only to be called to the front door by the 'shave and hair cut, two bits' knocking that had to be Duncan MacLeod arriving.
Morning came too quickly for him. LaFollet grabbed the offending alarm clock and threw it against the wall to turn it off. Flopping back on the too soft mattress, he tried to shut down his mind again. The memories of Lee and Azir Sadih had kept him from sleeping, as had the nightmare where it had been Lee, and not Diandra, who had run him through with her sword as she told him she didn't love him. No use, he just could not shut his brain off. Stumbling out of bed, he padded over towards the table where he'd placed the stolen data drive, and picked up the phone.
