![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
knitekatTitle: Obsidian And Iron Part 3
Author: knitekat
Fandom: Primeval
Word Count: 3779 words out of 20537.
Characters: Claudia Brown, Nick Cutter, Tom Ryan, James Lester, Connor Temple, Lorraine Wickes plus SFOCs: Jon Lyle, Niall 'Blade' Richards, Robert Finn and David 'Ditzy' Owen (OCs)
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. And Lyle, Blade, Finn and Ditzy belong to Fred. Writing for fun and will replace.
A/N 1: For Lsellersfic's Secret Santa and her prompt: The anomaly team find the Holy Grail. What is it? What does it mean? What do they do with it? With possibly some aspects of her High Concept Sci-Fi prompt as well. Not sure how well it hit either prompt but I hope you enjoy it and had a wonderful Christmas.
A/N 2: Partly beta-ed by Fififolle (oops my word count was out) and modified by me, so all mistakes are mine.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
The goblin's eyes bulged as its mouth gaped impossibly wider, drool splattering Nick's face before it raised its knife and collapsed onto him. Nick gaped in shock at the large knife protruding from the creature's back, the wound smouldering as the stench of barbecued flesh filled Nick's nose. His gaze darted up at movement and he met Blade's green eyes, knowing the soldier had killed the creature to save his life. As he stared, Blade's words came back to him. He knew he could trust the soldier, no matter what he might truly be, for he had promised to protect the team and... well, they... Themselves didn't break their word from what Nick remembered of his grandmother's tales.
He shook his head, knowing that was a thought for later, assuming they survived this. He shoved the body off and scrambled away, panting for breath and waiting for his heart to stop pounding in his chest. He knew the creatures would re-group before attacking once more and glanced around for the knife Blade had given him, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw it lying on the ground. He picked it up and rose shakily to his feet, standing back-to-back with Blade and watched the remaining riders circle them, probing their defences and he knew he was the weak point, exhausted and untrained.
Nick had never felt so relieved when he heard gunfire and watched as red blossomed on the hide of one of the Troodons. The sound of the car horns blaring out was welcome too when the remaining Troodons and riders turned to flee. He watched as one rider paused to glare at him before riding through the anomaly which promptly closed on their heels. He knew this – whatever this was – wasn't over.
Nick sat down hard and found himself staring at the body, at the smoke which rose from the terrible wound in its back. He watched as Blade put his foot on the corpse before pulling his knife free and cleaning it until the steel shone in the sunlight.
Blade kicked the body onto its back and Nick found himself automatically analysing it, comparing it to known fossils and finds, even though he knew it wouldn't be known to science. It was a small and ugly humanoid, he estimated it would have been about waist high, but its scrawny body and long limbs were out of proportion, let alone its oversized head which sported even larger ears and that huge mouth full of far too many jagged teeth.
“What happened?” Claudia called out as she hurried over, her eyes widening at the sight of the corpse and Nick still on the ground. “Are you OK, Nick?” When he didn't answer, he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard his name repeated before Claudia turned to Ryan. “Get your medic over here!”
Nick shook himself from his daze. “I'm fine.” He climbed to his feet and waved off Ditzy when the medic came over. “I said I was fine.”
“Let me be the judge of that, Professor,” Ditzy said, obviously not in the mood to take any nonsense from Nick. His hands were still like blocks of ice as he quickly checked Nick over.
Connor hobbled over, his eyes widening before be breathed, “Wow!”
Nick pulled free of Ditzy and glanced down at the corpse which had gained Connor's attention, his own eyebrow raising before he turned the querying look to Blade. “Why is it smouldering?”
Connor stepped closer, curiosity shining in his dark eyes. “Themselves can't stand the touch of iron,” he murmured quietly and Nick could almost sense the thoughts that had to be churning through the lad's head. “I suppose steel counts.”
“I think a better question would be... what the hell is it?” Claudia asked, her gaze fixed on the creature sprawled on the grass.
“Goblin!” Blade spat. “Nasty, vicious little sods.”
The air was full of a myriad of questions, before Claudia's voice cut through the clamour of voices. “How do you know that?”
Blade shifted his feet slightly before shrugging and muttering, “My grandmother is one of the Cunning-folk. She told me stories when I was growing up.”
“Aye,” Nick said. “I expect my grandmother told me similar ones.” He met Blade's intense gaze for a moment before the soldier nodded. Nick frowned as he looked back down at the... goblin, Blade had called it and he supposed the soldier would know. If he hadn't been seeing things, that was, and with the knock to his head, it was certainly possible he had been. If Blade really was one of the... Themselves... then how the hell could he touch steel when it had burnt the goblin so badly?
“What do we do with it now?” Connor asked, almost breathlessly.
“I'll take it back with me to the university, I have some books I want to check before we speak to Lester,” Nick said, eyeing the corpse and half expecting it to vanish if he took his eyes from it. “And I doubt he will believe a word of our reports without it as proof.”
“Or even with it,” Ryan said, echoing Nick's thoughts.
Claudia had been planning on visiting Nick in his office at the university; what had happened at the Tor had raised a lot of questions in her mind, even if she wasn't sure he knew the answers to them. She discovered she didn't need to find an excuse when a text message came from him asking her to meet him in his office. Her eyebrow rose when she met Captain Ryan en route, looking somewhat out of place in the corridors even dressed in civvies, as the students streamed past him. “Are you here to see Nick as well, Tom?”
“Yes, Ms...” When Claudia shot him a look, Ryan gave her a smile and nodded. “Yes, Claudia. Do you know what he wants us for?”
“He wanted to check his books, maybe he's found out what that creature really is?” Claudia suggested, it was better than the other possibility, that goblins really did exist. If they did, what other nightmares of human imagination were also real? Unfortunately, she couldn't think why Nick would want this clandestine meeting or for his demand that she made sure she hadn't been followed if he had discovered the creature in the fossil record.
She knocked on Nick's closed door and waited for him to call out “It's open,” before she stepped inside, Ryan on her heels. She met the wary gaze of Nick, the man looking as if he didn't particularly want to have this conversation. “Nick?”
Nick's smile was strained before he glanced at his watch. “You didn't see Connor on your way here?”
“I thought he left with you?” Claudia replied.
“He did, but he said he had something to do first.” Nick sighed. “He's probably looking things up on the computer.”
“As long as he doesn't mention anything.” Claudia could still remember the student telling his friends about the project.
“Sorry I'm late,” Connor called out as he entered.
Nick glanced around before beckoning everyone closer. “We have a problem...”
Claudia interrupted when something caught her attention. “Connor? What are you wearing?” She knew the boy was odd, what with his obsession with conspiracy theories and, she believed, his belief that the anomalies were caused by alien spacecraft... although she wondered if that theory had changed with recent events.
“Oh, this.” Connor plucked at his waistcoat, clearly turned inside out and making him look even more odd than normal. He glanced around the room as if checking for anyone – anything – watching them. “It... er... it keeps Themselves away.”
Claudia took a deep breath, although she couldn't say she was surprised by Connor's comment. From his records, Connor had yet to meet a conspiracy theory he didn't believe in and, after the events at the Tor, she supposed it wouldn't be much of a stretch for Connor. What did surprise her was Nick's reaction, he appeared to be taking Connor seriously. Remembering the bump he'd received to his head, she wondered if she should have been more insistent that he went to the local hospital. Still, something strange... make that stranger than usual – considering her job now consisted of dealing with scientists, dinosaurs and, of course, Sir James – had happened on the Tor and she needed to know what they were dealing with.
“Who?” Ryan asked, obviously wanting to know who this new threat was and how he could deal with it.
“Themselves,” Connor said as his gaze darted around the room once more as if he was afraid someone would overhear him. He lowered his voice until Claudia had to strain to hear his words. “The Fae.”
“The Fae?” Claudia shook her head. “They're nothing more than distorted folklore about the original inhabitants of the British Isles before the Celts arrived.” At least, that is what her, admittedly limited, research into the Fae and their folklore had told her before she'd received Nick's text.
“Their not,” Connor began before trailing off nervously. “We deal with dinosaurs everyday, why are Themselves so hard to believe in?”
Claudia sighed before glancing at Nick for support, the Professor could usually be relied upon to shoot down any fantastic theories Connor came up with... but the man remained silent, a thoughtful look on his face and she remembered his comment to Blade on the Tor. “Nick?”
“Connor has a point, Claudia,” Nick said, although the expression on his face was somewhat sour, as if the words had left a bad taste in his mouth. “And we did kill something out there. Something that wasn't human.”
Claudia shook her head. “It must have been some kind of humanoid missing from the fossil record, Nick. Didn't I read something about a dwarf race recently found in... Indonesia?”
“Aye.” Nick agreed. “Homo floresiensis. However, our creature doesn't match any of the skeletons which were found.”
“And don't forget the Troodons,” Connor added. “The Hobbits didn't exist at the same time as the dinosaurs.”
“Hobbits?” Ryan asked warily, a sentiment Claudia fully agreed with when it came to Connor.
Nick shot Connor a look which had the younger man closing his mouth with a snap, before he turned his attention back to Claudia and Ryan. “Hobbit is a common nickname for the species, however, as I was saying, the creature we encountered does not resemble that extinct species. The limb proportions are incorrect but there is a greater difference between the two – the creature we encountered had a huge skull and jaw, unlike every Homo floresiensis skull discovered which universally had small skulls.” Nick paused, obviously considering his next comment carefully. “Added to that, you saw for yourself what steel did to it.”
Connor nodded. “And they also ran away when Blade pressed the car horn. Themselves can't stand loud noises.”
“I think most creatures would run from that noise, Connor,” Ryan noted wryly.
Connor looked somewhat crestfallen before shaking his head. “No, what Blade killed was one of Themselves, whether you want to believe it or not doesn't change that.”
Claudia sighed, knowing Connor was a lost cause but she still had hope that Nick would prove to be his normal pragmatic self when it came to myths. “Nick, you can't believe this?”
Nick ran a hand through his hair before sighing heavily. “When that creature knocked me down, I woke up somewhere... it wasn't anywhere on the Tor. I don't know where it was but what I do know is that it wasn't on this world. The shadows had claws and attacked me. The colours were too intense, too vibrant, for it to be anywhere or any period of time.”
“You where in the Otherworld?” Connor breathed in awe. “How did you make it back?”
“Blade. He rescued me and brought me back through an anomaly.” Nick paused again before continuing, “I think he knows more about these creatures than he's said.”
“What are you saying, Professor?” Ryan ground out the words.
“Nick! Tom!” Claudia interrupted the growing tension between the two men. “Nick, you've had a head injury, how can you be sure you're not imagining whatever you believe took place in this Otherworld?”
“I...” Nick paused, obviously reconsidering his words before he sighed and spoke them anyway. “I know what I saw. Blade found me and got me out. He had a knife made from a flawless piece of obsidian that he was using in the Otherworld.” He paused again, a thoughtful look on his face as he added, “but he killed that creature with a steel knife instead of the obsidian one.”
“Blade said his grandmother told him about the Fae,” Claudia pointed out, even as she recalled the dark-bladed knife Blade had been carrying at the Tor. “And if I recall correctly, you said your own grandmother did the same.”
“Aye,” Nick agreed. “If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't believe myself either, but Blade looked different in the Otherworld. Not entirely human. I believe he is one of them, but what I don't understand is how he can touch steel when it burns them.”
Claudia's words died on her lips as she recalled something. She looked up when Ryan called her name, meeting his concerned gaze. “Just before Blade pressed the horn, after the first attack.” She looked towards Nick, wondering when everything she thought she'd known had proven to be a lie. “He snatched his hand back from the car; I thought at the time that he'd received a static shock but I never heard one.”
“So,” Ryan said heavily. “You're telling me one of my men is a... creature out of folklore? What should I do with him? Lock him up?”
“No,” Nick said, surprising Claudia who had been considering the same options as Ryan. “No, he saved my life. Whoever he's working for told him to protect the team and he promised he would.”
Connor gasped. “Themselves never break their word.”
“If Blade is one of them,” Ryan muttered before abruptly turning toward Nick. “You said Blade was talking to someone, that he was taking his orders from them?”
“Aye,” Nick agreed.
“Then we have to tell Sir James,” Claudia stated and turned towards the door, she needed to get back to the ARC now and tell Sir James that they had a potential... well, she had no idea what, but she did know Sir James needed to know about it. Assuming she could convince him they were telling the truth and they didn't end up being Sectioned; Sir James could be ruthless when it came to keeping the anomalies secret.
“There might be a problem there,” Ryan said slowly.
“What problem?” Claudia really didn't want any more surprises today. What she most wanted was a long, hot soak and a meal with Tom... but it looked as if that was increasingly unlikely to happen.
“Lyle swears that he's seen Blade and Lester talking, and from the sound of it, more than once.” Ryan shuffled his feet before meeting Claudia's eyes. “I've barely seen them even acknowledge each other, let alone have private chats in Lester's office.”
Claudia just looked at Ryan in shock, ignoring the cry Connor gave before he muttered something about conspiracies. Ryan just couldn't be implying what she thought he was, could he? “You're suggesting Sir James gave Blade that order to protect the team? That he knows about the Fae?”
“I...” Ryan shook his head. “I don't know what I'm suggesting. I'm just telling you what Lyle told me.”
Claudia didn't reply for a moment as she recalled how Sir James had paled at the mere mention of Glastonbury; at the time she'd put it down to the possible publicity an anomaly could cause at such a tourist site, but... now she wasn't so sure. What she did know was that she had to make a decision and, well, she could see only one choice. “We'll go to the ARC and see Sir James.” She continued towards the door before pausing, “Oh, and Nick?”
“Yes?”
“Bring the body.” Claudia had the feeling they'd need it, although whether to convince Sir James they weren't mad or to force his hand was another question.
Ryan could tell that Ms Brown was shocked by events, especially the news that their boss could be in league with... well, Ryan wasn't totally sure he believed what Temple and the Professor said but he did know they'd all seen something strange on the Tor, something that apparently couldn't be explained by science. He smiled slightly, considering how Cutter always insisted science could explain everything.
He almost winced when Cutter just walked past Ms Wickes and pushed open Lester's door without knocking. He could hear Ms Brown tell Ms Wickes that she'd handle the situation but his attention was fixed firmly on the brooding presence which stood by Lester's shoulder. Somehow, he couldn't say he was surprised to find Blade already there, apparently waiting for them.
“I know Cutter has failed to learn the value of knocking,” Lester drawled as he eyed them. “But I had thought better of the rest of you.”
“We encountered something different at the anomaly,” Cutter said before pausing, Ryan assumed, for dramatic effect. “The Fae.”
Ryan couldn't help wonder what Lester would make of Cutter's statement, especially as he'd already called the Professor an unfortunately still required maverick, not to mention his reaction to dinosaurs making a mess of his ordered world.
“The Fae?” Lester repeated, disbelief dropping from every syllable. “Really, Professor.” The government hatchet-man man shook his head. “I would assume you've been checked out for a concussion, but that would also assume you had any common sense.”
Ryan glanced at Blade, meeting the man's intense green eyes before making his decision. After all, it was why they'd brought it with them. The thunk as he dropped the small corpse onto Lester's desk had the man staring at it as his lip curled in distaste, probably from the reek of charred flesh which assailed his refined nostrils. “The Fae?” Lester said in a long suffering tone of voice. “As if dinosaurs weren't enough, now we apparently have the Fae.”
“Dinosaur-riding goblins,” Temple added.
“Really? And you think that makes it better?” Lester grumbled, making Ryan doubt his suspicions about the man. Either he wasn't involved in this, well, conspiracy seemed as good a word as any, or he was a fucking good actor. Considering he was a government hatchet-man, Ryan certainly wasn't going to risk betting on either option.
Temple nodded and began to babble about the Fae, almost bouncing in excitement and his hand swept out to send the Spartan helmet on Sir James' desk flying. “Oops. Sorry.” Temple, to Ryan's relief, stopped babbling as he bent to pick the helmet up. He snapped his hand away with a hiss and Ryan could hear the crackle of static. “Bloody static.”
Ryan almost forgot to breath as he watched Temple gingerly hand the helmet back to Lester, the man flinching almost imperceptibly as he took it and put it back on its stand. He tuned out Lester's growled out rant at the boy, instead staring at the helmet before meeting first the Professor's and then Ms Brown's eyes, seeing the same look of shock and realisation in their eyes that he knew must be visible in his own. It was hard to believe but it was the only thing that made sense, if anything did in a world that had dinosaurs, holes in time and now, apparently, the Fae.
He shook himself from his shock as he heard Cutter address Lester. “But you already knew all about this, didn't you, Lester?” The Professor placed his hands on Lester's desk, leaning into the ARC Director's personal space. “You need to tell us what you know.”
Lester quirked an eyebrow. “Really, Cutter, I know I'm in charge here, but even I don't know everything.”
Ryan ignored Temple's near silent, “Thank God,” from beside him, instead watching the drama being played out before him, with half of his attention of Cutter and Lester and the other half on Blade.
Cutter continued, obviously determined to get the truth from Lester, although Ryan wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to antagonise the man in his own office. “Blade gets 'shocks', whenever he touches anything made of steel, and I assume iron as well.” He tilted his head as he considered Lester, presumably watching as Ryan was to see if he had hit the mark. “You've just got one too.”
“I do believe that static shocks are a scientifically proven phenomena, Professor.”
“Maybe,” Cutter allowed, pausing as if considering his next words. “But not in this case. Static shocks are caused by a discharge of electricity, it causes that crack we've just heard when Connor picked up that helmet. A crack we haven't heard when either you or Blade get a 'shock'.”
Ryan could feel the tension in the office rising as Cutter and Lester engaged in a staring match and almost everyone else present watched them. All except Ryan who was watching Blade finger one of his many knives while wishing he had his own weapon at hand, and Blade himself who was watching Lester.
In the end, Lester just quirked an eyebrow at Cutter. “I think you need to have your head examined by an expert, Cutter. Ms Brown, Captain Ryan, please escort the good Professor to the nearest Accident and Emergency.” He turned back to his paperwork, effectively dismissing everyone in the room.
Ryan glanced at Ms Brown, wondering if she was going to say anything, but before she could, Cutter gave a half-smile before pointing at Blade. “I also overheard Blade talking to someone. Unless he's a traitor...”
Ryan cursed Cutter for his words, stepping forward to place himself between the mad Professor and his own man. He took a step back in shock, bumping into Cutter, when Blade bared his teeth. Teeth that didn't belong in any human mouth, for there were too many of them and they were too sharp and too long for his liking. Fuck! If Blade really was working for Lester... he shuddered as he remembered the blood-soaked stories Temple had spun on the way to the ARC. He knew just how deadly Blade was and well, as for Lester, many of the stories he'd heard painted the man as cold and callous. Neither was a man to cross and here Cutter was antagonising both, and Ryan couldn't see it ending well, not for either of them.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Author: knitekat
Fandom: Primeval
Word Count: 3779 words out of 20537.
Characters: Claudia Brown, Nick Cutter, Tom Ryan, James Lester, Connor Temple, Lorraine Wickes plus SFOCs: Jon Lyle, Niall 'Blade' Richards, Robert Finn and David 'Ditzy' Owen (OCs)
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. And Lyle, Blade, Finn and Ditzy belong to Fred. Writing for fun and will replace.
A/N 1: For Lsellersfic's Secret Santa and her prompt: The anomaly team find the Holy Grail. What is it? What does it mean? What do they do with it? With possibly some aspects of her High Concept Sci-Fi prompt as well. Not sure how well it hit either prompt but I hope you enjoy it and had a wonderful Christmas.
A/N 2: Partly beta-ed by Fififolle (oops my word count was out) and modified by me, so all mistakes are mine.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
The goblin's eyes bulged as its mouth gaped impossibly wider, drool splattering Nick's face before it raised its knife and collapsed onto him. Nick gaped in shock at the large knife protruding from the creature's back, the wound smouldering as the stench of barbecued flesh filled Nick's nose. His gaze darted up at movement and he met Blade's green eyes, knowing the soldier had killed the creature to save his life. As he stared, Blade's words came back to him. He knew he could trust the soldier, no matter what he might truly be, for he had promised to protect the team and... well, they... Themselves didn't break their word from what Nick remembered of his grandmother's tales.
He shook his head, knowing that was a thought for later, assuming they survived this. He shoved the body off and scrambled away, panting for breath and waiting for his heart to stop pounding in his chest. He knew the creatures would re-group before attacking once more and glanced around for the knife Blade had given him, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw it lying on the ground. He picked it up and rose shakily to his feet, standing back-to-back with Blade and watched the remaining riders circle them, probing their defences and he knew he was the weak point, exhausted and untrained.
Nick had never felt so relieved when he heard gunfire and watched as red blossomed on the hide of one of the Troodons. The sound of the car horns blaring out was welcome too when the remaining Troodons and riders turned to flee. He watched as one rider paused to glare at him before riding through the anomaly which promptly closed on their heels. He knew this – whatever this was – wasn't over.
Nick sat down hard and found himself staring at the body, at the smoke which rose from the terrible wound in its back. He watched as Blade put his foot on the corpse before pulling his knife free and cleaning it until the steel shone in the sunlight.
Blade kicked the body onto its back and Nick found himself automatically analysing it, comparing it to known fossils and finds, even though he knew it wouldn't be known to science. It was a small and ugly humanoid, he estimated it would have been about waist high, but its scrawny body and long limbs were out of proportion, let alone its oversized head which sported even larger ears and that huge mouth full of far too many jagged teeth.
“What happened?” Claudia called out as she hurried over, her eyes widening at the sight of the corpse and Nick still on the ground. “Are you OK, Nick?” When he didn't answer, he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard his name repeated before Claudia turned to Ryan. “Get your medic over here!”
Nick shook himself from his daze. “I'm fine.” He climbed to his feet and waved off Ditzy when the medic came over. “I said I was fine.”
“Let me be the judge of that, Professor,” Ditzy said, obviously not in the mood to take any nonsense from Nick. His hands were still like blocks of ice as he quickly checked Nick over.
Connor hobbled over, his eyes widening before be breathed, “Wow!”
Nick pulled free of Ditzy and glanced down at the corpse which had gained Connor's attention, his own eyebrow raising before he turned the querying look to Blade. “Why is it smouldering?”
Connor stepped closer, curiosity shining in his dark eyes. “Themselves can't stand the touch of iron,” he murmured quietly and Nick could almost sense the thoughts that had to be churning through the lad's head. “I suppose steel counts.”
“I think a better question would be... what the hell is it?” Claudia asked, her gaze fixed on the creature sprawled on the grass.
“Goblin!” Blade spat. “Nasty, vicious little sods.”
The air was full of a myriad of questions, before Claudia's voice cut through the clamour of voices. “How do you know that?”
Blade shifted his feet slightly before shrugging and muttering, “My grandmother is one of the Cunning-folk. She told me stories when I was growing up.”
“Aye,” Nick said. “I expect my grandmother told me similar ones.” He met Blade's intense gaze for a moment before the soldier nodded. Nick frowned as he looked back down at the... goblin, Blade had called it and he supposed the soldier would know. If he hadn't been seeing things, that was, and with the knock to his head, it was certainly possible he had been. If Blade really was one of the... Themselves... then how the hell could he touch steel when it had burnt the goblin so badly?
“What do we do with it now?” Connor asked, almost breathlessly.
“I'll take it back with me to the university, I have some books I want to check before we speak to Lester,” Nick said, eyeing the corpse and half expecting it to vanish if he took his eyes from it. “And I doubt he will believe a word of our reports without it as proof.”
“Or even with it,” Ryan said, echoing Nick's thoughts.
***
Claudia had been planning on visiting Nick in his office at the university; what had happened at the Tor had raised a lot of questions in her mind, even if she wasn't sure he knew the answers to them. She discovered she didn't need to find an excuse when a text message came from him asking her to meet him in his office. Her eyebrow rose when she met Captain Ryan en route, looking somewhat out of place in the corridors even dressed in civvies, as the students streamed past him. “Are you here to see Nick as well, Tom?”
“Yes, Ms...” When Claudia shot him a look, Ryan gave her a smile and nodded. “Yes, Claudia. Do you know what he wants us for?”
“He wanted to check his books, maybe he's found out what that creature really is?” Claudia suggested, it was better than the other possibility, that goblins really did exist. If they did, what other nightmares of human imagination were also real? Unfortunately, she couldn't think why Nick would want this clandestine meeting or for his demand that she made sure she hadn't been followed if he had discovered the creature in the fossil record.
She knocked on Nick's closed door and waited for him to call out “It's open,” before she stepped inside, Ryan on her heels. She met the wary gaze of Nick, the man looking as if he didn't particularly want to have this conversation. “Nick?”
Nick's smile was strained before he glanced at his watch. “You didn't see Connor on your way here?”
“I thought he left with you?” Claudia replied.
“He did, but he said he had something to do first.” Nick sighed. “He's probably looking things up on the computer.”
“As long as he doesn't mention anything.” Claudia could still remember the student telling his friends about the project.
“Sorry I'm late,” Connor called out as he entered.
Nick glanced around before beckoning everyone closer. “We have a problem...”
Claudia interrupted when something caught her attention. “Connor? What are you wearing?” She knew the boy was odd, what with his obsession with conspiracy theories and, she believed, his belief that the anomalies were caused by alien spacecraft... although she wondered if that theory had changed with recent events.
“Oh, this.” Connor plucked at his waistcoat, clearly turned inside out and making him look even more odd than normal. He glanced around the room as if checking for anyone – anything – watching them. “It... er... it keeps Themselves away.”
Claudia took a deep breath, although she couldn't say she was surprised by Connor's comment. From his records, Connor had yet to meet a conspiracy theory he didn't believe in and, after the events at the Tor, she supposed it wouldn't be much of a stretch for Connor. What did surprise her was Nick's reaction, he appeared to be taking Connor seriously. Remembering the bump he'd received to his head, she wondered if she should have been more insistent that he went to the local hospital. Still, something strange... make that stranger than usual – considering her job now consisted of dealing with scientists, dinosaurs and, of course, Sir James – had happened on the Tor and she needed to know what they were dealing with.
“Who?” Ryan asked, obviously wanting to know who this new threat was and how he could deal with it.
“Themselves,” Connor said as his gaze darted around the room once more as if he was afraid someone would overhear him. He lowered his voice until Claudia had to strain to hear his words. “The Fae.”
“The Fae?” Claudia shook her head. “They're nothing more than distorted folklore about the original inhabitants of the British Isles before the Celts arrived.” At least, that is what her, admittedly limited, research into the Fae and their folklore had told her before she'd received Nick's text.
“Their not,” Connor began before trailing off nervously. “We deal with dinosaurs everyday, why are Themselves so hard to believe in?”
Claudia sighed before glancing at Nick for support, the Professor could usually be relied upon to shoot down any fantastic theories Connor came up with... but the man remained silent, a thoughtful look on his face and she remembered his comment to Blade on the Tor. “Nick?”
“Connor has a point, Claudia,” Nick said, although the expression on his face was somewhat sour, as if the words had left a bad taste in his mouth. “And we did kill something out there. Something that wasn't human.”
Claudia shook her head. “It must have been some kind of humanoid missing from the fossil record, Nick. Didn't I read something about a dwarf race recently found in... Indonesia?”
“Aye.” Nick agreed. “Homo floresiensis. However, our creature doesn't match any of the skeletons which were found.”
“And don't forget the Troodons,” Connor added. “The Hobbits didn't exist at the same time as the dinosaurs.”
“Hobbits?” Ryan asked warily, a sentiment Claudia fully agreed with when it came to Connor.
Nick shot Connor a look which had the younger man closing his mouth with a snap, before he turned his attention back to Claudia and Ryan. “Hobbit is a common nickname for the species, however, as I was saying, the creature we encountered does not resemble that extinct species. The limb proportions are incorrect but there is a greater difference between the two – the creature we encountered had a huge skull and jaw, unlike every Homo floresiensis skull discovered which universally had small skulls.” Nick paused, obviously considering his next comment carefully. “Added to that, you saw for yourself what steel did to it.”
Connor nodded. “And they also ran away when Blade pressed the car horn. Themselves can't stand loud noises.”
“I think most creatures would run from that noise, Connor,” Ryan noted wryly.
Connor looked somewhat crestfallen before shaking his head. “No, what Blade killed was one of Themselves, whether you want to believe it or not doesn't change that.”
Claudia sighed, knowing Connor was a lost cause but she still had hope that Nick would prove to be his normal pragmatic self when it came to myths. “Nick, you can't believe this?”
Nick ran a hand through his hair before sighing heavily. “When that creature knocked me down, I woke up somewhere... it wasn't anywhere on the Tor. I don't know where it was but what I do know is that it wasn't on this world. The shadows had claws and attacked me. The colours were too intense, too vibrant, for it to be anywhere or any period of time.”
“You where in the Otherworld?” Connor breathed in awe. “How did you make it back?”
“Blade. He rescued me and brought me back through an anomaly.” Nick paused again before continuing, “I think he knows more about these creatures than he's said.”
“What are you saying, Professor?” Ryan ground out the words.
“Nick! Tom!” Claudia interrupted the growing tension between the two men. “Nick, you've had a head injury, how can you be sure you're not imagining whatever you believe took place in this Otherworld?”
“I...” Nick paused, obviously reconsidering his words before he sighed and spoke them anyway. “I know what I saw. Blade found me and got me out. He had a knife made from a flawless piece of obsidian that he was using in the Otherworld.” He paused again, a thoughtful look on his face as he added, “but he killed that creature with a steel knife instead of the obsidian one.”
“Blade said his grandmother told him about the Fae,” Claudia pointed out, even as she recalled the dark-bladed knife Blade had been carrying at the Tor. “And if I recall correctly, you said your own grandmother did the same.”
“Aye,” Nick agreed. “If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't believe myself either, but Blade looked different in the Otherworld. Not entirely human. I believe he is one of them, but what I don't understand is how he can touch steel when it burns them.”
Claudia's words died on her lips as she recalled something. She looked up when Ryan called her name, meeting his concerned gaze. “Just before Blade pressed the horn, after the first attack.” She looked towards Nick, wondering when everything she thought she'd known had proven to be a lie. “He snatched his hand back from the car; I thought at the time that he'd received a static shock but I never heard one.”
“So,” Ryan said heavily. “You're telling me one of my men is a... creature out of folklore? What should I do with him? Lock him up?”
“No,” Nick said, surprising Claudia who had been considering the same options as Ryan. “No, he saved my life. Whoever he's working for told him to protect the team and he promised he would.”
Connor gasped. “Themselves never break their word.”
“If Blade is one of them,” Ryan muttered before abruptly turning toward Nick. “You said Blade was talking to someone, that he was taking his orders from them?”
“Aye,” Nick agreed.
“Then we have to tell Sir James,” Claudia stated and turned towards the door, she needed to get back to the ARC now and tell Sir James that they had a potential... well, she had no idea what, but she did know Sir James needed to know about it. Assuming she could convince him they were telling the truth and they didn't end up being Sectioned; Sir James could be ruthless when it came to keeping the anomalies secret.
“There might be a problem there,” Ryan said slowly.
“What problem?” Claudia really didn't want any more surprises today. What she most wanted was a long, hot soak and a meal with Tom... but it looked as if that was increasingly unlikely to happen.
“Lyle swears that he's seen Blade and Lester talking, and from the sound of it, more than once.” Ryan shuffled his feet before meeting Claudia's eyes. “I've barely seen them even acknowledge each other, let alone have private chats in Lester's office.”
Claudia just looked at Ryan in shock, ignoring the cry Connor gave before he muttered something about conspiracies. Ryan just couldn't be implying what she thought he was, could he? “You're suggesting Sir James gave Blade that order to protect the team? That he knows about the Fae?”
“I...” Ryan shook his head. “I don't know what I'm suggesting. I'm just telling you what Lyle told me.”
Claudia didn't reply for a moment as she recalled how Sir James had paled at the mere mention of Glastonbury; at the time she'd put it down to the possible publicity an anomaly could cause at such a tourist site, but... now she wasn't so sure. What she did know was that she had to make a decision and, well, she could see only one choice. “We'll go to the ARC and see Sir James.” She continued towards the door before pausing, “Oh, and Nick?”
“Yes?”
“Bring the body.” Claudia had the feeling they'd need it, although whether to convince Sir James they weren't mad or to force his hand was another question.
***
Ryan could tell that Ms Brown was shocked by events, especially the news that their boss could be in league with... well, Ryan wasn't totally sure he believed what Temple and the Professor said but he did know they'd all seen something strange on the Tor, something that apparently couldn't be explained by science. He smiled slightly, considering how Cutter always insisted science could explain everything.
He almost winced when Cutter just walked past Ms Wickes and pushed open Lester's door without knocking. He could hear Ms Brown tell Ms Wickes that she'd handle the situation but his attention was fixed firmly on the brooding presence which stood by Lester's shoulder. Somehow, he couldn't say he was surprised to find Blade already there, apparently waiting for them.
“I know Cutter has failed to learn the value of knocking,” Lester drawled as he eyed them. “But I had thought better of the rest of you.”
“We encountered something different at the anomaly,” Cutter said before pausing, Ryan assumed, for dramatic effect. “The Fae.”
Ryan couldn't help wonder what Lester would make of Cutter's statement, especially as he'd already called the Professor an unfortunately still required maverick, not to mention his reaction to dinosaurs making a mess of his ordered world.
“The Fae?” Lester repeated, disbelief dropping from every syllable. “Really, Professor.” The government hatchet-man man shook his head. “I would assume you've been checked out for a concussion, but that would also assume you had any common sense.”
Ryan glanced at Blade, meeting the man's intense green eyes before making his decision. After all, it was why they'd brought it with them. The thunk as he dropped the small corpse onto Lester's desk had the man staring at it as his lip curled in distaste, probably from the reek of charred flesh which assailed his refined nostrils. “The Fae?” Lester said in a long suffering tone of voice. “As if dinosaurs weren't enough, now we apparently have the Fae.”
“Dinosaur-riding goblins,” Temple added.
“Really? And you think that makes it better?” Lester grumbled, making Ryan doubt his suspicions about the man. Either he wasn't involved in this, well, conspiracy seemed as good a word as any, or he was a fucking good actor. Considering he was a government hatchet-man, Ryan certainly wasn't going to risk betting on either option.
Temple nodded and began to babble about the Fae, almost bouncing in excitement and his hand swept out to send the Spartan helmet on Sir James' desk flying. “Oops. Sorry.” Temple, to Ryan's relief, stopped babbling as he bent to pick the helmet up. He snapped his hand away with a hiss and Ryan could hear the crackle of static. “Bloody static.”
Ryan almost forgot to breath as he watched Temple gingerly hand the helmet back to Lester, the man flinching almost imperceptibly as he took it and put it back on its stand. He tuned out Lester's growled out rant at the boy, instead staring at the helmet before meeting first the Professor's and then Ms Brown's eyes, seeing the same look of shock and realisation in their eyes that he knew must be visible in his own. It was hard to believe but it was the only thing that made sense, if anything did in a world that had dinosaurs, holes in time and now, apparently, the Fae.
He shook himself from his shock as he heard Cutter address Lester. “But you already knew all about this, didn't you, Lester?” The Professor placed his hands on Lester's desk, leaning into the ARC Director's personal space. “You need to tell us what you know.”
Lester quirked an eyebrow. “Really, Cutter, I know I'm in charge here, but even I don't know everything.”
Ryan ignored Temple's near silent, “Thank God,” from beside him, instead watching the drama being played out before him, with half of his attention of Cutter and Lester and the other half on Blade.
Cutter continued, obviously determined to get the truth from Lester, although Ryan wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to antagonise the man in his own office. “Blade gets 'shocks', whenever he touches anything made of steel, and I assume iron as well.” He tilted his head as he considered Lester, presumably watching as Ryan was to see if he had hit the mark. “You've just got one too.”
“I do believe that static shocks are a scientifically proven phenomena, Professor.”
“Maybe,” Cutter allowed, pausing as if considering his next words. “But not in this case. Static shocks are caused by a discharge of electricity, it causes that crack we've just heard when Connor picked up that helmet. A crack we haven't heard when either you or Blade get a 'shock'.”
Ryan could feel the tension in the office rising as Cutter and Lester engaged in a staring match and almost everyone else present watched them. All except Ryan who was watching Blade finger one of his many knives while wishing he had his own weapon at hand, and Blade himself who was watching Lester.
In the end, Lester just quirked an eyebrow at Cutter. “I think you need to have your head examined by an expert, Cutter. Ms Brown, Captain Ryan, please escort the good Professor to the nearest Accident and Emergency.” He turned back to his paperwork, effectively dismissing everyone in the room.
Ryan glanced at Ms Brown, wondering if she was going to say anything, but before she could, Cutter gave a half-smile before pointing at Blade. “I also overheard Blade talking to someone. Unless he's a traitor...”
Ryan cursed Cutter for his words, stepping forward to place himself between the mad Professor and his own man. He took a step back in shock, bumping into Cutter, when Blade bared his teeth. Teeth that didn't belong in any human mouth, for there were too many of them and they were too sharp and too long for his liking. Fuck! If Blade really was working for Lester... he shuddered as he remembered the blood-soaked stories Temple had spun on the way to the ARC. He knew just how deadly Blade was and well, as for Lester, many of the stories he'd heard painted the man as cold and callous. Neither was a man to cross and here Cutter was antagonising both, and Ryan couldn't see it ending well, not for either of them.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-12-28 01:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-28 05:24 pm (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-28 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-28 05:38 pm (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-29 10:55 am (UTC)“Really? And you think that makes it better?”
Hee!! Great exchange.
It's all very mysterious - though I sort like the idea that all Special Forces teams have a resident fae, just in case, you know.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-29 12:36 pm (UTC)Neither Blade nor Lester will comment re that theory ;)
Yay for you liking it and thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-02 01:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-02 01:16 pm (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-02 01:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-02 09:38 pm (UTC)