The Síochán Ch. 04

Kincaid sat quietly in the meeting room. He was stretched out in his favourite chair; his long legs perched on the low coffee table before him. The room was empty apart from himself and for that he was immensely grateful. He liked the peace and solitude. Summer's introduction had unsettled him as it had everyone else.

Lucas was acting very out of character. His usually cool facade was slightly fractured and he was letting some of his emotions leak through. Anton was acting strangely too. Kincaid couldn't remember when the last time the other Síochán had been so vocal in a meeting. He closed his eyes and pondered it for a moment and then decided the last time Anton had spoken so much was when Nathaniel had told them he was leaving.

His brows drew down in a deep frown as he thought of Nathaniel. Of all of them, Kincaid found the vampire's desertion the hardest to take. Lucas came a close second to his feelings on the matter but inside, Kincaid burned with a deep rage that Nathaniel had abandoned them. He didn't even know why he felt the way he did about it. It wasn't as if he had been particularly close to Nathaniel when he had walked among them. And yet, any thoughts of Nathaniel caused a slow pulse of rage to burn deep inside of him.

Perhaps he was jealous? Perhaps he wished that he had the courage to stand up and say enough was enough? Living forever, doing the same thing day in and day out could be pretty repetitive at times. Despite their mission in life, long periods of time went by when little or no work was required. Even though they weren't constrained by linear time as such, they still measured the passage of time in their own realm as the humans and otherworld beings did below.

The other Síochán found things to do when it was quiet. Kincaid's natural predilection for detachment made it hard for him to find other things to occupy his time. So he invariably found a quiet spot and sat by himself ruminating over whatever thoughts went through his mind. Maybe that's why he was so angry with Nathaniel? He had too much time on his hands to sit and think about things which should probably be best left forgotten.

Right now he was mulling over the changes to the world as he knew it. The changes all came back to Summer Melrose. Lucas had told them she was Temperance. He snorted a laugh which held no humour. He'd seen precious little temperance in the beautiful blonde woman so far. In fact, she had upset the equilibrium worse than Marcus did when he decided to get going.

Kincaid snorted again and rolled his head slightly against the back of his chair, feeling the corded muscles in his neck start to tense. He was allowing himself to become annoyed again. Harlan had an inbuilt radar which seemed to spring to life whenever Kincaid became irritated. If he didn't calm his thoughts soon, Harlan would appear and start to irritate him further. He really was in no mood for another disagreement with the man. The last one at the meeting had raged on for almost three hours, all because he had allowed Summer's emotional 'kill me' outburst to irritate him enough to speak.

He sensed someone enter the meeting room and slowly opened his eyes. His expression stayed carefully neutral even as he sighed inwardly at seeing the object of his most recent displeasure before him. Summer Melrose. She was simply stunning in appearance and his reaction to her on a male level made him grit his teeth in annoyance. He would have to be a eunuch not to find her attractive. His lips firmed slightly as he looked up at her and she met his gaze with her own carefully neutral expression.

"Will you answer a question for me, Kincaid?" she asked quietly, her expression so serious, her green eyes full of conflicted emotions.

"I am not the best person to ask," he answered with a sigh. "You should talk to Lucas, Summer. He was your trainer. He was supposed to prepare you for this life."

Summer stared into Kincaid's beautiful face solemnly as her thoughts whirled through her mind. She had hoped to find either Anton or Harlan in the room, anyone but Lucas, Kincaid or Marcus. It would appear her luck was out and she had only Kincaid to turn to. That he didn't want to help her was more than obvious. She was not going to let that stand in her way though. She had questions and she wanted, no, she needed , answers to the them.

"I don't want to talk to Lucas," she said with a stubborn tilt of her head. "I want to speak to someone else and as you are the only one here then that leaves you to ask what I need to know."

His beautiful face settled in a slight grimace before he sighed again and inclined his head. "Sit then," he said coolly. "I'm getting a crick in my neck looking up at you." He closed his eyes again and she rolled hers as she sat in the leather chair beside him. He wouldn't get a crick if he wasn't even looking at her!

"Nathaniel was watching me in his fountain," she began almost hesitantly as she tried to string her thoughts together. "I was younger then, about sixteen if I remember correctly. So why didn't he know me when he met me two years later?" This question had been nagging at her for days now.

Kincaid almost groaned out loud as he slowly opened his eyes again and turned his head fractionally so he could look at her. She had to pick on him! He almost wished to go another five rounds with Harlan than have to answer her about Nathaniel.

"I'm sure you've pieced most of it together already," he answered quietly, his tone resigned. "Nathaniel was chosen to terminate you when you became known as a threat to the balance between good and evil. He developed feelings for you instead and found his faith in our world shattered. He lost his zeal. He began to question all the other 'good' people he had terminated. He allowed emotions to overcome his perspective of the greater good. We spent a century trying to work out the issues with him but he decided he wanted to become mortal. He wanted to be placed in the same era as you."

He pursed his lips thoughtfully as he watched her guarded expression. She was giving nothing away and he couldn't resist having a little mental nudge at her mind. His lips curled slightly as he met her strong wall. She was definitely not a soft touch, he would give her that.

"We met and discussed the options without Nathaniel being present," he continued after his brief pause. "After weighing all the options Lucas pronounced our judgement. Nathaniel could become human again but he would not be allowed to live in your era. We set him back in time over a millennia before you came into existence.

Nathaniel was furious at the judgement. He saw it for what it was, a punishment for him leaving us. He and Lucas fought bitterly about it but Lucas would not alter his judgement. He knew Nathaniel hadn't lost his true zeal, that he would find a way around this barrier we were imposing on him, so he added another punishment. He left Nathaniel's memories of the Síochán intact but he removed all memories of you.

Nathaniel must have sensed some inner purpose when he was made human again. Perhaps Lucas left a little marker inside him, a little hint that he was missing something important in his life to add to his turmoil? Who knows where Lucas is concerned. His fury knew no bounds at the time. Nathaniel made the choice to become a vampire early on in his mortal life. He chose a being which was literally immortal so he must have wanted to meet you very badly even though he probably had no idea why he made the choice that he did."

Summer frowned as she listened to Kincaid. The more he revealed, the more blows rained down on her wounded psyche. Lucas' abysmal behaviour, his outrageous decisions seemed to know no bounds. He called himself Justice? From the sounds of things his judgement upon Nathaniel sounded more like a petty man exacting vengeance rather than true justice. And Kincaid didn't appear to be the least put out by it. He appeared to agree with Lucas' judgement.

If the other Síochán cared so little for each other as people then how could they be tasked with keeping the mortal world safe? It was all so confusing. She knew she was still thinking in human concepts and that if she gave herself over to this new being she now was then she would probably be able to fully understand why they did as they did. She also knew that soon she wouldn't be having this internal debate with herself, that she would lose that last link with humanity she still retained. The question was did she really want that to happen?

Now, at least, she understood why Nathaniel had been drawn to her. She could understand why this had caused some concern for the other Síochán and why they debated on whether or not to let them meet. They didn't want to kill Nathaniel; they wanted to bring him home to them. If he had taken her with him that night and they had been forced to step in, then they may have had to take his life because he would surely have fought to save hers if his feelings for her had been as strong as they had told her.

From every angle she looked at it, things had turned out spectacularly well for the Síochán. The threat of her goodness had been neutralised so the mortal world was safe. They had taken her into their fold, turning her into one of them so they could use her to lure Nathaniel back. Lucas had used his not so inconsiderable charms to get inside her head, play with her emotions, and make her care for him as a person, so that when the truth came out she would be less inclined to react negatively.

She may have thrown a fit in the meeting. She may still be furious at Lucas and to a lesser extent, the other Síochán. But Lucas had trained her well. He had skilfully manipulated her and honed her into what she was becoming. Despite her anger, despite her hurt, she was thinking as a Síochán so much more than she was thinking like a human. The deep feeling of responsibility to do the right thing rather than what she personally wanted was starting to settle into her very soul.

The Síochán had to maintain their watchful stance over the mortal world and keep it safe. It was a heavy responsibility and it required such heartbreaking decisions to be made, but the need to make them was being ingrained into her the longer she stayed in this realm. She was losing herself. She felt like a butterfly about to break out of it's cocoon as it reached its last stage in its lifecycle. She was fighting the change as hard as she could but she knew she would succumb soon.

She suddenly ached to see Nathaniel. If she could just see him, talk to him, maybe she wouldn't lose herself. The moment the thought crossed her mind she had to stifle down a shudder. He would know what she was instantly because he still retained those memories.

Now she knew how devious Lucas was, she wouldn't put it past him to have left something in Nathaniel's mind, some caveat that should they meet again, Nathaniel would remember her completely. It was what she would have done if she had been in Lucas' position. The final snare to tempt Nathaniel back to his former life.

Nathaniel would know her completely; he would know she had been trained as he once had. He would most probably also know that she had been with Lucas intimately. How would he react to that? She did shudder then, turning to look deep into Kincaid's eyes. "Thank you for answering my question," she said quietly. "I want to go back to the mortal world now. How do I do that?"

She needed to see Nathaniel. She needed to know where she stood with him, if they could overcome the almost insurmountable barriers between them. She needed to know if he could accept her being with Lucas, even though she hadn't been in a relationship with Nathaniel at the time. Her restrictive views on morality were still strong in her mind. Lucas had casually shrugged off those views as if they didn't matter but they mattered to her. If Lucas and Nathaniel had as great an enmity between them as Kincaid intimated, then the vampire may not be as willing to accept her relationship with Lucas.

Kincaid's eyes narrowed and his expression turned thoughtful. He moved from his relaxed position, sitting slightly forward in the chair. "You're not ready for that yet," he answered coolly.

Summer's green eyes flashed with annoyance and she took on a mulish expression. "I didn't ask if you thought I was ready for it, Kincaid. I asked how I went about doing it."

He sighed deeply and raised his eyes to the ceiling. His peace and quiet was about to be shattered and he was irritated with himself for having answered her question to begin with. He should have stuck to his guns and made her ask someone else. "Lucas," he called loudly.

A fraction of a second passed and then Lucas appeared in the room. Summer met his eyes, determined she would not wilt under his gaze, would not react to the new information she had received. He watched her intently, his blue eyes narrowing slightly as he took in her expression.

"Summer wants to go down to the mortal world," Kincaid sighed, once more shifting in his chair to take up his relaxed pose. He was effectively handing her off to Lucas and appeared grateful to do so.

"You know everything about Nathaniel," Lucas said quietly to Summer. She nodded but didn't speak, merely kept looking at him with cold detached eyes. He wanted to sigh just as Kincaid had. He had hoped she would have had time to adjust more fully before she learned of the judgement passed on Nathaniel. It would appear not a lot was going in his favour at the moment.

"Very well, I will show you," he finally said and Kincaid's eyes snapped open quickly and he sat up abruptly.

"She's not ready, Lucas," he said tersely, completely stunned by the other man's decision. "You know she isn't. She still thinks like a bloody human half of the time."

Lucas' eyes met his calmly, his expression carefully neutral. "Do you wish a full formal meeting called to reach a decision on this, Kincaid?"

"Isn't the last meeting still ongoing?" Marcus asked from the sofa behind them and they all turned their gaze to look at him. He was smiling slightly, his blue eyes flashing with humour as he took in their careful expressions. Summer's arrival truly was very entertaining and he, for one, was enjoying the fireworks immensely.

Harlan arrived and smiled at Summer before moving off to sit on another sofa. He didn't speak though he watched Kincaid keenly with a slight smile tugging at his lips.

Summer broke the silence as they all stared at each other, each waiting for someone else to speak. "I want to be shown how to return to the mortal world," she said quietly.

Marcus laughed loudly and stretched out his long legs with a satisfied expression on his beautiful face. "This should be fun," he laughed softly.

"Summer knows of the judgement placed on Nathaniel," Kincaid said in a clipped tone. "I wouldn't be so quick to find this so amusing, Marcus. At the moment she fully intends to keep Nathaniel away from us. She probably thinks she is acting in his best interests. So a little trip downside is not going to be very productive for us at the moment."

"Who told her?" Marcus thundered, the easy humour wiped from his face to be replaced with a dark scowl. He was glaring at Lucas as he spoke, expecting him to have been the one to have been stupid enough to give Summer the information she wasn't ready to deal with yet.

"Does it really matter?" Harlan asked.

Her eyes were automatically drawn to the sound of his voice and she saw Anton had also entered the meeting room but was standing detached from the group perusing one of the many bookshelves along the far wall. The whole group was now here and it would appear they were going to continue with the aborted meeting of a few days ago as if nothing untoward had occurred in it.

Marcus glared at Harlan. "Of course it bloody matters," he snarled. "She can't be let anywhere near Nathaniel until she completes the transformation or this whole debacle will be for nothing."

Summer was tired of them talking about her as if she wasn't in the room. She stood up. "Does a Síochán usually request approval from the other members before going down to the mortal world?" she asked dryly. She somehow doubted it and from the expressions on their faces it appeared she was correct in her assumption.

"Before you leave you must know the complete truth, Summer," Anton said quietly turning to face her. "The judgement passed on Nathaniel was an unusual one obviously because he was the first to ever leave us. It was unusual in another respect too as it wasn't Lucas who pronounced the judgement as is customary."

Summer's eyes flew to Lucas and she felt a moment of remorse as she looked at him. She had just assumed that he had passed the judgement because that was his primary goal here, to be justice. He met her gaze with a carefully neutral expression and then looked away, moving over to Marcus whom he naturally seemed to gravitate towards when in the meeting room.

"I passed the judgement," Anton continued crossing over to her and meeting her gaze with a level one of his own. "It may seem cruel to you right now but it was necessary. Nathaniel couldn't be allowed to intervene with your ascending. I watched every permutation of what would happen depending on what actions we took at the time. This was the only way to ensure that you would ascend. ."

She stared at him and fought down the quick retort which came to her lips. Did it really matter who had passed the judgement? They had all agreed to it. They had all manipulated both herself and Nathaniel for their own ends. "How do I go down to the mortal world?" she asked tiredly.

"I will show you," Lucas answered. "I will meet you in your Scrying Room in a moment."

She nodded and disappeared leaving the five men alone. The moment she disappeared Lucas turned to Anton, his lips tight with displeasure. "Are you totally sure about this, Anton? I don't want any harm coming to Summer. What if Nathaniel doesn't help her? What if he walks away and leaves her alone?"

Anton smiled gently and rolled his eyes. "The problem is you equate Nathaniel with your character defects, Lucas. He would never walk away and leave Summer in danger, not even for the greater good." He watched his barb strike home. He could tell by the increased tightening around Lucas' mouth that he had scored a wounding blow to the other man.

"Nathaniel will not want to get involved but he'll be unable to leave Summer in a vulnerable position. I have spent a century going over the various permutations. They come back the same every time. When the demons attack Summer, Nathaniel will step in and help her." Anton disappeared the moment he finished speaking.

"Isn't Summer waiting for you?" Marcus remarked drolly and Lucas shot him a glare before he took himself into the Scrying Room.

It was the first time he had been alone with her since her introduction to the others. She was standing beside the Fountain, staring into the water but not applying her talent to it.

"Summer," he breathed softly and she turned to look at him. For a brief moment he saw the girl he had come to care for and then she closed off from him and he saw the Síochán who was almost at the end of her transformation.

"I suppose we should talk," she said thoughtfully moving to stand in front of his and meeting his wary gaze with an unfathomable expression on her beautiful face. "I can understand your actions, Lucas, even as I disapprove of them. Not just your personal actions but also the group's actions too. What we shared personally was a wonderful experience and I thank you for the training and the time you invested in me. But it is over now, Lucas. I will always remember Luc with a deep love and affection but that man is gone now."

It was to be expected but it still made him feel sad. He had always known he could never have Summer, that she was on loan to him for a brief moment in time before she would once more return to Nathaniel's side. It still hurt though because he had come to care for her as he had cared for no other woman he had known. And yet, he knew his love for her paled into insignificance compared to the love that blazed inside Nathaniel for this beautiful, ethereal little woman. It was only right that she know that love.