Found

She didn’t think she had slept long this time, but since there was no clock on the wall, and no windows, she could only guess as to the time. She was still very weak, but able to move her limbs slowly. It was as if she were under water, being weighted down. The I.V. bag hanging above her was only about a quarter empty, so she figured she hadn’t been out for long.

There was no way she could get up out of the bed. She just didn’t have the energy. She struggled to sit up, with her back against the headboard, and even that little expense exhausted her. But at least she wasn’t prone on the bed anymore. She rotated her head to the right and to the left, to try and loosen her neck muscles. Anything to get the blood flowing, she thought. That had to help.

It wasn't long before a knock came to the door. Deidra didn’t think Travers would knock, so she hoped it would be Allison.

“Come in,” she said softly.

It was indeed Allison, with a tray that held a bowl of soup, and a pitcher of water. Allison smiled at her and set her burden down on the chair. There was no other furniture in the room. “A table at least would be nice about now, wouldn’t it?” She smiled shyly at Allison.

“Yes, indeed. I’m sure we can arrange that shortly.” Allison then walked over to the I.V. bag to check it’s flow.

“What is this stuff you’re pumping in to me anyway?” Deidra asked with a scowl.

Allison frowned. It was hard for her to explain that she was just doing her job, for now. Patience. She would just maintain the show for now. She wished she could tell Deidra that she was there to protect her, to be her Guardian, but for the camera! Time would come though, and then all would be revealed.

“Deidra, trust me. It’s for your own good. It is hydrating you, and it administered the antidote for the paralyzing formula that had been invading your body when you got here. The medicine in here prevented your organs from shutting down. I promise you that I am not injecting you with anything that would hurt you. I can’t tell you more than that. Please, trust me?”

Deidra couldn’t explain it, but she did trust Allison. She had to. What else could she do? She had to believe in her instincts, and they told her that Allison would help when the time was right.

Before she could ask any more questions, Travers came in pushing a hospital type table. “Is everything under control, Allison?”

“Yes sir, her condition is as expected.”

“Then leave us please.” Travers directed. Allison exited with bowed head, closing the door behind her. Deidra was crestfallen to see her go, and slowly pulled her eyes away from the door. She eredered how many more prisoners were being held here. And was it the Council that held them, or just Travers for his “prophecy?”

Travers placed the tray on her bed and told her to eat her soup, and when she was finished, they would talk. Deidra was surprised to find how hungry she was. Of course, she hadn’t got to eaten her lunch, had had no idea how long she had been here.

“May I ask how long I’ve been here?”

“Two days,” he said.

What? Two days?! No wonder she was ravenous. She tentatively tasted the soup, and found it quite good. Her stomach growled as the warm broth hit her center, and she promptly finished the whole bowl. Travers sat down in the chair and watched her finish, then he took the tray and placed it on the bedside table. It was only as she settled down into the bed that she realized she felt funny again. Just when she was starting to feel better too! There must have been something in the soup! She was as weak as ever again, barely able to move. Her tongue felt heavy and huge in her mouth. She couldn’t speak, and had to concentrate on her breathing. Allison might not be administering deadly chemicals into her system, but Travers most certainly was.

“Just a little something in the soup to keep you cooperative,” Travers said. “I don’t want any interruptions or struggles from you. When I have finished telling you of your destiny, of our destiny, you will be prepared. You’ll know what’s coming. I know you’ll want to prevent it, but there is no saving yourself or anyone else.”

Deidra just glared at him. She would never be able to save herself, or anyone else when he kept her so drugged all the time.

“Now, where was I? Oh, yes, Mr. Giles.”

Travers settled in to tell his history as if he was reading a bed time story to his beloved daughter before tucking her in for the night.

“Mr. Giles had been informed that his Slayer was killed in the Cruciamentum, when in actuality, Luisa didn’t die until nine months later, after your birth. When she died, it put a chink in my plan. I couldn’t raise you on my own. I had my duties to attend to at the Watcher’s Council, and could not spend my time away, or they would get suspicious. I needed help. The prophecy could not be fulfilled until you reached the age of 16, and I could not hide you all by myself for sixteen years!”

Sixteen. Deidra turned sixteen next week. So that must be why he chose now to strike. What a birthday this would be, she thought. Drugged, kidnapped, and thrown through some portal to rip the world apart. Happy Birthday to me!

“It was then that I decided to put my knowledge of Mr. Giles duplicity into action,” he continued. “Mr. Giles was a Watcher, but he had his weaknesses. He knew the dark side, and had begun to dabble in the black arts. They were beginning to effect his work, and distract him from training Luisa properly. That was one of the reasons it was so easy to convince him that Luisa had been killed by the vampire during her trial, and it filled him with guilt. I fed off that guilt. He was stupid, to get caught in his practice, unlike myself.” Travers smiled wickedly. “I went to him and told him that Luisa was killed due to his incompetence, and his distractions in the black magics. I threatened to take away all his power, his lively hood, and separate him from his wife and baby son. I had the authority, I told him, to not only strip him of his Watcher position, but imprison him in the Watcher’s Council for the rest of his days. Watcher’s had been executed for lesser offenses, so he knew I spoke the truth. Of course, he didn’t know that I was acting on my own authority, and not the Council’s. They knew nothing.”

Travers stood and again began to pace as he warmed to his story, the memory and knowledge of his power filling him like an adrenaline rush. He could hardly contain his excitement. It was obvious that Mr. Giles was not the only one that had exposed himself to the dark arts. It was easy for Deidra to see, even in her doped state, that Travers was more than touched by the darkness. The black magic filled him, and it was terrifying to be in such close proximity to him. If Deidra had been able, she would have ran from him screaming and never looked back. But she wasn’t able. She could only lie there, unable to shut off the sound of his voice.

“In a way, I did imprison Mr.Giles, and I was his keeper. I told him the Council would ask him to put his knowledge of the black arts to use once in awhile, per my instructions. It was to be confidential at all times, and if his work ever got out, he would indeed be taken away by the Council and punished accordingly.”

Travers walked over to the table and poured himself a glass of water. After he quenched his thirst, he again sat down in the chair to conclude his dialogue.

“I used Giles every so often for the next several years to aid me in preparations for the fulfillment of my prophecy. Of course, he knew none of the reasons for his assignments, and rarely the outcomes. He was just a tool at my disposal. I saw to it that his son, Rupert, would be called as a Watcher, to tie his family to me as much as possible. I could care less about Council problems, but I wanted as much control over that family as possible.

I placed you with the Sestons as soon as you were born. They were a young married couple in the Council, inexperienced, scared, and dirt poor. I offered them a monthly stipend to house you. They never wanted children, but they were in my employ and had to do what I instructed. I placed them next to the Giles residence. That was a inside joke on my part, you see. I placed a spell on him so that he could never tell you were Luisa’s child, but he got so lost in his training, and I kept him so busy on “dark Council matters” that he probably wouldn’t have noticed anyway.

His training of you, however, was not planned. When I first realized what he was doing, using you to practice with young Rupert, I thought about stepping in and putting an end to it. But then I decided, why bother. In the end, it wouldn’t do you any good. And it kept you all occupied. Plus, I realized that when this time came to reveal everything to you, your studies and research would have partly prepared you already, and would help you to understand and believe. Not that I care that you believe, because it won’t matter. You can’t fight now, though dear daughter, can you?” He smiled that evil grin at her again. Deidra wouldn’t even look at him, but just stared straight ahead.

For the next week, you’ll be staying here in this lovely room, so I hope you like it. The one bloody inconvenience with this prophecy is you have to be alive when I put you in the dimensional portal. However, you don’t have to be conscious. I mostly just need your blood. I’ll keep the potions coming, so you won’t feel a thing, so don’t worry about that. I wouldn’t want to see my daughter suffer.” He stood then, grabbed the tray and walked towards the door. “It will be a long week for us both, I’m afraid. I’m anxious to begin the ritual, and begin my reign. I’m sorry that you won’t be sitting at my right side, but after thinking about it I realize that I could never trust you. You have to be alive when you go through the portal, but my research shows that you won’t live through it’s passage.” With that, he left.

TBC