| This Thing Vengeance By Kuzibah |
| Disclaimer: All characters and Situations relating to �Buffy the Vampire Slayer� and �Angel� are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Greenwolf Productions, the WB, and (apparently) evil Fox. The author has received no monetary or material recompense for her efforts. However, she does accept lavish praise and constructive criticism (whatever that is). Notes: This is part of my Angel series and follows �The Last Days of Illyria.� In case you�re wondering, the name Anachie is pronounced Ann-a-kee. Like Anarchy minus the �r.� And a good website on Romani (Gypsy) culture is: http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/patrin.htm where I found out (among other things) that there really is a clan called Kalderash. It means �coppersmith.� Follows �In The Blood� Archive- Sure, but email me and let me know where it�s going. Feedback- Absolutely. ************************** Manhattan, New York City April, 1987 Mr. Wolfe, guidance counselor at New York Public High School 16, gathered the papers together and straightened them on the desk top before placing them carefully back into the file. Then he laced his fingers together and smiled at the teenage girl across from him. She smiled back, but her dark eyes betrayed her nervousness. "I know you're concerned about your record, Jenny," Mr. Wolfe said, "but you really have nothing to worry about. You're an excellent student." Janna bit her lip, and twirled a strand of her black hair around her finger. "It's just... my family's moved around a lot, and it always takes a while to get back up to speed when you start in a new school." Mr. Wolfe nodded. "Well, perhaps you should tell me your plans. Do you have any ideas about what you'd like to do after graduation?" Janna smiled shyly. �Well,� she said softly, �I really like computers. And I think there are a lot of good computer jobs.� �That�s true,� the counselor agreed. �There are a lot of bad ones, too. You�ve taken a few computer labs. What in particular interests you about computers?� �I think they�re wonderful tools for communication,� Janna said, warming to her subject. �If a person in China had a computer, you could talk to them, through computer lines. And people all around the world could all talk to you, too, at the same time. And if I needed something from a book in a library in France, I could write to the librarian there and he could send the information back to me.� Mr. Wolfe smiled. �And where do you see yourself in this future world?� Janna touched her chin thoughtfully. �I�m not sure,� she said, �but it�s very exciting.� Mr. Wolfe nodded again. �Well,� he said, �computers are a good place to start, and you certainly seem enthusiastic about them. Why don�t you concentrate on schools with strong computer technology programs. When you have some in mind, make another appointment, and we�ll go over the applications. Sound good?� Janna nodded. �Yes, thank you, Mr. Wolfe. I�ll do that.� The counselor stood and held out his hand. �Good luck, Jenny,� he said. �If you need anything or want help researching schools, let me know.� Janna stood and shook hands with him. �I will, Mr. Wolfe,� she said, and sighed deeply. �I was worried what you were going to tell me,� she confessed. �I�m the first person in my family who�s ever going to graduate high school, let alone go to college.� �Well, your situation isn�t that unusual,� Mr. Wolfe said reassuringly, �and being part of an ethnic minority, there may even be scholarship grants available. Something else you may want to research.� Janna nodded, but as she left the office, she had to admit to herself it was unlikely there were many Gypsy scholarships out there. * * * * * * * * * * * * She entered the four-story brownstone where her family had been living for the past eight months. The first floor was mostly empty, with only a few mismatched kitchen chairs and clothes-lines with dripping laundry stretching from the front vestibule to the kitchen door. The kitchen door itself was closed, and two older women were waiting tensely in chairs. Janna nodded to them and they smiled back politely. They were waiting for her mother and grandmother who were reading fortunes at the kitchen table, she knew, so Janna went upstairs quietly. She was outside her bedroom door when she heard voices raised in the rooms above her. One of the men arguing was her mother�s brother, her Uncle Enyos, but Janna couldn�t tell who the other was. One of her many distant cousins who drifted in and out, no doubt. Suddenly a door slammed open, and the person stomped into the hallway. �You steal my childhood, ship me to strangers all over the world, and now you expect me to fall all over myself to fulfill some bloody daft duty,� he shouted. �Well, fuck that, and fuck you!� Oh God, Janna thought, it�s Anachie. What�s he doing home? He started stomping down the stairs and Janna struggled with her bedroom doorknob, trying to get inside so she wouldn�t have to face her cousin. �Anachie,� Enyos shouted, and Janna froze again, hoping they didn�t hear her. Her uncle came into the hallway, too. �Are you a Kalderash, Anachie?� he demanded. �We are the tools of greater forces. Do you believe fate wants you to be a bank manager?� �Bugger fate,� Anachie said through gritted teeth. �This isn�t the middle ages, Father. We don�t have to play our fiddles for coins in the street. It�s been a long time since we wore gold hoop earrings and bandannas on our heads.� �Your heritage is not those stereotypes,� Enyos said, �you know that.� �No,� Anachie snapped, �apparently my heritage is magical mumbo-jumbo and creatures of darkness.� He started down the stairs again, and Enyos shouted after him. �If you leave this house, Anachie, you are dead to me. Do you hear me! Dead!� �Fine by me,� Anachie shouted back, and Janna realized she was too late to hide in her room. Anachie saw her as he reached the landing and she lowered her eyes demurely. Anachie only paused a moment, so as not to give her away to his father. He walked quickly to her and took her face in his hand. �Get out while you can, Janna,� he whispered into her ear. �You�re not their property. You�re bright, you don�t have to be a fortune-teller or a con artist. Get away. Go to school.� �Anachie,� Janna whispered, �don�t go. They�ll never let me see you again.� �Shh,� Anachie soothed, �I�ll find you. Someday.� �Anachie,� she said hopelessly. �But it won�t be Anachie,� he said. �It will be something English. John or Tom. Or Max. A good strong English name.� �No,� Janna pleaded. �Don�t stay, Janna,� he said. �We�ll meet again.� He kissed her gently and descended the rest of the stairs, and Janna heard the front door slam. She slowly started to turn the knob on her bedroom door when she heard her uncle�s voice. �Come up to me, Janna,� he said. Janna ascended the stairs, each foot feeling like it weighed fifty pounds. Her uncle was standing at his door, his strong features dark with anger, and, underneath, hurt. �So, you heard how a son talks to his father, eh,� he said. Janna kept her eyes down. �Just the very end, Uncle,� she said softly. Enyos nodded, and then stepped aside from the doorway. �Come in and sit down, child,� he said, �we have much to discuss.� Janna entered and took a seat on one of her uncle�s chairs. This was bad, she thought, for her uncle to be speaking to her before he told his own mother of Anachie leaving the clan. Enyos sat across from her and stared hard at her, seemingly deep in consideration of some great problem. Janna said nothing, not wanting to prompt her uncle�s anger again. �You are Kalderash, Janna, are you not,� he said after several minutes of silence. �Yes,� Janna replied. �Will you serve the clan faithfully as its daughter?� �You know I will, Uncle.� Enyos nodded. �Even though you don�t know what that entails?� �I will do whatever you ask,� Janna said. �I am Romani, I am Kalderash. I am the daughter of an ancient and noble people.� Enyos laughed dryly. �Fine words,� he said. �And you recite them well. But we shall see how you feel when you find out all that means.� Enyos stared at her silently for several more minutes, and then began to speak again. �For almost ninety years the Kalderash have performed a sacred duty,� he said. �In the name of vengeance, we have subverted what it means to be Romani, and stayed in one place to watch over the object of our revenge.� �Ninety years!� Janna exclaimed. �How long could he live?� �Listen and understand, child,� Enyos barked. �I had hoped Anachie would take my place in this duty when I am gone, but he has refused. I could summon one of the others, the more distant arms of the clan, but, in all honesty, I doubt I could trust them with such a responsibility. You are the last of the direct line, Janna.� Janna said nothing, though her heart had started pounding in her chest. �This may be a duty that consumes the rest of your life, what I ask,� Enyos continued. �And the lives of your children and grandchildren, yet unborn. But it must be done, Janna. If you refuse, you are no longer Kalderash.� �I cannot leave the clan, Uncle,� Janna said. �It is all I am, all I have ever known.� �Very well,� Enyos said, then almost to himself, added, �perhaps I was wrong to send Anachie traveling, but I thought he should know what it means to be Romani.� He shook his head. �It�s too late now. We must teach you a new way, Janna.� * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was well past sunset when Angel crawled from the basement of the abandoned building where he had been staying for several weeks now. He was shivering, although the air was surprisingly warm for April, and his skin had a grayish tone, as though he had been rubbed with ashes. His clothes were little more than rags, layered over one another. He moved slowly, weakly, shrinking away from the orange pools of light around the sodium-arc lamps that lined the street. A Salvationist who had seen him exit the abandoned building approached him. �Are you hungry, Brother?� he asked. �Why don�t you come with me to our soup kitchen. It�s only in the next block.� Angel gave a harsh, bitter bark of laughter. �Get the hell away from me,� he said. �Please,� the young man pressed. �Everyone is welcome. We only want to feed you, nothing more.� Angel�s voice lowered to a growl. �I said, �get away,�� he repeated, and hurried from the man. A short distance away, he ducked into an alley, listening intently for the scratching of rats that had first made him turn in. He took hold of a cardboard box at the base of a pile of trash and pulled it out, half toppling the pile in the process. A rat leapt out and Angel dove after it, missing it by a fraction of an inch. He made a cry of frustration, halfway between a grunt and a sob, and scrabbled on all fours in pursuit. He pounced again, grabbing the rat, which made a startled squeal before twisting in his hands and sinking its teeth into the soft flesh between his thumb and forefinger. Yelping in pain, Angel swung his arms over his head and dashed the little brute�s brains out on the pavement. He lifted the small limp body to his face, and with animal-like fangs he ripped open its throat and stomach, then crouched among the rubbish to drain his hard-won prize of its blood. Across the street, Janna and her Uncle watched him through field glasses. �That�s a vampire?� Janna asked incredulously. �You�ve got to be kidding me!� * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was well after midnight, and Enyos and Janna were watching Angel as he stared out into the harbor waters, glittering silver in the bright moonlight. He might have been a statue for all the movement he had made in the past hour, and Janna was getting restless. �How long will he stay there?� she asked. �Who knows,� Enyos answered. �Could be hours.� They didn�t follow him every night, perhaps once every week or two, finding him by divination methods her mother and uncle taught her together, ancient Gypsy magics involving stones and symbols. But Enyos said the magic was not as strong as it once had been, and it was best to double check its accuracy from time to time. �What is he doing?� �He is suffering,� said Enyos. �As he should be.� Janna frowned. According to her uncle, this vampire, Angelus, or Angel as he was called, had been suffering under the curse placed upon him by her people for most of a century. The guilt of every death he had caused tortured him. But things her uncle told her seemed to contradict one another, and every question of hers he answered only added to her confusion. For instance, before, when he had murdered her clanswoman, he had been bereft of his soul, as were all vampires. His body, which was dead, had been animated and under the volition of a demon. Her people�s curse had then restored his soul from� somewhere, and now it was filled with remorse for crimes it had no control to prevent. It seemed unbelievably unfair to her, yet her uncle didn�t even question it. �Will his suffering ever end?� she asked quietly. �Do you pity him, Janna?� Enyos asked. When she didn�t answer he glanced over at her. �You can tell me the truth,� he told her. �It is best I know these things now.� �A little,� Janna conceded. �He seems so�� �Wretched?� her uncle suggested. �I was going to say �pathetic,�� Janna said, �but, yeah, wretched is good.� �Come with me, Janna,� Enyos said brusquely, �I will show you pathetic.� Janna hurried after her uncle, who strode quickly ahead of her. They went into a neighborhood just outside the port, where cheap bars and hotels catered to merchant sailors in town for only a day or two. It was a rough area, full of hard men and the most shameless of women. Janna huddled close to her uncle, who put a protective arm around her. They ducked down a side alley, where a small neon side announced the entrance to a windowless bar called �Black Friday�s.� The alley was also full of junked and abandoned cars. Enyos pulled Janna into the small space between two of them and they crouched out of sight. �Now,� he whispered, �you will see what makes undying vengeance.� Janna was about to ask him what he meant, when the door to the bar slammed open. Four people exited, two men, one a sailor, and two women in short, tight dresses, all staggering drunk. They moved down the alley, into the darkness. �I can�t wait to get back to the apartment,� one of the women slurred. �Why don�t you just lean me right against the wall, here, sailor.� Her companion laughed. �You a little alley cat, eh,� he said, pulling her to him and kissing her. �That sounds good to me, too,� the other man purred to the girl at his side, and she giggled nervously. �I don�t know,� she said. �What if someone sees us?� The man smiled, and in an instant, his face twisted into the fierce visage of a demon. �I�ll be quick,� he said, putting his hand over the woman�s mouth and driving his fangs into her throat. She kicked and struggled, but he slammed her against the hood of a car, and drank deeply. The sailor seemed to awake slightly from his stupor. He blinked at the scene before him and stepped towards the two. �Hey,� he said, and the girl at his side transformed, too, lifting him, crushing him, and pressing his exposed throat to her waiting mouth. In seconds, both humans were dead, and the vampires heaved the bodies behind a half-stripped car, laughing. They fell into one another�s arms, and kissed, smearing their victims� blood over both their mouths. The male vampire tenderly wiped the female�s lips, then wound her long hair around his fist, and kissed her again, more brutally. �Come, now, pet,� he murmured lovingly. �Time to find our second course.� Janna remained crouched behind the cars, trembling, for a long time after the vampires left them. �At least they were quick, and clean,� Enyos said to her. �The other, when he killed, he played with them, torturing them, sometimes for weeks. It was a horrible way to die. And he did it over and over. Tens of thousands, some only children.� Janna found she couldn�t even comprehend such brutality. One creature responsible for the murder of enough people to populate a small city. It didn�t seem possible. �So how many years is enough, Janna,� Enyos said, and Janna found she had no answer. Later, as they walked home, Enyos spoke again. �There are many things you don�t understand, Janna,� he said. �This thing vengeance, it is greater than any of us. We are only its servants. You must learn to obey me in this, obey without question.� Janna�s teeth were chattering as the shock of what she had seen drained out of her system. She hugged her arms around herself. �I will, Uncle,� she promised. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * �I understand it�s important to stay close to your family,� Mr. Wolfe said, �but with your record, you could go to a school with a much better computer technology program than CUNY.� He looked up at her, removing his glasses to regard her thoughtfully. �I get the feeling there�s something more going on, Jenny,� he said, �and I�d like to help you. Maybe if you told me, we could find some way to compromise�� �No,� Janna said, cutting him off. �I�m sorry, Mr. Wolfe. You�ve been very kind and helpful, but to be honest� you�re Gadjo. You don�t understand our ways.� It made her sick to her stomach to speak so dismissively to him, but there wasn�t really any way to explain. Mr. Wolfe replaced his glasses, looking a little surprised and hurt. �Okay, then, Jenny,� he said. �Let me know if I can help you again.� �I�ll do that,� Janna replied, a little more coldly than she had wanted to, then she rose and left the office. Later, after dinner, she took a piece of chalk and drew a circle crossed with a pentagram on the floor of her bedroom. She took three smooth stones, one red, one black, one white, from her pocket and rolled them across the drawing. She examined their resting places carefully, then picked them up and rubbed out the drawing with the bottom of her foot. She draped her mother�s black shawl over her head and shoulders and walked to the park where she sat watching the entrance to a storm drain as the sun went down. Once darkness had fallen completely, she saw the mesh covering pushed back, and the vampire, her family�s duty, emerge into the starlight. He didn�t go far, no more than a few dozen steps, then sank down on a large flat rock, drawing his knees up to his chest. Unconsciously, Janna found herself mirroring him. He stared at the crescent moon, then put his face into his hands. Janna thought he might be weeping, but then realized he was only trying to block out the light and the sounds of the nearby street. It didn�t matter what she had told her uncle, she realized. She did pity this creature, who bore such a burden of guilt. And she felt her duty in a new way, different from every other Kalderash, she thought. Yes, she was the tool of vengeance, but also, in some strange way, she was this soul�s protector. Enyos would no doubt disagree, disagree strongly, but she could not abandon her life only to empty vengeance. The vampire rose and moved shakily into the city, keeping always to the darkness, and Janna followed after, hoping she had found the real purpose that tied her to him. Lost Angel 12: And Everything After Main Menu ~ Lost Angel |