Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Mark of a Goddess ❯ Abaharaki Revival? ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter Six

Abaharaki Revival?

 

Van opened the back door of Dryden's SUV for Hitomi and helped her inside. Then he got into the front.

 

Dryden was leaning back in the driver's seat with his eyes closed. There was a C.D. playing. He was listening to a jazz piece. The sound of a saxophone was ringing through the speakers.

 

“You were faster than I expected,” Dryden commented, yawning. He opened his eyes and started the vehicle. “Well, let's go then.”

 

“You said you were going to explain about what just happened,” Hitomi reminded Dryden before Van got after him for yet another comment on their love life. “Why did we get thrown out of The Voltage Room? Does it have something to do with Folken being `The Sorcerer'?”

 

“Not at all,” Dryden said, inching out of the space where he had parallel parked. “This is something that every Tarot user can do, though it's not easy. It seems that Folken used his blood in the construction of The Voltage Room.”

 

“His blood?” Hitomi asked, wondering exactly how powerful Tarot user blood really was. It seemed to be at the core of everything.

 

“Hitomi, don't sound so shocked. How else do you think Van made you your protection pendant?”

 

Hitomi leaned forward between the two front seats and gaped. Then she pulled the stone out from its hiding place under her shirt and looked at it. It was a light pink colour though she couldn't see it properly in the dim light of the moving SUV. It had always been translucent and clear, coral coloured and misty. It made sense to her that it was pink now that she knew it was made with Van's blood.

 

“Van, how did you make this?” Hitomi asked him, and wondered why she had been satisfied with his lame explanation of where it had come from. He had only said that he'd made it.

 

“Well, I …” Van started, and then he stopped.

 

“Go ahead,” Dryden encouraged, giving him a knowing sideways glance. “I'd like to hear how you made it as well.”

 

What did Dryden know about the pendant that Hitomi didn't?

 

Van gave Dryden a dirty look.

 

“Ah, come on! Tell us!” Dryden continued.

 

Van turned his head away and looked out the window, like he wasn't going to answer.

 

But Dryden wouldn't be deflected by something like Van's silence. “If you don't tell …”

 

“Fine! I didn't make the stone,” Van admitted irritably. “I put the stone on the chain, but I didn't make it. The stone was made by Balgus.” Van sighed and when he continued, he was calmer, although he was definitely still annoyed. “He originally made it into a necklace for Flo, but it didn't work the way it was supposed to because she isn't a Tarot user. She wore it all the time when I was little, but the chain broke and for some reason she never bothered to have it fixed. Then later, when I told her that I had fallen for this girl who was also a Tarot user, she got the rock out and gave it to me to give to the girl I loved. Flo told me what it was and explained how it was supposed to work, and why it never worked on her. So I put it on a new chain and experimented with it a little to make sure that I had a good mental link with it before I gave it to Hitomi. Are you satisfied, Dryden? Are you happy now?”

 

“Perfectly,” Dryden said smugly.

 

“Oh, I see,” Hitomi said, feeling a little disappointed and grossed out that she had some stranger's blood around her neck for the past few months. If it had been Van's blood, then that would have been one thing, but Balgus' …

 

“Sorry, Hitomi,” Van said, sounding sincerely repentant. “If I had known how to make a new one, I would have made one for you.”

 

“Anyway,” Dryden said, continuing. “When you put your blood into an inanimate object during its construction it is to give yourself … the ability to grant yourself and anyone in your bloodline, a wish.”

 

“A wish?” Hitomi asked, not yet understanding what Dryden was trying to explain.

 

“Well, not just any wish. When Balgus made that pendant, his wish was probably to protect the one he loved. A protection pendant is the most commonly constructed item in our history. Usually … and you can correct me if I'm wrong, Hitomi, but usually, it works in two ways. One way is that it alerts the person who made it that the person they love who is wearing the pendant is in trouble, and the second way is that it alerts the person wearing it when they are in danger. Is that right?”

 

“Yeah, I think so,” Hitomi said.

 

“Van, you said it didn't work the way it was supposed to when Flo wore it. How was it malfunctioning?”

 

“I don't know,” Van confessed, sounding blue. “I didn't ask, she didn't tell.”

 

Dryden scowled for a moment, and then his face brightened and he went on. “It's not that it particularly matters. I was only interested, but if you have the chance, please ask her. I'd very much like to know why it didn't work properly.” He paused. “Well, Van's able to use the pendant like he made it because he's Balgus's nephew and one of his heirs, so it will work for Van. That's one way that we, as Tarot users, can pass things down to our descendants - through objects. My dad, for instance … well, I'll explain about that in a moment. Folken obviously wants to have at least one place that he's safe, so that was probably his wish as he poured his blood into the cement mixer. At least, I think that's what he had on his mind. That explains why he didn't care if Hitomi came and went at her pleasure. Since he could throw her out whenever he wanted to anyway.”

 

Hitomi felt tired. That was why Folken had been so upset about her trashing the kitchen in The Voltage Room that time! It was his home. His one place where he was safe, but if he could make her leave whenever he wanted to then why didn't he? Ah, he was on the stage singing. He couldn't say the words to throw her out.

 

“Why are you such an expert on all this?” Van asked Dryden suddenly. “And how did you know about the cement mixer?”

 

“Well, my father liked to pour his blood into cement mixers. He probably did it with every building owned by his corporation, and also every one of his mansions. It's because his symbol is earth. People who have earth as one of their elements are naturally obsessive and can wish far more powerfully than Tarot users who have other elements. I said it was useless, but that's only because I didn't like the way my father used it. He used to take me along with him when he went to the construction site. I was a really small child and watching him cut his arm with his special knife was really creepy, especially since he was so old. But he wanted me to know how to control the buildings when he died, so I guess he got what he wanted.”

 

“What sorts of things did he wish for?” Hitomi asked, definitely curious.

 

Dryden hesitated. “Actually, I'd rather not explain. What Folken seems to have wished for was extremely humble compared to what my father used to wish for. My father used to stand there with his blood dripping, reading through a list of all the things he wanted to get from the building. I believe it was several pages long. However, by the time I was born, my father was an expert at it. He's been doing it for decades. This was probably Folken's first time. And like I said before - it's not easy. That's why I didn't think Van had actually made your protection pendant. It seemed a little advanced for him.”

 

“Hey!” Van shouted, indignant.

 

“Tut tut. It's not your fault, so please try not to be so defensive.”

 

“But more importantly,” Hitomi interrupted. “Could Folken use my pendant to learn where I am - Van has used it that way.”

 

Here, Van definitely perked up.

 

“Very good, Hitomi. Yes, it's totally possible that Folken would be able to use it as well as Van if he ever got a hold of it for long enough to establish a mental link. He hasn't had that chance, has he, Hitomi?”

 

“What does `establishing a mental link' constitute exactly? I'm not sure I understand.”

 

“Well, he'd have to hold it in his hands, touch it, feel it and dedicate the whole appearance of the object to memory. Establishing the link isn't hard. It's not impossible for even the greenest of us. The hard part is making the object in the first place. He'd basically just have to play with it, bang it against his forehead, flip it between his fingers, and warm it in his hand. Has he had the chance to do something like that, Hitomi?”

 

Hitomi scanned her memory. “No,” she said at last. “I don't think so. He's had the opportunity if he wanted it, but I don't remember him touching the necklace.”

“That's good,” Dryden said.

 

“So technically,” Van said soberly. “I should be able to walk into The Voltage Room and order the building to kick everyone of those Dragon Slayer kids out on their butts, and then I could torch the building?” Van asked, always catching the most damaging of Dryden's implications.

 

Dryden shrugged his shoulders like a long-suffering guardian. “Yes, that's entirely possible; but not because you're brothers, but because you've had a blood transfusion. Your blood is in him; his blood is in you. However, I'd prefer it if you didn't go that far. I've been trying to think up a way to end all this trouble without you turning into a raving lunatic, and I'm close, so don't do a thing before I figure something out. Got it?”

 

“I don't take orders from you,” Van said, his eyes narrowing, and his voice colder than brandished steel.

 

“You want to down their whole organization with as little bloodshed as possible, right?” Dryden asked, sounding like he'd had enough.

 

Van rested his head on his fist and sounded infinitely more reasonable when he spoke next. “I'm not going to drive back to The Voltage Room to try it out tonight, if that's what you're wondering. What kind of idiot do you take me for? I'm waiting to make my move against Folken, but not because of you. I have to finish learning how to use all eight elements and then I'll do what I want … with as little loss of life as possible. So, you have whatever time that gives you.”

 

“How generous,” Dryden remarked. “Anyway,” he said after a pause. “I've got some books on making wishes with your blood if you're interested in learning how to do it - either of you. Like I said, my mansion is built with the same magic, so it's not impossible - especially not for you, Van. I have a little experience with it too because of my mansion, though I've never `kicked anyone out on their butt' before,” he said using Van's words to tease him.

 

“Why do you always have to be so bleeding irritating?” Van groaned, resting his chin in his other hand and looking out the window.

 

Just then Dryden caught Hitomi's eyes in the rearview mirror and he winked at her. She looked back at him and she got his meaning - he was teasing Van on purpose.

 

Dryden's understanding of people floored Hitomi. He just seemed to understand people and exactly what they needed. Dryden knew that Hitomi was trying to keep Van's heart warm and he was trying his best to help her, by joking, by keeping the conversation light, and by trying to help her find a way to end things with Folken without bloodshed. He even knew how to pluck Van's strings in just the right way so that he didn't suspect Dryden's motives. That was what Dryden had been doing all along.

 

That night when Dryden told her who she really was, he promised that he would always help her. He was keeping his promise to her perfectly.

 

Hitomi wanted to throw her arms around Dryden's neck and tell him that she loved him, but she couldn't. Van was right beside him and there's no way he would understand her feelings - not after what had just happened in The Voltage Room.

 

Hitomi sat back and looked at the two men. She thought that Van was definitely the better looking of the two. Dryden was tall and dark, not that Van wasn't, but there was something in Dryden's masculinity that was overpowering for Hitomi. Maybe it was his obvious experience and knowledge about women. He knew way more about women than Hitomi ever cared to know. She wasn't grossed out by him anymore, though. He was The Lover, so he couldn't help being that way.

 

Van, on the other hand, was lighter physically and he was definitely the more agile of the two. Van was … tortured. His past hurt him so much. His anger towards Folken was a heavy weight on his shoulders and it made him so intense. Hitomi wanted to see his eyes clear, but instead they were always clouded by resentment and feelings that he had lived with so long that he couldn't seem to shake them, no matter how soft and gentle Hitomi's love for him was.

 

Dryden was more genki, but Hitomi couldn't prefer him to Van. The blacker Van's moods became, the more she wanted to purify him and keep him safe.

 

***

 

The next day, Hitomi was in one of Dryden's studies looking for her mother's email address at work on one of the computers when Van came in. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a tan coloured sweater with a red stripe across the front. In his hand, he was carrying a cordless phone. He paced the room a couple of times before he finally set the phone down on the desk. Then he turned around without saying anything and began pacing the room again. Something was obviously on his mind.

 

“Hey Baby,” Hitomi said, raising her eyebrow and looking at him quizzically. “What's up?”

 

He cracked his knuckles and then his neck. “I just got off the phone … with Allen.”

 

“Allen? How are things going?”

 

“Apparently, he had some news. I hadn't tried to contact him since we got here, because frankly - I didn't want to talk to him. I was really pissed off with him about the whole Marlene thing, and I honestly didn't think they'd have any trouble.”

 

Hitomi started up from her chair.

 

“No, don't worry. Dilandau hasn't been after Celena or anything. Allen just had this `thing' that he wanted to tell me, but he wanted to tell me in person. I said I wouldn't see him, and that any news he had hardly mattered anymore since I already did what he wanted for him, saving his sister and such. It was kind of an ugly conversation, but then he finally told me what he wants.”

 

“Which is?” Hitomi asked.

 

“He wants to resurrect the Abaharaki,” Van answered.

 

Even though Hitomi didn't want to admit it, with the exception of Eries, Hitomi was only too glad to let her Abaharaki days fall behind her. She hadn't been treated well by Merle or Flo and she was still pretty annoyed at Allen for being so free and easy with Marlene.

 

“What did you tell him?”

 

“I told him there was no reason for us to do anything like that. He got his sister back, so he had no reason to go after Dilandau. He said he did, and that was what he wanted to talk to me about in person.”

 

“What?” Hitomi asked, feeling nervous.

 

“He says Celena is pregnant,” Van said, looking like he was trying to drop the news to Hitomi as gently as possible.

 

Hitomi was shocked, and perhaps because of it she asked bluntly, “Why wasn't she on the pill? Or something?”

 

“Allen said that Dilandau had been after her for some time to have his child and Celena had always avoided conceiving, but when the Dragon Slayers had Allen locked up they told her that if she didn't cooperate with Dilandau then they'd hurt or kill Allen.”

 

“That's horrible!”

 

“Yeah, it really is, considering that Celena's a drug addict. Dilandau made her quit before they started trying and her withdrawal, according to Allen, was brutal. Dilandau wouldn't let her conceive a child that was obviously going to be messed up from the start and went through every effort to make sure her body was ready. Who's to say that it was enough though? They didn't have a lot of time in those six weeks they had Allen locked up. Allen says Celena has very bad morning sickness and that she throws up all day. Eries is nursing her day and night, but it doesn't stop her from being in really bad shape,” Van explained, sounding genuinely sorrowful.

 

“Do you really think that they'll be safe in Rose Hill? If she's carrying Dilandau's child, don't you think he'll come after her for sure?” Hitomi asked.

 

“Maybe so, but Allen needs to change his attitude about involving other people in our personal quests. Until he does, I won't do a thing to help him. He's the kind of guy you give a little to and he'll keel haul you,” Van said unyieldingly.

 

“This isn't about Allen,” Hitomi retorted. “I'm no less pissed off with him than you are. I'm worried about Celena. Helping Celena doesn't mean helping Allen with his revenge. If she's pregnant and sick, then we should bring her here, so that she can be taken care of properly, and you heard what Dryden said about the mansion. This building is probably the safest place for her on the planet if Dilandau comes after her. Don't you think? It could protect her from even Folken!”

 

“You do have a point there,” Van agreed, pushing his hair out of his face and stalking through the room again. “We'll have to get Dryden's permission, though. We can't just invite people to his house.”

 

“Just leave it to me! I'll convince him,” Hitomi said, getting up from the desk and heading for the door.

 

“Hey, don't you want me to come with you?” Van asked, when Hitomi opened the door and appeared to be leaving without him.

 

“Of course,” she said taking his hand and kissing his cheek lightly. “I always want you with me.”

 

Hitomi and Van went to find Dryden. He was sitting by the pool watching Selphie swim. He was sitting at one of the tables with a laptop in front of him. Apparently, he was still working hard.

 

Hitomi explained what Dilandau had done and how unprotected and sick Celena was, and immediately Dryden was convinced that she needed to be brought to the mansion.

 

“Well, I don't know this Dilandau guy from a hole in the wall, but if he's rude enough to pull that kind of stunt … argh,” Dryden said crankily, tossing a rubber ball into the pool. “I can't stand those kinds of guys. What a jackass! Anyway, there's no way we should leave her and the others in Rose Hill. They'll have to come here at once.”

 

“You don't mind?” Van asked, still a little uncertain.

 

“Of course not. That idiot … Dilandau,” Dryden said, searching for the correct name. “He probably doesn't know where she is right now, but it's only a matter of time before he finds out. When that happens there's no way she'll be protected in such an isolated place. If she's involved in a big-to-do she could lose the baby. We have to stop that from happening, so all of them should definitely come here. Should we send a car for them?” Dryden asked quickly, going a little over-the-top in the same fashion all rich men do.

 

“No,” Van said. “I'll just call Allen back and invite them to come. I don't think Allen will refuse me since he was so anxious to see me in person, and I think they have transportation aplenty.”

 

“So, there's Eries, Gaddes, Celena, and Allen?” Dryden asked.

 

Hitomi nodded.

 

“Excellent. I'll go speak to housekeeping about getting their rooms ready.” Then suddenly, Dryden turned and looked at Van. “You know, I didn't think you'd come to me with a problem like this, but I'm glad to see you've gotten over your stigma about my money. It only has value to me in as much as I can help those around me. So if your friends need help, I'm only too pleased to help them.”

 

“Thanks, Dryden,” Van said. “I appreciate it.”

 

And with that, Dryden walked away.

 

“See? You two get along sometimes,” Hitomi pointed out.

 

“Yeah … sometimes. He sure is a weird guy though, isn't he?” Van said, looking at the place by the door Dryden had just occupied. Then he turned back to Hitomi. “Well, I've got to go call Allen. He'll think I'm being moody since I keep blowing hot and cold.”