Work Text:
Out Of Time
By marcaich
THE PRESENT
“Alright, settle down everyone.” Derek Rayne's voice rose over the clamoring of the people around him. “It has been 24 hours since the first sighting, and nothing more has been reported. Philip? Any luck breaking the code in that diary?”
“No Derek.” Philip frowned, peering through red-shot eyes at his precept. “Given time…”
“Which we don’t have.” Nick Boyle interrupted sarcastically. He was silenced by a glare from Derek.
“Given Time.” Philip continued, ignoring Nicks attitude. “ I could break it wide open, but right now….”
“What about the clues to the time shifts?” Alex looked up from her notes.
“It says in this report that object with the dates from the late 1800’s were found on the scene, but it all looked to be brand new.”
“One of the properties of the demon released is its ability to shift back and forth between times.” Derek sighed, this was going nowhere.
“Is there any kind of record of the Legacy having faced this thing before?” Rachel Corrigan asked.
“Only a vague account of a young boy with incredible mental powers defeating a demon by taking him on in the spiritual plane. He was supposed to have been the step-son of the New Orleans Precept.” Derek had looked over that journal several times, puzzled by several things in it. “For some reason the name of the boy and his mother were erased from all Legacy files. It is not known if the boy survived the confrontation or not. Soon after the man, William Peterson, died and the boy and his mother vanished, never to be seen again.”
“OK. What we got so far is a demon let loose in an occult ceremony that kidnaps people for their mental energies, and disappears with out a trace.” Nick scratched his forehead. “Is that all we know for sure?”
“That an’ th’ creature appears t’ be comin’ back fer new victims every Sunday evening.” Philip finished reading the account from the New Orleans Journal Derek had given him the night before.
“As it is now Sunday afternoon, we need to know WHERE it will be appearing.” Derek looked at Philip who was suddenly frowning.
“Philip?” Alex asked, also noticing the change in her friends posture.
“I can’t believe I’m so stupid.” Philip murmured.
“Well we knew that buddy.” Nick quirked a smile, releasing some of the tension. “What's up?”
“I just cracked the code.” Philip shook his head. “It’s in an old binary code used in the civil war to protect Rebel messages from being interpreted. I didn’t recognize it until I read th’ journal. Th’ Precept had fought in the war for th’ South as an intelligence officer. It seems he thought the forces of darkness had caused th’ war t’ begin.”
“Wouldn’t THAT be an interesting reality.” Nick quipped.
“So what does it say.” Rachel leaned forward.
“This was written by the missing son in –law . It says th’ demon, who’s name is not mentioned yet, always returns to it’s true home on the morning of it’s feeding night.” Philip paused and concentrated, recalling if he ever read anything about the demons origin.
“In the crypt of bones.” Derek said suddenly. “Where is was first resurrected in the 1800’s.”
“Where's that?” Nick picked up an apple and began to munch on it.
“It’s in a cave in the hills above an old western ghost town , “ Alex looked a the research she had in front of her. “An town called Four Corners.”
“Lets go!” Nick leapt up , the others following. They only had hours to prevent the Demon from taking more souls, they had to move fast.
THE PAST
“Damn Chris.” Buck Wilmington looked up into the hot summer sun. “What the hell we doing out here!”
“We are looking, for the missing as I recall, Mr. Wilmington. “ Ezra Standish thoughtfully reminded the tall gunslinger.
“Yeah I know that Ezra.” Buck said, exasperated. “But why are we looking all the way up here.”
“Witness said she looked like she was carried off by some animal.” Vin Tanner slid down the slope to the rest of the men. “The only place an animal would take a meal is to a cave. The only caves around are up here.”
“I do believe our witness described the assailant, as “ Ezra paused. “Now let me remember the exact quotation. ‘A demon from Hell’.”
“A Demon, yeah right!” JD Dunne scoffed at the description. “Demons like that don’t really exist. Do they Josiah?”
“One never should underestimate the mysteries of God, JD.” Josiah looked up into the sky. “You may not want to learn the truth.”
“Oh come on.” JD looked at Josiah questioningly. “You don’t really believe in demons running around among the world, do you?”
“If I were you Mr. Dunne.” Ezra said in a particularly quiet drawl. “I would listen to our good preacher. There are thing I have seen in my life that defy what you would consider normal.”
“Hell I think everyone's seen demons poppin’ out a walls one time or another.” Vin looked at Ezra oddly. Something was wrong about the way he looked, almost like he was scared.
“Yeah, especially if you’ve been drinkin’!” Buck guffawed and clapped JD on the arm. “C’mon JD lets bag us one ‘demon’ and head for home. I don’t know about you, but I’m downright ready for a drink!”
“Lets go Buck!” JD happily followed Buck up the side of the mountain.
Chris shook his head and glanced at Vin, who shrugged, then Chris moved off to the next set of caves. Josiah and Nathan had already left for their next cave, leaving Ezra and Vin alone on the ridge of the mountain.
“Somethin’ botherin’ you Ezra?” Vin spoke up, noticing the gambler looked a little pale and preoccupied.
“What..” Ezra looked him in the eyes, startled. “Your pardon, Mr.Tanner. My mind was on other matters.”
“I asked if you were alright.” Vin’s gaze held Ezra’s.
“I’m fine, Mr. Tanner.” Ezra snapped up a shield so Vin couldn’t see just in how much turmoil his emotions were. Or how much his head was beginning to ache. “What makes you postulate otherwise?”
“You looked about half spooked. You sure nothin’s wrong?” Vin knew Ezra was putting up a front.
“I assure you I am most well.” Ezra looked to where Chris was following Buck and JD into a cave, then over to Nathan and Josiah who had reached the mouth of theirs. “I take it you and I are partners on this particular sojourn?”
“Yup.” Vin moved towards the cave left to them to explore. It was the last one in the area. Vin hoped to find something, as so far the search had proved futile.
The two climbed up the steep path, Vin grinning at Ezra’s sarcastic comments about physical labor. The man sure did know how to complain! When they reached their destination, Vin felt a deep foreboding wash over him. Like someone had walked over his grave. He glanced back to see if Ezra felt it too and discovered the gambler leaning weakly against the cliff wall, one hand holding his head, face creased in pain.
“Ezra…” Vin reached back for him, concern lining his expressive eyes.
A sudden movement from the caves entrance caught Vin’s eye and he whirled around just in time to see a dark shape slam into him, throwing him to the ground. Vin felt himself hit the ground hard and his breath left him with a whoosh. He lay there dazed and winded, unable to defend himself.
The creature moved to his prey, for the moment ignoring the one wracked in pain by the wall. It crouched over the fallen man, staring down into the pain filled eyes, capturing them in his gaze.
“Your soul is mine forever mortal.” The beast’s breath stank of death, fire burned in it’s eyes, and Vin instantly knew he was looking at nothing of this world. It really might be literally from Hell. Vin felt himself start to fade out, he tried to call out to Ezra to help, but all that came from him was a whimper.
The beast reared up and lifted a fanged claw, to rip the heart from the mortal body beneath him and claim the soul as his. The beast laughed. Soon he would be strong enough to get back to his full power, and then the Earth would be his.
“Let him go!” Came a shout from behind the monster.
The beast turned, and almost mockingly growled at the human who opposed him. “You cannot stop me, mortal. But don’t worry, you will be next!”
“I said unhand him.” Ezra strode forward, to Vin , as he faded into unconsciousness, it looked like Ezra was ….glowing?
“You!” The beast cried. “You have grown little one! But you are no challenge to me.”
“You forget.” Ezra called on ever ounce of strength he possessed.. “I know your name.”
The beast growled, realizing he needed more power than he had to defeat this one. He was weak right now, vulnerable.. But soon he would not be, then he could come back here and take care of this little man.
Ezra began the chant of banishment he had learned so long ago, and the beast made his decision, knocking Ezra into the cave with a swipe of it’s claw, it opened it’s portal and disappeared.
Ezra hit the back wall of the cave, landing on the bodies of the beasts victims, hitting his head against an outcropping. He fell into the black pit that reached up to envelop him, fighting it all the way. He had to warn the others. He had to tell his terrible secret, even if it meant his life in Four Corners would be over forever. The darkness claimed him before he could think any more.
THE PRESENT
“Alex.” Nick shook her shoulder gently. “We’re here.”
“Umm…” Alex opened her eyes and yawned. “Already?”
“You’ve been asleep for six hours Alex,” Rachael smiled at the other woman. “You really must have been tired.”
“I was up all night.” Alex stretched, grimacing as her stiff muscles protested the rough treatment.
“Philip and Derek are already up in the cave. Philip translated most of the journal on the way here.” Nick helped her out of the second car, Derek and Philip having ridden in the first.
“Did he say who wrote it?” Alex asked, blinking into the warm summer sun.
“Doesn’t know yet. But he did say the account is surprisingly similar to what's happened here. A chant and a name were mentioned, but Philip doesn’t know if it will work.” Nick led the way up the path in the cliff towards the cave.
As they arrived, night was descending. Philip and Derek had set up lanterns and portable lights in the cave already, and began looking around. The only feature of note were a set of giant claw marks etched into the stone.
Nick whistled as he examined the marks, “Bear?”
“No, “ Philip came over and looked at them and read something out of the book. “My guess is tha’ they belonged t’ th’ demon.”
“And nobody noticed them all these years?” Rachel looked astonished.
“I guess everyone just thought they belonged to a bear.” Derek shrugged. “How long do we have before this thing shows up Nick?”
“Five hours.” Nick consulted his watch.
“Alright. Philip keep reading the Journal, translate anything that looks useful, the rest of you familiarize yourself with the cave and the rest up. It’s bound to be a long night.” Derek sighed, waiting was the hardest part.
THE PAST
“Vin?” A voice intruded on the darkness circling Vin Tanners world. “Vin, can you hear me?”
Vin groaned, his head ached, and his ribs were sore. All he wanted to do was sleep, why couldn’t they let him sleep?
“Vin wake up.” This was Chris’s voice, Vin could hear the tension in it. “C’mon Vin, we need you to wake up now.”
“How long you reckon he’s been like this Nathan?” JD asked in a hushed tone. He had been the first to notice Vin’s hat on the ground below the caves, and had alerted the others.
“Probably an hour or more.” Nathan ran a water soaked rag down Vin’s face and the man groaned again. “Vin?”
“Nathan?” Came the weak reply.” What happened, where am I?”
“We were hoping you could tell us.” Josiah crouched next to the prone man. “What happened to Ezra? Do you know where he went?”
“The beast must a got ‘im.” Vin closed his eyes, the darkness calling him once again, then her remembered Ezra glowing, the beast attacking him, and he bolted upright, sending his head spinning.
“Easy their pard.” Chris and Nathan prevented him from getting to his feet. “Just tell us what happened.”
All the men were concerned, was Vin right? Did the beast get to him?
“It struck him.” Vin pointed to the cave. “It knocked him clear into the cave from here.”
“What was it?” JD asked, gulping and turning pale. “A bear or somethin’?”
“More like ‘or somethin’, “ Vin groaned and let Chris and Nathan help him up. “But I think it’s gone if it didn’t kill me.”
Vin looked into the dark cave and shuddered. Ezra was inside, he knew it. But was he dead or alive?
“Alright.” Chris’s voice stopped everyone in their tracks. “We go in after Ezra. Let's be ready for anything. Who still has fuel for their lanterns?”
“I do.” Josiah lit his and then lit the ones Buck and JD thrust at him.
“Ready?” Chris drew his gun as did the others and they stepped into the cave.
It was dark, and the stench of death almost made them gag. Something had died in here and not too recently. Pressing onward, Chris didn’t even turn to see how the others were handling the situation, he just kept going further into the cave, one slow step at a time, listening for any sounds not made by them. He had been scared to find Vin lying on the ground. And was more than relieved when Nathan had said he was just knocked out.
From what Vin had said, the animal responsible for dragging people away and killing them, had also got Ezra. Chris didn’t want to face the fact one of their number might die, so he went further into the cave, hoping against hope.
Buck flanked his oldest friend, vowing vengeance against the creature if Ezra turned up dead. The stench was getting worse, they must be about 200 feet into the cave by now. Suddenly he felt and heard Chris gasp in horror. Raising his lantern Buck said what made the man with an iron will break.
“Oh Jesus.” JD whispered as the six saw what the lanterns illuminated.
It was a pile of bodies, most rotting and unrecognizable, and on the top of the pile was Ezra Standish. He wasn’t moving, and they could see blood on his clothes. No one could more, or tear their eyes off of the horrible sight. Twenty people must have been left here to rot. Then a groan from the pile broke the frozen tableau.
“Ezra?” Nathan rushed forward, reaching the pile of bodies that almost was as tall as himself.
Ezra only groaned again, and tried weakly to struggle against their reaching hands. He was in shock, delirious, and the beast was coming for him. The more he struggled, the weaker he became, and soon he was too tired to do more than groan in protest. Finally Chris and Josiah hauled him off the pile and carried him outside.
Vin took off his coat and made it into a pillow for the gamblers head, Josiah and Chris gently laid him down on the hard ground so Nathan could look at him. Other than a nasty cut on the back of his head, there wasn’t a mark on him.
“Nathan?” Vin’s voice sounded weak, even to himself. “He gonna live?”
“I think so.” Nathan took a rag and some water from his bags that he had used on Vin just minutes ago. “It’s a pretty nasty knock to the head, but it’s stopped bleeding. Now we wait for him to wake up and tell us what happened.”
“You think the creature will come back?” JD said nervously, a hand on his gun.
“Maybe.” Chris Larabee answered, “Let's be ready, two people on watch at all times until we get home, or we kill that thing.”
“Where do you think it went?” Buck looked at Vin who shrugged.
“It went..” Came a raspy whisper from the ground. “Back to it’s other lair. And it will return within one week of this date.”
“Ezra?” Nathan noticed the gambler was pale and grimacing in pain, but he was awake. “How do you know all that?”
Everyone else wanted to know too. None of them missed the flash of pain in the green eyes, nor did they notice he wouldn’t look at them when he spoke.
“I have seen this creature before.” Ezra admitted, sighing, hoping the pounding in his head would end soon.
“When?” Josiah asked softly.
“Gentlemen, it is a rather long story.” Ezra looked off into the distance, he could feel their doubt coming off them like a foul stench. It had begun, and once the story was told and the beast destroyed, Ezra knew he would be forced to move on. “One I would prefer to relate in the comfort of the town, not out here in the elements. I do believe a storm is brewing.”
Vin looked up into the sky, clouds as black as pitch were rolling towards them. Ezra was right, A big storm was coming. “He’s right, we should go.”
Ezra ignored the strange looks the others shot at him, grateful they opted not to pressure him into anything. He knew the beast would return , and he knew it was up to him to defeat it. It was like he was ten again, but this time he was going into the confrontation with his eyes wide open, not blinded by the adults who thought they could use him for their own purposes, like he was some kind of pet.
In silence they traveled, Ezra going over in his mind the chant he knew all the way in his soul. He hadn’t thought of it in twenty years, but it came back to him like it was yesterday. He had suppressed his mental abilities for so long, it would take much concentration for him to be able to use them again. He had prayed to God every day that they would never be needed again.
Sooner than he would have liked, they were in town. Horses put away, Ezra headed for the Church, knowing the peace of that atmosphere would give him the strength he needed to tell his story. The others flanked him silently.
Ezra entered the Church and made his way towards the front pews and the pulpit, eyes glued to the crucifix for support. He let the air of calm penetrate his mind and drew strength from it. He didn’t know how long he stood there until he was finally interrupted by an apologetic Nathan.
“Ezra?” The healers voice was filled with concern, something was very wrong and they were all beginning to get a little scared. “Are you alright?”
“No.” Ezra said bluntly, turning to face his friend. “I am not.”
“What's going on Ezra.” Vin spoke up first, “What was that thing that attacked me, and how did you get it off of me?”
“Josiah was not too far wrong when he said it was something from out of hell.” Ezra sat down and looked into his friends faces. “There are things in this world, fortunately very few and far between, that defy description of the rational mind. I myself have seen such things from a very early age, and still have trouble getting my mind to grasp them.”
“It’s a demon?” JD asked, confused. “I mean a real live one?”
“Live is a relative term.” Ezra grinned at JD’s confusion.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning, Ezra.” Josiah spoke up softly. “How old were you when you first saw this thing. You did say you had seen it before?”
“Yes, I have seen this creature before, and it has a name……”
THE PRESENT
“Its name is Dauchun.” Philip read out of the now fully translated diary. “Apparently th’ man who wrote this fought it back when he was 10 in New Orleans, and here in this cave when he was thirty. This must be the precepts missing step-son.”
“Any clues to defeating the thing in there?” Nick came to look over Philips shoulder.
“Yeah.” Philip flipped back to the beginning of the Journal. “There is a chant of banishment here. We need a psychic of some power as a focus, a priest to say the incantation an’ a willin’ ‘victim’ to play food for the creature to trap it.”
“Well, I think you get the Priest roll, Philip.” Alex laughs.
“I will perform the psychic duties.” Derek stepped into the conversation. “Nick? Up to playing damsel in distress?”
Rachael and Alex giggled at the thought of seeing Nick in a dress, especially one of the long flowing medieval gowns with the cone hats. The image made them laugh even harder.
Nick glared at the two and nodded his assent to Derek. “What else does the Journal say Philip? Any clue to why the boys name was never mentioned?
Philip frowned, the story was so tragic and wasteful. Not very flattering to the Legacy at all, no wonder the boy was never mentioned again.
“It seems Peterson married a woman named Maude Standish. He was in his late forties, she was just barely thirty. She had a son who was ten. The two didn’t marry for love, she wanted the money he had and Peterson said he wanted a child of his own to raise and love. Later, the boy found out he was chosen because he possessed certain psychic powers Peterson needed to use to destroy Dauchan. It was a set-up. The mother never knew why her son was so important to him, until it was too late.” Philip relayed the tale he had read in the book.
“So what did the kid have that was so important?” Nick frowned at the thought of someone using a child in a Legacy battle. Rachael also looked very distraught.
“Apparently he could find an aura of something or someone evil and follow it like a hound. Also the boy had a photographic memory, and was very intelligent. Peterson used him to find the beast and corner it by abandoning him with it in a crypt that was its home and saying the chant. The portal almost took the boy and the beast to hell, but the boy managed to keep himself from getting drawn into it , deflecting the power outside causing the crypt to explode. The explosion killed Peterson and the boy and his mother disappeared shortly thereafter.”
“That’s terrible!” Rachel exclaimed, outraged someone would use a child with such little disregard for his life.
“Yeah.” Philip frowned. “This account was written AFTER the second battle when he was thirty. He doesn’t write if they succeeded in returning the creature to it’s dimension or not.”
“So we have no idea if this chant will really work.” Nick sighed, here we go again.
“I guess we’ll just have to hope for the best.” Rachel looks up at Derek who hadn’t said a word throughout the entire tale.
“How much longer do we have?” Alex looked up to Derek, who was tracing the claws path in the rock wall.
“Two hours and counting.” Nick sighed, he hated waiting.
THE PAST
After Ezra had told of his past encounter and his step-fathers using him to lure the creature into a trap, he had fallen silent. The memories were more painful that he had thought they would be. All the pain he felt, all the humiliation, came rushing back at him. No wonder he had chosen to hide it all away in a corner of his mind and forget.
“What happened after you defeated the creature?” Josiah spoke up finally, he had the others had no trouble believing everything he said, no matter how unlikely it seemed, was the truth.
“Mother and I were told to leave New Orleans and never return.,” Ezra sighed and looked back at the six people who had become the closest to true friends he had ever had.
“So they used you for something you could do, for their own ends and then tossed you away.” Vin was mad, madder than they had ever seen the quiet tracker.
“It seemed I was not expected to outlive the experience.” Ezra whispered, looking away from them again.
“So what happened to those abilities? You still have them?” Nathan spoke up.
“We will see, Mr. Jackson. After that time, I locked them away, hopefully never to be used again. I literally made myself forget I ever had them.” Ezra sighed, and rubbed his aching head.
“The Kiowa’s believe those who can see and track spirits are blessed.” Josiah knew what was bothering Ezra. “They were revered for their knowledge.”
“I assure you, Mr. Sanchez, I have never been revered for any of the ‘gifts’ I have.” Sitting down in a pew away from the others, he leaned against the end. His headache was worse, his vision blurring.
“So we defeat this the same way now as back then.” Chris interjected. He didn't care HOW this thing was taken care of as long as it was taken care of.
“I will teach Mr. Sanchez the chant, I cannot do it and hold the creature at the same time. Also we need someone to act as bait for the creature.” Ezra opened his eyes and looked at Chris.
“You want me to do it.” Chris answered Ezra’s challenge.
“We need someone stubborn enough to resist it’s ….charms.” Ezra grinned unexpectedly. “And I warn you, bullets will NOT kill this thing.”
“Damn Ezra, “ Chris unexpectedly quipped back. “You take ALL the fun out of this.”
“Careful, Mr. Larabee. Sarcasm becomes you.” Ezra answered with a grin of his own.
“Why does Josiah have to say the chant?” JD asked, not liking any of what he was hearing. His mother had told him many stories when he was young, she said some of them were true.
“Because Mr. Dunne, at present he is the only member of the clergy both present and up to speed on the situation.” Ezra noticed Josiah frowning at this.
“I’m not a priest anymore.” He looked at Ezra, surely he knew that.
“Do you believe God exists.” Ezra looked Josiah strait into his eyes.
“What?” Josiah was puzzled, what was the gambler getting at. The others looked puzzled as well.
“A simple question, Mr. Sanchez.” Ezra looked exasperated, he didn’t have time for this. “Do you believe God exists, yes or no.”
“Yes.” Josiah answered, then the light dawned. “And belief is the key isn’t it.”
“Yes it is.” Ezra closed his eyes and leaned against the pew.
“Head still hurt?” Vin asked, noticing the blood still staining his jacket and shirt.
“Interminably.” Ezra groaned.
“I’ll get you something for the pain.” Nathan left the church.
“So what now?” JD asked, looking at the others.
“We have a week, gentlemen.” Ezra closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.
THE PRESENT
“Coming up on time, Derek.” Nick looked up from his watch, waiting for orders.
“Alex, Rachel, stay outside the cave, I may need you as backup if the creature proves too strong, but I want it to be a surprise.” Derek knew they weren’t going to like it. “Nick, get ready to lure the creature where Philip and I will be waiting. This is going to likely be very fast, we can’t afford to be caught unawares.”
Alex and Rachel left, and Nick moved to the front cave, leaving Philip and Derek in the smaller cave to the rear.
“So you thin’ this will work?” Philip finally spoke into the sudden silence.
“Ja.” Derek looked into Philips troubled eyes. “Do you doubt your part in this.”
Philip fidgeted. “In th’ journal, th’ preacher in it faltered once, an’ nearly killed them all.”
“Well then, just don’t falter and we’ll all be fine!” Derek clapped the young man on the arm, attempting levity.
“Gee, thanks Derek.” Philip said sarcastically. A shout from the main room alerted them to the creatures return. “He’s here.”
“Get ready!” Derek looked up as Nick rushed into the smaller cavern, the beast hot on his heels.
Immediately Philip began the chant, and Derek locked eyes and will with the beast. It reared up to its full 12 foot height and screamed. The sound caused everyone in the room to cover their ears, but Philip still kept the chant up. The beast bared its gore encrusted teeth and thrashed its claws, raking the side of the cave, deeply scoring it. It matched the set already there from the time long ago.
Derek began to sweat in concentration, he focused all his will and power on the creatures banishment, holding it to this place. Nick was yelling to someone and he could hear Alex and Rachel answer somewhere in his mind, but he was too focused to stop.
Philip still continued to chant, almost done, then something unexplainable happened, the beast, with its last strength, opened a portal to escape. Derek concentrated harder and suddenly the whole cave filled with light and they all disappeared.
THE PAST
It had been a week and the seven men slowly climbed up to the cave. Ezra had finally recovered from his concussion and had spent all his time with Josiah, teaching him the chant. When he wasn’t with him, he was preparing the others for the coming fight. He wasn’t sleeping well, nor eating, but nothing the others said convinced him to take care of himself. Ezra had become so focused on the task, nothing else mattered.
Slowly Ezra had begun to remember his powers, his sight. Images bombarded him constantly, dreams plagued his sleep. Dreams of strange people and a large battle, and a bright light coming for them all.
Vin had stayed by Ezra all throughout the climb. It was early morning, the beast would arrive soon. Vin could see the toll these strange powers Ezra had were causing his friend, and he hoped this encounter wouldn’t be the end of his life. Maybe Ezra had been right to lock them away, they seemed to be driving him mad.
A light flashed brilliantly out of the cave, startling the seven men. Followed shortly by sounds of a fight. Since the seven men had camped here last night, they knew the cave had been empty before. The creature was back early.
“Something's wrong.” Ezra started running, the others following.
They dashed into the cave to find the creature cornering two ladies dressed in trousers and a man standing in front of them, trying to protect them. Two other men, one older, one wearing the garb of a Priest stood in the other corner of the room.
The creature noticed the newly arrived seven and charged them instead. Ezra stepped out in front of the beast and reached out with his powers.
The creature howled and stopped. Taken by surprise, Josiah forgot to start the chant, but the other Priest came over to his side and started, Josiah quickly joining in. The older man walked to Ezra's side and laid a hand on his shoulder, and closed his eyes.
Chris went over to where the younger man had slid down the wall of the cave, Nathan followed him. Vin stood guard over Ezra and the stranger, while Buck and JD went to make sure the ladies were alright.
The only sounds in the cave was the chanting of the two men, all other sounds had ceased.
“You alright there.” Chris took out his gun and watched the silent battle, frowning. You couldn’t tell who was winning.
“Yeah.” Nick looked up as Nathan slid open his saddlebags and took out some bandages. “Just a scratch.”
“Any more of a scratch and you’ll loose this here arm.” Nathan grimaced, putting pressure on the furrows to stop the bleeding. Nick sucked in his breath at the pain, but didn’t cry out.
“You ladies alright?” Buck flashed them a winning smile. The Negro woman was truly beautiful, and the older blonde was stunning as well, but probably married.
“I’m Alex, this is Rachel.” Alex smiled at them. She was puzzled, but figured out they had probably shifted in time. “I don’t suppose you can tell us what year this is?”
JD looked puzzled, but remembered what Ezra and Vin had said about strange things not getting the better of you, just go along with it. “1878.”
“What date is it supposed to be for you?” Chris asked sarcastically, noting the strange clothes and gun the young man had in his holster.
“1998.” Rachel answered back. “Is it working?”
“I can’t tell Lady.” Chris answered her, then he frowned as Ezra started to sweat.
Abruptly the chant finished, and the creature, Derek and Ezra disappeared in a flash of fire.
“What the hell…” Vin looked around. “Where’d they go!”
“Derek!” Nick yelled. Then he turned to the priest. “Philip , what just happened?”
“It seemed they took th’ demon t’ fight in the astral plane. It’s up to them now.” Philip sat against the wall, drained. The man he had done the chant with, sat next to him.
“Josiah Sanchez, ex- preacher, and you are?” Josiah held out his hand to the man dressed in black, roman collar in place.
“Father Philip Callaghan, Catholic Priest.” The other man shook it “Over there is Nick Boyle, Alex Moreau, and Rachel Corrigan.”
“Vin Tanner, Chris Larabee, Buck Wilmington, JD Dunne, and Nathan Jackson.” Josiah introduced in turn, pointing to the men as he named them.
“Where did Ezra and your friend go?” JD asked, fear in his voice. He didn’t want to lose Ezra, he was JD’s friend.
“They went t’ battle the beast in it’s own realm.” Philip answered, wondering at the irony of reading the account of a battle he himself had taken part in not quite 200 years before he was born.
“How do we know if they won?” Vin asked quietly, hair still standing on end, he knew it wasn’t over yet.
“They’ll come back.” Nick said before Philip could.
“And if they lose?” Buck had to ask, saving JD from doing it.
“Then the beast comes back.” Alex looked Nick in the eye and he nodded, both knew it was a waiting game now.
Impatiently the team people settled down to wait it out. Fifteen long and tense minutes later another flash of fire illuminated the room, and the waiting people gasped.
IN BETWEEN
Derek and Ezra found themselves in a bleak and barren landscape. The cave was gone and so was their adversary.
“Now what.” Ezra muttered, and his companion nodded. “Ezra Standish at your service.”
“Derek Rayne.” Derek answered, shaking the mans hand, feeling the power that emanated from it.
“Well Mr. Rayne, it appears the venue of this little soiree has changed a bit.” Ezra felt his headache returning.
“Ja.” Derek looked around. “Any ideas on what to expect from out slobbering host?”
“Well, the last time I went through this, I certainly don’t remember coming here.” Ezra had a bad feeling, he couldn’t sense the creature anymore, and that made him nervous.
“I guess we find the creature and go from there.” Derek felt a flash of something and knew the other man had felt it as well. “He’s close.”
“Yes, but I can’t tell where he is.” Ezra sighed and then remembered something. “But you realize this locale is part of a mindscape, reality is what we perceive it to be.”
Derek nodded, and closed his eyes. Ezra put a hand on his shoulder this time and the two linked together, and reached out with their minds to find the creature. It didn’t take long, the creature was closer than they thought and soon the mental battle of wills began.
The beast used every image in both men's minds that caused them any discomfort at all, past and present, but the two men concentrated on their friends and family and the beast was beaten back. Mentally constructing a prison, Ezra and Derek psychically locked the demon away. It was over.
“Now, “ Ezra said, as the featureless landscape melted away. “How do we get you home?”
“I managed to use the creatures knowledge to open the portal home..” Derek looked at the other man ingratitude. “I couldn’t have done this without your help.”
“Likewise.” Ezra Standish nodded to his companion. “Safe Journey.”
“Goodbye.” Derek Rayne disappeared into the fires flash.
THE PAST
Another flash of fire blinded those in the cave, this time taking the rest of the Legacy team with it, and leaving Ezra Standish swaying in the middle of the room. Before the startled men could react, he toppled to the ground in a heap.
Nathan hurried over to the still form and turned him over. Checking, he was relieved when he could feel his pulse beneath his fingers and hear his breathing. He couldn’t find any new marks on the gambler, and knew it might be from exhaustion, he had collapsed.
“He alright?” Chris asked, kneeling down besides Nathan.
“I think its exhaustion.” Nathan ran a hand across his eyes. “Give him some time to recover and I think he’ll be fine. The six men made camp, no one talking.
A few hours later they heard a weak groan, Nathan was instantly at the waking mans side. “Ezra?”
“Mr. Jackson.” Came the whispered reply. “Please stop shouting, my head is killing me.”
“I got some of that tea brewing.” Josiah came forward with a cup. “What happened? Did we win?”
“Yes, we did. With Mr. Rayne's help, we captured the beast in a prison.” Ezra was helped to a sitting position and given the tea.
“For how long?” Chris looked at the claw marks in the cave, not even a bear was that strong.
“I don’t know.” Ezra answered truthfully.
“I hope it’s a long time away!” Buck said what the rest of them were feeling.
“Amen Brother Buck.” Josiah looked at Ezra, noticing the pained expression was leaving the man. “What about you Ezra, how are you doing?”
“I can’t feel anything but this headache, but it’s fading.” Ezra grimaced, and then looked puzzled.
“What is it?” Vin asked.
“They’re gone.” Ezra sounded astonished.
“What are.?” Chris was puzzled.
“My abilities. I can’t seem to feel anything outside my head.” Suddenly Ezra shrugged. “Thank heavens for small miracles I guess.”
“So what now?” Josiah asked.
“Now we go home.” Chris helped Ezra to his feet.
Yes, it seems I must pen a narrative of this incident for later generations to find. Ezra thought, smiling. He basked in the knowledge that this time, he had won the battle and the war. He still had his ‘family’, and he wasn’t going to let them go just yet. He found he liked having people to rely on, and they had proven true friends. All was well in the universe again.
Chapter 11 (The Present)
The portal dumped the five people roughly on the floor, all but Derek getting up right away. Nick still had his claw marks, Philip was still terribly tired from the chant taking all his energy and Derek had the added strain of holding the portal over them on their trip home. It was decided that they stay one more night at the camp below the caves and let Derek rest.
Upon reaching the camp, Nick noticed something odd. He checked the date on his watch with the date on the computer he had just pulled out.
“Umm.. Alex?” Nick turned towards the researcher, who had just tucked the grumbling Derek into his sleeping bag.
“What's up Nick?” Alex and Rachel soon came over, Philip was already well asleep.
“Check me on this.. what's the date on your watch?” Nick looked up at the two women.
“May 8th.” Alex asked , frowning. Rachel nodded, her watch said the same.
“Then why does the computer say it’s the 15th?” Nick looked at the two ladies,
who read the date over his shoulder.
“You think we lost a week traveling between times?” Alex was intrigued by the possibilities.
“I think so.” Nick sighed. “Lets get some z’s, we’ll figure this out in the morning.”
“You think the Beast is gone for good?” Rachel asked, settling into her tent with Alex.
“I don’t know, but it’s defeated for this time and the last. Maybe it is gone for good having been defeated in both times it inhabited.” Alex yawned.
“I’m sure your right.” Rachel settled down to sleep.
In another tent, Derek Rayne dreamed of Seven heroes of the past, all living well into their later years, for them, the menace was over. It remained to be seen whether it was over for The Legacy.
The End