Stolen Heaven part 14 When they entered the room again, Alex and Rachel looked up from the dressing they were taping across Derek's back. "Oh good," Rachel said, looking back down at her work after seeing them. "Philip, are you okay?" "I -- I'm not sure," he answered truthfully. "But th' angel's gone." "Good," Rachel said softly while she finished taping down the dressing. Then she looked at Alex and said, "I think we're ready to turn him over." Alex looked at Nick, who she could tell was uncomfortable seeing Derek in the condition he was in. Then she looked at Philip and noticed immediately that his frightened gaze was locked on the leather wrist cuffs at the head of the bed. _Uh oh -- problem,_ she thought, knowing she would have to find something to keep him busy so he didn't get further upset. "Philip," she said, glad when his attention suddenly focused on her, "We think he was drugged -- there was incense burning when we came in here. I took the charcoal out and put it on a candlestick so the incense wouldn't burn any further. "We need a sample of the incense to test, and I'd also like you to make sure the charcoal's out, so we don't burn this place down for the real owners..." "I think I c'n handle that," Philip said quietly, inwardly glad for something so mundane to keep his mind off...other things. Nick gave Philip's shoulder a gentle squeeze and said, "Sorry I didn't get any evidence bags from Carmack..." He walked to Alex's side and got his first close look at Derek. "Damn it," he ground out, seeing the evidence of the various tortures Arkadi had put Derek through. "Victor?" Derek murmured, responding to a male voice. He opened his eyes and looked up again, partially turning over on his own before pain filtered through the fog and he fell back. "Whoa, Derek," Rachel said, catching one arm and nodding to Alex and Nick to help her. They turned him over, Nick getting the extra pillow out of the way and then covering him up to his waist with the sheet. "It's *Nick*, Derek," he said, trying to keep annoyance out of his tone. In the back of his mind, he was brutally gunning down the tiny voice that had dared to wonder if Philip's earlier condemnations had been right... Alex pulled him back and let Rachel continue examining Derek, while she quietly asked, "Okay, what's going on here? I realize you're trying to help Philip get over what was done to him, but why all the anger towards Derek all of a sudden?" "How could he ask for *him*?" Nick hissed, quickly glancing at Philip and Rachel to make sure they hadn't heard. Alex frowned and said, "Nick, he's been *drugged* -- he probably doesn't know where or *when* he is. I don't even know if he recognizes us." She paused and met Nick's gaze, seeing pain behind the anger. "He's going to be okay, but -- I don't know everything that was done to him yet. There were spells, too... There was a magic circle around the bed that I think the angel cast, but there was also some magic involving all of these candles, and some symbols written *on his back*. For all we know, Arkadi could be controlling his mind somehow..." "Great...and this is supposed to make me feel better, how?" Nick muttered, realizing what she was saying but feeling a need to lash out anyway. Alex heaved a frustrated sigh and glared at him, but her expression softened when she saw the fear he couldn't hide behind his anger. "Nick, a spell we can *break*." She looked over at Rachel, who had paused in her examination of Derek to remove the black leather collar from around his neck. "Once we make sure he isn't seriously injured, we can get him home and try to break whatever spell remains." Nick nodded and walked back to the bed with Alex following him. She noticed that Philip had found a small jar near the incense burner and emptied the remaining incense into it. With that duty finished, he was staring at Derek with an expression she couldn't quite interpret. "How's he doing?" Nick asked quietly, eyeing the collar with disgust and then looking at Derek. "He keeps fading in and out," Rachel said softly. "I think it must be whatever he was drugged with, because his injuries aren't *that* serious...The whipping could have put him into shock, but he seems to be out of that now..." She turned to Nick and said coldly, "Tell me you or Frank got the animal who did this..." Nick shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Rachel...He got away -- I had to let Arkadi go when his goon nearly killed Frank." "Where is Frank, anyway?" Alex asked. "Downstairs, waiting for backup so they can take Arkadi's assistant away," Nick explained. "I'd *like* to have Derek checked out at a hospital," Rachel said, then before Nick could protest she added, "I know, I know. But I will *strongly* advise he see a doctor as soon as he can -- preferably as soon as you're sure the spells are gone." Philip walked closer and softly asked, "Wha's wrong with his chest? Looks like he was burned..." He reached out to gently touch Derek's shoulder, not even realizing he was doing so until the semi-conscious man groaned. "Philip, don't -- " Rachel said. At the same instant, Philip snatched his hand back as if burned. "Derek?" Alex and Nick both asked, Nick sitting on the bed next to him. "Ooooh..." Derek groaned, stretching luxuriously in the bed, then rolling onto his side and trying to wrap around Nick. "'M hungry, Victor...can't keep me in here all night..." "Derek, it's *Nick*," he said, brushing Derek's hair back from his face. "Don't you recognize any of us?" "Huh?" Derek asked, blinking slowly and looking around. "He's still too deep," a voice came from the doorway. Everyone except Derek jumped, badly startled, and Carmack said, "Sorry -- I thought you heard me coming up the stairs...Rachel, how badly is he hurt?" "Some first degree burns, a little teeny cut, some -- I don't know -- looks like razor burn, and his back and -ah- he's been whipped and some of the welts are bleeding. I cleaned and dressed the wounds, and he's physically stable. The problem is he seems to be drugged, and Alex thinks a spell has been cast on him." She frowned, looking back at Carmack and asked, "What did you mean 'he's still too deep'?" Carmack shrugged and said, "I've seen it before -- some SM scenes tend to put the submissive in a bit of an altered head-space..." Nick looked up at Carmack and growled, "He's not 'the submissive', Frank, this is *Derek*, and that bastard Arkadi--" "Nick, take it *easy*," Rachel said sharply. "Rachel, it's okay -- Nick, calm down, I *understand* how you feel," Carmack said, for a brief moment letting all his frustration show, before he bottled it all up again. "Right now, we have to deal with Derek -- the drugs bother me. You sure he's stable, Rachel?" "I think so. Look, if we could get him back to the House, I could do a tox screen and find out what's in his system. I really think we've done about all we can, here." Carmack nodded and said, "I'd strongly advise you to take him to a hospital instead, but I suppose you don't want any more police involvement than you've already got..." Alex nodded, and he said, "Not that I blame you for wanting to keep *this* quiet...sooner or later, something would get leaked to the media. It always does..." He took a deep breath and added, "Why don't you talk to Nick and Philip and figure out how you're getting him back to the House -- I'd like to talk to Rachel for a minute, okay?" Alex nodded, suspecting what they were going to discuss and wishing fervently that it wasn't necessary... Carmack took Rachel aside and very quietly said, "Okay, Rachel, I don't know how much of this was consensual and how much was forced, but you and I both know there could be some *serious* physical repercussions as well as the psychological ones..." Rachel studied his expression carefully, trying to discern if there were more than his police knowledge at work in this case. She stepped on her curiosity, knowing it was none of her business, and said, "There was a--" She paused and motioned towards the butt plug she had left on the nightstand and frowned. "Butt plug," Carmack supplied. Rachel grimaced and continued, "It was in him when we found him..." Carmack nodded thoughtfully and said, "Unfortunately, that doesn't mean Arkadi didn't have unprotected sex with him earlier, and we don't know if he's used that butt plug on anyone else...You're going to have to ask Derek if he remembers..." Rachel nodded and said, "I know. God, poor Derek...He's always so much in control -- I don't want to think about how badly all of this is going to affect him..." While Rachel and Carmack discussed the situation, Nick sat with Derek and gently stroked his hair. Derek had slid back into the drugged stupor and didn't seem aware of anything going on around him. Philip sat on the bed next to Nick, startling his friend slightly. "How's he doin'?" he asked softly. Nick noticed that Philip seemed to be working up his courage to look at Derek, and equally softly answered, "He's out cold again...Doesn't seem to be hurt too badly, all things considered." Philip swallowed hard and looked at Derek's face, then slowly turned to look at his torso. "So he only whipped 'im on the back -- what did he do t'his front?" Nick followed Philip's gaze and frowned. Very slowly he moved his hand over to gently grasp Philip's where it was digging into the mattress, trying to reassure his friend. He allowed himself a slight smile when Philip let go his death grip on the bed and squeezed his fingers in return. "Well, there's some wax dripped on the sheets around him, and what looks like wax shavings all over the place," Nick observed. "I *think* he must have dripped hot wax on him and then scraped it off." Philip frowned and shook his head, then looked back at Nick. "I don't get it -- Nick, I spend a lot of time 'round candles. I've *had* hot wax drip on me -- I didn' like it..." Nick tried to think of something to say that wouldn't sound too judgemental of Derek. Finally, he just shrugged and said, "I don't understand, either..." He squeezed Philip's hand again and asked, "How are *you* doing?" "I've been better..." the priest answered softly. "I -- couldn't send th' angel away -- couldn' exorcise him..." "But you said he left," Nick said, puzzled. "Yes -- he *left*. B'cause *he* wanted to...An' I think I might be in trouble b'cause of it..." Philip whispered. Nick asked, "How?" but before Philip could answer, Alex walked over to them and kneeled down. "How are you two doing?" she asked softly, seeing Philip try to free his hand for a moment, then relax again when Nick wouldn't let him go. "Philip, it's okay -- I know it's got to be tough sitting in here..." He nodded, and knew the colour was rising in his cheeks. _Great. Now I'm feelin' guilty for bein' caught holdin' hands..._ He took a deep breath and said, "Guess I'm doin' okay," although it wasn't as convincing as he would have liked. "Look, Nick, we're going to have to get him back to the House where we can try to break whatever spells are on him, and Rachel can run some blood tests. "We'll have to use the launch to bring him back -- there are too many of us to go back by the chopper and we'd never be able to make him comfortable, and I'm *not* putting him on the ferry." "Makes sense," Nick said, looking up at her. "So, what's up?" "You're going to have to fly the chopper back and get the launch," she explained, knowing he wouldn't like leaving Derek's side, even for a short time. "Oh," Nick said, instantly seeing what she was trying to tell him, and liking it as much as she thought he would. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, you're right. Anything else would take too long..." "Don't worry, Nick. We'll keep him safe until you come back with the launch," Alex reassured him. "We'll even keep Frank with us," she added, loud enough for the detective to hear. "Only if you promise to feed him, too," Carmack answered, realizing that the sun was already beginning to peek over the hills. "Okay, okay," Nick agreed. "I'll fly the chopper back and get the launch out here at top speed. Just be careful and make sure that angel Philip tangled with doesn't attack you while you're waiting!" Carmack nodded and said, "We'll be careful, Nick." He patted his pistol and added, "May not be able to kill him, but with any luck I'll be able to keep him away. Maybe the good Father could bless my bullets..." "Huh? Wha--" Philip asked, realizing Carmack was referring to him. He blinked and looked from the detective to Nick and back again, then said, "Oh -- I dunno if it'd work, but I guess I could..." "Don't worry, Philip, *I* believe it would work," Carmack said, trying to reassure him. For everything that had happened, Philip actually seemed to be holding up fairly well. "Okay," Alex said, catching everyone's attention, "Rachel, if you think it's safe, we need to get Derek out of here. Nick, Frank, if you two can carry him down to the Explorer, we can get on our way." --==**==-- First to turn around in a long line of dissent An illusion or a fantasy to save the world again. Maybe we are strong with a fire in the hand Or maybe we are lost as one of them and one of them... --The Last Dance, "Inside" The trip back to Angel Island was uneventful. When they returned to the House, Nick and Carmack carried Derek up to his room while Dominick started coffee and breakfast for everyone. Rachel checked in on Kat, who was fortunately still asleep, then collected the necessary medical equipment and joined them in Derek's room. While she drew blood for her tests and the men made sure he was as comfortable as possible, Derek stirred slightly but did not wake up. Carmack looked at Nick, then said, "Rachel, I think one of us should stay with him at all times until you've got the results." "And the spells are broken," Nick added. "I'll take the--" Carmack gently laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "I think you should stick near Philip for a bit -- he seems to be pretty comfortable with you around. I can take the first watch -- as long as someone brings me breakfast and some coffee." Nick nodded, knowing he was right about Philip. "Yeah, you're right," he agreed softly, "Thanks. You want an omelette or what?" "Heck, I'll eat just about anything -- just no doughnuts, okay?" He was relieved to see Nick actually smile at that, and added, "Omelette would be great, though. Thanks, Nick." While they dealt with Derek, Alex and Philip headed straight for the Control room. On the way there, she asked him, "How are you holding up?" "I dunno," he answered truthfully. "I jus' -- I keep thinkin' about what Arkadi did t'me, an'..." "It's okay to be scared, Philip," she said softly. "Just don't let that fear control you. I know, it's easy to say it, but not so easy to do..." He nodded and said, "Yeah -- I'm tryin', though." "And you're doing great," she said as they entered the room and started turning on equipment. "Okay," Philip said, eager to get his mind onto something other than lash marks and pain, "You said there was a magic circle, a spell from the candles an' the incense?" "And symbols written on his back -- I don't know if it was smeared by the whipping or what, but it definitely doesn't look complete," she said, pulling the box flap out of her pocket and handing it to him. She was surprised to see his eyes go wide with shocked recognition, and even more surprised when he muttered a curse. "You recognize it?" she asked, not quite sure, from his reaction, whether this was a good thing. "No' all of it, but some -- this here, an' here," he said, pointing out some of the symbols, "I've seen 'em before." "That's great," she said, not entirely able to hide her enthusiasm. She placed the box flap down on the scanner and activated it, watching the symbols appear on the large screen. "No, it isn'," Philip said, shaking his head. "It's not good at all -- If I'm no' crazy, that's th' *same* kind of Paleo-Hebrew that was on Hitchcock's accursed scroll..." As he sat down at a terminal and began keying in a search, Alex could hear him muttering a prayer for Derek's soul. A chill gripped her, and suddenly images flashed across her mind's eye: Victor Arkadi carefully unwrapping an ancient, fragile scroll and smiling with evil glee; herbs and resins and berries being ground to a thick paste in an ancient stone bowl; the angel who had threatened them handing Arkadi a feather that glittered black with latent power, and Arkadi dipping the feather into a liquid filling that ancient bowl -- and then a terrible flash of dark power and an overwhelming instant of triumph as a pattern of symbols covering Derek's entire back flared up and then vanished, except for the tiny amount left when she'd discovered it. "Oh!" she gasped, grabbing the edge of the table to keep her balance. "Oh god..." "Alex?" Philip cried, jumping from his chair and helping her back to it, letting her sit before her trembling legs gave out. "My God, Alex, *what* did ya See?!" "Arkadi -- he -- he was reading an old scroll -- it must have been as old as that one Hitchcock brought here...He drew symbols all *over* Derek's back using a feather that angel gave him!" "Mother of God..." Philip whispered. "Wha' happened ta th' rest of 'em?" "It flared up in some kind of dark flash, and then they all vanished -- except for that little bit." "Th' spell went off -- somethin' must've kept it from workin' completely..." he murmured, frowning thoughtfully. After a moment, a feeling of cold terror washed over him and he looked up, meeting Alex's equally horrified gaze. "My God, Alex, he *knows* wha' Derek is -- I think he's tryin' t'change him inta a full-blown fallen angel!" She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. She swallowed hard and tried again, finally managing to whisper, "How could he know?" Philip shook his head and said, "I dunno, but I'm bettin' his new ally had a lot t'do with it..." She nodded and unhappily agreed, "You're probably right..." Then she took a deep breath and said, "I don't know what stopped it fromworking -- if Derek was as far gone as he seems to have been, it can't have been him fighting it..." "Was the scroll damaged? You've seen th' condition of most of th' Dead Sea Scrolls -- some of 'em are nothin' but crumblin' bits..." She frowned and closed her eyes, trying to See more than a brief flash of an image and trying not to See any more of the vision than the part she needed to. After a moment, she shivered and took a deep shuddering breath. "Yes," she said shakily, "it *was* damaged -- part of it was missing..." She looked up as he whispered a prayer of thanks, smiled sympathetically as he met her gaze. "That might be th'only thing that kept it from workin'..." Philip said uncomfortably. "Are you sure that's what Arkadi was trying to do to him? Maybe he just wanted to...to-- I don't know..." She shook her head and looked down again. "I don't know either," Philip said softly. "But I've got a sinkin' suspicion that's what he was tryin' t'do..." He turned back to the computer, seeing that the search had brought up the file he wanted. "Okay, let's see if I'm rememberin' right," he said, keying in a few commands. A moment later, the image of the writing from Derek's back was on the screen next to an image of an ancient scroll. "Okay," Alex said, looking over his shoulder at the monitor, then glancing up at the large screen. "The image on the left is Hitchcock's scroll, right?" When Philip nodded, she asked, "How about having the computer scan them both for matching symbols, or even combinations of symbols?" Philip nodded and keyed in some more commands, then they both sat back and watched as the computer searched through the much longer text of the scroll, highlighting every match it found. When it was done, Philip frowned up at the large screen and said, "Tha's not good...Wish we could get a hold of the one Arkadi's got, t'see if it's th' same hand..." "What the hell are you looking at that *thing* for?" Nick's voice came from the entrance, startling them both. They turned to see Rachel and Nick, the latter carrying trays loaded with breakfast. He scowled at the image of the scroll with an expression of disgust. "The spell on Derek's back -- the symbols are from the same kind of Paleo-Hebrew," Alex explained. "Great..." Nick said, walking to one of the counters and putting down the trays while Rachel headed towards the lab. "How's he doin'?" Philip asked. Rachel paused and said, "Frank's staying with him right now -- he's still pretty out of it, but he doesn't seem to be in any kind of distress so I don't think we're dealing with any kind of overdose." She showed them the blood samples and said, "I've got to get started on these to see what was given to him, and check out that incense sample, too." They nodded and let her continue on to the lab, while Alex and Philip joined Nick to pick at breakfast. "So, can you tell what the spell *said*?" Nick asked, motioning up at the screen with a fork. Alex shook her head and said, "No, there wasn't enough of it to read -- I don't even think we've got a complete word." "Well, some of the Dead Sea Scroll experts've gotten words out of fragments like this," Philip said softly. "We might be able t'get somethin', but without th' scroll it came from, there's no way t'actually break or reverse th' spell. Alex had a vision of it..." "What did you see?" Nick asked, knowing that he was grasping at straws. "Because the scroll was damaged, the spell didn't take full effect. The angel we ran into seemed to be helping Arkadi, and we suspect that he was trying to use the spell to transform Derek *into* an angel..." she explained. "Philip's right -- without actually knowing the full text of the spell, we can't hope to break it, and I have *no idea* what kind of spell or prayer or ritual could work to reverse it." Nick looked at her for a long moment, then asked, "Arkadi knows what he is?" "I strongly suspect he does," Alex said softly. "No real proof, though, just a hunch..." "You're probably right," Nick said, trying to still the panic rising in him. "So, what do we *do*?" Philip looked at the image on the screen and said, "We should at leas' translate what we've got of it, although if this is from the part tha' was damaged, then it's probably not ev'n the right word...Maybe we c'n search through th' old Hebrew texts f'r some kinda match, or for what it *should* be..." Nick nodded, but at the same time said, "If this scroll is from the same time as the other one, then I seriously doubt it's referred to in any other text..." "I know tha'," Philip said softly. "But it's better than nothin'." "Yeah," Nick agreed. "So...while you work on that, how 'bout Alex and I try to figure out where Arkadi's gone to ground at. If we need the full text of the scroll, then we need to find a way to get it from him..." Philip nodded and they each settled into their own tasks. --==**==-- To be continued in part 15 Poltergeist: The Legacy is (c) 1998 MGM/UA and Trilogy Entertainment. This story is not intended to infringe on these copyrights. Stolen Heaven is (c) 1998 Penemuel