1.2 Fairy Tale

Previously on Stumptown.

Raelin dreams the end
vampires try to kidnap jules
brian is stabbed lots

And now..

Jules secretly followed Raelin home and listened to her parents chew her out. She knew Raelin was a witness to the attack, and had a sense that there was something "odd" about her. Before she left, Jules slashed the tires of Raelin's parents car.

Brian was taken to the hospital and treated for stab wounds. He is now haunted by two ghosts.

Darien reports to his mentor Alec Gormann that he has seen the Slayer, at least the vampires trying to kidnap her called her that and she sure fought like one. She didn't seem to know what a Slayer was. Alec seemed lost in thought, as if trying to decide something. He told Darien to find her and bring her to him so they could meet. She might not have a Watcher yet and the Council has to be notified so they could assign her a proper Watcher. Darien hits the streets.

6 days pass.

Meanwhile, Jules visits Father James Lacey at the St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church. She wants to know about vampires. Father Lacey tells her that the Catholic church has no official position on the existence of Vampires, but can tell she really believes in what she's asking about. He refers her to Alec Gormann, a friend of his who knows more about that sort of thing. Jules arranges a meeting with Alec Gormann saying her name is "Amy". She meets with Alec and tells him about her "dreams" about vampires. At first, Alec is guarded about this stinky homeless girl asking about Vampire dreams, worried she might be pulling his chain. Eventually, he begins to worry that she might be the victim of vampire visitations and tries to learn more.

At about that moment, Darien returns to report no results in his search, only to see the Slayer and Alec sitting having tea. "She's.. You're.. But.. Hey!" Alec learns that the girl he's been talking to is the Slayer he was searching for. He becomes nervous, excited, he begs her not to leave, orders Darien not to let her leave, and rushes to the back of the store.

"Amy" panics and tries to make a break for it. Darien heads her off. Alec throws a knife at her back, which she catches instinctively. She passed the test, she's the Slayer. "Amy" is furious, but Alec tries to calm her down and explain. "Amy" doesn't take his explanations seriously, but is beginning to catch on. Alec offers to buy her dinner to explain. Being homeless and not having eaten, "Amy" accepts. But she thinks of that girl she followed home and how she's connected somehow. He asks Alec if she can invite someone else. She lives just up the street, she can go get her really quick. Alec agrees but sends Darien with her.

On their way to Raelin's house, a commotion down Glisan street gets their attention. Six mounted horsemen wearing gleaming armor, and four smaller half-sized people, also in armor but riding Stags, are riding up the street. In their wake is a glittering fog. Traffic snarls as the unlikely cavalry rides the wrong-way up a one-way street. "Amy" and Alec are stunned. The cavalry rides past and stops in front of Raelin's house. The fog lowers the temperature to 50 degrees, leaving people confused and shivering.

Meanwhile, Raelin is home reading her book of spells. Her parents tell her they're going out for dinner and that she can't leave or have any friends over. She's grounded because their tires got slashed. Typical. Her parents leave and she returns to her book. Soon afterwards, she hears a terrible racket of car horns down the street followed by a magnificient clopping of hooves outside her house. She looks out to see the horse and stag riders. She hears a bang as her front door is forced open. Voices shout orders and spread out throughout the house. Armored horsemen with pointed ears and black eyes burst into her room and report that they've found her. They explain that they are warriors of the Unseelie Court and they've come to return her to the Veil. She tries to get away but is grabbed and carried downstairs.

Down 23rd Avenue, Brian is being released from the hospital with his family. He sees the commotion up the street at the intersection of 23rd and Glisan and is immediately curious. His parents take him home, only a few blocks away. Once home, he manages to excuse himself and takes off.

"Amy" and Darien witness the invasion of Raelin's home and hear her scream for help. They look at each other and rush to her aid. Darien sends a Stag-rider toppling and engages both the dismounted Stag-rider and his wingman, both wielding shiny swords. He disarms the un-mounted warrior and leads him in a chase around the riderless horses' flanks.

"Amy" heads for the back of the house and is chased by a horse-rider. She manages to climb throw an open window into the kitchen. She sees an imperious looking warrior with a humongous sword standing by the front door. Just then, the two warriors carrying Raelin come down the stairs to "Amy's" right. "Amy" grabs one of the warriors and puts him in a headlock, holding some appropriated kitchen knives to his throat and hoping to use him as a hostage. The Imperious Leader casts a spell on "Amy" and her body is frozen in place, unable to move. Her captive is released from her grasp and they Raelin is taken onto the front porch.

Darien gets up on a horse. The dismounted warrior tries to drag him off. Darien turns and addresses him with a great speech which I can't remember now and won't attempt to recreate. It was a sweet soliloquy. The warrior backed off, shaken, then turns and runs away.

About that time, Brian shows up wearing grand-dad's old 1950's football helmet and starts bashing people with his aluminum baseball bat. Raelin casts a spell causing her captor's gloves to catch fire. He lets go and she makes a break for the crowded Starbucks down the street, which is generally populated by a large number of burly bikers about this time every Saturday night.

The Imperious dude begins casting a spell, but before he can finish the newly freed "Amy" runs up and kicks him in the groin from behind. Imperious Leader bends in half groaning. At this precise moment, Brian leaps up the steps to the front porch to deliver a massive over-head whack to the folded Leader with the baseball bat. The leader goes to the ground.

The Stag-rider chases after Raelin who has reached the safety of the bikers. She explains that these guys were attacking her and they all close ranks around her to defend her. "Amy" runs after the Stag-Rider and manages to distract him. The remaining warriors from inside come out of the house and the horse-rider in the back yard returns to the front.

The warriors from inside engage Brian. Imperious Leader stands up, brushes himself off, grabs Brian and tosses him about 9 yards. He then continues his spell. He casts a glamour on the bikers and everyone else. The bikers return to their business, and everyone else on the street seems to ingore all the strange happenings. Even the approaching cop sirens are turned off. Raelin squeaks as "Amy's" Stag-Rider breaks away and contines after Raelin, immediately followed by the now-mounted Darien, and with re-mounted horse and stag-riders not far behind. She runs down the street and seeks shelter in 3-monkeys clothing store on 23rd Ave, followed by the dismounted Stag-rider.

Brian, meanwhile, gets up and car-jacks a Volvo driving down the street. He drives it down Glisan but finds the traffic on 23rd too slow, so he pulls onto the sidewalk and guns it.

Darien gets to the door of the store next to hold off the riders and their leader. Darien is now wielding a sword from one of the disarmed warriors. He vows to hold his ground. The leader steps forward and introduces himself as Jyiel, the Serpent. He has finally found his long lost daughter and has come to re-claim her and take her back to the Veil. He has called forth the Wild Hunt to retrieve her, for he must have her back in the Veil immediately, though he refuses to explain why. Darien demands proof and calls Jyiel a terrible father.

About that time, Brian careens into the group with the Volvo, sending them scattering, and crashing the car into the side of the building. He manages to injure a few of the warriors. The Unseelie warriors stagger to their feet. Darien takes this moment to call Alec on his cell-phone and tell him what's going on and to ask for help. Jyiel recovers his composure and orders some of his riders to the back of the store in case she gets away. "Amy", now riding the horse Darien had taken, gives chase.

Brian gets out of the crashed car and starts bashing warriors and horses with his bat. He gets stabbed a few more times. The boy's not good at avoiding injury.

In the alley behind the store, "Amy" is noticed and two rider break off to catch her. She stands up on her horse and grabs hold of an overhead fire escape ladder, the counterweight kind that folds up. She pulls down on it, hitting one of the riders in the head with the end of the ladder, knocking him off his horse.

Inside the store, the diminutive Stag-rider chases Raelin around the racks of clothes, up the stairs to the loft and back down again. She makes a break for the back door but is grabbed by the riders waiting for her outside. She is pulled up onto a horse and carried back around. "Amy" heads back the other way to meet them on the other side.

About this time, Alec shows up with a long case. Inside are two swords made out of a dark grey metal. He gives one sword to Darien and one sword to "Amy". They begin using these new swords to much better effect. Each time an Unseelie warrior is cut, the wound hisses and smokes and they bleed green blood. When killed, the Unseelie warriors dissolve and melt into a hissing popping gooey green mess.

Brian and Jyiel square off, Darien throws Brian his sword but Brian, who had never wielded a sword, responds incredulously "What am I supposed to do with THIS?" He gets one good shot on Jyiel, but he is unimpressed. Jyiel simply smiles and prepares to slay Brian, taking his time to savor the moment.

Raelin shouts "STOP!" She gives up. She tells Jyiel she will go with him. Darien is still skeptical and demands Jyiel prove she's his daughter. Jyiel pulls the back of Raelin's shit down from her back, revealing symmetrical dragonfly-wing birthmarks. "She bears the mark of the Unseelie Court! She is my daughter! I have come to claim her as she is rightfully mine!"

He turns to Raelin, telling her it is time to go. Raelin sees Brian hand Darien his sword back. At that moment, she uses telekinesis to grab the sword and plunge it into Jyiel's back. Jyiel falls to his knees, dying. His surviving warriors rush to his aid.

Raelin breaks way and joins her rescuers. She explains that she's not going anywhere.

Jyiel reluctantly acquiesces. He's in no position to fight now. He orders a retreat. His surviving warriors, minus the one that ran away, mount up and they ride off, ostensibly to whence they came.

Alec suggests that the glamour might wear off soon and that they should make themselves scarce. He suggests everyone retreat with him to a safe place. Raelin resists but is eventually talked into it. Alec leads them to his store, and into the back. The group is surprised to find a room full of occult symbols and nasty weapons in the back room of a Christian Bookstore. Alec explains that this is where he trains Darien to fight the supernatural. He further explains that they live in world in which vampires, werewolves, demons, and worse, are all frighteningly real. He also explains his theory that normally a person can live their entire lives without ever encountering the supernatural, but on the off chance you do and survive, you life is fundamentally changed. A door is opened. Some kind of magnetic force will draw the supernatural to you. Slowly at first, but the more you survive, the more you encounter. He can't explain it, but he's seen it many times before. Everyone in this room is now "tainted" by the supernatural. The door is opened, the key is unlocked, the slope is slippery, watch your step, and mind the gap. Like it or not, they've been directly exposed to the supernatural and lived.

Their best bet is to band together. There is safety in numbers. Together, we can rely on each other for help. Separate, you're on your own.

"'Amy', the man who tried to kidnap you is named Ignacio Vallejo. He is a powerful and wealthy vampire born in 1600. He was formerly a priest of the Inquisition in Spain where he earned the nickname "El Caniciero Rojo", the Red Butcher. He was turned into a Vampire by one of his torture victims in 1640. I've dealt with Vallejo before." He looks distant and is distracted, "but that was in another life. I don't know why he's back in Portland after all these years."

Brian, meanwhile, got hung up on the fact that Vallejo was born in 1600. "You mean, like 400 years ago? Wait, wait, let me get this straight."

When asked about the Cult of Dahaka, Alec explained that they were an apocalyptic cult originating in ancient Persia. He didn't know Vallejo's connection to the Cult. When Raelin mentioned the book Vallejo purchased from Powell's, Alec became worried. Raelin could not remember the name of the book, but promised to introduce him to Sierra. She could tell him.

Alex explained to "Amy" that she was the Slayer, one born every generation, yadda yadda yadda. He told her she needed to train. Vallejo would return. He knows she's the Slayer and wants to eliminate her. She needs to train, to fight. She needs a Watcher. "Amy" was skeptical of the offer. Alec asked her what he could do to get her to stick around, she answered $100. Alec reluctantly acquiesced. When the others complained about fairness, he sighed and gave them $100 each.

To Raelin, he explained that Jyiel was not killed. He'll return. She'll need protection too, and the best way will be with this group. When asked how she'll explain this to her parents, Alec told her to tell her parents she has gotten a part-time job at a Christian Book Store. She opened her mouth to argue, but nodded her head instead. "Good point".

The session ended with Alec getting everyone's promise to stick together, to protect each other, and to come to each others' aid when someone needs help. Brian returns to the hospital with more stab wounds, mere hours after his recent release for the same thing.

Raelin's parents were, of course, furious about the mess in the house. They're sure she had her Satanist friends over. They don't want her practicing that devil worship anymore. They're worried what its done to her psychologically! They've decided to schedule an appointment with a psychologist/therapist that specializes in cult deprogramming. They don't want her talking to Sierra or going to Powell's anymore. They put a content block on her laptop which she couldn't get rid of even after hours of hacking, so her search for Dahaka didn't bring up anything. She was grounded and not allowed out of the house, except to go to her new job at the Prince of Peace Christian Bookstore.

One night, while she was sleeping, Raelin had a dream. She was a fairy, a little sprite flying around like a bumblebee. She was summoned. She was inside a circle of mushrooms in a grassy bowl. The circle was surrounded by several figures wearing red robes and hoods. One approaches her, he kneels. "I have a message for your Master. Tell him I have found his daughter, the Princess. She yet lives. She is hiding among the mortals in this world, near this Nexus. Tell him to come on the night of the Lammas Sabbat, and my minions will show him the way to her. I ask but one thing in return, a trifle. I require the Orb of the Veil. If he gives me the Orb, I will give him the location of his long-lost daughter. We will be waiting here for his reply on the night of Lammas. Tell him this. " She nodded. Suddenly the dream began to spin, she felt icy, cold. You woke, panting, cold, her bed sheets damp with sweat.

To be continued.