It had only been a few weeks since they\u2019d moved into the hotel. After the initial clean-up of the lobby, they\u2019d organized their offices and filed away anything that was remotely salvageable from their original one.<\/p>\n
At the time, Cordelia had been grateful to get Angel out of her apartment. He was so damn clumsy at times.<\/p>\n
Though hating to admit it, she actually missed the big guy. It was one thing to have Dennis around to talk to, share stories with and handle the housework. But it was a lot different to have a guy taking up your space even if he was a vampire. Eye candy was certainly less available now, something her resident ghost couldn\u2019t provide. And since eye candy was all she seemed to get lately, it was a little hard adjusting to life without it.<\/p>\n
Cordelia was happier about having a real office. Despite its demony background, the Hyperion was actually kind of classy. Once she added a few touches here and there it would be perfect. The guys were clueless about that sort of thing and the fact that Angel was such a penny pincher didn\u2019t make her plans any easier. Not that they had a whole lot of pennies to pinch at the moment, but having a cool office would bring in clients with money.<\/p>\n
Right now they were the client. Cordelia could think of one or two convenient ways to get rid of a haunted mirror, but was sure she didn\u2019t need seven more years of bad luck. Assuming that luck had anything to do with anything, she wasn\u2019t going to take chances.<\/p>\n
So it seemed they were stuck with finding out how a woman from 1952 was trapped in a mirror. Cordelia watched from the other side of the lobby as Angel and Wesley carefully hung the mirror on the opposite wall. \u201cThat\u2019s not a very good spot,\u201d she warned noticing that she could not only see most of the lobby, but picked up her own reflection from across the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the one who said to put it here,\u201d the tension in Wesley\u2019s voice ramped up. It was the third time they\u2019d moved it at Cordelia\u2019s behest and he wasn\u2019t going to do it again. \u201cWe shall never get any research done if we spend all of our time rearranging furniture and hanging this mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n
The swirling mist appeared in the mirror again as did the woman, tears rolling down her pale face, a plea on her lips that Wesley heard like a whisper, \u201cHelp me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d Cordelia told him resolving to stay out of its path as much as possible. \u201cLeave it there.\u201d The faster they got on with the research, the sooner that freaky mirror and its ghostly resident would be outta there. If she really was a ghost, that woman was nothing like Dennis. More like Dennis\u2019 mom minus the trying to kill her part.<\/p>\n
Cordelia didn\u2019t know if the mirror or the ghost was responsible for those unnerving images, but she really wanted that to stop. Yes, it was true that Angel was a hottie. And maybe\u2014just maybe she\u2019d thought about him that way once or twice since they\u2019d met in L.A., but they weren\u2019t serious<\/i>thoughts.<\/p>\n
It was a completely normal female response, that\u2019s all. Normally easy to ignore. All she had to do was to think \u2018Buffy\u2019 or \u2018curse\u2019 to put things into perspective. Not to mention his social ineptitude.<\/p>\n
Sitting down at her desk while waiting for the guys to finish hanging the mirror, she grabbed a random magazine from her desk drawer hoping to distract herself from the replay of Angel\u2019s lips plying kisses across her neck. That might\u2019ve worked if the magazine wasn\u2019t last month\u2019s edition of Cosmo. Or if she hadn\u2019t flipped to the article about \u2018Mapping Your Man\u2019s Erogenous Zones\u2019.<\/p>\n
A high-pitched shriek sounded from the lobby followed by the thud of a hammer and the sound of scattering hooks & nails. \u201cI-Is that Cordelia?\u201d Wesley sputtered.<\/p>\n
At the sound of her name, Cordelia slowly turned her head toward the lobby. Wesley was slack-jawed as he stared at the mirror\u2019s image. She could see herself standing skin to skin with Angel, her back facing them so that was shown was her loose hair, her waist, and most of her tattoo.<\/p>\n
For a moment, she was mesmerized by the sight of Angel\u2019s strong hands wrapped possessively around her hips. There wasn\u2019t any space between them. Her fingers were roving in a teasing circle around his nipple. Angel growled out to Wes to hurry it up.<\/p>\n
If she closed her eyes, Cordelia could almost feel the imprint of his cool body against hers: strong, hard and totally male. It was almost like being there in that moment. Just like upstairs when she\u2019d felt the whisper of his lips on her neck, her senses were singing, body responding.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordy,\u201d a moan of pleasure rumbled from Angel\u2019s chest. Even though he was across the room, it came to her like a soft whisper against her ear.<\/p>\n
Panicking, Cordelia slammed the magazine closed and jammed it into the back of her desk. \u201cOh crap, crap, crap.\u201d The mirror was possessed by a fiend, that\u2019s what it was. One who looked like some woman Angel had seen way back when. Someone evil enough to put lusty thoughts in her head about a friend who also happened to be her very non-boneable boss.<\/p>\n
Without looking toward Angel at all, Cordelia jumped up from her chair and ran into his office. She started pulling random books down from the shelves. Wesley had slowly been building up their collection, but had yet to move his books out of his apartment. Most of Angel\u2019s books had survived the bomb blast at the old office. So there had to be something she could find to fix this.<\/p>\n
And if she couldn\u2019t, Wesley would find it. Or else.
\n****<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you quite finished ripping Angel\u2019s office apart?\u201d Wesley poked his head in.<\/p>\n
Cordelia was on the floor, a huge tome open on her lap. \u201cNot yet. Just getting a head start on the research.\u201d She glanced up, \u201cWhere\u2019s Angel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rubbing a hand across his jaw, Wesley muttered his answer. \u201cAh\u2014he\u2019ll be here in a minute or two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instantly irritated that Angel wasn\u2019t in as much of a rush to handle this problem as she was, Cordelia complained peevishly, \u201cJust because the vamp gets to see his reflection for the first time in forever doesn\u2019t mean I want mine,\u201d she poked a finger at her chest, \u201cto be naked with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was quite\u2014um\u2026.\u201d Even Wes couldn\u2019t find the appropriate words to describe what he\u2019d seen. \u201cThe nature of these aberrations might provide us with clues as to the mirror\u2019s true purpose. It might enable us to find out how this woman continues to appear in the mirror and whether she has any control over what we\u2019ve seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvil fiend,\u201d Cordelia muttered as she continued to browse through the pages of the book.<\/p>\n
Wesley moved into the office positioning himself to look over Cordelia\u2019s shoulder to see what subject she had chosen to research. It was a compendium of demons and other noteworthy creatures. \u201cThere is no evidence of demonic activity,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cThis is either supernatural or mystical. Most of our references on the occult are at my flat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what are you waiting for?\u201d Cordelia blew her bangs out of her eyes and kept on looking, convinced that she\u2019d find that woman\u2019s face depicted within its pages.<\/p>\n
With a sigh, Wesley headed to the outer office area, passing Angel as he walked in. He paused to ask, \u201cDo you remember the woman\u2019s name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel drew a blank. \u201cNo. Mostly, she kept to herself. So did I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPfft.\u201d Cordelia shoved the book back on the bottom shelf and grumbled wiping the dust off of her jeans.<\/p>\n
When Angel held out a hand to help her to her feet, she stared at it for a moment as she remembered feeling it curl around her hip. Her eyes flicked up to his searching for a clue that he was also unsettled by this whole thing. Nothing. Whatever Angel thought about this, it was hidden from her. Normally, she could figure it out, but if that blank expression suggested anything it was that nothing more than a simple annoyance.<\/p>\n
Standing next to him changed her perspective. He licked his lips. The gentle hold on her hand tightened subtly, thumb sweeping across the surface in an almost caress. Cordelia\u2019s breath caught in her throat as anticipation fluttered deep in her belly. It reminded her of their closeness in the mirror, the false image that felt so real in her mind.<\/p>\n
God, she ached to be touched. It was as if a craving had been awakened within her. Somehow it had to be Angel. Only his touch would sate her needs. His hands on her breasts, curved around them. Coolness sliding across her skin. Cupping her bottom to pull her up against the hardness she had imagined she\u2019d felt, fingers sliding down stroking her between her legs to pleasure her.<\/p>\n
Cordelia\u2019s eyes widened in horror realizing her panties were actually damp. She tried to pull away, but was held there, Angel staring down at her intently, eyes darkening, nostrils flared. He knew exactly how worked up she was getting. Typically he said nothing. For an instant it looked like he wanted to devour her.<\/p>\n
Then the familiar mask of control slammed in place and Angel let her go. He released her hand so quickly that Cordelia stumbled back against the bookcase nearly falling in the process. \u201cHey!\u201d Stunned that he didn\u2019t bother to catch her, she straightened up and stalked up to him. \u201cI could\u2019ve broken my neck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I could\u2019ve.\u201d<\/p>\n
With deliberate control, Angel said in graveled tones, \u201cYour neck is fine, Cordy,\u201d sounding to her as if he had other plans for it. \u201cJust drop it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Petulantly, Cordelia shoved him on her way out of the office. When he moved to follow, she held up a hand. \u201cUh-uh. Stay there where the mirror can\u2019t see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley paused in his search of the filing cabinet. \u201cWe\u2019re far enough away over here that the mirror should have no effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh.\u201d Cordelia knew differently. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea to take chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMight I point out that you\u2019re standing here with me and nothing is happening. It\u2019s perfectly safe,\u201d Wes shook his head and went back to looking for the Hyperion file.<\/p>\n
She answered with a snort.<\/p>\n
Angel stayed put at the threshold of his office. Not because Cordelia said so, but because he was afraid that she was right. And there was no way he needed Wesley around as a witness assuming that thing could pick up on his thoughts. Scenting the sweet arousal clinging to Cordelia\u2019s skin, watching her body react in ways both subtle and obvious, he knew that she\u2019d felt the mirror\u2019s effects, too.<\/p>\n
Though he couldn\u2019t own up to the source of the images this time, he assumed they were thoughts pulled from his subconscious. He didn\u2019t think it would be a good idea to expose anybody to the idea that scenting Cordelia\u2019s arousal made him want to swipe the contents of her desk onto the floor and take her right there. The more he tried to suppress those images, the more he thought about it.<\/p>\n
This was ridiculous. \u201cWes, whatever it is you\u2019re looking for\u2026find it.\u201d They needed to deal with this as fast as possible. Having a few fantasies starring Cordelia was bad enough. On the rare occasion when she wasn\u2019t being a pain in the ass it was easy to say that he found her attractive. Okay, very attractive, but that did not give him the right to act like a walking erection every time she was in the same room.<\/p>\n
Until now, he\u2019d managed to draw a discreet line between fantasy and reality. That mirror was responsible for taking thoughts so far back in his head that he\u2019d never considered them a remote possibility. Being attracted to Cordelia just proved he was male. It was all of the other feelings of friendship, concern, protectiveness that made it something more.<\/p>\n
Maybe Doyle had been right about Cordelia\u2019s humanizing influence over him because she stirred up emotions inside him that should\u2019ve made his demon nature rebel. No, he wasn\u2019t disgusted by her tender concern, the care she took in patching him up, the way she sometimes had him under her thumb. Deep down he wanted more of it, and not all of those fantasies involved a bed of roses. Sometimes she\u2019d push him to the point where he had to leave the room or risk giving her a taste of the demon that lived under his skin.<\/p>\n
Letting her nearly fall like that was a rotten thing to do. He felt like a bastard for it, but he couldn\u2019t touch her right then. Not without pulling her closer. Those images in the mirror were just teases. He could feel the silk of her skin beneath his hands, the warmth of her body in contrast to his own. He\u2019d gotten hard as her nails rasped over him.<\/p>\n
All in the mirror. Little more than a fantasy come to life. But it felt so close to being real that it was hard to accept that Cordy hadn\u2019t been pressed against him, touching him. Maybe he should be embarrassed over the fact that his deepest fantasies about her were out in the open. He wasn\u2019t. Cordelia obviously hadn\u2019t figured that part out yet. But she would once Wes determined how the mirror worked.<\/p>\n
Angel\u2019s only hope was that they could figure out what was going on with the woman from 1952. If they could discover the truth he might be able to get out of this thing without ruining his relationship with Cordy. Impatiently, he growled, \u201cWhat\u2019s taking so long?\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley let out a frustrated groan. \u201cI can\u2019t find our research. Cordelia, where is the Hyperion file?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere it always is\u2014under Tentacle Demon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staring wordlessly for a moment, Wes realized that she wasn\u2019t kidding. \u201cWould that be D for Demon or T for Tentacle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDuh\u2014tentacle, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019d looked under Hyperion, Hotel, Property, and Angel before browsing randomly through the files. He opened the S, T, U, V drawer, flicked his fingers over the file names and found it just where Cordelia claimed he would.<\/p>\n
Angel nearly stepped out to join them, but held back at the last second. \u201cBring that in here.\u201d He turned to walk back to his desk leaving Wes and Cordelia no choice but to follow.
\n****<\/p>\n
The amount of research Wesley and Cordelia had compiled on the Hyperion amazed Angel. When he originally approached them about the hotel, he had given them no idea what he was looking for.<\/p>\n
He wanted everything they could find on it and gave them instructions to look into police files: cold cases, homicides, unsolved missing persons, and start from the earliest records through the current day.<\/p>\n
He had no idea how much digging they had done. The file on the Hyperion was nearly eight inches thick. Fortunately, they had organized the material on a timeline. \u201cWe should focus on the early 1950s,\u201d he opened up the file to that era. \u201cThe woman was here when I left. Something happened to her after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since Wesley thought she looked familiar there was a good chance that the answer to her identity could be found somewhere in the file. There was nothing for the years 1950 or 1951. The first thing they saw when opening up the section on 1952 was the black and white photograph of Angel.<\/p>\n
He picked it up recognizing himself and trying to compare the slightly blurry image to what he\u2019d seen in the mirror. As was the style then, he\u2019d worn his hair slicked back, and discovered a taste for muscle shirts and cigarettes. The smokes were an easy habit to break when he gave it up.<\/p>\n
Those cravings were nothing in comparison to the bloodlust he conquered every day, or the need to feel pleasure and pain. Something other than emptiness and isolation.<\/p>\n
Compassion had gotten him nowhere back in 1952. He\u2019d been strung up by that mob for his efforts. Then he\u2019d left them to suffer for it at the hands of the Thesulac who\u2019d wanted to feed off their emotional angst and his own. The person he was now found that abhorrent and it was largely due to Doyle, Cordelia, and Wesley that he could see how much he\u2019d changed.<\/p>\n
Glancing across the space of the desk where Cordelia was sitting head bent as she sifted through a pile of newspaper clippings, Angel remembered the promise she\u2019d made to stay with him until he found his way out of the tangled mess that was his existence and earned his redemption. The Shanshu prophesy sometimes seemed like a dangling carrot, impossible to reach. His sins were far too numerous to do enough to tip the scales.<\/p>\n
Angel knew he couldn\u2019t do it alone. He owed Cordy so much that could never be repaid. Every vision that wracked her body with pain seemed to cut into him, too. The way she dealt with it made him seem weak in comparison. Her inner strength amazed him and yet she was far from invulnerable. He\u2019d seen her smile through the pain giving him a reason to fight, to survive, and to win.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t the first time he had considered how important Cordy was to him. Before now it was simply to marvel at the friendship they\u2019d forged. The thought that he\u2019d someday have to survive without it left a sick feeling in his stomach. And panic set in after that. This mirror was showing things that were reserved for unbidden fantasy, and might damage the trust that had developed between them.<\/p>\n
Fear set in. Anger swept in right behind it. There was no way Angel was going to let Cordy walk out on him because some damned mirror knew more about his desires than he did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s with the growl?\u201d Cordelia stared at him suspiciously making Angel realized that he was vocalizing his feelings. \u201cI\u2019m looking as fast as I can. It might actually help if you did a little research instead of sitting there like a fat lump on a log.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trust Cordy to put things quickly back into perspective. \u201cRight.\u201d He noticed that Wes was staring at both of them, not bothering to hide the concern on his face.<\/p>\n
Angel stared back silently daring Wesley to say something, but after a few seconds of silence, guilt flared and he dropped his gaze back to the pile of photographs on the desk. Picking through the pile, memories stirred as he saw familiar faces. The bellhop carting two suitcases toward the elevator. A guest who\u2019d later shot himself in one of the third floor rooms. The hotel manager who tried to sweep things under the rug as long as he could.<\/p>\n
He was lost in thought when Wesley\u2019s triumphant, \u201cEureka!\u201d snapped him back to the present.<\/p>\n
Sitting next to him, Cordelia jerked at the noise scattering her part of the file all over the floor. \u201cGeez, you didn\u2019t strike gold.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Wes skimmed the article he\u2019d found, Angel went to help her scoop it up. He crouched down on his haunches gathering papers and watching Cordelia fumbling in her haste. Their fingers brushed, both of them freezing in place, staring at each other. Cordy let out a little gasp and looked like she was seconds from bolting.<\/p>\n
Angel could feel the tension building up between them. She licked her lips making his gaze drop down to note the shiny trail of moisture left behind. He wanted nothing more than to cage her jaw in his hands and plunder that mouth until he\u2019d tasted every nook. Instinctively, his tongue swept across his own lips.<\/p>\n
The space between them started to shrink.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlice Waterhouse went missing in April of 1953,\u201d Wesley\u2019s enthusiastic findings caused them to leap apart, both on their feet clutching jumbled papers and staring wide-eyed at each other from across the room.<\/p>\n
They settled back in their chairs grateful that Wes was too caught up in telling them the news to notice what had almost happened. Cordelia head dipped down while she made an effort to put her papers back in order, her hair falling forward to shadow her face. Her hands visibly trembled to the point that she had to stop.<\/p>\n
Cordelia decided she was being a wuss about something that hadn\u2019t even happened. Raising her head she noticed Angel\u2019s fathomless gaze still focused on her. Jaw tightly clenched, he looked like he was ready for a fight. Sheesh! So what if she\u2019d almost kissed him. It was the freaky mirror\u2019s fault and it wasn\u2019t like she had cooties or anything.<\/p>\n
Turning her attention to Wesley, she listened in as he summarized the article. \u201cIt appears that Miss Waterhouse was something of a socialite. Wealthy, she lived at the Hyperion for a number of years before she went missing. No known close contacts at the hotel itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say about her disappearance?\u201d Angel tried to stay focused, but the lingering arousal in the air made it hard.<\/p>\n
The article wasn\u2019t very forthcoming with information. However, during their initial research, they\u2019d attached a copy of an old police report. It went into more details and included interviews with the hotel employees. Alice Waterhouse often came and went with no mention of her plans to the concierge. She left her keys at the desk whenever she went out and picked them up upon her return.<\/p>\n
This convinced the detective in charge of the case that Alice Waterhouse had been in residence at the time of her disappearance. The keys were not at the front desk. The room showed signs of a disturbance: a toppled lamp, scattered contents from the vanity, a broken mirror. As was protocol, the room was cordoned off during the remainder of the investigation.<\/p>\n
The victim\u2019s rich relatives were unavailable to the press, and rather closed-mouthed with the police. When brought to the scene of the crime, her brother was stricken by a strange malady and went into a coma. Upon his recovery, he refused to set foot in the hotel ever again and claimed that his sister was lost to them forever.<\/p>\n
Throughout its history, the Hyperion had been subject to strange and unexplained cases as this. Few contained such an obvious motive. Alice Waterhouse possessed a necklace of great value. Ancient emeralds handed down the female line from mother to daughter. It was said that she never removed them, even during sleep.<\/p>\n
A housekeeper had provided that little tidbit for the case file. She\u2019d gone into the Helios Suite to turn down the bedcovers as she always did only to find the woman already asleep. Her jewels were still around her neck.<\/p>\n
When she was in residence, the hotel staff had been instructed to deliver breakfast at a specific time to her suite. The meal had gone untouched and it was only on the second day that someone brought it to the manager\u2019s attention. The last person to see her had been the clerk on duty three nights before.<\/p>\n
The emerald necklace never turned up and the police never had any suspects except for Alice\u2019s brother Richard, whose suspicious reaction was apparently suspect enough for them to question him again.<\/p>\n
Despite the newspaper article and the police report, there was little to go on except the Waterhouse name. \u201cI\u2019ll track down the brother,\u201d Angel decided, \u201csee what he has to say about his sister\u2019s disappearance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel, that was almost 50 years ago,\u201d Wesley warned him that Richard Waterhouse could be dead by now. \u201cHe was thirty-eight at the time of his interrogation.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was worth a shot considering they had nothing else. Now that Kate had discovered Angel was a vampire, their ability to use her police department access to information was probably a dead-end task. Approaching her might get him staked, but Angel was willing to take the chance that she wouldn\u2019t. Not again, at any rate. If she did, Angel knew that next time she wouldn\u2019t miss.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile you are searching for Richard Waterhouse,\u201d Wesley set his section of the file down on the desk. \u201cI will head back to my flat to pick up those books. Perhaps I can find a spell that will identify the nature of these aberrations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley\u2019s plan alarmed Cordelia. \u201cYou\u2019re leaving me alone with\u2014,\u201d she glanced over at Angel, \u201cwith that mirror?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel glowered at her, so tempted to give her a real reason for concern. \u201cStay here. Look through the rest of the articles. See if anything else crops up about the Helios Suite.\u201d<\/p>\n