Chapter Eleven<\/b><\/p>\n
Angel gazed in awe at the young woman cradled in his arms. His fingers tenderly stroked and twirled at Cordelia\u2019s dark hair.<\/p>\n
His seer had not only been willing, but eager to accept his soul\u2019s torturous burdens. She had been willingly to do anything to ease his inner pain. Angel was amazed at the vast capacity of love and caring of Cordelia\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n
Actually, it shouldn\u2019t surprise him. Underneath Cordelia’s wonderful tactlessness and exterior self-centeredness was a devoted, wonderful and compassionate young woman. Angel felt pity for the idiots that hadn\u2019t the patience or desire to get to know the real Cordelia, all of her, not just the superficial fa\u00e7ade that she showed most of the world.<\/p>\n
Because, if a soul was lucky enough to gain entry into her expansive heart, whether that soul was deserving or not they would be guaranteed immense loyalty and love. Cordelia had wanted, needed to heal him, he had felt it along with the cleansing energy flowing through her delicate hands.<\/p>\n
Angel wasn\u2019t at all sure how he came to be worthy of her loyalty and compassion, but he would be eternally grateful for her kindness. But, regardless of her need or his gratitude, he would never let her bear his burdens.<\/p>\n
The guilt and distress of his soul was his cross to bear, his alone. Angel gingerly tucked the strain of Cordelia\u2019s hair behind her ear and got up.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Cordelia stirred in the big bed, trying to stretch out her cramped body. She blinked her large brown eyes trying to clear the fog in her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
She started at the sound of Angel\u2019s voice. \u201cAngel?\u201d She stared blankly at the vampire. Her eye\u2019s widened as the events of the last 24 hours came crashing down around her. \u201cAngel?\u2019 she whispered, her hands reaching towards the vampire. \u201cI can\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Cordelia.\u201d Angel stood up.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, Angel it works. I can ease your pain,\u201d she cried, getting off the bed. \u201cPlease, let me. You\u2019re in so much pain. I never knew\u2026. please,\u201d she pleaded, moving towards Angel. \u201cMy gift isn\u2019t evil, you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNO,\u201d Angel said sharply, stepping back from Cordelia\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n
Cordelia winced at his tone.<\/p>\n
Angel sighed. He didn\u2019t want to scare or hurt Cordelia, but he couldn\u2019t allow her to do what she wanted. And he knew that the power Cordelia had received wasn’t evil, it couldn\u2019t be, the power was comprised of all the gentleness and care of Cordelia\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Cordy, I don\u2019t think it’s evil, but you can\u2019t heal my soul\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I can,\u201d she argued.<\/p>\n
Angel took a deep unneeded breath. \u201cMaybe\u2026.yes,” he acknowledged. “But you won\u2019t. I won\u2019t subject you to my pain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel, it\u2019s only temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTemporary? Cordy, you have been unconscious and sleeping for the last twelve hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwelve hours?\u201d Cordelia had no idea that she had been out of it so long. No wonder she felt foggy and stiff, she hadn\u2019t had that much sleep in ages, definitely not since the dreams started.<\/p>\n
\u201cWow, I guess I needed the sleep, huh,\u201d she grimacing and shrugging her shoulders, the crick in her neck becoming more uncomfortable. \u201cBut, Angel, that has nothing to do with my new glowy gift,\u201d she tried to convince Angel.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Cordelia.\u201d He sighed. \u201cI won\u2019t stop you from using the power to heal those you see in your visions, if,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cIf we can be assured that it won\u2019t cause any irrevocable harm to you. Wesley and Gunn have already gone to the University to find out more information about the necklace. But until then you won\u2019t use the power and never will you use it on me.\u201d He said finally unequivocally.<\/p>\n
Cordelia sighed again grimacing as her muscles tightened and twinged. Angel wasn\u2019t going to back down, she knew it. \u201cWhen will they get back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSoon.\u201d Or at least he hoped so. They needed answers. \u201cCordy, come here,\u201d he motioned.<\/p>\n
Cordelia scrunched up her face in hesitation, but moved closer. Angel reached out and held on to her shoulders, turning her away from him. His fingers gently but firmly molded and pressed at Cordelia\u2019s shoulders. Cordelia leaned into Angel\u2019s touch.<\/p>\n
The tension and stiffness in her shoulders and upper back slowly melted. Cordelia closed her eyes as she began to loose herself in the sensations. Her eyes shot open as she realized it was Angel that was inciting the tingling and butterflies growing in her belly. In shock, she pulled away.<\/p>\n
Angel\u2019s hands remained extended as Cordelia jumped away from his touch. He suddenly felt a surprising sense of isolation and distress at her absence. The vampire stepped back and lowered his arms, trying to rid himself of the feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cUm, shower\u2026hot shower,\u201d Cordelia stuttered. \u201cA shower is what I need. Yep, loosen these stiff muscles, ease the tension, yep, shower\u2026but, no clean clothes,\u201d she narrowed her eyes at the vampire. \u201cAll my spare clothes somehow disappeared,\u201d Cordelia glared. Cordelia had stopped bringing clothes to change in after she had found out about Angel’s ‘gift’ of her clothes to Anne’s shelter.<\/p>\n
She had considered it a fitting punishment for him to have to drive her home each time she needed to change after a particularly messy ‘helpless’ mission. And over the last few months, she had ‘needed’ to change a lot.<\/p>\n
Angel winced at the overt rebuke at his supposed donation of Cordelia\u2019s clothes. \u201cCordy, I\u2019m sorry\u2026\u201d he started.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh,\u201d she huffed. She wasn\u2019t mad anymore about the clothes fiasco, but she couldn\u2019t stay in her old clothes. Anyway, after seeing her ‘one of kind’ designer shirt on the girl at the shelter, Cordelia decided that it was a good thing that there was only one of that particular shirt and that she no longer had it.<\/p>\n
The shirt really had looked great on the mannequin in the store, but on a ‘live’ person walking and talking, ewww. Maybe it was time to start bringing a spare set of clothes back to the hotel, Cordelia was pretty sure that Angel wouldn’t have the nerve to try something so stupid, not again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel, I have to go home and get more stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t. I told Wesley and Gunn to go by your apartment and have Dennis pack a bag for you. You can change in to these,\u201d he said going to his dresser, grabbing a t-shirt and sweats.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine, whatever,\u201d Cordelia said, yanking at the clothes. The tingling in her belly had been quickly replaced by exasperation. The vampire was just being way to bossy.<\/p>\n
Chapter Twelve<\/b><\/p>\n
Wesley and Gunn waited impatiently in the back of the auditorium for Dr. RedBear to finish his lecture.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, I wish that Indian doctor would hurry, I hate waiting,\u201d complained Gunn.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, Dr. Red Bear\u2019s lecture is quite interesting and he seems to be very knowledgeable,\u201d offered Wesley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he better be. We need some answers about that new nifty healing ability of Cordy\u2019s and quick. I don\u2019t know how long our girl will put up with Angel\u2019s dictator-like orders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley nodded in agreement. Cordelia had already been getting more and more frustrated over Angel leaving her out of the fighting part of the missions, if he continued to disallow her to use her new gift there would be hell to pay.<\/p>\n
And inevitability Cordelia\u2019s anger at Angel and his stubborn response would affect them all. Maybe, if Angel would just admit that he cared more for his seer than just as a friend, then maybe, just maybe Cordelia would be more forgiving towards Angel’s autocratic behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, I think the lecture is over,\u201d Wesley commented out loud as the Professor left the podium. Wesley and Gunn dodged the flow of students as they headed towards the stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Red Bear, please,\u201d called Wesley once they entered the hallway after the Professor. The man stopped and turned. Both Gunn and Wesley paused as the Professor faced them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d The dark tall man asked. The professor\u2019s light bronze colored skin, strong angular features and thick black hair tied in a long ponytail identified the man as undeniably Native American. Both Wesley and Gunn were tall men, but the Professor was taller with a broader muscular built and surprisingly the doctor wasn\u2019t much older than Gunn<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Red Bear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d the Professor repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, well, I am Wesley Wyndham- Price and this is Charles Gunn. If you have a moment, we have some questions regarding Shamanism and certain totems and talisman of Shamanism. The head of your department indicated that your were the leading expert in such matters at the University.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, that\u2019s gratifying,\u201d the handsome man looked at his watch. \u201cMy next lecture is not for another two hours, so I guess I have at least a moment.\u201d Dr. Red Bear smiled, showing an impressive set of white teeth.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy office is this way,\u201d he motioned for the two men to follow him.<\/p>\n
Chapter Thirteen<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cSo, what is it you want to know?\u201d Dr. Red Bear gathered the books and papers from the chairs in his small office and gestured for Wesley and Gunn to sit.<\/p>\n
\u201cUm, yes, well. I know that a Shaman is a mystical healer. But, my question is – to what extent do they have mystical healing capabilities- for example can they heal with a touch?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHeal with a touch,\u201d Dr. Red Bear studied the former watcher. \u201cDo I know you?\u201d the professor asked Wesley.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, you seem familiar.\u201d The doctor contemplated the lines of hardwood floors before he spoke again. \u201cThe Shamans have long been revered not only in Native American cultures, but others as well. Their unique abilities have enabled them to utilize their talents to help those that wish to believe – find inner peace, to find their own spiritually, their pathways through this world and to heal their illnesses. But, I’ve never heard of an actual Shaman having the ability to heal with a touch. That sounds like a myth or legend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, have you heard of such myth or legend?\u201d asked Wesley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you ask? Has some charlatan been claiming to have been endowed with such skill?\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley wavered a moment with the truth and decided against it. \u201cYes. Gunn and I are associates for a Private Investigator\u2019s firm- Angel Investigations,\u201d Wesley handed the doctor a card. \u201cWe have a young woman client, well actually the girl\u2019s very wealthy father, anyway the young woman has been approached by a self-proclaimed Shaman.<\/p>\n
He has offered her a necklace that he says will enable her to heal with a touch, he claims that she has the aptitude. The young girl, while being intelligent is susceptible to such talk. Her father was concerned as the old gentlemen has been asking for money, a very large amount, for the necklace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn leaned back in awe at the story Wesley was weaving.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s a fraud,\u201d stated Dr. Red Bear.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, obviously. But, she won\u2019t be convinced by her father\u2019s logic. So, he has retained our firm to compile evidence that the old man is a fraud. We had thought some information or assurance from a leading expert, as yourself would help convince her of the fraudulent nature of this man\u2019s claims. It seems that the necklace that he has presented is indeed comprised of certain stones and metals that have healing abilities attributed to them. The young girl knows this, so she believes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stones?\u201d the man asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurquoise and rose quartz,\u201d Wesley said after a moment of hesitation.<\/p>\n
Dr. Red Bear nodded. \u201cThose stones do have certain medicinal properties. And necklaces and bracelets are used to concentrate such properties for Shamans. But those stones have to be cleansed in individualistic spiritual ceremony. The beaded bracelets that you can buy at any store by the dozen, while very pretty are nothing more than costume jewelry for the swarms of buyers that are suckered in by the \u2018new age\u2019 trends. Just like your young client, I imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, most undoubtedly, but if you have possibly heard of or know of someone that has heard of a myth regarding \u2018healing with a touch\u2019 than maybe we could convince her that it\u2019s all just a legend with no meaning.\u201d Wesley said persistently.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019m sorry, I don\u2019t know of such myth. But, I can say that Shamans while having amazing gifts, do not possess such ability. That would be a miracle or magic. Sorry, I couldn\u2019t be more of an assistance.\u201d His tone suddenly ending the interview.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d Gunn asked once they were back in his truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Dr. Red Bear has been less than candid,\u201d commented Wesley. \u201cThe question is why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Gunn agreed resignedly. \u201cThe vamp isn\u2019t going to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I foresee a late night visitation, definitely threatening, possibly a violent one in the young doctor\u2019s immediate future,\u201d acknowledged Wesley.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Dr. Red Bear sat silent as the two men left the office. He remained still for several moments contemplating the wall. With sudden grace, he pulled open his lower desk drawer and pulled out a hidden file.<\/p>\n
He gazed in solemn reverence at the photograph of the turquoise and rose quartz necklace. He slowly pushed the photo aside and picked up a grainy surveillance picture of the interior of the Museum that once housed the Necklace.<\/p>\n
Dr. Red Bear studied the blurry frame and the tall, bespectacled man shown with in it. He glanced again at the business card that Wesley had given to him. He picked up the phone.<\/p>\n
Chapter Fourteen<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cI would\u2019ve come to you, father.\u201d Dr. RedBear motioned respectfully for the older Indian to sit.<\/p>\n
The Head Shaman from the Hopi tribe leaned heavily on his walking stick and shook his head. His body creaked as he slowly sat. \u201cYou indicated on the phone that the Necklace may still be here in LA, so I came.\u201d The vigor of his voice contrasted sharply with the fragility of his frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I\u2019m not sure of, but the man who came here today was the same man in the museum the night the Necklace was stolen.\u201d Dr. RedBear pushed the photograph of Wesley towards the older Indian. \u201cHe identified himself as a private investigator and asked about the necklace. He said that a fake Shaman was trying to sell it to his client.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA \u2018fake\u2019 Shaman. You don\u2019t believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that Wyndham- Price knows where the necklace is and what it can do. Whether there is a \u2018fake\u2019 shaman or client, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe white man can not know,\u201d the old shaman pushed aside Wesley\u2019s picture. \u201cThe Necklace\u2019s powers are only known to the descendants of the \u2018Wise One\u2019. Even our myths and legends are silent as to the \u2018Wise One\u2019 and his charm. How would he know, how would any other Shaman, fake or otherwise know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFather, a secret is not a secret when it is shared and experienced. The stories of the \u2018Wise One\u2019 and his necklace may not have been transcribed. But his powers were known- the stories of his miraculous healing of our people were passed down from parent to child for countless generations. The necklace has been lost from us for centuries, and while its absence may have dimmed the memories of those stories, the memories do exist.<\/p>\n
It was only a matter of time once the necklace was rediscovered that someone would remember the old tales that their father\u2019s fathers had passed down of the healing light and the necklace that housed it\u2019s power. I\u2019d just hoped that we would\u2019ve been able to retrieve the necklace before then. But that night in the museum,\u201d the younger Indian shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still don\u2019t understand all that happened. We didn\u2019t even have a chance to enter the museum.\u201d John and a few other trusted members of the tribe had been appointed to the honor and risk of breaking into the Museum to retrieve the necklace.<\/p>\n
\u201cSon, the power of the necklace can\u2019t fall into the wrong hands, it can\u2019t not be corrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you tell, was he,\u201d the ancient man motioned back at the photograph. \u201cWas he a disciple of,\u201d the old man paused, \u201cof Bathym?\u201d he asked choking on the name.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, but I would guess no,\u201d the young man shrugged. The bespectacled man just didn\u2019t have the sense of one of the demon\u2019s followers. And the man\u2019s presence in the museum hadn\u2019t seem concentrated on the Native American exhibit, but on other irrelevant areas of the museums. But John couldn\u2019t be sure.<\/p>\n
Bathym was an ancient powerful evil spirit with followers in both the human and demon dimension. It was possible that Wyndham-Price could be a follower but the Native Indian expert didn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n
But, whatever happened that night was not a typical museum robbery and Wyndham-Price had been a part of it. The necklace had disappeared again that confusing night and even more perplexing there was little to no press on the break in.<\/p>\n
Neither the museum nor the police ever acknowledged that the necklace or anything else had been stolen. It had taken a great deal of money passed to a greedy guard for John to get anyone to admit that the Necklace was missing and to get the surveillance photographs.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, you don\u2019t know,\u201d challenged his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d John admitted. His father was right to be suspicious, the happenings of that night could not be explained and those things that could not be readily explained had a tendency to be of the spiritual world. And the possibility that Bathym or his followers were responsible for the loss of the necklace was a danger that couldn\u2019t be ignored.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you must find out. Go to this address.\u201d The old man\u2019s wrinkled finger pointed to the Angel Investigation\u2019s card. \u201cYou must find out and you must find the necklace.\u201d The old shaman commanded. \u201cIf the white man is truly an innocent, but somehow has become involved with the necklace then there is a risk that he will come to the attention of Bathym and the necklace as well as he may be in jeopardy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn, the necklace belongs to us, to our tribe.\u201d The old man said, his voice trembling with passion. \u201cBathym\u2019s power continues to grow, his evil touches our people, it effects my dreams. I\u2019m a losing my clarity of vision; my spirit guides are weakening. We must have the necklace.\u201d<\/p>\n
John looked concernedly as his father. His father\u2019s once powerful physique had shriveled, becoming nothing more than wrinkled flesh hanging on a gaunt frame. The Shaman\u2019s mind and voice were the only thing of strength left in the old man.<\/p>\n
Ever since the elder Shaman had found out about the reappearance of the necklace, the older man had thought of nothing else. The excitement of being so close to returning the charm and using it to combat the evil of Bathym had occupied his father\u2019s every waking and dreaming hour.<\/p>\n
When the old Shaman had learned that the necklace had disappeared once again, he had forgone food for weeks at a time, subjecting his increasingly frail body to near starvation and large doses of peyote in attempt to reach the \u2018Wise One\u2019 in the spiritual plane.<\/p>\n
His failure to do so, the mental energy he expelled in trying to prevent Bathym from learning the knowledge of his dreams and the physical rigors to his old body as a result of those vision quests and taken a tremendous toll on the older man’s health.<\/p>\n
John was fearful that another failure to return the necklace to the Hopi tribe would result in the death of his father, and Bathym\u2019s final victory over his people. The young Indian knew that his father would willingly die for the Necklace, but if his father was to leave this plane, John wanted it to have meaning. John had to retrieve the Necklace both for the good of his tribe and for life of his father.<\/p>\n
For his father was the head Shaman of their tribe The Necklace had belonged to the Hopi\u2019s since the beginning of their history. The very first Shaman, known to his descendents as \u2018The Wise One\u2019 had created the piece of jewelry as a charm to repudiate the evil of Bathym.<\/p>\n
The demon was as old as time and was intimate with the Hopi\u2019s ways using their own knowledge and belief in the spirituality of herbs and precious stones against them to shroud their minds and souls in darkness. The necklace had been created with all the love and compassion the Wise One had felt for his people, he had effused each precocious metal and stone with his great mystical powers and healing gifts.<\/p>\n
With the necklace, the Wise One had been able to eradicate the evil that been inflicted on his people\u2019s souls and repair the damage that it had caused. Along with such power the Necklace also enabled the Wise One to cure the physical ailments of the tribe.<\/p>\n
But as with all great gifts, the necklace carried a heavy price. To enact the cures of his people the Wise One had to endure and experience all of their pain and the torment of the souls he healed. And while, the ancient Shaman\u2019s power was immense and his compassion seemingly endless, his body was not immune to the physical and emotional trauma he accepted willingly from and for his people.<\/p>\n
It was not long before the burden of the tribe\u2019s pains overcame the strength of his spirit.<\/p>\n
It was told, that the Hopi had again become afraid that Bathym\u2019s evil couldn\u2019t be forestalled without the Wise One\u2019s protection and gift. But when the ancient Shaman left the physical world, he passed his sacred duty along with the necklace to his son, the new Shaman of the tribe and Bathym was again prevented from regaining a permanent hold over the Hopi people.<\/p>\n
And the Wise One\u2019s son continued to use the necklace as his father had- to comfort and to protect his people. And when the strength and power left the Shaman\u2019s body, the necklace and it\u2019s purpose was passed on. The passage of the charm from Shaman to succeeding healer continued for generations, until one year the Necklace and its possessor mysteriously vanished.<\/p>\n
However, the Shaman had left a son and his line continued through the years. The subsequent Shamans had tried to locate the necklace by means of spiritual journeys through the dream plane, but each of their attempts had been blocked by the interference of the demon Bathym, whose strength had been growing stronger in the absence of the necklace and its power.<\/p>\n
John\u2019s father was a Shaman from that line and when the old Indian died, the title of head Shaman would fall to John. And as with every head Shaman from the time of the disappearance the old Indian\u2019s life\u2019s purpose was not only to maintain his people\u2019s spiritual and physical well being, but to find the necklace.<\/p>\n
Chapter Fifteen<\/b><\/p>\n
Angel met Gunn and Wesley has they entered the hotel. \u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing of substance.\u201d Wesley shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but the Indian Doc was hiding something,\u201d added Gunn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was hiding what?\u201d Cordelia came bounding down the stairs wearing Angel\u2019s T-shirt and sweats. \u201cHey, where are my clothes?\u201d She went up to Wesley and Gunn.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere,\u201d Wesley gestured to the bag beside him.<\/p>\n
She grabbed at the item, sitting down on the floor and opening the bag. Cordelia wasn\u2019t at all sure she trusted the men to have packed the right stuff. She rummaged through the neatly folded clothes and nodded in satisfaction. Dennis must have done the packing; everything she liked and needed was there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWesley?\u201d Angel urged Wesley to continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, well, I believe Gunn is correct, Dr. Red Bear did seem to be concealing something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRed Bear? Gees, more animals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia, the doctor is Native American, \u2018Red Bear\u2019 is his name,\u201d lectured Wesley. Cordelia sighed and rolled her eyes at Wesley\u2019s patronizing tone.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, what did the \u2018Native American Doctor\u2019 say?\u201d Cordelia emphasized, rolling her eyes again. Wesley was forever confusing her humor with ignorance.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly that there was no such healing ability in truth or legend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that is a lie, duh,\u201d she exclaimed pointing to the necklace around her neck.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, yes or he really doesn\u2019t know,\u201d Wesley said hesitantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t believe that,\u201d commented Angel.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Dr. Red Bear is an expert on Shamanism and the Native American culture. It seems incredulous that he wouldn\u2019t have at least heard of the necklace,\u201d indicated Wesley. \u201cHe knows something, I just don\u2019t what,\u201d admitted Wesley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019ll find out. I\u2019ll pay a visit to the doctor this evening,\u201d vowed Angel firmly. If the doctor had any information that could shed light on the necklace and it\u2019s connection to his seer, the vampire would discover it.<\/p>\n
He wouldn\u2019t allow Cordelia to use its power until he knew that it wasn\u2019t dangerous to her. And if that meant using some of his more persuasive traits to get the doctor to be more talkative than so be it.<\/p>\n
Wesley eyes met Gunn\u2019s. The young black man nodded at Wesley\u2019s silent \u2018I told you so\u2019.<\/p>\n
Cordelia glanced back and forth between the men, sensing their concern about the Necklace. \u201cAngel, I\u2019m sure that whatever the doctor is hiding is not bad stuff. I told you the Necklace is good, you know it,\u201d Cordelia said in frustration. Why won\u2019t Angel just accept it, she thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia,\u201d Angel sighed. He had hoped that Cordelia had understood and accepted why he wouldn\u2019t allow her to use the power.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, Angel, I do understand,\u201d she responded to his tone. \u201cI just think you are being overly paranoid and way too bossy, that\u2019s all,\u201d she griped. \u201cI\u2019m going to change,\u201d she shook her head and carried her suitcase up the stairs.<\/p>\n