NOTE: This chapter is rated FR15

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A week later they were all still in Cascade – though everyone who was not Jim and Blair had moved to a bed and breakfast a few blocks away from the pair’s loft.

They were sharing rooms, boys with boys and girls with girls. It wasn’t an unusual setup with two queen beds per room but Xander kept waking up with John spooned against his back. It had surprised him at first but now he took it in stride. John, however, was not and Xander could tell the man’s loss of control was eating at him. Xander had them getting together with Blair and Jim as often as they could to try to circumvent the meltdown that he could tell was coming.

Finding the time, however, had been easier said than done. Giles and Willow had flown into town on Saturday with a General Landry and a few other guys arriving only an hour later. Then the meetings had started.

Xander wasn’t sure what they were talking about, although he could hazard a guess. He tried to talk to Willow and Dawn, who were in the meetings, but they’d been busy and he really hadn’t tried too hard.

For the most part he and John hung out in their room, watching TV and talking about nothing. John still got tired easily and when he was tired he lost control of his senses.

Finally Friday rolled around again and there was a knock at the door. John jerked awake from his snooze on the couch, eyes dazed and drool on his cheek.

“Go back to sleep John, it’s probably nothing,” Xander murmured as he went for the door.

The other man nodded but sat up anyway, rubbing his hands over his face.

Opening the door Xander found Giles and another man in jeans and a plaid button up.

“Hello Xander,” Giles said, his smile only accenting the tired lines around his eyes. “This is General Landry, we’d like to speak with you and Lieutenant Colonel Shepard.”

Xander nodded and steeped back from the door, allowing the men to enter if they could.

Landry looked slightly insulted when Giles motioned him inside but it wasn’t until the door closed that the British Watcher explained. “Do not take offense General; there are several malicious entities that require a verbal invitation to enter a residence. While this is a hotel and the invitation would not be needed here for Vampires, it would still be needed for certain other spirits and imps. Xander is merely demonstrating a rather hard learned lesson in home defense.”

Xander grinned at the long winded explanation and headed back to the couch. John had started to doze sitting up but blinked rapidly when the other man sat next to him. Giles and the general took the two wingback chairs across from the couch. John started to stand, probably to salute, Xander thought, but the Scoobie pulled him back down by a belt loop on his pants.

“Civilian clothes, soldier-boy, no saluting.” Xander scolded. John frowned but Giles started talking.

“After speaking extensively with Blair Sandburg and Jim Ellison, I had the Devonshire coven do some research. They in turn spoke with several of their contacts, mostly isolated Shamans living in Africa,” Xander shuddered, “and South America. We have confirmed that Sentinels are a very real phenomenon and while their numbers are not large, reports of them start before the human written word and continue with no long gaps of time up until Mister Sandburg’s thesis.”

“But Blair found only a handful of references,” John said.

“I’m betting he wouldn’t have had access to these,” Xander replied.

“Indeed,” Giles agreed. “Most of the written accounts were in demonic works. I believe Mister Sandburg may have actually found every reference to Sentinels in a human work there is. Sentinels, it seems, were a later creation made by altering the ritual used to create the first Slayer.”

Xander dragged a hand down his face while John just looked lost.

“I assume Xander has told you what a Slayer is Colonel Sheppard?”

“I caught the essentials.”

“Well then, as you know, the first Slayer was created when three tribal shamen pooled their powers and blended a pure demonic spirit with the flesh and spirit of a human girl. Now, at that point in history time itself was rather unstable so we’re not sure how many years later it was that a group of South American shamen, most likely precursors to the Aztecs and the Inca, developed a variation on the spell.”

“The biggest difference we can discern between the two rituals is that the African shamen used a pure demon – a disembodied essence, if you will, where the South American shamans used a demon that had already blended with an animal – a Primal as they’re known.”

Xander flinched, “Awesome. If you get a taste for people tartar you just me know, okay?”

John just blinked.

“Xander,” Giles scolded, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

The one-eyed man threw his hands up in surrender, “Sorry, sorry.”

“Now, the South American shamen wanted to be able to control their creation and so they built it into the spell that the Sentinel would require a bond with a shaman to balance their powers, otherwise they would go insane and either die or be killed by the other villagers.”

“The ritual apparently became quite popular and creating a Sentinel became a testament to a Shaman’s abilities. Many different Primal spirits were used and I believe a Sentinel’s spirit animal is a reflection of the Primal used. Jim’s is a Panther. Have you had any visions Colonel Sheppard? Glimpsed anything from the corner of your eye?”

John had an expression like he’d eaten something rotten but he merely gave a negative head shake.

“Well,” Giles continued, “eventually the practice of creating Sentinels died out and the spell was lost. The Sentinels that remain are their descendants.”

“That’s a heck of a lot more than we knew last week G-man.”

“Yes, well, that is unfortunately the extent of our information

“The fact of the matter boys,” General Landry interrupted, “is that Atlantis needs her Commander back and from what I understand, that means Xander has to come along as well. Now, Mister Giles here has given his consent to you joining the SGC as a civilian consultant, provided you agree.”

Xander looked to Giles and raised an eyebrow.

Giles cleared his throat, “If you decide you are interested in continuing on as John’s Guide, we’ve arranged a cover story for you. Blair, Willow and several of the Devonshire Coven members have independently confirmed your Shamanic powers and –“

Xander laughed… it was dry and mean sounding… reminiscent of a hyena. “What power Giles? Surely attracting every demon within a twenty mile radius doesn’t count as a ‘power’.”

The Watcher frowned, as did the two military men. “Xander, you more than anyone understand the influence emitted by a Hellmouth and the one at Sunnydale was one of the most powerful in history. When you combine that with the enchantments cast by former Mayor Wilkins, well it’s surprising any of us know our elbows from our arses really.” Giles started polishing his glasses. “We believe that the miasma of power, if you will, of the Hellmouth suppressed the conscious manifestation of you powers and funneled them into unconscious manifestations. I’m sure the Wilkins had a hand in that, he did hate competition.”

“Uh-huh.” Xander wasn’t convinced.

Giles put his glasses back on and looked intensely uncomfortable, “I know your home life in Sunnydale left much to be desired…”

Xander flushed but he nodded.

“I believe your powers unconsciously began drawing the Hellmouth’s demon population to you as a way of gaining the attention you needed as a child.”

“Ah,” Xander crossed his arms, “so unconsciously I’m a masochist with suicidal tendencies.”

“Xander, your levity in this case is unwarranted.”

“Sorry if I’m having a problem with this Watcher-man. I was getting kinda used to being pushed to the sidelines ‘cause I was normal guy and now I’m being shoved to the front line now that I’m not so normal… bad enough having the hyena stomping around in my head again.”

Giles stiffened, “Xander-“

“And what’s with that anyway? Ignoring the fact that you said she was gone, if Sentinels are just guys with Primals stuck in ‘em, how come I’m not a Sentinel, huh?”

Giles blinked and actually had to think for a few minutes before he answered, “I would hazard to guess that you can’t be a Sentinel because you are already a shaman, there are no accounts of someone being both. In African societies a shaman will call upon a Primal for a short period of time to gain guidance and then the spirit is released. A shaman cannot be permanently possessed, their soul would either eject the invading spirit or the shaman would die.”

“So all the powers of a Sentinel but its only temporary,” John said.

“Precisely,” Giles agreed.

“But mine isn’t temporary? And what about my pack’s possession? You said then that if the spirits weren’t put back in the hyenas then we’d be taken over completely; we’d become hyena’s in human form.”

“And you would have, or rather they would have. Remember, the spell was cast by a shaman for a shaman. If a shaman truly cannot be taken over by an invading spirit then there would be no safeguards against that happening in the spell. The other children would have become permanently possessed – where you would not. Your shamanic blood would explain why you seemed more in control than the others.”

“Control! I nearly raped Buffy!”

The two soldiers looked shocked.

“And by confronting a superior opponent, one you knew would not kill or seriously hurt you, you evaded a situation where you would either have to do something extremely questionable, eating the principal, or go against your pack who had superior numbers on their side. You may not have been in complete control, but you were able to influence a very power demonic entity with no training. If the hyena had been fully in control there would have been a bloodbath like we’ve never seen before,” Giles proclaimed.

The hyena was wholeheartedly agreeing somewhere in his head.

“So I’m a shaman?”

Giles nodded and the hyena laughed.

“And I’ve got magical, mystical powers?”

“Nothing as… showy as Willow’s spells I’d say, but yes, you’ll be able to do a fair share of spell working as well as having several other talents that are specific to the shaman’s bloodlines.”

“Oh.” Xander dropped his face in his hands.

“Xander,” Giles chastised, “I really don’t see why you are having such a hard time with this. There was a time, not long ago, I remember you wanting such a gift.”

“That was before.”

“Before what?”

Xander jumped to his feet and went to the large bay window, blankly staring out over the city, “That was before my eye, before Jesse and Buffy and Tara and Anya and Cordy and Spike. Before Africa and a dozen mini slayers who names I can’t remember but I can see their dead faces every time I close my eye. Before the bus load of dead refugees and an entire village of people massacred in under an hour. Before lots of things.”

“Xander…” Giles was pale, eyes wide and mouth gaping.

The brunette noticed that John and the General looked a bit wide eyed as well.

“I need some air,” he said and stalked from the room.