Title: The Banshee's Wail 5/? Author: Skye Disclaimer: Not my show, nor characters except Nia. And the basic info on banshees I got from a book my cuz gave me for my b-day "The Irish: A Tribute to the Emerald Isle" It's pretty cool :) Rating: Uh, PG I guess Summary: A not so human woman comes to LA, demanding help from Angel Investigations Feedback: Please? You have no idea how much it means to me Distribution: To everyone I've already give permission to, here's the next part (and if you're missing any of the parts in between, just drop me a line and I'll send it to ya) And to anyone else: sure, just lemme know where it's going. Dedication: To all those wonderful people who gave me such great feedback. ~Skye My apologizes for any cliffhangers I might have/still do leave you with, it's a really bad habit :) * * * The Banshee's Wail 5/? Wesley watched Cordelia walk away, fighting the urge to follow her. As much as he wanted to make sure she was all right, he would much rather set this…person straight. He turned to Nia, an uncommon fire in his eyes. "It's not in my normal behaviour to strike a woman, but in your case I'm willing to make an exception." She looked at him, her face expressionless. "Don't make me laugh. I could crush you in a second if I wanted to." "We'll just see about that won't we?" Wesley began to roll up his sleeves, but Angel placed a hand gently on his arm, stopping him. "No." The vampire said quietly. "What? But Angel, she…" "I said no Wesley. Go downstairs and look after Cordelia. See if she needs anything. I'll take care of our…guest." His voice was even, leaving no room for defiance. Wesley reluctantly headed for the elevator, but he turned at the last moment and left Nia with a cold stare, then was gone. The room was quiet. Angel was staring at Nia with a look that would have made anyone else tremble in their shoes, but she simply returned the gaze, steadfast. "You storm into my office, practically enlist me on some secret mission, and insult my friends." He said slowly. "Nice summary." She replied. "So why haven't I thrown you out yet?" "For the same reason you didn't when he first came to you." "And that would be?" Angel did not need to ask who 'he' was. "You said it yourself, I come bearing a mission." Nia moved to sit on the couch, Angel followed her with his eyes. The sincerity in her voice allowed him to put aside his anger at her earlier words to Cordelia…for the moment. "One that concerns an old friend of mine I assume?" Nia gazed at him in wonder. "Has it really been that long?" "What do you mean?" "What's it been? Almost a year now?" "I don't know what you're talking about." Angel stammered a little. Nia made a bit of a chuckling noise. "Don't you? How long has it been since you've spoken his name? Hell, since you've even thought of him? Or did Doyle's memory turn to dust along with his body that day?" The odd thing was there was no malice in her voice anymore, just sadness. Angel regarded her carefully, but avoided her question. "About this mission of yours?" Nia sighed quietly, realizing that she wasn't going to get an answer out of him right now. She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees and her hands clutched together. "Well in case you didn't figure it out, I'm one of the Bean-Sidhe, and have been for millenia." "You keep in shape." Angel said wryly. "You haven't been to the homeland for centuries right?" "It's been a few years." He admitted. "But you do recall the legend of my kind don't you? Our purpose in this world?" "It's a little foggy, but I think I remember the gist of it. There is a Banshee assigned to each of the families in Ireland, who watch over their charges." Angel related, trying to recollect as much of the legends he had been told as a child so long ago. Nia shook her head in mock disgust. "Geez, didn't you mortals learn anything right?" "That was a long time ago." Angel said defensively. "Must have been, if that's all you know." She blew out a quiet breath and placed a finger onto her temple. "Are your friends going to come out of the shadows any time soon? Because I really don't appreciate the whole being spied on thing. And I'm not much for repetitive storytelling." Angel looked at her in surprise. He had felt both Cordelia and Wesley's presence a few moments ago, but had remained silent about it, thinking that letting them hear would not cause any harm. It had not occurred to him that Nia would also be able to tell that his friends were there. "Come out you guys." He called and watched as Cordelia entered the main office, head held high, Wesley followed close behind. They both gave Nia a glare before settling themselves as far away from her as possible. "Who'd have thought demonic chick would have radar." Cordelia muttered. Nia sneered in response. Wesley looked like he wanted to add something, but clamped up quickly when Angel threw him a sidelong look. "You were saying?" Angel said, hoping to get things rolling quickly. "The Bean-sidhe. The banshees. The fairy women. We roamed the countryside of Eire long before it bore its name, and will continue to do so until this earth ceases to exist. We attach ourselves to only the finest families in Ireland, those with the most ancient Celtic lineage. We have numerous abilities, but the most profound and the most important is that we are able to warn those in our care of their impending doom." "You mean, you can predict someone's death?" Wesley asked, amazed. Nia turned to him, and smiled a little. "Something like that. We cannot prevent it, but we can warn them that their time is coming. Then when the deed is done, when our charge has taken his last breath, we wail. Loud and strong so that all in Ireland may know of our despair. That one of our children, in a sense, has been taken from us, and we share the misery of his family and friends." She stopped to look at Cordelia and Angel. "Well, most of his friends." She whispered under her breath. Cordelia, pursed her lips in thought. "I still don't get how this has anything to do with us." Nia sighed. "As a banshee, I am bound to one family, and one alone. Do you still not know what family that is?" There was almost a desperate tone in her voice. Cordelia and Wesley looked at each other questioningly. Wesley shrugged in defeat and started to answer "I'm afraid…" "Doyle."