The Door in the Hedge
by Lynn K. Hollander
Chapter 3 - A Seven League Radius (Go to Chapter 4)
"There's this boy in the office," Cordelia said.
"So, deal with him," Angel said.
"I can't," she said. "I look at him, he looks at me and the next thing I know, it's fifteen minutes later, and I haven't even asked him his name yet."
"What does he want?"
"I don't know."
"What did he say?"
"'Hello.'"
"And?"
"That's it," Cordelia said.
Wesley came downstairs. "There's this girl in the office," he started.
"Girl?" Cordelia said. "And you left him with her?" She hurried up the stairs and into the office. Angel and Wesley followed.
There were two people in the office. Cordelia rushed in and came to a halt in front of what appeared to Angel to be an average boy, not particularly handsome, not ugly. He looked over at Angel, who revised his estimate of "boy" to "man."
The man had longish blond hair, framing a narrow face. His eyes were blue. He wore navy leather pants and a matching leather jacket over a blue knit shirt with a winged dragon embroidered in navy on the breast.
Wesley was smiling foolishly at the other person. Angel glanced around and stiffened. For a moment, he thought it was Buffy. An idealized Buffy, more sensual, voluptuous, and blonder than he had ever seen her.
"Knock it off," he snarled. "You, too," he snapped at the man.
"We need your help," the woman said, coming to stand just a little too close to him.
"I said, stop it," Angel said. "Stop it now, or get out."
"Surely, Angel, if she needs our help," Wesley began.
"Out."
"Oh, all right," the woman said, taking a step back, shifting to a taller and more slender body, but keeping the blonde hair. Her eyes became blue, and her face elongated slightly. The clothes she wore were identical to the boy's.
Wesley glanced around, as if he were looking for someone. Cordelia took a breath and sat down behind her desk.
"We do need your help," the man said. "And sometimes it helps if we fix your attention on us."
"Helps you, maybe," Angel said.
"Of course."
"Who else?" the woman asked.
"We mostly help humans, and you're not human."
"Of course not," the man said. "We're not demons, either. Demons being malefic, possessed of great powers and life span, and have the ability to change their shapes at will."
"We're not malefic," the woman said.
"Well, we don't think we are," the man said. "And we don't really change our shape."
"You have a point?" Angel asked.
"But this concerns you, too," the woman said.
"What does?" he asked. "And perhaps we should start with your names."
"Here, we're the Greens. I'm Ivo Green and this is my sister, Filis Green. We're not from around here, and our family sent us to look into things."
"Your sister. Good," Cordelia said softly.
Angel glanced at her. With Cordelia, he always wondered. "What things?"
"We understand you know about a portal called a Hellmouth?"
"I've seen it. We've all seen it."
"There are other portals, giving access to different worlds or planes."
"So some say."
"Usually, it's hard to get humans to shut up. It's hard to get you to talk."
"I'm not human."
"Ah," the woman said.
They hadn't known that until just now, Angel realized.
"We're young," Ivo said, apparently answering Angel's thoughts. "And it's our first time away from home."
"Oh, you must let me show you around," Cordelia said.
Angel looked at her, then back to Ivo, who shrugged.
"It'll wear off."
"It better. What about Hellmouths?"
"Portals, actually, or world gates. They can be opened and shut by the acts of humans or demons. We also create and use portals. We try to keep ours away from yours or theirs. The only one of ours in Los Angeles is up on the mountain with the planetarium. A new bunch of demons is planning to open a direct gate to their
home world right there. Another gate, so close to ours, will really strain the fabric of reality."
"It's Los Angeles," Angel said. "Who'll notice?"
"Well, when the mountain and everything around it for seven leagues disappears, whoever's left will have a hard time not noticing."
"What's a league?" Cordelia asked.
"About three miles," Wesley said.
"OK," Angel said. "That does concern me. What do you want me to do about it?"
"And how do you know of this?" Wesley asked. "If this is your first time away from home?"
"We have seers," Ivo said. "Losing this gate will seriously inconvenience us. We do not deal well with inconvenience."
"Or any form of disappointment," Filis said.
"Grow up," Angel said. "What do you want me to do?"
"We know where, and in a general way, who. We need to know exactly who and when. Once we know those data, we can use our gate to bring in some mages, who can deal with the demons."
"Why not just bring them here now, and wait for the demons?"
"They get bored easily," Ivo said.
"They wander off, " Filis said. "Shack up with mortals, start stealing from the Huntington Library or the Metropolitan Museum, become dolphins or rock stars, or something."
"I'm surprised you keep a portal open at all," Wesley said.
"Well, this place is always interesting," Ivo said.
"It is that," Wesley said.
"If your enemies are demons, what are you? Besides not human?" Angel asked.
The two Greens exchanged a glance. "Does that matter? We will swear any oath you want that we mean no harm to you or any human."
"In any case, the demons are also your enemies," Filis said.
"And a circle twenty-one miles in radius contains nearly 1400 square miles," Wesley said.
"If I don't know what you are, how can I know what oaths you might consider valid?" Angel pointed out. "But it seems I should help you. Don't bother Cordelia or Wesley again, though, or you're on your own; understand?"
"They would enjoy it," Filis said, glowing just a little. "So would you."
"No."
"Your loss."
"Cordelia, start an account for them. Wesley, what do we know about portals-- when is the best time to open one or anything like that. Ivo, tell me more about which demons are opening the new gate and anything else you know. Filis, give Cordelia a retainer."
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