Warning: gory!

R&R


Chapter 3: Vice hidden by Virtue

Blood was dripping.

The eerie sounds of the ripples created by the accumulating drops echoed throughout the cave.

That wasn't the worst part.

The truly overpowering thing was the smell. Or the stench, in this case.

There was something different about human blood, it's metallic scent was almost rusty.

Worst of all, it was overwhelming. It clung to everything and everywhere.

No place was safe.

Rachel had been wandering about for what had seemed an endless amount of time. She was sure that if it hadn't been a dream, she would have fainted.

The stark landscape suited perfectly the reek that pervaded the air.

The ground was dark and rocky, while the sky was tinged by red. Puddles of blood had quickly been formed by the constantly falling blood, and now covered most of the earth.

Rachel stopped short once her bare foot landed in one of them. She wrinkled her nose in disgust before retracting her foot. She hadn't noticed that her hair was now soaked by the blood, as where her clothes.

It was a weird apocalyptic dream.

Raining blood, really?

Rachel gave up her futile wandering, and sat on a slightly wet patch of ground.

Voices far ahead, or maybe down below, vibrated through the scenery.

"Those poisonous witches!" A shrill voice hissed. It might have belonged to an elderly woman, or so Rachel had thought, before mid speech it morphed into an obviously male voice. "Those witches!"

"Ira! Do behave." Chided in a second voice, that like it's companion had been said by both male and female voices. "You lose you temper, oh so quickly!"

"Using our creatures as they see fit. Calling us to their every whim!"

A third voice joined in, it's gender just as ambiguous as the other two. "They think they own us! They make deals with mortals on our behalf! They use cards to predict our next moves...When will it end? When are things going to go back as they used to…"

"We made them. We can destroy them!"

Their gawks combined together creating a cacophony of hysterical laughter.

"We'll make sure they won't survive. No more witches shall be born."

"We'll have to pay the price. A life for a life."

Their voices grew louder, as if they were approaching her. Rachel however couldn't see any figure, for miles and miles.

Their unison chant rang through the bloody land:

"A proud look,

A lying tongue,

Hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises wicked plots ,

Feet that are swift to run into mischief,

A deceitful witness that uttereth lies,

Him that soweth discord among brethren."

They had been close then, so close that she should have been able to see them. Alarmed she scrambled to her feet, running in the opposite direction.

After a few minutes she realized that their chant sounded closer than ever, no matter the direction taken, they were inching closer.

They repeated the chant, over and over. Again and again.

Until one screeched. It's agony palpable through the air.

"They are fighting back! They have taken one of us!"

"One, a dark witch. She has taken us! Us is gone!"

The screams that followed made her body recoil in pain. It felt as she'd been teared apart, limb by limb. A slow and relentless agonizing sensation.

"Us, we will be reunited once more!"

They should have been upon her then, for how close their shrills were.

The blood was pouring down from above, drowning her attempts to get rise from the ground.

A woman's plea reached her, crystal clear against the madness of sounds that had been suppressing her.

"Vice is my desire,

daughter of blood and fire,

sinful from birth,

vice is her desire,

mortal flesh and bones,

undying chore,

for she will yield their powers,

yet be mine for every desire."


Rachel hadn't slept much after her early encounter with Quinn. She tried, unsuccessfully. She must have had another weird dream, but thankfully she didn't remember any details regarding it. She had enough weird thoughts without adding odd nightmares.

She'd quietly dressed and walked downstairs, a faint and inviting smell of coffee was coming from the kitchen, and she wasn't surprised to see Emma, humming a cheerful tune under her breath.

"Morning,"Rachel hesitated to say, unsure wherever she could call her by her first name.

Emma swirled around bearing a bring and warm smile. "Good morning Rachel. Did you sleep okay?"

Ah-ah. You don't really want to know the details. "Not bad. I still have to get used to...all of this."

"I hope Santana didn't wake you. She can be a bit brusque at times."

Brusque? A bitch maybe. "No problem whatsoever," Rachel assured her.

"Coffee? We have a long day ahead, you and I, so you better get some fuel in that body of yours!"


Emma hadn't been lying. As soon as Rachel had finished her muesli, they got to work. Or study in this case. Rachel followed her to a study situated at the second floor.

The basics were:

The first witches, the one who now were referred to as the roamers, were daughters of a mortal and a demon, yes, a demon, and their daughters would also be witches.

A witch could do various things. All witches were able to cast various spells, however only some were powerful enough to do magic without being restricted by a chant. Most witches of the past used to pose as fortune tellers, our sell spells to the mundanes. Nowadays, they mostly slayed demons. They slay demons.

There were books upon books on the history on the history of witches, that apparently Rachel had to read. She actually liked studying, so no harm could come from it.

"So," Rachel drawled out. "We are partly related to demons?"

"We aren't demons." Emma reassured her, sensing her discomfort. "Now, we may have in the past made deals with them, but it isn't something we are proud of."

"How...did I kill Tom? I've never learnt any spell whatsoever!"

"I think you are a powerful witch Rachel." Emma remarked, appearing pensive. "Very powerful. Untrained, you could be dangerous. But with the right training, you could change things."


Rachel spent the rest of the day alone in the study. Reading and analyzing the books Emma had given her.

No time like the present! She'd reasoned.

A few hours later a knock disrupted her. "Tea?"

It was Marley, the tall and skinny girl who'd been just as friendly as the other girls the day before.

Her tentative smile made her pause from her furious annotating. "Oh, thank you."

Marley left her cup on her desk before retracing her steps.

Witch or not, Rachel was as socially awkward as ever.

Emma called her for dinner and Rachel reluctantly joined them.

"Busy day studying?" Brittany asked with a contagiously honest grin.

"I have a lot of catching up to do."

Santana -who sat next to her- snorted. "No meat?"

Emma stilled. "Santana," It sounded as a warning.

"What? I'm just asking. God."

Quinn left the table as soon as she'd finished, ignoring everyone completely.

Emma insisted that Rachel should continue her studies the following day, and Rachel reluctantly agreed.

She didn't fall asleep and once again had to leave the comfort of her mattress. The kitchen -to her relief- was empty, and Rachel foolishly thought she could return to her futile attempts to sleep.

Whispers coming from a closed door made her stop. She knew she should have kept going, but curiosity got the best of her. She neared the door, which was on the same corridor as her room.

"I don't trust her."

"Neither do I."

"Do you think she's seen the internet?"

"We are not discussing that Brittany."

"I was just curious…"

"Girls, let's focus." That was undoubtedly Quinn's voice.

"Right boss."

"Let's keep an eye on her. That is all."

"Emma won't like it."

"But,"Quinn interrupted, "Sue approves. It's harmless, no one gets hurt."

"Rachel might."

"You don't even know her Britt!"

Rachel stumbled away from the door. Nauseated she ran to her bedroom, covering under her blankets.

"They hate you because you are amazing Rachel." Leroy had said. "You have the voice of an angel."

"Full of life!" Quipped in Hiram.

"They are just jealous." Rachel murmured to herself. "Because you are powerful and dangerous."

She repeated it again and again. Until it had become a sort of lullaby.

In her last wakeful moments she heard them again. Those unnatural voices.

"A proud look,

A lying tongue,

Hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises wicked plots ,

Feet that are swift to run into mischief,

A deceitful witness that uttereth lies,

Him that soweth discord among brethren."


Quinn didn't feel bad about it. Not that she ever felt guilty about the things she did.

Sue had been right. Rachel was not to be trusted.

And Quinn wouldn't let her hurt her family.


Thoughts?Comments?