Sorry it's been a while since I updated! I've been busy with school so I haven't had much time to write. If you guys find any inconsistencies in the story message me and I'll try to fix it as best I can. Enjoy reading and reviews are always helpful!

Chapter 10

"Eric," Nix paused at the top of the staircase and turned around to look down at him.

"What's wrong?" he immediately tensed at the gravity of her tone.

"…I don't have any shoes to wear." Eric smiled up at her and maneuvered around her to get the door open, noting the darkness of the house.

"I have shoes," and he urged Nix to keep going.

"No offence Eric, but your feet are kinda huge." She stuck up one of her feet and put it in his face so he could see them, "See? Tiny!" Eric pulled on one of her toes which earned him another kick in his chest and laughed.

"We'll make do. For now we must get going if what you say is true. I'm certain that Amelia's magic is strong enough to keep out those who would seek her for their own gains, but I'm not sure what will happen if they destroy the amulet." It hadn't even occurred to Nix that the amulet could be destroyed. With renewed determination Nix ordered Eric to grab her a pair of his shoes.

Eric handed Nix a pair of socks as well as his shoes and as she slipped them on Eric did the same. When they were both ready to go Eric held two pairs of car keys in his hand, showing them off. "Your car or mine?" as much as it pained her to do so, she thought of the idea of danger and how her car would most likely be cheaper to replace than one of Eric's so she reluctantly decided to take her car instead of his. Eric led her through a set of doors in the kitchen which led to his garage. Sitting in the garage was her beautiful car, sparkling clean and the spitting image of perfection, that is until she saw the driver's seat.

"I'm lucky to be alive," she said taking a large gulp of air. Eric nodded.

"Let's not dwell on that shall we? I'd like very much to forget about that incident." Nix nodded and added get car seats cleaned to her mental to-do list, right after save the world.

The car ride was uneventful and quiet, not uncomfortable, but quiet. Nix was tense and on edge while Eric was the epitome of relaxation with a capital 'R'. Driving up to her house one wouldn't think anything was wrong, but that same lethal air that surrounded Eric's neighborhood was now present in her own. The lights were off and the curtains were drawn, someone had been in her home. Nix didn't want to get caught unable to dodge anything because of Eric's shoes so she left them in the car and jogged to her front door. Eric was one quick step behind her as she unlocked her front door.

Peering in she could see that her living room was a complete mess. The couches were overturned and her TV had been ripped apart. She sucked in a breath as she took in the damage, nothing had been left untouched. Ignoring the mess all around her Nix ran to her bedroom and jumped on her bed.

"Eric, help me real quick," she looked up to the ceiling and Eric nodded. He didn't bother taking off his shoes, which was fine with Nix since her bed was covered with debris anyways. The bed sank with his weight as he picked up Nix by her waist and effortlessly held her higher up so she could reach the ceiling panels. She punched at the panel, pushing it up from its holdings, and once the panel was free she stuck her hand up and felt around for the item she was searching for.

"Got it," she grinned at him. The amulet was safe and sound, its hiding place never discovered. She slipped the chain over her neck and let herself slide down Eric's body, which earned her a taunting gaze in return. "Oh hush," she quieted him.

"I haven't said anything," he argued in his defense.

"You didn't speak but your eyes spoke volumes." Eric jumped off her bed and crossed his arms like a child.

"You started it," Nix couldn't help but stick her tongue out at him despite the disaster around her.

"Maybe so, but I never intended to let it go as far as it did, I was just trying to wake you up. Scouts honor," she crossed her heart and raised her right arm.

"Bullshit." Eric gave her a knowing grin and walked out of the room to inspect the rest of the house.

Now that she knew Amelia was housed within the amulet Nix felt safer with it around her neck. When the cold metal touched her skin she could feel a slight humming resonating from it. It wasn't annoying, it was comforting and it felt like she was being wrapped in a safety blanket. Patting the amulet Nix jumped off the bed and trailed behind Eric.

They searched her house head to toe and found no traces of Max or anything else for that matter. Kicking a piece of broken furniture out of her way Nix cursed when she stubbed her toe again. Then as if on cue she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Eric must have seen it too because in that same instant they were both leaping over obstacles and chasing after the moving shadow. As soon as they had caught up with the moving apparition down the hallway it vanished into thin air, leaving a dark residue on the floor. "As if I didn't have enough shit to clean up," Nix growled out. Eric bent down to inspect the dark substance.

"Nix, look." She huddled down next to Eric and looked down. The dark remnants began to separate; soon letters began to take formation. With fixed eyes they watched with eerie fascination as letters began to form words.

How about a bargain? The matter behaved almost like a Doodle Sketch in the way that when the words almost completely filled the small amount of dark space the words would be wiped away and a new sentence would form. A life for a life, the words were wiped away quickly, A life for an amulet. Nix looked to Eric but he kept his eyes glued to the magic sprawling beneath them. When it seemed as if the magic had ran its course a voice drifted through the air, carried by a wind that wasn't the result of natural causes.

"Come now darling, it isn't too hard," a man's voice loomed in the small hallway. Nix recoiled from her crouching position and sat back against the wall when the voice appeared as if the man was whispering right into her ear. "You will come find me. You will give me what I want." As if treading on broken glass Nix picked her next words carefully.

"What is it that you want exactly?" A deep booming laughter filled the house which sent chills down her spine. Soon the hairs on her arms rose as the magical substance on the ground began to swirl around her, oddly enough she felt as if she was being violated. Crushing her limbs to her side and closing her eyes Nix tried desperately to protect any part of her body that was exposed to the sudden chill in the air.

The laughter continued, it echoed throughout her mind and enveloped her body in a coat of ice. She felt as if the warmth was being dragged right out of her body and ice water was being poured through her veins. "YOU." The voice screamed in her ears, "WILL GIVE ME EVERYTHING." Tears began to form at the edges of her eyes, her throat tightened and she squeezed her head with her hands in an attempt to drown out the voice. She felt a wetness slide down her neck and slide over her collar bone, instinctively she slapped at it hard enough to cause her skin to burn with the impact of the hit. The pain sobered Nix somewhat enough for her to gain some backbone.

Nix spoke through ground teeth and her hands clenched into tight fists, "Answer. The. Question." Nix welcomed the silence but she needed answers. This malevolent force, whatever it was, wanted her amulet or her, or maybe both, she wasn't too sure. With more authority than before Nix demanded an answer. "Are you fucking deaf? We can't bargain very well if I have no fucking idea what you want or where you are." Still being met with nothing but silence Nix opened her eyes only to see Eric crouched in front of her looking at her with worry. Ignoring his silent look of question Nix frantically searched the hallway. Her search was only halted by the two very large and very sudden hands holding her head still. Meeting his eyes Nix gave him a stern look and drew her eyebrows together in frustration, "WHAT?" she growled.

"Who are you talking to?" Confusion soon replaced her frustration as worry drew her eyebrows up.

"What do you mean, 'who are you talking to', I'm talking to whatever that thing was that was talking to me!" Eric smoothed his hand over Nix's forehead and then pressed his own head to hers.

"No sign of a fever…" he murmured to himself.

'NO SIGN OF A FEVER?' She replayed the words over in her head a couple times and with renewed furry Nix's anger returned with a vengeance and hit its peak. Slapping away his hands from her face and pushing him backwards so that he landed straight on his ass Nix stood up and walked away. Pissed off and agitated Nix's bare feet hit the floor with loud thumps as she began searching all the rooms in the house for the malevolent being

"Why are you angry?" Eric was following behind her.

Nix didn't stop to look at Eric as she answered his question with another question of her own. "Did you miss that whole exchange just now?" She looked over her shoulder briefly but turned away before Eric could respond to her question.

"I saw you fall against the wall, crawl into the fetal position and hit yourself before you started screaming at the air." Nix stayed silent as she took in Eric's explanation for the ordeal, damn, he was really good at making Nix seem psychotic. "My guess is that I'm missing something," Eric said cautiously.

"Ding Ding Ding! Winner-winner chicken dinner!" Still checking the house she held up her hand and rang an imaginary bell. Eric's hands stopped on Nix's shoulders, immediately she was pulled backwards into his body and he held her there, looking down at her expectantly.

"Well, what did I miss?"

"Oh nothing much, I was just talking to a voice that sounded like a mixture of the voices of Chucky and Darth Vader," the description sounded comical however it was anything but. "Then a bunch of crazy magic shit happened, don't ask I don't know how to explain it well enough," Nix tried to move forward and continue her inspection but she was rooted in place, she contemplated stepping on Eric's toes but being in his arms felt way too good to give up.

"What did this 'Chucky/Darth Vader' voice say to you?"

Furrowing her eyebrows together Nix tried to remember, "Something like 'come now darling' and then 'give me what I want' yadda-yadda. Ass hole made a ton of demands but didn't give me shit for details."

"It called you darling?" she couldn't help but feel a little pleased that Eric had seemed more concerned with the word darling than anything else.

"Yeah it called me darling. The creepy thing is…I think it licked me…" Nix tilted her head backwards to stare up at Eric. The first emotion she saw make its way across his face was rage and then utter calmness. 'The calm before the storm' the word seemed to fit his eerie calmness quite well.

"Anything else?" Eric asked with much too happy grin.

"Nope that's pretty much it. Did I mention the thing sucks at giving details?"

"Yes, I think you did."

"Good. Because it sucked at giving me details," Nix patted Eric's hand and he immediately loosened his hold on her. "I've gotta find Max and I have absolutely nothing to run on." Nix ran her fingers through her hair and re-secured her pony tail. She began flipping over chairs and tables, searching every nook and cranny for clues to Max's whereabouts. She had worked up a sweat by the time Eric spoke again.

"You must care for your partner a great deal," one of Eric's eyebrows shot up as he watched her flip through papers that had been tossed on the floors.

"I do, Max is a great guy. He's got a good work ethic, anything I could ever ask for in a partner." Nix smiled. "And he has a wife who's worried sick waiting for him to call." She chewed her lip, "I can only imagine the pain she's going through right now, and since Max is my employee it's my job to make sure I get him back home safe and sound."

"You're a good boss," Eric said. Then he crouched next to Nix, "What are we searching for?"

Smiling Nix pointed around the room, "Anything that looks out of place. If it stands out it probably isn't mine. If you're unsure of something bring it back to me and I'll take a look-see." After fumbling through papers for thirty minutes and feeling more clueless than ever Nix opted to search her yard for hints to Max's whereabouts.

Once outside Nix took a deep breath, inhaling the deep and earthy scent of a chilled night mingled with the effects of magic. She tried to pick out strands of scents, just like she'd done when she was navigating through Eric's home, only this time there were a lot more smells to sift through. She sniffed for a couple of minutes, trying to pin point Max's scent but found nothing at all. Nix walked the perimeter of the house and even jogged down the block trying to pick out smells and still nothing. Feeling dejected Nix walked back inside and slipped off her filthy socks.

"Hey Nix," Eric held up a couple fingers and called her over. Eric held up a Christmas card she'd received from Max and Melissa. The cover was painted white with the simple drawing of a Christmas tree in the center. 'Christmas '01' Nix recalled that it wasn't a very pleasant Christmas; she had spent the week with her parents. It was the first time she'd seen them in years and it was also the last time she'd seen them. Harsh words were traded over dinner and in the end Nix was the one who walked away, like always.

"What's up with the card?" she asked, sealing away the dark thoughts of her parents.

"Did you write this?" Eric held the card up to her.

Nix quickly scanned the card, reading over the "Wishing you a happy holiday" greeting. Just a bit below where Max and Melissa had signed their signatures was a messy sprawling of words. 'The maiden starves for knowledge but she shall never know it. Embrace the dream for it will unshackle and release the mind. ~ The huntsman waits for the awakening.' She ran the sentences over and over again in her head trying to make sense of them.

"Do they make sense to you?"

Nix shook her head, "No, but that definitely wasn't on the card before and that most certainly isn't my handwriting." She flipped the card over, checking the front and back for any hidden clues. "But, I think it's safe to assume that the so called 'maiden' is supposed to be me," she shrugged. "Empty words," she sighed, "probably nothing to be worried about. Keep looking."

Eric wasn't as convinced. No, there had to be a deeper meaning. "This thing has a perverted interest in you Nix," he cautioned, "You can't just ignore something like this, even if it makes no sense."

"Look," Nix said exasperated, "all I know is that it wants my amulet and it wants me. I don't know why but it does. But I can't really worry about things like that when my friend is missing."

"Nix, I don't think your associate was ever here." Eric spread his arm to encompass the entirety of the house, "If he had been here we would have picked something up already. All we've found is this message on that card. There's a reason why it sent you here tonight Nix and from the signs it has no intentions of giving up your partner so easily. It's taunting you right now, poking at you to find your weaknesses."

Her bottom lip trembled, it was a suspicion she'd had all night but she'd been stubborn and refused to believe it until now. She wouldn't find Max tonight, she didn't know if she'd ever find Max, and that fear ate at her. "What do I do Eric?" Nix asked in a hopeless whisper.