Disclaimer: KH owns most of the characters and the Hollows. I just want to let you know how I would like the story to end.
Notes: I'm setting this after WWBC. I will add some characters of my own. This is still far from ending (You know, I just noticed this is from Dune saga, sorry, that is not mine either). Just be patient with me a little more, we will get to the focus in the next chapters. If I suck, well, tell me kindly, please.
This is RaVy all over the place, so you've been warned.
CHAPTER 10
I woke up to realize I was spooning Ivy's body. It was like a pleasant déjà vu, I took a deep breath taking in her scent. I automatically moved my arms to embrace her.
"Are you awake, dear heart?" She asked lifting a bit her head from the pillow. I covered one of her breasts with one hand. "Yes, you are awake." I could see the little smirk on her profile; my other hand was already rubbing her stretched abdomen. The babies moved for me. She turned to face me. "How do you feel?" her eyes examined me clinically. I noticed she must have been awake for a while, because she had the lamp night on. The light was enough to let me see clearly at her, but not to hurt my eyes. Why is she asking me how I feel instead of kissing me good morning?
Then I felt the numbed pain over most of my body and the memories came to the front of my mind. Last night I was heavily medicated, but the moment Ivy went to bed I was looking for her body, even I was sunk in the drowsiness the medication induced on me. I tensed when I remembered the way she was injured; my eyes looked for the spot the iron bar had emerged on her chest, my hand pulled the delicate strap of her gown out of the way, lowering it to uncover the skin above her breast completely. I stared at the perfect skin in front of me and I sighed, taking inside my lungs her scent once again. Her smell always soothed my pains; it always made me feel protected and safe. My arms tightened their grip around her body. I kissed the flawless spot softly, almost reverently. There was no sign of the wound caused by that iron bar I just pulled out of her the night before. The magic had healed her until the point of leaving perfect silky unmarked skin. It was as if the injure never happened. My hand was feeling for the spot on her back, sneaking inside the silk gown. The other hand was looking on the long leg she had positioned gently across my waist.
"I'm fine, dear. You healed me. There's no marks, no scars, no way to tell I was as bad as you are now." She said quietly. "I had never heard of such a thing. Not even at the witches hospitals. How do you feel?" she asked me again worried for my reaction.
I cleared my throat and a weird sound came out. When I cleared it yet again, it hurt despite the pain amulet I was wearing. Without the pain amulet, I wouldn't dare to attempt talking. Ivy was worried about me and I could not let her be worried, not for me.
"I'm fine." I said but the sound was barely like a husky rough breath, I sighed. So much for your efforts, Rachel. Now she is even more worried. My sweet vamp used her hands to explore my neck, checking it thoroughly.
"He almost broke your windpipe, love. That's why your larynx is so swollen, try not to talk, that must be hurtful for a few days." She said concerned. I kissed her knuckles. And I pulled her over me, getting on my back. I hugged her with another sigh. I used my fingers to caress her face. I smiled, a tiny smile, an apologetic smile. I had been incapable of protect her and our babies. I was overconfident and a lower demon almost killed them and me. That is not going to happen again. I promised to myself. "What?" she trapped my hand gently, and kissed my palm.
"Just laid here with me for a while, babe. I want to hug you." I said but she had to guess for the movement of my lips.
"I want to hug you as well, my little witch." She leaned her head on my sane shoulder, and I closed my eyes with a new sigh, wrapping my arms around her body. She was wearing that midnight blue conservative night gown with low cleavage. "You must be tired and aching." Her silk gray voice was low and guilty. "I just still can not believe I couldn't react." She sighed tiredly.
"You reacted to cover for our babies and even for me!" I croaked barely. "It was my fault, I grew overconfident. It's not going to happen again. Not again, love!"
"Rachel, be quiet, your throat is not well. Just laid down and get some rest." She asked me. I nodded and held her tightly. The soft knocks on the door preceded Erica showing her head on the little space she opened.
"Your family is here, they arrived like one hour ago, but your mom is cooking with Cynthia's help. They are worried about you." She told us quietly.
"Thanks, Rica. We will be there in a minute." Ivy said with a sigh.
We went out the bedroom in robes; the pain amulet was working well. I was in pain, but it was bearable. Mom hugged me tightly, she was wearing jeans and a green sweater, she looked a lot younger than before she went to California. I squeezed her and kissed her cheeks. Robbie was sitting down at the table with Don both of them were serious.
"How do you feel, honey?" she held my face in her hands. I had several bruises on the face too. Even they stitched my forehead in two different points. And I had a black eye, almost closed by the swelling. She almost couldn't hold tears, and I laughed almost without a sound.
"I'm alive, mom." I shrugged my shoulders. The big bandage was still covering the deep scratches and cuts, but part of the injured skin was very easy to see, but I decided not to use the sling anymore. I went to the stove to check on the pans, curious. I took a mug from the cabinet and filled it with water without thinking on it. Cynthia greeted me and she was telling me about the legends, I nodded, while I was putting things in the mug without seeing them or even realized I was doing it. I came to the table, where she had several diaries on display over the solid surface. The notebooks with leather covers and the handwriting of several generations were the memoirs of her family's work on the legends. She opened one, to show me the drawings of hands and arms, with the color order of the marks on them, marks like mine.
The mug started to produce some vapor. I nodded again, interested on the words my sister in law was telling. And I drank half of the mug in one big mouthful, forcing it down despite the pain in my throat. It was the most revolting thing I had ever tasted. My throat felt as if it had exploded in flames. My tongue, mouth and nose were scorching with the extremely hot weird beverage. The larynx went closed, and all my body felt electrified, I fell on one knee, miraculously letting the mug on the table without spilled it or broke it, trying to cough without success. My hands came to my neck; I was incapable to take any air inside, even with my mouth open.
And the cherry on the pie came when my stomach started clenching with the nausea, the very second the potion reached it. Robbie stood up alarmed, and Ivy was coming at vamp speed. But Cynthia took a stand behind me, with her arms and legs spread, to avoid them from reaching me. The current of power ran through my entire body sending undulating waves to every muscle, even some I didn't know I had.
"Don't touch her." Cynthia ordered rising her voice a bit. "Didn't you see?" she claimed, "She is healing herself!" her statement hit clearly into my conscious mind. I calmed down taking one, two, three little breaths through my nose. I opened the mouth and I counted down three more breaths in silence. Ivy did not touch me but she put down a knee at my side to see me closely. My body stiffened and a lot of muscular and bone noises were clear and loud to everybody. The bruises, scratches and cuts on my arms began to disappear in front of my eyes. I could clear my throat. I moved my head one side, and then the other, the noises of my body settling down continued for 20 or 30 seconds. Finally, I relaxed.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." I said to my lover. My eyes went wide open with surprise, that didn't hurt anymore and my voice was normal. I stood up slowly, feeling in case my body did something weird. Ivy regained her standing position without loosing a single movement or expression on my face, ready to support me in the case something went wrong. "Whoa!" I blinked twice and scratched a bit one of the stitches on my forehead. "I think I have to take them off." They began to feel tightened and tingling.
"Yes or the suture could incarnate in your flesh, come, love, I will cut them." Ivy called me moving a chair. She used a pair of little scissors and some medical pliers to remove all the stitches quickly and efficiently, not only the ones on my head but every stitch in my arms, all of the cuts were healing rapidly. "There are more stitches on your shoulder, your back, and your legs, love." She remembered me with hasty eyes.
"Don, Robbie, go to the living room, I will call you when Ivy is done." Mom shushed them away. I had to strip down in the kitchen. The black and purple areas all over my body were disappearing so fast. Ivy was very good at medical care, I barely felt the pulls of the pliers and I giggled when she worked her way on some areas, where her movements tingled on my skin. Erica was passing upon the places Ivy was taking the stitches off another set of pliers with cotton balls dripping antiseptic to clean the little points the suture thread left on my skin.
"Well, I think that was the last one, dear." Ivy sighed when she pulled the last stitch of my calf. She was kneeling on the floor besides me, and I was standing up now.
"And I think you should finish your potion." Cynthia put the mug in front of me.
"Maybe, but it is disgusting." I said before take the rest on another single big gulp. The effect on my throat was the same, and the nausea on my stomach. The very little bleeding points on my back and legs healed at once. I panted when it passed. "Anyone saw what did I put in the mug?" I left it empty on the table.
"No, no one can know, not even you, Rache!" Cynthia said with a wiseass smug. "I told you those are arcane spells and knowledge only the chosen ones possess but they can not divulge! It is for real! It's not a legend!" she hugged me enthusiastic. And then she took a step back to see me head to toe. "Marvelous! Not a single hint of the beaten you got just 16 hours ago! And you have new marks, on the shoulder and the arm, the thighs, and your buttocks." She pointed. I covered my ass turning on her to hide it, ashamed, even dough I was wearing underwear. Erica laughed.
"You are a prude!" she teased me. Ivy extended my robe, and I went to her, she slid the fabric around me, in a hug, from my back. I made a knot on the belt right away. She turned me delicately from the shoulders; her hands examined again my throat, while she was looking thoroughly. Then she saw at my shoulder, pulling a bit the robe, much like I did only minutes ago with her nightgown.
"Thank you, honey." I hugged her by the waist, in front of me.
"I'm just glad you are recovered now, love." She leaned her head on mine. "But this is worrying" she sighed.
"Tell me about it. Half of the time I don't know what I'm doing." I sighed too.
"Unbelievable, but truth, it seemed so strange when you read about it. Although I saw you, you didn't even take a glance of the herbs and condiments you mixed in the mug. You were totally unaware of it, like if a hidden part of you had taken control. You didn't think it was another thing than coffee or water, did you?" Cynthia locked her big blue eyes on mine, and I nodded.
"Coffee!" I went to serving one mug for myself and another one for Ivy. She smiled to me and sat down on her usual chair, already having a sip.
"Why this happened, Cynthia? Is there any explanation of that in your family's chronicles?" my vamp asked interested.
"Sorry, Ivy." She shook her head. "In fact only one of the diaries is about the demon hunters, and mostly was written by my grandfather. He saw a chosen one when he was a kid. In Germany, He was from there. About 150 years ago, the chosen one stole a book from the museum in which his father worked at." She told us with a nostalgic smile in her face.
"Oh God! The book written by Klabrgh!" I blinked twice. The world is a napkin, my sister in law has information I need. "Did your grandfather knew who was that witch?" I asked at once.
"No, it was a woman, that's for sure. He described her like a medium sized, very attractive young woman; maybe in her early twenties, or younger than that. She had both hands marked; he saw her hands when she took the book. And then, teenager at last, he got lost in her breasts. The most beautiful breasts he ever saw, he always said. But he didn't look at her face." She shrugged the shoulders almost amused.
"Was she naked?" Ivy asked "How could he only see her chest if she was a thief?" she huffed in disapproval.
"Almost naked, she had very little clothes under the travel cape she was wearing. Let's see, grandpa draw a picture of her." She browsed the diary. "How do you know that was the book she stole, by the way?" she saw me a bit startled.
"I'm looking for a copy of it; months ago, since before the coma." I shrugged my shoulders. Ivy, Erica, Mom and I stared at the drawing. The clearest part was the one with the marked hands, it was made in colors. And for the other, a big shot of barely covered breasts, without doubt very nice breasts. I saw the drawing and then the cleavage of Ivy. "You could be the number one suspect if you were a medium size woman, love." I let out a tiny laugh. That drawing wasn't helping at all; it was very much as a superhero's drawing made by a teen obsessed with comic books on his notebook.
"That's because I'm huge right now, dear. Watch in here, this woman has a belt, with a symbol. This might give us a hint of who she was." She pointed at the medium part of the traced body on the paper. A belt with a big dandelion carved in one ornamental plate of the belt marking the brief waist.
"You are not huge! You have beautiful breasts since I know you, and they have not changed a bit yet, honey." I cajoled her with a fond smile. "And for the symbol, I have one on my ass, Ivy. Dandelions were common motives between witches' clans in Europe the last three centuries." I said with a sigh. "No, there is no way to know what clan was or if she had stolen that belt as well. It happened 150 years ago." I pointed.
"Why are you interested on that book, Rachel?" Cynthia asked again, intrigued.
"I want to corroborate if the legend of Klabrgh is truth, Cynthia. Do you happen to know something about that matter too?" I asked just in case.
"Legends are my legacy, Rache!" She took another diary to browse, excited.
"Do you have an actual tattoo, young lady?" my mother saw me with a frown.
"Ah, yes, is the official tattoo of my were pack, mom." I blushed. "And now also the flames. But it wasn't my idea; I'm a member of the pack, so I had to do it, and it hurt a lot!" I said trying to gain some sympathy.
"It's cute, dough." Ivy chuckled between her teeth.
"Maybe now, I don't want to imagine how is going to look in 80 years." I shook my head.
"I figure you can cover it with a complexion spell if you want, dear. But it does look cute now." She winked an eye mischievously.
"There is not much about this witch. Klabrgh, it is a she also. She was a witch who lived likely from 1050 to 950 BC. She allegedly killed a vamp camarilla when they attacked her village and took her daughter. The legend says she trapped the Master Vamp and put his soul back in his body, after mummified him, she only made his heart and brain functional. And the master vamp was alive for 20 years, conscious, while the witch hunted down his entire line, to kill them in front of him. To make him witness the last of his descendants die; like her daughter die. After that, she killed him and vanished. No one ever again saw Klabrgh." Cynthia read the entry on the diary. "My great grand mother wrote her insights of the case; do you want to hear them?" she asked.
I was staring at Ivy, and she was doing the same thing with me, this was a very different story than the one we knew.
"I thought you said she made a normal man's heart beat for 20 years in his mummified body, Rache." Ivy told me quietly.
"Well, that's the light version of the legend for curiosity books about legendary witches, but the truth is this version, Ivy. My family is pretty sure, or they wouldn't have written it as this." Cynthia said and her big blue eyes went wide open. "Of course, you are looking for a way to save Ivy's soul!" she tapped lightly her forehead, with her index finger. "But the regular legend doesn't mention the soul thing." She frowned.
"Rachel was aiming for the part of maintain a part of our bodies alive after our first death, Cynthia, to feed the soul, she says the soul needs living tissue to feed from. She was interested in the way that witch was capable of maintain a beating heart for 20 years in a mummified body." Erica explained. "She is expecting to find a way to anchor our souls to a small part living in our undead bodies."
"Aha, I didn't know the legend as this. I've never heard of a master vamp involved." I nodded pensive "But you say it was a master vamp; which must mean that he was already undead, and you say that witch managed to give him his soul back?" I looked at Cynthia. "So it is possible!"
"Klabrgh did it almost 3 thousand years ago, Rache." Cynthia nodded. "My great grand mother thought she made a deal with a demon, and when she finished her vengeance, then the demon took her, and that's why no one saw her again." She explained to all of us.
"That makdes sense, a way to trap and to torture a soul, sounds very correct for a demon handy-work." I nibbled my bottom lip, pensive. "So, perhaps that book wasn't written by Klabrgh, but by the demon she dealt with. Or she wrote it with the things the demon taught her." I sighed "Anyway I have to find that book." I shrugged my shoulders.
"Now is even more important." Erica nodded.
"And maybe we have to let this aside for a while and have some lunch." Mom said "I will call the boys." She went towards the living room. She was worried. I was way out of my league here. Certainly, Rynn Cormel couldn't be the first vampire trying to do this. And if it hasn't been done in thousands of years that had to mean it wasn't easy.
Robbie was very serious. He almost didn't talk at all. I decided for pizza for the meal, and I started to prepare the necessary ingredients. I was feeling very well. The potion not only healed me, it had replenished my blood, I was certain of that. That could be the very thing I was looking for giving up on the brimstone. Ivy wore a maternity dress for the first time. It was sky blue, long only to her knees, with V cleavage, not to low, but enough to give away a hint of the magnificent breasts it covered. She was still slender and trim, by the back, you still didn't notice she was pregnant. The fabric of the dress was soft, and it wrapped her very attractively. Her hair was perfect, but her hair was always in place. She was lovely and sexy at the same time. Maybe it's just me whom thinks she is sexy dressed like a future mommy, she really looks so good in anything! Mom almost melted when she saw her coming. Her belly wasn't that big already. But with the dress, it was noticeable.
She helped me chopping the mushrooms; she liked them sliced in certain way. Then she started to put them on the first pizza; I put the pepperoni on the first pizza and then placed the package in her hand with a little smile, she always enjoyed eat some slices alone. Ivy ate a pair of slices with a pleasant nod and she served me a glass of water. I went to bring the other pizza and she returned the package of pepperoni to my hand, with a little stroke of fingers. I distributed generously the pepperoni on the new one, while she finished the first. At last I gave the pepperoni pack to her with only three or four slices, Ivy walked away, eating those whilst she programmed the timer in the oven. I went to put away in the fridge the cheese and other stuff while she dressed the second one with the last ingredients; I brought back with me the orange juice. I poured a glass for her; she took it from my hand passing besides me to carry some used props towards the sink, sparing me a wink of her eye at the time, playful. I closed the oven with the pizzas inside. I walked towards the sink and I took my glass of water from Ivy's hand when I passed along her to wash the dirty kitchen props. Ivy put away the things as she dried them. We smiled at each other grabbing our glasses of water and orange juice to turn at the table. We found the eyes of everybody fixed on us. I didn't notice the silence until that moment. Even Erica was watching us with her eyes amazed.
"What?" Ivy stiffened a bit.
"Nothing, V, It's just I haven't look at you as a housewife before." Her little sister giggled. Ivy blushed. And I blinked.
"That was beautiful, gals. You don't even have to talk, you are synchronized. It takes years to achieve that kind of understanding." Cynthia nodded "You remembered me of my parents. They act like that when they cook together." She shrugged her shoulders "The amazing thing is you are runners, I saw you just last night fighting a demon; dealing with cops, and a murderer, all tough girls, and now you are regular gals making dinner. It's really awesome!" She smiled fondly.
"It is." Donald nodded "Maybe the fact you have lived together for years now has a lot to do with it. You already know what the other likes." He saw the glasses in our hands.
"Yes, now I'm convinced you two can work as a couple, more than friends." Mom smiled at us, with her eyes full of tenderness. "You don't have a real relationship until you achieve this kind of closeness, and mutual understanding. I have my doubts, vamps have ways of getting things a bit confuse. Pheromones, for one, but I haven't seen you use your pheromones on Rachel other than last night, and it was for relaxing her a bit on the way home, to soothe her pains, you relaxed all of us in the car, Ivy." She shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh, you haven't seen a thing, my sister produces pheromones at undead rates, she can blood sugar single handed a small room if she wants." Erica's laughter was very fresh and appealing. "But V always controls herself when she is with Rachel, because she doesn't want her confused; or making things Rache doesn't want to do. Trust is a big issue for us, Ms. Morgan. We don't betray the people whom choose trusting us." She informed my family. "V is a very atypical living vamp. She doesn't behave like most of us. Even dough, she is still the strongest living vamp in the city. I don't think even Rynn's Scion is as strong as Ivy, but V has been special since birth, Tamwood line is old, more than a thousand years old; there are not much lines over the millennium. Our blood is strong, coveted. Even I wouldn't have a problem to get a high blood husband, by contract, or arrangement; because I'm the second daughter of Kimberly Tamwood. I have daddy's name, his blood is not as old as Tamwood's, but by marrying mom, he up leveled his line as well. Ivy was raised to be the heir of the line, but she didn't want it. Now she is pregnant, and she will give heirs to Tamwood line. Even if she wants it or not, she is taking her place like the new heir of Tamwood line; only by having babies." She sighed.
"But, if the babies are not from a vamp, much less high blood vamp; like they say, isn't that a problem?" asked Robbie.
"No, Tamwood blood is too old, enough to produce strong heirs by its own." Erica answered convinced. "Even dough, the girls could have rough times when they are growing up, there is much purism in the vamp community, that's why the lines are so important. But I think they will be at least as strong as me; that is enough to maintain the line, and later improve it."
"If you think I will do to my girls, what they did with me, you're dead wrong, little sis." Ivy said with a frown.
"You are way ahead, there is no point in discussing that, we don't know if the girls might want to be heirs, but I think they have the right to know and choose on their own; when the time comes for them. For now, it's just speculation." I said and shrugged my shoulders.
"I saw the video, it was a bit far but enough to prosecute legally that woman for trying to kill you." Robbie said seriously, changing the subject all the sudden. "You know I'm not thrilled by your way of living, Rache. I don't like a bit you putting yourself in danger. But I heard the demon. And you weren't scared, sis. You just attacked him, and you saved that girl's life. I know you did the difference for her. I can understand that kind of feeling. But you are in danger, maybe worst than before." He sighed. "I know it wasn't your fault, I wasn't taking seriously the kind of things you do. You didn't do anything for that woman wanted to kill you. She is a psycho." He shook her head condemnatory.
"I saw it too; I used your lap, V. Rachel looked in pretty bad shape when you take her out the alley. They must be thinking it would take at least a week before she can leave the recovery bed. And the news!" she sighed.
"The news?" I asked.
"Yes, and I can say Claire Britt is putting her own reputation on the line for you. Of course the phone went insane, I put all the volume down, and made a message that Vampiric Charms is out of business temporarily for reparations, you said you wanted remodeling the place." The young vamp said with a little frown. "I know that was not my place, V, but…" she stared at my partner apologetic.
"It's ok, Rica. I was planning to do the same. Dealing with curious people and reporters pretending be clients, I'm not in the mood for that right now." My vamp took a sip of her orange juice.
"At least most of them won't be looking for a date service." I shrugged my shoulders. Ivy frowned at first, but then we laughed seeing at each other.
"What kind of service?" Cynthia seemed stunned a moment. We explained the mistake in the phone pages at first. And she blushed joining the laughter.
"More than half the calls were from those looking for other than runs. You wouldn't believe the quantity of curious teens I had to menace with telling their moms what they were doing. As soon I mentioned their moms they panicked." I shrugged my shoulders "Now is funny, but I was pissed off then."
The doorbell rang and I went to see who was coming. Glenn and Helen were at the door, I invited them in. She was astonished by my looks. Even Glenn was. I led them into the kitchen and invited them to eat with us.
Mom saw the way they were looking at me, and she pull out an amulet of her own purse. She activated it and then she gave it to Helen. The blond agent turned into a brunette with toasted skin. And she almost went crazy, putting it on and taking it off her in front of the mirror Cynthia held for her. My sister in law was giggling, definitely amused by her incredulous expression.
"Complexion amulets, honey. You combine the complexion amulets with pain amulets, and you don't look weak." Mom said. "The worst thing a witch can do is to look weak after an attack. That could give the impression of possible victory to whom tried to kill her just yesterday. Rachel has to look good." She lied with all her mouth, and she didn't even flinch.
"This is really awesome, I have tried before for Halloween, but I have never obtained something like this!" she saw at her amazed.
"Mom makes much better complexion amulets than most of the stores can sell; we always won the Halloween's costume contests in the school." Robbie said nostalgic. "It is a question of eye, and measure. Rache is good combining the right amulets to look exactly like some one else. But for making them, mom is the best."
"That is the very truth. Mom makes the best complexion amulets I had ever worn." I nodded. "And for the stores; most of the employees at the stores can not balance mass and weight. And they overcharge a lot. They use even 5 or 6 amulets when 2 are enough. And human medicine takes too long to kick in. A pain amulet is instantaneous."
"You can keep it, sweetie, it will last a week from now." Mom said to the FBI agent.
"Thanks, Ms. Morgan I could use it on the case I'm working on." She put it away in her purse.
"If you need to be a guy sometime, Rachel has a very good one. She used it to trap a woman carterist." Ivy remembered.
"It took me a week cooking all the things I needed, love." I sat next to her. Glenn was startled, seeing her in that dress. He still didn't know she was pregnant.
"Oh God, no wonder Rachel was so worried about you, covering you when she is not as strong as you, Ivy! You are expecting!" he blinked
"Yes." She nodded with a smug.
"Congratulations, Ivy!" he hugged her warmly. "So, now you are together, and you will give an heir to your line" He looked at me and then to her.
"Yes." This time I nodded with a big smile. We sat and ate the pizzas. Helen liked tomatoes, as Glenn did in his time, she was brave enough to tasted a bite and then
She couldn't stop until the pizza was over. She found the taste better than any other she knew until now. Glenn explained to her that inderlanders never stop eating tomatoes. Moreover, they were delicious cooked in so many ways and even fresh.
"I'm afraid Miss Caruthers is not going to talk. And since none of the people the demon was intended to kill is dead, most we can charge on her is attempt." Glenn said seriously. "She will get out paying a big bail."
"But she is in danger. Doesn't she understand that?" Cynthia asked concerned.
"It is her choice. Now she will have trouble being accepted in society. And if she continues to act like she does, she will end up dead herself. A black witch can not be blackmailed with secrets." Robbie shrugged his shoulders.
"She is at the door." Bis said from the cat's door in the kitchen door.
"Eh?" Glenn went with Erica to the door and they came back with a very scared and not so neat blond woman. Her clothes were a bit wrinkled, and her hair wasn't in the best shape.
"You have to help me!" she said as soon she laid eyes on me.
"Help you? You just sent a demon to kill us yesterday!" Ivy growled. I smelt something odd, and took a glass to fill it with salt water from my container, before my conscious mind could processed it; my second sight turned on and I could see the dark energy on her. I used a fork to collect the little twig trapped in her hair and the sulfur arose from the glass as soon I put the fork with the twig inside the salt water as a thick little cloud. Susannah had frozen when she saw me coming.
"Nasty bugger!" I extended my entire arm to let it dissipate, away from my nose and everybody's noses.
"It was a lethal curse." Cynthia announced showing the amulet going off.
"Oh, my God! They want to blame her death on me!" I stared at Ivy startled when I realized what just had happened, two seconds later.
"Now I have seen everything!" Helen shook her head. I opened the window to allow the bad odor to dissipate with fresh air. "That little twig was going to kill her?" she asked to mom.
"Yes, Helen. They can hide a lethal curse practically on anything. You have seen nothing yet." She was worried.
"Tell me about it, I was about to be blow up with a toothpick once. I'm afraid I warned you clearly, Miss Caruthers, black witches are not playing toys, now you are a target for the witch you hired. And now he or she wants you dead and me taking the fault." I frowned at her. "Why did you come here?" I asked angry.
"He told me that no one else would help me. I just…" she started to cry in despair, in fear.
"You wanted Claire's money. And you are endangering a lot of people." Ivy said in a cold tone. "You get out of here, and never come back. You made your own bed, now it is time to laid on it!" she was really angry, because she was very still.
"Ivy, I know you have all the reasons to be angry, this woman almost killed both of you and your baby. But now she is in danger and…" Glenn trailed off, knowing he would not find any sympathy right now in my vamp. "What we can do, Rache?" he turned to me.
"The thing is, Glenn. If I get involved I will be risking the lives of my family, my entire family, Ivy, our baby, mom and Don, Robbie and Cyn, and all our friends with us, you will be in danger too. I cannot do this. This witch surely has friends, black witches usually have covens, I cannot go into a war against a coven of black witches, we are expecting! A year ago, I wouldn't think about it, I just would had gone after the criminal, regardless the danger, but now I have to think in the safety of the innocent! I cannot go in wild chases of murderers. I want to know my baby! And I want her safe! A witch alone is no match for a coven, Glenn." I said very seriously. Ivy came to my back and hugged me by the waist. I covered her hands crossed over my belt's buckle with mine. She was proud of me, no doubt. I felt her kiss on my hair, over my temple.
"I have seen you take on five or six witches at the same time, Rachel!" he retorted frowning
"And I'm lucky to be alive! Then I was alone, I'm not alone anymore, Glenn. I have to look for my family first." I said in determined tone. "I'm sorry, but she has to go, and if you want your case, you convince her. But as far as I know, she is doomed. A demon has a claim on her soul and a black witch wants her dead. She is as good as dead already. Talking or not talking, she is going to die and you never will prove a single fault on the witch even if she talks, once dead, there is not witness nor proof. That's the way things have been since the beginning." I cocked my hips a bit, with a huff in the end.
Susannah fell on her knees sobbing pitifully. She was covering her face with her hands. She simply collapsed on the floor. A live image of fear, despair and hopelessness.
"Honey, you have grown so much!" Mom went to hug me too, by my side. "And as much we don't like the way the things are. There is only so much one can do. That's why you joined the IS in the first place, to caught the ones whom twist so bad the things. But you are right, now the innocent goes first." She backed up my decision with a concerned smile.
"Be careful, Glenn. You can not put her into custody, she paid her bail. And the people you assign to take care of her, they will be in lethal danger as well." Ivy said. "This is a very delicate situation. The witch will send a demon if he can't do a lethal curse. You will be endangering your career as well."
"Give me a name, Susannah!" Glen kneeled by her side, he was feeling pity.
"He said he will kill me. And no one would believe me." She sobbed again. "Hubert Nighy."
"Oh my God! That can not be." Helen shook her head. "Hubert Nighy is a leading member of the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards!"
"I believe her. But I don't count, he shunned me." I chuckled. "Why am I not surprised, Ivy?" I turned my head to see her face, besides mine.
"Because they are dealing with demons, but they don't want anyone else doing it?" she asked me, still hugging me by the back.
"Doing it without their supervision." I nodded. "I don't know, I never used a demon to break the law, I used him to testify against the summoner that sent him to murder witches." I said. "And I have regretted big time that move since. But that is preoccupant, love. He sent Titus to kill us, because Titus would charge in the soul of Susannah, he saw the opportunity and he took it." I frowned. "And now we know it is in fact a coven. No way to win." I looked at Glenn. "And way they would fire you as soon you have said that name, Glenn."
"That is right, Matt. Hubert Nighy is a much respected witch in the city." Helen agreed with me up on that, with a frown "I don't like it more than you. But if it is true, then the city is in the hands of murderers and criminals." She shook her head. In which world she lives? Wonderland? Well, most of the people don't know the truth, Trent Kalamack is in a public charge, and he's a drug lord and murderer, Rynn Cormel runs the underworld in Cinci, and he is a public hero, the IS is loaded with murderers with licenses to kill, and she doesn't have a clue! My opinion on her capabilities of observation dropped several points.
There were some knocks at the kitchen door.
"I got it, love." I said to Ivy, and she reluctantly let me go, Mom hugged her by the side, and both of them saw me walking to the door with proud smiles. Maybe I'm growing fast, but I will not risk Ivy and the babies for a gold digger. I said to myself, Susannah wasn't worth the risks.