Chapter 3

Cali was walking through the Quarter the following afternoon nestled beneath the shade of her umbrella when her phone rang. She reached for it and answered without glancing at the caller.

"Hello?" she greeted simply.

"Cali, it's Chas." A familiar voice said. Her stomach sank.

"Hey Chas." She said. She tried to hide her disappointment but wasn't sure she succeeded. "What can I do for you?"

"John's been arrested."

"Yeah well, I'm not entirely surprised by that."

"I was hoping you might be able to get him out?" he asked with skeptical optimism. "Our Bail Fund is lower than I thought."

"He been getting arrested more than usual lately?" she teased. She heard him chuckle on the other end of the line, but not offer an answer. "I don't know if I should get involved."

"He's already seen you." Chas replied. "You might as well let him know you're here."

Cali didn't immediately speak. She wanted to tell Chas that it broke her heart every time she made John remember. She wanted to tell him that she hated knowing he was going to forget her again and continue looking at her like a stranger. And she wanted to tell him that it chipped away a little bit at her self whenever she was forced to watch someone's eyes glaze over as every memory of her was erased.

"I'll see what I can do." She finally said despite herself.

Chas thanked her and hung up while Cali immediately kicked herself for offering. Her trip to New Orleans was meant to go unnoticed. It was meant to be her vacation away from everything, but it didn't seem to be going that way.


Ignoring everyone speaking to her, Cali walked through the police station and straight for the back room. She threw open the door to a stunned John and cop. The men eyed her curiously but only one recognized her.

"Who the hell are you?" Jim demanded. He gently began to shove the pictures back into a single pile so she couldn't see them.

"He's coming with me." She told him simply.

"He's not leaving until I say he is."

"Is he being charged?" she continued with mild irritation.

Corrigan didn't speak which was all the answer she needed. Still, he didn't look as though he was willing to let John go. John remained silent during the exchange. He was too confused by Cali's sudden appearance.

Determined to leave the station as soon as possible, Cali stepped closer to Jim and closed the distance between them. She made sure she had his gaze before speaking.

"I'm taking him out of here." She said sternly. "And you're not going to stop us because you're dropping whatever ridiculous charges you're trying to file against him. Do you understand me?" Jim nodded heavily. "Say it."

"I understand." He replied loftily.

"Good." Cali released Jim from her gaze and looked over his shoulder to John. "Let's go."

"Actually love, we're right in the middle-"

"Now." She snapped.

John cocked a brow, but despite his desire to be defiant, there was something oddly commanding about her demand. Gathering his things, John soon followed Cali out of the interrogation room.

He followed her in silence until they were out of the station, but that was where his compliance ended.

"Look," John said as he grabbed her arm and stopped their jaunt once they were away from the station's doors. "Not that I'm ungrateful for this love, but how's 'bout you start tellin' me a story, hm?"

She said nothing as a brow slowly rose. He narrowed his eyes in irritation the longer she went without speaking.

"This ain't addin' up," he said darkly. "Which makes me a bit twitchy."

"I just got you out of jail." She said simply. "Try not to read too much into it. Now, where the hell do I need to take you?"

Cali didn't like being pulled back into his world. She could've easily told him who she was and given his memories back. Everything would've been easier, but she didn't want to. Knowing he'd forget her again was just a hair worse than him looking at her like a distrustful stranger.

And that was how he saw her. She could tell. After her barging in on him in the Interrogation Room, and after last night, John was looking at Cali like he knew there was more than meets-the-eye with her. He felt like he had to keep the 'stranger' close. He needed more time to figure her out.

"I need to have a bit of a talk with someone." He finally said. His skepticism infected his voice as much as his eyes. "You up for a road trip, love?"

Cali hesitated to answer. She simply stared back at the blond while she thought. She wanted to tell him no and leave, but clearly the idiot couldn't be left alone. He'd already pissed off local law enforcement –not anything new to be sure- but that meant he was on their radar. To people like them, being noticed could be dangerous.

"Fine." She grumbled.

Without another word, she turned and headed towards her car with the Brit in toe.


John spoke with Tammy while Cali lingered on the main floor of the Animal Clinic. She paid the pair passing attention while she was on the phone with Chas.

"Just stick with him." He breathed. He neglected to tell her he'd been stabbed and killed by the focus of John's questions, but she could tell he'd been through something. "Make sure he stays out of trouble."

"When you say things like that, it makes me wonder if you've ever met him." She replied sarcastically. She heard him chuckle on the other end, but didn't share the sentiment. Cali glanced up from her seat and noticed john and Tammy coming down the stairs back to the main floor. "He's already suspicious of me following him around."

"Why don't you just remind him?" Chas asked with a sigh.

She hesitated to answer, but eventually felt the words slip from her lips.

"You don't understand what it's like, Chas." She mumbled softly.

"What do you mean?"

"It gets a little harder every time because I know he's going to end up forgetting me again." She sighed under her breath. "It's just easier if he thinks we never knew each other in the first place."

She heard Chas sigh on the other end of the line, but he didn't speak. He understood why she and John agreed to the memory wipe in the first place. It made sense. It was smart, but it was a bit sad too. And he hated making her stay around John when he didn't know who she was; especially when the two were such close friends in the first place, but he didn't trust John alone at the moment. After all, he'd already been arrested within 24 hours of their arrival.

"Okay," he finally said. "Just keep an eye on him if you can, please?"

"Sure." She nodded. "Be careful."

"Yeah."

The two said their farewell. When she hung up and turned, Cali jumped slightly. Somehow, John had snuck up behind her. He was staring at her blankly as though he was still trying to determine whether or not she was trustworthy. Cali was just curious about what he'd overheard.

"Find anything out?" she asked, ignoring the fact he was listening to her conversation.

"A bit." He replied. "Tell me love, what do ya know about voodoo?"

Her face dropped which was the right response. He might not know what to think about her, but she was at least intelligent enough to recognize the danger with the Voodoo King.

"Maybe it'd be good if you don't follow me on this particular venture, hm?" he told her with his usual tone of sarcasm. "Besides, and I can't really stress this part enough darlin', I don't trust you."

She cocked a single brow, but remained silent. Instead, she stepped aside and waved her hand as though presenting him with the chance to leave without her. John gave Cali another curt smirk before walking on without her. She rolled her eyes once he was gone.

"Idiot." She mumbled as she exited the clinic.


Cali spent her night doing something she never thought she would, but was also amazed she hadn't done it before. She got a tattoo. She got a pair, in fact, as protection against magic. She was surprised she hadn't done it before considering what she was and how easily certain sorcerers could influence her, but it did have a side-effect. Instant healing was something not many artists were familiar with.

As she had, Cali sought out John. It was harder than she expected, but she managed once she found the Voodoo King. Midnite didn't seem to care he had the Brit in the trunk of his car. Cali would have gotten him out, but she honestly thought he deserved a bit of it. John wasn't known for tact, so she was sure Midnite had a reason for it. But she followed the pair and stayed close just in case.

She watched from the distance as they worked their spell and settled the spirits that were plaguing the city. Slowly, those gathered began to disappear leaving Midnite and John alone. Cali continued to watch from the shadows. With Zed now gone and Chas nowhere to be seen, she couldn't leave the idiot behind. She knew his history with Midnite and wasn't above spying on their conversation either.

As he promised, Midnite ensured their truce was finished the moment the scotch in John's glass was gone. When he snatched John's glass away and retreated towards the back of his home, Midnite sensed something. He gently set the glasses down, but kept his eyes focused on the distance. Something was… off.

"What is it?" John asked when he noticed the Voodoo King's behavior. "What do you see?"

"We are not alone." Midnite muttered. He took slow steps forward. "Come out!" he yelled. "You cannot hide from me!"

Cali sighed, but decided she might as well make herself known. She didn't need the voodoo man getting overzealous in search of an intruder. So she began to take steps out of the shadows and towards the pair. She walked casually which annoyed Midnite. But he wasn't the one she was looking at. She stared at John who seemed more than a little angry she was the one hiding.

"Well, well, well," John sighed in irritation. "Look who it is. You followin' me, love?"

"Yes." She answered freely. "Clearly, you have no idea how to take care of yourself."

"You two know each other?" Midnite asked skeptically.

"Not really, no, but she seems to be a bit of a shadow." John replied. "It's the why I'm not to sure about."

"When it's the what ya should be more worried 'bout." Midnite said as he began to pace around the young woman.

"What?" John asked curiously.

The Voodoo shaman kept his eyes on Cali and his face twisted into a grimace as he examined her. She said nothing, nor tried to stop him, she was simply annoyed by the action. Instead, she kept her gaze on John while he smoked a cigarette until she saw Midnite out of the corner of her eye. When he appeared, she met his stare without blinking.

"You are either very brave or very stupid to come 'round here." Midnite told her before growling, "Vampire."

"Congratulations." She replied sarcastically. "You've been able to discern something I wasn't bothering to hide."

"You're a bloody vampire?!" John bellowed angrily. His dealings with vampires –as far as he remembered- had never been anything but violent and horrible, so to hear she was one was understandably disturbing.

"Clever, aren't you?" she asked him teasingly. "And don't try it Midnite."

She gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it up high enough to reveal the entirety of her side. A long line of words in another language was tattooed down her side from ribcage to hip.

"Protection spell." Midnite grumbled under his breath.

Cali dropped her shirt and gave him a curt smile.

"No necromancy from you, voodoo priest." She told him. "Now then," Before Cali could speak her phone range. To both men's shock, she held up a finger and answered it as though she weren't in the tense situation she found herself in. "Yeah?" she kept her hand up telling them she'd need a moment. "Yeah, I'm here with him right now." Her eyes shifted to John who found himself glaring at her. "He's fine. Does this mean I can leave now? I am on vacation." She paused again as whoever she was speaking to replied. "Alright. Yeah, no problem. I'll talk to you later."

Hanging up her phone, Cali gave the two men a short, unaffectionate smile before turning to leave without giving either of them a chance to say anything to her. John watched her disappear at her own leisure, which brought him new levels of irritation. He couldn't help but clench his jaw at the stranger who'd somehow entwined herself in his life. No one ever did that if they could help it which made him question her motives.


Cali unlocked the door to her rental and stepped inside. It was after one in the morning by the time she finally went home, which didn't bother her at all. It was her last night in the city and she wanted to spend at least half of it not stalking John.

The moment she closed the door behind her, before she could turn around and turn the lights on, Cali heard something sail through the air. She spun on her heel and caught the projectile.

"Ow, shit!" she hissed the instant she touched the object.

Cali dropped it immediately. The thin chunk of wood landed on the floor with little more than a soft clank. Narrowing her eyes curiously, Cali noticed it was an arrow. No sooner than the thought crossed her mind, another was sent in her direction. She was too distracted to stop the second one.

"Ah!" Cali cried out as it slammed into her shoulder.

She twisted and grabbed the shaft to yank it out. Without warning another arrow slammed into her, but this time it pinned her to the door behind her, and rendered her free arm all but useless. The arrows stung. They made her head spin and her body ache, and that was without the added bonus of them being wood. They were soaked in something and it didn't take her long to realize what.

Holy water coursed through her veins. It felt like acid, but the wood embedded in her body kept her from reacting too swiftly. Vampires were –for lack of a better term- allergic to wood. It slowed them down and made them sluggish. It was as though the element zapped every ounce of energy from their body, which would make sense. It was Nature's twisted joke on the undead. It meant any human could overpower a vampire just so long as they shot them with a sliver of wood. It'd give almost anyone a better chance to stake a vampire through the heart, and that's what frightened Cali.

She reached for one of the arrows and wrapped her hand around the shaft to pull it out, but the holy water kept her from getting a decent grip. The liquid stung and forced her skin to sizzle on contact. She bit down on her bottom lip and tried to gather her strength once more when she heard footsteps. Cali looked up and noticed something she never wanted to see.

John emerged from the shadows with a crossbow hanging at his side. A cigarette hung from his lips, a thin trail of smoke billowing from the red tip, and his head tilted to the side as he continued to stare at her indifferently. It was actually a bit terrifying. She'd never seen him look at her like that before and it frightened her.

"John," she breathed groggily. "What the hell-"

"You see," he interrupted. "What I can't understand is why you've been following me around."

"Seriously?" she snapped angrily. "So you break in and shoot me to find out?"

John said nothing. He tossed the crossbow aside. The sound it made when it hit the ground made Cali jump despite knowing it was coming. With his free hand jammed in his pocket, he approached her.

"I don't trust strangers." He said as though she hadn't spoken at all. John finally came to a stop barely a foot from her. "And I sure as hell don't trust vampires. So, that's two strikes right there, love. And then ya been followin' me all day. Well, that'd be strike three. I'm pretty sure in the States, that means you're out."

"You don't know what you're talking about." She growled through her teeth. "You need to let me go before you do something you're going to-"

Cali was immediately silenced when she felt something pierce her chest. Her mouth hung slack and her eyes were wide. She felt the stake he had hidden slide into her torso and inch closer to her heart. She panted and struggled to catch a breath while John continued to eye her suspiciously. His right hand held the stake in place and his left wrapped around her throat to hold her head back in case she chose to try and bite.

"Now then," he said in a dangerously calm voice. "You're gonna start talkin' before my hand slips."

"John," she gasped. "Stop…"

He twisted the stake and inched it further causing Cali to cry out. She slammed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the pain, but it was all-consuming.

John didn't care anymore that she was pretty. He didn't care that they'd fooled around the night before and he certainly didn't care she got him out of jail, either.

By nature, John Constantine was a paranoid man. He couldn't afford not to be when he lived the life he had. He was skeptical of every new face, of every supposed friend. Hell, there were people John had known for years he still didn't completely trust, so he felt he was right in what he was doing. After all, you had to look at it from his point of view.

Cali was a friend of Zed's (as far as he knew). Zed was someone even John barely knew, which meant he was even more skeptical of her 'friends'. Cali gave him cryptic answers whenever he asked her a direct question. She magically shows up at the police station and gets him out when his friends were the ones who were meant to. She had evidently been following him at the behest of someone else and was only revealed by Midnite and to make matters worse, she wasn't even human. There was so much in the Cons section of the list, John wasn't sure there would be any Pros to convince him she wasn't a possible threat.

"Who do you work for?" he asked finally.

"John, stop." Cali breathed. She was losing her fight for consciousness the closer he shoved the stake into her chest.

He growled and tightened his grip on her throat. He even twisted the stake again which forced her to take in a sharp breath.

"Who do you work for?" he repeated, swearing the vampire had to be associated with someone evil or even the Rising Darkness.

"H…" she knew she only had seconds to say the magic words, but it was taking more strength than she realized, strength she wasn't sure she had. "He…"

John narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.

"What?" he asked. He loosened his hold on her throat slightly.

"Hell…" Cali was trying her hardest to get the two simple words out. Her body was racked with pain, her mind fading and the stake in her chest was taking every hint of energy she had. She was about to pass out and she knew it. She had to get the words out first. "Hello," Cali began to pant lightly as he tried to get enough breath in her lungs to speak. Calling on every remaining ounce of strength she had left, Cali managed to whisper, "Hello sweetheart." He head fell and her world went black around her.

John felt the familiar whoosh of memories swarm his mind. In an instant, he recognized the young woman he was holding.

"Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed.

John took wide steps away from the bloody scene as his mind tried to catch up with what was happening. His eyes fell to Cali still pinned to the door, but hanging limply. The arrow was barely holding her up now that her knees held no strength and began to splinter. He couldn't believe his eyes. From each shoulder protruded an arrow and a stake half embedded in her chest. All of the wounds were bleeding and all of it was his doing.

"Oh my god," he breathed.

He was in so much shock John barely had time to catch Cali when the arrow keeping her against the door snapped and her body crumbled to the floor.

"Cali," he said. John gently tapped her cheek until he realized she wouldn't be able to wake with the wood still in her body. Working quickly, John gripped the hilt of each arrow and the stake, and yanked them out of her, each with their own gut wrenching pop. "Cali darlin'," he tapped her cheek again. His brows came together. "Come on love, wake up."

But she didn't move.