Missing Chapter 6: Ritual

Ethan woke with an aching head and itchy scalp where dried blood plastered his hair to his head. He reached up to scratch and winced when his fingers encountered the raw, aching wounds left by Araqiel's claws. He shifted and his bladder protested, announcing its achingly full condition. That explained his dreams of needing to go to the bathroom and not being able to find one.

"Ethan! You're awake!"

He sighed in relief at the sound of Jezebel's voice. He had no idea what they'd done to her and part of him feared he'd wake to find her mortally injured…or worse. It'd taken a little while to wrap his brain around their new circumstances, but if he thought of the men and that…thing as particularly powerful bullies, then he had some familiar ground to work from. He didn't have the first clue how to escape, but at least he could stop acting like a terrified baby.

"Are you okay?" he asked, wincing as the words came out a croak.

"I'm fine. They just took blood…with a needle, this time. You're the one that's bleeding so much."

Ethan gently ran fingers over the wound on his scalp, wincing as pain flared, but his hand came away clean but for a few flakes of dried blood.

"It's not bleeding anymore. And what do you mean 'this time'?"

Jezebel looked away and he scowled at her. He'd always known there was stuff about Jezebel that he couldn't guess at and might never learn, but it seemed a little late for secrets, now.

"What she means is that she knows exactly who we are and where we come from. It's the same place she came from." Ethan winced at that hated voice. The…thing had joined their jailer just outside the wire mesh that kept them prisoner. Jezebel glared at Araqiel, teeth bared and a low, animalistic growl rumbling in the back of her throat. After the incident at the park, Ethan wasn't even surprised at her insolence with adults, but if these were the kind of people she'd been around before Sir Integra and Alucard, then he understood a little more how she could act that way, and his respect for her bravery skyrocketed.

"What are you?" Ethan asked, turning his head to glare at the thing. It took every ounce of courage he had, but if Jezebel could do it, damn it he could too. Araqiel smirked at him and shook his head.

"No. I think it's better that your little friend explain. Oh, but wait. She's probably promised not to speak of it. Poor little human boy will have to stay in the dark."

"You're a demon," Jezebel said, narrowing her eyes at Araqiel. "And you're supposed to be dead. I promised Sir Integra I wouldn't tell Ethan about things like you. I never promised not to tell you what you are."

"Ah, the wonderful loopholes children can manipulate." The demon grinned, baring upper and lower fangs. Ethan felt a lurch in his stomach at the sight and an uncomfortable pressure in his bladder that threatened to embarrass him in front of his friend and his captor. He wriggled uncomfortably.

"I need to go to the bathroom," he said, loathe to admit it, but more loathe to wet himself in front of Jezebel. Araqiel smirked down at him.

"Sounds like you have a problem, doesn't it?" Ethan glared at the demon's cruelty, but to his relief, Barston had heard him and rose to fetch the bucket that they provided to the children for such an occurrence. Araqiel hissed at the human as he unlocked the cage and set the bucket just inside. Barston ignored him, knowing that Heinkel held the demon's reins and wouldn't allow it to harm him.

Ethan gave the bucket a disgusted look, but knew better than to ask for better accommodations. They'd tried that already.

"I'll hold a blanket for you if you'll do the same for me," Jezebel said. Ethan shot her a grateful smile and nodded. She grabbed a blanket while he fetched the bucket and the roll of toilet paper inside. They moved to the far corner of the cage where Jezebel stood with her back to him and the blanket draped over her shoulders. She grabbed the corners and held her arms out, shielding what he was doing from the rest of the room.

He blushed a little at the sound that his urine made, hitting the bottom of the bucket. The suspense movies his parents watched never showed the captives having to go to the bathroom in front of their captors, unless they planned to use that to escape. They certainly never illustrated the embarrassment of having to handle such bodily functions in front of strangers, friends, enemies. Luckily, all he needed to do was pee. He finished quickly and zipped everything back up.

"Done."

"My turn."

He and Jezebel traded places and he glared out at the demon and their jailer as his friend did her business. The demon gave him a lascivious smile and moved as though he could spot Jezebel through a chink in the blanket. Ethan just glared and didn't budge. Jezebel would let him know if there was a place where the demon could see her. He certainly wasn't going to glance over his shoulder to look for himself. Bad enough that she had to remove more clothing than he to complete her ablutions. He wasn't going to make it worse for her.

She finished almost as quickly as he. Neither of them cared to linger over the bucket if they didn't have to. He dropped his arms and the floor under them lurched, a touch of g-force pulling them to the side. Ethan braced himself against the metal wall, grateful that the bucket was a deep one as its contents sloshed around. The floor shuddered, accompanied by a piercing shriek and Ethan stumbled a bit as the floor seemed to slip out from under them. The swaying and shifting stopped and a moment later, the rumbling died off.

Araqiel and Barston looked up as Heinkel stood, stretching out his arms and arching his back.

"Whe'll haf a thirty hinute freather and then I think whe whill fe ready to fegin the rhitual, Ara'hiel." (We'll have a thirty minute breather and then I think we will be ready to begin the ritual, Araqiel.)

The demon grinned, a sight that sent a shiver down Ethan's spine.

"I look forward to it." The demon's eyes glowed as he glared at the children. Behind him, the back of the long room cracked down the middle, resolving into a pair of doors that swung open on smooth hinges. A swath of concrete appeared beyond the doors with cars stopping at gas pumps in the distance. The smell of gasoline rolled in as men began unloading the bags of trash that accumulated from two children and several adults living in a confined space.

"Bring the bucket," Barston ordered, unlocking the gate in their prison. Ethan thought about trying to shove past the man as Jezebel fetched the bucket, but even if he managed that, he would have to make it past the demon and several adults. Assuming he succeeded, that would leave Jezebel behind and who knew what they would do to her, then?

Giving the idea up as patently ridiculous, he moved to the far corner of their prison and sat down. Jezebel handed the bucket out and then joined him.

"You said Alucard would find us," he said in a low voice as she sat down.

"Of course he will."

"Is he a demon too?" It didn't seem so far-fetched. There was something uncanny about the incredibly tall man that helped with their martial arts classes and enjoyed a level of near worship from Jezebel. Anyone that could command that level of respect from the headstrong girl had to be something special.

Jezebel shook her head vehemently and glared at Ethan.

"Not a chance! How dare you?"

Ethan's eyes flew wide and he put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. He honestly hadn't meant it as an insult.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Jezebel gave him a narrow look as though suspecting him of lying to cover his butt. He gave her hurt, puppy dog eyes. He'd never lied to her, or purposely said anything to hurt her. She looked away.

"He's something much, much better. I just can't tell you."

"If you say so." Ethan huffed, a little miffed that she still kept her secrets, even though he now knew about demons…and from her own lips, to be completely honest.

"I promised!" she growled in a voice that told him she was just as frustrated as he. Ethan sighed and touched her shoulder.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just really wish I understood what's going on."

"I wish I could tell you," she said. "I think…I think you'll learn, when Alucard finds us. Just…promise me. Don't be afraid of him. I swear he won't hurt you."

Ethan frowned, thinking. So, obviously, Alucard was something other than a normal person…something he might fear, but not a demon. But there were too many options. Maybe an angel? No. He could assume that if demons were real, then angels must be as well, but there was something decidedly unangelic about Alucard.

Giving up the guessing game, he settled down to watch the activity at the far end of their prison.

This was the first time they were awake for a pit stop, although he'd figured out a while ago that they were on some kind of vehicle. He thought it might be a moving truck or maybe one of those huge trucks that carried freight across continents. Weren't they called semi-trucks? That would certainly explain the size of the room and the constant grumbling and sense of rocking movement. But why?

"Can Alucard track you?" he asked, an idea suddenly forming in his mind. Jezebel cut him a harsh glare and didn't answer. So…that was a yes and something she couldn't discuss. Fine. That explained the truck. He couldn't track them as effectively if they were constantly moving. Smart, but depressing.

The boy's mind sorted through ideas, discarding them as useless or impossible. Their captors had planned well, placing them at the back of the feeder, never leaving them alone to try to pick the lock or get the keys, allowing nothing in their cage but blankets and the bucket when they needed it. He'd never seen Araqiel sleep and the demon never left the truck, always keeping those keen silver eyes on them.

Gritting his teeth, he watched the men take the last of the garbage and then start piling in supplies to replace what they'd used: water, food, charged battery packs for the computers Araqiel and Heinkel used. A loud clank resonated through the metal at their back and distantly, the sound of running water…or more likely, the gas tank being filled. If he screamed, would someone hear him? If they did, would it help? Or would Heinkel just order them killed and let Araqiel have at him again? Or worse, would they decide to hurt Jezebel to keep him in line, just as they threatened to hurt him to keep her in line?

He wouldn't risk it. So far, these men hadn't threatened to kill them, at least not until after Alucard showed up. All he could do was hope that Jezebel's hero could overcome whatever they had planned for the man.

The pit stop ended and Heinkel piled back into the feeder with Barston, Father Whelan and another man they'd only seen a couple of times. The doors at the back of the truck swung closed with a loud clang and the engine started, sending that rumbling vibration through the floor.

"Clear the ta'hles. Whe whill need the rhoo'." (Clear the tables. We will need the room.)

The floor rocked under them and a loud crash came from the undercarriage of the tractor trailer. A wild hope flared in Ethan's chest that Alucard had arrived, but everything evened out and he realized the driver must have gone over a curb by mistake. Heinkel glared over their heads at where the cab of the truck would be, but let it go. They had more important things to do than berate the driver.

With the help of Barston and the man Ethan didn't know, the tables were moved to the far end of the feeder, up against the double doors, clearing floor space for whatever it was they had planned. Araqiel paced around, his appearance seeming to…morph. His hair became wilder, the flesh of his face and hands sinking until he took on a gaunt, hungry look. Those silver eyes took on a slight glow in the soft lights of the truck interior. The nails of his hands grew into sharp, curved talons and the faintest hint of bat wings hovered over his back, as though they existed in some shadow realm removed from reality.

"Fhring the girl," Heinkel said. (Bring the girl.)

Barston pulled the cage keys from his pocket and opened the gate. Jezebel swallowed, but willingly moved to leave. Ethan wanted to grab her back, but that would only bring punishment down on the both of them. He grit his teeth, furious at how helpless he felt. He swore, if they survived this, he would learn to protect himself and those he cared about, no matter what it took.

Araqiel descended on Jezebel, grinning that half mad leer that raised the hairs down the length of Ethan's spine. He grabbed the back of her neck, thick dark claws pricking at her skin as he pushed her to the middle of the cleared space. Barston came forward with his needles and vials. Heinkel brought out a piece of chalk-chalk?-and began sketching…something…on the floor of the feeder. Ethan scowled, trying to puzzle out what was happening.

Barston finished his collections and handed two vials of dark blood to Heinkel. Jezebel looked sleepy and dizzy in Araqiel's clutches. Ethan pressed himself against the mesh that separated him from his friend, wishing he could reach through and help her.

Heinkel finished his drawing and then went back over it with the vials of blood, sprinkling it over the chalk lines. Araqiel stayed in the middle with Jezebel clutched in his arms, grinning madly. Heinkel stepped back from the completed drawing…two circles, one within the other, with a star in the middle of them. Strange symbols decorated the spaces between the spikes of the star and around the edges of the circles. Jezebel seemed to revive a little as she looked around her and her eyes widened in horror.

"No!" she whispered and put up a short, futile struggle. Ethan scowled. What was it? What did she see that he didn't?

"Ara'hiel, it is ready. Fhegin." (Araqiel, it is ready. Begin.)

The demon's grin widened until it almost split his face. He clamped his arms around Jezebel, one hand over her mouth. He looked up to the ceiling of the feeder truck, a look of near rapture on his face.

"Homogenie is my name; through the mother's essence red; the Bird of Hermes to tame; and put away the dead." The lines of the circle and star flared as the demon spoke, a lurid red with streamers of darkness shot through, like light through water. Jezebel's eyes rolled back in her head and she screamed behind the muffling hand, her back arching.

"Stop! Let her go!" Ethan threw himself at the wire mesh, but only succeeded in bruising his shoulder. Araqiel ignored them both.

"The red elixir vitae; the raven's soul in darkness; through agony seek the way; dark ascendency to wrest."

The demon paused as the darkness in the red light seemed to writhe. He took a breath to continue and Stygian darkness enveloped the feeder, killing all the lights like flipping a switch. The floor shuddered as though struck by a great force. Tires squealed and the feeder rocked wildly, listing to the side and throwing Ethan to his knees. Beyond the walls, horns blared and more tires squealed. Metal crunched against metal in a series of sickening crashes. The floor rocked, pitching back and forth like a ship in a tempest before shuddering to a stop. A dark, demented chuckle echoed through the utterly black interior of the feeder, ending on a vicious snarl. Jezebel's voice rang out in the darkness, filled with joy.

"Alu!"

A/N: Okay, it's a bit of a cliffhanger. Sorry? *runs and hides* Although, it's not like everyone can't imagine what's about to happen. *grin* Let's just hope I can live up to everyone's expectations.