Chapter 25:
It was late when Wolf discovered that his patient was missing, and even later when the witch-doctor decided that he had better come clean with his client. He'd spent the better part of an hour hunting for the norm–really soul-searching and trying to figure out if he should just skip town. Now, under threat of death, he found himself trying to explain to Huntress what had happened.
"He went out," rumbled the doctor. "It's... I-it should have been impossible..." "Not for an alien," growled the warrior-wizard! "Just when were you going to fucking tell me, Wolf?" "I-I tried to find him," replied Wolfie! "Honest! I searched everywhere." Huntress thought about that a moment. Some things weren't adding up. There were no places a norm was supposed to be able to go in Wizard City without escort. Finn shouldn't have been able to go to a public toilet without getting rousted by the police! He had diplomatic immunity–so far as that went–but he was absolutely not allowed to roam the streets.
This was planned, thought the wood-nymph. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Finn had been absolutely right all along. The alien had been laying in wait. He didn't behave like any of the others. He'd been laying for them–waiting to jump them when they came to grab his ass.
And we fell for it, thought the wizard. She had fallen for it. Finn had warned her that there might be a trap, but she'd fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. More to the point, the creature had tried to take her out first. It wasn't a coincidence that they had run into him not far from Wizard City. He'd wanted to come here. This had been his plan all along. So why here, thought the wizard?
The answer came as a bit of a shock to her. The alien had wanted to use her for something. He'd gone for her first so he could use her. He was planning something terrible for Wizard City, and he'd needed a known wizard to do it. Now as she drew the conclusions, it all made sense. He hadn't wanted Finn at all. He'd wanted her. The only question was, what would she do now? The creature was out there still, and it had Finn's face.
"I got the remedy ready," said the witch-doctor. "What good does that do me now," growled the mercenary?! "H-he's still in there," said Wolfie! Huntress raised her hand, ready to kill him out of hand, and he repeated that statement, voice going up an octave out of the terror that he felt. "It had to wait, H," said Wolfie! "When I saw him, he was passed out asleep! It had to wait for him to fall asleep! He's still in there! You can still save him!"
Huntress lowered her palm, as she thought about that. Taking her hand in his, Wolfie pressed the gadget into her palm, saying, "you just got to get that pressed against his skull. It'll suck the entity out of him." Which was easier said than done. Still, if there was a hope, was there any doubt that she'd be trying to save her man? Folding the little device up in her hand, Huntress deposited it in one of her belt-pouches. Then, reaching into her tunic, she got out a small bag full of gold coins and tossed them to him. "Congratulations," said the wizard. "You get to live." Without a further word, she turned and stormed out.
It didn't take long for the wizard to locate her missing boyfriend. She heard, more than saw one of the wizard police go dashing by. Knowing that a running cop meant trouble, Huntress gave chase. As she followed him through the chaotic streets of her home town, she could hear him communicating with his fellows. They had a problem. There was a problem down on the market square, and more units were needed to deal with it.
Huntress knew the quality of the men who policed her brethren. They were cruel, ruthless creatures, and they reveled in the power to sanction someone–anyone–for a day or an eternity. Most wizards knew better than to push them too far. If they were having trouble with somebody, it was an outsider. Trouble with an outsider meant Finn. Anyone else would have become a magic stick by now.
She found the wizards on the square, hunting high and low for the man who'd overpowered three of their number. They were scared. She could hear it in their voices. Who the hell was this guy? How did he have the power to turn aside their weapons like that? Finn alright, thought the wizard. A glance out at the square revealed three wiz-cops down, and the rest scanning the scene in confusion. Was he still nearby? The alien had control of him. What was its goal? It hadn't managed to grab the right body, but it had someone. Think, Emeraude, she admonished herself. What would she do if she were in the alien's shoes?
The Grand Master, thought the wizard. The alien had knocked down three cops after they called for backup. Anything that could knock down three wiz-cops would get the force's full attention. That meant drawing cops from across the city. Draw enough of them, and they'd have to sortie the palace guards. Finn wasn't most norms. He had friends in high places, and he was known to the Grand Master. If the alien could bluff its way past somebody, he could snatch the Grand Master's body. Huntress had been prepared, or it might have snatched her. The Grand Master, preoccupied with his hobbies and his cats, could be an easy mark.
Turning away from the scene, the wizard ran off into the night. She had to intercept the alien before he reached the palace. If she could knock him out–take him prisoner–she could get Wolf's gadget on his head and drag the entity out of Finn's body. If, if, if, if, if. There were too many ifs, but what choice did she have?
The wizard ran as fast as she dared. It wasn't good to draw attention from the cops by running in their presence. With them stirred up, she might be taken for the instigator–and she did have a history with them. As she rushed across the city, she began to see that the alien's plan was going all too well. In point of fact, there were deeper, darker depths to the plan. A couple of corpses with holes burned through their middles showed that the alien maybe had friends here. He didn't have a lot, but it was enough to create chaos and drag more cops from their patrols.
So how many will he keep at the attack on the palace, wondered Emeraude? If he wanted to have his best chance, he would take a handful of soldiers with him. Then he only had to get the door open. If he wanted to exploit Finn's presence, he'd leave his men in the city where they could continue to raise hell and attract the guards. So which is it, thought the wizard? The more men at the palace, the harder her job became. That increased the risk to Finn.
Does it matter, wondered the wood-nymph? He's never going to be yours. He's never going to quit her. Part of her thought it was better for him to die. Then neither could have him. It was selfish to the point of being evil, but that was what she felt some moments when he was looking at pictures of her and that fucking kid. Others, she thought of maybe faking an attack by the aliens. They'd picked up more than a few of their weapons. She could literally burn down his whole house and make it look like somebody else. Then she could swoop in and save him from his sorrow.
Focus, Emeraude, she told her self. Focus. There was little point in fantasizing about murder when she still had to save the man himself. She felt guilty. She felt like a fucking idiot. He hadn't wanted to rush into that, but she'd pushed. It hadn't mattered before. Now she saw what he had already seen. She now had all sorts of reasons to be more careful, and it was time she grew up. Ironically, that thought gave her the answer.
He'll go alone, thought the wizard. The alien had nothing to lose. He didn't even stand to lose himself. If he got Finn killed, he could just snatch somebody else's bod and be right back in business. That was the confidence that let him just sit there waiting for them. At the end of the day, he had no attachment to the lives he destroyed. So he'd walk into the Grand Master's palace badass and bold as brass and just take his chances. With that thought set in her mind, the wizard took off. She still had to be careful, but now she had some idea where to go.
Imgwesh listened to the sounds of his minions on the communicator as they called out to each other. Everything was going to plan. The boys hadn't liked his plan at all. It put a lot of the risk on them. They had to go out and pick fights with the strange defenders of this place, and they'd already seen what happened when the locals crossed these creatures. Imgwesh had prevailed. Now the plan was bearing fruit. There were over a dozen fires spread across this strange city. There were dozens of dead, and many of those were enforcers. His men had raised slaughter, and now the enforcers were dancing to his tune.
The boy was becoming more and more shrill now. His pain was palpable. As every new report came in, he became more and more agitated. He had thrice now fought to take control of his body back. Imgwesh had beaten him back handily. He knew the pain points to apply. He would dredge up the boy's terror of the water. He would bring out the unpleasant memories of the hateful words Joshua had spoken about the boy, calling him weak and a child. The alien reminded Martin's son of all the times that his precious princess had insulted him and pushed him away–especially the times she'd called him a child. And then, if the boy still persisted, he'd get socked with images of the talking pastry banging his woman. The boy was impotent just now. He would have to sit and watch Imgwesh as he completed his plan. There were just two enforcers in the way now.
The last two wiz-police had just left when Huntress rushed onto the scene. Finn was at the top of the stairs, knocking on the door and arguing with someone inside. If the Grand Master was as stupid as he usually was, it was probably him on the far side of the door. He was almost in reach of the alien. Stepping out, the wizard readied her defenses against possession and got ready for the fight of her life. Finn was fast. He was hellaciously fast. She'd never seen a norm that moved like he did.
On top of that, he had that fucking sword. The sword could stop her lightning. That left her with just her spell-arrows, and that would kill him. She had to shut that down somehow. It gave him a reach-advantage close in. And then she still had to get the device against his skull and keep it there. Think fast, Emeraude, the wizard admonished herself. The door was opening.
Imgwesh was just about to reach out and touch the fool on the far side of the door, when a blast of lightning struck the stone wall. A blast of thunder made his host's ears ring and sent him flying ass-over-elbows back down the stairs. The door got pulled shut by an invisible force as a dazzling globe of light came shooting across the square and straight up to his face.
"You're going to let go of my boyfriend," growled the female, as she approached. "Ah," retorted the alien. "You must really have liked what I gave you, little bitch." Blushing, Huntress growled, "I'm warning you..." Imgwesh folded the boy's legs up, then leapt back to his feet, drawing that sword as he did so. With a predatory smile, he said, "make me let go of him." And then he started across the square, making the tip of that sword dance hypnotically. It was such a crude weapon, but the effects were undeniable. The feel–even the sound–of that blade slicing flesh made the alien giddy.
As expected, the wizard backpedaled. She wasn't ready to kill her 'boyfriend' just yet. Imgwesh turned up the heat. "I was after you, you know," said he. She knew. "I was going to do such entertaining things to the boy," the creature told her, "with your hands..." "Fuck you," growled Huntress. Slashing at her, the alien laughingly retorted, "no. Fuck you." The boy rebelled against him, and he filled his mind with the image of that oh-so-sharp sword driving straight up the little bitch's private place–in place of the boy's organ. As the boy reeled, the alien began stabbing and slashing at Huntress.
Closer, thought the wizard. Bring it in closer. She didn't have a spell for this. Everything she had was aimed at instant incapacitation or death. The only difference was the scale. Many or just one. Slowly she reeled her opponent in, getting him to expend strength trying to smash her. "Hold still, you little bitch," growled the irritated alien! Finally she stopped at just the right spot.
Huntress turned the blade with her bracer, and then executed a chop-block on his wrist just below the heel of his hand. The Finn-sword came free, and the wizard kicked it away. Then she went on the offensive, kicking and punching her beau, driving him back away from the blade. "Clever," growled Imgwesh. Huntress knew she was being baited. She had no time for listening. This was still a fight for Finn's life.
The alien let her kick and punch, countering that rain of blows with speed, skill, and strength. The boy was far stronger. He'd let her win their little contest in the forest. Now, as she over-extended herself, Imgwesh caught her arm and threw her. The wood-nymph landed heavily, and, as she tried to gather her wits, the alien pounced.
Wrapping a powerful hand around her throat, Imgwesh pinned her. Snatching out Finn's trusty dagger, he told her, "I was going to kill you second to last, cunt. I wanted to make him howl for the trouble he put me through." As the wizard gasped for air, the evil alien listed a litany of barbarities that he'd intended to inflict on her. For every tender way Finn had ever touched her, this sick bastard had a horror in mind.
As he recited that list of evil, Huntress struggled to keep the knife at bay while she tried to pry those fingers off her throat. Finn's hot breath on her face–and the oodles of CO2 in it–was all that kept her going. Still, she hadn't a hope of getting Finn off her–not without hurting him. He was just too strong. With the creature in possession of his body, he was probably stronger. She really had only two choices to escape this situation.
Letting go the hand that was choking her, she reached for the fold in her cloak that held her holdout weapon. She had the spell-arrow in hand, ready to kill, when a singular thought stopped her. What if she killed him? What then? What would life be like without the one thing she couldn't do without? She had been searching for this one thing–this one person–all her life. Now that she had it, could she really just throw it away? The knife inched closer to her left breast. She could feel the pressure on her flesh through the leather of her tunic. Truth was, she didn't want to know. She didn't really want to live without Finn to find out just what that was like. As the knife began to dig into the leather–as her grip on his wrist began to falter, Emeraude lay the spell-arrow down and closed her eyes, waiting for the end.
She waited.
The pressure of the knife against her breast was such that she couldn't understand why she was still breathing. Why was she still able to breath? She could feel it. The hard edge of the knife digging into her breast with every breath she took. Why wasn't she screaming? Why wasn't she choking on her own blood?
A sudden scream rang out, startling her. The pressure was gone. When she opened her eyes, Finn was no longer kneeling over her, trying to butcher her. He was staggering around screaming at himself and pulling on his hair. "You're not doing that t'my girl," he shouted! "You're not doin' that, you fucker!" Huntress rose, her face a study in shock. Finn was grappling with himself now, holding the hand that held the knife as that knife worked its way steadily towards his chest. It would have been comical if it wasn't deadly serious. Now or never, Emeraude, she told herself.
Conjuring a small charge, she knocked the knife from his hand, sending it clattering across the paving stones. Then she was on him, pressing Wolf's gadget to his head. The shock of it making contact made her boyfriend scream. She knew the wizard police would be here soon. Even without all the hell the aliens had raised, a battle outside the Grand Master's palace was going to attract all kinds of negative attention. When you added a screaming mundane to the mix, it was a wonder they weren't swamped already. Hope some are still alive, thought the wizard. The city would be defenseless if the other aliens were still around.
"Finn," she breathed. "Fight with me..." Wrapping her arms around him and holding his struggling form close to her, she whispered a charm in his ear. Over and over she whispered those words. Time seemed to stand still, while Wolf's curative worked its magic, drawing the evil entity out of Finn's mind. Finally, she saw sanity return to his blue-blue eyes. Tears began to fall as he realized what had almost happened to her. "We need to scoot, baby," she whispered. "You can kiss me later."
The twosome ran like hell, dodging Wizard City's cold-hearted enforcers on their mad dash to freedom. They had been surprised, dazed, and confused in the face of the aliens and their firepower. In the end though, there were only six aliens and hundreds of wizard-police. The wiz-cops had gotten the upper hand, turning two of the aliens into magic sticks before the others fled screaming into the night. With that done, the cops turned their attention to the frantic calls for help from the Grand Master's palace. The arrived just as the two perpetrators fled and immediately gave chase.
Huntress knew that they weren't going to get any traction with Wizard-City's Po-Po. They weren't known for being friendly on the best days. Tonight, she and Finn had fought a duel on the Grand Master's doorstep, and there was no telling whether or not the nasty old cuss had seen or heard the fuss. When you added in the fact that several of them were dead, and they were still fighting fires throughout the city, the wood nymph wizard thought that they weren't real likely to be interested in the diplomatic pass.
Dodging blasts of green fire and hexes meant to turn them both into sticks, the pair rushed to the entrance, barely managing to get out before they got sanctioned. Even then, Huntress kept them going. They were out of the city, but that didn't mean the wiz-police would stop chasing. They didn't always let things drop at the gate. Finn, exhausted and weakened by his ordeal, was a bit of a mess when they came huffing and puffing up to the truck. Huntress shoved him into the bed and raised the gate before jumping in the driver's seat. As the wiz-cops considered pursuit–or a couple of nasty bolts of green fire–she went roaring off into the darkness.
It was more than an hour later that Simone was awakened by frantic knocking. She'd fallen asleep on the couch with Billy at her side and a book in her lap. Rising, she yawned and stretched as she listened to see if she'd really heard knocking at her door. Sure enough, it came again. Still yawning, the beautiful ex-sorceress made her way down the stairs to the door, taking her time and checking the shuriken and nunchucks she kept hidden on her person. "Who is it," she called, as she turned the handle?
Simone was a little startled to find Huntress on her doorstep when she opened the door. A momentary surge of fear coursed through her as she caught sight of Finn's partner and assistant there at their door. A glance to her left brought an instant surge of relief. Finn stood there–or rather wobbled there. He looked... awful. He looked like he'd run all the way to the wastelands and back.
"We had trouble," said Huntress shortly. Throwing Finn's arm over her shoulder, she helped him walk into the house. With the wizard's help, Simone got him upstairs to the couch. As Finn lay there, looking as bad as she'd ever seen him, his wife asked the obvious, "what happened?" "The guy we were chasing was a body-snatcher," sighed Huntress. She was staring down at Finn's face. "He flattened me, but I think my defenses blocked him out. Finn wasn't so lucky."
"What does that mean," demanded Simone? "It tried to take Finn's body," muttered Huntress. "I took him to Wizard-City to get help. We got it out of him..." She didn't dare look at Simone, just now. The guilt had hit her the minute that door opened. She was sleeping with Simone's man. Strangely, that had never mattered before. Finn wasn't her first married guy. Her first, she'd all but ruined. She'd scored a third of his assets by the time all was said and done. His wife got most of the rest.
Seeing Simone there–and knowing just what she was doing to this woman–aroused a towering shame in her heart. "W-what happened to your shoulder," gasped Simone? She went to pull the tunic down off Simone's shoulder, and the wizard jerked away. "We got in a fight," muttered the wood-nymph. "It... it almost had him. He tried to kill me." Simone gasped in shock. Knowing what she was thinking, Huntress told her, "he's... strong... He'll be alright. We-we got it out of him in time." Moving on, Simone reached out to Finn's friend, saying, "we should treat that..." Huntress turned to walk away, saying, "it's... it'll be fine. You have to take care of him now." Because she couldn't. She was fighting to keep the tears back. It had never hurt this bad before.
Standing at the stairs, she said, "he's... There'll be side-effects... He'll... remember things that the creature made him do or think while it had control... You... he'll need somebody to help him get through it." And without a further word, she went down the stairs and out the door. Simone could hear it close behind her.
Outside, Emeraude burst into tears. Staring back over her shoulder at the treehouse, she saw his face as he fought that thing–as he tried to kill himself to save her life. Just as she'd said, he would never have hurt her. Standing there in the shadows of Finn's home, her mind replayed those words over and over. She was his girl. He was her boyfriend.
And she had to leave him here.
Wiping at tears, the wood-nymph grabbed her pack out of the back of the truck. Shutting the door, she walked off into the darkness, bound for her empty little apartment. In spite of the aches and pains she felt–in spite of the fatigue–she forced herself to keep going across the long lonely miles as she reflected on the unpleasant reality she faced. She couldn't take care of him. With all the money she had and all the power that was in her hands, she hadn't been able to take care of him. She'd caused this. She'd done this to him. She wasn't ready to be a wife or a mother, and this had proved it. Simone would never have done that. She'd never have put his life in jeopardy on a whim. You need to grow up, she thought. He'd managed to do it. Somehow, he had grown beyond her. If she wanted to be a wife, she had to do the same. She had to catch up.