Family
By Danu40k
This chapter was done by my co-writer Halla
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
~ooOoo~
The name she was born with was Eve Haley, but nobody knew that. And she was going to keep it that way, because she knew who she truly was. She was Morganna, the Morrigon. It wasn't wise to point out to her that they were two different people from two different mythologies, either. The last person who had done that ended up as a fly in a room full of frogs. So her servants and associates called her Mistress M and Kruft just called her "my lovely".
Mistress M adored Kruft, not just because he called her lovely, but because he was going to rule the world. He would be unable to do it without her help, of course, but together they would be Master and Mistress of the whole world.
That's why she was on this mission for him, not that he'd sent her or anything like that. She'd just seen a need and was filling it. He had been complaining about what trouble the Watcher's council had been to him. Since she was well able to deal with such trifles herself, she had taken it upon herself to deal with them for Kruft. He would be so surprised and pleased!
~ooOoo~
Jake had a theory. His theory was that even the Devil himself had to go out into the freezing rain to have his stinking cigarette. And there wouldn't be any adequate shelter to smoke in in Hades, either.
So there Jake stood, twenty five feet from the door of Watcher Central, trying to keep his cigarette dry while he, himself, got wetter and wetter. So he was very surprised when he looked up and saw the figure of a woman standing not five feet away from him. Whomever she was, she wasn't a demon -of that much he was certain. She was beautiful in an oldish sort of way, well maybe fiftish Jake thought but that was old to his twenty nine and she was about his height, say maybe five foot nine, with a long mane of wild white hair. She was protected from the rain by an all-enveloping cloak, but the hood was thrown back so he could see her face clearly. A magic user, Jake thought. They had a couple on the team and they were nuttier than Aunt Betty's Christmas fruitcake, or so Jake thought
But what was she doing here? He dropped his cigarette and started to reach for his walkie-talkie, but then he saw her eyes and froze. Rasputin had eyes like that, a dim part of his mind that wasn't transfixed by her stare thought. But that part of his mind was no longer in control, no matter how much it wanted him to finish that reach and call for help.
He stood there, unable to look away even as he saw more cloaked figures materializing around her. This is trouble that little part of his mind screamed. Call for help, it begged, but he could do nothing as she threw back the hood of her cloak.
"Hound, we have a rabbit here," she said, without breaking eye contact with Jake, although she wasn't talking to him -that was certain. Jake felt his fur standing up all over his body and his ears were standing up listening to every word and sound as his nose twitched madly. Wait a minute the remaining free part of his brain said -fur, ears, nose -what's going on, as the woman made a gesture and said a word that Jake didn't understand. It seemed to Jake that they were suddenly getting bigger, or maybe it was that he was getting smaller. In any case, they suddenly loomed over him like giants. It broke the eye contact with her though and his one thought was to get away, to get help.
"Hound, do you want to have a bit of fun?"
"Oh, please, may I Mistress M," said the heavy jowled man at her right.
This doesn't bode well for me, thought the last free corner of Jake's mind. Jake started to run, or rather, he found, hop away. But there was something following him, something much bigger that he and his twitching nose said it was a dog.
"Run, rabbit, run" he heard her voice call.
Jake ran for his life.
~ooOoo~
Something was battering at the second floor hall window, trying to get in. Mike drew his gun and advanced slowly towards the window. There hadn't been any warning of demons, not that he'd heard, but the windows were shuttered tight against attacks and what in the blazes that wasn't an attack would want in through the second floor window, for pity's sake.
Whatever it was sounded like fluttering wings and thumping against the shutters. A bird was all Mike could think it could be. But why would a bird want in? Then the light dawned in Mike's mind and he remoistened his gun with a sigh and started to unlatch the window.
"I think we've got an owl, " called over his shoulder to those downstairs and sure enough a great horned owl flew in and swooped down the stairs as Mike opened the shutters and then quickly reclosed them once the bird was in.
"Just what's wrong with the telephone…?" Mike muttered, as he headed downstairs after the bird. "Limey, you've got mail!"
~ooOoo~
"But I can't get it off his leg, Limey was explaining to Captain Montgomery as Mike got into the main ops room. Limey was rather conservatively dressed today in a pair of pinstriped trousers and a purple paisley silk shirt, with a Dodger's cap on his head. "See, he won't let me close. It's not meant for me. It's meant for you."
Now who in the seven levels would be sending me an owl," Captain Montgomery demanded of Limey. Montgomery was a big man and he stood for no nonsense in the ranks and owls and magic users were in his book nonsense.
"You'll have to open your letter to find out" Limey said, shrugging. "He's come a long way, he looks tired. I'm sure it's important Cap'n."
"That bird could take half my hand off in one peck," Montgomery replied." I can't think what would be that important that they couldn't just phone me about."
"Those phoney systems of yours are very unreliable," Limey replied, primly. "Owls are much more secure"
"Phones don't leave you with wounds that require fifteen stitches," the captain muttered, but he gingerly reached for the owl. Carefully, he got the thick, folded parchment off the bird's leg, without losing his fingers, and flattened it open. His face fell as he read.
"If his is correct," he said when he' finished. "If this is correct, the watcher station in the UK has fallen to a surprise attack. We're probably next. Limey, how long did this take to get here?" The Captain waved the message at Limey
A few days," Limey said, "maybe more. He had to cross the Atlantic to get here, and then find you."
"So, they could be coming any time," Montgomery swore. "Roust everybody out. We're on high alert. Jake…, where's Jake?"
"He went out for a cigarette," someone volunteered, meekly.
"A cigarette," the Captain moaned. "Those cigarettes will be the death of me, I swear! Get him in here!"
"Yes, sir," said a junior who was standing by the door. He, without further thought, swung the door wide open but he never got to call for Jake. He was blasted across the room by what seemed a bolt of lightning and cloaked figures were streaming through the door he had so conveniently opened for them.
"Take cover," the Captain ordered, taking his own advice and crouching behind a heavy desk as he took aim at the nearest magic use with his gun. He fired and was satisfied to see the man go down, but here were more swarming in -many more. They weren't outnumbered, it looked like, but it was close.
"Fire at will," Montgomery ordered, just in case there were any more stupid juniors out there who needed the order.
~ooOoo~
The battle wasn't going at all well, Mike thought. Their magic users had been taken out like they had no powers at all, so the invaders must be some really high powered stuff. And the invaders didn't seem to have any fear of guns.
Their leader seemed to be a crazy, white haired woman, at least that was who was giving the orders and who they all seemed to be protecting at all costs. So that woman was his target, Mike decided.
He thought he had a shot! Mike took aim, but before he could pull the trigger he heard the sound of claws on the floor and hard breathing. Demon, he thought instinctively as he shifted his aim. But it was a huge hound dog with a bloody muzzle bearing down on him. He fired, and the dead carcass slid to a stop at his feet. But he had drawn the white haired woman's attention. She raised her wand at him as he raised his gun, but she was faster. He fell in excruciating pain. All he could do was lay there and writhe in agony.
~ooOoo~
Captain Montgomery was crouched in what concealment the filing cabinet offered, picking his shots carefully. They were losing, that much was certain. Mike was down, writhing on the floor as if in terrible agony, though from what Montgomery didn't know.
Limey had been taken out almost immediately, and so casually that Montgomery knew these had to be some pretty high level magic users they were dealing with. As had the remaining of their magic users been taken out. Montgomery had seen one opponent turn into a great hound. Mike had shot him, luckily, but what good were bullets when the opposition could make your gun blow up in your hands. That had happened to several of his team already.
Blast it, they were prepared to deal with demons or anything else the seven hells could throw at them. But this… this they were unprepared for, unpracticed for, and probably unable to win.
That white haired woman, she was the key. If he could just take her down, he thought, we could still have a chance of pulling this off. But her people were protecting her fanatically. Well, he was a dead man if he didn't do anything, too.
Montgomery broke from his concealment and rushed the knot of magic users surrounding the witch, firing as fast as he could.
There, those in front of her were down. But she saw him and whipped her wand up and Montgomery felt his heart explode in his chest. His last thought was I missed.
~ooOoo~
Mistress M was not happy. The fight was over, they had won, but then there had been no question that they were going to. What she was not happy about was that her favorite, Hound, had been killed. The man who had done it was still writhing on the floor in the grips of her unspeakable curse. He would stay that way until his heart finally gave out. The rest of them were all dead or dying.
"Leave it" she ordered her remaining people. "We're done here.
She looked sadly one more time at Hound, and then turned and walked out of the watcher station forever