Chapter 12: Smoke and Mirrors
The elevator doors stood open in front of Constance. She stepped off and the door closed silently behind her. She was standing in Irons' dark office. The curtain were drawn, no light was being let into the room. No one home. Her footsteps echoed as she walked across the room. She could sense the Witchblade's presence, was Sara here? Constance turned towards a long hallway that stretched away from Irons' office. The end of the hallway was dimly lit, someone was there or they had been there recently. The office looked as though there had been a struggle. "Doesn't look good..." she whispered. The Witchblade beckoned to her as she walked down the hall. The temperature dropped as she neared the end of the hallway. She could hear a deep voice of a man talking. Then came Irons voice. Constance drew closer to a large metal door and leaned against it to listen. She could feel cold air coming out from under the door. The air froze her toes and ankles as it slowly crept up her body. Why was it so cold in there? She heard the deep voiced man talk again and she listened intently.
"There, that's perfect."
"It's feel like the arctic in here," came Irons response.
"It has to be that cold in order for the dream to work. Their bodies have to be motionless. The have to be put into a temporary coma." The man's voice rumbled.
"What makes you think that this will even work?" She could tell that Irons was angry.
"It will work, because the Witchblade wants it to work. It's my destiny to kill you and the others. By tonight you and all the others will be dead. You will kill each other. I won't have to lift a finger. Although I do like killing people." The man's voice was so calm. Kill Irons? She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What OTHERS? Then the reality of her vision came flashing before her; she had seen everyone, Sara, Ian, and Irons, then a strange man. Maybe the man she heard in the other room was that man. She leaned against the door again. The speaking had stopped. She heard nothing. Where did they go? Just as she started to move away from the door it swung open sending her sprawling on the floor. Her head fell in-between two large feet. She jumped to her feet trying to recover and fight, only to be lifted off the ground by two large hands. She kicked his torso and OTHER areas over and over. He didn't budge. He shook her violently and surrendering she stopped attacking and looked him directly in the eyes.
His dark eyes glared back at her. "So, we finally meet, Constance." She didn't know how he knew her name, but she calmed herself. She could feel the Witchblade calling to her still; it was close by, if she could only find it. "So pretty." His eyes undressed her. She winced as he scanned her body. "Too bad you have to die." His hand went up to her neck; it wrapped completely around it. He held her like that for a moment, then released her neck, "No, this has to be done right." He tied her up next to Irons and walked across the room.
Irons was tied in a large chair, he looked very vulnerable. Constance caught his eyes with hers and his look of anger changed into hope. "You can save me, you can save both of us. Find the Witchblade." His whispering sounded like a snake and Constance turned away from him.
"Why would I want to save you?" She kept her eyes facing towards the large man that stood across the room. "Save yourself." With these words she turned to look him in the eyes again, her eyes burned into him, and he turned away defeated.
The man walked back across the room holding a shiny silver bullet and a gun. "This is your destiny, to die by the Witchblade." He held up the bullet and placed it into the gun. "This bullet was made from a piece of the Witchblade, Irons had it specially mad for you." Constance knew that Irons wanted her dead. The big man turned towards Irons, "See, I'm following your orders, I was always better than Nottingham." He pointed the gun at Constance's head; then he put it into a holster. "But...this bullet is not only going to kill her, it's going to kill Nottingham as well." Constance filled with dread, he was going to try to kill Ian! The man walked heavily across the room. A shiny bracelet fell from his pocket, the Witchblade! He didn't even notice that it had fallen out. He sat down in a large chair and closed his eyes. Now was her chance!! She called to the Witchblade softly. It glowed at her, hissing in recognition. She closed her eyes, COME...it shook on the ground and slid a little towards her. She looked at it again and closed her eyes, COME...it moved closer. "COME TO ME!!!" The big man jumped out of his seat and ran towards her. The Witchblade flew into the air, changing into the gauntlet and blade. It cut Constance's bonds. She ran across the room away from the man, the gauntlet followed her. She reached her hand out and intercepted the Witchblade. The room changed as the energy flowed through her body, "What's going on?" She backed against a large bookcase that stood behind her. The room had suddenly become very black; it glowed in the light of several torches that rested in sconces on the walls. It looked like a dream. Mirrors surrounded her, she watched the large man move in front of her, suddenly he was all around her, or at least his reflection was. She turned round and round trying to decide which enemy to attack. The Witchblade's tip started to glow as she turned behind her and looked at the man's face.
He sneered at her and moved towards her, "This is my dream. You made it happen too soon, I wanted Nottingham to be here, but no you had to be impatient."
She thrusted the blade into his stomach. He keeled over, falling to his knees.
He rose to his feet; the wound disappeared, "Like I said, this is my dream. I'm in control, nothing can hurt me." Thunderous laughter filled the room as he vanished. She looked all around; he was nowhere to be found. She hadn't prepared herself for anything like this. She could fight anywhere, but in a dream, she had no control. She kneeled in the middle of the dark room...all she could do was wait.
Mr. Big had opened. Irons watched him walk slowly over to his gun and load normal bullets. Constance's body lay against the bookcase. Her eyes were closed. "Is...she..?"
Big walked over to Irons and followed his eyes to the woman. "She's in a coma. Our idea worked."
"Why am I not in the dream?" Irons coulds tell that Constance's eyes were moving below her eyelids.
"The Witchblade didn't choose you." He walked over to Constance and pointed his gun at her belly.
"She's wearing the Witchblade, you can't hurt her." Irons' voice was cold and stinging.
"Not in reality." Mr. Big closed his eyes again.
Constance lifted her head as he reappeared in front of her. He was holding a gun. The mirrors became stone walls and closed in around her. She stood up silently and look him directly in the eyes. She knew what was coming, the Witchblade might help her and it might not. He pointed his gun at her, "This is to get HIM here. Then I finish you." Everything went into slow motion as the bullet left the gun. Smoke drifted from the bullet as it flew across the room. The bullet drilled into her stomach it burned her insides. She fell backwards as time sped up again. Blood started seeping from her wound. She could feel herself being drained of her life. The Witchblade rest on her wrist, still glowing and hissing. Its blade vanished, but the gauntlet remained. The man disappeared again. She lay in the dark shivering. "Ian..." His name warmed her as tears rolled down her cheeks, "I'm sorry."
Irons watched Constance body shake, like she had been shot. Big opened his eyes with a sinister smile on his face. "Now, he'll come."
Irons closed his eyes. "Did you kill her?"
"Of course not, I just made her think that she's going to die. The Witchblade will call Nottingham here." He walked over to Irons, "You wanted me to kill her using the special bullet, and I'm going to. As soon as Nottingham arrives he'll step into the dream. He'll be powerless." He patted Irons' cheek, "Don't be so worried." He smiled and walked over to the large chair to sit and wait.
