Part 28
Obsidian woke to the ringing phone. Who the hell would call at such an ungodly hour?
"It's six p.m.," Sven snorted from beside her.
On the other side of her Faith groaned. "Answer the goddamn phone."
Obsidian reached out and snatched up the receiver. "This had better be good," she snapped, sitting up, her raven hair tumbling around her shoulders. She behaved like a real vampire should, sleeping during the daylight hours. So now to her it was like 6 o'clock in the morning.
"It's Carter," the male voice told her. "You didn't tell me you sent Morticia and friends - or that Ethan was still around."
Obsidian's mouth opened, then closed. Ethan? Ethan was back. "He's on our side?" she asked, trying to sound careless.
Carter snorted. "Hardly. He's in love with your Susanna as well."
Obsidian didn't know what to say. Ethan...and Susanna? What could Ethan want with her? Susanna belonged to *her*. Ethan had too. She'd loved him. And had thought he loved her. And then he had left. And now Susanna had left.
"I didn't send Morticia," she said with a frown.
"Well Morticia's up here with Pierce and Glory and we have Susanna."
Obsidian remembered a few days ago, suspicious that they were up to something, Sven had told her it was a "surprise" for Her.
"Don't tell them anything, I'm coming up." She hung up and got out of bed.
Faith frowned. "What?"
Obsidian reached out and grabbed her chin, hauling her to face level. "Faith? What's going on?"
Faith's eyes were twinkling. "You're getting violent. Oooh, fun."
Obsidian grinned back, and threw her against the wall. "Faith? I'm going to get cranky soon." She walked over to Faith, who was trying to pick herself up off the floor, a cut above her right eye bleeding. Obsidian placed her foot on Faith's throat, pressing down.
"You already *are* cranky," Sven muttered, watching eagerly from the bed.
Obsidian growled at him. "Want me to come and kick the shit out of you, too?"
"Morticia's jealous," Faith got out. "She was planning on going to Greenville, getting Susanna and killing her, then you, she and I could be together like we used to be."
Obsidian took her foot of Faith's throat. She should have figured out something like that. She had lost Susanna once. She wasn't going to lose her again. She might even get Ethan as well.
* * *
Part 29
Susanna looked around, wondering how she could possibly get out of this. She pushed upwards, trying to get the lid off the coffin she'd been shut it. Nailed shut?
She had to give Morticia credit for originality, at least.
Glory had performed some sort of spell that blocked her telepathy so she couldn't call to anyone for help. She wondered if anyone had even noticed she was gone yet. Were they still all arguing about what was best for her?
And Carter...
If they didn't notice she was there...She remembered a phone ringing. Morticia had summoned Carter to bring her here, and sooner or later, they would kill her.
Someone should have put two and two together by now.
Ethan knew Obsidian. Would he know where Obsidian's cronies would take her? All she knew was she'd been knocked out and when she woke she was being shut in a coffin.
Was Ethan so angry with her that he wouldn't come and save her?
Why she was looking around, she had no idea, considering all she could see was total darkness. Looking for a hopeful escape plan? So far she was all out of ideas.
She knew they were going to kill her - *not* knowing *when* was the worst of all. She had never been so totally helpless before.
What if - what if someone had called Obsidian and Obsidian was coming to take her home? Ethan would never forgive her. *Tiegra* would never forgive her.
Losing one or the other was hard enough to deal with. Losing them both...she just couldn't imagine anymore pain than what she had been going through since she had first run away.
If that was going to happen, then she rather *would* be dead.
And as things were turning out, it looked like she might get her wish.
* * *
Part 30
"I have an idea," Tiegra said. Her eyes moved over to Ethan, who looked at her blankly.
Everyone else was looking at her too. Tiegra felt like strangling someone. How come they couldn't agree on anything? All they seemed to do was argue and look blankly at each other. They weren't getting anywhere, until she'd finally come up with a solution.
A dangerous solution - for Ethan, at least.
"What?" he said, realising everyone was staring between him and Tiegra. He eyes her for a few minutes. Then got it. "You can't be serious." He was clearly appalled.
Tiegra glared at him. "It's *all* we can do."
"If they figure it out they'll kill me."
"Well I'm hoping they won't figure out what you're doing!"
"No one *does* know what you're doing," Morgead put in, annoyed.
"How about letting the rest of us in?" Quinn asked. He still refused to be cooperative, no matter how hard they tried to convince him. The hell with him. Tiegra had given up. There were more important things at stake at than Quinn's dislike of Ethan. Susanna's life was ten times more important.
"Ethan is made by Obsidian," Tiegra said heavily, with exaggerated patience. "He can go find Carter and his friends, or call Obsidian and tell her he's coming home, then he can rescue Susanna."
"That's nuts! He could die!" Jack protested.
Tiegra and Ethan exchanged glances. Tiegra wondered how these people had come as far as they had. When it came to their own problems, solutions were came to easily.
So how come this was different? Just because three people's egos clashed they could get anything done.
"Well, this all depends on whether or not Ethan will accept the assignment," Shanna said finally.
"Ethan?" Tiegra whispered. If he didn't, they were stumped.
And Susanna would die.
Tiegra thought of all the fun times she, Ethan and Susanna had had together, monsters they'd hunted, people whose lives they'd saved, the romantic times and love in their threesome.
Threesome. Herself, Ethan and Susanna. If he didn't accept the task, Susanna would either be killed or taken away as Obsidian's slave. They wouldn't be a threesome anymore.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
Her eyes met Ethan's, and she knew the same things were running through his mind.
"I'll do it," he said.
Tiegra hugged him. She wished she could kiss him, but with everyone watching she felt kind of awkward. She pulled back and turned away. No one else would meet their eyes.
"We know, Susanna told us all about you three," Bridget said dismissively.
"Whatever," Ethan said with a sigh. "Now let's go over the plan."
* * *
Part 31
Carter kept his expression neutral and blank as he watched Glory perform her spell, then she and Pierce shut Susanna in a coffin. A *coffin*. Where the hell had that thing come from?
Someone from the house must have figured out what was going on by now. Katherine, of course, was dead. Once Morticia had the information she needed, why keep her alive?
He didn't know why Obsidian hadn't told him Morticia and her friends were coming up here. Well, when Obsidian got here, she'd sort them all out, and end this little obsession of hers.
In the mean time...His cell phone was ringing again,
"My, my, aren't you popular?" Pierce said with a smirk.
Carter ignored him and walked away to answer the phone. "What?" He didn't even care if he sounded rude.
"Carter? It's Ethan."
Carter was so surprised he almost dropped the phone. He hadn't expected this so soon, especially not from Ethan, a washed up has been. "What do you want? How the hell did you get this number?" He hurried away from Pierce, not wanting to be overheard.
"You gave it to that idiot Jack." Ethan's tone was amused.
Carter frowned. "What are you up to?" He made sure he was careful not to mention Ethan's name until he knew what was going on.
"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out. Come on Carter, I thought you were supposed to be smart."
Carter did not get it. Was he having a mental blockage or some kind recently? Ethan had walked out of Obsidian after he'd rescued that Susanna girl. He'd become a *vampire* *hunter*.
Unless...
From the smug tone of Ethan's voice...
"Well, you sure as hell had *me* fooled," Carter said, actually finding himself impressed. "I really thought."
"Yeah. So did everyone else." Now Ethan was just being his old, cocky self.
"I thought you were in *love* with Susanna."
"So did she. I do hope someone is planning on killing her. I want in."
Obsidian was going to love this when she got here. Susanna and Ethan in one delivery.
"What's going on?" Morticia demanded, snatching the phone away from Carter. Carter smirked at the change in her expression. "Come on over." After she gave him directions she hung up and passed the phone back to Carter.
Glory and Pierce were eyeing them suspiciously. "We'll be having company," Morticia said with a dreamy sigh before waltzing away,
Carter's eyebrow raised. "Oh *God*."
* * *
Obsidian woke to the ringing phone. Who the hell would call at such an ungodly hour?
"It's six p.m.," Sven snorted from beside her.
On the other side of her Faith groaned. "Answer the goddamn phone."
Obsidian reached out and snatched up the receiver. "This had better be good," she snapped, sitting up, her raven hair tumbling around her shoulders. She behaved like a real vampire should, sleeping during the daylight hours. So now to her it was like 6 o'clock in the morning.
"It's Carter," the male voice told her. "You didn't tell me you sent Morticia and friends - or that Ethan was still around."
Obsidian's mouth opened, then closed. Ethan? Ethan was back. "He's on our side?" she asked, trying to sound careless.
Carter snorted. "Hardly. He's in love with your Susanna as well."
Obsidian didn't know what to say. Ethan...and Susanna? What could Ethan want with her? Susanna belonged to *her*. Ethan had too. She'd loved him. And had thought he loved her. And then he had left. And now Susanna had left.
"I didn't send Morticia," she said with a frown.
"Well Morticia's up here with Pierce and Glory and we have Susanna."
Obsidian remembered a few days ago, suspicious that they were up to something, Sven had told her it was a "surprise" for Her.
"Don't tell them anything, I'm coming up." She hung up and got out of bed.
Faith frowned. "What?"
Obsidian reached out and grabbed her chin, hauling her to face level. "Faith? What's going on?"
Faith's eyes were twinkling. "You're getting violent. Oooh, fun."
Obsidian grinned back, and threw her against the wall. "Faith? I'm going to get cranky soon." She walked over to Faith, who was trying to pick herself up off the floor, a cut above her right eye bleeding. Obsidian placed her foot on Faith's throat, pressing down.
"You already *are* cranky," Sven muttered, watching eagerly from the bed.
Obsidian growled at him. "Want me to come and kick the shit out of you, too?"
"Morticia's jealous," Faith got out. "She was planning on going to Greenville, getting Susanna and killing her, then you, she and I could be together like we used to be."
Obsidian took her foot of Faith's throat. She should have figured out something like that. She had lost Susanna once. She wasn't going to lose her again. She might even get Ethan as well.
* * *
Part 29
Susanna looked around, wondering how she could possibly get out of this. She pushed upwards, trying to get the lid off the coffin she'd been shut it. Nailed shut?
She had to give Morticia credit for originality, at least.
Glory had performed some sort of spell that blocked her telepathy so she couldn't call to anyone for help. She wondered if anyone had even noticed she was gone yet. Were they still all arguing about what was best for her?
And Carter...
If they didn't notice she was there...She remembered a phone ringing. Morticia had summoned Carter to bring her here, and sooner or later, they would kill her.
Someone should have put two and two together by now.
Ethan knew Obsidian. Would he know where Obsidian's cronies would take her? All she knew was she'd been knocked out and when she woke she was being shut in a coffin.
Was Ethan so angry with her that he wouldn't come and save her?
Why she was looking around, she had no idea, considering all she could see was total darkness. Looking for a hopeful escape plan? So far she was all out of ideas.
She knew they were going to kill her - *not* knowing *when* was the worst of all. She had never been so totally helpless before.
What if - what if someone had called Obsidian and Obsidian was coming to take her home? Ethan would never forgive her. *Tiegra* would never forgive her.
Losing one or the other was hard enough to deal with. Losing them both...she just couldn't imagine anymore pain than what she had been going through since she had first run away.
If that was going to happen, then she rather *would* be dead.
And as things were turning out, it looked like she might get her wish.
* * *
Part 30
"I have an idea," Tiegra said. Her eyes moved over to Ethan, who looked at her blankly.
Everyone else was looking at her too. Tiegra felt like strangling someone. How come they couldn't agree on anything? All they seemed to do was argue and look blankly at each other. They weren't getting anywhere, until she'd finally come up with a solution.
A dangerous solution - for Ethan, at least.
"What?" he said, realising everyone was staring between him and Tiegra. He eyes her for a few minutes. Then got it. "You can't be serious." He was clearly appalled.
Tiegra glared at him. "It's *all* we can do."
"If they figure it out they'll kill me."
"Well I'm hoping they won't figure out what you're doing!"
"No one *does* know what you're doing," Morgead put in, annoyed.
"How about letting the rest of us in?" Quinn asked. He still refused to be cooperative, no matter how hard they tried to convince him. The hell with him. Tiegra had given up. There were more important things at stake at than Quinn's dislike of Ethan. Susanna's life was ten times more important.
"Ethan is made by Obsidian," Tiegra said heavily, with exaggerated patience. "He can go find Carter and his friends, or call Obsidian and tell her he's coming home, then he can rescue Susanna."
"That's nuts! He could die!" Jack protested.
Tiegra and Ethan exchanged glances. Tiegra wondered how these people had come as far as they had. When it came to their own problems, solutions were came to easily.
So how come this was different? Just because three people's egos clashed they could get anything done.
"Well, this all depends on whether or not Ethan will accept the assignment," Shanna said finally.
"Ethan?" Tiegra whispered. If he didn't, they were stumped.
And Susanna would die.
Tiegra thought of all the fun times she, Ethan and Susanna had had together, monsters they'd hunted, people whose lives they'd saved, the romantic times and love in their threesome.
Threesome. Herself, Ethan and Susanna. If he didn't accept the task, Susanna would either be killed or taken away as Obsidian's slave. They wouldn't be a threesome anymore.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
Her eyes met Ethan's, and she knew the same things were running through his mind.
"I'll do it," he said.
Tiegra hugged him. She wished she could kiss him, but with everyone watching she felt kind of awkward. She pulled back and turned away. No one else would meet their eyes.
"We know, Susanna told us all about you three," Bridget said dismissively.
"Whatever," Ethan said with a sigh. "Now let's go over the plan."
* * *
Part 31
Carter kept his expression neutral and blank as he watched Glory perform her spell, then she and Pierce shut Susanna in a coffin. A *coffin*. Where the hell had that thing come from?
Someone from the house must have figured out what was going on by now. Katherine, of course, was dead. Once Morticia had the information she needed, why keep her alive?
He didn't know why Obsidian hadn't told him Morticia and her friends were coming up here. Well, when Obsidian got here, she'd sort them all out, and end this little obsession of hers.
In the mean time...His cell phone was ringing again,
"My, my, aren't you popular?" Pierce said with a smirk.
Carter ignored him and walked away to answer the phone. "What?" He didn't even care if he sounded rude.
"Carter? It's Ethan."
Carter was so surprised he almost dropped the phone. He hadn't expected this so soon, especially not from Ethan, a washed up has been. "What do you want? How the hell did you get this number?" He hurried away from Pierce, not wanting to be overheard.
"You gave it to that idiot Jack." Ethan's tone was amused.
Carter frowned. "What are you up to?" He made sure he was careful not to mention Ethan's name until he knew what was going on.
"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out. Come on Carter, I thought you were supposed to be smart."
Carter did not get it. Was he having a mental blockage or some kind recently? Ethan had walked out of Obsidian after he'd rescued that Susanna girl. He'd become a *vampire* *hunter*.
Unless...
From the smug tone of Ethan's voice...
"Well, you sure as hell had *me* fooled," Carter said, actually finding himself impressed. "I really thought."
"Yeah. So did everyone else." Now Ethan was just being his old, cocky self.
"I thought you were in *love* with Susanna."
"So did she. I do hope someone is planning on killing her. I want in."
Obsidian was going to love this when she got here. Susanna and Ethan in one delivery.
"What's going on?" Morticia demanded, snatching the phone away from Carter. Carter smirked at the change in her expression. "Come on over." After she gave him directions she hung up and passed the phone back to Carter.
Glory and Pierce were eyeing them suspiciously. "We'll be having company," Morticia said with a dreamy sigh before waltzing away,
Carter's eyebrow raised. "Oh *God*."
* * *
