Inferno
By Divamercury
And now, what you've all been waiting for, Chapter 13 of Inferno! Sorry about the wait, but my muse went on strike. I had to be very persuasive to make her come back to work. Anyway, exams are coming up soon and the teachers are piling on the homework, not to mention that next week I will have no life what with choir rehearsals and concerts, so it might be a while before I upload again. Just depends on if I have the time or not, but I will try. It will be no later than December 21st, though, because that's when my winter break starts! Heheheheanyway, read and enjoy! And I don't own any of this, so you know the drill.
Chapter 13
"Well, hurry, Ian. I won't be able to stand much more of this, and I'm almost positive that Sara won't either."
"I am on my way," he said, and we both hung up. Sara stirred from the bed.
"Gabe?" she asked, more lucid than she had been for a while.
"Yes, Chief?" I moved closer to her.
"Am I going to die? I don't want any sugarcoating. Give me the facts," she said, giving me a glare. She was sounding more like herself now.
"Well, the truth is that I don't know. I don't think you will, because Ian thinks that he's found the cure. But he isn't sure, and I have to wait until he gets here. How are you?"
"I'm still holding on. I think I'll be okay for a little while. I just hope Ian knows how to get rid of this thing," she said.
"Speaking of Ian," I asked, "what is it with you two?"
* * *
What the hell? Where did that come from?
"What are you talking about?" I asked indignantly.
"You know what I mean. Why is he always around you? Why does he do things for you? Like get shot, I think you said once." Gabriel had that look on his face. The one daring me to lie.
"Irons tells him to do it," I said. That was true, usually.
"Oh, sure. He tells him to jump in front of a bullet for you."
"Yes."
"He tells him to watch you around the clock."
"Yes."
"He tells him to find a cure for some mysterious disease you have somehow contracted."
"Y–" I stopped. Damn it, he got me there. He didn't tell him to do that, I'd wager.
"I guess not," I said. Gabe smiled triumphantly.
"So, what is it between you two?"
"How should I know?" I queried. "Who says there's anything between us? If you're so goddamned curious, then Ian's the one you should be asking." And if you ask him then tell me what you find out,' I wanted to add, but didn't.
Gabriel decided that it would be best if he dropped the subject.
* * *
When I received the phone call from Ian, it had been 12:45. He walked in through Sara's door at 1:44. He was muttering under his breath, curses most likely. Sara was still as close to normal as she had been 59 minutes ago, her longest period without delirium.
"Traffic a bitch, Ian?" she inquired.
"You have no idea," he said, and then snapped around, realizing that it was Sara saying that. He was at the bedside in a split second. It was weird, first he was by the door and then after I blinked he was standing right beside me. I rubbed my eyes.
"Sara! How are you feeling?"
"Well, I've been better," she said, "but thanks for asking. I have been told by a reliable source that you know how to get rid of this thing."
* * *
"Well, your source was well informed. Sara, do you remember the cross I left for you?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Where is it?"
"Umm" she said, trailing off. Oh, no. If she couldn't remember, then we were all in trouble.
"Think, Sara. It's very important."
"Is it the cure?"
"I think it might be. Irons was looking for it earlier and when he couldn't find it, he flew into a rage. That clued me in."
"Well, the last place that I saw it was in my bathroom. I took it off before I took the last shower I've had for a while and I think I put it by my sink," she said.
"All right. I'll check it out," Gabriel said, shooting a mischievous Look of unknown context to Sara, who promptly scowled. He left, and she looked up at me.
"Listen, IanI just wanted to thank you for what you've done, not just recently but everything in general. I might not get another chance."
"Sara," I said, "don't even think that. You're going to be fine."
Suddenly she started coughing uncontrollably for a short amount of time. She had covered her mouth with her hands and when she took them away, we both stared at them.
They were stained with blood.
Her eyes were full of terror as Gabriel dashed back into the room.
"You okay, Chief?" he asked.
She held out her hands with a Look that clearly asked, "What do you think? I don't normally cough up blood, Gabe." He flinched at the sight.
"Jeez! Is this it, Ian? It better be." He held out his hand. Dangling from his fingertips, suspended from a delicate golden chain, was Cathain's cross.
"Yes," I said. Gabriel bent down and fastened it around Sara's neck. She promptly started coughing again.
"Damn!" Gabriel said, voicing aloud what was rattling around inside my brain.
We thought that everything that could possibly go wrong had already gone wrong. We were wrong again. There was a knock on the door. Gabriel froze. I turned and walked to the door, peering out through the peephole. A girl with black hair and dark eyes was standing outside.
"Sara?" she called. "You in there?"
"It's Sara's friend. I'm letting her in," I said.
Gabriel took the necklace off of Sara and tried to hide the Witchblade form view with a pillow, but I said, "She know s about it. Leave it uncovered."
"Did EVERYONE know the truth about this thing before me?" he asked, frustrated. Sara and I both had to suppress laughter.
I opened the door and Ciara came in.
"Sara, what's going on?" she asked. "I called your cell, hoping I'd get you, but you didn't answer. I was getting worried."
"Sorry about that, Ciara. I'm sick. Gabriel was probably on the phone. This is Gabriel Bowman, a friend of mine–"she gestured to him "–and that is Ian Nottingham, another friend. They've been taking care of me." She started coughing again. Gabriel and I ran to her, and in his rush Gabriel dropped the cross. Ciara saw it fall and picked it up gingerly. She stayed transfixed at the end of Sara's bed, the necklace still dangling from her fingers. Sara was trying in vain to stifle her latest coughing fit.
"Wow, this is beautiful," she said, turning the cross over several times in her hand. Suddenly it emitted a soft blue glow and shot out of Ciara's hand. It flew across the room at something like supersonic speed and landed with a clank on the eye of the gauntlet Witchblade, where it remained. All four of us were dazed for a few moments. Sara stared down at her arm.
"Okay, what just happened?" Ciara asked slowly.
"Beats me. Any thoughts, Ian?" Gabriel asked.
I shrugged absently, still staring at the Witchblade in mild disbelief.
"Umm, you guys?" Sara asked, snapping us out of our trances. We looked at her. She pointed directly in front of her, towards her window. We looked, and Ciara and Gabriel gasped. I raised my eyebrows, and Sara just continued to stare. A translucent figure in armor had appeared in the front of the room. A figure with Sara's face.
"Cathain," Sara said. The figure nodded.
"I see that you have my cross. I am here because of the severity of the situation. That and the fact that I want to thwart Kenneth Irons's evil scheme." She said my master's name with a poorly suppressed shudder. "Your friends already know the facts about your illness, Sara, and they will tell you. The only mystery that remains is of why the cross can cure you. Kenneth Irons has had it, unfortunately, for quite some time, and he has been planning this attack for almost as long. He informed his little mole, umm"
"Immo," I supplied.
"Yes, Immo. Irons informed him to conceal the cure to the virus in an object in the Witchblade Hall; he didn't specify. Immo chose the cross because it would be easy to give to Sara in case she asked Irons for help. Ian, not knowing about the plot in the beginning, chose to take the cross and put it your possession, Sara, and it's a good thing he did. Are you feeling better?" Cathain asked.
* * *
I wasn't ready for that question. I considered it for a few moments. My head wasn't hurting. I hadn't coughed for a while. The aches were going away gradually. I was feeling better. Surprised, I said, "Yeah! Yeah, I am. That's weird," I said. I stared at the Witchblade, whose previously angry red glow was coated by a soothing blue one. The cross was doing its job.
"So the cross had to actually contact the Witchblade, not just Sara herself," Ian said. Cathain smiled and nodded.
"Well, I must go. Keep that cross, Sara. It might come in handy again someday." And on that note, Cathain vanished. I laid my head back against my pillows, relieved. I hadn't felt that good for days.
Apparently I was cured, because the cross broke its bond with the Witchblade's eye a few moments later and it fell to the floor, making a subtle clink as it hit. I released my semi-clenched fist and the gauntlet disappeared, being replaced by the bracelet.
Ciara seemed thoroughly terrified by the whole turn of events. "Umm, I'd better go," she said nervously. "You don't have to come tonight, Sara. You should rest. The next rehearsal is on January 4th. I'll see you then, I guess." She flew out the door.
"Well, that was interesting," Gabriel said.
I smirked.
Ian and Gabriel explained the facts of my illness to me. I was in shock. I couldn't believe that Irons would sink that low. The only question was how he managed to give it to me in the first place. Oh, well. I'd ponder that later.
"Well, I'm bushed. Healing myself has really drained me. Good night, boys, and thanks for the info," I said, falling asleep almost instantly.
* * *
Ian and I grinned as Sara fell asleep again. We were both relieved that she was all right. I just hoped nothing else weird happened. But I took that back. Wherever Sara went, weirdness followed. It was just inevitable.
"Well, she's really going to want to kill Irons the next time she sees him, huh?" I said.
"Undoubtedly. But she won't. She'll probably just maim him."
"I'll be sure to be absent the next time she shows up at Vorschlag," I said. We exchanged a mischievous look. We couldn't wait to see what she would do.
