Inferno

By Divamercury

Thanks for your patience and continued support, everyone! More surprises await you in Chapter 19! Enjoy, review, and don't sue me, because I own none of this save Ciara, Luke, Andreanna, and the plot itself. Thanx!

Chapter 19

With some help from Marie Barnes, Luke's mother, and a young girl I didn't recognize, I ushered Ciara down the hall to the dressing room. Once her airflow actually returned to normal, she introduced me to the mystery guest. The girl had brown hair with touches of auburn pulled back into a braid and striking eyes of a beautiful pale blue.

"Sara, this is Andreanna McPherson, another friend of mine from high school. She wasn't sure that she would be able to make it, but here she is. Andreanna, this is Sara Pezzini, a good friend of mine. She's my maid of honor."

I shook hands with Andreanna. After speaking with her for a few moments, I noticed her Scottish brogue. I smiled.

All of a sudden Hillary ran into the room.

"I'm really sorry, Ciara, but Louisa won't be able to make it. Something about an appointment that she had already scheduled."

"What a bitch," I said, "backing out of her friend's wedding like that."

Ciara started hyperventilating again. Marie tried to calm her down.

"I can take her place," Andreanna offered.

"Where can we find another dress?" Hillary wondered aloud.

"Oh, that's taken care of. I ordered one from Mrs. Maury from the beginning because I genuinely thought I was going to be here for the ceremony, and it's such a nice dress that I decided to keep it. It's over in my hotel room."

"I'll get my friend Gabe to drive us over there, Andreanna" I offered, and she grinned. We went off to find our designated driver and struck up

"That would be wonderful. Oh, and by the way, Sara, you can call me Mac. All my friends do. They say my name's too long. Well, Ciara doesn't; she has a thing about calling people by their given names."

"Yeah, I noticed. All my friends call me Pez, except Gabe calls me Chief."

Mac nodded. As she did so I caught sight of her necklace and gasped inwardly. It was a round pendant of decoratively carved pewter that held a large, round, dark red stone that greatly resembled the one in the Witchblade. I cast a quick glance down to my counterpart for confirmation and realized that the two were identical! If it had happened a few months earlier, I would have been in shock, but after all I'd seen involving the Witchblade, nothing shocked me anymore.

We searched the small chapel and soon located Gabe. I basically dragged him out of the conversation he was in (no time for courtesy) and pulled him to the parking lot.

"Well, apparently you want me to do something, huh Chief? And who's your friend?"

"I'm Mac," she said, extending her hand. Gabe shook it with a somewhat dreamy look on his face.

"So, you're Gabriel, huh?" she asked. "I've heard a lot about you."

Gabe grinned stupidly. I steered Mac away from him so Gabe wouldn't embarrass himself (well, too late, but I tried), and in the second of contact I had with her, a vision of her appeared before my eyes. She was wearing a long white robe and her necklace, her long brown hair flowing loose down her back in waves, and she was chanting words in a language I didn't understand. I shook it off quickly when Gabe and Mac stared at me.

"Chief? You okay? You look a little pale there."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just zoned out there for a second," I lied. "Come on, let's go; we've got to pick up Mac's dress."

We got in the car and sped to the hotel where Mac was staying.

* * *

I had been talking to one of the wedding guests when Sara burst into the room, as was her tendency, and dragged me out of it, through the chapel, and into the parking lot. I was about to protest but then I caught sight of the girl standing beside Sara. She was even more of a knockout than Sara, and that was saying something. After talking to her for a few moments and pondering Sara's request and the strange look on her face, I realized that this Mac character was something else. Her Scottish accent was very soothing, and my eyes went straight to the long necklace she wore. Its stone, set in pewter, I'd wager, looked exactly like the Witchblade's. I glanced at Sara's wrist and confirmed my suspicions. I wondered what that meant; probably more weirdness. I went over all of this in my mind while driving Sara and Mac to the hotel to get Mac's dress. Sara sat in front, staring out the window and muttering almost inaudibly to herself, while Mac stared between Sara and myself, out the windshield, and out into the NYC afternoon. To make a long story short, it was a very quiet car.

We pulled up to the Greene Hotel and Mac gave me directions to the entrance closest to her room. I followed them and parked along the eastern side of the building. The three of us got out of the car, still in silence; we were each buried in our own thoughts. It had gotten colder, if that was even possible, and a light snow was beginning to fall. Needless to say we got into the building fast. Mac lead us to her room and after rummaging through her suitcase, produced the dress.

"Whew. Great. Now maybe Ciara will breathe normally when we get back," Sara remarked, and I stifled a chuckle. We left the hotel almost as quickly as we had entered it and hurried back to the chapel. We didn't have much time.

* * *

"45 minutes and counting," I announced, glancing at my watch. The service was set to take place at 4:30, and Ciara was almost ready. Her jitters had been forgotten as Mrs. Barnes, Mac, and I helped her get ready before we got ready ourselves. I stood in front of a full length mirror hung on the wall of the dressing room, and I tried to decide what to do with my hair. I'd already done my makeup, despite the screaming of my inner cynical self. I decided to pull it up, but just as I was about to fasten it up, Ciara snatched the clip and brush out of my hand. I glared at her reflection, as she was standing behind me.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" I said.

"Sara, you look fine with your hair down. I wish you'd stop trying to do everything in your power to avoid being pretty," she said as she brushed my hair.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Oh, come on, Sara, you know what I mean. All the leather. The motorcycle. The fact that this is the only dress you own. You go out of your way to avoid being feminine. Sometimes it's necessary. Please, Sara. For once act like a girl and not a biker chick."

I was about to say that biker chicks were girls, just different, but the pleading look in her eyes stopped me. It looked exactly like Ian's when he wanted you to not make him do something. Why did I think that? Startled at Ciara's look and my on thoughts, I allowed Ciara to do what she wanted with my hair. She simply brushed it the same way I usually did.

"See? There you go."

It was strange. The cynical side of me screamed that I had become a porcelain doll for people to dress as they chose. But another side of me, most likely the feminine side that had been squashed over the years, was actually pleased with the outcome. Terribly confused about my inner conflict and the vision of Mac I had seen earlier, I sighed and sat down on the small couch in the tiny chapel dressing room, waiting for the service to begin.

* * *

I must have zoned out for a while, pondering my vision, because the next thing I knew, it was time for us to get lined up for the service.

Okay, Sara, just don't make a fool of yourself and you'll be fine,' I thought.

I was in the front of the procession, Mac (replacing Louisa) and Hillary following me, and Ciara and the man giving her away were at the rear. Luke and Gabe were standing up by the altar, decorated with a huge bunch of white lilies, with the minister, and both of them looked a little nervous. I scanned the rest of the chapel, tightening my grip on the small bouquet I held. Everything was draped in white and pale pink, and it looked beautiful. The chapel was almost full of people, probably mostly Luke's family and both of their groups of friends.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, I was told to start walking. Mac, Hillary, and I started down the aisle, and Gabe smiled and winked at me. I returned the smile but slightly raised one eyebrow in a "What are you trying to say?" gesture. He discreetly pointed somewhere behind me, and I raised it again. He just smiled, as if saying, "You'll see."

I finished my walk and heard the strains of the wedding march start up, and everyone stood. I took my place on the side of the stage to my left and turned to face the congregation. When I looked back at Ciara, it took all of the willpower I could possibly muster to keep my jaw from dropping. My eyes widened and my eyebrow raised of their own accord, however. I couldn't believe it.

Walking down the aisle arm in arm with Ciara was Ian Nottingham.