Danger Zone
By Divamercury
Hello all! Enjoy Chapter 5!
Chapter 5
After Ian left, I went straight to bed. I don't think I remember ever being more tired or fatigued in my life. The bed was extremely comfortable and I snuggled back into the pillows, preparing for a (hopefully) dream-free sleep. I glanced briefly down at my counterpart, silently asking it to leave me alone for the next few nights. My response was in the form of several colorful swirls that drifted across the depths of the Witchblade's red stone. I sighed and rolled across the bed, turning off the light, and as soon as my head touched the pillow that second time, I was asleep.
A few hours later, when the sun's light was barely threatening to illuminate the sky, I woke up with a start. I had heard something that broke the silence in the house. Unsure of what it was, I remained motionless in my bed until I heard it again. Then I snatched my gun out from under my pillow, jammed it into the pocket of my pants, and crept out of my room.
I had a feeling that it wasn't an intruder, since Ian, being as paranoid as he was, was a huge fan of security and the house had been equipped with a state-of-the-art system. I slowly made my way down the hall and passed Ian's door. It was ajar. Wondering if he had left to check out the situation, I peered in. As I did so, the sound repeated its appearance but sounded closer than ever. Then I figured it out.
It was Ian. He lay in his bed, a pained expression on his face, and the sound had been him thrashing around the whole time. Every once in a while he would cry out, and his skin shone with sweat from the exertion and, most likely, fear. I approached him quietly hoping that he would wake up. He did, in a fashion much like mine after a Witchblade dream. His eyes were wide and his breathing was heavy and panicky. I came closer still; he hadn't seen me.
"Ian?" I asked softly. He jumped, startled. "Sorry. I wasn't sure if you had seen me or not." I walked over to his bed and sat down on it beside him. "Are you all right?"
He tried to speak but nothing came out. This unnerved me. Ian, the typical tough-guy, was terrified. His bad ass assassin façade had been shorn away to reveal the man inside. I tried to reassure him that everything was fine, taking his hand and meeting his gaze. Pieces of his dream came to me via the Witchblade through our physical contact, but there was nothing that I hadn't seen before. The typical sequence of rapid flashes of gruesome sights, repeated over and over and over again, played before my eyes.
"Are you all right?" I asked again. He seemed to consider it but shook his head. Impulsively he threw his arms around me and pulled me close. I held him in response to this, still mildly surprised. He started talking, his voice slightly muffled by my shoulder.
* * *
"It was awful," I said, mumbling into Sara's shoulder. Her grip on me tightened and she asked, "What was awful?" in the most soothing tone I had ever heard her use.
"I am being punished for what I told you this evening, all the information about my Guardianship."
"Is it the Witchblade?" she asked. I nodded slightly. "What is it doing?"
"It has decided that my greatest punishment is to be shown all the things I don't want to see: all the lifetimes that I have failed you. I've had to relive watching Joan burn, watching Cleopatra as the venom spread through her veins—" My voice broke. Even the mere thought of it, without even seeing it, brought back the feelings of helplessness and sorrow. I closed my eyes tightly.
I had chosen not to tell Sara one thing: in my dreams, many times, I had seen her death, and I could barely stand it. She was the only thing keeping me going, the only thing in this life worth living for, and if I lost her, I would lose myself.
We sat like intertwined statues on my bed, and when I came back to my senses, I could barely believe that I was in the position I was in. I couldn't believe that Sara had continued the embrace and hadn't pulled away.
* * *
Ian pulled back a little from me and met my gaze. He looked miserable; the look in those hauntingly dark, expressive eyes nearly broke my heart. I opened my mouth to speak when the sharp, shrill ring of a cell phone shattered the silence. We looked at each other for a moment and then started searching pockets until we located the offensive object. It turned out to be my phone.
"Don't take too long, Sara. The Speakers could be tracing you."
I nodded, then answered. "Hello?"
"Hi, Pez. This is Mac. I hope you don't mind me calling you so early. It's pretty important, and Gabe gave me your cell number."
"Oh, hi Mac. So, what's so important?"
"I have some things I need to tell you. Could you meet me for lunch today?"
"Ummhang on a sec, Mac," I said, covering the mouthpiece with my hand. "It's Mac, she wants to meet me for lunch. Do you think it's safe?"
"I'm not sure. If it's today then it ought to be safe. The Speakers might still think that our ruse has worked. Hurry, get back to Mac, say it's okay and then hang up."
"Okay. Hey, Mac, it's cool. I just thought I might have had a conflict but I don't. So, how's 11:00?"
"Great. Meet you at Mandrill's?"
"Took the words out of my mouth. Gotta go."
"Okay, bye Pez." We hung up.
"Well, that was interesting," I remarked to Ian. "I'm in hiding and I'm going to lunch with my friend just like everything was fine."
Ian was about to speak but was cut off by another ear-splitting, obnoxious chime of a cell phone. I glanced down at mine, but it wasn't the culprit this time. He searched his pockets with no success, then lunged for his nightstand and answered on the third ring. We both knew who it was.
* * *
"Hello?"
"Ian, where are you? You disobeyed my direct orders. I told you not to watch Sara tonight! Get back here now!"
"But, sir—"
"Don't but, sir' me! Remember where your loyalties lie and obey me!" Irons hung up. He was in one of his moods again.
"I have to go," I said to Sara.
"Irons tightening the leash?"
I nodded, frowning. The last thing I wanted was to return to the man who was trying to kill the woman I loved and existed to protect, but it would enable me to keep her safe.
"Well, we both need to get out of the house before this goes any further out of proportion. Besides, I'll brief Mac on what's going on."
I gave her a Look.
"Well, within reason, anyway," she amended. "I won't tell her everything that's going on if I decide she can't handle it."
I accepted that. It was the best I would get from Sara. I could always escape from Vorschlag after Irons had dismissed me and could follow Sara to Mandrill's.
"You need to dress inconspicuously. We don't know how much the Speakers know about you." She nodded and headed off to her room to change, leaving me to brood over what to do next.
