Danger Zone

By Divamercury

This is REALLY important! Before you read Chapter 15, you should read One's Will by Pixie-Dust so you can get some background information on Raven Cole, the character that Pixie-Dust has been kind enough to let me play with for a while. On with Danger Zone, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the advertising, Pix!

Chapter 15

I found myself in a large hospital room that seemed familiar to me. Part of me was almost certain that I had been there before while another part denied this sensation. Almost against my will my legs propelled me to a specific bed, recently occupied, as I could tell by the unmade sheets, but now empty. As I stared at it, I heard heavy footsteps behind me. I could sense a person's presence coming ever closer, and this person was wearing heavy boots, I deduced from the sound the steps created. I could take the suspense no longer and whirled around to view my companion.

It was a woman that stood behind me, tall and rather thin, dressed completely in black, and she had black hair reaching past her shoulders and eyes like onyx. She reminded me a bit of Ian in appearance and choice of wardrobe, what with the long black coat, tight black knitted shirt, baggy black pants with a myriad of zipper pockets, and the steel-toed boots that made her presence known. She glanced a bit wistfully at the cot, then looked directly at me. Her eyes were so powerful that it seemed she was staring straight through me and not at me.

"You are Andreanna McPherson?" she inquired.

I nodded. "But please, call me Mac. It seems like I know you."

"It might seem that way, but you and I have never met. I believe you know me by reputation. I am Raven Cole."

"Oh, Ian and Sara's friend. Yes, I've heard of you. It's nice to finally meet youbut why here?"

Raven looked away from me and toward the forlorn little cot. "I used to lay here, up until very recently. I was in a coma forI'm still not sure how long. But I have clairvoyant powers like you, although possibly stronger, and I was aware of what was going on around me to some degree. I knew trouble was brewing for a long time, but this is the first opportunity that has arisen enabling me to do something about it. My telepathic broadcasting powers were greatly impaired by my accident, but they seem to be at full power or near that level now."

"So you know what's going on?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe a little. Let's see: The White Bulls and the infamous Speakers are tracking Sara simultaneously, and these groups are holding her Guardian, the most important person in her life, hostage. She must trust a group of people she barely knows to save him—and herself, for that matter. She is scared out of her mind but refuses to admit it to anyone, she won't come out of her shell, and if this continues much longer she will have an intensely messy self-destruction. Please correct me where I was wrong." She was extremely bitter, her eyes hard as she looked at me.

"Yikes. Well, that pretty much sums it up," I said quietly.

"Thank you. Now what do you intend to do about it?"

"Me?"

"Of course you. You are one of the only people she can—and does—trust. That means something, does it not?"

At this point Raven was really starting to sound like Ian. She took off her coat and folded it neatly on the bed while I stared at her.

"What? It's hot in here." Raven shrugged off my confusion.

After she removed her coat, I could see the straps that hugged her body, having been hidden under it previouly. She turned around and I noticed that the straps held a scabbard for a katana, similar to Ian's. The silver Celtic rings on her fingers glinted in the fluorescent light of the hospital. Raven sat on the bed beside her coat and I sat in a chair by the cot, waiting for her to speak.

"So. It does mean something to you that Sara trusts you, yes?"

"I suppose..."

"Oh, so now we're running on suppositions? For God's sake give me some certainty, Mac!"

"Yes, it means something to me."

"Now what are you going to do?"

"I could be there for Sarato make sure she doesn't do anything foolish."

"An admirable start, Mac. Pray continue."

"Umm"I faltered. Raven's ebony gaze was stifling my creativity. "The Associates and I should find Ian and rescue him for Sara."

"That won't be necessary. I know where he is. On the morrow I will come and collect Sara and we will rescue him ourselves."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, Sara could become distracted and could very easily be killed. I cannot let the Wielder die."

"But what of her Guardian, Mac?" Raven asked angrily. "Will you just leave him there to rot?"

"Of course not! But the safest place for Sara is safely behind the walls of the Associates' warehouse!" I protested.

"Foolish girl! Would you then doom Sara to die by your own hand? For if you do not allow her to save him—with some assistance from me—you will do just that. I need some help in infiltrating a large group and Sara's the best choice. Sara's strong, toughshe can most assuredly handle herselfbut if something were to go wrong if I went by myself, somehow resulting in Ian's death, she'd go mad in a very short amount of time.

"You are the High Priestess of the Witchblade, Mac. You have more knowledge of the Blade than almost its relations do put together, even the Guardian in some instances, and yet throughout time the Wielder has sometimes been condemned to a dark fate by a error resulting from a misinterpretation of information by you. Do you really want that to happen again?" She glared at me. "Think upon it. I shall be at your door on the morrow. I will expect your decision to be made by then."

And with that my eyes snapped open and the vision ended.

"Man, that Raven's touchy. It's like she thinks she's the only one worried about them, like she's the only one capable of helping themwell, at least she's on their side and not working against them. She'll probably be a powerful ally, from what I've heard about her," I murmured to myself. "Better go see how Sara's doing."

I got up from my chair and climbed the two flights of stairs leading to the upstairs rooms. The door to her room was ajar and I crept in, making sure not to make noise that would disturb her. Sometime during her rest she had flipped over on her back and was tossing around a bit. When I came near her, my necklace started glowing and pulsing in sync with the Witchblade, signaling to me that she was in the midst of a dream caused by the bracelet. I decided to wait and make sure she was all right and that she didn't freak out when she woke up.