Disclaimers are on chapter one page.
Libris Demonica
Chapter 4
by Weirdbard
Rini waited for Serena downstairs and was pleased when her future mother showed up in record time. Raye really sounded mad on the phone and Rini was worried what they might do to Serena for not showing up for the youma attack last night. Although Rini knew her communicator never went off last night and was pretty sure that Serena's hadn't either.
Rini's worry about Raye was blown completely away when she got a good look at Serena coming down the stairs however. Serena looked terrible. Her golden hair hung limp, her shoulders were slumped and she had dark rings under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in days. She looked like a woman walking to her own execution and she really didn't care anymore.
"Maybe mommy is sick? She seemed all right, if a little edgy last night though." Rini thought to herself.
"Come on mommy! We will have to run to get to the temple as quickly as we can. Raye was really upset on the phone!"
Serena looked at her future child with the most sad and depressed look that Rini had ever seen on her before. "Why don't you run ahead Rini. I will be there as soon as I can."
Rini paused in confusion. First Serena hadn't called her 'Little Lady' which she usually did when they were alone and secondly there was that depressed, defeated expression on her mother's face.
"Go on now. I'm sure there are things you want to discuss with Raye before I get there anyway. Don't keep her waiting. I will be right behind you." Serena said.
"Um, okay mommy. But do hurry you know what a temper Raye has." Rini said and then ran out the door.
"Be careful Rini! If there was a youma last night that might mean we have new enemies! Be careful!" Serena called out after her and then added with a sob after she was gone. "My precious little one."
Luna looking up in worry at Serena said. "Serena! That was just a dream we had last night! Rini and Raye are not planning on killing you at the shrine today! After all I seem to remember Amara and Michelle in our dream last night. We haven't seen them since the heart snatchers. They are not here so our dream has to be wrong."
Luna was pleased to see Serena's doom and gloom look on her face clear slightly at her logic. "Okay Luna. Let's go and have Raye yell at us." She said picking the black cat up and placed her on her shoulders. "Hang on tight I am going to run as fast as I can."
Arriving at the Shrine, Serena pasued out of breath outside the door to Raye's room. Inside she could hear Raye yelling.
"This is going to be fun." Serena thought sourly to herself.
Sliding open the door she entered and then almost leapt
back in shock.
Leaning on one of the walls of Raye's room was Amara,
Michelle and off to the side slightly stood Trista.
All of the women in the room glanced at the open door when Serena opened it. Raye had a angry look on her face and it was obvious that she had been arguing with Rini. The look faded as she saw how Serena looked. It was Amara who put all their thoughts into words however.
"Serena? You look like hell!" She said and moved over to Serena's side. Reaching out a hand Amara touched Serena on the cheek. "What's wrong moonface?"
Amara was shocked when Serena leapt away from her touch as if she had burned her. The other scouts glanced at each other in confusion when they saw a white faced Serena trembling in the corner of the room near the doorway. Amara was even more shocked when Luna leapt off of Serena's shoulders and took up a position between Serena and Amara as if she was protecting Serena from her.
Michelle coming up beside her partner looked in confusion at Serena. "What's going on?" She asked.
"That's what I would like to know. Where were you last night Serena?!" Raye yelled coming up beside Amara on her other side. Raye took a half step back when she saw the stark terror in Serena's eyes as she glanced in her direction. On many a occasion Raye thought that Serena slightly resembled a bunny, what with her meatball hairdo and the long pony tails streaming down behind her like long floppy ears. Now the bunny looked like it was cornered by a pack of hungry wolves.
Serena swallowed several times nervously before she could answer Raye. "I was at home in bed, asleep. My communicator's alarm never went off."
Raye folded her arms across her chest. "Are you sure? Maybe it did and you just slept past it?!"
Rini jumped to Serena's defense. "Like I told you before Serena got here, my communicator never went off either!" She said and stamped her foot in annoyance.
"Raye? I know you think I am too weak and foolish to be leader but even if I slept past the alarm, Luna would have heard it. She was sleeping right beside me on the bed all night long." Serena managed to finally say.
Raye glanced down at the cat in question and was surprised to see Luna standing between Serena and the rest of the scouts with the hair on her back completely standing up.
"It's almost as if she is preparing to attack us to protect Serena." Raye thought to herself.
"You didn't hear anything either Luna?" Raye asked her.
To poor Serena it was like Raye had stuck a knife into her side and twisted it.
"She and the other scouts hate me so much they think I would lie and she has to ask Luna? Does she really think I would ignore a youma alert and let my friends fight to the death just so I could catch some sleep?!"
Serena hurt, troubled (and still influenced by the book) thoughts turned from sadness to anger.
"Maybe there is something wrong with Rini's and my communicators! You ever think of that Raye?!" She yelled as she straightened her back and glared at Raye.
"I don't know Serena." Amy's voice called out. "The communicator's electronics have built in redundancy to insure they function properly at all times. And even if your communicator stopped working, the odds that Rini's would too at the same time are almost impossible."
Serena's eyes almost filled with tears as she looked at her oldest and best friend in the scouts. "Even she thinks I am lying?"
Serena twisted her watch like communicator off her arm and looked over to Rini. "Rini? Take off you communicator and give it to Amy to examine it."
Rini nodded her head and removed her communicator and taking Serena's she walked over and dropped them into Amy's hands. Amy pulled out her computer and started to scan the communicators.
Serena looking thoughtful and getting more and more angry from her thoughts, turned her attention back to Raye. "So you and the other scouts fought a youma alone last night?" She asked with a hint of disbelief in her voice.
Raye was shocked. "Yes of course we did! We had to when you didn't show up when we tried to call you."
Serena glanced over at Amara, Michelle and Trista.
"No, we didn't help them last night." Michelle answered Serena's questioning look. "We were contacted by Trista this morning and told there might be a new enemy."
Serena nodded her head at the explanation but then turned back to Raye. "So you fought a youma. That almost insures that we have a new enemy. You couldn't get ahold of me or Rini at all?"
Raye nodded her head.
"And yet after the fight you didn't call us on the phone or come over to see if we were all right?!" Serena shouted. "What if the youma had attacked us first? I could have been dead and Rini severely hurt and yet you never tried to check up on us till this morning?!"
Raye backed up a few paces and glanced at the other girls behind her. It was obvious from the shocked looks on their faces that they too hadn't thought of that last night.
"It was a rough fight last night Serena. We barely won and after the fight we were all so exhausted that I guess we weren't thinking too clearly. We just assumed that you....." Lita's voice trailed off.
"You assumed that I was too lazy to get up to help my friends in a life or death struggle?" Serena finished.
Serena turned her back on the group so they could not see the tears in her eyes. "I don't really care about me, but you all should have checked to make sure that Rini was okay." Serena almost sobbed.
Raye looked miserable and tried to figure out what she could say to Serena but was saved from having to speak when Amy shouted in surprise.
"There is something wrong with both Serena's and Rini's communicators! The circuits in both of them are fried. My computer detects traces of negative energy in them."
"So now you have proof that your leader wouldn't leave you all to fight a youma by yourselves." Serena replied bitterly as she refused to turn and look at the group but continued to star at the corner.
"This is serious!" Amara said. "This means that Serena and Rini were targeted by what ever new enemy we might have. They deliberately messed up their communicators so we couldn't call them for help or.... they couldn't call us for help!"
Raye turned towards Trista. "Can you tell us what we might be fighting this time?"
Trista shook her head. "I've looked into the doorway of time but all I see is a dark cloud. It almost has a feel to it of something very ancient but I can't tell what it is or where it is at. It must be very powerful to block my attempts though."
"I know! I can try a sacred fire reading!" Raye shouted.
Amara noticed that Serena almost jumped as Raye said it and was starting to tremble slightly. Serena turned back to look at the group and Michelle almost sucked in a gasp at the stark terror showing on her face.
"I think my reading will go better if Serena or Rini were to stand close to me while I do the reading. Their communicators seem to imply that whatever we are up against has had close contact with them already." Raye added thoughtfully and then glanced over at Serena. She blinked several times. Serena was pressed against the corner of the room and was shaking slightly. What bothered Raye the most was the way she was looking at her.
"You would think I was the new enemy trying to attack her from the way she is watching me." Raye thought to herself.
Serena's shaky voice replied to Raye. "Let Rini do it. You know how I always try to fall asleep when you do those meditation things Raye." Serena said in an attempt to sound logical. "As a matter of fact it is probably a good idea if Rini stays close to the rest of you for a while. At least till we know what new enemy we might have. I think I should go home and search the place to see if I can find anything unusual." Serena added as she started to inch her way toward the open door.
Amara lifted a hand towards Serena's face again, just to check to see if she had a fever or something but was stopped as Serena let out a startled yelp and bolted out the door.
"I'll call on the phone if I find anything." Serena's voice drifted back to them.
"Serena! Wait!" Luna yelled and then raced after her.
Luna found Serena gasping for air and sobbing slightly at the bottom of the temple stairs. Not sure what to say Luna just watched as Serena pulled herself together.
"I want you to go back there Luna. Keep an eye on the scouts for me but don't let them know you are watching them! When they finalize their plans on how they are going to kill me, tell me so I know what to watch out for." Serena said between sobs.
"This is insanity Serena!" Luna replied. "I can't believe they can be planning on killing you."
"You saw it Luna! Just like my dreams! Raye coming up with the idea of the Sacred Fire reading. The outer scouts being here. And they claim they fought a youma last night. Did you see any scratches or wounds on any of them?" Serena said wrapping her arms across her chest as though she was cold and trying to warm herself.
Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Come to think of it, no. But that proves nothing! You know how fast you and the other scouts heal when you are transformed!"
"Just do this for me Luna, please? Keep an eye on them without them knowing it and tell me what they talked about." Serena begged.
"Well I don't like the idea of spying on the other scouts but..... Okay, if only to prove to you that you are wrong and the scouts are not out to kill you." Luna finally agreed. With that Luna ran back up the stairs to the temple. Serena watched her go and said quietly to the wind. "I pray that you are right Luna. I don't think I would want to continue living if it turns out my friends all hate me and want me dead."
Serena turned and started to run home. She couldn't quite explain it but it felt as though something was pulling her back to her house. That and she knew she would feel safer once she got home and locked the door.
The tears in her eyes making her vision blurry caused her to run full tilt in to someone.
"Haven't done that in a while." Serena thought ruefully to herself as she was helped off the ground by the person she ran into. Looking up Serena felt her breath catch in her throat. The person she had ran into, was of course Darien.
Serena started to throw her arms wide and leap into Darien's arms but suddenly flashes of her dreams where Darien was with Raye entered her mind and she found herself pulling slightly away.
Darien having been contacted by Raye earlier that day about the youma attack and Serena and Rini's not showing up to help and was too distracted to notice Serena's attempts to put some distance between her and him.
"Serena! Where have you been? After Raye called me I have been trying your house constantly!" Darien said.
"Maybe Darien still cares about me? He seems worried." Serena thought with a faint ray of hope.
"Raye says she couldn't get ahold of you or Rini last night! Is Rini okay?!" Darien continued.
Serena felt like the bottom of her soul had just dropped out. "He is only worried about Rini! He didn't even ask me if I was okay or notice that I have been crying."
In a almost emotionally dead voice Serena replied. "Rini is okay. Our communicators didn't work last night. Rini is at the temple with the rest of them. I'm going to go home and check out my house and see if I can find anything unusual. Why don't you go to the temple? I'm sure Rini and Raye will be happy to hear from you." Without waiting for a reply Serena broke free from Darien's grasp on her shoulders and turned and walked off.
Darien looked in confusion at Serena's back. He felt that there was something wrong but couldn't decide what it was. Hesitating for a moment he finally decided to take Serena's advice and go to the temple and see what Rini could tell him.