Amber walked through what felt like miles and miles of hallway, all of it inscribed with some of the most complex warding spells she'd ever seen. The barrel of the gun pressed into her back, a constant reminder of what would happen if she so much as put one foot wrong. All around her she could hear, sometimes see, the ghosts and spirits that made up this manifestation of the Black Zodiac. Well, one Black Zodiac anyway. They flickered on the edge of her vision like a nagging itch she couldn't reach, not threatening, merely irritating. At least for now. Behind her the annoying, whiny voice of Kalina muttered imprecations and reminders to herself as she tried to thread her way through the maze of glass and spellcraft.
She had never been so pissed off in her life.
She could feel Meredith in the back of her mind, feel her calmly leading her odd procession through the hallways as well. She could also feel Laurel, panicked almost out of her mind for some reason. Amber wasn't sure she wanted to know what was going on, and was very sure she didn't want to interrupt Laurel while she worked her way out of whatever situation she was in. For all Amber knew, Laurel had a gun pressed to the middle of her back as well. The last thing she would want was a voice in her head.
In the meantime, Amber had her own problems to worry about. Kalina was being thoroughly obnoxious, even aside from the gun. She was worrying to herself, muttering about her crazy boss. Amber was about ready to deck her at the next given opportunity, gun or no gun. This was just intolerable.
Finally she just turned around. "You know, if you're going to put a gun to someone's back, the least you could do is shut up while you coerce them into doing... whatever."
Kalina blinked at her. Then she proceeded to wave the gun. "Excuse me? Who has the gun around here? Is it you, witchy-girl? I don't think so. It's me. So shut the hell up, turn around, and keep walking."
Amber sighed, but did as she was told. "You're probably going around in circles anyway," she muttered.
"I am n... look, I helped build this place, okay?" Amber didn't believe that for a New York minute. Kalina might have been there, but she probably wasn't of any help whatsoever. "I know my way around here, dammit."
"Sure you do." Amber let the scorn she felt drip from her words. As much as it was taught that to feel so negatively about someone hurt herself as much as the other person... Kalina was just a pretentious idiot. She wanted the power, she wanted abilities that sorcery would give her... but she didn't have the patience or ability to concentrate or any of the temperment traits needed to be any kind of magicker. Even supposing she knew half as much as she said she did about the Ocularis... she was upset enough that it didn't matter, all her hard-earned knowledge was flying right out of her head. It just wouldn't work. And it galled Amber that such a person had a gun pressed to the middle of her back.
"I damn well do. I had to memorize the plans enough times..." Kalina sounded irritated. Amber tried to relax, and felt a moment of pity for the girl. It wasn't, she supposed, her fault that Cyrus was such a bastard of a teacher, not to mention a sociopathic demonologist of a sorcerer. "Look. I know exactly where were going, so why don't you just shut up and enjoy the walk there. Because believe me, you're not going to enjoy it when we get to where we're going. He's going to want to talk to you, and it's not going to be nice."
Amber saw the glass door sliding only a fraction of a second before it started to close. She dived in front of it, skidding to one side and praying to her Goddess as fast as she could that the glass could stop bullets. "Bye!"
"HEY!" she heard, muffled through the glass. Kalina started to run forwards, but stopped as she realized she'd never get through in time. Amber had a few seconds of a reprieve while Kalina backed up and took aim, and then she fired several bullets into the glass. Amber ducked.
"Shit!" she started to scurry away. "Kalina, you stupid bitch! You keep doing that, and the glass will break, and who knows what kinds of hell will break loose..." Not, she realized belatedly, that Kalina could hear her over the gun and through the glass. She skittered away, diving between doors and putting as many sliding glass panels as she could between herself and the crazy woman with the gun. Behind her, she could hear the gun fire over and over until she thought it must have clicked empty in the chamber. Kalina must have had only the one clip.
Once she had gotten clear of the broken glass, once she had time to breathe, she slunk down against a wall and ducked her head, closing her eyes. She murmured a silent and fervent thanks to her Goddess, calming her rapid breathing and her racing mind. And then she stood, put one hand to the glass, and started walking... looking for her friends... trying not to get killed.
She felt very, very much alone.
Meredith clutched Dennis' hand tightly as she stood stock still, waiting for the next gunshot. She'd been keeping half a third eye on her coven-sisters ever since detecting Laurel's presence... and what she was sensing was definitely not good. Laurel ... something had scared her, and badly. From what Meredith could guess, she'd run into Cyrus himself. She knew that Amber had found Kalina, and was being chased around the house by the crazy girl who evidently decided that the glass and magic house was the perfect place to get her gun off. Privately, Meredith was wondering what she was doing with a gun in the first place, and praying wryly that Amber didn't get 'hold of it. The last thing Amber needed was a gun. Between the two of them, and guiding the other three through and around the ghosts, Meredith's nerves were rapidly fraying.
"What?" To his credit, Dennis didn't yelp this time. He had when the first shot had rung out in Meredith's mind, causing her to leap into the air and come down fighting. This time, he seemed to almost expect it.
"I'm not sure. I think the shooting's over. I think that was the last shot she had in the gun. Put your hand down the back of my pants..."
"WHAT?" That exclamation echoed down the line of people.
"Oh, stop that. There's a knife... two, actually... in a belt sheath in the back of my jeans. Behind the waistband. Get them out. You might need them."
"Oh..." Dennis took a deep breath and reached out, slowly pulling the small stilettos from behind her. He seemed almost afraid to touch her skin, not that she could blame him. She kept very still, in body and in mind, trying not to trigger any more visions than absolutely necessary. It seemed to work.
Meredith nodded. "Pass one to Arthur... Maggie, I'm afraid you're going to have to do without for a bit... till we can find some place where I can get the rest of these out. Some of them are in places that are hard to get to unless I flash the hall. For now..." she reached back for Dennis' hand again, which slid hesitantly into hers. He was, she thought with some surprise, not unlike a little boy who had been frightened out of his wits by something in a dark room, and was now seeking reassurance from anyone who looked likely. She stroked her thumb over the back of his hand, trying to be comforting.
The next thing she did was to pull a sixteen inch knife from beneath her hair and down her back. She did it carefully, so as not to cut the man behind her, but even so everyone yelped again. "What the hell is that?" Dennis screeched, "A sword?"
"Too short..." she said calmly, squeezing his hand again, reassuringly. "It's just a really big knife. All the weapons have been blessed and consecrated to a fair-thee-well, though, so they might come in handy. Come on... we've got to find the others..."
The silly-looking parade resumed.
"Meredith?" Dennis asked quietly after a few more minutes. She wasn't sure if she liked the quiet tone of his voice... it seemed like he was trying not to talk too loudly, trying to keep from alarming the people behind them.
"Merry," she corrected him absently. "What is it?"
He took a deep breath. Whatever the question was, he didn't think he was going to like the answer. "Do you really think we're going to get out of this place?"
She'd actually been wondering that herself, ever since she'd sensed both of her coven-sisters trapped and cornered by the sorcerer and his apprentice. She was, not that she'd show it to the other three, terrified that they wouldn't get out. She wanted her father with her, or her aunt, and she desperately wanted to be reunited with the other two. She felt very much out of her depth, out of her league, and outmatched. But she wasn't about to show that to any of the other three. They had enough to deal with as it was. And she'd had a long time to practice her professional face, keeping a blank wall between her fear and her expression, not letting it show. If not to keep from alarming the people she was helping, then there were certainly enough people and creatures in this world and several others that would attack at the first sign of fear. She had the scars to remind her.
But the question still needed an honest answer. "I don't know..." she said candidly. "But I think it's likely. No matter how scary the ghosts are, no matter how much he powers up the machine, he still can't open it until he has the activation key, the thirteenth ghost. And the ghosts themselves... there are ways around them. Cyrus... I'm pretty sure he's still alive, and he's probably somewhere in this house." This part she had to be careful with, preparing them in case they actually met Cyrus... "But if we run into him, I can deal with him too."
She winced, even as Dennis pulled back and gave her a very direct look (the first look he'd given her that wasn't laced with fear, she realized). "Are you sure?" he asked, doubtful. "Cyrus is really powerful... and really, really nasty. Are you really sure you can take him on?"
"No," came a voice from down the hall. "But we can."
She had never been so pissed off in her life.
She could feel Meredith in the back of her mind, feel her calmly leading her odd procession through the hallways as well. She could also feel Laurel, panicked almost out of her mind for some reason. Amber wasn't sure she wanted to know what was going on, and was very sure she didn't want to interrupt Laurel while she worked her way out of whatever situation she was in. For all Amber knew, Laurel had a gun pressed to the middle of her back as well. The last thing she would want was a voice in her head.
In the meantime, Amber had her own problems to worry about. Kalina was being thoroughly obnoxious, even aside from the gun. She was worrying to herself, muttering about her crazy boss. Amber was about ready to deck her at the next given opportunity, gun or no gun. This was just intolerable.
Finally she just turned around. "You know, if you're going to put a gun to someone's back, the least you could do is shut up while you coerce them into doing... whatever."
Kalina blinked at her. Then she proceeded to wave the gun. "Excuse me? Who has the gun around here? Is it you, witchy-girl? I don't think so. It's me. So shut the hell up, turn around, and keep walking."
Amber sighed, but did as she was told. "You're probably going around in circles anyway," she muttered.
"I am n... look, I helped build this place, okay?" Amber didn't believe that for a New York minute. Kalina might have been there, but she probably wasn't of any help whatsoever. "I know my way around here, dammit."
"Sure you do." Amber let the scorn she felt drip from her words. As much as it was taught that to feel so negatively about someone hurt herself as much as the other person... Kalina was just a pretentious idiot. She wanted the power, she wanted abilities that sorcery would give her... but she didn't have the patience or ability to concentrate or any of the temperment traits needed to be any kind of magicker. Even supposing she knew half as much as she said she did about the Ocularis... she was upset enough that it didn't matter, all her hard-earned knowledge was flying right out of her head. It just wouldn't work. And it galled Amber that such a person had a gun pressed to the middle of her back.
"I damn well do. I had to memorize the plans enough times..." Kalina sounded irritated. Amber tried to relax, and felt a moment of pity for the girl. It wasn't, she supposed, her fault that Cyrus was such a bastard of a teacher, not to mention a sociopathic demonologist of a sorcerer. "Look. I know exactly where were going, so why don't you just shut up and enjoy the walk there. Because believe me, you're not going to enjoy it when we get to where we're going. He's going to want to talk to you, and it's not going to be nice."
Amber saw the glass door sliding only a fraction of a second before it started to close. She dived in front of it, skidding to one side and praying to her Goddess as fast as she could that the glass could stop bullets. "Bye!"
"HEY!" she heard, muffled through the glass. Kalina started to run forwards, but stopped as she realized she'd never get through in time. Amber had a few seconds of a reprieve while Kalina backed up and took aim, and then she fired several bullets into the glass. Amber ducked.
"Shit!" she started to scurry away. "Kalina, you stupid bitch! You keep doing that, and the glass will break, and who knows what kinds of hell will break loose..." Not, she realized belatedly, that Kalina could hear her over the gun and through the glass. She skittered away, diving between doors and putting as many sliding glass panels as she could between herself and the crazy woman with the gun. Behind her, she could hear the gun fire over and over until she thought it must have clicked empty in the chamber. Kalina must have had only the one clip.
Once she had gotten clear of the broken glass, once she had time to breathe, she slunk down against a wall and ducked her head, closing her eyes. She murmured a silent and fervent thanks to her Goddess, calming her rapid breathing and her racing mind. And then she stood, put one hand to the glass, and started walking... looking for her friends... trying not to get killed.
She felt very, very much alone.
Meredith clutched Dennis' hand tightly as she stood stock still, waiting for the next gunshot. She'd been keeping half a third eye on her coven-sisters ever since detecting Laurel's presence... and what she was sensing was definitely not good. Laurel ... something had scared her, and badly. From what Meredith could guess, she'd run into Cyrus himself. She knew that Amber had found Kalina, and was being chased around the house by the crazy girl who evidently decided that the glass and magic house was the perfect place to get her gun off. Privately, Meredith was wondering what she was doing with a gun in the first place, and praying wryly that Amber didn't get 'hold of it. The last thing Amber needed was a gun. Between the two of them, and guiding the other three through and around the ghosts, Meredith's nerves were rapidly fraying.
"What?" To his credit, Dennis didn't yelp this time. He had when the first shot had rung out in Meredith's mind, causing her to leap into the air and come down fighting. This time, he seemed to almost expect it.
"I'm not sure. I think the shooting's over. I think that was the last shot she had in the gun. Put your hand down the back of my pants..."
"WHAT?" That exclamation echoed down the line of people.
"Oh, stop that. There's a knife... two, actually... in a belt sheath in the back of my jeans. Behind the waistband. Get them out. You might need them."
"Oh..." Dennis took a deep breath and reached out, slowly pulling the small stilettos from behind her. He seemed almost afraid to touch her skin, not that she could blame him. She kept very still, in body and in mind, trying not to trigger any more visions than absolutely necessary. It seemed to work.
Meredith nodded. "Pass one to Arthur... Maggie, I'm afraid you're going to have to do without for a bit... till we can find some place where I can get the rest of these out. Some of them are in places that are hard to get to unless I flash the hall. For now..." she reached back for Dennis' hand again, which slid hesitantly into hers. He was, she thought with some surprise, not unlike a little boy who had been frightened out of his wits by something in a dark room, and was now seeking reassurance from anyone who looked likely. She stroked her thumb over the back of his hand, trying to be comforting.
The next thing she did was to pull a sixteen inch knife from beneath her hair and down her back. She did it carefully, so as not to cut the man behind her, but even so everyone yelped again. "What the hell is that?" Dennis screeched, "A sword?"
"Too short..." she said calmly, squeezing his hand again, reassuringly. "It's just a really big knife. All the weapons have been blessed and consecrated to a fair-thee-well, though, so they might come in handy. Come on... we've got to find the others..."
The silly-looking parade resumed.
"Meredith?" Dennis asked quietly after a few more minutes. She wasn't sure if she liked the quiet tone of his voice... it seemed like he was trying not to talk too loudly, trying to keep from alarming the people behind them.
"Merry," she corrected him absently. "What is it?"
He took a deep breath. Whatever the question was, he didn't think he was going to like the answer. "Do you really think we're going to get out of this place?"
She'd actually been wondering that herself, ever since she'd sensed both of her coven-sisters trapped and cornered by the sorcerer and his apprentice. She was, not that she'd show it to the other three, terrified that they wouldn't get out. She wanted her father with her, or her aunt, and she desperately wanted to be reunited with the other two. She felt very much out of her depth, out of her league, and outmatched. But she wasn't about to show that to any of the other three. They had enough to deal with as it was. And she'd had a long time to practice her professional face, keeping a blank wall between her fear and her expression, not letting it show. If not to keep from alarming the people she was helping, then there were certainly enough people and creatures in this world and several others that would attack at the first sign of fear. She had the scars to remind her.
But the question still needed an honest answer. "I don't know..." she said candidly. "But I think it's likely. No matter how scary the ghosts are, no matter how much he powers up the machine, he still can't open it until he has the activation key, the thirteenth ghost. And the ghosts themselves... there are ways around them. Cyrus... I'm pretty sure he's still alive, and he's probably somewhere in this house." This part she had to be careful with, preparing them in case they actually met Cyrus... "But if we run into him, I can deal with him too."
She winced, even as Dennis pulled back and gave her a very direct look (the first look he'd given her that wasn't laced with fear, she realized). "Are you sure?" he asked, doubtful. "Cyrus is really powerful... and really, really nasty. Are you really sure you can take him on?"
"No," came a voice from down the hall. "But we can."