HEXED WOLF: Search
AUTHOR: IrishTomboy@attbi.com
RATING: R
PAIRING: Thorn/OC, Daphne/Freddy (of course)
DISCLAMIER: I own none of them except Jaguar and Cú and anyone else that
aren't part of the original Scooby-verse, though I wish I did.
FEEDBACK: Welcome
WARNING: If love between two women bothers you then get out NOW!
Thorn leaned against the counter and thought heavily about her and Jaguar's conversation upstairs.
~*~
'What do you mean...the end of the world?'
'Doom's day! Ragnarok! Armageddon! Whatever you wanna call it is about to be summoned and everyone in this town, in this state, in this world! Are going to have their lives cut short.' Jaguar stood up and paced around the room. 'I have to stop this but...but I'm afraid.'
'Of what?' Thorn asked as she slipped down next to Jaguar.
'Of failure. Of my curse. Of him.'
'What curse? And who?'
Jaguar took a deep, shaky breath. She looked into Thorn's eyes. 'I've had this curse ever since I was five. Whenever I came to care about someone they got hurt. Rose, Nathaniel, Celeb, m-my family.' Thorn watched as the golden eyes glazed over with tears
'What happened?'
'They were murdered.'
Thorn gasped. 'Murdered?' The Hunter nodded sadly. Thorn hooked her arms around Jaguar's shoulders and pulled the taller woman towards her. 'I'm sorry.'
'Why? You're not the one that killed them.'
'I know but, like, no one should have to go through that.' The singer said gently. 'Besides, nothing's happened to me.'
Jaguar gazed into Thorn's eyes. 'That's why I want you to leave this place.'
'What?' The singer was taken aback by the request.
'I don't want something to happen to you Thorn. I care about you 'way' too much.' Jaguar pulled away from the warm arms. 'Please.'
'No.'
'Why?'
'For a lot of reasons. One is the show tomorrow. I can't let Dusk and Luna down. Also I want to be here to help you.'
'But Thorn,'
A soft finger on her lips cut off Jaguar. 'No. I'm going to stay here and help you Jaguar. I want to. I love you too much to lose you.'
Jaguar was slightly speechless at that little testament. Thorn realized what she said and blushed deeply. She hadn't meant it to word it like that but it was too late to bring it back.
'You...you love me?' Thorn nodded slightly. 'Why?'
That caught the singer off guard. 'What do you mean why?'
'Why do you love me?' Jaguar was saying it like it was the most absurd thing in the world.
'Because Jaguar you...I,' Thorn paused for a moment, trying to figure out how she was going to say this without making herself sound like an idiot. 'I don't know,' Yeah that worked. 'I guess its just, like, your personality that you throw off. That and your looks don't hurt either.'
Thorn giggled at the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on the Hunter's face. Jaguar quickly picked up her jaw from the floor and cleared her throat.
'Uh...I uh,' Jaguar paused to collect herself a little. 'What I mean to say is umm,'
Thorn smiled at the woman's stuttering. 'It's fine. But Jaguar I'm not leaving.'
Jaguar gained an angered expression on her face. 'I don't want to lose you Thorn, now damn it I want you to go.'
'No.'
Jaguar locked eyes with her in an attempt to scare the woman into complying.
No dice.
'I've seen some scary shit in the past few years. A witch ready to kill all of us, a huge vampire monster, Dusk when she wakes up. So don't even try to scare me away.'
Jaguar pouted slightly. 'Great. I'm less scary then a woman with morning breath. I hope that doesn't get out.' She propped her chin on her hand and sighed. Thorn smiled.
'Don't worry. You're secret is safe with me.'
'Thanks.' Jaguar gave the singer a genuine smile.
Before her brain could even register what it was doing Thorn leaned forward and stole a kiss. It had meant to be a brief one, really, but Jaguar deepened it by pulling Thorn closer. Their tongues rubbed together, setting off a fire that burned away every fear that the woman had. She thought it was the same for Jaguar because when she looked into the Hunter's golden eyes she saw no fear or doubt that she had earlier. After a short, yet blissful eternity they pulled apart since their lungs screamed for air while their lips screamed for another kiss. 'I don't want to lose you Thorn.'
'I know. And you won't.'
~*~
"You won't ever lose me Jaguar. I've never been in love and I'm not going to back down on you now. Not when you need me the most."
~*~
The group walked outside into the wind. If possible it had stirred up worse then ever before.
"I hate this cold snap!" Freddy yelled over the gale.
'It's no cold snap Freddy. It's witchcraft.' Jaguar thought as they crossed quickly to the van. Inside Jaguar slipped off her coat and checked her falchion.
"What's that for?" Shaggy asked, eyeing the blade nervously.
"If we run into any trouble." Jaguar replied absently. Her thoughts were racing. She knew she had to go up against Cú and stop him but that fear was holding her back. Fear of the olden days and fear of the change she would need to take to actually beat him. All of this was weighing heavily on her shoulders and she knew that if she didn't stop him no one else would or could. She slipped the sword back into its sheath and turned to Freddy. "All right. I want you to stop this a few blocks away from Zachariah's street. We don't need him to see that we're around."
"Does that mean we have to walk out in that weather?"
"Well we either walk in that weather and get there without him knowing or you can stay in the van alone with a killer werewolf on the loose. You choose." Jaguar said simply.
Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other then back at Jaguar. "A brisk walk won't hurt us." Shaggy smiled. Jaguar raised an eyebrow while shaking her head.
"All right. When we get there Freddy, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby'll check downstairs while the rest of us check upstairs."
"Could I check with you guys? I'd really like to see what he's hiding in those rooms."
"Sure, Velma." The Hunter replied. The bookworm gave a small smile as she turned back around.
"Hey Jaguar. Are you sure a little kid should be going with us on this? It's a little dangerous." Freddy replied.
"Nathaniel will be all right. Celeb wouldn't let anything happen to him. Besides he can help out a lot."
"How?"
"Searching for things." Jaguar replied. 'Hey, if ya can't give them the full truth give them half.'
Freddy pulled the car to a stop and they all got out. The wind picked up harder, as if it knew why they were there and wanted to stop them.
Jaguar smelled the air and was repulsed the all to familiar smell. It was Cú all right.
"Come on. Let's go and get this done and over with." Jaguar yelled over the gales. They trudged forward, wary of making too much sound as not to alert anyone. It would look really strange that eight kids and one dog were slinking through the dark.
'Let's just hope that no one decides to take a moon lit stroll.' The Hunter thought sarcastically.
They moved as quickly as possible to the house where they ducked behind large bushes. There was an eerie silence, broken only by the howling wind.
"Are you sure he's even going to be going out?" Shaggy asked.
"Yeah." Freddy replied quietly. "No hush. He's coming out." They turned to see Zachariah walk out of his house and down the steps. Everyone, with the exception of Jaguar, watched in amazement, as nothing on Zachariah seemed to shift in the roaring wind. "How is that possible?"
"Shut up." Jaguar hissed. She turned her golden eyes back to her...sire. It had been almost four years since she had seen him last, when he had supposedly died. But those four years were still hell. She didn't know why but she had felt as if someone was always watching her, studying her, waiting to kill her. At least now she knew who it was. 'But oddly that's not a comforting revelation.' Jaguar mused dryly.
She was snapped out of her thoughts, as Zachariah looked their way. 'Crap. I really don't want to do this.' She pulled out an amulet from her pocket, hastily put it on and raised a hand above her slightly. "Gods that watch over us, protect us from the evil which searches for us. Veil us from the evil." She said almost silently. An invisible shield blasted from Jaguar's palm and covered all of them. Zachariah walked over to the bushes they were crouching behind and parted them.
"O," Shaggy started but Scooby clapped a hand over his mouth, keeping him quiet. The group watched in amazement as the man looked straight at all of them but didn't seem to see them.
"Guess I was just imagining things." He said to himself before stepping back and continued walking down the street in the opposite direction. When he was well enough away Jaguar took down the shield and leaned back.
"What was that!" Rose yelled.
"I'll explain later. Let's go. Zachariah could be back at anytime." They ran up to the house and stayed as close to the shadows as they could. Freddy tried the lock and to their surprise it was open.
"Guess no one thinks about robbers." Freddy replied.
"Yeah." They dashed inside and looked around. "All right. We know where we're all supposed to go. Let's do it." The group split; Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Freddy staying downstairs as Rose, Celeb, Nathaniel, Velma and Jaguar ventured up.
"What doors were locked?" The Hunter asked.
"Those four." Velma pointed out the secured doors.
"All right. Rose can you open this one?"
"Course." The smaller woman walked forward and knelt down. Leaning her ear gently against the door, she waited for the distinct sound of the lock releasing.
"Hurry up." Jaguar snapped, looking around nervously.
"Put your pants out. I almost...got it!" Rose opened the door and stood up. Four smiles appeared but fell just as quickly.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
~*~
Freddy, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne walked carefully around the downstairs rooms. There was nothing of interest except some exceptionally old pottery and jewelry.
"There's, like, thousands of dollars in one room alone. Why would you just leave the door open?"
"Dunno. They don't really have to worry about thieves around here." Freddy replied.
"I think we've established that Freddy." Daphne replied sarcastically. Freddy scowled at his girlfriend but all that did was make her and the other two laugh.
"Come on. We still got the downstairs to search."
"D-D-downstairs?" Shaggy stuttered.
"Yeah."
"Why do we have to go down there I mean it's so nice up here."
"Come on." Daphne and Freddy dragged their friends to the one door that they hadn't checked. It opened silently to reveal a set of old stairs that disappeared into a black hole.
"Op. Looks like there's nothing there, let's go." Shaggy turned to walk away but Freddy caught him.
"I don't think so Shaggy." Freddy pulled a flashlight from his pocket and turned it on. A wash of white light illuminated the dark, chasing away shadows. The blonde shone it down the stairs and followed what it illuminated; Daphne soon afterwards, followed by a reluctant Shaggy and Scooby.
"I have, like, a really bad feeling about this." The hippy whimpered.
~*~
Velma looked into the bare room. "Why would he keep a bare room locked up? I had gotten my hopes up."
"Whoa there Velma. Settle down." Jaguar stepped forward and reached a hand out to the door. As it passed through the frame it disappeared.
"What the,"
"Just like I thought, it's a trick." The Hunter walked forward and disappeared, there was a tense moment before Jaguar's head popped back out. The other's eyes bulged at the sight of Jaguar's head just floating there. "Guys. Hey! Come on. There's some stuff here I wanna look at."
The other carefully passed through, marveling at the fact that one minute they were looking at blanks floors and walls but now they were in a fully furnished study. There was a large desk right in the middle of the room, a fireplace in front of it and bookshelves were pushed up against the wall.
"Oh my god. How could he have done this?"
"Hacis." At the bookworm's confusion Jaguar tried again. "Magic."
"Oh." Velma turned to look at the desk and examined the papers on it. Most was written in a language the woman had never seen before but some, like bills, were written in English. "How are we supposed to read this stuff if it's encoded."
"Lemme see." Jaguar took the offered paper and looked it over. "He who takes the lives will get their essence to do with what he wishes. To bring about the end he must place Soul Stones that equal an amount for the centuries since passed, together and only then will he bring about the beginning of the end."
"What does that mean? And how can you read that?"
"I was taught to read these languages and it means that if we don't find those spirit stones that a 'lot' of people are in trouble."
Velma only nodded. She turned back to the desk and began to rummage through the drawers, searching. The others followed, determined to find the stones.
"What do they look like?" Rose asked.
"I dunno." Jaguar shrugged as she began to open books and search for hiding places. She remembered that Cú loved to hide things in books: keys, potions, things of that sort for her to find. 'Oh I'll find them all right. You can count on that.'
Velma pushed aside a large envelope to reveal an amulet. It was a raven made completely out of iron with a rose in its claws. The markings that were on almost all the papers were also on the rose's stem. "Hey guys. Look what I found." The others turned to look at the necklace as the brunette lifted it up.
Jaguar looked away from it. She rested a hand on her heart, feeling the indentions of what was underneath. Looking at the amulet any shred of hope that Cú wasn't alive was banished. Her old sire was alive and she was going to have to fight him. But could she get past her initial fear and do it?
She looked at her friends and took a breath. She had no choice. She'd have to.
"Come on. The stones aren't here. Let's see if they're downstairs." Jaguar replied quickly. She put up the tome she had been searching and set it back on the shelf. The others replaced what they had been looking at and everyone walked out. Rose closed and relocked the door before following the others down the stairs.
"Freddy! Daphne! Where are ya?" Jaguar called out.
"Down here!"
The five followed the sound of the voice to the stairs. They saw a light dancing and bobbing about.
"Come on." Quickly descending the stairs Jaguar and the rest found themselves in some kind of dank, musty cellar.
"Did you guys find anything?" Came Freddy's voice.
"Yeah. Seems that Zachariah is trying to bring about the beginning of the end." Velma said.
"Really?" Daphne's voice squeaked.
"Yeah. But that's not going to happen. We just gotta find these things called Soul Stones." Jaguar replied.
"Well there's nothing down here. Except some boxes and a lot of dust."
"Well let's go then." Shaggy said, not hiding at all the shake in his voice.
Jaguar took the small flashlight from its hip clip and passed it around. Sure enough there was nothing here. Maybe he hid them somewhere else. She let out a defeated breath before turning and starting to walk up the stairs with the others.
But Nathaniel stopped and turned. He sniffed the air.
"What's wrong Nathan?" Rose asked.
"I smell something." He dashed off.
"Nat!" Celeb called out. He and Rose gave chase to the boy, followed soon by everyone else. They found the child running his hand over the wall.
"What is it Nathan?" Freddy asked.
"This isn't a wall." The boy said cryptically. The Scooby gang looked at each other in confusion while the Hunter moved forward. She too examined the wall. At first glance it was simply stone and cement but a closer look revealed what looked to be a loose stone.
"What the. Hey Freddy, point the light right here." She pointed to the spot. As the blonde did so Jaguar pulled the large knife from its sheath and slipped it into the stone's edges. She wiggled it around carefully as not to snap the blade. The granite slowly came free to reveal a notch.
"Hey!" Velma called. "It looks like that necklace we found upstairs."
"Yeah. It must be some sort of key." Rose added. "I'll go get it so we can put it in."
"No need." Jaguar replied.
"What? Why? How else are we going to get in?"
"We'll use this." Jaguar pulled from under her shirt an exact copy of the amulet from upstairs, except the lettering was different.
"Where did you get that?" Rose asked.
"It's mine." Jaguar said simply before inserting the charm into the slot. There was a tense moment where nothing happened before a line cut through the wall in the shape of a door and swung open. Jaguar quickly retrieved her necklace and walked inside the room, followed closely by the rest. This room was unlike any of them had seen before. Jars full of weird concoctions made shelves, tables and whatever else was available their home, cages full of rats, snakes, cats, dogs and various other animals was pushed up against one wall. In the middle of the room was a large cauldron with a table next to it that had what looked to be a mad scientist kit on top.
"What is all this?" Velma breathed.
"Looks like Zachariah is some kind of scientist."
'He's no scientist.' Jaguar thought as she began to search around.
There was silence for a while as the gang tried to find anything that would help them.
Freddy found something after opening a drawer. It was a large wooden box with drawing carved into the wood. They were of spirits, an explosion then of death itself.
'I don't know if I wanna open this.' Freddy thought to himself as he pulled it out and set it on the closest surface. Preparing for an explosion he opened it tentatively and peered inside. There was what looked to be almost a thousand smaller boxes. Picking one up he opened it to show a golden ball, no bigger then a quarter. "Hey. What're these?" Freddy spoke out loud.
"Lemme see one." Shaggy took the golden one and tossed it into the air. "This is a cool little thing, aye Scoob?"
"Reah." Scooby looked at the other ones.
"What're you looking a..." But Jaguar trailed off as she saw the golden orb being flung carelessly into the air by Shaggy. "No!" She lunged forward and grabbed the stone before it could fall once more.
"What's wrong Jaguar?"
"Where did you find this? Where!"
"In here. There are a lot more." Freddy pointed to the large box. Jaguar dashed over and looked inside the box.
"How...how could he have done this?"
"What are they?"
"No time now. We gotta go!" Jaguar threw the lid over the box and picked it up. "Come on!" She was about to dash outside when a sudden wash of cold fear dripped down her spine, freezing her in her place. A dark figure moved in front of the door, stopping anyone from moving.
"Where do you think you're going with those Becky?" A sinister voice growled. Jaguar knew that voice well; she'd heard it everyday for three years before she left.
"Ryan."
The figure moved from the shadows into the light. It was a boy, only a year younger then Jaguar but just as tall, with short dark red hair and evil blue eyes. "Glad you remember me Becky."
"How could I forget the Great Ryan?" The blonde replied snidely.
Ryan gave a sadistic grin, stepping forward. "Why are you taking the stones Rebecca? They don't belong to you."
"They don't belong to him either. Out of my way."
"Say please."
Jaguar thrust the box into Rose's hands and pulled her sword. "Please stay in my way so I can kill you."
"And finish the job that you started all those years ago?" Ryan shook his head, clicking his tongue. "I don't think so. That can wait until tomorrow."
"Then move." Ryan's grin grew wider, as if he had just won a personal bet, and stepped out of the way. Jaguar shouldered past the boy.
"See you tomorrow Jaguar. Tell Thorn hi for me."
Jaguar stopped dead in her tracks. "What do you mean?" She asked but Ryan was nowhere to be seen. The hairs on the back of the woman's neck rose in fear. "Thorn." She darted off, leaving everyone behind to wonder what was going on that made the brave hunter run in fear.
~*~
Nothing registered to the woman, not the ground under her feet, the wind whipping her hair into her face or the branches of the trees scratching her skin. The only thing that mattered right now was Thorn's safely.
'Tell Thorn hi for me. Tell Thorn hi for me. Tell Thorn hi for me.' The words kept replaying in her mind until it became a chant, a mantra to egg on her fears.
"To any gods that are listening protect Thorn. She hasn't done anything to deserve having her soul imprisoned. Don't let my curse hurt her." The Hunter said quietly to herself.
Coming to a screeching halt just on outside of the woods that surrounded the McKnight residence, Jaguar felt her heart drop at the sight of a figure pouring gasoline over the outside. Sense came back to her just as the figure lit a match. "No!" She pulled the knife from her ankle and threw it at the person. It connected solidly with their hand, making them drop match. Jaguar ran forward and put the flame out quickly before turning to look at the figure. From this distance it was obviously a woman.
"Who are you?"
"You don't recognize me Rebecca. I'm surprised. We were like sisters."
"Sisters?" Jaguar raked her brain for a moment before her eyes widened. "Nichole."
"Bingo." Nichole walked into the light. Jaguar's eyes traveled along the woman's features. The moonlight made alabaster skin glow and the black hair was almost blue. Beautiful as always. "It's good to see you again Rebecca."
"Why are you here Nichole? Wait. Stupid question. Cú wanted you to kill Thorn to hurt me and take her soul. Is that right?"
Nichole nodded sadly. "Yes."
"Then go back and tell him it won't happen." All fear that Jaguar had been feeling earlier melted away from the heat of her anger that was welling up. Cú was going after the one person she cared about more then anything with the only person that she had considered family when she was young. He knew that she was going to kill Nichole.
'But I didn't.'
"I can't go back Becky."
"Why?"
"You remember him. If you screw up he takes his pound of flesh. You have many scars to lie down as proof. But now he is worse. Maddened with the power of almost reaching his goal,"
"Bringing about Aamngreka." The two said together.
"What are you going to do then?"
"Rebecca,"
"Jaguar. My name is Jaguar now."
"Jaguar. I don't want to help Cú any longer. Please let me help you fight him."
"Are you nuts! You were just about to kill the woman I love and now you're saying you want to help me?"
"Yes."
Jaguar stared at her in disbelief. She let out a frustrated breath. "Fine. But if I find out this is a trick then you're gone. And I don't mean out the door. Got it?"
Nichole nodded hesitantly. This was a different woman then what she remembered those years back. The Rebecca she remembered was warm and inviting. But this one was cold. She could see it in those golden eyes.
"Let's get inside." Jaguar growled. The two strode inside the house. Nichole stopped short as Jaguar took in the damage. There were deep scratch marks on the wall, papers were everywhere and with her acute sight Jaguar made out drops of blood on the wall. "If she's dead. You'll be joining her." The Hunter growled as she set out to find the singer.
There was nothing on the first floor except for a mess but upstairs in the middle of the hallway lay an unconscious, but still alive, Thorn. Jaguar quickly, but gently, picked her up and carried her downstairs to the front room. She laid the woman on the sofa and checked her over. There was a knock to the back of her head that was bleeding slightly but wasn't going to do any permanent damage, a couple scratches here and there but thankfully she'd only end up with a headache.
'My curse strikes again. I knew I shouldn't have gotten close to you.'
"You care about her don't you?" Nichole's voice broke through to the Hunter. Jaguar looked up quickly, completely forgetting that the other woman was there.
"That's none of your business."
"I'll take that as a yes." Nichole walked over and looked down at the singer. "I'm sorry Rebecca. I was only doing what Cú asked me. Not all were as smart as you. We couldn't escape."
"Why didn't you just come with me Nikky?"
Nichole smiled at the childhood name. Though it turned into a sad one. "I was scared. I'd never been on my own before and I didn't know what to expect."
"I would have protected you, you know that."
"Yeah I do. But at the time fear was over reining my good judgment. Too late now."
"No it's not. Tomorrow I'm going to once and for all but a stop to Cú's reign."
Nichole smiled up at the taller woman. "Listen to you. You used to be scared shitless of him now you're ready to kick his ass."
Jaguar gave a half smile as her eyes traveled to Thorn. "It's because I realized I have something worth fighting for."
They both lapsed into a comfortable silence while Jaguar tended to Thorn's wounds and Nichole started a fire.
Not too long later the door opened to reveal a wind-swept Scooby Gang, Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel. Freddy was now carrying the Soul Stones. The group walked in and he set them on the coffee table.
"Why'd you take off so quick Jaguar?" Rose asked.
"Because I needed to save Thorn."
"Is she all right?" Jaguar and Nichole stepped apart to show the comatose singer.
"What happened? And who are you?"
"Guys this is Nichole. She is a...friend of mine. And Thorn was attacked by one of Cú goons."
'Oh I'm a goon am I?' Nichole snapped mentally but didn't say anything out loud.
"Is she going to be all right?" Freddy asked.
"Yeah. She'll just have a major headache in the morning." Jaguar replied, shrugging. She sat down, motioned for the others to as well. "This has been a long night. Why don't you guys just stay here for tonight?" No one disagreed.
"Yeah. Besides you said you'd explain what was going on when we got back." Velma pointed out.
Jaguar flinched as she remembered saying that. She didn't like to talk about her past but they deserved to know the truth and that truth was attached to her. "Okay." Jaguar let out a breath as she tried to figure out what to say. "Cú, or Zachariah as you know him, is a warlock. One that shouldn't be fucked with at any cost."
"What is it with this town and warlocks?" Shaggy asked out loud.
"What do you mean?"
"A couple years back Oakhaven had another warlock. His name was Ben Ravencroft. He unleashed this spirit's soul onto the world but we got them imprisoned again." Velma explained, trying to sum it up as best as she could.
"Oh." Jaguar said. "Anyway he can control the elements and is a master of Eii Hacis, Evil magic. But knows enough Pord Hacis, good magic, to fool everyone. He won't hesitate to use his favorite technique, the Tortert, on you."
"What that?" Velma asked.
"A horrible spell that I hope none of you have to witness." Jaguar simply said, willing her stomach not to lurch at the memory of when she last saw that horrible technique. The victim's screams still echoed around her head like a rabbit on speed, mixing with the images of intestines bursting and dropping from the bubbling, rotting flesh.
The group saw the absolute revulsion on the Hunter's face and instantly didn't want to know what it was.
The subject dropped.
Jaguar tried to quickly regain her composure and took a breath. "Okay. What else do you want to know?"
They were quiet. Jaguar wished she hadn't asked because she was putting herself out there, allowing them to ask anything. She just hoped it wouldn't get to personal.
"Where did you get that amulet?"
She guessed wrong.
"Umm...my sire gave these to his students after their fifth year of training."
"But Zachariah had one. Was he your sire?"
"Yes Velma. He was."
"What did he teach you?"
"Magick."
"You know magick? Like pulling rabbits out of your hat and sawing people in half?" Shaggy asked.
Jaguar shook her head, smiling slightly. "No. More like this." She stood up and walked over to the fireplace. She hooked the amulet around her neck and raised her right hand so the palm faced the burning flame. She closed her eyes and slowly brought her hand away, making it into a fist. The fire slowly dimmed until it was completely out. Jaguar turned around and opened her fist to show an intensely burning ball of flame. She tossed it to one hand then back to the first. Everyone did a pretty good impression of a bug as she tossed the ball from one hand to the other as if it was a tennis ball and not a flaming orb. "These kind of 'tricks' Shaggy." Jaguar turned easily back around and tossed the ball back into the hearth. The flames flared out then sunk back to normal size.
"How...How did you..." For the first time Velma was at a loss for words.
Jaguar smiled. She felt slightly relaxed now that she had let a bit of her power escape. She had too much pint up and it made her tense. 'At least tomorrow I'll get a good work out.
Back to the others. "How did I do that?" The bookworm nodded. "It's a little complicated. Basically I just thought of the fire as nothing more then a ball that I could hold in my hand. I used my power to shape it that way and viola! Instant fireball."
"And why did you not tell us you had these powers?" Rose asked.
Jaguar winced as the accusation. "Well because I thought that...I umm," Now it was the Hunter's turn to be hindered in the speaking department. Finally she sighed and shrugged. "I guess it just never came up." Rose nodded, excepting the answer, as lame as it was. "Anymore questions?" Jaguar sat down, pulling Thorn's head into her lap.
"Yeah. What are those?" Freddy nudged the box on the coffee table. The group watched, as both Jaguar and Nichole's faces grew serious.
"They're called Soul Stones." Nichole answered. She pulled the box onto her knees and opened it. Taking one out she opened it to show a purple ball. "Each one holds a soul of someone passed."
"Why does Zachariah have all of these?" Celeb asked.
"Because. He wants to bring about Aamngreka."
"What's that?"
"The end of the world. Aamngreka is when the earth will open up and demons from hell will climb from their godforsaken hole and kill the people of earth." Nichole eyed Shaggy and Scooby critically for a moment, fearing that they were going to feint.
"Why does he want to bring this up?" Daphne asked, her voice shaking. Freddy took his girlfriend's hand and squeezed it, trying to convey to her more courage then he actually had.
"Because Cú believes that with the earth cleansed, as he calls it, he can make a new world with him as the ruler." Nichole replied.
"How did he get all these?"
"These are from the victims he's killed." Jaguar looked inside the box and pulled out two boxes that looked newer then the others. She opened them to reveal a pink one and a yellow one. "These are the souls of Megan and Elizabeth." The women's faces floated on the surface of the ball before disappearing again.
"My god."
"Jaguar what was that ball you took out of my hand?" Shaggy asked. Jaguar closed her eyes. She replaced the two containers back into the wooden box and pulled out one with the letters R.J. on it. She opened it to reveal once more the golden orb.
"This...is my soul."
~*~
A pounding on the back of her head made Thorn wince. She tried to lay a hand on it but only came in contact with toned muscles. She opened her eyes to see that her head was lying in Jaguar's lap.
Jaguar stopped short as she felt a hand hit the inside of her thigh. She looked down to see that Thorn was groggy but waking up.
"Thorn."
"What happened?"
"One of Cú goons jumped ya." The Hunter ignored the glare she got from Nichole.
"Oh." With Jaguar's help Thorn sat up and leaned back against the couch.
"Are you all right Thorn?" Velma asked.
"Yeah. Other then the bass drum I got pounding in my head I'm great." The singer said sarcastically. She looked around and her eyes landed on the Soul Stone box in Nichole's lap. "What are those?" Her eyes traveled up to Nichole's face and she practically jumped back. "And what are you doing here?"
"Whoa there Thorn. She's not going to pull anything. Isn't that right Nichole?" Jaguar glanced over her shoulder at Nichole who nodded. The Hunter pulled her girlfriend back down onto the seat. "And to your second question these are Soul Stones."
"All right I seriously missed something. What was it?" Jaguar began to do a short recap of what they were talking about before she woke up. It was short because some of the stuff Jaguar had all ready told the singer, about Cú and Aamngreka and the Soul Stones. But when she told her about the golden orb Thorn's eyes widened.
"But how? I thought that only happened when ya died."
Jaguar sighed. "There's something that I haven't told anyone before. It's somethin' I don't like to think off too often but it'll answer your questions. When I was five I had a fever that no one was able to break. I...I don't remember everything but what I do is waking up to see my mother and father crying. I asked them what was wrong but they never told me. The next thing I know is that Cú is taking me away and that was the last time I ever saw my parents. They were killed soon after words they were killed. I realize now that he had killed them and entrapped their souls in these stones, very much as he did mine." She clenched her fists so her nails were biting into her flesh and she willed the angry tears not to flow. "I will make him pay," Gazing deep into the orb, Jaguar caught the image of her and her family together and rising fury caused her voice to turn into an almost inhuman growl. "Even if it takes the other part of my soul to do it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ow. Fingers...cramping. This is the longest chapter I've ever written. Hope your butts didn't get tiered from sitting too long.
Sorry if some parts of the story just plain sucked or didn't make sense. My brain started to fizzle out.
Anyway, review and tell me what parts you thought were good and what parts I should probably change.
Later!
Thorn leaned against the counter and thought heavily about her and Jaguar's conversation upstairs.
~*~
'What do you mean...the end of the world?'
'Doom's day! Ragnarok! Armageddon! Whatever you wanna call it is about to be summoned and everyone in this town, in this state, in this world! Are going to have their lives cut short.' Jaguar stood up and paced around the room. 'I have to stop this but...but I'm afraid.'
'Of what?' Thorn asked as she slipped down next to Jaguar.
'Of failure. Of my curse. Of him.'
'What curse? And who?'
Jaguar took a deep, shaky breath. She looked into Thorn's eyes. 'I've had this curse ever since I was five. Whenever I came to care about someone they got hurt. Rose, Nathaniel, Celeb, m-my family.' Thorn watched as the golden eyes glazed over with tears
'What happened?'
'They were murdered.'
Thorn gasped. 'Murdered?' The Hunter nodded sadly. Thorn hooked her arms around Jaguar's shoulders and pulled the taller woman towards her. 'I'm sorry.'
'Why? You're not the one that killed them.'
'I know but, like, no one should have to go through that.' The singer said gently. 'Besides, nothing's happened to me.'
Jaguar gazed into Thorn's eyes. 'That's why I want you to leave this place.'
'What?' The singer was taken aback by the request.
'I don't want something to happen to you Thorn. I care about you 'way' too much.' Jaguar pulled away from the warm arms. 'Please.'
'No.'
'Why?'
'For a lot of reasons. One is the show tomorrow. I can't let Dusk and Luna down. Also I want to be here to help you.'
'But Thorn,'
A soft finger on her lips cut off Jaguar. 'No. I'm going to stay here and help you Jaguar. I want to. I love you too much to lose you.'
Jaguar was slightly speechless at that little testament. Thorn realized what she said and blushed deeply. She hadn't meant it to word it like that but it was too late to bring it back.
'You...you love me?' Thorn nodded slightly. 'Why?'
That caught the singer off guard. 'What do you mean why?'
'Why do you love me?' Jaguar was saying it like it was the most absurd thing in the world.
'Because Jaguar you...I,' Thorn paused for a moment, trying to figure out how she was going to say this without making herself sound like an idiot. 'I don't know,' Yeah that worked. 'I guess its just, like, your personality that you throw off. That and your looks don't hurt either.'
Thorn giggled at the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on the Hunter's face. Jaguar quickly picked up her jaw from the floor and cleared her throat.
'Uh...I uh,' Jaguar paused to collect herself a little. 'What I mean to say is umm,'
Thorn smiled at the woman's stuttering. 'It's fine. But Jaguar I'm not leaving.'
Jaguar gained an angered expression on her face. 'I don't want to lose you Thorn, now damn it I want you to go.'
'No.'
Jaguar locked eyes with her in an attempt to scare the woman into complying.
No dice.
'I've seen some scary shit in the past few years. A witch ready to kill all of us, a huge vampire monster, Dusk when she wakes up. So don't even try to scare me away.'
Jaguar pouted slightly. 'Great. I'm less scary then a woman with morning breath. I hope that doesn't get out.' She propped her chin on her hand and sighed. Thorn smiled.
'Don't worry. You're secret is safe with me.'
'Thanks.' Jaguar gave the singer a genuine smile.
Before her brain could even register what it was doing Thorn leaned forward and stole a kiss. It had meant to be a brief one, really, but Jaguar deepened it by pulling Thorn closer. Their tongues rubbed together, setting off a fire that burned away every fear that the woman had. She thought it was the same for Jaguar because when she looked into the Hunter's golden eyes she saw no fear or doubt that she had earlier. After a short, yet blissful eternity they pulled apart since their lungs screamed for air while their lips screamed for another kiss. 'I don't want to lose you Thorn.'
'I know. And you won't.'
~*~
"You won't ever lose me Jaguar. I've never been in love and I'm not going to back down on you now. Not when you need me the most."
~*~
The group walked outside into the wind. If possible it had stirred up worse then ever before.
"I hate this cold snap!" Freddy yelled over the gale.
'It's no cold snap Freddy. It's witchcraft.' Jaguar thought as they crossed quickly to the van. Inside Jaguar slipped off her coat and checked her falchion.
"What's that for?" Shaggy asked, eyeing the blade nervously.
"If we run into any trouble." Jaguar replied absently. Her thoughts were racing. She knew she had to go up against Cú and stop him but that fear was holding her back. Fear of the olden days and fear of the change she would need to take to actually beat him. All of this was weighing heavily on her shoulders and she knew that if she didn't stop him no one else would or could. She slipped the sword back into its sheath and turned to Freddy. "All right. I want you to stop this a few blocks away from Zachariah's street. We don't need him to see that we're around."
"Does that mean we have to walk out in that weather?"
"Well we either walk in that weather and get there without him knowing or you can stay in the van alone with a killer werewolf on the loose. You choose." Jaguar said simply.
Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other then back at Jaguar. "A brisk walk won't hurt us." Shaggy smiled. Jaguar raised an eyebrow while shaking her head.
"All right. When we get there Freddy, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby'll check downstairs while the rest of us check upstairs."
"Could I check with you guys? I'd really like to see what he's hiding in those rooms."
"Sure, Velma." The Hunter replied. The bookworm gave a small smile as she turned back around.
"Hey Jaguar. Are you sure a little kid should be going with us on this? It's a little dangerous." Freddy replied.
"Nathaniel will be all right. Celeb wouldn't let anything happen to him. Besides he can help out a lot."
"How?"
"Searching for things." Jaguar replied. 'Hey, if ya can't give them the full truth give them half.'
Freddy pulled the car to a stop and they all got out. The wind picked up harder, as if it knew why they were there and wanted to stop them.
Jaguar smelled the air and was repulsed the all to familiar smell. It was Cú all right.
"Come on. Let's go and get this done and over with." Jaguar yelled over the gales. They trudged forward, wary of making too much sound as not to alert anyone. It would look really strange that eight kids and one dog were slinking through the dark.
'Let's just hope that no one decides to take a moon lit stroll.' The Hunter thought sarcastically.
They moved as quickly as possible to the house where they ducked behind large bushes. There was an eerie silence, broken only by the howling wind.
"Are you sure he's even going to be going out?" Shaggy asked.
"Yeah." Freddy replied quietly. "No hush. He's coming out." They turned to see Zachariah walk out of his house and down the steps. Everyone, with the exception of Jaguar, watched in amazement, as nothing on Zachariah seemed to shift in the roaring wind. "How is that possible?"
"Shut up." Jaguar hissed. She turned her golden eyes back to her...sire. It had been almost four years since she had seen him last, when he had supposedly died. But those four years were still hell. She didn't know why but she had felt as if someone was always watching her, studying her, waiting to kill her. At least now she knew who it was. 'But oddly that's not a comforting revelation.' Jaguar mused dryly.
She was snapped out of her thoughts, as Zachariah looked their way. 'Crap. I really don't want to do this.' She pulled out an amulet from her pocket, hastily put it on and raised a hand above her slightly. "Gods that watch over us, protect us from the evil which searches for us. Veil us from the evil." She said almost silently. An invisible shield blasted from Jaguar's palm and covered all of them. Zachariah walked over to the bushes they were crouching behind and parted them.
"O," Shaggy started but Scooby clapped a hand over his mouth, keeping him quiet. The group watched in amazement as the man looked straight at all of them but didn't seem to see them.
"Guess I was just imagining things." He said to himself before stepping back and continued walking down the street in the opposite direction. When he was well enough away Jaguar took down the shield and leaned back.
"What was that!" Rose yelled.
"I'll explain later. Let's go. Zachariah could be back at anytime." They ran up to the house and stayed as close to the shadows as they could. Freddy tried the lock and to their surprise it was open.
"Guess no one thinks about robbers." Freddy replied.
"Yeah." They dashed inside and looked around. "All right. We know where we're all supposed to go. Let's do it." The group split; Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Freddy staying downstairs as Rose, Celeb, Nathaniel, Velma and Jaguar ventured up.
"What doors were locked?" The Hunter asked.
"Those four." Velma pointed out the secured doors.
"All right. Rose can you open this one?"
"Course." The smaller woman walked forward and knelt down. Leaning her ear gently against the door, she waited for the distinct sound of the lock releasing.
"Hurry up." Jaguar snapped, looking around nervously.
"Put your pants out. I almost...got it!" Rose opened the door and stood up. Four smiles appeared but fell just as quickly.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
~*~
Freddy, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne walked carefully around the downstairs rooms. There was nothing of interest except some exceptionally old pottery and jewelry.
"There's, like, thousands of dollars in one room alone. Why would you just leave the door open?"
"Dunno. They don't really have to worry about thieves around here." Freddy replied.
"I think we've established that Freddy." Daphne replied sarcastically. Freddy scowled at his girlfriend but all that did was make her and the other two laugh.
"Come on. We still got the downstairs to search."
"D-D-downstairs?" Shaggy stuttered.
"Yeah."
"Why do we have to go down there I mean it's so nice up here."
"Come on." Daphne and Freddy dragged their friends to the one door that they hadn't checked. It opened silently to reveal a set of old stairs that disappeared into a black hole.
"Op. Looks like there's nothing there, let's go." Shaggy turned to walk away but Freddy caught him.
"I don't think so Shaggy." Freddy pulled a flashlight from his pocket and turned it on. A wash of white light illuminated the dark, chasing away shadows. The blonde shone it down the stairs and followed what it illuminated; Daphne soon afterwards, followed by a reluctant Shaggy and Scooby.
"I have, like, a really bad feeling about this." The hippy whimpered.
~*~
Velma looked into the bare room. "Why would he keep a bare room locked up? I had gotten my hopes up."
"Whoa there Velma. Settle down." Jaguar stepped forward and reached a hand out to the door. As it passed through the frame it disappeared.
"What the,"
"Just like I thought, it's a trick." The Hunter walked forward and disappeared, there was a tense moment before Jaguar's head popped back out. The other's eyes bulged at the sight of Jaguar's head just floating there. "Guys. Hey! Come on. There's some stuff here I wanna look at."
The other carefully passed through, marveling at the fact that one minute they were looking at blanks floors and walls but now they were in a fully furnished study. There was a large desk right in the middle of the room, a fireplace in front of it and bookshelves were pushed up against the wall.
"Oh my god. How could he have done this?"
"Hacis." At the bookworm's confusion Jaguar tried again. "Magic."
"Oh." Velma turned to look at the desk and examined the papers on it. Most was written in a language the woman had never seen before but some, like bills, were written in English. "How are we supposed to read this stuff if it's encoded."
"Lemme see." Jaguar took the offered paper and looked it over. "He who takes the lives will get their essence to do with what he wishes. To bring about the end he must place Soul Stones that equal an amount for the centuries since passed, together and only then will he bring about the beginning of the end."
"What does that mean? And how can you read that?"
"I was taught to read these languages and it means that if we don't find those spirit stones that a 'lot' of people are in trouble."
Velma only nodded. She turned back to the desk and began to rummage through the drawers, searching. The others followed, determined to find the stones.
"What do they look like?" Rose asked.
"I dunno." Jaguar shrugged as she began to open books and search for hiding places. She remembered that Cú loved to hide things in books: keys, potions, things of that sort for her to find. 'Oh I'll find them all right. You can count on that.'
Velma pushed aside a large envelope to reveal an amulet. It was a raven made completely out of iron with a rose in its claws. The markings that were on almost all the papers were also on the rose's stem. "Hey guys. Look what I found." The others turned to look at the necklace as the brunette lifted it up.
Jaguar looked away from it. She rested a hand on her heart, feeling the indentions of what was underneath. Looking at the amulet any shred of hope that Cú wasn't alive was banished. Her old sire was alive and she was going to have to fight him. But could she get past her initial fear and do it?
She looked at her friends and took a breath. She had no choice. She'd have to.
"Come on. The stones aren't here. Let's see if they're downstairs." Jaguar replied quickly. She put up the tome she had been searching and set it back on the shelf. The others replaced what they had been looking at and everyone walked out. Rose closed and relocked the door before following the others down the stairs.
"Freddy! Daphne! Where are ya?" Jaguar called out.
"Down here!"
The five followed the sound of the voice to the stairs. They saw a light dancing and bobbing about.
"Come on." Quickly descending the stairs Jaguar and the rest found themselves in some kind of dank, musty cellar.
"Did you guys find anything?" Came Freddy's voice.
"Yeah. Seems that Zachariah is trying to bring about the beginning of the end." Velma said.
"Really?" Daphne's voice squeaked.
"Yeah. But that's not going to happen. We just gotta find these things called Soul Stones." Jaguar replied.
"Well there's nothing down here. Except some boxes and a lot of dust."
"Well let's go then." Shaggy said, not hiding at all the shake in his voice.
Jaguar took the small flashlight from its hip clip and passed it around. Sure enough there was nothing here. Maybe he hid them somewhere else. She let out a defeated breath before turning and starting to walk up the stairs with the others.
But Nathaniel stopped and turned. He sniffed the air.
"What's wrong Nathan?" Rose asked.
"I smell something." He dashed off.
"Nat!" Celeb called out. He and Rose gave chase to the boy, followed soon by everyone else. They found the child running his hand over the wall.
"What is it Nathan?" Freddy asked.
"This isn't a wall." The boy said cryptically. The Scooby gang looked at each other in confusion while the Hunter moved forward. She too examined the wall. At first glance it was simply stone and cement but a closer look revealed what looked to be a loose stone.
"What the. Hey Freddy, point the light right here." She pointed to the spot. As the blonde did so Jaguar pulled the large knife from its sheath and slipped it into the stone's edges. She wiggled it around carefully as not to snap the blade. The granite slowly came free to reveal a notch.
"Hey!" Velma called. "It looks like that necklace we found upstairs."
"Yeah. It must be some sort of key." Rose added. "I'll go get it so we can put it in."
"No need." Jaguar replied.
"What? Why? How else are we going to get in?"
"We'll use this." Jaguar pulled from under her shirt an exact copy of the amulet from upstairs, except the lettering was different.
"Where did you get that?" Rose asked.
"It's mine." Jaguar said simply before inserting the charm into the slot. There was a tense moment where nothing happened before a line cut through the wall in the shape of a door and swung open. Jaguar quickly retrieved her necklace and walked inside the room, followed closely by the rest. This room was unlike any of them had seen before. Jars full of weird concoctions made shelves, tables and whatever else was available their home, cages full of rats, snakes, cats, dogs and various other animals was pushed up against one wall. In the middle of the room was a large cauldron with a table next to it that had what looked to be a mad scientist kit on top.
"What is all this?" Velma breathed.
"Looks like Zachariah is some kind of scientist."
'He's no scientist.' Jaguar thought as she began to search around.
There was silence for a while as the gang tried to find anything that would help them.
Freddy found something after opening a drawer. It was a large wooden box with drawing carved into the wood. They were of spirits, an explosion then of death itself.
'I don't know if I wanna open this.' Freddy thought to himself as he pulled it out and set it on the closest surface. Preparing for an explosion he opened it tentatively and peered inside. There was what looked to be almost a thousand smaller boxes. Picking one up he opened it to show a golden ball, no bigger then a quarter. "Hey. What're these?" Freddy spoke out loud.
"Lemme see one." Shaggy took the golden one and tossed it into the air. "This is a cool little thing, aye Scoob?"
"Reah." Scooby looked at the other ones.
"What're you looking a..." But Jaguar trailed off as she saw the golden orb being flung carelessly into the air by Shaggy. "No!" She lunged forward and grabbed the stone before it could fall once more.
"What's wrong Jaguar?"
"Where did you find this? Where!"
"In here. There are a lot more." Freddy pointed to the large box. Jaguar dashed over and looked inside the box.
"How...how could he have done this?"
"What are they?"
"No time now. We gotta go!" Jaguar threw the lid over the box and picked it up. "Come on!" She was about to dash outside when a sudden wash of cold fear dripped down her spine, freezing her in her place. A dark figure moved in front of the door, stopping anyone from moving.
"Where do you think you're going with those Becky?" A sinister voice growled. Jaguar knew that voice well; she'd heard it everyday for three years before she left.
"Ryan."
The figure moved from the shadows into the light. It was a boy, only a year younger then Jaguar but just as tall, with short dark red hair and evil blue eyes. "Glad you remember me Becky."
"How could I forget the Great Ryan?" The blonde replied snidely.
Ryan gave a sadistic grin, stepping forward. "Why are you taking the stones Rebecca? They don't belong to you."
"They don't belong to him either. Out of my way."
"Say please."
Jaguar thrust the box into Rose's hands and pulled her sword. "Please stay in my way so I can kill you."
"And finish the job that you started all those years ago?" Ryan shook his head, clicking his tongue. "I don't think so. That can wait until tomorrow."
"Then move." Ryan's grin grew wider, as if he had just won a personal bet, and stepped out of the way. Jaguar shouldered past the boy.
"See you tomorrow Jaguar. Tell Thorn hi for me."
Jaguar stopped dead in her tracks. "What do you mean?" She asked but Ryan was nowhere to be seen. The hairs on the back of the woman's neck rose in fear. "Thorn." She darted off, leaving everyone behind to wonder what was going on that made the brave hunter run in fear.
~*~
Nothing registered to the woman, not the ground under her feet, the wind whipping her hair into her face or the branches of the trees scratching her skin. The only thing that mattered right now was Thorn's safely.
'Tell Thorn hi for me. Tell Thorn hi for me. Tell Thorn hi for me.' The words kept replaying in her mind until it became a chant, a mantra to egg on her fears.
"To any gods that are listening protect Thorn. She hasn't done anything to deserve having her soul imprisoned. Don't let my curse hurt her." The Hunter said quietly to herself.
Coming to a screeching halt just on outside of the woods that surrounded the McKnight residence, Jaguar felt her heart drop at the sight of a figure pouring gasoline over the outside. Sense came back to her just as the figure lit a match. "No!" She pulled the knife from her ankle and threw it at the person. It connected solidly with their hand, making them drop match. Jaguar ran forward and put the flame out quickly before turning to look at the figure. From this distance it was obviously a woman.
"Who are you?"
"You don't recognize me Rebecca. I'm surprised. We were like sisters."
"Sisters?" Jaguar raked her brain for a moment before her eyes widened. "Nichole."
"Bingo." Nichole walked into the light. Jaguar's eyes traveled along the woman's features. The moonlight made alabaster skin glow and the black hair was almost blue. Beautiful as always. "It's good to see you again Rebecca."
"Why are you here Nichole? Wait. Stupid question. Cú wanted you to kill Thorn to hurt me and take her soul. Is that right?"
Nichole nodded sadly. "Yes."
"Then go back and tell him it won't happen." All fear that Jaguar had been feeling earlier melted away from the heat of her anger that was welling up. Cú was going after the one person she cared about more then anything with the only person that she had considered family when she was young. He knew that she was going to kill Nichole.
'But I didn't.'
"I can't go back Becky."
"Why?"
"You remember him. If you screw up he takes his pound of flesh. You have many scars to lie down as proof. But now he is worse. Maddened with the power of almost reaching his goal,"
"Bringing about Aamngreka." The two said together.
"What are you going to do then?"
"Rebecca,"
"Jaguar. My name is Jaguar now."
"Jaguar. I don't want to help Cú any longer. Please let me help you fight him."
"Are you nuts! You were just about to kill the woman I love and now you're saying you want to help me?"
"Yes."
Jaguar stared at her in disbelief. She let out a frustrated breath. "Fine. But if I find out this is a trick then you're gone. And I don't mean out the door. Got it?"
Nichole nodded hesitantly. This was a different woman then what she remembered those years back. The Rebecca she remembered was warm and inviting. But this one was cold. She could see it in those golden eyes.
"Let's get inside." Jaguar growled. The two strode inside the house. Nichole stopped short as Jaguar took in the damage. There were deep scratch marks on the wall, papers were everywhere and with her acute sight Jaguar made out drops of blood on the wall. "If she's dead. You'll be joining her." The Hunter growled as she set out to find the singer.
There was nothing on the first floor except for a mess but upstairs in the middle of the hallway lay an unconscious, but still alive, Thorn. Jaguar quickly, but gently, picked her up and carried her downstairs to the front room. She laid the woman on the sofa and checked her over. There was a knock to the back of her head that was bleeding slightly but wasn't going to do any permanent damage, a couple scratches here and there but thankfully she'd only end up with a headache.
'My curse strikes again. I knew I shouldn't have gotten close to you.'
"You care about her don't you?" Nichole's voice broke through to the Hunter. Jaguar looked up quickly, completely forgetting that the other woman was there.
"That's none of your business."
"I'll take that as a yes." Nichole walked over and looked down at the singer. "I'm sorry Rebecca. I was only doing what Cú asked me. Not all were as smart as you. We couldn't escape."
"Why didn't you just come with me Nikky?"
Nichole smiled at the childhood name. Though it turned into a sad one. "I was scared. I'd never been on my own before and I didn't know what to expect."
"I would have protected you, you know that."
"Yeah I do. But at the time fear was over reining my good judgment. Too late now."
"No it's not. Tomorrow I'm going to once and for all but a stop to Cú's reign."
Nichole smiled up at the taller woman. "Listen to you. You used to be scared shitless of him now you're ready to kick his ass."
Jaguar gave a half smile as her eyes traveled to Thorn. "It's because I realized I have something worth fighting for."
They both lapsed into a comfortable silence while Jaguar tended to Thorn's wounds and Nichole started a fire.
Not too long later the door opened to reveal a wind-swept Scooby Gang, Rose, Celeb and Nathaniel. Freddy was now carrying the Soul Stones. The group walked in and he set them on the coffee table.
"Why'd you take off so quick Jaguar?" Rose asked.
"Because I needed to save Thorn."
"Is she all right?" Jaguar and Nichole stepped apart to show the comatose singer.
"What happened? And who are you?"
"Guys this is Nichole. She is a...friend of mine. And Thorn was attacked by one of Cú goons."
'Oh I'm a goon am I?' Nichole snapped mentally but didn't say anything out loud.
"Is she going to be all right?" Freddy asked.
"Yeah. She'll just have a major headache in the morning." Jaguar replied, shrugging. She sat down, motioned for the others to as well. "This has been a long night. Why don't you guys just stay here for tonight?" No one disagreed.
"Yeah. Besides you said you'd explain what was going on when we got back." Velma pointed out.
Jaguar flinched as she remembered saying that. She didn't like to talk about her past but they deserved to know the truth and that truth was attached to her. "Okay." Jaguar let out a breath as she tried to figure out what to say. "Cú, or Zachariah as you know him, is a warlock. One that shouldn't be fucked with at any cost."
"What is it with this town and warlocks?" Shaggy asked out loud.
"What do you mean?"
"A couple years back Oakhaven had another warlock. His name was Ben Ravencroft. He unleashed this spirit's soul onto the world but we got them imprisoned again." Velma explained, trying to sum it up as best as she could.
"Oh." Jaguar said. "Anyway he can control the elements and is a master of Eii Hacis, Evil magic. But knows enough Pord Hacis, good magic, to fool everyone. He won't hesitate to use his favorite technique, the Tortert, on you."
"What that?" Velma asked.
"A horrible spell that I hope none of you have to witness." Jaguar simply said, willing her stomach not to lurch at the memory of when she last saw that horrible technique. The victim's screams still echoed around her head like a rabbit on speed, mixing with the images of intestines bursting and dropping from the bubbling, rotting flesh.
The group saw the absolute revulsion on the Hunter's face and instantly didn't want to know what it was.
The subject dropped.
Jaguar tried to quickly regain her composure and took a breath. "Okay. What else do you want to know?"
They were quiet. Jaguar wished she hadn't asked because she was putting herself out there, allowing them to ask anything. She just hoped it wouldn't get to personal.
"Where did you get that amulet?"
She guessed wrong.
"Umm...my sire gave these to his students after their fifth year of training."
"But Zachariah had one. Was he your sire?"
"Yes Velma. He was."
"What did he teach you?"
"Magick."
"You know magick? Like pulling rabbits out of your hat and sawing people in half?" Shaggy asked.
Jaguar shook her head, smiling slightly. "No. More like this." She stood up and walked over to the fireplace. She hooked the amulet around her neck and raised her right hand so the palm faced the burning flame. She closed her eyes and slowly brought her hand away, making it into a fist. The fire slowly dimmed until it was completely out. Jaguar turned around and opened her fist to show an intensely burning ball of flame. She tossed it to one hand then back to the first. Everyone did a pretty good impression of a bug as she tossed the ball from one hand to the other as if it was a tennis ball and not a flaming orb. "These kind of 'tricks' Shaggy." Jaguar turned easily back around and tossed the ball back into the hearth. The flames flared out then sunk back to normal size.
"How...How did you..." For the first time Velma was at a loss for words.
Jaguar smiled. She felt slightly relaxed now that she had let a bit of her power escape. She had too much pint up and it made her tense. 'At least tomorrow I'll get a good work out.
Back to the others. "How did I do that?" The bookworm nodded. "It's a little complicated. Basically I just thought of the fire as nothing more then a ball that I could hold in my hand. I used my power to shape it that way and viola! Instant fireball."
"And why did you not tell us you had these powers?" Rose asked.
Jaguar winced as the accusation. "Well because I thought that...I umm," Now it was the Hunter's turn to be hindered in the speaking department. Finally she sighed and shrugged. "I guess it just never came up." Rose nodded, excepting the answer, as lame as it was. "Anymore questions?" Jaguar sat down, pulling Thorn's head into her lap.
"Yeah. What are those?" Freddy nudged the box on the coffee table. The group watched, as both Jaguar and Nichole's faces grew serious.
"They're called Soul Stones." Nichole answered. She pulled the box onto her knees and opened it. Taking one out she opened it to show a purple ball. "Each one holds a soul of someone passed."
"Why does Zachariah have all of these?" Celeb asked.
"Because. He wants to bring about Aamngreka."
"What's that?"
"The end of the world. Aamngreka is when the earth will open up and demons from hell will climb from their godforsaken hole and kill the people of earth." Nichole eyed Shaggy and Scooby critically for a moment, fearing that they were going to feint.
"Why does he want to bring this up?" Daphne asked, her voice shaking. Freddy took his girlfriend's hand and squeezed it, trying to convey to her more courage then he actually had.
"Because Cú believes that with the earth cleansed, as he calls it, he can make a new world with him as the ruler." Nichole replied.
"How did he get all these?"
"These are from the victims he's killed." Jaguar looked inside the box and pulled out two boxes that looked newer then the others. She opened them to reveal a pink one and a yellow one. "These are the souls of Megan and Elizabeth." The women's faces floated on the surface of the ball before disappearing again.
"My god."
"Jaguar what was that ball you took out of my hand?" Shaggy asked. Jaguar closed her eyes. She replaced the two containers back into the wooden box and pulled out one with the letters R.J. on it. She opened it to reveal once more the golden orb.
"This...is my soul."
~*~
A pounding on the back of her head made Thorn wince. She tried to lay a hand on it but only came in contact with toned muscles. She opened her eyes to see that her head was lying in Jaguar's lap.
Jaguar stopped short as she felt a hand hit the inside of her thigh. She looked down to see that Thorn was groggy but waking up.
"Thorn."
"What happened?"
"One of Cú goons jumped ya." The Hunter ignored the glare she got from Nichole.
"Oh." With Jaguar's help Thorn sat up and leaned back against the couch.
"Are you all right Thorn?" Velma asked.
"Yeah. Other then the bass drum I got pounding in my head I'm great." The singer said sarcastically. She looked around and her eyes landed on the Soul Stone box in Nichole's lap. "What are those?" Her eyes traveled up to Nichole's face and she practically jumped back. "And what are you doing here?"
"Whoa there Thorn. She's not going to pull anything. Isn't that right Nichole?" Jaguar glanced over her shoulder at Nichole who nodded. The Hunter pulled her girlfriend back down onto the seat. "And to your second question these are Soul Stones."
"All right I seriously missed something. What was it?" Jaguar began to do a short recap of what they were talking about before she woke up. It was short because some of the stuff Jaguar had all ready told the singer, about Cú and Aamngreka and the Soul Stones. But when she told her about the golden orb Thorn's eyes widened.
"But how? I thought that only happened when ya died."
Jaguar sighed. "There's something that I haven't told anyone before. It's somethin' I don't like to think off too often but it'll answer your questions. When I was five I had a fever that no one was able to break. I...I don't remember everything but what I do is waking up to see my mother and father crying. I asked them what was wrong but they never told me. The next thing I know is that Cú is taking me away and that was the last time I ever saw my parents. They were killed soon after words they were killed. I realize now that he had killed them and entrapped their souls in these stones, very much as he did mine." She clenched her fists so her nails were biting into her flesh and she willed the angry tears not to flow. "I will make him pay," Gazing deep into the orb, Jaguar caught the image of her and her family together and rising fury caused her voice to turn into an almost inhuman growl. "Even if it takes the other part of my soul to do it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ow. Fingers...cramping. This is the longest chapter I've ever written. Hope your butts didn't get tiered from sitting too long.
Sorry if some parts of the story just plain sucked or didn't make sense. My brain started to fizzle out.
Anyway, review and tell me what parts you thought were good and what parts I should probably change.
Later!
