Chapter 6
The first few hours of the party were always the same whirlwind of greetings. People calling to one another, heckling each other's costumes, and grazing at the snack bar. Sara moved among them doing the same. Danny actually made a pretty good Severus, but Jake she needled shamelessly. He had gone the cheap route and wrapped a bed sheet around him like a toga.
Vicki was the only one left to show. Sara couldn't imagine what was keeping her. Po loved the holiday as much as Sara, maybe more so. Her office was full of little horror movie jokes, like the brain with the label Abby Normal, a round barrel that said property of the US Military, a severed hand floating in formaldehyde, and a weird little metal ball with old scalpel blades that could have been from Phantasm.
Sara was glad that Vicki didn't have a house to decorate, since she was perfectly capable of bringing specimen jars home for that authentic look. Kids would run screaming from the Po house, you could be sure of that. Hell, so would their parents. Sara smiled at the images the idea created.
"What are you smiling at young lady? Ten points from Gryffindor." Danny let one lip curl up in a sneer, but his eyes were dancing.
Sara suspected he was having way too much fun with his persona. She was not having any real fun with hers, other than watching people try to figure out who she was. The blonde hair really did make her look different. "I was just imagining what was keeping Vicki. You know how she is."
"Yes, I do. Have you tried to call her cell and see what's keeping her?" Danny asked, realizing the time. Vicki was usually one of the first to arrive, right after Sara.
"Not yet. My phone is in my coat. Can't get called in to work if I can't hear my phone." Sara gave Danny a conspiratorial grin; she knew his was at home. Lee always made him leave it behind on Halloween for similar reasons.
"I know what you mean. Well, let me know if we need to go get her. This is not a good night to have car trouble. All the amateur weirdos are out tonight." Danny rolled his eyes. Another reason both shared for not liking to work Halloween was all the wannabes running around committing petty vandalism.
"Yeah, all the professionals consider ritual murder on Halloween to be passé." Sara chuckled and headed for the kitchen. It wasn't quite true; there were still some die-hard traditionalists. They'd both earn their pay in the next few days as the planned homicides came to light, but there was nothing they could do now.
A fierce pain drove behind her eyes, blinding Sara as the Witchblade stirred. Pezzini swore under her breath and leaned on the doorjamb. Somehow she had made it into the kitchen, which was mercifully empty. She could not really fight the Blade when it chose to show her something, the best she could do was delay for a time. Get somewhere secluded to fall apart in.
Now the vision consumed her, pulling her down into someone else. She was running, fleeing a dark and evil presence that wanted to kill her. Blood pounded in her ears, almost deafening her, but it didn't matter. She wouldn't hear it anyway. The monster didn't make any noise. The vision wasn't very helpful though. Sara couldn't tell where she was, only that it was a dimly lit alley. Metal fire escapes and heaps of garbage were a universal constant in this city.
The difference in height made Sara suspicious, and as soon as she wondered, she realized she was a child. A small teddy bear was tucked under her arm as she ran. How had she missed that? Sara concentrated, trying to detect anything that would tell her where this was happening. Skirts flapped around her legs, cold air bit her lungs, the fuzzy legs of her bear thumped against her side, and she still didn't know where she was. The darkness reached for her; close enough to feel his breath.
The creature sensed that the child was not alone. It pulled back and hissed something in a language that made the air crackle and break into shards. The vision released her as suddenly and completely as it had taken her, leaving Sara dizzy and sick. She panted, heart hammering from exertion and fear. Whatever had thrust her back had been hideous in it's shadowy malice and old, very old.
It was still out there, hunting the child.
Sara cursed and grabbed her coat, Vicki forgotten in the mingling fear and fury consuming her. That thing was not going to sink its claws into the child if she had anything to say about it.
The first few hours of the party were always the same whirlwind of greetings. People calling to one another, heckling each other's costumes, and grazing at the snack bar. Sara moved among them doing the same. Danny actually made a pretty good Severus, but Jake she needled shamelessly. He had gone the cheap route and wrapped a bed sheet around him like a toga.
Vicki was the only one left to show. Sara couldn't imagine what was keeping her. Po loved the holiday as much as Sara, maybe more so. Her office was full of little horror movie jokes, like the brain with the label Abby Normal, a round barrel that said property of the US Military, a severed hand floating in formaldehyde, and a weird little metal ball with old scalpel blades that could have been from Phantasm.
Sara was glad that Vicki didn't have a house to decorate, since she was perfectly capable of bringing specimen jars home for that authentic look. Kids would run screaming from the Po house, you could be sure of that. Hell, so would their parents. Sara smiled at the images the idea created.
"What are you smiling at young lady? Ten points from Gryffindor." Danny let one lip curl up in a sneer, but his eyes were dancing.
Sara suspected he was having way too much fun with his persona. She was not having any real fun with hers, other than watching people try to figure out who she was. The blonde hair really did make her look different. "I was just imagining what was keeping Vicki. You know how she is."
"Yes, I do. Have you tried to call her cell and see what's keeping her?" Danny asked, realizing the time. Vicki was usually one of the first to arrive, right after Sara.
"Not yet. My phone is in my coat. Can't get called in to work if I can't hear my phone." Sara gave Danny a conspiratorial grin; she knew his was at home. Lee always made him leave it behind on Halloween for similar reasons.
"I know what you mean. Well, let me know if we need to go get her. This is not a good night to have car trouble. All the amateur weirdos are out tonight." Danny rolled his eyes. Another reason both shared for not liking to work Halloween was all the wannabes running around committing petty vandalism.
"Yeah, all the professionals consider ritual murder on Halloween to be passé." Sara chuckled and headed for the kitchen. It wasn't quite true; there were still some die-hard traditionalists. They'd both earn their pay in the next few days as the planned homicides came to light, but there was nothing they could do now.
A fierce pain drove behind her eyes, blinding Sara as the Witchblade stirred. Pezzini swore under her breath and leaned on the doorjamb. Somehow she had made it into the kitchen, which was mercifully empty. She could not really fight the Blade when it chose to show her something, the best she could do was delay for a time. Get somewhere secluded to fall apart in.
Now the vision consumed her, pulling her down into someone else. She was running, fleeing a dark and evil presence that wanted to kill her. Blood pounded in her ears, almost deafening her, but it didn't matter. She wouldn't hear it anyway. The monster didn't make any noise. The vision wasn't very helpful though. Sara couldn't tell where she was, only that it was a dimly lit alley. Metal fire escapes and heaps of garbage were a universal constant in this city.
The difference in height made Sara suspicious, and as soon as she wondered, she realized she was a child. A small teddy bear was tucked under her arm as she ran. How had she missed that? Sara concentrated, trying to detect anything that would tell her where this was happening. Skirts flapped around her legs, cold air bit her lungs, the fuzzy legs of her bear thumped against her side, and she still didn't know where she was. The darkness reached for her; close enough to feel his breath.
The creature sensed that the child was not alone. It pulled back and hissed something in a language that made the air crackle and break into shards. The vision released her as suddenly and completely as it had taken her, leaving Sara dizzy and sick. She panted, heart hammering from exertion and fear. Whatever had thrust her back had been hideous in it's shadowy malice and old, very old.
It was still out there, hunting the child.
Sara cursed and grabbed her coat, Vicki forgotten in the mingling fear and fury consuming her. That thing was not going to sink its claws into the child if she had anything to say about it.