22
"You," Marcus called.
"So much for getting healed up first… what?"
"Where is she?"
"Oh, come on, I'm not supposed to make it that easy for you."
Marcus raised his gun. The blue wings spread, as did a feral grin on the angel's face. "Guns don't bother me." Marcus raised his gun and shot the chain holding the chandelier above Rafe's head. The wings flapped once, creating a powerful backwind that pushed at Marcus and helped Rafe leap out of the way. Flying was out, but the wings were still useful….
Marcus flickered out of existence and reappeared at the same spot, avoiding the wind. "Nice trick." "As is yours," Rafe replied before wincing and rubbing his shoulder. Putting it back into place after One (or was it Two?) had dislocated it had been easy, but it still hurt.
"You are in no condition to fight me."
"No kiddin', but you didn't give me enough time to go get healed."
"Then tell me where she is."
"Nuh-uh, no way. Can't do that."
"Then I have no choice." He flickered again, reappearing in front of the angel. Then, Marcus simply moved past his opponent, continuing his search. Rafe blinked. "That… did not go as anticipated…." Damn. And I wanted a good fight, too. Damn my big mouth!
Marcus continued searching the halls. She had to be somewhere.
"Well, well, well, looks like someone found himself a new shell," came Abel's mocking voice. Marcus turned. "The fuzzy twins." "Not yet," Cain answered, standing next to his brother. "But soon." "You're going to grace me with a transformation." Marcus holstered his gun. "How sweet of you."
Abel glared at Cain. "Full moon's not for a week, so sorry."
"Then get out of my way."
"No," Cain replied, ignoring Abel. Fur was crawling over his hands.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to fight you two."
Abel snorted as Cain's height increased and he grew fangs. "Different body… same pacifistic mind."
"But, you will see I am not as weak as before."
Cain snarled something; Abel translated. "He says that will not matter."
"We shall see."
The smaller of the brothers attacked first, coming in at him with a low kick. Marcus leapt away, dropping into a stance as he touched down. Cain lumbered forward, uncharacteristically clumsy in transformation. Marcus flickered forward, striking Cain hard in the stomach. The werewolf seemed not to notice, instead striking at Marcus with one large hand-paw.
Marcus dodged the blow, leaping back again. This would be tough. Abel struck again, this time sending a gut-punch flying for Marcus. Marcus dodged the punch, grabbed Abel's hand, and used the momentum to toss the unchanged werewolf, over his head and across the room. Even while one paw lashed out at him, Cain's other paw reached up to snatch his brother out of the air.
Marcus dropped again into a fighting stance. Abel slowly began changing, not looking too happy about it. He stopped about halfway through, and wound up looking like a kind of wolf-boy, though with more grace than his fully changed brother, and the retained ability to speak. "Let's go."
Marcus pulled his gun out. "Very well." Abel froze, staring at it, replying irritably to Cain's growl, "No, I am not paranoid!"
"You fear for silver?"
Cain shook his head, but Abel said nothing.
Marcus held up the gun. The cartridge area was translucent for a second, and then became solid. "I had to reload." "Which means what, exactly?" Abel growled.
"I reset my gun's coding, so it would have a full clip."
"What kind of bullets?"
Cain growled again. "Would you shut up?" Abel added, glaring at Cain again.
"Would you care to find out?"
Cain lumbered in front of Abel, almost protectively. His next growl was clearly along the lines of 'answer the question'. Marcus said nothing. instead, he started to walk around the werewolves. Cain reached out to grab him with his hand-paw. He flickered farther down the hallway. Abel lunged after him, praying he wasn't running into deadly silver fire.
Marcus turned and shot Abel in the leg. The wound began to burn. The smaller werewolf cried out in pain, falling to the floor and clutching his wound. "S-silver…"
Marcus kept walking, reholstering the pistol as its program once again reset.
Down the hall, a door opened and a familiar program walked calmly out. "Sekhmet!"
"Not quite," the green-eyed woman said, turning to him.
"Bastet," he snarled.
"Who else?" she purred.
"Release Sekhmet."
"Actually, bloodsucker, she let me take over this time."
"And why is that?"
"Do you really have to ask me what would scare her badly enough as to let me take over?"
"Them. Oh, well. They need not frighten her anymore." Marcus tossed his hair back. "Their tricks no longer work on me."
"Intriguing as that sounds… they work on her."
"But I can protect her now. Let her go."
She yawned. "I don't feel like fighting anyway, and she's getting annoying." There was a pause, a change in colour, then the blue-eyed Sekhmet was calling his name and running to him. Marcus held her. She buried her face in his chest. "I knew you'd make it…."
"I'm not exactly as you remember me... my code isn't as stable as it has been."
She looked up at him, raising one of her hands to touch his face. "I could tell it was you."
"Yes... but there are a few problems."
"Like what?"
Marcus reach out to the wall and touched it. His hand went through it. "I can't turn it off." She blinked, then looked at his face. "But… I can touch you…."
"And I don't fall through the floor...but everything else has no substance to me."
She hugged him. "I don't care. You're okay."
He smiled back. "It will make beds awkward," he mused. She blushed and giggled. "Well," she said shyly, "there's always the floor."
"Assuming my feet aren't the only things that break the rule."
"I'm sure there's something we can do," she assured him, still blushing.
"Now... let us leave quickly." Marcus started to pull her down the hall. "We may have overstayed our welcome a bit too long." She nodded.
Marcus stopped by the house in the middle of the badlands. "We must make a quick stop."
"That girl who was with you?"
He nodded as he knocked on the door. No one answered. Marcus stepped through it. "Val?" The house was empty, and her guitar was gone, as was the only photograph she had -- one of her and the Twins. Marcus stepped out. "Come, Sekhmet. There is nothing for us here." She blinked, confused, but nodded and took his hand.
He smiled, fangs showing again, and led her back on the trek to the city, and home, at last.
***
Valkyrie could have easily phased inside the château, but she wasn't about to leave her guitar lying around. It took her sometime to find a lower-story window, part momentarily with her belongings in order to phase, then open the window and retrieve book and guitar.
She couldn't believe she was doing this.
"We did not even bake a cake."
She paused, then turned. "Hi, guys…." The Twins were waiting for her. "Why are you here?"
"I… I'm not leaving," she said softly. "You have come to join us?" She nodded. "I… can't leave you two."
"We know."
She bowed her head. "It's why I stayed so close…"
"We will tell the Merovingian." They phased away, very self-satisfied.
"… damn it…."