Lashana owns only herself and Akhor

"Mm, this is so good," Lashana muttered in between chopstick-fulls of chicken friend rice, inwardly thanking her lucky stars that Duncan had taught her how to use the horrible things a few months back. Despite his earlier protests, Eddie was digging into the meal just as much as she was, hence his agreeing mumble as he bit into his fifth egg roll. "Okay, so, back to the map. See any pattern yet?"

He frowned down at the markings on the map. "It's a star."

"More accurately known to us magick users as a pentagram. He's trying to invoke something as far as I can tell, he's killing in very specific places in a very specific order. That's very, very bad, in case you didn't know." Humming thoughtfully, she tapped a chopstick against the map and frowned. "From what I know about the demons, he's either trying to summon something, or trying to gain power. Do you know when the next full moon is?"

The question caught him off guard. "Um.... two, maybe three days."

::My guess would be three,:: Akhor said from where he was on the bed eating his way through a container of shrimp fried rice and another container of tiger shrimp. ::He's doing two killings at every point of the pentagram, he's got two points left to go, and the third killing would be done in the centre of the pentagram.::

She arched an eyebrow at Eddie. "Did you hear him?"

"Yes, why?"

"Making sure."

::I resent that.::

"Eat your shrimp, pipsqueak," she shot back, smirking when he made a rude noise in the back of his throat and hissed. "Anyway, my guess is that he'll strike within three blocks of here." She tapped a finger against a point on the map, then frowned. "He's following a definite pattern.... Gods I'd hate to see what he invokes...."

"You won't," Eddie frowned, growling when he fumbled with the chopsticks, freezing when Lashana reached over and arranged his fingers in the proper fashion to hold the sticks. "Uh... thanks."

"No prob. I hated the evil things before Duncan taught me how to use them. Personally," she stabbed an egg roll with a stick and smirked. "I think using them like this is so much easier."

::That's because you're insane,::Akhor sent.

Lashana growled and sent a scathing glare in his direction. "No comments from the peanut gallery. Besides, you're telepathically linked to me, so what does that make you?"

::Very brave, or very stupid. I'm not sure which.::

"Wisecracking lizard...." Grumbling, she savagely sunk her fangs into the egg roll, glaring at Eddie when she heard him smother a chuckle. "I heard that."

"Sorry," he smirked, drawing her gaze again. "So, besides being a slayer of demons, what exactly do you do?"

"That's pretty much the high point of my months," she said as she went back to the fried rice. "My best friend and I have this Palace in a little dimensional nook, so besides friends and the occasional troublemaker dropping in, our days are pretty much non-lethal. Why? No wait, you're after who my supervisor is, aren't you?"

He grimaced. "How do you do that?!"

"I know you, Eddie Brock. And no, I'm not telling you who sent me here. Not yet anyway." She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Maybe later."

"Gee, thanks," he muttered mockingly. "We feel so honoured."

Wincing at the sarcastic comment, she set the container of rice down and sighed wearily as she got to her feet and headed into the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind her. Resting her hands on the counter she stared at her reflection, meeting her own gaze and frowning at the tiredness she saw there. Lack of sleep and the constant ache in her ribs was wearing at her last nerves, and if she wasn't careful, she'd lose her temper and destroy the tentative truce she had with Eddie.

Sighing again, she pulled a clean grey long sleeved shirt out of a portal and changed into it, tossing her other blouse back into the portal with a groan. And another shirt bites the dust. She turned the taps on full then and cleaned her face, the refreshing feeling of the cool water on her skin helping to lift her sour mood as she grabbed a towel and dried off, taking a few deep breaths before steeling herself and walking back out into the room.

::Are you alright?:: Akhor immediately asked when he saw her, food promptly ignored as he stood and frowned up at her.

"I'm fine, littling. Just tired," she murmured, raising her right arm as a perch for him when he flew over to her. His light weight barely phased her as he landed, talons grasping at the material of her sleeve as he climbed up to her shoulder and curled around the back of her neck, tail wrapping around her throat to anchor himself. She became aware that Eddie was watching her closely, and she frowned as she turned to look at him, meeting his gaze steadily, dimly aware that her eyes had turned gold with elliptical pupils.

It was Akhor that said something first. ::Elfy, your eyes! Get control!:: He crooned at her worriedly as she rose a hand to her forehead, opening himself to her fully as he rose his head and nuzzled at her cheek, one claw tugging at a lock of her hair. ::Mommy?::

I'm alright, she sent, raising a hand to stroke his chest lightly as she looked at Eddie again, her gaze once again dark blue. "We should get going," she said softly, turning to put the covers back onto the containers that Akhor had been eating out of and shoving them into the mini fridge.

Eddie frowned at her. "Did we.... Lashana, forgive us, we didn't mean to--"

"It's alright. I'm tired and on edge and in pain. It usually sends my mood right into the ground. And my magick is sensitive to my moods." She pulled her jacket on as she spoke, being careful of Akhor as she adjusted the collar of it.

"Pain? Your ribs?" When she shot him a questioning look, he shrugged and gestured to her shirt. "We saw the extra bulk of the bandage. We caused it during the fight." It wasn't a question.

"No. I tangled with the demon last night. It knocked me off a rooftop and I landed on a car," she told him as she buttoned up her jacket and checked her pockets for her things, nodding to herself once she was sure she had everything. "It's nothing serious though. Besides, I've been hurt worse than this."

::Most people wouldn't say that as a positive thing,:: Akhor told her, looking at her when she smiled darkly, then turning his gaze to Eddie. ::You don't want to know what happens to people when she smiles like that.::

"We'd imagine that it's the same thing that happens to people when we smile like that."

::Yeah, but she's inventive, and female. Bad combo.::

"Akhor, stop making me sound like a complete psychopath," Lashana protested with a slight glare at the dragon. "Well, the hour's up. You ready to do this, Eddie?"

He frowned at her for a moment, then nodded and got to his feet, turning to replace the covers on all of the containers before coping her earlier example and putting the leftovers in the small fridge. "Are you.... portalling us there?"

"Unfortunately no," she told him, raising a hand to rub at the back of her neck. "I can only portal to places I've already been to once before. Else, y'know, we could end up reappearing in a wall. I was kinda hoping you knew the way."

"We do. Though we'll have to move quickly in order to get there in time." As he spoke, the symbiote shifted over him, reverting to it's more normal look of pure black with the white spider emblazoned across his chest. "We'll carry you."

"No need. I'll keep up on my own. First things first though." Concentrating, she snapped the fingers of her right hand and smirked as a portal opened up in front of her, able to see through it to the roof of a building that was a few blocks away. "I'd rather not get thrown out of the hotel. C'mon." Seeing his hesitation, she walked through first, taking a deep breath of the cold air as she stepped through onto the roof, the wind immediately playing with her hair as she turned to regard the portal, smiling when Eddie finally stepped through it.

Smiling, she hopped up onto the raised ledge of the roof and looked down at the street below, then glanced back at Eddie and grinned. "Coming?" she asked sweetly before she swan dived off the edge.

Alarmed, Eddie dove after her, the symbiote rising to cover his face in the gruesome mask as he shot out a web line, fully prepared to catch her before she hit the street....

And a giggle sounded above him.

Startled, he twisted around in mid-air and stared back at the white haired woman that was hovering a little ways away from him, a very amused look on her features. "What-"

"Flight spell," she beamed, chuckling at the look on Venom's face. "Well? Which way are we headin'?" When he stared and mutely pointed, she grinned and dove down past him. "Well c'mon already! Get the lead out! We're wastin' moonlight! Of course, I'd understand if you can't keep up...." She trailed off and arched an eyebrow at him in challenge, grinning as she sped up, arrowing through the air. "Old age and all that."

He sputtered. "Old age?! We'll show you, 'old age'!" Growling, he shot out another webline and swung after her, sling shooting around the corner of a building to gain speed before arching out across the street, easily passing her. "You're an insolent pup!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she laughed, hair whipping back in the winds as she darted around a building, grinning at him when he kept pace with her.

::Aw c'mon, Elfy. Quit goin' easy on him,:: Akhor purred as he poked his head out of her hair and watched their surroundings zoom past them. ::Show'em how real people fly!::

"Not now, littling," she scolded him lightly raising a hand to stroke his head. "Do me a favour and scan the area, hmm? You know what to look for."

"He can do that?" Venom asked curiously as he webslinged closer to her in order to hold a conversation.

"Mmhm. He's telepathic, remember? Granted, his range is only about ten city blocks, but it's better than nothing." He gestured for her to follow him as he swung around a building and headed after him, hissing softly under her breath as she clutched at her ribs, using a little bit of energy to weave a partial Healing spell over herself, the magick mending a bit of the stiffness in her sides and back. It would have to do until she had enough time to do it properly, she only hoped that Venom would be able to handle the Mazoku, considering that she really didn't want to get into another fight with the demon.

A low humming drew her gaze to Venom as he webslinged across the streets, and she rolled her eyes as he actually broke out in song, the first line of 'Strangers in the Night' echoing on the winds as he cut across in front of her and shot around another building. Knowing full well what she had gotten herself into when she had asked for his help, she stayed silent and put up with it, knowing that the thought of a good fight was putting him into a good mood.

::Nothing yet,:: Akhor whispered into her thoughts. ::Want me to keep looking?::

Nah, keep your strength. She skimmed over a rooftop and gained altitude, making herself a grand target for the Mazoku as she followed Venom from above. Tell him what I'm trying.

The dragon grimaced but relayed the message anyway, glancing down at the human/symbiote below as he telepathed to him. ::Lashana's playing bait,:: he sent, immediately sensing Venom's disapproval. ::I don't like it either, but it'll definitely get the demon's attention. Are we close to our destination?:: It was the symbiote that answered, the cool emotionless voice sending a shiver down his spine before he turned his thoughts to Lashana. ::We're ten minutes away. Maybe you should land.::

Yeah, alright. Dark blue eyes scanned the rooftops below for a moment before she chose a suitable building, feeling Akhor tighten his hold on her as she dove down to make a landing, banishing her flight spell the moment her boots hit the rough gravel.

"You are not going to act as bait," Venom growled as he landed in a crouch on the edge of the roof, the symbiotes horrendous slime-laden tongue waving at her.

"You have a better idea?" She didn't look at him as she spoke, turning her attention instead to the energy she was gathering in her cupped hands, the reddish light becoming infused with the emotions she was feeding into it. Anger, sorrow, frustration and fear, all the emotions the Mazoku fed off of, the perfect bait. The only drawback was that it was her emotions, which meant that when it discovered that the spell was merely a diversion, it would follow the 'scent' of the emotions right back to her.

::You are insane,:: Akhor snorted as he spread his wings and flew over to perch on a cable antenna, talons gripping at the metal. ::When it figures out that that's just a beacon it's gonna go after you! And in case you forgot, it's immune to your magick!::

"It's immune?" Fangs glinting in the moonlight, Venom stepped down from the ledge and folded his arms over his chest. "Is there anything else you haven't told us?"

"It's immune to some of my spells," she corrected. "And the only reason it caught me off guard last time is because it caught me by surprise. Things are difference this time." As she spoke, she rose her hands, the red globe pulsing as it floated between her palms. "Are we gonna do this or not?"

Eddie frowned behind the symbiote's mask, then sighed. "Do it."

Akhor groaned and rose a claw to his forehead. ::You're both insane.::

Ignoring him, Lashana cupped the spell in her hands for a moment longer before tossing it into the air, like one releasing a dove. The red sphere glowed brighter and brighter until it exploded, sending a pulse wave of power out over the city. "I give it ten minutes," she mused as she dusted her hands and rummaged around in her pants pockets for a hair elastic. Humming cheerfully, she put her hair up into a ponytail and reached into her storage portal for her sword, wiping it on the hem of her jacket before admiring her reflection in the blade, tilting the sword a little to look at Venom's reflection when he approached her. "What?"

"Do you know how to use that?" he asked, stepping back when she twirled the sword and spun to face him, the blade suddenly an inch away from his throat. "We'll take that as a 'yes'."

She grinned wickedly and lowered her sword. "I was trained by the best," she told him as she turned and went to prop a foot up on the ledge, looking down at the street below curiously. Her senses were on edge as she strained to feel the energies of the city, trying to pinpoint the Mazoku in a sea of people. It wasn't working. Though, all things considered, it wasn't really needed anyway.

Snarling like a wild beast, the demon landed heavily behind her, the roof buckling under it's weight as it lashed out at her with a clawed hand, roaring in rage when she twisted out of the way and lobbed a lightning spell right into it's face, momentarily blinding it. Venom attacked seconds later, forcing it away from her as the two snarling combatants traded savage blows, each of them trying to get the advantage over the other, and as the Mazoku threw Venom aside, she lunged into the fight, her blade gleaming in the moonlight as it attacked.

As before, the thing merely grew a katana from it's hand, the mock sword gleaming in a dark mockery of her own as they crossed blades. Knowing that it would merely overwhelm her with brute strength if she let it, she twisted aside, parried, and darted in, scoring a gash along it's left side before she danced away again. This time it initiated the next attack, before she had recovered from their other fight, thus instinct took over before her training could. Pivoting on her left ankle, she set the blade against her left arm and darted into close contact, twisting her wrist to savagely slash open the demon's belly, her eyes widening when the demon merely chuckled.

"Lookout!" Having seen the dark tendrils that were forming from the demon's back, Venom threw himself back into the fray, the symbiote interspersing it's own knife-edged pseudopods between Lashana and the demon, saving her from the things attack. Talons scored across his chest, and he hissed when he felt the symbiote's pain as his other shielded him from harm. This thing just wouldn't die! Twice he had delivered killing blows, and it didn't seem to phase this creature at all! To add to his dismay, it's sword was just as sharp as the real thing, causing even more of a problem as he ducked and weaved out of it's range.

Akhor dove into the fray then, talons raking across the demon's face as he flew by, knowing better than to use his flames when Venom was too close to his target. From ten meters altitude, he saw Lashana dart in again, catching the Mazoku's vicious sword slash on the flat of her blade while she rose her left hand to it's face, loosing a spell at point black range. The explosion shook the entire building as the backlash of power washed over the Elf, and he took the opportunity presented to scan the building, twisting in mid-air when he located the demon. ::Behind you!::

Venom spun at the yell and lashed out with a powerful kick, scoring a direct hit right in the centre of the demon's chest with enough force to send it crashing backwards. Even before it hit the ground, he was leaping after it, talons and fangs at the ready, the pale eyes of the symbiote's mask narrowed in hatred and disgust as they attacked, aiming to simply rend the demon limb from limb. For a brief moment, he felt a burst of triumph swell in his chest when the demon staggered away and clutched at it's sides, it's odd elliptical orange eyes clenched shut in pain as it wheezed, but that triumph died before it had a decent chance to live when a white spider emblem appeared on it's chest, pale white eyes and fangs that would make a shark jealous joining the rich black of it's body.

Faced with himself, Venom lost precious few seconds gaping in shock, seconds that the newly shape-changed demon used to it's advantage as it lunged at it's prey, fangs going for the human's throat.

Lashana, meanwhile, paled at the sight of two identical Venom's grappling with each other. "Holy crap!" She yelped seconds later when one of the Venoms was thrown her way, and she barely managed to duck out of the way to avoid being used as a crash mat, her eyes widening as she looked from one Venom to the other. Both were in fighting stances seconds later, and her gaze darted from each of them numerous times. "Um.... Akhor? Littling, help?"

::I can't!:: the dragon cried. ::They both sense the same!::

Shit, shit, shit. Heart pounding, she backed up again until the backs of her knees hit the raised edge of the roof. This was not good. If Akhor couldn't tell the difference between them then that left her to wrack her brain for something that only Eddie would know without giving away any vital information to the demon. Luckily, it seemed that she had a few more seconds to think things threw, since the two Venoms were once again grappling with each other, one grabbing the other in a painful-looking hold before he sunk his fangs into the other's shoulder, drawing a ragged scream from him along with a cry for help.

Throwing caution to the winds, she gathered her courage and threw herself into the fight, landing a roundhouse kick in the firsts stomach before throwing the other to the ground in the judo throw that Duncan had taught her. "Enough already!" she yelled, gathering lightning in her hands as she looked from one to the other, her gaze constantly going between them. "Here's a little test for y'all. Crappy theme song!"

The one who was clutching at his right shoulder actually managed to sound indignant. "There is nothing wrong with our theme song!"

Grinning, she rounded on the other one. "Thank you, good night! Wind! Crimson flame! Grant the power of thunder to my hands! Digu Volt!" She threw her hands forward and was forced to take a step back from the sheer power of the attack that left her, her boots skidding backwards on the rooftop as the lightning converged on the demon, hitting him full in the chest and pulling a shriek of pain and anger from it before it toppled off of the roof.

Not wasting a moment, she spun on her heel and ran over to Eddie, her eyes widening when she saw blood seeping between his fingers and the symbiotes tendrils. "Oh my God. Eddie, let me see." Not waiting for an answer, she gently swatted his hand out of the way, murmuring thanks to the symbiote when it pulled away from the wound, and she grimaced at the sight of the vicious bite mark, the gashes left behind by the demon's fangs seemingly going straight to the bone. "Couldn't the other protect you?"

"It tried! It's shielded me from armour piercing bullets as well as your dragon's fangs! But for some reason that.... abomination sliced right through it! We can't stop the bleeding, our arm is already numb."

"Poison," she breathed in horror. Akhor! Watch my back! "Eddie, hold still. And don't argue!" Brow furrowed in deep concentration, she lay her hands over the wound on either side of his shoulder and breathed out slowly before closing her eyes and beginning the spell which would cleanse the poison from him. But it was a complicated spell, something that demanded all of her attention, a dangerous thing considering that the demon was by no means defeated.

She pushed such thoughts from her mind as she centred and grounded herself before slowly opening herself, feeding her own LifeSource into the incantation as the spell sought out and destroyed every molecule of the poison, cleansing Eddie's entire circulatory system of it, draining her energy as it went. She pulled away with a gasp ten minutes later and stumbled backwards to land heavily on her butt, her hands shaking, a bad sign. She'd used too much of her LifeSource. "I think.... I think I got it all...."

Having felt the healing she had done on him, Eddie slowly turned his head to look at his shoulder, frowning at the still fresh bite mark for a moment before he realised that his arm wasn't numb anymore, and that the bleeding had stopped. Immediately, his other flowed over the exposed wound, covering it in coolness as the symbiote blocked his pain receptors, supporting his shoulder just enough to allow him to defend himself if the need arose.

He turned to Lashana next, rising into a crouch as he rested a hand on her back, worried at how pale and weak she now seemed. "What did you do? Are you alright?"

"The spell.... uses my LifeSource. I cleansed the poison from you, but it took more out of me than I was expecting," she whispered raggedly, frowning as she rose her right hand and watched it shake slightly. "Gave myself a morning-after without the night-before."

"This is bad," he said softly as he gently helped her to her feet, supporting her when she staggered. "Can you walk?"

::She's drained,:: Akhor told him as he circled them. ::She basically gave up part of her life to heal you. Believe me when I say that she's gonna be out of it for a while.::

Lashana sucked in a breath and pushed away from Eddie, pulling on her ties to the Chaos to give her more energy. "No. I can handle it. Akhor, where's the demon?"

::It headed east--:: He cut himself off in sudden realisation and darted down to land on her shoulder, pulling on her hair. ::Oh no! No! You are not gonna go after it! Lashana!::

Her eyes turned gold as she glanced at him, meeting his own golden gaze as he looked up at her pleadingly, his mind turmoiled as flashes of alarmed yellows and oranges flashed in front of her mind's eye. Finally, she sighed and glanced over at Eddie, once again in the guise of Venom, and not looking overly happy. "I think," she sighed. "That we're out of luck for tonight."

He stared at her long and hard for a moment, then nodded. "We agree."

Akhor heaved a sigh of relief and sagged against Lashana's head, wings drooping. ::Gods, you're going to give me a heart attack.::

I'm sorry, littling. "Alright. Good. I'm gonna pass out soon anyway." Mustering up her waning strength, she rose her right hand and opened a portal, grimacing when it flickered erratically. "I'm goin' back to the hotel," she told Venom as she glanced at him. "Are you coming or what? I can fully Heal your shoulder once I get a few hours sleep."

"We'll join you," he answered after a moment, knowing that she would be without protection at the motel, remembering what Akhor had said about the demon targeting her for her emotions once it found them. It stood to reason that it could probably track her anywhere within the city, and, in all truth, so far she was his only means of finding the demonic killer that was loose on the streets. And even though he was hesitant to admit it, his shoulder's bone deep ache was certainly going to prevent him from webslinging anywhere this night.

Suddenly very wary of their surroundings, he gestured for her to precede him into the portal, then followed her, feeling the sensation of being watched die as the mystical doorway snapped shut behind him. Almost immediately, she headed for the bed, and he smirked as he watched her collapse face-first onto the bed, raising a hand to wipe over his face when the symbiote removed it's protective mask from him.

Worried, Akhor crawled out from under Lashana's right arm and climbed up onto the pillow, turning to look at her in deep concern when his soft telepathic queries went unanswered. ::She's out cold,:: he reluctantly told Eddie, stifling a warning snarl when the male moved to the bedside and went about removing the Elf's jacket, gun holster and boots, settling her more comfortably before covering her with the blanket. ::....thanks. I.... I'm sorry I bit you.::

"You were protecting her, it's understandable," Eddie replied as he went into the bathroom, the symbiote removing itself from his torso as he soaked a facecloth in cold water and held it against his right shoulder. The wound was beginning to worry him, especially since his other seemed unable to heal it, as it did with most wounds to the human. Already, it was starting to bruise and swell, and while he was certain that after Lashana's actions that he wouldn't have to worry about infection, the stiffness that was settling in was going to seriously dampen his fighting abilities.

::She meant what she said,:: Akhor sent to him as the dragon settled himself on the small table near the bed, lying down on his belly and curling his tail around himself. ::She'll Heal you when she wakes up. Granted, I don't know when that'll be....::

"Hopefully by tomorrow night," Eddie mused as he walked out of the bathroom, still holding the cloth to his shoulder. Eyeing the dragon a little warily, he sat down at the table and rested his left elbow on the table top. "You'd better not flame us."

::You came here to protect, Lashana, didn't you? That's more than enough reason for me not to fry you.::

The symbiote slowly calmed itself upon hearing that, and Eddie sighed softly in relief as he let himself slouch a little into the padded chair. "This has not been one of our better nights," he muttered, glancing at the dragon as Akhor tapped a talon against the TV remote and started channel surfing. "Well, what are we to do until she wakes up?"

Golden eyes turned to meet his gaze. ::For starters, you can go fetch that leftover Chinese food out of the fridge and feed the dragon.::

TBC