Tainted Prayers and Bloody Tears
Part 2- Darkest Dreams and Fantasies
Chapter 12
"Okay, before we go in, I jus' wanna warn y'all that Jake's a little...diff'rent."
"He's a Tracker, we know that he's different."
Crutchy shook his head, tapping his wooden cane on the ground. Sometimes he liked to switch between that and his crutch. Gee rolled her eyes, what hasn't she seen before? Maddy shifted her weight from one foot to the other, Racetrack and Jack both raised an eyebrow. What could be so different from what they all were?
"Fine you'll see." He knocked on the door, hearing several crashes and two rather loud voices locked in an argument from within. One sounded British.
"You have to be nice for once in front of these people Kitai."
"I'll be nice if I bloody well want to!"
Gee and Jack exchanged glances.
"I thought the Tracker was going to be alone," Jack said.
"He is," Crutchy replied. The door swung open, revealing a rather pale, strawberry blond haired boy. Other than his gold colored eyes, Gee didn't find anything wrong with him.
Maddy flinched, there was something profoundly wrong with that picture, and the boy looked at her for a second with cold, evil eyes.
"Hi, I'm Jake," he held his hand out to Racetrack, they shook.
"And I'm Kitai," he spoke again, this time in the feminine British voice they heard before. He squeezed Racetrack's hand tighter than before.
"Powerful handshake yeh got there, Kitai."
"Well, I am a demon." Maddy's eyes grew wide.
"Really?" She asked. Jake smiled at her condescendingly.
"Yes dear, I am, want to take pictures?"
"Kitai!"
"Sorry."
Jake turned to Gee, who stared at him in confusion. "So you're the one who wants to find the spirit mage?"
"Necromancer."
"You don't know much about her, do you?" Jake said, grinning slightly. The group exchanged glances, only Crutchy and Jack looked as though they understood.
"Invite them in already Jakob, I swear, the boy has absolutely no class!" Jake invited them all in, and they stood around his living room looking vaguely uncomfortable.
"Before we get into what you mean by 'spirit mage'," Gee began. "Do you mind explaining to us who this Kitai gir- wo-...person is?"
"Not at all," Jake said in Kitai's voice. "Once upon a time there was an angel."
"Oh, I love bedtime stories," Racetrack said sarcastically. Why should they care? This freak of a guy was going to help find where Cat was exactly. Jake shot a reptilian glare in Racetrack's direction.
"The angel pitied the poor stupid humans who walked around completely ignorant of life, a few bites from an apple later, and this angel gets kicked out of heaven, forced into hell, and becomes a demon."
"Lemme guess," Racetrack said. "That angel was you."
"No, but Sammy's a good kid," Kitai said, forcing a smile. "I got kicked out with Lucifer and the gang, it was all over that. So I'm doing my job as a djinn in hell-"
"Djiin?" Maddy asked.
"Fallen cherubim," Jake explained.
"And we're not babies in diapers, I'll have you know! Cherubim are supposed to protect, so Djinn do that too, except we grant wishes."
"Like a genie?"
"For people's souls. I thought I was going to a perfectly normal target-"
"Me," Jake remarked.
"That must be terrible," Maddy said quietly.
"But he was a mage, which complicates things. Needless to say we got stuck."
"Fascinatin'" Racetrack said sarcastically.
"We can be separated, but only by a person who is willing to do an exceedingly complicated ritual."
"Which is why it's good that you guys need our help," Jake said.
"Because we need yours," Kitai finished.
"Well, when we find Cat, we'll convince her to do the ritual," Gee assured.
"Why wait when you have a perfectly good mage right here?" Jake indicated Maddy, who blushed and looked away. Gee stared blankly in her direction for a moment.
"Maddy's abilities are specific, I don't think..."
"Anyone with power can do it." Jake said in Kitai's voice. He grinned at her, and then rolled his eyes. Talk about mixed signals.
Gee didn't want to explain that she didn't exactly have that much faith in Maddy. Sure, she was completely confident in her abilities now, and had the potential to be extremely powerful, but she could get hurt. It was hard to explain, but she always felt the need to turn to Cat in situations that involved magic than Maddy, Cat's powers felt more...general, whereas Maddy was always going to be just a plant mage to her,
"I'll do it," Maddy said.
"Wait a minute!" Gee was about to protest when Jack put his hand on her shoulder.
"Let her do it." He said quietly. She shot daggers at him, but she didn't speak. Racetrack bit the inside of his cheek, he agreed with Gee, but when Jack makes up his mind...he makes up his mind. Crutchy grinned nervously at Maddy.
"Way tah go goil, I looked ovah it once an' my head was spinnin'!" Crutchy actually completely understood the ritual; he just wasn't physically strong enough to do it. It was easier to admit a preternatural weakness than a physical one.
"Can you help me?" She asked him.
"I'll try."
"Enough of this bloody heartwarming claptrap!" Jake snapped in Kitai's voice. "Let's just get this over with!"
Poker absentmindedly poked the purplish flesh underneath her eye. Pain flared for a moment, before going back to the dull ache. She looked at the rest of herself in the mirror, frowning at the purple that now ringed her bluish green eye. Cat leaned in the doorway, watching her. If there was one thing Cat had to hate about Poker, it was her eyes. Cyan colored, Spot's eyes. Poker didn't seem to notice the hatred stewing in Cat's heart as she piled her short white hair on top of her head, checking for any vampire bites she might have missed after checking for at least fifteen times.
Cat pulled the dirty collar of her button down shirt up to cover the twin bites on her neck, she was glad that the shirt was oversized. Poker grinned at Cat in the mirror.
"And you say they never have wallets." The money they had found in the wallet helped them get a place with a roof for the night, although it was a little dirty.
"Since when was I the vampire expert?" Poker tousled her white hair and looked away from Cat's reflection.
"You know more about vampires than anyone I know." She tried to keep her voice from being too accusing, Cat had a tendency to get defensive, and did she think Poker didn't know? Cat once had some hardcore dealings with vampires, anyone could see that. Hell, Poker wouldn't be surprised if she still did. Everyone was against people like her, so Poker wouldn't be surprised if Cat was just a secret double agent for the vampires, a very convincing one, but a double agent nonetheless.
That's why Poker was probably going to kill her soon. She had a tendency to work alone, and as long as Cat was convinced that they were still on the same side. Her eyes flicked over to look at the twin bite scars on her neck. They were never on the same side...people like Cat didn't deserve to be on the winning side.
"Where are we going tonight?" Cat asked, breaking the thoughtful silence.
"A friend's place," Poker said. "He has a bit of a fiery personality, but you'll like him." She tried hard to keep the grin from tugging at her lips.
POOF!
"Close this time," Jake said quietly.
Maybe we should wait for this other girl, Kitai said quietly in his head.
No, he replied. I have faith in her, you should too.
He involuntarily rolled his eyes and smiled at her.
"Try again?" Kitai said, making his voice sound a little too exasperated.
Maddy sighed, looking over the exact way to do the ritual. The correct candles were lit, the right words were being said, and she could almost feel the power...almost. It was scary, opening her mind like this; apparently, she had to call to some being. Instead, it felt as though her power was slippery, hard to hold onto. It just wanted to grow plants and such things. What if Gee was right?
She wasn't there, having gone outside for air a while back. Jack had gone to find her. Crutchy was watching TV, only Racetrack still seemed to be there, offering support. Maddy bit her lip, angry with herself, why couldn't she do this?
"Let's try again," she said, gritting her teeth in determination.
"You should really give her a chance." Jake told her, leaning against the cool concrete building. Gee sat on the curb, trying to ignore him. Undaunted, Jack just sat down next to her.
"I still think Cat should have done this."
"Do you really want a pissed off spirit mage doing a really powerful spell? You do realize that Maddy will have the power to do anything if this succeeds, can you imagine what Cat would do?"
"How come you seem to know what a spirit mage is?" Gee asked, pointing an accusing finger in his face.
"How come you don't know what one is?" He retorted, his smug grin never leaving his lips. "Listen, a spirit mage is like a jack of all trades for the magic world, they're not specialized."
"But Cat's a-"
"Spirit mages can take the energy of other mages and use their powers temporarily. So, if Jake is right, Cat took the energy of a necromancer."
"But it's clearly not temporary," Gee said. "Cat smells feels and acts like a necromancer all the time."
"Well, I guess the only way she could keep the powers of another mage is if she killed him or her, but has Cat ever killed anyone?"
Gee was about the say "no", but she stopped herself. "She has, once, I mean, she claimed to, that's why I hired her to...well, that doesn't matter now. I sensed that she was a Necromancer, so I wanted to test her out."
"There you have it," Jack said, shrugging. "How she managed to actually kill a Necromancer is beyond me, they're rather hard to kill."
"You never really know about people," Gee said, looking thoughtfully up at the stars. Jack watched her quietly.
"Yeah," he replied, easing an arm across her shoulders. "I mean, look at you, for the longest time I thought you was nothing but a crazy Hunter, hating everything to do with vampires."
"What's to say I'm not?"
"Well, you are here sitting and talking to one."
"Doesn't mean I like it." She narrowed her eyes at the sky, dying to change the subject. "Full moon's coming up."
"I know," Jack said softly. "You're worried about this one, aren't you?"
"I've been having dreams is all, it worries me sometimes."
"I know."
"You know a lot, don't you?" Gee meant to sound bitter and angry, instead it came out softer, gentler.
"I'm observant."
"Oh yeah, what do you observe?"
"You're scared."
Gee was caught a little off-guard by his assumption, but she didn't protest. She kept her eyes on the velvet blackness of the night, until they settled on a single star shooting across the sky.
"Hey look, a shooting star," she said, changing the subject yet again. "Make a wish." They sat in silence for a while, comfortable with each other.
"What did you wish for?" Gee asked him. A smirk passed over his face.
"I don't think I should tell you."
"Just tell!"
"I wished for your safety."
"Wasted wish."
"You don't know what's coming." She searched his greenish brown eyes for a sparkle of humor, like it was a joke. She saw only the faintest traces of fear in his otherwise unflappable expression.
"You're afraid too," she said. Jack leaned in closer, and she let him.
"What did you wish for?" He asked. She was about to answer, but every single window on the block blew out. There was a cry of triumph from within Jake's apartment, causing both Jack and Gee to turn their heads to look at exactly the same time. Slowly, they turned back to look at each other.
"Well, it just came true..."
Cat curled her arm around her stomach absentmindedly, her violet black eyes half lidded like a sleepy feline. She rested her head against the wall, in a corner where she was curled, watching Poker and their new friend discuss things. Pie Eater was a skinny, wiry fellow with a nervous twitch and burn scars all over his body. Where he got his nickname, she would never know. His eyes never rested on a place for longer than a few seconds, he picked at his hair as he talked to the frail looking white haired girl.
Something was up; she had to be on guard.
White hot power tingled at Maddy's fingertips, she could do anything, manipulate reality, change the world. Her eyes opened, completely black, they looked at Jake, cold, merciless.
Jake heard Kitai's anguished cries inside of his head, and wished he could do the same thing. She was seeing his thoughts, she knew his feelings, and she knew everything he had ever done. Four gray silky wings sprouted from her back, flowing, yet she didn't seem to notice. Maddy wasn't exactly there anymore, she was channeling a Habbim, a fallen angel of balance. Kitai seemed to know the demon.
"Gremory!" She cried in dismay. "You of all people!" The demon inside Maddy smirked.
"And only you would be able to be halfway stuck inside this boy, Kitai. I thought that you would have more sense than that."
"Just shut up at help me, okay?"
There was a pause, everyone in the room held their breath. All Racetrack was wondering at the moment was whether or not the wings hurt, bursting out of Maddy's back like that. Gee and Jack stood in the doorway, horrified. Wordlessly, Jack took her hand. She let him. Crutchy was just glad it wasn't him.
"I will, that's why I was called, right? But I require something, well, someone." On instinct, Gee started to go forward, but Jack held her back. There was a piercing silence, and Racetrack was about to get up and say something when Gremory broke the darkness again.
"Deal, alright, there you go Kitai."
"What?" Jake asked, suddenly, the world shrunk, he stumbled a bit, and a girl with black hair and gold eyes stopped him from falling. He gaped at her in shock; she just smiled, revealing two sharp fangs.
"You are to stay here Kitai, and watch over my new protégé." Gremory made two quick gestures with her hands, and Kitai felt two strings twist around where her heart should be.
"What!?"
"Do you want to go back to hell?" Gremory asked, strolling over to the girl. Jake was amazed at how short she really was. Kitai didn't back up, and soon the two demons were face to face.
Racetrack couldn't believe that this was still Maddy, she looked exactly the same in every respect, except for wing and eyes, but the way she carried herself, he voice, everything was different.
"No, I loathe hell, you know that." Gremory placed her hand on Kitai's shoulder.
"Then you are released, welcome to the world of the choirless." Kitai smiled, revealing those sharp points of teeth again. Racetrack felt the need to say something, but what could he say?
Markings appeared on Kitai's cheeks, two long triangles with dots on each side. She winced a little, reaching up to touch them; she wasn't welcome in hell anymore.
Gee squeezed Jack's hand without thinking about it. Jack was trying to forget how hungry he was. He looked at Gee, noticing how distinct her pulse was in her neck, he put his arm around her, drawing her closer.
"Good bye Gremory." Kitai said, she grinned at Jake, who was too busy still being in shock to notice.
"Let's hope we never see each other again," Gremory replied. Then she was gone. Maddy's limp body hit the ground, bereft of wings, and severely weakened. Everyone gathered around her, and Crutchy pushed his way to her side.
"Good job goil! Nevah could do dat meself!"
Maddy didn't respond, and they didn't blame her. Jake ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes now a bright leaf green. Now it was business time.
"So you want to find the spirit mage?"
The three of them sat quietly, staring at each other. Poker looked jumpy, refusing to meet Cat's eyes. Pie Eater watched her as though he was wondering what she tasted like, sadly, Cat had seen that look before. Tension filled the air, who would make the first move?
Cat did, jumping to her feet; Poker grabbed her arm and roughly pushed her back down.
"Cat-"
"Get off me! I need a cigarette!" Reluctantly, the girl let her go. Cat retreated to the balcony. What was wrong with her!? This didn't seem right. Looking over the city, she wondered where Gee was. That's when she heard the door quickly open and close, she didn't turn around, she didn't want to. When she heard the click of the lock, she was forced to turn around.
Pie Eater stood there, his hands glowing red hot. Damn fire mages, she thought to herself. Poker stood a little beyond the glass, arms crossed, watching with that same damn cyan eyed gaze. Cat backed against the railing, this would not be pretty.
Chapter 12
"Okay, before we go in, I jus' wanna warn y'all that Jake's a little...diff'rent."
"He's a Tracker, we know that he's different."
Crutchy shook his head, tapping his wooden cane on the ground. Sometimes he liked to switch between that and his crutch. Gee rolled her eyes, what hasn't she seen before? Maddy shifted her weight from one foot to the other, Racetrack and Jack both raised an eyebrow. What could be so different from what they all were?
"Fine you'll see." He knocked on the door, hearing several crashes and two rather loud voices locked in an argument from within. One sounded British.
"You have to be nice for once in front of these people Kitai."
"I'll be nice if I bloody well want to!"
Gee and Jack exchanged glances.
"I thought the Tracker was going to be alone," Jack said.
"He is," Crutchy replied. The door swung open, revealing a rather pale, strawberry blond haired boy. Other than his gold colored eyes, Gee didn't find anything wrong with him.
Maddy flinched, there was something profoundly wrong with that picture, and the boy looked at her for a second with cold, evil eyes.
"Hi, I'm Jake," he held his hand out to Racetrack, they shook.
"And I'm Kitai," he spoke again, this time in the feminine British voice they heard before. He squeezed Racetrack's hand tighter than before.
"Powerful handshake yeh got there, Kitai."
"Well, I am a demon." Maddy's eyes grew wide.
"Really?" She asked. Jake smiled at her condescendingly.
"Yes dear, I am, want to take pictures?"
"Kitai!"
"Sorry."
Jake turned to Gee, who stared at him in confusion. "So you're the one who wants to find the spirit mage?"
"Necromancer."
"You don't know much about her, do you?" Jake said, grinning slightly. The group exchanged glances, only Crutchy and Jack looked as though they understood.
"Invite them in already Jakob, I swear, the boy has absolutely no class!" Jake invited them all in, and they stood around his living room looking vaguely uncomfortable.
"Before we get into what you mean by 'spirit mage'," Gee began. "Do you mind explaining to us who this Kitai gir- wo-...person is?"
"Not at all," Jake said in Kitai's voice. "Once upon a time there was an angel."
"Oh, I love bedtime stories," Racetrack said sarcastically. Why should they care? This freak of a guy was going to help find where Cat was exactly. Jake shot a reptilian glare in Racetrack's direction.
"The angel pitied the poor stupid humans who walked around completely ignorant of life, a few bites from an apple later, and this angel gets kicked out of heaven, forced into hell, and becomes a demon."
"Lemme guess," Racetrack said. "That angel was you."
"No, but Sammy's a good kid," Kitai said, forcing a smile. "I got kicked out with Lucifer and the gang, it was all over that. So I'm doing my job as a djinn in hell-"
"Djiin?" Maddy asked.
"Fallen cherubim," Jake explained.
"And we're not babies in diapers, I'll have you know! Cherubim are supposed to protect, so Djinn do that too, except we grant wishes."
"Like a genie?"
"For people's souls. I thought I was going to a perfectly normal target-"
"Me," Jake remarked.
"That must be terrible," Maddy said quietly.
"But he was a mage, which complicates things. Needless to say we got stuck."
"Fascinatin'" Racetrack said sarcastically.
"We can be separated, but only by a person who is willing to do an exceedingly complicated ritual."
"Which is why it's good that you guys need our help," Jake said.
"Because we need yours," Kitai finished.
"Well, when we find Cat, we'll convince her to do the ritual," Gee assured.
"Why wait when you have a perfectly good mage right here?" Jake indicated Maddy, who blushed and looked away. Gee stared blankly in her direction for a moment.
"Maddy's abilities are specific, I don't think..."
"Anyone with power can do it." Jake said in Kitai's voice. He grinned at her, and then rolled his eyes. Talk about mixed signals.
Gee didn't want to explain that she didn't exactly have that much faith in Maddy. Sure, she was completely confident in her abilities now, and had the potential to be extremely powerful, but she could get hurt. It was hard to explain, but she always felt the need to turn to Cat in situations that involved magic than Maddy, Cat's powers felt more...general, whereas Maddy was always going to be just a plant mage to her,
"I'll do it," Maddy said.
"Wait a minute!" Gee was about to protest when Jack put his hand on her shoulder.
"Let her do it." He said quietly. She shot daggers at him, but she didn't speak. Racetrack bit the inside of his cheek, he agreed with Gee, but when Jack makes up his mind...he makes up his mind. Crutchy grinned nervously at Maddy.
"Way tah go goil, I looked ovah it once an' my head was spinnin'!" Crutchy actually completely understood the ritual; he just wasn't physically strong enough to do it. It was easier to admit a preternatural weakness than a physical one.
"Can you help me?" She asked him.
"I'll try."
"Enough of this bloody heartwarming claptrap!" Jake snapped in Kitai's voice. "Let's just get this over with!"
Poker absentmindedly poked the purplish flesh underneath her eye. Pain flared for a moment, before going back to the dull ache. She looked at the rest of herself in the mirror, frowning at the purple that now ringed her bluish green eye. Cat leaned in the doorway, watching her. If there was one thing Cat had to hate about Poker, it was her eyes. Cyan colored, Spot's eyes. Poker didn't seem to notice the hatred stewing in Cat's heart as she piled her short white hair on top of her head, checking for any vampire bites she might have missed after checking for at least fifteen times.
Cat pulled the dirty collar of her button down shirt up to cover the twin bites on her neck, she was glad that the shirt was oversized. Poker grinned at Cat in the mirror.
"And you say they never have wallets." The money they had found in the wallet helped them get a place with a roof for the night, although it was a little dirty.
"Since when was I the vampire expert?" Poker tousled her white hair and looked away from Cat's reflection.
"You know more about vampires than anyone I know." She tried to keep her voice from being too accusing, Cat had a tendency to get defensive, and did she think Poker didn't know? Cat once had some hardcore dealings with vampires, anyone could see that. Hell, Poker wouldn't be surprised if she still did. Everyone was against people like her, so Poker wouldn't be surprised if Cat was just a secret double agent for the vampires, a very convincing one, but a double agent nonetheless.
That's why Poker was probably going to kill her soon. She had a tendency to work alone, and as long as Cat was convinced that they were still on the same side. Her eyes flicked over to look at the twin bite scars on her neck. They were never on the same side...people like Cat didn't deserve to be on the winning side.
"Where are we going tonight?" Cat asked, breaking the thoughtful silence.
"A friend's place," Poker said. "He has a bit of a fiery personality, but you'll like him." She tried hard to keep the grin from tugging at her lips.
POOF!
"Close this time," Jake said quietly.
Maybe we should wait for this other girl, Kitai said quietly in his head.
No, he replied. I have faith in her, you should too.
He involuntarily rolled his eyes and smiled at her.
"Try again?" Kitai said, making his voice sound a little too exasperated.
Maddy sighed, looking over the exact way to do the ritual. The correct candles were lit, the right words were being said, and she could almost feel the power...almost. It was scary, opening her mind like this; apparently, she had to call to some being. Instead, it felt as though her power was slippery, hard to hold onto. It just wanted to grow plants and such things. What if Gee was right?
She wasn't there, having gone outside for air a while back. Jack had gone to find her. Crutchy was watching TV, only Racetrack still seemed to be there, offering support. Maddy bit her lip, angry with herself, why couldn't she do this?
"Let's try again," she said, gritting her teeth in determination.
"You should really give her a chance." Jake told her, leaning against the cool concrete building. Gee sat on the curb, trying to ignore him. Undaunted, Jack just sat down next to her.
"I still think Cat should have done this."
"Do you really want a pissed off spirit mage doing a really powerful spell? You do realize that Maddy will have the power to do anything if this succeeds, can you imagine what Cat would do?"
"How come you seem to know what a spirit mage is?" Gee asked, pointing an accusing finger in his face.
"How come you don't know what one is?" He retorted, his smug grin never leaving his lips. "Listen, a spirit mage is like a jack of all trades for the magic world, they're not specialized."
"But Cat's a-"
"Spirit mages can take the energy of other mages and use their powers temporarily. So, if Jake is right, Cat took the energy of a necromancer."
"But it's clearly not temporary," Gee said. "Cat smells feels and acts like a necromancer all the time."
"Well, I guess the only way she could keep the powers of another mage is if she killed him or her, but has Cat ever killed anyone?"
Gee was about the say "no", but she stopped herself. "She has, once, I mean, she claimed to, that's why I hired her to...well, that doesn't matter now. I sensed that she was a Necromancer, so I wanted to test her out."
"There you have it," Jack said, shrugging. "How she managed to actually kill a Necromancer is beyond me, they're rather hard to kill."
"You never really know about people," Gee said, looking thoughtfully up at the stars. Jack watched her quietly.
"Yeah," he replied, easing an arm across her shoulders. "I mean, look at you, for the longest time I thought you was nothing but a crazy Hunter, hating everything to do with vampires."
"What's to say I'm not?"
"Well, you are here sitting and talking to one."
"Doesn't mean I like it." She narrowed her eyes at the sky, dying to change the subject. "Full moon's coming up."
"I know," Jack said softly. "You're worried about this one, aren't you?"
"I've been having dreams is all, it worries me sometimes."
"I know."
"You know a lot, don't you?" Gee meant to sound bitter and angry, instead it came out softer, gentler.
"I'm observant."
"Oh yeah, what do you observe?"
"You're scared."
Gee was caught a little off-guard by his assumption, but she didn't protest. She kept her eyes on the velvet blackness of the night, until they settled on a single star shooting across the sky.
"Hey look, a shooting star," she said, changing the subject yet again. "Make a wish." They sat in silence for a while, comfortable with each other.
"What did you wish for?" Gee asked him. A smirk passed over his face.
"I don't think I should tell you."
"Just tell!"
"I wished for your safety."
"Wasted wish."
"You don't know what's coming." She searched his greenish brown eyes for a sparkle of humor, like it was a joke. She saw only the faintest traces of fear in his otherwise unflappable expression.
"You're afraid too," she said. Jack leaned in closer, and she let him.
"What did you wish for?" He asked. She was about to answer, but every single window on the block blew out. There was a cry of triumph from within Jake's apartment, causing both Jack and Gee to turn their heads to look at exactly the same time. Slowly, they turned back to look at each other.
"Well, it just came true..."
Cat curled her arm around her stomach absentmindedly, her violet black eyes half lidded like a sleepy feline. She rested her head against the wall, in a corner where she was curled, watching Poker and their new friend discuss things. Pie Eater was a skinny, wiry fellow with a nervous twitch and burn scars all over his body. Where he got his nickname, she would never know. His eyes never rested on a place for longer than a few seconds, he picked at his hair as he talked to the frail looking white haired girl.
Something was up; she had to be on guard.
White hot power tingled at Maddy's fingertips, she could do anything, manipulate reality, change the world. Her eyes opened, completely black, they looked at Jake, cold, merciless.
Jake heard Kitai's anguished cries inside of his head, and wished he could do the same thing. She was seeing his thoughts, she knew his feelings, and she knew everything he had ever done. Four gray silky wings sprouted from her back, flowing, yet she didn't seem to notice. Maddy wasn't exactly there anymore, she was channeling a Habbim, a fallen angel of balance. Kitai seemed to know the demon.
"Gremory!" She cried in dismay. "You of all people!" The demon inside Maddy smirked.
"And only you would be able to be halfway stuck inside this boy, Kitai. I thought that you would have more sense than that."
"Just shut up at help me, okay?"
There was a pause, everyone in the room held their breath. All Racetrack was wondering at the moment was whether or not the wings hurt, bursting out of Maddy's back like that. Gee and Jack stood in the doorway, horrified. Wordlessly, Jack took her hand. She let him. Crutchy was just glad it wasn't him.
"I will, that's why I was called, right? But I require something, well, someone." On instinct, Gee started to go forward, but Jack held her back. There was a piercing silence, and Racetrack was about to get up and say something when Gremory broke the darkness again.
"Deal, alright, there you go Kitai."
"What?" Jake asked, suddenly, the world shrunk, he stumbled a bit, and a girl with black hair and gold eyes stopped him from falling. He gaped at her in shock; she just smiled, revealing two sharp fangs.
"You are to stay here Kitai, and watch over my new protégé." Gremory made two quick gestures with her hands, and Kitai felt two strings twist around where her heart should be.
"What!?"
"Do you want to go back to hell?" Gremory asked, strolling over to the girl. Jake was amazed at how short she really was. Kitai didn't back up, and soon the two demons were face to face.
Racetrack couldn't believe that this was still Maddy, she looked exactly the same in every respect, except for wing and eyes, but the way she carried herself, he voice, everything was different.
"No, I loathe hell, you know that." Gremory placed her hand on Kitai's shoulder.
"Then you are released, welcome to the world of the choirless." Kitai smiled, revealing those sharp points of teeth again. Racetrack felt the need to say something, but what could he say?
Markings appeared on Kitai's cheeks, two long triangles with dots on each side. She winced a little, reaching up to touch them; she wasn't welcome in hell anymore.
Gee squeezed Jack's hand without thinking about it. Jack was trying to forget how hungry he was. He looked at Gee, noticing how distinct her pulse was in her neck, he put his arm around her, drawing her closer.
"Good bye Gremory." Kitai said, she grinned at Jake, who was too busy still being in shock to notice.
"Let's hope we never see each other again," Gremory replied. Then she was gone. Maddy's limp body hit the ground, bereft of wings, and severely weakened. Everyone gathered around her, and Crutchy pushed his way to her side.
"Good job goil! Nevah could do dat meself!"
Maddy didn't respond, and they didn't blame her. Jake ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes now a bright leaf green. Now it was business time.
"So you want to find the spirit mage?"
The three of them sat quietly, staring at each other. Poker looked jumpy, refusing to meet Cat's eyes. Pie Eater watched her as though he was wondering what she tasted like, sadly, Cat had seen that look before. Tension filled the air, who would make the first move?
Cat did, jumping to her feet; Poker grabbed her arm and roughly pushed her back down.
"Cat-"
"Get off me! I need a cigarette!" Reluctantly, the girl let her go. Cat retreated to the balcony. What was wrong with her!? This didn't seem right. Looking over the city, she wondered where Gee was. That's when she heard the door quickly open and close, she didn't turn around, she didn't want to. When she heard the click of the lock, she was forced to turn around.
Pie Eater stood there, his hands glowing red hot. Damn fire mages, she thought to herself. Poker stood a little beyond the glass, arms crossed, watching with that same damn cyan eyed gaze. Cat backed against the railing, this would not be pretty.