Black Sunday
Part 2- Darkest Dreams and Fantasies
Author's Note: Happy birthday Black Sunday! I can't believe I kept up this story for this long!
Chapter 13- The Devil's Hour
The clock struck midnight.
"Why are we obligated to do this?"
"You're not obligated to do anything, but she did just give us both our freedom."
"Yeah, and I'm so grateful she summoned that tart Gremory!"
Jake glared at Kitai, tucking the blanket tighter around Maddy's still form. Crutchy was in the kitchen, whipping up his apparently famous apple turnovers.
"Demonic possession always makes a fellah hungry!" was his cheerful cry. Jake had to agree. The girl was unconscious, and Jake couldn't even feel her presence, her soul was somewhere, Kitai assured him that she would be back.
"Gremory just needs to have a word with the girl, that's all," was her odd reply. Jake looked down at the girl on his couch and wondered how the hell he got involved in the little crusade the vampires and the werewolf were on. Kitai sprawled herself on an armchair, filing her long, pointed nails. They did help him get rid of her, in a way.
"She's coming back," she said in a bored voice.
Suddenly, the girl's eyes flew open, and she sat up quickly, gasping for breath. She looked around with horrified eyes before the rested on Jake.
"You look...different."
"Thanks to you, I am," he said gratefully. There was a black upside down triangle with a dot underneath it under her right eye. A demon's mark, Jake suddenly felt a great swell of pity. There was something strange about the earth mage now; her power was tainted in some way.
"Where are Gee, Racetrack and Jack?" She asked him.
"They've gone to find your friend, Cat, I think." Maddy tried to get up, but Jake eased her back down. "Sit down, you're weak, you just channeled-"
"A Habbim, I know, I talked to her, a beautiful woman with a crown fixed around her waist." Kitai nodded in spite of herself. That was Gremory all right.
"Channelin' always takes stuff outta mages like us!" Crutchy said, hobbling into the kitchen wielding a plate of apple turnovers. "I did it once back in 1952, nevah doin' it again."
Maddy furrowed her brow. 1952? The kid looked younger than her. "How old are you, Crutchy?"
"My powahs were awakened in 1942," he said quietly. Without another word, he rolled up his sleeve, showing off a number in blue ink. There was no need for further explanation. "Thank God it did."
Kitai made a little noise of recognition, the other two were too horrified to say or do anything.
"What's passed is past," the boy said simply. "We have woise tings tah worry 'bout."
"Yeah, like your friend," Jake said. He was desperate to change the subject. "She's in a lot of trouble."
Cat ducked as another fireball whizzed over her head. This was beginning to get annoying. She was a little bit trapped, and even if she somehow managed to get rid of Pie Eater, she'd still have her lovely ex- partner Poker to deal with. For some reason, she wasn't surprised.
Flames began to dance up and down Pie Eater's arms, the entire balcony shimmered in the heart, and sweat beaded on Cat's forehead, Pie Eater seemed a little chilly. Cat kept trying to get her dagger out of its sheath, but her hands were too wet.
She was screwed.
Perfect, Poker thought to herself. Killing another bit of vampire scum. She was always able to smell the death on Cat, and now that the novelty of having a blood slave killing vampires with her faded, it was time to say good-bye. Blood slaves never stay away from their masters for very long, it was only a matter of time.
And, on the very bright side, Pie Eater's fee wasn't even a fee at all. All she had to do was kill a specific vampire for him.
All she had to do was kill some vampire named Jack Kelly.
"Hey Jack, Gee, why don'cha try tah catch up, okay? Yer lagging a liddle." Jack slowed his steps even more just to tick Racetrack off. Gee ignored him, staring straight ahead. She was worried sick.
"So tell me about how you became a werewolf," Jack said, taking her by the crook of her arm and slowing her down. She jerked her arm away, looking straight ahead.
"I think we have more important things to worry about now, don't you think?"
"It'll keep your mind off things, it's so close to the full moon, and you know how you get when you get nervous."
I get furry, she thought to herself, but talking to Jack wasn't going to calm her down. She kept peering down alleyways, making sure no one was following her. Lately should could have sworn someone was following her at night.
"Fine," she said after a little while. "It happened when I was five, I woke up in the middle of the night from a bad dream, and I snuck into my parent's room and saw my mother's side empty, instead what looked to me like a large dog was curled up, sleeping. It looked like it was having a bad dream, I reached out to pet it and it woke and bit my arm."
"Your mom sleeps in wolf form?"
"She finds it more comfortable."
"And you're okay with the fact that she made you a werewolf?"
"Why shouldn't I be? Everything happens for a reason."
"Including Spot raping Cat and killing her mother?"
Gee flinched at Jack's bluntness. "Yes, even that."
"You have more faith than I."
"Everyone needs faith." Jack stopped her, and for a long time, they just looked at each other.
"Faith is for people who can't do anything for themselves." For a moment, there were just the sound of Racetrack's footsteps several feet ahead, until they too stopped.
"Hey!" He called from down the street. "Les' go! We're almost there!" The sound of Italian boy's call snapped the two out of it. Wordlessly, they hurried ahead.
...As a pair of eyes watched their every move.
Just do it, Poker thought angrily. This is taking too long. Cat was suffering from several burns at the moment, but not enough to kill her. Pie Eater turned back to glance at Poker, who gave him a stern look and gestured for him to hurry. Grinning evilly, he turned back to Cat, readying for the final kill.
Cat abandoned the dagger idea; instead, she tried to call her power, something she hadn't used in a long long time. Her aura, that familiar black, flared out like an overeager puppy dog, her eyes opened just as Pie Eater pinned her to the ground. Their two auras clashed together, and Cat tried to wind the energy coming from him around her fingers, but the ribbon was too hot, it burned a spiral pattern around her finger.
Pie Eater was on fire, but not in the way that would hurt him. The fire was an inch off of his skin, flaring out and extremely hot. Cat ignored the feeling of her blistering skin and reached for her knife. She gasped as her hand touched hot metal, the sheath had been burned away. Grabbing the hilt, biting her lip against the pain, she shoved the burning hot knife into his chest. Pie Eater didn't have time to scream as she pushed the blade into his heart. His eyes went lifeless immediately. His flaming hot aura flared out one more time, then crashed down into her.
She cried out in surprise as the new energy fluttered through her body. It was familiar, the flames no longer hurt, and she knew that if she looked, she'd see the burns and blisters going away. For the first time ever, she felt the healing power of fire.
Poker cried out in horror as Pie Eater's body dissolved in flames, leaving Cat on the ground. Just as she was about to yank open the door and kill her, the front door burst open, framing three people in the doorway.
She had never seen these people in her life.
"There's on ting' dat's gunna boddah me," Crutchy said, munching an apple turnover.
"What's that?" Maddy asked.
"Cat's upset at Racetrack, ain't she? What makes us tink she wansta be found?"
"Oh, yeah," Maddy lowered her head for a moment. "I don't think that's going to be a problem."
Crutchy narrowed his eyes, before they were drawn to the black triangle on Maddy's cheek.
"Demon's mark, demon's deal," she said, a bitter smile coming to her lips.
"Madeline," Crutchy said. "What didja do?"
Poker whipped out her knife and threw it, grinning as it landed in Jack's upper thigh. The boy rolled his eyes, pulling the knife out. Looking at Poker, he licked the blood off the blade. Poker's eyes went wide.
"Vampires!" She cried.
"Smart one she is," Racetrack remarked. Poker twitched her nose in anger, taking the stake she kept in her back pocket out. Yeah, time for some sport. She lunged at the nearest one, a girl with dark blue hair, when it suddenly hit her. That one wasn't a vampire.
Gee smelled the air, and beyond the smell of cinders and ash, she detected something surprising.
"I smell rabbit!" Poker stopped in her tracks, stake raised. Every muscle in her body went still. Gee pulled back her lips in a canine growl, and Poker fought every urge not to run away.
"Rabbit?" Jack asked.
"Wererabbit, nevah heard of one-a dose before," Racetrack admitted. His eyes were drawn to the fire on the balcony.
Cat...He broke into a run, throwing open the balcony door and stopping in his tracks. Cat was standing now, flames dancing up her arms. She looked up at Racetrack with a look of horror.
"I don't know what's going on," she whispered.
"Gremory told me that she liked my potential, so she said that as long as I represent her on Earth, she would separate you two."
"Blasted tart," Kitai mumbled.
"I originally refused, until she decided to sweeten the deal," Maddy folded her hands tightly, feeling a little embarrassed. "She said that Cat would never join us again as long as we still kept in contact with Racetrack, and then she showed me what would happen if we didn't have those two..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "So I agreed, and she promised to rewire the bad memories Cat had of Racetrack."
"Wow," Crutchy mumbled, awestruck. "That's very selfless of ya Mads."
"Selfless?" Kitai cried, sitting up angrily. "She's half demon now, she practically has all of our powers, I think she got the sweet end of the deal."
"Oh yeah?" Jake replied, jumping to Maddy's defense. "But think about it, she's isn't exactly welcome in heaven anymore!" Kitai flinched.
"I know," Maddy said. "Don't remind me."
"Um...Gee?" Jack said slowly. "I think we got Cat, we can go now." The girl didn't listen, her blue eyes bleeding to that feral amber. Poker's eyes were wide and scared, she didn't move either.
Fresh meat, Gee thought. So tasty and bloody and raw squirming prey. Just ready for the tasting.
Jack slowly advanced on her, his hand sliding up her arm ever so slowly. This might get messy, and he didn't want Gee to do anything she might regret. His other arm slowly, ever so slowly, started to go around her waist. In one quick movement, he grabbed her and held her tightly.
"Run!" He called to Poker. Gee snarled and scratched at him, her fingers growing into claws. Jack hissed in pain, but he was immune to the curse.
"Let me go Jack! Let me go!" Poker stared at Jack for a moment, narrowing her eyes. She gripped the stake in her hand, before rushing off.
She'd deal with the vampires later.
Racetrack couldn't touch her, and it annoyed him. She seemed fine, being on fire and everything, but vampires have a tendency to burn until someone puts them out, and he had a feeling that Cat wouldn't put him out. He glanced behind him and saw Jack holding a thrashing Gee, whispering something fervently into her ear. She seemed to be listening.
"Um...Cat?"
"Yeah Race?"
"Why are you on fiyah?"
"Couldn't tell ya Race."
Jack slowly let go of Gee, and she stood there for a moment, her hand to her forehead, her eyes closed. Jack looked up and caught Racetrack's eye.
She'll be okay in a sec.
"So...how have ya been?" Racetrack asked slowly.
"Miss you guys," she said quietly. "I've been looking for Spot; I want to kill him you know." She smiled at him through the flames. "It's good to see you again."
Racetrack raised an eyebrow. "But you said dat you nevah wanted to see me again...remembah?."
"I was hurt Racetrack, why didn't you tell me?" She looked a little angry at him, but not homicidal, this was a good thing.
"We should talk about dis ladah," Racetrack replied. "When yer not on fiyah."
Gee seemed to pull herself together, and Jack took her arm to walk her over to the burning Cat.
"Hey Gee," Cat said quietly. "Sorry I..."
"No problem," Gee said, sounding a little distracted, Jack squeezed her arm. "Listen, focus inwardly on the fire." It was odd now, teaching what she thought was a Necromancer how to control her fire, like she was a fire mage.
Jack watched in amazement. It was true, she was a spirit mage.
"Okay..." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She felt her nerves spread out into the flames; they felt a part of her.
"Can you feel them?" Gee asked. Cat nodded. "Good, now draw them into you." Cat wrinkled her nose in concentration, clenching her fists. The fire wavered a little, and then disappeared completely.
"Wow," Racetrack commented.
Cat opened her eyes, looking down at her bare arms. Her clothing was pretty burned, yet she had no injuries, or scars of any kind. Not even the old ones, the fire seemed to have made her whole again.
"The best way to heal a fire mage is to cover them in fire," Gee explained. "Amazing." Cat looked down at her hands, where she finally noticed a burn. It was the spiral pattern around her fingers from when she tried to take Pie Eater's power through her own. She stared at it in amazement.
"Welcome back Cat," Jack said, grinning. She glared at him, running her fingers over her arms, feeling smooth skin instead of the usual raised scars. Suddenly, she realized that she originally wore a long sleeved shirt, looking down; Cat noticed that most of her clothes had burned off. Blushing madly, she accepted Racetrack's long jacket with grateful relief, he smiled nervously at her.
"I could really use a cigarette," Cat remarked.
It was an almost tearful reunion between Cat and Maddy, at least on Maddy's side. Crutchy seemed impressed with her newfound fire powers, and Jack just stood away from it all and smiled. No one noticed that the demon Kitai was missing from the reunion.
She sat on the roof, overlooking the city, her golden eyes sparkling as she saw the first rays of dawn. She was free, and banished from hell. Life was sweet. She closed her eyes, allowing her wings to burst from her back. They were large, powerful, almost leathery looking, and a deep black. She held them over her to shield herself from the morning light. She could walk in daylight now, but it was a little painful.
She peered over the edge of the building and quietly watched the two humans speak below.
"Don't be mad at yourself, alright?" Jack put his hand on her shoulder, feeling her muscles tense.
"I almost killed that girl," Gee whispered in awed horror. "I would have, if you let me." She had wanted to as well; the idea of holding that squirming little wererabbit down and tearing away at her flesh was very enticing. She shuddered.
"I'll never let you; you just have to trust me, alright?" His voice was low, soothing, and it calmed Gee's racing heart.
"How can I trust someone when I can't even trust myself?"
Jack turned her around to face him, tilting her chin upwards.
"Have faith," he said simply. For a moment, they stood there, looking at each other. Jack watched the sun rise in Gee's eyes, and Gee's heart started racing for a whole different reason.
They kissed.
"Of course you could stay with me," Maddy said. "You can stay in the guest suite!" Cat breathed an inward sigh of relief, living on the streets sucked after a while. Racetrack watched her from across the room. What was going on? She was being civil to him! More than that, she was being nice to him!
"It was nice meeting you Ms. Kendal," Jake said, kissing Maddy's hand. The girl blushed brightly.
"Call me M-Maddy!" Jake grinned.
"I'll remember that."
"Maddy, you go ahead, I might stay just a little while longer," Cat called from across the room.
"Sure!" Maddy called back. Slipping on her coat, she stepped outside...
...and her eyes locked on a kissing Jack and Gee.
"The plot thickens," Kitai whispered. She watched her new mistress stop in her tracks, her eyes wide.
"Maddy likes him," a voice said behind her. "It's like a soap opera." Kitai didn't bother to turn around.
"So you're the one they call Spot?" She asked casually. The cyan eyed vampire walked into her view.
"Yeah, I am."
Gee and Jack pushed each other away upon noticing Maddy's entrance. The poor plant mage stood there, looking as though the world were falling to pieces. Never in a million years did Maddy expect this. Gee hated vampires, she attacked Jack once.
No wonder they never seemed to want her around. Tears came to her left eye, and spilled down her cheek. She had liked Jack.
She had really liked Jack.
"So are you one of them?" Spot asked, looking down at the spectacle below with a bored look on his face.
"No, and thank your lucky stars, I'm a demon." They were only up against other vampires, if demons wanted to take over, there would be no stopping them. They had the right idea...
"Oh, and I just thought the wings were a cool mark of your line."
"You wish."
They were talking down there, which Kitai knew would help nothing. Her mistress's heart was broken, and no words would fix her broken heart. Spot's eyes stayed on Gee.
"I want her," he said quietly.
"Then take her."
"Not while Jack's around..."
Kitai saw Maddy run away, her sneakered feet barely making any noise on the black top. She felt her mistress make a wish, and a small fanged smile came to her face.
"If you stick with me, it could be arranged."
Author's Note: Happy birthday Black Sunday! I can't believe I kept up this story for this long!
Chapter 13- The Devil's Hour
The clock struck midnight.
"Why are we obligated to do this?"
"You're not obligated to do anything, but she did just give us both our freedom."
"Yeah, and I'm so grateful she summoned that tart Gremory!"
Jake glared at Kitai, tucking the blanket tighter around Maddy's still form. Crutchy was in the kitchen, whipping up his apparently famous apple turnovers.
"Demonic possession always makes a fellah hungry!" was his cheerful cry. Jake had to agree. The girl was unconscious, and Jake couldn't even feel her presence, her soul was somewhere, Kitai assured him that she would be back.
"Gremory just needs to have a word with the girl, that's all," was her odd reply. Jake looked down at the girl on his couch and wondered how the hell he got involved in the little crusade the vampires and the werewolf were on. Kitai sprawled herself on an armchair, filing her long, pointed nails. They did help him get rid of her, in a way.
"She's coming back," she said in a bored voice.
Suddenly, the girl's eyes flew open, and she sat up quickly, gasping for breath. She looked around with horrified eyes before the rested on Jake.
"You look...different."
"Thanks to you, I am," he said gratefully. There was a black upside down triangle with a dot underneath it under her right eye. A demon's mark, Jake suddenly felt a great swell of pity. There was something strange about the earth mage now; her power was tainted in some way.
"Where are Gee, Racetrack and Jack?" She asked him.
"They've gone to find your friend, Cat, I think." Maddy tried to get up, but Jake eased her back down. "Sit down, you're weak, you just channeled-"
"A Habbim, I know, I talked to her, a beautiful woman with a crown fixed around her waist." Kitai nodded in spite of herself. That was Gremory all right.
"Channelin' always takes stuff outta mages like us!" Crutchy said, hobbling into the kitchen wielding a plate of apple turnovers. "I did it once back in 1952, nevah doin' it again."
Maddy furrowed her brow. 1952? The kid looked younger than her. "How old are you, Crutchy?"
"My powahs were awakened in 1942," he said quietly. Without another word, he rolled up his sleeve, showing off a number in blue ink. There was no need for further explanation. "Thank God it did."
Kitai made a little noise of recognition, the other two were too horrified to say or do anything.
"What's passed is past," the boy said simply. "We have woise tings tah worry 'bout."
"Yeah, like your friend," Jake said. He was desperate to change the subject. "She's in a lot of trouble."
Cat ducked as another fireball whizzed over her head. This was beginning to get annoying. She was a little bit trapped, and even if she somehow managed to get rid of Pie Eater, she'd still have her lovely ex- partner Poker to deal with. For some reason, she wasn't surprised.
Flames began to dance up and down Pie Eater's arms, the entire balcony shimmered in the heart, and sweat beaded on Cat's forehead, Pie Eater seemed a little chilly. Cat kept trying to get her dagger out of its sheath, but her hands were too wet.
She was screwed.
Perfect, Poker thought to herself. Killing another bit of vampire scum. She was always able to smell the death on Cat, and now that the novelty of having a blood slave killing vampires with her faded, it was time to say good-bye. Blood slaves never stay away from their masters for very long, it was only a matter of time.
And, on the very bright side, Pie Eater's fee wasn't even a fee at all. All she had to do was kill a specific vampire for him.
All she had to do was kill some vampire named Jack Kelly.
"Hey Jack, Gee, why don'cha try tah catch up, okay? Yer lagging a liddle." Jack slowed his steps even more just to tick Racetrack off. Gee ignored him, staring straight ahead. She was worried sick.
"So tell me about how you became a werewolf," Jack said, taking her by the crook of her arm and slowing her down. She jerked her arm away, looking straight ahead.
"I think we have more important things to worry about now, don't you think?"
"It'll keep your mind off things, it's so close to the full moon, and you know how you get when you get nervous."
I get furry, she thought to herself, but talking to Jack wasn't going to calm her down. She kept peering down alleyways, making sure no one was following her. Lately should could have sworn someone was following her at night.
"Fine," she said after a little while. "It happened when I was five, I woke up in the middle of the night from a bad dream, and I snuck into my parent's room and saw my mother's side empty, instead what looked to me like a large dog was curled up, sleeping. It looked like it was having a bad dream, I reached out to pet it and it woke and bit my arm."
"Your mom sleeps in wolf form?"
"She finds it more comfortable."
"And you're okay with the fact that she made you a werewolf?"
"Why shouldn't I be? Everything happens for a reason."
"Including Spot raping Cat and killing her mother?"
Gee flinched at Jack's bluntness. "Yes, even that."
"You have more faith than I."
"Everyone needs faith." Jack stopped her, and for a long time, they just looked at each other.
"Faith is for people who can't do anything for themselves." For a moment, there were just the sound of Racetrack's footsteps several feet ahead, until they too stopped.
"Hey!" He called from down the street. "Les' go! We're almost there!" The sound of Italian boy's call snapped the two out of it. Wordlessly, they hurried ahead.
...As a pair of eyes watched their every move.
Just do it, Poker thought angrily. This is taking too long. Cat was suffering from several burns at the moment, but not enough to kill her. Pie Eater turned back to glance at Poker, who gave him a stern look and gestured for him to hurry. Grinning evilly, he turned back to Cat, readying for the final kill.
Cat abandoned the dagger idea; instead, she tried to call her power, something she hadn't used in a long long time. Her aura, that familiar black, flared out like an overeager puppy dog, her eyes opened just as Pie Eater pinned her to the ground. Their two auras clashed together, and Cat tried to wind the energy coming from him around her fingers, but the ribbon was too hot, it burned a spiral pattern around her finger.
Pie Eater was on fire, but not in the way that would hurt him. The fire was an inch off of his skin, flaring out and extremely hot. Cat ignored the feeling of her blistering skin and reached for her knife. She gasped as her hand touched hot metal, the sheath had been burned away. Grabbing the hilt, biting her lip against the pain, she shoved the burning hot knife into his chest. Pie Eater didn't have time to scream as she pushed the blade into his heart. His eyes went lifeless immediately. His flaming hot aura flared out one more time, then crashed down into her.
She cried out in surprise as the new energy fluttered through her body. It was familiar, the flames no longer hurt, and she knew that if she looked, she'd see the burns and blisters going away. For the first time ever, she felt the healing power of fire.
Poker cried out in horror as Pie Eater's body dissolved in flames, leaving Cat on the ground. Just as she was about to yank open the door and kill her, the front door burst open, framing three people in the doorway.
She had never seen these people in her life.
"There's on ting' dat's gunna boddah me," Crutchy said, munching an apple turnover.
"What's that?" Maddy asked.
"Cat's upset at Racetrack, ain't she? What makes us tink she wansta be found?"
"Oh, yeah," Maddy lowered her head for a moment. "I don't think that's going to be a problem."
Crutchy narrowed his eyes, before they were drawn to the black triangle on Maddy's cheek.
"Demon's mark, demon's deal," she said, a bitter smile coming to her lips.
"Madeline," Crutchy said. "What didja do?"
Poker whipped out her knife and threw it, grinning as it landed in Jack's upper thigh. The boy rolled his eyes, pulling the knife out. Looking at Poker, he licked the blood off the blade. Poker's eyes went wide.
"Vampires!" She cried.
"Smart one she is," Racetrack remarked. Poker twitched her nose in anger, taking the stake she kept in her back pocket out. Yeah, time for some sport. She lunged at the nearest one, a girl with dark blue hair, when it suddenly hit her. That one wasn't a vampire.
Gee smelled the air, and beyond the smell of cinders and ash, she detected something surprising.
"I smell rabbit!" Poker stopped in her tracks, stake raised. Every muscle in her body went still. Gee pulled back her lips in a canine growl, and Poker fought every urge not to run away.
"Rabbit?" Jack asked.
"Wererabbit, nevah heard of one-a dose before," Racetrack admitted. His eyes were drawn to the fire on the balcony.
Cat...He broke into a run, throwing open the balcony door and stopping in his tracks. Cat was standing now, flames dancing up her arms. She looked up at Racetrack with a look of horror.
"I don't know what's going on," she whispered.
"Gremory told me that she liked my potential, so she said that as long as I represent her on Earth, she would separate you two."
"Blasted tart," Kitai mumbled.
"I originally refused, until she decided to sweeten the deal," Maddy folded her hands tightly, feeling a little embarrassed. "She said that Cat would never join us again as long as we still kept in contact with Racetrack, and then she showed me what would happen if we didn't have those two..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "So I agreed, and she promised to rewire the bad memories Cat had of Racetrack."
"Wow," Crutchy mumbled, awestruck. "That's very selfless of ya Mads."
"Selfless?" Kitai cried, sitting up angrily. "She's half demon now, she practically has all of our powers, I think she got the sweet end of the deal."
"Oh yeah?" Jake replied, jumping to Maddy's defense. "But think about it, she's isn't exactly welcome in heaven anymore!" Kitai flinched.
"I know," Maddy said. "Don't remind me."
"Um...Gee?" Jack said slowly. "I think we got Cat, we can go now." The girl didn't listen, her blue eyes bleeding to that feral amber. Poker's eyes were wide and scared, she didn't move either.
Fresh meat, Gee thought. So tasty and bloody and raw squirming prey. Just ready for the tasting.
Jack slowly advanced on her, his hand sliding up her arm ever so slowly. This might get messy, and he didn't want Gee to do anything she might regret. His other arm slowly, ever so slowly, started to go around her waist. In one quick movement, he grabbed her and held her tightly.
"Run!" He called to Poker. Gee snarled and scratched at him, her fingers growing into claws. Jack hissed in pain, but he was immune to the curse.
"Let me go Jack! Let me go!" Poker stared at Jack for a moment, narrowing her eyes. She gripped the stake in her hand, before rushing off.
She'd deal with the vampires later.
Racetrack couldn't touch her, and it annoyed him. She seemed fine, being on fire and everything, but vampires have a tendency to burn until someone puts them out, and he had a feeling that Cat wouldn't put him out. He glanced behind him and saw Jack holding a thrashing Gee, whispering something fervently into her ear. She seemed to be listening.
"Um...Cat?"
"Yeah Race?"
"Why are you on fiyah?"
"Couldn't tell ya Race."
Jack slowly let go of Gee, and she stood there for a moment, her hand to her forehead, her eyes closed. Jack looked up and caught Racetrack's eye.
She'll be okay in a sec.
"So...how have ya been?" Racetrack asked slowly.
"Miss you guys," she said quietly. "I've been looking for Spot; I want to kill him you know." She smiled at him through the flames. "It's good to see you again."
Racetrack raised an eyebrow. "But you said dat you nevah wanted to see me again...remembah?."
"I was hurt Racetrack, why didn't you tell me?" She looked a little angry at him, but not homicidal, this was a good thing.
"We should talk about dis ladah," Racetrack replied. "When yer not on fiyah."
Gee seemed to pull herself together, and Jack took her arm to walk her over to the burning Cat.
"Hey Gee," Cat said quietly. "Sorry I..."
"No problem," Gee said, sounding a little distracted, Jack squeezed her arm. "Listen, focus inwardly on the fire." It was odd now, teaching what she thought was a Necromancer how to control her fire, like she was a fire mage.
Jack watched in amazement. It was true, she was a spirit mage.
"Okay..." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She felt her nerves spread out into the flames; they felt a part of her.
"Can you feel them?" Gee asked. Cat nodded. "Good, now draw them into you." Cat wrinkled her nose in concentration, clenching her fists. The fire wavered a little, and then disappeared completely.
"Wow," Racetrack commented.
Cat opened her eyes, looking down at her bare arms. Her clothing was pretty burned, yet she had no injuries, or scars of any kind. Not even the old ones, the fire seemed to have made her whole again.
"The best way to heal a fire mage is to cover them in fire," Gee explained. "Amazing." Cat looked down at her hands, where she finally noticed a burn. It was the spiral pattern around her fingers from when she tried to take Pie Eater's power through her own. She stared at it in amazement.
"Welcome back Cat," Jack said, grinning. She glared at him, running her fingers over her arms, feeling smooth skin instead of the usual raised scars. Suddenly, she realized that she originally wore a long sleeved shirt, looking down; Cat noticed that most of her clothes had burned off. Blushing madly, she accepted Racetrack's long jacket with grateful relief, he smiled nervously at her.
"I could really use a cigarette," Cat remarked.
It was an almost tearful reunion between Cat and Maddy, at least on Maddy's side. Crutchy seemed impressed with her newfound fire powers, and Jack just stood away from it all and smiled. No one noticed that the demon Kitai was missing from the reunion.
She sat on the roof, overlooking the city, her golden eyes sparkling as she saw the first rays of dawn. She was free, and banished from hell. Life was sweet. She closed her eyes, allowing her wings to burst from her back. They were large, powerful, almost leathery looking, and a deep black. She held them over her to shield herself from the morning light. She could walk in daylight now, but it was a little painful.
She peered over the edge of the building and quietly watched the two humans speak below.
"Don't be mad at yourself, alright?" Jack put his hand on her shoulder, feeling her muscles tense.
"I almost killed that girl," Gee whispered in awed horror. "I would have, if you let me." She had wanted to as well; the idea of holding that squirming little wererabbit down and tearing away at her flesh was very enticing. She shuddered.
"I'll never let you; you just have to trust me, alright?" His voice was low, soothing, and it calmed Gee's racing heart.
"How can I trust someone when I can't even trust myself?"
Jack turned her around to face him, tilting her chin upwards.
"Have faith," he said simply. For a moment, they stood there, looking at each other. Jack watched the sun rise in Gee's eyes, and Gee's heart started racing for a whole different reason.
They kissed.
"Of course you could stay with me," Maddy said. "You can stay in the guest suite!" Cat breathed an inward sigh of relief, living on the streets sucked after a while. Racetrack watched her from across the room. What was going on? She was being civil to him! More than that, she was being nice to him!
"It was nice meeting you Ms. Kendal," Jake said, kissing Maddy's hand. The girl blushed brightly.
"Call me M-Maddy!" Jake grinned.
"I'll remember that."
"Maddy, you go ahead, I might stay just a little while longer," Cat called from across the room.
"Sure!" Maddy called back. Slipping on her coat, she stepped outside...
...and her eyes locked on a kissing Jack and Gee.
"The plot thickens," Kitai whispered. She watched her new mistress stop in her tracks, her eyes wide.
"Maddy likes him," a voice said behind her. "It's like a soap opera." Kitai didn't bother to turn around.
"So you're the one they call Spot?" She asked casually. The cyan eyed vampire walked into her view.
"Yeah, I am."
Gee and Jack pushed each other away upon noticing Maddy's entrance. The poor plant mage stood there, looking as though the world were falling to pieces. Never in a million years did Maddy expect this. Gee hated vampires, she attacked Jack once.
No wonder they never seemed to want her around. Tears came to her left eye, and spilled down her cheek. She had liked Jack.
She had really liked Jack.
"So are you one of them?" Spot asked, looking down at the spectacle below with a bored look on his face.
"No, and thank your lucky stars, I'm a demon." They were only up against other vampires, if demons wanted to take over, there would be no stopping them. They had the right idea...
"Oh, and I just thought the wings were a cool mark of your line."
"You wish."
They were talking down there, which Kitai knew would help nothing. Her mistress's heart was broken, and no words would fix her broken heart. Spot's eyes stayed on Gee.
"I want her," he said quietly.
"Then take her."
"Not while Jack's around..."
Kitai saw Maddy run away, her sneakered feet barely making any noise on the black top. She felt her mistress make a wish, and a small fanged smile came to her face.
"If you stick with me, it could be arranged."