18.
"Where were you and Logan all night?" Jean asked the next morning. I hadn't slept at all the night before, but I was refreshed. Logan and I decided that it was best if we didn't come back to the mansion until the sun came up. I sat on my car all night meditating, being one with nature, until the sun eased into the sky. Now, I was preparing for the fight of my life.
I could tell by Jean's voice she thought something more was going on, like maybe Logan and I got a hotel room and did things you don't mention in polite company. I wished. I didn't know what to tell her. If I said nothing, she would believe we were rendezvousing, and I couldn't think of suitable lie to tell her that would appease her question.
"What did he say?" I finally asked because I knew she asked him first. She didn't do it because she was sneaky or thought she could get more details out of him. If I went somewhere with Scott, she would grill me about it first. It was just a Jean thing. I couldn't explain it. You just had to know her.
"He said that the two of you were taking care of dangerous business in regard to the mutant boy we've been trying to find." She answered. I could tell she didn't believe a word of it. It wasn't entirely a lie. We were taking care of dangerous business, but the boy wasn't involved. Good try, though. I would have to remember to give Logan a pat on the back for thinking of that.
"We did." I said. I know I was just fueling the flame. I bet she was trying to read my mind right now, to catch some piece of what was possibly happening. I did every mental trick in the book to keep her from doing so.
"What's going on, Ororo?" she asked. She was worried; I could feel it emanating from her. I stopped what I was doing momentarily to look at her. Her brows were knitted in a tight frown.
When I told Jean that I wasn't going to be around for classes, she automatically started grilling me. As much as I wanted to tell her, I knew I couldn't until this was over, but even after this is over, I still may not tell her all the details. I think it's for the best that she never knows what happened with Triage. Somehow, though, I would find a way to show her what a treacherous, dangerous leech Carmen was.
"I can't really tell you, Jean." I looked away from her. I didn't want to see the look on her face. "It's complicated and dangerous, and if you really want to help me, keep the children safe. Just stay here and look after them."
That's all she could really do. I know she would do it anyway. That's our responsibility – to protect the children. I was lucky thus far that Sakura or Ken hadn't brought the fight to my doorstep. I was hoping things stayed that way. After today, I wouldn't have to worry about that problem anymore. I was either going to come home triumphant, or I wasn't going to come home at all. There were no other choices left.
She picked up a silver vial. I snatched it from her before she could do something stupid like accidentally inject the contents into her own system. I dropped it in a blue duffel bag resting on my bed. The content was silver nitrate. When I pushed the button on top, a needle extended from it. I stuck it in some bloodsucker's vein, and it automatically gave the vampire a lethal dose of silver nitrate.
Forge made them and brought it to the mansion, personally, earlier before I talked to the professor. He gave me enough that I could even use more on a vampire if I needed. Damn, that man was smart. He was going to make some woman lucky one day.
"What about your classes, Ororo?" Jean asked. Jean thought she was slick.
"I spoke with the professor. They have been cancelled for the day." I answered. That was true. I told the professor that I had pressing obligations. He said he understood and that his thoughts would be with me during my final fight. He knew the whole time. I should have known I couldn't keep anything from that man. I was relieved, though.
I pulled Jean into a hug suddenly. She hugged me back tightly. She knew that things weren't right, and I was grateful that she was a true friend. It occurred to me that I might die. I didn't plan on it, but I might. I didn't feel like I would be losing my life in vain either. I was going to succeed, even if it meant my own life.
Logan and I met up with the rat king a little after noon. There were five of them in all. All four of whom I recognized from the restaurant the night before. Two women. Two men. And the rat king. He handed Logan and me two hardhats with lights and instructed us to put them on, explaining the entrance we were using was a cave.
They led us to the entrance of the cave, and my heart instantly jumped in my heart. Yeah, I was scared because this was it, but at that moment, the prospect of the cave scared me more. Caves had a tendency to shrink when I didn't want them to. We followed the rat king into the gaping, dark mouth of the cave.
He instructed us to leave the lights off for a moment. I heard noises. Bones creaking, skin sliding, moans, the gnashing of teeth. They were changing and they didn't want us to see it. Despite all the scary sounds they were making, I wanted to watch their transformation, but I respected their wishes. After all the noises subsided, the rat king instructed us to turn on our lights.
I did quickly, thinking I might catch a glance of something. Instead, there were five furry people looking back at me, and they were modest. The men had on old shorts, and the women wore dresses that flowed like a grandmother's housedress. Logan and I exchanged glances. He was thinking the same thing I was. What the hell are we doing here with wererats?
"Ready?" the Rat King asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." I answered. Logan nodded stiffly beside me.
We traveled silently through the cave. "Ain't caves supposed to be wet?" Logan asked.
I think he asked more because of my rising trepidation that his actual curiosity. Talking would distract me for a moment. "It's a dead cave," I said quietly, trying to figure out whether the walls really were closing on me or if I was hallucinating. It had been on of those weeks after all.
"Huh?"
"Unlike a live cave, a dead cave has no water or growing formations." One of the rat women said. She was carrying a bag of medical supplies. I'm glad that someone was looking out.
"How long is it going to take us to get out of here?" I asked, hoping he said that we were right around the corner from wherever we were going. No such luck.
"A few hours," the rat king said, and I wanted to die.
For most of the tunneling, the walls didn't close in on me, but as we neared the end of the cave, I nearly passed out when the walls of the cave started forcing me into a stoop. My knees quaked, and I stumbled into Logan. He caught me, trying to steady me. My vision blurred, causing me to see double of everything. My head spun out of control, and I started breathing deeply.
"I got you, 'Ro," Logan said, as I burrowed my face into his shoulder. The continued to close, forcing us into a crawl, and things didn't get any better for me.
Logan and the rat king somehow managed to get my through it. The rats' bodies were made for tunneling. They were able to mold to the changes easily, and I don't think I was a much of a burden for the rat king. Well, not as much as I could have been. I have been known to start screaming and panicking. I even forgot about the rat king being a rat while I buried my face deep into his fur.
The cave rumbled ominously while the rat king and Logan took turns consoling me, reminding me why I was here. I thought about Jean, the kids, Vega, anything. I had to make it through for them. I couldn't afford to lose it now. The cave continued to rumble, though. Topside they were having some pretty nasty weather courtesy of me.
The horror finally ended as I felt myself pulled into open space. If things had been different, I would have ripped off my clothes and did a dance that would have put Josephine Baker's tribal dance from Princesse Tam Tam to shame. I tried to control my shaking. That was the worst part for me. I survived the tunneling. I could survive the vampires. Vampires had nothing on claustrophobia.
I looked around my surroundings. We were in the dungeons where I first encountered the wererats. "Thank you," I said, my shakes starting to subside.
"Don't thank us, yet." The rat king said with a somber tone, handing me my bags. I looked at Logan, as one of the male rats handed him a shotgun. His face was impassive, his game face. I checked myself, making sure I hadn't dropped any of my own guns in my scared state. Three guns. A knife in each boot. And lock picks in my pocket. I'd say I was set.
We ran up the stairs of the dungeon into the main hall. It was still daylight and the vampires would still be resting. The only thing I had to worry about was Ryu—and possibly other human slaves—catching us. Though, I couldn't see Ryu stopping us. You never could tell with people, especially where vampires were concerned.
We walked into the room where they tortured Jean-Paul first. It was immaculate. The horror of last night cleaned from everything, but I could still mentally see it all. Jean-Paul's death. Sakura biting me. It was all very vivid in my mind.
"What's wrong?" Logan asked.
"They killed Jean-Paul in this room, and there was nothing I could do to save him." I answered. My words were rough against my own tongue.
"C'mon, Ro. Don't let those demons haunt you. We gotta stay focused." He said.
He was right. It wouldn't do me any good to lose sight and be killed in the process. I paused outside the door leading to her "throne room". I was scared we might see Ryu or some other human. I really hated to think about having to kill anybody other than a vampire, but I was going to do whatever I had to do to get rid of the vampires – including kill humans who stood in my way.
The room was empty when we opened the door. It was sort of anticlimactic, even. Logan looked at me with a look that said, "Is this it?" I just shrugged at him and motioned toward another door. We walked toward it quietly, expecting someone to pop out of it at any moment We opened the door and found coffins. "Oh goody," I said dryly.
"I thought these assholes liked to hide their coffins." Logan asked.
"You're over a thousand-years-old, the strongest vampire in the city. Would you hide your coffin? Would you make your entourage hide their coffins?" I asked. Sakura was a self-assured bitch with reason to be.
"I don't know, and I ain't lookin' to find out."
"Well, what are we waiting for let's stake us some vampires!" I said with a chuckle, trying to be humorous. Yeah, I was nervous. Something bad was bound to happen soon. We were just making too much progress.
The first coffin was slate gray with silver handles. As a general rule, once vampires were resting they didn't wake until the sun was down. There were always exceptions to the rule. I asked the Goddesses to protect me as I jerked the coffin open. At first the facial features of the vampire was so mangled, I didn't realize who he was. Then, I pieced together what I could. Triage.
"Damn, 'Ro. You coulda at least put the poor bastard out of his misery." Logan said, peering into the coffin.
"I tried to, Logan. Believe me." I said, thinking back to my assault on Triage.
It was like being at a wake with the way we looked down at him. I felt like we should be clucking over his body, saying what a shame it was he was dead. He never moved, though, and I pulled two vials out of the bag. This was going to do my soul good. I pushed the top of the vials and needles popped from the other end. I stuck them deep in Triage's neck, almost savagely.
He was trying to wake up. I could tell, and he might have succeeded if he didn't have so much silver running through him. He fought against the metal in his blood violently, his coffin shaking and rattling. Then, he was still. I almost cried in relief. He was dead. Jean was safe – from him, at least. "One down." I said, moving to the next coffin.
"I'll take care of this one," he said, motioning for me to check the other coffins. I walked to another coffin. It was white with gold trim, very feminine. The bitch's coffin. I nearly ripped the top off, but it was empty. The silk was molded to fit a female. I looked around the room terrified. Then I looked up. She wasn't floating up there, either. Shit. Fuck. Hell. I cursed silently. Where was she?
Another thought occurred to me, calming me slightly. The curves of the silk were too womanly to be Sakura's. It was Christie's coffin. Fortunately for Christie, she was already dead. "Good riddance," I said, slamming the lid close.
"Shit!" I heard Logan say, and I turned quickly to see Valiant gripping Logan by the neck. Valiant had his head tilted like a puppy, regarding Logan with interest. That was the scariest thing I've ever seen. I reached for my guns, planning to unload everything I had into Valiant's head. Logan's claws emerged and he stuck them into Valiant's neck.
Valiant stiffened, but didn't let Logan go. Logan brought his fists back, his claws covered with blood. Then, he buried them into Valiant's neck again. I quickly picked up the shotgun. "Incoming," I said to Logan. He retracted his claws.
I fired from a few feet away. Valiant's head exploded. It was pretty gross, but he was still holding onto Logan somehow. Logan was hacking away at his hands, and I cocked the gun, moving to a better angle, aiming for Valiant's heart, blowing out his whole chest. That was even grosser. Logan fell to the floor as Valiant's body fell backward.
I kept firing at Valiant's coffin. Wood splintered. Blood sprayed. Just call me Tony Montana. I promised to stop making corny jokes, didn't I? I can't help it. That one was for my kids. There was one last coffin in the room. It was smaller than the others were; light pink with roses engraved in the golden handles. I don't think I was going to find Vega in that coffin. Not unless he shrank since the last time I saw him and was hiding something from me with the pink coffin.
There were more engravings in the lid of angels and saints, reminding me that Sakura had parents that loved her at one time, who thought that she was an angel. If they could only see their daughter now. Logan and I approached it together. If she was in it and she couldn't wake up like Valiant, she could still hold our minds captive until she could move. She was powerful enough to do it.
The lid was surprisingly heavy for such a dainty coffin. It took Logan's strength to open it while I covered him with the shotgun. It was empty, and I backed away from it. "Looking for me?" the too sweet voice asked behind me. Logan and I turned around slowly. Ryu and Sakura were standing near Valiant's destroyed coffin. Ryu had a sheathed sword hanging from his back. Oh goddess, that was not a good sign.
"This is the master?" Logan asked. "She's two feet tall. Hey, darlin', your momma know you causin' so much trouble?" Oh great. Logan was going to piss the master off now top everything. I elbowed him hard in the ribs. That probably hurt me more than it hurt him. I just didn't want him to say anything else that might get us in trouble.
She laughed her little tinkling laugh while I inched my hand toward my gun. "Don't do it, mortal." A pain seared through my head and I withdrew my hand. She continued to laugh. Ken walked through the door next. He glared at me, and I glared right back at him. His little pets hadn't been able to get the job done, and I was sure that angered him.
"I advise you to drop all your weapons." Sakura continued. I began to put my guns on the floor, but kept the knives. Had to have a one up on her. "Did you think something as insignificant as sunlight was my captor? One thousand years I have roamed this earth. I am nothing short of a goddess. On your knees."
I began to sink to my knees, tugging Logan along with me. I could tell from his stance that he wasn't going to do it. He hadn't had to deal with this monster as I had. He didn't know what she was capable of. Ken collected my weapons, and it took everything I had not to try to strangle him. He smirked at me. Did he forget I knew he was the vampire killer?
I was definitely going to tell Sakura he was her killer. I was just biding my time. Ken held my guns comfortably between his hands, pointing them at Logan and me. So stupid. So very stupid. The first inklings of anger were beginning to flare up. "I have a few surprises for you, animator." Sakura said. I watched as human slaves brought two more people in the room. The kid was one of the two. And the other…
"Jean-Paul!" I jumped to my feet only to have Ken backhand me back to the floor. Logan roared, but before he could explode, I saw him grab his head in pain. She was picking his mind, holding him under control. That wouldn't hold him for long. Soon he would lose his humanity, and he would be a raging animal.
Jean-Paul looked horrible. His body was covered in bloody slashes, his eyes glazed. He was barely coherent, but he was alive. "It was the most interesting thing," Sakura said, pacing the floor. "You know this child has been following you. I think he finds you fascinating, mortal. He followed you here last night, in fact."
"If you've hurt him–"
"Oh, I haven't hurt him. Isn't that right, child?" Sakura asked. The boy nodded slowly. "Ryu took care of him. Fed him, cleaned him up. He's quite a charming child. I think he'll make the perfect protégé for me."
The boy looked at me in wide-eyed terror, and I return his glance with terror of my own. "How is Jean-Paul able to move around?" I asked, changing the subject. Jean-Paul was a very young vampire. He technically should be in a state of lethargy right now.
"Mortal, you disappoint me at times. I'm using my own power to keep him up. It's not as hard as you think. After last night, I figured I should keep Jean-Paul around. I'll make Vega watch Jean-Paul die at the hands of the child. Once I turn the child that is." Sakura patted the boy on the head as if he were a pet.
My anger was starting to boil in my veins. "You disgust me," I hissed at her. I wasn't trying to hold it back anymore. I embraced it, encouraged it. I wanted to be one with the anger.
"Fool! You dare to speak to me like that. I can make you do whatever I want. Come to me, Ororo. Feel my power!" I felt her words wash over my skin, and I waited for my legs to start moving on their own. Nothing happened. "I bit you."
She sounded a little astonished, and I looked at her, a smile covering my face for the first time. "Holy water. Burns like a bitch, but it gets the job done, even on me."
She glared at me. Her eyes as hard as stone, but she didn't attack me. She was holding back for some reason. "Let us go to the dungeons and play a little game, shall we?" she said. She made a human keep Jean-Paul in the coffin room. He wouldn't be much of a fight for the human. He was too weak. Logan and I stood and we flocked to the dungeon like a misfit crew.
"Kneel, mortal." She said to Logan once we were in the dungeon.
"Fuck you." Logan growled. She kicked in the groove behind his knee. He fell to one knee, but he didn't make a sound otherwise. "You're gonna have to hit me with somethin' harder than that."
I pleaded with Logan with my eyes. Please, don't be stupid. I said silently. He frowned at me. He wanted to kick some ass, but we were dealing with an entirely new breed of evil here. Sakura grabbed him around the neck. "I wonder how your metal will fare against my hand, mortal. Keep testing me, and we will find out."
Logan snarled at her. "Please, Logan." I said aloud. I shook my head at him. I know he was anxious to do something, anything, but he needed to think this through a little more. He shut his mouth, but didn't kneel any more than he already had.
"Ryu," Sakura said. "Show this mortal what a real fighter is." Ryu looked at me somberly as he took the sword sheath from his back. He unsheathed the sword. He did it slowly like they did in all those fighting movies. This was deadly real, though. "You will fight him or I will kill this one. And you'd better not use your powers."
She sounded like a spoiled brat, but that's what she basically was. She wrenched Logan's arm behind his back, and he didn't even protest. His face was perfectly stoic. She would never get a sound out of him. I knew she had to be pissed with Logan. He had already defied her in so many ways, and she hadn't even punished him half as much as she did me. I looked at Ryu again, taking off my jacket.
Is this what he meant when he told me not to hesitate? Was this what he was preparing me for? I pulled my knives from my boots. Ryu didn't look surprised. In fact, nobody seemed surprised. Damn. Was I getting that predictable? Oh well, there was no way I was about to give them up, predictable or not.
"You'll never be able to defeat, Ryu. In fact, he's only going to cut you a little. I want you alive. I'm going to turn you, too. Then, when you're one of us, maybe you'll take your investigation more serious. And Vega will see that he has no power over me." She revealed. She did not just say she was going to turn me. What did I look like? Christie's replacement?
"I'd rather be dead than one of you." I spat at her.
"You don't have much a choice in the matter." She said happily. Being a vampire was my worst nightmare. I know many people found it alluring, but I did not want to live forever. Drinking blood didn't appeal to me, and I liked the sunlight very much. I'd rather be in my grave rotting tomorrow than spend eternity as a vampire.
Ryu began to circle me. I faced him at all times. I knew he was going to try to give me as much of a fair chance as he could without being overly obvious, but that meant I had to play smart as well. I crouched, holding my knives in my hands. He was still human. A human with hundreds of years worth of experience, but a still just a human.
Ryu came at me with a complicated stream of sword movements. I scrambled away from him. He kicked me hard in the stomach. I backed up, but did not fall. He swiped my midsection with the sword, and I gasped as blood formed. He followed up with a fierce uppercut that sent me sprawling. I bumped into a hard, wooden pillar. Winded, but still able to function. He ran at me, jumping in the air, bringing his foot out for a roundhouse. I shifted as his foot cut down the wooden pillar. Splinters flew from the impact. That didn't hurt?
He landed deftly, swinging the sword around, going for the kill I guess. I bent backwards as the metal sliced the air over my face. At the same time, Ryu swept my legs, and I fell hard on my back. He brought the blade down, and I rolled out the way as the tip hit the ground. I wrapped my legs around his, bringing him down hard. The sword slid from his hand. I picked up the closest knife, rolling forward, bringing the knife down. I scraped his arm. One to one.
We both rolled away from each other, standing to our feet. I only had one knife, but I had the advantage since he had nothing. I ran at him, latching one arm around his neck. I swung myself on his shoulders.
As far as fighting went, I was more of a scrapper than anything. I fought wild, a habit from my days on the streets. I wasn't orthodox by any means, and I wasn't trained in any kind of martial arts. In fact, Logan had just started teaching me basic martial art moves in our spare time. So… where the hell did I learn to do that? I didn't get much time to ponder that as Ryu started trying to shake me from his shoulders.
I should have taken that time to stab him or something, but I couldn't make myself stab Ryu. He was essentially good. He just got a bitch for a master. Part of me wanted to, but a bigger part of me didn't. I know he told me not to hesitate, but I was the good guy. I always hesitated. Something made me pull my arm back, and something made me attempt to cut Ryu's throat. I wasn't too successful.
Ryu grabbed my arms, pulling me toward him as he snapped his head back. He hit me in that hollow between my ribs, and dammit, it hurt like hell. He did it again, and I let go of the knife. He did it yet again and let go my arms. I lost my balance and started to fall backwards, but Ryu's arm snaked around me and he swung me around his body. It was sort of like swing dancing. I felt like I should be saying 'whee' or something. Then, he let go of me, and I was flying through the air.
Before I could land face first on the concrete, I felt my body adjusting to the momentum of the throw. My arms shot straight out, pushing hard off the concrete, as if I were about to do a cartwheel, but I rounded off the move, bending backwards as something went whizzing over my head. My other knife! My legs pushed off the concrete, and I flipped over one last time. Okay, I definitely didn't know how to do that – not without the aid of my winds.
"Oh, you've been holding back on me, mortal." Sakura said with a laugh. Like hell I have. I didn't know how I was doing any of that stuff. It didn't feel natural, but at the same time, it sort of did. "Stop fooling around with her, Ryu. Make her hurt."
Ryu ran toward me, and I ran away from him, straight to a wall. I tried to skitter to a stop, but something pushed me forward. I planted my left foot against the wall, leaning back, pushing off with my right foot. Goddess, I was going to break my neck. I tucked, feeling myself flip. I loosened my limbs, bringing an elbow down hard in Ryu's chest.
We fell backwards, and I rolled over his body, hooking my legs around his neck. He rolled me on my stomach with my legs still hooked around his neck, flipping himself over my body. He planted his feet firmly, holding me tightly in the submission move. Believe me I wanted to submit. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I felt like my back was going to break.
I knew he wasn't going to kill me, but it felt like it. "I know who the killer is." I shouted suddenly. I needed that ace right now.
"And you've kept it from me all this time? Who, mortal! Tell me or I will kill this one!" Sakura shouted at me.
"No!" Ken said.
The next few moments after that was pure chaos. Sakura let go of Logan who was on his feet in an instant. The kid sucker punched the large human holding him, running for something. The human started after the boy, but Logan got in his way, making quick work of the man. Ken was screaming like a lunatic for no good reason.
"No!" Ken screamed again, bullets started spraying out in the room. Ryu let go of me and covered my body with his own. He kicked my ass and then he covered me from stray bullets. Chivalry isn't dead. Sakura knocked the guns from Ken's hands. She figured it out herself then, as she brought Ken's head down to her. He screamed.
Ryu moved away from me, unaware of the boy running toward him with murder in his eyes. I couldn't even warn him as the boy jumped on his back wasting no time in plunging the knife in his neck. The boy brought up a glowing hand, but was unable to make contact with the knife before Ryu slammed backed up with uncanny speed, slamming the boy into the wall.
The boy slid down the wall. "Mon Dieu," I heard him mutter, holding his head. I went to the boy, hoping he wasn't seriously injured. Ryu was staggering toward the sword. He picked it up, turning back to the boy and me.
"Ryu!" Sakura cried out, hurrying toward us. Shots rang out. Logan was firing at the bitch. She turned on him suddenly, moving faster than I thought possible. He backed away from her, but his back kissed the wall. She grabbed Logan and he struggled against her. They were struggling. I knew Logan was strong, but Goddess, he was brawling with a thousand-year-old corpse.
"She's getting weaker, as I grow weaker." Ryu said, proffering me the sword. I looked from the sword back to the Logan and Sakura. She pinned Logan to the floor using brute strength and lowered her head. Logan's body stopped moving. She was biting him. She looked up for a moment, wiping her bloody lips in my direction. Then she turned to Logan again. I shook my head as every nerve ending in my body ignited with rage.
"Ororo, listen to me. Kill me. It's the only chance you'll have to stop her! Kill me." Ryu said, his voice becoming more urgent. I jerked the sword from Ryu's hand. He kneeled before me like the sacrificial lamb. "Thank you, Ororo."
I pulled the sword back, lunging it deep in his chest. He reached for my hands shakily, gripping them tightly, forcing me to push the sword in to the hilt. I pulled the sword out and he fell to the floor. Tears brimmed my eyes as Sakura let out a yell that echoed through me. I looked away from Ryu's limp body and faced Sakura. She was on her knees, ripping at her hair angrily. "Come get it, you little bitch." I said, gripping the sword in my hand.
I was fury – pure, unadulterated rage. She stood from her knees, walking toward me slowly. Lightning crackled from my fingertips, flowing from my fingers to the sword. I stood completely still. I was not afraid of her anymore. She tried to exert her power, mental fingers gripped at my mind. "No!" I yelled. My voice was thunder. The fingers receded at my command.
She would never use my mind to hurt me again. I still wasn't sure how this human servant thing worked, but she was definitely weaker while I felt stronger than ever. She tried to conjure up a strong wind, but I turned her fury against her, pushing her back slightly. "The elements are mine to command, vampire," I spat at her, as she dodged stray objects that were flying toward her. I quelled her windstorm to prove my point. With a flick of my wrist, it died. I was all-powerful.
She ran at me, claws outstretched, and I jerked the sword back. I brought the sword down. It bit into her neck until it hit bone. I pulled back, pushing her back with a foot to the stomach. I brought the sword up again, burying it deep in her chest. I pushed it deeper, running with it, driving her back against the wall. Blood poured from her wounds. I pulled the sword out of her chest and she fell.
She rolled to her hands and knees, trying to stand. I put a foot in the middle of her back, forcing her back down. "Now, you die. This won't hurt a bit. Be grateful." I informed her bringing the sword down on the back of her neck, giving it every shred of energy I had left. It severed her head from her body completely, and she stopped moving.
I did it. I dropped the sword, allowing the tears to come freely for the first time. I checked on Logan and the boy. Logan was starting to come around and the boy—Remy, he finally told me—was okay for the most part. Maybe a little concussed. I think he was just shaken up more than anything. Ken was starting to stir, too. The rip in his neck started to mend itself together as if he had a healing ability like Logan.
The wererats filed into the room. There were more of them now. The female wererat started tending to Remy and Logan while I checked on Ken. I sat beside Ken, and he looked at me fearfully. I pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and he tried to scuttle away from me. He was the real rat in this room. "You had to give the gris-gris vampire blood. That means that there is something you must never give the gris-gris." I stated, touching my hand to the cut on my stomach.
"Don't," he said, trying to back away. I grabbed his arm in a death vise.
"If you had to give it vampire blood, I wonder how it will react to human blood." I said calmly. He tried to fight me, but I touched my fingers to the gris-gris. He made a noise as if someone were choking him. He fought whatever unseen force violently, and then he was still. I checked his pulse. There was none.
The female wererat walked over to me and checked my cuts and scrapes. The female wererat dressed my stomach wound. "You may need stitches for that," she said softly. I thanked her and stood to my feet.
I made my way up the stairs of the dungeon. "Where are you going?" the rat king asked me.
"To get my other weapons." I know that was lame, but I didn't want to say I was going to look for Vega. People might get the wrong idea. I would act as if I just happened to stumble on his coffin and let him out. The rat king followed me up the stairs. I didn't mind. Jean-Paul was still in the room where the main coffins were, but the human was not.
Jean-Paul was… livelier, though. Still weak, but he was definitely better. "What happened to the person who was watching you?" I asked him. I picked up the shotgun and the duffel bag with the silver nitrate.
"He had a little accident." Jean-Paul said, wiping a drop of blood from the corner of his lips. That was a good enough answer for me. Who was I to pry after all? He pointed toward a door leading somewhere. "The others are in there."
I nodded and walked into the room. There were at least a dozen coffins neatly lined up in the room. The lids were chained silver chains and a blessed cross attached to every lid. Mortimer was in the first coffin I opened. He was still sleep and deeply so. I fondled a vial of silver. Then, I thought better of it. I'd let the poor guy rest. I would probably regret that decision later.
The other coffins were empty, except the last one. I placed my things on the floor before opening it. I removed the cross from the coffin and opened it. Vega was staring up at me, green eyes burning my soul, a smile playing on his face. He sat up, stretching his arms, as if he just woke from a long nap. That's basically what it was, though. I couldn't help throwing my arms around him. He really was okay. I know Sakura said he was, but I'm glad I could see for myself.
"I am fine, mi belleza." He returned the hug, nuzzling the side of my face with his own. My heart started pounding hard in my chest. Then, I pulled back from him abruptly, suddenly angry with him. I slapped him hard against the face, just as Logan and Remy entered the room.
"Undo whatever it is you did to me, right now, you conniving bastard." I balled my fist up.
"I can't."
"You can, and I want it undone."
"I cannot. What's done is done."
Logan was holding the shotgun I put on the floor before opening Vega's coffin. I snatched the shotgun from Logan and put it to Vega's head. "Undo it, or I am going to kill you."
"And what will happen to you?"
He was messing with my mind now. Good one. Plant a seed of doubt in the good guy's head. Remember, the good guy always hesitates. "I don't know, but if it means that I die with you, that's a risk I am willing to take." I spat. I didn't mean that. I didn't want to die with him.
"Don't do it, Ro. We'll find a way to get you out of this." Logan said in cajoling tones.
"You should listen to your friend, Ororo. He is very wise." Vega laughed.
"Shut up!" I yelled at him. My finger was itching to squeeze the trigger, so why was I hesitating? Oh right, I didn't know what was going to happen to me. For all that big talk I did, I really didn't want to die or anything.
"He ain't worth it, 'Ro." Logan said, putting his hand on the barrel of the gun, pushing it down.
"You're right, but…" I hit Vega in the stomach with the butt of the shotgun as hard as I could. He caught his midsection and groaned. Logan didn't say I couldn't hit him.
"That hurt, Ororo." He said. It couldn't hurt as bad as what I wanted to do to him. Logan took the gun from me before I could do something I'd regret.
I put my face close to his and hissed, "Listen to me good, Vega. I am going to use the power you gave me, your own power, against you until I can find my way out of this." I noticed how the dim lights seem to make his hair and eyes glow beautifully. My breath caught in my throat for a second. "And stop with the beauty tricks, okay?"
"I am not doing anything." He sort of smirked after this, and I didn't like it. Something was going on, and I had no control over it – whatever it was.
"What kind of game are you playing at?" I growled at him. "Who do you think you are?"
A radiant smiled covered his face. "I am the new master of the city. That's who I am." He rubbed the side of my face softly, and I brought a fist up, connecting with his jaw. Blood seeped out the corner of his mouth and a tongue darted out retrieving the precious blood.
"Son-of-a-bitch!" I tried to calm myself. I should just blow his goddamn face in and damn the consequences. I didn't, though. I grabbed Logan's hand in one hand and Remy's hand in the other. "Let's go home." I said, walking away from him.
"We have a lot to discuss about your duties as a human servant. Over dinner, perhaps?" Vega called behind me.
It took everything I had not to turn around, take that gun from Logan again, and put one right through his skull. "Leave me alone, Vega, and stay the hell out of my dreams." I called over my shoulder.
"So, does this mean you are not going to have dinner with me? I didn't just want to talk about your status as my human servant. I wanted to thank you for making me the master of this city, too." Vega said behind me.
Goddess, he was a real bastard. I felt used. He could use me to eat. He used me to become the master of the city. I didn't think I was going to make it out of here before I tried to kill him. I paused, letting go of the hands I clutched. I turned toward Vega, anger fueling me. He looked smug. I was going to… Logan grabbed my arm before I could attempt to beat Vega's skull in.
"She'll be too busy celebratin' with me." Logan said, spinning me around, reeling me into a kiss that made my knees weak. Wow. I hadn't had a lot of time to lust after him lately, even with him helping me, even with the kiss we shared at the party, but rest assured, I would be doing some serious lusting after this.
I could feel Vega's anger. He didn't like that. Too bad.
"I will wait for you."
He just had to have the last word, didn't he?
- - -
I nearly growled when another box was delivered with my name on it. Didn't Vega ever give up? It was always interesting to see what he thought he could woo me with this time. I guess he didn't get that material things were not the way to my heart, but if he wanted to go bankrupt trying to get me to talk to him, who was I to complain?
It had been a month already. Jean-Paul was healing nicely. He didn't strip anymore, but he did work the bar at Vermillion Nights. I wouldn't go there at night to see him, though. I didn't want to see Vega. So, Jean-Paul and I would meet up afterwards, or whenever we had free time, and talk. I even let him talk me into going out to a club. You should've seen the look on Jean's face after that one. He was an okay person as far as vampires went. I put him right up there with Phil.
Jean was safe, of course, and flittering around the mansion with all her wedding plans. She was still friends with that bitch Carmen. I didn't attack her, though, as I initially wanted, but I did let her know that if she ever got Jean and me in a bind like that again, I would rip her throat out with my bare hands and carve her chest open like a turkey dinner. I was feeling particularly violent that day.
Remy was adjusting well to the school much to Bobby's chagrin. Remy has a soft spot for Rogue, and she seemed to be somewhat torn between the two. Remy still had a bad habit of following me, as well. No matter how many times I chided him, he followed me to graveyards, my room, the police station, my greenhouse, the courthouse, everywhere. He wouldn't open up to many people, but he talked to me. Maybe because we shared similar backgrounds. Maybe we were bound eternally like siblings by everything that happened with Sakura.
Logan and I… I don't know where we stood really. You'd think things would be a little clearer after that kiss in front of Vega. It wasn't, though. In fact, it was more confusing and awkward because neither of us was really sure where to go from here. I think he felt a little threatened by Vega. It couldn't be comforting to know that Vega could invade my dreams at anytime (which thankfully he hadn't). Things were just odd between us at the moment. I was hoping to do something about that soon.
I turned my attention back to the box. I ripped the pretty packing away from it. I probably wouldn't keep whatever was in there, but opening the packages was always fun. Sometimes Jean and I would sit at the table and try to guess what he sent this time. She still didn't remember that night at the club, but she remembered Vega. She was foggy on the details where he was concerned, but I knew she liked the idea of him wooing me. If only she knew…
I raised my eyebrow when I found dual Desert Eagles in the box. I gripped one in each hand and studied them. They were gold with a wood grain grip and my name engraved in the side – Ororo Munroe. I disregarded the note with them. It probably said the same thing as the others I ignored. I usually just ended up writing the word "No" on them and having Jean-Paul give them back to him.
I wasn't having dinner with him. I was not visiting him. I did not want to talk about the "terms" of being his servant. Couldn't he get the point? I did not want to be his damn human servant, so there was nothing for us to discuss. However, I may keep the guns. They might come in handy. I fingered the guns and admired the craftsmanship used to make them. I'll send him a thank you note… maybe…
- - -
Author's Notes: And finally I am done. Yay! Look out for the next part "Suckers" starting November 1st. I'm going to work on it while I work on my NaNoWrimo story. Thanks for all your encouraging reviews, thoughts, and emails. I appreciate every single one of them, and I'm glad that you were entertained by it. You all were the ultimate inspiration for this story.