Senga Part 4

Back at her flat, but still badly shaken, Senga was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking forlorn and hurt. She looked so vulnerable, more so than her friend had ever seen her. "You'll find a way to beat this thing Senga. You'll save yer ma' as well, Ah've nae doubt." Jean could see no signs of acknowledgement from her friend. "Right, we just need to find oot whit we're up against here Senga. Whit wiz the name o' that website ye found? Oh, aye. Ah remember noo. Demonsdemonsdemons." Jean typed the url into the search box on Senga's pc. The website opened. "Ooooh, noo that's an ugly bastard. Thank God you dont' huv tae fight him." She commented, as the sites images started downloading. "Oh, wait, he's the webmaster. Waitaminnit, can demons use the net? That is so weird innit Senga?" Jean turned, and still there had been no movement from Senga. Being an eternal optimist, Jean persevered. "Right, we need some search criteria to find this guy. OK, he keeps souls prisoner. Uses vampires as henchmen. Likes to eat the spirits of slayers, or at least potential slayers. Right, lets see whit the search comes up wi'." Jean hit the enter button. To her surprise the site brought up one exact match. "Ah 'hink we've got him Senga." Jean turned around and almost jumped, Senga had moved from the bed and was now standing behind Jean, staring intently at the screen.

"Azazeal. The eater of souls." Senga whispered beneath her breath. "So he's got a name at least. Lets see whit else he's got." She searched for weaknesses and vulnerabilities, she found none. "That cannae be good. Nobody that's ever fought him hiz survived. How the hell can that be?"

"Here Senga, it says here that it's coz he's no entirely a' there." Jean said, as she started quoting from the site. "Azazeal exists almost entirely on the spirit plane, he only keeps a host form on the mortal plane to keep him anchored, but if that's destroyed, he just finds another form to inhabit. Legends of the Watchers council call him the Unstoppable beast." Jean stopped reading as Senga's hands flew to the keyboard.

"Ah've been hearin' a load aboot this 'Watchers council' lets see whit we can find oot aboot them." She typed the phrase into the search box and the page suddenly filled with possible results. "Showing matches 1-25 of 8035698. That's a load of sites to look through. How can we narrow it down?"

It was Jean's turn to type frantically into the search box, adding the phrases 'Azazeal' and 'legends'. The results narrowed to only 25. "Hows that for luck eh Senga?" She didn't have to look to feel Senga smiling at her.

Jean manouvered the mouse over the first option on the page. It opened up the site. "It's a blog. O' some guy called Wesley Whyndham Price. Says here that he wiz a watcher until they sacked him."

"Whit wiz he sacked fur?" Senga asked.

"Probably fur bein' gay. You know, wi' a name like that, he just huz tae be." Jean and Senga both laughed. When they were done they began reading the blog of the ex watcher.

"Entry 402.

In my continued efforts to avenge myself on the Watchers council for the ignominy forced on me, I continue to post here, revealing their secrets for the world to read. The council has many secrets, and this endeavour could well take me to the end of my life to complete, but I shall complete it.

This entry will relate to the entity known as the 'Unstoppable beast' or to use it's correct name, Azazeal. This creature that exists to feed on the life forces, or spirits if you like, of the potential Slayers. It seems to be invulnerable to harm, purely because it exists primarily on the spiritual plane. It is my supposition, that only an attack on it's astral form can prevail against this creature. Of course, if the council had not fired me, then this information would have been given to them directly, and they could have dealt with the creature accordingly. But as the did fire me, well they can go to hell."

"Reads like the diary of any fired employee to me." Jean commented.

"Aye, but he could be right about how to beat it. It bears lookin' into doesn't it?" Senga looked at her friend. "A wee trip to the Mitchell Library th' morra ah think. Look up everything we can get on the spirit plane, especially how to get there." Senga was genuinely enthused by this turn of events. Then she looked at the clock. "It's half eight. You'd better be headin' hame Jean. I'll walk you, just to be oan the safe side awright?" Relieved, Jean nodded, she hadn't been looking forward to walking home on her own.

Senga pulled on her steel toed safety boots, 'the best birthday present my da' ever goat me' she thought to herself. She then pulled on her black denim jacket and made sure that the knuckle dusters were still in the pockets where she had secreted them earlier in the day. One in each pocket, easy to put on and use. Jean stood up just as Senga did. "You still look gie nervous Jean. Dinnae worry, if it moves the night, ah'll kick it's arse fur it." Jean smiled again as Senga opened her bedroom door, and stopped in her tracks.

"Whur the hell dae you think you're gaun?" Senga's father stood framed in the doorway of the living room. "Yer naw goin' oot the night. People huv been turnin' up deid lately. Have ye no looked at the papers?"

Senga could feel the anger bubbling up and over her in built defenses. "It's a bit bloody late to come over a' parental is it no'? Ye've never given a shit before, why start noo?"

Her father looked as though he had been physically struck. Staggering back a couple of paces. It was then that Senga realised what had been really different about him. He was sober. "It's. It's jist." her father started to say, then stopped as he went into the living room and slumped in his chair. "It's yer brother." He said, sounding weary. He wiz attacked last night in the Bar-L. Some wee bastard ripped half his throat oot. he's in the Royal right noo." At the last word, Senga's father actually sobbed. Senga could feel something in her throat. Grief, concern, fear and for the first time in years, guilt.

"Da'. I'm just walkin' Jean hame. Ah'll be back in a couple o' minutes. When ah get back, we'll talk, awright?" Senga stroked her father's shoulder as she spoke. He looked at her and smiled thinly through his tears. "Ah'll be a couple o' minutes. Don't let anyone in till a' get back. Right da'?" He nodded even as his mouth formed the question. "Don't ask why, I'll explain it a' when ah get back." Senga looked into her father's eyes, the tears had washed away the darkness she had always found there before, without realising what she was doing, she kissed him on the forehead, but just as soon as she realised what she was doing, she pulled away. "Ah'll be back in a minute." She darted for the door, Jean following on. If she'd looked back, she would have seen her father raise his hand to his forehead and smile, through a new spout of happy tears.

"Whit wiz that a' aboot Senga?" Jean asked as they walked down the tenament stairs. "Wiz your faither sober? Did you gie him a kiss? Whit wiz that aboot yer brother?"

"That thing. Azazeal, said that he'd get to me through ma family if he hud tae. Ah 'hink he just did. Throat near ripped oot? Sounds like a vampire tae me. An' if it wiz. I'm gonna kill that thing 4 times noo."

"4 times? How?"

"Wan, fur keeping ma mothers soul. Two, fur attackin' ma brother. Three, Fur attackin' me an' ma pal. An' four, fur makin' me kiss ma faither. Naeb'dy does that to me."

At the mouth of the 'close' Senga held Jean back as she looked out into the darkening street. She looked in both directions, knowing that Jean lived only 5 blocks away, didn't really help in this situation. Vampires could attack from anywhere. "Right 'mon Jean, lets get you hame."

The girls walked onto the pavement, and turned in the direction of Jean's home. Senga could feel the tingling behind her eyes again, but it was vague, almost distant. Or perhaps muffled.

A figure jumped out at them from behind a hedgerow, Senga swung her fists first, with no intention of asking questions later. Her hands connected with the skull of their wouldbe attacker, and sent the figure flying backwards into the garden it had pounced from. "A wee bit mer speed might be in order Jean." Senga said, as she put her hands into her pockets and secured the knuckledusters to her fists. She was ready for them now. Three figures appeared from the shadow of a transit van parked a little way in front of the girls. Senga flew at the first of them, fists outstretched, the full length of her arms, in front of her. Both fists connected, and she could smell the burning where the cruciforms connected with the vampire's flesh. The creature screamed as it recoiled from the attack. It's two companions looked uncertain, but only for a second as Senga aimed a fist at each of them, again the reassuring crack of impact, followed by the sizzle and screams. "Go Jean, now." She could see Jean, run a few paces ahead of her and dart into her own tenament building. Knowing that Jean had the heaviest door in the area, she waited. Upon hearing the heavy thud of the door slamming behind Jean, Senga turned her full attention on the vampires. They had regrouped. all four of them now faced the single, untrained slayer.

"Bollocks!" Senga muttered to herself.