Chapter Ten
When the dinner bell went off, Bob's mouth started watering. It had been too long since lunch, and his stomach rumbled in protest. He looked around, but no one was forthcoming to relieve him so he figured he wouldn't get to eat until after the rest had finished as some one needed to stay with the wheel. He heard a voice behind him and turned to see Spike coming his way. "Hello, mate. I've come to relieve you."
"I sure am glad to see you!" Bob replied. "My stomach has been mounting its own protest for the last thirty minutes!"
"Take your time," Spike told him. "I'm not in any hurry. Looks like we might get some rain," he said, casting his eyes toward the now-darkening sky.
"I thought as much," Bob replied. "I won't be gone long." He raced off to eat dinner.
Spike gripped the wheel as though his very life depended upon it. His mind was filled with images. The sorry bitches, Darla and Dru, had his family. He couldn't wait to get his hands on them!
His mind slowly worked its way back to the latest conversation he'd had with Raziel. True, they were both Vampires, but other than that, they had nothing in common. Raziel hated humans even more than he had and he couldn't blame the guy for what he had suffered in his past, but why Raziel had to look at him the way he did every time they had reason to talk, Spike couldn't figure out and he'd rather not dwell on it. Raziel had reluctantly agreed to patrol the ship on guard while the others were eating and while he himself was at the wheel.
He was not even sure why Raziel had joined them at the last port, but he knew it had something to do with the Vamp's agenda. The one time he had asked him about it, Raziel had just glared at him. If Raziel had had the same outward demeanor with Kyna, Spike would have gone beyond the call of duty and kicked his butt soundly off the ship, but Raziel had never given them one moment's problem.
Spike put it down to maybe the guy didn't like anybody but didn't have a choice, because he needed to be some place and a way to get there. Their ship being the only mode of transportation at the time, he had taken it. He now looked up towards the crow's nest and could barely make out Raziel's form. One minute he was there, and the next minute Spike looked up, and Raziel was gone. Spike wasn't worried. He figured Raziel could handle whatever it was. He turned his attention back to guiding the ship.
Raziel made his way slowly toward a woman in a black dress he could see. This must be one of the ones who needed the blood, he thought. He approached her and, in a deep voice, called out, "Ma'am?"
Delvira did not look back when the man called to her. She had been spoken to by several others on their way to the galley and called the same automatic response that she had to the rest. "Go ahead. I'm not hungry."
"Perhaps you're hungry for this?" he asked as he came to a stand still behind her. He held the blood out to her.
Delvira turned and was surprised to find the creature standing before her holding out a bottle of blood. She had not sensed his nature earlier as her thoughts had been split between her husband, her sister, and their friends, but now she realized that he was, beyond any shadow of a doubt, a fellow Vampire. Her black orbs eyed him suspiciously. How did he know she was in need of drink? "What do I owe you?"
"Nothing, and if you need more, I have more. I also have some for . . . another Vampiress? Do you know of one?"
She nodded and allowed her surprise to register on her pale face. "My sister, Elvira. Thank you, . . . ?"
He held the second bottle out to her. "You are welcome. If I can be of service, you have but to ask." He made a low bow to her.
Delvira nodded, accepting the fact that he would not grant her his name without question. She gratefully took the bottles.
"My name is Raziel. You have but to call my name. I will hear you, and I will come."
"I am Delvira," she told him, "and again, I thank you, Raziel."
He gave her another small bow before backing up and leaving silently.
Delvira turned around, uncapped the first bottle, and took a long swig of the blood. Its delicious taste rushed down her throat even as she wondered about the mysterious man she'd just met. Had he simply sensed that she was a Vampiress and needed blood, or had some one told him? She also could not help wondering how he had lost his flesh. She'd seen countless creatures before, but he was the first she'd met who seemed completely devoid of his own flesh.
Her mind turned back to Elvira. She hoped her sister had calmed down at least to the point that she was no longer angry with her. Grabbing a rope, Delvira swung over to the Frolicking Monkey. She barely noticed the monkey that was on the wheel as she made her way toward her twin.
Jack had almost fallen over Hook when he and Hank had gone toward the galley. Reaching down, he had pulled Hook to his feet and had the man walking before he was fully awake. "Be damned and be deviled!" Hook told Jack. "Just let me lay in my own swill! My family be dead, and I don't care to live without them!"
Jack shook his head. "They're not dead yet, James, and if the Goddess be willing, they won't die. We'll be in time to save them. As much as I don't wanna eat, I've got to do it for the same reason that you do -- to keep our strength up -- and you don't need any more of what you've been drinking." The smell of rum had permeated Jack's nose to the point that he realized what James had been drinking. "As much as I'd like to climb into one of those bottles," he told James, who regarded him with bleary eyes, "it won't help our people if we do. I'm swearing off of the stuff; the only thing I want to drink right now is one of Crystal's frosty drinks."
James looked at him as though he had taken leave of his senses. "Do my ears deceive me, or did I just hear that the great Jack Sparrow does not want rum but wants a frosty drink? Get your balls about you, man! I know they've got your man, but the day you start living on frosty drinks and give up rum is not a day I care to see!"
Beast, who walked behind the two humans, looked puzzledly from one to the other. First they had began talking about some sort of frosty drink, and now Jack's woman had suddenly transformed into a man? He scratched his head in confusion but remained silent, hoping to garner more information should they have forgotten about him.
"We've got to help each other, James," Jack told him. "It's just so damn hard knowing what they could be going through now and not being able to be there to prevent it, but we'll make the bitches pay if we can only find them!" He had been wondering for quite a while how they knew where they were going since he had not been able to supply them with coordinates as to the direction the others had been taken in.
Upon approaching the table, Jack saw the Captain, Kyna Chan, at the head with an empty seat next to her. He deposited James in a seat and took the seat next to Kyna. "Captain, I have a question." He looked directly into her eyes.
Kyna's almond eyes calmly returned Jack's gaze. "Speak."
"How did you know which direction to head? I have been puzzling this since we came aboard. I was unable to give you coordinates, so how did you garner which direction to go?"
"An old friend told me," Kyna answered Jack with a dispirited smile.
"Do I know this old friend?" he inquired.
"I believe," she replied, "given what Charles told me about his connections with you and your people that you have recently learned of him. His name is Charles Xavier."
"What do you know of him? Isn't he the bald wizard in the wheelchair? And what do you know of his seemingly best friend, Albus Dumbledore? Are they to be trusted?"
Kyna's eyes lifted from her plate to again look into Jack's eyes. "I would trust them, both or alone, with my life, even with William's."
Upon hearing that, Jack realized just how much Kyna trusted the two old men. "I made Albus' acquaintance today, and he told a very interesting tale." Jack paused in his conversation as he heard a familiar voice clearing his throat. He looked up to see Andrew holding the pot of jambalaya. He grinned at Andrew. "Good to see you, Andrew."
"Captain Sparrow," Andrew said to Jack, "you were a few minutes late to dinner, and the jambalaya was already making its way around the table. I didn't want you to miss out, so I brought the pot so you could get some."
"Thanks, Andrew." Jack smiled and accepted the pot. He took an extra big helping and put it on his plate before returning the pot to Andrew. He turned his eyes toward Kyna's plate to see that she was discreetly playing with her food.
Andrew carried the pot and returned to his seat.
James reached out and dragged the pot to him by his hook. He could hardly wait to taste the jambalaya as it smelled delicious. He put an extra big helping on his plate and then plowed right in. In seconds, however, he was grabbing for bread.
Jack took a bite of the food. Even though it smelled good, it was hotter than anything he'd ever bitten before! He made a funny face and then looked around for bread only to find Kyna offering him a piece. He accepted it gratefully and bit a chunk. He didn't think he could eat this stuff if he had to and began to look around for something he could feed it to!
"Gambit," another familiar voice spoke up, "the jambalaya's good, but did you have to skimp on the seasoning?" Many wide eyes turned toward the Mexican who grinned sheepishly in response.
How could he eat the stuff, Jack wondered, and then say it wasn't hot enough! He felt like his whole body was in flames! If they could figure out a way to bottle this stuff, they could wipe the enemy out without ever getting face to face with them!
Kyna watched Jack with interest. The poor man seemed as unable to eat this mess as she had been when LeBeau had first signed on. She cleared her throat quietly, her eyes trained on Jack's face.
Jack glanced at Kyna. What was she trying to tell him? He watched her intently to see what message she was trying to convey.
Once she had Jack's attention, Kyna's gaze swiftly checked the crew. Not a single person was looking their way, and her hands moved so rapidly that any one watching would have missed her action in a single blink as she took her plate under the table and then brought it back up empty.
Jack glanced under the table and saw Frisket eagerly gulping the food down. He looked around the table and, as soon as he saw that no one was looking at him, down went his food to Frisket as well. He could hear the dog's tail thumping. "Very good meal, LeBeau!" Jack called to him. He didn't want to piss the cook off. There was no telling how many more meals he would have to suffer, and if he pissed the cook off, he was sure LeBeau could cook even worse! However, he could never manage better! His mouth watered for even one of Piper's barbecups.
Kyna smiled pleasantly as she daintily dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "Your jambalaya simply keeps improving, Remy. Thank you for such a fine dinner."
LeBeau grinned from ear to ear. He loved hearing praises of his wonderful cooking! "You wan' some more?"
"No thank you," Kyna was quick to answer him. "Captain Sparrow and I need to go discuss the coming battle." She slid her chair back and stood. "Jack?"
Jack patted his tummy. "No thanks, LeBeau. I'm . . . I'm full, and Captain Chan and I really must discuss business." He, too, pushed his chair away and stood, offering his arm to Kyna. "Lead on, fair lady."
Kyna took Jack's arm as they walked out together, but as soon as they had left the galley behind, she unhooked from him. "Are you ready for some real food now?" she whispered.
"I'm starving!" he told her. "But where are we gonna get something else to eat, and how do you poor people manage to live on LeBeau's cooking? Does he make everything that hot?"
"Nearly," Kyna admitted, "but I could ask you the same about your cooks. Thank Gods for Fonzie!" As they reached the deck, she headed for the railing.
Following behind her, Jack told her, "My old cooks almost killed us, but my new cook . . . She cooks like an angel! I've been lucky enough to eat her cooking twice. I also have another new cook, but I don't know how good he's going to be. He's Chinese."
Kyna's eyes darted back to Jack even as she grabbed a rope. "You lucky man! If you've never tasted Chinese cooking . . . " She sighed in remembrance of the heavenly taste. "You're in for a real treat!"
"I've only had Chinese once," Jack told her as he, too, grabbed a rope, "and the cook was so damn good I almost bought his services!"
Kyna did not doubt Jack's words one bit. After all, she would pay nearly everything she had saved for a Chinese cook. She checked to make sure the rope was secure, then swung over.
Jack followed her and wondered if he'd ever get to sample Chong's true cooking. Jack's feet had barely touched down on the Frolicking Monkey when he felt something rubbing against his ankles. He looked down in the near-dark light and realized it was the same cat he had seen at the house earlier in the day. "Hey, cat," he called down even as he leaned forward and stroked the cat on the head. "Wondered what happened to you."
The cat began to give forth a series of meows as though he was actually trying to answer Jack. Jack reached down, picked the cat up, and put him on his shoulder as he had seen Bishop toting his cat earlier. "Behave yourself, and you might get something good to eat." The cat immediately rubbed up against Jack's head and settled down. "New crew member," Jack explained to Kyna. "Met him back at the house, and he did what he could to get me rescued."
"How'd you come by him?" Kyna asked with interest. Kat had often tried to get her to take one of their rescued animals as a pet, but she had always declined for, even after all these years, she was still learning to open up.
"He found me. I was trapped under a timber of the house, and everybody was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. He went for help but never showed back up. I was afraid he might have gotten burned up in the house."
Kyna nodded as she opened the door to the galley. She nodded to Fonzie as he looked up with an expecting smile.
Fonz was quick to jump to his feet. "It's good to see both of you, Captains! I'll just fetch two plates for you."
Jack's hand went immediately to where his sword would be hanging. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" he yelled at some one seated at the table.
The man at the table looked up through startled blue eyes. He took one look at the man who yelled at him and sighed. "Oh dear."
"Jack Sparrow, stand down this instant! I do not know what blood has been spilled between the two of you, but Groo is a friend!"
"Friend? Hell! He tried to steal the Princess! I need a sword!" He looked at Kyna and found a sword pointed at him. "What the Hell's this, Kyna!"
"I told you, Jack, you will stand down. I realize now that you and your men were the Pirates that his Princess sailed away with, but he did not truly mean you harm. He . . . " She sighed. "He loves her, Jack. She just doesn't love him. He thought he was doing what was best for her until her Father attempted to have him taken out."
Jack was like a blind man making his way to the table. The cat, who had hissed when Jack had yelled, had every hair standing straight out, and Jack's right hand reached up to stroke and comfort the cat. "The King tried to take you out, Groo? Didn't you tell him that it was Pirates who stole the Princess, or did you tell him that you failed in your duty?" Jack figured it was the latter as Groo seemed to be that type.
Kyna sheathed her sword, exchanged an apologetic nod with an understanding one from Kat, and took the seat on the redhead's left side. Ace was already sitting on Kat's right. Kyna's almond eyes turned back to the two men, and she remained ready to reach for her sword again if need be.
"The King . . . surprised me," Groo attempted to explain, carefully choosing his words. "He found me in a port on my journey back to our kingdom. He was . . . not alone. I told him the entire truth of what had happened, and he told me that I was to no longer be the head of the guards going after the Princess. He had . . . He had chosen another who . . . " Groo shook his head, and his blue eyes that had returned to his plate in a downcast expression flashed with anger. "Damn it! The fact is I was a fool!" He shrugged Kyna's hand off of his shoulder.
"I am sorry, Captain Sparrow, that we had the encounter before in the matter that we did, but I was attempting to do the King's bidding because I believed in him and thought he wished his daughter back simply because he loved her! I knew the man that he had chosen, however, and that man is the most evil," he declared through gritted teeth, "being who I have ever met! He wished that . . . thing to deliver his daughter to him -- alive or dead!"
"We will save her, Groo," Kyna gently told the man before her gaze turned back to Jack. "The King knew that Groo would not agree to his plan, and while the three of them had been having a discussion, he had offered Groo a drink. It was poison. When William met Groo, he was dying. Luckily, Phong was able to remove the poison from Groo's system, but the man who the King had chosen -- a Satanic Priest I have known of for many cen -- years -- attacked us before we could leave port. Judson nearly staked William, and indeed he would have managed if Groo had not been near enough to push him out of the way and take the blow himself."
"Judson?" Jack asked. "I have heard that name before. Isn't he the black-hearted Priest who wiped out the town of Porta, leaving not even a chicken alive?"
Kyna nodded. "Indeed he did, and . . . He is one of those who took your people. I had not known until now that it was because of the Princess."
Jack thought for a moment. "How did you find out Judson was involved?"
"Charles was able to give me some of the names."
"Give me some of the names. I thought Anamaria was behind the whole thing, and I can't wait to get my hands on the bitch! Who else are we dealing with?" A memory popped into his mind unbidden of Faith telling about the Priest who had physically and sexually abused her as a child. He wondered if it was the same lowlife.
"I . . . am sorry, Jack. I should have told you earlier, but after Charles left, I locked myself in my cabin and attempted to get a bead on the other ships." She shook her head sadly. "Alas, it was to no avail." She took another bite of baked beans. "First of all, Anamaria is only one of the four main figures we are dealing with here."
Jack broke in before she could say anything else. "Ships? I know the Harlot was involved. Who else is involved?" His eyes blazed angry sparks.
"The Saucy Wench."
The name brought a cold chill to Jack's heart as he realized it was the same name of the ship that Faith had been a member of before. At that moment, he realized that Judson was undoubtedly the same Priest. He held a small piece of chicken up to the cat resting quietly on his shoulder without even realizing it.
"In addition to the Captains of those ships, Anamaria and Callisto, there is also Judson and . . . " She gravely swallowed a bite of potato. " . . . one I believe we have both tackled in the past and who continues to return."
Kat looked up from her vegetarian plate. What could worry Kyna so as she now saw the emotions flickering in her old friend's eyes?
"Helvira!" Jack spat out the name, and again the cat hissed. "But I took that bitch's heart not more than a week ago! I threw it into the Bog of Eternal Stench! It should still be there!"
"I once sliced her head clean off of her shoulders, Jack. She came back that time just as she has this time. There can be no mistaking her." Kyna sadly shook her head again. "Not only did Charles give me her name himself, but Doyle's visions also included her." Kyna's haunted eyes met Jack's gaze. "Among others, she has your Brendan."
Jack pushed his plate back. He had not touched the food except to give the cat a piece. His face had gone deathly white. "Not only does she have Brendan, but she'll have my Father, as well! I know who's got Will, and I'm going to make her pay for everything that she's done to him and Helvira for everything she's done to them! Tell me, Kyna. What else do I need to know that's going on?"
"I will," Kyna assured him, pointing her fork at him, "but you must eat, Jack. You will need your strength."
"My anger will sustain me," Jack was quick to assure her, "and I think if I ate, it would only come back up. I am sick to my stomach from the mere thought that that bitch has those two! She knows what they mean to me, and she will do everything she can to hurt them! Death is not something she seeks for any of her enemies! You know how badly she hurt Brendan the first time she had him!"
He had gotten to his feet and began to pace the floor. "Groo, you are more than welcome to fight with us, but you need to know what you're facing. It's not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill enemies. They're Pirates, true enough, but they are the most evil bitches and Demons you'd ever want to encounter and they are out for one thing: to cause pain so great that the person being inflicted upon cries for death that does not come! They have your Princess, and you need to concentrate on getting her." He sat back down at the table but did not touch the food.
Groo's gaze met Jack's evenly. "I know well of the being who has her, Jack, but it does not matter." He shook his head gravely, his long, black hair sliding against his muscular shoulders. "If it were the Devil himself who held her, I would run into Hell and fight whatever I must, even Lucifer himself, to free the Princess. If I should lose my life in the process, it would not matter for the only thing that matters is her safety."
"Truce?" Jack asked, looking at him and offering his hand.
"Truce," Groo agreed with a nod as he took the Pirate Captain's hand. "But Kyna is right. We must all eat."
Jack played with his food but forced himself to eat, because he knew that they were right. He would need his strength. Despite his depression, he realized that the food was good and turned to look at Fonz. "Thank you, Fonz. Your cooking is good."
Fonz grinned. "Thank you for the kind words, Captain Sparrow. I pray that we are all able to do our utmost and destroy our enemies." He returned his own eyes to his plate.
Though Delvira had slowed her pace as she'd headed for Elvira due to her nervousness of her sister's reaction to her, she was almost upon her when a howl suddenly ripped from Elvira's lungs and her sister fell to the deck, writhing, howling, and screaming in pain. Delvira dropped the two bottles of blood without a further thought to them and raced for her sister. "ELVIRA!"
Elvira did not even hear Delvira's voice as her skin ripped and her bones twisted and contorted into new forms. Delvira slowed to a stop as her black eyes took in her twin's changing body. "Oh. My. GODS!" She had completely forgotten that Wolf had bitten Elvira!
Jack had jumped to his feet and raced for the door at the first sign of screaming and howling on the deck. What the Hell was happening now! What he saw on the deck brought him to a screeching halt as he stared at the two scantily-clad Vampiresses in amazement. What the Hell was going on! Had something attacked Elvira! "DELVIRA, GET AWAY FROM HER! WHAT'S GOING ON!"
"Why in the Hell did ye nae tell me ye brought a Werewolf on here, Sparrow!" Kat demanded even as she and Kyna rushed out alongside Jack.
Kyna did not pause where the others had, however, but kept running, heading toward her own ship.
Jack had finally reached Delvira and pulled her away from Elvira. He watched as Elvira writhed in agony, not knowing what to do to help. "I didn't know I had a Werewolf!" Jack called back to Kat, and then his eyes caught Kyna running from the scene. He never thought he'd live to see the day that Kyna Chan ran from a battle yet that seemed to be what she was doing at the very moment!
The dark was split by a light being held aloft from Destiny's Ghost, and he could see the eyes looking their way. My cane! he thought for a moment. If I only I had my cane! We're fixing to be facing a Werewolf, and we don't have any kind of protection against her! "Get out of here, Delvira!" If any one had to face the Werewolf, it would be him. It was his fault for not realizing the fact that the full moon might cause problems for Elvira, but the thought had not even crossed his mind for one second that Wolf might have bit her.
Jack's words struck the wrong chord with Delvira, and she turned on him, snatching away from his grasp, even as she heard Kyna yelling at some one called William to get some sort of amulet. Her black eyes were lit by the lightning that was beginning to streak through the dark sky over their heads, and her words were hisses from around her glistening fangs. "She's my sister, Sparrow! I'll deal with her!"
"How," Jack asked her, "are you going to be able to deal with her without hurting her? I know how you two are. You fight with each other, but you still love each other. If you hurt her, Delvira, you'll blame yourself for that, and if she hurts you while in this new form, she'll never forgive herself!"
Delvira didn't have the answer for the question that Jack asked, but she knew the situation would be worsened if he were the one to fight her sister. "If you hurt her, I'll end up ripping your throat out! Let me deal with her!" It was then that she heard a click. Her black eyes peered toward the sound, and she saw a black man leveling a gun right at her sister.
"Hold up, Bishop!" Jack called at him. "She's not an enemy but family!"
Kat nodded in agreement with Jack's words even as Elvira's change completed. "Keep it handy. If we have tae, we have tae, but hopefully, there'll be another way." Fire sparked from her own fists even as Delvira leapt onto her sister, the Werewolf.
Spike left the wheel and ran as fast as he'd ever ran straight to the cabin that he shared with Kyna. He reached the loose board under their bed and pulled it straight out of the floor, his hands snaking quickly down into its cavity and coming back with a ruby red necklace. Clutching it tightly in his hand, he ran back to the deck. "How do we get it on her?" he asked Kyna.
Willow's sad eyes recognized the amulet and spoke, "I can help. We have to get over there, and I will do my best to control her mind while you put it on her." She grabbed one of the ropes and sailed over to the Frolicking Monkey. She heard Spike land behind her, and then they began to move in on the vicious Werewolf.
"Willow!" Kennedy called, but it was too late. The brunette did not like the idea of her woman facing off against a Werewolf at all, and she yelled to Trina to keep Joxer away from the railing even as she raced after the others.
Kyna had landed on the Frolicking Monkey's deck at the same time as William, but she was the one to call out to Delvira. "DELVIRA, I KNOW IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME, MY FRIEND, BUT I NEED YOU TO TRUST ME ON THIS! THIS AMULET WILL CONTROL THE WOLF!"
Delvira had heard Kyna's words even as she'd been fighting with the Werewolf. Both were cut and bleeding in several places, and Elvira's claws again managed to gain the flesh of her sister's face. "YOU WANT ME TO TRY TO GRAB HOLD OF HER OR WHAT?"
"NO," Kyna called back over the Werewolf's roars and growls. "SPIKE AND WILLOW WILL HANDLE HER!"
Delvira knew Spike to be Kyna's beloved, but she had no clue who Willow was. It did not matter, however, for she trusted the Japanese woman with her afterlife. After all, Kyna had been one of her teachers many centuries ago.
Willow closed her eyes and concentrated on Elvira's mind. She found it very easy to access but did not like the feelings of the wolf as she was now picking up on it, as well. She concentrated even deeper and froze Elvira's wolf.
Spike, holding tightly to the amulet, slipped up behind Elvira and dropped it over her neck. He then sprinted away back to Kyna's side and looked back anxiously to see what would now happen.
Delvira slid away from her sister but remained ready to charge back into battle should the amulet, for whatever reason, not work.
Willow thought to Elvira, You can fight this now, Elvira. Just relax, and let the amulet do its work. Just relax . . . Her words trailed off slowly, and she opened her eyes, hoping that the plan would work.
Elvira's confusion had grown even more when she'd heard another person's voice within her mind. The wolf melted away slowly, her bones returning to their natural shape and the fur disappearing and leaving behind bare, pale skin.
Jack watched as Elvira regained her own shape and sighed with relief. He was standing with his back against the ship's railing but did not try to move forward. He was extremely relieved that the amulet was working and wondered where one might be obtained. He would like to have one to present to Brendan after he rescued him. He'd have to talk to Kyna about it later.
Kat's fire sank back into the flesh of her uncurled fists, and she heard the click of Bishop's gun as he reholstered his weapon. She shrugged out of her trench coat and tossed it to Delvira.
Even as Delvira caught Kat's coat, Elvira's weak voice shook with questions. "What . . . What happened?"
Delvira moved forward and wrapped her twin in the coat. "Remember Wolf bit you?"
Elvira nodded and felt rain drops on her head even as she looked up at the sky. "But it's not night yet."
Jack moved and felt something roll against his foot even as he felt the raindrops grow harder. He reached down, felt something furry, and realized that the cat had fallen off in all the excitement. He picked him up and put him back on his shoulder.
Raziel had been watching from the crow's nest, not wanting to get involved but not wanting to turn his face away either. He went to the sleeping quarters and opened his chest that rested at the end of his cot. Taking two more bottles out, he swung over to the Frolicking Monkey and waited for Delvira to recognize him.
Delvira heard some one new approach but was too concerned in what had happened to her twin to pay Raziel any attention. "Elvira, what's . . . What's the last thing you remember?"
"You mean, before the pain?" At Delvira's nod, Elvira recalled aloud, "I was . . . I was thinking about Wolf and . . . and what Helvira was . . . was probably doing to him and . . . and I just felt this pain. It was worse than anything I've ever felt before, Delvira! It felt like I was on fire!"
Kyna's quiet voice interrupted the sisters. "Most Werewolves have a fear of fire. Does Wolf?"
"Wolf definitely has a fear of fire," Jack was quick to tell the others. "He almost died in a fire once. Why?"
Kyna paused, looking at each of the gathered, expecting faces before speaking. They would have to learn more of what was happening sooner or later. What difference did it make if it happened now or later? She had one more question to ask Elvira before she could answer them for certain, however. "Elvira, I know Wolf bit you, but do you . . . Do you love him?"
Elvira's black eyes met Kyna's gaze. "I do," she admitted.
Kyna nodded. "Mated Werewolves often pick up on each other. What most likely happened is that Elvira . . . sensed Wolf's pain."
"So you're saying . . . ?" Elvira prompted, confusion creasing her pale brow.
"You already know that your sister will be torturing him, Elvira. If one of Wolf's greatest fears is fire . . . "
Elvira's skin turned an even paler shade as Kyna's words trailed off. "You're saying I sensed that bitch burning him!"
"Don't think about it." Jack reached out and touched Elvira, expecting her to fall out at any moment. "Don't dwell on it. We'll pay her back for everything that she's done to him. Savor the moment. Store it up, and then you'll be able to pay her back in spades."
Inside, his own heart was grieving and full of fear that if the bitch had burned Wolf, she had probably burned the rest of them. Part of him wished that he could feel what was happening to his family stronger, but part of him was glad that he couldn't. He slipped his arms more fully around Elvira and then hugged Delvira, as well, expecting her to attack him at any moment for presuming to hug them.
Delvira's black eyes turned to meet Jack's gaze. "I'm . . . sorry about snapping at you earlier, Jack, but you just don't get in between sisters."
"I understand," Jack told them, "but it was only out of concern for the both of you." He hugged them again.
Kyna gave the trio a moment before clearing her throat. "We do not know how much time we have before we meet up with the enemy, and we need to get a move on. Jack, Kat, I suggest you bring your crews -- two-legged crew members -- over to Destiny's Ghost so that Jack can tell us about his crew and meet our new members, as well."
Raziel looked at Delvira and finally spoke. "I have something for you, Delvira." He held the two bottles out to her.
Delvira nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, Raziel." She took one bottle but passed the second to Elvira.
Elvira looked up at the stranger and had to remind herself not to freak at his appearance. "Thank you," she spoke simply before uncapping the lid and drinking heartily.
"You are both welcome," he replied and then turned and headed back over to Destiny's Ghost.
Willow had not said anything after breaking contact with Elvira, but she hugged herself and had to swipe away at tears that came to her eyes at the thought that the amulet did work and that, if they'd only been able to reach Oz in time, they could have saved him. She felt a pair of arms slide around her and realized that it was Kennedy.
Kennedy knew why Willow was crying. She knew she missed the lovers she had had before her, and though Ken was usually jealous of both Oz and Tara, she was far more concerned with Willow. She did not speak but pressed a gentle kiss to her red hair.
