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Chapter 91 – Death's last laugh.

Makatza hummed to herself as she wanders around the Hawke estate. She was waiting for Fenris and Garrett to get back from whatever mission they were on. The days were getting colder and so she had dressed in one of her skirts and thick leggings. Boots on when she was outside, a thick blouse and corset kept her warm. Orana had busied herself in the kitchen, trying to teach Sandal to bake bread. The explosions of flour that occasionally appeared out the door gave Makatza some idea as to what was going on. Elgon was lying on top of Bubbles; both in front of the fire. Looking through a book of wedding dress samples that she had been given by Leandra, she sat in the study, having bounced off a door frame for the numerous time. She really wasn't interested in all the ''modern'' dresses that were being displayed. It reminded her of her previous wedding and she was becoming rather put off by the idea. She was tempted to simply scrap all the whole Kirkwall noble standards and design her own dress. Something simple, and sweet that she knew Fenris would like as much as she did. It had become early evening, even more surprising when there was a knock at the door. Makatza closed the book and went to the door, reassuring Bohdan in the process that she was perfectly capable of answering it. She was a little wary but forced a smile on her face as the door swung open.

'Oh, Gamlen,' she says, her smile becoming genuine. She had meet him a couple of times. A little sour, but he was alright deep down and in small doses. 'Good evening, come in. What do you need?' She asks as she moves from the door, waving a hand at Bubble and Elgon who lifted their heads in question.

'Yes, yes, good evening,' he says brushing away her questions. 'Makitna-'

'Makatza,' she corrected, the smile waning a little. She knew that he didn't really like her. Her sudden appearance and the fact that she was so casually accepted into the family. Also her new wealth and status.

'Well, whatever. Tell me. Where is Leandra?' He asks impatiently. 'She didn't turn up for our weekly visit. I'm concerned. She normally sends word if she can't make it,' he sighs, he fiddles with his hands, clearly distressed. Makatza tilted her head.

'I'm sorry, I've not seen her. I've been here almost all day,' she says a little concerned. That's not like Leandra to go wandering off and not tell anyone as to where. 'Bohdan!' She calls as she walks over to the kitchen doorway. 'Have you seen Leandra today?' She asks.

'No messere. I've not seen her all day- No Sandal. Please, put the salamanders away,' he says distracted. Makatza smiles to herself at his reply and turns to Gamlen. He's running his hands through his hair and pacing in front of the fire. Bubble and Elgon had picked up on the distress of the situation and were now sitting up, watching him. Makatza frowned. She didn't like the idea that Leandra was, technically missing.

'Hmm. I don't like this. I'm going to take Elgon and go looking for her,' Makatza says simply.

'Yes, I'm going to go back, maybe I missed her,' Gamlen nods.

'Bohdan! Stay here in case Leandra comes home,' Makatza says through to the kitchen. She gets a verbal confirmation before she hears, and sees another boom of flour. Shaking her head she watches as Gamlen leaves. She pulls on her boots, buckling them up high and grabs her cape. Her blades were still in her old room and with a moments serious thought she wanders up and gets them. Better safe than sorry. She places them at the base of her back, the reassuring weight. She calls Elgon to her side and walks out the door.

…

'Where could she be?' Makatza asks Elgon as they walk down the large steps into Lowtown. 'This is ridiculous. There's no way she could have just go missing,' she sighs. Elgon licks her palm in reply. She smiles a little softly and continues to walk, her footsteps were heavy with worry. 'A noblewoman can't just vanish in the middle of the damn day!' She says exasperated.

'You looking for the posh woman?' A small lad says from the bottom of the stairs. 'There was this bloke asking me about her. But he had nuffin on him. I saw a posh woman,' he says wiping a grubby hand over his nose. Elgon sniffs him as they get close, but doesn't do anything else. Makatza crouches in front of him.

'Aye, that's right. A lady with long hair, noble cut clothing,' she smiles. 'About my height. Have you seen her?'

'Maybe I have. Maybe I haven't,' he says coyly. Elgon begins to growl and the lad moves away. 'Ere. I don't want trouble. Don't set your mutt on me,' he says worried.

'No it's okay,' Makatza replies, calming Elgon down. 'Listen, I'm a noble in the city. Do you know the Bavent Estate? The one that's had a lot of work done to it lately? Well that's an orphanage now. You can go there and have a bed and food,' she smiles. She tries to keep a calm composure, but inside she's worrying deeply.

'Really? Fanks!' He says as he he's about leave. Makatza takes his hand and stops him, he looks at Elgon worried but Makatza squeezes his hand reassuringly. Elgon sits and lets his tongue lollop out as he pants, playing the dumb dog as it were. The lad relaxes a little and looks back at Makatza.

'Wait, tell me about this woman,' she reminds him.

'Oh yeah. Well there was this woman, she looked like you described. An then a man came stumbling out the alley. Covered in blood. He fell on the floor,' he says pointing to a patch of cobbles. 'Then the woman went over and helped him up. He asked her to help him and she agreed,' he said. 'That's it lady. That's all I know.'

'Thank you,' Makatza said looking at Elgon who automatically went over to the cobbles and picked up Leandra's scent. 'Go to the estate and say that Lady Katza sent you. Talk to Varania, a red haired elf,' she says to him. He nods smiling happily and runs off. She goes over to Elgon. 'Find anything?' She asks. He nods and begins to walk, his nose pressed to the ground. The trepidation increases in her stomach and her heart thumps painfully, the idea that Leandra was kidnapped was now becoming a serious possibility. Having been kidnapped herself, Makatza worried for her stepmother's safety with every growing second.

…

Okay. This is not good. I'm following a trail of blood. I've shifted into wolf to follow Elgon easier. I sniff the ground and whine lightly. The blood isn't male, it's female, but it's not Leandra's either. That doesn't bode well. Elgon barks at me. There's a door. We've been lead to a foundry. Great. I can't deny the ever growing fear in my stomach. I feel almost sick with the worry. Maker I hope I'm doing the right thing. I need to send a message to Garrett and Bohdan. I tell Elgon to run to the estate and tell Bubble, if they're home, lead them here. He's reluctant to leave but I insist. I feel like everything is moving at twice the speed, suddenly I'm here, suddenly I'm there. I can barely comprehend it.

I shift back into human and open the door. Some things are better handled with fingers, not paws. I walk into the main bit of the foundry. I can sense magic here, growing stronger. A link to the fade. It's not fully formed yet. I'm guessing it's going to be an opening for demons. Which means, blood magic. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I can't handle demons and shit on my own, I've got to move quickly before those bastards start popping up out the wood work. I'll admit I'm glad I brought my blades. Without any more hesitation I shift back into wolf and run through the foundry, following the scent of blood and fear. It leads me to a trap door which I pull open once I've shifted. The scent of rotting flesh and blood simply gets stronger making my stomach turn. Leandra, please be okay. I'm coming. The feeling of the fade gets more empowering the deeper under the foundry I travel. I find research- A woman! I run over.

'Leandra!' I say turning the woman over. It's not her. 'Oh maker.' I say feeling thankful and guilty for feeling so. She looks similar. I blanch as I see the state of her body, she's been mutilated, I feel the bile rise in my throat. This is the blood I've been smelling. If this has happened to this woman, what could have happened to Leandra? I close her eyes and grab a blanket covering her body. At least she's not in any pain now. I wipe my eyes and hold my hand over my mouth, I don't know if I can take much more of sights like this. Brushing a strand of hair over my ear I pull myself together. Forcing myself to swallow the disgusting taste in my mouth, I continue onwards, picking up a note that caught my eye. From someone called 'O.' As if that wasn't suspicious enough, apparently this 'O' has been helping with his research. Well, I'll find him and throttle him. Somehow I'll make him see what I've just had to witness, the bastard.

I drop the paper and shift into wolf, feeling the sticky, bloody grains of sand stick between my pads. I need to find Leandra as soon as possible. My heart is thundering, I can barely hear anything else. Skidding down another set of stairs, I'm halted in my path as I smell blood again. But this time it's Leandra's. I look around and see a man standing at a couple of tables, his hands surrounded in a thick red oily looking mist, shrouded with black. I whimper involuntarily, moving from paw to paw. My whining is halted as I see him raise a large knife and bring it down sharply. I hear the sickening tear of sinews, the bubble of blood, a loud crack as he hits bone and cartilage. Watching in frozen fear as the thick red liquid trickles off the table as he raises the now stained blade up again and bring it down to severe the head off. My eyes widen, I think I've just realised what's going on. I howl in both panic and fear, I don't mean to, I just can't control myself. He doesn't move or make any reaction to me, he doesn't know, or doesn't care that I'm here, and continues to do whatever it is he's doing. I'm frozen to the spot. He lifts the head and places it against the other body, which I've realised, doesn't have a head. I feel weak and my legs give out as he moves out the way and I catch a glimpse of Leandra's...face...head...

I was too late. I... watched as he removed her head... the body which was still twitching and, the blood that now pooled on the floor... Leandra. Oh maker, Leandra. That was Leandra, my Leandra. He killed Leandra... I feel my eyes prick painfully with tears as my heart clenches in agonizing pain and guilt. Bile makes me retch in my mouth and cough as I try to get to my feet.

My human side too wrapped up in all the emotions, my wolf side takes over. Releasing another furious howl, I feel my eyes shift amber. I run towards the man, my lips pulled back in a snarl. The man turns around and knocks me from my path with a kinetic blast. It knocks me into the wall, feeling the sand pool underneath me, piling up under my fur. The man looks at me in disgust. He's holding a needle with thick black thread, the slim metal point covered in a layer of red.

'There's no point, creature. My work here is complete.' He says in light glee, making the anger deep inside me simply grow, overwhelming my guilt. 'I've brought my love, my love, back to me,' he says softly. His eyes glassed over with madness. My inner wolf doesn't care about what he's saying. She only cares about her family. She snaps and growls, pulling herself to her feet. The man sighs and shakes his head. 'I know not what brought you here. But you are too late. I will not let you take her from me. I found her. Piece by piece, her fingers, her eyes. Her beautiful face,' he says moving over to the table, where he had been working. He caressed her cheek. 'This beautiful face,' he murmurs softly. I can feel the rise of magic in the air, my own mana swirled around my fur, but this magic felt thick and cloying. To my increasing horror the woman jerkily sits up, her mouth hanging slightly agape. Bodily fluids trickled from the recently sutured wound and onto the old wedding dress the corpse was dressed in. It was...Leandra. He'd sewn her head to the body. With my own eyes I can see the dark trails of blood from the wound, he'd used thick, black thread to secure her, the realisation hitting, repeating in my head... I can't even bring myself to say it. I feel my bile rise again. Tears flood my eyes as I make direct eye contact with Leandra. She doesn't even recognise me, there's no life in her gaze. At all. Okay, I'm in wolf form, but she's seen me like this before. Without willing it, I feel my shift coarse over me, the inner trauma too much. I'm on my knees, my legs as weak as lead, I can't pull myself together. The man looks at me in shock. 'You're a woman?' He says softly looking at Leandra. Then back at me. 'The daughter,' he laughs softly, 'Oh, beautiful. She said you would come. She was adamant. Insisted that you would. And here you are, yes. Here you are.'

'G-Get away from her!' I say stuttering, a fresh flow of tears running down my cheeks. My voice breaks as I speak. I pull myself to my feet and shakily take out my blades, my mana glows lightly around me and pulls at my hair. 'You just. Get away from her!' I say with my hands becoming sweaty. 'You're a monster!'

He stands shaking his head. 'You won't take her from me, after all these years. I've finally brought her back,' he says pulling his staff from his back. I feel my fear try to freeze me to the spot. This man is dangerous. I let the wolf free, she'll keep me from listening to the stupid terror filled part of my brain. Her anger and calm determination to tear out his throat keeps me steady. He waves his hands, filled with blood magic and several corpses rise from the earth. Fucking brilliant. My breathing is barely regular as it is. Okay. Concentrate and move. Otherwise. You'll die, I think to myself. Come on Katza, you can do this.

…

'What do you mean she's gone by herself?' Garrett says to Bohdan.

'I'm sorry messere,' he says, dipping his head. 'You know what she's like, my Lord. She wouldn't take no for an answer. She took her wolf and her weapons,' he adds. Fenris shakes his head, his hands clenching in worry. Garrett looks at his friend and gives him a reassuring look.

'This is ridiculous. Why are we waiting here?' Fenris states. 'We need to find them. Both.' He says simply. 'This man is dangerous. Why was she allowed to leave?' He says becoming more angry. Garrett gives him a look.

'Getting angry isn't going to he-'

'Elgon,' Fenris says as the wolf noses his way through the half ajar door. He kneels down and beckons the wolf over. Elgon runs over and bounces around him, pulling at his hair and nipping his hands. Garrett calls Bubble over and the Mabari takes a moment to talk to Elgon. Bubble barks at Garrett and his face pales.

'The foundry. Where we found that hand,' he says simply. Fenris' face pales.

'Makatza. Leandra. They are there. Alone. With a madman. A murderous, insane mage.' Fenris says slowly, his tone becoming more angry and impatient. Elgon barks and pulls at his clothing. 'We are leaving and not wasting another moment more. Who knows what is happening down there.'

…

Ow, ow, ow, ow! Makatza mentally screams. She was hit in the shoulder with an arrow and it bit deep. She let out a pained growl, luckily the wolf was doing most the thinking and keeping her alive and moving. She had a deep gash across her thigh and many bruises from being pushed back or thrown. The mage had surrounded himself in a protective bubble. Makatza pulled the arrow from her shoulder, feeling the blood pour down her clothing. She should have left it in, but she used it to stab a skeleton in the eye that got far too close, the eyeball popped at the pressure and clear liquid sprayed across her face. She winced, not in guilt but disgust. She wished she had brought her bow, to keep them back. Instead she was close range and getting hurt. Not seriously. Not yet. The wolf snarls through her as she brings her blade around and removes the skeleton's head. She ducks, dodging a blow from one of the creatures. There was two, no, now only one blade wielding corpse and three archers. She had already killed about four of the resurrected bodies, but he just kept creating more. Before these ones appeared he had dropped his shield for a moment. Makatza took her chance and threw one of her daggers at him, hitting him in the stomach. Deeply. She had heard the metal tear through his clothing, it made her smile smelling the scent of his blood that involuntarily spilt. Unfortunately, it also distracted her and that's how she got hit by the arrow in the first place. In order to protect herself from the other bolts that were being shot at her, she grabbed the remaining sword holding corpse. It struggled until she cut off it's head easily, the weak cartilage and few sinews that remained not much of a challenge. She held it's rotting flesh close and winced as she felt the bolts thud into it, still managing to scratch her on the other side. She wasn't wearing any armour and the corset she was wearing wasn't particularly thick. She wished she had mastered some time of shielding magic, anything at all. She could create tiny barriers which were currently keeping her from bleeding to death, especially the gash across her thigh. Yet, she hadn't mastered creating more than a couple at a time. It took too much concentration. 'You are a pathetic excuse for a mage. You can't take her from me! She is mine! I brought her back!' He screams at her. The inner wolf kept her going, ignoring all punctures and wounds as she took arrows across the shoulders and one even glanced across her cheek. She held her temporary body shield close and moved forward. She could see out her peripherals that the mage was following her with his eyes. He was attempting to pull her dagger from under his ribs, without causing too much injury.

Makatza pushes the corpse into the archers, scattering them and causing one to drop it's bow. Reanimating corpses may seem like a good idea, but at the end of the day, they're rotting flesh and bone. Unless they've got decent magical momentum and a continuous supply of mana they basically fall apart. Add a rather large dagger to the gut, and it means that your warriors aren't up to much. Lucky for Makatza. He may be drawing energy from blood magic, but you need to have strength to do that and his was fading fast. Makatza uses the advantage of knocking them all back and uses her boot to crush the skull of one as it lands on the ground. She stamps her boot again, feeling the sharp fractured bone tear through the leather sole. She yelps at the wound, holding in her whimper and picks up it's dagger, throwing it into the eye socket of another. Then, finally, as she spins her own dagger in her hand, eyes glowing amber and hair waving around her, as her mana pours forth faster. She approaches the final skeleton and removes it's head without ceremony. She turns around slowly to face the mage. She can see the shambling creature that had Leandra's face, stumbling and jerking behind him. Makatza felt her facial features shift becoming more canine and sharp. Her teeth elongate and she can feel a snout almost form as she snarls and growls, pulling her lips back. Her cheek bones meld and morph under her skin as her law lengthens. The mage's shield falters and fades, as he falls to his knees gasping. Makatza growls deeply, feeling the scent of his blood and fear fill her nostrils.

She drops her dagger as her hands begin to shift, her fingers shortening, her nails becoming thicker, longer and sharper. She advances on him, the deep rage that rolled in her stomach bursting to the surface. She drops to all fours and allows her magic to take over as she leaps the last few feet to him. She half howls as she sinks her jaw into his shoulder. She tore again and again at his skin, feeling the muscle tear under her teeth, the bitter taste of his blood fills her mouth. He screamed and writhed in pain, as he tries to wrap his hand around her snout and pull her from him. In a bid to try and remove her, he reached for the dagger that she had stabbed him with and ran it down the side of her ribs. She yelped in pain and bit her teeth into his throat, feeling her teeth serrate into his skin and the thin layer of muscle. His screams became more gurgled and he weakly struggled. He caught the dagger under her ribs, digging it in with the last of his strength. She cries out again as the inner wolf realises the seriousness of the injury and she pulls away. Makatza whimpers, feeling the warmth of her blood run down her stomach, she limps as she gains distance from him. Her legs begin to shake and buckle as her concentration breaks and her wounds begin to bleed freely, her head swims and she feels dizzy. She doesn't care about the mage behind her, be he dead or alive, just about getting as far away from the carnage as possible.

'Makatza!'

'Mother!'

Makatza forces herself to shift, she can smell to familiar scents, hear their footsteps as they come closer. She moans in pain as she feels Fenris pick her up, catching her as she began to falter. She leant against him heavily, unable to support herself. He was speaking to her, but she couldn't make out the words. True to her earlier prediction, demons start popping up out the woodwork. She coughs, feeling the agonising tear across her ribs, the inner wolf retreating as her adrenaline rush drains away. Garrett runs past them fighting his way to his mother as Fenris pulls her away to the sidelines. Aveline joins the fray with a terrifying scream, her shield smashing into a apparition. Makatza had done a lot of damage to the mage, but not killed him and he was drawing strength from his own split blood. Makatza coughs again feeling blood pool at the corner of her mouth. She's put down next to Anders, Fenris brushes her hair out her eyes and kisses her forehead, having to reluctantly leave her in Anders' care, going into battle to protect Hawke from himself. Her adopted brother took no care to watch out for demon strikes and blows.

'Maker, Makatza,' Anders swears as he begins to heal her. She could hear her blood pounding in her ears as the clash of sword against demon flesh echoed around her. It felt like she heard the screams and cried for an age, but in reality as soon as it started, it finished. Makatza inhaled sharply, her eyes opening slowly and achingly. The peace was shattered by Garrett's cry of despair, pierced her soul sharper than any arrow. She could hear him sobbing over Leandra, she could feel her own tears prick her eyes, but she had cried too much and so her eyes simply burnt. She tries to move and Anders gets this hint, helping her at least sit up. Fenris looks over to see her sitting up and drops his blade as he runs over. He takes her by the shoulders, wiping the blood from her face and moving her fringe, tucking the sticky strands behind her ear. His breathing was quick and harsh and he had been caught across his cheek with a claw, the wound already clotting. Anders moves over to help Garrett and try to heal Leandra.

'Le...Leandra,' Makatza mumbles, her gaze finally catching his. Fenris looked away for a second before locking his eyes with hers. She saw the slight brimming of tears in his gaze and she broke. Her sob overwhelmed any pain she felt, the ache in her heart tripling. She fought and fought but it was all for naught. She fell against his chest and he pulled her close, no words needing to be said as he pulled her into his lap and held her. Makatza felt the pull at her chest and she clutches at his armour and felt his tears drop onto the bare skin at her throat. The agony increased as she heard Garrett's own heartbreaking cries. Fenris wrapped his arm under her legs and the other around her waist as he picked her up, leaving the others behind as he took her from the place that reeked of death and anguish.

Depressing -_- But please drop a review. Only 9 chapters left. Mwahahaaa.