A/N: Hello, hello! Thanks for all the love via reviews, favs, follows and private messages. Just a reminder that if you ever have any questions, feel free to ask them here or on my tumblr.
Chapter 17
"Chimera."
"A camaro?" Bo asked.
If Tamsin wasn't in so much pain, she would have laughed. "Chimera, succubus."
"And what is that exactly? He doesn't look Fae at all." Bo drew out her dagger, knowing it wouldn't help much unless the chimera got closer. Because of his distance from the two women, she guessed he was more of a strike-and-retreat type of fighter.
"Kinda like a shifter, but they can't shift all the way." Tamsin pressed her hand into the wound on her neck with a bit more pressure, pushing down the panic that arose at the realization that the bleeding wasn't stopping. Poison, Tamsin realized.
"What does he shift into?" Bo asked, wearily watching the man who looked to be completely at ease to be fighting two women in the middle of the night.
"He's part snake. He's fast at striking. Hence," Tamsin gestured at her neck. "This."
"Does it hurt?"
"No," Tamsin lied, ripping a large segment of her shirt to tie around her neck to, hopefully, stop the bleeding. She straightened up. "I'll be the distraction since I'm already hurt. When there's an opening, hit 'im and make sure it counts."
"Yes, ma'am."
As they stepped forward, Kenzi shouted for Bo. "BO! We got a freak up in here! And I'm not talking sexy times!"
Bo paused and turned to look at Tamsin, her eyes wide with fear.
Tamsin swallowed, knowing she'd have to let the succubus out of her sight. "Go. Now. If my intuition's right, we've got another chimera on our hands."
Bo nodded, and as she was about to take off, she turned around. She placed a quick, but soft kiss to the valkyrie's lips. "Be careful."
Tamsin grinned. "Aren't I always?"
Then, the other woman took off, and Tamsin was left facing the hooded man alone. "So, wanna tell me why you're here?" She raised her voice, making sure he heard.
The man threw back his hood, a wide smile on his face. It would've been charming had his eyes not been blood red. "We're here for the succubus, of course. And by the looks of it, you've got quite the thing for her," came a British accent, specifically Cockney.
"If you think you're getting anywhere near her, you are sorely mistaken, buddy."
"I mean, we've got you two separated already... And I'm sure she'll just be delighted to see the doctor." He examined his nails, feigning disinterest.
"What doctor?" Tamsin asked, her interest piqued. Bo had never mentioned a doctor.
"Ah? You didn't know? Before you, there was someone else. There's always someone else, don't you know?"
Before Tamsin could respond, April came sprinting out of the building. "Bo told me you need help."
Tamsin huffed. "I don't, but while you're here, I might as well use you. Snake chimera. Fast. Loves a good hit-and-run."
April nodded. "So you want me to hit him when any openings happen while you fight him."
"Yep."
"So sad someone had to join us. I maybe could've told you more. Well, I suppose it'll be more fun when I get to swallow you both whole." The man cracked opened his mouth, moving it side to side as he cracked his jaw.
"Not a chance in hell." April grimaced at the thought.
"Alright. I'm going in." Tamsin cracked her knuckles before breaking into a sprint at the chimera.
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"I hope Tamsin and April are doing okay," Bo said as she dodged another hit by the chimera. From the small horns and the amount of huffing through the man's nose, she assumed he was a bull chimera.
"Bo-Bo, I love you to death, but we've got bigger problems right now. Literally." Kenzi and Bo were employing the same tactic as Tamsin and April. Bo was the bait, and Kenzi would charge in whenever there was an opening. As the human saw an opening, she charged in, swinging her bat to directly into the kneecap of the chimera.
The bull chimera cried out in pain, and, by the crunching noise that resounded throughout the room, they assumed Kenzi had shattered his kneecap.
"ARGHHH!" The man stumbled backwards and away from the women, his eyes glowing a vivid red. A southern drawl left his mouth. "Jesus Christ! I was going to go easy because you're two girls, but if you're gonna go around breaking kneecaps then I'm gonna start snapping arms."
"Oh hell no, he did not just imply women are weak." Kenzi brought her bat back up into the air. "That's it, I'm breaking the other kneecap."
"Woah, woah. Hold on, Kenz. We can't rush into this." Bo touched her friend's arm, her eyes constantly on the chimera in front of them.
"Sheesh," he muttered, staring down at his knee and the various cuts adorning his body. "We were only supposed to retrieve the succubus and bring her to the doctor.."
"Hold on, what was that?" Bo asked, scooting closer with her dagger. "What did you say?"
He sighed. "Well, might as well tell you. Maybe you'll come along willingly. Our Lord told us to bring you, Bo, The Unaligned Succubus, to the human doctor named Lauren Lewis."
"Lauren's alive?!" Kenzi exclaimed.
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Tamsin leaned back, narrowly dodging the swinging fist aimed at her. She took her opportunity, grabbing hold of the chimera's arm. She yanked him towards her, already bringing her elbow forward. She smashed it against his face with as much force as she could muster. After hearing a satisfactory outcry of pain, she jumped away.
April, with her back guarded by the building wall, took aim with her bow and arrow. Within seconds, she aimed and released an arrow, watching it slice through the air. It found its home in the man's thigh, causing another exclamation of pain.
The chimera gripped his nose, growling in anger. From the looks of it, Tamsin crushed his nasal cavity, and blood was gushing from his face. "You bitches! My face!"
"That's what you get, you scaly reptile," Tamsin shot back. She was swaying on her feet slightly, but she was damned if she'd pass out before taking this guy out.
The man yanked out the arrow from his leg furiously, marching forward towards Tamsin as his form shifted into that of a snake-human hybrid.
Tamsin raised up her fists to guard herself, acutely aware in his sudden change of demeanor. She blinked, and suddenly he was right in front of her, bringing a right hook directly into her gut. Tamsin's eyes widened and watered as the air was knocked out of her. She fell to the ground, desperately trying to suck air into her lungs. She clawed at the ground, trying to hold onto something as the pain wracked her body.
"Hah. As if you had a chance, valkyrie. You are nothing outside of the Sisterhood."
Tamsin gritted her teeth now, this time from anger and not pain. Her eyes darkened, and just as she was about to send enough doubt into the chimera to render him comatose, the toe of a work boot met harshly with her ribs, rendering her unable to breathe once more. Stars swam in her vision, and blood rose in her throat.
"Oh, I wonder what it'd be like to keep doing this," he said in wonderment. "If I could just keep knocking the air out of that pretty set of lungs of yours... Would be fun, don't you think?" He nudged at the blonde's curled form, as if expecting an answer.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" April cried out, aiming and taking fire with an arrow as she walked closer and closer to the chimera.
The man smiled, and without looking up, grasped the flying arrow in his fist, snapping it in two. He looked up at the adarna, still smiling. "My, my, that'll get annoying. An adarna, aren't you? Think you could heal my nose for me? Come on, pretty little birdy. Sing for me. When you're done singing, I'll make your death quick and painless... I'll have my fun with the exiled valkyrie afterwards."
April swallowed nervously. She breathed in deeply, releasing her breath slowly to calm down. She pulled another arrow from her quiver, taking aim. She released it, watching as it was simply snatched out of the air by the chimera.
"Look, I could probably catch it with my eyes closed." The man closed his eyes, grinning even wider.
Come on, April, you've got this. She reached back quickly, pulling three arrows from her arrow. She lined them up between her fingers, aligning them with the notches in her bow before releasing with just as much speed as when she had grabbed the arrows.
The chimera expected a single arrow, and he grinned, quickly grabbing an arrow mid-flight. However, one arrow sliced through his ear, and another lodged itself just above his knee. He howled in pain, his eyes snapping open quickly. He ripped out the arrow from his leg. "That's it. I am going to make your death so painful. I'm going to feast upon your internal organs while you're still breathing, little girl."
"Maybe you should focus on other things," April suggested, indicating behind him with her chin.
Before he could turn his head, Tamsin grabbed him in a chokehold, bringing her dagger into and across his throat. A spray of blood tainted the air before hitting the ground in a splatter. Tamsin dropped the chimera, breathing heavily. She was using every last bit of her strength to stay standing, and she couldn't see past five feet ahead of her. She dropped to the ground, turning the chimera so he faced her.
"What do they want with Bo?" Tamsin demanded a little more weakly than she intended.
"Our Lord doesn't need reasons. His will is our will. What He commands, we obey."
"So you don't know."
"To serve is to live life fully."
Tamsin shook him. "Tell me what you know!"
"A new future is ahead of us, and we will be witness to our Lord's glory."
"He sounds... different. Like he's not here anymore," April remarked, confused.
Apart from the chimera's gargling attempts to breathe, there was silence.
"Tamsin?"
Nothing.
April reached out, tapping the blonde's cheek with the back of her hand.
Tamsin slumped onto the ground, unconscious.
"Oh, fuck. Oh, no." April dropped to the ground, disregarding the blissful smile from the dying man next to her. She checked the blonde's pulse and was immediately relieved when she felt it. It was faint, but very much there. She grabbed Tamsin's dropped dagger, cutting away the makeshift bandage at the blonde's throat. There, she found two puncture parks, slowly oozing blood. She gasped.
The chimera smiled even wider, using his last breath to deliver a useless sentence. "No one's... ever... lived through one... of... my bites." With that, the life left his eyes, and his heart ceased to beat.
"We'll see about that," April muttered. She pressed her hands into Tamsin's abdomen, pushing her own life energy into the blonde to survey the damage. After her assessment, she began her song slow and steady. All the while, her eyes glowed an eerie white, and from the inside-out, Tamsin healed. Once she finished, she took her hands away, her eyes returning to normal. The adarna checked the valkyrie's pulse once more. Stronger, but still weak. Why didn't it work? The poison is gone..
April lifted Tamsin onto her shoulders, carrying her as she gradually made her back into the building. "BO! HELP! TAMSIN'S HURT!" She called out, waiting for the succubus and human to come rushing out.
She was met with silence.
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"I don't believe you," Bo said, pointing her dagger at the hulking chimera.
He shrugged. "You don't have to. Either way, I'm supposed to bring you back."
"If I come with you, will you leave my friends alone?" Bo asked, dropping her arm.
"I mean, that'll make it way easier for me and for your friends."
"Do you promise not to hurt them?" Bo took a step closer, her expression threatening.
"Bo! What the hell! You can't just go with this guy on a whim because he might know where Lauren is!" Kenzi stepped in front of Bo, blocking her way.
"I have to, Kenzi! It's the only way we'll get her back."
"It's not the only way. We'll re-group and.. and we'll search for clues!"
The bull chimera held up his hands. "Hey, I promise my partner and I won't do any more harm to your friends if you come with—" He paused, inclining his head to one side.
"What? What is it?" Bo asked.
"Change of plans. I'll be back for you. Looks like Adrian didn't quite make it." With that, he turned and ran out of the hole he created by bursting into the building.
"Hey! Wait a sec! Come back!" Bo yelled out, giving chase to the chimera.
"Oh, great. Bo's taken up chasing weird dudes with red eyes and horns. Awesome. This is worse than when she forgot me at the grocery store because she left to go have a threesome with the bagger and the manager," Kenzi muttered, quickly following behind her best friend.
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April shuffled into the building, eyes scanning quickly. She called out, "Kenzi? Bo?" Still hauling Tamsin on her shoulders, she moved towards the opening in the building's wall, searching the forest. She noticed two openings in the forest that were flattened by something. Someone, she corrected herself, remembering the massive chimera that came crashing into the building.
After further inspection, she noticed that one opening had shrubs flattened in one direction, and the other opening in the opposite direction. So he ran.. And those two idiots must've followed.
"Shit!" April cussed out loud. She could do nothing but wait for them to return. Moving as fast she could, she rushed to the rooftop of the building, setting Tamsin down gently. Her next trip down and up included carrying all of their gear. She set down a sleeping bag, moving Tamsin onto it. The blonde's eyebrows were furrowed, and her breathing came in short gasps now.
Next, she ran back down to the ground floor and through the opening. The raven-haired girl grabbed as many dried sticks and leaves as she could while also grabbing hold of green, leafy branches. Signal fire, April thought, bitterly recalling the moment when she tried to reach for the radio, only to be halted by the chimera crushing it beneath his foot.
After gathering a decent amount of wood and shrubbery, she went to work on creating the fire. Several frustrating minutes passed by, but a spark ignited, and she nursed it to life, adding more and more dried wood. As the fire became a roaring flame, she added the leafy branches to the fire, creating smoke. The adarna fanned it, creating more smoke that she prayed and prayed that the others would see.
A/N #2: Wowee, you must be thinking, about time you updated, V!
Hope you all enjoyed it. If you did, feel free to let me know.
P.S. If there's weird grammar mistakes... Well, you guys already know.