Ripped Apart Part 5
By Princess Alexandria Princess_alex24@hotmail.com
Brenna was now watching the sky behind them, tensely waiting for that woman to suddenly appear like all the villains in the horror movies did. She was going with Angela to her home, and the fact that it was so beyond against the rules that Dominique's head would probably spin all the way around also worried her.
"You could drop me off and I could take a cab home." Brenna said yet again. "Really, I'd be alright."
"No, it's the middle of the night. It's not safe for a young girl to wander around looking for a cab." Angela said as she gained altitude and Brenna risked taking her eyes off of where they'd been to see the Eyrie coming closer.
"You live there? I mean it isn't just a rumor?" Brenna couldn't misinterpret their destination and the fact that she'd been there before, probably not far from where Angela slept was nagging at her.
"Yes." Angela moved closer to the castle, and Brenna could see someone standing on the wall.
"I'll need to call Gencie. And I need to call home." Brenna was trying to think of what else she should do. People were going to be upset with her regardless. Angela seemed to tense up a bit, but she moved to land. She wasn't as smooth about her landing as Dominique was, not that Brenna had a lot of experience going out with Dominique. The redhead had only taken her out once.
Brenna stood a little nervously, feeling on display as a smaller gargoyle with green skin and strange wings stared at her. After a moment he stepped closer and smiled. "Hi, I'm Lex."
"I'm Brenna." Brenna gave him a small smile. He seemed really friendly. She then turned to Angela. "Can I use a phone?" She was a little worried that she wouldn't be allowed to.
"Oh, of course." A different voice answered. Brenna looked beyond Angela's shoulder to see Mr. Burnett. "If you come with me to my office."
"Ah… Thank you." Brenna took a deep breath. At least she could call. It wasn't really her fault that she was here. Dominique would have to forgive her.
********
Demona moved around the bed. "I bind thee in body, as I'll bind thee in mind." She spoke quietly in Latin as she fastened each individual manacle, spreading the detective's arms and legs towards the corners of her bed. The candles flickered eerily on the walls, but really magic was meant to be done by firelight, not electricity. This spell had far too many rituals to it, but she could enjoy each and every one knowing that she would at least finally be rid of Maza as a threat. Her voice practically caressed the words that Elisa couldn't have understood had she even been conscious. Of course she'd have to be conscious for some of the spell, but the preparation work didn't need that.
Elisa lay clad in only her underwear, not that Demona got any satisfaction from that except to know it would be making the human feel very vulnerable once she realized it.
Demona sat on the side of the bed and reached over to the bowl she'd brought with her for this spell. The consistency of the red paste was perfect now. She took the brush and got started on the markings. This would be much easier to do when the detective wasn't squirming, and once they dried only casting the spell would make them fade. "I bind thee in spirit as I'll bind thee in mind." Demona whispered again in Latin before moving to write the first symbol on her victim. She moved with sure hands as quickly as she could, because she didn't want to have the woman wake up and make this part difficult. No she wanted everything in place before Maza woke up. That human would barely get a moment of free will before she was bound, just long enough for Demona to torture her with the knowledge that she was no longer a free woman, she was Demona's Pet.
********
Brenna put the phone down slowly after listening to Gencie yell at her for scaring her. She hadn't had a lie ready, so she told her friend that she'd tell her what happened later, but she'd needed to go home right away. Not a good cover story at all. Maybe Dominique could help her with that.
She then stood tensely behind Mr. Burnett's desk while waiting for Dominique to answer the phone. She waited and waited, but nothing. Dominique must be out gliding, but the answering machine should have at least picked up. "I guess I'll have to call later." She muttered her herself, but she was more tense than she had been. She didn't have the access codes to the security system at home. She couldn't leave here without Dominique being home. She was trapped here, with the people Dominique told her to avoid.
"You all done?" A deep male voice asked from the doorway, pulling Brenna's eyes away from the phone. He was a dark haired human with a beard. He looked familiar.
"Yeah." Brenna sounded a bit defeated to her own ears, as she moved to leave the office.
"Oh, excuse me." He smiled at her. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm David Xanatos." He held out a hand and Brenna slowly moved to shake it.
"I'm Brenna McCullen." This was Fox's husband, and the richest man in New York. Too bad Brenna was too tense to be impressed.
He moved to lean against the doorway and his smile faded a little. "I used to know your mother. I was sorry to hear what happened." That made her stare at him. Her mother had never said anything about knowing David Xanatos. He was always in the news, he was rich, surely he would have been mentioned at least once. "She used to work for me." He spoke softly, obviously sensing Brenna's confusion. Brenna noticed him staring at her a bit strangely for a moment. When had she done that? Brenna didn't remember her mother working here. "You look a lot like her. You have her eyes."
What do you say to something like that? "Thank you." Brenna hazarded a guess. She actually didn't think she looked that much like her mother. Her hair was black, her skin was more olive, her cheekbones more pronounced. She was shorter than most people though, just like her mother though.
"Well, you want to meet the clan?" He pushed off from the doorway, obviously ready to take her to them.
"Maybe it would be better if I just stayed in here and tried to call home again in a few minutes." Brenna nibbled on her lip. She was supposed to avoid the clan, but she wanted to see them. She hated these rules, but Dominique had been so sure they'd try to do something to mess up things.
"You can't just hide away in here." Mr. Xanatos moved to open the door wider. "They don't bite."
********
Demona carefully finished the body writing and stood back to admire her work. Her symbols were perfectly placed, leaving Elisa looking very much like a human sacrifice. Too bad that wasn't the plan.
The bed had been moved to the center of the bedroom, leaving Demona room to walk all the way around it. She poured out the salt in a circle around the bed. "I bind your body, I bind your spirit, I bind your mind." She repeated several times in Latin as she made her slow progress around the bed. The circle of salt had to be thick enough. The bag she'd brought with all her supplies had been mostly salt weight. "Elisa Maza, human born, I bind your body, I bind your spirit, I bind your mind." Demona spoke a bit more loudly as the circle was finally closed. She just needed to place some of the salt onto her intended victim now to finish this ritual. She was right, this one was far too elaborate to have used on Goliath. Demona moved to the bed, careful to leave her circle unbroken and finally found a use for the ridiculous human belly button. She poured her salt into the fleshy container.
The symbols on Elisa's flesh seemed to glow for a brief moment, letting Demona know that she'd completed that ritual and was ready for the next. Anytime Elisa wanted to wake up now would be good. The spell casting was primed and ready to go. Demona set her spell book down beside the bed and settled in to wait.
********
"Hi, I'm Brooklyn, and this is Bronx." The male smiled at her gently and Brenna tried not to stare. He had a beak, and she'd gotten so used to more human like features on the gargoyles she knew. He wasn't really bad looking, just really different.
"Hi." Brenna took the hand he held out to shake easily enough. She'd had practice since Lex, Broadway, and Hudson had wanted to shake her hand as well when they introduced themselves.
Lexington was not really sitting on the couch, more like squatting on the arm watching them and Angela was never far away from Brenna. Brenna appreciated that, since she kinda knew her and these people were strangers.
When someone came into the library where they all were Brenna noticed Angela's eyes flash red at the person a moment before she turned to see who it was. Fox was a bit damp from a shower, but she smiled warmly at Brenna. "I see you decided to drop by." Fox then glanced at Angela briefly before moving closer to them. It was a good thing this room was so big, since there were so many people in it.
"Oh, here comes Goliath." Lex said a bit nervously while glancing out towards the doors to the castle walls. Brenna recognized him easily. He was huge, purple, and had been in the news quite a bit when he'd been wrongfully arrested. It was the clan leader.
"Father, I'd like you to meet Brenna." Angela said and Brenna's eyes widened a little. This was Angela's father. He smiled at her gently and moved close enough to hold out a hand.
"It is good to finally meet you Brenna. Angela told us a lot about when you and she met." Angela had talked about her? Brenna felt a warm blush cover her cheeks at this confirmation that Angela had indeed remembered her.
"It's nice to meet you too." Brenna glanced a bit nervously over at Angela, for some sort of guidance. Was she supposed to bow or something? Was he a king? He kept looking at her like he expected something.
"Hey Brenna. Would you like something to eat?" Broadway asked to fill the silence.
"Um," Brenna glanced over at him. "I really shouldn't be here long. In fact I should go try and call home again." She noticed Brooklyn tense up a little at that, but he didn't say anything.
"I heard that you are a member of People for Interspecies Tolerance." Goliath interrupted smoothly.
Brenna blushed a bit. They sure knew a lot about her. "I was."
"Why aren't you now?" Fox asked while moving to lean against the back of a couch.
"Dominique thinks its too dangerous. The Quarrymen are still out there and they've attacked P.I.T. groups before." Brenna had been a little disappointed with that, but she hadn't put up any fuss. She hadn't really felt up to going anyhow.
"Well that is a shame." Fox spoke softly.
"She's right." Brenna moved to glance at Goliath. "Angela and I were attacked, Dominique keeps getting attacked. It's dangerous out there." He really shouldn't be sending the clan out there where people tried to kill them. If Brenna thought she could keep Dominique safely at home she would.
"Wait, you were attacked? Tonight?" Brooklyn stared at them a little confused looking. What did they always get lucky when they went out?
"Some crazy bit…" Brenna blushed when she noticed Fox raising an eyebrow at her like Dominique did when she swore too much. "lady tried to shoot us."
"Really?" Broadway moved closer to Angela and was looking at her in real concern. Brenna felt more than a little out of place when he took Angela's hand. She had to pull her eyes away and noticed Fox looking at her. Brenna moved to stare at Bronx, sitting so comfortably in front of Hudson's feet.
"It wasn't that big of a deal." Angela comforted the clan while glaring at Fox.
"I hope she fell out of the sky." Brenna muttered quietly to herself, but the fact that a few people glanced at her made her realize it wasn't that quiet. Well, it wasn't like that woman hadn't tried to kill her and Angela. She'd deserve it.
"Yes, this city can be dangerous, for all of its inhabitants at times." Goliath's talking forced Brenna's attention back to her.
"Yeah." Brenna bit back her wish that the clan was more careful, it could be seen as criticizing Goliath.
"As a clan we try to make it a little safer lass." Hudson finally spoke, but he was also busy petting Bronx, so he wasn't looking at Brenna.
"Yes, we fight different threats to the safety of this city." Goliath nodded to Hudson like he'd done something helpful. The younger male gargoyles were fidgeting just a little and Brenna glanced at them briefly before looking up at the leader again. "Sometimes the dangers to this city have been truly threatening. Most of the humans here aren't aware of what all has happened, what all we have managed to prevent."
"Yeah, like that Lost Night the news reporters talked about." Brooklyn interjected quickly and then just shrugged when Broadway and Lex looked at him.
"I remember that." Brenna had wondered about it, and the idea that it was some sort of mass hysteria or something… the theories had all been so crazy.
Goliath moved to caress Angela's arm gently before stepping closer to Brenna. "That night an enemy of the clan cast a spell that turned humans to stone. She proceeded to destroy as many as she could… the people that went missing that night." Brenna just blinked at him.
"Stone?" Someone turned people to stone? Could magic really do that? When Dominique told her magic was real she hadn't considered that type of thing possible. Had she been stone?
"We've also fought to stop a virus that could have..." Lex spoke up quickly while Brenna was still working on wrapping her mind around the idea that magic was that powerful, and these gargoyles had to fight that.
"Maybe we are moving a little fast." Fox interrupted with a hint of authority while looking at Brenna.
"Magic can change people to stone?" Brenna asked Fox since she was the one looking at her.
"Yes. I was lucky to be with David when it happened. I was flying a helicopter and we would have crashed."
"Wow." Brenna had been asking Dominique if she could do relatively small things with magic, like growing hair, she'd never thought to ask what someone COULD do with magic.
"Do you know anything about magic?" Angela asked while staring at Brenna so hard Brenna thought she'd blush under the female's attention.
"Dominique said…" Brenna trailed off as her eyes moved to Fox and David.
"We already know she's an gargoyle and a sorceress." Fox gave Brenna a gentle smile.
"Oh." Brenna hesitated just a moment longer, but this was too interesting. "Dominique hasn't told me a lot. I know it's magic that lets her change forms. She said that there need to be spells for whatever someone wants, you can just make up new ones to grow hair." When that got a puzzled look Brenna felt embarrassed. "I asked her if she could make my hair grow faster, because this…" She touched the sides of her head. "Looks stupid while its growing out. She told me that while hair is sometimes used in spells, there aren't spells about hair."
"It is growing in pretty nicely on its own. It was much shorter when I saw you last time." Fox moved closer and ran her fingers through the short part of Brenna's hair. "Why exactly are you growing it out."
Brooklyn looked impatient with the change of topic, so Brenna kept her answer short. "Dominique said humans base too much on appearance and she was worried that the judge would think I was a junkie or something." Brenna's jaw clenched tight for a moment. This was a bit embarrassing. "I can have my hair any way I want after… but I have to look more normal by the court date." She glanced at these people that Dominique said would have a problem with them being family. "We don't want anything screwing up her adopting me. If I have to look stupid for a while, I can do that."
********
Elisa groaned and tried to shift her arms. She couldn't move. So tired. The breeze in the room was a little chilly. Needed to get up and close a window. Instead she just rolled her head to the side and fell back to sleep.
********
"Why do you want HER to adopt you?" Brooklyn asked and Brenna glared at him. He sounded too disgusted by the whole thing. "Surely there are nice human families to take kids in."
Brenna just stared at him a moment. "You don't know much about humans then do you?" That seemed to surprise him. "Humans only want babies. They don't adopt kids my age. I would have been put in a group home with kids that would pick on me. No one would have cared about me."
"You don't know that. I'm sure that…"
"No, I do know that." Brenna's eyes slide to the ground. This was a painful subject, she'd really believed for a while that she'd be put in that system, that Dominique wouldn't keep her. "I did a little research. It's what I'm good at. The placement rate for kids my age was really bad." Her cheeks flushed a little as she moved back up to see him watching her carefully. "And the foster care system is really scary if you're a girl."
"What do you mean?"
Fox spoke softly. "We don't need to talk about that." Brenna could see in Fox's eyes that she knew what Brenna was talking about.
"I'm so much luckier than other kids. I have Dominique." Brenna felt like she was defending herself. The way they looked at her made her tense. "She loves me." Brenna had known the woman loved her before Dominique ever said it. The way she acted with Brenna, protected her, Brenna knew.
"Demona doesn't know the…" Brooklyn started angrily and Brenna noticed a few people glare at him before his words trailed off. Her own glare was one of them.
"I should really try and call her again." Brenna was starting to worry that she was a prisoner when the gargoyles exchanged glances.
"Sure, you know where Owen's office is. Go right ahead." Fox smiled at her.
"But…" Lex spoke up.
"No, it's okay if Brenna wants to try and call Demona." Brenna watched as Fox said that and Lex's eyes widened for just a moment.
********
Demona could hear that damned cat yowling at the bedroom door and for a brief moment considered just killing it so that it would be quiet. Instead she cracked open the door and threw one of Maza's shoes at it. That gray cat dodged away and didn't come near the door again. Sure the cat might have woken the detective up, but it was irritating.
"Maza, Maza, Maza…" Demona circled the bed. "Perhaps I should have given you a little less of that tranquilizer. Humans are rather frail. I must have forgotten that." She'd hurried her other parts of the spell thinking she only had limited time, and now she was bored.
She then sat down on the chair outside of the circle of salt and just stared at the human. "All this time I thought killing you would be best and now I'm actually glad I didn't get that opportunity." Maza had a lot of influence with the clan, and from what she'd seen of the human and Goliath tonight, her influence with him was pretty much complete now. It really should have been more of a surprise, but Demona had seen this perverse relationship coming. Even Thailog had been drawn to the detective.
Demona pulled herself out of those disturbing thoughts with the image of Maza as her own personal spy. Maza would help convince the clan that Brenna belonged with Demona. After that perhaps Demona could use Maza in other ways. Perhaps to get Angela to give her another chance. A slight smile crossed Demona's lips, and Maza would be aware of it all. On the inside the human would be seething as she did what Demona commanded. She would be able to torment Maza on a regular basis without even having to be there. No, this was much better than killing her.
********
Brenna closed Mr. Burnett's door behind her. The answer machine was still not working and Dominique wasn't home.
"I came to make sure you could get back upstairs." Mr. Xanatos was suddenly walking beside her and at his late hour with her nerves nearly shot she flinched at his sudden appearance. "The elevator's won't let just anyone get to the castle." He explained while hitting the button to go back up.
"Oh. Thanks." She had a billionaire playing at escort? This was a bit weird. Dominique would have just sent Gregory to do this.
Once they were in the elevator and the doors closed Brenna noticed he didn't move to hit any buttons. He just turned to face her. "I'm curious. Do you know anything about your father? Who he might be?"
What? Were they thinking of finding him so that a man that was little more than a stranger would take her away from Dominique. Dominique was right, these people were dangerous. "No, I don't know anything." Brenna felt a flush of shame at what she was about to say. Her mother would understand. She would. "I'm not sure mom knew who he was." Brenna couldn't give anyone any leads.
"Oh." He just stared at Brenna a little too long. "She used to work for me when I first started up Xanatos Enterprises. That must have been…" He looked like he was doing math in his head. "About sixteen or seventeen years ago."
Brenna felt like her heart had stopped and it was a big effort to not gasp. "Oh." She gave a minimal reply as she moved to glance at the buttons he hadn't pushed yet. This was not happening.
"She was a really nice woman." He spoke softly.
"Yeah." Brenna agreed quietly. She wasn't used to talking about her mother too much, and certainly not with people she hadn't known before her mother's death. "Shouldn't we get back up there?"
"I'm sure the clan is eager to talk with you some more." He smiled at her and Brenna forced herself not to stare at him. He could very well be her father, and she couldn't let him know that. He had black hair. That thought came to her easily as she tried to focus on the elevator door in silence. His skin was darker, like hers. God dammit, why now?
Brenna stepped out of the elevator as soon as it opened. She was going to need to be much better at secrets if she wanted to stay with Dominique. He was part of the group that didn't want her with the woman, and Brenna really did love her. He could screw everything up if he found out about… if he really was…
"You aren't looking too well." The man said while opening the library door.
"I just want to go home." Brenna's eyes held her challenge. With Dominique was home.
The clan was looking much more solemn when Brenna came back. It gave her the impression they'd been talking about something important while she was gone, and she just knew it had to do with her. She really wasn't liking how she had everyone's attention, and moved to stand near Angela, but just a little behind her.
"Brenna," Goliath sighed. Not good. "There is no easy way to say this. We have tried to think of one." The look of sympathy in his eyes reminded Brenna of the look that officer had when he told Brenna her mother was dead. It was almost even the same words. Brenna had relived that day in her nightmares enough to know.
"She's okay right?" Brenna's voice was suddenly higher than normal and she was shaking just a little. Demona said she was immortal. "She can't die on me. She promised." A hand moved to rest on her shoulder and Brenna barely noticed it. "She promised."
"No, no mother is alright." Angela spoke softly and Brenna barely registered the glance she gave Goliath at that. Brenna just clung to the fact that she wasn't an orphan again. The room was quiet while Brenna took a few deep breaths and tried to control the fear she'd suddenly felt. "It's okay. Brenna…" Angela pulled her into a hug and Brenna just let her. "Father didn't mean for it to sound like that."
"Oh Lass…" Hudson spoke quietly and Brenna looked up from her place in Angela's arms to see the concern in his eyes.
********
Demona moved closer to the now slowly waking detective. A cruel smile came to her as she waited for Maza to be aware enough of her surroundings to let her in on her fate. She took a gag and roughly put it on the woman so that she didn't try to call out for help. A neighbor might hear her after all.
Maza's eyes opened quickly at the rough treatment and Demona smiled as those eyes widened even more once they were able to focus. "Well, looks like you finally woke up and just in time too."
********
Brenna was feeling a little calmer now. The eyes watching her as she tried to pull herself back together were creepy though.
"What I wanted to tell you is that Demona hates humans." Goliath spoke a little quickly and Brenna just stared at him a moment.
"I know that." That wasn't a huge secret. Demona had told her as much after she'd been shot, and the way they sometimes joked about the stupidity of the human race made it seem rather clear.
"You… You know?" Lex asked quietly while staring at Brenna as if she'd grown a spare head. Brenna's eyes traveled around the room and all the gargoyles looked a bit surprised at this.
"Well, yeah." When everyone looked like they wanted her to elaborate Brenna felt a bit on the spot. "She told me she hates humans, but she likes me."
"She did?" Angela asked Brenna and then stared up at Goliath for a moment. Brenna was just watching a silent staring conversation, but Brooklyn spoke, drawing her attention.
"Did she tell you what she does with humans? What she wants to do with humans?"
"Brooklyn, wait a minute." Angela spoke, but he just stared at Brenna.
"She wants them all dead." Brooklyn spoke a bit softly. "I'm sorry kid, but Demona has tried to kill off the humans of this city so many times. She's the one that made the humans turn to stone."
Brenna just stared at him until he fidgeted, but she wasn't really seeing him. "Why?"
"What do you mean why? She's just crazy!"
"No." Brenna's eyes swept over the gargoyles and Fox and David. They were all looking at her with concern. "She said to not believe everything you said. This is sick." She glared at Brooklyn. "I'm calling home again. I want to leave."
She'd taken a few steps to the door when Angela spoke. "It's true Brenna. Demona did that spell. She's also tried to kill off humanity with a virus, and she tried to kill my father."
"She smashed people stuck as stone. She killed them when they were helpless." Brooklyn added.
"Brooklyn, that is enough." Goliath spoke quietly while staring at Brenna. Pity, that was pity in his eyes.
Brenna's hands clenched as she stood still. They made Dominique sound like a monster. She wasn't. "I'm calling home." Her voice cracked.
When Lex opened his mouth to speak, Fox interrupted him. "I'll show you to the office." Brenna already knew the way, but she quietly followed the redhead.
They stood quietly for a moment in the elevator and Brenna preferred it that way. She was angry that they'd say things like that. "If you are worried you don't have anywhere else to go, you do." Fox spoke quietly. "We could take you in, you'd be safe here."
Brenna felt a familiar fear hit her. "No, it isn't necessary. I'm going home." Brenna spoke coldly. The elevator door opened and Brenna moved quickly to the door of Mr. Burnett's office. Fox trailed a distance after her, giving her privacy at least.
********
Demona watched Elisa struggle to talk as Demona cut a small lock of the detective's hair off with a decorative dagger. She then slowly made a slice in the human's skin and watched a few beads of blood well up. Elisa tried to flinch away. "It isn't magic without a little blood." Demona teased, before dipping the end of the lock of hair she'd stolen into the blood on Elisa's upper arm. It was a small wound, no one should notice it.
"Brenna is mine Detective." Demona spoke coldly while working on braiding the lock of hair she now owned. "I won't allow anyone to take my child from me, let alone you." The woman tried to talk around her gag for a moment, but Demona ignored her. The yelling and cutting words Elisa had to say would be extinguished once the spell was over. "You probably already regret interfering, but this is just the beginning."
********
Elisa watched as Demona finished braiding the hair. She could feel the sticky feel of paint on her body. Demona was muttering to herself, or talking to Elisa, but the things she said stunned the detective. This wasn't about vengeance, about the clan. Demona was going to do what sounded like a very serious spell on her because she was afraid Elisa would take her child. Demona considered Brenna her child. Oh shit.
Elisa tried to work free of the chains, but they held strong. Demona was vicious when protecting Angela, and if Brenna was considered Demona's child… how could Demona have actually come to care about a human? If she could just spit the gag out she could tell Demona they had Brenna. It would give her some leverage, since it really appeared that Demona cared about Brenna.
"Stop screaming. It will all be over soon." Demona held up the woven lock of hair. Elisa tried to struggle harder.
********
"Pick up!" Brenna yelled into the phone. Nothing but ringing, no answering machine, no Dominique. "Please just pick up."
"Brenna." Angela's voice made her spin around and stare at the female opening the office door.
"How could you say things like that?" Brenna slammed the useless phone down. Angela was her hero, and she was Dominique's daughter. "She's not a monster. You guys act like she's a monster."
"Brenna, she's my mother. I know how much it hurts to believe these things, but it's true." Angela spoke softly, as if soothing a child. "I was there when she tried to kill off all of the humans on the planet. Father stopped her, but it was really close. Come back upstairs. You need to hear this."
"I'm not supposed to talk to any of you." Brenna swallowed hard.
"And this is why. She didn't want us to warn you."
Brenna didn't have anywhere she could go. She followed Angela back upstairs.
********
Demona pulled the gag out of Elisa mouth. "What was so important?" She snapped at the detective. Maza had been trying to get that gag off while Demona had been talking to her and Demona didn't like the detective not giving Demona her full attention. If she let the woman speak a little then she could continue with what she'd been doing.
"We have Brenna at the castle." Maza spoke and Demona just stared at her in disbelief for a moment. "They're probably telling her everything right now."
"I have to go." Demona spoke coldly while looking around the room at her supplies. She didn't have anything but that tranquilizer gun with her, but she didn't have time to get something more lethal from home. Maybe she could swing by NightStone.
She took a few steps towards the door when Maza called out to her. "keys?" Demona gritted her teeth. She'd like to take time to put the detective in her place properly, but she didn't have time.
Demona marched over to one side of the bed and undid one hand. She then put the key in that hand. "You can handle the rest." As she moved to leave the bedroom she turned to face the detective. The markings had all faded cleanly.
********
Brenna sat on the couch, just staring at the T.V. blankly. "I know it's hard to believe." Brooklyn had moved to sit beside her after the meeting where they all talked about Demona and what she'd done. "But we had to tell you. She might be planning to hurt you. She hates all humans." He was so convinced that Demona was lying to Brenna for some reason, a few of them were, most of them were.
Demona had really done those things.
The blare of an alarm startled Brenna into sitting up straighter. It was also making Brooklyn's eyes burn. Male's eyes burned white instead of red. Brenna hadn't known that.
"Stay in here, it'll be safer." He muttered while getting up and moving for the doors.
"What's going on?" Brenna asked as Lex moved to run past her.
"We're under attack. It'll be alright, just stay in here." Brenna just nodded at him.