Chapter 26

"So, uh, what do we do with the unconscious guy in the truck?" Kat glanced at Sarah, who was looking nervously towards the vehicle door.

"We don't let him out of the truck."

"Isn't that… kind of illegal?"

"Kind of." The blond folded her arms and shook out her hair, sighing.

"Great. Crime. Good."

"Well, it's a step up from death by ritual sacrifice," Kat said with a shrug. Sarah nodded in agreement, moving her shoulders in a 'suppose you're right' kind of way.

"Do you think he told anyone else he was coming? I mean, is anyone else going to show up?" Kate looked worried, glancing at Pogue. Kat shook her head.

"He said he was going to call it in. Why would he call it in if he had backup on the way?"

"Yeah, but what if someone gets a little confused as to why he's gone AWOL?"

"We'll deal with that when we have to."

"But-"

"Kate, we don't have a choice," Kat interrupted, running a hand through her tangled hair. "It's not like we could leave or anything."

"I know, I know," the dusky girl replied on a groan. "I just… I wish there was something we could do. Like, head off the cops or something. I don't know."

"I know what you mean," Kat agreed. Sarah nodded. "This sucks."

"Aren't you tired? I mean, what with the being kidnapped and shot and all?"

"More hungry than anything else." Both other girls, involuntarily, gave a slight flinch. Kat's eyes narrowed. "What? I'm not going to eat you!"

"Sorry," Sarah said apologetically. "I'm just a little on edge, you know?"

"Yeah, whatever," Kat threw over her shoulder, going to stand by the fence. She placed her hands on the wood, feeling the rough posts scrape against her palms. The magic of Mary's binding on the house hummed just beyond where she stood, and she could feel its malevolence in her bones. She wanted to move back, move away, but she made herself stand there, gripping the fence with both hands, facing Reid's prison full-on.

Time was ticking down. It was now a little past midnight, which gave them less than three hours. Kat stared at the house, trying to see through the boards that covered the upstairs windows. She wondered what was happening inside. Was Mary hurting Reid? Were they fighting? Talking? Sitting in silence, as Kat was, waiting for the end?

Her grip on the fence tightened, and suddenly there was a static-y crunching sound. Kat looked down, and saw that the section of wooden post she'd been holding was broken and splintered, bits of shattered wood lying on the ground at her feet. She raised her hands away from the fence, and looked at them in mild interest: the moonlight gave the pieces of splintered post sticking out of her palms a silvery tint. Kat pulled two chunks out of her left palm and yanked one long splinter out of her right, hissing at the sharp pain, welcoming the sting. She watched as dark, gleaming blood dripped from her ravaged hands, christening the dirt at her feet. Kat glanced at the others and wiped her palms down the sides of her legs before remembering that she was in Tyler's gym shorts, not her jeans.

"Fuck," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Now, not only would she look like a slut come morning, she'd also look like a mass murderer.

"Oh my god, what happened?" It was Sarah, who'd come up behind Kat to see the other girl looking at her bloody hands.

"Got a little angry at the fence."

"What, so Tyler can't blow things up, but you can crush them with your bare hands?" It took Kat a second to realize that Sarah was joking. She gave a self-deprecating laugh, wiping the rest of the blood away on her borrowed jacket, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, well…"

"Uh-huh. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. It's just a couple scratches."

"Ok," Sarah said more quietly, and then walked back over to where Kate leaned on the truck. Kat didn't watch her walk, but instead turned back to the ruined section of fence. Ruefully, she bent and picked up one of the larger pieces of post that had fallen, holding it up to the jagged end.

"Worth a try," Kat mumbled to herself, chucking the bit of wood onto the lawn. It flew through the air with a soft whistling sound, and landed about ten feet from the porch with a muffled thump. Kat blew some air out and leaned on the fence again, this time keeping her hands away from it. Suddenly, she blinked. Straightening, Kat bent down again and picked up another piece of wood. Cocking her arm, ignoring the twinge her hurt palm gave, she threw the wood into the lawn and watched, intently, as it landed near the first piece.

"Whoa," Kat breathed. "Hey, guys?"

"What," called Caleb. He was doubled over slightly, catching his breath. Kat hefted another chunk of fence and tossed it over to the other two on the lawn. Caleb and the others eyed its progress before looking back to Kat with raised brows. "Wonderful?"

"No," Kat huffed. "You don't get it! I just threw that right through Mary's barrier! Right through. That's the loophole! We can't get in, but other things can!" Pogue straightened beside Caleb, pointing at Kat. A slow grin spread across his face.

"Brilliant," he said, then shouted it. "This girl is brilliant!" Caleb, also smiling, held out his hands.

"We may not be able to crash the party," he said to the girls in a voice that rivaled Reid's in wickedness, "but while we're trying, you three can definitely… shake it up… a bit." Sarah turned to Kat.

"Hey, supergirl," she said, something flintily playful in her pale eyes. "Think you can manage to break that fence a little more?"

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"-so, that being said, I think it would really be wise for you to just give this whole sacrifice thing up and let me-" There was a sudden loud crash, and Reid broke off with a start. "Jesus," he yelped, as the house seemed to echo with the sound of breaking glass. "What the hell?" Mary was on her feet, moving for the door. Reid followed her out of the room, and she didn't try to stop him.

Down the hallway was one of the windows that had been boarded over: the bottom left-hand corner, however, had been uncovered. Now, the glass pane was shattered over the floor, a thick chunk of wood lying amid the shards.

"What on-"

"Like that, bitch? We got more!" The shout was high, feminine, and angry. Seconds later, something else banged against the side of the house, and a musty, dust-covered painting on the wall near the window fell to the bare, wooden floor.

"Forgot to bar objects, Maaaary," Reid heard Kat call mockingly, just as another bit of windowpane shattered somewhere in the house. "Oh, and look, what's this?" She was yelling the words as if having a conversation from across a crowded room. "A gun? Our detective friend has a gun? Wonder how good my aim is, Mary!" Moving swiftly, the witch backed away from the broken window. Reid looked at her in disbelief, wondering if she actually thought Kat would try to shoot her through that tiny hole. And what was she talking about, anyway? What detective?

"You aren't accomplishing anything," the redhead called.

"We'll see," another female voice replied. "I played baseball all through middle school." It was Kate. "Let's see if I'm still good at pitching!" On the last word, she let out a grunt of effort, and, to Reid's astonishment, a large chunk of wood flew through the hole in the mostly-boarded window and landed about a foot before Mary's feet. Loudly, he began to laugh.

"Sounds like your plans aren't exactly working out," Reid sneered, making sure to speak loud enough that they'd be able to hear him outside. "So sorry," he added sarcastically, with a mock bow and a shake of his head. He could hear Kat laughing with him, high and wild and vicious. That's my girl.