Authors note: Hi all! Sorry that this update took a little longer. I struggled with the fight scene, and I'm still not 100% happy! but here it is.
thanks so much for all of your reviews, faves and follows, I feel so lucky to have readers who get involved - keep it coming :-)
Chapter 5 - Closer
The elevator dinged at the the top floor and the two women stumbled out of it. They walked in a curving line along the hallway towards the door to their shared apartment, still laughing at the latest joke told. Lauren fumbled with her keys while Tamsin watched on impatiently. "When am I gonna get a set of those babies?" The taller blonde asked while Lauren was still trying to get the key into the lock.
"There's a spare set in the bowl. You would know this if you, I dunno... Looked!" Lauren replied laughing at the joke that only someone as drunk as the two of them were would find funny. She was still focussing all of her attention on the lock, to the point where she was hunched and squinting while taking long aims at the hole the key was meant to fit into. After many failed attempts she finally got it into the lock and turned it, cheering at her success.
At that moment, Tamsin finally took notice of the tingling in her spine she was feeling and understood it was more than the alcohol. There were other fae near, fae with intentions to fight. She looked towards where she sensed them, near the elevator and quickly shoved Lauren through the door just as the two huge figures realised their cover was blown and started bounding towards the two women. Tamsin slammed the door behind them closing the locks as fast as she could.
"Ow! Tamsin! What the fuck!" Lauren yelped rubbing her arm where the valkyrie had pushed her.
"Now's not the time Lauren!" Tamsin grabbed Lauren's hand and dragged her towards the stairs as the pounding started on the door. She knew it was only a matter of time before the two ogres were through it. The height of battle had sobered the warrior fae almost instantly. It took a little longer for the human to register what was happening, but once she did, she moved with much more efficiency and a clearer head.
Tamsin lead them both into her bedroom just as the sound of the door shattering downstairs echoed through the apartment.
"What do we do?!" Lauren hissed in a whisper.
Tamsin moved silently around her room grabbing an extra dagger and stowing it as well as 2 medium sized katanas she had in her wardrobe and placing them on her bed next to where Lauren was cowering. She removed her jacket and then jumper to reveal she was wearing a white tank top adorned with a harness that crossed in an X over her chest and back. The harness was filled with all sorts of weapons, curved and serrated throwing knives, ninja stars and two long daggers strapped to her back.
Lauren took in the taller blonde's appearance with an open mouth. "You were wearing that all day?!" She hissed. Tamsin replied with a look that let Lauren know that it wasn't the time for such enquiries.
They could both hear the fae downstairs ransacking the first floor looking for them, they had barely any time before they would be found if they just waited there.
Tamsin unsheathed one of the swords and leant down to place the handle firmly into Lauren's hands. Still gripping the doctor's fingers around the handle the valkyrie spoke in a confident whisper "you fight. You hear me? You fight and you win. Got it?" Grabbing the other sword the valkyrie prepared to leave the room.
Wide-eyed the scientist understood what was expected of her and fighting through the fear that now gripped her she nodded at the valkyrie and rose from the crouched position she had been in. Gripping the sword tightly she readied herself to follow her protectors lead. Tamsin could hear the two hunters below them making their way towards the stairs and knew they had to go now if they were going to keep any element of surprise. The valkyrie signaled for Lauren to follow her.
Lauren gulped down air as she prepared herself to take on fae that she hadn't even seen. She had no idea what was waiting for her as she silently followed the taller blonde back down the hallway leading to the stairs. Tamsin stopped just short of the top step and took a deep breathe before jumping out in front of the ascending fae and kicking the first one hard square in the chest causing him to fall all the way back down the stairs. The second fae looked up in time to catch a throwing blade deep in his leg which caused him to lose his footing and follow his partner's path down to the first floor.
Tamsin stood tall at the top of the stairs and looked down at the two fae extricating themselves from each other and trying to get up off the floor, the second fae removing the blade from his leg with a grunt before tossing it to the side, barely any blood drawn from the wound. She turned to Lauren and whispered "Ogres. Go for the neck" before turning back and loudly proclaiming "looking for something boys? Perhaps the 21st century because those digs are so yesteryear." The tall blonde never missing an opportunity for a quip at her enemies.
The ogre that had been kicked in the chest growled and started to run back up the stairs towards Tamsin but was quickly stilled as Tamsin's face began to sink and turn black "Oh, you don't want to do that, you want to turn around and hit your buddy over there"
The giant ogre struggled for a moment, yet didn't obey her command showing Tamsin that these attackers weren't amateurs and may have even had training in resisting mind attacks. He lost concentration long enough for Tamsin to run to the bottom of the stairs and tackle him back to the ground. She wrestled on the floor with him as he gripped her arms tightly to the point where she thought her arms might break. After a few kicks and grapples Tamsin managed to break free. She stood and unsheathed her sword, tossing the sheath causing it to clatter across the floor. The valkyrie went to deliver a lethal blow but was blocked by the ogres own weapon. A large heavy metal rod with a weighted flat top was swung to meet Tamsin's sword and the battle was on.
From the corner of the valkyrie's eye she could see Lauren fighting the other ogre, but she didn't have any time to process that scene as her ogre was swinging his rod wildly at her forcing her to duck and roll out of his way to avoid being crushed. The apartment was filled with the sound of metal hitting metal and the grunts of those in the throes of battle.
Lauren was quick on her feet and was surprised that she still remembered her army training as she dodged blows left and right from the ogre she was facing. With a huge grunt she thrust her blade forward and into her opponents gut, her confidence was short lived however as the ogre merely laughed at the barely bleeding wound she had left. "Shit, go for the neck. Duh" the doctor hit her forehead with her open palm as she thought to herself. She looked up just in time to dodge a life ending blow from her ogres weapon that was coming straight down from above, propelled by both of the fae's massive arms. The ogres bar lodged itself into the floor boards with a resounding crack, right where Lauren was standing a millisecond ago. This distraction gave Lauren a chance to move around his back, slicing the side of his neck as she did so. The ogre yelped and raised his hand to stem the bleeding, but unfortunately for Lauren, he didn't go down and instead responded by dislodging his weapon from the floor with his free hand and swinging it around, following the doctors path. A loud crash was heard as it connected with the back of her head and sent her flying through the hall table leaving her awkwardly propped up against the wall, unmoving.
With Lauren no longer fighting, both of the ogres concentrated their efforts on Tamsin. What they didn't expect was the increase of power the valkyrie experienced when she saw Lauren was injured. The rage built up inside the warrior woman and to the ogres it looked as if wind started to swirl around the tall blondes body. Her face sunk completely leaving only a skeletal outline and her wings extended from her back as she spoke in a voice that sounded more like the voice of many speaking at once "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK IN THIS PLACE. TURN ON EACH OTHER AND KILL. NOW!"
Within a second the two ogres were fighting each other. Tamsin took the opening to move around the backs of the warring giants to slit one and then the others throats, killing them instantly. They fell to the floor in a heap as blood poured out of their wounds. Tamsin wasted no time celebrating her victory as she rushed to the doctor and slid onto the floor beside where Lauren was propped. Pulling the doctor into her arms she tried to wake her to no avail. No matter what the valkyrie tried, she wouldn't open her eyes. Tamsin was overcome with anger and grief as she held the doctor tight to her chest.
Panicked, the fae woman pulled out her cell phone and dialed the first number she could think of. After the third ring it answered.
"DYSON!" Tamsin yelled into the phone.
"Sup! T-sin! Begging for a rematch already? You know we beat you fair and square" Dyson laughed into the phone.
"We were attacked Dyson! Lauren won't wake up! I don't know what to do!" Tamsin panicked into the phone "gods! I've failed! I've failed her! Help!"
Dyson understood the seriousness of the situation "calm down Tamsin. First, is there any more danger near?"
"I don't know Dys, we got the two that broke in but I don't know if there are more coming" Tamsin looked around to see if there was anyone else coming through the door, the panic gripping her making her actions unusually frenetic for a fae normally so calm and collected, especially in the heat of battle. "Jesus Dyson, I should have left her upstairs! I told her to fight... What was I thinking?!"
"Tamsin, you have to concentrate. Cast out and check if there is danger near you. Do it now!" Dyson knew the valkyrie could sense danger and battle looming, but for some reason she was unable to calm herself enough to do it.
Tamsin paused for a moment and then did as asked. "No, there's no other fae near, at least none in the mind of battle" It had taken a lot for the fae woman to move her mind away from the injured doctor in her arms. "Dyson, this is all my fault! She won't wake up! What do I do?!"
"Tamsin, you must stay calm! Keep her still and do not leave her side. I'm on my way, I'll be there in 10 minutes." Dyson didn't want to hang up on his friend, but he didn't have any time to waste. While he rushed to gather his belongings he placed a call to his police partner telling him to meet him at Lauren's. He was out the door and racing down the street on his motorbike within seconds, ignoring all lights and stop signs to make it to Lauren's place as fast as he could. He was not a praying fae except for when he communed with his wolf spirit, but as he fought tears from either the wind in his eyes or the fear of more loss gripping his heart, he internally begged any power that might hear him that his friend was alive.
...
"Gods, please! Wake up dammit!" Tamsin begged desperately while cradling the unresponsive doctor in her arms. "This can't be it! Shit. The Morrigan is going to kill me! Please Lauren, you have to wake up!" The valkyrie didn't mean to focus on herself in the moment, but the risk to her life was very real should she fail her mission of protecting the blonde she was clutching to herself. Rocking back and forth she kept chanting words swapping between begging for the doctor to be alright and cursing the gods for what had happened that night. She was so caught up in the panic of the moment driven by the adrenaline of her recent battle that she didn't hear the doctor stirring.
"T-tamsin? What the..." Lauren was still disorientated from the damage she had sustained, she was drawn out of her mental assessment of her injuries by the mutterings of the valkyrie that was grasping her rather tightly and rocking her in her arms. A curious position to find herself in, injured or not.
"C'mon, you can't be dead. You just can't be, I can't take it, I just..." Tamsin was pulled from her vocal musings by Lauren's grunting in her arms.
"Tamsin... Please could you" Lauren groaned.
"Oh my god! Doc! You're alright! What is it? What do you need?" The warrior fae was beyond relieved to hear the doctor speaking and see her eyes open "tell me, anything! What can I do?!" Tamsin leaned in close to hear what it was that the doctor required from her.
"Could you... Uh, could you loosen your grip a little? It's kind of hard to breath with you holding me like this" Lauren looked to Tamsin's arms wound tightly around her torso.
"Shit! Sorry doc. Of course" The valkyrie awkwardly replied and gently placed the doctor on the ground, extricating herself from underneath the human woman and moving to sit next to her cross legged. She was surprised that she missed the feeling of the woman in her arms once it was gone.
Lauren also found herself missing the contact but didn't have time to think on it any further as she heard loud footsteps bounding towards the door. At first she was afraid another attack was coming but was quickly relieved when Dyson's face appeared above her.
Dyson looked immediately relieved to see the doctor awake and mostly alert. He leaned down onto one knee to asses his injured friend. "How bad is it doc? Anything broken?"
Lauren propped herself up on her elbows at the protest of the other two before responding "nothing broken, as far as I can tell. Few cuts and bruises and a killer headache." Lauren reached around, feeling the back of her head before waving her now bloodied hand in front of her face "I'm not positive, but I may have a pretty bad concussion. Now, help me up off the floor, it's killing my back!"
Both Dyson and Tamsin chuckled at the doctor before the wolf shifter placed his arms underneath Lauren and picked her up in one fluid motion.
"Dammit Dyson! I said HELP me up, not LIFT me up! I am NOT your damsel in distress!" Lauren protested as Dyson ignored her and walked her to the living area and placing her gently on the couch while Tamsin followed closely behind, grabbing a tea towel on her way and sat herself down next to the doctor, taking care not to land heavily. Handing the towel to Lauren, the doctor accepted it, folding the checkered material and holding it to where her head had been hit.
"Do not fear, m'lady. Your knight has arrived" Dyson puffed his chest out, bowing proudly and grinning at the now scowling doctor.
There wasn't time for a comeback as another set of footsteps was heard bounding down the hallway. All three looked up in time to see a short stout man stop just inside the door and place both his hands on his knees as he loudly panted trying to catch his breath.
Lauren and Tamsin looked on in confusion as Dyson rolled his eyes in frustration.
Through his panting, the short fae spoke "sorry bro!" the wolf shifter scowled at his police partner insinuating that they were kin while the two women suppressed giggles. The small detective continued "I came as fast as I could man, but this dude guy downstairs wouldn't let me up, ya feel me?"
Dyson's lips curled in irritation. "No, I do not 'feel' you. I have told you, all you need to do is show your badge and most places will allow you in. And could you please stop speaking like that? I know for a fact you were born in colonial England and have probably never stepped foot in 'the hood'."
"Aiit, I'm hearin' ya man. What's the sitch? And who are these lovely chickas you haven't introduced me to yet?" The dark detective attempted to swagger towards the two women on the couch before he was stopped by Dyson stepping in front of him and growling.
"They are close personal friends of mine and are NONE of your concern. You will not disrespect them again. Do you understand me, partner?" Dyson spat the last word with venom. He couldn't wait for the opportunity to cut ties with this fool.
"Niiice, two hot ladies all to yourself. Respect homie!" The small man adjusted his long, oversized leather coat trying to look cool but managing to look utterly uncoordinated in the process. The two on the couch grimaced at his slimy actions.
"What did I JUST say?! You are here to work. Go outside and call a clean up crew then come back in and see what you can tell me about the two dead guys over there. They smell like they're your sort. Now go. NOW!" Dyson growled causing his partner to flinch and scurry out the door.
The two women could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing while Dyson shook his head. Lauren winced at the pain her laughter caused, eliciting a worried look from Tamsin.
"Well, now you have had the pleasure of meeting my new partner. Any chance you could come back Tammers? I'll kill him myself to vacate the position for you!" The wolf shifter whined while the two women tried and failed to suppress their laughter at their friends distress.
"Sorry D-Man, looks like this job here got a whole lot more serious, I'm not going anywhere." Tamsin replied, patting Lauren's knee gently, marking the point. The affectionate gesture noticed by both the doctor and the shifter "But don't let that stop you from killing him. He's something else entirely..."
"Didn't you say he was an ogre, Dyson? He's a little small isn't he? I mean, those two over there are ogres and they're three times his size..." Lauren enquired, groaning as she indicated to the two heaps bleeding onto her floor. Truthfully, she was almost glad for the amusing distraction from her injured state.
Dyson snickered before replying "apparently he's the runt of the litter. Vertically challenged and all. Makes up for it by trying to act like a tough gangster and ladies man. As you can see, he fails on all accounts."
"That he does. My god Dyson, I thought you were kidding about him." Tamsin shook her head in surprise, she honestly believed that he had been exaggerating, but having met him, she now thought Dyson might have been withholding. She would have loved to explore it deeper, but they had more pressing issues at hand. "Dyson, it was bad. I think they followed us from the Dal. And they were pros, they barely flinched at my doubt. I know I'm still not at full power just yet on this cycle, and the alcohol didn't help, but your run of the mill ogre's head would have exploded"
"I can confirm that. I've met a few in my time, even been there to fight some with Bo, they're usually just thugs, only good for their size. These guys had battle training for sure." Lauren scowled at the memory of the beating she had taken. Dyson was again left impressed by the human, he knew she had gone along with Bo on some dangerous cases, he had no idea she had fought. "Their weapons were also custom made. If I had to guess, they're bankrolled to fight."
"Yeah, but who would pay them to come after you?" Dyson mused aloud.
"I know, I'm so likable!" Lauren quipped eliciting reserved laughter from both Tamsin and Dyson, it did nothing to mask the worried look still on both of their faces. "Tamsin, maybe you should give Evony a call. I hate to admit it, but I suppose she was right about me needing you. If it weren't for you being here, I'd be dead... So... Thanks."
Tamsin bowed her head at the doctor's show of gratitude before rising "you're right, The Morrigan will want to know what's happened. Give me a minute" Tamsin excused herself and walked towards the door, passing Dyson's partner on his way back in, she made sure to give him a wide berth to prevent any physical contact with the small fae.
"Clean up crew's on its way. I'm gonna have a look to see what I can find" The dark detective motioned towards the two bodies on the floor. Dyson checked on Lauren before moving to join him.
"Do you recognise these two, Edgar?" Dyson asked as he lifted one of the Ogre's off his front and laid him flat on his back.
"SHIT! Edward?!" Edgar exclaimed when he saw the face of the fae Dyson had just rolled. Moving to turn the other dead ogre he exclaimed again "Edwin?! Fuck. Yeah I know these guys, they're my cousins!"
With that Dyson growled showing his wolf in his face and extended claws, moving quickly to lift and pin Edgar up against the wall the wolf shifter spoke menacingly into his face "Your cousins?! They are part of your clan. How did you not know they were planning this?! You are a police officer AND part of the peace project, and the doctor is the most prized employee of the dark, WHY DID YOU DO NOTHING?!"
Edgar was struggling to breathe, with fear in his eyes he clawed at Dyson's strong arms lifting him above the ground. He struggled to choke out his words "not. Clan. Defecters. Putmedown!"
Dyson snarled but let the small ogre down on the ground who promptly began rubbing his sore neck where large hands hand been tightly wound around seconds earlier. "Tell me everything, NOW." Dyson growled out as he allowed the last remnants of his wolf to leave his appearance.
"Edwin and Edward are no longer a part of out clan. They have been working for anyone that will pay. Dark, light, humans even. They were cast out and I haven't heard from them since. They could have been hired by anyone." The frightened ogre stammered out while Dyson paced, scowling at the information "I do know they have been living across town with some other hired hands, trolls and whatnot. Maybe they know something?"
Before Dyson could reply, the two detectives turned at the sound of Lauren giggling.
"Something funny, doc?" Dyson enquired, wondering what was amusing in the face of this new revealed threat.
Lauren tried to calm herself before looking at the dark detective and enquiring "You're Edgar and they are Edwin and Edward... It's Ed, Edd and Eddy in here! Tell me there are more!"
The ogre was ruffled by the humans mockery "how dare you, a mere human, mock my great clan! I shall teach you to laugh!" He started to storm towards the couch where Lauren sat but was stopped when he was again lifted off the ground by large wolf hands on his throat.
"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH THE DOCTOR! SHE IS FAR MORE VALUABLE TO THE FAE THAN 100 OF YOU!" Dyson yelled out before lowering his voice and speaking into the ogres ear for all to hear "I will dispose of you in a second if you ever even think about threatening one of my friends again. IS. THAT. CLEAR, Detective?"
"Yes, detective. I'm sorry, I forgot my place. Dr. Lewis, please accept my apologies." Lauren nodded in acceptance as Dyson lowered him to the ground again. "We are all named after our clan Elder, Eddard, so yes, our names follow a certain... Theme."
"I'm sorry for offending you Edgar, it must be my injured head. Thank you for being here to help" Lauren graciously offered the dark detective who smiled in appreciation of the doctor's words. "How much longer will this take Dys? I'm exhausted and I'd love my home back"
"Of course Lauren. The clean up crew will be here momentarily and we'll have the bodies gone quickly. As for the rest of the damage..." Dyson looked around at the smashed table, holes in the floors and wall and various broken items scattered around.
"Don't worry about that. The Morrigan is also sending her clean up crew. They've got a brownie fae with them, he'll sort it out quickly." Tamsin had reentered the room and joined the conversation. "Lauren, she wants you to take the next two days off and I'm to make sure you recover"
"What?! No! I have work to do!" Lauren whined, but she knew there was no winning this one.
"Two days. You'll be fine. You need time to recover" Tamsin scolded the doctor.
Shortly, both clean up crews arrived and began their work, surprisingly quieter than expected. Lauren suspected that one of the fae may have been using a noise canceling charm when she couldn't hear the banging of a hammer she saw swinging with her own eyes.
Tamsin took the time to help Lauren to the kitchen bench and gathered first aid supplies to help clean and manage the doctors wounds. If the situation weren't so concerning, Dyson would have thought the scene of the valkyrie caring gently for the doctor was rather sweet and tender. He didn't have time for that though as he was busy gathering any clues he could before all evidence was scoured from the area.
While the bodies were being removed, Dyson consulted with his two friends again, promising to drop by the next day to check on them. With hugs all round the two women were left alone in the flat that looked like nothing had occurred, except for the door was now replaced with a reinforced steel one that nothing would be breaking through again in a hurry. You especially couldn't tell a fight for their lives had happened here or that two lives were ended. Lauren would never cease to be amazed at what the fae could do in an hour.
"Wow. What a day." Lauren sighed out in disbelief.
"You can say that again. Damn... Listen doc, I have to say something" Tamsin turned to look at the doctor fully before continuing "I shouldn't have told you to fight. I don't know what I was thinking. My battle skills aren't fully matured yet and I made a bad call that nearly got you killed. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again"
Tamsin was stopped when Lauren held up a hand to silence her "Tamsin, it will happen again" Lauren gave the valkyrie a look to tell her not to interrupt before pressing on "it will happen again because there is no way I would let you go into a fight to protect me alone. As scared as I was, I would never do that. I must admit though... I think I need a little more training, I've gone a little soft after leaving the desert for a lab..."
"The desert?" Tamsin asked, confused at the reference.
"Yeah, Afghanistan and Iraq. Anyway... I think I should make some time to train a bit, and seeing you have to be around me 24/7, would you mind teaching me some stuff?" The doctor asked hopeful of the valkyrie.
"Wow. We're talking about THAT sometime, but yes, I can train you. It'll be a good chance for me as well." Tamsin was shocked at what Lauren had just revealed but did her best to hide it. This woman was full of surprises "for now, you need sleep. Let's call it a night"
"First I need a shower. I just want to wash this whole day away" Lauren replied, looking at her battle torn and blood stained clothing.
"Fair point, I could use a bath myself" the valkyrie agreed. "Here, let me help you up the stairs at least, I'll leave the showering to you" Tamsin smirked at the innuendo while Lauren blushed slightly but nodded her head as the warrior fae moved to support her.
After an awkward goodnight outside Lauren's bedroom door the two parted ways, making plans for a late breakfast after a sleep in the next morning.
...
Across the street from Lauren's loft a man watched as the bodies were removed from the building and into a waiting coroners vehicle. He was startled when approached by someone moving out of the shadows.
"Looks like the goons you sent failed, you have underestimated the doctor" came a mocking woman's voice from behind him.
"The fuck? Who are you?" The man replied curtly and slightly afraid that he had been found out.
"Let's just say you and I have some common interests. We may be able to help each other" the woman replied handing the man a box with a cellphone and charger inside "wait for my call. There are others with the same goal. Do not make another attack until we have all met"
The man went to reply that he would not be ordered around, but the woman in the shadows was gone as quickly as she had come. He examined the contents of the box again and wondered what he had started. It didn't matter, if there were others who wanted that doctor dead, he would join them. He did not want to fail again. Moving into the darkness he passed right by Dyson on the street, unnoticed against the city as a man just out for a walk.
He had taken note of all who had come to aid the doctor and all that surrounded her earlier in the night. He knew he would continue to have her watched, learning more about her weaknesses and allies. If they all had to die too for his mission to be complete, then so be it.
...
Authors notes: please let me know what you thought :-) next update soon!