OKAY! So I know it's been forever since I updated this one and I'm sorry ^^;
But here's the new chapter and I hope you like it.
-PK
I was running... But running to or away from whatever it was I wasn't sure. I just knew to keep running, that it stank like death in this place, death and lost hope and I knew I needed to keep running. If I didn't I would die. I knew that much. A feral sound echoed behind me and I stepped it up; my lungs burning, my calves numb, a stitch that has been there for the last several miles. It was threatening to rip my side right in half. I hurt all over from running. But I knew I couldn't stop. I pushed myself harder as I saw the darkness easing. I was almost out. A bright light was at the end of the tunnel. And someone was standing in it. I squinted, trying to make them out.
Shoulder length hair blew in the wind, the tall, majestic seeming man was turned towards me. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was looking at me. I could see green, a green coat and I was drawing nearer. He held out his hands for me, opened his arms, waiting for me to run into them. I wanted to. So much so it almost hurt. But I was close. I could almost see his face through the shadows. I could hear his voice, the loving, strong voice. Accented, but pleasantly.
"Rachel..." He said, calling me. I could see his smile now, his teeth flat and even and white. It made my heart skip and it felt like I was floating to him. I reached out my hands. He was almost close enough to touch. Beautiful light umber hair blew around him, the colour of trees.
"Rachel..." He said again, voice melting away all my pain. I was almost there. A few more steps. I pushed myself and stretched my hands out, grasping for him. His warm, work-roughened hands closed around my bare forearms and my fingers brushed the crushed velvet. I tried to look up and see his face and my name came again.
"RACHEL!" Something small and hard landed on my stomach and I coughed, feeling my breath race out of me. Rex was purring happily on my belly and Ivy was standing above me, looking irate at best. I tried to grab the face from my dream but it was gone. I sighed and looked up at her. She looked worried. "Are you okay?" I asked, checking my clock. Quarter after ten. She huffed and dropped the phone on my lap.
"Edden's been calling every few minutes for the last hour." She said, pushing the short, ink black hair off her face. I sighed, and looked at the caller ID. That was Edden's number all right. But why would he be calling so early? I didn't think I had a run with the FIB today. "Did he leave a message?" I sat up, making Rex jump off. She shook her head.
"No, he just--" The phone rang again, cutting off what ever she had been about to say. I fumbled with it, almost dropping it, catching it on the third ring. "Hello?" I answered breathlessly. Ivy snickered, walking out of my room.
"Ah, Morgan." Edden's voice crackled over the line and I heard the sounds of the FIB building in the background. "It's about time you answered. I was wondering if I should send a car over to see if you were all right." I heard someone laugh in the background briefly and guessed someone had been in his office with him. Irritated, I snapped at him. "Witches are normally asleep at this time, Edden. I thought you knew that." He hmm -ed and I slumped back down. "So what is it Edden?"
"String of murders I need you to check out." My throat closed for an instant and relaxed. I hated dealing with murders but the fact they were bringing me in meant they thought it might be an Inderlander. He cleared his throat and continued. I heard the pain in his voice. "Women, between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-eight, all having the same thing in common." I sighed, getting up out of bed and padding out of my room towards the kitchen. "All of them were witches, with long red hair." I froze, coffee carafe in my hand. All of them in their mid-twenties. All red-haired witches. Panic clutched my heart and I struggled, somehow managing to find my voice.
"Are you sure? Edden, are you absolutely sure?" I felt unreal. Someone was killing women. More than that; someone was killing women like me. It didn't surprise me, there were plenty of people that hated me, but to go this far? That was new. I heard Edden sigh and brought my attention back to the phone. "I'm sorry Rachel. The Coroner is still trying to determine if cause of death is magical or non. We believe it's an Inderlander though, since they've been able to overcome several qualified witches." I swallowed at the word several. How many was several? How many people had to die because of me? I took a breath to steady myself and asked how many. Edden's voice was hard. "Five. The most recent was found today, the first was found about a week ago. We wouldn't know except it was one of our officers that found the one today. We looked into the I.S. records and found out the rest from their investigation. Keep your head low, we think you're their number one suspect. But that's all we could find out for now. Once I can dig some more up I'll send Glenn for you. I knew you would want to know. So you can, uh, prepare." I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me. "Yeah. Yeah okay. Thanks Edden." I let my hand drop, hitting the end button. A soft clatter of pixy wings coming up to me told me Jenks had heard. His small weight settled on my shoulder. "Jeez, Rache..." I sighed, bringing myself out of my shocked reverie. Setting the carafe back on the counter, I turned, headed for the bathroom. The initial shock had passed, replacing it with a slow, burning rage. That was good; if I was angry then I couldn't break down. I dealt better with anger than fear anyways. Jenks buzzed down onto the dryer while I fussed in it, pulling out clothes.
"Someone wants me dead Jenks." I said, looking the pixy in the eye as best I could. That was the only explanation I could come up with. They wanted me dead and this was probably a trap to get me to come to them. To get me killed. Me and anyone that cared about me. "Yeah but Rache..." Jenks started again, his wings a blur and dust falling from him. I knew he was worried. So was I. I stood up, slamming the dryer shut, making him take flight, dusting more. "Someone. Wants. Me. Dead. Enough to be harming anyone that looks like me." I said, slowly. The pixy huffed. "I know Rache. But that's exactly why--" Frustrated, I walked away. Jenks followed me, spilling angry red sparkles behind him. It was almost comical. Almost. "Rachel!" I ignored him, slamming the door to my room shut again. I knew that would only buy me a couple minutes but it was enough. I had just barley finished fussing with my jeans when Jenks came flying in under the door. "Rachel I'm not going to let you go out on some vendetta!" He stood on my dresser in his best Peter Pan pose. I rose my eyebrows at him and selected a perfume, spritzing some on me.
"I'm not going on a vendetta Jenks." I said, looking at the clock. Ten thirty. Euwie. It was too early for me. "I'm going to David's. He still has my scent charms my mother made me." The last run I had with David I had to disguise his Were scent or it would have been too obvious we were there about the screams heard from the basement, not the blast hole in the kitchen. A witch had been kidnapping Weres to experiment turning them full time into big wolfy pets. I still had nightmares from that one. Jenks buzzed, calmer now obviously. "Just to David's?" He said, looking at me. I nodded, then shrugged. "And to the store. We're out of tomatoes." The little pixy flew up, lighting on my shoulder, huffing. "And I suppose I could get you a little thing of honey." I said, smiling. His wings started up at once and I knew he was on board for whatever I was doing. I ducked into the bathroom, dragging a brush through my hair and across my teeth. Jenks nodded from on top of the mirror.
Once that was finished I walked out into the sanctuary, stopping to look at all the dangling strings. Rex sat in a corner, watching them, like she was unsure which to go after. A burst of pixy giggles came from the rafters as they bobbled the strings around. Poor cat looked like she was going nuts. "And you said it would be a bad idea to make her my familiar." I said to Jenks as we crossed into the foyer. "Her brains are already fried." He sighed, looking back. "I know. They're going to drive my poor cat insane." I laughed, pulling my nice, warm coat on and grabbing my bag. I had reloaded my splat gun and put it in here last night, just in case I needed to get out of the church fast. I hadn't needed to, but it was very convenient this morning. I pulled my gloves on, then my hat, giving Jenks a moment to duck in first before shoving into the cold.
Snow drifted down tranquilly and I sighed. Only up north like this would it snow in March so profusely. I tromped through the snow to my car, unhappy about everything. Of course when things were going smooth for me for a minute in time they had to go wrong again. Not that you could really call what just happened yesterday "smooth". Just... Smoother. Kind of. I really needed to talk to Ford about what the hell happened yesterday. Add that to my ever-growing list of unpleasant crap to do. Sighing, I dug my keys out of my bag and got into my car, rubbing my hands together. I dropped my bag on the other seat and started it up, turning the heat on full blast for Jenks. And myself, if I was being honest. Checking to make sure Ivy didn't park the Buick at the end of the driveway again, I pulled out, turning the car towards David's sharply. I knew he wouldn't be happy for me to just barge in, so I started down the street and called him on speaker. It took for the fourth or fifth ring for him to pick up and felt guilty. He must have still been sleeping.
"Rachel? Why the hell are you calling me so early in the morning?" David's sleep muffled voice made me smile; he was normally the early riser. "And are you driving? How many times have I told you not to call me while you're driving?" Jenks laughed and flew out from under my hat, landing on my phone instead. "Relax David. You're on speaker." There was a muffled sigh and the sound of blankets rustling before he spoke again. "So what is it?" I made a turn towards his place and sighed. "You want coffee? I'm coming over." A thunk of something being dropped and the scrap of it being lifted. "Now?! Rachel, you just woke me up! You could have given me some warning." A pause and a sigh. "Fine. Yes, I want coffee. If I know you, your church got trashed and you need to know if it's covered right? Just bring me my coffee and next time, give me more warning than 'I'm coming over' okay?" The line went dead and I snapped my phone shut, pulling into a fast-food joint to get some quick coffee. Figuring David would have cream and sugar if he wanted some, I ordered two blacks and went on my way.
David's wasn't far. Maybe ten minutes later I pulled into the parking lot, looking up at what I knew to be his second floor window. His cat was sitting there, staring at me in that piercing, creepy kitty way it would and I pulled my hat up. Jenks flew under and, grabbing the coffee, I got out of my car. The lot had been salted this time, unlike last time I was here when it was covered in ice. I smiled. No falling Rachel show for the neighbors this time. Confidently, I strode to David's door, where he was waiting for me, arms crossed and looking unhappy. I beamed at him and he sighed, moving away from the door and letting me in.
"So what part of your church is gone this time?" He asked, eying Jenks as the pixy flew around the room before settling on the light. I handed him his coffee and took a sip of my own, reveling in the warmth. Even though it was cheap fast food coffee, it still made me feel ten times better. Feeling his gaze on me, I looked up. "Church is fine." I said, taking another sip. He glared at me and sat down at his table, rustling through the papers he brought out on me and my policy. I sat down opposite him and watched. "The church is fine." He mimicked, looking up at me. I nodded and he grunted at me, going from the insurance on my church to the one on me. "If the church is fine, then it's something with you, right?" He asked. I paused, nodded, and sighed. "Kind of. To be honest, I'm here to take back my scent amulets I left here." He watched me over his cup and I started slowly into what Edden told me. David listened intently and remained silent. I cradled my coffee in my hands and waited for him to speak.
"Rachel, I'm sorry." He said finally, a painful look in his eyes. I nodded and he reached out, clapping my shoulder briefly before standing. "Edden doesn't have any leads?" He asked. I shook my head, not able to speak. There were sparkles floating down on my hand and I looked up, seeing Jenks worried as well. David frowned and walked away, into the other room. There was the sound of several things being moved and he came back with a box containing my scent amulets. Grateful, I smiled and took it, setting it in my lap. David took his seat again too, clearing his throat. "Do you want help with this one?" I looked up, overwhelmed with gratitude at having such good friends. I knew Ivy would want to help too, and between her and the FIB they would be able to track down this sicko easy. Guilty, I chewed on my lip and looked back at David. I wouldn't let any of them get hurt. Not this time. I forced a wan smile and tucked my hair back.
"I'm going to take all the help with this one I can. The FIB is already on it, and after I get the names, if there's anything you can tell me about the dead girls, that would help a lot." I said, looking back down at the box. David leaned back and studied me. For some reason it reminded me of the way Ford watched me. I shifted uncomfortably. "What?" The Were looked from the box to me, silent. I flushed and covered the box with my hands. "What?!" David leaned forward and pointed at the covered box. "Who are those for?"
I gulped. I did not want to get into this with David, but he deserved to know. So did everyone else, for that matter. And if he knew, maybe my insurance rates wouldn't sky rocket if I got hurt by doing something stupid. I let out my breath and looked down, unsure. I knew I needed help, and if I was honest with myself, I'd rather have the demon help than anyone else. Al could take care of himself. Well, so could Ivy and the FIB but Al was a freaking demon. And hadn't it been Ford that told me if I'm good at something I should just use it and be happy? Well, I was good at dealing with demons. So it made sense to bring my demon. At least, that's what I was telling myself. I looked up and saw that David was watching me still, waiting. I took a breath and steadied myself. So what if I was going to have the demon help me with my tag? I was a big girl and he was my teacher. I nodded, saying simply: "Al."
There was a harsh chirp from the light and Jenks flew down right into my face. I felt his clothes on my nose, he was so close. "Al?!" He screamed, the noise grating on my eyeballs. "The demon?! You're going to ask the demon for help! Are you daft? Tink's titties, Rache! What's wrong with you?!" He stopped, landing on the table in front of me. He gave me a weird look and flew up again so I could see him. "What's going on between you and that demon? Demon's aren't nice. And he's, well... Not nice, but not trying to drag you into the Ever-After all the time anymore." I flushed and huffed, crossing my arms. Jenks had a point but I wasn't about to tell him what happened yesterday when Ford was over. He'd probably get Ivy to tie me tot he rafters in the church just to stay put and keep Al away from me. And no way was I letting them keep me out of this run. "Nothing is going on. I have no idea why he's acting so nice. That's why I had him and Ford over last night. I thought maybe Ford could tell me something." Jenks buzzed and my mind trailed off to last night again.
My lips tingled as I thought about it, and my hand raised, covering my mouth. I hadn't known that the reason Algaliarept wasn't dragging me off was because he, well, felt for me, if demons can actually feel that way, since I wasn't buying into his "nice family Al" act, but I had known it was something. I had thought maybe the demon just respected me more. Then again, he probably didn't feel for me at all. Demons are tricky and I wouldn't doubt he was just trying to show everyone up by bringing the next generation of demons into existence. David and Jenks had relaxed; apparently they thought it was repulsion that made me cover my mouth. Slowly, I let out my breath again, clutching my coffee closer. I hadn't told anyone yet that I was asking Al for help. I certainly hadn't told anyone that I was planning on going into the Ever-After to serve an extra day as his student to try to convince him. I'm sure it wouldn't have taken that much, but Al liked to watch me work, and liked it more when I stirred spells for him and he would probably be more useful than anyone else at this point, if I was honest with myself. I looked up and smiled.
"Don't worry," I said, grabbing the box of scent amulets and heading towards the door. "I know what I'm doing." I lifted my hat again and Jenks ducked in, muttering something about learning to think with my brain and how my latest shampoo was worse than decomposing fairy guts. I ignored him. David opened the door for me and I smiled, thanking him for keeping my amulets safe. Maybe half-way to my car, I heard him call my name. I turned, seeing him still standing in the doorway. He cleared his throat. "Do you trust him, Rachel?" He called, careful not to say any names since his neighbors were looking out at him now. I thought about it carefully before nodding. "Yes, David. I trust him. As much as someone could trust him, I guess." I called back with what I hoped was a firm look on my face. He huffed, turning to head back in. "Then I trust your judgement, Rachel." He said, and again I was glad to have friends like I did. "If he hurts you, I'm going to tear him apart." He shut the door and I saw the cat run out of the window. Jenks pulled on my hair and I got into my car, blasting the heat again. Pulling out of David's driveway, he flew out of my hat and landed on the rear-view mirror, his arms crossed.
"You trust that slime?" He accused, wings a blur. I only looked at him and pulled out of the driveway, pointedly ignoring the fuss he was making. It was my life and as strange as it was, I did trust Al. For the most part. At least, I didn't see any reason not to. He saved Ford and Holly adn I from being attacked by the banshee last night, after all. Jenks buzzed in my face and I tried to grab him. I hated it when he did that. And it was dangerous for us while I was driving. The persistent little pixy landed on the dash in front of the steering wheel. He made a horrible shreiking chirp with his wings. I could feel a headache coming on already. "Why the hell would you trust him! He's a demon Rache! A demon that's tried to kill you countless times! A demon that drags you to the Ever-After once a week! A demon that--"
"A demon that saved my life, my shrink's life and a baby's life even though he could have just as easily sat back and watched us die, instead of getting himself hurt." I said, annoyed. Jenks shut up and flitted to the top of my rear-view mirror, angry dust floating down to be blown around by the heater. He still looked really annoyed but seemed to have backed off for the moment. Head pounding, I decided to skip the grocery shopping and go back home. I needed to get a few spells ready, as well as call Al. And Edden. And Ivy if she wasn't still there. Plus, I needed to see if Ivy would stop by a charm shop and get more fern seeds. I had a lot to do, plus I wanted to talk to Ford about Al. But that could wait until tomorrow right? I nodded and pulled into the driveway of the church. Jenks flew under my hat as I shut the car off, grabbing my box of amulets and my bag. I opened the door and scowled again at how stupidly cold it was. But there wasn't any graffiti on my sign since some stupid kid tried it last month and Bis dropped right down onto his head. That was a small victory at least.
I stepped into the foyer and pulled the door shut, taking my coat and hat off. Jenks burst out, muttering darkly about fairy droppings and stupid demons. I didn't want to have this argument with him, so I walked through the sanctuary and strait back to my kitchen. There was spelling to be done and I smelled coffee. The good kind, made by Ivy, not some pimple-faced teenager at a fast food joint. Not wanting to walk in on her, I called out to Ivy to let her know I was there. She was sitting in front of her computer with her own oversize Vampiric Charms mug full of coffee looking anxious. Well, as anxious as Ivy can ever look. On anyone else it would look like they didn't want to be awake yet. Which might be the case with Ivy too. Vampires are confusing.
"What's wrong?" I asked, deciding it looked more like worry than sleepiness. Pouring a cup of coffee for myself, I leaned against the center island and waited for her to answer. Her lips pressed into a hard line and I mentally patted myself on the back for being right. I stood there for a moment and, deciding she wasn't going to answer, gathered my stuff to start my spell work. First off, I had to make a new disguise, since everyone already new about my brunette girl one and the old lady one. I pulled out the ingredients and started to work, trying to decide whether I wanted a bosomy blonde bimbo one or maybe a plain, librarian looking one. Choosing both, I split my brew and worked on both. Almost an hour went by before Ivy said anything.
"Edden called." I looked up and, even though I knew exactly what was wrong, played dumb. I couldn't tell if she was mad at me, or just mad, so better to fake ignorance. She stood up with eerie vamp quickness and looked over at me, her brown rings slowly shrinking. "Why didn't you come tell me?" She asked, and though her voice was calm, I could tell she was mad. Really mad. I touched one toe onto the circle etched into the linoleum, just in case. Ivy hadn't bitten me in a long time, and I don't think she'd start now, but she was starting to scare me and I knew it wasn't helping. She hadn't been this upset in a long time. I breathed deep to get myself to settle down and went back to my work.
"I didn't want to wake you up with bad news. I was going to tell you when I got back from David's, but you were upset. I'm working on stuff now that will help." She seemed to calm down and I looked back up. Her eyes were brown again but there was still tightness to her features. She was annoyed but not mad anymore. I hoped. I smiled weakly and decided that getting her to do shopping for my spelling stuff would make her feel better. Make her feel like she was doing something to help keep me safe. Pulling out a piece of blank paper and a pen, I wrote down some ingredients and handed them to her. She looked it over then back at me, one brow cocked in interest.
"I can't go to the charm shops anymore and I need those things. It would really help me with my spelling if I had those. Can you get them? And take Jenks with you, so he can get some fern seeds for Matalina?" The vamp eased up, looking pleased to be able to do something. I smiled, glad that I could at least make Ivy happy. "Sure. This will be no problem. I have a few places to stop by for myself, so I won't be back until late." She said, putting the list in her coat pocket. I nodded, finishing my spells and putting them into amulets. I took one to test and invoked it, overjoyed when the scent of redwood washed over me. It shouldn't be such a big thing that it worked but spells were hit and miss now. Some worked with my proto-demon blood and some didn't. Of course, the demon curses always worked. Putting my amulets away, I washed my spelling stuff and started over. Next, sleepy-time potions. It was going to be a long day...
I sighed, putting the last of my now washed and dried spelling pots away, stowing my books underneath the counter for the moment. I'd take them up to the belfry later, it had taken hours to complete everything I'd wanted. Only one last thing to do left. I had called Edden earlier only to get a harried "I'll call you if anything comes up" and Ivy wasn't answering her phone. So The only thing I had ot do now was call my demon, Algaliarept. I didn't like doing this but at least if I called him from my scrying mirror I could stay in my nice, warm kitchen. I did not want to stand out there in the freezing cold in my graveyard to do this. There was no point. I sighed, and brought my mirror out, setting it on the counter. I put my hand on the mirror and felt as some of my aura went in too. I hated that part. It always made me feel vulnerable. I waited for Al to answer me.
"Itchy-witch. Want me to come over for dinner again so soon? I know it's not Saturday yet." Al voice was preoccupied, like I caught him doing something. For a brief moment I wondered what the demon did in his free time, seeing as he normally just hovered over me while I was there. I heard him laughed then coloured, I had forgotten that he could hear my thoughts while I was talking to him. "If you must know I'm deciding what new curses I want you to learn, Rachel Mariana Morgan. But, please, what do you want? I know you don't just want to talk." I made a face at my mirror, glad the demon couldn't see it.
"I wanted to know if you would help me tag someone that's been killing witches, once I find them." Al went silent for a moment and I could almost hear the buzz of his brain working. "You want me to help you with you're work?" The demon asked, clearly interested. I shifted my stance and smiled. Chances were good he would help if it's interesting to him. "Someone's been killing witches that look like me. The I.S. isn't doing anything about it so the FIB is looking into it. But you's probably be able to find out faster..." I let my thought trail off, looking down at the mirror. For something that was supposed to be evil, it really was beautiful. Al snorted. "Of course I could. But what are you going to give me in return for helping you, itchy-witch?" I bit my lip, not liking the tone he was using. I ignored it. Better not even to acknowledge I heard it. "I was going to offer to serve an extra day in the Ever-After with you?" I didn't like that it was a question but it was. I didn't know if that's all it would take. There was silence and I heard the thump of a book down on a table, or I thought that's what it was. Then silence again. "Al?"
A loud pop sounded about a foot next to me and I was knocked backwards onto my butt. Al was standing there over me, a grin on his face. I didn't like the look of it, but seeing as he was here, I guessed he had accepted. Or so I hoped. I really didn't want a repeat of last year, him dragging me down the street and me trying to get anyway. He grabbed my arm and hoisted me up. "Offer accepted, my little witch." Nodding, I tried to walk away to get my things. He didn't let go, however, and panic started to rise in me. I knew he wouldn't hurt me but he's still a demon. It's frightening when one won't let you go. I jerked my arm.
"Very funny Al, you scared the little witch, now let me get my things." I said, trying to step forward. He pulled me back and thudded against his chest. His arms went around my waist and I had to keep the panic and shock from rising up in me. I felt his head on my shoulder, in the crook of my neck and the soft, light umber hair fell into my line of sight. I gasped, not wanting to believe myself. He was warm and even though my mind was screaming he's a freaking demon! I liked the feeling. He laughed from where he was and I turned, trying to see him. "It's not necessary, Rachel. You'll do fine as is. I don't think you'll have much time for stirring spells." My eyes widened at the implication, and I tried to get out of his grip.
"Rachel?" Ivy. I looked over to see her standing in the doorway with a heavily dusting, furious Jenks on her shoulder. She looked stunned. I gulped and the demon laughed into my neck. I couldn't stifle the shiver it caused and I saw Ivy's eyes dialate. Jenks buzzed harshly and flew forward, only to run into a shimmering band of Ever-After as Al circled us. I tried to saw something but he was laughing again and it was sending shivers down my neck. Ivy took two steps forward then paused, turning and dashing out of the room. Guilt swept me for enjoying his touch and I called after her. "Ivy! Wait, it's not...!" But my kitchen was gone and Al was taking us through the ley line, into the Ever-After.
So there were a few things I got in my reviews of this last time I wanted to address really quick. I noticed there were a few things that slipped through, like spelling and grammar errors. And one person did point out that I made Al out of character. Well, I did that on purpose. You'll see why in later chapters. Everything I do is for a reason, after all.
So, r&r, like always. I love hearing what you think or what you notcied I messed up. Makes me write better.
Loves~
-PK
