Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope I still have readers out there, and I'm really trying to not have these long waits between chapters; I'm trying to do better. Anyway, please enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the House of Night series, or its' characters. They belong to PC and Kristin Cast. I also do not own the Sweep series, or its' characters. They belong to Cate Tiernan. All I have is this story/plot line.
~ Chapter Five ~
The Warehouse
Hunter was on his feet even before Alisa hit the floor. Shaunee, who had been standing next to the younger girl, caught her before she fell and lowered to the floor. Hunter was grabbed by one of the red fledglings; no one was allowed to move.
Darius had moved at the same time Hunter did. Though, of course, he was grabbed, too. However, he easily outmaneuvered the fledgling and made a beeline to the injured young witch.
"Freeze!" Selene said evenly, though her voice echoed through the room. Darius stopped in his tracks, his feet rooted to the floor as he tried to free himself. "Perhaps you all have forgotten our little arrangement. No one speaks or moves unless you want to die a very painful death."
"Alisa needs help or she's going to bleed to death," Hunter argued as Shaunee struggled to help Alisa.
Selene ignored Hunter, instead she walked over to Darius. "And what do you think you'll be able to do for her?" she asked, walking a slow circle around Darius.
"I have medical training," Darius explained, following Selene with his eyes. "There's probably little supplies here, but I know how to tend to a wound of this caliber."
Meanwhile, Damien slowly reached up and tugged on Hunter's jacket to get his attention. "Sit down. There's nothing you can do right now," he whispered. Hunter hesitated and then sat down.
Everybody else watched Selene with Darius. "Well, you see, I can't let you do that. What will the others think if I allow you to wander and not them?" Selene responded.
"Let him help her," Kalona spoke up. He sat down in the chair, crossing his arms and stretching his legs out in front of him, blocking Rephaim from inching any closer to Stevie Rae. "There is nothing he can really do, except make her journey from this world to the next comfortable."
Selene stared at him for a few seconds, and then released Darius. Darius hurried over to Alisa and Shaunee, who moved over to make room for him, grateful that he could take over.
Darius shucked off his jacket and instructed Shaunee to do the same. "We'll need them to stop the bleeding later," he explained, "Right now, the pipe is doing that."
Alisa was lying on her side, her head in Shaunee's lap. "What do we do now?" Shaunee asked, glancing down at Alisa's pale face. She was rather still for someone who was just stabbed with a foreign object; she must be going into shock.
"I check to see if she has any internal bleeding," Darius told her, "That way we know if we should pull the pipe out now or wait." He went to work running his hands over Alisa's stomach, pushing gently with his fingertips. He sat back. "I think we're good."
Suddenly, there was a cry from the center of the room. "She needs to go to the hospital!" Mary K. cried. "She's going to die if she doesn't!" She ended in a sob.
Kalona's head snapped to her. Jack put his hand on Mary K.'s arm to calm her, but it didn't detract from Kalona's attention.
"Curb you hysterics or my sons will fillet you just like your friend," Kalona ordered, not raising his voice an inch. Mary K. covered her face with her hands, trying to get her emotions in check.
xXx
"Shaunee." Darius said, bringing the girl's attention back to him. "I need you to hold her still while I pull the pipe out. Be ready with the jackets, there's going to be a lot of blood." Shaunee nodded, reaching for her jacket.
"I'm so...cold," came Alisa's small, frail voice.
Shaunee and Darius exchanged looks. Then, Shaunee looked back down at Alisa. She stroked the girl's black hair in a soothing way. "I'm going to help you," Shaunee whispered, "You don't know me, but I can help you." Alisa stared up at her. Shaunee focused on her element, willing it to come to her. Fire's warmth burned through her like a small flame. Fire, this girl needs you. Give her your warmth and strength to help her through this, Shaunee thought. Fire encircled her once more, then left, flowing into Alisa. Alisa gave a small sigh as the coldness left her.
"Alright, on three," Darius said, getting into position to pull the pipe out of Alisa. Shaunee gripped Alisa's shoulders to keep her still. "One...two..." Suddenly, Kalona was there, yanking the pipe out without any further thought or hesitation. Alisa screamed, an agonized scream full of pain. Shaunee and Darius rushed to put pressure on the wound; one on Alisa's front and one her back.
"Three." Kalona stated. He held the bloody pipe in his hand, tossing it up in the air and catching it again. "Drama is only exciting to a certain point and then it gets drawn out and very tedious."
Darius barely had time to spare Kalona a glance. He pulled off his belt. "Here, lift her up a little bit," he instructed, "I'm going to put this around her." Shaunee did as she was told, holding Alisa up as Darius wrapped the belt around her and the jackets, and tightened it.
xXx
"This is ridiculous," Sky muttered from where she sat on the other side of the room. "What do they even want from us?"
"Haven't you been paying attention?" Aphrodite snorted, sarcasm flowing from every word. She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. "They want our deaths."
"Well, excuse me, if I haven't resigned myself to dying just yet," Sky shot back at her. She watched as Kalona sat relaxed and comfortable in the chair, rolling the bloody silver pipe between his hands while Darius worked to save Alisa's life. Selene paced the width of the room, occasionally stopping to shoot Kalona a glare.
"I don't see how we could even get out of here," Aphrodite replied, a little more sincerely. "If we can get past these two, there's no way we can get by all these damn raven mockers."
"We need a diversion," Sky said, matter of fact.
"And who will the unlucky person be..." Aphrodite trailed off, as she looked at the red fledglings around the room, then at Alisa and back again. "The blood has to be driving them crazy."
"I think we just found our diversion," Sky replied, meeting Aphrodite's eyes, who narrowed hers.
xXx
Erin sat on the floor in the front corner of the room across from Hunter and Damien. She hugged her legs to her chest, moving closer to the hot guy sitting next to her. "This is really scary," Erin whispered, "I don't know how we can get out of here."
"We just have to stay quiet and try not to make them mad," Robbie whispered back to her. "Then we can figure out what it is they want."
"I'll do whatever you say," Erin whispered, sliding her arm through his. Robbie glanced down at it confusedly, then looked back out at the room.
xXx
"Stevie Rae had said that you lost somebody, correct?" Hunter asked, turning to face Damien. Once Damien nodded, Hunter asked another question. "What is she to you?"
"Besides our friend, Zoey is our high priestess," Damien answered, taking turns looking at Hunter and the rest of the room.
"She's powerful?" Hunter questioned.
"Yes, why?" Damien stared at him, eyebrows drawn together.
Hunter took a deep breath and said, "Morgan, my girlfriend, well she's more than that, she's one of the most powerful witches that's come around in generations and she's been taken too."
"That sounds like more than just a coincidence," Damien mused, running a hand over his chin thoughtfully.
Hunter nodded. "A while ago, Morgan sent me a witch message saying that she was with Ciaran, her father. Which I don't understand, because last I heard, he was in Scotland after we stripped him of his powers."
"Could he be working with someone?" Damien wondered, wishing he had a pencil and some paper. Things always seemed clearer on paper.
"Seeing as Selene is back from the dead, I'd say anything is possible at this point," Hunter looked over his shoulder. Kalona was still sitting in his chair tapping a musical beat against the floor with the metal pipe he still held. Selene stood over Darius, watching him with Alisa. Hunter didn't see her gun, but he knew she still had it with her.
"What does Ciaran look like?" Damien asked suddenly.
Hunter looked back at Damien. "Older, mid-forties. Hazel eyes and graying hair," Hunter answered.
Damien's eyes widened as Hunter finished. He said, "I think he's the one who took Zoey."
xXx
"Is she still alive?" Selene asked Darius from where she stood behind him. Her arms were crossed as she feigned interest and caring.
"Yes, but she needs stitches and a sterile environment or infection is going to set in," Darius told her, unable to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice.
"Oh, what a shame," Selene said, "After all you've done for her, she's going to die anyway. Ah, well, you can't save them all." Selene put her hand on Darius' shoulder and knelt down next to him. "Be a dear, and make her journey to the next world comfortable."
Darius would have loved to turn around, grab Selene by the throat, and squeeze until every breath in her body was gone. But he couldn't do that. Acting recklessly in this kind of situation would only get yourself and others killed. So, he only jerked his shoulder out from under her hand and ignored her.
A cry of pain from the center of the room stole Selene's attention from Darius. Everybody else in the room turned toward the sound as well. Rephaim was folded in on himself, his head touching the floor and his hands curled into fists. He was moaning and grunting as an unseen pain shuddered through him.
"What's the matter with you?" Selene asked Rephaim, when she walked closer to him.
Rephaim didn't, couldn't, say anything.
"What's wrong with him?" Bree whispered, not really expecting an answer.
Stevie Rae was watching Rephaim, concern written all over her face. She wanted to go over to him, comfort him, but she was afraid of what Kalona or Selene would do if she did. "You remember when Hunter asked if Rephaim was one of them," she nodded toward the raven mockers. "and I said that it was a long story?"
Bree nodded, encouraging Stevie Rae to continue.
"Well, he was one, but he chose Light over Darkness, betraying his father," Stevie Rae explained, nodding at Kalona. "The goddess gifted him with a human form, but, because of his past actions, he's cursed to turn into a raven every sunrise to sunset."
"Wow, he must really love you to go through all that," Bree replied, wide-eyed.
Stevie Rae looked down for second, blushing, then back up at Rephaim. "I have to help him," Stevie Rae said. She uncrossed her legs and started to move toward Rephaim.
Sensing her movement, Rephaim's head snapped up, his eyes locked on hers just as Kalona's leg swung in front of Stevie Rae, blocking her path.
"Don't," Rephaim mouthed to her. Then, he turned his head slightly to where Selene was standing before him. "Take me out of the room," Rephaim said, as his body convulsed violently once, twice. "Please, I don't want everybody to see this."
Some of the hostages were turning away instead of watching his painful transformation. Selene didn't say anything for a moment, and then she said to the raven mockers. "You heard him. He can have his very own private quarters for this momentous occasion." She turned away from Rephaim as two raven mockers came forward to collect him.
"Goddess knows we have enough birds in here," Selene muttered, though everyone heard her. "We don't need to add to the flock."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The two raven mockers dragged Rephaim out of the main room into the hall, pulling Rephaim deeper into the warehouse. They stopped at the end of the hall, and one of the raven mockers swung open a door. Rephaim was thrown inside right before the last torrent of pain hit him before the change. This room was small like a closet and the silence was deafening. The darkness was the last thing he saw as a human.
Stark
Stark tramped through the forest, following Zoey's thoughts and emotions. He was certain he was going the right way, even though he was heading deeper into the forest with no sign of life. The only sign of life he has seen is two raccoons that he startled out of hiding. He knew Zoey was scared, but she was trying to hide it from him. Neferet did something to her; he felt it when it happened, and it left Zoey weak and a little disoriented. Every time his pace started to slow, Stark would quicken it just as fast. He was afraid that their connection would fade and he'll have no way to find her. Then, he truly would lose her.
Suddenly, Stark heard the crunch of leaves underfoot a few feet to his left. His head snapped toward the sound, his movements considerably slowing then stopping altogether. Stark listened carefully, knowing it wasn't a deer or some other woodland animal. The footsteps were heavier, not as light as an animal's tends to be. It was human, most likely male. Stark didn't know why this person was in the woods or why they were following him, but he couldn't assume they weren't dangerous.
Stark slowly pulled out an arrow and nocked it on is bow. He held the bow loosely in two hands, ready to take an offensive stance if need be. "Show yourself!" Stark yelled into the trees.
The footsteps stopped. Silence.
Then, the footsteps began again, this time coming towards Stark. The guy appeared out of the trees, approaching the small clearing where Stark stood. He was about Stark's age, maybe a little older, with black hair and gold eyes and a strong-looking body. He also had a backpack on his shoulders. This guy didn't look dangerous, but appearances can be deceiving, just like the man who took Zoey.
"Drop your weapon," the guy told him. "I'm no threat to you."
Stark didn't lower his bow. "I don't know that," he retorted, "Why are you following me?"
"I'm not," he said calmly. "I sensed someone in these woods, someone who could quite possibly help me. Someone who, I just now realized, is not human at all, but a vampyre."
"What do you mean you sensed me?" Stark kept his aim on the boy. "How could I possibly help you? And how do you know what I am?"
"I'm a witch, my mother taught me a lot, some about your kind," he explained. "I know you lost somebody. I might know where she is."
Stark had started to lower his weapon, but raised it again when he finished. "Is that because you're part of the group that took her?" Stark shot at him.
"No, but my mother is," the guy said. "She's allied herself with two other evil forces. I'm turned my back on her, but I may be able to use what I know to find them?" Then, much quieter, he added, "They've taken someone I love too."
"I'm not saying I trust you, but I know a little something or other about turning you back on evil," Stark replied, "I don't need any help; I've got my own way of finding her. It's very reliable."
"Are you sure about that?" he asked him. "Because knowing my mother, she's probably spelled wherever she's at and anywhere within a ten-mile radius of it. But as long as you know where you're going, that's the important thing, right?"
Stark was quiet for a minute, thinking. Finally, he spoke, "Prove you are what you say you are." He lowered the bow to point at the ground, instead of at the other guy's heart.
The boy sighed and dropped his backpack on the ground. Stark watched as the guy stood there silently, taking deep even breaths. After a moment of silence, the bow ripped itself out of Stark's hands. The boy wrapped his own hand around the bow with a satisfied grin.
Stark should have been shocked, but he wasn't. He was too used seeing Zoey using her magick. "Maybe I need your help," Stark said, reluctantly. He went over and snatched his bow back, but stuck out his other hand. "James Stark, but I mostly go by Stark."
The guy took his outstretched hand and replied, "Cal Blaire."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cal and Stark trekked through the woods side by side, Stark leading the way. They were quiet majority of the time, only really speaking when the silence got awkward. They talked about what they were and what they each knew about the situation.
"You still haven't told me your special way of finding your priestess," Cal commented as he moved hanging branches out of his way.
Stark hadn't planned on telling him, but Cal has already released more information than he has. If they were going to trust on another, they couldn't have any secrets. "She and I have a special bond," Stark explained, ducking his head under a low-lying branch. "I gave her my Warrior's Oath and she accepted it. It's a sacred oath that binds us together in an intimate way. When her emotion's are strong enough, I can feel them and hear her thoughts. They tend to get stronger the closer I get to her." Stark stared straight ahead as he spoke, barely glancing at Cal.
They lapsed into another silence; Stark figuring that Cal didn't know what to say or he was still processing it. Cal looked up at the sliver of sky he could see through the canopy of trees and realized the sky was starting to lighten. Dawn was coming. Stark was watching the darkness on his skin get lighter as the sun began its' ascent. He could already tell there wasn't going to be enough shade to keep up the search for Zoey. He was going to burn to death in this forest if he didn't do something.
"Shit," Stark muttered to himself, then out loud he said, "I need to find shelter. Now." He walked ahead of Cal, with a determined stride.
"And where do expect to find shelter, warrior? In case you haven't noticed we are in the middle of the woods." Cal pointed out. "Oh, wait, I think I see a knothole in one of those trees. Do you think it'll be big enough for the two of us? It might be a tight squeeze, but, who knows, it could be cozy." Cal shook his head, laughing quietly to himself. "Besides, we can't stop. We have to keep going."
"Believe me, no one wants to keep going as much as I do, but I'm no good to Zoey as a pile of ashes," Stark replied, biting back a sarcastic remark. Stark continued, " You have no reason to help me, but if your girlfriend is being held with Zoey and I die, you're screwed." He glanced nervously up at the sky.
"Well, if you insist on being dramatic about it," Cal said, taking his backpack off and putting it on the ground. He knelt down and started rummaging through its' contents.
Stark glared at him, curling his fists and contemplated about how good it would feel to send an arrow straight through Cal's heart. Then, he saw the sky turning a singe of pink. He saw Cal still on the ground, playing with his bag. Sighing, he walked away, mumbling, "I don't have time for this."
Finally, Cal found what he was looking for. A rolled-up tent. "Here," he said, throwing the bundle at Stark.
"Thanks," Stark accepted, catching the tent. He put it on the ground and began to set it up.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After the tent was set up, Cal sat down on a log he had pulled over and started taking out stones, quartz, and his athame from his bag. He picked up a blueish-gray quartz, held it between his hands and murmured a spell over it. When he finished, he looked up at Stark and held out the quartz. "Take this," Cal told him. "Keep it with you at all times. I've spelled it to cloak your essence. We don't need anyone sneaking up on us while you're...napping."
Stark narrowed his eyes at the stone, but he took it anyway and put it in his pocket. He would have said something had he not started feeling the fatigue that the sun always brings to him. Stark nodded his thanks and crawled inside the tent. I'm not leaving you, Z, he thought as he laid down to sleep. I'm coming for you.
Cal sat outside, fiddling with his athame. He was going to put protection spells around their campsite, but he just couldn't concentrate. His thoughts kept going to Morgan. I am sorry, Morgan. For everything I have ever done to you. He didn't dare say the words, in case Stark was still awake. I love you, Morgan.
A/N: Thank you for reading and please, please review. A lot of reviews make me happy and happiness gets you another update :)
