For the anti-writer's block:P
Anathema's Abode
Chapter Ten
Betrayal
Sam groaned, leaning her forehead against the wall outside Maddie's bureau, inhaling the familiar scent of the cheap, powdery whitewash as she deliberated for the umpteenth time if informing her mentor of the apparently imminent spectral threat would be a wise decision on her part.
Phantom certainly never made it easy for her. The ghost hunter scowled; the memory of the azure haired woman still left Sam with a bitter taste in her mouth. Both of his acquaintances had seemed so determined for her to accept his message. Yet, if the white haired ghost was so certain of the impending threat to the brotherhood, why hadn't he chosen to warn her himself? Violet eyes narrowed, appalled as she recalled the second bearer of Phantom's words of caution. If the way in which his servant was abused was any indication to go by, Phantom knew a lot less about humans than he cared to think.
Having come to a decision, Sam raised a pale fist to the door and rapping sharply on the old wood. She would tell their leader everything. Maddie deserved to be relayed Phantom's message, doubtless of its integrity. Even if the warning proved false, it was far better for her brethren to ready themselves than to be ill prepared. And if the warning proved true... Sam shuddered to imagine the consequences.
Her resolve withered the moment the Goth laid eyes on the severity of her mentor's gaze.
"Sam," her mentor acknowledged, stepping aside to allow her to enter. "I'm glad that you've decided to seek me out. We have a fairly urgent matter to discuss."
"What is it?" Sam queried, schooling her features to a blank as she fought the shaming urge to run. So it seemed that she had underestimated Maddie. Her mentor was already aware exactly what she had been up to over the past six months.
How long had their leader known? The ghost hunter would've thought that Maddie's trust in her was sufficient to be above assigning spies to keep tabs on her. However, her mentor's knowledge of her insubordination proved otherwise. And with good reason, Sam added bitterly. Ever since the ghost hunter had encountered Phantom, she had repeatedly betrayed Maddie's trust in order to coerce him into joining their cause, defying their leader's direct orders.
"I intend for you to succeed me," her mentor informed shortly. "I think it's time that we begin taking measures to ensure that you are not denied leadership."
"A-already?" Sam stuttered, blinking stupidly as she sought to regain her composure. "That was unexpected."
"Maybe," Maddie agreed. "But it seems that we have no choice, having been directly challenged. Vlad has also made his intentions for Valerie to lead clear," her mentor added. "He wishes for her to succeed where he has failed."
"Val didn't mention any of this," Sam frowned, taken aback. She could not deny that her partner's sudden secrecy stung. The ghost hunter and her team mates usually shared everything with each other.
"Do not hold it against Valerie. She was probably instructed not to," Maddie replied. "In order to maximise our chances against Vlad, it's best that you don't discuss this matter with her, either."
"Isn't this a little premature to be thinking about leadership?" the ghost hunter queried. "With your abilities, you could be around a long time."
"Perhaps," their leader shrugged, conceding her apprentice's point. "Who knows what those demons did to me. But this is a war," she continued, her expression hardening. "In the event of my death, I need to know that I've left my brethren in good hands. You need to establish yourself as the council's favourite long before that time comes."
"And what's so wrong with the council favouring Valerie?" Sam challenged, failing to see the logic of her mentor's argument. "What if she's better suited to the task?"
"There is no denying that Valerie is an equally strong candidate," Maddie agreed wholeheartedly. "Vlad's trained her well."
"Then why should it matter which one of us leads?" Sam questioned. "Valerie would make just as good a leader as I would, maybe better. She's more experienced than I am, at any rate."
"A decade down the line, and the few years of experience that she has on you will mean nothing," the brotherhood's leader assured Sam. "Besides," she raised a finger to brush Sam's cheek, her eyes twinkling. "You've had the best training possible."
"I have," Maddie's apprentice grinned.
"It is clear that Valerie thinks the world of Vlad," Maddie asserted. "Her loyalty towards him has never wavered. The man never fails to be charismatic when he chooses to be. From what I've seen, your partner will never hesitate to do anything he asks of her. However, I am not alone when I say that I find his methods questionable."
"How so?" Sam raised an eyebrow, surprised by their leader's newly divulged view of her and her husband's closest confidant and ally.
"You misinterpret what I'm saying," Maddie allowed the corners of her lips to curve upwards. "Please do not think badly of Vlad. While I would gladly trust him with my life, needless to say your best friend's mentor did not become one of the richest men on the planet- despite the war- with blunt wit and his heart on his sleeve."
"You've beat him to leadership once, I'm sure you'll manage it again," her apprentice demurred, still swamped by Maddie's abrupt revelation that she intended for Sam to succeed her. "And I think that you're underestimating Val," she ascertained firmly. "She'd never consent to be anyone's puppet. Not even Vlad's."
"You underestimate Vlad," Maddie shook her head. "I know him. If not for the incident twenty years ago that allowed me to prove my worth, the council would've probably elected Vlad to lead in my place. You don't seem to realise how manipulative he can be. He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants."
"But if both you and Vlad think you're doing what's best for the brotherhood, surely we should let our brethren decide, instead of contesting through such underhanded means," Sam protested.
"I wish that was the way things worked, Sam," Maddie shook her head, tucking a stray lock of black hair behind her apprentice's ear.
"There can never be any secrets between us, Sam," her mentor ascertained abruptly, her motherly features severe. "Every shred of information that you manage to achieve, you must share with me, regardless of how insignificant it may seem at the time. Do you understand me?" their leader questioned, her expression softening.
It's now or never, the ghost hunter realised as she swallowed, her throat dry. If I don't relay to her Phantom's warning and something goes horribly wrong, I'll never forgive myself. But if I do, I'll have to admit to Maddie that I've directly defied her on more occasions than I'd care to count.
"Yes," Maddie's apprentice replied, hating herself for the deception. Not for the first time in half a year, Sam silently cursed Phantom for not allowing her to remain in ignorance.
"Good," Maddie smiled. "Danny would've been about your age, had he survived," she added quietly. "Just a couple of years older."
"I'm sorry," Sam offered, her expression sobering.
"You shouldn't be," her mentor replied. "It's not your fault. I just wasn't strong enough to protect him."
"No one would've been," the ghost hunter assured, squeezing her hand, and the Goth found herself overcome by a gentle, albeit firm desire to tell their leader to stop dwelling in the past.
"He was going to be such a handsome boy," Maddie sighed. "And who knows," her lips quirked into a teasing grin, and Sam found herself abruptly struck by the likeness of her expression to that of Phantom's when he playfully mocked her. "If things had worked out between you two, I could've had you as a daughter-in-law."
"Maddie," Sam protested in exasperation, floored by her mentor's remark. The Goth's subsequent indignant response was cut short as the pair were alerted to the patter of a pair of frenzied footsteps just outside Maddie's bureau, as Tucker burst into the room.
"Ever heard of knocking?" Sam queried wryly, as her best friend leaned against the chipped door frame as he clutched a stitch at his side, evidently out of breath.
"No time," her tech operative gasped, already turning to leave despite his obvious fatigue, tripping over the words as he uttered them. "Lancer discovered a disturbing piece of information that requires Maddie's immediate attention."
"What's happened?" Sam queried, disconcerted by the look of worry on Tucker's face.
"We believe that Pariah's found himself a new general," her team mate's features were solemn, as the ghost hunter felt her breath hitch in her throat.
"Take me to him," their leader commanded sharply, already on her feet.
Her apprentice tailed mutely behind them, fearing the worst as Tucker was made no attempt to hide his worry from the two women.
Somehow, the ghost hunter could not banish the sinking feeling that what was about to unfold would be entirely her fault. She looked to her best friend for reassurance, dread mounting as Tucker immediately lowered his gaze, refusing to maintain eye contact. Did he blame her?
If Phantom hadn't revealed the Fright Knight's incompetence to the empire, Pariah might never have replaced him, worsening their current situation. From her encounter with the white haired ghost, the ghost hunter was now fully aware that her brethren weren't half as informed about high level ghosts as they liked to think.
"Maddie," Lancer greeted briskly, refusing to waste time on niceties as he strode towards their leader, handing her a hastily compiled file.
"Are you certain that your findings are reliable?" the brotherhood's leader questioned, her lavender eyes narrowing as she thumbed through its contents while Sam leaned over her shoulder, eager for a glimpse of the brotherhood's latest adversary. "Visibility is questionable in the few images that you've managed to procure."
"That's what Tucker and I were working on before I sent him to fetch you," the council member conceded grudgingly. "The subject moves too fast to be caught with conventional technology. While I cannot be a hundred percent certain, ectoplasmic readings are off the charts, higher than those of the Fright Knight at the full moon. Whatever it is, it's more powerful than anything we've encountered previously."
"All these readings were taken tonight?" Maddie's eyebrows shot upwards as she observed the data before her. "Even if this ghost hasn't replaced the Fright Knight, we still have a huge problem on our hands."
Sam felt dread sink into the pit of her stomach at her mentor's statement. The images were blurry, giving little away as to the identity of the new spectral threat, but the ghost hunter was certain that the entity in Lancer's photos was exactly what Phantom had been so desperate to warn her about. The white haired ghost had been right all along, Sam realised with a start, the revelation sending fervent chills of foreboding up her spine as she found herself overcome by guilt. Something terrible was about to happen. And like the incompetent fool she was, Sam had failed to warn their leader.
Sam opened her mouth, on the verge of a confession when her best friend unexpectedly tugged at her wrist, breaking her out of her reverie.
"What is it?" Maddie's apprentice questioned, ashamed at her relief that Tucker had interrupted her first attempt at a confession.
"Come to my work station," her tech operative mouthed, the moment he was certain that their superiors' attention was fully occupied. "There's something you need too see."
"Not now, Tucker," Sam scowled. "This is more important."
"Trust me," Tucker stated flatly, the grim expression on his countenance challenging her to argue. "It isn't."
"Fine," she conceded, taken aback by the severity of his features as she allowed herself to be led to the far corner of the room as she stood opposite him. "What are you so desperate to show me?"
"I think you're going to have to ready yourself for this first," her best friend warned, cracking his knuckles loudly before he placed them on his keyboard. "I can guarantee that you're not going to like the footage that I'm about to show you."
"But Lancer just said that you haven't managed to come up with any clear images yet," Sam's brow furrowed.
"I managed to hack into the town's CCTV system without Lancer noticing," Tucker informed quietly. "Remember those cameras I had you rig last week?"
"So they came in handy after all," Maddie's apprentice's lips quirked into a smile. "How perceptive of you."
"Not really," Tucker shrugged indifferently, before turning his full attention back to the screen, resuming his lightning fast assault of the keyboard before him. "I just got lucky."
Sam bit her bottom lip, unsettled. On most occasions, her techie relished opportunities such as these to brag excessively about his technological prowess, if only to be beaten down by either herself or Valerie. Yet, she had handed him the opportunity on a platter, and he hadn't risen to the bait. Whatever the reasons for Tucker's newfound sober attitude, the ghost hunter wasn't sure if she wanted to know.
"I really don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this," Sam protested, after an augmented bout of uncharacteristic silence on Tucker's part.
"Believe me," her team mate replied darkly. "You soon will."
"Why won't you just tell me what's going on?" the ghost hunter queried meekly, increasingly unsettled by Tucker's reserve.
"Because I can't bring myself to tell you," he admitted softly. "I guess technology is just going to have to do it for me. Promise me that you won't freak out completely."
"Why would I?" Maddie's apprentice laughed, a sound made hollow by the prickling unease of foreboding. "What makes this ghost any different from the rest of them?"
"I can't quite manage sound on this," her tech operative's expression was bitter. "But I think this gives you a pretty good idea what's going on outside headquarters right now."
"What are you talking about?" Sam demanded, as Tucker reluctantly shifted the screen to face her.
The last thing she expected was for the very blood to freeze in her veins. She raised a shaking hand to cover her mouth, mind reeling as she staggered backwards.
There, amidst the carnage, was Phantom, mounted on a destrier as dark as sin itself as he led the ghost king's troops, his entire form engulfed in ghastly spectral energy.
"Sam?" Tucker queried softly in concern, taken aback by the unexpected magnitude of her shock as she was forced to lean on the desk behind her for support.
At first glance, Sam could hardly recognise him, unable to see past the ornate general's armor of black and silver, his black cape billowing behind him as his predecessor's once had; his very appearance was akin to something out of a nightmare.
"No," she whispered, as she felt the beginnings of tears sting the corners of her vision. "It can't be."
Phantom raised an authoritative hand as Pariah's troops ground to a halt behind him, pacing back and forth before his men as he issued instructions, the white haired ghost's orders met with firm salutes as the destrier reared on its hind legs, several members of the Night Police backing away in order to accommodate its immense wingspan as the black membranes of its wings unfolded. The beast bellowed as it took to the air, charging above the city's skyline at Phantom's command.
The ghost hunter's heart seemed to have stopped beating. Traditionally, the destriers were reserved for only the highest ranked of knights. They were beasts renown for their superior strength and agility, warhorses that were bestowed exclusively upon the king's elite by Pariah himself. There was no way that Tucker could've been mistaken. Phantom truly had joined the enemy; at the head of Pariah's troops. And from the looks of things, he was being more than well looked after.
It was funny what one noticed during times of despair, Sam realised, as she inadvertently found herself taking in every detail of her former ally's armor, from the burnished black breastplate to his silver boots, to his flawlessly polished silver vambraces which extended into the black gauntlets with which he gripped the demonic warhorse's reigns, controlling the battle stallion with effortless ease.
In a way, she could not deny that Phantom's new attire suited him, the medieval armor in which he was clad invoking a dark regality far more befitting of a spectral entity of his immense strength than the simple cotton shirts and frayed dark jeans that he had previously favoured. To her anguish, the general's armor proved sufficient to forever banish from Sam's mind any notions that the midian could ever be anything other than a monster. It seemed to complete him.
Sam could only look on in horror as blinding energy formed at Phantom's fingertips as he rose, releasing a wide beam of sheer ectoplasm into the cloudless sky where it formed an ethereal, pulsing expanse of green in the night. The white haired ghost dispassionately regarded his handiwork, clenching a gauntleted fist as the ectoplasm was distorted, Phantom's actions searing a fractured skull, the ghost king's sigil, into the starless sky of Amity Park where the burning green outshone the pale light of the moon itself, a proclamation to the world of his fresh allegiances.
The ghost hunter was painfully reminded of the night when their paths had first crossed, when in her state of delirium, Sam had managed to convince herself that the demon mounted on the warhorse before them was an angel. So it seems that I was right, Sam ignored the tears that blurred her vision. This monster is the angel of death.
Maddie's apprentice could not quell the caustic urge to be sick as she noted the innocent casualties forced to suffer through the white haired ghost's unnecessary display of power. It disgusted her, the manner in which he ignored the terrified humans left in his footmen's wake, as though their very presence was an insult to his existence, permitting them in his silence to allow them to subject civilians to all manner of vile actions, from offhanded murder to being compelled to grovel at his feet.
Phantom had once told her that he cared deeply for the wellbeing of the innocent, the hypocrite. Sam bit back a snarl of outrage, bile rising to the back of her throat at the sight of his indifference to the carnage wrought by his men as the entirety of Amity Park was bathed in the eerie glow of the ghost king's sigil in the night sky. Where was his concern now?
"Sam?" Tucker placed a hand on her shoulder, jolting her out of her stupor. "We have to go, Maddie needs us."
Her best friend's gentle prompting was met with dead silence, as the ghost hunter continued to stare blankly at the screen in front of her, her features unreadable as the city centre blazed a hellish green in Phantom's wake.
"Sam?" he tried again. "Talk to me."
"That traitorous bastard," she ground out, rage flaring to life as the ghost hunter smashed her fist onto the surface of Tucker's work station, oblivious to the bruising pain as something inside her broke.
"I know you're upset," Tucker hissed. "But now is not the time. I showed you that to prepare you. You have to calm down before Maddie suspects that you've been taking a far deeper interest in Phantom than necessary."
"Calm down?" Sam snarled, indignation evident despite the violence of her rage. "That demon betrayed me," she spat. "You know what he's capable of. Phantom's doomed us all."
"What did you expect?" her tech operative's tone was wry, as though he was unsurprised by Phantom's betrayal. "He's a ghost. Just let it go, Sam. He's not worth it. The council will figure something out."
The ghost hunter's form seemed to crumple, allowing her lithe figure to relax as Tucker pulled her into a comforting hug. "Thank you," Sam whispered, choking back the tears that threatened to fall. There would be ample time to feel sorry for herself, if her brethren survived past tonight. But for now, their leader required her services, and there was no way in hell that Sam was going to let her down again, especially when she had already betrayed her trust.
"Come on, let's head back." her best friend sighed, his expression softening. "Maddie's waiting for you."
"You're right," the ghost hunter's fingers furled to form twin fists, feeling herself filled with fresh resolve as they crossed the tech lab to rejoin their mentors.
"Where did you two disappear to?" Lancer shook his head, exasperation evident. "Never mind," Tucker's mentor interjected, abruptly interrupting himself as he decided that their answer was of irrelevant consequence. "We have far larger problems to attend to."
"I managed to tap into the CCTV system at the town centre," Tucker offered sheepishly. "Clear imagery of our subject is no longer an issue."
"Then what are you waiting for, boy?" the head of the tech sector commanded, as his apprentice was ushered none too gently to Lancer's work station. "Our city's destruction?"
Lilac eyes fluttered shut as Sam allowed herself the luxury of a single, wavering breath as she attempted to sort through her increasingly knotted emotions, as Tucker brought up the images with relative speed, unsure if she could bring herself to once again survey the scene. In retrospect, none of this would have happened had she been killed by in the ambush almost six months ago. By prolonging her life by half a year, would the midian be fated to cause the demise of the entirety of Amity Park, damning thousands, perhaps even millions of innocent lives?
"Who is he?" Maddie demanded fiercely, turning to face the head of the technology sector, unaware of the exchange that had occurred between the two younger members of the brotherhood. "We need to know what that monster is capable of."
"We don't know," Lancer acknowledged grimly, his expression mirroring that of their leader's as Sam surveyed the dirt on the cheap tiled floor, refusing to meet her superiors' eyes. "But I'm not stopping until we find out."
"We need answers now," the brotherhood's leader snarled. "Amity falls tonight if we can't find a way to take that thing down. Rally your subordinates; I want your entire sector on this immediately."
Tucker kicked at Lancer's work station, wheeling his chair to face them as he subjected Sam to a significant look, as if requesting her permission to speak. His best friend nodded bleakly in tacit approval, her features unreadable.
"What is it, Tucker?" the head of the tech sector questioned, curiosity evident.
"Don't bother," Tucker spoke reluctantly, his voice soft. "We know who he is."
Sam turned her gaze on her mentor, fervently hoping that Maddie would find no cause to question her former affiliations with Phantom. Would she suspect that Sam had defied her? The ghost hunter knew that after failing to confess her offenses earlier than night, to do so now would forever shatter Maddie's trust in her beyond conceivable repair. Their leader, however, chose to remain silent, surveying Sam's best friend expectantly as she waited for him to continue.
"How-?" Lancer sputtered stunned by his apprentice's apparent efficiency.
"Having our entire sector look him up would be a waste of time and resources," Tucker conceded. "I've already tried once. We have no information regarding him."
"Are you certain that you didn't overlook anything?" the head of technology asked. "We cannot afford mistakes, given our current situation."
"Positive," his apprentice affirmed. "I ran the queries several times."
"How do you know all of this?" Maddie questioned sharply.
"The new general's name is Phantom," Sam divulged, her expression murderous. "The same ghost who rescued me from the ambush almost six months ago. Judging from the abilities that he displayed while he destroying the Night Police, we estimate that he is approximately six hundred years of age."
"So Pariah's replaced one midian with another," Lancer observed, dread evident.
"Inform the sectors that I wish to hold a meeting," Maddie ordered her subordinate, her tone authoritative as she briskly exited the room. "I will summon the council."
"Despite your conviction, it wouldn't hurt to look the new general up again, Tucker," Lancer requested, before turning to leave. "We cannot afford mistakes. Not tonight."
The moment her superiors' footsteps were out of earshot, Sam finally permitted herself to slump to the ground, drawing her knees to her face in a foetal position as she allowed enraged tears to fall.
"Thank you for not freaking out," Tucker offered softly, as he awkwardly stroked her hair. "I know he gave you hope."
"Hope?" she echoed blankly. Suddenly, the ghost hunter found herself gripped by an unnatural, profuse acrimony towards her best friend for his sympathy towards her. Tucker should be shouting at Sam for her stupidity, blaming her for the dooming of their town, threatening to inform their leader of her insubordination, anything but joining her on the floor to comfort her while she bawled her eyes out like a helpless little girl. She had allowed a ghost to save her, and now it seemed that Amity Park would suffer for her unforgivable lapse of judgment. For that, shouldn't he hate her?
"Would you like to be left alone?" her best friend queried gently, as though she was suddenly as fragile as porcelain.
Just as abruptly, her anger towards Tucker was gone, leaving Sam with nothing more than the mind numbing emptiness wrought from the overwhelming thirst for vengeance. She had been too complacent, going so far as to even make the mistake of trusting a ghost, a mistake that would never happen again. Maddie had been right all along. The enemy was not like them. She had been a fool to believe that a mutual understanding could ever be achieved.Phantom had deceived her; and for that, he would pay dearly.
"Has my kit been serviced?" Maddie's apprentice queried softly, her voice dangerously low. Sam's stomach acid seemed to have curdled, her fingernails digging hard enough into the palm of her hand to draw blood.
"Why does your kit have to do with anything?" her techie's brow furrowed, confusion evident.
"Has my kit been serviced?" the ghost hunter snarled.
"Y-yes," Tucker stuttered, taken aback by the ferocity of Sam's demand.
"Good," she replied darkly, turning on her heels as she left the tech room, violently scrubbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her stealth suit.
"Where are you going?" her tech operative questioned, his voice edged with concern as he leaped to his feet to follow her.
"To find him," Sam hissed through gritted teeth. "That demon is going to regret the day that he crossed me."
Author's Notes: Sorry, no twist in this chapter. But I assure you that there are still a couple of curve balls heading your way;)
Thanks to the lovely: Toyoko, kia, Xweetok, b4k4 ch4n, Musicallity, pearl84, Forelyse, Angelic Kittens, Mimo-Sene, CommonSenseless24, danny-fan-101, Sasia93, BaraHeishi, Emerald Calling, Raidon Phantom, Sweeteen19, jikd, Chanel2U, WinchesterPhantom, YumeTakato, Devilchild93, secret spy guy, passionateartist, Manyara, bloodmoon13, CharmedNightSkye, Kirimori, pwykersotz and FunkyFish1991 for their all round amazing reviews. I'm so lucky to have readers that actually think about what they want to tell me when they write reviews. You have no idea how much I love reading your responses. Your reactions make me cackle, especially when your speculations are right!:D
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