Chapter 16: Salem's Return
Jeric wasn't gone long, but by the time he had returned, Madende was in a deep enough sleep that the others didn't have to worry about being to loud. Which was good, because everyone was chatting at top speed. Jeric walked over to the couch Madende was laid out on, and gently laid down behind him smiling. He slipped his hand between Madende's arm and his side, and gently rubbed his hand up and down over his side.
"Madende, I'm back." he whispered, gently kissing his cheek.
Madende stirred lightly and moved his hand up, laying it over Jeric's. Jeric smiled and spread his fingers as Madende hooked his in between them, and intertwined their fingers. Jeric lay his head on Madende's shoulder and closed his eyes, sighing happily. Suddenly, behind them, came Shade's voice and fast footsteps.
"Shadow! Please! Wait up! Damn it!" he cried, running after her.
Suddenly the footsteps stopped and were replaced by several loud thuds. Everyone in the room, except for Madende and Jeric, scattered, hiding where ever they could. There was a single loud bang and then all noises stopped. Madende was now sitting up, looking around, breathing quickly, and Jeric was sitting beside him.
"Madende, you ok?" he asked.
"Yea…I think…" Madende said, nodding.
He looked over at Shadow, who was laid against the wall, shaking her head. Shade raced down the stairs, to Shadow, and helped her up.
"Are you ok?" he asked, as he pulled her to her feet.
"Yea." Shadow said, shaking her head again. "Shi! Those three bitches are back!" she yelled, and Shi was suddenly at her side.
"What?!" she cried, making Shadow jump.
"Don't do that!" Shadow cried. "And yes, those three are back. Standing just outside!" she said, and Abi suddenly appeared on her other side.
"Lets go solve that problem!" she said and Shadow jumped again.
"Damn it!" Shadow cried, putting her hand on her chest.
"I thought all problems were solved!" Madende said, getting to his feet.
"Everything except for the three girls. They weren't around when we were." Shadow said, looking at him.
"But they can control the Reapers." Madende said, looking nervously at them.
"You can't go out there! Nor will you!" Jeric said, looking at him.
"Madende, we can handle it. Just stay here and relax." Shi said, looking at her brother.
"How can I relax?" Madende asked.
"Just do your best. We'll be back." Shi said, turning and flitting out the back door.
Abi, Jake, Shadow, Shade, and Eclipse followed her, leaving behind a worried looking Madende sitting on the couch.
"They'll be ok, relax." Jeric said, gently rubbing his back.
"I hope…" Madende muttered, looking down at the floor.
Jeric looked at him sadly, and sighed, still rubbing his back. Madende covered his face with his hands, and sighed, shaking his head. Outside, Shi, Shadow, and Abi came to a sliding halt in front of the three girls.
"The Fox girls." Sarah said, stepping forward.
Shadow growled and stepped forward, in front of Shi and Abi.
"Why are you back?" she asked, glaring down at them.
"Just a little revenge for what you did to Blake, Gerard, and Gowin." Sarah replied.
"That wasn't on us. Jareth wiped out Gerard and Keegen took out Gowin." Shadow said. "And Madende took out Blake, in self defense." she added.
"Then send them out here. We'll take care of them." Sarah said.
"HA!" Shadow laughed. "You think you can honestly take down Keegen?" she asked.
"Or Madende?" Shi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The three of us can." Sarah said, nodding.
"You are so full of shit!" Shi said. "You're terrified!" she said.
"How do you know what we're feeling?!" Paige snapped.
"I'm a Vampire wise ass, I can see everything in your mind!" Shi snapped back.
"Do we really, honestly, have to go through this every fucking time?!" Shadow yelled at Paige. "What does it matter if we can see what you think, or feel what you feel?" she asked.
"Lets just get this over with. Either send out the three boys or lets get a move on here!" Sarah snapped.
"You're not getting the three boys." Shadow said, growling. "You're getting me!" she snapped, flitting forward, suddenly appearing in front of Sarah and tackling her, dragging her to the ground.
Before the other two could react, Shi and Abi were on them, taking them to the ground as well. Inside, Madende could hear everything that was going on, and stood up, starting to pace. Jeric looked towards the back door, then back to Madende.
"Hey, come sit down." he said, patting the spot next to him.
Madende walked back over and sat down next to him, still staring at the ground.
"Its ok." Jeric said, looking at him, and rubbing his back. "Don't be so tense. You know your sisters can handle themselves and we all know Abi can." he said, trying to smile.
Madende nodded and sighed.
"I just want to be out there…" he said quietly. "Not to fight, but just to be there. To make sure everything is ok." he said.
"Eclipse, Jake, and Shade are out there." Jeric said.
"I know…" Madende said, looking down.
"They'll be fine." Jeric said, looking towards the back door.
Madende nodded and went silent again, thinking some more. Jeric looked at him quickly, but he had his head down, and was so focused on the floor, he didn't even notice.
"We can go to the kitchen and watch from the window." Jeric suggested.
Madende shook his head, and sat back with a sigh.
"That'll make me want to go out there even more." he muttered.
Jeric nodded and looked back at him. Madende closed his eyes and tried to block out the noises coming from outside, but it was loud and even Jeric couldn't block it out. Madende leaned forward again and hid his face in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. Jeric put his hand on Madende's back and gently scratched his back with his claws.
Outside, Shadow was continuously punching Sarah in the face, as was the same with Abi and Shi. Hannah finally managed to kick Shi off and attacked her, but Shi was quicker, grabbing her wrists before she could punch her. Rolling over, Shi pinned Hannah back down, and punched her again, with enough force to knock her out. Hannah went limp under Shi, who stood up and pulled her up.
"Enough!" she yelled, her claws extending.
Her eyes were red, and her fangs were extended, and she laid one extremely sharp claw over Hannah's throat. Abi and Shadow paused instantly, looking over at Shi. Inside, Madende's head snapped up and he jumped up, racing to the back door, looking out.
"Salem's out!" he said, pressing himself against the window.
"Calm down, if he's out then we all know everything will be ok." Jeric said, looking out the window over the sink.
Shi glared at Sarah and Paige, pressing her claw against Hannah's throat. Sarah instantly got the message and jumped back away from Shadow. Reaching out, she grabbed the back of Paige's shirt and pulled her back away from Abi.
"Let her go!" she yelled, looking at Shi. "We aren't around you're sisters." she said.
"You think I care whether you're around them or not?" Shi asked.
"Salem, calm down." Abi said, slowly walking over to Shi and Hannah.
"Why? The second I let her go, and they leave, they'll be back. It's best to kill one now, so the threat is there, if they ever decide to start shit again." Salem said, looking from Abi back to Sarah.
"No, please. Don't kill her." Sarah begged, starting to step forward.
"Stay back!" Salem snapped at her, and Sarah jumped back.
"Salem, listen to me. If you kill her, that just gives them all the more reason to come back for revenge." Shadow said, walking to the other side of her sister and Hannah.
Eclipse, Jake, and Shade all watched, stunned at the sudden changed of events, and stared at Shi. They didn't move, for fear that Shi would snap and kill the girl that lay limp in her arms, although it was a forced decision. They wanted to rush out and help, but forced themselves to stay put.
"Salem, let her go." Abi said, gently touching Shi's shoulder.
Salem looked down at her hand, then looked back out at the two girls, staring back, terrified. Sighing, Salem removed his claw from Hannah's neck and loosened his grip on her.
"Word of warning…" he growled, still holding Hannah up. "You ever come back here again, and I will kill her. Or you, or who ever I have a hold of, that isn't my family." he said.
Sarah nodded, taking in the warning, and stepped forward. Salem growled at her, not wanting her to get to close. Shadow stepped up and took Hannah from Salem, carrying her out to the others.
"Take her and leave. Don't ever show up here again." she said, dropping Hannah on the ground, and walking backwards.
Sarah raced forward and grabbed her sister, before vanishing. Paige followed her off, and Salem watched until he was sure they were gone. Suddenly, Shi collapsed to her knees and put her hand to her forehead.
"What happened?" she asked, looking up at Abi.
"Salem came back." she said, kneeling down beside her.
"Oh…" Shi muttered. "The last thing I remember was Hannah attacking me…then it goes blank." she said, trying to think back.
"He must have thought you were in danger." Abi said, putting a hand on Shi's shoulder. "He was going to kill Hannah." she said quietly.
Shi looked up at her, horrified.
"What?!" she cried. "He didn't, did he?" she asked quickly.
"No. Me and Shadow talked him out of it." Abi said, smiling weakly. "Its ok, you can relax now." she said.
That doesn't mean that if they come back, I won't kill one of them…a deep voice muttered in Shi's head.
Shi's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth. Abi looked down at her and raised her eyebrow.
"What?" she asked.
"Salem…I just heard him." Shi replied, looking up at her.
"Oh? What did he say?" Abi asked.
"He said, 'that doesn't mean that if they do come back, I won't kill one of them.'" Shi quoted him.
"Figures…" Abi muttered as Shadow walked over.
"Well, until they do come back, Salem can relax now. And so can you." she said, looking down at her sister.
Jake, Eclipse, and Shade suddenly ran over, surrounding Shi.
"Are you ok?" Eclipse asked, kneeling down beside her.
"Yea." Shi said, nodding. "I'm fine." she added.
"Ok. You sure? You look pale!" Eclipse said, putting his hand on the side of her face.
We're fine, damn! Back off some, give us some air! Salem cried in Shi's head.
Shi sighed and shook her head.
"I'm fine, I promise." she said, smiling at Eclipse.
"Ok." Eclipse said, nodding.
"Lets get inside, before Madende claws out the window." Shadow said, smirking at the house.
"Ok." Shi said, nodding and standing.
They all raced in the house, where Madende met them at the door.
"You ok?!" he cried, grabbing Shi's shoulders.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Its all ok!" she cried, smiling, and putting her hands on the side of her brothers face. "You need to relax! I'm fine!" she said.
"I'm sorry! I just saw Salem come out, and I knew you had to be really pissed or scared one, and I couldn't do-" Madende rambled until Shi covered his mouth with her hand.
"Listen closely, ok?" she asked, and he nodded. "I-am-fine." she said slowly.
Madende nodded and sighed around her hand, and she slowly lowered it.
"No more rambling, no more panicking, no more worrying. Ok?" she asked.
"Ok." Madende said, smiling and nodding.
"Good. Now, lets go relax. You are to damn tense." Shi said, walking towards the front room.
The others followed except for Madende who dropped his head and heaved a sigh. Jeric walked over to him, smiling lightly, and touched his shoulder.
"See? I told you there was nothing to worry about." he said, walking in front of him.
"I know." Madende said, nodding and looking up at him. "I just get to overprotective." he said.
"You're their brother. That's what brothers do best." Jeric said, smiling lightly. "Well, most brothers anyway." he added quietly.
Madende smiled at him, and hugged him.
"Thanks for keeping me calm." he said, laying his forehead on Jeric's shoulder.
"I don't know how calm you were, but anytime." Jeric teased, hugging him back. "Now come on, everyone's waiting." he said, grabbing his hand and leading him to the living room.
Madende smiled and followed happily, taking a seat on the floor, as now everyone was down stairs, and watching t.v.
A/n: thats it!! last chapter!! no more! hehe for this story anyway...anywayz, review for me!! LaterZ!
SHOUT OUT
to Abi! thanks for sticking with me! luv ya