Part II: Blood

The street below was all but deserted, a father and son were tossing a ball back and forth in the dusty glow of a street lamp and a few stragglers were still packing away their stalls at the market, but no one seemed particularly interested in the two fair skinned girls passing by in the dusk.

Katarina, significantly more clothed but no less disgruntled than she had been several minutes ago, was traipsing along, slightly in Lux's wake. She looked about her shiftily as she walked, scouring the gloom for any sign of threat, staring daggers at any unfortunate soul who dared to so much as glance in their direction. She didn't like this one bit.

"Lux I don't like this one bit." She hissed, stumbling into the back of Lux as she eyed a particularly suspicious looking dustbin. The blonde girl ignored her, not so much as breaking her stride.

Somehow it managed feel even hotter than it had earlier, the air was muggy and unmoving, walking through it felt like wading through some sticky liquid. It was night - It wasn't very dark, but Katarina supposed it must be night; she couldn't see the sun anymore in any case. She couldn't really see anything. There was no sky to speak of, just walls of colourless heat pressing in from all sides. The glow of a thousand lamps, swirled through the dusty air, shrouding everything in a dull orange haze that made it difficult to distinguish between what was real and what was not.

"Lux I really don't like this." Katarina said again, trying to sound firm but falling a little short. Lux's continued silence was doing little to ease her jitters. Her hands were fidgeting restlessly at her sides, constantly searching for the comforting shape of her daggers before remembering that they weren't there.

Katarina had to quicken her pace to keep up as Lux disappeared round a corner, her long golden hair swishing out of sight.

"Where are we going anyway?" Katarina said, slightly breathlessly, as she caught up with the other girl.

"Who ever said we were going anywhere?" Lux replied with a light giggle.

"Ugh, why do you always have to be so fucking crypti-

Katarina stopped with a gasp as Lux took her by the hand, slender fingers slipping easily between her own.

"Are you crazy?" She stammered, mingled panic and excitement flooding through her body. "Not here! People will see…" But she didn't pull away. She could not bring herself to let go of Lux's hand. It felt so right.

She looked wildly all about them, half expecting crowds of gawping men to have materialized out of thin air, pointing, leering, laughing…She could see her father's face amongst the imaginary crowd, she could see the disappointment in his once handsome eyes, and feel the burning disgust in his gaze…

She felt the sudden, wild urge to release Lux's hand, to shove the other girl away, to attack her. It had been years since she had seen her father, there were thousands of miles between them, he was more than likely dead, lying buried in some forgotten mound of dirt – that's if there was enough of his body left to bury…And yet, even now, he was still able to make her feel so small, so inadequate… unnatural…

She hated him for it… Almost as much as she hated herself for feeling that way.

She held Lux's hand tighter than ever. She swallowed heavily, her throat impossibly dry. She threw back her mane of crimson hair and held her head high, blinking fiercely, her jade eyes ablaze. She would not cry.

They walked on in silence for a while, one ashen street blurring into the next. Katarina let Lux lead her. She was happy to submit to Lux's will, grateful for her gentle, guiding hand; it meant that she didn't have to think, and she didn't want to think right now. It was as much as she could manage to put one foot in front of the other, to keep on moving, pouring all of her energy and focus into the wonderful comforting warmth of Lux's skin against her own. She was terrified of the dark places her mind might take her if it was free to wander…she did not intent to let it.

Eventually, how much later she wasn't sure, the soothing sound of Lux's voice pulled Katarina from her trance, like cool water delicately splashing her skin.

"You were right Kat."

"Hmmm?" Katarina replied groggily, in no hurry to return to reality. Her brain slowly whirred back to life, noting her surroundings like an animal emerging after months of hibernation: the world was a shade darker, they were moving down an unlit street – more like an alley; the buildings were close on both sides, tall dark shapes looming over them; there were no people now; a cat – she very much hoped it was a cat - scurried away over a low wall as they passed…

"You were right." Lux said again, and then after a tentative pause she added, "About everything."

"I…I was?" Kat looked sideways at Lux in surprise.

"Of course you were!" Lux sighed.

Katarina blinked stupidly, her sluggish brain struggling to keep up. She was right apparently, that was good… or was it? What was she right about, because she certainly wasn't feeling very 'right' right now…In fact, she was feeling pretty damn lost.

"I didn't want to talk about it because I was scared of what you might do…" Lux stepped out in front of Katarina, walking backwards and gazing earnestly up into the other woman's face. She took Katarina's other hand so that she was holding them both. "I was scared that you might leave." She said. There was another heavy pause. Lux frowned; she took a deep breath, as though she was trying to build herself up for something. "You're not going to leave are you?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Katarina stopped dead, her confusion turning to shock turning to panic. Her hands jolted free of Lux's leaving her arms swinging clumsily at her sides. She was staring at Lux, wide eyed and open mouthed.

"Why would I leave?" She asked quickly, and something that felt suspiciously like a faint breeze whispered through the alley, flicking gently at the ends of her hair. She didn't notice it; all of her attention was focused on Lux.

The blonde girl looked down at the floor, standing very still, her hands clasped carefully in front of her.

"Because you're not happy." She murmered. "Because of everything you said earlier!"

There was a moments silence as Katarina processed this information; finally she started to understand…

"Oh Lux…" She whispered. At the sound of her name Lux glanced upwards, meeting Katarina's gaze, and this time there were definitely tears in her eyes. "I didn't mean…" She couldn't find the words so instead she flung her arms around the other girl and pulled her into a hard embrace.

Lux gave a squeal of surprise, but then her hands linked behind Katarina's waist and her head settled contentedly against her chest, soothed by the steady thud of her heart. She wished they could stay like that forever.

Eventually Katarina released her, instead taking her hands, and staring fiercely into her eyes. Lux shivered, her body suddenly aching cold without the other girl's arms holding her. This time they both felt the wind, and they heard it too, whipping between the buildings, tugging at their hair and the folds of their clothes. Somewhere in the distance there was a deep crack of thunder, still far away but they could feel its power pulsing and simmering through the still night air.

"I would rather die than leave you." Katarina said simply. "I'm happier with you than I ever thought possible. All that stuff I said earlier, it only matters because I have you! Without you I'm…" She searched around for the right word…

"Lost?" Suggested a deep, rough voice from somewhere over her shoulder; definitely not Lux's voice, "How very touching…"

Katarina whirled round, instinctively stepping in front of Lux, shielding her from view. The source of the voice was not immediately apparent, but then she saw him, a tall dark figure leaning coolly against a nearby wall, cloaked in shadow. The man wore some kind of hat, its wide brim completely obscuring his face, and a rather ragged looking coat, long and shapeless so that it trailed in the dust at his feet.

"You ladies shouldn't be wondering around the streets, not at this time…They say there's a storm coming you know?" He spoke with a thick, guttural accent that dripped with menace despite his pleasant, conversational air. He stepped out of the shadows for the first time, his head tilted towards the night sky with apparent interest, a hand outstretched before him, as though examining the air with his fingertips.

Katarina glimpsed his face, the whites of his eyes flashing in the darkness, tanned skin, and a sharp jaw line hidden beneath a dark, scraggly beard. He was almost certainly local. That surprised her, she had been expecting –

"What do you want?" Lux said warily, stepping out and standing shoulder to shoulder with Katarina.

"What do I want?" The man laughed. It was more of a bark, full mouthed and jarring in the otherwise silent streets, baring two rows of teeth that a wolf would have been proud of. One of his bottom teeth glinted unnaturally, bright as his eyes where some chunk of metal had replaced it.

"This is more of a democracy eh –

As he spoke several other figures emerged from the shadows, rapidly filling the cramped alleyway, forming a black wall of bulk behind the first man.

"What I want –

His keen eyes settled on Lux, a twisted smile on his lips. Katarina's fists clenched dangerously at her sides.

-might have to wait till later." He finished, his voice a low growl.

Katarina was about to charge at the man, her eyes blazing with cold, murderous fury, but she found Lux's hand gripping her arm.

"Let's get out of here." Lux whispered, calmly but firmly, the kind of voice that Katarina knew she was not allowed to disagree with. Reluctantly the assassin turned on her heel, ready to run, but even as she did so, more people poured into the far end of the alley, blocking their only route of escape. She turned again to find the other wall of people slowly closing in on them. They were surrounded, trapped, just how she liked it.

"Looks like we're gunna have to fight." Katarina said, hardly bothering to conceal her delight.

Lux sighed with exasperation, noticing the look of sheer joy on the red head's face and unsure whether she wanted to laugh or cry. Either way she couldn't see any other way out of this situation…

"Oh I suppose so." Lux muttered in response, sounding much like a parent, grudgingly allowing their child to get an ice-cream. Katarina beamed at her and squeezed her hand affectionately.

"Thank you!" She said, almost tearful with gratitude, before turning her attention back to the advancing thugs. They were almost upon them.

"Nowhere to run beautiful." The man in the hat leered at her. "Don't worry, I promise we'll be gentle."

"I'm afraid I won't be." Katarina grinned, tossing back her fiery hair and cracking her knuckles threateningly.

Without waiting for a response she charged at them, catching them completely off guard. To them she was just prey, utterly helpless, certainly not a threat. To them she was just a feeble woman, small and unarmed. The last thing many of them saw was the blur of crimson as this 'feeble' woman swept towards them. Some of them laughed, others reached lazily for their weapons; only their leader stepped backward, the shock on his face twisting into a mask of wild, urgent dread. Too late he had seen the cold death in Katarina's eyes and the cruel confident smile on her blood red lips.

Katarina hurled herself into them, and at the same time Lux snapped her fingers, tendrils of blinding, brilliant light erupting from the very air and snaking its way around limbs and throats alike. It was almost too easy, the men rendered motionless, paralyzed by Lux's magic if not by their own shock and fear. One lone man managed to lunge, an enormous butcher's knife barely drawn from his belt before Katarina sent him reeling with a brutal kick to the chest. Even as he fell away she tore the knife from his white knuckled hand, and from that moment, it was truly over.

Katarina cut through the rest of the thugs as though they were paper, dancing her deadly, hypnotic dance, she slipped amongst them like smoke, leaving sprays of blood, where men had once stood in her wake.

Lux watched in silent, tantalized, awe, she was suddenly breathless, her lips suddenly dry. She watched as long as she could bare, and even then she found it impossibly hard to tear her eyes away from the bloody scene. Somehow, with a shudder, she managed it, turning instead to face their remaining attackers. From the other end of the alley, they could not see the full extent of their comrade's demise, and they were rushing foolishly to help.

Lux was shaking from head to foot, overwhelmed by what she had just witnessed. They should have fled; she thought desperately, the poor stupid bastards should have got the hell away from this place while they still could.

She almost pitied them as she felt that familiar sensation of magic surging through her body once more, pulsing in her veins and dancing on her skin. It calmed her, focused her mind on what she had to do.

With a strange wave of her hands she sent a ball of swirling light down the alleyway to meet the onrushing thugs. As it passed through them, all their movements slowed to a crawl, their arms and legs clawing against the air as though fighting against quicksand.

Lux could see the looks of confusion spreading, almost comically slowly across their faces. She tried not to see them, to look past the fear in their eyes and the sweat on their brows. She tried to steady herself for what was coming. She told herself that they deserved it, that it was better this way – better not to face the merciless designs of Katarina's blade…

She rose into the air, the magic within her so strong that it lifted her off her feet. She surrendered to it, let it own her. She drew it in like one great breath, and then…

"AHHHHHHHH!" She have an almighty scream, and flung both her hands forwards, letting the energy surge from her finger tips.

Even Katarina was drawn from her happy, bloody, reverie by the sound. She stood tall among the bodies of the fallen men, strewn haphazardly at her feet. The leader of the gang was the last man standing, and he was tearing away down the alley, long coat streaming behind him as he ran, his ridiculous hat lifted from his head by the wind, revealing a perfectly bald head that glinted like a mirror in the darkness. The perfect target.

Katarina didn't stop to aim. She didn't stop to see if the great butcher's knife found its mark. She already knew that it would.

She span around just in time to see am immense beam of pure, un-tempered light –such a violent shade of red that it put her hair to shame – exploding from Lux's trembling hands and carving a destructive path into the darkness.

"Woah." Katarina muttered under her breath, awestruck as ever by Lux's unlikely power.

Lux herself dropped gracefully to the ground. Her golden hair seemed to hang in the air, a moment longer than the rest of her body, before it too fluttered down and settled against her slender shoulders.

She didn't look back down the alley. She didn't see the thick, eerie smoke curling through the air. She certainly didn't see the dark, formless shapes stumbling around within it. She was trying very hard not to see anything at all. She stared straight ahead, her perfect blue eyes dazed and unfocused, fixed upon the column of light that marked the alleyways exit.

"Run." She said quietly as she passed Katarina. Contrary to Lux, the red head was very much staring. Her eyes were wide and there was mingled horror and admiration, and perhaps even a little jealousy, on her handsome features.

"But, Lux…" She began breathlessly.

"RUN!" Lux shouted over her shoulder, already emerging onto the main street.

For the second time in an hour, Katarina knew better than to argue, and with one last, wistful look about her, surveying the picture of beautiful devastation that they had made together, she set off at a jog after Lux.

With a grin she skipped over the body of the bald man - dull knife embedded in his shiny skull, hat lying sadly at his heel – and out into a far wider street. She looked left and right, searching for a glimmer of gold in the darkness.